HBO’s newest drama series is titled, “Luck.” Set in present day, the show surrounds itself with horse and the life of gambling at the racetrack. For those who never stepped foot at a racetrack before (myself included), it took a while to understand all the motives and regulations for what the characters were trying to achieve. But aside from the vernacular, Luck is shaping up to be one hell of a show.

Dustin Hoffman plays Chester “Ace” Bernstein who has just been released from prison after a three-year sentence. His friend, Gus Demitriou, drives him back and will now be the front to Ace’s plans, since he has to be cautious not to violate his parole. There isn’t much more information to Ace’s plan aside from his eye on a particular horse. We’ll see what his whole deal is soon enough.

The bulk of the episode concentrated on four gamblers, Jerry, Lonnie, Marcus and Renzo who are punching in their ticket for the multi-million dollar jackpot of the Pick Six. If they predict the winners of six consecutive races, they have the chance to win the jackpot. The most vital of the group is Jerry, whose reputation in poker doesn’t live up to his talent at picking horses at the racetrack.

Jerry’s most controversial pick was the fourth race when he singled in Mon Gateau, a 12-1 odds horse that hasn’t run in two years. But Jerry likes Mon Gateau’s trainer, Turo Escalante. Even though the jockey didn’t follow Escalante’s advice to win, Mon Gateau pulls off the upset. Escalante cashes in his winnings and eventually so do the four gamblers who win the grand prize of the Pick Six.

While I am unfamiliar with the world of the racetrack, the show kept my attention especially during the racing scenes. There are a number of characters that are seemingly connected, so that’s going to be fun to watch. Dustin Hoffman will certainly be able to capture our undivided attention in upcoming episodes, and I look forward to being amazed by Nick Nolte. With only eight episodes to go, I can’t wait to see where Luck takes me.

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1.  The Descendants

This film had something that no other film I watched had: complexity. Most of the best films of the year were fairly simple and straight-forward, but not The Descendants. There were layers upon layers of conflict and consequences, and incredible depth within each character. George Clooney gave arguably his best performance to date, and newcomer Shailene Woodley complimented his performance very well. This is just a story about a normal family going through a lot of shit, and as a viewer you hope they can remain intact at the end. A brilliant film by Alexander Payne.

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2.  Drive

This might be the most memorable film of the year, in my opinion. Everything about this movie screams “style” all over the place, from Gosling’s metallic, silver jacket to the stoic, unknown character with the credits of “Driver.” There is so much explained with so little dialogue. Also, this film contains one of my favorite scenes of the year: the elevator scene.

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3.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

There’s no surprise that a David Fincher film would appear on my list. I was excited when this film was released and the film definitely met my expectations. Mara Rooney’s Lisbeth Salander took the world by storm and she has Fincher to thank for that. The 158 minute run-time breezed by, thanks to Steve Zaillian. Overall, this was a disturbing thriller that wrapped my mind around one of the most intriguing characters I’ve ever seen on the screen. I can’t wait for the sequels.

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4.  Midnight in Paris

This actually might be my favorite film of the year, but ended up being fourth simply because there were better movies, imo. But what a joy it was to watch Woody Allen’s love poem to Paris. While I’m not a big Owen Wilson fan, he fit the part perfectly with his boy-ish charm and the way he wandered around the city like a lost puppy. Oh, and there’s what a fantasy aspect about the film that was the biggest surprise for me of the year. This was well done all-around.

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5.  Beginners

What first peaked my interest about this movie was the premise: a 75-year-old man admits he’s gay six months after his wife of 38 years passes away. What I didn’t expect was a delicate love story starring Ewan McGregor who was trying to put the past behind him to start over. There were so many small, quirky things I loved about this movie that made this such a gem to watch. Oh, and that Christopher Plummer guy was pretty damn good.

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6.  The Artist

This is a joyful film from beginning to end, and the fact that it’s a black & white, silent film just makes it more impressive. The two lovely leads share great chemistry with each other in all of their scenes. I loved The Artist because not only is it a reminder and a tribute to how films were in the past, but it’s also a very heart-felt romantic-comedy.

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7.  Like Crazy

Easily the most romantic film of the year, Like Crazy dealt with the ups and downs of young love trying to blossom into “happily ever after” through life’s many obstacles. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones are incredible throughout this highly-improved film. It’s this year’s Blue Valentine, but even more powerful.

