The Rant

Goodbye Storybrooke, Hello Hyperion Heights. After six long seasons of "Magic always comes with a price," and "I will always find you," we now are taking Once Upon a Time in a new direction. Thank God. There is still some fresh meat on the bones of this series after all.  Don't get me wrong, I adored all the past seasons in their own unique way. (Save for the Frozen half of season 4. We get it, Frozen is a thing. Can we move on, please?) However, it was starting to drag with underdeveloped characters, repeated stories, and foes. When it was announced that a season 7 would air, despite half the main cast leaving, I was intrigued by the possibilities.  And now we have come to the fruit of those possibilities: Hyperion Heights. It was a nice send up to the original pilot episode while setting out to be its own story. It makes it very clear from the opening that this isn't going to be the same old story that we've come to know and love. Henry leaves Sto

I must preface this with a warning. Please come with a box of tissue. Any veteran of the show's first season will tell you that the Kleenex is a badge of honor. And you will need them for the premiere of This Is Us's Season 2 Episode 1. If you have not watched the season premiere of This is Us, please for your sanity stop reading this post and watch the episodes. Return to me when you have done so. You armed with your tissues? Good. Now let's get to the highlights before I can no longer type due to the flood of tears raining down my face. Episode 1 entitled "A Father's Advice," has us catching the Big Three as they celebrate their 37th. Kevin is in the middle of shooting the Ron Howard film and he learned that Sophie won't be able to join him for his birthday due to her mother's illness. He goes forward with plans for a fancy birthday dinner with Kate and Toby. In the end, Sophie manages to make it to LA to surprise Kevin on his birthday. I wis

Finally, there is a sitcom that doesn't rely on cheap humor to be interesting. Me, Myself and I don't give up laughs every minute, but it is poignant, charming and sweet. The premise centers around Alex Riley and how different moments in his life affect the outcome of his future self. As a young boy in 1991, played by Jack Dylan Grazer who was most recently seen in the smash hit It where he played Eddie, one of the members of the Loser's Club. Young Alex moves across the country in with his new step-family and starts a new school. There he meets Nori and develops a crush on her. He plans on going to the school dance and kissing her which ends with disastrous results.  The present-day Alex, played by SNL alum Bobbi Moynihan comes home to find his wife cheating on him with another man. He becomes depressed and uninspired to create new inventions. It becomes even worse when his ex-wife wants to move across the country and take his daughter away from him.  Future

Well, that escalated quickly. If you do not want to have the season premiere of The Mindy Project spoiled, then I suggest you stop reading this post right now, watch the premiere then get back to me. That being said, let's get cracking. Episode 1- Is that all there is? Episode 1 time jumps us several months into Mindy's marriage to Ben the nurse. A time-lapse ensues showing the couple engaging in happy cliche married life. Which if you are an avid watcher of The Mindy Project, that spells trouble and boy trouble develops early. Ben is worried that Mindy is spending too much time at the office, and in turn getting caught up in office drama. There is plenty to be said on that, but I want to focus on this main plot thread. However, not is all that it seems. Ben just wants to have a romantic evening with his wife. But Mindy is oblivious to him that she doesn't even notice that he was gone. She is fooled by a mound of pillows under the covers that she thinks is Ben sleepin

Fox did not do a good job in advertising this. From the promos, it was selling a Star Trekesque space adventure with dirty Seth MacFarlane jokes. And while there were some off-color jokes occasionally through out the episode, what we got was the groundwork for an epic space adventure. Sci-fi programs of late have been dark and gritty with characters that were just too out there to connect with. The Orville was light hearted and fun. Macfarlane wrote and stars as Ed Mercer, a down on his luck captain who finds himself in the charge of the Orville and its motley crew which include his ex-wife who he finds in bed with an alien. Their first trip out, they are tricked into landing on a planet where the head of the science department has created a time altering device. Fights break out and an epic space battle charges on screen. The sets are slick and glossy which is surprising for something that initially seemed like an excuse to cosplay Star Trek. It's light hearted ho

For me, the mark of a scary movie is whether not I can sleep after watching one. After viewing It, I walked away terrified that Pennywise was around every corner ready to snatch me up. A sleepless night was in order for me. I can't even begin to express my awe over this production. The cast is superb. There can't be anything more that can be said about Bill Skarsgard other than creepy . His Pennywise the clown is probably the scariest clown I have seen to date. For the moment he appears in the drain, you know that he is evil. The makeup and costuming make him look menacing, scaring the pants off you at every turn. Even while just looking at him without dialogue, you are terrified. The child actors that make up the "Loser" Club are awesome. They managed to take the typical stereotypes of a clique and manage to make them unique and interesting. Bill was a character I could support and cheer for. I adored Richie and his foul mouthed behavior. Between the terror, h

