Grimm 1.15: "Island of Dreams"

Last week's episode of Grimm is one of the best things ever! Seriously! Heading into the home stretch of season one, this episode revisits Renard's (Sasha Roiz) connection to the hexenbiest Adalind (Claire Coffee), who hasn't been seen since "Danse Macabre" (episode five). The episode opens with a fascinating scene between Adalind and Renard discussing the merits of a classic painting -- Renard lets drop the tantalizing clue that he, or his family, used to own the piece, leaving his statement just vague enough that it's unclear if he's referring to himself or his family in the general, historical sense. Between this conversation and the exchange between Renard and the parole officer in "Last Grimm Standing," it's clear, I think, that the Captain hails from some group that is considered royalty in the Wesen community -- perhaps they still are. I'm dying for some specifics, though -- I need the who, what, when, where and why of everything involving Renard, but at the same time gah!! -- the mystery is part of his appeal. Thoughts on Renard? Is he some sort of immortal, just long-lived, and what kind of royalty? Because this guy's got class, even if he is morally ambiguous... :)

So anyways, Adalind's back and she's still supposed to make Hank (Russell Hornsby) fall in love with her, because according to Renard, HANK is the key to neutralizing Nick, who is the THREAT. Go figure. (I thought the way to a man's heart was through his stomach? Apparently in Grimm it's through his friends... *wink*) So she goes off with a vial of Hank's blood, and cut to the crime of the week -- two junkies (who turn out to be Skalengeck, which are freaky lizard people) are inhaling their current drug of choice which sends them into an absolute frenzy. High on whatever it is lizard people get high on, they head to the Wesen spice shop to raid the owner's supplies. The smash and grab robbery does not go well as the owner, Freddy (Randy Schulman) fights back, morphing into a fox and taking a piece out of one thief's leg before getting shot. When Hank and Nick (David Giuntoli) show up to investigate (because at this point I think they are the only detectives in Portland), the violence of the robbery and murder suggest more than just a theft gone awry -- perhaps the owner was dealing in black market goods (of course I think Hank would be pretty horrified to discover the shop owner used to deal in human gallbladder, etc.!).

The shop owner's next of kin turns out to be a woman named Rosalee (Bree Turner). She claims to know nothing about any illegal substances her brother may have been selling on the side, but agrees to examine the inventory and let Nick know if she finds anything suspicious. When Nick escorts her back to the shop he discovers she's a Fuchsbau (fox) like her brother, and she realizes that he's a Grimm, and is completely taken aback by the idea that he'd want to help a Wesen get justice. I love how overall she's so unfazed by the reveal of Nick's identity -- cautious, to be sure, but more curious than freaked out. It's about time Nick started building some useful bridges in the Wesen community (don't get me wrong, having the refrigerator guy & his ilk falling all over themselves to stay on Nick's good side is a humorous development, but I seriously doubt the skittish, rodent-type Wesens would be useful allies in a fight). *wink* 

Apparently the Adalind/Hank portion of this episode is loosely based on the fairy tale "Donkey Cabbages" (yes, really). This is the riveting tale of some guy who falls in love with a young witch who emotionally manipulates him in order to steal his fortune (and then he ends up getting turned into a donkey). In this incarnation of the story, Adalind bakes Hank some very special cookies, cookies that only HE can eat. Hank is of course flattered by Adalind's apparent interest, and gigantic cookies are always a win, right? The more he eats them, the more he becomes obsessed with Adalind, seeing her everywhere, to the point that it impacts his work. It seems that in short order she'll be able to get him to do anything she wants -- the only question being, what exactly is Renard's end game here in wanting to control Hank?

So the Hank plot is all well and good but frankly, the least interesting aspect of this episode -- I'm all about Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) meeting Rosalee. :) Nick recruits Monroe to help identify any substances in the spice shop that a Wesen would consider worth killing for -- this of course necessitates meeting the dead shop owner's sister, and Monroe is positively GOOGLY-EYED over Rosalee because he thinks she's so pretty. Excuse me while I SWOON. She of course is a little more reticent seeing as she's not used to the idea of Wesens pal-ing around with Grimms. But forget about the meet cute for a second -- there IS a drug in the shop, something Wesens like to smoke called "J" (???) that's highly addictive. So Nick and Monroe leave, the latter all "nice to meet you" and she's all "whatevs I'm GRIEVING and STRESSED," but she's about to get more stressed because the lizardy robbers return to the shop and she barely escapes with her life!! This results in a call to Nick requesting police protection -- he offers to send an officer to her house, she REQUESTS Monroe (since he gets the whole Wesen-hidden-identities thing). Monroe is ADORABLY eager to help and she's all about his nose (since Blutbads have renowned super-smellers) -- AND I LOVE THAT SHE ISN'T FALLING ALL OVER HIM. I gotta give the girl props for self-control.

At this point the Adalind's EVIL PLOT to ruin Hank collides with the spice shop murder, as Sergeant Wu (Reggie Lee) has stolen one of the magic cookies! I don't talk about Wu a lot because, let's face it, I'm distracted by MONROE, but he's always been a reliable supporting player. Anyways, since the cookies are magical HANK food, when Wu eats one he falls deathly ill with something disgusting that looks like the PLAGUE! Thankfully he was already headed to the spice shop where he meets Rosalee and Monroe, and she KNOWS AN HERBAL REMEDY. WIN!! She is one smart fox lady. :) So once Wu recovers enough to be left at his apartment, Nick and Monroe get some of Rosalee's backstory -- apparently she used to be addicted to "J," but has since resolved to stay clean (considering how wild Monroe used to be he should empathize, hmm?). She offers to help with the investigation because she wants justice for her brother (and, I think, because she's generally a good egg like Monroe!!), and leads Monroe and Nick to the Wesen equivalent of a crack house, called the Island of Dreams.

