Runner Runner Review

Runner Runner (2013): Everybody gambles. The house always wins. This movie attempts to throw every gambling cliche at you. It also brings Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck together. In this film JT plays a Princeton graduate student who loses his tuition money while gambling on online poker. He travels to Costa Rica to confront the owner of the gambling website, Ben Affleck, and notify him that someone cheated him out his money. JT ends up working for Affleck and from there the plot takes off (or tries to [or tries to try]).

I will get right to the chase and make this short. This movie was boring. Nothing of consequences happens. For the first hour or so it seemed like it was just an excuse for JT and Affleck to hop from party to party. Even when the "action" actually starts to happen during the last 30 minutes, it isn't even action. Boring! Bad writing and lazy directing made this a snooze-fest. It was rated R and I can't figure out why. No one dies, the violence isn't violent, and the language isn't even that bad. The scene from the trailer with the alligators was a total cop out with the fact that no one dies!

The acting was so bland and boring. Gemma Arterton was only in the movie to serve as a long interest for JT and nothing else. Timberlake was more boring than Oatmeal for breakfast. I don't think he should be an actor. The film uses a narration for a lot of the time with JT as the narrator and it is extremely annoying. The lone bright spot is Affleck who wasn't terrible. That is the best I can say, he wasn't terrible. He was left with really nothing to work with from the script. Aside from Affleck, no one in this film did a good job.

"Statistically it is the best play." Well this was not the best play for the studio who released this film or for anyone involved. This was boring and bland. Very forgettable. I am awarding this movie by asking for my first Refund.

Leave some feedback down in the comments. Also be sure to checkout my movies podcast, Yeah, A Lot of People Like That. Find us on iTunes or Stitcher by simply searching "YALP" on either.

Find me on Twitter: @CodyMike89 or @YALPcast

Gravity Review

Gravity (2013): In space, no one can hear you scream! Yeah, yeah, yeah it is a cliche line, but the movie practically opens up with the same line. The premise of this movie is basically everyone's worse fear in space. What would happen if you were to get separated from a shuttle during a space walk and ended up floating away in space? Worse case scenario of space travel. As during a space walk to equip new equipment to a telescope, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are caught in the middle of a debris storm and become separated from the shuttle.

This film is practically all Sandra Bullock with a little George Clooney thrown in here and there. A movie with this few of actors needs strong performances. That is exactly what this movie delivers. Clooney is just a great actor overall and in his role here it is no different. Bullock delivers an incredible performance. She sells every bit of this movie and really brings you into her feelings. She will be nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars.

The effects were amazing. Some of the best I've seen. They were incredibly realistic. I saw this movie in 3D on a large screen and the only thing I can say is "Wow!" That is how you need to see this film. 3D and on a large screen (IMAX or your local theaters attempted version of a larger than normal screen). I don't normally like 3D, but it works in this movie. Especially in scenes that involve the flying debris.

The other stunning feature of this movie that caught my attention would be the sound. The sound work was incredible. They did a lot to make it feel as if you were in space. There were many times where there was silence or a lack of sound. Those parts were incredibly chilling. I feel like an Oscar nomination in one of the sound categories will be coming down the road.

Now comes the part where I conclude and give my rating for this movie. In a previous post I announced a new rating system, well I am already changing it. I do a podcast, Yeah, A Lot Of People Like That (YALPcast), and we have developed a new rating system for that show. Wanting both systems to be the same and have some consistency, I now bring you the new rating system. It is basically a 1-4 rating. We will be using Blu-Ray (4), Digital (3), VHS (2), Refund (1) as our system. Pretty much based on the quality of the medium that you would want the movie in. Blu-Ray for movies that deserve to be own in the best possible format, Digital for a movie that you would own but just want convenience, VHS is basically for something that you might think about owning but is not as great quality, and Refund is a movie that is so bad that you want your money back after watching it. So since everyone is bored, just skip down and conclude with my rating.

I was more scared during this movie then I have been during any horror movie in a long time. It was intense and chilling. There are many Oscar nominations coming the way of this movie, including (I will say this) Best Picture. Gravity was one hell of a ride! I give it an incredibly high Blu-Ray.

Leave some feedback down in the comments. Also be sure to checkout my movies podcast, Yeah, A Lot of People Like That. Find us on iTunes or Stitcher by simply searching "YALP" on either.

Find me on Twitter: @CodyMike89 or @YALPcast

Prisoners Review

Prisoners (2013): The Oscar season has begun. Kicking off the season this year is Prisoners from director Denis Villeneuve and starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal along with a great supporting cast. The premise is very simple. Two girls go missing after Thanksgiving dinner. The movie follows the efforts of Jackman's and Terrence Howard's families and the efforts of Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki to try and find the girls and bring them home. The movie follows Gyllenhaal as he uses his police work to follow leads, while at the same time follow Jackman as we watch how far he is willing to go to bring his daughter home.

As I said, the plot is very straight forward and easy to follow. Where this movie deserves its praise is in the directing and editing. The movie could have gone the easy route and used quick cuts to build tension, but instead scenes linger and allow the actors to work. It builds natural tension with the long scenes. It also makes it feel very real. Background music is absent is much of the movie and that helps a lot as well. The movie is not telling the audience how they should be feeling at the moment and instead rely on the actors to convey what is going on in each scene.

So since the acting carried the movie, was it good? Yes it was. Jake Gyllenhaal was probably my favorite actor in the movie. He was very toned down and held back from going over the top when he could have. Hugh Jackman played his role very well too. He was very much the protective father who would go to all lengths to find his daughter. His scenes with Paul Dano were filled with tension and very good. The supporting cast was awesome throughout. The only actor/actress I did not like would have been Jackman's wife in the movie, Maria Bello. Her performance was the only one I did not enjoy and probably could have been handled slightly better or slightly different.

At 2 hours and 33 minutes of run time, it is a lengthy movie. But it does not feel like it. You are interested for pretty much the entire time. And be careful because if you leave to go to the bathroom during it you may just miss something. This movie was a fantastic way to kick off Oscar season and I can't wait for the rest. I am giving Prisoners a Blu-Ray.

Leave some feedback down in the comments. Also be sure to checkout my movies podcast, Yeah, A Lot of People Like That. Find us on iTunes or Stitcher by simply searching "YALP" on either.

The Spectacular Now and Beautiful Creatures Reviews

It has been quite awhile since I've done a review. For a time there I fell off the wagon and now it is time to get back up and on that wagon once more. I will be catching up with reviews of movies I have seen since I took a short hiatus.

