tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85483675417642876172024-03-14T03:25:00.538-04:00Movie Sense by FranchiseSaysSoRecent and old movie reviews along with discussions. If you love movies, then this is the spot for you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.comBlogger172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-77837088601458811272012-07-20T14:42:00.000-04:002012-07-20T14:42:39.875-04:00The Dark Knight Rises (2012)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">How will Christopher Nolan follow up
the genius that was <i>The Dark Knight</i>?
This has been quite possibly the most asked question in the movie world since
the end credits of that film began rolling way back in July 2008. Four years and another critically acclaimed
hit in between (<i>Inception</i>), we
finally get a chance to answer that question. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Best. Batman. Movie. Ev…- wait, timeout.
Before I can make that particular distinction about this film, I’m going to
need to see it again. Not saying that the project couldn’t be enjoyed by only
seeing it once but more so explaining that a franchise of this caliber with a
director of this level of engaging story-telling needs to be experienced more
than once in order to fully gather its essence of sheer awesome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">I might need to see it a third time,
heck I might need to see it together at the same time while its’ 2008
predecessor is also being played. No, that won’t work. I’m a man of many
talents, like Mr. Bruce Wanye, but being able to watch two movies at once
(without the aid of commercial breaks and the “previous channel” button on the
remote) is not easy. As with all of Mr.
Nolan’s movie-offspring, you’re going to need to pay attention to this film.
Not so much in the same magnitude of say an Inception or even a Memento but if
you’re a Bat-fan, such as myself, you’re going to want to soak in every little
detailed nook and cranny. Honestly, I admit I’ve probably watched The Dark
Knight about 69 times (no, I didn’t choose that number at random) and still
find something new almost every viewing. As a director, Nolan is just that much
in his films as are the actors that he casts for them.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Ok, stop rambling Sean, and..here..we..go.
As many of you who have lost the self-control of stopping yourself from
perusing every crevice of the internet since the announcement that Nolan had
begun working on this movie already know, the story picks up 8 Batman-less and
nearly crime-free years after the second film. Gotham is in a state of peace
and the Batman has been branded for Harvey Dent/Two-Face’s crimes. The only
person that knows the truth is one Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman).
During that time, the billionaire known as Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has
also not been seen. How the citizens of Gotham aren’t able to put 2-and-2
together, I will never know. But in any case both he and Batman are thought to
be almost extinct, until they are forced to return that is. Side note: I would
like to know with all political not-so-under tones of this film, how is Mayor Anthony
Garcia (Nestor Carbonell) still in office after 8 years? I thought you got two
terms max. I suppose the DC/Nolan Universe thinks otherwise. Just thought I’d
throw that in there for good measure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Of course we can’t have a film where
we see nothing but Bruce Wayne feeling sorry for himself over the loss of his love
Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) while his British butler, Alfred (Michael Caine),
tries to usher him back into the world. So our new antagonist is introduced,
very early in the film to be exact (you already know this if you saw the prologue
this past December). The mercenary known as Bane (Tom Hardy) is on a mission
and what a mission it is. A mission a little reminiscent to that of the very
first ploy to destroy Mr. Wayne’s beloved Gotham City by one Ra’s Al Ghul (Liam
Neeson). Everyone wants to see Gotham fall for some reason. I might consider
moving if I lived there. After a very memorable mid-air escape sequence, Bane
makes his way to Gotham to set his plan into action and ultimately end The Dark
Knight’s career. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">But that’s not all Bruce has to deal
with on his journey to reintroduce himself to the world. Along the way he is
challenged with reestablishing himself within his company which has been
running without him mostly thanks to Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), engaging in
and building a professional relationship with a Ms. Miranda Tate (Marion
Cotillard), repairing a partner/friend-ship with a now more solemn Commissioner
Gordon and trying to figure out the methods and goals of a one Selina Kyle
(Anne Hathaway). Who would have thought for a man so in secret, so self-exiled,
that he would have so many people seeking his attention? Maybe next time he
decides to go underground for so long, he’ll create a Facebook page to stay
connected. When Bane finally makes his presence known in Gotham, Wayne dusts
off the cobwebs from the old cape and cowl and dons them once again, much to
the dislike of Alfred Pennyworth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">You would think that with all the
characters, all of the sub-plots, all of the mega-stars contained in this film,
it would pose a hassle to follow. That is not the case. Nolan masterfully
crafts a story that flows smoothly across the movie screen that not only
entertains but also challenges the viewer’s mind. No, not like Inception did
but more in the way that you may feel like you know what’s going to happen
next. But then when that next thing happens, you realize that you actually don’t
know shit. Of course there are parts of the film, like every movie, where you’re
going to say to yourself, “I saw that coming”, but for the most part not too
many of those occur in this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Many of the stars seem to bring their
A-game performances in this one. Joseph-Gordon Levitt as Officer John Blake I
would say is one of the stand outs. Not too over the top but he makes his
presence felt as Commissioner Gordon’s eventual right hand man who grew up
looking up to the Batman. Now he’s doing everything he can to keep the streets
of Gotham clean as one of its’ Finest. Gary Oldman is another one, although
still playing the well-seasoned and determined cop who became Police Commissioner,
you can tell he’s troubled in this one. He has the look and feel of a police
officer who’s probably on the verge of the end his career but can’t bring himself
to call it quits just yet with unfinished business still not handled. That
business being the non-truth of Batman being a cold blooded killer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman
is well…Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Nothing too special to denote
that would be any different from his previous two performances. This Bruce/Bat
is probably the most vulnerable that we’ve seen so far however. The most “human”.
The audience is reminded that he is just a man after all, not Superman. Just
someone probably much like you or me who loves their city. Only difference is
he is willing to take it upon himself to save it time and time again, oh and he’s
also rich. Tom Hardy is all muscle and a fierce presence onscreen. Ruthless and
unwavering in his portrayal of Bane. No need for any comparisons to Heath Ledger’s
Joker. It wouldn’t be fair and they are two different characters after all.
Bane, although also willing to go far lengths to see the end of Gotham, seems a
little more controlled in his execution. Controlled, not really the word I
would have thought to use after seeing that first image of Hardy as Bane
released what feels like forever ago. Oh, and yes, you will have absolutely no
problem understanding his voice. It kind of feels like it is being broadcasted with
surround sound and I don’t mean because of the theater speakers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Of all of these however, my favorite
performance has to go to Michael Caine. Yes, I said it, Michael freaking Caine
is still one of more quality actors out there. Alfred delivers some of the best
and probably most stay-worthy dialogue within the film. His interaction with
Bruce grows on its already established father-like connection that the two of
them have. When he speaks, you can almost feel the emotion and near desperation
the he has attempting to get his younger master to keep the Bat-suit buried.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Of course there are the many cameos.
We already know about some of the Pittsburgh Steelers casted as the fictional
Gotham Rogues. But I won’t reveal any more names on that list for those of you
who haven’t seen the film just yet. With yet another story and screenplay
penned from the minds of David S. Goyer, Chris and Jonathan Nolan, it’s not all
filled with nothing but serious. There are a handful of light-hearted moments
that will yank a chuckle or two from you unexpectedly while you’re trying so
hard to maintain that all business mind set of the Batman and the eventual dire
state of Gotham City. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">The action. It’s good. Not anything
much unlike what we’ve all come to know and very much love from the Nolan but
still very good. The prologue/opening sequence can probably be best compared to
the flipping of a semi in The Dark Knight. Batman of course returns with all of
his special toys and a few new ones. Anne Hathaway is very much the fighter,
and looks good doing it. Labeled quite the most important action/fight sequence
of the film was already placed on the one that takes place between our hero and
our villain. Those of you familiar with the Batman Universe know that Bane is
known as the “Man who broke the Bat”. Without giving too much away about it, I
will say this, we see Batman at his most mortal of states during his encounters
with Bane. No easy disarming or rendering him unconscious as with all of the other
street thugs that Bats has taken on before. With no music score in the
background to soundtrack this fight, you feel the realness of it, the very
serious tone that it has. It screams pay attention! This is one of those
moments in Batman history that was made famous in the comics. Now it’s
unfolding in live action before your eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">So we return to the initial question.
Is The Dark Knight Rises a better film than that of the very epic The Dark
Knight? Sadly, I cannot answer that question. This next statement just might
confuse the lot of you even further; but truthfully I feel that it might even
be a crime to compare the two. I know, I know, they are sequels in a trilogy.
They are directly connected to one another as is Batman Begins. But after
seeing this film, I do not think Nolan was trying to outdo the last Batman
film. I don’t think he was trying to outdo any of the Batman films (a pretty
easy task however if you think back to Joel Schumacher’s chances). I merely
think that he was trying to put a close worthy enough on a franchise that has
been substantially filled with story depth as it has been entertaining.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Does it live up to the mega-ultra-completely-out-of-this-world-slap-your-mother-in-the-face
hype that everyone has placed on it since last year? I’m not sure any film can.
But this one quite possibly comes the closest. The bigger and most important
question in my opinion is this: Does it provide an ending that we can all be
proud of? The answer: As difficult as it is in general to end any franchise that
has created not only popularity but sheer respect from fan-boys to fellow
filmmakers but then throw in the fact that it’s Batman…I say yes. Yes, it does.
I personally think the last few moments of the film are some of the greatest
pre-post credits minutes to wrap up not just a film but a mega-franchise that
we’ve been exposed to in a while. Good luck to the next crew that tackles the Batman
character. You definitely have your work cut out for you. I give <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> “4.5 epic reimagining’s
of Bob Kane’s character out of 5”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;">“Speak of the Devil,…and he will appear</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;">”<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">After just over a year, the Twi-nomenon has returned in all of its twi-glory. Twi-hards can be heard rejoicing all over the en-twire world. The twi-series is back to earning to some major twi-bucks. Okay, that’s enough of that. Love it, hate it or just not really caring much about it at all (I place myself in the latter), TWILIGHT is guaranteed for at least one thing; complete Box Office dominance. It did not disappoint earning itself a spot behind the very epic DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 that premiered back in July for the second highest grossing opening weekend this year. Not bad, but there is a line to be drawn between quantity (ticket sales) and film quality. </span><br />
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For those of you who follow my writing you might remember my mini-adventure involving ECLIPSE. If not, you can read it <span data-mce-style="color: #ff0000;" style="color: red;"><a data-mce-href="http://franchisesaysso.blogspot.com/2010/07/twilight-saga-eclipse-2010.html" href="http://franchisesaysso.blogspot.com/2010/07/twilight-saga-eclipse-2010.html" target="_blank"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff0000;" style="color: red;">here</span></a></span>. Those of you who don’t should hang your head in utter shame. Since I put time and effort into that film, I figured I might as well attempt to do the same for this one. Only I didn’t, I was simply invited and figured ‘why not?’, if anything I’ll earn myself a free 2 hours of sleep. But while I actually felt that BREAKING DAWN’s predecessor was a semi-decent film, I don’t really feel like I can say the same for the latest chapter however.</div>
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This one wastes absolutely no time getting right to the wedding of the year. An event that possibly rivaled Kim Kardashian’s in anticipation as well as price, it took up probably the first 15 minutes of the movie. With a mixture of living and un-dead guests on either side of her, the bride, Bella (Kristen Stewart), looked all kinds of nervous being escorted by her dad, Charlie (Billy Burke), down the aisle. Her groom, a pale white Edward (Robert Pattison) stood waiting for her. After the super drawn-out intricacies that were the ceremony and reception were finally over, the even more drawn-out honeymoon was somewhat painful to watch. Bella takes on the persona of a frightened mouse once they get to their hidden honeymoon destination. Absolutely terrified over finally “doing the act” with her newly acquired husband. An act that leaves her in an unexplainable physical state and forces the two of them to return home.</div>
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The third corner in the storied love triangle, Jacob (Taylor Lautner), still wasn’t very accepting to the fact that the love of his life was getting married to a member of his packs’ mortal enemy. Although struggling with all of this, this film seems to try to push his maturity level up a bit. He grows up and even plays around with the idea of being on his own, away from his brothers and sisters of the Quileute wolves. Upon learning of Bella’s “condition” after her and Edward return abruptly from their time away, he, without hesitation, springs to her side. He slowly but surely begins to realize that he must indeed put his feelings towards Edward and his coven of vampires aside and agree to do whatever he again to help her.</div>
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BREAKING DAWN PART 1 progresses at an almost nodding off to sleep pace. It has its moments of action and mildly interesting drama but they are very brief and far in between. Speaking more on Bella’s fright, Stewart’s portrayal of her virgin character was quite amusing truthfully. I don’t know if she was more afraid of not being able to please her new husband or if she was frightened for what a vampire might do to her during sex but it seemed impossible for her to hide it. The sex scene itself wasn’t really all that special in my opinion although the bed did become a casualty. The constant kissing and touching between the two of them throughout the entire film was a little unbearable. I know you guys are newlyweds but sheesh, get a damn room.</div>
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The majority of the movie revolved around that: the wedding and the honeymoon. By the time the plot finally really got going, it was about time for the credits to begin rolling. Even when the story hit its’ “high points”, they were followed by more slowness. It kind of felt like the characters were talking an awful lot but not really saying much. Possibly the most exciting part of the movie was the wolf showdown between Jacob and the alpha pack leader Sam (Chaske Spencer). Although the special effects somewhat took a back seat to the overall drama within this film, the resolution on the wolves themselves were again done pretty well. I personally would have liked to see more of my girl, Anna Kendrick, but I would have to make due.</div>
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One part of the story itself that I’m still pretty hazy on is the whole imprinting concept. In one of the previous films, Jacob tries to explain to Bella that it “isn’t exactly love at first sight”. But isn’t that what seeing someone and instantly wanting to be their absolute everything is? Someone please ask Stephanie Meyer to further clarify. After doing some <span data-mce-style="color: #ff0000;" style="color: red;"><a data-mce-href="http://twilightsaga.wikia.com/wiki/Imprinting" href="http://twilightsaga.wikia.com/wiki/Imprinting" target="_blank"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff0000;" style="color: red;">research</span></a></span> and realizing that Jacob imprints on an infant child, it all has a sort of pedophilic feel to me. Plus the term “imprint” sounds kind of dirty. “Hey dude, I think Naomi is mad at me. I tried aiming for the sheets last night but acidentally imprinted on her stomach instead.”</div>
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I was astonished that there were only a few shirtless scenes, with only one from Taylor “Abduction” Lautner. They’re probably just saving all of that skin to pack into next November’s finale. Kind of fitting, that this supernatural and rather unhealthy obsession finally comes to an end the month before the world is expected to cease to exist according to our good friends the Mayans. Coincidence? I’ll let you be the judge. Overall, I feel like TWILIGHT possibly may have had something to do with our economy’s state but if I had to pick one film out of all of them, I’d have to stick with ECLIPSE being the “best” one. It had the most combination of plot happenings going on at once and even contained some funny parts. This one might as well ought to be called ‘Breaking Yawn’. I see why those couple of guys had seizures. Guess they couldn’t take anymore. I give THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 1 “2 bruising sessions of vampire sex out of 5”.</div>
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<em>“It’s better to imprint on someone and be some kind of happy than to be completely alone and miserable”</em></div>
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<a href="http://screeninvasion.com/2011/11/breaking-dawn-part-1-film-review.html#.TtMVKLLNlGU" target="_blank">Screen Invasion</a></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-45129225135497481992011-11-13T11:05:00.001-05:002011-11-13T11:10:49.751-05:00The Howling Reborn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A nice change from the usual supernatural beings vs.
