What is On Jeffs' Mind

Just thought I would do a top list for the year in Movies and Television for me. Inspired by Rico’s recent Treks in Sci-Fi podcast in which he listed his top movies and and TV shows for the year.

Movies – 2009

I was looking over the list of movies for the year, and I think this year may have been the year I had seen the least amount of movies in recent memory. Looking over the list, there just was not a lot of big blockbuster movies that are usually my favorites. I suspect a big reason for that might be the fallout from the writers strike a year or two ago, and also the bad economy. Looking through the list, saw about 14 movies for the year (two on DVD), so not much to choose from for my top 5 list, but still a bit tough to choose. There were some great movies this year, but overall disappointed with 2009 for movies. So here is my List of my favorites for 2009

1. Star Trek

I only saw this movie once, and will admit I left the movie theatre feeling a little uncertain about my feelings, but with more reflection and reading what others had said, this was a great movie, and most likely my favorite for the year. I was so excited for this movie to come out, and for the most part it delivered for me. The casting was very well done, with only a role or two that for me did not work. The story was fast paced, and the way they fit this into the Star Trek time line was very novel, though left a bit of a tear in my eye. This movie I was anticipating a lot for it’s release to DVD and actually was a catalyst for me to get Blu-Ray. For as big of a Star Trek fan I am, I am surprised I have only watched this the one time, but that will be remedied very soon.

2. Terminator Salvation

For the longest time, my idea of the Terminator was really just limited to Arnold Schwarzenegger, but after watching the TV series, I was really opened up to the potential of this series. I was really anticipating this movie, and a lot, almost as much as Star Trek. This movie really delivered for me, I went into this movie really pumped and I left the theatre very excited as well. I really liked the idea of going to a time when Judgment Day had happened, and when the Terminators ruled the world. Christian Bale was fantastic as John Connor, he brought so much intensity to the role. I was also very impressed with Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese as well. His role of Chekov in the Star Trek movie was limited, but he really had a large part in this one, and he delivered. I know some have panned this movie, but I really cannot find any weaknesses in it to me, just a real solid movie to me.

3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I felt that this was a very solid followup to the first Transformers movie. Plenty of action, great story, and brought back all the characters from the first movie. I found the action sequences between the Autobots and Decepticons much easier to follow in this movie from the previous. The humour elements were still there as well, and not over board, and the story moved along pretty well.

4. Trailer Park Boys countdown to Liquor Day

The Trailer Park Boys is a real guilty pleasure for me. I really enjoyed this movies, and carried on the Story really well. I had missed the last TV movie they had, but I was able to catch up pretty fast with this movie. The way the filmed this one felt different from how the series had been filmed, and even the first movie, but it gave the movie a feeling of a more  theatrical release. I always enjoy comedies such as this, and always like to laugh a bit at this form of humour. Certainly this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I had plenty of laughs the whole way through, and ranked as a memorable movie for me this year.

5. Avatar

I just saw this movie, so it was fresh in my mind. This was the most expensive movie ever made, and it certainly shows it. I saw the Digital 3D release of it, and it was stunning. It was the first 3D movie I had ever seen, and must say I was impressed with the technology. I must admit, I was not blown away by this movie as some were, and took a bit of back and forth for it to get on my top 5 list. After some debating in my head, I had to include it, as for the most part I enjoyed this movie, and probably my only real complaint on it was that I felt it was a bit long. The story was simple, but the message was powerful, in how we treat earth. I had seen some previews, and was worried that the Na’Vi might look to animated, but they really fit in the movie. I suspect that this movie will be around for a long time, and will be a bench mark for other movies, and probably a staple in a lot of peoples video collections.

Honorable Mention: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

A lot of people really disliked this movie, but for me, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I really only know about Wolverine and the X-Men from the movies, so I don’t know all the back story in the comics, so a lot of the hangups others had, I did not. I might get in trouble for saying this, but I felt it was better then some of the X-Men movies. It met my expectations and had a good time watching it.

