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Skins, Vol. 2
Skins Vol 2
Actors: Joseph Dempsie, Mike Bailey, Mitch Hewer, Nicholas Hoult
Genres: Drama, Television, Mystery & Suspense
NR     2009     7hr 40min

It's been six months since Tony's collision with a bus - remarkably, he isn't dead, but he sure isn't the same person. Sid can't get his head around the fact that his best mate is a shadow of the man he's always looked up ...  more »

     
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Movie Details

Actors: Joseph Dempsie, Mike Bailey, Mitch Hewer, Nicholas Hoult
Genres: Drama, Television, Mystery & Suspense
Sub-Genres: Drama, Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
Studio: BBC Warner
Format: DVD - Color,Widescreen
DVD Release Date: 04/14/2009
Original Release Date: 01/01/2009
Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/2009
Release Year: 2009
Run Time: 7hr 40min
Screens: Color,Widescreen
Number of Discs: 3
SwapaDVD Credits: 3
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 4
Edition: Box set
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English

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Movie Reviews

Light up a spliff, knock back a pint and have a wank!
C. R. Swanson | Phoenix | 02/18/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, you all know how things left off at the end of the last series. Tony got hit by a bus, Sid and Cassie met at a bench, Maxxie and Anwar made up and everyone had a nice little singing number (?!).

Now we pick up some months later with a whole series of interesting story lines! We follow Tony on his slow road to recovery (apparently getting slammed into by a bus is not something one gets over right away). We see him and Maxxie getting closer even as Sid and Michelle turn slowly away from Tony. We also get to see Maxxie pick up a stalker, which is all sorts of fun.

Moving on, we have a lovely love triangle developing between Sid, Michelle and Tony (who I've always thought really wanted to have a three-way relationship with Sid and Michelle), Jal and Chris start hooking up (I still think she could do better), Cassie disolves and becomes even more mad than before, and Anwar, well... Anwar starts thinking with the wrong part of his body and does wrong by Maxxie. Even Effie starts to get more attention, which makes sense given her expanded role in series three. All of this builds to an astonishing and rather tear-jerking climax that one doesn't soon forget.

As in the first series, the writting in the second is sharp and intelligent. The actors are all in top form, particularly Nicholas Hoult, who has a real challenge playing a damaged version of Tony (well, more damaged than usual). There's also some incredibly funny dialogue and some great scenes.

I really enjoyed one scene with Maxxie's father and the father of a bully/gay basher, talking with each other. These are men who look like your basic longshoremen, yet neither has a problem with Maxxie being gay. Heck, the father of the bully even says the boy has baked a "remorse cake" and offers Maxxie the cake which says, "Sory" on it. I just about fell out of my chair laughing at that scene, but in addition to comedy one must note the positive message it gives gay youth.

Really, I can't think of any real flaws the show has, aside from the fact that none of the cast save Effie will be returning for series three. I do rather hope there's a few more extras on these DVD's as opposed to those from series one, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Anyhow, if you liked series one, buy this! If you haven't seen series one, go buy that and THEN buy this! If you have seen series one, but didn't like it, then... er... why are you even looking at this page? ;) To the rest of you, enjoy!"
Crazy Kids, Absorbing Show
Edward Aycock | New York, NY United States | 06/25/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Skins Series 2 picks up from a cliffhanger that reached almost "Dallas" heights of drama in the first series. That cliffhanger - Tony being hit by a bus - is resolved in these episodes but the resolution is not solved after only one episode. Instead, we follow the consequences of that incident through the course of the next ten episodes.

Did we think everything was going to be happy for Sid and Cassie after the first series finale? Guess again. Sid makes some surprising choices and Cassie finds herself going down an even darker path than before when she wasn't eating. (Yes, it is possible.)

Other characters face new dilemmas and not all of them end up happily for all involved but that's the beauty of "Skins." We find that we end up caring enough about these characters to be deeply affected by whatever befalls them. And some serious stuff goes down in series 2.

