Note: There will be major spoilers for the above mentioned episodes.
So, I have gotten behind a bit on writing up my recap/reviews of Hell on Wheels, so I'm going to try to make up for it in one post here. I am not going to provide the rundown of the full episodes as I have done with the first three episodes of the season, but will just give some overview and my thoughts on the last three episodes.
In episode 4, we see the Chinese staging a strike after the white men that almost killed Chang, and did kill one of his men, are set free. Chang is not happy about this, and so he sets forth a list of demands that need to be met before the Chinese will go back to work. This causes Cullen to take matters into his own hands and withholds the Chinese trains brining in food, thinking that hunger will get them back to work. Chang instead decides to gather up a posse and take the food by force, but Cullen and Tao work out an agreement to get the men back to work by sending their dead back to their homeland to be buried, as is their tradition.
This episode fell really flat for me, as there was a lot of buildup for pretty much nothing. You thought that maybe we were going to get some big showdown at the end, but instead it came to a crashing halt before anything could happen. I'm sure this is better in the long run, as no blood was shed, but I just feel like the point could have been gotten across without such a waste of an episode. There were some other minor things going on in the episode, but on the whole, it just felt like a throw away episode to me that really didn't add anything to the overarching story.
Episode 5, however, made up for the shortcomings of episode 4. In episode 5, we see Cullen warning Chang not to deal with Thor Gundersen, because he is bad news. Chang looks to be making amends with Cullen throughout the episode, and even shows Cullen that the Swede has been hiding guns in the rice that Chang has been getting for Thor and the other Mormons. This causes a big confrontation between Cullen and Thor, and also Phineas Young, where Cullen is trying to get the Swede to tell him where the guns are hidden, but they are nowhere to be found. Cullen then realizes too late that he has been tricked by the Swede and Chang, and rushes back to town to find that Tao has been killed by a white man, and that the only witnesses are Chinese, and so the man will not be able to be tried, just like the other white men that had been set free.
This was, in my opinion, one of the best overall episodes of the whole series. The show flew by, with not a scene wasted, and we got some really nice scenes that felt like they were overdue. Cullen going after Thor, and Phineas protecting him, was a wonderful scene. And then the realization that Cullen had been played the whole time by Chang as well, it just reminded us and Cullen that he can't let his guard down no matter what. This episode really upped the intensity of the season and made some of the slower moments in earlier episodes well worth the wait to get to this.
Episode 6 fell somewhere in between the other two episodes above. Mei is attempting to take her father's body back to their homeland, and Cullen gets dragged into helping her, as he is also making his way to San Francisco to try to get a new translator, since Mei is leaving. While trying to cross the river, Cullen's coach gets capsized, and Tao's body goes floating down the river. Mei continues to search for the body, with Cullen reluctantly following behind, and when they find the body, Cullen convinces Mei that they should just bury the body there, since there is no way they can get the body to San Francisco without their coach. Mei decides to go back with Cullen and continue to be his translator, and when they get back to town, they find out that Brigham Young has found out that the Central Pacific is not going to pass through Salt Lake City, as Huntington had promised. Cullen must leave immediately to go to the meeting with both railroads, and President Grant, in Salt Lake City.
This episode was more about continuing to develop the relationship between Mei and Cullen than it was to advance the story, and I think that is good, as the relationship has taken on some sort of weird dynamics. You can't really tell if they are attracted to each other, or if Cullen just looks at Mei more like a father/daughter relationship, and so the episode tries to develop that relationship a little better. In the end, we get the setup for the last episode of the year, before we get the final 7 episodes next year which will end the series. I'm anxious to see how this half of the season ends, as I'm expecting some big things to happen to leave us all hanging until next year, but we will see just what happens. The last episode is on tomorrow night, and so I will try to get back to my recap formula for the final episode after I get a chance to watch it.
My ratings for episode 4 is 6/10, episode 5 is 9.5/10, and episode 6 is 8/10
Friday, August 28, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Movie - American Ultra
Note: There may be some minor spoilers throughout, but I will attempt to keep them at a minimum.
American Ultra is a hard movie to place into a specific category. It's part action movie, part stoner comedy, part love story, and a whole lot of other stuff all wrapped into one. I personally love it when a movie is willing to take a risk and try to do something different, and American Ultra does exactly that. The problem with taking a risk, is that sometimes you are going to succeed and sometimes you are going to fail, and I felt that this movie did a little bit of both, but mostly succeeded in what it wanted to accomplish.
The story follows Mike (played by Jesse Eisenberg), a down on his luck, unmotivated, stoner that works at a convenience store, and spends his free time with his girlfriend Phoebe (played by Kristen Stewart) and getting high. He also is a very paranoid and anxious person, so much so that he can't leave town because he goes into anxiety fits that cause him to throw up. He is trying to find the perfect time to propose to his girlfriend, when the movie takes a huge turn and you find out that Mike is actually a retired asset for the CIA, whose memory has been erased and replaced with new memories to forget about his past. When the CIA decides to terminate the asset, a.k.a. Mike, the agent that got him into program to begin with (played by Connie Britton) decides to activate him in an attempt to save his life. A series of events then begins to play out where Mike is trying to come to grips with his new found abilities and trying to figure out just what happened to him, while he also tries to save his girlfriend and get out alive.
First of all, the performances by all cast members is pretty spot on for what the movie is. At times the movie can be a bit over the top, but in a good way, and the actors make it all seem believable. Jesse's role in particular is a difficult role to pull off, as Mike is torn between the only memories that he has, which is getting high and messing up everything, and the new found abilities that he has, which come out by instinct as he needs them, and Jesse pulls it off perfectly. I know that Kristen Stewart gets a lot of flack, mainly because she was in the Twilight movies, but I felt that she did a very good job as well, especially in some of the more intimate scenes with Mike, as you really are pulling for them as a couple and their relationship feels very real, if not more than a little bit messed up.
