Pellet Reviews: G.I. Joe, True Blood, and District 9

Whoa, so I'm a little behind on all of the media I've been intaking lately, but such is life my friends. Anyways, in an attempt to catch up in a manner that won't take up three posts and take me hours to write, welcome to my first edition of pellet reviews! That is to say, I'm aiming to keep these shorter than usual.

First up: G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

Hoo boy this movie had a lot stacked up against it going in. I mean, did anyone see the trailers? One has to question whether the PR team behind this film was asleep at the wheel or purposefully trying to sell the movie as brainless. Granted, what you see in the trailer is fairly close to what you get in the film, but fortunately for the movie itself the package fairs better as a whole.

To begin, G.I. Joe like Transformers before it is a chance to cash in not only on a profitable toy line, but also the dreams and fantasies of man-children everywhere. The plot is as simple as Duke (Channing Tatum) and his best pal Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) are tasked with escorting a new nanotechnology weapon to a secure location when they are ambushed by the hotter-than-usual (not counting the Alfie remake) Sienna Miller as Baroness. Wacky hijinks ensue and the elite but mysterious G.I. Joe unit swoops in to save Duke and his pal. Managing to save the nano weapon, the Joe's are impressed enough by Duke's action (Ripcord doesn't do anything but lay on the sidelines, but they recruit him too) to enlist him in their elite program. Cue the montage and before you know it, Duke and Ripcord are the best G.I. Joe operatives around, magically excelling in every training routine. It's not long before we learn the attempt on the nano-bomb was in fact a cunning ploy by the weapons designer, McCullen (Christopher Eccleston), to get his weaponry into the terrorist market. You see, he lives by the evil weapon maker code of playing both sides of a conflict. I believe the filmmakers were attempting here to comment on the state of the arms trade, but thankfully the surrounding plot and characters are so cartoonish and inane that the message never seems to penetrate the subconscious.

Anyway, before long the would-be Destro pinpoints Joe HQ using a tracking device in the nano weapon and his minions break in a decimate the unsuspecting Joe army. Before long the Joe's are on a revenge mission to retrieve the weapon before it can be used on the public, and the audience is treated to a number of fantastic set pieces which see the Eiffel Tower get destroyed, super suited soldiers running down the street dodging missiles at 80mph, and an assault on a subarctic underwater base. Somewhere in there the filmmakers attempted to shoehorn in a love story between misunderstood Baroness and Duke, and the shared loss they feel over the loss of her brother Rex (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). It's pretty tame and predictable, but it's nice that Sienna Miller gets to survive the proceedings if only for the chance she may sauce up the sequel.

G.I. Joe is a pretty mindless film, but it so embraces this idea that it actually ends up working much better than anyone may think walking into theatres. Honestly, it never tries to take itself too seriously, presenting itself at face value while not shying away from its share of eye-rolling jokes. This scenario works best in the favor or Marlon Wayans, who in most appearances only manages to annoy and distract from the rest of whatever movie he graces. Also on his side is the fact that supposed main character Duke is played by the acting equivalent of silly putty. Channing Tatum does well enough to deliver his lines without sounding like an idiot, but does little else to emote or evoke a connection with his character. This is a shame considering Duke is destined to become the charismatic leader of the G.I. Joe forces. Unfortunately, the best that can be said for this movie is that exceeds expectations, but that only amounts to a passable film. There are most certainly some cool action sequences presented here, but I felt they always just missed the peak of their potential. Luckily, the film keeps a brisk pace moving from one element to the next fast enough to keep the viewers distracted that there is hardly any substance to speak of.

Some credit must be given to Joseph Gordon-Levitt who apparently realized that this film allowed for a spectacularly over-the-top delivery so much so that when he delivers some of the hammiest lines in the film, you can't help but grin at the cheese factor. I imagine this was intentional, and it was also fun to see a villainous turn for the actor so soon after 500 Days of Summer. Credit must also go to Sienna Miller who pretty much embraces the fact she's there for eye candy. It doesn't stop her from being sufficiently both a combo of nasty and campy. It plays right until her inevitable redemption scenes which come off as forced and unnecessary. Almost-points finally go out to Dennis Quaid who hams it up in the bad way, and seems satisfied with punching in for a paycheck. See G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra as a second-string movie theatre day or if you really think you can't handle engaging your brain on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

True Blood: 'Timebomb'

I've been very bad about my True Blood reviews as of late, and I definitely missed the boat on the episode before this one. This is not to say that the show has taken any kind of dip in quality. Quite differently, True Blood has cranked itself to eleven and all of the carefully established dominoes of the season thus far are tipping.

This week sees the tensions between the Fellowship of the Sun church and the vampire law of Texas come to a boil. Sookie's trapped in a basement with a turncoat human who's betrayed her to the Fellowship, Bill's trapped in his hotel room with his maker Lorena who has absolute power over him, and Jason's still an idiot. Meanwhile, back in Bon Temps Sam Merlotte is on the run and paranoid on account of demon-god Maryann running amok carving hearts out of people while causing everyone to have sweaty, black-eyed orgies. Tara and Eggs of course remain oblivious, and it's getting harder to ignore how ignorant they are becoming over the increasingly weird happenings around them. Also, vampire Jessica and Hoyt finally get it on for each of their first times and its very sweet until Bill barges in and surprisingly does not dismember the human.

