Castle Review: Season 1, Episode 9 "Little Girl Lost"

 By Elizabeth Beall

**SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen this episode, please go and do so before continuing!**

Oh Castle.... What's a relationship without a little competition to add drama? So far on the show we've been treated to at least two ex-wives for Rick, but Beckett... Well, she's still single, and she is still not quite falling for a certain someone's "ruggedly handsome" charms.
This case hits a little close to home for Beckett: a young child abducted from the home. She's dealt with it before, and it didn't end well. That and--oh look! The FBI is involved... and the agent on the case is an ex-boyfriend of Beckett's.

The "Good Parts" Version:

-Castle is trying to earn "boyfriend points" by greeting Beckett on the scene with her favorite donut and order of coffee. Trouble is, he also brings up his fan site... Which Beckett is apparently familiar with--for "research purposes", of course--and Castle's ribbing about it ("You subscribed to my website? Wait a minute... are you Castlefreak1212? Castlelover45?") earns him a bear-claw in the mouth. Lesson learned: No woman wants sass before she has her coffee.

-The case involves the abduction of a two-year-old girl from the home of her hard-working parents. Mom works at the hospital, Dad paints for a living. He was in the next room when it happened; one moment, the girl was there, the next moment, gone.



-Enter the suave, dashing, smooth-talking, driven Agent Will Sorenson. He's got the history with Beckett that Castle wants, he knows things about her that Castle can't possibly get her to confess, and in short, he's got the position that Castle thinks he wants--and yet, Beckett seems reluctant to be working with him again.... And on the plus side, we get more of the Wisecracking Castle!

-"Really? You're going with the instincts of Nancy Drew, here?"
"Is that supposed to be an insult? Because Nancy Drew solved all her cases."

-Beckett: "Oh, why don't you two just drop your pants and get it over with!"
Castle: "I'm game!"


-Beckett ends up sending Castle home because Will doesn't want him around... and poor Rick discovers that Martha's "money-making scheme-of-the-week" happens to be working out of his office as a "Life Coach." "Mother, can I interest you in the kitchen as a better location? The wide open space... proximity to beverages... and sharp implements..."

-Can I just also take a moment to point out that THIS EPISODE MARKS THE FIRST MENTION OF JENNY O'MALLEY, RYAN'S THEN-GIRLFRIEND, PLAYED BY SEAMUS' (THE ACTOR'S) REAL-LIFE WIFE JULIANNE!!! He was my favorite character to begin with... and the fact that he's the first one to have a steady girlfriend.... portrayed by his wife... I was over-the-moon. Granted, it's just a mention, but... The tie says it all...


-The ransom demand has been made... and it's oddly specific: exactly every penny the couple has, and not a cent more. Could the kidnapper be closer to the victims than just a stone-cold professional on a spree?

-When it comes time to make the drop, Beckett finally stands up for Castle in the face of "the Feds", deciding to allow him to volunteer to make the drop.

-This episode really plays up the "Will They/Won't They" angle... because all networks know that, "If all else fails, use romantic tension to make viewers want another season." But while Castle is getting ready for a potentially dangerous money drop with an as-yet-unidentified killer, Beckett comes in... and she's more worried about this Nikki Heat novel that he is working on, and the cover image ("It's just a silhouette. She's holding a gun." "She's *naked*!" "She's posing strategically.") than about his actual safety... at least as far as she'll let on. ("Castle? Screw this up and I'll kill you.") Oh yeah, they definitely will.

-Of course, it all goes south, because the kidnapper seems to know exactly what they're going to do just before they do it, and can prepare accordingly--But Castle proves more clever than Will gives him credit for, because though they lost the bag with the money, he managed to slip the burner phone into it--right after texting Beckett from the phone. So now they can track it till the signal dies.

-The nature of the case has made Castle nostalgic. He goes home and starts imagining what it would be like if someone abducted Alexis... Which of course gives him the break he needs to realize that the kidnapped child had a favorite bunny that she carried all the time. A stone-cold kidnapper would have just taken the kid and left the bunny... so where is the bunny?

