Downton Abbey (2012 Christmas Special)

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, Joanne Froggatt, Rob James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Dan Stevens, Penelope Wilton, Amy Nuttall, Lily James

Creator: Julian Fellowes

Genre: Period Drama

Rating: B+

Okay, so I spent a lot of this episode cringing for various reasons.  It's a bit heavy handed, especially with the foreshadowing,and so a lot of the episode is spent going "don't do this, don't do this."  Set in September 1921, about nine months after the conclusion of season three, this year's Christmas Special followed a number of plots.  The main part of the Crawley family, has gone north to Scotland to see Lady Rose MacClare (James) and her parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Flintshire (Peter Egan and Phoebe Nicholls).  There Lord and Lady Grantham (Bonneville and McGovern) try to help the Marquess and Marchioness with their failing marriage, Mary (Dockery) and Matthew (Stevens) fret over the impending birth of their child while also worry about the attention that Edith (Carmichael) is getting from her newspaper editor, Michael Gregson (Charles Edwards).  Bates (Coyle), Anna (Froggatt), Molesley (Doyle), and O'Brien (Finneran) all make the trip, with O'Brien coming to head with the Marchioness' lady's maid.  Not invited on the trip is Tom Branson (Leech), who remains behind at Downton with the staff.  Here he's brought to question his role and position in the family, and whether or not he's being true to himself, by new maid Edna (MyAnna Buring), who happens to be attracted to him.  Meanwhile the younger staff, lead by footmen Jimmy (Speleers) and Alfred (Milne) are hoping for some time off while the family's away, but Carson (Carter) has other thoughts about that.  Also back in Downton is Isobel (Wilton), who has begun to get cozy with Dr. Clarkson (David Robb).  Oh! And Mrs. Patmore (Nicol) has a suitor in new grocer Tufton (John Henshaw), although Mrs. Hughes (Logan) isn't too sure of his motives.

I enjoyed the struggle between the younger staff, who want some time off, and the older staff, who view the family being away as a time to clean the house properly.  I thought it was a really great plot, especially as Mrs. Hughes supports both the younger and the elder staff, depending on which one she's talking to.  I'm really glad that she wasn't the character they decided to kill off last season, simply because I don't think the house would run nearly as efficiently without her.  Actually, I think all around I really enjoyed the various plots for all the main servants, even O'Brien, who's struggles for once make her look like something other than the villain.

What I was a bit more iffy on was the storylines for the Crawleys and Tom in general.  Isobel's was cute and I was really into it throughout and I look forward to how, if at all, they deal with it in the next season.  I hope so; I'm never really a big fan of her storylines, but I think this could be one that I'd really enjoy.  I'm not too sure how I feel about the Ethel plot line - I can't help but think that we're being set up for Ethel being screwed over romantically, which I feel we've done enough at this point.  I get it, Ethel is unhappy in love and going to die an old maid.  Let's move on now, shall we?  I kind of saw the solution to the Flintshire's problem coming a mile away, although I'm not complaining - I think Lady Rose is going to be a good addition to the cast, especially with the departure of Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay).  I think, if given the chance, Rose could become my new favourite of the upstairs ladies.

The two things that I hated the most, however, was the foreshadowing about the Matthew/Mary plot and the overall Tom plot.  Let's do Tom first, because the Matthew/Mary stuff is somewhat spoiler-ish.  I think over the course of this series Tom is one of the characters that has probably grown and changed the most - and it's a growth and change that I really like.  He was a member of the staff who fell in love with the Lord's daughter, got married, unwillingly joined the family, then gradually became accepted by the family.  Now, however, without Sybil he's still a bit lost and left alone, without the family he's beginning to question how much he's changed.  The overall relationship, and flirtation, with Edna, left me worried - I'm not ready to see Tom leave the Crawley family and go back to being the person he was at the start of the series, nor am I ready to see him move on from Sybil.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.  Now... if you've paid attention to the rumours about Downton since the end of season three, then you kind of new what was coming - and if you didn't pay attention, the show gave you plenty of opportunity to anticipate it (and I'm going to very strongly allude to it in the next bit here).  There's a degree of foreshadowing that's appropriate, then there's what Downton did here.  That's not to say that I didn't like the actual plot, I did and really it's exactly what I was hoping would happen given the rumours, I just didn't like sitting there going "oh, yeah, x is going to happen."  In the end, it was handled nicely, but the lead up was too heavy handed.

Love Actually (2003)

Starring: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Martine McCutcheon, Bill Nighy, Rowan Atkinson, Lúcia Moniz, Thomas Sangster, Gregor Fisher, Andrew Lincoln, Kris Marshall, Heike Makatsch, Martin Freeman, Joanna Page

Director: Richard Curtis

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Rating: A

"Let's go get the shit kicked out of us by love"

Love is all around.  That is, very literally, the message of the 2003 film Love Actually.  The thing is, however, that this film isn't just about romantic love, although that does feature rather heavily, as it looks at the love between lovers, friends, and family.  There's even the loss of love and unrequited love and the whole shebang.  Love is all around.

