The Scoundrel Squad: Sicilian's Vengeance
Greetings and happy Halloween! I hope you are enjoying the holiday. To mark the occasion the latest and last instalment of the Scoundrel Squad is up at Write Wise. Sicilian’s Vengeance takes place some decades after the original plot concluded and focuses on Riccardo’s new life as an infamous drug lord. This new entry introduces many new characters, villainous rogues and sadistic murderers, to the series as well providing a return for some of the previous personalities from the first novel. I hope that you enjoy it. At the moment I do not intend to write another horror entry for Halloween next year and am not sure if I will celebrate the occasion with an entry of any genre. I would like to take a break from this kind of story and focus on something different, more light hearted than the dark themes that run through this entry.
As for this year’s Write Wise Christmas challenge, I have a basic plot in mind and will have to start writing it soon as the deadline is approaching. I am looking forward to what this community can bring forward in the coming months and believe it will be even better than last year’s entries. I also have a few ideas on a Death and Life of Ellen Smith sequel that I hope to write at some stage next year. In other news, this blog will soon return with the next update being the annual quiz as it is nearly November.
Quote of the Day
Look! It's moving. It's sha — it's... it's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive! It's alive, it's alive, it's alive! It's ALIVE!
Henry Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Greetings, Frankenstein is a 1931 film from Universal Pictures. It is an instalment in the Universal Monsters series which began in the 1920s and lasted a few decades through to the 1950s. Various creatures from popular culture, no doubt further popularized through these movies, are the focus of these films. Among the supernatural beings in the line-up are the Wolfman, the Mummy, Dracula and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The 1931 movie simply entitled Frankenstein was directed by James Whale. It stars Colin Clive as the main character of Henry Frankenstein, Mae Clarke as his fiancée Elizabeth and Boris Karloff in his iconic depiction of Frankenstein’s Monster. The plot is based off of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, alternatively called the Modern Prometheus. Shelley was credited in the film as Mrs Percy B. Shelley, which was her husband’s name and it should be noted that both writers were long dead before the beginning of this project.
The storyline takes place in a Germanic village but the location is never fully identified by the writers. Henry Frankenstein, as opposed to Victor for reasons that I am not aware of, and his companion Fritz are watching a funeral take place while they hide from the undertaker. There is another individual called Victor in the film but he shouldn’t be confused with the protagonist Henry Frankenstein. Fritz is the same character that is best known as Igor, a hunched back assistant to the doctor. Interestingly, Igor is not in the original novel and so Fritz is the first incarnation of the character. When the undertaker and the crowd have dispersed, the scientist makes his move to exhume the freshly buried corpse with the aid of Fritz. The two bring the body back to Frankenstein’s laboratory in an old windmill for experimentation.
Shortly after, Fritz breaks into a local university in hopes of acquiring a brain that was stored for the uses of educating students. The hunchbacked assistant is startled by a noise and drops the jar, running the brain that he had wanted to steal. Fritz then takes the other jar, unaware that it was an abnormal brain from a deceased criminal. Meanwhile Elizabeth, Henry’s fiancée, is concerned about Frankenstein’s state of mind as he has isolated himself in the windmill and is obsessed about his work. She and her friend Victor visit Henry’s old lecturer, a man named Dr Waldman, to discover that Frankenstein was attempting to create life. The three travel to the windmill to confront Henry in his laboratory. He reluctantly lets them in due to the stormy weather outside and continues with his experiment regardless of the intruder’s disbelief in his ability to bring life to a corpse. To the surprise of his visitors, Henry managed to make his monster come alive with the aid of the lightning storm.
Many of the Universal Monsters films were remade decades later after their original run. For instance, the Mummy trilogy staring Brendon Frasier, the 2004 version of Van Helsing with Hugh Jackman and 2014’s Dracula Untold which cast Lee Evans as the titular character are considered a continuation of the Universal Monsters series. The cinematic universe is to be rebooted next year with the Mummy to be the first film scheduled for release. There are a few sequels to this film from 1931 such as Bride of Frankenstein, with some even taking place after Clive Owen’s death, including the Ghost of Frankenstein. I will probably explore the sequels and Universal Monsters films at some point in the near future.
Plot=7/10
Characters=8/10
Special Effects=7/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
¿Que?
