The 87th Academy Awards are ready to kick the night off with the film industry’s best and brightest.
Stay tuned with The Workprint for all the latest Oscar results!
COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS
BEST PICTURE
“American Sniper”
“Birdman” – WINNER
“Boyhood”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Whiplash”
BEST ACTOR
Steve Carrell, “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” – WINNER
BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” – WINNER
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall, “The Judge”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” – WINNER
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood” – WINNER
Laura Dern, “Wild”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”
BEST DIRECTOR
Alejando G. Inarritu, “Birdman” – WINNER
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Morton Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo, “Birdman” – WINNER
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, “Foxcatcher”
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Dan Gilroy, “Nightcrawler”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jason Hall, “American Sniper”
Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game” – WINNER
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”
Anthony McCarten, “The Theory of Everything”
Damien Chazelle, “Whiplash”
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Leviathan,” Russia
“Tangerines,” Estonia
“Wild Tales,” Argentina
“Ida,” Poland – WINNER
“Timbuktu,” Mauritania
BEST ANIMATED FEATURED FILM
“Big Hero 6” – WINNER
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“Song of the Sea”
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman” – WINNER
Robert Yeoman, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, “Ida”
Dick Pope, “Mr. Turner”
Roger Deakins, “Unbroken”
BEST FILM EDITING
Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach, “American Sniper”
Sandra Adair, “Boyhood”
Barney Pilling, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
William Goldenberg, “The Imitation Game”
Tom Cross, “Whiplash” – WINNER
BEST SOUND EDITING
Richard King, “Interstellar”
Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro, “Unbroken”
Brent Burge and Jason Canovas, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman, “American Sniper” – WINNER
Martin Hernandez and Aaron Glascock, “Birdman”
BEST SOUND MIXING
Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten, “Interstellar”
Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley, “Whiplash” – WINNER
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montano and Thomas Varga, “Birdman”
John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin, “American Sniper”
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montano and David Lee, “Unbroken”
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Dennis Gassner (Production Design) and Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration), “Into the Woods”
Adam Stockhausen (Production Design) and Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration), “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – WINNER
Nathan Crowley (Production Design) and Gary Fettis (Set Decoration),”Interstellar”
Maria Djurkovic (Production Design) and Tatiana Macdonald (Set Decoration), “The Imitation Game”
Suzie Davies (Production Design) and Charlotte Watts (Set Decoration),”Mr. Turner”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Milena Canonero, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – WINNER
Mark Bridges, “Inherent Vice”
Colleen Atwood, “Into the Woods”
Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive, “Maleficient”
Jacqueline Durran, “Mr. Turner”
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Hans Zimmer, “Interstellar”
Alexandre Desplat, “The Imitation Game”
Johann Johannsson, “The Theory of Everything”
Alexandre Desplat, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – WINNER
Gary Yershon, “Mr Turner”
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Glory” by Common and John Legend, “Selma” –WINNER
“Lost Stars” by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and NickSouthwood, “Begin Again”
“Everything Is Awesome” by Shawn Patterson, “The LEGO Movie”
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” by Glen Campbell, “Glenn Campbell: I’ll Be Me”
“Grateful,” “Beyond the lights”
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Foxcatcher”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” – WINNER
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher, “Interstellar” – WINNER
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick, “Captain America: Winter Soldier”
Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”
Some pictures may be worth a thousand words, but making one takes an awful lot more.
No one knows this better than writers, just one group of relatively unsung heroes swept under the proverbial red carpet during Oscars season. The annual Writers Guild Awards, handed out during dual ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York, helps balance the accolades by celebrating the most arguably crucial component of any great movie.
This year’s fete, held Feb. 14, directed the spotlight toward its nominated storytellers with appropriately self-deprecating wit and candor, aided by the comedic stylings of west coast emcee Lisa Kudrow and her east cost counterpart Larry Wilmore. Kudrow took particular advantage of the event’s comparatively isolated presentation, joking, “It’s very liberating for this not to be televised. There’s no one at home watching — kind of like network TV. I don’t know what you do when you’re not on TV, but for me it probably involves some hookers and blow.”
Despite the evening’s humorous undertones, there’s nothing funny about the effort it takes to create and present a well-crafted story. The Workprint caught up with Best Adapted Screenplay nominee Jason Hall (“American Sniper”) and Best Original Screenplay nominee Damien Chazelle (“Whiplash), along with revered “Game of Thrones” author George R. R. Martin, to discuss their respective projects and why it’s important to recognize that every onscreen accomplishment begins with a blinking cursor.
Watch our interviews from the Writers Guild Awards red carpet below:
Jason Hall, writer, “American Sniper”:
George R. R. Martin, author, “A Song of Ice and Fire” series:
Damien Chazelle, writer/director, “Whiplash”:
Video shot and edited by Keith Kuramoto
Clips courtesy of HBO, Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures Classics
Here’s the complete list of winners for this year’s Writers Guild Awards:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Boyhood, Written by Richard Linklater; IFC Films
Foxcatcher, Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman; Sony Pictures Classics
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness; Fox Searchlight – WINNER
Nightcrawler, Written by Dan Gilroy; Open Road Films
Whiplash, Written by Damien Chazelle; Sony Pictures Classics
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper, Written by Jason Hall; Based on the book by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice; Warner Bros.
Gone Girl, Screenplay by Gillian Flynn; Based on her novel; 20th Century Fox
Guardians of the Galaxy, Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman; Based on the Marvel comic by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Imitation Game, Written by Graham Moore; Based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges; The Weinstein Company – WINNER
Wild, Screenplay by Nick Hornby; Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed; Fox Searchlight
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Finding Vivian Maier, Written by John Maloof & Charlie Siskel; Sundance Selects
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, Written by Brian Knappenberger; FilmBuff – WINNER
Last Days in Vietnam, Written by Mark Bailey & Keven McAlester; American Experience Films
Red Army, Written by Gabe Polsky; Sony Pictures Classics
DRAMA SERIES
Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO
The Good Wife, Written by Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Erica Shelton Kodish, Matthew Montoya, Luke Schelhaas, Nichelle Tramble Spellman, Craig Turk, Julia Wolfe; CBS
House of Cards, Written by Bill Cain, Laura Eason, Sam R. Forman, William Kennedy, Kenneth Lin, John Mankiewicz, David Manson, Beau Willimon; Netflix
Mad Men, Written by Lisa Albert, Heather Jeng Bladt, Semi Chellas, Jonathan Igla, David Iserson, Janet Leahy, Erin Levy, Patricia Resnick, Tom Smuts, Matthew Weiner, Carly Wray; AMC
True Detective, Written by Nic Pizzolatto; HBO – WINNER
COMEDY SERIES
Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.; FX – WINNER
Orange Is the New Black, Written by Stephen Falk, Sian Heder, Tara Herrmann, Sara Hess, Nick Jones, Jenji Kohan, Lauren Morelli, Alex Regnery, Hartley Voss; Netflix
Silicon Valley, Written by John Altschuler, Alec Berg, Matteo Borghese, Jessica Gao, Mike Judge, Dave Krinsky, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Rob Turbovsky, Ron Weiner; HBO
Transparent, Written by Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway; Amazon Prime
Veep, Written by Simon Blackwell, Kevin Cecil, Roger Drew, Sean Gray, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Andy Riley, Tony Roche, Will Smith; HBO
NEW SERIES
The Affair, Written by Dan LeFranc, Hagai Levi, Melanie Marnich, Eric Overmyer, Kate Robin, Sarah Treem; Showtime
The Knick, Written by Jack Amiel, Michael Begler, Steven Katz; Cinemax
Silicon Valley, Written by John Altschuler, Alec Berg, Matteo Borghese, Jessica Gao, Mike Judge, Dave Krinsky, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Rob Turbovsky, Ron Weiner; HBO
Transparent, Written by Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway; Amazon Prime
True Detective, Written by Nic Pizzolatto; HBO – WINNER
LONG FORM ORIGINAL
Deliverance Creek, Written by Melissa Carter; Lifetime – WINNER
Return to Zero, Written by Sean Hanish; Lifetime
LONG FORM ADAPTED
Houdini, Written by Nicholas Meyer; Based on the book Houdini: A Mind in Chains: A Psychoanalytic Portrait by Bernard C. Meyer, M.D.; History Channel
Klondike, Parts One, Three and Six, Teleplay by Paul T. Scheuring, Parts Two, Four and Five, Teleplay by Josh Goldin & Rachel Abramowitz, Based on the book Gold Diggers by Charlotte Gray; Discovery Channel
The Normal Heart, Teleplay by Larry Kramer, Based on his play The Normal Heart; HBO
Olive Kitteridge, Teleplay by Jane Anderson, Based on the novel by Elizabeth Strout; HBO – WINNER
“Pilot” (The Leftovers), Teleplay by Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrotta, Based on the book by Tom Perrotta; HBO
SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ORIGINAL
“Apocalypse No” Bad Shorts, Written by Ben Zelevansky; luckybirdsmedia.com
“City of Angles” Caper, Written by Amy Berg & Mike Sizemore; hulu.com
“Episode 1 – Nurture” F To 7th, Written by Ingrid Jungermann; youtube.com
“Episode 113: Rachel” High Maintenance, Written by Katja Blichfeld & Ben Sinclair; helpingyoumaintain.com – WINNER
“Episode 204” Vicky and Lysander, Written by Damon Cardasis and Shannon Walker; youtube.com
“Episode 207” Vicky and Lysander, Written by Damon Cardasis and Shannon Walker; youtube.com
ANIMATION
“Bob and Deliver” Bob’s Burger), Written by Greg Thompson; Fox
“Brick Like Me” The Simpsons, Written by Brian Kelley; Fox – WINNER
“Covercraft” The Simpsons, Written by Matt Selman; Fox
“Pay Pal” The Simpsons, Written by David H. Steinberg; Fox
“Steal This Episode” The Simpsons, Written by J. Stewart Burns; Fox
“Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl” Bob’s Burgers, Written by Nora Smith; Fox
EPISODIC DRAMA
“A Day’s Work” Mad Men, Written by Jonathan Igla and Matthew Weiner; AMC
“Devil You Know” Boardwalk Empire, Written by Howard Korder; HBO
“Donald the Normal” Rectify, Written by Kate Powers & Ray McKinnon; Sundance Channel
“Friendless Child” Boardwalk Empire, Written by Riccardo DiLoreto & Cristine Chambers and Howard Korder; HBO
“The Last Call” The Good Wife, Written by Robert King & Michelle King; CBS – WINNER
“The Lion and the Rose” Game of Thrones, Written for Television by George R.R. Martin; HBO
EPISODIC COMEDY
“The Cold” Modern Family, Written by Rick Wiener & Kenny Schwartz; ABC
“Landline” New Girl, Written by Rob Rosell; Fox
“Low Self Esteem City” Orange Is the New Black, Written by Nick Jones; Netflix
“So Did the Fat Lady” Louie, Written by Louis C.K.; FX – WINNER
“Three Dinners” Modern Family, Written by Abraham Higginbotham & Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman; ABC
“The Wilderness” Transparent, Written by Ethan Kuperberg; Amazon Prime
COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES
The Colbert Report, Writers: Michael Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Rich Dahm, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Rob Dubbin, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Sam Kim, Matt Lappin, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Meredith Scardino, Max Werner; Comedy Central
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Writers: Rory Albanese, Dan Amira, Steve Bodow, Tim Carvell, Travon Free, Hallie Haglund, JR Havlan, Elliott Kalan, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Jo Miller, John Oliver, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parsons, Daniel Radosh, Lauren Sarver, Jon Stewart, Delaney Yeager; Comedy Central
Inside Amy Schumer, Head Writer: Jessi Klein Writers: Emily Altman, Jeremy Beiler, Neil Casey, Kyle Dunnigan, Kurt Metzger, Christine Nangle, Dan Powell, Amy Schumer; Comedy Central
Jimmy Kimmel Live, Head Writers: Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Gary Greenberg Writers: Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Bess Kalb, Jimmy Kimmel, Jeff Loveness, Bryan Paulk, Rick Rosner, Bridger Winegar; ABC
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner; HBO – WINNER
Real Time with Bill Maher, Head Writer: Billy Martin Writers: Scott Carter, Adam Felber, Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Bill Maher, Danny Vermont; HBO
Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Seth Meyers, Colin Jost, Rob Klein, Bryan Tucker Writers: James Anderson, Alex Baze, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Steve Higgins, Leslie Jones, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, Claire Mulaney, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, John Solomon, Kent Sublette, Lakendra Tookes; NBC
The 68th Annual Tony Awards, Written by Dave Boone; Special Material by Jon Macks; CBS
71st Annual Golden Globe Awards, Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material by Alex Baze, Dave Boone, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Jon Macks, Sam Means, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Mike Shoemaker; NBC – WINNER
2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards, Written by Gerry Duggan, Wayne Federman, Patton Oswalt, Erik Weiner; IFC
Bill Maher: Live from D.C., Written by Bill Maher; HBO
Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles, Written by Sarah Silverman; HBO
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter; NBC – WINNER
Jeopardy!, Written by John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Debbie Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse; ABC
DAYTIME DRAMA
Days of Our Lives, Written by Lorraine Broderick, David Cherrill, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, Christopher Dunn, Janet Iacobuzio, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Melissa Salmons, Christopher Whitesell; NBC
General Hospital, Written by Ron Carlivati, Anna Theresa Cascio, Suzanne Flynn, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Elizabeth Page, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten; ABC – WINNER
CHILDREN’S SCRIPT – EPISODIC AND SPECIALS
“Girl Meets 1961” Girl Meets World, Written by Matthew Nelson; Disney Channel
“Haunted Heartthrob” Haunted Hathaways, Written by Bob Smiley; Nickelodeon – WINNER
“Haunted Sisters” Haunted Hathaways, Written by Boyce Bugliari & Jamie McLaughlin; Nickelodeon
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Losing Iraq” Frontline, Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
“United States of Secrets: Privacy Lost (Part Two)” Frontline, Written by Martin Smith; PBS
“United States of Secrets: The Program (Part One)” Frontline; PBS; Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS – WINNER
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Episode Five: The Rising Road (1933-1939)” The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, Written by Geoffrey C. Ward; PBS
“League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis” Frontline, Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS – WINNER
“Standing Up in the Milky Way (Episode 1)” COSMOS: A Space Time Odyssey, Written by Ann Druyan and Steven Soter; Fox
TV NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“50th Anniversary of JFK’s Assassination” CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, Written by Jerry Cipriano, Joe Clines; CBS News
CBS This Morning, Saturday, Written by Duane Tollison, Evan Gray, Chip Sorrentino, Bill Crowley; CBS News
“Nelson Mandela: A Man Who Changed the World” (World News with Diane Sawyer), Written by Dave Bloch, Lisa Ferri, Diane Sawyer; ABC News – WINNER
TV NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Nowhere to Go” 60 Minutes, Written by Oriana Zill de Granados, Scott Pelley, Michael Rey; CBS – WINNER
RADIO DOCUMENTARY
“Three Shots Rang Out: The JFK Assassination 50 Years Later,” Written by Darren Reynolds; ABC News Radio – WINNER
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“6AM News,” Written by Philip Pilato; 1010 WINS Radio
“8PM Hour,” Written by Robert Hawley; WCBS-AM
“New York City Loses a Radio News Legend,” Written by Bill Spadaro; CBS Radio/1010 WINS
“World News This Week,” Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio – WINNER
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Civil Rights at 50,” Written by Jane Tillman Irving; WCBS Radio – WINNER
“Remembering Nelson Mandela,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio News
ON-AIR PROMOTION (TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA OR RADIO)
“How I Met Your Mother,” Written by Dan Greenberger; CBS – WINNER
“WABC-TV On-Air Promos,” Written by Brandon Nelson; WABC-TV
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING
Alien: Isolation, Writers Dan Abnett, Dion Lay, Will Porter; SEGA
Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry, Lead Scriptwriter Jill Murray; Scriptwriter Melissa MacCoubrey; Story by Jill Murray, Hugo Giard, Wesley Pincombe; Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Story by Alexandre Amancio, Sylvain Bernard, Travis Stout; Scriptwriting Alexandre Amancio, Travis Stout, Russell Lees, Darby McDevitt, Ceri Young; Additional Scriptwriting Jeffrey Yohalem; Ubisoft
The Last of Us: Left Behind, Written by Neil Druckmann; Sony Computer Entertainment – WINNER
Do you think screenwriters get enough credit during awards season? Or does it take much more than just well-crafted words to tell a successful story? Sound off in our comment section, and stick with @TheWorkprint for all your pop culture needs.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get crazier on “12 Monkeys” I was happily proved wrong, because it can and it did.
This week’s episode was particularly fantastic because time travel itself was the unspoken major character that finally got some much deserved airtime and what a tempestuous lady she is! In addition, we also got to meet more enigmatic characters tied to the Army of the 12 Monkeys and got a taste of their mysterious leader, The Witness.
