How To Get Back Into Reading If You've Lost Your Groove

When I was a kid I devoured books by the bus load. I'd tuck myself away in my parents' bedroom, the quietest room in the house, and read nonstop for hours. Hours. My father would come in to grab various things, his wallet or keys perhaps, and frequently stopped to ask, "Don't you need a break for a little bit?" He was curious and also, I think, a little astounded.

Depending on the book I was reading, I might briefly resurface from an underwater utopia, pause my hunt for buried treasure, or apparate from Hogwarts (jk I know you can't apparate from Hogwarts). I would reply to my dad,  "No, not really." Then I dived back in.

These endless reading days disappeared around the time I went to college. There was just so much studying to be done, activities to participate in, and friends to make. Reading books took a backseat and my attention span for deep reading also started to diminish. I was getting content with the accessibility of the Internet, the joy of clicking from one interesting discovery to the next without immersing myself fully into anything. 

When I tried reading books again, I could not read for hours like I used to. Thirty minutes was my max before my mind wandered and I needed to stop for food, or the Internet, or texting. But I missed reading desperately so I kept trying. I managed to make time for myself, retrain my brain for reading marathons, and also utilized five tips that might help others get their reading groove back. 

1. Use those extra moments during the day. 

Public transit is ideal for squeezing in some reading time. Read on the way to and from work. Read while dinner is in the oven. Read a little before bed to relax you. It doesn't have to be hours - just a few minutes will at least give you a jumpstart. If you're willing and able, get up a little earlier or stay up a little later to make more time in your day.

2. Complete a reading challenge.


It's easy to find tons of reading challenge lists online. Follow the given deadlines; read a book every week, or every month. Some lists will have specific categories to check off, like historical fiction or a book that became a television show. This is a great way to expand your reading possibilities and introduce you to some great new books.

3. Join a book club. 

Not everyone will have time for this one, but if you do, it's incredibly motivating. No one wants to be the only person who didn't read the book on the reading list. For those unable to do in-person meetings, online reading communities can also share book experiences and live discussions.

4. Institute a household reading time. 

With relationships and family, it can be hard to get time to yourself to read. However, if you get everyone to do some reading at the same time, you're guaranteed some peace and quiet. If your kids or partner needs extra motivation, help them find books or magazines suited to their interests. For kids, you can also make incentives for reading a certain amount of pages. Make reading a priority for your family by making time to enjoy it together. 

5. Try a new way to read. 

For a long time, I avoided e-readers and e-books. I preferred the smell of new and old books, the feel of the weight in my hand, and the sensation of turning each page. I still do. That being said, I came around to e-books for a few different reasons. The main reason is that it is much easier to carry one Kindle at work than one heavy, thick book or even multiple books. It's also easier  and quicker to order and receive a book digitally instead of going to a bookstore, library, or waiting for the package to arrive. It's important to still use these resources, but if you're in a reading rut because of inconvenience, give digital a chance.

With a busy schedule, reading is certainly hard to fit in, but not impossible. Find what works for you, reward yourself for reading regularly, and get that reading groove back. New worlds await.

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Review, All Is Not Well (Spoilers)

Just a few days ago, I read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and today I’m still trying to process it. I wasn’t too excited about this play in the first place, because it involved the next generation and a future for characters that I would have rather left open to the imagination. Harry Potter’s world is big enough for more than Harry Potter himself, and even more than just his kids, why tap into his life again? All was well, and I wanted it to stay that way for Harry and his family. Alas, it was not to be in The Cursed Child.

The story of TCC centers around Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. Both children are being bullied at Hogwarts due to their fathers’ legacies -- Albus for being in Slytherin and ‘nothing like a Potter’, and Scorpius for the rumors that he might be Voldemort’s son. The two form a friendship as outcasts, which causes even more problems at school and at home. As fathers, Harry and Draco are both hopeless at connecting with the two kids, and Harry can even be harsh to Albus when under stress. For some reason I’m still not sure about, Albus decides to go back in time with Scorpius to save Cedric Diggory, something Harry refuses to do. Delphi, a young woman claiming to be Amos Diggory’s niece, helps them along in the quest. She is later revealed to be Voldemort and Bellatrix’s child, and the use of time travel is a scheme to resurrect her father.   

If that last sentence made you say, ‘hey that’s like fanfiction I’ve seen ,’ then you’re not alone. 

Many fans have noticed the similarity and have gone a step further by calling it bad fanfiction. Unfortunately, I see their point. Had the summary of TCC been put on a fanfiction site, I would not have been at all tempted to read it due to the unlikeliness of Voldemort’s daughter and the time travel plot. There were some good things to come out of the play, which I’ll touch on at the end of this review. Overall I was disappointed, and I’ve made a list of some issues with the play that could have been better with sometimes minor, sometimes huge, adjustments in the writing.   

1. TCC needed a new Big-Bad that wasn’t associated with Voldemort.

Voldemort having a daughter makes no sense in canon characterizations or timelines (Bellatrix wasn’t noticeably pregnant at Malfoy Manor in DH). Voldemort was a loner, relied on no one, didn’t have or want friends, intimacy, or love. He didn’t want an heir because he was his own legacy, never intending to die. He also certainly wouldn’t have a child on accident. So why in the world would he have a daughter? This contradicts everything we know about him. In any case, at the end of Deathly Hallows, Voldemort’s story is conclusively finished. A new Big Bad could have done wonders for The Cursed Child. As we’ve seen in the HP universe, there’s a ton of underlying conflict in the wizarding world.  A new evil didn’t have to deal with blood purity at all. It could have been a house-elf or goblin or centaur sick of being mistreated. It could be someone with a grudge against the Potters or the Malfoys, or someone within the Ministry. Even if they still wanted to tell the time travel story of TCC, Delphi is unnecessary. Amos Diggory could have been the sole catalyst for the plot, and a more believable one since he honestly might have wanted his son back. 

2. Time travel is messy and should have been left out.

The canon universe is beloved for a reason, and so giving characters the power to change everything we know about it should have been avoided. All the time-turners were destroyed in Order of the Phoenix, and yet two more conveniently turn up over the course of this play. That’s the coincidence on which the whole plot of The Cursed Child is hinged, and that’s way too unlikely for devoted fans to believe with so little explanation. It does not help that the time travelling also leads to several more unlikely scenarios, such as a Bitter and Cruel Hermione, Death Eater Cedric Diggory, and something called Voldemort Day. If the writers really wanted to incorporate the past, it could have been by having Albus and/or Scorpius view the past via memories or other magic. In any case, I’m sure the future holds a lot for these kids—there was no need to revisit their fathers’ adventures. 

3. Harry could be a little inept as a father, but not that much.

In the middle of a fight, Albus tells Harry he wishes Harry wasn’t his dad. Angry, Harry tells Albus that sometimes he wishes he wasn’t his son, essentially proving Al’s worst fear. It seems pretty unbelievable that Harry would say this to his child, even at his most frustrated. Perhaps an angsty fifteen year old Harry might have said that, but not an adult Harry who is acutely aware of how it feels to be considered a waste of space. Harry’s family is the most important thing in his life, all he’s ever wanted, so he certainly knows better than to treat Albus this way. 

A lot of the Harry and Albus drama doesn’t feel justified. Albus is in Slytherin and is bullied in school for not being like a Potter, and this is the core of his resentment towards Harry. But in Deathly Hallows, Albus confides his fear of being placed in Slytherin to his father, and it is Harry who reassures him. The entire epilogue suggests that at this point, Albus is actually closest to his father. He trusts him and is easily comforted by him. Harry and Albus are more similar than not. Albus is not popular at school, but neither was Harry for 90% of his time at Hogwarts. At times people considered him a liar, mad, or a show-off just wanting more fame. He was frequently humiliated by Draco, Snape, and Rita Skeeter. If anything, Harry should be able to connect more to Albus than to James and Lily, who seem to have more boisterous and outgoing personalities than Harry ever had. Like most teenagers, Albus might still be angry and trying to prove himself a little recklessly, but Harry is a mature, loving father and the writing should reflect it.

