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Gotham  - Season 1
Gotham - Season 1
2014 | Drama
Cast (5 more)
Character development
Characters
Setting
Great Drama
Gripping storyline
Some of the more extreme comic book costumes (2 more)
Some of the characters
Certain plot elements that take away the drama (mostly if you've read or seen what happens next)
Imagine a Gotham without Batman....
Contains spoilers, click to show
When I first watched it when it first aired, I was sceptical and yet excited and then I felt let down. Gotham at first was a great cop show but what annoyed me was the fact that all these things that we knew to happen when Batman was around, were happening when Bruce Wayne was still a child and my brain couldn't wrap around the idea let alone get behind it, but at the same time I didn't know what I was expecting. Still I watched the first two seasons because I wanted to see some of my favourite villains and characters brought to life and I love Ben McKenzie as James Gordon!

However upon recently returning to watching Gotham I have come to see it in a new light and adore the show to pieces as I should have from the start. Gotham isn't about Batman, it's not about Bruce Wayne (not fully anyways). I see now that Gotham is a concept of a question:

 "What if these villains we're here before Batman? Leaving only the police to deal with the extremity of Gotham most famous rogues!"

What makes this show so good is that we see a young, reckless and a little out of character Jim Gordon, who is even willing to bend the law to the point of breaking to get Justice. The drama is intense and you never can tell when Jim goes off on one, if he'll restrain himself to the law and doing things by the book. In a way there's a lot of Batman within Jim Gordon himself which makes the show even better.

Some of the characters annoy me at times. I liked Fish Mooney at first because she was dangerous and twisted, but when you bring a character back so many times you just lose interest and they're no longer a threat to the drama of their character development because you leave yourself with the only two viable questions: "will she ever stay dead?" And "when will she die for good?" I just don't seem to be concerned for her anymore like I did in the first season when she was double crossing Falcone. When everything was fresh and you didn't know if a stray bullet might hit her finally or if an Assassin was in her midst at all times waiting to strike. The drama for me didn't vanish but certainly lessened in later seasons.

The character development of characters like Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon, Edward Nigma and Oswald Cobblepot are brilliantly written. With Bruce becoming a stronger minded young man in season two and Oswald's rise to power. I particularly loved Nigmas transformation into a killer because of the way it was set out, with the first murder being slightly on purpose, the second a complete accident, the third being to protect himself against discovery and the rest being a complete turn around into someone who discovers he enjoys the task of killing someone. The writers are excellent when it comes to development of characters and plot.

Can't wait for the new season and I hope they go out with a bang!
  
Murder Most Fermented
Murder Most Fermented
Christine E. Blum | 2018 | Mystery
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Halsey Discovers Where the Bodies are Buried
Annie “Halsey” Hall is enjoying her new life in Mar Vista, California, although she’s not so sure about her birthday present from the women in the Rose Avenue Wine Club – a plot of dirt in the community garden. She’s hoping to turn it into a small vineyard, but her first day digging in it turns up the body of a missing elderly neighbor. With the police again looking at Halsey as a suspect, she and her friends begin to try to find the killer. Will they succeed?

I had a mixed reaction to the first book in the series when I read it last year, but since I already had book two, I decided to give this one a chance. The plotting is better and more focused here with sub-plots that stay in the background. I enjoyed the story and trying to figure out what was going on, although one part of the plot was dropped. The rest reached a logical conclusion. Once again, the story takes place over several weeks, but I was expecting that, so I wasn’t nearly as confused by the timeline. Unfortunately, the characters are still thin outside of Halsey and one or two others. I love the Southern California setting; those always appeal to me. If you enjoy wine, you’ll enjoy the wine list and pairings at the end of the book. I wanted to like this book more than I did, although there were definitely things that appealed to me, and it does show the author is improving.
  