This week pretty much had my jaw on the floor the entire episode. There were so many revelations and just plain cool moments that one would be hard-pressed to deny this may very well be the highlight of the season thus far. Godric the two millenia old vampire makes his appearance and Eric quickly finds him and Sookie. We are treated to a hilarious moment where Eric affects a bumpkin persona to try and non-violently escape from the Fellowship church, and before long all hell breaks loose. Surrounded by the Soldiers of the Sun, Eric and Sookie seem to be cornered... UNTIL all of the Texas vampire law-people bust in the front door and through some awesome vampire speed and power turn the tide of the fight in about four seconds. Bill knocks Lorena out with a 52-inch plasma screen TV and super-speeds his way to his woman, just in time for the fireworks. Steve Newlin, crazy in his desperation, holds Sookie at gun point until Jason saves the day; finally coming through and doing something not stupid. Right before the blood begins to spill, Godric appears and brings an unexpected peace to the proceedings, despite Newlin's prodding. One gets the impression that Godric is a different kind of vampire in this show, choosing to learn from his two thousand years of unlife and evolving as opposed to becoming more separated and routine. Given the fact Godric is played by a younger, shorter actor it is very fun to watch the rest of the vampire cast go sheepish around him.

The day saved, there's obviously an after-party in which Godric seems bored with the state of his unlife and the vampire snobbery, Jason apologizes to Bill and everyone about what a moron he is, and Lorena is banished by Godric. You almost, almost feel bad for her when Bill tells her he never wants to see her again. She's just a love sick murderer after all. The episode cuts out as one of Jason's pals from the Fellowship crashes the party, announces himself, and reveals a chest strapped with live explosives and what look like mini-projectile stakes. He presses the button and credits roll. Elsewhere Sam is still on the run, discovers Daphne's heartless body in a frame-up, goes to jail, and finds himself being able to trust only Andy. Tara and Eggs end up eating Daphne's heart thanks to Maryann's deceitful but delicious cooking skills, and proceed to beat each other senseless most presumably at Maryann's demonic behest. Lastly we are treated to a heart-breaking scene in which Jessica realizes she is an eternal virgin (at least physically) thanks to the timing of her vampirism, and you truly feel for her with Hoyt.

This is the kind of episode where you wonder how it all fits in an hour so satisfyingly. Revelation after revelation pays off, and no stone is left unturned (except for stupid Maryann, but it looks like we'll get some resolution next week). The story never seems to betray itself for the sake of melodrama, and instead lets the well established characters play for themselves. This is television at its escapist finest, and it's pitch-perfect. Wonderfully now that all of the disparate plot lines are all molded into a cohesive whole, it will be interesting to see what happens once the main cast and vampires return to Bon Temps and view the weirdness Maryann has laid bare. There's no real hanging what-if's, but the storyline is left wide open for some really great developments; not the least of which is the cliffhanger bombing this week.

True Blood is firing on all cylinders right now, and presuming it keeps it up with next week's installment, season two is shaping up to be a grander, greater version of the first already fantastic season. Do yourself a favor if you're not already and check out this show any way you can.

District 9

Where did this movie come from? In one night I very quickly found the third best film of the summer for myself. This is sci-fi at its very finest, telling a compelling and intriguing tale with some minor yet not blatant parallels to modern society.

The plot follows Wikus Van De Merwe (newcomer Sharlto Copely), a worker for the MNU organization tasked with evicting District 9. What's District 9? Oh, just a huge colony just outside Johannesburg, South Africa that happens to be inhabited by millions of an alien species that mysteriously showed up twenty years earlier. If it sounds intriguing, then this movie is already for you. The premise revolves around the concept that a massive mother ship appears in the skies above the city sometime in the mid 80's, and after months of inactivity, humans take it upon themselves to fly up to it and see what's inside. Instead of a creepy, malicious alien race akin to Ridley Scott's Aliens, or the kind from Independence Day we are treated to a malnourished and terrified race of bug-like aliens hopelessly lost without leaders. Doing the 'humane' (haha) thing, the world shuttles the aliens to earth and into shanty towns which become known as District 9. Flash forward twenty years and we jump into the film proper. Tensions between humans living in the Johannesburg area and the alien squatters are high, and the humans want the aliens to move.. Because it would seem the race is aimless and almost clueless even unto its own inner workings, it would seem that the only solution is to evict them from their shanty town and move them a number of miles away to a new one.

Unfortunately for Wikus who has just been promoted to head of the task force assigned to serve eviction notices to the alien squatters, District 9 has become more like a slum -- rampant with crime, arms dealing, illegal inter-species prostitution, and a well-entrenched human contingent content on exploiting everything around them for power and weapons. The opening third of the film is told in a documentary style that for me hearkened back to Cloverfield in its sense of conveying the illusion that what we're seeing is real, but with not nearly as shaky of camera work. The universe they've set up is exceedingly believable, and as we watch the early scenes as Wikus uses his know-how and expertise to evict the aliens while navigating the complexities of their culture and lifestyle, one is drawn willingly into the desolate world of shaky civil rights and complex moral lines. Apparently, the script is reminiscent of director Neill Blomkamp's time growing up in South Africa during apartheid, and its easy to see the invocations between that and the fictional eviction of District 9.

