QUICK REVIEW: The Dressmaker

Good day to you ladies and gents, today I have a review for you and it will be on The Dressmaker. This was a film I was curious about from the trailer I saw in the cinema a few weeks back, but now that I’ve experienced it just a few hours ago I’m doing my review on it now before Bridge of Spies because I have much to say about the film.

“In 1951, Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage returns to her hometown of Dungatar, to take care of her ill mother, Molly. Tilly was sent out of town at the age of ten because of false accusations of murder. Tilly, an expert dressmaker, transforms the locals with her couture creations and in the process, exacts revenge on the people who wrongly accused her of murder all those years ago.”

The story in this film is a bit of mess. This is a tale of revenge but it is executed in the strangest way, from the first 10-20 minutes, I felt like I was watching a Wes Anderson film in terms of the blend of comedy and drama, odd setting and really strange, larger-than-life characters. But this film didn’t have Anderson’s sense of style, comedic timing or bizarre, yet whimsical charm. The first problem was with the tone, it didn’t know how to find the middle ground between the humour and emotion, it switched between both and sometimes its done at the worst possible moment ruining certain scenes altogether. There are moments in between the tonal shifts where the story was funny, mysterious, suspenseful and emotional, but they were few and far between unfortunately. Oh and the film went on for far too long, whether it was finding out the main mystery behind the main character or tieing up loose ends in the film’s final moments, I just got bored. I was sure the film was going to end around 30-40 minutes beforehand, but it just kept going, got more ridiculous and less engaging and by the film’s finale I was less than satisfied and that annoyed me because I was really getting into it around the first half.

At least the performances were solid. Kate Winslet was great as Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage, this character was tough and cool, but also vulnerable and Winslet was very engaging and charismatic in this role… And it has to be said that she looked incredible in this film, Winslet has never caught my eyes the way she did in this film, she was incredibly sexy in those dresses, sorry but it had to be said. Judy Davis was also great as Molly Dunnage, this lady was very blunt, rude, annoying and strange, but she was also quite humourous and interesting, but that was more down to Davis’ performance more than anything else. Liam Hemsworth as Teddy McSwiney was nice, there wasn’t much to his character early on, but once he starts to get involved with Tilly he became a little more interesting. Hemsworth was a beautiful man in this film (yeah I said it), I just wish his character had been handled differently. Oh and Hugo Weaving as Sergeant Horatio Farrat, wow, this must be the most different kind of role I’ve seen from him yet. This was the most unconventional police officer I’ve ever seen, but that was what made him so much fun to watch and Weaving was certainly memorable in the role. Besides Gyton Grantley as Barney McSwiney (anto some degree Sarah Snook as Gertrude “Trudy” Pratt), everyone else was pretty forgettable or unlikable from the beginning. These other eccentric characters had moments of interest, but most of them were mean-spirited and untrustworthy. I also have to give quick mention about the costume design by Marion Boyce, the use of colour and style of the multiple dresses worn was absolutely incredible.

In conclusion The Dressmaker was one of the most random films I’ve seen in the cinema in quite some time, the lead performances were great and the costume design was incredible and there were moments when I was enjoying the wacky nature of the film. However, the story was too bloated with irrelevant material involving other characters, and if this had been a simple revenge story with a consistent tone, streamlined plot and cut down runtime it would have been SO much better.

So have you seen The Dressmaker and if so what did you think of it? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

I got emotional in this Amy review

Howdy ladies and gents, time for a film review and today I’m catching up on one of the many films I missed in the cinema this year starting with Amy. I missed this in the cinema because of a lack of time while working and its limited release around my area, and I had heard so many great and emotional reviews from critics and people I knew who saw this documentary, but I wasn’t sure if it would evoke the same emotional response with myself, but I watched it yesterday before I went to work and it was definitely something worth watching and I’ll explain why in this review.

The premise is described as the following:

“The story of Amy Winehouse in her own words, featuring unseen archival footage and unheard tracks.”

There is so much I could say about this film, but I shall try to condense my thoughts as much as possible. In short, this documentary is awesome. And that should come as no surprise considering the director is Asif Kapadia, the man who crafted the brilliant Senna back in 2010 (2011 for its UK release). There are many comparisons that I found to Senna in terms of:

1. It was very informative and gave a more detailed and personal account of the subject matter than anything documented before.
2. The film had no standard face-to-camera interviews and instead were verbal only over the footage on-screen.
3. Most of the visual footage was archive-based with certain shots of modern-day locations mixed in.
4. There was an emotional resonance that could not be ignored.

Kapadia just knew how to craft a story, using the right video clips intercut with certain interviews or sound effects or photos with dramatic playing with it, the man knew exactly the kind of response he wanted to get out of the audience. He wanted you to feel, not only that but to understand that the events in Amy Wineshouse’s life were not doom and gloom, but also beautiful and yet tragic.

This film shows Amy’s life from beginning to end and while there were certain details that were touched on but never fully detailed (like the involvement of people like Russell Brand and Pete Doherty), there were plenty of people in Amy’s life to provide certain facts and tidbits from whether it be producers like Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, Mos Def, her parents Mitchell and Janis, her bodyguard Andrew Morris, or friends Juliette Ashby, Lauren Gilbert and Nick Shymanksy, along with a list of many other famous and close associates. I never knew her connections were so wide and that she had the love and respect of so many people. Amy really was such a great talent, she was beautiful, quite funny, and behind all the music, fame and media she was just a regular, down-to-earth kind of girl and it truly broke my heart to see such an amazing person get mixed up with the wrong kind of people, lose herself in the world of alcohol and drugs, and get swallowed by the media. I never knew so many of the key events in life, good or bad, took place over such a short space of time, that specific period between 2004 and 2007 was such a successful, turbulent and dangerous point in time period. It was interesting to hear her say in an interview that she didn’t think she’d be famous and that she’d go mad from fame, it unfortunately sounded like foreshadowing her future. I remember hearing about her in the news every so often once when the drugs and alcohol kicked in, but I never knew how much of a media frenzy she was stuck in with constant swarms of paparazzi, verbal jams from famous figures in the media and never having the opportunity to give her side of events because of her father and constant state of struggle with substance abuse. While not on the same scale or circumstances, Amy’s troubled life reminded me of the chaotic times of Michael Jackson during his difficult time with media attacks.

