“Coquilles” is the first episode of Hannibal to disappoint me. This is less a failing of the episode than the circumstances surrounding it. Without knowing the full details of the fourth episode, unscreened in the wake of the Boston bombings, the show’s narrative opacity became a liability; the brief “previously on” segment did little to…
Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark is a tricky character to write for. He’s entertaining, charming and quick-witted but he’s also – it must be said – a total jerk. To stay on his side for the length of a feature film, he needs to have real challenges to face – with the proviso that, ultimately,…
(Double Feature is a series of “double length” (400-word) posts where I’ll compare two related pop culture artifacts) The best scary movies impress themselves upon you. They resurface as you walk down a darkened corridor to your bedroom in the deep of the night, or as your house creaks and shudders in a strong breeze.…
It’s that time of the year again, when the rumour mongering comes to an end and all is revealed. Yes, the Splendour in the Grass lineup has been announced. First impressions: there’s no real, spectacular drawcard here. Certainly, Frank Ocean is exciting, but where’s, I dunno, Blur? When your top headliner is … eh ……
“And Now His Watch Has Ended” was an excellent example of why Game of Thrones, allowing for the difficulties presented by the impossible density of its plotting, is such great television. It can take Jaime, a sneering, hateful character, and render him so wretched it’s impossible to view him without pity. Or provide a payoff…
The thrill of justified nostalgia from seeing Jurassic Park in the cinema again drove me to hunt down the sequel, half-remembered as an enjoyable romp that didn’t live up to its predecessor. The Lost World has its merits – it’s a silly action film that’s genuinely fun for much of its running time – but,…
When I started ccpopculture roughly six months ago, I set myself the goal of ensuring every post was exactly 200 words. This was for a few reasons: It would hopefully avoid my tendency to be overly verbose; too often I’ve had a good idea for an article and abandoned many thousand words in, it would…
The third episode of Hannibal conjures a dreamy, indistinct mood. The soundtrack is almost oppressively melodramatic, shifting from quiet tension to a soaring orchestra of screeching violins – it’s over the top, but suits the show’s expressionist tone. “Potage’s” meticulously constructed atmosphere came at the expense of narrative clarity; some omissions are to be expected,…
James Blake’s first full length was demonstrative of an artist capable of constructing beautiful, delicate melodies; complex, crystalline songs that evoked a general feeling of malaise and melancholy without getting bogged down in specifics. That complexity went hand-in-hand with a tendency for simple – often, overly simple – songwriting: it’s no coincidence that the strongest…
Most psychological thrillers take great pleasure in pulling the rug from under the audience’s feet in the last act, toying with expectations. The it’s-all-a-dream, no-wait-it-isn’t “twists” that conclude both Audition and Trance are testament to a genre that’s all about the mindfuck. Jacob’s Ladder never pretends there’s a rug in the first place. Early scenes…
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