Everything is going fine for Wikus until he evicts an alien the audience knows to be up to something nefarious at best. Stumbling upon a mysterious canister which we later find out to be a fuel cell, Wikus is sprayed in the face by a mysterious black goo. From here his life more or less cascades out of his control, and the audience gets to watch a very Kafka-like transformation evocative of the Metamorphasis. Wikus slowly begins to literally come apart at the seems, treating us to disturbing visuals of finger nails being torn off, teeth falling out, and grotesque alien exo-skeleton growing beneath his skin. Not the least of his problems, Wikus' newfound transformation allows him to operate the genetically encoded, and until recently, useless alien weaponry that the MNU has amassed but been unsuccessful in actually firing. This makes Wikus a valuable military commodity and after a close call with the chopping block, he retreats and must take refuge in District 9. What follows is an interesting character study of how a man can change both literally and figuratively in such extreme conditions. Watching Copely's progression from slightly nerdy office-man to jittery, end-of-his-rope refugee is at once heart-breaking and believable. Given to extreme circumstances, Wikus must try and survive in the harsh conditions of the slum and he eventually stumbles upon the very alien whom created the fuel cell that is transforming him. Turns out that this particular alien and his son are a breed apart from the aimless, shiftless creatures populating District 9 and have taken the initiative to repair their command ship and intend on reviving the mothership. With a promise to repair Wikus if he were to help retrieve the cell, the movie transitions into one man's quest and the lengths he will go to escape his plight.

District 9 has some pretty impressive effects for a movie made for a relatively small $30 million. The aliens in the movie feel real enough to not be distracting, and emote enough believability so as to connect with the viewer in a way that involves one passed the fact they are a fancy CG effect. Once Wikus gets his hands on some of the cool alien weaponry, we are treated to some light action scenes in which some extreme violence ensues. It becomes pretty commonplace to see people literally burst like bloody water balloons in this film, and that is only the most common way random soldiers bite the dust. The important part of all of this is that even though you can kind of predict the character arc for Wikus, you never quite know the circumstances of how it will happen or where everything will end up. The movie also raises a lot of questions about basic civil liberties and it definitely left an unsure feeling in me as to which side had the moral high ground. Tensions run high in this film the entire time so that you are riveted to the screen for the duration of the running time.

By the end, you've seen Wikus' journey from naive, office nerd to hardened and bewildered refugee. The closing moments of the movie remain ambiguous, offering no solution to many of the grand problems of the situation or revelations as to the future of many of the main characters. Instead, District 9 leaves audiences with a sense of uncertainty which I am sure is intentional by the filmmaker to echo various scenarios in many parts of the world. Does war lie on the horizon for Earth? Is violence the only outcome of such a parasitic culture? Is there a peaceful solution in the end? It's the mark of good science fiction when you can walk out of the theatre without the pleasure of a tidy ending and still be satisfied with the film you've seen. District 9 may just be the sleeper hit of the summer, as it surprised me in a way none of the summer movies of this year have. Just behind Star Trek and 500 Days of Summer, District 9 deserves to be seen if only a passing interest is involved. Don't miss a chance to see a movie that is refreshing in it's new take on a familiar genre and it's ability to make you care.

Review: True Blood: 'Hard-Hearted Hannah'

Alright! This is more or less what I've been talking about the last three reviews. I was beginning to get worried that my constant reference to episodes that deliver was just blind confidence in a show that did not deserve it. Thankfully, this week's episode of True Blood, 'Hard-Hearted Hannah', fires on every conceivable cylinder. Everything that has been built up (albeit a little too slowly) the last few weeks is paid off in spades here. This is the kind of episode that is at once so captivating and weird that you can't help but chuckle after the cliffhanger ending gives way to the credits screen.

What happened this week then? Better yet, what didn't happen? Let's begin with Sookie and Bill. In an attempt to better find the captors of Eric's maker Godric, Sookie decides she'll infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun and start reading minds to get to the bottom of the mystery. This seems well-intentioned, but the way Anna Paquin is playing Sookie its clear the whole thing comes from a fair bit of naivety as well. Bill is obviously worried something bad will happen, but acquiesces to Sookie after she reassures him things will be fine. Sookie sets off with one of the Texas vampire's humans; one whom, like her, has the rare perspective of being a human dating a vampire. It isn't long before both of them are tricked, and Sookie figures it all out a little too late. As things escalate from bad to worse, Bill's 'vampire-sense' goes off and he prepares to rush to her aid. Ah, but alas, Bill's maker who showed up at the conclusion of last week's episode ambushes him and we find out that no matter what apparently a vampire can never overpower their maker. Bill is left helpless and it seems Sookie's going to be doing a 'Lafayette' and getting used to a scary basement. We are also treated to a flashback wherein Lorena and Bill are shown in their evil heyday torturing a couple and then having sex in a pool of their blood. This is an excellent scene as it gives weight to Bill's claims he used to be a monster, and it also serves as one of the most visually graphic and disturbing things we've seen on True Blood. Still, it does wonders for Bill's character in terms of his backstory.

