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: Oldboy (2013)

Oldboy 
Action, Drama, Mystery

I've had this movie sitting around for a while now, something about the preview made me not too keen to watch it right away. Wow it was amazing, I can't stop thinking about it!

This Spike Lee (Malcolm X) remake from the hugely popular 2003 Korean movie of the same name starts off pretty average. Joe (Josh Brolin) is an ignorant drunk until one morning he wakes up from a bender to find he's been kidnapped and held prisoner with no explanation. His only company is a small television set from which he discovers that he's been framed for the murder of his ex-wife. After being held captive for 20 years with no visitors, he is suddenly and mysteriously let go. He has only a few days to figure out who captured him and held him for 20 years and why, or they will kill his daughter.

I really, really want to give away the twist that made this movie so awesome...but that would spoil it. Go and watch it, it's totally worth it. One of the most underrated films I've watched lately. Also, Elizabeth Olsen's (younger sister to the Olsen twins) boobs and Samuel L. Jackson as a bad guy! Special mentions to Lance Reddick (Fringe, Lost) and Michael Imperioli (Sopranos, Californication).

4 out of 5 twists...

TV: The Last Ship SE1 EP4

The Last Ship
Action, Drama, Sci Fi

'Murica! This is a Michael Bay (Transformers) show, so we already know that it's America leading the charge to save the world (somehow), complete with awesome explosions and big guns! I've been watching lots of Robot Chicken lately and this skit they did made me laugh so hard!

It's yet another dystopian... This ship has been out in the Arctic for three months with no radio contact with anyone. When they finally try to contact the mainland, there is no response. While they've been away a disease has spread throughout the world killing almost everyone. Lucky for humankind, a scientist was on the ship and she has a way to engineer a cure... eventually.

It's not all that fabulous. Lots of America is the world power and will win the battle kind of stuff. The only couple of actors I recognise are Adam Baldwin (Firefly) and Eric Dane (Grey's Anatomy)... although it took me a while to realise that Rhona Mitra was not Kate Beckinsale though she did star in one of the Underworld films.

It's been a month, they've replenished their food and arms but now the ship is falling apart and they're running out of water... Other than that, not a lot seems to happen and I'm not sure where they will go with this show or if I will actually keep watching it. Also, not as many explosions as I would expect of Michael Bay...

2 out of 5 explosions...

Movie: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

X-Men: Days of Future Past
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

I love X-Men... need I say more? I don't think so but of course I will...

So many awesome characters, so many awesome actors. We got to see everyone we wanted to see, even if the main X-Men we're used to didn't get that much screen time. I'm a little peeved Anna Paquin got cut to a bare 3 seconds at the end of the film but I'm sure we will see more Rogue in the extras when the DVD is released. Shawn Ashmore as Bobby/Iceman, Daniel Cudmore as Collossus, Booboo Stewart as Warpath, Lucas Till as Havok... and I haven't even brought out the big guns yet!

So the story revolves around Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) of course. I have no idea where Kitty (Ellen Page) got the send-someone-back-in-time power from. Did she have that in the comics? I can't remember... But anyway, she sends Logan back because apparently he's the only one who can handle it. Young Xavier, played by the amazing James McAvoy, is in a bit of a slump after Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) left him for Erik/Magnito (Michael Fassbender/Ian McKellen).. oh, yeah, and Erik crippled him... So this film is (mostly) set after the events of First Class. Logan has to pull Xavier out of it with the help of Beast (Nicholas Hoult) in order to save both the mutant and human populations from destroying themselves with giant killer robots called Sentinels (seriously, The Matrix again anyone?) designed by antagonist Dr. Trask (Peter Dinklage). Like giant sentient robots are ever a good idea!

Quicksilver was one of the best things about this film. I remember when the trailer came out some people thought he would be lame.. but no, he is awesome! The small part he plays in the film really stuck in my mind and when I watched it recently for the second time, he was just as good. He's played by Evan Peters from American Horror Story who does a fabulous job. Hope we see more of him in the next films. I also thought the meeting of the two Xavier's was excellent, how cool to meet your future self... and who else would be able to kick young Xavier's ass back into gear but older, wiser Xavier (Patrick Stewart)? Stand out performance was definitely James McAvoy.

