Tag Archives: Series

Masters of Sex (Pilot)

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Masters of SexRoze-Verdict: Its premise will attract viewers for all the right reasons, it’s a 50’s period piece exploring social themes of that era, with Mad Men coming to an end soon this may be the perfect series to turn to for our 50s – 60s cravings.

The series follows protagonists Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson who we know in present day as the pioneers of human sexuality. Based on the biography by Thomas Maier “Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love”, we are taken on their journey as the duo risk their reputation and careers for science.

Starring;

  • Michael Sheen as William H. Masters
  • Lizzy Caplan as Virginia E. Johnson
  • Caitlin Fitzgerald as Libby Masters
  • Teddy Sears as Dr. Austin Langham
  • Nicholas D’Agosto as Dr. Ethan Haas
  • Beau Bridges as Provost Barton Scully
  • Allison Janney as Margaret Scully, Scully’s wife

The premise is entertaining, exploring a subject that almost everyone is curious about except it is taken from a time where sex was taboo, only meant for love and creating life. This makes it a hell of a lot more interesting and thought provoking as we get a genuine insight on the ideologies that society had given women and men about family, love and sex.

The title itself would attract enough viewers to make this successful because sex sells I suppose, as we all have our inner pervert. I’m happy to say that my genitalia did not have any input in watching the pilot (a first). I wasn’t surprised to find that it was a great pilot keeping me interested and entertained til the very end. It has a lot of potential and I’m looking forward to binge watching the rest of the season once it ends next month.

Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan look brilliant together, they seemed to gel really well in the pilot. It wasn’t just an instant connection but they gradually grew into this team who played off each other’s passion for the science of sex believably. Of course we’re left wondering where the next episodes will take us and what formula will be used but there’s a lot of potential for quite an entertaining chemistry between the two assuming they don’t take too much of a serious approach. Sheen performs as a cold, emotionless, egotistical doctor passionate about his work. He’s not a bad person, just too absorbed in his research. Caplan plays an unfamiliar character for her, as we see her cast as party girls and rebellious women, so this character should be a great challenge and way to push her acting abilities to its limit. her character is a strong woman driven by what she wants. Different from the women in those times who knew their place in society. A scene where she retaliates when getting hit by a man says a lot about her personality.

The pilot gave us a look at a few of the themes they may explore during the season. We get a glimpse of racial discrimination, pressures of having a family and the opinions of sex during the 50s. Most of all, I think the main theme will be women. As we hear both main characters explaining how their research will benefit women the most, for medicine and recreation. It’s an exciting time for women as they have just been given the right to vote and now the truth about female sexuality can overshadow society’s preconceptions on the matter.

Great pilot, only negative I think was the music. It felt out of place since it was quite modern but that is just my opinion. I like how Mad Men would stick to their time periods music, it really made you feel like you were there.

Hello Ladies (Season 1)

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Roze-Verdict: If you’re a fan of Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant projects then this awkward, cringy-worthy piece of comedy will find a place in your heart.

Hello Ladies follows Stuart Pritchard an Englishman hoping to find the woman of his dreams in the city of Angels, only problem is that his standards maybe too high for his own good.

Starring;

  • Stephen Merchant as Stuart Pritchard
  • Christine Woods as Jessica Vanderhoff
  • Nate Torrence as Wade Bailey
  • Kevin Weisman as Kives
  • Kyle Mooney as Rory

I was pretty psyched when I came across this show on the world wide web, finally a show where Steve Merchant isn’t cast behind Ricky Gervais’s shadow (despite his height). Seemed like it was a bout time that he got a chance to star in something as the lead. Merchant has this typical British brand of humor which I can’t get enough of, he’s charismatic and incredibly witty which comes through in this comedy. Although maybe not as confidently as his British shows, which is fair enough due to a new target audience. It would be completely understandable if an American was to hate this show because this form of awkward, cringy, comedy with and anti-hero is quite unusual. I just hope it gets the chance for at least a second season.

It’s more than just a comedy, it has a lot of sad moments due to its relatable theme. We get a lot of moments where we might think “I’ve been there”, I mean we all get lonely and this show brings out a lot of those unpleasant memories. Luckily we get the chance to repress these memories during scenes where we can think at least it wasn’t as bad as that (Merchant having to buy drinks for a group of strangers in his efforts to pick up a girl, ouch). I find the sad scenes quite humbling at times because I can reflect off it ultimately turning into something I value a lot in the show.

The jokes are smart and sometimes slapstick, very rarely cheap which is refreshing to see. I quite like cheap laughs because I laugh at almost anything involving genitalia so I don’t complain but when you laugh at something which you either have never seen or rarely see, it makes it a lot more funnier and you feel good about it after. At first during the first couple of episodes I didn’t quite like that combination of comedy and drama within a show but when you accept it then you enjoy it for what it is.

As for sub plots and other characters, they hold up well and have a lot of potential if season 2 does go through. I wouldn’t say they were all engaging in this season but if there’s laughs then a comedy is a success in my eyes. Of course we all have different tastes in comedy, but if you’ve never heard of Steve Merchant and you want a good “what not to do” guide to dating then this would be a good place to start.

