Saturday, February 6. 2010
Please Give!!! Posted by Ryan McLelland
in Entertainment News at
17:02
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Defined tags for this entry: american heart association
Please Give!!!My son Tyler is collecting money for the American Heart Association!!! I'm joining millions of other kids to help save lives with the American Heart Association's Jump Rope For Heart Program! It really is an amazing thing - so if there is anything you can give...PLEASE GIVE!!! You can visit Tyler's site direct at: http://honor.americanheart.org/goto/tyle Thanks to anyone who gives! Best, Ryan Thursday, February 4. 2010Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Defined tags for this entry: ain't it cool news, comic film reviews, dc universe, irish rican, ryan mclelland, superman batman public enemies
Comic Film Reviews: Superman/Batman: Public EnemiesComic Film (Mini) Review: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies Reviewed by Ryan McLelland I wasn't a huge fan by any means of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness' Superman Batman series - the first arc now translated into this DVD. DC did it right this time though. Unlike the Superman/Doomsday DVD, which botched the whole storyline by not including the Justice League or the four Superman replacements, this one has a slew of DC heroes and villains all coming in to try and defeat Superman for a one billion dollar bounty. The voices are great - straight from the Batman & Superman franchises. Tim Daly back as Supes, Kevin Conroy back as Bats, Clancy Brown back as Lex Luthor...it's just awesome! And everyone is here from the Suicide Squad to Captain Atom to Power Girl! I have yet to watch the Justice League series...where LOTS of lesser tier characters are shown..but watching a direct-to-DVD release like this where it only runs about 70 minutes - it brings me joy to see these lesser tier characters make an appearance. The film itself is very simply: Superman set up by Lex. Lex shooting Kryptonite like heroin. Batman helps Supes. Everyone wants to get Superman. The film is an excuse to watch Batman and Superman team up to defeat everyone...but it really is alot of fun. Wednesday, February 3. 2010Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Defined tags for this entry: ain't it cool news, comic film reviews, greg pak, irish rican, marvel comics, planet hulk, ryan mclelland
Comic Film Reviews: Planet HulkComic Film Reviews: Planet Hulk Reviewed by: Ryan McLelland Taken from my post over at Ain't It Cool News While PLANET HULK may certainly be covered over in Harry's DVD section I thought to do a quick write-up for the @$$hole readers interested in how the comic translated. I'm going to cover a bit of the story so if you haven't read PLANET HULK and are going to be viewing the DVD for the first time you may want to skip on ahead. Thursday, January 28. 2010Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Defined tags for this entry: artist to watch, barrie maguire, d.fly schwartz, help me help me, i don't know a thing, lucy schwartz, mitchell froom, winter in june
Artist To Watch - Lucy Schwartz
I came across Lucy Schwartz a short while ago while browsing some new artists featured in television shows. I think one of her songs was used on Private Practice. I listened to everything I could find by her and I'm impressed so far.
She has a habit for pairing melancholy lyrics with upbeat melodies and says she likes to "mix both sides of the spectrum.” She is already quite accomplished at the mere age of 20 with songs appearing on the television shows Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy and the films Post Grad and The Women. Lucy is currently working on a full length album with Mitchell Froom producing. ![]() Right off the bat she got cool points with me for being named Lucy Seriously though, she just released an EP on the 26th called Help Me! Help Me! and it's really catchy. Onboard are producers Mitchell Froom (Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Coconut Records), Barrie Maguire (The Wallflowers, Amos Lee), and d.Fly Schwartz (Arrested Development, Deadwood). Here is a sample from her first album, which she recorded when she was only 16! Albums and songs both old and new can be purchased on iTunes and CD Baby with links on her Myspace, where you can also hear some songs of the new EP. Thursday, January 28. 2010Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Artist To Watch - Marit Larsen
I am LOVING this Norwegian songstress.
