Meet Michael Westen

Burn Notice S1E01 Review - "Pilot"

Written by: Matt Nix

Directed by: Jace Alexander

The television show Burn Notice originally premiered in mid-2007, and currently is still running, with the show in its fourth season. Burn Notice is best described as a "spy show", with its lead character, ex-spy Michael Westen commonly referred to as a "modern day MacGyver". 

The first episode introduces all the main characters in the show, and does an exceptional job at setting up the general premise of the show and all that it entails. In a nutshell, Michael Westen is on an assignment in Southern Nigeria when he recieves a call during the middle of a meeting with a Russian terrorist stating that he has been "burned" - basically that he had been fired as a spy. After barely managing to escape from Nigeria, he passes out on a plane and ends up waking in a bed in Miami, his hometown. Here, he meets his ex-girlfriend Fiona, who states that she had come to see him die and calls him a "bastard". He ends up offering to take her to dinner if she distracts the FBI men who are monitoring him. She agrees and he manages to get away for a little while.

Without going into too much detail, the episode focuses on setting up Michael with a place of residence and some work to do in order to obtain some cash. He also attempts to get into contact with his handler, Dan, to figure out why he got burned. He does manage to get into contact with Dan at the end of the episode, after sending him a pipe bomb with no explosive. Dan informs him that he doesn't know why Michael got burned, but that he can't leave Miami or else the FBI would issue a nationwide manhunt and arrest him. 

The episode ends with a "To Be Continued..." sign, stating that there will be more to come on this particular story arc (obviously considering as it is the first episode). But i digress.

Anywho, here are my marks for the first episode of Burn Notice Season One:

• Potency of the season's theme in the episode:      *****

• Editing/Scenes of Relevance:      *****

• Main character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      *****

• Secondary character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      ***

• Music/Visual Effects:      *****

• Potency of all storylines and relationships in the episode:      ***

Overall Marks:   26 / 30

Grade Percentage:  87%

Overall, this episode served as a perfect opening to the show, and managed to encompass all the elements in which the show is based upon. I definitely look forward to reviewing future episodes.

Geostigma and the Return of Sephiroth

Cloud Strife looking at the ruins of Midgar.
Image copyright of Square Enix.

One of my favourite video game franchises, Final Fantasy has always managed to have a consistent range of excellent J-RPG video games. However, several years ago, Square Enix (the company who created the Final Fantasy franchise), have gone one step further, and expanded on the story of their most popular game - Final Fantasy VII - and turned into a movie. That's right, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, is a movie!

In a nutshell, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a continuation of the story from the game. Two years have passed since Cloud defeated Sephiroth in the Planet's core, and the people of Midgar have built a smaller village on the outskirts of the once proud city and called it Edge. However, most of the citizens have become affected by a mysterious disease called geostigma, that came about as the result of the Lifestream's fight against Meteor. Seeking a way to save Marlene, Barrett's daughter, and her friend Denzel, Cloud begins a long journey to find a cure for the mysterious disease while fighting off a band of miscreants led by the mysterious leader named Kadaj. Along the way, Cloud is faced with several challenges, as he ultimately struggles to rescue and save the children while at the same time seeking forgiveness from people he couldn't save when he was younger.

Don't get me wrong - i do have some quibbles about the movie itself - but all in all, i really love this movie. However, not everyone will derive the same level of satisfaction as i did from the movie, mainly because the film's intended audience are people who have played and completed the actual game first.

If you were an individual who had never played the game before and walked into the cinema, it is highly likely that you would have no clue as to what was going on, or grasp the subtle plot hints that connect to the game itself. That, unfortunately, is one of the main detracting parts of the film.

Another negative of the film is the subtitles. I have never seen a film that has so many faulty subtitles as this film. Granted, Square Enix may have altered the script at a later point during voice recording with the actors, and certain parts of the script may have been lost during translation, but most of the subtitles are simply inaccurate to what the actual characters are saying. This was a major downside of the film for me. Aside from that, i don't have anything else negative to say about the film.

