Blue Bloods - Hall of Mirrors

Finally, Blue Bloods returns to Australian television.  We didn't even get to the end of the first season when it was first on!  Thankfully, they have started exactly where they left off, and this episode is an excellent example of why this show is so good.
I liked that the title of the episode is reminiscent of the storyline where not everything is as it appears.  Firstly a man is shot dead in Central Park and the Commissioner gives the job to his son, Danny, to investigate because he is the only one he can trust with the real story behind the investigation.  The dead man was an undercover cop who had infiltrated a terrorist cell who is about to unleash a bio-terrorist attack on New York in just 48hrs.  Danny must not only find out who the killer is, but also if the cop has been compromised, because there is a second undercover cop.  If the first cop was compromised, then they need to pull out the second but then years of work will be undone and a terrorist attack may not be able to be stopped.  Against his better judgement, Danny cannot tell his partner that the dead man was an undercover cop and she is wondering why he is doing so much on his own.  Why was he really killed and will the terrorist attack be stopped in time? 
Also, Danny brother, Jamie, who is a cop on the beat, gets called to a woman's apartment who believes someone keeps coming in and moving things around.  She thinks she is going mad.  Instead of seeing her as a crazy person, Jamie believes she is telling the truth and discovers that someone is getting in and moving things around and more importantly why they are doing it.
In the background of this show is the story of the death of another brother, Joe, who was murdered.  There have been small tidbits about secret groups within the police force and that Joe was investigating people in that group, perhaps even his own family.  Another small piece of the puzzle has a Detective Molevsky come up to Jamie and tell him he used to work with his brother and he says ominously "It can be dangerous out there."
Another excellent episode.

The Mentalist - Where in the World is Carmine O'Brien?

A title for an episode that doesn't evoke the colour red?  What's with that?  Probably not my favourite episode, being about the body of a female police chief being found shot to death, but it was made watchable by Lisbon's brother, Tommy and his daughter , Annie.  Tommy is played by E.T's Elliot, Henry Thomas, who is now a bounty hunter and the case he is working on seems to be linked with Lisbon's.  He's a bit useless and his 14 year old daughter frequently saves his butt, but Lisbon continuously shoots him down which is a bit unfair but she believes she is the cop in the family and he should just do something safe to look after Annie.
So who killed the cop?  Was it the womanising Russian mafia slob or the crack head druggo?  Or is there someone who links the two together?
Not one of the better episodes.

Merlin - Aithusa

##Beware, LOTS of SPOILERS Ahead!!##
A thief steals something from the Druids, but it is only a part of an artifact that has a few components that go together.  The thief then turns up in Camelot and it turns out he is Julius Borden (played by the wonderful James Callis from Battlestar Galactica) who used to be a pupil of Gauis and he goes to Gauis asking for help to steal the last part of the artifact, the Triskelion, which is in Camelot's vault.  He says he knows the location of the last Dragon's Egg.  Of course, Gauis refuses to help him, unknowing that Merlin has overheard the conversation.  As the Last Dragon Lord, Merlin wants to protect the egg and agrees to help Borden.  But Borden isn't out to protect the last egg, he wants it for himself, to give him power.  After Merlin steals the keys to the vault and opens the way, Borden knocks Merlin unconscious.
When Arthur learns of the theft and what the Triskelion is for, he gathers his knights to capture Borden and to destroy the last egg!
Gauis is furious with Merlin.  He always knew where the egg was and wanted to ensure it remained hidden to protect it.  Merlin vows to stop Borden.
While hunting Borden, Borden throws some poison into the knight's food who start to get sick and pass out.  Merlin does what he can to save them but they are left asleep, leaving Merlin to go on alone.
He follows Borden to the Tomb of Ashkanar where they find the egg and Borden reveals he will never give it up.  Merlin fights him and knocks him out with his magic.  He grabs the egg and the sets off a booby trap that destroys the tomb and Borden with it.  Merlin tells Arthur that the egg was destroyed in the Tomb.
Later, Merlin calls on the dragon Kilgharrah for help on what to do with the egg.  He is very thankful that Merlin has found the egg and explains that only a Dragon Lord can call forth the new dragon by naming it.  He calls the dragon Aithusa, which means 'the light of the sun'.  A new white dragon is now in the world. What impact will Merlin's actions have on the world of Camelot, now that there is another dragon?
This was a really great episode of Merlin.  It really highlighted two things for me: we should trust our elders.  If they say no, there is probably a very good reason for them saying no.  However, there is also a lesson for elders.  Instead of just saying no, perhaps they needs to explain why they are saying no so there is full understanding on both sides (makes for crappy story telling though!).

Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past

I can see the executives sitting around the table discussing the genesis of this movie: "It's a Christmas Carol, except Ebenezer Scrooge is a hot sex-crazed fashion photographer, Tiny Tim will be his brother who is going to be getting married and Jacob Marley will be his long-dead benefactor Uncle who taught him everything he knows about women." At least 'Scrooged' had the good sense to keep it about Christmas.  Charles Dickens material as a romantic comedy?  Strangely, this fun little movie actually works!
One of my wife's favourite talking bare chests (sadly my chest is not on the list), Matthew McConaughey, plays Connor Mead, the sexy photographer who can break up with multiple women over the internet and (almost) get away with it.  He doesn't believe in the institution of marriage, so when his little brother asks him to be his best man at his own wedding, Connor believes he needs to stop him from making a terrible mistake and do everything he can to prevent the wedding.  Everything is happening at his late Uncle's mansion, and on the night before the wedding, Uncle Wayne, played by the always brilliant Michael Douglas turns up.  There were two things wrong.  One, he told Connor that he was wrong when he taught him about marriage and that he needs to do everything he can to save the marriage, and two, he's been dead for ages and is a walking ghost!  He tells him that he will be visited by three ghosts of girlfriends past, present and future and to change his ways.
To complicate things, the one girl that could have been the love of his life if he had treated her properly is also at the wedding.  She is Jenny Perotti played by the incredibly talented and beautiful Jennifer Garner.
After doing his best to destroy the wedding, can Connor save the day, bring the love birds back together, and save himself, letting his heart be captured by one woman?
The bride's parents are played by Robert Forster and the still sexy Anne Archer.
This was a great little movie which I fully recommend to anyone wanting to watch a good quality romantic comedy. 8/10

Empire - Issue 128

I am behind again, so bear with me!  The first thing that caught my eye was the 'First Look' at Daniel Radcliffe's new movie, The Woman In Black, which I have to say, looks brilliant.  I hope to see it when it comes out.  He looks very grown up in the photos!
Couldn't work out the shuffled up name in the crossword again this month. Paul Greengrass did alright with the My Movie Mastermind.  He's up there with Jack Black and Frank Darapont.
Thanks for the feature on Sherlock Holmes 2.  I am going to see this in a couple of weeks.  Looks brilliant and Noomi Rapace looks incredibly hot!
However, my favourite part of this month's issue was the Stephen King special on The Shawshank Redemption (one of my all time favourite movies) and Stand By Me (another much loved film).  As a side issue, I was really interested in the 'Welcome To Castle Rock' side story.  I had no idea.  The interviews with the guys from Stand By Me was priceless.  Thank you for this wonderful insight into these two wonderful films.
A very brief but welcome introduction to the new Mission Impossible movie, which I saw today and I will do a review of soon (loved it by the way!).  Thank you to Hugh Jackman, my favourite fellow Aussie for a fun interview.  Worth the price of the mag on it's own! "If you're a wanker, you're a wanker!" - Love it!
Another great issue of Australian Empire Magazine.

Parenthood - Clear Skies From Here on Out

The title of this episode of Parenthood alludes to the major changes that occurred in this episode clearing the air for new storylines.
Firstly, Zeek (Craig T. Nelson) continues with his new found 'acting' career by landing a job in a 'erectile disfunction' medication television commercial.  While this was a small step up for him, it had a major impact on his wife, Camille (Die Hard's Bonnie Bedelia).  She realises that she is not getting any younger and is upset that it appears Zeek is still improving in his life and she has stagnated.  Camille is the only one who can get herself out of this funk and she does, opening the door to a more invigorated woman. (And I have to say, she is still looking hot!)
Max causes a major rift in the family when he can't comprehend why Jabbar won't sit with him EVERY single day and wants to play with other people.  It escalates into a fight.  When the families are called in, Adam and Crosby end up fighting about it, which makes their business life difficult.
Lastly, now that the issues with Alex have been resolved, he can see that in order to protect himself and the life he has fought so hard to rebuild for himself, he needs to separate himself from Haddie, who caused all his problems and nearly got him sent back to jail. Finally!!  He can go on to a better life and maybe Haddie can learn to be less selfish.
Another good episode of Parenthood.  Love this show.  What do other people think?

The Mentalist - Blood and Sand

This week, the team get to leave mainland California and visit idyllic San Felix Island, well not so idyllic for one woman who has washed up on the beach.  It was originally believed by the islanders that she must have drowned near the mainland and been washed ashore, but Patrick Jane deduces she was murdered on the island and thrown out to see and she was then washed back on the island due to where the body was found.
So once again, there are any number of suspects, with a red herring storyline to keep everyone guessing.  Jane calls a town meeting to smoke out the real killer.
A run-of-the-mill episode without too many big story twists.