Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Resurrection S1 Ep.7 “Schemes of the Devil”




Recap: Pastor Tom, Maggie, and Agent Bellamy try to figure out where Rachael is.  They decide to ask Jacob if he can sense where she is.  Jacob is unable to help.  Rachael’s captors think she knows where Caleb is.  She tells them that she doesn’t.  Gary Humphrey’s friends don’t want any more to do with the kidnapping, so they leave.  Gary tells them not tell anyone she is there.

Eric and Maggie study Jacob’s blood cells.  Caleb’s blood seems to have disappeared from the vials.  They discover Jacob’s blood cells may be able to cure leukemia.  Agent Bellamy and Pastor Tom tell Sheriff Langston that they suspect Gary has kidnapped Rachael.  Sheriff Langston doesn’t let them know, but he suspects that one of the officers, Carl, knows something.  He confronts Carl.  Agent Bellamy and Pastor Tom question Gary’s wife. 

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Game of Thrones S4 Ep.4 “Oathkeeper” Recap



Recap: Grey Worm and Missandei share stories of how they were captured when they were slaves.  Missandei has been teaching him to speak English.  Grey Worm and the rest of Dany’s troops disguise themselves as slaves and talk to the slaves of Meereen.  They convince them to revolt against their masters.  With the slaves now freed, Dany chooses not to show mercy and has the former masters of Meereen nailed to mile markers as punishment, just as they did to the children before. 

Jaime visits Tyrion in prison.  Jaime doesn’t think that Tyrion killed Joffrey, so he asks what he could do to help him.  Tyrion asks him to break him out of prison.  Jaime refuses and tells him he must go to trial.  Jaime suggests that Sansa may have had something to do with the murder since she has disappeared.  Tyrion doesn’t agree.  On his ship, Lord Baelish reveals to Sansa that he is marrying her aunt and that he is taking Sansa to her.  He also tells her that the poison that killed Joffrey was in the missing stone from her necklace. 

April LootCrate Review

Hello Everyone,

I am back to review my April Loot Crate. This month's theme was Game of Thrones and Dragons. As usual the crate came with a handy dandy guide to let you know what is in your box and a little background information of everything in the box.


This month's loot crate was packed with great items in my opinion. I personally do not play any D&D type games but the 20 sided stress die is pretty cool. I like that it is soft and squishy and I enjoy squeezing it. There is also a 20 sided Polyhedral Die. I will have to join a game to use it. Anyone want to play with me?


In this box there was a Game of Thrones Mystery Mini which yielded Arya. There was also an Elder Scrolls Online Exclusive Figure. In the box, everyone got The Nord. I love having little figurines like this as I tend to put them on my bookshelf or have them at work. 


There were other items in the box such as a collectible pin. There was Dragon Jerky that was green and had a weird texture. I tried some so hopefully I do not get sick. There was an awesome Dragon Shield Screen Cleaner and a Dragon Slayer Tag. Overall a good box this month. I wonder what will be in next month's crate. I look forward to it. Share your thoughts in the comments. 

Post by Vikki
Twitter: ProfessorWhite

Monday, April 28, 2014

Movie Monday: Godzilla Raids Again

Hello Everyone, 

Here is the next installment of the Godzilla Movie Reviews by Phillhp Ray. He takes an in-depth look at the sequel to Godzilla. Check out his thoughts and leave your thoughts in the comments. 


“Godzilla Raids Again” from 1955, is a direct sequel to “Godzilla King of The Monsters” and in many ways it´s a little more fun to watch.  Where the first movie was a dark social commentary, this one doesn´t hide the fact that it´s about big monsters destroying things.  Yet, it is able to stay in a realm of realism which some later Godzilla movies would miss due to the sharp acting and clean and crisp camera work.  This movie also introduces what would be a staple in future Godzilla films, a battle with another kaiju (giant monster.)  In this case it´s a giant Ankylosaurus, named Angila, which frankly doesn´t put up much of a fight.


The film shifts from Tokyo to Osaka and begins when two pilots, Kobayashi and Tsukioka, end up on a small island after one is sent to help the other recover from a crash landing.  While on the island they are witness to a fight between two giant lizard creatures.  Frightened, they leave and report what they have found to proper authorities.  It´s not soon after that it´s understood that these creatures are a product of the effect of atomic testing and are of the same family as the infamous Godzilla who had destroyed Tokyo a few years prior.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Once Upon a Time S3, Ep.19 "A Curious Thing"


Episodes starts with a rider on the horse, it is Belle. Belle informed Regina, Snow, and Prince Charming about what happened to Neal and Rumple. Sleeping Beauty infromed Snow White and Prince Charming that the Wicked Witch wants thier baby. The witch arrives and turns Phillip and Sleeping Beauty into flying monkeys. The witch freezes them and says the baby will do nicely and flies away. 8 months later still in the enchanted forest. They are all working together to figure out how to battle Zelena. They plan to sneak into Rumple's castle to get an insight from him on how to beat Zelena.