Now I completely didn't expect to be thinking of Sherlock Holmes while watching Grimm, but sometimes that's just how my mind works. The "den" is a collection of red tents -- private chambers where Wesens are all strung out on their favorite recreational drug. The atmosphere, the set-up, it all reminded me of opium dens in the Holmes stories and their film adaptations. Now Nick is no Sherlock (sorry Nick!), but I don't think it's out of line to liken Monroe to the very best kind of Watson, hmm? *wink* Anyways, Nick and Monroe find the crazy lizard people and there's all sorts of insanity and gunfire and MONROE GETS A GUN IN HIS FACE...but this is the best part, Rosalee saves him by clocking the EVIL PERP on the back of the head with a brick! And the look on Monroe's face is just PRICELESS, seriously I wouldn't put it past him to be all "marry me NOW you are AWESOME" -- but I'll take his look of shocked adoration. :)

So all's well that ends well, or is it -- Wu has apparently recovered, but after Nick leaves he starts eating sofa stuffing. I'm thinking that little twist is a nod to the whole "Donkey Cabbages" thing. But who the heck cares about magic cookies and poor Hank getting poisoned by that shrew Adalind, when you have awesome things happening like Monroe BRINGING ROSALEE FLOWERS TO THANK HER FOR SAVING HIS LIFE. And he's all adorable and slightly dorky and sweet AND DID I MENTION ADORABLE?! *happy sigh* She's decided to stay in Portland for a bit and give running her brother's shop a go -- which of course makes Monroe very happy. All I've got to say is, Grimm writers, play this one RIGHT. If she breaks Monroe's heart I don't know if I'll be able to take it. That said, I love the possibility of Monroe in love :) and of Nick gaining a second sensible ally in the Wesen world. Here's hoping this is a storyline/idea that gets more play in Season 2! :)

The Hunger Games - superwholockin edition

A Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Merlin, Hunger Games mash-up? Yes, it really exists:

Once Upon a Time 1.18: "The Stable Boy"

Well, well -- Once Upon a Time finally proved that once upon a time the Evil Queen really did have a heart, apparently. "The Stable Boy" finally delivered on the season-long promise to reveal exactly why the Queen hates Snow so much. And while overall I feel like this was a pretty solid episode, I've got to say the reason behind the Queen's grudge left me a bit underwhelmed. So let's discuss. :)

The episode opens with the caption "one week earlier," so apparently all of the Storybrooke action since episode thirteen, when Kathryn disappeared, has taken place in roughly a week's time. A lot can happen in a week here, hmm? :) Apparently before all of the Kathryn shenanigans happened, Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) met with Regina (Lana Parrilla) to cut a deal to get him out of the whole battery case he's facing in court (I kinda forgot about that, honestly). So it was his idea that planted the plan in Regina's mind for Mary Margaret to take the blame for Kathryn's disappearance/murder -- and then if a key was planted in her cell and she escaped, she'd be vaporized or something for trying to leave Storybrooke (of course that didn't turn out exactly as planned, hmm?). It boggles my mind that Regina thinks Gold is actually on her side here, because given everything we've seen this season there's going to be another side to this whole mess -- because there is most definitely no love lost between Rumple and the Queen.

Cut to Fairy Tale Land, and a younger Regina (she wears COLOR and wears here hair DOWN!) is riding her horse bareback over several jumps, having a grand ol' time as her father (Tony Perez) looks proudly on until her mother turns up, and goodness is she a buzzkill. Cora (Barbara Hershey) is a stage mother of the worst order, determined to groom her daughter to make a brilliant marriage, and if that means crushing Regina's dreams and individuality, well so be it. To Regina's credit she tries to stand up to her mother, but that only results in becoming the helpless victim of her mother's magic (which in all fairness would be rather disturbing). A couple of things here -- 1) Was there ever a time when Regina's father wasn't so SPINELESS? Seriously the guy gets on my nerves, and clearly previous episodes have proved that he is SUCH AN ENABLER when it comes to his daughter's schemes. I suppose that could be out of guilt for marrying Crazy Cora? 2) I hope the show revisits this Cora issue to show us how she became so consumed with power, since the script implies that she used to be somewhat normal... 3) Saw the stable boy love story coming a mile away -- but I loved it. If a teenage Regina (how old do we think Regina is supposed to be in the FTL scenes -- late teens, early 20s at the most?) was going to fall in love with a servant she chose an adorable one in Daniel (Noah Bean). :)

In present-day Storybrooke, David (Josh Dallas) has realized that maybe, just maybe casting aspersions on Mary Margaret's (Ginnifer Goodwin) innocence was not his most brilliant move, but the damage has been done as Emma (Jennifer Morrison) informs him that she wants no visitors, i.e. him. At the Sheriff's Station Mary Margaret wakes up to the CREEPTASTIC discovery that Regina was watching her sleep, and to her puzzlement the woman starts to tip her hand, going on and on about how she'll finally be rid of Mary Margaret for good. Cut to FTL, where Regina is having a romantic moment with Daniel, who to his credit wants their relationship out in the open but Regina fears a magical reprisal from her mother. Daniel is all TRUE LOVE FOR THE WIN, but before we can see how Regina responds a terrified girl on a runaway horse dashes by, and Regina rides to the rescue. The girl is, of course, a young Snow White (Bailee Madison), all of ten years old and clearly in awe of her rescuer. Side note: How is Madison NOT RELATED to Goodwin? Not only is their resemblance remarkably similar, but Madison just nails Goodwin's facial expressions and mannerisms. AMAZING bit of casting there...

