Vampire Diaries season 3 ep 2

Okay... What was Elena thinking? Who in their right mind would go into the mountains two hours before sunset, on the night of a full moon, hunting down a pack of werewolves? An idiot that's who... As I watched her and her band head up the hill side through the trees I just kept thinking "it's dumb, dumber, and dumbest."

At least we did learn that Klaus can't make his arm of hybrids, at least not yet. That was a good thing, but I have an idea when he realizes Elena is still alive he is going to put two and two together and it is going to equal Elena must die, for real this time. That should bring "The Ripper" back on the wagon again, and back at his brother's side where he belongs.

I will have more on episode 2 a little later, but that is it for now. This will be my last post until October, we are moving this weekend, and my IP company (Time Warner) doesn't have an opening for service until the first. Sucks for sure, last time it was 2 weeks, and turned into 3 weeks before we got our service. It better not happen again, you will know if it does...

Doctor Who: The God Complex, episode 11

The God Complex was an interesting, and emotional episode. I loved the "Shinning" feel to this episode. There for a minute I thought Stephen King had joined the writing staff. It was a good mix of science fiction, horror, and drama, that kept me on the edge of my seat through the entire hour. All the strange things in the rooms, the way the hotel changed at will, held the viewer in an eerie nightmare world that was oddly familiar.

Each guest has a room, a place to face their own nightmare. Or reflection of their life. The Doctor finds his, and surprisingly it is room eleven. Odd, the eleventh incarnation, the eleventh episode, and he faces his fear in room eleven? No, typical is more like it.

Then when Amy comes under the influence and the Doctor puts his plan into action, it is simply heart wrenching. But the real tear jerker comes at the end, after they defeat the prison cell and return to Earth. The Doctor had set up a surprise for Rory and Amy, A home of their own, and a shiny red car (Rory's dream car). Rory is so excited that he doesn't even think of why, but Amy has an idea, and she is right. Just like on a game show, they are parting gifts. When Amy asked the Doctor why, he simply replies: "Because you are alive." I hate to see Rory and Amy go by the way-side, I can't wait to see who is next. And besides, I don't think we have seen the last of Amy and Rory. From what I have heard through the grape vine they are on the guest list for River's Wedding.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Captain Jack Sparrow is back once again in the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Johnny Depp's performance is flawless as always as Jack Sparrow is off to find the Fountain of Youth. At his side for the first time in the series is Penelope Cruz as Angelica, the long lost daughter of the infamous pirate Blackbeard, portrayed by Ian McShane. I personally was disappointed to learn that Kira Knightly and Orlando Bloom would not be appearing in the film, and even more so with Cruz being added to the cast. But after watching the film I quickly realized that Cruz was the perfect fit for Angelica.

'On Stranger Tides' has more action than you need, with plenty of sword fights, dangers at sea, and the always funny chase scene. It is no surprise to me that 'On Stranger Tides' stands as the 8th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, with a box office total reaching over $1 billion. In my opinion this might be the best film of the series... excluding the first film of course. I really could not find a single flaw in the film, everything from the story-line, to the acting, and special effects were outstanding.

Other returning cast members included Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs, and Geoffrey Rugh as Captain Barbossa.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides gets a full and well deserved 5 stars from me. This film is what entertainment is all about.

Doctor Who: The Girl Who Waited

First I would like to apologize for my tardiness on this review, but my laptop took a crap on me.

So as for episode 10, for me it was a relief after Night Terrors. For the second time there was two Amy's in one episode, and that is always a plus. I love watching her confront herself, it's always entertaining. But I did feel for Rory in this one. Once again the Doctor is late getting to Amy, this time many years too late, leaving her fighting for her life alone for over thirty years. However they are able to find Amy from the proper time, but Rory is faced with choosing which one to save. I wouldn't want that decision. Luckily with another lie from the Doctor, and some rapid soul searching by older/tougher Amy, the decision is made for Rory, and the old Amy is lost forever - well wiped from existence really. Amy may never know everything, but Rory will, and that would be hard to live with.

Torchwood Miracle Day Episode 10

What... What... What? I'll tell you what... best Torchwood ever, that's what.

Jack, Gwen, Oswald, Rex, and Ester zeroed in on the 'Blessing'. The CIA headquarters gets blown up, and Jack's blood can reverse the blessing, but it has to be introduced into the blessing from both sides at the same time. No problem if Jack's blood that Rex and Ester had been caring around wouldn't have been blown up too. But Rex and Ester are the clever little duo, they transfused Jack's blood into Rex. Of course Ester gets shot in hopes they will not stop the blessing to keep her alive, but Gwen makes a rather moving speech, and Jack and Rex sacrifice themselves to bring mortality back to Earth. Guess what? They both live, and Oswald plays the hero and blows himself up along with one of the heads of the three families. Rex takes out another before collapsing. Unfortunately Gwen's father dies, and so does Ester. Yes, just as Gwen so elegantly said: "Death has come back."

