It’s hard to believe that there are just two episode of Doctor Who series 6 remaining, but in two weeks’ time, the latest run of the show will be over. Blimey.

Fortunately, the Christmas special is before the cameras, but before then, we’ve got Closing Time first of all. This sees the return of James Corden as Craig from The Lodger, and it’s been penned by Gareth Roberts.

And, helpfully, BBC America has premiered a fresh trailer for the episode. Which you can see right here, unless you don't, er, want to know who or what is in it…

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This review contains spoilers.

3.1 The Birthday

It's the return of our favourite teen vampire series, and everyone's seemingly spent their summer in the land of denial. We join the characters pretty much where we left them. Stefan's off gallivanting with Klaus, leaving Elena in the not entirely comforting arms of Damon, and Caroline and Tyler are still exploring how far the whole mortal-enemies thing can stretch. Oh, and Jeremy's still going through his Sixth Sense period. Ain't puberty a bitch?

Like all the best episodes of The Vampire Diaries, we get a great horror movie-style beginning, which sets the scene for Klaus and Stefan's reign of terror this season. And they're still not pulling any punches. Stefan's gone to the dark side, and we're not talking just a little bit nasty, we're talking full-on Angelus-style evil. Too bad he doesn't look like he's having as much fun as David Boreanez was back in Buffy. A particularly nice moment comes when Damon explains his brother's penchant for putting his victims back together again. It makes him feel less guilty, apparently.

We soon learn that Rick's been sleeping on Elena and Jeremy's couch over the summer - I bet the school board would be really chuffed to hear that - while the spurned girlfriend in Elena has been looking for Stefan since he disappeared.

When a new lead arises, she goes to find Damon, who's enjoying some surprisingly consensual domestic bliss with Andie. I have to admit, one of the more risqué and potentially objectionable things about the show has been the compelled girlfriends subplot, and it seems they're trying to pull it back for the sake of Damon's humanity.

There's a lack of Elena and Damon romance this week that I find strangely comforting, as it's always a worry when a love triangle overtakes the fantasy of a show like this. Most viewers support one brother or the other, but the writers have done a good job keeping the soap opera elements subordinate in the past. Let's hope they keep it that way again this year. But don't get me wrong, it's great that the relationship seems to be evolving, and the pair act like an old married couple through the majority of 41-minutes.

Another twosome in complete denial are Caroline and Tyler who, we're informed early on, aren't actually a couple yet. The two got a lot of fan support last year, which probably led the writers to explore the relationship more than anything else. It's a fun and light-hearted story to follow this week, as they skirt around each other, despite their heightened supernatural 'urges'.

Another fun part of the episode was Matt and Jeremy's weed-fuelled bonding session, followed by munchies and visions of dead relatives.

But the most exciting thing about the episode was the potential for Stefan the ripper and all that could entail. Viewers might be excited about showrunner's assurances of an Elena/Damon romance, but the suggestion of what the kinder, gentler brother could actually be capable of is more than a little intriguing. Stefan's always been interesting in his extremely passive-aggressive need to be liked, and now he's let the beast roam free, it'll be an interesting watch.

Let's hope it's not resolved too soon, as it sounds like a whole load of fun.

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This review contains spoilers.

4.1/4.2 Water War/Gungan Attack

Kicking season four off of the Star Wars animated series is a double bill of underwater action on the home world of the Mon Calamari, Mon Cala. And look who's making his series debut, Admiral 'It's A Trap!' Ackbar.

Well, actually, the rubber faced fish creature is just a Captain here, but it's great to see the wobbly-handed lobster boy in animated form. His world is descending into war with the other indigenous species, the Quarren (or 'Squid Head' to the less tactful), leading to an opening scene full of politics and reminiscent of the senate scenes from The Phantom Menace.

And like Episode I, it shows a planet with two races at each others' throats. Enter the Separatists to take advantage. It also, sadly, rather slows up the story at the front end, with ten minutes or so of discussions and arguments. Not the way in which I'd hoped the season would begin.

The Separatists here are represented by Riff Tamson, a shark-like alien who is as bad as he looks. Unusually, for The Clone Wars, his characterisation is not up to their high standards, and Riff certainly has a bit of Shark Tale about him. The cartoon appearance is matched by his pantomime performance, where he actually uses the word "meddling".

Similarly, our chum Ackbar suffers from a poor vocal realisation, leaving all signs of his personality (so charmingly displayed in Return Of The Jedi) at the proverbial door. Also not aiding the viewer is the rather whiney, unsympathetic Prince who's been left in charge of the planet.

There are, as always with this show, some excellent set pieces, made all the more spectacular in their underwater environment. But the visuals cannot really overcome the stodginess of the story and the rather bland characters.

After the tumultuous and hugely entertaining events that ledd up to the previous season's end, it's slightly disappointing to see that the action has been pegged back a notch or two. Though it's probably for the best, so the guys and gals behind the show can ramp up the excitement once more. Hope so, anyway.

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This review contains spoilers.

2. The Omens Part 2

If last week’s first episode of the newly rebooted ThunderCats got your mouth watering, then this week’s follow up will stir up further intrigue as disorder, chaos and confusion run rampant through the streets of Thundera.

Lion-O sits at a table tinkering with a scrap of technology while Tygra berates him angrily, not understanding Lion-O’s reasons for freeing the two captured Lizardfolk last episode – an act of clemency that many perceived as weakness. To Tygra, it’s further evidence that the prince doesn’t take his position seriously.

But there’s little time for petty grievances as an alarm sounds. The advance guard-post manned by Lynx-O (a nice cameo – he was a character introduced in Thundercats Ho! – The Movie and featured thereafter as a regular cast member) picks up the unmistakeable scent of lizards, and they’re attacking in hordes. More circumstantial evidence that Lion-O’s mercy was misplaced.

This is a set up for a thrilling sequence in which a platoon of gigantic armoured battle-mechs lay siege to Thundera, laser canons and missiles easily destroying the stone walls (a nice reference to the 1985 episode Return To Thundera, in which a battle robot tears the head off Cats’ Lair). Things go from bad to worse as the trophy that Grune brought home from his expedition turns out to be a Trojan horse containing none other than the reptilian general Slithe.

All seems lost until Lion-O’s father, Claudus, General Grune and Tygra join the battle and begin to push back the invaders. But they’re overmatched by the Lizards’ powerful technology. Lion-O, left behind with Jaga, is forced to watch as his home is destroyed by the very technology that he idolised; Thunderian civilians fleeing underground from the battle.

But things are about to get a whole lot worse as Grune betrays his people (an obvious beat if you’d seen the original series in which Grune was the ghost of Thundercat gone bad) and he offers to trade an unconscious Panthro, previously thought dead, for the Sword Of Omens. Fortunately, the invaders hadn’t counted on Jaga’s clerics, who manage to drive them back with their magic, and the arrival of Lion-O, whose understanding of technology helps neutralise the mechanical forces.

Giving chase, Claudus comes to Panthro’s rescue only to be stabbed by his old friend – a genuinely shocking twist which personally left me aghast. It’s actually an enormous relief when 'Panthro' turns out to be Mumm-Ra in disguise, the ThunderCats’ legendary nemesis. With Claudus dead and the Sword Of Omens in enemy hands, Lion-O, Tygra and Jaga are easily captured.

Mumm-Ra, now sitting on the throne, desperately wants to unlock the power of the Eye Of Thundera, the jewel embedded in the hilt of the Sword Of Omens but can’t because of a spell which prevents the sword being touched by evil.  He takes his frustrations out on Jaga, demanding that he use his magic to undo the spell. Jaga’s torture is cut short by the arrival of Tygra and Lion-O who were given a key to escape the dungeons by the lizard that Lion-O had mercy on the previous day.

Lion-O deftly snatches the blade from Mumm-Ra and summons the powers of the Sword Of Omens (a sequence which has been lovingly preserved), which blasts Mumm-Ra out of the throne room. Enraged, Mumm-Ra begins the incantation to transform into his more powerful form but is stopped by the rays of the rising sun which leaves him scorched and burnt.

The ThunderCats’ victory is only temporary as Tygra, Lion-O, and Cheetara (revealed to be the last surviving member of Jaga’s clerics) are forced to flee by the arrival of Slithe and the rest of his forces.  Jaga sacrifices himself to buy them time, but not before giving Lion-O a quest: The Book Of Omens lies at the foot of the setting sun and the three of them must find it before Mumm-Ra does. 

