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...

TV: True Blood (Finale)

True Blood
Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

I've been saying to the little sister since this last season began that everyone would die... well, that didn't happen. As soon as Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) was cured I realised there would be a stereotypical happy ending. I was actually terribly disappointed in the finale: it felt like they had just tacked an ending onto a normal episode, like they had only been given two episodes to wrap it all up instead of an entire season.

Highlights were the Eric and Ginger (Tara Buck) finally getting it on, Bill (Stephen Moyer) splooshing all over Sookie (Anna Paquin), Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) and Eric's infomercial for New Blood and Lafayette (Nelson Ellis) and James (Nathan Parsons). *swoons* Points of annoyance: Alcide (Joe Manganiello) copping it to the head - I know, not this episode but it still stings! - Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) and Hoyt's (Jim Parrack) whirlwind wedding... how did that make any sense? Oh, Hoyt, by the way, we used to date but I screwed your best friend and then made you forget all about it... now let's get married before my maker keels over: true love! And the ending... ugh!

Special mention of the reappearance of show favourites: Nan Stackhouse (Lois Smith) and Steve Newlin (Michael McMillan).

Now that it's all over I have to find a new show to have family date nights with...

2 out of 5 naked Eric's...cos why the hell not?! Umph...

TV: Game of Thrones SE4

Game of Thrones
Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

It's been another big season in the Seven Kingdoms! Lots to talk about...

The Wall is under attack from Wildlings... but they're not attacking because they want The Wall, they're attacking because they want to hide behind The Wall from the coming winter and you know... crazy white walking frozen zombies. Mance (Ciaran Hinds) should have said so to Jon Snow (Kit Harington) from the beginning though... not that Jon would have been able to convince Slynt (Dominic Carter) to let them in. Now that Stannis (Stephen Dillane) is there Jon might actually get heard. So, The Wall is won and everyone is like la-di-da... little do they know what's coming for them.

Ygritte (Rose Leslie)... "You know nothin' Jon Snow". *sobs*

Arya (Maisie Williams) is finally leaving the Seven Kingdoms! She just spent the entire season walking across the country with The Hound (Rory McCann)... literally. Remember the Red Wedding season three finale (duh)? Well she was there remember? Just outside when it happened... and so The Hound took her to the Eyrie instead but they were three days too late for Aunt Lysa (Kate Dickie) and no one actually knew that Sansa (Sophie Turner) was there. So they left there too... Then Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) comes along but by that time Arya was like 'screw that' and went her own way, leaving The Hound to die miserably. Now she's off to Bravos finally! Her plot line next season will make up for this one...

Also, we've been having Skinfam Game Of Thrones nights (fun for the whole family!) and we've been arguing all season because none of us can remember what happened to Sandor Clegane in the books... does anyone know? Does he actually die? Comments!

Poor terrorized Sansa Stark finally escaped the Red Keep with the help of the slimy Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) but was it him who killed Joffrey (Jack Gleeson - who will never work again!) or was it the Lady of Thorns, Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg)? It was very vague in the books too but I always thought it was Olenna, who is one of my favourite characters. She hints at it in the show too when she talks to Margaery (Natalie Dormer), telling her that she would never have let her wed the little shit that was Joffrey. I think Littlefinger may have helped but only to get what it is he wants... Sansa. In the meantime, crazy Lysa sees Littlefinger kiss Sansa and gets batshit crazy jealous, Littlefinger tries to sooth her then promptly pushes her out the moondoor. Then the two of them, in an amazing performance, manage to convince the Eyrie council that she jumped. Freaking fantastic!

And the final Stark, Brandon (Isaac Hempstead Wright). I've read all the books so everything that has happened is not too surprising to me... this was. I did not think that they would have reached the Weirwood already. You know how long Arya has been wondering around? Well Brandon got carried around by Hodor (Kristian Nairn) a billion times further and they still made it to the tree before she even gets to Bravos... This has put a spanner in the workings of my mental timelines... How cool was the Heart Tree guy though? Almost how I pictured him. Keep an eye on Brandon now, I do believe he is the main character of the entire thing!

I don't want to talk too much about the Lannister's except for the final scene of course. Nothing much happened with them... Joffrey finally died to the joy of absolutely everyone except Cersei (Lena Headey) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) was as awesome as ever despite spending most of the season locked in a dungeon... and that final scene with Tywin (Charles Dance) and Shae (Sibel Kekilli): perfect! Just how I pictured it!

Not much happened with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) either. She liberated a few more cities and then spent the rest of her time in hearings for the people. Exciting right? No... There was that moment with Daario (Michiel Huisman - not nearly as pretty as last seasons Daario: Ed Skrein) and the eventual discovery of Jorah's (Iain Glen) betrayal that happened seasons ago. Be prepared for Dany to sit around moping about her dragons and the ongoing liberated slave problems for another season or two...

