The Walking Dead - Season 4

Title: The Walking Dead

Year: 2010

Broadcasting Station: AMC

Official Page

Official Synopsis: Rick and the survivors foster a thriving community in the safe haven of the prison. In this brutal world, however, walkers and outside threats are no match for danger brewing inside the fences. The group's home and new way of life is thoroughly tested, and their struggle to survive becomes more perilous than ever.

ELL SAID

Rating: 

Reviews:

The Walking Dead season four was flawless. It starts off a little slow, but it doesn't take from the story. Instead, it actually helps make the middle and finale be a thousand times better. I found myself constantly having to pause for a rest, because the emotions of the episodes I was watching were enormous, to say the least.

Rick, Daryl, Carol, and the rest of the characters just keep getting better and better, and the tragedy of their lives becomes the centerpiece of the season, showcasing the struggles these characters go through on a level far beyond that of other zombie-related stories. Furthermore, even on the less exciting  episodes, one has the constant desire to learn about what happens next, and keeps you constantly worrying about what happened to the characters.

The last couple of episodes were, in my opinion, among the best episodes of the series. The branching stories, the constant threat to the character's lives, and the final episode are the complete opposites of the beginning, toping the season with the proof that The Walking Dead deserves plenty of seasons more.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (Book 6)

Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

Author: Jeff Kinney

Year: 2011 

Official Synopsis: Greg Heffley is in big trouble. School property has been damaged, and Greg is the prime suspect. But the crazy thing is, he’s innocent. Or at least sort of.

The authorities are closing in, but when a surprise blizzard hits, the Heffley family is trapped indoors. Greg knows that when the snow melts he’s going to have to face the music, but could any punishment be worse than being stuck inside with your family for the holidays?

Official Page

STEH SAID

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Review:

In this book, Jeff Kinney is back to his original writing style: Greg talks about many random things, then, halfway through the book, the actual story starts to develop. I don't like to read a book's synopsis and then, read a completely different story when reading the actual book. It just doesn't make sense; I was constantly expecting Greg to do something bad at school, only to read about the school yard or bullies.

On the other hand, those random anecdotes were really silly and funny. Greg's coming-of-age story is left forgotten and he is back to his wimpy ways. Kinney made some fun allusions to his own stories. And, he also made a Harry Potter allusion that was a pleasant surprise. It was completely unexpected, but fitting.

Divergent Movie (2014)

Title: Divergent

Year: 2014

Director: Neil Burger

Rating (by the MPAA): PG-13 for intense violence and action, thematic elements and some sensuality

Official Synopsis: DIVERGENT is a thrilling action-adventure film set in a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy by a faction leader (Kate Winslet) to destroy all Divergents, Tris must learn to trust in the mysterious Four (Theo James) and together they must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it's too late.

Official Page and IMDb Page

STEPH SAID

Rating:

Review:

I watched this movie before reading the book. I hadn't even watched the trailer before I watched it, so, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I just knew it was a movie based on a big YA novel. The movie was also big enough to spawn the sequels. I knew I needed to watch it. At first, I was really confused about all the different names: Abnegation, Erudite, Amity etc. I couldn't remember what each of them stood for; which name was which group. Not even the colors helped. However, when Tris joined Dauntless the names became less important.

This movie is such a close adaptation of the book, that I might as well copy and paste the book review. My feelings and thoughts about the story are the same, whether it is in book form or movie form. That's why I decided to focus on the differences between the movie and the book. The movie improved some  things (like using “neuro-stim darts” in capture the flag), but damaged others that were perfect.

Mashing up the fear landscapes was one of the best time-saver changes the movie made. In the book the mental/emotional training is divided into two parts. For the first part initiates go into the fear landscape and try to control their emotions. During the second part, they need to confront their fears. The movie mixed these two training sessions into one, saving time, and pushing the initiates to the limit.

The main plot of the movie –

the Abnegation attack, led by Erudite

– saw a better ending in the movie than in the book. In the movie, the simulation was stopped, and

Jeanine's Divergence was implied. (Which would make complete sense considering her natural tendency to not conform to society and, thus, accept Abnegation's leadership.)

Whereas in the book the Dauntless soldiers are left haywire and shooting at each other, and nothing is mentioned about

whether Jeanine is Divergent, or not.

