Johnny-Sack

The Sopranos is arguably the greatest show in Dramatic Television history.

Its hard to think of another series that boasts so much intelligence, sublime writing or first rate performances.

Across its epic scope it produces fresh and iconic characters and a constant level of high quality. Centering around the life of one Tony Soprano, a man who lives in two families. One is the conventional wife and two kids nuclear family the other a huge New Jersey Mafia group, of which he is the boss of both. Played by James Gandolfini, of True Romance and The Mexican fame, Tony is a fascinating, scary but also likable guy. Full praise must be given to Gandolfini for making a womanising and horrifically aggressive brute a genuinely identifiable and perfect leading man. Contemporay American drama has never had such an arresting and iconic figure as Tony.

The cast of hundreds never boasts a flat performance and such stand out characters like Paulie Walnuts and Ralph Cifaretto will stick in your memory for ever.

The true genius of this tale however, is the creator and writers bravery and revolutionary take on a conventional drama series. Twenty minute long dream sequences, powerful and original use of symbolism and metaphorical imagery and truly shocking scenes of violence. Yet all this style is met by truly touching themes of love, honour and respect for family. The series never becomes cold hearted or gratuitous.

With TV now competitive and often poor The Sopranos stands tall above the rest as America's most original and compelling drama. Forget Family Redifined. This is Television Redifined.

After the low budget entrails of Night of the Living Dead, the more opulent blood spewing Dawn Of The Dead and the militant guts of Day of the Dead,George A Romero returns to the horror sub-genre he practically invented. With the epic and thrilling Land Of The Dead.

It was questioned as too whether Romero still had it. Enough vitality and anger to make a fourth Dead picture, as the previous ones are studied as cultural allegories of their time. And if studied like that then Land truly does have things to say about post-9/11 America and The Bush Administration. And this time he casts the black lead(usually a heroic figure in his vision) as the lead zombie. The ultimate irony being that this zombie seems smarter than lots of the central characters.

The film boasts strong performances, although Asia Argento looks too much like a Resident Evil reject and Simon Baker gets blander the more you watch it. But Dennis Hopper excels as Kaufman, the villain of the piece in a role that could have been horribly one dimensional.

But the real test of Romero's talent is can he still pull of the horror. And he still remains the daddy of gore. His eclectic and visionary collection of new zombies are inspired and revolting(the women missing half her cheek exposing her tongue is genius!) Only occasionally does Romero fault with a soggy scene and the ending is a little too abrupt. But these flaws do not matter.

Romero returns to his definitive genre and not a moment too soon. Strongly recommended.

And Tarantino brings his cinematic opus to a close.

But not in a way that people expected. This has hardly any of Vol. 1's searing colours, splashing crimson or R-rated cartoons. Instead Tarantino, a true genius of modern cinema, immerses himself in characters and dialogue. He reveals all exposition and backstory vitally missing from the first installment. And he does it with sheer class. Utterly beautiful shots, perfect performances and his trademark humour blacker than Elle Driver's eye patch.

But this is a true case of substance finally killing style, unlike Vol. 1. The emotional journey that the Bride goes through is stunning. And both Thurman and Carradine deliver iconic performances filled with weight and depth. And the final scenes, drenched in emotion and operatic Morricone are some of the best Tarantino or anybody has ever done.

In short one of the best films of the last ten years.