Well, forget what I said about last season. Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) is a big idiot and far too stubborn for his own good.
He does go on trial for pirating, but is miraclously found not guilty, though that doesn't stop him from further crimes including allowing illegal storage of goods on his cove, despite Demelza's (Eleanor Tomlinson's) pleas of the contrary. He opens up a new mine which also nearly bankrupts him though it does strike riches toward the end of the season, but it comes at a cost. Francis (Kyle Soller) is actually one of my favorite characters this season shockingly. He nearly succeeds in killing himself in the season opener but doesn't and then embraces life. He grows a pair and tells off the evil weasel-faced George Warleggen (Jack Farthing) in a great scene. But his growth comes at a cost. He learns more about mining. Unfortunately, he still cannot swim so he drowns tragically, leaving Elizabeth (Heida Reed) penniless and without means of earning money. And Ross is right, Demelza is resourceful while Elizabeth was trained to be a lady, so her needs might be more than his wife's, but that doesn't mean he should abandon his beloved.
Ross is neglectful of his wife and even goes as far as proclaiming that he doesn't want another child as losing Julia nearly killed him. Too bad she's already pregnant, though their son is born healthy and still alive at the end of the season.
It isn't until Elizabeth decides to accept George's proposal and Ross is livid. He's in bad form as the mine just collasped, killing two of his workers so he goes over to the ancient Poldark estate and basically rapes Elizabeth. Though apparently in the book, it was rape, BBC declared that now it was going to be consensual and I kept thinking that there was nothing consensual about that. Earlier in the season, when Elizabeth did declare that she still loved Ross while also loving her husband, she might have been willing, but not now. And then the version shown in England was even worse, leaving the gray area away, it was rape, plain and simple. And Demelza knew what he was up to. When Ross returns home, doing the walk of shame, she smacks him so hard, he falls to the ground, in an epic moment for all womenkind. She even tries to cheat on him, though she can't bring herself to follow through. Ross does apologize and state that he no longer has any feelings for Elizabeth and in the season finale, things are finally better between, but the damage has been done, my favorite couple, the one I shipped so hard in season one is ruined beyond my wildest dreams.
Fortunately, there was another couple I did ship this season and I have high hopes for them. Dr. Dwight Enys (Luke Norris) and the wealthy heiress Caroline Penvenen (Gabriella Wilde) love each other, but her uncle is against the match and Dwight is too dedicated to his patients. But in the end, love wins. And I can't live in a world where it doesn't.
In the end, Elizabeth is pregnant, believing the baby to be George's while her aunt Agatha (Caroline Blakiston), a great character, tells her that the baby would come early. Agatha also has all the great lines, calling George the devil which completely applies. And though George may love Elizabeth he is also cruel in sneaky way including wishing to send the child with too many names to a great school, just so Elizabeth won't have to divide her attention between the two of them. Things will get interesting in the next season.
As for my favorite character, Verity (Ruby Bentall), she finally has the baby she longed for and things are better with her step-children and her family, though her aunt misses her greatly. Still, she deserves better scenes as she is too good of an actress to be wasted like that.
While I may have had big time problems with the direction the main character took, going off the deep end, the acting is still top-notch and the sets truly take you back to a place far away and long ago, with excellent camera work and editing. I just wish Ross was still a character I could admire. Grade: B+
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
The Middle: Look Who's Not Talking
Well, Frankie's (Patricia Heaton's) actions from last week are still having consequences. Axl (Charlie McDermott) is still not talking to her though he does text Mike (Neil Flynn) to ask if he is allergic to penicillin. She is still furious at him, livid that he is mad at her when she should be mad at him for skipping Thanksgiving.
Frankie tries, even sending him a picture of a anatomically correct mutant carrot which he found hilarious, but she insulted his lady and that does not fly with him. Mike even drives all the way up there just to get him to mend the fences with Frankie, but then only makes things worse, saying that April is indeed as dumb as a box of hammers and that Sue (Eden Sher) and Brick (Atticus Shaffer) agree. So now Axl isn't talking to the whole family. Which is just great.
Sue finally gets some sparkle or glitter in her life when Brad (J. Brock Ciarlelli) comes to visit. She is in temporary housing which sucks as there are some kids of both genders with just half a bunk bed to call their own. Brad helps decorate the temporary housing and fortunately the warden ultimately doesn't care. But he has a bombshell of his own. Upset with the dark people at NYU, he dropped out, shocking Sue. Sue urges him not to change who he is and that he should still follow his theatre dreams and that East Indy has a great program.
Brick is having issues but it takes you a little while to figure out that him saying "You're going to love our pizza," is a new tick. Anxious over all the family drama, he has taken to saying that whenever he first talks before moving on to something relevant. It lands him in detention which means that he has to have a talk with Dr. Fulton (Dave Foley) who encourages Brick to have more fun to let off some steam.
His parents are upset that the family drama is having such a devastating affect on him and let off some built up tension and hit the mutant fruit pieces in the backyard, having fun. It is nice and truly wonderful to see them having fun with their youngest son.
Though I wish things had mended with Axl, he is truly in love with April and believes that he was a whole different person before he met her, things like that are not forgiven overnight and it will be some time before the family is whole again. I'm glad we will probably be seeing more of Brad as his presence is always welcome. Sue is always excellent in the role of the most positive character on TV. Frankie and Mike have honed their roles to a perfection over the years and while Brick needs more screen time, he makes the most of what he is given. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Frankie got some misshapen fruit from a store that is even cheaper than the Frugal Hoosier. It is called Yesterday's Bounty.