One thing I didn't like about the movie is the loss of Tris' abnegation side. She is Divergent; she has aptitude for Dauntless, Erudite and Abnegation. Even more so, she was raised as an Abnegation. Yet, she easily starts wearing tight clothes and getting tattoos, just as a an excuse to talk to someone. After reading the book I realized it is a fault of the movie. The book somewhat delves into Tris psyche and helps the reader understand the complexity of her transition from Abnegation to Dauntless.

If I had to choose between the movie and book, I will definitely choose the book. The movie is really good, its story is more compacted and action packed, yet the book's story is richer and more psychological, which makes it better in my eyes.

Orphan Black - Season 2

Title: Orphan Black

Broadcasting Station: BBC America

Official Synopsis: Season two of BBC AMERICA’s dramatic conspiracy thriller, Orphan Black, hits the ground running with Sarah (Golden Globe® nominee Tatiana Maslany, Parks and Recreation) in a desperate race to find her missing daughter Kira (Skyler Wexler) – a wild pursuit that brings her head-to-head with ruthless pro-clone, Rachel (Maslany). This season also rejoins Sarah’s clone sisters Alison (Maslany) and Cosima (Maslany) as they struggle to keep their clone world a secret and pick up the pieces of their broken lives – all while dealing with the harsh reality that no one around them can be trusted. 

Official Page

Official Trailer

  *This TV series has been rated TV-MA, for mature audiences.*


STEPH SAID

Rating: 

Review:

Politics and power plays are at the center of this season. This season is all about trust; the main clones, along with the viewers, won't be able to decide who to trust. Everyone seem to have a hidden agenda, which leads to many scams, betrayals and lots of suspense. The episodes were so packed, that many times the development of the story was implied through one line. For example, why waste time telling a new character the clone story when the viewer already knows it? Better skip ahead to when the character is fully informed and is O.K. with the idea of clones. This leaves more time for plot development. This is how TV should be: quick, resourceful, and rich in drama.

I still cannot believe that Tatiana Maslany hasn't received an Emmy nomination. She is so wonderful, that I regularly forget that it is her, the same actress, who portrays all of the clones. Maslany is so great, that you can tell when she is acting as a character who is acting as another. She can act as Sarah acting as Alison or Cosima, and you can tell. Maslany is also full of surprises. Just when you begin to believe you have seen it all, she goes on to act as a man. I was speechless. She even looked more “manly” Jordan Gavaris, than who plays her foster brother.

Thoughts about recurrent/minor characters are as follow. A) Angie is getting on my nerves. She is the character that I disliked the most. I dislike her even more that I dislike Rachel. B) I don't know what to think of Cal yet, since I barely know him. C) I was glad to see Helena again. I know she is evil, but, to me, she is only misguided. That is why she is so crazy, and yet so gullible and naive at the same time. D) Scott's personality added a nice touch to the story. The scene where he is playing a board game with his friends, and Cosima joins them was pretty funny. E) It was so nice to see Death – I mean Ben, as a minor character. F) Last, but not least, is Donnie. He surprised me this season. He went from an annoying idiot to a budding bad-ass in one episode.

The ending was both surprising and promising. I didn't see it coming. I was a bit lost during the final minutes of the finale. It had too much coded talk too fast, at least for me. Still, the big message came across easily enough. And, once I knew what is was, I was left craving more Orphan Black.

Doctor Who (2005) Special - Planet of the Dead

Doctor Who (2005)

Episode Title: Planet of the Dead

Broadcasting Station: BBC One

Official Page

Official Synopsis: A London bus takes a detour to an alien world, but can the Doctor defeat the Swarm?

STEPH SAID

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Review:

This episode was mostly a waste of my time. I didn't enjoyed it; and that's coming from a Doctor Who fan. The story dragged on forever without anything actually happening. It wasn't funny, thrilling or dramatic. Most characters were dull and added nothing to the story. Not even the Doctor was that good, and Christina was just annoying. I can't understand how the Doctor actually thinks that they are a perfect team. Yes, they are both adrenaline junkies, but the Doctor can't be with someone that is trying to one-up him all the time. The only character I actually enjoyed was Malcom; he was just adorable. The alien enemies were actually cool too. Unfortunately, having cool enemies and one good character is not enough to sustain a whole hour of Doctor Who.

Divergent

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Year: 2011

Official Synopsis: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. 

