Film Review: The Great Gatsby

The new judges for Strictly Come Dancing

Set across one hot New York summer, The Great Gatsby is a film that always eluded one definitive and quintessential big-screen adaptation. Enter Australia's Baz Luhrmann, known for colourful extravaganza's Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet and Australia. Big, brash and bursting from the screen, Baz Luhrmann's take on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a film that most viewers with either love or love to hate. 


The story follows Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he moves to New York in the pursuit of the American Dream; caught up in the vibrant social scene, Carraway meets extravagant millionaire Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) who has a proposition for him concerning Nick's cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan).

It was a florists wet-dream

Having not read the source text, I went into The Great Gatsby with only an IMDB synopsis to go on. As a result, I held no expectations over how faithful the film is to the book. I did however enjoy Gatsby, so anyone who has not gone with four feet of the book won't struggle to follow the plot or significance of certain characters; it isn't a complicated or complex narrative.

Something that makes the story that extra bit easy to follow is the narration via Tobey Maguire's Nick Carraway. Reciting the film's events from a sanatorium (an ominous start), Carraway goes from 'new kid on the block' to a part of high society in a matter of mere months after perking the interest of Jay Gatsby.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a solid lead amongst the fast-paced and expensive looking 'music videos' that populate the film; he and Maguire carry the weight of the emotional scenes in the film's final third once the hysterical partying and Jay-Z tracks start to taper off.

Carey Mulligan's portrayal of Daisy Buchanan certainly is lost beneath the screen-owning performance of DiCaprio. This is a confident and assured performance the likes of which he has previously displayed in Inception and The Departed.

I tried to write a review that doesn't mention this but it can't go ignored; DiCaprio can't go a line in this film without calling someone "old sport". Every two minutes it is "old sport" here and "old sport" there. It really takes you out of it after the ninetieth time. Other than that, he is great, as I mentioned.

"Those are some mighty fine boots you've got there
OLD SPORT"

One of the biggest niggles I have with Gatsby is Luhrmann's insistence on unrelenting glitz and glamour. The film is so frantic at times that it all becomes slightly meaningless and washes over you; after the sixtieth confetti-drenched poolside party at Gatsby's house it all starts to feel rather tiresome. Add to this a two and a half hour run-time, and the film does start to lag a little after the first ninety minutes.

This isn't to say it doesn't look magnificent; the vibrant shades of gold and silver that glitter, the drops of champagne and the colourful fireworks all look very pretty. I would say this though; this film is most probably not suited to 3D; whilst I only saw it in 2D, it is pretty fair to say that the 3D would get old very quickly.

The soundtrack is an exciting and contemporary mash-up of pop and R'n'B; The xx, Lana Del Rey, Jay-Z, Jack White - the list goes on. It's an interesting mixture that I felt complemented the period setting nicely.

On the whole, I found that The Great Gatsby is best appreciated when the audience understands that it is an overly extravagant and gorgeous period piece that strives to appeal to the young, the hip and the cool by remixing hot actors with classic literature to win over a teen audience. Does it achieve this goal? Yep.

It is for this reason that Luhrmann's Gatsby will not appeal to everyone. Fact. I'm sure purists who are fans of the book will pick out plenty of discrepancies that don't fit with the source text. At the end of the day however, Luhrmann has opened up the text to a new generation of youngsters and given it a fresh spin of brashness and razmatazz. It might switch off those who were looking for something a little more tonally serious but it doesn't hide the fact it is big and bold. And Leonardo DiCaprio is still pretty hunky too.

I give The Great Gatsby: 6/10

Read More

Doctor Who: Who Should be the Twelfth Doctor?

So there's good news and there's bad news. The good news? The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special is one day closer to airing that it was yesterday. The bad news is that The Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, has announced his departure from the show. After three seasons at the helm of the show, Smith has decided to hang up the fez and bowtie and move on to Gallifreyan pastures new.

 Three stellar seasons has seen Smith's Doctor travel in time and space with Alex Kingston's Professor River Song, Karen Gillian's Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill's Rory Williams. More recently, he has teamed up with Clara Oswin Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman). Throughout his tenure in the TARDIS, he's fought Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians, Ice Warriors, Weeping Angels, the Silence and the Great Intelligence.

2013's Christmas Special has been confirmed as the Eleventh Doctor's swansong and with this in mind, it is time to cue up the inevitable and ask; who should replace him? Who should be cast to play the Twelfth Doctor? Doctor Who? Let me know what you reckon in the comments section below.

