NCIS - THE TIVA CHRONICLES

TIVA : TO BE OR NOT TO BE

One of the most watched shows on TV today is NCIS and with good reason going from strength to strength from season one and no airing season 11, NCIS has brought us tear-jerking moments, outright gory and violent moments and moments that leave us with shock and awe.

But none of those moments compare for me to those with Tony and Ziva and those up close and personal moments where you as the viewer can hope for nothing more that Tony to reach over and kiss Ziva with all the love you can see in his eyes whenever he looks at her. So I guess I want to give a brief rundown of this romance that never happened and saddens me to no avail.

Tony the forever playboy and Ziva the eternal tomboy with the romantic side that would make most people blush. We have seen both characters date and get close to numerous beau's but you never quiet see the same spark or emotional vulnerability in these other relationships than what you see in just a smoldering look that they throw each others way. 

Look at when Ziva went missing after leaving on the Damocles, and Tony was the one that eventually gathered the wagons and led the team to trace her whereabouts and rescue her. His montage spoke to something in me, maybe it was the fact that he did it all for the girl irrespective of the consequences or that the entire team is a like a family and work so well and I guess that is something I have always strived for. His willingness to do what ever it takes for the girl is what drove me to fall in love with this match-up.

When Ziva's father, Eli David was assassinated it was Tony that was there for her. When she went to Israel and went missing for a while again it was Tony again that put everything aside to find her, and their final goodbye had me in tears. 

I guess this is something we all wish we could find, now most of us would act on these feelings and the fact that they never did leaves us with that unfinished business feeling but that was the right move for the show and the characters at the time. With the departure of Ziva from the show I am still feeling that emptiness, and even the fact that they replaced her with Emily Wickersham still does absolutely nothing to fill that void. 

After Kate's death, I was skeptical that they would be able to find someone to replace her, but Ziva from the get go was able to more than make up for Kate's departure and unfortunately Bishop just is not doing the same job.

For me you can not go wrong with a tried and tested method, bring Ziva back and for goodness sake can she and Tony get together, or even write Tony out and have him meet up with Ziva wherever she is so they can silence their unrequited love. I would appreciate such an ending to the story far more than trying to watch something that does not feel right.

The team is not the team, Gibbs is boss and will always be, Abby and McGee the reliable ones , Ducky the wise one and Tony and Ziva should be Tiva, but I can't figure out who Bishop should / must be, that is just the right way for it to be. But hey that is just the rambles of a #1 fan that has religiously watched NCIS from the get go, what would I know

Let's hope something drastically happens when the show starts up in 2015

THE NEW YEAR - THE YEAR OF AWESOMENESS

Welcome everyone,

I apologize for being away from the blog of awesomeness for so long. Life just happens and in the last year I have gone from a sad and lonely fat man, to having met some very awesome people who I am proud to call my family and have lost 43 kilograms (to date) to boot.

I have decided to keep at the blog, as it is just sometimes necessary to get some things out. But unfortunately I don't go around blogging about my personal life, I use the TV shows and movies that I blog about to tell my story for me. There is a hidden meaning and a snippet of my own life in each review or post.

All I can say on a personal level is that I made a wish upon a wishing well, and went into the new year with more confidence and motivation than ever before. I can see what I want, and through a bit of patience and temperance the chess moves of the last year will slowly but surely move into place for the checkmate that I am fantasizing about.

I hope you all have a brilliant year and I hope there are a few more comments and suggestions this year, tell me what you like and don't and I will see what I can do to assist

Yours truly

Captain Awesome
Robbie

GLEE - R.I.P FINN HUDSON THE QUARTERBACK

FINN HUDSON - THE QUARTERBACK

We all heard about  the death of Cory Monteith the actor who plays Finn Hudson in one of our favorite shows GLEE. And as the death passed, we all knew that Glee would do a tribute episode to Finn in the new season. Please note this has spoilers if you have not watched the episode - do so before continuing on with the post!

The show opens on Kurt giving us a voice over - depicting the happenings the last three weeks. The funeral has happened and now everyone was heading back to Lima, Ohio for a special tribute Mr Schuester has planned for Finn. One thing that stood out during the first couple of minutes was what Kurt said - "everyone wants to know how he died, but who cares?", which is powerful in itself. Everyone dotes on the fact that the actor died from drugs - but that is irrespective! We should be mourning the fact that such a great talent and person has been taken from this earth at such a young age!!

The song selection was moving, and loved the fact that so many of the old characters came back to pay tribute. But there were definitely some people missing - where was Quinn, Lauren and Brittany! I kept on thinking how could they possibly miss this! And Rachel was missing for most of the episode and I was like where's Rachel and then she shows up for the last song in the last five minutes! Wow! 