Cole finds himself in a strange new future, where the time machine room resembles a sad apocalyptic laundromat. Hoping to find Jones and the others, Cole comes across an unfamiliar group after noticing the “VII” sign on a wall. Cole quickly realizes something has gone terribly wrong. Luckily he still has his old West VII brand on his arm so the two thugs think he is one of them. Poor Cole soon begins suffering terrible headaches and strange visions of the Splinter Project scientists superimposed in the compound. He asks to be taken to Jones who has no idea who he is. Release collective gasp now!
Yes that’s right. We are in an alternate future timeline guys. After the incident at the Night Room last week something happened that changed the future. At the moment Jones tells Cole that none of her trials ever worked and while it was the year 2043, the West VII had attacked them two years earlier and they lost. A frantic Cole manages to convince the doctor that she had succeeded and he had gone back in time. He proves this by showing her the injection marks on his arm that had come from her, which leads Jones to take a sample of his blood and find that his molecules are in a constant state of flux that could only have been caused by her injections. Bingo doc!
Jones determines that something must have happened the last time Cole went back that altered his present. Cole informs Jones that he had gone back to 2015 to stop the plague and she comments, “To Chechnya yes? To 2015. The first outbreak was in the hands of an intelligence agency, they called it Operation Troy.” What the what?!? So in this timeline the virus was released one year earlier. And this wasn’t the only change as Jones also had no idea who Cassie was. After searching for Dr. Railly in a still functioning computer, turns out the virologist was murdered in 2015.
It appears her death triggered the massive change in the original timeline. Cole knows he needs to go back to keep Cassie alive and prevent the future from being worse off. Another obstacle however is that Jones no longer in charge of the facility and he needs to talk to the leader of the West VII to get permission. Cole follows Jones to go see Deacon, but holy crap its not Deacon who’s the boss now, it’s RAMSE.
Alternate future Ramse is sporting a badass eye patch (courtesy of a fight with Deacon who died naturally) and is the head honcho of the West VII! Ramse freaks out when he sees Cole because in the alternate future he buried his best friend a long time ago. Cole convinces Ramse as well that he is really himself and that he’s here from another timeline. He asks to get sent back to 2015 so that he can fix the future and stop Cassie’s death.
Things take a turn for the worse though when Whitley shows up and says that they can’t do that because if they use the time machine, they will run out of power and won’t survive. Ramse decides to send Cole back anyways and Whitley flips out by shooting Jones. Ramse tackles the other man and ends up killing him and Jones tells Cole to ask her other self about sacrifice before he splinters back to the past. Ugh, Whitley is pretty much an ass in both timelines while Ramse is even more awesome.
Cole returns to July 10, 2015 and he enlists the help of Aaron (Cassie’s political aide ex) to help save Dr. Railly. Aaron bless his heart is still convinced that Cole is super crazy and only marginally trusts him. The chrononaut though mentions Operation Troy and Aaron’s interest is piqued because he just gave his boss the senator a classified briefing containing that very name on the cover sheet. How could Cole possibly know that? Exactly!
The unlikely twosome head to the Night Room where they catch Pallid Man, Cassie, and the goons coming out and a terrible gun battle ensues where Aaron ends up shooting Cole in the shoulder. Right, that was an “accident.” The Army of the 12 Monkeys get away as the Markridge group shows up, taking Jennifer into their custody. Cole and Aaron then work on finding the getaway truck because Cole remembered their license plate without understanding the importance of it. His continued ignorance of normal everyday things is adorable.
From his sources, Aaron finds out that the truck had been off the grid since 2011 and previously had been used for all sorts of jobs including selling ice cream and landscaping. Oh landscaping you say? Cole decides this could be a solid lead since Pallid Man loves flowers and they head to a location that has a numerous greenhouses. They run into some goons and somehow the duo ends up playing good cop (Aaron) bad cop (Cole). Thanks to Aaron one of the goons discloses Cassie’s location and they race to save her.
Dr. Railly in the meantime has not been having a good day. She overhears PM talking to a female colleague and finds out that The Witness has taken an interest in her. Cassie is then fed some kind of drug (from crushed flowers!) and the strange woman starts to induce a hallucination of being in a red forest, seeing a house, and a strange man (whom we are led to believe is The Witness). I am just as confused as Cassie at this point. Why did she have to be drugged to see the guy? Is he in some alternate plane of existence and reachable if you were high? I’m sure there’s a more logical explanation but the whole trip was freaky nonetheless.
Cassie manages to get away and runs into Cole and Aaron, the latter of whom she’s totally surprised to see. She tells them that The Witness is there and that they have to stop them. Cole however is determined to get Cassie out of harms way, knowing how important she is to the future timeline. He hands her an image he found inside the greenhouse and tells her to investigate it no matter what happens to him. Before he has a chance to do anything else he splinters and disappears, leaving Aaron with the best line of the episode as he finally becomes a believer. Holy shit is right dude.
At the bookstore Aaron apologies to Cassie as she is still trying to shake off the effects of the drug. He himself is still shocked at how everything she had been saying was true and that Cole really is a time traveler and that a virus that kills humanity does exist. Aaron also realizes how much of an douche he’s been by not being there for her for the last two years. He remembers Operation Troy and suggests that they should investigate it next. Looks like Aaron has joined the party! Still, I don’t trust him. I think he’s going to have to prove himself by going against the interest of the senator and I have a feeling he’s going to have to choose between helping Cassie and Cole save the world and his own political career.
Meanwhile Cole arrives back in 2043 and everything looks back to normal. Jones comments that he’s late and the time traveler can’t help but start laughing uncontrollably after everything he’d just been through. Ramse comes to visit him in recovery and it’s so nice to see the two BFFs reunited because let’s be honest, Ramse really is Cole’s number one (sorry Cassie).
Team Splinter Project decides that Operation Troy needs to be their priority as well and the name makes me wonder if there is any relation to the Greek saga of Troy. Is there some kind of Trojan horse that the Army of the 12 Monkeys use to release the virus in Chechnya? In addition, since an intelligence agency is involved, it’s likely that the Army of the 12 Monkeys have government officials (ahem maybe like Senator William Royce who asked Aaron why he investigated the death of Leland Goines) as members.
Cole and Jones have some one-on-one time at the very end of the episode and he tells her that he feels like he gets ripped apart every time he travels through time. Jones confirms that eventually splintering will kill him because they are going against the rules of the universe and time is going to take what it’s owed, aka Cole’s life. And yet this is their best shot at giving the human race a worthwhile future and Cole is going to make sure he gets the job done.
So much has happened this episode and it was fantastic follow-up to “The Night Room.” We got a divergent timeline with Ramse as the West VII leader, Aaron joining the virus scavenger hunt, a new creepy woman in the Army of the 12 Monkeys, Cassie hallucinating to meet The Witness, Cole finding out that he’ll eventually die from time traveling, and somehow the government being involved with ushering the apocalypse via Operation Troy.
Surely things will get even more complicated next week. Stay tuned folks.
As you may have seen, Zack Snyder tweeted a picture of Jason Mamoa as Aquaman a few hours ago. From that one photo, several more were born from my mind. I would like to say there is a reason for this madness, but…there isn’t.
I’m not sorry.
OH DEAR I DON’T KNOW HOW THAT LAST ONE GOT IN THERE.
There are priorities in life which take precedence over everything else you might believe to be important to you.
For some, it’s funding medical science so that cures for horrible and debilitating diseases may be, someday, eradicated. For others, it’s helping the needy. For the United States Military, it’s making robot sharks which, we can only hope, have frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads. But, for the guys at RiffTrax, it’s buying up the theater rights to four more of the worst movies ever made so that they can make fun of them so that you may satisfy that dark part of you that likes to see bad films suffer.
You sick bastards.
Dubbed, “The Crappening”, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett have chosen this year’s slate of bad films:
Tommy Wiseau’s cult classic, “The Room” will kick things off on May 6, 2015
“Sharknado 2: The Second One” – July 9, 2015
The 1987 chop-socky action picture, “Miami Connection” – October 1, 2015
1972’s “Santa Claus and The Ice Cream Bunny” – December 3, 2015
As with Twilight, however, these films have a slightly higher price tag, thus RiffTrax is looking for help to get the licensing rights, via Kickstarter, so that the movies can be shown in theaters across the country. As of right now, they have surpassed their $75,000 goal by nearly $25,000 — but every little bit that surpasses that goal will go to improved production costs and to future endeavors from the group.
Like any good grassroots funding campaign, RiffTrax is offering rewards for contributions from their fans, ranging from downloadable content from their website to t-shirts, all the way up to the meet-and-greet thing where Mike, Kevin and Bill stand there, uncomfortable, while you recite lines from MST3K they’ve heard repeatedly for the last 25 years.
And who wouldn’t want a chance to make them uncomfortable with your fanboy behavior?
Earlier today, Zack Snyder, erratic tweeter and the new face for all modern DC comicbook movies, had this to say about the upcoming Aquaman movie, starring Khal DrogoConan the BarbarianJason Mamoa:
Eh? Eh? What do we think ladies and gentlemen? Might Jason Mamoa be the man Aquaman needs to rise him to the ranks of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern (not that Ryan Reynolds nonsense)?
Well, we’re going to have to wait to find out because Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice doesn’t release for another year and it’ll be 2018 when Aquaman finally gets his own movie. But it’s nice to have the carrot dangled over heads every so often.
“RiffTrax LIVE!: Sharknado”
Starring: Bill Corbett, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy Rated NR
**** out of ****
I dare say, despite those who might disagree with me due to the notion that each movie should get a fair shake, that most of the films RiffTrax picks on are ones that are pretty deserving. Over the years, we’ve seen Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett bust some cinematic heads, taking on such cinematic tripe as Birdemic, Plan 9 From Outer Space and the entire Twilight series.
For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, allow me a moment to address the uninitiated…
Once upon a time, there was a television show called, “Mystery Science Theater 3000”. The show was the creation of Joel Hodgson, a writer/comedian from Wisconsin. It was about a man named “Joel Robinson” (played by Hodgson, himself) who was shot into space by his crazy mad scientist bosses and forced to watch the worst films ever conceived by human beings. However, Joel wasn’t alone in this experiment, having crafted two robots to help him: Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo. Each show was comprised of Joel and the robots sitting in the first row of the theater (built into the satellite they inhabited) and making fun of everything they watched. Despite the odd premise, the show was extremely popular and ended up running every Saturday night on Comedy Central for seven straight years. When Comedy Central killed the show in 1996, SyFy picked it up again before it was finally cancelled for good three years later.
If any of this sounds unfamiliar or strange to you, this was back when Comedy Central was just taking its first steps. South Park and The Daily Show were but mere twinkles in a writer’s eye. As a result, the network took big risks on shows that weren’t completely accessible to even a majority of people. That designation was something that described MST3K in a nutshell: the show was unique in that each episode was two hours long and expected its audience to sit through some fairly horrible feature films — but with the hopes that the running commentary and low-budget charm and skits would leave a viewer in stitches. Devoted fans (called “MSTies”) were rewarded each week, while several others had no idea what to make of the show, thus causing them to change the channel.
In that time, Joel quit the series halfway through its lifespan and the show gained a new host in the form of long-time writer, Mike Nelson. By the time the show ended, “Crow” changed voices, having been replaced by writer Bill Corbett. Kevin Murphy was the show’s true veteran and played Servo for 9 of the 10 years the show was on.
Fast forward to today.
Joel, with the original cast of MST3K, would form a venture called Cinematic Titanic, which would continue to riff on bad movies in the same “Shadowrama” style MST3K pioneered. After its demise in 2013, Joel resurrected Mystery Science Theater in the form of annual “Turkey Day” marathons, which stream over YouTube. Jim Mallon, one of the show’s co-creators, would also launch a website, dedicated to the further adventures of Servo, Crow and Gypsy.
Mike, Kevin and Bill, however, are truly special in that they are consistent in keeping the spirit of the show alive with “RiffTrax”, a concept that is brilliant as it is simple: the three writers craft humorous audio commentary tracks which you can download at their website. The tracks are meant to pair with movies of their choosing so, as you watch cinematic dreck they subject you to, you’ll also hear their commentary.
In 2010, RiffTrax took this concept to movie theaters, streaming live shows across the country with the help of Fathom Events. Their initial victim was the classic “Plan 9 From Outer Space” — and the RiffTrax LIVE! shows have been an annual tradition. Since its inception, the RiffTrax crew has taken on the old school (“House on Haunted Hill”, “Reefer Madness”), the familiar MST3K classics (“Manos: The Hands of Fate”, “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”) and the new school (“Starship Troopers”, “Birdemic”).
Even films like “Casino Royale” and “The Hunger Games” aren’t immune to criticism.
The latest “LIVE!” feature was the SyFy Channel film, “Sharknado”, a film that, like “Birdemic” before it, is absolutely perfect fodder for RiffTrax.
Before I get to the main feature, the film is preceded by a classic short from the MST3K days, called “A Case of Spring Fever”. As is the case with most of the short films these guys make fun of, the production company that assembled it (Jam Handy) meant it to be educational. Unfortunately, it comes off as weird and creepy instead: a man is fixing his couch because, back then, you just fixed what ever you had…seriously. My grandfather once modified the voltage fuse for our Christmas lights back in the day because he didn’t feel like paying seven bucks for a new strand. Anyhow, I digress: the dude fixing the couch is tired of repairing the springs and wishes that he’d never see another spring. That’s when “Coily the Spring Sprite” shows up to take away every single spring ever so that nothing that runs on springs works properly. This lasts all of two minutes before the guy realizes his mistake, apologizes, and the world is rewarded with the return of springs. Instead of showing the apocalyptic damage caused by one lazy goofball’s dark wish, we get a seemingly unending lecture on the values of the ordinary spring, narrated, of course, by the same schlep who, just minutes ago, didn’t know a spring from a screw. It’s hard to like the re-dos from Rifftrax because this short was a classic the moment it was televised 15 years ago. That said, the riffing is original with some great lines:
“A Case of Spring Fever: what you get when Jenny McCarthy convinces people not to get the “Spring Vaccine!” — Mike
“Aw, gee…while I had his attention, I should have had him do something about Hitler…” — Mike, after Coily erases springs forever.
“The Fast and the…Probably Impotent!” — Bill, after the man unsuccessfully tries to use his car without springs.
“Ugh! This is worse than when he quit eating gluten and wouldn’t shut up about it…” — Mike, as the man explains springs to his friend, ad nauseum.
“It’s like the padded cell I belong in: full of springs!” — Kevin
“Hard to believe this sitcom lasted 12 seasons, huh?” — Bill, frustrated with the short
As for “Sharknado”, there isn’t really much I can say, except that it’s a thinly-veiled parable about the dangers of climate change. Also, sharks. Sharks that are sucked into a tornado in the middle of the ocean and dumped into the middle of Los Angeles to make all sorts of trouble. Actually, we don’t see an actual “Sharknado” until much later in the movie when all hell breaks loose for the epic finish this movie lays on you. Most of the sharks are the result of arbitrary coastal flooding due to a huge storm that’s ravaging Southern California. But you can’t really get people excited for a movie called “SharkFlood”, can you?
Needless to say, the RiffTrax crew is at their best when it comes to movies like Sharknado. It’s a film that features everything you could ask for in a movie of it’s kind: horrible visual effects, terrible acting, and the fact that, despite the aforementioned, it still doesn’t give a damn and just says, “Come at us, bro!”
I’ve been to every single RiffTrax LIVE! and this was the first of the 2014 LIVE! line-up which included 1998’s Godzilla re-boot, Anaconda and Santa Claus. Of the four films featured, I have to say that Sharknado is, truly, the best of the 2014 lot, with nearly every single joke hitting its mark from the first moment on.
Here were some of the highlights:
“He’s from the country CzechManiaStenopolis…” — Mike, commenting on the extremely thick, indecipherable accent of the ship captain at the beginning of the film.
“Tara ‘If-This-Doesn’t-Work-I’m-Making-a-Sex-Tape’ Reid!” — Kevin, reading the opening credits.
“Music by the band, ‘And You Thought the OTHER Band Was Crappy’!” — Kevin
“Where is he? Where is that? Where is ANYTHING in relation to anything ELSE?!” — Mike, on the horrible film editing, showcasing several different oceans at once.
“Wow! There are Bond Girls with more dignified names…” — Mike, on Ian Zering’s character’s name, “Finley ‘The Finn’ Shepherd”
“Hello! What ever movie it is, I’ll do it!” — Bill, imitating Tara Reid, answering a phone
“AAAAA! A hurricane! Hence the title, ‘Shark…nado…'” — Mike
“Great idea: plagiarize the shark to death!” — Bill, commenting on a character throwing an air tank into an attacking shark’s mouth
“I saw this happening on a Russian dash-cam one time…” — Kevin, on a shark ramming a truck as it drives through a flooded area.
“The Baja Men prepare for their finest hour!” — Mike, commenting on a character begging for somebody to help her get her dog out of the car
“He is gonna throw so many shrimp on so many barbies…” — Mike, as the Australian character in the film builds his hardware to kill the sharks
“Yes, but is it a knife???” — Kevin, reacting to the Australian character bragging about the size of a bomb he constructed
“Oh, look, she’s trying to act! It’s kinda sweet!” — Mike, on Tara Reid
“EVEN GAME OF THRONES WOULDN’T SHOW THAT!” — Bill, on Ian Ziering kissing Tara Reid while he’s soaked in shark blood and entrails.
