CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode # 17 "Ears To You" – Review

March 8, 2014, 4:34 pm

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The opening scenes show Sherlock Holmes (Johnny Lee Miller) practicing his bomb defusion skills. Gareth Lestrade (Sean Pertwee) is not enamored with the fighting cocks, Romulus and Remus.

Sarah Cushing, wife of Gordon Cushing was abducted four years back. Gordon is widely believed to have been the perpetrator, despite receiving ransom demands for her return.

The latest ransom demand is serious enough to involve the NYPD and of course, the two consulting detectives.

Captain Gregson (Aidan Quinn) oversees a meeting between Gordon and the person who sent the ransom note. But things go south, when the man tries to take off with the money. Captain Gregson arrives on the scene only to find the unknown man dead and Gordon holding a bloodied weapon.

Sherlock and Joan (Lucy Liu) track down the dead man to an alcoholics anonymous meeting. Sherlock observes a woman joining the meeting and sees through her disguise. She turns out to be the missing woman, Sarah Cushing.

The customary subplot involves Gareth figuring out the man who mugged him.

I recommend the viewers to check out the episode to find out the resolution to the mystery.

Canonical References

1. Gordon Cushing receives a package containing a pair of severed human ears. The attached message claims that the ears belong to his abducted wife, Sarah Cushing. - In The Adventure of The Cardboard Box, a Sarah Cushing receives a cardboard box, containing the severed ears of her sister, Mary Cushing and her boyfriend, Alec Fairbairn.

2. Sherlock mentions the case of a man who tried to sexually molest two ostriches at a zoo. He also mentions earlier that he keeps himself informed of county crimes. - Dr John Watson mentions about Sherlock Holmes' knowledge in A Study in Scarlet: “Sensational Literature - Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.”

3. Sherlock makes deductions about Jim Browner's occupation based on his calluses and fingernails - Sherlock Holmes explains to Dr John Watson in A Study in Scarlet: “By a man's finger nails, by his coat-sleeve, by his boot, by his trouser knees, by the callosities of his forefinger and thumb, by his expression, by his shirt cuffs—by each of these things a man's calling is plainly revealed. That all united should fail to enlighten the competent enquirer in any case is almost inconceivable.”

4. The character of Jim Browner, the man who was blackmailing Sarah Cushing and unsuccessfully tried to extract ransom money from Gordon - In The Adventure of The Cardboard Box, Jim Browner cuts off the ears of his wife Mary Cushing and her lover, Alec Fairbairn.

It seems everyone in the world of Elementary is addicted to one thing or the other. Sherlock is a drug addict. Lestrade is an alcoholic. Even Sarah Cushing is a recovering alcoholic.

I did enjoy the discussion about Alphonse Bertillon and his observation about the uniqueness of human ears, much like fingerprints.

Recommended only to die-hard fans of the show.

Trivia

The song “Confidence” by The Dodos is played in the closing scene of the episode.

Click here to read all my posts about CBS Elementary. 

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Step Nine

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Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey Episode # 2 "Some of the Things That Molecules Do" - Review

March 24, 2014, 4:30 pm

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The second episode takes a look at the evolution of life on our planet.

The host and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson first explains the differences between artificial selection and natural selection. An example of artificial selection is the domestication of wolves by our human ancestors. The wolves that were more submissive were accepted and the more aggressive ones hunted.

The genes of the domesticated wolves were passed down, leading to the species we call today “Man's Best Friend”: Dogs. This technique is referred to as “Selective breeding”.

This practice is still continued today and can be seen in shows like Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Dogs are subject to unnatural grooming and sometimes eugenics to promote their chances at winning the title. The show is very similar to the beauty pageants that objectify women. 

Contrast this with the theory of natural selection proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859. Neil gives the example of how the population of bears evolve over generations.

In the Arctic regions, Polar bears enjoyed a distinct advantage over other bears with non-white colored bodies. This coloring helped polar bears camouflage themselves better and enjoy higher levels of success in hunting their prey. This led to the slow dying out of non-white bears over the passage of time.

Neil then focuses on the fact that that we human beings share a common ancestor with not only apes like chimpanzees and gorillas, but also trees, mushroom, sharks and owls. The only difference is in the DNA. Each and every living being has an unique DNA.

This is very significant in today's world where the exploitation and abuse of other living beings by humans has become the norm. Man is killing animals indiscriminately for superficial reasons like non-existent health benefits or trophy hunting or for making decorative items.

Take for example, the practice of killing rhinos for their horns or bear bile farming or the dog meat industry. In certain parts of the world, these objects are believed to hold medicinal value. For this reason, dogs are brutally tortured and killed (usually right in front of other dogs). Bears are kept in small cages for their entire life and subject to inhumane farming for their biles.

There is no scientific basis or proof for any health benefits from consuming these products. Rhino horns are made of Keratin, the same substance that constitutes human fingernails.

People need to see this show to realize that all living organisms share the same DNA. We humans need to understand this fact and respect the right of other living beings to live their life to the fullest on our planet.

We are then introduced to the “Tree of Life”, which represents the beauty of evolution. The trunk represents the common ancestor and each branch represents close relatives. The tree is 3.5 billion years old. The beauty and power of the natural theory of selection evolution is that it can disguise a bird as an animal and vice versa.

Another proof of the natural theory of evolution is the human eye. It is far more complex than any man made device.The show explains how a microbe would have developed the power of sight. Each living being that exists today has a different set of eyes, that provide them distinct advantages for survival.

The episode then takes a look at the natural calamities that have resulted in widespread destruction of life. There are five “Halls of Extinction”: Ordovician, Devonian, Triassic, Cretaceous and Permian. Each of these has led to mass extinction of life on earth, a process Neil refers to as “The Great Dying”.

Neil then introduces us to the Tardigrade or the Waterbear. This amazing organism is about the size of a pin head and can live in boiling water and solid ice. It can survive for ten years without a drop of water. It can travel naked in the cold vacuum or intense radiation. The Waterbear has survived all five mass extinctions.

The final part of the episode explores the possibility of life on Titan, Saturn's giant moon. Titan has a nitrogen rich atmosphere, similar to earth but is four times denser. But the atmosphere has no oxygen and is much more cooler than any parts of earth.

Using the “Ship of the Imagination”, Neil is able to visit Titan. Titan is so cold that rivers are frozen solid and are made of ethane and methane. These two elements form natural gas on our planet.

Life on earth depends on liquid water. We earthlings inhale oxygen and give out carbon dioxide. Neil theorizes that living beings on Titan would inhale hydrogen and exhale methane.

The episode concludes with a beautiful montage of how life evolved from an one celled organism to the most dominant species on our planet: Humans.

Dogs are my favorite animals and I enjoyed understanding the process of domestication. I also found the section on Titan very enlightening. I often read reports of UFOs and the possibility of extra-terrestrial life has always intrigued me.

But the most revealing part of the episode was the information about Tardigrade, the organism that has survived so many natural catastrophes and still continues to thrive.

As I mentioned earlier, the ending montage has been executed very well.

A very informative episode and a must watch for everyone.

Click here to read all my posts aboutNature. 

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BBC Sherlock Season 3 Episode # 1 "The Empty Hearse" - Review

April 27, 2014, 4:40 pm

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Dear Readers,

Having seen and enjoyed Season 3 of BBC Sherlock, I have decided to put down my thoughts.

The first episode “The Empty Hearse” has been long awaited by fans eager to unravel the mystery of how Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) survived his fall at the end of“The Reichenbach Fall”.

Readers who have not yet seen the episode are welcome to skip the rest of the post, if they wish to avoid plot details.

The opening scenes offer a quick recap of the closing scenes of “The Reichenbach Fall”. Sherlock is seen taking the help of Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey) and even shares a kiss with her. The body of the dead Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) is substituted for Sherlock's with the help of a mask.

This is yet another of the theories proposed by Anderson (Jonathan Aris) to the hapless Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves).  Lestrade is as usual dismissive of  this theory. We saw a similar scene being played out in the Christmas 2013 minisode “Many Happy Returns”.

Sherlock Holmes is being held captive and physically tortured. He manages to distract his captor through his deductions. The other person sitting nearby is revealed to be Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss).

Sherlock has been working his way to dismantle Moriarty's criminal empire. Mycroft needs Sherlock's assistance to thwart an impending terrorist threat to London. Sherlock promises Mycroft that he will work on the case.

Sherlock's immediate priority is to reunite with John Watson (Martin Freeman) and the rest of the usual gang. Mycroft informs Sherlock about John's whereabouts for the day and Sherlock plans a reunion.

Sherlock adds a touch of drama by improvising a quick disguise and a French accent to surprise John at the restaurant. John is about to propose to Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington). Sherlock's arrival not only shocks John, but also disrupts John's plans for the evening.

John is not happy with Sherlock's actions and expresses his displeasure by attacking Sherlock more than once. Mary promises to bring John around.

A disappointed Sherlock recruits Molly to be his assistant. John gets kidnapped and it is up to Sherlock to save both John and London.

The episode is a mixed bag, with far more misses than hits. The usually reliable Mark Gatiss spends a considerable amount of screentime to fan service. The theories about how Sherlock survived the fall are especially unpalatable. While some fans might be thrilled to see their fantasies come to life on the screen, I was taken aback.

