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The Pacific – coming to Sky

Published

on Friday 19 February 2010

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Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks‘ spectacular new World War II drama, The Pacific, starts this Easter on Sky Movies Premiere.

Shot in the same gritty, realistic style as their other World War II projects, Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, the drama tells the story of three US Marines and their harrowing fight against the Japanese.

The 10 episodes follow the soldiers from their first clash with the enemy in the jungles of Guadalcanal to their triumphant, yet uneasy, return home after V-J Day.

The Pacific is based on books by veterans of the conflict – With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge and Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie. In the series, Joseph Mazzello and James Badge Dale play Sledge and Leckie.

‘It’s the story of the corruption of the human spirit and the private war that all of these veterans had to fight,’ says Spielberg. ‘They were not only surviving an enemy that fought by rules never encountered before, they were also fighting the elements. The natural environment was just as debilitating.’

Filmed in Australia, with a budget of $200million, The Pacific has the stamp of quality all over it. See for yourself by checking out the trailer below, and of course you can find out more information on the official website.

As with Band of Brothers, it’s clear that in this series Spielberg and Hanks want to pay tribute to the men who fought and suffered in the campaign. ‘Our show is maybe about a handful of American Marines,’ explains Spielberg, ‘but it’s also about millions we don’t get to see in the mini-series’.

Generation Kill competition winners

Published

Jim

on Tuesday 3 March 2009

in GENERATION KILL and VARIO.US

. 1 Comment

The US Marines of Generation Kill will complete their mission this Sunday on FX when they roll into the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Our Generation Kill competition has also drawn to a close, and thanks to everybody who entered. Our six winners correctly answered that the US invasion of Iraq started in 2003 and they will all receive a copy of Evan Wright’s Generation Kill, the book on which the series is based.

The winners are: Dom Stancombe from Carshalton, Sarah Sharrock from Bolton, Sandra Astbury from Liverpool, Andrew Hindley from Blackpool, Ruth Tesdale from Chesterfield, Joanne Green from Tamworth.

Congratulations! Your prizes will be with you soon.

Your chance to win a copy of Generation Kill, the book behind the US drama series

Published

Jim

on Monday 16 February 2009

in GENERATION KILL

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As US Marines advance into Iraq in the drama Generation Kill, a Rolling Stone reporter stays close to the action as he rides with the troops in the back of a Humvee.

The reporter, Evan Wright, spent two months with the battalion and told the story of their experiences of combat in his award-winning book Generation Kill.

David Simon and Ed Burns, the men behind the acclaimed series The Wire, turned his book into the gritty drama that’s now showing on FX on Sunday nights.

Our friends at FX have given us six copies of Evan Wright’s book, Generation Kill, to give away. To win, just answer the following question:

Q. In which year did President George W Bush launch the invasion of Iraq?

Send your answer, clearly marked Generation Kill Book Competition, in the subject line, to tvspy@ipcmedia.com

Competition closes Friday 27 February 2009. We will collect your personal email data solely to process your competition entry. Prizes will be awarded to the first six correct entries drawn at random under independent supervision after the competition closes at midnight on 27 February. We will notify the winners by email within 21 days of this closing date. The prize consists of one Generation Kill novel per winner. Promoter: IPC Media. Prize supplier: FX.

For full terms and conditions see here

Generation Kill | The Cradle of Civilization

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Jim

on Monday 2 February 2009

in VARIO.US

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The Marines experienced their first taste of battle in Iraq in last night’s episode as they moved north towards Mesopotamia, the ‘cradle of civilisation’.

The episode, the second in FX’s seven-part series, showed the confused nature of the war, with some Iraqis waving at the troops as they passed by in their Humvees, while others waited in ambush in the city of Nasiriyah (the scene of one of the first major battles of the war).

Generation Kill tries to stay true to the real-life experiences of the Marines by paying attention to the details. For example, it shows the advancing troops getting stuck in a military traffic jam, Baptista causing frustration by chattering into the radio in Portuguese when he gets excited, and a Marine admitting his first kill felt good.

Generation Kill isn’t an easy watch, but its grittiness is its appeal as it tries to do more than simply entertain.

Jim returns with his weekly review | Here’s the lowdown on Generation Kill: Get Some

Published

Jim

on Monday 26 January 2009

in GENERATION KILL

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Our sometime reviewer Jim is back, and this time he has enlisted for a weekly viewing of Generation Kill, the new US drama from the men behind The Wire, David Simon and Ed Burns. Here’s what he made of the first episode, ‘Get Some’…

“The Marines Corps is like America’s little pitbull. They beat us, starve us, and once in a while they let us out to attack somebody.”