RiffTrax LIVE!: Sharknado can be purchased on RiffTrax.com as of Wednesday, February 18, 2014.
Archer’s humor is often detached from whatever is currently going on in the show; it usually doesn’t matter where the characters are or what they’re doing because they’re often too self-obsessed to notice anyway. The writing is strong and funny enough to pull this off fairly consistently, but it often runs the risk of feeling too aloof. The less plot-relevant episodes can sometimes seem more like contrived premises tailored towards isolating different combinations of characters rather than anything resembling an actual storyline, and offers only a slightly different echo chamber for the characters’ caustic banter to rattle around within.
In “Nellis,” for example, Archer desperately needs a ride back to New York after another bender, and the office drones offer to pick him up in Cheryl’s private jet on their way to Branson, Missouri. The group’s obsession (Pam and Krieger’s in particular) with Area 51 pressures Ray to pilot the Sky Tunt a little too close restricted airspace, and they are forced to make an emergency landing at the Nellis Air Force Base. While it’s always nice to see Pam, Carol, Ray, Cyril, and Krieger out of the office, and particularly great to see them hanging out with Archer, the episode doesn’t offer much that could beat another poker night. Moreover, once they weasel their way out of danger (Archer impersonates Agent Slater and uses his Q clearance), Archer has to chase after Pam and Krieger while Ray, Cheryl, and Cyril are left sitting in the base’s officer’s lounge.
Sure, Pam and Krieger see some aliens and Archer beats some guards up, but a great start to the episode soon loses the wonderful chemistry of its core characters after they head in different directions. Also in the mix is the short aside of Malory trying to convince and ultimately bribe Lana into renaming baby AJ after her, which although amusing, only serves to crowd the episode more. The best tangent here is Pam and Krieger’s quest to find the aliens, since it’s a pairing we don’t get to see much of. Archer mostly just finds ways to amuse himself during whatever he’s doing, but Cyril, Ray, and Carol get the short end of the stick by being stuck in the officer’s lounge with little to do and not much to talk about for most of the episode.
One thing we’ve seen more of from Archer is skipping over relevant story beats. In “Nellis,” we cut from the group stealing a number of officers’ uniforms straight to them relaxing in the successfully commandeered airplane. It works well when employed strategically, but only serves to further undermine the gravity of any given situation. The group will of course be fine, and showing the actual escape would therefore be mostly obligatory, but it seems like a bit of a missed opportunity to see the entire group bickering their way through a hairy situation together. Pam and Krieger definitely need to go on more adventures together though–and maybe they will, now that the aliens taught them the key to understanding the entire universe.
Malory always nails that entitled indignation and spite: “Fine, then I’ll just get my own ice. … No. I’ll drink it neat.”
Carol has no memory of being Cherlene
“Yeah, even me, and I didn’t even know they made shoes out of cornbread”
“I’m not selling you the naming rights, Malory! She’s not a friggin’ bowl game!”
That being said, they settled on AJ’s middle name being Malory.
New ideas in the video game industry are few and far between. Even rarer are novel, ambitious experiences that pan out as well as Evolve. Turtle Rock Studios, known for their work on Left 4 Dead, brings its expertise in 4-player cooperative gameplay and merges it with asymmetrical competitive multiplayer. The result is a game that simultaneously feels familiar and unlike anything I’ve ever played.
In Hunt, Evolve’s principal game mode, you take control of one of two sides, the Hunters or the Monster. On the Hunters side, players choose between four classes, assault (damage), medic (heals), support (buffs) or the trapper (ummm, they trap). There can only be one of each role and each role must be filled or else Evolve places an AI player on the team. Each class has three possible Hunters to choose from with differing abilities (e.g. in the Medic class, Val has a tranquilizer gun that slows the Monster, where Lazarus has personal cloak for temporary invisibility). The way each class interacts with one another opens the door to experimentation and cooperation as no other modern shooter has. And trust me, success as the Hunters will rely on cooperation.
This reliance on cooperation as the Hunters is actually one of Evolve’s few faults. If you get placed into a match where nobody is using their mics and everyone is off doing their own thing, you will have a frustrating, miserable time. Playing with a group of strangers is vastly different from playing with friends. However, it’s hard to knock Evolve for what may just be a problem with the current culture in online gaming (a discussion for another article, no doubt).
If you have no friends, or just enjoy watching the world burn, then playing as the Monster is for you. There are three Monsters to choose from; the Goliath (a hulking beast), the Kraken (Flying Cthulhu), and the Wraith (honestly, I don’t even…you just have to play it to see). While Hunters are played from the first person perspective, the Monsters are third person, allowing those who aren’t shooter fans to get in on the fun. At level one, the focus is on quickly and stealthily putting distance between yourself and the Hunters, while at the same time munching on some of the wild beasts that roam the land. Enjoying a balanced diet as the Monster gains you armor, buffs (in the case of special “albino” creatures) and eventually the ability to evolve. Evolving allows you to distribute 3 skill points among four abilities, allowing you to tailor the Monster’s build to your liking.
Where Evolve shines is in its atmosphere, world building and ability to make you feel like you ARE the Hunter or Monster. Often times when I was chasing down tracks, watching my step trying to avoid the carnivorous plant life (Come on! 20 foot monsters weren’t enough?), I would stop and be amazed at how much it felt like I was hunting something. I know that seems like a silly thought, because “No duh, that’s the point” but think about how often that actually happens in a multiplayer shooter. How often in Call of Duty do you feel like a soldier, or like a Spartan-II (named such because they were a small elite unit that fought together similar to the Spartans of old…what was I talking about?). As the Monster, the transition from looking over you shoulder as prey to stalking the Hunters as beast is exhilarating.
Evolve is a game that continues to unpack itself, rewarding those who invest themselves in it. It shines through its multiple objective-based game types, but can become a grind with its progression system. Evolve is a thinking man’s shooter, emphasizing strategy over reflexes. Call of Duty this is not, but what Evolve is, is a fresh take on competitive gaming, a monstrously fun time (yay puns) and one I highly recommend!
Michelle Gomez is returning as The Master in Season 9 of Doctor Who!
The Season 8 finale of Doctor Who brought about the return of the Doctor’s greatest nemesis, The Master, who now happens to be a woman.
The big mystery of Gomez’s Master will be her revival after she met an untimely death at the end of Season 8.
“Michelle Gomez as Missy was an instant hit last year, so she’s straight back to plague the Doctor and Clara in the series opener,” said showrunner Steven Moffat in a press release. “But what brings her back into their lives is the last thing they’d expect.”
“Things have been a little beige since I left Missy behind, so I’m delighted to be putting my lippie back on,” Gomez added. “I’m positively dying to see The Doctor again!”
BBC also confirmed Kate Stewart, Chief Scientific Officer of UNIT, played by Jemma Redgrave, will return for a guest stint in the season opener this Fall.
Kelly Hunter,Clare Higgins and Jaye Griffiths will guest star in the season opener, while Daniel Hoffmann-Gill, Jami Reid-Quarrell, Aaron Neil, India Ria Amarteifio, Joey Price, Dasharn Anderson, Harki Bhambra and Demi Papaminas will have guests spots throughout the season.
HINT: It probably won’t be the characters you want to die
This is going to be an unapologetic, spoiler-laden Game of Thrones post. If you aren’t caught up with the show AND the books, steer clear of this bad boy because I’m gonna be giving away spoilers like I’m freaking Oprah.
Are you ready?
No, seriously.
Don’t go any further, you sweet, summer child.
Are they gone?
Okay, phew. Let’s get this show on the road.
A few days ago, George R. R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series and devoted murderer of happiness, answered an interview question about season 5 as such:
“People are going to die who don’t die in the books, so even the book readers will be unhappy. So everybody better be on their toes. [The show’s co-creators] David [Benioff] and D.B. [Weiss] are even bloodier than I am.”
Now, I don’t want to take anything away from Martin’s shocking statement here, but I think we kind of already knew that D&D were bloodier than him. I believe that D&D get some kind of a sick fulfillment from squashing major fan theories, you know, like the whole optimistic belief that Jeyne Westerling is still alive, traipsing around Westeros, PREGNANT WITH ROBB’S BEBE, with the Blackfish. D&D took that theory, mulled it over, and then LITERALLY STABBED IT TO DEATH.
Or take Jojen Reed as another example. Fans believe that the already dying Jojen was murdered by the Children of the Forest and then fed to Bran as a paste so as to absorb Jojen’s Greenseer abilities. It’s a gruesome theory when you remember that Jojen isn’t even old enough to drive a car. However, in the show, Jojen’s death went a bit like this:
Jojen is stabbed repeatedly.
“Oh, I’m sure he can be healed…”
Meera kills Jojen.
“Maybe…maybe he’ll come back as a wight or–“
Leaf fireballs his body to pieces.
“Oh. Well, then. There’s that.”
You understand what I’m saying. D&D are monsters. They aren’t afraid to stab your heart to pieces and then eat it in front of your mother. So when GRRM says “People are going to die who don’t die in the books,” I instinctively clench my butthole.
And that’s where this post comes in. A character’s death is less of a blow if I have mentally prepared for the loss, so I want to discuss the mostly likely deaths that could happen this season.
Note: While this season is meant to cover through the end of A Dance with Dragons and we still don’t know the fate of major characters like Jon Snow, Daenerys, Stannis, and so on, I don’t imagine anything that major will happen this season. That’s not to say the show runners won’t leave viewers with cliffhangers just like that monster, GRRM.
6. Grey Wurm
Grey Wurm seems the most obvious choice. He’s a recognizable character, close to a big time character in Daenerys, and most importantly, he’s a good person who recently formed a sweet relationship with another human being. OF COURSE he’s a prime target for death. (I opted to include Grey Wurm over Missandei because Dany has already lost enough handmaidens.)
5. Jaime
I don’t want this. I don’t even know why I would write such a thing, but I’ve read compelling arguments for Jaime’s impending doom and I gotta say, I’m worried. Without Lady Stoneheart and the Westerlings possibly having Stark babies, there isn’t really much left for Jaime to do. He’s on a redemption arc and headed to Dorne to do….Red God knows what. Maybe he dies a hero, protecting his daughter niece a la Arys Oakheart. (For the record, I think Jaime’s death is unlikely given his popularity but I doubt Jaime survives the series.)
4. Bronn
Bronn seems a more likely candidate for death. He’s a fan favorite, so that’s sure to get the shock factor, but he’s also on the B-list in Westeros. And headed to Dorne with Jaime. Good things do not happen to Lannistermen in Dorne. The Martells are an (understandably) angry family. My guess is Bronn tries something scandalous with a Sand Snake and gets bit. Killing Tyrion’s Bro would thin out the overpopulated Game of Thrones cast, but his death alone wouldn’t fix any budget issues. It seems more likely his death would be for the story.
3. Littlefinger
Now here’s a dude who needs to die. Not because he’s manipulative, or because he hits on Sansa and it’s fucking creepy, or because he’s orchestrated the deaths of several main characters. No, he needs to die because if his accent gets any more gravelly he’s going to have to be traded to evolve to Golem. Compare his accent in the first season to the fourth and then someone get that dude some throat lozenges. Also, Sansa is finally coming into her own and I want her to murder the shit out of this weasel. Littlefinger’s death would be a small vindication for viewers; not as sweet as a Joffrey or Ramsay Snow death, but it’ll do for the time being so we don’t feel like evil is entirely victorious.
2. Davos
Few characters have suffered from cut plots as much as the Onion Knight. I’m sure there are several show-only fans who have no clue who he is and that is a damn shame. Davos makes Stannis a much more likable character. However, Lord Manderly has been cut from the show, which means, no Frey pies. It also means that we won’t hear, “The north remembers, Lord Davos. The north remembers, and the mummer’s farce is almost done. My son is home.” Unless Davos miraculously finds out from someone at the Wall that the younger Stark children are still alive (Sam?) and Stannis then sends Davos to find Rickon to gain the North’s favor, I don’t see Davos lasting long.
1. Sansa
This one hurts the most to even suggest. I love Sansa. After Cersei, she is my favorite character and I want nothing but good things for this girl. Buuuut….of all the Starks remaining, she seems the most likely to not make it to the end of the series, especially considering GRRM’s original pitch didn’t include Sansa as a survivor. She’s a major character and if she and Littlefinger both died, that would cut the Vale entirely from the story, thereby saving plot space. There’s also a theory that Sansa could become Lady Stoneheart herself. I didn’t buy a ticket for that hype train, so I’ll just sit here, daydreaming that my Queen in the North makes it back to Winterfell.
“There’s some massive moments, perhaps even more shocking than the Red Wedding type of thing. There’s like a lot going on this season,” she told Huffington Post. “There’s also, you know, a lot of blood, a lot of death. And a lot of people kind of come far. And there are a few familiar faces around as well.”
Hooray….
Okay, your turn! Tell me who think (maybe hope?) will die this season in Game of Thrones. I look forward to sobbing with all of you.
Man Seeking Woman Season 1, Episode 6 – “Gavel”
Grade: B+
So Bilal asked me to start covering Man Seeking Woman. I assume that he wanted me to start covering it because he liked my writing and not because I’m a career bachelor and extremely neurotic about my love life. I’ve never read the book by Simon Rich, but it’s nice to know that someone out there takes their daydreams and follows them to their logical, if not outlandish conclusions. But anyways, let’s get to the episode.
The show starts with a montage of Josh and his new squeeze Kayla, and how they move from meeting at a party (Karla? Kayla?) to eventually Josh introducing her to his friends as his girlfriend. Any other show would’ve probably spent an episode on this, but this is relatively boring territory for this show, so I’m actually glad they made this into a mashup montage. They go through the obligatory ‘this is a big step’ talk once they get home, until Josh gets into a trademark ‘Man Seeking Woman’ non-sequitur dream sequence.
While the sex aliens this week are much less memorable than last week’s friendly neighborhood Tanaka (who needs to become a series regular), it was still a bit of a shock to see bare breasts on TV, albeit nippleless ones. I think every guy has had this imaginary scenario in their head before: I’m in a relationship, I would never cheat no matter how attractive the potential hookup was. Of course, Josh manages to turn away the three blind, naked, nippleless lovers of premature ejaculation in his head and goes on to be happy in the meantime with Kayla. Being a good person in your head is always easier than it is in real life, as we’ll find out later.
Mike on the other hand will have none of it. He sees Josh backsliding into a life destined toward suburbia and sexless monogamy, the key indicator of which is Kayla keeping “work clothes and almond milk” at Josh’s apartment. Josh, lovestruck and in the honeymoon phase, goes to Kayla at work, surprising her with chocolate (of course with sea salt) and asks her to come over for dinner, consisting of “quinoa, and anything else that goes with quinoa.” I’m confident that 97% of single males do not eat quinoa, or kale, or any of that health food nonsense if they had a choice. I actually laughed out loud during that bit, because god, I really don’t like quinoa, I only ever order or make that when I’m on a date.
Mike of course, will not allow Josh to slip quietly into that good night, so he kidnaps Josh and essentially forces him on a Scared Straight course for relationships (Scared Single?). The bit is a pretty predictable, and for me was the least interesting part of the episode, as it goes through the typical motions of the downsides of long-term relationships, the sexlessness, the children, etc. Formulaic, but it does set us up for the last, and most important part of the episode.
The namesake of the episode is ‘Gavel’. What I like about ‘Man Seeking Woman’ is that while it is extremely self-contained, there is a running narrative through the series so far, which rewards the viewer. Josh is thrown for a loop when Maggie (his longtime girlfriend, now ex) shows up at his doorstep, distraught with her new boyfriend (who I guess is still Adolf). The titular gavel shows up as Josh slides down a slippery slope, canceling his plans with Kayla to console Maggie, and an imaginary judge and courtroom presiding over each and every move. This is what draws me into the show. As a single guy, I’ve been in this situation, and it’s comforting to know that someone else out there has the same running internal monologue. Each time, Josh escapes conviction by heavy use of the word ‘technically’. I’ve been there, and that’s what you say to yourself, but by the end of it, you’re not convincing anyone, least of whom is yourself. It was so easy to turn down the sex aliens Josh, because they weren’t real. But when it’s someone you know, and the opportunity is there and real, how good of a person are you?
Of course, the morning after is a disaster for everyone involved. Maggie is disgusted with herself, Kayla finds out how much a scumbag her boyfriend is, and Josh is left with broken hopes, knowledge that he’s a douche, and of course, he’s again alone.
The lesson here? Nothing good ever comes from making quinoa.
Oh, and I guess don’t delude yourself in a relationship, but the quinoa thing is pretty important too.
That sound you hear is the echo of millions of sci-fi fans’ heads and chests bursting with delight: The ‘Alien’ series is starting anew.
After strategically releasing concept art through his Twitter feed, Neil Blomkamp has scored the gig to direct a brand new ‘Alien’ movie, with Ridley Scott alongside as producer.
Deadline reports that the story will unfold after the events of the yet-to-be-filmed ‘Prometheus 2’ and that the script has not been written yet.