-Frankie bites into some of the cereal she bought and chokes thinking that it is dishwasher detergent but then changes her mind and decides that it is actually cereal.
-In New York, you can get a hot pretzel any time of the day.
-Brad fainted when he thought he saw Greg Kinnear at a coffee shop.
-The twenty-four mini mart doesn't close until eleven at night.
-Dr. Fulton is seeing a sixty-eight year old woman who is great at power walking.
-If you don't want it to be a karaoke bar, then you shouldn't play Katy Perry.
-Telling Sue not to decorate her room is like telling Michael Phelps not to get wet. That is a mental image I did not need.
-Sue's name in the bin is retainer drooler before they finally introduce themselves to each other.
-When Brad first arrives, he pretends to be a predator and so Lexie (Daniela Bodadilla) attacks him. When Sue offers to give him a tour of the campus, he asks to start with the ice machine.
-Axl's Winnebago home still has a hole in the roof which sucks now that it is winter.
Frankie tries, even sending him a picture of a anatomically correct mutant carrot which he found hilarious, but she insulted his lady and that does not fly with him. Mike even drives all the way up there just to get him to mend the fences with Frankie, but then only makes things worse, saying that April is indeed as dumb as a box of hammers and that Sue (Eden Sher) and Brick (Atticus Shaffer) agree. So now Axl isn't talking to the whole family. Which is just great.
Sue finally gets some sparkle or glitter in her life when Brad (J. Brock Ciarlelli) comes to visit. She is in temporary housing which sucks as there are some kids of both genders with just half a bunk bed to call their own. Brad helps decorate the temporary housing and fortunately the warden ultimately doesn't care. But he has a bombshell of his own. Upset with the dark people at NYU, he dropped out, shocking Sue. Sue urges him not to change who he is and that he should still follow his theatre dreams and that East Indy has a great program.
Brick is having issues but it takes you a little while to figure out that him saying "You're going to love our pizza," is a new tick. Anxious over all the family drama, he has taken to saying that whenever he first talks before moving on to something relevant. It lands him in detention which means that he has to have a talk with Dr. Fulton (Dave Foley) who encourages Brick to have more fun to let off some steam.
His parents are upset that the family drama is having such a devastating affect on him and let off some built up tension and hit the mutant fruit pieces in the backyard, having fun. It is nice and truly wonderful to see them having fun with their youngest son.
Though I wish things had mended with Axl, he is truly in love with April and believes that he was a whole different person before he met her, things like that are not forgiven overnight and it will be some time before the family is whole again. I'm glad we will probably be seeing more of Brad as his presence is always welcome. Sue is always excellent in the role of the most positive character on TV. Frankie and Mike have honed their roles to a perfection over the years and while Brick needs more screen time, he makes the most of what he is given. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Frankie got some misshapen fruit from a store that is even cheaper than the Frugal Hoosier. It is called Yesterday's Bounty.
-Frankie bites into some of the cereal she bought and chokes thinking that it is dishwasher detergent but then changes her mind and decides that it is actually cereal.
-In New York, you can get a hot pretzel any time of the day.
-Brad fainted when he thought he saw Greg Kinnear at a coffee shop.
-The twenty-four mini mart doesn't close until eleven at night.
-Dr. Fulton is seeing a sixty-eight year old woman who is great at power walking.
-If you don't want it to be a karaoke bar, then you shouldn't play Katy Perry.
-Telling Sue not to decorate her room is like telling Michael Phelps not to get wet. That is a mental image I did not need.
-Sue's name in the bin is retainer drooler before they finally introduce themselves to each other.
-When Brad first arrives, he pretends to be a predator and so Lexie (Daniela Bodadilla) attacks him. When Sue offers to give him a tour of the campus, he asks to start with the ice machine.
-Axl's Winnebago home still has a hole in the roof which sucks now that it is winter.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Loving
Imagine a time where it was a crime to marry your true love. Imagine a place that would have law against interracial marriages.
The time was 1958 and the place, Virginia, United States, not terribly long nor far away.
The film begins with Mildred Jeter (Ruth Negga) telling her white boyfriend Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) that she is pregnant. Instead of being angry or something similar, which I was expecting, he merely says good. Fortunately, he proposes a few weeks later, which is mighty nice of him, considering he impregnated her. They live in Virginia but marry in Washington D.C. where they won't have as much red tape, when it is in fact illegal in Virginia, as Mildred is colored. They are arrested, with the police sneaking into Mildred's father's house in the middle of the night to catch them in bed together, which is sick. They plead guilty and are sentenced to one year in prison, beyond harsh, but the judge says that if they leave immediately for Washington, they won't have to spend any time in prison, which is what they do, though they briefly return for the birth of their oldest son.
Fortunately, their lawyer (Bill Camp) takes the bullet for them, telling the judge that he wrongly informed them that they could return. For the next five years, they live in D.C. where Richard finds a job in construction. Though Mildred has family in the area, she doesn't like the lack of trees and grass for the kids to run around in. She eventually takes matters into her own hands and contacts the attorney general, Bobby Kennedy himself to help out her family. The lawyer she is assigned from the ACLU, Bernard Cohen (Nick Kroll) suggests that they return to Virginia where they can get arrested again so they can appeal the sentence. They are hungry to get this case to the Supreme Court.
