Merlin - The Wicked Day

Finally, a major shift in the storyline.  If you don't like ##SPOILERS## look away now!
An assassin is let loose within the walls of Camelot and very nearly kills Arthur, when King Uther snaps out of his immense depression to save Arthur's life, only to be mortally wounded.
Arthur can't bear to see his father on his death bed and decides to make the incredible decision to use magic to save Uther's life.  Merlin becomes his aged alter-ego, Dragoon and attempts to heal Uther in the hope that with that one action, he can help bring an end to the death sentence to magic users.  Unfortunately, Morgana and Agravaine are one step ahead and plant a magic item on Uther that will give the opposite result multiple times over of any spell directed at the wearer.  So when Merlin/Dragood attempts to heal Uther, instead of saving his life, he kills him!
Finally Arthur is crowned King but Merlin still cannot openly help his friend with his magic as Arthur is now even more against any magic users.
This was a great episode and a massive turning point in the story.  It is about time that Arthur became King and now we just need to get Merlin fighting at his side as the mighty wizard that he is.
What did everyone else think?  How did you feel when Uther passed?

Stir Of Echoes

What would happen if a sceptic was hypnotised and left with a suggestion to have a more 'open mind'?  This is the premise of this 1999 supernatural thriller starring everyman Kevin Bacon as everyman Tom Witzky.  He's a blue collar bloke, renting a house in the 'burbs of Chicago, married with a son and another child on the way.  There is nothing special about him.  That is until his Sister-In-Law hypnotises him at a party and suggests he have a more open mind.  Trouble is, once the doors of him mind are opened, anything can get in!
Tom starts to see the ghost of a young woman played by House's Jennifer Morrison and as the story progresses, she becomes more insistent and Tom becomes more unstable.  He stops going to work, can't sleep, has increasing disturbing visions and ends up tearing his house apart to find the answer to the question the ghost is asking - help solve her disappearance.  Oh, and his young son is talking with her as well!
The movie turns in to a competent whodunnit with a spooky twist.  It's actually a clever story (based on a novel by acclaimed author Richard Matheson, adapted by director David Koepp).  It's also well acting with the always capable Kevin Bacon channeling some of his Flatliners energy.
I'm a big believer in the afterlife, what about you?  Could what happened in the movie happen in real life?  Could the dead communicate with the living, if they have 'open minds'?  Has anyone had any personal experiences they would like to share? I enjoyed this movie and give it a high 7 out of 10.

Camelot - Igraine

In the second half of night four, Morgan has assumed the guise of Igraine.  Clumsily, the writers introduce a cherub of an orphan who conveniently is very good friends with the real Igraine and Merlin (1. Would Merlin really be friends with a little boy? 2. Why have we not seen him before?) This just led me to see his fate written boldly in this story because he is only brought in for one purpose - to recognise Morgan for who she is.
Morgan/Igraine meets up with Leontes and lets slip about Arthur and Guinevere acting as if she thought he knew.  I presume this was the whole purpose of this and the last episode.  I am sure there could have been a more economical way of getting to this point?
Morgan then seduces Merlin and they end up in bed together and strangely, he appears to recognise that she is not Igraine, but keeps going anyway. 
Post-coitus, Morgan starts to lose grip on her identity and leaves the room, only for the boy to run across her.  Now why is the boy up at that late hour and why is no one else walking around?  Are there no guards in Camelot?  She accidentally kills the boy (once again, why does no one hear this or why are there no guards in the main chamber?) and then goes to leave.
However, coming in to Camelot at the same time is the real Igraine who has escaped Castle Pendragon by killing her guard.  She was not expecting to see herself standing there and the shock makes her think she is losing her mind.
This was a clumsily written episode.  Only one more night to go.  Hopefully they will get to the point.

Camelot - The Long Night

Night four of the Camelot 'Mini-Series' starts with the episode, The Long Night and this is exactly how it felt watching this meandering mess of an episode.  The wheels well and truly began to fall off this show at this point and they probably lost heaps of viewers I would think.
Morgan once again invites Arthur and his Knights to Castle Pendragon, which he goes to for some reason!?  While there, Morgan gives them food and drink and woman and then in the dead of night, creates a fake attack on the castle.  I am not really sure what the purpose of all this was but by the end of the episode, Arthur and his people return to Camelot unknowingly taking Morgan with them.  She has taken the guise of Igraine who is now locked and chained within the Castle.
A pointless storyline.

Supernatural - Meet The New Boss

Supernatural is back!  Season seven starts off where Season Six finished with Castiel proclaiming himself the new God.  With no other option open to them, the brothers call on Death to try and stop Castiel, but Death reveals that Cas also has The Leviathan within him and they should never have been allowed to escape.  Cas escapes but realises that he can't control all of the souls within him and return to Dean and Sam for their help.  While they are able to return all the souls to purgatory, The Leviathan remains and takes over cas, telling the brothers, they have killed Cas and taken over his body.  Meanwhile, Sam sees Lucifer who tells him that everything he has lived through and is living through is an elaborate sham.  He tells him he is still in The Cage with him and this is his torture.  Could this be true or is Sam losing his mind?  Will the Leviathan kill Dean and Bobby?  Is Cas really dead?  Find out the answers to these questions and more in next week's exciting episode of Supernatural!
Wow, so we might see an end to the whole angels and God storyline and the start of a new Big Bad, or are they going to pull a 'Dallas' and have the whole previous season be a figment of Sam's tortured soul from within The Cage?

The Defenders - Noland v. Galloway Pharmaceuticals

Two cases based on the same issue, poor packaging of a vital drug that can either save a person's life or, if given an overdoes, could give them brain damage or even kill them. Is it the fault of the packaging or the paramedics who have to administer the drug? A reasonably straight forward story with a couple of in-house issues, mainly the first case being looked after by Lisa being put on the back burner until they win the main case and her handling of that issue.  She feels slighted and when she is offered a job with the DA's office, she seriously considers it.  Her behaviour towards Nick is horrendous for an employee.  She should trust her boss.
A great scene to illustrate the problem with the packaging when Pete volunteers to eat something he is allergic to and needs the drug to survive and Nick puts the boss on the spot to identify the correct bottle (with a little trickery!).
A good solid episode.

Body Of Proof - Buried Secrets

A really clever little episode which starts of differently to the way it ends, not what you thought the story was about.  It starts with a woman who is overtired, driving home from her shift when she accidentally runs over something in the road.  The next morning, it is revealed the woman had run over a man, a police officer.  However, as usual, things are not as simple as they appear.  Megan starts to investigate and discovers that the man was already dead and that it appears he was poisoned.
Was it the drug dealer that had lodged a complaint against the cop?  Or is it related to the cold case he has been working on, searching for the killer of a high school girl?
Megan has to go to her Mother, Judge Joan Hunt played by Joanna Cassidy, to get permission to resume the body of the dead girl.  (Clever way of finding the killer but I really would have thought the body would have been more decomposition after all that time?).  At the end of the episode, she returns to her Mother to get permission to resume her Father's body, but her Mother denies her request.
Another great episode.