I will also be debuting a new rating system! I am going to begin using a more subjective scale instead of the objective Out of 10 scale I had been using. I will be using a scale that will change with the season of the movies. It is a scale of 4 being I really loved the film and down to 1 being a film I hate. For Oscar season movies, I will obviously use Oscars. For Summer movies I will use bags of Popcorn. For Spring movies I will use boxes of Candy.

For this review I bring to you a double feature of sorts. Two movies which are sorta of similar. Two teenage love story movies. So let's have a go at this again shall we?

The Spectacular Now (2013) 91% on Rotten Tomatoes: The Spectacular Now was released on August 2nd of this year and got a limited release in theaters. It is a coming of age, comedy-drama film. It follows the lives of two high school seniors, Sutter (Miles Teller) and Aimee (Shailene Woodley), as they start a by-chance relationship that neither of them saw coming. Sutter is a goof off who as he says "lives in the now" and does not like to plan too far into the future. Aimee is a good girl who does not garner a lot of attention. The two meet after Sutter breaks up with his girlfriend (Brie Larsen) and after a night of drinking is woken up on a strange lawn by Aimee. The rest of movie follows the growth of the relationship and how the two characters learn more about themselves from the other.

The movie is fantastic. It is a great coming of age story. The two leads have amazing chemistry with each other and they really sell the film. The acting from these two young actors is great. I believe we will be seeing a lot of both in the future. The only downside I would give it is that Shailene Woodley may have been "a little too good looking" for the role. It is a little bit of a stretch to believe that she would have been ignored as much as is told in the film, but her acting is what sells it and makes you believe.

The story is very realistic and that is what makes it such a compelling watch. Everyone can find a character in here in which to relate. The writing and dialogue is very good. The acting is tremendous. This movie is getting my first ever 4 Oscars.

Beautiful Creatures (2013) 46% on Rotten Tomatoes: Beautiful Creatures came out at the very beginning of this year (back in February). It is a fantasy romance movie that takes place in South Carolina. It follows the relationship of small town boy Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) and the new girl in town Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert). Only problem is that Lena comes from a family of Casters (basically witches) and on her 16th birthday her powers will be claimed for either Light or Dark.

This movies had the unfortunate opportunity to be the next young adult fantasy romance adaptation since the end of Twilight. So this movie inevitably got the full brunt of the Twilight backlash. But in my opinion this is much better done than Twilight. Where Twilight was filled with a story that didn't really make sense, this one did. Beautiful Creatures sets up its love story in a very believable fashion. While watching you actually care about the two leads and want them to get together. Twilight's fantasy element seemed forced and out of place. The fantasy element in Beautiful Creatures is very subdued. The fantasy is in the background, while the love story takes center stage. The "villain" of this movie isn't even in it for much of the movie, which allows for a lot of character development with our leads.

The other problem that Twilight has is the acting. Everyone has heard of the wooden acting that movie has. The acting from the leads is actually surprisingly good for the type of movie you expect this to be. Englert does a good job and should pop back up in the future. Ehrenreich has a future as well. But the best acting in this movie came from Jeremy Irons who plays Lena's uncle Macon. He really sells the movie and makes you want to watch him more. The only problem I really had (which isn't a big problem) is the accents. They had very thick southern accents in this film and took me awhile to get over it. When Irons came on screen is probably when I dropped my feelings towards them.

This movie received a large backlash because of Twilight. But it is a much better made movie and much better all around. This didn't deserve the criticism it got from the critics. This was fun to watch and you actually did care about and want to root for the leads. I give it 3 Boxes of Candy.

Feels good to be back! So give me some feedback down in the comments.
Also checkout my movies podcast, Yeah, A Lot of People Like That. Find us on iTunes or Stitcher by simply searching "YALP" on either.

Coyote Skin

So I have been hit by a inspiration to begin writing a new story (new for those familiar to my other blog and new for those who don't know what I am talking about). I have written the first chapter and decided to post it here until I can make a new blog specific for it.

So the basic premise of the story follows Robby Brown, a young teenage Native American boy from a small town in California. He lives a normal, boring small town life. That is until one day his world changed forever. While he was out at a party, he learns that a fire has started on the reservation. He rushes home to make sure his family is safe. He discovers someone has broken in and trashed the place. He finds his mother dead and his grandfather lying on the ground dying. With his dying breaths his grandfather reveals a that there is a family secret that he must learn. That secret will change Robby's world forever. Robby is a skinwalker, someone with the ability to change forms into an animal. Robby must now learn more about his family's history while also seeking down the people who killed his family. Along the way Robby learns that there is much more to the world that he could have ever imagined. Join Robby on his journey in Coyote Skin.

Take a read and let me know what you think. Is this something that sounds interesting? An interesting concept? Do you want to read more? Please let me know. Thank you and Enjoy!

Chapter 1

            Sand flew in the air as the wind blew through the desert night. The air was warm. It was always warm in the summer even if was September. Lone Pine sat in the high desert of California. It was uniquely situated between the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, Mt. Whitney, and the lowest point in North America, Death Valley. From where he stood Robert Brown had a wonderful view of the eastern face of Sierra Nevada mountain range. Robby, as he liked to be called, always enjoyed the way the mountains looked at night. He loved the dark greys and dark purples his eyes created when he looked upon the granite.

            The wind continued to blow around Robby as he stood in the middle of the sandy field covered with sagebrush and tumbleweeds. There were a couple of trees around the area. Robby noticed that they seemed to stand a little taller than they used to. He began to walk towards them to get a better view. As he walked up to the tree, a howl came from behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on their ends. He turned slowly. Through the darkness he could make out three shapes coming moving towards him. As the shapes moved closer his eyes began to focus on them. Robby then realized that he was staring right at three coyotes.

            The moonlight glistened off of the coyotes' fur and shone off their yellow eyes making them especially terrifying. Robby’s heart began beating fast. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Pounding and pounding. Robby was frozen by fear. Coyotes normally shy away from humans, but Robby remembers being told by his grandfather that coyotes are not to be taken lightly. They are adapt at running in their desert environment and fierce when the pack is threatened. Robby assumed that he was looking at a guard unit of the greater pack.

            He began to slowly step away; very careful not to move too fast and startle the animals. But the coyotes only continued to watch him. Robby took another step and the coyotes did not move. One more step and this time the lead coyote let out another howl. He couldn’t take it anymore. He turned away from animals and started to run; hoping to make it back home or at the very least find a spot where he could hide until he thought it was safe. Robby sprinted away. As he did the three coyotes gave chase. Robby ran through the sage and thickets. His legs were being scratched and scraped but he couldn’t worry about that now. The only thing he could think of was RUN.