Manuel
Fawlty Towers
Extras and Still Game
Greetings, Extras is a television series from BBC that ran for two series and a concluding Christmas special. It aired from 2005 until its last episode was broadcast in December 2007. Ricky Gervais alongside Stephen Merchant both created as well as starred in the series as struggling actor Andy Millman and inept agent Darren Lamb. Gervais while best known for the Office, has starred in numerous works including Night at the Museum, Idiot Abroad and Ghost Town to name a few. He is also known for his stand-up comedy and as the author of children’s books known as the Flanimals. Stephen Merchant commonly works with Gervais on numerous projects and received critical acclaim when he portrayed a clumsy robot named Wheatley in the Portal sequel. Other performers involved in the show include Ashley Jensen as Maggie Jacobs and Shaun Williams as himself, as well as a large number of notable special guests.
The plot is fairly simple as protagonist Andy Millman wishes to become a famous actor but is unable to land a role outside of being an extra. This is in part due to his unskilled agent Darren Lamb who continuously fails to find Andy work or any prominent roles. Maggie Jacobs, Andy’s ditzy but warm-hearted friend and fellow extra, spends a lot of time working with Millman on different sets. She doesn’t seem to have any aspiration to be famous and many storylines revolve around her bad luck with men. Warwick Davis, Ronnie Corbett, David Bowie, Patrick Stuart and Ian McKellen are among the celebrities that appear in the show. The guests normally have an exaggerated or outlandish personality which I found to be one of the main appeals of the series. Warwick Davis would also go on to work with Gervais and Merchant again in a similar project entitled ‘Life’s too short’. As with a lot of Ricky’s work, cringe humour plays a large role in the series as Andy Millman often finds himself in awkward scenarios. Although I never really explored his material before, I really did enjoy this one and am keen to see some more of his projects.
Plot=7/10
Characters=8/10
Special Effects=7/10
Overall=8/10
Still Game is a Scottish sitcom created by the BBC and the Comedy Unit. While having its roots as a stage play, the TV show began in 2002 and ended its sixth series in 2007. While there have been a few specials since then, 2016 marks the return of Still Game as the seventh series will air this year. The cast wouldn’t be well known outside of this show as Still Game seems to be the best known programme in the main actor’s filmography however they still deliver an enjoyable performance. The main actors and actresses consist of Ford Kiernan as Jack Jarvis, Greg Hamphill as Victor McDade, Paul Riley as Winston Ingram and Jane McCarry as Isa Drennan.
Like Extras, the plot is fairly simple as is common with sitcoms. The series follows the lives of two elderly friends living in the dreary Scottish settlement of Craiglane and focuses on their misadventures in their old age. The majority of the local residents consist of pensioners and chavs which ensures that Craiglane has a somewhat depressing atmosphere. Many of the former spend their time drinking in a local pub named the Clansman including the two leads of Victor and Jack. I have yet to see the sixth series but I hope to watch it someday as I had enjoyed the previous five. I’m also curious to see what the seventh series would be like considering it has been off the air for a considerable time now.
Plot=6/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=7/10
Overall=7/10
It ain't exactly a secret I didn't get these scars from falling over in church.
John Marston
Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption
Greetings, Red Dead Redemption is a video game from 2010 and was developed by Rockstar San Diego. The game is actually the second instalment in the Red Dead series as it is a sequel to Red Dead Revolver, which was released some years prior in 2004. The game has a brilliant OST which provides Redemption with an excellent western atmosphere. The score was composed by Bill Elm and Woody Jackson but other musicians or bands including Jamie Lidlell as well Ashtar Command help to create this memorable soundtrack. Rob Wiethoff is the main voice actor in the game, giving a skilful and encaptivating performance as the flawed but charismatic protagonist John Marston. Other actors and actresses involved in the project are Anthony De Longis as Marshal Leigh Johnson, Ross Hagen as an old Western legend called Landon Ricketts, Don Creech as the snake oil salesman Nigel West Dickens and Kimberly Irion as the headstrong rancher Bonnie McFarlane.
