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LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (2009) Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls gets the LEGO make-over along with a quick return to the classic trilogy. 5/10 Sadly, this is very much a case of fully diminished returns for this franchise as a number of good-on-paper ideas and clever bite-size puzzling and platforming all turn out to be deathly dull or irritating or both. As with LEGO Batman, the sound designer makes you hate the famous music but the graphics are better than ever, the LEGO character’s animated walk remains charmingly perfect and I love the way the characters leave square footprints in the snow. The new Level Creator is brilliantly done and, one hopes, there will more made of it in later games. This game contains extreme lego violence, graphic lego dismemberment.
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February 9, 2010
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (2009, Platform Puzzle Action Game, PS3) – 5/10 game review
Classified 7+ by PEGI. The game is only suitable for persons who have reached the age of 7 or over. 
Classified Violence by PEGI. Game contains depictions of violence. February 6, 2010
Appleseed: Ex Machina aka Ekusu makina (2007, Science Fiction Mecha CG Anime) – 6/10 movie review
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Appleseed: Ex Machina aka Ekusu makina (2007) A.D. 2133: as the Bioroid-run Olympus (a utopian city governed by humanoid cyborg’s with troublesome emotions like anger and fear removed) invites the rest of the world to join with its satellite network to usher in an era of global peace, something or someone has plans of their own and is mind-controlling cyborgs to get it. 6/10 Once again, as with Appleseed (CG), the strongest scene opens the movie with a notably cool action sequence inside a cathedral sprinkled with neat ideas. The remainder doesn’t make much sense but at least you do know what the heroes are doing and the technical concepts come across clearly. The problem is that the baddie’s plans make no sense at all (SPOILER especially the shooting himself in the head and dying bit) but, as I say, you do know what everyone is doing so you can easily follow events. Technically, this is brilliantly designed (Deunan’s two Prada-designed outfits are impressively eye-catching) and has a lovely look that keeps itself out of the uncanny valley by having a very simple colour style, especially for character faces. This movie contains a single sexual swear word, mild swear words and violence, brief graphic violence.
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Classified 12 by BBFC. Suitable only for persons of 12 years and over. Appleseed (2004, Science Fiction Mecha CG Anime) – 7/10 movie review
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7/10 Yeah, but the last letter of the password? This cool, great-looking Japanese animation features an ambitious scenario and generally superlative animation (occasional facial animation is a little less than outstanding). The English dub is good. Where it does fall down is that the story doesn’t make much sense in how it gets from one scene to another and that the first outstanding action scene (produced and directed as a test before committing to the remaining 95 minutes) is the best of the movie. This movie contains mild swear words, mild adult dialogue and some extreme violence, strong martial arts violence, gory and unpleasant scenes and mild nudity.
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Classified 12A by BBFC. Persons under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (2007, Street Racing, 360 and Games for Windows) – 6/10 game review
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Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (2007) 6/10 Though featuring the same slightly odd, somewhat unpredictable handling as the first game and horrific, completely unpredictable barrier impact dynamics, this does deliver thrilling racing and slightly more depth to the basic mechanics of who you race in a race and how you progress throughout the game. There are also some nice variants on the typical racing game staples and there was a nice surprise with a supercar I hadn’t played or heard of before (SPOILERthe Melling Hellcat). Sadly, the game’s graphics become almost completely broken with the faster cars and the rubber-band AI is arguably the worst and most embarrassing in gaming history. The Games for Windows Live version is awful; broken achievements, broken widescreen support and unnecessarily uglier than the generally good-looking 360 version. This game contains mild swear words.
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Classified 12+ by PEGI. The game is only suitable for persons who have reached the age of 12 or over. 
Classified Bad Language by PEGI. Game contains bad language. 
Classified Gambling by PEGI. Game encourages or teaches gambling. February 5, 2010
Xbox 360 vs PS3 Head-to-Head Face Off: Round 24
Every so often, Eurogamer run a series of technical comparison reviews for games released on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
This is the latest update to the full list.