It isn't until Donald is injured when he is hit by a car that Mildred defies her husband and starts to pack to return.
The family returns where the original court decision is still upheld so the family gains some sort of publicity as they have a Life magazine photo shoot and the case eventually does go to the Supreme Court where it is fortunately overturned. The year is 1968, ten years after they first married.
Richard is finally able to build Mildred he promised her all those years ago.
The plot is simple enough, so this film should be more of a character study than it is. First of all, the film starts when they have already been dating for some time, it would be nice to see how they got together and when they fell in love. At least they did have mostly support, though Richard's mother didn't agree with them marrying, probably because it made his life harder, which it did. Only one of his co-workers had an issue with it. It was only the law standing in their way.
The film didn't have enough scenes with dialogue between the two main characters so they seem disjointed together most of the time with Mildred being warm and open to the reporters while Richard is pretty closed off and tight-lipped, but he does truly love his wife and children. Though each actor is excellent, I wish the script gave them more to do instead of staring intently into the distance while the camera attempts to capture their emotions.
But you do feel like you are being transported to another time in another place, so the film succeeds in that regard, thank goodness, with the brilliant sets and costumes.
I just wish that you got to know Richard and Mildred better. Grade: B+
The time was 1958 and the place, Virginia, United States, not terribly long nor far away.
The film begins with Mildred Jeter (Ruth Negga) telling her white boyfriend Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) that she is pregnant. Instead of being angry or something similar, which I was expecting, he merely says good. Fortunately, he proposes a few weeks later, which is mighty nice of him, considering he impregnated her. They live in Virginia but marry in Washington D.C. where they won't have as much red tape, when it is in fact illegal in Virginia, as Mildred is colored. They are arrested, with the police sneaking into Mildred's father's house in the middle of the night to catch them in bed together, which is sick. They plead guilty and are sentenced to one year in prison, beyond harsh, but the judge says that if they leave immediately for Washington, they won't have to spend any time in prison, which is what they do, though they briefly return for the birth of their oldest son.
Fortunately, their lawyer (Bill Camp) takes the bullet for them, telling the judge that he wrongly informed them that they could return. For the next five years, they live in D.C. where Richard finds a job in construction. Though Mildred has family in the area, she doesn't like the lack of trees and grass for the kids to run around in. She eventually takes matters into her own hands and contacts the attorney general, Bobby Kennedy himself to help out her family. The lawyer she is assigned from the ACLU, Bernard Cohen (Nick Kroll) suggests that they return to Virginia where they can get arrested again so they can appeal the sentence. They are hungry to get this case to the Supreme Court.
It isn't until Donald is injured when he is hit by a car that Mildred defies her husband and starts to pack to return.
The family returns where the original court decision is still upheld so the family gains some sort of publicity as they have a Life magazine photo shoot and the case eventually does go to the Supreme Court where it is fortunately overturned. The year is 1968, ten years after they first married.
Richard is finally able to build Mildred he promised her all those years ago.
The plot is simple enough, so this film should be more of a character study than it is. First of all, the film starts when they have already been dating for some time, it would be nice to see how they got together and when they fell in love. At least they did have mostly support, though Richard's mother didn't agree with them marrying, probably because it made his life harder, which it did. Only one of his co-workers had an issue with it. It was only the law standing in their way.
The film didn't have enough scenes with dialogue between the two main characters so they seem disjointed together most of the time with Mildred being warm and open to the reporters while Richard is pretty closed off and tight-lipped, but he does truly love his wife and children. Though each actor is excellent, I wish the script gave them more to do instead of staring intently into the distance while the camera attempts to capture their emotions.
But you do feel like you are being transported to another time in another place, so the film succeeds in that regard, thank goodness, with the brilliant sets and costumes.
I just wish that you got to know Richard and Mildred better. Grade: B+
Friday, November 25, 2016
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Thank goodness for technology.
Newt (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in New York where the wizarding world is very, very separate from the no-mag, short for no magic, aka Muggles, as the Brits call them but this term hasn't carried across the ocean. Despite the law that it is illegal to have magical animals in New York, Newt has several missions with his creatures, including letting one of them loose in his native Arizona.
But he is distracted when one of his thieving animals who likes shiny things gets loose and his suitcase is switched with that of aspiring Muggle baker Jacob (Dan Fogler, excellent), so things get complicated really fast.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, former Auror Tina (Katherine Waterston) is on his case and is at first livid that he got a Muggle mixed up in his mess and doesn't care, at first, about him rescuing his animals. She brings him and Jacob back to her nice apartment which she shares with her mind-reading younger sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol) who develops an instant attraction to Jacob.
The film truly gets interesting when Newt and Jacob travel into his suitcase where he has a whole world devoted to Newt's magical creatures including some that are very rare and exotic. Redmayne finally becomes alive and at ease among his true loves. Those are his best scenes.
Though part of the film is Newt sneaking around the city getting his animals back, there is another plot line that gets complicated.
In addition to Newt and Tina committing crimes as they have gotten the Muggle world involved, they have an Auror, Mr. Graves (Colin Farrell), after them, and there is a force that lives in a select few Muggle children who have magical abilities but cannot foster their gift and if it escapes, the consequences can be deadly, which is what happens. Samantha Morton is wasted as a woman who runs an orphanage and speaks out against any magic of any kind. That plot is less interesting and more complicated and confusing than the gathering up of the animals, though everything works out in the end, with the force being destroyed and the bad guy in prison.