Now Amy’s life was anything but pretty, but once she became famous things got ugly and to see/hear about her getting so skinny and frail, not being to perform to the best of her abilities, going in and out of rehab, having interventions from her friends, getting into drugs and stuff because of her husband Blake, and the fact that her parents, especially father Mitchell did nothing and practically forced her to continue her music-based commitments was ridiculous and hard to watch. Now not all blame was on her friends and family, she needed to help herself frist and foremost, though, you could see at least two or three points when someone could have intervened and things could have turned out differently for sure. I mainly couldn’t stand her then-husband Blake, he was dodgy from the beginning and his world of drinking and drugs was the start of the dark days, also blinded by love those two ended up messing each other up. But Mitchell also bugged me too. From the he was introduced he sounded like an asshole, and the information that followed about him having an affair, not being around for his family and eventually leaving Amy’s life, he felt like the catalyst for both Amy’s positive and negative attributes and it continued into her music career as well. And the fact that he only came back into her life while she was famous, did nothing to help his daughter in relation to the over abundance of live shows and drug use is nothing short of disgusting.

Beyond that I loved seeing Amy’s early years, writing music, doing her smaller live shows and just showing off her gorgeous vocals. This woman was a great lyricist and learning about how dedicated she was to music, whether it was admiring people who came before her or making sure she was creating music that she was satisfied with made me love her. I’ve never been her biggest fan, but I would never deny her talent and hearing “In My Bed” was awesome because it’s one of my favourite songs. And hearing some of her other famous songs with the significance behind them being revealed during the film, I had a greater understanding and respect for them.

In the end Amy was a beautiful and heartbreaking look at such an amazing woman who was corrupted and consumed by those around her and couldn’t be saved. While some may not change their minds about the former singer, I have such a newfound level of respect for her when it comes to her music, creativity and normal/humourous persona when the media weren’t involved. This film was well-directed, very informative and hit all the right emotional notes and I couldn’t recommend it more.

Rating: 8.5/10

So did you see Amy and if so what did you think of it? Be sure to comment below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

SUPER REVIEW: Captain America: Civil War Trailer #1

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen, time for another trailer review and today I’m gonna be talking about the first trailer for Captain America: Civil War. Now I was starting to wonder when this footage would drop because it’s getting close to Christmas and still nothing had been shown yet, but then out of nowhere I hope up late after midday and found out the trailer had been dropped by Jimmy Kimmel. WHAT!?! And there I am, gotta get online and see it. So now that I have is it good or bad? Well read on and find out!

Check out the trailer below:

So first impressions after seeing the trailer, “Nice, I’m liking this a lot.” The trailer didn’t blow me away but it had many significant details that made me think that this will certainly be one of the most important films in the MCU yet.

What was made immediately clear to me was that this was a Captain America film first and foremost, it had certain plot elements, themes and tonal consistencies with The Winter Soldier which was great. We’ve heard in the news about the film’s large cast and talk of this being “Avengers 2.5“, but so far this looks like Captain America 3, but with elements of Avengers-styled stuff incorporated. And that’s how it should it be. Winter Soldier was great because it had its own story to tell with awesome themes and genre changes added to the superhero formula and that’s one of the main aspects that made that film work so well, and I can only hope that the Russo brothers are able to bring back the awesomeness to the MCU. My only concern is that this film won’t be consistent in tone and may insert too much humour, that happened with Age of Ultron back in the summer, I just pray that the jokes and light-hearted material will be appropriately placed and won’t overshadow the key themes.

There’s a lot going on in this trailer so I’ll just highlight them below:

• Cap and Bucky forever: Looks like Bucky’s public enemy number one now and Cap’s trying to help/rehabilitate/protect Bucky from not only the government but also Tony Stark and possibly some of his other allies. It really helps solidify their bond as friends and shows that these personal connections amongst the heroes will be an important factor when it comes to the superhero lifestyle.
• William Hurt’s back as Thunderbolt Ross: Seeing this character back again made me smile, seems like he’s risen in importance since 2008 in The Incredible Hulk as he’s talking to Cap about him being seen as a vigilante, operating with power in the world without supervision and talk of consequences. It seems he’s one of the key faces in this version of the superhero registration act from the comics.
• BLACK PANTHER: I honestly didn’t notice this guy the first time I watched the trailer, it wasn’t until I saw a trailer review that I noticed him and saw how cool he looked. The mask/helmet looks awesome, not sure about rest of the costume, but Panther’s brief appearance is notable as we see him throw down with Bucky and go running in a chase scene. So clearly this guy is very active in this film so I can’t wait to see how he factors into this film with the story.
• This story is intimate: For all the explosions and chaos, this is really a battle between two friends who have different ideals and end up on opposite sides. The scale and scope of these events are as big as the comic story, but for this film its fine considering the circumstances, plus with certain characters picking sides already things will get complicated.

But there are two things that stick out to me:

1. Cap and Tony “used” to be friends: Watching this trailer and hearing from Cap “Sorry Tony, you know I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t have any other choice. But he’s my friend.” And Tony’s reply, “So was I.” Damn, that genuinely touched me. That’s not a throwaway line. You could tell there’s sincerity behind those words. These two have been at odds occasionally for 3 years now (4 come next year), but at the end of the day they’re still comrades, so it really feels like this is something that neither of them want to do.
2. Cap and Bucky owning Iron Man: That final shot of Cap and Bucky basically beating Iron Man into submission was beastly. The way its framed and had not quick edits, just a wide shot of Iron Man struggling to fight back against these two titans, it’s an image not easily forgotten and it’s pretty badass too.

In conclusion this trailer for Captain America: Civil War gives me hope for this third entry in the adventures of Steve Rogers. It felt serious, personal and seems like there will be serious ramifications after the events of this film are over. I am hyped, that being said, Avengers 2 proved that marketing can trick you into seeing a film a certain way and then ending up with a different product, so I’m keeping my anticipation in check until I see the film next May (or April if it comes out early in the UK again). If this film is anywhere near as consistent as Winter Soldier then I’ll be over the moon.

So have you seen the trailer for Civil War and if so what did you think of it? Does it hamper or increase your excitement for this film? Please sound off your thoughts in the comments below ane I’ll see ya on the next post, laters! 😀

 

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Season 1 Review (Spoiler Free)

Howdy people of the internet, time for the review that I’ve been waiting all year to do that isn’t Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I am of course talking about Marvel’s Jessica Jones. After bleeding through Daredevil earlier this year, I’ve been ready for this to drop and while the trailers were definitely interesting, it didn’t hype me up as much as I was expecting. But now that it’s out, I binged it over the last two days and finished it this morning around 7am. 😛 So after seeing the first season I’m ready to pass judgement in this spoiler-free review.