Regrets

My regret for 2009 in terms of movies, was that I missed the latest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I am not really a Potter fan, but had seen all the movies up to this last one. I was in the middle of moving at the time, so my schedule just never allowed for me to get to the theatre for this one. Hopefully I can see this one before the next one comes out.

Television 2009

For my complaints on the lack of big 2009 Movies, I found the 2009 TV season to be really great, and much more difficult to come up with my top 5 for the year.

1. LOST

All I can say is wow. Season 5 was incredible. They took the series in a direction that I really enjoyed, and every episode was solid. I can’t recall how many times I was left with my mouth hanging open after an episode. The writers and producers of this program are very creative, and did things I could never imagine. Season 6 will be the final season, and it will be so bittersweet. When this series comes to an end, I will miss it a lot, as everything about it is top notch. What they did with season 5 and how they handled the Losties who are on the island and the ones who were not was fantastic. This show is great, one of my all time favorites.

2. Terminator:  The Sarah Connor Chronicles

The second season of this series in one word was awesome. So how are we rewarded, it is canceled. I must admit I was really disappointed when it came to an end, as another great show, ended well before it’s time. It took me a bit to really warm up to the characters in the first season, but I really came to accept them in their roles. The Addition of Bryan Austin Green to the series in season 1 was great, and I found he had a strong character in season 2, which led to the most shocking scene of season 2. The second season was non stop, and left me waiting with much anticipation for the next episode. The Arc about the mysterious Terminator working for the corporation left me fascinated, as really never knew what to think of her. Sarah s search into Skynet was awesome as well, with her uncovering clues here and their. The really chilling John Henry Terminator was fantastic as well, and the clash for Johns attention between Cameron and Riley was great as well. This was a great series, sorry to see it go, but at least I have both seasons on DVD.

3. Fringe

This show started up last year in the fall, and I really enjoyed it. It has some great elements to it, with a heavy nod to the X-Files. Just like LOST, it is a JJ Abrams show, so there is plenty to watch in each episode, and plenty to think about after. The ongoing story arc is that the FBI agent Olivia Dunham is investigating weird Fringe Science cases that are linked by something called the pattern. She is getting help from Peter and Walter Bishop, a father and son team so to say. Walter is sort of a mad scientist, who had come up with a lot of the science they see in some of the cases they are investigating. All the major Characters have interesting pasts, which makes the show all the more deep. Walter was in a psyche ward for a number of years, and not all there, Peter has a checkered past with some real mystery to him, and Olivia seems to have a very close link to the pattern from her childhood. Great series, hoping it will be around for a long time.

4. Flash Forward

Started in the fall, this quickly became a real favorite of mine. Sort of similar to LOST in that we are introduced to a large cast of characters, and a big series wide mystery that drives the show. Basically at the start of the show, everyone has blacked out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, and had a flash forward to May of 2010 where they saw a glimpse of what their life would be like at that time. An FBI task force was setup to investigate this and was dubbed Mosaic, and so far have been investigation leads and people in hopes to solving the mystery. The cast is fantastic, they story line is great and keeps me wanting to come back for more. Hoping the ratings stay strong for this one, as need a replacement for LOST when it signs off later in the season.

5. The Office

I really like The Office, and this past year has been great. Last season they went through a whole storyline of Michael Scott leaving Dunder Mifflin to start up his own paper company the Michael Scott Paper Company, the episodes were so great. This season we pickup with Dunder Mifflin going through some tough times due to the economy, and the series really does mimic what happens in the corporate world. The cast is always great, with Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute being my favorites, but I am really liking Andy Bernard as well. They have the show well cast, as you can see these characters in the places we work, they really do have a good read on the business and working world.

