Isolation: You'll Never Go To The Countryside Again!!

Generic titles such as this one are usually just for show, to sucker the reader into the story, but this is a genuine feeling I got after viewing this film. The film is set on an idealised farm in Ireland, but all is not as it seems. As the audience are starting to be introduced to the characters and their everyday lives, it is revealed that the farm has been subject to many medical experiments. It’s safe to say that the experiment backfires somewhat, without giving too much away. Therefore all does not go well for said characters, and there are many gruesome moments involving some of them in this film. 

Peaky Blinders Plays A Blinder

Yes, I cringe at the title of the post too but I just had to. The BBC's Peaky Blinders is fantastic and you should watch it. I was planning on writing about it before the show aired but because I'm an idiot I'm giving this to you in time for episode four! I could probably just leave it at that but because I'm long and like to talk I'll expand, don't worry I'll try not to spoil it for you.

If you haven't already watched it or heard of it take a look at this press release:

Jacob's Ladder: Nightmares are Guaranteed!

One of the most strange and compelling films I’ve ever seen. It can’t be put any more simply than that. This was recommended to me by a friend of mine, and I’m thankful for that recommendation. Never before in my life have I been filled with such a sense of dread and despair, and I could not take my eyes off the screen. Questions about my mental state aside; Jacob’s ladder is a masterpiece of horror by every stretch of the imagination.  Long story short, after leaving the army Jacob begins encountering horrific hallucinations and is starting to question his own sanity. As the movie progressed the imagery became more and more bizarre and escalated to a point where I nearly contemplated fast-forwarding to a more peaceful moment in the film. But it kept pummelling me with every turn and I eventually accepted that that was the point of the entire experience. The amount of horrific imagery conjured up in this movie is almost beyond belief, with the main character Jacob Singer (played expertly by Tim Robbins) encountering stuff that could give nightmares; well nightmares. Not to spoil anything, but in one particular scene I was so fearful for Jacob’s wellbeing and his state of mind that I was almost mimicking his pleas for help. 

How I Met Your Mother Returns! For The Last Time.

The end is near my friends, the final season of How I Met Your Mother has begun! The season of the mother! I'm not going to lie, I thought having another season was a bad idea, it's had a long run and is still funny at times but it's tired and worn out and you could see that through the prolonging of storylines which should've died a long time ago and the characters becoming less and less endearing. I also didn't really like the idea of them featuring the mother heavily. I mean, how can the mother live up to the person that they've described to us, the perfect person for Ted? Well, judging by the first episode I was both right and wrong. Spoilers ahead for the latest series

I Never Really Watched Breaking Bad. Please Don't Throw A Slipper At Me!

With all the buzz about the ending of Breaking Bad you would've thought that we'd have posted about it right? Well, the truth it I never really watched it. Please don't hate me.

My reasoning is that I was young and stupid, I get that thats an excuse everyone uses for things like a terrible one night stand or and unwanted pregnancy but it really is true. Sure, I was reaaaallllyyyy into television around the time it started but for some reason I didn't pick it up back then and apparently many others didn't. Most people that I've spoken too got into it way after it started and Netflixed the series and caught up, and kept telling me how great it is and how I really needed to get into it. I did catch an episode in the middle of season 3 and I admit it was an amazing show but way too much time had passed for me to just begin watching it. What I tend to do is discover a show and then watch it day and night until I catch up so I can actually talk about it and about how amazing it is as it's airing.

A Lady In Supernatural?

Supernatural is an amazing show, of course it's had dark times (lets call it the reign of Sera Gamble) but it's now back on form! One of the reasons Supernatural has become such an  un-axable force to be reckoned with is its fans, some of the most dedicated fans I've seen and have kept it alive for so long. They love the show, and the boys in it which is brilliant! Apart from it's not. You see the fans really love Sam and Dean Winchester and don't want anything to get in the way of their relationship which is fine unless the fans become vicious about it, examples of this are when ladies that may end up being love interests are introduced. Remember how Jo Harvelle was basically forced out of the show before she was even introduced by fans? I do, I liked her and thought she had potential and her popping up in season 5 showed that she did and I wish I could've seen her along the way. So yeah, wanting to protect the boys relationship is fine I just think you should give some characters a chance, you never know what they might bring to the show. Now, onto the reason I'm posting today. Castiel.

There will be spoilers ahead if you haven't caught the latest season yet.

The angel of the lord was introduced in season 4, and as time has wore on he has become more humanised and a fan favourite character, I tend to see him as a surrogate brother to the boys. Oh, lets not forget the celestial dry cleaning, it's fab. Well at the end of last season he became a full on human and my God will that be brilliant! I loved watching him grapple with his humanity for the past few seasons, trying to figure out where his loyalties lie and watching him attempt to embrace humanity was kind of hilarious, remember the brothel scene (granted that's Dean's form of humanity). It's always enjoyable to watch him understand humans, and I think it'll be amazing to embrace humanity in its entirety. That includes love and sex.

Molly Deserves Better Than Sherlock

I think I should probably start a Sherlock section seeing how much I write about it, and here comes another one! After joining the fandom i've started to browse the internet for news on it, and frequenting message boards one thing has popped up a few times. Sherlock and Molly shipping. Called Sherlolly. Seriously.

I'm not exactly the biggest fan of shipping, I'm also not into romances on shows unless they add to the show. A romance between Sherlock and Molly wouldn't add anything to the show at present, and I don't think it would be a good idea if Moffat and Gatiss to force a romance between them it. I think that happens wayyyy to often when people shipping shout loud enough and the writers listen and incorporate it into the show. I don't mind the Johnlock shipping because theres no way in hell that that will possibly happen so I let the shippers ship, it reminds me of the Wincest around Supernatural, that ones quite funny really.

Entourage Should NOT Be A Movie!

I'll keep this short and sweet because I doubt many people care about Entourage or the possible spin off movie. Theres been some more rumours starting up regarding the actors signing on and I'm here to say please don't do it.

