Welcome back for another wrap up, in the video I’ll talk about all the books I read (including a semi savage discussion on Sally Rooney’s new book) and my Film and TV highlights of the month of September.
Apple has adapted perhaps the most notoriously unadaptable Sci-fi book series ever, yes even more unadaptable than Dune which I’m sure Denis Villeneuve has proven people wrong on that one anyway. But, yes, I’m talking about the father of science fiction, Isaac Asimov and his seminal series Foundation.
In the video I cover, cinematography, set design, characters, actor performances and what changes from the books I liked and others I didn’t.
Let me know what you think of Apple TV’s Foundation in the comments section
Recently I decided to finally watch Babylon Berlin, it has been on my watchlist for a couple of years now and I don’t quite know what I was waiting for.
Needless to say, I watched all 3 seasons in like a week and now I’m reading the books it’s based on to be a little nerd and compare the two. This is something I do quite often, just to see if the book is better or if perhaps it’s one of those rare cases when the adaptation stands proudly superior to its source material…only time will tell.
Anyway, let’s get on with the show…
And an utterly beautiful and frightfully expensive one at that (it’s the most expensive German tv show ever made!). Because the show is set in the late 1920’s you get fantastic fashion and music but you also get Weimar Germany, the interim between WW1 and WW2. It’s an utterly fascinating time and unlike all the characters in the show, we know what darkness lays ahead (the wall street crash and Nazis!) which makes for some great tv.
Hardboiled detective fiction never goes out of fashion, and this twisty and stylish adaptation really likes to play with traditional neo-noir imagery. The main detective Gereon Rath (Volker Bruch) is almost never without his hat and trench coat and his shadow is often present on-screen too especially if he’s hunting down a criminal. There’s also a very Fritz Langesque ‘talkie’ film at the centre of Season 3’s mystery and how the whole crime unravels feels very pulpy and I loved the vibe.
The background music really makes all the difference and immerses you even deeper into the story and the time period it is set in and helps build tension in all the right places. There’s also a couple of performances and dance moments that are really fantastic, especially the one in episode 2 that introduces you to the song ‘Zu Asche, Zu Staub’ (to ash, to dust) which becomes a reoccurring motif throughout the first 2 seasons and tbh I can’t get enough of the song and the several remixes that have been released.
Herr kommissar, eh hem I mean Inspector Gereon Rath has a very complicated love life and things get even more complicated when the intelligent, beautiful and ambitious Charlotte Ritter (Liv Lisa Fries) enters his life. They grow closer and closer together over the seasons and the chemistry between Bruch and Fries is brilliant, I challenge you not to root for the two while watching.
Game of Thrones was once the pinnacle of TV, it was a cultural phenomenon that entranced viewers (myself included) because of its dark themes, characters with very questionable morals and firecracker political tension. Babylon Berlin has all of these in spades and fingers crossed it doesn’t lose all sense and sabotage character arcs as it continues to be adapted. Sorry GOT, you really did shoot yourself in the foot!
and one more for luck
Yes, you read the right. Some scenes of the show are shot at Rathaus Schöneberg (the city hall of Tempelhof-Schöneberg) and many of those scenes include the trippy Paternoster Elevator. I mean just look at how cool it is…
Well, it’s safe to say that I am obsessed with Babylon Berlin and I can’t wait for season 4 to come out next year!
I have created a video with all the best romance movies to watch while in lockdown this Valentine's Day. There’s classic romances, French gems such as the always charming Amelie and one of the most tragic love stories I have ever watched.
Let me know in the comments section what your favourite romance movies are.
Assuming that you haven’t already binged this 8-part mini-series detailing the murders of notorious 70’s serial killer Charles Sobhraj aka The Bikini Killer or The Serpent (where the series takes its name), let me convince you as to why you should.
My oh my, Rahim and Coleman are exceptional in the roles of Charles Sobhraj and Marie-Andrée Leclerc. TBH, I will watch anything Rahim is in after watching his breakout film A Prophet. And unsurprisingly Rahim absolutely kills it (no pun intended) as a creepy, charismatic killer… it’s very unsettling just how good he is! And Coleman, I have only ever seen her in Doctor Who but she makes Leclerc 3 dimensional and has you wondering whether she is actually a victim or just a killer throughout.
The fashion. The hair. The music. I must admit that I am obsessed with the ’60s and ’70s, and I love the mise-en-scène in this show, everything on screen feels tangible and immersive. I can tell that Jenna Coleman’s hair and wardrobe is going to be everyone’s obsession.
This is on the edge of your seat shouting at the TV stuff. The tension is so palatable, and I found myself cringing and trying to advise characters not to make the decisions they inevitably make (why do we do this 😂). Some people don’t like the flitting between timelines, but I personally like it, it adds suspense and makes you focus.
Ah, in the era of Corona we can only travel through our screens. This show could not have aired at a better time here in the UK, we are in Lockdown 3.0, and it’s absolutely freezing! Hong Kong, Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, France and India are a welcome escape from a dreary winter in England, even if this jet-set trip is rather gruesome.
Luscious colour palettes, film footage montages and surveillance like zooms are just some of my favourite things about The Serpent’s cinematography. The way a TV show or film is shot is infinitely fascinating to me; I love analysing what a camera movement could mean or why a specific colour palette has been employed. In The Serpent, the cinematography serves to build tension and immerse the viewer in its timeline. Film footage instantly makes it feel retro, and those surveillance zooms make you nervous and think that someone is in danger. The colour palette is almost oppressive in its lushness, mirroring the headiness of occupying the same space as Sobhraj.
The Serpent is available to watch in the UK on BBC 1 @ 9 pm on Sundays or to binge on BBC iPlayer (Elsewhere on Netflix soon)