Back to Storybrooke, and Gold/Regina discussion about ruining Mary Margaret begins to bear fruit. Mr. Gold wants his client to agree to a pre-trial interview with the prosecution, because this is supposed to reinforce the idea that she isn't a killer -- somebody tell me, is there a lot of precedence for this? Because I'm inclined to agree with Emma, the point of an interview like this seems to distinctly favor the prosecution and not the defendant. But whatevs, a law expert I most definitely am not! :P The weaselly Sidney (Giancarlo Esposito) shows up with some flowers (???) on the pretext of telling Emma he's found nothing incriminating against Regina -- we haven't seen them interact in a while but apparently she's still trusting him (SILLY GIRL). Regina then shows up with Spencer, the District Attorney, and we all know this is gonna be a train wreck because Spencer's fairy tale alter-ego is the maniacal King George (Alan Dale). During the interview Spencer is, of course, able to goad Mary Margaret into a passionate and damning admission that she wanted Kathryn gone -- and at this point I'm thinking Mr. Gold is the WORST FRIGGIN' ATTORNEY IN THE WORLD. *sigh*

Back in FTL things are really starting to go south for Regina and her stable boy boyfriend. She's horrified to learn that the girl she saved from the runaway horse is King Leopold's (Richard Schiff) daughter, and apparently her kindness has made him decide that they need to marry ASAP. Leopold has never struck me as the brightest of monarchs and this decision only reinforces that perception. *rollseyes* One heroic moment does not a good stepmother make, hmm?! Anyways, Regina is properly shocked so her MOTHER accepts the king's proposal (and he doesn't think that is weird...this guy has a terminal case of Too Stupid to Live), and then she has a proper freakout and decides she and Daniel must run away ASAP. (Side note: LOVED Regina's dress in this scene, I am a sucker for a good princess-y ball gown!) He is of course properly honorable and proposes, giving her a ring and everything (so it's a brass ring from a saddle, it's the thought that counts, right?). BUT SNOW OVERHEARS EVERYTHING, and is naturally upset because she was all into the idea of her rescuer being her new mom -- until Regina appeals to her romantic heart and extracts a promise from her that she'll tell no one her secret, because she and Daniel must run away since no one, especially her mother, will understand the depth of their love.

But Snow has a weakness, and that is missing her mother -- perfectly understandable, particularly in a young child. So when Cora starts to ask questions about Snow's friendship with Regina, who can blame the girl for wanting to believe Cora's professed good intentions? SHE'S A KID, seriously of COURSE she's going to get played by a master manipulator like Cora. And this is where I really start to question Regina's sanity, because this whole Evil Queen/Snow White grudge match came about BECAUSE A FLIPPING TEN-YEAR-OLD couldn't keep a promise? I mean REALLY REGINA. If we're going to be angry at people let's at least direct said anger at the appropriate target(s)...

In Storybrooke, Emma is quite disheartened over how bleak things are looking for Mary Margaret -- I mean things are SO BAD she's reading Henry's storybook! August (Eion Bailey) shows up to give her a pep talk about looking at the case from a new perspective (and for the record, his face is a pep talk all its own, just sayin'!). He offers to help out and really, like Emma's gonna say no to a motorcycle ride (*wink*), so they return to the spot by the toll bridge where the human heart was discovered. All of a sudden August can't walk right and starts complaining of shin splints (he's gotta be Pinocchio, right?!), but all of that is forgotten when Emma finds the piece of a broken shovel in the dirt. So whoever owns this shovel must be the culprit, right? Later Henry (Jared Gilmore) keeps a lookout while they search Regina's garage, and NO SURPRISE there's a broken shovel. Of course they can't act until Emma has a warrant -- and in that short amount of time Regina's broken shovel has been replaced, the evidence gone. Emma's only thought (and a perfectly reasonable one at that) is that she's been betrayed by August, who insists he hasn't betrayed her and that he's not lying. Between the lying thing and the shin splints...HE HAS TO BE PINOCCHIO, RIGHT?!

Of course there's still a possible connection to Rumple/Rumple's son, since the preview for next week's episode reveals that maybe, just maybe, August is in Storybrooke to try and kill Mr. Gold. Now, this could either be in revenge for some act Rumple committed in FTL, or...OR...is it possible that, given how horrified Rumple Jr. was by his father's transformation into "the Dark One" that he tries to knock him off for some reason?? I'm not willing to let go of the possibility quite yet that August could be Rumple's son, since the IMDB reveals that the title for next week's episode is "The Return" with this summary: "What happened to Baelfire, Rumplestiltskin's son, after he ran away is revealed, on the day his father became The Dark One." LET THE THEORIES COMMENCE! :)

Back in FTL, now that Cora weaselled the truth about Regina's plans out of Snow, she confronts the lovers just as they're preparing to flee. For one brief moment Cora seems to acquiesce to her daughter's deepest wish, but that was only to allow her to get close enough to Daniel to RIP HIS HEART OUT OF HIS CHEST AND CRUSH IT TO DUST. This is, admittedly, horrific, but HOW THE HECK DOES THIS TRANSLATE TO HATING A TEN YEAR OLD GIRL?! This in no way mitigages Regina's actions, to my thinking at any rate -- YES, she was obviously mentally and emotionally abused but blaming Snow for her mother's actions and manipulation is a cop-out. I'm still waiting for Graham's death to be avenged!!! Yes Once writers, I AM STILL UPSET ABOUT THAT! *whew* And anyways, in Storybrooke when Regina's whispering "we've got her Daniel" -- what the heck about Daniel makes her think he'd approve of this?! Yeesh. :P (Side note: LOVED Regina's wedding dress!)

So wrapping up...just when Emma thinks things couldn't be worse for Mary Margaret, Gold urges her to "keep the faith" -- and this is a relief because Rumple may be morally ambiguous but dangit at least he's got a sympathetic backstory!!! Emma loses it at that point and breaks the vase containing Sidney's flowers, which SURPRISE SURPRISE contains a surveillance bug!! The puzzle pieces start falling into place, leading Emma to apologize to August, which makes me ridiculously happy. And then that magic Mr. Gold mentioned happens -- Ruby (Meghan Ory) starts screaming about finding someone in the alley behind the diner -- and lo and behold it's Kathryn (Anastasia Griffith). Is she crazy now? I'm seriously hoping her time in the woods doesn't mean she was somehow programmed to blame Mary Margaret for the wreck...can't wait to see how this plays out, because after the conversation in the jail when Regina admitted she knew Mary Margaret didn't kill Kathryn, and she DIDN'T CARE, I have to think she is going to be ticked when she shows back up. Can. Not. WAIT. :)

Wrath of the Titans

This weekend I went to see Wrath of the Titans with my friends Kaye and (the sadly blog-less, ha!) Lori. Wrath is the sequel to the 2010 film Clash of the Titans, the remake of the 1981 film of the same name. Now the only thing I like about the original Clash is its little stop-motion animated monsters (they are Ray Harryhausen classics after all) -- in all other respects I prefer the remake, which turned out to be a surprisingly fun and entertaining popcorn flick.