Colin McRae: DiRT 2 (2009, Off-Road Racing Game, Games for Windows) – 9/10 game review
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9/10 Despite a notable lack of rallying and interchangeable international locations (Baja, Morocco, China and Utah are particularly indistinguishable and there is no snow and little tarmac), DiRT 2 improves on it’s predecessor in every other way. Graphics are completely fantastic (especially on PC Ultra) but it’s the handling that is the revelation. This is easily the best handling Codemasters have delivered since Colin 2.0 and is accessible, responsive, predictable and convincing. It is a perfect balance of arcade and simulation. Presentation is also splendid and the personalities are well represented (contrasting with the lack of character for the locations) and smack talking back to Travis Pastrana and Ken Block is endlessly great fun. This game contains ostentatiously omitted sexual swear word in songs.
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What Are the Benefits of Knowing the Truth About Death?
This isn’t a talk about the truth about death but about the benefits of knowing the truth. But one benefit we don’t get is highlighted at Genesis 23:2.
“So Sarah died in Kir′i‧ath-ar′ba, that is to say, He′bron, in the land of Ca′naan, and Abraham came in to bewail Sarah and to weep over her.” (also Luke 11:35. “Jesus gave way to tears.”)
Abraham knew the truth about death. He knew about the resurrection and almost certainly knew of the events in the Garden of Eden. Nevertheless, when his wife died, the event still affected him deeply. Knowing the truth about death doesn’t mitigate grief. We will be traumatically, perhaps uncontrollably, upset when someone we love dies.
So, if that is the case how are we to understand the verse at 1 Thessalonians 4:13?
“Moreover, brothers, we do not want YOU to be ignorant concerning those who are sleeping [in death]; that YOU may not sorrow just as the rest also do who have no hope.”
Well, we still experience sorrow so what do you think is the key word here? Isn’t it ‘hope?’ What difference does it make?
Consider this experience from Nigeria related in a 2007 Watchtower:
Kehinde and Bintu, a Nigerian couple who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, lost two of their children in a car accident. Ever since, they have suffered pain because of this terrible loss. Even so, their trust in Jehovah sustains them, and they continue sharing the Bible’s message of hope with their neighbors.
Others noticed the serenity and strength displayed by Kehinde and Bintu. One day a woman named Mrs. Ukoli said to one of Bintu’s friends: “Bring the woman who lost two children at the same time and is still preaching the Bible’s message. I want to know what gives her the power to endure.” When Bintu arrived at the woman’s house, Mrs. Ukoli told her: “I want to know why you are still preaching about the God who killed your children. God took my only girl. Since then, I have nothing to do with God.” Bintu used the Bible to explain the reason why people die and why we can have the sure hope that dead loved ones will be resurrected.—Acts 24:15; Romans 5:12.
Afterward, Mrs. Ukoli said: “I used to think that God takes people in death. Now I know the truth.” She decided to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses in order to learn more about God’s promises.[1]
Mrs Ukoli did not know the truth about death and what effect did it have? She attributed the tragedy to Jehovah and lost her relationship with God. Learning the truth helped her to see that Jehovah wasn’t responsible for her girl’s death; he did not ‘take her’. She would have been reassured that her daughter was not all alone waiting in heaven. Learning about the hope God gives made it possible for her to appreciate the resurrection hope and the provision he has made to remove death forever.
And that’s the difference, isn’t it? Without the truth, without hope, grief can cause us to lose faith. It can cause us to lose our relationship with God. With the truth, with hope, we can gain genuine comfort from Jehovah’s promises such as the one at Isaiah 25:8
“He will actually swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces.”
Isn’t that a lovely thought? Not just that Jehovah has a plan to “swallow up death forever” but that he will also “wipe the tears from all faces.” *Mime wiping tears from someone else’s face* ‘Here you go, it’ll be alright.’ And you know, even though you’re sad, it will be.
Because we know the truth about death, because we have the hope of the resurrection and that Jehovah will “swallow up death forever,”[2] we can be genuinely comforted during grief. When we weep, we can allow Jehovah to wipe the tears from our eyes and our relationship with him will become even closer.