-It was just the break they needed, and by looking for the bunny, they find the girl, not far away--at the house of her Aunt. The overworked Mom had arranged the whole abduction, intending to use the money to take custody of their daughter away from her neglectful husband. The big reveal and wrap-up gives a sour note to the end of the episode--almost as if the writers were still trying to figure out the best way to end an episode.

-Of course, Will keeps dropping hints that he wants to get back together with Beckett--he'd even like it if she decided to come back to Boston with him--but she is not sure anymore if that's what she wants. The Beckett he knew was very career-driven, but meeting Castle seems to have brought a sense of "family" to her that she probably never expected. She turns him down.

Again, I am not really digging the whole "crime without a criminal" method. It was fun to find out a little more about Beckett's past, both in the ex-boyfriend and the return of the murdered mother case. 

However, I believe it must have been sometime about this episode, or the last few, that the network confirmed a second season, because already we're getting deeper into the lives of the characters with their own arcs and back-stories—things aren't quite so "temporary" anymore. It took nearly ten episodes for this show to get itself organized with the crime solving technique and the character involvement, but in the words of Casablanca, "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." 

"Little Girl Lost" gets a 4/5.

Castle Review Season 1 Episode 8 "Ghosts"

By Moira Kirkland

***Spoilers! If you haven't watched this episode, please go and do so before continuing!***

Kudos to the creative team behind Castle for coming up with so many unique ways for a person to die in just the first season--which had such a quick run, it couldn't even be termed a full season! Here we are, already at the eighth episode, and today's crime scene features a woman drowned in a tub full of motor oil. Seriously, nothing is quite so creepy as a face that appears in what you thought was a black screen.... Stolen identities, ghostwriters, bombs on an oil tanker, environmental activists... and a past that hasn't quite let go like people always assumed.

The "Good Parts" Version:

-Castle's got a new poker crowd! This time, it's the gang from the 12th Precinct who are fast becoming best buds with the "ruggedly handsome" mystery writer--and also getting a dose of Martha! "When he blinks too much, he's bluffing.... Oh, now he's tapping, that means he's got a good hand..." Nobody calls tells like a mother, which is why Susan Sullivan is quite possibly the best actress to ever play the mother figure for somebody like Nathan Fillion; the pair are wonderful, and the wits are perfectly matched, one can't help but sense the fictional genetics in the chemistry.

-Speaking of chemistry, what better way for a guy to show he likes a girl than to fold on a perfectly good hand just so she can win the pot? Things are looking good for the Caskett ship!

-I'll admit, Castle had me hooked with his "soccer mom lover's liaison" angle as to why a woman like the unfortunate victim would be in a sleazy hotel like that one in the first place! It was fun, though, to see that, gradually, Castle is winning the guys--they're not writing him off (no pun intended) as just a crackpot tag-along anymore. Trading theories with Espo--how fun!

-So the identity was stolen--but the layers lead back to a true crime writer that I recognized: Joanne Kelly from Warehouse 13! Joanne doesn't quite pass off the writer-vibe as well as Nathan Fillion does, but that's okay, because she's just a ghostwriter who has been recording the story from the victim's past that she had been running from her entire life, which may have been the thing that caught up with her.

-The woman, Cynthia, had teamed up with two others to plant a bomb on an oil tanker, which blew too soon and injured the captain who was still on board, and killed one of the others. The fact that the killer drowned Cynthia in motor oil was more than just poetic justice--it was personal. So the question becomes: who else knew about the bomb plot and would have the motive and means to kill Cynthia?

-After a brief interview with the one surviving member (and the guy who built the bomb and blames himself for the faulty fuse that caused the early explosion), Castle notices that his account diverges from the story Cynthia wanted to publish. Being a writer, he knows something about how and when to reveal key information, depending on the kind of message the writer wants to send--so why would Cynthia be giving her ghostwriter false information? Or perhaps the ghostwriter is taking creative liberties? If so, why?

-The more leads they find because of the ghostwriter, the more people they encounter who know about the book that Cynthia was going to publish, which gives rise to a new motive--true crime novels are one thing when published under the watchful eye of the perpetrator--but now that Cynthia is dead, the ghostwriter could be sitting on a bestseller, with very few people who would care if she sensationalized the story. Of course, the airtight alibi exonerates the writer--but if she didn't, who did? A connection is coming--but what could it be?

