My review of Derek

Wow this one really is hot off the presses, this time I thought I would write about a TV show, I haven’t specifically reviewed an episode of something before, so this is all new and strange to me, like going to Guantanamo Bay, but without the human rights violations. Anyway, I thought I’d let you know what I thought about Ricky Gervais’s latest television project Derek.

I first saw this Gervais character in a short film that he made a while back. The character was a little different back then, he was religious and had ambitions of being a stand up comedian, he also lived at home with his mother. But with this new show, Gervais has branched out slightly and now Derek is an employee in a retirement home. First things first then, I know he will receive a lot of flack for this show due to the fact that Derek appears to be slightly mentally challenged. However having watched the first episode it is never explicitly said that there is anything wrong with him, and instead I just got the impression that he is slightly socially inept and just a little strange, but he still has a brain and he is still able to interact with people properly.

So what of the people he interacts with? Well firstly there are the numerous residents of the old people’s home that Derek works in, who he seems to genuinely care for. Then there is Hannah played by Kerry Goldiman who Derek clearly harbours feelings for, but doesn’t quite seem to understand them. Then of course there is the character of Douglass played by Karl Pilkington, who basically doesn’t have to act, as the character is essentially Karl. Whilst this really isn’t as funny as Gervais’s other work by quite a long shot, I did enjoy it. Numerous times in his career Gervais has shown that he knows how to evoke sympathy in his characters, he at times makes them annoying to add to the comedy element, but they always seem to have a good heart, such as David Brent, who was just misguided and a bit of a prat, but still a nice guy. That’s what I felt with Derek, forget the fact that he may be mentally disabled, he is a sweet man, and I was genuinely touched by his reaction to the death of one of the old people in the home.

Again I will say this isn’t his best work, for me that’s The Office, but to be fair that’s very hard to top. It really does bug me the amount of criticism Gervais gets, people really do seem to get very jealous of his success. I have read so many reviews of his work with people saying, I wanted to find this funny, or Gervais isn’t funny anymore and should stop doing the same jokes. Will you just go away, it’s so bloody easy to criticise and people really seem to enjoy doing it. Gervais hasn’t changed, he was always slightly smug, but that’s part of the act, and as for using the same jokes, well if it aint broke don’t fix it. Actually I bet you are the same twats who criticised Extra’s for being different aren’t you, make up your minds!

Never mind that anyway, I enjoyed Derek, I thought it was a good attempt from Gervais and I don’t think he was having a go at the disabled in the slightest. He has done some stupid stuff, like using the word mong, but this show doesn’t equate to that, it had thought and it had heart. I don’t think it will be a series, but I look forward to the next episode at least and I think you should too, if you want to stay friends.

The Hunger Games Review!

Ok, I am going to actually try and write something proper here, so all aboard the movie review ship, next stop, fame, bitches and some green!

In what must already be one of the biggest movie successes of the year The Hunger Games is currently topping all of the box offices and has gained several good reviews from fans and critics alike. As I write this it currently has a 7.7/10 rating on IMDB and 85% on Rottentomatoes, not too shabby eh and my first impressions after having seen the film would leave me inclined to agree with these lofty ratings.

I will start by saying that I haven’t as yet read the book series, and so I went into this movie completely unaware of the storyline and any of the characters, bar what I had guessed from seeing the trailers and reading about the actors etc. At first this seemed to be a problem as I couldn’t quite grasp why the children were picked to be part of the Hunger Games, but I gathered that it was a way for the government to exert their power over the peasant classes, something which as a history student reminds me of so very many dull lectures. Other than that little side note the story isn’t difficult to grasp and you are unlikely to get lost as to what is going on.

The basic premise (of the film that is, I am sure a lot more is explained in the book) is that in a post - apocalyptic world you have one capital city populated by a plethora of extremely odd and extravagant people.  Then you have twelve separate districts populated by a lower class who are regularly forced to throw their names into the hat for the Hunger Games, which is an annual event that see’s 24 children between 12 and 18 fight to the death. The more these starving people are in need of food, the bigger the chance they are picked. The story itself follows Katniss Everdeen, who is played by the stupidly hot Jennifer Lawrence, who after seeing her 12 year old sister get picked for the Hunger Games volunteers to take her place in order to save her. There you go; I won’t reveal much more of the plot because that kind of defeats the point.

So what about the film? Well, as I said the film is pretty solid, I was on the edge of my seat for most of it and I genuinely wanted to know what was going to happen next. I found it engaging and exciting. However you can sense a but coming here cant you?

The problem with this movie is that it’s just too damn compressed. I am aware that it must be really difficult to transfer a book to a movie, cutting stuff out and making the story shorter cannot be an easy task. I just felt that had the movie execs allowed maybe half an hour extra onto the film it would have made it so much better. At 2 hours 20 the movie is pretty long, but it still felt like a lot of aspects of the story were left underdeveloped. For instance the character of Woody Harrelson, who when he is first introduced appears to be a surly heavy drinking misanthrope. However as the story progresses that aspect of his character seems to be simply forgotten and he changes completely. It’s not necessarily a bad thing because his character is likeable, but this I imagine is something that is explored in the book a bit more and therefore the movie struggles to take on the responsibility. Still there is good character development in other areas such as the main character Katniss.

Jennifer Lawrence in my opinion does a really good job in this movie, and I am not just biased because she is so damn fine! I thought she embodied the character really well and was able to carry the film considering she was the main focus of the narrative. Other notable performances come from the films male lead Josh Hutcherson as well as Woody Harrelson, despite his lack of character development.

Overall then I would say that this movie has earned the substantial amount of praise that has been thrown its way. I was left wanting more and with another 3 films potentially in the offing I should get what I want. I do also plan to read the books because I am pretty hooked to the story. So yeah, go and watch it, it is worth it, but don’t expect a film that has a definitive conclusion otherwise you will be disappointed.

P.S

I have to say it again, Jennifer Lawrence... damn!