Assassins Creed Trailer Review

So woke up this morning to be greeted by the official Assassins Creed movie trailer so thought it was a good chance to pop a review up as I have always loved the games and hold out high hopes for the movie. So lets take a leap of faith into what we have learnt from the trailer.

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The trailer begins with Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) waking up in a room and we zoom into his eye and we see the first look at him dressed as the Assassin Aguilar and some clips of him jumping across a building gap, stood atop a high building and the scene of what appears to be one huge battle before being taken back in a laboratory with a Doctor looking over him. He ask where he is and the Doctor advises him that at 6pm yesterday evening he was executed and pronounced dead and that he no longer exists.

We then see him walking through a garden and he ask what kind of prison is he in to which the Doctor replies your not in prison we also she the Abstergo logo for the first time while the Doctor explains that he is about to enter Animus. He then learns that what he will see hear and feel will be the memories of his ancestor who has been dead for 500 yeras as he is being told this we see a weapons case with the hidden blades in them.

He asks what the Doctor “What do you want from me” and she answers with “Your past” as we go through the eye once again we see an a great visiual view of a city and an eagle soaring above it and the Doctor saying “Welcome to the Spanish inquisition” we are then treated to some great visuals of fight scenes between the Assassins and soldiers and we also see some great free running sequences that are part of the joy of playing the games.

We then cut back to Abstergo and here Callum quote “We work in the darkness to serve the light, we are Assassins”we also see from the clip that the Animus used in the film is not just a lay down couch but a machine that give Callum free reign to move carrying out what is happening in the memory. At the 1 minute 53 second mark we finally get to see Aguilar take a leap of faith off a Cathedral tower and the trailer comes to an end, words cannot describe how happy I am to see this included in the film and I cannot wait to go and see it on the big screen.

For all your Assassin Creed needs stick with @Deadpool_1984 only at skatronixxx.com

Bates Motel SN4 EP9 – ‘Forever’

Last week  Norma was torn between Romero and Norman, while Norman was starting to realize just how much had changed since he was in Pineview and he is not happy about his mother new-found happiness with Romero and tell him as such. Norma tells Norman that she likes Alex while they are out looking for a tree and Norman throws up at the news, we also seen Norma stand up for herself and her love for Romero, it’s the first time we have seen Norma put Norman dearest in his place. Romero feels the rath of Norman and is clearly rattled by Normans behavior and refuses to leave Norma alone with Norman.

SN4 EP9 – ‘Forever’

Norma wakes to find Romero downstairs and after Normans melt down the night before Romero didn’t get much sleep. Norma foolishly thinking everything is ok now and that the hard bit is over, but Romero knows otherwise and tells Norma that Norman should be at Pineview for his and Normas safety but Norma doesn’t want hear it let alone acknowledge that Norman would ever hurt her. Norman wakes and finds his mother and Romero sharing an intimate moment before Romero leaves. While in session with Dr. Edwards, Norman loses his cool and says Romero only married Norma for the money and insurance and that Romero never liked him and wanted him in Pineview so he could get to Norma, He goes on to detail how their relationship will go and that he is the one that picks up the pieces every time. He knows his mother far to well is it any wonder why the boy needs therapy.

Norma calls Romero, he express his concern that Norman being home isn’t the best thing for either of them. Norma yet again gets defensive and tell him just because he is her husband doesn’t give him the right to know whats best for her son. Norma is blinded by the truth and she knows deep down that Norman is unwell but yet still makes excuses for his irrational behavior, what will it take for her to see just how sick and dangerous Norman is? Romero left with no other option calls Dylan and expresses his concern for the woman he loves, he tells Dylan that he thinks Norman is dangerous but Dylan is hesitant to talk at first, but agrees with Romero and also thinks Norman needs to be committed but Dylan tells Romero he can’t go behind Norma’s back.

Emma finds an earing in a coat Norma gave her, assuming its Norma’s she gives it to Dylan to give back to Norma but he immediately recognizes it belongs to Emma’s mother. Dylan confronts Norma about the earing, at first she says yes its mine but when pressed she ignore Dylan’s question of why she has it. The fact that she has her head buried in the sand when it comes to Norman, is the last straw for Dylan who tells Norma he is done, he can’t do this anymore. He tells Norma he’s not the only one who thinks Norman should be committed. As Dylan is leaving Norma asks him for the earing and Dylan walks off, he encounters Norman as he is leaving and tell him “your unwell you need to check back into Pineview Norman”.