-In talking with the family of the captain who had been on the oil tanker, Castle and Beckett discover that the son had been trying to hunt Cynthia down--but it turns out that was only to find out why she'd been sending regular checks to his mom, accompanied by a note that said "I'm sorry." The trouble is, the ghostwriter--who should have known about it, since it would have aided casting Cynthia in a more favorable light--knew nothing. So if Cynthia didn't send the money, who did?

-Can I just point out how much I miss these poker games scenes? I can't recall exactly when they were phased out, but one just doesn't see them much anymore on the show! It takes a poker game with the "Gotham crew" (the judge, the mayor, and the police chief) to figure out this new twist in the mystery. Plus, Beckett demands in because she is mad at Castle for "throwing" the last game... and yet, when given the chance, Beckett "throws" it right back! Who says romance has to involve kissing and bedroom scenes?

-A well-placed comment in the middle of a flurry of contemplation prompts Castle to come up with another wild theory: what if the conspirator everyone thought was dead, really wasn't? And what if she was the one who murdered Cynthia, after living all this time under a false identity, just like Cynthia had?

-And BOOM. Turns out the writers have one more twist for us: Cynthia had discovered this woman was alive... and Cynthia had invited Susan over to kill her in the motor oil and so the story could be told however Cynthia liked... but Susan figured it out and turned the tables on her.

-As a final wrap-up for the case, Castle figures out the ghostwriter's slimy ploy to publicize the fact that she was in contact with Cynthia, which would only invite more publicity for her book if Cynthia were actually arrested and placed on trial. (And yes, I do believe there is a sleazy "tabloid reporter" based on the ghostwriter as a character in Castle's books!) Lesson learned: don't mess with a writer. Even if you "succeed" in hoodwinking them, you'll more than likely end up as material, and the portrayal will not be flattering.

-Finally, Castle and Beckett confront each other about intentionally throwing the poker games... and decide on a rematch. The pot? Gummy bears.

On the whole, I think this episode was on the weirder side, as far as the mystery goes. There weren't any intensely action-packed chases, a lot of it was subtle, mess-with-your-mind-and-emotions kind of stuff. I liked seeing the relationship between Castle and Beckett develop further, as everyone in the Precinct begins to welcome him more as one of them instead of passing him off. I'd give this episode a 4/5.

Film Review: Back to the Future

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet seen this film, please go and do so before proceeding.

              It's Marty McFly and Doc Brown! What is not to like about this combination? I have long been planning to watch the Back to the Future trilogy and yet had just never gotten around to it, despite the fact that my father fondly remembers seeing this film in theatres and has been talking about it for years. Well the time of waiting is no more. I've now seen the first Back to the Future film and so I am here now to review it. 

          And I'll just say this right off the bat: THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME!!!!! No I'm not just saying this because it's a classic. Everything about it just works so well. From the strange friendship between Mary and the Doc to the humor (both visual and verbal) to the time travel elements which all went off flawlessly. It dealt with paradoxes and time slips and every possible other idea by giving just enough information to get people invested and yet not so much that it bores us into picking at plot-holes (because, let's face it, every story involving timey-wimey elements has a hole somewhere).

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- The beginning of this film is classic, with the ticking clocks and the Wallace & Gromit breakfast machine going horribly wrong. 

- And Marty blasting himself into a bookshelf with his guitar.

- I love the duo of Marty and Doc. Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox are a joy to watch on screen together. Their friendship is perfect and they both simply embody the characters and emotions.

- For some reason, despite recent events, the sight of Libyan terrorists driving around in a VW bus just cracks me up. Even if they did, in a shocking turn of events, gun down good ol' Doc Brown.

- One thing I really love about this is the humor. Back to the Future is by no means something that needs to be classed as a comedy, but neither is it particularly heavy on the angst. I spent most of my time laughing and scarcely a scene goes by that doesn't involve some kind of pun or joke or awkward moment to make you laugh. Most of the humor is fairly obvious, given that it stems from Marty being displaced in time, but just because you can see a joke being set up doesn't mean that it isn't still funny. It's all in how you deliver it.

- For all my Supernaturalist friends out there, the scene from In The Beginning where Dean meets John in the diner is directly lifted from this film. Just a little tidbit for y'all.

