The Unwritten: Volume 06 (2012)

Tommy Taylor and the War of Words (2012)

Author: Mike Carey | Illustrators: Peter Gross / Michael William Kaluta / Rick Geary / Bryan Talbot / Gary Erskine / Gabriel Hernandez Walta | Page Count: 240

'The snows came. Closing the roads, and deadening all sounds. Pushing us back on each other's company. And that was when the horrors began.'

Tired of running and hiding, Tom uses what he's learned thus far to take the fight to the enemy on his terms.

Containing ten issues, War of Words is the largest volume in the entire collected series. The numbering of each is a little odd, though. After each natural number (31-35) is a half number (31∙5-35∙5). The former continues the Tom Taylor story. Whereas the latter reveals the origins of some key members of the Cabal.

The half-numbered issues were my favourite part of the work; a few of them felt like they could've taken place in the Lucifer universe, which is a previous Vertigo title by the same creative duo. Personally, I much prefer Lucifer to The Unwritten, so that was a real treat for me.

The Prisoner (2009)

The Prisoner (2009)

Dir. Nick Hurran / 6 episodes, approx 45 minutes each.

The original The Prisoner (1967–68) is a classic example of British counterculture television. And even though it's a product of its time, its underlying commentaries and critiques of such things as politics and community are still arguably relevant. It didn't need a remake and it didn't need an update. But it got one. Mostly, it sucks.

For the benefit of anyone reading who didn't watch the original 1960s series, and therefore may not know what the title refers to, I'll give a brief synopsis of what you're in for with the 2009 version.

An unidentified man wakes in an unfamiliar location with no knowledge of how he got there. His travels take him to a nearby village that's filled with people, but none of the people have names. Instead, they have numbers. The new arrival is told that he's Number 6. Over the course of the miniseries Number 6 attempts to find out where The Village really is, why he was taken there and ultimately how he can escape from it.

Stargate (1994)

Stargate (1994)

Dir. Roland Emmerich

If you go through life without ever seeing a Roland Emmerich film, you'll not be missing out on much. His CV is filled with big-budget garbage that typically deserves little more than immediate bargain-bin residency. But having said that, I really do like Stargate.

It's not a Kubrick beater, but the leap from 8000 BC to 1928 AD, and then again to present day (i.e. 1994), is a pretty substantial one. It sets the stage for an adventure that spans millennia, inspired by existing Egyptian iconography that anyone who's ever visited a museum will probably be able to recognise.

It stars James Spader as allergy-suffering Egyptologist Daniel Jackson, who's slowly pissing away his remaining credibility with radical theories about the pyramids at Giza.

Kinvig (1981)

Kinvig (1981)

Dir. Les Chatfield | 7 episodes, approx 25 mins each.

I expected more from Kinvig, given that it's written by Nigel Kneale, the creator and author of the Quatermass films, but, sadly, it's a weak sci-fi comedy with mostly forgettable characters.

The titular Kinvig (Tony Haygarth) is owner of a corner repair shop in a typical British town. A man with a self-proclaimed "flair" for fixing things, he is in fact a lazy and largely useless sod who wings it most of the time. His life is unstimulating and routine, and because his shop doesn't generate much income he struggles to pay the rates.

Kinvig's best friend is Jim Piper (Colin Jeavons), a man with an unhealthy interest in aliens and unexplained phenomena. If Jim dropped his toast and it landed butter side up, he'd probably think it was the work of extra-terrestrials. But in Kinvig's life Jim is the foremost authority on such things.

The HAMMER Collection: Part 3 of 3 (1970-76)

The HAMMER Collection:

DVD Box Set - Part 3 of 3 (1970-76) 

A twenty-one disc DVD box set containing some of the best and worst films that the legendary HAMMER studio made before it succumbed to financial trouble and was forced to put away the costumes and close its doors.

I'm splitting the collection into three parts with seven films apiece and in chronological order.

That's not the order they're arranged in the box, but it makes sense to me, more so than the unusual order they're presented in the actual collection, and means that the post for each of the three parts will be roughly equal in size.

Part 1 can be found HERE, while Part 2 is HERE. Click on the text below for thoughts on the final seven films in the collection, including individual entries in three famous franchises:

The Shining (1977)

The Shining (1977)

Author: Stephen King |  Page Count: 512

'A shaft of light coming from another room, the bathroom, harsh white light and a word flickering on and off in the medicine cabinet mirror like a red eye, REDRUM, REDRUM, REDRUM— '

The Overlook Hotel, aptly named in more ways than one, has an attic filled with memories and a basement filled with recorded history, printed and imprinted, patiently waiting to be rediscovered.

Sandwiched between the two catalysts are the guest rooms, impersonal spaces haunted by deeds more permanent than the people that temporarily occupied them. They say every hotel has its ghosts, but the Overlook's are more active than most other places.

As struggling writer Jack Torrance receives the details of his winter assignment at the Overlook, the reader gets a detailed rundown of the building, albeit from a biased perspective. It's an efficient device that also gives us our first insight into Jack's thought process. He's a quick-tempered, ex-alcoholic who's seriously lacking in paternal skills.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Dir. Nicholas Meyer

While TNG was kicking ass on TV, TOS returned to the big screen for one last old-crew hurrah.

And it went out in style. From the dramatic opening to the bitter-sweet ending it rarely puts a booted-foot wrong. I don't understand why it so often gets overlooked by many people.

Writer/Director Nicholas Meyer, having co-worked on the screenplays of II and IV, did the same for VI but took the helm as director, too.

Thematically, the end product is darker than Star Trek often dared to go. The optimism is still evident but it's bullied by heavy political issues, prejudices and ingrained racism, all of which are dissected and put under a microscope.