YOU may think you’re through with the vampire-genre after the likes of Buffy and Blade, but if you have any love left for the undead you need to try True Blood.

YLE TV2 finally brings HBO’s prize-grabbing hit series to Finnish TV. There has been a lot of hype around True Blood and many think YLE is unforgivably late, since a lot of impatient people have found other ways to watch it. According to Miika Jalonen of TV2, YLE waited because they wanted to air both the first and the second season as a whole package.

In another award-season highlight, author Nick Hornby adapts journalist Lynn Barber’s memoirs into an entertaining coming-of-age drama that doubles as a retelling of the arch myth of modern popular culture. Set in 1960s London, the film details a 16-year-old middle-class girl’s eye-opening journey from all-class-and-no-sass into a burgeoning beatnik. Jenny (Carey Mulligan) dreams of studying at Oxford, until she meets 36-year-old charmer David (Peter Sarsgaard), who exposes her to a more intriguing side of life. All of a sudden a life of academia sounds less appealing. Both Mulligan and Horny are up for Oscars.

PREMIERE 12 MAR.

In Harlem, 1987, Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a 16-year-old African-American girl whose prospects are rather bleak. Betrayed by the public school system she is illiterate and ashamed of it, she is pregnant for the second time and has to wait hand and foot on her tyrant of a mother (Mo’Nique). Of course there must be a way out of this inner-city hell, but it will take facing up to some pretty deep, dark demons. Based on a novel written by the pseudonym Sapphire, this gruelling slice of ghetto life has been cleaning tables at award galas. It’s a well-meaning film, even if gluttons for squalor are likely to have their appetites sated.

Oh look, Frasier’s on. Didn’t I just see the last episode? Yes, I remember, it was very touching and I was quite sad to see the rerun cycle come to an end. Ah, Nelonen is doing what Sub did with Friends. They’re running the entire show again on the same slot. In fact, any day of the week you can catch a number of 90s hit shows that seem be stuck in a scheduling hamster wheel. And as if this was not enough, we’ve seen the emergence of a new phenomenon on Finnish TV: the marathon broadcast.

The ever-charming George Clooney plays a maverick who makes his living travelling around the US firing unexpecting employees. Faced with the risk of being grounded to by a video conferencing desk, he takes a young go-getter on board to show her the ropes of corporate downsizing. He learns a little something himself instead and eventually has to face the drawbacks of his life choices. Dealing with themes of joblessness and loneliness, the humorous yet touching story is an enjoyable and thought-provoking watch. With sharp social commentary, indie wunderkind Jason Reitman tops his peers in this oh-so-trendy genre of warm-hearted drama comedies. V-MP

If we had to sum up gaming in 2009 in one word, that word would be ‘sequels’. Looking back at my reviews we notice that there were only three games that were not the latest instalment in a more-or-less long-running franchise. This is not necessarily a bad thing. These follow-ups tend to improve on their precursors as the developers take on board criticism from consumers and are able to use improved technology. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper to make a sequel than start a new game from scratch.

This neo-noir crime drama by temperamental German auteur Werner Herzog borrows the title of a classic 90s sleaze-fest, but that’s about it for the similarities. Herzog’s tale of a disintegrating lawman is set in beautifully shot post-Katrina New Orleans. With a loose-cannon cop, a prostitute love interest and botched drug deals, the story is hardly the height of originality. But luckily leading man Nicholas Cage is in top form. Known for his extensive collaboration with famed loony Klaus Kinski, Herzog is an old hand at coaxing riveting performances out of actors. Melancholy and manic in equal measure, Cage rampages through the city in ruins like a broken wind-up doll. PREMIERE 15 JAN.

Deals with the devil never really pan out, do they? When old Nick comes claiming his dues from old Dr Parnassus, the doc must enlist his travelling burlesque show for a race against time through a series of fantasy dreamscapes to get out of the mess. This film will no doubt be remembered for a posthumous performance by the late Heath Ledger, whose loss is made up by the trio of Hollywood hunks Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. But this is also a return to form by crackpot director Terry Gilliam. The former Monty Python animator conjures up some stunning visuals, even if his sense of drama and human relationships once again proves somewhat less acute

In Victorian society, upholding a facade of moral purity was important. Behind closed doors any kind of depravity could be indulged in, but all that was kept firmly out of public sight. If they’d had TV back then, they would probably have banned The Moment of Truth, a Colombian format that is sweeping the world, and now Finland!

Each week a contestant walks into the studio and answers a series of embarrassing personal questions to win a cash prize. To call their bluff, a pre-show lie detector test is administered. What comes out is the ignominious true face of humanity. Thus the appeal of the show is easy to understand. Seeing the poor saps spill their guts on their darkest personal secrets makes people feel better about little digressions of their own, which they’d rather keep under the lid.

Attention Man United fans: you’ve got yourselves a movie. The new piece by Ken Loach centres around Eric Bishop, a depression-prone postman, who, being a football fanatic, seeks help for his remorse-ridden life from his greatest idol, Eric Cantona. As Eric struggles with his two rebellious step-sons and longs for his teenage love, Cantona’s undying aphorisms and highlight-reel goals build up his confidence. Not the strongest of stories, and at moments lost between genres, but with plenty of warmth and buddy humour the movie shows how a life can be turned around.

VMP
PREMIERE 13 NOV.