LOOKS:
South Park Season 16 - seasons 15 and 16 definitely had some dud episodes in their mix, but as I said last month, re-watching these shows on their own terms (rather than with the expectation that you have, perhaps unfairly, when new episodes air) does bring a new sparkle that you didn't see the first time around. One of my favourite episodes from season 16, and the series in general, is the Halloween episode in which Randy buys the local Blockbuster rental store and everything goes a bit 'Shining'.
Fargo - this limited-run 10 episode story from FX and MGM has been a real gold mine. I was unsure how it would work upon first hearing they'd taken the Coen brother's movie and turned it, somehow, into a television show, but after the first couple of episodes I was hooked and it just kept getting better. It wasn't really an adaptation at all, it was a spiritual successor. Unpredictable, truly stunning, filled with characters that you genuinely care about (or fear), and all written by Noah Hawley with such an easy flair and eye for gentle dark humour that he makes it seem effortless. Clearly a lot of thought and craft went into all aspects of making this show and it paid off in spades. A bright shining highlight for 2014 television drama.
Click "READ MORE" below for the other flavours of this month...
Monday, 30 June 2014
Monday, 23 June 2014
"Sleb" is now available to buy!
"Sleb", my first novel, is now available to buy worldwide via Amazon for Kindle, or the Kindle App (for Apple, Android, and Windows Phones, Tablets & Computers - the App is free to download).
BUY ON AMAZON UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleb-Nick-Thomson-ebook/dp/B00L7BV6R2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403517455&sr=8-1&keywords=sleb+nick+thomson
BUY ON AMAZON US:
http://www.amazon.com/Sleb-Nick-Thomson-ebook/dp/B00L7BV6R2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1403517591&sr=1-1&keywords=sleb+nick+thomson
Or visit your local version of Amazon and search for "Sleb Nick Thomson", but please note that "Sleb" is currently only available to read in the English language.
Want a taste? View the video trailer for "Sleb" here:
Music by Alex Vegas.
Or preview the first three chapters when you view the Amazon links.
Click "READ MORE" below for more information on "Sleb"...
BUY ON AMAZON UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleb-Nick-Thomson-ebook/dp/B00L7BV6R2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403517455&sr=8-1&keywords=sleb+nick+thomson
BUY ON AMAZON US:
http://www.amazon.com/Sleb-Nick-Thomson-ebook/dp/B00L7BV6R2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1403517591&sr=1-1&keywords=sleb+nick+thomson
Or visit your local version of Amazon and search for "Sleb Nick Thomson", but please note that "Sleb" is currently only available to read in the English language.
Want a taste? View the video trailer for "Sleb" here:
Music by Alex Vegas.
Or preview the first three chapters when you view the Amazon links.
Click "READ MORE" below for more information on "Sleb"...
Sunday, 22 June 2014
Triple Bill Mini Musings: Sharp Claws, Big Explosions, and Saucy Lists...
The Wolverine:
What's it about?
After the devastating events of X-Men 3, Logan/Wolverine retreats into a life of solitude, only to be drawn out again when an old friend calls him to his death bed in Japan. Soon, Wolverine finds himself in all sorts of trouble when the Yakuza come calling just as his powers seem to be fading.
Who would I recognise in it?
Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Famke Janssen.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but still not up to the level of X1, X2, First Class, or Days of Future Past. It's a solid effort, but the middle portion does sag with uneven pacing, and the final act rumble feels pasted in from out of nowhere. However, a tussle on top of a 300mph bullet train is a decided highlight, and the increased focus on Logan's inner turmoil adds a nice sense of weight to proceedings. The plot does get a little bit overcomplicated in some places, and stretched thin in others, for a two hour running time, but it's a big improvement over the previous stand alone spin off. Good, for the most part.
Click "READ MORE" below for big dumb fun, and nostalgic naughtiness...
What's it about?
After the devastating events of X-Men 3, Logan/Wolverine retreats into a life of solitude, only to be drawn out again when an old friend calls him to his death bed in Japan. Soon, Wolverine finds himself in all sorts of trouble when the Yakuza come calling just as his powers seem to be fading.
