Saving Mr. Banks: Mary Poppins' Origins

Many people have been disputing the veracity of the events depicted in Saving Mr. Banks. It's certainly an extremely "Disneyfied" tale, intended to celebrate Mary Poppins on the heels of its upcoming 50th anniversary. However, with a tremendous cast led by terrific Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, I'm willing to take fiction over truth.

The movie tells the story of two weeks in 1961 when P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), the author of Mary Poppins, arrived in California to oversee the script for the movie. Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) had pestered her for the rights for twenty years, because his daughters loved the books and he saw their enormous potential as a movie. However, Mrs. Travers (as she liked to be called), hated everything about Disney and was terrified he was going to turn her beloved Mary Poppins into an animated, treacly farce. The movie opens with her agent urging her to visit California, and due to her dire financial straits, she agrees to head to Los Angeles and see what Disney has come up with.

Upon her arrival, Travers proceeds to make herself disagreeable to everyone, from the driver to the director to Disney himself. She disapproves of every creative decision and is particularly horrified when the Sherman brothers (played wonderfully by Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak) appear and start singing songs with made-up words. However, underneath that unpleasant facade lies a troubled woman who suffered from a difficult childhood, a backstory that is gradually revealed through flashbacks to Travers' childhood in Australia. Her father (played with oodles of charm by Colin Farrell) loves her dearly and encourages her to dream big and indulge in her imagination. She regards him through entirely rose-colored glasses, failing to notice that their money troubles and eventual move to the far reaches of Australia are necessitated by his rampant alcoholism. As the movie moves back and forth from 1906 to 1961, we see how every piece of the Mary Poppins script reflects something from Travers' childhood. Mary Poppins was her ode to her father, the real-life "Mr. Banks," who she loved till the bitter end.

This is largely Emma Thompson's movie - she brings out every shade in P.L. Travers' character and takes her from an unlikable battleaxe to a sympathetic woman who is still battling her childhood demons. Tom Hanks is charismatic as Walt Disney and his scenes with Thompson bring out the best in both actors as their characters antagonize one another and ultimately find a point of commonality. The supporting cast is filled with terrific actors like Bradley Whitford, Paul Giamatti, and Ruth Wilson, who bring depth and richness to every scene. And the script by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith easily walks the line between musical comedy and family drama, telling an emotional and ultimately uplifting tale.

This movie also looks glorious. John Schwartzman's cinematography is impeccable and the entire film is suffused with light and color that make it look like a Disney classic. And along with the toe-tapping renditions of the classic songs by the Sherman brothers, the background score is composed by Thomas Newman, whose twinkly soundtrack will make you laugh or cry as the occasion demands. Director John Lee Hancock has wrangled together an A-team for this film, and the product is polished and surprisingly affecting. It is clear that things have been heavily dramatized and the plot points are all very neat, but as long as you're not expecting a historical biopic, Saving Mr. Banks is a wonderful movie that is well worth watching. 

Jeeves and the Wedding Bells: Bertie Wooster's Resurrection

P. G. Wodehouse is one of the greatest comic writers of the 20th century, or really, any century. He wrote more than 90 novels and short story collections, but us Wodehouse enthusiasts are a greedy lot and always wish for more. So renowned author Sebastian Faulks has dared to do the impossible and write a brand new Jeeves & Wooster novel, entitled Jeeves and the Wedding Bells.

Faulks has written a humble preface where he acknowledges how foolish it would be to merely imitate Wodehouse and descend into parody. As a result, he has attempted more of a tribute that follows the Wodehouse template and contains multiple in-jokes and references to delight the seasoned reader, but could also easily serve as an introduction to the clueless Bertie and his gentleman's personal gentleman, Jeeves. The plot is pleasingly convoluted, ingeniously involving a role reversal where Jeeves is pretending to be an aristocrat while Bertie must play the part of his valet, Wilberforce. For once, Bertie glimpses what life is like below stairs, and he is not amused.

In the meantime, there's romantic upheaval for Bertie, who has fallen in love with a woman by the name of Georgina Meadowes. Unfortunately, Georgina is being forced to marry someone else by her imposing uncle, in whose house Bertie and Jeeves are carrying on their little charade. Bertie is also trying to help his friend Peregrine "Woody" Beeching patch things up with his fiance Amelia, who has become convinced that Woody is an irresponsible flirt. Obviously, Bertie's well-meaning machinations go awry, and things must get a lot worse before they're miraculously sorted out by the omniscient Jeeves.

While it's easy to lose yourself in this story and pretend it's a long-lost Wodehouse novel, Faulks has sneakily introduced some jarring elements. There are mentions of the war, a little treatise on Mendelian genetics, and Bertie is subtly forced to acknowledge that there's a whole wide world out there. That is decidedly un-Wodehousian: the whole point of a Wodehouse novel is that time stands still and the characters are larking about in an idyll that seems untouched by reality. In that sense, Faulks has provided a modern update to the classic canon, with an ending that provides an air of finality to Jeeves and Wooster's hysterical adventures.

Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is a delightful piece of fiction that manages to both deconstruct and pay homage to Wodehouse's writing. At times it doesn't feel as polished as the master's works themselves, but it comes awfully close to the mark. Faulks has given us one more chance to indulge in Jeeves' verbosity, Bertie's bumbling, cricket matches, amateur theatrics, accidental drunkenness, quotes from Keats, Spinoza, and the Lady of Shalott. It's a brilliant melange of everything that makes Wodehouse great, and most importantly, it will inspire you to re-read and re-discover the Jeeves and Wooster of yore.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi: And You Will Too

PBS' Independent Lens has a particularly strong line-up of documentaries this season and on Monday they aired Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a 2011 documentary that will make your mouth water. Ostensibly a simple story about a Japanese chef, director David Gelb has created a spellbinding movie that serves as a philosophical meditation on ambition, craftsmanship, and what it means to live a fulfilling life.

Jiro Ono is an 85-year-old sushi master who runs Sukiyabashi Jiro, a sushi restaurant nestled inside a Tokyo subway station. This tiny restaurant has earned three Michelin stars, putting Jiro in the record books as the oldest chef to be awarded such an honor. Over the course of the documentary, we learn how Jiro's success is driven by an indescribable passion for sushi and an indefatigable pursuit for perfection. Apprentices at his restaurant spend weeks learning how to hand-wring hot towels for the customers before they are even allowed to touch a knife. That is the kind of tough Japanese training and single-minded attention to detail that Jiro brings to every aspect of his life.

The documentary also features Jiro's two sons, both of whom trained under their father at the restaurant. Owing to the Japanese tradition of the eldest son inheriting the father's business, Takashi, the younger son, left to open his own sushi restaurant, which is a mirror image of Sukiyabashi Jiro and has earned two Michelin stars. The eldest son, Yoshikazu, is still working under his father, awaiting his father's retirement. He will face impossible expectations when he runs the restaurant, although an intriguing anecdote at the end of the movie suggests that all will be well when Yoshikazu takes over.

We are also introduced to the various fishmongers that are favored by Jiro, who declares that he may be an expert on sushi, but these people are even greater experts about seafood. They are all passionate about their respective fields and it is wonderful to see how a piece of tuna that is painstakingly chosen at the fish market is later combined with meticulously-prepared rice to become a sublime piece of sushi. A food critic movingly compares a meal at Sukiyabashi Jiro to a symphony, each course carefully orchestrated to create a harmonious and fulfilling experience like no other. Throughout the film, delectable pieces of sushi are prepared and deposited with a flourish on a plate, and it takes a supreme effort to not futilely reach out to the screen.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a sumptuous movie in more ways than one - it is visually arresting, the soundtrack is beautiful, the people are incredibly interesting, and the story is stunning. When you're done, you will have learnt a host of lessons about how to appreciate good food, explore your passions, and live well. And you'll want to catch the first flight to Tokyo.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Madcap Mayhem in Melbourne

When my friend Maggie suggested I watch Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, I thought it seemed like a stretch. Sure I love British television, and have even discovered Canadian gems, but I've never ventured into Australian drama, let alone an Australian mystery series set in 1920s Melbourne. Nonetheless, I decided to watch the first episode on Netflix, and before I knew it, I was hooked.

