djames42 Reviews

MI-5 (2002–2011)

Best show on television

[10/10 · 25 June 2006]

Just finished the last episode of series three, and was reminded why this is my favourite show of all time. I think the comparisons to 24 are quite unfair--they both deal with terrorism, but the similarities end there. Spooks is far more cerebral, and spends more effort on character and plot development.

Unlike other reviewers, I felt series three was every bit as good (and in many ways even better) than the previous two. The departure of several main characters was handled exceedingly well, and while they'll be missed, I think their replacements are quite strong and as such, the transition has been quite smooth. Kudos! (Er, no pun intended)

In the Battlefields (2004)

Decent, but not great

[5/10 · 19 January 2006]

Saw this in Seattle this week as part of Seattle Film's Global Lens series. To me this felt like someone's art/film school project. A lot of long drawn out pauses, and pseudo-artistic shots with very little character development. The story was decent enough, with the war in Beirut as a very dim backdrop at best (I was disappointed to not have been drawn into the conflict at all -- there were occasional shots of tanks, and a few scenes filmed in a basement with the sounds of artillery). Had there been a reasonable amount of character development, I might have cared more about what happened in the end. All of the Men in the film seemed to be characterised as selfish and cold, and most of the women seemed helpless (with the exception of the aunt who was an incredibly unlikable tyrant).