Clock Opera – 'Once And For All' - An indie rock band, I have heard of these guys but I haven't heard their music, I took a listen to this one and can't say I'm that impressed. Cloud Nothings – 'Stay Useless' - Indie bands are all I seem to write about these days, they are literally coming out the wood work. I hadn't heard of these guys and judging by this song I won't be taking any sort of detailed look into thir back catalog.
DJ Shadow – 'Scale It Back' - I don't know why this is on the release dates again this week, It featured here a month or so ago now and I was pretty positive about the song then, and I stand by that. My release info comes fom the same source every week so I don't know why we get a repeat.
Feeder – 'Borders' - I've never been the biggest fan of this alternative rock band from Wales, I don't know why because their music is massive even making it into Hollywood movies, I suppose that's because they sound more American than Welsh but it has worked for them, this song is ok, I would have it as an album filler.
Fucked Up – 'Year Of The Tiger' - I have never heard of these guys but if your inetersted they are a hardcore punk band from the U.S.
The Kills – 'Last Goodbye' - Rock band? Yawn. Very boring.
Lil Wayne feat. Bruno Mars – 'Mirrors' - Lil Wayne is a American rapper who has been signed to Cash Money Records since he was nine years old, I'm not the biggest fan of his music but I do like Bruno Mars who features on this record. Not the best record but will probably do well in the charts thanks to the names attached.
Metallica – 'Beyond Magnetic EP' - One of my favoutite bands, I just hate the album with Lou Reed though, he should probably have stayd in the 70's. Lou is an aquired taste, what can I say? He does not feature here and Metallica are back ro their hardcore rocking best.
Youngman
Pixie Lott – 'Kiss The Stars' - I was wondering why Pixie was on morning TV this week (only seen it because of days off), I have heard this song on the radio and have switched it off every time thinking it was Justin Beiber, oops.
Radiohead – 'Bloom (Jamie xx remix)' - Never been a big fan of Radiohead and this song does nothing to add to my confidence in them.
Youngman – 'Who Knows' - Save the best till last, that's what they say and that's hat I have done, you need to be sharing this video with your Facebook, Twitter or whatever wasily the best release of the week and a new favourite of mine.
I loved The Hangover as you know, following that I watched the movie again, only this time it was the all singing all dancing Blu-ray version which was Unrated apparently. That time I didn’t enjoy it so much, I said then I should have watched The Hangover Part II. Finally, I got round to it last weekend and I have to be honest, although it followed a very similar format to the first movie I still thought it was hilarious.
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Justin Bartha and Paul Giamati
The Plot
Remember Stu’s overbearing fiancé at the end of the last movie? He well and truly left her for this movie, I thought he would marry the horny stripper he met in Vegas last time round but that wasn’t to be, instead Mr sensible dentist Stu met a beautiful Thai girl and they have plans for a lavish wedding in Thailand along with her parents and the rest of their family and friends. That of course means a stag doo for all the guys who made the unforgettably forgettable trip to Vegas last time round plus a couple of extra’s for comedy value.
The Verdict
Hilarious, honestly if you are one to believe all the reviews you have read about The Hangover Part II, saying it’s not as good as the first one then I can only suggest that you go and make up your own mind about it. I didn’t think it was a bad movie at all, and it certainly wasn’t any worse than the first, although the stories of the drunken night out follow each other almost identically from the first movie I still thought this was extremely funny and at times I was almost on the floor.
If I had to say there was a downside then the only thing I could mention would be the fact the drunken stories were the same, maybe they could have done something a little more original but, it worked first time round so, why change a winning formula? For me it worked again this time round, unlike the situations the jokes were not the same so for me that’s the reason the movie gets away with it.
The funniest moment of the movie is in the strip club the day after the drunken night before, Stu learns that he had a pretty fun time with one of the strippers, the more wise audience get the joke well before it’s revealed and the stripper takes off her clothes to reveal that she is a lady boy, I laughed my ass off, it was totally hilarious even although I knew what was coming, the look on Stu’s face. I’m not so sure I could handle a reveal like that the next day, note, I ain’t going to Bangkok.
Considering Part II had to follow the most successful R-Rated movie in history I really don’t think it done a bad job. Ok, it didn’t do as well at the box office but I bet it more than makes up for that on it’s DVD and Blu-ray release. The Hangover Part II provides exactly what it promises on the tin, a lot of laughs and two hours of good fun with no worry about keeping up with the story, I loved it.
Would I watch it again?
Without doubt I would watch this movie again, probably in Blu-ray as I did with part one, I'll let you know when the reviews up.
I can’t say that I was as excited about new Sci-fi drama Touch as I was about Alcatraz but comparing the first episodes and what I have seen of Alcatraz up to now maybe I should have been more excited about this than I was, the pilot to Touch aired on Fox Wednesday 25th January 2012. However, the actual show doesn’t start till March so there is going to be a bit of a wait for that second episode but, based on this very impressive pilot I would say that there is plenty to get excited about in Tim Krings Touch.
The story of Touch follows Martin Bohm (Keifer Sutherland) and his son Jake (David Mazouz), Bohm is a former top journalist who’s wife was killed in the 9/11 attacks on New York leaving him to bring up his Autistic/mute son Jake who is 11 years old but has never spoke a word to anyone in his life. Jake is obsessed by numbers and seemingly he can connect the dots of the universe, his mathematics allow him to see things that other people simply don’t meaning that he can predict what is going to happen in the future.
