House - Carrot or Stick

Unfortunately this was a run of the mill episode of House. A drill sergeant at a boys disciplinary camp collapses with extreme back pain at the feet of a colored kid he has been pushing. Of course there is more to their relationship than first shown.
House tries to help Cutty's daughter to save her embarrassment. He finds he is actually quite fond of her, to his surprise.
The best side story was Chase being 'pranked' by a past fling from a recent wedding he attended. Someone got access to his social media site and posted a nude photo of him with lesser assets than he really has. He has to revisit the girls he slept with playing detective. A fun story in a pretty dull episode.

NCIS - Enemies Domestic

The explosive second half of a brilliant two parter.  This is one of the best episodes of NCIS and just confirms why this is one of the finest television shows on air today. 
The story continues with Director Vance injured, Director David's bodyguard dead and the Israeli MOSSAD leader missing.
It appears the conference has been orchestrated by Vance and David to expose whoever wanted Vance dead on his first NIS (yes, it's not a typo but it was before they put the 'C' in their title!) mission in Amsterdam where he met David.  We went back to 1991 and saw the whole story play out with some fantastic makeup allowing Vance and David to look twenty years younger.  We even got to see Vance and Gibbs meeting for the first time some years later.
One of the highlights was seeing Ziva get into a girl fight with another female MOSSAD agent, in a synagogue no less!
This was another exceptional episode.

NCIS - Enemies Foreign

Once again, the relationships of fathers with their children is a part of the NCIS storyline, after Jethro and Tony dealt with their Dads, now Ziva is put in the unenviable position of facing her Father again, the Israeli Mossad Director, when he secretly enters America to attend a conference and is pursued by three Palestinian assassasins.
His bodyguard is played by Arnold (The Mummy) Vosloo, this episode's movie star link.
This is a rare two part episode which Channel Ten in Australia has gratefully played back to back.  I will give a review later today.
The story ends on a cliffhanger.  Did they succeed in saving Director David or has something gone terribly and horribly wrong?  Stay tuned!

Supernatural - The Devil You Know

Sam and Dean got away from the Gods at the Hotel last week but now know that to defeat Lucifer, they will need all four rings from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  The already have two, War and Famine, now they need Pestilence and Death.
This episode was a bit of a set up the story type episode with not a lot happening to move the story forward.
Except that the demon Crowley showed up again and still wants to help the boys defeat Lucifer (even though the Colt he gave them last time didn't work!) because he is now on Lucifer's hit list.  He knows they need the other two rings so he offers to give them the demon who knows where they are, the 'stable boy' if you will.  Of course the plan doesn't go the way the boys think, but it is how Crowley planned it - can he be trusted?
Suffice to say, the boys get what they need so next week's episode will be pretty damn cool.
Crowley visits our friend in the wheelchair, Bobby, and offers to save the day as long as Bobby 'lends' him his soul.  He promises to give it right back - can he be trusted?
As I said, not a lot happened and we had a visit from the invisible hell hounds again (cheapest special effect ever - what a cop out!) and of course no Castiel, AGAIN!  What's with that?  Still, it's a great show and there are only two episodes left of season five to go.  Bring it on!

The Mentalist - Red Alert

Watched tonight's episode (we're a bit behind here in Oz!) about a woman being murdered and Patrick Jane ends up as a hostage for the accused. This is not as simple as that with another previous murder as part of the story, a possible adulterous politician and his wife and a trigger happy cop. You will never guess who the bad guy is.
This is the usual high level excellence in television drama that we have come to expect from The Mentalist. Not paying that ticket!

The Mummy Collection

Now you may have noticed a trend in my reviews, very Mummy-related. That's because I have been enjoying a brilliant DVD set called The mummy Collection.  This beautiful box set includes two disc sets of all three Mummy movies which gives heaps of extras for those that enjoy the extras like I do; plus you get a reasonable board game which combines all three movies.  It is trivia based and if I can give you a hint, you need to watch all the extras to be able to win this game!  It did get a little frustrating by the end, especially when the Mummy would get you and you would have to go back to the start! lastly, I just finished reading a beautiful coffee table book based on the making of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emporer.  It was excellent!  176 page soft cover book with heaps of colour photos and drawings plus an in-depth introduction from the director, Mr Rob Cohen.
Funnily enough, this is his third movie with 'Dragon' in the title: The other two being 'Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story' and 'Dragonheart'.  He has such a love of China, he was the natural choice to make this film.  There was so much work done to make this as authentic as possible, considering it is a genre film.  Hat's off to Mr Cohen and his team for making a spectacular film.  One thing I learnt from this book was that filming commenced on July 26 2007, my 39th birthday and opened on July 26 2008, my 40th!
I was able to pick this set up from JB Hi Fi (my favourite bricks and mortar store to shop for DVDs and Blu-Ray - and they didn't pay me to say that!) back in April 2009 (yes, just getting around to watching it!) for only $69.98.  It is a lot more than that now, but here is a link.

