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Person of Interest starring Jim Caviezel & Michael Emerson

Posted on November 27, 2011 Written by ripitup

Person-of-Interest-jim-caviezel-michael-emerson — Person of Interest starring Jim Caviezel & Michael Emerson.Image via divxplanet.com

Harold Finch (Michael Emerson) is a rich computer genius who the world believes to be dead. After 9/11, he has built a smart machine for the government which can detect potential mass crimes before they happen. Unfortunately, the machine can also detect other crimes. Since the government wasn’t interested, and Finch couldn’t let it go, he the machine to send him the suspected person’s social security number. Finch wants to help these individuals who the government isn’t interested in helping, and needs a man with a certain skill set.

John Reese (Jim Caviezel) is an ex-military/government agent, and he is damn good at tracking, fighting, using weapons, disappearing and a lot more. The world also thinks he is dead, and ever since he lost the love of his life, he doesn’t care about anything anymore. Spending his days like a homeless drunk, he is spotted by Finch, who of course knows that Reese isn’t dead.

When a subway incident puts Reese on the radar of the NYPD detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson), Finch bails him out and offers him the job of helping people that alerted his machine. At first Reese is reluctant, but Finch persuades him that he can help others from getting hurt, and he indeed has the resources to provide him.

After that, they start their cases with a number. They find out who the number belongs to, but they don’t know what the crime will be, or if the person will be the victim or the guilty party. Finch feeds Reese the intel, and Reese starts tracking their person of interest. Nothing is ever what it seems to be, and they always find a way to get advantage of it. For instance instead of killing or jailing one of the dirty cops (Kevin Chapman) they catch, Reese makes him his inside source.

Of course there are two big puzzles: what happened to Finch (he has had a serious injury and walks with a strong limp- we don’t know how that happened or he wanted to disappear) and Reese (who killed his girlfriend and why).

person-of-interest-jim-caviezel-as-john-reese — Reese (Jim Caviezel) is on the job, tracking their current person of interest.

Person of Interest is very addictive. It has character development, drama, mystery and plenty of action. It has two main and two supporting characters, and the relationship between Finch and Reese is a lot of fun. While Reese at first seemed angry and depressed, each episode slowly reveals his subtle sense of humor and dibs at uncovering more about Finch. Finch knows a lot more about Reese than the audience, and the audience has a lot of questions about both. He is very determined about keeping himself a closed box, and Reese is tempted to open it up slowly.

Reese is the ultimate action hero. Yes, he is a good guy. Yeah, he doesn’t feel great when he has to kill people. But he really doesn’t mind if he has to kill scum. He kicks ass, and it is fun trying to see a bunch of mean but no-so-skilled and/or well-trained bad guys try to go at our 6′ 2″ (1.88 m) hero.

And as cool and professional Reese is, he is not short of using empathy with the people he is trying to save. Everything isn’t black and white with him. Example? An ex-soldier who’s robbing banks to look after his dead friend’s kids without killing anyone is a guy who deserves a second chance in Reese’s book.

I also love the fact that Finch and Reese aren’t trying to save the whole world. They’re helping one person at a time, and entertaining us while doing so.

It’s a lot of fun to see Carter trying to catch Reese when she constantly ends up with the description “Tall man in a suit”…

Recommended. Currently 8.2 on IMDB. 10/10 from me. But then again, I have always been a sucker for the cool spy stuff without the supernatural elements where we are not saving the world. And as my favorite shows are slowly losing their edge (Castle got darker and less funny, where as The Mentalist got lighter and funnier), A Person of Interest hooked me from episode 1. And you know a shows rocks when it is great enough with a higher purpose (catching Red John) or without presenting a possible on-screen couple. Just pure good writing and good acting. Try it!

Favorite Lines & Scenes:

Season 1, Episode 5

Finch: Mr. Reese-any sign of a threat?

Reese (not having spotted a threat for a while and watching the judge eat fast food): Does cholesterol count?

Season 1, Episode 5

Reese: Thank you.

Finch: I beg your pardon?

Reese: For giving me a job

Finch: (offering the personal suggestion he refused in the beg. of the episode) Try the eggs Benedict Mr. Reese, I’ve had them many times. (Reese smiles after Finch leaves).

Season 1, Episode 6

Finch: Do you know what she does yet?

Reese: She does favors. For a price. She’s a fixer.

Finch: Assuming that she’s the victim, any idea who’d want to take her out?

Reese: Who wouldn’t?

Season 1, Episode 6

The Fixer (Zoe): You never did tell me your name.

Reese: John. My name is John.

The Fixer: (amused) Of course it is. So, John, how did you know I’d be in trouble?

Reese: Given your choice of career, doesn’t seem much of a stretch. You might consider a new line of work.

The Fixer: You’re the one to judge.

Season 1, Episode 7

Reese is watching a high school teacher whose number came up.