Not only is her music fun and infectious but I love the way she feels about music. She posted this on her Myspace and I had to re-post it because I feel the same way about music. I've always been obsessed with music. Most of my memories, good and bad, have their own soundtrack (which is, by the way, by far the best thing about music). This is what does it for me: A song can remind you what it's like being in love. It can even make you fall in love. The right song can mend you, break your heart, and, well, change your life. I know there is a tremendously long list of songs that have changed mine. I'll probably be struggling to write change-your-life-forever-tunes the rest of my life. She reminds me a lot of Lenka who was one of my favorite new artists in 2009, I'm sad I didn't find this girl sooner, but I am really looking forward to hearing something new from her. Her album isn't available in the US yet, but you can find her on iTunes. Friday, January 22. 2010Artist To Watch - Maryanna Sokol
Check out Maryanna Sokol's Myspace page.
![]() She has an album coming out soon produced by the super awesome Andrew Futral (of The Age Of Rockets) You can catch some of the unmixed tracks on her page and they've got me really excited for the album. She is certainly someone I'll be watching in 2010! Thursday, January 21. 2010Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Defined tags for this entry: ain't it cool news, comic film reviews, eye wannabe, irish rican, ryan mclelland, tales of the black freighter, watchmen, zack snyder
Comic Film Reviews: Tales of the Black FreighterComic Film Reviews: Tales of the Black Freighter Reviewed by Ryan McLelland
I can't even count the number of times I've read through the graphic novel Watchmen. It's very much a favorite - it was the granddaddy of all modern comic books in terms of character development, thought, and reasons heroes do what they do. Though I've read the graphic novel say...thirty times...I still never got into 'Tales of the Black Freighter'. I got that it tied into Ozymandius' story but never...really...cared. I just didn't. For me it took AWAY from the Watchmen, not adding to it. It was non-essential - it was an easy way for Alan Moore to pad the story out to 12 issues when he was originally thinking 'six'.
The release of the Watchmen movie saw no sign of the Black Freighter - though director Zack Snyder always had plans to incorprate it into the movie. His plan was to 'animate' the comic book and insert it later into an 'Ultimate Cut' of Watchmen (out NOW!). NOW - I didn't watch the Ultimate Cut...at least not yet. But I did watch Black Freighter by itself - as it came out by itself on DVD to help cash in on the "Watchmen Craze." The animation is decent. The voices...well...it's mainly 300's Gerard Butler in a quite non-superior voiceover. The 20-something odd running time of the film simply...bored me to tears just like the comic book did. I get it...I get that it ties into the story. But who fucking cares? Really? It's a fucking pirate ship story in a superhero comic which served to deconstruct the superhero genre. It's a boring add-on to an amazing story.
So why review this? Well the DVD also has the documentary 'Under the Hood', a faux-doc featuring actors from the film in character talking about Hollis Mason's book (which I'll also review later). So I got a 'two-for-one' though you miss NOTHING but watching the Black Freighter UNLESS you are a big Watchmen fan. Again - I really want to see how it all comes together with the DVD release of the Ultimate Edition - so that may be one of the next comic films I have to review. But as for Freighter? Skip it. Get the Ultimate Edition (I'm guessing) or just skip it all together. Def not worth shelling out ten bucks for. Thursday, January 21. 2010
Cop Out Theatrical Poster Posted by Ryan McLelland
in Entertainment News at
09:30
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Defined tags for this entry: a couple of dicks, ain't it cool news, bruce willis, cop out, eye wannabe, irish rican, kevin smith, ryan mclelland, tracy morgan
Cop Out Theatrical Poster
With the bad Cop Out theatrical trailer now a distant memory (hopefully), Warner Bros. has shared the new Cop Out one sheet. Feels good to see Bruce Willis in John McClaine form and the great tagline 'Rock Out With Your Glock Out.' Once again I can't help feel that Warner Bros. still missed the mark on this. Thoughts? Wednesday, January 20. 2010
Tron Legacy - Yellow Light-Cycle Posted by Ryan McLelland
in Entertainment News at
21:13
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Tron Legacy - Yellow Light-CycleAnother month...another light-cycle. I believe these will continue to pop up about once a month until Tron Legacy hits in December.