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8.  Hugo

Martin Scorsese’s first 3-D film shows his passion of the history of cinema and the importance of movie preservation. Aside from that, it’s a wonderfully imaginative film about a boy’s search to understand where he belongs. My favorite aspect about Hugo was when they explored the pioneers who realized you could capture dreams on screen. This was a very touching movie, but don’t mistake this for a children’s film.

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9.  Moneyball

Moneyball is as much about baseball as The Social Network is about Facebook. With arguably the best dialogue in any film from 2011 (Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian), Moneyball showcases the business and aesthetic of the Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane. The film explores themes of social classes and thinking outside of the box to achieve a similar goal. Anchored by a great performance by Brad Pitt, this film is great entertainment.

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10. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

One of the more pleasant surprises of the year was the fourth installment of the spy/action franchise, Mission Impossible. Going in I was interested in Brad Bird’s live-action directorial debut. Leaving the theater, I was left with such an experience that no action film has impacted me aside from The Dark Knight. The pacing was tremendous and there was a perfect blend of action and comedy. This should be the standard that all action movies will be compared to. Yes, this film is that good. In addition, this film had one of my favorite scenes of the year: Tom Cruise climbing the Burj Khalifa.

This week’s episode of Alcatraz dealt with a prisoner named, Kit Nelson, who was in jail because he was a child killer. So what does Mr. Nelson decide to do in the present? He goes and kidnaps a child. After Dr. Soto hears it over a police scanner, he knows exactly who is their next target.

Just like the first two episodes of the series, I enjoyed this episode but there is still a lot to be desired. Sure, it was creepy watching Nelson force his 11-year-old victim to dunk his head under water and eat cherry pie. It was also suspenseful watching Madsen and Soto chasing Nelson through the woods. But I feel like there is a lot more to explore and the show is taking its dear time with it.

I get that this is going to be a show like House with enough minor information to keep pushing forward the season-long story arc, but these stand-alone episodes are slowing down what could be a very good show. What’s keeping the viewers intact is the well-written stories of the prisoners. I prefer last week’s sniper to this week’s child-murderer, but both were well-acted and well-executed.

Again, I’m most likely going to watch the entire first season before making a decision to drop Alcatraz or not. I just hope they pick up the pace before it’s too late.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Artist (2011)
The Descendants (2011)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)
The Help (2011)
Hugo (2011/II)
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Moneyball (2011)
The Tree of Life (2011)
War Horse (2011)

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Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir for A Better Life (2011)
George Clooney for The Descendants (2011)
Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011)
Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Brad Pitt for Moneyball (2011)

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Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs (2011)
Viola Davis for The Help (2011)
Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)
Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

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Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn (2011)
Jonah Hill for Moneyball (2011)
Nick Nolte for Warrior (2011)
Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)
Max von Sydow for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

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Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist (2011)
Jessica Chastain for The Help (2011)
Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids (2011)
Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs (2011)
Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)

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Best Achievement in Directing

Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris (2011)
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (2011)
Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life (2011)
Alexander Payne for The Descendants (2011)
Martin Scorsese for Hugo (2011/II)

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Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids (2011): Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo
Margin Call (2011): J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris (2011): Woody Allen
A Separation (2011): Asghar Farhadi

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Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

The Descendants (2011): Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Hugo (2011/II): John Logan
The Ides of March (2011): George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
Moneyball (2011): Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan

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Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

A Cat in Paris (2010)
Chico & Rita (2010)
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Puss in Boots (2011)
Rango (2011)

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Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Bullhead (2011): Michael R. Roskam(Belgium)
Footnote (2011): Joseph Cedar(Israel)
In Darkness (2011): Agnieszka Holland(Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (2011): Philippe Falardeau(Canada)
A Separation (2011): Asghar Farhadi(Iran)

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Just like every year when the Oscar nominations are announced, there are plenty of surprises when the majority of people believe the race is bland and stale. Starting with the screenplay categories, I didn’t see Margin Call (Original Screenplay) or The Ides of March (Adapted Screenplay) sneaking in. I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which received plenty of love this morning by The Academy.

Once again, David Fincher didn’t get the recognition from The Academy that he deserves. One day, they’ll finally understand what brilliant work he is accomplishing year after year, but for now he’ll just have to remain frustrated. Meanwhile, the only surprise in the Best Director category was Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life. Usually, being snubbed by the DGA is a big indication that you’re not going to be nominated for an Oscar, but this year proved otherwise.

