Comic-Con 2010: Caprica 1.5 Meatier

The second half of Caprica promises audiences a whole new gear as characters are pushed in extremely unusual and unexpected ways, at least according to show creators David Eick and Ron Moore.

Eick, Moore and actors Alessandra Torresani, Sasha Roiz, and James Marsters were on hand to answer questions from Poptimal.com at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con.

They were all very passionate about the series and excited to share that the show’s pace becomes faster as the story gets into its meatier parts.

“The first half of the season has a lot more setup, even as we were writing, a lot of this was laying the ground work for things to do later on in the show and the second half is when we really start to capitalize on things we already set in motion,” said Moore.

Torresani adds that audiences will get to see multiple Zoe’s in the second half of season one and that she’s happy that her character gets to finally be in action. “I was stuck in this robot in this wall and my dad’s trying to burn me and I can’t say anything, [and] now, okay, I have a gun and I’m gonna kill you,” she says. “There are still different forms of Zoe, but now she’s ready to fight. You know she’s been knocked up too long and her mouth’s been taped too long and so now she’s kicking and screaming, you know watch out!”

Moore also said that season two of Caprica has already been outlined pretty well and that they have a fairly structured plan on what they want. He did not go into further details, but is confident that the Syfy channel will pick up the show for another season.

Viewers can also expect the conflict between Daniel Graystone and Zoe to get turned up a notch because she’s locked in a virtual environment and attempts to get out of that situation as her moral calling. On the other hand, Eick also comments that, “Well, she’s still pissed at her dad.”

In the meantime, Roiz comments on his character’s homosexuality and the stability of his relationship in the show as incredibly interesting because of its non-issue. “As an actor, I don’t even think about it, but the audience, they’re so aware of it. Look how much of a non-issue it is…in its subtlety it actually sends out a huge message.”

Marsters raves about the show and comments on how the greatest challenge in playing Barnabas has been finding the love in him. He goes on to explain that at first he came to Vancouver, where the show is being filmed, expecting that his character to be a Timothy McVeigh (the domestic terrorist who bombed an Oklahoma City federal building), but he was surprised to learn that instead he had a lot of love for humanity.

“He’s watching a culture that is feeding itself for fun. It’s like ancient Rome, you’ve got a pantheon of gods and no moral compass. People are butchering each other for the pure ecstatic pleasure of doing it. And so he’s trying to bring some semblance of rationality.”

Caprica tells the story of humanity’s fall fifty years before the events of Battlestar Galactica. Moore felt that this story was worth telling because it was essentially humanity’s last great ride, and that the audience knows that they’re doomed, but how they get there is the real question and worth exploring.

Caprica will return to the SyFy channel to complete its first season in January 2011.

For more Comic-Con coverage, click here.

Photos taken by Nicole Cukingnan. Copyright Poptimal.com

Dexter Comic-Con Panel: A Killer Good Time

“It was me.”

Those are the first three words out of Dexter Morgan’s mouth when the police arrive at his Miami home to find his wife, Rita (Julie Benz), murdered and floating lifeless in the bathtub, and their infant son Harrison sitting quietly amidst a pool of her blood.

Now, loyal Dexter viewers know the beloved, titular sociopath didn’t kill his wife himself, per se, but rather had an indirect involvement by leading last season’s surefire classic villain, the Trinity Killer (chillingly portrayed by Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee John Lithgow), directly to their doorstep. The shocking, bleak end to a stellar fourth season of the Showtime drama left viewers both riveted and heartbroken.

During a packed panel discussion at San Diego’s Comic-Con Thursday afternoon, star Michael C. Hall, co-stars Jennifer Carpenter (Hall’s real life wife and onscreen sister, Deb) and James Remar (Dexter’s deceased father, Harry), as well as executive producers Chip Johannessen, Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn and Manny Coto kept the atmosphere relatively lighthearted and convivial considering the macabre subject matter.

When asked how he gets inspiration for Dexter’s smoothly meticulous, murderous behavior, a jokingly deadpan Hall replied, “Sometimes in traffic,” adding, “I’m never more relaxed than a day when I’ve simulated killing someone … it’s quite the stress reliever.” The audience spent most of the panel either in fits of laughter or silent fascination, thanks to Hall’s jovially sarcastic sense of humor, and the whole set of participants’ thorough answers to attendees’ questions.

An exciting trailer showcased the highly anticipated fifth season, which will primarily deal with the aftermath of Rita’s death and Dexter’s scramble to maintain his sanity and composure as his life begins to crumble and his “dark passenger” is at risk of exposure. Both Detective Quinn (Desmond Harrington) and Dexter’s adversarial next-door neighbor begin to suspect his involvement in the murder and Deb seems to be beginning to understand her brother may have a secret or two.

The theme for the upcoming season won’t follow tradition and introduce a new nemesis for Dexter, but will instead focus on his battle with his own demons. Given Lithgow’s haunting guest-starring role, the producers agreed it would be especially unwise for Dexter to meet another colleague in crime with such high expectations after last season. “Dexter’s gonna go to hell and kill the devil himself,” joked Hall about the only possible way to top the Trinity Killer.