 

The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior

Six years after the original Scorpion King movie and in the same year as The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emporer, comes yet another spin off for the character of Mathayus, this time as a prequel.  Only some of the producers came back for this one and it is directed by Australian Russell Mulcahy.
I was pretty disappointed in this movie.  It was the story of how The Rock's character became the great warrior he is.  However, it was really a cheap cash-in attempt linking Mathayus to scorpions from an early age.  One o fmy main problems was the young cast.  I know it was his early years, but the modern language ('Mom', 'Jerk') made this more Mathayus's Creek or Akkadian Hills 90210.
There was a really good set piece where the heroes go to the Underworld to get the Sword of Damocles via a portal in the Minotaur's labyrinth.  The effects for this were quite good.  However that was it.  The Minotaur was terrible and the final giant scorpion effect was horrendous! (It was invisible for most of the fight - indicative of the incredibly low budget.) It was also filmed in South Africa where it's parent film was made entirely in California.
Now I have to also talk about Mr Randy Couture.  He was perhaps the worst actor I have ever seen!  He was more wooden than Marky Mark, in fact more wooden than an entire forest!  Let's hope he gets some acting lessons.  Now nobody tell him that I said that!!
So in conclusion, I did not like this movie at all.  What a sad way to end a franchise, unless they can pull their finger out and make a fourth Mummy movie in Peru! 3/10

NCIS: Los Angeles - The Black Widow

I finally watched another episode of NCIS: Los Angeles and once again it didn't disappoint.  It started in Cypress with the death of an NCIS agent.  The NCIS team capture the murderer (played by The Scorpion King's Steven Brand - how's that for Serendipity!) who is a member of a team of assassins.  Our guys find out who their next target is and go about saving her life.  They find she is more than she seems and it opens up further storylines for the future.  Once again, another brilliant episode.

The Scorpion King

As promised, here is my review of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's spin-off movie from The Mummy Returns - The Scorpion King.  Before you stop reading this, I have to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie!  It was actually better than The Mummy Returns.
If you love action scenes, this movie has some of the best fight scenes on film.  The story is how The Scorpion King became a King.  Stephen Sommers was a producer on this film as well as a writer, so it was faithful to it's source material.  The only problem was the character was a good guy but in the original movie he was a bad guy.  Go figure!
There were a couple of stolen story ideas from Bond and from Indy but they only enhanced this film's genre heritage.
Other stars include Steven Brand as Memnon and Michael Clarke Duncan as Balthazar, with Kelly Hu as the hot Sorceress.
I actually enjoyed this movie, so if you have seen the Mummy movies, make sure you see this. A good swords and sandles movie with a bit of Spartacus thrown in (it was filmed in the Universal backlot and used redressed sets from Spartacus.) and Batman! (The cave that our heroes are led from as they enter Michael Clarke Duncan's village is the original entrance to the Batcave! - Now there's a bit of trivia!) 8/10

Supernatural

OK, this link is a bit tenuous, considering these boys only really got into film after the success of Supernatural. Jared Padeleki had some smaller roles in film before but Jensen Ackles had only done television. Having said all that they are definitely stars in their own right now. Also, I'm tweeting about this show because it is made like a mini movie every week and the stories got better every season. Of course it is made by a lot of X-Files alumni who basically did the same thing for nine years plus made a couple of movies (another movie reference! And no, I'm not changing this to 'Mulder on Television').
Anyway, Supernatural is one of the finest television shows made with great acting, stories, some of the best dialogue, great choice in music (Aussie AC/DC!!) and great special effects. In Australia we are a season behind and I am still watching season five, and even though I have it on DVD, I will keep watching it on TV.
This week's episode was the group of Gods in the Hotel hoping to kill Lucifer. Finally fully back on the main storyline and we weren't disappointed! Great lines, especially from Gabriel. No Castiel this episode much to it's loss but he'll be back. Another show I love!