supernatural beings storyline, THE HOWLING REBORN focuses upon just one member
of the group. I think out of all them, I
might choose to become a werewolf if I were given a choice. Sure, vampires and monsters are cool but do
you really want to live forever and drink nothing but blood all the time? With werewolves, you still get the super
strength, fast healing powers and for some reason they always look like they’ve
spent an eternity in the gym. You still
get to eat regular food and see the sun from time to time. Yeah, I think I’ll take that one. Joe Nimziki’s film about the creatures is
unrelated to any of the other HOWLING chapters, and there are plenty, but it is
actually based upon the novel, THE HOWLING II by Gary Bradner.</div>
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The plot is fairly easy to follow. A woman artist, Catherine (Ivana Milicevic),
is unexpectedly attacked by an unseen assailant while she is pregnant. 18 years later, guess what? We are introduced to our main character, Will
(Landon Liboiron), who lives with his single father and is on the horizon of
graduating the lovely prison some of us
call high school. Of course there is a
beautiful girl, Eliana (Lindsey Shaw), he has been obsessing over for the past
four years but has never had the guts to even say hi. He has some choice run-ins with her
Abercrombie & Fitch boyfriend that leave him a little scratched and bruised.
On the day of graduation he begins to feel a little strange and notices his
body is going through some changes that he can’t credit to puberty
anymore. Throughout the day, he faces
many encounters as his mysterious past origins are finally explained and he
takes a chance on life and love with the girl of his dreams.</div>
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With the basic storyline and decent special effects, THE
HOWLING REBORN adds another entertaining installment into Lycanthrope
history. The film itself does a little
bit more explaining of the rules of being an actual werewolf than it does of
actually showing them but when they do appear on screen, they do not
disappoint. The fight scenes are brief
but effective. It brings to light the
struggle between being a monster and trying to hold onto their human side that
some movies do not. It seemed to use
this factor as some sort of metaphor for the feeling of freedom and sheer
fright of entering the real world after graduating high school. Both are major coming of age events, well if
werewolves were real anyway.</div>
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Some of the acting felt a bit drawn out and made certain
portions of the film feel too slow and dragging but overall the actors did a
decent job in capturing what they were supposed to: being a werewolf and those
afraid of them. The ending suggests
there’s an opening for another film but then again almost every movie about
supernatural creatures do. Nimziki said
that he would be open to revisiting the story and brining us another part but
only time will tell. I give THE HOWLING
REBORN “2.5 growing pains of realizing you’re a werewolf out of 5”.</div>
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<i>“People used to ask
God the questions they didn’t have the answers to. Now everyone goes to Wikipedia.”</i> <br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<u><a href="http://napiersnews.com/2011/11/the-howling-reborn-dvd-review.html#.Tr_r0z3NnhV">Napier's News</a></u></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-84570135316626218802011-11-05T00:58:00.000-04:002011-11-05T00:58:30.642-04:00Sean's Halloween Horrorfest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The day that they call All-Hallows-Eve is upon us. Every year we think about creative ways to dress up our children in cute and funny little costumes so they can pretend to be someone else for a day. The more candy they bring home the higher their confidence and energy rises along with parents’ frustration of now having super-hyped children doped up on sugar running around the house. Halloween also gives women the excuse to dress in skimpy outfits and not be ridiculed for it. Honestly, I think if females could wear these outfits to work, they would. I mean we (men) aren’t going to stop them. We’ll simply have to sacrifice some production at work to get another type of sweets; Eye-candy.<br />
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Those of us who love film, however, coincide Halloween with the horror genre. Oh, how we love it so. For us, Halloween is an excuse for us to scare the liquid crap out of those un-brave souls who always prefer to watch another type of movie. Well this is our time and we reserve the right to embrace it. No, I haven’t seen every horror film in the very vast library of spookiness and I will even admit that I am missing some of the classics on my career list. But in my quest to see as many as I possibly can before the good Lord decides to return and place judgment upon us all, I was able to see and deem an opinion on these select couple that will follow below.<br />
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Some were good, some were bad and some shouldn’t have been allowed to be included in our proud genre altogether. After you check out some of my picks this year, please lend your voices, well more like your keyboards, to give your thoughts on these flicks.<br />
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<strong>THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FIRST SEQUENCE):</strong><br />
<strong> <a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-human-centipede.jpg" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-human-centipede.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8776" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-human-centipede-300x161.jpg" height="161" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-human-centipede-300x161.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="the-human-centipede" width="300" /></a></strong><br />
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This one wasn’t as <strong>D</strong>-gusting as I thought it would be. The sheer idea or thought of having your mouth surgically attached to someone else’s anus was more disturbing than actually seeing it onscreen. Every good twisted film needs an equally as twisted mad scientist/doctor as its main character. Dieter Laser is just this as Dr. Heiter. Not too bloody of a flick and not much of a “jump-movie”, it still qualifies as pure horror. Roger Ebert regressed to assigning it zero stars along with its’ recently released sequel which I will be seeing soon. On my Halloween scare/gross meter, I’ll say it’s not for the squeamish.<br />
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<strong>DREAM HOUSE:</strong><br />
<strong> <a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dream-house-movie.jpg" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dream-house-movie.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8777" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dream-house-movie-300x183.jpg" height="183" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dream-house-movie-300x183.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="dream-house-movie" width="300" /></a></strong><br />
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I had high hopes for this film dominated with English actors. Keyword here being <em>had</em>. Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts all star in a movie which begins having you think that it’s about yet another haunted house. If you have seen any part of the trailer, then you know to think differently. Those hopes that I had quickly drowned about 30 minutes into it and the ending did nothing to resuscitate them. Take my experienced horror-word for it and don’t waste your time. Please. I beg you.<br />
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<strong>SCREAM 4:</strong><br />
<strong> <a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Scream-4-C.jpg" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Scream-4-C.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8779" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Scream-4-C-300x187.jpg" height="187" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Scream-4-C-300x187.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="Scream 4 C" width="300" /></a></strong><br />
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Yeah, I watched it. I figured I saw all of the previous three, why not? For those of you who haven’t seen the fourth Wes Craven installment in the franchise released earlier this year, it’s the same basic premise. Neve Campbell arrives back in her home town where the original SCREAM took place and people begin to die. Pretty cut and dry. The only thing that impressed me about this one is that I was unable to predict who the killer was. I usually pride myself on two things when it comes to horror flicks; not jumping and figuring out who the killer/slasher/masked bad guy is before they are revealed. This film did a decent job on keeping you guessing. If you’re a fan of the series, check it out. Oh yeah, there’s going to be more…<br />
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<strong>THE THING (1982)</strong>:<br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-thing_1982.jpg" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-thing_1982.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8780" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-thing_1982-300x127.jpg" height="127" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-thing_1982-300x127.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="the-thing_1982" width="300" /></a><br />
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John Carpenter’s remake of the 1951original classic is a brilliant one. He really knew how to capture the essence of suspense and terrified anxiousness that the characters were going through and project it upon the audience. The special effects are superb and make you want to throw up (in a good way) every time they are showcased. Furthermore, it was another film that made me break the other one of my prided aspects about myself, it made me jump. I almost paused the movie to ask myself what had just happened. I haven’t seen the recent film that Hollywood has marketed as a prequel but with all of the state-of-the-art special effects that are at filmmakers’ disposal nowadays, it better be grrrreat.<br />
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<strong>NIGHT TRAIN:</strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1480_4_screenshot.png" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1480_4_screenshot.png"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8781" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1480_4_screenshot-300x168.png" height="168" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1480_4_screenshot-300x168.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="1480_4_screenshot" width="300" /></a><br />
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More of a thriller than an actual horror flick, NIGHT TRAIN begins with a good ambience of mystery and suspense. It obviously takes place aboard a train and in the middle of winter. Danny Glover, Leelee Sobieski and Steve Zahn come across a box of jewels previously owned by a very recently deceased passenger. They wrestle among themselves about whether or not to turn them in or split them between each other. This one is more like a sit back and be disappointed than a be scared and entertained kind of movie. Enough said.<br />
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<strong>CABIN FEVER 2: SPRING FEVER</strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cabinfever2-1.jpg" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cabinfever2-1.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8782" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cabinfever2-1-300x199.jpg" height="199" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cabinfever2-1-300x199.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="cabinfever2-1" width="300" /></a><br />
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If you saw the first CABIN FEVER, then you already know what to expect. If you haven’t then be prepared to be grossed out. Lots and lots of blood is spilled as the flesh eating virus from the first one makes its way to a high school and into the senior prom. Many students with college aspirations will instead have to settle for, well, death instead. Not much to the plot in this one. Just expect to see blood, body parts and then more blood.<br />
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<strong>RED STATE:</strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Red_State_review_article_story_main.jpg" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Red_State_review_article_story_main.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8783" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Red_State_review_article_story_main-300x207.jpg" height="207" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Red_State_review_article_story_main-300x207.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="Red_State_review_article_story_main" width="300" /></a><br />
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This action/drama/thriller/horror, as I categorize it, from Kevin Smith didn’t receive too many positive comments. But I liked it. Michael Parks plays Pastor Abin Cooper, a self-proclaimed “man of God” who leads a small following of people who are a part of his Five Points church. They are a serious group of extremists who kidnap a trio of teenage boys who think they are meeting an older woman for sex. Cooper takes it upon himself to teach them and everyone else a lesson that he doesn’t feel are following the good teachings of the Lord.<br />
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The movie has its’ slow moments, especially when the over the top Pastor gives a rather long sermon expressing pure hate and discontempt for those who are adulterers, homosexuals and participate in sex before marriage. John Goodman plays ATF agent Keenan who attempts to take down the pastor and his hate group. The story really opens your eyes to the many organizations out there who are truly blinded by their own goals and only see what they want between the covers of the Bible. The plot appears to begin to stall late in the movie but the ending wakes you back up and forces you to pay attention. The last line of the entire film is hilarious.<br />
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<strong>THE LAST EXORCISM:</strong><br />
<strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/The-Last-Exorcism-450x3451.jpg" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/The-Last-Exorcism-450x3451.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8784" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/The-Last-Exorcism-450x3451-300x230.jpg" height="230" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/The-Last-Exorcism-450x3451-300x230.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="The-Last-Exorcism-450x3451" width="300" /></a></strong><br />
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A combination of exorcism and the documentary-style theme of “found footage” movies are borrowed in this flick. Patrick Fabian plays Reverend Cotton Marcus who is filming a documentary exposing exorcisms of “possessed” individuals to be fake and completely untrue. While he is a man of the cloth, he does not believe in demons and ghosts and things of that nature. He accepts a request from a single father who believes that his young daughter is possessed and needs help. Ashley Bell plays Nell, the sixteen-year old daughter who is afraid and has no idea of the gruesome killings of farm animals that her father has pinned on her. During his attempt to “help” the family, Marcus realizes that the girl truly is possessed and must try to rediscover his faith. In terms of being scary, it has its’ moments but doesn’t truly achieve a spooky factor until the very end, which of course is where the movie abruptly stops. Maybe it’s a good thing that there is a sequel planned for next year. Kudos to Bell for a great performance as the possessed victim however.<br />
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<strong>THE RESIDENT:</strong><br />
<strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-resident-movie-image-hilary-swank-jeffrey-dean-morgan-5.jpg" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-resident-movie-image-hilary-swank-jeffrey-dean-morgan-5.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8785" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-resident-movie-image-hilary-swank-jeffrey-dean-morgan-5-300x200.jpg" height="200" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/the-resident-movie-image-hilary-swank-jeffrey-dean-morgan-5-300x200.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="The Resident movie image Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan" width="300" /></a></strong><br />
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So here we have a horror film which takes place in my hometown of Brooklyn, NY. Hillary Swank plays a doctor who locates a great apartment right by the Manhattan Bridge. She also locates the buildings’ owner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Having just gotten out of a relationship where her ex-boyfriend cheated on her, she quickly makes the move on her landlord. Almost in mid-sex, she decides to re-nig on their newfound romance only to return to her ex-boyfriend. Morgan plays a very troubled man who simply melts when receiving “we’re good friends” as an answer. Stalking seems to be his career profession as the movie goes on. Quite predictable and taking way too long to hit any kind of climax, I would pass on this flick. Other than Morgan’s performance, it was kind of a waste. I will say however, that some of his “stalking” could have been interpreted as being sweet. He is clearly a man in love after <em>she</em> made the first move. Word to the wise ladies, be very sure before you offer even the slightest mention of nookie to a possible suitor.<br />
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<strong>DEVOUR:</strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/devour.jpg" href="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/devour.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8786" data-mce-src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/devour-300x168.jpg" height="168" src="http://www.napiersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/devour-300x168.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="devour" width="300" /></a><br />
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I don’t have much to say about this one. Jensen Ackles and Shannyn Sossamon star in a movie where a group of friends begin playing an online game called “The Pathway” and then subsequently begin to die. The entire movie and especially the ending prompted one word to jump into my mind: Confusing.<br />
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So there you have it, my viewings for this year. Of course I will no doubt continue to watch and rate horror films but Halloween just makes it all the more fun. Television has even stepped up its game when it comes to horror by bringing us the great so far shows of THE WALKING DEAD on AMC and AMERICAN HORROR STORY on FX. The storylines are dynamic and continually force you to return each week for the next episode. So don’t worry horror fans, we are no longer subjected to only dry dramas and comedies lacking the ability to make us all laugh. Life is looking up. Scare forth and prosper fellow horror junkies and Happy Halloween!<br />
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Original article: <a href="http://www.napiersnews.com/2011/10/seans-halloween-horrorfest.html#.Tq4xf5ua_hU">Napier's News</a><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-87578775459110978422011-08-09T13:41:00.002-04:002011-08-09T13:41:30.220-04:00Review BLOOD: Re-cap of Ep. 43<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Episode 43 and counting…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Cold Grey Light of Dawn”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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The full moon evening that took us to the end of the last
episode also opens the beginning of this one.