Story

“Following a tragic end to her brief superhero career, Jessica Jones tries to rebuild her life as a private investigator, dealing with cases involving people with remarkable abilities in New York City.“

Best way I can describe Jessica Jones is that it is an intense character-focused drama with psychological thriller and horror elements incorporated. It’s hard to talk about the story without getting into spoiler territory, but to suffice to say it worth the watch. People going into this expecting the usual Marvel adventures found in the films will be in for quite a shock as JJ is probably the darkest corner of the MCU put into live-action so far. Daredevil opened up the MCU to this grounded and realistic street-level realm of superhero antics with action, violence, moral and ethical areas of grey and the crime drama stuff, and JJ takes those foundations and creates a deeper, more mature world. JJ is very blunt about the topics it covers especially when it comes to PTSD, sex, rape, drugs, death, violence and psychological battles, it really is about power and control; who has it and how it can be used to influence, help or break those around you. JJ can be shocking, unnerving, gruesome and downright wrong to witness what goes down over the course of these 13 episodes, however, thanks to the great team of writers and directors headed by showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, these can be some of the most gripping, tension-filled and memorable TV in recent memory especially for a Marvel property. There were also some references to the MCU film universe and Daredevil, nothing major, but they were notable and worked when used. I will admit that the series isn’t perfect, certain stories that are tied to specific characters aren’t as interesting as others, the amount of sex in the show while necessary for certain scenes at the same time felt unnecessary and some plot points towards the end didn’t get the conclusion I had hoped for. I feel like this show will divide the Marvel fan base due to its stories, action on-screen and the personality of the main protagonist, Jessica.

Characters

The cast really do an amazing job in this show and some more than others deliver some truly memorable performances. Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones was awesome, at first I wasn’t sure her physical frame and acting skills would suit someone like Jessica, luckily Ritter proves that she’s got the right stuff for the role, for the most part. Jessica has a bad attitude, short fuse and rarely let’s anyone help her, but behind her exterior there’s a tortured and fractured soul whose past won’t let go of her, and because of current events that tie back to her own she feels compelled to take action by any means necessary. I was great learning about this character, why she acts like she does and seeing her go from a super badass to a crumbling mess was great, and Ritter did such a lovely job with her material, though as times I which she was a little more physically imposing and aggressive. Mike Colter as Luke Cage, man, what a beast! I loved this guy, Luke is a very smart, polite and keeps to himself at first, but once he interacts with Jessica and starts to become integrated into the main plot he becomes so much more interesting, dramatic and aggressive. Colter has such a great screen presence, carries himself well and can be so charming and funny, but then can be so intimidating and scary, when he’s allowed to flex his skills I loved it. Together, Ritter and Colter have a good on-screen relationship and their chemistry is nice, at first it’s not quite as strong, but later on down the road these two really find their groove. Rachael Taylor also does a good job as Trish “Patsy” Walker, at first Trish was a little bland and besides being associated with Jessica, there wasn’t much to her, but later on she’s fleshed out and becomes a much more interesting person down the line. I liked the bond between Jessica and Trish and how by the end of the season it really highlights how much their connection matters.

Wil Traval was an unexpectedly intriguing character as Will Simpson, at first I wasn’t sure if I’d like his involvement in the show, but in the latter half he really steps up and becomes one hell of a character to lookout for and Traval was awesome. Erin Moriarty was very captivating as Hope Shlottman, this girl has quite an emotional journey in this show and I was surprised by how much she affected me, Moriarty’s acting was top-notch and really made me care for her character. Eka Darville was also good as Malcolm Ducasse, at first I wasn’t sure if there was much to his character beyond his earlier appearances, but then he really steps up and becomes a really useful character full of insight and good morals. Carrie-Anne Moss, man, she was really good as Jeri Hogarth, this is a powerful and cutthroat kind of lady who only does things for her own gain and Moss was extremely great in this role. Also have to give shout outs to Susie Abromeit as Pam, Lisa Emery as Louise Thompson and Kieran Mulcare as Ruben. But the biggest praise has to go to David Tennant as Kilgrave, damn, what a performance. Kilgrave is now easily in the top 3 villains of the MCU alongside Wilson Fisk and Loki. This is a man with mind controlling abilities and while he doesn’t view himself as a bad guy, he certainly does a lot of terrible things. I love how charismatic and versatile he is when it comes to how he interacts with people, sometimes he can be really calm, other times really humourous or sometimes he loses his shit and gets super aggressive. This guy is all sorts of nasty, he’s sadistic, disturbing, rude, volatile and has next to no redeeming qualities, and yet he is such an engaging character and I loved every minute he was on-screen as he was magnetic. Tennant is absolutely fabulous here and because the character’s backstory, history with Jessica and interactions with several people over the course of the season, it allows him to show several forms of his personality, emotion and twisted version of logic.

Presentation

When it came to the presentation it is very good for the most part. Visually I love the way the show looks, the cinematography is so good with beautiful shots of New York City’s various locations during the day through to the night, I really like the attention to detail when it came to use of colouring and lighting, everything really popped while watching on my TV screen as there was such a great sense of clarity and sharpness in the picture quality. As for the use of CGI, it is minimal and sometimes it looks good and other times not as good, the same could be said for the action, some of it was really cool, well-choreographed and badass, and some were a little too short and not as interesting. I have to say I liked the use of make-up and practical effects for some of the more violent stuff as it was very realistic and impressive to watch. Oh and I cannot forget to mention the JJ intro, it is so mysterious, abstract-looking and sassy, it looks really cool and gives a brief illustration of the tone and actions of the show and it really helps that the theme song by Sean Callery is excellent. I love that jazzy theme, but not only that his entire score for the show is a very different and unexpected beast with its jazz references being quite smooth and sensual but also being quite loud, aggressive and crazy, this soundtrack really makes the world of JJ come to life.