I have been reading articles about this film for a little over two years and I can't wait to see the end result. I will confess that I am not an expert on art, but I can already tell that this is going to be something special. Loving Vincent is truly going to be a cinematic experience. In a world where practically every film has some sort of CGI effect to it, Loving Vincent is taking a completely different approach. It's animated, but not in the usual way one might think. It uses the style in which it's titular character Vincent Van Gogh painted his paintings. Each of the 65,000 frames was oil painted and was painted by over a hundred artists skilled in the replication of Van Gogh's style. Awards season will be upon us very soon. I suspect that this might be one on the list. In the meantime check out the trailer below.

I truly am a glutton for punishment. Upon finishing the first season of This is Us for a second time, some ideas came to mind as what the writers should try and focus on in Season 2. 1. Stop making Kevin such a jacka** I will admit, that my first viewing of This is Us did not find me liking Kevin. He was egotistical, vain and annoying. I found little sympathy for him during the first half of the series. Compared to some of the more serious storylines his left me a little cold. That feeling started to thaw when we were introduced to his ex-wife Sophie. That made me like him just a little bit. I hope that when season two kicks in that we find that he has evolved into someone who has a little bit more depth. 2. Kate is a person.Not a number on a scale. Please give Kate a storyline that doesn't involve her weight. There is more to a woman than her dress size and Chrissy Metz who plays Kate has proven that she can do so much more.  A well-rounded character arc is all that I&#

Several hours ago a clip was posted on Twitter revealing a first look of the new season of This Is Us. I did a happy dance first and then grabbed a pile of tissues just in case. Slight spoilers are a head. If you don't know the events of the finale, I would recommend seeing that first before watching the clip. In the scene, Randall and Rebecca are discussing adoption and the day that she and Jack adopted him. The moment was beautiful. The conversation felt real and some how still poetic which was something I love from the previous season. Rebecca makes this beautiful speech about marriage that just moved me. When you have a chance, go check it out. This Is Us returns on NBC on September 26.

Ever since Kai Cole, ex-wife of Joss Whedon wrote her essay describing her marriage to the director on The Wrap, hatred of the writer-director has blossomed on the internet. She states that in her essay, Whedon cheated on her multiple times with actresses and other people who worked on his productions. While the director has not commented on these accusations, it would not surprise me if they were true. The nature of Hollywood is deceitful.  No matter what the story is, there is no need to stop liking Buffy or Dollhouse just because Whedon is a scumbag. If what Cole says is true, I do not condone his actions at all. But at the same time, I won't stop watching Buffy and her pals kick ass against the forces of darkness. I do not watch Buffy because Joss Whedon created it. I watch it because I love the characters and the story. I love watching Buffy blossom from carefree teenager to bonafide hero. I weep when Joyce Summers dies and I laugh at all the silly jokes and zany lines sput

An interesting article was circulating today on the Daily Mail's website insinuating that the 13th Doctor's new companion has been cast. Chris Chiball sounds like he is fully embracing the gender swapping roles as the rumored new companion is male. Hopefully, this rumored casting choice won't cause pandemonium amongst fans as the 13th Doctor's role being given to a woman. Throughout Doctor Who's fifty plus history, the doctor has had a few male companions throughout the years. Granted it was never just two men in the TARDIS, a female companion was always present alongside a male one. Still, not a new concept. The rumored companion to be is Bradley Walsh, a British comedian, and actor who has appeared in the soap opera Coronation Street and is also the host of a quiz show called The Chase. This could actually work. If he has comedic chops then I would love to see another pairing in the same manner as 10 and Donna. Those two had such great chemistry and for on

Just a quick little update on the Once Upon a Time front. In my earlier blog post, I speculated on whether or not Jennifer Morrison would return this season for her contracted last episode. It has been confirmed that she will appear this season in a Hook centric episode in which it will reveal her fate. Which leaves me begging the question: What will happen between her and Hook? In new promotional stills for the new season, we can see Colin O'Donoghue sporting a wedding band on his finger which means that at least for now they are still together. My only hope is that they don't ruin the relationship that has been built over five seasons. Only time will tell.