I'm a little disappointed that Taylor Kitsch's role of Gambit hasn't reappeared. Gambit was always one of my favourite X-Men and the little teaser we got of him in Origins: Wolverine just wasn't enough for me. I would have thought the timeline would be perfect for him too... Bring back Gambit! Also, the reappearance of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Cyclops (James Marsden)! I did a little swoon there but we all knew they were both coming back didn't we? Yes, I watched the cartoons as a kid... And you can't have an X-Men film without Storm (Halle Berry).

I love X-Men. Keep 'em coming. Which X-Men is your favourite? Who do you want to see in the next film? Let me know in the comments!

4 out of 5 Marvels...

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: The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro

The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro
Action, Adventure, Fantasy

I actually really enjoyed the first one of these and was surprised to hear some people though it was crap. Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) as Peter Parker is funny! He has this wicked sense of humour I love in the character. Then there were people bitching about how they've just made the Spider-Man movies and why remake it again... but this is a different time in Peter Parker's life and Tobey Maguire did pull out so they had to remake it if they wanted to make any Spiderman movies at all, so yer. *shrugs*

Shall we talk about Mary-Jane (Shailene Woodley) who was supposed to be in the movie but had all her scenes cut? I saw a few interviews about why that happened and they pretty much said they didn't want Peter to look like a sleezy player. We all know that Peter and Mary-Jane have this thing going on later but right now it's all about Gwen and to introduce another love interest into it would distract from the Gwen storyline, and gosh are they cute together. I've got such a huge girl-crush on Emma Stone and everything she does. It is unfortunate we didn't get to see Mary-Jane in this one but we will see her eventually.

I'm a little disappointed in Jamie Foxx.. I don't know why... maybe because Django Unchained was so good and this role is so different. Dane DeHann on the other hand, wow! He is amazing, every role I see him in just gets better and better; Chronicle, Kill Your Darlings and now this. I also LOVE that Stan Lee appears in all of the Marvel movies, it's always makes me laugh to see him.


I do love superhero movies!

4 out of 5 spiders on drugs...

Movies: Mass Post... Part II

A bit more of a serious note today with some heavy dramas that I've seen lately.

We'll start with the amazing Dallas Buyers Club based on the true story of AIDS sufferer Ron Woodroof, set in the 1985. Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) fought the FDA for years over the illegal drugs he was taking that were actually improving his quality of life as a HIV patient. He goes from being anti-gay to having a transgender best friend and business partner. After his discovery of alternative treatment drugs he starts up the Dallas Buyers Club: a loophole in the laws that allows him to legally sell memberships rather than the drugs themselves. Who knows how many lives he saved / extended with this endeavor. After watching this movie I can see why Jared Leto and McConaughey won Academy Awards for their performances, they were both amazing, especially Leto. Worth a watch.

The Book Thief is an adaption of the book by Markus Zusak, which I haven't read yet but is still on my to-read list after having watched the movie, so that's saying something right? Narrated by Death (Roger Allam), set in 1939 Nazi Germany, we know this movie will have some tense / sad parts, and man does it ever. The story revolves around Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) who just loves to read books in a time when books and knowledge are dangerous things to have. I don't want to give anything away but it's a really lovely story...right until it's not. Also starring Geoffrey Rush, who I just found out was born very close to where I was born. I would watch it again, probably after reading the book.

I had been waiting for 47 Ronin to come out but I hadn't heard anything about it except that it was a samurai movie starring Keanu Reeves (The Matrix). It's based on an old legend about a group of ronin - samurai without a master - who avenge their fallen lord. What I didn't realise about it was that there was going to be such a fantasy element to it, I suppose I should have known better though... The first beast scared the hell out of me purely because I wasn't expecting it. The animations are obvious but the creatures and the art itself is fantastic, as is the film style. I enjoyed it but then again, I enjoy a lot of foreign films... This is pretty Westernised though considering. It didn't do very well according to the box office but it's another movie that I would watch again.

That'll do for today. I have some rather strange movies lined up for tomorrow's post, so stay tuned!