This news counters the loose narrative contained within Blomkamp’s concept art, which he posted to his Twitter feed at the beginning of the year; those beguiling story elements show Ripley with a very much alive Corporal Hicks, a large Weyland-Yutani complex, Ripley wearing some kind of updated Space Jockey/Alien suit, and the Queen herself.
If Scott Free and 20th Century Fox are keen to release Prometheus 2 and this new Alien film close together, it’s hard to say of those concept elements will even exist anymore, as they are more aligned with James Cameron’s ‘Aliens’ universe than that of Scott’s original masterpiece.
With ‘Prometheus 2’ reaching far outside of the world of ‘Alien’, Blomkamp’s film will no doubt be the antithesis, giving audiences the thrill ride they were hoping for with ‘Prometheus’.
‘Prometheus 2’ has a very loose 2016 release, so there will be plenty of time to speculate until then, lest you put yourself in cryo for the long haul.
The Americans has brought their A-game so far this season, and episode 4 is certainly no exception. Though this installment of the show lacks some of the painful shock value of episodes 2 and 3, it packs an emotional punch that actually dropped open my mouth at one point.
The Jennings, as always, have a lot going on in their lives. They’re trying to work a source at the CIA, one who can get them information on the new counter-terrorism effort, and have landed on the daughter of a high-ranking official…and the tarty babysitter for another agent. She is, they agree, the youngest American they’ve ever tried to turn asset but as usual, Elizabeth (Keri Russell) chooses to be obtuse about the fact that the girl is pretty much the same age as her daughter while Philip (Matthew Rhys) obsesses over it. Because sex and attraction seem to be the best ways to get close enough to someone to learn their weaknesses (duh), Philip draws the short straw and goes to work seducing a teenager.
She’s legal. I think. I’m telling myself.
On the positive side for Philip, he starts to gain insight into how he might forge a stronger connection with Paige. He buys her an album that the potential asset claims is awesome and they have a sweet father-daughter moment. Which pisses Elizabeth off, because the two parents are no longer on the same side. They’re entrenched in a battle for their daughter’s future – Philip firmly on the side of keeping her away from any knowledge of the KGB and what her parents do for a living and Elizabeth anxious to indoctrinate Paige into the only life she’s ever known.
It would be easy to condemn Elizabeth, I think, except that she’s so passionate and resolute about right and wrong. Being a KGB agent isn’t simply what she does, it’s who she is and it’s killed her all of these years to raise her children in a foreign land, with shallow values and a skewed worldview. Now that she has the blessing of the KGB to let the cat out of the bag, she’s more than ready to untie the strings.
The moment that shocked me, when my mouth fell open and the only words that came out were “oh, snap,” (because I am a mental 12yo), was when Elizabeth looks Philip straight in the eye and stops playing games. “Yes, I’m doing this. With or without you.”
Boom. This thing with Paige is happening.
Philip is pissed, and what’s worse is that he has to go out and do the very thing he’s fighting against at home – ruining the freedom and happiness of a young girl. It’s so nauseating to watch him flirt with, put his arm around, a girl only a few years older than his daughter and it’s easy to imagine how he has to turn off his feelings. Turn himself into a monster.
And that he probably goes home and throws up his dinner.
Paige, for her part, isn’t letting up on the religion thing. Instead of inviting friends over for a birthday celebration she requests they ask her pastor and his wife, then drops the bomb that she wants to be baptized. Elizabeth and Philip have a quick conversation, one I’m sure millions of parents have had and millions more will, in which they acknowledge that telling her no is only going to push her harder toward the church. I’m not sure how this whole religion thing is going to play into her official recruitment into the KGB once it begins, and I can’t tell right now if Philip thinks it’s going to hurt or help him keep her away from the life that’s slowly killing him. Right now, I think he doesn’t mind because it drives Elizabeth batty and it’s about the only kind of enjoyment he gets at home.
As an (relevant) aside, Holly Taylor has really grown as an actress and is starting to flesh out her role in a really compelling way that has me sort of rooting for Elizabeth on this whole recruitment thing. I’d hate to have her part diminished at this point.
The theme of this episode is definitely loss of innocence, and the juxtaposition of Philip trying to protect his daughter from the brutality of the KGB and him out actively ruining the innocence of another teenager is heartbreaking. Along the same lines, Paige’s desire to “wash away her old self and be clean for Jesus Christ” plays into the same thread and leaves me with lots of existential thoughts about American society and what it means to be “clean” to begin with. But that’s a topic for another day.
The storyline that’s dragging for me, that seems to have little to no point, is this whole thing with Stan going to these counseling sessions and trying to win back his wife. Dude. You fell in love with one of your assets, didn’t give a crap if your wife knew because you loved Nina, and then want to go crying home when your girlfriend gets deported. None of us think you love your wife or deserve to have her back in your life and wake up – she doesn’t, either. I did enjoy the return to seeing Stan as the very good FBI agent that he is, and I’m curious where this storyline with the Russian asset is going to go – is she legit, is she undercover? We just don’t know but everything we know about Stan’s abilities say we should trust his instincts.
Speaking of Nina, she’s still in prison! They have assigned her more spy duties, though, giving her a roommate from whom they need some information. In exchange, they’ll grant her a more lenient sentence. There may be something wrong with me (there is) but I love seeing Nina as the total badass spy I always knew she could be.
The writer’s of The Americans are doing a beautiful job building the tension with each scene, each episode, and if they continue they’ll have us all right where they want us in time for a big finish – at our breaking points.
The Americans Season 3, Episode 4 (Dime Bag) airs Wednesday. February 18th at 9/8c on FX.
(NOTE: This is a column that my girlfriend and I produce for our blog as well as Scott’s Blog of Doom. As this is entertainment television – and no worse than, say, “The Bachelor” – we thought it would find a nice home here. Each piece is written by Danielle Stolman, who assisted me in the writing of the Fifty Shades of Grey recap. I interject with my own personal opinion every now and then. We hope you enjoy it.)
Last week, I wrote that The Total Divas belonged on the WWE Network and, less than a week later, after Vince obviously read my piece, it was announced that the reruns of the first two seasons would, in fact, be shown on the network. So, having been a major force in changing the WWE program lineup, instead of using my newly-discovered super powers for pure evil…well, I’m still gonna take over the world and you will all do my bidding. But, first, I’m pleased to be able to review the first Total Divas seasons, starting with Episode 1, which originally aired on July 28, 2013.
Matt will be chiming in with his thoughts. It’s the least I can let him do for making him watch this show.
Yep, I can already hear the groaning: “Total Divas? Fuck this. I’m going to Scherer’s place.” Trust me: that site sucks. You don’t wanna go there.
Let’s start!
The show gets started by introducing Brie and Nikki Bella. They’re twins, they’re hot, they dress alike, but they’re different., and don’t forget it. Brie says Nikki is more loud, Nikki says Brie is more passive, (MATT: Kinky.) foreshadowing fights to come, I’m sure. and they’re shown in various outfits and winning matches.They state that they left the WWE for 11 months and that the other girls are jealous of them.
Trinity and Ariane (AKA Naomi and Cameron) talk about how they formed the Funkadactlyls and how they became the fan favorites when the Bellas left, though they do admit that in the pyramid of the divas (those at the top/face of the company – scenes of Bellas), midcard and veterans, they are still mid-card. Ariane spends an inordinate amount of time talking about Trinity’s “donk” which is so big, she uses it as a weapon in the ring.
Nattie (Natalya) is shown to be a veteran, she is WWE Royalty as she the niece of Bret “The Hitman” Hart and her dad is Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. She’s trained for almost 13 years. It’s her turn to shine.
The Divas proclaim themselves, “cheerleaders” and that it’s fun being a Diva.
Tampa, Florida
10 days before Wrestlemania
Nikki states she was mentally and physically exhausted when they took time off for 11 months, she missed wrestling, and now she can’t get enough.
Trinity and Ariane are in a gym, they’re gonna wrestle for the first time, but they are working more on their dancing moves than fighting. Jon (AKA Jimmy Uso) is Trinity’s fiance and he’s there to coach the girls on their dancing (MATT: With a shit-eating grin that says, “Fuck, I love my job.”) and apparently watch while they first play-fight then actually take some decent shots.
Nattie is in the ring being coached and fighting hard. Trainer Bill DeMott and her Dad, Jim, is there to give advice also. Nattie points out there is only one Diva’s match at Wrestlemania (29, at time of and that how she wants to be in it. She says she’s had doors slammed in her face, despite her family name and that she had much more success in other countries and wants to be big in the US.
Meanwhile, John Cena shows up to take Nikki on a date, she describes him as the most amazing man to step foot on this earth. He takes her fishing, they don’t seem to catch anything. They kiss in the rain and she compares their relationship to The Notebook. She convinces him to try to recreate it despite not seeming to know a word of the dialog of the rain kiss which she describes as a favorite scene.
(MATT: This was both sweet and amusing. You can tell that Nikki is the real “Diva” of the two sisters and would rather be shopping and getting her nails done than pretending to fish with Cena who, at one point, compliments her skimpy “fishing outfit”. Because Cena knows that Nikki will cut him off from sex, she makes John Cena re-enact the scene from The Notebook — the Caffeine Free Diet Coke of romantic epics. Nikki says it’s hot to kiss in the rain and the producers, who believe we can’t understand spoken English, feel compelled to give us arbitrary subtitles to go with the moment like it’s a Tony Scott movie.)
Brie lives with Bryan Danielson (AKA Daniel Bryan) and they’ve been together 2 1/2 years. Brie walks her dog with Daniel Bryan and realizes she may need her mom to watch the dog. She mentions she buys all her food from the farmer’s market and is her twin’s opposite. They arrive at Brie’s place (they only live a mile apart) only to discover that John bought Nikki a Range Rover because rich bastard.
Brie is jealous of Nikki’s gift, stroking the leather interior like it’s Cena’s chest and Bryan and the Bellas sit in the kitchen, talking about Nikki’s new gift, peppering every sentence with the words, “Range Rover” like it’s a meta-search keyword.
(MATT: Ok…hold the phone. Like Bryan couldn’t march over to the dealership right now and buy Brie TWO of those?
ME: That’s not the point, it’s romantic.
MATT: No, it isn’t. It’s the CVS Pharmacy teddy-bear-and-flowers for rich people. She probably found him banging a room of groupies and that was his make-up gift.
ME: Yeah…you’re probably right. He probably got it for free, too.)
Brie says Nikki has wanted one before they could drive, it will make her happy and she deserves it. Brie asks if this means that Nikki and John are taking their relationship to the next level. Nikki says she doesn’t know and says (to the camera) that after all he just got divorced from someone he loves. Daniel laughs that John bought her a car before an engagement ring, (though, it should be noted that, at this point, he hasn’t bought Brie one, either). Nikki admits he may have done it in part to hold off having to get a ring for a while.
New York
Day One of Wrestlemania
Nattie is happy it’s the first day of Wrestlemania Week and compares it to the Super Bowl. Nattie is met by Senior VP of WWE Talent Relations & Development Jane Geddes and Mark Carrano, also of WWE Talent Relations. They to talk to her and tell her she’s not on the card for Wrestlemania. Nattie is near tears. They acknowledge she has family coming in to see her. They tell her there is a mixed tag match and she’s not in. Instead, the Bellas and Funkadactyls are scheduled. She complains to the camera that the Bellas take off for a year and walk right in. It’s even more upsetting because she taught them to wrestle.
Nattie probably thinks it can’t get worse, but it’s about to. Jane and Mark, instead, ask her to show the two new girls from the L.A. camp around and chaperone them because she’s good enough to teach but not to wrestle. “Teach them everything you know, teach them your secrets, make them amazing, so they can take your spot,” she laments.
The new girls, Eva Marie and Jojo fly in from Newark and are introduced to the other Divas. Eva Marie is from the Bay Area (so I’ll have to start rooting for her more). Both girls have started training a month ago and Jojo even says she is scared being away from home for the first time. Jojo is so young and green, I’m surprised she didn’t bring her teddy bear and sippy cup.
(MATT: It’s sad, really. Eva Marie makes Jojo look like leftover steak that you let a pit bull get a hold of.)
Nattie pretends to be happy for Brie and says she’s excited to have new girls. Eva shows up with red highlights from the day before and Jane, being the wonderful feminist she is, orders Marie to color her hair blonde. Jane tells her that Nattie will show them around, Nattie tries to fake that she wants to help, and then looks even more crestfallen when Jane reveals that Eva Marie is probably going blonde. Nattie keeps saying she is the blonde, they have a blonde, and she’s clearly threatened, giving a fake smile that should win her an Academy Award.
(MATT: The whole thing is really telling. Scott Keith once stated that Divas were, basically, “models that wrestle”. Watching this was uncomfortable and corroborates that theory.)
Five Days till Wrestlemania
Ariane’s boyfriend, Vincent, flies in. She’s nervous as he’s never seen her wrestle. She has to practice, he’s going to sightsee, despite just coming in from a long trip on a plane with a seat that couldn’t recline.
(MATT: Vincent is pretty Felonius Gru from Despicable Me, only a lot sweeter. We get a great bit where Ariane says that Vincent “balances” her and then we get a flashback from EARLIER TODAY where Vincent is struggling to carry 5 of her 152 pieces of luggage while Ariane gazes longingly at her servant.)
The dress rehearsal is not going good for anyone. Nattie is bummed she has to show the newbies the ropes and Vincent who, for some reason can’t sightsee by himself, is backstage. Ariane is mad that her tag team partner Brodus Clay said they sucked so Vincent comforts her as she cries. Ariane says he’s the sweetest guy ever, unless someone hurts her. Vincent loses his shit and wants Brodus to step out so he can beat the shit out of him. Trinity is worried that if Vincent does so, he will hurt her (Trinity’s career) as they are sold as a duo act. Nattie runs damage control and calms him down. Jimmy (who was also backstage but didn’t speak up) sides with Vincent’s actions and Trinity says work is less fun because of things like this.
The Bella twins want to see the newbies especially since they heard one of them looks kinda like them. Nikki is insulted and calls them out of their hotel rooms. Eva says she has to change her hair to blonde. Nikki says she is happy Eva Marie will be blonde since people are saying they look like her. Eva Marie says they will have to follow the twins’ leads as they are more experienced.
Meanwhile, Trinity goes to Ariane and takes her to lunch. She grills her about what happened with Brodus and Vincent. Trinity admits Brodus was wrong, but says Vincent shouldn’t have wanted to start a fight. Ariane said he would have been a punk had he let her be disrespected, but that she is over it.
Two Days Until Wrestlemania
Eva Marie is in the salon, clearly not happy about going blonde. The colorist begins stripping Eva’s hair of the color and she says blonde doesn’t work for her (MATT: I laughed when Marie said, “I look like Mufasa…this is bad.”) and tells Jojo she refuses to go blonde. She tells the colorist that she is going fire engine-red and the colorist starts putting it on. Jojo watches with admiration and respect because this could possibly be Era Marie’s career. Eva Marie says the hair color screams her and there will be no mixup now with her and The Bellas. (MATT: Uh…I’ll allow it. She looks stunning.) Jane calls Eva saying she wants to see her hair. Jane is stunned and asks what happens to blonde. (Jane’s hair is blonde.) Jane says she hates to say it…but she likes it, but in the future, when they say do something do it.
The Divas attend the pre-Wrestlemania party.
The Bellas are confused about Eva’s hair and Nattie’s upset that the noobs are stealing the spotlight.
The ladies are all dressed up and Nikki says the newbies look too comfortable and that they need to get their intimidation on as veterans. They steal all the photo moments from the newbies but Eva Marie says she will take it as a one-time initiation but then that’s it.
One Day Till Wrestlemania
The twins are “starving”, and (MATT: Pretend…) to eat breakfast together. Brie says she is going ring shopping. Brie hints that John may not want to marry Nikki as he’s been married before and Nikki says it bothers her that this perfect man may not want to marry her. This really upsets me. I want to yell at the screen for Nikki to realize that Cena is far, FAR from “the perfect man” and to grow a spine and at least have that talk with Jon. Brie says Nikki being sad over this makes her sad. I like these ladies as wrestlers and even characters, I really do, but right now it seems like they’re sharing one personality.
Trinity wants Ariane to talk to Vincent, Ariane hasn’t and now they snap at each other. They mock each other and keep fighting. Trinity says Ariane has some deep-rooted issues and everyone else sees it.
(MATT: Thankfully, this is about as “Kardashian” as the show gets. It actually ends on a mature note.)
John and Nikki go to a romantic dinner. (MATT: Which looks, suspiciously, like a Black Angus.) Nikki needs to know if there is a possibility that marriage is something he could want. Nikki says she needs marriage and doesn’t want to walk away. John says he tried marriage already and while Nikki has changed him he doesn’t know if he wants those things. Jon says he enjoys things with her that he can’t with anyone else opening his home, his life and that he liked their random Thursday dinner and fishing trip. John says it’s the “little things” that make him happy. Nikki admits that Brie ring-shopping is motivating a lot of what she’s feeling. Of course it is. She needs to have a parallel life after all they are sharing one brain.
Day of Wrestlemania 29
Each and every Diva is excited about Wrestlemania and, apparently, every one of them is required to randomly say “80,000 people” are there. The twins are both impressed with Daniel Bryan and Kane for winning their match. The girls have ridiculously-silly red outfits with sequin-ridden canes and top hats. Putting on the Ritz anyone?
