Little Talks

When I say "just," I am speaking in regards to when I saw the episode, and not when it was released. Season 3 of Daredevil  came out last October, but I only caught up to that point in the Marvel Netflix series last week. But there was a particular moment in episode 11, "Reunion," that I couldn't help but gawk at: Wilson Fisk's press conference. For anyone who needs context (and yes, this will be a spoiler if you haven't seen it), Fisk, the ultimate baddie in the Daredevil  series, is freed from his imprisonment when his conviction is overturned, and his first big move is to hold a press conference. It may be worth noting here that he is only perceived to be innocent because he was able to blackmail the jury. Anyways, he gathers the press outside of the hotel in which the FBI have been keeping him under close watch, and he tells everyone that he is truly innocent, and that Daredevil is the real criminal. I do wonder, sometimes, how he expects people to...

What if the King of England was nothing more than the pawn or prize for some of the most powerful women in the country? This is the question which frames Philippa Gregory's novel The White Princess . The story is told from the perspective of Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV, who marries King Henry Tudor after her mother made a promise with his in order to protect both of their families. Henry Tudor, though he is both king and enemy of the York dynasty which he overthrew to take the throne, is the most desirable prize for Elizabeth Woodville, the princess' mother, because he is the only way that her descendants can ever reach inherit her husband's crown. He is also a pawn for his own mother, Margaret Stanley (nee Beaufort) because she is unable, as a woman, to rule the country herself and so she desires to rule through him. It is thanks to her associations, marriages, blood status, and manipulation (read possible murder of York princes) that her son is ever a...

So I half-heartedly published this Sunday Sayings yesterday. I barely knew what to say, but for some reason I wrote it anyways. And then I noticed this morning that I published it instead of saving it for today. Oops! But after watching Orphan Black last night, I've decided to make a new post. Can you believe how close we're getting to the end of this amazing series? I'm both excited and sad to see the end of this show. But I like where it's going! Just wish it wasn't moving so slowly.

I'm going to review this one as though you haven't seen it. As it is a TV series, I think that this is sensible, and much easier than trying to summarize the whole thing. This series may seem like a bit of a deviation for me. If you know the kind of TV shows I usually watch, you'd know that police procedurals, detective shows, and British mysteries make up the majority of my television interests, along with a healthy dose of comedy, fantasy, and historical pieces. I have begun to watch more horror movies thanks to my sister, but that's never really been my thing. So why Dead of Summer you ask? Well, there are several reasons. First, I kept seeing the ads...and they were very vague, but very intriguing. Second, my sister loves horror movies and thought that a horror show for young adults was perfect! Third, and most important, I saw that the creators were the same men who made Once Upon a Time (and also Lost ) so I knew it had to be good. Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kits...

Well world, I am almost finished packing for my half-year journey to the U.K. Of course, getting ready has used up all of my non-work hours, and I've filled every other minute with books. Unfortunately, this means I haven't done much blogging (and the last Sunday Sayings failed to post). Today, however, I would like to take a bit of time to tell you all about one of my recent obsessions: The White Queen. I'm talking about the British TV series following Elizabeth of Woodeville during her time as Queen of England, and wife to King Edward IV. This dramatic, scandalous, well-acted portrayal of the Wars of the Roses had me more passionate to learn about English history than I had been in a long time. I did a lot of unnecessary research (mostly on Wikipedia) to understand every bit of the history and what parts were truth versus creative liberties. I am in awe of Philippa Greggory, the author of the books which inspired the show, and I want to read the whole series now. When...

[WARNING: Spoilers] I debated writing about this one since it is technically a show and not a movie, and also because I have only ever written about Sherlock as re-watches. However, this one was a stand-alone that played in theatres, and the series could technically be seen as a small number of short TV movies. Also, I may need someone to clarify what happened. Let me try to sum it up. Set in the 1890s, this Christmas special features the bizarre case of a woman who commits suicide on balcony after her marriage, then appears in the night to murder her husband in front of more witnesses. It appears to both witnesses and the detective duo that the woman came back to life, then returned to the morgue. In the following months, the ghost of the dead bride begins to murder other men. Sherlock being Sherlock believes, one might even say "knows," that the supernatural and resurrection are not possible. After a terrifying stakeout, Mary helps John and Sherlock to find the truth of t...

Tonight was the end of an era. Tonight we said goodbye to Castle with its eighth and final finale. It is only now sinking in as I sit here writing that the journey I have been on with Richard Castle and Kate Beckett for the last few years has reached an end. I'm choking back the tears so that I don't draw attention to myself while I write this (my sister is in the room with me). I wanted desperately to post something when I heard about Stana leaving the show, but I decided to wait until her role on Castle had officially come to a close, and I am glad that I did because now I can pay tribute to all of the amazing characters on this show, who have become a part of myself; and I'm sure they have become as much a part of all of the other fans. Castle , like many other police shows, was inspired by our good old friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. But it was so much more. The writers took that classic format and made it all their own. Stephen J. Cannell no doubt played a large part i...

So I don't know where time has gone. It appears that exams and assignments just eat up the hours, days, and weeks. By the time I realized I was neglecting this blog, I was too busy to post anything to make up lost time. But now I'm back, and I would like to make it up to you by doing a little retrospective look at season 5a of Once Upon A Time. And I will do my best not to spoil things for you. I would like to begin by saying that Eddy and Adam are back and they mean business! I have always loved the writing of this show, but they had me hanging on at every turn, never knowing quite what to expect. Some plot twists I saw coming, others I would never have picked up on. They write the characters so well that after 4 seasons I am sure I'm not the only fan who can often predict what characters are going to do just because we've gotten to know them so well. But Adam and Eddy also realize that people are only human, that people have flaws and act selfishly and go against th...

