Review: HOMELAND 1.4 - Semper I

For me this has got to be the best episode to this show so far, I have mentioned in previous reviews that Homeland is pretty tough going kind of like AMC’s the Killing.  I still haven’t changed my opinion on that but this episode was brilliant and it has now thrown in an all new way in which the story could go.

We saw probably the first stages of paranoia involved with Brody this week when he believed for a minute that a man was standing behind him and staring at him through the mirror.  Brody has returned to his homeland the all American hero and the military and the press really want to exploit that with little regard to his feeling or handle on the situation.  He was gearing up this week to give a speech to troops, motivating them for the gulf war they are about to become involved with.  Brody does this with ease, that’s the structured environment he knows being a man amongst men.

The Brody family story is really starting to pick up pace with Brody himself all to aware of what his wife and best friend Mike have been up to whilst he has been away for the past eight years.  He has never accused either out right but clearly he knows what has been going on.  I though at one point when he was standing polishing his gun that Mike was done for and Brody was going to unleash a little friendly fire on his former best friend, turns out not to be the case he only wanted to shoot the Deer in his back yard which had been trampling on his new flowers.

Carrie has now had to take the surveillance equipment out of the Brody house hold, that’s where the new bit of the story is coming for me because Carrie still does not trust Brody believing him to be a sleeper.  That’s really going to open things out a bit as far as tracking him goes, rather than watching him from the comfort of her living room she will now be forced to follow him.  Brody knows who she is so that’s not going to be easy.

Carrie is now going to be put in an even more dangerous situation though with CIA Deputy Estes (David Harwood) asking young agent Danny Galvez (Hrach Titizian) to watch her and report back on any extra curricular activities she may be involved with.  Form that meeting we got to find out who the man buying the house next to the airport, Raqim Faisel (Omid Abtahi) was followed by Carrie and Galvez heading back to his home however a call was made to his wife to warn him that he was being followed, he calmly drove past his house and no sooner did he come up in enquiries he has been cleared.

A really good instalment to what looks like it is going to be a really brilliant show, once again all involved where on top form and no doubt the story has a lot deeper to go in relation to everyone involved.  Like I said don’t expect laughs but do expect brilliant story lines and brilliant acting.

Homeland continues on Showtime, Sunday 30^th October 2011

Review: PERSON OF INTEREST 1.5 - Judgment

I'm really starting to enjoy this show and I'm pleased to report that CBS have just ordered a full season.  I still think that they are going to have to come up with a more in depth story line to keep it going longer than one season but it definitely has something, ass kicking aside.  For me the main reason it works so well would be the casting of the lead characters, I touched on it briefly during the first review that Jim Cavizel was probably not the sort of actor you would expect to see in the role but, he has proved any doubters wrong.  He is believable and would probably conform to the sort of unassuming person the CIA recruit.  Then you have Michael Emerson, the man we all know so well from his portrayal of Ben Linus in six seasons of Lost.  He is equally as shifty and mysterious in this show and both he and Cavizel work really well together.

This week saw a new SSN and storyline as always, Samuel Gates a high court Judge was about to become involved in a situation which saw his son kidnapped, his nanny murdered and him being bribed to allow a woman named Angela Markham (Merideth Patterson) to walk free from a trial after she killed someone in a drink driving accident.  Reese at first struggles to find out why an Eastern European gang are interested in the acquittal of a woman who would surely not roll in the same circles as them but then he and Finch find the money trail behind it and the $3 million that she has transferred on their behalf whilst she was supposedly "clocked off".

Again this week it was good to see Finch becoming involved in the search, he went to the court to find out why this gang were so interested in Angela Markham.  Due to Finch's limp I really don't think we can expect him to become any more involved than that, he can and probably will stay more in the background working on that genius computer system which this week gave the wrong SSN as Samuel Gates was not the person in danger it was his son Sam Gates Jr, ok it did eventually lead to the right person but still.  

Like last week and pretty much every other one there was plenty kick ass, that's pretty much what you would expect with the amount of gangs that were involved.  It was a little in danger I suppose of going to much like a Van Damme movie, Reese kicks everyone's ass and does not even get hit.  That didn't happen here and we saw Reese get shot, and guess what!  It wasn't in the leg, although that may well have been more helpful to the peoples asses he was kicking at the time.  After all he would have struggled with one leg they only managed to get him in the shoulder.