It's easiest to transition to Jason now because his storyline more of less skirts just outside of intersecting with his sister's this week. Tasked with building what amounts to essentially a giant stage/gallows used for cooking vampires in the sun and feeling guilt over his tryst with Sarah Newlin, Jason is oblivious to the events unfolding around him. Luckily, Sarah seems pretty determined to take out her marital woes on Jason in the form of illicit affairs in the Church. This may have an added bonus as it seems perhaps her guilt over what her husband is up to may cause her to let Jason in on the fact his sister is locked in the basement. I'm glad Jason's storyline is finally merging with the main one considering a few more episodes like the last few would have started to feel a little boring. It's good we're shaking it up.

Sam and Daphne are where we last left them on a pool table. It seems like Sam is more than a little smitten with his new waitress and for once it seems like he may have found a kindred soul. Meanwhile on the Tara front, it seems Maryann makes a much worse houseguest than hostess. Clearly fraying a little at the seams, we see a whole new, slightly disturbing side of her character. Tara and Eggs send off on a mission to get a part to fix the hot water heater in the house for Maryann, but are waylaid when Eggs starts to have a waking dream of sorts. They wander off into the woods following his hunches only to come upon a bloody campsite that looks like played host to some kind of nasty ritual. Eggs is understandably disturbed and they decide to head home. Driving down a rural side road, Andy is stopped in his tracks when a dog and... wait for it... a pig jump out in front of his car. The dog we recognize as Sam's go-to transformation while the pig should just give pause to anyone in the viewing audience. We cut to now human versions of Daphne and Sam where the latter audibly wonders why his companion changed into a pig this time. It's all very ominous, but so perfectly set up by the rest of this season that the viewer already knows where this is going. Following Daphne, the pair move closer and closer to a distant drum beat. Sam expresses his hesitance when Daphne finally pulls her double cross and he is nabbed by two black-eyed minions of Maryann (we can assume minions because its the same black eyed thing that happens to people at the crazy orgies).

The next scene is pretty much the culmination of all of the weird and unsettling things only being hinted at this season. Tara and Eggs show up only to find Maryann doing her vibrational dancing thing. Through whatever power she has, the two find themselves joining in the crazy sex-dancing-drum endeavor just as Sam is dragged into light with Daphne in tow. Taking her side next to Maryann, it's clear that Daphne has been working for her all along. After putting a minotaur head on Maryann, a knife is presented and Sam is told that its the "end of the line". We can only assume that he's on the block for one heart removal. The episode ends chillingly with Sam screaming and the audience wondering how the fallout of this episode is going to look in the subsequent week.

So basically this is one of those weeks where the dominoes are tipped and we get to watch the chaotic effects of all of the set up of the season. I suspect that next week will still be rolling with the momentum of this week, but likely it will hold longer on individual plot threads in an effort to flesh them out and exploit the dramatic weight. 'Hard-Hearted Hannah' is a wonderful episode that doesn't really take time to slow down, and it's a welcome adrenaline shot just when it was needed. Hopefully between this episode and the next plot moving one we will not feel the drag that we did with leading into this installment. Either way, True Blood is back to full form and we have a laundry list of new developments to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Review: True Blood: 'Never Let Me Go'

This was a tough week for True Blood. While I feel that this episode finally moved things forward ever so much, it did so in a very plodding way that didn't yank the viewer along the way it has in the past. Granted, I personally appreciated the more substantial progressions on display more than the previous two weeks, everything felt stilted. By this I mean that each significant scene outstayed its welcome by two to five minutes and really had you squirming for a scene change. It was all a bit tricky to experience and a little too melodramatic (and not in the good way that True Blood has become accustomed).

Fortunately all of the major plot lines were touched on in this week's episode. Bill and Sookie continue their journey through Dallas. Sookie finds out that Barry, the telepathic bell-hop, is not too people friendly and not at all happy about finding kinship in another. Meanwhile Bill gets lots of time to whine and worry about Sookie. It wasn't very endearing to see the usually stoic Bill almost fumbling all over himself in his concerns about his human girlfriend. I've already started to hear others describe this episode as 'soap-operatic', and I hate to say it's hard to disagree. Every exchange this episode, especially between Bill and Sookie, seemed so dripping with melodrama and overemphasis. I have to wonder what the previous season and the subsequent episodes from this season were for if not to in a much less blunt way express how into each other these two have become. Eric meanwhile is starting to fray at the edges about finding Godric who, not too surprisingly, ends up being his maker. More interesting in this dynamic is the fact that Godric has the appearance of a child. This could play a number of ways in weeks to come; most unsettlingly in an oddly sexual way if tonight's flashback scene was to be interpreted such. Here's hoping Eric doesn't hop on the mopey express with Bill. These vampires are much more interesting when they seem so removed from modern humanity both dramatically and comically. Tara and Eggs seem snug as bugs after their steamy night together, and it seems that Tara has finally found some personal peace. That is until Maryann drops the curiously convenient bombshell that Eggs and she need a new place to stay and have elected to join Tara at Sookie's. Rightfully Tara refuses and is justifiably perturbed that neither Eggs or Maryann ever found it important enough to mention that the lavish house they were staying in was a rental. The seduction of Tara continues though as Maryann uses some of her demon/goddess/succubus ju-ju to give her a particularly vicious day at Merlotte's Bar. This causes her to consider the value of 'family' that Eggs and Maryann are tempting her with. Before long it seems Sookie will return to a full house and Tara's still on the dangerous path to... well, whatever Maryann's planned for her.