I think the biggest problem I have for the movie is the marketing. I didn't know a lot about the movie before last week, right before it was coming out, and the trailers made it feel like a comedy first, and an action movie second, but I feel that the comedy really took a back seat. If anything, it was a romance movie first (move like True Romance than say, any movie with Kate Hudson in it), then an action movie second, and comedy came in a distant third. I don't mean to say that there weren't any funny parts, or that they were trying to be funny and it misfired, but more that the comedy aspect was just used sparingly and only as appropriate. When I watched the trailer, I thought dark comedy like Zombieland (another fantastic Jesse Eisenberg movie), but it didn't approach anywhere near the comedy level that was in that movie. I just wonder if better marketing as to what the movie really is at its core would have served its box office numbers a little better, as it didn't fair very well over the weekend.
Overall, I think that American Ultra is a gritty, mostly original film, that dared to think outside of the box, and I don't think it will find the audience that it deserves. I think those that come across it will either get it, and will think the movie was fantastic, or they won't see just what the movie was trying to do, and will pass over it and not give it a second thought. I was in the first group, as I think that this type of movie is what we need more of at the box office. I enjoy watching Marvel movies and sequels to big blockbusters as much as the next guy, but I also want to see something I haven't seen before, and American Ultra did exactly that. While not a perfect movie, it is still very solid, and hits all the notes it was trying to hit.
My rating for the movie is 8/10
American Ultra is a hard movie to place into a specific category. It's part action movie, part stoner comedy, part love story, and a whole lot of other stuff all wrapped into one. I personally love it when a movie is willing to take a risk and try to do something different, and American Ultra does exactly that. The problem with taking a risk, is that sometimes you are going to succeed and sometimes you are going to fail, and I felt that this movie did a little bit of both, but mostly succeeded in what it wanted to accomplish.
The story follows Mike (played by Jesse Eisenberg), a down on his luck, unmotivated, stoner that works at a convenience store, and spends his free time with his girlfriend Phoebe (played by Kristen Stewart) and getting high. He also is a very paranoid and anxious person, so much so that he can't leave town because he goes into anxiety fits that cause him to throw up. He is trying to find the perfect time to propose to his girlfriend, when the movie takes a huge turn and you find out that Mike is actually a retired asset for the CIA, whose memory has been erased and replaced with new memories to forget about his past. When the CIA decides to terminate the asset, a.k.a. Mike, the agent that got him into program to begin with (played by Connie Britton) decides to activate him in an attempt to save his life. A series of events then begins to play out where Mike is trying to come to grips with his new found abilities and trying to figure out just what happened to him, while he also tries to save his girlfriend and get out alive.
First of all, the performances by all cast members is pretty spot on for what the movie is. At times the movie can be a bit over the top, but in a good way, and the actors make it all seem believable. Jesse's role in particular is a difficult role to pull off, as Mike is torn between the only memories that he has, which is getting high and messing up everything, and the new found abilities that he has, which come out by instinct as he needs them, and Jesse pulls it off perfectly. I know that Kristen Stewart gets a lot of flack, mainly because she was in the Twilight movies, but I felt that she did a very good job as well, especially in some of the more intimate scenes with Mike, as you really are pulling for them as a couple and their relationship feels very real, if not more than a little bit messed up.
I think the biggest problem I have for the movie is the marketing. I didn't know a lot about the movie before last week, right before it was coming out, and the trailers made it feel like a comedy first, and an action movie second, but I feel that the comedy really took a back seat. If anything, it was a romance movie first (move like True Romance than say, any movie with Kate Hudson in it), then an action movie second, and comedy came in a distant third. I don't mean to say that there weren't any funny parts, or that they were trying to be funny and it misfired, but more that the comedy aspect was just used sparingly and only as appropriate. When I watched the trailer, I thought dark comedy like Zombieland (another fantastic Jesse Eisenberg movie), but it didn't approach anywhere near the comedy level that was in that movie. I just wonder if better marketing as to what the movie really is at its core would have served its box office numbers a little better, as it didn't fair very well over the weekend.
Overall, I think that American Ultra is a gritty, mostly original film, that dared to think outside of the box, and I don't think it will find the audience that it deserves. I think those that come across it will either get it, and will think the movie was fantastic, or they won't see just what the movie was trying to do, and will pass over it and not give it a second thought. I was in the first group, as I think that this type of movie is what we need more of at the box office. I enjoy watching Marvel movies and sequels to big blockbusters as much as the next guy, but I also want to see something I haven't seen before, and American Ultra did exactly that. While not a perfect movie, it is still very solid, and hits all the notes it was trying to hit.
My rating for the movie is 8/10
Friday, August 21, 2015
Movie - Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Note: There may be some minor spoilers throughout, but I will try to keep them at a minimum.
I've been wanting to catch this one since it came out, but I have been super busy lately. However, I finally got a chance to go catch it this afternoon. I am a big fan of the franchise, and I am one of the few people who thinks very highly of Tom Cruise. I think he is a fantastic actor, and there haven't been many of his movies that I haven't liked. But enough about that, on to the review.
