TV Show - The Walking Dead - "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be"

Note:  Major spoilers for the season premiere of The Walking Dead.  You have been warned.

     I'm not going to do my normal recap of the full episode like I normally do, because I think there are plenty of those out there.  Instead, I'm going to walk through my thoughts, both the lead up to and the execution of the episode, and we will just see what happens.  I'm still processing some of the decisions that went into this spectacle that became the Season 7 premiere, so maybe typing out my thoughts here will make things a little more clear for all of us.
     First of all, I was right about what I thought was going to happen in the episode.  When I say that, I'm referring to the deaths that occurred.  I was almost certain that Abraham would be the first go, based on his reaction to Negan in last years finale.  Knowing that TWD likes to mess with its fan base for some odd reason that I don't fully understand, I knew that they would then throw a swerve and kill off a more major character that people would care more about.  Due to the Glenn beating in the comics being such a huge moment, I think it was inevitable that they simply had to do it the same, and so that is what went down.
     My thoughts on this...well, they are a bit all over the place.  I think the episode itself was done rather well, and was intense and was hard to watch, as it should be considering what all happened.  My problem is that I think Abraham's death feels meaningless after they killed off Glenn, as Glenn was such a big part of the show and Abraham was, while not insignificant, just a lesser character.  But they just kind of tossed him aside so quickly by going for the Glenn shot, that I think if there were any impact on the viewers, it was lost within five minutes, taking a lot away from poor Abraham's total existence in the TWD universe.
     My main problem with the whole situation is how AMC and the marketing strategy really just glorified what was about to happen.  They played up Negan as some sort of awesome character, which he is, but almost made him out to be this sort of anti-hero type figure about how he will do whatever is necessary and is a man of his word and so on and so forth.  But then they had him kill off probably the most beloved character on the show (sorry Daryl) in such a brutal, unforgiving fashion.  Are we supposed to like the guy or hate the guy?  I guess they are wanting to straddle that line, but I don't know how you can have it both ways.
     The reaction online has been pretty brutal, with a lot of people saying they are never going to watch again, and how they crossed a line (Glenn's eyeball being the most common line crossing move).  I don't feel that all of that is true, as I am unfazed by the outcome since you basically knew that this or something like it was coming for what, six months?  I'm more inclined to say I wouldn't watch the show anymore because I just don't really care about the remaining people.  Rick is broken, Maggie is now going to be obsessed with vengeance, Glenn's death is ultimately Daryl's fault at this point, which will have to be addressed soon.  The problem with this last one is that Negan took Daryl with him, so we won't even get to see the group splintered because he couldn't keep his emotions in check, knowing that there would be repercussions for his action.  At best, it will be, with the pacing of this show and their constant toying with the audience, like two seasons minimum before we see any sort of revenge, and what then?  If you have read the comics, or know what is going on, you know that Negan isn't even that much of a bad guy anymore, and he certainly isn't a threat, so all that talk from Rick was just white noise and more toying with the audience at something huge in the future that just simply isn't going to pay off.
     I'm pretty mixed on if I continue to watch the show, or if I just check in every now and then to see what is going on.  I feel like I need to give it another episode or two and see what direction they go before I ultimately decide.  I feel like I'm leaning towards not continuing much further with the show, but maybe they will do some things over the next couple of weeks that will sway me back the other way.  I almost feel like the better ending to this episode would have been for Rick to stand up at the end and say that he would never give in to a man like Rick, and have Negan just kill the group off and we end the show with Rick being dragged off to be tortured for the next few years as Negan promised.  Instead, I'm afraid the audience is going to be tortured over the next couple of years waiting for a payoff that probably will never come.

I normally give a rating, and for the episode itself, I guess I would give it an 8, but due to the buildup and the look of where the show is headed, I would probably give it more like a 3 or 4, so somewhere in the middle I guess...hmm...how about a 6?  Sure, let's go with that.

Movie - The Accountant

Note:  There may be some minor spoilers throughout, but I will keep them to a minimum.

     Since seeing the trailer for The Accountant a couple of months ago, I had some really high hopes going into the film.  First off, I am one of the people that actually like Ben Affleck, and doesn't think that he ruins everything he touches, so I can actually give an unbiased opinion of the movie, unlike a lot of the reviews that I have seen out there.  I thought the trailer was very well done, and hinted at a lot more going on than just a typical action movie, and the film does not disappoint as it is filmed the same way.  There are lots of things that are thrown at you that maybe seem insignificant at the time, but by the end of the movie, everything has its purpose and fits together almost perfectly.
     The movie follows Christopher Wolfe (Ben Affleck) as a very troubled accountant, who is paid a lot of money by some of the world's most dangerous criminals, to help fix their books so that their money isn't traceable.  Over the course of the movie, we get lots of flashbacks as to the pretty disturbing upbringing that has caused him to lead the life he does.  We also see that he has some mental issues that he is struggling with as a child, which explains some of his strange behavior as an adult.  During the course of the movie, we see him trying to deal with the life that he has chosen to lead, while also trying to form relationships with people, even though he has little to no social skills due to his mental problems.
     Ben Affleck gives a very good performance, pulling off the nuances that were necessary to get you to feel sympathetic towards the main character, and really seeing the struggles that he has day in and day out.  A lot of the talk I have heard is that he is very stoic and restrained through most of the movie, but that is a testament to the character he is trying to pull off, and it shouldn't be a knock on his acting.  As it is explained in the movie, he is very awkward around people, and so he has trained himself to be the way he is portrayed, to be able to function in society without standing out any more than he has to.
     The supporting cast is also very good, with the likes of Anna Kendrick (playing the sort of love interest of Chris Wolfe), J.K. Simmons (excellent as always as an agent trying to track down Mr. Wolfe), and John Lithgow (playing the head of the company that hires Mr. Wolfe to find the leak in his company).  The rest of the cast does well too, but I felt that Ben Affleck and J.K. Simmons stood out the most, turning in very solid performances that really pulled you into the movie.
     I have heard some other complaints that the writing is trying to do too much, or trying to stuff too much into the movie, causing it to be a bit confusing.  While I will agree that there is a lot going on, it all serves a purpose, as in Mr. Wolfe's world, everything has to add up, and so all the little clues and things that seem small at the time really play into the bigger picture and gave me a better appreciation for the movie after the credits were done rolling.  As me and my brother discussed the movie after it was over, we both saw all sorts of little things that we were able to talk about and point out to each other, where we were like, "Ah, yeah, that makes so much sense."  I really enjoy a movie more if it sticks with me afterwards, and this movie has done exactly that, as I keep thinking of things that happened throughout the movie that really added to the overall story of the movie.
     As I mentioned above, I went into this movie with high expectations, and I think that it exceeded everything I thought it would be.  I thought there was a good chance that the movie may fall apart a bit in the final act, but instead, everything came together and made the movie feel bigger than it was through the first part.  I wouldn't suggest you go into the movie thinking you are just watching a typical action movie.  You will need to pay attention and keep your wits about you as you watch it if you want to get the full feel of the movie by the time it is over.  If you go into it with that mindset, I think you are in for a real treat of a movie that is better than you are probably expecting.

My rating for the movie is 9/10

Movie - The Magnificent Seven (2016)

Note:  There may be minor spoilers throughout, but I will keep them to a minimum.

     The Magnificent Seven is a remake of a movie from 1960, which was at the time a remake of Seven Samurai by Kurosawa.  The premise is similar, but there were certainly changes made from the original film, which had it's own changes, since it was a western and the Kurosawa film was a Japanese martial arts movie.  The new movie was an attempt to bring the same themes from the older movies and make them relevant to more modern audiences.  I feel as if this was accomplished, while still keeping the true older western feeling to the movie, which was my primary concern going in.  I'm a pretty big fan of westerns, when they are done right, and I think that the new version of The Magnificent Seven was certainly one of the ones that was done right.
     The movie starts off by introducing us to the bad guy, Bartholomew Bogue (played by Peter Saarsgard).  He is a ruthless, over-the-top villain, which is what I'm looking for in a western, and Bogue checks all the right boxes.  He offers to buy all the land from the townsfolk for $20 each, and when the people try to protest, he kills several of them and says he will be back in 3 weeks time to get the answers from the rest of the townsfolk.  This causes two of the townsfolk to go out and look for some help.
     Entire Chisolm (played by Denzel Washington).  Chisolm is essentially a bounty hunter, who is collecting on government warrants.  The two people from the town come across him on their search, and offer him everything they have if he will help.  He is reluctant at first, but when he hears the name Bogue, he suddenly changes his tune, and starts recruiting others to help him.  Obviously, he ends up with seven men total, and they go to the town to help out the townsfolk.
     The cast was very solid, as every character was played well.  With the run time of the movie, and so many characters to flesh out, some of the characters didn't get the development that maybe they deserved, and so a few characters in particular stood out more than others.  Denzel, as the main character, obviously, and Chris Pratt as Faraday were the main focus points of the story, but I also thought that Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio stood out as well.  I think that D'Onofrio was probably my favorite character from the movie, as he was very funny and still managed to have a deeper feel to his character than just comic relief.
     If anything suffered in the movie, I would say that the climax was a bit abrupt, but the fighting sequences leading up to the final moments were really well done, and let each character shine in their own way.  Some of the behavior of some of the characters was a little strange at times, as I felt that they were going through the motions sometimes to get to the ending instead of their actions being what caused the ending to play out like it did, but with this type of movie, I think you have to throw a little bit of logic out the window and just enjoy the ride.
     If you like westerns, or were a fan of the original movie, than you can't go wrong with The Magnificent Seven.  It was a fun movie, with good performances, good action, and a satisfying, if not somewhat bittersweet, ending.  I was pretty excited for this movie since I saw the first trailer, and had a little higher expectations than maybe I should have had going in, but I think that the movie lived up to what I wanted it to be, and I left the theater feeling satisfied.