Monday, January 18. 2010Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Comic Film Reviews: Batman ForeverComic Film Reviews: Batman Forever "Reviewed" by Ryan McLelland
The Batmobile launches itself up a building. Seriously. A grappling hook comes out of the Batmobile and it rockets up the side of the building to escape Two-Face and his crew. THIS IS BATMAN FOREVER. And it is HORRIBLE. Tim Burton bailed on the project which then lost Michael Keaton as Batman, Rene Russo as Chase, and Marlon Wayans as Robin. We get Val Kilmer who isn't that bad, Nicole Kidman who kinda was bad, and Chris O'Donnell who was actually pretty damn good. The baddies though...are bad. Tommy Lee Jones was abysmal and Jim Carrey's Edward Nigma was...abysmal.
On paper I'm sure everything seemed to be a good idea. I remember being SO excited to see this movie when it first came out...only to be...SO disappointed. They turned the flick into a farce, it was campy crap especially after the far-superior Batman Returns. Akiva Goldsman scripted both this piece of garbage AND Batman & Robin. I'm sure he helped cater to director Joel Schumaker's needs both times. We are treated to uber-bad comic book plots (something straight out of the sixties - by 1971 Batman was back in the dark Dark Knight role in the comics) and horrible acting - ESPECIALLY Tommy Lee Jones. Where's Billy Dee Williams when we truly need him??? I rewatched the film with my son...who was really bored at times. In terms of letting a kid watch this film he was far more entertained by Batman & Robin. I'm not showing him Batman or Batman Returns - he's still a bit young for them. But these films are by far flashy, boring, and dated. Batman & Batman Returns, even looking like they were filmed on backlots, hold up far better. History has told for these films thanks to Christoper Nolan. Movie audiences want Batman dark and gritty and hopefully DC continues that trend for years to come. This isn't really a review because watching this again was akin to a root canal. It was bad in the 90s...and still bad over ten years later. So bad that I can't even write about it...except to bash.
Friday, January 15. 2010Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Defined tags for this entry: comic film reviews, doctor strange, eye wannabe, eyewannabe, marvel animated features, ryan mclelland
Comic Film Reviews: Doctor StrangeComic Film Reviews: Doctor Strange Reviewed by Ryan McLelland
After watching the awesome Green Lantern flick I thought my next superhero film would be a Marvel cartoon. Looking into my collection I found the Doctor Strange film - the only Marvel film I own that I hadn't actually watched yet.
It probably was a bad thing to watch this directly after First Flight. Perhaps on its own Doctor Strange is an above average cartoon. Coming after GL I found the animation lacking, the screenplay boring, and the voice acting something to be desired. DC has big name actors doing the voices and that great Bruce Timm look. Doctor Strange is one of my favorite Marvel characters. This goes back to my childhood where I owned a small sized paperback reprinting many of the early adventures - this was actually a paperback sized reprint! It's one of those book I remember into adulthood and I still continue to pick up and read the Essential Doctor Strange volumes as they come out. This is a modern telling origin story for the good doctor. It shows him as an arrogant doctor who only cares about money, gets in a horrible car accident, and is recruited to train with The Ancient One. Baron Mordo leads The Ancient One's crew who battles weird monsters - among this crew is Wong - if you read the comics you know him as Strange's eternal sidekick.
The Ancient One is on the lookout for the newest Sorcerer Supreme. Baron Mordo knows it should be him. Strange trains with The Ancient One and we all know that it is going to be him. Mordo finds out it is not and, of course, becomes the baddie. It is then up to Strange to stop Mordo. The way they updated the character was okay...but I guess maybe price is a factor? Because truly producers didn't have to go far in getting a good script, J. Michael Straczynski wrote a great unproduced screenplay for Strange that eventually became a comic book. Why make something subpar when you have the screenplay right there to make it great??? All of Marvel's animated direct-to-DVD features are a bit lacking (and I will review each one as time goes on) and I've never actually looked forward to any of them - the upcoming Planet Hulk adaptation being the huge exception. As for this film, Doctor Strange is sort-of worth the 5 bucks I paid for it at Best Buy, but it is lacking fun and production values that would want me to watch it over and over again.
