Gotham, OK & Sleepy Hollow, Yay!
No spoilers about Gotham, except to say that I like what I've seen so far, and the casting is perfect for almost every role. It does feel very organic, like this could have happened before other Batman!verse events, although the timelines are off for a few of the major characters. The only quibble I have with it (and I realize it's pretty damn ridiculous) is since almost all the characters are villains/heroes in the making, Yebisu and I started wondering if every character had some significance in the story's future; we forgot that sometimes an ugly mob thug is just an ugly mob thug.
Of more immediate squee-ish interest to me is Sleepy Hollow. I had forgotten just how much I missed this show, and the premiere did not disappoint. The fake plotline of "we're a year in the future because things arbitrarily happened" did not ring particularly true, and I was glad when it was dispensed with in short order. So, yay for a return to preposterous science (Ichabod busting his way out of the coffin was pretty cray-cray, and I kept waiting for the Mythbusters guys to show up and debunk this as a fake and ridiculous stunt) but, on the other hand, it was nice to see a character using his brain first instead of his fists (after Gotham.) As usual, Abbie was made of awesome and win, and it was a pleasure to see her solve the multiple Crane doppelganger problem while she was in Purgatory. Purgatory also looked pretty damn evil--for a place that's supposed to be neither one, I'm a bit surprised at how over the top it is. When Abbie found herself in Molloch's lair, Yebisu and I had the following conversation:
Yebisu: Wow, that place is evil.
Me: Evil sure has a big candle budget.
Evil also had a big random German thugs budget, apparently. I enjoyed the sequence of Jenny fighting her way out of the warehouse and Crane only being able to drive forwards. There were all sorts of funny asides and one liners, and I got a real kick out of Ichabod's griping about Franklin. It was played for laughs, but as someone who's had her share of annoying bosses, it made me sympathize with Crane a smidgen more.
On the evil-lite side, John Cho's appearance was nicely played. I wonder if that's the last we will see of him this year. Also on the evil-lite side, what was Molloch doing this entire episode? I know, I know, a spell to raise a zombie army, but holy crap it took a long time, and every time we saw him in the distance, I imagined him checking his to-do list. ("OK, sprinkle blood here, here, and here, check. Next, parboil eye of newt in tears of the innocent... where'd I put my skillet?!")
The only weak plotline was Katrina's capture at Headless LaMar's hands. I really don't know what to make of this sequence, because Headless isn't particularly scary, and this plotline makes him even less so. I think the writers are trying to go for a Gothic novel, Phantom of the Opera-vibe, and it just fails so much. While Katrina's escape attempt was well conceived, the whole "you will submit to meeeee because I will kill your one true love" schtick gets old really, really quickly. My hope for next week is that our heroes rescue Katrina, and then everyone goes out for mimosas. Headless LaMar can do his "why won't she just love me?!" whining to an internet advice column or something.
Trailer Park:
* Dammit, Annabelle trailers: I do not need another phobia. While I'm sure the actual movie won't be that scary, whoever edited these trailers (there were two) is to be commended for making the whole thing as spooky and awful as possible. Also, who buys a creepy-looking doll like that? What the hell, people?
* Kingsman: I am all for Colin Firth as a suave British secret agent who can kick ass, but this movie appears to have some worrisome strikes against it: 1) February release date--not January dumping ground, but not prestige, either; 2) Lea Michelle appears to be in it, with a British accent (uhm...); and 3) How is this not The Avengers, but without Emma Peel?
Of more immediate squee-ish interest to me is Sleepy Hollow. I had forgotten just how much I missed this show, and the premiere did not disappoint. The fake plotline of "we're a year in the future because things arbitrarily happened" did not ring particularly true, and I was glad when it was dispensed with in short order. So, yay for a return to preposterous science (Ichabod busting his way out of the coffin was pretty cray-cray, and I kept waiting for the Mythbusters guys to show up and debunk this as a fake and ridiculous stunt) but, on the other hand, it was nice to see a character using his brain first instead of his fists (after Gotham.) As usual, Abbie was made of awesome and win, and it was a pleasure to see her solve the multiple Crane doppelganger problem while she was in Purgatory. Purgatory also looked pretty damn evil--for a place that's supposed to be neither one, I'm a bit surprised at how over the top it is. When Abbie found herself in Molloch's lair, Yebisu and I had the following conversation:
Yebisu: Wow, that place is evil.
Me: Evil sure has a big candle budget.
Evil also had a big random German thugs budget, apparently. I enjoyed the sequence of Jenny fighting her way out of the warehouse and Crane only being able to drive forwards. There were all sorts of funny asides and one liners, and I got a real kick out of Ichabod's griping about Franklin. It was played for laughs, but as someone who's had her share of annoying bosses, it made me sympathize with Crane a smidgen more.
On the evil-lite side, John Cho's appearance was nicely played. I wonder if that's the last we will see of him this year. Also on the evil-lite side, what was Molloch doing this entire episode? I know, I know, a spell to raise a zombie army, but holy crap it took a long time, and every time we saw him in the distance, I imagined him checking his to-do list. ("OK, sprinkle blood here, here, and here, check. Next, parboil eye of newt in tears of the innocent... where'd I put my skillet?!")
The only weak plotline was Katrina's capture at Headless LaMar's hands. I really don't know what to make of this sequence, because Headless isn't particularly scary, and this plotline makes him even less so. I think the writers are trying to go for a Gothic novel, Phantom of the Opera-vibe, and it just fails so much. While Katrina's escape attempt was well conceived, the whole "you will submit to meeeee because I will kill your one true love" schtick gets old really, really quickly. My hope for next week is that our heroes rescue Katrina, and then everyone goes out for mimosas. Headless LaMar can do his "why won't she just love me?!" whining to an internet advice column or something.
Trailer Park:
* Dammit, Annabelle trailers: I do not need another phobia. While I'm sure the actual movie won't be that scary, whoever edited these trailers (there were two) is to be commended for making the whole thing as spooky and awful as possible. Also, who buys a creepy-looking doll like that? What the hell, people?
* Kingsman: I am all for Colin Firth as a suave British secret agent who can kick ass, but this movie appears to have some worrisome strikes against it: 1) February release date--not January dumping ground, but not prestige, either; 2) Lea Michelle appears to be in it, with a British accent (uhm...); and 3) How is this not The Avengers, but without Emma Peel?