Author: BRWC

The new aquatic adventure film The Chamber – where a submarine mission goes badly wrong – is the epitome of an underwater thriller. It plunges you into the action and makes you feel as if you’re right there with the crew fighting amongst each other, and fighting for their lives, sinking into the depths of the Yellow Sea.

Here are eight more deep sea chillers that’ll have you struggling for breath.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)

“Race from outer space to seven miles below the sea … with amazing aquanauts of the deep!” In this classic sci-fi adventure Walter Pidgeon is in charge of a nuclear submarine whose very mission is to save the planet Earth. Directed by Irwin Allen, who went on to make disaster movies like The Poseidon Adventure and The Swarm, the film features the sub being attacked by a giant octopus, which should be recommendation enough.

If you’re reading this then I assume you haven’t seen Peaky Blinders, read on, no spoilers here.  Peaky Blinders is a BBC period crime drama based in Birmingham just after the First World War.  The story centres around the antics of the Peaky Blinders gang with Tommy Shelby as the overall leader. They were known for thieving, mugging, illegal betting, racketeering, and dealing in black-market goods.   They got their name from sewing razor blades into the peaks of their caps and used them to blind their enemies in fights.  It is one of the best shows on British TV and its gaining popularity around the world.

The series was created by Steven Knight who got the idea from his father.  His father grew up in Birmingham and has vivid memories of the real gangs who ruled the streets at that time.  His father said they were incredibly well dressed and powerful with lots of money.  Knight told the BBC “I want Peaky Blinders to be a sort of the view of this world through the eyes of a 10-year-old because the men are smarter and stronger and handsomer and the horses are bigger and everything is big and intimidating as a kid.”

The characters from the series are fictional except of Billy Kimber from the first series who was a real person. William “Billy” Kimber was the head of the real Birmingham Boys gang who controlled racecourses in the Midlands and the North. For many years it was thought that Kimber was the biggest organised crime boss in the UK of that time.  In 1921 his leadership ended when was shot dead in Kings Cross, London and not long after the rest of the boys were imprisoned.

Cillian Murphy was perfectly cast as gang leader Tommy Shelby and it is arguable his best performance to date.  Tom Hardy gives a great performance playing Jewish gang leader Alfie Solomons.  Sam Neill played villainous police officer Chief Inspector Campbell.  Helen McCrory plays Polly and Game of Thrones Actor Noah Taylor plays Darby Sabini.

The first 3 series won rave reviews and its popularity is gaining momentum.  It has some famous Hollywood heavy weight fans including Tom Cruise, Brad Pit and Steven Spielberg.  You can binge watch the first three series on Netflix. There are two more series in the pipeline with the 4^th series starting filming in March this year, to be aired later in the year.  The filming took place in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.  The street they used for Black Heath Birmingham was the actual street here Ringo Starr grew up in Birmingham.  Fans who can’t wait for the next instalment can visit that street and other filming locations on a Peaky Blinder Tour here run by Brit Movie Tours.

If you’re thinking a crime drama isn’t your thing, think again, it’s much more than just another gangster crimes series. Everything about the series is pure quality which is why it’s been so successful.  The sound track, the great writing, great costumes, plenty of nail biting cliffhangers and it was directed brilliantly by Tim Mielants.  Still not convinced?  Just watch the first episode with an open mind and see if it draws you in.

Catching the latest updates on new seasons, movies and the schedules of top networks and streaming services is quickly becoming an exciting thing to do. There are several great new TV series airing on some networks, exclusives available through some of them and of course the next seasons of the series we all love to follow being announced.

In this article, however, we’re going to focus on HBO and its schedule for the month. There are some interesting shows that are sure to get your excited; we jumped off our seats several times while making the list as well. Let’s have a look, shall we?

Last Week Tonight and More

HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver returned for another season a couple of weeks ago. Episodes of this show will continue to air every Sunday throughout March. It is always interesting to see the comedian’s take on recent news. The program is even more interesting to follow considering the current state of the Trump administration and all the news surrounding it.

We also have The Legend of Tarzan, a movie that proved to be much more interesting than what critics predicted. Following the life of Tarzan after moving to London, we are treated by the amazing acting of Alexander Skarsgard and great co-stars, including the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Margot Robbie. This one is definitely a must-watch while it is still available.

