Butterfly On A Wheel

I had seen this movie for sale on DVD and saw it was a Pierce Brosnan film, but I knew nothing about it.  I then saw that it also starred Gerard Butler and Maria Bello.  I love all these actors, why have I never heard of this film?  It came on TV and I decided to tape it.  While this is not a brilliant film, and you must suspend a level of disbelief, it is a clever story that will keep you on the edge of your seat right till the revealing conclusion.
It's the story of Neil (Butler) and Abby (Bello) Warner who live an idyllic life.  They appear to be happy in their jobs, their love life and their daughter, Sophie.  One night, the wife is going to go out with her girlfriends and the husband has a meeting with his boss, so they get a babysitter.  However, while driving, they have a man, Ryan (played deliciously by Pierce Brosnan) sit up in the back seat with a gun who tells them that he has their daughter and unless they do everything he says, he will kill her.  He forces them to take out all of their savings but then he sets fire to the case and throws it out of the car.  So if it is not their money, what does he want?  It becomes clear, he is going to destory their idyllic lifestyle, from Neil's work, to the relationship with his wife.  When he tries to trick Ryan, Neil finds he is one step ahead of him.  Even when he goes to the police, they have already been advised of the story he might come in and say.
Why does Ryan want to punish these people?  And to save his daughter's life, will Neil commit murder by killing his own boss?
A very clever story.  I recommend you stick with it, you will enjoy it! It's great to seeMr Bond playing the villian with such relish! 7/10

SciFiNow - Issue 57

I know I am a bit behind!  Not only am I three months behind because I am in Australia, but I am a bit behind in writing up my reviews.  But it is better later than never, hey?  This month's magazine is FILLED with brilliant articles!  Almost everything was just great to read.  Let me give everyone a list, especially for those who aren't reading this exceptional magazine yet (and just why the hell not?).
I was very excited to read it here first that Iron Man 3 was on it's way, plus also excited to read Star Trek XII is due mid 2012.  Another Aliens video game though?  Even with the support of Ridley Scott, come on?  Thanks (not) for the Twilight trailer break dawn, I mean, break down.  Was there no other movie coming out at that time that we could have got more excited about?  Great little article on Warehouse 13.  I love this show and it is great to read about Season Three which we have yet to get here in Oz.  Interesting interview regarding Camelot's non-renewal.  They go on about not being able to get all the cast together, but really, it was just plain boring most of the time.  Not going on my DVD list.  Neither is the new Superman movie.  I can't believe they are rebooting this AGAIN!  Thanks for the article on the book "World's Greatest Stuntman", I will definitely be tracking down a copy.
Excellent articles on Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and Super 8.
Thanks also for the look at the latest season of Supernatural, but Teen Wolf looks like crap. How to draw a Transformer?  Really?
LOVED 101 of the best Geek-Out Moments article.  I would love to see more of these types of articles.  They are like little Easter eggs to look out for!  In fact an article on Easter eggs on DVDs and Blu-Rays would be great!
Once again though, you give Sucker Punch a crappy review.  I just don't understand why you can't look at the deeper story here.  At least you are consistent, even if you are wrong.
I was really impressed with the interview with Joe Hill, Stephen King's son.  Looking forward to reading some of his stuff. Another excellent article for Classic Fiction (or should I say Classic Writers, because it's all about the author and not about the book itself) this month about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Timewarp gave us the complete guide to Hammer Horror!  So much I never knew, but I have to say, what is it with that top on that woman on page 103?!(or should I say almost not on that woman!)
Lastly, thanks for the Flashback to Star Trek IV, one of my favourite Star Trek movies.
All in all, another brilliant issue of SciFiNow!