Phryne Fisher (played by the captivating Essie Davis) is a confident, sophisticated woman of independent means who likes to get her own way. After losing most of her family in the Great War, she returns to Australia and decides to put her considerable intelligence to use as a private detective. This means that she constantly runs up against the local Detective Inspector, John "Jack" Robinson (played by the equally captivating Nathan Page). Jack is initially annoyed by her interference, but he is quick to spot her talent for crime solving and decides that it's better to work with Phryne than against her. In addition, his constable, Hugh Collins (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and Phryne's companion, Dorothy "Dot" Williams (Ashleigh Cummings) embark on a delightful romance, which makes for an amusing subplot on most episodes.

The show is based on a series of novels by Kerry Greenwood, who envisioned Phryne as an early feminist, a woman who knows her mind and does as she likes. When she isn't busy solving grisly murders, Phryne is decked out in glamorous dresses and jewels, sleeping with interesting (and dashing) men, and unabashedly living life to the fullest. What's wonderful about the series is that it embraces a variety of personalities, all of whom are very different, but none of whom judge each other. Dot is a devout Catholic, who initially couldn't even bring herself to answer a telephone because her priest said all modern inventions were the work of the devil. Nonetheless, she adores Phryne and is the most loyal sidekick a detective could hope for. Hugh is shy and naive, unlike the more wordly Jack, and he is the ideal romantic partner for Dot. Their conservative romance is in perfect contrast to the bubbling sexual tension between Jack and Phryne, who have many flirtatious encounters that have yet to amount to anything. They have crackling chemistry, further heightened by their bond of mutual respect and admiration, and one of the joys of the series is watching that tantalizing relationship develop.

Produced with a budget of $1 million per episode, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is simply stunning to look at, with impeccable production values and attention to detail. Shot in and around Melbourne, great effort has been made to re-create the feel of 1920s Australia, and costume designer Marion Boyce deserves kudos akin to those paid to Mad Men's Janie Bryant for the incredible work that goes into Phryne's wardrobe in every episode. The writers concoct wonderful self-contained mysteries (based on Kerry Greenwood's great stories of course) that also tie in to a series-long arc, which has a great payoff. And the cast is magnificent, capably dancing between comedy and drama, and making the show an intriguing, fizzy delight.

Series creators Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger were eager to develop a show that had a strong and interesting female lead and they have delivered a masterpiece. Shows like these continue to highlight how many great actresses are out there to play great female roles. The entire first season is available on DVD or Netflix streaming, and the second season (which aired this fall) will hopefully be released soon. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is a revelation and I dare you to stop at just one episode.

Lee Daniels' The Butler: A New Historical Perspective

Many films about slavery or the American civil rights movement do their subject matter a disservice by telling the tale from the perspective of white people. African Americans are routinely treated as supporting characters in their own history - look at a movie like Lincoln, which while discussing the Emancipation Proclamation managed to feature no important black characters at all. However, this year, there have been powerful performances from black actors in movies like Twelve Years a Slave, and Lee Daniels' The Butler, which deals with the complexities of being black in 20th century America.

Forrest Whitaker plays Cecil Gaines, a man who grew up on a cotton plantation in Georgia, where he witnessed his parents' brutal treatment at the hands of the owner. Trained for household service, he eventually leaves the South and ends up in a hotel in Washington D.C. There, his polished training and careful apolitical attitude capture the attention of a White House staffer, who hires him to be one of the White House butlers. Beginning in the Eisenhower administration, Gaines works his way through eight presidencies, resigning during Reagan's first term.

The presidents are played by a variety of actors who put in interesting cameos, but the focus is squarely on Gaines and his family. His two sons are very different - the eldest, Louis (David Oyelowo), is intensely political and ashamed of his father's decision to keep his head down. The youngest, Charlie (Elijah Kelley), decides to serve in Vietnam, declaring to Louis that he wants to fight for his country rather than against it. In the meantime, Gaines' wife, Gloria (Oprah Winfrey), has a difficult time trying to reconcile her quiet husband and her vocal son, while trying to figure out what her own opinions are in the civil rights debate.

When it focuses on Gaines and his family, The Butler is an engaging look at how the civil rights movement influenced people in different ways. Louis' growth from non-violent resistor, to budding Black Panther, to levelheaded politician showcases the evolution of civil rights in America and offers an interesting summary of the different ways people tried to fight for equality. Gaines' own political growth is gradual, thanks to a violent childhood that made him fear any kind of stand against authority, but he too eventually plays a crucial part at the White House.

The Butler features an excellent cast, all of whom lend a great deal of layered subtlety and empathy to their characters. The script lets them down - the cameos of various Presidents just distract from the story, even though each actor puts in a perfectly serviceable performance. At times it feels like The Butler is a searing documentary, interspersing archival footage to highlight the history of the period. But at other times, its attempts to link characters with major political events feel too contrived and melodramatic. Watch for the strong performances and historical background, but just because it is "inspired by a true story" don't be fooled. The main character is largely a character of fiction, not fact. But all things considered, The Butler is an important and informative movie, which offers an often neglected perspective on the fight for civil rights.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: Storytelling That Gets Under Your Skin

Neil Gaiman has written many fantastical books for children and adults, all of which reveal his brilliant and twisted imagination. His stories are always tinged with darkness (the adult books are much more than tinged) yet I always found a good dose of humor lurking in those pages as well. However, his latest novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is a slim book that is packed with a multitude of macabre events. Despite the protagonist being seven years old for most of the story, this is emphatically a book for adults, or some gothic young adults.

The novel relates the story of an unnamed man who has returned to his childhood town for a funeral and proceeds to look for a farmhouse at the end of the lane he grew up on. He has vague memories about the Hempstock women who lived in the farmhouse, and the young Lettie Hempstock who was maybe a friend. Once he gets to the farm, he sits by the pond behind the house, and remembers that Lettie used to call it the "ocean." And with that, he is whisked away to his memories of being seven years old, when a South African opal miner came to stay with his family, committed suicide, and created a portal for a malevolent spirit to enter this world and terrorize him until the Hempstocks intervened. Bet you didn't see that coming.

I won't delve into more detail - suffice to say, each scene is vividly described and there are some horrifying details that made my skin crawl. Gaiman is a master at turning the irrational fears of childhood into completely rational fears that are all the more frightening because the adults just don't understand. The protagonist is cruelly dealt with, but thanks to twelve-year-old Lettie, her mother, and her grandmother of indeterminate age, he is able to tackle the terrors of childhood, though they leave a lasting impression.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is not a feel-good novel, but it certainly will make you feel something. It is fascinating and frightening, disturbing and delightful. I'm not sure I would return to it like I do to Gaiman's other works, because it's too unrelentingly dark. However, it is well worth reading once, just so you can uncomfortably revel in Gaiman's ability to frighten you with a few short sentences. Isn't that was great literature is all about? 

