Last Forever... How I Met Your Mother finale. End of a legendary era.

That's How I Met Your Mother.

March 31st 2014 saw the end of a sitcom that has graced our screens for nearly a decade. When the first episode aired on Sept 19th 2005, who'd have thought that nine years later we'd be looking back on some great times that include a pineapple incident, a slap bet, a goat, robots vs wrestlers, a butterfly tattoo, one special bar and five friends. Last night the finale aired, but how did things end for Ted and the gang?

SPOILERS - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

As a ridiculously huge fan of HIMYM I cannot lie, I am slightly disappointed by the final ever episode of the long-running show. The final episode goes on to highlight the big moments following Barney and Robin's wedding; and there are plenty of ups and downs, but mainly downs.

Lily and Marshall: The pair move to Italy for a year after the wedding. On their return to New York Marshall goes back to work in corporate law, hating his working life until he gets offered his dream job of a judge in 2018. The couple finally move out of the apartment above the bar and also get pregnant with their 3rd child.

Barney and Robin: This is a real sad point of the episode. After their wedding the couple struggle with the requirements of Robin's job, the constant moving that comes with following international news results in divorce. Following the divorce Robin continues with her job and ends up distancing herself from the group, whilst Barney goes back to his bachelor days, completing the 'perfect month' only to find out he has got one of his many one-night stands pregnant. After the birth of his daughter, Ellie, Barney seems to dampen his need to go out and pull women as he has a more important female in his life.

Ted and the mother: Finally we see the couple we have been waiting nine years for. The mother, who we find out is called Tracy McConnell, is now part of Ted's life and we see her become one of the group; indulging in traditions such as their annual Robots vs Wrestlers night. We see Tracy get pregnant and make Ted's dream of a family come true. However, we find out that in 2024 Tracy becomes ill and eventually passes away, leaving Ted a widower.

2030: Ted has finished telling his story and his children see right through him with his daughter Penny saying, "You made us sit down and listen to this story about how you met mom - yet mom was hardly in the story. No, this is a story about how you are totally in love with aunt Robin." And that is what this whole show has apparently really been about and the finale ends with another final romantic gesture from Ted, bringing the Blue French Horn back to Robin.

What is so disappointing about this episode? For me, the worst part of the finale was Barney and Robin's divorce. In episode 22 of the final season we see the couple tie the knot and then within 15 minutes of the next episode it's all up in smoke. Then, with the revelation of the mother's death comes the obvious reality that Ted and Robin will end up together after all. Now, this would have been all fine if the show had only ran for a few seasons, yet this was not the case. Seasons 8 and 9, up until last nights episode, created a change in the character relationships which resulted the viewership being invested in Barney and Robin's marriage for the long haul. Furthermore, I personally think that by the time everyone had met the mother and seen her for the majority of the final season, we just wanted to see her and Ted together. Nobody was invested in Ted and Robin anymore because Robin's relationship with Barney worked so well.

I just felt that the final episode lacked any real joy from the main characters. Even when discussing Ted and Tracy's wedding we are aware that Robin has grown apart from the group. The whole 45 minute finale just seemed quite depressing, I'd rather of seen the celebration of the big events rather than focus on sad changes.

I will always remember this show for its comedic genius, its weird and wonderful story and its brilliant characters. I thought nothing could replace Friends but How I Met Your Mother has been a show I have grown up with and respect in itself. I will 100% be watching this show in years to come despite the nature of its ending.

J.Henderson.

Vertigo - 1958 - James Stewart, Kim Novak.

Hitchcock's most personal film.

Vertigo, adapted from the French novel D'entre Les Morts, is, according to Hitchcock himself, the directors most personal film; one centred around obsession and deceit. Scottie Ferguson (Stewart) retires from his position as a private investigator after an incident which reveals his fear of heights; vertigo. After retiring Scottie is lured into another case by an old friend, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), who asks Scottie to tail his wife who he suspects of being possessed by the spirit of a woman from the past. Elster's wife, Madeleine (Novak), is stunningly beautiful and after tracking her movements for some time Scottie begins to fall in love with her. As the film progresses, twists and turns in the plot reveal more and more about each character resulting in a whirlwind thriller that is widely considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time. 

Where to begin with such an iconic film and director. I've wanted to review a Hitchcock film for a while but struggled to pick which film to start with. I eventually landed on Vertigo due to its depth, controversy and sheer brilliance. Vertigo had an extensive production time due to problems concerning casting (Hitch wanted to cast Vera Miles, but the role went to Novak after Miles got pregnant.) and prolonged illness to the director. This unpredictable and unwanted start to production on the film pushed Hitch and made Vertigo a very personal project.

When I first watched this film, which was some years ago, the first thing that struck me was the soundtrack. The powerful and compelling music provided by Bernard Herrmann adds an extra tone to the picture which compliments the trials and tribulations on screen perfectly; creating another dimension that without which would not have resulted in the film that it is.

With Vertigo, Hitchcock has masterfully created a technically brilliant film that plays on a confrontation of colours with the reds of Scottie and the greens of Madeleine forming a visual dimension that is missing from many modern day thrillers. Directors of late don't tend to go into the depth that the likes of Hitchcock went into which in my opinion is a real shame. If more directors went into more depth and added elements to their film-making, I believe the thriller genre would get back to a higher level of appreciation. In recent years I feel the genre has been viewed simply in terms of entertainment and the art has been lost.

In terms of Hitchcock's oeuvre Vertigo is not his most entertaining film, feeling quite slow at times, however, the film is technically brilliant with a plot that takes the viewer on a thrilling ride that investigates the nature of human obsession and deceit. Vertigo is a classic that should be watched by all.

9/10.

J.Henderson.

    

American Psycho - 2000 - Christian Bale, Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe.

Underrated and impressive.

Directed by Mary Harron, American Psycho is a crime drama based upon the book of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. The story is set in 1980s Manhattan and centres on the life of investment banker Patrick Bateman (Bale). With a life that is based around going out to fancy restaurants just to simply keep up appearances whilst also spending a large portion of his time as a serial killer, Bateman struggles with the emotional side of life; constantly portraying an air of calmness and intellect.
Detective Donald Kimble (Dafoe) discusses the disappearance of Bateman's colleague, Paul Allen (Leto); who Bateman had murdered after feeling humiliated once seeing Allen's stylish business card. Can Bateman keep control of his murderous tendencies?

Simply put, Bale makes this film. It's said that during production DiCaprio was proposed to star as Bateman but due to fears of a teen audience flocking to an R-rated film, Bale was preferred (definitely for the best). Bale plays the cool, measured individual on the outside and tense, uncontrollable mess on the inside extremely well. Bateman is a man who can control almost every part of his life other than his murderous urges which Bale personifies.

Harron produces a film that is slick and thrilling, definitely managing to keep the audience engaged leading a character that resembles something of a modern day Alex DeLarge. I find that American Psycho keeps you thinking throughout and undoubtedly leaves you with discussion points.

I'd recommend it to those that don't mind a large helping of blood.

J.Henderson

7.5/10