Brooklyn Nine Nine (Pilot – Episode 6)

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Roze-Verdict: If you find “stupid” funny and weirdly witty jokes funny, then it’s a MUST WATCH.

Plot: Detective Jake Peralta is one of the best in his department showing his love for putting away bad guys and solving puzzles. The only puzzle he hasn’t solved, is how to grow up. Once a new captain is appointed to the department, Peralta has to learn to respect the rules.

Starring;

  • Andy Samberg as Detective Jake Peralta.
  • Stephanie Beatriz as Detective Rosa Diaz.
  • Terry Crews as Sergeant Terry Jeffords.
  • Melissa Fumero as Detective Amy Santiago.
  • Joe Lo Truglio as Detective Charles Boyle.
  • Chelsea Peretti as Administrator Gina Linetti.
  • Andre Braugher as Captain Ray Holt.

I didn’t even know Andy Samberg had a comedy show coming out up until I saw the Jame Franco Comedy Central Roast, and watched him get constantly roasted about it getting cancelled within the first month (LOL). I knew I had to watch it especially after Samberg’s hilarious “roast”, I don’t think many people got it but he totally channeled into my sense of humor which is why I was pretty stoked that his brand of humor totally comes out in Brooklyn Nine Nine.

I think there was a lot of negativity about this show, just because so many shows get cancelled every year and why would this be different right. From the pilot alone I’m expecting some great things from the show. First of all the cast is awesome, we have the likes of Andy Samberg, Chelsea Peretti and Joe Lo Truglio who rarely fail to get laughs and their combo of funny is a match of gods. That is if their brand of humor resonates with you. The mix of overconfident, immature, boorish, eccentric behavior that exudes when their characters clash makes for a lot of funny situations and jokes. We also have Terry Crews who is a legend for many reasons, first being his sensual peck flexing and of course his badassness in general. We are also gifted with the casting of some lesser known actors who have just as big roles as the others, not breaking stride.

I think for a comedy series to be successful it needs to have an ensemble cast so that there’s a lot to play with in terms of character development and subplots. A lot more ideas can be generated when there’s more characters than just a few, this way we aren’t getting the same old generic episode plots. Of course there are the likes of “Two and a Half Men” and “2 Broke Girls” which seem to thrive but eventually the characters get dull. What I like about Brooklyn Nine Nine is that we’re given a large cast of different personalities and characteristics which opens up a massive door of joke opportunities which they utilize successfully making for a hilarious show. The characters are likable and interesting resulting in a fun and relaxing watch.

Based on the pilot I thought that each episode would present a case that the characters would have to solve, which posed a problem for me. If they were to go in that direction, 1) 21 minutes is not enough to sell a smart-ish crime plot, 2) what’s stopping it from becoming a carbon-copy of CSI but in spoof form and 3) eventually it would get boring. Luckily the show doesn’t emphasize too much on the crime solving but more on the wacky office antics.

If I was to find a description for Brooklyn Nine Nine, I would say it’s a cross between Archer and The Office with an awesome theme tune (not an overstatement). Just because we have a protagonist who feels he can do what he wants for being the best, who is surrounded by odd sometimes incompetent colleagues and the one perfectionist (Lana = Santiago). But then we have the humor of The Office and borderline Family Guy because, well a lot of the time they’re in the office doing a lot of dumb crap.

Archer (Season 1-2)

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Archer_partyingRoze-Rating: Give it a go

I find it hard to start watching series regardless of how good it may be because it’s quite a big commitment. It may seem like I’m over thinking it but I know that once I’m hooked, I’m totally HOOKED, and watching 50 odd minute episodes when there’s 4 or more seasons just seems too intimidating. Which is why I tend to watch comedy series only cause I know I can get three episodes in within an hour without feeling guilty and unproductive, even if I am a lazy ass, it’s still nice to think otherwise (sigh).

Anyways, I scoured the world wide web for a new series to watch which was guaranteed to be funny and entertaining and found Archer. It had pretty good responses and I’m a big fan of family guy and south park so animation wasn’t a problem. Although when I checked it out on youtube I was almost put off because the animation seemed odd compared to other animated comedies, but after watching it I have gladly retreated from that opinion. I think it’s hard to rate a series because it’s all down to an individuals taste, and once you watch an episode you can decide if it’s for you or not, unlike a film where once you’ve committed to it, you will most likely watch it all, especially if your in the cinema. It would take one shitty movie for someone to walk out after spending all that money. Good thing I lived in a country where the cinema wasn’t expensive at all, because I would have been pissed if I spent 17 NZ Dollars (5.300 OR) on “Blonde and Blonder”, last time I will let my penis pick the movie.

So I’ve managed to get through two seasons of Archer within a week with the third one to go, and I just had to review it and somehow show my support because I don’t think enough people know about this series, and it is a god damn injustice to this piece of comedy gold. I don’t understand how show’s like “Mad Love” get 8 odd million viewers per episode in America, and Archer only gets 1 million. Don’t get me wrong, those typical sitcom’s with live audiences can be some of the funniest crap on TV but I think they are making sitcom’s for the sake of it now. Yes back to Archer, it ticks off all the boxes for a good comedy series and as the series progress there are significant changes with every episode which improve on the last. Which is a testament to the creators I think for noticing its faults and making it even better than before.