So the new Mission Impossible picks up a year after the events in Ghost Protocol (which was fantastic, btw). We see Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) trying to stop a plane from taking off, which has some nuclear warheads on it, and the big stunt that has been talked about so much in all the advertising comes at you right out of the gate. I watched a behind the scenes thing on that scene, and that just makes me respect Tom and his willingness to go all-in on a role even more. We also get to see Alec Baldwin's character and Jeremy Renner's character, in a courtroom arguing about the IMF, as Alec wants the IMF shut down, and Jeremy tries to explain how the IMF is tantamount to the safety of the nation. In the end, Alec's argument holds up with the judges, and they are ordered to disband the IMF immediately and bring all the agents in.
As Ethan attempts to get his new assignment, he finds out that the IMF has been compromised, and that a rogue nation known as the Syndicate has discovered his identity and he is taken hostage. During his escape, we are introduced to a new character to the story, a woman who was meant to torture Ethan for information, who instead helps him escape, but then says that she must stay on and lets him go free. The rest of the movie deals with Ethan and his friends/teammates attempting to find out who runs the Syndicate and to take them down, while getting the IMF reinstated.
Some of the main characters from the other films are back, such as Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, and they all do their part, but in the end, this is the Tom Cruise show. And Tom is doing what he does best. He is convincing as the guy who sees every angle to every situation, and he is still convincing as an action star, whether it's riding a motorcycle in a high speed chase or holding his breath underwater long enough to switch out a computer chip. Tom is starting to get older, but it certainly doesn't show in this film, as I feel that he hasn't missed a step.
As far as twists and turns go, none of the films will ever hold up to the original, which I would almost argue did too many to the point of confusion, but the film leaves you guessing on a lot of points. Who is this new woman and which side is she on? Will they be able to get the IMF reinstated, or will they have to go rogue themselves to continue to do what is right? Will Ethan's attempts at revenge cost him the friendships that he has with the other characters? The movie handles all of these things well, and in the end gives you closure on all of them, and in a sensible way that makes complete sense and leaves the audience with a satisfied feeling as the credits role.
Is Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation the best film in the franchise? I don't know if I would go that far, but I would certainly say that it has every right to carry the name. I was a big fan of the first one, and Ghost Protocol, but I would at least put this one in the conversation with those two. I would have to see the movie again before I could really pick out a favorite, but the fact that it is in the conversation tells me that they did everything right. After seeing it, I am anxious to see if they make another one, and look forward to it if they do. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is a smart, action-filled blockbuster, and I would suggest it to anyone that wants to spend a couple of hours losing themselves in a good movie.
My rating for the movie is 8.5/10
I've been wanting to catch this one since it came out, but I have been super busy lately. However, I finally got a chance to go catch it this afternoon. I am a big fan of the franchise, and I am one of the few people who thinks very highly of Tom Cruise. I think he is a fantastic actor, and there haven't been many of his movies that I haven't liked. But enough about that, on to the review.
So the new Mission Impossible picks up a year after the events in Ghost Protocol (which was fantastic, btw). We see Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) trying to stop a plane from taking off, which has some nuclear warheads on it, and the big stunt that has been talked about so much in all the advertising comes at you right out of the gate. I watched a behind the scenes thing on that scene, and that just makes me respect Tom and his willingness to go all-in on a role even more. We also get to see Alec Baldwin's character and Jeremy Renner's character, in a courtroom arguing about the IMF, as Alec wants the IMF shut down, and Jeremy tries to explain how the IMF is tantamount to the safety of the nation. In the end, Alec's argument holds up with the judges, and they are ordered to disband the IMF immediately and bring all the agents in.
As Ethan attempts to get his new assignment, he finds out that the IMF has been compromised, and that a rogue nation known as the Syndicate has discovered his identity and he is taken hostage. During his escape, we are introduced to a new character to the story, a woman who was meant to torture Ethan for information, who instead helps him escape, but then says that she must stay on and lets him go free. The rest of the movie deals with Ethan and his friends/teammates attempting to find out who runs the Syndicate and to take them down, while getting the IMF reinstated.
Some of the main characters from the other films are back, such as Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, and they all do their part, but in the end, this is the Tom Cruise show. And Tom is doing what he does best. He is convincing as the guy who sees every angle to every situation, and he is still convincing as an action star, whether it's riding a motorcycle in a high speed chase or holding his breath underwater long enough to switch out a computer chip. Tom is starting to get older, but it certainly doesn't show in this film, as I feel that he hasn't missed a step.
As far as twists and turns go, none of the films will ever hold up to the original, which I would almost argue did too many to the point of confusion, but the film leaves you guessing on a lot of points. Who is this new woman and which side is she on? Will they be able to get the IMF reinstated, or will they have to go rogue themselves to continue to do what is right? Will Ethan's attempts at revenge cost him the friendships that he has with the other characters? The movie handles all of these things well, and in the end gives you closure on all of them, and in a sensible way that makes complete sense and leaves the audience with a satisfied feeling as the credits role.
Is Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation the best film in the franchise? I don't know if I would go that far, but I would certainly say that it has every right to carry the name. I was a big fan of the first one, and Ghost Protocol, but I would at least put this one in the conversation with those two. I would have to see the movie again before I could really pick out a favorite, but the fact that it is in the conversation tells me that they did everything right. After seeing it, I am anxious to see if they make another one, and look forward to it if they do. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is a smart, action-filled blockbuster, and I would suggest it to anyone that wants to spend a couple of hours losing themselves in a good movie.
My rating for the movie is 8.5/10
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Movie - Trainwreck
Note: This review may contain some spoilers, but I will try to keep them at a minimum.
I went into Trainwreck with some really low expectations. I really know nothing about Amy Schumer, I like Bill Hader but he is a bit hit and miss with me, and I don't think that Judd Apatow has made a really good movie since The 40 Year Old Virgin (I know that Knocked Up was well received, but I was never a real fan). I can honestly say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. It was funny when it needed to be, it was serious when it needed to be, and I think that it hit both aspects very well. It was an overall well done romantic comedy.
