Reviews

Season 1 -

In a word, The Leftovers is visceral. Melancholia is resonated with authority, aided by a haunting soundtrack and writing that captures realism in every dialogue, every interchange.

Dark, morbid, and unflinching in the face of a modern audience that demands fast-paced action and tangible progression of plot; The Leftovers is a testament to contemporary story-telling, in that it refuses to alter itself in accordance with the requirements of the masses.

Season One begins with the viewer teased into questioning the tapestry of narrative, and ends with a phenomenal juxtaposition of human emotion. I don't care about the Departed anymore, because the mystery pales in comparison to the ones who remain, and the ugly nuances of humanity secreted by masterful character development.

The Leftovers captures human loss and existential dissonance, in a manner comparable to the final season of Lost, evoking parallels of subjugation to forces unknown. I stand haunted by the first season, similar to emotions invoked by the mosaic of Lost. Beyond that, I have no other compliment, no truer accolade.

The reincarnation of modern television continues, with a surging influx of unfiltered writing waltzed with uncompromising acting; The Leftovers stands at its forefront, its vanguard.

Watch it.

Utopia will ravage your senses.

The visuals are stunning, with camera work that bleeds from every scene with dynamics reminiscent of a graphic novel. The soundtrack is less a soundtrack, and more of a medium for an aural injection of dopamine and adrenaline.

Combining the two in lustfully artistic confluence, Utopia induces a sensory overload that deceptively functions as an aesthetic sleight of hand to the real act; Utopia's plot.

Narrative tropes aside, the story line encapsulates contemporary paranoia in a microcosmic collage of espionage and epidemics, resonating tremors of real world concerns. As a snapshot of current society, Utopia dexterously mitigates the mediagenic compulsion to sensationalize, by employing a sublime cast and writing crew. From apathy and sociopathic detachment, to metaphysical dread and even humor, the show is a vivid mosaic of psychological dissonance and societal decay.

Utopia is tailor-made for the cynical. Strangely enough, as a misanthropic cynic, I found myself entertaining delusionary hope for the human race. By the end, I had painted myself into a corner of morbid optimism, which is an absolute testament to strength of Utopia's narrative. The lack of a third season is veritably tragic, but follows in the pattern of sublime shows that meet an untimely demise. (Carnivale anyone ?)

The introspect induced by Utopia is shattering. The implications suggested by Utopia are devastating. The future painted by Utopia is bleak.

Utopia will ravage your being.

Right until the next day. And then you'll go on with your life and perpetuate our predicament with continued ignorance; because hey, it's just entertainment right ?

Season 1 -

With prose comparable to Deadwood; cinematography that transports you to another realm; a plot that reeks ingenuity; Penny Dreadful breathes life into a genre that has been posthumously bled dry by the modern age.

The writing in the show is a stand-out, as characters of myth and lore are weaved into a narrative waltz that teases and terrifies. The setting of London in the 1800's is aesthetically conveyed with a noir-esque ode to films like From Hell, with Billie Piper personifying the entire sub-culture with an accent that will have you scrambling for subtitles.

Eva Green gives a performance that rocks the core, and chills the bone. Her facial features twitch and dance unceremoniously in confluence with every scene, her delivery ripe with intensity. She steals the show with consummate ease, supported by strong performances from Timothy Dalton and Harry Treadaway. Reeve Carney laconically mesmerizes in his transmission of libertine apathy, and his scenes with Eva are exceptional in dialogue and rapport. Even Josh Hartnett holds his own in a plot that follows no conventional pattern, as the audience is left grasping helplessly for a traditional protagonist to rally around.

There is none. The protagonist in Penny Dreadful is the setting; the realm of the unknown conveyed both physically and metaphysically. Every character is subject to its horror, and every character has secrets embedded within a convoluted tapestry of violence and terror.

A veritable delight. A feast for the senses. The mood is dark, the atmosphere is eerie, and the macabre has a new flagship.