Return To Me

Opening with an excellent helicopter shot over the city of Chicago, slowly tracking in to our hero, David Duchovny (Bob), on the roof of a high rise he is building, all to the dulcet tones of Mr Dean Martin singing the title song.  Just wonderfully done.  This is the opening to the wonderful romantic movie, Return To Me.
The story was partially written by Bonnie Hunt (Jumanji), who not only co-stars in the picture, she is also the director, and as I've described above, she is quite accomplished.
The story is about Bob who is happy in his job and his marriage.  Though they have no children, they do own a dog.  The couple attend a fund raising event to raise money for gorillas from the zoo where Bob's wife, Elizabeth (Joely Richardson) works.  Unfortunately, there is a tragic car accident that night and Elizabeth is killed.  We also see Grace (Minnie Driver) in hospital, desperately needing a heart transplant.  You do the math.
We then jump to a year later and Bob is still grieving.  His friends set him up on a blind date at a little Italian Restaurant and who happens to be his waitress on the night?  Grace.  Of course, for some reason they are instantly attracted to one another, in fact they think they have met.  In a way they have, because Grace is carrying Elizabeth's heart.
This wonderful story deals with heartbreak and finding love again, about dealing with the finality of life and getting a second chance to live.  It's about knowing you are meant to be together and doing what you can to make sure that happens.  The road is bumpy and we must wonder what is truly going to happen when they work out that they have more of a connection than they thought.
This lovely movie also co-stars Carol O'Connor and Robert Loggia, the owners of the restaurant, who want to help the love birds.  Bonnie's co-star from Jumanji is David Alan Grier who plays Bob's best friend Charlie and the always brilliant, James Belushi, plays Bonnie's down-to-earth husband, Joe.  He and Bonnie are fantastic in this movie.  As are David and Minnie.  He shows his acting chops dealing with the death of his wife and Minnie is just so perfectly sweet.
I would have to say, this is a great little movie.  Bonnie Hunt does a spectacular job.  I fully recommend this as the perfect date movie, even if you are married. 8/10

Person Of Interest - Pilot

I have to say this.  I think the pilot episode of Person Of Interest was the finest first episode for a television show for a long time!  I was absolutely blown away and simultaneously hooked by the wonderful characters and storyline.
Essentially a two-hander, the story is about a man called Reese, played by Jesus himself, Jim Caviezel, who is homeless and a drunk but when set upon by a group of youths, his special forces past becomes evident when he promptly dispatches them.  He is seen on camera by the police, but that's not all.  The second major character is Finch, (Michael Emerson channeling Ben from Lost), who is a mysterious billionaire who has built a super computer that monitors all video and audio across New York in the post 9/11 task of locating possible terrorists before they strike.  As a side issue, the machine also identifies individuals who will be involved in a violent crime, either as a victim or a perpetrator, however only as a social security number.
Finch offers Reese a chance to redeem himself from his past and help people by tracking down those the machine identifies and stopping the crime from occurring.  At first, Reese refuses to join Finch, but slowly gets sucked into a case where the person who is identified is a District Attorney.  Who is the criminal and who is the victim?  A VERY clever storyline.
Reese is a brutal machine himself, able to maim or kill people with ease.  And he is incredibly calm about it, with a deep voice that oozes menace.
I recommend this show to everyone!  If you are not watching, catch up online NOW and make sure you start to watch.  Brilliant opening episode.  Can't wait to see next week.

501 Movie Favourites

I recently purchased a couple of DVDs from my local Big W store (Aussie department store) where I was given a free copy of a magazine called 501 Movie Favourites "Australia's Most Popular DVDs".  I love a good DVD magazine and it helps with my collection of movies, so I was excited to sink my teeth into this full colour glossy mag.  I have to say, this was the absolute WORST editorial job I have ever had the displeasure of reading.  It was so incredibly frustrating because of the constant mistakes throughout this book.  I know it was free, but if you are going to do something, do it right.  Put 100% into it.
Firstly, how did they work out what was the 501 movie favourites and their order?  Was it on sales, did they do a survey, or is it just really random (which is what is seems) because there is no way in hell that "The Benchwarmers" came in at 193 but Jurassic Park is at 292!  Plus how could movies that had not even been released on DVD at the time this mag came out be in this list?  Like Water for Elephants and Bridesmaids which for some god forsaken reason is down as rated PG!!!  I am pretty certain it is MA15+!!
There are countless grammatical errors throughout the book, plus accuracy errors.
Wrong images for the wrong movies!  Wrong actors listed for movies and don't get me started on the review for Disturbia.  It was not Cary Grant "mugging away in his superb style from a wheelchair" in reference to being the star of Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rear Window'.  As any decent cinefile would know, it was Jimmy Stewart!  It was bad enough to read it once, but then it gets mentioned again!
Some of these reviews appeared to be written some time ago.  Oh and I certainly did not appreciate the numerous attempts at trying to be hip and write something disgusting.  Kids pick these things up and look at it (The back cover is an ad for the Rio Blu-Ray.) and I certainly wouldn't want my children to read some of the comments you put in your magazine.
This was a pathetic attempt at trying to sound knowledgeable but only succeeded in coming across as pretentious and so incredibly wrong!
If you get offered this magazine, turn it down.  It took ages to read and made me angry each time I read it.  I can't believe the editor even looked at the book before it went off for printing.  Simply just terrible.

Parenthood - Step Right Up

Another episode of Parenthood that is just watching things happen to the people in the Braverman family.  Nothing much momentous happens this week.
Crosby is not sure how he feels about Jasmine with another man.  He tried to make it work but nothing seems to be working. Really, she's such a bitch, I think he should have just dumped her anyway.
Meanwhile Adam is throwing himself into the recording studio and his wife is concerned Crosby is going to stuff up like he usually does.
The one thing that does happen is that Adam goes to speak to the parents of the boy Alex punched and convinces them to drop the charges.  Alex won't need to go to jail.
Oh and it looks like Drew is finally going to get a bit to do in the show as his grandfather gives him some 'advice' on picking up the young lady from down the street.

