pinartarhan.com

 

On the Cast and Crew

I don’t think a comic book movie has ever seen such a cast. Superman’s father is played by Russell Crowe, stepfather by Kevin Costner, stepmother by Diane Lane, love interest Lois Lane by Amy Adams. The main villain is played Michael Shannon, one of the most gifted actors of his generation – who is better known for awesome low-budget films (Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter).

The special effects are pretty spectacular-to the point of being overdone, but then again it’s Zac Snyder (300, Watchmen). The story is written by David. S. Goyer (Dark Knight trilogy)  and Christopher Nolan (Memento, Inception, the Dark Knight trilogy…)

As a fan of the 70s/80s Superman series, (as horrible the effects seem today and the story isn’t cool, it holds a tremendous nostalgic value for me . After all, it was my first superhero movie, and Christopher Reeve was my first Superman).  And it is hard to fill in Reeve’s shoes as an actor (and as Superman)- he had this uniquely suave look about him, and he stood at 6′ 4″ (1.93 m). So you hardly questioned Lois being head over heels, or him being an alien with super powers

 

But then Henry Cavill came, having worked out so much that he could have been the next choice as Wolverine (pay attention to his look and mannerisms in the first rescue scene.) He looked the right amount of innocent, frustrated and otherworldly. Something I don’t think Brandon Routh was able to bring.

 

Yes, with such cast and crew, you’d keep your expectations high. And I’m thinking you are more likely to be impressed than disappointed. Let’s go over the plot before moving on to other thoughts:

Man of Steel Plot

Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife (Ayelet Zurer) manage to have the only naturally born son (Kal-El, later to be named Clark by his stepparents) in a long time in the dying planet Krypton. General Zod (Michael Shannon) tries to take over, hoping to save the planet under his rule. His hostility and betrayal aren’t approved by Jor-El, and he sends his son to earth, a plan he came up with his wife.

He sees that his baby leaves the planet safely, but ends up being murdered by Zod. Eventually Zod and his men are captured, sentenced to a very long time in a black hole.

Their capture doesn’t prevent the planet from ultimate destruction, however.

Later we meet the adult Clark (Henry Cavill) who has managed to keep his special abilities secret by working the odd jobs, and not staying in one place for too long.

Through flashbacks, we get to see how Clark struggled as a young boy to control and hide his abilities, but managed somehow through the guidance and support of his stepparents, Jonathan (Kevin Kostner)  and Martha Kent (Diane Lane).

Jonathan explains him that he came from another planet, though he doesn’t have a lot of details. He encourages him to keep his powers secret for the greater good of his planet’s and the earth’s.

The adult Clark’s final gig lands him in Canada, where Louis Lane of The Daily Planet is also on a case. When Lois follows Clark into the spacecraft (a vehicle that the army was trying to figure out), Clark gets to save her – revealing his powers, but not before having gotten the message of his biological father.

He leaves soon, and Louis writes about the mystery man. But when her boss (Laurence Fishburne) refuses to print it, she makes sure people hear her story via a conspiracy theorist. She later decides to track down the mystery guy herself. But when she finally finds him, he tells her about Jonathan and his doubts about the world being ready for someone like him. After this, Louis decides to keep his identity a secret, strengthening the bond already formed between them.

But things get out of her control when Zod announces that he’s coming to the earth with his men, and all he wants is the alien. And of course he won’t accept “no” in peace. This puts Lois at risk, and Clark knows better than to trust Zod.

And the real action/effects feast part of the movie start after we find out that Krypton’s demise has freed Zod and his men; and he intends to recreate Krypton on earth, while destroying humans…

 

*

Review

Man of Steel provides solid entertainment with substance.

It does a good job explaining the backstory and answering the questions of the superhero’s fans who don’t necessarily read the comics: Where does the name/costume come from, why there is an S symbol on his costume (and a lot of other places), how he “officially” became a hero among others.

It starts presenting Krypton in all its different glory and giving Crowe a piece of the action.

Then we move on to an adult Clark who has nothing to do with newspaper reporting or glasses, which is refreshing.

The movie does a fine job of balancing drama with action, though I have to say I prefer to part of the movie before Zod arrived in our world. Because the fight  sequences between Clark and Zod’s two soldiers took a bit too long for my taste- and as Transformers showed, too loud and long can be a major turn-off. And I can also say it for the final battle between Zod and Clark. However these are my only two complaints about the movie. I had a great experience. I can’t wait for the next installations.

I’m also happy to announce that the movie made more than half its budget at the box office on its first day. May Nolan and Snyder collaborate on more features.

How did you like the film?

 

Also on Kevin Costner:

The Company Men starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello & Kevin Costner

Nicholas Sparks vs Happy Endings- Kevin Costner’s Message in a Bottle

Kevin Costner: An Amazing Lead Who Should Just Stay Away From Sci-Fi

When Adultery is OK- Revenge (Movie Review of Revenge, Starring Kevin Costner and Anthony Quinn)

The New Daughter starring Kevin Costner

 

Also on Russell Crowe

The Next Three Days starring Russell Crowe & Elizabeth Banks: Emotional, Captivating, Entertaining

 State of Play starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel Mcadams and Helen Mirren

A Good Year starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard

A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris & Paul Bettany

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t watch MTV. I am, however, on the constant lookout for a fun comedy, and I’ve caught this little gem thanks to IMDB’s suggestions (which sometimes work well.)

Oh, I used to watch MTV growing up, when it wasn’t all about reality shows and pop or rap music.

Jenna (Ashley Rickards) isn’t in the in-crowd.  She’s just a normal (the meaning of which is open to interpretation) teenager living with her young parents who had her when they were in high school.

She has two best friends, Tamara (Jillian Rose Reed) and Ming (Jessica Lu), and a blog where she can share all of her angst and other feelings, along with her huge crush on the popular cutie Matt (Beau Mirchoff , Danny Bolen of Desperate Housewives, season 6).

So when Matt has sex her in the closet at the end of camp (and takes her virginity), she is over the moon.

But it seems like Mattie only hooks up with her in private, and this starts bothering her. Add the recent attention of Jake (Brett Davern), Matt’s best friend –who doesn’t know Matt is with her – and things get a bit more complicated.