4. The books taught us about friendship, the play should have taught us about family.

Harry was an only child with no family, and so it made sense that it was a story about friendship. In TCC, however, the Trio all have multiple kids that are rarely seen. Albus’s brother and sister, raised together and very near his age, do not actually appear in the play for more than a scene or two. I’m pretty sure James Sirius Potter would have a lot to say about the events surrounding Albus, possibly trying to make the bullying better for his brother but perhaps accidentally making it worse. Lily could be supportive or bratty or both. Albus’s cousin Rose turns against him early on in the play, so we never get to see any significant interactions between them either. I love the Scorpius and Albus friendship, but there is way more going on in the future generation then we ever get to see. Teddy Lupin, the whole Weasley clan -- they’d all be front and center in Albus’s life, so they should have been front and center in the story.

5. Take everything convenient and get rid of it.

I understand that plays can’t have the nuance of novels, and that some things must happen far more quickly for the stage. However, the long list of convenient plot devices in TCC still read like lazy writing, and each convenience literally holds the story together. Here are some of the most problematic plot points: Voldemort having a daughter. Two time-turners existing and being found by the gang after they were supposedly all destroyed. Harry being an inexcusably bad dad, causing Albus to be reckless. The parents being unable to find the kids even though they use tons of trackable underage magic. The kids being able to break into the Ministry of Magic with very little planning. The blanket from Harry's mom, never mentioned in the books and yet all important to Harry now, and the way Albus communicates with him from the past. Kind and fair Cedric Diggory becoming a Death Eater just because he was humiliated once during the Triwizard Tournament. Harry’s transfiguration into Voldemort wearing off, when a time limit to transfiguration has never been mentioned in any of the books. These things are just unlikely and don’t fit with what we already know about magic, the wizarding world, or the characters. They shouldn’t have been used to patch up holes in the plot.

6. Get. The. Characters. Right.

This is probably the biggest issue that people had with TCC.  Many of the characters of the series just didn’t seem like themselves. Harry lashes out at Albus, tries to keep him away from his only friend, and is rude to McGonagall and Ginny and nearly everyone else at one point or another.  Hermione is kind of irresponsible in keeping the time-turner, and protects it so poorly that two fourteen year old kids can get to it. Ron is hardly in the book, but when he’s mentioned by the others, they make him out to be some Fred/George replacement, only there for comic relief. Ron could be funny and sarcastic in the HP books, but he was never a prankster, and yet Harry and Hermione refer to several of his pranks as Ron, ‘just being Ron.’ Some argue that the characterizations seem closer to the movie versions of themselves, but even the movie versions were never quite this flat and off.  

                                                         

7. There were more interesting and less forced stories to write.

 Overall I think it was a mistake to do the next generation, and specifically to focus on Albus Severus Potter. He has two parents whose stories we know essentially in full, he was named after two of the most controversial HP characters, and he looks just like his famous father. Al would always unfortunately be either a rehashing or an obviously intentional departure from Harry, and it was too fine of a line to walk. 

There were a lot of different stories that could have been told without a need for such convenient or unlikely plot points. These stories are ones fans have been most interested in seeing, and with conflicts that have already been hinted at in the books. Stories that basically write themselves. Some of particular interest to me would be seeing Grindewald vs Dumbledore, the story of Regulus Black, the love story of Pureblood Andromeda Black and Muggleborn Ted Tonks, the Marauders, or perhaps even seeing Neville’s transformation to hero in Deathly Hallows. If absolutely set on a next generation story, they could still shift the focus.  Scorpius could have been the main protagonist with Albus as the supportive sidekick instead of the other way around. Albus’s drama with Harry is less justifiable than Scorpius’s resentment towards Draco, since Draco’s actions actually hurt others and the repercussions would still be felt among Hogwarts-age students. This shift would help a lot, since Scorpius could have a much more tempting reason to want to change his father’s Death Eater past. Or instead of either boy, learning about Teddy Lupin would have been my preference. He has metamorphmagus powers which would have been fun to see a kid/teen use and abuse, and he was in Hufflepuff, a House that finally would have gotten a chance to be in the spotlight. All of this stuff would be more exciting, new, and require less mental gymnastics to make work within the HP universe.

I guess I'll end my list at 7 since it is the most magically powerful number there is.

Though I was disappointed, let me end on a brighter note by talking about the good stuff to come out of the play. The list is short but certainly worth mentioning.  The Malfoys were written in character, and we finally got to see Draco turn into a somewhat respectable human being and father. Albus Potter being in Slytherin and friends with Scorpius Malfoy was a nice chance for some House redemption. The Albus/Scorpius friendship feels very sincere and loving, and had the writers played it less safe it could have been turned into a believable romance (and many fans will forever see it that way). Speaking of Scorpius, he’s a nerdy, righteous little hero and some of his lines really show it. Ron’s become the best dad and uncle of the bunch. I enjoyed the play affirming that in any universe or timeline, Ron and Hermione's love for each other never seems to go away completely. The interactions between Portrait Dumbledore and Harry were beautiful and probably my favorite part. They highlighted the struggles of protecting kids while letting them grow, and this dialogue sounded straight from Rowling’s pen. 

And of course, although there were problems, seeing the Golden Trio still together as friends will always be magical to me.

Blindspot -- New Show of the Year

Ever since Sleepy Hollow's fan betrayal, I've been reluctant to write this review of Blindspot.  Season one of Sleepy Hollow was fast and fun,but its quick and drastic decline in season two and beyond seemed to be a lesson for me:you can't praise a show in its entirety based on its first season alone. For this reason, I'll praise the first season of Blindspot as a standalone recommendation, and this time, I'll keep my expectations in check for anything beyond s1.

Blindspot is about an amnesiac Jane Doe. Found in Time Square in an unmarked bag and covered in new tattoos, Jane becomes FBI Agent Kurt Weller's most consuming case. The tattoos are the key to Jane's identity, and to hundreds of major FBI cases as well. There are a lot of moving parts to this show. Each week, the friendships of the FBI team and Jane are tested, strengthened, or broken. Mistrust runs rampant, as do secrets. The big overarching questions are who is Jane really, who or what organization put these intricate clues in tattoo form on her body, and can Jane even trust her past or current self?

So far this season has been filled with intrigue, twists and turns, and solid acting/writing.  There are consistently new levels being added to the mystery, and all the characters get an adequate amount of play. It reminds me very much of a less science fiction Fringe, with a better first season.

With only the finale episode left, I can't wait to see what kind of reveals and cliffhangers emerge about Jane's identity and her past. I'm very excited about season two, and though my expectations are cautiously kept, they remain high.

Revoking A Recommendation - Sleepy Hollow

I should have known one season was too little to base a television recommendation on, and now I'm eating my words. Today marks the first and hopefully one of the few times I will ever feel the need to revoke a television recommendation, and I feel very strongly about it.

Season one of Fox's Sleepy Hollow was lightning in a bottle, and one of the shows I was most excited about for that television season. It was zany,fun, exciting and had a lot of heart. The two main leads were probably what attracted me most to the show -- Nicole Beharie as Abbie Mills and Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane had a chemistry most shows could only dream about, a tender and charming Mulder and Scully-esque vibe.  The cases were fun, the heroes equal parts snarky and badass, and the headless horseman aspect was just crazy enough to work.    

It was also awesome and refreshing to see a show with a diverse cast: it had a black female protagonist, and wonderful supporting roles for Orlando Jones and Lyndie Greenwood and even arguably John Cho. In season one, everyone got a piece of the action and the storytelling was fast-paced and energetic.