There are also lot of meta references. Martin Freeman's finger gesture, Martin and Amanda being John and Mary, Benedict's real life parents Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham and Martin/John's remark about Benedict/Sherlock enjoying being Sherlock again.

This combination results in a weak episode. The climax is also arguably a big letdown. “The Empty Hearse” is in my opinion, the least watchable/entertaining among the ten episodes aired so far (including the Christmas minisode).

However, there are some delights to be had. I personally liked the deduction game between Sherlock and Mycroft involving a prospective client's hat at 221 B Baker Street. The scene refers to the deductions made by Sherlock Holmes about Henry Baker's hat in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.

The client scenes at 221 B Baker Street are enjoyable as always. Couple of these cases refer to A Case of Identity and The Adventure of the Creeping Man.

Another of my favorite scenes is the investigation of the “corpse”. I enjoyed Sherlock's comments about the corpse belonging to a shoddy Victorian outfit from a museum and being displayed on a dummy. Mark Gatiss has often commented about the overly serious nature of certain Sherlock Holmes adaptations. This is clearly Mark's handiwork, done is true Sherlock style.

Benedict Cumberbatch continues his superlative turn as Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective. It is a tribute to his acting skills that despite the previously mentioned weaknesses in the script, he manages to deliver such an impressive performance.

I especially liked Sherlock's reunion with Greg the best. Perfectly acted by both Benedict and Rupert, this was both humorous and touching in equal measure. The closing scene where Benedict dons the deerstalker nicely captures the essence of how perfectly he has been cast as Sherlock Holmes.

Martin also displays his acting chops in the scene with the old seller of books/DVDs. A double reference to Dr Verner (The Adventure of the Norwood Builder) and The Adventure of the Empty House.

 

Mary reading out aloud John's blog entry was another nice touch. She almost read verbatim few lines from The Sign of the Four. The rest of that blog entry refers to the plot of The Adventure of the Speckled Band.

Speaking of references, Mark Gatiss has included a number of nods to the Canon. Please click here to read all the Canonical references.

Another plus is that the season really picks up with the second episode“The Sign of Three”.

Recommended to fans of the series. Watching the episode with lowered expectations will definitely help increase the enjoyment factor. 

Click here to read all my posts about BBC Sherlock. 

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Canonical Nods in "The Empty Hearse"

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Fargo Season 1 Episode # 3 "A Muddy Road" - Recap and Review

April 30, 2014, 5:19 pm

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As the episode opens, Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) abducts one Mr Phil McCormick from his office. Phil's naked dead body is found in the snow the next day.

Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) is working on the case and finally gets a look at Lorne, thanks to the surveillance footage in the building.

Lorne figures out that Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt), his boss is being blackmailed by Don Chumph (Glenn Howerton), the personal trainer of his wife, Helena Milos (Allegra Fulton).

Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks), a member of the Duluth Police Department is haunted by the night he stopped Lorne's car due to reckless driving. Lorne's masterful behaviour unnerves Gus, who lets him go with a warning.

Gus runs the number plates and discovers that the car driven by Lorne on that night, belongs to Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman).

Gus realizes that Lorne might be responsible for the triple murders at Bemidji, Minnesota.

Lester is sent by his boss, Bo Munk (Tom Musgrave) to meet Gina Hess (Kate Walsh) about the insurance settlement of her late husband Sam Hess (Kevin O'Grady).

Gina Hess (Kate Walsh) tries to seduce Lester, before they are interrupted by the Hess boys. Lester is surprised to learn that the Hess house is being watched by Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg) and Mr. Wench (Russell Harvard).

Molly is still convinced about Lester's involvement in the crimes. Under the pretext of getting an insurance, she discreetly shows him the surveillance picture of Lorne. Lester gets unnerved and much to her displeasure, her boss Deputy Bill Oswalt (Bob Odenkirk) still blindly believes in Lester's innocence.

Gus heads out to Bemidji with his daughter, Greta (Joey King) and discusses his suspicions about Lester with Molly.

The episode closes as Stavros is bathed in blood while taking shower and a smiling Lorne is seen leaving the house.

Fargo is turning out to be one of the best TV shows I have seen in a long time.

Martin Freeman does a good job with his accent. Readers who enjoy his work as John Watson on Sherlock will undoubtedly appreciate his performance as Lester Nygaard.

Billy Bob Thornton is the standout performer in the show and he is excellent here as well. His deadpan facial expressions and dialogue delivery make Lorne Malvo an unforgettable character. This is my introduction to Billy Bob's acting skills and I will be checking out his other work as well.

Allison Tollman is also impressive as the hapless Molly, who is unable to solve the case and more importantly confirm her suspicions about the shifty Lester. Her passion to solve the case and catch the killer of her mentor and former Chief of Police, Vern Thurman (Shawn Doyle) is palpable.

The show is set 20 years after the incidents in the original movie that took place in 1986. The show has nice references to the original. The characters of Lester Nygaard and Molly Solverson are nods to William H Macy's character Jerry Lundegaard and Frances McDormand's Marge Gunderson respectively. Mo Buck is also a tip of the hat to Steve Buscemi's character Carl Showalter.

The screenplay, the dialogues and the humor in this series bear the signature touches of the Coen Brothers - Brilliant and Dark. Writing, Acting, Directing, Cinematography... The cast and crew deserve applause for their excellent work. 

The Coen Brothers are my favorite movie directors. I am a big fan of their movies: Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, True Grit, Barton Fink and Fargo.

 

These are some of the best works of art I have seen. Their ability to create such engrossing pictures without the need to resort to big budget set pieces or any attempt to tug at heartstrings has to be seen to be believed. Each of the above movies are certifiable masterpieces with relatable/believable human characters, brilliant screenplay, stunning cinematography and most of all, superb direction.

A must watch for fans of the Coen Brothers/Fargo/Thrillers.

Trivia

Faure's Requiem is heard in the following scenes:

• Lorne meets Stavros after his pet dog is killed
• Lester practices shooting with his brother.  

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Fargo Season 1 Episode # 4 "Eating the Blame" - Recap and Review

May 8, 2014, 12:35 am

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As the episode opens in 1987, a much younger Stavros Milos is traveling with his wife and son in his car. He is down and out on his luck and is seeking new fortunes. He soon discovers a briefcase full of cash.

Cut to the present. Stavros (Oliver Platt) hires Don Chumph (Glenn Howerton) to get his pipes repaired, after he had a literal bloodbath in his shower. The plumber quotes Bible and angers Stavros. While leaving the house, he notices a man watching the house.

Deputy Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) runs into Lorne Malvos (Billy Bob Thornton), who is spying on the Stavros house. Gus arrests Lorne, who continues to threaten his captor during the ride to the police station.

Back in Bemidji, Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) is still focussed on Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman). She is informed by Gus about his arrest of Lorne.

Her efforts to visit Duluth gets stymied by her still incredulous boss, Chief Bill Oswalt (Bob Odenkirk). Bill drives down to Duluth Police Department to take a look at the suspect. Lorne is let go, much to Gus' dismay and puzzlement.

Lester gets abducted by Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg) and Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) and is thrown into the car. Lester calls his brother Chaz Nygaard (Joshua Close) for help and then pretends to be playing a practical joke.

Lester makes his escape and notices Deputy Knudsen (Gary Valentine) standing nearby. Lester punches the police officer in order to get arrested.

Stavros is getting increasingly restless and paranoid. His supermarket store, “Phoenix Farms” is soon under attack by swarms of crickets. He receives a ransom demand of one million US dollars.

Gus meets up with Molly and poses her the same question, he himself was asked by Lorne: “Do you know the human eye can see more shades of green than any other color?”

Molly answers the aforementioned Lorne's riddle as saying that humans needed to be alert and observant to detect the presence of predators amidst all the greenery present in the forest.

Mr Numbers and Mr Wrench get into a fight in a bar and end up sharing the jail cell with Lester.

This was another strong episode. The humor is dark and hits the funny bone.

Billy Bob Thornton gives another captivating performance. His impersonation of “Frank Peterson”, the minister from Baudette during the interrogation scene was spot on and amusing. Billy is quite a revelation in his role.

The acting is solid from the rest of the cast. I have enjoyed Gary Valentine's performance in The King of Queens and it was a pleasant surprise to see him turn up here. 

The scene with Mr Numbers and Mr Wrench in Lou Solverson's restaurant was hilarious.

A highly recommended watch for fans of the Coen Brothers/Fargo/Thrillers.

Click here to read all my posts related to Fargo.

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Fargo Season 1 Episode # 5 "The Six Ungraspables" - Recap and Review

May 15, 2014, 2:14 am

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Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) is forced to reveal the name of Lorne Malvo to his cellmates Mr.Numbers (Adam Goldberg) and Mr.Wrench (Russell Harvard). He further reveals that Lorne took his car to Duluth.

Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) is still on Lester's heels. She has obtained his phone records on the night, his wife and the ex police chief were killed.

A call had been placed to the motel where Lorne was staying. This piece of information finally convinces Chief Bill Oswalt (Bob Odenkirk) that something is amiss.

Deputy Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) has his daughter Greta (Joey King) look up Pastor Peterson from Baudette.