If there was something that the first episode was missing, it was spectacle. It was a gentle introduction to the world, the new characters and their personalities. Now that that’s been dispensed with, the focus can turn to action. The attack on Thundera is really exciting with an impressive sense of scale - huge, towering mechanical monstrosities that easily crush their comparatively primitive opponents; laser cannons and explosive ordnance obliterating troops armed with swords and shields.

It also introduces what is sure to be a recurring theme – the blending of magic and technology. To these ThunderCats, technology is a mythical thing, spoken of in legend but not thought to be real. The Lizards’ attack on Thundera using advanced tech establishes a credible threat and also a fear of the unknown.  As Grune taunts, “how can you defeat technology if you don’t even understand it?”

This is also the first episode where we get a good look at the villains. Slithe is a formidable physical presence, bloated and much larger than any of his Lizardfolk companions, and Dee Bradley Baker has given him a gravelly rumble which suits the character design. There’ll have to be more screen time before a complete judgement is formed but this incarnation seems to have lost some of the inherent deviousness that Slithe had. Slithe used to speak with a snake-like hiss, looking at the world from hooded eyes; distrusting everything and perpetually scheming. This version seems much more straightforward.

Mumm-Ra, while hunched and hideous as he always was, and given to impressive displays of power, is so far something of a disappointment. There was something insidious about the 85’s Mumm-Ra; the sense of ancient evil prepared to wait millennia for a victory; the patience of ever-living evil. Here he’s much more of a generic bad guy – a powerful sorcerer bent on domination and conquest but one which lacks mystery which made Mumm-Ra so terrifying.

These minor gripes aside it’s still very impressive. It’s established a valid reason for the nascent core group of ThunderCats we’re familiar with to form, outlined a credible threat to the heroes, and left many questions unanswered. What will the Book Of Omens reveal? Is Panthro still alive? What does a fully-powered Mumm-Ra have in store for them?

It’s gripping stuff which builds on a solid first episode and delivers some well-earned thrills. But the journey’s only just begun...

ThunderCats is on Cartoon Network in the UK, Saturdays at 11am.

Read our review of episode 1, The Omens, here.

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On the eve of release for Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, we caught up with Colin Firth, at a round table interview, to talk Curly Wurlys, Gary Oldman, being part of an extraordinary ensemble, winning an Oscar and why he’d be a rubbish spy in real life…

We’ve just been talking about Wimpy, reminiscing and reliving that scene in the film.

Don’t let me stop you! [laughs] The Wimpy, yes, well actually we were just talking about Sherbet Fountains, and the surprising things that don’t ever change. You don’t need to be nostalgic about a sherbet fountain because it’s exactly as it was. There are still Curly Wurlys aren’t there? Or are they gone? [Colin Firth is assured by all present that Curly Wurlys are still extant]

Can we start with an obvious question, what attracted you to the film and how did you get involved?

Well I think it’s pretty easy… I think ‘what attracted you?’ is a no-brainer, certainly if you look at what else was around at the time, certainly at what was available to me.

I just think it’s the best project of last year, and the fact that I wasn’t carrying it added to it greatly. To work with some of my favourite actors, a fantastic director, I mean, this all sounds very… you know, it sounds like platitudes: “I always wanted to work with…” etc. but you know it’s true. I mean just the idea of doing it seemed very cool to me.

It wouldn’t have done ten years after a fantastic TV series, that would have seemed suicidal, and also it would have been too close to that time for it to be retro and far enough on for it to feel a little out of date, possibly, but I think now that we’re 30 years or so on from the series, it seemed like a really interesting time to do it. Then when I heard it was Tomas Alfredson, and then I heard it was, like, John Hurt, and Gary [Oldman], it was absolutely irresistible.

Did you come on board fairly late then, if there were already lots of actors attached?

Actually Gary wasn’t, I don’t think. I don’t know who was attached, actually. Gary wasn’t, there was still talk about who was going to play Smiley, that was just an asset, but some of the others were and the script and Tomas were enough.

What was your knowledge of Tinker, Tailor book-wise and TV-wise beforehand?

I hadn’t read it, I don’t think. I have endlessly now. I had seen the series but I’m not sure if I ever watched it at the time in sequence. It’s rather hard to remember, because there are certain things that go so thoroughly into popular thinking that you almost can’t remember if you’ve seen it. People talk about ‘Fellini-esque’ without ever having seen a Fellini film, and everyone knows exactly what they mean, you know, and I think that’s a sign that something’s made an impact.

I do remember scenes between, was it Terence Rigby and Alec Guinness or, you know, Patrick Stewart, without knowing if I had actually sat down and watched it. I remember it being in the air, I remember my father talking about it. It was endlessly present, so I feel I sort of had a familiarity with it, but I don’t know if I ever saw it at the time. I’ve seen it now.

Was there ever a question of you playing any of the other roles or were you always going to play the tailor [codename for Firth’s character, Bill Haydon, in the film]?

No, I think this was the one they had me in mind for.

He’s got a little glint in his eye hasn’t he?

Haydon? I think he has, yeah, I mean I think he enjoys life. He’s also vain, he cultivates certain eccentricities, it’s part of his vanity. He’s not just a spy, he’s a bit of a bohemian, he’s the artist, he’s the one who has a slightly flamboyant twist to the way he dresses and rides his bicycle into the office. He’s sexually active, let’s say, very active. I think he’s somebody who makes use of irony, which is probably very useful as a spy, being based on not saying it exactly as you mean it.

He leads a fairly lonely existence, though, even though as you say he’s quite flamboyant…

They’re all profoundly lonely. I think that’s what the film is very much about. I think to me it’s a very moving, rather tender portrait of lonely men, disappointed idealists.

I think Smiley [Gary Oldman’s character] is a study of loneliness, I mean in his idealism and his romanticism including his marriage and his view of marriage, he has a wife who betrays him, and who he forgives all the time. I think he really does believe in the patriotic values of what he does, and to see treachery in that area is heartbreaking, and I also think that these are all men in this story who have made considerable sacrifices in their personal lives in order to do what they do, and I think that puts even more emphasis on the fraternity that they have at work.

And with such high stakes, I think the sense of camaraderie is heightened, and it’s also heightened by the fact that it’s dependent on secrecy – all those things ratchet up the stakes, and to realise that one of them is betraying everybody, and might have been betraying everybody for many years, is not just a threat, it’s also heart-breaking, and you have a world where, because you don’t know who it is, it might just be any of them, and so all of their relationships are compromised.

For Smiley to go to Control’s [John Hurt] flat and see his own face on the chess piece adds to that heartbreak as he realises that he, too, is not above suspicion. I think that’s what it’s about. I think it’s about the personal relationships between these men, whether it’s Jim Prideaux [Mark Strong] and his caravan, or the lonely little boy, or Smiley and his marriage, or Smiley at work, or Guillam’s [Benedict Cumberbatch] rather surprising scene with his partner and realising that that’s no longer tenable, Ricki Tarr’s [Tom Hardy] attempt at love, the girl’s attempt to escape, Connie’s being cut loose from the establishment, or Control.

You see that Christmas party where Control’s alone, drunk, Percy Alleline [Toby Jones] with his wife who’s fallen asleep after an argument with him, Esterhase dancing by himself… I do think it’s a very beautifully, melancholic story and I think that the thrust of it is much more emotional than intellectual really.

What kind of spy do you think you’d make?

Now, I’ve seen John Hurt on the subject. I’d have to echo him, that I think I’d be crap, really. I think it’s all very well to draw parallels with actors in terms of the fact that we might be capable of duplicity and inhabiting other roles and interpreting other people’s motives, but that doesn’t mean we’d be very good if somebody pointed a gun at us, or we had to go through any personal or physical discomfort [laughs].

When your character says something along the lines of, “It’s all become so ugly” in the film, do you see that as a superficial, vain thing or is he talking about a deeper sort of ideological shift there, in your opinion?

I’d love to talk about this, and I know that there’s a book and a TV series out there for anybody who wants a spoiler, but I’d hate to contribute to it. We are in that zone, so I do ask anybody who’s writing about this to keep it in the general. I don’t want to pointlessly spoil the ending for people who don’t know it.

