Entertainment Shakedown: AKA: I'm Back Baby!

First of all I want to apologize for the lack of updates recently, between Upfronts, family commitments, weddings and playoff hockey, let's go Devils, the month of May has been completely kicking my ass. But enough excuses, there is much to discuss. May brings all sorts of excitement to the entertainment world filled with renewals, cancellations and the announcements of the new shows to come.

I'm starting the news off with cancellations. Time to see how the "promising" shows of last year turned out.

ABC

The River - Ok, so it was pretty much a given that the little show brought to you by the guy who "brought us Paranormal Activity" was probably not getting a pick up. Which is sad because I really enjoyed it, and will even go so far as to say it may have been my favorite show of last season. While having a short season, only eight episodes, the show was a creepy, crazy ride that I am sad to see end. Although the show had a decent ending which could work as a season or series finale, I still wish that ABC had stuck with it. There was a rumor circulating a few months back that NETFLIX was interested in possibly picking the show up and producing new episodes, and since the first season was released on DVD, and available on Amazon, I am still holding out hope.

Pan Am - The show was cute, and had some really awesome guests, but it was mostly forgettable. I wouldn't have been upset if it was renewed but I can understand why it wasn't.

CBS

 
A Gifted Man - Let's be honest CBS rarely cancels shows, especially after only a season, but in order to make room for new shows something's got to go. It wasn't a terrible show, but it definitely wasn't helped by having a Friday night time slot.

CW

The Ringer - It's sad that a show with such an awesome cast, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Nestor Carbonell would only last a season, but even I have to admit the show got a little too soapy/predictable for my taste.

The Secret Circle - Honestly, this show was pretty much presented on a silver platter, based on a book series by the same author and with the same creative team as its ridiculously successful lead in The Vampire Diaries, it looked like this show was almost a shoe in for success. But alas, it lacked whatever magic, no pun intended, that has kept The Vampire Diaries audience captivated.

FOX

The Finder - It was pretty much a given when FOX decided to move their Bones spinoff to Friday nights that it wasn't going to get a second season. The show itself was fine, awesome guest stars, but as seems to be the current trend in tv land lately of you're not a "hit" right off the bat, you get the axe.

Alcatraz - It seems with JJ Abrams, his shows either do ridiculously well, or the crash and burn. Alcatraz fell into the later category. The concept itself was pretty awesome, and having Hurley in it definitely added to the appeal, however the show itself sort of fell flat. While I watched the shoe, and enjoyed it, I didn't LOVE it. If I missed an episode I wasn't feening to watch it as soon as possible.

Terra Nova - I sometimes feel like Jason O'Mara on a show is like having a show written/directed by Joss Whedon. Both are quite talented and yet most of their shows barely last a season. Let's face it though, with the mega huge budget required to keep this show going, if it wasn't an automatic television phenomenon, it was destined to be canceled.

NBC 

Awake - I will state again for the umpteenth time, I am still devastated to know that I live in a world where Awake was canceled and Whitney was renewed. The show itself was great, my only complaint was that it required A LOT of brain capacity for 10pm on a Thursday.

The Playboy Club - I know, I know it was canceled FOREVER ago, it only had three episodes air, but I still feel it is worth mentioning. Here we have another classic example of an NBC screw up. Instead of taking the controversy caused by the fact that the were airing a show called The Playboy Club to their advantage, they decided to stop airing the show after only three episodes despite having several more already filmed. Um, that just seems like a waste of money to me. Why not air the remaining episodes, in the hopes of picking up some new viewership? If it doesn't pick up then don't renew, but the money has already been spent to not air the remaining episodes and replace it with reruns of another failing show is just a waste. News flash NBC you are already in last place, the only place to go is up, take some risks. 

Other cancellations include:
ABC
Charlie's Angels
Missing
GCB
Work It

CBS
How to be a Gentleman
NYC 22
Rob
Unforgettable

 CW
H8R

FOX
Allen Gregory
I Hate My Teenage Daughter
Napoleon Dynamite

NBC
Are You There, Chelsea?
Best Friends Forever
Free agents
The Firm
Prime Suspect  
  
Next up...What's new for the fall/midseason line up.

The River "Row Row Row Your Boat": AKA: What A Way To End It

So it's been a few weeks since the season, and hopefully not, but looking more and more likely like the series, finale of my newest obsession, The River.

It was hard to imagine how they were going to top the discovery/resurrection of Dr. Emmet Cole, which occurred at the end of the previous zombie filled episode, "The Experiment", but some how they managed to pull it off with flying colors.