Lorne is back to Calamity Joe (Roger LeBlanc) to get a police scanner. He visits Don Chumph (Glenn Howerton) and prepares to extort the ransom money from Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt).

A guilt ridden Gus shares his anguish with his neighbor, who advises him that only a fool tries to solve all the world's problems.

Stavros's son, Dmitri (Gordon S. Miller) does some investigation of his own and discovers that the troubles plaguing his father are very much man-made. However Stavros is too much into his religious beliefs and refuses to heed Dmitri's advice.

Molly revisits Lester's house for clues. Lester is taken to the hospital, where Molly learns that the pregnant Ida Thurman (Julie Ann Emery) has just given birth.

Molly checks in on Lester in his hospital room. Lester pretends to be asleep and Molly leaves the room.

This was a good episode. The writing is sharp and witty. The casting continues to be solid with a couple of new additions and there is not a single weak link in the chain.

The show is at its best whenever Billy Bob Thornton is onscreen. His conversations with Calamity Joe and especially with Stavros during the ride is hilarious and amusing. Equally good is his discussion about house safety precautions. The concerned neighbor calls him “Se'irim”, the term for demon in the Hebrew Bible.

The shooting scene at Lester's place was beautifully shot. The attention to details and the graphical rendering was superb. Kudos to the technical crew.

The hapless Lester undergoes considerable torture and Martin does a great job with his American accent and acting.

Molly's “Yeah” in the hospital reminded me of Frances McDormand's character from the 1996 original.

Recommended to fans of thrillers/dramas/Coen Brothers.

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X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Recap and Review

May 24, 2014, 10:21 am

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This post discusses the movie in detail. Readers who wish to avoid plot spoilers are recommended to skip the rest of the post.

The movie opens in a futuristic world, where mutants and the humans who support them are systemically eliminated by mutant hunting robots called Sentinels. Most of the mutants have been captured/killed.

We get a measure of the Sentinel's effectiveness when they attack a bunch of mutants. Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), Blink (Bingbing Fan), Colossus (Daniel Cudmore), Sunspot (Adan Canto), Warpath (Booboo Stewart), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Bishop (Omar Sy) are no match for their nemeses. The sentinels adapt quickly to their opponent's powers and easily subdue them.

As Kitty explains to Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellen), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry), her ability to transport a fellow mutant's consciousness back in time helps avoid these attacks.

Professor Xavier decides that the only way to prevent this grim future is to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating Dr Boliver Trask (Peter Dinklage), the scientist who developed Sentinels. This 1973 incident sparked the outrage against mutants. Mystique is captured shortly thereafter and her unique shapeshifting abilities are used to make the Sentinels a highly adaptable and undefeatable mutant killers.

Wolverine volunteers to be the time traveler due to his healing abilities. Wolverine enlists the help of the younger versions of Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender respectively.

The younger Charles has since lost his way after the incidents inX-Men: First Class. Hank McAvoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) has devised a solution that helps Charles walk, but in return suppresses his mutant powers.

Magneto is being held in a prison stronghold under the Pentagon, after being implicated in JFK's assassination. Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff (Evan Peters) helps release Magneto in a dazzling rescue mission.

The rest of the movie deals with the group's attempts to stop Mystique from her single-minded mission to kill Trask. The climax alternates between the aforementioned event in 1973 and the future, where the Sentinels have tracked down the mutants.

Bryan Singer returns to the comic book franchise, he started way back in 2000. He has always focussed on the analogy between X-Men and the persecuted sections of human society. This time, he also highlights the fact that we are what we make of ourselves. Our lives are dictated by the choices we make.

As finely executed the action scenes are and the humor is enjoyable, this crucial message is the best aspect of X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Another enjoyable aspect is the number of nods to the previous movies (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: First Class). It is quite understandable that X-Men Origins: Wolverine was completely ignored.

The movie has a large ensemble cast (even by the usual Bryan Singer's X-Men movie standards).

To Singer's credit, he does an excellent job. Each character and actor gets their fair share of the limelight. Obviously, not all of them get the same amount of screentime. Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore as well as the newly introduced set of mutants are more like extended cameos.

I liked the teamwork between Storm and Ian McKellen's Magneto in the climax. It was a rare collaboration and an epic one at that.

Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence get a lion's share of the screen time. Hugh Jackman provides most of the humor through his one-liners. His work as Logan in this movie is a return to form, as seen in the first two X-Men movies (also directed by Singer, no coincidence I am sure).

Jennifer Lawrence is adequate as Mystique. I personally prefer the Rebecca Romijn version. Rebecca made Mystique the classic femme fatale and a genuine menace. Jennifer does not have the same impact in her performance.

James McAvoy gives a poignant turn as the mentally tortured Charles Xavier. Like the previous movie, he has the more underplayed role (compared to Fassbender's Magneto) and he continues to make a great Prof X.

Equally good but criminally underused is Evan Peters as Quicksilver. As noted in other reviews, his rescue of Magneto is quite possibly the best scene in the movie - superbly conceptualized and executed. Evan's performance is amusing and hilarious. It is a shame that he is written off so quickly. Hope we will see more of him in the upcoming sequel: X-Men: Apocalypse.

All said and done, the movie belongs to Michael Fassbender (at least in my humble opinion). He is magnificent as Magneto and takes the movie to a whole different class (no pun intended) by his sheer presence.

Fassbender's Magneto goes berserk in the climax and this will be a feast for any fan of the Master of Magnetism.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Peter Dinklage's portrayal of the movie's main antagonist, Dr. Boliver Trask. The movie does not present a clear explanation for Trask's drive to develop the Sentinels to get rid of mutants.

In X2: X-Men United, William Stryker had similar ambitions, but at least Brian Cox managed to leave an impression in the role. Interestingly, a younger version of William Stryker is played by Josh Helman in this movie. He is kind of a right hand man to Dinklage's Trask and is equally lifeless in the role, just maintaining a smug/angry expression throughout.

There are also cameos by James Marsden (Cyclops), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), Kelsey Grammer (Beast) and Anna Paquin (Rogue) in the closing scene, as Wolverine wakes up in the X-Mansion.

The latest X-Men movie shares its name with the 1981 storyline, written by Chris Claremont and John Bryne. There are significant differences between the two. In the original story, Kitty Pryde travels back in time to stop the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly (played by Bruce Davison in the 2000 movie X-Men) by Mystique and her Brotherhood of Mutants. In the movie, Wolverine is sent back by Kitty to stop Mystique from killing Dr Boliver Trask.

Though the movie gets chatty and slows down considerably at some points, the climax and Fassbender's performance make up for these lapses.

Highly recommended for fans of Michael Fassbender/Magneto.

PS: Do not miss the post credits teaser for the sequel: X-Men: Apocalypse. The scene shows a group of people chanting “En Sabah Nur” and worshipping a hooded figure as he assembles a huge pyramid using the powers of telekinesis. The mysterious figure is revealed to be a grey skinned young man. Also seen in the background are the four Horsemen of Apocalypse.

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Image Sources: Bad Hat Harry Productions, Marvel Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Dune Entertainment

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The Wolverine (2013)

X-Men: First Class

BBC Sherlock Season 3 Episode # 2 "The Sign of Three" - Recap and Review

June 1, 2014, 10:06 pm

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At the end of “The Empty Hearse”, Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman) are back in business at 221 B Baker Street for new cases. A mysterious figure was seen, watching the recorded video of Sherlock rescuing John Watson.

Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves) and Sergeant Sally Donovan (Vinette Robinson) have been working hard to solve a series of bank robberies. Just as Lestrade is about to make the arrest, he gets a phone call from Sherlock, asking for his immediate presence at 221 B.

Overriding Sally's objections, Lestrade rushes to Sherlock's apartment with heavy backup, in attendance. Concerned by the urgent nature of Sherlock's request, Lestrade is prepared for almost any contigency.

But to his surprise, Sherlock merely asks for his assistance to draft the Best Man's Speech at the wedding of John and Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington). This scene sets the tone for the rest of the episode: a fun and light one, featuring a Sherlock as we have never seen before.

On the D-day, Sherlock makes a very interesting speech, comprised of recollections of previous cases and their stag night among other details.

Some of these cases include The Poison Giant, The Matchbox, The Mayfly Man, The Bloodied Soldier, The Elephant in the Room, The 3 husbands. The Poison Giant is a reference to The Sign of the Four. The Matchbox alludes to The Thor Bridge, in which Dr Watson mentions in passing about Isadora Persano.

The one involving the Mayfly Man is the most significant one from plot perspective and occupies a significant amount of screentime.

Sherlock and John get heavily drunk during the stag night. Sherlock almost comes to blows with another bar patron. Back at 221 B, Sherlock and John play the game of 20 Questions, with Sherlock being Sherlock Holmes and John being Madonna. This scene has couple of great Canonical References via the questions asked by Sherlock.

A client, Tessa (Alice Lowe) shows up, asking for Sherlock's assistance about a mysterious man she dated. Sherlock passes out at the apartment, where the Mayfly Man dated Tessa. Sherlock and John end up in jail and are bailed out by Lestrade.

Another case is that of the Bloodied Soldier, that Sherlock leaves unsolved.