Sookie and Eric must really have been pretty backed up because they’re
love fest lasted an awfully long time. Beginning
in the forest and ending in Sookie’s bed with different stops in-between, they
made sure they satisfied their sexual desire.
They also enjoyed a nice cuddle session afterwards which got a little
cheesy for my tastes. Still seeing Eric
act like a perfect gentleman is very strange, and a little sickening at
times.</div>
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After joining a new pack, Alcide and Debbie stumble upon the
two of them while they were still banging it out in the woods which leaves them
with some pretty precarious expressions on their faces. Alcide looked somewhat disappointed while
Debbie looked disappointed at Alcide looking disappointed. After being completely taken over by the most
feared witch in vampire history, Marnie manages to escape her prison. Bill isn’t very pleased to discover this as
he very well knows what will inevitably happen to all vampires with her on the
loose. </div>
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Lafayette and Jesus decide to leave Jesus’ uncles place
after the very weird occurrence from earlier in the evening. Lafayette learns that he is a medium for dead
people. He can not only be used as a
vessel for them, similar to that of Marnie, but he can also see them. As a matter of fact, he is nearly frightened
out of his skin by the sight of the same woman who Arlene’s baby, Mikey, can
see. That portion of the episode was
especially spooky to me. The dead is
really starting to take over this show. Tara, after narrowlingly escaping the clutches
of a very pissed off Pam, shoos her girlfriend out of Bon Temp for good in
order to keep her safe. After some heavy
drinking she comes across a possessed Marnie and learns of her new found
power. She recruits a team of
vampire-hating individuals and builds a team to stand by Marnie in a war
against the vamps. </div>
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Sam learns of Luna’s pissed attitude when he tries to
contact her. After a brief conversation,
they solve the mystery to their misunderstanding. Tommy can now shift into humans and this
realization leaves both of them feeling very “uneasy” to say the least. This uneasiness prompts Sam to have had
enough of his brother’s exploits and kicks him out of his life. Pam tries her best to restore her skin by
having the vampire doctor lady as I call her do a skin peel, literally, and
instruct her that she must inject a chemical into her body for the rest of her
life to assist with the healing process.
The culmination of the episode has Bill order every vampire in the area
to silver themselves to avoid “meeting the sun” should Marnie cast a spell over
them all. She does just that but somehow
Jessica manages to escape her silver prison and makes her way toward the
daylight. With Jason speeding towards
her rescue, the episode reaches its end.
Will Jessica reach hers?</div>
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Truly the best episode of the season yet. Between all of the witchcraft, unexplained
dead folk and epic climax at the end, the story is really heating up to an
impending war between the witches and the fanged. Knowing the authentic <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Blood</i> way, many of these stories will coincide with one
another before the end of the season.
Others will surely carry over into the next one. Sunday never seemed so far away before. ‘Til it arrives, go forth and do bad things.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-65809091580352306692011-08-02T21:03:00.003-04:002011-08-02T21:03:22.833-04:00Review BLOOD: Re-cap of Ep. 42<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hljZsjHcdYA/TjicIyvXAkI/AAAAAAAAA-s/HbX_1LUuH_s/s1600/True-Blood-Season-4-Ep.-6-%25E2%2580%259CI-Wish-I-Was-the-Moon%25E2%2580%259D-300x154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hljZsjHcdYA/TjicIyvXAkI/AAAAAAAAA-s/HbX_1LUuH_s/s400/True-Blood-Season-4-Ep.-6-%25E2%2580%259CI-Wish-I-Was-the-Moon%25E2%2580%259D-300x154.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Episode 42 and counting…"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I Wish I Was the Moon"<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Sookie has been rather warmly welcomed back into the world of sex by her amnesiac of a housemate vampire, Eric. The episode starts off very steamy but it is interrupted by King Bill. After realizing what has happened to Eric firsthand, he suggests that Eric suffer the “true death”, of course. Although he is probably un-reparably hurt by the sight of Eric and Sookie’s naked bodies entangled in each other, you can see him struggle with his decision to take Eric into custody and kill him. Of course, his “heart” gets the best of him at the end (like we didn’t see that coming, they’re not going to kill off Eric) and lets the Viking return to his Sookie. The episode ends with them getting it on pretty good in the woods. After all, it's everyone’s fantasy to sex someone in the forest, isn’t it?</div>
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Lafayette and Jesus find themselves dealing with some pretty serious magic that seems beyond being dark when they arrive at Jesus’ uncles’ house. Between Lafayette being possessed by another one of Jesus’ uncles and Marnie being possessed by the witch that has been taking her over as of late, I’d say this episode was pretty freaky indeed. Tara’s girlfriend comes to find her in Bon Temp and they have a sex session of their own. Instead of leaving right away, they find themselves having stuck around a little too long when Pam arrives to exact her revenge.</div>
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Jason, afraid of becoming a werepanther, handcuffs himself to his bed only to be reluctantly freed by his sister. He manages to escape her watchful, worrying eye and scurries off into the woods in an attempt to separate himself in case he shifts into a big, black cat. Having consumed her blood, Jessica comes to his aid when she senses his distress. She ignores her shift at Merlotte’s to stay with him in the forest…for comfort. Despite not changing into a panther, Jason finds himself sharing a moment with Jessica which further foreshadows something happening between the two of them. Alcide is being forced into joining a new pack after Debbie goes behind his back and tells the leader that she’ll join. His brief encounter with Sookie in the woods shows that he still cares for her. </div>
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Arlene and Terry have lost their home to an inexplicable fire. Their “devil spawn” child, Mikey, is now seeing some strange woman that no one else can’t. Another freaky moment. I’m sure there’s some sort of connection between everything that has been happening to them and the dingy doll that Jessica gave to Mikey as a present. The little bundle of doom is sure to be a handful in the coming weeks. Tommy, somehow, discovers that he can now shift into other people, not just animals. He un-voluntarily shifts into his brother, Sam, and manages to score some Latino booty when Luna comes a calling all hot and bothered. After he beds her, he dismisses her good and proper-like which obviously confuses and angers Luna. No doubt Sam will have to deal with the fact that his brother has managed to sleep with his new girl before he has. </div>
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I like the development between Jason and Jessica. I feel it brings some interesting substance to a storyline that might just have been the weakest on the show. I’m quite interested in seeing what the newly inhabited Marnie will now do to the vampires of the show. A possible all out witch-vampire war might be on the horizon from her return to witchy power. The fact that this episode kind of revolved around the full moon shining down upon the town was a cool plot detail that was consistently pointed out. Seeing how the usual season length for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Blood</i> is 12 episodes, we are half way through this one. That was quick. I’m quite sure everyone is looking forward to the second half. While we wait for it begin, go forth and do bad things. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-91641927176799551252011-07-25T21:58:00.000-04:002011-07-25T21:58:40.192-04:00Review Blood: Re-cap of Ep. 41<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hBTIDOgFHOo/Ti4fFvqSmSI/AAAAAAAAA9c/mFQ78RbkkvY/s1600/Watch-a-Clip-from-Ep.-41-Eric-Receives-a-Visit-From-His-Past-and-other-True-Blood-videos-online-on-HBO.com_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hBTIDOgFHOo/Ti4fFvqSmSI/AAAAAAAAA9c/mFQ78RbkkvY/s400/Watch-a-Clip-from-Ep.-41-Eric-Receives-a-Visit-From-His-Past-and-other-True-Blood-videos-online-on-HBO.com_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Episode 41 and counting…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
“I Hate You, I Love You”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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So Sookie seems to be falling for the same man, well
vampire, that she used to absolutely loathe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although Eric has become a character who has lost his “vampire balls”,
he has begun to find a path into Ms. Stackhouse’s good graces, and her bed for
that matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, they didn’t have sex
but cuddling can be considered a very intimate activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even between human and vampire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Portia Bellefleur doesn’t seem to mind
that she has been boning her great-great-great-great grandfather in the form of
Bill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She even researched the topic and
tried to convince King Compton that incest isn’t so bad and it’s a good idea to
continue their sex-capades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill quickly
glamour’s her into feeling the opposite and she runs away screaming.</div>
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Alcide, the resident werewolf, has found his own
trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More like trouble has found him
when the area Pack leader pays him a visit claiming that he never received
Alcide’s registration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dismissing the
less than cordial gentleman, you can tell that this wasn’t the last time Alcide
would be hearing from him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After casting
a spell on Pam causing her skin to continually rot, Marnie is abandoned by
Lafayette, Jesus and Tara.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is taken
into custody by Bill so he can question her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After also glamouring her, he discovers that she cannot reverse the
condition that has been bestowed upon Pam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In addition to all of this, he also finally discovers that Eric has lost
his memory and is hiding out at Sookie’s.</div>
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After finding Jason on the side of the road and healing
him by having him drink her blood, Jessica and Hoyt return him home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He shares the “horrors” of his stay at the
werepanther camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also begins having weird
sexual dreams about Jessica which include her boyfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yikes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Speaking of the couple who has been having some relationship problems,
the issues and distance between them seems to be increasing after Jessica
offers a chilly shoulder to Hoyt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arlene
and Terry enlist the help of one of the town’s reverends who has now married
Tara’s mom, <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lettie Mae Thornton when they suspect that a
ghost in their midst’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They think it’s
the ghosts of little Mikey’s real dad, Rene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sam helps out his brother Tommy in a very big way after he kills his
father and accidentally does the same to his mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They dispose of the dead bodies by way of
gators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oh, and the plot thickens
or should I say <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will</i> thicken next
week when Bill walks in on Sookie… and Eric “interacting” on her couch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This season keeps getting better by the
week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t been this glued to the
show since season 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the smaller
stories are becoming more and more interesting such as Arlene and Terry’s
possible poltergeist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I literally
laughed out loud when Jason asked Hoyt if Jessica had raped him too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should also find out very soon what
happens to Jason when the next full moon arrives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully many of our answers will be
revealed this Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So until then, go
forth and do bad things.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-52584266987361270262011-07-18T13:07:00.002-04:002011-07-18T13:07:43.624-04:00The Dark Knight Rises teaser trailerNothing else to say other than "Watch":<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-43397380685789706042011-07-18T00:49:00.002-04:002011-07-18T00:49:55.226-04:00Review Blood: Re-cap of Ep. 40<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zFhvnk8CGuI/TiO7NhAExPI/AAAAAAAAA8I/RMgzPUBlPfM/s1600/TRUE-BLOOD-Im-Alive-And-On-Fire-Season-4-Episode-4-3-550x366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zFhvnk8CGuI/TiO7NhAExPI/AAAAAAAAA8I/RMgzPUBlPfM/s400/TRUE-BLOOD-Im-Alive-And-On-Fire-Season-4-Episode-4-3-550x366.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Episode 40 and counting… "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’m
Alive and On Fire"<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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This week’s episode continues to have Eric being a “nice”
guy but also somewhat delusional after draining and killing Sookie’s
fairy-godmother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She enlists the help of
Alcide to find him after he runs off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They locate him swimming in a lake during the day just before he begins
to catch some serious burns from the sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is more chemistry caught on screen between Sookie and Alcide,
including Sookie staring him up and down when he begins to undress to shift
into a wolf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can also tell there’s
going to be some tension between him and his girlfriend due to his interaction
with our main character.</div>
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A brief exchange between Bill and Sookie shows there’s still
something there between them after he tries to search her home for his Sheriff,
Eric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also discovers the woman he’s
been boning, Portia Bellefleur, is actually his great-great-great-great
granddaughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ewww.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lafayette, Jesus and Tara return to Marnie
for help of restoring Eric’s memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
reluctantly agrees to help after she has a rather vivid dream about the witch
who she’s been channeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During an
attempt to cast the spell needed to bring Eric back to his badass ways, she
gets taken over again and dishes out some pretty nasty magic Pam’s
direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope they don’t mess with
Pam too much this season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s the only
thing we have left now that Eric is a mindless pansy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Jason finally manages to escape after he convinces a girl
whom he was supposed to impregnate to help him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Something I found pretty funny was a line he said after he yelled at one
of the women to get off of him and she began to sob.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I don’t know why you’re crying, I’m the one
getting raped”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During his attempt to
get as far away from the were-panther clan as possible, he kills Felton and
warns Crystal to stay away from him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
seems pretty confident despite his threats that he will return to her after the
next full moon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is picked up by Hoyt
and Jessica after he collapses on the side of a road. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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Arlene and Terry get a fright at the hands of their young
son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The little tike seems to write the
words “Baby Not Yours” on the wall of their apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hard to believe a baby was able to put
together a string of words nonetheless write them in perfect spelling but this
is Bon Temps after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tommy returns to
his mother only to discover that he was tricked into coming home so he could
dog fight again for his parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last
time we saw him, his father had a pretty sturdy grip around his neck with a
chain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile Maxine is feverishly
looking for him back home, even harassing Sam about his brothers disappearance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sam is surprised to find out that his new
love interest, Luna, has a daughter and pretty jealous werewolf ex-boyfriend.</div>
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I’m think I am the most interested in finding out how the
direction they take the Sookie-Alcide-Eric-Bill rectangle story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I spoke about it before but it just
seems like the part of the show that has the most possibilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I personally think that Sookie and Alcide are
the best match but I guess we will indeed find out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe she’ll sample them all before making
her final decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having Jason possibly
turn into a were-panther will seriously no doubt complicate his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least we know his sister will always take
him in. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Pam/Marnie-Witch
scene yielded some of the better special effects I’ve seen so far in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Blood</i> series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully Pam will able to heal her wilted
face, I like her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a feeling that this
ancient incest thing between Bill and Portia won’t stop them from letting their
inter-connecting parts meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
judging from the lack of utter disgust from Portia after hearing the news that
she’s been sexing her great-great-great-great grandfather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ewww.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Until next week, go forth my friends and do bad things.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-11514704257965332932011-07-15T04:26:00.002-04:002011-07-16T09:55:40.090-04:00Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II (2011)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1g46Mc8Rp3U/Th_3RAHz-rI/AAAAAAAAA7o/O7V6lwwHsRo/s1600/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-2-movie-poster-official.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1g46Mc8Rp3U/Th_3RAHz-rI/AAAAAAAAA7o/O7V6lwwHsRo/s400/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-2-movie-poster-official.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
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Sitting in the theater I waited surprisingly patient for the
conclusion of the end. The end of an
epic, the end of an era, the end of something rather big. Heck, you might as well call the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter</i> series this generations <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars</i>. Yeah, it lasted two more movies than the
latter did but still, it’s that big a deal.