I'm gonna pause for a moment, to warn you that if you haven't yet watched last night's episode, to stop here. There will be spoilers ahead, though if you haven't watched already, FOR SHAME. Anyways consider yourself warned.

We begin the episode with a series of personal interviews. What the crew members look forward to most about going home. Tess and Lincoln's reactions to having Emmet back, that sort of thing.

When it comes to the Good Doctor though, the man has become increasingly tight lipped. When asked what happened to him out there he remains aloof, offering instead apologies to Jonas, who claims to forgive him as if he hadn't left him they'd both be dead, and Lena, who is less forgiving. did anyone else find it odd that Jonas was so forgiving, when in last week's episode he told Rabbit that he didn't blame her for leaving him, he blamed Emmet, saying something along the lines of "blame the Shepard not the flock", but I digress.

So anyway, about ten mins into the episode, all the cameras are shut down since the generator had over heated and Emilio had to power down to clear it out. That's when a bullet meant for our good doctor, who is attempting to reconcile with his son, goes and KILLS Lincoln as he tries to save his father.

 That's right, only ten mins in and they go and kill one of the best parts of the show. It was sudden, shocking and completely unexpected. Ironically the one person equip to treat this kind of injury would have been Lincoln, the rest of the crew is basically helpless, able only to watch horrified as Lincoln dies before them.

Of course since the shooting occurred during the power down, and since no one is confessing, the identity of who shot Lincoln seems to be a lost cause, or is it? This is The Boiuna after all.

Jaleh comes to Emmet and Tess, claiming that she can bring Lincoln back. Tess of course is all for it, as she frequently demonstrates this season, she cares nothing for the safety of others when one of her loved ones' life is on the line. Emmet however, having spent way more time in this mysterious/often evil place, is more cautious. He vetoes the idea, say they have no way of knowing what evil forces can be invited in to Lincoln along with his soul.

Tess, of course, ignores Emmet's warning and has Jahel preform the ritual anyway. I couldn't help but wonder if any of Lincoln would be brought back. I saw Buffy, when they tried to bring Joyce back. What if whatever they invited in to Lincoln's body wasn't him?

During this freaky ritual, we watch as something slowly pulls away the sheet covering Lincoln's body, and the room slowly fill with water. After ceremony is finished Tess hurries her way to the Kitchen to check on Lincoln. She flings open the door and we get not the rush of water we, or at least I expected, but a sopping wet, highly disorientated Lincoln.

He identifies Kurt as the shooter, and despite his claims of innocence, after all if Kurt shot at Emmet, he "wouldn't have missed", the lock him away in a room on the ship. For a brief moment we are allowed to think that everything is alright, but of course it isn't. It wouldn't be The River if it were.

Jonas comes upon "Lincoln" in the kitchen making a sandwich. As Lincoln is having difficulty since his fingers are still numb, Jonas offers to help, telling Lincoln he's glad he's ok. Lincoln retorts with "Because I tried to save you? Because I'm a good person?Not like my dad..." And there you have it, the big reveal, it was Jonas, not Kurt who fired that shot. "Lincoln" tells Jonas he claimed it was Kurt so "I could kill you myself" and WHAM! With lightning fast reflexes, "Lincoln" swipes at Jonas, bare handed mind you, and tears open  Jonas' throat effectively killing him. Looks like Emmet was right, and then Lincoln then goes off to beat the crap out of Kurt.

Emmet, has been spending a lot of time in the editing bay "catching up" on what has happened on the trip. He watches the encounter with Jonas that we have just seen, only in the version that plays back, Lincoln doesn't kill Jonas, he simply thanks him for the sandwich, "just like my dad used to make", and Jonas picks up his camera and leaves. Something about this doesn't sit right with Emmet, maybe it was the fact that I doubt he made Lincoln many sandwiches, or the creepy way Lincoln stared at the camera before walking away, but added to the fact that Lincoln told him he loved him earlier, well Emmet is convinced that whatever that thing is, it is NOT his son. Now he just has to prove it, he goes off to talk to Lena.

Elsewhere, Clark has a mini melt down, because he's in love with Tess, who let's face it is now never going to leave Emmet, AJ admits to Clark he's gay, Clark tries to drink away his sorrows and he and AJ discover what's left of Jonas' body.

Lena tricks demon Lincoln into drinking some sort of potion which weakens him, when he makes an advance on her, maybe I've got too much American Horror Story on the brain but I couldn't help but wonder if his intentions were to make a demon baby with her. His Demon-ness now revealed we now get to see a few truly horrifying scenes of Demon/Lincoln restrained to the table, contorting all sorts of terrifying ways attempting to break free while mentally taunting/terrorizing Emmet and Lena.