We are truly benefited from knowing the truth about death.
[1] w07 5/1 p.5 box, 6 Help From “the God Who Supplies Endurance and Comfort”
[2] g80 3/22 p. 10 What Is Death?
January 30, 2010
Meet the Robinsons (2007, Third-Person Action Platform Puzzle, 360) – 3/10 game review
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3/10 If you’re playing for gamerscore, this is a notably joyless experience. If you’re just playing the game, it’s not much better as the makers mess up straight-forward design decisions. The most notable example is that things you need to readily recognise change colour and texture in different areas (the transport tubes, particularly) and items you need to target with your varied selection of, sadly, awkward-to-juggle gadgets can sometimes not be seen. The auto-target system is also nearly completely broken and sometimes the directions on the left stick makes you character or the auto-target move in a different direction to that which you used. It doesn’t even look nice thanks to bland, unappealing CG character design inherited from the movie. Avalanche Software’s next Disney game, Bolt, is much, much better. This game contains fantasy violence.
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January 28, 2010
House M.D. 6.10 The Down Low (2010, Black Comedy Medical Drama) – 7/10 TV review
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House M.D. 6.10 Down Low, The (2010) A drug dealer collapses after experiencing spontaneous vertigo caused by a loud noise. House is excited to have a crim around and sets about trying to extract information from someone who is even more reticent than usual to share the truth. 7/10 With a patient-of-the-week (SPOILER who dies, unusually) with an interesting, as it turns out, moral dilemma (SPOILER as an undercover cop, should he reveal the location of a big drug deal, the probable source of his malaise, and therefore prevent a bust going down), House having fun trying to be Jack Bauer and two fun side-plots involving House / Wilson and an attractive neighbour (Sasha Alexander from NCIS but with blond hair) and, unusually, the team versus Foreman, this is an entertaining episode. Thanks to the clear moral dilemma (SPOILER which turns out to be irrelevant anyway), the medical predicament seems clear and so all the jargon has context and while the solution is never clearly explained, the result is and that is what is important. This House M.D. episode contains adult dialogue and mild violence, mild gory and unpleasant scenes. Links |
January 25, 2010
The Mentalist 2.12 Bleeding Heart (2010, Light Crime Drama) – 6/10 TV review
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Mentalist, The 2.12 Bleeding Heart (2010) The discovery of a mayoral aide buried at an official ground-breaking for a new development gets CBI involved but Jane is discomfited about a TV news reporter who gains fly-on-the-wall access to the investigation. 6/10 I love the way Jane runs as fast as possible from any physical confrontation. Beyond the obvious headline cold-reading skills of the character, this is, I feel, The Mentalist’s most interesting and unusual contribution to the crime genre. Rigsby undoes his shirt for the second episode in a row while the awesomely nonchalant Cho most unusually cracks a smirk. This Mentalist, The episode contains mild adult dialogue and unpleasant scene. Links |
The Mentalist 2.11 Rose-Colored Glasses (2010, Light Crime Drama) – 7/10 TV review
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Mentalist, The 2.11 Rose-Colored Glasses (2010) Investigating the death of a couple of their way to a school reunion, Jane gets an insight into something he never experienced: high school. Still, he seems quite good at starting fights. 7/10 Much more balanced and fun for the post-Winter break return of Patrick Jane. Best scene is comfortably the one where his well-meaning motivational advice to have a quiet word with someone turns into a mass punch-up. The secret romance between Rigsby and Van Pelt is now officially unconvincing and annoying. This Mentalist, The episode contains mild adult dialogue and unpleasant scenes and mild nudity. Links |
January 20, 2010
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe (2007, Super-Hero Action, 360) – 5/10 game review
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Spider-Man: Friend or Foe (2007) Nick Fury calls in Spider-Man to help sort out a load of phantom baddies that have started appearing and super-villains which are under some sort of mind control. Surprisingly, when Spider-Man releases them from their mind-control they want to join forces with the good guys to get payback. 5/10 This is an attractive, straight-forward game with a nice light tone (the female computer is agreeably droll) and good controls. It’s okay fun but something makes the combat slightly more dull than it should be: interminable dust-ups with minions that keep trickling in. Because the game never throws overwhelming numbers of enemies at you or presents interesting environments, there is no drama or tactics to utilising your available techniques. Additionally, there is no strategic reason to ever use most of those techniques and gadgets (or even the ability to walk around) as standing in one place and pressing B then X or B will clear most rooms in short order. Boss battles are rather better with weaknesses and tactics to discern and exploit. For some inexplicable reason, Spider-Man also leaves dirty footprints in lots of places. This game contains extreme violence.