At least they have their costumes ready. The seamstresses are still sewing The Funkadactyls costumes. Where is the magical fairy from Cinderella to fix things when you need her? The Bellas walk by, fully-clothed, and get bitchy, saying they hope Ariane and Trinity don’t walk out naked. Ariane tells them to step off because they don’t want to go there right now.
The match is up next and, still, the seamstress needs more time. She gives them the costumes, barely in time, and they race to put them on and get ready to go on stage.
The Bellas are ready to go on…but John Cena’s music hits instead and the main event between him and The Rock is on. Nattie and the newbies are watching from the WWE luxury box. Nattie is incredibly disgusted as she worked HARD to get these girls in. She goes to the dressing room where she finds out that the girls were cut from their match. This was the twins first Wrestlemania to wrestle in, so they’re really sad. Trinity says there’s nothing worse that could happen. Not even a career-threatening eye injury, Trinity? Well, that’s later down the road for her so, for now, this is the worst thing. They hug it out and decide to try again next year.
(MATT: This segment is disgustingly inaccurate. The editing practically makes you believe that The Undertaker’s match went too long when, in fact, it was Triple H and Brock Lesnar that went too long…but showing that wouldn’t be what’s “Best for Business”, would it?)
The show ends with fireworks over Met Life Stadium in New York.
DANIELLE:
Not bad for the first show, but they really shafted Jojo who we didn’t get to know much about.
Diva I most wanted to punch this episode – Nikki. Wow, is she way too clingy and needy.
Diva I most wanted to hug this episode – Eva Marie. Great job sticking up for yourself choosing a hair color that is the real you even if it’s from a bottle.
MATT:
Ok…this show was good. I really don’t wanna be that cynical asshole and say it’s gonna get worse…but I know it will. Not a bad start.
Agent Carter is heading towards its endgame. With just one hour left to wrap up what has been one of the best gifts Marvel has given us, “Snafu” functioned as the beginning of the end — a set-up, of sorts, for the no-doubt action-packed finale that will take place next week. I’d imagine that those who enjoy Agent Carter‘s fast-paced action were probably turned off by an hour that didn’t go far beyond the walls of the SSR office, but the episode did have a pay-off: at the end, Peggy had regained a small amount of trust back from what was left of her team. It’s something that will no doubt come into play next week when all hell breaks loose, as the group is now at a loss more than ever — first Krzeminski, and now Agent Dooley. It wasn’t hard to see the end coming for Dooley, but I still give the show kudos for being unpredictable throughout the hour, as there was a point I was definitely typing “Save Agent Sousa” on my twitter.
At the episode’s beginning, we saw Peggy where we last left her — in custody, handcuffed in an interrogation room after being captured and exposed for her work for Stark. (Is it just me, or is Peggy even more intimidating handcuffed to a desk? I have no doubt she could have taken that whole room down, if she wanted to). Sousa is upset that Peggy has betrayed him when he had given her his trust, meanwhile, Dooley and Thompson are convinced that Peggy and Howard are having an affair. I really wish I had a ready-made gif of Peggy’s face in response to their accusations, because it pretty much sums up every annoyance Peggy has with the way the world sees her.
And not to say that didn’t come to a head. One of the best moments of the episode was Peggy finally standing up to her superiors, telling them in no uncertain terms that she’s never been taken seriously because of her gender. It was a moment that made me emotional, and that dam was broken completely when Peggy handed over the orb and revealed Cap’s blood. The act was also enough to convince the team that she was serious about her accusations about Ivchenko, and it’s what set them on the their mission.
Peggy’s rescue from prosecution comes from (who else?) Jarvis, who makes a rather hilarious entrance and asks for Dooley by name, before telling the SSR that he’s got a signed confession from Howard Stark that he’ll give in exchange for letting Peggy go free. He doesn’t, of course, and the SSR boys seem to know that, but they let Peggy out anyway — while stripping away her involvement in the SSR. It’s a moment that hurts more than it should, considering the way Peggy’s been treated, and if I haven’t gushed enough about Hayley Atwell already, allow me to continue doing so. Atwell is a true gift to not only the show, but also to the Marvel universe. The vulnerability, emotional depth and understanding she brings to Peggy is something that you don’t see in most actors, and it’s clear that bringing Peggy to life every week means something to Atwell. That translates, and it’s part of the reason why we feel so invested every week. Agent Carter is truly Atwell’s place to shine, and she takes every opportunity to do so.
It’s Peggy that notices Ivchenko is communicating in Morse Code, and also manages to figure out what he’s translating: the Leviathan is coming. But Ivchenko’s not totally daft and figures out he’s been exposed, after watching Sousa and Thompson walk into the opposite building. He uses the moment to take advantage of his hypnotic ring and brainwash Dooley, sending him into a flashback with his wife and children. It’s interesting that we saw Ivchenko in two such situations — overseeing Dooley’s fantasy, and also being at the bedside of the man at the beginning of the episode; it’s also not confirmed that this was Sousa but given the leg amputation and the way the episode began, I wouldn’t suggest otherwise. And did you catch the book at the beginning of the episode, specifically referencing Dr. Faustus? Yep — Dr. Ivchenko is actually Dr. Fennhoff, aka Dr. Faustus, aka the villain popular in the Captain America comics for brainwashing Steve Rogers, among other things. How’s that for an Easter egg?
Ivchenko manages to get Dooley into the room housing Stark’s inventions where they steal #17, an invention Ivchenko sorely wants. My first thought was that the show would make us wait until next week for the reveal of what was inside, and my second thought was that perhaps it was the cryogenic arm of Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. I was wrong on both counts, as the suitcase was delivered via Dottie to a movie theatre (under the guise of a baby in a carriage), and although an actual explanation for the weapon has yet to be revealed, it appeared to be something that turned people violent. I’m continually amazed at just how dark this show is. Marvel isn’t pulling punches when it comes to storytelling, and I’m so glad that they’re going above and beyond in this way. From the Black Widow flashbacks a few episodes earlier to Dooley’s suicide, there’s no holding back, and it’s great to see this amount of creative freedom.
Ivchenko ends up killing Dooley when he traps him in another one of Stark’s inventions (a vest that’s unstable and will likely explode given its unpredictability) and Dooley ends up taking the fall for himself, while the SSR spends the last moments of the episode mourning the loss of yet another co-worker. Peggy, meanwhile, blames herself for the troubles brought on since agreeing to work for Stark, though Jarvis attempts to talk her out of her guilt in the way that only someone who understands her situation can.
It leaves us in an interesting place for next week — Peggy almost-but-not-quite trusted by her peers as they prepare to take down Leviathan once and for all, Stark’s weapons unleashed on the world in perhaps not the best way, Dottie and Faustus still on the loose and the SSR shattered by their latest setback. With the stage set for an inevitable Howard Stark return, it’s fair to say next week’s finale will be one to remember…and I can’t wait to see what happens.
For reasons unknown to man and humanity, The Bachelor this week was a 2-night, 5 hour-long extravaganza. You read that correctly. Night one was Sunday, and it began with a boring and dull Chris Tells All episode, where we listened to Widow Kelsey tell more lies, Farmer Boy bore us to death, and former Bachelorette Andi sob, sob, sob as she discussed ending her engagement to Josh. After that hot mess, it was time for the first 2-hour episode of the show. Then Monday, the regular 2-hour episode. By the time I watched all of these many hours of pointlessness and mind-numbing dialogue, I was begging for sweet, sweet death to come and take me. I was not so lucky. Instead, I had nightmares that evening about Chris Harrison bludgeoning me with a rose in the Fantasy Suite. The fact that this show was allowed to be on television for FIVE HOURS within a 2-night span, proves that there is no God. NO GOD!!! I rest my case.
Let’s begin this nonsense, or it will never be over. There are 7 girls left at the top of episode one. Ten seconds later, Megan and Chris talk in the next room and she tells him she is worried that their connection isn’t strong anymore. Bingo! She finally got something right. Not only did he agree with her, but he sent her packing right then and there. Buh-bye. She cries and cries in the sad-rejection limo. They didn’t even give her time to pack her damn bags. Host Chris comes in and tells the girls there will still be a rose ceremony even though Megan JUST went home 5 minutes before the rose ceremony. They whine and cry and drink more wine as they whine, and Britt holds on for dear life and cuddles Whitney for no reason. Farmer Dull goes outside with Host Chris and tells him he doesn’t want to send anyone else home right now. He comes back in and the girls rejoice that they aren’t going home. Instead, they are going to IOWA! Chris announces that everyone is going to his home state this week. The girls scream in excitement, and I laugh in bitter sarcasm. They all jump on their new beds in their new hotel in Des Moines, and they locate where the bar is in the house within seconds. Jade gets the first one-on-one date. As she rides the limo to his home town, Farmer Duh is talking to the cows on his farm. The sign for the town of Arlington, where Chris is from, reads “Arlington: Where Hills and Prairie Meet.” Wow. That’s the big draw of this place? Hills and prairie meeting? Might be the saddest sign I’ve ever seen. Cottage-cheese brain takes Jade to his house, shows her his farms. “Land is my passion, I like working with it.” “Cool”, she says. She wonders aloud to cameras if she could really live in this place.
Back at Bitch Mansion, Britt and her disgusting unwashed hoodie are all kinds of upset because Jade gets to see his home town and gets a leg up in the process. “This is shaking me in a part of my soul that isn’t used to being touched”, she says dramatically, while sobbing to the other girls. Maybe it’s not used to being touched because you never take a shower, bitch.
Back to the Arlington date. Jade is shocked by how isolated the town of 400 really is. All the stores are closed, there is no movie theatre or restaurants , and not even a place to get coffee. Everything is boarded up. She also wondered where all the people were. Chris takes her to his old high school , because that’s not TOO depressing and weird, and they attend a football game there. He shows her his old locker and classes and things, and they kiss in the hallway. She meets his parents, who are sitting in the bleachers watching the game. After the game, they run out to the field, where the entire crowd starts chanting “Kiss Chris!!!” They kiss on the field and everyone applauds. Chris explains to Jade that the reason nobody was on the streets earlier was because they were all at the game. So the ENTIRE TOWN was at this high school football game. All of them. Every single one.
Back at Unstable Mansion, Jade returns and starts to tell the other girls about her date with Cotton Ball Brain. When she gets to the part about meeting his parents, Britt cannot stand the jealousy anymore and just starts crying. “I’m sorry, that just makes me cry. ” Carly is rolling her eyes and does not like Britt or her fakeness one bit. Carly comes up with the idea for her and the girls to take a road trip to Arlington on their own, without Chris, so they can see what it’s all about. They do. They get in a car together and start driving. It’s a 3 hour drive to Arlington, and when they get there, they literally drive through the entire town in about 30 seconds. Main Street is a good 20 second jaunt, and the car becomes silent as they realize the lameness of this town matches the lameness of their vanilla, boring-ass Farmer Boy. They walk the streets and meet the town pastor, who is sitting on his front porch doing nothing. They ask him what do people do around here for fun. He says “they go someplace else.” Britt tells the girls that she could never see herself living there. When they get back to the house though, Jade asks how it went, and Britt launches into this whole fake thing about how “at first, I couldn’t see it, but then, coming back there was this amazing sunset”, and apparently this sunset’s magic powers suddenly made Iowa the greatest place ever. Carly rolls her eyes again, cuz she ain’t buying it. She tells cameras that Britt is one of the fakest people she has ever met. Later, when Carly and Jade are alone, Jade tells Carly that she did nude photos for Playboy. She is going to tell Chris soon. Carly seems a bit taken aback, and who wouldn’t be? The girls have more late-night, before bed alcohol snack-packs, and then head up to bed.
GROUP ORGY (Date):
On this date is Britt,, Carly, and Kaitlyn. Oh, and Bagel-Brain Chris. He’s there too. They go to the hockey rink and ice-skate and play pretend hockey with each other. Chris falls down on his bum-bum several times, and the girls think it’s adorable. Britt steals him away and they kiss and kiss, and then she gushes to him about the girls secret trip to Arlington, and how much she loved it. “I loved it so much, I’m so glad I went”, she says in the phoniest voice ever. This turns him on and he kisses her more. Meanwhile, Carly and Kaitlyn talk about how fake Britt is, and how she is lying to his face. Chris tells cameras it made him feel incredible that “someone as dynamic as Britt” would love it in his humble little golly-gee town. Carly then takes him aside and tells him to please be careful with Britt, and that she is lying to him with her intentions. Chris thanks her, then brings Britt back again to get the truth. She keeps gushing further about Iowa, saying how she wants to be a mom and live there and blah blah blah. He falls for it. Next, he spends time with Kaitlyn and she expresses how she feels behind in the process and is freaking out a little. He gives her the rose and tells her that when he is with her, he feels like the luckiest man alive. They come back to Carly and Britt, and Britt is fuming mad. She is rolling her eyes while Chris starts talking, and interrupts him with all sorts of crazy: “I’m so hurt right now, like, I feel so vulnerable, like putting it all out there and telling you that I wanna be your wife and I don’t want a husband that puts me 2nd or 3rd down the line. Like, fine, give the rose to her, that’s your right, but … I need a husband who really wants me .” She is saying all this in front of the other girls and making a total fool of herself. Chris responds “this was the decision I felt was best, and I’m not sure what I’m picking up right now from you, maybe you don’t want to be here anymore, I don’t know.” It gets really awkward, more pointless chatter between the two of them , and then finally Chris says goodnight to the girls and leaves them there. Britt gives a half-assed “sorry” to Kaitlyn, then continues to say more stupid shit. “Nothing against you, but if a man is more concerned with validating someone else than me, do I want to bring him home to my family, to my father.” Kaitlyn tells Britt she made her feel pretty bad. Carly tells cameras that even though she really wanted the rose tonight, watching Britt implode and having Chris see her true colors was even better. Britt sobs to the cameras “I don’t know if this is how I should be feeling before taking a man home to my father.” Okay already, enough talk about your father. You’re creeping me out.
So that was hours one and two. Now we move on to hours three and four. (someone please kill me) Becca gets the second one on one date, and Chris takes her to his loft where they hang out and watch the sunset. She tells him she has never been in love before, but does NOT tell him that she is a virgin. Save that whopper for later on I guess. They have a great time, get close, and kiss a lot. Meanwhile, at Xanax Mansion, Britt tells the girls that she has packed her stuff and is going to leave the show before the rose ceremony. Carly calls her bluff and says “you wont leave.” Britt says there is a “1% chance that my mind can be changed.” Britt feels attacked by the girls saying she wont actually leave and just wants attention, and goes out to the hallway to sob her old makeup off. That is how she washes her face, by the way. All the sobbing. No showers. Just cries it right off her face ….
Host Chris comes in to announce there is no cocktail party. The girls are mad. Jade wanted to tell Chris that she had done nude modeling for Playboy, and Britt wanted to tell him that she might be leaving, unless of course he would beg her to stay.
ROSE CEREMONY:
Just as Chris begins to talk during the rose ceremony, Britt interrupts him and asks if she can talk to him for a minute. He says yes and they go off in the other room. The girls all gossip about what’s going on . Kaitlyn: “I knew it. She couldn’t just stand there and not get the rose. She wants him to beg her to stay.” Carly “I’m gonna throw up if she manipulates him any further.” Britt apologizes to Chris for her weird behavior when he gave Kaitlyn the group date rose. He tells her that the way she acted was disrespectful and not what he wants in a wife, and sends her home. She bawls her face off for about 20 awkward minutes outside, and everyone can hear her wailing loudly. She starts sobbing about Carly, of all things. “I trusted her. I thought we were friends.” Chris comes back in and tells the girls he sent Britt home, and says thank you to those who spoke up about her earlier. “I’m not playing games. Be honest with me and I’ll be honest with you”, he says. Whitney, Becca, and Jade get roses, and he sends Carly home. Well damn. I kind of liked her. She was super sarcastic and funny. She rides away in the sad rejection-limo, crying and saying how she will never ever find love ……
There are 4 girls left, and he goes to each of their home towns to meet their families. First up is Becca in Louisiana. She has a large family, and they are all hell-bent on letting Chris know that Becca has NEVER BEEN WITH A MAN IN ANY WAY. “Becca is not intimate at all. She doesn’t like to be touched. She has no desires to be with a man. She has never attempted that.” This is from her mom. What the hell? Talk about throwing this poor girl under the bus. Why don’t you just tell Chris that she is a robot with no human emotions and doesn’t respond to touch? At the end of the night, Chris says he has a surprise for her, and they drive to the local state Fair, which is closed, and ride the Ferris Wheel alone at night. They make out for a long time up there, and Becca tells cameras that this is the moment she will look back on where she fell in love.