Finally the rest of the team calls upon Kurt to ask him what to do, because they only NOW realize that he knows more then he's letting on. Kurt tells them only Lincoln can dispel the demon and he has to "want to". Cue a very "Cat's in the Cradle" type speech given to Lincoln by Emmet. Lincoln, always the fighter, eventually dispels the Boiuna out of his body.

The crew is safe, Emmet and his family are patching things up. Lena is apparently not ready to forgive Lincoln for what he said/did to her while he was possessed, because that make sense. It wasn't Lincoln who said/did those things it was an evil entity inside of him. It doesn't seem fair to blame him for what happened. As they happily make they way toward the mouth of The Boiuna believing their adventures are over, suddenly their GPS stops working. Clark send up the aerial cam and to their horror, see that the river is moving...or rather the land is moving around them, reshaping the river itself and trapping our poor crew.



Thoughts and Theories and Such

During the ritual, Tess asks Jahel how she knows to preform the ritual and Jahel simply starts "She is telling me". The question of who "She" is is ne'er answered. Was it The Boiuna herself, searching for entry to inflict harm upon our crew? Or was it Jahel's on mother, who also possesses Jahel's "gift"?

So Emmet tells Jonas, he's so sorry for leaving him and that he didn't know what else to do, that if he had stayed they both would have died. Despite claiming to forgive him, Jonas, as we later learn, still blames Emmet for leaving him. But Emmet was right. If he hadn't left Jonas, they probably both would have died, and then Lena would never have "felt" that Emmet and her father were alive, causing her to remotely set off the beacon. If she'd never set off the beacon then the "rescue team" never would have gone down to The Boiuna in the first place and Jonas would have been left hanging in the trees, almost dead for all eternity. So in actuality, his abandoning Jonas is what allowed him to be saved in the first place.

I feel like the kind of just threw in that  A.J. was gay. There is nothing wrong with that, and no reason that he wouldn't be, I just feel the way they revealed it, wasn't very believable.

The ending? Ok so if you have to go out in only eight episodes, at least we were given a doozey of an ending. The fucking river TRAPPED them...how horrifying is that?!?! Sure, I think there are still many stories to be told, many new facets to explore, and I def don't like the fact that we are going out with Lena being, needlessly, pissed at Lincoln, but as far as premature endings go it wasn't half bad. There was a brief rumor that Netflix might pick up the show, but I haven't heard anything further on that front. At least, we get a DVD, the first season, is it wrong to hold out hope since the cover says "Complete First Season" and not "Complete Series"?, will be available on May 22nd. You can pre-order it on Amazon here.

The River "Doctor Emmet Cole": AKA: Will He Won't He Eat The Dog

Intense. I have mulled it over for a few days now, and have come to the decision that is the best word to describe last week's episode of The River.

Armed with the knowledge that Russ had given them about where Emmett was last headed, our fearless crew heads to the Sahte Falls to continue the search. While they don't find Emmet, come on that would be too easy, plus we still have two more episodes to air, they do discover a major find, Emmet's camera bag, chock full of tapes.

What we now get to witness is the good doctor's decent into madness, and what may have been one of the most suspenseful/heartbreaking/gut wrenching hours of television I've seen in a long time. On top of that it was also a very informative episode, we learned a lot more about what made the characters who they are. How Tess was the mastermind behind "Undiscovered Country" as a way of helping Emmet cope withe the death of their first child, a baby named Alice. The want/need to see Alice again also gave us tremendous insight as to why Emmet was so desperate to find "The Source". He thought he had found the loophole between life and death and was desperate to use it to once again see his baby girl.

We learned more about the doomed original crew as well. We saw again how Russ, who'd had enough, stayed behind on the non functioning Magus, while Emmet and his two camera operators, Manny and Rabbit, along with Salsa the dog, headed deeper into the Baunia. One can only imagine that is how The Exodus crew found him, alone and stranded.

Emmet also reveals in an argument with Russ that Lena is "marked for this", which to her credit, Lena goes to investigate and discovers "THE MARK" hidden beneath her hair. A discovery she, somewhat wisely chooses to keep to herself. She does however confide in Jonah, that she is the one who set off Emmet's beacon, the one that gave them all hope and brought them all on this journey in the first place. Apparently now she feels guilty about it. One can't help but wonder then, why she didn't feel more guilt when A MAN DIED in the first episode, seeing as him being there in the first place was her fault, but I digress.

