December 2014

A Most Wanted Man

  • Title: A Most Wanted Man
  • IMDb: link

A Most Wanted ManNotable for being the final non-Hunger Games role of Philip Seymour Hoffman, A Most Wanted Man is a slow-burning espionage thriller involving a secret German anti-terrorism unit tracking a potential suspect (Grigoriy Dobrygin). Although it’s based on the work of the same author, sadly, it’s not Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (which surprisingly moves at a far better pace than A Wanted Man).

The main takeaway from the film is how little actually happens in surveillance and much of what we do see (including a flailing romantic subplot) isn’t always that interesting. The cast is well chosen, and Hoffman leads a group of talented actors (Robin Wright, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe) each providing strong performances, but the movie lacks the will or motivation to put them to better use than we see here. It’s certainly not a bad film by any means, and is certainly worth viewing for the performances alone, but the end result is less than the sum of its parts.

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Once Upon a Time – Fall

  • Title: Once Upon a Time – Fall
  • wiki: link

Once Upon a Time - Fall

In the final day before the Snow Queen‘s (Elizabeth Mitchell) spell of Shattered Sight descends on Storybrooke the residents prepare for the worst. Realizing Anna‘s (Elizabeth Lail) previous exposure to the spell might hold the key to breaking the curse, Emma (Jennifer Morrison) redoubles her efforts into helping Elsa (Georgina Haig) find her sister. By the end of the episode the sisters will indeed be reunited while flashbacks offer a look back at Anna’s unusual journey to Storybrooke.

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The Mentalist – Nothing But Blue Skies

  • Title: The Mentalist – Nothing But Blue Skies
  • wiki: link

The Mentalist - Nothing But Blue Skies

The Mentalist returns for its final season with Jane (Simon Baker) and Lisbon (Robin Tunney) heading back to work for the first time as a couple, a fact they decide to try and keep from the rest of their FBI team which surprisingly doesn’t include Fischer (Emily Swallow) who is replaced in the season premiere with Quantico rookie Michelle Vega (Josie Loren).

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The Newsroom – Contempt

  • Title: The Newsroom – Contempt
  • wiki: link

The Newsroom - Contempt

One wedding and a jail sentence. It’s an eventful week for ACN. Neal Sampat (Dev Patel) has disappeared to a non-extradition country. The team gets blasted for showing up at the White House Correspondents Dinner after previously rebuking the entire affair live on television. Will (Jeff Daniels) has been called in front of a Grand Jury to disclose the name of the source which supplied Neal with thousands of classified documents. The network is about to be sold to a man (B.J. Novak) whose idea of network news makes Charlie (Sam Waterston) want to throttle the bastard. Jim‘s (John Gallagher Jr.) relationship goes up in flames. And Sloan (Olivia Munn) and Don (Thomas Sadoski) are still attempting to hide their relationship from the Human Resources.

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Elementary – Rip Off

  • Title: Elementary – Rip Off
  • wiki: link

Elementary - Rip Off

In the only episode of the series not to feature Lucy Liu as Joan Watson, Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and Kitty (Ophelia Lovibond) consult on a case involving the death of a small postal store owner whose severed hand was discovered on the street. After a little investigating the pair link the man’s death to illegal diamond smuggling, eventually uncovering the identity (and motive) of their killer.

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