Please note: None of these choices are bona-fide contenders, it's all just speculation.

Idris Elba

With relatively big roles in Thor, Prometheus and Pacific Rim, Idris is certainly making a name for himself across the pond. And as the lead in BBC's Luther, he is a household name for most Britons.

His acting talent is not exactly in any doubt and it would be refreshing to have the character given such a different spin. He has also shown he can throw in a few laughs in Prometheus, something which is pretty important for a family show. 

Add all this to the fact that he is a name that has been touted as a potential Doctor in the past, and we could have a contender on our hands.

But then, we might not. With a heavy schedule on Luther and his place in the Marvel Universe cemented, Elba would have to make way for Doctor Who in a big way. I do however, think it is time to seriously consider a black Doctor. I mean, why not?

Eddie Redmayne

 Best known for his role as Marius in 2012's Les Miserables, Redmayne would be a contender given his 'Doctorish' look (he's kind of skinny and youthful) and his rather fancy accent (not that being Scottish as all hell stopped David Tennant being a fan-favourite). He kind of follows in the same vein as Matt Smith and David Tennant, sort of a mixture of the two. 

This one is only a name-drop as I reckon he is the kind of actor who would fill the role but there are better actors out there for the Doctor. 

Aidan Turner

With a solid body of television work behind him (Being Human), Aidan Turner has finally hit it big by scoring the role of Kili in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy. So what does this potential Doctor filling nature?

Well, he's funny. Like, really funny. On-screen and in real-life, Turner is smiley, cheery and an all-round charismatic Irishman who would add a substantial dash of humour to the show. He's handled serious drama in the past too with his character of Mitchell on Being Human suffering his fair share of vampire related torment.

Would he be able to carry a show by himself however? Whilst he shared the screen in Being Human, Turner hasn't carried the lead role in a big show like Doctor Who. However, the BBC haven't exactly gone for big name actors in the past however; had anyone heard of Matt Smith for he was cast as the Eleventh Doctor?

Rupert Grint

You wanted ginger, here's your ginger. Rupert Grint a.k.a Ronald Weasley from Harry Potter. Out of the franchise's three lead's, Grint is the only one to have struggled slightly in landing roles post-Hogwarts. 

Whilst Daniel Radcliffe is off scaring the shit out of yours truly in The Woman in Black and Emma Watson is sexying it up in My Weekend With Marilyn, The Perks of Being A Wallflower and The Bling Ring, Grint has stalled slightly. 

So, what better role to land than a prime-time BBC sci-fi show with a global audience of millions? Personally, I think Grint would be pretty decent as the Doctor; he's young, good-looking and already a known face. The only hitch would be him playing a character that isn't really dim; can you imagine the Doctor 's screwdriver not working and his response being a really silly expression followed by a "bloody hell, Clara"! 

Cillian Murphy

Known for playing Scarecrow in The Dark Knight trilogy, Cillian Murphy would be a great pick for the twelfth Doctor. He's a great actor who is relatively well-known and he has that look about him - he looks like a Timelord.

It would mean sacrificing time spent in Hollywood (sunny, glamorous, fashionable) for time spent in Cardiff (wet, glum, Welsh) but who cares when you make yourself a global name out of it?

and finally...Danny Pudi

Okay, I know he's American, but hear me out because I think this might work. Cast Danny Pudi as the Doctor, give him a British accent and his new costume would be a bowler hat, a red cravat and a bath robe. 

Then, cast Donald Glover as the new assistant (he would be a policeman with a name like Constable Wigglesworth or something like that) and then change the TARDIS so that it looks like a red phone box. 

Over the course of the series, the Doctor steadily adopts the persona of 'Inspector Spacetime' and a whole new era of the show is born. Add in some terrifying villains called Blorgons and BAM!

Sheer brilliance.

Read More

Rank the Films #5: Fast and Furious

As any regular reader of feeling fuzzier will know, lists are pretty darn nifty. We have a profound appreciation for straight-up lists. This is the thinking behind Rank the Films, a regular feature that pulls apart the pros and cons of a series of films, ranking them in order of bad to good. 

With Fast and Furious 6 hitting screens across Australia on June 6th, in this instalment of Rank the Films we decided to take a look at the rest of the franchise (from The Fast and the Furious [2001] to Fast Five [2011] and rank them in order from worst to best. 

