Pete Messum Reviews...

To be perfectly honest, I have little to say about The Flash. It doesn't seem to know quite what to do. With it being more of a family show than Arrow, its constantly avoiding some darker areas to explore, incorporating more cheesy and light-hearted moments.  Then again, viewers who don't watch Arrow will be left going "hang on, when was this in The Flash?" at the previously for Episode 4 with the footage from Season 2 of Flash's parent show, and will probably be wondering who Felicity Smoak is. This seems to clash with it being a separate show for a different audience and just seems to be the light-hearted spin-off to Arrow, instead of its own show. Then again, it is its own show for a lot of the time, so...I just don't know. I'm very glad I watch both Flash and Arrow! The jokes and gags are well placed in The Flash, but the more serious moments can get overshadowed by humour and the lack of faith in going darker. Episode 5 explored the Army experime...

Who can Coulson trust? (Image © Marvel.com) Wow, something really did hit the fan this week in Agents of SHIELD. At long last, this season seems to be really going in a new direction, exploring these different characters, their interactions and motivations. First of all we have the complex relationship of Skye and Ward, and the wonderful scene towards the end showing the parallels of Grant and his brother Christian was a clear standout of the episode. You just can't tell who's telling the truth, let alone whether Skye or Coulson believe either one. Brett Dalton is fantastic, doing his great performance as of yet in SHIELD. The look on his face when Skye tells him that he will be sent to his brother is just that of pure dread and horror. This is what I hoped we'd get to see several episodes ago, but better late than never. In fact, the cliffhanger ending with Ward killing his captors was perfectly paced, acted and directed. Just the look on his face. This guy truly mean...

11). Kill the Moon  A story built up on far too much science fiction nonsense and a variety of plot holes, as well as some poor characterization - 6/10 10). In the Forest of the Night  A slightly dull story without much of a plot, but ultimately entertaining in places - 6/10 9). Robot of Sherwood A nice, fun story with some plot holes, but Ben Miller and Tom Riley are excellent guest cast members - 7/10 8). Listen A creepy, enjoyable story with a distinct lack of originality and Steven Moffat-isms  - 7/10 7). Dark Water / Death in Heaven  A mix of creepy themes, great character moments and an overall rather disappointing episode - 7/10 6). The Caretaker  A story without much of a plot, but with some great character moments and fantastic humour - 8/10 5). Time Heist  An incredibly entertaining bank heist story with some fun moments and a great monster, even if the story ends with a slightly over-complicated resolution - 8/10 4). Into the D...

***CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS*** Interstellar is a film with a hell of a lot of good, but also with quite a bit of bad, making it incredibly difficult to review. Its a film with so much on its shoulders with Christopher Nolan's fantastic critical acclaim from The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010), not to mention the huge success of The Dark Knight Rises (2012). What does become clear from this film though is that he has already reached and passed his peak with  The Dark Knight  (2008) and  Inception  (2010), and Rises (2012) was nowhere near as good as those two. And, sadly, neither was Interstellar . This is a film that instantly sets its mood surrounding survival, and the dystopian future Nolan has created with a dust-covered Earth running out not of fuel but of food. This is such a brilliantly realized future that Nolan clearly enjoys exploring as a writer and director. In fact, this could be a film in itself - humanity trying to get away from this futur...

"I am not Liam Neeson!!!" Wow, Arrow, you picked up. I did worry that the first three episodes were going to be what the series would become - character pieces relying less on plot and action to help enhance the overall story of Arrow, but no - they were simply building up to this. It was fantastic to explore the dynamic between Nyssa al Ghul (still waiting for Talia, but oh well) and Laurel throughout the episode, as they both loved Sara, but differently. Its clear both actresses had great chemistry, and Laurel is certainly building up to becoming...well, you can probably guess what. Nyssa and Laurel's quest for vengeance was nicely explored, building to a three-way fight between Nyssa, Arrow and Malcolm Merlyn as a nice climactic conclusion. John Barrowman sold the hell out of this episode, constantly getting into Oliver's mind, and its clear he is trying to manipulate both him and Thea for his own schemes. While I'm still waiting for Roy to get an episo...

Well, that was eventful. For the past four episodes, I've been waiting for Agents of SHIELD to actually do something that a member of its audience is remotely interested in. Most of the conversations I've had about Agents of SHIELD have concluded with "there's too much in there now and there is not enough time to use it all, not to mention most of Season 1 seems to have been forgotten". Finally, we get a proper introduction to Skye's father, and what his relationship with Raina is. Finally, we get to explore the theories about Skye's true identity. Finally, Simmons being a mole in HYDRA actually goes somewhere. While I did find the episode and this season so far very predictable for the most part, such as Bobbi Morse working for SHIELD secretly as well as being whatever-his-name-is' ex-wife, Simmons being rescued by her, Skye finding out the truth and it turns out she knows something...it all feels like we have been waiting for this for four epi...

Team Arrow Arrow is back, and for the first time ever I can watch it on Sky 1 week after week! There are many changes for this season. Firstly, the tone is much less dark and gritty, with the series embracing its comic book roots and providing some nice tie-ins to The Flash (including a Barry Allen cameo). This is greatly appreciated, and while some may not be happy about this, it comes across as a natural change and makes the darker moments more effective, not to mention fitting in more with The Flash's more family-friendly tone. We also had the dramatic death of Sara in Episode 1, which was brilliantly executed. However, it seems to have lost its impact with it being mentioned so much. I understand this is a driving force for Laurel's character arc over this season (which I won't spoil, if you can't work it out already), but I think its being overdone a little too much. However, Oliver's response to this is fantastic, leading him to Corto Maltese to try and ...