Review of Awake

Coming a long way from Harry Potter, Jason Isaacs stars as the protagonist in this psychologically tantalising TV series. From the very beginning the audience sympathise with Michael Britton as he experiences a shattering car crash that transforms his family from three to two. Awake then takes a supernaturally creative direction which distinguishes it from any other ordinary tragedy; one morning he will open his eyes to the comfort of a grieving but breathing wife…and the next morning his bed will be empty yet his teenage son will be waking for school in the nearby room.

In these alternate realities life struggles to become a new sense of normal, father and son gradually learning to reconnect, whilst husband and wife have to discover that there can be more happiness in life. However, Michael is unable to grieve with his remaining family because the loss is as much a dream to him as his two therapists believe the alternate reality is. Splitting himself between his loved ones can only lead to further mental deterioration, according to Dr Lee and Dr Evans, who both ironically dismiss the existence of each other. Sessions on the couch provide a very intelligent aspect to the show, as they plausibly explain why his delusions are likely to be delusions. They believe that his psyche was damaged during the accident, yet despite their realistic words, the audience are reluctant to dismiss the fantasy that many wish could be true.

Meanwhile, Michael throws himself into his work as a detective, bringing in another dimension that keeps Awake exciting and changeable. Episodes are a mix of family drama and murder mysteries – twice over, as Britton heroically deals with two cases and two different partners. Using his unique ability, he solves crimes by taking clues from one world and applying it to the other.

As Michael begins to heal from the accident, the truth about what really happened comes to light…so scandalous with betrayal that not everyone will be left standing. 

Awake brilliantly explores the powerful possibilities of the mind, and deals with the universal tragedy of death, investigating the lengths people would go to keep hold of the people they love. The concept is original and complex and the show purposefully keeps aspects blurred and unexplained. Superb acting and great character development leads this series to easily be an unforgettable highlight of 2012.

Review of Resident Evil Retribution

I am not a fan of the horror genre nor have I played the X Box games yet nevertheless the film series appealed to me. I enjoyed the fantasy of one hero – a woman no less, to subvert the stereotype – standing up against a powerful organisation, being strong in a crumbling, apocalyptic world full of zombies.  The fifth instalment, Resident Evil Retribution, continues to show Alice as a bad-ass, leather-clad fighter as she guns her way out of ‘the belly of the beast’, the heart of the Umbrella Corporation.

Whilst Alice is a prisoner, the audience are taken back to the end of the previous film in a flash back that is uniquely presented; slow motion, rewinding action and 3D glasses make the opening aesthetically awesome. The scene then jumps to an alternate Alice, a clone, in a suburban lifestyle, where she has soft brown hair and a deaf daughter who appears ironically as the Red Queen who is a hologram manipulating the biological fallout of the T virus. The contrast between the maternal Alice and the violent Alice just goes to prove women are capable of everything! The mission is very much the same as the mission from the first resident evil movie: our heroes are trapped in an underground, isolated facility (this time under the ice), with one exit on the other side of an army of zombies, with a timer ticking down to an explosion. Despite how this could have been repetitive, I thought it served as a nostalgic reminder of what Resident Evil is really about.

Alice’s escape is aided by five handsome men, one of whom is a friendly face, and though it could be said this only forces Alice into the role of a damsel, the group are slowly killed off and in fact need her help to fight off skeleton-like zombies. I didn’t like how they unconventionally used guns as I believe that should be past their capabilities.

Very much like a computer game, Alice and her friends reach checkpoints by fighting their way through three environments, realistic models of Tokyo, New York and Moscow, which were originally created as testing areas to show the effects of the T virus. Zombies and mutant-monsters are the Red Queen’s obstacles. Spider-robots force Alice’s former friends to hunt her. However, Alice has survived so far with the weight of the world on her shoulders; being the Umbrella Corporation’s personal lab rat, she has the power and the motivation to rebel. Humanity needs a saviour but is it too late?  

Perhaps not a revolutionary production, I still found this an enjoyable film, especially in 3D. There were jumpy moments, plenty of action and touching emotional scenes. I can’t wait to discover what else is in store for Project Alice and, more significantly, what she has in store for us.

A Review of 'Teen Wolf'

Exchanging stakes for wolfsbane, Teen Wolf is so refreshing after the Vampire mania. Set in a small American town, Scott McCall is torn into the mysterious world of the werewolves with a bite that changes his life forever. Suddenly the teen becomes the star player in his school’s sport of lacrosse – which I find original and surprisingly brutal; he gets the girl, Allison, and their star-crossed love is magnificently more impressive then Bella and Edward’s. With his best friend Stiles - who makes this show charismatic, funny and witty – together they face the revenge-obsessed Alpha, the secretive, angry Derek, Allison’s family ‘The Werewolf Hunters’ and the usual high-school dramas like uncompleted homework and late night detentions.  Then there’s the inquisitive Jackson, who smells something strange and as one of the most popular and richest teens in their town threatens to unravel their secret. With a tough guy disguise, it’s his loneliness that turns him cold-blooded and murderous, which Scott has to control, in between his own struggles at keeping the wolf at bay. The trek through the woods is perilous but with Scott’s own pack of rag-tag humans, they can solve the mystery of the Alpha’s identity, the truth of the arson case and the murders of the old swimming team.