Instead, according to producers, it seems more prevalent to give Dexter time to face the consequences of his actions instead of spending his energy on others’ wrongdoing. “He needs to be punished for his belief that he could have it all,” said Colleton. “He started to play fast and loose with his code.”

To elaborate, Johannessen added, “The thing that always calmed [Dexter] and brought him peace isn’t really working anymore.” With panic for the possible loss of his freedom and family if he can’t keep his extra-curricular activities under wraps, Dexter’s usual inability to process emotion is made even more difficult. Despite his devastating grief over Rita’s tragic death, Dexter seemingly can’t outwardly exhibit the “proper” behavior of a recent widower and this stoicism elicits suspicion from others as a result, and resentment from his step-children. As his life begins to crumble around him, Dexter’s decreasing control over his darker instincts and vow to live by Harry’s “code” render him more unstable than ever, thus threatening his trademark ability to maintain a façade of normalcy while literally getting away with murder.

Plenty remains unknown about what will happen during Dexter’s fifth season (“I’ve lied before and said I didn’t know, but this time I really don’t know,” said Carpenter), but one overall theme is made clear and evident in the trailer’s tagline: Conscience is a killer.

Dexter season 5 premieres September 26, 2010 on Showtime.

For more Comic-Con coverage, click here.

Photos taken by Erin Biglow. Copyright Poptimal.com

True Blood Review: Here Comes “Trouble”

Finally, after four episodes of increasingly frustrating buildup and exposition, Sunday night’s episode of True Blood fantastically culminated in several long-awaited introductions between characters, and a highly anticipated reunion I had expected would take all season. While the ambitious nature surrounding the head-spinning number of simultaneous plotlines hasn’t waned, the structure of the narrative exhibited a far more tangible sense of cohesion than in previous episodes. However, the motley crew of vampires, werewolves, telepaths, shape-shifters and anyone unfortunate enough to cross their paths between Bon Temps and Jackson has certainly got their work cut out for them. In the wake of such an action-packed yet smoothly paced episode, I must applaud the writers and director of the aptly titled “Trouble” for deftly crafting Season Three’s most exciting and involving installment yet.

We open with Tara held prisoner in Russell’s mansion, tied up by her deranged vampire suitor: the mysteriously creepy, increasingly hilarious private eye Franklin (major kudos to James Frain for pulling out all the stops in his portrayal). What’s been made vaguely clear so far is that Franklin is employed by Russell to investigate his newest colleague, kidnap-victim-turned-willing-participant Bill Compton. Russell’s live-in companion, Talbot, finds Franklin in the house with a terrified Tara and the two vampires confront each other with a menacing fang-off. Before the argument turns bloody (ha), Russell, Lorena and Bill appear with the remains of their decadent dinner (poor Ann!) all over their faces and clothes. Their post-meal bliss is interrupted as Tara and Bill make eye contact and exchange looks of disbelieving recognition, each completely floored to see the other. At this point, it’s made inherently clear the viewers had better strap themselves in for a whirlwind of catastrophic discovery and crucial development. Indeed, here comes “Trouble.”

Tara expects Bill to help her when it’s pointed out her captivity is the result of Franklin’s delusional, albeit strangely romantic, intentions. “She wants to be with me!” Franklin insists with the whiny tone of an undead toddler. “Hence the restraints,” is the deadpan reply, courtesy of the reliably quippy Talbot. Hee. Bill refuses to come to Tara’s rescue due to his altered priorities, and Russell and Franklin retreat to the study to discuss Franklin’s payment per the completion of his latest assignment: finding Bill, and presenting the dossier of Stackhouse genealogy tucked away in his desk. Franklin informs Russell the telepathic Sookie is actually in Jackson, and Russell’s curiosity and fascination begin to thicken as quickly as the plot.

Tara and Franklin aren’t the only unexpected guests at Chez Edgington this evening. Eric swoops in (much to Talbot’s hysterically inquisitive glee) to discuss the problematic sale of V in his district with Russell, and, following up on his impulsive framing of MIA Bill to the Magister last week, makes sure to mention him as the primary suspect. Eric asks Russell where Bill might be, and, much to Eric’s chagrin, Bill appears in the doorway a scant moment later. “He’s not missing, and way too square to sell vampire blood,” is Talbot’s succinct way of letting Eric know he and Russell hadn’t bought one word of his story, as though the presence alone of Bill himself hadn’t said so already. Eric, aware the jig is up, comes clean about his own involvement with the V, particularly his intention to protect his real partner in crime, Queen Sophie-Anne, and asks for Russell’s help. With the Magister intent to execute Eric’s “progeny,” Pam, if Bill isn’t brought back to Louisiana in two days, Eric has quite a tight deadline and high stakes on his hands.