As Sherlock continues to deliver his Best Man Speech, he hits upon a clue to solve the Mayfly Man case. Sherlock discovers that the Mayfly Man is present at the wedding itself and is about to murder someone.

Sherlock deduces that the intended victim is Major James Sholto (Alistair Petrie), John's former commanding officer. Major Sholto has been living in anonymity following the deaths of several men under his command.

Sherlock captures Sholto's potential killer, Jonathan Small (Jalaal Hartley) the substitute photographer for the wedding.

Based on the novel, The Sign of the Four (SIGN), this episode has been written by Steve Thompson and directed by Colm McCarthy. Steve has made some significant changes to the original story - In SIGN, Major Sholto was the friend of Mary Morstan's father, Captain Arthur Morstan. In this adaptation, it is John who has served under Sholto. Similarly, Jonathan Small in SIGN, wanted revenge on Major Sholto and Captain Morstan for stealing the treasure that duly belonged to Small and his three Indian friends. Here, Small is hellbent on killing Sholto for the death of his brother. Small cleverly works up his way among Sholto's workforce, by dating the women as the Mayfly Man until he figures out that Major Sholto will be attending John's wedding. Small even practices his modus operandi on Bainbridge (Alfie Enoch) to make sure that his actual murder attempt on Sholto is completed successfully.

This episode is a big step up from the previous one, “The Empty Hearse”.

Benedict Cumberbatch gets to show his versatile acting talents to great success. Sherlock's reaction to Molly's description of her physical intimacy with her current boyfriend, Tom (Ed Birch) is hilarious. Despite taking on the role of the Best Man and delivering the speech against his own wishes, Sherlock does an amazing job.

As John Watson writes in A Scandal in Bohemia: “It was not merely that Holmes changed his costume. His expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every fresh part that he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime.” Full credit to Benedict for bringing life to these immortal lines of Arthur Conan Doyle. 

Benedict's rapidfire delivery of the line: “The who, the what, the when, the why, the where?” in response to Archie's theory about the invisible man was amazing.

Benedict has a good chemistry with Yasmine Akram as Janine, the bridesmaid. I liked his confession of his love for dancing and the subsequent little “dance” routine he performs for her.

I also liked his quick jump over the table. He projects Sherlock's physical vitality effortlessly. As John Watson writes in The Sign of the Four: "He mounted the steps, and, seizing a rafter with either hand, he swung himself up into the garret. Then, lying on his face, he reached down for the lamp and held it while I followed him."

The rest of the cast get their own share of the limelight. Rupert Graves (when he bails out Sherlock and John), Una Stubbs (while explaining her whirlwind romance with Mr Hudson to John), Louise Brealey (during the aforementioned scene with Sherlock).

Alice Lowe makes a great guest star. Hope to see more of her in the upcoming season(s). 

Click here to read all the Canonical references in the episode. 

Click here to read all my posts about BBC Sherlock.

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Canonical Nods in "The Empty Hearse"

Canonical Nods in "The Sign of Three"

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Fargo Season 1 Finale Episode # 10 "Morton's Fork" - Recap and Review

July 3, 2014, 12:18 am

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This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to see the episode are recommended to skip the rest of the post, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

After seeing his second wife getting killed by Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) decides to go to Lou's Coffee Shop.

The local cops soon converge on the crime scene as does Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman).

Lester pretends to be innocent of the circumstances surrounding his wife's death. Molly and the FBI Agents Pepper (Keegan-Michael Key) and Budge (Jordan Peele) interrogate Lester.

Lester under the pretext of being affected by the death of his spouse, gets away.

Lou Solverson (Keith Carradine) informs Molly about Lorne's visit and Lorne's conversation with him about Lester's whereabouts. He personally keeps vigil outside Molly's home to protect Greta Grimly (Joey King).

Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) also sets out to help Molly and spots the red BMW he saw Lorne driving earlier.

Lorne abducts a car salesman and makes him follow the FBI Agents as they escort Lester to his house. Lorne kills the agents shortly and proceeds in his attempt to kill Lester.

Lester has laid a trap used to catch animals and Lorne's leg get struck. He is able to inflict injury on Lester, before escaping to safety.

As Lorne painstakingly performs some home grown techniques to set his injured bones straight, he realizes that he has become the prey to another predator lurking nearby.

Gus informs Lorne that he has figured out his puzzle about shades of green before proceeding to shoot him multiple times, ensuring his death.

The police arrive shortly and Gus shows Molly the tapes maintained by Lorne. Molly listens to the call made by Lester to Lorne on the night he murdered his first wife.

A couple of weeks later, authorities catch up to Lester Nygaard in Glacier National Park, Montana. He tries to flee and falls to his death as the icecaps break around him.

Molly becomes the Chief of Police, Bemidji and Gus gets a citation for bravery.

This was a exciting finale to one of the best TV shows I have seen in a long time.

The acting has been consistently good right from the start and this episode is no different. Billy Bob Thornton continues to lead the ensemble cast in acting honors. Lorne Malvo is one of the most memorable characters and all credit to Billy Bob. His final scene with Gus Grimly was epic. A fitting farewell to a classic character.

Martin Freeman, Allison Tolman and Colin Hanks continue to get lion's share of the screentime. All of them are exceptional actors and are believable in their roles.

In addition to these main players, Keith Carradine as Lou Solverson, and Keegan-Michael Key and Budge Jordan Peele as the hapless yet hilarious agents get their share of the limelight.

Keith has some great character moments with Molly, Gus and especially with Greta. 

Bob Odenkirk as Bill Oswalt has a nice scene where he accepts his inability to perform his job and expresses his intention to recommend Molly for his position.

The cinematography is superb and the music too enhances the gripping quality of the show.

This was a great show and a worthy tribute to the original by the Coen Brothers.

A must watch for fans of the Coen Brothers/Fargo/Thrillers.

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The Strain Season 1 Episode # 1 "Night Zero" - Recap and Review

July 18, 2014, 1:21 am

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Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite directors and I love most of his movies (Pan's Labyrinth, Mimic, Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Blade II). I have also enjoyed the movies he has produced like Mama, The Orphanage and Julia's Eyes.

Guillermo has also co-authored with Chuck Hogan, “The Strain”, a vampire horror trilogy. The books are being adapted as a FX TV Series, with the active participation of del Toro.

The first episode “Night Zero” aired today. This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to read the episode are recommended to skip the rest of the post, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

In the opening scene, a male voiceover talks about the hunger known as “love” and how it defines us as humans. 

A flight Regis Air 753 from Berlin is approaching touchdown at the JFK airport. One of the flight attendants, Rose (Karen Glave) is contacted by her co-worker, Peter (Adriano Sobretodo Jr.) for immediate help.

Peter is convinced that there is something moving in the cargo. Shortly, a hooded black figure attacks both of them.

The flight lands at the airport. The ground crew does not receive any response from the flight crew. Concerned with this situation, they decide to call in the official agencies including the CDC.

Dr Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather (Corey Stoll) is the Chief Medical Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is late again for the last of his court mandated family therapy sessions. His wife, Kelly Goodweather (Natalie Brown) is concerned about his inability to being a good husband and father to their son Zack (Ben Hyland).

Eph is informed about the Regis Air emergency. He reaches the airport and is met by Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and Jim Kent (Sean Astin).

We also meet Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley), an aging pawn shop owner who is more than what meets the eye. He deftly handles a couple of shoplifting street thugs.

Abraham learns about the airport incident on the news and realizes that “He” is back. He has a beating heart stored in a jar and feeds it his own blood to keep it alive.

Eph and Nora enter the plane wearing containment suits. They notice a lot of ammonia present and also that the passengers show no signs of any infection or struggle.

After switching to UV lights, they notice lot of biological stains inside the plane. There are four survivors so far: Captain Redfern (Jonathan Potts), vain celebrity Gabriel Bolivar (Jack Kesy), ambitious attorney Joan Luss (Leslie Hope) and timid Ansel Barbour (Nikolai Witschl).

At the Stoneheart group building, a mysterious Thomas Eichhorst (Richard Sammel) visits elderly billionaire Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde). Eldritch's right-hand man, Mr Fitzwilliams (Roger R. Cross) hesitates to interrupt his employer's ongoing dialysis.

Jim informs Eph about the discovery of a finely hand carved box about 9 feet tall containing soil. Nora notices that the coffin has an inside latch.

Eph asks Bishop, a ground crew worker to make inquires about the mysterious cabinet. Even as he makes the call, Bishop hears some voices inside his head and is led to a secluded place. He is brutally murdered by the same mysterious figure that attacked the flight attendants.

Eichhorst also visits Gus Elizalde (Miguel Gomez), a Mexican gangster and entrusts with the task of moving the coffin. He offers Gus the reward of having his beloved mother's immigration status cleared in return for his work.

Dr Bennett (Jeffrey R. Smith) performs autopsy of the dead passengers and discovers that their blood has turned white and opalescent. All of them also have a precise incision in their necks.

Abraham meets Eph and Nora and asks them to destroy the bodies of all passengers, whether alive or dead. He further asks them to destroy the coffin as the only way to destroy him. Eph has the seemingly raving Abraham arrested by the cops.

Eph and Nora realize the importance of the box and rush to investigate it. The box is missing and Eph orders Jim to ensure that it is not carried out of the airport. Gus, with Jim's help is able to get the coffin out of the airport.