5th - 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Rotten Tomatoes: 36%

The first sequel of many, 2 Fast 2 Furious is the least entertaining and the most needlessly flashy of this franchise. Essentially a whole lot of substance and very little underneath the pretty cars and prettier women, 2 Fast 2 Furious is a fairly forgettable experience that doesn't really tax the braincells or stretch the imagination. 

With Dominic Toretto opting to sit this entry out, the focus here is on Paul Walker's undercover cop Brian O'Connor who is looking to get in deep with a gang of underground street-racers. Essentially, 2 Fast 2 Furious is a bit like Speed 2: Cruise Control. Without its lead actor, most of the magic is gone. The action certainly is fast and furious but it is also flashy, noisy and messy. 

And let's be honest here, whoever came up with that god-awful title should be shot. In the foot, just so it hurts more. 

4th - The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

Rotten Tomatoes: 35%

A pseudo-spin-off, Tokyo Drift is a new direction for the franchise after the disappointing 2 Fast 2 Furious. Or, at least that was the idea. Tokyo Drift has an entirely new cast (Lucas Black as 17 year-old scamp Sean Boswell is the lead), a new setting (Tokyo, duh) and a new director (Justin Lin). 

The makeover is fairly superficial however as the premise is more or less the same; attractive young people drive attractive and expensive cars ridiculously fast. BUT THIS TIME IN JAPAN. Revolutionary, I know.

The format here is too similar to ever feel completely fresh or exciting. The acting is terrible and the script is as flat as ever. The only main plus point is the neon-lit visuals and colours. Also, the chronology is all over the shop; even though is was made in 2006 and Fast 6 comes out in 2013, Tokyo Drift is apparently the last chronologically. So what, is this film set in the future? Also, Vin Diesel has a cameo at the end, meaning we all know he lives through Fast 6 and next years Fast 7. Great (either that or he's a cyborg because it's the future, duh)

At the end of the day, Tokyo Drift drifts into obscurity alongside other unnecessary spin-offs like The Scorpion King and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. 

3rd - Fast and Furious (2009)

Rotten Tomatoes: 27%

Returning the central characters after Tokyo Drift, 2009's Fast and Furious (also in the running for most stupid film title of the franchise) has some plus points to its name. 

First of all, it's the first since The Fast and the Furious (2001) to have Vin Diesel as the lead and it also has sees Paul Walker return as O'Conner. Michelle Rodriguez is also back as Letty Ortiz and Jordana Brewster returns as Mia Toretto. Put all this together and you get an entry that is fairly solid, if unspectacular. 

For those unfamiliar with the franchise, the plot may be a little convoluted but at least it tries to something a little different after the first cookie-cutter entries. It is however the first real sequel to the original, which is something I liked about it.

2nd - The Fast and The Furious (2001)

Rotten Tomatoes: 52%

The original - the best? Not quite. The Fast and the Furious was released back in 2001 and launched the careers of both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. Respectively, the play ex-con Dom Toretto and undercover LAPD cop Brian O'Conner.

The Fast and the Furious is something of a guilty pleasure that, like most of the others in the series doesn't require much emotional investment or thought.

Unlike it's less than great sequel however, this first film is relatively fresh and doesn't pretend to be anything that it isn't (which is essentially a B-grade cop flick with some slick looking cars). Also, it doesn't feel as though it has aged as rapidly as its newer stable-mates.

1st - Fast Five (2011)

Rotten Tomatoes: 78%

How many fifth films in a franchise can claim to be the pick of the bunch? If you answered none, then Fast Five is here to prove you wrong.

A new setting (Rio de Janeiro), a new vibe (more of a crime/heist movie than a Fast and Furious movie) and an injection of new talent (adding Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to proceedings really spiced things up) all made Fast Five a cut above the rest in this franchise.

Like I said, the central plot of this fifth entry is that of a $100 million heist rather than street cars or racing, making it a lot more approachable for a wider audience. Pitting the Rock and Vin Diesel up against one another in a cataclysmic fist fight was quite possibly one of the most testosterone fuelled things committed to cinema (okay, that might be a slight exaggeration).

The ending will also feed into the plot of the next film, Fast and Furious 6, which is due out here in Australia on the 6th of June. Excited? Apprehensive? Over it? Let me know in the comments section below!


Rank the Films will be back in June with a bumper edition: Pixar. Click on these links to read previous editions: #4: Marvel, #3: Die Hard, #2: Star Wars, #1: Harry Potter. 

