TV Review : Scrubs Season 8

SCRUBS SEASON 8

Created by Bill Lawrence

Main Cast : Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, Neil Flynn, John C. McGinley, Ken Jenkins

REVIEW

+ A great finale that wrapped everything up. +

+ All the characters are just as funny as ever. +

+ The two Bahama's episodes were a refreshing change, and didn't disappoint. +

+ Every character had an important arc that was completed by the end of the season. +

+ J.D.'s flash of the future at the end was a great moment in TV. +

+ The music is the same as ever, and I have no complaints about that. Good choices again! +

+ It was good to finally see J.D. and Elliot get together properly. +

+ Still a good mix of humour and heavy drama that still affects me to the end. +

- I didn't like the new interns. -

- In some episodes, certain main characters were missing. Didn't feel like proper Scrubs. -

BEST EPISODE

The finale. Wrapped things up just how I wanted them to.

MY RATING
++++++++--

TV Review : Fringe Season 1

FRINGE SEASON 1

Created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci

Main Cast : Anna Torv, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Jasika Nicole, Lance Reddick, Kirk Acevdo, Blair Brown

REVIEW

+ Towards the end, got absolutely fantastic. +

+ Good acting all around. +

+ Fantastic, film like cinematography. +

+ Walter is officially my favourite TV character of this year, full of quotes are perfectly acted by John Noble. +

+ Some great, intelligent writing in every episode. +

+ Good overall series arc and great episode only arcs. +

+ Great special effects for a TV show. +

+ Not afraid to hold back on shocks and gore, a refreshing change. +

- Didn't start off too well. -

- Some characters could've been used in more effective ways. -

BEST EPISODE

An episode where they discover a virus that makes skin grow over any hole on their body. Great storyline and the classic Fringe moments too.

MY RATING
++++++++--

TV Review : Castle Season 1

CASTLE SEASON 1

Created by Andrew W. Marlowe

Main Cast : Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Molly C. Quinn, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tamala Jones, Jon Huertas, Seamus Dever

REVIEW

+ Nathan Fillion is absolutely fantastic as ever! +

+ Stana Katic is a great companion to him. +

+ The murders are always interesting and unique. +

+ All the scenes with Castle and his daughter are the best. +

+ The relationship between the two leads is perfectly balanced between love and hate. +

+ Tonnes of classic Nathan Fillion moments. +

+ Very well written, especially the book excerpt scenes. +

- Some repetitive storylines. -

- The supporting cast aren't very good, room for improvement. -

- I want to see even more classic Nathan Fillion moments! -

BEST EPISODE

I'd say the Pilot. A brilliant experience and great storyline ready to set up the rest of the series.

MY RATING
+++++++---

TV Review : Pushing Daisies Season 2

PUSHING DAISIES SEASON 2

Created by Bryan Fuller

Main Cast : Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Jim Dale, Ellen Greene, Swoosie Kurtz, Kristin Chenoweth

REVIEW

+ Every episode had a unique and awesome new theme. +

+ The two leads had great chemistry. What a tragic romance. +

+ A totally different look to everything else. +

+ Exceptionally well written. +

+ The darkest kind of humour, and all the better for it. +

+ All the characters had a storyline in this season, each as good as the other. +

+ Anna Friel is rather ding dong, as always. +

+ Some of the most unique deaths you'll ever see on TV. +

+ Fairytale like music and sound design. +

+ Absolutely tragic that the show has ended before it got a chance to finish properly, was my favourite current show on TV. +

BEST EPISODE

The nun episode. Compelling, funny, and who could've expected that killer?

MY RATING
++++++++++

MOVIE REVIEW : Star Trek (2009)

STAR TREK (2009)

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto

PLOT

A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.

REVIEW

+ The new cast are fantastic! +

+ Mind blowing special effects - nothing wrong whatsoever. +

+ Good music, though definately room for improvement in the next one. +

+ Very fast and never boring. +

+ The story is really good, with a very clever twist to reboot the series in a unique way. +

+ The sound design is great - especially the use of silence in space. +

+ Exceptionally well written and directed. +

+ Loads of easter eggs and nods to the original series for die hard Trekkies. +

+ An overall great film that everyone can enjoy in their own way.+

- Some of the cinematography is crazy! Lens flare gone mad! -

BEST MOMENT

The space jump. The use of silence is awesome.

