Gaming Tuesday (On Wednesday)

Been a quiet week's gaming for me this week. Which is not a common occurence for me, I'd go as far as saying its been under 10 hours. Which more says how much I usually squeeze into the average week. Anyway, did manage to finish ODST in that amount of time though. Which goes some way to agree with most people's sentiment that's been floating round the net. It really is too short. Although the single player is still fantastic. Its usual Halo fare, only this time from a different angle. Kind of like re-watching your favourite film to show it to a friend, they see all the little things that you take for granted in your repeated viewings. I'm aware of the stretching on that metaphor but the point is there. Playing as an ODST feels so similar to the old MC yet so different. There's the health packs although if you're good enough you won't lose your shields and you can't dual wield but I personally stopped that after Halo 2 anyway. In many ways its just a greatest hits of Halo set-pieces but who wouldn't want that? A fool that's who. Multiplayer wise Firefight is awesome, although no match-making (!) and also if you didn't already have the maps, you'd be in luck with the bonus disc. Still, its managed to distract me from Riddick (which I feel I have to complete before I can return it to get Arkham Asylum) so that counts as a thumbs up for me.

Probably a good job I posted this today as yesterday saw the release of that knee jerk piece of DLC for Left 4 Dead. Crash Course is only two chapters long (albeit action packed) for a start. This is for shortened games of Versus apparently, which I believe although I haven't got round to playing it on that mode yet. I tried to play through it online with whoever Live paired me up with. This proved a bad idea when none of us knew where we going and spent 10 minutes wandering round the the same area looking for the way through. Twice. We then got slaughtered at the finale, I can proudly say I was the last to die though. For the price of 560 points (just over £4) I'm happy to get more Left 4 Dead as its easily one of the games of the generation. Here's hoping Left 4 Dead 2 can carry on the trend.

Top 10 Albums That Weren't Released This Year

So it's almost October which means end of year lists start soon. I wanted to make a list of things I've been enjoying before my mind gets overrun with everything I read elsewhere. So I'll start with albums I've been listening to a lot this year but weren't released this year. Which makes sense to me anyway.

10) Radiohead - In Rainbows

My all time favourite band would have to be Radiohead. What can I say I'm biased. I really enjoyed In Rainbows, it was probably the first record I've followed from leaked live versions to demos to full album. Although I was in some ways disappointed when they didn't take songs "Videotape" and "Arpeggi" to the full blown epic versions hinted at in earlier recordings the album still is amazing. Not only that but it stands up to repeated listens well and as an album flows superbly. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's their best record, but for an introduction to one of the best bands still going I doubt it could be faulted.

9) Dodos - Visiter

Like everyone else I first heard this hyped up on the internet. Then several months later (I'm pretty slow-moving when it comes to these hyped acts) I heard "Fools". In fact I heard it purely by chance on a music channel I remember. The pure pace of the record is endearing in itself, stripped back to just a pulsating drum beat and acoustic guitar the album has a sound all of its own. Lyrically its hardly ground breaking but that's not the point really, a great record none the less.

8) Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

Everyone likes Elbow really and they should. One of the true greats of indie music, no longer do I confuse them with Doves as they've finally won the acclaim they deserve. Rightly so, this is a great record, probably one of the better ones on the list to be fair. "One Day Like This" is a song as epic as you'll hear any year and the riff in "Grounds For Divorce" is enough to make you crap yourself. Part of me is regretting not having it higher, but I just haven't listened to it enough. I never thought this list would make me feel guilty.

7) Brand New - The Devil & God Are Raging Inside Me

I'll admit it, I'm very late to the Brand New party. I usually have intrinsic dislike for American bands. Especially ones the lurk around the genre of "pop-punk" or "popcore" or whatever the devil calls itself. But I take it back now, thanks to this album. Sure, it's heavy. But it's also fucking brilliant, a mature masterpiece? Compared to their earlier stuff, definitely. Now it's the checking what the new album's like. I have high hopes for it for sure. I can't leave this without mentioning "Sowing Season (Yeah)" is probably the best opening track on the list as well.

6) The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound

This another hyped band in which I joined the party very late. I remember reading an article about them before Reading Festival 2008 in the NME (only occasionally I read it, promise). Fast forward about 6-7 months and I actually bothered listening to the record. What an album it is too! It's like Bruce Springsteen for kids! Well it actually isn't just like it is. But that shouldn't be a bad thing. Very rarely do you get an album that's just fist in the air anthems all the way through but this just about does it. With barely a moments cringe. Also they were great at Reading this year I should add. As were Radiohead who also feature on here.

5) Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around

Now this is the oldest album on the list. But its also timeless. The man's a legend no word of a lie. The closer you get to number one here you may realise maybe the kind of year I had given my musical choices. There are some great covers on this album, many of which easily surpasse the original. There's the obvious "Hurt" but "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "We'll Meet Again" are stop in your tracks moments. He's a great loss to the musical world, I only wish I ever got the chance to see the man live.

4) Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angles

Not a good year for hip-hop for me. Although does this count as hip-hop? Probably not. It's in the NME indie ville. Probably like most of my choices, but hey I'm a slave to convention. Scroobius Pip may take his look from Matisyahu but fortunately not his rhymes. "Look For The Woman" really struck a chord with me when I first heard it. But what really sold me was "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" and then "Planet Telex" mash-up "Letter From God To Man". Those tracks are massive. At times the album can be a little heavy, especially the title track, but it's a great record and certainly my favourite with beats in all year by far.

3) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

So I'm pretty aware that my list is now essentially "The Internet circa 2008" but I make no excuses. You've probably had someone drawling into your ear at 3am with the dampness of their tears soft on your cheek about how much this record means to them and can you blame them? It's probably one of the most heart-breaking things recorded this decade. "Skinny Love" alone could soundtrack every montage in One Tree Hill for the next 20 years and still have an impact every time you hear it. I won't go on anymore about how good this is but to put it bluntly, if you're one of the people who shitted themselves with in excitement at The Dodos and Fleet Foxes then this worth 100% more of your time.

2) Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

My new favourite thing in music is a Scottish accent. Ironically this is the only Scottish band in the list, but I digress. This is the best pop album no-ones heard. I mean yeah sure, people on the internet have heard it but they've probably also seen 1 Guy 1 Jar. Makes their point invalid. Now I know I said before Bon Iver was one of the best break-up albums (I didn't but I should have). This is probably better. This record has been me for most of this year and it still is now really. I imagine in time I'll associate it with a time in my life I'd rather forget but for now its touching, beautiful and brilliant.

1) LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver

The thing I owe GTA IV the most is not that if I didn't fall asleep playing it that one time I would have got the achievement for completing it under 30 hours. No, it's this record as I scoured for the song used in the advertisement campaign. Fast-forward (or FastForward, delete appropriately) a year and "All My Friends" comes up on shuffle. Now I guess it's pretty dumb to have an album at number one for just a single track. Which is why its not, "Someone Great" and "Us v Them" are just two examples of how great this album is. But "All My Friends". Words cannot describe how good that song is. It summarises everything that scares you about growing up, it summarises everything I've thought about the last few years. Its deep, meaningful and builds to a crescendo that makes you want to hold a friend and yell the refrain into their ear. An essential record.

Max Payne, FlashForward and How Not To Live Your Life

Video games are pretty much my passion. They were a guilty pleasure but with an increase in spare time there's been more than a little increase in gaming. One of the first things I check in the morning is Eurogamer (which is great by the way) so I think that says it all. Due to this I always get a mixture of excitement and dread when a video game adaptation is announced. Max Payne was one I'd been waiting for since it was first rumoured to be knocking around, which was when the games first came out. Which was around what 8 or 9 years ago? The thing is though, the games were heavily cinematic themselves so a film was somewhat redundant already, a comic book of the cut-scenes may have served better as fan service. Although what the film definitely wasn't was fan service, it was more a boiled down version of the basic clichés which lay within the game. The drug was definitely a missed opportunity, bringing in some random Norse mythology nonsense from Too Human and ripping off the visuals of Constantine. The Sin City style was quite nice to look at, but the rest of the film fell by the wayside really and overall doesn't do justice to what is one of the best third person shooters there ever was.

FlashForward (I'm not sure how we're "supposed to be" spelling it, you know they always get funny about that stuff) is from the same stable as Lost. Not sure if it's by the same people but they're certainly leaping onto that bandwagon with this. Only a few years late, but you know whatever. A strange cast is assembled for it, Joseph "Not Ralph" Fiennes, Harold (No Kumar in sight), Steve from Coupling and Peter Griffin. Yeah that's right, Peter Griffin a.k.a. Seth Macfarlane is in it. I know that's weird isn't it. He isn't just a disembodied voice and a loose hand for drawing the cartoons. He's a person too. No wonder Family Guy got shit, he's off gallivanting in epic TV now. Anyway, something about people seeing the future all at the same time then everyone trying to work out what it means. It's a nice plot idea because you can explain it to someone in around 45 seconds unlike other shows of this kind. It's got all the hall marks of absorbing telly, random animals, glassy-eyed stares, everyone has a cut on their face at some point. Still, early days and if Five's on demand service is as shockingly slow at buffering as it was today I may just give up and try and Derren Browning the lottery numbers for my predictive fix.