I think it’s a very, very good question, having said all that, and I think it’s the right question, and I think those are the questions that Smiley has. Those are the questions Smiley asks, and John le Carré doesn’t really answer them.

In the wake of that scene, Smiley walks away wondering what those motives are, how much of it is vanity and how much is a genuine, passionate idealism. Those questions are very much alive, as I remember they go on for a couple of pages. That’s where you get the comparison to one of those Russian dolls, you know, the doll is how he describes Haydon, as layer upon layer, and that doll was used as the motif for the opening credits of the TV series, so I think it’s something that you’re never really sure if you ever really get to the final doll in the middle.

I think people’s motives can be mixed even at the deepest level, and I would say that all of these characters’ motives have a mixture. I think they can be personally driven, they can be altruistic and narcissistic at the same time.

Do you have a similar motive for wanting to be an actor?

What, mixed? Definitely. Definitely. I think that even at best, we are driven by something that’s not entirely self-serving. I do think this desire to impart your own inspiration, to share stories and to communicate and to have somebody on the other end of that, I think that can, at its best, be important. I think storytelling is important, but I think, you know, we’re all so driven by our vision and our desire to suit ourselves, and I’m sure that’s true of politicians, campaigners, writers, journalists. I’m quite comfortable with the idea of mixed motives.

On the theme of betrayal, is there a sense that now’s the perfect time for another adaptation, because of a pervasive sense of disappointment or betrayal in modern politics?

I think the sense of disappointment and betrayal has been around for quite a long time. I think there is a view that people were more naïve and accepting about their leaders… I don’t know, I think there’s always been disenchantment and suspicion, otherwise there wouldn’t have been dissenting political movements throughout the centuries, and there have. So I think it’s ongoing, and I think it always feels current – it always feels at its worst.

I don’t think it’s to do with disenchantment with our current establishment, and I’m sure, if you’d talked to Americans at the time of Watergate, you’d have talked about a sense of disenchantment, and whenever there’s been a time when there’s been an investigation… So, you know, I don’t think it’s that necessarily, but I do think that sense of the currency of this material is with us, but I don’t think it’s particular to now, though I do think it feels very current.

If you take the Soviets versus the west out of this, I think all the other elements are still pretty pertinent, really/ You’ve got hacking, whether it’s Wikileaks or journalists, we know that there’s industrial espionage goes on,  and we’re still just as paranoid and freaked out and jumping at shadows as we ever were. If it’s not reds under the beds, then we’re worried about, you know, who’s a terrorist, and is our intelligence any good? So I think all of those things are very much alive when it comes to issues of trust and paranoia, and a general state of neurosis.

Can I ask about playing a character that is so fully formed in an ensemble like this one?  Do you think that’s one of the things that’s going to sell it to people and is that exciting for you as an actor?

I don’t think it’s going to be one of the things that’s going to sell it to people, I think I must have about five minutes of screen time in this film, and it’s going to be sold on a lot more than that. But the thrill of being part of an ensemble? Absolutely.

I don’t think any actor is so selfless as to really only luxuriate in ensemble work, but I was absolutely up for it and ready for it, and actually, despite the vanity that drives us to want something meaty for ourselves, it is a thrill to be surrounded by brilliant people, not just because you get to watch them and you have the experience of being dazzled, it actually lifts your own game as well.

It’s something I realised at drama school. Right at the beginning, they told us, just from a practical point of view, good actors on stage with you don’t make you look worse. It’s not like having to do a recital, and you’re not very good at the piano after someone who is good. You, on a stage with someone who is better than you, will make you better – that’s how it works. It doesn’t show you up, it just has an effect, not just at making you raise your game, but it magically makes you look better as well. There’s more authenticity in the room.

To be surrounded by this lot meant that I just felt that it was real all the time, and you know, there’s an initial moment when you walk on the set and you are faced with, whether it’s Toby Jones, or Ciarán Hinds or Gary Oldman, you think, “I might be out of my league”, but then, when the scene gets going, it just feels so real that you’re invited into that.

Talking about the joy of being in an ensemble, who are the actors out there you’ve never worked with and who’d you’d ideally love to be in an ensemble piece with?

Oh God, that, we haven’t got long enough [laughter] because then I’ll go out and then think, “Why did I say those and not those?”
It’s very interesting, actually, trying to cast my mind back to getting excited about who was already cast, and then I realised that Gary wasn’t, there was nobody in the part of Smiley, but there were different actors. I’m not going to say who they were, but it was already a fine cast, some of whom were different people, and replaced by people who were just as good, but now, it was an incredibly enticing package. I mean, it doesn’t get much better than this, frankly. I mean, these people would be on my list.

When you were on set, did you feel there was much room to deviate from the script? Was your character fully formed, or was there a lot of to-ing and fro-ing once you were in there?

Not much to-ing and fro-ing, not really. Fully formed? It’s hard to put it that way, because this character… Something that happens with good writing is that you could actually take characters who make brief appearances and feel that you could follow them into their lives, and have an equally good story.

I mean, there is another book about Westerby, is it The Honourable Schoolboy? That’s about him, he just comes to tell me in this that… and in fact he’s brilliant in his few minutes as well, this man who has to wake up in a bed and try to get somebody to take it seriously. You feel you could go into those people’s lives and get a proper story.
So, is it fully formed? I don’t know. Is there enormous wealth of information about this guy that’s well beyond what I’m able to show on the screen? Yes.

The question you were asking is developed in the book – you get his background, you get something about his romantic life, you get much more about his friendships and huge surplus of dialogue that you can draw on as subtext, so you know very much who he is.

So even though we’re all offering the tip of the iceberg of each of these characters, there’s just so much source material that it really helps.

Did they cut anything out of Tinker, Tailor?

Gosh, it’s funny. Once they’ve done it and you’ve seen the final cut, you tend to forget about what they’ve cut out and, yes, I suppose I was slightly sorry to lose it, but I could see why.

I mean, they cut a huge amount out because it’s a very long story, and it’s a big book with lots of words, but it’s still two hours. There were a couple of Bill Haydon scenes. Everyone lost a scene or two, I think.
There’s a scene where… I think it’s a nice scene, but I can see where it goes and where the pace needs to go on, and it was one of the things that needed to be cut. There’s a scene where Bill Haydon catches Guillam when he’s on the top floor, you know, trying to find the documents that Smiley’s asked him for, and it is a scene from the book, where he says, “What the hell are you doing up here?”, and I think Guillam’s a bit possibly busted but you know, it wasn’t the heart of the piece.

Could you tell us about your experience of working with Tomas Alfredson? Gary Oldman has spoken of a level of almost-obsessive detail even down to choosing props, the lighter and the glasses etc. Is that something you experienced?

Well, he’s inspired by things like art and music, and he shared the music with us, with me, and I found that incredibly helpful, because there’s something very compelling... Obviously, I mean, if somebody wants to share an emotion, it’s a very, very quick way to do that, and I found that very, very helpful.

I also like the fact that he didn’t dwell on things very much. He didn’t overly shoot things, he didn’t do a lot of set-ups and he didn’t do a lot of takes, so there was always a very critical sense that you were on and he was very clear as well. He would talk in incredibly clear terms about where we were in the story, and in this case, that was helpful.

Were you on set when you received word that you’d got that certain nomination? I wondered whether you could settle back into your role afterwards?

No, no this came well before. We did this some time back in October, I think, and nominations I think come at the end of January so…

Do you remember where you were when you heard?

Where was I when I got the nomination? I was at the Hackney Empire doing an interview for an American television programme, and I think I didn’t really want to have a camera rolling on me when the news came through, but there was a television camera, which had come down to set up a live link with American TV, either to see me not get it, or to get it, to watch the smiles or the tears…

I talked to Javier Bardem last year and he said he still has a drama teacher, even though he won an Oscar. You were talking about feeling a bit intimidated on set. Does winning an Oscar not give you absolute security as an actor, and has your career changed an awful lot in the last eight months?

No, because I’ve done one film since then. I mean, it’s far too difficult, and if it’s ever going to be possible, it’s certainly too soon to assess it. I’m sure it’s changed things in some ways, for better or worse, I don’t know. But I think everything that happens changes something, so I just don’t know yet what to say about it.