I love this series, which is edited to a fast pace that had me at the edge of my seat. Small elements of gore and horror make this all the more dramatic and Derek’s eerie howl is enough to raise hairs on my arm. I like how the bad guy of this story is constantly changing and never fully clear; Derek Hale, moody and angry, has all the right intentions but his actions are always alienating our protagonist; even the Alpha can be empathized with and later tries to help but is too mistrusted. And the characters who should be the good guys – the human werewolf hunters – are actually the most brutal and cruel. Some of the jokes can be cheesy but I find them and the characters endearing. 2013 promises an exciting series three that should finally unite all the characters against a common foe.

A Review of 'How to Train Your Dragon'

This family film is the personification of adorable, with big eyed dragons, a skinny Viking named Hiccup - whom unintentionally causes havoc - and beautiful Dreamworks animation. Friendship for poor Hiccup, whose very build marginalises him from his class mates, is no commodity but during an attack on his home village from the dragon populace he discovers it in the most unlikely of places. The Night Fury, his people’s most dreaded enemy, is found by our protagonist injured in the forest. Desperate to prove himself, Hiccup attempts to kill the beast only he can’t. Instead he trains the dragon, nicknamed Toothless, and crafts a wing to help him fly. They soar the skies together and Toothless teaches Hiccup that everything collected on the ferocity of dragons is false. Back in the village of Berk Hiccup becomes a celebrity as he uses his knowledge of the reptilians to subdue them in his dragon-hunting training. However, Hiccup soon must choose which side he takes and whether remaining loyal to his family is worth sacrificing his friend. Yet there’s something more dangerous than the conflict between Berk’s inhabitants and the 'pests' which plague it, and only Hiccup can unite the two in order to save the day.

I really enjoyed this film and felt it had an admirable message, one that shows the disabled, Hiccup whose leg had to be amputated in the battles, positively.

A Review of Mary Hooper's 'Newes From the Dead'

This is a novel beginning with sorrow and injustice, not foreign concepts in a story based on reality, but which concludes on a feel-good ending. Hooper flits between the mysterious present and the innocent past, taking us to the 1650s where Anne Green, a handmaid, is taken advantage of by the rich Master Geoffrey, who promises her status in exchange for her purity. Of course, this leads to her doom as she loses all her friends – including a kind John Taylor, becomes pregnant, is rejected any help by the lying culprit and is then accused of infanticide when the bastard is a still-born. Whisked away to the gallows, all because of Sir Thomas’s rage at the stain Anne claims against his grandson, she is hanged on a cold, drizzly day. Her body is donated to science and the knife is just inches away from her skin, ready for dissection, when her eye lid twitches. Astounded, the surrounding scholars set to work resurrecting her…

Mary Hooper opened my eyes to the misfortunes frequently experienced by young females serving under reckless, selfish Masters in the centuries before equality was introduced. I found this an extremely moving tale that benefits from the religious tone as it not only reflects the beliefs of the time but brings justice to the deserving and undeserving characters. Furthermore, throughout runs the theme of faith, that which inspired the Physicians to put down their knifes and instead save the girl rumoured to be innocent.

A Review of Grey's Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy is a medical drama set in Seattle’s Grace Mercy West Hospital. With an extensive cast of fourteen and eight series’ dramas range from unexploded bombs, drowned and diseased characters, serial killers, love quarrels, car accidents, bus collisions and aeroplane crashes – and this is on top of the average tragedies that come as an occupational hazard of being top class doctors and surgeons. Yes this can be a gruesome, gory show but the suspense of life and death is enough to keep you at the edge of your seat, cry or at the least have you hiding behind a cushion! Consequently, the audience grow to love every character, including sarcastic Alex, the dark and twisty pair of Meredith and Cristina and the rest of the promiscuous crew, too numerous to mention. With brilliant acting, brilliant plots – however unrealistic they sound – and brilliant eye candy Grey’s Anatomy, revolving around Meredith and her co-workers, will evoke emotion in the audience no matter what. The series’ are bound to end on a cliff hanger, so tense that you’ll be itching to watch the next episode, which continues with series nine in September.

A Review of Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time is an American TV series that puts a unique twist on  the traditional fairytale stories that we all know from our childhood. Featuring the tales of Snow White, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio and many more, we see how the characters entwine in a genius and creative way, whilst their original essence is respected and kept. The main plot follows the Evil Queen, desperate to take revenge on Snow White, cursing the magical land and all its inhabitants and sending them to our world. In the small town ironically named Storybrooke, none of the fairytale characters remember who they are or who their loved ones are; effectively the Evil Queen, now Mayor, has taken away everyone's happy endings. However, she never expected her adopted son Henry to find his biological mother, Emma Swan, who's arrival in Storybrooke has prophecy fulfilling effects. The town becomes unfrozen, the clock starts ticking, signalling the breaking down of the Queen's curse. Henry, aware of everyone's true nature, implores the help of Emma whom he insists is the Saviour. Though Emma is logical and disbelieving, she humours her son in 'Operation Cobra' and soon finds herself the Queen/Mayor's enemy. Episode by episode she discovers that Regina - who cannot possibly be the Queen! - is nevertheless a cruel, manipulative and powerful opponent who will go as far as framing people for murder and even killing. It is Emma's task to have faith and save her family from a world she doesn't comprehend.
What I personally love about this television series, other than the fabulous costumes, is how all of the characters' stories are told - slowly to add mystery and suspense - so that on some level the audience can empathise with the bad guys, the Queen and Rumpelstiltskin. Unlike in the original fairy tales things are not so simple and unrealistic as to be in black and white, which is what makes this show so modern and intelligent. Overall this is one of the best creations I've seen on the television, which despite having just aired an awesome season one finale, still promises an intriguing season two.