            Robby ran and ran all the while the coyotes remained behind him. They would split up and then come back together while chasing. It almost as if they were playing with him. Robby just kept on running. He would look back at his pursuers every so often and whenever he did the lead coyote would let out another howl. Robby ran faster than he had ever run before. He thought to himself that he was running unusually fast. He couldn’t recall ever running like this. So smooth were his steps. More often than not Robby was a clumsy runner, never quite the fastest but it was always good enough to him. But he had no time to linger too much on this fact. He could think more when he was safe. For now he was just grateful that this speed was there.

            Robby kept looking around for a place that he could use to hide away from the coyotes, but nothing was jumping out at him. There was nothing more than bushes and a few isolated trees. Nothing that would keep him safe for long as the coyotes would surely circle him if he tried to climb a tree. While looking around Robby forgot to look at what was actually ahead of him and had to come to an abrupt stop. He tried so hard to slow himself, but it did no good. He slid through the dirt and his feet tripped over the edge a deep ditch that was in front of him. Robby rolled down the side of the ditch; rolling in the dirt, rocks, and thistle.

After rolling all the way to the bottom, he came to a stop lying down along a stream that ran through the ditch. Feeling battered Robby looked up to the lip and saw the coyotes looking down at him. The leader let out his howl for one last time and turned and walked away. His two guards followed alongside. Relieved and exhausted, Robby laid flat against the warm desert dirt. He could hear the water rushing by his head. He dragged himself up to the stream to clean off some of the dirt from his face.

The moonlight light up the blue water on this summer night. The water shone like a mirror. Robby could see the reflection of the moon and that of lone tree standing somewhere behind him at the top of the ditch. But there was another reflection; something very much closer than the moon or ever the tree. In the spot in the water where his face should have been all he saw staring back was a coyote.

Robby startled himself and startled himself out of his sleep. He jumped up to a sitting position in his bed. His alarm clock blared on the night stand next to him. He reached his hand out and slammed it on the top of the clock to shut it off. He grabbed for his glasses on the nightstand and put them on. Looking at the clock he saw that it was 7:00 am; time to get ready for another school day.

Ya, A Lot of People Like That Episode 02

Check out the podcast everyone has thought about talking about. Join me and my co-host Charlie as we begin a journey on watching some movies that have passed us by. Each week we seek a 2nd Opinion from our co-host on a movie that one of us has seen, but the other hasn't.

This week Cody seeks a 2nd Opinion on the 2010 Korean thriller I Saw the Devil. Will Charlie share Cody's opinion or will he give a differing opinion? Have a listen and find out!

If you haven't listened to the first episode (Cabin in the Woods) then you should listen to that too!

Check us out on iTunes or Stitcher by searching either the full name of the show or "yalpcast". Subscribe on iTunes and leave a review. Both of those will really help out the show. Follow us on Twitter @YALPcast or send us an email at yalpcast@gmail.com.

Rapid Fire Reviews Part I

While watching movies there are of course many times when you watch a movie that has been out for a long time, but you've never seen it yourself. For these movies I will be combining them into a single entry instead of doing separate in-depth reviews for each since many people may have already seen them. So let's see how this goes.

Oldboy (2003): Oldboy is a South Korean mystery thriller movie. It is about a man, Oh Dae-Su, who is kidnapped and held hostage for 15 years until one day he is let go by his captor without reason. The movie follows Oh Dae-Su has he tries to piece together the reasons for why he was kidnapped, why he was let go, and whom captured him. The mystery of the movie is what makes it a great watch. The less you know about the movie going in the more you will enjoy it. The acting is very good, a little over the top at points, but good none the less. Choi Min-sik, the actor who plays Oh Dae-Su, is brilliant. By far his acting and how he portrays the character makes this movie what it is. This movie is one of the weirdest and maybe disturbing movies I have ever seen. 8.5/10.

I Saw the Devil (2010): I Saw the Devil is another South Korean thriller. This one is one that I would classify as a psychological thriller. The movie follows Soo-hyun as he seeks revenge for the murder of his fiance. Actor Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) returns in this movie as he plays the antagonist, the serial killer Kyung-chul. This movie is wild ride through the human psyche. You put yourself in the mindset of Soo-hyun as he discovers whether vengeance is worth the cost. The acting is top notch between our two leads, I would even say better than in Oldboy. The cinematography is amazing. This was a very well shot film and there are some scenes in there that will make you go, "Wow!" At 2.5 hours long it does seem a little long, and at about 1 hour in something happens that makes you think, "How are they going to keep going for another hour and a half?" But they find a way and you never get bored through the movie. The ending of the movie is one of the best I have ever seen. It is very emotional and impactful. This is a movie that will have you thinking and questioning what would you do in that situation. Amazing film. 9.5/10.

V for Vendetta (2005): V for Vendetta is an action thriller. This movie had the unfortunate position of being extremely hyped by some of my friends. That hype is one of the reasons why I had not gotten around to watching the film until recently. Based on a 1982 graphic novel of the same name, this movie looked fantastic. It was very visually appealing and kept that comic book feel. Hugo Weaving, who played our protagonist V, was amazing. He spent the entire movie behind the now famous Guy Fawkes mask, yet he still was able to emote and deliver and incredible performance even behind the unchanging neutral expression of the mask. John Hurt, who played the antagonist the High Chancellor, also delivered a great performance as the fascist dictator of this future Britain. Even if he wasn't in the film as much he was still the second best actor in it. As for the story it is sort of hard to get yourself in the position of rooting for a character who is essentially a terrorist. The movie takes it's sweet time in getting around to V's motivations and what exactly makes the government so evil. It would have been better served if it had explained this sooner in the film. For a movie with a 132 minute run time it doesn't feel like a lot happens in the film. It is very character heavy and I just wish that there was more to make the viewer care a little more. Like I said this movie was very hyped up for me and because of that it kind of is a let down. It is still a great movie and one that I will re-watch. I was just looking for a little more. Great acting but a little lacking in the true meat of the film. 8/10.

Cube (1997): Cube is a Canadian science fiction psychological horror movie. Let me say this right from the start, the acting in this movie is extremely bad. Now that that is out of the way, the movie itself is fairly interesting. The movie takes place inside a structure made up of hundreds of connected cube-shaped rooms. Our main cast of characters meet each other after climbing out of their individual rooms. The movie follows the group as they attempt to find an escape from the Cube and along the way learn more about each other. Now you may think "Ok, doesn't sound so bad. Just keep going room to room until you find the exit." Well it's not that easy since some rooms as booby trapped in order to kill whomever enters that particular room. That is where the horror element comes into play. The psychological element comes in when you watch the characters interact and evolve (or devolve) over the course of the film. It really makes the audience have to put themselves in that situation and think if they had what it would take to survive in those circumstances. It is decent movie and definitely something to see once. The story is there even if not executed to perfection. This could be a great movie if done right and with halfway decent acting. Maybe a candidate for a movie that should be remade. 6/10.