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January 16, 2010
Rescue Dawn (2006, Biographical Vietnam Prisoner-of-War Adventure) – 5/10 movie review
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Before the Vietnam War: while on a secret bombing operation, US Navy pilot Dieter Dengler gets shot down over Laos and taken prisoner. 5/10 Sadly, this based-on-truth Vietnam prisoner-of-war adventure becomes rather dull. These guys need Rambo. Even before that the drama has little resonance and no insight. Christian Bale is good but never quite right. That’s a shame as he looks to have put some effort in as he munches on maggots and snakes. Sadly, his reported weight loss is, frankly, not particularly evident and could have been achieved using make-up. Steve Zahn goes waltzing past his acting limit and becomes a little embarrassing. Jeremy Davies is impressively emaciated but irritating as always. Story-wise, even though it’s based on truth, Herzog acknowledges it’s deliberately different from reality (he had previously made a documentary about the same subject) and the film makes Bale, probably unnecessarily and boringly, the movie’s solitary hero and plot motivator. This movie contains sexual swear words and unpleasant scenes, graphic violence.
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Classified 15 by BBFC. Suitable only for persons of 15 years and over. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009, Science Fiction Action Adventure) – 2/10 movie review
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G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, The (2009) Supplier of 70% of the world’s weaponry, M.A.R.S. has spent $13 billion of NATO’s cash on producing four nanomite missiles each capable of endless destruction. Deeming it too expensive and difficult to build himself another one or two, M.A.R.S. CEO James "Should Be A Banker" McCullen, from his UNDERWATER CITY, decides to steal the missiles back so that he can fire them at Paris, Moscow, Washington and Tokyo. Cuz. 2/10 This is a movie made from a script that was surely, surely, submitted as a joke. There’s no passion, love or apparent interest from any of the makers of the movie from director / story writer / executive producer Stephen Sommers and half-hearted production designer Edward Verreaux down through every person listed in the end credits. Nobody cared. As a director, Stephen Sommers is probably incapable of making an unwatchable movie but you’ll only need the corner of your eye to take this one in. You can safely do knitting at the same time. Or brain surgery. As an aside, editor / executive producer Bob Ducsay reveals on the commentary that he is married to the stupidest woman on earth (SPOILER she didn’t see the Arnold Vosloo = President plot twist coming). This movie contains mild swear words and strong violence.