Now Wrath is a ridiculous movie. COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS (much like its predecesssor). If you're a serious student of mythology these are most assuredly not the films for you. But if you are in the mood for an action movie, with lots of flash and spectacle (and lava, in this case), this movie delivers on that score. Of course the main reason I wanted to see it was Sam Worthington as Perseus. I think he's adorable. ADORABLE. And this movie is kind of interesting because it gives Perseus a shade or two of vulnerability. Opening ten years or so after Clash, we learn that Perseus has done his best to live a completely normal (i.e. human) life, working as a fisherman and doing the single parent thing, raising his young son Helius (John Bell) alone following the death of his wife Io (Gemma Arterton). Side note: I thought Io was immortal, but apparently when Zeus brought her back at the end of Clash she became human again? I'M OVERTHINKING THIS.

Fatherhood has apparently really mellowed Perseus out when it comes to his own father Zeus (Liam Neeson, looking remarkably like Moses), as the daddy issues that consumed Perseus for most of Clash are largely absent. Yay for father/son bonding! HOWEVER, Zeus's favorite demigod son is still reluctant to embrace his divine(r) half, even though the world is apparently going to friggin' end because the gods have fallen out of favor and that means Kronos (and all evil Titans) are going to be unleashed on the earth, destroying humanity. So all that really means is that there's NO MORE OLYMPUS and all of the gods (except Ares, Posiedon, Hades, and Zeus) are apparently already DEAD. How this came about is never really detailed, however my theory is since Luke Evans' film career (he played Apollo in Clash, the most interesting god IMO) is taking off the filmmakers figured WHAT'S THE POINT in even trying to maintain Olympus. Wrath's loss is Middle Earth's gain, lemme tell you. Also, Zeus is no longer blindingly SHINY, and this makes me sad. But whatever, I still have Sam Worthington and he is ADORABLE with curly hair, even if as Perseus, his determination to live a normal life means he has really let his fighting and winged-horseriding skills go.

Look! I am ready to play Moses!

So OF COURSE Perseus should've listened to Zeus, because weird two-headed creatures pop out of the earth and go all crazy over his fishing hamlet. Whoops. Perseus leaves his son in the care of John Thornton's mother...I mean Clea (Sinead Cusack), some random woman whose apparently become Helius's adopted grandmother. When he tries to make contact with Zeus, Poseidon (Danny Huston) shows up instead with the horrible news that Hades and Ares have made a deal with Kronos and taken Zeus prisoner, and if he wants to defeat Kronos he has to take his trident to one of his own kids, some guy named Agenor (Toby Kebbell) -- AND THEN HE TURNS TO DUST (traumatic, no?).

Somehow Pegasus knows Perseus needs him which is good because Pegasus is COOL, so Perseus rides off to find his cousin, who is apparently attached to the Greek queen's court. The queen is in the battlefield, fighting off random creeptastic creatures, and she turns out to be JANE BENNET...I mean Andromeda, only this time Andromeda is played by Rosamund Pike and not Alexa Davalos. (I didn't remember this in the theater, so when Andromeda and Perseus are making eyes at each other and dancing around the issue of this oh-so-obvious mutual attraction, I didn't remember THERE WAS A HISTORY THERE. Apparently getting saved from the Krakken inspired Andromeda to become a kick-butt warror queen. More on her in a second.) Perseus's cousin turns out to be some sort of leech or something, but that's okay because he's really good-natured and provides some comic relief. (He may look familiar to those who've seen War Horse.) He just needed A CAUSE to set him on the right path! So yay, now everyone who wants the earth to LIVE has a plan: find a way into Tartarus and FREE ZEUS (who is being drained of his powers, horrors!).

Now it's time for the quest to COMMENCE. Everybody piles on a ship (which reminds me of Jason and the Argonauts) and heads off to find the fallen god Hephaestus, because he designed Tartarus so of course he can get them in. But that's easier said than done since he lives on an island protected by Cyclopes, which is a pretty neat little action sequence (and reminds me of the second Percy Jackson novel, The Sea of Monsters, which is weird because now a period mythology film is taking its cues for a YA novel? LOL). Cue the second surprise of the movie -- Hephaestus is a wee bit crazy and he's played by Bill Nighy, AND I LOVE BILL NIGHY, so the next few scenes are awesome. Not only did Hephaestus build Tartarus in his heyday, he's responsible for the Big Three's signature weapons -- the lightning bolt (Zeus), trident (Poseidon), and pitchfork (Hades), which when combined, form the Spear of Triam which is the only thing that can defeat Kronos, and surprise, surprise, Perseus is the only one capable of wielding it.

So everybody goes to the entrance to Tartarus, and the revolving "puzzle door" entrance and the subsequent layout of the labyrinth are really pretty cool. But before we can get to the maze Ares (this time played by Edgar Ramirez) shows up, and he has become a ROYAL JERK since Clash, consumed with daddy issues since he's a god and Perseus is only HALF-god but dad likes him better and DANGIT, THAT'S NOT FAIR RIGHT?!?! Sadly Hephaestus sacrifices himself in order to give Perseus, Andromeda, and Agenor a chance to enter the maze safely, and all I've gotta say is this film had far too little BILL NIGHY. *sigh* So ENTER THE MAZE, and like I said I think the design is really quite cool, and the whole experience is very stressful for everyone since they're seeing things and the walls are trying to crush them, etc. But I can't help but feel that somewhere Theseus is upset that he got gypped out of a film deal. Whatevs, though, because Perseus takes care of that pesky Minotaur gatekeeper thingy and Zeus gets rescued BUT IT IS TOO LATE because Kronos has SUCKED OUT MOST OF ZEUS'S POWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EEEPPP!!!!

