Trouble with the Curve

Tries to be this year's "Moneyball", but it lacked that certain spark of cohesion and brilliance. In the end, it's just another feel good movie that occasionally veered towards made-for-tv schmaltzy. Clint Eastwood replays his curmudgeon old man but unfortunately it does not break any new ground. Same for Amy Adams. They both will likely get overlooked by the Oscars this year. Justin Timberlake definitely has charm but this role is not really as outstanding as his role in "Tje Social Network". The whole movie could be trimmed a bit shorter and should decide whether its focus is on baseball or family. Robert Patrick and John Goodman should give their agents a raise. Ultimately, a watchable movie that failed in its Oscars ambition.

Arrow

Episode 1, "Pilot": One thing you can surely depend on for any CW show is the cast are definitely good lookers. Arrow does not disappoint in this aspect, with the handsome and charismatic, if still a bit stiff, Stephen Amell, and the pretty Katie Cassidy in the lead. They are supported by a cast of good looking young and slightly older adults including Susanna Thompson (from the oldie, but goodie "Once and Again") and Paul Blackthorne (Harry Dresden from "The Dresden Files"). Of course, with creators/EP Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim at the helm, this series has a lot of potential. As expected in a Pilot, the exposition was heavy, but at least it laid the threads for a larger conspiracy, some interesting potential character developments, and an interesting visual style. The Pilot was well executed and definitely hooks you in for more. For comic book fans, this has a potential for continual viewing. Although, the voice-over, though excellent in "Everwood", is a bit annoying here, and disrupts the pace of the show. As is the clunky dialogue.

Episode 2, "Honor Thy Father": Stylised show, but the VO got to go unless they really work harder on the dialogue. I understand it's supposed to imitate a comic and this is on CW where the target audience is younger, but seriously, the dialogue needs work. Diggle is turning out to be the most likeable character of the show. As a Hero, Green Arrow is sure killing a lot of people. And, by gosh, the mandarin in this show sucks (even Kelly Hu's!). Not much to say about the plot, typical Robin Hood-esque stuff. The conspiracy slowly inching forward. The island past gets interesting. The VO should really just be used to bookend the the episode.

Episode 3, "Lone Gunmen": Seriously, Oliver Queen's morality has gone apeshit. Character development arc! Not too bad and we are only in the third episode. Again, the damn VOs are killing it. I think I know what is irking me about them. The discordant between the tone of the VOs and Amell's face/"acting". Thea is getting annoying. She needs something more to do than just the bratty sister. Finally someone on the show that speaks better Mandarin. Interestingly, the hero-reveal is a bit sooner than expected. But at least these two have some chemistry.

Episode 4, "An Innocent Man": How does Oliver Queen even know the strange man is speaking Mandarin?? Actually, this ditching of bodyguards and constant rotation could be made into a rather amusing running gag. Also, they should really stop making Detective Lance appear so incompetent, though his storyline seemed to be getting interesting. Will he be Green Arrow's inside man? 4 episodes in and I am now more interested in the family conspiracy and Walter is starting to be intriguing. And finally, John Barrowman appears (pity no more Captain Jack Harkness) with cryptic warnings of "the list".

Episode 5, "Damaged": This episodes throws more questions than answers. Minor character development for Oliver, but major reveal for Moira. Who is she? What other secrets does she have? Also, hopefully Barrowman gets more to do than just making threats. Hopefully Walter stays around more, I am just getting warmed up to his character. One good thing is the VO is only in the start, and at the end we have Diggle - as the voice of reason/conscience - talking to Oliver instead over a montage.

Episode 6, "Legacies": 6 episodes in and we have yet to glimpsed the "Big Bad". There needs to be an overarching mythology to make it more interesting. The familial conspiracy died down. No Big Bad. This is becoming a regular superhero outing. At least the supporting characters got a bit of development, but otherwise, not much happening here this round.

Update (20 Dec 2012): I kinda stop caring about this show. Not much impetus to actually follow the exploits of Oliver Green, regardless of how rip his body is. Even the introduction of the Huntress did nothing to excite me, although the news of Seth Gable joining the cast is truly exciting, the producers should have introduced him earlier. Instead, now he seemed like a last minute attempt to get the fanboys (and girls) to watch the show. News of John Barrowman being the second archer is intriguing, but Jack Harkness he is not.

Wizards vs Aliens

Episode 1 & 2, "Dawn of the Nekross": What an interesting concept from the fertile mind of Russell T. Davis (and Phil Ford). I always wondered why there's no magic in the Whoinverse, but here comes along a CBBC programme that tries to marry these two disparate entities. Sure it is a children telly, but hey, so was (and is) "Doctor Who". These first two episodes were a bit chunky on the exposition and served mainly to introduce us to the characters. Our protagonist is a young Channing Tatum lookalike who is a wizard and his "friend" (that relationship needs more definition) is the Scully to his Mulder, who like Scully tried his best to explain magic in terms of scientific concepts. Davis did a great job of introducing the aliens to this storyline, and how aliens and magic can clash. The Nekross were sufficiently scary, especially the king - voiced by the very evil sounding Brian Blessed. Surprisingly, it was Brienne from "Games of Throne" who was the most entertaining to watch (under all that prosthetics). It'd be interesting to see how the series continues: 6 2-parters and a second season already green-lighted. A fun break from the more serious, grown-up fare.

