Reviews

This was, in my opinion, the best episode so far of The Walking Dead. The wait for this premiere has felt like a long one, but the episode picks up just where it left off and makes you feel as if you never even quit watching the show.

This review will be quick and short, just like the episode felt.

The writers didn't waste their time dragging out this Terminus thing. They're in and they're out, leaving fire, blood and death in their wake. Refusing to focus on the cannibalism of the Terminus group was a wise choice. Even the producers of The Walking Dead know we, the viewers, can only handle so much. The short scenes of cannibalism were enough to make you queasy.

Each episode they find a new way to kill a zombie that tops the last. This time? Zombies on fire. Can't beat that.

The best part, though, about this episode is the few short minutes when the group finally reunites. Tears are shed and hugs are given, and it's right then that I realized how emotionally attached to these characters I've become.

I used to pity them, but as the series has progressed, I've come to love them.

Overall, 10/10. If the writers keep it up like this for the rest of the next 15 episodes, we may just have one incredible season on our hands.

-Jackson

I've long been awaiting this sequel to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which means my expectations have been building for three years. To say the least, I had very high expectations. I was weary going in to this film. The change in director, cast and tone made me nervous. Reeves and the writers were asking us to follow Caesar, our favorite ape, which isn't hard to do, but not writing in familiar human characters was a risky move. This sequel almost doesn't feel like a sequel, it almost feels like a reboot.

The first 15 minutes of the film is entirely about the apes. You do not see a single human in the first 15 or so minutes. This was a brilliant move. It introduced us into this entirely new world, one we weren't yet familiar yet.

We meet, yet again, Caesar, who is now the leader of 300 or so apes, married to a sick, pregnant ape; and father to his confused, reckless and emotional son Blue Eyes. Then there's his loyal followers, his right hand men, and those who follow because he is the strongest ape.

And then we are introduced to the movie's main villain: Koba. A multi-dimensional, hate- filled, anger driven villain who's resentment towards humans eventually leads him to his defeat. Koba truly does love his kind. He wants them to be safe. And that's his original motive in fighting the humans. But his motive shifts later in the film when his narcissism and inferiority are fueled by Caesar's disagreement, driving him into a blinding anger and irresistible thirst for being in control.

Shortly afterwards, we are introduced to our main human cast. There's Dreyfus, leader/dictator of the small band of humans, who's role is big but screen time is small. Told simply through emotion and no words, the past 10 years have ended in nothing but tragedy for this man. The implied death of his family inspires Dreyfus to lead and protect his people, and eventually forces him, in the end, to topple the tower and inform the military of the ape's existence.

Carver is the first human to appear on screen. The shot he fires that injures Ash is arguably the beginning of the war. In my opinion, if Koba and Carver's characters had never existed, peace would have been achievable (at least temporarily), but their constant disobedience, unreliability and dishonesty were the largest catalysts in the inevitable war between ape and man.

It doesn't take long for Malcolm to establish himself as our main man. Jason Clarke performs the role perfectly and delivers a character strong enough to carry the film through it's entire 130 minutes.

Just like its predecessor, do not go into the theater expecting an action film. It is not. It's a sci-fi, a drama. Moments where a director would throw in action, Reeves instead hands us a thought-provoking, character-improving scenes that make this film as great as it is.

I don't want to give too much away, but the film isn't about war, the film is about loss and survival and hope and the difficulty in maintaining peace. It's about how we, as humans, need someone to blame for our losses. We strive for revenge though it is and always will be our destruction.

The CGI in this film was better than it was in Rise. I felt as if what I was seeing on screen actually was real. The sound mixing was superb. And the entire film itself is what I'd like to call a masterpiece.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will not only revolutionize motion-capture CGI in films, but hopefully it will inspire other writers and directors to realize that there is a balance between action and character development. That, when working together, they can produce something magnificent. Just as Caesar believed would happen if humans and apes had only been willing to sort out their differences.

Superb!

And How I Met Your Mother comes to a close. This show is special to me because I discovered it on my own. One day I started watching it, and from that moment on I was hooked. I relate to this show in countless ways. I'm a romantic. Makes sense. I loved this episode. The scene right after the wedding when the Gang gets together one last time was perfect because they were saying good bye for some time. That scene was touching. The High Five to end all High Fives was hilarious. HIMYM managed to keep its humor through the entire episode while at the same time filling me with emotions unmatched by other television.

