Constantine - scared the **beep** outta me!

The wiki-facts: 

Constantine is an American television series airing on NBC, based on the characters appearing in the comic series Hellblazer published by DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint

The background facts: 

So I am not a fan of horror movies... not that I wouldn't like to be, but the sweating, nausea and nightmares are just not worth it for me.

When I was about 5 years old, I got up in the middle of the night for a drink of water at my grandmothers house and walked in on my older cousins watching "The Exorcist" - I've been scarred ever since.  There are just some things you cannot un-see...

Over the years I have been able to learn to enjoy slasher type movies - pure gore like "Hostel" but the one thing I cant handle is anything with demonic possession...

So you can imagine my horror when in the first few opening lines of Constantine he proclaims that he is an exorcist. Dammit! Much to my surprise - as scared out of my wits as I was - I could not turn away.

Findings: 

Constantine is scary. Scary like a big budget big screen movie.

I hated it ...and loved it because of that! It was so good that it could take my biggest fear (2nd only to large spiders) and make me spend 40 minutes watching more! Great show!
It will scare you to the point of peeing your pants!!

cast: 

• Matt Ryan as John Constantine, an enigmatic and irreverent con man-turned-reluctant supernatural detective who is thrust into the role of defending humanity against dark forces from beyond. 
• Harold Perrineau as Manny, an authoritative angel assigned to watch over Constantine. He communicates with him by temporarily stepping into other people's bodies. 
• Charles Halford as Chas Chandler, Constantine’s oldest friend and staunch companion who possesses powerful survival skills that might possibly be supernatural. 
• Angélica Celaya as Zed Martin 
• Lucy Griffiths as Liv Aberdeen 

Why People Download TV …and other things that have to do with landing on the Moon

Extant - the new Steven Spielberg series is excellent, I love it, but it’s not the topic of this post, it’s merely a prime example or a casualty in a battle I am waging on the cable companies.  As someone who watches a lot of TV, It’s important to have a number of places where I can watch.  People often ask me: “do you really watch all the shows you review?” and “where do you find the time?”  Well I’ll tell you! And then we will get to the meat of what I want to address today.

I have a full time job and I have full time kids and a full time husband (is there a word for more than full time?) and yet I still find the time to keep up with watch my favorite shows as well as watching new shows and writing reviews. I do this for a couple of reasons.
1 – I love TV. Period. I would take TV over movies any day!
And …
2 – I try to watch and review so that those of you who can't make time for all the shows make time for the ones you think you will like. I am trying to maximize your enjoyment of TV too!

This is where I get back to Extant…In order to keep up with my busy life and keep up my TV viewing and blogging I need to have a system and the system needs to be reliable! I have some shows recording on the PVR in the bedroom and some on the PVR in the living room. Some shows are recording on time shift to catch them earlier or and some are recording on time shift to catch them later and some are recording simultaneously at times that I know I won't need to watch live TV…It’s a delicate grid people…very delicate. It’s in Excel and posted on my fridge with highlighter and colour codes…it’s a science…nay! An art!




So when I get into bed the other night and turn on Extant and I see “scenes from last week” that should be a recap but in fact I have not seen them before? I lose it!  Come on cable companies, we have put a man on the moon but when I select “record all new events” you can't figure out how to record a show if it is an unprecedented 2 hour episode? Come on! This makes me want to jump on the bandwagon with the conspiracy theorists that the moon landing never happened! How could it have if my PVR can't even figure out how to not skip the first hour of a 2 hour show that said “record ALL NEW EPISODES”? Impossible!




In adding insult to injury, today I see a post on TvLine.com with the Headline “Good Wife, Bad Time Slot: CBS Tweaks Alert System for Sunday Delays” http://tvline.com/2014/09/09/the-good-wife-football-delays-cbs-eye-lert-system/ and I am immediately in a bit of a rage.  To set the stage, I am one of the honest people that pays for music when I download it. I believe whole-heartedly that some artists create great music and I am more than happy to spend my money to purchase a good song that makes me do a little dance or puts a smile on my face.  I feel the same way about TV.  I want studios to make great shows! I want producers, directors, writers and actors to make money for providing me with such fabulous entertainment. Especially after dabbling in acting myself, I know I appreciate the paycheck after what can sometimes be long hours. BUT…and you knew one was coming…I get so frustrated with the networks and the way they move things around without giving it a second thought. I want to watch, I want your sponsors to get their money and have everyone get paid…but you have to deliver the goods on your end too!



So when I read that CBS wants me to download an app so that I get an alert that my show is running late because of Football so that I can update my PVR - I have to say why?  Why in this age of modern technology can we not just bump the show and have the PVR know that? If the Football game ran 32 minutes longer than it should have– BAM – a signal is sent to the digital box and all shows on that channel and their recordings are also bumped back by 32 minutes. Easy.  Done. When Bachelor Pad runs an episode on Monday night and ALSO one on Tuesday – BAM – a signal goes to my PVR to record it if I am already recording the one on Monday. It’s not rocket science people…but it is the reason people download.   

Resurrection, The Returned or "Les Revenants" - Whatever You Call It - Its Wonderful, Amazing and "Magnifique"!

Directed by Daniel Attias (who has assisted in directing duties with such legends as Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola) and written by Aaron Zelman (of CSI and Law and Order Fame) comes Resurrection. 

