Easter Egg: If you put together the titles of all the episodes that start with the B&W flashforward they spell out the sentence “737 Down Over ABQ”… neat huh.

TV:

Breaking Bad 2×13: Wow, what a season finale. That last scene was truly gripping. The change of emotions in Walters face was so realistic, the actor that plays him, Bryan Cranston, must get some form of award for it. Breaking Bad has skyrocketed in my books over the last few weeks. Previously it was playing second fiddle to LOST, but now it’s my #1 show.

This episode really solidified that opinion. Walters character has truly evolved this season, changing from the worried husband, trying to leave his family secure if he died from cancer to a man selfishly and pridefully only concerned with amassing money for himself, at all costs, regardless of who will get hurt or dies in the process. This episode starts with confirmation of this, as Walter chooses to sell his drugs over going to see his daughter born. The money and success are his priority. The episode also ends with another indicator of Walts transformation, he let’s Jesse’s new, blackmailing girlfriend die when he could of helped her, how this will all pan out hopefully will be revealed in the seasons finale next week.

Star Trek: The Next Generation S1x03, 04: My better half has never watched this show. Being somewhat of a Trekkie I set out to fix this. Now, I have to admit, I watched this show growing up, but as it was aired on numerous channels I’ve never been completely sure if I’ve seen every episode. Well it turns out I have no memory of either of these 2 episodes (if I did I’m sure I made my brain forget them)

The Naked Now (Ep 03) was a joke… what was that, it was cringe worthy. I actually have no memory of watching that episode on TV as a kid and rightly so, it would of killed ratings. I’ve seen clips from it on YouTube and always thought it was some joke filmed for Roddenberry’s birthday or something and Code of Honor (Ep 04), talk about your stereotypes. It was like someone watched a “Safari in Africa” video from the 1930′s then turned it into a planet of people for an episode of Star Trek.

Film:

Ôdishon: On recommendations online, I decided to watch this film. Its pegged as a thriller/horror/romance, and I guess it is. Overall it was good, if a little slow for the first 60% of it. The last scenes of it, while pegged as disturbing when this movie was released, I fear have lost their impact from gore-fanatics raising the bar in the last 10 years. However I do think the way Asami said “deeper, deeper” in Japanese will ring in my ears for years to come. Definitely an Iconic movie.

Falling Down: I have to say I’ve never watched this movie fully before. I’ve seen bits and pieces of it here and there but never from start to finish. It is a very good movie, following one mans complete mental breakdown and disconnection with society. This is offset by the rise again of a washed up cop about to retire with a muddied name. Overall definitely a film you should watch, if you have already, well it’s now been released in HD so a second viewing should be in order.

TV:

GREEK 2×18: My OH watches this show. I tried watching the first season but lost interest fast. However, I caught this episode the other day and it wasn’t too bad. They are starting to deal with college secret societies, like Skull and Bones, I might watch the next few episodes to see how this story arc pans out.

Breaking Bad 2×12: The penultimate episode for this season, and what an episode. That ending was fantastic. I can’t really say much about this episode without spoiling it, just that Breaking Bad is now my favourite show on TV, I really  hope it doesn’t get cancelled and the ratings justify how incredible it is. I haven’t felt this pumped about a show since I first watch season 1 of Dexter.

Wipeout 1×01: I’ve been looking for some fluff to watch while having dinner, and this looked entertaining. It’s like an American version of Takeshi’s Castle, where the contestants have to navigate an obstacle course that is designed so that they will fail. The contestants also are not picked because they are athletic, they range from fat and old to skinny and dumb. It’s actually really good and it never gets old watching someone faceplant into a pool of mud.

Film:

Ong bak 2: Finally got around to watching this. Some great action sequences, but overall there was no substance to it. I didn’t mind as I only really wanted to watch it for the Tony Jaa fight scenes, but the way it started, it gave the impression it was going to show a typical epic hero story, which it doesn’t, it ends short and will leave most confused. It has all your epic movie fare, large panoramas, training montages, silhouettes of the protagonist staring off into the distance and the usual hero motivation backstory (a la Batman, Spiderman, Superman… etc) but it goes nowhere. Watch it for the fight sequences, and expect a story with about as much depth as a Jackie Chan flick.

Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom: Exceptional film. There is very little dialogue in it, and I’m sure I missed the meaning of a lot of the Buddhist symbolism but overall I loved this movie. It follows the story of an old monk who lives in a small floating temple in the middle of a lake as he raises a child. It goes through 5 stages, each symbolized by different seasons, starting in Spring and ending in Spring. There is an overwhelming sense of serenity while watching it and it deals with a lot of subjects even though very little is spoken. This is the mastery of it, that so much can be gleaned by merely the scenes alone, like the foolishness of youth, the temptations of lust, the wisdom of age, finding ones place in the world and nature… etc. Definitely a movie not to be missed. If you haven’t seen it, do so now.

TV:

Survivor 18×14,15: What a finale. This has to be one of my favourite seasons so far. I was actually torn between who I wanted to win it, but after thinking about it I was glad JT got the million. He was the best overall player, he did outwit, outlast and out survive everyone else. He managed to stab so many people in the back, and they loved him for it. He was consistently strong at challenges and also didn’t slack at camp. Stephen did himself no favours with his speeches though when confronted by the jury, he scrambled and got worked up, JT’s hurt expression when Stephen said he would of taken Erinn with him also really backed him into a corner. It was uncomfortable to watch Stephen struggling to stay composed, but I’m sure JT loved it, he played right into his hands.

The reunion, as always, is very interesting, especially to see how all the survivors look clean and fattened up from western life. Coach seemed less crazy than usual, but this is probably because he has now seen the US media reaction to his tall tales and calmed down a little on the dramatics. He did however take a lie detector test to prove his amazon story was true. I don’t doubt though that he could pass a lie detector test as I’m sure when he tells those stories he doesn’t actually think he is lying. He also mentioned that he’s writing a book, as much as I don’t want to give Coach Wade my money, I have to say I’d be tempted to hear about his other stories, no doubt he will make up an elaborate one about his time in exile.

Overall, great season, bring on Survivor: Samoa

The Mentalist 1×23: Another Red John centric episode, and another good one. They are progressively showing more and more the intellect and forethought of this serial killer, and how off kilter the thought of him sends Patrick Jane. Throughout this episode we see him struggle to remain composed and keep up his facade, but it is clear that the thoughts of walking in Red Johns footsteps is getting to him. It ends with Jane committing his first murder (albeit in self defense of a colleague), Janes character is evolving, and I wonder what kind of person he will be when he actually does confront Red John face to face.

Breaking Bad 2×11: This has to be my favourite show on the tube at the moment. I loved the slow, quite opening that really built the tension. It’s taking a twist now with Walter starting to realize he doesn’t need Jesse anymore. Jesse is digging himself further into the hole of drug addiction, by surrounding himself with an enabler now. With Saul and now Walters new buyer he no longer will need Jesse. I can’t see Jesse just breaking his ties with Walter that quickly though.

Chuck 1×04: Good episode, but like I said before, the show seems to be suffering from an identity crisis. This episode felt like a cross between sitcom, comedy and … I kid you not… an episode of Pamela Andersons “VIP”. The fighting isn’t genuine or choreographed well enough to be taken seriously, but the comedy isn’t good enough to be laugh-out-loud funny either. I’ll stick with it though to see if it gets better as it progresses. I would of liked more tech geek/gamer jokes though.

Dollhouse 1×12: What a horrible finale, the writing was abysmal. I can’t believe this show got a second season and The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been canceled. The scenes with Echo talking to Alpha where just cringeworthy. Alpha is unbelieveable as a character and Dushku needs to take some acting lessons. Also, the fact that Ballard is now working with the Dollhouse, the organization hes been hunting and nearly died to uncover is rediculous. I also never understood why the security in the Dollhouse is so lax, and why, after numerous break outs/ins and information leaks it hasn’t been improved. The doctor turning out to be a doll was another transparent twist. I also predict that Victor will be imprinted to track down Alpha next season. However I doubt I will find this out for definite as I don’t imagine I’ll be watching next season unless it greatly improves.