Characters: Barney: His transformation over the series was a writing feat. When he got married it was a too hard to believe. I was convinced it wouldn't work out. It didn't. He wasn't ready for it. He'll never be ready for it. But when he has a child in this last episode, and when he sees it for the first time and says "You are the love of my life. Everything I have and everything I am is yours." That moment was so powerful that I swear I won't see another moment in a story like that for a long time. He grew up. It took him longer than anyone else. But he finally grew up. Lilly: She stayed the same. She loved everyone and wanted them all to be together. But it just wasn't realistic. She was the glue to the Gang. Marshall: He manages to move to Rome, still become a judge, and eventually move on to bigger things. He's also got a wife he's loved his whole life, and at least three kids to keep him busy. This man . . . well, he's one happy man. Robin: She never truly did stop loving Ted. It was something she could hide from herself just as well as she could hide it from others. The pain of watching her ex-husband be happy, and her ex-lover be happy, and her friends be happily married - it was just too much. So she escaped. She left just as Ted planned to do. Ted: I could write a whole book about how amazing Ted's character is and how much he's changed me personally, but unfortunately this review is limited in it's amount of words, and I must minimize it to the best of my abilities. I love how the episode didn't begin with meeting the mother, nor end with meeting the mother. He met her more towards the middle. It was perfect. So perfect. They instantly realized how their lives had intertwined subtly over the years. And I'm pretty sure it was at that moment that they both knew it was something special. Lilly noticed it too. His endurance through love was the story that was told and something we went through with him, and the notion to that was well executed.

My favorite parts: The flashback to when Lilly made both Ted and Barney promise that the only way they could hook up with her is if they married her. That was genius on such a high level that I'm pretty sure the creators are prodigies. They both married her. And they made it work. The decision to divorce between Robin and Barney was coming. It never would have worked out. We all knew that. And yet it wasn't sad. The one thing I didn't like in this episode was how it took Ted so long to marry Tracy. That bothered me a little.

The end: The theory that the Mother was dead has been the most highly-debated theory amongst this show. I was convinced by it. The Time Traveller episode had me suspicious. But the episode where Ted tears up at the words of "What mother misses their daughter's wedding?" is what got me. I knew she would die. And I feared for the end. But they handled it so well and so tenderly that it was sad, but it wasn't soul-crushing depressing. When Ted is telling his kids of how he stood by her side through the rest of her life, I was crying at that point. When he mentioned how she got sick, it was hands down the best way to handle her death. Most people thought it would ruin the series, but you cannot tell me that you hated the finale because she died. I just won't believe you.

We knew the end of the series since the very beginning. Go back and watch the pilot and yep, there's the end. No one suspected it. I mean, people suspected he'd end up with Robin, but who would've thought that he'd bring her the blue french horn and hold it up to her, and she'd look out her window just as she did in the pilot, and then you'd just know.

All in all, this piece of television was strong, and kept true to its characters, and I really couldn't be happier with this conclusion. They didn't try to outdo themselves. They told the story they'd been planning to tell since the beginning. I'm sad that this is going to be my last review of How I Met Your Mother. But I'm glad it ended on a perfect note.

I never expected a credit sequence to be so emotional. My friends, this journey was legen wait-for-it dary. (I'm still pretty curious about where that pineapple came from.)

I enjoy The Walking Dead. I don't think I can name one episode that I haven't liked. That being said, I enjoy the slow scenes, the character development scenes, and the romance scenes just as much as I enjoy the fighting and gore scenes. So there could be an episode dedicated entirely to character development with no zombies and I'd be okay with it. I'm just letting you know this before the review.

This season has been captivating. It lost me a bit with The Governor's episodes. I enjoyed them, they wed just kind of long. I was wondering how they'd be able to drag out the whole travel to Terminus thing for the last eight episodes, but I believe they managed it pretty well.

Rick has been my favorite. And the scene where he basically resembles a Walker is priceless. That scene was so shocking and so gut-wrenching that any hardcore Walking Dead fan couldn't help but cheer a bit inside. Rick isn't crazy, he's just willing.