The problem with the film, in addition to the chunky plot, is the acting. Some are great, but Redmayne (whom I love and is usually quite good) is an oddball of a character, with a hunched posture and the inability to look others in the eye, though he is an intelligent man. Though his actions have thought behind them, it isn't in the right direction. His performance is confusing, at best, and bizarre at worse. It is a shame as everyone else is great.
The technology is wonderful with my favorite scene being when Queenie assembles strudel in mid-air, you can see the ingredients come together, including the powdered sugar.
With melancholy colors, the cinematography has a dark, dense look about it, as though it was still filmed in Britain as the others had been, there should have been a different feel to this film. It should have been more American. Grade: B-
Newt (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in New York where the wizarding world is very, very separate from the no-mag, short for no magic, aka Muggles, as the Brits call them but this term hasn't carried across the ocean. Despite the law that it is illegal to have magical animals in New York, Newt has several missions with his creatures, including letting one of them loose in his native Arizona.
But he is distracted when one of his thieving animals who likes shiny things gets loose and his suitcase is switched with that of aspiring Muggle baker Jacob (Dan Fogler, excellent), so things get complicated really fast.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, former Auror Tina (Katherine Waterston) is on his case and is at first livid that he got a Muggle mixed up in his mess and doesn't care, at first, about him rescuing his animals. She brings him and Jacob back to her nice apartment which she shares with her mind-reading younger sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol) who develops an instant attraction to Jacob.
The film truly gets interesting when Newt and Jacob travel into his suitcase where he has a whole world devoted to Newt's magical creatures including some that are very rare and exotic. Redmayne finally becomes alive and at ease among his true loves. Those are his best scenes.
Though part of the film is Newt sneaking around the city getting his animals back, there is another plot line that gets complicated.
In addition to Newt and Tina committing crimes as they have gotten the Muggle world involved, they have an Auror, Mr. Graves (Colin Farrell), after them, and there is a force that lives in a select few Muggle children who have magical abilities but cannot foster their gift and if it escapes, the consequences can be deadly, which is what happens. Samantha Morton is wasted as a woman who runs an orphanage and speaks out against any magic of any kind. That plot is less interesting and more complicated and confusing than the gathering up of the animals, though everything works out in the end, with the force being destroyed and the bad guy in prison.
The problem with the film, in addition to the chunky plot, is the acting. Some are great, but Redmayne (whom I love and is usually quite good) is an oddball of a character, with a hunched posture and the inability to look others in the eye, though he is an intelligent man. Though his actions have thought behind them, it isn't in the right direction. His performance is confusing, at best, and bizarre at worse. It is a shame as everyone else is great.
The technology is wonderful with my favorite scene being when Queenie assembles strudel in mid-air, you can see the ingredients come together, including the powdered sugar.
With melancholy colors, the cinematography has a dark, dense look about it, as though it was still filmed in Britain as the others had been, there should have been a different feel to this film. It should have been more American. Grade: B-
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
The Middle: Thanksgiving VIII
No one does Thanksgiving like the Hecks and this year is no exception though Christmas also managed to sneak in.
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is determined to take and actually send out a family Christmas picture only Axl (Charlie McDermott) brings April (Greer Grammer) over and is fine with her being in the photo while Frankie is livid and sets out to get her out of the picture, even sending a false text message to lure Axl in alone, only the message goes wrong so she just bags the photo rather than send a picture to all with April in the photo.
It gets worse, Frankie has a full breakout declaring that April is no good for him and that he is special and she is not. The rest of the family isn't thrilled either, especially since Axl will be spending the whole Thanksgiving with her family, then her great-aunt and then this woman that is called Grandma but is actually a babysitter. Frankie is second-best now and isn't pleased. April is calling out the shots now. Mike (Neil Flynn) isn't upset until he finds out that Axl won't be home to watch the football game with him. He declares that if that happens, he won't have a son anymore, though Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is standing right next to him.
The problem with Frankie's breakdown is that Axl overhears the whole thing, which results in him not showing up at all, so eventually the family does eat without him. This is one of the saddest Thanksgiving ever.
In the meantime, Sue (Eden Sher) is stressed out about work as Spudsys is short staffed. Brick needs some money so he gets hired but things turn sour. Sue micromanages him instead of letting him make his own mistakes and when her eyes start burning from extra jalapeno peppers, Brick has to make sure that is what actually happens so the front is out of employees because they are both not great together. But Sue was always told to watch out for him and that made sense when he was younger, but he's in high school now, he should be able to take care of himself.
Though I love Thanksgiving episodes, this one wasn't their best. I wish April was smarter, more worthy of Axl's attention. I understand that not everyone can be smart, but she's just well, I have nothing nice to say. Though Frankie was out of line, I still wish that conflict could have solved in this episode. And I thought Frankie would be thrilled to have dinner at breakfast time leaving her more time to go shopping for those deals she loves so much.
Though the acting is good, I expected more from McDermott, he is often the unsung hero of the show and despite some good parts, his role was underwritten in this episode and he didn't make the most of it. But I hope we have more scenes of Sue and Brick working together, that will be interesting to see. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Frankie is on a new vitamin that makes her hungry. Yeah right.
-She also gives him the finger when he calls her out on the way she pronounces April's name.
-April's favorite holiday is the one where people play pranks on each other.
-Cindy (Casey Burke) wants a fitbit for Christmas and if she doesn't get what she wants, then Brick doesn't get what he wants, which is reading time.
