BBC is no stranger to quality television and crime solving dramas. Apparently they are no stranger to creative editing either.
With both Sherlock and Luther set for limited return in the coming weeks, and The Fall coming back sometime in 2016, the BBC put out a new promo featuring their three most popular detectives. Check it out below.
Now simply one episode shy of completing my latest watch through of BBC’s Sherlock series, we are gifted with some promo shots from the upcoming Victorian era Christmas special, which is set to premiere on January 1, 2016. These shots give us a look at some of our favorite characters in their more classical garb, as well as a look at what appears to be the title character – The Abominable Bride.
Continue reading Sherlock and The Abominable Bride; New Promo Shots Show Us the Mysterious Bride
Nothing made me. I made me.
Arguably the smartest, most well-written show in the world, BBC’s Sherlock is coming back – way back. The upcoming Christmas special (no premiere date yet) will take place in the 19th century, and will provide us with the first new episode of the show since January of 2014, and only the tenth since the show began in summer of 2010. For the math wizards out there, than an average of about one episode every six months. I point that out only to illustrate how well versed the Sherlock fan base is at waiting.
Continue reading Sherlock Releases Trailer for Impending 19th Century Christmas Special
What could be better than a spot of tea and a little 221b on the telly this holiday season? Not having to wait a year for it, for a start! That’s right, Cumberphiles, while the rumors of a Sherlock special are indeed true, you’re going to have to do what Sherlock fans do best; wait. Continue reading All We Want For Christmas Is A Sherlock Special!
Less than a year after the release of his previous feature, Labor Day, Jason Reitman returns with Men, Women & Children, yet another take on relationships, albeit, more modern and ambitious. Infusing the perils of technology, Reitman creates an interconnected story featuring parents and teenagers trying to decipher what the Internet has done to our society. The segments range from a couple using the Internet as an escape from their strained marriage, to a high schooler struggling with a fetish that deviates from the common sex culture, to a star athlete whose lost interest in football after his mom runs off and finding comfort in the online world of Guild Wars. Some may laugh it off, or find the struggles of this Texas suburban community to be negligent to greater world problems, but it’s through Reitman’s raw telling of the story that makes Men, Women & Children the most honest film of the modern day. Nothing is sugar coated. Every storyline features people we’ve known, stories we’ve heard, and struggles we’ve felt. Yes, some threads are stronger than others, but the overall product creates an extraordinary film.
The binding of the story relies on an ominous narrator, Emma Thompson, who uses Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot to put a perspective on life. She chimes in throughout, ocassionally giving tidbits into the characters’ thoughts for comedic expense, yet mainly as a reminder of how unimportant we are, how insignificant everyone we know, everyone we love, everyone we’ve heard of, is to the universe. It’s through this thought, that the audience is forced to think what matters most to them. To some characters it’s sex, to others it’s love, fame or just acceptance. Reitman and co-writer Erin Cressida Wilson beautifully maneuver Chad Kultgen’s novel into an emotionally satisfying ensemble piece.
Utilizing mostly handheld camera (even shaky dolly shots) and little pop-up blurbs on the screen to show texting, internet browsing, etc., Reitman draws us into this realized world. Fruitvale Station, Sherlock, and others have used similar techniques, but Reitman fluently integrates the technology to demonstrates how naturally it has become involved in our lives such as having the Google search bar appear above a character browsing for escorts, or in one of the most memorable shots, showing kids walk through school with texting, music, tweeting effects hanging above their heads.
Across the board, performances are good with the high school kids for the most part outshining the parents. The standouts have to be Ansel Elgort, who most know as the love interest in The Fault in Our Stars. Adam Sandler, gives a very subdued performance akin to Punch Drunk Love and proves that despite his recent shit show of films, the guy is capable of being a good actor. Sandler’s son in the film, Travis Tope, is noteworthy, as is Judy Greer, a mom trying to jumpstart her daughter’s modeling career. Jennifer Garner, an overtly protective mother who will go to insane means to track her daughters digital footprints also is a plus.
That all said, the film is not perfect. Some of the teen storylines don’t wrap up as nicely as others, leaving a morally ambiguous finale for the ending montage. Also, the scenes where the story transfers from one character to another when they pass each other is a bit cheesy and too coincidental. There’s also some odd choices made of when Emma Thompson voice comes in that felt like Reitman wanted to keep the comedic tone rather then delve straight for the drama. And oddly, J.K. Simmons is given almost the exact same role he played in Juno. A lot of comparisons have been thrown around to last years film Disconnect, which dealt with similar problems derived from the internet and featured another comedic actor with a beard. The biggest difference, is the plausibility of the students and the situations. Men, Women & Children deals with the desire to stand out and the use of the Internet as an escape, while Disconnect was an overly exaggerated film about the extremes of using the internet. The former allows for connection, the latter allows for parents to panic.
Reitman’s film doesn’t say that using the Internet is bad or that we shouldn’t, it just wants us to realize how it has changed the world and to decide on our own whether that is good or bad. Is it wrong to find solace in others online? To some it may be, for example a character using online chatrooms to encourage her anorexic diet, but for others, like Ansel’s character using Guild Wars, it’s a place to be himself and to feel like he’s constantly working towards something instead of being unimportant to society. That’s the debate at the heart of Men, Women & Children. Is the easy access to our desires online good or bad, and whether these desires should be important or unimportant. The film doesn’t give a clear-cut answer, it simply gives the audience enough to recognize technologies connection to our society.