*

Don’t worry. Awkward is hilarious. It has its cliches, but it has mixed those up with great humor. For instance popular bitch/cheerleaders’ captain, Sadie (Molly Tarlov) is an “overweight” girl who has “bought” her popularity.

The stupid blonde cheerleader, Lissa (Greer Grammer) is obsessed with religion and tries to be celibate while dating Jake.

While Matt is friends with Sadie, he sees her as the bitch as she is and he is into Jenna, and not the cheerleader squad.

Our lead girl loses her virginity at camp, under very unromantic circumstances – but Matt keeps hooking up with her. He likes her, but he doesn’t know how to go about dating an “outcast”, so he screws up things big time.

Jake is a total sweetheart. He’s nice, fun, romantic and a virgin. Not exactly the popular jock we’re used to seeing.

You’ve got to love Jenna’s parents, only 17 years older than her. Her dad (Mike Faiola) is pretty cool and mature enough, though her mother Lacey (Nikki Deloach) is obsessed with popularity and her daughter’s wardrobe.

*

There’re the typical gatherings, but also some decent plot “twists”, like the author of the letter (-a mysterious anonymous letter listing all Jenna’s faults and tips on how to improve them.)

There have been a lot of shows set in high schools, but none really went out of their way to use uncensored language this much. Sure, it gets beeped a bit – but the stuff they talk about and how they talk about tend to sound more natural than other “teen” shows out there.

*

The great thing about Awkward is that it is unpretentious, honest, light and pretty funny with lots of laugh-out-loud moments. And it’d be a shame to dismiss it as a teen/MTV show.

And you’ve got to love the way Jenna blogs…

Awkward is currently in its 3rd season, and rated at 7.6 on IMDB (voted by over 17,800 users).

 

 

Other Comedies I Recommend:

Coupling

Spin City

Will & Grace

Friends

3^rd Rock from the Sun (first season)

 

Body of Proof series finale, Daddy Issues, aired on Tuesday this week.

 

It just sucks when such a fun series is cancelled.

 

Yes, all good things come to an end. But I wish they didn’t while they still had great storylines to explore.

 

Yeah, yeah, we get it. It’s about ratings and advertising revenue. But it’s not the healthiest sytem, and hey, the show’s time slot also affects things.

 

But let’s not get into the whole archaic Nielsen thing, or the advertisers’ inability to make the most of the show’s social media followers and international viewers…

 

I read that the creators are looking to find another network, but I’m not holding my breath.  Survival after cancellation has been known to happen, but none of my favorite (cancelled) shows had such luck.

 

But at least, Daddy Issues was a great finale. It tied up all the loose ends, and even though their final choice of the main villain is a bit implausible (and questionable), it makes up for it by:

 

(*includes spoilers for  season 3, episode 5 (Eye for an Eye), where Henry Ian Cusick first guest-starred.)

 

1)   letting us finally know what happened to Megan’s father and why.

2)   bringing back my favorite “villain” – therapist Dr. Trent Marsh (Henry Ian Cusick) who was the only guy that got away from Megan. He was intelligent enough, and he was worth sympathizing over. Even though he had killed 3 people (in episode 5), all those people had committed cold-blooded murder. One of the victims was Marsh’s wife.

3)   Megan (Dana Delany) finally beginning to see how there might be shades of grey when it came to “bad guys” and “good guys”

4)   Megan finally having a non-evasive talk with Tommy about where they stand.

 

 

The finale works, both as a season and a series finale.

Even if I don’t get any more of Megan Hunt, I’ve got closure- something prematurely-cancelled (but awesome) *Lie to Me or *Awake couldn’t provide.

 

Now, if you want to find out more, dig into a spoiler-rich plot summary:

 

Megan is too busy solving her dad’s murder to get into the case-of-the-week, so it’s Ethan (Geoffrey Arend), Kate (Jeri Ryan) and Curtis (Windell Middlebrooks) working on it.

 

Megan and Tommy (Mark Valley) are shocked to find out that her father’s grave is empty. This proves Megan’s theory one more time. They try the next logical angle: going  after some old records, which they also find that were taken by the killer.

 

And as Megan is trying to deal with the emotional strain, Marsh “runs into” her. She’s a bit “easier” on him this time, as she’s more concerned about catching her father’s killer.

 

After Megan finds a hidden key in her father’s belongings, she finds a hidden file on an assaulted and killed woman, supposedly by a serial killer (Kurtwood Smith, Red of That 70s Show), convicted for several other murders.

But he tells Megan and Tommy that she wasn’t one of her victims, and their search takes them to the cop in charge of the case years ago.

 

Megan is adamant that he’s the killer, but they only have a theory. Marsh finds her, and tells her he can help her. Megan refuses, though she seems to be less judgmental of him now.

 

When the cop is shot in the back, it makes you wonder whether a certain “villain” didn’t keep his promise.

 

But the victim in Kate’s case turns out to be the partner of the cop. When Megan goes to the police station to find Tommy, she runs into Tommy’s boss – who “kidnaps” Megan.

 

As it turns out, the killer is none other than Tommy and Adam’s (Elyes Gabel) boss Chief Angela (Lorraine Toussaint)  (yeah, her connection is explained.)

 

And when she is about to shoot Megan, it is when Marsh comes and shoots her, saving Megan’s life. A shocked Megan can only whisper “thank you” after he is gone.

 

After Tommy arrives at the scene, she tells him who saved his life. But when they go to his office, he is gone- having left   his book, along with the note “You’re Welcome” for Megan, who doesn’t seem that bummed that he has eluded them.

 

She makes up with her mother.

 

The she goes to Tommy’s house, finally admitting her feelings to Tommy, and we see their first on-screen kiss.

 

*

I’d kinda hoped Megan would hook up with the therapist (at least before we found out he was the murderer.) Even then, I was kind of hoping that Megan would understand him. This episode I got that chemistry again- and I had a feeling……wouldn’t mind.

 

But I’ve always liked Mark Valley (Boston Legal, Fringe), and Tommy’s been a very entertaining character. So it was about time they got together. But Marsh would have made a risky, grey and interesting love interest. Oh, well…

 

And if you want to see Cusick play a real villain (as in a villain killing anyone who gets in his way and gets off on it), watch his guest appearances as Tommy Volker on The Mentalist.