Next up is Whitney in Chicago, Illinois. She wants to show him all about her life and her job as a Fertility Nurse, so their date begins with her asking him “What do you say we go make a baby?” He jokes back “It’s a little early in the morning for that.” She shows him how the babies are made in the fertility clinic, and then shows him the private room where they send the men with their little sperm cup to “produce.” She jokes with him that she wants him to give a sample so she can test it, then she says “Just kidding. I wouldn’t do that to you!” He is impressed with her passion for her job. He tells the cameras “I make corn. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be making babies.” They go to her families house, where Chris meets her sister, uncle, grandma, and brother-in-law. The sister is asked for her blessing and says no, and then Whitney shares a bottle of Napa wine with Chris, telling him that she bought the bottle years ago with the intention of sharing it with the person she was going to marry. She tells him she is in love with him, and he has no reaction. Well, I mean, I think he is happy about it, but he has no personality, so I can’t really tell.
Up next is Kaitlyn in Phoenix, Arizona. (I really wanted to stab myself in the eyeball several thousand times by this point in the 90 hour drivel show) She takes him to a recording studio, where they write and record the most terrible rap song of all time. Literally, Kanye West should have popped up out of nowhere and declared Chris “the worst rapper OF ALL TIME …….. ALL TIME!!!!” They rapped a duet about their love story, and Chris has even less rhythm or sense of melody than he does personality or charm. He looked like a loaf of bread up there, trying to understand human music and sound. He is officially the whitest man ever. After that hot mess, they go to meet the family. Everyone likes the Dullard, and then Kaitlyn takes him outside and tells him to turn around. There is a huge billboard on the street that says “Kaitlyn hearts Chris.” It was her way of telling him she is in love with him. Again, his reaction was so underwhelming and boring, it was stunning. Holy shit, are we DONE YET??????????????
Last up is Jade, the Playboy nude chick. She shows him around Nebraska, and he keeps talking about her small-town values and how much he loves that. Ha!!! After he meets the family and everything, she finally takes him aside and tells him her secret. “I was really afraid of like, it changing your opinion of me. When I first moved out to L.A., I was approached to pose nude for Playboy, and I did.” Silence. Pause pause pause. “I could show you some of the photos????”, she asks him like a weird question. He has no idea what to say, as usual, so he says “Um .. I mean … if that makes you comfortable … I mean … sure.” Next thing you know she is pulling out her laptop and they are looking at naked pictures of her together. It is very weird. Then there is a nude video as well, and she shows him that too. For someone worried about his reaction, sure seemed like she was dying to show him what she did and what the pics looks like. He tells the camera that he was shocked and did not expect this at all from Jade. He tries making her feel better and not judged. “I know you for who you are”, he tells her, and then kisses her. She feels relieved.
And then he sends her Playboy-ass home at the Rose Ceremony. He tells her that it had nothing at all to do with the pictures or video (Yeah right!), and then he tosses her in the sad-rejection limo. She cries, and he cries man-tears because he really liked her, but he can’t have his future WIFE be spread eagle all over Playboy, especially after she has been all over national television!!! Can you imagine when she meets his friends or family? “Dad, this is Jade, my fiance.” “Yes, I’m familiar with Jade. You have lovely nipples. Let’s eat dinner. Wine, anyone?”
John Oliver will be sitting tightly at HBO as Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, announced the two season renewal of the satirical news show.
“We are incredibly proud to have John as part of the HBO family,” said Lombardo. “His unique ability to deliver socially significant commentary week after week, along with his innate comedic brilliance, puts John in a class by himself.”
The 2016 and 2017 seasons will include 35 new episodes for each respective season.
The Walking Dead Season 5, Episode 10 – “Them”
Grade: C+
We find our heroes running on fumes on the long road to DC, without any water and a group of zombies following not far behind. It’s a common sight for The Walking Dead, where so much centers on hope in the face of very literal reminders of death’s ubiquity and inevitability. “Them” is largely an obligatory episode that provides a bit of breathing room after the overwhelming bleakness of the last few episodes (really, the past season or two). The prison was really the last time our had any tangible sense of hope or security; what we see now is a group at the breaking point, so defeated that even a glimmer hope is looked upon with suspicion.
The Walking Dead, by both design and necessity, returns frequently to the issue of perseverance in the face of hopelessness. “Them” follows a fairly standard template: despair, desperation, grieving, and the tantalizing glimpse of something better, daring the characters (and audience) to hope again. There are moments where the episode does this well, but there are also plenty of moments where characters still feel the need to state the obvious. The opening scenes are a good example of what I enjoy and find endlessly frustrating about The Walking Dead: Maggie, Sasha, and Daryl are on an expedition to find water in a series of shots that depict both their grief and the gravity of their situation without uttering a single word. Returning to the group, however, Maggie asks how much longer the group has, to which Sasha replies about sixty miles. After a weary pause, Maggie informs Sasha, “I wasn’t talking about that.”
We know, Maggie. We get it.
I would love to see a completely dialogue-free episode of The Walking Dead. The show has proven time and again that they are more than up to the task, but can’t seem to break away from the habit of filling the air with superfluous dialogue. The frequent juxtaposition of genuinely effective storytelling makes the unnecessary, labored lines all the more frustrating. Maggie’s discovery of a zombie bound and gagged in the trunk of a car was an effective scene that captured all of her sorrow and frustration, as well as the support she draws upon from Glenn. In contrast, the next zombie she discovers in the barn is paired with a pointless, tedious exchange with Carol. The zombie had a gun, and she could have shot herself, but she didn’t, because some people can’t give up. Just like our heroes!
I don’t recall whether this has come up yet in the series, and frankly I’d be amazed that it took this long, but Rick finally gets around to a “walking dead” speech. That is, a speech explaining the dual meaning behind “walking dead”, in case anyone hasn’t quite picked up on it yet. To be fair, it’s actually a pretty good speech and Andrew Lincoln delivers it well–I’m just being harsh because it’s a little ham handed and feels about five seasons too late. The following scene of the group holding the doors against the horde of zombies in the storm is similarly a bit corny and too literal, but is nicely shot and serves as a much needed emotional catharsis from all the despondency and melancholy.
More importantly though, the episode marks a turning point for the series–it ends with a bit of optimism. The group has learned some hard lessons about the danger of hope and nearly given up on thought of respite or security; even a sudden supply of water left by “a friend” is greeted with suspicion and ultimately goes untouched. Hope is a luxury the group is no longer sure it can afford, a notion that the world itself seems eager to confirm: the sweet relief of rain is quickly transformed into a menacing storm. But the storm eventually passes, taking out most of the walkers and sparing the barn. Maggie and Sasha step out to greet the sunrise, and are instead greeted by a suspiciously friendly face named Aaron requesting to speak with Rick.
I’m hard on you because I care, The Walking Dead.
Those who know Aaron from the comic books will have the smug self-satisfaction of knowing what’s coming, and those two don’t will be free from the burden of expectation.
While everyone else is off celebrating the presidents of the United States (good and bad), I would like to honor the worst of the worst in the Film Leadership Category.
Oh, sure. I could include the likes of Viper, for letting Maverick run amok in Top Gun, or even Bill Pullman’s president in Independence Day (whose name I can never remember), but that would be too easy. (Besides, I’ve had a crush on Bill Pullman since forever and I don’t care how cheesy he is, I won’t include him on this list.) And there’s no way I’d include the likes of Miranda Priestly because she’s so damn funny.
But this group of ten? They aren’t funny. They aren’t wise. They aren’t crush-worthy. They have nothing positive going for them, each squandering their respective positions of power. They are THE WORST.
I’m cheating. Technically, I have two mini-series on this list, but I tend to count mini-series more as film than TV shows because of reasons. Besides, it’s my list. Don’t try to tell me who I should hate!
10. Captain Herbert Sobel (Band of Brothers)
If you’re like me and you’ve seen Band of Brothers about a million times, then you hate this guy. There’s really no way not to. Right from the beginning he’s cowardly, manipulative, and cruel. He pushes Easy Company to the brink, and they do come out on top for the better, but when it comes time for the real thing, Sobel chickens out, proving he’s not worthy of leading a group of men into combat.
9. Jupiter Jones (Jupiter Ascending)
I had to. I’m not even sorry. This list needed more women and Jupiter Jones is a pretty pathetic leader. Jupiter is given reign over several planets, doesn’t actually rule over them, and is consistently manipulated by others, even her savior. The amount of agency in this girl is equal to the amount of work ethic in me. That is to say, it ain’t much. Her only independent act was to shoot a guy in the knee. There was opportunity for so much more, Jupiter, so much more than gravity boots. And that’s why this hurts.
8. Emperor Commodus (Gladiator)
Commie–can I call you Commie?–look, I love a good, barbaric Roman Emperor. And hey! You earned that gig fair and square, what with murdering daddy and all. But you see, Commie, there comes a time in every Emperor’s life when the kicking and screaming “LOVE ME” has to stop. Believe me, I know it’s hard to be an adult, but you wasted away the Roman Empire. You know who else destroyed a kingdom by acting childish? Joffrey. Yea, that’s the kind of company you keep.
7. Jafar (Aladdin)
I love a good Disney villain. Actually, I think I love most Disney villains. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is my jam. But Jafar, you ruined it for the rest of the class because you couldn’t keep your damn mouth shut. Oh, I’ve got everything I could ever possibly want, with the street urchin who could stop me in my grasp, dying, and I’m going to commit the greatest villain sin of all: I’m going to gloat and talk and talk until I’m forced to lose. Scar may have talked his way to death as well, but at least he was funny. Also, get a real beard. You look ridiculous.
6. Jake Sully (Avatar)
Oh, sure, like Jupiter, Jake lives in a stunning cinematic world, but also like Jupiter he suffers from a case of the Blahs. All of his decisions are made for him and even though his history should make him somewhat interesting, it doesn’t. Jake is never truly forced to answer, “Should I take the legs and run or should I help my own people?” Jake could have done much more as a liaison between the two factions, and instead, things go the easy route and lead to war.
5. William Hamleigh (Pillars of the Earth)
William Hamleigh is probably the least well-known of the group, but I assure you, after his deeds in the mini-series (and especially the books), he belongs firmly entrenched on this list. Hamleigh is a weasel. He’s a rapist, a murderer, a mama’s boy that takes family love too far. Petty, arrogant, and a coward, there’s absolutely nothing going for William Hamleigh.
4. Bill Lumbergh (Office Space)
No one wants to come in on a Saturday. No one wants to come in on a Sunday. No one wants to listen to you smack your lips as you drink what I assume is disgusting coffee from six days ago. No one thinks any of the things you do or request would be great. Go away you suspender-wearing, vanity-plate owning monster.
3. Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
I actually didn’t want to include Umbridge on this list because at times, I find her absolutely hysterical. However, Bilal saw fit to remind me that I’m the monster who cackled when Dobby died and Cersei is my favorite Game of Thrones character, so I had to give in. Dolores Umbridge is a terrible person. Guided by the Ministry of Magic’s absurd ideals about education, Umbridge tortures students, terrorizes professors, and most horrifically, teaches straight from the text book. Also, she’s a cat lover. Yeesh.
2. John Hammond (Jurassic Park)
Look at that old man’s smile. He could be your grandpa, with that cute little beard and a belly that jiggles with each wholesome laugh. Except John Hammond is not like your grandpa. John Hammond is a monster who unleashed the dinosaurs upon our population, killing dozens (hundreds?) of people in the process. His arrogance over an ability to control such creatures is asinine. Unfairly, he also manages to make it off the island alive.
1. Jar Jar Binks (The Prequels That Shall Not Be Named)
I almost included Padme on this list because she’s the idiot who left Jar Jar Binks in power, but I can’t hate her. She made a mistake. Jar Jar Binks, on the other hand, is the mistake. Not a single person likes this idiotic asshole. NOT ONE. Even his creators would have thrown him in the dumpster if it weren’t too late. Instead, they didn’t have the balls to go against George Lucas, and then JJB advocated control of the Senate to Palpatine, and we know the rest. Blame should also rest with the members of the Senate who essentially created the Empire, but none of those members have such a punchable face as Jar Jar. No one even cut off his ears as punishment for his idiocy.
That’s all I’ve got. Who else am I missing on this list? Anyone you wholeheartedly disagree with being on here? Let me know in the comments. I promise not to include you on my next list.
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, at least that was case for our heroes in this week’s “12 Monkeys.” This episode has left me baffled, worried, and feeling much like Cole at the end of it thinking WTF.
Things pick up in 2043 after the West VII attack with the time machine being repaired. Though its functioning enough to send Cole back to the past again the following morning, we find out that it’s core is degrading rapidly so that each jump gets riskier. Cole invites Jones to have a few drinks with Ramse, himself, and Max before he splinters the next day and we get a little bit more info on the German doctor, namely that had been married and that Jones was actually her husband’s name.
Back in 2015, Cole and Cassie storm the Night Room and from there everything goes wrong. The Army of the 12 Monkeys beat them to the lab and they attempt to open the vault. Turns out Jennifer Goines had led Pallid Man and his gang to the Night Room but she had a trick up her sleeve, a failsafe in the vault that only she can deactivate.
Her scenes were the most riveting because she reveals so many interesting details:
She has all the Markridge codes in her head.
She is super attached to Cole and is willing to do anything for him, possibly because the voices in her had quiet down when he talks.
She says doctors always call her Jennifer but never refer to which one. Does she have a sister or is this a split personality thing?
She’s happy that Cole killed her dad.
Yes, Pallid Man tells Jennifer that Cole killed Leland Goines, but she’s actually ecstatic about it. Speaking of which, PM also reveals to Cassie that the chrononaut killed Henri. Whoops, his bad.
Cassie is appalled and freaks out about how she had such a great and normal life before she met him. Cole in the meantime gets real upfront and honest with her and says yes he killed Henri because if he didn’t the Army of the 12 Monkeys would get him and then they would find the Night Room (which they did anyway of course). She tells him that he might have to find someone else willing to do whatever it takes to prevent the apocalypse because she just wants to heal people. Cole agrees that she shouldn’t become like him and tells her a story of how he and Ramse killed an old couple when they raided a farm house once and that before the elderly lady died, she gave him a look of forgiveness. That’s what this mission meant to him, a way to redeem himself.
In a turn of events, it seemed that PM and his troops were retreating now that the Markridge commandos were on their way after triggering the failsafe alarm in the vault. Cole sees his chance and asks Jennifer to disable the red beam of death so that he can destroy the source of the virus. The source turns out to be the preserved partial carcass of a human being. But PM and his goons were simply pretending to leave knowing that Jennifer would indeed disable the alarm for Cole. The time traveller asks her not too but because she didn’t want him to get a bullet in his head, she does.
In a genius move however, Cole and Cassie manage to flip the two switches that activate “the big burn,” a mechanism that destroys all the biological material in the lab at 1800 degrees, preventing any virus from getting out. Cole grabs Jennifer and they hide inside the vault while the virus carcass and PM’s goons get incinerated.
But here’s where things get troublesome. If the source had been burned to a crisp, why was Cole still there? Looks like stopping the apocalypse is way more complicated than he or Team Splinter realized.
PM decides to take Cassie hostage as they leave the facility with Cole and Jennifer running after them. But just as they make it outside, Cole splinters back to the future leaving Jennifer completely in shock.
In 2043, Ramses snoops around Jones’ room after Max tells him that she had heard stories about a German doctor that performed horrible experiments on people. He finds a file with pictures of a much younger Jones and the failed trials of the Splinter Project. There were numerous men that died on the chair because the science was still imperfect. Jones enters and Ramse once again finds himself trying to take the moral high ground. The doctor argues that she was doing this for the mission and what was sacrificing a few lives when it would save all of humanity if they succeeded? She didn’t want those poor men lost in time to have died in vain (ahem this is likely an important clue). While both she and Deacon felt they needed to do what was necessary, Jones justified her actions by saying her work was not for her own gain but that it had become the only means for their entire race to thrive. In their timeline, humans were simply floating in the ocean with no shore in sight.
When Cole reappears in the future, we don’t know what year it is but something is definitely wrong. The machine room looks like a really shabby laundry room and most of the equipment is destroyed with weeds growing out of them. He opens a door calling out for Ramse and encounters a large group of people and the “VII” symbol on the wall. Uhhhhh what the heck happened??
After watching the episode I felt like someone pushed me off a cliff with no parachute because seriously now what?? There’s been so much build up to the Night Room in the past timeline that now that they’ve accomplished destroying the virus, things seem to be even more screwed up in the future. Obviously the Army of the 12 Monkeys still managed to start the apocalypse, but how they do it is the question. More corpses? Perhaps some from *cough*the future *cough*? Still, there were lots of great gut-wrenching moments, particularly when Pallid Man stuck bamboo under Cole’s fingernails (you actually see it and it was so gross that I couldn’t look away) that made for entertaining television.
Keep it coming Syfy, I must find out what happens next!
Not gonna lie, I love me some Tom Hiddleston. Now go on, you know you wanna watch the “Crimson Peak” teaser trailer at least a dozen times (no judgment here).
“Crimson Peak” is a gothic horror directed by Guillermo del Toro and stars Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver. The story revolves around a young woman who’s heart is captivated by a mysterious stranger. She is taken to his childhood home where deadly secrets await her at every corner.
There’s something that happens in a show’s final season (at least, when the actors and creators are aware that it is the final season) the I-give-a-shit-about-ratings meter falls to an all-time low because they’re already at an end, so what are you gonna do? Cancel them? Now they are free to express their creativity and do what they’ve wanted to do with the show all along. Sometimes that ends in a crazy, discombobulated mess that completely ruins the previously well-liked seasons. But sometimes, in rare instances, it adds another level our love for the show.