The Mentalist - Ring Around The Rosie

The team, under a new boss, are investigating the murder of a photographer at a political rally.  they end up with a homeless man confessing to the murder and it appears to be an open and shut case, but Jane is involved, so it can't be that simple.  He sees a man in a long coat in the hot sun and believes he is up to no good.  It turns out this man is a mad gun collector but he hasn't committed any crimes.  Jane believes he is psychotic and will kill, he just needs to be pushed over the edge.  The new boss just wants to charge him with gun possession and get him some mental help.  Jane follows him to a shooting range where he goes psycho with a machine gun, which everyone there thinks is cool! There is a really great ending to this episode where he sets up the guy.
While Jane persists in proving this man is ready to kill, Lisbon is fighting to prove that the confessor did not commit the murder.  She recognises him as an old sax player.  The man confessed so he could get a bed and three square meals.  Lisbon works to find the real killer.
An OK episode, not to the high standard so far this season but still better than some of the best episodes of other shows currently on air.

Merlin - The Darkest Hour (Part Two)

A shocking episode and I don't mean that in a bad way!  Blown away by the ending of this show.  Please be aware - ##SPOILERS AHEAD!##
After watching Camelot, this is a much better written show, getting better each season and now with shocking twists that you just won't see coming.  So if you haven't seen this episode, I suggest stop reading NOW!
OK, for all you others who continue to read, I really enjoyed this two parter opening to season four.  Lancelot has rushed off with Merlin who is dying after jumping in front of Arthur and being attacked by the Dorocha.  They stop at a water way and Lancelot finds that the spirits in the water are protecting them both and healing Merlin.
Meanwhile, Arthur is readying himself to die in order to close the rift between the living world and the spirit world.  But Merlin will be the one to do it and when he arrives, he knocks out Arthur and speaks to the keeper of the rift and is ready to give himself to his fate, when the keeper advises him that the decision has already been made.  He turns to see Lancelot walk into rift.  Gwen had asked him to look after Arthur and to keep him safe and he gave his word and in doing so, gave his life.  A truly shocking finale to the story.  Brilliant!  If this is the level of stories we are to expect, I can't wait for next week.

Camelot - Three Journeys

Ah, the second part of night three and all in all, it has been a pretty mundane night of Camelot.  As the name of the episode suggests, there are three storylines happening tonight.
Firstly, normal running of the kingdom continues with knights sticking up standards to show people they are under Arthur's rule, I mean protection (couldn't anyone have gone out and stuck these signs up?) and there is the decision to not repair the roof and leave a great gaping hole to allow them to see the sky?  And let in the cold wind and rain and birds.  So instead of King Arthur's Court, it's more his Courtyard?  While all of his knights are performing these very important tasks, Guinevere hears that her father is near death and she must rush to him, however, there is no one to accompany her.  Oh, except for the king of course!  So of they trot together, alone.  Nothing bad is going to happen here.  No one recognises that his is the king and they travel through villages while people talk about how bad the king is!  They get attacked by bandits, who Arthur quickly dispatches and then they eventually get to Guinevere's Dad's side and get to say goodbye before he passes. Talk about timing.  So nothing happens along their journey until they are almost home.  They had been telling each other that nothing more will ever happen because she is now married and Arthur accepts this, but just as they get within site of Camelot, they kiss.  Wrong move!  I suppose his loins are stirred again?
Meanwhile, Merlin decides to take a few of the knights on a little journey back to Arthur and his brother's old home to retrieve the library that was kept there.  Of course the place has been ransacked but Merlin believes the books are still there somewhere.  He believes it is very important that Camelot start its own library and will do anything to secure the books.  His magical abilities are also discussed and he is finally told to suck it up and take control and use his abilities as they were meant to be used.
Lastly, Morgan is fast becoming the people's Queen and they are flocking to her to mete out justice.  However, a group of women show up to challenge Morgan's protector/advisor nun.  She is accused of setting fire to the nunnery and killing innocent girls in the flames.  She cannot deny the accusation and Morgan is trapped in to having to make a judgement.  She has no option but to punish the nun and thrusts her arm into the fire in the middle of the room, permanently disfiguring her and causing her immense pain, proving she will do anything to maintain control of the people.
A pretty boring episode overall.  I like the nun's character, willing to sacrifice herself for Morgan.  This show needs to pick up though.  This episode was meandering around the countryside looking for cohesiveness.  No luck.  Hope it gets better.

Camelot - Justice

I actually thought this episode of Camelot was a bit pedestrian as we get stuck into the actual running of the kingdom and the different ways of winning the people over between Arthur and Morgan.
Arthur comes across a village about to hang a man who is accused of murder.  Arthur wants to change the way justice is doled out in his new kingdom and demands a trial be held at Camelot.  The villagers want to kill the man because they have their own form of justice, but Arthur and his knights enforce their law.  As it happens, the village leader (the strongest family) has the 'right' to take the virginity of all the women in the village, but the man fought against this.  Arthur finds this practice abhorrent (funny, considering he took Guinevere's virginity! Ah it's good to be the king!).
Meanwhile Morgan is trying to convince the people of the kingdom that they aren't safe under Arthur's rule and to prove a point, her nun hires a man to beat her savagely.  They then practice their own form of justice and entrap him and kill him before the people, showing they will have a swift response to any crimes.
Who will the people follow?  Yeah, lets get back to the sex and magic and fast.

The Defenders - Nevada v. Hunter

At the end of last episode, Nick had received a call from Judge Hunter who now needs his help.  Dan Aykroyd guest stars again, this time he has been caught in a motel room with a hooker who has overdosed on drugs.
But the story is not simple.  It appears he has been set up with a camera in the room and the hooker has been forced to betray his trust.  And it is more than simply a man wanting to be with a hooker.
A great story with a lot of heart.  Sucks that this show has been cancelled because I would have liked to have seen more of Dan.

Parenthood - Hey, If You're Not Using That Baby...

At the end of season two, Julia and Joel agreed to try adoption when trying to get pregnant was no longer an option.  A young woman at Julia's work runs the coffee cart and she is pregnant.  Julia got it in her head to adopt the child when she found out the girl was not going to keep her. She got to know the girl by helping her with a letter for her to help with a problem with her landlord.  Will asking her for her baby be a good idea?
Meanwhile pregnant Kristina is stressing out about Max going to public school for the first time.  But Jabbar goes to the same school and Max finds he fits in better than anyone thought.  Adam decides to make a decision and go in to business with Crosby and turns down the job with the soft drink company.

Body Of Proof - All In The Family

A stay at home Dad is found stabbed to death in his home and Megan discovers that someone has cleaned up the area around the body.  The wife lied and said that she hadn't.  In digging some more, it appears the killer is the family's son and perhaps the Mother cleaned up to protect him.  Was it the son?  Or did the Mother do it, or even the day labourer?  Or was there someone else involved?  This was one of the better episodes with Megan putting herself in harms way in trying to find the indentity of the killer.  Very tense with some great lighting.
Two other storylines were Megan's ex-husband, Todd, asking Megan's boss, Kate for help on a pro-bono case and Todd asks Megan to carpool their daughter and her friends on a Saturday, but Kate makes Megan work, so Megan has to bring the kids with her.  Megan's partner, Peter, brings along sweets for the day and ends up having a word with Lacey.