Angela Markham walked as you know with the Judge giving in to the pressure being placed on him by the gang, don't panic though Finch is about.  He delivered the numbers to the desk of the attorney who was prosecuting Markham giving them a case for money laundering, a nice little move and one way to make sure that no villains make a re-appearance later in the season, there may well be all the one's that Reese has shot in the leg but he'll deal with them as and when.


The Judge has told Reese that when he does eventually get caught that he won't be able to help them out of what ever hole him and Finch are in, no one will actually as they work alone and are not sanctioned by any governing body.  That begs the question in relation to the cops.  Detective's Carter (Taraj P. Henson) and Fusco (Kevin Chapman), Fusco of course ended up working in the same department as Carter because Reese organised it so Fusco can keep an eye on what Carter knows about him.  Problem for Reese is will Fusco tow the line or will he go straight and help Carter find her mystery man.


This was another solid performance from all involved and the show really is starting to pick up steam, ok it doesn't keep you thinking like Homeland does, it's not Dexter and there are no zombie's wondering around like Walking Dead but, I for one am pleased it's got a full season order and I look forward to seeing weather they wrap things up in one season or we roll into a second.

Review: STRIKE BACK: PROJECT DAWN - Season 2 Finale, Episode 10

The show with more testosterone than an all male prison came to it’s explosive and chilling climax this week as promised by Sky and Cinemax.  Strike Back: Project Dawn has been the hit that everyone thought it would be making stars of it’s cast and securing it with both UK and US studios for a third season.

Ok sit back breathe in really deep, and say it with me “FUUUUCCCK MEEEEE”, that line was said so often by Sgt Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) that it could have been this season’s tag line.  The thing that emphasized it most…Probably Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton’s half Australian half American accent but, it worked and the way it looks currently Sgt Scott will be the only surviving member of Section 20 to make it to the third season.

The show really centered on his character this year, not all of the focus was on him of course but the main grit to the story was all about him and the British and American attempts to set him up with a little help from Pakistan.  Scott was a former Delta Force operative who fell foul of a secret mission named “Trojan Horse”.  The American’s got away with it and he became their fall guy and ended up at UK Intelligence’s Section 20.

As far as their promise of explosive goes I would say that’s a little over the top.  Revealing would probably be more up there with it especially when you seem to be able to reason with a terrorist and his finding out of the intelligence agencies foul play around Trojan Horse.

Latif (Jimi Mystry) is the man who has been tracked for the whole of this season, the terrorist had pretty much the whole middle east in his pocket along with a bunch of corrupt US military staff and a Heroin trafficker.  At one point during the first few episodes he even fooled his way into Section 20 having them believe that he was Jamal Ashkani the head of Pakistani intelligence, and they wonder how he managed to dig so much dirt.  Latif was of course captured by Stonebridge (Philip Winchester) and Scott during the ninth episode, rolling into this one he was being interrogated (badly) by Colonel Elanor Grant (Amanda Mealing).

That’s probably where they get explosive from, when Latif men break into the Section 20 strong hold which they have kept secret for the whole of the season, other than knowing it was in Pakistan.  A load of Section 20 extras got shot up, the main characters survived thanks largely to Stonebridge and Scott and Colonel Grant was captured and forced to reveal all of her involvement in Trojan Horse and her attempts to aide the Americans is setting up Scott, how did that work out for her?  Not to good she blew herself up with Latif at the end of the show not wanting her secret to come out probably fearing she would be thrown into that prison I mentioned above.

The show has been a great one, a good 10 episode run has seen plenty twists and turns Stonebridge and Scott worked really well together and it’s a shame they both won’t be back for the third season, there has been plenty of knowledge on the characters and their backing stories and even the enemy where handed a good story, with plenty knife’s being dealt in the back amongst themselves.

I look forward to the third season which will start filming in South Africa in early 2012 but, who will be there!  Not Colonel Grant that’s for sure.  Stonebridge is off back to England to be a daddy, so that’s counts him out to.  Sgt Sinclair (Rhashan Stone) could well be back, probably as Colonel Sinclair.  Sgt Scott may be back, although it’s not confirmed but he left the door open at the end of the episode, roll on season 3.

New Music Single Releases: 24th October 2011, DAVID GUETTA Ft USHER, HARD-FI, DRAKE, PROFESSOR GREEN and RIZZLE KICKS

It’s a good one for music releases this week, with a list where I have heard of just about everyone, so let’s get on with it.