It would seem the show is going to follow similar attributes to that of Alcatraz and Person of Interest in that it will follow a different story every week, whilst at the same time a far thicker plot may be developing in the background. With that in mind lets talk through the characters who will be in every episode, obviously there will be Martin and his son Jake, then you have Clea (Gugu Mabatha-Raw) a social worker who is assigned to Jake’s case and pulled off a very impressive performance in this season opener. After that you have Professor DeWitt (Danny Glover) a child psychiatrist who is no doubt going to be playing a bigger part in this week on week.
The pilot introduced us to a lot of characters, all connected through a cell phone which belonged to a man who had lost his daughter, the cell went phone hopping around the globe, first making it’s way Ireland introducing us to a wannabe singer, then moving onto Tokyo where the phone was used as a social media tool to promote the wannabe Irish singer (did you notice her YouTube hits?) before eventually ending up in Baghdad strapped to a suicide vest of a young kid who was wanting a new oven for his parents restaurant. Finally nothing to do with the cell phone was a firefighter, who was part of the main story line. The show brought all of these characters together brilliantly especially the main story of Martin and the firefighter who left him a message regarding his wife. All of these people were brought together by Jake and his obsession with numbers.
I only ever saw the first season of 24 (which I loved, don’t know why I never watched the rest) so to compare Martin Bohm to Jack Bauer is not that easy for me but I do remember that Bauer was very distant from his daughter during the first season of 24, here he is distant to start but finally figures the numbers for himself realising that although Jake won’t talk to anyone he is still communicating through the numbers, showing his father where he needs to be and when. I found this really quite heart pulling and emotional at times, especially during scenes with Martin and Jake, a father who dearly loves his son whilst he is desperately trying to understand him, at the same time Martin has his own searching to do in order to find himself, hence the various jobs he has had since giving up journalism. I really found it nice that everyone in the story involving the mobile phone was given a happy ending, thanks to the genius of Jake, it was also touching to hear the answer phone message left by the firefighter at the end especially as him and Martin had battled throughout the episode.
Quick Notes
I love the way that Touch is narrated by David Mazouz who plays Jake in the show, very good idea, I mentioned those YouTube hits above, anyone notice that it was 1 million so many hundred thousand followed by 318, the same numbers which ran right through the main plot of the pilot?
On a first look Touch seems a lot more exciting and interesting than Alcatraz, it’s just a shame that we are going to have to wait two months before the rest of the show is rolled out, I for one will be back for more and I hope that Tim Kring and Keifer Sutherland can keep up this impressive styling whilst at the same time maintaining the slowly unravelling main plot.
Apologies first off, I didn't realise that Alcatraz had a two part opener so last week all you got was a review of the first episode, now the third episode has already aired and I'm only onto the second so I have some catching up to do.
I made a lot of Alcatraz and it's pilot episode last week and after watching this second episode I'm beginning to wonder why. I watched last week attempting to second guess everything that was going on, a move which did give me quite a few ideas or theories of where the story would go or may well be headed. This week I decided I should stop second guessing so much and just watch it for the story and see what I made of it.
I have to say I wasn't all that impressed by anything in this episode, it came across a little cheesy at times, so far I'm still more interested in Jack Sylvane, the prisoner from the first episode he played a mysterious creepy guy in "Ernest Cobb", a story which was not really about him but did suggest a little, especially at the end that maybe he does know a little of what is going on. New prisoner Ernest didn't really interest me all that much, even when they did reveal his reason for all his killings.
Speaking of Jack Sylvane, would he really know what CCTV camera's are if he didn't know where he had been since 1963? Just a little one I thought I would throw in.
Clearly Emerson Hauser is going to have a bigger part to play in all of this, we already know that he returns the prisoners to his modern updated version of Alcatraz, I did like the little twist at the end of this episode with Hauser's partner Lucy Banerjee (Parminder Nagra) being revealed as the doctor from Alcatraz prison in 1960. She was shot by Ernest Cobb during this episode in the modern day, maybe she is going to play a big part in what is going on, or what happened to all of the prisoners who were in Alcatraz at the time, this was probably the only positive thing in the episode for me.
I like the way that Doc and Detective Madsen just know how to work the computers that Hauser seems to have allowed them full access to awfully quick, would you, really? I feel at the moment that this is a cheaper version of Person of Interest, a cheaper version which is nowhere near as good. For me Alcatraz has some work to do if it is hoping to become the new Lost. Saying that Person of Interest started quite slowly to, let's not forget that it's only in the last few episodes that we have started to find out a little more about the lead characters, maybe Alcatraz has something similar up it's sleeve, maybe not, we'll see I suppose.
This is not the longest review I have ever posted I know that but I honestly can't really think of that much to say on this episode, I feel like what I have covered has been done in enough detail. I will still be watching the show next week as I really do hope that it will improve into the show we all expected it would be, but for "Ernest Cobb", at times I felt like I could have been watching a day time cop show on Hallmark.
Following last weeks impressive cinema releases, this week would have to be doing some good work to keep tabs on it. I haven’t seen anything that was released last week but, if you want any recommendations then my parents did go to see War Horse, I don’t think it’s my idea of fun but they said it was brilliant.
First up this week it’s The Descendants starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller
The Descendants is the new Oscar nominated comedy/drama from Director Alexander Payne, in the movie Clooney plays Matt King, a Hawaiian land Barron who has to attempt to re-connect with his daughters after his wife Elizabeth is hurt in a boating accident. They go on a trip from Oahu to Kauai in order to confront a young real estate broker who Elizabeth was having an affair with before her accident.
