Farewell Peggy Carter

Today is a sad day indeed, for today we have received the news that Marvel's Agent Carter has been cancelled by abc in a frankly terrible decision. Peggy is sadly, no more in the MCU, apart from possible movie cameos from Hayley Atwell, and quite frankly, I am not pleased by this in the slightest.
Agent Carter is, for me at least, a big show. I love it dearly. I fell in love with Peggy during Captain America: The First Avenger, and have continued to love her since. I loved her spirit, her keen sense of adventure, and her devotion to saving people, no matter what she was told. Peggy didn't give up in times of hardship, and never let someone tell her what to do. If she wanted to do it, she did it, without caring for the consequences of her career. As long as the world and the people in it were safe, Peggy did not worry about the repercussions of her actions. She did what had to be done, time and time again.
So when it was announced that she had her own tv show, exploring her life post Steve Rogers, I was ecstatic, and could not wait to see what she would get up to at the SSR. To say the least, I was not disappointed in the result. Agent Carter was a tv show with strong morals, great adventures, and one hell of a dynamic leading lady. Every week Peggy kicked ass, saved New York or LA, all the while coming up with great sass and looking great. It was funny, and silly in places, like all the best Marvel films, but it was also a great drama. I love every single second of it.
But what was even more epic was the message this show had. It carried over the message that Peggy has always had - that women are just as good as men. That even in the most sexist of times and work places, a woman can not only succeed, but she can do it without sleeping with anybody to her where she wants, without the help of a man, and without having to sacrifice her femininity. The show broke the mould in every way it could. It showed a regular human woman could save the world without a man doing it for her, that female friendship is so important, that women do not have to constantly be at war with each other, and so many other things.
Peggy Carter, to say the least, was a feminist hero, sort of like a non-powered version of Buffy set in the 40s. She gave so many important messages, the most important being 'know your value, anybody else's opinion doesn't matter.'
Peggy broke the usual rules of tv, she was smart, beautiful, feminine, and saved the world. She didn't have special powers, wasn't an expert at combat, and didn't let anybody stand in her way. To say the least I will miss her, and of course the ever wonderful Mr Jarvis, and her adventures. I can only hope that something like Netflix will pick up the series, and that she isn't left to die like this.
Peggy will be sorely missed in this household, and many more across the world.
Farewell Agent Carter.

Pointless Character Death

Hey, long time no see. Blame the damn assignments for uni. Anyway, I want to talk in this blog post about a problem. Something that is a major problem in so many really good franchises, that don't just annoy me, it annoys a lot of people. I’m talking about pointless character death.

Don't get me wrong, I’m totally fine with character death... sort of. But only when it is a necessary death that serves a purpose. When it doesn’t serve a purpose and it was simply done for either shock value or to create tension between characters, it really winds me up.

Take Sam on How To Get Away With Murder, his death was necessary because the entire show is built around Keating and her students getting away with his murder. His death was semi-justified too, he was an absolutely horrible human being, for reasons I won’t get into for people who plan on watching the show, and his death is the premise of the first season.

Another example is Rue from The Hunger Games. Its a horrendously painful character death, but it serves a purpose of sparking off the revolution and forces Katniss to fight back and get revenge on that Capital.

But when a character death is utterly pointless, I just get so annoyed. Recently, I was watching season 10 of Supernatural, and it got to - spoiler alert here guys if you’re not on season 10 - where Charlie Bradbury died. And her death was so completely and utterly pointless and wrong that I was angry about it for days afterwards. Basically, she died to drive a wedge between Sam and Dean, that was it. She died for that single reason, there was no other reason whatsoever. And it was incredibly annoying.

I mean, the writers could have not killed her, and just injured her instead, easily! The whole reason why her death caused the wedge was because she was helping Sam find a cure for Dean and they were lying to him about it. But because she was in danger, Sam had to tell Dean what was happening, and it caused a huge wedge between them because she died. But the same effect would have been caused if the writers had saved her, but she was badly injured instead. She could have easily been badly injured and the wedge would have still been made. Hell, Cas could have saved her, because he can teleport because he’s an angel and the wedge between the brothers would have still been there.