Then in season two, it all started going wrong, and most people are in agreement as to why.  Spoilers ahead.

In season two, we started seeing less and less of the main cast and more about Crane's family which just wasn't as interesting. I kept tuning in to see Ichabod and Abbie fight demons together and potentially start the foundations of a relationship (much like Mulder and Scully or Booth and Bones), but instead I had to sit through learning about Ichabod's son, wife, exes and revolutionary enemies.  Meanwhile, Abbie didn't get to do much of anything and neither did Captain Irving or Jenny Mills.  

One of the last episodes I truly remember enjoying was season two, episode 9, "Mama." I think the reason for this is that it went back to focusing on Abbie, her intriguing past, and utilizing the strong connection between her and her sister. After that, though, the show started slipping really fast. It was just boring and drawn out, missing all the energy and charm of season one.

I'm a pretty loyal viewer of my shows; once I'm hooked, I'm generally in it for the long haul. But they killed what I assumed would be an overarching Big Bad, and they also killed off Captain Irving in a very anticlimactic way and that was my breaking point.  I just couldn't understand why they would take away the characters with the most potential while leaving non-starters like Katrina and Henry Crane.  Mid-season two is when I officially stopped watching, but I kept an eye out on the fandom in case the show ever seemed to right itself enough to draw me back in.  Unfortunately, I have since heard about the season 3 finale, and it looks like things just went from bad to worse.

Another spoiler warning, just in case.

They killed off Abbie.  Abbie Mills, the lead of the show, the most enjoyable part of the show. Not only this, they did it a in way that makes it seems like she was only there to support Ichabod Crane this whole time. Well, this isn't sitting well with most fans, me included. This has been part of a disturbing television trend where black characters are being killed off to shove white characters further in the limelight, and people are tired of it.      

The backlash is literally everywhere right now, and it should be. Fans are questioning the treatment of the black characters, and there's a twitter campaign that's been revived: Abbie Mills Deserves Better. She really did, and so did the show, and the fans.

There is very little to be excited about from a renewed Sleepy Hollow now that Abbie is gone, and I find myself hoping it gets the boot. It's really hard to see something that had so much potential dig its own grave, but that's what has happened with this show, and I have to take back my once glowing reviews for it.

The Red Rising Trilogy

Last year, I did a massive book challenge, Popsugar's Reading Challenge for 2015. I read a lot of great books for this challenge and was just barely able to finish all 52 books three days before  the start of the new year. For a look at what I read, check out my Reading Challenge Pinterest Board.   Among these books, I read the first two novels in the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown (the last one wasn't out yet.) My friend Katie had recommended them to me long before this, but I finally took the dive to discover that these books are pretty brilliant!

I like to describe Red Rising as Game of Thrones in space. It's a science fiction dystopian novel, and has similarities to series' like The Hunger Games and Ender's Game.  (Just realized all these novels have 'game' in them, how weird is that?) Red Rising  is intense and not for the faint of heart. Tons of violence, action, space slang, cursing -- and morally ambiguous but lovable characters.

The story revolves around Darrow. Born a Red, Darrow is essentially an unknowing slave of the Gold race. His people are frequently hanged and whipped for speaking out, and he spends his life working in the dangerous mines of Mars, nearly guaranteeing an early death due to the harsh conditions. It's a hard life, but Darrow is generally resigned and okay with it, until his wife Eo does something to change everything in Darrow's small world.  Eo's dream is a better life for Reds and other lowColors, to "break the chains" of their slavery and oppression. With Eo as his guide and his constant reminder of what he's working towards, Darrow is thrust into the world of the Aureate. Enhanced by genetic modification, surgery, education, and physical therapy, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and enters into The Institute, a military training school where he can rise to a position powerful enough to take down Gold from within.  However, Darrow learns that Gold society is just as cruel as the one he left behind and that it's eat or be eaten, kill or be killed.  Through it all, Darrow finds confusing friendships and loves with those he's meant to destroy.

To be honest, the Red Rising trilogy is probably the most brutal thing I've ever read, not for the young or those sensitive to violence. There is war, graphic death, off-page rape, abuse and more.  If you can handle that level of intensity, these books will by turns haunt you and charm you, make you laugh, scream, cry and want to throw the book across the room.  If you're into science fiction, action, and/or dystopian fiction you'll definitely want to check these out.

Binge-watch: Sherlock

Welcome to my next binge-watch segment, in which I thank Netflix for the many hours of entertainment it provides me. This time around, I gave Sherlock a try and I'm so glad I did.

To be honest, I am not sure why it took me so long to get into BBC's Sherlock. It had been recommended to me and I was fairly sure I could get some enjoyment out of it.  It might have been because it's a BBC show and therefore I was less constantly reminded to do so, or because both of the actors were relatively unknown to me, and this type of procedural didn't scream WATCH ME NOW. I started watching with my friend David, as we make our way through various shows (I've gotten him through Community, he got me through Ray Donovan, and we keep up on shows we've both already seen like Parks and Recreation.) 

The first thing I noticed about the first episode of Sherlock was that I struggled to adjust to its pacing. My attention span has been shaped by sitcoms and 40 minute shows. This is something I've encountered even when watching movies these days, especially if I'm only semi-interested in them. My mind wandered during explanations regarding the case, but my interest and enjoyment was also consistently brought up again by the humorous banter of Sherlock and Watson. By the third episode, I had fallen in love with those two and their bromance (I'm a true sucker for bromance, and this one reminds me of Peter and and Neal from White Collar) and this was enough to make me love the show as a whole. I also found myself adjusting easier to the longer format, although I'm still having my mind blown by the short seasons (series, as they call them in the UK). I feel like I just met these two characters but they've already been through so much, unlike in American shows where you'll see the trivialities of what you can assume is every major case they work on or the day to day life in sitcoms. Sherlock has already spanned more years than we ever got to see.

The end of series 2 was incredibly moving and powerful and sad, and I jumped into series 3 with my whole heart. I am now completely caught up on the series and facing a hiatus unlike any I've faced before (movie-length episodes need movie length shooting schedules). In the meantime, I'll be jumping into fandom like no other (I've already drawn Sherlock and Watson and am soon to hit the tumblr obsession) and wait like the rest of the rabid Sherlock fans. In any case, I am so glad I have this new show to enjoy and talk to others about and look forward to for an uncomfortably long time.

The Fault In Our Stars Review

A friend recently recommended a download of Adobe Digitial Editions so that I can have access to more books.  While it's certainly not my favorite way to read, it has given me a chance to get cheaper books which fit in my current budget, and anything that lets me read more is a great thing. One of the first things I read in this manner was The Fault In Our Stars.

This was a book that I kept hearing about in various ways, from friends and various must-read lists.  I heard about it so much that I started to assume that it was vastly overhyped.  How could it possibly live up to all of that?

Honestly, it mostly did.  The story is about Hazel Grace, a sixteen year old girl with terminal cancer of the lungs and how she copes with the idea of dying, having to leave her family, and making friends and relationships with people that her loss will most likely hurt.  Through group therapy, Hazel meets Augustus Waters.  She's immediately attracted to him and they form a friendship with hints of much more.  They share books with each other, and both take great enjoyment from An Imperial Affliction, a fictional book which ends mid-sentence without providing closure for any supporting characters.  Hazel's dream has always been to find out what happened to the characters, but the recluse author has never responded to any of her fan mail. Through Augustus's efforts, she may learn the answers and live her dream.

What Hazel and Augustus share is a young love always meant for tragedy -- Hazel's health is poor while Augustus's cancer is in remission.  This is the status quo for most of the book, and really shows what kind of hardships such a battle entails.

Unlike other cancer/terminal illness books, this one isn't about overcoming the obstacles.  It's about facing them together, and knowing the realities of fighting cancer are not one of "being strong" but having it take you over and eventually letting go.  It's very insightful, and I admit that I cried quite a bit towards the end.

