Thorne: Sleepyhead

British TV crime dramas focusing on the police side of things usually feature a damaged lead character. The damaged one in this is the Thorne in the title. 

Tom Thorne that is, who carries a secret from a previous case, shared with only one other person on the force. In the disappearance of several women in their 20's who later turn up dead or, in one essential case, alive but suffering from locked-in syndrome. Details from the previous case - a man that killed gay boys, then his three daughters - keep popping up and putting additional strain on Thorne and his working relationship with other law enforcement officers.

Obviously, as there is only one other person who knows what Tom did, he looks like he would be involved in the current case. To what extent he actually is a participant in what is happening is not clear (obviously, it will be clear in the end).

As many other British TV dramas, this is very very good. It appears that the best stuff the Brits produce they actually make for TV rather than the big screen. Seriously, they make shows in the quality of Luther, Broken Mirror, Sherlock on a regular basis, while their more popular movies are overly sentimental and drawn out. My opinion only, obviously.

The cast is fantastic, featuring David Morrisey as Tom Thorne (The Walking Dead's Governor), Aidan Gillen (Game of Throne's Littlefinger) and Eddie Marsan (one of Ray Donovan's brothers) as well as many excellent bit players.

There is another Thorne episode, called Scaredycat, soon to be watched by me.

8/10

Blitz

Jason Statham is a one-trick pony. This time around he plays a cop (a rogue one, obviously) and does what he always does, no matter what side of the law he may be on in any particular role. He beats people up with a hurling stick, he bends the law at his pleasure, he releases angry dogs at someone he doesn't like, he chases after the baddie on foot and he even smokes in non smoking areas (imagine!)..."What are you gonna do? Shoot me?"

However, if you put Jason Statham in a cop movie and surround him with real actors you might actually get a decent film out of it. Decent enough, this is. Thanks to the likes of Paddy Considine, Aiden Gillen and David Morrissey.

The story...there is a guy going around killing cops (or "pigs" as he likes to call him) and law enforcement just can't nail him for it. Oh, they know who it is and they do get him into custody but have nothing concrete to hold him on. What is more, the guy is a total asshole and attention whore. So much so that he contacts a journalist to give him exclusives on the killings, probably just so that he can read about himself in the papers. And the name "Blitz" (as in Blitzkrieg)? He coined that himself.

But the local cops will get him eventually. If they cannot make any charges stick they will just have to take him out and put the blame on - wait for it - the cop killer that they cannot prove he is.

6/10