David Simon and Ed Burns’ Generation Kill started its seven-episode run on FX last nighty and, as you’d hope and expect from the creators of The Wire, the episode ‘Get Some’ didn’t pull any punches in its depiction of US Marines preparing for war in Iraq.

As they wait in Kuwait for the order to invade, the troops bond by practising their martial arts, reading porn mags, mocking supportive letters from schoolchildren back home, and trying to find out if rumours of J.Lo’s death are true. They also fix their Humvees out of their own pockets, deal with appalling wind storms in the desert, and question why they’ve been sent woodland camouflage for a desert war.

The series is based on a book by Evan Wright, a Rolling Stone reporter who was embedded with the Marines of First Recon Battalion. Although treated with suspicion by the soldiers when he first arrives, he gains their confidence when he tells them he used to write for the porn mag, Hustler.

Generation Kill is like a hardcore Band of Brothers. It’s not comfortable viewing, but that’s its strength. Evan Wright has said that the series aims to portray the Marines as they are, not as people back home think they ought to be. It’s not a series where you’ll find any Hollywood-sentimentality or emotive music.

The first episode ends with the order to tell surrendering Iraqis to return to their own lines and an uncertain fate. It’s a disturbing sign of things to come. As one Marine comments: ‘Iraqis first contact with Americans – we **** ‘em’.

Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan gets theatrical

Published

Jim

on Wednesday 26 November 2008

in BURN NOTICE

. 0 Comments

Fans of Burn Notice were out in force at a theatre in Chicago this weekend for Jeffrey Donovan’s opening night in the sex farce Don’t Dress for Dinner.

Jeff (I’m a fan of the show so I can be a bit matey) stars as fired spy Michael Westen in Burn Notice and has won praise for his stage performance as Robert in Marc Camelotti’s play. One critic said he displayed ‘a deer-in-the-headlights charm that works nicely’ and said the production was a ’stimulus for the funny bone’ and ‘a Broadway quality show at half the price’.

As I live in London I’m unlikely to get to see it (even if I get a personal invite from his Burn Notice co-star Gabrielle Anwar), but if you happen to be passing the Royal George Theatre then the play runs until 11 January.

Alternatively, you can catch Jeff in the Clint Eastwood film Changeling, which opens in the UK on Wednesday, and sees him starring opposite Angelina Jolie as scowling police captain JJ Jones. A new Clint film is always an event and, as a taster, here’s a clip of the ever-modest Jeff talking about the movie.

Not caught the Burn Notice bug yet? Now’s your chance to catch up

Published

Jim

on Thursday 6 November 2008

in BURN NOTICE

. 2 Comments

If you’ve missed out on Burn Notice’s winning mix of good-looking stars, sunshine, spy tips and smart one-liners, then make sure you catch up this Sunday, 9 November.

Those lovely people at FX are repeating the first four episodes back-to-back from 4pm, followed by the latest instalment – Family Business – at 9pm.

If you haven’t seen it yet, a quick recap. Michael Westen, played by Jeffrey Donovan, is a spy who is ‘burned’ (fired to you and me) while on an assignment in Nigeria. While he tries to work out why he’s been given his notice, he hangs out in Miami earning some cash and helping out assorted friends and friends of friends by outsmarting various gunrunners, smugglers and prostitution racketeers.

Michael solves his cases with incredible charm, slick spy skills and endless one-liners, but it’s not just him who makes the show. Gabrielle Anwar, as his sexy, trigger-happy ex-girlfriend Fiona, and B-movie legend Bruce Campbell, as his loyal sidekick Sam Axe, bring warmth, humour and comradeship to the mix.

Burn Notice is a fun show and if you give it a go this Sunday, the chances are you’ll be hooked. You’ll then be ready to join me and other fans at the Burn Notice Facebook site, where you can catch up on series two pictures (they’re ahead of us in the States), spy tips from Michael and fans’ comments such as this one from Jack – ‘just love how fiona dont never wear no bra’ (sic).

Yup, Burn Notice – it’s got something for everyone!

| The Wire -30- |

Published

Jim

on Tuesday 23 September 2008

in THE WIRE

. 1 Comment

We had the rare sight of Mayor Tommy Carcetti lost for words after being told that Baltimore’s homeless serial killer was a fabrication. At least his advisor could see the funny side. ‘I wish I was still on the newspaper so I could write on this f****** mess. It’s too good.’

In typical Wire style, though, once everybody had taken in the facts, they quickly found a way to cover their backs. ‘The Mayor’s up there figuring how to hide the dirt,’ explained police boss Daniels, and hide the dirt is what they do.