Wednesday, January 13. 2010Defined tags for this entry: allie moss, asbury park, bess rogers, cara salimando, chris kuffner, elliot jacobson, laura warshauer, the saint
Bess Roger & Allie Moss @ The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ 1-8-2010
I didn't know what to expect from The Saint before I got there. I had never heard of the venue before and I was a little nervous about going out alone in Asbury Park. The exterior didn't make me feel much better and the surrounding area I found to be a bit daunting. I wasn't going to miss Bess play though, so I took a deep breath, parked, and headed toward the show.
When I entered I could hear a female voice performing and I was a little upset because I was under the impression I was 30 minutes early. What I got to hear was the last couple of songs by a young woman named Laura Warshauer, previously unknown to me but I was pleasantly surprised. My only complaint is that I didn't get to view her entire performance. This girl has an amazing voice live, I got a chance to talk with her a little bit after the show and you can expect to hear a live performance from her on Electric Eclectic sometime in the near future. After a brief break 17-year-old Cara Salimando took the stage. She performed a short set but I was impressed by her ability in front of a live audience. To already be so comfortable performing live, I think we can expect great things from Cara in the future! Next up the lovely and multi-talented Bess Rogers took the stage. It's been awhile since I got to see Bess with a backing band, and was very pleased to find that it was Chris Kuffner and Elliot Jacobson, the same duo that had accompanied JOY at the City Winery the previous weekend. I don't mean to leave out her bassist's name, I just don't know him... Sorry unknown bassist! Bess opened up with the title track from her 2009 EP Travel Back and followed it up with the carefree ditty I Don't Worry. ![]() In a dramatic contrast she played a new song that will be on her upcoming LP. I had heard Good Enough when she played it solo at John & Peter's a few weeks ago but with a backing band it was really tremendous and it only solidified that I CAN NOT WAIT for the new album to come out. Elliot's drumming really added to the darkness of the song that I hadn't picked up on previously. She then welcomed fellow performer Allie Moss to the stage to perform Everything to Lose. Allie's stellar backing vocals really contributed to the song. Bess kept Allie on stage for another new one All In Good Fun in which she channels the late, great Patsy Cline. I'm really excited for the studio version of this song, and Bess is indeed right, "when you lose it hurts." This was followed up by one more new song Come Home. I just want to reiterate what a treat it is to hear Bess perform with a band backing her. Don't get me wrong, she wonderful by herself but adding extra instruments really adds something and compliments her solo performance so well. Bess finished up her set with Bulldozer and I found myself wishing that she would play just a bit longer. During the break a broken string was replaced and the stage was set for Allie Moss. I had heard some of her work before but for some reason it hadn't stuck with me. She was backed by Bess Rogers, Chris Kuffner, Elliot Jacobson, and Lauren Zettler on keyboard. The opening song was Days I Regret, fitting because it instantly made me regret not owning everything this girl is a part of. She's got a really endearing innocence about her voice. She followed it up with her hit Corner which you may have heard on Grey's Anatomy. Let It Go and Meloncholy Astronotic Man were next up, followed by Passerby. The guitar in it reminded me a lot of Ingrid Michaelson's Corner Of Your Heart, which makes sense since Allie tours with Ingrid. Additionally I Bess and Chris provided really nice backing vocals for the tune and it sounded fantastic live. ![]() Next Allie had the band take a break on the stage while she performed a solo song I Will Go Anywhere. Her vocals really shined, and I kicked myself again for not buying her EP when it came out last March. Next up was a new song that I can not wait to hear the studio version of. I'm pretty sure Late Bloomer is one of my favorite current songs, and I wish I could hear it again! The lyrics were eerily relatible and the melody was perfect. Allie followed up with Dig With Me and Rubber Ducky, yes... It is what you're thinking and it was surprising really awesome. The last song of the evening was Cling To Me, it was soft and pretty and I found it to be an excellent closer. After tonight, I love Allie Moss and I am really glad I finally got a chance to listen to her work and see her live. See more photos and videos here. Including Chris Kuffner in the best hat ever! Tuesday, January 12. 2010Defined tags for this entry: allison weiss, bess rogers, chris kuffner, city winery, dan romer, deborah lopez, elliot jacobson, emily wells, jenny owen youngs
Jenny Owen Young & Emily Wells City Winery, NYC Jan 2, 2010
I couldn't have been more thrilled when I got an e-mail from one of my favorite venues, letting me know that one of my favorite artists would be performing there. Getting a chance to see Jenny Owen Youngs at the City Winery in NYC was amazing. If you’ve never been to the venue check out their page and find yourself a good show because the atmosphere and the quality of sound are both top notch. The food and drinks are on the pricey side but everything I’ve had there has been delicious.