-April thinks Brick is in the army or some other military unit when she sees him in his Spudsys uniform.
-At work, for Brick's meal, he eats almost five pounds of bacon, considering Frankie ate his breakfast.
-You should always think about how many pumps of twenty percent real cheese product your potato should have before going in.
-Mike has a great callback to Axl's previous girlfriends: the smart redhead and the sporty one from college. For the record, I have liked Cassidy best.
-The Donohues also make an appearance to use the Hecks's oven which is actually better than theirs, shocking. Sean (Beau Wirick) finally shaved his beard, which is a miracle.
-But leaving their food at the Heck house comes at a cost, the Hecks eat it all, and cover up their mistakes.
-April's middle name is Rose.
-April blow her nose into Sue's jeans thinking that they were a towel. That's just gross.
-Also, Brick, you should take the rocks out of your pocket before going in the pool.
-Mike wouldn't be comfortable dying in front of strangers.
-April opens the wrong side of the car for storing a chair.
-Frankie says that April is a baby deer in human form.
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is determined to take and actually send out a family Christmas picture only Axl (Charlie McDermott) brings April (Greer Grammer) over and is fine with her being in the photo while Frankie is livid and sets out to get her out of the picture, even sending a false text message to lure Axl in alone, only the message goes wrong so she just bags the photo rather than send a picture to all with April in the photo.
It gets worse, Frankie has a full breakout declaring that April is no good for him and that he is special and she is not. The rest of the family isn't thrilled either, especially since Axl will be spending the whole Thanksgiving with her family, then her great-aunt and then this woman that is called Grandma but is actually a babysitter. Frankie is second-best now and isn't pleased. April is calling out the shots now. Mike (Neil Flynn) isn't upset until he finds out that Axl won't be home to watch the football game with him. He declares that if that happens, he won't have a son anymore, though Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is standing right next to him.
The problem with Frankie's breakdown is that Axl overhears the whole thing, which results in him not showing up at all, so eventually the family does eat without him. This is one of the saddest Thanksgiving ever.
In the meantime, Sue (Eden Sher) is stressed out about work as Spudsys is short staffed. Brick needs some money so he gets hired but things turn sour. Sue micromanages him instead of letting him make his own mistakes and when her eyes start burning from extra jalapeno peppers, Brick has to make sure that is what actually happens so the front is out of employees because they are both not great together. But Sue was always told to watch out for him and that made sense when he was younger, but he's in high school now, he should be able to take care of himself.
Though I love Thanksgiving episodes, this one wasn't their best. I wish April was smarter, more worthy of Axl's attention. I understand that not everyone can be smart, but she's just well, I have nothing nice to say. Though Frankie was out of line, I still wish that conflict could have solved in this episode. And I thought Frankie would be thrilled to have dinner at breakfast time leaving her more time to go shopping for those deals she loves so much.
Though the acting is good, I expected more from McDermott, he is often the unsung hero of the show and despite some good parts, his role was underwritten in this episode and he didn't make the most of it. But I hope we have more scenes of Sue and Brick working together, that will be interesting to see. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Frankie is on a new vitamin that makes her hungry. Yeah right.
-She also gives him the finger when he calls her out on the way she pronounces April's name.
-April's favorite holiday is the one where people play pranks on each other.
-Cindy (Casey Burke) wants a fitbit for Christmas and if she doesn't get what she wants, then Brick doesn't get what he wants, which is reading time.
-April thinks Brick is in the army or some other military unit when she sees him in his Spudsys uniform.
-At work, for Brick's meal, he eats almost five pounds of bacon, considering Frankie ate his breakfast.
-You should always think about how many pumps of twenty percent real cheese product your potato should have before going in.
-Mike has a great callback to Axl's previous girlfriends: the smart redhead and the sporty one from college. For the record, I have liked Cassidy best.
-The Donohues also make an appearance to use the Hecks's oven which is actually better than theirs, shocking. Sean (Beau Wirick) finally shaved his beard, which is a miracle.
-But leaving their food at the Heck house comes at a cost, the Hecks eat it all, and cover up their mistakes.
-April's middle name is Rose.
-April blow her nose into Sue's jeans thinking that they were a towel. That's just gross.
-Also, Brick, you should take the rocks out of your pocket before going in the pool.
-Mike wouldn't be comfortable dying in front of strangers.
-April opens the wrong side of the car for storing a chair.
-Frankie says that April is a baby deer in human form.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
The Middle: Road Kill
Once again, the Hecks are proving that they should be parents of the year. It is Brick's (Atticus Shaffer's) birthday, his fifteenth, and his caring, loving parents (Neil Flynn and Patricia Heaton) completely forgot. Fortunately, Brick doesn't care much about the festivities, he just wants someone to take him out to drive as he now has a shiny new learner's permit. However, driving with both Mike and Frankie goes so bad, they hide from him so Axl (Charlie McDermott) is left to take him. And Axl thinks its a good idea to take him in his house, aka the Winnebago. This goes badly as Brick takes Axl's direction of going straight far too seriously, doesn't brake in time and hits the Orson cow, knocking it to the ground. Brick wants to tell the truth, just come clean while Axl doesn't want to get in any trouble. They have to bury one of the horns in the front yard.
