TV: Gotham SE1 EP1

Gotham
Crime, Drama, Thriller

I haven't blogged in while I know... but I just had to blog about this one, didn't I? I've been waiting for it for months now and they kept releasing teasers and prequels and finally it's here!

It pretty much jumps straight into the death of the Waynes'....and is it terrible or what?! Poor little Batman (David Mazouz) It's goddamn devastating. I wonder how much we will see him in this considering it's meant to be more an origin story of Commissioner Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Imagine copping the Wayne's as a first case in Gotham? Worst luck ever. Gordon's partnered up with Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) who is this hard-ass gristled old detective who's been jaded by the job... and what a job Gotham looks like!

We see some classic characters like the opening scene with Cat Woman (Camren Bicondova) that we've seen a million times now, and a young Poison Ivy, plus of course, Alfred! I love the choice of actor, Sean Pertwee who you might know as Lestrade from Elementary. Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) is not in the comics but I like the character. I'd probably like her better if Oswald (Robin Taylor) wasn't standing next to her when we first saw her. I have a feeling his performance will be very similar to Andrew Scott's (Moriarty) in Sherlock: Amazing.

It'd probably be better if they hadn't tried so hard to get those artsy shots. I mean it looks good but it also looks a little pretentious. I'm also a little annoyed that they showed us most of the first episode with all the little teasers and prequel things. I think the thing I mostly liked about this show is the idea of this being Batman's town but I always give shows a few episodes before I decide whether I enjoy them or not, sooo:

3 out of 5 baby bats...

TV: The Last Ship SE1 (Finale)

The Last Ship
Action, Drama, Sci Fi

I really should be studying but I thought I'd whip out a quick blog post.  *cough* procrastination *cough*

When I first started this, I remember I bagged it out a bit... and I stick by that. Michael Bay (Transformers) is well known for destroying lots of things in big bada booms but maybe he read my blogpost because I think there has only been one explosion since then.

So after I got over the Michael Bay explosions stuff, I was wondering how long they would be able to drag out this story line: there is only so long that an audience will think finding a cure is entertaining. I thought a season, maybe two. Man, was I surprised when they found it so quick! So then I started wondering what would they do next season, especially after they knocked out the Russians... that was the one explosion I was talking about by the way.

I have to say, the last few episodes have had me pleasantly surprised. I quite enjoyed them... nothing too fabulous but entertaining. I am really annoyed at the XO (Adam Baldwin) for giving up the ship so easily... seriously, these guys are trained Navy and they can't disarm one man at close range? They stormed the goddamn Russian vessel to get the Captain (Eric Dane) back and they can't take their own ship back? Come on!

They had the cure and now they've lost Doctor Scott (Rhona Mitra) to the corrupt government who is killing people, and Quincy (Sam Spruell) was shot when the ship was taken, so there goes the cure for now. Tex (John Pyper-Ferguson) has gone walkabout, will he double back to rescue the Doc? I think so. The Captain finally found his family but now he's lost the ship and crew, what will he do by himself? Also, the 'War Lords' led by Titus Welliver (Argo, The Good Wife), good or bad?

Ok, nice set up for the next season.

3 out of 5 quarantine areas...

Movie: Anna (2013)

Anna
Drama, Thriller

Also known as "Mindscape", this film has such an interesting concept but the preview doesn't show you very much about it. John, played by Mark Strong (Kick Ass, Sherlock Holmes), is a detective of the mind: he takes people back into their memories and goes in himself as a witness. I immediately thought it might be a bit like Inception and began picking up hints from very early on. John said something about being able to see him as a distant figure in memories and just before that he saw a guy in the distance. From the preview I gathered he's being charged with something and that they are using a mindscaper on him to find out what happened.

John stopped mindscaping because he his memories of his wife's murder kept sneaking into other peoples memories while he was working... but of course he runs out of money and needs to go back to it. His friend gives him Anna's - Taissa Farmiga (American Horror Story) - case. Anna is very smart, very troubled and very complex. I spent most of the movie trying to figure her out and the rest trying to figure out if any of it was real...

Good movie, well shot. I really enjoy the psychological thrillers that keep you guessing. Farmiga's performance is perfect. I'd really like to see her in a different role though, she always plays the freaky girl... The twist at the end was totally predictable but I liked picking out all the bits throughout the film. Not terrible, not fantastic...

3 out of 5 dreidels...

Movie: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow
Action, Sci Fi

Bloody Tom Cruise (Top Gun, Mission: Impossible)... Sometimes I wish he would retire, he creeps me out just a little bit. He's so tiny and old and he's still making these same movies over and over again... they've gotten more of a sci fi twist lately as well. I have to admit the movies he stars in are never crap but I'm always a little discouraged at him being the action male lead. It's probably just me...

Aliens have invaded and caused Groundhog Day... that's what I got from the preview anyway... This is the second film that I've watched lately that has aliens or machines that rip off the sentinels from The Matrix. Have the alien development departments not got any imagination anymore?