Reese (on the site, talking to Finch through his earpiece): What’s the story, Finch?

Finch: He’s a high school history teacher working in the Brighton Beach School District. Lives alone. Never married. Not much to go on.

Reese: (teasing) Maybe he has students after him. You know teaching can be a dangerous profession.

Finch: Yes, I imagine espionage is a much safer choice, Mr. Reese.

Reese laughs.

Season 1, Episode 7

Finch: What if you miss?

Reese: Wouldn’t know. Never have.

Fun Notes:

The series is produced by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias, Alcatraz) but not written or created by him. The series was created by Jonathan Nolan.
Michael Emerson also starred in Lost, J.J. Abrams hit show that went on for 6 seasons.
In episode 7, The Witness, Reese is trying to protect a high school teacher from two different mobs and eventually they hide out with one of his students. His student is reading The Count of Monte Cristo, and upon the student’s comment that the character Edmond is “cool, a survivor” a subtle grin appears on Reese’s face- as Jim Caviezel starred as Edmond, aka The Count of Monte Cristo in the 2002 movie version.

Other Posts on Jim Caviezel

Jim Caviezel Trivia: Interesting Facts about the Person of Interest Star

High Crimes starring Jim Caviezel, Ashley Judd & Morgan Freeman

Ringer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ioan Gruffudd & Kristoffer Polaha

Posted on November 22, 2011 Written by ripitup

sarah-michelle-gellar-ringer-tv-series-poster — Ringer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ioan Gruffudd & Kristoffer Polaha. Image via fansshare.com

Twin sisters Bridget and Siobhan (Sarah Michelle Gellar) couldn’t have been more different. Bridget Kelly is a former stripper/drug addict/alcoholic on the run from the mob. She has witnessed a murder, and her best bet is to testify against the murderer so that cops will drop the prostitution and drug charges against her.

Siobhan Martin on the other hand has long cut Bridget out of her life as she got sick of being disappointed by Bridget, and that Bridget caused a horrible tragedy regarding Siobhan. She has been married to the charming and successful Brit Andrew Martin (Ioan Gruffudd) and is living a glamorous life, and hasn’t told anyone about Bridget.

But when Siobhan contacts Bridget inviting her for a visit, Bridget decides to ditch the cops & the FBI to reunite with her sister. However Siobhan kills her during their boating trip, and Bridget realizes that posing as her sister might be her only way out. As upset that she is, she assumes Siobhan’s identity. But she just wasn’t expecting Siobhan’s life to be so complicated: As it turns out, her relationship with her husband is cold and strained, she is cheating on him with her best friend Gemma (Tara Summers)’s husband Henry (Kristoffer Polaha) and that Andrew has a drug-using teenage daughter named Juliet (Zoey Deutch) who hates her. However Bridget is determined to make the most of this new life- so she tries to make her relationship with Andrew better and ditches Henry.

While his “wife” ’s sudden nice and easy-going attitude makes Andrew suspicious, he eventually welcomes the fact that their marriage has a shot after all. Even Henry eventually has to give up trying to get her back as “Siobhan” seems more into Andrew than she ever was before. She even gets through to Juliet a bit.

But complications for our ringer never ends: FBI agent Machado (Nestor Carbonell) keeps questioning Bridget’s whereabouts, Gemma is sure her husband is having an affair, Siobhan is pregnant and Andrew overhears this, there seems to be a hitman after Siobhan and worst of all-and unbeknownst to Bridget, Siobhan is actually alive and well. She has orchestrated this whole thing, and is trying to get rid of Bridget.

There are only two people know that they switched places: Siobhan and Malcolm (Mike Colter), Bridget’s sponsor & former flame…

Ringer is one complicated and engaging drama. The audience is always kept in suspense, and even though we know more than Bridget does, we are still left with good cliffhangers and questions every episode. After 9 episodes into the season, we still don’t know what exactly is Siobhan planning. We don’t know if/how/when Andrew will find about the truth. We don’t know if Malcolm can survive, or Machado can/will discover what the twins have done. And we still don’t know what exactly Bridget did to piss Siobhan off this badly.

The story also has scenes in Paris, France where Siobhan is executing her plan. As the story progresses, Bridget makes some drastic calls, and she even has to admit to having a sister named Bridget. The mob is still after her, and we don’t know about how she will solve the pregnancy issue…

I’ve been a Sarah Michelle Gellar fan ever since Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While I’m glad that the show is over, it is good to have her back as the leading actress. She pulls off the calculating Siobhan and the emotional and struggling Bridget very well. Rest of the cast is also good, and I won’t deny having a crush on Ioan Gruffudd- that guy does principled/decent leading guy well (check Amazing Grace for proof). And as if the characters aren’t way over their heads already, we are also introduced to Juliet’s new teacher- Mr. Carpenter Jason Dohring (Logan from Veronica Mars/Josef of Moonlight). I’m guessing they wouldn’t have cast Jason Dohring just to be a good teacher, but I could of course be wrong…

So yes, Ringer is a good show. I love its pace, twists and characters. I love the moral dilemmas they put Bridget through, and I love that how the former drug addict sister is actually the more moral one. At least she doesn’t try to get rid of anyone who makes things complicated, and is more loyal to Andrew/and nicer to Juliet than Siobhan has ever been. I don’t know how many seasons Ringer will last, but so far, it is one of the most fun shows around.