David Guetta feat. Usher – Without You Everyone’s favorite French DJ / Producer is back right in the thick of it this week, currently riding high with his latest album “Nothing But The Beat” his latest single sees him team up with American R&B superstar Usher.  Guetta is currently the most sought after man in the music industry with just about anything he touches turning to gold, as far as this song goes it’s not my favorite but it will probably do well thanks to the names involved.

Cobra Starship feat. Sabi – You Make Me Feel Cobra Starship are an American Synth band who were formed in New York.  This latest single is from the 2010 album “Night Shades” and sees them team up with Sabi who I know nothing about.



Manchester Orchestra

 Manchester Orchestra – Virgin Go on have a guess what do you think these guys do?  Orchestra!  Nope your wrong they are actually an American indie rock band, not my cup of tea and this is one song which I won't be downloading.

Dirty Projectors And Bjork - Mount Wittenburg A rock band straight out of Brooklyn, New York, they class themselves as experimental rock and this latest track features Bjork from the 90’s.  I didn’t like her first time round and I don’t think she will be floating my boat this time either.

Hard–Fi – Bring It On Onto an English indie rock band for you now.  Hard-Fi have just released their third studio album “Killer Sounds” and this tune looks like it may be true to the title.  I’m not the biggest fan of indie music in general but I do like these guys, I came to know of them when they released the album “Stars Of CCTV” back in 2005 with Living For the Weekend being my favorite track, the guys followed that album up in 2007 when they released “Once Upon A Time In The West”.  Take a look at the video of their new single below.

Tribes – When My Day Comes A English rock band who I haven’t heard of, there first single We Were Children was nominated as the weeks hottest record by Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe.

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Twenty Twenty (top), Florence and the Machine

Twenty Twenty – Move It An upcoming English rock pop group, I don’t know to much of them but they have supported some pretty big acts on arena tours

 
Wolf Gang – Back To Back An English alternative rock band who have a name that makes you think they may well be German head bangers.  Not the case and I really don’t know to much about them.

Drake – Headlines An American hip hop and R&B star, I’m familiar with some of his work and can’t say I like it to much, this new song does nothing for me at all.  The video has the Gangster traits, girls, money, big cars and cigars.

Florence And The Machine – Shake It Out Kind of Like Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds the band name here suggests more than one person but really it’s just a girl named Florence Welch, she is backed up by people, artists actually but she is the main focus here.  She is quite successful, has an impressive voice and I like some of her music but this latest release is not for me.

Professor Green feat. Emeli Sande – Read All About It Probably England’s answer to Eminem, he is an English rapper who shot to fame in 2008 when he won a £50k rap tournament and hasn’t looked back since, his latest offering sees him teaming up with Scottish artist Emeli Sande, check out the video below.

Noah And The Whale – Waiting For My Chance To Come An English indie folk band, can’t think of one song they have released that I actually like and this one is pretty much the same, I think they call it an acquired taste.

Rizzle Kicks – When I Was A Youngster The hip hop duo from Brighton on Britain’s south coast attended the Brit school together, there debut album “Stereo Typical” comes out on October 31^st and will no doubt be a hit as this release and there previous one’s have been.

Movie Review: ENEMY OF THE STATE (1998) Starring Will Smith

Ok it was released in 1998, I know that.  You know me by now though if I watch it I will review it.  Movie reviews are something that may have to take a little back burner at the minute, there are so many new and returning TV shows (Dexter, The Walking Dead, Homeland and Person of  Interest) to review right now that I don’t have time for movie’s, and like I always say I do have a real job!  The one which pays my bills and blogging from there isn’t an option anymore.  Maybe I will stop watching the X Factor and start watching a movie on Saturday night’s, lets see.

Starring: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, John Voight, Regina King and Lisa Bonet

The Plot

Smith plays Robert Clayton Dean, a mild mannered attorney and family man in Washington D.C.  Dean is working on a big case looking to bring down local kingpin Pintero.  In the mean time a politician named Thomas Reynolds (Voight) is trying to negotiate a deal with Councilman Philip Hammersley (Jason Robards), unwilling to do the deal Hammersley is murdered and dumped into the back of a vehicle, one problem though!  The murder was caught on video tape by a local bird watcher who is quickly getting chased by NSA agents, he slips the tape into the pocket of the unsuspecting Dean and before long Dean's life starts to fall to pieces.

