As we come to the end of the holiday season, the winter breaks for many of the current season shows has given us time to perhaps catch up on some of last season’s shows that Santa may have left under the Christmas tree. Or you may be considering a purchase with some cash or gift cards you received. If you’re a fan of television – and you probably wouldn’t be here if you weren’t – we have some reviews/suggestions of a whole crop of last season shows that might be worth your interest.

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fifth Season

After a sizzling summer with Damon (Ian Somerhalder), Elena (Nina Dobrev) leaves Mystic Falls and moves into a dorm with her roomie Caroline (Candice Accola), ready for new adventures and new friends. But dark thoughts gnaw at Elena, and soon familiar faces are back in the girls’ lives. There’s Stefan (Paul Wesley) with his shadow self Silas, plus Katherine, with a diabolical agenda and a jaw-dropping transformation. As the Doppelgangers test destiny, tearing lovers apart and pitting the Salvatore brothers against each other, the student body count rises, evidence of powerful forces on campus. Anchors, Rippers, Passengers and Travelers struggle to survive alongside witches and werewolves, teaching our favorite vampires painful lessons along the way.

Season Five of The Vampire Diaries arrives from Warner Home Video in a deluxe Blu-ray/DVD combo package that also includes a Digital HD version of the season. If you’re a fan of the show, you know the formula and season five is sure to not disappoint. The Blu-ray image is sharp and clear, looking as good if not better than the broadcast version with an outstanding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround audio track. Dialog is clear, and surrounds are used to envelop you in the scene.

The 22 episodes are spread over 4 discs (5 on DVD). Disc 1 contains episodes 1-6, deleted scenes for episodes 2 and 5, and a 30-minute video presentation from the 2013 Comic-Con panel featuring the cast and creator Julie Plec.

Disc 2 contains episodes 7-12 and deleted scenes for episodes 8, 11 and 12. Disc 3 contains episodes 13-18 and deleted scenes for episodes 14 and 18. Disc 4 contains episodes 19-22 and the bulk of the sets Special Features:

• “I Know What You Did … In the Last 100 Episodes” (10:15) — The cast, producer and writer play a fun game of trivia to see how much they don’t know about the show capped by a thank you to the fans for watching.
• “The Vampire Diaries: To the Other Side and Back” (10:35) — Featurette exploring the mythology of “the other side.”
• “A Day in the Afterlife with Kat Graham” (7:02) — Kat Graham escorts viewers through a day on set.
• “Second Bite” (5:03) — Gag reel

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Captivating is the word that may immediately come to the minds of individuals who take a gander at Warner Brothers’ The Good Lie. As a matter of fact, awesome and fascinating may also be suitable words. Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon is the sole headliner in a film concerning a few smart and determined survivors of the civil war in Sudan back in the 1980s. The film was screened at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year before opening on October 3. The Good Lie was met with positive reviews from critics and that’s the same thing it’s going to get here.

Simply put, the film was intriguing. The cinematography was pretty solid in the prologue set in Sudan. It seems the production team set out to capture the harsh realities of war and that was certainly what was on display. There was something a little disturbing about seeing adult soldiers chasing little children with rifles and shooting them if caught. However, perhaps this is what the director wants the viewer to feel. It was certainly effective. I watched this movie with my aunt who, up until that scene, was half asleep on the couch. However, she was jolted awake and stayed awake for the duration of the film.

“Some folks just have to grow up so fast,” she said with sadness. And she’s right. It seems we both received a bit of a history lesson … in addition to some top notch video quality. The film is presented in 1080p high definition and comes with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English) and Dolby Digital (French and Spanish). Subtitles come in English, French and Spanish. It’s also worth mentioning that the Blu-ray does come with a DVD as well which is a nice touch. The special features are typical but not boring – a feature with Witherspoon and director Philippe Falardeau sharing the challenges and triumphs of creating the motion picture, and a few deleted scenes.

There are some things that I did enjoy about The Good Lie. For starters, I loved the teamwork amongst the children in the tribe back in Sudan and I particularly enjoyed how devoted they were to reading the Bible and using it as a source of perseverance. I also liked how things were portrayed after the 13-year time jump that took place towards the second act of the film. I’m a sucker for camaraderie and it was nice to know that these friends stuck together after humanitarian efforts brought them to the America.

However, what I really enjoyed was seeing Witherspoon bring warmth and humor to her role as an assistant of sorts to the people of Sudan. It was funny seeing her help them get acclimated to American culture (i.e. introducing them to phones, light switches and even Jell-O). All in all, she did a great job and reminded viewers why she nabbed that Academy Award a few years ago.

Warner Brothers has another hit on their hand with The Good Lie. If movie lovers are looking for quality then this is definitely the way to go. That’s not a fib, folks. It’s a good truth.

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The atrocities of war are ugly, but the resiliency of the human spirit to survive against all odds is nothing short of beautiful. Based upon the remarkable true story of Louis Zamperini, Universal Pictures’ Unbroken has taught me these life truths. If you ask me, it couldn’t have come at a better time than Christmas, a time of the year when we’re supposed to care about the plight of our fellow man – even if that plight and suffering occurred some 70 years ago.

Directed by Angelina Jolie, Unbroken is based upon the 2010 bestseller Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, which was written by Laura Hillenbrand (who also penned the bestseller about Seabiscuit). Although Louis Zamperini died this past summer at the ripe old age of 97, his spirit lives on – reaching an almost legendary status – thanks to the book and film about his life.