My rating for the movie is 8/10

TV Show - Vice Principals - Season 1

Note:  May contain minor spoilers, but will try to keep them to a minimum.

     Vice Principals is a comedy on HBO, starring Danny McBride and Walton Goggins.  The premise of the show is that these two vice principals have been waiting for the principal (played by Bill Murray) to retire so that they can have their shot at becoming principal.  However, they are destined to set each other up for failure so that they get it over the other one, which ends up leading to the school board bringing in someone from outside of the school to take over.  This eventually leads them to team up to take out the new principal so that they can get back to fighting each other for the position.
     The premise isn't anything spectacular, but considering this is primarily a comedy first, that doesn't really matter much.  These two guys are both terrible people, and so they spend pretty much the entire season doing terrible things to try to get rid of the new principal, which leads to some very funny moments.  There are some jokes that miss, but for the most part, the show delivers on the comedy bits it sets out to accomplish.  Where the show surprised me a bit was when the show would take some darker, more serious turns.  Just when the show has you laughing out loud, they will throw something in there to make you feel sorry for the different characters, even though you know that they bring most of their problems upon themselves.
     The two main characters certainly carry the show, but the supporting cast does a pretty good job as well.  Danny McBride pretty much plays the same character from his last show on HBO (Kenny Power from Eastbound and Down), but by a few episodes into the season, he starts to set himself apart a bit as the bitter and mean Neal Gamby.  If you are already a fan of McBride, you are getting exactly what you are looking for here, but if you don't already like him, his performance here isn't going to do anything to change your mind.  The real star here though, in my opinion, is Walton Goggins as Lee Marshall.  He is eccentric, very metrosexual, and he is dark and twisted in ways that you have to see to believe.  As messed up as he is, he still finds ways to make you feel sorry for him, even as he completely ruins the new principals life on more then one occasion.
     Overall, I liked the show very well, but I can't quite place my finger on just why.  It was very funny, well acted, and the serious moments don't feel out of place, and even seem to carry you on to the next episode wondering what will happen next.  But I still felt like maybe there was more to be had, and sometimes it felt like the show couldn't quite make up its mind what it wanted to be.  The first season ended in a way I was certainly not expecting, and it really makes me wonder just where the show will go from here.  It was renewed for another season, and from what I can tell, that will be its final season, as they only planned out 18 episodes.  I honestly think that is a smart way to go with the show, as I think they can only go on so long with the pace they have, so it's best to not try to stretch the show out unnecessarily.

My rating for the season is 7/10

TV Show - The Tick - Pilot Episode

Note:  Major spoilers for the pilot episode of The Tick.  You have been warned.

     When I was young, I remember discovering The Tick through the cartoon version of the comic book.  It was only on for a few seasons, but to this day there are still some of the one-liners and catchphrases that still stick with me.  I also watched the live action version of the show, which was on even less time, and remember being disappointed when the show was canceled and didn't come back on.  And so, when I heard that Amazon was making another live action version of The Tick, I was instantly excited and waited around for my opportunity to see if they would be able to recapture the joys I had when I was young, or if it would turn out to be a disappointment.  Well, the time has finally come, as I watched the pilot episode over the weekend and having now seen it, I am optimistic for what the future holds.
     The episode mainly follows Arthur, a clearly troubled young man, whom is trying to prove that an evil supervillain, The Terror, was not really killed as the world thinks.  Soon into the episode, we find out that Arthur truly is a bit crazy, and is on medication for his illness, but he has stopped taking his meds.  He tracks a group of bad guys to an abandoned factory by the bay, where he sees some sort of weapons being transported in.  He then encounters a large man in a blue suit, who calls himself The Tick.  They talk for just a minute or two before the cops show up and Arthur is arrested.
     At the station, as they are questioning Arthur, we find out a little more of his backstory.  It turns out that when he was young, The Terror killed his father, which explains why he is still trying to track him down if he is still alive.  The cops offer him a deal, but they will have to call his sister, which is his guardian.  He reluctantly agrees, and she picks him up and lectures him on getting back on his medication and letting The Terror stuff go.  He says he will, and she leaves him alone at his apartment.
     Meanwhile, The Tick attacks the men at the factory and blows the whole place up.  This scene was fantastic, as we get to see The Tick in all his glory, which is to say his over the top bravado, and also we get to see that he is basically indestructible and really strong.  I really felt like they captured a lot of my old memories of The Tick in this scene, which is what really gives me hope for the future of the series.
     The next day, The Tick goes to visit Arthur and tells him that destiny brought them together, and that he wants Arthur to be his sidekick.  Arthur says he is basically nobody, but The Tick is relentless and tells him about the night before.  He also gives Arthur a briefcase, which he says is the only thing remaining from the explosion.  The Tick tells him that he will be waiting on the rooftop for Arthur when he decides to join him.  Arthur puts on the suit as the remaining henchmen from the night before show up to kill Arthur.  They bust through the door as Arthur is figuring out the suit, and The Tick is on the rooftop giving a monologue.  Arthur hits a button and his wings pop out, making him fully into The Moth, as he will become when he becomes The Tick's sidekick, and the episode goes off there.
     The episode was not as big on humor as I thought it would be, and was a lot of setup for Arthur.  It really set the table for things to come, and for that, I thought it did well.  I would like to have seen more of The Tick in the episode, but we get a nice taste of the character with the promise of way more on the horizon, assuming the show gets picked up for a full season.  I truly hope it does, as I think the show has a ton of potential, and would like to see where they are heading.  In the meantime, I guess I had better work on my catchphrase...

My rating for the episode is 7.5/10

Movie - Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates

Note:  May be some minor spoilers throughout, but will try to keep them to a minimum.

     I went into this movie with some low expectations, just based on my thoughts that this movie was thrown together and was never really supposed to be a movie anyway.  It is loosely based on actual events, as these two guys did post on Craigslist to find dates to their sister's wedding, but it is my understanding that essentially everything in the movie is completely fabricated.  I do like Adam Devine and Anna Kendrick has been fantastic in everything I have seen, but that wasn't enough for me to really go out of my way for this one, but I was in the mood for a comedy and it was the only option that I hadn't already seen, so I decided I would give it a go anyway.  It ended up being much better than I expected, and wasn't just some cheap, gross-out comedy, like what I first believed.
     As I mentioned above, the premise of the movie is that these two guys, that are known to their family as constant failures and mess-ups, are invited to their sister's wedding, but the family wants them to find actual dates so they aren't just their normal selves.  This leads to them having the idea to post an ad on Craigslist because they had found a couch that they both loved on Craigslist and so thought it made the most sense.  After a lot of failed dates, they come across two equal failures and mess-ups who have conned themselves into the dates so they can get a free trip to Hawaii.  From their on, the movie plays out like any other similar romantic comedy you have seen, with some obvious humor thrown in as we get to the obvious but sensible enough ending to this whole façade.
     The performances were pretty well done by everyone, especially the four main leads.  I was a little disappointed that Anna Kendrick ended up being the least impressive of the group, as she was a little too restrained instead of given full rein as Aubrey Plaza was given.  Adam Devine was easily the funniest of the four, as I would expect, and I thought that Zac Efron actually did a rather good performance, although his timing could have been a little better with some of his more humorous scenes.  I just felt that he was better off staying as the straight man to Adam's funny guy routine.
     Most of the scenes throughout the movie were on par with typical R rated comedies on the market, with not a lot of scenes that stood out as extremely different from other movies.  I also didn't think there were a lot of just weak scenes, as all the scenes worked for the most part and kept the story plodding along to the end.  There was one exception to this, and that was a very interesting massage parlor scene that was easily the biggest payoff of the whole movie, which actually comprised of two different scenes happening concurrently.  I can honestly say that while not a lot of the movie will stick with me in say a year from now, but that one scene will likely stick with me anytime mentions this movie in the future.
     The movie didn't break the mold for romantic comedies, but it is a pretty enjoyable hour and a half if you are just looking for something to laugh at and not have to spend too much time thinking or worrying about the plot.  I really didn't think I would enjoy it very much, but I had a better time with it than I thought I would, and so I guess I would say the movie was a success at least from that standpoint.  I think the movie maybe could have been marketed a bit better to get the point across that it was a romantic comedy first, and then a typical R rated comedy second, and it may have had some more success.  I think they probably could have left out the part about it being loosely based on actual events as well, as I think that made me have some preconceived thoughts about the movie that drew away from the film as opposed to making me more interested in it.

My rating for the movie is 7/10 

Movie - Sausage Party

Note:  There may be some minor spoilers throughout, but I don't really think that matters so much for this movie.

