05 December 2011

MMAM - Vol. 51

Had the pleasure of watching me some COLOMBIANA the other day, and this song closed the film out. Can't think of anything more suitable. Hate me for saying this, I grant you, but I'm not an enormous Johnny Cash fan; I like some of his work, but not a lot. "Hurt" falls into the category of ones I love. There's something about this song that is just so perfect. Every beat, the way his voice conveys the words, the whole shebang - one stellar song, and one that deserves to be shared today after a long MMAM absence.

I promise, something more cheery next time.

03 December 2011

The Watcher: 11/27/11 - 12/03/11

Unfortunately, we've hit the time of year where a lot of shows are taking their month-long hiatus, or slowly but surely closing up their seasons, or thanks to ridiculous scheduling by the super stupid station, have been pushed back or shelved for a later date (as COMMUNITY's about to next week). It's the Dark Days of TV.

DEXTER S06E09 - "Get Geller" (27 November 2011) - Time's running out the season as it comes to a close (feels like it just started), and now the Doomsday Killer team has been revealed to Dexter as a solo murdering spree. Presumably, Travis is suffering through some MPD, and thus has crafted his very own Professor Geller, a la Dexter's Harry. The twist itself was rather obvious for anyone who pays special attention to scene staging or likes to overthink the show instead of just letting showing up to be entertained. But despite the rather lame nature of the twist, I am happy to see Eddie James Olmos depart from the show. He's a strong, brilliant actor, but his skills were hardly being utilized to the fullest extent here. All that amazing energy he had in Battlestar Galactica seems vanquished here, so to allow Colin Hanks to expand his role is only a plus. Additionally, Dexter is pissed. And whenever Dexter is pissed, that lends itself to some riveting television. So I, for one, am excited to see where this story is heading. This, I feel, has been a stronger season than last, and with some lingering plot threads - Jamie's video gamer boyfriend, Quinn falling off the wheels, Deb's therapy session - the next three episodes could provide some very interesting twists. So, overall, I'm pretty glued into the story, and I'm excited to see how Colin Hanks handles Travis from here on out. Score: 8.0/10

COMMUNITY S03E09 - "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism" (1 December 2011) - For most of the episode, I had two thoughts: One, I was glad that the writers were expanding on Shirley, the character I feel is most underwritten in the entire series, and Two, holy mother of God, I love Abed's Batman and Christian Bale voice. When you have Danny Pudi don the cape and cowl, that automatically makes for an electrifying, fun episode. But then the writers amped up the awesomeness by including a 40-second anime scene depicting Jeff Versus Shirley in a death match Foosball game. That was nothing short of amazing, and had me laughing through its entirety. Even in season three, the show doesn't cease with its originality. Also sorta reminded me of the now-canceled MTV show The Hard Times of RJ Berger, which often took a brief from live action each episode and ventured into animation for some spectacular sequences. This was not different in its awesomeness. It's not my favorite episode of the season, but I love that the writers are expanding on character this year, and to have Jeff and Shirley have a history of sorts, and Shirley's actions so instrumental in Jeff's personality was a nice touch. And one final thing worth mentioning: there hasn't been, and are no plans for, a Special Edition The Dark Knight DVD. Trust me, if there was an edition with friggin' audio commentary, that baby would be mine! Although, it did feel nice to have this magical kin moment with the show when I realized they were using the same Steelbook DVD my store sold back in '08. Yay, I officially have an tie with Community. One episode to go, and then a long ass hiatus. NBC, I dislike you, capeesh? Score: 8.7/10

ONCE UPON A TIME S01E05 - "That Still Small Voice" (27 November 2011) - EDIT: Turns out this is the wrong image for this episode, it's actually from the next one. Ooops. REVIEW: These last two episodes haven't been their strongest, but are, I understand, necessary evils to establish the world and characters of the series. In this case we have Jimminy Cricket, who as a character doesn't really make me root for the guy or relate to him with the exception of when he finally stands up for himself against the Mayor. He grew some balls, and I couldn't help but admire the man for it. In fantasy world, though, why on earth was his wish to be a cricket? So he could be free? But a cricket, really? There wasn't anything else he was particularly keen to become? Anyway, the cricket issue aside, it was great to see the Mayor from Buffy season 3, Henry Groner, back on screen. That guy is always amazing. Here's hoping that the mythology establishing episodes can be handled a little bit better in the future. The show is still in its infancy stage, so I don't want to be too hard on it. This is just one of their lesser outings. Score: 7.6/10

SUPERNATURAL S07E10 - "Death's Door" (2 December 2011) - Bobby's been shot, and the brothers are in despair. So these are my general thoughts: despite how much I love Bobby, about time the writers decide to throw the axe down and 'kill him' (as to whether or not he actually is dead remains to be seen). If this was a Joss Whedon show, he would probably have died a long time ago. This season has been rather emotionless, and considering the Winchesters have died at least three times a piece, it's suiting that it's Bobby's turn. And considering the writers dedicated a full episode to Bobby's mind, running against the ticking clock, and giving Sam one last, vital piece of information (not to mention cementing Dean's lust for revenge and desire to eviscerate the Leviathan), I think it's fair to say Bobby will be dead when we return in "Adventures in Babysitting". Jim Beaver gave one hell of an phenomenal performance, as did his partner in crime Rufus. And after seven seasons, we also get some previews of Bobby's past, which were understandably dark and makes sense in character. None of these guys have had all that great of time growing up. Supernatural had to do something drastic to rattle the chess board, and it did. Now let's hope the next thirteen episodes from here make use of this new conflict. Here's to another long ass wait. Score: 8.0/10