Was It Something I Said? Yes, It Was

To readers of this blog, it comes as no surprise that I am a fan of British panel shows in general, and comedian David Mitchell in particular. So imagine my delight when I found Channel 4's Was It Something I Said?, a panel show that is hosted by Mitchell, and if that wasn't enough, features the marvelous Richard Ayoade and Micky Flanagan as team captains.

The show follows a simple format: each week there are are two guest panelists who join Ayoade and Flanagan and a guest narrator who is responsible for reading the quotations. There are various rounds based on these quotations - the first round is called Threesomes, where the teams are given a quote and have to decide which of three famous people said it. This is followed by a round where teams are given two or three words from a famous quote and have to complete it to the best of their ability. Occasionally there's another round where teams are given a bizarre quote and have to figure out what the person was talking about. And before each commercial, Mitchell will pose a Fill in the Blanks quote that the teams try to complete after the break.

This is pretty standard fare and like all panel shows, what makes it stand out is the quality of the panelists and the guest narrator. Their banter can make or break the show, and the best guests often go off on complete tangents that have nothing to do with the quote whatsoever. This brings me to the final round, which in my opinion is the best one. Eponymously titled, Was It Something I Said?, this round features a quote said by someone on the opposing team, the guest narrator, David Mitchell, or some random celebrity. Naturally, determining the quote's origins becomes a matter of dissecting the various personalities on the show, often with hilarious results. In fact, this round most resembles my favorite panel show, Would I Lie To You? because it relies on the panelists' personal knowledge of the other people featured on the show. 

You can find episodes of Was It Something I Said? on 4 on Demand, or through some judicious YouTube searches if you live outside the UK. I particularly recommend Episode 5 with Charles Dance as guest narrator and Robert Webb as a panelist on Micky's team. The show just wrapped its first series and is still tinkering a bit with the format and a somewhat distracting attempt to engage a Twitter audience. But it's a promising start to what will hopefully become a long-lived series on the ever-expanding panel show line-up. 

The Hobbit 2: Truly Desolate

I have made no secret of my undying love of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Last year, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey filled me with joy at the chance to return to Middle Earth once more. Well, last night I saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and I must concede that the unthinkable has happened - Peter Jackson has managed to go too overboard for even my fanaticism.

The Hobbit is a slim novel, a children's book that tells a relatively simple story about a hobbit, thirteen dwarves, and a wizard who set off on a quest to a mountain where they will find untold riches after they defeat an evil dragon. There are plenty of adventures along the way, and if Peter Jackson had stuck to his original plan of just two movies, it would have been very satisfying. Some were already complaining that the first Hobbit movie was overwrought, but I thought it was reasonably well-paced and fun to watch. A second movie that wrapped up the story would have been fast-paced and delightful. However, by deciding this story needs three complete installments, each running for nearly three hours, Peter Jackson has completely lost his grip on the material.

The Desolation of Smaug contains the usual attempts at enriching the story with background derived from other Tolkien works. I usually find the background material engaging, but this time around it barely served any purpose. It was so patently meant as filler that members of the audience were chuckling about the absurdity of it all. For some reason, Legolas (Orlando Bloom) is one of the stars of this film, battling Orcs alongside a brand new character, Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), whose sole purpose is to be an Arwen surrogate so that Jackson can continue to pretend he's still making The Lord of the Rings, and not The Hobbit. The first movie hewed pretty close to the book, but this one seems to be derived from thin air, changing whole elements of the story, introducing characters who had nothing to do with the original novel, and containing wearisome action sequences that showcase the genius of the visual effects team, but also grate on the audience's patience.

By the time we got to Smaug, the evil dragon voiced and motion-captured by Benedict Cumberbatch, I was too tired to care. Every actor is making a valiant effort, but they are working with mere scraps. Sure, the visual effects are marvelous, but at some point, even that feels like too much. The Orcs and dwarves are drowning in prosthetics, every set has so much detail that it starts to feel entirely too artificial, and the actors are just parroting lines from The Lord of the Rings as the soundtrack swells in the background and reminds you of the greatness that was but no longer is.

It pains me to say this, but save your money and don't bother watching The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Of course, next year I will still see the final installment in theaters because that is the price I pay for my fandom. But I am sorely disappointed at the turn these movies have taken. Excuse me while I bring out my LOTR Extended Edition box set and remind myself of why I became a fan in the first place. 

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland: Formidable Flights of Fancy

Children's literature is a repository of the most imaginative and astonishing tales ever devised by mankind. Books like The Hobbit, the Harry Potter series, or The Chronicles of Narnia - originally purported to be solely for the amusement of children - were too brilliant to be ignored by adults and they quickly transcended the publisher's imposed age limit. Now there's Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland series, which easily manages to make the leap from children's fiction to modern classic.

Starting with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Valente tells the story of September, a twelve-year-old girl in Nebraska whose father is away fighting in World War II and whose mother works in an airplane engine factory. Like every child in a fantasy novel, September longs for adventure and one day she is visited by the Green Wind who whisks her off to Fairyland. There she proceeds to have many adventures with her newfound friends, a wyvern named A-Through-L who aspires to be a librarian, and a marid named Saturday, who gradually and complicatedly becomes September's love interest.

The first book is an absolute revelation, containing a series of witty observations, fanciful imaginings, and riotous beauty. Every chapter unlocks a brand new weird and wonderful thought or situation. September is a remarkable literary heroine, introspective and brave, keen to help others but tinged with the inevitable selfishness of the budding teenager. As she grows from a heartless child to a girl alive to the pains of romance, the series promises to become even more emotional and intricate.

Valente loves wordplay, riddles, and lush descriptions, and her Fairyland is a wondrous place that is both frightening and inviting, dangerous and delectable. The second and third books in the series have become increasingly esoteric and I find myself just wallowing in the words as opposed to paying much attention to the story. These books might be slim novels but each one dispenses a concentrated dose of wonder and fantasy that will dazzle your senses and make you marvel at what an author can do with her imagination and the English language. So go find these books and get lost in Fairyland.

Slings & Arrows: Theater Comes Alive

I spend much time on this blog discussing American and British television, but Canadian TV is not often on my radar. However, I recently discovered the spectacular Slings & Arrows, which follows the on- and off-stage antics at the fictional New Burbage Festival, a Canadian Shakespeare festival that is run by a group of passionate incompetents. The show ran from 2003-2006: in that time, it picked up a slew of awards, garnered widespread critical acclaim, and delivered eighteen episodes of simply scintillating television.

Each of the show's three seasons focused on the events surrounding the production of a Shakespearean tragedy: first Hamlet, then Macbeth, and finally King Lear. In the first episode of Season 1, we are introduced to New Burbage's artistic director, Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette), who has fully embraced the commercialization of the Festival and is turning in a very uninspired production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. However, at the end of the episode, Oliver is killed when he is run over by a truck, leaving the Festival in disarray. Enter Geoffrey Tennant (Paul Gross), a former colleague of Oliver's who suffered a nervous breakdown during a legendary production of Hamlet seven years ago and has been struggling to make ends meet ever since. He is appointed as New Burbage's new artistic director, but lest you think that was the end of Oliver Welles, don't forget, this is a Shakespearean show. The dead have a way of re-appearing.

In homage to Oliver, Geoffrey is tasked with putting on a brand new production of Hamlet. However, he is haunted to distraction by Oliver's ghost and his constant outbursts as he chats with Oliver assure everyone that he is still mentally unstable. Thankfully, he is so passionate about Shakespeare and able to draw such great performances from his actors that no one bothers to complain...much. Apart from the artistic side of the Festival, Slings & Arrows also explores the business troubles plaguing New Burbage and the much-beleaguered manager, Richard Smith-Jones (Mark McKinney). Richard has to find a way to combat flagging ticket sales, an aging subscriber base, and his desire to just put on musicals, which leads him to devise various business models that will either bankrupt or bankroll the Festival in years to come. 

