The long-awaited, but inevitable return of Justified aired last night, and it was worth the anticipation. Raylan Givens probably accounts for about 37% of the total ‘swagger’ in all of television right now. The guy has got character, and he exudes a remarkable likability factor. Basically, he is so cool that I want to be his sidekick. I could make witty quips and get kidnapped, and eventually snag an unorthodoxly hot girlfriend, who doesn’t really compare to his girlfriend, but is a catch none the less on her own. She wouldn’t be “Hollywood Hot”, because she would have glasses or something, but she would be “Real life Hot” so it’d be cool.
So here we are again – Friday the 13th. And for most people whose brains are as riddled with graphic violence as mine is, that screams Jason Voorhees. With 32 credits on his IMDb page since 1980, it’s easy to see how he’s become a big part of popular culture. Jason is one of the most recognizable genre characters of all time, which is why we’ve seen him pop in other mediums. From Robot Chicken, The Simpsons and Family Guy, to The Arsenio Hall Show.
Benedict Cumberbatch is becoming quite the commodity. He just appeared in the acclaimed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and he’s quickly becoming a phenomenon in the UK. with the success of Sherlock. In addition, he’ll show up later next year in the 2nd movie of The Hobbit series, which we’ll get back to in a minute. First let’s address the fact that it’s been recently reveled that he (along with Doctor Who’s Noel Clarke) will appear in J.J. Abrams’ next Star Trek movie.
Cumberbatch will play the villain in the much-anticipated sequel, and that’s about all we know. When he was asked about it by Collider at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, this is what he said:
There’s a lawyer standing here saying that I can’t say anything. I’m hugely, hugely excited and I’m very, very flattered. I’m very, very excited, but obviously I’m not here to talk about that. I will, in the future, I’m sure. I’m just getting my head around the fact that it’s happened. If you’ll forgive me, I’ll pass on that. But, my headline is that I’m over the moon.
Not a lot to go on there, but rumors have been flying for months that the secret villain will in fact be Kirk’s nemesis Kahn. This was compounded by all the previous casting news had revolved around Latino actors trying out for the part…
Concerning his involvement in The Hobbit (which stars his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman as the lead), Cumberbatch may have recently let something slip he wasn’t supossed to…
“I’m playing Smaug through motion-capture and voicing the Necromancer, which is a character in the Five Legions War or something which I’m meant to understand. He’s not actually in the original Hobbit. It’s something [Peter Jackson]’s taken from Lord Of The Rings that he wants to put in there.”
Now Empire had some thoughts on said quote, this is their theory…
Now those familiar with the book will notice immediately the big new piece of information here. Assuming that Cumberbatch does mean the Battle of Five Armies (which seems safe), then this points to one way that Peter Jackson and co. have expanded the book’s story to fill two films, and provide a more seamless link to The Lord Of The Rings.
Readers will know that the Necromancer is Sauron, and that Gandalf disappears halfway through (the book of) The Hobbit to lead a coalition force and drive the Necromancer out of his Mirkwood stronghold. But in the book they dispatch the Necromancer back to (as it turns out) Mordor well before the Battle of Five Armies. Here, however, it looks like he’s going to turn up to the finale in person, presumably at the head of the goblin and Warg army, and face Gandalf’s team there.
If that is the case, it’s a narratively neat way to combine the two story threads, that of Bilbo and the dwarves and the other following Gandalf and his team. It also gives the goblins a stronger motivation to suddenly turn up: in the book, they’re avenging the earlier death of one of their leaders and (like all the other armies present) hoping to get their grubby hands on the dragon’s hoard. If they’re incited or led by Sauron, however, their actions will hang more coherently with their behaviour later in Lord Of The Rings.
Interesting theory, and one I guess we will have confirmed or denied December 14th of this year. Anyhow, Benedict was also asked about a return for a 3rd Season of Sherlock, a question which he eluded and said only that he would ‘like’ to do another one, scared of what he could or could not confirm, but lucky for us one of his producers (Rebecca Eaton) stepped in and confirmed just moment later that we will get another dose of Holmes and Watson in the form of a 3rd season.
So appears to be good news all around as far as I’m concerned. Cumberbatch is owning…
I’ve made clear my admiration for the BBC show Sherlock. It’s well written and acted, its interesting, and all around better than at least 90% of the other TV shows. That said, I thought the latest episode might’ve been their weakest. I recognize that following up the premiere, which I feel to be the best episode to date, was no easy task. It’s like doing stand-up for the first time and going on stage after Eddie Murphy…
Anyhow, that’s not to say it was terrible either. One thing that this episode actually did quite well was attempt to humanize Sherlock some more. In A Scandal in Belgravia it showed Sherlock to be less asexual than previous, as it was clear how he felt for Irene Adler. In The Hounds of Baskerville however, the focus is more on John Watson and their friendship – the only one Sherlock has.
