C.A. Milson's Blog, page 231

Ascension (2014) – Trailer

Ascension (TV Series)

Stars: Tricia Helfer, Gil Bellows, Brian Van Holt, Andrea Roth, Jacqueline Byers, Jessica Sipos

Plot: A young woman’s murder causes the subjects of a century-long mission to populate a new world to question the true nature of the project as they approach the point of no return.

Quick Review: 50 years into a 100 year space mission to find a new home planet, a murder takes place on board the spaceship, and all hell breaks loose. Yet, everything is not what it seems, as the crew of the ship believe that they are in deep space, when in reality, they are still on Earth, in a simulated spaceship, in an science lab of sorts.

Ascension was a good concept, but there were a number of flaws in this mini-series which did leave it somewhat disappointing.

Verdict: Deep Space None

My Rating: 5 out of 10

Filed under: TV Show Reviews Tagged: Andrea Roth, Ascension (2014) - TV Series, Brian Van Holt, ��������������������, Gil Bellows, Jacqueline Byers, Jessica Sipos, Mini Series, Trailer, Tricia Helfer

The Librarians (2014��� ) – TV Series

The Librarians (2014 – )

Stars: Rebecca Romijn, Christian Kane, Lindy Booth, John Kim, Noah Wyle, John Larroquette, Lesley-Ann Brandt

IMDB Rating: 7.3

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Plot: A group of librarians set off on adventures in an effort to save mysterious, ancient artifacts.

 

Review:�� What do TV studios decide to do when one popular TV series ends (Warehouse 13)? Start a new TV series…

Noah Wyle stars as Flynn Carson – The Librarian – who protects a collection of magical artifacts from falling into the hands of Dulaque (played by Matt Frewer). Noah Wyle has a certain presence in his role, but unfortunately he isn’t the main protagonist in this. He is more like a special guest star.

When Flynn’s time is nearing it’s end, he must recruit a new Librarian to safe-guard the Library.

Along comes the new recruits… A band of misfits, all selected by the Library to safeguard the artifacts…

Even though the show runs along similar lines to W13, it does hold its own with the right mix of comedy, we each episode sees our troupe of misfits band together to save the world :) And of course, it is always good to see Ms Romijn in a more comedy role than what we are used to seeing her in Xmen.

Verdict: Filing Evil under History :)

My Rating: 8 out of 10

 

 

 

Filed under: TV Show Reviews Tagged: Christian Kane, John Kim, John Larroquette, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Lindy Booth, Matt Frewer, Noah Wyle, Rebecca Romijn, The Librarians (2014��� ), Warehouse 13

Happy New Year – Looking Forward

Hello readers!

As 2014 draws to a close, I will reflect on a year that has been.

2014 was a year of turmoil, for some on a personal level and in the communities. Some of the biggest news makers of 2014 was the MH flight that was shot down over the Ukraine by Russian extremists, and the consequences that followed (such as the Ruble facing economic ruin). There was also the horrendous act by the IS extremist in Sydney not that long ago.

As I look at the events that are happening around the world, as horrible as these things are, I also see people with Hope. As long as we hold fast our Hope, I have no doubt that we can do what we can to make this world a better place to live in.

This coming year, I would challenge each reader to do 2 things.

1. Pay a Blessing forward to someone who really needs it. One small act of Kindness can make an impact. And of there are enough acts of Kindness, it can change the world.

2. Re-blog this post, in the Hope that others will read and take on the challenge.

May your 2015 be one of Happiness and many Blessings. :)

Peace :)

C.J.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Events Tagged: 2015, 2015 challenge, blessing, Happy New Year, hope, Pay It Forward

For chicken lovers……

A must buy for all those who love chickens.

“Raising Chickens From Scratch” by Chris Jackson.

A lighthearted look at raising backyard chickens from personal experience.

Published by ASJ Publishing.

Available early January 2015 in digital formats.

For the chook enthusiast, you can also get the 2015 calendar from Lulu.com.

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: "Raising Chickens From Scratch", 2015 novelty calender, ASJ Publishing, backyard chickens, book release, hobbyfarm, new release

Tusk (2014) – Movie Review

Tusk (2014)

Stars: Justin Long, Michael Parks, Haley Joel Osment

IMDB Rating: 5.7

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Plot: When podcaster Wallace travels to Canada to interview someone, he winds up meeting a strange man named Howe who has many stories to tell about his past life during his interview. Wallace wakes up the next day finding out Howe isn’t the person he thought he was. Howe has plans to surgically and mentally turn Wallace into a walrus.

 

Review: Tusk is a horror film written and directed by Kevin Smith, based on a story from his SModcast podcast.

When podcaster Wallace (Justin Long) travels to Canada to interview someone, his plans don’t go well as the interviewee has unfortunately passed on. He ends up meeting a strange man named Howe (Michael Parks) who has many stories to tell about is past life. But halfway through the interview, Wallace passes out, and wakes the next day to discover that Howe isn’t the person he thought he was.

Howe has plans to surgically and mentally turn Wallace into something from his past.. A walrus.

This film would be comedy slash horror, and once again Justin Long brings the goods to the table. Michael Parks plays the part of Howe, a psychopath with too many delusions of aquatic mammals (especially walrus’), Haley Joel Osment is Wallace’s best mate – Teddy – and co-host of their podcast show, and Genesis Rodriguez is Wallace’s girlfriend, Ally.

When the shit hits the fan – and it does – Wallace finds himself the victim of psychopath Howe, who is intent on surgically transforming a human into a walrus. Time is running out for Wallace. Will Ally and Teddy get to their man in time in this film? Ah… no.