 

*

 

Lie to Me’s ending wasn’t good for a series finale. It was barely good enough as a season finale. Don’t get me wrong, it was a first-class episode. It didn’t move anything forward, apart from Lightman finally admitting to his daughter that he loved his partner Gillian- something we always knew.

 

Awake’s finale, had it been a season finale, would have been one of the best in the history of television. But as a season finale, it was just disappointing that we didn’t get the answer to the show’s promise: which of the worlds he was living was real?

 

Body of Proof answered everything we needed to know, moved the story forward, avoided the cliche of Megan winning over every criminal….

 

Yeah, I’ll miss the show. If another network buys it, I’ll keep watching.

 

What did you think of the finale?

 

 

Also on Body of Proof

 

Body of Proof starring Dana Delany, Nicholas Bishop & Jeri Ryan

 

Body of Proof is Back for its 3rd Season: And It’s Even More Fun!

Robert Redford is a lot of things. A great director, a skilled actor, a movie icon…One thing he isn’t, though, is a fan of happy endings. Oh, and I believe the evidence (i.e. his filmography) speaks for itself.

Either Redford doesn’t enjoy happy-endings, or he just happens to like the script too much to care whether his character gets romantic bliss at the end.

Note: If you don’t want to be spoiled about the endings of several Redford movies, you might not want to continue further.

 

 

Out of Africa (1985): Directed by Sydney Pollack. Co-Starring Meryl Streep. 7 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

 

Out of Africa tells the story of a Danish baroness starting a life in Africa, and bringing all her energy and uniqueness with her as she interacts with natives and non-natives alike. But she has quite the impact on free-spirited hunter Denys (Robert Redford), who she starts falling for.

Of course he is cool, handsome, charismatic and adventurous.

They have this modern romance for a while before their differences get in the way. As much as they are both independent, they have different ideas about romance and being with someone.

In the end, they realize they might both need to change a little since they do want each other but guess what? Denys dies in a plane crash. Ouch.

Of course Out of Africa isn’t just about the love story, but it’s an integral part of the film. It offers great cinematography, chemistry between actors, the true story of a very interesting woman…

Still, when you look at Redford’s character: he gets the girl, but he dies in the end.

P.S. I haven’t seen all his movies (yet), so if there is more, don’t add it in the comments. I don’t want to be spoiled : )

 

Up Close and Personal (1996) co-starring Michelle Pfieffer

I already reviewed the film, so you can have unspoiled fun here.

Redford’s Warren is a seasoned news reporter-turned-producer who trains the small town Sally (Michelle Pfieffer) and she slowly transforms from clueless to elegant and heart-felt.

Spending this much time together and getting to know each other really well result in them falling for one another, and the two stay together despite different career opportunities and aspirations.

Unfortunately, one career aspiration sends Warren to Panama and he proves that he’s still got it: There really is a story there. But that story does get him killed…

A case of Redford getting the girl but dying.

 

The Way We Were (1973)

(*Also features spoilers for Sex and the City series)

An “opposites attract until opposites repel” story that I just can’t like as a romance.

OK, so I saw The Way We Were after I saw Sex and the City because well…I was 14 when SATC started and I saw the related episode before the movie. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) was comparing her doomed relationship with Big (Chris Noth) to the relationship of Katie (Barbra Streisand) and Hubbell (Robert Redford)’s.

Well, I was quite disappointed with SATC because despite all the horrendous things that happened in their relationship (including cheating on their then partners with each other), they got a happily ever after at the end of the series. By then I couldn’t have cared less about Big, or Carrie.

And watching The Way We Were…well, Hubbell and Katie made Carrie and Big seem like two peas in a pot. At least their political views weren’t insanely different, their career advancement didn’t disappoint the other and one’s political affiliation didn’t endanger the other’s career. Then there’s the little affair where Hubbell cheated on Katie whereas in SATC, despite all the “twistedness”, Big was loyal to Carrie.

Now, with Hubbell and Katie…their differences were even more obvious and powerful. And you are supposed to love someone not despite who they are, but because of who they are.

You can argue that they loved each other but it just didn’t work…but hey, tell me, what did they love exactly?

For a romantic like me, The Big and Carrie storyline was not romantic at all, especially after they involved Aidan. But The Way We Were’s story is just as annoying, if not more depressing.  I love Redford, and got nothing against Streisand but boy, this movie bored me.

So Redford gets the girl, but doesn’t end up with her.

 

The Horse Whisperer (1998) co-starring Kristin Scott Thomas & Scarlett Johansson

(*Spoilers for both the movie, and the novel it was based on)

When Annie’s (Kristin Scott Thomas) daughter (Scarlett Johansson) has an accident with her horse, she thinks that the best way to heal her daughter, along with the horse, is move to the ranch of the horse whisperer Tom Booker (Robert Redford). Of course having left behind not the greatest of marriages, spending a lot of time with the handsome and modern cowboy, and the beauty of the nature will confuse the hell out of Annie.

Being a romantic drama directed by Robert Redford, an unhappy ending shouldn’t surprise you in the slightest. Though this time we have to hand it to Redford – he changed the ending from the hero dying to the hero just losing the girl.

Not that the girl really wanted to leave, but her life was in the city, her husband (Sam Neill) still loved her and wanted to try-and he really loved her daughter. So it was more like she picked her daughter (and the city) over the whisperer, rather than her husband over him.

Still, Redford didn’t get the girl.

 

The Great Gatsby (1974) co-starring Mia Farrow

Based on the classic F. Scott Fitzgeral novel.

Gatsby (Robert Redford) acquires wealth to impress his ex flame Daisy (Mia Farrow) who married into privilege, but Daisy seems to care about titles and money that were born into.

Now, it has been a while since I read the novel, but if I recall correctly, Gatsby never quite gets the girl and even dies at the end. Ouch.

Though I have to say I didn’t really care about either of their characters.