Yes, we also have the 6^th season of Girls. The upcoming episode will tell the tale of a hostage situation, but you’ll have to see it for yourself to know more.

More Great Movies to Watch

There are also a number of great movies scheduled to keep you entertained throughout the month. When we say great movies, we do mean GREAT movies. At the top of our list, we have Catch Me If You Can, a movie about Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his journey through cons, forgeries and deception.

Now You See Me 2 is also making an appearance this month, both on HBO 2 and on HBO On Demand. The movie is a sequel to the epic Now You See Me; it is the perfect movie to watch if you love twists or you’re looking for a fun film for the weekend.

To top it all off, we have Mad Max: Fury Road; we all know how epic this movie is. It’s a future-classic that is not to be missed. The superb cinematography and the amazing acting showed by the likes of Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult make this movie as spectacular as you can imagine.

Getting HBO

Don’t forget to check with your TV provider to see if you get HBO and its sister channels as well. There are some other great shows, including Real Time with Bill Maher and Vice, that are worth watching. You can also take advantage of Dish TV’s current promotional offer and enjoy HBO for 1 year at no extra charge. Considering you also get movies like The Revenant and Resident Evil, having free HBO included in your TV package is certainly a huge plus.

By Jason John.

Critics love The Americans, the Cold War era television drama about KGB spies who masquerade as a suburban couple living just outside the District of Columbia. Since 2013, The Americans has been garnering critical praise that review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes estimates to be a 96 percent approval rating for its fourth season.

Aside from being in agreement that The Americans is one of the best series on television, critics have also collectively wonder what is keeping the show from being elevated to the ranks of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos. The show is on FX, a network that is included in most basic cable television packages, and yet the third season finale garnered viewership figures of less than 1.5 million. While more than a million viewers tuning in may sound significant, other shows with the production costs of The Americans may have already been cancelled. FX is certainly willing to risk ratings for the purpose of keeping its flagship series on the air; in fact, the show has been confirmed for another two seasons, but fans are wondering what could be done to make it even better.

To a great extent, the success of The Americans is similar to Mr. Robot, another critically acclaimed drama that currently plays on another basic cable network. Mr. Robot’s viewership is similar to that of The Americans; in fact, the spy drama sometimes gets even more viewers than its hacking counterpart. At the 2016 Emmys, both Matthew Rhys and Rami Malek were nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, with Malek winning it in only Mr. Robot’s second season.

Some critics argue that FX is what is keeping The Americans from becoming a TV legend, this is to say that perhaps a premium cable network such as HBO could be a better fit; however, many critics argued that the incredible series The Wire was better than The Sopranos and still languished on HBO. Other critics believe that The Americans would be more welcome on a digital streaming giant such as Netflix.

The days when profanity and nudity made American cable network shows more popular has basically come to an end, which means that the series can do without those creative plot elements. Besides, FX has been pushing the envelope in this regard, and thus naked bodies and curse words could be in store for The Americans, but this would mostly be a gimmick. Thus far, the production team of this great series has not ventured into changing the fabric of each episode. Still, there is definitely room for improvement, and here are some ideas:

Staying On Track With Paige

One of the most endearing plotlines of The Americans has been Paige, the teenage daughter of the cold-blooded killers at the center of the show. Played with great acumen by Holly Taylor, her character development could be similar to that of Anthony Jr. in The Sopranos. As with all parents raising children in the United States, Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings care deeply about their daughter even as they dispatch targets and rivals. For the time being, Paige is on track to become a KGB spy like her parents; nonetheless, fans of the show are starting to see some of that American sass that teenage girls mastered to perfection during the Reagan era. This means potential rebelliousness that could endanger the dangerous and despicable work her parents do.

Providing a Glimpse Into the Future

As a period piece, The Americans seasons are finite: once the Berlin Wall comes down and the Soviet Union breaks up in failure, the show could be considered to be over. Given that fans of The Americans are living in the Trump era of possible collusion with Russia, future seasons of the show could feature storylines about espionage and treason at the uppermost levels of the White House; perhaps a new character who is a young and successful real estate developer in New York?