Norman confused with whats just happened, demands to know whats going on, Norma tells him that Dylan doesn’t think he should be home, she goes on to say “Because everyone thinks they know more about you than I do” Norma, Norma, Norma what are you doing? Giving up a shot at REAL love and REAL happiness for what your crazy ass, mother obsessed son. Rebecca tries to save herself and agree on a wire to get Romero, but Romero wasnt born yesterday and catches on that the DEA has gotten to her and she is wired. I think there will be more fall out from this, don’t think we have seen the last of Rebecca or the Paris case. Norman is in the basement looking for Christmas lights, when he comes across a suit case its Emma’s mother Audrey Decody’s suitcase, he put on the coat and in that instant you see it dawn on him what he had done.

Norma returns home but she is not herself and Norman notices and asks what happened, Norma tells him he was right and that her and Alex aren’t going to work out, but as she stares into the fridge it dawns on her exactly what she is giving up and breaks down as Norman tries to console her. Norman has gotten what he wanted, his mother all to himself. Norma writes Romero a letter that hit me right in the feels “I will always love you no matter what” my heart broke for her at the moment. She places the wedding ring and the note in an envelope and sits it on the dresser, Norman comes in and lays besides Norma on the bed, they talk about fresh starts and leaving White Pine Bay behind. With Norma asleep Norman heads to the basement and lights the furnace and goes through the house and closes all the vents all the while “Mr Sandman” is playing in the background but he left Norma’s vent open, he climbs back into bed with his mother. Romero returns to the house and is concerned that the doors are locked and the house is in darkness, he enters the house and calls for Norma but no answer so he goes up to her room and finds her and Norman unresponsive he carries Norma out and goes back to get Norman and again I got punched in the feels as Romero tries to revive the woman he loves, utterly heartbreaking as he Romero is falling apart Norman coughs and slowly starts to realize what has happened, he turns his head and says “Mother?” Norma is still unresponsive.

Is that the end of Norma Bates? Surely not! Every season and every episode of Bates Motel is knocked out of the park and this episode was no different, Vera Farmiga you are a legend I have loved every minute of watching you evolve Norma into the woman she is now, and Freddie Highmore you to are a legend the way you to have evolved Norman leaves me speechless. What will the season finale bring next Monday?

Damien SN1 EP10 – ‘Ave Satani’

Last week we seen Sister Greta attempt to exorcise Damien but she failed miserably as we watched Damien pull himself out of the shallow grave and turned the Megiddo dagger back on Sister Greta, we also witnessed the death of Ann’s Daughter Veronica by a freaky, possessed, evil tree. Detective Shay is asked to hand his badge and weapon in and is taken off the case but Shay is like a dog with a bone and he wont stop till he gets his man, he is slowly losing control and his family.

SN1 EP10 – ‘ Ave Satani ‘

Damien and Simone run from the churchyard and come across Lyons and his small army of men that are packing some heat, Lyons tells Damien that the Armitage Corporation has banks and buildings ready at Damien’s disposal along with hordes of followers waiting for his words. With Damien not conforming Lyons orders his army to put a bullet in Simone head and all of a sudden the soldiers turn on each other in a bloody massacre. Damien is starting to get his powers, when he and Simone try to steal a car from it becomes very clear his powers are upon him, the woman tries to throw herself off the bridge whilst chanting “Its all for you Damien.” Ann is mourning the brutal death of her daughter Veronica, Ann and Sister Greta come face to face for the first time and Sister Greta promises there will be others coming to stop Damien. We see the Vatican priests prepare to take down the Antichrist and gather weapons including Megiddo daggers.

Lyons wants to know where Damien is and threatens to kill Amani’s entire family if he doesn’t tell him Damien’s whereabouts but Amani isn’t giving it up and has no idea where he is anyway. Damien and Simone were able to escape and he heads to Charles Powell’s abandoned trailer, he tells Simone she needs to run and save herself but she refuses to leave him as she tends to his wounds. Damien is starting comprehend his role and the power he holds but he also knows that Armitage and the church won’t stop, when Simone tries to convince him that he is not a killer, he raises his arm and Simone starts to cough up bugs. Shay is on a mission to find Damien but his obsession with Damien has caused his family to leave him behind, Shay visions are becoming more tormenting as he believes he has run over his son while driving along the back roads. At the site of Damien’s failed exorcism, Lyons forces Amani to put Sister Greta in the grave that is now filled with the body’s of the women that were helping her, Lyons then shoots Amani and Sister Greta holds Amani as they are buried alive by the Armitage army.