They wrapped up enough of the plot to leave us satisfied, but left enough for more of us to return to the season 5 premiere. The last line of the episode also aroused a cheer amongst the fans. "They're screwing with the wrong people." It's like we've been sitting here, watching this show for 4 seasons, saying, "These people are freaking awesome!" And the whole cast of characters have never really come out and said it, and I love how Rick acknowledged it. I love how Rick finally realized that they can't be reckoned with. That if anyone is going to survive until the end, it'll be them.

The element that intrigued me the most in this episode was Terminus. It was supposed to be nothing we expected, and it kind of . . . wasn't. It's suspicious but of course it's not safe. We still have zero answers about this place, but what I'm gathering from it is that it's some sort of research facility. That's just a guess though. Other than that, my only guess is a slaughterhouse.

Let's not forget that Carol and Tyreese are still out there. Those two are basically the only group's hope for escaping trouble in season 5. And Beth. But I'm still unsure whether she was kidnapped or just drove away. It's likely she's gone though. I wasn't sure how they could top the Governor as a villain, but these Terminus guys, well they seem like they'll do the job.

I also LOVE how no major characters were killed off in this episode. So many guesses were thrown out about who'd die in the finale, and everyone thought they guessed right, but the writers once again fooled us. No one dies. And somehow that seemed perfect for the finale of season 4.

All in all, I'm pumped for season 5, and I'm 100% positive I won't be disappointed.

I'm an avid fan of Breaking Bad, and have been for quite some time. My expectations for the finale were through the roof. I sat down with my dad to watch it and . . .

. . . it was perfect. My dad commented on the slow pace of the episode, and I loved that, because Breaking Bad is all about a slow pace with a great payoff.

There were many great moments in this episode, but one of the greatest by far was when he finally admitted to Skyler, "I did it for myself". Walter has been saying the entire series that he did it for the family, he did it for the family, he did it for the family, but he only said that to hide his true reason. He loved doing it. He was good at it. He'd always wanted to be good at something and he finally was.

He got his goodbye to Skyler, his goodbye to Holly, and a last look at the son who hates him but the son he'll love forever. He gave his family Hank's body, which showed he really truly did care.

And then he poisoned Lydia. And congratulations to all those who guessed how he'd do it. You were right.

I was talking with my friend at work about the one thing we absolutely wanted to happen in the finale, and we both agreed on Todd dying. Walt's brilliant gun setup knocked out all of the Nazis but two, Jack and Todd. Jesse got to kill Todd, which was perfect, and Walt killed Jack.

But the moment where Walt kills Jack, isn't that the moment this whole series has sort of led up to? Not the killing Jack part, but what Jack said right before that.

"If you kill me now, you'll never know where your money is."

But Walt doesn't care. He no longer cares about the money he loved so much, he no longer cares about all of his hard work. He shoots Jack and ends any trace of him empire with it.

I love how Walt saved Jesse. It brought tears to my eyes to see that in the end, despite everything, he still cared about Jesse. And though lots of you may disagree, I think there was a small shred of Jesse that cared for Walt too.

Jesse getting free. Getting away. Driving off into the future hindered by no villains or drugs. Him laughing and smiling, finally, after all this time, finally free. You can't help but smile with him.

And then Walt, mortally wounded by not only his cancer, but by his own weapon (symbolism), takes one last walk through the lab he and Jesse designed. One last walk through his empire, before he places a bloodied hand on a piece of equipment, and collapses, dead.

I am not going to try and convince you that Breaking Bad is the greatest piece of television ever created. I'm not gonna shove it down your throats or get offended if you don't agree. In my own opinion, though, I do believe that Breaking Bad is the greatest fictional story ever told.

Because the writers somehow managed to turn a bored man and a stoner kid into legacies, one ruled by his desires for an empire, and one driven by the guilt that haunts him. They took a simple idea that no one believed would work - a 50 year old chemistry teacher is diagnosed with lung cancer, so he begins to cook meth to ensure his family's financial future, and make it into an incredible story with real characters, impossible situations, and a place where the love for family conquers in the end.