Written by Susan Coyne, Mark McKinney, and Bob Martin, each season of Slings & Arrows is a rich and expertly crafted tale about what it takes to put on a show, both artistically and financially. There are bombastic directors, harried stage managers, naive ingenues, and weary theater veterans. Every scene offers a new comic or dramatic insight into the role that theater plays in the modern world. If you love Shakespeare, you'll love the behind-the-scenes look at how these plays are painstakingly crafted for their audiences. If you don't love Shakespeare, this show will introduce you to what you've been missing. 

Slings & Arrows features outstanding performances from incredible Canadian actors (Season 1 featured a fresh-faced Rachel McAdams before she was whisked away to Hollywood), who capably alternate between comic farce and high-stakes drama. The British model of limited production means that every episode contains plenty of humor and pathos to keep you moved and entertained for 45 minutes. It's a wonderful treat for any fan of television, theater, or just great entertainment. To watch or not to watch? That is not the question - just watch it.

The Escape Artist: Lawyer Vs Law

Since leaving Doctor Who, David Tennant has continued to offer compelling performances in interesting projects. Whether he's got a nation on the edge of its seat as he's solving an intricate murder on Broadchurch, or treading the boards at the Globe in critically acclaimed Shakespearean productions, Tennant can be depended upon for solid entertainment. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that his latest TV venture, The Escape Artist, does not disappoint.

Tennant plays Will Burton, a barrister who has never lost a case and is the go-to man for seemingly impossible cases. He is asked to defend Liam Foyle (Toby Kebbell), who is accused of brutally murdering a young woman. Foyle is weird and sinister and Burton certainly doubts he is innocent, but he does his job. And because he's so good, he is able to get Foyle off on a technicality, much to the chagrin of his rival, the prosecuting barrister Maggie Gardner (Sophie Okonedo). Unfortunately, despite winning the case, Foyle does not like Burton's attitude towards him, and proceeds to stalk his wife and son, with deadly consequences.

The Escape Artist follows Burton's attempts to use his vast legal prowess to defeat Foyle both inside and outside the court. Maggie Gardner becomes Foyle's defense attorney and Burton quickly discovers that the very laws that have helped him win cases in the past will now prevent him from protecting his family from this psychopath. The lead performances from Tennant and Kebbell are outstanding as Burton and Foyle try to outsmart each other and come out on top. The story is a legal thriller but it is also deeply emotional as Burton's family experiences horror and heartbreak. 

The Escape Artist is painfully suspenseful and packed with twists that you won't see coming. As a BBC production, the intriguing plot is crammed into three nail-biting episodes rather than stretched out into a tepid 22-episode season. Writer David Wolstencroft has devised a thoroughly dark and engaging story that makes the three hours just zip by. So seek it out and settle in for a haunting but thrilling ride. 

The World's End: The Last Lick of the Cornetto

The Cornetto trilogy began with Shaun of the Dead, a marvelous send-up of the zombie apocalypse genre. Next up was Hot Fuzz, a high-octane cop caper that simultaneously mocked and glorified the buddy cop tradition. Now the trilogy comes to an end with The World's End, an existential comedy with a sci-fi twist.

The plot revolves around Gary King (Simon Pegg), a middle-aged alcoholic who has steadfastly refused to grow up. He decides that he needs to relive the happiest time of his life, which was a night twenty years ago when he went on a massive pub crawl with his four best friends (one of whom is of course played by Nick Frost). Their aim was to do the "Golden Mile," i.e. get a pint at twelve different pubs in their hometown of Newton Haven, but they never made it to the last pub, The World's End.

Gary rounds up the old gang, all of whom have grown into responsible adults and are none too pleased to see Gary again. In fact, it becomes increasingly clear that Gary's memories of that night are far rosier than his companions'. Still, he convinces everyone to return to Newton Haven for one more attempt at completing the Golden Mile. They discover the pubs have undergone the "Starbucks" treatment and are disappointingly uniform, but more disturbingly, the people seem a bit uniform as well. At which point the story takes a sudden sci-fi twist.

The World's End fully demonstrates Edgar Wright's and Simon Pegg's flair for elaborately satirizing and celebrating popular movie genres. However, this final installment of the trilogy is also introspective and reveals that our heroes are finally growing up. The relationship between Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's characters is explored with much more depth and the tension between them builds and boils over in unexpected ways. They are no longer men trapped in perpetual adolescence but men who have to face the harsh reality of being adults, albeit in the midst of an alien invasion.

The World's End is bizarrely funny but there's a more somber edge to the proceedings as Gary is forced to examine how he has wasted his life so far. Of course, with a supporting cast consisting of Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, and  Rosamund Pike, there's plenty of humor, drunkenness, a thumping "Madchester" soundtrack, and solid British self-deprecation. It isn't my favorite of the trilogy, but it still seems like a fitting finale to what was always a very weird and delightful set of films. Edgar Wright has directed this movie with his trademark flair and although it veers off into a completely existential tangent, it contains all the laughs and surprises that made each movie in the Cornetto trilogy such a delicious treat. 

Catching Fire: Let the Revolution Begin

Due to the frenzy of Hunger Games promotion in the past few weeks, I was compelled to re-read the books and re-watch the first movie. Now I've watched the sequel, Catching Fire, and it is clear that this franchise just keeps getting bigger and better.

In comparison to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire appears to have benefited from an enormous budget and increased investment in production value. I certainly enjoyed the first movie, but the aesthetics of the second film are on a completely different scale. The special effects are a lot sharper, District 12 looks grayer and grimier, the Capitol is even more garish and extravagant, the new Games arena is a riot of color and horror. As a result, the camerawork is steady and cinematic: the first movie was very shaky, which suited the more stripped-down nature of that film, but Catching Fire has a much more epic and grandiose feel to it. This is perhaps most obvious in the effort that has gone into the costumes. Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), the Capitol chaperone who is always eye-popping in her strange Capitol outfits, has about a dozen costume changes, each one more elaborate than the last. Even her eyelashes have been meticulously crafted to suit each outfit and the effect is astonishing.

But special effects are nothing if you don't have a good cast and script. Catching Fire does a tremendous job of packing in the dense story and features every scene I wanted to see from the book. As a die-hard fan of the The Hunger Games trilogy, I cannot overemphasize the joy of reading the actual books and luxuriating in them. There is so much emotion and complexity expressed in the novels, much of which is nearly impossible to translate to film. Fortunately, Jennifer Lawrence makes Katniss Everdeen far more vulnerable in this installment and we have a better sense of the emotions raging within her while she tries to maintain a deadpan exterior in front of President Snow and his thugs. She ensures that Katniss continues to be a strong, smart, and compelling leading female character, always a rarity in a big blockbuster movie.

The supporting cast is nicely rounded off with Josh Hutcherson, who lends more maturity to the perpetually heartbroken Peeta Mellark, and Liam Hemsworth who is affecting in his few short scenes as Gale, the boy who loves Katniss but can't begin to understand her relationship with Peeta. Woody Harrelson's Haymitch is probably not as drunk as the book's version, but he still does a great job of wisely mentoring Peeta and Katniss whilst providing much-needed comic relief. Sam Claflin and Jena Malone are strong and witty as the new tributes, Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason, and they keep you entertained whenever they're on screen. Overall, despite the dark nature of the series, the movie retains an ability to inject some humor into horrifying situations and defuse the tension that keeps building up as the characters enter the arena for the 75th Hunger Games.