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January 14, 2010
Lie To Me 2.09 Fold Equity (2009, Mystery Drama) – 3/10 TV review
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Lie To Me 2.09 Fold Equity (2009) Lightman tries to find a missing finalist for the Poker World Championship on behalf on the man who had him permanently barred from Las Vegas. 3/10 Another poor episode sees Lightman return to Vegas to investigate a missing player from the final table of the Poker World Championship but, as with all of this season, it’s tremendously unconvincing with a plot that does sort-of make sense but not with his character motivating proceedings. Links |
Lie To Me 2.08 Secret Santa (2009, Mystery War Drama) – 1/10 TV review
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Lie To Me 2.08 Secret Santa (2009) Lightman is sent to Afghanistan (!) to determine whether a captured American-turned-Taliban is telling the truth when he says he knows the location of two missing American soldiers. 1/10 This is quite staggeringly unconvincing in every aspect of writing and story. Sadly, this show has turned out to be a one-season wonder and with this dreadful episode it has become time to stop watching. This Lie To Me episode contains gun violence, extremely unpleasant scene. Links |
Lie To Me 2.07 Black Friday (2009, Mystery Drama) – 4/10 TV review
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Lie To Me 2.07 Black Friday (2009) Lightman is somewhat surprised to find a random teenage boy wander into his house and insist he confirm that the boy’s parents are lying to him when they tell him that they are his parents. Locher and Torres investigate a Black Friday stampede that resulted in the death of two people as the store seeks to reduce compensation payout by proving that they were not at fault. 4/10 Even by the standards of this season, this is a staggeringly unconvincing episode and it seems so unnecessary. Surely someone with the reputation of Lightman would get legitimate cases through normal means not through people randomly approaching him. Surely people wouldn’t tell Lightman and Foster deep personal secrets within two minutes just because he calls them on a lie or shouts at them. Surely Lightman’s abilities and research are just an indicator not the absolute be-all-and-end-all. Surely this show should be better. Links |
January 6, 2010
The Mentalist 2.10 Throwing Fire (2009, Light Crime Drama) – 5/10 TV review
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Mentalist, The 2.10 Throwing Fire (2009) CBI investigate the death of a baseball scout in his zen garden. 5/10 Despite a brilliant baseball-in-the-side-of-the-head and interesting childhood (Iowa, 1986) flashback’s for Jane, this is an otherwise weak episode with a poorly defined story and suspects and too much all-knowing Jane being smug. Chris Bochu plays the young Patrick Jane and, despite his blond hair, reminded me very much of Smallville’s Tom Welling. This Mentalist, The episode contains unpleasant scenes. Links |
January 2, 2010
Crash of the Titans (2007, Platform Action, 360) – 4/10 game review
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4/10 Despite some really funky denim shorts, Crash is a charmless and irritating character to play thanks to imprecise controls that see him continuing to move whenever you stop or change direction and nearly fall over every time you attack an enemy (during which time you can be pummeled). The level design needlessly exposes the mechanics of the game by endlessly respawning the creature you need to pass a certain obstacle and giving you a power-up that allows you to take control of these creatures with one punch. A more elegant solution would be to have the shortcut for the creature and a longer, more challenging way for Crash on foot and to have Crash’s attack animations not include him falling over each time. However, each level is of just the right length, the enemy creature design is fun and I really like the way Crash moves along ledges by twiddling his fingers. This game contains mild bad language and fantasy violence.
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Doctor Who 31.03,04 The End of Time (2009, Science Fiction Adventure) – 5/10 TV review
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Doctor Who 31.03,04 End of Time, The (2009) The Doctor finally returns to the Ood to see what all this prophecy business is about while, on Earth, the resurrection of the Master is about to take place on the day of humankind’s extinction. Wait, what? 5/10 This is a fitting, if not good, climax to David Tennant’s tenure as The Tenth Doctor. Fitting in that it’s a mess with variable acting (dismay at the return of John Simm’s The Master was well-founded) and sudden inexplicable shifts in tone (the Doctor arrives at the Ood all cheerful after some sight-seeing then tears off in a contrived hurry) as part of a sometimes imaginative but clunky script from departing show-runner Russell T. Davies. Tennant is good, again, and tends to nail each individual scene but sudden shifts between anger, despondence and cocky chattiness are, as they always have been, unsettling and unconvincing. The best contribution comes from composer Murray Gold who makes the episode rather more thrilling than the baffling story should allow. Be warned if you thought the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was drawn out: before his regeneration, the Doctor’s reward seems to take forever. This Doctor Who episode contains mild homosexual dialogue and unpleasant scenes.