Also starring Bill Paxton (Agents of SHIELD, Twister), Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, Braveheart) and Emily Blunt (Devil Wears Prada, Looper), Edge of Tomorrow is very much like every other sci fi / action film you've ever seen starring Tom Cruise.

That is all.

3 out of 5 sentinels...

Movie: Much Ado About Nothing (2012)

Much Ado About Nothing
Comedy, Drama, Romance

There's a few reasons I watched this. One, it's Shakespeare and I'm an English major. Two, it's a Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly, The Avengers) film and I love him. And three, it has a brilliant Whedonesque cast. I also heard it was filmed entirely at Joss' house and who doesn't want to get an inside look at that? Beware, it is a Shakespeare play so the dialogue is archaic and you really must pay attention. It is also filmed entirely in black and white but I think it works better that way.

I spent a lot of time star spotting in this movie. The two verbally dueling leads are played by Amy Acker (Dollhouse, Person of Interest) and Alexis Denisof (Angel, The Avengers) and they are backed up by an amazing cast including Nathan Fillion (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Castle), Clark Gregg (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods, Donnie Darko), Sean Maher (Serenity) and Tom Lenk (Transformers, Argo). I spent more time pointing out actors to my husband than listening to the first half of the film.

I didn't mind it. Like I said, I didn't pay a lot of attention at first but then by the second half I was into it. Maybe it took a little while to get used to the Shakespearean. It was quite funny in places as well. I will probably rewatch it somewhere along the line as part of my study.

3 out of 5 Whedons...

TV: Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars
Drama, Mystery, Thriller

This show is one of my guilty pleasures. It's like watching a teenage version of The Bold and The Beautiful mixed with Lost. I find myself always yelling at the girls for sneaking around and pulling off these massive plans when it would have been much easier if they'd just tell people what the hell is going on. I also tend to rewrite the scenes in my head as they happen... sometimes scenes just aren't realistic and I think of how I would actually do it if I were really stuck in those situations. I just watched two seasons back to back because curiosity kills a Gee and I really just want to know who A is.

Ok, so I had an inkling that Alison (Sasha Pieterse) was alive for quite a while now and finally we get confirmation at the Season 4 mid-season finale (have I mentioned how much I hate mid-season finales? That's just slack guys, you want not one but two finales a season? Ugh!). So she's been alive and doing what exactly for the last three years? Hiding from Ezra (Ian Harding)? Really?! I've been thinking for a while too that it could be one of the boyfriends playing A. I know it's not Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) because of Ravenswood (which is why I started watching this show again, I couldn't figure out how Caleb got there... at least that's all cleared up now). There was a while after Spencer (Troian Bellisario) caught Toby (Keegan Allen) in the hoodie that I thought he was A, but now he's gone all soft... disappointing. But never did it even occur to me that Ezra might be involved!

I thought as well that maybe one of the girls might have been A. I remember my first suspicion was Aria (Lucy Hale) because, well; A and no one would suspect her, ever. Then Spencer went off the rails for a while after finding supposedly dead Toby in the woods and I thought maybe she had turned for real... but of course it was only about finding Toby then. Hanna (Ashley Benson) might be doing it to get back at everyone for calling her fat and not hanging out with her (I know, I rolled my eyes at that sentence too). I don't know why Emily (Shay Mitchell) could be considered... maybe just that is enough to put her under suspicion.

Let's not forget Jenna (Aussie Tammin Sursok) and being all tangled up with Shana (Aeriel Miranda); what is really going on there and who smacked her over the back of the head and left her to drown? Is the other Red Coat CeCe (Vanessa Ray)? Why did she run from Wilden (Bryce Johnson) and who really killed him? Where have Mona (Janel Parrish) and Jason (Drew Van Acker) gone? Speaking of Jason, that older generation actually have some idea what's happening... so next on the never ending list of suspects is Spencer's sister Mellissa (Torrey DeVitto) and her ex-fiance Wren (Julian Morris). What in the world do they know?

I am so freaking confused, dying of curiosity and a little dazed by how ridiculously good looking everyone in this show is... I'm ashamedly addicted and cannot wait 'til January when the season resumes. Meanwhile, I now understand how Caleb ended up in Ravenswood. Guess I'll continue with that...

3 out of 5 Hansels...

(He's so hot right now!)

TV: The Crazy Ones SE1 EP7

The Crazy Ones
Comedy

Just a quick short review so that I can go study for my exam tomorrow!

I didn't know anything about this show until Sarah Michelle Gellar joined Twitter and tweeted about it. I was like; SMG and Robin Williams?! That's like my childhood right there, what could go wrong?

Well, it is funny... sometimes. Robin Williams is a comedy genius (as we all remember from Mrs Doubtfire, Patch Adams and one I watched just yesterday, Hook!) and it's so good to see him back on my screen. SMG (Buffy, duh! Cruel Intentions) does the stressed out, serious daughter thing so well that sometimes I'm embarrassed for Sydney but they balance each other, which I'm pretty sure is the whole point. Rest of the cast include James Wolk (Mad Men), Hamish Linklater (The Newsroom) and Amanda Setton (Gossip Girl).