Cleanflix (2009): Cleanflix is documentary about a trend out of conservative Utah in which a string of movie rental stores began to edit copyrighted movies for their conservative customer base. These rental stores would take popular movie titles and they would edit out the objectionable material in them such as sex and violence. This was mostly due to the Mormon Church's stance on obscenities and not wanting members of LDS to watch movies with sex and/or violence in them. The business model became very popular in Utah and create a string of copycat stores all out there trying to grab a piece of the market. This growth caused the business to gain the unwanted attention of Hollywood, who objected to their movies being edited without their permissions. This movie chronicles the rise and fall of the Cleanflix model in Utah and their struggle against Hollywood. It is also about whether or not Hollywood should take a backseat and allow Capitalism to work it's course, because if there is a demand then there should be a supply. Or whether the movies should remain untouched because they are the work of the director and the production teams that worked to craft those movies and worked to make them exactly how they are. It is a very interesting take on an interesting subject. 7/10.

The Big Lebowski (1998): The Big Lebowski is a Coen Brothers comedy. This is a movie that I have been meaning to get around to watching for awhile. The spark to watch it actually came from "Cleanflix" which had a clip of the movie in it and made me go "Hmm I should watch that." I have heard from multiple people that this a movie that many don't like (or don't get) upon the first viewing. I did not have this experience as I loved this movie from the beginning. This was a very well crafted comedy and was very funny, but I can see why people would not like it when they see it the first time. It is definitely a movie that lends itself to being watched over again because you will get something new out of it that you didn't catch before. I won't go too much into the plot as I feel that in most comedy movies that plot is not as important as the actual comedy. But the plot in the film was decent, it had a lot of twists and turns that drove it forward and gave more for the characters to do and more interactions. You can pick out a lot of stuff that has inspired other movies that have been made since this one. The acting in the movie is great. Jeff Bridges and John Goodman are amazing and hilarious. They work very well with each other and their characters work well bouncing off each other. Steve Buscemi is one of my favorite characters of the movie as well. This is well crafted comedy and is very highly recommended if it has alluded you as it had I. 8.5/10.

I hope you enjoyed the first iteration of my rapid fire reviews. As always feel free to leave any comments or thoughts below.

Doctor Who: The Name of the Doctor Review - *Will include Spoilers*

A series that begun all the way back in September, and a second half that began eight weeks ago, has finally completed. Series 7 has its finale and it is The Name of the Doctor. Did the finale answer the question of who Clara is? Do we get to know the Doctor's name? Do we have more questions that answers?

I will just let the cat out of the bag right here in the beginning, I loved this episode. This is one of the best, if not THE best, Doctor Who episodes I have ever seen. This was just amazing. The story was fantastic. The directing by Saul Metzstein was great. The episode just looked great, great cinematography. It was a dark episode and it worked very well in this episode. It dealt with the death of the Doctor and needed that dark feel to it.

The supporting cast was pretty good. Vasthra, Jenny, and Strax were at their best in the beginning. After the first ten minutes, after the conference call, they were pretty underused. Alex Kingston made her return as River Song. This time she appeared as River after the events of Silence in the Library. This was echo/computer back up River. Her appearance probably wasn't totally necessary, but who cares? River is amazing and anytime she can show up is fine with me. Kingston is amazing once again and always. Her scene with Matt Smith near the end is one of the best between the two actors. Hope to see more River in future.

Richard E. Grant was great in his role as Dr. Simeon/Great Intelligence. I have seen some people have called his performance bland, but really what else is expected from a non-corporeal being inhabiting a human. He may have been devoid of emotion, but that is what I would expect from the GI. The Whisper Men were an incredibly scary new monster. I am sad that they ended up being tied to the GI. I would've loved to see them in the future and still hold hope that they make a return at some time.

The finale also brought another joy to fans of the show. This episode brought the 50th Anniversary to TV sets early. The pre-credit opening was nothing but a giant callback. We saw all Seven Classic Series Doctors in the sequence. We see Clara edited in with old footage of the Doctor's and are left to wonder what was going. We do get the resolution to why Clara is there, and I will discuss that next. There were many callbacks to old Doctor Who and this episode leads directly into the 50th Anniversary in November.

We have been waiting since September when Jenna-Louise Coleman made a surprise appearance in Asylum of the Daleks to finally get an answer to the question, who is Clara Oswald. Steven Moffat gave us the answer in the series finale. It turns out that Clara has appeared at different times in space because she had jumped into the Doctor's time stream and she was split into thousand pieces. She was flung through space and time to different points, different Claras. She was the girl "born to save the Doctor." She jumped into the time stream after the Great Intelligence to stop the GI from messing with the Doctor's past and future. I liked the explanation we were given, but it did kind of seem a little disappointing. It was a slight let down only because of all the fantastic, out of the world theories that have been flying around the Internet. It was very simple, but of course something that no one thought of. Good job Moffat you got us again.

The final "small" thing that must be discussed is the revelation in the last two minutes. Much like Jenna-Louise in Asylum of the Daleks, John Hurt made a surprise appearance in The Name of the Doctor. This was huge because Hurt had already been confirmed as a guest-star in the 50th Anniversary episode and there has been much speculation as to his character. Well he showed up here. This is what I felt was the most compelling, most intense, most spectacular two minutes in Doctor Who that I have ever seen. Hurt is revealed after The Doctor and Clara are both immersed in the Doctor's time stream. The Doctor tells Clara that everyone down here is him. Clara confused because she had seen all the Doctors expect him. Hurt is revealed to be the Doctor's biggest secret. The dialogue between Matt Smith and Hurt is great and it is great writing by Moffat.

Smith: "He is my secret."

Hurt: "What I did, I did without choice."

Smith: "I know."

Hurt: "In the name of peace and sanity."

Smith: "But not in the Name of the Doctor."

Hurt turns around to face the camera and text reads "Introducing John Hurt as The Doctor." I for one didn't think the text was necessary, but it isn't too important. So now the question is, which Doctor is Hurt? Who exactly is he? That is a question for another post.

Overall I loved this episode. Everything about it was great. This was amazing and a perfect way to end this season. 9.5 out of 10.

I will post a full season review soon. Do I still feel the same about each episode? How do I rank the episodes of Series 7? Find out next time.

Oblivion Review

We are kicking off the summer in which we have a plethora of movies about the destruction of Earth. The first movie in the lineup is Oblivion starring Tom Cruise.