I got there pretty early, finished up my nachos and reluctantly listened
to the mixed crowd of mostly young and quite annoying people count down the
time until the final installment began.
Finally, the lights lowered, the speakers awoken and we were met with
about almost 10 minutes of previews. The
only one I was really, really, really (did I use enough really’s) looking
forward to was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Dark Knight Rises</i>. Yeah I saw it already but I was actually a
little nervous to see it on the big screen.
After it was over, I kind of felt like my evening had reached its
climax. I realized I was more looking
forward to this 1:36 teaser trailer than the actual feature film I had paid
money for. It was then that I knew what
a woman felt like whose partner didn’t quite last as long as she had
hoped. But, thankfully, that all changed
about a half hour into the movie.</div>
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Harry (Danielle Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione
(Emma Watson) are still looking for the Horcruxes. For those of you who don’t follow, these are
seemingly random items that are the keys to defeating the Dark Lord known as
Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). He has
recently gathered the Elder Wand (a wand that makes its owner unbeatable) and
is gaining strength. The crew as I call
them must desperately find the remaining Horcruxes and destroy them in order to
have any shot at defeating this wizard.
Throughout the film, and book, they enlist help from any and everywhere
they can possibly find it. All the way
up to the point where You-Know-Who comes gently knocking on the walls of
Hogwarts castle looking to kill “the boy who lived”.</div>
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That’s pretty much the plotline in a nutshell. Obviously the majority of the fans who went
as far as to attend a midnight showing have managed to read all of the
novels. For those who can’t see
themselves scouring through line after line, word after word, I won’t spoil it
for you. But it’s your basic fantasy
story, good versus evil. This was the
shortest <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter </i>movie running
at about 2 hours 10 minutes. All of the
others were on average 2 and half hours to 2 hours and 45 minutes. The “short” runtime might explain why they
dove so quickly into the action. That
and they did shoot both parts together. </div>
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Director David Yates knew exactly what needed to be done to
send the legendary <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter</i>
series off on the right note. With a screenplay
by Steve Kloves of course adapted from the book written by the now literally
stinking rich J.K. Rowling, it had to have been hard to go wrong. From the score building the suspense and raising
the intensity of just how serious the battle in this movie was to the countless
special effects used to bring the book to life, Yates presented <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Deathly Hallows</i> as it was meant to
be. </div>
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The special effects fueled-magic scenes were vivid and
crisp. They may have been the best out
of all of the films. No doubt because
this was the biggest battle that had ever taken place in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter </i>history. They
contributed to the dark tone that consumed the movie from beginning to
end. The wand usage was lightning quick
and sometimes even dazzling. I had to
purchase 3D tickets due to my lack of common sense to purchase 2D ones in
advance. Although I don’t think 3D made
that big of a difference, it was still pretty cool to see. The CGI created portions dipped off of the
screen and really stood out in 3D.
Another aspect that impressed in 3D was a scene where the crew is
fleeing for their lives on three flying broomsticks. They seemed to almost zip right out of the
screen.</div>
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I always felt that none of the main characters were
tremendous actors. Actually I felt that
they were kind of bad but served their purpose.
This time around was indeed no exception. But I did enjoy Severus Snape (Alan Rickman)
and Voldermort’s (Ralph Fiennes) performances.
They <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">were</b> those characters. The way they drew out their dialogue and were
a presence no matter how long they were on screen was the way that I envisioned
them to be while reading through the books.</div>
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Possibly the best aspect I loved about the film was the
build-up. The growing suspense for the
final battle between Harry’s squad of friends, professors and skillful wizards
and Voldermort’s Death Eaters, practitioners of the Dark Arts. You could feel Voldermort’s desperation grow as
the war carried on as any truly evil villain does when he started killing
members of his own clan whom got on his nerves.
Sort of reminiscent of other epic battles between good and evil like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lord of the Rings</i> as the two sides
clashed against one another. Only that
franchise had many more wars within its pages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NTd_rkLSUIg/Th_4TPcemLI/AAAAAAAAA7s/wv09iprvG9E/s1600/Photo0492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NTd_rkLSUIg/Th_4TPcemLI/AAAAAAAAA7s/wv09iprvG9E/s200/Photo0492.jpg" width="200" /></a>This final chapter saw unsung heroes rise to the occasion as
well as a few surprises in the story.
Well they’re only surprises to those who haven’t read the books, whom I
am a little jealous of. Experiencing the
unfolding of any great plotline the first time won’t ever compare to anything. Somewhat sad and happy at the same time to
see it go, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this last film of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter</i>. I know I’ve said this before and might even
say it again but the crowd that I saw this movie with just might make me
reconsider anymore midnight releases for a while (thinking to myself: “please
shut the **** Up!). Some people shouldn’t
be allowed out after their bedtime, seriously.
But on a borderline overkill/creative note, the 3D glasses were replicas
of Harry’s own specs. Anything for a
buck I guess. I give <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II</i>
“4.5 million trips straight to the bank for J.K. Rowling out of 5”. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-“We need a new plan”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-“What’s wrong with
the way we do things do now?”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-C’mon Hermione, that
really isn’t a plan. We suspect
something, show up and all Hell breaks loose”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5NYt1qirBWg" width="491"></iframe></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-86379362787569683242011-07-11T13:53:00.005-04:002011-07-11T13:54:48.184-04:00Review Blood: Re-cap of Ep. 39<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NKF_U2oysA0/Ths4dXqlWhI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/MucLSHK4y6o/s1600/if-you-love-me-why-am-i-dyin-1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NKF_U2oysA0/Ths4dXqlWhI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/MucLSHK4y6o/s400/if-you-love-me-why-am-i-dyin-1024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Episode 39 and counting… <i>“If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin?”</i><br />
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Another good episode. Seems season four is going for the record of most great episodes in a row. I know many <i>True Blood</i> fans feel that all of the episodes are great but I feel some are better than others. So far this season has been pretty consistent in maintaining my complete attention throughout every one. Now to the nitty gritty: Sookie has taken on the role of caretaker for an amnesia-stricken Eric. Obviously despite his forgotten memory and new found niceness about him, his vampire instincts are still very much intact. This includes biting and completely draining Sookie’s fairy godmother of her life force. An act to which he simply replies “Sorry”. Still classic Eric.<br />
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Bill has really settled into his role as King. He now has another pair of female legs that he can play between. I think his number of sexual conquests is the highest so far this season. His total sits at 2 in three episodes. Go Bill. After the exchange between Eric and the Wiccan coven, Lafayette feels it is a great idea to throw himself before the 1,000 year old vampire and beg forgiveness. Despite the efforts of Tara and Jesus, he manages to find himself at Fangtasia and is saved just before Pam goes all woman scorned on him. Sam tries to set his brother straight after he discovers his brother has a plan to cheat Maxine Fortenberry out of the natural resources below her home.<br />
<br />
Jessica confesses to Hoyt about her infidelity after a discussion with Bill and then glamours him when he becomes upset. The most “F’d” up part of the episode to me is what is happening to Jason. He is still tied up and going through the transformation from human to werepanther. Last we saw him, he was about to be gang-raped by Crystal and the rest of the werepanther females. A situation like that can be a guys fondest dream but not in the way that Jason is currently stuck. He may have some crazy child support bills to feed all of those cubs.<br />
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All in all, good episode, can’t wait for next week. I’m especially interested to see what happens between Eric and Sookie. Something about his new personality reeks of potential romance there. The return of Alcide, the werewolf, to the show could throw a monkey wrench into the entire thing however. Even though he is back together with his ex-girlfriend, you could also tell since last season that there was something there between them. I suppose we all shall see. Sunday night brings another episode. ‘Till then, do bad things.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-3687249703170859302011-07-05T01:02:00.000-04:002011-07-05T01:02:29.532-04:00Review Blood: Re-cap of Ep. 38<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--smhRb1MSQc/ThKZtw8ANnI/AAAAAAAAA3o/eNVVaJWyqbE/s1600/another-new-true-blood-preview-breaking-up-sucks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--smhRb1MSQc/ThKZtw8ANnI/AAAAAAAAA3o/eNVVaJWyqbE/s200/another-new-true-blood-preview-breaking-up-sucks.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Episode 38 and counting…<i>“You Smell Like Dinner”</i><br />
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Oh my stakes! I know that was pretty cheesy but it was meant to be. This week’s episode was possibly even bigger than the major hype that last week’s premiere brought along with it. Sookie is really having a difficult time having Eric so involved, and infatuated, with her life. It’s hilarious to hear her get upset and start cursing like when she discovered Eric’s sleeping cubby. “What the mother**k?!” Hilarious! Our vampire sheriff is really pulling out all the stops trying to get Sookie to like him. It seems she’s immune to the charm that has all of the shows female fans uncrossing and then re-crossing their legs whenever he shows up on screen. But for how long can she resist? <br />
<br />
Sam’s life is taking a turn for the better, a most beautiful better. Luna (Janina Gravankar) is certainly a site to behold, especially from behind according to Sam. I was pretty surprised at how quickly he got her to like him. I guess ‘ol Merlotte has got some game. Her past looks to be pretty interesting as it unfolds in the coming weeks. Arlene’s paranoia about her son continues to grow to the point of hysteria. She receives a blood shot eye for her troubles, and from what it looks like, her baby boy gave it to her. Maybe she should quit telling him how terrible he’s going to be. Jason is in even more of a pickle than we last left him. His love, Crystal, has finally returned but with her brother/fiancé/lover right beside her. They have some pretty extreme plans for Jay and he has no wishes to be a part of them. Becoming a were-panther isn’t for everyone.<br />
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After discovering about the Wiccan coven that Jesus drags Lafayette down to from his spy/sexual miscreant, King Bill Compton sends Eric to shut them down. But the witches strike back after he bites their leader and threatens Tara who returned home for a visit and found herself in his dangerous arms. This encounter left him wandering around mindlessly and shirtlessly. What is it with all of the shirt-less and pants-less dudes on this show? I’m about to write a letter to Alan Ball. Hoyt gets into a fight trying to defend his dead girlfriends honor. This doesn’t really help their relationship any after he refuses to drink her injury-healing blood. Jessica storms out and finds herself down at Fangtasia with her teeth in someone else’s neck.<br />
<br />
Pam, although not really heard from on a regular basis, is beginning to rise the ranks of my cool list. She’s very bitchy but she’s completely real. She doesn’t hide who she is and always speaks her mind, even to a mob of vampire-protesters huddled outside her bar; “The public has a right to voice their opinion about how f**king idiotic they are.” Never a dull moment with her. She has a short moment with Sookie after she pleads with Pam to convince Eric to leave her alone. Of course she isn’t going to help Sookie, what did she expect was going to happen?<br />
<br />
I really enjoyed this episode. This season is shaping up to be a pretty good one. I can only imagine how much weirder it’s going to get but judging just from the main storyline which undoubtedly will place Sookie in a love-triangle with Bill and Eric, it should be great. I’m only guessing here but it should get even heavier when Alcide (another female crowd pleaser), the werewolf, returns and converts the triangle into a square..or rectangle. Whichever you prefer. On to next week. I know waiting sucks but to help you pass the time, go do some bad things.<br />
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<br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-53078218734720739152011-07-01T01:59:00.000-04:002011-07-01T01:59:02.371-04:00Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SmWT6ULRaCs/Tg1g1ws8msI/AAAAAAAAA3U/tlTJEthYr9A/s1600/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-imax-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SmWT6ULRaCs/Tg1g1ws8msI/AAAAAAAAA3U/tlTJEthYr9A/s400/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-imax-movie-poster.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>Despite all of the ongoing negativity of the previous <i>Transformers</i> film, <i>Revenge of the Fallen</i>, the great and all-powerful Michael Bay has returned to bring us what is said to be the final piece in his trilogy. <i>Dark of the Moon</i> looked awfully awesome in pretty much all of its trailers. But, as I said to myself, someone who grew up watching the animated series on television and who also watched the entire original 1986 movie on You Tube one night for the heck of it, Bay’s films always look great in their trailers. This is true. Anyone care to disagree? But I simply couldn’t prevent myself from getting uber-excited as the release date drew nearer and nearer. I thoroughly enjoyed the first film and was slightly disappointed with the second. Hoping that they would bring a darker edge to the story and cut down on some of the comedy, I bought my ticket and sat in my seat.<br />
<br />
The story to <i>Dark of the Moon</i> feels like it wants to be complicated, like it wants to be one of those science fiction plotlines that will keep you so fixated on every word that your eardrum might begin to bleed. But it’s not. It’s pretty basic and easy to follow. This is a good thing. A good thing because for a film such as this, you really want to just sit back and marvel at the special effects and action. In a nutshell, it has come to the attention of our hero Autobots that a spaceship from Cybertron, their home planet, actually crashed on the moon back in 1961. It has also come to the attention of our hero Autobots that there are humans that knew about this event and who failed to mention a word of it to anyone. Upon further investigation of the ship, Optimus and Ratchet discover another Autobot on it. I’ll use the word out-of-commission to describe the state that he laid in upon the ship.<br />
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Sentinel Prime, former leader of the Autobots, is brought back to Earth with some special information that Optimus and the others were, again, unaware of. We have humans trusting Decepticons and are then shocked when they didn’t get what they expected. News Flash: They are called DECEPTICONS, they are filled with deceit. In other parts of town, our favorite sometimes over-acter Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) has himself a new girlfriend. It may be debatable at this time and I’m sure there are several establishments all over the world discussing whether or not Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) is hotter than Michaela (Megan Fox), but the new girl is no slouch. We are shown this very early on as she is introduced by a camera shot of her ass. Yeah. Sam has recently graduated college and is now shacking up with said hot girlfriend who has pretty decent employment herself. Another note I wanted to point out is just how does Sam find himself with hot girl after hot girl? Movies, I guess, is the only logical explanation.<br />
<br />
Anyways, feeling like he’s worthless after saving the world twice over, he discovers some info about the impending return of the Decepticons. He then rushes to tell his robot counterparts as well as the United States government who all seem more and more douche-baggery in every film. They scramble to devise a plan to counter it and let the CGI/Action-filled fun begin. <br />
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Ok, I want to be professional in stating my opinion of the special effects in this film, especially since I decided not to check it out in the bank account breaking 3D. But they were great. They were terrific. I mean yeah, all of the films had top notch effects but it felt like Bay paid extra attention to this one. There are parts, of course, where you can tell that CGI is being substituted but it still fit pretty decently. The always heavy detail on the giant robots were done very well. It really stood out whenever there was a slow-motion action scene where they zoomed in to allow the audience to catch every groove and surface blemish on their paint jobs. <br />
