C.A. Milson's Blog, page 243
March 19, 2014
Black Sails – TV Show Review
Black Sails – TV Series. 2014 -
Created by: Robert Levine & Johnathon E. Steinberg
Stars: Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Zach McGowen, Clara Paget
IMDB Rating: 8.2
Storyline: Captain Flint and his pirates, twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island“.
Review: From the title sequence to the end credits start rolling, this is a TV series I recommend! Gripping, entertaining and full of sword play, sex scenes, rum drinking and undressed women :)
The storyline is compelling right from the pilot episode to episode 8. I would say that my only gripe about this show is the overuse of sex scenes (I counted 3 in one of the recent episodes), which could make this show borderline porn with a few action scenes thrown in for good measure. But with that said, the performances by the actors (Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Zach McGowen, Clara Paget) has made this show intriguing and powerful enough to see how far the character development will go in Season 2.It is not often a TV show can deliver the goods, and this is one of the few that I will be tuning into when the next season starts in 2015.
Toby Stephens is brilliant as Captain Flint. Conniving, Manipulative, Scheming. Always has an “ace up his sleeve”.
Hannah New is wonderful as the sexy Eleanor Guthrie. Power-hungry, Strong, Manipulative, Defiant and will stop at nothing to get what she wants, even if it means betraying her own blood.
Jessica Parker Kennedy plays the role of Max. A hooker who soon becomes the Madam of the local brothel. Her character goes from one being abused and raped by a gang of pirates to a person who is strong, and self-confident in her own right. I look forward to seeing more of her character unfold in the next season.
Luke Arnold plays the role of John Silver. Cunning enough to survive another episode and very convincing to pull off any lie. One would think he has Sith traits :)
Clara Paget makes a great addition to this line up (in the role of Anne Bonny). I found her character is a bit of a mystery. Maybe more of her past will be revealed in the next season.
Zach McGowen plays Captain Charles Vane. Uncompromising, and heroic in a sense, even if for half of the season he is wasted and then leads a band of mercenaries to take over Eleanor’s empire. There is quite a history between Charles and Eleanor, as we are given a taste in certain episodes of their former relationship. Just where will it lead?
It is a shame that good shows like this take extended breaks, and we have to wait until 2015 for Season 2 – My 2nd gripe.
Filed under: TV Show Reviews Tagged: black sails, Captain Flint, Clara Paget, Hannah New, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Toby Stephens, Treasure Island
February 19, 2014
Nurse 3D – Movie Review
Nurse 3D (2013)
Stars: Paz de la Huerta; Katrina Bowden; Kathleen Turner; Judd NelsonIMDB Rating: 4.7
Plot: By day Abby Russell is a dedicated nurse, someone you wouldn’t hesitate to trust your life with. But by night, her real work begins…using her smoldering sexuality she lures cheating men to their brutal deaths and exposes them for who they really are. When a younger nurse starts to suspect Abby’s actions and compromises her master plan, Abby must find a way to outsmart her long enough to bring the cheater you’d least expect to justice.
Review: The theme of this movie is certainly not new. If you switch gender roles with American Psycho, then there you have Nurse 3D. By day, Abby (Paz de la Huerta) is a nurse in a hospital, by night she hunts down cheating men and kills them for their adulterous ways. The extreme overkill of nudity makes this film border-lining on Horror Porn.
I would have thought that there would have been better performances from the lead cast, and I was expecting a decent flick since it had the likes of Judd Nelson and Kathleen Turner (both of whom are good actors in my books), but truth be told, the acting from the lead actress was dry and very 2 dimensional. I will be the first to say that I have no clue who Paz De La Huerta is, or what else she acted in, but in this film any form of acting ability was non existent. So much so, that it came across as though she was doing a script-reading.
Abby shows no emotion throughout her various ordeals which I found to be a real let down. She kills for the sake of killing, anywhere she feels like, on the spur of the moment. There’s the cop (played by Boris Kodjoe), who goes after the wrong person (Danni – played by Katrina Bowden), then after he bangs Abby, he discovers a few scenes later that Abby is behind the murders all along.
There are quite a number of holes in this movie, which I will save you the trouble of by saying that if you like Horror Porn with bad acting, then by all means, go ahead and watch this. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a decent thriller movie, then watch American Psycho or Silence Of The Lambs instead.
Filed under: Movie Reviews Tagged: American Psycho, Judd Nelson, Kathleen Turner, Katrina Bowden, Nurse 3D, Paz de la Huerta, Silence Of The Lambs
Book Of The Month Club – Rise Of The Darkness
Book Of The Month Club (BOM) Giveaway
Entry To Be Drawn on February 22, 2014. Details HERE.