The film begins up in the puffy, white clouds over the vast Pacific Ocean, where we’re first introduced to Louis: a young, charismatic World War II bombardier (portrayed by Jack O’Connell). One of the strongest attributes about Unbroken that I observed from its beginning is its convincing realism. It’s as if you’re actually right there in the cockpit with Louis and crew, part of the dizzying action of the war, wondering if (or when) this rickety plane is going to finally be submerged into the watery depths waiting below. In fact, the effects were so good at the beginning that if this film had been shown in 3D, I’ve no doubts I might have thrown up in my theater seat.

While Louis’ fate in the plane hangs precariously in the balance, we’re given flashbacks from his youth, which are designed to give you insights about his character and the likely causes for his unbroken spirit in the film’s latter half. The son of Italian immigrants, it seems Louis led a troubled youth full of thievery, underage drinking and fighting because he was constantly being bullied due to his immigrant status. However, his older brother Pete was always looking out for him. After observing how fast he is able to run away from the bullies, it’s Pete who encourages him to try out for the school’s track team. A natural athlete, Louis sets all kinds of records for running and is deemed good enough to represent the United States in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. He was slated to return to the 1940 Olympics in Tokyo, but of course, World War II cancelled those and caused Louis’ life to take a different direction. Enlisting in the war was what most able-bodied, patriotic young men of the 1940s did, and Louis was no exception.

This brings us back to the surmounting action on the plane. After Louis’ plane goes down in the Pacific, he spends 47 days in a raft in shark-infested waters, only to be rescued by the Japanese. Considered an enemy of Japan, Louis is sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. It’s hard to say which is a worse fate: the days spent starving, dehydrated, sunburned and almost stark-raving mad while drifting aimlessly about on the tiny raft with two of his fellow survivors (Domhnall Gleeson and  Finn Wittrock) or the days spent freezing, malnourished and beaten – either for information about the Allies or just for the seeming sheer fun of it – while he’s a prisoner in the camp. One thing I didn’t enjoy was the seemingly endless torture/beatings. It felt like Louis was never going to get a break.

Because of his “celebrity status” as a former Olympic athlete, Louis is quickly singled out by the camp’s ruthless leader, Mutsushiro “The Bird” Watanabe (portrayed by musician Miyavi), to endure additional hardships on his cruel whims. It seems “The Bird” is angry because he comes from a life of privilege and he feels it is beneath him to be the commander of a lowly prison camp (he wants to be promoted). I’d never heard of the musician Miyavi, but he gives an amazing performance as the film’s villain. You will truly grow to hate him by the climax. I didn’t read the book, but I overheard some women discussing it after the film ended. While they enjoyed the film, they felt that the character of “The Bird” didn’t come across as clearly from the book to the film adaptation. It seems they were left wanting more. If that’s the case, perhaps I’ll be reading the book next year.

My personal take on “The Bird” is that he is oddly fascinated by – and begrudgingly respectful of – the resiliency of Louis’ spirit. He attempts to break him because I think he perceives that Japan is losing the war and Louis has become a sort of twisted symbol of his hatred for the Allies at-large. In a weird way, I think “The Bird” almost feels like the two of them are equals or friends, and perhaps he secretly wishes he possessed more of Louis’ inner strengths. While he gets frustrated that he cannot break him, I think inwardly he respects that. If he were to break him, I think it would expose fragilities about himself and the rest of mankind that he is not willing to face.

While undergoing the routine tortures of “The Bird” and his men, Louis becomes almost a mascot to his fellow prisoners. As long as he remains strong of character in the unrelenting face of adversity, it gives them a flicker of hope. His mantra, “If I can take it, I can make it,” resonates true for all of the prisoners in the camp. While it’s not really fair to expect one individual to be that brave, it’s a fact of life that sometimes we all need a hero to cling to so that we do not give up and lose all hope in the darkest of times. Louis is remembered as a hero to many in his generation, and his inspirational story has introduced him to millions of people in a new one. Perhaps “A minute of pain is worth a lifetime of glory.” However, I can’t say that with any unwavering certainty.

What I found most remarkable about this film is the fact that it hadn’t already been made. I read on IMDb that Universal secured the rights to Louis’ story for a film all the way back in 1957, when they were eyeing Tony Curtis to possibly portray him. Imagine what that film would have been like!

Unbroken is probably the best film I watched in a theater in 2014 (although at times it can be cringe-worthy). I’m sure it’s not perfect, and if you read the book, you might not feel it deserves quite as much praise. But I think it’s beautiful to watch for the scenery and the overall message about not giving up, and the musical score is equally alluring. What I found most interesting about Louis is the fact that he was able to eventually forgive his captors and go back to Japan to be a torch-bearer in a later Olympics ceremony. I’m sad knowing he passed away this year before the film came out. It would have been nice to have seen him at the premiere being celebrated for being such an extraordinary human being.

Editor’s note: Zamperini was able to see the film privately before he died. He and Jolie became very close friends and she downloaded a copy of the film to her laptop and drove to the hospital to watch with him.

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There’s been an interesting trend lately with art describing itself. Sometimes a movie, TV show, or book is obvious about it; this is when you have a character that is clearly either an author insert or mouthpiece. Or perhaps it’s the opposite, a straw man character meant to suffer the attacks of unsubtle jabs to provide a suitable target for the artist’s rage or frustration. I don’t always think it’s necessarily a bad thing; it’s problematic when it becomes pretentious or dreary. The worst offense is to be obvious, but that isn’t so common. So when you have a movie about a young girl torn between wanting to be herself and being influenced into becoming a media sensation to push a message, it’s not the craziest idea to think that maybe there’s something there. Except of course, that the original material wasn’t about that — or was it?

