Occupation

Occupation

I shan't do a full-blown review for this as i feel there's too much to discuss in this three-hour epic. Based on the occupation in Iraq of the Coalition forces, the BBC's drama series told the lives of three men who would all face moral dilemmas at one point or another during their time in Iraq with the British Military.

I won't give anything away but i feel i should recommend this fine drama. I was immediately drawn to it because i saw Stephen Graham (of This Is England fame) was in it, someone i regard as a fantastic actor but one who seems to be pigeon-holed as a threatening or dangerous character in the pieces i've seen him in.

Regardless, he is fantastic in this highly emotional, highly intensified drama piece and i urge anyone who hasn't seen it, to do so. It had me on the edge of my seat at times and one actor who i believed to be one only for the soapland (Warren Brown, of Hollyoaks fame) far surpassed my expectations and put in a terrific performance so fair play to him.

9/10

Coraline Review

Coraline (2009)


Based on the 2002 Novel of the same name, and with Henry Selick at the helm (famous for his work on James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas), Coraline is a stop-motion animation which tells the fantastical tale of a young girl who seeks her parents' attention after moving into a strange and solitary home. Feeling unappreciated and unloved, she finds herself in a parallel universe where not everything is as it seems.

Upon entering the Other world, she is greeted by Other versions of her real world friends and family, the mother and father figures only distinguishable for they have buttons for eyes. The Other world represents everything that Coraline wants with life; her supposed stalker Wybie no longer speaks because his constant talking annoys her in the real world, her Other mother cooks proper meals and pays full attention to her, and her Other father is a pianist and is full of enthusiasm.

As the film winds on, Coraline encounters hints that lean toward evil doings, and eventually finds that her Other parents are trying to trap her within the Other world, though quite why this was the case was beyond me whilst watching the film; this story branch being particularly convulated and confusing. Coraline meets some weird and wonderful characters in both worlds, the best of which are the two oddball former dancers, Spink and Forcible (voiced by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders) who are eccentric and amusing in equal measure.

As Coraline finds herself fighting the evil forces, discovering her evil Other mother has manipulated the world around her and has kidnapped her real parents, those she trusted the least unite to save her, her parents and her real world. Moral of the story is that Coraline realises she should be grateful for her dreary life and her parents who work hard to support her.

The film's art style is superb, with excellent stop-motion animation recreating such things as grass and water in brilliant fashion. The characters are lively and the models and sets are a delight to watch on screen, leading to think about purchasing the 3D edition DVD on release. Whilst the story does wane a tad towards the end and certain elements could easily be omitted to make the film's storyline more child-friendly, the characters are so wondefully entertaining the and the design is so well observed that it's hard to fault this masterpiece.

Recommended.

9/10