‘Rise Of The Darkness’ by C.A.Milson
From the time that the Darkness ruled the ancient tribes, The Elders prophesied of a time when a descendant of The Gods would arise. Tonight, in the town of Winmont, an Ancient Legion has been awoken to finish what they started many millennia ago. Now, the fate of humanity is in the hands of One, but can he overcome the forces that dare to challenge the bloodline of the Gods? The Chosen: The Rise Of The Darkness. A film of the same name coming in 2016.
Read more here: http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Darkness-Chosen-C-Milson-ebook/dp/B0049H974U/
To WIN click like=1 entry, share=5 entries
Entry To Be Drawn on February 22, 2014
Filed under: Events Tagged: BOM, Book Of The Month Club, C.A.Milson, facebook contest, Rise of the Darkness
February 14, 2014
Book Of The Month Club – Pick Up The Phone
Book Of The Month Club (BOM) Giveway
Entry To Be Drawn on February 21, 2014. Details HERE.
‘Pick Up The Phone’ by Chris Jackson
Telemarketing has come along way since it began over 50 years ago. Written by a seasoned professional, this book will detail the history of telemarketing, how business has changed over the years, the best way to recruit the top talent, telemarketing scams, why the art of Working From Home is dead and why some call centers fail when others succeed. Written by a professional who has 20 years of multi-national outbound telemarketing experience. Learn how to succeed as a telemarketer from his words.
Read more here: http://tiny.cc/nflabx
To WIN click like=1 entry, share=5 entries
Entry To Be Drawn on February 21, 2014
Filed under: Events Tagged: BOM, Book Of The Month Club, facebook contest, Pick Up The Phone, Telemarketing Fundamentals
February 11, 2014
Book Of The Month Club Tales Of A Tenacious Tenor
Win an E-copy of Tales Of A Tenacious Tenor by Robert P. Mitchell. Entry To Be Drawn on February 13, 2014.
Check it out over on Facebook.
Filed under: Events Tagged: BOM, Book Of The Month Club, Tales Of A Tenacious Tenor
January 23, 2014
Book Chat With Rudi Tartaglia
Coming Tuesday. This week’s episode is brought to you by Momentsdevotedtoyou.com
Filed under: Events Tagged: BlogTalkRadio, Book Chat, Momentsdevotedtoyou.com, Rudi Tartaglia
January 18, 2014
50K And A Callgirl – Movie Review
50K And A Call Girl, A Love Story
Stars: Ross Petterson, Seth Grossman, Jessie Wiseman, Lauren Aboulafia
IMDB Rating: 7.4
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Plot: When Ross is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given six weeks to live, his newly engaged older brother Seth offers to spend his $50,000 wedding fund on a final trip of a lifetime. Their plans are complicated when Ross invites a call girl to join the group and Seth’s uptight fiancee insists on tagging along.
Review: If your doctor told you that you had 6 weeks to live, give or take, what would you do? 50K And A Call Girl tells the story of Ross (Ross Patterson), who has been diagnosed with brain cancer and has 6 weeks to live. Rather than sit around and wait for the inevitable to come around, he decides to write a”bucket list” of the things he wants to do before he passes on. His brother, Seth (Seth Grossman), has been documenting Ross’s life since he was first diagnosed and wants Ross’s last moments to be memorable and happy. Seth convinces Ross to do whatever he wants with the $50K that he had saved up for his wedding to his fiance, Lauren. Ross agrees, and Lauren tags along with the guys for Ross’s final road trip across the US. Things become complicated when Ross brings along Carly, a call girl, who is being paid to be Ross’s girlfriend for the trip.
The characters in this film are quite well written, with Seth being the very care-free brother who wants Ross to do everything he always wanted in the little time he has left. Although Seth has good intentions, he lets himself go and comes across as though he is the one who has 6 weeks to live. He gives himself a “Mr T” hairdo and drinks out of control. The rest of his antics I wont go into as that would be bordering on SPOILERS:) Lauren (Lauren Aboulafia) is Seth’s very high maintenance “cynical about everything”, selfish fiancee, who makes the whole trip about herself, and comes across as someone who is oblivious that her fiancee’s brother is going to die in a few short weeks (She is, by far, the most annoying and most disliked character of the troupe). Ross is the free-spirited guy who just tries to live his last days as best as he can, while ignoring the fact that his time is short, and yet, trying to figure out the meaning of his own life. Carly (played by the stunning, Jessie Wiseman), is the call girl, who tries to see her gig as “just another job”, but soon enough into the film, she lets her “real self” show and her and Ross fall in love along the way.