Parenthood - I Don't Want to Do This Without You

We are back with the Braverman family for a third year.  Who would have thought that a series following the relatively normal lives of an extended family would be so successful?  Luckily they have some great writers and some wonderful actors to portray the characters, though some characters hardly see the light of day and others are just terribly selfish people.If you recall, at the end of last season, Adam had lost his job and found out that his wife, Kristina, is pregnant!  Crosby wants to fulfil a lifetime dream of opening his own recording studio and tries to get Adam to be his partner, but Adam is desperately trying to find a job to pay the bills.  He eventually gets an interview as a soft drink distributor and has to seriously consider taking the job (a huge step down) or risking everything and going into business with his brother.
Meanwhile, Haddie goes to a party and gets drunk and Alex arrives to pick her up.  He does not want to be near alcohol and everyone around him is drunk.  Haddie starts acting stupid (as she does) and when another drunk teen (the house owner's son) thinks he's doing the right thing and intervening, Alex ends up punching him and then gets taken away by the cops, and it is all Haddie's fault!  Stupid bitch.  Man I hate her character.  Alex sees Julia for legal advice and reveals he has a criminal record for violence and could easily go to jail. All the years of hard work to change his life could be thrown away due to the selfish actions of a petulant school girl.

Camelot - Lady In The Lake

Another episode that gives us a major plot point in the Arthurian Legends but is not what you would expect.  Having drawn the sword from the stone, we find out that it is not Excalibur.  Merlin knows Arthur needs a new sword and seeks out the best sword maker in the land.  This is where it all gets bit murky.  I couldn't follow why Merlin lost the plot with the sword maker and ends up 'accidentally' killing him.  He asked the sword maker to make a sword, which he did, but then he wouldn't hand it over?  Anyway, the sword maker's daughter comes in just as her father dies and she takes the sword.  Her name is 'Excalibur'. (I have to admit this sounds a bit silly for a girl's name, but hey, it's for the story.)  Merlin chases her as she jumps in a boat and heads out onto the lake and threatens to throw the sword in.  Merlin causes the water to freeze to hold the boat and to stop her from throwing the sword in.  However, Excalibur over-balances and falls in through the ice and is trapped under the ice.  In a panic, she stabs the sword through the ice to help her get out, hence the iconic image of the woman's arm extending out of the water holding the sword.  Brilliantly clever.  Merlin grabs the sword and tries to break the ice to save Excalibur, but he fails and she drowns.  He is horrified by what he has done and allows himself to be beaten in a pub to allay his guilt.  He presents Arthur with the sword, telling him the name of the sword is Excalibur and telling the story as we know it, not as it really happened. 
Meanwhile, Merlin isn't the only one paying the price of using magic.  Morgan has physical consequences from using her magic and may be dying.  A nun turns up at Castle Pendragon who Morgan knows but she won't let in.  Apparently the nun looked after her while she was exiled from her Father's home.  Eventually, the nun gains entrance and performs a ceremony to save her.
Another decent episode but a bit confusing as to what the hell is going on.  Perhaps it will get clearer as time goes by.

Camelot - Guinevere

Night two and the first part starts with Morgan inviting Arthur to her castle for a dinner in his honour, knowing full well that Merlin would accompany his new king.  She doesn't care about Arthur, he's not a threat to her, just an annoyance in the way to her gaining the crown for herself.  It is Merlin she needs to best and for some reason, he allows himself to be tied up and kept at the castle.  I suppose he just wants to give Morgan a false sense of security and also to find out what she has been up to and what her plans for the future are.  He discovers she can change her appearance.  He does try to convince her that the road she has taken is only going to end in pain and misery.
Sort of like where Arthur is headed where he convinces Guinevere to lose her virginity to him on the morning of her wedding day!!  What the hell is she thinking?  And then Arthur has to conduct the marriage ceremony between Guinevere and Leontes.  Awkward!
Meanwhile Morgan uses her magic to see through Guinevere's eyes and sees that there is more to her relationship with Arthur than it appears.  This will not bode well for the future!

Camelot - The Sword And The Crown

The second part of the first night was a great episode of Camelot.  We got to meet Guinevere, the pulling of the Sword from The Stone and Arthur is crowned King.  But everything has a different spin to what we expect of the Arthurian Legends, and this makes this show a bit more watchable.
Arthur has been dreaming of a woman coming out of the water and then they make love.  One morning he is by the sea and the woman in his dreams emerges before him.  Only this time, she knocks him back on the sex.  The twist here is that she is betrothed to another man.  No not Lancelot, but Leontes, who proves to be Arthur's champion.  Arthur is entranced by Guinevere but will he betray his own knight? (So Arthur becomes the betrayer).
King Lot has managed to kill those close to Arthur and he needs something to rally the people behind him. Merlin has a little something set up from hundreds of years ago (just how old IS Merlin?).  If Arthur is the true king, he should be able to retrieve the ancient sword from that is embedded in the stone at the top of a waterfall.  No it is not Excalibur (another departure from the legends) but the Sword of Mars.  Of course he is able to remove the sword but not without falling and nearly killing himself!
Another solid episode, with a bit of flesh and some mystical works by Morgan in the woods where she summons a wolf to her, or is it something more sinister.  I hope this storyline builds in to something exciting.  Has she made a deal with the devil?

Camelot - Homecoming

'Merlin' this ain't!
Another television series based on the Arthurian Legends but this time with Joseph Fiennes (recently in Flashforward) in the role of Merlin (all grown up but no beard - actually no hair on his head either!), Eva Green (recently in The Golden Compass) as Morgan Le Fay and Claire Forlani (currently in NCIS:Los Angeles) as Arthur's mother, Queen Igraine.  Arthur is played by the young Jamie Cambell Bower who was in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One.
Setting the scene, Morgan shows up at Castle Pendragon only to find she is no longer welcomed by her father, King Uther, who backhands her, drawing blood.  Later, using her magic, Morgan changes her appearance and poisons her father.  Merlin arrives to late to save him, but gets him to sign over the kingdom to his illegitimate son.  Merlin then turns up at the farm where Arthur has been living all his life, unknowing he is actually adopted.  His introduction has him having sex with his 'brother's' girlfriend!
While he at first does not believe Merlin, on the urging of his adopted parents, he agrees to follow Merlin to the decrepit run down castle of Camelot.  He takes his brother with him.
Meanwhile, Morgan is trying to form an alliance with Uther's enemy, King Lot, based on the idea that she is the only known heir to the throne, but then they hear of Arthur and rush to Camelot to find out about him.
As I said, this is NOT 'Merlin'.  We have sex with a bit of nudity, some swearing and a bit of gratuitous violence.  In Australia we got two episodes per night back to back, so this was part one on the first night.  Good start so far.