This isn't my favorite book ever, and it does tend to stray a little too girly for my usual taste, but it got me to care about the characters.  I do understand the hype now, and I am glad I read it.  I will happily look for more books by the author in the future.

The Conjuring

I recently watched The Conjuring with a couple of friends and I can honestly say we had a great time.  The film was pretty much everything you could ask for in a horror movie.  The story itself is nothing new; a family looking for a new beginning moves into a new house, family meets demon but can't move because they sunk all their money into the home, and in any case the demon has attached to them and would follow them anyway.  All your standard horror plots, but what really made it good was all the build-up and suspense.

Most of the movie was like a tease -- something glass would break or a door would open and you would expect something to be there but it'd be nothing.  In this way, it really put you in a realistic position of the family.  Things happen and you rationalize, tell yourself there's nothing there, that everything is fine.  It was the wind, or just the house being creaky, or your eyes playing tricks.  That's what really built up the horror of this film until finally it all snapped and the true horrors of the house are revealed.

Definitely recommending this for fans of the genre, and here's a trailer for those interested!

Community is Back -- Really Back

When a show begins to fizzle and lose the magic, it's hard to recapture it.  Community season 4 seemed to be the beginning of the inevitable decline, with the creator Dan Harmon being fired and the on-set drama between Harmon, Chevy Chase, and pretty much everyone else.  Season 4 was by far the worst season, with forgettable and mostly laugh-less episodes. There were a few gems, but it mostly missed the point of everything that made Community great and was instead a cheap imitation trying to live up to something it just couldn't pull off.

By some weird miracle, the show still managed a season 5 pick-up.  I didn't have high hopes for it, even after it was announced that Dan Harmon would be returning.  Chevy Chase was gone, Donald Glover was announced to be leaving shortly. How could it possibly return to its former glory with all odds against it?

Well, I'm here to say I was wrong. Last night's episodes cleverly entitled "Repilot" and "Introduction to Teaching" proved it is possible to reclaim the road with the right driver at the wheel.  There's no doubt in my mind that Dan Harmon's kind of a jerk, but absolutely brilliant.  He fixed and excused season four by subtly writing dialogue that mentioned that last year there was "a gas leak in the school."  He reminded us why we love these characters, and how those one-liners are gold, and simultaneously moved the characters forward into new roles and conflicts.  I laughed so hard I cried, just like the good ole days with the Greendale Human Beings, those lovable losers we missed dearly.

Still, we haven't seen episodes without Troy yet and it's too early to tell if they can hold up this quality without both him and Pierce, who I'll also miss despite my distaste for Chevy. Meanwhile, the season 5 premiere had record low ratings though I blame that on whoever decided to schedule it on January 2nd against new episodes of ratings-hog The Big Bang Theory.  It is also possible that even a number of loyal fans skipped out because of the rough season 4 and were waiting to see what critics would have to say before they invested their time into it.  Community has never been a ratings winner though, so I'm gonna just thank the tv gods that have allowed it to run this long.

Can't wait to see the rest of this season!

Psych: The Musical Review

Last Sunday, Psych: The Musical premiered for the first time on television (it had previously premiered at Comic Con). From many interviews he's done, the creator Steve Franks has said that he'd always had a musical in mind from the beginning and that the cast and creative team had always been on board.  No doubt, this two hour special was a long time in the making.

This was their dream episode, and they pulled it off pretty well.  The story deals with the escape of an institutionalized playwright seeking revenge on the people performing and taking credit for his work. It was a pretty fun case, one that easily would have fit into the usual format but was enhanced with the musical integration. The first song, "Santa Barbara Skies" presented the fake psychic premise recap for new viewers with lyrics like "A man who sees clues, as if they were alighting. Gets accused to confess, because his hair is so exciting." and "A cop I am not, I'm just good at observation.  But with short cuts and cons, and the proper presentation."

With all original music, the songs were tailored to fit the show, tone, the characters, and their relationships. Lassie as the cynic, Jules as the optimist, Shawn and Gus as ridiculous, Yin and Woody as hilariously crazy. My favorite songs were probably "Z's Lament" and "The Breakdown" because they were a bit darker with a Sweeney Todd-esque feel to them. The funniest song was probably Woody's "Often It's the Opposite" and the funniest dance number was Shawn and Lassiter's tango.

This special definitely showed that the Psych team knows musicals and they know television and they know their own show.  They integrated fan service, call backs, and running gags very well.  For instance, Ally Sheedy returned as Yang, an old big bad whose arc ran for three seasons. They also utilized "Suck it," "I've heard it both ways," "Did you hear about Pluto?" "I can't do this with you right now," a plethora of Gus nicknames, the pineapple, and allusions to many musicals such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Miss Saigon.

My only real complaint is that it concluded the Yang storyline pretty conclusively, and that might have been a very interesting, emotional moment within a regular episode.  However, this framing did allow for a reappearance of another favorite guest star, Jimmi Simpson, and his scene was odd and perfect just like his character.

Even as someone who is not the biggest fan of musicals, it's hard not to appreciate all the work that was put into this, including the original songs and choreography within a television production schedule.  While I don't think it quite measured up to the epitome of television musicals, Buffy The Vampire Slayer's iconic "Once More, with Feeling," it is also one of the few tv musicals that even deserves the comparison.

Anyway, definitely recommending this for fans of Psych, musicals, and comedy.

Binge-watch: Chuck and Netflix

Not too long ago, the show Chuck became available on Netflix, and I immediately moved it up my to-watch list.  I'd known for awhile that the premise to Chuck sounded like exactly my kind of thing -- awkward nerd turned CIA agent, a funny and all around fun show with action and stakes grounding it in some nice, real emotion. That's the same kind of stuff I find in many of my favorite shows like Psych and White Collar. All I needed was the opportunity to watch, and finally it has come by way of very legal and good quality Netflix streaming.

Like many of my generation, perhaps most of my media-watching experiences now come through online streaming.  I got into most of the shows I have on my TV/Book/Film Recommendations list through Netflix, even if I then turned to appointment television to stay caught up on them.  For instance, Bones, How I Met Your Mother, Fringe, New Girl, White Collar, Warehouse 13, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Alphas, Pushing Daisies and Arrested Development all made it onto this list for that reason, and as you can see, Netflix allowed me to watch even shows that were cancelled before they caught my interest (like Chuck).  

For this reason, I've decided to create a recurring segment for the blog for every new (or old) show that I catch up on through Netflix binge-watches.  This will be the first of certainly many more posts to come -- all will have titles beginning with "Binge-watch" and will be tagged with the binge-watch label.  I have also retroactively added the binge-watch tag to shows I have discussed in previous posts. In this way, I want to bring to light my own personal watching habits and would love discussing that of others within the comments or in entire blog posts if people are interested.  This is a subject that's personally very engaging for me, and I often wonder what kind of compromises we make or if we get anything different out of a story by binge-watching rather than getting slow-paced, weekly installments.

That's my introduction and the reasoning behind the new segment -- now, let's talk specifically about Chuck (there will be SPOILERS up to season 2, but please don't post anything past that in comments!)  

Chuck is exactly what I wanted and expected from this show -- fun and silly and sweet and interesting.  I really enjoy all the main characters, especially Chuck, Casey, and Sarah.  Sometimes I feel like the Buy More personalities are a little much, but I still find them pretty funny.  I also really like the avoided stereotype of the "Bro" as represented by Ellie's boyfriend, Captain Aweseome, a.k.a. Devin.  Everything from the tone of his voice to his vocabulary screams bro/frat boy but he's been shown to be a lot more than that.  He's smart enough to be a doctor, and a faithful and loving boyfriend to Ellie.  Occasionally the relationship between Chuck and Ellie plays off weirdly close for siblings, but that has been explained in the fact that their parents pretty much left them on their own and they had to take care of each other.  It's nice to see siblings that pretty much never want to kill each other, as is the case on many other television shows.