I think you can say in terms of one’s attitude to it, you can either see it as pressure to live up to something and to choose properly, and that’s probably all bound to go wrong, or you could see it as taking the pressure off and saying, “Well, I’ve got that now, I’ll do whatever the hell I please”, and that’s a far nicer, a far pleasanter way to see it.

You know, the one film I’ve done this year is a farce, a farcical comedy [Gambit, a remake of the 1966 comedy starring Michael Caine, with a screenplay by the Coen brothers], and I took enormous pleasure in it, and I loved having it change the tone. I mean, there’s absolutely no possible way that you could do a farcical comedy in response to having that happen, it just doesn’t… you know, it’s not in the shadows of that, it’s something else, and you know, I found it quite helpful to do that, and come out of the other side.

But no, for the most part, things don’t change very much. Previous Oscar winners that I spoke to said that, you just carry on really doing what you did before, you’ll do some flops, you know.

Can you ask for more money?

[laughter] Briefly, you probably can, and it’s far more likely when the economy’s healthy, but then again there are some films that don’t have a big budget, don’t have a lot of money to pay the actors, and if you want to do those, then no, you can’t.

Did you enjoy the lead-up to the Oscars?

Yes, I enjoyed some of it. I think you have to make a bit of a note to self, sometimes, to enjoy it, because it’s… the word that came to mind is turbulent – that doesn’t mean bad, it just means that things are operating at quite a pitch. It’s exciting, but it also can make you a bit neurotic, because there are people around you who are feeling a bit neurotic about it. But it was very exciting.

The main problem is actually taking stock and realising that it’s to be enjoyed, because it’s very active and you’re travelling a great deal, and you’re talking about yourself a lot in artificial circumstances with a microphone pointed at you in a way that you’re probably babbling and not saying anything that represents what you really think or mean, it’s just talking, and then it suddenly happens, and it’s suddenly over, and it’s very odd, it’s a slightly numbing effect. I think, when major things happen to us, whether they’re good or bad, I think there’s a slight shock.

Do you remember walking up to receive it, or is that numbed too?

No. Don’t remember. That’s extraordinary, completely numb, but I remember thinking at the time, I’ll probably wake up in July and get very excited about it. That did happen, and I did, a month or two ago, get very excited about the fact it had all happened, but it was all a bit lonely, because everyone had gone home! The party was over.

Just quickly Colin, I was reading you were displaced as Britain’s best looking man by Jensen Button.

[laughs] You should have told me this in front of a rolling camera…

How does that make you feel?

I’m crushed [laughing]

But you are the fortieth most influential man in the world [according to a TIME magazine poll in April of this year]…

No, one of my children has pointed out to me that I’m not even the most influential person in my own household [laughs].

Are you the best looking man in your household?

By no means! [laughs]

Colin Firth, thank you very much.

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This review contains spoilers.

So this is it: the last season of Spooks. Has as it really been nearly a decade since Harry and company first appeared on our screens? And now, as they say, the end is near – but not just yet, since there are still a few old Cold War skeletons in the cupboard to cause the team members of the Grid a few headaches.

But first things first. After last season’s literal character assassination of Lucas (in what can only be described as very quick rewrite to accommodate Richard Armitage’s departure), it all got rather silly and melodramatic towards the end. There were some important repercussions, though, as Harry was found guilty of prioritising Ruth’s life rather than the protection of state secrets, and has spent the past few months on garden leave.

During his tribunal, we see that, even though that simmering passion for Ruth is there, Harry is still the professional, and the best bad-ass on television, sparring with the committee and fully justifying his actions during last season and the whole Albany affair.

With a reprieve granted by the committee, Harry is reinstated back in the team (which has some terms, which we will come to later), but it seems it’s all change back at HQ, as Section D now has a new leader – an intelligent, secretive new agent by the name of Erin Watts who, it seems, holds Harry in very high esteem.

Erin’s not the only new face. We also get a new tech agent called Callum, who quite frankly, seems a bit of an arse. A cocky, brash new player who, within minutes, rubs the entire team (and the audience) up the wrong way, and hopefully will be cannon fodder in the next few weeks. It’s been a long time since there’s been an unlikeable character working in Section D. But what of last season’s other recruit, Beth?
Well, it seems Ms Miles has been given the sack, with her departure summed up with an off-hand, “Oh, we had to fire her because of her past”. What a send off.

While Jo, Ros or numerous other members at least got a bit of a memorial, it seems Beth was simply handed her P45 and told “We wish you luck in any future endeavours”. Never mind, at least we still have Dimitri (who my wife told me look very hot in a tuxedo), who really is filling the action hero shoes that Ros and Lucas took over the past few years.

With the status quo established, we find that even though the team are back together, there are things stirring in the upper echelons of power, and that Harry’s reinstatement has come at a cost, as the Home Secretary was the one that played out the stay of execution for Harry’s trial. But he had his reasons – namely, that the government is changing tack, and are, it seems, happy to become best friends with their former Soviet arch-enemies.

This causes a lot of trouble, as Harry, who was one of the main British agents during the Cold War, has he spent the past 30 years making friends in the CIA. He’s become a sworn enemy of the KGB in the process, and the feeling of having to put on the charm offensive for his former opposite number is hard for him to swallow, especially when it seems Harry has a rather personal history with some of his supposed enemies.

With the Russians in the UK on a diplomatic or ambassadorial role, the team finds that somebody is out to try and take them out permanently. From the death of an old school spy colleague of Harry’s, to somebody using his old drop points, pass codes and security to contact his former liaison on the Russian side, the shady world of counter-espionage and double agents comes back to haunt the current powers that be, and it seems that, as well as hiding state secret,s Harry has a few other secrets that land a lot more closer to home.

The new power-players, Ilya Gavrick (played with fantastic aloofness by Jonathan Hyde), Harry’s former opposite, ex-KGB officer and current oligarch, his wife (played by former Borg queen Alice Krige) and their son Sasha, seem to be the focus of this season.

This seems an apt way of finishing off a decade of Spooks stories that, from what we have seen already, will play out on both a global and very personal scale. Will Harry save the day? Of course. But the big question is, will he get the girl, and will he finally put his feet up, sit back happily with some single malt or even play a round or two of golf?

Well, we’ll have to wait and see. But if this establishing episode is anything to go by, it seems the show is once again back on form, and those worried about the scheduling against Downton Abbey needn’t worry.

On the strength of this opening episode, this looks as though it’ll be a fantastic final season.

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Despite the promise that the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special would never be released, it appears that footage from it has cropped up on the recent Blu-ray box set of the sci-fi saga.

After its initial 1978 broadcast in the US, the two hour extravaganza has never been repeated (and very rarely officially referred to) due to George Lucas's disappointment with the show. The special starred much of the original cast, including Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher (singing, no less) and Mark Hamill. Any requests for a home release have been met with derisory silence, with the general feeling that, from all involved, it would never see the light of day.

Eagle-eyed fans will note, however, that the Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray box set does include some scenes from the unloved Lucasfilm offspring. The deleted scenes from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope include two clips from the streets of Mos Eisley, which were used in the special. However, there's even more.

Buried as an Easter Egg, of sorts, on the Episode V extras, is the very first onscreen appearance of bounty hunter, Boba Fett. Everyone's favourite Mandalorian warrior popped up in an animated sequence in the Star Wars Holiday Special, facing off against our heroes (again voiced by the original cast).

To find the nine-minute cartoon in all its glory, pop in the Original Trilogy bonus disk, go to the "Pursued by the Imperial Fleet" section, click on "The Collection" and then check out the "Boba Fett Prototype Costume" - you'll find the cartoon in "First Look".

Thanks to The Force for the heads up on the Fett cartoon.

Read more about the Star Wars Holiday Special here.

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Having covered John Williams’ scores for the original Star Wars trilogy last week, now it’s time to take a look at his work for the divisive prequels. Can his scores outclass the films they accompany?

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 

The extraordinary level excitement that preceded the release of The Phantom Menace seems rather ridiculous now. A new Star Wars after more than 20 years: how could it not be the best thing ever? Well, we were shown exactly how over a period of 136 minutes. 

Even though George Lucas forgot that Star Wars was supposed to be, you know, entertaining, John Williams didn’t, as he managed to recapture the spirit of the original trilogy, and at least give a sense of the classics we all know and love by subtly introducing familiar themes from the earlier films, as well as using others in a more overt manner, such as the title fanfare. 