As an aspiring writer, I'd be lying if I didn't say Breaking Bad is the most inspiring thing I've ever watched. It hasn't only helped me in my talents and hobbies, but it's also helped me through my depression. That may sound weird. About a year ago I was diagnosed with depression, and for a while now, I've been on pills. Lately, my depression has gotten lots worse, and somehow Breaking Bad just . . . transported me. It helped me escape from my seemingly inescapable problems, and it has, oddly, made me happy again.

I don't know what it is about this show, guys. I can't tell you why I believe it's the greatest story ever told, or how it managed to pull me out of the most challenging slump in my life to date, or why I know I'll always love it. But I can tell you this:

Breaking Bad means a lot to me. Stories have always been an important part of my life, and Breaking Bad does not take away from that. I do not know how I'll ever repay Vince Gilligan and the writers and the cast. I never will be able to I guess, but if they somehow manage to read this, I just want to say thanks.

You people have created the world's highest rated TV drama of all time, and not only that, but you've created something that has made a huge difference in my life, and I'll never be able to thank you enough.

When I publish my first book, I will dedicate it to you guys, because there's no way I would have gotten there without this show.

This is the last review I'll write, but all bad things come to an end. ;)

R.I.P Walter White.

-Jackson

I waited in full-blown anticipation all week long for this episode "Granite State". I was so excited. It was all I could talk about. I cut out pictures from a few EW issues ago of Breaking Bad and taped them on my walls, I read theories and watched some parts of episodes. I was obsessed with finding out what happens next.

I found out it came on at 7:00, so I waited and waited . . . and woke up at 7:30. Angry that I missed it, I waited until 9:30 to watch it, in which point I sat down in front of the TV with a bowl of ice cream, and watched television reach its finest point.

"Granite State" may not be the best episode of the series, it definitely is not as good as Ozymandius, but it was a necessary, highly- entertaining, emotionally-inducing, and character-evolving episode.

I'd read a theory that it was all coming back to Gray Matter. That Walt wouldn't only take down the Nazis, but would destroy the billion-dollar company that screwed him over years ago in his life. When Gretchen and Elliot appeared on the news and they mentioned Gray Matter, a grin stretched across my face. It was happening. This is what it was coming down to.

Vince Gilligan stated that the ending of Breaking Bad is somewhat of a victory for Walt. I couldn't really figure how until this episode. Maybe he finally receives (steals) the money he always deserved from the company he helped build at its inception.

So as Walt watched the news angrily, as the DEA tracked Walt to his secluded location in New Hamsphire, the theme song of Breaking Bad began playing, and it was a moment of cinematography that directors, producers, writers, and actors live to produce. It all ties together. Every last end of this enormously addicting thread finally ties together. As the final scene closes in on Walt's alcohol and tip, and we see the empty chair he had moments ago occupied, we don't know whether to laugh with incredibility, shout out with despair, or stare in absolute shock at the familiar credits that fade in and out of our vision, eventually leading into a teaser for the final episode of the greatest show that has ever aired on television.

One more week. (Oh yeah, and Guinness Book of World Records listed Breaking Bad as the highest rated TV show of all time.)

-Jackson

I thoroughly enjoyed Insidious. The idea was interesting enough to keep me captivated, and it was just the right amount of frightening to be remembered. When I found out they were making a sequel, I was nothing short of excited. They had some more story to tell. I understood that. So yeah, I was pretty excited.

Friday night, the movie's been out for about 24 hours. I've heard some negative reviews and some okay reviews, but I never take those to heart. I go in with an open mind and low expectations so I'm always surprised. I've spent over 100 dollars on movie tickets for various friends, a few jump in at the last minute, and I suddenly have a group of 13 people coming to this movie with me. We're all sitting on the same row, perfect seats thanks to pre-seating features. I sit next to my girl and my good buddy and the movie begins.

The first one, might I add, was jumpy, but not terrifying.

This movie was absolutely terrifying. Now I've heard others say it's not at all, but it scared me pretty badly. I screamed out loud three times, jumped out of my seat once, and you know, screamed some more.

I also found myself at two points during the movie on my feet cheering for a character. The theater joined me. I hadn't seen any crowd this into a film since the Harry Potters.

The first Insidious, I'll give it a 7 for an okay story, a thrill watch, and a memorable cast. But this one gets a nine, because it's terrifying and the story is so good.