I arrived just as Jenny was getting on stage, later then I had expected so I wasn’t able to secure a table. This particular evening Jenny was accompanied by two of my favorite NYC musicians, the multi-talented Chris Kuffner and, drummer extraordinaire Elliot Jacobson. After a moment of instrument tuning because Jenny cares about us, they launched into If I Didn’t Know. I always feel like Jenny is at her best when her backing band is comprised of her friends and tonight was no exception. The second song of the evening was Led To The Sea, followed up by my personal favorite Drinking Song. One of the best things about seeing JOY live, is that every time she performs she manages to make each song just a little different then the last time I heard it. It keeps the songs I love from ever getting boring while holding onto the aspects that I adore about them and to me it’s what shows that’s she truly a musician and not just a singer/songwriter. Next in the set was Secrets. I adore that song and tonight was no exception. I wish I could get my hands on a recording of Jenny performing this song with Jim Ward the way they did during the revival tour of 2009, if you missed it you should be regretful, it was pretty amazing. I tried to snap some photos but my lame camera batteries died, luckily there were real photographers there and the amazing Deborah Lopez has been kind enough to allow me the use of one of her photos. You can view more of her work at her Myspace page. She's taken some of my favorite photos of my favorite musicians.Things slowed down a bit during No More Words but right after the trio rocked an amazing live version of Clean Break that was out of this world. There was only one choice to follow up such awesomeness, fan favorite Fuck Was I. Numerous people in the audience were singing along and everyone was having a great time. I didn't think the set could get any better until Last Person came on. It was really cool because a number of people there to support Jenny were also musicians that had appeared in the music video for the song and you could hear them singing along. She followed that up with Voice On Tape, as the music started the recorded message from Regina played in my head. Transmitter Failure was next and finished up with the closing track from her latest album Start + Stop. This was my favorite Jenny show thus far, and I have seen her many times in the last year, in several different aspects so that's kind of saying a lot. After a brief break Emily Wells took the stage, I had heard some of her music on her Myspace page and it was all enjoyable but I wasn't sure what to expect live. She started out with a pretty slow acapella Patty LaBelle cover and afterwards announced that her drummer and guitarist wouldn't be playing. I got a little concerned that the whole thing would just be Emily up there singing by herself. I had no idea how blown away I was about to be. Emily's stage performance was like nothing I have ever seen. She began playing a violin, then in front of our eyes looped a recording of it and picked up another instrument. She literally built a symphony in front of our eyes and when the music was ready she began to sing. I am not familiar enough with her music to name every track that she played, she did a fantastic cover of Notorius B.I.G.'s Juicy that blew my mind a little. For the remainder of Emily's performance she continued to amaze me and she's become an artist that I am now seeking out performances of. If you've never seen her live, it well worth the trip. Both performers were kind enough to hang out after the show and mingle with fans. I also got a chance to see Bess and Chris again, which is always nice. I got to meet Allison Weiss for the first time and she was adorable and charming, and I got a chance to talk to Dan Romer, which was extra cool for me since I find him to be a musical genius. If you missed it you should feel bad, because it was really fantastic. Friday, January 8. 2010
The Well-Worn Couch: Leverage S1E4 Posted by Dan Brottman
at
14:47
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Defined tags for this entry: aldis hodge, arvin brown, beth riesgraf, chris downey, christian kane, christine boylan, gina bellman, john rogers, leverage, timothy hutton, tnt, well worn couch
The Well-Worn Couch: Leverage S1E4
The Well-Worn Couch presents:
“Leverage” “The Miracle Job” Reviewed by Dan Brottman Airdate: December 23, 2008 Timothy Hutton, Christian Kane, Gina Bellman, Beth Riesgraf, Aldis Hodge Created by: John Rogers, Chris Downey Written by: Christine Boylan Director: Arvin Brown ![]() Synopsis (mild spoilers, use as only as directed by a physician): The episode opens to Father Paul (D.B. Sweeney, Eight Men Out, Memphis Belle) getting the crap kicked out of him by street thugs. This causes him to lose his peripheral vision, so he must give up preaching the word of Jesus and take up figure skating with Moira Kelly if he ever wants to win a gold medal. (Eight Men Out and Memphis Belle? Please! We all know what movie we identify D.B. Sweeney with.) OK, anyway, Father Paul’s beating lands him in the hospital. Nate’s ex-wife, Maggie, calls him to let him know about Father Paul, since he used to be their pastor. (Also, apparently Nate went to seminary school with Father Paul before he became an insurance guy…huh.) Nate decides to help Father Paul save his church, St. Nicolas’ (which is in danger of being developed over to make a mall) whether Father Paul wants his help or not. Miraculously, the rest of the team is on board, despite any apparently revenue steam or convincing from Nate. Andrew Grant (Scott Lowell) is a neurotic developer they suspect of having directed the attack on Father Paul. Sophie cons Grant and gets into his good graces, and leaks his mall (or “lifestyle center”) plans, causing a public outcry. In order to make sure the Church doesn’t close down, they decide to “create” a miracle. They underestimated the massive reaction to their “miracle” in Saint Nicholas’ Church. Unfortunately, Grant decides to use the reaction of the public to exploit the church and the “miracle” to make money. Additionally, Father Paul comes under investigation from representatives of the Vatican due to the presence of the “miracle.” Ultimately, they steal back the “miracle” they created and frame Scott Lowell, saving the Church. As a nice detail, they note at the end that (among other things), St. Nicholas is the patron saint of thieves. Thoughts: Like “The Two-Horse” job, we once again have a client who is from one of the team’s past, rather than a random stranger. I suppose I can see how, at the beginning of the series this is a useful device for fleshing out the characters, but too many in one season (and we’ll see at least one more this season), and it seems a bit too contrived. We have a couple good running gags in this episode, like Parker keeping referring to Saint Nicholas as Santa Claus, and Hardison’s moral issues when it comes to messing with religion (He missed “Thou Shalt Not Steal” apparently). As for character background, there’s a lot going on here for Nate. We learn his wife’s name, and it’s inferred that they don’t talk much. We learn about his past in that he went to seminary school and that Father Paul was the priest who baptized his son. We also learn a little more of the background between Nate and Sophie. It’s pretty clear that while they never were actually together, there was at least a flirtation, and Sophie, at least, is still interested. With Hardison, we learn he was raised his “Nana”, who he apparently told he would never do anything she wouldn’t, hence his trepidation in conning people when it came to religious matters. I suppose high-tech thievery is something she wouldn’t do because of lack of skill? Interesting rationalization. Thursday, January 7. 2010
The Well-Worn Couch: Leverage S1E3 Posted by Dan Brottman
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19:18
Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Defined tags for this entry: aldis hodge, beth riesgraf, chris downey, christian kane, craig r. baxley, gina bellman, jessica rieder, john rogers, leverage, melissa glenn, phillip m. goldfarb, timothy hutton, tnt, well worn couch
The Well-Worn Couch: Leverage S1E3
The Well-Worn Couch presents:
“Leverage” “The Two-Horse Job” Reviewed by Dan Brottman Airdate: December 16, 2008 Timothy Hutton, Christian Kane, Gina Bellman, Beth Riesgraf, Aldis Hodge Created by: John Rogers, Chris Downey Written by: Melissa Glenn, Jessica Rieder Director: Craig R. Baxley Producer: Phillip M. Goldfarb ![]() A few notes initially. I’m writing these reviews in the order the episodes aired, not in the order they appear on the DVD. Also, this episode marks a departure from the first two as it was not written or directed by Devlin, Downey or Rogers. The episode is written by newcomers Melissa Glenn and Jessica Rieder, and directed by Craig R. Baxley (Action Jackson, The A-Team). I loved the A-Team as a kid (OK, and as an adult) and as my friend MosBen commented after reading my first “Leverage” review, the premise for both shows is very similar, what with outlaws helping the downtrodden. So it is fitting that Baxley would have a good vision for this show. This episode also gives us the first (and thankfully not the last) appearance on this show of the marvelous Mark Sheppard (Battlestar Galactica, Firefly), as Jim Sterling, Nate’s former co-worker and devious rival. (Yes, you may all feel free to do the Mepos Dance of Joy now). Synopsis (spoilers ahoy!): Eliot is contacted by an old acquaintance from Kentucky, who has recently lost his barn, and most of the horses therein to a fire. It turns out this acquaintance, Willie Martin, is a horse trainer and the father of Aimee Martin (Jamie Ray Newman), an old flame of Eliot’s who he hasn’t contacted for 8 years. Willie has gone into business with a New York business man, Alan Foss (Rick Hoffman), who gave him a 10% ownership stake in the horses that Willie trained and stabled. When the horses weren’t performing well, Foss set fire to the barn to recoup his investment through the insurance policies he took out on the horses through IYS Insurance Company – Nate’s old bosses. All but one horse – Baltimore, was killed in the fire. Willie doesn’t want money or revenge, he simply wants Foss out of the horse business and he wants full ownership of Baltimore. The involvement of Nate’s old employers provides some incentive for him in this case, despite his misgivings about Eliot’s personal involvement with the Martins. However, it also brings in Jim Sterling (as noted above, played by Mark Shepard), which complicates matters because once Sterling sees Nate, he figures that Nate is out to catch Foss to impress IYS and take back his old job, which is now Sterling’s. So, what starts as simply winning the horse from Foss in a poker game, turns into a more elaborate con to keep Sterling from derailing their plans. Ultimately they decide to trick Foss into buying a horse they steal and fake the credentials of to appear to be of prized blood-stock. When he gets his New York hedge-fund buddies to chip in millions to buy and insure the fake horse, they switch the horse with Baltimore, who Foss had already insured, which gives Sterling reason to deny Foss’s claim and keeps the New Yorkers out of the business. Thoughts: If the storyline here was an attempt to give Eliot some depth… it was only partially successful. The most that’s really revealed about him is his knowledge of the horse business, and that he once dated someone who still has some feelings for him but hates him for disappearing. We don’t see much more of the character than we already have in the series… but I suppose it’s good to know he comes from somewhere. This episode neatly fits in with the show’s premise. We have an innocent “little guy” in Willie Martin and an arrogant, obnoxious Wall Street bully in Foss, who is financially ruined by the con. After the first episode we won’t see many clients who are both sympathized with and hated at varying points. Jim Sterling - or as Parker calls him, “Evil Nate” - presents an effective secondary antagonist who can counter many of the teams’ tricks. As I alluded to in “The Nigerian Job”, when you have a group of elites like the ones gathered here, realistic seeming challenges have to come from extreme sources like Sterling. Fortunately, the writers have crafted an adversary up to the task. |
CategoriesRyan's TwattingsI want to make sweet love to Avatar Wednesday, December 9 2009
Bess LIVE in new hope!!!! Thursday, December 3 2009 New Kung Fu Review up - www.eyewannabe.com Thursday, November 19 2009 Movie stop midnite star trek!!!!! Tuesday, November 17 2009 I was just informed the correct way to say phucket roll is foo-ket. I said it wrong... Rather loudly. Sunday, November 15 2009 RT @hcnoel: Help my webcomic Tara Normal get an award 4 Best New Comic! Sign-in & vote here! http://short.to/w2fu Thursday, November 12 2009 Perfection is serenity on blu Ray, a 50" plasma, and surround sound Thursday, November 12 2009 Way to early to get up to do a radio show... How do Preston and Steve do this daily?!?!! Saturday, November 7 2009 Just landed in Seattle... When you land here 'alive' should play every time Wednesday, November 4 2009 Newark airport ... Soon on the way to Vancouver Tuesday, November 3 2009 Calendar
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