Complete Unknown is a movie that excels more due to the acting, that of Rachel Weisz and, to some extent, Michael Shannon rather than the plot or writing, but on those it was at least compelling storytelling.
It’s easy to see why Approaching the Unknown has received less than stellar reviews and if you’re not into slow moving, character-driven flicks, this one might bore you to tears. However, I found it mostly to be entrancing mainly for Mark Strong.
Season six of Hawaii Five-O is still strong not so much for the storytelling but the core cast which are really fun headlined by Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan with honorable mention to Chi McBride whose presence is always welcome.
Reign: The Complete Third Season is a silly show for sure, a CW-ized version of Game of Thrones sans the fantastic acting and amazing set designs. Watching this series, though, I had a hard time sitting through and listening to inane dialogue and bad performances almost all around.
NCIS: The Thirteenth Season is another solid year for the venerable series and while not all 24 episodes were top level, more than enough were to make this one of strong years, however the departure of Weatherly’s DiNozzo will test the writers and cast as he is a hard actor and character to replace.
Quantico starts off well enough but by the third or fourth episodes, I was becoming impatient, not so much with the A-story (i.e. who the terrorist was) but instead the constant back and forth from present day to 9 months in the past; it’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine.
Edge of Winter is a slow burn, character-driven, thriller with some potential but never quite reaches it in spite of an earnest performance from Joel Kinnaman with honorable mention to Tom Holland.
Elementary: The Fourth Season is another fun ride with some decent mystery storylines mixed in with further character development, and obstacles, for Sherlock and company.
It’s not always a given that a series going into its seventh season would be any good but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed NCIS: Los Angeles thus far and appreciate the advancements the writers and producers have made with these characters.
Limitless was a fun show with plenty of potential, building off of the intriguing premise of the feature film and giving it a quasi procedural format and with Bradley Cooper guest starring gives it some needed weight. Sadly, the ratings apparently were not good enough and, as of this time, couldn’t pull off an Unforgettable and see new life elsewhere.
oddly paced and ones patience could be tested, Genius is a movie that excels more on the cast than the actual story. Jude Law is fine as Wolfe though the highlight is Colin Firth.
Center Stage: On Pointe is the fourth in the series and is no different than so many of these contemporary dance movies (a la Step Up) with a pretty cast with so-so acting talent, though it is nice seeing Peter Gallagher reprise his role.
Sky is a nice little character drama featuring solid performances by Diane Kruger and Norman Reedus who gets to show a slightly different side compared to his character on The Walking Dead.
Criminal Minds: Season 11 still has some entertainment value mainly for its cast, though it is a letdown after a nice 10th season, but seeing the departure of another veteran cast member makes me wonder if next year will be its last which will be hurt once Thomas Gibson is gone following his much publicized dismissal.
CSI: Cyber is the worst in the CSI franchise and beyond that, the performances were subpar and the stories contrived even by standards of CSI. I had hopes Ted Danson coming over would help but it didn’t appear his character had much to offer although any scene he was in brought much needed charisma.