Regina is making out with Robin Hood. They are interrupted by Henry. Regina meets with the gang they need to figure out how to get their memories back.  They agree that in order to break the curse they need to get Henry to believe in magic again.  Zelena has Rumple kidnap Hook. Zelena tells Hook to kiss Emma to take away her magic or she will kill Henry.  Back in the Enchanted Forest they arrive to find Rumple talking in circles. Belle tries to talk to him to get him to help them. Rumple tells them to find the Good Witch Glinda. She has been casted to the Dark Forest.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Chiller Theatre: Norman Reedus

Hey Everyone,


I had the chance to go to Chiller Theatre this year. Chiller Theatre for the spring was held from April 25th - 27th. This year was extra big as Norman Reedus best known as Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead was in attendance for Friday and Saturday. My dear friend Ruth is a huge fan of Norman and was very excited to meet him and I was determined to get her there. 


I made sure to buy a special limited edition Pop Figurine for the meet and greet in order to secure an awesome signature from Norman. I was in line at 5:30pm and began taking selfie's on the hour as I waited in line and even became good friends with the people behind me as we all waited in the long line. I just kept telling myself it is just like waiting in line for a new roller coaster at Six Flags. 


Ruth and I finally made it to the front of the line and then Norman was swept away for a photo op which resulted in our time being extended by over an hour. It is now after 9pm and we finally get to meet Norman Reedus. He is very nice and gracious to his fans. I was informed that he even stayed until after midnight despite the convention ending at 11pm. That is dedication. As Ruth was getting her figurine signed. I was standing next to her and out of the corner of my eye I see an arm snake in between the two of us and grab the bottle of Jack that was sitting with Norman. When I look to see who was in the personal space of mine and Ruth's I was surprised to see that it was Jon Berthnal known as Shane from The Walking Dead. He was in attendance as well. 

(Thanks Rachel, your pic was way clearer than mine)
Ruth and I had our figurines signed. We received our hug and kiss which made us both happy. As you see from my figurine, it has a little heart next to my name. Ruth's came out way better than mine but that's okay. I had fun at Chiller. Thank you to Dana and Les for providing us with information about the Con and bringing us snacks and a program as we waited in line. We were done by 9:22pm and therefore I lost the bet against Ruth in which I owe her a shot if we were able to meet Norman before 9:30pm. Overall great experience and I would recommend anyone attending. Chiller Theatre had some great stuff and I enjoyed shopping so if you are in the tri-state area of NJ definitely come and check it out. 


Post by Vikki
Twitter: ProfessorWhite





Friday, April 25, 2014

Scalped Volume 1: Indian Country


So this week I decided to dig in my boxes for something I’ve been meaning to read for a while. I’ve become a huge Jason Aaron fan from his work with Wolverine and the X-men and I’ve heard really good things about his series Scalped that ran from 2007 until 2012 so I decided to dive into it.

Scalped follows Dashiell Bad Horse as he returns to his home reservation, the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation, after being gone for the past 15 years. He comes back with a lot of anger, baggage, attitude, and a couple of secrets. But the reservation he left 15 years ago has gone through changes such as a new Casino is opening up and the reservation being filled to the brim with meth labs and organized crime, and at the center of which is Chief Lincoln Red Crow.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

The Vampire Diaries S5, Ep.19 "Man on Fire" Recap




Important Moments: Episode starts with Elena studying with Stefan in a coffee shop. Bonnie shows up and is worried about dying if the other side disintegrates. Elena lets Bonnie know that Damon does not want to see her again. Matt and Jeremy are looking for the traveler knife. Damon shows up and is upset that the knife is missing and they realize no one has heard from Tyler. Tyler wakes up for a moment in chains with Markos. The travelers are talking about not having a home and plan to break the curse. They cut Tyler and a traveler by the name of Sloane drinks and has her throat slashed. Enzo shows up to see Stefan and Elena at a coffee shop. Enzo begins to recall his time talking to Maggie. Enzo received information from the travelers about Maggie. It is a picture with her head ripped off. She died in 1960s in Mystic Falls. Enzo believes Stefan killed her. He has Liv's brother under threat and forces Liv to hold Stefan and Elena captive until Stefan starts talking.

Game of Thrones S4 Ep.3 “Breaker of Chains” Recap


Recap: Tyrion is arrested following Cersei’s accusation. The guards are looking for Sansa who escapes by boat with the help of Ser Dontes. He delivers her to a ship where she meets with Lord Baelish (Little Finger). Little Finger has Ser Dontes killed right after he delivers Sansa to him. He explains that all that motivated Ser Dontes was gold; not good intentions. He assures her that she is safe now. Margaery discusses her situation with her grandmother. Since the marriage to Joffrey was not consummated, she is not officially the queen. Her grandmother tries to assure her that she will be happier with Joffrey dead.