My only real complaint was the "Tony" episode when he explores a potential university. I feel that it's the weakest episode of either season 1 or 2 but other than that, this is a stellar season. It's too bad that the cast was replaced for Season Three but now we get a whole new crop of kids to meet."
More balanced than the first season, still quite good
Alexander M. Walker | Chicago, IL USA | 04/27/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)

"The American edit of Skins: Volume 1 left off a rather sublime ending of Sid singing "Wild World" by Cat Stevens as the gang finishes out their night's activities. The ending takes on a decidedly different, cheerier feeling but was it more appropriate than the US version? After a crazy night of debauchery, there were friendships broken, lives imperiled and so forth - but most importantly Tony has been hit by a bus. Walking around singing a Cat Stevens song is interesting, though a bit corny, and doesn't quite end on the melancholy note required for a proper transition into Skins: Volume 2. Considering the events of Skins: Volume 2 the upbeat UK ending seems even more deceptive and inappropriate; maybe that was the series' creators' attempts at Shakespearian levity between bouts of tragedy or maybe it was genuinely a moment of corny weakness - whatever the case, the lighthearted cheer of Skins: Volume 1 takes a backseat for a more drama-packed second installment.

Where the first season felt uneven in its coverage of the characters beyond Tony, Michelle, Sid and Cassie, the second season shifts its focus between two separate and almost entirely divergent storylines.

On one hand we have the evolving love square of Tony (Nicholas Hoult), Michelle (April Pearson), Sid (Mike Bailey) and Cassie (Hannah Murray) complicated even further by Tony's new mental status. As Sid and Michelle deal with their puppy-love inspired guilt, Tony skulks about in the background attempting to recover his mental capacities; meanwhile Cassie becomes a devious heart breaker with little shame. No one involved can claim to be happy, but then again it's Skins, being happy has little to do with life or romance.

The biggest emergence (and improvement) to the second volume of Skins is the storyline of Chris (Joseph Dempsie) and Jal (Larissa Wilson). Living on his own, Chris struggles with a plethora of issues: abandonment, questioning his self-worth and motivation. With his touchstone of stability out of his life, Chris has come detached from any and all semblance of responsibility. Jal steps in and extends the shine of her stability over yet another soul. The quality that had so many people walking all over her now opens her up to the most meaningful relationship she's ever had. The Chris and Jal relationship brings a breath of fresh air to Skins. Having to watch the wringing of garments that was the Tony/Sid/Michelle/Cassie show had run its course halfway through the first season - this unexpected relationship opens up and changes the show for the better.

In Skins, some things change and some don't. While Chris and Jal got taken into the limelight, Anwar (Dev Patel) and Maxxie (Mitch Hewer) stayed consistently in the background. Even with the odd Maxxie-stalker plotline, the dynamic goofy duo never really rises above the depth of coverage they received in the first season. Frankly, that's not such a bad thing. These two were interesting to a point but never developed to a point that necessitated their presence in the series. Oddly, the most interesting addition to the Maxxie and Anwar storyline was the presence of comedian Bill Bailey as the blue-collar and disproving father of Maxxie.

Initially Skins: Volume 2 seems like it's going to follow the formulaic route it established in the original series, but the arc of Chris and Jal saves the series. Without their characters it would have been almost unbearably similar to the first - again, narrowly avoided. Of course, were it not for the genuine likeability of the Chris character and the incessantly patient Jal the end of Skins: Volume 2 wouldn't feel half as fulfilling as it does. After two seasons of seeing these characters flail about in their circumstances, the closure they get, as bittersweet as it is, satisfies; even if the satisfaction is wrapped in emotional barbed wire.

DVD Extra Features:

There's a hefty heaping of little extra featurettes on the final disc of Skins: Volume 2. First off we have "Christmas with Skins", a "Night Before Christmas" parody following Chris and Anwar who have a decidedly disappointing Christmas with an over-the-top cheesy ending. "Musical Auditions" is a slightly humorous sketch piece of numerous comical personalities trying out for the college musical. It's never quite as funny as it wants to be - like Carlos Mencia. "Tony's Nightmare", an interestingly tortured piece, has a Tony and Sid moment that's decidedly odd. Tony attempts to put together a puzzle of himself (such a clever metaphor) as Sid delivers foreboding lines of a remarkably unfriendly nature. The piece titled "Cassandra" keeps up with the odd nature of Cassie's character in the second volume of Skins. There are a few other features, and overall they're only for the true fans of the show. If you're watching Skins: Volume 2 to waste time the extra features will be more involved than you want to get.

Skins: Volume 2 avoided the gaping maw of a trap that, by all accounts, it should have fallen in to. Following the Tony, Sid, Michelle and Cassie love triangle to a point where the audience couldn't care less would have been easy; instead they gradually retired that plot in favor of a deeper exploration of characters that deserved it after a season of supporting roles. Skins: Volume 2 feels different from the first in all the ways required for a series to survive and stay fresh - it dialed back the sheer chaos and debauchery in favor of a more mature course of drama."