Fun Cast Facts:

– Ioan Gruffudd is not actually old enough to have a 16-year-old daughter. Having born in 1973, the 38-year-old would have had to impregnate his character’s first wife at the age of 21, which hardly seems to be the age a financial wizard would settle down… Or Andrew is supposed to be older than Ioan.

– Ioan Gruffudd is from Wales.

– We have to hope that Kristoffer Polaha, who plays Henry, is not a cheating bastard in real life. Because Kristoffer is also married and has three sons!

– Sarah Michelle Gellar was born in 1977, the same year as Kristoffer Polaha.

Other Posts on the Cast:

Sarah Michelle Gellar Trivia

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 ,

Possession starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lee Pace and Michael Landes

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: A Love Story with a Real Twist

Jason Dohring

Veronica Mars starring Kristen Bell, Teddy Dunn, Jason Dohring & Enrico Colantoni

Moonlight starring Alex O’Loughlin, Sophia Myles and Jason Dohring

Revenge starring Madeleine Stowe, Emily VanCamp, Gabriel Mann & Nick Wechsler

Posted on November 11, 2011 Written by ripitup

revenge_2011_poster — Revenge starring Madeleine Stowe, Emily VanCamp, Gabriel Mann, Joshua Brown & Nick Wechsler. Image via tvposter.net.

Revenge Plot

Amanda Clarke (Emily VanCamp)’s happy childhood with her father David (James Tupper) was destroyed when her father was betrayed by his girlfriend (the married Victoria Grayson – played by Madeleine Stowe) Victoria, her husband Conrad (Henry Czerny), their security consultant Frank (Max Martini), Clarke’s secretary Lydia (Amber Valetta) and pretty much whoever else he trusted. He was tried and found guilty of funding a terrorist organization whose acts resulted in the death of a plane full of passengers. Amanda was taken away from her father and it was made sure that she spent the rest of her childhood and teenage years away from her father, in correctional facilities.

As her father rotted away in prison, she grew up believing he really was guilty. However as Amanda got her freedom at 18, she was met by an eccentric rich entrepreneur named Nolan (Gabriel Mann)- who told her a few surprising facts: Her father was innocent, and he had the whole story written in his journals, along with information about everyone and everything related to the case. He had also been the only person to believe and invest in Nolan’s company, and he owned almost half of the company- and now it was all Amanda’s.

Enraged that his father had been betrayed so horrifically, she decides to use the information and money to take down everyone responsible. After that, she changes her identity to Emily Thorne, pays for a whole different past, makes the connections and moves to the Hamptons as the new rich girl. She starts dating Victoria’s son Daniel (Joshua Brown), and while a clueless Daniel is falling in love with her, she is taking her revenge.

But of course there are complications: Victoria thinks that no one is good enough for her son and starts digging deep into Emily’s past; Nolan keeps interrupting her plans by trying to bring her together with Jack (Nick Wechsler) – her childhood friend who doesn’t know that she’s Amanda but he is increasingly drawn to Emily; and her other adversaries might be more resilient than she originally thought…

Is it any good?

Revenge is such a compelling drama with many satisfying avenging moments that I just can’t call it a soap opera. Granted, in some ways it is a modern soap opera. But the acting isn’t over the top, dialogue is fun and the characters are really gray. I personally love justified revenge stories- and having grown up in the 90s, it is a lot fun to see Madeleine Stowe in a starring role again. It is also a pleasure to see that the sheriff’s annoying son from Roswell (Nick Wechsler played Kyle in the series and pissed off people with his behavior towards our aliens in the beginning) has grown up to be a very handsome guy that you can’t help but root for. Of course the rest of the cast also rocks, especially Amber Valetta as the backstabbing bitch, Max Martini as the overly loyal security man who’ll do anything for the Grayson’s and Gabriel Mann as Nolan who is reminding people more and more of James Spader’s younger self. Nolan’s attitude and personal agenda also bring comedic relief to the show and make it more interesting.

So yeah, I like Revenge. Would I have started watching had it not been for Madeleine Stowe? I doubt it. But I am glad I did. It is very entertaining and having seen all of the broadcasted episodes so far, I really hope they keep it up…

Strongly recommended, especially to the fans of Madeleine. ABC show Revenge is currently rated at 8.2 on IMDB.