I’m not the biggest Clooney fan and after the last so called great Oscar contender that I watched I don’t think I will be taking in this one, anyone seen it? Let me know what you thought.
Next it’s The Grey starring Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo and Dallas Roberts
Neeson plays Ottway, he and the other guys are part of an oil drilling team who are working in Alaska, they are involved in a plane crash and left to fend for themselves in the Alaskan wilderness where they are hunted by a pack of Wolves who see them as intruders.
Out of everything that is released this week, this is probably the one I will see. Even my wife says it looks good, take a look at the trailer and let me know what you think.
A real Mercenary
That’s pretty much it for big name movies this week, there is one more coming out that looks ok, pending on what kind of movie you like, it’s called Mercenaries and stars Robert Fucilla, Billy Zane, Kirsty Mitchell and Geoff Bell.
Robert Fucilla plays Andy Marlow, an ex SAS soldier turned Mercenary (sounds like a job for Jason Statham), Andy is sent into the Balkans after a military coup rises, his mission whilst there is to rescue a U.S Ambassador and his aide.
Not that much to say on it really, kind of looks like The Expendables on the cheap, for example the no one I have ever heard of (apart from Zane) cast, and the fact that it may only be at the cinema for a week or two before it’s released straight to DVD, in fact I’m not convinced that it will roll out to all the U.K cinemas.
The Walking Dead is back on the 12th February with it’s eighth instalment of the second season “Nebraska”, if you caught my reviews of the show last time round then you already know that other than the last episode “Pretty Much Dead Already” that I haven’t been that impressed. I didn’t watch the first season though so it took me a little while to catch up with just who everyone was and what they were about, I’m probably still figuring it out.
The season 2 premiere was a fantastic episode with that scene on the freeway where all the cars had just come to a stop and been abandoned, the group of survivors where then encountered by a massive group of zombies in what was a very impressive scene. Since then though The Walking Dead hit some-what of a dead end when they all landed at Hershals farm, they just didn’t move from there which turned the show from a promising road trip into a bit of a bore.
Now we are hoping things will move on a little with the return of the second season, just to wet your appetite a little I have posted the trailer for the returning episode below, take a look and let me know what you think.
This has got to be the best episode of Dexter’s first season yet, everything in this episode was brilliant as Dexter’s world was starting to seemingly crumble around him, he was in a world of trouble throughout most of this episode with a very real prospect of being caught before he had even got started, Dexter had to work fast to outwit his Miami Metro colleagues and fellow blood man Masuka who, would you believe it was almost Dexter’s down fall.
Fact is there are so many things close to Dexter’s heart that could have spelled the end for his dark passenger during this episode it’s a wonder he got out unscaved. Dexter was backed into a major corner here, and thanks largely to his “friend” the Ice Truck Killer was he able to come out the other end. Dexter brought the problems on himself of course when he killed Jorge Castillo and his wife Valerie, the scrap yard owners who were running a human trafficking ring from their Miami based garage. Dexter disposes of them in the usual manner but next day gets a call from Deb asking him to go to a scene. It just so happens to be the scrap yard where he had committed the crime, but what could the cops be looking for as Dexter disposed of the bodies?
Step in Dexter’s “friend” the Ice Truck Killer who watched him dispose of the bodies in the ocean before diving down to retrieve Valerie Castillo’s and laying her out on Dexter’s kill table in the caravan. First off, Masuka notices something on her neck which Dexter tries to pass of as an insect bite, not happy with that Masuka makes more enquiries and finds out about the M99 which had been used to sedate her, now he has a list of the 20 people in Miami who are authorised to buy it one of whom is Dexter’s alias. Not only that but Dexter was seen by an eye witness, a young boy who had been hiding in the trunk of a car and then just to top things off Deb is off working on a theory that it could be a copy cat killer.
Things are so bad for Dexter that he is even having nightmares, a problem that he has never had to deal with “I don’t have bad dreams. When I sleep, all of me sleeps. Nothing goes bump in Dexter’s night”.
I have said in some other reviews of the first season that I really don’t like Doakes, I was told he would probably grow on me. In “Love American Style” he did a little with that very funny one liner to Dexter and now in this episode he invites Debra round to his mothers for dinner, for the first time we were allowed to see the more Human side of Doakes in the one place where he is simply not the boss, a situation which Deb took full advantage of, I have to admit this guy is growing on me.
Far from all the professional problems Dexter had this week adding to the pressure is his continually strained relationship with Rita, this episode her violent ex-husband was released from jail, a story line that is no doubt going to fall on Dexter’s lap to deal with at some point during this first season, I don’t think her ex is the type to just shrug this kind of thing off but he hasn’t met Dexter yet.
Now of course we haven’t officially met the Ice Truck Killer but if you have seen this season before or happened to catch season 6 episode “Nebraska” before this one then you may well have noticed that Brian Moser the Ice Truck Killer is posing as Tony Tucci’s doctor in the hospital, or maybe he is actually a doctor and I just don’t actually know that yet either. Anyway, enough said this has been by far the best episode of Dexter’s first season and I can wait to get on with watching some more.
Just a quick one from me this morning to let all my readers know about a fantastic deal which is available to you all at LOVEFiLM.com, as you have probably guessed from the title of this post the offer is a 30 day free trial with the UK's biggest DVD, Blu-Ray rental and online streaming service. Not only is that a great offer to get you started but LOVEFiLM have also dropped the prices of all their top packages of late, for only £9.99 a month you can have unlimited DVD and Blu-ray rental along with online streaming of movies and top TV shows. If you prefer something a little more modest then you could subscribe to same package as me £5.99 a month, for that you get 3 DVD or Blu-ray rentals a month along with two hours of online streaming, like what you see? Then you can sign up to LOVEFiLM from the link below.