What's interesting about this movie is the overall theme of familial reconciliation and sacrifice (along with a healthy dose of family dysfunction). Hades (Ralph Feinnes), who caused all of the problems in Clash, even has a change of heart here, sacrificing a good portion of his power for his brother, and they end up having one last hurrah on the battlefield. And of course there's the issue of the problem with parental favoritism, as that clearly sent Ares off the deep end. In that respect I think Wrath improves on its predecessor by deepening its characterizations and their motivations to some extent. (Also an improvement -- the score by Javier Navarrete, who provides a more traditional, rousing adventure movie score than its predecessor got.) Of course along with that there's a lot more explosions and fighting and special effects -- and the last battle, especially, was just a bit too much. Kronos the lava monster really overwhelmed the screen, losing the human characters -- and while I realize all of that is to be expected in a movie of this type, I prefer the one-on-one confrontations, such as the final Ares vs. Perseus battle, which actually has a bit of depth to it since Perseus is fighting for his father and his son.

Hands-down the surprise of this movie is Rosamund Pike's performance as the warrior-queen Andromeda. I was really rather worried about her appearance in this movie since I'm used to her playing classy types like Jane Bennet. But I needn't have worried because she was really quite good -- she seemed to really throw herself into the role, and I have to imagine that all of the action scenes were a refreshing change from ther norm. She has the delicate beauty and demeanor of a lady, so seeing her prove an adept on the battlefield just makes her that much more awesome. :)

So slaying Kronos and seeing his daddy turn to dust has made Perseus realize that it is HIGH TIME he quits fighting the inevitable. All of this means the fishing gig is out and he needs to step up and embrace his inevitable destiny as a LEADER OF MEN. This is a handy realization because of course Amdromeda might like to make him her king if HE WOULD JUST KISS HER ALREADY...and after being egged on by Agenor, he finally makes that happen, and I am really happy about that so all is well. But then the filmmakers decide to stress me out by having Perseus give his sword to his son, and leaving me wanting to yell "don't pass the torch!!!! don't pass the flippin' torch!!!" Because people for as much fun as these two Titans movies can be, of this I am convinced...we don't need Revenge, Return, whatever of the Titans with Perseus junior. That would just be a bit too much. Leave me with the happy thought that Perseus and Andromeda are going to rule Greece and I'll be ecstatically happy . :)

Once Upon a Time 1.17: "Hat Trick"

This episode of Once Upon a Time was interesting. Not only did it serve as a reminder that this is very much a live-action Disney fairy story (because last time I checked, Alice in Wonderland was written by Lewis Carroll, who apparently is in the public domain), but more interestingly it turned everything we thought we knew about the nature of the Queen's curse on its head, showing us that there is more than one way to rob someone of their happy ending.  So let's recap: Remember when Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) found that oh-so-convenient skeleton key in her jail cell and escaped? Well now she's running whilly-nilly through the woods, BECAUSE THAT'S ALWAYS A GOOD PLAN. Henry (Jared Gilmore) has discovered that his grandmother has gone AWOL before anyone else, and he thinks this is awesome and must be Emma's doing. Poor Emma (Jennifer Morrison), who is trying to play this whole thing by the book is horrified, since running just screams "I killed my lover's wife and now I'm on the lam!" Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) helpfully reminds Emma that she only has until 8:00 am the next morning to find his client, and at this point all I think about is CARLYLE IN A SUIT! WIN!

Emma takes off looking for Mary Margaret, and she's so stressed out she nearly hits a man walking on the side of the road. After apologizing profusely (because it would look really bad if the Sheriff started bumping people off), Emma offers to give the man a ride home, who introduces himself as Jefferson (Sebastian Stan). And this is super-exciting for me because I LOVE HIM, mainly thanks to his appearances in Kings and Captain America. Also, because I think he's hot, and frankly Storybrooke needs more good-looking men.

Cut to Fairy Tale Land, and we see Jefferson used to have EVEN MORE HAIR and an adorable daughter named Grace (Alissa Skovbye) and they are DEVOTED to each other. The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) shows up and wants Jefferson to "do a job," but he's "not in that line of work anymore," and I'm thinking YOU'RE THE FREAKING MAD HATTER, why are you talking like you used to be a mob hitman or something? Jefferson clearly realizes the Queen is not to be trusted, but she knows his greatest weakness, promising that if he does this ONE THING he'll be able to provide for his daughter like she deserves, instead of relying on HONEST MUSHROOM SALES IN THE MARKET. He's so gonna cave... *sigh*

Back in Storybrooke, Emma discovers that Jefferson has ONE SWEET HOUSE! Since he's still limping and all she helps him inside, and then he offers to get her some tea and a map of the area to help in her search (for a lost dog, not a fugitive, ha!). So the tea thing is a nice touch, and the camera work in this scene is excellent -- because as Emma starts to realize she's been drugged, the scene takes on a trippy quality, the feel I've always associated with Alice in Wonderland. But lest we think Jefferson is a completely evil loon, cut back to FTL and the Queen, disguised as an old hag, humiliates Jefferson when he tries to buy a stuffed toy for Grace, but doesn't have enough money to meet her asking price. Side note: I thought it was interesting that we get a quick glimpse of the Mirror (Giancarlo Esposito), so apparently the Queen carries that with her EVERYWHERE (probably because it's her only BFF).

Meanwhile in Storybrooke, Emma wakes up TIED UP and shows a nice measure of resourcefulness by crushing a tea cup and using the broken shards to slice through her bonds. While she's trying to escape she discovers that Jefferson has been spying on the Sheriff's office, so now he's not only crazy he's a STALKER. One thought that hit me as Emma is trying to navigate her way out of Jefferson's home is that in this scene, she is very much like Alice navigating Wonderland, never sure what's behind any given door -- the crazed homeowner sharpening a pair of scissors or your missing fugitive Mary Margaret gagged and tied to a chair (jail is looking pretty good now, hmm?? though really she should be thanking Sebastian for saving her life, since he tied her up to keep her from leaving Storybrooke and vaporizing or something). Mary Margaret is FREAKING OUT, but at least she gets to tell Emma she only escaped because someone left her a flippin' key. Before they can escape Jefferson finds them, forcing Emma at gunpoint to tie Mary Margaret back up because he needs her to do a job, something only she can do -- I think it was at this point that I realized he knows, and knowing is his own special version of hell in the aftermath of the Queen's curse.