The corpses come to life at the CDC and feed on Dr Bennett.

Gus is happy with his latest assignment and calls to check on his mother. He does not seem to be as concerned with his brother, Crispin (Francis Capra).

One of the dead passengers, Emma Arnot (Isabelle Nélisse) returns to her father Gary (Steven McCarthy) and he happily embraces her.

The episode closes with Abraham Setrakian's voiceover quote: “Love is our grace. Love is our downfall”.

This episode was directed by Guillermo del Toro and his touches can be felt throughout the episode -  the way the episode has been shot and colored, the character development, the humor and the focus on the very human emotion of Love

Eph's description of the way a virus is transmitted was done well.

Acting is solid across the board. I liked Corey Stoll (Eph), David Bradley (Abraham Setrakian) and Miguel Gomez (Gus Elizalde).

Miguel has some of the best lines in the show and looks to be the standout performer.

This is Guillermo doing what he does best: a character driven piece with aspects of horror thrown in for good measure.

Hats off to him for successfully bringing the book to life. I look forward to Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand) making his appearance on the show.

This is one of the best 90 minutes of TV show I have seen. The recently concluded Fargo was another very well done show (also from FX Networks). If the show maintains the same level of quality, FX has another massive hit on their hands.

A must watch for fans of Guillermo del Toro/Horror genre.

Trivia

• The folk song “Maggie” can be heard playing on the radio in the first scene with Abraham Setrakian.
• The song “Sweet Caroline” can he heard playing on the radio, when Dr Bennett is attacked by the dead flight passengers at the CDC.

Click here to read all my posts related to Guillermo del Toro. 

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Happy Birthday, Vasily Livanov and Benedict Cumberbatch

July 19, 2014, 2:37 pm

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Two of my favorite Sherlock Holmes actors, Vasily Livanov and Benedict Cumberbatch were both born on this day in 1935 and 1976 respectively.

Vasily makes a great Victorian Holmes and Benedict a superb modern version. In my humble opinion, these two actors present two of the best performances as Holmes among the 75+ actors to have portrayed Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective so far.

Wishing both of them Many Happy Returns of the day!

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Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes

The Strain Season 1 Episode # 2 "The Box" - Recap and Review

July 21, 2014, 1:30 am

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This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to read the episode are recommended to skip the rest of the post, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

The episode begins with a quick recap of the previous episode, “Night Zero”.

Gus Elizalde (Miguel Gomez) delivers the box to its destination and tries to figure out its contents. The grumbling noises and the roars coming from inside the box scare away Gus who flees the garage running at full speed.

We are introduced to the Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand), Inspector at City Pest Control. The big muscular chap works on eliminating the rat problem in the city and not surpisingly has a pet cat. This reminded me of  Hellboy (another del Toro favorite) also having a lot of pet cats.

At the cargo area in JFK airport, Dr Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll), Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and Jim Kent (Sean Astin) examine Peter Bishop's corpse. As readers might remember, Bishop was attacked and murdered by the Master in the previous episode.

Nora notices ammonia discharge, similar to the one inside the doomed flight Regis Air 753.

Dr Everett Barnes (Daniel Kash) releases the four survivors. Eph tries to keep them under quarantine on his authority.

Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) plans to release disinformation campaign to counter CDC's stranglehold on the passengers. The blame is placed on the airline company's negligence to safety standards. This is supposed to be the cause of the casualties.

Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel) goes to meet Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) in jail and refers to him by his Jewish concentration camp number “A230385”. Thomas was in charge of Abraham's concentration camp during World War II.

Thomas also asks if his antique sword belongs to “Sardu”. Eichhorst further taunts Abraham by asking if he still keeps “her” heart.

Abraham retorts by informing Eichhorst that he had slain Eichhorst's friend Dreverhaven and that he will be joining his dead friend soon.

Crispin (Francis Capra) gifts the clock, he stole from Abraham's pawnshop, to his mother. Gus chastises him for presenting their mother with a stolen item and decides to return the clock to its rightful owner.

Margaret Pierson, Secretary of Human and Health Services informs Eph that the flight incident is now under the control of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Barnes tries to calm down Eph by advising him about his personal life. Eph loses his cool and grabs his superior by his collar. Barnes promptly removes Eph from the case and orders him to go on leave for a few days.

Eph tries unsuccessfully to reach Dr Bennett at the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Captain Redfern (Jonathan Potts) meets Eph and Nora at a bar. He lets them know that some government agents has brought the box to the flight cargo.

Eph and Nora run some chemical tests to determine the nature of the agent that caused the death of the flight passengers.

The duty conscious Vasiliy is making an inspection in a restaurant on a Sunday. Meanwhile, Gabriel “Gabe” Bolivar (Jack Kesy), his manager Ruby Wain (Regina King) and Joan Luss (Leslie Hope) discuss about their strategy to make money from the Regis incident.

Gabe discusses with Joan about hearing the humming noise inside his head. Joan agrees that she too hears the same. Joan notices blood in her drink and realizes that she has blood in her mouth.

Vasiliy uses his authority to close down the restaurant and orders the patrons to leave.

Eldritch and his assistant/bodyguard Mr Fitzwilliams (Roger R. Cross) get ready to meet the Master. Mr Fitzwilliams is not comfortable with his employer's deal with Thomas Eichhorst and suggests having a backup plan. Eldritch disregards his bodyguard's advice and declares that he is more excited for the upcoming meeting that anything else in his life.

Eph meets Zach (Ben Hyland) before their court custody appearance. Eph has a very uncomfortable man-to-man talk with Kelly's new boyfriend Matt Sayles (Drew Nelson).

Eph attends an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Eph confirms his committment to remain sober solely for the sake of Zack.

During one of his orgies at his townhouse, Gabe can hear the blood pumping inside one of the girls and bites her real hard. After the girls leave, Gabe continues to licks the blood on the floor.

Redfern's pathological report reveals that his body is undergoing metamorphosis. Under the UV light, they notice some movements inside his skin.

Gary Arnot (Steven McCarthy) contacts Eph to thank him for releasing his daughter, Emma (Isabelle Nélisse) to him.

Mr Fitzwilliams gives a friendly warning to Eldritch about his suspicions about Thomas. Eldritch sees the Master's face and is left whimpering in fear.

Eph and Nora reach the CDC office to check on Dr Bennett and the corpses. They realize that all the corpses are gone.

Emma is lying in the bathtub. When Gary approaches her, she attacks him with her newly developed stinger.

The show is getting on nicely with the second episode building on the events that took place previously. 

Kevin Durand and Regina Hope are the new newcomers. They are welcome additions to the show and enliven the show with their screen presence.

I liked the exchange between Abraham Setrakian and Thomas Eichorst in the jail. This conversation revealed Abraham's backstory and explained his rivalry with Eichorst.

Corey Stoll's discussion with Drew Nelson's character was funny. Credit to Corey for bringing in some much needed humor to the proceedings that can get quite grim.

Special mention must be made of Leslie Hope as ambitious attorney Joan Luss. She sells the concept of an infected victim undergoing change really well.

Guillermo del Toro has put in a lot of efforts to make the show an enjoyable treat for his fans and it shows. The makeup, the sets and the atmosphere - they are consistently excellent and bear the stamp of a master craftsman at work.

Recommended watch for fans of del Toro and/or Horror genre.

Trivia

• The song “I Love You” from Barney can be heard in the closing scene, when Gary Arnot is attacked by his changed daughter.

Click here to read all my posts related to The Strain. 

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Image Sources: FX Networks, TheTVDen.com, DelToroFilms.com

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The Strain - Night Zero

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The Strain Season 1 Episode # 3 "Gone Smooth" - Recap and Review

July 28, 2014, 2:22 am

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This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to watch the episode are recommended to skip it, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

In the opening scene, classical music plays in the background, a man with a disfigured face puts on his make up of passing off as a normal human being. The man is revealed to be Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel), who declares that soon there will be no need for charade.

Dr Everett Barnes (Daniel Kash) is questioned by Dr Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll), Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and Jim Kent (Sean Astin) about the missing corpses. Everett reminds Eph that officially he is no longer assigned to the case.

Ansel Barbour (Nikolai Witschl) discovers that something is wrong with this teeth. His high strung wife, Ann-Marie (Alex Paxton-Beesley) is concerned about his health and advises him to take rest.

Jim has his own doubts about the missing box and goes to visit Eldritch Palmer. Eichorst bribes Jim by proposing a very highly selective and rare medical treatment for Jim's wife, Slyvia (Melanie Merkosky).

Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) faces the legal ramifications as a result of his outburst at the JFK airport. The judge pointedly asks about his silver sword and Abraham responds that it is an object of sentimental value to him. He promises to destroy it and is let go.

Nora attends the court proceedings and tries to get more information about the corpses from Abraham. Abraham again asks her to destroy the corpses and anyone who might have come in contact with them.

In the court mandated session, Zachary Goodweather (Ben Hyland) suggests that he would prefer a weekly visit or two from Eph. Zack is convinced that Eph's job is more important to him.

Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand) notices a steep hike in reports about incidents involving rats. Fet's latest assignment involves the daughter of a person of influence. After taking care of the

Ansel's pet German Shepherd notices the change in it's master. Ansel drinks the blood from a refrigerated piece of meat, even as his horrified wife watches.

Eph visits Gary Arnot's house to check on him and his daughter. He notices the blood-red water in the bathtub. He gets a phone call and leaves in a hurry. Emma Arnot (Isabelle Nélisse) is seen hiding behind a door.

Goth celebrity Gabe Bolivar (Jack Kesy) notices something wrong with his private parts. His personal doctor advises him to see an urologist right away. Gabe's frontal genitalia parts are missing.

Abraham Setrakian secures the passenger manifest of Regis Air 573 and is determined to complete his mission of destroying the corpses.

Thomas Eichorst visits a man in his office and murders him with his own handgun, making it look like suicide.

Captain Redfern (Jonathan Potts) escapes just before his operation is about to begin. He has been transformed and attacks Jim and then Nora with his newly developed stinger. Eph subdues him with a fire extinguisher.

Finally, we are getting to see some action. David Bradley continues to give the best performance among the ensemble cast. Richard Sammel also makes an impact as the villanous Eichorst.

The rest of the cast are just about adequate. Gus Elizalde (Miguel Gomez) was absent in this episode. Looking forward to his return.

The scenes involving Emma Arnot reminded me of the movie, Mama. Isabelle stole the limelight in that movie, produced by Guillermo del Toro had produced that movie.

The plot development feels a tad slow. Redfern's transformation was long overdue.

The editing seems to be abrupt. The transition between scenes is quite abrupt and felt very sudden. For example, a scene involving Gabe was just too brief and did not contribute to his storyline.

The novel too had a similar flow - alternating between different characters, as they changed/reacted to the virus outbreak. But something seems to be lost in the translation to small screen. Hope the creative powers behind the show work out this drawback before the show loses the interest of the audience. 

Click here to read all my posts related to The Strain.

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You might also like:

The Strain - Night Zero

The Strain - The Box

The Strain Season 1 Episode # 4 "It's Not for Everyone" - Recap and Review

August 4, 2014, 5:16 am

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This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to watch the episode are recommended to skip it, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

Dr Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll), Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and Jim Kent (Sean Astin) discuss their options about what to do with Captain Redfern's (Jonathan Potts) body. Eph wants to perform an autopsy to figure out what is going on. Jim expresses his concern, but is overridden when Nora supports Eph.

Ann-Marie Barbour (Alex Paxton-Beesley) and Ansel Barbour (Nikolai Witschl) decide to move their kids to someplace else. Ansel declines Ann's offer to call on their family doctor Dr. Barrett, but insists to keep their family German shepherd pet, Gertie with him.

Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) hires Dutch Velders (Ruta Gedmintus), an internet hacker to create a retaliation campaign against major corporations through an online group (“Citizens for Liberty”). Dutch slows down/shuts downs internet servers and helps create an atmosphere of disinformation. It is also revealed that the individual murdered by Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel) was the CEO of Regis Air.

Eph cuts open Redfern's body and removes the six foot long stinger. Jim confesses about his involvement in moving the coffin to Jim and Nora.

Ann finds Gertie dead with a big entrance wound to her throat. Ann hears noises from inside the shed. She is terrified when she meets a transformed Ansel. He begs and then scares her to run away and never return to him.

Gus Elizalde (Miguel Gomez) returns the clock (stolen by his brother Crispin) to an unappreciative Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley). He steals a SUV and sells it for 800 USD to silver toothed Alonso Creem (Jamie Hector).

As Ann grieves over her dead dog, a cranky neighbour Trip Taylor (Darrin Baker) comes over and threatens her with calling the police about the constant noises from the shed. Ann is pissed off when she learns that Trip had previously beat Gertie. She tricks Trip into entering the shedj and Ansel promptly feeds on him.

Eldritch informs Secretary Maggie Pierson about a biological agent being let loose in the airplane and attempts to secure her help. In the midst of the conversation, he collapses.

Jim and Nora rush to Emma Arnot's (Isabelle Nélisse) house. Emma attacks them with the stinger and is killed by Abraham Setrakian. He also kills her transformed father, Gary Arnot (Steven McCarthy).

Nora is shocked by Abraham's actions and leaves them to do the rest of the work.

The episode closes as Abraham asks Eph to get the gasoline. 

David Bradley remains the best of the bunch. Miguel Gomez also gives an arresting performance as Gus. 

The episode continues to suffer from the same drawback: The narrative is weak. The constant shifting between the characters robs the show of a gripping momentum, that came across really well in the books. 

Guillermo del Toro does not seem to have his heart in place for this show. Perhaps, he is busy with other projects (“Crimson Peak”??). Most of the actors (with a few exceptions) seem to be just sleepwalking through their roles to collect the paycheck.

Trivia

• The children's song “This Old Man” can be heard playing in the scene, when Eph and Nora enter Emma Arnot's house.

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The Strain Season 1 Episode # 5 "Runaways" - Recap

August 11, 2014, 10:59 am

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Ruby Wain (Regina King) calls in Dr. Evanston, an urologist to take care of her client, goth celebrity Gabriel Bolivar's (Jack Kesy) medical problems. Gabe, under the control of The Master, attacks the doctor with his stinger and claims her to be “Mine”. 

Ruby gets scared and sprains her leg, while fleeing the house. She calls someone and informs about the incident involving Gabe.

Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) educates Dr Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll) about “The Master” and refers to him as Patient Zero/Strigoi (Romanian word for vampire).

Abraham explains about his experience in 1944. A much younger Abraham (Jim Watson), along with his “bubbeh meiseh” grandmother (Kathleen Chalfant) and a friend, are taken to a concentration camp, under the control of Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel). Abraham and his friend are spared, after the camp guards learn that they are skilled carpenters.

Back to the present. Attorney Joan Luss (Leslie Hope) is getting more and more sick. The governess, Neeva (Kim Roberts) notices the subtle change in her employer when Joan stares at her daughter's neck with a strange look.

Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) is informed about her mother, Mariela Martinez (Anne Betancourt) making yet another escape attempt from her institution. She is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Eph and Abraham reach Ansel Barbour's (Nikolai Witschl) house, only to discover that his wife Ann-Marie Barbour (Alex Paxton-Beesley) has committed suicide by hanging from the roof.

They carefully approach the shed and Eph shoots Ansel with his newly acquired nail gun, loaded with silver ammunition. Before decapitating Ansel, Abraham chants the following words: “Sabia mea fredoneaza de argint”.

Back in the concentration camp, Abraham watches a mysterious stranger feed on a fellow prisoner. He confides the same to his friend, who advises him to stop looking for monsters.

Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde)'s doctor informs him that his body cannot endure any more organ transfers/operations. Eldritch replies that this will be the last operation to be performed on him.

Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand) notices the spike in rat related incidents and makes an investigation in the sewers and is pursued by a big horde of strigoi. He escapes through a manhole and the sunlight prevents the vampires from catching up to him. 

Jack Noon is hired by Ruby to clean up the mess created by Gabe's attack on Dr. Evanston. He becomes Gabe's next victim.

Neeva packs Joan's kids and takes them to her place to keep them safe from their mother.

Nora is forced to take her mother out of the institution after a vampire attack.

Eph goes to the CDC with the video evidence of the infected victims. He tries to convince his boss, Dr. Everett Barnes (Daniel Kash) to declare a quarantine. Jim Kent (Sean Astin) advises Eph to flee and helps him to escape. 

David Bradley's Abraham Setrakian is the most fleshed out character in the show. I liked his quote: “Inaction is the greatest evil”. His interactions with Eph are the highlights of the episode.

Couple of scenes reminded me of other Guillermo del Toro efforts. In the concentration camp, young Abraham's friend makes the observation that they are already surrounded by monsters. This was similar to del Toro's Oscar winner Pan's Labyrinth, also set in the aftermath of a Spanish Civil War. The film's protagonist, Ofelia fantasizes about a faun and other mythic creatures while the merciless Captain Vidal inflicts cruelty around her in the real world.

Similarly, Vasiliy's escape from the strigoi through the manhole was reminiscent of a similar scene in Blade II, starring Wesley Snipes as the titular vampire hunter.

The episode felt disjointed and did not have the impact of a vampire show. The teaser for the next episode promises a lot of action. Hopefully, the next episode will be more effective.

Click here to read all my posts related to Guillermo del Toro. Click here to read all my posts related to The Strain.

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The Strain Season 1 Episode # 8 "Creatures of the Night" - Recap and Review

September 7, 2014, 11:26 am

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This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to watch the episode are recommended to skip it, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

At the end of the previous episode, Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel) is about to kill Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley), when he was shot in the leg by Dr Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll)/ Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro). The Strigoi makes good his escape, but is weakened by his injury.

Abraham, Eph, Nora and Jim Kent (Sean Astin) break into a facility to acquire some supplies. They run into Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand), who beat them to the punch and has been helping himself already.

The gang heads to a store to buy some UV lamps. They come under attack by a horde of vampires. Dutch Velders (Ruta Gedmintus), the internet hacker hired by Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) also happens to be in the same store with her friend.

A delivery guy and Dutch's friend try to flee and are killed. Jim gets infected by a vampire. Eph and Nora remove the worm from inside Jim and destroy it. But it is too late and Vasiliy shoots Jim dead to prevent his transformation.

