We're SORRY and NEW STUFF is on the horizon! The 2013-Goodbye-Post.

 

GOODBYE 2013 - WELCOME 2014! 

It has seriously been a long, long time since we last reviewed some stuff or even wrote about anything. Rest assured, we are truly sorry for inconvenience and long delay(s) you and we had to endure over the last few months and as terrible as no new updates are (we're self-confident as you might have realized now ;) ), we are PROUD TO ANNOUNCE that NEW STUFF is on the way!

In the near future, we have lined up some amazing new reviews, finishing what we started on some season reviews on various shows, some more movies (as well as the promised "Skyfall" review) and a new episode of AWESOME TALK is coming your way real soon as well.

Take it from us, we had real time and management problems but they have been side-lined for now to ensure new releases that will be out before you know it, probably sooner than you might imagine if you're still mad at the six-month-gap previously.

Until then, we wish you all a happy holiday, wanted to deliver our (if just days late) season's greetings and wish you a happy new year 2014 which (hopefully) will hold lots of new reviews! 

Everyone: we're back. Have a good time till next time! 


Greetings,

MarXus & EagleLeaf 

Crossing Lines - Pilot Review

CROSSING LINES (NBC) - PILOT SHORT REVIEW

 

Image courtesy of NBC, 2013.

Remember that feeling when your emotions felt like one extensive ride on a roller coaster? Well, “Crossing Lines” felt a lot like that very ride and yet at the end still managed to pull me in. How exactly that was achieved? Let me tell you in this short review of the 2-hour-pilot of NBC’s ambitious new drama that is unique and a big risk for the network at that. 

“Crossing Lines” (CL in the following) is NOT an American TV series. Why do I mention that as NBC is obviously an American network and is broadcasting it? Well, this show is not produced by NBC and feels different to other American shows. Not the “oh look, we have another genders in the lead roles”-style which is often (maybe too often) used, but the “you haven’t quite seen a show like this”-different. And this is the main reason I went to check it out.

An international team solving border-crossing crimes, sanctioned by the ICC (not very willingly, though) while also set in many international places (Berlin, Paris, The Hague are just three prominent examples from the pilot - even though mostly filmed in Prague - other shots were filmed in Nice and Paris) and starring William Fichtner, Tom Wlaschiha and some more names including the one and only Donald Sutherland. 

I have to admit, I disliked CL in the first 20-25 minutes because it, well, did not live up to the hype around it, not in one single case except that for the possible first time, the Germans were actually the best equipped (both technically and reasoning) portrayed but that was it, quite frankly. What I really could not oversee were these moments where you just heard characters deliver dumb lines such as when they were in the lab with the victim from Paris when the Doctor said that the killer had cut her wrists and the British detective repeated a second afterwards ‘So, he cut his wrists’. The viewer is not that dumb. He/I knew that from just a second ago. But thank you for repeating the obvious and then not even continuing the thought that came afterwards (Why?). Too bad. 

But as they arrived at the crime scene once again to find some concrete, old, fashioned evidence (spoiler avoided) the show did a shift and let me forget about my dislike from just before in a moment. From there, the drama really kicked it off and continued to grip me deeper in with every development to come. Especially when they pulled the first big trigger by letting one of the team fall captive to our psychopathic killer, the show became unbearably intense and I found myself not worrying about anything anymore. I have, literally, never experienced such a turn-around with a show as CL pulled on me/the viewer and I have to give big kudos for that. But as this may read as “boom, the show just got dope” (see, I’m cool, I’m using slang - not), that is not quite the case.

The second half of the pilot which focused on getting back the captive agent and chasing the killer through Europe was good and solid from beginning to end but failed to amaze me with the promised difference from other shows (but since I was not expecting this, I was not disappointed but I’ll talk about it anyway). CL from here on out played out like any other crime procedural TV show out there, mainly the American ones, of course, as the difference is strictly limited to the cast, characters and the setting. It is, as previously said, an international style this shows features and this is doing serious good to it as otherwise this would just be another known drama. But here you get European cases, a European team and a solid “known” drama procedural. And that is good. 

 

"There are always two sides to choose from, young apprentice with a french accent."
(Image courtesy of NBC, 2013.)

NEGATIVE ASPECTS

         The show did start off more disappointing than promising and if I would not have had the will to get up to minute 30, I’m pretty sure I would have never watched it again (which would be a mistake, though).

      The background stories of the team and each of its characters are lacking some serious explanation (mainly the ones from the team’s lead which was shown but never was understandable or even logic).