Comparisons to Daredevil

Now something I’ve seen in the comments section of each episode review that IGN were doing was people comparing this show to Daredevil, with some saying it was worse, some saying it was better and some saying it was on-par. So I thought I’d give my two cents on this subject. Jessica Jones certainly does a few things better when it comes to the depth and development of its main characters, that being said Daredevil was certainly better when it came to the action sequences and its fight choreography, plus the plot was a little more straightforward. All that aside, I have to ask: can’t both shows coexist without the moaning and bitching about which is better? Everyone has their preference, some may like the action-heavy crime stuff with Daredevil, while others may be drawn more to the psychological and drama events of Jessica Jones, either way both shows are great, and while I do prefer Daredevil because I’m an action junkie, I won’t deny that JJ had stories and specific moments that will stay in my mind for a while after my first viewing. Basically I like both, nuff said haha.

Conclusion

In conclusion Marvel’s Jessica Jones is another successful TV show that brings us closer to the Defenders series. I’ve heard people bitch and complain that the show’s “boring” or “not edgy enough” or “not like Daredevil” and to them I say shut up. JJ succeeds in being one of the best character-focused TV shows I’ve seen in a while with really engaging and memorable performances, good action and some of the most disturbing, scary and cruel stories to come out of the MCU so far. It probably won’t be for everyone, but if you can handle the hard-hitting nature of this series you’ll find a lot to love and appreciate about this show.

Rating: 8/10

So have you seen Jessica Jones and if so so what do you think of it? Do you believe its dark and mature subject matter was handled effectively or not and how do you think it compares to Daredevil? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters. 🙂

 

QUICK REVIEW: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

Howdy ladies and gentlemen, time for another film review and today I’ll be reviewing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. Now I’ve liked this film series, but in recent times I really haven’t liked the hype its acquired over the last year or so which has deterred me from wanting to see this finale, but since I had mates that wanted to see it last night I decided to check it out.

The storyline for this film is as follows:

“As the war of Panem escalates to the destruction of other districts by the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen, the reluctant leader of the rebellion, must bring together an army against President Snow, while all she holds dear hangs in the balance.”

I thought the story was good and pretty intense. Much like the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows films, Mockingjay – Part 1 was the set up and Part 2 is the all-out action pay-off finale. This film takes all of the foundations of the last film and uses it to great effect here. Here the focus of the film is on Katniss and her mission to take out President Snow, and within this main plot there is all of drama. What surprised me about this film was how blunt and brutal it got, there was loss, deception and mind games, and unforeseen revelations that changed your views on certain characters. Oh and the film was very tension-heavy with you always wondering how much worse or dangerous things could get and man they got dark pretty quickly. I think it was the way death was unexpectedly dropped on people in certain scenes which really caught me off guard, and while some of it was shocking, it was meaningful and gave the film higher stakes. I will admit that this film had some pacing issues and some of the story choices toward the third act I didn’t agree with, but the main issue I had regarded the ending. Man, Mockingjay – Part 2 had the same issue that Lord of the Rings: Return of the King did; it didn’t know when to end! I could have counted at least 3 times when the film could have stopped, but nope, it just kept on going and I understand that certain plot elements needed to be concluded but damn, that was a little too much and some much time could have been shaved off for it.

As for cast they were great, though some returning characters don’t get as much screen. Firstly Jennifer Lawrence does well for her final appearance as Katniss Everdeen, I dunno how but Lawrence happened to balance being beautiful and super talented with her acting skills in this film, and I believe that it is Lawrence that elevates this character while on-screen as Katniss, while still courageous, was also quite bland and unlikable at times, I know she went through hell, but this was the one time I didn’t really feel like rooting for her. Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark was great too, his character has developed so much since the first film and he certainly had his moments to shine, he went from someone who really had no business being on the side of the allies to being a very interesting, dramatic and useful member in times of need. Liam Hemsworth was once again as Gale Hawthorne, his character had a fair amount to do and I liked his scenes with Katniss (even if she was still stringing him along like before). Donald Sutherland as President Snow was good too, still as mean and crafty as ever, Snow once again proved why he was such great villain for Katniss to take out. Julianne Moore had some really good moments as Alma Coin and I appreciated her character more this time around. And even though several of my favourite characters got a lot less screen time, I still appreciated the moments with Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, my man Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair, Mahershala Ali as Boggs, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinkett, Natalie Dormer as Cressida and the all but too brief appearance of Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman.

 

As for the presentation it is pretty good. Visually the film was very impressive with good action sequences that had several standout moments, some good cinematography, good CGI and lighting too. I also liked James Newton Howard’s soundtrack for the film as it was suitably dramatic, subtle and intense when it needed to be.

In conclusion The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is a good conclusion to this series, it has a great deal of action, drama, conflict and resolution, and good performances from the cast involved. I wouldn’t this film was a completely satisfying ending considering some of the plot points, character choices and dragged out ending, however for what it was, it was solid.

Rating: 7/10

So what did you think of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2? Was it a satisfying conclusion or was it not what you wanted? And how do you feel it compares to the previous films? Whatever your thoughts, drop them below and I’ll see ya on the next review yo! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #14

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to post #14 on What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. Since I’m strapped for time today and am also starting Jessica Jones on Netflix, I’ll be skipping my usual reviews of Arrow, Castle, South Park and Moonbeam City. With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀 Oh and careful for minor spoilers below…

Blindspot (All the episodes so far)

I wasn’t actually going to talk about this show again on this blog mainly because I had fallen behind for the last three to four weeks and was playing catch up, but since I caught up on all the episodes as of yesterday I really wanted to talk about Blindspot and how I feel about the quality of the show at the moment. To put it simply, I really like this show. After the first episode I was worried that the whole “tattoo helps to find a clue to bigger event” thing would get old, but thankfully there has been a great deal of variety in the amount of cases that have been tackled in each week in relation to Jane Doe’s tattoos, but in addition to that the mysteries behind Jane’s past are slowly coming to light and while only a fraction of information has been given away, it is enough to keep you invested. Beyond Jane, the rest of the characters are great too, I noticed by episode 7 or 8 that a lot of the main characters outside of Jane and Kurt Weller had gotten a decent amount of character development and were starting become fully formed characters especially when it comes to Agent Tasha Zapata, Patterson and Bethany Mayfair. I’ve really liked the last two episodes “Persecute Envoys” and “Authentic Flirt” as given us the most dramatic, character developed and intriguing stories so far. I’m totally getting invested in this show and I’m excited to see where it goes.