I suppose you are wondering what I think of LOVEFiLM, that's fine there is a full review of the quality service they provide HERE, and don't worry if you like what you see over there then you can get over to LOVEFILM and get signed up, read a review of my latest Blu-ray rental Inception starring Leonardo Di Caprio.
I won't just be putting this out today as you know I review TV shows and movies everyday here at Movies Music & Television, later I will be back to reviewing Dexter's first season with what has been the best episode yet "Return to Sender" so, don't forget to come back later on following your visit to LOVEFiLM.
Almost didn't do the music post this week but thanks to a chance email I decided to crack on with it, still not to much new music to talk about but everything released this week is listed below with my thoughts on the songs.
Bon Iver – 'Towers' - An American Indie folk band from Wisconsin, or at least that's where the lead singer wrote their first album back in 2007. This isn't actually a bad song it's very easy to listen to, background music kind of stuff. Leonard Cohen – 'The Darkness' - Not my idea of fun at all, this guy is pretty old and listening to this song I was almost drove to self harm.
Cover Drive – 'Twilight' - I hadn't heard of these guys, they are a relatively new group from Barbados who do pop and R&B music. I think this will probably do quite well in the charts as it is very catchy and current. Their first single went to number 9 in the UK chart and their debut album is due to be released later this year.
Charlotte Gainsbourg – 'Anna' - Probably more famous for her acting in French films as apposed to her singing but, she has been on the go for over 20 years now performing with her father at the age of just 15, she has since released two albums to big critical success.
Nerina Pallot – 'All Bets Are Off' - A BRIT award winning UK solo artist who in all honesty I have not heard of, I'm not so sure on this song though very easy to listen to admittedly but not really for me.
Professor Green – 'Never Be A Right Time' - Professor Green is everywhere right now, his releases are pretty much assured chart topping success, I have to be honest he's not my favourite artist I'm not really into any UK music like this but, this song is very good probably one of his best yet in my opinion, take a look at the video below and let me know what you think.
Lana Del Rey – 'Born To Die' - Again, this lady is really big news right now, she does have a brilliant voice and her music is considered very capturing but I have to say again it's not for me, I'd rather take in Ed Sheeran.
Ren Harvieu – 'Through The Night' -Ren is a new UK artist who is expected to do big things this year, the music in my opinion, not that good and I don't think I will be buying any of it.
I have to start off by telling you that I’m a massive fan of The Inbetweeners TV show, it’s hilarious and works on every level because just about every guy and girl can relate to it from their school days, it got its movie release and hit cinemas to the massive audiences that were expected. I haven’t heard one person say a bad thing about it, “hilarious” is the word most people used, I can’t disagree it was in parts but the rest was just, well………….
Starring: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Joe Thomas and Blake Harrison
The Plot
Like me, you all remember the four guys going to high school during the TV show (although in real life they are all in their early 30’s), in the movie they have finished school. Jay is addicted to the adult content on his laptop, Simon is dumped by Carly, Neil is working in Asda (Wal-Mart if your American) while Will is contemplating which prestigious University he will attend. In order to cheer Simon up the four socially awkward teens head for Greek island Crete and its party capital Malia.
The Verdict
I was terribly disappointed, there I said it don’t hate me! But, this wasn’t all that good. Yeah it made me laugh, sometimes extremely loud but it just got stupid after a while. The antics are very funny, the four guys looking for the thing they always are “the puss-A”, only here they are doing it with some sun instead of dullness or rain. I really did have high hopes for this after everything I had heard, “it’s better than Kevin & Perry go Large”, I heard that a lot. To be fair it was better than that probably more in that it’s more current to teenagers now.
The TV show lasted 30 minutes each episode, that was a brilliant amount of time as all of the gags are fitted in well meaning that you are laughing from start to finish, the movie is pretty much a two hour episode of the TV show, don’t worry though if you haven’t seen the TV show then you could still watch this and know what’s going on, you won’t be lost. Silly sex gags only go so far, and probably only work in certain situations, those situations can be crammed into a 30 minute show but a movie is different keeping it funny for two hours (almost) is a stretch that The Inbetweeners didn’t quite achieve.
“It does what it says on the tin”, that’s another one I heard. Yeah it does but the TV show is a heck of a lot funnier, I know the movie was supposed to have it’s little heartfelt moment when friends realise how important they are to each other but by the time we got there I was board, it’s been done before friends leave school go on holiday get drunk fall out and then make back up before the final party which always seems to take place on a boat.
The movie was cut in order that it could come in at a 15 year old rating, that’s R-Rated in America, I’m fine with that but I really think they could have got away with more. Horrible Bosses was far ruder than this and still only carried a 15 certificate but I suppose that’s the difference between the British and American film councils isn’t it? Problem is it needed the 15, rather than 18 as it’s probably 15, 16, 17 year olds who would find this trash hilarious.
I really wanted to enjoy this movie, I really, really did but I was very disappointed and think it could have been done so much better, it feels like it was rushed out in order to strike whilst the iron was still hot, someone forgot to write any jokes to be included in the script and quickly threw in some old ones from the TV show that have been done before. So, yeah sorry I thought this movie was terrible.
Would I watch it again?