After Ester's funeral the team talk about if they are going to keep Torchwood together, but before the question is answered Rex receives a text revealing the identity of the mole. When he tries to stop her, she shoots Rex in the chest, and then is shot down herself. Jack and Gwen comfort Rex as he dies in their arms, but just as Jack says that he is gone, Rex takes in a deep breath (much like Jack). Yep, that's right. Looks like Jack isn't the only immortal on Earth any more. The show ends with Rex say to Jack: "What did you do to me?"

Well Torchwood fans looks like we might have another season yet.

Walled In

Walled In is a 2009 horror/thriller based on the best-selling French novel 'Les Emmures' by Serge Brussolo. It is also the English-language debut film for French director Gilles Paquet-Brenner.

The story follows Sam Walczak (Mischa Barton), a recent engineering graduate, and daughter to a demolitions company owner. For her graduation Sam's father gives her the gift of a job, supervising the demolition of the Malestrazza Building, which by the way is in the middle of nowhere. The building, unknown by Sam, has a horrific past stemming from it's architect, Malestrazza, who had buried people inside the concrete walls of the building several years before.

Walled In is a true psychological horror film, with an exceptional cast that is sure to send chills down your spine and keep you wondering what's inside your walls.

The film also stars Deborah Unger as Mary, the caretaker of the building, and Cameron Bright as Mary's slightly odd teenage son Jimmy. Both Unger and Bright give wonderful and believable performances, as does Barton. If you are into slasher films with plenty of gore and teenage boobies flashing across the screen, then Walled In may not be for you, but if you like a honest to god good thriller with a solid story and plenty of character, you won't want to miss Walled In.

I Give Walled In 4 3/4 stars.

Queens of Scream

Scream Queen is a term that was specifically referring to an attractive young damsel in distress in horror films, but it is more than that now. Since Fay Wray was crowned the first "scream queen" after her role in the classic film "King Kong", things have changed. That change started with Jamie Lee Curtis in John Carpenter's "Halloween". The modern day "scream queen" has to not only be attractive, but sexy, seductive, romantic, seemingly attainable to the average guy, and a strong actress. She has to be able to portray emotion both audibly and physically, nor does she have to be the damsel in distress. The modern "scream queen" can be tough - even defeating the villain herself. Another change is that the film does not have to be "Horror" anymore, it can be science fiction, or any type of thriller, and lets not forget about television either. A "scream queen" doesn't have to make her home on the big screen, but can be right in your living room every week.

Some of the more notable "scream queens" today are: Sheri Moon Zombie, Jaime Alexander, Andrea Bogart, Crystal Lowe, Mercedes McNab, Tiffany Shepis, and Cerina Vincent. The reining Queen of Scream according to the NY Daily News is none other than Danielle Harris.

But lets not forget those lovely ladies from TV, like Nina Dobrev, Sarah Wayne Callies, Emily Rose, and Anna Paquin.

Road Kill

Straight from the Fangoria Fright Fest comes "Road Kill", a 2010 Australian supernatural thrill about four teenagers and a road train in the outback.

The cast does a superb job with an excellent script. Almost too well, you can nearly feel their anxiety and terror, as the mysteries of the road train come to light, and the teens fall deeper into darkness. Road Kill will keep you on the edge - waiting to see who dies next, and what kind of Hell is hidden behind the train's doors. The gore and effects are as real feeling as the characters, so be prepared for a wild and chilling ride through the Australian outback with Road Kill.

Staring: Xavier Samuel, Bob Morley, Georgina Haig, Sophie Lowe, and David Argue.

Road Kill gets 4 1/2 stars from me.

The Land That Time Forgot 2009

Okay so here is another one that I missed. Based off of Edgar Rice Burrough's 1918 novel of the same name, and a remake of the 1975 film.

The film takes place in the present, with two couples out on the Caribbean in a charter boat, passing through a bizarre storm. When they emerge on the other side the sun is shining, everyone is sleeping, and there is an unknown island off their bow. Once going ashore it doesn't take long for the small group to realize that it's no normal island, and danger is in the much too clean air.

The effects are not the greatest, it's no Jurassic Park, But what can you expect with only a $600,000 budget. However, the film has it's charm, and the Dinos don't look that bad either. The story is clean, and the acting is stellar, with wonderful performances by C. Thomas Howell, Timothy Bottoms, Darren Dalton, and Lindsey McKeon. The movie may not be one that you want to watch over and over, but it is worth the rental fee to watch once.

I give The Land that Time Forgot 3 1/2 stars... with a larger budget and better dino effects this film would easily be a 4 or 41/2 pushing toward a 5.

Mirrors 2

Yeah, this one slipped passed me somehow, but I have it now....

