fredrikgunerius

The disappearance of 23-year-old Amy Bradley from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in 1998 certainly is a fascinating case, and this 3-part documentary does an ok job of shedding light on the many possible scenarios and explanations. What the creators don't do equally well is finding the right balance between their journalistic codes of ethics and their responsibility to ask critical questions. They go overboard (sic) when they incite Alister "Yellow" Douglas's daughter to confront her own father. In doing so, they were clearly taking advantage of a problematic family situation, and the daughter should have been protected against herself. Conversely, the creators are too lenient with regards to the questions they ask the Bradley family. The saintly picture they get to paint of their daughter in their distraught eternal mourning may not be so accurate. You shouldn't speak ill of the dead, is that it? There are also several important points that are not sufficiently followed up on - not least Amy's camera and shoes...

All in all, a somewhat underwhelming series that doesn't really cover enough ground considering its running time. And of course, no answers are given.

Offbeat, affectatious look at growing up on different sides of the divide in 1980s Los Angeles. Think Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero blended with West Side Story, then add a bit of MTV stylisation and a pinch of Footloose on top. Between the one-dimensional characterisations, staged drama, and puffy hairstyles, Tuff Turf offers sudden bursts of poignant moments in which the cast are able to lay themselves bare and express their talent. And for viewers with a taste for the '80s and an ability to look past the pastiche and the myriad of moods that director Fritz Kiersch imbues the film with, it might even offer quite a bit of fun. The soundtrack is as sprawling as the film's drama, with Jim Carroll appearing as the frontman of a New Wave band, before James Spader and Kim Richards end up swinging to the blue-eyed soul of Jack Mack and the Heart Attack. Tuff Turf is a curiosity indeed, but worth a watch for Spader fans and '80s aficionados.

Years before Anthony Hopkins shot to international stardom with his chilling, universally acclaimed rendition of Hannibal Lector in The Silence of the Lambs, Scottish character actor Brian Cox was the first one to portray Thomas Harris' iconic serial killer on film. Manhunter was a medium budget production directed by the up-and-coming filmmaker Michael Mann (Thief) and starring William Petersen in the role of FBI Agent Will Graham. It fared only moderately at the box office, but later gained a small cult following, particularly among Harris fans. This following was further bolstered by the release of the far more commercially successful Hopkins films of the '90s.

But cult status aside, compared to Red Dragon (with which it shares the same story), Manhunter is a more aesthetically low-key and narratively straightforward police procedural. The production values are clearly inspired by Mann's own TV series Miami Vice - with heavy emphasis on music and mood - and the dialogue is subdued, technical, and somewhat unremarkable. This is not necessarily negative criticism, however, because the style works well within the realm created by Mann, and the characters are carefully and intelligently fleshed out and portrayed. Tom Noonan is occasionally chilling in his most memorable role, and Brian Cox shows his force as Lector - he's a fitting precursor to Hopkins' creation. Manhunter isn't as multi-layered or intriguing as Red Dragon, but it plays well and shows the director's talent and ambition without quite maximising the potential of Harris' universe.