Fun note: (Now, I’ll spoil a bit of DiCaprio endings for you…)

Director Baz Luhrman remade The Great Gatsby in 2013 with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role. Which got me thinking, DiCaprio doesn’t that get that many happy endings in his movies either. Assuming the end of this classic wasn’t changed, we can add it to Romeo and Juliet, Titanic, Blood Diamond, Revolutionary Road (if my memory serves right) and well…I can’t remember the rest of his movie endings. Feel free to spoil me about them.

 

Indecent Proposal (1993) co-starring Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson 

 

Rich businessman John (Redford) is used to getting what he wants, and now he wants to sleep with the married Diana (Moore). Diana loves her husband David (Harrelson) to bits, but they are in huge debt, and John has offered a million dollars to “have” Diana for one night.

She begrudgingly accepts, and their marriage later suffers from the aftermath. Diana gets with John for a while…

So he sexually gets the girl, later partly emotionally gets the girl, but will always be second to the husband. Not that his character was an angel, but all parties are seriously flawed. So why shouldn’t we root for the guy who looks and sounds like Redford?

 

Havana (1990) co-starring Lena Olin

It’s 1958. Professional gambler Jack (Redford) is in Havana to pull the biggest, and last game of his career when he meets the beautiful Roberta (Olin) who has been helping the rebels with her Cuban doctor husband. He falls for Roberta’s passion and she gives him something to believe in other than himself.

Her husband dies, Jack comes to her rescue, quite impressively and eventually she becomes enchanted by him too. But hey, she just might be a bit more in love with the idea of a revolution than she’s with Jack.

So Redford gets the girl for a bit, he doesn’t die but the girl doesn’t go with him either

Thinking about it, if Redford has a niche (or several, we are talking about decade of film-making and acting here) –it is romantic dramas without happy endings. Or action/dramas with some sad aspect, usually about him.

The Last Castle (2001) co-starring James Gandolfini and Mark Ruffalo

 

Now, this is not a romantic drama. It’s an exciting and thought-provoking action/drama about how one general (Redford) finds himself in a military prison where the warden (Gandolfini) has been treating the inmates inhumanely. It gets to the point where the general can’t take it anymore, and with his leadership, the men set out to take over the prison.

They do manage to take over the prison through some fun action scenes, but in the end, Redford dies for his cause. Sure, they make their point and overthrow the warden. But the man who made it possible is gone. And it is an action movie, for crying out loud!

So what’s the score now? Robert Redford 8, happy endings 0?

 

Three Days of the Condor (1975) co-starring Faye Dunaway

CIA researcher Joseph Turner (Redford)’s job is to read anything and everything. However his not-so-dangerous life is turned upside down when someone inside the CIA orders his unit (and every person in it) to be destroyed. He survives by pure chance, and spends his “three days” trying to not to get killed.

Part of his success comes from the fact that his mind doesn’t work like a regular agent’s. He kidnaps a random woman (Faye Dunaway), stays with her in her house and during the interesting “hostage” situation they “bond”.

At the end of the movie, it seems that he has a safety measure, but it is not guaranteed that it will work. The woman wouldn’t mind seeing him again, but she has a boyfriend, and she is a bit weird.

So it is not so much unhappy as it is very vague. But it is definitely not a happy ending.

 

This Property Is Condemned (1966) co-starring Natalie Wood

Now I really don’t like this movie, but the ending has got nothing to do with it. I pretty much enjoyed most of the movies listed above, but this one…

I just can’t stand most of the movies before the 70s. The artificial colors, the exaggerated acting, the overly loud sound editing…Nothing sits right with me. It’s all like a bad play.

You can counter-argue that 80s and 90s have a lot of examples of exaggeration and over-doing things, but I wasn’t born into the 60s. I didn’t grow up watching them either, so they don’t have a nostalgic hold over me like the 80s and 90s do.

This Property is Condemned tells the story of railroad official Owen (Redford) who comes to a small town to close the railway, falls in love with the town’s flirt (Natalie Wood) and together they sort of overcome all…Until she dies.

 

I know. Ouch. No happy ending for Redford yet again.

 

*

Final Score: Redford 10, Happy Endings 0.

 

*Note: Now, I first wrote a post called Nicholas Sparks vs. Happy Endings since we know the writer loves killing off his main character(s) most of the time. Sure it often happens after he/she hooks up with their big love and they have some quality time together, but I don’t really enjoy seeing the hero/heroine being killed off sometime after having enjoyed the sunset with the heroine/hero.

And please let’s not get into the “there are no real happy endings in real life” debate. It’s Nicholas Sparks. It’s pure escapism, and I don’t like being captured by the prison guards and tell me I never made it out; that it was just an illusion. Metaphorically speaking.

 

 

 

 

There haven’t been many popular shows in television that were as hated as The Following (and also Revolution). Sure, a lot of people loath a lot of things, but few are as vocal as these shows’ haters. Not to mention the active haters of The Following don’t mind tuning in week after week to pick the show apart. It’s funny, because when I can’t stand a show, I just stay away from it.

That’s not to say I don’t think The Following has more than its share of faults, implausiblities, and “oh no, he/she/they didn’t!!!!” moments.

But it also has a great cast, an engaging plot, good acting, badass moments and just the right amount of gore.

And  as opposed to shows who have lost their intrigue and I either stopped watching or kind of watch in 10 minutes (at most) in fast forward mode, I was glued to the screen with The Following for the most part, and that’s all that matters to me – I’m in it for the entertainment after all.

Alright. Let’s roll:

 

A quick reminder to where we are after 14 episodes:

-          Paul (Adan Canto) was injured badly after the FBI raided their hideout. Jacob (Nico Tortorella) had to kill him to prevent him from further suffering. This was Jacob’s first murder.

-          Jacob later joined Emma (Valorie Curry) and others at the town mansion where Roderick and other followers had created a high-tech fortress and Joe was working on his novel.

-          Joe  (James Purefoy) was reunited with his son Joey, and after the FBI failed to find him and a lot of people were killed to protect Claire (Natalie Zea), Claire willingly left Ryan’s (Kevin Bacon) side and got caught by the followers to see her son.

-          Claire kept rejecting Joe, and Roderick (Warren Cole) kept rebelling.

-          When Mike (Shane Weston) finally made Roderick, Roderick tried to escape with Joey- but was killed by the followers and a conflicting Jacob left Joey to Ryan.

