SCANDAL

Plot Summary [from IMDB]: "When you get into trouble there's only one person to call, Olivia Pope. Olivia is a lawyer and professional 'fixer' who makes problems go away before anyone even knows they exist. For the moneyed, the powerful and even the President, Olivia is a legend in her field. Her spectacular success is mostly due to her unbreakable rule of always trust your gut. No matter how careful you are, when you do damage control for a living, you're bound to cause some damage to your own life. She and her crew eat, sleep, live and breathe crisis. Each week, as the team races against the clock to defuse intriguing new problems before they become full-blown disasters, they also have to deal with their own personal issues. They may call themselves 'gladiators in suits', but little by little, Olivia and her crew begin to reveal the chinks in their armor."

This week's episode saw Olivia Pope and her team trying to prove the innocence of a decorated War veteran who is accused of murdering his girlfriend, in order to prevent his arrest. There was also a subplot involving the President of the United States who wanted a favor from Olivia, all I'll say is that she used to work for him.

My thoughts:

I don't have much to say really, mainly because I don't want to spoil anything. Kerry Washington's performance as Olivia Pope is powerful and layered. I also like the performances from the supporting cast which includes The Losers' Columbus Short, LOST's Henry Ian Cusick [He played Desmond, if you're a LOST fan you remember him and his long lost love Penny], Katie Lowes, and Guillermo Díaz [best known for Weeds, Half Baked, and Chappelle's Show]. Needless to say, the performances were stellar. The writing was solid, I especially liked the dialogue and foreshadowing - "we don't cry, ever". I love how all of the characters are each damaged in their own way. I got a "Damages" vibe from it at times, there are definitely some similar characters and dynamics. Kerry Washington's character Olivia Pope is like a young sexy less ruthless Patty Hewes [Glenn Close's character on Damages]. Katie Lowes' character Quinn Rielly seems as naive as Ellen Parsons [Rose Byrne's character on Damages] as she enters into a world that she has always wanted to be part of but doesn't fully understand. I have a feeling Quinn will slowly become more and more like her mentor Olivia Pope despite being seemingly more innocent than everyone else on the team.

The one thing I didn't particularly like was how after years of there not being a drama on American TV with a Black lead protagonist [except for Jada Pinkett Smith's canceled TNT hospital drama HawthoRNE], they decided to make the President White during a time when our nation is being lead by it's first Black President. In the grander scope of things that's a very minor thing though, especially since Tony Goldwyn is a very good actor and I really enjoyed his performance in the remake of the Wes Craven classic The Last House on the Left. 

I guess I should just be happy that ABC finally let creator/executive-producer Shonda Rhimes [creator of the hit shows Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice] cast a black lead protagonist in her third drama on the network.

Overall it was a pretty good premiere episode and I hope the show does well. I'm looking forward to seeing how the main story arc of this season unfolds.

What did you think of the series premiere of Scandal? Will you be tuning in next Thursday?

The Walking Dead and LOST Character Parallels *SPOILERS*

Warning: If you don't watch The Walking Dead or if you didn't watch LOST, you might not fully appreciate this post.

Randall is sort of like Ben Linus, he's one of "THE OTHERS". He's being kept in custody until the group decides what to do with him. He's also deceitful and kind of manipulative, that's based of course on his creepy interaction with Carl. Much props to that random guy on The Talking Dead for making that observation, I was thinking the same thing as I watched the episode.

Daryl is kind of like Sayid, he's the one who does the torturing and interrogating. He's also smart and a tough as hell but somehow still not the leader of the group.

Rick is obviously Jack because he's the de facto leader of the group with a conscience.

I'm not sure who Glen would be from LOST but he's definitely the most dependable and perhaps the most likeable character on the show. He really is a good person despite the world around him, that's why Dale expected Glen to side with him in the execution debate but Glen couldn't because of his rightful distrust of Randall and his love for Maggie.

Shane is a mix of Sawyer [but the evil version] and Locke because he's constantly trying to prove he's the better leader.

Andrea is sort of like Kate except she and Rick never had anything going on...despite the way she looked at him in the series premiere. She does know how to handle a gun though, and she's making sure she's involved in the protection of the group.

Lori is closer to being the Kate character in one aspect since she's caught between the two leaders but she lacks the toughness and intelligence that Kate had,  Lori looks like "Olive Oil" [if you don't get the reference, google Popeye]...as Daryl astutely pointed out a few episodes ago, that was hilarious. Also, Kate on LOST was actually attractive, so comparing her to Lori would be an insult.

I'm not sure which character Carl would be from LOST but he needs a serious beatdown. It's one thing to steal a gun and wander off into the woods alone and then fail at killing a Walker stuck in mud because you have a sociopathic urge to taunt him with rocks and stare at him, then run and leave the gun there after the Walker gets his feet free. It's another thing to not tell anyone about the Walker and put pretty much anyone and everyone in danger. If he had said something Dale would still be alive. To those defending Carl with the whole "he's just a kid" spiel - STOP. 

I'll stop there. At the end of the day it's just a TV show, a great TV Show but still a show so people need to calm down a bit. I can't wait till next week's episode though, this season is brilliant.

What did you think of last night's episode?

[P.S.- If you didn't watch LOST, you should check it out.]

Super Bowl 2012 Movie Teasers + THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Theatrical Trailer.

"The Hunger Games"

 "The Avengers"

[See Theatrical Trailer here.]

 "John Carter"

 "Battleship"

 "G.I. Joe: Retaliation"

[See Theatrical Trailer here.]

 "The Dictator"

[See Trailer here.]

 "The Amazing Spider-Man" - Theatrical Trailer

[See the teaser trailer here.]

Which of these films are you looking forward to?

[P.S.- Check out my brief review of the film "Haywire". ]

HAYWIRE - brief movie review

"Haywire" (2012)

Plot: Mallory Kane is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world. After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage, she is double crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in her own agency. Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who know her every move, Mallory must find the truth in order to stay alive.

Masterfully manufactured non-linear action/suspense film with a kinky sense of humor directed by Steven Soderbergh. The characters are very interesting and MMA star Gina Carano's lead acting debut is pretty damn good. Great supporting performances by Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Angarano. Bill Paxton's performance was solid but nothing spectacular. Channing Tatum was horrible at some intervals and decent at others, much like his overall career in regards to his acting ability. One warning to some viewers, this movie is not for people with low attention spans who want to see gunshots and explosions every minute, it's a very stimulating film which realistically portrays how treacherous  the world of government contractors and spies can be. Gina Carano's athleticism is nothing short of beautiful to behold on film, I could definitely see her in more leading roles, especially since there is a big void to fill in the female-lead action genre. Admittedly, this film had way more flare and was far less predictable than the Zoe Saldana action flick "Colombiana". Overall I'd recommend this film to anyone who loves intelligently written and authentically acted films with beautiful cinematography.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Have you seen "Haywire" yet, if so...what did you think of it?

Boss N****R, Did the Blaxploitation Era go too far?

First off, for those who don't know what the Blaxploitation era in film was, stop reading this post now and google it.

Now onto the topic at hand, I stumbled upon this on the net:

BOSS NIGGER??? Really? What...

...Needless to say I was confused as hell.

I actually googled the title of the old movie, I was astonished to find out that this was/is a real movie.

My opinion: The Blaxploitation era went a little too far with the title "Boss Nigger".

What are your thoughts on it?