Catching Fire signals that the filmmakers understand exactly how to film these books to deliver the maximum impact. The movie has a relentless pace but takes the time to flesh out the emotional arcs of each character, lending much more depth and heartbreak to the romantic subplot. It is an edge-of-your-seat action thriller, but it fully develops the political back story as well, capturing the unrest in various Districts around Panem that will lead to the events of the next movie. My only quibble with this film was that I didn't want it to end. Sadly there's nothing I can do about that except hope that they hurry up the production of the next movie and deliver something as gorgeous and riveting as this film. Considering how well this franchise is doing already, I'd say the odds are ever in their favor. 

Thor The Dark World: Journey into the Nine Realms

One of the best things about Thor was its ability to poke fun at the superhero genre whilst simultaneously delivering a spectacular superhero movie. Thor has always been a tricky superhero because he's already a God, not just some schlub who got bitten by a radioactive spider or injected with super serum and decided to save the world. Fortunately, the people in charge of the Thor franchise know how to mine the laughs when this Norse God finds himself surrounded by bewildered humans and needs to save the day yet again.

In Thor: The Dark World, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) hasn't been back to Earth since the events of The Avengers. His father, Odin, has commissioned him to vanquish evil throughout the Nine Realms while his trickster brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been imprisoned in Asgard for causing all that trouble in New York. Once peace descends on the Realms, Odin thinks it's high time Thor took over the Kingdom. But our hero is pining for him human lady love, astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and can't take much interest in the Asgardian revels. When he discovers that Jane might be in trouble, he grabs his hammer, flies down to Earth, and sets off on another inter-dimensional adventure. 

The plot involves numerous pseudoscientific details and mythological backstories that I won't cover here. Suffice to say, Jane has accidentally come into contact with a weapon that could obliterate all the Realms and Thor has to unwillingly team up with Loki to defeat both the weapon and the Dark Elves who seek to wield it. As a result, Jane gets to travel to Asgard and meet her boyfriend's parents, leaving her scientist colleagues behind. These colleagues consist of the reliably hilarious intern, Darcy (Kat Dennings) who has hired a new intern for herself, and Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), Jane's mentor who continues to in trouble with the authorities for his rather unorthodox behavior. Like the original Thor movie, these weirdos provide much of the comic relief  on Earth when the movie gets too heavy with Asgardian drama and action. 

As with any superhero movie, there are high stakes, dark moments, and deaths. Action sequences abound as Thor travels into multiple realms and battles all manner of bizarre creatures. But Chris Hemsworth brings both brains and considerable brawn to the show and makes Thor a relatable and engaging hero to root for. Tom Hiddleston's Loki is still just as devious, sarcastic, and charming as ever and Natalie Portman's Jane gets to use her substantial intellect to play more than just a hapless heroine. And anytime the movie looks in danger of taking itself too seriously, the writers have injected some witty banter or a one-liner to continue the light and breezy tone of this franchise. There are also some incredible cameos from well-known actors (both from inside and outside the Marvel universe) who are guaranteed to make the audience cheer and chuckle. 

Thor: The Dark World features a well-rounded cast, a solid script, and the perfect balance of heroics and hilarity. The special effects are still dazzling, and director Alan Taylor has worked hard to make Asgard feel a bit more "lived-in" and realistic this time around. We might be inundated with superhero movies these days, but as long as the people in charge of Thor continue to place as much emphasis on comedy as on action, I will happily follow his adventures for many years to come. 

An Adventure in Space and Time: The History of Doctor Who

As a longtime admirer of Doctor Who, I was certainly caught up in the excitement surrounding the show's 50th anniversary celebrations. "The Day of the Doctor," a brand new episode written by Steven Moffat and starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, and John Hurt, was a wonderful celebration of the kind of storytelling that makes Who great. However, every Whovian should also check out An Adventure in Space and Time, a TV movie written by Mark Gatiss (who has penned many marvelous Doctor Who episodes, as well as co-creating Sherlock) that tells the story of how Doctor Who was created and brought to TV screens in 1963.

The movie follows the behind-the-scenes action when the BBC's Head of Drama, Sydney Newman (Brian Cox), decided that the 1963 Saturday schedule needed to cash in on the sci-fi craze and feature a program that could entertain, frighten, and educate children. He appointed Verity Lambert (Jessica Raine) as the show's producer, making her the first female producer at the BBC, and Waris Hussein (Sacha Dhawan) as the show's director, making him the BBC's first Indian director. Lambert and Hussein both had something to prove and they immediately set out to prove it. They brought on William Hartnell (David Bradley) to play the Doctor, and after a few hiccups, they managed to create a show that people are still watching 50 years later.

An Adventure in Space and Time is a loving ode to Doctor Who and also features certain cameos that will delight and thrill fans. Each actor has put in a noteworthy performance, but the star of the piece is David Bradley, who perfectly captures William Hartnell's initial confusion and later devotion to the character of the Doctor and everything the show represented to its legions of fans. It is a moving portrayal that made me want to start watching classic Doctor Who episodes and see what the First Doctor was really like. Mark Gatiss' script focuses on the most interesting people and moments in the show's creation and he elegantly condenses four years of television history into ninety minutes of pure entertainment.

Despite my love for Who, I was woefully ignorant of its history and conception at the BBC. Thanks to An Adventure in Space and Time, I have more reasons to admire how groundbreaking this show was, not just in terms of content, but in terms of the people involved in its creation. 50 years later, it is still going strong, and the celebrations of the show's past have only stoked the excitement about its future. 

The Wrong Mans: An Explosion of Comedy

If you're sick of looking for ways to watch BBC shows in the United States, you'll be delighted to hear that BBC Two's The Wrong Mans was co-produced with Hulu. Therefore, US viewers have ready access to this gem of a show that was created by Gavin & Stacey alums, James Corden and Mathew Baynton.

The Wrong Mans starts off with a very Hitchcockian premise (ergo the show's title). Sam Pinkett (Baynton) works for the Berkshire City Council and is a very ordinary (i.e. boring) chap. One morning, on his way to work, he witnesses a car crash. After the driver has been taken to the hospital and the police leave, Sam hears a phone ring and discovers a mobile at the side of the road. Assuming it's the driver's phone, he answers it, only to receive a threatening message from a man who says, "If you aren't here by five o'clock, we'll kill your wife."

Naturally, Sam is terrified and has no idea what to do. He heads to work, goes into the restroom, and listens to the threatening voicemails that have accumulated on the phone. When he gets out of his cubicle, he discovers that Phil Bourne (James Corden), the office "mail distribution assistant," overheard all the messages and is desperate to know what's going on. After Sam tells him the whole story, Phil convinces him that they need to be the heroes and do whatever it takes to save this woman's life.

What follows is a brilliant series of six episodes, each of which raises the stakes higher and thrusts the naive protagonists into a bewildering array of conspiracies that go all the way into the upper echelons of the British government. The show is remarkably funny but it also features impeccable production values, action sequences, and stunts that ensure you spend as much time on the edge of your seat as you do laughing. People are violently killed, Sam and Phil are constantly on the run from shadowy assailants, and the plot is an intricately-scripted, nail-biting thrill ride.

Baynton and Corden complement each other perfectly as two unlikely men who are trying to save lives, attack gangsters, and avoid getting shot. Every episode ends with a fantastic cliffhanger that will make you instantly click on to the next episode. Therefore, it is brilliant to watch The Wrong Mans on Hulu Plus, since you can binge watch the series in three hours flat. Let's hope the BBC and Hulu keep up this partnership for many years to come. 