-          Joe tried getting Claire to love him, it backfired and Claire tried to kill him. This made Joe decide to kill Claire, so that he’d finally see Ryan unravel to the point of no return.

-          Followers kidnapped Debra (Annie Parisse) and put her in a coffin and buried her alive.

 

Episode 15- Season Finale – Full of Spoilers!!!

-          Emma sends the clue to what happened to Debra in a creepy way, and the FBI tries to hold her online and locate her.

-          Joe has taken Claire to a Lighthouse as he waits for Ryan to find them.

-          Ryan and Mike find Debra, after going badass on a follower, but they are too late. Then Ryan finds Joe’s manuscript hidden in the coffin, and realizes that it was his plan all along.

-          He leaves Mike behind for his own safety and sets out to find Claire. He’s delivered unconcious and finds himself by a fireplace, hands tied across Joe and a tied-up Claire. He mananages to distract Joe eventually, and saves Claire. Joe escapes to inside the lighthouse, a fire starts during the fight. Ryan escapes, Joe can’t.

-          We’re lead to believe that Joe is (probably) dead, though we are not believing it till season 2, where he will probably be back.

-          Emma is alive and well, and apparently upset over Joe’s apparent death.

-          Ryan takes Claire to his house for the night, where they get both stabbed by Ryan’s psychotic neighbor Molly.

 

Favorite Badass Moments & Favorite Lines

-          To be able to find Debra, Ryan and Mike “question” the follower who was quite surprised at their willingness to torture. They are FBI, right? But even other agents don’t mind crossing the line when one of their own is about to die.

The follower: You’re not going to kill me! I’m not talking.

Ryan: We’re not going to kill you. But we’ll get really, really close.

 

-          They can’t save Parker, and the follower makes infuriating comments. Ryan walks towards him, all common sense having replace by furry. He walks towards him and shoots him in one shot shutting him up for good.

*

Joe claims Ryan can’t get under his skin, but Ryan keeps going with all the triggetr words: “bored with Poe”, “flop”, “second rate”, “no” talent”,”wannabe”

*

Ryan: My hands are tied, Joe. Doesn’t quite make for a fair fight.

Joe: I’ve been stabbed with both a knife and a fork so I don’t think that there’s gonna be any more fighting.

 

Oh, No, He Didn’t!!!

Ryan is my favorite character, and I cut him a lot of slack due to the traumas he has gone through and how cool Kevin Bacon is but his lack of broad thinking just annoys me to no end. How can he know so much about the cult’s wide network and know how the followers integrated themselves into their lives so seamlessley, and yet still not suspect his neighbor a bit? How predictable is it to go to his own house? Come on, even if Joe is dead, and especially if Joe is dead, how can he not expect an angry follower or two to stake him out??? The last scene serves him right for being so naive. Dude, you should have known better!

 

*

Despite the FBI’s constant failures and Ryan’s occasional stupidity, I loved the show. I will be back the next season to see if it is still entertaining.

How about you? Are you still following?

 

Also on The Following

The Following 1×08 Welcome Home Review: Mike Weston Proves He’s More Than Computers

The Following: Why I’m Still a Follower & Summary for 1×07 Episode Let Me Go

The Following: When Both The Protagonist and Antagonist Are Writers

Mad Love: The Following Episode 4 Review – The Mad Get Madder

The Following 1×03 The Poet’s Fire Review: What’s with the FBI?

The Following 1×02 Chapter Two Review: Still cool, and yes, Hardy Needs to Toughen Up. But how?

The Following starring Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy: Epic Start

 

 

If you haven’t seen Taken, I suggest seeing it first. It will probably make you appreciate Taken 2 less, but it is the reason of the second movie was made and the third is probably in the works. Because, even though Taken 2 is not as cool or impressive as Taken, I am not ready to stop watching Liam Neeson kicking ass around Europe saving someone he cares about.

Oh, and I might be dropping Taken spoilers.

That said, let’s roll:

Our favorite badass ex-CIA Brian Mills (Liam Neeson) is now closer with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), though he is worried about how she is coping (or if she is being careful enough) after he saved her from a human trafficking gang (and killed everyone who was responsible) in France.

Unfortunately , the father of one of those men is incredibly pissed and wants justice. And he gets the perfect opportunity when Brian travels to Istanbul for a private security job and his daughter and ex-wife (Famke Jenssen) visit him.

This time, they manage to take her, and Brian. But of course Kim tries to be daddy’s daughter, and with her help, Brian starts kicking ass again.

Taken > Taken 2

It pretty much sums it up. Taken is bigger, better, cooler. Brian kicks more ass, and kicks it better in Taken. As much as there are probably things that defy rationale in the first film, I don’t remember noticing because I was too busy getting caught in the action.

This is not to say that Taken 2 isn’t entertaining. It is. But because it is more over-the-top in many ways that is less cool and often less logical, you notice the flaws. You notice how stupid the criminals are.

And then there is the over-stereotyping of Istanbul that doesn’t go unnoticed by anyone who has been there. Granted, France wasn’t shown in the best light in Taken, but again, we were too “taken” by the film to realize or care.

That said, if you liked the first one, you should at least try to give the second one a shot. I belong to the club that really enjoys Liam Neeson kicking ass all around Europe. I loved Taken and I loved Unknown. Taken 2 is alright, and yes, I’ll see the third one if they make it.

But I’d say: Taken> Unknown> Taken 2

*

Also on Liam Neeson:

Unknown starring Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones & Aidan Quinn

The A-Team starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Sharlto Copley & Quinton Rampage Jackson

Chloe starring Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried

Seraphim Falls starring Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan

The Other Man starring Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas and Laura Linney

Battleship starring Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker & Alexander Skarsgard

Famke janssen:

City of Industry starring Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff and Timothy Hutton

Maggie grace

Lockout starring Guy Pearce & Maggie Grace

 

 

 

Plot Summary

1958. Pro card player Jack Weil (Robert Redford) is in Havana once again, this time to organize the biggest game of his life. While travelling there by boat, his situation-handling skills intrigues fellow passenger/revolution supporter Roberta “Bobby” Duran (Lena Olin) and she hires him to pass her car through the border safely.