So it’s about a secret agency ISIS which is no where near it’s prime, employing people which other agencies would consider liabilities. The agency is run by Malory Archer (Jessica Walter), mother of the protagonist Sterling Malory Archer (Refered to as Archer), code name “Duchess” (H. Jon Benjamin) who is an alcohol addicted, sex crazed, cocky, mommy’s boy. The craziness ensues as a result of Archer’s actions or at the behest of his sexual active mother. Of course to aid the already hostel environment that the mother-son relationship provides, we have a group of ISIS employee’s who are just as crazy as the next character. With some big names playing the characters, there’s little that can go wrong. We have Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell) a comptroller for ISIS who is perceived as a pretty normal character at first, but just wait, those first impressions will change immensely. Cheryl Tunt (Judy Greer) a… well she’s into some crazy shit and doesn’t have the intelligence to hide it like other closet fetish addicts are. Doctor Algernop Krieger (Lucky Yates) is one of the more mysterious characters as it takes awhile to figure him out and what kind of “crazy” he is. Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler) definitely one of the sanest characters and the best looking, it’s amazing how cartoons can look sexy, maybe that’s the pervert in me, but she does have some nicely animated… assets. Anyways her ambition and jealously towards Archer’s special treatment from his mother get the best of her at times. Lastly we have Pam Poovey (Amber Nash) who is probably one of the most weirdest and sickest characters you will see on television, but it’s hilarious in the best of ways. She prides herself for her incompetent ability of keeping secrets and having no feminine bone in her. The one thing each character has in common is that they are all unhealthily addicted to sex, but it’s not the worst addiction to have, waaaaay.

A good description of Archer would be if James Bond and Maxwell Smart made a baby and that baby was put in an environment similar to “The Office” while keeping the threats and thrills of a 007 agent. At first you will criticize the series for lacking in the James Bond-esque action and situations, but by the time you get into the second season you will notice how much its improved in terms of action while staying true to its humor. The animation also adds to the charm of Archer, and really backs up the dialogue where most of the humor comes from of course. It’s also quite unique and sets itself apart from other animated comedies, it gives it a darker and cruder side, which a lot of the humor ends up being. If you haven’t seen Archer, it’s definitely worth a watch. Enjoy.

The Expatriate (2012)

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expatriateRoze-Rating: 2 / 5

This film is set in Europe about an ex CIA operative who is looking to move on with his past life of violence and concentrate on being a good father. All that suddenly changes when Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) and his daughter Amy (Liana Liberato) narrowly miss a hit murder while they were at the hospital over night. Due to the following day’s strange events, they realise that something has gone terribly wrong, and they may be in the middle of a termination plan as an attempt to cover up a government conspiracy. This also proves to be a time where father and daughter get to know each other even more, but maybe not for the best.

This was clearly a hit and miss film. It overall lacked originality, as you got the sense that it was going to be a Jason Bourne type film. The start may have resembled the Bourne films, but the rest was certainly not. From watching the trailer, you get the sense that it’s going to be an action spy thriller, with some decent action scenes, but this film didn’t seem to offer anything vital, especially to the genre it boasts. Usually with films like this, you expect it to at least shine at something, but this film honestly doesn’t, in terms of the genre, there aren’t any memorable action scenes, characters or quotes.

The film lacked memorable action scenes, and when they did come around, they were short, lacked conviction and didn’t offer any thrills. The character Aaron Eckhart had to play was showcased as an extremely intelligent CIA operative trained to kill, despite this impressive range of skills, the film makers didn’t use any of it to their advantage in any scenes, which made the character seem a lot less impressive and ultimately unrelatable. People want to see a bad ass agent go nuts and partake in crazy secret agent stuff, so that they can go home and think “I wish I was him”, but this character left so little to desire. There was also another problem I had with the film, the hit-men featured to “terminate” their objective were incredibly sloppy and lacked finesse, which are characteristics you wouldn’t expect from a man in that career. This just made the film a lot less believable, because as a professional killer, it would be pretty poor to be spraying bullets everywhere and hitting everything BUT the target intended, so I couldn’t take that aspect seriously.

When it comes down to the plot, there were too many links to Aaron Eckharts character to fully understand who he was involved with, which made it seem like it was made complicated for the sake of it without making it seem intelligent and concise. This made it very confusing at points, and in the end, it really wasn’t worth the brain power and confusion just for something quite petty.

The one bright spark of this film is the female role of Liana Liberato, playing Amy Logan, who was incredibly solid and did her role well. It was nothing more than just solid because the script didn’t leave her much to play with, but this film may give her the opportunity to test that acting skill in the future.

Ultimately for a film of this genre, there should have been more action, a lot more intelligence in terms of the plot and its characters and just a proper emotional connection between audience and character. Positive is that the two main characters pulled out a couple of good performances, but even they couldn’t save such a script.