Images: Paramount Pictures
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It seems a few weeks cannot go by with out a new Star Wars related whisper spreading across the internet (like these ones here and here). It is hardly surprising when such a beloved series has a whole new creative team behind it and the possibility of countless new movies ahead of it. The Star Wars fans have a right to be excited. So when the website Film Chronicles puts up an article with the title “Benedict Cumberbatch is in Star Wars VII”, even the most hard core fanboy and fan girls heads are likely to explode.
But this does appear to be the case. Benedict was previously scheduled to be working with Guillermo Del Toro on his new film Crimson Peak but dropped out and strangely no answer was given. As the shooting schedules would have been roughly the same it is hard not to draw a comparison between the two events. Though no information on his role in the franchise is available, we do know he is a huge fan of Star Wars. Look at the extract below from Collider (via Total Film) to see him gush about the franchise.
“I’ve already asked him if I can be a lightsaber and we’re in talks – about whirring sounds and the rates for the lights and everything [laughs].
“I thought, ‘Yeah, I grew up with them,’ and I just looked recently at when they were released and now I’m like, ‘No, I didn’t grow up with them, I was born with them.’ They were a huge part of my background, and my upbringing.
“I was much more connected to [Star Wars] as a kid, in the way that a lot of kids are because it’s immediate storytelling, very simple – a beautifully, outrageously simple narrative in a way – and a wonderful three-act melodrama, opera. And I loved them. I really, really loved those films and I always wanted to be Han Solo. Everything Harrison Ford did I just thought was the coolest thing ever.”
Is there any role this man cannot pull off? In his epic rise to stardom he has already played Frankenstein and his monster, an iconic Star Trek character, given vocal life to Smaug in the upcoming Hobbit movies and brought Sherlock Holmes to life again for a new generation. This guy is incredible so hearing he is in the new Star Wars movies is a definite thumbs up. Working with JJ Abrams again has got to be a dream combination after seeing their great work on Star Trek Into Darkness. Hopefully Disney will not keep us out the loop to long and we will get an insight into his character soon. If not, be safe in the knowledge that it looks like he could be set to wield a lightsaber very soon.
You want to see the ultimate difference between fans of American shows and fans of British shows? Look at the Sherlock fandom. There have only been two seasons composed of a paltry three episodes (granted they are each 80+ minutes) each, yet Sherlock fans are rabid. They discuss and dissect every aspect from those six episodes as if they are a lifeblood. They pledge allegiance to the show’s stars, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as if they were demi-gods.
Need further proof? ‘The Reichenbach Fall’ aired in the US on May 20th. 2012. That’s right, it has been over a year since the last episode aired and you would never guess judging by the amount of buzz surrounding the show to this day.
However, today all of our patience is paid off, even if just the tiniest bit. That’s right, it’s a Sherlock season three teaser trailer!
This feeling can not be put into words so I offer this humble gif in hopes that it conveys the emotions currently felt.
Take solace in this little tidbit Sherlock fans, for we have yet awhile to wait. Season three premieres on PBS in “early 2014”. Hopefully there will be more trailers forthcoming to tide us over.
During the Sherlock Comic-Con panel yesterday, after briefly touching on his role in the new Star Trek, and of course his work in the upcoming The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, and finally his upcoming film The Fifth Estate in which he plays Julian Assange, Benedict Cumberbatch gave out a bit of a spoiler when it comes to Sherlock.
See in the last episode of season 2 of Sherlock, titled ‘The Reichenbach Fall’, Sherlock falls off a building. It is very sad and very emotional and very mysterious because obviously there is a season 3 and even more obvious, Sherlock is alive so how did he do it?
Benedict Cumberbatch himself tells us how:
Bonus Martin Freeman!
It’s such a shame that the feed went out. I suppose we’ll just have to wait for the premiere of Sherlock‘s season 3 in 2014. You can check out the important parts of the panel here. Now let’s take a look at Cumberbitch Cumberbatch as Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate trailer:
It’s going to be another big day at SDCC so be sure to check out all of our coverage here!
As we reported, the current Doctor Who; Matt Smith (who has played the Doctor for 4 years) is leaving the show at Christmas, speculation has been rife over who will replace him. With the season finale having John Hurt pop up as an unknown Doctor could he stay on after Smith’s departure? He will probably have prior commitments and would be unable to stay long term on the show so I think that’s a no, but if not him then who? Well the bookies are currently taking bets on it, and have a full list of their suggestions you may want to look at, either at The Guardian or The Mirror, but here are some of my ideas for possible contenders.
Continue reading Looking for the New Doctor Who? We Can Think of a Few Contenders
There’s a lot of buzz online about our favorite UK shows, so we’ve put all this news together in a handy, more digestible format for your reading pleasure. First off is some information from Bleeding Cool looking at the upcoming series of Misfits. Now working on its fifth season it has been reported by Channel Four that this will be the last ever series. Here is the official blurb for what this series is going to cover.
Continue reading UK Television Updates: MisFits, Sherlock, & Doctor Who
Grizzly Bomb 