The show was enjoyable for the 20 minutes that is was on. That's it. I don't think it would work well as a film, hell in my opinion it didn't work well as a show. The show gets old quite quickly, and it doesn't help that the characters aren't really likeable, I mean Vince who is supposed to be a major star is ridiculously un-charasmatic and his downward spiral was laughable. I watched it out of habit and I thought I watch it because of Ari. Turns out it was all Jeremy Piven, and I can watch him on Mr Selfridge now. It was fine to watch in the mornings as I was getting ready but I was never engrossed by the show, I never found myself thinking about it randomly in the middle of the day because of the hard hitting and nail biting storylines. I genuinely don't understand how it can be a movie, I mean theres not really much to it. Who would hand over their money to watch a film of Entourage? I get why some of the cast would like to make an Entourage film, I mean most of them are currently doing zip. But come on, it's a bad idea, they are lucky that it ran for as long as it did and should leave it as it is.

Live Long and Blog!

Goodbye Dexter!

So, that's that. It's over. It took me a while to get my thoughts in order so I could write about it, but I'll attempt to. Dexter is now dunzo. Finito. Over. Gone. I sort of forget it was ending and because I haven't actually been that pleased with the show I figured that It wouldn't really have an impact on me or my unpredictable emotions, but it did. I guess it's time for me to say goodbye, but not without voicing my opinions about the finale. SPOILERS AHEAD!

I discussed before about how I feel that Dexter probably shouldn't have gone passed season 4 and I still support that theory. The season was a let down anyway, I mean Oliver Saxon was the best antagonist they could come up with for the finale? And there were way too many different storylines going on in the FINAL season, it should've all been about Dexter, yet this is the season they choose to give Jamie a storyline? Does she even matter? Well, I've discussed the shows failings enough, maybe I should stick to talking about the finale. First off, I'll say that it didn't feel like a series finale until about the last ten minutes, it just felt like another episode of Dexter and I didn't really have any strong emotions toward it.  I was getting kind of bored again which was happening way too often while watching Dexter for my liking. But in the last 10-20 minutes I think I went through an emotional roller-coaster. Let me back up a bit.

One To Watch: Sleepy Hollow

So, I ignored Sleepy Hollow because I didn't really think it would interest me. Boy do I regret that. I caught the first episode last night, and I can honestly say that I think I might be hooked.

I tend to think that modern day retelling of old storylines gets kind of old pretty quickly (take a look at Once Upon a Time, got too cheesy and predictable too quickly). I mean, I'm always comparing to what came before, and at times I can turn into a major purist and end up hating the product. Of course there are exceptions (I've gushed about Sherlock a few times) and I'm glad that theres another show to add to that list. I won't give you a run down of the episode because I don't want to spoil it too much for the people that got into it late like me, but I will say impending apocalypses (no matter how they occur) makes for brilliant television. This show has the mother of all apocalypses, one that is destined to happen and not a man made one like so many before it and they are the best kind. How do you stop something that is destined to happen? It's probably why I like Supernatural so much. Anyway, the major story arc is a massive draw for me and hopefully it will be for you too. Another great thing about the arc is that its not a secret, we can see a whole range of people involved in the action, and honestly I'm sick of people being ignorant on television shows and ignoring everything they see! Even if the answer is improbably, if all the evidence points towards it it's the only answer!

Has Comedy Stopped Being Funny?

I genuinely love comedy, I used to watch shows, films and stand ups whenever I could. I'd have them on my iPod and watch them whenever I was out. And when I was at home. So to some up, I thought comedy was good. Over the past couple of years I have sort of been drawn out of the comedy scene, I mean not completely as I've written about Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Seth Rogen and a few others but not as into it as I once was, and after watching the James Franco Comedy Roast last night I realise why. Comedy isn't really funny anymore, particularly American (you can flame me for this statement if you wish).

Yes, the guy is a brilliant actor, but he seems (and most likely is I would think) pretentious and lets face it, he's done a few turkeys in his time. The comics at the comedy roast had plenty to work with, they could have genuinely ripped the crapped out of him and hilarity would ensue but for some reason there was only two jokes that night: Franco being gay and Franco being a terrible co-host at the Oscars. And none of those jokes were even funny. In fact, the only comic that was actually funny was Andy Samberg and he didn't mention either of those. While watching it I got a flashback to Charlie Sheen's comedy roast a couple of years ago, one that I was eager to see because, I am ashamed to say, I loved watching his coke fuelled melt down and winning comments. Again, I was thoroughly disappointed in that comedy roast, not only was it unfunny I'm pretty sure I fell asleep, I remember starting the episode but can't remember finishing it.

Yes, You Really Really Should Watch It: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

So, US television has started up again! Good for my mentality, bad for my social life. Looking at all the existing shows I watch and the new shows that I'm going to attempt to watch make me realise that for the next year I will have no life. Well at the beginning of every year I think that, but then a lot  of the shows I choose end up sucking and I drop them like hot cakes. Well, I've watched the pilot of Brooklyn Nine-Nine now and I can guarantee that show will be staying on my schedule.

I discussed my excitement about the show earlier and now I can tell you I was right for being so. It had me laughing out loud and I'm happy to say that not all the jokes were in the trailer! The comedy plays on cop show cliches very well and truly is a delight to watch! All the characters that feature in the show  are incredibly likeable, and somewhat relatable and really bring the show to life. I look forward to watching Jake Peralta (Samberg) and Ray Holt's (Andre Braugher) relationship grow as well as the camaraderie of the precinct on a weekly basis. Theres not much else I'd like to say other that WATCH IT NOW!

Related Posts

One To Watch: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
One Not To Watch: Bad Teacher
One To Watch: 12 Years A Slave
One To Watch: Sleepy Hollow

Bon Voyage To The Cornetto Trilogy!