<br />
The action was…a lot. It was non-stop action. I’m sure, I could be wrong because it lasted so long, but it seemed like the last 45 minutes to almost an hour of the film was dedicated to nothing but ongoing action scenes. It cut from action sequence to another without much delay at all. The collapsing building scene was done masterfully. It wasn’t a 4 or 5 minute destruction of a building. It was more like a 20-25 minute destruction of a building. Hard to tell but it looks like some of the actors did many of the above average stunts. Speaking of stunts, the wing suit portion came out like a gem. Having men glide their way down into the city of Chicago while military helicopters fell from the sky looked great on the big screen. The entire invasion of the Decepticons over Earth was visually wonderful.<br />
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Of course with so many pros, a film does have some cons. I don’t have too many gripes with this chapter in the franchise but some that I feel are noteworthy. I didn’t like some of the cheesy battle cries that Optimus let spill from his metal trap before engaging a Decepticon scum in battle. Even with his cool deep robot voice, “I’m coming for you” could not have been the best line that the script writers could have came up with. Also, he pleaded a little too much during the times that he found himself losing a fight. Optimus doesn’t plead. He’s is Optimus freaking Prime! He is the man. All of the Autobots want to be him. Even some men wish that they were him.<br />
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There was still plenty of comedy in this one but it was actually funny stuff. Unlike much of the cliché content that was in part 2, I actually found myself cracking up at plenty of the jokes. LaBeouf does a lot of screaming, some seems pretty unnecessary, but I still found it funny. His parents are always a treat, especially his mother played by Julie White and Ken Jeong, who had the very generic character name of Jerry Wang, brought his outlandish comedic prowess which worked pretty well with LaBeouf’s. <br />
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Part of me wanted to come into this review saying that <i>Dark of the Moon</i> is just more of the same. Yes, it has similar aspects from the previous two movies but what film franchise doesn’t? *Cough* <i>Twilight</i>*Cough*. It has that but also much more. Eagerly awaiting the potential backlash that I will receive from others for giving this film a positive review, I give <i>Transformers: Dark of the Moon</i> “4.5 screams of ‘OPTIMUUSS!!’ from Shia LaBeouf out of 5”. That one was for you Brandon.<br />
<br />
<i>"Years from now they're gonna ask: ‘Where were you when they took over the planet?’"</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kHRf01Gjosk" width="491"></iframe></div><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-15414294361058335452011-06-27T10:19:00.001-04:002011-06-27T13:59:18.078-04:00Review Blood: Re-cap of Ep. 37<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sq3gdB1jVVY/TghJJGjhKWI/AAAAAAAAA2o/rMyb1Wdh8Fs/s1600/True-Blood-Season-4-Episode-1-3-550x366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sq3gdB1jVVY/TghJJGjhKWI/AAAAAAAAA2o/rMyb1Wdh8Fs/s400/True-Blood-Season-4-Episode-1-3-550x366.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Episode 37 and counting…"<i>She’s Not There"</i><br />
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So Sookie is a fairy or fae or whatever you want to call her. Just don’t call her unattractive because that she is still not. She gets a chance to visit what I call “Fairyland” or so she thought. Things quickly take a turn for the worse in a hurry when she is sought after by yet another group of supernatural beings. Her life just can’t be normal can it? She briefly reunites with her Grandfather (which to me was the most solemnly genuine character interaction of the episode) and returns home to discover that she has been away for an entire year. 12 and half months to be exact which only felt like 15 minutes to her. Her brother, Jason, has sold her house and become a full blown police officer. He seems to be all grown up.<br />
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Before we know it, the lead vamps of the series, Bill and Eric, both make their presence known to the Sook-ster. You can tell that although Bill has somewhat come to grips that his human soul mate no longer wants him, Sookie is obviously still quite in love with Mr. Compton. Lafayette’s boyfriend is trying to get him to dabble in the world of witchcraft. This leaves him and the rest of their new witchy circle of friends with a rather shocking enlightenment. This being having seen the dead raised in the form of a deceased parrot able to yet again take a brief flight before collapsing onto the floor. Tara is now “Toni” and a lesbian. Yeah, I said lesbian. I didn’t see that one coming. Although a very delightful development, unfortunately this does not bring her any closer to my dreams of her character finally getting naked. But it’s a long season, a guy can hope.<br />
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Meanwhile Arlene is freaking out that her and Terry's little one will grow up to be some sort of serial killer like his real dad, Rene. Sam has finally found some common friends who are just like him and my least favorite of the lot, Hoyt and Vanessa seem on their way to relationship trouble along a bumpy road. Eric and Bill are doing what they can to rebuild the trust between humans and vampires, now that Bill is, yes, a King. That would help me get over my long lost ex-girlfriend in a hurry too. Probably the most intriguing and looked- forward-to portion of the story is what Eric, now the owner of the Stackhouse estate, has in store for our damsel.<br />
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As usual, <i>True Blood</i> delivers in bringing the suspense, fascination and lots and lots of foreshadowing to its loyal fans. The fourth season premiere ends leaving a pretty much naked Sookie in a pretty “fangy” predicament. I’m sure she’s about used to those by now. Apparently her end scene partner is receiving quite the love from the shows female demographic. Eric has plenty of women out there wishing he would penetrate them with his, uh, fangs. What? What did you think I was going to say? Luckily the show continues to stack its roster with many, many half naked very lovely ladies. This should help to more than balance out the power of gender sex appeal for us guys. <br />
<br />
Looking forward to next week’s episode, which can actually be seen right this very second on <a href="http://www.hbogo.com/?camp=GoG5&tracking_ID=13680&K_CLICKID=6e49de3d-d707-1829-e2b6-00007ad11c7c#home/">HBOGO</a>, I’ll be back again the following Monday with another recap of that episode. ‘Til then, go forth and do bad things.<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-35465539544938196982011-06-26T18:28:00.000-04:002011-06-26T18:28:41.290-04:00TRUE BLOOD: 3 seasons in 5 minutes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lbeutmn8XMI/Tgew4iRAwxI/AAAAAAAAA2U/srY_0IxwNMs/s1600/True-Blood-cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lbeutmn8XMI/Tgew4iRAwxI/AAAAAAAAA2U/srY_0IxwNMs/s400/True-Blood-cast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Are you a fan of TRUE BLOOD? Of course you are. I mean why wouldn't you be? If you are, besides being super-intelligent because you are a fan, then you already know that the Fourth season begins tonight on HBO at 9pm. It's been pretty much almost an entire year since the Third one ended. So if you forgot any of the happenings of that or any of the previous episodes of the series, then I have a gift for you. Below lies a recap of the entire series in five minutes. You can thank me later. Enjoy.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object style="height: 390px; width: 491px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wpPYMHpZwTU?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wpPYMHpZwTU?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="491" height="390"></object></div><br />
<br />
After the season premiere tonight, you can sign-up for <a href="http://www.hbogo.com/?camp=GoG5&tracking_ID=13680&K_CLICKID=6e49de3d-d707-1829-e2b6-00007ad11c7c#home/">HBOGO</a> and be able to watch next week's episode. That's right, another brand new episode an entire week early. I know, I am absolutely the greatest. You're welcome.<br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-10616498029459355582011-06-10T22:34:00.000-04:002011-06-10T22:34:51.609-04:00X-Men: First Class (2011)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bz1CWwczoNI/TfLTGES4MUI/AAAAAAAAAy0/Zs3YdSJ2X4g/s1600/First_Class.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bz1CWwczoNI/TfLTGES4MUI/AAAAAAAAAy0/Zs3YdSJ2X4g/s400/First_Class.jpg" t8="true" width="276px" /></a></div>We know how we all feel about the previous <i>X-Men</i> films. And, well, that feeling is not too good. Personally, I felt part 1 was decent but weak at the same time. I honestly really enjoyed the first sequel. The action, introduction of new characters and overall plot was great. Then we were introduced to the third installment and we wanted to cry. Cry due to mourning over a franchise which seemed to have such great promise. Then news dropped of several possible spin-offs depicting our favorite mutants and the telling of their origins. First up, arguably the most popular X-Man, Wolverine. Our tears from the last movie were followed by the laying of black flowers on the franchises’ grave after that project. It did wonderful at the Box Office, despite being leaked prior to its release, but the quality of the movie was pretty subpar. We removed our funeral clothing at the end of the day and prepared ourselves for no more <i>X-Men</i> movies. Well at least we hoped.<br />
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Our hopes were first met with news of an origin story for Magneto. We gasped and prayed that they wouldn’t demolish his iconic standing as they did with Logan’s. We also heard of a possible project for Deadpool. Another gasp escaped our lungs and more prayers followed. Then there was quiet, a much welcomed quiet. Then that silence was interrupted by rumors of a completely separate project to display Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters before they were actual heroes. Another gasp began and then halted when we realized that Bryan Singer, who directed the first two films, wasn’t directing this one. He did produce it but director Matthew Vaughn took over the official helming duties. Skepticism still arose but they I think it can be put to rest now.<br />
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I wasn’t really too hyped about this X-Men. As a matter of fact, I was thinking about not even going to see it. But I paid my $10.75 (yes, $10.75) and sat waiting to be entertained. The story is basically what everyone already knows. A young Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) is introduced to bad-man Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) at the unfortunate expense of his mother. He goes through life holding a vengeful grudge against Shaw awaiting his opportunity to exact his revenge. In another part of the world, an aspiring professor named Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), along with his adopted sister, Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), makes friends with a CIA agent, Moira McTaggert (Rose Byrne). They develop an alliance with the organization to recruit other mutants and help however they can against a common enemy in Shaw. <br />
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Shaw is planning to push the mutant race to the forefront by turning humans against each other. With them gone, he can lead the dominant race into the future with seemingly no opposition. Along the way, Xavier and Lensherr cross paths and become friends after Lensherr agrees to join their faction, of course with his own motives still in tow. Some of the mutants they recruit go by the likes of Alex Summers/Havok (Lucas Till), Dr. Henry McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Angel Salvadore (Zoe Kravitz) among some others. They are young, naïve and still learning to control their gifts. All of their training and practice helps to prepare them for a final showdown with Shaw and his own squad of mutants. <br />
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On to the technical aspects of the film. The special effects were top notch, as expected. The $140 million budget went to good use. The full array of mutant powers were displayed well enough to satisfy even the most intense Marvel fan. Especially those of Magneto, Xavier and Shaw. Having the characters do things that we haven’t quite seen yet in other X-Men movies made for a pretty effective film. The story, easy to follow and understandable, is tied into some parts of major world history. John F. Kennedy even makes an appearance as our beloved U.S. president. <br />
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The character depth, I think, was a big deal coming into this movie. We understood the sense of uneasiness that the other young X-Men (Rogue, Iceman, Pyro) went through during their trials but this time it was better. The story really dived into the whole awkwardness that they feel being different from “normal” people. Simply wanting to fit in, not knowing how to but also not wanting to lose that feeling of being special really leapt out of the screen. All of that combined with trying to hide themselves from humans while being out in the open. It reminded me of the periods in history that saw the Holocaust and Slavery take place. There was even a small tidbit in the film that I’m surprised no one quite caught during the film’s post production. <br />
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Shaw is addressing Xavier’s camp about what might happen to them (mutants) when humans find out about them. One of his points were the mutant race becoming enslaved, which then he turned to, as well as the camera, to one of the only African-American mutants in the movie, Darwin (Edi Gathegi). It could have been an argumentative point he was trying to make seeing as how the movie took place during the 1960s, a time when blacks still weren’t really seen as equals in the United States. Not a big deal but I picked up on it and wondered if anyone else did other than the couple of people who snickered down in the front row.<br />
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Overall, I quite enjoyed this movie. It was a great way to begin the story of the X-Men. There is much advocacy for the similarities for the differences in opinion between Xavier and Lensherr for equal mutant rights and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X for equal human rights. I agree that there are many of the same aspects there but it makes the ongoing feud between the two and their respected camps that much better. Slightly darker in tone and more meaningful than the previous installments, <i>X-Men: First Class</i> had me wondering if they were going to make any sequels. My question was soon answered when I discovered that a planned trilogy is in the works. As well as more origin stories and a continuation of the original trilogy. The X-Men aren’t done yet by far. I give <i>X-Men: First Class</i> “4 solidly told origin stories out of 5”.<br />
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<i>“We have it in us to be the better men.”</i><br />
<i>“We already are.”</i></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/frcCCHb9LHc" width="491"></iframe></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-83324856753982918342011-05-29T10:36:00.000-04:002011-05-29T10:36:06.165-04:00Me vs. the Tech Nation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4s_yE9ngung/TeH10-8H4vI/AAAAAAAAAw8/u5BXWOtpG9M/s1600/no-ipad-500x416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4s_yE9ngung/TeH10-8H4vI/AAAAAAAAAw8/u5BXWOtpG9M/s320/no-ipad-500x416.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>"The Nerds Have Won!"</i><br />
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So I was on the train the other day and happened to noticed what has become the acceptable fad nowadays. At least half the people in the car had their nose buried in some kind of tech device. A few months ago a TV personality Chris Hardwick made a comment about this saying "the nerds have won!" I agree with this somewhat, but to what extent did we actually win?<br />
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Whenever I see someone toying around with their smartphones and/or blackberries (that sounds dirty) and/or tablets (i.e.: ipads), I can't help but think that 10 short years ago, showing just a remote interest in these kinds of gadgets would have been considered nerdy by most people. Think about how many people had internet access in their homes during that period, back in 2000, and think about how many people are on facebook today. But what really has me raising an eyebrow to all of this is how so long ago I would have been made fun of for being into all this techie stuff, and now I'm almost made fun of for not giving a shit about it.<br />
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Fast forward to 2012 where close to half of the country owns a smartphone (close to 40% if not more) and things like tablet PC’s and kindles are on a steady rise to popularity. It’s both interesting and scary to be witness to this new “technological” generation being formed now and because of my lack of interest in new tech I’m starting to feel like an old man at 30. I was recently given an ipad and don’t understand what the big deal is. I have yet to jump on the smartphone craze but am guessing I’ll get one in the future. That’ll be the true test to see if I want in to this new tech nation.<br />
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As it stands now it’s me vs. the tech nation, and while I’ve never had a problem with being on the outside of a socially accepted fad (I actually like it), it just boggles my mind how big of a role gadgetry has in the norm today. In only a few short years I’ve gone from being a techie nazi to watching everyone else become one. I can only wonder where we will all in 5 of those same years.<br />