I would have to say no, but knowing me I’ll watch it again at some point.
I hadn't actually heard of Rob, I came across it by accident whilst I was looking at something else. The new CBS comedy is written by Rob Schneider, the man who's career in movies has pretty much depended upon weather best friend Adam Sandler was writing and releasing a new movie through his Happy Madsion production company. In Rob, Schneider takes the lead role alongside Claudia Bassalos. The pair of them get married after only knowing each other for a couple of months, little does Rob know that her strict Catholic family would not be to impressed.
I have to say although I hadn't heard of Rob it was a pleasant little surprise, ok, it has Rob Schneider as the lead so we know pretty much know what to expect, slapstick toilet humour done with every other sentence, that's what I was expecting and that's pretty much what I got but, that's not a bad thing there were moments when rob really did make me laugh the rest of it was bearable as background TV which suited it's 30 minute run time.
Schneider is funny but most of the laughs are brought to us by Maggie's Mexican family. This first episode was like Greg Focker being introduced to Jack Burns for the first time only here it's adapted for the small screen. As well as not hearing of this show I also hadn't heard of Claudia Bassalos, her part as peace keeper between Rob and her family wasn't particularly memorable but there is way to yet. Her mother Abuleita (Lupe Ontiveros) wasn't that funny either, the disapproving eyes technique got old rather quickly, going back to the Focker comparisons she is pretty similar to Rozz Focker, just not as funny. The two who stood out most other than Schneider would have to be Maggie's father Pepe (Juan Martinez), the guy clearly loves to rub it in peoples faces that whilst not being totally legit he has still made a success of himself in the U.S. Then you have the brother Hector (Euginio Derbez) an illegal immigrant who is wanting to make best friends with Rob hoping he will lend him $7500.
Rob put in a good first show but it's not the kind of thing could watch week in week out or ever take to seriously but, it works and does provide the laughs it promises on the tin. It done ok ratings wise and will probably do so every week thanks to it's position on the line up, sandwiched in between The Big Bang Theory and Person of Interest. All in all it was ok but not something I could watch in entirety.
QUICK NOTE: I watched 10 minutes of the second episode and switched it off, I got tired of all the fake laughing put over the top of things that in all honesty were not funny at all.
Not that much on the Ice Truck Killer this week, he must be getting tired of his killing spree, yeah right. Not likely he’ll be back to his ways next week I have no doubt, this week concentrated more on a little sideline for Dexter and saw the successful release of the Ice Truck killers captive Tony Tucci.
Although the Ice Truck Killer didn’t kill anyone it didn’t stop the investigation moving forward. Tony Tucci, was the captive security guard from the ice rink who at first was thought to be the Ice Truck Killer, last week we found that wasn’t the case and this week he was found alive. Being the police they typically don’t give him to much time to rest and he finds himself being interrogated by Sgt Doakes and Debra who are looking for a lead in the investigation, they do get onto some important tidbits but nothing that is going to come into play for another episode or two just yet.
“Love American Style” was hugely focused once again on flashbacks to Dexter’s childhood as he tries to hold together his relationship with Rita, things aren’t going all that well so Dexter needs to be reminded of that prom date with the girl he didn’t like in high school. Rita can hold onto Dexter a little longer though, she has given him some food for thought after one of her colleagues tells her about a human-trafficker who brought someone from Cuba for her (that’s where the Cuba thing came from in season 6), problem is now they have gone missing. A challenge Dexter thinks, and before long he is on stakeout duty watching Jorge Castillo (The Cayote), it would seem that he is a murderous human-trafficker who needs to be dealt with by none other than Dexter, a sideline story that is hugely more entertaining than Doakes’ from the last few weeks.
I mentioned in the last review that I didn't really like Doakes, as you know he's not the biggest fan of "lab geeks", Dexter in other words. I thought it was hilarious when Doakes came walking into the office and says to Dexter "stop grinning like a f**king psycho and get back to work".
This is one of those episodes where there really isn’t a lot to say on the matter, little focus was given to the main Ice Truck Killer story line but, Dexter did kill someone at the end of this episode from the human trafficking clan, that could open up some doors I suppose as there is generally more than one person involved in that sort of thing.
It’s one of those episodes that you really don’t want to miss, although not that much is going on the little tidbits of the main story line are important so that you don’t get lost off. Not the best episode but they can’t all be great, can they?
It was a case of back to the norm for Person of Interest this week, failing to follow on from last weeks impressive "Super", "Legacy" would probably have to go down as one of my least favourite and non memorable episodes. The story which we seemed promised to last week all but disappeared here as Reese went into partnership with Carter to protect a lawyer. This week focused on the story of Andrea Guiterrez, a defence attorney who was helping prisoners sue the government for time they spent in prison that was unjustified. Reese discovers that a guy was after her, clearly paid by someone to carry out the hit. Still wanting to know more Detective Carter meets Reese in a cafe who once again gives her an assignment of her own.
The show has really started to dig more into the background of Finch and this week it delivered a little more of the mystery, but he's not alone now as Reese's curiosity has got the better of him, he has Lionel tracking Finch and he is watching his every move. Finch picked up a kid from the local precinct (the same one he picked Reese up from), an illegal gambler but also a kind hearted doctor who we quickly learnt is called Will and is the son of Nathan Ingram. I have no problem with the story as it certainly brings a little more to Finch who seems to have a soft spot for this guy, but why? Is he just looking out for his former best friends interests or does he feel guilty about the part he may have played in the death of Ingram? I would have to go with the latter.