Damien tells Simone of his plan to go to Megiddo, the place his father had visited and the home of the daggers. Shay tracks Simone and Damien as they leave the trailer, Rutledge and Lyons also figured out where he is and the chases is on and what happened next had me on the edge of my seat. Shay takes a shot at Damien but shoots Simone in the head her and Damien fall to the ground and he is screaming for someone to help her, his 666 mark starts to bleed and a drop of his blood lands on Simone’s head where she was shot and comes back from the dead, Damien and Simone are surrounded by Damien’s followers who all drop to their knees including Detective Shay. Holy shit what a way to end season 1!!

These actors are at the time of their game and can’t wait for season 2, no doubt we will see the Vatican’s army of priest arrive with their arsenal of weapons including the Megiddo daggers but what becomes of Amani and Sister Greta? Do they both survive? Does Shay completely succumb to his visions and obsession? Can’t wait to see what season 2 will bring!

Silicon Valley SN3 EP2 – ‘Two in the Box’

He’s not a good guy, he’s not a bad guy, he’s the guy…. I’m so sorry.

Action Jack Barker gets ahead of himself this episode and the engineers have to deal with the fallout. HBO has a trend of being brutal to the main characters even as they’re successful. Pied Piper has new funding, new offices, anything they could possibly want on an order list but the CEO is actively changing the heart of the company. The freenium model that Richard wanted has been removed in favour of selling for companies and Richard’s example of a shitty idea is now the prime focus of the sales team. The season is set up for new conflict and challenges already.

Richard’s awkward inability to get communicate his ideas were taken advantage of by Jack’s hiring of the infuriating sales team who insist on reintroducing themselves before every statement (Jan, they call me Jan the man). As long as Jack has the sales team under him, backing up his decisions with data, Richard is going to have a really difficult time getting what he wants. For now, he has  box to work with while the ex-Hooli staff have worked out just what makes Pied Piper’s coding so unique. Its good to have the race to release the platform back in focus after Pied Piper gained the obvious lead.

Jack may be getting ahead of himself in his decisions for Pied Piper, choosing what to focus on from a business perspective before actually looking into what would be best from a technical perspective.For example wasting money on the unneeded aspects of the offices (great for your fung shui) before actually seeing if it would fit in the budget. I particularly liked his Google analogy ‘You know who that was? Right, Google, I shouldn’t have said that at the start’ showing how he jumps the gun and ruins the premise of what he intends to do. Then again, this is the man that brought horse cocks and animal husbandry to HBO so if anyone’s a wildcard it’s Jack.

I thought the Erlich storyline was stale this episode with his attempts to kick Jian Yung out of the incubator being hampered by Jared’s inability to kick his own squatter out of his home. Jared and Erlich are my two favourite characters in the show but they got the busy work in the script this week. Overall great episode hampered by the incubator storyline. This episode continues to up the stakes of the season.

Follow me on Twitter @oliverwoodster

The Vampire Diaries SN7 EP21 – ‘ Requiem For A Dream ‘

SN7 EP21: Requiem for a Dream

Written By:  Brett Matthews & Neil Reynolds

Directed By: Paul Wesley

Just in case you skip all that stuff directly above this sentence and jump right into the article…. this episode was directed by Paul Wesley.  Paul Freakin’ Wesley, b!tches!  So, let me start there.  His directing of the action scenes was amazing…. that was by far my favorite part of the episode as far as the directing goes.  A close second, would be the great shots of Damon and Stefan’s phone call conversations, which by the way give us the best line of the episode.  The award goes to Damon (as usual) for the line “I’m sorry, I must have the wrong number, because I dialed ‘H’ for Hero.”

