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The Musketeers (2014)
A modern take on an old classic.
If you enjoy watching sexy guys engaging in sword fighting, romancing women, cracking a few jokes and battling the enemy - and all of it set within 17th century France - then this is the show for you..
It's a series of stand-alone episodes but with a long-term story arc developing in the background, which finally comes together by the series final. It's not a drama that has complex story lines or anti-heroes and it doesn't stick faithfully to the original book source, which may annoy purists - though all the main characters are present - it's just a 'lighter' drama for those who want to watch something different to the almost constant dark and gritty crime dramas that are common today. It does have a modern twist, with issues such as slavery and women's rights coming up in two episodes and even Constance is a bit of a modern girl at the side of many previous and dull incarnations of the character - and this time she's married, as the books author originally intended. The series also looks gorgeous ( filmed in Prague because parts of the city are untouched by modern buildings, unlike much of Paris today ) with no tacky blue tabards and feathery hats in sight, giving 17th century Paris a realistic feel, with dirty streets and even dirty hair in the case of D'artagnan.
The four main characters are well cast and distinctive from one another in a realistic fashion, from young D'artagnan ( Luke Pasqualino does a good job of bringing warmth and humour but also a little darkness to a character who's often the dullest of the main characters or too boyish for some viewers to take seriously. At 23 years of age, he still makes a young, immature and cocky D'artagnan but one with hints of the handsome man and great Musketeer he will become - important in a potentially long-running series ) to brooding Athos to ladies-man Aramis ( though he has dark aspects to his character as well, crucial to a character who could so easily be 2 dimensional ) to a Porthas who's clearly Porthas but not as cliché or OTT as previous incarnations, making him just as handsome as the other three musketeers. The characters feel a bit darker, three dimensional and more 'real' than some past incarnations.
Peter Capaldie plays a villain who is far from pantomime, very much lingering in the background during the first half of the series and gradually becoming more unstable as the series goes on, as he tries to prevent Queen Anne and others from having too much influence over the good natured but child-like King Louis. Peter does a fine job of portraying a character who's not really a villain in his own mind because he genuinely wants what's best for France. He's even charming before his need for control becomes more dangerous.
There is a lot of violence in the show, which you'd expect with a drama that involves lots of sword fighting, guns & knives but there's no sex scenes ( only bed scenes ) and very little swearing, which means you could watch it with your parents or older children, as long as you were comfortable with the level of violence.
The show isn't perfect - some elements are rushed ( such as how quickly D'artagnan is taken in by the 3 Musketeers as part of their group and the fact that most of the time, D'artagnan seems to be a Musketeer in all but name) some scenes are cliché ( in episode 1, Aramis has to quickly escape his lovers bedroom via the window )and whilst Constance is a likable, fun and strong female character ( even sounding a bit 'modern day' at times ) she becomes attached to D'artagnan quite quickly and it makes her vulnerable in her actions, which might be an issue for some viewers, though it wasn't for me - she's hard on the outside but soft on the inside. D'artagnan's attraction to her is more of a slow burn and this benefits the relationship because their feelings are growing from friendship and respect as well as physical attraction. Whilst Athos and Milady are very much enemies, they still have a lingering attraction, which argubly makes them the sexiest couple on the show.
This is very much a show where the boys rule but there are still good and strong moments for the female characters, a fun show but still with serious and intense moments ( especially as the series goes on, so you need to stick with it for several episodes, as episode 1 is generally regarded as the weakest of the series ) and whether you stick with it largely depends on whether you warm to the show's main characters and are longing for something 'lighter' than the dark dramas of modern times.
Sherlock Holmes (2010)
It's not a good film but a charming film in an amateurish way
I wouldn't call this a good film but I found it to be charming in an amateurish way. It's rather like watching 1960's Star Trek or Doctor Who with modern-day eyes - it's corny and the special effects aren't great but it can be entertaining if you know you're not watching modern-day entertainment.
The production values, dialogue and direction aren't great and there isn't much in the way of dramatic acting until the climax of the film - the actor playing Holmes is particularly un-dramatic and speaks too softly for a leading man - but both Holmes and Watson are charming in their own way and have a playful chemistry together. Gareth David-Lloyd makes a sweet but quiet Watson who's a bit slow as times (though he gets to help save the day in small ways) and Dominic Keating isn't used all that much until the final 30 minutes of the film but he gives the strongest performance of all the actors involved.
The story wasn't too bad if you don't think about it too much - the bad guy (partly out of revenge) wants to use steam punk monsters to wreak havoc on London - but it is over-the-top at times (especially the part involving a hot-air ballon) and I wouldn't buy this film for the story alone. I have to say that I understood the story more on second viewing.
So overall, I wouldn't advise people to buy this film if they're looking for a professional movie to watch but if you're in the mood to watch something silly with friends that involves Sherlock Holmes, mechanical monsters and a cheap 19th century backdrop (and you don't mind films that have a cheap feel to them) give this a go.
For a mock-buster film, I'd give this 6 out of 10. For a film in general, I'd give it 3 out of 10.
Torchwood (2006)
A character driven sci-fi show that is both sexy and fun.
I don't normally enjoy science fiction shows, so I was surprised to find myself being drawn into this one.
I initially started watching because I liked John Barrowman but by the time the series had come to an end, I'd enjoyed the series as a whole. It's much more character driven than most other sci-fi shows that I've seen and all of the characters bring something different to the show, as well as being rather nice to look at. If you like your science fiction to focus on character relationships, rather than simply aliens and alien technology, and you don't have any problems with bi-sexuality, then Torchwood is an entertaining and somewhat different science fiction series. It isn't a series for sci-fi geeks, who only watch these shows for aliens, space ships and phaser fights.
Captain Jack Harkness - Leader of the group, 51st century time agent who's currently stranded on modern day Earth, handsome, flirty, can not die using conventional methods, feels sad emotions at times because of his current inability to die.
Owen Harper - medic, a bit rough, a bit full of himself, not afraid to speak his mind, likes the ladies.
Toshiko Sato - technical expert, perhaps the most 'normal' of the group, fairly quiet.
Gwen Cooper - the ex-policewoman who accidentally stumbles upon Torchwood, views situations from a human point of view rather than a hardened point of view, struggles to mix her professional life with her personal life.
Ianto Jones - is to jack what Alfred was to Batman, takes care of the Hub whilst the others are away, young and sexy, likes to wear a suit, quiet and sensitive, keeps his emotions bottled inside until a crisis occurs.
Some people have accused Torchwood of having too much sex. This simply isn't true. Apart from episode two which is a bit fruity, Day One, the sex is kept to a minimum and is never graphic. It would actually be more accurate to say that Torchwood has a fair amount of sexuality and sexual innuendo, not sex itself. And during this first series, there are no male/male sex scenes at all, just two or three fairly heavy kisses.
There's little connection between Torchwood and Doctor Who, apart from Captain Jack himself and a kinky cyberwoman popping up.
It's true that Torchwood is a bit patchy, it's true that the characters are not particularly great at their jobs and it's true that the series does have a few large plot holes - like Jack not knowing that they have a cyberwoman in their basement. But if things like this really don't bother you, give Torchwood a go. Generally the second half of the series is better than the first.