Chuck can be pretty predictable at times.  I don't know if it's because I'd seen too many references to Bryce Larkin on tumblr or if it was just obvious, but I knew Bryce wasn't dead right from the start.  I hadn't seen it coming, however, that Bryce actually betrayed Chuck to protect him from the CIA life. I was also able to easily guess that Orion would be Chuck's father. Many plot points in many episodes fail to surprise, but that doesn't bother me.  I'm in it for the fun and to see Chuck reacting to these new situations, which always catch him by surprise and at the most inconvenient times.

I really like this show, but I do wonder how long it goes before something really changes it up.  Right now it's mostly been case of the week, Chuck's feelings for Sarah, and his ultimate desire to get the Intersect out of his head. I definitely feel like that might get tiresome down the line, but right now, I really enjoy its familiar consistency.  

I've already added this show to my list of recommendations because I'm only two seasons in, but I'm definitely hooked.

TV Report Card of Fall 2013

Way back before the new tv season premiered, I made a list of some shows I looked forward to and some I was having my doubts about, both for new shows and returning favorites.  Here I wanted to take a look back at how some of these shows have fared this fall, plus add in a few new ones that have been caught on my personal radar or are generally buzzworthy right now.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
C 
C for consistently disappointing.  It has potential, but it frustratingly refuses to give audiences enough backstory or character personality for audiences to care about the stakes.  My standards for anything with the Whedon name on it is high, but even by normal standards it's not measuring up.  Give me characters I root for, give me real stakes, give me emotional depths. It's on the lower end of average as it stands right now.

How I Met Your Mother
B-  
I'm guessing a lot of people would want me to rate this much, much lower.  They have several understandable complaints, like the humor isn't what it used to be, or it feels dragged out and the season long wedding timeline makes it even more so, or similar complaints.  And they're right about humor but I still get a good number of laughs from most episodes, and it doesn't feel dragged out to me. I give it a B- because overall, it still has heart, which is why I fell in love with it in the first place: Barney just hugging Robin when he found out she was infertile, Barney's surprise for Robin, Marshall realizing he's never wanted to use a no questions asked with Lily, and every scene The Mother has been in.  This is why I'm still in, why even after bumpy episodes and even mostly bumpy seasons, this is still a show worth watching for me.

American Horror Story:
Splitscore: A+/C 
For what the show is and what an audience has learned to get out of it, the show is excellent.  Shocking every week with beautiful acting and cinematography and a compelling story that keeps you going WTF the whole hour long. When you accept it in this way, it's wonderful.  But as a general show?  I'm giving this a C because it's nonsense.  Characters do things that make no sense because it's just there for shock value and would look cool or gross or freaky.  One of these days, I will outline the parallels that show how AHS really is the Glee of the tv horror genre with characters being uncompromisingly stupid and storylines that come from nowhere and end in a place that makes even less sense. And let's face it, it's also kind of preachy.

Sleepy Hollow
A+
My favorite new gem, after a slightly shaky start, Sleepy Hollow has found its legs. I care about these characters so much already, because they have heart and backstory and personality and destiny they must face together (take note, S.H.I.E.L.D.) I'm not sure, at this point, that I'd change anything at all.

Back in The Game
B
My dear little show that couldn't.  Cancelled, but man I liked it.  It had heart and was cute and felt real, it was a nice break from all the raunchy, gritty, gutwrenching drama of television these days.  I could have grown old with you and those kids, BiTG. But viewers watched all that other gritty and raunchy stuff, and ABC just didn't give you the chance you needed to gain any ground.  At least they're airing all the episodes.

White Collar
A
Possibly more than any other show, I look forward to this the most each week.  Neal and Peter and their constant struggle to trust each other and solve crimes and grow is still compelling.  One step forward, two steps back for my favorite con. They have so much fun though, I don't even care if they tread over the same territory again and again, and they have just enough stakes to keep me engaged.

Legend of Korra
A-
Had an slow paced first half, but ended with a much appreciated bang, nice emotional moments, and a cameo by Uncle Iroh, who automatically bumps the entire season up a full letter grade.  Just wish I could have the new season now.

Bones
B-
A little stale.  Some nice comedy to get me through.  Pelant's end was anticlimactic, but the Booth and Bones wedding (with a nice callback to that Gravedigger note!) was sweet.  They've still got some juice to get them through the season.  Beyond that, I'm not sure we need another one (please, Bones, go out with pride, unlike CSI).

New Girl
B
Some people say that it's lost it's chemistry since Nick and Jess got together.  I disagree. And I've enjoyed the Coach addition. Schmidt could use some more strong storylines though. Overall, still very funny and sweet.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
B
It's getting better.  Still finding itself, still needs to work on the main character of Jake and his general arrogance, but it's usually an enjoyable half hour.

Looking at this, it definitely seems like most of the shows I watch aren't doing too badly for the most part, but almost all of them could stand some improvement in various ways.

Monsters University Review

I went to Redbox seeking Wreck-it Ralph, but since it was out of stock, I settled for another family friendly film, Monsters University.  As far as settling goes, it wasn't a bad choice at all. It had all the cuteness of the original, plus the bonus points for getting to see Mike and Sully's origin story and their friendship develop. I really enjoyed the fact that while Monsters Inc. was primarily Sully's story, this prequel was mostly about Mike and his quest to become one of the revered scarers of Monsters Incorporated by getting through the Scarer's program at Monsters University.  

The film shows the two going through their freshman year together -- Sully as a lazy student getting by on his family name, and Mike who has to work three times as hard because of his small stature and generally unscary appearance. The two are enemies until they're thrown together in a scaring competition, which they must win in order to remain not only in the scaring program, but at Monsters University altogether. It's really fun to watch it all play out in a monster school setting, and probably especially so for those that grew up with Monsters Inc. and are therefore college-aged now.  This is in the same way that Toy Story 3 appealed to those that grew up with the franchise by showing Andy heading off to college. It's a really nice touch for recent Pixar films.

Another nice touch was the college website tie-in, which was released even before the movie.  It has the style of a real college website, complete with pages about admission, campus life, and academics. Here's a link to check it out for a little fun: http://monstersuniversity.com/edu/index.html

I really enjoyed this movie, and immediately went back to watch Monsters Inc. to see again what became of Mike and Sully. Overall, a really solid family film.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

(Mild spoilers for episode 8)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, starring Andy Samberg,  is considered to be one of the new break-out comedies of the 2013 season and has managed to get a full-season pick up AND the coveted Post-Super Bowl spot (tag teaming with New Girl to form a 1 hour comedy block). For better or worse, the comedy is sticking around through Spring.

Let's talk about "the better" first. The first and most essential good thing about Brooklyn Nine-Nine is that it's actually fairly funny and often enough has some legitimate "laugh out loud" one-liners. If you like a one-camera style similar to the The Office, Parks and Recreation, or Modern Family you might be able to find a place in your heart for this one as well. It's got the same types of quirky characters, family/work place dynamic, and some characters to root for. And like these shows before it, it's taking awhile to figure itself out. That's fine. It's also nice to see something new with the cop/comedy hybrid. It's all very "has potential" and that's good enough for now.

Now onto the things it could improve, the first and most essential (to me) being the main character of Jake Peralta. Jake's a gung-ho cop who seems more interested in the fictional action cop life than the real cop life, which includes paperwork and due process and routines. I'm fine with that -- if Jake played by the rules, it'd be a pretty boring show. What I'm less okay with is his conceited attitude and constant smirk. He's a know-it-all and considers himself the best, puts himself first a lot, and makes quips only he thinks are funny. Overall, he's not very likable. Now, while I do believe to a certain extent that main characters should be likable, I could see many cases in which they aren't and the show still works out just fine. No, the real issue is that Jake needs to be realistically vulnerable to something so audiences can care. Thus far, not much has affected him. He wins a lot of his arguments one way or another, even when he does wrong or causes problems for the precinct. Nothing has affected him, nothing has hurt him, nothing has given him the added layer of being a character who matters.  