I have to admit that I’ve never been a real big fan of Matt.  And, to be honest, I really kinda hate him now.  For a while, I’ve called him “Deputy Dumbass” while watching the show with Lucy (my bff that watches with me every week).  Lucy laughed and agreed with my pronouncement the first time I called him that, so the nickname has continued.  This week Deputy Dumbass announced to Damon that he’d been promoted to Sheriff… so, of course, that prompted me to announce, “Oh? So now, Deputy Dumbass is Sheriff $h!thead.”

As far as Damon goes in this episode … it was pretty much his usual M.O. … doing the wrong things for the right reasons.  With everyone tag-teaming to try and wake Bonnie up, Damon was the one with the right idea.  Well, except he broke the first rule of this show. (Remember the Rule Book that I said I needed to write?)  Don’t piss off Bonnie Badass!  Damon pissed her off so that she’d wake up and come after him.  The only problem with that was… well…. she came after him.  And, when Bonnie Badass almost killed Damon, we got to hear him tell her what she means to him…and how much he admires her.  It all made my Bamon-shipping heart skip a few beats.  I don’t really have a problem with the whole Bonzo (that’s what I’m choosing to call Bonnie/Enzo and I don’t care what the rest of the fandom calls them) relationship; I’d just rather see her with Damon.  Anyway, back to the Bonnie Badass killing Damon thing… guess who saved him.  Go ahead guess.

Sheriff $h!thead.

That only earned him a couple of redemption points with me.  Don’t get me wrong… I still hate him.  But, you know what I think?  I think that’s what the writers are going for… I think they want us to hate Deputy Dumbass… uh sorry… Sheriff $h!thead.

The whole Stefoline scenario this episode really made me giggle a lot.  It’s nice to see Stefan finally following his big brother’s example.  For once, he handled things the Damon way instead of the Hero way…. and now Caroline is safe … well… safer.

All in all, I really enjoyed this episode, and it sets us up nicely for the finale next week.  Wow…is it really been a whole season already?  Where does the time go?

 

Russo Brother’s Accidentally Reveal Captain Marvel For ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

Right on the tails of the Russo’s revealing their plans for Avengers: Infinity War, they also let another spoiler slip – Captain Marvel will be in the line up for the Infinity War – Part I.

The blonde hero Carol Danvers, who is due to her standalone movie in 2019, was brought up by mistake by the brothers during an event at the Smithsonian Institute. During a discussion about Infinity War the Russo’s mentioned Captain Marvel by name.

A fan immediately pounced with “Did you just confirm Captain Marvel?”

“Um…” Russo replied, “Captain Barvel. Totally different character.”

Right Russo. Totally. We’re so excited for the appearance of Captain Barvel in 2018. Meanwhile, you can see fan reactions to this under the twitter hashtag “#MarvelatSI” to this and more statements from the Russo’s.

Avengers: Infinity War Part I is due for release May 2018, with Part II following up in 2019, and Captain Marvel will make her solo debut in 2019.

Penny Dreadful SN3 EP1 – The Day Tennyson Died

Let the bells ring out and the banners fly, Penny Dreadful is back! Dreadfuls rejoice! For a list of all the main characters and the actors who portray them, please see my introductory post here.

The opening scene of this first episode sees Sir Malcolm Murray’s home in severe disarray. There are dust covers on the furniture, shuttered windows, flies, cobwebs, dirty dishes, rotting leftovers and a mountain of mail at the door. As we tread the stairs, we find Vanessa Ives in a similar disarrayed state. She is clearly beyond caring about her home, herself or her life. Her friends are scattered to the four corners of the earth. She is truly alone, having deserted, or been deserted by, her faith. She slowly drags her sorry self down the stairs to the back door, where a box of food supplies is waiting. As she drinks the milk straight from the bottle, and tears into a loaf of bread with her teeth, a knock comes at the door. A voice tells her he knows she is there, and he will not go away. He will knock until his knuckles are bloody if necessary. She opens the door and lets Ferdinand Lyle in. He glances around and tells her that he loves what she has done with the place. As they sit in the living room, he tells her that the bells they can hear are for Lord Tennyson, who has passed away, leaving London in mourning. He quotes Tennyson’s ‘In Memoriam A.H.H.’ “tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”. Vanessa remains silent with tears welling in her eyes, while Lyle tells her that he is saddened to see her like this. He relates a time when a certain doctor helped him during his own dark days, and begs her to see this doctor. He offers to make the appointment for her. At this, Vanessa’s reserve crumbles completely, and she cries in his lap.