The Mentalist - Pretty Red Balloon

The CBI team are back together but under a new boss.  Their first case is to find a kidnapped boy.  The mother ends up being a former client of Patrick's when he used to portray himself as a psychic and rip people off for their money.  This was one part of the show I was a bit put off by.  Here Jane is confronted by his 'illegal' past where he knowingly scammed money from this woman and yet he does not offer to return her money, even though he is now reformed.  Especially when he meets her new 'psychic' advisor, who is also scamming her.  Jane does the right thing by getting rid of him, but wasn't he guilty of doing the exact same thing?

Merlin - The Darkest Hour (Part One)

Probably one of the most frightening episodes of Merlin with the introduction of a new foe, the Dorocha.  These are ghost-like wisps of evil that kill all they touch.  They look like the angels of death from Raiders Of The Lost Ark.  They only come out at night and can be frightened off by flame.
They were brought into the world by Morgana who tore open a rift between our world and the spirit world with the final sacrifice of her mortally wounded sister.
Uther is a dried shell of a man, destroyed by Morgana's betrayal, lost in his mental anguish.  Arthur must perform the impossible for the safety of all in Camelot and defeat a creature that swords have no effect upon. The only assistance he has in running the kingdom is from his uncle, Argravine, but what is his true agenda?
As more people are dying at the touch of the Dorocha, Arthur, Merlin and the Knights of Camelot head out to the Isle of the Blessed to attempt to repair the rift in the only way they know how, with a sacrifice.  Arthur is prepared to do it for his kingdom, but Merlin is ready to jump in before him.
However, one night, the band are attacked while holed up in a ruined castle and Merlin jumps in front of Arthur and takes the full brunt of a Dorocha attack.  The episode ends with him frozen and on the edge of death.
Political intrigue, horrific creatures and unselfish bravery are all part of a great season opener.

Waitress

Waitress is a beautifully poignant film that celebrates female empowerment while the true life tragically ironic twist is that the director/writer/actress, Adrienne Shelly, was cowardly murdered by a man who was robbing her home, just weeks before the film premiered at Sundance.
The film is a legacy for her daughter who is seen with our heroine, played by the wonderfully pretty Keri Russell.
The story is about Keri's character, Jenna, who is a waitress in a diner, who makes the most amazing pies.  Pies of all types and flavours and they are all related to moments and people in her life.  She is married to a bastard of a husband who controls her and abuses her.  He doesn't like her out of his sight and when he comes to get her, he toots his car horn, CONSTANTLY!  He forces her to have sex and forbids her from doing anything that she wants to do, like enter a pie making contest where she could win $25,000.  She hates her life and so she has been secretly hiding money in the house so that when she gets the opportunity, she can leave him.  However, just before she finally makes the move, she discovers she is pregnant.
Ironically, because her husband forced herself on her, she now needs to see her doctor, who has been replaced by the charmingly handsome, Dr Pomatter, played by the charmingly handsome, Nathan Fillion.  It doesn't take long before they are having a torrid affair and she has never been happier.  Trouble is, he's also married.
The third man in her life is Joe, the curmudgeonly owner of the diner, played by the sprightly Andy Griffith.  No one likes Joe and Jenna must serve him every day.  As is her way, she treats him with respect and as a moral to the story, you reap what you sow, as each character ends up finding out.
This movie is funny, moving, a little naughty, makes you angry at the way she is treated by her husband (and I must admit that even though I would consider myself a good husband, I saw ugly traits of myself mirrored in the character.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not abusive at all [I find violence against women abhorrent] but insecurities can bring a level of possessiveness, that while magnified in the movie and are only minor in my behaviour, still exists and if the movie succeeded on any level, it highlighted my own faults and gave me the opportunity to recognise opportunities to be a better husband and a better person.  I challenge any man to watch this film and not see a small portion of their true selves in the male characters.  Be a real man and treat the woman you love with the respect she deserves.  Remember, the moral for me was you reap what you sow.), and it is bittersweet, when you consider Adrienne Shelly played Jenna's friend, Dawn.
Being the father of two wonderful girls, I recommend and support any movie that promotes female empowerment, especially one that is as well written, directed and acted as this movie.
Thoroughly enjoyable. 8/10

Merlin - The Coming Of Arthur (Part Two)

The season three finale was one of the best episodes so far, with so many iconic moments of the Arthurian legends coming to the fore.
The last episode ended with Morgana as Queen of Camelot after raising an immortal army using the Cup of Life.  Uther is in the dungeons as a beaten man, while Arthur, Merlin and the knights are in hiding in the woods.Using the vial given to him by the Fisher King, Merlin sees his lost love, Freya, who directs him back to the lake of Avalon where she gives him the sword Excalibur.  With this sword, the undead are turned to dust.
The band find an old castle of the ancient kings and it is the first time we see the round table and Arthur and his knights sit around it.
The only way to defeat the immortal army is to knock over the Cup Of Life, spilling the blood within but it is guarded by Morgana and her sister Morgause.  Gaius comes the rescue, displaying his quite considerable magical powers, blasting Morgause into a pillar and appearing to kill her.  Morgana screams out when she sees her sister and destroys the room, but not before the cup is knocked over and our heroes escape.
Merlin then takes Excalibur and drives it in to a stone in a sun-dappled glade so that it will be there when needed.
An absolutely brilliant episode!

SciFiNow - Issue 56

One of the things I like about SciFiNow is the exclusive information they have.  It was cool to see the pic of Bane and everything we know about The Dark Knight Rises so far.  Eagerly awaiting this epic film.  I liked the frame by frame of Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes too.  Looking forward to seeing this on Blu Ray. 
Thank you for another great Harry Potter story.  I really enjoyed the books and the movies and love the behind the scenes information.
Chuck is on the cover but I have never seen it.  I must try and track this down on DVD.  While I consider myself a geek, I am certain I wouldn't get all the in jokes that are written in to this show.
I was right into comic books about 25 years ago and Batman was my main purchase each month.  I still have most of them (sold a couple to a guy in Canada who became a good friend), but I had no idea that the story had taken such drastic turns with death, Robin/Nightwing taking on the mantle, and a world wide franchise of Batmen?!  I have been out of the comic scene for too long apparently!
Still looking forward to seeing Captain America but not so much Conan.
Loved the Torchwood article and love the show.  Can't wait to buy it all on Blu Ray as well.
The interview with Brandon Routh surprised me.  I didn't know he could be quite irreverent.  Well done mate.  Will have to look into Dylon Dog: Dead of Night.
Agreed with most of your reviews this month but not the one on Battle:Los Angeles.  I loved this film and thought it was well made and I didn't need to be drunk to enjoy it.
An absolutely FANTASTIC article on Robert E Howard.  His tragic life story would make a brilliant film in itself.  Then right at the end of your article you make mention of The Whole Wide World.  It stars Vincent D'Onofrio and Renee Zellweger.  I think I might have to track this down now.
Just liek I will have to track down the book Heaven's Shadow after reading your review.  Sounds brilliant!
Thanks for the Lost In Space Complete Guide.  It appears my fond memories may change if I ever sit down to watching this show again!  ET gets the Modern Classic treatment which it so richly deserves.  Thanks for the amazing article on Metropolis in the flashback section.  I have always loved this film and what was able to be achieved back in 1927, fifty years before Star Wars.  I won a copy of the restored version on Blu Ray and can't wait to get the time to sit down and watch it.  You will see a review here (but it might take a couple of years!!)
Another great issue of SciFiNow but can we drop the flow charts at the back.  They are a bit silly.  Give us a crossword or word search or a comic, Blue Milk Special is incredibly funny!