You would think that Reese would try to recruit someone different to track Finch though, Lionel hasn't exactly proved the worlds greatest Detective up to now and let's face it Lionel was following that close all Finch needed to do is turn around and then Reese's plan is blown out the water. Of course that didn't happen and Reese was able to watch the pair in Will's loft apartment, it didn't give a whole lot away to Reese but Finch did look a little concerned about that box on Will's table, is there something in their that will reveal Finch is a murderer? Finch only ever worked for Ingram remember? It was Ingram who was the billionaire, a tale which was confirmed when Reese done some snooping around.
It was good to see Reese get back to the ass kicking this week, last week he was layed up recovering from a gun shot wound, this week he was back on the streets doing what he does best, again keeping the realism. We shouldn't just expect that Reese can kick everyone's ass and let's be honest it was a good fight between Reese and the Mixed Martial arts fighter but Reese got his ass kicked, he only got the better of the guy thanks to the garbage truck which wiped him out. Reese wasn't out the action long though and soon he discovered the corrupt link in the chain, Dominic Galuska a parole officer who was ripping off the state making up fake kids to claim thousands in benefit, not to worry Reese kicked his ass to, setting him up for a major fail appearing drunk in charge of a motor vehicle.
The Reese / Carter thing has some room to grow, you think? Reese clearly has a soft spot for her and you can see some sort of love interest developing between the pair, hopefully in a second season when more of Reese's back story will come out. There are only two episodes left (that I know of), in that time we will probably get to the bottom of Finch's story but it won't leave enough time for Reese's or Carter's who we have seen briefly.
The team continues to grow with Carter now fully in the fold and Lionel being trusted with tasks that are a little more labouring, again showing that this has the room to go into a second season. Although this wasn't the best episode of POI I still love this show and the mystery does thicken every week, I look forward to the season run in (unless they are extending it), any ideas?
Ok, so I posted the trailer for this show last year some time, the trailer I put out back then was in relation to an episode where it was coupled with hit TV show Bones, the reason? The Finder is a spin off of Bones, I knew that at the time and although I have never seen one single episode of Bones I did think this show looked rather funny with a different slant on the usual drama that we get on TV.
Geoff Stults plays Walter Sherman a former military cop who was honourably discharged after an injury on duty left him Brain damaged, it’s not all bad the injury left him with an incredible ability to “find” things thus he becomes “the finder”. Leaving the military he teams up with Leo Knox (Michael Clarke Duncan) an ex con who’s life he saved, the two now lead a relatively quiet (when there not finding things) existence running a bar in the middle of nowhere, they are joined in the bar by teenage gypsy girl Willa who has to work there under the supervision of Walter due to the conditions of her parole, last one of the main cast to mention is U.S Marshall Isabel Zambada who is usually called upon when Walter need some more info on things, in return he does some finding.
In the opening episode we done a lot of getting to know who everyone was along with Walters search for a missing Air Force pilot who went missing somewhere near Florida, the guys son comes looking for Walter who eventually agrees to help the boy find what he’s looking for. That “finding” did lead to some laughs and this was a quirky 43 minutes of TV, nothing to strenuous just easy going, the kind of thing the family could sit through (not like Terra Nova though).
Seeing Michael Clarke Duncan sitting in a motorbike sidecar is quite unnerving though, should there be an accident I’m not so sure your car would come off best here. I liked Duncan’s part in this although sometimes he does come across a little to softie, softie for me, done for the comedy of course but it doesn’t work every time especially when a little later he kicks the asses of two guys with guns. Geoff Stults again is quite funny, I really didn’t know to much about him. I can see The Finder growing week on week, especially now as we know who everyone is and I can’t think of a reason not to watch it again next week.
It was all harmless fun really, nothing to hide from, nothing that’s going to freak you out. The Finder was very easy to watch and I thought it came across quite well, I’ll give you it’s not the best show on TV and from what I’ve heard it’s nowhere near as good as Bones but I liked it, when I watch movies like this I always say it’s something you can watch and not worry about having to think to hard as you won’t get lost off (at least in this first episode). It’s filmed in Florida so everything is bright and fresh, the criminals are mostly bumbling idiots and Walter is a self confessed genius.
We have known about Alcatraz for some time now and unless you have been hiding under a rock then your excitement for this show will surely have been growing, not only does it look like a great concept but it's also brought to us by J.J Abrams the creator of Lost, who in turn has decided to bring along the writers from his hit TV show to help him pen this one.
The plot of Alcatraz would seem relatively simple, it is set in modern day San Francisco where Detective Rebecca Marsden becomes involved in a mysterious murder case, the man killed is the former governor of Alcatraz prison and one single fingerprint at the crime scene is the only lead to a suspect. The fingerprint belongs to Jack Sylvane, wanting to know more Marsden seeks the help of a local Alcatraz historian Dr Diego "Doc" Soto (Lost's Jorge Garcia), he tells her the information at her crime scene can not be right as former Alcatraz inmate Jack Sylvane died over 30 years ago. They continue to search for answers as more and more people connected to Alcatraz are killed by Sylvane before they finally meet Emmerson Hauser (Sam Neil, Jurassic Park), a man who works in secret from the rock and knows way more than he is letting on.
The show has been billed as the new Lost so we are always going to be making comparisons, first one which was most obvious was the backing track, all the music here seemed to be taken straight from lost, it brought all those jungle scene rushing back. I wouldn't only compare this to Lost, it also takes a lot of comparisons from J.J Abrams Person of Interest, I think for the first time in a long time I watched this show already trying to second guess what was actually going on, what does this mean? What does that mean? I have come up with a few little ideas, all of which will probably be wrong but it at least gets a conversation flowing for now (leave your comments remember).