In FTL, Jefferson makes Grace a stuffed toy to make up for the marketplace debacle, and then sends her to stay with some nice neighbors -- the dope has decided he has to take advantage of the Queen's request for one final job. I LOVE how devoted Jefferson is to his child -- Stan was an excellent choice to play this wounded, angst-ridden character. Here's hoping the writers have more appearances planned for him in future episodes. Anyways, we finally get to see what Jefferson can do when he accepts the Queen's offer in return for a promise securing his daughter's future care. Apparently the Hatter's signature top hat is capable of magical travel properties! It's like a wormhole or a TARDIS! They jump into the spinning hat, which takes them to a corridor filled with portals -- one leads to Wonderland, so the implication is that the others lead to an infinite number of fairy tale-related worlds? VERY INTERESTING. Jefferson is clearly loathe to be there, and when the first creature they encounter is that stupid hookah smoking caterpillar and Jefferson says "I hate Wonderland," all I could think of is well I couldn't agree more. :P

As the Wonderland storyline continues, Jefferson and the Queen come upon a maze belonging to the Queen of Hearts -- this whole trip is about stealing a box, a box that looks remarkably similar to those heart boxes in the Queen's own vault. THE PLOT THICKENS! There's a nice chase scene as Heart's soldiers attempt to capture the intruders, and we get to see EQ do actual magic type things for the first time in a while. Just when escape back to FTL is looking assured, the Queen stops, opens the box, and resurrects her father (Tony Perez) from within with some magical mushroom!!! Poor Jefferson has been played (again, why didn't he see this coming?! silly man!!!) as only two can leave Wonderland since only two entered. HE IS DOOMED. This is awful, just awful, because he is so devoted to his kid -- but it gets WORSE because the Queen of Hearts pulls her famous "off with his head" routine, and then sticks it back on, and forces Jefferson to make hats until he goes CRAZY because she wants a portal-jumping magic hat too.

In Storybrooke, Jefferson reveals that he's spent the last 28 years fully aware of the curse, and only since Emma's arrival have things started to change in the town -- which to his mind means she's capable of magic. Of course this all sounds completely nuts to Emma, especially when he pulls the whole "I need you to make me a magic hat" demand. The subsequent scenes between Emma and Jefferson are surprisingly moving -- he's desperately trying to get her to see, to accept, to open her heart to the idea of two realities and the heartbreak he lives with in Storybrooke, where he's doomed to live near his daughter (now named Paige) but cannot be a part of her life because she has no memory of him. Emma is extraordinarily empathetic, even going so far as to mention that IF his story is true, then Mary Margaret is her mother, the family she craves and has been denied all of her life. For one second I thought Emma's actually been thinking about Henry's theories, but then she killed all that by clocking Jefferson on the head and making a run for it. In the fight that ensues Mary Margaret ends up kicking Jefferson and the hat Emma made out of a window -- and then he disappears. My thinking is Emma's "magic" actually worked, and the hat sent him back to FTL -- thoughts?

After all of this unexpected excitement, Emma offers to let Mary Margaret run -- but ultimately its her rare moment of complete vulnerability that convinces Mary Margaret to stay (cue MOTHER/DAUGHTER HUG!). The good news then, is that Mary Margaret is back in jail in time for her arraignment, much to Regina's chagrin. THIS leads to the reveal that she's been conspiring with Mr. Gold (say it ain't so, Rumple!) to get Mary Margaret out of Storybrooke. I have to think Gold has a different end game in mind than Regina thinks...the question is what exactly?! THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME HERE. The best scene, though? Now that Emma finally has room to breathe she goes and visits Henry, who confirms that the girl Jefferson claimed was his daughter is actually named Paige (I guess she assumed he was making that up?). This gets her to actually leaf through Henry's book where she finds Jefferson's Hatter story -- and she's SHOCKED. It's too soon to say she believes but at least she's finally intrigued, hmm? AT LAST. :)

Grimm 1.14: "Plumed Serpent"

"Plumed Serpent" is one of my favorite Grimm episodes this season -- twisty and inventive and just plain cool. :) According to the official website, this episode takes its inspiration from the tale "The Two Brothers," about two young men seeking their fortunes -- and along the way one facing down a dragon. Personally I thought this hour felt a bit like a story of knights of old battling dragons to save their lady fair -- almost Arthurian in its sensibility.

This episode opens with two men breaking into an warehouse to steal copper. It looks like someone else has beaten them to the score, and they briefly consider moving on when they hear coughing. WHY THEY MOVE TOWARDS THE NOISE IS BEYOND ME, as the spray from the coughing (ewww) is IGNITED, torching the two thieves to basically nothingness. When Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) arrive at the scene, it's clear there is some sort of wildly powerful accelerant in play, which, upon analysis, turns out to be a mixture of HUMAN FAT AND METHANE. (This show can be so twisty, I love it!) This brings up an interesting question about the show -- how long has Nick been on the Portland police force, and did super-strange things like this only start happening after he "inherited" his Grimm abilities from Marie? And is anyone wondering about this uptick in bizarre besides Renard (Sasha Roiz)? LOL!