However, the most recent episode, "Old School," gave me hope for the future. It was not the best episode by a long shot, as it just wasn't as funny, and the first half was complete characteristic Jake -- neglecting the job to idolize his personal hero, getting drunk, and talking bad about Captain Holt while intoxicated to a writer who was going to quote him. The second half of the episode, however, is where my appreciation comes in -- Jake sought to make it right and make sure those quotes went unpublished even if it meant upsetting his personal hero. It was nice even if it was obligatory, since he was the cause of the trouble in the first place.  But what I really appreciated was the end. At first we're meant to believe that Jake punched the writer because of an unwillingness to get rid of those quotes.  But Santiago later reveals that Jake actually punched him because he called the gay Captain Holt a "homo" in a clearly derogatory fashion.

At this point, I was ready to cheer. Jake cares about something! He's not going to tolerate homophobia or disrespect for his captain, even by someone he once admired!  He did something good even though it cost him (the writer wrote bad things about him instead)! Yay!  This is what I've been asking for since the beginning. Let him be crazy and narcissistic as much as he wants, but make him redeemable. Make me love him in the same way I grew to love Parks' Leslie, Ron, and even Tom for all his faults. That, combined with humor that improves every week, will really be what makes the show worth watching. 

The Legend of Korra, Book 2 and "A New Spiritual Age" Review

The first half of the season of The Legend of Korra was strong overall, but certainly had its problems as well. One of my main issues with it was the decreasing likability of Korra as she whined, acted rashly, and ultimately made impudent decisions without caring about the consequences. For the first few episodes I attributed this to being true to both character and reality. Unlike Aang, Korra's not a child -- she has teenage emotions and hormones and the most important difference between these Avatars is that Korra did not come into power in a time of war. She's had a good life thus far -- family and mentors and the fact is, she's never been tested. Of course she's going to try too hard to prove herself, sometimes falling into the trap of believing she's right, and she's always been headstrong. After a couple episodes though, even my excuses felt thin, and my enjoyment of the show came mostly from other characters, particularly Tenzin and his family.

My other issue with much of Book 2 is that it did feel like a lot of set-up, which played off as boring or heavy-handed exposition. While many of the B-storylines were strong, I found myself waiting until we returned to the main storyline of the imbalanced spirit world and Korra's place within it.

Despite these problems, The Legend of Korra has definitely been on an uptick with amazing episodes, starting with "Beginnings 1 and 2" in which we see the Avatar origin story and meet Wan, the first Avatar.  In many ways, Wan was similar to Korra with his tendency to act rashly, and his memories show us how his mistakes lead to the spiritual rift between light and dark spirits, Raava and Vaatu. Wan then had to work to make things right, and in doing so, he takes in the spirit of Raava and they become one. By letting Korra see this all, she gains a deeper understanding of who she is as the Avatar.

In the newest episode, Korra enters the spirit world with the help of Tenzin's daughter Jinora, and the two take on the quest of closing the spirit portal to prevent Vaatu from escaping his tree prison. But the two are quickly separated, and unabled to bend within the spirit world, Korra's fear takes a hold of her. Though she didn't know it at the time, her fears become her reality within the spirit world, and her helplessness has her reverted to a small child of around 3 or 4 years of age. Surrounded by darkness and all alone, an unexpected source comes to her rescue:

IROH!

As in, our UNCLE IROH! Original Iroh, with his round belly and tea drinking ways and sage advice. I don't think anyone saw that coming, but from what I've seen in the fandom, absolutely everyone was thrilled by this cameo. Iroh spent time with the de-aged Korra explaining how he chose to live in the spirit world after his time in the physical world was spent, and how her fears and turmoil influence the world around them. In this way, it allowed Korra to realize that she has light within her -- not just from Raava's influence, but from her own spiritual strength and inner peace. She can influence both worlds by maintaining this balance within herself. Because of this, I now believe that Korra's previous behavior and attitude were now very, very deliberate choices by the creators to show her learn what she can achieve not necessarily through force, but through enlightenment as well. It seemed extra appropriate for Iroh to be her guide, as he once helped young Zuko through very similar struggles. It was incredibly reaffirming to see all these aspects tie in together, and made me very inclined to rewatch the original series once again.

On the other side of things, Jinora found herself at Wan Shi Tong's Library, another great callback to the original series. She appeals to the scary owl spirit, and he allows her to stay and read about the Harmonic Convergence and the Spirit Portals. She learns that if both portals are open at the time of convergence, Vaatu would be released from his prison and would be able to wreck both worlds. As she leaves to warn Korra, Unalaq appears with Wan Shi Tong and captures her.

In the climactic showdown, Korra returns to her teenage form and finds her way to the 2nd portal to see Jinora in Unalaq's grasp. He threatens to destroy her soul with the same bending moves we've seen him use on other spirits if Korra refuses to open the portal. Completely caught between a rock and a hard place, Korra opens the portal and Unalaq still double crosses her. Jinora gets taken away by a dark spirit, and just as Korra is about to succumb to Unalaq's power, she is rescued by the dragon bird and awakens in the physical world. Tenzin is there, at first questioning on whether Korra has accomplished her goal, only to realize that his daughter is not waking up and that she's been lost in the spirit world.

"Korra, what happened to my little girl?" Tenzin asks desperately, and her tear-filled expressions speaks volumes, and then the episode ENDS on that heartwrenching cliffhanger. It was beautifully painful and real and once again, I have to give this show major recognition; for any flaws it may have, it has never been untrue to emotion or tried to dumb it down for the younger audience. These themes are universal to the young and old alike: a father's love for her daughter, a young girl's guilt at not being able to protect someone, and making a choice when there are no good ones to be had. Not only this, but the momentum the show has now picked up to carry audiences through to the end promises an amazing and well-deserved climax.

It doesn't matter if this is a cartoon or not, this is storytelling at its finest, and I cannot wait for next week.

Safety Not Guaranteed Review

Hey look, another film review from me!  What's that make, like 3 now?  Yup.  Occasionally, I do enjoy taking a break from my long-term relationship with television for a casual one-night stand with a film I never have to worry about again if I don't like it. Luckily, my brief rendezvous with Safety Not Guaranteed was actually quite enjoyable.

I'd seen the film recommended to me by Netflix again and again, but had mostly chosen to ignore it without further consideration. Yes, it had Aubrey Plaza who I love in Parks and Recreation, but it also looked liked standard independent film fare. Many independent films are great, many more are awful, and possibly even more fall into the mediocre range. If this were a mediocre television show, I'd give it a few episodes before deciding one way or another -- mediocre films shouldn't waste my time. Anyway, I took slightly more interest in it after I fell in love with New Girl and Jake Johnson, who co-stars. Even so, it still took high praise from a friend whose recommendations I actually trust for me to finally settle in on my couch, click that Netflix link, and enjoy.

Brief summary taken from IMDB: Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel. Not an overwhelming premise by any means, and perhaps more than likely to go wrong in the execution, but don't judge a film by its logline alone.

In the first few minutes of the film, I was a little concerned, as it did seem to be falling into the trap of indie films: the flaunting of their indie ways and their quirk to say, look at me, I'm different! But it also had the humor to back it up. I stuck it out, and it really picked up once the three main characters started out on their adventure together. Here's a breakdown of the characters for you to get a better picture of the dynamics at play.