In the acting categories there were plenty of snubs and surprises. The biggest snub was when Albert Brooks wasn’t nominated for Supporting Actor in his great performance in Drive. Instead, Mox von Sydow snuck in for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, which was an indication for things to come. In the Actress categories, I was able to predict 9 of the 10 nominations, so there weren’t really any surprises. But in the Acting categories, I couldn’t believe that Leonardo DiCaprio wasn’t nominated for Best Actor. Instead, Demian Bichir (A Better Life) and Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) were nominated.

Finally, there were 9 Best Picture nominations, and to keep the suspense up they didn’t announce the films in any order. They started out with a surprise right off the bat, with War Horse receiving a Best Picture nomination without any Acting, Writing, or Directing nods. The next surprise was The Tree of Life, which didn’t get any recognition throughout awards season from the Guilds. But the biggest surprise was the final film announced for Best Picture: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Seriously, where the hell did that movie come from?! Practically being invisible throughout all of awards season, that was the bomb that shook the Oscar world. This year’s The Blind Side? I think so.

My reaction to the nominees are divided. I wish The Academy would’ve rewarded excellent films like Drive and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with what they deserved. But as they went on to miss acting, writing, and directing nods, I knew Best Picture wasn’t possible. But I am happy that Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy got lots of love from The Academy. But what it all comes down to is if any film can beat out The Artist. It’s very doubtful, but I’ll have my eyes glued on February 26th to find out.

FOX has a new series on their network, a supernatural-cop drama called “Alcatraz” starring Sarah Jones, Sam Neill, and Jorge Garcia. With JJ Abrams’ name being flashed around the commercials, I’m sure FOX is trying to bank on his recent success from Lost. The idea is helped out by a Lost alum, Garcia, playing a major role in Alcatraz. So what’s the deal with this show?

The premise is that Alcatraz closed in 1963. The prisoners were supposed to be transferred out of the island, but that never happened. The mystery is, what did? Now, it seems that the disappeared inmates are appearing in present day with a mission. We have Rebecca (Jones), the ambitious detective teaming up with the knowledgeable Alactraz historian Doc (Garcia), working with Emerson Hauser (Neill) to track down each and every Alcatraz prisoner before its too late.

Spoilers below

Alcatraz seems like it’s going to be a very formulaic show, with each episode titled after the inmate they’re trying to track down and eventually lock up in the new Alcatraz prison. There is certainly a good amount of mystery surrounding the story-line to keep its audience coming back week-after-week, but is it engaging enough simply as a cop-drama?

Not for me, or at least thus far. The first two episodes were heavy on plot and the quick-moving investigation to capture the prisoners they were after, but I’m not focused enough on the main characters. I want to know more about Detective Rebecca Madsen. Linking her directly to one of the Alcatraz inmates (her grandfather!) is definitely a great plot-line, but I need more to root for her. I need to know more about her surrogate uncle and the show has to let us in on the secret of who Emerson Hauser is and what’s his deal.

Both episodes ended with a nice “whoa” moment, displaying how Hauser and his assistant Lucy Banerjee both have past lives from the 1960′s Alcatraz timeline, but my curiosity is stronger than my intrigue. Am I really prepared to invest a great deal of time to another supernatural show with multiple story-lines and dozens of questions that will slowly be answered? I think we all had enough of that from Lost, which is why I’ve been keeping myself busy with forward-moving dramas like Game of Thrones and Homeland. But I’m definitely willing to keep watching Alcatraz for now.

Last night was the infamous Golden Globes telecast, the first awards show during awards season and the one that has the least amount of impact for the one and only, Academy Awards. But nonetheless, NBC airs the unpredictable awards show and has asked Ricky Gervais to host once again. While this made the public salivate at what kind of shenanigans he could get into this year, he was much more subdued as host this time around.

I’ll run down the television winners first, since they will always be runner-up in importance to cinema.

Television

The Best Series – Drama was sort of a pleasant surprise, as the debut season of Showtime’s Homeland won the Golden Globe over other shows like Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones. While Boardwalk Empire is great, I still think it’s slightly overrated. In my opinion, Game of Thrones was the best show of the five nominated, but I’m glad that Homeland won.