Love Gee
xoxo

Movie: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Action, Adventure, Sci Fi

I am joining the masses in swooning over Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, Winter's Bone) - she is amazing, though I'm more impressed with how she handles herself in the spotlight. She is a proper role model for young girls. This isn't her best film by a long way but I have to applaud her for making me more sympathetic to Katniss.

When I read these books (by Suzanne Collins) Katniss annoyed the absolute hell out of me. She is even more complacent than Bella (Twilight). She seems to achieve things but really it's more the people around her helping her. You don't get any of her internal monologue in the films - thank goodness - because she spends most of the time completely oblivious to the things going on around her. I felt like slapping her sometimes. JLaw seems to bring a bit more confidence to the character, which I like.

The two love interests - yes, I said two - are Peeta (Josh Hutcherson - Red Dawn, Bridge To Terabithia) the baker's boy who's always had a thing for Katniss and fellow Hunger Games winner, and Gale (Aussie Liam Hemsworth - Neighbours, Paranoia) Katniss' best friend and hunting partner. Unfortunately for Katniss and Gale, in order to win the Hunger Games Katniss and Peeta had to pretend to be madly in love. This is where the books annoyed me; it's damn obvious to us that Peeta actually has real feelings for Katniss but she is so absorbed in her own self and not being able to have Gale that she completely disregards Peeta. Ugh! There is a little of this in the film but it's not nearly as blatant as in the books.

Stand out performances for me were Effie Trinket played by Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, 30 Rock) and her amazing outfits! Donald Sutherland (Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, MASH) as the nefarious President Snow. Lenny Kravitz as Cinna (sobs). Stanley Tucci (Burlesque, Captain America) as the very bronzed Caesar. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Moneyball, Almost Famous) as the new game maker, Plutarch Heavensbee. Woody Harrelson (Zombieland, Natural Born Killers) as drunken Haymitch. And finally, Sam Claflin (Snow White and The Huntsman) as Finnick Odair.

This film was much better than the first and I'm sure the next one will be even better! That's the way it was with the books too, it's got a really nice build up and by the end the whole game has changed. I can't think of anything from the books that I missed in the film. The arena was just as I imagined it from the Lightning Tree to the Tsunami. Well done!

Next film we get to see The Mockingjay in action! Can't wait!

4 out of 5 crazy false eyelashes...

TV: Nikita SE4 EP1

Nikita
Action , Crime, Drama

I always forget that this show can be really damn good sometimes. It tends to have mid season lulls where they just do the regular spy thing but premiers and finales are something this show does really well.

Last we left off, Amanda (Melinda Clarke - The OC, Entourage) set Nikita (Maggie Q - Divergent) up to kill the president or she would blow Michael's (Shane West - ER) brains out with the nano-toxins that she'd infected him with when The Shop gave him the new hand. Niki was going to do it too until Michael told her they'd killed the nanos...which they hadn't (yet). So she refused to kill the president, only to have the president shoot herself in the head! Bloody Amanda! I have to say that I kinda like her style of evil better than Percy's (Xander Berkeley - 24, Being Human).

So Niki ran and has been hunting for a way to prove she didn't kill the president. The team never stopped looking for her, of course! Amanda is one step ahead of them, as per usual, recruiting the FBI agent who is in charge of the hunt for Niki, making this entire episode pretty redundant - except that Niki and the team are back together... sort of.

Alex (Lyndsy Fonesca - How I Met Your Mother, Desperate Housewives) is trying to track down The Shop and from there Amanda's hideout. She's run smack bang into Owen (Devon Sawa - Casper, he also played Stan in Eminem's music video!), or Sam, or whoever he is now. I kinda miss Owen but I have to say that Sawa plays a fantastic bad guy... if that's what Sam really is. I think they will convert him, again, eventually. He wouldn't go back to Amanda would he? I hope not.

Where the hell did Ryan (Noah Bean - Damages) and Birkhoff (Aaron Stanford - Pyro in X-Men: The Last Stand) get the plane? Is Niki going to be ok? Will Michael make it to her before the cops or Amanda do? What is Owen/Sam planning on doing with Alex and why was he at the drop? It's a new season and it looks to be a good one with Amanda being the Big Bad. Pretty exciting stuff!

4 out of 5 scary ass nanobots...