Naturally, everyone in town is so upset over this and believes that it is an attack on the town, people are scared. Bill Norwood (Pat Finn) buys a padlock for his front door. Nancy Donohue (Jen Ray) organizes a search party. Yeah, it's that serious. Brick still wants to tell the truth, while Axl still doesn't. He offers up a fake reward which backfires big time in his face as someone else confesses to the crime and it is believable considering it is the Glossners. Frankie and Mike, I'm pretty sure, figure out that their sons are guilty when they offer a five hundred dollar reward. No way they have that sort of money. But the Glossners want the money which forces Axl to whisper the truth to Mrs. Donohue. Of course they are punished, but it is light, plenty of hours of community service and Brick can't drive again for another year, so that will give us something to look forward to. Yikes.
Sue (Eden Sher) also has a big fish to fry. She has just two days to pick her major and is waffling between German, theatre, and large animal science. Her parents know how unrealistic these majors are and that she isn't good at theatre so Frankie has a talk with her, basically telling her that she needs a job that will pay good money and then spills the beans on the sacrifice Mike made for her.
Mike never wanted Sue to know, but he also should have known that Frankie can't keep a secret. Sue is very grateful and tells Mike to pick something for her, after all, that is what they did with Axl. Mike wants Sue to not be on the first name basis with the person at the gas company, share a battery between cars and waiting for a natural disaster to provide them with their next new appliance. He wants his children to have a better life than they have, and he's right, it is hard living the way they do, without two pennies to rub together.
Fortunately, Sue finally puts a lot of serious thought into her major and selects something perfect for her. She picks hospitality and hotel management, which is what the college is known for. After their initial surprise that, yes, is an actual thing, her parents are completely on board and I also feel that it will be a good fit for her.
This was another strong episode, though it was a little fuzzy on how Mike and Frankie figured out how their sons had tipped the cow, but it is so touching between Mike and Sue, they are really the best part of the season so far. The acting is great, the characters are realistic and the actions they do fit in line perfectly with everything they have done in the past, which is something you can't take for granted in TV shows anymore. This show is always the underappreciated gem on TV. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-After Mike is done driving with Brick, Frankie asks if there is anything she should know and Mike tells her the Lord's prayer, and that she's the best thing that ever happened to him.
-Frankie, Mike and Sue all hide when Brick wants to go driving again, in Mike and Frankie's closet. When Brick comes in, he steals one of Frankie's nightstand cookies.
-When Doris got her head stuck in a hole, Sue ran to the police officer in her underwear.
-According to Mike, there are only four fun majors: baseball player, football player, basketball player and bounty hunter.
-The Orson Patch put their full-time reporter on this cow story, which is fifteen hours a week.
-Axl thinks his head would look good on anything while Brick's head doesn't even look good on his body.
-Axl also needed to be told to close his mouth in the shower.
-The person at the gas company lets them split the bill over three credit cards.
-The best gag is when Mrs. Donohue tries to recruit Brick and Axl to inform the young people about what is happening and a dog tries to dig a hole where the cow horn is buried and Axl has to chase him away.
-On her sign, Brick says that Mrs. Donohue used the most serious of fonts.
-Axl does finally remember the plot of Captain America.
-Sue loves binders.
Naturally, everyone in town is so upset over this and believes that it is an attack on the town, people are scared. Bill Norwood (Pat Finn) buys a padlock for his front door. Nancy Donohue (Jen Ray) organizes a search party. Yeah, it's that serious. Brick still wants to tell the truth, while Axl still doesn't. He offers up a fake reward which backfires big time in his face as someone else confesses to the crime and it is believable considering it is the Glossners. Frankie and Mike, I'm pretty sure, figure out that their sons are guilty when they offer a five hundred dollar reward. No way they have that sort of money. But the Glossners want the money which forces Axl to whisper the truth to Mrs. Donohue. Of course they are punished, but it is light, plenty of hours of community service and Brick can't drive again for another year, so that will give us something to look forward to. Yikes.
Sue (Eden Sher) also has a big fish to fry. She has just two days to pick her major and is waffling between German, theatre, and large animal science. Her parents know how unrealistic these majors are and that she isn't good at theatre so Frankie has a talk with her, basically telling her that she needs a job that will pay good money and then spills the beans on the sacrifice Mike made for her.
Mike never wanted Sue to know, but he also should have known that Frankie can't keep a secret. Sue is very grateful and tells Mike to pick something for her, after all, that is what they did with Axl. Mike wants Sue to not be on the first name basis with the person at the gas company, share a battery between cars and waiting for a natural disaster to provide them with their next new appliance. He wants his children to have a better life than they have, and he's right, it is hard living the way they do, without two pennies to rub together.
Fortunately, Sue finally puts a lot of serious thought into her major and selects something perfect for her. She picks hospitality and hotel management, which is what the college is known for. After their initial surprise that, yes, is an actual thing, her parents are completely on board and I also feel that it will be a good fit for her.
This was another strong episode, though it was a little fuzzy on how Mike and Frankie figured out how their sons had tipped the cow, but it is so touching between Mike and Sue, they are really the best part of the season so far. The acting is great, the characters are realistic and the actions they do fit in line perfectly with everything they have done in the past, which is something you can't take for granted in TV shows anymore. This show is always the underappreciated gem on TV. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-After Mike is done driving with Brick, Frankie asks if there is anything she should know and Mike tells her the Lord's prayer, and that she's the best thing that ever happened to him.
-Frankie, Mike and Sue all hide when Brick wants to go driving again, in Mike and Frankie's closet. When Brick comes in, he steals one of Frankie's nightstand cookies.
-When Doris got her head stuck in a hole, Sue ran to the police officer in her underwear.
