Film of the
Week:
Wrongfully Accused
The late and Leslie Neilson is wildly considered a legend in the
comedy genre. The moment he broke into that genre, everyone knew that, that is
where he belongs. When he started his acting career, all he wanted to do was
make a comedy film. The trouble was, he was constantly considered for one
serious film after the other. Turns out, all that seriousness paid off.
When the Zucker Brothers, were looking for people to cast as a doctor
in their soon to be hit film Airplane, they decided upon Leslie because they
thought he would be best to deliver his lines with a serious tone. Leslie
didn’t need to be asked twice. He jumped at the chance to star in a comedy
film, and today, his character is considered one of the best, if not the best,
throughout the entire film. He even got deliver the famous line, ‘and don’t
call me shurely’
From that moment, his comedy career had launched. From Airplane,
he went on to star in hit TV show, Police Squad, and the spin-off Naked Gun
trilogy. Scary Movie 3, and 4, and this film, Wrongfully Accused soon followed.
Even though Leslie was achieving his dream by staring in comedies,
it was also during the unfortunate time when parodies were going downhill slightly.
It’s unclear when the first film was that started to decline, but the many
comedy films that followed, weren’t considered as good as the other ones that
Leslie starred in.
Wrongfully Accused is about an incredibly talented Violinist who
is wrongfully accused of murder and goes on the run in order to prove his
innocence. If I were to put forward an honest review, I will no choice but to
say that the film was a bit too fast. The jokes are plentiful, zooming past,
one after the other, that it can be a struggle to keep up, and the ones that do
make you laugh out loud, may leave you rolling around on the floor, which may
lead you to missing a load of other jokes.
But, and this is a big but – it might be because I am a huge fan
of Leslie – if it weren’t for Leslie, this film wouldn’t have done half as
good. Or it might be because Leslie is a genius when it comes to comedy. Or,
possibly, both. It’s unknown, but what is known is that it was clear right from
the word go that Leslie had the weight of the entire film on his shoulders, and
some actors do break with that amount of weight. The story is simple, some of
the jokes do make you laugh out loud, and the film is made so much better
because Leslie’s charm has been added to the mix.
I believe that this film has fallen victim to that time when
parodies weren’t that great, that this was immediately labelled as not a great
parody. To me, it’s the perfect quantity of all the elements: The story isn’t
too complicated or too weak, it’s just right to be a simple, entertaining film
that the whole family can enjoy and have a good laugh. Sure the jokes are
plentiful, but the ones that do make you laugh out loud, are the ones that
actually make a significant difference to the story, or are just there to make
you laugh out loud; every other reference, that may seem unnecessary, are
actually made better because of Leslie’s acting ability. The side characters
were there for just the right amount of time so to not steal the limelight from
Leslie, and they obviously did make a massive contribution to the story.
I believe this film deserves more credit that it has.
You never know, if you sit down and watch this film, Leslie’s
charm might just rub off on you.
TV Episode
of the Week:
Black Books – Series 1 – Cooking the Books
Black Books is mostly set entirely in a Bookshop. A simple setting
for a simple comedy, and it is that combination that makes it work well. I don’t
know how many times I’ve watched the first episode, but it hasn’t decreased in
value once. It’s still hilarious throughout.
Another superb comedy from the minds of Graham Linehan and Dylan
Moran. Dylan also stars in the show as main character, Bernard Black, who runs
a small bookstore. The first episode introduces the other two characters,
Tamsin Greig and Bill Bailey, who plays Fran Katzenjammer and Manny Bianco.
Even though Bernard runs a bookstore, which does bring in a number
of customers each day, he tries his best to avoid any communication with them.
All he wants to do is sit down and read, smoke, and drink wine. Most of the
comedy comes from his quirky personality as he interacts with the other members
of the cast.
At the beginning of the first episode, Manny comes in to by the
Little Book of Calm from Black Books to calm his nerves from having a panic
attack. Before he leaves, he says he hates his job, which we later see him at
and having a conversation with his boss that turns rather awkward rather quickly.
Just before he leaves his desk, he takes one last sip from his cup of soup, in
which the Little Book of Calm had accidentally fallen into without his knowledge
just before, and swallows it, rendering him hospitalised.
Bernard, after closing the shop early, has to do his taxes. He did
have a person doing his taxes for him, but through unexpected complications, his
taxman is no longer available, and with Fran refusing to do them for him, he
has no choice but to do them himself. Struggling to understand any of the jargon,
he amuses himself with other tedious tasks to distract himself.
Back at the hospital, Manny, after being told that the Little Book
of Calm was in a rather difficult spot, had made a miraculous recovery that the
doctor, played by guest star, Martin Freeman, can’t seem to comprehend what has
just happened. Manny leaves the hospital, dazed and confused, but incredibly
calm. Through his calm actions, he gets himself stuck in a situation that snaps
him out of it. Bernard, after discovering that the best way to get out of having
to do taxes is to hurt himself, goes over to the gang and teases them until he
gets his wish.