Let's first start with Amy Schumer. There is a lot of talk about her lately, but I have not actually seen her in anything prior to this movie. I personally thought that she was extremely funny throughout the movie. Her character was a bit over the top, as were most of the other characters, but I think this was done to show her many flaws, thus the name of the movie. Her character truly was a trainwreck. She was messed up in all sorts of ways, and didn't think that she deserved anything to go right for her at any point in her life. So when things did start to go her way, she would push the people in her life away and put up a wall, telling herself that she didn't need anyone and it was better off this way.
The rest of the main cast was good, but none of them really stood out. Bill Hader was fine, but he wasn't anything extraordinary, but his character didn't really need to be. But where the movie really excelled was in the cameos. Lebron James was a big part of the marketing for the movie, and the scenes he was in were very good and memorable. There were several other cameos, including Matthew Broderick and Marv Albert in a really funny intervention scene, but the real winner here was John Cena. John Cena, as his wrestling personality, is a cheesy, cornball actor that plays to kids, but his character in this movie was the complete opposite. He really only had two scenes in the movie, and I can promise you that if you take nothing else away from this movie, those two scenes will stick with you long after the credits roll. They were by far the two best scenes in the whole movie.
Outside of the acting, the story was nothing special and nothing new. In fact, I kept waiting and hoping for something out of the ordinary to happen, but it just never happened. If you have seen one of any hundred other romantic comedies in your life, you already know how this one is going to play out, but the movie does a good job of telling the story, even if there is nothing there to blow you away. The movie seemed to know what it was, and so it really pushed the comedy, and only let the story play out as it needed to so that the audience can have closure at the end.
If I can say nothing else about Trainwreck, I will say that it feels more real than other romantic comedies. By this, I mean that the situations these characters get in throughout the movie is very adult, and never finds a reason to try to sit down in that PG-13 area that most romantic comedies feel the need to put themselves in. I personally think this was a huge plus for the movie. There is nothing I can't stand more than when a movie is just trying to pander to its intended audience, instead of just letting the movie go where it should go. Trainwreck does not let itself give in to anything, and I can assume that is why it wasn't found by a larger audience at the box office. If you are looking for an adult romantic comedy, that will genuinely make you laugh out loud on more than one occasion, than Trainwreck is the perfect movie for you.
My rating for Trainwreck is 8/10
I went into Trainwreck with some really low expectations. I really know nothing about Amy Schumer, I like Bill Hader but he is a bit hit and miss with me, and I don't think that Judd Apatow has made a really good movie since The 40 Year Old Virgin (I know that Knocked Up was well received, but I was never a real fan). I can honestly say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. It was funny when it needed to be, it was serious when it needed to be, and I think that it hit both aspects very well. It was an overall well done romantic comedy.
Let's first start with Amy Schumer. There is a lot of talk about her lately, but I have not actually seen her in anything prior to this movie. I personally thought that she was extremely funny throughout the movie. Her character was a bit over the top, as were most of the other characters, but I think this was done to show her many flaws, thus the name of the movie. Her character truly was a trainwreck. She was messed up in all sorts of ways, and didn't think that she deserved anything to go right for her at any point in her life. So when things did start to go her way, she would push the people in her life away and put up a wall, telling herself that she didn't need anyone and it was better off this way.
The rest of the main cast was good, but none of them really stood out. Bill Hader was fine, but he wasn't anything extraordinary, but his character didn't really need to be. But where the movie really excelled was in the cameos. Lebron James was a big part of the marketing for the movie, and the scenes he was in were very good and memorable. There were several other cameos, including Matthew Broderick and Marv Albert in a really funny intervention scene, but the real winner here was John Cena. John Cena, as his wrestling personality, is a cheesy, cornball actor that plays to kids, but his character in this movie was the complete opposite. He really only had two scenes in the movie, and I can promise you that if you take nothing else away from this movie, those two scenes will stick with you long after the credits roll. They were by far the two best scenes in the whole movie.
Outside of the acting, the story was nothing special and nothing new. In fact, I kept waiting and hoping for something out of the ordinary to happen, but it just never happened. If you have seen one of any hundred other romantic comedies in your life, you already know how this one is going to play out, but the movie does a good job of telling the story, even if there is nothing there to blow you away. The movie seemed to know what it was, and so it really pushed the comedy, and only let the story play out as it needed to so that the audience can have closure at the end.
If I can say nothing else about Trainwreck, I will say that it feels more real than other romantic comedies. By this, I mean that the situations these characters get in throughout the movie is very adult, and never finds a reason to try to sit down in that PG-13 area that most romantic comedies feel the need to put themselves in. I personally think this was a huge plus for the movie. There is nothing I can't stand more than when a movie is just trying to pander to its intended audience, instead of just letting the movie go where it should go. Trainwreck does not let itself give in to anything, and I can assume that is why it wasn't found by a larger audience at the box office. If you are looking for an adult romantic comedy, that will genuinely make you laugh out loud on more than one occasion, than Trainwreck is the perfect movie for you.
My rating for Trainwreck is 8/10
Sunday, August 2, 2015
TV Show - Hell on Wheels, Season 5, episode 3
Note: This article will contain major spoilers of the above mentioned episode.
At the beginning of the episode, we see a flashback of how Mae and her father came to America, after their village was attacked. We see Mae disguising herself to be a boy, and then we get a brief glimpse of what happened leading up to her and her father coming to work for the railroad.