Meanwhile, as Bill, Russell, Eric, Lorena and Talbot are getting acquainted, Franklin is busy randomly “impressing” Tara with his lightning-quick texting skills (his demonstration of typing certain expletives at a dizzying speed is much funnier if actually witnessed, so I won’t bother going into detail) and she is doing her best to play along with his bizarro advances until sunrise, where her assured escape plan will be put into action. Sure enough, once daylight hits, Tara is seen furiously chewing through the ropes tying her to a lavish four-poster bed deep in the confines of Russell’s palace. With all the vampires snoozing the day away, Tara sneaks out the front door and begins to run across the sprawling property and toward the outlying woods, inching closer and closer to freedom with each step. Suddenly, a ferocious canine is chasing her with unprecedented speed, nipping at her heels. When the wolf finally knocks her down and prepares to capture her, the animal shifts into human form as – guess who? – Russell’s top dog (I know, sorry) assistant, Cooter. Uh-oh.

Speaking of werewolves, Sookie and Alcide, in the meantime, have escaped the riotous celebration of Debbie’s induction into Russell’s werewolf cult and are en route to safety. All the werewolves inside, including Alcide, had begun to shift en masse, and he and Sookie bolted before her identity was revealed and his human form diminished. In light of Russell’s intriguing appearance at the party and revered status among Mississippi’s creatures of the night, Sookie expresses interest in meeting him. Alcide responds with an emphatic “no way!” and suggests they meet with his pack leader to ask for advice. Unfortunately, Alcide’s mentor doesn’t turn out to be much help when he informs them they’re essentially powerless over Russell and his reign. Sookie reads the pack leader’s thoughts and discovers, much to his incredulous denial, of course, that his paralyzing fear of Russell renders him unable to fight back in any capacity.

Indeed, Russell’s dramatic flair with threats and sinister manner of infusing terror within his targets is showcased more than ever throughout this episode to an increasing degree. As Russell next gets down to business with Bill and confronts him with the Stackhouse family documents Franklin found hidden in his house, Bill attempts to feign ignorance but clearly knows Russell is aware of his ulterior motive to, in Russell’s words, “track the telepath.” Cooter confronts Bill later and tells him he’s no longer on Russell’s good side. In a successful attempt to both prove Russell’s suspicion that Bill still harbors feelings for Sookie and simply push his buttons, Cooter tells Bill Sookie is in Jackson with Alcide, and implies they are engaged in a physical relationship (we know they’re not, of course, but Bill sure doesn’t). Bill, playing right into Cooter’s hands (paws?), immediately flies off the handle and physically destroys every piece of furniture in the room in a matter of seconds, propelled by unbridled rage. A vampire guard shows up to investigate the commotion and Bill promptly singes his face against the silver door accents – an unwise decorating decision on Russell’s part.

Franklin, now awake, has restrained Tara back to her original enslaved state and asks her, between bloody bawls, why she tried to escape. Tara replies with a question of her own – why does he need to tie her up? “To keep you safe! What other reason would there be?!” Franklin responds with such deluded sincerity that I begin to understand we’ve only begun to witness the depth of his psychosis. Judging by the look on Tara’s face, she’s clearly beginning to realize the same thing. Having gone more than a day without food, Tara gently reminds Franklin of the basic human need to eat, to which Franklin apologizes for his lack of sensitivity. Promising her the meal of a lifetime at (wait for it)…Shoney’s, he offers his piece de resistance: A proposal for Tara to become his vampire bride.

Before we delve further into the final scenes of the episode, don’t think I’ve forgotten about our friends back in Bon Temps. While most of the action is admittedly happening in Jackson at the moment, Sam, Jason and Lafayette are all on the cusp of major plot developments. The previous four weeks of humdrum filler have absolutely taken a backseat to Sookie’s desperate search for Bill, the maniacal antics of the werewolves, Eric’s constant brooding, and the twisted romance between Franklin and Tara. Although the secondary plotlines remained away from the spotlight this week, too, thankfully they all showed definite potential for becoming front-and-center in future episodes. While far too much time was devoted to his desk job at the police station, Jason finally encountered Crystal, the mysterious blonde from Hotshot, as a result of obtaining access to a sheriff’s vehicle and pulling her over — all while wearing nothing but jeans and a carefully strategized pair of sunglasses, to boot. Despite the two falling head first into a whirlwind courtship, she remains suspiciously tight-lipped about her past and current home life (“There is no forever for us, only now,” she cryptically tells Jason) and I suspect we’ll soon discover Crystal possesses a supernatural capability of one kind or another.

Lafayette is experiencing a courtship of his own, with his mother’s nurse, Jesus (Southland’s Kevin Alejandro). Although the two have only shared one scene prior to “Trouble,” Jesus’ sudden appearance at Merlotte’s and diligent pursuit of Lafayette doesn’t strike me as unwarranted or out of place. When Jesus tells Lafayette he’ll wait all day at the restaurant until he finishes his shift because “It’s only nine hours,” I silently echo Lafayette’s “Oh, lordy.” I’m not sure how Lafayette’s extra-curricular activities involving V and his business dealings with Eric will agree with a new relationship, but only time will tell if Jesus is as innocent as he seems.