The Verdict

As far as action thrillers go this is right up there with the best of them all, nothing like a good government conspiracy thriller which delivers in story, action and acting.  I have seen this movie a bunch of times now, this is the first time I have seen it in HD and the first time I have seen the extended version.   Can I tell you about the extra 8 minutes or so?  Not really it’s that long since I saw it first time round that I really didn’t remember too much about it.

Will Smith is exceptional as you would expect and for me this is the type of movie I like to see him in, don’t get me wrong I love his comedy movies but fast paced action like this and Bad Boys really is what Smith does best, none of it takes away from his ability as an actor.  Add into the mix John Voight as a corrupt leader of the NSA and Gene Hackman a former NSA operative who is as paranoid (with good reason) as they come then everything else just falls into place.

You can even go deeper into the extensive cast of this movie crediting the actors, Jake Busey, Barry Pepper and Jack Black who all deliver powerful performances as members of the NSA tracking and surveying team watching Smith, who not only delivers on action but also on emotion with his family and Hackman as he life is falling apart at the seams.  A quick side note Smith's wife Carla Dean (Regina King) also played his fiancé in Independence Day. (Useless trivia, I know)

The story itself is alarmingly realistic to true life and does actually make you believe that the government have technology capable of this kind of surveillance, this was 1998 remember we are in 2011 now, technology has moved on even further since then.  You do have to concede that some of it was a little far fetched especially in relation to the satellites they have which bring you perfect ground coverage even when the sky is full of clouds but everything else is believable.

All in all this is a brilliant thriller with an excellent story line “you can run, but you can’t hide” attitude which really does open up some questions on just who is watching you or listening in to telephone conversations that happen.  It’s fast paced, classy and like I mentioned realistic, the acting is great and this is an un-missable thriller especially if you are a fan of Will Smith (who’s not?) or Gene Hackman.

Would I watch it again?

Without doubt, if there is nothing like this with a fresh storyline then Enemy of the State would be my choice, if you like a good conspiracy with plenty of action, you enjoyed Shooter with Mark Wahlberg this you will definitely enjoy this movie.

Rating: MMMM

Review: TERRA NOVA 1.4 - The Runaway

Did you catch last weeks review or Terra Nova?  If you just want a quick re-cap then I'll give it to you, it went along the lines of the show being nothing more than a early evening show for parents to watch with their teenage kids.  Did it improve any this week?  Yes would be the short answer but I still stand by my review from last week.

This week did have a good little twist that may keep people watching but for me it was nothing like the preview promised, of course there you only get two and a half minutes.  In that they cram the weeks best bit in.  I remember reading about this show before it came out, it came with a pretty hefty budget.  From that you would expect great special effects which is what you get where the dinosaurs are concerned but clearly that's as far as it stretched.  I was expecting to see something like Lost, you know people running round the jungle chased by polar bears, well dinosaurs at least.

You do get the chasing of course but, it's not anywhere near the same level of excitment you had in Lost, I know this show  is probably aimed more at kids but like I said above with the money they have spent you expect more.

This week saw a young orphan girl come looking for asylum in Terra Nova, or at least that's how it seemed at first, the little twist there didn't really take to long to work out, in Lost they may have dragged that out the whole episode and managed to keep you guessing all the way.  The girl was of course sent to Terra Nova by Mira, the leader of the Sixers.  Her mission, to retrive something from the house where Mira lived before her and her 6th Pilgrimage followers left Terra Nova to form their own colony.

Was this girl telling the truth, did she get fed on scraps?  She did seem to tuck into the food on offer over at Terra Nova which makes you think that what she was saying is true, she doesn't want to live with the Sixers.  She told the truth about her brother and seemed genuinly sorry for what she done to the Shannon family.  Would it be to easy to think that she has conned Jim Shannon, Commander Weaver and all of the Terra Nova residents once again?  Maybe this was Mira's plan all along to get both of them into Terra Nova, have them looked after by the supposed spy she has there, they could be laying foundations for the take over that Mira has planned.

Mira and her clan did of course have the chance to cause some of the Terra Nova police harm this week, she captured Alicia, Carter and even Shannon at one point she had them ready to kill if she wanted to but that's not her mission as she told Shannon in the big reveal.  Commander Weaver has cut some bridges back in 2149, people there want him over thrown but, who?  She wouldn't give that away and she clearly left a little seed in Shannon's mind as he nefglected to share that information with Weaver when he got back.