We then see her trying to go to work, but Cullen makes her take a sick day. Later, he and Fong discuss what is going on, and Cullen says that Mae will not be coming back to work. Fong then tries to explain to Cullen that this will cause people to ask questions, which he fears will lead everyone to figuring out the secret. Cullen then goes and discusses this with Mae, who tells him that she was supposed to be made to marry a Chinese royal, and that she would then belong to him. This causes Cullen to reconsider, and lets Mae get back to work, only under the assumed male name that she has chosen.
We also get to see Cullen's new engine at work, which has put three of the railroad men out of a job. They try to offer these men a new job working with the Chinese men, that pays significantly less, and they don't take to kindly to it. As they become more and more bitter throughout the episode, it finally culminates in them attacking Chang, and hanging one of his men. They attempt to hang Chang as well, but Fong and Cullen save him. This causes Chang to ask Huntington for justice, and they attempt to get a trial for the men, but due to some laws in California, they will not allow there to be a trial, which makes Chang question just what is justice in America.
The other thing of note during the episode is a lot more details about what Thor is up to. He is buying rice by the crate from Chang, but he says he wants to triple his order next time. Chang questions his motives, but Thor tells him it is none of his business and they work out a deal. We also see Thor telling Brigham Young's son that there appears to be something wrong in the accounting books, and that he thinks he made an error, or his father is not sending him all the money that he is supposed to be sending. This causes Brigham's son to become very irate at his father, and asks Thor for help, which we can only assume was his plan all along. He is the Swede after all.
Not as much going on in this episode as there was in the last episode, but they are still fleshing out everything that happened during that episode. I'm very glad to see where things are headed with Thor Gunderson, as it is starting to become more clear just what his motives are. I think the rice is to hide the guns he has been stockpiling, and gaining the trust of Brigham's son will basically give him full control over the Mormons. By also making them bitter over having to shovel all the snow, it should be easy for him to turn the Mormons on the railroad in the near future, and thus make Cullen's life more miserable.
I also thought it was very interesting that they had Fong and Cullen save Chang's life, and it will be interesting to see where this goes. I like to think that there will be no love lost between them all, but there should at least be some sort of respect. I look forward to seeing what they do with this new dynamic, and how it will shape up in the near future. I also am really liking the character development they are doing with Mae, and it makes me wonder where her storyline is headed as well.
Overall, I thought the episode was as solid as the first two, maybe even more so, as we are really starting to see where the story is headed. I think there are a lot of angles that are working at the moment, and I'm very interested to see where we go from here. There is a slow build going on in the background with Thor, and that is just the way I like it. I think they are doing a very good job of keeping his character flying under the radar, while he is working his angle, and Cullen is too distracted with the other stuff that is going on to see just what he is planning. I can see things going a few different ways, and I like the prospects of all of them.
My rating for the episode - 8/10
At the beginning of the episode, we see a flashback of how Mae and her father came to America, after their village was attacked. We see Mae disguising herself to be a boy, and then we get a brief glimpse of what happened leading up to her and her father coming to work for the railroad.
We then see her trying to go to work, but Cullen makes her take a sick day. Later, he and Fong discuss what is going on, and Cullen says that Mae will not be coming back to work. Fong then tries to explain to Cullen that this will cause people to ask questions, which he fears will lead everyone to figuring out the secret. Cullen then goes and discusses this with Mae, who tells him that she was supposed to be made to marry a Chinese royal, and that she would then belong to him. This causes Cullen to reconsider, and lets Mae get back to work, only under the assumed male name that she has chosen.
We also get to see Cullen's new engine at work, which has put three of the railroad men out of a job. They try to offer these men a new job working with the Chinese men, that pays significantly less, and they don't take to kindly to it. As they become more and more bitter throughout the episode, it finally culminates in them attacking Chang, and hanging one of his men. They attempt to hang Chang as well, but Fong and Cullen save him. This causes Chang to ask Huntington for justice, and they attempt to get a trial for the men, but due to some laws in California, they will not allow there to be a trial, which makes Chang question just what is justice in America.
The other thing of note during the episode is a lot more details about what Thor is up to. He is buying rice by the crate from Chang, but he says he wants to triple his order next time. Chang questions his motives, but Thor tells him it is none of his business and they work out a deal. We also see Thor telling Brigham Young's son that there appears to be something wrong in the accounting books, and that he thinks he made an error, or his father is not sending him all the money that he is supposed to be sending. This causes Brigham's son to become very irate at his father, and asks Thor for help, which we can only assume was his plan all along. He is the Swede after all.
Not as much going on in this episode as there was in the last episode, but they are still fleshing out everything that happened during that episode. I'm very glad to see where things are headed with Thor Gunderson, as it is starting to become more clear just what his motives are. I think the rice is to hide the guns he has been stockpiling, and gaining the trust of Brigham's son will basically give him full control over the Mormons. By also making them bitter over having to shovel all the snow, it should be easy for him to turn the Mormons on the railroad in the near future, and thus make Cullen's life more miserable.
I also thought it was very interesting that they had Fong and Cullen save Chang's life, and it will be interesting to see where this goes. I like to think that there will be no love lost between them all, but there should at least be some sort of respect. I look forward to seeing what they do with this new dynamic, and how it will shape up in the near future. I also am really liking the character development they are doing with Mae, and it makes me wonder where her storyline is headed as well.
Overall, I thought the episode was as solid as the first two, maybe even more so, as we are really starting to see where the story is headed. I think there are a lot of angles that are working at the moment, and I'm very interested to see where we go from here. There is a slow build going on in the background with Thor, and that is just the way I like it. I think they are doing a very good job of keeping his character flying under the radar, while he is working his angle, and Cullen is too distracted with the other stuff that is going on to see just what he is planning. I can see things going a few different ways, and I like the prospects of all of them.