The stand out, however, wasn’t the re-use of existing themes. It was the new piece, Duel Of The Fates, that proved to be the most impressive – as impressive, exciting and dramatic as anything the great man has produced, in fact, with its novel introduction of choral chanting. The result is enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and it’s pretty much the finest thing to come out of Episode I. 

The choral elements and the devolution of cues established in the original trilogy set the prequel scores apart. By using this approach, it gives the films a sense that they were set in a different time. The look and feel of the films themselves derailed this somewhat, but listening to the score in isolation lets you imagine what might have been if Lucas applied a similar level of artistry as Williams.

As ever, Williams called upon the London Symphony Orchestra, as they recorded the score in Abbey Road. The quality of both the performance and the recording is magnificent, and in terms of audio quality, it’s one of the best releases available for the series.  It should be noted that the track listing for the score gave away some major spoilers, which would have been fine had it not been released in advance of The Phantom Menace’s release.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones

Williams’ return to the series resulted in some magnificent work, and saw the master introduce new layers to the score in Episode I to give it its own identity. A similar approach is employed in his score for Episode II, and it stands out as a great work in its own regard.

The last outing saw the introduction of choral chanting and African drums, and this time, we get some great electric guitar work, which is a welcome addition to the series. Episode II is my least favourite of the Star Wars films (I’d sooner re-watch Caravan Of Courage), but the score is another Williams masterpiece that makes the plodding politicking of the film bearable.

He manages to create an amazing level of atmosphere and intrigue that the actors themselves fail to deliver. Such things shouldn’t be a surprise from a master of the craft such as Williams. The love theme is more saccharine than the one employed in the original trilogy, and given that the film focuses on the blossoming romance between Anakin and Padme, it’s used quite heavily.

There are tremendous action themes, though, such as Zam The Assassin, which at 11 minutes, is an epic cue that captures the spirit of the chase sequence it accompanies beautifully. For all the greatness of these new elements, though, it’s the appearance of the Imperial March in all its glory that steals the show. Also, this is another track listing that pretty much sums up the key plot developments of the film. Nice to see they learned from past mistakes.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith 

John Williams’ final score for the series saw the London Symphony Orchestra return to Abbey Road to provide a fitting finale, accompanied by the London Voices to add choral elements. This film is by some distance my favourite of the prequel trilogy, and if I’m in the right mood, I’d rank this above Return Of The Jedi.

I love the dark tone of the film, and that there’s a sense throughout that it won’t end well. As with previous instalments, Williams doesn’t simply rehash existing material; instead, he uses it as a foundation, and introduces new pieces such as Battle Of The Heroes, which plays at the film’s climax.

While it doesn’t match Duel Of The Fates in terms of quality, it’s a fitting piece that perfectly encapsulates the collapse of Episode III’s central relationships, and the internal struggles of both Padme and Obi-Wan, who know that they must destroy Anakin, even though they still love him (perhaps this is how Lucas feels about the films themselves, as he continues to tinker with them).

This is the pay-off to a number of pieces throughout Revenge Of The Sith that carry a sense of dread and mourning. It’s best enjoyed in the context of the film, as the soundtrack release has tracks arranged in a different sequence. The score is effectively a character study of Anakin, as he fully commits to the dark side of the Force. Much of the score is devoted to emphasising this change, and there are some stunning moments. It’s not the easiest listen by any means, but it’s an incredible piece of work, and is, by some distance, the best score from the prequel trilogy.

• See all the Music in the movies

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As series creator recently Russell T. Davies outlined in Doctor Who Magazine, if the ending of The Sarah Jane Adventures had ever been properly planned for, it would have concluded with the heroic Miss Smith ascending to the stars and continuing her adventures far away from terra firma.

Unfortunately, the untimely death of actress Elisabeth Sladen put paid to those plans, leaving us with an ending that’s far more ambiguous and open ended than any definitive final adventure could ever be.

Comprising a trio of two-part stories that were filmed alongside 2010’s production block, these final three adventures kick-off in spectacular fashion with Phil Ford’s season-opener, Sky.

Hewing closely to the shows traditionally bold storytelling template, Ford’s opening story – which seemingly riffs on influences as diverse as V, Three Men And A Baby and The Terminator – is one of the strongest opening adventures so far.  

However, despite the familiarity of certain tropes, there’s a feeling that things are changing on Bannerman Road. With her son Luke (Tommy Knight) still away at university and with erstwhile sidekicks Clyde (Daniel Anthony) and Rani (Anjli Mohindra) growing up fast, are Sarah Jane’s gang perhaps are becoming somewhat…well, long in the tooth?

In typically confident fashion, it’s this dilemma that Sky deals with head-on.

Set against the backdrop of an explosive outer space war spilling over onto modern-day Earth, this opening story is really about how to successfully transfuse new blood into an ongoing series’ with maximum impact and minimum disruption.

Thankfully, Ford is more than up to the task and his deft script manages to serve up something that’s at once familiar (there are echoes of both Invasion of the Bane and The Last Sontaran), yet also reinvigorates the central character dynamics of the show.

Superbly directed by Torchwood and Doctor Who veteran Ashley Way, the scale and sweep of this opening story is hugely impressive with the CGI work from BBC Wales Graphics being particularly effective.

However, in terms of effects the real star of the show is the alien Metalkind creature. Easily on a par with the best creatures the Whoniverse has produced, the Metalkind is a superb prosthetic creation and another genuinely impressive adding to the burgeoning SJA stable.

A strong, confident and impressive opener, the only downside to the return of The Sarah Jane Adventures is that in two stories' time the show will be gone forever. However, going by the quality of Sky, it’s fair to assume that this is a show bowing out at the absolute top of its game.  

Read more about The Sarah Jane Adventures here.

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It seems that comics legend Stan Lee isn’t content with making cameo appearances in movies based on Marvel superheroes. Apparently, Lee would like to branch out into the DC movies now as well.

Appearing before a capacity crowd on Sunday at the 2011 Montreal Comic Con, Lee spoke about his cameo roles in movies based on the classic characters he co-created, such as Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man and Hulk.

“If you blink your eye, you might miss me”, he said, in reference to his brief on-screen appearances. Though Lee, not surprisingly, said that he did enjoy doing them, since “I get to meet all the actors.” He went on, “I just show up on the set and everybody treats me well. And I get my own trailer.” Lee was quick to point out that his cameos are “always big hits”, before jokingly adding, “I wonder if Brad Pitt looks at me and goes ‘hmmm.’”

Lee then really wowed the enthusiastic crowd when he mused, “I don’t know why DC doesn’t ask me to do cameos in their movies. Then their box office revenues would shoot up”. Pausing for audience applause, Lee then added, “Imagine how people would react if they saw me in one of those movies?”

In fact, Lee has made two appearances in DC-related documentaries. He was interviewed in the Shadows Of The Bat: The Cinematic Saga Of The Dark Knight, which appears as an extra on the Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray disc of the 1989 Batman movie. Lee was also interviewed for Kevin Burns’ 2006 documentary, Look Up In The Sky: The Amazing Story Of Superman.

Lee also mentioned his appearances in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot, and the highly anticipated Avengers movie. While he wasn’t able to reveal the details of his cameo in those films, Lee did say, “I tell you this. It is one of the funniest ones I’ve done. It’s about as funny as the one that I did in the new Spider-Man movie which hasn’t opened yet. Spider-Man and The Avengers, remember when you see ‘em, I told you that they are going to get very big laughs.”

The Avengers will arrive in UK cinemas on 27th April 2012, while The Amazing Spider-Man is due out on 4th July 2012.

There's lots more to read about The Amazing Spider-Man here.

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This review contains spoilers.

1. Pilot

With the success they've had with their supernatural teen drama The Vampire Diaries, it's no surprise that The CW network has looked a little closer to home for its scheduling additions this season. Instead of vampires and werewolves, The Secret Circle has witchcraft and mystery, but the similarities between the two novel series (by the same author) haven't been completely eradicated, based on this pilot episode.

Cassie Blake is a recently orphaned teenager who is shipped back to her mother's hometown to live with her grandmother. At school, she meets a lot of students, ranging from friendly to creepy, who seem to take a keen interest in her, and things get even stranger when the adults around town also seem to be keeping an eye on her. Is it just small-town familiarity, or something more sinister? Seeing as the show has been billed as a supernatural family drama, you can bet there's something more behind it.