The Thing (2011)

One of my memories of the eighties is seeing John Carpenter's The Thing on VHS with a mate and being completely blown away by the incredibly gruesome special effects.  I was always a huge fan of Kurt Russell.  The movie wasn't a big hit at the movies (mainly due to another alien movie coming out around the same time, ET) but got a cult status on home video.  It left a lasting impression on many of what science fiction could do.
When I first heard they were doing another The Thing film, I didn't think it was a good idea.  Then I read it was a prequel and I was a little intrigued but as time went by and I thought about the story, I couldn't imagine how they could pull off a good story considering we know where the story goes.  (Star Wars is a typical example).
Then I won a free double pass from Empire Magazine Australia to a special preview screening and I decided it was time to share this type of film with my eldest daughter so we went along, me with no real expectations and she having no background of the John Carpenter film.
The story is based around paleontologist, Kate Lloyd, played by Mary Elisabeth Winsted, being asked to join an expedition to the Antarctic where something strange has been found.  She is taken to the Norwegian base camp (that we saw in the 1982 movie) to help with the examination of a creature that was found in the ice.  It is cut away and brought back to the base.  The ice begins to melt and the doctors drill into the creature to get a tissue sample, which is shown to be very much alive.  Of course the creature escapes and begins to kill the members of the team one at a time and then take on their physical appearance.  Once again, no one knows who is friend and who is foe, which was the concept behind the original story and is very much still relevant in today's post 9/11 society.
The movie also stars Aussie actor Joel Edgerton, who funnily enough was also in the Star Wars prequel.
There are a couple of genuine scares that made me jump out of my seat but what I really loved was the attention to detail in the Norwegian camp in making it fit the original movie and of course the ending which is the actual beginning of the 1982 film.  This was wonderfully done.  The acting was good and the CGI enhanced special effects are quite gruesome.  There really are some disgusting effects, so a success I would think.
I was confused as to why they named it the same as the 1982 film but I can now see that they go together to make one complete story.  I can't wait to get it on Blu Ray so I can watch it back to back with John Carpenter's classic.  8/10

The Mentalist - Little Red Book

This was an hilarious episode as Patrick Jane conspires to bring his old team back together and back to the jobs they should be doing.  While everyone else is transferred to other positions or on suspension, Jane has been assigned to the new team with a new boss.  They have to investigate the murder of a fitness trainer.  While that story unwinds and Patrick does his usual (a brilliant line when he investigate the dead body at the beginning!), he starts getting the new team members to play off against each other.  they way he does this is just hilarious and he even sets the new boss up!
I love this show and love the direction this new season is taking.
However, Jane is now convinced that the man he killed was NOT Red John!  Who organised for the guard to remove the gun 'Red John' had, and then who killed the guard? And who kills 'Red Johns' wife in Jail?  Lisbon thinks he is being paranoid and to give it up.  Of course he won't.  At the end of this episode, Jane brings Red John's blind lover (from a previous episode) to the morgue to touch his face and she tells him that the man on the table is definitely NOT Red John.  The hunt is on!

Merlin - The Coming of Arthur (Part 1)

Part One of the season three finale has a knight of Camelot saved from death by the druids who have him drink from The Cup Of Life.  King Uther decides that it is best that the cup be recovered before Morgause gets a hold of it.  He send Arthur and Merlin to steal it.  They take it from the druids, who speak to Merlin in thought and tell him he is the guardian of it now and to keep it safe.  Before they can get it back to Camelot, they are captured by a slave trader, but they end up being saved by Gwain, who is also captured.  They escape but before they get the cup back to Camelot, it is captured and now Morgana and Morgause have it.  They create an immortal army of thousands and attack Camelot!  Morgana reveals her true self to Uther as she takes the crown from him and makes herself Queen!  How will Arthur and Merlin win back Camelot when they can't kill the enemy? Can't wait for next week's episode.  Fantastic!!

Covert Affairs - World Leader Pretend

A brilliant mid-season finale!  Annie has been working on helping a Chinese scientist defect but when they are so close, they are both poisoned.  Annie must work against the clock to save the scientist and find out who is trying to kill him.  Meanwhile, Joan has had enough of Jai second guessing her and decides to transfer him.  However, he has friends in high places. 
After last week's episode, Annie decides (after talking to Auggie) that it is time to tell her sister who she really is and what she does for a living.  At first her sister is furious and then she packs Annie's things and tells her to move out!  It's time Annie was on her own anyway.  She was bringing danger to her sister and kids and really the character was under utilised anyway.  Time to get your own condo Annie!
Can't wait for this series to return to Australia!

The Defenders - Nevada Vs The Drug Mule

The firm is asked to defend a young man who has unwittingly been involved in a drug importation scheme.  He went on spring break over the border and his father (unknowingly to the son) organised for a prostitute for him.  The young man thought he was in love and had no idea what the woman really was.  However, she asked him to drive her car back the US and he was pulled over and found to have a car full of drugs.  He is brought before the judge, played by the great Dan Aykroyd who is by the book.  Things don't look good.  So Nick must go undercover in a sting operation to catch the woman out.  A really great episode!  A brilliant finish too with Nick receiving a call from Dan Aykroyd asking for his help as he has been caught in motel room with drugs and a prostitute who needs to be taken away in an ambulance!  Can't wait for next week's episode.

Body Of Proof - Society Hill

A woman is found dead in a pool but not from drowning and the only evidence of the killer is some hair.  The woman was an editor for a society magazine who had a number of enemies.  She was mean to her staff so it could have been any of them.  What relationship does she have with her assistant and could it have been him?  And how does a wealthy man who once paid to have the dead woman beaten figure in the story?
To get access to the wealthy man, Dr Hunt agrees to attending a society event with her Mother, played by Joanna Cassidy, whom she doesn't get along with.
Lots of red herrings but a pretty run of the mill episode this week.