Let's start with the comparison to Lost, a show which was very much about the numbers, it would seem that up to now that's what Alcatraz will focus a little of it's attention on. Did you catch it? The prisoner numbers I'm referring to 2024, Jack Sylvane, the man he spoke to in the Alcatraz hospital, prisoner 2002. Rebecca Marsdsen's grandfather who knew something terrible was going to happen. Numbers are all even up to now, are we going to see all even numbers? Is that how the prisoners where selected? It is worth thinking about as Lost focused really heavily on the numbers once the hatch was discovered and they played a major part with the rest of the show.
Person of Interest now, like this show it would seem that Alcatraz is going to focus on a different person every week, in this case the Person of Interest will be another prisoner from 1963 Alcatraz back in modern day San Fran to wreak a little havoc and right a few wrongs. Again, like POI this will form the major part of the story week in week out, but there will also be the lingering back story which has only started to come to a head in POI, in Alcatraz's case that will be where have these people been? And what does Emmerson Hauser know about it already that he is not sharing.
Jack Sylvane came out of solitary after almost a month and was given a blood transfusion, could we be looking at some sort of crazy doc thing here who has created replicas of all the prisoners from back in 1963? DNA cloning? Given that this is a J.J. Abrams show I would think things will turn out a little more complex than that, not that you could get more complex than that, I think maybe it would just be a little far fetched, or would it?
Sam Neil's character Emerson Hauser, extremely large room to grow here, Alcatraz's Ben Linus. Maybe he knows what's going on, maybe he knows a little of whats going on, either way he knows more than any of us and we are left at the end of the pilot with him returning Jack Sylvane to Alcatraz, is it Alcatraz though? We saw him driving through a forest to get there I don't recall seeing any wooded areas on Alcatraz. Maybe this could turn out something like Fringe, another Abrams show where alternate realities are used, any thoughts?
Jack Sylvane would appear to be the second prisoner to return to the modern day, take yourself to the beginning of this episode when the cop got killed, the person involved was prisoner 2002, Rebecca's grand father, she knows he is responsible for the death of her partner and he is yet to be caught, this works well as it's going to leave the question does he know who she is? And if so, how? That's Rebecca's character set to grow no doubt, and there is her creepy uncle who owns the bar, he wanted her to leave this case alone so maybe he knows more of what is going on here. Then you have Doc Soto, It would seem he is going to be very similar to Hurly that we all got to know in Lost, you know? Quirky little one liners whilst having the brains to work everything out, he's a funny guy I like it.
I thought Alcatraz enjoyed a pretty impressive pilot episode, it certainly didn't disappoint, there was plenty of action, whilst at the same time plenty of mystery has been built up along with us getting to know who all the main characters are. Weather Alcatraz is the new Lost remains to be seen but it certainly has good grounding and looks as if the story, or stories may movie along a little quicker than they did in Lost. I'm a fan and I will be back for more next week without doubt.
The new releases are rolling in thick this week as we finally get back into the swing of things at the cinema, for you this week is an action packed blockbuster, a comedy about a babysitter, a movie about warring Roman soldiers and finally an Oscar hopeful. First up this weeks biggest release, or at least the most exciting of the bunch;
Haywire - Starring: Gina Carano, Michael Angarano, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas
Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) is a freelance special ops agent who is sent by her handlers to complete jobs that governments around the world can not authorise and heads of state would rather not know about. Mallory completes a job in Barcelona and is quickly sent to Dublin on another but she runs into problems and the operation is botched, now she faces a battle to evade an international manhunt whilst trying to get back to America to save her family and track down the people who betrayed her, check out the trailer and let me know what you think in the comments below.
The Sitter - Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor and Sam Rockwell
The latest of the R-Rated comedy's to come from Jonah Hill, what can I say? We should pretty much know what to expect with this one, lots of swearing and inappropriate behaviour as Jonah is tricked into babysitting the kids next door, thinking it will be an easy task he quickly learns that he is woefully unprepared for the job that lies ahead. I posted the red band trailer for The Sitter a good while ago now so be sure to follow the link and go check it out.
Coriolanus - Gerard Butler, Ralph Finnes and Lubna Azabal
I'm not so sure I want to see this and to be honest I can't seem to make much sense of who is who. From what I gather Coriolanus (Finnes) is the leader of Rome, he is corrupt and hates the people who he leaves to starve. Coriolanus is banished from Rome even hated by his own mother, whilst banished he teams up with Aufidius (Butler) and together they march on Rome intending to destroy the city, Coriolanus' mother makes an appeal for him to stop, causing a bitter rivalry between him and Aufidius which ends in a bloody conflict, check out the trailer and let me know what you think.
J Edgar - Leonardo Di Caprio, Armie Hammer, Josh Hamilton, Jeff Pierson and Naiomi Watts
I think J Edgar will probably be one of those that does better in America than it does here in the U.K, it will no doubt be a draw thanks to the inclusion of Di Caprio but that's pretty much as far as my interest would go. First off he wasn't the President, ever. J Edgar Hoover was the director of the FBI and was considered one of the most powerful men in the world during his 50 year reign, the movie is his biography showing how the man was loved by the public but behind closed doors he housed secrets which would have ruined him should they ever have came out. The movie is pretty much dripping Oscars, providing it can get past that new silent movie with the dog who Simon Cowell wants to sign as a talent.
