Tag: television

Killing Eve is ‘Killing It.’

Loving the new TV series on BBC iPlayer about a crazy assassin and her counterpart, a witness protection officer, turned agent.

Sandra Oh is magnificent as the agent who makes it her life mission to catch this intriguing and bonkers miscreant, played by Jodi Comer. I was first drawn to this drama when a friend said it was set in some of my favourite locations, such as Paris and Berlin. Loving the cast, including Sean Delaney and Fiona Shaw. Brilliantly comical and entertaining performances fused with a clever and witty script make this a real gem!

The episodes begin with comedy and continue with moments of high drama, delicately filmed in quite glamorous settings. The programme is beautifully shot and stylish with clever editing and a fast narrative. The interconnection between Sandra and Jodie is fascinating as it unfolds.

I hope you all take a moment to check out this series and let me know how you find the whole thing.

Sharp Objects

Gripping and enthralling!

I was informed by a friend that a new TV show had begun on NOW TV that was really exciting. Knowing that it was from a book by the same writer as Gone Girl it did not take me long to check out the first episode. Instantly I was hooked.

Starring Amy Adams, it has a really good cast, including, with a funny guest role, a marvellous Elizabeth Perkins. The story delves into the life of a journalist who has had to go to her home town, somewhere she has long since avoided, to investigate the death of a young girl. As she arrives another girl has been reported missing and she is quickly immersed in a complex plot line.

The reporter, Camille, soon becomes friends with another out of town investigator, a detective who is somewhat drawn to her. They both find it hard to get along with the local police chief. He seems strangely wound up with Camille’s rich mother, who has an incredibly strange hold over the local community. She seems political and to be the one who houses local events such as a historical festival where they celebrate a past battle.

I noticed the use of music and the way the camera enjoys watching people drive. It looks out of the windows and observes the countryside as Camille goes from one adventure to another and music plays softly as Camille’s stepfather contemplates his tricky marriage. It soon became clear that this is the style of Jean-Marc Vallee who we know well from the beautiful Big Little Lies. His style is elegant but also edgy, focussing on the main character and her torments, using flashbacks and scenes where she tortures herself with a hair clip.

Why not watch it to see if you like it too?

What have we learned from Love Island?

I started the series with a blog about LI and want to reflect on the last eight weeks.

1. I cannot believe how much influence this show has. Seeing Dr Alex grow to almost a million followers on Instagram during this period illustrates the power this programme can have over your career. Great if you are a model or extremely fit. Really quite narrow minded though as the show is only open to slim or muscular men and women who most likely are entering a modelling career or have the necessary looks to get into that sort of work. Of course, night club appearances, advertising gigs and ITV2 spin-off shows are all in the pipeline for many contestants.

2. Thinking that perhaps there was a genuine backdrop of social experimentation with this, I am now certain that is not the case. It is purely about how sexy people can maintain viewers and most of the contestants are in it for the publicity rather than the chance at love. I was sucked in just like anyone else but popular characters have shown their superficial sides in this particular run. Georgia is the finest example of someone who is truly not ‘loyal’ to anybody but herself. When given the opportunity to leave the show and be with her supposed ‘love’ she quickly decided to stay and remain separate as she clearly wanted as many on-screen hours as she could scrape. Generally, they seem to do whatever they feel will make them popular and garner them votes.

3. I suppose my wish for next year is that the show is more inclusive. I hope it stops just having young twenties people, hope it includes gay and bisexual men and women, and especially look forward to a range of everyday people with varied personalities, backgrounds and body types. I guess that is unlikely but I definitely think it would make the show better and less of a vehicle for expanding Instagram advertising deals.