The film follows a collection of people, all intricately connected to one another.  David (Grant) is the newly elected Prime Minister of Great Britain, and develops an attraction for a new junior member of his staff, Natalie (McCutcheon).  David's sister, Karen (Thompson), is having problems in her marriage - although she's not entirely aware of it yet - as her husband, Harry (Rickman) is enticed by his flirtatious new secretary Mia (Makatsch).  Also working for Harry is Sarah (Linney) and Karl (Rodrigo Santoro).  Sarah is in love with Karl and has been since she started working at the company, although neither she nor Karl have made any moves yet.  Karen's friend Daniel (Neeson) is newly widowed and unsure of how to help his stepson Sam (Sangster), who has fallen in love with classmate Joanna (Olivia Olson).  Sarah's friend Jamie (Firth) has discovered that his girlfriend is sleeping with his brother and in order to deal he retires to his French cottage, where he meets Aurélia (Moniz), who only speaks Portuguese.  Jamie and Sarah both attended the wedding of Juliet (Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor).  Juliet has long thought that Peter's best friend Mark (Lincoln) hated her, when in actuality he's been in love with her this whole time.  Also at the wedding is Colin (Marshall), a British man who has decided to go to America where his accent will instantly make him a hit with the ladies.  His friend Tony (Abdul Salis) doesn't believe this is the best idea.  Tony is the production assistant of a film where John (Freeman) and Judy (Page) are body doubles for a sex scene.  Overseeing it all is rock and roll legend Billy Mack (Nighy)'s attempt to have a #1 Christmas hit, a variation of The Troggs' "Love is all Around".  Billy Mack's one friend is his longtime manager Joe (Fisher).  Oh, also, there's minor character Rufus (Atkinson) who provides a couple antics and was initially supposed to be a Christmas angel before being dropped as such - I still like to think of him as one.

This is the kind of film that movies like New Years Eve, Valentine's Day, and What to Expect When You're Expecting all try to be.  Centred around one common theme it tells the story of a bunch of different people who are all connected but at the same time unrelated.  There's the perfect amount of characters here, with the story focusing heavily on some and not so heavily on others.  There are no real twists, you can see the endings that end up happening coming for miles, but it's not really a movie that needs twists.  Each of the storylines is absolutely awesome and each of the characters is great.  Even John and Judy, who get the briefest of scenes, have the feel of being these thoroughly developed characters.  You know that they exist outside of the sex acts that they're miming.

The other thing that I really like about the film is that while you can see the endings coming, some of them aren't necessarily the ones that you want to see happen.  I always feel a but guilty as I watch the Mark/Juliet/Peter triangle, because no matter how much I know Juliet and Peter are in love and even though I think Peter's a great guy, I want Juliet to leave him and hook up with Mark.  At the same time, I want Harry to smarten up and be with his wife.  I don't care so much about some plots - like the Colin one, which I think was just for laughs, or the Sam one, which I think is a bit cliched - but Love Actually is more than just the sum of its parts.  It's just sheer awesomeness.

In addition to being a story about love, this is also a comedy, to which it does so rather nicely.  The amount of comedy is different in each plot, and to an extent so is the style, but somehow it works here.  Even with their differences, they all seem to work well together, they mesh like a really good collage - like a puzzle depicting a picture of Mickey made out of a bunch of smaller images of scenes from Disney movies.  The one-liners keep on coming in this one, as do the little scenes that are just hilarious.  If you haven't seen this movie yet, I recommend you at least look up the image of Hugh Grant dancing to "Jump (For My Love" by The pointer Sisters.

Thor (2011)

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Colme Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comic

Rating: B+

Many years ago a bitter war was fought between the Frost Giants of Jotunheim and the warriors of Asgard, over the future of the nine realms which the Asgardians protect.  Now, in the present, the king of Asgard, Odin (Hopkins), is preparing to adbicate his throne in favour of his son, Thor (Hemsworth).  Before he can do so, however, Frost Giants attack Asgard in order to retrieve the Casket of Ancient Winters, the source of their power, from the Asgardians.  In retaliation, Thor decides to lead an attack on the Frost Giants, accompanied by his brother Loki (Hiddleston), their childhood friend Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three, Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Joshua Dallas), and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano).  The battle destroys the truce between the two races, and Odin must interfere in order to save the Asgardians.  As punishment, he strips Thor of his powers and exiles him to Earth, although he sends Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, as well, so that if and when Thor is worthy he can pick it up.  On Earth, Thor is found by astrophysicist Jane Foster (Portman), her assistant Darcy Lewis (Dennings), and mentor Dr. Erik Selvig (Skarsgård).  His hammer, however, is found by the local populace, and eventually attracts the attention of S.H.E.I.L.D.  Thor must find his hammer and return to Asgard, before the Frost Giants can take over.

This was a fun movie, as all the Marvel Cinemetic Universe films tend to be.  Thor is, in my opinion, absolutely amazing and clearly worthy of a standalone series - which is something that Marvel seems to struggle in distinguishing at times.  A lot of the Avengers are great, and most of them deserve their own opportunity to shine in the sun, but some don't.  Going into this film, I wasn't really sure about whether I thought Thor was one of those shining characters or not and I really questioned just how he fit into the greater scheme of the universe already established by characters like Iron Man and The Hulk.  In the end, however, I think he really fit well and did a great job of adding to the feel of this series.