So, I've finally watched The World's End, the third film in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy. I was supposed to watch it a couple of months ago but the plans were cancelled and I've been eager to watch it ever since. Now I kind of wish I hadn't seen it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all the entries to the trilogy, I mean who wouldn't like Shaun Of The Dead or Hot Fuzz? A damn fool that's who! And yes, I said that I hadn't seen it but that doesn't mean that the film was bad, quite the opposite actually. I could say it's superbly acted and it has a brilliant storyline (it's true) but anyone familiar with the trilogy would expect it to be so. The film is fantastic and I'm planning on having a cornetto trilogy marathon at some point now. Maybe get a few episodes of Spaced in the too. Maybe watch Paul. It'll be a long night.

Where Would We Be Without Technology?

Anyone watch Blackout on Channel 4 the other day? I'm all doom and gloom you see so I did and I loved it. I champion anything even remotely apocalyptic, seriously, I love to imagine how amazing I would be in our apocalyptic future (one way or another I do believe that the World will probably end up in ruins). I love zombie apocalypses, alien apocalypse and Planet Of The Apes will always have a significant place in my heart (perhaps I'm just against humans in general). Sure, some may not deem Blackout apocalyptic but I do. The docu-drama follows the lives of civilians during an electrical blackout in England, and like I said before I've experienced my fair share of apocalypses but it was down right scary. Because I think it is likely to happen.

My theory on the end of humanity was that apes and robots would get together and exterminate us all, I believed it was plausible and genuinely frightening. Zombies could happen too (animal testing gone wild, just admit it could happen!)but not as likely as the Ape/Robot coalition! But in light of recent events *cough* e.g. Obama and Syria *cough* It kind of hits home that humans are probably going to be the ones that end humanity. At least in Blackout there was a reason for it, you know, other than overthrowing a government without just cause just to gain yourself an ickle bit of power! Anyway, enough with the politics. The governments don't care about our opinions. Seriously though, I'm done talking about that. Back to Blackout.

Roberto Orci Slams Star Trek Fans

So, we've taken a bit o a break over the last few days but now we're back on the saddle (hopefully) and now we're back with a post dedicated to Robert Orci. You know the writer and producer of Star Trek Into Darkness? Well he kind of slammed the fandom. *sigh*

I'll give you a bit of back story in case you hadn't already heard. Star Trek Into Darkness was voted the worst Star Trek film by the fandom, it was even beaten out by Galaxy Quest and that's not even a Star Trek film. Usually I would've jumped on something like that but I didn't really want to mount a defence against the film as I see the fans point, the new series is changing a lot of the canon that had already been set before it. Some fans are ok with that and support it (like me), others do not. That's bound to happen and fans have every right not to dislike that films, that's their opinion and you can't argue with that. Unless you're Roberto Orci, he tried to. Upon news of the poll he called the fans "shitty" and basically told them to take a hike as they aren't allowed their own opinions I guess. Stupid call on his part. 

Benedict Cumberbatch Might Just Be In That Star Wars Film

*Just warning you, the picture used is kind of adorable*

I've never watched Star Wars. I've seen it, but never been so engrossed in it that I've watched it. This isn't the Star Trek fan in me that hates on Star Wars for no reason, I just couldn't really get into it, it's like marmite. Love or hate. I hate marmite. That being said I was probably going to watch the new one because J.J. Abrams is in charge, and for some reason I follow the man blindly (or try to, I hated Undercovers. I dropped out after two episodes). Well anyway, back to the actual point, the new Star Wars films. J.J. Abrams is one of those auteurs that likes to reuse his actors (I wish I was friends with that dude) so it comes as no surprise that one of the rumoured actors in contention for a villainous role in the flick is a familiar face, Mr Benedict Cumberbatch! It gives me another reason to watch the film but I still don't know how I feel about this.

50 Shades Of Grey: We Have Our Christian And Ana!

I bet you think I'm excited because of the headline right? Well I'm attempting to be all journalistic and misleading to get you to click on this post and you have! Hoorah! But I will be discussing the casting for real unfortunately. I never thought that I'd spend the time and energy to designate a post to the 50 Shades Of Grey adaptation, purely because I didn't think any decent actors would actually be cast. Imagine my disappointment when the new broke out. *sad face*

One To Watch: 12 Years A Slave

I know what you'll be thinking when you take a look at the trailer. Oscar bait. I mean it usually puts me off because it's so bloody distracting, the only thought that went through my mind when watching Flight was "oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait" and the film was good but I couldn't get into it. When reading the premise of 12 Years A Slave I figured I'd feel the same way. That was until I saw the cast list and watched the trailer.



Yes, it's still an oscar bait film. It's 'based on real events'. That means oscar bait or pitiful horror film, but this film seems different. I was engrossed in the trailer and eager to see more. And did you see the cast for the film? It's like an acting powerhouse! Chiwetel Ejiofor has never, I mean never, given a bad performance so that's enough to make anyone watch. I can already tell that his performance will bring me to tears. The supporting cast consists of Michael Fassbender, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch (you all know my thoughts on him) and Brad Pitt and a whole host of others so I don't think I, nor you, will be disappointed in the acting. It's also directed by Steven McQueen and that's nothing to turn your nose up at. I think they will truly sell the story and even though it's not usually the type of film that I care to watch, I genuinely I look forward to watching the film and will be dragging some friends along (hopefully some of them are smart enough to want to watch the film). I wish I was at TIFF so I could watch the film this month, but alas c'est impossible, so I'll eagerly be awaiting October!

Live Long and Blog!

Related Posts

One To Watch: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
One Not To Watch: Bad Teacher
Yes, You Really Really Should Watch It: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
One To Watch: Sleepy Hollow

Byzantium: A Tale Of Two Vampires

Vampire films have certainly seen better days, I mean the past 6 years Twilight has spent bastardising the genre. As a fan of vampire films and television from such a young age I really did fear for the genre, will it be able to bounce back? Fortunately for us real fans there have been releases that are quite good, probably not as successful, but hey, the world is an unfair place. We've had Let The Right One In, Daybreakers, Fright Night (remake) and the up and coming Only Lovers Left Alive which our very own Matt Edwards has written about. I'd like to dedicate this post to Byzantium, which I discovered this week and absolutely adored and follows two vampires, Clara (Gemma Arterton) and Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan), who have spent two centuries on the run from an unknown force.