Pontypool (2009)
Pontypool (2009)
2009 | International, Horror
10
7.3 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Shock Jock Grant Mazzy starts a new job as the morning DJ for the small-town radio station of Pontypool in Ontario, Canada. Struggling with the change of pace Grant and the rest of the stations staff are unprepared for the reports of rioting that start to flood into the show.
Pontypool takes ‘Outbreak’ and ‘Zombie’ movies and adds a nice little twist. The majority of the movie is set in the confines of a small radio station and the three leads are fed information via phone calls and police broadcasts which means that they and therefore the viewer doesn’t see what is happening in the town. The film handles this restricted setting well, slowly building up the atmosphere and tension felt by the three main cast members and playing on Grant’s lack of ‘Small town experience’.
Unlike a lot of zombie movies, Pontypool doesn’t have a lot of visible blood and gore, having most of the violence described instead of shown. This makes the one or two violent scenes even more meaningful as they aren’t just there for the sake of the gore but do actually add something to the atmosphere and story, this is also helped by the fact that we don’t knowingly see a zombie until past the half way point.
Pontypool is an interesting, atmospheric film that relies on story over the need for effect, not only due to any budget restrictions but also because that is what the type of story it is trying to tell.
  
The Decorator Who Knew Too Much
The Decorator Who Knew Too Much
Diane Vallere | 2017 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Did Madison Find a Dead Body?
It’s been seven months since we last saw Madison, and she’s been enjoying her new relationship with Hudson James. When he suggestions they take a working vacation to Palm Springs to help his brother-in-law with a project he has going on there, she accepts. However, their first day there, Madison spots a dead body below the surface of the river that runs near the project site. By the time the police show up, the body is gone. The delays to the project and the suspicion that Madison just imagined what she said she saw begin to make the trip stressful. How can Madison prove she was right?

As I expected, I was caught up in Madison’s latest adventure once I opened the book. The stakes are soon personal, and I loved watching how everything unfolded. The climax was suspenseful and answered all of our questions. We do get some updates on someone back in Dallas, but the focus is, naturally, on Madison and Hudson for this book. The rest of the characters are just as sharp. The Doris Day movie that inspired this title was the only one I had watched before starting to read this series, and I enjoyed picking up on the Easter eggs from the film in this book. Not that you need to be familiar with the film to enjoy this story. If you are looking for a creative series that will keep you glued to the page, this is the series for you.
  
Lady In The Lake
Lady In The Lake
Laura Lippman | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is an engrossing mystery set in 1960’s Baltimore. Madeline Schwartz has left her husband, desperate to make something of her life house and kitchen. After 20 years, she finds herself (mostly) free to make her own decisions and she decides to try and find her dream job - that of a journalist. But this is the 1960’s, and the closest she gets is as a PA at the newspaper.

Addie puts herself in the path of danger in order to solve the deaths of two women: one black, one white. The police are all in in their crusade to find the murderer of the white woman, not so much the black woman. And the newspaper centres around the white woman’s story too.

This book looks at themes of racism, classism, gender discrimination and ageing. Maddie is 37 years old, attractive, yet ageing. She’s looked down on by the men for her gender, and by the women because they think her looks scored her the job. No-one seems to appreciate her capabilities, or even give her the chance to show them.

I loved the chapters from other characters points of view - people Maddie had met in her investigation - and the way that we learn a bit more about her background. I was equally interested to see that the murders were based on real life cases from the same period, and the media coverage was the same as in the story.

An absorbing mystery that I’d recommend!
  
21 Jump Street (2012)
21 Jump Street (2012)
2012 | Action, Comedy, Crime
8
7.6 (36 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: We start by following our two very different high school students failing at something different things. We fast forward seven years to the police academy where the two become friends to help each other overcome their problems and get through. After they get through the two get partnered up but continue to fail leading them to get transferred to ’21 Jump Street’ program. They have to go undercover as high school students. They have to uncover a drug ring at the high school and get over the problems they faced before.