Read More

Voice of Reason #12: When Sequel Titles Go Wrong!

Whilst writing my most recent Rank the Films feature it occurred to me that the Fast and Furious franchise (on which the feature is centred) is a completely random hodge-podge of numbers, colons and puns. Put simply, the F&F franchise is a complete mess when it comes to sequel naming, potenially the worst out there.

Or is it? Brace yourselves people, because what follows is a fairly long rant/blog post that explores the messy consequences of when sequel titles go bad. This could get ugly...

Fast and Furious series

Fast and Furious

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

The Fast and the Furious:  Tokyo Drift (2006)

Fast and Furious (2009)

Fast Five/Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist (2011)
Fast and Furious 6 (2013)

Okay, so let's start out with the main offender. Here, we can see a franchise committing numerous offences. Not only does the second film make use of a poor two/too pun, but the fourth is too easily confused with the first; taking out the 'the' is pretty lazy.

Meanwhile, the fifth film has multiple titles that vary from country to country and the sixth film is actually the fifth chronologically so why is it called the sixth? Messy, stupid and lazy. 

I Know What You Did Last Summer 'series'

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006)

As any frequent reader of this blog will know, I don't watch horror films. However, if there's one thing I know about horror films, it is that they have really silly and cringe-inducing sequel titles. Case in point: the I Know What You Did Last Summer series.

The first title is fairly creepy and chilling. It poses questions of 'what?' and 'why?' and gets the curiosity juices flowing in the audience. Then come the sequels. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer? Really? That creative meeting must have taken 60 seconds, tops. No surprise then, that the threequel is a cheap, Z-grade, straight-to-DVD shocker.

Also, are all these films set within one year? Otherwise 'last summer' was more than a year ago. Then again, I suppose "I Know What You Did Five Summers Ago" doesn't really roll off the tongue does it?

Die Hard series

2013's A Good Day to Die Hard

Die Hard (1988)
Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)
Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995)
Live Free or Die Hard/Die Hard 4.0 (2007)
A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
Die Hardest (????)

I'm a big Die Hard fan (well, the first four anyway). But even I can admit that the film titles are all over the shop. Die Harder is a great tougue-in-cheek title, but after that it gets messy. The 3rd film commints the cardinal sin of dropping the number 3 whilst having two titles for the fourth film (one for America, one for the rest of the world) is just plain silly. Just pick one, it isn't that hard.

By the time we get the fifth (A Good Day to Die Hard) and the sixth (Die Hardest) films, all pretence of order and structure has jumped out of the window and been replaced with poor puns and play-on words.

X-Men series

X-Men (2000)

X2: X-Men United (2003)

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

X-Men: Origins: Wolverine (2009)
X-Men: First Class (2011)

The Wolverine (2013)

Much like Die Hard, the X-Men franchise has no idea whether it is coming or going title wise. A whole hodge podge of numbers, subtitles and colons, the X-Men films lack coherent and logical titles. Also, what's up with X-Men: Origins: Wolverine? Is that two sets of colons? Madness! MADNESS!

Step Up series

Step Up (2006)
Step Up 2: The Streets (2008)
Step Up 3D (2010)
Step Up Revolution (2012)

The first two aren't that bad if you ignore the heinous pun in the second film. But trading in the title of the third film for a '3D'? Shameful.

Planet of the Apes series

James Franco in Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes (1968)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
Escape from Planet of the Apes (1971)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Overly wordy and complicated, anyone other than a die-hard fan of this series would be able to piece together the correct order of these films. There's wayyy too many 'of's and 'the's with this series.

Resident Evil series

Resident Evil (2002)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

Dull, dull, dull, dull. Would an outsider (such as myself) who has never seen any of these films be able to put them in order (without using Wikipedia)? Of course not. That's how you know your titles are crap.


Kickpuncher series

Kickpuncher
Kickpuncher 2: Codename Punchkicker
Kickpuncher III: The Final Kickening
Kickpuncher: Detroit
Kicksplasher

Does this one really need any explanation? I think it pretty much speaks for itself. Dreadful, but somehow brilliant (if your names are Troy or Abed).

So how should it really be done?

Okay, so enough criticism, it's time to get constructive. We've seen the deadly sins of movie sequel titling. The real question is; how should it really be done? Well, more often than not, simplicity is the key...

Back to the Future series

Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Back to the Future Part III (1990)

Clever right? Easy, simple and straight-forward. Why complicate matters with messy subtitles, colons and puns?