Oblivion was a fantastic movie. The plot and story of the movie is well crafted. It is constantly making you think and question what is happening. I don't believe that there was a time during the movie that I wasn't doing so. The first 30 minutes or so do kind of drag a little, but that is pretty much just setting the stage once you get into it. This isn't a typical summer action movie, but it still gets the job done. It is fun to watch and even more fun to think about. What action scenes there are in the movie are shot well. I loved the major fight scene in the movie.

The movie could very easily change it's name to Tom Cruise in the Future. For a summer movie, this is a very small cast. The movie is pretty much 70% Tom Cruise and the rest the supporting cast around him. The movie follows him the entire way and the audience learns more as Tom learns more. The movie is very much served for the better with Cruise being the main stay. His acting is at a high level here. He makes the movie.

The twist in this movie is fantastic. It is one that you get hints at through out, but still comes somewhat as a shock. You will sit there thinking that you know what is going on, but it turns out that it is something else. I will not be posting the trailer at the end of this review. If you haven't seen a trailer yet, I would advise that you don't. If you have try not to think about it too much. The trailer doesn't give away any twists, but I would say that it probably shows a little too much than it should.

I thought that this movie was great. It is a nice way to kick off the summer movie lineup. It also sets a high standard for the remainder of these post-Earth type movies that we have on tap. 8 out of 10.

Feel free to leave any comments and or thoughts below.

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary *Major Spoiler Warning Plot Points Discussed From This Point On*

So some new developments have just happened regarding the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special. I have wanted to talk about some of this and my new blog is a good place for it. WARNING PLOT POINTS DISCUSSED FROM HERE ON OUT. According to Doctor Who Spoilers.com John Hurt may have let slip what his role in the special is going to be. For full story go to http://www.doctorwhospoilers.com/2012/?p=7617.

According to the leak, Hurt has said that he plays "a part of the Doctor in a kind of trinity which includes David Tennant." For a couple weeks now people have speculated that Hurt may be playing a lost/forgotten regeneration of the Doctor. Those speculations were previously based on the clothing Hurt is wearing in the above picture (far right). Many of spotted similarities between his clothing and the costumes of the 8th and 9th Doctors, including the leather jacket. But now it seems like this may be a true possibility.

Hurt may in fact be playing a forgotten regeneration of the Doctor, a regeneration between the 8th and 9th Doctor. This would make Christopher Eccleston the 10th Doctor, Tennant the 11th, and Matt Smith the 12th. I have also heard plot speculation that if this was the case that they would deal with this by somehow erasing Hurt's Doctor by the end of the special and thus returning to the original numbering.

If this does turn out to be true, I will be both excited and disappointed. I would be excited to see how Moffat will fit in this new incarnation of the Doctor. He would be battle worn and scarred from the Time War. If we thought Eccleston was the battle worn Doctor, imagine what this Doctor would be like. It would be fabulous. Moffat is probably the only writer capable of delivering this to us. But I would be wary of how he either writes off the character in order to restore canon or how it would shake the foundation of Who canon by adding in Hurt's Doctor.

This news also makes me very sad. As a new series fan, I was upset over the news that Christopher Eccleston turned down the opportunity to return to the show. This would kind of be the way to fit in that 3rd Doctor into the story. But what makes me even sadder is the fact that they did not turn to any of the classic series actors. Yes Tom Baker, Peter Davison, and Colin Baker don't look the same as they did when they originally played the character. Sylvester McCoy still looks enough like the 7th Doctor to reprise the role for the Classic Series fans.

But even more than that it leaves out the bridge that connects the gap between the Classic Series and the New Series. I am speaking of the 8th Doctor Paul McGann. McGann looks much the same as he does when he played the Doctor in the 1996 TV movie. He has only had the one 90 minute television appearance (only 60 of which he was the Doctor). This would have been the perfect opportunity to give McGann his one chance at another appearance. I would have loved to see him reprise the role and get the proper send off that he deserved. Wouldn't it be great if at the end of the special something happened to McGann which initiated the regeneration from him to Eccleston? Then the Anniversary would also go back and loop around to the revival of the New Series. But that is probably too much to ask for.

It would have been a better service to the fans of the show if they had returned McGann instead of inventing another Doctor. I still hold out hope that they could surprise us all with the return of McGann or other classic series Doctors. But after this news, that hope is seeming to fade.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below.

My Clara Theory - *Warning Series 7 finale plot points may be included*

So far I have stuck to just reviews of Doctor Who episodes. In some reviews I have included some of my notes or thoughts about the mystery of Clara Oswin Oswald, but I have not written anything definitive about my thoughts. There are as many different Clara theories out there as there are Doctor Who fans. Most of them are of course going to be wrong. So I have shied away creating my own theory knowing it will be wrong. Plus it is just fun to read all the other theories and see how other fans think. But now we have only two episodes left in Series 7B and we have been told that we will finally be told the secret behind Clara.

Since it is so close to the end, I have decided that I want to put out my own theory. I know that it will more than likely be wrong, but on the off chance that I stumble across something I want a record of it haha. I am sorry someone else has already come up with a similar idea, I am not trying to take someone else's credit.

So here it is: Clara is connected to The Silence.

After Series 6, we still have not gotten a clear picture of the Silence. Then of course the series ended with us finding out what the oldest question was. Silence will fall when the question is asked. I am going to piggyback on another theory I have heard, and I'm going to say that I believe that the Doctor is behind the Silence. We learn in Let's Kill Hitler that the Silence isn't a race, it is a religious order. It is predicated around "Silence will fall when the question is asked." The story has led us to believe the Silence is working to stop the Doctor in order to keep the question from being asked to save themselves from "the fall." But I believe that they want Silence to fall. Not Silence the religious order, but literally silence as in quiet/absence of sound. They want to make sure that when the question is asked that it does not get answered. Thus leading to the Doctor being behind the formation of the Silence.

How does Clara fit into this? To date in the show, we have seen Clara in three different points in time. All in the right place and right time to meet the Doctor. All three have uttered the phrase "Run you clever boy and remember." I believe that she is a memory device created by the Doctor. Not a "creation", but some how the Doctor was able to use a future version of Clara and spread her through out time. He knowingly did this to intrigue his past self, knowing that he could not pass up the mystery that would be Clara. So he would search her out and find out more and unravel more.

We also know that River was taken by the Silence as a baby. No I am not saying that Clara is River, but they are connected. In The Time of Angels, River makes a joke about learning how to pilot the TARDIS from the best. We are led to believe that she was joking about being taught by the Doctor. What if she wasn't? What if she meant that she had been taught by Clara? In Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, we see in the opening that the Doctor has begun to teach Clara how to fly the TARDIS. So maybe she does learn and learns well. River, in Let's Kill Hitler, says the line "She taught me how to fly it", and we are led to think of either the TARDIS teaching River in that short time or perhaps Madame Kovarian. But it could have been Clara.