American Horror Story - Home Invasion

The show begins in 1968 and the house is now home to some young girls, nurses.  They are all going out for the night but two stay home: an overweight plain jane (Gladys) and a pious young woman who does not want to do anything God wouldn't want her to do (Maria).  Bad move girls because once they are alone, they get a visitor, Franklin, asking for help.  They let him in and all hell breaks loose.  He drowns Gladys in the upstairs bathtub and then hog ties Maria and then stabs her repeatedly in the back. More death in this house, and not by some spirit in the basement.  Man can do evil just as much as any spirit.
Cutting back to the Harmon Family in present day and the neighbour Constance, is making cupcakes for Violet but is putting poison in them (she even gets her Down Syndrome daughter to spit in the mixture!).  Constance is hard to understand.  On the one hand she says she loves her daughter and on the other, she treats her terribly, like locking er in a room filled with mirrors so she can see her reflection everywhere.  We do find out though that she had four children, three 'damaged' but the fourth, a male, was a perfect specimen, but she lost him too.  Is she referring to Tate?  Constance delivers the cupcakes and before Vivien can take a bite, she insists they are just for Violet.
Violet has been spending time with the girl she scared (or is that scarred?) in the basement last week.  She is frightened, her face is torn and her hair has begun to turn white.  Even though Violet tries to reassure her it was just Tate trying to scare her, she insists she now believes in the Devil.
Meanwhile Ben is seeing a female patient who says she is having dreams of being cut in two.  In fact there is nothing wrong with her, she is actually casing the place.  She is part of a group who idolise Franklin and want to re-enact the murders in the house.
Ben gets a call from the woman he was having an affair with, Hayden.  At first he is angry that she broke the rule to call him at home, then she tells him she is pregnant.  His chance at remaking his life with Vivien, who is also pregnant, just went down the gurgler. But then Hayden lets him off the hook, slightly, by telling him she wants to have an abortion but she needs him to come back to Boston to be by her side.  He agrees and tells his wife that he is going to comfort a former patient who has tried to kill themselves.  That night he is with Hayden, drinking wine and when Vivien tries to call him, Hayden gets angry, so he gives up his phone and doesn't answer the call.
So with Vivien and Violet alone in the house, the home invaders, a man and two women, break in and attack our girls.  They tell them what they are going to do to them.  Vivien keeps her cool and wants to protect her daughter at all costs, while Violet just remains cool for her mother's sake.  But the girls aren't exactly on their own.  Firstly, one of the girls eats the poisoned cupcakes and starts to throw up violently, and Tate attacks and cuts her in half with an axe (just like her made up dream to Ben!).  Tate tells Violet to get the other girl down to the basement.  Violet is to take the role of Gladys, so when they go to drown her upstairs, she tells them the original bath is in the basement and it really should be done right.  She gets taken down there.  Meanwhile Vivien smashes the guy on the head with the same bowl Franklin used to knock out the two nurses and then tries to get to Violet.  But she needn't have worried because the bathtub in the basement is filled with not only water, but Gladys as well!  The man stumbles down to the basement and is confronted by not only Gladys but also the ghost of Maria as well.  That's the end of them.
Constance sees Vivien and Violet running down the street and goes next door to investigate, only to find Tate and the maid Moira looking at the dead bodies.  Tate says they will have to get rid of the bodies if she still wants him to see Ben.  So, is that confirmation that Constance is Tate's Mum??
Meanwhile, Ben is at the abortion clinic with Hayden and he watches her go in.  He sees his phone in her bag and finds there are numerous missed calls.  He knows something is terribly wrong and instead of waiting for Hayden, he leaves immediately.  At least he knows where his priorities lie!  Vivien declares that it is time to sell the house.
A very full on violent episode that answers a little question but opens the door for many more. I'm hooked!