     I don't even really know where to start with this one, as I think that anyone who is even thinking about watching this movie already knows what they are getting themselves into.  There is a ton of bad language, sexual innuendo, racism, and ridiculousness, and I don't think that anyone that watches it would have it any other way.  If by some odd chance you wander into this without knowing all of the above, to which I say shame on you, then I would not be surprised if you walked out within the first five minutes.  All of that said, I enjoyed the movie well enough, but I think maybe I have just gone numb to this type of humor, and so I was just looking for something to set this movie apart from other Seth Rogen movies, and it just wasn't there.
     The movie follows Frank, a hot dog that is wanting to get chosen by the "gods" so that he can go to the Great Beyond and have sex with Brenda, the hot dog bun in the package next to his.  That's...pretty much it, there isn't a lot of other storyline here other than the fact that we all know when they get chosen, they are going to get eaten.  After they get chosen, but before they can leave the store, a jar of honey mustard that has been returned to the store has found out the truth, and tries to explain himself before throwing himself out of the cart to die before he can get eaten.  Frank and Brenda try to save him, but they just cause the cart to crash, and get separated from their friends, along with the main protagonist...wait for it...a bottle of douche (I'm not making this up, I promise).  So, the bottle of douche wants revenge for not getting to do his job, and spends the rest of the movie trying to hunt down Frank and Brenda, while they try to find the answers that lie on the other side.
     I really put down a lot more up there than I thought I would, but I almost felt that more clarification needed added as I kept typing.  It just snowballed, I'm sorry.  Anyway...the movie doesn't shy away from anything, and I mean that literally.  There are things that could not be shown in a normal Seth Rogen movie, such as the douche going down on a juice box to resupply himself after losing he springtime freshness, or a giant food orgy, but overall, the humor is the exact same.  They even poke fun at themselves at the end, letting everyone know that they are in on the joke the whole time.  While this is all to be expected of sorts, I felt that they didn't try to do anything special to stand out, and by doing a movie in full animation, that might have been something they wanted to do.  It felt like a normal Disney or Pixar movie, just with a bunch of extremely R rated content.  Maybe that is what they were shooting for, but I guess I was looking for something else, and that may be on me more than it is on the filmmakers.
     The voice cast was solid, and there were some truly laugh out loud moments, but mostly I just laughed a little inside as most of the jokes were predictable, but fairly well executed.  Nobody ever questioned Seth's timing, it has always been more about taste and just phoning it in, as his stoner vibe puts off, and this one was no different.  I watched The Night Before several months back, and I felt that in that movie, they were trying to be more than just a gross out comedy, whereas this one just said, "Nah, who cares."
     I did like the movie well enough, but I don't know that I would recommend it to anyone.  If you like this type of movie, and are just looking for something funny for an hour and a half, then feel free, but if you want a comedy that you haven't seen before, you probably want to look elsewhere.  I wanted to like the movie better than I did, but I just simply couldn't.  Other than a handful of truly funny moments, it was just a mediocre Seth Rogen movie, only animated.

My rating for the movie is 6/10

TV Show - Mr. Robot - Season 2, Episode 6

Note:  Major spoilers for the episode of Mr. Robot.  You have been warned.

     I got around to watching this episode late, thus my late post on the episode, and I think I may have picked the worst episode to have fallen behind on because I think this may have been the best episode of the whole series up to this point.  There has been a lot of slow build towards the beginning of the season, and a lot of it gets paid out in this episode.  From the masterful opening all the way to the big moment at the end, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.
     We start with a sequence that looks like something from the early 90's, in an almost Full House sequence, where Elliot and his whole family (Darlene, their mother, and of course, dead father Mr. Robot himself) are all on a road trip, and Elliot is the only one that realizes that everything is out of place.  Everyone else is playing along in their twisted version of the "perfect" family roles, but Elliot is confused and trying to figure out what is going on.  We even get the laugh track playing over everything, which Elliot even comments on. 
     As things continue to role, we see Darlene playing a Gameboy, but instead of a game playing on the screen, it is Elliot taking his beating back in the real world.  This was when we realize just what is going on.  Mr. Robot has created this alternate reality for Elliot so that he doesn't have to go through the pain of what is really happening to him.  It was a very beautifully done sequence, which also had the extra meaning to it, and I thought it was superbly done by the show runners.  At the end of the sequence, Mr. Robot explains to Elliot everything, and then we flash to a hospital, where Elliot has been taken after his beating.
     Ray is there and gives a little speech to Elliot, basically telling him that he got what he deserved for messing in his business, and also that things could have been worse if he had wanted them to be.  He also let Elliot know that there were busy days in front of them, meaning that Elliot was still going to be used, and there is no real choice in the matter.
     Darlene and the crew are trying to teach Angela how to code, so that she can plant what she needs to plant, but it isn't going very well.  There are concerns that she won't be able to do what she needs to do when the time comes, but Angela is determined, and they don't really have much of a choice.  The feds are going to be pulling out in the next couple of days, and so they move forward and hope for the best.
     Angela gets on to the floor and goes to the women's bathroom to do what she needs to do.  She has a complication early, but Darlene walks her through what she needs to do.  Having accomplished what she set out to do, Angela goes to leave, but is stopped by an FBI agent.  He hits on her, and then threatens her for being where she isn't supposed to be, but she turns it on him and tells him to meet her for lunch, which he agrees to since that was his goal to start with.  As she goes to leave again, the wifi isn't working, and Darlene has to talk her into doing a little bit more.  This appears to go off without a hitch and she leaves.
     Not a whole lot going on with everyone else, other than that we find out Dom is being asked to take some time off after surviving her ordeal from last week.  She says this is just what the Dark Army wants, and tries to plead her case to her supervisor, but we don't get clarity on whether or not she will have to take the time off or if he will listen to her.
     Now that Elliot has started to heal up a bit, Ray's men take him away from the hospital and leave him in a room by himself.  He can barely stand, and Mr. Robot comes to him and says that he was just trying to protect him, like he always said he would before he died.  Elliot hugs him and thanks him, which is a shocking moment, especially to Mr. Robot.  We get some flashbacks of Elliot's childhood as well, showing him seeing the store his father bought for the first time, and Mr. Robot tells him that he can name it anything he'd like, just the first thing that pops into his head.  The episode ends before he says it, but we know that the store was called Mr. Robot, so we can only assume that is what he said.
     As I mentioned above, I think this may have been the best overall episode of the series so far.  That intro was both hilarious and so well thought out, that I think they could have ended the episode after that sequence and we would have needed nothing else for this week's episode.  I loved every second of it, and was a little upset when it was over, but it had run it's course and there was more work to be done, just as Ray mentioned.  I also rather enjoyed the Angela sequence, as it was intense and we just kept waiting for something to go wrong.  While there may have been something we missed, which will likely come up in the next couple of episodes, it looks like she did what was necessary and maybe isn't as full blown E Corp crony as it has appeared for most of this season.

My rating for the episode is 9.5/10

Movie - Suicide Squad

Note:  There may be some spoilers throughout, but I will try to limit them to only what is necessary.

     I had some high hopes for Suicide Squad, and for anyone that has been reading my posts since March, you know that I actually did like Batman V. Superman.  With that said, I also had my expectations at a reasonable level for this movie, knowing that there was a very strong possibility that it would not be as good as I was hoping, but would be better than what the early critics were saying.  As it turns out, all of the above ended up being true, as I left the movie satisfied, but feeling like there was a lot of potential that just wasn't quite met.
     Let's start with the story.  While it was fine, it was nothing spectacular.  Based on the trailers, I thought that the Joker was going to end up being the main bad guy, and that the Suicide Squad was going to be deployed to stop him.  It turns out I was wrong about that, and I think that maybe the movie suffered some because of it.  The main bad guy ended up being a little obscure to the mainstream audience, and I think that really takes away from the film.  Having the Joker as the main bad guy would have really given some strong mainstream recognition, and I think would have gone a long way to giving the movie some extra legs that I think it will need to be truly successful.
     As far as the setup for all the characters in the movie, they did pretty good with most of them, especially the two main characters of Deadshot and Harley Quinn.  It was very evident early on that they would be the main focal points of the film, and both characters were executed and developed appropriately.  The other characters were also given their backstories, but they really took a backseat to the main characters, and that is fine with me.  I think each character got the time and focus they deserved, and it allowed the movie to flow a lot better and make more sense than a lot of critics are giving credit for.
     The performances were pretty well done by the actors playing each character as well.  I was especially impressed with Margot Robbie and Will Smith in their respective roles, which is to be expected from these two solid actors.  I was a little hesitant with the casting of Will Smith at first, but I think he did the character justice.  I also thought that Joel Kinnaman was good with the role he was given, but I do think he could have been given a little more to do, since he was technically the leader of the group. 
     Lastly, Jared Leto as the Joker.  I thought he was fine, but I think we all knew that he could never live up to the performance given by Heath Ledger before his untimely passing.  Leto definitely took the Joker in a different direction, and for that I give him a lot of credit.  There have been several very good versions of the Joker, so he knew that he had to go with a different take to make it stand out, and he did that well enough.  My biggest complaint, I think, is that he really wasn't in the movie that much.  I thought he would play a much bigger role, but it turned out that he was really just there to help further develop Harley as opposed to standing on his own so much, so I would need to see more from him to be able to fully tell what my thoughts on his version of the character are.
     As the credits rolled, I thought to myself that it was a solid movie, but that it wouldn't really resonate with me for a long period of time.  It ended up being a typical summer blockbuster type movie, and while it did that well, it is supposed to be a jumping off point for where the DC universe is headed next, and in that regard, I don't think that the movie felt big enough.  Much like how BvS was a lot of setup for things to come, this one felt like just a bridge in between that movie and where it is headed next.  As I mentioned above, I was satisfied with the movie as a whole, but I think that there was a lot more potential that wasn't realized fully in the movie, and I just hope that the potential can carry into the next couple of movies and really lead somewhere as opposed to just spinning it's wheels in one place.