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 is the third in a series of four Hunger Games movies, with the final Part 2 out next year. The final book, as we saw with Harry Potter and Twilight, is being split into two movies. I haven’t read Mockingjay, but Twilight didn’t have the material for one movie, let alone two, and I think Harry Potter would’ve worked better as few short British-style seasons of television instead of movies. The material for this movie is mostly paced well, with only a few obviously padded scenes. The story is simple, continuing on from the fallout of the last Hunger Games movie. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, of course) destroyed the gaming arena in the last movie, escaping from the clutches of the evil Capitol with fellow tributes Finnick (Sam Claflin) and Beetee (Jeffrey Wright), but also, incidentally, an accidental friend and ally in Elizabeth Banks’ bizarre Effie Trinket. And also the home of Katniss, District 12 has been brutally bombed, but her old friend/boyfriend/ex-boyfriend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) managed to survive with her mother and sister Primrose. Yes, the names aren’t much better this time either.

But they have still left the cowardly but lovable scamp Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and angry tribute Johanna (Jena Malone) behind to be held by the minions of the sinister President Snow (Donald Sutherland). So Katniss and company have been relocated to the secret hideout of the survivors of District 13, led by an austere President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), although former propagandist Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final roles) and drunken Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) are also helping out. That may seem like a lot, and it is, but the good thing about this series is that the characters have always been quite memorable, and the movie is no exception. Katniss finds herself in a difficult situation, seeing Peeta as a mouthpiece for the Capitol but not really wanting the attention herself. She’s also worried about her sister and people dying, etc.

This is one of the great things about Jennifer Lawrence’s performance, because she acts as a girl who cannot act at all, yet when it is needed, she experiences strong and sincere emotions. She’s the draw here, at least for me. That’s not to say that the acting from the others aren’t good, nor is it that the characters don’t seem fleshed out. With the lone exception of Gale, who is boring and seems simply to be “handsome guy,” all main characters are interesting to watch.

Obviously Philip Seymour Hoffman is awesome, wringing laughs from little subtle touches and elevating lines a lesser performer couldn’t touch. Julianne Moore is obviously great, all hard lines and serious business, contrasted against the unstoppable force of personality that Elizabeth Banks pushes nearly off the screen. Donald Sutherland is effortlessly sinister here, but you knew that much. We also get a new character, Cressida, played by Natalie Dormer making a flat character instantly intriguing because she’s awesome. Even adorable little Josh Hutcherson won me over with his portrayals of pain and confusion.

Now, the story here is paper thin, having many scenes of dialogue that are mostly interesting with a few tense action scenes. The themes are still fascinating, the contrasting ideals of freedom and security, the line between fascism and safety, and the omnipresent political narrative through the lens of art and media. All that is interesting, without adding in parallels to the real Jennifer Lawrence’s struggles to stay likable despite how hard that is for anyone, especially women in Hollywood. The action is mostly shot carefully, but sometimes it goes cinematically and that is far more interesting. This is a sci-fi world after all, and sometimes it’s nice to see the scope of things beyond small rooms that could exist in a simple soundstage.

My overall feelings were positive, and I thought that the stopping part, the setup for the final part next year, worked well enough. Better than the cliffhanger from the second movie in any event, and that was just one book’s story. Perhaps there isn’t quite enough material for the 123 minute running time, but it’s almost enough. At this point, I’m more interested and curious about the next movie than desperately wondering for it, like say, I was with the Harry Potter books or even a few TV shows out there. That’s enough for me to recommend this movie, but I will really be curious how well it’ll work paired with the final movie. As for that, we shall have to wait and see.

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The 100 was probably my favorite new show when I reviewed the 2013 pilots last summer. Nothing could have prepared me, however, for what was to come when the series got to Episode 3 (Or Episode 4 … or Episode 5; at some point I had to stop counting). Jason Rothenberg and his team are right up there with Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal in terms of telling a fast-paced, dark story that is less like a television show and more like — if you’ll forgive the cliche — a roller coaster ride (and a damn fine coaster, too. Not one of those kiddy-coasters, but one you lose your lunch just looking at from the bottom).

We sat down with the cast and crew at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this summer. They told us what they could about the upcoming season, which was unsurprisingly very little. Isaiah Washington was particularly obtuse (tongue-in-cheek … to an extent). If you had asked me this summer, I would have said that just by his appearance at the Con one could figure out his fate … but then I’m reminded of our conversation with Mark Guggenheim about how many episodes Caity Loitz was going to be in, and I start to hedge those bets.