There are touching moments in the film, such as when Ross and Seth are on a bridge and talking about the afterlife. Touching, up to the point when Seth makes a specific request of Ross, that, when he has gone if he will come back and “Swayze” him while he is making pottery 
(If you missed this reference point, see Ghost, starring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze). There are serious moments, such as when Ross is faced with his own frail humanity, the effects that cancer has on a person, and of course, having to face the fact that his time is running out fast.
An Indie film, shot in the “reality home movie” style, I did at first expect this to be another “oh-kay here we go again” humdinger P.O.S. But, this is an Indie film that broke that mold and I will say I would watch this again and again.
The director (Seth Grossman) did a wonderful job on not only bringing this story to life, but making the characters and storyline believable. The acting was simply brilliant by the main actors. Which only goes to show that if you have a good script, good actors and good directing, then you can make a movie that audiences will be impressed with.
The film does leave one to think: If you were told by your doctor that you had 6 weeks to live. What would you do?
A great movie that is a must-see.
Filed under: Movie Reviews Tagged: 50K And A Call Girl, Brain Cancer, Bucket List, Jessie Wiseman, Lauren Aboulafia, Ross Patterson, Seth Grossman
January 17, 2014
January 16, 2014
Supernatural – RoadTrip – TV Review
Supernatural
Season 9, Ep 10 – Roadtrip
Stars: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard
Plot: Dean sets off to cast Gadreel out of Sam, but Castiel tells him the only way to do that is to ask for Crowley’s help. Will Crowley be able to save Sam? Will he double-cross the Winchesters in retaliation for his imprisonment or will he be willing to help?
Review: Well the boys are back again for some more demon hunting, slaying and mayhem. In the last episode we saw the death of the Prophet by the hands of Sam (Gadreel). We pick up here with Cas meeting up with Dean inside the bunker, and they discuss what he (Dean) really did to save the life of Sam. We learn more about who Gadreel is, (in that he was the Angel who was in charge of the gate of Eden. Unfortunately, he – in his blindness – let Lucifer into the garden and the rest, as they say, is the downfall of Humanity. So since that time, Gad has been locked in a jail in Heaven for the epic fail of a job he was charged to do). And now, in order to prove himself to Metatron, he has the task of killing some of his buds, so he can be Metatron’s second in command. Hmmmm something tells me that this will not end well for Metatron
Getting back to the episode… Dean and Cas decide to get Crowley to help them save Sam from Gadreel (Gad). So begins the road-trip and some epic Bromance moments between Dean and his bestie, Cas All the while Abaddon is hot on the heels of Crowley is her continued effort to take over Hell.
I wont give away too many spoilers, but I will say that this episode will just remind you of why so many love this show
Filed under: TV Show Reviews Tagged: Abaddon, Cas, Castiel, Crowley, Dean Winchester, Gadreel, Metatron, Sam Winchester, Supernatural
January 11, 2014
Escape Plan – Movie Review
Escape Plan – 2013
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Amy Ryan. Sam Neill, Jim Caviezel, Vince Jones
IMDB Rating: 7.1
Plot: Ray Breslin is the world’s foremost authority on structural security. After analyzing every high security prison and learning a vast array of survival skills so he can design escape-proof prisons, his skills are put to the test. He’s framed and incarcerated in a master prison he designed himself. He needs to escape and find the person who put him behind bars.
Review: Escape Plan is a film that I watched with low expectations and ended up enjoying it. Admittedly, I expected the usual “80′s action heros” shooting up the place and blurting out terrible cliches. So I was quite surprized to see both the lead actors (Sly and Arny) portraying characters that were well defined and refreshing.
The theme of this movie is not new. We have seen it before in movies such as Fortress and Escape from Alcatraz, and TV shows as Prison Break.
In this action flick, Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) is a professional escape artist – he escapes from prisons for money in order to test their security. One day he gets an offer from the CIA to break from the world’s most secured “off the books” prison that holds some of the most dangerous prisoners in the world. Once there, Breslin realizes he’s been set up and discovers he’s trapped in a steel labyrinth designed specifically against his techniques of escape. With no possible help from the outside, he befriends and teams up with cunning inmate, Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and together the two of them plan to escape from the “inescapable” fortress.
This is a good action movie with a team up of two 1980′s Hollywood Heavyweights, Sylvester & Arnold. Jim Caviezel plays the evil warden, which I have to say is the best role I have seen him in since Passion Of The Christ. Amy Ryan is refreshing to see in a more serious role since The Office. While it was good to see Sam Neill in the role of the resident prison doctor, I was a little disappointed that he did not get more screen time, or even cast in the role as the Prison Warden.
If you love your 80′s action heros, then sit back, get into 80′s mode and watch this
Filed under: Movie Reviews Tagged: Amy Ryan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Escape Plan, Jim Caviezel, Sam Neill, Sylvester Stallone
