Monday, September 22, 2014

'Falling Skies' Season Three (2013)

Starring Noah Wyle, Will Patton and Moon Bloodgood
Created by Robert Rodat
Trailer

Life has changed considerably at the rebel camp of Charleston, SC. The surviving humans, now led by former history professor Tom Mason (Noah Wyle), have allied themselves with a group of rebel alien Skitters as well as another race from the stars, the Volm. Over the past seven months since the arrival of the Volm, the three groups have run joint missions attacking Skitter posts and liberating the Skitters' slave labor force - Earth's children.

Commander of the 2nd Mass, Dan Weaver (Will Patton) is now a high-ranking military official. He doesn't quite trust the Volm, and that finds him oddly in agreement with Pope (Colin Cunningham) who has taken to joining rebel raids as well as running his own bar and trading post in the revived Charleston. But Tom has struck up a friendship with the leader of the Volm, nicknamed Cochise (Doug Jones), and the two have begun construction of a weapon the Volm promise will strike a decisive blow against the Skitters.

But all the while, something is wrong with Tom's son, Hal (Drew Roy). He's having strange nightmares of an affair with Karen (Jessy Schram), the new overlord of the Skitters' east coast operations. And there's a mole hidden somewhere within Charleston, a murderer and saboteur no one can identify. Hal thinks he might be the mole, and worse, he's not sure if he can stop himself.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

'Falling Skies' Season Two (2012)

Starring Noah Wyle, Will Patton and Moon Bloodgood
Created by Robert Rodat
Trailer

Three months after the failed attack on the alien structure in Boston, former history professor Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) mysteriously reappears. Unfortunately for his friends in the 2nd Mass, this is not quite the happy reunion, less so when they discover some kind of tracking device buried in his skull.

But Captain Dan Weaver (Will Patton) does welcome him back, just as his sons Hal (Drew Roy), Ben (Connor Jessup) and Matt (Maxim Knight). Over the last three months, Ben's strange powers have grown. Despite his efforts to fight alongside the 2nd Mass, many still don't trust him. Now they don't trust his father, either.

Forced to leave Boston, the 2nd Mass receives word of a human encampment and a growing army in Charleston, South Carolina. The road along the way will not be easy: the alien Skitters are hunting the 2nd Mass all along the way. But there's a new ripple: some of the Skitters have declared rebellion against their overlords. The only problem is, the humans aren't sure they can be trusted.

Friday, September 19, 2014

'Falling Skies' Season One (2011)

Starring Noah Wylie, Moon Bloodgood and Will Patton
Created by Robert Rodat
Trailer

Aliens have arrived. And they are not friendly. The first wave of attacks was devastating, knocking out machines and electronics all over the world. The second wave targeted the cities and military. In less than six months, humanity has fallen.

History professor Tom Mason (Noah Wylie) is a resistance fighter with the 2nd Massachusetts after Earth was invaded by the malevolent aliens the humans call "skitters." He fights to keep his two young sons Hal (Drew Roy) and Matt (Maxim Knight) safe, though Hal is now old enough to be a fighter himself.

The 2nd Mass is led by Captain Dan Weaver (Will Patton), and after being run out of Boston by the skitters, takes refuge in an abandoned high school in Acton. From there, they prepare for a guerrilla strike against the skitters, who have been capturing human children and attaching strange bio-mechanical devices to their spines. Removing these harnesses kills the children, until a resistance doctor figures out the secret to getting them off safely.

Tom's third son, Ben (Connor Jessup) has been taken by the skitters and fitted with a harness. When Ben is found working as a slave in a hospital not too far from the 2nd Mass' camp, Tom and the others make a bold move to rescue them. But Ben and the other children aren't quite the same after their rescue. Ben displays enhanced strength and stamina, while his friend Rick (Daniyah Ysrail) shows more sinister characteristics. Whose side is he on? Will his secret derail the resistance's plan to strike a major blow against the skitters in the heart of Boston?