Here is what we learned from our conversations:

Jason Rothenberg

• Rothenberg isn’t sure the show really earned the “Is Anyone Safe” reputation it received in the first season. “We didn’t really kill that many important characters … we killed Wells.” But the writers try to treat violence in a real way. Wounds are impactful, and characters don’t heal by the time the next episode comes around. “That said, this year? No one is safe. We got too much credit last year, so this year I need to earn it.”
• Managing what the writers and actors can say before an episode airs is tough. There’s a balance between needing to answer questions to media to help build hype and revealing too much. Rothenberg, “I know if I was a fan of the show and I read online, ‘Oh this guy’s going to live’ … I’d be like ‘eh, OK.’ I want to be surprised when I watch it.
• Murphy is a character whose backstory is going to be revealed a little this season. “We’re going to start to peel back the layers.” Rothenberg compares episode six that explained where Bellamy was coming from as something they are going to try to do with the most hated of The 100. “I feel like [Murphy] on some level was underserved as a character last year … There’s a reason why he is the way he is.”
• Rothenberg loves all of the characters, but particularly likes writing for Clarke, “Eliza is just so good, anything I write she shows me what it really means.”
• All of the characters are scattered. The survivors from the Ark have landed in different places; the original 100 – or what’s left of them – are separated. “One of the things that this season is about is figuring out ways to get the people back together. Reunions are a key storyline.” The adults from the Ark finding their children – and finding them changed – will be an important arc. Rothenberg stopped short of saying whether or not Clarke and Abbey will be reunited, but at least they’re on the same planet now.
• Rothenberg doesn’t think that they will ever show the story of the apocalypse on the planet, but is interested in showing how the people of the Ark came together. “It’s a big episode, where big = expensive, so I’m not really sure when it’s going to happen, but it’s something I’d like to do.”

 Eliza Taylor / Clarke Griffin

• Taylor “kinda knows where Clarke’s going,” but they’re only given scripts a couple of days in advance of shooting. Plus? The story is always changing.
• “Being able to play someone who is smart and strong and soulful is just fantastic.”
• Taylor has been focusing on her physicality this season, especially after watching last. “I’m a girly-girl really,” and that’s something that Clarke isn’t. There were scenes last year where she felt she put a little too much of that into play, and she doesn’t want to repeat it.
• She’s looking forward to the hypothetical reunion with her mother (she thinks it will happen, but again, she hasn’t read ahead). “There’s a lot of tension there, but also they’ve both changed so much individually, it will be interesting to see if they recognize one another.”
• When asked about whether Clarke will continue to evolve in the same direction we saw in Season One, Taylor was confident she would. “She’s on that path, there’s no turning back. She’s definitely blurring the lines,” doing those morally questionable things that being a leader forces her to take on.

 Devon Bostick / Jasper Jordon

• Bostick is really excited to explore “the new world that is Mount Weather.” It sounds like the mystery that is this new locale – which Rothenberg assures us we will understand in the first moments of the season – will change the fabric of the world these characters live in.
• Bostick loves playing Jasper. He took to the character immediately when he read the pilot script, though he was shocked to see him die in the end. “He was the only guy having fun, just enjoying Earth for the first time … he’s goofy, but there’s a lot of heart to him.” But playing the transition is interesting. Jasper has PTSD from being speared, and has become a very different person. He’s running into battle, when he should probably just stay in camp.
• Jacktavia: Octavia slipped out of Jasper’s hands, which did challenge how Bostick approached the character. “She was a motivation to be doing the crazy things, because ‘she’s gonna dig it.’” It was a good beat to play, that despite Jasper’s affection, she was taking advantage of him. But now, “She’s a Grounder-pounder as they say around camp.” You can tell that Jasper’s sense of humor is very much born in Bostick’s.
• No one will say if Bellamy is alive or if Jaha is dead. Usually, you get a pretty good indication of such things by the show’s marketing in advance of the season; for example Isaiah Washington attended the Convention where Bob Morley did not. In this case, I’m not sure that’s a definitive clue.
• The interactions of the various factions on the ground will be a big part of the season. “The politics of the different societies; we’re going to explore how they all relate and who stands where,” teases Bostick, who was walking a tight line on what he could say and what he should not.
• That Mount Weather was a big part of the premiere and the finale was done intentionally. It was their goal originally, as the adults on the Ark told them that is where they could find safety. In the season finale, they learned just how wrong they really were. Bostick tells us, “We were wrong about the Grounders; now we’re wrong about the Mountain Men.”

 Lindsey Morgan / Raven Reyes

• “If you think Season One was nuts, Season Two is definitely … ‘Get Ready.’” The intensity jumps off from the first minute back.
• Morgan appreciates how well the writers are in tune with what the actors are doing and what they bring to their characters: “They can see what we shine in, and what’s our strengths as actors. They’re also very curious … they always try to stretch us and surprise us.” They pushed Raven a great deal last year, exploring her character beyond just a normal guest star (the character and Reyes’ work was rewarded with a promotion to the regular cast this season).
• While talking about the writing surprising her, someone asked if there was a moment in a first season script that surprised her. “Bellamy … I mean, where did that come from?!?” Where the producers will give warnings about major plot points – most specifically to an actor if their character is going to die in a script, they let her find out this particular character beat on her own. “I was just reading the script going, ‘Oh, this is good! This is … WHAT?’” Raven was always intended to die, but the writers kept pushing that death back. When Morgan read scene where Raven and Bellamy hook up, she figured that such a shocking, raw moment would be an interesting final beat before the character was supposed to die in the next episode.

 Marie Avgeropoulos / Octavia Blake

• Avgeropoulos was able to enjoy Comic-Con this year much more than last year for several reasons. She explained that it is easier to talk about a show people have seen – and become a fan of – than last year, where she felt like they were promising that the show was amazing. Plus, managing the Convention while on crutches, as she was forced to do last year, is much harder than you’d think.
• While social media has been a part of the show’s early success, she hadn’t really participated much before. “It’s the only place you can get a marriage proposal and a death threat in the same day.”
• “Season Two? It’s much darker and will push the envelope and show viewers even more than Season One.” She tells us that what we think is happening is the exact opposite from what is actually going on. We will obviously be meeting new characters, who “survived – or not – the effects of the radiation.”
• Avgeropoulos is comfortable with the character at this point, “It’s like when you turn the key in a car and put it into drive and it’ll just do its thing.”
• “I think Jasper is desperately trying to get out of the friend-zone.” But the Lincoln/Octavia story is more dynamic. She identifies with Lincoln for several reasons, and that the 100 had wrongly accused him was one of them, as she has familiarity with that. “Her only crime was that she was born.”
• Octavia is separated from the 100, both physically and emotionally. Her time with Lincoln will be difficult once they encounter other Grounders who won’t welcome her with open arms, and how the 100 react if and when they reunite will surprise her as well.