If you like previous work by Kevin Smith, you will enjoy this one.

Verdict: I am the walrus…. (Beatles :) )

My Rating: 6 out of 10

 

 

Filed under: Movie Trailers Tagged: Genesis Rodriguez, Haley Joel Osment, Justin Long, Kevin Smith, Michael Parks, Tusk (2014), walrus

2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

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Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,900 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Filed under: Events Tagged: ASJ Publishing, Stats, WP year in review

The Red Tent – TV Series Review

The Red Tent – TV Mini Series (2014)

Stars: Minnie Driver, Morena Baccarin, Rebecca Ferguson

IMDB Rating: 7.6

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Plot: Her name is Dinah. In the Bible her life is only hinted at during a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons in the Book of Genesis. Told through Dinah’s eloquent voice, this sweeping miniseries reveals the traditions and turmoil of ancient womanhood. Dinah’s tale begins with the story of her mothers: Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that are to sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah tells us of the world of the red tent, the place where women were sequestered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and illness; of her initiations into the religious and sexual practices of her tribe; of Jacob’s courtship with his four wives; of the mystery and wonder of caravans, farmers, shepherds, and slaves; of love and death in the city of Shechem; of her half-brother Joseph’s rise in Egypt, and of course her…

 

Review: The movie is loosely based on the life of Dinah and was written for a twenty-first century audience; therefore, it has a lot of historical inaccuracies, too many to even mention. But, if you are a biblical scholar, you will be able to point them out one after another.

While the film itself was wonderful story-telling, for me that is all it was. A fictional account of what biblical history says otherwise. I would have given this movie a lot higher score if the plot stuck to the original account of what Jacob and his family went through, but it did not.

Verdict: A rewrite of the Old Testament brought to you by Lifetime.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under: TV Show Reviews Tagged: Anita Diamant, Debra Winger, Iain Glen, Minnie Driver, Morena Baccarin, Rebecca Ferguson, The Red Tent

Paddington (2014) – Trailer

Paddington (2014)

Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ben Whishaw, Michael Gambon, Peter Capaldi

IMDB Rating: 7.7

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Plot: A young English boy befriends a talking bear he finds at a London train station. A live-action feature based on the series of popular children’s books by Michael Bond.

Quick Review: I am yet to see this, but, if the TV series was anything to go by, then this film will be a real treat :)

Filed under: Movie Trailers Tagged: Paddington (2014), Paddington Bear, talking bear

P&E Readers Poll

Hey folks. The annual P&E Readers Poll is back on. Please take a moment to vote for us in this years line-up.

ASJ Publishing: http://critters.org/predpoll/ebookpublisher.shtml

ASJ Publishing Bookstore: http://critters.org/predpoll/bookstore.shtml

C.A.Milson Blog: http://critters.org/predpoll/reviewsite.shtml

Hi five if you can spare a moment to vote for us in each category :)

Filed under: Events Tagged: Annual Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll, blog vote, Critters Worlshop, P&E Readers Poll, Vote

The Interview (2014) – Movie Review

The Interview (2014)

Stars: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Randall Park

IMDB Rating: 8.4

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Plot: In the action-comedy The Interview, Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) run the popular��celebrity tabloid TV show Skylark Tonight. When they discover that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the most unlikely candidates, to take out Kim Jong-un.

Review: After all the publicity I had seen of this film, I knew this was one I had to watch.

The Interview stars James Franco as Dave Skylark. A host of an Oprah type show, who interviews celebrities for the sake of ratings. There’s nothing spectacular about his TV talk-show at all. Guests come on and spill the beans on their inner most secrets. Such as Eminem who decides to ‘come out of the closet’ on Skylark’s show and announce that he is gay. In his cameo the rapper states; “I’m more shocked that people haven’t figured it out yet, I’ve been playing gay peek-a-boo for years. I’ve pretty much been leaving a gay bread crumb trail.”

Then of course there’s the scene when Rob Lowe comes out of his own closet and announces that for years he’s been wearing a toupee.

Seth Rogen stars as Skylark’s producer – Aaron Rapaport – who has been with Skylark from the very beginning. While Aaron wants the show to take on a more serious note, his ‘star’ does not share the same ambitions.. That is until it is revealed that the dictator of North Korea – Kim Jong-un – is Skylark’s ‘Number One Fan’. So what does any tabloid TV host do when they find out that a dictator is their “fanboy”? They decide to interview him to show the world who he really is.

You can guess what happens from here. In comes the busty Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) of the CIA to recruit these two morons to assassinate Kim Jong-Un.

It is easy to see why any political leader would get their knickers in a knot when they are made a complete mockery of. But, some political leaders just deserve being made a fool of. In this case, the ass of the joke happens to be a dictator who apparently has no sense of humor at all.

While the film was funny in parts, the rest I didn’t really care for that much, and James Franco’s acting came across as his apparent desperate selfies…. Braindead.

The hype about this film didn’t exactly live up to expectations, and if the rumors were true about Jong-Un’s threats, then it is obvious that he really needs to get a life and not act like a jackass with a two by four stuck up his tight butt.

Verdict: Borat was funnier

My Rating: 6 out of 10

Watch Dave Skylark interview Iggy Azalea

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Movie Reviews Tagged: Dave Skylark, Eminem, Eminem Comes Out as Gay, Iggy Azalea, James Franco, Kim Jong-un, Randall Park, Seth Rogen, The Interview (2014)