Honorable Mentions: The Mentalist/Castle

Two crime dramas with cool twists on them. With the Mentalist, the lead character Patrick Jane is a lot of fun to watch. He has a great skill of observation, and how he goes about helping the team solves the cases each week is great. The Mentalist also has a really awesome supporting cast that plays off well against Patrick Jane, great series. Castle is another new favorite of mine, and another crime Drama. Richard Castle is a Crime Novelist and his unique perspective he brings makes each episode a lot of fun to watch. Both shows are similar but different

Regrets

Cancellations, I really hate them, especially shows that I enjoyed. Two NBC shows jump out at me as being very disappointed at being canceled. The first one was a show called Life, another quirky police drama, that had a two season run. Fortunately they were able to bring the show to a conclusion and answer the questions. The other show was called Crusoe and was about Robinson Crusoe. It was a really fun action adventure show, with great sets and lite stories that most anyone could enjoy. Those with Sarah Connor Chronicles and the a lesser extent Knight Rider made me feel a little down about the 2009 TV season when it came to canceling shows I watched.

My other regret was the ending of Battlestar Galactica. Not so much that it ended, but that I felt it sort of limped out and don’t really miss it. I know some of the final episodes were very dramatic, but I found the answers to the over all arc and theme of the show to be a bit of a let down.  The second part of the series seemed to get wrapped up in its myth, and sort of tossed all the action oriented and stand alone episodes to the side.  I missed those elements as the series seemed aimed more at the non sci-fi viewers in this last season. The final season episodes at times came across very dramatic to the point of elitist, in the sense that they were determined not to tell a story with some action elements or even in a sci-fi manner. I will probably not be popular for saying this, but the final episode had some great moments, but other parts the story wrapped up very predictably and pedestrian. Caprica is to come, but what I have seen of it so far from the DVD sneak peek, it is heavy on the elements I did not enjoy much in BSG.

Tags: Avatar, BSG, Castle, Crusoe, Flash Forward, Fringe, Harry Potter, Knight Rider, Life, LOST, Star Trek, Terminator 4, Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Mentalist, The Office, The Trailer Park Boys, Transformers, Treks in Sci-Fi, X-Men: Wolverine

Police/Crime dramas have never been a real favorite of mine, I guess I have always been more of a Sci-Fi guy when it comes to Television and Movies(Though I do like War/Military movies). But over the past few years I have started watching a few Police dramas, but not really the ones that seem to be the big ones like CSI or Law and Order. The past 2 television seasons I was watching the TV show Life rather faithfully, but that was canceled at the end of last season. It got me interested in seeing more of this genre, as it changed my mind a bit on these shows. One of the things I do over the summer is watch shows that I never watched during the regular season. So I started watching a couple different police/crime dramas in Castle and The Mentalist, both a bit similar, but a bit different as well.

The first show I started watching was Castle. I saw it mentioned on the Treks in Sci-Fi forums, and the premise sounded interesting enough to me. The premise is that the lead character Rick Castle is a mystery write, but has run into writers block. He was able to use his influence to work with the NYPD after helping with a case that mimicked some of his books. He is basing his next series of book off of detective Kate Beckett and calling his character Nikki Heat. The show is a lot of fun, and not quite as serious as some of the other crime dramas. The Castle character is a lot of fun and approaches the cases more lightheartedly, and has an interesting perspective on the cases as he is coming from it as a murder mystery writer, and see’s things that the other detectives cannot. Also Castle not being on the force, but as a consultant, can do some things on the case that the other detectives cannot. He can go into situations undercover and talk with contacts which the others can’t. Also with most shows, there is a bit of a story arc that is a thread through the series. The Character Kate Becketts mom was murdered when she was younger, and the case was never solved. Castle has started looking in the case and it comes up in the episodes.

One night I was flipping through the channel guide on my TV looking for something to watch, and I saw the show called The Mentalist. To be honest, I was not really sure what to expect, as the title lead to think it might be something else. The Premise of the show is that the lead Character Patrick Jane is a consultant to a CBI team(California Bureau of Investigation) and offers an interesting perspective on the cases through his observation and questioning. His methods usually annoy the others on the team, and at times the people who they are investigating. Patrick Jane comes off as a bit of a quirky individual, and with being a consultant, he has the flexibility to do some things that others in the team cannot. This series has a story Arc in it as well, Patrick Janes wife and daughter were killed by a serial killer by the name of Red John, so throughout the series the case comes up, and what really drives Jane as he is looking to find the killer. The cast for this show is great, with all the members on the team have great characters.