When a witness to the break-in comes forward, they ID a horribly scarred homeless guy as the possible perpetrator. This is conveniently followed by news of another break-in at the warehouse, so of course Nick & Hank & company go to investigate. There they encounter the homeless guy who Nick sees transform into a scaly, incredibly cool-looking humanoid dragon, who then coughs up spit and ignites it, nearly TORCHING PORTLAND'S FINEST! Now I'm not entirely sure how the liquid fat sample they collect at the scene leads them to identify the man as Frank Eberhart (Don Alder), but whatevs. Interestingly enough Frank was a welder, who comes from a long line of men who used fire throwers in the military (I LOVE how this show incorporates the fantastical into real life, especially in a case like this that works so well because it makes so much sense). Nick discovers that Frank has a daughter, Ariel (Danielle Panabaker), who works at a club where it turns out she's a -- wait for it -- FIRE DANCER (is this actually a thing at clubs? just wondering...).

At the club Nick's surprised to see Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), looking particularly dashing in a vest and tie (!!) -- apparently Monroe does cut loose every once in a while, hmmm? *wink* During Ariel's performance she transforms into a dragon creature -- Monroe helpfully explains that they are actually Daemonfeuers, dragonlike creatures who convert their fat into flame (and also have a thing for copper). They are very much throwbacks to the old days of chivalry and quests -- which explains why Frank went off the rails years earlier, when his wife died in a fire and he failed to protect her. Ariel is apparently really turned on by the idea of meeting a Grimm, and claims she has no idea where her father is -- so Nick gets the bright idea of following her home, where she basically mauls him (including a kiss!!), and then causes all sorts of problems by answering Nick's phone and talking to Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch). (Side note: the set decoration for Ariel's house was FANTASTIC -- seriously everything from the sets to the costumes on this show are top-notch. Come Emmy time I hope this show gets some recognition for its visual work!)

Now this is where things get interesting -- the first time I watched this episode (the initial broadcast), I thought Ariel was first and foremost a stalker type, who went after Nick because he rebuffed her advances. But upon a second viewing, it was her determination to give her father a final grand battle that really hit me. The whole culture of this type of Wesen is really well-realized, I think -- death with honor, the great battle is valued more than hurting Nick just because he's a Grimm. I guess the bottom line is, it was a rather welcome surprise that it was these creatures who posed the greatest threat to Juliette since Nick's become a Grimm. One expects his personal life to be targeted because of Wesen animosity/distrust of Grimms, but in this episode Nick is forced into a fight because he's a useful, worthy opponent, not because he's hated for who he is -- make sense?

When Nick discovers that Juliette has been kidnapped, he turns desperate, and does what he always does -- turns to Monroe for help. At this point in the episode I'm thinking it is past time for Monroe to maybe take a self-defense class or something. I mean I know he's a Blutbad and all, but if he's going to be constantly running interference for Nick, a Grimm, with unhinged Wesen-types, well I just think he needs to be prepared. LOL! So the dragon's lair is basically an abandoned train tunnel, which is really pretty perfect because it is creepy as heck -- LOVE THIS EPISODE'S ATMOSPHERE. Things I also love: 1) Monroe geeking out about old train equipment, 2) Monroe giving the speech about the knight slaying the dragon being the old archetype of the whole relationship magilla, or something like that, 3) Monroe being HEROIC -- you see the theme here, right? ANYTHING TO DO WITH MONROE.

While Nick is taking out Ariel's CRAZY FATHER, Monroe frees Juliette -- and I cannot even begin to tell you how much I loved it when Juliette decked Ariel -- this girl's got game, LOL! Also, it is way past time that Monroe finally got to meet Juliette -- and seriously Nick, it is ridiculous that he had to put his LIFE ON THE LINE before he could meet your girlfriend. *rollseyes* Silly Grimm.

So the final explosion Ariel sets off leaves everyone thinking she's dead -- but I love the reveal at the end that she isn't. This lady is just unhinged enough to make things interesting -- and she definitely deserves an encore appearance (hopefully in season two!). This episode brings the potential stress and dangers of Nick's identity as a Grimm back into the spotlight -- and even though Juliette has no idea who her boyfriend really is, getting kidnapped is upsetting enough that she's starting to question if she can deal with Nick's job long-term. While the idea of a break-up is EXTREMELY UPSETTING, I have a feeling the show is headed towards a killer season one cliffhanger. And given the consistent uptick in overall episode quality over the course of this past year -- that is something I'm really looking forward to. :)

Femnista: The Edwardian Era

The March/April issue of Femnista is now available, and it's all about the Edwardian Era. This issue features articles on everything from Downton Abbey to L.M. Montgomery to Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth. My contribution is an article on two classic films based on the Titanic tragedy -- Titanic 1953 and A Night to Remember (1958), as well as the book by Walter Lord that inspired the latter film. Enjoy!


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The Hunger Games

I took the afternoon off today and finally went to see The Hunger Games. After finishing the novel (my review), I wasn't quite ready to rush to the theater -- I needed to "sit" on the story for a few days. I'm glad I waited -- this movie was a powerful book-to-screen adaptation, probably one of the best -- in that it is so faithful to the source material -- adaptations that I've ever seen. I suppose that is what you get when the author has a background in screenwriting and helps craft the screenplay (WIN). I'm not interested in rehashing the plot -- if you're unfamiliar with that you can check out my review. But there are points that I want to discuss, so let's go...

First of all, I LOVED the look of District 12. It's described as what once was Appalachia, remote, mountain living -- but Collins's prose is so terse, so matter-of-fact not a lot of time is spent dwelling on Katniss's home (it's just taken as a matter of fact). In the world of the film, District 12 is very Depression-era Appalachia, a bleak, rough existence. Evoking the feel of 1930s-era history is brilliant, a perfect fit for the hardscrabble, coal-mining existence that Katniss hails from. And when we're introduced to the gaudy, colorful world of the Capitol, the differences are so stark as to be horribly jarring. The line of demarcation between the haves of the Capitol and the have nots of District 12 was almost nauseating in a way.

I was incredibly impressed with Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. I've only seen her previously in X-Men: First Class (where she played the young Mystique). At only twenty-one, Lawrence has an assurance and screen presence far beyond her years. In the novel we have the luxury of being completely immersed in Katniss's thoughts and feelings, thanks to the first-person narration. I found Lawrence to be more than up for the challenge of conveying the full scope of Katniss's emotions -- her determination, fear, uncertainty, and anger. And I love the fact that she isn't your typical stick-thin starlet. Physically she was completely believe able for me -- this was a girl at home in the woods, a huntress. Lawrence can be a very expressive actress, and at her age, with the screen presence she has now -- wow, talk about a bright future.