Sam is still having problems with the freeloading Mickens family, but he and Tommy have begun to build a solid, brotherly relationship among the rubble. Creepy Joe Lee makes my skin crawl, and I cheered when Sam stood up for Tommy as Joe Lee beat the door down looking for his son with the threatening ferocity of a crazed animal.

Back at King Russell’s, Talbot is giving Eric a guided tour of the house and stops to show him a few antiques. One in particular is a Viking crown from nearly a thousand years ago that jogs Eric’s memory. In an unbelievably revealing flashback, we learn Eric was once a Viking prince who prematurely inherited the throne when his parents were brutally murdered by a pack of werewolves (!), all branded with the same mysterious symbol seen in the Nazi footage and at Russell’s initiation party for Debbie. In the Viking scene, Eric, overcome with grief, spies a hooded man slithering out his front door: Russell Edgington, folks. The crown in question belonged to Eric’s father, and Russell has kept it the millennium since. Whoa.

Before I can fully comprehend the weight of this revelation, Bill suddenly shows up at Alcide’s house to warn Sookie of the impending danger she faces courtesy of Russell and his burgeoning curiosity about her telepathy. Their reunion is agonizingly brief, because Bill insists she leave Jackson immediately. Unfortunately, he’s too late, as Cooter and Russell arrive seconds later. What happens next is something I’ve been waiting for the show to acknowledge again since it first happened last season: As Cooter begins to apprehend Sookie, the same electric impulses she inflicted on Maryann with her hands generate a second time and the shock sends Cooter flying across the room. Bill and Alcide are dumbfounded, and Russell, giggling with delight, utters the very appropriate final word of the episode: “Fantastic!!”

Although I’ve been a fan of True Blood since the beginning, I’ve always considered it more of a guilty pleasure and not something I necessarily champion the intellectual merits of. However, this episode was so well written, directed, edited and acted I feel as though I can finally fully support its Emmy nomination for Best Drama from a more pragmatic standpoint. After wading through the mundane progression of Maryann’s storyline and its anti-climactic resolution last season, I feel Season Three is following a more distinct trajectory and this episode has marked the beginning of a very promising new chapter. As one of the most entertaining and talked-about shows on television, True Blood is in no sign of “Trouble.”

Season 3, Episode 5: Trouble (originally aired July 18, 2010)

For more on True Blood, click here.

Sundays at 9pm on HBO

Photographs courtesy of HBO and IMDbPro

White Collar Review: Teamwork

According to Neal Caffrey, “politicians were the original conmen.” This week our favorite partners are up against a crooked politician. But to bring him down, not only do they have to work together, they need a team effort that includes help from Diana and Mozzie.

The episode opens with Diana and Peter at the meeting from Fowler’s computer. They are almost ready to call it quits when they suddenly see a mysterious man. When Peter announces he is FBI and tries to talk to the man, he runs away. They pursue him but he vanishes.

Back at the FBI, we learn Elizabeth is out of town on business and there is a new case—a potentially corrupt politician, Senator Jennings. Peter and Neal talk to the Senator’s assistant, Dylan, who explains that Jennings may be illegally funding money into his campaign. Dylan also states that Jennings has two sets of books, and one only his inner circle is privy to. What do Peter and Neal decide to do? Bad cop, good criminal.

Peter is up first as bad cop—he pays Jennings a visit and announces he is re-investigating a loan scandal that Jennings was accused of being involved in. Hoping to make Jennings nervous, he threatens to keep digging until he finds a way to bring Jennings down.

Their plan is going smoothly—Jennings meets with his inner circle and plans to hire a “fixer” to help with Peter’s “investigation.” This is where Neal comes in. Posing as Benjamin Cooper, with a very detailed alias created by the FBI, Neal meets with the Senator and wins the role of his fixer. On a side note, we discover an interesting tidbit from Neal’s past—he never graduated from high school.

That night unbeknownst to Neal, Diana goes over to the Burkes’ house to discuss the mystery man from the meeting. Security cameras near the stakeout were only able to catch parts of his face. Diana pieces them together and will run it through the facial recognition database—Peter dubs him “the patchwork man.” I let out a sigh of relief when we learn that Diana is keeping the music box hidden at Peter’s request. However, someone outside of Peter’s home is snapping pictures of them together.

Neal reports to his first day of work for Senator Jennings. Before the Senator arrives, Neal breaks into his office and finds a matchbook with the flower of Aphrodite on it, and “cinnamon212” written inside. With this information, Peter is able to connect the matchbook to the Aphrodite escort service.

Meanwhile, the Senator reveals to Neal the pictures that he had taken of Peter and Diana at Peter’s house. Thinking quickly, Neal blurts out that she must be a prostitute and could be used to take down Agent Burke. Jennings wants Diana to meet with Barrow, who is in charge of the Aphrodite escort service. Back at the FBI office, Neal explains that Diana must pose as a prostitute and meet with Barrow at the hotel. Peter and Neal agree that the money being funded into the campaign is coming from the escort service. On a side note, Neal is not happy that Peter lied to him about meeting with Diana and tells him, “I’ve never lied to you.”