The film has a unique take on vampires, changing the way the being's change when they are becoming the deadly animals that they are as well as the conversions process from human to vampire. It's a complete departure from vampires in media before it but done incredibly well. The vampires are actually a little scary (I'm dead inside so I don't scare that easy) which is always a plus. I feel that the only time a vampire is allowed to not be scary is when it's a comedy, or the character is used for comedic effect, but usually there should really be a mix of fear and laughter (see Spike in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Clara's unexpected temper did have me on the edge of my seat quite a bit, even from the opening of the film, but the film didn't just show the lack of humanity within vampires, but in humanity itself through the character of The Captain (Johnny Lee Miller) and it was intriguing to watch.

Kevin Bacon Is Awesome. That's All That Needs To Be Said.

Seeing this ad at my local bus stop just reminded me how awesome this guy is, and I could really just stop there but I'll try and elaborate without gushing too much. I remember the first time I watched him in something, I was about 8 or 9 and it was Footloose and man was he mesmerising, he was probably the main reason I loved that film and no remake would ever top the original. To be fair that's true for a lot of remakes these days. That's not the only reason he is commendable, he has had a solid career for the last 30 years, featuring in films that have garnered critical acclaim and audience adoration which has rubbed off on him. In my eyes anything bad he dies just would never stack up to the good, proof of that is The Following and the fact that he is the face of EE (and evil phone company). You've probably read my thoughts on The Following and I think anyone who knows you can tell you my issues with EE. The company is terrible and I've been with them for years but I hate it, hate it, hate it. My friend actually works for them but that doesn't even quell my anger and hate towards them, the only thing that keeps me with then is Mr Kevin Bacon. Yes, I'm such a fan of his that I stay with the company just because he endorses them, I never thought I'd be the type of fan to blindly follow everything that an actor is involved in (specifically endorsements) but in his case I do. When I compare myself to people by silly One Direction and Justin Bieber memorabilia, I realise that my slight obsession isn't wrong because the person I'm following like a drone is Kevin Bacon. He's Awesome!

Live Long and Blog! 

Dexter Should've Ended At Season 4

*spoilers from season 4-8 below. Will try and keep spoilers from season 8 to a minimum*

It should come as no surprise that I watch Dexter, I think i've mentioned it a couple of times and also mentioned my fascination with serial killers. When I first started watching the show I was enamoured, there's nothing better than a good anti hero and trying to decipher Dexter's psyche was fascinating which is why it pains me to say that the show really should've ended at season 4. You see Dexter isn't just about Dexter and his thoughts and feelings, it's about the whole ensemble and ever since season 4 I think the character of Dexter, as well as the others that feature in the show, has gone downhill. Characters that were introduced that had so much promise have also ended up being, well how should I put this, pants.

Is There A Place For Homosexuals In Cinema?

Wentworth Millar coming out as gay (seriously, didn't know that was a secret) made me pose this question and the most simple answer is yes. Unfortunately reading comments regarding him as well as other gay actors/actresses is ridiculously depressing because I see others are stuck in the middle ages and don't feel this way. I've read numerous comments saying that his career is now dead, he will no longer be able to play a romantic lead, how people will no longer watch his films ect. and its stifling. I don't think I've ever interacted with anyone so prejudice and I come from a conservative family, in fact one member actually made a disgusting comment about homosexuals and I have yet to speak to her since that incident.

They are actors, they play characters that a far removed from themselves. I don't understand why their sexual preference, something that is part of their personal lives should affect that, and for me it doesn't. As I mentioned before, I thought he was out already and that never affected my viewing of Prison Break and I had many friends that also watched the show, knowing full well his orientation and it made no difference to them. He was playing a character so his personal life didn't come into it for me. To the people that are saying he should never have played Michael Schofield I have a question for you, should any of those actors been given those roles because they had never broken out of prison? It's pretty much exactly the same thing as you saying that he can't play a straight guy because he's gay. Should these actors play fugitives when they aren't? I bet there would be an uproar if they had actually cast actors that were serial killers and child molesters on the show.

Ben Affleck Braving Comic Book Territory Once Again

A couple of days ago when I heard that Ben Affleck had been cast as the new Batman in the Batman Vs. Superman I was ready to bust a gut and write a scathing post about it. I'd discussed before about how I didn't really want another incarnation of Batman so soon after Bales, and I figured I wouldn't really be accepting of any casting decisions so why would you listen to me? My opinion is biased right?

Well, I've had time to think about it and I think he could actually be ok. I know most people are throwing Daredevil out there as a reason for him to not be Batman, but come on, it wasn't just him involved in that film, I'd actually go as far as saying he had little to no say in it. So how on Earth can he take the blame for that atrocity? Think it through. Affleck's reputation to a major hit after the Daredevil film, I'm pretty sure the other bombs he was in didn't help but in recent years he has gained a significant amount of credibility due to his producing, writing, directing and acting, he has become a true auteur. Because of this I don't think that he would attach himself to the film/franchise if he had any doubts about it, he must actually have faith in the character, and I think he'll probably have a say in the direction that he would like the character to go. And would he really sign onto another comic book movie if he didn't feel it was worth it? Even though I don't like the idea of rebooted the character so quickly I'm willing to give Ben Affleck a chance, and I think you should to. Also, he did this:




How could you not give this guy a chance? Live Long and Blog!

Related posts

Superman And Batman United! Is It Really A Good Thing?

One Not To Watch: Bad Teacher

Recently I posted about Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a show that I'm looking forward to that starts this September and recommeded it to all you lovely readers. I figured seeing as though I'm telling you what to watch, I could also tell you what not to watch, and Bad Teacher (TV show. And movie I guess. Don't pay for it at least) is one of them.