I should probably mention Gale (Liam Hemsworth). Now I've only read the first book, so I don't even understand how there can be such a thing as "Team Gale." So for a character I was already relatively ambiguous about, Hemsworth got the job done. Though I have to say it was rather jarring seeing him without his trademark blonde hair. Oh, one development I did like as far as Gale goes in this film is that we see his troubled reaction to watching the Katniss/Peeta relationship play out during the games, something not possible in the novel.

Now that I've got that Gale person out of the way, I can talk about Peeta. I was a little concerned based on the brief glimpses of Peeta in the previews that Josh Hutcherson would come across as a little too...wooden, I think is the word I'm looking for. I was pleasantly surprised to have my fears proven groundless. Through his performance, Hutcherson grows Peeta from the baker's son, almost shell-shocked at being chosen during the Reaping, to a charismatic, engaging and most importantly, in love, youth on the verge of losing the girl he loves to the Games. I've read several reviews that feel the Katniss/Peeta screen relationship was lacking. Now while I would've always loved to see more of their slow-burning relationship, what we're given on-screen worked extraordinarily well for me. The film allows us to see Katniss's gradually dawning realization that for some reason beyond her comprehension, particularly in the context of the horrible situation they're in, Peeta matters. And Peeta quite frankly adores her, a fact that Hutcherson conveys extraordinarily well.

District 12's Games organizer is the garish Effie Banks, and Elizabeth Banks does a terrific job portraying all of her absurd extremes. And her clothes -- oh they were fantastically realized. I love love loved Lenny Kravitz as the designer Cinna (gold eyeliner and all). He was grounded, as compassionate as can be given the situation -- I was quite happy with the film's delivery of the Cinna/Katniss friendship. And his costumes were extraordinary -- girl on fire, indeed. But even more interesting to me, though, was Woody Harrelson's performance as 12's sole previous victor, the drunken Haymitch. I really liked Harrelson's performance -- in the novel, Katniss is frustrated or hostile to Haymitch much of the time, so I had a hard time getting a good sense of his character, his thoughts and perspective. And Harrelson riddles Haymitch with self-loathing, a quality he gradually puts aside as the realization that he might actually be able to save Katniss and Peeta penetrates his alcohol-clouded brain. At least that's how it hit me.

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to mention Stanley Tucci's performance as Caesar Flickerman, the interviewer and Games commentator. His mannerisms, his blue hair -- oh he was hilarious, and pretty much pitch-perfect for the role. The periodic commentary he shared with Toby Jones as Claudius Templesmith was yet another way the filmmakers took the narrative outside of Katniss's head and let us see the Games from the outside in, as it were.

Witnessing Haymitch's behind-the-scenes efforts on behalf of his tributes was one of the "added" scenes in the film, things Katniss could never know because she was locked in the arena. Frankly I thought peeking "behind the curtain" into the making and running of the Games was really pretty fascinating, and for me it succeeded in making the awful horror of the event more impactful, because of the clinical, calculated manner in which the Games are staged. Since I have yet to read Catching Fire, without giving away too many spoilers is the Gamemaker Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley -- WHAT A BEARD) introduced? I can't remember him being mentioned by name at all. Anyways -- I thought Crane's added scenes with President Snow (Donald Sutherland) were really well-done, particularly his realization at the end of the film that he isn't above being a pawn in the Capitol's plans any more than tributes. I also assume that Snow becomes a much bigger player in the second and third novels -- thanks to Sutherland's performance I already hate him. Sutherland was chilling.

I've touched on the development of the Peeta/Katniss relationship in the arena. The second most important event, to my mind anyway, is Katniss's friendship with the District 11 girl tribute Rue (Amandla Stenberg). Stenberg was SO GOOD, the ideal actress to bring Rue's vulnerability to life. Stenberg and Lawrence's scenes broke my heart, particularly her death and Katniss's reaction -- Lawrence's grief was wholly believable and gut-wrenching. Question, to those who've read the books -- is it revealed that Katniss's care for Rue after her death sparks a riot in District 11? Irregardless I thought that was a powerful scene to include in the film, in how it suggests that Katniss (and later Peeta) fan the flames of discontent in the districts.

At the moment I really can't think of another film that was guaranteed blockbuster status that was filmed without much of the gloss and glamour you expect from Hollywood. Director Gary Ross and his team have imbued every aspect of this film with a sense of gritty realism and authenticity, helped by a lot of handheld camera work that adds urgency and energy to sequences, visually mimicking Collins's high-energy prose. Even the film's score (provided by James Newton Howard) eschews the tendency of blockbusters-in-the-making to go for loud and bombastic. The cues evoking the mountainous, folk music traditions of Katniss's home are gorgeous, a stark contrast to the dangers facing her and Peeta in the arena. Like the novel, watching The Hunger Games is an unsettling experience -- I think the film hit me even a tick harder than the  book did, which I thought was an interesting and honestly somewhat unexpected reaction. It isn't the level of violence -- that's certainly there, but honestly there could have been more, all things considered. I think being outside of Katniss's head, seeing her in this unfathomable situation, seeing the people gleefully betting on a tribute's odds in the Capitol, seeing the Gamemaker's employees clinically raining horror down on the heads of survivors in the arena -- seeing all of this drove home the novel's ripping condemnation of our voyeuristic, desensitized society in a fresh, powerful manner.

The Hunger Games is really an extraordinarily well-done adaptation, a prime example, I think, of thoughtful filmmaking. This is a team that cares about the source material, and I dearly hope they carry this passion through to the sequels. I feel like this post only touches on what I could say about this film, what worked, what was changed -- but that would require more thought (and most likely additional viewings). However, if there's anything I haven't touched on (I try so hard to be thorough, ha!) that you'd like to try and discuss please feel free to mention that in the comments.