The plot begins in 1911, in the dying days of the Old West and in which the age of modernity is coming to America. A former outlaw by the name of John Marston is forced by the Federal Bureau of Investigations to capture one of his former partners in crime, Bill Williamson. The Bureau are effectively holding Marston’s family hostage, therefore he needs to comply in order to see his wife Abigale and his son Jack again. Williamson now runs his own gang and has taken over a fortress known as Fort Mercer. John rides his horse to Fort Mercer to negotiate with Bill and asks for his old friend to surrender as Marston isn’t able to storm the compound singlehandedly. Williamson refuses to hand himself over to the authorities and shots John instead, leaving Marston to die from his wound outside of the fortress’s walls.
John Marston wakes up to find he is being medically looked after by a local rancher called Bonnie MacFarlane. Bonnie explains that she had discovered him critically injured outside Mercer and brought the hero to her ranch so that he could recover. Over the following days, John starts to heal and helps Bonnie around the ranch as a symbol of his gratitude. He knows he is unable to catch Bill as long as the outlaw can hide behind the walls of Fort Mercer so Marston begins to ally with the local Sherriff, Leigh Johnson, to clear up the crime in the neighbouring town of Armadillo. John slowly but surely comes into contact with several other important characters such as the conman West Dickens, a grave robber called Seth Briars and the drunken arms dealer named Irish. He aids them in their separate quests, in order to later receive their helping hand in his mission, and begins to pull his resources together. Eventually he forms a plan to assault Fort Mercer and capture Bill Williamson with the assets of his new allies.
Overall, this is one of the best games I have played and John Marston is one of the most intriguing characters I have ever came across in any medium. The conclusion is also one of the most emotive and engaging endings to a video game that I have experienced. There are numerous mini games to be enjoyed in the open world environment from bounty hunting to five finger fillet but they are not crucial elements that will affect the main campaign. Undead Nightmare is the non-canon DLC which takes place towards the end of the main storyline, with the plot centring around a zombie plague infecting both America and Mexico. John Marston must fight his way through zombie hoards to find a cure for his zombified family who were bitten in the introductory scene. Asides from zombies, other mythological creatures can be discovered in the game. For example the Sasquatch, Chupacabra, the four horses of the apocalypse and the Unicorn roam across the map. It should be noted that this DLC is highly broken and is littered with many bugs that force the player to reload to an earlier save which makes it infuriating at times. Despite, the broken nature of the DLC I really did enjoy it and had fun playing as John Marston in a western setting that was terrorized by zombie hordes.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Graphics=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the Day
Floo, Floo we've discussed this, mornings are for coffee and contemplation.
Chief Jim Hopper
Stranger Things
Stranger Things
Greetings, Stranger Things is a 2016 horror and supernatural series from Netflix that was written by the Duffer brothers. Winnoa Ryder, of Beetlejuice, Frankenweenie and Edward Scissorhands fame, is probably the most well-known cast member involved in the show. Other actors and actresses of the large cast include David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Matthew Modine. Many of them would be unknown as a large portion of the leads are child actors whose careers are just beginning. The OST was conducted by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, who give the series a distinct feel that is reminiscent of the 1980s, the time period in which this is set. Accompanying the Original Soundtrack are well chosen songs from the decade that are the works of bands and artists including the Clash, Foreigner, Echo and the Bunnymen, Moby, Corey Heart and Peter Gabriel. The tracks fit the series nicely and are well placed for dramatic effect throughout its arch.
As already stated the plot takes place in 1983, in a small American town of Hawkins. The opening scene begins with a panicked scientist fleeing an unknown and unseen creature before he is quickly killed off by his pursuer. The story then introduces four of the main lead characters, four young boys, playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons. The children are named Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas. When the game is over, three of the kids have to cycle to their own homes at dark. One of the boys, Will Byers, is on his way home when he catches a glimpse of the monster. He abandons his bike to run straight back to his empty house as his mother and older brother are at work. Will locks himself in his shed, hoping it will protecting him from the predator, but he vanishes after the overhanging light flashes and the creature finds him. News of Will’s disappearance begins to spread after his mother and brother, Joyce and Jonathan, notice that he isn’t in the house by morning. A desperate Joyce seeks the help of local law enforcement by meeting with Chief Jim Hopper. Hopper is initially unconcerned by Will’s absence as he notes that Hawkins suffer from very little crime but he eventually forms a search party for Byers after he fails to find the kid himself.