After he succeeds, he expectedly hits on Bobby, but she turns him down saying she’s married.  An unfazed Jack goes about his business, trying to convince casino owner Joe Volpi (Alan Arkin) to let him organize a big stakes game, hanging out with women and not giving a damn about revolution.

Even after Bobby introduces him to her husband Arturo (Raul Julia), a important rebel, and he tells Jack that they could use his skills, Jack turns them down.

But when the police start capturing rebels, Arturo is announced dead, and Bobby goes missing, Jack decides to use his resourcefulness to help out Bobby. Only Bobby will turn out to be even more stubborn than he is, and will awaken things in Jack that he never knew existed.

Can Jack manage to win his biggest game and get out of Cuba without getting into trouble, or will he become as crazy about Bobby as she is about the revolution and do the unexpected of him?

*

A Beautiful, Political Journey of Internal Change

Havana is an alluring period drama/romance in a political background in an exotic city. Jack’s latest experiences in Havana, and his change and growth as a person, get more focus than the romance, so the movie will be better appreciated as an interesting drama than a romantic film. That’s not to say we don’t get some extremely brave and romantic gestures from Redford, and as usual, he seduces his co-star as he also easily seduces his audience.

Jack makes for an interesting romantic lead, as even with all the gambling, smoking, women and drinking, he never strikes us as unworthy or disreputable. If anything, his character seemed more realistic than selfish to me. He’s an American card-player who is in Cuba for business and fun, and not every foreigner would jump to risk his life to get involved in the dangerous and complicated politics of another country. Sure, it is noble to help others. Ideally, we should. But then it isn’t in everyone. And it would raise the question: why is the survival of others more important than his own?

So I can totally relate to his noninvolvement in the beginning, as it is a logical self-preservation strategy. But what he does for Bobby, doesn’t come as an unrealistic development either. Her passion, beauty and her highly different background intrigue him and brings out a passion in him he never experienced. He follows his heart rather than logic, and this is what magnetically draws Bobby to him later on.

That said, be prepared to give the lead to Havana and Jack rather than Jack and Bobby.

*

Written by Judith Rascoe and David Rayfiel, directed by Sydney Pollack. 1990.

Havana Movie and Cast Trivia

- Onscreen, Robert Redford’s often romantically paired with actresses younger than him:

* Havana:  Lena Olin 19 years his junior

* Out of Africa: Mery Streep 13 years

* Up close and Personal: Michelle Pfeiffer 22 years

* Indecent Proposal: Demi Moore 26 years

* The Horse Whisperer: Kristin Scott Thomas 24 years

Interestingly enough, although some moviegoers make an issue of age differences on the screen, nobody seems to be bothered when it is Robert. I know I’m not. Although I have to say my favorites among these pairings are with Lena Olin and Michelle Pfeiffer.

-Robert worked with Lena’s Swedish director husband Lasse Hallström for the movie An Unfinished life. Lena often works with her husband as well (Chocolat, Casanova…).

-Redford is an Oscar-nominated actor, but an Oscar-winning director. But unlike Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves) he wasn’t nominated for both for the same movie. He wasn’t in acting in Ordinary People, the 1980 movie that got him the Oscar. Ordinary People also earned Timothy Hutton Oscar for Best Supporting actor.

Redford’s other Best Director nomination was for Quiz Show, a 1994 movie starring Ralph Fiennes. Quiz Show didn’t feature Redford as an actor either.

- Havana was directed by actor/director Sydney Pollack who guest-appeared on the sitcom Will & Grace as Will’s father.

-Havana was nominated for Grammy, Golden Globe and Oscar for its music.

 

Also on Robert Redford:

Lions for Lambs starring Robert Redford, Meryl Streep & Tom Cruise

Up Close and Personal starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer

Ordinary People starring Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch

Also on Lena Olin

Mr. Jones starring Richard Gere and Lena Olin

Remember Me starring Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Pierce Brosnan, Lena Olin and Chris Cooper

 

 

 

1×08 was a really fun episode. Yes, the FBI makes some really ridiculous calls (again!), but I’ve come to accept it as a part of this show’s universe. I’m just having too much fun to care at this point. However I’m still hoping someone in charge will develop more brain cells and realize people’s lives are more important than a serial killer and his followers’ rights.

Here we go:

1×07 Let Me Go- Quick Reminder

Last episode ended with Caroll (James Purefoy) being taken safely taken to a mansion where all his followers, except Paul and Jacob-who we still haven’t heard of, are waiting for him. He also got to meet his son, who did recognize him. Claire (Natalie Zea) is placed in protective custody and presumably no one (that Ryan knows) knows where she is. He doesn’t know, either.

1×08 Welcome Home Summary

Joe is playing the unwillingly estranged, misunderstood good father to a very timid, silent Joey. Emma (Valorie Curry) looks for ways to hook up with her hero, and we finally get to meet Roderick who turns out to be the sheriff of the small town the mansion is located in.

FBI has a new man in charge, Nick Donovan (Mike Colter, Malcolm of Ringer) who makes more horrible calls to supposedly remedy “the mistakes Ryan and others did”. Considering Ryan (Kevin Bacon) is the only one that got breakthrough with the help of Mike and sometimes Parker, Nick’s attitude has only caused a lot of viewers, me included, that he is a follower. Either he is a follower, or he is stickler for good manners and authority and got to be where he is through luck and/or connections.  Or Kevin Williamson really hates his fictional FBI.

*On a side note, I recommend watching Perception to see a much more competent bureau. Even if they make mistakes, apart from Daniel and Kate, they usually compensate with backing them up when they are proven right.*

So Nick stops Ryan from getting information first hand, and then sends Mike (Shawn Ashmore) home for hacking his email. Shockingly, another “let’s leave our agents along when so many homicidal followers are around” move from the bureau results in Mike being kidnapped to a shipyard to be tortured for information. The kidnapper team involves Charlie, Roderick and the blonde stabber from last week’s episode.

When Ryan can’t reach Mike on his cell, he informs Parker (Annie Parisse) and goes to the motel. Parker arrives, and together they make Nick allow them to go check out the shipyard. Of course, no back-up.

While Ryan and Parker were busy trying to find out about the place despite Nick, Weston was being tortured in a fight club sort of way, so that he would spit out the whereabouts of Claire. But he doesn’t say anything.