MY RATING
+++++++++-

Ah, Dear George...

I will be writing my review for Star Trek later on. But for now I just had to share this...

I love George Takei, and for him to do his video was priceless in a way that I could never have imagined.

WATCH IT! NOWWWW!!!

MOVIE REVIEWS : Star Trek 1-10

Hey! So the new Star Trek was out yesterday, and I am seeing it tonight. I am nearly wetting myself in anticipation! I think it's going to be awesome!

What I did however, before seeing the new one was decide to borrow my Dad's extremely geeky boxset of all the previous Star Trek films.


Some of them I had seen before, some I had not! I have watched bits and bobs of all the TV series, enough to know who all the characters are but was looking forward to experiencing every truly big adventure.

I will not be writing a full review for each film, as there are ten of then! Each will get a rating and a short paragraph. Let us begin...

1. STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)

A pretty bad start to be honest. The opening is good as it resets the series but this is by far the most boring Trek movie I have seen. The introduction to the Enterprise is ten minutes of the Captain flying to it. The only good thing about the sequence is the music. The main problem here though is just nothing really happens. The ship is flying through space clouds for the most of the film. Try to avoid this one!

+++-------

2. STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)


Now this is more like it. Widely regarded as the best of the Trek films - I was looking forward to this one and wasn't disappointed. It is very much an adventure film which lots of vast locations, great action, a cool villain and fantastic ending. This is what an introduction to the Star Trek universe should be like!

++++++++--

3. STAR TREK: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1979)


(SPOILER!) After Spock dies at the end of Wrath of Khan, I thought they were very brave to kill off such a main character. However, as you can guess from the title - he doesn't stay dead for long. It's actually a continuation from Wrath of Khan - picking up the day after. It is nowhere near as good though. The action is clumsy, characters are boring and nothing all that interesting happens. Christopher Lloyd does make a good villain though.

+++++-----


4. STAR TREK: THE VOYAGE HOME (1986)


Now this was actually my favourite of the original Star Trek films! It perfectly blends genres together - comedy, drama, romance and action. It is a very tongue in cheek film but that works for it rather than against it. A lot of these characters are doing exactly what the fans wanted them to do. Whether its Spock doing a Vulcan sleeper hold on a 80's punk - or see George Takei flying a helicopter! It's great fun and really recommended from me!

+++++++++-


5. STAR TREK: THE FINAL FRONTIER (1989)

Oh dear. Who let William Shatner direct this one? You know its going to be bad from the start where the crew are actually hiking around a national park, singing camp fire songs to each other and more. The film is about finding God which was still a little ridiculous in my eyes for Trek. It's too pretentious, the villain is utter poo and all feels way too uneven.

++++------


6. STAR TREK: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991)


There's a supposed curse on the Star Trek movies which makes every other one good. So far this has been true! I really enjoyed the Undiscovered Country as not just a Trek film... but as a murder mystery too. It blends genres well again like all the best films and provides an intriguing, good to watch final voyage of the original Star Trek crew. It's also worth noting that its directed by the same guy that did Wrath of Khan. He knows his stuff.

++++++++--


7. STAR TREK: GENERATIONS (1994)


So here it makes the jump to the Next Generation crew. Which is good because I know them better than the old crew. Its a shame this film is a little disappointing because it had a great concept. The merging of the two generations could have held many possibilities - but instead we get Kirk and Picard riding horseback around prairies. There are good bits (like the Enterprise crash landing on a planet), but it just felt like a wasted oppurtunity to me.

++++++----


8. STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996)


This is by far my favourite of all the Star Trek films. As a kid I used to watch this one all the time, and it is still fantastic to this day. The action is awesome, it also has great comedy and drama. There are effectively two different stories going on here but they blend together perfectly. The Borg, and especially the Borg Queen make great villains - it was nice to see them get a movie about them that lives up to and exceeds expectations.

++++++++++


9. STAR TREK: INSURRECTION (1998)


After the awesome First Contact film, I was looking forward to this one too. It was by the same director. Unfortunately, its nowhere near as good. There are still great moments, and loads of good action scenes but the main problem here is that it often feels like an extended episode of TV, and doesn't have the epic feel of a movie that the other one did. I didn't really like the villain, which is Trek is always important.