Jason continues his transformation into a Fellowship of the Sun puppet as he shines in training for vampire soldiering. All of this success finally lands him in exactly the situation we all assumed from episode one: a disastrous affair with Sarah Newlin in which she convinces the dim-witted Jason that God wants to reward him for his suffering. He's almost head-slappingly stupid, but fortunately it makes for entertaining television. Finally Sam and Daphne discover that they have more in common than working in the same place. Turns out Daphne is a shapeshifter too, and this attracts Sam faster than is possibly safe. Honestly, with the scars on her back that no one seems to want to ask about to the fact that she just so happens to be Sam's perfect match coupled with her sudden appearance do not a trusting foundation make. My two cents? She's either working for Maryann or she is somehow the evil minotaur/satyr from a few episodes back. Safe bet's on the former. We're also treated to a brief phone conversation between Jessica and Hoyt which is cute but only really a distraction at the moment in the bigger picture. Also Lafayette returns to work attempting to form the semblance of a normal life. This is one broken man compared to his former glory.

That's a lot of information for one episode, and if told differently it would have been infinitely more enjoyable. As it stands, while I found myself anticipating each successive scene I was also growing wearisome of each before it was over. The main detriment to this episode was its script it would seem. The dialogue didn't play right in context to the things happening and none of it rang true coming from the actor's mouths. Bill and Sookie were especially tiresome this week. If we wanted ten minutes of caressing and smoochy talk, we'd look to more romantic fair such as Twilight or an Anne Rice book. As it stands, True Blood fans want less talk, more action. We want more dramatic reveals, just shy of hokey happenings, and just enough character balance to anchor the whole shebang in believability.

Next week needs to do a few things which, judging from the preview at the end of the credits, it seems on track to achieve. Sookie is going to attempt to infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun which means she will inevitably run into Jason which is great because it will give him some conflict. Jason is most intriguing when he has more than one voice inside his head manipulating him. The question will be if Sarah Newlin's persuasions will win out over his loyalty to his sister. Some headway in the Godric thing will be good too, and it looks like Eric is going to continue to mess with Lafayette until the poor man is a shaking shell of himself. Lastly with Bill's maker back in town, we're in for some intriguing developments between Sookie, Bill and Bill's oldest vampire relation. I have faith that this episode kind of got away from the writers and because of the stationary nature of the past two episodes they were forced to unnaturally push the proverbial players around the field in a way unlike the series norm. Of course, only next week will tell but if things really start to come to a boil on multiple fronts at once then we are in for more intrigue going forward. Count me in.

Review: True Blood: Shake and Fingerpop

To start off, I have no idea even after watching the whole episode what 'Shake and Fingerpop' means. If it's a dance, then perhaps it was being performed at the crazy dance party/ orgy at the end of this episode. I don't know.

This episode, like the one that aired two weeks ago ('Scratches'), ended up being a little too transitional for me again. While it definitely moved things further forward than last episode, it certainly stayed closer to the teasing aspect of its entertainment. We don't learn anything new about Daphne or why she has those crazy scars on her back. We are teased that she apparently knows what Sam is, which is to say a shapeshifter. Other than that, though, things stay frustratingly vague as to what's going on right under the surface. Bill and Sookie end up getting to Dallas where danger is already on their doorstep. Sookie is almost abducted, but saved at the last moment by Bill. Jason continues his tenure at the Fellowship of the Sun retreat, and I'd be remiss to say that I wish we had Jason among the regular cast again. While there are definitely some intriguing angles happening with him, it would be nice to see the interplay with the regular cast again.

Tara finally decides to move out of Maryann's, but finds herself crying and sad on her birthday as she is left alone. Of course, Maryann conveniently shows up to bring a party which almost immediately turns into another out of control dance-sex party. This time though Tara is much more emotionally susceptible and falls for the allure of it all much easier thanks in no small part to "Eggs". The whole thing spins out of control and gets very primal, but I feel like we've seen this scene at least three times now. This scene goes a little bit further in revealing new plot points, but they're so few that I hope we aren't treated to many more of these scenes without appropriate payoff. I get it; people's eyes turn black everyone is half naked and someone always ends up in a sex scene (in this case, Eggs and Tara). Oh yeah, and Maryann vibrates like crazy and chants in some bizarre language. Don't get me wrong, it's all very interesting, but we need a few more answers at this stage lest it all start to feel like treading water.

This episode was high in the humor department, and surprisingly, it came mostly from the vampire cast members. Bill's attitudes while teaching Jessica how to glamour someone, and his interactions with Eric are priceless. Something about how antiquated and proper the vampires are is at once fitting and hilarious. The episode ends like most others with a dramatic reveal or twist. Luckily this week's episode has a much more compelling twist than last. In a hotel room in Dallas, Sookie answers the door to find Jessica has ordered a human 'snack bar' which seems like the vampire equivalent of... I guess blood prostitution? Anyways, as Sookie is pondering the morality of Jessica's action, the audience gets to hear her thoughts much in the same way she hears other characters on the show. The bellhop is revealed to be able to hear the thoughts and a humorous and intriguing dialogue transpires between the two in their heads. The bellhop runs off and the episode goes to credits. As far as we've known so far, Sookie has been uniquely special on the show, so it will be fun to see what happens when she meets someone just like her.