Gamer Corner: Ash

Welcome to this week's installment of Gamer Corner, where Fangirl Review interviews a gamer and gets her thoughts on the gaming world and learning what she is enjoying at the moment.



Tell me a little bit about yourself? What rig do you currently game on? What kind of gamer do you classify yourself to be? ie. PC, Console, Tabletop, LARP as well as Hardcore, RPG, etc.

Well, I’m a twenty-three year old girl-gamer from Dublin, Ireland! I’ve been gaming since I was a little kid. Currently I’m gaming on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, but I dabble with the PC and Playstation 3! I’m definitely a competitive gamer, I like to win! But I like gaming for fun and uploading it to YouTube too!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Gaming Moving Way Too Fast


     Looking back at the negative response Microsoft received when they announced its digital rights management which Sony was originally going to do as well, but reversed their decision before the announcement of the PS4 has me thinking, “Is the gaming world moving a little too fast for our liking?” Even though Microsoft got rid of that plan, it’s still in the back of our minds because we now know that this could be implemented on the next go around, and despite the negative reaction Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo may stick with it. Even though used games is very beneficial for us because we can get the games cheaper, it hurts the developers because it doesn’t count as a sale, and I can understand why this is an issue because the more advance games look the more expensive it is to make, and with the big 3 breathing down their necks telling them that they have to sell this many units in order for the game to be a success it makes sense as to why this idea was brought to light. This also includes pirated games on PC.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Gear: UGLYDUKLYN


Tell me a little bit about your company and the founders?

Uglyduklyn LLC was founded in 2010 by Tye Welsh. Uglyduklyn is a very unique brand simply by not following trends. Trends are not our thing and will never be. By taking the neglected aspects and attributes in a person or item can give us the deepest inspiration to transform that into a masterpiece. Be ugly or be normal is the code we abided by.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Movie Monday: Godzilla 1954

Godzilla is called the “King of All Monsters” and for good reason.  Where a lot of his 1950s counterparts have faded off into the sun, or attempted in vain to revamp themselves for the new age of special effects, Godzilla (aside from a certain movie we won´t mention now) has maintained true to its rubbery roots and thus remained a constant in people´s imaginations.

To watch a Godzilla movie one has to enter into a world where cynicism doesn´t exist and social messages are plain and easy to grasp.  This doesn´t mean we dumb ourselves down, but rather, suspend our urge to over-analyze and simply have fun watching absolute destruction.  And even when the destruction is directed in some strange convoluted way; we allow ourselves the liberty to comprehend it in some round about way.

The Godzilla franchise began in 1954, which makes it one of the longest movie franchises in history.  To date there are 29 official movies, although soon that number will be upped to 30 with the new installment coming to American theatres – with no end in sight for future productions.  This makes choosing which movies to watch and which to skip a daunting task.  Here I have attempted to do the dirty work for you – giving you an overview of the good, the bad, and bad worth watching.  As always, taste is subjective, so I recommend each person dabble on their own and have fun with one of the most enduring characters in popular film history.


The original Godzilla movie, which is set a decade after the Atomic Bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is no campy romp through Tokyo following a man in a rubber suit.  This is a serious film that attempts to look at the horrors of atomic war, the nuclear age, and the monsters which are created by man´s hubris. The film is dark and brooding and creates a mood of desperation of a people who are faced with an unstoppable force which seems to have come from nowhere.  The allegory of the horrors of WWII are clear and the film makers made sure to drive this point home.  If you are accustomed to the later kid friendly Godzilla movies, I would say that this is not one to watch with the kids – they may have nightmares afterwards.

The film starts out with strange explosions in the water which are causing ships to disappear.  Not soon after do villagers begin to say they have sighted something that is not natural: it is the legendary monster of folklore, Godzilla, which has come back to terrorize the shores of Japan.


The government and a team of researches do their best to figure out exactly what this creature is and how to combat it.  Eventually one scientist, the paleontologist Dr. Kyouhei Yamane, surmises that it is a prehistoric beast which has mutated due to constant exposure to radiation from nuclear testing done in and around the land.  And if he has been bred of such immense energy what power on Earth could possibly destroy it. It´s not long after that that Godzilla shows up to do what he is best known for – destroy without prejudice.  He has no vendetta, he has no focus.  He is the ultimate Armageddon weapon created by man.

It is only with the help of a reluctant scientist, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa, who has invented a weapon so deadly that he is afraid that the knowledge of it would do more harm to mankind than good, do the people of Japan find a glimmer of hope of stopping the creature.