Mirrors 2 was a 2010 straight-to-DVD release, and boy did Regency Enterprises miss out on this one. Of all the film not to chance at the Box Office, Mirrors 2 wasn't the one. I really liked the first film with Kiefer Sutherland. Regency Enterprises made out well with Mirrors, with a Box Office total of over $77 million off a $35 million budget. But they didn't have faith in the sequel, which in my opinion is an even better film, and a solid stand alone movie as well. Even if you haven't seen Mirrors, part 2 is viewable and easily enjoyed.

No spoilers in this, sorry... But here's a quick overview.

Nick Stahl is Max Matheson, the unstable son of Jack Matheson (William Katt) the new owner of the Mayflower. Max is finally starting to deal with the tragic death of his fiancee (Jennifer Sipes) a year earlier, and goes to work for his father as the night guard at the Mayflower, after the former guard decided to have glass for lunch. It's not long before Max starts seeing strange things inside the mirrors, and the Mayflower executives start viciously dying off one by one. When Max finally realizes that the entity inside the mirrors is actually Eleanor Reigns (Stephanie Sanchez), a Mayflower employee that has been missing for two months, he enlists the aid of Eleanor's older sister, Elizabeth (Emmanuelle Vaugier).

There is plenty of mystery to go hand in hand with the gore in Mirrors 2. The story is solid and the plot never drifts off course, couple that with wonderful performances by Nick Stahl, Emmanuel Vaugier, and Stephanie Sanchez, and you have true entertainment that hooks minutes into the film and holds you right to the end.

I give Mirrors 2 a strong 4 1/2 stars

Children of the Corn: Genesis

Genesis is the 8th film in the Children of the Corn series, and probably the worst...

The film starts with a flash back, not from any of the previous films, but just a little back story for the film, had it stayed there it might have been better, but no we had to jump back to present. So then the main story line starts off with a couple stranded on the side of a desert road. Yep... desert. Tim (Tim Rock) and Allie (Kelen Coleman) start walking to find a phone. Soon enough they come across a old run-down home, with the windows boarded over. The occupant of which (Billy Drago), who looks like a Manson-family reject, tells them he has no phone, but Allie calls him on the lie - noticing the phone line going into the house. Okay, really? The line doesn't mean there's a phone, just means there might have been one at some time, right.

The man finally allows them in, but only after learning that Allie is pregnant. The rest of the film takes place in and around the house, with strange actions, sounds, mental images, and a child locked away in a shed out back, makes up the majority of the film shocks. Yes there are a couple cool happenings toward the end, but so far off the norm for a Children of the Corn film. There is no hoard of children slicing the throats of everyone over the age of 18. There isn't even a corn field after the opening flash back, yet the crazy old man is making one of those corn husk dolls we are all so familiar with.

They tried to take the series in a new direction, and quite simply, it didn't work. All I have to say to Joel Soisson (writer/director) is... If it's not broke, don't fix it!

I can only give Children of the Corn: Genesis a 1 star rating from me, and that is for Billy Drago doing such a good job with so little to work with.

Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf

Johnny Morgan (Andrew Cymek) watched his sister be taken by serial killer "The Wolf" as a child. He spent his life searching for her killer. Now a cop, partnered with Elliot Carbon (John Rhys-Davies) they find and take down the Wolf. No easy task since he is clad in a metal-wolf suit. The Wolf is then sent to Parker's Asylum, run by Dr. Robert Parker (William B Davis), and where Johnny's wife Jamie (Brigitte Kingsley) is a doctor on staff. Johnny and his best friend Pete (Jason Reso), also a cop, head to Parker's Asylum to pay the Wolf an unofficial visit. While there a mysterious power outage causes the cell doors to unlock, and traps everyone inside as the lunatics run-a-muck.

Medium Raw is not the best horror film I've seen, it might not even be in the top ten, but it is worth the rental fee to watch it once. The film is a little dark, and much of the acting is dry, but the kills are pretty good for the most part, and the cast of crazies are creepy at worst. The film does tend to drag things out to long at times, and the kill scenes tend to be a bit short. There is a twist ending, of which didn't surprise me, but that's me, and being a writer myself it is a little bit more difficult to fool me with a simple twist.

I give Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf 3 stars.

Doctor Who Companions: Amy Pond

It's a difficult task deciding which companion to do next, so I thought why not the latest, Amy Pond, the first companion to have a child or be married if I'm not mistaken. But then again Amy is nothing like any companion that came before her. First lets recap her beginning...

