Reviews
Se7en (1995)
Hands up all the emotionally numb who weren't permanently scarred by Se7en
By the time I finished watching Se7en it was about 3:45am. If ever a film has left me feeling scarred or covered in dirt that won't wash off this was it. I wanted to roam the streets for a few hours and think this one out. I did this but I still felt terrible. Basically I can't say anything that hasn't already been said. Freeman was fantastic and I really enjoyed Brad Pitt's performance (what's with all the Pitt bashing here at IMDB). The climax is amazing, you sit there screaming at Brad not to do it, not to give in. But when he does you feel the full satisfaction of his vengeance. Films can change the way we view the world, this one especially.
The X Files (1993)
DPO - Darren Peter Oswald, series 3, episode 3.
This episode (DPO) is stunning. From start to end Giovanni Ribisi (look him up on the imdb, his credits are many) gives an amazingly scary performance as Darren, a disturbed teenager with the ability to control lightning. I actually saw this episode before I saw Giovanni in Friends as Phoebe's younger brother, Frank Jr. Had I seen him as Frank Jr before I saw this episode I might have thought of him differently. The X-Files is a fantastic series, and this is one fantastic episode.
McCallum (1995)
Cry Me A River
John Hannah is nothing less than stunning in his role as forensic pathologist Ian McCallum. Whilst some have criticised him for a range of facial expressions that go from dark and thoughtful to dark and brooding he is perhaps the most entriguing of all characters to grace our small screens in recent years. At the start of the 1995 series we find Ian living with his long term partner Joanna, this relationship breaks down after McCallum manages to sleep with another detective who is subsequently murdered. McCallum is called in to investigate the death. McCallum fails to reveal that he was the last known person to have contact with the deceased and, as in many following episodes, McCallum is forced to break some rules in order to get to the truth of the matter. Ian McCallum manages to be both a "man's man" and a bit of a sex symbol, many blokes will be able to relate (or rather aspire) to McCallum's ability to go out to a bar, have a quiet drink and find himself returning home with a female companion under each arm (a la the Fonz in Happy Days). I should also mention at this point that there is yet to be one episode of McCallum in which we are not given a shot of John Hannah's naked behind, this may spur some of you on to watch it; likewise some will be deterred. I personally find myself indifferent to John Hannah's butt. Overall McCallum is an amazing program, each episode lasts roughly one hour and fifteen minutes. The situation between himself and Angela Maloney (Zara Turner) is resolved in the final episode of the 1998 series. Enjoy.
Ultraviolet (1998)
Quest for dark, Gothic drama ends rather clumsily
Hmmmmmmmmmm, vampires. The Undead, Creatures of the Night. They make great plots for movies, novels and television but after so many attempts to put a new twist on a tried and true theme the whole Vampire thing seems to be getting a little tired. Ultraviolet provides us with a reasonably entertaining tale of vampiric activities in the 90's but fails ultimately to bring us anything that we haven't seen before. Whilst enthralling from episode one the failure to provide enough background and basic "facts" around which the drama will revolve (ie. basic vampire principles, how to kill them etc.) leaves the viewer feeling somewhat short-changed.