The group makes its escape in a delivery truck.

This is hands down the most interesting episode so far. 

Vasiliy referring to the store worker Hassan as “Apu” was a nice reference to “The Simpsons”. As readers familiar with the long running FOX show would be aware, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is the owner of the convenience store in Springfield. Guillermo del Toro is a fan of the show and has created an opening for a Simpsons episode which can be viewed below:

We get to see some hardcore and non-stop action. The focus of the episode was on the vampires/Strigoi. We learn that each vampire is connected to the Master. The Master commands them and can communicate through them. The Strigoi reach their full maturity after about a month.

Then, there are the “Chosen ones” like Thomas Eichorst, who are more advanced and can retain their original appearance.

The discussion among the group about deciding the fate of the infected Jim shows the different approaches taken by Abraham and Vasiliy vs Eph and Nora. While the former two are practical and do whatever is necessary to ensure their survival, the two doctors tend to be emotional. 

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Houdini TV Mini-Series Part 1 - Recap and Review

September 2, 2014, 9:01 pm

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In the opening scene, Harry Houdini (Adrien Brody) jumps from a bridge into icy waters, while being bound in chains.

Harry (original name - Erik Weisz) has always been captivated by magic tricks and is particularly impressed with magician R. Houdini. He has the full support and encouragement of his mother, Cecilia (Eszter Ónodi). His father, Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weisz (Jeremy Wheeler) loses his job due to his lack of mastery over the English language.

Harry leaves Appleton, Wisconsin and becomes an apprentice to a magician. Harry continues to support his recently widowed mother through the earnings from displays of magic tricks. Soon he sets his eyes on a lovely young woman, Bess Rahner (Kristen Connolly). He courts and marries her.

Houdini is ambitious and wants to go to the next level. He hires a Jim Collins (Evan Jones) to be his assistant. He performs his disappearing act from inside The Chinese Water torture cell.

With his rising fame comes recognition from the US Government. He joins the Secret service and is sent to Germany and Russia as a spy. His cover is that of a performing magician.

Houdini performs the bullet catching trick and impresses the German Kaiser Wilhelm II (Gyula Mesterházy). He manages to ring the long defunct Kremlin Bell and grants a wish to the Russian Tsar Nicholas Romanov II (Simon Nader). Even a disbeliever like Rasputin (Iván Kamarás) has to grudgingly accept Houdini's powers.

Houdini's successes put a considerable strain on his marriage. His oath to secrecy prevents him from disclosing the truth about his espionage activities to Bess, who assumes that he is having affairs. His wife starts to make passes at strangers.

Houdini also starts experiencing a significant drop in the spectators for his magic performances. He faces considerable challenge from moving pictures and Charlie Chaplin. The enterprising Harry decides to bring the theater to the common man and starts giving his dare devil performances in the open.

The writing has been credited to Nicholas Meyer, author of Sherlock Holmes pastiches including the famous “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution”. This is undoubtedly the best aspect of the show.

Adrien Brody is miscast as Houdini, who was a consummate and charismatic showman. Adrien seems to be sleepwalking through the role, except from some rare moments when he gets to show some emotion. Someone like Hugh Jackman would have been a better choice. He was great in Chris Nolan's movie about magicians, Prestige.

There is no palpable chemistry between Houdini and his wife, as played by Brody and Connolly.

The best performances are given by Evan Jones and Eszter Ónodi as Houdini's assistant and mother respectively. Both of them manage to hold one's interest whenever they are onscreen. Evan is excellent as the idolizing and sincere Jim. Eszter exudes warmth and motherly love for her son. 

The way the episode has been shot is very modern and prevents one away from getting fully involved. 

The preview for the concluding part promises to showcase my all time favorite author, Arthur Conan Doyle. Houdini was dead set against spiritualism and as expected, crossed paths with ACD, one of the greatest supporters of Spiritualism in the early 20th century.

Click here to read my review of the concluding part of Houdini.

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Houdini TV Mini-Series Part 2 - Recap and Review

September 4, 2014, 1:07 pm

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The episode begins with a quick recap of the first part.

Cut to the present. Brother Dash Houdini (Tom Benedict Knight) keeps teasing Harry (Adrien Brody) about the need to raise his game. Harry decides to do the straitjacket trick to make an impression on the people of San Fransisco.

Bess (Kristen Connolly) gets increasingly frustrated with Harry's increasingly hair-rising attempts to outdo himself and his extra-marital affairs. Harry promises to Bess that he will end both.

Houdini performs arguably the most impressive trick in his arsenal - making a 10000 pound elephant “Jennie” disappear into thin air. Houdini also gets an offer to return to the espionage activities he carried out previously for the US and the UK.

During one of his performances at Empire theater in London, Houdini runs into Arthur Conan Doyle (ACD), the creator of the world's premier fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.

ACD (David Calder) and his wife Lady Doyle (Linda Marlowe) are both impressed with Houdini's powers, which they mistakenly believe to be spiritual in nature.

In the midst of his tour, Houdini is informed that his mother, Cecilia Weisz (Eszter Ónodi) has passed away. Still haunted by her memories, Harry decides to get help from a spiritual medium to make contact with his beloved mother.

Harry figures out quickly the sham that spiritualism represents. Houdini sets his mind and heart to expose Spiritualism for the fraud that it perpetrates. He even offers 10000$ (initially and later 25000$) reward to any spiritualist medium who can prove him wrong.

Lady Doyle tries to convince Harry through her technique of “Automatic Writing” - Lady Doyle writes down the messages on a paper, as she receives them from the dead person being contacted. Initially overcome by emotion, Harry does believe in Lady Doyle's powers. But the astute Harry quickly figures out that the whole thing was a sham, by applying Sherlockian techniques of observation and deduction to the messages supposedly received by Lady Doyle from Harry's mother.

Lady Doyle wrote the message in the English language, whereas Houdini's mother did not speak a word of English. Further, Lady Doyle forgot to congratulate Houdini on his birthday (March 24)

Harry next targets Mina Crandon (Megan Dodds) a.k.a. “Margery the medium”, the most famous practitioner of Spiritualism. During the seance, Margery and her husband Dr Crandon (Luca Bercovici) try to discredit Houdini by questioning his credentials. Houdini keeps his cool and proceeds to prove they are fake as well.

To prevent Houdini from exposing her, Margery tries to seduce Houdini in his dressing room and almost succeeds. But Houdini resists her charms and prevails.

Houdini damages an ankle during a performance in the Chinese Water Torture Cell. While recuperating in his dressing room, he receives an ardent believer in Lady Doyle's spiritual powers. He inflicts severe damage to Houdini's appendix.

The injury is severe enough to cause Houdini to collapse during a performance. The doctor informs Bess and Jim that it is too late to save Houdini.

The episode ends as Bess tries to reach Houdini through a spiritual medium.

The performances and screenplay as a whole is far superior to the first part. Adrien Brody finally makes an impression and has better chemistry with Kristen Connolly's Bess.

Equally good were the scenes featuring ACD and his wife. I liked the first meeting between the Houdinis and the Doyles: When Houdini introduces ACD as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, ACD quickly replies that he would rather be known for his non-Sherlock Holmes related works.

Credit to Nicholas Meyer, author of the famous Sherlock Holmes pastiche “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution” for including this in the script.

ACD did become overwrought after suffering personal losses (son Kingsley, brother Innes among others) during World War I and heavily relied on Spiritualism as a way to cope with his grief. After deducing that Lady Doyle did not actually receive any message from his dead mother, Houdini refers to the Doyles as really nice and sweet people but can be easily taken in. This was indeed true. Truly an irony that the man behind the world's foremost detective known for using logic to solve crimes, should be taken in so badly in the later stages of his life.

Houdini's death also puts the focus on a very important aspect of human life: Never put too much faith in anything. This could lead one to doing some truly tragic things like the way Lady Doyle's follower assaulted Houdini resulting in his death.

Houdini was very fond of his mother. He was her favorite and never really recovered from her death. This aspect of Houdini's life has been realized very well on the screen and full credits to Brody, Meyer and director Uli Edel.

Despite a shaky start, the mini-series made an excellent recovery. Must watch for fans of Houdini/Arthur Conan Doyle.  

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The Strain Season 1 Episode # 9 "The Disappeared" - Recap and Review

September 11, 2014, 3:03 pm

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This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to watch the episode are recommended to skip it, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

As seen in the last episode, our heroes came under attack in a convenience store. They are able to make their escape, but Jim Kent (Sean Astin) gets infected and is shot dead by Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand).

Zach Goodweather (Ben Hyland) is dropped off at his home by Diane (Inga Cadranel). A transformed Matt Sayles (Drew Nelson) attacks Zach. Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll) arrives right on time to rescue his son and destroys the vampire.

Zach informs Eph and Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) that his mother Kelly Goodweather (Natalie Brown) has been gone since morning, after having a fight with her live-in boyfriend.

Gus Elizalde's (Miguel Gomez) friend Felix (Pedro Miguel Arce) gets increasingly weak as the infection takes its toll on him.