Yup, that's right, we've already made it to the end. So sad 😢. Thursday (I'm sorry I didn't publish Thursday) my friend and I watched season 3 of the amazing Sherlock.  The third season shows some more advances in filming methods, a bit of a re-emergence of the need to capture modern settings in most shots, some new special effects, and a development of all the main characters. The Empty Hearse After two years, Sherlock has finally been freed from the lies that Moriarty created. Anderson, and other believers in Sherlock Holmes, begin to theorize about how Sherlock may have actually survived this event. (Anderson, as shown in a pre-episode not present on the DVD but probably still on the Internet, has been tracing activity that he believes points to Sherlock still bein alive and in Europe. Other believers join with him to theorize a  little later on, but they too think he survived somehow.) We are then shown clips of a man being chased, caught, and tortured in Eastern E...

Today my friend and I made it to season 2 of the amazing Sherlock . I believe that the writing not only got more skillful this season, but the editing and filming got more artful and creative. Having established this as a modern adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the creators were less focussed on ensuring that modern aspects appeared in every shot, and this allowed them to really use the cameras to help tell the stories. Another important thing to note about this season is that it explores the depth of the relationship between John and Sherlock, as well as showing a development in Sherlock's emotional capacity and his ability to express such things. He begins to discover, and admit, to love and friendship. I'm hoping that by the time you're reading this you have actually seen season 1, so nothing that I say should be a surprise to you. A Scandal in Belgravia Ending their pool confrontation, Moriarty allows John and Sherlock to live when he receives a call with a be...

The game, dear readers is on! My best friend and I decided this week that we want to rewatch the whole series. Our goal is to fit in one season per day. As you can tell, today we completed season 1 (bonus features and all). I would like to do this short series of blogs on the day of rather than adding them to my to-blog list like everything else I read and watch. There are several reasons for this: one, I would prefer to do this while they are still fresh in my mind; two, this will allow you readers to have something other than the usual material to read. As an added bonus, this will force me to try to do more blogging on a regular basis. P.S. I will not give away the endings to the cases for anyone who hasn't seen this series yet. If you have, then you already know it. So here it goes. Sherlock  is an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories into our modern age, and the creators worked hard to make that evident in every part of the show. The writing of Mark Gatiss and St...

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much, but I am so busy right now. Tomorrow is March 1st! If you don't know why that's important -well, first of all, where have you been living? - then you haven't been suffering like me for months now waiting for the return of Once Upon A Time. That's right! Season 4b starts tomorrow. And I should clarify. I say I've been suffering because it's been over 2 months since the winter finale, but that's not totally true. It is one of my favourite shows so of course I am missing it, but Sherlock is also one of my favourite shows and I've managed to make it through several year-long breaks. Still, I am excited to see what Kitsis and Horowitz have in mind for the characters this season. Love this show so much! 😍 Anyone else as excited as me?

So it's that time of year again: the end of the year and the fall/winter season of all our favourite shows. And tonight brought us the end of one of the best new series of the year. The Flash mid-season finale came with tension, terror and tears. Feelings were shared, relationships developed, people came back from the dead, and others came out of hibernation. Iris and Eddy are moving in together, but Barry can't hide his feelings anymore. The Reverse Flash is here, and he has something to do with Dr. Wells. But what exactly? This series has been amazing for me so far. I have laughed and cried, and I feel such a strong connection to the characters. I hope it stays around for years to come. Have a theory about how exactly Dr. Wells plays into the murder of Barry's mom, and all of the action happening now? Who is the other Flash? Let me know in the comments. P.S. Barry, if Iris is too blind to see how amazing you are, I'm always here for you. ;)

So it's not over yet, but I just wanted to admit that I was wring and Elsa was not locked in the urn because she accidentally hurt or killed Kristoff. As always, Eddy and Adam have managed to make the plot still make sense, but in a completely unpredictable way. I shouldn't even be on here, I have work to do. But I am human and I wanted to admit my mistake. As a side note, who noticed the toy monkey with the cymbals in Gold's shop? Who realized it as an Easter egg from Toy Story 3 ? (even ABC shows pull the Disney Easter egg trick).

I hate posting out of order (we're all a bit OCD, okay?). But I want to get this down in writing in case I need it as proof later. Take note, Internet. I am about to make a prediction about what will happen in this week's Once Upon A Time (2 hour special!!!). If you did not see the last episode, I would advise you not to carry on as this post will contain spoilers. In "The Snow Queen" we saw Ingrid's backstory and why she ended up in the urn (that Elsa later ended up in). She, like Elsa, found that she could only control her powers when she was not worrying about her sister(s). Anyways, in some parallels of the plot of Frozen, Ingrid sees her sister falling in love with a man who's intentions are not as he states (and not only is he the Duke from Frozen, but it's basically the Hans plot). She gets worried and (just like Elsa) accidentally shoots her sister in the heart with ice. Only apparently, Helga didn't have the time to have her act of true love...

While this show is so popular for its reinvention of classic fairy tales, talented actors, and well-written plots, the main idea behind Once Upon a Time is the theme of hope. The writers, Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz say that the show is about hope, while their first show, Lost , was about redemption. I am sure that many others like myself have seen the redemption theme appearing in OUAT as well. Still, it is clear that the main message really is about having hope, faith, and belief, no matter the circumstances. The biggest example of this is with Snow White and Prince Charming. In all of their hard times, and whenever they are separated, they always have hope that they will find each other again. At the start of the show, they have no memories of each other, yet they have a special bond. Mary Margaret (Snow) takes the time to care for him at the hospital since no one knows who his family is, and it is when she reads their stories to him that he awakens. She had always hoped that...