Finally, How Not To Live Your Life is a little sitcom on BBC Three. Unlike most BBC Three sitcoms I actually feel like living is worth it after watching an episode. It's basically about Don who lives in his dead grandma's house with the butler and an attractive female housemate. Then stuff happens generally involving Don being an idiot. It's pretty standard fair is what I'm saying really, but it's easy viewing. Few laughs in each episode, and the "4 things Don shouldn't do now" device is a real winner for me and brings a bit of surrealism to an otherwise standard affair. Worth watching as it is on BBC iplayer all the time and repeated on BBC Three around every two hours as well.

The Hangover & Bruno

I think we owe a lot to Knocked Up really. Was there such a thing as bro-mantic comedies before that? Probably. All I remember before though was the time of American Pie and similar nonsense. Although in my youth these were the height of comedy (I still have a VHS of the original knocking about at my parent's place), today they're a pretty tiresome affair. The Hangover is basically about retracing the steps of the most epic night's drinking of all time. Like Dude Where's My Car? only funny. I felt it was a bit hit and miss at times. Mike Tyson and Chinese midget impersonating Kim Jong Il in Team America were poor additions. However, the dialogue and general nonsense of the plot made up for this. It's in no way a great film, but it certainly is worth a watch even if it's just for the rewarding pay-off in the credits.

I really enjoyed Borat when it came out. I saw it at the cinema and was physically reduced to tears by the hotel scene. You know the one I mean. If you don't you should watch the film because you'll either be disgusted or in a fit of unstoppable giggles. Bruno however, doesn't exactly have a scene like that. But is consistently funny. The film doesn't have much of a plot to speak of, more devices used to connect the many set-pieces together. If you have the stomach for the often graphic humour then you'll enjoy it. But the film should come with a warning, it's not the easiest thing to watch at times but the laughs make it worthwhile.

Various Titbits

I'm not sure how but cinematically speaking I've squeezed a great deal into my life recently. That being probably explains why I haven't done an awful lot else. Regardless, in short, I've watched many films of which most I overly enjoyed. Drag Me To Hell is a horror film about gypsies. Something I haven't come across all to often. The premise I refer to of course, I've had many encounters with gypsies. None quite like the ones portrayed in the film. I've never had a toothless pensioner gnaw on my chin with their saliva coated gums. Or crashed a said characters funeral and then fell into the corpse which preceded to drench me in some kind of embalming fluid. Drag Me To Hell is pretty gross, but in a very endearing way. Like a kitten coughing up a fur-ball, you can't help but embrace the graphic nature of the scenes with a wide grin and a small titter of laughter. There a few jumps along the way but nothing that's really ground-breaking, but a very enjoyable yarn it is.

Next up is Star Trek, a film which I was mildly excited about when it was chugging it's way towards multiplexes. Although by the time of it's release I had forgot of its existence and missed it entirely, things like this are easy to do in the sleepy county of Cornwall. I'm now regretting that lack of retention as the film is pretty awesome and I mean that in a genuine way. The film feels very cinematic, it was made for wide screen, surround sound, popcorn munching epicness. The lack of recognisable faces in the major roles I feel helps that, apart from Sylar and that bloke from Doom and maybe Harold. Of course there's old school Spock and Simon Pegg but their roles are minor really and you're completely drawn in before their appearance occurs. I have one foible with the film though, it was raised to me by a friend long before I'd seen it. It concerns black holes. They don't cause time-travel. They compress matter to nothing or something like that. Again I'm not a physicist, although the person who originally explained it to me actually was. I again blame this upon retention. But apart from that small fact the film is fantastic and might actually go someway to make Star Trek seem slightly less crap when compared to Star Wars.