Parks and Recreation‘s I-give-a-shit-about-what-you-think meter has all but disappeared. Sure, they’ve hit on political issues before, what with their opinions on gay marriage, pornography, women working dirty jobs, sex education, and waffles. Leslie Knope and Co. are unabashedly feminist, but this season they’re going all in on the political issues and I fucking love it.
Not only has Ben voiced his opinion on data-mining unknowing customers:
But he’s also subtly let us know how he feels about hipsters:
Parks tonight! Pic taken backstage at Mumford&Sons show,we enjoyed artisanal pickles and small-batch apricot butter. pic.twitter.com/DDfCW4FHtx
Jennifer has expressed how we all (yes, parents, you too) feel about children:
We’ve seen Ron’s feelings on war:
But this week’s most recent episode “Pie-Mary” was a slam dunk addition to an already stellar season. While running for Congress, Leslie learns what it means to be the wife of a politician, which includes a ridiculous pie-bake-off that spirals into the Wyatt-Knopes taking on a Men’s Rights group. I’ll just let some of the gifs speak for themselves:
If anything was abundantly clear about Matthew Vaughn’s work directing X-Men: First Class it was that he is a huge fan of the 60s spy genre. That movie played like one of the great, early James Bond films…that is if 007 ever decided to randomly start palling around with mutants. But it was fresh, fun, spectacularly produced, and audiences seemed to be on board with it 110%.
It is therefore no surprise then that Vaughn’s latest film embraces that classic genre in an even bigger way. Kingsman: The Secret Service is a full blown, no holds barred tribute to the films that made secret agents the epitome of cool in the first place. But it is also a high octane action flick featuring bugnuts crazy fight scenes that set the bar extremely high for the popcorn films that will ultimately follow it into theaters later this year.
Set in modern day London, (American spies simply don’t cut it for this kind of flick) the plot revolves around a rebellious young man named Eggsy (Taron Egerton) who falls into the world of espionage by calling in a favor to the deceivingly lethal Harry Hart (Colin Firth). We learn that Eggsy’s father was once an agent alongside Hart in a top secret organization known as Kingsman before he gave his own life to save Hart’s while on a mission in the Middle East. This is all news to Eggsy of course who simply thought his father was in the military and that the sort of “get out of jail free” card that was given to him as a child was a standard gift to all families of fallen soldiers.
So when Eggsy uses his one “save” to get out of jail for stealing a car (amongst other things) he comes face to face with Hart who sees something special in the young man and eventually convinces him to try out for an open position as a Kingsman agent.
Forced to compete in a series of life or death challenges against the upper class’s most arrogant and uptight offspring, Eggsy finds that spy talents possibly run in the family as Hart tries to teach him everything he knows about being a badass, gentleman spy.
But every movie like this also needs megalomaniac billionaire villain up to no damn good and in this case that role is filled by Samuel L. Jackson like you’ve never heard him before – with a giant, ridiculous lisp. And fighting at his side is the requisite henchman (or henchwoman in this case) with a bizarre physical feature that makes her lethal to her enemies. Her name is Gazelle (Sofia Boutella) and the razor-sharp blades that act as her lower legs have no problem cutting the throats of those trying to get in the way of her boss’s dreams of world domination.
The film has plenty of exciting twists and turns that I don’t want to ruin here but it all comes together beautifully thanks to some aggressive (and VIOLENT) direction by Vaughn and a cast that rounds out even the smallest of supporting roles memorably. Mark Strong, Michael Caine, Mark Hamill, Jack Davenport, and Hanna Alström (as a Scandinavian princess who gets the film’s best line) all deliver stellar work that perfectly straddles the line between comedy and dramatic thriller that Vaughn clearly intended.
But when talking about performances, not nearly enough can be said about Egerton in the lead role of Eggsy. For what is essentially his breakout film role, he absolutely dominates the screen with enough charm and heart to guarantee his future superstardom. Anyone who doesn’t want to either do him or be him by the end of this movie isn’t doing the whole human thing correctly. Seriously.
But if there is anything that keeps the film from perfection it is that almost all of the jokes and commentary it tries to make about James Bond films and the spy genre in general were already made almost 20 years ago in the Austin Powers films. Kingsman: The Secret Service couldn’t be more different from Mike Myers’ comedic trilogy, but the inspiration is clearly the same and therefore the jokes don’t feel nearly as fresh in Vaughn’s more action-oriented ribbing of the genre.
Don’t let this dissuade you from seeing it though. This movie has a bigger sense of fun and the ability to deliver more sheer joy than any movie I’ve seen in months. Crowds will go absolutely ape for it and I personally can’t wait to take the ride again. So until James Bond is back on our big screens again in November, I’ll stick with the perfect substitutes – Eggsy and an ass-kicking Colin Firth.
Kingsman: The Secret Service open on Friday, February 13.
Topical, character-driven meditations on society, culture and the human condition have never enjoyed a more fertile groundwork than in today’s media landscape. However, the kind of dialogue-heavy, thematically saturated television projects flocking to cable and streaming outlets in recent years have been largely absent from the major broadcast networks still dependent on more mainstream fare to generate viewership.
NBC’s “The Slap,” an eight-episode miniseries that bowed Thursday night, examines the hot-button issues surrounding contemporary parenting styles within a larger debate between political correctness and personal freedoms blasted constantly from the digital age’s collective mouthpiece. The effort is risky and the results are arguably mixed, but a marquee-ready cast and impressive production pedigree help elevate the ambitious material higher than its precarious footing might have allowed on its own.
Executive producer Walter F. Parkes (“Gladiator, “Men in Black) told reporters at January’s TCA press tour in Los Angeles that the chance to bring such a polarizing subject to primetime was a logical choice in helping NBC align with the industry’s current trajectory.
“This came about, I think, because NBC saw this as an opportunity to do a kind of event that we usually associate with cable,” he admitted, explaining why the trend of limited-run series draws appeal for high-caliber talent both in front of the camera and behind it. “At the end of the day, it does provide, because it doesn’t have the rigors of 22 episodes, because it’s closed‑ended, an opportunity for people to really commit to do something a little bit different, a little bit special. It begins with what’s on the page, and it goes through the director and to these actors, who are really the story here. If, in fact, that’s the way all of television is evolving, I think it’s a good thing, because we’re kind of in a moment of some of the greatest television being made in the history of the medium.”
Adapted by American playwright Jon Robin Baitz from Christos Tsiolkas’ novel and the 2011 Australian miniseries it inspired, “The Slap” presents a revolving chronicle of the events leading up to and following the eponymous incident that takes place during a Brooklyn family’s backyard barbecue. The literary structure, complete with voiceover narration from Victor Garber, is intended to mirror Tsiolkas’ book concept in which each chapter is told from the angle of a different character.
The pilot centers on beleaguered New York City government official Hector (Peter Sarsgaard) on the morning of his 40th birthday party. Passed over for a long-awaited promotion and wallowing in mid-life ennui, Hector indulges in a dangerous flirtation with his children’s underage babysitter (Mackenzie Leigh) and struggles to support his physician wife, Aisha (Thandie Newton), as she battles her own demanding career and seething resentment toward Hector’s overbearing Greek parents (Brian Cox and Maria Tucci). Simmering tension between the couple boils over when the rest of the celebrants arrive, including Hector’s preening, alpha male cousin, Harry (Zachary Quinto), and his polished Manhattanite wife, Sandi (Marin Ireland), Aisha’s bohemian best friend, Rosie (Melissa George, reprising her role from the Australian series), and her artist husband, Gary (Thomas Sadoski), chic TV producer Anouk (Uma Thurman) and her much-younger actor boyfriend (Penn Badgley), and, naturally, Connie the nubile babysitter.
The almost impossibly granola Rosie and Gary are rightfully horrified when a hotheaded Harry impulsively smacks their misbehaving son across the face, but the child’s well-illustrated experience with coddling parental attention and frequent tantrums explains Harry’s decision without necessarily justifying it. The slap strikes more than just nerves, igniting an ugly legal battle and wrenching moral quandary that uncovers long-kept secrets buried among the entire group, challenging the value systems and loyalties of everyone involved.
Needless to say, the party doesn’t end well.
For George, the opportunity to tailor her role for American television was made all the more enticing when she realized the provocative material was intended for network audiences.
“I think it’s interesting because, as actors, we get a cable script, and we’re excited because producers are not ripping out pages, saying, ‘You can’t say this, you can’t say that, because the advertisers are not going to like it.’ Actors like that because, as an actor, you want freedom of speech. On the other side of that, we get less viewers if we’re on cable,’” she began. “We always say, ‘If I could do this script on a network with the millions and millions and millions of people that are going to tune in every week, we’ve got it.’”
George continued, citing the presence of Baitz, Parkes and director Lisa Cholodenko (“The Kids Are All Right,” “Olive Kitteridge”) as the primary reason “The Slap” works best as a collaborative ensemble that extends beyond the actors and into the entire creative process.
“We have this luxurious poetic dialogue from Robbie Baitz and the direction of Lisa and Walter and all these great actors, and we’re on network TV,” she gushed. “There’s no excuse for this to not deliver. For once, I feel, wow, we might get the viewers, and we’ve got the beautiful dialogue. So I’m hoping that the two roads meet.”
Newton agreed, revealing why she believes “The Slap” might have actually benefitted from the relative constraints that come with a network partnership.
“I feel like with cable … maybe it’s more gratuitous than it needs to be because that’s what people are expecting. Actually, one of the things that was so beautiful about working on this is that, because we had certain restrictions, which weren’t crazy, it meant that we had to dig deeper into the performance in a way. I think that it’s so much nicer for an audience to have to imagine the extremes where you can go … whether it’s violence or sex or whatever,” she declared. “I feel like we didn’t have to compromise. I feel like in our performances, we were free and we were allowed to go places that we wanted to go, and it wasn’t gratuitous. I think it was really very rewarding in that respect and very different.”
Sarsgaard chimed in with a succinct and sobering observation, noting, “On cable, somebody would have shot someone else’s child.”
Despite its deceptively straightforward title, “The Slap” is, of course, metaphorical in both content and context, using the event itself as a symbol to explore deeper layers behind the characters’ diverse motivations and behavior. By focusing each episode on one person’s point of view, the show cultivates a methodical, close-knit narrative Parkes considers crucial for the story to achieve multidudinal pathos.
“The slap is a catalyst for a whole lot of things that happen in these people’s lives. One of the metaphors we used during working on this show is that sometimes you have to break something to put it back right,” he began. “So absolutely, what you’re seeing over the course of the eight hours is a kind of working out of these relationships and actually breaking through some of the lies upon which these relationships were built.”
Quinto’s isolated role as the cast’s primary instigator and defendant gave him a unique outlook with which none of his co-stars could relate. As a result, he said, the introspective work he performed to properly convey Harry’s mindset partnered well with the objectivity he developed for the series’ overall intention.
“The interesting thing is it’s not really about the slap, and all of these characters come to the table with a tremendous amount of internal conflict and struggle about different aspects of their lives and relationships. The slap is just this codifying incident that puts all of that into clear relief, and so I think all of us were more interested in the psychological dynamics that are going on outside of the incident of the actual slap,” he said, describing the atmosphere while shooting the key sequence “kind of enjoyable” as an actor, due to the rigorous dedication implemented on set.
“It was very difficult for me personally, obviously, so I didn’t understand how anybody could be motivated to do this until I really got into the idea of what Harry believes he’s defending: the people that he loves, protection, honor, teaching his son what it means to be a man,” Quinto explained. “Even if that’s a really misguided concept.”
For Thurman, the story gave her reason to consider how the evolving definition of acceptable child discipline can demonstrate a society’s specific place in history. According to her interpretation, the family and friends in “The Slap” face an ethical dilemma centuries in the making.
“One of the things I love about the piece is it’s a very interesting cultural exploration of the changing face of how to treat a human being, of compassion, of family, what’s acceptable, what’s not acceptable. I think [Baitz] explores this in terms of the old world, like who can blame their parent who is lashed in the woodshed if they slapped you a few times, and they think they did nothing to you because they were brutalized? They’re blinded by their own trauma from even how they may have behaved. I think [“The Slap”] explores this on a cultural level in a way we really do understand,” she explained, before divulging a bit of precocious widsom from a very close source.
“My daughter is very smart and says, ‘There’s two types of people. There’s reactors, and there’s repeaters,’” Thurman declared. “Which one are you going to be as a person, as a parent? Are you reacting against it? Or are you going to repeat what happened to you? I think it’s very elusive. I think it’s very beautifully explored from many points of view in this piece.“
Whose side are you on? Watch the drama unfold when “The Slap” airs Thursday nights at 8/7c on NBC.
“Fifty Shades of Grey”
Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson Written by Kelly Marcel (based on the novel by E.L. James) Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle, Eloise Mumford, Victor Rasuk, Luke Grimes, Marcia Gay Harden Rated R
1/2 a * out of ****
(Note: This review is a little different. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day and “date movies”, I got permission to allow the review to include my girlfriend, the great Danielle Stolman. This also serves the purpose of having a female point of view which, I think, is important, considering the type of film this is and all the controversy surrounding it. After the film, Danielle and I went to the nearby Cheesecake Factory and did our review, conversation-style. We hope you enjoy it…)
MATT: Ok…so, we just saw “Fifty Shades of Grey”…
DANIELLE: We did.
MATT: And, uh…first, I have to say that me going with you to see this was a huge compromise on my part. Originally, I told you I wasn’t putting any money toward this piece of crap and that you were welcome to go see it by yourself or a girlfriend. I couldn’t stand the book. The first one, at least. I barely made it through the first one and, uh — I don’t think I’ve ever, in my life, wanted to discourage somebody from quitting writing — but E.L. James needs to step away from her goddamn laptop or whatever the hell she uses to write. At this point, I kinda picture her, sitting at one of those toy computers you had as a kid. You know, the one that sung and talked to you, that had your favorite cartoon characters all over it. Essentially, the one your parents bought you because they couldn’t afford a computer, so “Here ya’ go, honey! Enjoy My Little Pony’s Games and Word fun!” I just picture James with one that has Twilight decals all over it. Edward, Jacob and Bella smothered all over it like thick whipping cream. I mean, she’s just a terrible writer. But, that doesn’t matter to publishing companies or Hollywood. They didn’t give a shit that this was a woman writing Twilight fan fiction — which is how these books began (let that stick in your brain for a moment — you can stop reading this if you’d like) and that they only saw dollar signs and told her to change details like characters and setting. Inevitably, the movie was announced and I know I was in denial. I didn’t wanna see a movie made out of this shithole book. I’d cheer each and every delay the film had. As I mentioned, I was very, very reluctant to see this movie. But, I compromised. I said I’d go with you — and I did. I’ll put it out there: it was fucking terrible. You told me to go in with an open mind and I — I tried. I cannot — even with an open mind — recommend this to any living, breathing human being. It was just awful on nearly every level. Happy early Valentine’s Day, by the way.
DANIELLE: Helluva lead-in there. Nicely done.
MATT (laughs): Thanks!
DANIELLE: But, no, you’re right. I concede. It was pretty awful. I thought it was an insult to both women and men.
MATT: I might agree with that — though I thought it was more of an insult to women, not so much men. But, I think, overall, it was an insult to the average moviegoer.
DANIELLE: No, yeah. That’s what I mean. Let me start over: the casting was uninspired. Let me start there. Dornan was simply the wrong choice the wrong choice to play Grey. You and I have had multiple conversations about that. You liked the idea of the casting with the guy from Sons of Anarchy and–.
MATT: Honestly, I–I don’t think I ever wanted anyone to play Grey ever. I didn’t even want this movie to be made because, reading the book, I thought it was a literary disaster. But, yes, that was honestly the first smart casting move they attempted. If there was anyone who could play it with intensity, it was Charlie Hunnam. IF they had to make it, that is. After they couldn’t get him on board, I felt like they gave up trying. But I know what you’re saying.
DANIELLE (laughs): Right. I know they had a limited budget — which is hard to believe, considering the return on investment — but I thought they should have grabbed or gotten — I’ve told you–.
BOTH OF US: Alex Skarsgård.
MATT: Right. Good ol’ Erik from True Blood.
DANIELLE: Yes, I know. Erik. But he’s brooding. He has those cold eyes and that gaze…
MATT: I think part of you just liked the possibility of seeing his dong.
DANIELLE: …
MATT: See???
DANIELLE (laughs): All right, you got me. But, no, he’s, I think he’s a good actor. If you watch him on True Blood, his character grew from that cold asshole to somebody who had a fire lit inside his heart.
MATT: We could probably sit here and fantasy-cast as much as we’d like but that would defeat the purpose of the review, so let’s move on to who we actually saw: we got stuck with Jamie Dornan which is…I’d hesitate to say that he’s a terrible actor. He seems so wooden here. I’ve seen him in the ABC show, Once Upon a Time, as the Huntsman and he’s actually decent. I think it’s the source material that tripped him up.
DANIELLE: He got Anakin’ed.