Ryan arrives just in time to kill a couple of followers, and save an almost dying Mike. Charlie, Roderick and the blonde escape; and Ryan goes to the hospital with Mike.  Parker informs Ryan that Mike is the only one who knows where Claire is.

In the meantime, Charlie and Roderick inform Joe that they have failed and Charlie willingly gets killed by Joe. And Emma finally gets what he wants, and has sex with Joe.

*

The funny:

-          Joe Carroll thinks that he is a good that.

-          He actually  said “I love my wife.” Sure he does. He hasn’t killed her yet. Got to laugh (and cringe) at the guy’s concept of love.

The Cool: Favorite Quotes & Scenes

-          The fight club scenes with Mike. He proves he is more than brains, and he can hold his own in a fair fight. We also learn that he did know where Claire was the whole time, while doing a good job making it seem like he didn’t. Oh, and he didn’t cave despite the pain and probable death.

 

-          Finally Ryan proved that he was more than a witty yet grumpy badass and went to the hospital with Mike even though he was unconscious and would remain so for ours. This was even before he knew Mike knew about Claire and didn’t budge. Fair to say Weston has finally gained Ryan as a friend. Of course this will all look really lame if Weston later turns out to be a follower.

 

-          After Nick gives the speech about Ryan no longer being an FBI agent, Parker stands up for him-which is really cool. After Ryan goes to Weston’s desk:

 

Ryan: Nobody likes me.

Mike: Well, you’re inconsistent and extreme. People don’t know how to respond to that.

Ryan: I was joking.

 

-          Nick interviews David, the follower Ryan shot from this episode but he won’t talk to anyone by Ryan. So Nick brings in Ryan.

 

Ryan: How is the leg? Sorry, I don’t know your name.

Follower: You can call me David. He doesn’t say anything and just stares at Ryan)

Ryan: This is a staring contest? Because you asked to see me. Here I am.

Follower: How did you like the plot twist? Joe Carroll escaping twice.

Ryan: Yeah. That was good. Now you are boring me.

 

Also on The Following

The Following: Why I’m Still a Follower & Summary for 1×07 Episode Let Me Go

The Following: When Both The Protagonist and Antagonist Are Writers

Mad Love: The Following Episode 4 Review – The Mad Get Madder

The Following 1×03 The Poet’s Fire Review: What’s with the FBI?

The Following 1×02 Chapter Two Review: Still cool, and yes, Hardy Needs to Toughen Up. But how?

The Following starring Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy: Epic Start

 

 

The Following: Why I’m Still a Follower & Summary for 1×07 Episode Let Me Go

I know I missed by summaries from 1.04-1.06, but not because I quit on the show in any way.

I kind of cheated on this blog with other writing, and I apologize.

But I’m back, and The Following has seen a lot of changes.

The Following 1.07 Let Me Go Summary with Spoilers!!

The ever manipulative Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) uses his three broken fingers (courtesy of Ryan, at the end of the pilot) to make the warden grant him a transfer. Ryan (Kevin Bacon) is rightfully pissed, and he gets Mike (Shawn Ashmore) to look into the Warden. Yes, breaking prison fingers is not exactly law enforcement code, but considering what Joe did (in addition to the murders of the girls that got him in the prison of the first time: he escaped from prison after killing several guards, having trained a guard to become a serial killer, have his cult members play his last surviving victim…….Yes, it goes on.), surely any guard in his right mind would have let that slide.

So as it turns out Ryan was right. Joe’s followers have kidnapped warden’s daughter, and were using it as leverage to ensure his escape during transfer. The daughter happens to be imprisoned at the same garage where Emma (Valorie Curry) and Joey are waiting for. Of course Joey, being the nice and clueless kid that he is, tries to free her, gets into trouble, gets Emma in trouble but all but the hostage are saved by the arrival of Charlie (Tom Lipinski)-the guy who had kidnapped Claire (Natalie Zea) but later interrupted by the arrival of the FBI.

But by the time Ryan and Mike got their research results and stopped the transfer truck, Joe had already travelled safely in his lawyer’s car. To get his kicks, he gets the lawyer to call Ryan (who was on his way with Mike to them through lawyer’s cell) and kills her while she is still on the phone.

Ryan does get to Joe, but not before he is met by some followers who fly him out in a helicopter despite his best efforts. But he has one of them in custody, and with Parker’s approval, he tortures the information out of him, getting to where the daughter is held. Of course Joey and Emma are long gone, and a very frustrated Claire is taken under protective custody, and even Ryan, by choice, doesn’t know the location.

And Joe gets united with all of his followers in a secluded big house, where he also gets to see Joey and to his joy, his son recognizes him.

*

The Following 1.07: Let Me Go Breakdown: The cool, the improbable and the annoying

1.07 was a game changer, with Joe out of prison, reunited with followers and Joey, and Claire going into protective custody without Ryan to ensure her safety. It was fun and exciting, even its implausibility levels were a bit high.

Still it was cool to see:

1)      Joe vs. Ryan outside the prison cell with Joe seeming on the verge of losing control and killing Ryan right then and there.

2)      Ryan not buying the warden’s cooperation and waking up to the game before everyone else

3)      Ryan disarming the follower and shooting him with the guy’s gun- and later torturing the info out of him.

4)      Seeing the lawyer die. She was annoying as hell, and she was a victim of her stupidity all the way.

 

The weird, improbable and annoying:

1)      I’m bored with Claire’s only interaction with Ryan her complaints about their failure to save Joey. Oh sure, FBI fails more than Joe’s followers commit crimes, but she does need to realize that her ex is such a talented psycho/actor that she didn’t have a clue something was wrong with him during their relationship- going on to have his baby and naming him Joey. She has to cut some slack when it comes to the number of his followers and how they are everywhere. Even during times when FBI would attempt at being successful, the followers screw things up.  And Ryan? He has the only functioning brain in the department, but his alcohol soaked brain cells and weak heart, along with the moles and the mistakes of others do get in his way.

2)      So Ryan won’t know where Claire is. Awesome. He is the only one he knows she can trust, and he’s leaving her to potential moles. Great move, Hardy.