Alright, Push is a science-fiction film of a different nature. I would explain the plot but basically imagine Akira and mix in a bit of the Heroes TV show and that's it. In fact it pretty much massively rips off Akira. Also Dakota Fanning is in it. I remember her best in Man On Fire where Denzel goes mental and shoots loads of people up. Trying to find her. Or something. Anyway, it's bad. Truly awful. Chris Evans is the lead and he does his usual "cool guy with quips" shtick that makes most people of notable intelligence immediately groan and fidget in extreme boredom. The film is also in Hong Kong, for apparently no real reason. You see people can't hide in America anymore, they have to hide in Hong Kong. Everything about the film is bad really, kids might like it and some of the effects are quite nice. Apart from that you're better off clambering over your sofas with your arms extended making whooshing noises to have a more fun replication of super-powers.

There's more. Session 9 is a small budget horror film set in a run-down mental asylum somewhere in the U.S. I not really bothered enough to find out where but you get the feeling it's probably still there. The guy from CSI:Miami is in it. Although I did not realise this till I saw the credits. This lead me to watching 7 minutes of CSI one-liners. Great fun. Anyway, I found the film actually quite scary, watching it in the house alone, in the dark at around 2am probably helped that feeling though. You can feel the tension building throughout and the plot does keep you guessing somewhat, although the small cast limits it really. A great film for the budget it was made on, definitely one of the better horror films recently especially given the lack of gore.

Almost done. Dark City came out before The Matrix. This is something to take note of before watching it. Also Keifer Sutherland wasn't always Jack Bauer. He had a failing career before that. Once you understand these two points you can really enjoy Dark City, the very 50's dystopia has a certain Bioshock feel to it (although that is my go to reference for seemingly everything). Once the mystery sets in motion its very easy to enjoy the movie, although Keifer Sutherland is just plain annoying. Not his fault really, I'm assuming whoever could have played the mumbling scientist would have been equally frustrating. Definitely a cult classic anyway, although the Akira reference in this film's finale is certainly more obvious. It was also ripped off again in the last Matrix film. Now that's recycling for you.

Not quite there. On a continuing sci-fi binge I decided to go completely in the opposite direction and watch indie flick Primer. Which is about time-travel. I think. It was hard to understand the jargon. You have to concentrate to enjoy the movie, its quite a compact feature really, only 70 minutes long or so. I've had toilet visits longer than that. I want to say I enjoyed it but I struggle to utter such favourable tones. It was a bit too much for me and I got very lost at the end. I imagine if I watch it again I might be in a better place to understand it. But the film has pace that constantly increases and by the end the plot is practically running away from you while you're there puzzling over your memories of Science class to help your understanding of the dialogue. If you're a smart ass or someone who likes talking about films no-one has heard of you'll enjoy Primer. For me it was kind of somewhere inbetween.

Finally! Clerks 2 was a bit of a surprise to me. I watched the original Clerks and didn't really enjoy it untill the end. Maybe it was my youth, my lack of a sense of humour, my general mood that day. I don't know. But it just didn't grab me. Alot of the jokes I'd heard before or could guess the ending before they'd got anywhere near the punchline. I feel bad that I didn't enjoy it though, I wanted to. I thought it would be a film I'd fall for and whisper to myself about in the tiny moments of the night. The second one I watched on low expectations, which was the best way to into it. I actually really enjoyed it, it might have been the fact I was massively hung over, or the fact that I cooked up some turkey dinosaurs to eat during it but the film really struck a chord with me. Also, the sequence about Lord of The Rings arguement was amazing and the finale with Kinky Kelly was also fantastic. A real feel good, witty comedy that isn't "from the makers of Superbad". It's nice I finally have a cinematic reason to enjoy Kevin Smith for that isn't Dogma.

Gaming Tuesday

Had about a month away from the 360 so came back quite excited about gaming. Especially as I thought Swapgame were going to send me Batman Arkham Asylum. But, alas, on my doorstep was Chronicles Of Riddick. I gave it a few spins, playing through the original Butcher Bay game. Quite enjoyable in fact, although doing mini missions in the prison was a chore. The game does give a good sense of tension, lingering in the shadows, doing a quick neck-break and then hiding in a corner palpitating as some massive robot juggernaut wanders around blindly calling your name. I haven't finished Butcher Bay, but I have a feeling I'm about three quarters of the way through. Still got the extra Dark Athena game to go through yet but so far it's a good laugh. I'll make sure I take my time over it.