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

Official Tumblr and Goodreads Page

STEPH SAID

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*This review contains spoilers.*

What intrigued me the most about this story was the practical utopia at the beginning of the novel. The interesting organization of the society made sense. Especially the fact that the Abnegation were the political leaders. A society like that could have worked. Divergents could have adapted to life in a society as such, as they had done for a long time. At first, I didn't even notice the dystopian nature of the story. Some people's divergence felt forced; something had to happen to disrupt such a beautiful society, I thought. It wasn't until Tris mentioned that kids could choose from five predetermined options, that I started understanding the actual problem with the established order.

I also liked Tris' internal struggle to adapt to her new life. She may be Divergent enough to adapt to Dauntless life, yet, she was raised as an Abnegation. And, I was glad to see that traces of Tris' past life still lingered inside of her. Just because she made a choice doesn't mean that she's going to change her whole persona on a whim.

Tris' confusing relationship with Four had a weird appeal to me. Understanding it from the outside was easy enough. It was practically obvious what was going on in, say, the knives scene. However, I'm guessing that it must have been actually confusing for Tris. Still, if she would've given it some thought, maybe she would've understand Four a bit better, especially after he started letting her inside. The morning after their first kiss she was expecting him to be all love and marshmallows. She was expecting him to sit next to her and stop acting like the initiates leader. Tris' actions during that time left a bit to be desired.

Four was just wonderful. He's super smart, wise, talented and daring. He is not just a pretty face with a dark secret or past. He, alone, could be able to stand up to, or lead, the whole Dauntless compound. Yet he chose humility; he chose not to lead. Which makes him all the more interesting.  

I didn't enjoy the final moments, and more importantly, the ending. I didn't like that both of Tris' parents sacrificed themselves to save her daughter. It still doesn't make sense to me that both of them died. Also, when I reached the end, I realized that this story doesn't have a purpose or problem. The story revolves around Tris' initiation, which was resolved. However, the problem of the story was the leaders' silent threats against Divergents, and Erudite's plot to overthrow Abnegation, with the unwilling help of Dauntless. There was no closure to the latter. Dauntless dummies were left haywire, firing on each other. That is probably going to continue on to Insurgent, but it would've been better if the Dauntless' soldiers were able to go back to normal before the end of the book. That way the book would've had an ending, and the Erudite problem could be left for Insurgent.

This is the first Young Adults novel that I've read that has an actual reason behind all the elements of a YA novel. Most YA novels have (1) a beautiful girl with low self esteem that (2) is chosen to destroy the dystopian society in which she lives (3) with the help of a rugged and gorgeous guy that (4) inexplicably falls in love with her. In this case, all the elements are present, but, for the first time, they make sense. It is annoying to constantly read about beautiful girls that believe they are unworthy, or so below a guy's praise. In Divergent, Tris has some reason to feel this way. She is not pretty; moreover, she was raised believing she should not think about herself. Her confusing relationship with Four could be due to her lack of interaction with boys, or because of their student/ teacher relationship. Four's attraction toward Tris is also easily explained. And, she wasn't “chosen” to destroy her society; she was born different, like many more. Overall, the author did a great job taking all the elements of YA novels and making them her own.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Title: The Dark Knight Rises

Year: 2012

Director: Christopher Nolan

Rating (by the MPAA): PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language

Official Synopsis: It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.

Official Page and IMDb Page

STEPH SAID

Rating: 

Review:

This movie isn't even a Batman movie, it is more of a compilation of sidekicks who battling many bad guys, who turned out to be the same bad guy. Batman is mostly absent through the movie. When he decides to make an appearance (even thought he knows he's not ready) it is only to get his behind brutally kicked. In other words, all the awesomeness that is Batman, and the reasons we loved The Dark Knight, are gone.

Catwoman was the bright side of this movie. Her smarts and wit carried this whole movie. Which leaves a lot to be desired considering how easily she believed the restart program actually existed. Then again, If witness protection is possible, then Catwoman's wish was possible.

Tom Hardy's transformation into the huge beast that is Bane would have been the movie's greatest asset if it wasn't so difficult to understand him. I had to rely on subtitles every time he talked. It was frustrating. Nevertheless, Hardy's acting was remarkable and endearing. I couldn't understand why I found Bane endearing, I mean, he certainly wasn't. Then, when I learned his background story, everything became clear.

Blake's assistance wasn't that important, and his ending was meaningless considering what we know about the franchise.

Overall, the story didn't give me a superhero feeling or battle. Much less a Batman feeling or battle. After watching The Dark Knight and meeting The Joker, the expectations were really high for this movie, and, unfortunately, it didn't live up to them.