 Ricky Whittle / Lincoln

• “Season One was really like Disneyland [compared to this season.]” His hashtag for the season is apparently, #justgotdarker.
• In preparing for this season, Rothenberg and Whittle’s discussions have lead him to doing a great deal of reading and research on “something,” which he obviously couldn’t share. “The material I’ve been given, I feel very honored to be trusted with … I’m going to have to go there, I’m going to have to ‘go there.’”
• Whittle has put a great deal of time and energy into crafting his performance. You can tell he has embraced not just the assignments the producers gave him, but everything that role entails. He obviously (yeah, ladies … it’s obvious) spent time in the gym, but it goes beyond that. He works with a vocal coach to get his accent right. His work with an acting coach lead him to lobby the writers to give him less dialogue, as he thinks that’s how Lincoln would be. “I don’t want dialogue. Keep that mystique, keep him silent. He doesn’t need to answer you.”
• The one assignment he would share with us? Horse training. He’d ridden before, but wants to take it to a new level. The stunt coordinator owns his own ranch where he worked with Joseph Gatt and Dichen Lachman last season.

Isaiah Washington / Counselor Jaha

• Talking with Washington was an interesting experience, much different from how he was last year. The whole conversation was, I hope, just tongue-in-cheek … cheekiness. Just a couple of quotes (which were repeated often) will sum up the experience (and I’ve left most of the beginning of the conversation in the highlight clip above):
• “I’m a walking cliffhanger, and I can’t tell you a thing.”
• “No, I can’t talk about it.”
• “Can’t talk about that.”
• “It’s so disappointing, I feel like I’m letting everyone down. I ran my mouth non-stop last [year].”
• “Yeah … it’s gonna be intense.”
• “You will be in alignment with Jason Rothenberg’s decisions on Counselor Jaha’s fate.”

Wednesday, October 15 was a momentous day for digital media. With streaming services like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime giving networks a place for past episodes (and in some cases, new episodes day after air) of their series to live on and gain new viewers, there was a seismic shift that was felt throughout the lands of Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner and other cable providers when HBO announced it would launch its own stand-alone streaming service in 2015.

HBO currently provides HBO GO for cable subscribers which includes a library of movies, and complete series both new and old, including Game of Thrones, Veep, The Sopranos, Girls, The Wire and more. Amazon Instant members also have access to HBO programs, but only past seasons (current seasons will take up to three years to land on Amazon). The new streaming service will not require a cable subscription and will include basically the same content as cable subscribers get with HBO GO (sister channel Cinemax content may also be included). It’s rumored Showtime will follow suit at some point in the near future.

And that future may not be too far away with today’s announcement that CBS (Showtime is a corporate sibling) is also going to offer its own exclusive subscriber streaming service. As far as streaming content goes, CBS has been notoriously stingy in offering new episodes of its current season shows on any platform save for its own mobile app and website (and even there, finding complete episodes of your favorite shows is a dicey proposition although the network does offer current episodes of Under the Dome and Extant on Amazon).

CBS All Access is a new pay service that gives subscribers access to most of the network’s current programming and classics from its vaults. For $5.99 a month, users have access to full current seasons of 15 CBS primetime shows, including The Big Bang Theory, Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, CSI, Elementary, The Good Wife, Hawaii Five-0, The Mentalist, NCIS, Person of Interest and Survivor, with new episodes available day after air. (CBS is the one major network that does not offer new episodes of its shows on Hulu Plus.)

You also get the ability to live-stream your local CBS station (initially in 14 markets with more to be added, and some sporting events will not be available), full past seasons of 8 CBS shows including The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, and Survivor (with more to come), 5,000 episodes of “CBS Classics” including Cheers, Twin Peaks, Star Trek, and CSI: Miami, and Big Brother 24/7 live feeds. Extra content for special events like the Country Music Awards and The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show will also be available.

With more options becoming available to stream just the shows and networks you want, are the cable companies in danger of becoming obsolete, or will this force them to drop prices to keep subscribers plugged in? The new streaming options, of course, won’t kill cable — just yet — but they will certainly force the companies to re-examine their current models. With subscribers cutting the cord and relying on OTA local network channels, streaming services, Roku, Apple TV and Google Chrome, the cable companies are going to have to start offering something other than their tiered packages.

One popular solution, something demanded by cable subscribers in general, is an ‘a la carte’ option, allowing customers to choose what channels they want to pay for and not be forced to pay for channels they never watch. So far, though, cable companies and content providers have been less than enthusiastic about that option simply because it would cost them millions. But with many cable channels offering their programming online (hardly any of the big ones like HGTV, Lifetime or Discovery offer current programs on Hulu Plus like the major networks do), cord-cutters could force them to re-evaluate their own streaming strategies, especially those that do require a cable subscription log-in (like MTV and TNT) to access their shows. If subscribers start to flee cable en masse, those networks will have to adapt to survive.

