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REVIEWS
DVD&BD
Fears that this TV adaptation of the Coen Brothers
film favourite might be a bad idea were quickly nixed
by resounding approval from critics and viewers alike.
Don’t compare this to the Coens’ film; think of it
as an alternate universe version of the same story.
Unlike fellow film-turned-series
From Dusk Till Dawn
,
Fargo
eschews the need to recap the events of the
movie; it’s set in a snowbound Minnesota milieu,
shares similar characters and themes, and boasts the
same blackly comic approach, but is content to do its
own thing. In this iteration, Martin Freeman is the wimpy insurance
salesman who enlists the services of hitman Billy Bob Thornton to take
out a longtime nemesis, creating a domino effect of criminal hijinks to
keep local cops Allison Tolman and Bob Odenkirk busy. A must-see.
Minnesota madness
FARGO:
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
If you like your TV series gritty, brutal and
Game of
Thrones
-ish, and your heroes dirty, bearded, braided,
and handy with a sword, then you need to check
out
Vikings
. Having previously posed in CK undies
and starred a failed
Tarzan
series, Aussie-born Travis
Fimmel has found his calling as Ragnar Lothbrok,
warrior, farmer and family man, who leads the first
Viking raids into England and achieves legendary
status, much to the chagrin of his brother. Created by
Michael Hirst (
The Tudors
) for the History Channel,
you’re guaranteed an accurate recreation of the period, as well as all
the obligatory nudity and bloodshed that goes with it. Vikings have had
variable success on the screen –
The 13th Warrior, Pathfinder, Valhalla
Rising
et al – but this show gives the Norsemen their due.
Norse, of course
VIKINGS:
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
Justified,
like
Sons of Anarchy,
may not receive
the rabid attention afforded shows from the HBO
stable, but this Kentucky fried crime series has built
a solid reputation and dedicated fan base over the
course of four seasons. In this fifth and penultimate
season, Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy
Olyphant) locks horns with the Florida contingent
of the redneck Crowe family, led by Darryl (Michael
Rapaport), cousin to Raylan’s whipping boy Dewey
(Daniel Herriman); while elsewhere, Boyd (Walton
Goggins) must deal with a vengeful cartel and an imprisoned
fiancée. Season Five continues to uphold the high standards set
by late writer Elmore Leonard, and manoeuvres Raylan and Boyd
toward their inevitable final showdown next year.
Something to Crowe about
JUSTIFIED:
SEASON FIVE
Mad Men
enters its seventh and final season, and
like
Breaking Bad
, AMC have split the last series
into two parts – the second of which will air next
year. So it’s not all over just yet, thank goodness.
The seventies’ are looming as Don Draper (Jon
Hamm) heads down the road to redemption after
hitting rock bottom last season. Don has always
been the heart of the show, if not the moral
compass, and fittingly he’s the focus of these first
seven episodes. But will he return to the fold or
wind up working for a rival agency? His fate rests in the hands
of the irrepressible Roger Sterling (John Slattery). Expect further
mergers, a moon landing, a killer pitch from Peggy, a surreal song
and dance routine, and a death. The fat lady is just warming up...
Last drinks
MAD MEN:
THE FINAL SEASON, PART 1
Format:
Release Date:
12/11/14
Format:
Release Date:
05/11/14
Format:
Release Date:
05/11/14
Format:
Release Date:
05/11/14
TV