What I found most striking about the film is how it attempts to be as realist as possible.  There are newspaper headlines about the creature.  And stock footage of the nation of Japan praying for peace.  As well as harrowing scenes of children crying and people bleeding and dying from radiation exposure after having had contact with Godzilla.  This is a classic science-fiction which has a serious social message and is not afraid to scream it to the audience.

Technically, the movie is in black and white and is lit very darkly.  It makes watching a bit tedious at times but again sets the mood for the horrors.  Also, Godzilla is not as much the centerpiece as he would be in later installments.  Sure, he destroys at will but it´s the people´s reactions which are more important.  He is more like a physical representation of the nightmare of the atomic and nuclear age. He becomes the after thought that people don´t want to have.  After WWII many who lived in Japan continued to suffer the effects of the Bomb and Godzilla is their reminder that their lives will never be the same again.


Watch this on a cold rainy night when you decide to pull out the old horror classics.  It stands up nicely alongside Dracula, Frankenstein, King Kong and others, and as outdated as Godzilla may look in his rubbery suit, it may in fact be the movie that gives you the most chills after the end credits in its portrayal of stark human realism and the effects of war.

Post by Phillihp Ray

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Gamer Corner: Sarah: Trisarahtopsx

Welcome to this week's installment of Gamer Corner, where Fangirl Review interviews a gamer and gets her thoughts on the gaming world and learning what she is enjoying at the moment.


Tell me a little bit about yourself:

I'm a twenty-four year old Batman addicted girl from Hawaii. I work at Nocturna Lounge--the coolest bar in the universe (we have alcohol, Xbox 360s, PS3s, Xbox Ones, PS4s, computers, and karaoke). I have an adorable cat named Sushi and i'm pretty odd, haha!

What do you currently play on:

Currently playing on the Xbox One & PS4...mostly Xbox one since Titanfall just got released (sorry Sony users but you are missing out!!).


What kind of gamer do you consider yourself as? hardcore, handheld, larp, pc, console, etc:

I would consider myself a fan of shooters. I love Call of Duty, Gears of War, and now I'm addicted to Titanfall...but, I do play other games like the Arkham series, Castlevania, and most recently had a blast playing South Park: Stick of Truth.

What is your first memory of gaming?

I remember playing mega-man a lot with my neighbors when I was younger, but the first memory I have that really got me into hardcore gaming was playing Syphon Filter with my cousin (who is now a designer for Infinity Ward). That game got me into shooters, and from there I got addicted.


What game are you currently playing? Are you enjoying it, how is the overall gameplay and graphics?
Everyone will probably be sick of hearing me blab about Titanfall, but it is seriously a game that has blown all of my expectations. It's innovative, a completely new concept, the graphics are clean, and gameplay is smooth. It's taken first person shooters to a whole new level!!
Would you recommend it? Why?
Of course I would recommend it! It's a fast paced game with little to zero campers (thank god)!! Even if you aren't good at shooters, the parkouring alone is fun to do, you start to feel like a superhero or something! it's a crazy awesome game!
Are there any games that you are looking forward to?
I was curious about Destiny, although from this point on, I will compare shooters to Titanfall--that game has really set the bar...I'm also anxiously waiting for The Watch, Tom Clancy's the Division, Batman Arkham Knight, The Order: 1886, Sunset Overdrive, and hoping with all my heart that they finish Kingdom Hearts 3 soon.


If you could design your own game, what would it be like?

It would probably be an FPS of course, open world maybe with a storyline but preferably violent, so that when you shoot someone it's intensely bloody or you throw a frag and it blows up enemy legs (imagine gears of war when you kill enemy locusts and you can beat them with their own body parts), haha! I know, I seem insane. I promise I'm not (; lol!!

Thoughts on this generation's consoles: PS4, Xbox One, Wii U:
As much as I love being able to command my Xbox One and tell it what to do without using my controller, I really wish developers made both X1 and PS4 backwards compatible. I mean, I think with all the technology we have, it should be possible...if the Wii U can, why can't they? On the plus side, the graphics are gorgeous and I love the built-in game capture so I can share epic gaming moments online (:

What are your thoughts on the gaming industry?

When I look back to when I was little, playing characters with generic pixely faces, and I look at say Grand Theft Auto V...I am just in complete awe and wonderment...my hats go off to everyone who work in the industry who are constantly thriving to make better, beautiful games. You guys are truly amazing geniuses, and I am grateful for the long hauling hours you put in.

10 years from now, where do you see the industry? Are you happy with the direction? If you had the power, where would you have the industry go?

I am very happy with the direction developers are going, games seem to only be getting better and better. If I had the power though, I would go in the direction of Sony and create a GIGANTIC stream of old titles available to download so I can reminisce on playing classic games that I enjoyed when i was younger...and these games would be affordable.