The Mentalist

Yep, another television show with another movie star in the lead. This time it is our own Aussie, Simon Baker as the irrepressible Patrick Jane. Jane is a ex-television psychic who is now a consultant with the police.
While he doesn't have letters after his name like his television contemporaries Dr Lightman or Dr House, Jane is another character that I wish I could be more like. The difference is Jane is not primarily mean. He does have a unique way of communicating. He does share something else with the other characters, he's not afraid to say the truth - very refreshing.
This week's episode was a generic 'serial killer' case, or is it? This will keep you guessing!
As you can tell, I LOVE this show!

House M. D.

I missed the first twenty minutes of the episode I watched today but it was still good.
Yes it is another television show but they have some great movie stars in Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard and this episode had Candice Bergen as Dr Cuddy's mother.
The story was the usual someone is sick and everything the team tries doesn't work till someone gets an insight and saves the day. It's the only problem in an otherwise great show. The storylines are too similar. Lucky they have the brilliance of the characters, especially House, and who's never wanted to be House!

NCIS

I have watched NCIS since the very first episode and it has remained consistently strong storywise,in character development, acting and production values. Besides DiNozzo's constant movie references, the first episode of the season had a powerhouse of movie stars including Bruce Boxleitner, Robert Wagner and our own Aussie Cameron Daddo.
A good opening episode though it was over too quickly. Thoroughly enjoyable and fully recommended.

The Last Battle

I never read The Chronicles Of Narnia as I was growing up and came into Tolkien late in my teens, so fantasy literature was never high on my list. After seeing the movie version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I decided I would read the entire series. My daughter had been given a box set and I offered to wait to read each book after she had read them. Sadly, she lost interest halfway through A Horse and His Boy, so I never got any further. Last year, my daughter and I went to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which I was very impressed with. I decided I would get back into The Chronicles of Narnia.
This morning I finished the series with the final page of The Last Battle. I have enjoyed reading this series, despite the Christian analogies and despite them being written for a younger audience. They have been filled with magic, wonder and adventure but The Last Battle is a completely different style of book and I am unsure of how children would perceive it or even enjoy it. It is a very dark book that I found sad and devoid of any hope for our heroes until the very end. It is the most religious of the books and the concepts are the most adult. My biggest disappointment is that Susan was not included because she is too worldly. Perhaps one day, a sequel could be commissioned where Susan is saved. I can't believe Aslan would refuse redemption to a previous Queen of Narnia. If she can't be saved, what hope do any of us have?
Anyway, I hope they make movie versions of the last two books. I will be very interested in how they handle them.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emporer

The third movie in The Mummy series brings Brendan Fraser back as Rick O'Connell to fight another 'Mummy' but this time it is an ancient Chinese Emporer played by the amazing Jet Li. The Emporer was discovered by Rick's son Alex, who's all grown up now and played by 'Australian' (actually born in Canada) Luke Ford.
Another character who has had their actor replaced is Evie. Now I love Rachel Weis but I am VERY impressed with her replacement Maria Bello who is just as pretty and does an amazing job of embodying Evie. John Hannah returns as Jonathon but doesn't steal the show but still does a great job.
The story involves traveling from London to Shanghai to The Himalayans and then to China and The Great Wall. Stephen Sommers takes a back seat this time as only a producer and I have to say this was so much better than The Mummy Returns. The director is Rob Cohen and while I have not enjoyed most of his films I thoroughly enjoyed this.
Recognizable characters in a great story with some truly spectacular set pieces and fantastic special effects.
These movies are the movies you enjoy while waiting for another Indiana Jones story. There were a number of Indy references (or is it plagiarism? Don't really care because this was so much fun!).
I really enjoyed this movie and I am hoping there is going to be a fourth film set in Peru as per the little temptation at the end. Here's hoping they do it! Score 9/10

NCIS: Los Angeles

I am a huge fan of the original NCIS show (a blog on the new season coming up soon!) and when they did the two parter featuring Chris O'Donnell and L L Cool J as two NCIS agents from the LA branch (who knew there was another branch?) I loved it.  I said to my wife that it would make a great spin off show.  Sure enough, along it came and it didn't disappoint!  Bringing in the always wonderful Linda Hunt as a female Gibbs, was a masterstroke of genius.  I love the underlying story of trying to discover who G really is.
Just watched the first episode of this year's new season and they brought back Eric Christian Olsen as Detective Deeks.  Normally I hate when a new character is introduced, but after the death of Dominic, they need another character. David Bellisario and Shane Brennan have a knack of doing this really well, just look at Ziva David who replaced Agent Kate Todd.
Great story and they got straight into the action.  This is an always solid show and very enjoyable to watch.  Lots of movie-stardom in this show as well! If you love NCIS, you will love NCIS: Los Angeles.  They even have characters cross over once in while!  Cool!