But no, the writers killed her off. And now she probably isn’t coming back. 

This happens time and time again in things, TV shows especially, where characters are killed off for no reason. I understand it when an actor wants to leave, like with Derek and Greys Anatomy, but even then that death could have been avoided. Derek could have simply just stayed in DC and asked for a divorce or something instead of dying in one of the worst character death scenes I have ever seen. I cried after that one. Actually cried, and I rarely cry over character death, I generally end up just getting annoyed.

Because characters aren’t supposed to just die to create tension, or to be a shock that creates hype on the internet. It’s supposed to really mean something. It’s supposed to be like Buffy’s mum, who died to force Buffy to grow up and stand on her own two feet. Like Dobby, who died saving Harry. Like probably Captain America, who’s death will hopefully force Tony to see the extent of what he’s doing and stop the war.

It’s supposed to be like that, not a death just for hype. When it’s for hype, it’s just pathetic, and clear that the writers are lazy and have no idea on what to do with a character anymore. It’s stupid, and I hate it. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand when writers have to rapidly change story lines because actors are pregnant, like in Bones, so they have to write something like Vincent dying to force Booth and Brennan to finally sleep together out of shock or something, so Brennan gets pregnant. That I can totally understand, but surely it doesn’t always have to end in death?

Can’t a character just be injured for once? Or can’t they come back as a ghost? Or decide to move away? Or something that isn’t them dying for once?! Killing someone off isn’t the only way to get rid of them, it is entirely possible for characters to leave through other means and still have it hurt like hell. Look at the Doctor and Rose at Bad Wolf Bay, Christina leaving Greys Anatomy, Zack turning out to be Gormagon in Bones!

All of those hurt like hell, and with Rose and Zack alike, created great plot twists people weren’t expecting. It’s entirely possible to create a feels inducing moment without killing people off. Writers, take note of that, and stop killing people like Charlie Bradbury off. Please, before I lose my mind.

What do you guys think about character death like this? Do you think any of the people I’ve mentioned had a good send off, if so, why? Or are there any other characters you pretend didn't die because their deaths were so utterly pointless? Or did you see a really great character send off that didn't involve them dying? Let me know down in the comments, it would be great to hear from you!

Jekyll And Hyde Under The Sofa... Not.

I'm slightly late, blame being busy this week, but I finally got round to watching the pilot of ITV's Jekyll And Hyde... And I hated it.
Well, hate is a strong word, let's say I was... very disappointed. I saw the trailer for the show months ago and got ridiculously excited, I'd read the book at A Level and really enjoyed it, so a TV show should surely be great, right? The trailer looked good, lots of murder and dark themes, Jekyll and Hyde, what could go wrong?
Apparently, everything. The first mistake was putting the show on at 6pm on a Sunday, making it 'family viewing,' with such shows, writers can't go too scary, can't get too dark. The show has to be sanitised so children don't get traumatised, and there is nothing wrong with that. But when it's applied to concepts such as Jekyll and Hyde, it's a recipe for disaster. Half of the creepy nature, blood, guts and gore is immediately taken out so the entire show is family friendly, meaning some of the main themes of the story is watered down.
Now I usually don't mind that so much, I can handle watered down family friendly murder. But the writers of Jekyll and Hyde have missed the mark of watering down by a mile, instead making the show an incredibly cheap imitation of the original story, filled with cartoon violence (not one punch actually landed on a character, yet they still went flying every time) and very sanitised murder (I either missed the blood or it simply wasn't there). To say the least, it made the show laughable.
And if the lack of violence wasn't bad enough, the story line was somehow worse. Cliche doesn't begin to cover it (oh I ran into a girl, I'm instantly attracted to her, oh look she dropped her purse I must run after her) and the acting was horrendous. I couldn't take Jekyll seriously, or anybody else for that matter. Even Richard E Grant couldn't save the cast's bad acting. The only physical change in Jekyll when he switches to Hyde is an appearance of eyeliner and a few veins, despite the fact that you hear bones cracking. The shots of the original Hyde show a deformed man, I was expecting something like that, not just some eyeliner. Eyeliner doesn't make a man evil, it barely even makes a noticable change in face.
Even the idea of Jekyll being the decent of the original isn't that interesting. Wow, Jekyll or Hyde had descendants who inherited the curse, and this one doesn't know it until the lawyer tells him. How interesting. Totally intriguing. I'm hooked. NOT. The writers were clearly trying to put a spin on the original so it's not just another Jekyll and Hyde remake, but they missed the mark but a very, very long mile.
To be perfectly honest, the show could have been brilliant, writing a show about the descendant of Jekyll or Hyde, cursed with the same condition as the originals could be amazing, but the writers didn't quite get the right tone for it. And I think I know why.
It's back to the show timing again. Shows like this should not be put on during a Sunday afternoon, they should be on post the watershed, where the real story can come out, with no need to worry about scaring young children. Putting the show on during mid-afternoon is a terrible idea. To do a show like this right, post-watershed with a twisty plot line, with murder and mayhem is honestly the best way to go. Otherwise you have a show with all the right ideas, but it gets so watered down so it turns cliche and predictable, which is a real shame when it could be such a great show.