Who would I recognise in it?
Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Famke Janssen.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but still not up to the level of X1, X2, First Class, or Days of Future Past. It's a solid effort, but the middle portion does sag with uneven pacing, and the final act rumble feels pasted in from out of nowhere. However, a tussle on top of a 300mph bullet train is a decided highlight, and the increased focus on Logan's inner turmoil adds a nice sense of weight to proceedings. The plot does get a little bit overcomplicated in some places, and stretched thin in others, for a two hour running time, but it's a big improvement over the previous stand alone spin off. Good, for the most part.
Click "READ MORE" below for big dumb fun, and nostalgic naughtiness...
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
"Sleb" cover art...
"Sleb" is nearing completion. There are final draft tweaks to make, but I've been busy working on some of the additional tasks relating to the project recently - getting the synopsis just right, for example, but also - the cover art.
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I've also alluded to doing a special little something to help try and spread the word of the book once it has been released...
Click "READ MORE" below to finish that thought...
I've also alluded to doing a special little something to help try and spread the word of the book once it has been released...
Click "READ MORE" below to finish that thought...
Sunday, 1 June 2014
Triple Bill Mini Musings: Mutants, Codgers, and Radioactivity...
X-Men Days of Future Past:
What's it about?
In a bleak near-future, the mutants are being hunted down and exterminated by "The Sentinels", and in a last-ditch effort to change the course of history, they send Wolverine back in time to 1973 (via some weird mental transference kind of thing) to fix the future by changing the past.
Who would I recognise in it?
Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, and more.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Jam-packed with mutants and time travel craziness, DOFP is a busy movie. Taking place some time after the events of X-Men 3 in a horrific future world torn apart by human-on-mutant genocide, the action switches over to 1973 - picking up several years after the events of X-Men First Class - and then a whole bunch of stuff happens. Suffice to say, the plot is complicated - but in a good way - and filled with its fair share of fun/mind-bending time travel convolutions. Like the plot, the cast is full, so full that many characters only make cameo appearances or have very little to do. However, while some fan favourites may get shunted to the sidelines, it does help add a sense of a wider 'mutant community' and an entire world of mutants populating the X-Men universe. The script is richly textured, although perhaps a little over-stuffed (making the not-overly-long 131 minute running time feel hefty), and the tone is mostly balanced, but surprisingly dark at times. The action sequences are thoroughly enjoyable, but the stand-out moment is owned by Quicksilver, who steals the entire movie with one superbly realised sequence inside the Pentagon. It's a big, big movie - sometimes an unwieldy one - but it's successes far outweigh it's minor problems. On the cusp between good and great.
Click "READ MORE" below for a rude octogenarian and radioactive horror...
What's it about?
In a bleak near-future, the mutants are being hunted down and exterminated by "The Sentinels", and in a last-ditch effort to change the course of history, they send Wolverine back in time to 1973 (via some weird mental transference kind of thing) to fix the future by changing the past.
Who would I recognise in it?
Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, and more.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Jam-packed with mutants and time travel craziness, DOFP is a busy movie. Taking place some time after the events of X-Men 3 in a horrific future world torn apart by human-on-mutant genocide, the action switches over to 1973 - picking up several years after the events of X-Men First Class - and then a whole bunch of stuff happens. Suffice to say, the plot is complicated - but in a good way - and filled with its fair share of fun/mind-bending time travel convolutions. Like the plot, the cast is full, so full that many characters only make cameo appearances or have very little to do. However, while some fan favourites may get shunted to the sidelines, it does help add a sense of a wider 'mutant community' and an entire world of mutants populating the X-Men universe. The script is richly textured, although perhaps a little over-stuffed (making the not-overly-long 131 minute running time feel hefty), and the tone is mostly balanced, but surprisingly dark at times. The action sequences are thoroughly enjoyable, but the stand-out moment is owned by Quicksilver, who steals the entire movie with one superbly realised sequence inside the Pentagon. It's a big, big movie - sometimes an unwieldy one - but it's successes far outweigh it's minor problems. On the cusp between good and great.
Click "READ MORE" below for a rude octogenarian and radioactive horror...