Best Series – Comedy or Musical went to ABC’s Modern Family for the second straight year. The family-comedy didn’t have any real competition aside from HBO’s Enlightened. Glee has definitely tailed off to the point where I’m surprised it was even nominated. New Girl is one of the most watched comedies, but still overall is just a “cute” show.

Best Actor in a TV Drama went to Kesley Grammar for Boss. This was probably the biggest surprise of the evening, as he beat out last year’s winner Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), the popular and amazing Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), and the acclaimed Damian Lewis (Homeland).

Best Actress in a TV Drama went to Claire Danes (Homeland) and it was the right choice. I sort of thought Julianna Margulies would take the award, but looking at the past decade of winners in this category, none has won the award twice so that ruled her out (she won the Golden Globe two years ago for The Good Wife).

The Best Actor in a Musical Comedy TV Series went to Matt LeBlanc (Episodes). So Joey finally got an award? People actually watched Episodes? Everything was confusing for me, but what confused me the most was how Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) was nominated instead of his co-star Jim Parsons.

The Best Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy went to Lauren Dern (Enlightment). Beating out the very competitive group that consisted of Tina Fey (30 Rock), Laura Linney (The Big C), Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), and Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) was impressive. But hey, this was The Golden Globes, not the Emmy’s. No one has had a run in this category since Sarah Jessica Parker won three in four years for Sex in the City.

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Movies

Moving on to the movie portion of The Golden Globes, there was some competition but not much since the awards are divided into Drama and Musical/Comedy categories.

The Best Drama went to the very-deserving The Descendants, which I still have in the number 2 rank for Best Picture. Hugo was really the only competition for The Descendants, but those who are keeping score know this is a bad omen for the film. In the past 8 years, The Golden Globes Best Drama has only matched up with The Academy Award’s Best Picture ONCE (Slumdog Millionaire). Although I would love to see The Descendants win Best Picture, they have a long way to go.

The Best Musical/Comedy went to The Artist, and to be quite honest I was surprised about the selection. I know The Artist is insanely acclaimed and it’s definitely the front-runner for Best Picture, but these are the Globes for crying out loud. This category has been won by films such as The Hangover, Vicky Christina Barcelona, and Sweeney Todd. I wasn’t alone when I thought Bridesmaids had this award locked.

The only category that really mattered in the movie portion was Best Director, which went to Martin Scorsese (Hugo). I really shouldn’t have been surprised about this, because after this year’s win, Scorsese has won the Golden Globe’s Best Director three times in the past decade (but has only won Best Director once in his entire career at The Academy Awards). What can I say? The HFPA loves them some Scorsese.

For acting, George Clooney (The Descendants) and Jean Dujardin (The Artist) won for their categories, which does nothing for us bloggers to speculate who has the lead in the Best Actor race. Also, Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) and Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) won the Best Actresses awards.

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Overall, this was just another typical Golden Globes ceremony. It’s good in the way that it gets the public interested in awards shows and the prestige of excellent film and television. But really, the Golden Globes and the HFPA cannot compare to the merit The Academy Awards has, and it never will. It’s only the lead-in entertainment to the big show. If the Globes wanted to be taken more seriously, eliminate the separate Drama and Musical/Comedy categories and combine them into one. But for now, we all know it’s just a ploy to have the most celebrities packed into one room as possible.

Grade:  A-

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Imagine growing up with parents who loved each other very much, but as a kid you knew that something was wrong. Then after 38 years of marriage, your mother passes away and your father finally reveals the truth: he’s gay. Your father is 75 years old, but still wants to pursue in a homosexual lifestyle and since he understands his time is limited, quickly finds a boyfriend who is roughly as old as you are now. Your father dies in four years.

There’s no surprise that Oliver (McGregor) would be a bit damaged from the avalanche of critical events and information he has recently been presented, and this is what Beginners is all about. The film jumps between three timelines: Oliver’s memory of his parents, the years between when Oliver’s mother and father passes away, and the present. The flashbacks remind and warn Oliver of his current situation, that he’s always been alone and incapable of committing to a relationship.

Then he meets Anna (Laurent) and temporarily his world changes. She is extremely unique, being beautiful and strange simultaneously, and the two fall for each other. Even though the pace of their relationship is of something from romantic comedies, it still captures a genuine reality of these two individuals struggling through their lonely lives.