The film itself was so-so, in my eyes it wasn't good, it wasn't bad but it was a way to kill an hour and a half. I probably wouldn't watch it again, and to be honest I don't really remember that much of it. There was no joke that stuck out at me and I know that the dry humping scene was supposed to be funny but it was pretty much just cringeworthy. Because of this I don't quite understand why theres a TV spin off in the works, I mean the film that it's based on wasn't much! It's not like it gave way to unlimited storylines, it's probably just going to be about a bitch who meets a guy she wouldn't usually look twice at, their relationship is fairly antagonistic to begin with but they fall in love and she becomes a better person. With innuendoes thrown in of course. The casting of Ari Gaynor is also quite puzzling because, even though she's lovable and I've adored her since Nick And Norahs Infinite Playlist, she's in her twenties. Isn't Bad Teacher about a teacher that's over the hill? Is this a prequel? Do I really care? No.


Live Long And Blog. I doubt Bad Teacher will.

Related Posts

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One To Watch: 12 Years A Slave
One To Watch: Sleepy Hollow
Yes, You Really Really Should Watch It: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

X-Men And Fantastic Four Share The Big Screen?

Comic book movies are all the rage nowadays, I mean we've blogged about it on numerous occasions but can we all just admit that the Fantastic Four and certain X-Men films were rubbish? That's not opinion, it's fact! And now we have the news that the Fantastic Four reboot will feature in the same universe as X-Men. *sigh*. Why? Just why? I'm not saying that they can't be in a universe together because they clearly can.

One To Watch: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Summer is more or less drawing to a close and now comes the time to examining the latest batch of offerings from the US and see which ones we'll be procrastinating with. I haven't really done the extensive research that I usually do but I've heard snippets of things, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine I heard pretty much nothing about apart from the fact it starred Andy Samberg. Then I stumbled across the trailer and was mad at myself for not looking it up earlier.

                

Is it me or does it seem like a TV version of The Other Guys? I mean, I don't even like Will Ferrell and I loved that. I love the fact that theres a cop comedy on television, I may enjoy my serial dramas but you need something else to get away from that or life gets kinda depression you know? And I think theres a good play for a cop comedy on TV because it differs from all of the procedurals that are essentially the same and its light hearted fun so I'm not going to be thinking about the dangerous Blue Templar on Blue Bloods or capturing Wo Fat in Hawaii Five-o, I'll just be thinking about the jokes and how I'll tell them to my buddies. The fact that it has the creators of Parks And Recreation on board also helps its case, I never really got into the show but I caught the odd episode and found it thoroughly enjoyable and that's what I want in my sitcoms.

RIP Lee Thompson Young

It comes with great sadness to inform everyone that Lee Thompson Young, star of Rizzoli & Isles, passed away this morning. His other credits include The Famous Jett Jackson, Smallville, Scrubs, Kevin Hill, Flashforward and Friday Night Lights which showcased his incredible talent, and at 29 he had plenty more to give. This past decade he has been ever present on our television screens and it's sad that we won't be able to witnessed him any further because I believe that he was destined for greatness. Condolences go out to his family and friends.

My Top 5 Fictional Best Friends

This post isn't going to be as sad as the title suggests, I don't think I'm best friends with fictionaly characters. I wouldn't admit it if I thought that anyway. Recently writing about Friends made me think about my favourite friends in film and television and I'm such an ego-maniac that I figured EVERYONE should know my feelings. I'm going to avoid ensemble comedies like Friends and How I Met Your Mother because I feel like picking one would devalue all the other friendships in the shows which I don't want to do. So, in no particular order...

Dean and Castiel in Supernatural

These guys probably would've made the list on the top 2 best friends in film and TV. I'll elaborate, Castiel is an Angel of the lord and Dean is a hunter and kills things that go bump in the night. Castiel was one of those teachers pets in heaven, doing whatever God (or people masquerading as God) asked and Dean was hot headed and listened to no one and had faith in nothing. But then they meet and it's beautiful. Why would I watch romantic comedies when I can watch Supernatural? Dean helped Castiel gain his humanity, go against all his brothers in heaven to do whats right even though it would be easier to let the apocolypse happen. He embraced his humanity, and realised its better to be with it than without. Castiel gave Dean hope and faith (not the atrocious TV show), I mean what Supernatural fan didn't "aww" when Dean prayed to him for his help? That coupled with the fact that they've saved eachothers lives, bought each other back to life and saved eachother from Hell and purgatory pretty much shows that they are pretty much the ultimate best friends. What was the last thing you did for your BFF?

NERDGASM ALERT: The Rant of A Fan-Boy

Small bit of news came out recently, it’s hardly worth mentioning to be honest, but as a contributor on this site I feel I should report any bit of information great or small and give my  own personal opinion on it. All teasing aside; the biggest and best possible news for me as a comic book fan was released at the annual Comic Con this summer. Superman will face Batman in what is surely going to be the closest contender to topping The Avengers in terms of scale and sheer fan-boy expectations. What makes this crossover particularly appealing is the fact that both respective film characters haven’t been ruined. Yet.

               

Personally as I was watching The Dark Knight Rises last year it was very hard to imagine another universe outside the one created by Christopher Nolan, such was the genius behind the characters and the story, it just felt that there was no other alternative option for any comic book film. Nothing could top it. When I heard this news I like many people got giddy with excitement, the prospect of Superman AND Batman slugging it out was impossible around 6 or 7 years back. But alas, here we are. I don’t like to pour praise on a single person too much, but rescuing Batman from the brink of oblivion after the Joel Schumacher “adventures”, and producing in my opinion the best Superman film since the very first, is nothing short of a miracle.  Man of Steel was fantastically acted, shot, you name it, it had it. It was the perfect way of showing that the character and the story still had life in it. Henry Cavill in particular impressed me as he seemed to fit naturally into the role, more so than his predecessor Brandon Routh in my opinion. This gives me hope for this cross-over film as I feel the benefit of a strong leading actor like Cavill can hold his own with the likes of the actor’s from the Batman universe.