Across the pond, in New Mexico Territory, a train is puffing its way across the landscape. Inside one of the train cars, we find Inspector Rusk and a companion passing the time in conversation, discussing the terrain. Also in this car are a number of law enforcement types, all of whom are keeping watch on Ethan Chandler. Rusk declares that he needs tea. He inquires as to where the club car might be, and takes his leave of Ethan, companion in tow. In the club car, the bartender makes small talk, wondering what the prisoner did as he doesn’t look all that dangerous. Rusk tells him that the prisoner not only butchered a lot of people, he also ate a fair number of them. What a conversation killer! Yet another car contains a bunch of rough looking characters and a woman. The woman is Hecate Poole (Sarah Greene), one of now deceased Evelyn Poole’s daughters, who has seemingly followed Ethan and Rusk. I am not sure at this point whether she will be a big help or a big bad for Ethan, it could go either way. She did help Ethan escape the locked stairwell in her Mother’s mansion, after all, but whether that motivated by a desire to help Ethan or to help herself, I am not sure. Although I do suspect self interest, since Ethan as wolf then killed Evelyn Poole. The leader of this bunch of ruffians checks his watch, and nods to the rest. Obviously, there is a plan afoot! They get up and move to Ethan’s car, where they slaughter all the lawmen. The rest of the men in their own car are also shot dead, but Hecate is spared, because she “plays the woman card”. Yeah, I went there, lol. Rusk and his companion are alive and unharmed but outnumbered, so they merely stand and watch as the gang slings a now unconscious Ethan over the back of a horse, and ride off.

In Zanzibar, German East Africa, Sir Malcolm is sitting in a bar, drowning his sorrows as he composes a letter to Vanessa. He writes that Sembene is now buried in the mountains where he came from. He tells her that the Germans have captured many of the locals for slaves, his romance with Africa is done and so the land is tainted now for him. He wants nothing more than to be quit of the filthy place. He wonders what is next for him. He ends the letter saying that he will cable when he finally has his itinerary in mind, and hopes that the letter finds her well and at peace. He pays his tab, and leaves the bar, completely missing the nod that a suspicious looking man gives to another. He is accosted down the street by a woman who begs him for some money for her baby. He gives her some, but she begs for more, offering to fuck him for it. Sir Malcolm turns away, only to discover that she has a gun which is now pointed at him, and her fellow thugs have closed in to beat more money out of him. A complete stranger comes to his aid, and between them, they manage to put the thugs down like the mad dogs that they are. The stranger bends over and scalps one of the bodies, remarking “Old traditions die hard, don’t they Sir Malcolm?”

Somewhere in the far north, a ship is frozen into the ocean ice, at the mercy of a howling wind. The deck of the ship is littered with frozen bodies. Inside, a handful of survivors are disussing killing and eating each other, in order to survive. The Captain thinks they should die as men, not animals, and goes to comfort a sick child. One of the survivors thinks that the Captain should hasten the child’s end and let them eat. Caliban stands protectively in front of the child, and the survivor goes to sit back down. Caliban hums a lullabye to the child, and realizes that he has hummed this lullabye to a child in his previous life, before his resurrection by Victor Frankenstein. He asks the Captain how long he thinks the child has. The Captain thinks a matter of days at most, so Caliban decides that it is better the child dies quickly, snaps the child’s neck and leaves. When the Captain asks where he is going, he says “Home”. We leave Caliban slogging across the open ice.

Sir Malcolm buys the stranger a drink, which the stranger declines. He asks the man if he is an American Indian, which the stranger confirms. “Chiricahua Apache by birth and by right”. The man asks Sir Malcolm if he is familiar with the West. Sir Malcolm admits that he is familiar only to the extent of what he reads in the newspapers. He is curious how the stranger knows him, so the stranger admits that he has been following him. He missed Sir Malcolm in London, and so has been waiting in Zanzibar for his return from the Interior. Sir Malcom wants to know what made him so sure he would return, to which the stranger tells him that he cannot die until he has served his purpose. Sir Malcolm asks him what purpose that would be, and the stranger says that it is to fight the great demons of the earth and sky until he is dead. Sir Malcolm claims to be done with that, but the stranger insists that he is not. And that Sir Malcolm must come with him to America, because Ethan Chandler needs their help. Sir Malcolm wonders that he expects him to go. The stranger tells him that he demands it. His name is Kaetenay (Wes Studi). If Sir Malcolm comes with him, he will tell the story. Sir Malcolm wants to know where, and Kaetenay says “New Mexico, my home and his home. He who is almost my son. You know you have a further destiny, let this be it. Our son needs us.”