Britt Robertson is a capable and perky lead; perfect for this kind of show, but lacking a real edge. Genre fans will be glad to see Thomas Dekker (previously John Connor in The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has returned to network television, but no one in the main cast stands out in this pilot. What we're missing is someone as strong and intriguing as Ian Somerhalder's Damon, who lit up its sister show’s mediocre first run of episodes.

And yes, we do have to talk about The Vampire Diaries. Not only do the two texts share an author, but the shows also share creators, writers and directors. Liz Friedlander, who directs here, is a teen show veteran, having been involved in episodes of Privileged, One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars, 90210 and Gossip Girl, along with several Vampire Diaries stories. Thankfully, she employs a lot of the tone from darker efforts like Pretty Little Liars, and the mystery of the show seems to be heading in the same direction.

There's a love triangle between Cassie, Adam (Dekker) and nice girl Diana (Shelley Hennig), but chances are that'll be resolved pretty quickly. They've got the potential for forbidden romance covered, as there's rumblings of pairs destined for each other. Adam's alcoholic father was in love with Cassie's mother, for example, so it doesn't look like their children stand much chance of ending up together.

Secret Circle seems like it's trying for an ensemble show, but the trouble is none of the characters have been fleshed out enough. There are definitely types forming - the good girl, the bitch, the quiet best friend, and the forward, slightly-stalkerish boy next door - but this episode's need to introduce Cassie and her role in the titular circle leaves any exploration of other characters in the background. The show also has a multi-generation element that makes the adult characters slightly more compelling. Whoever holds the answers to the mystery can usually hold the viewer’s attention for longer.

Seeing as it's a show about witchcraft, a lot also rides on the potential for good special effects. There's one great set-piece in this episode, and it bodes well for future episodes with more flashy examples of magic. The only thing that disappointed me was the difference in style to The Vampire Diaries, as there could have been more crossover potential otherwise. Hopefully, they might find a way to exist in the same universe later on.

There's definitely a lot of potential in this initial episode, and there are suggestions throughout that the writers may have something up their sleeves for later on. Let's hope it reaches the heights of its sister show, as a group of teenagers with unlimited power sounds like an entertaining accident waiting to happen.

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When remaking a much-loved, but not entirely classic movie, you're going to get a lot of abuse thrown your way no matter what you do. Add the eternally divisive Russell Brand to the mix, and you may as well throw in the towel straight away. But is Arthur amusing? Periodically. Is Brand infuriating? Again, periodically. Enjoyment of the film depends almost entirely on your tolerance of its leading man, but it isn't like you haven't been warned.

A destructive ride around in the batmobile dressed as Batman and Robin sets the tone straight away. Arthur is a drunk and vulgar billionaire living off his mother's money, generally doing whatever he likes, and sharing his penthouse with a nanny, played by Helen Mirren. He soon finds himself with a choice: marry a similarly wealthy and deranged heiress (Jennifer Garner) against his will, or lose the money and riches he's grown so accustomed to over the years. Trouble is, he's also fallen for Naomi (Greta Gerwig), an artistic tour-guide he’s met on the New York streetsm and can't bring himself to tell her of his engagement.

It's a little strange that someone would choose to remake a film about frivolous spending in the middle of a recession. The current climate is name checked once or twice, and the limitations on Naomi's writing career are all too realistic, but the fact remains that following a man with a choice between money and love might not reflect the public mood in the right way.

There's also the problem of Arthur's alcoholism, which is hardly addressed (apart from a botched trip to Alcoholics Anonymous) and never fully resolved. It's treated as a symptom of his immaturity, rather than the cause, and puts a dampener on some of the supposed comedy.

Where the film shines is with Mirren and Brand. For anyone who follows celebrity life, it's common knowledge that the two actors are close friends in real life, something that can only help the easy bond they share on screen. As the relationship between Arthur and his faithful nanny is so integral to the film's plot and an emotional anchor, the fact that these scenes succeed lifts the film at just the right moments. There's a real joy in watching their easy chemistry in the more affecting parts of the film, and the veteran actress brings out the best in a dramatically inexperienced Brand.

As the comedy is largely improvised by the various actors, the ability to elicit chuckles relies entirely on whether the novelty has worn off Brand's particular way with words. In the UK, for example, we've been listening to his stand-up longer than those overseas, and for those who remain unconverted, it'll be a wonder where the comedy is supposed to come from.

For those who like his humour, however, or are just unfamiliar with the English dandy act he wears so often, there's plenty of ace one-liners to keep you happy until the end.

Disc

Extras on this disc are sparse and uninteresting, with an extremely short gag reel lacking in any real gags, an Arthur Unsupervised featurette that offers more Russell Brand than anyone could stomach, and a group of additional scenes that single-handedly prove the worth of the editor's scissors.

The only bit of entertainment comes from Nick Nolte's efforts to launch Brand onto the back of a horse by his groin, and that concept is surely worth the price of the disc alone.

Film:
Disc:

You can rent or buy Arthur at Blockbuster.co.uk.

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Warning: the following contains much conjecture about the plot of Prometheus.

The element of surprise was vital to the success of Ridley Scott’s Alien. Back in 1979, early audiences were utterly unprepared for the one-two punch of the suffocating facehugger leaping from its leathery egg, or the hideous, phallic monstrosity erupting from John Hurt’s chest. Alien was a sci-fi movie that, to paraphrase a recent quote from Scott, scared the shit out of movie-goers everywhere.

It’s therefore unsurprising that Ridley Scott has kept his forthcoming Prometheus veiled in mystery. In an age where high-profile films are subjected to relentless pre-release scrutiny, Scott’s reluctance to divulge anything particularly significant about the nature of his film is quite unusual; only Christopher Nolan can match such a strict level of secrecy in recent years.

Once confidently billed as the Untitled Alien Prequel, even this aspect of the film was abruptly torn down; instead, Scott tells us to expect a very different sort of movie set from Alien, albeit one set in the same universe as the franchise he started in 1979.

In the absence of solid information, speculation has rushed in to fill the void. Earlier this year, an intriguing synopsis, purportedly leaked from Prometheus’ production, hinted at a story possibly inspired by Quatermass And The Pit. Upon discovering that humanity was the creation of a race of xenomorphs, the Weyland-Yutani corporation sends a group of travellers into space to meet them. The first contact is amicable, but one traveller’s attempt to steal the secret of life itself results in terrible repercussions, as their once benign hosts unleash a horrifying biological weapon - one that spells disaster for both explorers and aliens alike.

Shortly after that supposed leak appeared, Fox stated that it was entirely false, and countered with an official synopsis of its own:

"Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life's ultimate mystery."

What is quite significant, though, is that every little hint that either Scott or writer Damon Lindelof has subsequently dropped about Prometheus appears to fit perfectly with that earlier, supposedly false synopsis.

One of the first things Ridley Scott said in reference to Prometheus - that his film would concern “gods and engineers” - appears to tie in directly to the leaked synopsis’ notion that life on Earth was sparked by extra-terrestrials. Damon Lindelof further backed this up at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, where he said the following:

“Space exploration in the future is going to evolve into this idea that it’s not just about going out there and finding planets to build colonies. It also has this inherent idea that the further we go out, the more we learn about ourselves. The characters in this movie are preoccupied by the idea: what are our origins.”

It’s been known for some time that Prometheus would see its human protagonists encounter the apparently extinct race of creatures briefly seen in Alien. Aboard the eerily beautiful, horseshoe-shaped ship discovered by the luckless space truckers of the 1979 film, a strange, long-dead extra-terrestrial, dubbed the Space Jockey, sat at the helm of what looked like a gigantic, semi-organic telescope. In Prometheus, the theory goes, we’ll finally discover the history of these mysterious beings.

Last week, Sigourney Weaver, who, as far as we know, has no involvement in Prometheus, briefly mentioned the presence of the Space Jockeys in Scott’s film. “When you first find [the alien] in the first movie with what we call the Space Jockey, the kind of strange creature with the elephant face,” Weaver told Hollywood Outbreak,  “the eggs were in its ship, so where did they come from? So its like kind of following that storyline with, I hope, another great ensemble.”