My rating for the movie is 7/10

TV Show - Mr. Robot - Season 2, Episode 5

Note:  Major spoilers for the episode of Mr. Robot, you have been warned.

     I felt like this week's episode just flew by, as it was over before it had hardly even began for me.  There wasn't a whole lot that happened, but each moment just felt bigger as it is all leading to something bigger.  We got at least one big moment at the end, or so I think (more on that later), but I feel that there is a lot more coming on the horizon.  Another solid episode in what I feel is probably the most consistent show on television, if not the best show currently on television.
    We start with Elliot still hacking into the FBI, and letting Darlene know that everything is going to plan.  After Elliot realizes that the whole night is gone and the sun has come up, he tells the man that has been "watching" him to make sure he does what he is supposed to that he will need to talk to the IT guy from before.  The man tells Elliot that he will talk to Ray.
     Darlene goes to talk to Angela and tells her that she needs Angela to drop something off on the FBI floor at the E Corp. building, but Angela says she will just take her chances.  Darlene says she hopes nobody else knows about the CD, so Angela meets with her ex-boyfriend to see if he is going to say anything.  Shortly into their conversation, Angela realizes that he is recording their conversation and finds out that he has been talking to the FBI.  She gets up and leaves.
     Darlene goes to Elliot to tell her, and he gets mad that Angela has been involved.  He says that Darlene has to find a way without getting Angela involved.  Later, Angela reaches out to Elliot and says that she needs to do it, so they can wipe out whatever the FBI has on them, and Elliot agrees.  She asks why he has distanced himself from her, and he says that he wanted to talk to her again when Mr. Robot was gone.  He then says that his dead father is standing behind her, and she offers him help anyway she can.  The last we see of Angela in this episode is her arriving at Darlene's place after making sure she isn't followed, and the rest of the original crew is there, we assume to hook her up with the device she needs to plant.
     Dom is still looking through evidence when her and a team of agents are pulled away to China to discuss the hack.  Upon arrival, we see Whiterose, only in his actual persona, which is the Minister of Security for China.  In their meeting, she says that they want all the intel on the Dark Army, which causes a lot of tension in the room, but then Whiterose says they will give over everything they have.  At a party that evening, they have a very interesting conversation where he is trying to get to know her better, and also divulges a bit about himself that I thought was a bit much.  He shows her his dresses and says they are his sister's.  The next day, Dom finds out that he doesn't have a sister, and then at breakfast, two armed men come in and start killing everyone.  Dom takes out one of the men, but we are left not knowing what happens with the other one, as she is pinned down and we don't see what happens after that.
     We see Tyrell's wife talking to the man she has been protecting.  He says he wants it all to end, and tells her that he thinks someone is following him.  She tells him not to worry about it and everything will be okay.  She then has her bodyguard kill the man and make it look like a burglary.  Later, she gets a rattle in the mail, and we assume it is from Tyrell, which she gives to the baby.  Near the end of the episode, she gets a phone call and she asks if it is Tyrell.  We then hear a siren in the phone, and then she hears the same siren outside the house.  She runs outside, but no one is there.
     Elliot meets with the old IT guy, and they communicate back and forth secretively about what is going on.  The man tells Elliot to leave it alone, and wonders if Elliot knows what is on the website that Ray is running.  Elliot says no, and the guy brings up a website with all the log in information, leaving Elliot to decide if he wants to see or not.  Elliot hits enter, and sees that the website is some sort of black market for all sorts of terrible things, such as drugs, weapons, and even selling off slaves.  That night, Elliot is woken up by two large men, who drag him outside.  Ray comes out of his car and says, "I told you not to look," and it is revealed that the did something to the IT guy to find out that he had told Elliot about the website.  The episode ends with the two large men beating the crap out of Elliot.
     My big question is, is the final scene all in Elliot's head or did it really happen?  We have had similar things already happen, with the concrete scene a few episodes back, so it is definitely possible, but I feel like they may be going to the well too many times if that is the case.  If the sequence turns out to be real, then I think they will do something similar to what they did to the previous IT guy, where they beat him up, but then continued to get his help.  They will get Elliot to agree to continue doing what they need, but then Elliot will be more cautious the next time.  And then he will take them down when it is safe to do so.
     I thought the episode was pretty good, as I mentioned above, and continues to strengthen a pretty strong sophomore season for the show.  We are almost halfway through, and there is a lot of things going on, with no real resolution in site.  I like the slow burn effect that the show has going on, as I feel that it adds to the paranoia factor that the show has going on.  Each little thing could mean nothing, or it could mean everything, and so you have to pay attention to every scene and try not to miss something.  Otherwise, we may end up like Elliot and get caught unawares, and then we are getting beat up on the street.  Okay, so maybe not like that, but you get the point.

My rating for the episode is 8/10

TV Show - Mr. Robot - Season 2, Ep. 4

Note:  Major spoilers for the episode of Mr. Robot.  You have been warned.

     As each new episode comes and goes, I continue to be fascinated with the little things that this show does so well.  There are a lot of subtle things that really add something to the show that most shows can't seem to capture.  Sam Esmail finds a way to get the most out of the actors, and make what even seem like mundane scenes feel much bigger than either they are or bigger than they should feel.  I think that is why I'm so enthralled with the show, and I wonder how long they can keep this up.  But to take a line from Ray from this week's episode, "I'm not going to ask, I'm just going to quit while I'm ahead."
     We start off this week with a flashback of when Elliot first puts on the mask and "becomes" Mr. Robot.  Darlene shows up at his house, wearing the mask, and asks where she found that at.  Turns out, the mask is from some cheap horror movie they used to watch, and so they watch it while they catch up after not seeing each other for some time.  This leads to Elliot first spelling out his plan to take down Evil Corp, and it is a really cool scene.
     Back to the present and Darlene is trying to get Elliot to help and explains to him a little of what is going on.  He won't help, and she says that she could really use "him" right now instead of Elliot.  Elliot it trying so hard to be himself, but everywhere he turns, it seems that Mr. Robot is waiting and ready to step up as soon as he is needed.
     Angela stands outside the office building, listening to some self-motivation CD, as we see that the two men from the last episode are being arrested.  Later, she is talking to the lawyer that she was working with in the first season, and says that Price wants something and it has to do with her.  She wants to read through some documentation that the lawyer has, saying there is something in there for her.  After reading the documents, she goes to see Price and demands a new title and to take over someone's position.  She then talks about what she found, and he just says it is all in her head and to go home.  As he walks away, she says that she knows she is right.
     Dom is searching the arcade, but it doesn't look like there is any evidence left behind after they purged the scene last season.  The other agents question what she has, and she produces an evidence bag with what looks like a gun casing in it.
     Elliot is playing a game of chess with Ray, and Ray says that he needs to get some more practice.  He tells him to take the board home and play against himself.  He says that maybe he can even win.  Elliot does take the board with him, and that evening, Mr. Robot says he wants to play him, winner takes control and the other will walk away.  Elliot is reluctant and doesn't give an answer.  The next day we see him talking to his therapist, and she tells him that he needs to acknowledge that his father is a part of him, and not to play him for control.
     It appears that Darlene is being followed, but it may just be her paranoia.  Her old boyfriend from the Dark Army runs into her on the street and tells her to come to a bar down the street.  She goes and he tells her that the FBI found their arcade, and that the Dark Army is getting nervous.  He says that he can help her, but that she can't do anything stupid or the Dark Army will have to intervene.  Speaking of the Dark Army, we get a scene with Whiterose talking to Price about speeding things up.  On what, we're not sure, but Price tells him that it will take time.
     Joanna Wellick is getting desperate and running out of money, and can't get Tyrell's severance package from E Corp.  She goes to see Scott Knowles, who has no interest in helping her, since her husband killed his wife.  Pretty good scene between these two, even though they aren't main characters.
     We get one of the best scenes of the season, as Elliot imagines his pefect future, with a very slow version of "Basket Case" by Green Day plays in the background.  All of the people he cares about are happy, and E Corp collapses in the background as they eat dinner and smile at each other.  He says he will fight for his future, and so he agrees to play Mr. Robot at chess.  However, they come to a stalemate three times in a row, which he says is impossible with the move combinations.  Mr. Robot explains to him that they can't get rid of each other, they have to work together.  Another very well done scene.
     Darlene calls and asks for Elliot's help again, and he asks if she meant what she said about wanting "him" as Mr. Robot listens nearby.  She says she wants Elliot, and only Elliot.  He says he has an idea.  He goes to see Ray and says he will help him with the computer problem he has been having.  He quickly realizes that there is more to this than he thought there was, but he is still determined to help Darlene, even having been warned to only look at what he has to for the job.  He finds out about the arcade, and Romero, and the FBI's involvement.  Mr. Robot asks him what he is doing, and Elliot says he is hacking the FBI as the episode ends.
     Another solid episode, and very good ending.  Several really good scenes throughout the entire episode, but there is a sense of leading to something, but it being still out of our grasp.  I don't want to say it's developing slowly, as I think the showrunners know exactly what they are doing.  Slow build into some crazy stuff in the near future, and I don't think I would have it any other way.  This show is all about paranoia and the things going on behind the scenes, so the way they are handling everything right now is perfectly okay with me.  Now, we just have to wait another full week until we get to see just what happens next.