The Flash “Gorilla Warfare”

This week’s episode of The Flash was another solid episode as it dealt with Barry’s recovery after his battle with Zoom, reintroduced Gorilla Grodd and gave us some interesting tidbits of things to come in the Arrow/Flash universe. This episode primarily focused on Barry’s recovery from a crippled man in a wheelchair to the speedster that we know and love, it was all about him feeling shame and not having the courage to rise again after his defeat at the hands of Zoom. And I liked how Barry had to learn to not only accept help, but also beat his own mental demons to become a hero again, and having Barry’s father, Henry return was great as it allowed them to have some great bonding and character building moments. As for Grodd, I have to say I liked his return and his motivation, this episode illustrated that he wasn’t only getting smarter, but also that he was pretty strong and swift on his feet, he also had a soft side for Caitlin and wanted an army of smart apes like himself too. While he’s not the most captivating of villains I’m liking how’s he’s been handled so far and I think the CGI for him looks pretty good considering that it’s for TV and not to hate on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but Grodd looked much better than Lash. Oh and I gotta give a quick mention to Cisco, that dude was finally going on the date with Kendra the barista girl, but he vibes her, sees a winged figure and totally leaves her outside the cinema with no proper explanation, bad move dude. But then he returns to her in the most badass way ever with flowers, chocolate and a boom box playing Peter Gabriel. 🙂 It looks like these two are starting something special even with Cisco’s second vision of Kendra as Hawkgirl I believe.

Star Wars Rebels (Season 2) “Blood Sisters”

I found this episode to be serviceable but not nearly as engaging as I had hoped. I was really looking forward to a Sabine-centric episode  considering that not much about her past has been revealed up until this point, and while there were certainly some great moments where we learnt about her history via Ketsu Onyo, everything else that took place in the episode wasn’t all that interesting to me. When I saw Ketsu Onyo in the season 2 trailer I thought she’d be another antagonist from Sabine’s past who could be a recurring villain and gave our heroes some problems going ahead, and while Ketsu was cool and intimidating at first, unfortunately the show decided that in a dangerous spot with the Empire they should bury the past and become friends again. I would have bought that if it had happened a few more episodes down the line, I feel like that was because it is a show aimed at children, I just would have prefered that Ketsu help Sabine because of their history but then say something like “This was a one-time thing, we’re on different paths.” You know something to show that she was still antagonistic towards Sabine but had a glimmer of affection for her. Outside of that I didn’t like how Ezra was handled, now I know only a small amount of time has transpired since season 1, but he seemed to be maturing this season, but here he seemed really immature and annoying.

Well that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of these shows? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching  too. Until next Friday people, laters! 😀

 

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “Many Heads, One Tale” Review

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, time to talk about some Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with season 3, episode 8 “Many Heads, One Tale“. So how was this week’s episode? Well read on and find out.

As usual in these reviews I’m just gonna present the plot and then say what I liked and what I didn’t like. Cool? Okay let’s keep going.

The Plot

Dangerous facts about the ATCU are discovered by the team; Ward’s plans to take down S.H.I.E.L.D. do not go as expected.

What I Liked

Well damn, this was a great episode. There was a lot to love and while there was a fair amount of detail to take in, all of it came together in an interesting way.

Can I just get my favourite part of out of the way… Fitz and Simmons, they kissed! YAY! 😀 I may sound like the biggest girl ever, but you don’t know how long I’ve waited for this moment. With the recent events involving Simmons and Will on the mystery planet I believed that Simmons’ heart would remain primarily to her space lover, but no, in this episode these two confronted each other about not only the awkward nature of their relationship, but their long-term feelings for each other and it was handled with drama and realism. Fitz highlighted that he felt inferior, that he was angry, but also that we was helping because he’s a good guy and wants Simmons to be happy. But Simmons was pissed because she knew how complicated this situation was and didn’t want to hurt Fitz or Will. But Fitz did the most manly thing ever, smashed right out of the friendzone and kissed his girl and it was the most satisfying moment on this show for ages. Even though Simmons still has feelings for Will, ignoring Fitz is no longer an option. Looks like we have a love triangle on our hands people. 🙂

I also have to touch upon Coulson and Rosalind, after those two slept together they’re pretty cozy together and Coulson’s showing her around the base, and while they’re together, Coulson’s organised his squad to infiltrate the ATCU and find out what they’re hiding. I like how after all this flirting, smiling and sizing each other up, Coulson confronts her about who she really is and it totally catches her off-guard. In the end we find out that Rosalind really was a good guy and had been played by Gideon Malick the whole time who had been using his position in government to further his operations at Hydra and manipulate the actions of the ATCU. I did feel bad for Rosalind when Coulson interrogated her and she did seem genuinely hurt and upset at Coulson’s accusations. While Coulson did come across as a bit mean, he had told Daisy beforehand that he had his emotions in check, so while he does care for Rosalind, he’s been smart enough to keep his emotions and trust in check. I hope that after the Hydra and Malick reveals that these two can still be on good terms going ahead.

Oh and how cool was Ward in this episode? Brett Dalton just excels at being the bad guy when given the right material and man he was on fire. This week we learnt he was not just after SHIELD but also after a vault left by Baron von Strucker and when Malick doesn’t want to play ball, Ward beat up and tortured Malick’s men for info, then got on a plane where he scared a pretty air hostess with a whisper, made a funny announcement on the intercom and blast a hole in the plane to parachute down to a specific location. This man got around and was so suave and devious about it, he’s clearly resourceful, unpredictable and dangerous, traits that Gideon seemed to like enough to allow Ward to join him and disclose the location of Andrew, and when they can come face-to-face Ward relays Hydra’s new plan and his plan to torture May through Andrew well.

Now let’s talk about the Hydra revelation. Not only had Malick been operating in the shadows via the World Security Council, but that Hydra have been operating in the shadows for AGES prior to their first major appearance in Captain America: The First Avenger. It was kind of creepy to see that evolution of that goat logo transform into the Hydra logo, and about Hydra’s history sending people through the Monolith and looking into gaining superpowered items was very intriguing.

In addition to those major aspects there are a few thing worth mentioning like:

• Bobbi and Hunter Infiltrating the ATCU: At first I didn’t recognise these two when they came in, but after I recognised them I loved every second of their screen time. Anytime the SHIELD team go undercover it is a good time full of humour, surprise and potential threat and that certainly apparent here. I LOVED Hunter, whether it was his clothes or usual funny personality, he was great to watch. And after they got found out it was super fun to see Bobbi duke it out with a magnetic man with her own magnetic batons.
• Lincoln and May: I was surprised that after all the evil-looking glares May gave Lincoln at SHIELD HQ, in the end she wanted to find a way to apologise to him for what Andrew did as Lash.