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<i>by Andre Harry</i></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-88143980054357630872011-05-20T04:16:00.000-04:002011-05-20T04:16:04.883-04:00Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pIqUga1-bIc/TdYiJ7TdNYI/AAAAAAAAAwM/5oHL41CzfW4/s1600/-pirates-of-the-caribbean-4-pirates-of-the-caribbean-4-20493399-1000-1500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pIqUga1-bIc/TdYiJ7TdNYI/AAAAAAAAAwM/5oHL41CzfW4/s400/-pirates-of-the-caribbean-4-pirates-of-the-caribbean-4-20493399-1000-1500.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Part four and counting, Walt Disney Pictures continues its one time trilogy into a, for now, quartet of a film franchise. <i>Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides</i> returns to the screen with basically some of its original, cheery-eyed cast intact. Usuals and choice favorites, Orland Bloom & Keira Knightley, chose not to reprise their roles. But everyone’s lovable and normally deceitful captain sailed his way back onto the theater. Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, excuse me, Captain Jack Sparrow is with new direction this time. Rob Marshall picks up directing duties from the franchises normal head, Gore Verbinksi.<br />
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When we last found Captain Sparrow (Johnny Depp) he had set sail in a tiny dinghy in the direction of the Fountain of Youth. By now, four years later, you would think that maybe he has found it. You would be incorrect because movie time has never quite equaled real-life time. Not only has he not yet found these legendary waters but we find his first mate, Mr. Gibbs (Kevin McNally), on trial with the court believing that he is in fact Sparrow. After exchanging some dazzling pleasantries with the King of England’s superior guards, with them in pursuit of him, Sparrow crosses paths with someone from his past. Enter the still very beautiful Penelope Cruz as Angelica, yet another female that the womanizing Sparrow has “loved and left”.<br />
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After having some very choice words for him, Angelica sort of recruits Jack for her ship to help her crew and captain search for the Fountain so that they may claim it as their own. Her captain proves to be no ordinary pirate as Jack discovers that the ship he has been attached to is headed by none other than the infamous evil pirate Black Beard (Ian McShane). They then all find themselves in a race against the English as well as the Spanish, who were the first ones to learn of the whereabouts of the Fountain, to delight in the wonders that the mystical waters from the Fountain will bring them.<br />
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Writing duo, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, also make a return to pen the screenplay for this latest chapter as they did the first three. Disney has got a real franchise here on their hands and Elliot and Rossio among others get to reap the benefits. I think it’s safe to say that it is time for me to sit down and write out some kind of a screenplay. Before going to see this film, I felt that the absence of Bloom and Knightley’s characters would yield a hole in the story and provide a lack of screen presence. I find my theory to be both right and wrong after seeing it. <br />
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The movie and story packs enough substance to carry it all the way through without losing the audience’s attention. But at times, the lack of their appearances might be missed. The other characters did receive plenty of time on screen due to this. Some points felt like it was too much but it did a good job of turning your attention to some other aspect within the plot as not to over saturate the film with just one dimension.<br />
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As usual, the action and stunt sequences were enjoyable. Packed with quick movements, sword fights, plenty of banter and that famous <i>Pirates</i> score that I enjoy so much. Depp did pull plenty of action duty where it would have normally gone to Orlando Bloom attempting to fight his way out of a jam wielding his sword. Even Cruz had her stunt and sword play moments. I couldn’t really complain about the film in that department. Can’t complain about any of the films in that department now that I think about it. They’ve done a pretty good job being consistent in that aspect.<br />
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Black Beard played the film’s main antagonist, showing no mercy where normal men would. With his steady hand and control of his ship, <i>Queen Anne’s Revenge</i>, you can tell that he is definitely one pirate that you do not want to mess with. This <i>Pirates </i>was different in the fact that it was filmed primarily in Hawaiian waters as opposed to the usual Caribbean where the previous three were shot. Still, the tropical back drop and clear waters served their purpose providing an ideal environment for pirating all the same. <br />
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I did not see this one in 3D, it being the first <i>Pirates</i> film that I’ve actually seen in theaters, but still enjoyed it nonetheless. It is reported that there is a fifth one which already has a script finished in the works. This last one, as the others have, definitely left a medium sized window open for another sequel. I give <i>Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides</i> “4 zombie-fied pirates & killer mermaids out of 5”<br />
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<i>“I wish to agree with the missionary’s position”</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R0_hqFW5hcg" width="491"></iframe></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-53579875957083206472011-05-12T14:52:00.000-04:002011-05-13T09:42:54.085-04:00Mourning The Chicago Code<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iu_Kt185Vwk/TcwtAaqiUDI/AAAAAAAAAvs/XyecrvsFnx0/s1600/the-chicago-code-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400px" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iu_Kt185Vwk/TcwtAaqiUDI/AAAAAAAAAvs/XyecrvsFnx0/s400/the-chicago-code-poster.jpg" width="270px" /></a></div>It is with a very heavy heart and saddened demeanor that I pass on this dreadful news. I don't know just how many of you had begun to watch or even heard of a nice little cop-drama by the name of <i>The Chicago Code</i>. It starred Jennifer Beals as Teresa Colvin, the first ever female Police Superintendent for the Chicago PD. Her main mission upon becoming the highest ranking police officer in the city of Chicago was attempting to take down corrupt Alderman Ronin Gibbons (Delroy Lindo). Curiosity peaked yet?<br />
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She assembles a secret and very small task force consisting of her former partner Jarek Wysocki (Jason Clarke), who has his own personal uncertainties at home, and Caleb Evers (Matt Lauria). They are given the green light by the Super to take on whatever and any cases they feel are the most important within the city. Also handpicked by Colvin, deep undercover officer Liam Hennessey (Billy Lush), tries to navigate his way through the corrupt ranks of Gibbons' evil empire in order to finally bring the city official to justice. The show is created by Shawn Ryan who birthed the show <i>Terriers</i> which was also removed from the air.<br />
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This is why, my friends, I am currently in a state of heavy mourning. As someone who is primarily a watcher of movies and not television, I was beginning to become hopeful of the new shows making their debuts. In my article, <a href="http://franchisesaysso.blogspot.com/2011/02/television-how-ive-missed-you-so.html">Television, how I've missed you so</a>, I go into more detail about the rise, downfall and rise again of network television in my heart. The cancellation of <i>The Chicago Code</i> during its first and only season seems to come at a shock, only because to me it was pretty good. Not just another cop drama, it brought a sense of realism to the screen. It is actually shot in the city of Chicago, uses pretty much the same uniforms that police there use and periodically gives the audience many scenic views of a city which has seen its share of troubled times. <br />
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Being from New York myself, I can say that, yes, Chicago isn't the only urban city that has its problems with drugs, murder and corrupt city officials. But its probably one of the few that has had to suffer in silence. Not many people know what goes on there. Cities such Detroit, New Orleans, Cincinnati and of course Baltimore are included in this category. Syndicated network television was making these topics relevant again along with brining a sense of much needed serious entertainment with it.<br />
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Other shows getting the axe are <i>Breaking In</i>, <i>Traffic Light</i>, <i>Lie To Me </i>and <i>Human Target</i>. One proposed cause for the deaths of these series has been lack of promotion. People just aren't getting the news that they are out there. I don't know if I agree. I've heard of all of these shows and I barely tune into network television (except to view my beloved and now murdered <i>Chicago Code</i>). Another casualty which I am in an equal state of disarray over is the cease and desist of <i>Lights Out</i>. A drama centered around the world of boxing. It aired tuesday nights on FX. Another show gone after only one season. It was much more than just another show about boxing just as <i>The Chicago Code</i> was just another show about cops. It had substance and enjoyment focusing on the stress and toll that the life of a boxer can have on him and his family.<br />
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Now, I don't know what to watch. I am currently praying that new shows <i>The Killing</i> and <i>Breakout Kings</i> do not fall subject to the same fate. If by some act of unmeasurable unbalance in this universe the wonderful world of <i>Dexter </i>is cut short, I might have to riot. Who's with me? Well I guess it's back to drawing board. Any suggestions?<br />
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What do you think about these cancellations? Is your DVR content affected by any of these changes?</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-32847769325015770412011-05-06T04:04:00.008-04:002011-05-06T04:36:25.192-04:00Thor (2011)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0J-EbhsouA4/TcOreXbkhWI/AAAAAAAAAuw/n8HQ8Fj_G6I/s1600/thor-movie-poster-2011-1020674654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0J-EbhsouA4/TcOreXbkhWI/AAAAAAAAAuw/n8HQ8Fj_G6I/s400/thor-movie-poster-2011-1020674654.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Marvel movie number whatever it is right now is the second big film of the summer. I only say that because <i>Fast 5</i> has proven itself to be the first. Even though it is still officially Spring, the mega-blockbusters are beginning to roll themselves into theaters. Hopefully so that many moviegoers will roll green-colored- paper out of their wallets and roll their butts into the seats. <i>Thor</i> is one of many links on the path towards Marvel’s eventual<i> Avengers</i> destination. The next link on this road will be <i>Captain America</i>, which just might turn out to better than this step. </span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Chris Hemsworth takes on the role of the God of Thunder and the heir to Odin’s, the king of Asgard, (Anthony Hopkins) throne. From the beginning of the film, the audience can sense the jealousy that is pulsating from Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s younger brother. When the day finally arrives for him to realize his destiny as King, the eldest prince proves that he truly isn’t ready. He carries himself with a brash and recklessness of a warrior but not a leader. After there is a breach in security by the Frost Giants, enemies to Odin and the people of Asgard, Thor instantly wishes to declare war upon them. Not even the strict forbiddance of this by his father deters the eventual hero from paying the race of giants a visit.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Thor enlists the help of his closest friends and allies to join him on the journey and without surprise nearly gets them killed. For this defiance, King Odin banishes his son, along with his legendary hammer, to the realm of none other than good ‘ol Earth. Here he meets, more like is nearly critically injured by her car, a mortal named Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Is it me or has she been in absolutely every movie this year? After he discovers that his hammer has been confiscated by S.H.I.E.L.D., he sets out to retrieve it. Back home, after King Odin has fallen ill, Loki replaces him as king and attempts to instill his own devious plans. He wants to rule over Asgard and make sure that his brother remains banished.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Before getting into what I disliked about the film, I’ll talk about what I enjoyed. The first half hour takes place in the other realm, within Asgard. There’s an action scene that pits Thor and his squad of warriors against the Frost Giants, most of whom are CGI-creations. The special effects that were used to make this scene were great. Crisp filming and detailed character depictions made for a very engaging fight scene. When it finally shifted back to puny Earth, I thought to myself how the movie could have possibly taken place in its entirety in Asgard and been great. But that wouldn’t exactly follow the story of Thor and set things up for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Avengers</i>, would it?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I kind of hate to say it but after that, it kind of slid downhill for me. There were many portions that progressed the movie rather slowly, including the mini-romance between our hero and Natalie Portman. Someone should tell Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher that their sex buddy is getting wooed by a god. Until he realizes that his home world is in jeopardy, Thor is somewhat of a jerk. Demanding things and talking down to everyone, you can tell why his father banished him. But watching him trying to interact with mere humans does provide some humor. Of course there’s the shirtless shot for the ladies and the glimpse of a future Marvel hero who is currently working for S.H.I.E.L.D for the comic fans. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Superhero flicks are never known for their acting quality so I wasn’t extremely surprised by the lack of superb attempts in this film. Even Oscar winner Hopkins and veteran Rene Russo who played Thor’s mother couldn’t save the movie from that. Also, there wasn’t much action. It was pretty much whatever you saw in the trailers plus the “epic” end-fight which all hero movies have that contained all of the action scenes. Although Loki is helmed as Thor’s main antagonist throughout the comics and the film, I sort of saw where his character was coming from. He was possibly the wisest one after his father but no one wanted to take him seriously. I think that would push anyone to turn evil, don’t you? That’s how major corporations come tumbling down and tragic school shootings come about.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Overall, I think Thor would be a good, fun movie to take the kids to see. I’m not quite sure if die-hard comic fans would agree but how many times has Hollywood gotten these kinds of adaptations correct. Even with them being produced by Marvel Studios themselves. The God of Thunder may have possibly proved to be the God of a mild but relaxing rainstorm. I personally would claim <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">X2: X-Men United</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spider-Man 2</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Iron Man</i> as the best that Marvel has put out thus far. I give <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thor </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">“3.5 after-the-credit-waits only to be disappointed out of 5”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">“Do you want me to take him down or would you rather send in more guys for him to beat up?</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">”</span></i></span><i style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IOCvC_zWEq8" width="491"></iframe></span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-84266416603074407772011-04-26T20:12:00.000-04:002011-04-26T20:12:13.086-04:00Unthinkable (2010)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iDqesH3bG2c/Tbdeu9OY_RI/AAAAAAAAAtM/DznmgwDL8_U/s1600/unthinkable-movie-poster-2010-1020547843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iDqesH3bG2c/Tbdeu9OY_RI/AAAAAAAAAtM/DznmgwDL8_U/s400/unthinkable-movie-poster-2010-1020547843.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><span style="line-height: 115%;">There are terrorist movies and then there are <i>TERRORIST </i>movies. <i>Unthinkable</i>, in my opinion, falls into the latter. We’ve all seen the films that have the Islamic-motivated individuals who have done something extreme to prove either a political or personal point at the expense of others. They are fearless, clever and more than willing to die for their country and beliefs. This thriller has all of this but it takes it to another level.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Steven Arthur Younger (Michael Sheen) or Yusuf Atta Mohammed, which he prefers to be referred as is an American man who has made the conversion to Islam. He has placed three bombs in three American cities, all set to explode on the same day at the same time. Yes, and all of them are of the nuclear nature. He purposely allows himself to be captured by the U.S. government and is then subjected to special forms of "interrogation" by a man called "H" (Samuel L. Jackson). H has been specially hired by the government for his unique skills to deal with these specific kinds of situations. In addition, an FBI Special Agent, Helen Brody (Carrie-Ann Moss) is requested by H to assist him in extracting the unknown locations of the nuclear </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">bombs from Younger.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Immediately upon meeting him, Younger is shown, or better yet feels, what exactly H does. To say the least, Brody is completely against H’s tactics and tries to convince him to stop. Yeah, like that was really going to happen. Throughout the film, many ideas and theories are thrown around by those conducting the investigation as to whether Younger’s threats are even legit. But the "Islamic-motivated" man assures them that he will not disclose any information until his demands are met. Demands that consist of Muslim countries being left alone and U.S. troops being withdrawn from Islamic areas. By stating these requests, he makes everyone aware that he not only wants justice for the horrors that have been done to his Muslim brothers and sisters but also peace and rest for his American people. The events that take place during the rest of the film, including some very unorthodox techniques of trying to get him to talk, makes for a whirlwind of a movie and definitely edge of your seat material.