At the hotel, Diana meets with Barrow, who wants her to have a tryout—pick up a man at the bar, take him to the penthouse suite and charge $10,000. Neal rescues Diana by sneaking out of the FBI surveillance van, appearing at the bar and pretending to be her client. Peter doesn’t think they can get the money from the FBI that quickly so Neal tells him to visit a “mutual friend at my place.” Diana and Neal head up to the hotel room.

Peter goes to see the “mutual friend,” Mozzie, for help. In a rather funny sequence and one of my favorite scenes, Mozzie informs Peter that he can’t ask questions plus begins to aggravate Peter because of his strange requests (shoe lace, magnet, Sports Illustrated, twenty dollars, etc.) while speaking in quotes. But with Mozzie’s help, Peter is able to get the $10,000.

Diana and Neal bond in the hotel room—laying in plush white robes on the bed. Diana explains to Neal that she is the daughter of a diplomat, grew up living in hotels and that her bodyguard, Charlie, who pretty much raised her, died protecting her. This prompts Neal to open up and tell Diana about his guilt that he should have been on the plane with Kate. He also talks about his first date with Kate. Mozzie, posing as room service, delivers the money to Neal and Diana.

Neal returns to work for Jennings but a wrench is thrown into the plan—Reggie, Jennings’ right hand man, informs Neal that Barrow is meeting with Diana to get more information to use on Peter by “scaring her or roughing her up.” Neal sends an SOS message to Peter as Diana walks into the meeting with Barrow, who has a gun with a silencer. He threatens her but Diana shoots him in the shoulder just as Peter and backup arrive.

Barrow gives up information on Jennings and the senator is arrested. As an aside, even with the little time Neal spent in politics, he manages to get a park built. Back at the FBI office, the results are in from the facial recognition but there is no match. The episode comes to a close with Peter staring at the picture asking, “who are you?”

Another awesome White Collar episode. This week’s episode was really funny especially the scenes involving the teamwork between Neal and Diana plus Mozzie and Peter. Give the writers a round of applause; sometimes I wonder how they come up with some of these lines, especially Mozzie’s.

The wardrobe always looks fantastic but Diana really stood out this week. She (Marsha Thomason) looked stunning in those dresses she wore while undercover. Plus, I enjoyed seeing Diana play a larger role and discovering more about her in this episode. Hope this continues! I also wouldn’t mind seeing an episode where Agent Jones (Sharif Atkins) gets the spotlight a bit more.

We also learned an interesting fact in this episode about Neal’s background—he did not graduate from high school. I am so curious about his past and how he became the way he is. It was a bit of a tease and definitely left me wanting to know more.

Until next week, I’ll leave you with a few great quotes from this episode:

Peter: Caffrey, that’s my newspaper…Touch my crossword and I will put you back behind bars.
Neal: You do it in pen. I’m impressed.

Neal: All we need is a bad cop.
Peter: I can do bad cop.
Neal: I’ve seen you do mildly irritated cop.

Peter: You going to tell her?
Neal: I’m not telling her.
Peter: You’re the one who made her the hooker.
Neal: You’re the one who’s sleeping with her.
Peter: You’ve got a point.
Peter to Diana: Neal told Jennings you’re a hooker. We’re having an affair. You’re going to meet with an escort service.
Diana: Okay, anything else?
Peter: No.
Neal: It’s good to have her back.

Season 2, Episode 2: Need to Know (originally aired July 20, 2010)

For more on White Collar, click here.

Tuesdays at 9/8c on USA Network

Photographs courtesy of USA and Will Hart.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Review: Nice Attempt, Stumbled Approach

I still remember my first experience with Walt Disney’s Fantasia. I was bored out of my mind sitting on the plane en route to Pakistan for summer vacation. I decided to tune into the movie playing on screen as a source of entertainment. This was where I first witnessed the film’s most renowned short, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The orchestrated piece follows the tale of apprentice Mickey Mouse who “borrows” his master Yen Sid’s magical hat to command brooms and mops to clean the castle. Mickey manages to lose control causing Yen Sid to arrive and clean up his mess. It was a memorable experience that went on to create the iconic Sorcerer Mickey image.  However, thanks to the powers that be, Mickey now share’s the role of the apprentice along with Jay Baruchel with Disney’s 2010 release of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Directed by Jon Turteltaub and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer the 2010 screenplay of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice weaves the tale of sorcery and magic dating back to 700 AD.  The great sorcerer Merlin had three apprentices, Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage), Veronica (Monica Bellucci), and Maxim Horavath (Alfred Molina). Betraying Merlin, Horavath joins forces with the evil sorceress Morgana, who is hell bent on destroying the world. Morgana manages to slay Merlin in battle, but Veronica uses a spell to absorb Morgana into her body. Not powerful enough to contain Morgana, Veronica is slowly being killed from the inside. With no other way to save Veronica, Baltazar imprisons Veronica and Morgana’s souls within a nesting doll called a Grimhold.  Horavath escapes only to be sealed within the Grimhold years later by Baltazar. With his dying words Merlin hands Balthazar his dragon ring telling him to find the Prime Merlinian, the successor of Merlin’s power and the only one who can defeat Morgana.  1300 years later young Dave Stuler, chasing a note, finds himself in Balthazar’s New York City magic shop. Balthazar shows him the dragon ring, which instantly reacts by wrapping itself around Dave’s finger. Soon after Horavath escapes from his own Grimhold prison seeking to revive Morgana and the destruction of the world.