Back to Emmet's suicidal mission to find "The Source". Things start off fairly lighthearted and fun, Emmet even busts out a spot on Clark impression at one point, causing the viewing Clark to smile. It was brief, but in that moment you could see, despite their differences, the mutual love and respect the two men had for each other. Then when Rabbit attempts to make a move on Emmet, while they are sitting around the campfire, he reveals that even though they are separated he still loves Tess.

Of course, things soon take a dark and sinister turn. It starts off small, a skinned monkey, stolen provisions, nothing unsurvivable. Then freaky shit starts going down, there's a weird whistling noise, and poor Manny who just can't keep up, gets himself skinned and impaled on a tree.

Rabbit, gets understandably freaked, and suggests they head back. When Emmet refuses she decides to sneak off and leaves poor Emmet with no gear, save for a bag of camera equipment and a satellite phone. Scared or not, that was definitely a shitty thing to do, and I for one sincerely hope Rabbit got eaten by the jungle because of it.

What we now witness is Emmet's lonely, and treacherous trek on through the jungle. He becomes, feverish, starving, struggling to just survive. Eventually near starvation he finds a mango tree, and climbs it in a feeble attempt to gather food, but at this point he has become so weak he is unable to keep his balance. He falls from the tree, breaking his leg, forcing him to drag himself along the jungle floor in order to continue. At one point he becomes so desperate he even contemplates killing his dog and eating it just to survive. Thankfully this does not occur, despite a few terrifying moments of debate.

But what maybe the most heartbreaking/gut wrenching scene of the whole episode though, was watching Lincoln realize that the last time he spoke to his father, when he kind of blew him off, was while Emmet was on this trek. His father had reached out to him, while he was essentially dying, and he couldn't be bothered. Of course, at the time he hadn't know, but still. It was a great reminder of the fact that Lincoln's relationship with his father wasn't perfect, in fact up until Tess convinced him to come in this search, it was anything but. Watching him sit there seeing his father reach out to him, and now knowing that may have been the last time he would ever speak to him, literally made me feel sick to my stomach for him.

Then, just when we think we've seen the end of Dr. Emmet Cole, as he lays starving, sick and broken on the jungle floor, he is somehow granted a reprieve. What appears to be the tribe he has been looking for all along comes along, scoops him up and brings him to what seems to be a busy outpost.

With renewed hope our crew sets out to find the outpost and hopefully a fully alive Emmet. As the near the. Out post they are happily greeted by Salsa, the lucky he didn't get eaten dog. However, when they reach the outpost it is immediately clear some thing is not right. It no longer looks like the bustling place full of people we see on the tapes. Something appears horribly wrong, the place looks deserted, and as though things were left in a hurry.

The question once again becomes, what happened to Doctor Emmet Cole. Honestly I can not wait till tomorrow night to find out more.

Terra Nova Canceled: AKA: Another One Bites The Dust

Well the other side to pilot season rears its ugly head. The side where last year's new shows start fully getting the boot. Sure there are some shows that get the axe quick, The Playboy Club, Free Agents, Work It, jut to name a few, and then there are the other casualties. The ones the network has allowed allowed those who watched to fall in love with.

This week FOX announced they are giving Terra Nova the axe, although they did say they would shop the show to other networks, but with it's super sized budget, it's hard to imagine many networks jumping at the bit to pick up the tab. While I didn't personally get full into Terra Nova, I am saddened by the amazingly talented Stephen Lang, otherwise know as "The Silver Fox", being out of a job. Though there are reports that Netflix is looking to maybe pick it up.

Now is when I go into panic mode, okay panic may be being a little over dramatic, but I am growing concerned for The River on ABC.  I've made it absolutely no secret that I hooked on this freaky little Tuesday night show, and with only two episodes left I can't help but be antsy over whether or not "The Powers that Be" over at ABC will renew.

I know the ratings have not been stellar, but it really is a good show. I feel like a lot of people tuned out after not "loving" the first hour of the two hour premiere. This frustrates me to no end, I am of the firm belief that pilots, with a handful of exceptions,  just aren't good. There's too much exposition and introduction to take care of, which is why I abide by the rule of three. Always give a show three episodes to decide whether or not it's worth watching. If you aren't hooked by the third episode you probably never will be.

I actually find it quite sad that our culture seems to become so impatient. Shows no longer have a chance to grow and find their audience. Not all shows are going to be breakout hits. Neither Cheers or M*A*S*H had very high numbers their first seasons and both went on to have very successful runs. It just feels like currently the networks are so concerned with finding the "next big thing" they have forgotten they need to give the audience time to get to know/love the characters/storyline/shows they already have.

