Vexed

Foyle's War was a hit, but so far the reviews have not exactly been warm for BBC's new comedy show 'Vexed'. (clip here) Surprising since they have a very talented Toby Stephens and Lucy Punch. There's also Showtime's excellent original series 'The Big C' starring Laura Linney.

Well that show sounds a lot better than what's up and coming on the big screen. Sick of superheroes? So am I. Sadly... that's not all you're going to be sick of.

During comic con there was a huge marketing campaign for two films that sounded relatively the same. I'm talking about Skyline and Battle: Los Angeles. Two huge special effects driven Alien invasion films that had ads plastered all over buildings, t-shirts and flyers. Unfortunately those two films mark the first wave of an already overly saturated market (Cowboys and Aliens, Splice, Terminator 4). Battle for La, The Darkest Hour, Dark Skies, Battleship, Among Us, and Pacific Rim are also coming our way.

I'm tired of it all already and hoping that Spielberg won't delay 'Lincoln' any longer.. would be a nice change of pace.

On the bright side, lately I've been hooked to an onslaught of quality foreign television, books, movies and food. Rather than watch another disappointing film for $15 I've opted to turn back and see what I've missed.

EUROPE

Cache

Let the Right One In

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Talk to Her

ASIA

Bodyguards and Assassins

Mother

I Saw the Devil

Red Cliff

Nobody Knows (2004)

5 centimetres per Second

USA

The Big C

The Wire

Burn Notice

Cops and robbers

From Killer, Hard Boiled, and Infernal Affairs (Departed is the North American knock off)... Hong Kong cinema knows how to keep the audience glued to their seats. Sweeping the Asian awards last year was the hit Bodyguards and Assassins, an exceptional experience of both historical significance, action and suspense.

Blasting out of the gates, the violent story follows the days leading up to the arrival of revolutionary Sun Yat-sen in 1905 to discuss plans for revolution with fellow Tongmenghui members to overthrow the corrupt Qing Dynasty. Beginning with the assassination of one of Sun's supporters, the main storyline follow's Li Yutang, a wealthy businessman who provides financial support for revolutionaries such as his old friend chief editor Chen Shaobai.

Hong Kong, a colony of the British Empire at the time, ignores the political situation, giving the assassins free reign to plot the demise of Sun Yat-sen during his arrival in Hong Kong. Li Yutang, infuriated by the British authorities action to close the newspaper activities decides to declare his support of the revolution officially. LiYutang and Chen Shaobai lead the group to create a diversion during Sun Yat-sen's meeting, but not without painful sacrifices and losses. The meeting proved to be a pivotal moment in Chinese history, with changes in beliefs that have resonated through the generations . Extra kudos to the director and writers, for skillfully weaving a number of main characters into the intricate dance of political intrigue. Well worth the investment.

With the Good, The Bad, and the Weird being released in North America, it is only a matter of time before the West discovers this marvellous gem.

Watch trailer here