What is your favorite game of all time?

This one is difficult...I would have to say the Call of Duty series only because I invested the most time into them and because while playing online, I have truly met some of my best friends. Other favorite game titles would be GTAV, Gears of War 1 and 3, Arkham City, and newly added to the list Titanfall (;


Would you like to share your Gamertag and system so others may find you?

Xbox Live: UrSisterIsUrM0M
(the o in mom is a zero)
PSN: UrSisterIsUrMom
(normal lettering)
Instagram: trisarahtopsx
My gamer pictures on ig: #ursisterisurmom

Catch me if you cannnn!!! (;

Thank you to Sarah for a fantastic interview. If you would like to be interviewed for Gamer Corner please contact me at fangirlcontact@gmail.com.

Post by Vikki
Twitter: ProfessorWhite


Wednesday, April 16, 2014

3 Types of Android



Recently I haven’t been satisfied with phones, I feel like phones have been trying to sell a gimmick and not the phone. So I dug deep in my pockets and bought 3 types of Android phones the Samsung Galaxy, S5, HTC One (M8), and the Nexus 5. The reason why I named this article “3 Types of Android” is because of TouchWiz, HTC Sense, and Stock Android. Since I’m not much of a reviewer, I’m going to explain why I’m not satisfied with the three starting with Samsung Galaxy S5. The S5 is beautiful with bright vivid colors, great camera, great OS and before I start let me say that Samsung gets so much heat for the plastic build but I really enjoy it. To be able to remove the back, and replace your battery (which rare for phones these days) is really worth the build.


Samsung loves gimmicks and they only amuse you for 5 minutes before they are a waste of space, and you can’t remove nor disable from your phone. Coming up with something innovative is hard and I’m not taking anything away from them, BUT you have to realize most people are buying the cheaper 16GB phone so after the OS install, carriers bloatware, then Samsung’s bloatware you’re down to about 7 or 8 gigs give or take. So with that I say less gimmicks, and more confidence in your phone. After the Samsung Galaxy S4 I got tired of companies's OS masking over the main OS so I got a Nexus 5. Getting updates as soon as they release and having stock android sounds good on paper but my time with the Nexus 5 went from Awesome, to “Are you serious?” to “I’m getting a new phone”. Getting the Nexus 5 on release day way great, the camera sucked, and it was very customizable, but great none the less. The phone got updated to Android 4.4.2, and then NFC stopped working, it would freeze at times, and now they’re rushing out 4.4.3 and then I thought to myself, “Nexus owners don’t have the upper hand because we get updates first, we’re guinea pigs”. We test the updates complain about them, they fix it, and then Google releases it to everyone else. 


Another thing that upset me was Google integrated pictures you post from Google+ with pictures you take with your camera. So now a picture of you and your friends hanging out, then you scroll to the right a “Geeks be like” picture comes up, and finally Hangouts; my only gripe with Hangouts is when someone sends you multiple pictures you do not view them all at once nor can you save them. I have to constantly tell people to send me pictures one by one to the point where people stop sending me pics. Finally we get to the HTC One (M8) and it is a sexy piece of hardware, it’s smooth and fast. The thing I noticed as soon as I took it out of the box was the 3.5mm jack is at the bottom. Really!? It might not bother some people, but I feel like phone is upside down. Maybe I got use to the jack being at the top I don’t know, but I didn’t like it. 


With the Galaxy S5 going up to a 16 MP camera you would have thought HTC would step their game up from the HTC One (M7)…NOPE. It’s still a 4 MP UltraPixel and it takes good pictures, but compared to other phones like Nokia’s Lumia 1020 that boasts a 41 MP camera, Samsung’s S5 has 16 MP, hell even a year old Samsung  S4 has 13 MP camera. The back, home page, and recent apps bezel takes up a lot of the screen when using apps, and internet. After rereading this it sounds like I’m complaining, and hating on Android which is not the case they’re all great phones with the HTC One (M8) taking the win out of the three, and you’re in for a real treat if you get the Google Edition. I feel like after years of all of these phones carrying Android you would think they would have perfected the craft, but sometimes I feel like they’re not even communicating with Google which is weird if you ask me. No phone is prefect I get that, but there’s a difference between phone and OS.

Post by Rich
Twitter: HailKingRich

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Resurrection S1 Ep. 6 “Home” Recap



Recap: Sheriff Langston reviews the video from the Caleb’s jail cell.  The recording skips right when it looks like he disappears.  Everyone is baffled by Caleb’s disappearance.  Maggie tells Agent Bellamy that she contacted a friend that works for the government, Eric Ward.  At first, he isn’t happy about it, but they both think they need to talk to him to try to figure things out, as they are running out of options.  When Agent Bellamy and Maggie meet with Eric Ward, they discuss the possibilities of cloning and multiverse.  Eric Ward has come up with a mathematical equation for when and where the dead people will show up if more are coming.