Well, it took awhile, but the wait was worth it. With the new year came the new season of BBC’s Sherlock, and they wasted no time in delivering what I felt was their best episode to date. We picked up right where we left off, Sherlock and Watson in peril and for the first time, face to face with Jim Moriarty. As the first season ended all involved appeared to be in mortal danger, a Mexican standoff if you will. As A Scandal in Belgravia begins, there they all stand, at the pool and around an explosive vest when Moriarty gets a phone call. The woman on the other line inadvertently diffuses the whole situation and both sides are allowed to back down.
Now to some this might feel like a cop-out, but that’s what makes the relationship between Sherlock and Moriarty so interesting. Much like the Joker with Batman, Moriarty doesn’t really want to kill Holmes, it’s more fun just to play with him. And as Sherlock Holmes is half the original inspiration for Batman (along with Zorro), it’s no wonder that Batman and the Joker can be drawn in such a similar light.
Now in June we told you that the sophomore season would feature the likes of the infamous Irene Alder, and feature her it has. Behold, the only woman to ever set a flutter the heart of our robotically cold Investigator.
Adler (Lara Pulver) is the introduced to us not as your run of the mill damsel in distress, but instead the target of Sherlock’s most recent case. The treat of digital blackmail and royal scandal have the Crown spooked, and for this reason Sherlock is asked to handle ‘evidence retrieval’ from outside Buckingham Palace. In the modern setting this comes in the form of an encrypted phone.
Upon introduction between Sherlock and Ms. Adler, it becomes quite clear that the retrieval of the phone is about more than just some racy photos. Whatever the true nature of the case is, it’s dangerous enough to interest the Americans as well. Sherlock and Dr. Watson once again find themselves in for more than they bargained with CIA Spooks and kidnappers running amok.
The episode takes place over the course of several months, encompassing Christmas and New Year. It also once again shows that despite how brilliant he is, Sherlock can sometimes miss the most obvious of conclusions – namely the fact that coroner Molly Hooper is in love with him. As sweet and obvious as she can be with Sherlock, she constantly tries to display her feelings for him, but unfortunately for her, she is not Irene Adler and therefore remains near invisible to Mr. Holmes.
Sherlock instead prefers to have a one-sided text message relationship with Irene that goes on for months, and is a rather endearing to see, even if we do feel for Molly. His unwillingness to answer Ms. Adler’s texts though is simply proof that the man who often seems heartless, does in fact have a heart and his silence speaks volumes. Even upon learning of Ms. Adler’s death, it’s what Sherlock does not say that speaks the loudest.
“All lives end. All hearts are broken. Caring is not an advantage Sherlock.”
At a certain point the whole case becomes less about getting the photos back for the crown, and more about figuring out what else is on the phone. It’s obviously important if the CIA is so interested in it, and for months Sherlock try to decipher an unlock code for which you’re allowed only 4 guesses before the thing self destructs Mission Impossible style.
Without spoiling how it ends, I will simply say the whole episode was excellent, and you should check it out. They’ve made Sherlock certainly more of a badass this year, and the involvement of Adler and Moriarty raise the stakes considerably. It is a little sad that the new Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr. can’t really compare to even the weakest episodes of this show in terms of quality writing. I give the premiere 5 of 5 Bears and wish that there were more than 2 more episodes coming this year…
Don’t snivel Mrs. Hudson, it’ll do nothing to impede the flight of a bullet. What a tender world that would be.
Anyone who reads this site with any regularity should already know how I feel about the Die Hard franchise, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it made the list. And truth is, I’d rather watch this 5 times in a row than watch any other movie on the list once. Hence, it’s representation of # 1-5. Yippee ki-yay.
I will assume every has already seen Die Hard, but as a refresh, here we go: John McClane is a cop from New York who goes to a Christmas party at his wife’s new office, the Nakatomi Plaza in LA. After arriving John takes off his shoes and all hell breaks loose. Hans Gruber and his group of “terrorists” brake in and take everyone hostage. Everyone that is except for barefoot John. From here McClane proceeds to sneak around the building, talking shit and killing members of Hans’ team…
As the movie progresses John kills more and more of Hans’ men, and we remain in awe at his ability to do it all without shoes. Eventually we learn that Hans is in fact not a terrorist, but instead just a very clever thief, and once it becomes apparent that Santa Claus in not gonna swoop in and save the day then it falls solely into the lap of John to save Christmas. And save Christmas he does. Barefoot.
With no available chimneys our hero is forced into the building’s venting system to deliver his presents (bullets) to Hans.
This allows him the opportunity to rescue his estranged wife Holly and her co-workers.
Grizzly Bomb 