The Loved Ones Is Senseless Torture Porn

I've never found horror movies that scary, I don't know why. Maybe it's because I've been watching them from a young age or because I'm dead inside? I'll probably never really know but because of my lack of fear i'm always on the lookout for something that might scare my pants off, usually they fail. Accept Twilight, it scares me that that film was made, released and has a fan base. Ahhh, youth of today. Anyway, The Loved Ones was recommended to me by a friend, she's a bit like me and doesn't get scared of much and she said that it really freak her out so I was in there!

Yes, the tagline annoyed me too. "Prom night can be torture"? Seriously? Well I was able to look past it and watch the movie. It annoyed me (many things do). Not only did I not find it scary, I just found it disgusting. Its, as the title says, senseless torture porn, and its just masquerading as horror. Seriously, I sat through an hour and a half of the film and it was just a guy getting tortured. Sure he got away occasionally but its not like I was at the edge of my seat praying for his survival. We may have gotten flashbacks that add some context to the film, and of course incestuous undertones (my father would highly disapprove) but it was NOT a horror movie.

Prison Break Gets 3 Out Of 5 Stars

I took quite a lengthly break from Facebook a short while ago, and the first thing I did was not stalk one of my many crushes profiles but it was to add the films and television shows I'd watched to my profile and then rated them. Prison Break was one of them.

I gave Prison Break 3 out of 5 stars. I watched the show to the wretched end and to most that would mean that they enjoy it, but as I've mentioned before, when I start watching a show I tend to watch till the end no matter how crappy it gets. As there is no privacy on Facebook many saw the difficult decision I made and questioned it, saying it should at least have 4 out of 5. If it had stopped after 2 seasons if would've been 4 out of 5. If it had stopped after one season it would've been 5 out of 5. But it didn't, it lasted four long drawn out, excruciatingly badly written seasons. Each season got worse and worse. The show was never able to live up to the brilliance and innovativeness of the first season, towards the end the show was unrecognisable. Some would say it should have ended with the first season because they had achieved their goal, they had broken out of prison. But I think it should've ended with the second season, we got Alex Mahone for christ sake! Also, they could've completed the conspiracy storyline (which I think they ended up pulling out of the place where the sun doesn't shine) and we, the audience, would've had closure. Instead it kept getting renewed and we were given Prison Break 2.0 for the third season which was ridonkulous and the unmentionable fourth. I didn't realise how bad the fourth season was until I went back and attempted (key word being attempted) to watch it again because I didn't remember it that well. I realise now why I didn't remember it. I didn't want to.

So that is my reason for giving Prison Break a 3 out of 5. If it hadn't had the superior first season, and the almost superior second season it would've faired much worse.

So pretties, Live Long and Blog!

Omar Hassan: An Obituary

I vocalised before that I am a fan of 24, and and after the announcement of the revival of the show I decided to go back and re-watch the show to get myself ready for season nine. I didn't think I'd get through it so quickly but hey ho, I'll just have to watch it again before the show starts again. I figured I'd end up writing about David Palmer or something by the end of it as he is a close confidant of Jacks, but watching the series non stop made me realise that there was one President I was even more fond of, the dearly departed Omar Hassan.

Omar Hassan was the leader of the IRK, and Islamic Middle Eastern country who decided to align with the US and many other major countries to sign a peace treaty that many of his citizens were against. Now, politicians doing stuff that angers the people that voted them into power is nothing new, but President Hassan actually did it for the good of his country, and the World rather than selfish reasons. He brushed off assassination attempts, even from his own brother, to sign the peace treaty because he felt it was the right thing to do. Not only that, but he was willing to give himself over to terrorists even though he knew he would be killed, all for the good a nation that wasn't even his. He didn't even have to think about it, he even went against the President of the USA who was trying to protect him to do this which shows true bravery and selflessness. He would leave behind a family and a nation who would mourn for him, but he'd rather have his death than tens of thousands of people dying because of him, which would most likely lead to more of an uproar.

I'm Soppy, I Like Penelope

So I'm a massive fan of James McAvoy. I have been for years and I've pretty much watched everything he's been in and liked everything (not sure if it was him or the quality of the project)! One thing in his filmography that I was surprised to thoroughly enjoy was Penelope.

It's a fluffly little fairytale romance film, you know, the ones that usually make me puke. In short its about a girl with a pig nose who has to find love with a man of her status to become beautiful. I loved every minute of it. Christina Ricci is endearing, and the supporting actors were also amazing in their roles and seriously, I enjoyed watching a performance from Reese Witherspoon and I can't remember saying that in recent memory. And of course James McAvoy was a stand out within the film (would I say anything other than that?) I also loved the fact that it wasn't set in an actual location, they created their own location (so I couldn't bitch and moan about the goofs) and I thought it was beautiful.

Fast And Furious: A Legitimate Franchise?

Does anyone remember when The Fast And Furious franchise was just starting out? I can honestly say I don't, I remember them being on ITV when I was younger on a dull day so we'd sit and watch. I'm not going to slate the first films because I did enjoy watching them for the couple of hours it was on but afterwards I wouldn't really give much thought to them. It probably didn't help that they were on all the time so they got less and less entertaining while time wore on. The first 3 films seemed to be a flashy spectacle of nice cars and women, nothing to really get invested into. I would never have paid to see them. I wouldn't have watched them for free if there were other options.

Bye Bye Barney Stinson

We all knew How I Met Your Mother was ending, the last season was announced and we've even met the mother for Christ's sake! But it didn't really hit me until I read an article with Cobie Smulders saying she'd like to join Agents Of S.H.I.E.LD when it's all over. That's when I realised my time with Barney Stinson was almost over.

Revisiting One Tree Hill

Seeing Bethany Joy Lenz on the new season of Dexter reminded me of when I was first introduced to her on One Tree Hill. The teen show that should've stayed a teen show and ended when the characters graduated, but The CW being what they are kept hold of it until it couldn't any longer. The show was good at the beginning from what I recall (it was ten years ago) but became completely unrecognisable in the later seasons, and ridiculously far fetched and cringeworthy. I mean seriously, the return of evil nanny Carrie and the Clay's wife's evil doppleganger? It was appalling, but I kept watching for some reason. I always do.