      While I’m sure that is being addressed throughout the season/series, it was still missing greatly in the pilot. 

     The promised difference does NOT really concern the cases or the detective work.

     Some few (major) hick-ups in the first half hour as partly named before.

POSITIVE ASPECTS

        The cast, the team and the show is international and features a lot of European cities which is a more than welcome change from your typical TV show. The feeling the show achieves is awesome when you just see city after city. 

       I really enjoyed the show’s move to let a diplomat be the killer in the pilot, a strong opener at least. 

       The team is made of very interesting characters and that promises a strong team dynamic later on.

      The triggers they pulled (there were two big ones, both at the very end of both halves: a) letting one of the team get captured by the killer and b) killing off one of their own kind of randomly) were amazingly good and unseen. 

       It was after all very entertaining. 

I really liked how they pictured every team mate individually (the Irish guy with family problems, the American one with his drug addiction, the British detective who slowly connected to the Irish guy), how they showed territorial rivalry between the different agencies and I have high hopes that the show will continue walking this path. That leaves me with Donald Sutherland who feels that he was only added to the show to have a big name to market it (remember, this show is not an American one). BUT, he played his part without flaw and every second we got to see him the show hit a home run, so to speak. Hopefully, we will see some more of him soon and maybe even the political process and enemies/friend within the ICC. That would make for some interesting season-long arc. 

Originally, I had been quite sure that CL would not receive a second season renewal because it was, well, international and took a stronger but also slower tone to the story which normally does not fear well in the US, especially not on NBC where a Sunday spot is not the best spot as well (again, especially not when this premiere was showed next to “Mad Men”’s finale). But then I learned it was an international production and therefore I still have hope for the show as this will most likely sell out very well, given the change in scenery, cast and the big names attached to it. Europeans love that. 

 

"Check this show out or I will personally come after you."
(Image courtesy of NBC, 2013.)

CONCLUSION

 

“Crossing Lines” may not be a never-before seen show concerning the procedural stories but it sure is when it comes to the team/cast and the settings. Having Donald Sutherland on board is helpful as well, of course. But for the show itself: even though it had its flaws in the beginning and sadly did not live up to its “new thing”-hype, it was still very entertaining and managed to intrigue me as I’m now really wanting to see how the show will go from this point on. 

Therefore, if you like a change in scenery, this one you should really check out, it’s actually quite good after all. 3/5 for the lead-in pilot which at the end was really good and satisfying.

NOTE: Since the show has an international cast, you have to deal with much accents but you get the drill soon enough. Enjoy.

[Announcement] COMMUNITY - The Darkest Timeline plays HardPaintBall...

Image courtesy of NBC and Universal Studios, 2013.

This was is probably the most controversial series of any show ever to have set foot on TV grounds.

First after a long and nerve-thrilling suspense of a renewal process for a fourth season which was so damn unlikely at that point, considering the poor ratings it suffered and NBC's way of shuffling the airing dates around like they did not care at all.
Secondly, they fired previous show runner and main creator Dan Harmon. Yep, they britta'd him out of his own show.
And lastly, there was this "thing" with Chevy Chase (Pierce Hawthorne) - that one where, well you know, he hated being on the show and so on which was for a short while helped by firing Dan Harmon as he was the main problem Chase had, it seemed. Well now, Chase is gone for good and Community's fourth season changed a lot of what fans loved about the critically-acclaimed show.

Sadly almost too often scratching the sitcom format this season it always had escaped from so brilliantly before, the Internet was full of hate. BUT, and here goes nothing, this season was not so bad after all, it had its highlights and two of the episodes even made it into my (EagleLeaf) top ten of "Community" episodes (the season finale - paintball, finally - and the one just before that, the throwback episode).
BUT, besides these two this season entertained me, of course by far not as well as the previous seasons but it was not as bad as some tried to talk it down. And it still was some of the coolest stuff, excuse me, timeline currently on the air.
And then, the finale came in and ROCKED the ratings with a good 1.3 and, HOLD YOUR BREATH, it MATCHED "American Idol" in the most important demo of all, the 18-34. That against the other shows like "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS) means, this episode fared awesomely for NBC.

And listening to our many sources, this rating was indeed the final turning point in renewing the show for its next and presumably final season. Would you have believed that a year, scratch that, one and a half year ago? No?
BUT, you know what? SEASON FIVE IS ON, B*TCHES!

CELEBRATE these dean-tastic news, we defeated the darkest timeline. For now.

