Copper (2013)

If you want the gloves to come off... so be it.

The gloves certainly do come off for season 2 of BBC America's period drama, but it is mostly to the show's detriment. The plot becomes cluttered and haphazard with too many plotlines and characters coming and going that nothing is ever finished. The first episode sets up one character as a terrorizing and fearless villain that could easily have been an interesting arc for Detective Corcoran to go against, but is then dropped by the end of the episode. This could have been a clever bait and switch, but clearly isn't as it happens about 3 more times over the course of the season like the writers got bored or distracted by something shiny and switch to something else at the drop of a hat with all the indecisiveness of a housecat deciding whether it wants to go outside or not. Interesting events that are part of the time period like disease outbreaks and opium addiction are set up as major defining moments and then discarded with no resolution and minimal effect on the main story arc. What resolution there is from season 1 is written off in a rather implausible way just to seemingly get back to the status quo of season 1 like the show-runners finally pulled themselves out of their cocaine and/or alcohol binge haze to notice the colossal mess they were making and tried to clean it up in the worst way.

When the show does get back to what it does best (vicious period drama crimes and character dialogue) there are glimmers of the entertaining show it once was, but it mostly tries to fill the void with extended gore and basic cable nudity. The plots set up aren't even bad per se, just muddled because they were all shoved together into a gelatinous mass instead of spreading it out and letting what worked play through to some sort of closure. All of it is then dropped at the end of the season for an unnecessary and shoehorned bit involving Lincoln's assassination that is cheesy and should really have had nothing to do with the rest of the show. The show comes back to end on a regular cliffhanger, but then it was cancelled making it one more unresolved moment to add to the pile. Donal Logue puts in a decent turn as a sleazy politician, even though despite his actual Irish heritage he seemed out of place at times and Alfre Woodard makes a brief cameo of sorts as a freed slave that was palatable, but could have been better. Though it was one of the few plot threads that actually had a full arc, so that's something. Overall nothing other than the set and wardrobe designers were really on point and what character drama there is to enjoy is not up to snuff for the bar the show set for itself in its first season.

Buyer's Guide:
Available on iTunes and Amazon Instant Video with a forthcoming DVD release.

2 Sympathetic anti heroes that aren't sympathetic out of 5

.hack//Legend of the Twilight (2003)

An anime adaptation of the Legend of the Twilight manga trilogy that you can read about here: Volume I // Volume II // Volume III. You’ll find there information on the background you'll need to fully appreciate the LotT world.

It starts out the same as the manga, but branches off into something different early on. It finds its way back and then shoots off again into places new. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because the manga was lacking excitement for a long time in the middle section - the anime isn't. I also enjoyed watching a story with characters I felt I knew well being taken in a different direction than the one I'd already experienced; the element of surprise was attached to every situation.

The relationship between the siblings is well-defined. The geographical distance between them is bridged by the game world, and their changing feelings for each other are still developing as the story begins.

The character designs are somewhere between chibi and normal. It's near impossible not to like them. However, even though it has the appearance of being suitable for younger viewers, it's not free from fan-service. The bizarre incestuous undertone in the manga is carried over.

The Japanese voices are excellent and suit the characters well. After I'd finished the final episode I went back and picked an episode at random to check out the English dub. There were a few voices I recognised, and while I may praise them elsewhere, they were very ill-suited to the characters of .hack. Sub beats dub.

12 episodes, approx 24 mins each. There's also a 13th episode that isn't a part of the main story; it's a comedy coda that throws up a few surprises.

3 red threads of fate out of 5

Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention (2010)

World of Invention is a science programme with short segments devoted to new inventions, both practical and whacky. It's like an updated Tomorrow's World but with claymation presenters alongside the human ones. At time of writing it's been three years since it was filmed, so some of the inventions may well have already gone into production (or the trash), but that shouldn't detract from the fun.

Wallace is the host. He's the guy with the desk. He introduces the science segments and is Wallace through and through; Peter Sallis knows what he's doing.
Gromit shuffles around in the background serving tea, and narrowly avoiding frequent death; it's business as usual for the pooch.

Each episode has a theme into which each invention fits, such as Nature, Flight, Safety, etc, meaning that each individual episode can be used as a supporting teaching aid for young viewers - you can entertain them while covertly teaching them stuff, without compromising on either aspect. If you're lucky, it'll inspire them to delve further. If you're unlucky, you'll be assaulted with a bevy of questions afterwards about things you know nothing about.

The science is split between cool stuff (jetpacks!) and practical stuff that will change the lives of people all over the world (e.g. a fridge for third world countries that needs no electricity to work). If you have any interest in science whatsoever there'll be something here that grabs you, no matter what age you are. Seriously, who doesn't want to see a fuel cell powered by dead flies?

6 episodes, approx 30 minutes each.

3 curiosity corners out of 5

Spartacus: War of the Damned (2013)

Spartacus... That is not my name.

The 3rd and final season of Starz's bloody and melodramatic retelling of the legendary Spartacus pulls no punches. The action is plentiful and still as over the top gory as viewers have come to expect from the series. The plot is also ramped up with a new and excellent antagonist in Marcus Crassus who is both extremely cunning and intelligent as well as having the resources to enforce his will however he sees fit. Unencumbered by the faults of past romans sent to kill Spartacus makes him a dangerous foe for Spartacus who also must deal with a fracturing of his army as well as the coming winter.