Nostalgia Time: Lovable Bears/Love 2 Love Bears

Anyone remember these?

I'm asking because I was having a discussion with a few friends about toys we used to play with when we were younger, and how they were better and a lot more fun than toys/games now. We all used to have a whole host of things including tamagotchi's, robots and we even discussed how much fun legos were. One thing that we discussed got us all a bit heated was the Lovable bears, also known as the Love 2 Love bears. They were small bears that doubled up as keyrings, they had noses that glowed and you could feed them with their bottles when they got hungry. Yes, they got hungry. Just talking about the bears made us all want one, it didn't matter that we're in our twenties and practically graduates! We searched all the corners of the internet for them, just so we could relive our sweet sweet youths! Our searches came up empty and we were left heartbroken, we were unable to get our bears.

I Admit It, I Watch The Vampire Diaries

I bitch about rubbish television and voice my annoyance about people that watch it, but i'm not attacking anyone because I do it too. I watch The Vampire Diaries. Go on, hurl abuse at me! I deserve it! 

Well, I read the books when I was younger, the key word being younger. I had great affection for it at the time, but I didn't revisit the books later in life, so the only memories I had in regards to the franchise was the affection at that point in time. Sure, I shouldn't have trusted it, I was like ten at the time. I wrote my own stories based on the characters for Christ's sake! I was immature. When the series was announced I had gotten to a period of my life where I was enthralled by anything by anything Supernatural/Fantasy, and I had gotten in deep to Lost so I was following Somerhalder. It was pretty much certain that I would be watching the show.

Keanu Reeves, You Are More Than Just A Sad Meme

I tend to not fall into internet fads, and memes are one of the things I don't really see the humour in too much. But even I'm aware of the Keanu Reeves sad meme. I'd just like to take the time to say to the children of the noughties that this is not Keanu Reeves. Sure he hasn't done anything of merit lately but Personally, I think he's a legend.

He's dabbled in comedy with the Bill and Ted franchise, and if you guys haven't seen them then where the hell have you been living? Under a rock? The Bill and Ted films are classics Keanu Reeves should be known for the rest of his life just for those films alone. But guess what, he's done more. Even if you hadn't heard of the Bill and Ted films you've certainly heard of The Matrix trilogy. Sure the sequels are nothing to brag about but the original film was magnificent. The thing with Science Fiction films is that it could either be reaaaaalllllllyyyyyy bad or reaaaaalllllllyyyyyy good, and The Matrix was excellent.

He's also featured in several other films including Point Break, Speed, The Devils Advocate and many more, so with a career like his I doubt he has much to be sad about. He is more than just a sad meme, just remember that.

Live Long and Blog Guys!

Another Day, Another Remake *sigh*

I think all of us now know that Hollywood is running out of ideas. Hence all the adaptations of comics books, novels and rubbish masquerading as novels *cough* Fifty Shades Of Grey* and also the onslaught of remakes/reboots. Some of the re-imagining I understand, like the one based on superheroes, because I think the storyline possibilities are endless. But theres one announcement thats had me dumbfounded. The remake of The Butterfly Effect.

I mean, if the film was shoddy and the original writer/director wanted to re-do it without studio input ala  Joss Whedon and Buffy but the film was actually decent, it exceeded expectations. Any Ashton Kutcher film I call decent exceeds any expectations. Also, it's not even ten years old so it can't really be an update as not much has actually changed since then. And how can you re-imagine THIS film? So the only thing I think they could do is a direct remake, without changing anything. Seriously, what is the point of that? How about we just watch the original? If they really want to capitalise on the franchise then how about another direct to DVD sequel, I guarantee that a remake will probably do just as badly. I wouldn't be surprised if the remake actually ended up being released straight to DVD, if it's released at all. Seriously, this is a bad idea, just don't do it. What next? Remaking Donnie Darko?

Live Long and Blog!

Ninja Turtles. Yay...

I tend not to like bad movies so obviously I avoid Michael Bay films as much as I can. It's more important that I do so now that he's bastardising Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Ninja Turtles as he likes to call it. But sometimes things are hard to avoid, this popped up on my newsfeed and it pained me to see. Like I said, I've been trying to avoid any info so don't flame me for being late.

What is there for me to say? Well, Megan Fox is beautiful, that's undeniable. Note I said beautiful, not talented. Even if she was April's doppleganger she wouldn't do the character justice. I'm not picking on her, I think the whole film is a bad idea but this is the thing that sprung out at me and I couldn't avoid it. Seriously, the girl has sex appeal, but thats not good enough. She is not April O'Neil. Not to me, and I'm sure not to many others either. 

                                                                         

It hurts me too April. Live Long and Blog Dudes!

Friends Makes Me Re-evaluate My Friendships

I don't think I've ever met anyone that doesn't watch, and like, Friends. In fact the only person I've met that isn't a Friends fanatic is Spockfullmind's very own Iulia, but she is slowly being sucked in now that she has sky. In my circle of friends we've all probably watched every single episode of the show like ten times and we're always quoting the show, arguing about which characters we are and also unintentionally recreate scenes from the show (come on, you've all done it). We know Friends, we bloody live it.

I have one friend in particular who I'm very fond of, but sometimes he likes to text me at in the early hours of the morning to wake me up and annoy me. But more fool him! I don't sleep, I'm busy blogging! Anyway, the other night he decided to wake me up with a Friends reference, it went like this:

The Shock Of The New

Today marks the first anniversary of the death of Robert Hughes who presented this eight part documentary series called The Shock of the New on the BBC in 1980. It essentially concerns itself with the development of modern art since the Impressionist era. Robert Hughes looks at how technology, war, politics, authority, liberty and pleasure have affected artists and therefore their art.
Robert Hughes wrote and wonderfully presented this documentary series which manages to be both informative and imaginative whilst also occasionally being thought provocative.