McNulty and Freamon can’t work out why they haven’t been arrested for their scheme, but the reason is that it’s in the interest of the powers-that-be to hush it up and deal with it through ‘the back channels’.

-30- is a superb ending to the series, with the writers showing the real politics that goes on beneath the surface. Whether it’s the Mayor’s office, the police department, the newspaper office, or on the streets, everybody is looking out for themselves. So we see reporter Scott Templeton receiving his Pulitzer Prize (despite being told about the fabrication by McNulty); we see Mayor Carcetti re-elected; Rawls getting his promotion to Superintendent and Daniels to commissioner; and drugs baron Marlo released on condition he gives up his trade.

Perhaps the most disturbing misuse of power shown in The Wire is The Baltimore Sun’s decision to back Templeton’s dodgy reporting, despite the concerns of his news editor Gus Haynes. After all, if a newspaper isn’t going to keep an honest eye on those in power – the Mayor, the police – then who is? Perhaps The Wire offers us some hope in the integrity of Haynes. As he tells his editor: ‘Maybe you’ll win a Pulitzer with this stuff, maybe you’ll have to give it back…’

Eleven brand new US shows we just can’t wait to see (11/11) | Breaking Bad

Published

Jim

on Friday 12 September 2008

in BREAKING BAD

. 0 Comments

BREAKING BAD

Starts FX, 28 September

On the surface Walter White, the hero of FX’s deliciously dark new comedy drama Breaking Bad, lives a comfortable, settled life as an ordinary family man who’s able to provide for his disabled son by working as a high-school chemistry teacher and a part-time car-washer.

But Walter’s problems are mounting up. He’s struggling to provide for his disabled son and, the day after his 50th birthday, is diagnosed with lung cancer and given two years to live. With little savings to fall back on, Walter comes up with a solution – he’s going to misuse his chemistry skills and is breaking bad! He cashes in his retirement fund for a motorhome to act as a mobile lab for his entry into the drugs trade.

Bryan Cranston, best known for his comedy roles as hapless dad Hal in Malcolm in the Middle and Jerry’s ‘regifting’ dentist Tim Whatley in Seinfeld, is superb as the stressed-out Walter trying to make his way in this strange, disturbing new world, and gets great support from Aaron Paul as his former student and new partner, Jesse Pinkman.

Breaking Bad is a dark comedy which sees Walter and Jesse as basically decent guys now faced with all sorts of terrible dilemmas. In an early episode, Walter tosses a coin to see who gets to finish off one bad guy and who gets to dissolve the other dead bad guy in a tub of acid. Jesse does the dissolving in his bath tub, but it’s a tub that’s not suitable for filling with acid. The result is as gory as it is funny.

While definitely not one for the easily-offended or those of a squeamish disposition, Breaking Bad is one of the most strikingly original new dramas we’ve seen in ages. Below is a trailer for the first series to give you a taste of what to expect…

• Click here to read other posts on Breaking Bad

• Click here for more great new US shows coming to a screen near you this autumn

Eleven brand new US shows we just can’t wait to see (9/11) | John Adams

Published

Jim

on Thursday 11 September 2008

in GENERATION KILL and JOHN ADAMS

. 0 Comments

JOHN ADAMS

Starts More4, late-September

John Adams may not be the most familiar name in American history, but the onetime American President’s importance is recognised in the excellent HBO drama John Adams, coming to More4 later this month.

The seven-part series chronicles the life of Adams and the turbulent era that saw the United States break away from Britain – its colonial ruler – to assert its independence. Adams became the second President of the United States and had a huge influence in establishing the nation’s values.

The story begins in 1770 with clashes between British redcoats and the citizens of Boston, and ends on 4 July 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the date of Adams’s death at the age of 90. The series was highly praised when it aired in America earlier this year and has been nominated for 23 Emmy awards.

Its top-notch cast includes two of my favourite actors, Paul Giamatti, as Adams, and Laura Linney, as his wife Abigail, as well as Brits Tom Wilkinson and Rufus Sewell.

The series looks great, with high production values, and is as much a love story as a political drama, with some of the dialogue taken from John and Abigail’s own correspondence. I’ve found it frustrating that so many recent historical dramas have had all the history removed (one national newspaper coined a new word for this, a ‘historyectomy’), so it’s great that John Adams promises to tell an entertaining story without messing around with the facts. Watch it. Take my word for it, you won’t be disappointed. Here, to get you in the mood, is a trailer from makers HBO…• Click here for more great new US shows coming to a screen near you this autumn