On a positive note, the film has a lot of great features about it. First of all, the visuals. The entire movie is animated with real time movement and combat and is, quite simply put, brilliant. I don't think i've seen an animated movie with as much realism and attention to detail as this movie has done. A definite positive for the overall movie.

Secondly, the actors and recordings. Although the acting is a bit off-time in some parts, i am willing to put it down to translation issues and timing problems. But on the actual performances themselves, they were very good. And the voices, well....Square did a fantastic job with the English voice actors, as each character sounded exactly as i pictured they would in the game. Another major plus here.

Finally, the script and story. Although it was a bit unusual at some points with the back and forth jumping, the story was exceptionally well written and flowed well as both a continuation of the game's story, and also as an individual and original storyline.

Overall, my final marks for the movie are:

• Potency of the movie's dominant theme consistently present throughout the story:      ******* 

• Editing/ Scenes of Relevance:      *********

• Main character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      ********

• Secondary character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      *******

• Music/Visual Effects:      **********

Overall Marks:   41 / 50

Grade Percentage:   82%

I can honestly say that i thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and i look forward to any future movies from Square Enix.

Guns and Rainbows

Dexter S5E05 Review - "First Blood"

Dexter attempting to convince Lumen to leave Miami.
Image courtesy of Showtime.

Well, it certainly seems that things are finally starting to set in motion in Miami. This week's episode of Dexter saw the reunion of Miami Homicide's full team (excepting Quinn) back working on cases. Yeah, that's right, Dexter is back at work (about time!). With life slowly starting to return to normal in Miami, the show has moved away from Rita's death, and now is focusing primarily on Dexter's relationship with Lumen.

This episode, a number of interesting things happened to Dexter. First of all, i'd like to address his return to work. It was good to see all the original Miami gang together again, especially considering that in every previous season, Dexter has always been working in every episode. With him back at work, hopefully the pace of the season will start to pick up in regards to the Sante Muerta killings.

On another note, Dexter and Lumen... i like their chemistry. Dexter, with his need to kill in order to set the world right, and Lumen with her rage and quest for revenge against the men who raped her... i think they would make a pretty killer team (pardon the pun). Unfortunately, at the moment Lumen appears to be more of an obstacle than an ally, as evidenced by her near shooting of an innocent man. Granted, she did believe that the man was one of her rapists, but thankfully Dexter managed to stop her from committing murder. Which brings me to my next point...wasn't it kind of ironic how Dexter went out of his way to kidnap Lumen's target? Of course, one could argue that if Lumen gets caught, that Dexter would soon follow, but i think there's more to it than that... i think he likes her. Heck, he even told her his last name. Expect some more theories on their relationship next post.

To be honest, i don't know if it's my infatuation with Julia Stiles, but everyone else's storylines seemed not as appealing as last weeks' - the only ones i found remotely interesting were Deb and Cira's findings of two new Santa Muerta victims (apparently the Fuentes brothers' first kills) and Quinn's recruitment of a dirty cop to look into Dexter.

Of course, i should also mention Batista and LaGuerta's storyline - but to be honest, it still doesn't seem good. Sure, my respect for Batista's character went up this episode, but it still wasn't enough to make me grade their relationship any higher than normal. Shame really. I really wanted to give this episode a higher mark. Hopefully, the writers have something big in store for Batista and LaGuerta - otherwise i will have to deny an extraordinary show the true mark that it deserves.

Now, my marks for the fifth episode of Dexter Season 5:

• Potency of the season's theme in the episode:      ****

• Editing/Scenes of Relevance:      *****

• Main character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      *****

• Secondary character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      ****

• Music/Visual Effects:      *****

• Potency of all storylines and relationships in the episode:      ***

Overall marks:   26 / 30

Grade Percentage: 87%

All in all, this was a great episode of Dexter, and the story is really starting to come together in certain aspects. Of course, we still have seven episodes to go, so anything can happen in the coming weeks. One thing i am particularly interested in is the season finale. What do the writers have in store for us at the end of the season? Who will live? Who will die? We will find out in due time. 

By the way, for all you Quinn haters, sorry to say this, but i don't think Quinn will die this season. Since he has his new lapdog doing his dirty work for him, i think the ex-Robocop will be the one to fall under the blade this season - and, best of all, i think Lumen will be the one to do it.