If we put all these fragments together, along with what we know based on Alien and its sequels, a roadmap appears to emerge, a possible route that Prometheus’ plot could take. Could it be that, in making contact with the Space Jockeys in Prometheus, the Weyland-Yutani corporation is indirectly responsible for the alien creature as we see it in 1979’s Alien?

Ridley Scott has said elsewhere that Prometheus is based entirely around one aspect of Alien that, so far, has been largely overlooked. “I realized that there was something in the original Alien that no one has asked a question about,” Scott said, according to the LA Times. “And I thought, well, that could be the centerpiece.”

That question could well have something to do with the appearance of that titular alien itself. The monster that lurked in the ducts of the Nostromo, as well as being humanoid in shape, also bore more than a passing resemblance to the dead Space Jockey and the rib-like, biomechanical interior of its ship. This was probably because the alien had taken on some of the characteristics of both the Space Jockey earlier in its evolution, but also the bipedal, upright shape of John Hurt’s character, Kane. This fits in with the events of Alien 3, in which the creature that emerged from the dog (or bull, depending on which cut of the film you prefer) took on the quadrupedal stature of its host.

It’s entirely possible, then, that we’ll see an alien in a vastly different form in Prometheus; one that could look more like a Space Jockey than a human, or even an entirely unrecognisable guise we’ve never seen before.

Weyland-Yutani’s hand in the birth of the alien as we recognise it would also explain several other longstanding questions in the franchise’s lore. It would explain, for example, why the Nostromo happened upon the planet LV-426 in the first place - the ship was deliberately sent in its direction, without the crew’s knowledge (other than the treacherous science officer Ash, of course), rather than merely happening upon it by chance.

It would explain the presence of the Company’s Special Order 937 on the ship’s computer (“Return alien life form, all other priorities rescinded”). It would also explain why the Company was so desperate to get its hands on the creature – it already precisely what a deadly weapon it could be - and would even explain where the terraforming technology demonstrated in Aliens came from.

If you were to really delve into the minutiae of the franchise, you could even say that Private Hudson’s line in Aliens, “Is this a stand-up fight, or just another bug hunt?” was an unwitting reference to the science expedition undertaken in Prometheus.

Of course, this is all merely exciteable conjecture, an attempt to take a franchise written by several different people over the course of more than a decade as a kind of gospel. But it is, at least, conjecture based around all the little bits of information we’ve heard about Prometheus so far. If our guesses are accurate, then the film would dovetail beautifully with the Alien movies we’ve already seen, while at the same time serving up an entirely different sci-fi experience, and one that works as a stand-alone movie - just as Scott promises it will.

It’s also likely, though, that our guesses are entirely wrong. If that’s the case, then we’ll merely return to a single sentence uttered by Scott in relation to his film: “Of course, what I want to do is scare the living shit out of you.” If Prometheus manages this, we’ll be more than happy, whether our conjecture turns out to be accurate or not.

Hollywood Outbreak

LA Times

You can read more about the progress of Prometheus here.

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A couple of weeks ago, we ran a piece looking at whether CG monsters had ever actually been scary. The thrust of the article was that it was practical effects, rather than computer-generated ones, that seemed to have the most tangible impact.

Which brings us nicely to the new film of The Thing. Set before John Carpenter’s 80s classic, a film that still retains its ability to get under your skin and chill your bones, a fresh trailer for the new movie has just appeared. It’s a red band trailer, so no peeking you’re under 18 or anything like that. And it does highlight the new, less interesting reliance on computers to make its monster.

The movie arrives in October in the US, although it’s a month and a half after that before it first appears in the UK. And you can see the new trailer, courtesy of IGN, right here.

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Well, friends, if ever you had a desire to see a movie poster with part of Daniel Craig’s face missing, then we’re pleased to tell you that your day has come. The latest poster for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the new take on the Stieg Larsson novel that’s been directed by David Fincher, has been unleashed into the world. 

Look closely, though. Because the silhouette you see cutting into Daniel Craig’s face? That’s the mush of Rooney Mara, his co-star in the film.

The poster is the work of Neil Kellerhouse, and it debuted over at Mouth Taped Shut. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, meanwhile, arrives in cinemas in December.

Mouth Taped Shut

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There’s a bevy of aging action stars lining up for duty once more in The Expendables 2, and the latest casting announcement for the film has seen the recruitment of someone younger to help bring the average age of the cast down.

The movie is being headlined by the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and Dolph Lundgren, and there aren’t many spring chickens amongst that lot. Not that it matters, of course: one glance at the box office receipts for the first film demonstrates that age is no barrier a lot of the time to successful action cinema. Rightly so, too.

But, it seems, the script for the sequel requires at least one younger recruit. And it’s Liam Hemsworth who’s going to be joining the plane to Eastern Europe, ahead of the movie’s imminent shoot.

Hemsworth, the brother of Thor star Chris, is next to be seen in the big screen adaptation of The Hunger Games, and he’s signed up to play a sniper in The Expendables 2. He had been down to appear in the first film, before his role was chopped from the final script (thanks to Moviehole for the heads up on that).

Meanwhile, we’re hearing that Taylor Lautner had been offered a role in The Expendables 2 as well, but that he’s passed on the project. 

More on all of this over at Variety, here.

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Clint Eastwood’s last film, Hereafter, was an increasingly rare misfire from a man who has emerged as one of the most consistently strong and prolific directors in Hollywood. And while Hereafter isn’t shy of a few supporters, it broke a compelling run of projects, that had taken in the terrific Gran Torino, the too-long-but-still-strong Changeling, and the likes of Letters From Iwo Jima and Million Dollar Baby.

For his new movie, Eastwood appears to be on surer ground. It’s the long-mooted biopic of J Edgar Hoover, going under the simple name of J Edgar. Eastwood has recruited in Leonardo DiCaprio to take the title role in the film, and he’s joined in the cast by Naomi Watts and Judi Dench.

The first poster and trailer for the film has just appeared, and it’s got Oscar bait written all over it. Certainly there’s an element of preachy-ness about it, and it’s got the staple formula touchpoints of the biopic in place. But this might just be something really quite strong.

The movie arrives in November in the US, although we don’t get it until next year in the UK. For now, feast your eyes on this, and see what you think…

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The biggest film in the Harry Potter franchise, and the biggest film of the year, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 has now had its DVD and Blu-ray release confirmed. It will, we suspect, go on to be the biggest selling DVD and Blu-ray of the year, too.

Exclusive to the Blu-ray, you’ll get an 80-minute Maximum Movie Mode feature, along with a chat between J K Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe.
Common to both the DVD and Blu-ray releases? Then there’s a feature, hosted by Warwick Davis, on how to become a goblin in a Harry Potter film, a look at The Women Of Harry Potter, some deleted scenes, a plug for the upcoming studio tour, and a feature entitled When Harry Left Hogwarts.

An eight-part Harry Potter collection boxset is also being released, and there will be a limited edition version of that, too, with an individually numbered 48-page photo album thrown in.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 is up for pre-order now.

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In the raw-knuckled drama, Warrior, Joel Edgerton plays the gentle yin to Tom Hardy’s hunched, rampaging yang. Playing the part of a gentle family man and teacher who’s forced back into the violent sport of mixed martial arts by economic circumstance, Edgerton serves as the movie’s emotional hub, as well as the focal point for a series of spectacular fight sequences.

Ahead of Warrior’s theatrical release in the UK, we caught up with Edgerton to talk about his training and preparation for the film, and working with Tom Hardy…

Blimey, Warrior’s a bit intense, isn’t it?

Oh yeah.

What did you think the first time you saw the finished cut?

Well, the answer is, I was really proud of it. This movie dances a real fine line with its subject matter and stories, in that it’s very ambitious. These two brothers on a collision course in a tournament – that’s a really difficult to get write. The balance of that. And I think they absolutely nailed it. It’s believable and rich.

It’s kind of heightened in a sense. There’s a dash of Hollywood in there, but it’s treated with such reverence for reality that it’s earned its place in the movie. I love it. It’s very rare that I open heartedly embrace a movie I’m in, and say, “Fuck. I love this. It’s awesome that I’m in this, and I’m always going to be proud of it.”

I feel like all the hard work I put into it is showing on the screen. I love it. I think it’s great. I know that, if people get to the cinema, will love it. I just hope that they’ll come.