What I Disliked

There wasn’t much that I didn’t like besides some of the way the action was shot for Bobbi’s fight with the magnetic batons, it looked a little cheesy at points. But that’s my minor nitpick.

Conclusion

In conclusion “Many Heads, One Tale” was a really fun, epic and intriguing episode with all sorts of drama, action and revealed mysteries that make this show worth watching. Things are shaping up nicely with the stories and character development, and hope it’ll continue up until the mid-season finale.

Rating: 8.5/10

So what did you think of “Many Heads, One Tale“? Did you enjoy it or were you unimpressed? Whatever your thoughts are, be sure to drop them in the comments below and I’ll see you on the next episode review!

 

QUICK REVIEW: Steve Jobs

Good day to you ladies and gents, time for another film review and today I’ll be talking about Steve Jobs. This film has had quite the interesting tale when it comes to the development stages of production with the changes in actors and directors, so after everything got confirmed and ironed out I just had to see how this film would turn out.

The story can be described as the following:

“Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.”

The story was this film was pretty fascinating tale. The film chronicles three major points in the life of Steve Jobs; 1984, 88 and 98 giving us a look at the man behind the magic, showing his vision for Apple and his other business ventures, but also showing his complicated family life and the problematic relationships he had with his coworkers too. I really enjoyed the amount of drama, emotion and tension this film was able to produce from mainly just characters talking. Whether they were arguments or casual conversations, there were some really wonderfully written scenes and bits of dialogue, oh and I was not expecting the film to be as humourous as it was as well. Now with this being a biopic there is only so much of this that can be taken as truth and at several points I could see certain elements that were played up for the dramatization of film, but it wasn’t too bad that it bothered me. If I had any issues with the film it would be related to the fact this film only highlights the early days of Jobs’ career and didn’t highlight some of the significant contributions he brought to Apple later down the line or how some plot/character elements are never fully explored or concluded. That being said the film did have to focus on specific periods of time or this film would have gone on forever.

When it comes to the performances all of the cast do such excellent jobs in their roles. Let’s start with Michael Fassbender who was just magnetic and intense as Steve Jobs. This film definitely paints Jobs in a specific light, he’s this visionary, dedicated and hard-working individual who strives for perfection, but he’s also a douchebag to anyone who does things to impede his progress. Jobs for the most part is strategic, mean, manipulative, selfish, overconfident and is the worst person to be on the wrong side of as he’s verbally abusive to everyone when shit hits he fan. But behind it all there is a man with a heart and long-term issues which few people know about and Fassbender did such a fantastic job at bringing the man to life. Just as impressive was Kate Winslet as Joanna Hoffman, this woman was Jobs’ number two, she did everything for him and had to deal with so much negativity from the man, and yet was the only one who could stand up to him and give him a reality check. Winslet was so good in this role and I thought she handled her accent well too.

Seth Rogen continues to surprise me as he did well as Steve Wozniak, this character had an interesting history with Jobs and it was great to see how that played out, and Rogen while I don’t care for him in his comedies seems to be far more engaging here. Jeff Daniels was also great as John Sculley, Michael Stuhlbarg was almost unrecognizable to me as Andy Hertzfeld and I loved his performance as he was so vulnerable and yet likeable as one of the core members of Apple who had quite the adventure with Jobs from the early days up until the end of this film. I also liked Katherine Waterston as Chrisann Brennan, the three actresses that played Lisa Brennen-Jobs (Perla Haney-Jardine, Ripley Sobo, and Makenzie Moss) and Sarah Snook as Andrea “Andy” Cunningham.

So in conclusion Steve Jobs was an entertaining and dramatic film with terrific performances and really good dialogue. I enjoyed the film far more than I thought I would, but I am glad that I saw it and it was one of the better biopics I’ve seen in recent times. While there were a few things I would have changed or would like to have seen more of, in the end it was engaging where it needed to be.

Rating: 8/10

So have you seen Steve Jobs and if so what did you think of it? Please be sure to comment below and I’ll see you on the next film review, laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #13

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to post #13 on What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. Since I’ve started losing time in the week I’m dropping a few shows from the list and will be focusing on the current seven for the immediate future. With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀 Oh and careful for minor spoilers below…

South Park (Season 19) “Naughty Ninjas”

This week’s episode was pretty funny. I love how the kids decided to be ninja but then be mistaken for Isis followers which scared the life out of the citizens of South Park, that was frigging awesome. I also love how this episode addressed how dodgy police officers are when it comes to abusing their power and beating up minorities upon their arrest and how that doesn’t occur with standard white folk. Also the reference to NWA with the town basically fucking off the police was great too. Oh and Officer Barbrady, what a legend, he’s always been incompetent, but this episode really highlighted that when he shout a minority and got fired. The first time it was hilarious and seeing him struggle was nice as we got to see more his life beyond his job (he looks strange without the sunglasses), but then once he got reinstated and shot another kid, that was just a little silly and for the town government to not foresee something like that happening again makes them look even worse by comparison. Plus Cartman, I love the guy and when he kept getting the boys confused as ninjas was hilarious, but when he does something stupid and tires so hard to pin on someone else for an entire episode, it gets old and makes him look like a damn fool. I’m also curious about this Leslie situation, that girl has been a mercy of PC Principal’s yelling for ages and now she’s been taken away, but there’s this organisation that’s been watching her and want Barbrady on the investigation? Oh, South Park, you better be going somewhere good with this.

Castle (Season 8) “Cool Boys”

Castle said best near the beginning of this episode “This separation thing is starting to get really old.” I feel like the guy is saying what all the fans are thinking about this show at the moment. May this was intentional as the writers are aware of what the fans are thinking or it may just be just his thoughts, either way, a show where the two main characters aren’t an item after becoming one can be dull and Castle is falling into that trap. Beyond that, this was a solid episode even without Stana Katic around, sure Beckett’s absence was felt, but Castle and the return of Adam Baldwin as Det. Ethan Slaughter certainly made up for it. Ryan and Esposito taking charge of the police work while Beckett was away made for some interesting and funny moments, but the real meat of this episode was seeing Fillion and Baldwin together, while I wasn’t too keen on Slaughter back in season 4, here was a lot more useful and we learnt more about his character and his talents (like being a good cook and studying musical theatre in college). Oh but the best moment was when Castle and Slaughter broke into song to confuse and distract their enemies at gunpoint long enough to get the jump on them in a fight, that was totally unexpected and hella funny.