-According to Mike, there are only four fun majors: baseball player, football player, basketball player and bounty hunter.
-The Orson Patch put their full-time reporter on this cow story, which is fifteen hours a week.
-Axl thinks his head would look good on anything while Brick's head doesn't even look good on his body.
-Axl also needed to be told to close his mouth in the shower.
-The person at the gas company lets them split the bill over three credit cards.
-The best gag is when Mrs. Donohue tries to recruit Brick and Axl to inform the young people about what is happening and a dog tries to dig a hole where the cow horn is buried and Axl has to chase him away.
-On her sign, Brick says that Mrs. Donohue used the most serious of fonts.
-Axl does finally remember the plot of Captain America.
-Sue loves binders.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Arrival
While this should have been a good movie, I am in the minority. I didn't like it.
It had all the ingredients but it failed to make a point. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is a linguistic professor living a mundane existence when something strange happens. Twelve mysterious pods appear randomly around the world. In order to figure out how they are communicating, her services are required. She is joined by Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) who is a theoretical physic from Los Alamos. The rest of the characters aren't explained that well.
This was the problem for me. None of the characters, with the notable exception of Adams really had personalities or character quirks. Where The Martian succeeded, this film failed. Even Renner just lets Adams take the reigns, and it truly explores the language of the heptapods, the dementer like creatures who live in the pods, while his research is never mentioned again. The language of the heptapods is circular, just like their view of time, which comes to play big time in this film.
The big twist in this film is that all the flashbacks of Louise spending time with her now dead daughter are actually in the future as she doesn't meet her husband until the pods appear. Yes, that's right. She marries Ian. In the future, or is the past? Does it matter, time is circular?
The other big twist is that the aliens want the whole world to work together to figure out the language. And China is about to put up a fight, but Louise sneaks a satellite phone and calls the Head of the Chinese army and tells him, in perfect Mandarin, the words of his dying wife, which had been, in turn, told to her eighteen months in the future when the two finally meet in person.
While this film does truly make you think, for me it was Louise having a baby even though she knew her daughter would die too young from cancer and that her marriage was doomed to fail, it lacked things a film should have, such as fully developed characters. And I love a good love story, and it failed on that level, with not enough chemistry or fun flirting or even many loving looks between them, especially coming from Louise. The only time she is in love, it is with her baby, Hannah. To me, it is unclear why a bomb is planted inside the pod and who in particular does it. And yet, they still let Louise and Ian enter, knowing that it could kill them. Fortunately, the aliens, called Abbott and Costello by Ian save them.
It is unfortunate that I didn't like this film as the cinematography was earthy and the music haunting, but the script was deeply flawed, at least in my humble opinion. While it is nice and different having friendly aliens, helping to save the planet, to save the world from starting an unnecessary war that wouldn't have started in the first place if the pods had never showed up. Grade: B
It had all the ingredients but it failed to make a point. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is a linguistic professor living a mundane existence when something strange happens. Twelve mysterious pods appear randomly around the world. In order to figure out how they are communicating, her services are required. She is joined by Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) who is a theoretical physic from Los Alamos. The rest of the characters aren't explained that well.
This was the problem for me. None of the characters, with the notable exception of Adams really had personalities or character quirks. Where The Martian succeeded, this film failed. Even Renner just lets Adams take the reigns, and it truly explores the language of the heptapods, the dementer like creatures who live in the pods, while his research is never mentioned again. The language of the heptapods is circular, just like their view of time, which comes to play big time in this film.
The big twist in this film is that all the flashbacks of Louise spending time with her now dead daughter are actually in the future as she doesn't meet her husband until the pods appear. Yes, that's right. She marries Ian. In the future, or is the past? Does it matter, time is circular?
The other big twist is that the aliens want the whole world to work together to figure out the language. And China is about to put up a fight, but Louise sneaks a satellite phone and calls the Head of the Chinese army and tells him, in perfect Mandarin, the words of his dying wife, which had been, in turn, told to her eighteen months in the future when the two finally meet in person.
While this film does truly make you think, for me it was Louise having a baby even though she knew her daughter would die too young from cancer and that her marriage was doomed to fail, it lacked things a film should have, such as fully developed characters. And I love a good love story, and it failed on that level, with not enough chemistry or fun flirting or even many loving looks between them, especially coming from Louise. The only time she is in love, it is with her baby, Hannah. To me, it is unclear why a bomb is planted inside the pod and who in particular does it. And yet, they still let Louise and Ian enter, knowing that it could kill them. Fortunately, the aliens, called Abbott and Costello by Ian save them.
It is unfortunate that I didn't like this film as the cinematography was earthy and the music haunting, but the script was deeply flawed, at least in my humble opinion. While it is nice and different having friendly aliens, helping to save the planet, to save the world from starting an unnecessary war that wouldn't have started in the first place if the pods had never showed up. Grade: B
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
The Middle: True Grit
This was another great episode. Despite being in its eighth season, this show always has new, strong plot lines, and excellent gags both new and old.
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) decides to embrace the school spirit bug but is disheartened when his bestie, Troy (Jovan Armand) is recruited for the football team. Brick tries to be happy, he really does, despite knowing that this means Troy will be missing font club, but he finds it to be too big of an effort to fit in with the crowd. He prefers the silence.