With CBS All Access priced at $5.99 a month, Hulu Plus at $7.99, Netflix at $8.99 (and that recent $1.00 price increase really hurt their bottom line), Amazon at about $8.25 a month and the HBO service projected to cost perhaps as much as $15 (totaling less than $50 a month), would you be willing to ditch cable and watch everything streaming and over the air in the case of local channels?

As a kid growing up in Southern California, Godzilla, King Of The Monsters wasn’t about the deeper meaning and not-so-subtle references to World War II’s turning point or the horrors of war.

I didn’t care anything about that. (More accurately, I didn’t know any better.) None of my friends did.

We were just thrilled with the giant monster aspect. And Godzilla was the pinnacle of those thrills, the epitome of giant monster flicks.

So imagine my further thrill years later when I discovered there was so much more to Godzilla than simply fond childhood memories of the rampant destruction of Tokyo by sheer kaiju brute force and devastating atomic breath; Godzilla, King Of The Monsters wasn’t the original film at all but a hastily put together, Americanized version utilizing just over an hour’s worth of the Japanese Gojira, the superior, deeper and thought-provoking forerunner to the classic Godzilla more commonly known to the masses.

I was riveted to the screen when reporter Steve Martin (Raymond Burr) detailed Tokyo’s ruination from the rampaging Godzilla each time it graced the family television set, times that were too few and frustratingly far between as a kid. I was equally riveted at finally getting a copy of Gojira to see what was cut out of and changed in the film, how it differed from what I affectionately recalled from those youthful years. Was it a completely different film as I’d heard?

Knowing Gojira — which preceded Godzilla, King Of The Monsters by a couple years — was filmed in its original Japanese wasn’t daunting in the least to me. (I know a lot of people have problems with viewing a foreign film. Many folks are thrown by the incomprehensibility of a different tongue just as much as they are by subtitles flashing at the bottom of their screens, things that can and do contribute to the lack of enjoyment of non-English speaking films.) But I’m not one of them. And in fact Gojira, in its nascent form, is truly different than its bastard son … and not just in its language. It’s a more jarring and empathetic film, it’s a longer running film (clocking in at almost 100 minutes versus the 80 or so minutes of the Americanized version) not to mention it’s a captivating and intriguing piece of film making.

The idea Gojira was (and still is) firmly enmeshed with glaring comparisons and references to the World War II bombings of Japan less than a decade prior to its original 1954 release. A majority of those haunting images and scenarios were effectively slashed from the English version with only bare bones snippets left intact. This is one of the most obvious differences found when you compare the films side by side. They aren’t the most telling, however. There are a few scenes that had to have chilled the blood of some movie-goers of the time Gojira was released with the war still fresh in memory:

In one scene a physician runs a Geiger counter over a child in the aftermath of one of Godzilla’s rampages; the counter ticks wildly indicating horrifically the child’s exposure to radiation. In another, a mother comforts her daughter as the sound of Godzilla’s wrath plays out all around her. (“We’ll see daddy in heaven” the mother says in an effort to placate the girl.) There’s also a scene with a commuter train filled with Japanese verbalizing their fears about the creature. (“I hope I didn’t survive Nagasaki for nothing” one woman hrmphs.) Not so blood chilling — but equally as poignant — is a council meeting debating whether the monster’s affiliation with H-bomb testing should be revealed, sparking possible public hysteria. There are plenty more examples such as these removed from the Raymond Burr interpretation. Observers of the original realize each instance of excisement hugely alters one Godzilla rendition from the other.

One really interesting notice in Gojira was the presence of gratuitous (for the time) nudity. There are scenes of topless women when a fishing boat survivor washes ashore early on in the film which really surprised me. This is something that couldn’t possibly be present in Godzilla, King Of The Monsters … could it? But, on review, there it was. The exact same scenes, never cut from the original. I reasoned my fascination with the film was the monster aspect and had nothing to do with underlying morals or otherwise. Of course, this was all part of the intrigue of getting my first glimpse of Gojira and the fun of comparing one film to the other.

The flush of excitement of the version I saw as a kid will forever remain. Come on! Giant, destructive monsters! The stuff of popcorn Saturday afternoons and thrills and chills! And that’s why the recent reboot held (and, for me, delivered) such promise. Just as arousing though is Gojira and all its ominous undertones.

This Halloween? I suggest you go “old school” and kindle a different sort of scare instead of the glut of current slasher flicks or shallow horror schlock. Expand your mind. Get retro, go kaiju … and go Gojira instead.

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SyFy’s Dominion has developed a strong cult following in its first season. While initial reviews from critics were not that positive, the show has found its niche and turned out a strong narrative. While the show was based on the feature film Legion, Dominion has established its own story than fans are eating up. We sat down with Alan Dale (General Riesen), Anthony Stewart Head (David Whele), Chris Egan (Alex Lannon), Roxanne McKee (Claire Riesen) and show creator Vaughn Wilmott, and this is what we learned (Beware, there are some spoilers for tonight’s finale):

The focus on Anthony Stewart Head’s accent has been a surprise

While there has been a great deal of focus on Anthony Stewart Head’s American accent in the show, we were reminded several times that the cast is internationally diverse (and not just from hearing them speak). Dale says that for non-Americans, “if you haven’t picked up an American accent, then you’re not very good with accents.” But Head isn’t bothered by the talk, and likes how the character was constructed. “I could have taken the easy way out and make him a bit of a redneck, but I wanted him to be urbane and smooth.”