My rating for the episode is 8.5/10

TV Show - Mr. Robot - Season 2, Ep. 3

Note: Major spoilers for the episode of Mr. Robot.  You have been warned.

     In episode 3, we see Elliot still struggling with keeping control of Mr. Robot, while also trying to keep his grip on reality.  He talks to Tyrell on the phone, but after he is done talking to him, he can't be sure that it was even real.  Mr. Robot tells him that it is only a matter of time before he has control, but Elliot decides it's time to take action.  He gets ahold of some Adderall, as he thinks that the drugs will keep Mr. Robot suppressed.  This leads to a hallucination where Elliot is kidnapped and forced to drink concrete mix, which causes him to throw up the pills.  Realizing that Mr. Robot is responsible, he picks the pills up out of his own vomit and swallows them again.
     Meanwhile, Mobley has a flashback with Romero, where he is trying to recruit Romero to the crew, and to rent the abandoned Amusement Park building they are hiding out in through most of the first season.  We also get a story about how f society came to be, which I thought was a nice touch.  After the flashback, we see Mobley going to visit Romero and finds that he has been killed.  He meets up with Darlene to say that he thinks the Dark Army is cleaning up their mess, namely them, and killing them off one by one.  Darlene says this is ridiculous and says she will talk to Elliot.
     We are also introduced to a new character, and FBI agent named Dom.  She is on the scene where Romero was found dead, and apparently looks down on the local police taking care of the scene, as they fry Romero's computer before they can get any information off of it.  She also visits with Romero's mom and finds some clues about Mobley and the others, and goes off to try to track down additional information.
     Angela goes in to visit with Price, whom tells her that he wants to switch up the interview she got on the last episode.  She agrees and goes to walk out, but then turns and says she thinks she is right on this one.  He seems impressed that she stood up for herself and agrees, while inviting her to dinner.  She shows up, thinking it's a date, and there are two other men from E Corp. at the dinner.  After the dinner, Price excuses the other two men and tells her that these men were there when the deal was signed that led to her father's death.  He gives her incriminating evidence against the two men that will ruin their lives, and tells her that once she gets rid of her emotion, she will know what to do.
     As Elliot continues to take his pills, and is subsequently losing sleep, he gets a bit crazy, in a legitimate funny set of scenes where we see a different side of Elliot.  But as time goes by, the pills are losing their effect, and his lack of sleep is catching up to him.  He knows it is inevitable, but is still trying to fight it.  He is at one of his groups when he loses it and goes off on a tangent to the group, and then realizes that he has said it all out loud, and so he leaves the group and throws away his journal.
     Ray catches up to him at the diner where he has been hanging out, and tells him about how his wife was killed in a car accident.  He then tells Elliot that they are more alike than he may think.  Earlier in the episode, we also get to see that Ray has a darker side than we have seen.  He is trying to get a man to do something for him, and the man has been beat up by someone who apparently works with Ray.  The job he is trying to get the man to do is computer related, but the man says he can't do it, he doesn't know enough to get it done.  Ray leaves and decides that he needs to find someone else, which I assume is why he pursues Elliot.
     Elliot starts to open up to Ray a bit, and then realizes he is saying too much.  Ray then tells him that there is no control, and that life is just stumbling around trying to find your way.  Elliot then questions everything, and is wondering if Ray is right, when the pills wear off completely and Mr. Robot shows back up.  Elliot decides that instead of trying to get rid of him, he is just going to have to figure out how to deal with him and control him instead of the other way around.
     At the end of the episode, we see Agent Dom finding the abandoned building in the Amusement Park, with f society written on the side.  It looks like our crew may be in a bit of trouble.  Well, more then they already were.
     Tons going on in this episode, like most of the other episodes in this show.  Everything is so complex, and the way they deliver it all is nothing short of amazing.  I don't know how this show gets better each week, but it finds a way to do something new each week and to further develop all these characters in the hour of time they are given.  Rami Malek continues to get better and better in his role as Elliot, and if he doesn't end up winning the Emmy, I am going to be disappointed.
     As far as the overarching story, I am very curious to see where we go next.  There is a lot of storylines going on, but I'm very curious to see what Ray has in store for Elliot, what decision Angela is going to make with her new information, and where the new FBI Agent storyline is heading.  I can honestly say that there is no other show on television that I'm so excited about as Mr. Robot and we are only three episodes into the season.  I can't wait for the rest of the ride.

My rating for the episode is 8.5/10

TV Show - Hell on Wheels - Series Finale - "Done"

Note:  Major spoilers for the season finale of Hell on Wheels.  You have been warned.

     The final episode was titled Done, which ended up being a perfectly titled name for the series finale.  For the most part, all storylines were tied up, or least put to an inconclusive end that made sense in the grand scheme of the show.  For the last eight episodes of the show, I was pretty sure that I was going to be unhappy with the finale, but now that it is over, I can honestly say that I was wrong.  I thought the finale was pretty good, considering the up and down nature of the show over the years, and I was content with the way it all ended.
     We start off with the final spike being put to the railroad, and it turns out that Durant has put the screws to Huntington one last time, as he is going to put the spike in himself.  As he finishes the job, Campbell shows up to give him a subpoena to show up in Washington to face trial for bribery.  Cullen also gets a subpoena to testify in the case, after he and Mickey start a bar fight that ends up with them laughing and not really knowing why they were fighting anyway, as the railroad is done and they aren't on opposite sides any longer.
     Prior to leaving, Huntington tells Cullen that he has a job waiting for him on the short line railroad in San Francisco after he is done in Washington.  Cullen doesn't think he wants the job, but Huntington tells him that he is a railroad man, and then leaves.  Also prior to leaving, Durant pays Mickey off for his share of the railroad, since he doesn't want Mickey to get tied up in the problems that Durant now faces.  Mickey is angry, but realizes that all he has done was for nothing, and he takes his money and leaves.
     Upon arriving in Washington, President Grant requests that Cullen show up to his gala that evening.  Cullen shows up and meets General Custer, and they have a discussion about how they were on opposite sides of the war.  Grant then pulls Cullen aside and offers him a job as Colonel in the army, protecting the railroad that he helped build.  Cullen isn't sure, and Grant tells him that he is a soldier, much like Huntington told him that he was a railroad man.
     Cullen finds Durant at the gala and they have a talk.  Durant tells him to say whatever he wants, that he has no one left on his side any longer.  He says that several of the people he bribed over the years have turned on him and that he is going to prison anyway.  Cullen says Durant has gotten out of worse things in his life, but Durant looks spent on the subject.
     Meanwhile, Mickey asks Eva to come with him, leave everything behind.  She says she just wants her 10% that she is owed, and that they are no good for each other.  She tries to kiss Mickey goodbye, but he pushes her away.  Eva then goes with Ms. Ellison to make a book about her life, but she ends up backing out after she realizes that she will have to be something she is not.
     Cullen decides to take the job as Colonel, and he shows up at Durant's trial in his uniform.  He refuses to sell out Durant, and only says, "The railroad would not have been built without Thomas Durant."  He is excused from the room, and Durant gives him a look as he leaves, realizing that maybe he does still at least have one person on his side.
     Cullen is shooting some guns with Custer, when he realizes that the job he has been given isn't what he thought it was.  Seeing the way Custer acts, and hearing him tell his stories, makes Cullen realize that this isn't what he wanted after all.  He leaves and goes to a church, and sits down in the confession booth, similar to what he did at the beginning of the series.  The priest asks him a series of questions, and Cullen breaks down crying.  He thanks the priest and he walks out.
     Back at the trial, it is Durant's turn to speak, and he gives a very good speech, that only Durant can give.  He talks about how he was out there making the railroad happen, no matter what means were necessary, he was determined to finish the railroad, and that is what he did.  We are left without knowing if Durant went to jail for his crimes, but I think it is safe to say that, despite his rousing speech, that he did in fact go to jail.  We did see him many years later with nothing left, so he obviously didn't go away for life but I think it's still a safe assumption.
     During Durant's speech, we see everything else tied up as well.  Eva breaks the horse that she got several episodes back and rides it off into the wilderness.  Mickey is shown looking at the slides he and his brother were using at the beginning of the series, and throwing them off into the dirt. 
     And finally, we get to Cullen's ending.  If you have read any of my other posts on this show, you know that I thought Cullen was going to die before this show was over.  He has lost everything, and I thought there was no way that there was a happy ending.  And I was wrong, as it turns out.  He leaves his uniform behind and goes to San Francisco, but instead of meeting with Huntington, he goes to the docks.  He pulls out the paper that we found out earlier in the episode had Mae's address in China on it.  He looks out across the ocean and then we see him sailing away, looking back over his shoulder at America as he leaves it all behind.  After all he has been through, it appears that he is indeed finally done.
     I think it was a very solid ending, that I didn't think the show was ever going to get to.  I was pleasantly surprised, as I wasn't really looking forward to the finale, but they delivered and everything ended as I feel that it should have.  I was happy for Cullen, as he is going to finally get what he deserves, after sacrificing so much for the railroad.  I thought that after everything, he was just going to lose one last time, but he finally is going to be happy, and I genuinely feel good for him.
     The series as a whole has been all over the place for me, but with the solid ending, and the many good episodes along the way, I do think that the show was way more positive then negative.  Certainly not the best show I have ever seen (that goes to Breaking Bad), but overall I did enjoy the show.  I wish the ending could have seen two of my favorite characters, Elam and the Swede, both dead long ago, but for the characters left, I think they got the endings that were deserved and the show ended the way it should have.  After the show was over, there was a commercial thanking the fans for "One hell of a ride," and I guess I would agree that it was a pretty good show overall.

