2014 - What We Left Behind... Movies and TV
Right: time for some catch-up. Esssential if I'm going to get back into this blogging business...
Movies: Since last time I reviewed any movies, I saw Interstellar and The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armies. Both merit a worthy 8/10. The former had hints of 2001 to it, but they didn't impede the story at all, whilst the latter entertained, but lacked a sense of conclusion - proimarly because it leads straight(-ish) into the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
I actually saw fewer movies this past year than in 2013, partly because some never got to us here, or had decent screenings, and three movies on the list either got postponed (Jupiter Ascending) or ended up with a 2015 release date over this side of The Pond, those being Monsters: Dark Continent and surprisingly Big Hero 6, which could have been a Christmas hit. Guess Disney surrendered to the power of The One Ring...
This year, however, is starting to shape up VERY nicely. There are two Marvel movies, of course, and a Star Wars. There was a "15 Movies To See in 2015" list somewhere, but some of those just didn't "float my boat", or feature on my radar. Oh, there's also a Jurassic Park in there somewhere, which might be fun. I'll throw together a "must-see" list if I happen to have nothing better to post about.
TV: 2014 was the Year Of The Twelfth - Doctor, that is - and Peter Capaldi did a pretty fine job of sweeping aside the "pretty boys" of the past: he really COULDN'T have been any more different (unless, of course, he'd be a Diversity Darling*, of different gender and ethnicity). The scripts had their ups and downs, but there was some really good stuff in amongst it all. Even the Christmas Special got pretty cerebral!
The other Big Deal on TV in 2014 was the return of Agents of SHIELD, for the first half of a second season - and boy did it turn things around! Now that Marvel Studios have Phase Three all planned out, the show can stretch its legs a bit, and grab some much-needed room to breathe - as in breathe [SPOILER] Terrigen Mist [END SPOILER]! The second half of this season will be "must-see" - as will mid-season "special event" mini-series Agent Carter. If the buzz (ahem) surrounding Ant-Man is anything to go by, the "glory years" of SHIELD will have a significant part to play in how things shape up from here!
Also worthy of note:
- Gotham: a different take on the Bat-world. Some liberties may have been taken, but hey, it's been worth seeing just to see where it'll go next...
- The 100: a show that didn't seem to have much potential, but which has since proven me wrong. Season 2 is due to commence on Tuesday, and that cliff-hanger certainly got my attention...
- Homeland: You'd have been justified in querying whether this could go any further after the final events of Season 2, but the recently ended Season 3 actually managed to keep things going... except for the last, and rather anticlimactic episode. I think a Season 4 is on the cards, and I'm happy to give it the benefit of the doubt when the season premiere comes around!
Okay, that was a bit longer than I planned, but sometimes, that's how these things go
* Oooooh, bit risky there, but I do hope that 2015 isn't another year of making creative types feel guilty for not pushing non-males or non-whites to the fore. This is something else I need to address on it's own...
Movies: Since last time I reviewed any movies, I saw Interstellar and The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armies. Both merit a worthy 8/10. The former had hints of 2001 to it, but they didn't impede the story at all, whilst the latter entertained, but lacked a sense of conclusion - proimarly because it leads straight(-ish) into the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
I actually saw fewer movies this past year than in 2013, partly because some never got to us here, or had decent screenings, and three movies on the list either got postponed (Jupiter Ascending) or ended up with a 2015 release date over this side of The Pond, those being Monsters: Dark Continent and surprisingly Big Hero 6, which could have been a Christmas hit. Guess Disney surrendered to the power of The One Ring...
This year, however, is starting to shape up VERY nicely. There are two Marvel movies, of course, and a Star Wars. There was a "15 Movies To See in 2015" list somewhere, but some of those just didn't "float my boat", or feature on my radar. Oh, there's also a Jurassic Park in there somewhere, which might be fun. I'll throw together a "must-see" list if I happen to have nothing better to post about.
TV: 2014 was the Year Of The Twelfth - Doctor, that is - and Peter Capaldi did a pretty fine job of sweeping aside the "pretty boys" of the past: he really COULDN'T have been any more different (unless, of course, he'd be a Diversity Darling*, of different gender and ethnicity). The scripts had their ups and downs, but there was some really good stuff in amongst it all. Even the Christmas Special got pretty cerebral!
The other Big Deal on TV in 2014 was the return of Agents of SHIELD, for the first half of a second season - and boy did it turn things around! Now that Marvel Studios have Phase Three all planned out, the show can stretch its legs a bit, and grab some much-needed room to breathe - as in breathe [SPOILER] Terrigen Mist [END SPOILER]! The second half of this season will be "must-see" - as will mid-season "special event" mini-series Agent Carter. If the buzz (ahem) surrounding Ant-Man is anything to go by, the "glory years" of SHIELD will have a significant part to play in how things shape up from here!
Also worthy of note:
- Gotham: a different take on the Bat-world. Some liberties may have been taken, but hey, it's been worth seeing just to see where it'll go next...
- The 100: a show that didn't seem to have much potential, but which has since proven me wrong. Season 2 is due to commence on Tuesday, and that cliff-hanger certainly got my attention...
- Homeland: You'd have been justified in querying whether this could go any further after the final events of Season 2, but the recently ended Season 3 actually managed to keep things going... except for the last, and rather anticlimactic episode. I think a Season 4 is on the cards, and I'm happy to give it the benefit of the doubt when the season premiere comes around!
Okay, that was a bit longer than I planned, but sometimes, that's how these things go
* Oooooh, bit risky there, but I do hope that 2015 isn't another year of making creative types feel guilty for not pushing non-males or non-whites to the fore. This is something else I need to address on it's own...