When it comes to buddy films cop we all know the basic formula and to be fair this follows everything together to keep the action and comedy blend flowing. It is good to see the mix with the high school film working as well as the idea of giving the two a chance to see how the other get through high school. Having never seen the original show I can’t say whether it is honest to the source material but in the end it really turns into a good action comedy in a world where the comedy films are starting to fall flat. (8/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Jonah Hill: Schmidt the high school geek who can get through all the paperwork side of the police work but lacks the physical presence Jenko has. Going undercover gives him a chance to experience the high school experiences he missed out. Jonah gives a good performance as we know he can play the teen comedy but also shows he ability to bounce of somebody else’s strengths. (8/10)

 hill

Channing Tatum: Jenko after only just getting out of high school and being told he has no intelligence for a future he ends up joining the police force and until he teams up with Schmidt to help him with get through the academy. While undercover he ends up having to experience the geek in high school. Channing gives a good performance and shows that he can pull off comedy to go with his all action persona. (8/10)

channing

Brie Larson: Molly high school student who Schmidt takes a shine to who ends up leading him to push aside his responsibilities as the cop. Brie gives a solid performance in the supporting role. (7/10)

 

Dave Franco: Eric the drug dealer at the school who befriends Schmidt while the two try different ways to find out who the supplier is. Dave gives a solid performance as the teenage drug dealer trying to stay cool. (7/10)

 franco

Support Cast: The drug dealers, other police officers, Schmidt’s parents and high school attendants all make up the support cast and all offer something for our main characters to work with to progress the story.

 

Director Review: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller – Good directing to balance the action and comedy perfectly. (9/10)

 

Action: With car chases being the main source of action they all come off very well with hints of comedy during without just being silly action. (8/10)

Comedy: The most part the comedy is all very good, but I did feel the over use of the sex jokes got boring. (8/10)

Chemistry: Hill and Tatum have brilliant chemistry together. (10/10)

Settings: The high school setting works really well for the story as we haven’t seen the undercover there before. (9/10)

Suggestion: It isn’t very often that I suggest a box office comedy but with this one I feel people should be watching. (Watch)

 

Best Part: Car and Motorbike Chase.

Worst Part: Slight over used of sex jokes.

Action Scene Of The Film: Car and Motorbike chase

Funniest Scene: The party

Believability: No (0/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: Has one sequel and has talks of a third.

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Box Office: $202 Million

Budget: $42 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes

Tagline: They’re too old for this shift

 

Overall: Enjoyable Buddy Cop Comedy

https://moviesreview101.com/2014/12/21/21-jump-street-2012/
  
The Happytime Murders (2017)
The Happytime Murders (2017)
2017 | Comedy
Why did some muppet green light this?
Man, this is grim.

The Happytime Murders is set in LA where puppets and humans live together but without much harmony, in a somewhat clumsy parody of racism. In this setting Phil Philips (voiced by Muppets regular Bill Barretta) is a disgraced ex-cop puppet – the first of his kind -drummed out of the force for an indiscretion and now making ends meet as a PI.

But someone is progressively bumping off members of “Happy Time” – an old muppet-style show on the Puppet Television Network featuring Phil’s old flame Jenny (Elizabeth Banks). When a murder hits home close to Pete, he teams with his old police partner Connie (Melissa McCartney) to catch the murderer.

One problem with this film is that the concept – rude puppets – is not new: “Avenue Q” have done this way better on stage and “Team America: World Police” on film. So from the outset the content doesn’t really shock. But the worst problem is that for adults, the screenplay by Todd Berger is just NOT FUNNY ENOUGH. It’s a bad sign when you can count the moments you moved from a smile to a light chuckle on one hand: just three times in fact (with the silly string scene, with the wringing-out scene (“look away”) and with a parody of a famous interrogation scene).

So, based on the ‘laffs-per-minute’ count, this is 90 minutes of my life I’d like back please. Actually, if you cut out the regular swearing and came up with a suitable story about silly string, then – cartoon puppet violence and all – the kids might enjoy it much more!

The only other mildly entertaining aspect for me – which grudgingly earns it an extra half Fad – were the closing titles that showed how some of it was filmed.

McCarthy delivers much of the same shtick we’ve seen from her in all of her recent movie outings, which doesn’t really wash well with me anymore. Banks is good as the love interest Jenny, but has little to do.