All in all I would say this was better than last weeks Star Trek esque episode but it's still not grabbing me, this week I didn't watch the show until Thursday, I normally watch on a Tuesday, it doesn't help with all of the other TV shows on right now that are better than this.  I probably will keep watching more for the who should be running Terra Nova colony story than anything else but I just not to excited that this show is going to come up to scratch of what's already on TV. 

Weekly News: TRANSFORMERS 4 & 5, NEW WAYANS BROTHERS COMEDY, EMINEM and BACK TO THE FUTURE Alternative Ending



I put this here so you'd read it...

Just as Transformers 3 is wrapping up at the cinema Paramount have made an announcement that they are going to be making 4^th and 5^th movies also.  Hasbro are keen that director Michael Bay is back on board and the movies will be shot simultaneously, just like the final two Matrix movies, we all know how that turned out…..Well actually we don’t, I’ve seen that a bunch of times and still couldn’t tell you what it was all about.

It has been confirmed, or at least is thought that Shia LeBeouf will not be back for either of these two movies, however Jason Statham’s name is doing the rounds right now but no formal offer has been made.  Personally I think they should leave it at three, I thought the first one was good, didn’t have any desire to see the second one and even less to see the third.  The only reason for bringing it back really could be the fact the third movie grossed over $1 billion.

What do all of these shows or movies have in common, White Chicks, Scary Movie, Little Man, In Living Colour, The Wayans Brothers and My Wife and Kids?  They are all produced by The Wayans brothers who also tend to star in them all to.

Now they are back with a brand new sitcom on ABC, It’s not titled as yet but Marlon Wayans has been giving a little up on what things will be about.  He said the show is going to have a couple/buddy cop feel about it, and guess what Marlon plays a married cop, sounds like White Chicks for TV to me.  There is no name on who the other cop will be, or at least Marlon Wayans hasn’t named the person yet.  What we do know is the character will be moving in with Marlon and his wife.  It will be pretty stupid no doubt but anything which these guys have been involved in is usually pretty funny.

Two names in the music industry that you usually wouldn’t associate with each other is Eminem, the hip hop and rap superstar and Elton John, the mild mannered guy from the 70’s.  Turns out though they are pretty good friends, so much so that they are on the phone to each other at least once a week, Eminem told Rolling Stones Magazine Elton likes to check I’m on the up and up.

The friendship came following the height of Eminem’s drug addiction when after one overdose he was told by doctors he was only a couple of hours away from dying.  He spoke about his addiction to Ambien, a prescription drug which Eminem says was killing his Brain cells.

Eminem said that during the peak of his drug addiction he was taking 60 Valium and 30 Vicodin pills a day.  That was back in 2007 when he overdosed on Methadone, the drug which is used to wean drug addicts from Heroin.  Dr’s told him the amount of Methadone he took was the equivalent to four bags of Heroin.

That’s where Elton stepped in to help, Eminem says Elton was the first person he called when he wanted to get clean, Em says he keeps all of his writing from those drug addict days to remind himself that he never wants to go back to drugs.

Ok last but not least I ran by this video on the net this week thanks to Slash film, the video comes from a YouTuber, Midians Music (check out his awesome channel) who has put together a very entertaining little video with his idea of an alternate ending for Back To The Future.  Not news I know but thought I should share it with you, it is pretty clever. 

TV Previews: DEXTER 6.4 A Horse Of a Different Color, HOMELAND 1.4 Semper I, THE WALKING DEAD 2.2 Bloodletting, TERRA NOVA 1.6 Bylaw and PERSON OF INTEREST 1.6 The Fix

Back as always this week with all the best previews of your favourite shows, first up this week it's DEXTER.  The show is getting some real competition from HOMELAND this year but for me this is still the best on TV.  There are some disturbing events in Dexter this week which really look as though they are going to drive on with this seasons religious theme.  Horses are being rode into town but not by people, the Travis and Dr Geller story looks as if it may well pick up steam this week.  Brother Sam is a major and welcome feature, Debra finds something disturbing at crime scene and it looks like Dexter finally learns of this season's killers.

HOMELAND for you next, remember last week I was telling you that this show is pretty hard going.  This weeks looks no different and drawing from similarities with AMC's The Killing there is a real political edge to this weeks show.  Brody's behaviour is starting to become more and more erratic, leading the political drive behind his media darling status to start doubting his credentials.  Elsewhere Carrie is growing desperate for evidence linking Brody to terrorist Abu Nazir, the man she be believes is funded by a wealthy Saudi Prince, her friend Saul advises her to forget about the Brody link and concentrate on Nazir's money trail.