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) embarrassingly buys herself some saucy undergarments and is at first ashamed of having 'I'd Hit That' on her butt, but the sales woman treats her like someone who is older and Frankie isn't having it, so she buys far more underwear just to prove that she still has it. Needless to say, she turns beet red when she falls off the treadmill at the gym and the EMTS come to see if she is okay.
But the episode belonged to Sue (Eden Sher), who is fed up with her crappy relationship with Jeremy (Will Green) so done with it, that she asks Axl (Charlie McDermott) for advice and it isn't actually bad. First, she tries, rather successfully despite it being out of character, to be a crappy person, saying that corporations and oil are good things, openly and blatantly disagreeing with him. But he won't give up on them and Sue reluctantly agrees. Axl even tries to break up but is taken in when Jeremy admits that he loves her and Axl can't give up on love, considering that is what he is in himself.
Finally, Sue does it herself when Jeremy proclaims that he is a natural born leader and Sue is a natural born follower and Sue isn't going to take that. She will no longer hold his pee bottle nor will she be that sponge that soaks up all his knowledge. He only cares about his ideas which will change the earth. They are never, ever getting back together.
I am so glad that Sue finally found her strength to end that toxic, disappointing relationship. She is a strong character but was allowing others to walk all over her. Frankie also found her strength, in a different way and for something petty compared to Sue. The characters are all happy in the end, as they should be.
Once again, the acting is top-notch, even from the supporting characters with the smaller roles, but there performances are no less important than the main actors. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Brick doesn't like the other team because of their geographic location. Which is just as good of a reason as any.
-Axl comes into Sue's room for some girl chocolate.
-For whatever reason, despite being in a solid, satisfying relationship, Axl still believes that Lexie (Daniela Bobadilla) is interested in pursing him romantically and keeps telling her to restrain herself.
-There are some great font puns in this episode, including my favorite of you shouldn't want a font to slap you in the face.
-Frankie has to stop drinking the Dr. Pepper as she has stomach issues.
-Sue's room is still horrible and it now sucks up stuff as the heat is now on. They pack up their stuff and leave the room though I have no idea where they are headed.
-Sue sends her no-cut acapella group to break up with Jeremy but they sing the wrong song, so the message isn't delivered properly.
-Axl charges Sue to have him break up with Jeremy for her, including a great callback to Boss Co. break-up service.
-Mike (Neil Flynn) tells Brick that he should tell a joke at the party. It is your mother needs to buy a ticket to leave the zoo and has to explain it all to Brick as he doesn't understand.
-Brick also wishes that he was fifty so he could just at home. Mike merely says that there are trade-offs.
-Will Frankie ever truly quit the gym?
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) decides to embrace the school spirit bug but is disheartened when his bestie, Troy (Jovan Armand) is recruited for the football team. Brick tries to be happy, he really does, despite knowing that this means Troy will be missing font club, but he finds it to be too big of an effort to fit in with the crowd. He prefers the silence.
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) embarrassingly buys herself some saucy undergarments and is at first ashamed of having 'I'd Hit That' on her butt, but the sales woman treats her like someone who is older and Frankie isn't having it, so she buys far more underwear just to prove that she still has it. Needless to say, she turns beet red when she falls off the treadmill at the gym and the EMTS come to see if she is okay.
But the episode belonged to Sue (Eden Sher), who is fed up with her crappy relationship with Jeremy (Will Green) so done with it, that she asks Axl (Charlie McDermott) for advice and it isn't actually bad. First, she tries, rather successfully despite it being out of character, to be a crappy person, saying that corporations and oil are good things, openly and blatantly disagreeing with him. But he won't give up on them and Sue reluctantly agrees. Axl even tries to break up but is taken in when Jeremy admits that he loves her and Axl can't give up on love, considering that is what he is in himself.
Finally, Sue does it herself when Jeremy proclaims that he is a natural born leader and Sue is a natural born follower and Sue isn't going to take that. She will no longer hold his pee bottle nor will she be that sponge that soaks up all his knowledge. He only cares about his ideas which will change the earth. They are never, ever getting back together.
I am so glad that Sue finally found her strength to end that toxic, disappointing relationship. She is a strong character but was allowing others to walk all over her. Frankie also found her strength, in a different way and for something petty compared to Sue. The characters are all happy in the end, as they should be.
Once again, the acting is top-notch, even from the supporting characters with the smaller roles, but there performances are no less important than the main actors. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Brick doesn't like the other team because of their geographic location. Which is just as good of a reason as any.
-Axl comes into Sue's room for some girl chocolate.
-For whatever reason, despite being in a solid, satisfying relationship, Axl still believes that Lexie (Daniela Bobadilla) is interested in pursing him romantically and keeps telling her to restrain herself.
-There are some great font puns in this episode, including my favorite of you shouldn't want a font to slap you in the face.
-Frankie has to stop drinking the Dr. Pepper as she has stomach issues.
-Sue's room is still horrible and it now sucks up stuff as the heat is now on. They pack up their stuff and leave the room though I have no idea where they are headed.
-Sue sends her no-cut acapella group to break up with Jeremy but they sing the wrong song, so the message isn't delivered properly.
-Axl charges Sue to have him break up with Jeremy for her, including a great callback to Boss Co. break-up service.
-Mike (Neil Flynn) tells Brick that he should tell a joke at the party. It is your mother needs to buy a ticket to leave the zoo and has to explain it all to Brick as he doesn't understand.
-Brick also wishes that he was fifty so he could just at home. Mike merely says that there are trade-offs.
-Will Frankie ever truly quit the gym?
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