- Michael J. Fox does a perfect job as Marty. Sure a lot of his time is spent gaping and looking horrified (especially whenever his young mother comments on his underwear), but he manages to put a lot of subtlety into the performance as well. Especially in the scenes with the younger Doc Brown who Marty has (as far as he knows) just seen shot dead back in 1985.

- It's hilarious the parallels that are drawn between the people Marty knows and their younger counterparts. Granted it may be a bit unrealistic in places that Biff would be pulling the same tricks in high school that he did in his forties (though you should never underestimate a bully) but it isn't so out-of-place that it pulls you out of the experience. And that's what Back to the Future is; an experience. It's a funny, crazy, sci-fi adventure that isn't particularly deep or layered but that's okay because it doesn't have to be. Not every film has to be 20 Years A Slave. Sometimes it's okay to have something like this where it's just good, clean, adventurous fun.

- Marty and Biff don't get along even in this time. The scene where he flees from Biff and his goons on a skateboard is one of the highlights of the film. Even if it is highly improbable.




- The special effects in this film have aged very well. I don't claim to be an expert in SFX or anything like that, but even I am fairly good at spotting outdated examples when I see them on film. Not here. The effects still look as good as the day that it was first released...even managing to still appear well-meshed on the remastered and 'clearer' versions where other films had hid their wires and sub-par pixels behind the graininess of the films.

- Poor Marty...his mother is hitting on him. (And Doc. Brown is just leaning against the car and laughing.)

- I found it interesting the way this film dealt with The Butterfly Effect, what with Marty accidentally saving his father's life (and catching his mother's eye) and the way he spends a lot of the film pretending to be Doc Brown's nephew and trying to push his parents back together before he's erased from history.




- What exactly was Biff going to do to Marty's mother?!

- "I don't understand. Whenever I kiss you it's like kissing a brother!" "Yeah. I guess it would kinda be." Poor Marty!

- And the guitar scene. Hahahaha...

- Fun fact: Chuck Berry (the fellow that the guy calls on the telephone) was the man who first recorded Johnny B Goode and made it famous.

- What makes it funny is the fact that Marty just gets so into the piece and starts flinging himself around the stage like a rock star. I think the other players were wondering if he was having a seizure or something. The way the guy looks at the guitar after Marty gives it back is just the icing on the cake. "He got THAT out of THIS?!"

- The climax of the film is very interesting, what with the ever-building tension, the electrical difficulties, and Marty's inability to make the car start. I almost felt like it dragged on a little long, but then something exciting would happen and shake everything up again.

- A bit of classic timey-wimey stuff happened as Marty got back early and actually saw the events of the evening himself.

- And I would say it was a cop-out that they had the Doc survive after all, but it was just handled so well that I found myself cheering at the soppy choice in spite of myself. Now whenever a film can sweep me up and convince me to do that, I know I've found something special.

- Marty's reaction to his changed life is hilarious...as is the sight of Biff waxing a VW Bug.

         Back to the Future is an AWESOME film that everyone should see at least once during the course of their lives. It has comedy, adventure, sci-fi elements, and some surprisingly touching moments. The acting was great, the music was wonderful, the story fun and inventive, and the special effects have held up extraordinarily well. It's definitely one of my favorite films now. I know there are sequels, but they're going to have a hard time living up to this beginning. Back to the Future is a 5/5.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Film Review: X-Men Days of Future Past

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this film, please go and do so before proceeding.

        I learned two things from this. One, X-Men: The Last Stand would have been awesome if Bryan Singer had directed it and two, JFK was assassinated because he was a mutant. Also Jennifer Lawrence is awesome. But we already knew that. Oh. And Quicksilver is all manner of hot and sure to gain a small (or not so small) fandom following all of his own....just sayin'.

      The casting in this film was done really well, even if young!Professor X reminds me of what I always imagined young!Sirius Black to look like. And while we're on the subject of younger versions of him, I swear that really!young!Xavier is the kid from the Doctor Who A Christmas Carol special! But seriously, the casting is just perfect. From Quicksilver to Trask, everyone just feels perfect in the roles they have been cast in.