I adore scary movies. I like the thrill of being scared, of ducking behind my bag of popcorn when the scary monster jumps out on some unsuspecting victim. I lie awake at night terrified that said movie monster is going to jump out and attack me in my sleep. Sadly, Annabelle Creation did none of those things for me. I slept like a baby last night. I laughed at how comical the "scary" demon looked and I felt the urge to throw my popcorn at the movie screen. I scratch my head at how Rotten Tomatoes has an 83% approval rating for this film because I don't see what was so exciting about it. Annabelle Creation is the latest venture in The Conjuring universe. It the second film that focuses on the cursed doll Annabelle that Ed and Lorraine Warren procured on one of their supernatural excursions. Annabelle (2014) focused on how the doll got into the hands of the medical students featured in the introduction of The Conjuring. This film, Annabelle Creation, hones in on how

Every day I'm reading new articles about what's going on with Once Upon a Time and it has me both excited and scared for the series. For those who aren't up to speed on Once's new season, I will tell you. They are rebooting it, wiping the slate clean with most of our favorite character's stories concluding with the sixth season finale. Emma Swan, the protagonist, fights the battle against evil and succeeds in vanquishing the Black Fairy and releasing Storybrooke from dark magic. Happily ever after is in the air for our characters and the story is complete. However, as we have learned with this series, nothing is as it seems. Before you read ahead, beware that there are spoilers ahead. If you haven't seen the season sixth finale, please for your own self-preservation go watch it before reading onward. The last few seconds of the finale see us following a young girl as she disembarks from a bus, a book of fairytales in hand. She enters an apartment building

The best way I could sum this up to someone who didn't see it and probably never would is that it was like watching a female James Bond. Which isn't a bad thing if it had something fresh to offer. It's a by the numbers spy movie with a female lead.  Lorraine Broughton, an MI6 operative, is sent to Berlin on the eve of the fall of the Berlin wall to retrieve the List, a document that contains the names of every operative working in the Soviet Union. Her point of contact is a man by the name of David Percival and the two attempt the uncover the list's whereabouts. Percival is sketchy from the get go and the two are constantly on the verge of stabbing each other in the back.  The film plays out as a flashback with Lorraine retelling the events to the heads of MI6 and the CIA. Been done before countless times, but it kept the story contain and made the audience wonder whether or not Lorraine is actually telling the truth or if she is more deeply involved than she is

Copyright NBCUniversal Before watching this show, I never saw any of the trailers. I didn't hear a peep about it. It was a rainy Wednesday morning and I was looking to watch the Mindy Project on Hulu. However, my computer decided to have a fit and click on an ad for This is Us on Hulu. Cursing my computer, I just let the video play. I had a coat of paint on my nails and didn't want to risk ruining the keyboard. I told myself that if whatever I was watching was so terrible I would turn it off as soon as the paint dried. But I didn't. I kept watching. I was introduced to three different stories and characters all just living out a birthday. Not a monumental birthday like an 18th or a 30th. Nope, just a run of the mill banner year birthday. Yet all of these characters decide that on this day that life is going to change. Jack becomes a dad. Randall goes in search of his birth father. Kevin decides to leave his sitcom acting job to become a stage actor. Kate decides to

There is something magical about Doctor Who. It can make you laugh, cry, yell in anger; possibly all within the same episode. I think because most of the time it doesn’t take itself seriously. Something that many shows that I’ve seen these days are lacking. In the doldrums of Summer, I’m going to bingeing Doctor Who again just so I have everything fresh in my mind just in time for Christmas. Series 1 Episode 1-Rose I have to back up a little here. This one requires a story. Before becoming a Doctor Who fan, I had heard of the series through a friend who at the time was crying over the departure of Matt Smith. I sympathize as well as I could but as I wasn’t a fan of the series. I couldn’t really understand the pain of what she was feeling. This brought me to a summer afternoon. I was stuck indoors, roasting from the soaring temperatures and a slight case of food poisoning. I was surfing the net looking for something new to watch because I had finished binge watching Sherloc

Last Sunday it was announced that Jodie Whittaker would take on the role of the 13 th Doctor replacing Peter Capaldi. While most of the reactions have been positive, it’s alarming how many have been equally as hateful. And it’s baffling because it all has to do with gender. I confess that I’m a bit of a newcomer to the Doctor Who fandom and I have a lot to learn, especially with looking at the classic series. However, I’ve seen enough Doctor Who to recognize when people are in the wrong about casting choices. So let me clarify a few things for those haters: One, the Doctor is an alien. Unless you are not familiar with the series or living under a rock this whole time while watching, it means not human. It means that he doesn’t abide by our understanding of being, what gender is. As far as I understand it, the Doctor has never said that he is a man. He is just a being from a different world. And while he has up to this point been played by all male leads, it doesn’t automatica

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