In New Mexico, the group has stopped for a rest. Ethan is now conscious, and the gang leader calls him by his birth name, Mr. Talbot. Ethan realizes that all the people on the train died because his father wants him home. Ethan wishes them luck getting him there, under his breath.

In London, a dark complexioned man, walking by the docks is nearly inundated with the contents of a chamber pot being thrown out of an upstairs window. The woman throwing the contents screeches insults at him. He finds the address that he is looking for, climbs the stairs and bangs on the door. The door opens to reveal a disheveled and wild eyed Victor Frankenstein. Victor thanks Dr. Jekyll (Shazad Latif) for coming. They catch up on old days while drinking tea, and Jekyll notices the track marks on Victors’ arms. Victor tells him why he has contacted Jekyll after so long. He has conquered death and created monsters, none more so than himself, and he needs Jekyll’s help. Jekyll assures him of their friendship and Victor proceeds with his tale.

Vanessa has cleaned herself up, and is on her way to see Dr. Seward (Patti Lupone), a practitioner of mental medicine. She enters the office and announces herself to the secretary. While the secretary is gone, she scratches at herself. The secretary brings her to the inner office. The doctor enters, and Vanessa is immediately struck by her resemblance to her old mentor, Joan Clayton aka The Cut-Wife (also played by Patti Lupone in Season 2). Dr. Seward introduces herself as an alienist – a new branch of medicine to do with the mind. She claims that her methods, while unorthodox and expensive, work. She is abrupt, almost to the point of rude, and immediately draws the doctor patient boundaries.

There is a lively conversation between the two, resulting in Vanessa learning that Dr. Seward is in fact related to the Cut-Wife. Dr. Seward challenges Vanessa on several points – her scratching, and the downplay of her money. Dr. Seward takes Vanessa on as a patient, mostly because she is interesting, after doing a very fast but 100% accurate profile of her. Vanessa is interested too, and agrees to come back. Seward tells her she must break the cycle for just one day by doing something she has never done before coming back on the following day.

Victor gives Dr. Jekyll a tour of his “house of pain”, and claims that every sin of his creations hangs on him, which is why he has turned to the needle. Victor wants Jekyll’s help to destroy Lily, but Jekyll thinks that what he actually wants is to have Lily love him again, an endeavor which Jekyll is happy to take on. His field of work is in neurological chemical reactions of the brain, which he has been brought to by taming his own inner beast. He feels that is the answer to bringing Lily back to Victor. Victor agrees, with the codicil that if they fail, Jekyll will help him destroy Lily utterly. They arrange to meet at Jekyll’s lab on the following Saturday.

Vanessa leaves the Doctor’s office, and while walking is followed by a pale man. She is accosted by a young very pale boy who is selling mementos honoring Tennyson. The young boy tells her to savor the day, and calls her “my beautiful lady, my beloved”. WTF? As she continues on her walk, she finds herself entering the Museum of Natural History, where she is drawn to the wolf, (representing Ethan for her) and the scorpions which represent herself. She is drawn into conversation by the curator, Dr. Alexander Sweet (Christian Camargo), who tells her that the smallest ones are the most dangerous. They discover common ground, having both practiced taxidermy as youngsters. When Dr. Sweet needs to attend to business, she finishes her tour and returns to her home. Back at the house, she indulges in some cathartic cleaning, tearing off the dust covers, throwing open windows and generally putting the house back in order. She writes to Sir Malcolm, telling him that she has not been honest in previous letters. She misses Ethan, and if she believed in the old words still, she would pray for him, but that she has either left her faith or it has left her. Even though her immortal soul may be lost, yet she remains. She informs him that Tennyson has died, and that all London is in mourning.