Darius: Maybe it's the fact that her mother was killed years previous, or that she got saddled with a really weird name, but Darius hasn't been happy for a long time. She works at an internship, she studied in college and never went out, she never socializes or smiles or seems to enjoy things. If ever there was someone just going through the motions of a life, it's her.

Arnau:  Arnau is in a similar place as Darius in that he doesn't go out or socialize. He's a nerd focused on goals that involve being a well rounded candidate for jobs, getting a number of degrees, and just falling in line of what people should do without taking in experiences for himself.

Jeff:  Jeff is easily my favorite character -- the film doesn't work without him or Jake Johnson's performance. At first he seems to play the part of a cynic and womanizer. He takes on the story of a "time-traveler looking for a companion" in order to make fun of the person in an article. One of the first things he tells Darius and Arnau is that he slept with their boss. "Douchebag" occasionally seems an appropriate label.  We later discover he actually took the job to hook up with an old flame of his youth, and in this storyline, we eventually see his true colors.

These three take on the story and Darius manages to find her way in with Kenneth, the supposed time traveler looking for a partner for his next adventure. As the two bond, she begins to smile and seems to be taken in by his beliefs -- he wants to go back in time to save his girlfriend, and she reveals that she would like to save her mother from being gunned down. It's this that wins his trust more than anything. Meanwhile, Jeff reconnects with his old flame, and it's then that we see his true nature: Jeff is a romantic at heart; he doesn't just want a fling, he wants a love story. He wants to sweep Liz off her feet and take her back with him to Seattle. But as we soon realize, the love story of this film isn't for him.

The best thing about this film is the realness of the characters. I feel like at one point we've all been Arnau, who doesn't think he can let go, enjoy crazy adventures of his youth, make real friends and find love. And we've all been Darius, feeling out of place. And we've all been Jeff, wanting to believe that there can be more out there besides empty jobs and empty flings.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending -- it's definitely the make or break point for most viewers, but even with my own mixed opinions about it, it doesn't change my feelings on the movie as a whole. I do think that this is the story the filmmakers wanted to tell: that if you believe in the impossible, sometimes you can make it real and can make it worthwhile. That's the real theme of this film: make experiences worthy of an adventure, a fairy tale, make it all matter. Because life is only so long.

My biggest complaint is that I wished for one more solid moment of closure between Jeff, Arnau, and Darius at the end. Looks or acknowledgement that the adventure they started with together may be ending, but new ones are just beginning with real friendship between them all. That's okay, though. Imperfection might actually make it better. Just like life, it's messy and crazy and hard, but it is worth trying for, and the movie is similarly worth watching for that reason.

White Collar, One Last Stakeout Review

(New Episode Spoilers)

White Collar's 5th season premiered a few weeks ago and now it's three episodes in. I had hoped to see the "six weeks" Peter spent in jail and a little more angst from Neal (since it was mostly his fault) before that got resolved because that would have been a really fresh turn for the show to take. It would also be easy to say that White Collar may be unwilling to move on from the initial dynamic they created with these characters -- the lawman and the con, who can be friends but can never truly trust each other because they're from different worlds. They've played this routine again and again with Neal needing to keep secrets from Peter, from finding Kate, getting revenge for her death, a secret treasure, and uncovering the truth about Neal's father and now with Neal under Hagen's thumb for doing what he had to do to get Peter free.  So I understand where someone could come from in saying that it's the same old thing and perhaps tiring of it.

That being said, for me, this show is still

SO MUCH FUN.

Just because it's following a  pattern and sort of resets the dynamic a lot, it doesn't hinder my enjoyment of the show at all. This season, Peter's been promoted and a new handler has been brought in. Peter and Neal are drifting apart as the new guy, Siegel, inserts himself into his role. Neal gets to play a con again, even if it isn't of his own free will and the stakes are getting higher now that he may not have leeway Peter used to be able to give him as his handler.

In the third episode, One Last Stakeout, Neal's been coerced into stealing a chapter from an old book in a museum (don't get on me about specifics, that's not why I watch this show) and had to orchestrate another robbery by someone else to get his opportunity in. This takes place during a stakeout with Siegel, but Neal manages to give him the slip. And is thwarted unknowingly by Peter.  Was this a bit predictable? Yes. Did it stop me from getting excited about that turn of events and eager to see how Neal would get his way out of it? Not at all.

The next big moment came right after that -- Neal harshly tells Peter that this isn't his life anymore, that they are no longer partners and Peter should not be honing in on their stakeouts so that Peter would leave before Neal ran out of time to make his move. I don't think we've ever seen this amount of harshness between these two, save for the time Elizabeth was kidnapped as a consequence of some of Neal's actions. We have certainly never seen this coldness from Neal to Peter (even if he didn't mean it) and it was a pretty painful thing to behold. It might as well have been Old Yeller getting shot down. But still, it was powerful, a new addition to their history and proof that they can't always be best friends.  Sometimes they have to play different sides, even if it's to ultimately help each other. I loved it.

The next exciting moment was when the FBI realizes the missing thief may have had an accomplice -- the woman Neal scammed and flirted with in order to steal her museum security card.  Having her brought in for questioning once again upped the stakes, putting Neal a hair's breadth away from getting uncovered.  Well, he gets out of that one just fine too, only for Peter to feel responsible for distracting Neal while on the stakeout and thus inserting himself even more into the case just to fix it. I loved all these twists and turns and especially the added one that Siegel sees Neal make the drop to Hagen. I thought for sure he'd take on Peter's role for the next episodes and try to prove Neal's guilt but be unable to.

Ultimately, Neal gets the job done with no real consequences. Or so we think, until we get some very interesting shots of Neal walking into the FBI. Everyone looks at him and it's all in slow motion. Something is very, very wrong and the entire office is silent. Peter sees him, doesn't say a word, and Neal follows him out. We head outside to stormy New York; rain splatters on the camera, making a very cool effect. And the reveal.

Here's the biggest spoiler of them all: Siegel's dead body found in the location where Neal made the exchange with Hagen.

Poor Siegel. We hardly knew you and I liked you, but getting between Peter and Neal was never going to turn out well for you.

I don't say this lightly at all considering how much television I watch, but White Collar is one of the best things on television right now. Even when it takes turns that should be predictable or has what appears to be easy resolutions, it always turns out more complicated than that. The dynamic between Peter and Neal is the heart of the show and it's constantly being tested and that makes it compelling. You really want these characters to win, even if you don't always know what that means for them.

Bring on next week's episode, please.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Update

This is less of a real post and more of a recommendation of an article from TV Guide that focuses on what Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is doing wrong right now. As I've mentioned previously, I've been watching from the beginning and reviewed the premiere here. Since then, the show has had a few nice highs but also a disappointing number of lows and questionable development choices. Though the series has managed a full season pick-up, this article from Sadie Gennis pretty much covers the major problems with the series as it stands right now, and I find I have nothing more to add. I too find the series may still be fixable and grow into something that can stand alongside other Whedon work in terms of quality, quirk, depth, and emotional resonance. For now, I've decided to commit myself for the season and hope for a killer second half of the season and a finale that will leave me not just wanting, but demanding a season 2.

Review of CNN Films' Blackfish

Usually this blog is reserved for straight fiction but for this particular post, I'm straying into the world of documentaries, with the recent premiere of CNN Films' Blackfish. Though non-fiction by definition, all documentaries are still prime examples of storytelling controlled by the filmmakers. The story of any documentary is shaped by the perspective of the filmmaker, the film's focus, the footage chosen to be included or omitted, the interviewees included or omitted, the amount of time given to any particular attitude about the subject, and many other factors. As I learned in school, while watching and analyzing any documentary (really media in general, but to a lesser extent), it is important to keep all these things in mind. The same can be applied to my review of Blackfish --  I can certainly comment on all the facts as they were presented, but cannot tell you what content might have been left out and what could have potentially changed the light in which Sea World is shown.