In all I think that Clara is set up by a future incarnation of the Doctor in order to ensure that Silence falls when the question is asked. Clara is the key to making sure that the question does not get answered. We will find out in two weeks when The Name of the Doctor debuts.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. Let me know if I make any convincing points or if I'm way off base.

Doctor Who: "The Crimson Horror" Review - *May Include Spoilers*

Mark Gatiss made his return with his second script of Series 7B. Was he able to carry over the success of his earlier story, Cold War, or would he give us another Night Terrors?

This episode served as the Doctor-lite episode of the series. It centered around the return of the Paternoster Gang: Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax. Most people are calling this an attempt at a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series centered around the trio. If that series was much like this episode then I would watch it. Jenny got a much larger role to play than in any previous episode to date and she was fantastic. Loved seeing her being the character that the story focused on. Strax is a great character and very funny. If used in the correct way he could warm onto even the people who still don't like him. Madame Vastra was good, but I felt she was underused. Very much in the background, she was just there to help push the story along. Together they did a great job at advancing the story and making it engaging until the Doctor appeared. I hope this was in fact a backdoor pilot because I would watch more of this.

The guest stars in this story were the mother-daughter tandem of Diana Rigg and Rachael Stirling who played an onscreen mother-daughter tandem. They both did an excellent job here. Stirling played a great version of the blind daughter who was in turn blindly following her mother. Rigg was exceptional as the villain of the story, Mrs. Gillyflower. She was very believable, but even more than that she was very sinister and played the creepy old lady that you know is up to something.

The Doctor does not show up until fifteen minutes into the episode. Once he is on screen Matt Smith does a good job of not overtaking the other actors on screen. This episode was not about the Doctor, it was about the ensemble cast. Clara doesn't appear until the twenty-seven minute mark. So it was a very Clara-lite episode, as she appeared late and also did not have that much to do.

Some quick notes: As I said before it was very Clara-lite. She really didn't have much to do except add in a couple of lines. I would've liked to see more of her especially since we are down to just two more episodes left in the season. Because of all of that we also didn't learn anything new about who Clara is, except that we still know that the Doctor hasn't found out either (or has he?). The prehistoric leech creature was bordering on the absurd for me. And finally I hated the ending. Not the ending of Mrs. Gillyflower, but the ending with the kids and Clara. It felt tacked on. It seemed really pointless and served only as a point to get the kids into the next episode. It didn't really need to be there.

I was sort of dreading this episode when I saw the next time trailer. I am not of a fan of most of what Mark Gatiss has written for Doctor Who. Cold War showed me something new and I actually was holding out hope for this episode, but once that trailer came on I felt like he went right back to that comfort zone and I was afraid that we would get another Night Terrors instead. I ended up quite pleased and enjoying this Gatiss story.

If this was supposed to be a horror episode with comedy mixed it, it failed. If it was a comedy with horror elements, then it greatly succeeded. Once I looked at it more as a comedy it made my enjoyment that much greater. This was a light fluffy story that was a nice change from the last couple weeks. I am now ready for the final two weeks of the season. 7.5 out of 10.

Feel free to leave your comments and thoughts below.

Doctor Who: "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" Review - *May Include Spoilers*

It's bigger on the inside. That is the constantly running gag whenever a new person steps into the big blue box. This episode was what every Doctor Who fan has wanted to see. This episode was set to explore the inside of the TARDIS.

A story that took place almost entirely inside of the legendary blue box. What a great idea for a story. But did it deliver? Answer: Sort of. The episode surely did take us on a ride and adventure through the TARDIS. But it did seem like there was a lot more that could have been done. The episode did not completely live up to the huge hype that surrounded it. But could it have really? Doctor Who fans are notorious for creating hype that can not be lived up to. This failed to reach the lofty goals set for it, but it still succeeded in making for an interesting story.

We got to see a lot of corridor shots, a la The Doctor's Wife. More than that, we got to see actually rooms of the TARDIS. We got a look into the library, a huge expanse filled with what I assume is every important work of literature. The library included a copy of "The History of the Time War" and a set of Encyclopedia Gallifreya. I enjoyed that the Encyclopedia wasn't written, but instead was filled with voices and was spoken when opened. We were also treated to the inside of the Eye of Harmony, the power source of the TARDIS, and to the engine room. Although the engine room was only seen in pieces, literal pieces floating around, keeping open the secrecy around the workings of the engine.

The support cast really did nothing in this story. They were basically just there to give a reason why the TARDIS was broken. Their acting was sub-par and could have done with less of them. Even Matt Smith's acting was below where it normally is, not a bad performance, but nothing too special. I did however enjoy Jenna-Louise Coleman's performance. She gave off a air of fear, anger, and worry that helped bring the viewer into the story.

The Doctor-Clara relationship was not totally forwarded in this episode. We didn't learn anything new or anything that we really needed for the story. We do learn however that Clara has no memory (or least none that she wishes to share with the Doctor) of her other selves (Oswin from Asylum of the Daleks and Clara from The Snowmen). We also get a confrontation between Clara and the Doctor near the end about her finding the Doctor's real name. The Doctor is very visibly shaken and angered by her finding out his name. This sets up intrigue for the Series 7 finale, The Name of the Doctor.

Some other quick notes: In the library, why was "The History of the Time War" written in English? It had to be since the TARDIS does not translate Gallifreyan. Or if it was written in Gallifreyan, then how could Clara read it? And why would the Doctor (who I assume wrote the book) put his real name in the book if he did not want it to be known. I don't quite understand the motivations behind the charred monsters. The explanation given was that they were the salvage crew, Clara, and the Doctor burned and melted by the Eye of Harmony. If this is the case, then why would they be attacking their past selves?

I am beginning to become very tired of the sonic screwdriver being able to do basically everything. It is becoming a magic wand (term coined by Tom from The Doctor Who Podcast). Instead of being a tool, it is now used to push the plot along and get the Doctor out of any situation. That needs to change.

I thought that this episode was very well directed. I loved the shots and the colors shown. It made up for the lackluster writing. The writing I felt was done by someone who had a sort of idea for what they wanted to do, but couldn't fully get it together or come up with a good enough conclusion.

The ending was a cop out, but did not detract from the enjoyment of the story. It is a good stand alone story used to show the inside of the TARDIS. For those that say they were not satisfied with what they showed of the TARDIS in the story, well too bad for those people. Those are the people that will not be happy with anything less than a 6 hour extravaganza. This showed enough to make the viewers happy while also keeping enough hidden to show at a later time. 8 out of 10.