Apart from that I've squeezed in a few rounds of Left 4 Dead, still as great fun as when I first picked it up. Which was around 9 months ago I think? Crazy. Fair bit of Fifa 09 as well, although I rarely dabble online in that. My concentration can never last the full 90 minutes and I'll roll the ball out to their oncoming striker gifting victory. I prefer just playing alone, at least the AI isn't as wise to these mistakes. Picked up ODST at midnight launch as well. Got my Sgt. Johnson character pre-order and all. Haven't had much time with it but gave Firefight a roll with my brother and I was suitably impressed. Although no matchmaking for it? Seems a missed opportunity. The single player is good too, great soundtrack so far. Very eerie. Probably finish it up before next week and get a full idea of it but so far I'm impressed. Although I feel a little bit short-changed for £34.99. Maybe a little gift for those of us who had already splashed out on the Mythic map pack? Na, its Microsoft isn't it.

Lily Allen and The File-Sharers

Been reading this afternoon that Lily Allen has proclaimed herself the saviour of the music industry. She's going to step up and make sure those file-sharers pay for what they're doing to the music industry! But she's kind of missing the point from where I'm standing. Cutting off connections to people who download music illegally is a big big move to make. But what's it going to change? Nothing for the better that's for sure. Where are people going to hear new music? These here interwebs is where the majority of all new bands get broken. Taking that away is surely a bad move. It's alright to punish those people who upload countless albums they don't even listen to, they are just abusing the system. But some people can't afford a new record, but will make the effort to go to a show or contribute some other way. It's time to evolve or die for the music industry, you can't just cut off people's internet and then expect them to trudge back into HMV and start buying over-priced £15 CDs. It's a ridiculous prospect, especially when you've got the avenues of music release that Radiohead opened up. As well as the fantastic program that is Spotify. These are the things people should be looking into, not draconian responses. Face it, the music industry was too slow to deal with the internet revolution in how media is distributed and now they're paying the price. I don't feel that people who are ahead of the curve should have to pay for the mistakes of those left behind. On a final note, Lily's campaign is bringing out the big-hitters. Take That, James Blunt, Keane and even fucking Spandau Ballet. So all the ones who struggled through the underground music scene yeah? The internet has made many bands who they are today. Look at the Arctic Monkeys for christ's sake, did you not even get a clue then that a band who had a number one single through internet hype alone? I hope Mandelson's bill does not come to pass. But undoubtedly, we're in dark times.

Dead Snow

Nazi zombies. Is there anything better? More stereotypically evil? Racist sharks? Dinosaur paedophiles? Who knows. The plot of Dead Snow is simple. There's some kids going to a cabin, there's Nazi zombies who want their gold. Kids find the gold. Zombies kick off. I'm a big fan of zombies personally so I'm very familiar with the formula. Although this spits in the face of zombie lore. For me this doesn't help though, logical thought and squad tactics are not something I think should be associated with the decaying shamblers. Making them run in 28 Days Later was change enough. Ignoring the aversion to zombie rules the film is pretty fun. Even if the director does have a bit of an obsession with Peter Jackson splatter fest Braindead, which is apparent in both the cheap gore and one of the character's t-shirts. The lawnmower finale in that tops any of the heroics in this film though. Also Smithy (of Gavin and Stacey fame) has a long lost brother who does have a very unlikely sexual encounter in an outside loo. This is more puzzling than anything else in the film. Is that how romance works in Norway? Is that a normal coupling? I get the feeling I'd do well there if so. So overall best stick to Call Of Duty for the Nazi zombies.

In game related tones placed my pre-order for ODST today. Only 48 hours before it's released. I doubt any game could sell out here in Cornwall but who can resist the opportunity to play as cigar chomping Sgt. Johnson. Swapgame have treated me to Chronicles Of Riddick this month as well, I'll post my thoughts when/if I finish it.

Wanted

I quite enjoyed Nightwatch, over the top, ridiculous yet very entertaining. So the idea of this film seemed quite appealing to me. It even has Morgan Freeman in it. Doing pretty much exactly what he did in Lucky Number Slevin. Although that's no bad thing as that was also a great movie. Anyway, McAvoy is in it. His accent is pretty terrible. When he's shouting/whining he sounds kind of Scottish to me. I may just be adding that myself though, just to fuel my reasons for not liking him. Because I don't really. Not sure why, he just annoys me. When his mouth opens, my heart sinks. He's not really made a decent movie ever. This doesn't count. I also haven't seen The Last King Of Scotland. And according to his wiki that's pretty much half of his fims. The music is also terrible. Not sure if that's deliberate though. I like to think it is. Because if you watch the movie thinking "it's only doing this because it couldn't happen" it becomes quite enjoyable. It literally goes out of it's way to push the limits of acceptable ridiculousness. Like a clown fighting a bear in a suit, it teeters on the edge of being too much to imbue in one film. I am tempted to pick up the comic it's based on as well, seems alright. Although wikipedia did tell me the lead character is "drawn to look like Eminem". Which coincidently is what the Russian rat carrying guy looks like, just a more middle aged version. It is good fun, Jolie looks attractive (it's hit and miss with her), there's alot of slow-motion and the world is controlled by a fucking weaving machine. Good times.