The River "Peaches" : AKA: All the Best Cowgirls have Daddy Issues

I am officially hooked. There I've said it. The River  is my new Tuesday ritual with The Boy. Is it the most groundbreaking well written show ever created, not so much, but it is different enough, and provides me with a "that was awesome, kinda of scary in the moment but not leaving me with lasting nightmares" feeling that every great thriller should.

Last night was no exception and not only did it provide enough suspense, which may or may not have included me yelling at the tv something along the lines of "What the hell? You stupid bitch, don't you remember what happened the last time you broke open a sealed door?!?!? You got your leg nearly cut off and unleashed a beast that tried to kill everyone!!!" I'm just saying that if I were in the situation, after all that has happened, I would be a bit more cautious.

The Magus gets run a ground by a mysterious ship while attempting to travel through the fog at night, and of course the engine breaks down tot he point where parts need to be repaired. It's clear that they are not heading any where anytime soon.

Lena has spent a majority of the beginning of this episode whining about her dad, I feel like every time someone mentions looking for Emmit the next words from her mouth are always "and my Dad",which I understand she is upset, but it's getting a little repetitive and annoying.

Jonas has definitely seemed to zero in on this and is all about exploiting it. Making a point to talk to her about her dad, and how much he looked up to him. Basically they are completely setting him up, as I already predicted, as a rival for Lena's affections. To be honest I'm not all about the Lena, frankly her character kind of annoys me, but Lincoln needs someone, and I am a sucker childhood romances.

Then low and behold a small boat called "The Exodus" full of a small friendly crew, comes to their aid, or at least that's how it appears, clearly that is not how The Amazon works. As the crew of the Magus is having a merry old time getting drunk with their new "friends", Lena and Jonas, after noticing what seems to be another person aboard the Exodus, sneak off to investigate. Really? After all you have been through, you guys think that this is a good idea?

Shocker, the crew of The Exodus is not what they appear. After hearing noises behind a sealed door and breaking in, because Lena and Jonas make excellent decisions, they discover Russ Landry. Turns out the "helpful crew" are really just  lost souls tied  to their ship until they can find others to take their place. With Lena and Jonas now trapped aboard their ship, the ghost crew now only needs two more souls. Kurt, who is the only one who seems to notice something is not right with these friendly visitors, discovers that they can not be killed by bullets, and gets himself captured. Three down one to go. Of course the ghost crew picks an easy mark for their last target, Tess. They tell her they have a map of the Bouina on board their boat, and she is all about going over to check it out. With all the souls they need on board, The Exodus takes off to hide until sunset when the soul capture switching will take place.

At this point, Lincoln has been searching or Lena for awhile, the fact that both she and Jonas are missing is not lost on him, and now that they hear the boat leaving realizes that the rest of their crew has been kidnapped.  He alerts Clark, and the two of them rally, grab A.J. and the mini boat, in order to go out and search for them. Kurt is making himself useful attempting to breakdown the door to their cell, while Lena and Jonas have managed to get their camera feed linked to The Magus so that hopefully their crew can trace the link back to their location and rescue them before sunrise.

In classic thriller/horror story genre, both Lincoln and Clark walk past the tape room with out seeing Lena's cry for help. However, leave it to Jahel to save the day, while running upstairs to grab some steel wool from the kitchen she spies the feed and is able to radio Lincoln and Clark and tell them where to find the missing members of the crew.

We've already established that the ghost crew is unaffected by bullets, however as one clumsy crew member already showed us, they do burn. So armed with a bunch of flairs, Lincoln and Clark storm the boat to rescue them. There is one problem however, Russ' soul has already been claimed, he can't leave the boat. Naturally Lena doesn't want to leave him, and has a major melt down as her father says his last goodbyes to her, and Lincoln basically drags her from the boat as it goes up in flames.

Can't take credit for this picture, found on tumblr.
If it's your's please let me know & I'll credit.

I have to say one of the most touching moments was as the small boat pulled away, and Lena was in hysterics, Lincoln just held her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

Dear Guys Everywhere,

Please not, the kiss on the top of the head move? Completely swoon worthy. Thanks, that is all.

Love,
Women Everywhere.

Seriously, that one action spoke volumes about their relationship, more that all the flashback footage ever could. It is also why I am in full support of a Lena/Lincoln.

We have now discovered what happened to three of Emmet's original crew, producer Cam Travers, died of Malaria and then turned into that weird creature that was locked aboard the ship. Cameraman Jonas Beckett was left for dead in the jungle after becoming cursed. Finally lead cameraman, Russ Landry, ended up being taken by a ghost ship. The question now becomes, how many people were on the original expedition and what happened to them. We know there was at least one female on the trip, we saw her in the tape that showed what happened to Jonas, so you  have to figure there is at least her, and if she is not the engineer, there has to be one of those as well, meaning there are at least one if not two other crew members out there somewhere.