The other thing that really worked was Loki.  The two most important characters in this film are the brothers (no offense to love interest Natalie Portman), and they really mesh well.  They both go through transitions in this film and I love how you see where they come from and where they end up.  Part of me would have liked a bit more back story to Loki - it feels almost like he starts this film a few steps ahead of the rest of us, and we're all left trying to catch up (although, Thor does take very big steps).  As for the Thor/Jane relationship... I love how it kind of sneaks up on both of them, even if the audience is completely expecting it the entire time.  Thor has to change in order to be the man for Jane, and it is this change that makes him the man that he needs to be in order to be the god that his father wants him to be.  I'm really looking forward to how this relationship continues to develop in later films - I was actually rather disappointed that she didn't make an appearance in The Avengers, but I do see how it could have potentially taken away from that film.  Either way, I really enjoyed this movie.

Downton Abbey (Season 3)

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, Joanne Froggatt, Rob James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Dan Stevens, Penelope Wilton, Amy Nuttall, Allen Leech, Kevin Doyle, Matt Milne, Ed Speleers, Cara Theobold

Creator: Julian Fellowes

Genre: Period Drama

Rating: A

What to say about this season of Downton Abbey.... Going into the season, I knew that "Somebody will be born, and somebody will die" and that there would be a wedding - I hadn't read the full article where executive producer Rebecca Eaton had said as much, so I didn't know exactly who was getting married, but I had my guesses about that and about the birth, as well as a huge list of "I hope they don't kill X."

Downton opens with the preparations for the wedding of Matthew (Stevens) and Mary (Dockery), with Cora (McGovern)'s mother, Martha Livenson (Shirley MacLaine) sweeping in from America for it, to the great distaste of the Dowager Countess (Smith).  Just to interject, the scenes between MacLaine and Smith were possibly the funniest scenes this season and I really hope that they find some excuse to bring MacLaine back later.  Tragedy, however, strikes the family, and Robert (Bonneville) discovers that his attempts at investment have left almost entirely bankrupted the family.  At the same time, Matthew has discovered that he has possibly inherited a large amount of money from Lavinia (Zoe Boyle)'s father, although he is certain that it is not ethical to accept it. Sybil (Brown Findlay) is still pregnant, and Tom (Leech) still a revolutionary, which leads to problems for the two of them. Edith (Carmichael), meanwhile, is determined to change her status as an old maid and has set her sights on Sir Anthony Strallan (Robert Bathurst), despite the objections of both Sir Anthony and her family.  Downstairs, things are no less chaotic; O'Brien (Finneran) has arranged to have her nephew, Alfred (Milne) hired, and Alfred struggles to meet the standards of Carson (Carter) and avoid the vindiction of Thomas (James-Collier).  Daisy (McShera) develops a crush on Alfred, who in turn has feelings for new kitchen maid Ivy (Theobold), who likes fellow new footman Jimmy (Speleers), who isn't revealing who he likes but has also drawn the attention of Thomas.  Mrs. Hughes (Logan) has found a lump which she thinks might be cancer, although she insists on keeping it a secret, telling only Mrs. Patmore (Nicol) - a secret which Mrs. Patmore struggles to keep.  Anna (Froggatt) continues the struggle to find the evidence to prove that Bates (Coyle) isn't a murderer, while Bates struggles to survive in prison.  Combining the upstairs with the downstairs, Isobel (Wilton) discovers that Ethel (Nuttall) has become a prostitute and sets out to save her.  Oh, and while he doesn't get any big plot lines, Molesley (Doyle) has been upgraded to main cast.

I loved, loved, loved this season.  It brought up all the issues that remained at the end of the 2011 Christmas Special, while also introducing issues specific to this season.  The show seems to become more and more intricate as times passes, while still remembering to pay tribute to the little things that made this show great in the first place.  I love the way the Crawleys come together to fight for what they want, while also fighting within each other.  It seems like there is never really a point in this family where they're all getting along.  I also really love how Tom fits into it all as well.  It isn't simply a case of the Crawleys versus Tom, and right from the start he makes alliances and friends within the family.

Speaking of alliances, the alliance between Thomas and O'Brien is broken here.  I wasn't really a fan of either character in the first two seasons, but I really love the war that the two of them carry out this season.  When it was them against the world things just got boring after, but with it being them against each other I really got captivated.  There are points when you even feel sorry for Thomas just because he seems so much on his own this season - O'Brien had her share of allies, but Thomas was all alone.

Two things that I didn't really like about this season.  One is the story with Ethel.  While I understood where Isobel was coming from, I think she tends to not think through the consequences of her actions.  I did like the way the story was handled in the end, but getting to it was rather painful.  The other thing was Edith.  Poor Lady Edith.  The girl is so desperate to not be an old maid anymore that she seems willing to throw herself at anyone - and her family seems determined to keep her as one.   I love the character in general, but I'm anxious to see them do more with her.  The second half of the season seemed to be interested in opening up things a bit more with her, but I'm not holding my breath.

