Pardon my Fangirling: Tobias Menzies

In scrolling through his IMDB page, it was a struggle to remember when I first discovered the awesomeness that is Tobias Menzies. His presence has been a common one lately on television screens, with a dual role in the Showtime hit Outlander, the competing HBO series Game of Thrones and The Night Manager (most recently on AMC in the United States). He’s not new to television screens, the talented performer is just in the middle of a well deserved (and long-overdue) breakout.

Menzies has undeniable skill at playing villains (is it the eyes? Perhaps the accent?),which is a casting note which has seemingly followed him through his career. This dates back (at least) to the role in which I realized I had discovered Menzies work, playing Brutus in the 2005 HBO television series Rome. From his oddly villainous bureaucrat Geoffrey Dromgoole in The Night Manager, to his turn as Jack Randall in Outlander, as an actor he certainly has a flair for playing antagonists (and government bureaucrats... but that’s completely different blog post...). He’s chameleon like in his ability to plunge into the most complicated and complex of characters.

This writer found herself completely bowled over at the breadth and complexity of Menzies performance in Outlander. While I admit to being unforgivably behind in working my way through the series, he does fascinating work, playing not only one, but two unique and challenging characters in Frank Randall and Jack Randall. The two characters couldn’t be more different, but Menzies succeeds in breathing completely unique breath into the two distantly related men.

It could very well be the case that for many readers out there, Tobias Menzies is one of those faces. It's more than possible to have seen him around (*cough Game of Thrones *cough), without really putting a name to the face. He's been a name on the periphery, dating back to a bit role he played in Casino Royale, who's only now beginning to get some of the recognition he deserves. He’s definitely one to follow as he moves through his career.

Outside of his television roles, Menzies has an active film schedule, with a handful of movies of varying size and scope slated for release in the next couple of years. Has been announced to have a role in the upcoming Underworld sequel, Underworld: Blood Wars, which is currently in post-production and is scheduled for a October 2016 release.

In Case You Haven’t Seen It: Sigma ft. Take That - Cry (Official Music Video)

Regular readers will know I have a shameless, shameless schoolgirl liking of the early 1990’s boy-band turned man-band Take That. Ever the musical chameleons, the band has been experimenting with different sounds (drifting away from their usual pop). Their most recent single ‘Cry’ features them teaming up with Sigma ( a UK based drum and bass duo) is being billed as a unique blend of techno and dance music.

This writer has been waiting on pins and needles for the release of the new music video (I’m only mildly ashamed to admit I stayed up till 2:00am my time for the release for Take That’s last music video). This morning, I was filled with teenage glee when I learned the video finally dropped. While I’ve yet to be able to download the single from my United States based network (...stupid regional restrictions...) the song is growing quickly on me (and is stupidly catchy...). 

Have you seen the video yet? Thoughts? 

Thank you to 3 Beat for posting the video on YouTube.

Musicians You Aren’t Listening To, But Should Be: Måns Zelmerlöw

Faithful readers will know, I’m a sucker for a light, fluffy pop song. So, I had my eyes pried open when I watched the Eurovision Song Contest this year. I’ve followed Eurovision off and on for a few years now, but have been stymied by that whole living in the United States thing. As an aside, squee to Logo for picking up Eurovision this year. I’ll even forgive you for the decidedly “Meh” commentators.

Anywhoo...

I must have missed last year’s show, because I found myself watching the hosts with unadulterated, schoolgirl glee. And then he sang. *Fans self* So, to make a long story short, Mans Zelmerlow (I should figure out how to do the Swedish punctuation...) won the Eurovision in 2015 with his song Heroes. 

The singer has been working steadily in Sweden, with 6 albums currently released. This writer has been living vicariously through YouTube, the primary place where American audiences can hear his work. As I type, I’ve found my way over to some videos of his Christmas album, (Christmas with Friends). His most recent singles (per YouTube) Fire in the Rain and Should’ve Gone Home are particularly great, and have served to only further my interest in following this still burgeoning performer’s career.  This writer is planning for an Amazon UK CD binge, very soon.

In Case You Haven’t Seen It: Beauty and the Beast Official US Teaser Trailer

This girl has been waiting anxiously for this trailer to drop ever since the first casting announcements started to drop. Between Emma Watson as Belle, my first serious crush (yes... Obi-Wan Kenobi) Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, and Dan “Cousin Matthew” Stevens as the Beast... all I can say is “Squee!” While we still have a year to wait, I love, love, love the direction this is going.



Thoughts?

In Case You Missed It: The Light Between Oceans Official International Trailer #1 (2016) - Mich...

I just stumbled on the official trailer for a little film entitled The Light Between Oceans. A huge thank you to the Movieclips Trailers YouTube page for their continued awesomeness. Definitely check them out.

I know very little about this film. However, upon watching the trailer, I can say that combination of Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz makes it smell like an Academy Award acting nomination waiting to happen.

Tentative release dates have this film being released September 2016 in the US, France and Russia while the UK will see it in January 2017.  

Musicians You Aren’t Listening To, But Should Be: Jack Savoretti

Before I continue with this blog entry, I wanted to apologize for the pitiful posting volume this week...stupid day job. The problems will hopefully be remedied this weekend, as I’m looking forward to a  blog writing spree  Anywhoo... back to the topic at hand.

This week’s (delayed) "Musicians You Aren’t Listening To, But Should Be" focuses on a new discovery of mine (thanks to this week's Graham Norton Show rerun), Jack Savoretti.

While he's a very recent discovery of mine, the U.K. based singer has been around for a while. His most recent album, Written in Scars, is his fourth release. His albums according to iTunes are: Between the Minds (2007), Harder Than Easy (2009), Before the Storm (2012) and Written in Scars (2015). I’ve been working my way through his discography, really enjoying everything I’ve heard so far. I’m falling hard onto this bandwagon. So, silly me, late to the party once again.

With the acoustic guitar, the song-writing and the natural sound, the greatest comparison I can make is to say that if you like Ed Sheeran, you’ll likely enjoy Savoretti’s work. It’s simple, and often powerful, acoustic heavy songs, which are largely free of intricate and complicated studio set-ups. Instead the power of the song, and the vocal talent of the performer is put on display.

Savoretti's vocals have a raw quality to them. Listen to a song like Catapult, it's a great example of the unique sound of . Possessing the raw power he does, Savoretti could easily cross into a heavier form of rock and roll. He leans toward a softer sound though (I would classify the music as fold with pop-ish tendencies), and uses his voice brilliantly to emote within the song. Check out Savoretti’s Vevo on YouTube to see and hear more of his work.

Bringing the fangirling to a close, Jack Savoretti is one of my new favorites. His song writing style is relaxed, and catchy. As I mentioned earlier, if you are a fan of songwriters a la Ed Sheehan, you should definitely take a look at the work of Jack Savoretti. After discovering his work, he’s definitely one I’m going to keep an eye on. I can’t wait to see how his career develops.

In Case You Missed It: Marvel’s Daredevil - Season 2 - Official Trailer

When Daredevil’s trailer dropped last week,  it was discovered that this was the first of a two part trailer release for season two of the popular and critically acclaimed Marvel (in association with Netflix) superhero series.



Feast your eyes on part 2...



Thoughts?



(Thanks to Netflix for posting the trailer).