The Defenders - Nevada v. Donnie The Numbers Guy

This episode starts with Nick on a date with the Assistant District Attorney's sister (from Nevada Vs. Dennis) and agreeing to follow her home.  After she drives off and he is about to get in his car, he is kidnapped!  He ends up out in the Nevada desert and it turns out it is a friend of his who has been on the run for 17 years after being accused of murdering his wife.  He wanted to come back and have Nick defend him, but the cops turn up because Nick, not knowing it was his friend, had hit the emergency response button on his phone and the cops were able to follow the GPS.
Not a bad episode with the truth finally coming out and a father and daughter able to reconcile.  We got to see a bit about Nick's past in relation to the mob and Pete gets his car blown up!

Empire - Issue 127

This is the preview issue for next year's blockbuster movies.
We get a first look at Battleships, which actually looks better than I thought it would.  Two Snow White movies coming out?  Cool!  Kristen Stewart's version looks like it will be cool, which is more than I can say about Breaking Yawn, I mean, Dawn.
Oh and I got the crossword mixed up name correct this month!  I don't do that alot, so I was very excited!  I was also please to see Mr Guillermo Del Toro do so well in the Movie Mastermind quiz.  Nice work!
An amazing array of super hero movies for next year, starting with The Amazing Spider-Man.  Do I want to see this?  I am still not sure.  Men In Black 3?  Really?  Number 2 wasn't that brilliant but perhaps it could be good?  The Bourne Legacy, without Jason Bourne?  Are you serious?  What is going on here?  Next there will be Bond without Bond!  Oh, Bond does return, but Bond does return.  Though Quantum Of Solace wasn't brilliant, so hopefully this will be better.  Clash Of The Titans 2??  Didn't the first one flop?  Oh and of course there is ANOTHER Superman reboot.  Is there a theme running through these movies for next year?
There is hope though.  Andrew Stanton does bring us John Carter which looks spectacular, The Dark Knight Rises is going to finish off the Chris Nolan Bat Trilogy on a high and the culmination of Marvel's super hero movies comes together with The Avengers by Joss Whedon.  This is going to be awesome!
With the release of The Star Wars Saga on Blu-Ray, there is a wonderful article with some unseen scenes from all six movies.  Just brilliant!
Oh and the best damn interview I have every read is between Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds swapping identities and answering for each other!  Hilarious!  Apparently it has something to do with their latest film, The Change Up?
Joe Dante writes for Empire about his movies.  Excellent!  And a fantastic interview with Aussie directing legend, Fred Schepisi.
While I love the Tintin poster, I wish, I wish, I wish you guys would supply a poster with nothing on the back and separate from the book.  PLEASE!!

NCIS: Los Angeles - Lange, H.

A ripper of a season premiere for the NCIS spin off, NCIS: Los Angeles.  Last season, Hetty had resigned and replaced herself with Claire Forlani's Lauren Hunter.  She had gone in search of the Comescue family to get them to stop hunting Callen.  She confronts the matriarch of the family, Alexa, who reveals the story about Callen for the first time.  You see, Callen's grandfather was an officer of the OSS who had killed many member of the Comescue crime family.  In retaliation, they have been hunting down and killing every last member of his family, including Callen's mother.  They mistakenly left Callen and his sister alive as children and now he is the last one.
Meanwhile, Lauren Hunter has gone missing and Nell and Eric have been trying to restore a blurred photo which reveals Hunter is really a daughter of the Comescues!  Who's side is she on?
It's reveled that she had taken over the role of a daughter who had distanced herself from the family many years ago, so no one would know if she was really who she said she was or not.
She turns up at the house where Hetty is now being held prisoner, because Callen has been seen alive!
What will Hunter do?  Will she help Hetty or Alexa, especially now that Alexa has shot Hetty?

NCIS: Los Angeles - Familia

The season two season finale sees Hetty in Prague trying to get a message to 'Comescue'.  The message is that Callen is dead and they can stop looking.  And why should they believe her?  She wields the mark of the family on her arm, the same mark Callen has flashbacks of from a man giving him a toy soldier when he was a boy.
Of course it's not as simple as that, because Callen comes looking for Hetty, because he can't understand, nor believe, why she would just resign and leave.  Director Vance isn't telling anything and that just forces Callen to go to Prague to find her.  The rest of the team hand in their badges and follow him.
This was an absolutely brilliant finale.  This show is just getting stronger and stronger and I can't wait to watch season three.

The Mentalist - Scarlett Ribbons

Probably THE BEST Season premiere this year, The Mentalist returns with their fourth season with Patrick Jane under arrest for the murder of a man in a shopping centre, a man he believes is Red John, the psycho who murdered his wife and daughter.
Doubt is put in everyone's mind when the man's wife reveals he was a kind man who helped in his community.  Could Jane have got it wrong?
Jane gets himself out of jail and convinces his old team to help him out.  Lisbon is out of a job, Rigsby is security at the CBI front entrance, and Cho and Van Pelt are assigned elsewhere.  He visits the house of the woman at the time of the wake and she tells him about her husband even helping with the search for a missing girl in the neighbourhood.
He goes back to the house later that night, breaks in and lies in wait.  Soon, he finds that the woman has the missing girl chained up in a hidden room in the basement.  So the man must have been Red John all along.  Or was he?
Not only was this a highly satisfying story, there was a large amount of humour in the writing which was just fantastic and added so much to this show.  Simon Baker is brilliant as Patrick Jane.

NCIS - Nature Of The Beast

WOW!  NCIS is back!  With a BANG!  Season Nine kicks off with Tony DiNozzo, played by Michael Weatherly, in hospital with the possibility that he may have been responsible for the death of an NCIS agent.  Trouble is, we don't know which agent!  Tony's not talking, or can't remember. Last season, Tony was given an assignment from SECNAV to investigate another NCIS agent, but we don't know who.  Could it be Agent David?
Tony is visited by Gibbs, a psychologist and an FBI agent, played by Scott Wolf (from V).  Slowly, the psychologist gets Tony to open up and talk about his assignment, which was to investigate Agent Barrett, whom he had been in a relationship with.  But now she has gone missing.  Is she the dead NCIS agent?  And did Tony kill her?  This is all tied to the microchip that Barrett removed from her own dead agent's arm last season.
Why is the chip so important?  Which NCIS agent is dead and who killed them?  What does Scott Wolf's FBI agent have to do with all of this?
A really cleverly woven story that bucks the trend of the usual incident/investigation/resolution.  Welcome back NCIS!