The story is SO good. It explains stuff you didn't even think would be explained from the first one. It loops them together so it's more one giant film than two separate ones. I didn't want this movie to end. The thrill of it was incredible, and the story blew my mind.

Also, I give those people in the theater with me a 10/10. They were awesome.

If you were a fan of the first one, you'll thoroughly enjoy this, and you won't be disappointed. If you weren't a fan of the first one, I suggest you give this one a try. It's brilliant. Bloody brilliant.

-Jackson

Breaking Bad - my favorite TV show of all time. It begins as any other TV show, intriguing, slightly funny, and entertaining. But as the series progress, we find the show taking a much different route from others. As a writer myself, I find it incredible that the writers of Breaking Bad have created these characters and this situation, and have spurred these incredible conflicts that television will remember forever.

This part of the review contains HUGE SPOILERS, so read with caution.

When last week's episode ended, I knew Hank was a goner. I knew he and Steve were gonna die, but I still had a little hope.

And of course that hope was crushed. It opens with Steve already dead, and then Hank gets a few last words in, no chance to say words that do him justice, and then he's shot in the head. Walt collapses, unable to scream, unable to cry, and then is petrified in shock and despair for the next while.

I don't want to give an entire overview of the episode, but this is truly the episode that the writers of the show have been waiting for - when everything finally falls apart for Walt - hence the title Ozymandias. When Skyler attacks him with the knife, and eventually Flynn tackles his father and protects his mother, and when Walt stands up and shouts, asking them what's wrong, that they're family. And then he looks at them, and he sees fear and hatred and betrayal staring back at him. And his voice croaks, and he says once more, "We're family." But at that point he realizes it's not true. At that point, he realizes that what he'd done to protect the family he cared about so much, has destroyed them. He realizes he no longer has a family.

That scene is, in my opinion, the most powerful scene in all of Breaking Bad. He realizes that he is evil, that he has, in a sense, killed Hank, that he's turned his own wife and son against him, that all the awful things he'd done, all the terrible, horrible things he'd done had finally caught up with him. And in this moment he comes to realize that he's changed, that he is now evil.

Ladies and Gentleman, Walt is finally the villain that Vince Gilligan had told us he'd become so many years ago.

I'm a writer, and being a writer, I become very emotionally invested in stories and their characters, and so far in Breaking Bad, I haven't found myself very emotionally invested. Yes I care, yes I'm rooting for some characters, but I've never found myself really attached.

I've read some threads and reviews already on this episode and those who wrote them stated that this is the episode in Breaking Bad when you realize who you care for, who you're truly rooting for.

And that was no exception to me. When Hank called Marie, I knew without a doubt that Uncle Jack and his men were going to show up. I knew when Hank told Marie he loved her that he wasn't getting out of the desert. I knew Walt was gonna get away. And I didn't want to believe it, but it happened.

Jack and his men showed up, and it's the first time the show has used slow motion, and I started saying, "No, no, no. Please God, no." And then they opened fire, and yeah, I realized that I'm truly rooting for Hank, that I truly care about Hank and Steve and even Jesse, and a small part of me still cares for Walt, because he still cares about Hank. He still cares about Jesse.

And then the episode ended, and I'm pretty sure I swore out loud.

Anyway, I've never become so involved in a TV show to the point where I'm breathing hard and saying, "No, no, no" out loud. Well done Vince Gilligan and Team. You've truly done it.

Breaking Bad is arguably the greatest show of all time, because it takes an average man, and turns him into a lunatic sociopath obsessed with money and building a legend of himself. It takes a punk pothead kid and turns him into a guilt-ridden man driven by revenge. It takes a very 2-D character of a man, and turns him into the definition of good, turns him into an everyday, ordinary cop who becomes, in a small sense, a patriot filled with an unshakable feeling of betrayal and an unbound drive to take down the man who has ruined so many lives. It takes a mom and makes her into a trapped, paranoid woman who's goodness is eventually spoiled. It turns lies into death-and-life conflicts, hope into a black light, anticipation to an incomparable level, writing to the ability it's never been brought to before, and goodness to evil.

It takes television to an expectation that may never be met again.