Titanic (2012 Miniseries)

Starring: Linus Roache, Geraldine Somerville, Celia Imrie, Toby Jones, Perdita Weeks, Lee Ross, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Sophie Winkleman, Steve Waddington, David Calder, James Wilby, Antonio Magro, Stephen Campbell Moore, Noah Reid, Lyndsey Marshal, Mark Lewis Jones, Ruth Bradley, Peter McDonald, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Glen Blackhall, Dragos Bucur, Maria Doyle Kennedy, David Eisner, Linda Kash, Brian McCardie, Peter Wright

Creator: Nigel Strafford-Clark

Genre: Miniseries, Period Drama

Rating: B-

I'm still a bit undecided on this show. There are elements that I really enjoyed - particularly in the way they ended it. I don't just mean in that the boat sank and some people died while others didn't, I mean that after three rather disjointed and confusing episodes they still managed to make it suspenseful and make me care about who lived and who died.

The basic story behind this is obvious, and because of the sheer volume of characters within it I'm not going to really summarize things too much. Basically, the show is four episodes long with each of the first three episodes introducing the audience to the characters as they embark on the Titanic and leading up to the hitting of the iceberg. Each of these first episodes ends with this moment, and as such each episode introduces things differently and largely covers the same span of time. The final episode is the sinking and we find out the fates of the characters we've kind of gotten to know.

Because of the nature of the show things get a bit confusing. There are characters in the first episode who seem to disappear until the fourth, and there are events that happen multiple times in the series, with each repetition being altered to follow a different point of view. I really like what they tried to do here overall, but it gets a bit bogged down after awhile. The short length of the series doesn't mesh well with the sheer volume of the cast. The creators were trying to tell too much of a story in too little of a time.

That being said, because of the nature of the show I did still manage to get attached to the characters, and as the boat sunk I was anxious about who would survive and who wouldn't, particularly among the male and lower class characters. If you think about it, that's what a show about the Titanic is supposed to do.

Downton Abbey (2011 Christmas Special)

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, Joanne Froggatt, Thomas Howes, Rob James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Dan Stevens, Penelope Wilton, Amy Nuttall

Creator: Julian Fellowes

Genre: Period Drama

Rating: A+

The problems that I had with the second season of Downton Abbey are largely resolved by the single-episode Christmas Special.  Taking place between Christmas 1919 and early 1920, the episode really slows things down and properly handles the many plots that it has going on – and most importantly provides a lot of resolution to things.  By the end of the episode things are really starting to feel like they are where they should be and there’s hope for the people of Downton.

There are two main plot points to this episode, although there are also a handful of smaller ones that get brought up. The biggies are the relationship between the Lady Mary (Dockery) and Matthew (Stevens), who clearly are in love, despite her apparent commitment to her fiancé, the giant jackass Sir Richard Carsile (Ian Glen); and the trial of Bates (Coyle), who has been accused of murdering his late wife. Beyond this, you can see that everyone’s still trying to redetermine themselves as they settle into life-post war: Thomas (Barrow) tries to avoid leaving Downton, while Carson (Carter) tries to get rid of him; the Dowager Countess (Smith) questions her daughter’s new beau; Lady Edith (Carmichael) tries to resume her relationship with Sir Anthony Strallan (Robert Bathurst); Mrs. Hughes (Logan) and O’Brien (Finneran) are called to testify against Bates; Daisy (McShera) begins to feel abused; and Sybil (who doesn’t appear) is pregnant.

 I loved how concise the Christmas Special was.  It had a lot of elements of an overall season while also having elements of a single episode, especially the fact that it was just a single episode.  Things moved a lot faster than they did in season one, but without the complexity and brevity that many of the plots were treated with in season two - and, at the same time a lot of things were rather nicely brought full circle and if not always completely wrapped up then at least progressed greatly.  I love how they dealt with Mary and Matthew's relationship, the growth of Daisy, the revitalization of Edith, and the new hope that Sybil's pregnancy brings.  The only plot that I didn't really think was brought to a good point by the end of this episode was Bates', but I suspect that they're going to be playing with this for a while yet.  I did like how the whole plot with Bates brought things outside of just Downton and I kind of hope that in season three they use this new away-from Downton approach to show Sybil and Tom in Ireland; I think there's only so much they can justify having the pair return to Downton.

I didn't really care for the whole Thomas plot line, and I'm not really sure where they're planning on going with it.  A lot of what they did with him felt like it was just an attempt to keep him on.  They seem like they're running out of ideas but aren't yet ready to have Thomas leave the picture.  This happens a lot in TV and tends to bring shows down, I don't want to see that happen to Downton.  Despite that, though, I have really strong hopes for the future of this show.

The Expendables 2 (2012)

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Stratham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Chuck Norris, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Director: Simon West

Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller

Rating: C

Okay, so I actually really enjoyed this movie.  Like it's predecessor, The Expendables 2 is lame and ridiculous in its plot, but it's also fun and action packed.  I saw this with my little brother and he made the comment that he thought some of the action sequences were extended just so that the movie could be a full length film; I on the other hand thought that the dramatic sequences were extended for the same purpose.

