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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Line of Duty - Season 2 in TV

May 5, 2019 (Updated May 5, 2019)  
Line of Duty  - Season 2
Line of Duty - Season 2
2013 | Drama
Better than the first
I didn't believe it possible, but this second series has really surpassed the first. I think it's partly down to having main characters that are now well established and likeable at that, and their personal lives are shown briefly and all we ever get is an insight into the private lives rather than them being drawn out and over exaggerated. Not matter shows can pull this off without becoming dull or just cheesy.

This show is all about corrupt police, so theres always going to be an element of surprise and ambiguity. However for me this second series really excels. It takes ambiguity and grey areas to a completely new level and I spent the entire 6 episodes unsure of which way things were going to go until the final reveal. This series may not be quite as gory and violent as the first series, but it makes up for it in tension and intrigue, brought in part by the wonderful Keeley Hawes and the rest of the cast.

I should also add that I'm highly impressed with how accurate the portrayal of policing is on this. Yes there is some artistic license in place to make it look more exciting (and even get me started on their lax attitude to drink driving), but aside from this they've obviously done their research. It makes me feel like I'm at work, although obviously a more exciting version).

Although I have to admit the thing that surprised me the most today wasn't the ending to this series, but finding out that Martin Compston is actually Scottish! Arnott is a Scot, mind blown.
  
Hark! The Village Wait by Steeleye Span
Hark! The Village Wait by Steeleye Span
1970 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This one's not quite as contemporary as Electrelane – in fact, that's putting it mildly! It's an old folk song that dates back to the seventeenth century, so it's been passed down through the generations. “This is the version that fits the mood of this collection of songs the best I think. It's another one about losing somebody; it's about a young woman who's lover has been kidnapped by a press gang and taken out to sea and she's not going to see him again - it's a terrible, terrible tragedy. “Steeleye Span are a funny band; they came out of a scene that's not too far removed from Kevin Ayers and that electric folk movement of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. They evolved into something that perhaps wasn't so cool later on - there's a record called All Around My Hat that's a bit Alan Partridge - but those early albums are really great. “I definitely have a personal connection to ‘The Lowlands of Holland’. It's an unusual song, actually, in that I can never figure out whether it's Scottish or Irish in origin. It doesn't really matter, but it has significance for me because I live and have my studio in Dumfries and Galloway, and in the song, Gabe Woods is singing about the man from Galloway. “So I imagine it's where I am and when I'm hundreds or thousands of miles away from home, I hear that song and I imagine being back in Scotland. It generates a degree of homesickness and wistfulness and it's good to feel that, because it reminds you of what home is, and why you should return there.”"

Source
  
300 (2007)
300 (2007)
2007 | Action, Drama
There's a few Zack Snyder films that I genuinely like, and 300 is one of them. It's 100% style over substance, it's overly gratuitous in the sheer amount of slow motion, but it's pretty enjoyable.

Some of the shots are expertly crafted recreations of the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, and as such, is a damn faithful adaption of a cult classic comic series.
The visual effects are stunning at times, and the sepia tone it's draped in lends a lot to its overall feel (even if it's a subject of criticism from many)

Gerard Butler takes the lead as King Leonidas of Sparta, in what has arguably become his most well known roll in the years following. It's easy to look over his thick Scottish accent (in ancient Greece...) when he's playing the character with such enthusiasm. Most of his lines have become highly quotable, even familiar to those who have never seen the film. 300 would be a much lesser film without his involvement.
Rodrigo Santoro carves a striking figure as primary antagonist Xerxes, his androgynous look and demonic-like voice providing a memorable villain.
The cast is rounded out by the likes of Lena Headey, David Wenham, Dominic West, and an early role for Michael Fassbender, a sturdy ensemble cast.

The set pieces are pretty thrilling, and results in a movie that blurs the fantastical, with a real life historic battle. It's an interesting mix that works well.

300 is a film that throws big sloppy buckets of testosterone at its audience, whilst simultaneously flaunting a silly amount of homoerotic undertones and CGI pectoral muscles, and it's great.