Iron Man series

Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Iron Man 3 (2013)

Again, simple and easy to understand. 1, 2, 3, 4; makes sense right? Lethal Weapon, Men in Black, Mission: Impossible (kind of) have all numbered their franchises this way and there is really no reason to get confused or lost here. 

Thank god Marvel didn't add pointless or redundant subtitles to each sequel. Iron Man: Rise of Extremis sounds a little naff don't you reckon?

Harry Potter series

Harry Potter and the Philosphers' Stone (2001)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)

Follow this formula and it'll be pretty hard to mess up titling your film sequel: Series Protagonist's Name + Hugely Important Narrative Device = Easy. Now, how hard was that?

Phew, I'm glad that's off my chest. Sometimes you just need to vent these things. Apologies for the length of the post but there are a huge amount of examples to choose from!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below! Check back this week for my next entry into Rank the Films. This month, The Fast and the Furious franchise. 

Read More

My Top 20 Songs of the Last 20 Years

In order to celebrate 20 years of the Hottest 100, Australian radio station triple j is currently running a feature on the Hottest 100 Songs of the Last 20 Years. In essence, anyone around the world is given the opportunity to vote for their favourite 20 songs since January 1st 1993 (they can be anything and everything, from the Lion King soundtrack to Eminem) and then from there, a list of the Top 100 is compiled.

"So what!" I hear you cry? Well so this, that's what. I figured that I wanted to get people's thoughts on their personal favourite songs and how they would vote in the poll. I was curious to see what my readers thought and so, here is your chance to get thinking and let me know in the comments section below!

 In order to get everyone started, here's the top 20 songs that I personally picked (and voted for)...

I've included a link to the Spotify playlist for those you who like listening to music and stuff. To listen to the playlist, click on this link here: My Top 20 Songs of the Last 20 Years.

Tracklisting

1. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
2. The Hardest Button to Button - The White Stripes 
3. Last Nite - The Strokes
4. Fluorescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys
5. If You Wanna - The Vaccines
6. Banquet - Bloc Party
7. Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
8. Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
9. Fire - Kasabian
10. Shuffle - Bombay Bicycle Club
11. Spanish Sahara - Foals
12. Islands - The xx
13. Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons
14. Common People - Pulp
15. Live Forever - Oasis
16. Electric Feel - MGMT
17. Mr. Brightside - The Killers
18. Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
19. Since I Left You - The Avalanches
20. The Rockefeller Skank - Fatboy Slim

Note: Some tracks like 'Lonely Boy' - The Black Keys aren't included in the Spotify library so I've included 'Tighten Up' from their Brothers LP instead. 

Be sure to let me know what you think of my playlist and let me know which songs you would choose!

Click here to listen to my Ultimate Spotify Playlist of 2012. 

Read More

Thumbs and Ammo

"I will find you and I will give you a thumbs up"

Every now and again the Internet throws up something that is so brilliant it just has to be shared. Last month, I linked a whole host of images of superheroes emblazoned with product placement (my post is here whilst the original Benhance.net account is here.


This month however, a feature on Empire.com pointed me in the direction of a great blog that I also wanted to pass on; Thumbs and Ammo. 

Many casual movie-goers often complain that films can be too violent and that they glamorize guns. Well, Thumbs and Ammo go some way to setting the record straight with this ingenious idea; take a film still and Photoshop a great big thumbs up in place of the gun. I've included some of my favourites from the blog below...

*Unless it wasn't clear, I don't profess to owning any of these images. They have all been conceived of and
produced by various users and originate from the Thumbs and Ammo Blogspot. All kudos and credit should go to them, I'm just passing it on!

If you have a favourite then let me know in the comments section below!

Batman gives his seal of approval

"Ever jumped through the air whilst firing two guns?"

"I'll be back - with a thumbs up"

See, even Wookies have thumbs

Ripley gets in on the action

Bond trades his trademark Walther PPK for a thumbs up

Ethan Hunt is A-OK

Pulp Fiction - the pacifist edition

Bruce Willis shows off his positive can-do attitude in Looper...

And a second time in Die Hard 3: With A Vengence

Tom Hardy aims down the sights of his thumb

Somebody stop me! 