Barney Ross (Stallone) and his crew are back, this time joined by new comer Billy (Hemsworth).  Ross is approached by Church (Willis), who gives him a mission that he's forced to accept - following the events in The Expendables Ross owes Church.  The Expendables travel to Albania to retrieve an item from a safe in a downed plane; they're joined by technical expert Maggie Chan (Yu Nan).  Things go to this from there, and the Expendables come across arms dealer Jean Vilain (Van Damme).

Once again, this movie is lame and ridiculous.  It's fun though, and the action sequences were great.  I actually really liked that I saw it with my brother; periodically we'd turn to each other and make a comment, often along the lines of "do you think x is going to happen, or y?"  The Expendables 2 is horribly predictable, pulling out all the classics of an action movie, but it succeeds in remaining fun while it does so.  My favourite part of the film was the one liners and the fact that they made fun of themselves.  There was probably at least one part of the movie - a stunt, a line, whatever - referencing some other movie that the major players were in.

My one problem with the film is that Liam Hemswroth doesn't really fit into this movie, and sadly not in a good way.  His character clashes with the overall tone of the film and, to be honest, I really didn't buy him as an ex-soldier turned mercenary.  I understood the significance of the character, I just didn't really feel Hemsworth in the role.  He didn't fit in.

The Expendables (2010)

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Stratham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller

Rating: C

This was not a good movie.  The plot was lame, the acting was mediocre, the…. Really, the everything was not good.  The thing that I liked about The Expendables, however, is that it is exactly what it presents itself as.  This movie is little more than a mindless action flick filled with a bunch of old action stars.  It’s not trying to be anything more than that, it’s not pretending to be anything more than that.  Consequently, while the movie itself is definitely bad it’s also fun.

Because the plot technically is important, I’ll summarize the premise.  The Expendables are a group of bikers and elite mercenaries, lead by Barney Ross (Stallone), and composed of a ragtag group of fighters, many of whom look like they’re dangerously close to overdosing on steroids.      Ross is given a contract to overthrow a dictator in an island in the Gulf of Mexico, where things all go to shit.

This movie is unbelievably predictable and ridiculous and tried and tested and true.  And it’s awesome because despite all that it’s fun.  It’s totally the movie that you watch after a long day when you just want to see stuff blow up.  To be fair, though, that’s what most of Stallone’s movies are like, along with most of the rest of the cast.  This isn’t good, but it’s fun.

 

Downton Abbey (Season 2)

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, Joanne Froggatt, Thomas Howes, Rob James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Dan Stevens, Penelope Wilton, Amy Nuttall

Creator: Julian Fellowes

Genre: Period Drama

Rating: A-

While not entirely as awesome as the first season of Downton Abbey, the second season still manages to be one of the best shows on TV.  The big problem with this season is simply that it moves too fast – it’s rather clear that the show runners were eager to get out of the war as quickly as possible – but despite that I still think it managed to treat at least most of its plots fairly well, and still succeeded in keeping you on your toes as to what is going to happen with your favourite characters.

The season starts in 1916, with the Battle of the Somme, and ends in 1918 with the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. With few exceptions all the original cast are back, and the viewers get to see what happens to Downton during the Great War. The Earl (Bonneville) is struggling with finding a place in the new world that is emerging around him; he’s very firmly attached to the identity that he had before the war and is unable to find a useful role during the war. His wife and daughters are each struggling to do similar, in their own way, as the Countess (McGovern) deals with the idea of turning Downton into a convalescent for the local hospital, Lady Edith (Carmichael) learns to drive and begins to fill in for the missing men in the town and cares for wounded officers, Lady Sybil (Brown Findlay) becomes, more political, and develops feelings for chauffer Tom Branson (Allen Leech), and Lady Mary (Dockery) … well, Mary gets engaged to Sir Richard Carlisle (Ian Glen), while still pining for Matthew (Stevens), who’s gone to war and gotten engaged. Isobel (Wilton) is pretty much set about making life difficult for the Countess, causing her and the Dowager Countess (Smith) to team up and work against her. Amongst the staff, Thomas (James-Collier) has gone to war as a doctor; William (Howes) wants to go to war but has promised his father he won’t; Anna (Froggatt) and Bates (Coyle) are desperate to get married, despite the many obstacles to do so presented by the current Mrs. Bates (Maria Doyle Kennedy); Carson (Carter) and Mrs. Hughes (Logan) are trying to keep the household together; and new maid Ethel (Nuttall) is a bit of a bitch and kind of a whore.

The big problem with this season is that it takes on too much and moves too fast.  While time doesn't pass too much faster here than it did in season one (with each covering about two years) it feels like it is.  There are a lot more plots going on here and it really seems like some things are just randomly dropped.  So much of the first season was based on the (very simple) plot of Mary needing to get married upstairs and the addition of Mr. Bates downstairs.  This time round there's a lot more going on and, to the disadvantage of the overall tone of the show, a lot of plots seemed to be rather quickly abandoned.  Just a few of the plots are a bit contrived too, taking you out of the delicate realism that is the show.  The further into the season things get the more soap opera-y it gets.

The acting, however, is still good, and while the show does add on a gazillion additional plots the focus really is still Mary, Matthew, and Mr. Bates. Of all the different directions that the show takes in this season, I still love how it remains about that core.  Some of the things that they do with Bates are a bit over the top, as are some of the things that they do with Matthew, but the overall story is still there.  It wasn't the best season, but it could have been a lot worse.