We are now another step closer to finding Emmet Cole, and I know it sounds harsh, but I'm glad that we got some closure on Russ, so Lena will stop pouting about no one caring that her father is also missing. The image of him going up in flames was very touching and in a way poetic. He accepted death, and now having gotten to say goodbye to his daughter, had found closure. Despite the obvious hellish connotations, fire is thought of as a purifier. His soul was purified and set free, I was both surprised and touched by the in memorandum card at the end of the episode. It completely added to the "realness" of the show. I don't think I've ever seen one for a fictional character before.

I am excited to see what this week's episode will bring, as we are taken further into The Amazon on the search for the truth of what happened to Dr. Emmet Cole.

The River: AKA: Apparently I am a Wuss...

Alright I've always kind of known that. I mean sure I talk a real good game, and in my mind I have the fearlessness Xena and the fighting abilities of Buffy. In reality I have neither of these skills, though I attempting to at least improve my fighting skills, but that is a slow, ongoing process.

When The Huffington Post referred to The River as "The scariest new show on broadcast television," they weren't kidding. The show is just the right mix of suspenseful and terrifying. At the very least it has ensured that a vacation in the Amazon is nowhere in my near future.

The show has a fabulous way of mixing legend with fear. You fear it, they've got it. Doll tree? Boogeymen? Sudden blindness? Cave ins? Evil trees? I know what you're thinking, what's so scary about trees? Well, I point you toward the tree rape scene in The Evil Dead. You can't tell me that the idea of trees coming alive to harm you isn't freaky. In last night's episode, we find that the jungle foliage not only came alive to take Jonas, but also kept him just clinging to life for over six months, the man prayed for death just to end the pain. Remind me NEVER to piss off anything in the Amazon, okay, thanks.

 After last week's lack of new leads to Emmet, because let us not forget that is the primary reason for our little journey down the river, it was nice to get such a big lead. Kudos to the writers as well, for not only figuring out a way to introduce a new character, but also how to solve the pesky "we are short a cameraman, since the first evil entity killed our other guy in the first episode", in a way that was believable. Well, as believable as a show about magic and hauntings on the Amazon River could be. I'm curious to see where they are heading with his character, I think it's going to add an interesting new dimension to our little motley crew. If nothing else, it will give Lincoln a rival for Lena's affections.

Speaking of Lincoln, he gets major points for standing up to the whole crew about the fate of Jonas. It was nice to see him show tremendous backbone for what he knew was the right thing to do. Although he ended up not really having a choice in the matter, the point is he at least tried.

Mini points are also awarded to  Clark for knowing that they should always listen to Jahel when she's spooked, because let's face facts, thus far, she's ALWAYS been right. I'm actually glad that in the past to episodes they are making him less of a caricature. He's not just the hotshot producer who'll do anything for a "good show". Yes he wants good ratings, but he also cares about the crew, whether or not he chooses to show it.

I have to say the "jungle magic" for lack of a better word, seems very forgiving. You give back what you took, or prove yourself "worthy" and it spares you, at least so far. Part of me wants to believe that there is some meaning in that, but I find it almost too soon to fully commit to that.

Seriously, I can not wait for next week's episode. Although I find myself significantly spooked each episode, I'm excited to see what twists and turns are in store.

Top Five Fave Films: Movies I Couldn't Live Without

 Ok so all this  excitement over The River premiering last week, has renewed a long of the movie Across the Universe in me. It got me thinking about my top fave movies. Everyone has them, those movies tat you know every word by heart, and will watch over and over and over again, and even though you obviously own them, you HAVE to watch them every time they come on tv. So here, in no particular order are my Top Five Fave Films:

1) A League of Their Own - This may be my all time favorite movie ever. I remember going to see it in theaters with my mom and sister, which is slightly odd since I couldn't have been more that 7 years old at the time. Something about the movie really stuck with me, I even played softball for an entire season, which if you know me is kind of a big deal. Seriously though, the movie has an amazing cast, Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Bill Pullman, not to mention it's one of the few movies Madonna was actually good in. Plus the dialogue is great, "There's no crying in baseball" is listed at number 54 on The American Film Institute's Top 100 movie quotations in American cinema.

2) Clueless - This is another movie with an awesome cast, baby Paul Rudd, baby Jeremy Sisto, baby Breckin Meyers and baby Donald Faison, just to name a few. Not to mention the fact that this movie added a ton of new phrases into my generations lexicon, Betties, Barneys, Monet, just to name a few. Also the soundtrack was incredible with songs from, No Doubt, The Cranberries, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and my personal favorite, The Muffs version of "Kids in America".