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Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance. Crash: Mind Over Mutant (2008, Platform Action, 360) – 3/10 game review
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Crash: Mind Over Mutant (2008) 3/10 This is an endlessly irritating game which thinks that having a bouncy ditty playing in the background means fun. The game has been redesigned to be more of an open-world environment but it takes forever to get anywhere (you will lose the will the live first) and there is no clue as to how to get to places you want to reach (for completing achievements in the end-game). Each area of the game is unlocked by playing individual missions but these are way too long with a surprisingly large number of loading screens breaking them into several parts making them feel even longer. It’s also bizarre that there’s no auto-save (even though there was on Crash of the Titans). There is some decently challenging though, sadly (thanks to the controls and camera), irritating platforming in here and the enemy creature design, but not the charmless Crash himself, is fun. This game contains innuendo and fantasy violence.
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December 31, 2009
Hoodwinked (2005, Mystery Fantasy CG Animation) – 5/10 movie review
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As the police investigate The Wolf breaking and entering Granny’s house and trying to eat Red Riding Hood, it turns out that something bigger is going on, something that involves a mysterious bandit stealing all the goodie recipes in the forest. 5/10 There’s just enough entertainment to pass the time in this CG animated Rashomon-inspired fairy tale. Patrick Warburton’s Wolf is fun (just like he was in The Emperor’s New Groove), the songs are fine but everything else is ordinary and the animation is oddly, and one suspects, deliberately, stilted. The design of lead character Red is strangely unappealing and she spends most of the movie looking miserable, comatose and irritated even when she’s singing happy songs.
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Classified U by BBFC. Universal: Suitable for All. December 25, 2009
T.J. Hooker 1.06 The Witness (1982, Police Action Drama) – 6/10 TV review
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T.J. Hooker 1.06 Witness, The (1982) Hooker and Romano respond to a murder committed during a robbery but a witness to the crime proves unresponsive. 6/10 Plenty of action, Shatner being a hero and endlessly leaping off stuff onto bad guys ("the nose knows, junior"), a bit of humour and the lovely Lisa Hartman in shorts: what more could one want? Special mention for the scene in the opening car chase where you can see the camera crew filming the action as Hooker and the pursuee enter the storm drain. If you missed it, don’t worry, the producers would use the same footage several times during the next five years. This T.J. Hooker episode contains gun violence, strong threat.
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December 24, 2009
Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires (2006, Tactical Action, 360) – 7/10 game review
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Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires (2006) 7/10 While featuring simple graphics with a terribly short draw-distance, Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires redeems itself with charm and surprisingly fun gameplay. Playing on Normal or higher requires tactical thought to be combined with the button-mashing combat and makes victories agreeably satisfying. A lack of any in-game instructions hides the mechanisms for equipping weapons, mounts (you can ride a horse or an elephant) and items but once discovered, it supplies a whole new dimension and confidence in the game. This game contains violence.
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December 19, 2009
Avatar (2009, Science Fiction Action Adventure) – 8/10 movie review
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Bad news: Jake Sully, your brother is dead. Good news: Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-marine, you can take his place in a remarkable program on alien planet Pandora where your mind will be used to control a fully-functioning nine-foot-tall super-athletic alien body. Your mission is to gain the trust of the natives and convince them to move out of their home so that humans can mine the valuable material buried deep underneath. 8/10 This is an impressive action adventure that has a decidedly old-fashioned feel to it while presenting totally incredible technical feats completely invisibly but whose greatness emerges because it is more than the sum of its parts. It’s old-fashioned in that it sticks to tried-and-true, or predictable, story and character beats, isn’t ‘dark,’ isn’t excessively violent and has superb action sequences which have shape and definition and in which you can tell who’s doing what to whom, why and how well it’s going. The technical accomplishment is remarkable. Cameron presents a fictitious world created out of thin air that is completely convincing. You cannot believe it isn’t real; it does not exist outside of a New Zealand PC. Ultimately, however, Avatar is a great film because it is more than the sum of its parts, i.e., despite faults, it, like Titanic before it, works emotionally. This movie contains a single sexual swear word, mild swear words and gun violence, arrow violence and sexuality.