Jane Lynch and Naya Rivera were amaze-balls in this episode! There were Santana takes on Sue because of her wanting to take down the memorial was long overdue! And in the second confrontation were Sue breaks down and talks about her feelings with Santana, was a definite break through for the character and definitely made me like her even that much more!!

I was moved by the episode, two scenes had me wiping away tears. There where Finn's mother Carole broke down in Finn's room while sorting his things - wow! That was a moving scene and I was totally feeling her pain which was unreal! The second scene was after Santana sang her song to the club, broke down, cried and ran out. There where Kurt found her in the auditorium and she read him her tribute to Finn, showing us her soft side had me balling!!!

OK, now for some not so good things! Firstly Puck - his acting was terrible, we all know he's sad and might not be at the top of his acting career, but damn, you could see from space that whatever he did was put on for show! Secondly, Rachel only sang one song and it wasn't even that amazing of a song! Thirdly, Kurt did not sing a song - what the hell!! And Tina was just irritating in this episode - complaining about wearing too much black, who does that?!!

I would have ended the episode with Kurt and Rachel in the front singing their harts out to Finn, with the rest of the guys sitting around like in the first season finale, when they were singing about the Glee club ending. Yes it was nice to see that Mr. Schuester eventually cried about Finn, but that was not the way to end the tribute episode.

My heart goes out to everyone who was close to him, especially Lea and we all hope that everyone can bounce back from this devastating loss!! 

Good episode but could have been better 7/10

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN

Right off the bat this movie kicks off strong - that is even before watching it. With an ensemble cast of Butler, Eckhart and Freeman you know it can only be good. 

The action sequences were not over done, the acting was strong and there's just a whole mess of violence going on. This in one of those movies you can watch over and over again without getting tired of it. 

Dylan McDermott as the redeemable bad guy was kind of obvious -but never the less you still hate him when he turns. His acting is kind of on the same par as always with no new exceptions. And we all feel his remorse when he aid Butlers character and we flinch when he dies - definitely a solid performance

The tragedy at the beginning of the movie is expected - creating the sub-context we all have come to expect from these kinds of movies. But it's not really on the sad level as we don't really see any of the characters grieve, so we just accept it as a plot twist to create the backstory 

The plot of the movie is this - Mike Banning a former Secret Service Agent returns to the White House after it has been infiltrated by an army of terrorist, to rescue the president from the hands of the bad guys. He has to battle the terrorists on the inside as well as the politics coming from the outside all the while trying to stay alive. Simple concept with a whole lot of fun.

For all the haters of this movie out there - go suck a plum! If you didn't like this movie you have no sense. It embodies all there is in action movies and brings it to life in a burst of violence and CGI enabled carnage! This is an action movie for goodness sakes not a Emmy nominated chick flick - watch and enjoy!

I really enjoyed the whole idea and the genius that went into the creation of this movie - the aircraft attacking the White House first then the army of troops taking out the Secret Service and taking control of the White House. It almost felt like Air Force One - except it was the White House and the president didn't take out the bad guys. The whole movie felt so real. Where the Secretary of Defense was beaten to get her code - it was as if I felt her pain and cheered her on in her quest to defy the terrorist.

Gerard Butler was superb in his role as Mike Banning - it almost felt like I was Bruce Willis in the first Die Hard movie. The fight sequences were not over done and the movie ended on a high note. 

Just want to add - would kind of have sucked to be a Secret Service Agent in this movie - they kind of get their asses handed to them right from the beginning!

Awesome movie 8/10

Getting to the BONES

THE BLOOD IN THE BONES

Over the last 8 seasons we have all grow to love all the wonderful characters on the amazing hit show Bones. Special Agent Seeley Booth, Forensic Anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan, Coroner Dr Camille Saroyan, Artist Angela Montenegro, Entomologist Dr Jack Hodgins and FBI psychologist Dr Lance Sweets are all characters that we have embraced and love!

With the overall cast and the supplement cast with the squinterns appearing every week create a feeling that the show is constantly moving forward and does not stagnate on the old. I have noticed the plaque that was put up in the lab in honor of the lost squintern. At the moment I have finished every episode that has aired and cannot wait for the next installment. I have to mention my favorite episode of season 8 would have to be the Patriot in The Pod and the episode with the comedian being murdered. The Comedic styling of the squintern Fischer was brilliant and just what was needed to create that light-hearted environment that works for this show because it tries to draw one away from the gruesomeness of the murder victims and plays more on the awesomeness of the characters that have been built over the last 8 years.