It’s directed by Brian Henson, son of the late and great Jim Henson. I’m all for “experiments”, and I notice that this was released under the “Henson Alternative” brand, which is perhaps appropriate, but some experiments work and some just don’t. I personally think this is one that doesn’t extend the Henson brand and needs to be quietly forgotten with a line drawn under it.

Definitely NOT recommended. If someone asks you to go to the cinema with them to see this, tell them to get stuffed!
  
40x40

Sarah (7798 KP) rated Line of Duty - Season 2 in TV

May 5, 2019 (Updated May 5, 2019)  
Line of Duty  - Season 2
Line of Duty - Season 2
2013 | Drama
Better than the first
I didn't believe it possible, but this second series has really surpassed the first. I think it's partly down to having main characters that are now well established and likeable at that, and their personal lives are shown briefly and all we ever get is an insight into the private lives rather than them being drawn out and over exaggerated. Not matter shows can pull this off without becoming dull or just cheesy.

This show is all about corrupt police, so theres always going to be an element of surprise and ambiguity. However for me this second series really excels. It takes ambiguity and grey areas to a completely new level and I spent the entire 6 episodes unsure of which way things were going to go until the final reveal. This series may not be quite as gory and violent as the first series, but it makes up for it in tension and intrigue, brought in part by the wonderful Keeley Hawes and the rest of the cast.

I should also add that I'm highly impressed with how accurate the portrayal of policing is on this. Yes there is some artistic license in place to make it look more exciting (and even get me started on their lax attitude to drink driving), but aside from this they've obviously done their research. It makes me feel like I'm at work, although obviously a more exciting version).

Although I have to admit the thing that surprised me the most today wasn't the ending to this series, but finding out that Martin Compston is actually Scottish! Arnott is a Scot, mind blown.
  
Goosebumps (2015)
Goosebumps (2015)
2015 | Family, Horror, Mystery
A mother and son move into their new home. Upon arrival Zack notices someone watching him but thinks nothing of it. He soon meets the person watching him and her dad who tells him to stay away from her.
One evening after hanging out with Hannah (the girl next door), Zack hears her screaming and her dad shouting at her. Worried, Zack calls the police but when they investigate hannahs dad claims that hannah had gone back to her mother's and the screaming was from the TV. Zack, however, is not buying this so he seeks help from a school mate and goes searching hannahs house. There they find a basement full of bear traps, a bookshelf full of locked Goosebumps books and of course Hannah. They unlock one of the books and an abominable snowman comes out of it jumanji style. After it's recaptured back into the book we learn that hannahs dad is R. L Stine, the author of Goosebumps and he explains about the books.
His most evil creation slappy opens all the books unleashing every monster he's ever created. It is now upto Stine and the teens to return them to their rightful place.
As a teen I loved Goosebumps and owned many of the books. I was really looking forward to this movie. Its definitely not one to take seriously and is very silly and cringy in places, and the CGI isn't the best but it is entertaining nonetheless. It gives you all the nostalgia from the books, though I was disappointed they didn't take the opportunity to use the theme tune from the show.
  
Running From Darkness (Dark River Stone Collective #3)
Running From Darkness (Dark River Stone Collective #3)
JP Sayle | 2023 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
RUNNING FROM DARKNESS is the third book in the Dark River Stone Collective series, and it starts off with a horrible subject, so read the trigger warning!

Conall and Calliope end up in Belton, asking for a favour, to save Calliope. She is in a bad way but Kyle and Nutty are there to help, even if Linc and Mason aren't. Once they turn up, Conall knows they will help him, in every way they can, which is a good thing when the police are wanting to question him.

I have to say, I have no qualms about what Conall did, or how Mason plays with the truth on his behalf. Earl deserved everything thing that came his way. I only hope to find out for sure in future books that karma paid him a visit!

The relationship between Conall and Kyle was never going to be easy and I have to admire Kyle's tenacity. Although the two of them together were hot, it was actually the easy relationship between Kyle, Conall, and Calliope that I loved. That girl is something else!

This was a great addition to the series and I loved being back with the Dark Angels. And it just goes to show - sometimes, just sometimes, running is the right thing to do, especially when you're running to the light. Definitely recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!