Downton Abbey (Season 1)

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, Joanne Froggatt, Thomas Howes, Rob James-Collier, Rose Leslie, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Dan Stevens, Penelope Wilton

Creator: Julian Fellowes
Genre: Period Drama
Rating: A+

I absolutely loved this show. I think a big part of the success of a show like this is that it combines traits of both a miniseries and a longer one; seasons are individually very short, but plots carry on and not everything is resolved at the conclusion of a season. The other thing that I love is that it feels like it has a huge budget without being overly flashy and really takes you out of the real world and into the world of the show. The other thing that I really enjoy is the fact that the show moves quickly, with the first season covering from the sinking of the Titanic (April 15, 1912) to Britain’s declaration of war on Germany (August 4, 1914). This allows for plots to move along and eliminates things like the annual Christmas special.

Downton Abbey opens with the telegram announcing the sinking of the Titanic being received, as well as the news that the two heir presumptive of The Right Honourable Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Bonneville) were on the ship and are presumed to be dead. This sends the family into a succession crisis; only the closest male relative can inherit the Duke’s title, and with it the Downton estate and the personal fortune of his wife, The Right Honourable Cora Carley, Countess of Grantham (McGovern), which have both been tied to the title. The first season of Downton shows the family trying to deal with this succession crisis and the many ways of getting around it – notably the suggestion that eldest daughter, Lady Mary Crawley (Dockery), marry the new heir, Mr. Matthew Crawley (Stevens), her third cousin once removed, who moves to Downton with his mother, Mrs. Isobel Crawley (Wilton). Prior to the crisis and his untimely death, Mary had been engaged to the previous heir’s eldest son, Patrick, her first cousin once removed. Matthew, however, is not the typical heir presumptive – he’s the son of a doctor, works as a lawyer himself, and definitely doesn’t have any of the beliefs that one typically associates with the British aristocracy. Mary is not the only Crawley daughter; there’s also Lady Edith Crawley (Carmichael), the over-looked middle child who is often in competition with her elder sister, and Lady Sybil Crawley (Brown Findlay), the youngest and radical of the family. The show is about more than just the Crawley’s, however, as it also explores the lives of their servants. There’s butler Charles Carson (Carter), the head of the household staff; housekeeper Hughes (Logan); John Bates (Coyle), the Duke’s new valet; Sarah O’Brien (Finneran), the Countess’ maid; footmen Thomas Barrow (James-Collier) and William Mason (Howes); maids Anna Smith (Froggatt) and Gwen Dawson (Leslie); and kitchen maid Daisy Robinson (McShera) and cook Beryl Patmore (Nicol). Oh! And watching over, and manipulating, it all is The Right Honourable Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Where to start… Dame Maggie Smith is awesome. There are a lot of characters in this show who, while not exactly modern in their thinking, are definitely progressive. It’s easy to like characters like the Duke or Matthew who are genuinely nice people and aren’t overly old fashioned. It’s much harder to like a character who is so old fashioned that she is surprised at the invention of a swivel chair – which she likes no more than the idea of women’s suffrage. Yet there’s something about the way that Smith delivers her lines that just makes her so easy to love. The world that the Dowager Countess was born and raised into is on the cusp of completely changing, and she’s so old fashioned that even her style of dress is outdated – something which the average person wouldn’t notice, given as it’s a costume drama set a hundred years ago, but also shows the attention to detail that the creators and costume designers have paid.

If you look beyond just the Dowager Countess, the acting still remains stellar. The characters that are intended to be loveable come off that way, the villains are villainous, and the characters who are in between remain in between. They’ve really thought out each of these characters and the cast seem to really know them. Beyond just the actual acting are the costumes, which are amazingly crafted. It can be a bit hard to notice, given as the majority of the cast are playing servants who wear, primarily, a uniform, but the clothes that the Crawley’s wear, especially when it comes to the younger girls. We can even expand this sheer awesomeness into the actual casting and the makeup that they use on the cast; none of them looks like you would expect TV stars to look like, they all look like they belong in the early twentieth century. The servants all have their looks very subtly downplayed (the exception being O’Brien, whose looks are downplayed but not at all subtly) to make them appear rather homely, while the Crawley women have similarly downplayed appearances and subtle makeup, but in a manner that still has them looking elegant and beautiful. Beyond them there’s Downton itself, which is this beautifully crafted English castle. I’m not sure how much of the set is an actual castle that they’ve filmed in and how much of it is your typical made-for-TV sets, but it all looks like it goes together and it’s all beautiful. I am of the opinion that all TV shows and movies should feature English castles. They just add so much simply by existing.

The one downside of the series is that the story is a bit complex, especially given how quickly things move. I actually had to look up an entail in order to figure out just what that was – it’s explained, very slowly and with minimal detail in the course of the show, but it’s a major plot point. I love how much they’re incorporating the real world into the series, but I do think that they could explain some of the details a little bit more – especially when said details don’t really exist within current, everyday life. When you watch a fantasy you expect to have the world explained to you; when I watch a period drama I expect to have some of the era explained to me.