Only Lovers Left Alive: The Promise Of Things Yet To Come

It is not too often that I am actually excited about an upcoming film, there may be the odd film that catches my eye or grabs my attention when I watch the previews of forthcoming films in the cinema before the actual movie begins but it is very rare that I feel I cannot wait until this film is released. Not since the Harry Potter films ended have I felt such an anticipation for a new film like I have with Only Lovers Left Alive (worldwide release on December 5th). This has much to do with the director behind it, Jim Jarmusch is perhaps for me one of the best directors around today largely because while his later films may be a little more conventional than his earlier films they still retain a independent streak such as the slow pace, use of silence and lack of action. This is a great antidote to some of those Hollywood films where there is plenty of epic battles and explosions (a number of buildings will fall down at some point) oh and the guy gets the girl. Jarmusch has been consistently making really good films since the early 80's, what really interests me about his films is the way he takes a genre and deconstructs and transforms it to suit his style. He has from his very first feature film Permanent Vacation shown an interest in outsiders, people who don't really belong in society so it is no surprise that he is taking on Vampires for his new film.

There is no reason to suggest that Only Lovers Left Alive is going to be any different in terms of quality from his previous films in fact the initial reviews from it's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival seem to suggest it is one of his best in recent years. At the moment only one trailer exists for the film and to be honest it reveals bugger all about the film however this could be a good thing as far too many trailers ruin the surprise of their films (unless it is the one for Titanic as you know the boat sinks at the end). The enigmatic trailer does keep you guessing and leaves you still anticipating the film as much as you did before you watched the trailer.

Sherlock Fan's Are Amazing!

In my short life I have been a part of many fandoms and observed them. Recently I became a Sherlock fan, and because It was off-season (for way too long) so there wasn't much to witness in terms of their fandom. But then the BBC announced that there was a treat for fans at the end of last weeks repeat of 'The Reichenbach Fall'. I've never seen so much online buzz about a repeat of an episode that first aired over a year ago. The fan's speculated whether we'd get a sneak peak of the new series, or a return date, something to whet the audiences' appetites. We got this:

                           

Any other fandom would be up in arms, a 26 second teaser that featured no footage from the new series, no resolution to the cliffhanger ending of series two. The only thing we found out was that Dr. Watson now has a mustache. But I've found that the Sherlock fandom is like no other, this 26 second teaser excited them, they had gone over a year with nothing but now this! They heaped it with praise when any other fandom would hurl insults and probably go trolling through twitter! The Sherlock fan's are amazing and, even though it took me a while, I'm glad to be a part of it! I'm eagerly awaiting season 3!

Live Long (as Sherlock will) and Blog!

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Paul Feig, I Salute You!

*Disclaimer: I may sound like a feminist. I can't help it, I'm a woman*

Paul Feig has been working pretty consistently in the entertainment industry since the 80s, perhaps most prominently known for his work on the small screen, the most obvious being Freaks and Geeks. I can't say that I've followed him as I've done a number of his peers but I have seen his most recent works that have put him in the spotlight, Bridesmaids and The Heat. Bridesmaids had funny moments and It was good to see a pretty much all female cast in a major Hollywood film that wasn't Sex And The City, but I did feel that it was ridiculously overrated. Sure, I found it enjoyable at times (who couldn't both love and be disgusted by the food poisoning scene) but I was expecting that second coming of The Hangover after the way people were talking about it and The Hangover was far superior. The characters within Bridesmaids were a disappointment to me, other than Megan (Melissa McCarthy), pretty much played up to the stereotypes of women, many of them which were negative, being catty, shrill, envious ect. I didn't really like the characters, I couldn't really relate to them. I mean, I don't think I know any women like that so why an Earth are women in their late 30s behaving like that?

Rob Kazinsky: From The East End To The Far East

*Minor spoilers below*

So i've been wanting to write about Pacific Rim for a while but I couldn't really figure out what to say. I think every other blogger/reviewer has pretty much written about my feelings of the movie, about how it was amazing, like independence day but good ect. so I was at a loss of what I could add to the subject. I was going to do a post of Charlie Hunnam and his excellence but that wasn't really surprising. I realised there was one thing that jumped out at me that I wasn't expecting and I don't think it's really been discussed, Rob Kazinsky.

Reliving The Revenge Of The Romulans

The other night I was at a friends and we were fiddling around with my friends new Sky+ box and putting pretty much anything on record, one of the things being Star Trek (Abrams, 2009). Now, this is a film that I watched three times when released and have watched a further three, now four times, and I still enjoy it and always want more after its ended. My friend who has watched Into Darkness but never the 2009 film was enthralled, and I realised that I would never be able to feel the way she did whilst watching the film again, I couldn't watch the film for the first time again.

She turned to me every five minutes saying that she wished the film was real, that we were part of the crew of the USS Enterprise and I agreed enthusiastically as it is what I had felt when I first watched the first reboot film, I had even felt that way when watching the TV series. It is true that sometimes I imagine myself aboard the Enterprise but the daydream only lasts a couple of minutes at most before I realise its fiction and theres no way it could possibly happen. When I watched the film several years ago I could sit for hours imagining and writing tales of my experiences as part of the crew, defeating The M-113 Creature, The Gorn and many more foes. Yes, I wrote myself into fanfic, cue the loser heckles. But I didn't care, I was enamoured with the series and I wish I could go back in time to watch the film again for the first time just to be able to submerge myself in the World(s) of Star Trek.

Hannibal Vs. The Following

I've discussed the boom of serial killers on television recently, and honestly one of my favourite ones has to be Hannibal.

It was a different story when The Following began, but about 3 episodes in I lost my love for it. As a whole Hannibal is a much better show, despite its episodic nature which I understand because it's a show in its first season and it needs to get viewers interested rather than put them off with a complex plot line. I find the murders and recreations of the murders stunning from a visual point of view, and seriously who wouldn't? Also the acting within the show is at an elite level for network television. I wish I could say that about The Following because it has a solid cast that includes Kevin Bacon (who I will forever love) and James Purefoy, but I think that they've been given terrible material to work with.