Supergirl “Fight or Flight”

This was probably my lest favourite episode so far, while the character development was good for Kara and James, and the villain Reactron was better because he had a backstory, overall I still can’t find myself getting into this show the same way I have with other comic book shows. My complaints with the show remain like: 1)  The bad action sequences and questionable CGI. 2) The constant references to Superman, its like the show can’t function without referencing the man of steel. But I noticed some other things to nitpick like the fact that this show has too many similarities to The Flash in terms of the intro and tone. Also all the modern references to social media, the Kardashians and other bits and bobs feels forced and unnecessary and am I the only one who thinks that it’s too early for Kara to be falling for James Olsen? Its only been three episodes, and while their potential relationship has been foreshadowed since the first episode, it feels a little too soon for relationships to come into play.

The Flash “Enter Zoom”

Man, I frigging love this show. The Flash is one of those shows that when its good its is SO good and this episode was one of the best so far. Now the first half of the episode wasn’t as compelling as the Zoom portion of the episode, but it definitely had its moments. The opening of this episode with Dr. Light defeating Flash was interesting, but then we get the whole backstory of everything leading up to that point with the original Dr. Light escaping and Linda from Earth Prime dressing up as Light in order to lure Zoom from Earth-2 into a trap. I loved the way Linda was handled in the episode, she had a lot of funny moments from her projectile training to her cheesy dialogue and man how hot did Malese Jow look in her costume? Damn. Anyway moving on… I also liked seeing more of Barry and Patty together, Team Flash’s suspicions of Earth-2 Wells and having more screen time with Tom Cavanagh, his version of Wells this season is so stern, mean and secretive but as we saw from Cisco’s vision and Wells’ speech, he does have good intentions and behind all the mean exterior the guy has a heart. But let’s talk about Zoom for a second, fuck me! What a beast! This guy has been labelled as bad news, but this is really someone not to be messed with, he found and almost killed Linda, he fought and crippled Barry and then displayed him across the city. And I loved the amount of tension, action and pacing of all that material as the episode was coming to an end. Zoom’s design and voice could come across as cheesy but I’ve found him just as compelling and engaging as a villain I’d watch in a film. Oh and as for Barry to not be feeling his legs after waking up from his battle with Zoom, damn, that’s just messed up. I wonder how long that’ll last?

Arrow (Season 4) “Lost Souls”

This week’s episode of Arrow was good, however I had a few issues with it, mainly the whole Olicity situation. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good relationship in the world of TV and film, and in the realm of comics it is one of the quintessential elements that make superhero stories very engaging and emotional, however there is a limit to how much time they should be the focus of a story and that was certainly the case here. Oliver and Felicity’s constant bickering was such a pain in ass and while it was funny to see certain characters reacting to it (like Diggle’s face in the Arrow lair or Thea and Laurel’s response to hearing Olicity’s arguing on their communicators), for the most part it was annoying and unnecessary. Felicity, I love her, but bloody hell she really kicked up a fuss in this episode, I know her history with Ray made her want to do everything in her power to help him, but pushing mother and Oliver away, and then questioning her relationship with Oliver leading to a potential break-up was such an endurance test. Oh and after all that drama they ended up together all lovey dovey with some super cheesy dialogue which was so painful to watch. Besides all that nonsense. It was great to see Brandon Routh back as Ray Palmer, he was still funny and seeing what happening to Ray and how he had to be saved from the hands of Damien Darhk was great. The reintroduction of Donna Smoak was fun, while she can be a little annoying at times, I found her quite hilarious and damn Charlotte Ross is hotness so there’s that. Also was great to have Sara Lance back as the original Black Canary, Caity Lotz this looks as hot as ever in that costume and I loved seeing her kick some ass, though I was surprised that no one took precautions before they went into battle as she beat someone up and then killed a dude later on. Oh and I have to say the best part of the episode was with Oliver and Diggle drinking and chatting, it was a genuine heart-to-heart moment between the two oldest characters in the show and it felt good.

Moonbeam City “Cop Con”

I think this is my new favourite episode. Cop Con seems like the most stupid, pointless and self-gratifying convention in existence, but that’s what makes it so much fun to watch whether it be the menu with all the police puns, the strange panels (like Dazzle’s on confiscating police stuff) or seeing a man shit his pants thanks to a new police gun. it’s all sorts of foolishness and I love it. Rad was at the background of the episode again, but when he was used it was funny like when he was bouncing on the bed or getting followers for his own convention. What really surprised me is the random sexual adventures between Dazzle and Pizzazz, before now there has been NO sign at all that these two would even touch each other because the hate and bickering was so strong, but here they were so civil with each other even outside of the sex like they were totally different people. This again proves that Moonbeam City would be better with a sense of continuity between episode and a bit more character development so certain events between characters doesn’t seem so out of left field. That being said, seeing Dazzle and Pizzazz having this crazy sexual tension and constantly needing to get it on was quite funny and was a welcome change from their normal behaviour. Also how good were those music numbers? Dazzle and his band were so random and funny, but those reformed gangsters with the “Leaving the H” song, that was so unexpected and funny, I loved it. Just seeing those gangsters change their perspective on life and become good guys while the police were away was fun, but as usual when something good happens it has to be undone and in this case the police come back from Cop Con and fuck up everything. Oh but my favourite moment would be with Chrysalis in her panel with that one guy asking her out to prom, and went she said no his reply of “I have a condition where I hear no as yes, so I’ll see ya there.” That was frigging jokes. 😛

Star Wars Rebels (Season 2) “Wings of the Master”

This was the first major episode for Hera and one that didn’t focus heavily on Kanan, Ezra and Rex, and while I mainly like Star Wars in general for the Jedi, Sith, lightsaber battles and most forms of action, I do like it when this franchise can give me something I wouldn’t expect to enjoy and I end up really liking it. “Wings of the Master” was cool for several reasons like 1) It really showed off why Hera is an essential member of the Ghost team, I’ve never thought less of her before, but this episode really illustrated who she is, why she likes to fly and how good of a pilot she is too. I loved the way she described her need to fly and the fact that she got promoted to phoenix leader made me smile a lot. 2) I loved Quarrie as a character, he’s a little wacky, strange, but smart and wise, and sometimes characters like these can be annoying, but luckily he had just the right level of humour and seriousness, plus his ship was awesome and I’m curious what kind of upgrades he could give to the rebels. 3) The fact that Empire are starving people and killing fire pilots during the first run of food supplies really adds to the fact that there are pretty big stakes out there and there are people relying on the rebel alliance to survive. 4) The music in this episode was excellent, really heartfelt and I did get some Empire Strikes Back vibes from it. 5) Kanan’s line to Ezra, “It makes me feel better when I say it!” Best. Line. Ever. 😀

Well that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of these shows? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching  too. Until next Friday people, laters! 😀

 

Agents of SHIELD “Chaos Theory” Review

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, time to talk about some Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with season 3, episode 7 “Chaos Theory“, so after last week’s very special Simmons-based episode does AoS continue it’s good streak? Well read on and find out.