I can imagine how hard this would be to film, I'm pretty sure a lot of Robin Williams' lines are improvised and I'm not sure how straight of a face I could keep while he's coming up with some of them. As you can see in the above video, Kelly Clarkson - who guest stars in the first episode - can't not laugh at some of the things coming out of his mouth. I think the short half hour eps are just what this show needs and I enjoy the closing credits or bloopers almost as much as the show itself. I'm not sure how well received it will be though...

3 out of 5 funny people...

PS. This is not an endorsement for this film, it sucked! Don't watch it!

TV: The Tomorrow People SE1 EP5

The Tomorrow People
Drama, Sci Fi

Now that's more like it! Maybe Marvel should be taking lessons from Julie Plec (writer/producer of The Vampire Diaries, The Originals). This show very much reminds me of Dark Angel (again) mixed with a little bit of Nikita.

It's the story of the next evolution of humans; Homo Superior... Yes, terrible name and they admit to that a few times in the show itself. I also have a little trouble with them referring to them as not human and a different species... if I found out I had a mutated gene, I wouldn't be suddenly inferring I'm of a different species. I don't think I would be comfortable with that. Also, in making that claim it can semi-justify violence against them, because they're not human. I don't like it...

Teleporting...

Anyway, there is an underground group of these super humans who can teleport, have telekinesis and can read minds. The CGI on the teleporting is actually pretty cool; it's a little Stargate-y or Jumper-ish, they kinda suck into themselves. Plus these guys can fight! The fight scenes in this show are so much more impressive than Agents of SHIELD... though I've always wondered how guys manage to pull off an awesome roundhouse kick in a those tight jeans... mmm...

Story revolves around Steven (Robbie Amell from Revenge) who is the prodigy son of the savior... or something like that anyway. He has more than just the three powers mentioned above but he's still trying to work out how to use them. While trying to find his every elusive father he gets tangled up in his evil uncle Jedikiah's (Mark Pellegrino most recently from Revolution and Being Human but I know him from his role as Lucifer in Supernatural) plans to eradicate his species. Steven works for his uncle while also helping his underground friends John (Luke Mitchell, who is an Aussie!) and Cara (Peyton List from Mad Men). Honorable mentions go to Sarah Clarke (Twilight, 24) as Steven's mother and Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars, Ringer) as the diabolical Killian McCrane.

Not a bad show, I think I'll keep watching it just for Mark Pellegrino who plays such an awesome bad guy. Let's see how the rest of the season plays out eh?

3 out of 5 Stargates...

PS. Yes, I know I've been posting a lot of mediocre shows, but I like putting up different shows rather than reviewing the same ones every week and all the new shows are a bit meh so far... like I said though, we shall see how the season plays out. We might be pleasantly surprised with some of them. 

TV: Once Upon A Time: SE3 EP6

Once Upon A Time
Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

*Disclaimer: This show is really lame and has lots of plot holes which I am blatantly ignoring....but I just can't help myself...*

I am such a sucker for the fairy tales and this episode was all about everyone's favorite mermaid, Ariel. Played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher who you might recognize from Not Another Teen Movie and more recently The Internship (which is hilarious - again, I'm a sucker for these things...). They stick mostly to the typical Little Mermaid storyline, with a little Snow and Evil Queen thrown in. Ariel is totally naive and as sickeningly sweet as Snow is. The Evil Queen appears as Ursula to offer Ariel Snow's legs which she just goes ahead and takes! What the actual? Ariel, leg ettiquette says that you must ask a person before just taking their legs! Sheeeeesh.

The CGI budget must have gotten a bit bigger with this season because Regina (Lana Parrilla) as Ursula didn't suck as much as I thought she would and Ariel's tail was actually kinda cute... well, that's what I was thinking until we see the actual Ursula in the mirror at the end... that was not the best guys! Speaking of the real Ursula, I recognised that voice right away as Yvette Nicole Brown from Community.

Regina took Ariel's voice before she could meet up with Prince Eric (Gil McKinny) and so he went on his big adventure. I have a sneaking suspicion that we will see both Eric and Ariel in Wonderland sometime soon as I heard Eric say something about Agrabah. I love crossovers.

Back to our main characters and the Echo Cave. I thought Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) - *fans self* - would have a bigger secret to tell than that he kissed Emma (Jennifer Morrison). Like really Hook? That's it? So obviously that means he's not betraying them then... right?! And Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin)... another baby? *voms* We all knew that Charming (Josh Dallas) would have to tell everyone about the Dreamshade, that one was obvious.

Neal (Michael Raymond-James from True Blood) and Emma, finally! Sorry Hook...

So like I said at the beginning; so corny, so many plot holes... but the fairy tales!

3 out of 5 guilty pleasures...