Those are the big four releases of the week, as you have seen the post has changed a little again, like it? Then don't be shy, let me know especially if you found it useful. Last movie to mention now (briefly) Madonna is following her ex-husband into the movie business making her directional debut with W/E, it's a romantic drama which should see a trickle of interest, not mine though, don't mind rom coms but I can't do romantic dramas. I'll be back later today to let you know what I thought of new Fox series Alcatraz, catch ya then.
I finally got the chance to put my new Blu-ray player to the test thanks to my latest rental from LOVEFiLM, they sent me Inception a movie which I have been put off watching, not because I didn’t think I would like it I just never got round to it, good thing about rentals when you pay for them and have to send them back it tends to force your hand a little into watching the movie. I’m pleased I did because I have to say straight off that Inception is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.
Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy
The Plot
Di Caprio plays Dom Cobb, a skilled thief who is top his game in the world of corporate espionage, but not as we know it. Cobb is an expert at stealing people thoughts whilst they are in the dream state deep from within the subconscious when the mind is at it's most vulnerable. Cobb is brilliantly skilled but his job has cost him everything and has made him an international fugitive, he is offered one final job to pull of the impossible "Inception" where he must plant an idea as apposed to stealing one. Cobb quickly gathers an expert team and they get to work on the subject but, they can't account for the security and conscious problems they encounter along the way.
The Verdict
Am I dreaming? Is Leo dreaming? Seriously I think I got this movie but the more and more I think about the different levels I was taken to during this movie and the amount of layers involved, who is doing what and where, this is a masterpiece a word I have seen associated with it many times. I have put off watching it due to the fact that I'm not the biggest Leonardo Di Caprio fan but, I have to say that this is easily one of the best movies I have ever seen.
Even if your not the biggest fan of Leonardo you can not doubt after watching Inception just why he is such a massive box office big budget draw, not only do you get Leo here but also Joseph Gordon Levitt and Ellen Page who are both sublime. However the person I was most impressed with was Tom Hardy who plays Eames in the movie, this guy is exceptional. The moment we met him on screen you are drawn to him as a powerhouse he owns the screen and I can see why he has pulled a signature roll in upcoming movie The Dark Knight Rises.
I love the way this movie started, in a dream, well actually a dream within a dream in what is a pretty confusing start, you have to make sure you are switched on with this one otherwise you will quickly loose track.
Inception really is edge of your seat type stuff, mind you I wouldn’t move any further than the edge otherwise you will miss something and loose the plot of what’s actually going on especially during the long dream with all the levels. What was so great about inception was the how close to life it actually was in relation to dreaming, that feeling of weightlessness you get when you think you are falling before you get that kick which wakes you up, then take it one step more with something I’m sure we can all relate to, music. For me it’s not music but I get what it means by sound bringing you out of a dream, it generally happens to me about 6am when my alarm is going off for work, the alarm comes part of your dream or at least that’s what you think.
Sound and colour - 10/10, full 1080p was invented for movies just like this one, the detail during the dream scenes is absolutely amazing, the best probably being the Paris Cafe scene where stalls full of fruit are exploding everywhere. The sound was brilliant and that's without a surround sound system, it's one of those where if nothing is happening then you need it tuned up but when something does happen like the Paris Cafe scene then you are reaching for the remote in order that you don't wake anyone up. I would imagine in surround sound with Blu-ray this would be even better again.
Blu-ray features
Extraction Mode: The full movie which breaks off in parts for interviews with cast and production members including Christopher Nolan himself.
The Inception of Inception: A fantastic look at the Director and writer Christopher Nolan's idea behind Inception, he tells us that he started writing the script to Inception 10 years before it's release and tried to turn it into a smaller movie, however this wasn't possible due to how deep the human mind would go in the different levels of dreams.
The Japanese Castle: The Dream is Collapsing: A look behind the scene on how the come to build the set of the Japanese castle during the earthquake.
Disintegration of The Paris Cafe: Same as the previous, a look at how they set the scene of the Paris Cafe.
Constructing Paradoxical Architecture: Another great little look at how Christopher Noland and the set designers went about creating the illusion of the staircase which loops over and over.
The Freight Train: It's great to see just how much work goes into putting a freight train rolling down the street in the middle of a city.
Ambush on the City streets: A look behind what was for me one of the best scenes in the movie, how did they get ambushed? it's their dream they are supposed to be in control, exceptional.
The Tilting Bar: Again, this is a look behind the bar scene in the second layer of the dream, the one where they are running around the walls and ceiling in the hotel corridor.
The Rotating Corridor: Same scene as the above and one of the scenes in the early script, watching how they did this without throwing up was very impressive.
The Mountain Fortress: A real closed down Ski resort in Canada, this was one of the movies best parts for me.
Simulating Zero-G: A look at how Joseph Gordon Levitt done the scene in the corridor.
Limbo: The Idea of Unconstructed Dream Space: A look at the unconstructed dream created by Cobb (Di Caprio) and Mal (Cotillard).
The Fortress Explosion: Another look at one of my favourite scenes.
The Music of Dreams: The music in this movie was very intense, this looks at how they came up with it.
The Dream Share: A look at how the actors need to be during each part of the dream so the movie would look great, they all done a great job wouldn't you agree?
Would I watch it again?
Without doubt, this is one of the best movies I have ever seen and it’s one of those that on a second watch you may well pick up a better understanding or possibly confuse yourself even further.
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