3) The Princess Bride - Seriously, there was no way to write this list without including one of the greatest action/adventure/romance/comedies of our time. Again the movie has an amazing cast, and wonderfully memorable dialogue. There is literally something for everyone in this movie. I won't lie, my life was made by the fact that when I saw Mandy Patinkin live in concert in Philly, several years ago, that he ended his encore by uttering the famous line: "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

4) Robin Hood: Men in Tights - I kind of feel like it is impossible to have any top of top movie list without having at least one Mel Brooks film on it. Let's face it the man is a comedic genius. Everyone has their fave, my mother's is Young Frankenstein, The Boy's is Blazing Saddles, but mine has always been Robin Hood: Men in Tights. I remember watching it when it first came out on VHS, when I was probably a little too young to be watching it, but most of the inappropriate jokes went over my head anyway. That's the great thing about Mel Brooks' writing, it's layered. You can watch one of his films over and over and constantly find something new.

5) Across the Universe - You knew it had to be on here, after all it is what started me on this topic. While this movie definitely isn't for everyone, it is one of my all time favorites. Casting was done by Telsey + Co which is actually largely a theatre casting company and so the cast of this movie, mostly the featured extras, is made up of mostly theatre actors. As one of them put it, "Bernard Telsey is a pimp, and all his hos are are in this film". There is just something that will never get old about seeing people I've known for years in the film. When my friends and I saw the film in theatres, we spent the entirety of the "A Little Help From My Friends" in fits of giggles at the actions of the people we knew, much to the confusion of everyone else in the theatre. Factor in the fact that the music is amazing, um hello it's The Beatles, I went right home from the theatre that night and downloaded the soundtrack off iTunes, and all the little references to Beatles lyrics hidden with in the film and I am on heaven.

Honorable Mentions

Ok, so I know it's supposed to be a top five, but there were two movie who came so close that I felt they had to be mentioned:

Newsies - A live action musical, with Christian Bale, Arron Lohr, and Bill Pullman? How could I not love it. This is another one of those movies I can recite word for word, and I often do while watching it. It is one of my fave movies from childhood and I still adore it. The stage show definitely doesn't even begin to do it justice.

Clue - It's hard for me to imagine anyone not loving this film. The Boy's college roommate and I once quoted the entire movie back and forth over our Facebook walls. It's a silly fun film, made for pure entertainment, plus it has Tim Curry at his finest.

The River: AKA: Ok, That Was Freaky

I may have gotten abnormally pumped for last night's two hour premier of The River on ABC. I remembered the script from last pilot season, and although I wasn't overly blown away by it, I thought it was interesting, and more importantly, I NEEDED to see it after I discovered that Joe Anderson (Across the Universe, The Grey) was staring in it. I am nothing if not loyal to the actors I love, and further more the idea of his lovely little British face being broadcast into my home on a weekly bias, but I digress.

I realize it will be hard to talk about the show with out spoiling some of it, and since it is a horror/thriller type show, you should probably go watch it first before you read on. 

WARNING SPOILERS ARE AHEAD

You have been warned.  


Ok, so the pilot episode was fine, I mean it was a pilot, and I'm just going to come right out and say it, pilot episodes are never really that good. There's just too much that needs to be explained, too much to set up. They are necessary evils, but I've always found it unfair to judge anything too harshly before at least the third episode. Also I find it unfair, especially with these types of shows because I've read the pilots and know exactly what is going to happen and therefore miss the thrills and scares as they are intended. That being said I found the first hour, which consisted of the actual pilot, to be interesting, and I was intrigued by the fact that they got rid of their "big baddy" with in the span of the first hour. Clearly the question became where would they go next? I mean sure the Amazon itself is bound to be a frightening place, as it is pretty unknown as far as places on earth go, throw in the established fact that "real magic" good and bad exists and you open a world of frightening possibilities.

Cut to the terror inducing episode that was "Marbeley". I will flat out admit to the fact that toys, specifically, dolls and stuffed animals, adorning sculptures and or trees, that are left to the elements.  The get all weathered and gross looking and remind me of death and decay, not to mention the fact that Syfy's Destination Truth - Island of the Dolls episode scarred me for life. Seriously, if you've never seen it, go watch, but I warn you it is terrifying. Clearly, this episode was destined to freak me out from the very beginning.

I spent the next hour or so on the edge of my seat, in true genre fashion, and much to the annoyance of The Boy, often yelping and or yelling at the tv. After all who decides the best place to camp in under an offering tree, where the offerings are made to fend off a vengeful spirit? And I'm sorry, but who doesn't think that taking one of said offerings off the tree is a bad idea? I swear if I had seen Lincoln walking around carrying Marbeley I would have flipped at him to put it back.