The story for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is the common tale of a Hero’s Journey. Developing nicely over the two-hour screen time, the relationship between Balthazar and Dave as master and apprentice works for the most part. The action scene containing Cage and Baruchel are fun to watch as Balthazar excels and Dave well… fails at trying to accomplish the simplest of spells. Baruchel’s nerdy geeky manner is cute at first but quickly grows irksome. It pretty much emulates his performance from She’s Out of My League. Where the film stutters in the Hero’s Journey is Dave’s progression from apprentice to full fledged sorcerer. It isn’t through practice that Dave betters his sorcery or some life lesson he uses to overcome obstacles, he randomly becomes an all-mighty sorcerer just in the nick of time. It’s pretty deus ex machina making the victory feel short lived in the end.

The romance side of the film is surprisingly developed. Like the relationship between Balthazar and Dave, Becky’s romantic endeavors with magic boy aren’t skimped on. I really enjoyed the tesla coil scene where Dave shows Becky how she showed him music within his experiment. While the relationship is cute it slowly becomes the main story at one point making you question if you paid for a movie about magic or a romantic comedy.

Bruckheimer delivers when it comes to a movies look and feel. The magic shop and the Chinese New Year sets were easily some of my favorite from the film. Balthazar’s store held a mysterious atmosphere surrounded with magical items scattered within making me wish I could take a stroll through the store’s narrow corridors. The Chinese New Year was full of colors and confetti really bringing the festival’s spirit to life. The CGI in the film was fun to watch. Seeing the creative ways sorcery was used whether it was a magical plasma bolt or a metal statue of a bird coming to life really brought out the magical nature of the movie.

Nicholas Cage’s performance was something to note. It’s been some time since I’ve seen him actually perform like he cared in a movie.  I would be happy to see him playing Balthazar again if the movie gets a sequel. As I mentioned before, Jay Baruchel’s performance sorta got on my nerves, but it was not movie ruining. Teresa Palmer as Becky played her role well. I hope we get to see more of her in other films soon. Alfred Molina as Horvath was an interesting performance. He seems to like getting his hands on some weird roles though.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice won’t surpass the Fantasia short as my favorite, but that doesn’t mean the movie isn’t a fun time. The movie does stumbles with genre confusion between action and romance causing it to feel like it drags at moments, but the world it creates is a delightful watch that I wouldn’t mind visiting again. For those that do go watch the movie, there is a scene after the credits foreshadowing a possible sequel.

Final Grade – 6.5/10

The Next Food Network Star Q&A: Conference Call with Melissa d’Arabian and Brianna Jenkins

In a conference call with Melissa d’Arabian and Brianna Jenkins of The Next Food Network Star, the past winner and eliminated contestant commiserate over camera challenges, and the rocky road to becoming the Star.

Melissa d’Arabian

Since winning last season of The Next Food Network Star, Melissa d’Arabian has found life to be very hectic. As a working mother of three, d’Arabian joins the millions of working mothers across the country who struggle to balance work and home life. This balance is what Melissa deems the “trickiest” part of the job. Her solution: compartmentalize. Melissa says the key for her is to find a great alternative (ie. husband, daycare, or friends) that will allow her to be certain of the well-being of her children so she can focus on work. In this manner she is able to focus 100% on her work while at work, and the same is true in reverse. While with her kids Melissa is focused 100% on them; that means no Blackberry or email-checking.

This might seem like a lot of work and it absolutely is. For the host of $10 Dinners, there is a lot of work to do. Aside from teaching viewers new and inventive recipes all for under $10, Melissa wants to give her viewers great tips and techniques on how to shop and save. It is her “personal life mission” to teach viewers how to shop affordably and see their monthly grocery bill lower.

Melissa will be a guest judge on next week’s Food Network Star (airing July 25th) and being back to the show has brought memories to the former contestant. “I was so stressed for them,” Melissa says of the remaining contestants. And having been in their shoes once before, Melissa admits that she didn’t sleep the night before the taping. Of the talent, Melissa says that she was shocked by how far advanced the contestants were when it comes to dealing with the cameras. She credits this both to the addition of the Camera Challenges which allows the contestants to get accustomed to it, and also to Giada De Laurentiis as tutor. But even though the contestants this season have a one-up on previous seasons, Melissa says there is nothing that can help prepare the contestants for the reality of having their own show. Her advice: Just be yourself. “Embrace who you are and start playing a game you can win.” Everyone has their own strengths. But trust in who you are and that will be your ticket to success.

