Haven't had a chance to watch anything over the last couple days but I hope to deliver content at least once a day so for today's tidbit of information I shall be giving recommendations on films and shows to watch in these couple days of anticipation to jolly ol' Saint Nick slides down our chimneys bearing gifts for all, except the few who will be getting coal, you know who you are. Some of my recommendations may be 'Christmassy' and others will just be things I think everyone should watch so hope you enjoy and if you have any films that you would recommend please leave a comment below.
So to kick things off I will start with my two favourite TV shows, LOST and The Walking Dead, both are amazing shows and are definitely worth your time. LOST is easily the best show I have ever had the pleasure of watching, with amazing writers, brilliant actors and a beautiful soundtrack the show hits almost every nail on the head. But this is not everyone's cup of tea I assure you, some will say how outrageous the plot to this show is but to that I say, isn't that the point? I believe that one of the key points for the sheer existence of film and TV is a way for all of us to escape from our lives. We may not think of it like that but when we sit down to watch something the problems and tasks of our lives will disappear for a while as long as the show is good enough and Lost achieves this perfectly. With twists and turns at every corner, you really have to think about what your seeing as the writers use visual representations very slyly and will make very subtle references to key themes of the show that you really have to get involved to understand the characters, which isn't difficult as they are just so talented and you can really sympathize with the characters, I will admit I have shed a tear a number of times watching this show, even on my second and third time round. So with characters and a story that will stick with you I recommend Lost to anyone who is looking for a show to watch that they will enjoy and if they want a bit of a challenge in their viewing as not many shows provide one in these times of easy viewing and formulaic storytelling.
Now, The Walking Dead at first may put you off if you don't like the idea of the undead rising and terrorising the small number of us left alive but I assure you this isn't a show about zombies. This is a show about the people at the centre of this apocalypse, the undead are merely a backdrop and plot device in this show. Watching this show you will notice the zombies second for their very impressive make up and realistic (As a walking, moaning, rotting corpse can get) but the main thing you are going to be focussing on in this show are the characters, our group of survivors all thrown together to get something out of nothing. If you go back and watch the first season which was very sadly only 6 episodes you will follow a man wake from a coma and straight away go on a search for his wife and son. This is raw emotion as we see desolate landscapes, making me think of the film 28 Days Later and those iconic images of Westminster and other key areas of London, trashed, empty and desolate. Then when we see this family reunited we are instantly thrown into drama as we find the wife has moved onto the husbands best friend in times of comfort and need, but I won't spoil this truly magnificent show any further as I want you to experience this for yourself.
Now for my recommended films, I could go on for days but to keep this relatively short I shall only give you 2 films today, the first being Donnie Darko a personal favourite and for a more uplifting feel I shall recommend a trilogy! The one I refer to being The Blood And Ice Cream Trilogy. Some may not never of heard of it but may know of the films that are in it. The films being the all equally funny, maybe one better than the others 'Shaun Of The Dead', 'Hot Fuzz' and 'Paul'.
Let me take you away from the Christmas spirit that is filling us all up at the moment and imagine it is October 2nd. Why October 2nd you ask? Well, this is because a bunny man, yes a very scary bunny man thing just told you that the world is going to end. How long till this disastrous event occurs? Easy, 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. And that is the very very basic premise of Donnie Darko. We then the titular character Donnie Darko go through his abnormal teen life in the lead up to these events which become even more creepy and paranormal as the film advances. With scary bunny men, crooked characters and time travel the film can really not go wrong. It even has the most outstanding soundtrack and is probably up in the best soundtracks I have ever heard in a film (Possible future post, love making lists. Anyone want a top soundtrack list?) So I would really recommend seeing this film for its brilliant cast, story and the chance to see the amazing Jake Gyllenhall in what could be seen as his breakthrough role into Hollywood.
My final recommendation for today is the utterly hilarious Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy. Appropriately named for the high amounts of blood seen and the use of a different flavour of Cornetto in each film, those with a close eye may notice. The first to be released was 'Shaun Of The Dead', a homage to George.A.Romeros, 'Of The Dead' series, and could be seen as referring to Dawn Of The Dead's shopping centre setting with a pub, yes, a standard English pub. With comedy and a great bunch of characters the film never fails to deliver a laugh and even in the more dramatic points of the film we can still have a little chuckle. 'Hot Fuzz' is my favourite of the three and sees a super cop from that London go to a small little town in the countryside that always wins the village of the year awards and ends up teamed up with a more incompetent policeman, I mean officer than Police Chief Wiggum. Another outstanding effort by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost you will spend the whole film laughing till your tummy turns in an adrenaline, action packed thrill ride filled with film references for you buffs and plenty of laughs for all you other casual moviegoers. Finally was Paul, a sci-fi comedy adventure starting at Comic-Con and then spanning America on a trip through all of Americas key alien hotspots as the duo this time bump into a little grey alien being chased by the government. Get ready for plenty of references to every Sci-Fi film ever as we see cameos from Sigourney Weaver and plenty of nods to the most famous Sci-Fi films.
And that is what i recommend, a bit lengthy but I couldn't sum up such great works in small sentences. If you do watch any of these things, leave a comment below with your opinion and Merry Christmas! :D
Harry
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