Spooks Series 7 (Review)

Written in the very best tradition of British drama that drives both plot and character with equal intensity, the seventh series of Spooks brings the gritty, doomsday atmosphere of the conventional spy thriller into a highly polished and almost loving backdrop of 21st century London. The characters are raw, fresh and genuinely interesting and the…

A note of thanks on the occasion of 1000 views.

Sherlock’s face best expresses my emotions at ladygilraen hitting 1000 views a few minutes ago. I’m dumbfounded, speechless, ecstatic and unlike the delightful Mr. Holmes, grateful. Thank you to all the readers who have kept this blog afloat, especially to my incomparable followers for reading and liking my posts and to the many tourists that…

Things we’ll miss about Harry Cunningham

A short and woefully inadequate tribute to a great character that was taken from us without a blaze of glory or even so much as a puff of smoke. 1. We’ll miss his alarmingly possessive relationship with his desk. 2. We’ll miss his terrible jokes. 3. We’ll miss his Italianate temper that sometimes resulted in…

Thoughts on the new Game of Thrones Season 3 trailer

Last season’s gorgeous set of trailers were about high politics and the eternal quest for power. In this first trailer for season 3, we’re left in no doubt that we’re now dealing with the desire for ice-blooded vengeance that has come to possess almost all the characters. The trailer swoops masterfully through every angle of…

Ten Great TV Performances You’ve Never Seen

This is a tribute to ten truly great performances that most of the public have never seen or even heard of, written with the intention of spreading awesomeness. 10.Jonathan Rhys-Meyers – Gormenghast The first (and the greatest) performance in an otherwise mediocre career, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is menacingly and toweringly evil as kitchen boy turned master…

Music/life: ‘Quartet’ (Film Review)

Quartet is a rare thing. While it does leave you smiling in contentment like a Cheshire cat, the light is shaded by such sadness and nostalgia that the scales are tipped from comedy to drama fairly often. Nevertheless, the film is uproariously funny, deeply intelligent and blows any other ensemble cast this year completely out…

Fear: Silent Witness S15E11+12 (Review)

While Fear does address a controversial and provocative issue with Silent Witness’ usual intelligence and brutal realism, it is rather wibbly-wobbly in terms of structure and writing; and at the episode’s close, leaves you wondering precisely what you’ve just experienced in a way that has nothing to do with the deliberate engagement of an audience’s…

God awful: ‘Labyrinth’ by Kate Mosse

Like Ken Follett, Kate Mosse is one of those unfortunate writers with a nose like a bloodhound for a good story, but who can’t write to save their lives. The reader suffers under the weight of this fact for all 700 pages of Labyrinth, Mosse’s obscenely well-reviewed novel of the Holy Grail where an obvious…

For the love of God, would you stop fucking up fairytale movies?

Fairytale Hell. It’s a place where cinema goers have found themselves trapped many a time over the past few years. But, like Orpheus, it’s only those of us unfortunate enough to look back that seem to notice the darkness. It’s a long, twisting, macabre line of unashamedly bad acting and cringeworthy dialogue wearing a mask of…

Some musings on awesome characterisation in ‘The Moonstone’ by Wilkie Collins

It’s Rachel Verinder’s birthday, and the young lady has every reason to be delighted. It’s very likely that her quirky cousin Franklin Blake, who’s been staying for the last month, returns her newfound love for him and might soon propose to her. She has also inherited a pretty toy from her late, estranged uncle: an…