As usual in these reviews I’m just gonna present the plot and then say what I liked and what I didn’t like. Cool? Okay let’s keep going.

The Plot

As Daisy and the team try to protect Inhumans, a shocking truth is revealed about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s biggest enemy; with Fitz’s help, Simmons recovers information that could get them back through the portal.

What I Liked

Well damn! This was certainly a memorable episode and I actually liked it quite a bit. There was a lot of great conflict, drama, action and revelations that went down and while I can see some people not agreeing certain things that went down in this episode, at the same time I think some will be interested to see where things go in future episodes.

Let’s start with May and Andrew. Man, these two went through a lot this episode. We not only got to see more of their trip to Hawaii via flashbacks, but we also got to see their current relationship get fractured and fall apart (potentially for good). On one hand we had Andrew, who we know is Lash now, and just seeing him around Coulson and Daisy watching and contributing to conversations about Inhumans felt awkward and wrong because you knew that the guy was dangerous. And on the other hand we had May who learnt from Werner about Andrew’s monstrous secret, clearly distraught and wanting clarification she goes back to HQ does some digging and when she finds out where he is she goes after him. What follows is just some crazy and emotional stuff from Andrew’s visuals of killing Joey to Andrew shooting May with an icer (mad man!) to with Andrew’s flashback on how he became an Inhuman via Jiaying’s booby-trapped book to the moments between May and Andrew before Coulson came in. Ming-Na Wen really killed it in this episode, we rarely get to see much visual emotion from May and you could tell that this was a situation that was hurting her so much. She couldn’t stop him after he transformed but she did put him in containment and even after that she looked devastated by the whole ordeal.

I also liked how a lot of characters and storylines started to converge in this episode, unlike season 1 and to a lesser degree season 2, this season is really moving quickly with its stories and isn’t wasting time with its mysteries and reveals. In just a few episodes Lincoln was on the run and now he’s come back into the fold (for good reasons) but it looks like he’s joining the crew now after the ordeal with Lash. Werner has come and gone, Coulson and Rosalind have hooked up (it was inevitable) and Lash has dispatched loads of people, taken on Lincoln again and been subdued by May with the help of SHIELD and the ATCU. I just hope that this quick pace won’t ruin certain upcoming stories that require a slower pace. Then there’s Fitz and Simmons and Bobbi and Hunter. I didn’t care much for Bobbi and Hunter relationship stuff, and the more they talk about protecting each other, taking out Ward and their feelings, the more I think they’ll leave the show for that Most Wanted show that was announced earlier in the year. As for FitzSimmons, those two, their drama is subtle but still ever so real. With Fitz he had to go through  Simmons’ experiences via the images and videos left on her phone, you can see that this guy still loves this girl from the way he listened to her recordings, watched her videos and when he aggressively knocked the stuff off the table after seeing Will and Simmons together. And seeing them together conversing while watching the sunrise, that was cute and I feel like things aren’t completely over between them romantically (or at least that’s what I’m hoping haha).

There were some other elements of the episode I haven’t mentioned that I appreciated like:

• Rosalind and Daisy: I liked how both of them were against each other arguing the pros and cons of handling Inhumans from their own points of view, and then to see Daisy save Rosalind later on, damn, that must be a sign of trust between them now.
• Phil and Rosalind: So this couple have been teased for a while but I guess it’s come to pass and I do like it, even if the circumstances aren’t exactly genuine. When Rosalind asked Coulson if she’d buy him a drink, I knew exactly where it was going. The same sort of situation happened with May and Ward back in season 1. Now Rosalind thinks she’s playing Coulson, but someone online suggested Coulson’s actually playing her and that he’s just playing along which if that ends up being the case then I’d be so happy because I don’t want him being played.
• Oh hey Joey: Yeah Joey’s back, haven’t seen that dude in ages, was starting to think he’d become irrelevant for the forseeable future, but apparently he’s fine and he’s been learning to control his abilities. He doesn’t just melt things, he can craft and shape metal now. I’m glad he didn’t get taken out by Lash because there’s definitely potential for him.

Oh and finally there’s Ward and Malick at the end of the episode, both of them discuss the loss of Werner and Ward states he’s not interested in him and wants to take out Coulson to eliminate SHIELD altogether. However Malick says Ward has to think long-term and we find out that he’s been in cahoots with Rosalind Price! Shit son! Clearly this means that Malick must have been one of the people in attendance of the meeting with the president that Coulson missed, and Rosalind is sneaky, deceptive, no-trusting lady that I think we all believed her to be towards the start of the season. This also lends credence to the talk online that Malick is the same character he was in the World Security Council in the Marvel films and has secretly been Hydra all along which makes his character so much more interesting.

What I Disliked

The drama between May and Andrew felt a little generic at times as did Andrew’s needs to take the lives of other Inhumans (another reason I don’t think Andrew should have been this character). In addition to that I was annoyed with how simple Lash’s action scenes were, he didn’t seem that tough, sure he could take gunfire and hit pretty hard, but didn’t seem very threatening or scary. I hope he’ll be more intense and scary later on. Oh and I’m starting to dislike Lash’s look more and more, I feel like the make-up on his face and body could have been better and the CGI during the transformations lacks a certain level of detail.

Conclusion

In conclusion “Chaos Theory” was a pretty good episode with some solid drama and action, however there were a few issues with Andrew/Lash’s motivations and fight sequences which held the episode back for me.

Rating: 7.5/10

So what did you think of “Chaos Theory“? Did you enjoy it or were you unimpressed? Whatever your thoughts are, be sure to drop them in the comments below and I’ll see you on the next episode review!