Ok to THE WALKING DEAD now and from the impressive season 2 premiere this week really seems to be moving up a gear, remember right at the end of last weeks show that little kid got shot, yeah.  Well this week picks up pretty much where that left off and the group of survivors are now more divided than ever.  The group make it to a hospital in an attempt to save the boy only to be met by the "Zombie massive" in what looks to be another impressive scene of special effects.  I think I may be watching this ahead of HOMELAND this week.

Anyone else becoming disappointed with TERRA NOVA?  The last two weeks have been really disappointing even episode 5 (review coming soon) which had an impressive preview failed to deliver to the standard of what's already great on TV.  The show is taking a weeks break but will be back with what is another promising preview.  A murder at TERRA NOVA, who is responsible the Sixers?  Or does the Shannon's son have a dark side that are all going to get to know about.

Last but certainly not least PERSON OF INTEREST had an impressive 5th episode (review coming soon).  As always this week there is a completely new target thrown up by that genius computer system.  This could possibly be the one story that rolls on with a possible love interest for Reese, the computer throws up a woman's SSN turns out she is a fixer (sure I don't need to elaborate).  It looks like another solid installment of the show which CBS have just ordered a full season for.

Trailer Time: AMERICAN REUNION Red Band Trailer

You may remember a while back now I posted a little news regarding the contracts involved for the cast of the original American Pie movie, IE what they are getting payed for their signature to star in American Reunion.  Now though all contracts are done and the trailer has finally arrived on the net, it is the red band one, so if you are under 15 you probably shouldn't be watching it, you have been warned!!!  If your mom walks in when you have it on and your doing what Jim's doing, don't blame me.

That was pretty funny, right?  I was rolling round on the floor after that one.  I'm really starting to like these red band trailers, remember I posted the one for The Sitter starring Jonah Hill, haven't seen it?  Then go check it out.

American Reunion sees all of the original cast return, with no exceptions.   The trailer is pretty much what you would expect from the two characters who are involved.  It just wouldn't be American Pie if Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alison Hannigan) had developed into an old boring married couple would it?  The story sees all the guys and girls return to East Great Falls for their high school reunion.  There original outing was 1999, when 4 friends made a pact that they would loose their virginity during the summer.  We all know how that went and now they have one weekend to catch up and as you've seen in the trailer Jim and Michelle are now married and have a kid for the rest Kevin (Thomas Nicholas) and Vicky (Tara Reid) split up, Oz (Chris Klein) and Heather (Mena Suvari) have grown apart (probably all the phone sex) Stifler is still Stifler, fucking right, doggies!  Oh, and one more thing Finch (Eddie Thomas) is still a mother fucker and longs for Stifler's mom.

Don't worry guys.... Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) will be back to, hopefully she still wants a band geek, plus there is Oz's new girlfriend, don't know how big her part in the movie is but Katrina Bowden who plays her is pretty hot.

American Reunion will be released in UK cinemas on April 6th 2012.  Don't know about you but this is one movie that has definitely just been added to my list for next year.

New UK Cinema Releases: 21st October 2011, CONTAGION, MONTE CARLO and WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

No cinema for me this weekend, I’m off out celebrating my 29^th birthday….Happy birthday to me and all that, anyway I’m sure some of you are off to the cinema this weekend and if so then this is the best place to find the run down of all this weeks best releases.

First up this week’s top movie, it’s one I feel I should know loads about but unfortunately I don’t.  Contagion is a new sci-fi thriller brought to us by Steven Soderbergh, on the face of things I can probably compare it to The Walking Dead.

Starring: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Jude Law

Mitch Emhoff’s (Damon) wife returns from a business trip in Hong Kong, she develops Flu like symptoms and dies, a couple of days later their young son dies but Mitch is fine, as if he’s immune to whatever the mystery bug is.  The U.S Centre for Disease Control then have a mighty task on their hands as the contagion spreads to millions of people across the world and they know a cure could take months.

It’s really been getting some top billing this movie and it definitely comes with a cast that backs up the hype.   I just hope it lives up to what the expectations are and does something a little different to Outbreak (1995).

A chick flick for you now.  This is the very reason that I’m pleased not to be going to the cinema this weekend.  Monte Carlo is a movie which my wife may well have dragged me to go see this weekend, at least being my birthday I will only have to put up with it on DVD.