Only time will tell.

Until next week, ciao!

Taking A Leap of Faith

Dexter S5E04 Review - "Beauty and the Beast"

Lumen standing in Boyd's swamp dumping ground.
Image courtesy of Showtime.

All i can say is wow. This week's episode of Dexter was really, really good! It seems like the writers have definitely started to step up their game, as this episode left me craving for more.

First off the bat, i'll talk about Dexter's storyline for this episode. Basically in a nutshell, Dexter and us (the audience) went on a researching adventure trying to find out information about Dexter's captive - (the beautiful miss Julia Stiles).

As the episode progressed, we discovered that her name was Lumen Ann Pierce, and that it seems that she had run away from home. However, it seems that her little adventure had turned out for the worst, as she ended up in Boyd Fowler's basement - but the actual events that led her to him were not revealed this episode. I have a strong feeling that they will be explored next week.

Additionally, we were treated to a adrenaline rush, as Lumen pretended to be dead in the abandoned tourist centre, only to knock Dexter to the ground and flee for her life. However, once Dexter had managed to sort things out with her, it seems that the beginnings of a possible friendship might be emerging. However, it is still too soon to tell.

Aside from his antics with Lumen, Dexter also had to make up with Sonya, who decided to quit after Dexter's unexpected absence. However, he begged her to come back, and after telling her the truth (that he was at a crime scene and helping an injured girl), she deicided to come back and work for him. Phew. I was worried we were going to say goodbye to the lovely Sonya. :(

Thank you Showtime for keeping her on board. :)

Deb's storyline was a lot more intense than it has been lately, with the Miami homicide department actually managing to decipher who the cult killers were. After a heavy confrontation, Deb unfortunately was not able to stop one of the killers, but she did manage to save the life of an innocent Venezualen man, albeit that he got his neck sliced by a machete.

Quinn's storyline was also a lot more intense as he made contact with Jonah Mitchell this episode. After following the FBI to a convenience store, he confronted Jonah with a picture of Dexter, but before Jonah had a chance to reply, the FBI arrested Quinn, and he recieved an unpaid suspension from LaGuerta.

I have a feeling though, that Quinn's investigation of Dexter has only just begun.

Batista and LaGuerta's storylines unfortunately didn't go very far this episode, aside from Batista apologising to Sgt. Lopez, and LaGuerta trying to convince the Internal Affairs representative to let the matter go. But, ah well.  The other secondary characters had some major tv time, so it is an improvement.

Anyhow, these are my marks for the fourth episode of the season:

• Potency of the season's theme in the episode:      ****

• Editing/Scenes of Relevance:      *****

• Main character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      *****

• Secondary character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      ****

• Music/Visual effects:      *****

• Potency of all storylines & relationships in the episode:      ***

Overall Marks:  26 / 30

Grade Percentage: 87%

All in all, this was a very good episode. I can honestly say that i cannot wait until next week's episode to find out more about Lumen's character and what Quinn is going to get upto now that he is on suspension. That, and the cult killers seem like very riveting characters. I can only hope that they are a season long storyline for Debra and the rest of the Miami PD. But, my gut instinct tells me that the cult killers storyline will conclude by the end of the sixth or seventh episode.

I suppose i should also point out that i've watched the preview for next week's episode and it seems that Lumen herself is going on a rampage of her own. I cannot wait to see how this turns out. 

Until next week, ciao!

The Irish Nanny

Dexter S5E03 Review - "Practically Perfect"

Sonya, Harrison's new nanny.
Image courtesy of Showtime.

Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up. That's right, Julia Stiles' name finally aired in the main credits today, with the nifty "Guest Starring" title. About time.

Anywho, i digress. On with the review.

*SPOILERS BELOW*

Well, what can i say - the momentum of the season is definitely picking up. The last two weeks have been a bit slow, with the first episode devoted entirely to Rita's funeral, whilst the second episode was mainly about Astor and Cody leaving, with a bit of prey stalking mixed in for good measure.