As for why we decided to post this notice, 1) we're BIG FANS OF COMMUNITY OVER HERE and 2) because of this short cool line coming right after this last word in the following sentence after this, detailing the reason of this post because and here you would go again, but this is after all one of the brightest timelines. So, here it goes:


Reviews of "Community" will be up soon. Enjoy. 

#sixseasonsandamovie 

SHOUTOUT: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Joss Whedon)

                                          SHOUTOUT!

(This means, a very very very very (1000x very) very, very special movie/project/series/production you SHOULD DAMN REALLY check out ASAP! The Krautics are depending on you. - Love.)


IF you have never heard of this, then shame on you and go watch that stuff right now!
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is what you have to call a masterpiece of its own.

Coming directly from the mind of Joss Whedon (you know, that guy who kind of did that one smashing hit called "Avengers" last year and many more awesome things), this little short tale of awesomeness presents you with a unique storyline, featuring very compelling musical parts and great actors underlining what is a brillant script as there is not one second that does not have more than two or even three meanings here. Starring Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother"), Felicia Day ("The Guild") and Nathan Fillion ("Firefly", "Castle"), this (original three-part) web-musical is the first of its kind and originated during the WGA strike trying to prove that you can make entertainment without too much resources and money.

"Dr. Horrible" (full title is just way too long, damn) is wonderfully made into one piece of cinematic presence you cannot miss and you want to rewatch countless times. This one is finally one you can't argue about (unless you're not a fan of musical parts) and belongs in your library at home or, if you want to use more precious space, brains. Watch it, save it and love it. That's the story behind this one. 5/5, personal tip, go for it!

       For more information, check out the official site: Dr. Horrible Page


(And yes, Shoutouts are as they're supposed to be: short... shoutouts. Got you there, eh?)

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (2013) [Short Review]

NOTE: I previously promised a review about one of the latest Oscar-winners. Well, that was "Sykfall" and it still is on, if you wonder, I'm just throwing something other out earlier because the "Skyfall" review is still undergoing writing and control processes both.

NOTE 2: This is a short review, it gives a short overlook at the movie and the rating of it. A full review may or may not come in the future, after the movie is released on home media.

********************************************************************************

FALL AS A NATION, RISE AS ONE... 

Olympus Has Fallen (2013) – SHORT REVIEW 

Image courtesy of Millennium Films, 2013.

Attention, cineastes. This is your final call for a chance of realizing a takeover of the White House. Not interested? Well, someone indeed was, resulting in this fantastic piece of action entertainment that can without a doubt be considered purely awesome. “Olympus Has Fallen” (OHF) is the first of two “Take the White House over and then having to free the President”-movies coming our way this year. The second one being “White House Down” by, hold your breath, Roland Emmerich (that guy from “2012”), starring Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum. But as it seems kind of obvious, Tatum is not good enough to copy Bruce Willis (he indeed does at least judging from his clothing in the trailer), so that one is set aside for now. 

Starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman, this movie has stars enough for a shoot-out movie and it cleverly uses them even though the story is, of course, simple and not too hard to see through. Then again, if you watch this sort of movies, did you really think there was a big story there to be found? What, however, is there to be seen is character background and not less of it as well which was both surprising and welcomed. This movie does a more than solid job introducing us to every major character, even during the action parts and it not once felt off-game. This was exemplary work here. 

The action itself was also one of the coolest things you’ve seen. While it’s nothing entirely new (Die Hard and so on, folks), it’s breath-taking – when those helicopters shot Washington down, you have to admit that was one of the greatest moments ever seen in movies – not because so many people were killed and injured, no, but because it was not glorified in a way that it felt like “hey, look how much blood we give you in the first minutes, aren’t we cool” (which is too often the case nowadays, sadly) but it felt tragic, realistic and yet gave stunning visuals which I’m definitely looking forward to check out in HD as that may be reference there. The destroyed White House was also a ruling visual and later on the touch of live executions was while fully to deem and brutal, it did the movie so good and even gave him the upper hand on other movies like this as “OHF” feels way more like a realistic scenario than any other depiction yet shared. 

The acting was as well more than solid and throughout the whole cast great. I loved Morgan Freeman as Acting President and Butler as the hero was the perfect choice. Eckhart delivered a solid job as well as did Rick Yune and any other cast member actually. 

Long things short: “OHF” may not be the new masterpiece of logic and original storytelling (then again, very few movies actually are) but what it did with what it had is exemplary and as a whole this movie was so damn fun and breath-taking to watch that it cannot be missed. If you like action movies like “Die Hard”, look no further, this is your new dope. “OHF” is in its own way fresh; a stunning action movie with more capabilities then you might think concerning story and character development and overall is just plain entertainment to sink into for nearly two hours. A definite must-see!  

