First Night Flicks: 12 Years a Slave (2013)
12 Years a Slave (2013) Directed By: Steve McQueen Written By: John Ridley, based on the memoir by Solomon Northrup Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt Rated R for violence/cruelty, some nudity and brief sexuality Often times, directors (or studios) shy away from depicting the atrocities of our history in a way […]
In: Movies, Reviews · Tagged with: 12 Years a Slave, based on a true story, benedict cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, historical drama, Michael Fassbender, Oscar contender, slavery, Solomor Northrop, Steve McQueen
Blightyvision: “The Devil’s Whore”
Created by Peter Flannery and Martine Brant Directed by Mark Munden Starring Andrea Riseborough, Dominic West, Tom Goodman-Hill, and John Simm I was of two minds when I had this show presented to me, and they were two very vastly different minds. On the one hand, I read when exactly the story took place and went […]
In: Columns, Television: British and Canadian · Tagged with: Dominic West, english civil war, historical drama, john simm, no R1 for you, very nearly based on a true story
Blightyvision: “Cranford”
Created by Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin Based on three novels by Elizabeth Gaskell Directed by Simon Curtis and Steve Hudson Starring Judi Dench, Julia McKenzie, and Imelda Staunton As I don’t watch soap operas, I have to get my “soap opera”-y fix from elsewhere. And I believe there is a subgenre of shows (albeit […]
In: Columns, Television: British and Canadian · Tagged with: based on a book, based on a novel, elizabeth gaskell, historical drama, judi dench
Blightyvision: “Island at War”
Directed by Peter Lydon and Thaddeus O’Sullivan Written by Stephen Mallatratt Starring Saskia Reeves, Philip Glenister, and Owen Teale I will admit to holding off as long as possible on reviewing this, simply because there are so many -World War II-related series out there and I’m doing my best not to bunch them together. This […]
In: Columns, Television: British and Canadian · Tagged with: historical drama, Philip Glenister, saskia reeves, World War II
Blightyvision: “Foyle’s War”
Created by Anthony Horowitz Starring Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks, and Anthony Howell I didn’t learn a hell of a lot in college, to be honest. I was an English major, and that pretty much meant (at least at my alma mater) reading books and telling the professors what they wanted me to think they were […]
In: Columns, Television: British and Canadian · Tagged with: anthony howell, detective series, foyle's war, historical drama, honeysuckle weeks, michael kitchen, mystery, World War II
Blightyvision: “Robin Hood” Series 1
Created by Foz Allan and Dominic Minghella Starring Jonas Armstrong, Sam Troughton, Lucy Griffiths, and Keith Allen Ah, BBC historical drama. There’s nothing finer. Accurate period costumes, attention to historical detail, and highly-researched colloquial dialogue. All things that the 2006 BBC series “Robin Hood” has absolutely none of. Somewhere between Merry Men wearing T-shirts and […]
In: Columns, Television: British and Canadian · Tagged with: anachronistic, historical drama, original interpretation, snarky yet emo, TV, tv review