Starring: Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy

This really doesn’t look good, a girl, her step sister and best friend use all of their saving to go on a dream trip to Paris, that turns out to be rubbish and they decide upon a little luxury and go into the lobby of a posh hotel.  Not long after that one of the girls is mistaken for a British Heiress and the girls are whisked off to Monte Carlo to finish their holiday.

Wow looks great right?  Yeah I thought so.  I’m just hoping the lady friend come to the same conclusion as me.

We Need To Talk About Kevin is going to appeal more to America, they seem to get there fair share of crazed gun toting youngsters, who walk onto school campus’s or shopping malls and take random pot shots at anyone. 

Starring: John C. Riley, Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller

I don’t know much about this movie at all but is focuses on a mother who is trying to come to terms with the grief her son has caused by going on a high school killing spree, in order to help deal with it she writes to her estranged husband probably saying we need to talk about Kevin.

I’m not so sure I’ll be off to see this, from what I have read it’s pretty depressing and really hard going, no thanks.

That bring me to the last one to mention this week, as always I will shove you in the direction of IMDB for this, not only because that’s what I always do but Paranormal Activity 3 scares the shit out of me.  Honestly I have only seen one trailer and that’s quite enough, if it’s super scares you want then this is the movie for you this weekend.

Midweek Mixtape: FLO RIDA, JAMES MORRISON and ED SHEERAN

It's going to be a good mixtape this week I can feel it.  Loads of new music releases to get through, remember there is just me looking at this so if there is anything that's upcoming music wise that you feel I should know about, let me know via comments.  I'll take a look and let you know what I think.

First up in the mix this week, it's the return of American rap superstar Flo Rida.  Flo's first album "Only One Rida (Part 1)" brought us about four hits, he has collaborated with some big artists.  This new song Good Feeling is taken from his second album "Only One Rida (Part 2)", pretty original right?  All joking aside this is a decent tune which should rank pretty well in the charts both in the US and the UK.  I recognise the backing track and possibly the cores but can't think where from, any suggestions?

Up next this week it's James Morrison, an artist I'm not to keen on but I do like this latest offering.  Up features Jessie J, another artist who I can't say I'm all that clear on, I just don't get her music that's probably it and to be honest I don't like her voice.  In this song though I would have to say that I concede, this girl can actually sing and along with Mr Morrison in this track she does a great job.

Ok one more video for you now, it's from Ed Sheeran and it's called Lego House, I have this guys debut album and have to say that I am mightily impressed, his previous single You Need Me, But I don't need you featured here a few weeks back on the mixape, I loved that and the acoustic version of this song I just can't fault, this is the kind of music I love, striped back.  You can here the instrument and the singing.  I can only imagine that Ed Sheeran is currently following best pal Example to the top of the charts .

Review: HOMELAND 1.3 - Clean Skin

Solid as a rock, that’s probably one of the first things that springs to mind about this show.  Clearly it has fast become the best new drama on television, and like I said during the first review the show could become the next big thing for Showtime, will it run for more than one season?  Due to the fact that most of the writers involved wrote 24, then I would say yeah.

Weather they stretch the current storyline for more than one season or they come up with something else remains to be seen.  The story is moving along pretty quick though, this week saw the story of Lynne (Brianna Brown) really pick up some steam.  Lynne is the undercover operative sent into the front line so to speak by Carrie (Claire Danes).  She lives with a wealthy Saudi Prince who is believed to be funding terrorist Abu Nazir.  Her story will go no further though as she was killed in the back ally of a night club this week, has she been set up?  Maybe the prince is the man everyone expects, or maybe he is really as beaten up about it as he seems.

The show itself kind of reminds me of AMC’s The Killing, not in story in any way of course, it’s the acting ability of all who are involved in what is a pretty heavyweight drama where you can expect little laughs.

8 years away from your wife and family is a long time, by now the family have presumed their Husband and father Nick Brody (Damian Lewis) is dead, the family have come to accept that they would never see him again until he is found and flown back to friendly soil.  By this time his wife has moved on with her life, sleeping with Mick, Nick’s best friend and kind of uncle to the children.  The kids know what’s been going on and more aware to the fact is Dana (Morgan Saylor) who currently seems to despise her mother for the effort she has made to make them look like the perfect family. 

Of course in 8 years Technology also moves on, and that did provide a little light hearted laugh amongst all of the heavy stuff, just as Dana is really off with her mother again, Brody goes to speak with her and all you can hear is laughing, he comes out the room to tell Jessica (Morena Baccarin) that he had been watching some video named YouTube.