Overall, I very much enjoyed 'Shake and Fingerpop' even though it felt like it was swimming in the same waters as 'Scratches'. It was good to get some more story, but I for one am hoping that the next episode really drops some bombshells to shake up the plot once again.

Review: True Blood: 'Scratches' or Satyrfest 2009

Well, I may have called it. Episode three of True Blood, 'Scratches', was a transitional one. There were no giant revelations or big character moments. No, this episode instead set up a lot of pins for the viewer to anticipate knocking down. Normally this might jolt the review a little and come off as a negative, but as far as True Blood is concerned setup is a good thing. We join the episode a few moments after the end of the last episode. Bill and Sookie are driving away from Jessica's parents' home and Bill is obviously none too happy with her. They argue and for one of the first times, Sookie acts decidedly childish in light of the events that had transpired. Normally she is grace under fire when it comes to the odd things happening all around her that it's pretty interesting how she is hard pressed to admit fault for her irresponsible actions. Long story short, she storms out of the car to spite Bill and goes tromping into the dark, spooky Louisiana swamps. It's not long before she is stalked by probably the coolest creature yet to debut on this show (assuming that it's not a cleverly disguised misdirect): a bull-headed, humanoid, satyr-man. Now, I don't want to show authorial bias, but satyr's are by far the coolest mythological creatures there are to see. Sookie tries to run, but obviously the all-too-rad satyr catches up and claws her down the spine, rendering her paralyzed. Bill tries to heal her with his blood (a throwback to the early episodes of season one), but this time it causes Sookie to convulse and seize. So where else to go than Fangtasia (the super cool vampire bar run by ex-viking Erik).

Erik, for purposes I secretly wonder if they will ever come to the forefront, agrees to heal Sookie with the help of a cool southern old crazy woman; i.e. a healer. Through some cool voodoo (seriously it may actually be voodoo) she painfully heals Sookie using some mysterious potions and by digging her fingers into her deep wounds to clean them out. This plays out more as torture, but before too long Sookie is walking around in her underwear and an over sized shirt.

Meanwhile, Sam warns Tara to open her eyes and realize how wrong the whole Maryann situation is becoming. I get why the usually headstrong Tara is being uncharacteristically pigheaded about her new situation, but it's nice to see that the writers are opening her eyes. Why Sam doesn't just flat out tell her that he knows her from his past is beyond me, but it seems he decides to cut town as well. Either Sam is going on a trip with the purpose of figuring out Maryann, or just to get out of Dodge, but he's definitely going somewhere. His storyline ends with a midnight swim in the oddly clear and clean bayou when Daphne, the new and inept hire at his bar, joins. Upon stripping off her clothes she reveals three similar satyr scars on her back. What does this portend? I don't know. Like I said, this is a setup episode. If I had to guess I would say that she is either being controlled by the satyr, somehow survived the attack (which raises oodles of other questions), or maybe just so happens to be the satyr.

Jason Stackhouse is still trying to find God, and after a gay dream about Eddie the vampire and a crisis of conscious, it's clear that he's either A) going to bone Sarah Newlin (the wife of the Fellowship's leader) or B) be an unwitting tool in some larger plan the 'church' has for him. Either way I think Jason is far too dumb to get himself out of this before he does something exceptionally stupid.

Finally, Sookie discovers through mind reading power that Lafayette is in Fangtasia's basement. Confronting both Bill and Erik with more bluster than I think is merited (honestly Erik is thousands of years old and really intimidating), Sookie demands her friend be released. Erik apparently finds reason to agree under the condition that she go to Dallas and discover whatever happened to another of the vampire sheriffs, Godric. She agrees after conning him out of $10,000 dollars and the accompaniment of Bill. Exactly why Erik let's Sookie act this way towards him is why I wonder what Erik's motives are when it comes to one he outwardly considers just another worthless human.

All in all, the chips are in place for a pretty electrifying episode in two weeks. True Blood rewards you for episodes such as this by giving you lots to chew on one week and choking you when you try to swallow the next. With Lafayette back at large (and apparently Erik tormenting him), the show is all set to start delivering the jarring payoffs we expect. 'Scratches' was well worth the hour of our time even though it flew by, but it really does serve the purpose of setting us up for the next hour. If the show can satisfyingly deliver on all the crazy setups introduced this season (and the SATYR!), then we're in for a treat as each episode has been better than the last. It's at once tempting and not to attempt to read the Sookie Stackhouse Novels just to find out what happens next, but that to me is evidence of how compelling this show is turning out to be.


Watch out Sookie Stackhouse; I reckon there's a Satyr in your future. Is it me or does this photoshop make them look in love?

Review: True Blood: 'Keep This Party Going'

The second episode of Season Two of True Blood fairs much better in comparison to it's predecessor. Where my complaints, if they can be called, with the first episode revolved mainly around the fact that it felt like an episode of season one; the second episode takes great strides to distance itself. As I stated in my previous review, emulating the first season is not a bad thing. More precisely, I felt the first episode dealt more with the remaining threads from season one than it did with introducing the new arcs and plot threads of the new season. As far as premiere episodes go it was more than adequate and a better hour of television than likely to be found elsewhere this time of year.