Christopher Plummer takes on the role as Hal, Oliver’s father, with sincerity. He loves to throw parties and engages in his gay pride openly. Even though he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, he lived in a relieved state that he finally confessed to his sexuality. There’s no doubt that Hal falls in love with his partner, Andy, and seeing it gives Oliver much pain. But what Hal was trying to prove to amend with his son was that it’s never too late to start over.

That is something that Oliver fights within himself while his relationship with Anna moves forward. In a very delicate conversation while both lie still in bed, they discuss their habits of always leaving. Anna leaves because of her profession as an actor, but Oliver leaves because of his constant doubt that what he sees is what he can believe.

This excellent family drama relies on a Jack Russell terrior as a voice of reason through Oliver’s painful process to recover. That’s just one of the quirky style decisions that this film contains, all of them that I loved. While Beginners has moments that are wrapped up way too neatly, it’s still a thought-provoking, indie gem with themes that anyone can apply to their own lives.

My nightmare is now becoming a reality. Taylor Swift has been reportedly offered the role of Eponine in the upcoming feature musical, Les Miserables. I feel like my best friend has just driven his car through the front door of my house, damaging everything temporarily until I can fix the hole in my home. For the record, I absolutely love the Broadway production of Les Mis and when I heard that Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, John Adams) was directing an adaptation of Les Mis, I couldn’t have been happier. Then to hear that the movie would include a cast of Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, etc. I got even more excited because those are not only very talented actors, but they can sing extremely well.

The path to the December 2012 release was looking very impressive until I read the headlines that Taylor Swift was offered the role of Eponine, beating out other actresses who auditioned like Lea Michele (Glee), Evan Rachel Wood (Across the Universe) and Scarlett Johansson. My initial reaction was a blur of expletives that my co-worker didn’t seem too fond of, but then my anger quickly turned into confusion. I cannot believe the idea that teen-idol Taylor Swift out-auditioned the other three actresses, whom all have acted and in my honest opinion, can sing significantly better than Taylor Swift. So what’s the deal? Were the casting directors thinking about how they could expand their viewership to the twelve-year-old girls who swoon over Swift? Would they sacrifice the potential of this highly anticipated musical just for a fan-base to flood the theaters? I’m guessing they would.

But enough of my ranting. Here are some other comments I’ve stumbled upon through my blog-surfing:

I think it is a terrible idea. I have seen the broadway musical a few times and would never see Taylor Swift in this role. Putting her in the role of Eponine actually deters me from seeing this film. Please, please, please reconsider an actress with the right voice and acting experience.

She can barely hit all the notes in her own songs. So for Taylor to even attempt to sing live on set the amazing songs of Les Mis is just not going to work and I don’t know what the hell casting and the director was thinking. Stunt casting at its worst.

her voice is completely wrong for this part and her so called acting in “Valentines Day” was horrendous and I think that she will completely butcher this part in what could have been an amazing movie

You’ve GOT to be kidding. Out of all of the actresses who can sing, they pick Taylor Swift?! Her voice is too country, and her acting is dismal. There is no WAY she can pull off “On My Own” with the gusto and emotion needed for the role. I was going to pay to see this movie, but I think I’ll wait for it to come out on Netflix now. I’m disgusted.

This is a star-studded cast with incredible names attached and of ALL PEOPLE in the world, they want Taylor Swift?!?! *confused on so many levels*

She is going to destroy the role. And not in a good way.

Crank up the Auto-Tune.

Okay I’m I the only one who’s angry about this?? I love her but oh hell to the no. She beat Lea Michelle for the role??? No. Just no. She can not pull of that role if she died trying. :[ This is depressing.

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And the comments go on and on and on. All I can hope for now is that Swift is too busy touring or writing another break-up song for her to actually devote a few months to the role. But I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. And even if Swift accepts the role, I still have faith in Tom Hooper to pull off the movie.

There was a buzz surrounding Showtime’s newest drama, Homeland, before it even premiered. From the little that I heard about it, I knew it was a drama/thriller about the CIA and the people involved to keep the country safe from terrorism. I already liked the sound of it and was eager to invest plenty of hours seeing how it unfolded. What I didn’t expect was how excellent this show was going to be.

Starring Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a CIA operations officer, she is the in-your-face type of heroine, never taking guff from anyone and always putting her duty on the job over everything else. She has a secret though, she’s bi-polar. The problem is she can’t inform her job about her disorder because if they find out, she’ll lose her security clearance. This is just one of the many conflicts that are presented through the first season of Homeland.