Rachael tells Tom that she is pregnant and that she didn’t know this when she drove off the bridge.  Tom tells his wife the news.  She is not pleased and wants to know if Rachael is keeping the baby.  Tom thinks that Rachael will keep the baby.  Tom’s wife cries as she talks about how they have tried to have a baby for three years with no luck. 



Agent Bellamy and Maggie take Eric to see Jacob.  Eric tries to convince the Langstons to let him take Jacob to the lab for testing.  Later, Henry Langston tells Jacob that Caleb disappeared.  Henry hugs and kisses him goodnight.  Henry and Lucille are afraid that Jacob will disappear too. They talk about maybe going to Maryland to let Eric run tests on Jacob in the lab.  Many of the men in town are angry that Caleb is nowhere to be found.  Sheriff Langston goes to poker night at a friend’s house. His friend shows him a room full of guns. He implies that he is ready to get a group of guys together to look for Caleb and take justice into their own hands.  Sheriff Langston shows his disapproval. 
  
                                 
Pastor Tom’s wife tells a woman from the church, Helen, that Rachael is pregnant with Tom’s baby.  Helen goes to visit Rachael at the motel where she is staying.  Helen tells Rachael that she needs to leave Tom alone because she is ruining his marriage.  Helen threatens to tell the church what’s going on.  Rachael tries to call Tom to warn him, but he doesn’t answer.  She calls Agent Bellamy and tells him what Helen plans to do.

At church, there are more people in attendance than usual.  The people start asking about the dead people that have returned.  Some think they may be dangerous because Caleb was dangerous.  Everyone starts arguing and fighting.  Pastor Tom gets everyone to calm down.  Rachael comes to the church and Pastor Tom sees her.  Helen stands up and demands that Tom tell the congregation what he has been hiding.  He says he has nothing to hide.  Helen tells everyone that Rachael is pregnant with his child.  He says that it is true.  Many people leave.


Eric tries to convince Maggie to come to Maryland with him to help study Jacob since the Langstons have decided to let Eric run tests on him in the lab.  Pastor Tom is hurt that his wife talked to Helen about their situation.  His wife accuses him of still being in love with Rachael.  She leaves to stay at her sister’s house for the night. An officer from the sheriff’s department picks Rachael up and says he wants to take her to the station so the sheriff can make sure she feels safe. She finds out he is lying when someone else gets in the back seat and he says they have to make one other stop first. The man that gets in the back is the armored truck robbery victim’s cousin. They take her to a secluded house in the woods.


Henry Langston tells Agent Bellamy that after what happened at the church, he has decided that they won’t be going to Maryland to have testing done on Jacob.  In his bedroom, Sheriff Langston opens a box with a wedding ring in it.  He places the ring in a dish on his nightstand.

Review: No one seems to know where Caleb is, but the townspeople seem to think that the sheriff let him get away.  The cat is out of the bag about Rachael’s pregnancy. What was Tom’s wife thinking when she told the town blabber mouth?  She was obviously very hurt when she made that hasty decision.  Now many townspeople don’t want to follow Pastor Tom.  I’m wondering if Sheriff Langston wife will return or has already returned and just hasn’t revealed herself. 

I enjoyed this episode because we were able to see the Langstons make a tough decision about not letting Eric Ward take Jacob to the lab and we were able to see Sheriff Langston hoping that his wife will return.  We’ll have to wait and see what happens with Pastor Tom, Rachael, the Langstons, and Caleb’s family in a couple of weeks.  The next episode airs April 27th, so no episode next week.  

 Please let me know what your comments or thoughts are.

Post Veronica Fitzpatrick

Twitter: RonnieLauren

Game of Thrones S4 Ep. 2 “The Lion and Rose” Recap



Recap: Tyrion suggests that Jaime learn to fight with his left hand, so he can train and command others of the Kingsguard. Jaime starts practicing in private with Bronn. Ramsay Snow brings Theon Greyjoy to see his father Roose Bolton. Theon is now basically Ramsay’s slave since he has been tortured and flayed. At first Roose is displeased with this, as he had planned to trade him. Roose quickly reminds Ramsay that he is an illegitimate son and a Snow; not a Bolton. Theon, who Ramsay now calls “Reek,” tells them where Jon Snow is. Ramsay sees this information as a way to redeem himself.

Tyrion finds out that his father has plans to murder the next whore he finds out has been with him. He sends Shae away by telling her that he doesn’t want to be with her. He arranges for her to have servants and plenty of money. This is the only way he feels he can protect her. King Joffrey receives the other Valyrian sword as a gift from Tywin. Bran Stark has been having several visions about what has happened and what is to come. 