New Year's Eve (2011)

Stars: Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Ludacris, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Héctor Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, Hilary Swank, Sofía Vergara

Director: Gary Marshall
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: C-

When you get an ensemble cast like the one in New Year's Eve you should be able to expect something good.  There are a lot of big names in this film and so despite it being a romantic comedy you should be able to expect it to be something great - you look at a movie like Love Actually and expect something great.  New Year's Eve is a failure in that sense; despite having a stellar cast, it's really not that good of a movie.  In fact, I doubt the word 'good' should be used at all when discussing this film.

New Year's Eve is a series of vignettes set on, surprise-surprise, December 31st, in New York.  Swank plays the Vice-President of the Times Square Alliance and is in charge of the ball dropping on time - the biggest event of the year for Times Square.  Despite the importance of her job, however, there's a meeting at midnight that she's debating going to, as is encouraged by her friend Ludacris. Berry is a nurse caring for terminal patient De Niro, who speaks fondly of memories of seeing the ball drop and only wants to see it happen once more before he dies.  Elsewhere in the hospital, parents-to-be Biel and Meyers are anxious for their baby to be born, even more so when fellow expecting parent Schweiger lets slip that the hospital gives a huge bonus to the first baby born in the hospital in the new year.  Pfeiffer is a wallflower of a woman who has quit her job and hired Efron in order to help her make a list of New Year's resolutions come true.  Meanwhile, Bon Jovi is attempting to rekindle his romance with ex-girlfriend Heigl.  Upstate, Duhamel is stranded after a friend's wedding; he must get back into the city in time to give a speech at a ball, but there's the memory of a girl he met on New Year's Eve the year before, and a promise to meet her again that's hanging over him.  Parker is a somewhat highly strung single mother who is planning to do nothing on New Year's Eve but watch the ball drop on television with her daughter, much to daughter Breslin's disappointment - she was hoping to go to Times Square, without her mother, and experience her first kiss.  Oh, and Kutcher and Michele get stuck in the elevator to their building.

There are two major signs in that this movie isn't good; first of all, I skimmed a lot and yet I still had to write 300 words to summarize the film, and second of all, without going onto Wikipedia, IMDb, or another website, I am unable to tell you the name of a single character in the film (other than Jon Bon Jovi's Jensen, whose name is said a lot).  There are so many characters and different plots in this movie that it's hard to summarize it with less.  There's a lot going on, and as a result you really don't get the chance to know and love nay of the characters.  The only character who I really felt like I understood and had a feel for were De Niro and Berry; I was really moved by his struggles and desires and the way that he hopes to make it to midnight.  Beyond that, though, none of the characters were particularly moving.  Sure, some of the stories had potential and could have been great if they were developed more... but in the span of a single movie there was just way too much going on.  You didn't get the chance to care about the characters - you didn't get the chance to learn their names.

The only way that this film is able to really be coherent despite the lack of development is the fact that New Year's Eve borrows heavily from plots of other movies.  The guy who proposes to his girlfriend, gets cold feet and runs, then tries to make things up?  I've seen it.  The couple who's competing with another couple over something ridiculous? Seen it.  The guy who's in love with the woman that he's met once years ago? Seen it. Dying guy wants to make things right with his family?  Wallflower who finally works up the nerve to pursue her life long dreams? Person who has a major deadline for work and has to deal with things going wrong?  Mother has to figure out how to deal with her teenager? Seen it, seen it, seen it, seen it.  Oh, and pair who've never met before get stuck somewhere and have to deal (and of course fall in love)?  Yeah, seen that one too. My suggestion for anyone debating seeing New Year's Eve is to watch Love Actually if you're looking for a touching holiday-themed movie filled with love and vignettes or see one of the many other romantic comedies out there that focus on at most a couple plots and actually develop them.

Rock of Ages (2012)

Stars: Diego Boneta, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige, Malin Åkerman, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Bryan Cranston
Director: Adam Shankman
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical
Rating: A

If you dislike musicals, cheesy romances, or 80s metal pop then Rock of Ages is not your cup of tea.  With that warning out, I have to say that Rock of Ages was absolutely awesome.  From the moment that Hough and a bus full of extras began singing “Sister Christian” I was hooked.  The music in this film is awesome – albeit a bit too dependent on “Don’t Stop Believing” for the post-Glee era – and will get you tapping your feet, nodding your head, and maybe even sing along as the film progresses.  The acting is also amazing, from the big names who are known for their acting to those who really aren’t – I suspect this is the only time I’ll ever be saying that a Russell Brand movie was epic and awesome.

Rock of Ages is a multidimensional movie; it presents itself first as being about a girl from Oklahoma, Sherrie Christian (Hough), trying to make it big and find love in Los Angeles.  On her first day in the city she meets barback and fellow singer Drew Boley (Boneta) and lands a job working with him at The Bourbon Room – a nightclub on the Sunset Strip known for being where some amazing albums were recorded.  There’s more to the film than just that though; Bourbon Room owner Dennis Dupree (Baldwin) owes taxes and is being threatened with the closure of his club, with a protest against it and the Strip in general being helmed by a group of religious, conservative mothers lead by Patricia Whitmore (Zeta-Jones), wife of Mayor Mike Whitman (Cranston).  Wrapping it all up is Stacee Jaxx (Cruise), rock legend and lead singer of the band Arsenal.  At the start of the film Arsenal is about to play their last gig ever, as Stacee is about to embark on a solo act – as encouraged by his manager Paul Gill (Giamatti) and questioned by Rolling Stones reporter Constance Sack (Åkerman).