My rating for the episode - 8/10
Friday, July 31, 2015
TV Show - Hell on Wheels, Season 5, Episode 2
Note: This article will contain major spoilers of the above mentioned episode.
Episode 2 picks up with Cullen falling down a mountain, along with the son of the man who took a beating for Cullen's actions in the first episode. We then see a pretty intense scene play out where Cullen is trying to save Fong's son from falling off the side of the mountain, only to fail after attaching a rope to himself and the boy. We see the frayed end of the rope, showing us that the boy has fallen, and then the opening credits come on. The episode then goes back to two days prior and we get to see the actions that led to this intense scene.
Cullen is trying to get a translator, but Chang is unwilling to help Cullen, who in turn tells Chang that if he wants to send a message, he can send it to him directly. We also see Fong telling his son to stay away from the "white man" Bohannon. We then cut to a scene in which Cullen is explaining that he can gain a few extra inches of track a day if they can transport an engine that has been deemed inoperable. To accomplish this, however, Cullen will need to get the Chinese men working on the railroad to build a sled to transport it. The Chinese men have no idea what Cullen is trying to say to them, so Fong's son chimes in and explains what needs done, and so Cullen takes the boy on to be his translator as they transport the engine over the mountain.
Meanwhile, Thor Gunderson and the Mormons are given the task of digging out snow, which their leader, the son of Brigham Young himself, is unhappy about. Thor plays the devil's advocate and tries to explain to him that this is a test from God and that he will be successful. After a few days, one of the Mormons gets frostbite and loses a few toes, and so Brigham's son sends a telegram asking for more supplies, which is denied. Once again, Thor weasels his way in and works out a way to get new boots for the other Mormons, so that he can gain the trust of Brigham's son.
Back on the mountain, the brake on the sled is shattered and Fong's son comes up with a solution, to tie chains to the nearby trees to work as the brake for the sled. This seems to impress Cullen, and the two seem to start to form a bond. During the ordeal, Fong's son also gets trampled by some horses, and Cullen points out how tough the boy is, and in a conversation they discuss being soldier's in their own separate wars. The next day, the boy is coughing up blood, and while Cullen tries to help him by redressing the wounds, we make a very interesting discovery. Fong's son is not a son after all, but is instead his daughter, who has been posing as a boy to continue working on the railroad. Cullen tells the girl to stay in the tent and take a sick day, and then leaves to try to sort out how he feels about this new discovery.
As Cullen continues to guide the sled, Fong's daughter comes out and sees that they have attached one of the chains to a dead tree, but before she can stop them from pushing the sled, the tree shatters and the sled is cruising down the mountain. Cullen and the girl try to stop the sled, but they both get thrown down the mountain, and then we see the opening scene play out a gain, with some differences to make things make more sense this time around. We also see that Fong's daughter realizes that they are both going to fall, so she cuts the rope and falls of her own accord instead of dragging Cullen down with her.
Cullen realizes what has happened, and so he goes looking for the girl. He finds her, and since the snow was so deep, she has only suffered minor wounds, and the two have another moment together, and we find out that the girl's name is Mae, but that Cullen must continue to call her Fong. He agrees, and then helps her back to town, where he tells Fong that his son saved his life today.
So, there was a lot going on in this episode, and I was very impressed with how it all played out. I thought they did a good job of fleshing out the Mae character, and letting us see how Cullen adjusted to finding out that he was a she, and then how he decided to keep their secret between them. I think that this is because he almost feels a fatherly connection with the girl, and is trying to protect her, like he feels that he couldn't protect his own wife and son, whom we do not see any mention of in this episode.
I also liked how they handled the Mormon story and we got to see a little more of what "The Swede" is doing. While gaining the trust of those around him so that he can personally benefit and (likely) later stab them in the back is nothing new, I don't know that anyone makes it as enjoyable as Thor Gunderson. We know what he is doing, but at the same time, if we were in the young boy's shoes, we would be doing the same thing. I'm very excited to see where the storylines will meet, and we will get to see (likely) a big face off between Cullen and Thor whenever he fully enacts whatever crazy plan he has in mind this time. It really makes me excited for the next episode, to see where they go next.
If the first episode of the season was just a warm up, this episode picked it up a couple of gears and really took the season in a good direction. We have lots of things up in the air, and only six more episodes to go before we get to the half way mark of the season, when the show will be off for another year. With the pacing of this episode, I feel like the next six episodes are going to clip along at a nice pace as well, and things are going to get exciting fast. We still didn't see what is going on with the other railroad, but as long as they continue to develop what is going on with the current railroad, I am okay with that until they get into the second leg of the season next year, when they will hopefully tie up all the loose ends and give everyone the endings they deserve.
My rating for the episode - 8/10
Episode 2 picks up with Cullen falling down a mountain, along with the son of the man who took a beating for Cullen's actions in the first episode. We then see a pretty intense scene play out where Cullen is trying to save Fong's son from falling off the side of the mountain, only to fail after attaching a rope to himself and the boy. We see the frayed end of the rope, showing us that the boy has fallen, and then the opening credits come on. The episode then goes back to two days prior and we get to see the actions that led to this intense scene.
Cullen is trying to get a translator, but Chang is unwilling to help Cullen, who in turn tells Chang that if he wants to send a message, he can send it to him directly. We also see Fong telling his son to stay away from the "white man" Bohannon. We then cut to a scene in which Cullen is explaining that he can gain a few extra inches of track a day if they can transport an engine that has been deemed inoperable. To accomplish this, however, Cullen will need to get the Chinese men working on the railroad to build a sled to transport it. The Chinese men have no idea what Cullen is trying to say to them, so Fong's son chimes in and explains what needs done, and so Cullen takes the boy on to be his translator as they transport the engine over the mountain.