The Joker has caused some real havoc with that thumb of his

Read More

Verdict: Doctor Who Series 7 Part 2

Clara and The Doctor in action

Matt Smith and newbie Jenna-Louise Coleman swung into action aboard the TARDIS as The Doctor and Clara Oswald in the eight episodes concluding Series 7. With the series split into two unequal halves, this is my write-up on each episode from Part 2 of Series 7. 

Check out my write-up of Part 1 here: Verdict: Doctor Who Series 7 Part 1.
Also, for a preview of Series 7 Part 2, click here: TV Preview #3: Doctor Who Series 7 Part 2

The Bells of St John - 8/10

The Fez is back

If Doctor Who met Eagle Eye and iRobot, the end result would be something along the lines of The Bells of St. John; a Doctor Who spin on a modern-day issue such as surveillance and control which was well-thought out and written. Penned by show front-runner Steven Moffat, the eighth episode from Series 7 introduced Clara Oswald (for the third time) and this time for good. 

Quirky, cheeky and likeable, Clara is a nice character who probably isn't as divisive as Donna or Amy were. On the whole, a solid character introduction that set the tone nicely; her and Doctor look to be a nice team that don't lack wit.The continuity from The Snowmen is exciting stuff, the inclination being that the Greater Intelligence is a running baddie from here on in.

The Rings of Akhaten - 4/10

Don't look back into the sun

Huge in scale, The Rings of Akhaten reminded me a lot of Asylum of the Daleks from earlier in the series; the producers of the show really went to town on creating the alien planet that the Doctor and Clara visit for their first real adventure. 

Whilst the look and feel was decidedly George Lucasey, the plot here felt oddly paced. A touching prologue that charts Clara's parents meeting and her mother's untimely death was followed by the duo's arrival on one of the most authentic looking alien worlds we have seen in the show.

After a brief jaunt through a bustling market, the plot loses any sense of coherence. Some genuinely terrifying villains called the Mummy and the Vigils feel grossly underused. Also, whatever happened to aliens haveing alien names? After such build-up, the whole episode just felt like a bit of a cop-out. The story was sloppy, there was little sense of tension or suspense. Defiantly a low-point for this series and one of the poorest Who episodes I can remember.

The episode did manage to however to further integrate Clara into the Whoniverse; she already feels as much a part of the show as Rose or Amy did which is a plus - the leaf and her book were a nice touch.

Cold War - 8/10

"Stay here and don't argue"
"I'm not"

Cold War saw the Doctor and Clara get caught up in well, the Cold War; stuck on a Soviet nuclear submarine in the Arctic circle, the time-travelling duo run into an old foe; the Ice Warriors.

I thought that Cold War was a great episode that did a great job of reintroducing an old enemy to a new generation. As their first appearance in New Who, the Ice Warriors were made to seem really scary and formidable, and not a pantomime villain.

The terror scale started to ramp up when the lone Warrior (named Grand Marshall Skaldak) slipped out of his armour and went all xenomorph on our asses; the claustrophobic setting only made the episode a real nail-biter. After the damp squib that was The Ring of Akhaten, Cold War achieved pretty much everything you could have asked of it. Fingers crossed the Ice Warriors aren't a one off.

Hide - 7/10

She's behind you!

Hide was another fantastic episode in the seventh season of Doctor Who. The setting (1970's Britain, a haunted manor house) was brilliantly inter-spliced with some futuristic elements and a 'pocket universe' colliding with our own. It was a fantastically novel way of exploring the haunted house premise whilst keeping to the look and feel distinctly Doctor Who. 

Again, this episode did a great job of developing to the relationship between The Doctor and Clara. The two have a great on screen rapport and her fiery and feisty nature really genres energy between the characters. Clara is fast becoming one of my favourite companions to the Doctor. Here's hoping that she sticks around after this season.

The episode's only downsides for me were the supporting characters (Jessica Raine and Dougray Scott as Emma Grayling and Alec Palmer respectively) a little flat and uninteresting. Also, the creature that was stalking Hila Tukurian (Kemi-Bo Jacobs) in the pocket universe was just plain ugly and could have been something the audience can sympathise with more rather than despise. 

Journey To The Centre of The TARDIS - 8/10

The Doctor gazes into the Eye of Harmony.

Yes, finally, an extended and decent look at the inner-workings of the TARDIS. I really liked this episode, probably up there with others from this series like Asylum of the Daleks and The Angels Take Manhattan. 