Too Much To Write!

I currently have a serious problem, I have far too much to write! To a writer, that may sound like a really good thing, so there's always something to write. But currently it's causing a problem for me - I can't figure out what to write and more importantly, when. 
Currently, I have this blog, my vlog channel, two fan fics and my Wattpad one shots to write, and it is scary to think about. Really, it's scaring me a bit to think about it all! Now, as a rule, I prioritize my fan fics, as I'm posting them on a regular basis. This means that both of those are my go-to with writing, but then that means I forget about everything else. Take this blog for example, it's been three weeks since I wrote an actual post, which is not what I wanted for this! I wanted to write a blog post a week, yet this hasn't happened. The same can be said for my youtube channel, and my Wattpad story.
The youtube channel is fairing a bit better, as I've managed to (for the most part) get a vlog up a week for a while, but the Wattpad story is suffering like this blog. And I hate it.
One of my pet hates is leaving these things for weeks on end, leaving anybody possibly interested wondering if I will ever update again. As a general rule, I don't post anything I don't plan on finishing, but others don't know that, so I am potentially losing readers by not updating regularly. But I really do forget to write these things, and if I do remember, I have nothing to write! It's a terrible catch 22, but that's how my brain is working right now.
So what do I do? Do I dedicate a day to write each thing? Do I set myself reminders? That's no promise for me to get something up. I don't know what to do! AHHHHHH!
Currently, I'm just hoping this problem doesn't get worse when I get back to uni, when I'm so exhausted I can barely think straight. Though, alternatively, I could be given some inspiration from whatever my lecture has been about, or something else that has happened in the day. Also, I'll be on long train journeys, so I could have some time before I get too tired to write. Who knows? I sure as hell don't! I'm hoping for the best, but there's no promises, as there never is.
Oh, the writer's life, such hardship...