King Joffrey and Margaery get married. Of course, the ceremony and reception are extravagant. Tyrion checks with Bronn to make sure Shae has made it out of King’s Landing safely. Bronn assures him that she is gone. Cersei is trying to keep Brienne from pursuing a romance with Jaime, while Jaime is telling Loras that he will never marry Cersei. Cersei disregards Margaery’s orders to have the leftover food sent to the poor people and instead orders them to be sent to the dogs. Tyrion and Sansa are very displeased with a performance displayed to show how great King Joffrey is. All the actors in the short performance are little people and the beheading of Lord Stark is re-enacted. Cersei and Joffrey find the play amusing. Many others in attendance do not. King Joffrey continues to humiliate Tyrion throughout the reception. Somehow King Joffrey is poisoned and he dies. Cersei accuses Tyrion of murder because he had been serving Joffrey his wine.


Review: All I can say is FINALLY!! I think I speak for many when I say that it is about time that someone murdered King Joffrey. He was absolutely horrible throughout his time on the series. There is isn’t much else to say about this episode. What’s going to be interesting is the aftermath of this murder. Since Cersei has accused Tyrion of the murder, what will the consequences be? Where did the poison come from? The wine, the goblet, the meat pie?? Who really poisoned him?

On a side note: Did anyone else notice the doves that were killed in the meat pie when Joffrey sliced it with his sword to release the birds? Disgusting!

Please let me know what your comments or thoughts are.

Post by Veronica Fitzpatrick
Twitter: RonnieLauren

Noah Movie Review

Noah and the Master of the Universe


If you haven´t yet read the story of Noah, it can be found in Genesis 5:32 – 10:1. It´s a rather short read, which should clue you in as to how much artistic liberty has been taken to fill a 2 hour-plus mega film. This takes turning a 310-page Hobbit adventure into three separate overly long films, filled with extra scenes and characters, and turns the intensity up to 11! Remember how angry some hardcore Tolkien fans were by Peter Jackson´s interpretation of the story? Well, if you´re the type of hardcore religious person who doesn´t take well to add-ons and adventurous re-imaginings of your sacred texts, and don´t want to go through the same heartache as the Tolkienites, then save yourself some angst and don´t watch this movie. There is barely enough time to figure out which side of the armrest is best to keep the popcorn before we are given a father and son moment which is not unlike the exposition in The Man of Steel in its, “my progeny will survive even if I have to die at the hands of a scowling villain” overtones. Director, Darren Aronofsky, made it clear from the start that I had to suspend my “believer” reflex, which is what I did, and immediately asked the host of this blog if I could write a review of a movie that felt a lot more superheroish than the last Iron Man.


The film´s protagonist is of course Noah, who is played unevenly by Russell Crowe and not portrayed at all as a saint. He knows hand to hand combat, goes along with a little genocide when necessary, even dabbles in infanticide, and winds up a wino by film´s end. It´s a wild ride for Noah, and it certainly had the potential to work as a great story arc had the writers been more diligent in creating a subtler character study of a man burdened by such a terrible task – we might have even felt pity for him and a greater understanding for God's ultimate plan. Instead, by the end, I felt that if I were not already a believer I sure as hell wouldn´t have wanted to start then. Aronofsky´s God is cruel, vengeful, kills innocents and drives loving people into psycho assassins or rageful individuals who eventually can´t even face their own families.


If enough care wasn´t taken into using the character of Noah to filter the message from the Creator above, one would think the family would have served this purpose. Sadly, they were mostly one-dimensional. I wish I could say more about them other than that the movie felt flat and burdened down whenever they were on screen. There was absolutely no chemistry between any of the siblings and even less between Noah with his wife. Not even at what was intended as a dramatic climax, when Noah is about to kill two innocent baby girls, was I sold on the emotion of what was to be a predictable resolution to the scene. As he held the knife in his hands I felt a lot like the child´s mother did when she screamed, “Just do it quickly!” This way we can get to the end of this mess. The bottom line is that the animals were more interesting than Noah´s family, and they slept through the whole movie – but more on that later.


On to the next possible saving grace: for this being Hollywood, we need a bad guy. His name is Tubal-Cain, a descendant of the evil Cain and the man who murdered Noah´s father. He is hell bent on being bad just for the sake of being bad. His world is a sort of – world without Batman with the Joker running things. There is plenty of raping, pillaging, and all around madness. There is quite a lot to work with him except that like everyone else he is more a caricature than a character. This wouldn´t be half as bad if the actor playing him, Ray Winstone, wasn´t trying to so hard to play him straight. Had he hammed it up a bit – he would have been one of those one-dimensional creatures we can´t take our eyes off of: a Godzilla or Skeletor of sorts.