SkyFall [IMAX]

Bravo Sam Mendes! Bravo!! Bloody good Bond outing with an extremely strong performance by the 3 leads! Yes, even Daniel Craig who had re-defined Bond to make it his role! He oozed charisma and sex appeal, and made Intelligence sexy (again). Craig is definitely giving Connery a run for his money as the best Bond ever. Javier Bardem was brilliant to watch as the flamboyant Bond villain. He got the best lines and really nailed them all; not evil, per se, but oh so deliciously insane! And he had a bloody good entrance! That entrance and opening monologue was simply brilliant and memorable! Well done Bardem and Mendes! Judi Dench gets her meatiest Bond role and sold it with such gravitas and luminosity, the way only a Dame like her could. She is easily the best Bond girl of the show. Sam Mendes directing was superb and he infused his own style throughout, and as expected the dramatic scenes stood out. Riveting, tense and nuanced. His action scenes were brilliant in their simplicity and served their purposes without being overly complicated or confusing. There were many outstanding set pieces and so many visually stunning images! Kudos to the cinematographer, Roger Deakins! Sumptuous looking images on the IMAX! In the end, this was a good old fashion spy-on-spy flick, with a simple, straightforward yarn and not the silly, nonsensical, action pumping ones churned out from Hollywood. It was well-paced and gripping throughout, but not exactly adrenaline-pumping palpitations inducing. Thankfully exotic locales were kept to a minimum and basing much of it in London kept the show grounded. Great job by scribes Purvis, Wade and Logan, although Bardem's character's motivation lacked the necessary backstory to give it more credibility, and there were some (forgiveable) plot holes. The opening scene was wonderfully shot and choreographed, and makes the similar scene in "Taken 2" seemed amateurish at best! Even Adele's theme and the opening song montage was ace! The montage had so much foreshadowing on hindsight. The leads were supported by a competent supporting cast of Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Wishaw and Rory Kinnear. Bond girl Bérénice Lim Marlohe was sexy and served her purpose of being just that! Unfortunately, girls, no Craig in trunks this outing. One noticeable thing in this Bond entry was that Mendes seemed to have deliberately kept the sex a notch down compared to the usual Bond flicks. Instead, the sex appeal here was essentially just of Craig exuding it from his suave portrayal of Bond. Of course, those fine suits made a whole lot of different! Sartorially, it is hard not to give a shout out and love to the drool worthy Tom Ford O'Connor suit. The suits sure does maketh the Bond. And lastly, although Thomas Newman's score was sparingly light on the iconic Bond theme, but as it was sprinkled throughout and only in key scenes, they greatly enhance the effect of urgency and underscored the scene! Once again, bravo Sam Mendes! Can't wait for the next Bond! This should really be seen in IMAX!

Nashville

Episode 1, "Pilot": Now, this is an ace show! Possibly the best new series of the season. Hopefully this ABC drama can keep up the rhythm and energy throughout. Excellent acting by Connie Britton, who has a shot at joining Juliana Marguiles to represent network TV's women in the Emmys next year. Even Hayden Panettiere, who was more annoying than anything else in "Hero", was actually well cast in her role. The tension between both ladies felt real and intense, and makes for an interesting combination. Then of course are the supporting actors. I do not really know them well but thus far they all  seemed to have identified well with their characters and none of them appeared too stiff or unnatural. Power Booths as the patriarche of the family simply oozed evilness on the screen, but his scenes regarding the political aspects of the show with his son-in-law played by Eric Close (reminds me of an older James Wolk) were the dullest part of the episode. Let's hope it gets better. Lastly, of course, like any other shows, you need the young romantic subplot. Which in this case, gave us possibly the best song of the night. But otherwise, Scarlett, Gunnar and Avery, hope you guys do not take up too much screen time per episode. Britton is an under-rated gem!

Episode 2, "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You): Excellent chemistry between Connie Britton and Charles Esten. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the younger couple they are trying to sell to us. Gosh, that triangle is so uninteresting. Hayden Panettiere is really shining in this role, but sadly, it does not say much about her ability to act, since her last scene is not very convincing. The politics still feel a bit tacked onto the country music side, although Power Boothes simply exudes evilness. I get chills just looking at him. Really intrigue! I am sold on this show, and this is only the second episode!

