Welcome to Fitzie’s Film and TV Reviews, where your hoddler-in-chief reviews some things he’s seen on the telly and on the big screen. Today’s feature includes a film which he didn’t see in the cinema (RIP E Street Theatre).
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Traitors (US and UK): This is the reality show where some people pretend to be “traitors” and vote out members of the “faithful” while collecting a fair amount of money if they can make it to the end of the game. The US version is a bit too camp for me. I prefer the UK with your everyday folks. It’s far more endearing. Either way, it kind of drags on. The challenges feel pointless and I feel we’re coming close to a point where the contestants on the programme might know it too well.
Adolescence: A four-part miniseries that’s got a lot of people talking for its one-shot episodes. They’re all brilliantly done. Perhaps none better than the explosive first episode that showed a 13-year-old boy Jamie arrested on suspicion of murder.
In the second episode one of the detectives argues that the murdered girl will not receive the same amount of attention of her murderer. And, sadly, this is a self-fulfilling promise. We spend so much time on the intense grief of the boy’s family that we fail to properly understand how the 13-year-old got here (cyberbullying and internet culture).
And the girl who was murdered feels more of a plot device than a human being. Her character deserved much better from this show.
Laugh Out Loud UK: Your hoddler-in-chief hinted at this latest comedy show on Reba McEntire’s birthday. A group of 10 comedians are locked in a room together for six hours. They’re not allowed to laugh. Last one laughing wins.
There are some great bits in here. Joe Wilkinson’s RNLI speech, Richard Ayoade’s deadpan delivery and seemingly indestructible demeanour and Lou Sanders playing offense the whole time.
But, of course, it’s Bob Mortimer who steals the show with his brilliantly stupid humour.
I feel this show was far more for the people in the room than on their couches at home. At times it felt quite unfunny, but this was a very strong start to a series that’s bound to have more Taskmaster alum.
Wicked: I’ve seen the play in the theatre twice, and it was spectacular both times.
The remarkable thing about cinema is that it is able to capture how grand a world can be that a stage cannot. And Wicked presents the world of Oz as a massive, colourful and tumultuous place.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are perfectly cast as Glinda and Elphaba, the two leads in the play. And the fact they sing all of their parts live is remarkable. Equally remarkable was Grande’s physical comedy, best displayed in Popular.
And the climactic Defying Gravity lived up to the scale and ambition of this film, with Erivo’s cape blanketing much of the sky surrounding her as she makes her terrific stand.
While the film is certainly long (its run-time surpasses the play itself), it moves quite quick. I’m looking forward to part two.
Severance: I have only just finished watching Season 2 tonight, and it is a brilliant programme so far. After about three episodes I was able to really dig into it. Everything is exceptionally done from the directing to cinematography, the score and all the dancing. Plus, how many characters is each actor playing?
The pacing felt a little bit off at times in the second season (hello, episode 7), but the 75-minute finale was a gripping piece of television.
We leave Season 2 with a tonne of questions. I hope the writers know where they want this to go and how they plan to end it.
Fitzie’s track of the day: One More Saturday Night, by My Morning Jacket
And now for your links:
Football London: “Van de Ven decision made, Kulusevski hope - The Tottenham team Postecoglou must pick vs Chelsea”
Jay Harris ($$): “Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham got start of season ‘wrong’: ‘We went into it really hard’”
BBC: “Almost a saviour - is makeshift striker Maguire sign of Man Utd struggles?”
The Telegraph: “Celtic child abuse: SPL club must pay millions to survivors”