There is one highlight in this whole soulless exercise and that is the meeting between Noah and his grandfather Methuselah, played by current, “give me a check and I´ll be in it for ten minutes”, legendary actor Sir Anthony Hopkins. I will admit the goosebumps didn´t come from thinking that Noah somehow got to meet his grandfather, which the bible never mentions, but of how cool it was that Jor-el and Odin got to hang out. Odin even gets Jor-el high off of some LSD type stuff. Well, don´t want to give away too many spoilers. All this movie was missing at this point was Mr. Morgan Freeman to do the voice overs for the voice of God, but since God was a bit absent in the whole movie they had no need for him I suppose.


Instead of Mr. Freeman as God we got the Watchers. Basic storyline if I remember correctly is that they used to be angels who were punished by the Creator for trying to help mankind and turned into rock creatures who could have been right out of good old Tolkien novel or a Peter Jackson re-imagining. In fact they came of a lot like Ents. Instead of the forest, they protected the barren land - which later became a forest. It all makes sense in the movie – trust me! The big difference is that these guys were like Ents on steroids, they were angry at their Creator and mankind and didn´t need that much egging on in order to start a rumble! Too bad that they added absolutely nothing to the movie other than a fun artistic liberty explanation as to how Noah managed to build the arc while fending off Tubal-Cain and his marauding companions. He had The Watchers, watching his back – get it!


And finally I reach the part of the review where I get to talk about the one part of the movie which must be flawless. The special effects! They were in fact top-notch but never executed to full awe-inspiring levels. When the long awaited for animals finally had their time to shine in all their CGI glory: they came, they rushed into the arc, and they were quickly put to sleep by some fume that was concocted to knock them out for the voyage.



Again I had to remind myself, the focus of the story was obviously not the the story of the ark but the story of Noah fighting off Tubal-Cain – which even manages to stow away with Noah´s family to give us a showdown finale right out of Cape Fear or Pirates of the Caribbean. This doesn´t make for a good movie when the writers don´t give us anything to invest in as far as why Tubal-Cain is so evil. The titles of the movie is NOAH and had the writers focused on the struggles of the man trying to execute this impossible task and the many dynamics that it would have added to his closest interpersonal relationships, than perhaps this would have been a decent and interesting movie. I guess that if you want that story rent Bruce Almighty and watch it again. It´s a fluff movie which accomplishes this task with half the budget and twice the heart.


So my dear reader, if you have a few extra bucks and time to spare, than venture out and see Noah: after all it has split audiences and you may love it. If you don´t have either of the two, than wait for the DVD or cable; your precious time and wallet will thank you immensely. And finally, if you are overly religious and per chance you do not heed my warning and still want to measure this by your biblical tolerance stick, then I can only say to you – like with the Hobbit and most book to movie adaptations – the original is better.

Post by Phillihp Ray

Monday, April 14, 2014

Movie Monday: The Amazing Spiderman


This Movie Monday is The Amazing Spiderman (2012). It was directed by Marc Webb and screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent. I must admit I just never got around to watching this movie and with the new Spiderman on the horizon, I figured now was the time to finally watch it. 


IMDB Storyline: Like most teenagers, Peter (Andrew Garfield) is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifan), his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

My Thoughts: I surprisingly enjoyed this movie especially since I decided to consider this movie as its own separate franchise and not think of the previous installments. The actual story overall was the usual. He is bit by a spider that was altered. In this one Peter makes the web slinging versus having it shoot from his wrists. For some odd reason I was not that upset when Uncle Ben died. That was not set up correctly as I had no attachment to the character. Peter going on his vigilante spree to find the man that killed Uncle Ben was well done. The moment when Peter saves the little kid is the turning point for Spiderman, as he no longer is putting his personal agenda first. 


Garfield does a wonderful job as this Spiderman. He has the wit and sarcastic jokes that Spiderman is known for and he delivers them quite well. He made me believe in this Spiderman. Great fight sequence against The Lizard at the high school. I especially enjoyed when Spiderman encased him in a spider cocoon and was literally crawling all over him like a spider. It was visually well done. 


Another great moment is when all the construction workers come together and move the cranes to help an injured Spiderman have a clear swinging path to OsCorp. It is led by the father of the little boy that Spiderman saved. It gave you the same good feeling that you got when the people from New York help Toby McGuire's Spiderman out. 


Stan Lee appearance - awesome as ever. He was the unsuspecting librarian while The Lizard and Spiderman fought. He is wearing headphones and does not realize the fight is occurring. I think for all future movies I am going to point out the Stan Lee cameo. 


Overall I enjoyed the movie. It was very action packed and I look forward to The Amazing Spiderman 2.

Post by Vikki
Twitter: ProfessorWhite