The scene cuts to Bernard waking up from being beaten up by the
gang and Manny says thanks for saving him, even though that wasn’t Bernard’s
intention. When Bernard mentioned that he was actually trying to avoid doing
his taxes, Manny instantly offers his help, which Bernard accepts. And that’s
how Manny and Bernard became friends.
Fran, throughout the episode, tries to figure out what a specific
item is. Everyone cannot seem to work out what it is, but Manny knows, and also
knows how to use it, which infuriates Fran because of how unexpected it is.
The moment I heard about the series, I never really paid much
attention to it, but as soon as I watched the first episode, I was hooked.
There is only three series as a whole, each with 6 episodes – not too much, and
not too little, but just enough to keep the ideas crisp and as effective as
ever.
Game of the
Week:
Universe Sandbox 2 – Now with VR mode.
I cannot give this a actual review, because I haven’t tried it.
All I want to do is acknowledge its existence. I am a massive fan of most
things related to space, so when a game was released that gave you the chance to
play around with the entire universe, that was a no-brainer on my behalf about
whether or not to get it.
The first game was amazing, but the second game is even better,
because it adds to much more stuff to it. If you want to smash the moon into
the world to see what happens, you can, if you want to smash a comet into
Jupiter to see what happens, you can. If you want to put a teapot in orbit
around the super massive black hole that sits at the centre our galaxy, you
can. There is no limit to what you can do.
And, with the introduction of VR mode, the limitless possibilities
have just grown. You can experience the universe like never before.
Video of the
Week:
Top Gear Trailer
The one thing I am not going to do is put an opinion across about
the BBC’s decision of sacking Jeremy Clarkson. That incident has generated a
lot of controversy from fans of Top Gear and of Jeremy. The debate about
whether or not he should have stayed or gone, may not go away for some time.
But, I will say that I was a massive fan of Top Gear when Jeremy,
Richard, and James were leading the charge. Their challenges were always
entertaining, their reviews were beautiful and sometimes mind-blowing. When it
was revived in 2002 after the previous incarnation had lost viewers, it was
immediately clear that this wasn’t going to be the same ever again. Gone were
the days of an actual road test, they were replaced with power, noise, and
inanity as three idiots bickered for an hour. There were times when it
generated some controversy. Sometimes, it generated a lot of controversy,
testing the BBC’s patients to breaking point. Strangely, though, with each
passing year, Top Gear grew and grew and soon it was the most watched factual
program in the world. It was being watched in over 100 countries. Jeremey
Clarkson once said during an interview with Michael Macintyre, ‘there is no
escaping it.’
Now, in 2016, after Jeremy, Richard, and James had left Top Gear,
the BBC knows just how popular it is, and so decided to revive it once more,
with Chris Evans, and Matt Leblanc. Chris’ reputation has followed him, because
the fans didn’t take kindly to his casting. And when Friends star, Matt Leblanc
joined the team, it did generate a few questions, but they weren’t debating the
impact he might have compared to Chris’.
The reason why I am only mentioning Chris and Matt’s name, is
because in the minute long teaser trailer above, those were the only two people
I could see were actually in the trailer. Well, there are a few glimpses of
some other people, but the trailer mainly focused on the new head, Chris, and
the hugely popular Matt Leblanc. It’s as if the BBC want to prove that they are
capable of continuing Top Gear on.
From what we can see, the reboot is going to include an array of
challenges, road tests, and a few other things, but it did look a little
forced. And, following the rumour that Chris Evans cannot be in a car that’s
racing around a track without having to stop and be sick, showing him
confirming that rumour isn’t going to help bring fans over.
My opinion, when the new series is going to come back in May, is
that everyone will sit down and watch the first episode, for various reasons –
mine will be to see what they’ve actually done to the show now it’s in
different hands – and then not watch it at all from then on. Top Gear, at its
prime, had hundreds of millions of viewers each series, quite possibly each
week, and I believe that the show’s new direction is going to make most of that
number walk away for good.
I can’t talk about Top Gear and Jeremey, Richard, and James,
without mentioning the other show that is soon to be airing on Amazon Prime.
James said in an interview not long ago that he doesn’t want the two shows to
fight, but unfortunately, he cannot be more wrong. The fans are going to do all
the fighting. They are going to compare the two shows. From what we’ve learnt
from the evidence provided, even though many people do disagree that their new
show is on a platform that you have to pay for to watch, but Jeremy, Richard,
and James’ new show is going to pull in the numbers, probably a lot more than
this new incarnation of Top Gear.
All we can do now is wait. As much as we do, it doesn’t always pay
us to assume beforehand.
Thanks for reading
Antony Hudson
(TonyHadNouns)
My book, Sector 22: Zoey, is now available on Amazon, eBay, and SkyCat Publications' website:
Amazon:
eBay:
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Ask me anything at:
ahudsonpresents@live.co.uk
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