American Horror Story - Pilot

After making Glee, creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk wanted to do the exact opposite for their next collaboration.  Imagine what that could be and you could be pretty close to the new show American Horror Story.
The story starts in 1978 (though the actual story of the house starts much earlier) when two boys who like to smash things, decide to enter the dilapidated old mansion to wreak their havoc on.  A small child with Down Syndrome stands outside and ominously warns the boys that they will die if they enter.  Being the brats they are, they ignore her and start smashing up the place.  Lured to the basement, the boys find old specimen jars filled with creepy items including baby fetuses.  After smashing a few things there, they go to leave but only one makes the stairs.  When he goes back to see what his brother is up to, he horrifically finds his brother with his throat cut and something terrible coming for him.  This certainly sets the tone for the show which looks like it is going to be scary and violent, so nothing like Glee!
Jumping back to the present time, we meet the new owners of the house, Ben Harmon, played by "In The Line Of Fire"s Dylan McDermott, his wife Vivien, Connie Britton (Spin City) and their daughter, Violet.  They have moved away from Boston to Los Angeles to escape their past where Vivien has had a stillbirth after her husband had an affair with a young student of his.  He is a psychiatrist and he decides to set up his practice in the house.  They learn that the house was built by a doctor in 1920 and the previous owners, who fully restored the house to it's former glory, where a couple of gay men who were found murdered in the basement!
They meet their neighbour Constance, played by the wonderful Jessica Lange who comes to collect her daughter who has Down Syndrome (the grown up girl from the beginning of the episode).   She gets in to the house and tells Vivien that she is going to die in the house!
Vivien hires the old maid, Moira, who is blind in one eye.  She says she has been the maid at the house for many years and will even work for free.  However, when Ben sees Moria, because of his adulterous inclinations, he sees a sexy, naughty woman in an incredibly short maids outfit with stockings and suspenders.  He does not want to hire her because he doesn't want to be unfaithful again, but Vivien wins.  But one morning, Ben sees Moria masturbating.  He leaves her and ends up masturbating himself, only to spy a man in the yard.  When he investigates, there is no one there.  Later Moira is looking at Vivien's jewellery, when Constance walks in on her.  After a few snide remarks to each other, Constance tells her, "Don't make me kill you again!" WTF?!
Meanwhile, Vivien is 'cleansing' the home by burning some sage that Constance had brought over as a house warming gift and comes across a gimp suit in the attic.  Vivien is shocked at first and then a little turned on by it. Ben comes running to her scream and thinks it might be a good way to crack the ice with their sex life again but Vivien demands Ben throw it away, which he does.  The next day, they fight about his affair and he wants to know how long is she going to punish him.  She lashes out at him which eventually turns to kisses and then she makes love to him.  Afterwards, Ben awakes in a trance and sleep walks downstairs and starts to play with the stove top, in an apparent attempt to start a fire, but Constance appears and wakes him, stopping him from burning down the house.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Vivien sees a man in the gimp suit standing in the doorway and assumes it is Ben and while he never speaks, she agrees to have sex again, which is not pleasurable at all.  Who has raped her?
The daughter, Violet is not happy they have moved.  She hates her school where she gets bullied by some girls on her first day.  But then she meets Tate, a patient of her father's.  He's young and angst ridden, a bit like herself and she is drawn to him.  She tells him of her issues and he convinces her to invite the bully to the house and to bring her to the basement where she is attacked by something horrific.  In fright, Violet accuses Tate of the attack and demands he leave her alone.
Ben catches the man from his yard, Larry, with horrendous burn scars on his face who warns him to get out of the house.   He used to own the house and lost his family in a fire.  He tells Ben that he heard voices and had dreams of setting his family on fire, and then his family was killed in a fire and he went to jail for the crime.  Now he wants to make sure it doesn't happen again.  Ben rejects him.
Later, Ben and Vivien learn that she is pregnant!  Who is the father though?  Is it Ben?  Or is it whoever was wearing the gimp suit?
This is a disturbing show, filled with sex and violence and anger.  It's bloody good to watch though!

Glee - The Purple Piano Project

After the incredibly disappointing season two finale, I have returned to Glee to give it another chance to keep me watching and I have to say, the season three opener, directed by Eric Stoltz, has given me another boost, (but as I am writing this late, I have missed a few episodes this season, and I really don't feel as bad as I thought I would).
Anyway, it is a new year for the kids of McKinley High and while we have lost the useless Lauren as well as Sam (who probably didn't get as much of an opportunity to shine as what he deserved), Quinn has also left the group and changed her look and joined the bad girls.  She refuses to rejoin New Directions. This could have a good storyline as long as she redeems herself.
So Mr Shuster decides they need more members and places three purple pianos around the school and asks the kids to spontaneously perform around one if they see it.  One of the best numbers for a while is The Go Gos "We got the beat" that the kids perform in the cafeteria.  It was really great but no one in the cafeteria was really getting in to it, until Becky throws food at the Glee Club and starts a massive food fight.  That didn't go well.
You see Sue Sylvester is up to her old tricks again and has tasked both Becky and Santana to sabotage the Glee Club at any opportunity.  She has already cut the strings of the first piano!
They only get one recruit, Sugar, and she can't sing for crap!  Thankfully Mr Shuster knocks her back.  I hope they don't keep her in the show. 
They do however, gain Kurt's boyfriend, Blaine, who leaves Dalton College to be closer to Kurt and he sings Its Not Unusual, with Santana and the rest of the Cheerios as back up dancers.  But Santana and the girls dowse the last piano in lighter fluid and Quinn flicks her cigarette onto it, causing it to burst into flames!  Because of this, Mr Shuster throws Santana out of New Directions!  Gee, they'll end up with no one soon!
And speaking of Kurt, he and Rachel want to try out for a college in New York but are intimidated by the awesome talent of the rest of the group there.  Are they not good enough?
This was a much better return to form for the show with some great numbers and storyline setting up the new season.  I hope it can maintain the excellence.

