Author: Daniel Simms

TV and movie reviewer.

The Leftovers – Season 2 – Episode 5

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The midway point of the season (kind of) and we catch up with Matt Jamison, the holy man played by the excellent Christopher Eccleston. Or the former Doctor Who. Like the famous time traveller, we find ourselves once again skipping in time. On the face of it, this should be welcomed. Matt’s story holds intrigue, and his appearance in Jarden prompted the arrival of his sister and the series’ lead male, Kevin.

As always with Matt, things haven’t been going well for him, but he’s guided by faith. This time it isn’t just blind faith to the man above, he has true belief good things can, and do, happen in Miracle Town.

He claims his wife, Mary, woke the first night in Jarden. This assertion becomes all the more important when he discovers she is pregnant during a routine check-up. Then in typical Matt fashion, he gets carjacked and beaten up, their passes to Jarden stolen in the process.

This episode displays the power of belief and the drive of desperation. Once again John Murphy fulfils his duty as potential bad guy.

Despite containing key players and new elements, it’s the first average outing of the season. It just becomes hard to care about the downtrodden when it feels mundane.

The saving grace comes in the climatic scenes. It enriches an otherwise unnecessary episode and provides Matt with a new story arc. One that should be important later in the season.

7/10

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Review

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Finally, the gloves are off and we get the big showdown. Not the fight between Supes and The Bat. This is the start of DC v Marvel. And the early reaction hasn’t been good for Kent or Wayne.

The problem affecting Batman v Superman is this exterior pressure. Because the Marvel movies have been such a success everyone expects all superhero films to follow this formula. Well, this movie doesn’t. It follows the Zack Snyder method.

So if you’re reading this wondering whether Batman v Superman is for you, just ask yourself: Did you enjoy Man of Steel and Watchmen? If you did, you’ll love this. If you didn’t, then wait for other productions in the DC Extended Universe (not made by Snyder) before jumping in.

Personally, I don’t mind at bit of Snyder action. To put this into context, and give an idea of where this movie sits, it surpasses Man of Steel in terms of ambition but isn’t as tightly told overall. It is better than Avengers: Age of Ultron and the two Iron Man sequels. So the Marvel fanboys taunting DC should get their own house in order first.

The movie gives us a good Batman. Yes, Batfleck actually works. All that fan hatred has been channelled in a fitting angst. His plot is well laid out and worthy of its own flick. That’s part of the problem with the film – it’s too crammed.

Bruce Wayne is on a mission to steal info from Lex Luthor in order to locate, what turns out to be, a transport ship. This ties him back into the larger scheme of things. On his way he briefly meets Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) and decides that Superman is a dangerous threat that he intends to take out.

Everyone else has their doubts about the Man of Steel too. Reviews and courts are being convened and he’s not helping matters by swooping to rescue Lois in Africa which results in villagers being gunned down.

Batman is the vigilante in the dark, mostly under the radar except for the tabloid press. Superman is the outlaw causing government debate.

So far so good. All the ingredients are there for a great final act. Instead it kind of all gets lost in the mix. By the credits it feels more of a relief than a jubilant celebration. DC isn’t trying to be “fun” like Marvel but it does lack any trace of humour.

You can make your own though. For example, one of the cops in a scene where Batman is hiding in the corner of an unlit room, sounds exactly like Alexander Knox from 1989’s Batman. He was barrel of laughs (honest).

Or during the preview of Cyborg (a character that will form part of the Justice League) you see that the scientist handling his human remains and the technology that attaches to him is none other than Terminator 2’s Miles Dyson. We all know how well that ends when he meddles with cyborgs.

Mixed reviews aside, Batman v Superman is on course to make a ton of money. The safe bet is Warner Bros. will hope Suicide Squad gets strong feedback and they can carry on with their phase one plans.

They should include a Batman film, sharpish. And maybe leave Superman in the dark place he finds himself. He’s about as popular as Zack Snyder right now.

Score: 7/10

The Leftovers – Season 2 – Episode 4

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Episode 4 throws us back to Kevin Garvey, and more importantly, what happened during his first night in Jarden.

It was neat to connect him to the disappearance of the water and potentially the missing girls. In a sleep walking state, he ended up in the empty river. He inadvertently left his finger print on Evie’s car and left his phone at the scene of the event.

It all makes for good tension building. The desperation passing between all the characters is tangible. The Murphys are struggling to cope with the loss of their daughter and the pressure drives John to extremes.

Kevin tags along, partly through guilt, partly because he’s now a passenger in his own life, sharing the view with Patti. It’s unknown if this element is delivering sound advice or a construct of his fractured mind that’s trying to make sense of the strange new world.

The divisions and lines between people are starting to form.

It’s 8/10 for this episode. A dip from recent showings but this is more of a foundation layer than revealer.

The Leftovers – Season 2 – Episode 3

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In our catch-up tour of the characters, the next stop we come to is Laurie and Tom Garvey.

This episode goes to show expectations should be put aside when diving into The Leftovers. After a blistering start to the season, filled with intrigue, I had little interest in finding out what Kev Garvey’s estranged wife and step-son had been up to.

Coming in with this low desire to see them may have helped what followed.

It’s an episode filled with tension. They are both helping members of the Guilty Remnant escape and recover. The reappearance of the cult was a sight I’d hoped we’d be spared. But it was silly to think one fire would see them off when they had spread like, well, wildfire.
What follows is an example of belief and hope versus fear.

After two 9/10s we get our first 10/10 show of the season.

The Leftovers – Season 2 – Episode 2

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After the introduction to the new town in the last episode, the story starts the process of playing catch-up. The obvious place to start – and the one the show’s writers opted for – was Copper Kevin Garvey and his newly formed dysfunctional family.

We glimpsed them last time out through the eyes of the Murphys. This time we saw how they got there. I’ll keep it spoiler free (within reason) but suffice to say, the cracks are there for our cast to fall through.

Carrie Coon successfully takes on a lead role type performance once again, filling the void left by the missing Jasmin Savoy Brown. Her character Nora Durst, reminds us she is a little cray-cray at times when she refers to her old habit of getting hookers to shoot her.

Kevin reminds us he may be proper cray and not too different from his father. He’s embroiled in unknown madness that could tie him to the climax of the season debut.

Usually backstory can cripple shows, especially so soon after resetting a scene, but it works well here. We need the blanks filling in so that we can move forward understanding the unique challenges facing the characters.

It’s a 9/10 showing once again.