The following day after Will encounters the creature, a young girl wearing a hospital gown and sporting a shaved head, turns up at a local diner. She sneaks into the building to steal some food but she is caught in the act by the owner, a man named Benny. Benny, despite his initial anger at having his stock stolen, begins to feel sorry for the kid who he believes had been abused by her parents. He tries to get her to talk but he is mostly unsuccessful as she isn’t particularly talkative, leading him to call social services. The owner answers the door to a woman pretending to be a social worker before he is promptly shot dead by his visitor. Seeing this, the girl flees the area and manages to escape the woman as well as her armed colleagues that had been sent to capture the child. Benny’s death is then staged to look like suicide in order to remove any suspicions about his death. Jim Hooper investigates the scene and begins to wonder what is happening in what was a peaceful town until the past few days. The storyline further develops when the three main children go looking for their friend at his last known location in the forest and unexpectedly meet the girl in her hospital gown.
Overall, I really enjoyed this series. It has quickly become one of my favourite shows despite only having eight episodes to catch my attention with. Everything from the music to the interesting and complex characters, seems to meld together perfectly to produce an excellent show. The characters and their relationships, even minor characters such as Barb or her friendship with Nancy Wheeler, are particularly interesting aspects of Stranger Things. Nancy and Jonathan Byers complicated relationship was also a highlight, especially since it seems to have ended differently than I had expected at the series finally. I eagerly anticipate the next season to see how certain storylines will be concluded and uncovering the mysteries to many of the finale’s scenes.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Special Effects=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the Day
GOOD DAY, SIR!
Willy Wonka
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Greetings, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a 2014 film and sequel to the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a 2011 reboot of the original series. I should point out that I am not overly familiar with the source material but have a basic understanding of the main concepts. While I have yet to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I am aware that most of the human characters are only introduced in this instalment as opposed to some of the apes who are present in both movies. For instance, Andy Serkis reprises his role as the leading figure of the evolved apes, a common chimpanzee called Caesar, while Jason Clarke as a primary human character is a new addition to the series. Other cast members include Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Keri Russel and Kodi Smit-McPhee. The music was composed Michal Giacchino who has conducted scores for many well-known films including the Incredibles, the Star Trek reboots and Up.
The plot begins 10 years after the events of the first instalment in which a simian flu plunges the world into chaos, civil unrest as well as conflict is rampant and the virus kills 99% of the human race. Caesar leads his fellow enhanced apes and builds a primitive civilization as the remnants of the human world crumbles around them. Among the colony are various types of apes including Maurice, a Bornean Orangutan, and Koba, a bonobo that harbours a deep hatred for humans as a result of his days as an experimental subject. Despite, Caesar’s beliefs that all of humanity had perished in the last decade, the apes and humans once again make contact. Malcolm, a human, leads a group of survivors into ape territory in a mission to start a hydroelectric dam and produce power as the nearby human settlement is running desperately low on fuel.
A startled human by the name of Carver was the first to encounter two apes while on his way to the dam. One of the creatures he meet was Blue Eyes, Caesar’s son, and his childhood friend Ash. In a panicked state Carver shoots Ash and ends up wounding him but it does not prove to be a fatal injury. The rest of the human survivors soon catch up with Carver in the jungle but are also trapped when Blue Eyes calls for help. Caesar and his loyal tribe make it to the scene, outnumbering Malcolm’s group. Once Caesar is aware of their presence and that they had injured Ash, he orders the humans to leave and vocalizes the instruction. The humans are amazed at the development as they were unaware that the apes had evolved to the point of being capable of basic speech. They heed the order nonetheless and flee back to their settlement but are followed by Koba as per Caesar’s instructions.
Overall, I enjoyed this film even though I hadn’t watched the other movies in the series. I plan to at least watch the first reboot as it will be interesting to see Caesar’s origin story. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes strangely manages to pull off some touching scenes and bring across important themes which aren’t diluted by the absurd concept of monkey’s taking over the planet. The charismatic character of Caesar was also a highlight of the movie and it was interesting to see his futile attempts to stop the unnecessary conflict even as it becomes clearer that war is the inevitable outcome. Serkis had delivered a stellar performance in the role, making Caesar seem quite ape like and at times quite human too. I look forward to seeing the upcoming third movie entitled ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ and where the future of this series lies.
Plot=8/10
Characters=9/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
I can't do it, R2. I can't go on alone.
Luke Skywalker
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