Thursday, September 18, 2014

"A Walk Among the Tombstones" (2014)

Starring Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens and Brian "Astro" Bradley
Written and directed by Scott Frank
Rated R - Violence, strong language
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Trailer

Matthew Scudder (Liam Neeson) is a former New York cop and a recovering alcoholic. Not quite a private detective, he does "favors" for people who, in return, give him "gifts." One night he's approached by someone from his AA group who says his brother is in need of some help. That brother, Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens), turns out to be a drug trafficker and someone has just murdered his wife.

It seems Kenny's wife was kidnapped, and when Kenny paid the ransom, his wife was returned to him - cut up into little tiny bags. Against his better judgment, Scudder takes the case.

But the more he looks into it, the murkier things seem to get. It seems Kenny's wife isn't the only victim. It seems, somehow, that the DEA is involved. It seems, somehow, that even the other victims have secrets. And the killers have already identified their next target.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

'Hannibal' Season Two (2014)

Starring Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelson and Laurence Fishburne
Developed by Bryan Fuller
Trailer

Criminal profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) is in custody, accused of being a serial killer. The real killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelson), has now taken Will's place at the FBI, assisting Special Agent Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) in catching brutal murderers along the East Coast.
While Will awaits trial, Jack is under investigation for his mishandling of Will, perhaps he is even to blame for the murders Will is accused of committing. Will maintains his innocence, telling anyone who'll listen (or won't) that the man they really want is Hannibal Lecter. 

With the bodies piling up, Jack, Will and Hannibal play a dangerous game. One of them or all of them might be killers. And none of them can trust each other.

Monday, September 15, 2014

'The Walking Dead' Season Four (2013)

Starring Andrew Lincoln, David Morrissey and Norman Reedus
Developed by Frank Darabont
Executive Producers Robert Kirkman, David Alpert, Scott Gimple, Greg Nicotero, Tom Luse and Gale Anne Hurd
Trailer

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) has settled into the quiet life of a farmer. He and his son Carl (Chandler Riggs) are now just citizens of a small community of survivors living inside a fortified prison. Inside the prison, danger is brewing. A strange sickness threatens everyone inside, and soon after two of their own are found murdered, one of which is Karen, Tyreese's girlfriend. The disease forces Tyreese (Chad Coleman), Michonne (Danai Gurira), Darryl (Norman Reedus) and Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) to seek out medicines at a veterinary college. Meanwhile, Rick decides he has to deal with the culprit - his close friend, Carol (Melissa McBride) - by expelling her from the prison before Tyreese returns and learns the truth.

Outside the fences, hordes of flesh-hungry undead wander the countryside. But they're not alone: The Governor (David Morrissey) survived his last encounter months earlier with Rick and the others, and has gathered a new group of supporters to his cause. These people are desperate. They are well-armed. And Rick has something they want: a strong fence.

Monday, September 1, 2014

"Oldboy" (2013)

Starring Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Sharlto Copley
Written by Mark Protosevich
Directed by Spike Lee
Rated R - Violence, language, nudity, sex
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Trailer (Red Band)

Joe (Josh Brolin) is a drunk. One night after missing his daughter's birthday party and screwing up an important meeting with a client, Joe wakes up in what at first appears to be a motel room. But he quickly learns it is, in fact, a prison cell. A cell in which Joe spends the next twenty years. Over those years, Joe manages to avoid going insane (barely) and eventually quits drinking and gets himself into shape in the hopes of finding his young daughter, Mia.

One day, his wish is granted and Joe wakes up having been released into the outside world, of which he knows only what he's managed to see on TV over the years. He's given money, clothes and a cell phone that he doesn't quite understand how to use. He hooks back up with his old friend Chucky (Michael Imperioli), who owns a bar, and meets a young nurse named Marie (Elizabeth Olsen) who helps him recover his health.

Soon enough, Joe is out for revenge. He wants to know who put him in a box for twenty years, and why. And he'll kill or hurt anyone who gets in his way. Unfortunately for Joe, he's not the hunter... he's the hunted. He just doesn't know it yet.