Supernatural "Road Trip" Review

I'm getting into writing these reviews instead of filming them. Don't worry, though, I will still film vlog reviews. For the one or two of you that give a damn.

In this episode we pick up soon after Kevin Tran died.

Throughout the episode Dean questions himself. At the start he is angry and starts throwing around objects. By the end of the episode he decides he has to go away from other people or else he'll hurt those he cares about.

I adore the moments between Sam and Dean that show the brothers do care about each other. Not just a normal caring, but something deeper. Something more. Dean doesn't usually question the fact that to kill a demon or angel you usually have to kill the vessel/meatsuit. But when that vessel is Dean's brother, he suddenly gets concerned.

I also think this episode had some of the best Destiel moments that I have seen in awhile. A bunch of those moments were just how the pair looked at each other aka how they showed their concern and appreciation for each other with just glances at times. That Castiel is well aware that Sam will always come first, but that Dean appreciates him nonetheless.

The part where Cas, Dean, and Crowley are around Sam to try and figure the angel out was hard for me to watch. I don't want to imagine what things my face did that I couldn't see during that scene.

Crowley proved himself to be more than a one note villain. He seemed to care about Sam, though that might have been merely to get himself in the good graces of the Winchesters for whatever reason. He also seemed concerned for Kevin, but that might have been because he had some plan for the prophet.

A scary thing that was revealed in this episode was that Metatron has killed all the prophets. HOLY SHIT!

The only really stupid thing that happened this episode was when the demon Crowley had spoken to earlier basically reveals her allegiance later to Abaddon. That line was just plain awkward.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Seeds" Review

This is the episode after Coulson's world has been shaken. He has learned that he was brought back to life after days of being dead. So I was happy to see that he didn't have a quick recovery from that fact. That he was still reeling from the information from the previous episode.

Through May's dialogue we find out that Coulson has become obsessed with what he found out in last episode. It's so bad that May decides to help Coulson find out about Skye's parents. So something May had no interest in she suddenly finds interest in when Coulson needs a distraction.

We find out that Skye's heritage is still unknown but that she was being protected by SHIELD agents. Skye is something dangerous and she was found amongst carnage.

What made my eyes tear up, but not to the point of full blown tears, was the speech Coulson gives at the end of the episode. He remarks to May that when he told Skye the truth that the girl was strong. She took something good out of the horrible truth. That, in turn, seems to have given Coulson some strength.

I also love how when May tells Coulson that she's sleeping with Ward he doesn't care. He has faith that May will know how to react if things go bad in the relationship.

And this is probably just my shipper mind, but: is May shy with telling Coulson the truth because she thinks she's cheating on him or that she thinks she's not acting like a good agent?

The main focus of this episode, the mystery in other words, is who is attacking the academy. With this plot we get to find out that the different departments of SHIELD are sort of in competition with one another (something Ward exploits to figure the mystery out).

The culprits turn out to have faked a danger so that Fitz and Simmons would help them solve a problem.

The surviving culprit (of the two) is Donnie Gill who I hope to see more of, especially with the creepy last shot we had of him. On imdb his character is listed as Donnie Gill/Blizzard so I have high hopes we'll see him again.

MORE TV SHOWS

Inbetween: The Incredible Burp 9

Every place I went to after I had parted ways with Ax weren't always safe places. Sometimes they were places with danger everywhere. I know that's a strange thing for me to say since, well, I knew about the Yeerks. I knew anyone could be an enemy.

But that didn't change the fact that I could still be stabbed to death by a regular human.

The thought of that kind of death had a sad sense of hope to them tonight. Rain was starting up as the full moon was high in the sky. I didn't spend time looking up as the danger from the stars wouldn't come screaming in on a Bug fighter, but from a Controller on the ground.

I tried to keep myself calm as I walked down the alley. The stink from trash and possible piss was overwhelming. I wanted to be walking down the alley as a hyena and have no fear that anyone would attack me.

And if someone did, they would most likely be drunk or Controller. One I could kill and the other wouldn't be a bother to me at all.

I listened for any sound and hid when I thought I heard footsteps. Part of one of the walls jetted out slightly and I hid behind it. When I made sure I was calm I turned to see who was sneaking up on me.