RIP The Works

Not a writing tip or review, but a mourning of a good book shop instead.
Some of you may have heard, but The Works bookshop was hit with an arson attack in Maidstone recently, in the hour before another 5 cars were also set alight. The cars survived mostly and the owners are on their way to replacing their vehicles.
But The Works, oh The Works is wrecked. There is nothing left of the shop, I've seen it for myself, just a few hours ago. All that is left of the book shop is the charred shell, reminding me far too much of the Baudelaire Mansion from A Series Of Unfortunate Events. Shops on either side of the building have also lost their roofs, leaving most of the street cordoned off for safety of the public.
Luckily nobody was hurt in this terrible attack, apart from all the book fan's hearts. Everybody loves a cheap book, and that was The Works for us, good quality, first hand, cheap books. It's probably the single biggest threat to my best friend and my Mum's bank balance, with many trips in there ending up with a new bag filled with new stories to explore.
But now we have been robbed of that, because someone decided that they wanted to set the place alight and burn it down. Countless precious books have been lost, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Sherlock Holmes, hundreds of other classics, have been destroyed by fire. This has then subsequently robbed many of the chance to buy and then read these books at a lower price to normal. Sure, we still have a Waterstones, WH Smith and Amazon to order from, but there's nowhere for those of us on a tight budget to shop. And that is a tragedy. 
Not everyone can afford to buy full price books, and book lovers like myself relied on The Works to give ourselves books are a discounted rate. Sometimes places like Waterstones proved too expensive when buying an entire series of books, whereas The Works provided the same series in the same great condition for a fraction of the cost. That was a Godsend to us, it meant we could buy our books and not break the bank as much as a shop at another retailer would have.
The shop also proved useful when buying books for our education too. Not all of them (I can't say I found any of my uni course books in there) but I did find many of my A Level books in there. There was no wait time or P&P costs from Amazon, and they were generally cheaper there than at any other book store, which was useful as a 16 year old.
Book lovers aren't the only ones affected either, artists who bought their supplies at The Works now have look elsewhere, others looking for notepads and school supplies have to trek somewhere else to buy them. The people who worked in the shop are now out of a job, all because someone felt the need to set something on fire. What I'm trying to say is that the shop was a life line for many, and now it's gone for a long time.
And for what? Entertainment? A sick need to see flames? What was the point? 
There wasn't one, now people have lost their jobs, others have lost a shop filled with their passions, and a building has been destroyed. It's going to take years to get that back to normal, and it's because someone likes to light things on fire. The only positive in this situation is that nobody was physically hurt in the blaze. Instead we've lost a big part of our lives.
So to whoever did this, fuck you, if you like fire so much, get your kicks by lighting candles and fireplaces. Stay away from buildings and places of enjoyment for so many, you've robbed so many from their cheap book and art outlet, and took away several people's jobs.

This blog is going through come changes!

I've neglected this blog FAR too much ever since... well, ever since I got it if I'm honest. But that's all going to change, this blog isn't just for film reviews anymore! This blog is going to be much more like my vlog channel, which is HERE if you haven't already seen it. From now on, this blog is going to be an extension of my vlog channel, where I'm going to post things about my writing, writing in general, and possibly a few reviews too.
Mainly, what I want this blog to be is a blog about writing. Good writing, bad writing, semi-reasonable writing, all of it. I want to talk in detail about amazing plot lines, beautiful dialogue, the things I wished I'd thought of in the past. Anything like that, I want to praise good writers from the rooftops and encourage others out there to start writing too. Being a writer is a lonely thing for most of us, I want to close that gap and start up discussions about the wonderful thing that is story telling.
Another thing I want to start here is a 'Things I Would Have Done Differently' because not all writing is infallible. For so long now, I've been sprouting nonsense about 'if I was the showrunner/author/writer I would have done it this way instead of like this' so I'm actually going to start doing that. If I think someone could have handled a story line, or a character, or anything like that, better, I will be pointing it out in a hopefully amusing way. Only time will tell if that's true, but for now, I'm hoping for amusement, if not agreement.
So currently that's the changes to this blog, to hopefully bring it to life and get some content on it, and add another facet to my youtube channel.
I hope you enjoy what is to come.