Prisoners: An Excruciatingly Great Thriller

During the first half of Prisoners, I considered stopping the movie about five times and just reading the Wikipedia synopsis to find out how it ended. The first half contains all the basic plot points from the trailer and makes you think the movie is just a morality play that won't achieve any resolution. Thankfully, I persevered and discovered that the second half kicks into overdrive with a thrilling race against time, several plot twists, and a powerful conclusion. You'll be nauseous with dread as you watch, but will heave a sigh of relief at the end. Well, mostly.

The plot concerns the abduction of two young girls in Pennsylvania during Thanksgiving. The movie focuses on how their parents react to this event, as well as the police investigation conducted by Detective David Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal). One of the main suspects is Alex Jones (Paul Dano), who was parked in an RV in the neighborhood and saw the girls earlier in the day. The police track him down and question him, but he has the IQ of a ten-year old and is released back into his aunt's custody due to insufficient evidence. However, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), the father of one of the abducted girls, is convinced Jones knows where the girls are, and proceeds to abduct and torture him for information.

That is the first half of the movie in a nutshell. It sets the scene, builds gradually, and then turns to a rather sickening series of torture scenes where Dover unleashes all his rage and desperation on the man who could help him find his daughter before it's too late. Hugh Jackman has never been more terrifying on screen and that was the point at which I wanted to turn the movie off. He deserves kudos for the raw emotion he displays on screen, but he certainly does not make this an easy movie to watch. 

However, if you get past Keller Dover's horrifying quest for justice, the movie swivels to Detective Loki's investigation, and that's when things get interesting. New suspects comes forward, clues and red herrings are discovered and suddenly, all the disparate elements come together with startling clarity. It's a perfect mystery story: all the clues are there if you know where to look. Writer Aaron Guzikowski has done a marvelous job of weaving all the elements together, and director Denis Villeneuve delivers a movie that is both anxiety-provoking and satisfying. You'll be on the edge of your seat throughout the second half and you won't know what to expect next.

Prisoners requires your patience, but it's worth it. Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Paul Dano deliver riveting performances that make you question their characters' motivations until the very end. Denis Villeneuve has created a visceral, disturbing thriller that affects you both physically and psychologically. It is a powerful and complicated movie-watching experience - I heartily recommend it. 

Company: Does Bobby Need a Wife?

Last week PBS Great Performances aired the 2011 production of Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical, Company. This production took place for four nights only at Lincoln Center, featuring an all-star cast of performers from musical theater, movies, and TV. Each actor looks like they're having the time of their life on stage and they deliver one hell of a performance considering that they rehearsed everything remotely and only came together on the day of the first performance. It's an extraordinary feat for an extraordinary musical.

Company centers on Bobby (Neil Patrick Harris), a 35-year old bachelor who doesn't seem to have any single friends. The play begins as five couples descend on Bobby's apartment to throw him a surprise birthday party. They are all extremely fond of him but keep pestering him to find a wife in order to find true happiness. The rest of the play features vignettes of the five couples as they demonstrate that they might not be as happy as Bobby assumes, as well as featuring a look at Bobby's various girlfriends.

I won't delve into the particular problems plaguing each couple because you need to watch these stories unfold and enjoy both the comedy and pathos of these strange relationships. Neil Patrick Harris has a wonderfully expressive face and his reactions to his friends' bizarre antics are often as funny as the antics themselves. There are various memorable performances, including a tongue-twistingly rapid-fire rendition of the patter song, "Getting Married Today" by the always hilarious Katie Finneran and Patti LuPone's soaring delivery of "The Ladies Who Lunch." Two TV performers who will surprise you with their musical chops are Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, who plays April, a rather dumb flight attendant who likes to tell marvelously pointless stories, and Stephen Colbert, who fulfills his longtime theater ambitions with plenty of singing, dancing, and a very involved karate fight with Martha Plimpton.

The draw of this production of Company was undoubtedly the cast, but once you get over seeing so many stars collected on one stage, you are captivated by the story of Bobby and his friends, all of whom are experts at doling out relationship advice but not so great at following it. Company is one of Sondheim's most beloved musicals, and the range and breadth of its melodies will keep you engaged during the entire performance. You can watch this production on Amazon or buy the DVD, so celebrate Sondheim Week and treat yourself to a musical that never gets old. 

Ambassadors: Diplomatic Disasters

Due to my adoration for Peep Show, the Channel 4 comedy starring the comedy duo of David Mitchell and Robert Webb, I was excited to hear they were doing a BBC Two comedy-drama series entitled Ambassadors. The series is a mere three episodes long (I don't know if there are plans for more) but it contains three hours of very British hilarity.

Set in the fictional Central Asian country of Tazbekistan, Ambassadors follows a group of people at the British Embassy who are trying to go about their jobs without causing a series of diplomatic incidents. Needless to say, they don't quite succeed in that endeavor. David Mitchell plays Keith Davis, the newly-arrived British Ambassador, who is trying to learn the ropes and not worry about the fact that no one knows what happened to his stressed-out predecessor. His wife, Jennifer (Keeley Hawes), is a doctor who works at the local hospital while simultaneously running the household and wrangling the Tazbek housekeeper to provide British food on demand for various Embassy occasions. Robert Webb play Neil Tilly, the Deputy Head of Mission, who serves as the Ambassador's adviser and seems to be the only man who knows what's going on in the country and in the Embassy.

Over the course of three episodes, the hapless Ambassador has to convince the dictatorial Tazbek President to hand over oil rights and secure an arms deal whilst simultaneously distancing himself from the regime's brutal human rights record. All in a day's work for a Western diplomat. Davis is a decent man, but he knows that he can't always take the moral high ground when there are practical business matters at play. His Deputy, on the other hand, is all for giving asylum to political prisoners and constantly needling the Ambassador to do the right thing at the risk of starting a diplomatic kerfuffle. Incidentally, he is dating a Tazbek bartender, which inevitably leads to further complications.

Ambassadors has dramatic moments but it is also a very astute satire that frequently builds up to explosively hilarious scenes. The characters are trying their best, but they cannot help being flummoxed by the daily chaos of living in Tazbekistan. The relentless demands of the higher-ups at the Foreign Office constantly undermine their every attempt at diplomacy, leading to outrageous outcomes. Fortunately, despite their confusion, they are still a competent group of people and find a way to muddle through. Ambassadors is a fine and funny showcase of how, even in the most preposterous situations, the English find a way to keep calm and carry on. 

Hello Ladies: A Lonely Englishman Awkwardly Looks for Love

Stephen Merchant is the lesser-known genius behind the hugely successful British series, The Office. Together with Ricky Gervais, he helped change the TV comedy landscape with shows like Extras and Life's Too Short. Now, Merchant has struck out on his own, starring in an HBO show adapted from his stand-up show, Hello Ladies.

Merchant plays Stuart Pritchard, a single British web designer who lives in Los Angeles and longs to date a model. Unfortunately, he's 6 foot 7 and socially awkward, traits that do not work in his favor when he's out in clubs trying to pick up the "ladies." His best friends are Wade (Nate Torrence), a lovable man whose world is crashing around him because his wife wants a divorce, and Kives (Kevin Weisman), a wheelchair-bound, filthy-minded ladies' man who never seems to strike out. Christine Woods plays Jessica Vanderhoff, an actress who rents Stuart's guesthouse, and the series spends equal time on her struggles to get acting roles now that she's too old to play ingenues and has yet to find her big break. She and Stuart use each others contacts - she to get a job, he to get a girlfriend - but these attempts always fail spectacularly and they wind up where they started, lonely and unemployed.