50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments

50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments was shown after the Australian television premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  I recorded it then, finally got around to watching it about 6 weeks ago and am just getting to writing a little post about it.
Not sure how the 50 moments were put together but it was fun to revisit all the movies (bar the last movie) in one television special.  It was pretty exhaustive.  This was a pretty good wrap up of all the films up to that point.  Can't wait to buy the last movie and watch them all back to back.

Covert Affairs - Sad Professor

Annie's old professor is murdered and it is revealed to her that he was also a CIA agent.  In fact, he was the reason for her being chosen to join in the first place.  She is shattered by the news and finds out that his wife didn't even know.  Annie questions whether she should tell her sister, whom she lives with and has been trying to protect all these years.
It turns out that the professor was killed for a microdot of information and the killers are still looking for it.  Annie decides it is better to tell the wife but what impact will this have on her and will she still help?
Another very solid episode of a very solid series.  Well done!

 

Covert Affairs - Welcome to the Occupation

Joan gets her time in the spotlight this episode when she receives a distress message from her friend and undercover agent who has been taken hostage in a corporate building in Mexico.  She is an executive on the board of a gas company and the 'eco-terrorists' want lots of money or they will start killing them.  Joan decides to go in to the field with Annie and Ben as they pose as eco-news journalists who do a show on the web, wanting to get the story from the side of the terrorists.  How will the team save the hostages and get them down from the skyscraper safely, especially when it becomes clear that even the police are in on it.
Some great stunts and effects in this episode.  Really enjoyed this.

Covert Affairs - Half A World Away

Auggie gets his own episode!  And it is BRILLIANT!
Auggie decides to take a holiday and goes to Istanbul for a jazz music festival (once again, are they actually in this country?  This is so cool). On the flight there he picks up a beautiful stewardess (Rebecca Mader from LOST) who spends her layover in Instanbul with Auggie.
Auggie records one of the concerts and while listening back the next day, he recognises a voice.  It is the voice of the man who blinded him.  We then get to see flashbacks to when Auggie had sight in Iraq (and girls you get to see him with his shirt off - alot!) and how they try to take a warlord's stronghold and Auggie's team are bombed including him.  Now he must enlist the help of his stewardess to track down this man so he can deal with him once and for all.

Covert Affairs - The Outsiders

Another brilliant episode of Covert Affairs, this time with guest star Peter Stormare!
Annie and her new tech operative, Reva, are undercover as hiking tourists while planting secret cameras along the Polish-Belarusian border.  As they finish installing the last one, they are captured by Peter Stormare's secret Soviet police, all captured on film while the rest of the team in the US are watching.  Jai is sent in to rescue them, covertly but runs into helicopter trouble, so the girls are on their own.  Will they escape?  And if they do, will they stick to Reva's text book or Annie's experience in the field?

Covert Affairs - Around The Sun

It's become clear that there are secrets getting out of NASA but the leak is a mystery.  Annie goes in to try and identify the leak. Meanwhile, Auggie has decided to take the management role at the Office for Congressional Affairs.  This means Annie needs a new wingman.  She gets Reva, a woman who is a bit too 'by the book' for Annie.
Annie soon identifies a scientist who is a single Dad who may have a beef with NASA and may be the source of the leak, but as she delves deeper, is it really him or someone much closer.
A good episode with Annie's cover almost getting blown a couple of times.

Covert Affairs - All The Right Friends

What starts out as a routine hand over of spies with a quick plane trip to Argentina (routine?!) quickly turns deadly when an assassin turns up and Annie and an Italian spy must go on the run.  Not only is the assassin in hot pursuit but the President of Argentina is unhappy that he agreed to the swap to occur on his soil and now he has foreign spies running loose.  He has threatened to throw the two runaways in jail if his men catch them before a CIA team can extract them.
Meanwhile, Augie is offered a huge promotion that will take him away from Annie.  If he takes it, what will Annie do without him to help her out of tight spots?
Another brilliant episode, though why the guy didn't confide in Annie on what he needed to do instead of making a run for it and putting their lives in danger.  Poor story device guys.

Covert Affairs - Bang and Blame

A CIA trainee's name is leaked to the Iranians so Annie is sent back to training school to act as herself under the guise of finishing her training but instead she is looking into who the leak is.  There are a number of possible suspects in this episode.  Is it the trainer, her gung-ho roomy, or someone else in her class? Augie, her savior, comes to her rescue undercover.  A particularly funny scene has Annie being found in her trainer's room, when suddenly Augie walks in half dressed acting as if they were more than intimate!  Excellent.  Great episode that kept you guessing.

The Proposal

I was so looking forward to seeing The Proposal, what with having my favourite actress, Sandra Bullock and the always cool, Ryan Reynolds, in a romantic comedy together, I thought, what could go wrong?  For the most part this is a great movie, but is let down by the handling of the ending of the film.
The story is that Sandra Bullock (Margaret) is a nasty boss at a publishing company and Ryan Reynolds (Andrew) is her long-suffering assistant who does everything for her in the hope of getting a promotion and his own book published.  One day, it turns out that Sandra has not fulfilled all her paperwork for her working visa to continue to work in America (she's Canadian) and is to be deported.  She quickly sees the chance to stay by revealing her and Andrew are engaged.  She just wants to get married to stay and he hates her completely.  They go to immigration but they are on to them and advise them that if this is fraud, then they will go to jail.  Remembering that Andrew was going home to see his parents for the weekend, Margaret quickly says they are going to see them to announce the engagement.  It happens to be in Sitka, Alaska!
They meet his family played by Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson and Betty White and Margaret discovers that Andrew comes from money, lots of money!  She doesn't understand why he does his job but he doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps and fights with him constantly.  He wants to write.  the family suggest they get married this weekend on Grandma's birthday!
Of course this is a romantic comedy so the two antagonists fall in love over the weekend (well they realise they love each other).  However, at the wedding, the immigration guy is there and he reveals the cover-up.  Margaret confesses and leaves to go back to New York to get packed for Canada.
Andrew chases after her and confesses his love at their work and they go back to the immigration and advise they do love each other for real!  And that is the ending that I didn't like.  It was over too soon and too conveniently.  I wanted to see more of them together.  And what about the criminal fraud charges?  Such a poor finish to a fun movie. 7/10

Covert Affairs - Good Advices

Oded Fehr (The Mummy) returns to Covert Affairs as Mossad agent Eyal Lavin who is trying to get a secretary working for the Syrian embassy in Paris to become an agent for Mossad.  Meanwhile, Annie has been sent to Paris to do the same thing but for the CIA!  Of course they eventually cross paths.  When the secretary works out what is going on, she pits them against each other, bidding for her allegiance.
It would appear to me that they are really in the Parisian locations?!  Is this true?  This show has a sense of realism to it because of it's location shooting.  I love the 'relationship' between Annie and Eyal.  Keep this going!