The TARDIS was spiraling out of control when it crashed into the backyard of seven-year-old Amelia Jessica Pond. The Doctor, still in the midst of his eleventh regeneration, bonds with the little girl over dinner, finding his new favorite meal... Fish sticks and custard. But little Amelia has a problem, an unusual crack in her bedroom wall. The Doctor must attend to the TARDIS which is going to blow, and promises to return in five minutes. Of course in true Doctor style he's late, by twelve years. Little Amelia is now Amy, a nineteen-year-old Kissagram-girl. Amy, dressed as a sexy police-woman, and the Doctor save the town, but the TARDIS was still unstable, forcing the Doctor to leave her once again and not returning until another two years later. This time he wastes no time asking her to go with him. Amy accepts, but must be back by morning. Unknown to the Doctor she is to be wed the following day.

Amy Pond is played by Karen Gillan, a twenty three-year-old actress/model originally from Inverness, Scotland. Here's a little trivia for you, Karen's cousin, Caitlin Blackwood portrayed the young Amy Pond, and Amy Pond was not the first character Karen Gillan portrayed on Doctor Who. She first appeared on the show the 2008 episode titled "The Fires of Pompeii" as the Soothsayer.

I wouldn't say that Amy (Karen Gillan) is my personal favorite companion, but she is definitely in the top five, and has to be one of the most complex companions ever.

Torchwood: Miracle Day, Episode 9

Episode 9 opens with Gwen busting into a pharmacy by driving a car through the front window. Why? Meds for her category 1 father that they have hidden away behind a fake wall in their basement. After the police arrive, looking for her father, finding nothing, the story takes an unusual turn. A delivery man arrives at Gwen's home. But it's no ordinary delivery, or delivery man, and here's one I didn't see coming at all. The delivery man is none other that Oswald Danes.

After Gwen beats the crap out of him with a pot for touching her daughter, he tells them he wants to trade information. What he said is enough for Gwen to call Jack, and soon he arrives. Of course as they work things out the police burst in the door once again, only this time they find her father, and take him away to the overflow camp.

After piecing the information from Oswald and the news reels of the stories that he mentioned, all fixed by Jillie, they believe that the Blessing is somewhere in Shanghai, China. But a little more info comes through, and they are forced to look at Buenos Aires, Argentina as well. But it is Gwen's husband, Reece, That puts two and two together. That they are not looking at one point, but two points that are one, Antipodes. It had been staring them in the face the entire time in the Phicorp logo. So the team splits up... Jack, Gwen, and yes Oswald head for China, while Ester and Rex meet in Buenos Aires. As the team heads out Gillie arives in China and is led to her destiny or fate which ever it may be. For the "Blessing" can kill as well as enlighten.

Jack isn't in Shanghai long before his gunshot starts bleeding again. A single drop of blood falls to the floor, unseen by Jack or Gwen, but it's actions draw Oswald's attention quickly. The blood, Jack's blood moves across the floor as if being pulled from a fixed point... The "Blessing" is calling to Jack, or at least his blood.

Doctor Who: Night Terrors

Wondering what happened on episode 9? Well here it goes...

The Doctor makes a house call. Yep a house call, or should I say an apartment call. He receives a cry for help from a young boy on Earth, and with out hesitation put the TARDIS on course. The Boy, poor little George has monsters in his bedroom cupboard. Or is it George that's the monster? As the Doctor tries to figure things out, Rory and Amy take a wild elevator ride to the other side of reality, where after running for their lives Amy is turned into a living doll made of wood. Soon the doctor realizes what he has been missing, and we learn that George isn't a monster, nor is he a little boy, well not a human boy anyway. George is a lost, terrified, and lonely alien child, wanting nothing more than to be loved. When his unknowingly adopted father shows the boy that he loves him, and always will, the alternate world he had created out of fear dissolves, restoring everyone within it to their proper state.

Not one of the best episodes I have seen, and a let down after "Lets Kill Hitler", but at least the moral is clear... Love conquers all, even in the Doctor's universe.

Haven and Stephen King References

Syfy's original series Haven, which is based off of his novel "The Colorado Kid" is full of references to the horror master. Some samples of this such as in last weeks episode "Audrey's Day Off" is Anson Shumway. Shumway the troubled person in this episodes was named after Julia Shumway, one of the main characters in Stephen King's novel "Under the Dome." Both characters play a critical role in the resolution.

In the episode titled "Roots", the trouble involves plants coming to life and killing people. This was inspired by Stephen King's short story "Weeds" also known as "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill." The Verrill story was a segment of the Stephen King and George Romero film "Creepshow."

One more example was the episode "Sparks and Recreation." Like Chris Brody in this episode, Stephen King also coached a little league team, including a team with his son Owen on it, and winning a Maine state title. In addition to that, One of the two Haven baseball teams, the "Sea Dogs," is named after the character of the same name, Sea Dog, in Stephen King's "Under the Dome."

So now that you know, it gives you something else to watch for during the show, not that it's not entertaining enough already. The only thing else to watch for is Stephen himself showing up in the show, not that anything has been said about him doing so, but why not. When it comes to Haven you never know what might happen.