Reviews

While it may not be the best show on the air, I definitely like this show and hope it is renewed for many more seasons.

I've only seen a couple of these actors before, but they do a good job.

The characters are likable, though they could use some development. The menaces are interesting (I really need to learn German). And the basic premise, that there is another world behind the world we see, is great.

I'm particularly interested in how Nick is slowly changing the perception among the Wessen of what a Grimm. Witness his evolving relationship with the Eisbeavers, as well as his friendship with Monroe and, by extension, Rosalee.

I'm hoping Monroe's relationship with the Fuchsbaue, Rosalee, will heat up.

I'm also waiting on the imminent danger of the Verrat and an explanation for what kind of game Capt. Renard is playing (as well as what kind of creature he is).

I saw this movie when it first came out in the '90s, and watched it again just last night. I have to say it was even more enjoyable the second time around. While the supernatural aspects of the story are invaluable to the plot, the true horrors explored here are psychological and moral. It is very similar to what some theologians call a "dark night of the soul." Here, the protagonist's personal choices in dealing with awful and unprecedented situations that are leading him slowly and surely to a terrible fate and ultimately clarify for him what is truly important in life. The protagonist, Michael Brower, wallowing in fear and self-pity, obsessed with horror, finally learns what terror really is and what he must do in order to deal with it.

I hesitate to call Brainscan life-affirming, but there are important lessons here, nevertheless, for those who call see them.

This is my favorite episode in the series. John Noble as Walter Bishop is a tough act to follow, but Peter Weller as Alistair Peck more than holds his own here. I have never seen him in better form. He succeeds in imbuing what could have a stock villain character with great complexity.

When they meet, it is the first time that we see Walter speak with someone who can truly talk to him on his own level. Both men are brilliant scientists. Both are driven by love and guilt. Their meditations on God, science, and right and wrong is riveting. And Peck's final, anonymous act of compassion is truly touching.

I, too, don't understand the venom from so many armchair critics. Chuck isn't Shakespeare, but it isn't supposed to be. It's supposed to be light, fun fare, and, on that level, it works brilliantly. It's cute, charming, and often sweet.

I admit it took a few episodes for me to warm up to it, but after the characters, relationships, and chemistry developed, so did my interest. This show could have gone wrong very easily, but it didn't. Kudos to the people who cast this show. This ensemble works!

Kudos also to the crew who treat the characters with respect and affection. In this second season, we see the hints of big plans in the works for our merry band of players. The second season opener showed us indications of NSA officer Casey's feelings about Chuck without the camouflage of sarcasm. In "Chuck vs. the Cougars," we see details about Sarah's past that she's been hiding from Chuck, and it's these details which lead me to conclude why Chuck is the soulmate for Sarah that ex-lover Bryce Larkin could never be. We're always seeing why Chuck has the friendship and/or respect of so many people, while Bryce doesn't, in spite of Bryce's many supposed advantages.

In addition, I also like not only the riffs on the espionage world where, in real life, most actual intelligence officers probably look like accountants more than movie stars, but also the riffs on the world of dead-end jobs and the so-called "service industry," along with the weirdos and misunderstood people we often find there.

I am also interested in the gender role reversal we find in the show. Contrary to convention, Sarah, a woman, is more physically dangerous than untrained Chuck and must protect him most of the time. Not only that, but Chuck, the man, is open, honest, and sincere in his feelings about Sarah, while Sarah, on the other hand, constantly holds back her feelings and the truth about herself or simply denies them completely.

I hope this show runs for a long time. Period.

I know it's a remake of Paleface, which I also enjoyed, but I liked "Shakiest.." better. It was...dare I say it?...cute. Don Knotts' patented nervous Nelly riff was great. Nobody does it better than he did. Barbara Rhodes was beautiful, sexy, and fiery, much more so than Jane Russell. This is no slam against Ms. Russell. Ms. Russell had a smoldering sensuality few actresses even today could match. And I loved the subtle gender role reversal at the end. Few actors other than Don Knotts could have pulled it off without seeming weird or gay. Not that there is anything wrong with being gay, mind you! I am just saying is all.

This film bring to mind Neitsche's famous quote: "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

A brilliant and intense psychodrama, it's at once fascinating and repellent, challenging the normal tendency to take sides in a conflict by trapping you between a charming young man who is very possibly a calculating pedophile and a cherubic young girl seems to be a ruthless vigilante.

As facades are peeled away layer by layer and one learns (and assumes) more and more about the two principals, one wonders which of them is more the frightening and dangerous. Viewers will disagree about this for years to come, I am sure.

This intimate duel of wits and willpower raises a host of questions. What separates good from evil? At what point does the end stop justifying the means? Where is line between justice and vengeance? When does obsession turn into mania and lunacy? And what is the place of human decency in all of this?

My best friend and I both saw this film separately, and we both thought it was a great thriller. We thought the gay sadomasochism that some reviewers saw was strictly in those reviewers' imaginations. We saw nothing of the kind. My friend saw the killer as representing chaos or entropy. I disagreed. I saw Ryder as a man consumed with such rage at the world and himself that he decided to end it all by personally forging the instrument of his destruction. It merely remained to choose the right subject. Since Halsey was able to survive their first encounter, Halsey passed the first test. From there, it was just a matter of cutting off Halsey's escape, removing his options, and ultimately forcing Halsey's hand.