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

TWILIGHT - WORSE THAN .... WELL THERE IS NOTHING WORSE

TWILIGHT - SUCKS!

I recently made a deal with a friend, to read all the Twilight books if she reads all the Harry Potter books. I knew I would do it and sincerely hoped she would hold up her end of the bargain as I know that everyone that treats themselves to the brilliant world that Jo Rowling created would be instantly drawn into the fantastic reverie that is Harry Potter.

However I forgot about what I was putting myself through and throughout the entire series all I was doing was hoping and praying that it all ends soon. The mindless dribble that is Twilight is seriously rotting my brains. The descriptions of the vampire lead from the perspective of a horny teenage girl just further cements my dislike for this franchise. It seriously is a story for love-struck teenage girls who don't know their knobs from their bobs.

From the feminine descriptions of dangerous creatures to the build up of a dangerous element only to have a inexperienced writer blow it all away as a silly child would. I at one stage actually had high hopes for the second book, where the lead started interacting with the werewolf Jacob but that also just about fizzled out.

I am an avid fan of Chuck and the way chuck is written, and as all fans of that show would know, what makes Chuck special is his feelings and that he has to talk everything out, to the annoyance of his fellow spies. Now imagine having to read all his thoughts and the efforts he has to put into all his ways - not so bad hey? Now imagine having to read the diary of a stupid teenage girl who falls in love with a mythical creature (which is supposed to be awesomely cool) and keeps on describing him in ways that would make even gay men shudder.

I have noticed that I get really excited whenever Bella get herself into one of those dangerous situations, hoping that that would be it - death!! But then she pulls through and I go into another depression!

But weirdly enough - this I just have to share, Alice the hot, petite blonde sister vampire from the books made a appearance in one of my many fantasy dreams last night, played by none other than Alisson Mack, so I don't know if it is that I have the hots for the vampire from the book or Allison is just doing it for me since I watched Smallville not too long ago!

Here is some commentary I found on wikipedia and just thought I'd share:

"Many have divided the series as poor writing. While comparing Stephenie Meyer to JK Rowling, Stephen King said, "the real difference [between J. K. Rowling and Meyer] is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer, and Stephanie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good."^[63][64] However, King understood the appeal of the series, adding, "People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephanie Meyer, it's very clear that she's writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because it's not overtly sexual."^[64] Laura Miller of Salon.com wrote that "the characters, such as they are, are stripped down to a minimum, lacking the texture and idiosyncrasies of actual people", and said that "Twilight would be a lot more persuasive as an argument that an 'amazing heart' counts for more than appearances if it didn't harp so incessantly on Edward's superficial splendors."

Oh, and on a last note and I know many have said it before but vampires don't fucking SPARKLE!!!!!!!!!

But none the less lets hope this crap ends soon before my mind melts!

Here are some pics I found and though I would share - absolutely Brilliant!!!!

CASTLE - Genius!!

At first I thought just another police procedural drama – and didn’t even bother watching it. I mean a writer working with cops to help solve murders, seriously? It wasn’t until someone I regarding as having sound taste recommended it as she was at that time working through it and was enjoying it. So I decided to give it a go, with only 10 episodes in the first season I thought “if only ten episodes the ratings couldn’t have been so good”. And surprise, surprise!! What a great show, with everyone on the cast delivering as they are supposed to and no scene being under developed its turning out to be one of my all time favourite shows.

I find myself prowling the web for more information, trying as every other major Castle fan to decipher the riddle of who ordered the murder of Johanna and Kate Beckett. And I seem to be getting very defensive about “my” show. My room mate is one of those that if a show is not funny he will not watch it, so watching a cop show is seriously not for him, and the comments he makes – man I wanna slap him! So I have resorted to watching Castle late at night and early in the morning or whenever he is not around – I feel like a naughty school child sneaking around. But after three weeks and four completed seasons – I have done it.

From the first episode I knew that Castle and Beckett would hook up – I mean come on, everyone saw the chemistry on screen between these two (and I would not blame them for some “off – screen” action either) and the perfect culmination of action and intrigue led us to the end of season 4.

Lets be honest – we all would love to be Castle. The women, the cars, the money, the great family and friends who would say no? I think Nathan Fillion plays Castle to the tee, and Stana Katic embodies the sensuality and passion that Beckett is all about. But you know everyone goes on about the main characters, but very few seem to recognize the supporting roles! Lanie nudging Beckett on her quest to “get” Castle, Ryan and Esposito always there when they are needed and Castle’s mother and daughter there to keep him on the straight and narrow. Without these characters the show would never have gone this big.

And then adding the continuing drama and intrigue surrounding Beckett’s shooting and her mother’s murder and you get one big pile of steaming golden glowing stuff. It’s just that good.

And now in the last episode of season 4, everything that happened at once, I was literally sitting at the edge of my seat. I couldn’t get enough! Beckett facing off with the shooter “Cole Turner” and getting her ass kicked and thrown off a building and then hearing someone call her name and her thinking it was Castle – awesomeness!

Side note – I figured out it was not Castle as I saw the hand that grabbed her, with the wedding ring on it! And then her and Castle hooking up at the end – no surprises

I have heard a few good graduation speeches in my time – e.g. Rory Gilmore’s graduation speech from Gilmore Girls, and then Alexis Castle’s graduation speech which was just as good. I have decided to put in on here as well for all those fans who would like to remember it with me

“There is a universal truth we all have to face whether we want to or not. Everything eventually ends. As much as I’ve looked forward to this day, I’ve always disliked endings. The last day of summer, the final chapter of a great book, parting ways with a close friend. But endings are inevitable. Leaves fall, we close the book, you say goodbye. Today is one of those days for us. Today we say goodbye to everything that was familiar everything that was comfortable. We’re moving on. But just because we are leaving, and that hurts, there are some people who are so much a part of us they’ll be with us no matter what. They are our solid ground, our north star. And the small clear voices in our hearts that will be with us. Always.”

— Alexis Castle

Finally the Mr. Smith angle, I always suspected that he knew Roy on a personal level and it seems strange that it took the “big bad” so long to figure it out, but I guess our former Captain could hide some secrets.

I think the new season is going to have us reeling, the writers have us just where they want us and with all the information they dumped on us in the last episode – we are just wildly speculating which is going to bum us out for the next season when it doesn’t reach our expectations.

My view for the next season – Mr. Smith kills “Cole Turner” and gets rid of the body, somehow it’s found and is tied back to Kate and Castle. With her having resigned from the NYPD, she and Castle go renegade and try to solve it. Ryan and Esposito are no longer talking to each other, even after Esposito comes back on active duty. But through it all they reconnect when one has to save the others life. Kate and Castle can go two ways – happy couple or awkward moments after amazing sex! Either can work so lets stay tuned and see what happens!!!