+++++++---

10. STAR TREK: NEMESIS (2002)


The film that finally broke the rule of every other film being good - Nemisis managed to be worse than Insurrection. Neither of these two films are as bad as some of the original movies, but they just lack something. In this film there is just not enough character development or story. The battle at the end is great, as well as the (SPOILER!) death of Data... but the plot is too thin to every really get into it.

++++++----


So there we go. All Star Trek movies reviewed. The ones with the higher scores are absolutely worth checking out - especially The Voyage Home and First Contact. I am seeing the new one tonight, and can't wait. Look for a review probably tomorrow!

TV Review : Chuck Season 2

CHUCK SEASON 2

Created by Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz

Main Cast : Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Julia Ling, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Bonita Friedericy

REVIEW

+ A concept that keeps getting better! +

+ Really great action scenes - and always surprising. +

+ Still extremely funny. +

+ Great set of parallel stories with all the different characters. +

+ Crazy chemistry between the two main cast members. +

+ Wide variety of characters whom clash in all the right ways. +

+ An action scene to Mr Roboto - perfect! +

+I love all the Jeff and Lester storylines. +

- Sometimes repetitive. -

- I want Chuck and Sarah to get together! Stop teasing! -

BEST EPISODE

The finale. So much happened. Great action scenes. Great comedy. Great romance. And a brilliant twist!

MY RATING
++++++++--

TV Review : Heroes Season 3

HEROES SEASON 3

Created by Tim Kring

Main Cast : Milo Ventimiglia, Hayden Panettiere, Zachary Quinto, Greg Grunberg, Masi Oka, James Kyson Lee, Sendhil Ramawurthy, Jack Coleman, Adrian Pasdar, Ali Larter, Cristine Rose

REVIEW

+ Get set of characters still. +

+ Sylar is still one of the best bad guys ever. +

+ Often looks like a movie. +

+ Hiro and Ando still make a great duo, even after three seasons. +

+ Some very strong writing, towards the end. +

+ Many twists that keep it interesting. +

- Ali Larter and Sendhil Ramawurthy's stories weren't very interesting. -

- Time travel mucked things up too much - often very confusing. -

- They shouldn't have tried to turn Sylar good - bad storyline! -

- Most of the action happens behind closed doors! -

BEST EPISODE

Cold Snap - written by Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. Tonnes of great character moments, an awesome CG scene and a twist that I really didn't see coming for once.

MY RATING
++++++----

MOVIE REVIEW : The Village

THE VILLAGE

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Starring Bryce Dallas Howard and Joaquin Phoenix

PLOT

The population of a small, isolated countryside village believe that their alliance with the mythical creatures that inhabit the forest around them is coming to an end.

REVIEW

+ One of the best soundtracks... EVER! +

+ Outstanding cinematography. +

+ Acting masterclass for everyone involved. +

+ Brilliant sound design. +

+ Some truly great dialogue. +

+ Loads of long, brave takes. +

+ Unexpected twist in the middle. +

+ Really draws you in to the world.+

- Twist at the end is too predictable. -

- (SPOILER!) The monsters should have been real! -

BEST MOMENT

The day after Ivy and Lucius decide to marry, when Noah comes to visit Lucius (SPOILER!), and stabs him suddenly. Then Ivy finds him. What an acting masterpiece this scene is.

MY RATING
++++++++--

New Reviewing System...

Hey everyone...

I'll be honest, there's so many reviews I want to write, and I just don't have the time and can't be bothered to write a long review for each one.

I have decided on a new reviewing system I will use on this blog for future films, games, TV etc...

Everything I review will have 10 bullet points free. I will write ten things that I liked or I didn't like about whatever it is I am reviewing.

So if I like something, that bullet point is changed to a + sign.

If I dislike something, the bullet point will be a - sign.

At the end of the review, the amount of +'s out of the ten bullet points is the final star rating for the review.

This should work out well and allow me to review more quickly in future.

Check back in soon for the first review in the series.

GAME REVIEW : Halo Wars (Xbox 360)

HALO WARS (Xbox 360)

Developed by Ensemble Studios
Published by Microsoft Game Studios

REVIEW

+ Great graphics for an RTS game. +

+ Good music and the usual awesome Halo sounds.+

+ Phenomenal CG cutscenes. +

+ Intriguing story with characters that grow on you. +

+ Rewarding variety of gameplay (and co-op). +

+ Simple, but deep enough to keep you interested. +

+ Fun, challenging combat. +

+ Well balanced and great fun in multiplayer.+

- Some missions can be infuriating within the time limits it gives you. -

- Multiplayer matchmaking problems. -

BEST MOMENT

A cutscene at the beginning of the final level. When the Spartans unleash HELL onto the Covenant. This is the closest we'll get to a Halo movie for a while... and it is AMAZING!