Episode 3, "Some Day You'll Call My Name": Now this show knows about character development. From Evil Daddy to Juliette to Teddy, these characters are showing a different side to them. Juliette's mother gives her some depth which Panettiere can sometime sell it, but at least, although the character is a bitch, she is more tolerable here than in "Hero". And it looks like more meaty scenes are upcoming for Panettiere. On the other side, unfortunately, as good an actor Britton and Esten are, their characters need to move forward more instead of just talking around and hovering around the same spot. The young lovers are annoying. That love triangle needs to be resolved ASAP. Only 1 new song tonight not too bad, but sounds similar-ish to their previous duet.

Episode 4, "We Live in Two Different Worlds": A Juliette-centric episode, with a rather realistic portrayal of celebrity crime, ego, and the truth behind the facade. Panettiere managed to translate some of the complexity of her character which makes Juliette not such a big a bitch as previously. Thankfully, the young lovers have more of a development and break off the triangle for the time being. Looks like Teddy had been a bad, bad boy with some skeletons in his closet. However, the political storyline still does not flow as smoothly with the rest of the plot. Rayna and Deacon are still dancing round and round to the same tune with inscrutable, vague dialogue exchange.

Episode 5, "Move It On Over": Teddy's affair and/or corruption case is getting boring, so thankfully it is more or less resolved for now, but it sure as hell is going to come back and bite his arse. But, man! Power Boothes sure is evil! He and Robert Patrick of "Last Resort" are gunning for Supporting Actors nods. Juliette's storyline is actually the most interesting one now, Rayna's on the other hand is stagnating. For the young lovers, boring and annoying still.

Episode 6, "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)": Rayna has the most boring storyline. What a pity for Britton who is supposedly the headliner. Juliette's new direction with the choirboy-quarterback is actually quite cute, and they two have chemistry which I would love to see more of. And hopefully a new side to Juliette. The political storyline takes up the bulk in this episode, and it really isn't that interesting. Why did Coleman not throw out the pills? Is there even 7 pills left (which was so heavily emphasised on the last episode)? His wife reminds me of Sherry Palmer from the first two seasons of "24". Scarlett finally dumped Avery which I hope it lasts. But I must say, Avery's song was strangely addictive in a country-rock sorta way. Perhaps laying the foundation for Rayna's sound.

Episode 7: Gosh! The political storyline is so boring! Britton needs a meatier role in her own headlined show. Though now that Rayna's and Juliette's threads have collided spectacularly it's getting more interesting. And Juliette's romance with the footballer is actually quite sweet. That last duet was a killer!!

Season 2, Episode 1, "I Fall to Pieces": Hopefully the political lines falls apart, and now that Power Boothes is a recurring actor, maybe so will the family business intrigue. But, from the ending, it looks like the family personal intrigues will continue. Ted and Peggy are still just as annoying. At least it looks like Juliette has grown up a bit, or not. Please end the whole Gunnar-Avery-Scarlett triangle. Let one of them grow up.

Looper

A tedious, pseudo-intellectual flick that tried to integrate two genres into single film. The time-travelling bit can give you a damn headache if you think too much about it; the second bit was so heavily foreshadowed it was a roll-eyed moment. I kept hoping it'd "better" than that. The make-up for Joseph Gordon-Lewitt was amazing. He really looked and affected Bruce Willis almost to a T. But sadly neither himself or the usually brilliant Emily Blunt could save Rian Johnson from ruining an interesting premise. Pity though, simce Johnson brought us two brilliant gems in the past: "Brick" and "The Brothets Bloom". This movie touched on so many promising themes (redemption, nature vs nurture, choices, family vs self, self vs others, etc) but most of it were just soft caresses rather than a full blown body assaults. Granted, at least Johnson was not overtly explicit about any of them. However, just pick one or two and run with it! Also partly to blame was the casting director: both leads had no chemistry at all. They were good on their own but together it felt flat. Gordon-Lewitt spent more time emulating Bruce Willis' expressions than actually emoting and realising his character. Willis on the other hand just re-inhabited his John McClane persona throughout. And poor Blunt, with her fleeting British accent, did the best she could of her thankless role. A waste of an interesting concept.

End of Watch

An intense, gritty, pseudo-docu/drama about LA cops in the south central with a powerful, arresting performance by Jake Gyllenhaal. Shot almost entirely in handicam, David Ayer has written and directed another intense, complex showing of the LAPD (after "Training Day"), placing the audience right smack in the action. Could be nauseating but always intense. Ultimate action/bromance movie with brilliant chemistry between the charismatic Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña. Their characters were complex and the actors developed them fully and honestly. Gyllenhaal has a shot to be long listed for a Best Actor Oscar and Peña for a Best Supporting Actor, but whether they get recognised in the end will depend on the upcoming competition ovet the next few months. Same thing for Ayer. Also stars an unrecognisable America Ferrera and the sweet Anna Kendrick.