Feel free to leave your own thoughts and comments below.

Olympus Has Fallen Review

So here we go, my very first non-Doctor Who review post. I tackle my first attempt at writing a movie review. These posts will be a bit shorter than my Doctor Who reviews. I want to keep the movie reviews pretty concise and not to give too much away.

So first off this is a high octane action movie. There are two types of movie watchers, those that like stupid action movies and those that don't. This is the definition of a stupid action movie. So if that is not your cup of tea then you will not enjoy this movie. But, if you do like a movie where you can just sit and watch things blow up, gun fights, and not have to think too hard then you will enjoy this movie.

Now this is your basic action movie. It did not have that great of acting, even Morgan Freeman didn't pull off  a great performance. There were a ton of holes that you could poke into the plot. But the fun of these types of movies is not thinking too hard about the plot and just letting the action take over. And this movie had lots of action. If you can get by the fact that the terrorists are attacking the White House, then the action is great. It's weird to say, but it was fun to see kind of what would unfold if something like that were to happen. Even if his acting was lacking, Gerard Butler was a badass in this movie. This is the type of role you want to see Butler in and he did it to the tee. As for the plot holes, if you can get past it there is still enough plot to make the movie interesting and engaging.

As I said if these aren't the types of movies you like in the first place, then you won't like Olympus Has Fallen. But if you are an action movie fan, I would recommend it. 6.5 out of 10.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. This will be the general format when I review movies and the score is based not just quality of the movie but also enjoyability.

 

Doctor Who: "Hide" Review - *May include Spoilers*

Doctor Who takes a trip into the paranormal with the ghost story, Hide. The show has tackled ghosts in previous stories, such as The Unquiet Dead written by Mark Gatiss. This episode might give that one a run for it's money in the ghost market. Of course with this being Doctor Who we knew going into it that the ghosts would not be real ghosts. So the question became how will the episode twist and turn?

The episode begins by setting up a classic haunted house situation. The Doctor and Clara crashed the ghost hunting party of Alec Palmer and emphatic psychic Emma. Palmer and Emma were investigating a centuries old ghost haunting on the site. During their investigation they would take pictures of the ghost and after developing the pictures the ghost would appear to be in the same position in every shot. This lead the Doctor to do his own picture investigation in a way only the Doctor can. He grabbed Clara, hopped in the TARDIS, and traveled to various points in history taking pictures on the very same spot as the house, revealing that the ghost appeared in pictures every time.

The Doctor was able to figure out that the ghost was not in fact a ghost, but was a lost time traveler. The time traveler, Hila Tacorian, was trapped in a "pocket universe" and was on the run from a monster hiding in the mist. The Doctor used Emma's psychic gift in order to open a gateway to the pocket universe and rescue Hila. Events unfolded where the Doctor ended up trapped in the pocket himself. Clara needed to team up with the TARDIS and rescue the Doctor and bring him back. Once rescued the Doctor was set to go back on his way when he was hit with the realization that he missed something. There were in fact two monsters, lovers broken up an accident in time. The Doctor makes one last trip to the pocket in order to reunite the two monsters.

The episode was small in scope. Much like last week's Cold War it was limited in the scenery, as it only really utilized three scenes. It also had a limited cast, showcasing just the Doctor, Clara, and two supporting actors. I, for one, like the smaller episodes. Don't get me wrong it is nice to see the Doctor save the Earth or another planet every now and then, but in between those times it is nice to see him taken back down and shown that there are other problems out there worth solving. Even the Doctor acknowledges that there is more to what he does than just saving planets; When talking to Clara in one scene the Doctor mentions the Clara is "the only mystery worth solving." Small episodes gives us a chance to really delve into the character of the Doctor, which we get a bit of in this one.

The characters of Palmer and Emma acted as parallels for the Doctor and Clara. Palmer's and Emma's relationship was supposed to serve as a parallel for the Doctor and Clara. It is a road that I am scared of the show going down. I'd rather not have this become a romantic thing, but at the moment Moffat is dropping lots of those types of hints at the moment. I just hope that he is dropping those hints to get people off the real trail of who Clara is supposed to be. Palmer himself was used to almost as a mirror for the Doctor. Palmer, a war-hero, had seen death and had sent others to die as well. The Doctor asked Palmer what he would say to them if he could contact them and Palmer replied, "I'd very much like to thank them."

This was Jenna Louise-Coleman's first episode of the season that she filmed. Unfortunately it showed. She didn't exactly feel the same as she had in the previous three. Neil Cross, the writer of this episode, had a hard task of trying to write for a character that he had not seen on film yet. Some of her dialogue was little weak and awkward.

Some quick notes: The relationship between Clara and the TARDIS continued. This included the TARDIS pretty much calling Clara conceded. I'm very much interested to show how this relationship continues into next week's TARDIScentric episode. The callbacks continued with the orange spacesuit that David Tennant wore and as well with the blue crystal from Metabelis III a callback to Jon Pertwee, the Third Doctor. Also I liked that the power source for the psychic device used to open the gateway was actually part of the Eye of Harmony from the TARDIS. Emma had interesting interactions with both Clara and the Doctor. She told Clara not to trust the Doctor as he had "a sliver of ice in his heart" so it will be interesting to see where that leads Clara. Then in the ending scene the Doctor asked Emma about Clara, specifically asking "What is she?" All Emma replied with was that she was a normal girl who is more scared then she lets on. Does Emma know more than she is letting on? I think she does and just doesn't trust the Doctor to tell him anymore.

I did not like that it spent so much time alone with Emma and Palmer. It was nice that they were there, but the show really should have stayed more with the Doctor and Clara. I know they did it to show the parallels, but it was still a little boring at times. The tonal shift at the end was little jarring. It side shifted so quickly from this ghost/horror story to being a love story all of a sudden. Not bad, but it just felt weird.

At the end, the Doctor says, "Every lonely monster needs a companion." This quote is my favorite of the episode. He is talking about the pocket universe creature, but at the same time talking about himself. Very subtle, but very powerful all at the same time.

This episode was very well directed. It had just enough suspense and enough horror/ghost elements to make it work. The best part of this episode is when the Doctor is left alone in the pocket universe and he is being watched by the creature in the mist. When he says "I am the Doctor, and I am afraid" it really made me frightened because if he is scared then I should be as well. It will be able to stand on its own against The Unquiet Dead. It was a decent episode, not a stand out of the series but still good. 7.5 out of 10.

Very much looking forward to next week's Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. Feel free to post your own thoughts and comments below.