On an unrelated note, watched episode two of Spiral. Things haven't picked up much really, something about deaf people came into it. Not much progress on the main story. I'm hoping it's not going to get bogged down in a hundred billion mini tales going on at once. I realised that keeping up with the subtitles is hard enough, I'm used to occasionally looking away or poking my leg or something while watching things but during this I realise I've missed half a scene and have no idea what's happened because I can't understand French. Still, I'll try and get my hands on episode three, as it's the only TV show I have on the go untill Dexter, 30 Rock and South Park return. That and Peep Show actually, first episode held back on the cringe but still tickles the insides. Six seasons and it's still worth watching, that's definitely a rare thing.

Dexter (Season 3)

Two posts in one night. I've never been this productive before. Although when this level of production can be produced from the comfort of my bed I guess it's not that much of an achievement. What is an achievement though is the many faces Micheal C Hall has for looking deep in malevolent thought. I swear he puts a new spin on it every episode. He is though the best part of Dexter. The overall story arcs have been good on the whole, season one he meets his match, season two he almost gets found out, season three he makes a friend (or does he?). This is pretty much where the good stuff ends. Luckily Sgt. James Dokes didn't make it into season three. Which is good. Because he was terrible. He looked like someone who got killed around about half-way through a film like Predator. Not in relation to a certain actor, I mean he looks a b-movie actor. Someone who just says "sheeeeiiiiiit" a lot. Like Clay Davis. If you get that reference you get 10 points. Anyway, another terrible part is his sister. I like the writing in the show, not necessarily the dialogue but the stories are good. Apart from the fact there seems to be some kind of necessity to get Dexter's sister (and real life wife, a strange choice) laid and fall in love. Every time. Why? Just have an extra 10 minutes an episode of murders? Or maybe have some Tarantino style dialogue about nothing. About burgers. I don't know. I study animals. To boil down my points here, it's a good show. Although if you're like me you may end up hating all the other characters as they are just plain sterotypes. As opposed to the complex character of Dexter who is fantastic. Although are we just seeing the characters the way Dexter wants us to? As simple charactures that are mere pawns in his life of murder? No probably not. But still, great fun and well worth picking up the first three seasons if you think there's more to Miami than CSI. Or Miami Vice. Jesus, let's hope there's more to anything than Miami Vice.

Spiral

So I thought I'd start with something easy. Spiral is a hard-hitting, subtitled, French crime drama. So if you're not a fan of gore or reading this probably isn't for you. My mind had partly already been made up on it I guess, having heard such good things about it through the grapevine, but it still wasn't quite what I expected. Opening with a rather grisly naked corpse was one thing. But the soon to follow autopsy scene was quite another. The characters seem likable though, after the first episode you already get the feeling you're going to be getting a mix of gritty inner demons in each of them, which for me is quite an enticing prospect. A few things in it I did take issue to though, firstly the links between scenes were some appalling zoom in through the building thing. With an added "WOOOOSHHH" sound effect. It felt more Segal than Silent Witness. Another thing, it's really French. Which may not be a bad thing. French women are hot. Plus one right there. However the majority of French men are not. They are 90% nose. I get the feeling they can probably smell me sitting here at home. Which is worrying because I haven't showered today. Also Alistair Darling's twin appears to be the judge. Although that's a non point really. To summarise, it's good. You can feel the claws sliding into you, there's a cliffhanger, several story lines kicking off at once and even a chance of main character romance. We'll see how the other 7 episodes of the first season fair but on this basis I'm a fan.

I didn't really have the foresight to think of a rating system. Hmmm. I'll think of a scale of awesome or something.

It begins

So I'm just going to go ahead and review stuff. Stuff I watch. Stuff I do. Stuff I eat. You know that kind of stuff. I might occasionally write about other stuff. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I will also do my best to find a word to replace stuff for future reference. Again we live in hope on that though.