Based on the book “The Returned” by Jason Mott which was brought to life the first time in the French movie and TV Series “Les Revenants”, Resurrection claims to flow from a different source.  However, when reviewing content and overall storyline there is barely a shade of grey of difference other than language.

Lovers of supernatural TV will be engrossed in this fantasy drama television show.  I found myself going through several rounds of goose bumps in Episode 1 alone.

A quick synopsis: (without spoilers)  The series follows the residents of Arcadia, Missouri, whose lives are upended when their loved ones return from the dead, un-aged since their deaths.

The well composed scenes allow the audience to feel what is happening and internalise the emotion by providing an excellent balance of dialogue and silence which allows the viewer to sink into Arcadia.

The seasoned cast delivers outstanding performances that further draw in the audience with believability that allows you to get lost in their stories. 

Omar Epps, Francis Fisher, and Kurtwood Smith are unforgettable.

Season 1 began on ABC in March 2014 and I urge you to watch it before season 2 starts in the Fall of this year.  I can’t get enough!

Justified – Season 1 – Episode 1 - My first requested review!

 Justified is a crime drama set in rural Kentucky. It stars Timothy Olyphant (still not completely clear on how to pronounce that but since I am writing, you can pronounce it any way you like!)

Having entered into its fifth season in January of 2014 on FX, the Network CEO John Landgraf has now confirmed that there will be a sixth and final season. 

Given the amount of time that someone just starting this show will have to invest, it’s wise to get a review first!  It’s what I am here for; and given that you will probably want to watch this show, I will make the review short – you have 13 episodes a season to watch (times 4.5 seasons), so you are already short on time!

Acting – Timothy Olyphant – he has been in everything - and is great in everything.  With over 50 credits to his name on IMDB, he even made “I Am Number Four” bearable. I loved him in The Crazies!

Story – to be honest, this is a bit been-there-done-that for me; small town guy returning to his old haunts and dealing with all his old buddies... but now as a US Marshall – we all know this has been done to death.  I think the redeeming thing here is the quality of the series, Justified is really well done and authentic.

My only complaint?  (you knew I would have one) is Walton Goggins – who plays Boyd Crowder – has a full set of gorgeous veneers when he flashes his evil grin.  In backwoods Kentucky where they all still use rotary phones he has managed to find a fantastic dentist? Really?

Overall – great show, great cast and worth investing the time.

Penny Dreadful – you mean Penny Terrible?

Penny Dreadful - Ok, so looking online it seems like I am the only one that didn’t like this show. And to be honest I didn’t hate it, I am just getting so tired of all the supernatural shows, which is weird – because I love those shows.When a new one comes along I think it is important that they bring something new and fresh to the table. They need to be at least at the caliber of the pre-existing paranormal shows.

To me, the staples that we should measure new shows against are: 

True Blood –Rocks hard core

Vampire Diaries – The best show on CW right now

Supernatural – You can’t beat Sam and Dean and their hunting escapades

Penny Dreadful  – had a great opening scene and I love Josh Hartnett as much as the next girl, but to me this show just did not meet my expectations.  

Vanessa Ives – played by Eva Green – is a prettier version of the Mentalist who sums up Hartnett’s character Ethan Chandler in a way that would make Patrick Jane  look like a circus sideshow act. Interesting, but done to death.

The action kicks in almost right away, but there is way too much way too soon without any back-story.  If i don't know why and who and where - how can I care and get invested?

Overall - You can't remake an old show with "déjà" seen characters and set it in Victorian London and just say “Voilà- a new show!”

My opinion: If you haven’t seen Supernatural, Vampire Diaries and True Blood – then go ahead and make this your creepy monster show of choice, but if you have seen the shows mentioned above , you will be disappointed in this uninspired copycat.

Rosemary’s Baby - Should Never Have Been Born

 Please allow me to give you the gift of 4 hours of your life back as I tell you: do not bother with Rosemary’s Baby.  The 4 hour miniseries that aired part 1 on Monday night and is scheduled to air part 2 on Thursday night is an epic fail. This is a mammoth let down when you consider it is based on a classic story and touts a very talented cast.

The first 20 minutes of R’s baby was a TV fan’s dream - an opening scene that grabs your attention and peaks your interest, a beautiful Paris backdrop as well as France born actors with melodic authentic accents.  Then…everything else happens and it all goes downhill from there.

Zoey Saldana  is one of my favorite actors and was a perfect fit as the shy and charming character of Rosemary.  Also well cast in the role of her husband was Toronto-born actor Patrick Adams – you may recognize him from his role in “Suits”. 

I was also excited to see Jason Isaacs who I fell in love with when he played the role of Michael Britten in “Awake” unfortunately his immense talent was not used to its full potential in this role that was severely underwritten.  His character was overtly creepy and so obviously devious that he was sadly predictable.

At the 45 minute mark (with commercials – so really the 30 minute mark) R’s Baby turned into 666 Park Avenue .  The new couple, down on their luck, meets creepy, overly eager older couple who live in the lap of luxury and want (for no reason it seems) to embrace these two and help them achieve their wildest dreams. Terry O’Quinn and Vanessa Williams could have fit in these roles seamlessly.

The only saving grace of this stale and slow moving adaptation of the brilliant novel was that it was only a miniseries and not a full season. My advice? Don’t waste your time.