Parenthood - Nora

Adam discovers that Crosby's idea of a sure thing with a rapper as a customer is not entirely true and he has to go to the rapper's house (mansion!) and convince them they are the right people to work with.  Crosby suggests he 'hips it up', meaning loosen up a bit but Adam in a panic finds he has nothing hip in his closet and goes to a rapper clothing store to try and fit in.  Before he goes in for his meeting, he realises what a fool he looks and calls Crosby to go to his house, pick up some 'normal' clothes and meet him for the meeting.  Crosby arrives at the house and Kristina tears him a new one over his handling of the business.  Problem is, her water breaks and Crosby is the only one that can take care of Kristina and get her to the hospital.  Meanwhile Adam has to go in to the meeting and is waiting for Crosby to come, while Crosby is trying to ring Adam.  Eventually Crosby calls one of the rappers who passes on the message that Kristina is having the baby!  Unfortunately, he doesn't make it in time and Crosby has to be there for the birth and help Kristina through it all.  The Braverman's have increased by one with little Nora coming into the world!
They aren't the only ones with good news on the baby front as Julia helps Zoe through Braxton Hicks.  She goes back to Julia and Joel's house and see how they interact with their daughter and she decides to give them her baby, but she is not overly happy about it.  I am sure this won't end out well.
But wait, there's more going on this week!  Max gets detention over last week's fight with Jabbar, but he doesn't understand because he didn't start it.  Amber agrees to sit with him and she works with him to help him understand that it was really his responsibility as the older boy to not fight and now he needs to apologise for his behaviour.  What I loved about this was Amber not only got him to write an apology but got him to really understand why he had to write it and that this awareness allowed him to apologise in person.  Wow.
Oh and Amber's Dad, Seth, is back on the scene and I am sure he is going to cause problems between Sarah and Mark.  She insanely decides that she should look after Seth and tell Mark he will just have to in essence, sit on the sidelines and wait.  Nuts!
Another fantastic episode of Parenthood.  Love this show!  Welcome to the world, Nora!

The Defenders - Nevada v. Greene

Unfortunately, this was the last episode of The Defenders that I got to see.  For some reason, I missed the final episode.  Not happy!  I have said this before but I really don't understand why this show got axed.  It was fun, brilliantly written and acted and really deserved more time to gain an audience.  Especially considering some of the crap that gets renewed.
Anyway, for MY final The Defenders episode there are again, two stories going on.  The main story has Nick's past coming to seek him out when a mob boss needs Nick to defend his son who is accused of murdering a girl.  She is found dead floating in a spa after a huge party and the accused was so drunk he passed out and can't remember if he did anything or not.  Nick and Pete have to work together to find the killer.  Was it the accused or was there someone out to get the girl?  Or was there another reason for killing the girl?  A very clever storyline.
The second storyline guest stars the very funny Kathy Griffin who is being sued by an 'overweight' person for picking on him during her stand up routine.  It caused him humiliation, especially when his date left him.  This was pretty funny.  I wonder if Kathy wrote her own material here because she delivered it like it was naturally her voice, not some character she was playing.
Another great episode and I am sorry to see this series come to an end, but I am very happy to have been able to be a part of its audience.
I am very interested to hear from others out there if they enjoyed the show too (or even if you didn't!).