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The story was written by Oren Moverman and Peter Woodward is grossly engaging and I do mean grossly. Although some scenes are not for the faint of heart, director Gregor Jordan does a good job of not making it all about the gore. The interaction between the characters and back and forth of the plotline keeps the audience guessing without managing to lose any eyeballs watching the screen. It doesn’t take very long to get off the ground, delivering an open scene of Younger making his initial video demands. After that, it’s off to the races as we are introduced to Special Agent Brody and H as they are made aware of the possible consequences at hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Moss’ FBI character we can tell is somewhat of a light hard-ass, if that makes any sense. She is all about business and achieving results with very limited time for fun and games. But at the same time when compared to Jackson’s H, she is probably more human than we ever guessed. As with many of his roles, Samuel L. Jackson’s character is cool and extremely confident. He acknowledges what needs to be done and never hesitates at his tasks at hand. You like him but at other times you want to label him as a real a******.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I wanted to find something wrong with this movie. Only because I don’t normally hand out perfect scores but I couldn’t. Some may feel that it is simply a pile of processed and rehashed political/terrorism mumbo jumbo while trying to entertain its audience. But I feel that it dives very deep into the harsh reality of what is going on in the world today; bottom line is that there’s a war going on. We don’t know if it will ever stop but we do know that there are people out there who will go the ever seeing distance to make sure they feel retribution for evils done to them and their families. Sheen’s terrific performance as our antagonist provides Hollywood-style proof of this.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I’m sorry I slept on this direct-to-DVD gem so that’s why I’m suggesting it to well, everyone. I give <i>Unthinkable</i> "5 reasons why you can’t prosecute someone without fingernails out of 5". <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">“Every man, no matter how strong he is, lies to himself about something</span>”</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_B24Bt0cVtA" title="YouTube video player" width="491"></iframe><br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=movie0f3-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B003HTSJAE&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-8032264547819545682011-04-14T15:47:00.025-04:002011-04-14T19:08:13.349-04:00Dexter: Tonight's the Night<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zO3WduxRX8M/Tad7pBV-juI/AAAAAAAAAsU/tKhhksmIZBo/s1600/dexter.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zO3WduxRX8M/Tad7pBV-juI/AAAAAAAAAsU/tKhhksmIZBo/s400/dexter.bmp" width="305" /></a></div><span id="goog_1919703218"></span><span id="goog_1919703219"></span>A woman is walking out of her usual coffee spot while taking a small sip of a vanilla latte that she has just purchased. She climbs into her car and drives not very far to her empty apartment. She notices a couple holding hands walking along the sidewalk that leads past her building and pauses in the night air to appreciate this moment that she yearns she had in her life. What she doesn’t notice is the man that has stepped out of his car parked in the shadows who has followed her from the coffee shop. He waits impatiently beside his vehicle until she has finished admiring the couple to begin the climb of stairs to her apartment. His palms begin to sweat with anticipation as devious thoughts tip-toe through his demented mind.<br />
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He checks to make sure that the coast is clear and takes one step in the direction of her building. His second step is interrupted by a sudden sharp pain in his neck. Before he is able to formulate even a guess on what might have caused it, he begins to fall unconsciously to the ground. But before he hits the hard pavement, he’s carefully and swiftly caught by another unknown gentleman of the night. What seems like mere minutes later, the first man awakens to find himself strapped to a table restrained by layer upon layer of plastic. He attempts to move but soon discovers that it is useless, the plastic binding him down has been tightly fastened.<br />
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All of a sudden, an unfamiliar voice speaks from a dark corner. Our tied-up victim begins to breathe heavily and asks where he is. Just then a light flicks on and he is able to see several pictures of beautiful females that he has preyed on before. If he wasn’t stopped earlier that night, the woman sipping her coffee and watching the couple would have been among them. The mystery voice comes into the light, his red hair seeming to be on fire. He stands by our victims’ head and makes a small cut into his cheek before collecting the blood that drips out and placing it on a glass slide; a trophy. Our victim screams in pain still asking demanding to know what is going on. Suddenly the questions stop as a knife is plunged into his chest. Soon thereafter all is quiet and the red-haired man standing over him releases a sigh of much needed satisfaction.<br />
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This lovely night out, or in, happens to be the basic and on-going premise of Showtime’s hit show, <i>Dexter</i>. Simply labeling it as a hit might be somewhat of an understatement. It is freaking awesome. Based on a series of crime novels written by author Jeff Lindsay, <i>Dexter</i>’s first season began in October of 2006 with the fifth and most recent season ending this past fall. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t8QnfjVWtaQ/Tad9_kn1hJI/AAAAAAAAAsk/OGNDWgdw6ew/s1600/600full-dexter-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t8QnfjVWtaQ/Tad9_kn1hJI/AAAAAAAAAsk/OGNDWgdw6ew/s320/600full-dexter-poster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>Dexter</i>, if you haven’t figured out by my mood-setting intro, is a crime/serial drama mixed with suspense, baked in mystery and topped off with a vigilante twist. Basically it’s about a serial killer who kills serial killers. Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a forensic blood spatter analyst. Think CSI:anything (there are so many nowadays) combined with buckets of blood, in-depth psychological narration, some nudity and a pinch of mild, dark humor. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">He works for the Miami-Dade County Police department in the homicide unit. Within his division are other officers/characters whose lives the show takes time to dive into including his ambitious yet emotional foul-mouthed sister, Deborah Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter). Deborah’s father, Harry (James Remar) adopted Dexter as a young child and made him a part of their family. As of the beginning of the show, both of their parents are deceased but the audience is shown several flashbacks helping to explain the “Dark Passenger” origins of Dexter. Our anti-hero is also visited by many visions of his father, especially while he is planning and stalking his next bad guy victim.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Some series regulars are that of Rita (Julie Benz), Dexter’s timid and damaged girlfriend who is trying to recover from her own troubled past during the first season. Lt. Maria Laguerta (Lauren Velez) is the head of the homicide division and a hero in the Cuban community of Miami. Det. Angel Batista (David Zayas), Sgt. James Doakes (Erik King), who has a serious issue and suspicion of Dexter, and fellow-forensic analyst Vince Masuka (C.S. Lee) round out recurring characters on the show who also work with Dexter trying to catch the criminals of Miami. Det. Joseph Quinn (Desmond Harrington) is introduced later on in the series.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-75EYmOcmw84/Tad74rz4VFI/AAAAAAAAAsY/hp3-hbw6Ftk/s1600/dexter-poster_314x404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-75EYmOcmw84/Tad74rz4VFI/AAAAAAAAAsY/hp3-hbw6Ftk/s320/dexter-poster_314x404.jpg" width="248" /></a>Of course we have plenty of guest stars; Keith Carradine as FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy, John Lithgow as the “Trinity Killer”, Jimmy Smits as ADA Miguel Prado and Julia Stiles as Lumen Pierce, a victim of one of the men Dexter kills during the fifth season. Even Malcolm Jamal Warner plays a lawyer assisting Rita in a family court case concerning her two children.</div><br />
Episodes of the series have been written and directed by a team of different people. James Manos Jr., who developed the series, is among the main writers as well as Jeff Lindsay of course who penned the novels. Keith Gordon and Marcos Siega have directed the majority of the episodes. Daniel Cerone, Clyde Phillips and Melissa Rosenberg were the main executive producers, all of whom have by now departed the production altogether. Chip Johanssen, who co-executive produced 24, took over for Phillips and Michael C. Hall is pulling double duty by also executive producing as well as bringing the very popular lead character to life. <br />
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I first stumbled onto <i>Dexter</i> around 2008 but didn’t really give it a chance. Since taking the time to go back and watch the series from the beginning, I have been kicking myself in the rear end. I haven’t seen every television drama there is (who has that kind of time anyway) but I would put Dexter within the top 10% of T.V. series ever made. If you think about how many shows there are out there, that’s saying a lot. If you narrow it down to just dramas, that’s saying even more and even you go further and only consider cop/forensic/crime dramas, that’s saying just about everything.<br />
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Michael C. Hall is tremendous as Dexter, being able to transform from a dull seemingly plain scientist to a delightful, intelligent killer who claims his victims with spot-on precision. Dexter certainly deserves all of the awards that it has received including a 2008 Scream Award for best show. Altogether it has been nominated 109 times for different awards and won 33 of them. Not too shabby at all. Its fourth season finale was Showtime’s highest rated telecast in over a decade when 2.6 million viewers tuned in to watch. <br />
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The five seasons are somewhat tweaked to be slightly different from their respective book number counterpart. The differences range from small character details to massive opposite storylines altogether. Despite the changes in plot progressions, both remain high on fans lists within their own industries. Season 6 is hopefully going to mark the return of our scalpel-toting blood spatter vigilante this fall on Showtime. <br />
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Only finding small aspects here and there that I would have done differently and one major detail that I wished never happened, I see nothing wrong with this complete and well put-together drama. It not only holds your attention and keeps you guessing but also digs into the mind of a serial killer who is actually not such a bad guy. Trust me, once you begin watching, you won’t be able to stop. It’s like crack but with blood and suspense. I give <i>Dexter</i> “5 air-conditioner trophy hiding places out of 5”.<br />
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<i>“Tonight's the night”</i></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-26363213999890760822011-04-11T05:21:00.001-04:002011-04-11T05:27:51.011-04:00Jersey Shore: Gym, Tan, Re-cap of Season 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mZGX2gPGedM/TaLH5M7u27I/AAAAAAAAAr0/YFUXIWM7TPs/s1600/Jersey-Shore-Season-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mZGX2gPGedM/TaLH5M7u27I/AAAAAAAAAr0/YFUXIWM7TPs/s320/Jersey-Shore-Season-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Oh, what can we “shoreheads” say about the third and latest season that was the <em>Jersey Shore</em>? A lot I’m sure but I only have so much typing room before people begin to get tired of my rambling. Last season which was filmed in Miami while the state of New Jersey was going through a little thing we call winter, was filled with drama, fights, scandal and even more drama. Well I suppose “fights & scandal” may just be synonyms for the word drama. Sammi and JWoww duked it out first then we were quite entertained and even somewhat surprised by how well Snooki held her own against all around hated roommate Angelina. </div></div><a name='more'></a><br />
This year, “the Kim Kardashian of Staten Island” was replaced by “the blast in a glass” Deena. She made her debut and although she’s a small one she made her presence felt in a very big way by challenging Sammi immediately. I’m sure none of us expected there to be a big blowout on the very first episode. One that resulted in a rematch between Jenni and Sammi. In my opinion, I think this one was a draw. Allowing the first episode to end that way of course left us wanting more and unable to wait until the following week. <br />
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The highlights of the third season were headlined, yet again, by the ongoing rather dysfunctional relationship between Sammi and Ronnie. Perhaps MTV should have hired a couple’s counselor to try to mediate the constant fussing, more like war, that these two put the house through. Honestly by the end of the last stint in Miami, I was over their constant bickering and more than ready for them to part ways. But sadly my wish was not granted and I guess it wouldn’t be much of a show without all of their unnecessary drama. <br />
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Ultimately, as we all saw, the fighting finally came to a head when they both lost it and went at each other. First, Sammi decided it was a great idea to punch her boyfriend in the face because he was friends with someone whom she despised at the time, Jenni. Ladies and gentleman, we all know that if it were the other way around, our dear Ronald would be facing criminal charges yet again in his young life. After that came the clothes chucking, bedroom destroying chaos that took place during a mega-argument. This was fittingly followed by a distraught Sammi going out and grinding on the first guy she could find. <br />
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Finally, finally, after Ron went nutso again after seeing his “girlfriend” partying hard with a stranger, Sammi made the right decision and made her way back home. Sure Ronnie was sad and lonely and dissolved into a crying muscle mess but it was for his own good. “Was” being the keyword. No sooner than Sammi “Sweetheart” departed, she was right back in the shore house and eventually back in Ron’s arms. More drama ensued when we all learned that she was talking to the now infamous Arvin over Blackberry messenger. Ronnie became the adult, after some usual and much expected instigating from Mike, and finally ended their on-again, off-again relationship, for good. Thank. You. Ron.<br />
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Then there was other relationship drama between Jenni and her boyfriend, Tom. Call me psychic, but I never thought they looked like they should have been together. Even though Tom seemed like someone that Jenni would go for, he obviously didn’t trust her. Maybe it was her mini-romp with Pauly D in season one or problems back home or perhaps he just couldn’t deal with having a girlfriend as hot as she was. Whatever it was, he was always paranoid. If that was the case, knowing that she was doing this reality series and he wouldn’t be able to handle it, he should have broken it off. Then go find a less-attractive girl whom he wouldn’t have to worry whether she would cheat on him or not. I’m just saying.<br />
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I did feel a little bad for JWoww. She does seem like a pretty nice girl who is just looking for love and happiness. It’s just that she meets guys who would rather give her something else. Maybe it’s her fake boobs that cause all of that attention. After dealing with the ordeal of losing her boyfriend, her bed and money, she finally snuggles in with Roger. Now he’s a guy that I think was possibly custom made to fit her criteria. I don’t know her very well but was kind of glad to see her find happiness with him, even if she waited about a nano-second before jumping right back into the dating pool after the last debacle.<br />
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What else? Oh yes, Snooki gets arrested! I wasn’t surprised, at all. She was already a kind of out there, “I’m going to do whatever I want” kind of girl then you add alcohol into the equation. I am surprised Seaside police weren’t just following her around waiting for her to f**k up. Spending a night in the slammer seemed to open her eyes, even if it was just a squint, to what she was doing to herself. She transferred her attention from booze back to one of her past obsessions, Vinny. <br />
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I don’t know about the rest of you but I think her incessant habit of getting mad at Vinny because he didn’t want to have sex with her is really, well, unfair. If she was the one that was turning him down for sex and he kept coming back then he would be a dog wouldn’t he? But that’s why we have double standards, don’t we? Anyway, Vinny did the right thing by trying to spare her feelings because he didn’t feel the same way but sleeping with her friend may not have been the brightest move. Plus seeing that Taylor isn’t the prettiest girl in the world, he was literally thinking with his penis. I don’t care how large one’s manhood may be; there still isn’t a working brain in there.<br />