Lie To Me

Once again, another TV show but with the incredibly impressive Tim Roth.  I cannot speak more highly of this show.  The storylines are always engaging, thought-provoking and keep you guessing.  Tim Roth is brilliant as Dr Cal Lightman.  I love this character and hats off to the creator, Mr Samuel Baum.  I just wish I knew what was going on with him and his partner, Dr Gillian Foster played by the beautiful Kelli Williams. I love that she likes to eat but still looks fantastic. Did they get together or not?  Do they want to be together?  There is a sexual tension that is not even acknowledged which is ground-breaking for television and who wants to go down the Moonlighting road?
Just watched the first episode for 2011 here in Oz (I am about six weeks behind but I will eventually catch up, especially now my PS3 decided to delete over 100GB of shows and movies I had recorded but I will talk about that later).  It was about a bank robbery which starts with Cal being a part of it!  Brilliant.  Also they don't settle for the 'good' guy getting off 'scot-free', you will need to watch it to see how.
This is brilliant television at its best and I fully recommend you watch this show.

Blue Bloods

Hello again.
Even though it says Mulder on Movies, I will actually be blogging about other interesting things as well, but they should all relate to movies in some way.
So in saying that, I will be blogging about some of my favourite TV shows, most of which have a movie star in them!
My first show to talk about is the new show from the team that brought you The Sopranos, "Blue Bloods".  It is the story of a police family  (The Reagans) in New York where the patriarch is the ex Police Commissioner, the son is the new Police Commissioner (played by the always dependable Tom Selleck), and his two sons are both cops, one is a detective (played by Donnie, the brother of 'The Plank' Marky Mark, Wahlberg, who is brilliant in this show by the way), and there is a daughter who is an Assistant District Attorney played by Bridget Moynahan.  As you can see there is plenty of movie star power in this show and it benefits from that.
This is one of those shows that my wife and I watch together because it's 'believable' (as opposed to almost everything else I watch!).
The story is generally of a higher quality than most cop shows and it is good to see it from a family perspective.  One story constantly in the background is about a third son, who was also a cop, who was murdered and how the younger son, the new cop, played by Will Estes (from U-571 plus countless episodes of television shows) is investigating whether his older brother had anything to do with it.
The episode I have just watched was the one with the diamond heist and I have to say I was a little disappointed as this WAS just a generic cop show storyline.  The robbers kill a cop and the cops go all out to find the shooter and get their revenge.  While this episode was in no way bad (in fact on other shows it would have been great) I have come to expect more and this show is so much better than this.

I have heard rumours about this show not getting renewed, which would be a crime (pardon the pun), and I will blog about further episodes in the future.  Hopefully it gets back to its brilliant beginnings.

The Mummy Returns

I loved the first movie and Stephen Sommers loved making it and wanted to get the gang back together to do it all again. However, he didn't have a storyline at the beginning and unfortunately it shows.
While he had a fine idea, it was all too convenient for me that they were all reincarnated from the same time and place. Having said that it was extremely clever how they linked movie one and two.
Brendan Fraser does a good job again, Rachel Weiss is again astoundingly beautiful, Oded Fehr and Arnold Vosloo are solid but John Hannah once again steals the movie from the leads. Of course, we can't forget Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson who ends up getting his own movie which I will review in the near future. Even the introduction of a son wasn't too frustrating. (At least he grows up in the next one!)
I am watching the movie as part of a brilliant six disc set that has all three movies (1 & 2 with DTS sound!) plus an extras disc for each film. Also you get a very comprehensive making of movie 3 coffee table book and a Mummy board game all housed in a wonderful box. I fully recommend this set for any collector.
So this is a score for the film: the effects weren't as good as the original and we've already talked about the story, so I have to say it gets a 7/10.