My rating for the episode is 8/10

My rating for the series is 7/10

Movie - Star Trek Beyond

Note:  May be minor spoilers throughout, but will try to keep them to a minimum.

     With a new director, and Simon Pegg taking over partial writing duties, Star Trek Beyond brings back the crew from the previous two movies to make a third installment of the Star Trek reboot franchise.  I really enjoyed the first two movies, and I was a bit apprehensive about the new director taking over for J. J. Abrams, but by the end of the film, I felt like all the things that made the previous two films good were still intact, while feeling even a little bit bigger than the previous two installments.
     The movies picks up some three years after the previous installment, as the crew of the Enterprise, more specifically Captain James T. Kirk, are in a rut.  Kirk is questioning why they are even doing all of this if the universe is infinite and they will never see everything or understand everything.  It looks as if Kirk is going to give up the Enterprise for a desk job in the city when a strange ship arrives and a female alien explains that her ship was lost inside a nebula and asks for help.  Kirk and the Enterprise are sent on the mission, where they are viciously attacked by an alien force unlike anything they have ever seen before.  The crew gets separated and stranded on the planet, as they try to reunite, find a way off the planet, and stop Krall, the leader of the aliens that attacked them.
     I'll start with the director, Justin Lin.  Primarily known for his directorial duties with the Fast & Furious franchise, I was a little worried that attention to the plot and details were going to be thrown aside for bigger, badder action scenes.  But that didn't end up being the case.  In fact, I found myself enjoying the action scenes more than I did in the previous two installments, as he really brings a nice flare to the action sequences, without making them feel over the top as some of the scenes in the Fast & Furious movies feel.  The plot made sense, and the pacing was pretty good, but it was a little slow at first as the movie tried to find its footing, but when it finally got rolling, every scene felt important as they built to the climax of the movie.
     The performances were once again really good by the cast (RIP Anton Yelchin, a fine performance), and I feel that at this point, the actors have really gotten a feel for the characters, and so the actions on screen make sense to the characters, and they are brought to life as we have come to expect.  While that does lead to some predictability, it's not as if we watch these types of movies to be blown away, but to be entertained, and Star Trek Beyond goes above and beyond (see what I did there?) to make sure the audience stays entertained.  It has equal doses of humor and seriousness, with a nice mix of character development and action sequences.  It really is the pure definition of what a blockbuster should be.
     I don't know if I would say this was better than Into Darkness, but it was certainly close.  Idris Elba did a fine job as the bad guy, but it's hard to top Benedict Cumberbatch from the previous movie, so I think that is the primary difference here.  Overall, I was thoroughly entertained, and as I sat there watching the movie, I was thinking to myself about how this has become one of the more solid franchises on the market today.  It has a distinct feel to it, and Beyond only helped solidify that feel, and I can only look forward to the next installment (which I hear is going to bring Chris Hemsworth back as Captain Kirk's father, which is only a plus).

My rating for the film is 8/10

TV Show - Hell on Wheels - "Railroad Men"

Note:  Major spoilers for the episode of Hell on Wheels.  You have been warned.

     The railroad is finally finished.  Five seasons in, and the railroad has been completed, with only one episode left in the series.  The last couple of weeks have certainly been better for the show, but I'm still afraid the show is going to end more on a whimper than with a roar.  Based on the previews for the final episode, I guess there will only be one last loose end to wrap up, and I can't say I'm that excited to see it.
     We start the episode with both railroads making the final push to Ogden, where the first one to arrive will get control of the town.  Early on in the episode, we see both sides trying to lay claim before the railroad has actually laid track, but Campbell puts up a post and says the first one to touch it gets the town.
     Cullen arrives back at the railroad to see that half of his men are missing, and automatically assumes that Durant and Mickey are to blame.  He goes to confront Mickey, who tells him the same thing happened to him.  They both go off in search of a man calling himself The Pirate, who is running a mine nearby.  When they arrive, it turns out to be Jim who is The Pirate, which is an interesting turn of events.  Cullen tries to get Jim to leave his men alone, but he shuts Cullen down as it is clear his life has fallen apart a bit since the last time we saw him leaving the railroad with his family.  Mickey is able to get some of his men to go back with him, and so it looks like Cullen may come up short in the race.
     Mickey and Cullen meet at night to have a conversation, and Cullen says that he has ten miles to go.  Mickey explains that he and Durant only have six miles to go, and they wish each other good luck.  Cullen says that no one has ever laid ten miles of track in one day, and Mickey says he has learned to never bet against Cullen Bohannon.  Cullen also runs into Psalms and buys him a drink, exchanging pleasantries between two railroad men.  Cullen reassures him that no matter who ends up with the credit, it got there because of men like him.
     As day breaks, both sides set out, with Cullen hammering spikes along with his men.  They are making up ground, which causes Durant to get upset and give his men a "pep talk."  This causes Psalms to get ticked off, and he leaves, taking several of the men with him.  He goes to Cullen and he and his men begin to help with laying the track.  In the closing moments, it is clear that Cullen is going to win, and Durant and Mickey look on in disbelief as Cullen and his men cross the line, winning the town.  As they get to the last spike, everyone steps back and lets Cullen finish the job.  I guess I was wrong about this part, Cullen did get to finish the railroad after all.  I guess after all he has lost, it's the least that could happen to him.
     At the evening festivities, Durant has one last trick up his sleeve.  He says that the railroad will have to be inspected before a winner can be decided, knowing that Huntington has cheated and skimped his way to the finish line, much like Durant.  Huntington goes to Durant and tries to pay him off, but Durant says he wants the town.  Huntington gives in, knowing that an inspection will result in him being thrown in jail for mishandling government funds, and so it looks like Durant has won anyway.  Durant goes to Cullen to rub it in, but Cullen isn't in the mood and just brushes him off, saying, "Yep, you won."  He goes back to his train car, and then collapses, looking like he may be having a heart attack.
     I liked the episode, as it had some closure, but there is still apparently one thing left up in the air.  In the previews for the final episode, it looks like Durant is on trial, and Cullen is going to have to testify in the case.  Will he sell out Durant, as he probably deserves?  Will he feel bad for everything Durant has gone through and actually help him get off?  I guess these are the things we are supposed to care about, but I just have a hard time doing so. 
     Cullen lost everything, but he got to finish the railroad.  I thought that was the whole point, so to still have one more episode to go feels a little off to me.  With the way this episode ended, I guess Cullen's health is up in the air as well.  Will he have a bigger complication in the final episode and be killed off?  Maybe, but I feel like it was a red herring of sorts.  I have thought for quite some time that Cullen is going to die before the show is over, but now I'm thinking he just gets to live out the rest of his life with no purpose, no family, no friends, and just the knowledge that he built that railroad.  It's not what he set out to do at the beginning of the show, but it turned into his purpose along the way, and maybe that is just all that he gets to have.  I guess we will find out this Saturday on the series finale.

My rating for the episode is 8/10

Movie - The Lobster

Note:  There may be minor spoilers throughout, but will try to limit them to only as necessary.

     After seeing the trailer to The Lobster, I knew that it was going to be an extremely strange movie, but I don’t know that I was fully prepared for just what transpired. If there is nothing else that can be said of this movie, it is that it is unlike anything you have ever seen before. It has a unique vision, unique cinematic style, and unique performances, that all combine into an enjoyable experience, even if you don’t know exactly what you are looking at half of the time.

      The Lobster is set in a dystopian future, where people are not allowed to live alone. Upon the loss of one’s significant other, they are shipped off to a hotel, where they have 45 days to find a new mate or they are turned into an animal of their choosing. As the title states, the main character David wants to be turned into a lobster, if he is unable to find his mate in the required time frame. Outside of the hotel, in the woods, those that have rebelled against the system live as the Loners, where they have their own very distinct rules, of which the main rule is that they must be alone. This presents two very distinct different lifestyles, with no real grey area for any one person to live, and that is what shapes the premise of the movie, in my opinion.

      Shortly into the movie, the performances by the cast are what really grab your attention. Everyone is very flat, and emotionless, and that is done deliberately. The subtleties of the cast, which includes Colin Farrell in probably his best role, John C. Reilly, whom is always good, and Rachel Weisz, whom is also always good in her roles, really make each character feel like the others, which is the whole point. The movie states on multiple occasions that people have to be matched based on a common physical aspect that both mates share, which doesn’t leave room for personality, and the cast does a good job of pulling this off.

      The camera work in the film is very dark and drab, once again on purpose, to further the overarching point that society puts so much emphasis on being a physical match with someone, that none of the other stuff matters. I feel that the director really had a vision of how he wanted all of this to mesh together, and he pulled it off brilliantly. Even the music overtones, which are essentially the same throughout the film, continue to express how every scene is kind of the same as the previous scene, but is also tied together as we lead up to the conclusion of the film.