Doctor Who: "The Bells of Saint John" Review - *May Contain Spoilers*

To get the new blog going, I will be going back and reviewing the two previous Doctor Who episodes that I missed. Starting with the Series 7B premiere, The Bells of Saint John, which premiered on March, 30th. This was the first new episode since the Christmas Special and first new regular episode since September. Since it had been quite the wait the anticipation for this one was rather high, especially when you add in the element of a new companion joining the show.

Leading up to the premiere of the episode, Producer Steven Moffat had hinted that this episode would make people afraid of WiFi. That promise was paid off right in the cold open. The show begins with a character conveying a warning to others to stay away from a strange WiFi. Once a user clicks on it and connects they then become victims of the people who had placed the WiFi there in the first place. This was an interesting way to go with the concept of WiFi, a person being able to be sucked into the WiFi and their consciousness locked away in the Internet. It also showed that this was a worldwide event and not just isolated to London/England like other Doctor Who episodes. I just wonder why there are so many people clicking on strange, unlocked WiFi in the first place. Are people really that greedy/needy for the Internet? I guess in this tech culture that is probably plausible and they are in fact "like rats to the cheese."

The episode was well paced for what it was meant to be. What I mean by that is that it had the task of not only being a premiere, thus setting up the remainder of the season, and also it had to introduce us to the Doctor's new companion. Because of the latter, the plot becomes secondary to the interaction between the Doctor and Clara. Out of the 45 minute episode if the Doctor/Clare interaction was taken out, the plot would probably only take maybe 15-20 minutes. But does that mean it's not a good episode? Of course not because it is still a very good 15 minutes of plot. Plus the 25 minutes of the Doctor & Clara is just fantastic.

Speaking of the Doctor and Clara, let's talk about that a little. This is the first time when we get to see Clara proper, or at least the version that gets to travel with the Doctor. Jenna Louise-Coleman already showed Doctor Who fans glimpses of what she could bring to show and in this episode she kept that ball rolling. Her performance did not disappoint this Whovian. Clara is a very clever character and plays off of Matt Smith's Doctor very well. This episode gives a clue as to where Oswin (Asylum of the Daleks) received her computer knowledge and reveals a nanny/governess connection to Victorian Clara (The Snowmen). This episode did a brilliant job of setting up Clara as a character and I have a feeling she is going to be a companion that will be remembered.

Going back to the shortened amount of time for the plot, the only thing that really bugged me was the quickened resolution. Seemed like a lot of build up for what was a rather fast ending. But besides it being a quick wrap-up it was still a clever one. It was an extraordinary twist by having the Doctor use one of the Spoonhead WiFi stations to do his work for him. I just thought that there was more that could have been done.

Some quick notes: I enjoyed the couple of callbacks in this episode. Tom Baker's scarf, Patrick Troughton's bow tie  and David Tennant's coat were all seen in this episode. Also the book written by Amelia Williams was a nice throw in. The "client" in the episode was revealed to be the Great Intelligence (making a return from his appearance in The Snowmen). This leads me to believe that the Great Intelligence will be making a return to Doctor Who either in the Season 7 finale or in the 50th Anniversary special. Steven Moffat is smarter than to just throw something like that in without it meaning something, especially considering that Moffat not only was the writer of The Snowmen but also will be the writer of both the finale and 50th special. Celia Imrie guest starred as Miss Kizlet, the person being controlled by the Great Intelligence. She did a great job in the episode and was very believable as the "baddie" in the story. Her acting skills really shone through in her ending scene when she was revert back to childhood.

This episode was very much needed when it premiered. It sat just right on the pallet. It was a nice opening to the season, but it still didn't just blow me away. Acting was great, plot was so so, and the threat was new and interesting. 7.5 out of 10.

Feel free to post your comments down below with your own feelings and thoughts. My review of The Rings of Akhaten will be posted before the newest episode, Hide, arrives on Saturday.

Doctor Who: "Cold War" Review - *May include Minor Spoilers*

For my very first review I will be reviewing the Doctor Who episode Cold War which debuted on this past Saturday April, 13th, 2013. Again I will state that there may be some minor spoilers as I will discuss some plot points.

This was a good setup for the episode. Cold War, Russian Sub, and returning Monster. But did it deliver on that promising setup? I believe it did. The episode included enough plot and tension to make it worth watching. The main characters played their parts superbly. Matt Smith played the Doctor as well as he ever has before. Jenna Louise-Coleman seems to be really coming into her own as Clara. Guest Star Liam Cunningham gave a great performance as the subs' Captain.

This episode featured the return of Classic series monster, the Ice Warriors. After a nearly 40 year absence, they made their debut in the New series. Did their return work? Absolutely yes! The look of the Ice Warrior was modernized, but also stayed mostly true to the original look. The look and feel was very intimidating. The confined space of the submarine only added to the luster of the Ice Warrior. The story made the Ice Warrior something to be feared and taken seriously. I really enjoyed seeing this enemy. The ending also added a nice conclusion and an opportunity for them to make a return at some point.

Cold War was definitely Clara's coming out party as a Doctor Who companion. She actually had to act like a true companion. Tasked with talking to the Ice Warrior when the Doctor was unable and also was counted on to keep the Doctor in check. The season so far has followed the established Doctor Who story arc for companions. First episode was meeting the Doctor (3 times in Clara's instance ha). Second episode was the fantastic time travel demonstration. And then this, the Third episode, was the one where the companion becomes the companion. Clara was actually in a truly dangerous situation for the first time. She did freak out when she became aware that things were starting to get real, but by the end of the episode she gained her footing and is on her way to becoming a really amazing companion (even without her secret background).

Just some other quick notes: I think that there may be more to the disappearance of the TARDIS then just the Doctor's explanation of the HADS activating. The Doctor was carrying a doll with him when he was searched by the Russian crew. Why did he have the doll? Was it another token from Clara's past or something else? I did notice that the doll bared a striking resemblance to Rose, which only continued the Clara's connections/references to Rose and other companions. Next week's episode looks very interesting and looks like we are going to a little deeper into the Clara mystery.

I feel like this was the best episode that Mark Gatiss has written. He has had an up and down history when it comes to writing for Doctor Who, having written the stories The Unquiet Dead, The Idiot's Lantern, Victory of the Daleks, and Night Terrors. Not the best of histories, but Steven Moffat must see something in him if he keeps giving him scripts. Gatiss will have another episode during this half season, The Crimson Horror, and I hope he has written that in the style of Cold War and not fallen back into his previous stories.

Overall this was a fine episode. It had great suspense, a great monster, the Doctor being the Doctor, and the companion fulfilling her role. 8 out of 10.

Feel free to post your comments below with your own feelings and thoughts. I will be posting reviews of The Bells of St. John and The Rings of Akhaten at a later time.