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbT8gS-JWpQ

Reviews, damn reviews, and Twitter

After the initial critical response, Dale was doubtful about the show’s chances. The screeners sent out “didn’t have the special effects in them, and the critics gave us a really tough time.”  He thought that the show was done.

But the fan response has been surprising. While the numbers aren’t earth-shattering, they’re not bad either. The cast attributes some of the show’s popularity to social media, and the live-tweets they do for each episode. “It’s been really quite amazing,” said Dale. “I love interacting with the fans, tweeting out pics and luckily the cast is really willing to jump in every week.”

Alan Dale doubts General Riesen will die of a heart attack

While General Riesen is suffering from a pretty serious heart condition, he believes he’s fairly safe. Dale kidded, saying that if we looked in the Guinness Book of World Records, we’d find his picture next to the entry about “Most heart attacks on television.” He’s suffered heart attacks on several shows, including The OC and Ugly Betty. The producers have assured him that if and when he dies, it will be a violent death. But not ever promise can be kept, ‘ya know.

Alex Lannon was not ready for the life he was thrust into

“Alex is trying to figure it out; he doesn’t like it.” He had a plan for what was going to happen next in his life, and these events have turned that upside down. Egan says that the character is finally beginning to accept his role, though he doesn’t think he truly understands it. He likens it to stages of grief: “The anger, rejection and then coming to that stage of acceptance. Each episode has that stage, that I wanted to make as real as possible in this other-worldly world we’ve created.”

But he is beginning to see the advantages … or power … that comes with the distinction. Egan pointed to the episode that had aired last week, where he tried to save Claire’s mother, as proof that he was stepping into it.

Claire Riesen is a much different character

McKee respects the choices that Claire has to make. “I would hope to have the rationale that Claire has. She is doing something for the greater good, and I think she believes that though her heart is telling her to run away and be in New Delphi with Alex, the most important thing to do is to help the masses.” She’s not so sure, however, that she could do the same in her life

The first season of Dominion has been a coming of age story for Claire in many ways, as the character discovers who she is morally. “Throughout the series she learns to manipulate … for the greater good, for what she believes is the best situation.” But as that evolution occurs, we see that Claire is flawed, and while she wants to be as innocent as we found her in the Pilot, she likes the power she is exposed to.

Not all of that change, however, has to do with power. McKee referred to the killing of her mother’s inhabited body as an emotional moment for the character, “she lost her innocence … there is no going back, and she feels that Alex is a part of that pain.”

Enter Dominion fills out the story’s mythos nicely

Much of the material was written in advance, building out the world and the mythos of the show. When it came to the site, though, the staff writers put a lot of effort into filling out the world and writing the prose on the site. Wilmott was proud of the writers, but also of the site’s designers, and the decisions made by the team. He particularly likes how the something new is unlocked each week. Wilmott says that “the site does a nice job filling in those details” so that he can avoid long monologue expositions scenes.

There is a little bit of Kings’ David in Dominion‘s Alex

There are similarities between the two roles. Alex “is kind of like David on ecstasy.” But he sees Alex as someone who has grown more than David had, and has had to make some tough decisions. “[Alex] is so over it he wants out; but he has to grow up and accept the destiny, or accept who he is as a man. I think we all go though that journey in our life where we come though that stage, not like sink-or-swim, but you’re either on this side of the fence or you’re not.” It sounds like Alex isn’t done making those hard choices.

Wilmott says that there is a lot of grey in the characters by design, and that Alex is probably the “most true.” “I’m interested in characters that when they do evil things, we may be appalled or turned off by, but we can kind of understand their point of view.” But while Alex might be better off than many, “there are shades of darkness in him, and if we’re lucky enough to get more seasons, I think we’ll see a lot more of those shades.”

Counsul Weil is a decidedly un-Giles like character

After kidding with us on what a Giles-version of Weil would be – there were references to drinking tea and constantly cleaning his glasses – Head spoke like he’s been looking for more heel-ish roles since Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He referenced Warehouse 13 and Merlin, saying that Uther was a bit of an asshole, but he was one because he had to be. He sees the same in this character:

“David Weil has done a few fairly despicable things, but … he didn’t kill Bixby easily; he had a little bit of a pain, but it had to be done.” Weil tells himself he is doing things for the good of Vega, and the survivor instinct that all of these characters inherently have (to still be alive) shapes him a good deal as well.

Plans for season two and beyond

While SyFy hasn’t – as of this writing – picked up Dominion for a second season, the production team is already planning. “Season two is really going to be shaped out by the choices that are made in the finale.” Wilmott says that a pickup announcement could be made within the next couple of weeks, but he couldn’t say for sure. The show’s series bible was a 40-page document that detailed the first three seasons, so there is a solid road map on what is to come.

So what happens next?

One of the main characters isn’t going to make it through this season. Wilmott: “At the end of the season, we’re going to have someone not make it out, one of our main characters is going to die.” Also? Gabriel is going to be visiting Vega himself. Are those two things related? I’m guessing yes.

“Some shit’s going down,” teases Head.

Ah, dystopian movies. They have been with us since the beginning of movies (Metropolis was in 1927), but that’s easy enough to answer, because life has never been free from worry or fear. Sure, there have been some brief periods where the concept waned, like the 40’s, where an actual war occupied our time or the 50’s, where everyone was cautiously optimistic about the future. By the 60’s however, we got things like Fahrenheit 451 (which has since proven well predicted in the rise of large screen TVs occupying our time) or Planet of the Apes. Of course, by the 70’s, we were overrun with everything from cannibalism worries representing worries about running out of resources in Soylent Green to fear of aging in Logan’s Run.