Thankfully, Keep This Party Going pushes the ball rolling and begins to reveal some of the new direction of the season. Eric continues to hold Lafayette after dismembering one of his fellow captives. He interrogates Lafayette only to send him right back to captivity. An attempted escape and gunshot later, we get the most interesting character moment of the episode when Lafayette asks his captors to make him a vampire. It's an interesting development for the character and perfectly in step with his portrayal thus far as a survivor.

Meanwhile, Sookie has troubles of her own as Bill's new sire Jessica is having difficulty living under the rule of her new protector. To further this dilemma, Jessica sees her family on TV (though which TV I don't know considering Bill doesn't even have electricity in his home) and begs Sookie to take her to see them. Sookie, thinking that she will only want to view them from a distance, reluctantly drives her home. Of course this backfires in a radical way when the teenage-minded, impulsive new vampire rushes right back into the graces of her family with Sookie in the middle. Things take a decidedly more violent, if not predictable, turn when Jenny reveals her issues with her oppressive father and is moments from killing him when Bill arrives. None too happy with Sookie, Bill kicks her out of the home and the episode ends with a foreboding sense that to "clean up" Sookie's mess, Bill may have to kill the entire family.

The episode also deals with Tara's continued tenure with her overly rosey overseer, Maryanne, and Sam's inability to stop her from causing chaos all around him. Jason also continues to naively dive headlong into the cult-like Fellowship of the Sun, and one gets the impression his hyper sexualized persona and dumber than sticks mindset are going to get the better of him.

This episode was much more enjoyable from a story standpoint as it started to build onto the established series progression while finally pushing forward into unknown territory. The pretty edges in Tara's oddly perfect situation are beginning to fray as predicted, but in a subtle enough way that it doesn't feel heavy handed. Something is obviously up with Maryanne, but it is yet to be specifically painted as evil or just plain shady. As cited before, the development with Lafayette opens tons of new doors and storytelling opportunities. Whereas before the character was indeed amusing and at the very least intriguing, as a vampire it's hard to imagine the limits someone like him could go to now. As for Bill and Sookie, the writers of the show do a wonderful job of portraying a complex to say the least relationship. At the risk of sounding too overblown, it almost reads like an abusive relationship. Bill is not necessarily symptomatic of such a case, but his vampiric nature and the oddities that come with it definately put a very unnatural strain on the pair. As shown in these first two episodes, they find something to argue about and Bill says something sweet and they end up staring googly eyed at each other for a while (mostly naked too). But as is the case with this show it doesn't seem to last very long. It will be interesting to see how this plays in the next episode as it can be imagined Bill will be rightfully upset with Sookie's foolish move with Jessica.

So what more can be said? Season Two of True Blood is starting to fire up on all cylinders and it looks like the story could go anywhere from here. As far as TV series go, this is just the place to be. Too often it's easy to figure out the pattern of the show as it gets comfortable with its various characterizations. True Blood may not completely buck the trend, but it definately is presenting its material in such a way that it continues to pull the viewer in each week. I for one look forward to next week's episode to see if it can satisfyingly capitalize on all of the payoffs it set up this week.

Part One: A Mission Statement and True Blood

Greetings and salutations all. Welcome to my attempt at consolidating a place to put all of the random ideas that happen to drift aimlessly through my brain. I expect that what I will have to say will come as no new twist on the old formula, suffice it to say that here you will find my opinions, musings, and ideas about the things I find interesting. Fortunately for you I imagine these things will encompass general populace points of intrigue such as movies, comics and the like.

My first and most general assumption is that anyone foolhardy enough to read these words will in most cases be someone with whom I am familiarly acquainted. If you find yourself in this category, I take this moment to welcome you and congratulate you on your good judgment. Also accept my humble dose of thanks. To anyone unlucky enough to have found this site by mere chance, allow me to explain briefly about myself. At the time of this writing I am twenty three years old and most definitely feeling the warp that likely accompanies life in one's early second decade. This provides a unique perspective on everything I write and say. The "spin" as it were will therefore be amusing and informative in the ways only someone of my age group is capable of achieving. In my spare time I am a bit scattered. My interests vary from general pop culture to simply trying to figure out the complexities of the human condition (and all the various and obviously "deep" and "meaningful" tangents that encompasses). Specifically the things I am most involved tend to be serial comic books, movies, or generally any kind of media that has value beyond the observable and readily accessible story beats. For example, I like comics for the decades long history the characters in some cases possess. From time to time I will likely also discuss news stories or current events. If it hasn't become clear yet in terms of this so-called 'mission statement'; the terms are pretty relaxed.

So what am I presenting here? Good question noble reader. Here at the outset I'll go out on a limb and assume the most common feature here is going to be comic book reviews on Wednesdays or so, movie reviews when the big releases hit, and book, news and life commentary after that. My video gaming habits of late have been pretty limited, but it may be safe to assume that I will feel the urge to chime in about that as well at some point.

Which brings us to today's inaugural post.

True Blood Season 2 Premiere: Nothing But the Blood

True Blood has become swept up in the current trend of vampires in popular culture. To me, the idea of vampires in popular media has always been sort of a fringe interest for most people. Perhaps most famously portrayed in the various movie adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's various novels of awkwardly erotic vampire adventures, the concept has thrived on the cusp of popular thought. Simply put, I don't think the idea has ever sold to a larger audience like it's currently doing at this particular point in time.