Both of these shows can be viewed as having some similar aspects. They are both murder mystery shows, and the lead characters are not officially on the teams, but more consultant or observers. The Rick Castle Character is a much more flamboyant or out going character, then the Patrick Jane character who seems more cerebral and quirky. They both play off the female leads very well, with the Castle/Beckett characters look like they might lead to something romantic, whereas in The Mentalist, Janes character is always getting reeled in to a certain bit. I find the ensemble cast on the Mentalist to be a bit better then Castle, as they seem to use the secondary characters much more, and each has their own unique identity.

I think both series are great and well worth watching. Castle is on Mondays on ABC at 10:00 pm and The Mentalist is on Thursdays at 10:00 pm. I must admit Thursdays are a very busy TV night for me. The Office, 30 Rock, Fringe, The Mentalist and Flash Forward.

Tags: 30 Rock, Castle, Flash Forward, Fringe, Life, The Mentalist, The Office

Not much overly interesting lately to talk about. So this post will be a little bit of this, and a little bit of that.

 I am really getting excited for the new Star Trek movie coming out soon. I even took the Friday off so that I can go see it. I would like to go see it at the first showing, but not sure when that is, possibly Thursday evening, so I will see. If not, then I am set for the Friday to go during the day. Lately I have been trying to avoid finding out to much information about the movie, so I have not been looking at any posts or sites that talk to much in detail about the movie. I want my first time watching to be as unspoiled as possible.

I got a few cool things in the mail this week. I got my Treks in Sci-Fi  T-Shirt from Rico. This time it is grey, and has some important Trek dates on the back of the shirt. Looks cool and already wore it once. The next day I got in some LOST Kubricks that I had won in an eBay auction a few weeks earlier. They are pretty cool, in the series: Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Sayid, Charlie and Hurley. I think I like Locke, Sawyer and Charlie the most out of these, but all are very cool.  I do hope that they continue on with these, as I think they have so much more to do with them. I guess I will have to wait and see. Below is a pic of the Sawyer Kubrick.

The weekend was pretty quiet. I had originally planned on going to Calgary for a Comic Show, but decided that there wasn’t much I really wanted so decided to stay home. Tao tao and I did some cleaning around the house, and rearranged our Kitchen. In the evenings I watched some DVD’s, I felt a bit like a kid in that I watched some Battle of the Planet and had some Pop Shoppe Pop . It reminded me of when I was a kid, I really liked that Pop, and it pretty much tastes the same as it did when I was younger, The Battle of the Planets just set the mood .

Tao tao is finished her school now, and she is going to start looking for work. Hopefully she can find something quick, as she would like to save some money to go back to China this summer. This afternoon we went over to the mall, and she picked up some applications from a few places. At least stores had Job Applications out, so that is promising.

Looking forward to a new LOST and Fringe this week on TV, they are getting close to the season end for both series. Heroes season finale is on Monday, and hoping that it is good, last weeks episode was not bad, so hoping this one is as well. I am sort of hoping they leave Heroes with a cliff hanger, so it gives me something to think about over the summer. Presently I am reading Darth Bane: The Rule of Two, is seems pretty decent so far. I am trying to read more, as I am hoping at some point I can read two books a month, as there are so many Star Wars and Star Trek books I want to read.

Tags: Battle of the Planets, Charlie - LOST, Darth Bane, Fringe, Heroes, Hurley, Jack - LOST, Kate - LOST, Locke, LOST, LOST Kubricks, Rico, Sawyer, Sayid, Star Trek, Star Wars, Tao tao, The Pop Shoppe, Treks in Sci-Fi