MATT: “Anakin’ed”? (laughs) I think you just invented a new trend, a new hashtag.
DANIELLE (giggles): Well, look, you see him in this movie and — Hayden Christensen, Robert Pattinson, they both admit to being a victim of the material they were saddled with.
MATT: Right.
DANIELLE: And, I saw a lot of that in Dornan. He was stiff, he was going through the motions. He couldn’t even fake the American accent well enough and, ironically, it hurt his character development. His lack of passion actually destroyed any sort of development there could have been.
MATT: Funny you mention the accent. It felt like I was watching Colin Firth without the charm.
DANIELLE: Well, Colin Firth doesn’t have charm, really, so…
MATT: The beer must be hitting you.
DANIELLE: I haven’t even started. We need another round. Where’s our beer wench?
MATT: And they say women can’t sound sexist.
DANIELLE: I’ve been a beer wench! I was proud of being a bartender during my college years!
MATT (laughs): Indeed. Let’s move on to the only other character in this film: Anastasia Steele. First, before I talk about the lifeless performance from the spawn of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, I love that name, man. I love it. “Anastasia Steele” sounds like the kinda pretentiously grandiose bullshit name that comes from a bad writer. And, I think, what made it a hundred times worse — at least for myself — was that Dornan couldn’t call her “Ana”. Each time he’d say “Anastasia”, I couldn’t even buy it. I couldn’t buy her name being Anastasia and I couldn’t buy him believing that her name was Anastasia. And, what’s worse, when he wasn’t saying her name like some pseudo-creeper, he would say, “Miss Steele” like he’s goddamn Superman and he just pulled her out of mid-air as she fell, screaming from the top of the Daily Planet. You know what? We might need to go back to Dornan again. I might have missed a few things…
DANIELLE: No, you’re on the right track. She was…”fluffy”.
MATT: Oh. That’s…you’ll explain. I hope… (laughs)
DANIELLE: She was frumpy. I mean, the book painted her like that: she’s this mousy, meek little woman — something that a lot of feminists really didn’t like. That includes myself. And she goes to this guy’s office and she — you know, they take a liking to one another. You never really believe it in the book. The romance, it’s so quick and silly. There’s no difference here. And, perhaps we can use the same excuse we used for Dornan: “oh, the material, it made her look like a goofball”. She’s a cute girl but she sleepwalked through the movie.
MATT: Totally agree with that.
DANIELLE: She’d enter a scene and she breathes her lines like she’s suffering an asthma attack. Every single line is said in breathless disbelief or these big, dewy, Disney eyes and it’s always the same line: “Why can’t I touch you? Why can’t you let me in? Why won’t you let me touch your face? Why can’t we just date? Why can’t we go to a movie?” And, that’s — none of that’s helping, the characterization — then comes the dialogue.
MATT: Ugh…and this might turn ugly at this point. You and I, we’re big fans of the show Mystery Science Theater 3000 and — first, I have to say: if the Rifftrax boys are reading this, you guys need to see this movie. It’s just unfuckingbelievable. You need to get this movie in your cross-hairs and you need to take it down like Cobra-fucking-Kai: no mercy, sweep its goddamn leg. Put it in a body bag, Johnny. It’s that bad. But, I mention this show–.
DANIELLE: You tend to do that a lot.
MATT (laughing): You can always swing back to MST3K for an analogy! That show was versatile. But, I mention it because, when I see a movie like this, one that takes money from your wallet, and you know it’s going to suck…and it sucks the goddamn life right out of you, I always think of the phrase, “DEEP HURTING”.
MATT: That stuck with me a long, long time. Coming out of that film, I don’t think I’ve ever been so vocal. I wasn’t the only one. The audience — mostly comprised of females (surprise, surprise) — were…I don’t know if I’d say they were “booing”, but they didn’t sound happy. I remember that we were just exiting the theater through the doorway to the lobby and I think I said, “How are you gonna wring two more movies from any of what we just saw?” And the three girls in front of us just laughed and they didn’t fight me on that. And, I remember, you said that they would have to do it to explain Grey and why he was all fucked up–.
DANIELLE: “Fifty shades of fucked up”. That was an actual line in the movie. He tells her that’s what he is.
MATT: Man…I need something stronger to drink. (Waitress happens by — I order a Vodka Martini.) But my instant rebuttal was “No. No, they don’t need to make another movie.” In fact, the books didn’t need to go past one. Nobody even needed to give James the chance to publish these books.
DANIELLE: My argument was that you would need the other two movies to explain why Grey is the asshole that he is.
MATT: But, Grey, he — I mean, I can’t even begin to spoil this movie because, honestly, the movie is so vapid and thin that if I say, “Oh my god, he whips the shit out of her until she’s sobbing and then she leaves him”, nobody would know or care if I was talking about the beginning, middle, or end. It’s either they’re fucking or they’re all emo for no reason other than they’re just copies of Edward and Bella in Twilight. There was no reason to care for Grey or Anastasia. Everyone in this goddamn movie is a stupid stereotype or they’re just stupid.
DANIELLE: And that’s what I was saying to you as we left the theater: you couldn’t root for anyone at all.
MATT: So why, then, would anyone need a sequel to any of this bullshit? Seriously! There’s NO plot whatsoever in this movie. None. They meet, are smitten with each other in the time it takes to get a fucking haircut, and then, he’s inviting her into his life, telling her, essentially, that he wants to abuse her — all which he keeps claiming will be “pleasurable for him”–.
DANIELLE: The part where they haggle over “anal/vaginal fisting” was really gross. Especially when he’s disappointed when she tells him that she wants no part of that. That bothered me. A lot. Especially when you have a movie that’s supposed to titillate and and turn you on: all the awful crap just negates anything else that’s sexy. There wasn’t one thing that turned me on. Not one. Meanwhile, we see 18,000 shots of her with a borderline-anorexic, unhealthy-looking body — and I’m not shaming anyone here. I’m concerned when you can see a girl’s ribcage when she’s nude. But, anyway, you get to see her boobs. You get, I think it was seven shots of her bush. The guys are getting full frontal and we get not one dong shot. Is it too much to ask?
MATT: Everything in this movie was weirdly out of place or contrary to what is shown or promised. It was like a comedy from The Twilight Zone at times. Even the soundtrack was cringe-inducing and embarrassing. Danny Elfman, of all people, did the score which did not even begin to match what was on the screen. There are parts where he’s, he’s got her in restraints and he’s removing her panties and, boom, the editors drop in something Elfman probably composed and shelved three years ago just in case he got chosen to score the story of Charles Lindbergh’s voyage across the sea. The music makes no sense. Luckily, later scenes have Beyonce pumping her god-awful but appropriate “Crazy in Love” remix, but Elfman is the last person I thought would touch this movie. But, I wanna get back to the movie: the kissing was even worse. It was like watching two young schoolkids imitating what they see on television and then smooshing their faces together. There was no passion. No open-mouth stuff — and that’s just weird to me.
DANIELLE: And that’s the thing: this is being billed as the hottest thing people have ever seen and the movie’s being as careful as it can so as not to piss you off. It’s just sexist in so many ways. Nothing was sexy in this movie, save for one or two extremely brief moments before the director runs it over with a truck, then proceeds to back over it again to make sure it’s dead.
MATT: Well, one of the things that made me upset was the complete whitewashing of the source material. There’s a meme going around, as we speak. It’s viral and it’s called, “50 Shades of Abuse Passing Itself Off as Romance” and it basically shows — it’s like, the movie poster but with all the awful quotes from the book. Like, Grey telling her that he owns her and that he can find her if she runs and it’s really fucking creepy.
DANIELLE: Yeah, the tone of the film differs wildly from the book. You think that he’s a creep in the film, had they put half of what was in the book into the film, I think even women would be trashing the film more than they are.
MATT: Exactly! The whole thing is about him getting his jollies which is derived from her being in total and complete pain. And he bribes her with gifts! He buys her a laptop and a car — a fucking car — and she’s just like, “Oh wow…that’s a car. I don’t need this, but thanks. Can I touch you?” They fight, they fuck, they fight again. So, he takes her flying in his personal little fighter jet or whatever the hell it’s supposed to be (after stalking her while she’s on vacation with her Mom, no less). They get back to the ground and, fuck the flying, she’s moping and can’t touch him again — and that’s the movie. It’s a broken record. We just go in circles the entire time. By the time it’s over, you just wanna be done with both of them. Him, more so than her, mainly because of the whipping scene. Grey cannot, in my eyes, EVER be redeemed. There’s no excuse for him physically abusing her — AND getting off on it. We don’t need these movies. We didn’t need these books.
DANIELLE: I agree. Even though I know it’s wishful thinking, I hope the studio rethinks this or, maybe, it doesn’t make up the losses from the budget and advertising and we never see another one of these movies again.
MATT: So…final rating. I know you know what I’m gonna say. No stars whatsoever for me.
DANIELLE: Disagree.
MATT: “Disagree?!” You’ve gotta be kidding me. Tell me you’re kidding me.
DANIELLE: No, I give it 1 star.
MATT: I can’t even…there was nothing redeeming here. Nothing. You’re giving it 1 star.
DANIELLE: It got people talking. It might get people talking about how awful and dumbed-down society has become. It might revive the debate about feminism. We might even see a debate on ethics in entertainment pertaining to what should and shouldn’t be made. It got us talking this passionately. Right?
MATT: You are a dreamer.
DANIELLE: I’m not the only one, as the song goes.
MATT: Ok, so I guess we’re doing a 1/2 a star overall.
DANIELLE: Fair enough.
MATT: Half a star it is. Please, for the love of god and all that is holy: STAY AWAY FROM Fifty Shades of Grey at all costs. And, thanks for reading!
The introduction of Archer and Lana’s child to the series should be a pretty big game changer, but it’s something that has received surprisingly little attention this season. Archer in particular hasn’t really spent any time at all with AJ thusfar, which is a bit of a disappointment to anyone hoping for some more wee baby Seamus-style shenanigans. “Sitting” takes a step towards correcting this grievous oversight with Archer’s first night babysitting AJ, which of course doesn’t go exactly as planned.
It goes without saying that Archer isn’t exactly father-of-the-year material, and it makes sense that Lana would be hesitant to let him spend any time alone with AJ, lest she return with a tattoo on her tiny shoulder. The challenge for the show therefore isn’t to merely find contrived reasons for Archer and AJ to end up on wacky adventures together, but really to portray him as a capable father (albeit in his own, distinctly Archer sort of way). Archer’s cavalier attitude to babysitting is neither surprising nor of any comfort to Lana, who nevertheless decides to leave them alone with nothing but an emergency contact number. Armed with knowledge gleaned from a handful of The Baby-Sitters Club books (“I’m totally a Kristy with like a dash of Claudia”) and a stubborn desire to prove Lana wrong, Archer settles in to a quiet evening with his daughter.
Before he can enjoy the black Mexican he mixes himself (a blend of coffee liqueur and tequila, the only things left in his poorly stocked bar), Slater barges in with a gunshot wound and Farooq Ashkani, a Pakistani double agent voiced by Kumail Nanjiani. Farooq’s cover was blown and Slater needs Archer to babysit him while they arrange transport to a new safehouse. Of course, Farooq is really working for Pakistan, and forces Archer to help him break into the CIA mainframe. Archer reluctantly agrees, since Farooq has baby AJ at gunpoint.
Archer isn’t a great dad or even necessarily a great person, but is devotion to those he cares about is perhaps his most redeeming quality. The ways in which he tries to keep AJ safe even at gunpoint are rather endearing, from his insistence that Farooq hangs the “Baby on Board” sign in the car before driving to the office to his meticulous hunt-and-peck typing while breaking into the mainframe for fear of messing up. They walk in on the office drones’ poker night, and a momentary distraction allows Pam to whisk AJ to safety (a nearly naked Pam leaping from desk to desk with AJ in her arms à la King Kong might be the best visual of the entire season so far). It’s only with AJ out of harm’s way that Archer can unleash his full paternal wrath on Farooq for holding his child at gunpoint. Even when he’s ultimately outgunned, he makes a desperate and selfless bid to flood the office with Krieger’s nerve gas.
None of that proves to be necessary, however, as it was all an elaborate plan devised by Lana and Malory to test Archer’s parenting skills and responsibility. He passed with mixed results, all things considered, but it’s not as though his commitment or resolve ever needed testing. The “surprise” ending is a little deflating–a show like Archer ultimately doesn’t need to artificially raise the stakes. Nevertheless, baby AJ’s a great grounding presence who really helps to soften Archer’s recklessness and sense of impunity. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Archer’s adventure into fatherhood, especially if it means more of Pam climbing to the roof to swat at biplanes.
“Have you at least baby proofed this place?” “I… don’t think a baby could hurt anything…”
“Guys, come on! Can’t we have one poker night without a hate crime?”
In Pam’s short time with AJ, she is already feeding her pre-chewed vienna sausages
Who doesn’t get goosebumps once they hear the opening notes of the James Bond theme?
Check out this behind the scenes look of the new 007 film “SPECTRE” in breathtaking Austria where stars Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux and Dave Bautista shoot an intense action sequence.
“SPECTRE” will be the 24th film in the Bond franchise and also stars Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Monica Belluci, Naomie Harris, Andrew Scott, and Ben Whishaw. It comes out in theaters November 6, 2015.
While everyone else is simply sharing Game of Thrones season 5 promotional photos, I’m turning them into Valentine’s Day cards for you to share with your loved ones. Don’t say I never gave you anything.
It can be said without a doubt that if you take away all movies featuring superheroes, Jedis, or post-apocalyptic rebels, the most anticipated movie of 2015 has been the adaptation of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey. This book, which has taken the world by storm and titillated more middle-aged women than a young Brad Pitt, has generated so much interest on its’ journey to becoming a film that it is expected to break box office records all over the place this weekend.
But before I move on to sharing my feelings on the film’s quality I should probably come clean on how I’m approaching it. I have never read the book. I have no intention of ever reading the book. In fact, all I really knew about the plot going into it was that it was about a ridiculously handsome man who happens to be into all sorts of kinky sex. As a result, my reaction here is about the film and only the film. Those of you looking for comparisons to the book will have to look elsewhere.
Leading me into the movie of course was the protagonist with the discarded Bond Girl name of Anastasia Steele played by Dakota Johnson. And although Johnson doesn’t convincingly look like a young woman just graduating from college, she actually ends up being the film’s strongest asset with a nice mixture of humor and compassion that make her an ideal leading lady.
Through Johnson we experience Anastasia’s first encounter with the mysterious Christian Grey played by Jamie Dornan when she takes her roommate’s place interviewing him for the college newspaper. Grey, with his impeccable business suit and pretty boy looks, makes an immediate impression on Anastasia but the attraction is a surprising two-way street. Grey soon begins popping up in Anastasia’s life in a not-so-borderline creepy way in an attempt to woo her…in his own weird kinda way.
Anastasia, who is a virgin that works at a hardware store and still uses a flip phone, is naturally swept away by Christian Grey’s lavish lifestyle but not everything is as perfect as she might hope when she learns that the dashing Mr. Grey isn’t exactly into cuddling.
In fact, he’d rather whip her.
And he’s got a whole special play room for it, to boot! And when Anastasia first enters this “play room” she knows that this ain’t no normal courtship. Grey has no interest in doing dinner and a movie. Instead, he wants Anastasia to sign a contract agreeing to be the Submissive to his Dominant. In other words, he wants to be able to do anything to her. And what does she get out of the deal? According to him: “Me.” How charming.
Like any good hardware store-working virgin, Anastasia is leery about entering Mr. Grey’s kinky world but the two clearly have a strong connection and when she tries to resist it only makes him try harder. And that pretty much sums up the rest of the movie: Anastasia tries to resist, Grey breaks his “no romance policy” to woo her, and she relents enough to let him try some of his S&M moves on her. She then resists again and starts the process over.
The repetitive nature of the story might work for those who are only there to see the increasing intensity of Grey’s adventures in bondage, but everyone else is likely to find the cat and mouse game between the two lovers dull and frustrating. It eventually gets to a point where you have to question the judgement of Anastasia who keeps running back to a man who clearly has little interest in ever putting her desires over his own and repeatedly shows up whenever and wherever he wants against her wishes. It’s not cool.
The film itself is competently shot and put together, but what really kills it is a wretched screenplay filled with laughter-inducing lines that had the audience I watched it with cackling at every turn. Johnson manages to navigate most of the clunky lines but poor Dornan is crushed under the weight of bad writing on every page. The unintentional comedy is only amplified on his part though thanks to his attempt to make every line reading ooze with sexuality, which only succeeds in making him sound ridiculous 90% of the time. He may look good enough to make you consider letting him beat you, but that can only get him so far.
The giggles induced by the film are then only enhanced by a horribly cheesy score by the usually reliable Danny Elfman and a selection of pop songs that will date this film in painfully record time.
And so with a wonky script, bad music, a laughter-causing leading man, and an obnoxiously repetitive storyline, Fifty Shades of Grey is almost impossible to recommend unless you’re looking to poke fun at something for a couple of hours. Even the much-touted sex scenes were nothing to write home about! So now that it’s over all I can wonder is, “Are there really four more hours of this to come?!”