Hello Ladies is filled with cringe-inducing comedy that often elicits more groans than laughs. Stuart is a sweet guy but his sights are always set on unattainable and uninterested women who either ignore him completely or take advantage of his niceness. The show has almost wrapped up its first season and Stuart is no closer to finding a girlfriend, although Jessica appears to be making some career strides. However, I'm hopeful that the season will end on a positive note, because I cannot help but root for the kind and gawky Englishman.

Hello Ladies isn't the best comedy of the fall but it certainly has its moments. Apart from Stuart and Jessica, none of the characters feel fully fleshed out, and the show certainly needs to find some new storylines rather than focusing on Stuart's Sisyphean task of getting a date. But if you're a fan of Stephen Merchant's comic sensibility and enjoy a comedy with relatable characters in painfully awkward situations, Hello Ladies is an excellent addition to your Sunday night line-up. 

Mad About the Boy: Bridget Jones Is Back!

Regular readers will remember that I love Bridget Jones. So I was thrilled to bits to hear that Helen Fielding had written a brand new Bridget Jones novel, thirteen long years after The Edge of Reason. Of course, that joy was dampened when it was revealed that Bridget was now a widow with two small children. Mark Darcy is dead? How on earth could this book be any good?!

Turns out, even dead Darcy can't prevent this novel from having genuinely laugh-out-loud moments. Bridget is just as lovable and scatter-brained as ever, but now with two young children who are along for the ride. No longer a thirtysomething singleton, she is struggling to come to terms with Mark Darcy's death and is egged on by her friends to re-enter the dating pool, a prospect that is particularly horrifying as a single mother in the throes of *gasp* middle age. However, our heroine's foray into the brave new world of Twitter leads her to a virtual and eventually in-person romance with a much younger man named Roxby. Is the toy boy a Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver? Read the book to find out.

Mad About the Boy, like every Bridget Jones novel before it, feels like a pop cultural touchstone. Fielding makes many keen observations about life in the digital age and Bridget is constantly struggling to stop checking her texts and tweets long enough to ensure she hasn't set the kids' dinner on fire. There are several references to 2012 movies, fashions, and trends, and this book could serve as a historical artifact for future generations. But there's also plenty of nostalgia, with the return of old friends and enemies, non-stop calorie-counting, drunken texting, and New Year's resolutions.

I can't pretend that Mad About the Boy is a laugh riot. It is punctuated by incredibly sad moments and Bridget is constantly on the verge of teetering into a depressive spiral because she misses Mark, thinks she's a bad mother, feels guilty about moving on, etc. But Helen Fielding is a master at interweaving heartbreak and hilarity, and Bridget Jones can't help laughing through her tears. The novel also feels very cinematic at times, with certain scenes that feel like they stepped right out of the screenplays of the previous two movies. It's quite a roller-coaster ride and though you might guess the inevitable ending, you'll absolutely love how you get there. It's a very Austenian tale, hearkening back to the series' Pride & Prejudice roots, and it will leave you with a warm, happy glow.

If you love Bridget and want to know what happens to her, read this book. If you wish Jane Austen wrote novels about dating in the 21st century, read this book. And if you love witty writing, well-developed characters, heartbreak, romance, and happiness, read this book.

Frankenstein: Who's the Real Monster?

Nothing beats the experience of live theater. But the Royal National Theatre is quickly proving that the next best thing is watching broadcasts of their most acclaimed productions in movie theaters across the globe. That is how I got to watch the incredible 2011 production of Frankenstein, Nick Dear's adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch.

One of the unique features of this production was that Cumberbatch and Miller alternated playing Victor Frankenstein and his Creature for every performance. I saw the version with Cumberbatch as Frankenstein and Miller as the Creature. You don't have to watch for long to understand why they were jointly awarded the Olivier Award for Best Actor. Miller's performance as the Creature is mesmerizing. The opening ten minutes feature him slithering and stumbling across the stage, learning how to use his re-animated limbs. And the first half of the play focuses entirely on his foray into the real world after he is abandoned by Frankenstein, who is repulsed by his creation.

The Creature spends a year with a blind old man who teaches him how to speak and read great works of literature. However, the Creature's horrific appearance makes it impossible for him to assimilate into society, leading him to murderous acts. He finally finds his maker in Geneva and begs him to make him a bride to end his loneliness. Their exchange makes it apparent that while the world might think the Creature is a monster, Frankenstein is deeply inhuman himself and driven by egomania. Cumberbatch imbues the scientist with a single-minded drive to establish himself as a scientific genius among "the little people" who know nothing about electricity, galvanics, and the assorted horrors that have brought his Creature to life. Engaged to be married, Frankenstein brusquely postpones his wedding and leaves his family to go build a Creature who will be far superior to this awful creation.

This production of Frankenstein is simply astonishing. The sets are elaborate, the music is electrifying, the acting is superb. Despite the dark and ominous material, there are hilarious moments, particularly when the Creature uses logic and reason to argue with the humans rather than brute strength. Of course, there is plenty of violence and tragedy, and in the end you have to decide for yourself whether Frankenstein or his Creature is the true monster.

Due to the popularity of this production, National Theatre Live is broadcasting it worldwide in cinemas during November. Look up showtimes in your area and watch this play immediately. It's an unmissable opportunity.

The Way, Way Back: Growing Up Is Hard to Do

Summers are so jam-packed with big movies that it is easy to miss the low-budget indies that rely on storytelling rather than special effects. I missed The Way, Way Back when it was in theaters, but thankfully we can now watch this summertime delight on DVD.

The movie is a classic coming-of-age tale about one boy's eventful summer. Duncan (Liam James) is an awkward fourteen-year old whose mother, Pam (Toni Colette), has taken up with an obnoxious man named Trent (Steve Carell). Pam is a good mother, but she is too preoccupied with her relationship to be concerned about Trent's casual mockery of her son. Trent's teenage daughter, Steph (Zoe Levin), is pretty and popular so she doesn't offer Duncan any solace either. They arrive in Trent's Cape Cod beach house for a summer vacation and meet the boozy neighbors (including Alison Janney, Amanda Peet, and Rob Corddry), who all act like they're Spring Break and don't care what the kids get up to.

Duncan is having a horrible summer until he discovers Water Wizz, a water park led by a charismatic man named Owen (Sam Rockwell). Intrigued by this awkward teen, Owen takes Duncan under his wing and provides a constant barrage of jokes until he can get Duncan to loosen up a little. He even gives Duncan a job at the water park, a move which rapidly bolsters his self-confidence and makes him happier than he's been in years. All of this is kept secret from his mom, who is gradually realizing that her life might not be as idyllic as she imagined.

The movie's writers and directors are Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, who won Oscars for their work on The Descendants. Like that movie, The Way, Way Back isn't strictly a comedy, but it's a funny drama. It has heavy moments, particularly whenever Duncan must confront the thoroughly repellent Trent, but the moments with Owen in the water park are full of light and joy, with a soundtrack that is sunny and uplifting. The opening and closing scenes of the movie are very similar, but Duncan's emotional growth is evident and you get the sense that our hero is going to be all right.

The Way, Way Back is a sweet summer movie that was crafted with a lot of love. It features a slew of comic actors who all put in fine work, and a heart-wrenching performance from Liam James. It deftly handles many coming-of-age tropes and is funny and warm. So seek it out and brighten up the cold winter months with a charming summer tale.

12 Years a Slave: Stark & Powerful

12 Years a Slave is the most unsanitized and affecting movie about slavery that has ever come out of Hollywood. And rather than being a whitewashed film that views the slave experience from the perspective of white people, this is emphatically a story about what it meant to be a slave.