Knowing full well that this would be the last season of the show, the producers and crew spared no expense. Everything from the sets to choreography is much more polished and enhanced while the plot's stakes are raised. It still felt a little rushed given the limited 10 episodes and it's a shame it had to end just as all the actors finally seemed to find the characters and the original melodrama of the show was creeping ever closer to regular drama. The fast paced story and action though is exactly what the show has always delivered and more and won't disappoint fans.

Buyer's Guide:
Available now on DVD and Blu-ray box sets and on iTunes.

4½ History already spoiled it for you out of 5

Battle Angel (1993)

A cyber-doctor named Ido finds the broken body of Gally on a scrap heap. He becomes her Geppetto, but the Pinocchio similarities end there because the short OVA was concerned with deeper and darker aspects of the human psyche. It may look colourful and adventurous, but it’s definitely not for kids.

To understand Gally it’s necessary to understand the class structure of the world in which she exists. It's an exaggerated version of our own. Scrap Iron City is a dark, violent, poverty stricken semi-slum that attracts those with a love of violence and nurtures its beginnings in others. Spine-thieves and brain-eating mutants are common; they keep the black market stocked with fresh produce.

Situated high above the City, suspended, protected and isolated, hangs Zalem, home to the rich and fortunate. Zalem takes the best of what’s available from beneath and spits out the waste and crap. The extreme class division breeds jealousy and contempt amongst the lower class.

Beneath the social commentary and violence beats a fragile love story. Gally has no past, no memories. In order to find purpose she must live in the moment, meaning her heart guides her actions most of the time. Her determination and love for the people in her life gives her strength. Like Ido, she strives to make life better for the people she cares for, but the human element and her inexperience with emotions mean things don’t always go to plan.

Fights are bloody, and they’re over quickly. The short running time necessities it but it also means that nothing is wasted; there’s no stretching of scenes and no filler. The animation holds up well considering it’s two decades old at time of writing and didn't have a huge budget to work with.

It's a short series (just 2 episodes) but packs in a lot of content. It’s a shame there wasn't more. Think what could've been achieved with 12 episodes!

It's currently OOP in certain territories. This is the part where I’d normally call James Cameron a giant shit for buying the rights to Battle Angel and then halting its re-release, but I don’t want to give him the time of day, so let’s pretend that I went on a tirade and everyone loved it and agreed with me.

4 late realisations out of 5

Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions (2002)

Cracking Contraptions is a colourful collection of animated shorts from the award winning Aardman Animations featuring their most successful creations: Wallace, the enthusiastic inventor, and Gromit, his long-suffering pet pooch.

The shorts are best described as slices of life. Each adventure features one of Wallace's crazy labour-saving inventions that go awry. Gromit knows that if he's to ever have the quiet life he craves he'll need to prevent disaster and then clean up the mess. The idiom 'a dog's life' applies to Gromit in more ways than one.

The episodes were created to slot into the BBC's 2002 Christmas TV schedule, between the soap misery and the festive crap, meaning episode length is much too short for any extensive character development to happen. They rely instead on your knowledge of the claymation duo from the previous W+G releases. If you haven't watched those yet, I recommend you do because they're fantastic.

The collection was released as a limited edition R2 dvd that's now hard to find, but Aardman have since posted them all on their YouTube channel (HERE).

10 episodes, approx 3 minutes each.

3 developments out of 5

Salem's Lot (1979)

SL isn't the first Stephen King miniseries review on Nut Box, but chronologically it was the first ever adaptation from one of his books, so I guess we should blame it for starting the ball rolling. It was originally planned as a film, but someone clever at WB decided that due to the source text's length (400+ pages), it would make a better miniseries. Subsequently, as if to prove that respectful thinking and good ideas aren't the same as good business, some cretin butchered it, turning it from a two-part series running 184 minutes into a single theatrical cut running just 112 minutes. That's 72 minutes of footage missing if you go for the theatrical cut! My review is of the longer 184 minutes version.

It's the story of a man and a place, Ben Mears and the titular Salem's Lot. Ben (David Soul - the blond half of Starsky and Hutch), grew up in the town before moving away and becoming a fiction writer. He's the Lot's very own golden boy.

Childhood experiences shape the adult we become, so it's because of Salem's Lot that Ben is Ben, but he can't resist the urge to unravel the mystery of those early years. Doing so could shake the very core of why he's the inquisitive pain in the ass that he is, but Ben doesn't care, he simply wants to know if the house on the hill is the resting place of evil that he always believed it was.

The house has stood cold and empty for many years, but has recently been reoccupied. Hooray for convenient King plot devices.

What follows is a slow-build vampire story that explores the idea of what might happen if the creatures of legend actually existed and occupied small town America; Maine, of course.

Despite the orchestrated pacing of the story there's a distinct lack of unease or panic most of the time. There are a few exceptions, though. A small handful of scenes are genuinely creepy; they're unforgettable once seen and have become highly influential. Good work, Tobe Hooper.

The same drawing from the past that influenced the story is used in the aesthetic of the F. W. Murnau style creature design, which is good for a TV production. As is the music, which occasionally has a slight Hermann/Hitchcock aura about it.

Ultimately, it's a flawed attempt to modernise a classic genre but isn't without its eerie charms if you're not averse to late 70s TV production values.

3 window peepers out of 5