      Which leads me to the (somewhat) problem I had with the film. The ending is very open ended, once again on purpose, and depending on how you viewed the film all the way to the end is how you are going to interpret the ending. Due to not spoiling the ending, I won’t give my thoughts on the ending, but I was just hoping for something a little more concrete at the end. But considering how the rest of the movie played out, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me, and if nothing else, it leads to some interesting talking points for two different people that have seen the movie. I think two different people can give two very different interpretations of the ending, and both could be completely accurate in how they took it.

      There are some very dark scenes in the movie, and I mean that from a content perspective, not just the dark and drab camera work. There is a dark humor aspect to the movie, but also a lot of what happens isn’t funny at all, but still comes off that way due to the performances of the cast. It almost feels like a Wes Anderson film, only in Wes Anderson movies, the tone feels lighter. In this movie, the tone is pretty heavy and stays that way throughout.

      If you are looking for a movie that will make you think, and really look at the symbolistic message that the movie is trying to tell, than you probably won’t find many better movies than this one. I was pretty enthralled throughout the movie, even as I was wondering just what in the world was going on half of the time. But by the end, I think I got the point that the filmmakers were trying to get across, and I have found myself thinking about the movie long after the credits were finished rolling. It is definitely a unique experience, and one that I felt is very rewarding if you are willing to put the time in to absorb everything that is being thrown at you.

My rating for the movie is 8.5/10

TV Show - Mr. Robot - Season 2, Ep. 1 and 2

Note:  Major spoilers for the episodes of Mr. Robot.  You have been warned.

     I came a little late to the party for Mr. Robot season 1, but then I binge watched the whole season in a couple of days several months ago.  I was amazed at how well done the show was, and I thought the cast and writing were about as good as anything else on television.  So, it's safe to say that I was excited about season 2 starting up, and when they said they would be doing the first two episodes back to back, I was ecstatic.  I can honestly say that I was not disappointed.
     We start off about a month after the end of the first season, so I was a little upset that we didn't get to find out who was behind the door, but that is something I'm sure we will get to at some point throughout the season.  Elliot has gone off the grid of sorts, trying to get Mr. Robot to get out of his head, but so far, it isn't working.  Elliot has gone back to his shrink, even if she did take some convincing after what he did in the first season, and we get to see him explaining to her what is going on inside his head.  I think it is fascinating how they have set Elliot up in this episode with his father/Mr. Robot still always lingering around, waiting for his opportunity to take control so he can make Elliot finish what he started.  I wondered how they would handle this now that everyone is in on the secret, and they way they have done it so far has been pretty close to perfect.
     But the episodes aren't only about Elliot, as we get to see what the rest of the cast is up to as well, in fairly equal fashion.  We see Darlene leading the revolution in Elliot's place, of sorts.  She sets up Evil Corp. and causes them to burn about 50 million dollars in the street, which was a fun scene to see play out.  We see Angela embracing her new role at Evil Corp., and she really seems to be enjoying herself, even though she still looks a little hesitant but is still moving forward with her plans to continue to work for them.  We also get to see Gideon trying to get Elliot to help him, or he threatens to turn Elliot in for the role that he played, but before he can do so, he gets shot and killed in a bar by some random guy.  The only main character we really don't get to see is Tyrell, whom is still missing in action.  That is until the last few seconds of the second episode, when Elliot gets a phone call from Tyrell and that is it.
     We also get to see a few new characters, the most intriguing for me is Ray, played by Craig Robinson.  I'm a pretty big fan of him, and am used to seeing him in solely comedic roles, so I'm interested to see how he does in this show, which is not really very comedic, other than dark comedy some.  I'm guessing he will play a pretty big role later on in the season, but we only get to see him talking to Elliot a couple of times at a basketball court, and it turns out that he has talked to Mr. Robot at some point, because Elliot doesn't remember the conversation.
     Having watched both episodes back to back, the time just flew by.  There was limited commercial interruption when the two episodes aired, but it was way more than that.  The pacing of this show, and the delivery of the performances is so good, that the time just seems to fly by and we are left wanting more.  I feel like a lot got accomplished, but at the some time, not a whole lot happened, and it really was just laying the groundwork for the season laid out before us.  I'm super excited to see how everything plays out, because if these first two episodes are any indication of what is in store, I think it's going to be an exhilarating ride.

My rating for the two episodes is 9/10 and 9/10

TV Show - Hell on Wheels - "Any Sum Within Reason"

Note: Major spoilers for the episode of Hell on Wheels.  You have been warned.

     As expected, in this episode we find out that Chang has figured that Mei is in fact a woman, and that she and Cullen are in a relationship.  I knew this was coming, I guess I was just a little surprised that it all happened in one episode, and was resolved before the end of the episode.  I can honestly say that most of the episode caught me off guard, as they really picked up the pace and did some things that I wasn't expecting.
     We first see some backstory with Chang and how he came to run the business on the railroad.  He answered to a man in a flashback, and the man allowed Chang to start his business, as Chang sells himself as ready to take on such responsibility.  He buys one of the Chinese women, which happens to be the woman that knew about Mei all along, and they head to the railroad.  She attempts to kill him to be free, which causes him to break her leg, which explains her limp.
     Back in the present, we see Cullen going to try to buy the Chinese women, and we get an interesting exchange between Cullen and Chang, with neither side willing to budge, due to their genuine dislike for each other.  Cullen tells Chang not to underestimate him, and Chang tells Cullen not to underestimate the people he works for.  On the way out, Cullen realizes that the woman is wearing Mei's mother's dress, and realizes that Chang knows.
     He gets a boat ticket for Mei, and tells her that she has to leave immediately.  She fights him on it, but ultimately gives in and goes with Stagecoach Mary to Cheyenne.  On the way there, they are attacked by Chang and his men, and Mei runs off.  Mary sends a telegram to Cullen, letting him know that the coach has been attacked, and Cullen takes off immediately.  Mei runs to a mine, and Chang follows, where he is confronted by the men working.  They attack Chang and he whoops all sorts of ugly on the men.  It had been hinted at that Chang was dangerous, but we see him in action here, and he takes out about five or six men with little trouble.  Meanwhile, Mei runs to a saloon in the village nearby.
     Chang goes inside and asks the bartender if a young man had come through within the last hour.  Mei is hiding out under the bar, with a gun to the man, and he says that there was someone, but they left and headed east.  There is a noise outside, distracting Chang, and Mei then gets the jump on him, using the gun that Cullen had given her before she left.  Chang is forced to drop his weapon, but he has a smile on his face, because he knows that he will get the upper hand on Mei before all is said and done.  But then the door opens, and Cullen walks in.
     Assessing the situation, he knows that there is only one thing he can do.  Frustration is apparent in his face, as he realizes that all he has been trying to accomplish over the last couple of season is about to come to an end, and with that, he shoots Chang in the head, killing him.  He then proceeds back outside and kills all of Chang's men with efficiency.  He comes back in, gets Mei, and they leave together.
     On the way back, he tells her that she has now see what he truly is, and she says that he saw the real her a long time ago.  After they get back to town, Mei tries to give the boat ticket to the Chinese woman, but she refuses to take it.  Later, Cullen asks why she visited the woman who had betrayed her, and she said that the woman had lost way more than she ever could.  She also tells Cullen that she loves him, and he doesn't respond, because he feels guilty for what he did.  She says that she accepts him for what he is, and they get busy, as is the recurring theme in the show lately.
     The next day, the man that Chang worked for shows up in town, and she tells Cullen that they have to leave, that they can't fight against the man and his company.  Cullen says that he has lost all these people in his life because he gave up, and that he is done giving up.  He tells Mei that he loves her, and he goes to meet the man, telling her to stay inside.
     Arriving at the railroad office, Huntington is there talking to the man when Cullen walks in.  Cullen says that maybe Chang was killed because he was arguing over the cost of one of his whores, and asks if risking his whole business was worth one man.  The man judges Cullen and says that business will continue as if nothing happened, and will send a replacement for Chang.  The man leaves, and Huntington asks Cullen if he had anything to do with Chang's murder.  Cullen doesn't answer, he just walks out, seeing wanted posters around the town for Mei Fong.
     Arriving back at the room, Mei is gone, and we see that the boat ticket is also gone.  She has left, so that Cullen doesn't have to spend the rest of his life fighting for her, and Cullen has now lost the only real thing he has left in his life.  We see Mei on the boat, leaving the country to end the episode.
     Okay, so a lot going on here, actually a really good episode.  It's the episode that I have been waiting for, it just took them this long to get to it.  We get to see Chang finally do something other than glower menacingly, even if he is dead one scene later.  We get to see Cullen go back to accepting who and what he is, and doing it for the woman he loves.  We get to see Mei do what she has to do to protect the man she loves.  And we get to be left at the end wondering just what else can happen to poor Cullen Bohannon.  He has been through the ringer and back again, and from what I can tell, there is only one purpose left for him, and that is to finish the railroad.  I really don't think he has anything left, and I wonder if he even really is going to care about that when we finally get there.
     There are two episodes left, and I honestly don't know what will happen in them.  I almost feel like all the storylines that have been hanging out there are over, so I don't know what will happen in these final two episodes.  I assume the railroad will get finished, but I'm thinking that everyone involved will have lost everything good by the time they get there.  We saw it last week with Mickey and Durant, and this week, Cullen loses even more, so there is no way that the show can end on a positive note.  I think I have come to the conclusion that Cullen is going to die before the end of the show.  I don't know how or under what circumstances, but honestly, with all that he has been through, it might be the best ending that can happen for him.  For the first time in this last part of the final season, I'm actually interested to see what happens next.