MY RATING
++++++++--

MOVIE REVIEW : X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

Directed by Gavin Hood

Starring Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber


PLOT

Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.

WHAT I THOUGHT

Oh dear. What a shame.

I thought X-Men 1 was great, and X-Men 2 was unbelievable. They had great characters, awesome action, good music, fantastic special effects. All of it. X-Men 3 was not as good. I didn't think it was as bad as many people made it out to be... but still nowhere near as great as the first two.

Now we come to the next installment. A prequel. So many good things could have happened in this film, I've been told lots about the origins of Wolverine - and it sounds awesome. So why wasn't this film very good?

There was just no substance to it. I love action films, and even enjoy guilty pleasures like Transformers. But this just didn't click with me.

It seems to follow a pattern of a bit of talking, then a massive action scene, then more talking which leads to the next action scene. And so on.

Now the action scenes were still pretty incredible, not much to complain about there. But I love most films for their story. All my favourite films are the ones with great narratives.

The main problem, above all others were the amount of characters in this film. In X-Men 3 there were loads too, but they killed loads off. In this one there are loads of characters, that too get killed off... but each has about 2 minutes of screen time. Why would I care about a character dying if I don't know them?

The acting is good from Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston because they all get screen time. It's difficult to judge the other actors because they never get a moment to shine. I liked Ryan Reynolds - but he's only on screen for about 10 minutes! And I liked Dominic Monaghan - but probably only because I liked him in Lord of the Rings and Lost!

Also, although this doesn't bother me too much (because I never read the comics), I have been informed by a friend of mine that all the origins have changed and isn't faithful to the comic at all.

Like I mentioned though, the action scenes are pretty awesome. And the CG is good. The final fight I did enjoy, though nowhere near as much as Iron Man last year. It's just a shame the story is so thin behind it all.

So as you can guess, I didn't enjoy the film too much. If you love X-Men give it a shot when it comes out on DVD, but save your cinema money for Star Trek... that one looks awesome!

BEST MOMENT

Even though it was ridiculous, and as Boz told me - not like the character at all - I still liked the showdown at end with Weapon XI.

MY RATING
**********

MOVIE REVIEW : Fanboys

FANBOYS

Directed by Kyle Newman

Starring Sam Huntington and Dan Fogler


PLOT

"Star Wars" fans travel to Skywalker Ranch to steal an early copy of "Episode I: The Phantom Menace".

WHAT I THOUGHT

I'd heard loads on the Internet about this film, and the concept seemed so awesome that I wanted to see it straight away!

The other day I finally got to see it - and it did live up to expectations.

This is probably the most GEEKY film I have watched in a long time.

Its basically a road movie, but based around Star Wars. The theme of Star Wars is clear in every frame of the film. If they're not wearing a Star Wars costume, there will be a poster in the background. Even the sound effects have been replaced with Star Wars sound effects! It's ridiculous but really works for the film.

As for the story - it's pretty thin. There is a cancer storyline behind the whole thing which surprised me, but apart from that... nothing big.

It's a film about getting from A to B and the situations they get themselves into in between. These are of course, the highlights of the movie. From gay bars to getting high with an Indian chief - its all here.

It is chock-a-block full of cameo's. From fellow comedians such as Danny McBride to full fledged stars like William Shatner (playing himself), it never gets boring.

All the cast were good. Each had a distinct personality meaning they worked well on screen together. My favourite was Dan Fogler as Hutch who plays the podgy one. He steals nearly every scene and all the funniest parts come from him. I'd also like to note that Kristen Bell is rather ding dong indeed as a brunette.

Another surprise for me was how much Seth Rogen is in the film. He plays three characters! Three! One alien, one Trekkie, and one Star Wars fan. His trekkie is by far the best though, and they have uglied him up so much that you nearly can't tell its him! Great stuff.

So this is one I strongly recommend. It certainly isn't for everyone. You If you are a geek, or just love Star Wars - see this film. Good, clean fun thats easy to watch.

BEST MOMENT

The fight between the Star Wars fans and the Star Trek fans.

MY RATING
**********