Dr. Seward’s secretary locks up the office, and goes in search of a little stress relief. As he is getting it on with a prostitute in an alley, he is rudely interrupted by some unknown force and taken to an abandoned warehouse where the pale man, the young boy and others are crawling around the place upside down. Something approaches, causing these creatures to bow and scatter. A voice tells the terrified secretary to have no fear. The voice wants to know everything about Vanessa, and instructs the secretary to find out all her secrets, and bring them to him. The voice demands the secretary’s name. The secretary tells the voice his name is Renfield (Samuel Barnett). The voice then demands Renfield’s neck, his blood, and tells him that his name is Dracula.

Fade to black.

This episode sets up the season in a satisfying fashion for me. We have the introduction of more classic fiction characters, a new original-to-the-series character who may end up being a love interest for Vanessa, and the clue that Vanessa is still the object of a dark suitor’s attention. The question for me is, is Dracula a rival to the Devil, working for the Devil, or are the two going to end up being one and same? Time will tell.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out other blogs on Skatronixxx.com!

 

Russo Brother’s Announce Plans For’Avengers: Infinity War’ Part I & Part II

With the UK release of Captain America: Civil War right behind them, and the US release pending, people might think the Russo Brother’s would want to wind down a little, have some time on the down low.

People might be wrong.

In the space of 24 hours, Joe and Anthony Russo have announced two of their plans for Avengers: Infinity War, the two-part feature coming in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

The first bit of news, is that the Russo brothers are planning on a name change for the two titles. So far, Infinity Wars is just a working title it seems.

“It is misleading,” stated Anthony Russo, when asked about the current two-part title for Infinity War.

“The movies are two very different movies,” said Joe Russo, explaining why the title change has come about. “The intention is we will change it, we just haven’t come up with the titles yet,” he said. “But, yes, we will change it. And, yes, that is a scoop: we will retitle them.”

To top off this title change, the Russo brothers then made a nod to how Captain America: Civil War will affect things for Avengers: Infinity War (don’t worry, no spoilers here folks!)

What we do know about Captain America: Civil War is that it features Marvel’s biggest and bravest facing off against each other, in a heated conflict that’s ripped the team into two sides. Regardless of however the Russo’s choose to tell that story, it’s a story that will have an impact that will carry on through, and set the tone for Phase 3.

According to Joe Russo, that’s exactly what he had planned;

“What we love about [the Marvel Cinematic Universe] as storytellers is that we get to tell a story over the course of movies. We get to take the characters on journeys that, again, can be unique to the cinematic experience. So knowing that we’re doing ‘Infinity War’ really informs ‘Civil War’ because we knew we wanted to leave the characters in as complicated a place as possible to set up Infinity War.”

Scary words, Mr Russo, scary words – and yet also, completely reassuring that the MCU and the fate of the Infinity War movies are in the completely right hands. The whole point of the Cinematic Universe is that it’s a universe, and these movies have got to tie into one another and balance each other, even when it’s completely different directors and writers. It’s much like the link people make between Iron Man 3 and The Avengers; Age of Ultron – IM3 effectively ended in Tony Stark retiring and destroying all his suits, and then Age of Ultron opened on him kicking ass, running the Stark Tower as the Avengers Tower, and still very much working as a superhero, with no reference to the arc reactor he had removed from his chest.

The fact that the Russo’s are treating every project they’re given by Marvel as a careful piece to a bigger story, making sure they’re leaving their ends ready for the next beginning, is a massive reassurance for Marvel fans.

Avengers: Infinity War Part I is due 2018, and Part II is due 2019, pending name changes.

Supernatural SN11 EP20 – ‘ Don’t Call Me Shurley ‘

SN11 EP 20: Don’t Call Me Shurley

Written By:  Robbie Thompson

Directed By:  Robert Singer

OH.  MY. CHUCK!

Speechless.  Try to manage…. I just don’t have an even to can’t.

Cheers!

Chuck’s “World’s Greatest Dad” coffee mug!

Metatron?  Good?  Chuckdamn!

The Fog …. ooooh scary.

SA-UM!!

*SQUEEEE* The Samulet

Rob…uh God….singing!

Chuck saves everybody!

“We should talk”

You can always tell when we get a greater than great… totally awesome… episode of The Show.  It’s still trending on twitter more than two hours after the East Coast airing.