However, much like both of these episodes, Journey would have been a much better story had it not been crammed into one 45 minute episode. The creepy projections that stalked Clara were genuinely terrifying but imagine if those scenes had been allowed to drag on. Just imagine how brilliantly scary they would have been if those scenes had been allowed to slow right down and take a breath.

It's not like the scope of the episode would have felt stretched  The TARDIS is vast and had so much potential to be drawn out much like the brilliant Silence in the Library episodes. As it is, Journey is a great premise done well given the short run-time. It did a fantastic job of developing the Doctor and Clara's relationship (that scene where the Doctor confronted a confused Clara about her secret was exhilarating)  and hinting at a cracking finale before that great twist ending.

The Crimson Horror - 6/10

The Doctor takes a closer look at The Crimson Horror

Back in Victorian England, The Doctor and Clara team up with Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax to solve the mystery of the Crimson 'orror that plagues a Yorkshire town. 

Whilst I can see why The Crimson Horror will be popular with some people, I personally didn't like it that much. Maybe I'm biased (Victorian England is wayyy over done) but I just felt that this episode really lacked that spark the previous three had. Diana Rigg was great as Mrs. Gillyflower, the scenery-gnawing baddie, whilst the reveal of Mr. Sweet was genuinely surprising. Rigg's character was very over-the-top, making her a good pantomime villain. 

Another plus side was some great giggle-worthy jokes (Attack of the Supermodels!) and the great direction by Saul Meltzein. On the downside however, I felt that the plot was too rushed or ill-explained at some key points in the narrative. Likewise, the Doctor and Clara weren't featured all that much for an episdoe so close to the finale.

Nightmare in Silver - 8/10

"Knight to E6"

The second episode to have been written by Neil Gaiman after 2011's The Doctor's Wife, Nightmare in Silver was certainly set an ambitious task; to make the Cybermen scary again.

Did it work? Yes, the Cybermen were the best they've been since 2006 in my opinion. Faster, cleverer and adaptable, the Doctor's second most fearsome enemy were definitely not as cuddly this time around.

A great aspect of this episode was Matt Smith's schizophrenic personality; it really showed off his acting prowess. Also, Warwick Davis gave an understated (and great) performance as Porridge. Elsewhere however, the addition of  Artie and Angie to the time-travelling cast fell a little flat and I felt they didn't add much. Other than that, Nightmare in Silver was a great episode that felt delightfully retro-Who.

The Name of the Doctor - 10/10

The Doctor visits Trenzalore

Easily the best finale we've had in years, The Name of the Doctor was a fantastic premise that had you gripped from the very start.

In recent years, Doctor Who finales have tended to be grand in scale but disappointing in delivery; think Last of the Time Lords and Journey's End. This time around however, the stakes were still high (the Doctor was faced with years of helping and saving people being re-written) but the story was personal and touching. 

First of all, Matt Smith's acting was fantastic; the longer he goes on, the better he gets. His tender moments with Clara and River show Smith is adding some really deep emotion to his incarnation of the Timelord. Meanwhile, Alex Kingston was also great as the returning River Song. Whether this turns out to be her final appearance we don't know, but if it was, it would be a rather fitting send-off. Jenna Louise Coleman as Clara was, as always it seems, brilliant and Richard Grant was again menacing as the Great Intelligence. The Whispermen were also genuinely terrifying, although a little redundant at the end of the day. 

With both the riddle surrounding Clara brilliantly exposed (kudos for including her in the narrative of the original series) and the Doctor's name nudged aside (did y'all really think we'd find it out?), the ending to this episode brilliantly sets up the 50th Anniversary Special in November - the trifecta of Smith, Tennant and now John Hurt promises to be a real treat. Bring it on.

Final Thoughts - 7.5/10

On the whole, this run of eight episodes has been something of a roller coaster ride. Reaching great heights (Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, The Name of the Doctor) and plumbing some disappointing lows (The Rings of Akhaten), the quality has been varied at times to say the least. An average score of 7.5 is fairly accurate; the brilliant introduction of Clara Oswald, the ongoing conundrum of the Doctor's name and the reinvention of the Ice Warriors and the Cybermen was offset by some slightly disappointing villains and premises. Also, the lack of double-parters meant some of the stories felt rushed. 

The sheer excitement and buzz generated by that finale (what a cliffhanger! Moffat really is a good one for effective rug-pulls) will no doubt whip fans into a frenzy in the months in between now and the 50th Anniversary Special. Let's just hope it can deliver; let the crazy predictions and speculating begin!

Read More