3)      After Joe kidnaps Claire, or Claire goes to him for the sake of Joey, we’ll see a more frustrated Hardy and Ryan. I’m more than willing to see too-lucky-to-be-true scenarios- but please let Hardy have them for a change, and not the followers.

 

What I want to see:

1)      Ryan getting out of the kill-me-instead mood every time someone is endangered by Joe or his followers. What I want from him is to go all Brain Mills mode and stay there (you know-the famous: I’ll find you and I’ll kill you mode) or better yet, his character from Death Sentence. He might have a weak heart, but I’m sure he can pull it off as an FBI agent if his loving father-turned-into-ultimate avenger character can take down an entire group of villains.

2)      Maybe Ryan getting his own set of rogue followers who defy law and rules to catch/kill Joe and followers. That’d up the stakes in their cat and mouse situation.

3)      Have the followers turn on each other. Would be so fun if some of the followers turn out to be faking to get in and handle Joe themselves. Like maybe relatives/friends of victims? Or hired guns hired by the victim’s families?

Yeah, yeah. I’m big on revenge.

 

*

I still love The Following. Sure, the actions of the FBI drive me crazy too but it is still so much fun. I just need the lead character to go from part-time badass to full-time badass.

 

 

Favorite lines:

(parking lot scene- the guy is holding Ryan at gunpoint)

Ryan: You can’t kill me. He wants me alive.

The Follower: Then I’ll shoot you in the leg.

Ryan: (just before he moves to disarm him) Don’t miss.

Then Ryan maneuvers the gun out of him and shoots him in the leg.

*

(parking lot- the guy is on the stretcher- others have left Ryan alone with him)

As Ryan puts on medical gloves:

Ryan: So, the boy. Joey Matthews. Where is he?

The Follower: I’m not gonna tell you anything.

Ryan: You look like you’re in pain.

The Follower: I can handle it.

Ryan: Oh. That’s good to know.

Then he presses hard into his gunshot wound until the guy screams, and then some.

 

 

Also on The Following

The Following: When Both The Protagonist and Antagonist Are Writers

Mad Love: The Following Episode 4 Review – The Mad Get Madder

The Following 1×03 The Poet’s Fire Review: What’s with the FBI?

The Following 1×02 Chapter Two Review: Still cool, and yes, Hardy Needs to Toughen Up. But how?

The Following starring Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy: Epic Start

Also on Kevin Bacon

Crazy, Stupid, Love starring Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone

The Awesome X-Men: First Class with James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon & Rose Byrne

Actor Musicians and Musician Actors: Keanu Reeves, Jon Bon Jovi, Kevin Bacon

Writing Humor That Cracks You Up 1: Poking Fun at Oneself Unashamedly feat. Kevin Bacon

5 Awesome Revenge Movies Feat. Gerard Butler, Kevin Bacon, Antonio Banderas, Brandon Lee and Mel Gibson

Stardust, The Air I Breathe, Playing by Heart, The Good Shepherd, Hairspray & He’s Just Not That Into You: 6 Good Movies with Brilliant Casts

 

 

 

 

 

Body of Proof is a crime/drama/thriller starring Dana Delany and it is back for a 3rd season. It’s one of my favorite shows to tune in. Before moving on, you can refresh your memory with my initial review for the show.

 

Why I’ll Always Appreciate Another Body of Proof Season

When you like a show purely for its concept, and it doesn’t attempt to lure you in with serial story lines, it has a higher chance of keeping you interested.

There’ve been shows that I initially liked more than Body of Proof, but while some of those shows produced entire seasons I didn’t enjoy (Supernatural, Alias, Fringe), there hasn’t been one episode of Body of Proof that bored me. Sure, some episodes are better than others, and some two-parters (Going Viral, Season 2, Episodes 18 & 19) have been great. But all in all, to me, it is better to be entertaining all around than to be awesome for a while (e.g. Supernatural Seasons 1,2,3) and then bore me to death (Supernatural seasons 6 & 7).

Story Background with Some  Major Spoilers for Season 2

If you are new to the show, you can read my review for the first season. But I prepared a quick fix for you anyway:

• You don’t have to watch an entire season to catch up. All you need to know is that Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) is a brilliant surgeon-turned-medical examiner. She’s divorced with teenage daughter Lacey (Mary Mouser), and a total workaholic; with an addiction to finding the truth no matter what. Nope, she’s not the easiest person to work with.

 

Yes, she acts like examiner/detective, driving a lot of people crazy in the process. But just like Lightman (Lie to Me) is the best at reading faces and bodies, Megan reads dead bodies like no one else can. And as much as her friends and colleagues complain, she’s the best, and there’re tons of killers who wouldn’t have been caught if it weren’t for her.

 

And like most brilliant and unorthodox TV characters, she’s really fun to watch.

 

• Season 3 brings in 2 new characters, after killing off the second main character, Peter Dunlop (Nicholas Bishop), Megan’s friend/MI and potential love interest. Unfortunately season 2 ended with a cliff-hanger Megan panicking next to a bleeding Peter, whose survival chances seemed slim. The two cops (played by (John Carroll Lynch, Sonja Sohn) Megan collaborated with were also change. Apparently the show was suffering from low ratings, so the producers decided to vamp up the show with new blood.

 

While I liked Peter’s character and her dynamic with Megan, I didn’t have to worry about his departure when Mark Valley was brought in. And instead of being the new MI, he is one of the two cops Megan will be working with. Oh, and to make things more complicated, they do have a history, which ended with him screwing up and annoying Megan to no end.

 

His partner Adam (Elyes Gabel) is also likeable, young, capable and not above teasing Valley’s Tommy Sullivan about his past relationship with Megan despite Sullivan’s death threats.

 

Season 3, Episode 1

Megan comes back to work 3 months after Peter’s death, bored from having stayed away from work but still shaken up. She has to put up with a rookie MI, and finds out that she has to work with 2 new cops, one of them being her ex flame….

The case they are working on however is bigger than any of their issues: someone is kidnapping veterans, removing their spleens and killing them later. While “the why” haunts them, the brains of the operations find the perfect way to eliminate Megan-through her daughter Lacey.

Episode 2 will serve as the second part of season opening. You can watch the promo for 3×02 here.