I have to mention one of my favourite characters, Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal). I loved this character in the books and I love the way he was portrayed in the show as well. It's a shame he doesn't get to hang around for longer but what a scene to go out on! So, so, so good! If someone made a top ten death scenes from GoT, this would be the top one. But do not despair, we shall hear from the Martell's next season, I do believe. That is where Marcella is too, if you missed that part.

So, predictions for next season. Lots of Bran hiding in a hole under a tree listening to the old man lecture. Lots of Tyrian and sailing and shenanigans. Lots of Arya! Her story is one of the most exciting from now on I think, she has some adventures let me tell you! More battles at The Wall and a little bit of intrigue as well. Stannis will hang around there for a while too I think. There will be a surprise appearance by an old friend and quite a few new characters will be introduced from Dorne.

That's enough Game of Thrones for this season. It was renewed for season five and six right at the beginning of this season. They are catching up and in some places overtaking the books! Speaking of which... what was with Craster's babies? That wasn't in the books!

'Til next season!

5 out of 5 splattered heads...

TV: Fargo SE1 EP10 - Finale

Fargo

Crime, Drama

This show....just wow. I first heard about it from some of the bookclub girls who had been watching it, then I looked up the promo above and started it purely on the basis that it had Billy Bob Thornton (the guy who was married to Angelina Jolie years ago. You remember the blood in the vial around the neck debacle? Oh, and he starred in Bad Santa, Pushing Tin and a heap of others) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Sherlock).

The show is based off the 1994 movie of the same name, which is apparently based off real life. There are those disclaimers at the beginning of each episode but I had a hard time trying to find anything factual...  and that's because it's not real... The writers/directors of the film insisted it was based on a true story when doing promotional tours and the myth persisted... But it's entirely fictional, just in case you were wondering. I haven't actually watched the film (yet) so I can't tell you how close it is. I do know it was a hit and lots of people I know love it...

Well, now we can all love the show too because it is bloody brilliant. There is not a single episode that was dull, I was biting my nails in the finale. I recognised Colin Hanks from his short time on Dexter and Bob Odenkirk who plays Saul in Breaking Bad but the stand out performance (other than Billy Bob) was definitely Allison Tolman who I have never seen in anything before. Billy Bob is such a bad ass! Freaking fantastic performance!

Brilliant show! It's not been confirmed for second season yet but I've heard that there is a plan for season two already and I will be very surprised if it's not picked up... I've also heard that second season will be very different from what we've seen so far but the guy who wrote season one is also writing season two so what's the bet it will be just as awesome?

5 out of 5 maple leaves...

TV: Mass Post... Part IV

Well, I do have a movies mass post half done (there will be several of those too) but I just watched a few finales and had to blog about them because I'm just so darn excited!

Once Upon A Time is welcoming (sorta) Queen Elsa from Frozen! Argh! I have to say this show is a guilty pleasure. My inner, fairy tale loving 8 year old girl is loving this show. Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) is so swoon-worthy, I'm so jealous right now. It does get sappy sweet but I can deal with that as long as baddies like the Wicked Witch (Rebecca Mader) and Elsa keep appearing (cos if you didn't know, Elsa is actually a baddie...). So cool. Shame Once Upon a Time in Wonderland didn't do so well; it's not been renewed for another season but I'm really glad they wrapped it up before finishing it. Nice happy ending, just like fairy tales are supposed to have.

I also just nabbed the first episode of Penny Dreadful, which I've been keeping an eye out for. Starring Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Josh Hartnett and Billie Piper, set in 19th century England and featuring favourite supernatural beings of the century? It's no wonder I've kept it in my thoughts. From the looks of it we will be dealing with Dracula and Frankenstein... Speaking of, that end scene was just brilliant. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season will bring. Stay tuned, I'll let you know how it goes.

Holy, mother flipping Revenge?! What an episode... Gobsmacked. That was twist after twist like a damn roller coaster. There is literally nothing I can say about this that won't be a major spoiler... The twist we all hoped they wouldn't use but knew was pretty much inevitable finally happened. This episode was so great! It would've been better without that particular scene though... I actually thought it was Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) coming to get him But now what? Aiden (Barry Sloane)... Jack (Nick Wechsler)... Victoria and Conrad (Henry Czerny)... David (James Tupper)! This show needs to be careful not to go too Bold & The Beautiful on us though.

If you want a show with more blood and boobs than Game of Thrones you should check out Banshee. If you aren't watching this, you should be, it's totally nuts! There's two short seasons so far and they are both explosively exciting with strong seasonal plot, the meanest looking Ukrainian mob boss, a tough as nails ex-Amish 'businessman', the biggest freaking American Indian I've ever seen, plus a whole heap more. Though I swear half the town died in the last episode... that is some crazy gun fighting going on there. Also, an awesome soundtrack. Do it!

I've decided I won't do a Game of Thrones update until the season's done. I just like to savor it plus there's enough spoilers out there (cough, books) that you don't need me doing it too. Movies next, promise!