Meanwhile, Thor Gunderson and the Mormons are given the task of digging out snow, which their leader, the son of Brigham Young himself, is unhappy about. Thor plays the devil's advocate and tries to explain to him that this is a test from God and that he will be successful. After a few days, one of the Mormons gets frostbite and loses a few toes, and so Brigham's son sends a telegram asking for more supplies, which is denied. Once again, Thor weasels his way in and works out a way to get new boots for the other Mormons, so that he can gain the trust of Brigham's son.
Back on the mountain, the brake on the sled is shattered and Fong's son comes up with a solution, to tie chains to the nearby trees to work as the brake for the sled. This seems to impress Cullen, and the two seem to start to form a bond. During the ordeal, Fong's son also gets trampled by some horses, and Cullen points out how tough the boy is, and in a conversation they discuss being soldier's in their own separate wars. The next day, the boy is coughing up blood, and while Cullen tries to help him by redressing the wounds, we make a very interesting discovery. Fong's son is not a son after all, but is instead his daughter, who has been posing as a boy to continue working on the railroad. Cullen tells the girl to stay in the tent and take a sick day, and then leaves to try to sort out how he feels about this new discovery.
As Cullen continues to guide the sled, Fong's daughter comes out and sees that they have attached one of the chains to a dead tree, but before she can stop them from pushing the sled, the tree shatters and the sled is cruising down the mountain. Cullen and the girl try to stop the sled, but they both get thrown down the mountain, and then we see the opening scene play out a gain, with some differences to make things make more sense this time around. We also see that Fong's daughter realizes that they are both going to fall, so she cuts the rope and falls of her own accord instead of dragging Cullen down with her.
Cullen realizes what has happened, and so he goes looking for the girl. He finds her, and since the snow was so deep, she has only suffered minor wounds, and the two have another moment together, and we find out that the girl's name is Mae, but that Cullen must continue to call her Fong. He agrees, and then helps her back to town, where he tells Fong that his son saved his life today.
So, there was a lot going on in this episode, and I was very impressed with how it all played out. I thought they did a good job of fleshing out the Mae character, and letting us see how Cullen adjusted to finding out that he was a she, and then how he decided to keep their secret between them. I think that this is because he almost feels a fatherly connection with the girl, and is trying to protect her, like he feels that he couldn't protect his own wife and son, whom we do not see any mention of in this episode.
I also liked how they handled the Mormon story and we got to see a little more of what "The Swede" is doing. While gaining the trust of those around him so that he can personally benefit and (likely) later stab them in the back is nothing new, I don't know that anyone makes it as enjoyable as Thor Gunderson. We know what he is doing, but at the same time, if we were in the young boy's shoes, we would be doing the same thing. I'm very excited to see where the storylines will meet, and we will get to see (likely) a big face off between Cullen and Thor whenever he fully enacts whatever crazy plan he has in mind this time. It really makes me excited for the next episode, to see where they go next.
If the first episode of the season was just a warm up, this episode picked it up a couple of gears and really took the season in a good direction. We have lots of things up in the air, and only six more episodes to go before we get to the half way mark of the season, when the show will be off for another year. With the pacing of this episode, I feel like the next six episodes are going to clip along at a nice pace as well, and things are going to get exciting fast. We still didn't see what is going on with the other railroad, but as long as they continue to develop what is going on with the current railroad, I am okay with that until they get into the second leg of the season next year, when they will hopefully tie up all the loose ends and give everyone the endings they deserve.
My rating for the episode - 8/10
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Movie - Ant-Man
Note: As per the usual, there may be spoilers throughout, but I will try to keep them at a minimal.
Ant-Man is the newest Marvel movie to hit theaters, and I think I can safely say that this one is their hardest sell. It's a movie about a comic book superhero that (I'm guessing) nobody really knows, such as Iron Man and Captain America. But over the last several years, Marvel has done a good job of building up the Marvel name as opposed to just focusing on their big brands, and thus they have made some really memorable movies. They have made some that were forgettable as well (I'm looking at you Iron Man 2), but even their worst movies are better than most of the big blockbusters that hit movie theaters, and that is why I think that Ant-Man has turned out to still be a success story.
Ant-Man is about the character Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd), a thief and criminal who is trying to make amends for his life of crime so that he can be with his daughter, and be someone that she can really look up to. While trying to adjust to this new life, and unfortunately failing, he falls back into his old ways and that is how he comes in contact with the Ant-Man suit, which was planted for him to find by the Ant-Man suit creator, Hank Pym (played by the always fantastic Michael Douglas). The movie then follows along the tried and true Marvel methodology, show Scott adjusting to his new suit and learning how to become the Ant-Man, then introduce the nemesis, in this case Darren Cross (played by the underrated Corey Stoll), and then come to the happy conclusion that all Marvel movies end up doing.
So, let's get to the cast. Paul Rudd plays Scott much like he has played a lot of his other characters throughout the years, and that is the likable yet misguided and charming slacker of sorts. He plays the character as it should be played, and therefore comes off as he is intended to, which is a plus for the movie. The premise of the movie is a bit obscure (a man that can shrink to the size of an insect and can control ants through a communicator he has in his ear), and so it takes a certain touch to keep the mood light and airy, while also making sure that the audience takes the movie serious enough to not laugh it off as too unbelievable. Rudd does this as only he can, and I think that the success of the movie should go to him for the way he brings Scott Lang to the screen.