Brianna Jenkins

On Brianna
The Brianna that you see on tv is not the person that the real Brianna would like you to see. In fact, when questioned about what she would do different on the show, her regret is that she never opened herself up more to the audience. While the judges were expecting Brianna (and all the contestants) to connect to the audience on a personal level, Brianna found herself struggling to let her guard down enough to do so. The “Raw Brianna,” someone who lives life out loud, became muted by the reserved persona.

On The Next Food Network Star
If you think living with the contestants might give you a feel of who is going home, you’re wrong. Brianna says it’s not easy to tell who will be eliminated next because there are so many factors that the judges can evaluate. It’s not just about cooking. It’s not solely based on personality. So the contestant who gets the boot is largely a surprise.

Serena
You may or may not know (but you probably should) that Brianna had a little tiff with Serena. So the successful pairing of these two in the Lunch Truck task was quite a surprise. When asked how they managed to get over their disagreement (and go on to win the task), Brianna says that the two were bonded over the need to survive. Being in the bottom two together and knowing that, if they lost, someone would go home gave the two needed motivation to squash their beef and hug it out. They are still friends to this day.

Now
Brianna is currently working on a Cocktail Table book of Kitchen Design. She is also floating around different show ideas to the Food Network. She remains friends with all the contestants but is particularly close to Herb and DAS. On who she hopes will win the competition, the answer is clear. Brianna’s Team Herb all the way!

For more on The Next Food Network Star, click here.

Sundays at 9/8c on Food Network

Photographs courtesy of Food Network.

The Next Food Network Star Review: One Down for the French

It’s getting down to the grind, and the remaining contestants on The Next Food Network Star find they have to bring more than great cooking to the plate. And this week, the final seven contestants each seek to bring the star factor that will WOW the judges and steal the competition away.

Last week, Brad found himself in the bottom two. It seems that being thisclose to elimination has given Brad a new lease on life. He wants to give the judges more of his personality, more of his natural love of cooking unfiltered by his staid “Pro” persona. For inspiration Brad carries around this adorable picture of himself at 5 playing in a makeshift kitchen. Brad rocks this episode! He is much more personable and easygoing. The stiffness of the shoulders is gone and he actually does well (for the first time!) in the camera challenge. He’s inviting and knowledgeable, and that’s a killer combination as he blows away everyone and becomes a true contender.

In the camera challenge, the contestants are challenged with creating a party bite for a specific occasion. With 1 minute to present to the camera, the contestants must give party tips to the viewers. The winner of this challenge will get the chance to offer Tips on the Food Network’s Cooking Channel. A couple of contestants do quite well, though many still falter. Brad’s new boyish charm goes over great with the judges; he’s calm, knowledgeable, and adorable. His treat goes over well with the judges, as does his party tip. He shares this win with Tom, who won the judges with his natural style.

Herb is slowly lagging as his presentation had zero energy. Aria downplays her happy face and Aarti starts off strong but quickly crashes. Serena is ok, though Brianna comes off as phony and completely misses the mark.

For the Star Challenge, Ted Allen comes and introduces the contestants to their next task: take a retro dish and make it more modern. Since Tom and Brad won the earlier challenge, they get to choose first. They also get to assign the other chefs their dish. Brad and Tom are very happy with their choices. This is to be expected since they chose them, and the only person who seems unhappy about her assignment is Brianna who totally snubs her nose at Tuna Casserole.

In order to get in the mood to make these retro dishes swanky, Ted Allen tells the chefs that they will be cooking the food at the home of the legendary Frank Sinatra!

Being in the home of Ol’ Blue Eyes is very fitting for the new Brad whose smooth presentation completely enraptures the judges. The same cannot be said about Aarti, who unfortunately makes a big FAIL, presenting the judges with bland food on a budget. Yes, all of the judges think it’s weird for her to mention budget restraints at the home of Frank Sinatra. Think Posh, people. (And not the spice.) Brianna’s back this week to talking trash, unfortunately this time it’s about her own food. She completely puts the judges off her dish before they even taste it. This is a shame considering the judges loved the dish. Tom rambles to the judges all about him growing up; too bad his story had nothing to do with the dish.

This week, Brad finally snags his first win and serves up a big whopping serving of watch-out stew to the other contestants. (Yes, I know that’s corny.) And the cards are finally called for Brianna. She was a great chef, but unfortunately there wasn’t much else. Au Revoir.

Season 6, Episode 6: Retro Palm Springs (originally aired July 19, 2010)

For more on The Next Food Network Star, click here.

Sundays at 9/8c on Food Network

Photographs courtesy of Food Network.

Inception Review: Is This Real Life?

Go see this movie right now so that I will have more people to talk about it with.

From the mind of Christopher Nolan comes this amazingly awesome mind-boink of a movie. Don’t bother asking questions to the person sitting next to you, because no one knows what is really going on the entire time. Even hours later, I’m not entirely sure what I just saw.