The main story-line involves Carrie acting on some intelligence that an American prisoner of war has been turned by Al-Qaeda and now is the key to a terrorist plot. Her focus from the beginning is on Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), a U.S. Marine who has spent the last eight years missing in action and presumed dead. She is convinced by a hunch that he is the turned American who is involved in a planned attack against America.

There are several other story-lines that give Homeland the layers and complexity every good drama has. Carrie finds herself in plenty of altercations with her supervisor, Saul (Mandy Patinkin), throughout their father-daughter kind of a relationship. Meanwhile, Brody struggles to adapt to family life with his wife Jessica (Morena Baccarin) and his two children. To add salt into that wound, Brody’s best friend Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) has been filling the void of Brody’s absence by engaging in a serious relationship with Jessica and the children.

What Homeland continued to do throughout the entire first season was pace themselves tremendously while juggling the drama, action, and conflict between the characters and plot. There were always new pieces to the puzzle and plenty of twists along the way, which made the show gripping and entertaining simultaneously.

My favorite aspect about the show was the inner struggle that all of the main characters inhabited. Did Carrie start to believe she was as crazy as other people thought? Can Jessica forget about everything that Mike meant to her while Brody was missing? Will Brody be a man of his word? And to who, either his family or Abu Nazir? Everyone has demons they try to keep caged up for as long as possible, but what do you do when they’re revealed?

While watching the show and following these characters being tormented by the decisions they had to make, I felt like I was taking the same path with trying to figure out who to trust, who to like, and what was right and wrong. The brilliance to this show is that Homeland blurs the line between right and wrong, good and bad. Homeland also asks the question “Why?” throughout, giving meaning to every word said and action done. If Brody did indeed turn, why did he do so? There is always a bigger picture involved.

Homeland borrows from plenty of previous materials such as Brothers, Manchurian Candidate, and every modern-day spy film, yet the drama still feels fresh. I applaud the writers of the show for not only providing character-depth, but enough options for the second season to move forward. At the conclusion of the 84-minute season finale, big things happen that will take weeks to mull over, but the mystery and questions that still linger are what the viewers will really come back for.

Grade: B-

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Steven Spielberg has been lighting up the screens this past month with two films released within weeks from one another. While The Adventures of Tintin is his crack at the 3-D medium, War Horse is as classic and old-fashioned as it gets. Adapted from the book and theater production of the same name, War Horse is a powerful tale about a boy and his horse during World War I. Even though Spielberg has set up another epic war film, War Horse lacks at being powerful enough on all fronts.

We follow the horse throughout the film as he exchanges owners and travels through cities, which breaks the film up into separate parts. He first meets Albert Narracott, who names him Joey and trains him to obey commands and to plow a field to harvest. But when a rain storm destroys their crop, Albert’s father has no choice but to sell Joey to the army so they can pay rent.

Joey marches forward as an officer’s horse, but gets captured by the Germans where he is then used to pull the ambulance wagon. Two brothers go AWOL with Joey and his friend. After they’re caught, a young girl, Emilie, and her grandfather enjoy the company of Joey until he is mercilessly taken back by the German military. The rest of the movie takes place through the trenches and the battlefield, cutting between Albert who has joined the army and Joey.

There are many great things about this film, along with it being a very enjoyable and entertaining spectrum. There are plenty of gorgeous shots of the wavy landscapes of England and the war sequences were exceptional. But the film as a whole feels disconnected because of the way it’s structured. Because we follow Joey’s journey, we’re presented with a number of human counter-parts. With the exception of Albert, no one is given enough screen-time to really feel any emotional attachment to them, and that is the movie’s major problem.

I must admit I was disappointed with this film because of some very manipulative scenes that really attempt to tug on your heart. And even when you include those scenes, War Horse still falls short at accomplishing that level of power that great epics have. Not to knock on Spielberg, but his past handful of films haven’t lived up to his legendary status. Since 2003, Munich is the only film that stands out at being excellent while the rest ranges from extremely watchable to downright terrible. I was hoping War Horse would switch gears to Spielberg’s glory days, but I was wrong.

Overall, War Horse is a beautifully shot film, but one that is forgettable. Spielberg was very bold to take on this boy-and-his-horse tale, but after the credits roll, you’re left with fragments of a complete film.