         I love Quicksilver and the trick he pulls on the security footage. Very classy. I also appreciate that he notices just how gross the concept of Wolverine's claws really is. The way he broke Magento out was also very interesting. Use of 'Time In A Bottle' during the Quicksilver vs. Pentagon Security fight scene made me laugh SO hard! It really was a priceless touch and the slow-motion used to give us his POV was also very interesting.

              I liked the way they really delved into how awful it actually would be for Professor X with his telepathy, hearing all of the hurting voices in the world screaming at him inside his head. I also laughed a bit whenever Wolverine said about his head being already screwed up. What I really loved, though, was the talk between old and young Xavier. This scene could have been clichéd and cheesy...but it just worked so well! A real testament to the actors and director, I think. Also of the mutant powers were showcased really well in this film, but a special shout-out should go to Magneto and the way he tries to steal the sentinels.

         There was a Star Trek reference in there with Beast's den. The conversation about time streams and the butterfly effect was also interesting and got the Doctor Who wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey fan in me squeeing.

      This film's pacing was just perfect. Right from the beginning it tore out of the starting gate and slammed on forward with an unrelenting pace. Yet it never feels overstuffed or cluttered and it does take time to breath and get the emotional weight of everything across. In my humble opinion, this is the best X-Men film yet. Better than one, better than two, and certainly realms ahead of three! It's better than any of them. I was actually moved to near tears at a couple of points during the experience. The emotions are there, the characters are wonderful, and the story is one of hope. X-Men Days of Future Past is a SOLID 5/5!


What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Why Is Merlin So Irresistible?

             Ummm...on reviewing things, maybe I should rephrase that title. Why Is The BBC Show 'Merlin' So Irresistible? There. That's much better!

             I've spoken before on this site about this bewilderingly addictive television show. It's campy, it's meandering, it's not very well structured, and it really shouldn't have made it past Series 3. And yet, despite all of the nit-picking and complaining I do about this show, I do honestly love it dearly. I followed it religiously while it was actually still airing and I slapped down the money for the DVD collections with barely a second thought. Believe me, that says something. I'm a very stingy person when it comes to buying media. I don't even own the DVD collections for Doctor Who yet!

           It has left me confused (and bemused) for years that a campy little show distorting my beloved tales of Camelot quite this much could hold my attention for so long. Granted it does have an awesome dragon voiced by John Hurt, but John Hurt is just one aspect of the show...so what is it? Well, let's take a look!

The Premise - Come on! It's Arthur Pendragon and Merlin Emrys as teenagers getting into shenanigans, swordfights, and sorcery duels! What's not to like?! Okay, so I know that when it's just described like that it sounds rather cheesy. And it is. It's EXTREMELY cheesy and campy and (insert every other adjective to that effect here)! But that's one of its strengths. It is unusual and never-been-done-before and is a story that focuses more on the journey than the destination. It shows Arthur's journey from prattish prince to strong king with Merlin by his side and working from the shadows every step of the way. But more so even than that, it is a story about prejudice and friendship and family and betrayal. You know...the good stuff.


The Writing - I know, I know...I complained about how bad it was, how could it ever be a good point? See the thing is, this show is terribly campy. It's melodramatic. It often doesn't pay off its own grandiose themes. But it knows it. In the early seasons, at least, the show was very self-aware and had an excellent sense of humor. I've always said that where the show started to fall apart was when it began to take itself too seriously and push 'darker, edgier, scarier'. This is no Supernatural, guys, they just don't have the gravitas to pull off both epic story-lines and dark concepts. The best thing about Merlin is the banter. Good golly gracious is the banter perfect!

The Characters - I've said it before and I'll say it again: for any form of media to work (be it film, television, literature, or music) the characters that are used in the story have to be well-written, well-rounded, and feel like real people. And the Merlin characters fulfill every one of those requirements, thanks in a large part to the chemistry and charisma of the actors. Let's examine this wonderful main cast...