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: the music in Rock of Ages is awesome.  For the most part the cast are all good singers, or at least had parts that related well to their vocal ranges.  When it comes to the songs of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Whitesnake Tom Cruise really can sing.  Alec Baldwin can’t, and neither can Paul Giamatti, but their singing parts were considerably less than the other members of the cast, and as already mentioned what they had to sing really did fit their voices and roles.  My one problem with the music overall was the fact that I felt that the songs didn’t go on long enough.  A lot of them were felt like very, very shortened versions of the songs that we know and love, which was a bit of a disappointment.  To really make up for this a few of the songs are also done as medleys, which I think really worked.  These songs complement each other, and by doing them as medleys the film is able to interconnect and juxtapose the different plots.  You also have to say something about the way the music is done in general.  I made a comment in my review for High School Musical 2 about how they’re singing and dancing about how singing and dancing is lame.  In Rock of Ages they sing rock songs to protest against rock music – while doing choreography that involves pelvic thrusts and gyrating hips, in a church.  While it's rather lame in High School Musical 2 it's awesome in Rock of Ages.

The story is awesome as well; a lot of it is pretty tried and tested, from the young lovers, to the old, down-on-his-luck club owner, to the religious fanatic with a past.  If you can’t identify at least five other movies that tell the basically the same stories that Rock of Ages has you’re not really trying.  The way that the film puts these stories together, however, is fun and in parts original and a bit shocking.  This movie is also funny, with my favourite character being Stacee Jaxx’s alcohol serving, violence prone baboon, Hey Man.  That’s right, there’s an alcohol serving, violence prone baboon.  What more can you ask for in a movie?

What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)

Stars: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker, Ben Falcone, Anna Kendrick, Matthew Morrison, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Rodrigo Santoro
Director: Kirk Jones

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Rating: C

What to Expect When You’re Expecting is another one of those movies very, very loosely based on some already established trademarks.  This time the focus is on the book that tells you all about what you’re going to go through when you’re pregnant.  With that in mind, What to Expect tries to present itself as the love child of Bridesmaids and Love Actually, following the lives of five loosely connected couples, each dealing with the trials and tribulations of impending parenthood.  If that sounds a bit lame, it’s because it kind of is.

The problem with What to Expect is that it doesn’t seem to know what kind of comedy it wants to be, or even if it’s entirely committed to being a comedy.  The genre of movie seems to change with each of the core couples, resulting in a lack of cohesion.  While this would be fine if the movie was a series of shorts connected by a similar theme What to Expect isn’t a film like that.  The Cameron Diaz/Matthew Morrison elements appear to be an attempt a spoof of so-called celebrities who appear in ridiculous reality TV shows, with what seems to be a rather heavy handed jab at Jillian Michaels of The Biggest Loser fame.  Elizabeth Banks/Ben Falcone bit is attempting to recreate Bridesmaids with Banks playing the Kristen Wigg role (complete with the actress who played Wigg’s awkward roommate playing Banks’ awkward assistant).  Dennis Quaid is Falcone’s father, with Brooklyn Decker as his much younger trophy wife, thus filling the role of the father who doesn’t get it and the inappropriate stepmother that we’ve seen far too many times at this point.  The story Jennifer Lopez/Rodrigo Santoro pairing is more your traditional romantic comedy; they’re an infertile couple looking to adopt, although Santoro’s character isn’t entirely sure he’s ready to be a father.  Santoro’s part doesn’t end there, however, as he joins a daddy walking club, featuring Chris Rock.  Thus, his part of the story descends into your typical Chris Rock type movie, wherein Chris Rock makes himself look good by surrounding himself with goofs.  The final pairing is Chace Crawford/Anna Kendrick, a pair of twenty-somethings who get pregnant after a one night stand and must deal with the consequences.  Of all the stories, this is the least comedic, more of a dramatic romance than anything else.

The stories themselves are a bit unevenly handled.  Some of them get a lot of screen time and really give you a sense of who the characters are, while others are a bit sidelined.  While some of these stories deserve to be sidelined – particularly the Quaid/Decker one – some of the front runners aren’t really strong enough to carry the film the way that they do – especially the Diaz/Morrison one.  The thing that works with a film like Love Actually is that while it has a large number of stories going on at once each one is well developed, each character unique.  What’s more is that the stories are all interconnected and support and add to each other.  Part of the fun of the movie is figuring out just how they’re all connected (there are even flow charts).  This is lost in What to Expect.  The characters are very, very loosely connected and thus the stories don’t really support each other in the same way.  The film does learn from other American attempts at a loosely connected film with an ensemble cast in that it has fewer characters and thus fewer plots.  The characters do get more attention, for the most part, but would benefit from more cohesion in the film.  In the end, I wanted less of the Banks/Falcone and Diaz/Morrison stories and more of the Lopez/Santoro and Crawford/Kendrick stories.