5 stars out of five, perfect!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars S05E17-20 - Ahsoka's Fate

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
Season 5, Episodes 17-20 (FINALE ARC)

Many of you might think that “The Clone Wars” (TCW) is a kids’ show only and that is just a funny throw-away series for older people like, well then, yourself. But you’re wrong. “TCW” is the best thing that ever happened to the Star Wars franchise, and I’m talking in a big way here. Forget the prequels (well, except for Ewan McGregor you can forget them entirely whatsoever, even so they are not entirely bad, just 90% but the effects are cool (=10%)), forget the books (if you even read them) and EVEN forget the original trilogy as all these combined can’t beat “TCW” in its game. The show may be animated but its story arcs and characters are so much more than you would imagine, this show has simply been mind-blowing for five years in a row now with presumably a final sixth to come.
Since this is my first “TCW” review, for the background a little bit:

Child show only? Don't think so.

“TCW” started back in 2008 with a movie. Yes, a TV show that got started as a TV show in cinemas. This is definitely a first. It was then almost immediately followed by a first season consisting of 22 episodes as did seasons 2-4, respectively. Season 5 which just aired its big season finale yesterday only consisted of 20 episodes, another arc centering about separatist senator Rush Clovis (who we met earlier in the series) being held back or delayed for an unknown reason. The future of the show is in motion right now as a sixth season has been advertised but as of now no official statement has been released confirming this. Well, since it was at least confirmed that they’re working on “additional episodes” I think it’s pretty safe to say there is one coming and also which seems pretty obvious at this point, it might just be the show’s final year. So, to prepare everyone for the show’s end, this season took us even closer to Episode III as design and characteristics of the Republic changed to its worse form. The Jedi order is not as strong as it once was and justice is failing while everyone is being deceived by a darker-growing Palpatine as our famous Sith Lord chancellor. 

Crime Scenes in a galaxy far far away are more awesome
than ours actually.

During previous seasons we have been shown a not-so-dead Darth Maul, his evil witch brother Savage Opress, the witches of Dathomir, a side-turning Asajj Ventress and Admiral Tarkin. What may never be forgotten is also the amazing Mortis arc that explained to us how the force worked, showed us Darth Vader himself in “TCW” and can be counted as both trilogies’ replacement arc as well as the dark General Krell arc that was so dark and brutal you might just have seen an R-rated movie. (“TCW” has also been censored during its broadcast of its Kamino arc for its pictured brutality, so don’t talk about it as it would be a kids’ show only.)
Season Five however started off real bad and even so I’m in love with the show, I've got to say: lame. It got slightly better at its half but it reached its known awesomeness with the last two arcs, the finale arc being the even better one. So, for the final act of S05 Dave Filoni and George Lucas took us on a Hitchcock-like journey with lead character Ahsoka Tano as she is being charged with crimes against the Jedi order and the Grand Army of the Republic, both leading to one of the most tragic turns in the show’s entire history.

As for the review itself, I’m just giving you a short overview of the four episodes themselves as the show would do (quite literally) and then I will talk about the arc in one. Enjoy.

EPISODE 17 – “Sabotage”

An attack on the temple and the culprit must be found within the Jedi. Ahsoka and Anakin are sent out to investigate, soon finding a lead. 

Funeral attendees: Sith Lord, Traitor and Jedi.

The episode gave us a robot version of CSI: Miami’s David Caruso which just shows us again how much fun the team behind “TCW” actually has during making this show. The story itself set up what was to come and did so real good but not giving anything away in your first watch. The lead then being Letta, the wife of the used living bomb. 

EPISODE 18 – “The Jedi Who Knew Too Much”

 

The Jedi’s only lead, Letta, is killed off by ways of the force and the Republic is blaming Ahsoka for it, ultimately leaving her no other choice than to run and proof her innocence on her own as no one believes her.

Welcome to Level 1313. Enjoy your flight.

E18 sets the chains into motion as Ahsoka is blamed for murdering the only witness they had in the investigation of who’s behind all the attacks. In the end she runs which Anakin can understand pretty well but he’s the only one as that as she is now enemy of state no.1. Great visuals start to kick in here and at the end we’re shown the underground of Coruscant for its entity for the first time. It also is no coincidence that the story is playing around Level 1313 which is as you may know the ttitle of a soon to be released star Wars video game. Nice tie-in there. 