Fun Facts about the Cast:

* One of Madeleine Stowe’s most popular movies is the Tony Scott movie Revenge from 1990. Interestingly enough, she was both taken revenge upon and avenged in the movie. Details are in my Revenge movie review, but let’s just say that her husband Anthony Quinn lost it when he found out she was having an affair with husband’s much younger and hot friend Kevin Costner. But of course when Anthony hurt Madeleine, it was Kevin’s turn to go mad…

* Declan (Connor Paolo) who plays Jack’s younger brother played the brother of Blake Lively’s character in the drama series Gossip Girl.

All Posts on Madeleine Stowe

Gorgeous Actresses of the 80s and the 90s: Madeleine Stowe, Michelle Pfeiffer and Demi Moore

Blink starring Madeleine Stowe & Aidan Quinn

The Last of the Mohicans starring Daniel Day-Lewis & Madeleine Stowe

When adultery is okay: Revenge starring Kevin Costner, Madeleine Stowe and Anthony Quinn

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

Posted on November 2, 2011 Written by ripitup

body-of-proof-abc-poster — Body of Proof starring Dana Delany, Nicholas Bishop and Jeri Ryan

Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) is a former successful neurosurgeon-turned-brilliant medical examiner due to a car accident and the loss of a patient. Her career as a surgeon cost her marriage and her relationship with her 12-year-old daughter Lacey. Now, she is solving cases with the wit of Patrick Jane (Simon Baker’s character in The Mentalist). While Megan is deemed to be anti-social and difficult to work with, she is the friendliest and most agreeable person compared to House.

Show’s comedic relief comes both from the banter between Megan and her co-workers- especially Peter Dunlop (Nicholas Bishop), and the interactions of young Dr. Ethan (Geoffrey Arend) and Curtis (Windell Middlebrooks), Megan’s superior. After the first couple episodes, Megan’s genius pretty much accepted, and she starts developing friendlier relationships with the two cops, Sam (Sonja Sohn) and Bud (John Carroll Lynch) that are usually assigned to her cases.

Body of Proof is a very fun crime drama. Sure, it has the obligatory emotional moments as leading characters of these shows usually come with baggage, especially the head crime solvers. Megan’s often criticized by caring too much about the dead, and she replies that 1) she has to, because no one else will listen to them now, and 2) she is feeling guilty about her former career when she did hundreds of operations and yet didn’t know any of her patients on a personal level.

While the characters of the show constantly joke that Megan has no friends, I’d say that she has become pretty good friends with Peter. Their relationship borders on flirty, and it wouldn’t exactly shock the viewers if they started dating. Fortunately though, this is a show that works perfectly fine with or without romance. The show is more about the murder case they are trying to solve each episode, as well as Megan’s personal growth.

It might not be the most original thing on the block, but it is sure capable of entertaining you for over 40 minutes. The dynamics between the characters are fun, the murder cases are interesting –even if you pride yourself in being able to guess who’s guilty during these kind of shows. Get over it, folks! After seeing our share of the crime drama/thrillers, it is no longer about finding the killer. It is how the killer is found, which one-liners are provided and who the main character pisses off in the process.

6.9/10 on IMDB. A solid 9/10 from me.

Fun Body of Proof Facts:

– Dana Delany co-starred in Desperate Housewives for many episodes, from season 4 to season 6. She was the neighbor Mike dated when he and Susan were divorced. Interestingly enough, one of her character’s love interests was played by Nathan Fillion, who went on to star in his own crime drama Castle.

– In season 6, one of the Desperate Housewives guest stars was Jeffrey Nordling, who played the husband of Angie Nolan, the new neighbor. In Body of Proof, he plays Megan’s ex-husband.

– Dana Delaney just might be the proof of Hollywood is growing up. At 55, she is the leading actress of a criminal show. She is gorgeous, and from the looks of it, it is natural.

– Dana Delaney co-starred with Timothy Hutton in the movie Multiple Sarcasms. Timothy Hutton is the star of another crime/mystery/thriller TV-show Leverage.

– Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Riley Marc Blucas co-stars in the episode Dead Man Walking (Season 1, Episode 5). He is one of the main suspects. Marc Blucas is no stranger to crime or medical dramas as he also guest-starred in Castle & House.

– Jeri Ryan, who plays Dana Delany’s boss, played the DA in the first season of the crime/law drama Shark. She also guest-starred in the two episodes of Boston Legal.

Recommended TV Shows: Other Crime or Medical Dramas You Can Enjoy

Castle starring Nathan Fillion & Stana Katic

House starring Hugh Laurie

The Mentalist starring Simon Baker

The Closer starring Kyra Sedgwick (esp. the first seasons)

Leverage starring Timothy Hutton

Bones starring David Boreanaz & Emily Deschanel

Crossing Jordan starring Jill Hennessey