And now, we enter the third episode - with Dexter on the hunt for his latest kill - the dreaded roadkill guy Boyd Fowler. One interesting thing to note here, was that Dexter's contact with his prey was different than previous seasons - most notably that the guy actually saw him and had a conversation with Dexter.

To me, it appears that Dexter almost seems to want to be caught, as his careful planning and usually well thought-out tactics seem to have gone by the wayside. Not only did he mess up by engaging in contact with his target more than once, but he took a drive with him, and drugged him during the middle of the day! The middle of the day for goodness sake!

However, the scene where Fowler shot Dexter with the dart made me laugh as both men went down. It was also interesting to see Dexter and Fowler in the hospital together, as they both knew that they were out to get the other. Thankfully, Dexter managed to get the upper hand when Fowler arrived home - and dealt with him in good measure.

But then, lo and behold, Julia Stiles shows up! Dexter opens the door, grabs a hold of her when she tries to flee and then.... end of episode.

Guess we'll just have to wait until next week to find out what Dexter plans to do with his unwelcome guest.

Of course, the episode wasn't just purely about Dexter. Deb and her new partner managed to find out more info about the rumoured cult that lived in the nearby Venezualen neighbourhood, and also in the process met with a new crime scene and another beheading.

This seems like the first step in another season long arc, and i really do hope that the writers stick with this cult story as it is rather quite intriguing at the moment - plus the beheaded heads are quite detailed. Then of course, we come to Quinn. Quinn's story didn't really go anywhere this episode, other than him looking at pictures of Dexter and calling his FBI friend to organise an interview with the Mitchell family.

Nothing much happened in the Batista/LaGuerta storyline either, aside from Batista telling LaGuerta what happened and a guy from Internal Affairs informing LaGuerta that Batista's barfight with Sgt. Lopez could potentially make him lose his job, as Lopez is filing charges.

Other than that, nothing else of significance happened. Oh wait, i forgot about the best part - the nanny! The episode started off with Deb interrogating people for the position of Harrison's nanny and babysitter, and in the end they decided on an Irish lady to be her nanny. To be honest, i almost immediately fell in love with Sonya as she has such a loving and relaxed atmosphere around her - the perfect atmosphere to look after a child.

I really hope that the writers plan to keep Sonya, at least until the end of the season, as her calm and easy-going nature is really quite refreshing, and in some ways, is a substitute for Rita's, albeit not as potent.

Now, for the final marks of the episode.

• Potency of the season's theme in the episode: **** 
• Editing/Scenes of Relevance: ***** 
• Main character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience: ***** 
• Secondary character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience: **** 
• Music/Visual Effects: ***** 
• Potency of all storylines & relationships between characters in the episode: *** 

Overall marks: 26 / 30

Grade Percentage: 87%

As you can see, this episode was quite good, but was lacking in some areas. Most notably, Batista and LaGuerta's storyline. I know that i am bias, but i hate it. Not so much the whole relationship, but just the sappiness of the actual story associated with it. Granted, this season they've stepped it up by bringing Internal Affairs into it, but so far this season, it's only gotten better slightly more than it has been.

I really do hope that they work on this part of the story, as all the other storylines are excellent and this is the one thing keeping me from awarding higher marks to the episode, and in turn, the show. After all, i will be doing a grand total count at the end of the season to give it a full mark out of 360.

I really do hope to give it a mark above 320, but things really need to improve in the coming weeks.

Until next time, farewell!

The Kids Leave Town

Dexter S5E02 Review - "Hello, Bandit"

Astor and Cody skip school to visit the house where Rita was murdered.
Image courtesy of Showtime.

This week's episode of Dexter managed to wrap up the loose ends of the previous seasons - most notably by removing Astor and Cody from the picture. That's right, Rita's kids are moving away with their grandparents! It was an interesting move by the writers, and probably the most sensible. After all, with a season of Dexter appearing to go off the edge with his killings, having Astor and Cody to look after as well would put too much strain on Dexter, and the story arc in particular.