Love Gee

xoxo

TV: Mass Post... Part I

Hey guys! I've been pretty darn terrible at keeping up on this lately, sorry... I could blame uni but we all know I go through phases of writing. I've done a lot more reading lately than anything else and there will be a post coming up about that...but right now, let's stick to TV. Seasons are not quite over with yet but there are a few things I've been wanting to share, so we'll do a quick run through of some of the standouts.. or not so stand outs...

Firstly: The Walking Dead Season 4 finale.... What. The. Actual. F. That was sooo not a finale. I literally had to double check and make sure I hadn't gotten it wrong and was watching the second to last episode but no, that disappointing ending was actually it... I don't think a season finale has ever annoyed me so much, especially after last season and the fall of the prison. Come on dudes! I swear this show agitates me more and more and yet I'm still watching it. Maybe I should stick to the comics.

The Blacklist has been a stand out for me this season. James Spader is brilliant! The entire season has been ups and downs while still having good episode and season plots, and it's finally all falling apart and coming together now. What is Reddington (Spader) up to? Who is Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold)? I have a feeling the mysterious Berlin is someone we know, why hide their face until now otherwise? One episode left of the season! What will we find out? Eek, so good.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D started out pretty lame but it's gotten better since the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (which I will try not to spoil for anyone just yet) and the betrayal of Ward (Brett Dalton) - which I still only half believe, by the way. I am so pissed at him, especially after the Skye (Chloe Bennet) thing. Ugh, so frustrating. But that's the way TV shows go eh? I'm also wondering whether Cobie Smulders will be hanging around permanently now that HIMYM is done. One more episode after today's and that's the end of that season too. I'm still judging.

Speaking of How I Met Your Mother... how sad/happy was the series ending?! I miss that show so much already but I love that it came full circle back to Robin (Smulders) and Ted (Josh Radnor). Screw you people hating on it! I watched the Inside the Actor's Studio after the finale and luuuuurved the ending of that! Watch it:

I'm still watching Supernatural though this is about the 4th season that I've berated myself for doing so. They have been going for 9 years now and the repetition is beyond ridiculous... but I just can't seem to help myself. No matter how many times Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) break up, or Castiel (Misha Collins) dies, I still have to watch it. There's a couple more episodes of this season but it will probably just keep going like it always does...

I'm terribly excited by the return of Californication. These episodes are always too short and the show has really short seasons too; it's like it's here and then it's gone before you know it. I miss Tim Minchin from this season but the addition of Heather Graham was a good move... gosh she looks fantastic. Last season was pretty massive and this season is looking like it will be too. Waiting for a few things to blow up in Hank's (David Duchovny) face as per usual...but the season has only just started. Huzzah!

That's enough for now... I may have to do a Part II though, so many new shows I have yet to mention and a couple of other usual ones, some returning for second seasons, and of course, Game of Thrones but I'm going to wait until that one gets a bit more exciting. I will try get a movies and book mass post done too. Stay tuned!

Love Gee
xoxo

TV: American Horror Story SE3 EP13

American Horror Story

Drama, Fantasy, Horror

Ok, I've heard good and bad things about this finale and I have to agree with both. The Stevie Nicks music video at the very beginning of this episode is overkill. She's already had a feature in an entire episode, stop being so greedy! Yeah, yeah, she's like massively famous and rumored to be a witch so it's kinda smart I suppose but like I said, one episode is enough Stevie. Plus, that lip syncing was terrible!

This season - Coven - started off really slowly, I was actually very disappointed at first but it's really picked up in the last few episodes. I was so excited when I saw Kathy Bates (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes) was guest starring in this season, that was huge! And what a character she played, fantastic. I hope she will be in next season too.

Poor Misty Day (Lily Rabe), what a sweet girl and I did so hope for her to be the new Supreme. I did not expect her to die that's for sure... actually I'm surprised at how many of them did die this episode. Once Misty was out of the running I thought for sure that Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) would be the Supreme... then she died too. Just when we thought that Madison (Emma Roberts) - the bitch - was going to be the Supreme. Thank goodness she wasn't! I'm not surprised that Kyle (Evan Peters) killed her, I wanted to strangle her too. Cow. 

I'm not at all surprised that the Supreme turned out to be Cordelia (Sarah Paulson), or that Fiona (Jessica Lange) was still alive. I knew that when Cordelia saw the vision of the Axeman (Danny Huston) killing Fiona that it wasn't quite right. Then when they were hugging I thought for sure Fiona would stab Cordelia in the back... oh well, I suppose it had to end somehow.

I was totally surprised about Myrtle (Frances Conroy) burning at the stake - again! I thought for sure after half the coven had been killed that she would stick around just to make up the numbers. But of course she was right and Cordelia had already put the word out about the coven, so more witches would be joining soon. Still, who would volunteer for that?!

Three seasons and I think season two - Asylum - is my favorite so far. We've had murders and ghosts, crazy people and more ghosts, and finally witches and voodoo; what will be next do you think? I love how this show changes every season and recycles most of it's cast. It's good to see that they can actually act and continue to convince us of their characters each season.

4 out of 5 cauldrons...

Honorary mention to Denis O'Hare as the help, the demented butler, Spalding. I didn't recognize him!