Back in the Nazi concentration camp in 1944, Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel) keeps a special eye on the young Abraham Setrakian (Jim Watson). Thomas notices that Abraham is unhappy after finishing his previous masterpiece.

Abraham tries to attack The Master during one of his feeding sessions. The Master overpowers him and breaks his fingers, while taunting him that even God cannot save him. Next day, Thomas orders Abraham's execution since he is no longer useful to him. Just as he is about to be executed, allied forces attack the camp and Abraham escapes.

Eph and Nora decide to stay back at Kelly's house. Eph and Nora dispose of Matt's body. They have a make out session. Diane stops by again and is furious at what she perceives as proof of Eph's infidelity to Kelly.

Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley), along with Vasiliy and Dutch Velders (Ruta Gedmintas), takes Zach to his pawn shop to keep him safe.

Dutch gets down at her apartment and discovers that her roommate Nikki (Nicola Correia Damude) stole her backup and all the money she has saved. During her conversation with Vasiliy, Dutch implies that she and Nikki were more than just friends.

One of Dutch's acquaintances, Ronnie tries to attack her. Vasiliy slays Ronnie.

Abraham proposes an alliance with Vasiliy Fet in order to use his intimate knowledge of the city to find The Master and destroy him.

Gus, Felix and a few other convicts are being transported in a police van for inspection by a doctor. A transformed Felix starts attacking his cellmates and the driver. The van crashes shortly. Gus shoots Felix dead and escapes.

Dutch confesses to Abraham about her work in bringing down the internet on behalf of Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde). She also mentions about her misgivings about Thomas Eichorst. 

The Master appears before Thomas Eichorst and infects him with a worm.

There was a lot of humor in this episode, mostly from Vasiliy Fet. Kevin Durand seems to be settling into his role.

Dutch Velders referring to Abraham's pawnshop as “Batcave” was a nice touch. Hats off to Guillermo del Toro for this reference.

The show is slowly and steadily picking up the tempo, after what have been some really slow episodes.

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BBC Sherlock Canonical References in Season 2 Episode # 1 "A Scandal in Belgravia"

September 18, 2014, 4:43 pm

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Dear Readers,

After a significant gap, we return for another post about the Canonical References in BBC Sherlock. 

Scripted by Steven Moffat, “A Scandal in Belgravia” is based on the original story: A Scandal in Bohemia.  Here are the references to Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories:

1. John is seen typing about a case involving a pleasure cruise – In The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire,Sherlock Holmes mentions to Dr John Watson: “Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson,” said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. “It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared…”.

2. John Watson is seen typing the details for a case titled “The Geek Interpreter” - Reference to the Canonical Story: The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter.

3. John Watson is seen typing the details for a case titled “The Speckled Blonde” - Reference to the Canonical Story: The Adventure of the Speckled Band.

4. When Sherlock asks John not to mention the unsolved ones on his blog, John replies: “People want to know you are human” – Reference to this line spoken by Dr John Watson in The Sign of the Four: “There is something positively inhuman in you at times.”

5. John points out to Sherlock about the success of his blog and advises him: “This is your living, Sherlock. Not 240 different types of tobacco ash” – This is a bit far-fetched, but this reminded me of the advice given by Trevor Sr. to Sherlock Holmes about being a detective in The Adventure of the Gloria Scott: “I don't know how you manage this, Mr. Holmes, but it seems to me that all the detectives of fact and of fancy would be children in your hands. That's you line of life, sir, and you may take the word of a man who has seen something of the world.”

6. Sherlock asks John if he is going to title their latest case as “Belly Button Murders”. John replies: “The Navel Treatment” and Sherlock groans audibly –

Sherlock Holmes writes about Dr Watson's writing style in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier: “..since I have often had occasion to point out to him how superficial are his own accounts and to accuse him of pandering to popular taste instead of confining himself rigidly to facts and figures.”

Sherlock Holmes tells Dr John Watson in The Adventure of the Abbey Grange: “Your fatal habit of looking at everything from the point of view of a story instead of as a scientific exercise has ruined what might have been an instructive and even classical series of demonstrations. You slur over work of the utmost finesse and delicacy, in order to dwell upon sensational details which may excite, but cannot possibly instruct, the reader.” 

7. Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) discovers some severed thumbs in the fridge –

Dr John Watson writes about Mrs Hudson in The Adventure of the Dying Detective: “Mrs. Hudson, the landlady of Sherlock Holmes, was a long-suffering woman.”
Possible reference to the Canonical story, The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb in which Victor Hatherley, the titular hydraulic engineer has his thumb severed by Colonel Lysander Stark.

8. A highly palpitating client faints in front of Mrs Hudson – In the Canon, many clients are exhausted by the time they arrive at 221 B Baker Street. Holmes/Dr Watson have to revive their strength, sometimes with the help of brandy. Examples - Thorneycroft Huxtable in The Adventure of the Priory School and Alexander Holder in The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet.

9. Sherlock instructs his prospective client: “Tell us from the start. Don’t be boring” – Sherlock Holmes comments about the nature of Lord Robert St. Simon's impending visit in The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor:“This looks like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie.”

10. Sherlock questions the DI Carter (Danny Webb) as to why his suspect would call the police and consult a detective, if he had really committed the murder successfully without an eyewitness. Carter replies: “He is trying to be clever. It’s over confidence.” – In The Adventure of the Retired Colorman, Sherlock Holmes explains the reasons for Josiah Amberley hiring his services, even though he has murdered his wife and Dr Ray Ernest: “He felt so clever and so sure of himself that he imagined no one could touch him. He could say to any suspicious neighbour, "Look at the steps I have taken. I have consulted not only the police but even Sherlock Holmes."”.

11. Sherlock's observation that his client has “the right sleeve of an Internet porn addict”. Later, he deduces that he is being summoned to Buckingham Palace by observing the finger nails, boots and other details of Mycroft's agent - Sherlock Holmes writes in A Study in Scarlet: “By a man's finger nails, by his coat-sleeve, by his boot, by his trouser knees, by the callosities of his forefinger and thumb, by his expression, by his shirt cuffs—by each of these things a man's calling is plainly revealed. That all united should fail to enlighten the competent enquirer in any case is almost inconceivable.”

12. Sherlock deduces that his client has “the breathing pattern of an untreated heart condition” - In The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, Sherlock Holmes deduces that John Hector McFarlane is an asthmatic by observing his breathing.

13. Harry, the Equerry (Andrew Havill) makes the statement: “Client is illustrious in the extreme.” – Reference to the title of the Canonical Story: The Adventure of the Illustrious Client.

14. Sherlock refuses to take the case without knowing the identify of his client by stating: “I am used to mystery at one end of my cases. Both ends is too much work.” - In The Adventure of the Illustrious Client, Sherlock Holmes states to Colonel Sir James Damery: “I am accustomed to have mystery at one end of my cases, but to have it at both ends is too confusing. I fear, Sir James, that I must decline to act.”
 
15. Harry mentions that his employer enjoys John's blog and in particular the story of “The Aluminium Crutch”– In The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual, Sherlock Holmes brings out the large tin box and explains its contents to Dr Watson: “Here's the record of the Tarleton murders, and the case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, and the adventure of the old Russian woman, and the singular affair of the aluminum crutch, as well as a full account of Ricoletti of the club-foot, and his abominable wife.”

16. Sherlock explains to John about getting prepared for their meeting with Irene Adler (Lara Pulver): “I am going into battle, John. I need the right armor” – In The Sign of the Four, Sherlock Holmes explains about the importance of disguises to Scotland Yard Inspector, Athelney Jones: “You see, a good many of the criminal classes begin to know me,—especially since our friend here took to publishing some of my cases: so I can only go on the war-path under some simple disguise like this..”.

17. Sherlock’s first words with Irene Adler: “Ms Adler, I presume” – This reminded me of A Study in Scarlet, in which Sherlock Holmes’ first words with Dr John Watson are “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive”.

18. Sherlock explains to Irene Adler: “Noises are important. Noises can tell you everything” – In The Adventure of the Three Gables, Sherlock Holmes deduces that Susan is overhearing his conversation by listening. He explains: “I have been listening to her for the last five minutes, but did not wish to interrupt your most interesting narrative. Just a little wheezy, Susan, are you not? You breathe too heavily for that kind of work.”

19. Sherlock utters “Vatican cameos” just as he starts to fight the agents at Irene's place – In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes mentions as being “exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the Vatican cameos”.

20. Sherlock Holmes uses “The Process of Elimination” to guess the name of Watson’s current girlfriend, Jeanette (Oona Chaplin). – Hilarious reference to Sherlock Holmes’ classic quote from The Sign of the Four: “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

21. At 221 B Baker Street, Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey) remarks about Sherlock complaining about John’s absence – Sherlock Holmes writes in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier: “The good Watson had at that time deserted me for a wife, the only selfish action which I can recall in our association. I was alone.”

22. Irene Adler fakes her death by passing off a dead body with a “bashed in head” as her own corpse - Possible reference to the plot of The Valley of Fear. In this novel, John Douglas/Birdy Edwards kills Ted Baldwin by bashing his head in with a hammer and then tries to get away by using Ted’s dead body as his own. 

I will be posting the rest of the references in the next post.

Click here to read all my posts about BBC Sherlock.

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