The supporting character do their parts as well, as Michael Douglas is always a plus in a film and his daughter (Evangeline Lilly) plays the bitter daughter who doesn't understand her father's motives and thinks that he doesn't care when he is just trying to protect her. Corey Stoll does a good job of playing the villain, but I wish that the script would have given him a little more free reign to elevate the character to the likes of, say Jeff Bridges in the first Iron Man. The character comes off much like other villains in recent Marvel movies, and that is that they are just there to keep the movie rolling along as opposed to really fleshing the character out and letting you know the character more like you get to know the heroes.
Everything else about the movie feels safe, and hits all the right notes, but doesn't try to really set itself apart. There are multiple references to the Avenger movies, and there is even a cameo by one of the Avengers in the movie (which may well be the highlight of the movie), but I would like to have seen the movie try to be more of itself and not focus as much on the movies that came before it and the movies that are coming after it. While I do think there needs to be continuity between the movies to make the Marvel Cinematic Universe continue to roll like it does, I think that each movie is good enough to stand on its own and should be treated as such.
The movie was also one of the funnier movies that Marvel has put out. There have always been some humorous parts of the other movies, but this one really took it a step further, and having a comedian as your main star helps to make that possible. Guardians of the Galaxy was a very humorous movies, but I felt that Ant-Man pulled the humor off better than Guardians did, but I think a big part of that falls on Scott's "crew" (led by Michael Pena). They helped a lot in keeping the mood light and allowing for some very funny moments throughout.
While I don't think Ant-Man reinvents the wheel, I do think that it is a solid movie, and is worth taking a look at. If you like the other Marvel movies, than you will like this one as well. While I don't think that Ant-Man was the best movie Marvel has made, I do think that if falls right in the middle of the pack. Ant-Man proves at least one thing, if it proves nothing else. The Marvel machine is not going to be stopping anytime soon, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
My rating for Ant-Man is 7/10
Ant-Man is the newest Marvel movie to hit theaters, and I think I can safely say that this one is their hardest sell. It's a movie about a comic book superhero that (I'm guessing) nobody really knows, such as Iron Man and Captain America. But over the last several years, Marvel has done a good job of building up the Marvel name as opposed to just focusing on their big brands, and thus they have made some really memorable movies. They have made some that were forgettable as well (I'm looking at you Iron Man 2), but even their worst movies are better than most of the big blockbusters that hit movie theaters, and that is why I think that Ant-Man has turned out to still be a success story.
Ant-Man is about the character Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd), a thief and criminal who is trying to make amends for his life of crime so that he can be with his daughter, and be someone that she can really look up to. While trying to adjust to this new life, and unfortunately failing, he falls back into his old ways and that is how he comes in contact with the Ant-Man suit, which was planted for him to find by the Ant-Man suit creator, Hank Pym (played by the always fantastic Michael Douglas). The movie then follows along the tried and true Marvel methodology, show Scott adjusting to his new suit and learning how to become the Ant-Man, then introduce the nemesis, in this case Darren Cross (played by the underrated Corey Stoll), and then come to the happy conclusion that all Marvel movies end up doing.
So, let's get to the cast. Paul Rudd plays Scott much like he has played a lot of his other characters throughout the years, and that is the likable yet misguided and charming slacker of sorts. He plays the character as it should be played, and therefore comes off as he is intended to, which is a plus for the movie. The premise of the movie is a bit obscure (a man that can shrink to the size of an insect and can control ants through a communicator he has in his ear), and so it takes a certain touch to keep the mood light and airy, while also making sure that the audience takes the movie serious enough to not laugh it off as too unbelievable. Rudd does this as only he can, and I think that the success of the movie should go to him for the way he brings Scott Lang to the screen.
The supporting character do their parts as well, as Michael Douglas is always a plus in a film and his daughter (Evangeline Lilly) plays the bitter daughter who doesn't understand her father's motives and thinks that he doesn't care when he is just trying to protect her. Corey Stoll does a good job of playing the villain, but I wish that the script would have given him a little more free reign to elevate the character to the likes of, say Jeff Bridges in the first Iron Man. The character comes off much like other villains in recent Marvel movies, and that is that they are just there to keep the movie rolling along as opposed to really fleshing the character out and letting you know the character more like you get to know the heroes.
Everything else about the movie feels safe, and hits all the right notes, but doesn't try to really set itself apart. There are multiple references to the Avenger movies, and there is even a cameo by one of the Avengers in the movie (which may well be the highlight of the movie), but I would like to have seen the movie try to be more of itself and not focus as much on the movies that came before it and the movies that are coming after it. While I do think there needs to be continuity between the movies to make the Marvel Cinematic Universe continue to roll like it does, I think that each movie is good enough to stand on its own and should be treated as such.
The movie was also one of the funnier movies that Marvel has put out. There have always been some humorous parts of the other movies, but this one really took it a step further, and having a comedian as your main star helps to make that possible. Guardians of the Galaxy was a very humorous movies, but I felt that Ant-Man pulled the humor off better than Guardians did, but I think a big part of that falls on Scott's "crew" (led by Michael Pena). They helped a lot in keeping the mood light and allowing for some very funny moments throughout.
While I don't think Ant-Man reinvents the wheel, I do think that it is a solid movie, and is worth taking a look at. If you like the other Marvel movies, than you will like this one as well. While I don't think that Ant-Man was the best movie Marvel has made, I do think that if falls right in the middle of the pack. Ant-Man proves at least one thing, if it proves nothing else. The Marvel machine is not going to be stopping anytime soon, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
My rating for Ant-Man is 7/10
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