My rating for the episode is 8/10

Movie - The Green Room

Note: Minor spoilers throughout, but will keep them to a minimum.

     I don't normally get into this type of movie, but due to the untimely passing of Anton Yelchin a few weeks ago, I decided to give it a go from hearing other reviews of the movie.  It also didn't end up being quite what I thought it was, as I thought it was a horror/psychological movie, but I don't think I would quite put it in that category.  I was thinking Hostel or maybe Saw, but I feel like it came off more like a survival/psychological movie, like Deliverance.  I guess it was somewhere in the middle of the two types of movies, as there were aspects from each type throughout.
     The film follows an indie band that is traveling around trying to make their mark, without becoming too famous.  They do an interview for a guy, and then he tells them that he show has been cancelled, so they are out of a job.  With no money and no gig, the guy throws them a bone and gets them a gig at a club out in the middle of nowhere, with some shady clientele.  After their set, but before they can leave, they witness a murder, and so the club owner (played by the fantastic Patrick Stewart) spends the rest of the movie trying to get rid of them so they don't tell the cops.  Locked inside the building, they get locked into a stalemate between the club owner and his men.
     First off, the movie started a little slow for me.  They were developing the characters a bit, but I didn't think it was that terribly necessary for this type of movie.  It was a good half hour in before anything really happens and you start to see that things are going to go south rather quickly for them.  The movie is only an hour and a half, and I guess they needed to fill some time at the beginning, but I just felt like I was waiting on something to happen for longer than I thought I should.
     The acting in the movie was okay, but most of the actors were just kind of throw away actors anyway, so I guess I didn't expect a whole lot from most of them.  Anton Yelchin and Patrick Stewart both did a really good job, being the main stars in the film, but nobody else really stood out to me very much.  They all did their part well enough, they just weren't very memorable, and for those that met their untimely demise, I really didn't care that much.
     Once the movie got rolling, there were some pretty intense moments.  I was really drawn in as the stand off started to take place and you were seeing both sides try to jockey for position over the other side.  It was a pretty good back and forth for a while, but then as things started to break down, that tension was throw off to the side for just a quick, violent moment.  Nothing terribly over the top, but just sort of a lot of buildup to just off people rather quickly.
     I wasn't that terribly impressed at the end, especially with the ending that seemed to come about as abrupt as a lot of the scenes I mentioned above, but I also am not normally that into this genre of movie.  Based on that, I was interested and was sucked in a bit through the middle part, so I would say that it stood out to me more than a lot of other movies in this genre.  If you are a big fan of this type of movie, I do think it was done pretty well and is well worth the watch, but it wasn't something I will be dwelling on much after the credits have gotten done rolling.

My rating for the film is 6/10

Movie - The Nice Guys

Note:  Might be some minor spoilers, but will keep them to a minimum.

     The Nice Guys is a traditional buddy cop movie, other than that the "buddies" in this one start off not so friendly towards each other.  It is a pretty funny movie, but it certainly doesn't do anything ground breaking for the genre, but it does what it is supposed to and it does it well.  I wasn't so sure about Russell Crowe in a comedic role, but he actually doesn't do most of the comedic heavy lifting in this one, and Ryan Gosling carries the bulk of it as only he can.  Ryan Gosling is an underrated actor, in my opinion, and he shows in this film, and his many other films, that he can do just about anything that is asked of him.
     The movie starts off with two run down private detectives working on seemingly different cases.  But it doesn't take long before we realize that the two cases are in fact one in the same, and they soon cross paths.  They are reluctant to work together at first, but over the course of the movie, they realize that maybe together than can be more than just the losers that they think they are.  As the plot escalates and does a few twists and turns (unfortunately nothing that we don't see coming), the two realize that maybe their biggest problem was working on their own.
     The performances by all everyone in the movie is what it should be.  As I mentioned above, Russell Crowe doesn't do most of the comedy, he is more the straight guy in the act, but Ryan Gosling was very funny throughout.  I was also rather impressed with the actress that plays Ryan Goslings daughter in the film (Angourie Rice), as she was rather young, but she never felt that she weighed a scene down, and actually normally even added to the scenes she was in.  Not an easy task for someone in a movie with the likes of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, but I thought she did a rather good job of holding her own.
     The plot was ho-hum, and the movie was pretty predictable, but I thought that it was entertaining enough.  It never tried to be bigger than it was, and I think it almost embraced that, and just relied on the actors to carry the movie along.  Since I thought the actors did just that, it's hard to complain too much about the plot, as it did what it was supposed to do.  I would have liked to have seen a little more from the overall plot, but I was entertained throughout, and so I guess that is enough to say the movie was a success.
     I liked the movie, but I didn't love the movie.  The acting was in place, the movie was pretty atypical of the genre, but overall I left the movie satisfied.  I didn't go into this thinking it was going to change the way I watch movies, so I definitely wasn't disappointed.  If you are just looking for a couple hours of fun, with some pretty decent humor thrown in, then you could do far worse than catching this one, but I would say you will get the same effect by just waiting until it hits DVD.

My rating for the film is 7/10

TV Show - Hell on Wheels - "Gambit"

Note:  Major spoilers for the episode of Hell on Wheels.  You have been warned.

     In a strange move, this entire episode did not feature Cullen, and focused solely on the aftermath of the kidnapping from last week.  The episode was focused primarily on Mickey, with a good bit of Durant as well.  I like both characters, but we see so little of them these days on the show, it was just a little strange to see an entire episode focused on them, especially this late in the game.  After this episode, there is only three episodes left, and we get nothing of Cullen?  Seems like a weird choice for me, but just keeps furthering my thoughts on where this show is headed...anyway, on to the show.
     The episode starts with a flash forward, showing Durant some years after the events of the show, and it looks like he is a bit down on his luck.  He's selling a ring to make some cash, and then he goes to dinner with Huntington.  Durant insists on picking up the check, and it becomes clear it is more than he really should be spending.  He goes back to his home by himself, and apparently passes out or possibly just died alone.  It wasn't very clear which, but I do think we can assume that Durant is going to likely die alone with all the enemies he has made over the course of the show, so I guess we will go with that.
     Back to the current time of the show, and we are seeing the fallout from the botched kidnapping job from last week.  Everyone is discussing what the best course of action is, while Mickey is talking to his cousin about how he messed up.  We also get to see an old face, as Campbell shows up to deal with the problems going on.  He says they won't negotiate, and sends out a search party to try to find Durant.
     Meanwhile, Mickey comes up with a scheme of his own, telling Durant to trust him.  They just have to give Campbell no other option but to pay the ransom.  When the search party shows up at the cabin where Durant is being "held," a trap has been set and the building blows up when they enter.  Another ransom note is left, telling them that they have to pay $250,000 or they will return Durant's dead body.  Campbell agrees to pay the ransom, but is on to Mickey, as he has him followed.
     Eva has also figured it out, and goes to talk to Mickey.  She says that she knows he is involved, and Mickey tells her what he did.  She tells him that he has to kill his cousin before anything else bad happens, which makes Mickey angry, probably because he knows she is right.  Mickey goes to Campbell and tells him that he thinks his cousin may have been the one to take Durant, leaving his own part out of the story.  Mickey returns to where his cousin is keeping Durant and tells him that he told Campbell.  He says they should take the money and go back to Ireland.
     Back at town, Louise tells Maggie that Durant was lying to her, and thinks that Durant set the whole thing up.  This causes Campbell to hold off on paying the ransom, calling Durant's bluff.  Telling the soldiers to bring Mickey to him, it is discovered that Mickey has left town and now everyone knows he is in on it.
     Mickey tells Durant what he is planning on doing, and then Maggie shows up with $50,000 to take Durant back.  Maggie realizes that it's Mickey, Durant takes advantage of the situation to try to get loose.  In the process, Maggie gets shot, and Mickey kills his cousin.  Maggie dies in Durant's arms, which is the ultimate sacrifice for all of his schemes.
     Durant and Mickey return to town, and fabricate a story about what happened.  Campbell asks Durant why Mickey's cousin didn't kill him as well, and Durant just says he doesn't know why.  With nothing definitive, Campbell has no choice but to let Durant go.  As Durant leaves, Campbell tells him that Maggie sold her hotel to save Durant.  Durant doesn't respond, just walks out.  Mickey goes to Eva and tells her that he did what she said he should do.  And then they do the business, because that seems to be the answer to everything on this show in this final season.
     The episode was okay, and it really showed that nobody in this show gets to have a happy ending, as everything just keeps getting worse for everyone.  Even though Cullen was nowhere to be found, we still got to see Durant lose the only good thing left in his life, all because of his own stupidity.  And we get to see Mickey fall apart of sorts, as he had to kill his cousin and live with the consequences of his own actions.  But now, I wonder why the episode happened at all.  The kidnapping, and then this episode entirely, seem like side notes that could have happened several seasons ago even, not at almost the end of the series.  I don't feel that these characters need fleshed out more, instead, they need to have their final resolutions put in place, and I don't think this episode was that.  Three episodes to go, and I continue to say "we will see what happens," but I feel that this excuse is starting to get old.  The last three episodes can't get here quick enough, so I can finally see where all this is headed and I can move on.  And no, I don't mean any of that in a good way at this point.

My rating for the episode is 6/10