Supergirl shows Batman vs Superman how to do a Crossover!

Posted on 06/04/2016 by Cate53

The movie Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice opened a few days before Supergirl featured a visit from The Flash and I know which one I liked better!

The movie was DC’s attempts to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) by cramming in Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and glimpses of Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg all packaged as a grim and dark supposedly serious and portentous brooding movie. The tone of the TV DC universe could not be more different. Greg Berlanti who began with a pretty dark Oliver Queen in Arrow has shown a much lighter touch with The Flash and now Supergirl and the key word that comes to mind is ‘fun’. Both Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin are young and ..well, CHEERFUL! Pretty much polar opposite to their movie counterparts Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill who I don’t think cracked a smile throughout that overlong film! Continue reading →

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The 100 Kills it Again!

Posted on 05/04/2016 by Cate53

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The 100 returned with another episode that dealt with the aftermath of Lexa’s death, and killed off yet another main characters – oh and about 8 others too!

After the all-Arkadia episode 8, it was back to Polis for Stealing Fire, episode 9 that saw the return of Ontari, the Ice Nation nightblood who has her eye on taking the flame and becoming the new Commander. Continue reading →

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Daredevil Season 2

Posted on 21/03/2016 by Cate53

Meh… 🙂
Liked Electra but this season was mainly more of the same: brutal violence and brooding blokes, and Matt Murdock is actually really annoying. Still some way behind Jessica Jones for me.

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Supergirl is seriously under rated!

Posted on 20/03/2016 by Cate53

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Supergirl’s latest episode ‘Falling’ used the idea of red kryptonite turning our hero bad to give us one of its best episodes yet and another example of why this show isn’t getting enough credit.

On ‘Smallville’, we saw young Clark Kent turn evil a few times under the influence of red kryptonite, but after Kara is accidentally infected, she doesn’t turn evil, she is just acting on every negative thought and impulse. The sort of stuff a lot of us might think watching the show! Why be nice to the scheming other secretary? Cat Grant is cocky, give her a scare! Your sister probably DOES feel jealous of you. Why not pursue hunky James Olson? Those pesky humans, always getting into trouble! Let’s ditch the granny clothes and show off my hotness! Yes, Kara does all this – and it has consequences. In one episode, National City has turned against her and Kara’s relationship with the people in her life has been altered. Ruined? Still TBD.

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The 100 fandom goes nuts!!

Posted on 17/03/2016 by Cate53

The 100 fandom has been in uproar since the episode ‘Thirteen’, episode 7 of season 3 aired recently and a beloved character was killed off. Yes, they did it, Lexa really WAS doomed and just minutes after Clexa happened – Clarke and Lexa slept together in a beautifully romantic scene  – a stray bullet meant for Clarke accidentally hit our beloved Commander. The episode was an absolutely terrific one, with brilliant flashbacks to tell the story of how the world was destroyed and the origins of the ALIE AI, the links to the Grounders and the evolution of the Commanders. However, the fascinating backstory detail was overshadowed by the loss of Lexa.

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Is Lexa Doomed on The 100?

Posted on 20/02/2016 by Cate53

When Alycia Debnam-Carey was cast as one of the leads on Fear the Walking Dead, it seemed her long term future as Grounder Commander Lexa was in doubt. She is still billed as ‘guest star’ on The 100 (although this may be for contractual reasons) but on a show like this where no one is safe, her position seems precarious.

This week’s episode of The 100 ‘Hakeldama’ (3×05) made me increasingly worried for Lexa. The Sky crew now led by the warmongering, Grounder-hating Pike have just massacred 300 grounders – although thankfully not Indra – and Lexa’s first instinct is to raise and army and destroy them. Seems fair enough.

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Happy Valley Returns

Posted on 20/02/2016 by Cate53

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BBC’s Happy Valley returned this month after a highly acclaimed first series in 2014. Written by Sally Wainwright, the show stars Sarah Lancashire as Catherine Cawood, a fantastically competent, if harried West Yorkshire police officer. The first six part series told the story of a bungled kidnapping, serial killer Tommy Lee Royce and Catherine’s dogged pursuit of the criminals.

What made the show stand out was definitely Lancashire’s wonderful performance and Wainwright’s taut plotting and blackly comic dialogue. There was also some pretty disturbing and shocking violence that really kept you on the edge of your seat. There was also a wonderful cast of characters including Siobhan Finneran as Catherine’s recovering addict sister Clare, Steve Pemberton as hapless criminal mastermind Kevin Weatherall, James Norton’s charismatically scary Tommy, George Costigan and more.

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Is The 100 one of the best shows on TV?

Posted on 16/02/2016 by Cate53

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The CW show The 100 began its third season in January and after a not terribly promising start, has grown to be one of my favourite shows. The premise is that the Earth was devastated by nuclear war, the survivors heading for an ark in space to escape the deadly radiation. However, resources are running low after 97 years, and any rule infractions result in a death sentence – unless you are under 18. A group of teenage rule breakers are chosen to head down to the surface to test out whether it is safe to return – a pretty dangerous mission, especially as once they get to Earth, the radioactivity is safe, but the survivors on the surface – known as the Grounders – are less than welcoming

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Jessica Jones, Supergirl and Female Superheroes

Posted on 07/02/2016 by Cate53

While Marvel seems to have taken over the blockbuster movie world, a common criticism is the lack of good female roles in the films (probably to do with many originating years ago in a time when most heroes were of course men!) However in 2015 a few are finally filtering through – to the TV world at least!

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Orange is the New Black

Posted on 19/02/2015 by Cate53

Orange is the New Black is THE BEST Netflix series! The streaming service ventured into original programming with House of Cards first – a US adaptation of the British black comedy political series from the 1980s (I think) that featured Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart, whose catchphrase, ‘you may think that, but I couldn’t possibly comment’ and his devilish asides to the camera were deliciously Machiavellian. The US version stars Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood and Robin Wright as his wife Claire. Produced by David Fincher, it was the sort of high profile, prestige drama that really put Netflix on the map. Very enjoyable and well made, House of Cards was a big hit, and the first of the Netflix model of releasing an entire season on the same day that made binge-watching a real trend.

Then in the summer of 2013, the first series of Orange is the New Black arrived. Based on the book of the same name by Piper Kerman, it stars Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman, a blonde yuppie whose past with a drug running girlfriend leads to her being sentenced to 10 months in a minimum security prison. OITNB came from producer Jenji Kohan, creator of Weeds starring Mary Louise Parker (not a show I ever watched) and had a few familiar faces. Kate Mulgrew from Star Trek Voyager as Russian cook Red, Jason Biggs from the American Pie films as Piper’s fiance Larry, Natasha Lyonne, Taryn Manning and Laura Prepon plus a lot of new faces. The show can be hard to categorise – indeed, it’s moved from drama to comedy in award show categories as it really is a dramedy! Piper’s fish out of water story is the way in to a world peopled with so many fascinating and diverse characters.

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