Series review: Major Crimes

Major Crimes (2012โ€“)
Major Crimes poster Rating: 7.6/10 (6,185 votes)
Director: N/A
Writer: James Duff
Stars: Mary McDonnell, G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan
Runtime: 60 min
Rated: N/A
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Released: 13 Aug 2012
Plot: 'The Closer' spin-off series which follows Capt. Raydor of the Los Angeles Police Department.

I never watched The Closer, but a couple of weeks ago I read a glowing recommendation for its follow-up show, Major Crimes. It lauded the show’s diversity and the laudable way it handles the serious topics covered. I’m a big fan of crime procedurals, but I’m not blind to the many, many faults of the genre (from sexism to “ripped-from-the-headlines” sensationalism) – and Major Crimes is definitely ahead of the curve.

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Movie review: Mr. Holmes

Mr. Holmes (2015)
Mr. Holmes poster Rating: 7.7/10 (2528 votes)
Director: Bill Condon
Writer: Mitch Cullin (based on the novel by), Arthur Conan Doyle (characters), Jeffrey Hatcher, Mitch Cullin (novel)
Stars: Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hiroyuki Sanada
Runtime: 104 min
Rated: PG
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Released: 17 Jul 2015
Plot: An aged, retired Sherlock Holmes looks back on his life, and grapples with an unsolved case involving a beautiful woman.

I’m a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, so there was no way I was not going to see the talented and generally wonderful Sir Ian McKellen take his turn at portraying the great detective. The movie is not based on Conan Doyle’s stories and therefore basically fan fiction – but very good fan fiction.

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Book review: The Unauthorized Version, by Robin Lane Fox

[Open Library Data Unavailable (books)]

That’s what Robin Lane Fox calls the Bible, whose mix of facts and fiction he traces in this densely written book, which he describes as “a historian’s view of the Bible”.

Covering everything from Genesis to Revelations, he makes it clear where the various authors get their history wrong (almost all of the time), but, despite being an atheist himself, he also stresses their goals and motivations in writing (and editing) the texts that comprise the Bible. He also goes further, highlighting that for centuries, even millennia, there was no such thing as a biblical canon, a fixed set of texts used by both Jews and Christians.

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Series review: From the Earth to the Moon

From the Earth to the Moon (1998)
From the Earth to the Moon poster Rating: 9.0/10 (6,503 votes)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Stars: Tom Hanks, Nick Searcy, Lane Smith, David Andrews
Runtime: 60 min
Rated: N/A
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Released: 05 Apr 1998
Plot: Dramatized portrayal of the Apollo manned space program.

I kind of can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this HBO mini-series before – I think I stumbled across it after it was mentioned in a Band of Brothers review. Immediately I knew I had to see this, since I’ve always found everything to do with space exploration immensely thrilling, especially of course the short years during which humankind actually went out there and landed on the moon.

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Series review: Sense8

Sense8 (2015โ€“)
Sense8 poster Rating: 8.1/10 (5,066 votes)
Director: N/A
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Stars: Miguel รngel Silvestre, Doona Bae, Jamie Clayton, Tina Desai
Runtime: 60 min
Rated: N/A
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Released: 05 Jun 2015
Plot: A group of people around the world are suddenly linked mentally, and must find a way to survive being hunted by those who see them as a threat to the world's order.

On Saturday, Netflix suggested a new show by the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5), and because its premise sounded interesting, I gave it a shot and watched the first 3 episodes in one sitting (which is funny, since that’s exactly what a lot of the early reviewers out there did, too). The premise is interesting, the way these 8 very different people suddenly connect well-depicted (and it sure helped that they’re all very, very pretty *g*). Still, I wasn’t completely hooked, since only a couple of the storylines (most of all Nomi’s) really gripped me, although things definitely picked up towards the end of my first session – at least enough so I kept watching. And boy, am I glad I did, because in episode 4 I properly fell in love.

I’ll try not to spoil too much, but let me share some of the reasons why.

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Series review: The Inside

The Inside (2005โ€“)
The Inside poster Rating: 8.1/10 (953 votes)
Director: N/A
Writer: Howard Gordon, Tim Minear
Stars: Rachel Nichols, Adam Baldwin, Katie Finneran, Nelsan Ellis
Runtime: 42 min
Rated: TV-14
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Released: 08 Jun 2005
Plot: A rookie FBI agent is recruited as the new violent crimes task force profiler to solve murder cases.

This show was created by Tim Minear, who’d also worked on another short-lived Fox series, Firefly. That’s where the similarities end, pretty much, because The Inside is a dark and twisted crime procedural. Seriously, it makes Criminal Minds look fluffy and happy – and somehow the gore is extra-gruesome, making me feel actively nauseous several times. So why did I just re-watch it in its entirety?

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Book review: Almost Famous Women: Stories, by Megan Mayhew Bergman

Almost Famous Women
Almost Famous Women: Stories
Megan Mayhew Bergman (author) / Lesa Lockford (narrator), Dreamscape Media 2015

Basically, I loved the idea of this more than the actual book. It’s a collection of short stories about women who have been mostly forgotten by history – very different women, ranging from a little girl (Lord Byron’s daughter) to author and horse trainer Beryl Markham.

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Book review: Captain America – The First Avenger, by Elizabeth Rudnick

Captain America novel[Open Library Data Unavailable (books)]

I knew this was just a “junior novel”, but still, I’d hoped for more. It’s very bare bones, racing through the action and not bothering with things like characterisation or transitions. I’m not sure i makes sense if you haven’t seen the movie, actually – it sure doesn’t make you care about anyone except maybe (maybe!) Steve. It also constantly switches POVs, which I found rather irritating. (Spoilers below!)

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Happy birthday, Papi…

I still miss you. Today I was very busy with our annual conference, but it just hit me again. I think this space in my heart will never be not broken, but I’m lucky to have so many amazing memories with you. Love forever, your loving daughter.

Oh, and to end on an up note: May the Fourth be with you… ๐Ÿ™‚


Movie review: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers: Age of Ultron poster Rating: N/A/10 (N/A votes)
Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: Joss Whedon, Stan Lee (comic book), Jack Kirby (comic book)
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hayley Atwell, Chris Evans
Runtime: 142 min
Rated: N/A
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Released: 1 May 2015
Plot: When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and it is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.

I adore the Marvel Cinematic Universe to pieces, and the first Avengers movie rates very highly in my own personal ranking (a tie for second place with the first Captain America, following Winter Soldier). Also, I love Joss Whedon (mainly for giving us Firefly), and I was very excited to get more Black Widow and Hawkeye (alone or together, I love these two for being normal humans fighting alongside superheroes). Accordingly, I went into Age of Ultron with very high expectations indeed – which turned out to be a mistake, because I walked out of the theatre with a bad taste in my mouth, feeling frustrated and disappointed. (No spoilers follow, I think, except what one could learn from a plot synopsis or trailers.)

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