And they just have not stopped. Look at the success of The Hunger Games or even the optimistic dystopia in WALL-E; everyone’s worried about the future. One fear that’s come up a few times is climate change, although it’s a bit more recent an apocalyptic worry than others. Sure, The Day After Tomorrow was stupid, and Waterworld stupid and boring, but it can’t be argued that people are certainly worrying about it. But hey, just because a movie is about one thing doesn’t mean it can’t also be about something else. And boy, this movie is something else.

Snowpiercer comes from South Korean writer/director Bong Joon Ho, adapted from the French dystopian graphic novel Transperceneige. It tells the story of an alternate version of Earth in which the world has attempted to end global warming with an experimental new procedure. But instead, it ends up causing a new Ice Age, and most of the world dies with the extreme cold. There are a few thousand survivors, all aboard a train that travels a rail that covers the entire world. As we learn, it was considered a stupid waste of money and boondoggle, but it now holds the last remnants of humanity. But just like in real life, not everyone is the same. In the front of the train, passengers gorge on luxuries and drug-filled raves while in the back, the grubby lower class subsist on disgusting protein bars, constantly brutalized by the train guards. Finally though, after seventeen years on aboard the train, the people are ready to attempt another revolt. And not the first they’ve attempted.

They are led by John Hurt as Gilliam, and old man who knows much about the train and once was in the front of the train. His main muscle and tactical man is Curtis, played by a bearded Chris Evans, who is working with a team of people (including Octavia Spencer as a mother who’s lost everything and Jamie Bell, a youngster who idealizes Curtis and was born on the train) from all walks of life and all over the globe. After all, it’s the entire world that is under ice and snow. But their efforts are pushed back at every turn by the imperious Miss Mason, played with wondrous, ludicrous aplomb by Tilda Swinton in a beautifully bizarre performance. Thus begins the trek to the front of the car, as these people must fight their way through a series of difficulties, fights, brutalities, secrets and lies, and more fights. It sort of reminds me of The Raid: Redemption, except that this movie isn’t just about the fighting. The mood changes and the music shifts as each new car is seen. Cinematography and colors change as we circle around and back again on Curtis and company struggling against the figurative checks to keep the system in place.

Because as you may have suspected, the movie is a metaphor. It represents the system as it exists and the system as it might exist, a duality in themes and composition. The rebels are the malcontents and chaotic forces that threaten the dangerous status quo and the stability of life as we know it. Characters must make difficult, sometimes impossible choices that reflect the fundamental questions we face in our own lives, whether to live with the system or try to exist outside it, despite the pain and destruction that might come of the attempts. But heavy themes aside, how does the movie work? Although there are a few clunky pieces of dialogue here and there, once the movie gets going, it’s nonstop action and verbal awesomeness. From claustrophobic fight scenes with a brutality that The Matrix would envy to a penultimate philosophical dialogue scene that The Matrix Reloaded would envy, this movie isn’t quite as good as The Matrix, but it’s damn memorable.

I’ve already proclaimed my praises of Tilda Swinton’s villainous Mason, but Chris Evans is also superb here, utilizing the physicality we already know he’s capable of while bringing out the pain in his dark history. And unlike some other movies (cough, Hercules, cough), this has a dark backstory that works perfectly. The action scenes are great, building on tensions then breaking them with funny and incongruous scenes that only make it worse when violence returns. As the credits rolled, I wasn’t sure if the movie was trying to be hopeful or hopeless, but now I’ve realized the truth: It’s both. The themes of duality and choice run through the movie until they culminate in an ambiguous ending that tells two stories at once.

This movie isn’t for everyone; it can be exceptionally dark and very brutal at times. But for me, it’s the perfect antidote to the mindless blockbuster action movies, even if it left me wondering about society and our place in the world. Perhaps that’s a lot for a summer action movie, but it doesn’t have to be.

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This contest is now closed. Comments are closed. Winners will be notified by email. Follow CliqueClack on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Tumblr for contest alerts, reviews and breaking news.

CliqueClack has partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to offer readers in Baltimore and DC an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new action movie Dawn of the Planet of the Apes starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smith-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, and Kirk Acevedo.

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.

The screening will take place on Tuesday, July 8, 7:00 PM at the following locations:

• AMC Mazza Gallerie, 5300 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC
• Cinemark Egyptian, 7000 Arundel Mills Circle, Hanover, MD

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY! THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS!

This will be a random drawing contest. Leave a comment on this post with either BALTIMORE or DC to be entered into the drawing. Do not write anything else in the comment box or your entry will be rejected.

Enter your full name (first and last) and correct email address in the appropriate spaces on the submission form. Do not include this information in the comment box! Please make sure you have entered your email address correctly! As passes are limited, we will accept one comment per person/per email address. CliqueClack reserves the right to discard any duplicates or comments that appear to be duplicates. Multiple comments from a single person will result in complete disqualification. Please keep these offers fair for everyone.

The entry period will run until Noon, Sunday, July 6. Comments will be closed at that point. Winners will be notified by email and will receive two unique GoFoBo Admit One passes. Please note that passes do not guarantee seats at the screening. Seating is first come, first served so plan to arrive early! CliqueClack has no control over the total number of passes distributed and is not responsible for seating arrangements at the theater. These screenings will be in 3D.

Have a look at the trailer below and then tell us you want to see the movie! Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens in theaters on July 11.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sHMCRaS3ao