As we venture down into the tunnels for episode eleven ‘The Strain’ attempts to get back on track….. I love a bit of subtext. That’s no euphemism, just a desire for something more from my television entertainment. To say that The Strain has provided more than its fair share of peaks and troughs is stating […]

My Old Lady, 2014. Written and Directed by Israel Horovitz. Starring Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, Dominique Pinon and Stéphane Freiss. SYNOPSIS: An American inherits an apartment in Paris that comes with an unexpected resident. Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline) arrives in Paris riding the fumes of his last few dollars. Landing in the […]

Martin Carr reviews the twelfth episode of The Strain… As episode twelve concludes we are within sight of the finishing line. Season finales, cliff hangers and pivotal plot points loom like spectres in the night. Past and present coalesce in a Grimm fable of East European origin. A place where old wife’s tales are passed […]

Martin Carr reviews the eighth episode of The Strain…. Manhattan has become a haven for the infected. Creatures run rampant whilst a lone faction advances across the city. Finally in a deserted electrical supply store there is a meeting of minds over some UV lights. The true test of a television series and its writing […]

Martin Carr reviews the ninth episode of The Strain.… There is a long way between the gas station and Abraham’s pawn shop. You best buckle up because anything can happen……. It’s a fact that characters which adhere to stereotypes end up short changing you. In a word they become boring. As The Strain stretches into […]

Martin Carr reviews the tenth episode of The Strain… Ever wondered how exciting trying to track a missing iPhone could be? This week The Strain provides all the answers you will ever need… After the provocative history lesson and dramatic subtlety which momentarily lifted things in programme nine, episode ten brings back inconsequential character segues […]

Martin Carr reviews the fifth episode of The Strain… Abraham Sektakin (David Bradley) and Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll) are tucking into a late breakfast in the Arnot family kitchen. Steaming hot scrambled egg on toast is consumed, while father and daughter Arnot lay decapitated in the basement. Brandishing the grounded airplane passenger list they make […]

Martin Carr reviews the sixth episode of The Strain… Manacled by a cast iron dog collar and naked except for stained underwear a man sits surrounded by empty food wrappers. As the padded cell door opens he begins begging with his captor. Slowly Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel) begins turning the crank handle of a medieval […]

Martin Carr reviews the seventh episode of The Strain… A concentration camp refugee and several members of the CDC response team join forces as ‘The Strain’ continues to spread. Since its initial broadcast over a month ago I have been looking at ‘The Strain’ from the wrong perspective. For weeks my focus has been on […]

Martin Carr reviews the second episode of The Strain… As dawn breaks Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) is having breakfast, while his precious cargo pulls out of traffic and disappears into an underground parking structure. Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel) middle man and facilitator for Palmer’s Stoneheart group, awaits confirmation that the box has made it over […]