The Brody’s spent most of this episode gearing up for a primetime interview with one of Americas biggest hosts, an expected audience of 10 million or so is enough to make any one nervous and Brody is less than willing to become the military’s poster boy, whilst at the same time daughter Dana seems as if she may reveal all about her mother and there all so perfect life to the American public on live TV.

The show really is picking up steam but, like I mentioned in the reference to The Killing it’s going to be heavy going and will keep you on your toes guessing where the plot is going.  Another twist was thrown in right at the end also when we saw a Muslim man and his American wife buying a home near to an airport.  This far Brody has done nothing to suggest that he has in fact been turned and it would seem that his only change is that he has converted to Islam.

Homeland continues Sunday October 23^rd on Showtime

TV Trailer: TOUCH Starring Kiefer Sutherland

So fresh out form 24 Kiefer Sutherland is currently awaiting the finalised script for 24 the movie, in the mean time he has been keeping himself busy with what seems like another great TV show.  Touch is a new sci-fi drama brought to us by Fox, it's written by Tim Kring (Heroes) and will be directed by Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Water For Elephants) and is due to air in 2012. 

The story centers on Martin Bohm (Sutherland) and his autistic, mute son Jake.  Martin discovers that Jake can actually predict events before they happen.

That's pretty much all there is right now, details are pretty thin on the ground.  The trailer below is taken from movies music & television's new YouTube channel, have you checked it out yet?  There are only a couple of videos right now but I'm working on it.  In the mean time check out the Touch trailer below.

Looks good right?  As well as starring Kiefer Sutherland the show also stars Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Undercovers (TV), Larry Crown)

Review: THE WALKING DEAD 2.1 - What Lies Ahead

Ok first off I have to apologise, I have not seen any of the first season of this show.  Is that a good or bad thing?  I’m not sure.  I took to this season after reading so many rave reviews regarding the last instalment I thought I really couldn’t miss it. 

So what does lie ahead for this show?  Plenty would be my opinion, I didn’t think a show on people killing zombies would be all that capturing but I was wrong.  I have read plenty already about AMC having to cut down the budget for the show, this has impacted mainly on the special effects.  During this season 2 opener the special effects where great especially for TV and I can’t see them being any better first time around.  Not only are the zombie effects (facially) great but, the sound is also brilliant.  The squelching noise that comes over when cutting open zombies plus the noise they all make whilst migrating to wherever they are off to.

Like I say I haven’t seen the first season so I may need a little help in answering some questions.  I take it from the first episode set in Atlanta, Georgia that the capital of America's south is dead, well zombiefied any way.  There are a group of survivors led by Rick (Andrew Lincoln), they don't all get along great and some of them have an issue with Rick.  Rick was talking to someone named Morgan on the Radio, well actually no one was talking back.....Who is Morgan?,  clearly I needed to see the last episode of the first season to figure that one out.

The group of survivors are heading for Fort Benning, is it safe there?  Along the way they run into a little snag turns out even when no humans live in Atlanta the traffic on the interstate is still terrible, then the RV breaks down, what are the chances!  Next thing a load of walkers come trudging through with the group forced to hise under cars and in bathrooms.

That brings me to the first bit of quite impressive gore, the walker finds Andrea hiding in the toilet of the RV, luckily for her she had just been handed a screw driver from Dale who managed to hide on the roof, she stabs the walker straight through the eyeball, great shot.  Just as she is doing that Daryl is outside helping out T-Dog, he manages to stab a walker right in the brain stem.  It didn't look to me like they where withdrawing the special effects budget, and the moments the walkers were walking by provided a really gripping couple of moments.

Amogst all the madness a little girl named Sophia has to run off into the woods, she is being hotly persued by two walkers, I mean it was no where near as imperssive as the "zombie massive" taking a stroll along the Interstate which by the way is a real interstate in Atlanta where the crew housed themselves for 4 days along with 150 zombie extras.  Back to Sophia it was some trek through the woods but they still haven't found her, there were more than her fair share of zombies in there too but, hopefully she will show up next week.  One thing we do know is that zombie did not eat her, it was pretty throughly disected.  There was that gun shot though, right at the end.

The reviews that I have read up to now have throughly lived up to their expectations and this episode provided my with a great hours worth of TV, I have to say I am The Walking Deads new biggest fan.  TV like this just simply can not be missed and I can't wait for the next installment.