Dexter: The Finale

I have just finished watching the last episode of Dexter (late, I know, but school has been getting in the way of my TV watching schedule) and so I thought I'd do a review of it, because I have a lot of thoughts on the ending.
Now, the first half, I loved, I loved it to pieces. It was another classic Dexter episode, with the added 'Oh no, is Deb going to die?! I don't want Deb to die!' because, personally, I loved Deb. She had her short comings, her love life being one of them (because I don't care her and Dexter weren't related, her being in love with him was WEIRD and a bit incestuous, and so gave me the creeps) but overall, her character I enjoyed watching (maybe because she stood up for herself and swore a lot, unlike a lot of conventional female characters on TV).
Another thing I loved, was the suspense of whether or not Dexter was going to kill Saxon, and if him, Hannah and Harrison would get out of Miami without being caught. I was routing for the three of them to get out alive, and for Saxon to end up in a body bag. One last kill, for the greatest TV serial killer I've seen. And the kill, oh the kill was perfect! Watching Dexter stab Saxon in the neck, slightly symbolic of how Dexter has knocked out previous victims, was brilliant, and had me whooping at my screen in joy... and then the show went a bit down hill.
Now, I understand why Angel and Quinn let Dexter off for killing Saxon, because Deb was their friend, and in Quinn's case, lover. They wanted revenge for Saxon putting her in the hospital, fair enough. That bit I dealt with, and kinda agreed with, because where would the fun be if it was Dexter's own friends catching him out after a kill like that? At least when Deb found out, that had been a dramatic in-the-middle-of-a-massive-kill reveal! But, then, when Dexter got to the hospital, that's when I started to switch off and get very disappointed. The flashback to Harrison's birth was all very sweet and lovely, a nice reminder of where Dexter has come from, but as Dexter said goodbye to Deb before turning off the machine, I was a bit disappointed. To me, it felt like Dexter gave up a little on her, and was getting rid of her so he could get out of Miami with no ties there.
So as he carries her onto the boat, I'm still not feeling any kind of emotion as to his actions yet. For me, it was all a bit too symbolic of Dexter's old life, saying goodbye to the old, and hello to the new. And then, Dexter said something I can not forgive him for. He said he had to leave Hannah and Harrison forever to protect them from him. The line is so cliche and reminds me so much of Edward Cullen I nearly slapped my hand to my head screaming 'moron!' Yes Dexter, you are a dangerous serial killer, yes people around you die. And yet, Hannah can look after herself, and you've done a fine job of keeping Harrison out of trouble for years now, this does not mean you get to up and leave them! Deb died because she was a cop, doing her job, not because of you being a serial killer! She was recovering from the trauma of finding out who you are, but Hannah already KNOWS who you are, and Harrison needn't find out. So there is no need to leave them to live by themselves.
But, being the big 'hero' if you would call Dexter that, he drives towards the storm, and dumps Deb into the sea, again, symbolic of his other kills. She sinks, which wouldn't actually happen, as bodies float in water, but never mind, Dexter is still alive, mourning his sister. So, what does he do next? Drive towards the storm, facing certain death. At which point, I am screaming at the TV again 'NO DEXTER! GO BACK! GO BACK TO HANNAH AND HARRISON!' which of course, he doesn't hear. Someone invent a TV show where you can personally choose what the character does, please?
Anyway, so flash forward to Hannah and Harrison, who are looking at the news on the internet, where there's a report that Dexter is dead. She's upset, but she hides it from Harrison, and takes him out of the cafe, never to be seen again. We all think its over, but then we see a lumberjack yard, what's going on here then? We see none other than Dexter! He's alive! Woooo! But wait, why is he there, is he on a kill mission? What's going on? Why is he hiding in a room, which looks a bit like his own room, and why does he have a beard?  There is no-one talking, not even Dexter's voice over, or Harry, his Dad who guides him on these things, talking. Not even a bit of music, just the sounds of the construction site outside. Dexter sits down, and stares at the screen for a few seconds, then the screen goes black. No explanation on what's going on, where he is, how he survived the storm, nothing. Just the lumberjack yard and the beard. Leaving a lot of questions. And naturally, I was not impressed.
I wanted a big, fantastic, mind meltingly awesome ending, where either Dexter get's his comeuppance for being the real Bay Harbour Butcher. Or maybe him actually getting away with Hannah, living a normal life with her, as she seems to calm his 'Dark Passenger.' But no, we got Dexter 'protecting' the ones he loved, by hiding away from them. With no explanation as to whether or not he still was killing (he proved in an earlier season he couldn't stop, so was he still killing, if so, was he still following the code, and if that was true, how was he checking these people were bad people?) how he survived the storm on his tiny boat, that clearly got smashed up, as we saw in a previous scene, or anything of the sort. I would have taken watching everyone die in a mass shoot out, or something similar over the ending we got. I'm highly disappointed in the ending, and I really wished it had been better. Dexter had been such a good show, that I had highly enjoyed watching, but this ending just wasn't up to par with the rest of the show.