From season 1 to 6 we can feel the sexual tension between Booth and Brennan, and we all sighed a sigh of relief once they found each other, only after crying because what brought them together was the death of a beloved character, Mr Vincent Nigel-Murray. But even though his death was sad, that episode also meant the beginning of a new life, that of Christine Angela Brennan - Booth. 

We all gasped when Booth was blown up, shot, stabbed or when Brennan was kidnapped or when anything else happened - because this show is just that good. We wept when Nigel was murdered, laughed at Booth in the tub with his Comic books and concentrated just as hard as any squint trying to solve the murder every week.

My favorite character was Zack Addy, maybe because he reminds me so much of Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory and the parallels that are draw between brilliant men becoming serial killers etc. I have to admit I have a new favorite - Dr Lance Sweets, his dry humor gets me every time! Also I just have to state this - Booth reminds me so much of Tony DiNozzo from NCIS, that cool demeanor and the attitude he has is making him fast become a overall favorite.

I for one cannot wait to see what comes next for this amazing show!!!! 8/10

To Glee or not to Glee

TO GLEE OR NOT TO GLEE

I have always been a staunch supported of the arts, and Glee is a brilliant embodiment of how the world perceives most of us that are not of norm. I have watched Glee from the get go and will continue to do so until it's course runs dry, even though I do not care for the new characters.

From the get-go I have loved the trials and tribulations of Finchel, Puckleberry and all the rest of the hook-ups, match-ups and mash-offs! The songs that are sung, the relationships that were built, the life lessons taught and the fights won all build up to an awesome experience that I would trade for no other. 

Now I have to admit that I really don't like the new kids, I feel all territorial, and if I had it my way would have ended Glee after season 3. But then we would not have had the awesomeness of Kate Hudson, the ASS KICKING of Dean Gayer or the weird and wacky styling of Sarah Jessica Parker to entertain us.

And Rachel and Kurt have just gone from power to power - I mean Rachel's singing during the NYADA competition actually gave me goosebumps. 

From the beginning of Glee, all the characters meshed together quite well and the entire styling of the cast was done so you had no choice but to fall in love with Rachel, feel sorry for Kurt during the bullying, revel in the awesomeness of Santana, laugh at Puck and Brittany or model yourself after any of the characters. The new "New Directions" just seem laughable - carbon copies of the old "New Directions" and I'm sorry but none of them can hold a candle to Rachel, Kurt, Santana, Finn, Mercedes or Quinn.

With so many awesome covers done by these amazing artists it's no wonder they top the Billboards more than anyone else. I for one will keep watching Glee till I'm old and grey and will get my kids to enjoy it and learn from it, just as I have

A Gleek forevermore!!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - NOT SO HIGH

If I had to describe this movie in one word it would be - PREDICTABLE. The entire flow of the movie could be summed up from the first 15 min and leaving the audience with no real sense of wonder.

A fitting end to the revamped trilogy it does not disappoint on the action side of things with brilliant camera work and fight scenes, though the hand to hand combat between Batman and Bane seemed to be overdone and during the second time they fight no new moves come into play to make you believe Batman would be able to win.

I honestly cannot see how it could have beaten The Avengers in the opening stance - it was an entirely overdone movie not even coming close to the brilliance and hilarity of The Avengers. And I can confirm that even after watching multiple times - it still stays an average movie.

But let's break it down a bit more - the inclusion of CatWoman aka Selena Kyle was good, nothing like Anne Hathaway in a catsuit to get the blood pumping but unfortunately her "innocence" shines through and dims the actual essence of what CatWoman should be. Though I would have liked to see more action sequences with her in it - kicking bad guy butt, seeing her on Batman's bike was good enough (brought back flashbacks from Transformers 2 with Megan Fox on a bike).

Bane was a good villian - not as good as Heath Ledger's The Joker but good in his own right. It was transparent to everyone with a brain that the real villian was Miranda and they would try to kill everyone in Gotham. A really nice surprise was Liam Neeson reprising his role as Raz Al Gul - Batman's mentor.

A quick recap - the movie takes place 8 years after the last one, with Batman having disappeared and Bruce Wayne becoming a recluse. A new villain terrorizes the city from the underground - Bane, and the police seem reluctant to stop him. After a run-in with Selena Kyle in his mansion Bruce decides to venture out into the world again to find her and find out why she stole from him. During this he looses all his money and Bane steals most his toys. During his first encounter with Bane, Batman gets his arse kicked and gets thrown into the same prison Bane was brought up in.While Bruce tries to recover Bane takes over the city of Gotham with the threat of a atom bomb, only to have Batman return and save the day.

And for those of you that did not realize - the cop that Batman befriended becomes Robin the plucky side-kick! Muhahahaha!!

Overall a standard move - wouldn't give it more than 5.5/10