I think it’s certainly a film that’ll have great word of mouth. It treads a line between being quite feel-good, and at the same time not playing into the usual hero-and-villain setup. My assumption before I went in was that Tom Hardy would be the villain and you’d be the hero. But it constantly plays with your expectations.

Yeah. Tom dances the fine line between being the hero and villain with his selfishness. His character’s self-centeredness, I guess. At the same time, even that’s not necessarily true…

You could understand why he behaved the way he did.

Yeah. You could understand both brothers. They’ve constructed this film that, by the time they get to where they get to, you don’t know which brother is going to win. And you don’t really know who you want to win. You’ve got to search yourself – you kind of want both to win, but you can’t have a draw in mixed martial arts. It’s cool that Gavin [O’Connor], the director, achieved that.

Did you have an interest in MMA or wrestling before this movie?

No. I would say I had an awareness of it, but I wasn’t a fan or seeking it out. It’s sort of shifted now, because if there was a UFC tonight in London or two hours out, I’d be going there to check it out, because I’m really into it now.

You mentioned the hard work you put in for this. What was the training process like?

It was probably the most intense work experience I’ve had on a physical and mental level. We got to Pittsburgh two months before [shooting began]. And literally from seven in the morning until three in the afternoon it was fighting all morning, eat a massive meal with the stunt guys and then come back to lift massive weights.

I think at some point I was training seven days a week when I should really have been resting occasionally. But there’s a need to get fit, get big, and learn the skills. Because at some point Tom and I knew we had to get our shirts off, stand in a cage, put our feet there and look like we belonged there.

The fights were astonishing. What was the process of shooting them like? I should imagine it took more than one take to do each fight sequence. Were they heavily choreographed?

Heavily choreographed, but it was almost like the way people describe learning their lines in stage acting. You learn your lines, but you learn them so well that you forget them, you know? So you learn the choreography, but you try to forget that it’s choreography, so between each move, you’re trying to mess it up, so it looks like two guys vying for dominance.

So Gavin wanted them to be as real and as scrappy as possible. Now, we shot them with four cameras, and we would shoot them in four sizes, usually, so, two sizes outside the canvas, and two sizes inside, and do about three to five takes for each piece. And each piece was about five moves. You do the maths – we shot for weeks.

In comparison, I heard that in The Fighter, they shot three days of fighting. We shot for two or three weeks. I got injured during the first block, and then we had to reset a shoot for another three or four weeks in the end. So about 20 to 30 days of full-on fighting.

You’ll see in the movie, like, the amount of fights. I do four fights ranging from a one round to a five-round fight. There’s even more fighting that isn’t in the finished movie.

That’ll end up on the Blu-ray or something, perhaps!

I hope so, because we bled for it!

In a way, you got the raw end of the deal, didn’t you, because Tom Hardy’s character quite often walks into the ring, knocks someone out, and walks out again...

Yeah, his are over in about 15 seconds!

Whereas yours are quite protracted…

Yeah, yeah. In the script, it said that my character was this guy who had such a big heart, but not as much skill. But he could take a beating and stay in the game, and catch the right break, see the right opportunity, and capitalise on it at the right time. It’s quite funny, watching some of the fights, because I get so messed about by the other guys.

You mentioned injuries. I assume there must have been quite a few.

Not as many as you might think. I had an injury where I tore my medial collateral ligament, so I was out for six weeks. I wasn’t allowed to throw a punch for six weeks, and that really worried me. I didn’t know what the ramifications of that would be, but I got through it all right. I learned to suck it up, in a way. That’s what we did. 

But I remember kicking Kurt Angle in the elbow, and he’d go off and get an X-Ray, so I realised that one of the nerve-wracking things was… I thought going into it that I was going to get hurt by the fighters, but I later learned to worry about hurting them instead. Not because I was a big tough guy or any of that. I was worried, because fighting’s their livelihood, and if, in this make-believe world of Warrior, which was make-believe slash real in its execution, that if I broke Kurt Angle’s arm, or popped Anthony Rumble Johnson’s shoulder out, then their next fight or next paycheque is in jeopardy. I was fucking worried about that, so that made me a little hesitant.

I was reading that your brother’s a stuntman. Did he have any advice for you on this film?

Well, yeah. But he’s not really in the fighting game. He’s an all-round stuntman who’ll leap off things and set himself on fire and all that stuff. He’s not as big into the fighting world, but he’s got great advice for that stuff. Unfortunately, he was working on other stuff when we were shooting, but I know he’ll love this movie.

Joel Edgerton, thank you very much.

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As the title suggests, Warrior is all about conflict. There’s conflict between father and son and, most significantly, a conflict of a shatteringly physical variety between younger and elder brother. But at the same time, Warrior also presents a conflict between two varying dramatic tones – on one hand, the movie presents us with a quite uncompromising portrayal of poverty and a family driven apart by alcoholism, while on the other, we’re given a feel-good sports movie.

Everything about Warrior’s dramatic opening conversation between troubled ex-soldier Tommy (Tom Hardy and his ex-boxer, ex-alcoholic father Paddy (Nick Nolte, fantastic as always) suggests that you should take it all extremely seriously. A combination of film grain, and documentary-style jerks of the camera tell you that what you’re seeing is intensely dramatic stuff. But then, by degrees, Warrior drifts from kitchen sink drama territory into the kind of feel-good waters occupied by Rocky, The Karate Kid or, more recently, The Fighter.

A seething, muscle-bound ball of rage, Tommy later walks into a gym and manages to lay out one of the top middle-weight fighters in the world with only a punch or two. The incident is captured on a mobile phone, and Tommy is soon a YouTube sensation. Deciding to fight professionally, Tommy hires his recovering alcoholic dad to train him for Sparta, a prestigious tournament with a $5 million prize fund.

Meanwhile, it so happens that Tommy’s estranged brother, Brendan (Joel Edgerton) is embarking on a fighting career of his own. Himself a former wrestler, Brendan’s now a physics teacher in a Philadelphia high school. But in spite of his hardworking nature (and the fact that he and his wife work “three jobs” between them), they can’t summon up the cash to pay their mortgage.

Desperate to keep his family home, Brendan enters a mixed martial arts contest to make some extra funds. He wins the bout, but when his superiors hear of Brendan’s extra-curricular activities, he’s suspended from his day job. Through a series of coincidences, Brendan’s offered the opportunity to fight in the Sparta tournament, where he finds himself on a collision course with his raging bull of a brother.

It’s here that Warrior morphs into a kind of two-handed Rocky, with two characters to root for rather than one. Brendan is the obvious underdog; comparatively wiry, ageing and with constant cuts under his eyes, he’s the movie’s loveable Balboa. Hardy, meanwhile, rages and seethes in his role as a kind of modern-day Caliban. He channels his hatred towards both his father and himself into his fighting, and he brings the role a hunched, animal presence, and also a subtle touch of sensitivity.

The script, it has to be said, is less than perfect. The fight commentators, in particular, utter some unintentionally funny lines, though it may be perfectly normal in the world of MMA for pundits to shriek things like, “He tore the door off a tank!” I’ve no idea.

For all the film’s varying dramatic success outside the ring - and Warrior does falter a little in its later stages - the fights are utterly electrifying, and the moments before they start are filled with apprehension. I can’t think of another movie of this ilk that has managed to evoke such a palpable sense of danger before the opening bell rings.

There’s a bit of a downside, though, for people with no knowledge of mixed martial arts. More than one fight is won in a manner that, to someone as ignorant of the rules of the sport as I, didn’t make much sense.

Nevertheless, Warrior is a great piece of entertainment, with some stunning fight scenes courtesy of director Gavin O’Connor. These battles may be implausibly bloodless at times (there’s no way anyone could take these beatings without a detached retina or a profusely bleeding cheek), but the sense of violence and danger is brilliantly brought to the screen through a mixture of razor-sharp editing, often brilliant camera work and expert sound design.

The Fighter, a structurally similar drama about men hitting each other, hung together as the better drama overall, but Warrior most definitely has the better fight scenes. Tom Hardy is amazing, too, and it’s a timely reminder, if any were needed, that he’s more than capable of terrifying us as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

In Superman, Christopher Reeve made us believe a man could fly. In Warrior, Tom Hardy really does convince us that he could tear the door off a tank.

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