Unfortunately, it can also be viewed as a cheap tactic by the writers to "shuffle" away the kids from the show and return Dexter to his true origins. I sincerely hope that they bring the kids back later on in the season to add some more depth and intensity to the last half of the season, and that this isn't simply another cast away of now irrelevant characters.
On another note, it's good to see Dexter on the prowl again after so long - although he almost got caught today by his first new target of the season - the evil roadkill man Boyd Fowler, who appears to have a fascination with blonde haired women. Dexter was merely researching and casing him this episode, so hopefully next week, we will manage to see him brought to justice by Dexter's blade.


Angel's barfight with a civilian was interesting and has managed to bring some life into the rather dull Season 4 Batista/LaGuerta storyline. Hopefully, this new strain on their marriage will make them call it quits and then life can return to normal in the Miami Homicide Department.


Lastly, we come to the Deb/Quinn storyline. Although rather humourous in some parts, it is inevitable that this relationship will only strain relations between Deb and her brother Dexter as Quinn pieces together the true identity of Kyle Butler. Although he hasn't officially figured it out yet, he does have a serious hunch, and it is only a matter of time before Quinn and Dexter come head to head. Will it be another Doakes/Dexter rematch? 


Only time will tell.


Anywho, these are my marks for the second episode of Dexter Season 5:

• Potency of the season's theme in the episode:      *****

• Editing/Scenes of Relevance:      *****

• Main character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      ****

• Secondary character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      ****

• Music/Visual Effects:      *****

• Potency of all storylines & relationships with characters:      ****

Overall marks:  27 / 30

Grade Percentage: 90% 

Two weeks down, ten weeks to go (and still no sign of Julia Stiles!) I have a strong suspicion that she will most likely appear in the next episode, as my sources say that she makes an appearance in 10 episodes of the season. I am definitely looking forward to next week and i hope that the episode will be just as riveting, if not better than this week's!

Farewell Rita Morgan

Dexter S5E01 Review - "My Bad"

Dexter looks on at another person's funeral. Image courtesy of Showtime.

Well, what can i say. This week's premiere of Season 5 of Dexter was quite interesting...and quite awesome to boot. I suppose it would be best to provide a brief summary of the events that occurred in this episode. Beware, spoilers ahead!

First and foremost, the episode was primarily about Dexter and his coming to terms with the death of Rita and his associated guilt at not being there to protect her from Trinity. Additionally, we were also treated to some flashbacks of Dexter and Rita's first date, which Dexter was using as a cover to stalk a new target.

On a secondary note, Deb and Quinn's story-lines were set up for the season, mainly with Deb's role helping Dexter take care of Harrison, and Quinn investigating into Rita's murder. Unfortunately, no Julia Stiles yet, but she will most likely be making an appearance hopefully next week, or the following one - we will just have to wait and see what happens.

Okay, now for the review itself. From a critic's standpoint, i believe that the episode did a great job in wrapping up the Rita character's storyline, and she was sent off with a fond farewell. However, in terms of setting up the character's roles for the current season, i think that this was done well, however not exceptional.

One example of this is Deb's role in this episode. She plays temporary nanny to Dexter/ fuck buddy to Quinn and, while it does set up the premise for most of the season, i was kind of expecting more from her character. However, to be fair, with the phenomenal amount of actors and actresses signed on for the season, i think it will be quite hard to fit everything in and assign each character a role without being repetitive.

That leads me to my next point. The timing of the show. I know it's way too early to call yet, but i have a growing suspicion that this season may have timing issues similar to Season 3's debacle with Jimmy Smits's character and subsequent storyline. I do acknowledge the fact that we still have eleven more episodes to go, but i just hope that the producers (and Clyde Phillips as consultant) can keep this season fresh and entertaining while at the same time honoring their commitments to time and balance.

Overall, these are my marks for the first episode of Season 5:

• Potency of the season's theme in the episode:      *****

• Editing/Scenes of Relevance:      ****

• Main character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      ****

• Secondary character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience:      ***

• Music/Visual Effects:      *****

• Potency of all storylines & relationships between characters in the episode:      ***

Episode Marks:  24 / 30

Grade Percentage: 80%

Well, we still have eleven weeks of fabulous television ahead of us, so until next week, stay safe and enjoy! xD