But it wasn't all thrills and chills, the first two episodes did manage to lay some groundwork for the upcoming series. Emmet Cole is indeed alive, they have given us multiple reason to believe that this is a fact and not just wishful thinking on the part of the crew.  Also some interesting foreshadowing as to the importance of the character of Lena was made. There was definitely a reason as to why Emmet choice to stay in contact with Lena and not his family while on this mission, and it is not for the reason she thinks. It wasn't because she was "expendable", it was because, as shown by the footage of her as a child, she is the strong child who the man "as old as the hills" spoke of.

By the end of the episode, I was left sitting on the couch, curled up in a blanket, next to The Boy, significantly freaked. This was the type of scare I had expected the pilot of American Horror Story to induce. Will I continue to watch the next 6 weeks of The River? Hell yes! Will I watch it alone? HELL NO!

The Grey: AKA: Fuck Wolves

Wednesday night I did it. I picked the time, I picked the place, and I picked a really great friend and we did it. We saw The Grey. I remember back when they were casting this film, we had a lot of people go in, in fact a lot of the audition scenes made it into the final script. But I digress, before seeing the film I was presented by two very strong, very polar opinions. Everyone who saw it seemed to either LOVE it or HATE it. There seemed to be no in-betweens. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am that in between.  I didn't hate the movie, but I didn't love it either. I'm glad I went to go see it and I enjoyed it, but is it something I NEED to own and watch repeatedly? Not so much. So let's break it down a bit. By the way, if you haven't see the film yet and wish not to be spoiled, stop reading now.

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

The Good
1) The casting. This is a big thing for me, doing what I do, I rejoice in great casting. Well done  First of all when it comes to "surviving" Liam Neeson is the man. He is by far my "action hero" of choice.  A friend of mine once described what he "learned" from Taken as "never bring a gun to a Liam Neeson fight", meaning if you are on the wrong side of Mr. Neeson, you are going to die, regardless of what kind of weapon you have. Now let's look at the other men of our motley crew.

• Joe Anderson. Really I don't think anything else needs to be said. I have been in love with this man, talent, looks, accent and all since I saw Across the Universe.  Despite his small role, he was still spot on for it, and I'm always happy he's working. Side bar, I am riddic excited for The River starting this Tuesday on ABC.
• Dallas Roberts, Frank Grillo, Ben Brey, Noso Anozie were all great and Dermont Mulroney was almost unrecognizable as Talget. The man has come a long way and definitely proved that he can hold his on in a movie that doesn't include the word "wedding" in the title.

2) The wolf sounds. Ok, so I know that sounds really weird, but whenever you heard the wolves, but didn't see them, especially in the scene where they are chowing down on the wolf meat, was absolutely TERRIFYING. Throw in the fact that all you saw was there breath rising into the dark sky, and you couldn't help but feel horrified.

The Not So Good

1) The lack of Liam Neeson vs. Wolf fight scenes. So they entire time they are being stalked by a pack of ravenous, pissed off wolves and all the trailers seem to have built this movie up as Taken with wolves, yet in the movie we never actually get to see this epic wolf battle we are promised.

2) The ending. It isn't that the ending wasn't good, it was actually better if you stayed and saw the additional scene at the end of the credits, but it wasn't what I was expecting at all. I expected more of a definitive ending, and instead was given something that I like to call the "open to interpretation" ending. 

3) The dialogue. So I imagine that being trapped in the frozen wilderness while being hunted down by rabid wolves would not create an environment where you would be spouting Shakespeare, but some of the dialogue was just awful. Hendrick's whole speech towards the end, when it was down to him and Ottway, about how he saw Ottway on the last night of camp and never expected to see him alive again, came off more homoerotic than thoughtful. 

The Rando

1) Okay, so this film basically shows you all the most terrifying ways to die, plane crash, drowning, falling across a large chasm and through a ton of trees, freezing, eaten by wolves. I have to say if I have to die I vote freezing to death, Burke had no idea how lucky he was.

2) Part of me was a little annoyed that Hendrick and Ottway gave up on Diaz so quickly. I get that it was for their own survival, and that they probably not to change his mind anyway, but I can't help but think that I wouldn't be able to deal with the fact that I left him there, if I ultimately survived.

All and all I didn't love the movie, I didn't hate the movie, I just liked it. I'm glad that I saw it, and if I walked into a room and someone was watching it I wouldn't walk out, but I don't know that I need to own this one.