From Twilight now to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel earlier in this decade, the literary concept of vampires has been creeping ever so steadily into the proverbial social spotlight (and to think, I could have said 'sunlight' and tucked myself into bed in smug satisfaction). This emergence is accompanied by what I see as the inevitable pitfalls of genre specific ideas stumbling into the popular mindset. Most problematic in my mind among these downsides is the assignment of social allegory as a commentary for today's society. Perhaps it's a condition of today's mindset, but it seems that nothing can be taken at face value any longer and instead must of course be a carefully disguised interpretation of 'the way things are'. Now before I really pigeonhole myself I should state that I don't necessarily think that this is always a bad thing. Literature and, by extension, all forms of storytelling have always been classically enriched by the furthering of logic and examination of metaphors either purposefully or coincidentally placed within it. The problem I find is when suddenly everything has to mean something. Frankly, I find it a bit polarizing. So of course the vampire idea has been saddled with all kinds of clever references to our ordinary lives; specifically in the case of True Blood.

One can hardly blame fans of the show for participating in this practice though. The setting for the show is a fictional United States wherein, thanks to the Japanese invention of synthetic blood, vampires are finally able to (as the show so cleverly puts it) "come out of the coffin". Just typing that it's already easy to see where the lines start getting drawn. The catchphrase is an obvious and intentional callback (callover? Ah, let's just go with 'reference') to the homosexual community and the perceived liberation of 'coming out of the closet'. No shit. As obvious as that is, it's pretty easy to connect the dots and parallel the vampiric struggle as portrayed in True Blood with that of our gay and lesbian neighbors. But isn't that a little too easy? Sure, as I said before, the connections can reasonably be made, but I'm remiss to ask who cares? It's such an easy link to make that I'd like to imagine that the show isn't being that up front. Instead, I'd like to believe that sometimes the easiest thing to do is also the most difficult. It's simple to get caught up in all of the possible hidden meanings of a work of fiction, but it may be an altogether different animal to just sit back and stomach a show about vampires living in Louisiana with shapeshifters and mind readers. But maybe that's why it's catching on. People who would be otherwise averse to enjoying something as peculiar as True Blood can hop on the bandwagon and disguise their interest through intellectual dissection. I mean, that just sounds cooler too. As fun as it is to muse just how deep the show creators want their parallels to run, this interview with series creator Alan Ball seems to skew in my direction: Alan Ball Interview

(As an aside, I think that instead of getting caught up in associating the maladjusted vampires with homosexuals, people should look to series breakout Lafayette. Here's a gay man who seems a little too adjusted in an increasingly weird setting. If anything, Lafayette is the best example of the creator's views (if any) on gay people. Like... in a good way.)

Ok, so what did I think about the episode Nothing But the Blood which opens up the much anticipated second season? Well, after getting pretty excited over the last few weeks I was left a little unfazed after the credits tonight. I'm left wondering if that's a bad thing or if the fact that I'm feeling no different than I did an hour before is merely the result of an expository premiere episode. Don't get me wrong; this episode delivered all the elements I enjoyed from the first season and even managed to tie up some of its loose ends. The problem, if you can call it such a thing, was that there was never a moment where I was memorably shocked or moved to response. Perhaps that's just the nature of a second season with a show like this. The viewer has already seen some pretty ludicrous things, so it's not a stretch to think that something really bizarre would have to happen to shake things up. The show has more or less picked up the baton EXACTLY where the last episode left off, so perhaps instead of the fresh 'here's-where-things-stand-now' tactic many serialized TV shows take in the beginning of a season (where they parade the new looks the stars are sporting; edgier clothes, new locales, status quos, etc.) True Blood has elected to just continue business as usual. I think that sits right with me, but I also think that it's the cause of my non reactionary reaction. We're essentially getting more of the stuff we loved about the first season.

This episode does manage to set up a slew of new mysteries and plot hooks that we can look forward to investigating this season. We have the mysterious fate of Lafayette (though one would imagine it has something to do with his illicit V-trafficking), Sam's anomalous past with Tara's new benefactor, and by extension Maryanne's true nature (demon-god-witch thing?). All of these things promise to amply up the stakes (ha! get it?!) while at the same time not altering much of the formula of the show in an attempt to lasso some new demographic. I can honestly say that I'm excited for the season, though maybe after the feel of this first episode curious is a more fitting word. I'm still a fan though. Finally, is it me or does it seem like Anna Paquin must have come to some new comfort with showing herself naked on this show? Last season I remember being pretty surprised when she ended up being mostly naked on camera in what, if memory serves me, only amounted to one scene in one episode. Granted this may be the case here as well, but already we've seen her naked on camera for longer and at a more clear shot than we did in the whole of the first season. I guess I'm not complaining, I just find it worth noting.

In summation, with a summer of pretty meager prospects TV-wise I have to say that True Blood continues to be the highlight and not just because its essentially the only high profile option. The show has found a pretty entertaining mix of (melo)drama, humor, suspense and violence that is rarely found in such perfect levels of harmony. Even though my impressions of the premiere are pretty much neatly defined as 'neutral', that in no way illustrates a dip in the quality of the show. It just seems like the show never took a break and I suppose if you're coming off an affection for the first season, that can only be a good thing.