I’m not going to apologize for the review I gave last week’s episode.  But, I will say that this week they totally knocked my socks off and made up for it.  I’m still squee’ing.  And, holy crap monkeys, Batman, how are we going to wait until next week?!

 

Bates Motel SN4 EP8 – ‘ Unfaithful ‘

Last week we seen that Norman had started to make progress in his sessions with Dr. Edwards but that all changed in an instant when Norman and Julian were making things with papier-mâché, Norman comes across a newspaper clipping with Norma on it and quickly arranged the torn pieces together and discovers that Norma and Romero are married and he is not pleased . He wants out of Pineview and calls Norma to tell her so, but Dr. Edwards doesn’t think it’s a good Idea and nor does Norma. Dylan search for Emma’s mother leads him to find a letter she wrote to Emma in Norman’s room and when he checks the motel guest list, he sees Audrey checked into the motel but never checked out. Did Norman kill her or was it his split personality Norma that did the deed? I’m still not 100 percent sure and don’t know if well will ever know. Norman finally gets his wish and is released from Pineview on the condition he must take his meds and see Dr. Edwards three times a week for therapy. I foresee trouble ahead for the love birds Norma & Romero now that Norman is home!

SN4 EP8 – ‘ Unfaithful ‘

With Norman home the love birds have had to cool it so Romero has temporarily moved out, Norman questions the big TV along with the movie choices. The heating in the house has died but Norma doesn’t have Romero to keep her warm as she looks over at his side of the bed she is missing her husband. To stay warm Norman asks to sleep in bed with Norma and she reluctantly agrees, Norman can tell things are different between them but Norma reassure’s him that she is really happy he is home but she’s not being straight with him. To my surprise there was no spooning, I have to say that it always creeped me out a little. Norma and Romero are missing each other but she is waiting for the right time to tell Norman the truth, but is there ever going to be a right time to tell our tightly wound Norman? I think not!

Norman visit Romero and he is pleased to see him, the conversation quickly turns to Romero and Norma’s marriage and he says that he and Norma are to get a divorce “so as not to expose your fraud” but little does he know the two have fallen in love and are happy being married. Dylan is hesitant about Norman being home and the fact the Romero moved out, leaving Norma alone with Norman is concerning but he agrees to stop by before they leave for Seattle. While checking in at the airport Rebecca is stopped by the DEA and they tell her, they have forensic account that proves she help Bob Paris launder money through the back she managed and tell her they know Romero has been looking the other way and want her to roll on him to save herself. Well she spill the beans on her former lover?

Norma drops by Romero’s place but is met by a pissed off Romero, he tells her about Norman’s visit she tells him she is not giving him up, but is struggling to find the right time to tell Norman the truth about their relationship, whats a girl to do? She is torn between her handsome husband and her highly strung psycho son. Dylan and Emma arrive and she is super nervous to see Norman again, but Norman seems genuinely happy to see Emma and happy that her and Dylan are a couple. He thanks her for being his first real friend. Is it just me or did that have a “thanks but I’m going to kill you” vibe? I could be reading into it a little, but it has been a while since he killed someone so we’re a about due for another murder. Dylan, Emma, Norman and Norma go looking for a tree together and you could cut the tension with a knife, Norman is trying far to hard and Norma is moody but I don’t blame her she has to choose between her new-found happiness or her son and she desperately wants both. Her and Norman argue and she admits she likes Romero and that he is a good man, then suddenly Norman throws up. D-R-A-M-A!

Norma get Norman home but its to cold to stay in the house so they head down to sleep at the motel, Norman gets his own room and a short time after he hear’s a truck pull up and looks out the window, and it Romero coming to see Norma, but what Norman does next has taken him to a new low. He goes makes a peephole in the wall, to the room his mother and Romero are in and he watches as they kiss and start to undress each other and I imagine he watched the whole thing. Norma invites Romero over for a family dinner, that didn’t go to plan and ended in a screaming match between Norman and Norma, I was so proud of Norma in the moment, she stood up to Norman and pretty much told him that her and Romero are together so he needs grow up and deal with it, she made it very clear she is not choosing one over the other.

With only two more episodes left of season 4 who do you think will become Norman’s next victim?, will Rebecca roll on Romero to save herself? Will Dylan pursue finding out what happened to Emma’s mother? Check back the same time next week to find out if these questions and others get answered.