I had no idea about this documentary until my friend Katie told me about the trailer, which I immediately checked out and have included below.



This trailer really captured my interest, as it was compelling and hinted towards the major deceptions provided by Sea World in order to maintain good publicity. I therefore recorded the television premiere this past week and finished watching it just this morning.

The first half of the film focused on the background of the specific killer whale, Tilikum, and the capturing techniques practiced by sea parks to get the animals from the wild and into their new habitats. Testimony from those that participated in the capture of baby whales were filled with remorse and regret. They explained the way family groups of whales were enclosed in nets, which allowed the small ones to be picked out. This footage was particularly distressing, especially when combined with the interviews in which experts explain that killer whales in the wild live their entire lives within their families. It also shows the adult whales attempting to stay with their offspring instead of taking the freedom offered to them.

One part that really distressed me to the point of tearing up came a little later in the film, though still within the first hour. The interviewees -- mostly former Sea World trainers, discussed  an instance in which a young baby Orca was transferred to a different sea park, away from its mother. The mother, according to reports, then became far more docile, floating almost lifelessly in one place in the pool for long periods of time and emitting a keening wail. It was a very powerful emotional representation utilizing audience sympathies for a mother separated from her child.

The first part of the film also mentioned previous instances of violence and aggression shown by Tilikum at previous sea parks, including an incident that lead to the fatality of trainer Keltie Byrne. This, among other occurrences, did not receive much attention and were mainly publicized as accidents/trainer errors rather than attacks.

While much of the first half of the film showed the plight of the killer whales and allowed viewers to sympathize with Sea World's treatment of them, the second half takes a fairly dramatic turn. It highlights the attacks with actual footage of different incidents, and I personally found it terrifying. The raw power the animals have, and the way it can be used against trainers, sort of makes a person's stomach drop. One incident involved an Orca grabbing a trainer by the foot and pulling him under water and holding him there for a minute or so. After he recovers, the trainer manages to stay calm and attempts to pacify the whale with patting, only to be pulled under for a second time. Once again, he is eventually released and is able to surface. He then begins swimming quickly towards the platform area, followed by the whale and just barely getting out of the animal's reach to safety. Watching this footage, it seems clear that this incident very easily could have turned into another fatality added to the list. More footage also showed a killer whale charging and battering a trainer around and preventing them from reaching the platform. Yet another reel of footage shows an Orca falling from a leap and crushing a trainer beneath it -- though this one did appear to be more of an accident than an act of aggression, it was still very hard to watch. All of this footage is used to highlight the fact that most trainers not involved were not told or made aware of these incidents or, if they had, had been told it was trainer error.

The film greatly implies that the fatal attack of Dawn Brancheau committed by Tilikum in 2010 could have been prevented if Sea World had kept the killer whale from performing with people on the basis that he had been involved in two previous fatal attacks and shown generally aggressive behavior.

As a whole, Blackfish was a very compelling and convincing documentary. It could very easily change one's opinion about Sea World, similar water parks, and animal captivity as a whole. Even for the most skeptical, it is at least likely to give some reservations about these subjects. While I had never been particularly interested in Sea World in the first place, I now have a fairly anti-Sea World opinion and am substantially less likely to ever willingly visit. I highly recommend this film. While the perspective and subsequent conclusion is debatable, the quality of this film is not -- it is compelling, thrilling, and emotionally captivating.

Review of Unsouled by Neal Shusterman

Unsouled is the third book in the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman, and was released this month. I finished about a week ago and have taken this time to process it all and get my thoughts together. Even so, it's going to be hard to do this book and series justice all in one go. I therefore recommend you read my previous post here so that I don't have to recap the general series premise. (Actually just read the books. Most of this terminology is going to make no sense otherwise and reading is good for you anyway.)

In this installment of the series, Connor and Lev have escaped from their ruined former safe haven (The Graveyard) and must avoid juvie cops and parts pirates as they look for answers about the mysterious Jansen Rheinschild, the scientist and creator of the process that allowed unwinding to become a reality. They've uncovered that he has been wiped from the history books, the Internet, everything. It becomes increasingly clear that finding the truth about him may be the answer to ending unwinding once and for all. In order to do so, however, they must return to their home of Ohio, where it all began and where Rheinschild's wife Sonia (from the first book) still lives.

On the other side of things, Risa has renounced the media statements she was forced to make by Proactive Citizenry. In Unwholly, they had blackmailed her with the security of her friends at The Graveyard but lost their leverage when the kids were attacked, killed and/or rounded up for unwinding anyway. Risa also cut ties with Cam (a little background: Cam's a modern day, handsome Frankenstein made entirely of Unwind parts), who doesn't take it well. He's obsessed with winning her heart even if it means cutting his own ties with Proactive Citizenry (which made him) and crushing anyone in his way, especially Connor.

As you can tell, there is A LOT going on in this book, but I've broken it down into some highlights and lowlights for a quicker and more accessible review (spoilers ahead):

Highlights:

Flow: The story is still smooth, transitions mostly seamless. It still reads with the urgency of a film script and yet allows for deep introspection and characterizations more predominantly found in books.

Villains:  The new greaseball Argent Skinner is pretty hopeless as a villain, but his strange manipulative/idolizing relationship with almost equally hopeless parts pirate Nelson is amusing and will probably do some damage to our favorite characters later on. Most importantly, Starkey's villainy has really taken form. The most traumatic moments in the book are his displays of violence against all who stand in his way and represent unwinding (specifically of storks, which are children abandoned on doorsteps and who become legally a member of that family, whether they're wanted or not). 

World Building: We've learned even more about this world now. People smoke tranquilizers recreationally. A push towards allowing criminals to be unwound is on the voting ballot. Most Native Americans (now known as People of Chance or ChanceFolk) generally abstain from unwinding practices. 

Recurring characters: CyFi! Hayden! Baby Didi, renamed Dierdre! Sonia!

Biggest Bad: I love the idea that the real string pullers behind unwind are corporations profiting from it instead of the government. We've seen this before in real life -- big business winning out at the expense of the people. Society will literally rip itself apart as it's manipulated by greed.

Biggest Bad Kryptonite: Obsolescence. Also taking a page from reality. What happens when people can get organs and other parts cheaper, faster, and without having anyone be unwound?  Unwinding goes the way of the VHS player. 

Lowlights:

Uneven character usage: Right now, it's hard to remember what Risa really got to do in this book, besides be an obsession for Cam. Well, she did stuff, just nothing particularly important. Got herself caught by a parts pirate then killed him, nearly got eaten by coyotes, hung out with CyFi at his weird commune, worked/hid at a salon, hung out with Sonia. At least she got to kiss Connor instead of Cam but that's probably going to come back to haunt her (that guy just isn't right).

Resolution: The answer to ending unwinding has apparently been right under their noses with Sonia and that feels pretty convenient. I miss the open ending of Unwind, but I know that the resolution offered will be hard-won in the fourth book so maybe that's okay.

No Trio Reunion: I want the original three back together all at once. I want Risa, Connor, and Lev, that weird little dysfunctional family. Glad Connor and Lev spent some time together, but it's just not the same dynamic.

Connor/Conner: The story occasionally slips between two spellings of Connor, though Connor is the predominant version. It's a small detail, but it irritates me. Isn't an editor or someone supposed to catch that? What about Find and Replace?

General weirdness: Connor talks to Roland's hand. And the shark tattoo talks back. Cam got pieces of Samson Ward and Wil? Who else does he have in there? Roland? Also Starkey's villainy also includes the need to impregnate girls under his authority...I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

Summation: Overall, this book was pretty awesome but it does show that the longer a series goes on, the more likely it will have a few missteps and a little more beating around the bush to get to the big picture. I'm ready for the next book, the title of which has been announced as Undivided.