27 December 2012

Downton Abbey Christmas Special

Is it possible for a show to parody itself?  I'm sure there's a precedent somewhere (Moonlighting and Star Trek: Next Generation come to mind) but a show as ah, serious as Downton?

Yes, of course I'll be downloading it in the new year.

An awkward ep, to be sure.

24 December 2012

Taken 2 - Update

Thank Christ they put some clothes on her.

Pity the rest of the movie didn't get some common sense going - for example, to go to the US embassy does one really need to crash through all the security? having removed the shackles of captivity, does one leave one's ex-wife with the phrase, I'll be right back, or could one perhaps move her to a safer fucking place until further notice?

Meh.

22 December 2012

Taken 2 (2012; Oliver Megaton / Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen)

The first Taken film was a pleasant surprise:  Mills (Liam Neeson) is a retired spook whose daughter (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped, and he gets her back, no punches pulled.

In this sequel, there's half-an-hour of set-up before the plot kicks in and - spoiler alert if you haven't seen or heard anything about the premise - the tables are turned and its Mills' daughter's turn to rescue her parents.  That's a nice switch, I thought to myself.  It's certainly avoiding the bad luck John McClane has had with his wife in the first few Die Hard films.

I had to stop the film at the 40-minute mark, though:  1). it was past my bedtime, and 2). all the leg, crotch and cleavage shots of Grace were beginning to really grate - and I couldn't get rid of the thought, She's going to spend the rest of the fucking film in those fucking shorty-shorts, isn't she?

An update may follow.

13 December 2012

Last Resort S01E09

What an ep.  What stakes.  What complications.

What fuckheads ABC are for not renewing this show.

12 December 2012

Vegas S01E09

Tone was a little all over the place but this still wees all over Arrow for character and storytelling chops.

And about goddamned time Moss was part of the ep's story, rather than as a goddamned walk-on.

04 December 2012

The Walking Dead S03E08

It's NCEA time, so in that spirit here's some questions.

1.  In a world of extraordinary uncertainty where the dead reanimate, you have survived by being fast, ruthless and commonsensical.  You find yourself in a room surrounded by fish tanks filled with zombie heads.  There's a noise coming from a cupboard - the noises of someone or something inside.

You open the cupboard and a little child making gravelly grunty noises pops out with 1). a hood over its head, 2). its sweater turned into a straitjacket, and 3). a chain around its neck.

What is the first thing you do?

(a). Cut that motherfucker's head off.
(b). Pull the hood off.
(c). Ask the child, Where're your parents, yo?
(d). Remove the chain.

2.  Optional Question for Bonus Mark

You have just joined a ragged group of survivors.  There are six of you.  You are in hostile and unfamiliar territory.

One of your fellow survivors screams her head off at every goddamned fucking instance of zombie contact.

What do you do?

(a).  Have a quiet word with the screamer to SHUT THE FUCK UP because her screaming attracts attention.
(b).  Cut the screamer's tongue out.
(c).  Lose the screamer at the first opportunity.
(d).  Do nothing and hope for the best.

02 December 2012

Vegas S01E08

Another nice ep.  The little brother's fledgling romance with the count room woman is a nice touch.

The flinty chemistry between Quaid and Chiklis is one to savour.

And nice to see Stark Sands find work after NYC-22.

Update:  okay, so that's not Sands but a lookalike.  Military uniforms always make it hard for me to differentiate between individual soldiers.

01 December 2012

Arrow S01E07

I don't watch this show for the dialogue or the acting or even the PG-13 violence.

I watch it for the narrative developments.  If this means I'm a sucka for cliffhangers, then I'm a sucka.  There's no other explanation.

Falcon: The Blind Man of Seville (Sky, 2012)

I only really watched this because there's a Kiwi as the lead:  Marton Csokas.  The pleasure increased with the title credits:  Kerry Fox, another Kiwi, Hayley Atwell, who made a nice spunky impression in Captain America:  The First Avenger, and Bernard Hill, who always gives warm grampappy fuzzies.  And it was directed by Dredd helmer Pete Travis, which I loved to bits.

Back to Falcon.

Nothing new as far as the genre is concerned.  The actors' native British accents were a little incongruous at first with the Spanish location, but the casting and the decision to not bother with Spanish accents is another plus in this show's favour.

Did I like it?  It looked nice enough.  There are small pleasures like the city itself, and (I think) Charlie Creed-Miles continually disgruntled sidekick detective.

I suppose I'll try another.  For New Zealand.