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December 17, 2009
T.J. Hooker 3.03 Chinatown (1983, Police Action Drama) – 6/10 TV review
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T.J. Hooker 3.03 Chinatown (1983) When Hooker gets involved in weapons smuggling in Chinatown it brings back memories from his first days as a beat officer. 6/10 Great fun with Shatner on top form as he finds out he may have a daughter. Richard Herd replacement Peter Brown (as Lt. Drummer) is dreadfully irritating but Adrian Zmed has a fun scene at Hooker’s motel room. Heather Locklear provokes unintentional laughter as she leaps into action scenes after they’re over and points her gun worthlessly though the blame lies with the producers. James Darren makes you wonder how he got the job as he has no charisma and no camaraderie with the other principle cast. James Shigeta is a decent baddie with his wondefully smooth voice and even has a bat-cave. This T.J. Hooker episode contains violence. Links |
December 15, 2009
T.J. Hooker 3.02 Carnal Express (1983, Police Action Drama) – 5/10 TV review
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T.J. Hooker 3.02 Carnal Express (1983) Hooker gets involved in a white slavery case but Stacey decides to go undercover as an exotic dancer to speed up the investigation. 5/10 While giving Heather Locklear more to do and less to wear may sound like the recipe for a great episode, she, like bland co-stars Adrian Zmed and James Darren, does not have the charisma or talent to carry the weight of the show. Richard Lynch is a quality bad guy at any time though and there’s still plenty of dirtbags for Hooker to chastise including a joyous epithet spat at Lynch. Also, Hooker on white slavery: "When they’re taken off my streets, like Bonnie, that’s different, and I’m damn well gonna put a stop to it." You know, if we ever cross T.J. Hooker and Valentino Rossi we should appoint him king of the world. This T.J. Hooker episode contains gun violence. Links |
House M.D. 6.09 Wilson (2009, Black Comedy Medical Drama) – 7/10 TV review
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Wilson treats a friend (pooh-poohed by House) and former patient, Tucker, who suddenly develops paralysis of his arm. House bets it’s a return of cancer but Wilson insists it’s not. 7/10 Generally, all Wilson episodes are cool and this is no exception. The committed change of focus was refreshing as the episode was very much Wilson with House riding in and out on various patients. There was a moment where the balance of House’s personality looked to be tipped into selfish horrid (the series’ biggest danger) but it produces a welcome pay-off. This also raises an intriguing dilemma for a doctor when the power to help somebody will cost them personally, will or should they pay that price? This House M.D. episode contains unpleasant scenes. Links |
December 14, 2009
The Mentalist 2.09 A Price Above Rubies (2009, Light Crime Drama) – 6/10 TV review
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Mentalist, The 2.09 Price Above Rubies, A (2009) When a jewellery store robbery ends up with the manager shot, Jane states that the victim must be the prime suspect because he used to be a tennis pro. 6/10 Hypnotism isn’t really a useful interrogation technique. If it was, there’d be no need for torture. Elsewhere, this is an entirely ordinary episode but that means it’s quite entertaining, inoffensive and highly watchable. Favourite line was Jane’s response to "he’s not my uncle": "Sorry, the man having sex with your aunt, then." This Mentalist, The episode contains mild adult dialogue and gun violence, unpleasant scenes. Links |
December 13, 2009
T.J. Hooker 2.07 The Survival Syndrome (1982, Police Action Drama) – 6/10 TV review
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T.J. Hooker 2.07 Survival Syndrome, The (1982) After Romano is shot in the head by car thieves (fortunately, it just misses his hair), Hooker comes under close personal scrutiny from the media when he is filmed apparently shooting the unarmed teenage criminal who was shouting "Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!". Hooker and Captain Sheridan know that it was the thief’s accomplice that shot him but until the bullet can be delicately removed from the teenager’s spine, they will have no proof. 6/10 Fast-moving (there are three plot strands) and entertaining but too much strain is placed on Adrian Zmed’s acting ability. Still, we get a great scene where Hooker sorts out Romano’s posttraumatic stress disorder (here called survival syndrome) by wrestling with him (obviously, the best way to sort out any anxiety disorder) and there’s a welcome car chase in the middle. You don’t get many car chases in cop shows nowadays and I miss them. This T.J. Hooker episode contains gun violence.
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