NaBloPoMo Day 2 - The Blackadder Five

Surely, every Brit over the age of about 20, thinks fondly upon the various incarnations of the BBC comedy series, Blackadder. It was a series that lasted only four years (a blip when you consider the long run of some other shows) and made only around 24 episodes, yet it's influence extends far and wide; even friends in Europe and the States have seen and fallen in love with it.

For those of you that are not familiar with the show, each season was set in a different historic period, reincarnating the same characters in slightly different guises. The first season, "The Black Adder", was set at the end of the Medieval period. The second season, "Blackadder II", was set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The third season, "Blackadder The Third", was set during the Regency period. And the final, and most accomplished season, "Blackadder Goes Forth", was set during the first world war. Each outing followed the misadventures of Edmund Blackadder, whose personal fortune waned as his wit and intelligence increased through history. He was always accompanied by his loveable, yet dimwitted man-servant/crony, Baldrick, whose lack of personal hygiene was commensurate with his lack of intelligence. Plaguing our leading man was usually a person of elevated but undeserved rank or position. Hugh Laurie's Prince Regent was particularly memorable to me, as was Miranda Richardson's Queen Elizabeth I (fondly referred to as Queenie), who had a propensity to strop like a five year old at the drop of a hat.

It is somewhat difficult to explain the charm of these characters or the spell that the series cast, but charming and spellbinding it was, as well as being somehow quintessentially British. It was as thought provoking as it was side-splittingly funny and the final episode of the final series stills calls forth a tear with its poignancy.

So why write about this now? Well, if Internet rumour is to be believed (and it often isn't) a fifth season may be on the way. Rowan Atkinson himself has been reported to have said that "Generally speaking, Blackadder seemed to work best when there was a sort of claustrophobic world and a hierarchy. So if you can think of any situations in which they are dominant – then I think there is a possibility of a fifth series." (Mail Online, 1st October 2011)

So as I head off to bed tonight, I am hoping that this particular Internet rumour might pan out and we might be rewarded with a fifth series set sometime between the end of the first world war and the present day (or even the future?) Personally, I could see Blackadder stalking London's streets in the 80s, but there is so much fun to be had with the past. Rumour has it that Tony Robinson would like to make "The Blackadder Five" set in the 60s and following the misfortunes of a five piece rock band of the same name. Presumably Blackadder would be the unfortunate frontman of the group while Robinson's 'Bald Rick' would be the unhygienic and slow-witted drummer.

In any event, I think it might be time to get out the Blackadder DVD boxset and get watching again.

The Expendables: Junk Food for a Saturday Night

Saturday nights are made for movies, but not just any old movies; Saturday nights are made for big hairy exploding movies filled with testosterone and car chases and gun fights and gorgeous, improbably clothed women (and equally gorgeous and improbably clothed men). Saturday night movies should be the equivalent of McDonald's: lacking in substance and a little bit bad for you but delicious nonetheless. The Expendables was a movie we never quite got around to seeing at the box office, but the trailer promised everything you might expect from a Saturday night 'junk-food' type movie. So last weekend, we settled down to watch.
What a colossal disappointment.

When writer, David Callaham, sat down with Sylvester Stallone to write about The Expendables - a team of daring do-gooder mercenaries - cast by a veritable galaxy of heavyweight action stars, it must have sounded like a great proposition; it certainly sounded like it to me. Alongside Sly, the movie cast includes Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, the Governator, kung-fu-king (yep, that's right) Jet Li and Brit favourite Jason Statham. With that much muscle, grit and man-stink about, how could it fail to please?

Unfortunately it is all too obvious what this film is all about, and it isn't the expulsion of a corrupt general and sadistic drug lord from a small island community. It pains me to say it, but this movie is nothing more than a vehicle for a bunch of aging superheroes, coming to the end of their careers and desperate to be a big box office draw once again. Characters are incidental and the plot is staler than week old bread. It seems that Callaham and Stallone failed to realise that no matter how ear-throbbing and eye-popping the explosions or how convoluted and well choreographed the fight scenes might be, they are a poor substitute for well developed and well written characters and drama.

When I think of the best action movies ever made, I think of films like Armageddon, Terminator 2, Die Hard, Mission Impossible, Top Gun, Indiana Jones and Speed. It's by no-means an exhaustive list. What these titles have in common are compelling characters and genuine conflict. I can easily believe that Sarah Conner and John McClane live beyond the confines of the Terminator and Die Hard movies, but I can barely remember the names of the characters in The Expendables, never mind believe they are bigger than the scenes they're in. The drama is equally contrived and the result is that it is disconnected from the characters rather than driven by them.

And they're making a sequel.

I can only hope that The Expendables 2 burns in development hell forever or that it finds itself a more skilled writer. Ken Kaufman, co-writer on Space Cowboys, is currently associated with the project, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be one of those rare occasions when a sequel improves upon the original. It can't be much worse.

The Expendables is out on DVD and Blu-ray now and The Expendables 2 is currently in pre-production, with an anticipated box office release date in late summer 2012.

One Pill. Anything's Possible.

I imagine that most people have a DVD collection similar to mine. It's a right mixture; literally next to each other on the shelf, you will find a critically acclaimed movie, like Million Dollar Baby, beside something fun and frivolous, like Minority Report. One thing is certain, though; whether it's an Oscar winner or a summer blockbuster, every DVD has earned its place on my shelf. Limitless is no different.

Hidden somewhere between stock characters that have been dusted off, given a new set of clothes and a change of name and sent on their merry way, and a camera technique that is all too reminiscent of 2002 David Fincher pic, Panic Room, you will find an entertaining and endearing heart and a premise that is intellectually intriguing. Russian gangsters, the smarmy ex-brother-in-law drug dealer (who steps right out of the 80's complete with sharp suit and minimalist bachelor pad) and the girlfriend may be unconvincing on screen but Bradley Cooper, as the lead, Eddie Morra, is charasmatic and engaging (and easy on the eye!) while Robert De Niro puts in a highly satisfying performance as the enigmatic villain. And while the digitally tinkered-with zooming camera work may be sickeningly familiar, it also serves as a stomach-churning reminder of how unbalanced and unhinged Eddie Morra's life is becoming. However, the most enchanting element of the movie, is the premise itself. The idea that taking a simple pill will allow you to unlock your full potential; that a pill can fix your life, is enchanting and I dare say there isn't a writer alive who wouldn't long for Eddie Morra's miracle drug to help them finish (or even start!) their magnum opus. But, no matter how bewitching the concept might be, there is a moral message to this movie too, and it is delivered gently with a pleasantly light touch; so light that it might be easy to miss.

Morra's use of the drug, NZT, is all too reasonable in the film. Eddie starts using on the basis that it's a one-time thing that can't possibly make his life any worse. It makes him feel good, makes him successful, so he understandably wants more. But then the side-effects start, but too late he finds that he's no longer taking it because he wants to, but because he needs to. It's a fascinating take on drug use in everyday life, whether that's medicinal drugs (I recently went on holiday and left my prescription drugs at home. By the end of the week I was feeling very unwell!) or whether it's tobacco, alcohol, cannabis or something stronger. It teaches us that it's all too easy - a series of small steps - to start down a road that leads to dependency and it can sometimes get you mixed up in things you would normally not get mixed up in.

It's far from perfection, but Limitless is a movie that has a lot going for it. Ultimately, it manages to entertain and provoke me in equal measure. That's why it will find a home in my DVD collection and why I'll also be reading the book, The Dark Fields by Alan Glyn, on which the film is based.

Limitless is released in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray on 1st August