EPISODE 19 – “To Catch A Jedi” 

Ahsoka on the run. Joining forces with separatist villain Asajj Ventress, Ahsoka tries to find evidence that she is being framed while wandering through the lower levels of Coruscant’s underworld, not aware of the criminal mastermind being always one step ahead of her the whole time. 

"'The Fugitive' a movie was I liked."

Delivering the most stunning suspense, we get treated to a fantastic re-enactment of a scene out of the movie “The Fugitive” with Harrison Ford and afterwards see Ventress being attacked by the mastermind, once again then framing Ahsoka and leaving her with evidence to be arrested by the incoming clones. 

EPISODE 20 – “The Wrong Jedi”

Ahsoka on trial. Expelled by the order, she faces a military tribunal and the penalty of death as Anakin daringly tries to rescue his former Padawan as he hunts down the mastermind on his own, discovering that an old enemy might just be the best friend he has. 

Court room designed pretty colorful for a Sith Lord,
don't you think?

What this episode achieved is both a real good take on the Republic’s corruption as it is the main theme of the prequels and second, delivering the answer of Ahsoka’s ultimate fate. Well, not quite. 

ARC REVIEW (not to be read as an “ARK reactor” as that is Iron Man’s tale or an ARC trooper for that):

Stunning visuals.

What this arc mostly does is being a reference to old classics such as “The Fugitive”, “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and so on. Delivering suspense nearly the whole time, these episodes are ending speculations about whether Ahsoka dies or lives at the end of this season. And as advertised, it is an ending that involves tears. 

I like how the show put one message into four episodes and didn’t press it through for once, it felt so much more real this time around as Ahsoka had not a single chance to succeed alone and that blind trust may be the worst thing that happened to the Republic, next to its bureaucracy. Admiral Tarkin more and more becomes the bad guy we know him as later in the films, Palpatine becomes more and more Sidious-like even as the chancellor and the Jedi order suddenly fears political pressure instead of political correctness. Everything Episode III showed us is now finally becoming a reality in “TCW” which is one of the big changes the show did with these few episodes. Another one is Anakin now openly showing his dislike of the Jedi council, even into their own faces. But only Obi-Wan and Yoda seemed to have noticed that and just slightly, open for interpretation even. 

"Behold, Ahsoka, I'm the one framing you."

Ahsoka on the run was an interesting turn of events and one that allowed the show to focus on both the underground world and the Jedi philosophy changing. Brilliant animation combined with great visuals in design and atmosphere and another fantastic voice acting (introducing Tim Curry as Palpatine's new voice, did a very good job there) make this arc one of the most rememberable. Early on, we already know that a Jedi is responsible for framing Ahsoka and with the third episode it becomes quite clear who that Jedi is: none other than Ahsoka’s former friend Barriss Offee. Which comes to a surprise as of how good this show has become with age: they even change the only supporting friend in her age to be a traitor who actually is completely right about why she became like that. The Jedi order has changed and not for the better, she sees what the council does not: a corrupt senate seizing control over them and the Grand Republic failing once and for all. She is right with everything but no one would listen, so she attacked the temple and had to frame Ahsoka, possibly to even save her from the Jedi but then why would she want her to be dead? The court marshal of Ahsoka was also a fine one, sadly we didn’t see much of it, one of the very few negative points of this finale. 

"Child molester, ahhh!"

Dramatically closing the chapter of the temple attack, Ahsoka’s trust is being destroyed and Anakin’s hate grows even stronger as the bond between them stays as it always was: strong.

While the ending itself was another story: Ahsoka decided not to re-join the order (which is the right decision for the moment) and leaving it in an emotional way for herself and Anakin who will sure be more open to the dark side now after this little talk at the end. 

This was the moment where you shed tears if you’ve grown a liking to Ahsoka (and who would not) but since this is a TV series after all, I think the lead character of the show might be back for its (presumably) final season but not as a Jedi and after all, Ventress is still out there with her story not being finished either. 

While this review comes a little bit short in story terms, I just wanted to talk about the story as a whole, so here are my thoughts again: 

This arc was exceptionally well done and delivered one of the strongest performances in the show’s history, ending on a sad and realistic note that is worthy of more than just applause. Character wise this was an emotional ride where the alliances shifted and the Republic made a turn for the worse, introducing us to the darker last year of the three-year Clone conflict between Episodes II and III. And even if you’re not a big fan of “TCW”, you will like this one.
If not, well, then, you might just be no “Star Wars” fan at all. ;) 

Goodbye.

5/5 epic stars for a tale that is truly exceptional. Earned, indeed, these stars are.