At the risk of giving anything away, I’m going to run through this pretty blandly: We are introduced to dream thieves who specialize in extraction, which entails luring people into dreams and then manipulating their subconscious to reveal important information to contracted clients, mostly corporations. Cobb and Arthur (played brilliantly by both Leonardo DiCaprio — what else is new — and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) quickly get involved in a little business/blackmail with Saito (Ken Watanabe) and are presented with their most ambitious business venture yet. Hired to create an idea in some one’s dream rather than extract one, Cobb and Arthur assemble a team for this one last job before returning to normal, or at least more legal, lives. In what feels like the next 15 minutes is really 148, but they are the most entertaining 2.5 hours I have ever spent. That’s right, I just said ever. For real.

The lines between reality and dreamland are blurred and the powers of the subconscious are tested by Mal, Cobb’s wife, played by the hauntingly intriguing Marion Cotillard. Mal and Cobb’s relationship slash story are the most confusing in the film, and naturally , the most significant. I have my theories about Mal, influenced by the French language, but this is as far as I’ll go with her because I’m scared of revealing anything. That’s right, I barely even said anything.

In what becomes part Oceans’s 11, part Alias, part LOST, and part “Turn of the Screw”, Inception does not disappoint for a second. You want thrills? Check. You want Ellen Page not acting like Juno and being really clever and endearing in her role? Check. You want some love? You want more mystery? You want witty banter? You want some theories? You want kick ass cinematography? Checks all over the place…this movie is out of control. Also, if you can, see this movie in IMAX because then you literally feel like you are in the movie, and by extension someone else’s mind. If this is what is going on in Chris Nolan’s mind, I wouldn’t mind taking a little vacation there and seeing what else I can find. I just said mind about a million times, but it felt totally necessary and I’m okay with it.

If it isn’t obvious by now that you should have stopped reading this review and instead gone to see the movie, I’m going to break it down another level and get a little deeper. It is punishment for your still being at the computer rather than a theatre. Aside from being a really cool movie with amazing actors and special effects, the concept here is just ingenious. The story touches on the idea of ideas, which I find very intriguing, and of course can’t stop thinking about now that I’ve seen Inception. Ideas are introduced in the film as a virus, and the most dangerous kind of all. Ideas are created, but ideas are the most motivational and powerful, intangible things in our lives. Ideas are bulletproof, and if you stop and think for a tick about where your ideas come from and how they got into your head, it leaves you with a kind of “whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat” moment. Or at least it does for me. I like those.

So I leave you with that, because I don’t want to plant any ideas in your head about what you are about to see. Now go see it.

Like, yesterday. For real.

Photo by Stephen Vaughan & Melissa Moseley SMPSP – © 2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Comic Con 2010

Comic-Con 2010 has come and gone, and Poptimal was there to get all the scoops on our favorite TV shows.  Below are  links to the various events that we covered:

Panels

• Leverage Press Room: Conning the Con by Ayang
• Robot Chicken & The Venture Brothers by Nicole C
• Sucker Punch Press Room by Nicole C
• Children’s Hospital Panel by Trisha Leigh
• Eureka & Warehouse 13 Panel/Press Room by Trisha Leigh
• Merlin: The Buffy Fame Holds by Trisha Leigh
• Dexter: A Killer Good Time by Erin Biglow
• Super: A Superhero For the Disillusioned by Erin Biglow
• Caprica: Doomed, Bloody and Foreshadowing by Nicole Cukingnan
• Being Human Panel by Keshaunta Moton
• The Expendables Panel by Keshaunta Moton
• Community Panel by Keshaunta Moton
• RED Panel: More Than Just Action? by Trisha Ziegenhorn
• The Event: Panel & Press Room by Trisha Ziegenhorn
• The Big Bang Theory: Not So Nerdy After All by Trisha Ziegenhorn
• Family Guy and The Cleveland Show: Seth McFarlane Happy Hour by Keshaunta Moton
• The Cape: The Cast to Beat by Trisha Ziegenhorn
• Seth McFarlane Happy Hour (Family Guy and The Cleveland Show) by Keshaunta Moton
• Falling Skies – It’s The End of the World As We Know It by Erin Biglow
• Futurama – The Future’s Never Looked Better by Nicole Cukingnan
• Psych Press Room: Finding the Pineapple by Ayang

Interviews

• Being Human Press Room: A Vampire, A Ghost, and Two Werewolves Walk Into A Room by Bilal Mian
• Family Guy & The Cleveland Show: More Reasons to Find Voiceover Work by Erin Biglow
• Caprica 1.5 Meatier by Nicole Cukingnan
• White Collar Press Room by Ayang
• 30 Days of Night: Dark Days by Keshaunta Moton
• The Cape: The Cast to Beat by Trisha Ziegenhorn
• Supernatural Press Room by Ayang
• Get Ready For The New Season of Community! – Twittersode, Interviews, and More! by Bilal Mian

Follow our writers on Twitter!

• Ference – @Poptimal
• Keshaunta Moton – @Katye_M
• Trisha Zeigenhorn – @TrishaleighKC
• Bilal Mian – @Bilal_Mian
• Nicole Cukingnan – @Nixpoptimal
• Erin Biglow – @ErinBiglow
• Keith Robinson – @WKeithRobinson
• Jamal Henry – @Sage_Ninja007
• Ayang – @ayang3

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