Set in 1841, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York with a wife and two children. He is an accomplished violinist and joins two men on a trip to Washington D.C. where they promise him a a lot of money for performing at a circus. However, when he gets there, he is drugged and wakes up in chains, no longer a free man. Abducted by slave traders, Solomon is shipped down to New Orleans, given the name Platt, and sold into slavery. A fate that he is chained to for twelve long years.

Solomon's first master, William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), is a seemingly kind man, but he is entrenched in the Establishment and never going to give a slave his freedom. He eventually has to sell Solomon to Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), one of the cruelest slavers in the region, who preaches that slaves are nothing more than property and subjects them to his every drunken whim. Solomon's fellow slaves warn him not to reveal that he is an educated man, because he is "there to work, not to read and write." He cannot bear the injustices he witnesses every day, but he has little choice than to answer to the name of Platt and bide his time until he can find a way to get word to his friends and family up North. 

Director Steve McQueen offers a wrenching and unflinching look at Solomon's trials over the course of twelve years. He uses long close-ups that capture the shifting emotions on the characters' faces as they transition from hope to despair to resignation. Hans Zimmer has composed a restrained background score and the main violin theme is a simple and haunting piece that stirs your soul. The spirituals that are sung by the slaves during their labors are painful and uplifting, hopeless and hopeful all at the same time. Chiwetel Ejiofor's incredible performance is quiet, angry, and desperate. Michael Fassbender's portrayal of the sadistic Edwin Epps will make you want to shout out and beg him to stop. In addition, Lupita Nyong'o deserves multiple accolades for her searing performance as Patsey, a slave who suffers various atrocities alongside Solomon with absolutely no hope of freedom. 

The remarkable fact about 12 Years a Slave is that it is based on a true story. Every horror you witness on screen actually happened to a human being. The real Solomon Northup eventually got free, returned to his family, and published his memoirs in 1853. But rather than feeling happy that Solomon got to return home, you are left with overwhelming sadness for the slaves he had to leave behind.

Captain Phillips: Worlds Collide on the High Seas

Captain Phillips is the story of the Maersk Alabama hijacking in 2009 when four Somali pirates took control of an America cargo vessel and subsequently took its captain hostage. Just to spare my readers grief, don't read further if you don't know anything about the hijacking and would consider details about the outcome to be a spoiler.

Tom Hanks plays the eponymous captain, a stoic man from Massachusetts with years of seafaring experience under his belt. He is captaining the Maersk Alabama's voyage from Oman to Mombasa, which involves traversing the pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia. He has a somewhat testy relationship with the crew, who are not pleased about this risky itinerary. In the middle of a security drill, Phillips spots two skiffs bearing pirates with assault rifles. The crew executes all the safety maneuvers they've been taught. But despite the fact that they are on an enormous ship and their attackers are on dinky boats, they don't stand a chance, because they have no weapons on board. Armed with AK-47s and a ladder, four Somali pirates find it laughably easy to take over the ship. A series of events leads to their leaving the ship on the lifeboat, with Captain Phillips as hostage. Which results in the intervention of the US Navy, who need to make sure they rescue the captain before the pirates reach land.

Directed by Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips is a taut thriller that perfectly captures the desperation that motivates every character. The shaky camera lends a documentary feel to the film and there are moments when you feel both seasick and claustrophobic. Screenwriter Billy Ray hasn't written an America-centric rah-rah action movie; instead, we see why these four Somalians have turned to piracy and the consequences they face from warlords if they don't return with millions. And the captain isn't really a hero - he is simply acting on a very human instinct for self-preservation, which causes him to do both heroic and foolish things. Once he's taken as a hostage, he knows that things are likely to end badly and his terror is evident. This is not a story of a brave man versus four evil pirates: it's a tale of five men who are all thrust into a horrible situation. One exchange sums up this movie perfectly: Captain Phillips is pleading with Muse, the pirate captain, and says, "You don't have to be fishermen or pirates, you can do something else." Muse replies, "Maybe in America."

The four Somali actors, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, and Mahat M. Ali, deliver incredible performances that place the humanity of these characters front and center. Tom Hanks puts in an unsurprisingly Oscar-worthy performance that will remind you of what a great actor he is and his final scenes are particularly heartbreaking. The movie ends at exactly the right moment, which is a testament to how judiciously it has been edited to avoid the blight of "multiple endings" that plagues most films today. The soundtrack by Henry Jackman is also noteworthy - it is intense but never takes over the scene, doing its best to make you feel the music rather than hear it. You will be on the edge of your seat without realizing that the music has put you there.

Captain Phillips is an excellent movie that has been made with a great deal of care and humanity. It's not meant to be a feel-good piece, but is an interesting reflection on the state of the world today and how you can't trust a one-sided narrative to tell the whole story.

Twelfth Night: A Night to Remember

For those of us who can't run off to London and catch a play at the Globe, the Globe has now come to Broadway. For 16 weeks at the Belasco Theatre, an all-male cast of British talent are performing Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Richard III in repertory. The production was widely acclaimed last year when they performed at the Globe; having seen Twelfth Night, I guarantee it will be just as acclaimed here in New York.

There are several reasons why this production offers an immersive Shakespearean experience. Let's begin with the fact that it strives for Elizabethan authenticity. The play is performed as it would have been in Shakespeare's day: the actors are all male, they are wearing intricate costumes fashioned from materials similar to what would have been used in the 16th and 17th centuries, the musicians are all using Renaissance instruments, and part of the lighting comes from 100 candles that are lit all over the stage and on the chandeliers. Arrive 20 minutes early because the actors participate in the standard Elizabethan pre-show ritual of dressing and being made up on stage. Which is no easy feat since they have to be laced and pinned and tucked in to their various costumes. 

Did I mention the play offers onstage seating? Which is how I ended up on stage, thrilled to bits as some of the actors amiably ambled over to chat and recruit audience members to hand them props once the play began. And that brings us to the actors. Who are just brilliant. It would be impossible to single out one performer because each actor waltzes out on stage, does something indescribably hilarious, and just when you think they're your favorite, the next one waltzes on and proceeds to makes your sides split. Perhaps the actors playing the women are particularly noteworthy, since you suspend your disbelief for three hours and are thoroughly invested in the gender-bending intrigues of the play. Samuel Barnett's Viola is sweet and desperate as she pines for the Duke; Mark Rylance's Olivia is demure and then increasingly frenzied as she falls for Cesario; and Paul Chahidi's Maria takes on a life of her own, eagerly plotting against Malvolio while lusting for Sir Toby. The men are equally charming and hysterical - Stephen Fry's Malvolio is bombastic, pathetic, and remarkable in those yellow stockings; Colin Hurley's Sir Toby Belch is a drunken delight; Angus Wright is a riot every time he walks on as the clueless Sir Andrew Aguecheek; Liam Brennan's Orsino pinballs between lovelornity and confusion; and Peter Hamilton Dyer ties the whole show together with his beautiful songs and wise foolery as Feste the Clown.

Twelfth Night was one of my favorite plays but I had never seen it performed. Now it will remain a favorite for a lifetime. This production manages to bring out the very best in Shakespeare - the set, the costumes, the music, and the acting all reflect what makes these plays such enduring and entertaining masterpieces. Everyone, from Shakespeare novices to experts, will be awestruck by this production and clamor for more. I strongly recommend the onstage seating option because it is an incredible experience (and available for the price of a rush ticket if you're lucky!). But whether you're sitting on the stage or in the last row of the balcony, you are guaranteed to have a soul-satisfying time at the theater. Just as Shakespeare intended.