Merlin

           Just because the main (and titular) character is an ADORABLE wide-eyed, big-eared wizard who's just begging to be gathered up in a big, squishy hug, that doesn't automatically mean that the show is going to be good. What works about Merlin? Well aside from the fact that he is the first young version of the character to be portrayed in popular media, he would be charming to watch even if he had a different name. A lot of this can be attributed to Colin Morgan (some of you may know him as Jethro from Doctor Who: Midnight) who takes the role and imbues it with such life and character that he is a joy even in the most depressing and badly-written episodes. It also helps that he isn't the typical 'chosen one who doesn't want his destiny' persona. At the beginning he doesn't want it, not because he thinks he's unworthy or because he doesn't want the attention, but because he thinks that his destiny (Arthur) is a prat. But he very quickly comes to befriend the prince and embraces his destiny whole-heartedly, even as everyone he loves must be sacrificed.


Arthur Pendragon
        Ah yes, our beloved oblivious, allergic-to-a-shirt crown prince of Camelot! Where would we be without him? Arthur is the brawn to Merlin's brains and frequently see-saws from being just and wise and disgustingly noble to snarky and oblivious and extremely childish. It's just two facets of his personality that are always at war. It's also the reason why we love him so much...well, along with the wonderful Bradley James who works so hard and puts his all into the performance in a way that really shines through and gives real personality to the often stuffy and uninteresting Arthur. We all know that there's a sensitive, kind soul hidden underneath that sarcastic, stand-offish personality. We all know that a great king lies beneath the pratty prince. The fun is the journey to getting there. The fact that he's also a handsome young fellow who tragically lost his mother and has daddy issues is only the icing on the cake for fanfic writers.


Gwen (Guinevere)
          To anyone going to start a rant about how 'not true to character' Gwen is or (even worse) how unattractive she is, this is your cue to leave now. Seriously...please get out. First of all, this is a show about the teenage years of the wizard Merlin where he is Arthur's servant and Arthur wasn't raised alongside Sir Kay because Uther was a dead adulterer. Secondly, Angel Coulby is a beautiful, talented, friendly, and all-around wonderful person who throws everything she has into her acting and does wonders to breath life into Guinevere's sometimes-dull and erratically-written character. Besides...since when did whether or not we like a character have to do with their looks anyway?!


Morgana LeFay/Pendragon
         I always really enjoy the villains on this show. Being quite knowledgeable of Arthurian Legend 'canon', I was just waiting for Morgana to show her dark side. Granted it didn't happen quite the way I was expecting it to, but to be quite honest I'm relieved that Family Show guidelines don't have room for the whole original Mordred's origins story. (Blech) Morgana's story is a tragic one. I really love how all the villains on this show are given somewhat sympathetic backgrounds. They're either fighting for their country and go too far, fighting for a set of twisted ideals, or have just been hurt SO badly that they feel they have to strike back and protect others. That makes them delightfully human and relatable, even as we see that they're doing the wrong things. It's not that their actions are justified or that they're shown to be merely anti-heroes, they're definitely villains, it's just that they have a fleshed-out back-story and reasons for what they do that makes them seem more real and less cartoon-y. Morgana is a prime example - a lost and scared little girl that let her anger fester inside her heart until she opened herself up for corruption.


Uther Pendragon
         Oh Giles...tsk, tsk, tsk. I actually really like the character of Uther Pendragon, for all he is an insufferable and prejudiced jerk. To be honest the only time I don't like a character is when they feel two-dimensional, badly-written, and clichéd to the point of nausea. Uther is quite complex. He's heavy-handed and hard-hearted at times, but he truly tries to do what he thinks is best for his kingdom. He can be stern and stand-offish, but despite his mistakes he honestly loves his children. In that way he reminds me a lot of John Winchester from Supernatural (another father figure that I seem to be primarily alone in liking). Many people don't seem to bother looking beneath the surface of his actions, but if you watch closely you'll see all the subtle hints and clues that Anthony Head puts into his performance to make it something great.


Gaius
        A slight deviation to the usual 'elderly mentor' figure in that he actually manages to survive to the bitter end of the show. Will wonders never cease?! Okay. So Gaius is the Court Physician of Camelot and Merlin's guardian/mentor. He is also a former sorcerer and a close friend of Uther (in addition to being the resident exposition machine). We get the feeling that Gaius and Uther share a relationship very close to that of Merlin and Arthur. Gaius also has an epic eyebrow raise that he gives Merlin whenever the young warlock is getting out of line. It's earned him the fandom nickname of The Dude With The 'Tude & The Bro With The Brow (don't look at me...I didn't come up with it!)