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Speaking of laying down a sex trail, between Miami and their second visit to Seaside, I began to get a little afraid for the guys of the house. Vinny, Mike “The Situation” and DJ Pauly D are knowingly all out to get a large piece of that pie we like to call…well you know what it’s called. Bottom line, they run through a lot of um, girls, so I at least hope that they were wrapping it up. The specimens from this season were not as up to par as the ones that they found wandering around the clubs in Miami. By now everyone knows who they are, you would think the quality of the girls would rise even higher but sometimes you got to take what you can get I suppose. Even if you are a reality series celebrity. <br />
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On that note, I would like to speak on one of my favorite inventions of the third season, “the grenade whistle”. What probably made this creation even funnier was that the girls they were blowing it for had absolutely no idea what it meant. Can you say oblivious? How about the girls who had their brother come to the house at night to pick them up and Pauly D very smoothly suggested he just take them and go. The girl that was going to hook up with him got so upset, it was hilarious. No Italian sausage for her that night. <br />
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Yes indeed it was another memorable season which spanned 13 episodes over the course of three months. I wonder if the fourth season, which is reportedly going to be in Florence, Italy, will be any longer. In addition to next season, there will be a spin-off featuring Snooki and Jenni and another with DJ Pauly D. With all of these new shows happening, there hasn’t been any progress in the start of shooting any of them so sadly, we probably won’t have any more <em>Jersey Shore</em> until next year. GTW: Gym, Tan, and Wait for 2012 to arrive so we can become reacquainted with our <em>Jersey Shore</em> alumni once again. Until then, keep fist pumping and make sure to maintain a grenade-free zone. Now you have to excuse me, I have business in the smush room.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-65914337158641171042011-04-10T20:11:00.000-04:002011-04-10T20:11:28.401-04:00Spin-offs for JERSEY SHORE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edK9EIMdQ6s/TaJGcg3CSzI/AAAAAAAAAro/4VNN-DichV0/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edK9EIMdQ6s/TaJGcg3CSzI/AAAAAAAAAro/4VNN-DichV0/s320/untitled.bmp" width="159" /></a></div>It's official! MTV has given the go-ahead for two new series featuring a few <i>Jersey Shore</i> alum. Yes, fans of the show will eventually get to see Snooki and JWoww in their own show chronicling their lives away from the shore. They will also get to check out Pauly D in his very own series following his adventures as very much sought after DJ.<br />
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After stints with the WWE, actually getting in on the action on <i>Wrestlemania</i> and countless numerous public appearances, Snooki is reunited with her best friend, Jenni, in their own show. According to MTV reps “viewers will get to see how they deal with life and love when the vacation is over in this 12-episode series. The locale may be different, but the friendship is sure to remain the same". <br />
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When it came to DJ Pauly D's series, they had this to say, “Pauly D’s jet-setting and often hilarious life on the road as one of the country’s most in-demand DJs. Aiming to become one of the world’s most successful and recognized names in music, viewers will get to see Pauly D chase his dream with the help of the best friends he grew up with in Rhode Island by his side,”.<br />
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“The <i>Jersey Shore</i> cast is at the center of the show’s ongoing success and Nicole, Pauly D and Jenni have become household names as a result of their unique, sometimes outrageous and often hilarious personalities,” Chris Linn, MTV Executive Vice President of Programming and Head of Production, said in a statement. “We’re excited to put the spotlight on their lives away from the shore as they pursue their individual passions, careers and relationships. Both series are fun, fresh ways for us to evolve what is an already successful brand for us.”<br />
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After some rumor speculation about the fourth season for the original series, it would seem that it too has been given the <a href="http://www.accesshollywood.com/jersey-shore/jersey-shore-cast-signs-on-season-4-in-italy_articletab_46364">green light</a> as the entire cast has signed on to return. It is reportedly to take place in the city of Florence, Italy but there hasn't been any word so far when shooting will begin.<br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548367541764287617.post-37232871655860953752011-03-26T19:06:00.001-04:002011-03-26T21:44:43.968-04:00Try a sip, you might like it (True Blood)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KcXLwohy-Os/TY5sQn_TQaI/AAAAAAAAAqk/DFXjGAw2__Q/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KcXLwohy-Os/TY5sQn_TQaI/AAAAAAAAAqk/DFXjGAw2__Q/s320/untitled.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><span id="goog_1910188862"></span><span id="goog_1910188863"></span>Unless you happen to be dead yourself, you should know about the undead craze that is blanketing our planet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By undead I by no means am speaking of anything that slid out of the creative mind of one George A. Romero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am, however, referring to a certain race of supernatural beings that are called vampires.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, the other undead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are immortal, super-strong, very fast, drink blood, have skin that literally pales in comparison to a humans, and can apparently fly in some story variations.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Perhaps my most fondest memories of the fanged blood-lusters are from one of my most coveted television series, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean yeah, I initially watched it because of the high degree of hotness that was Sarah Michelle Gellar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought she was extremely “purty”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the drama powered storylines as well as the comic relief and surprising relation to real life teenage angst despite the fictitious characters forced me to continue coming back for more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then gravitated on over to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angel</i>, its spin-off, when it finally debuted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joss Whedon happens to be something of a genius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since those very classic good times, different ideas and variations of vampires have been slung upon us to hopefully accept and eventually love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a name='more'></a><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">After somewhat ignoring a small plea from a friend to use my ever so valuable time to peruse the third season of a particular show titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Blood</i>, I accidentally found myself watching it along with my aunt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also found myself incorrect in thinking that it was only for the younger demographic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure my aunt won’t appreciate being called old so I will take time to say that I am not doing that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I was a little shocked that she watched the show, consistently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must have caught the last 20 minutes of an episode towards the end of the season and saw nothing but blood, sex, guts, male-on-male sex, and then more blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought to myself, “there’s a storyline somewhere in here?”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">After giving in and watching the first season, I discovered that the answer to my question was a definitive “yes”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The series created by Alan Ball is based upon a series of novels authored by Charlaine Harris.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Southern Vampire Mysteries</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sookie Stackhouse Chronicles</i>, the series currently has a total of 10 books with three more slated for the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The show, which airs on HBO and rightfully so with the amount of blood and “nudy-parts”, has finished its third season as of last summer and has been confirmed to return for a fourth during this years’ hot month period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ygWAmoww6QA/TY5skYspdzI/AAAAAAAAAqo/OmriDs2ldT0/s1600/amazonposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ygWAmoww6QA/TY5skYspdzI/AAAAAAAAAqo/OmriDs2ldT0/s320/amazonposter.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>Anna Paquin plays our main character of Ms. Sookie Stackhouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can tell she’s a southern raised lady who has absolutely no problem about sharing what’s on her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This makes her character quite annoying at times but she’s a determined female that needs to be heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s a hottie, no doubt about that, but she’s also a virgin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Patiently waiting for that special, and deserving, guy who earns the right to nestle within that untouched haven she keeps to herself.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This of course all changes when she meets Bill Compton, an old vampire also from the south who has made his way to the fictional town of Bon Temps, LA to settle down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He takes up residence in a house that belonged to his family while he was still human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Sookie’s eyes fall upon Bill, the sense of instant attraction is there and they soon find themselves carrying on a relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sookie’s best friend, Tara, is one of the few African-American characters on the show who, like Sookie, loves to say what’s on her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only her dialogue is usually laced with a cuss word or thirty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t trust any men and has a crippling relationship with her mother which gives the audience the sense that she’s about to severely break at any second.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Sookie has a brother, Jason, who is the town playboy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the prowl for a different girl almost every night, he has little trouble finding himself in a lot of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tara’s cousin Lafayette makes up the flamboyant population of homosexuals within the town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sells drugs and works as a cook at a restaurant/bar called Merlotte’s owned by one Sam Merlotte.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A nice guy but whom you can tell has some secrets, he has a pretty deep crush on Sookie who also works at his restaurant as a waitress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest of the character roster is rounded out by town citizens, disrespected police officers, more vampires and tons of other supernatural creatures who seem to pop into the story when you least expect it.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Blood</i>’s story is fueled by a team of writers who concentrate the screenplay around the written novels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So each season is based upon a certain book within the series of novels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was amazed at the popularity that this show grew upon before I actually watched any specific episodes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also prior to embarking on my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Blood</i> journey I was told by some fans of the show that it progressively becomes a little worse as the seasons go by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that I am all caught up and at the level that everyone else is, I would have to say that I agree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Season one slowly begins with the all too familiar concept of vampire loves girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it builds upon that with the introduction of other complex characters and how they all interact with each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hostility, gripes, sex, love, passion, concern for each other’s well-being and mutual sex buddy relationships are formed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of this revolves around the main plotline in that vampires have decided to make themselves known to the world and try to convince humans that all they want are equal rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trying to help their plight is Japanese-created synthetic blood bottled as a drink and dubbed with the name Tru Blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wait, I’ve heard that name before somewhere. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Of course there are some who love them, want to be them and then some who want to see all of them burned in one huge vampire bon-fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throw into the mix a series of mysterious murders and the story takes off running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When one episode ends, you immediately want to watch the next one to find out what happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Engaging and entertaining, season one was definitely one of the better first season debuts for a television show that I can remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Season two; oh what can I say about this wild and very much over the top second season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s far-fetched, weird, sometimes frustrating and filled with just about every mortal sin you could possibly think of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of those sins, in the form of super orgy’s, are all over this second helping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gang encounters a supernatural creature in the form of a woman, Maryann (Michelle Forbes), who turns the town upside down by allowing them to completely indulge in their every forbidden desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then they wake up the next day and can’t remember a thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a crazy one that’s for sure, I found myself asking the question of “what the f***?” countless times but…wasn’t able to turn away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor did I find a suitable reason to stop watching all together, so I pressed onward.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-C3Z-36NolTY/TY5smYYA_2I/AAAAAAAAAqs/qeMWR_jiQlM/s1600/true-blood-season-3-full-cast-poster-27-4-10-kc%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-C3Z-36NolTY/TY5smYYA_2I/AAAAAAAAAqs/qeMWR_jiQlM/s320/true-blood-season-3-full-cast-poster-27-4-10-kc%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Enter season three, the most recent having aired last summer and not as insane as the second one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now the introduction of werewolves comes into play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t prevent myself from making the gut-obvious realization here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vampires…werewolves, where, oh where have I seen this before?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would be declaring that you are not smart enough to have any idea what I may be talking about. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I won’t even mention what quartet of books and movies this addition of people who could change into wolves automatically compared this show to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought this was going to do it for me, I would surely be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But yet again, I wasn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finished the entire season and yes, still not as good as the first but made a little more sense than the second, I found it interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now I haven’t made up my mind if I am actually looking forward to the fourth season or not but I will definitely check it out to see if it too can continue to grab my attention and keep it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I have made a conscious decision to at least come back to get another look at dear Tara; very attractive but so much more than just eye-candy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The end of the third season left many characters acting out of the norm and set-up some decent foreshadowing for the next installment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully this go-round will live up to the hype and anticipation of all hardcore <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Blood</i> fans everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I give <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Blood that is True</i> (as I call it) an overall “3 sets of fang marks left behind out of 5”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those are usually left in the neck unless of course you prefer the succulent femoral artery, oooh oh so tasty.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0061877/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Pam</span></a></span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: To Arlene's children: You make me so happy I never had any of you.” <br />
<b>“<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002907/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Eric Northman</span></a></b>: No, c'mon Pam, they're funny. They're like humans, but miniature. 'Teacup humans'.” </span></i></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What are your opinions of the heralded <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Blood</i> series?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Favorite character?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Best Season?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True</i> fans unite and make your voices heard. Now go forth and Do Bad Things.</span><br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476964477912407639noreply@blogger.com0