I had to hold back a laugh as I saw some of the rain had made a bottle tip over. Maybe I did need the other Animorphs to help me. If I was getting so scared by simple things I did need others to watch over me.

That hurt me to think since I didn't like to think about telling one of them that. I didn't like to think about telling the group that I needed them now.

Some movement in the sky made me look up and I saw an owl. It looked like a Barn Owl and I got a little scared.

A few of the Animorphs had that morph. One day Rachel and myself had had the bad fortune to be alone together and she had told the story about how Jake had been infested for three days. She had told the story to prove I shouldn't start thinking too highly about myself.

Some of the Animorphs had used the Barn Owl morph to make sure the Yeerk didn't escape.

For a few precious moments I hoped that it wasn't one of them and then it landed on the roof and said, Amanda?

I didn't move but knew that was useless. Owl eyesight was supposed to be amazing, so whoever had found me would already know I was there. I was guessing Cassie since I thought I recognized her thought-speak.

When I stepped away from my hiding spot, that probably didn't even hide me, the Animorph flew down and started demorphing.

I could tell it was Cassie as none of the others could morph as well as she could. Ax had called her an Estreen which basically meant she was extremely good at morphing.

"Cassie?" I asked when she had finished demorphing.

I was worried that she was going to reprimand me but then I saw the concerned look on her face. It had started to form once she had finished demorphing.

"You're wondering if I'm me?" I asked. "If I'm a Controller again?"

"You'd have made it easier for us to find you." Cassie replied and then answered the obvious unasked question. "Ax told us."

I had figured Ax would tell them at some point. Him and the other Animorphs had had a rocky relationship at first. He had to deal with how not to break Seerow's Kindness and, at the same time, he also had to help his fellow Animorphs.

So Ax felt bad about hiding things from the group and I didn't expect him to keep my secrets.

"So what are you here for?" I asked, my courage returning to me. "To tell me that you'll keep me safe? Or that you've found some miraculous cure for me?"

"We have found a cure." Cassie said and there was a moment of silence.

No way could they have found a way to cure my Hereth illint. Unless Ax had remembered something, there wasn't a way to fix me. I was broken beyond repair. It was foolish to think otherwise.

"What's this cure?" I asked, pretending to take the bait.

Cassie paused as though figuring how to tell her lie.

"This is a secret that must not be known to anyone outside of us Animorphs." Cassie said. "There are androids on Earth that no species knows about. They are called the Chee and were made by the extinct race called Pemalites."

I felt my pride tugging at me as I realized I was being let in on a secret of the group. I was being treated like a full-fledged member.

"One of them, Erek King, has helped us in the past." Cassie continued. "He can't fight as Chee are programmed against violence."

"Why doesn't he find a way to change that?" I asked.

"He did reprogram himself but then reverted back to his original programming a short time later. A Chee's memory remains forever and he did not like the memories he made while he fought."

I thought that was a stupid move for him to make. Then I wondered what it'd be like if I had to remember in detail every experience of my Hereth illint. Could I keep it together if I had to remember, in detail, being infested by a Yeerk?

Erek did make the right choice, but I still didn't agree with it.

"So why bring him up?" I asked.

"He has a way that he believes will heal you." Cassie said. "The others do miss you. Especially Ax."

Could there really be a cure? What could the Chee do? Part of me wanted to run in the right direction and get the cure now, but part of me didn't. Part of me didn't want to see the others' pity for me.

That fear, the fear of pity, had made me run off in the first place. But would it really be wise to give up a shot of being cured for a life hiding in fear?

At some point I'd have to learn to not let pity bother me. Maybe that time was now.

"I don't care if the group misses me." I lied since I did care about Ax. "But, if possible, I'd like to be able to fight against the Yeerks again. If the cure doesn't work you will allow me to live out my remaining days in peace."

Cassie didn't bring up that I would never have peace with the Yeerks continuing their invasion of Earth. She was the peace maker of the group and so she wouldn't bring up that point to convince me.

"Do you really want to live like this forever?" She asked and I was silent.
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Inbetween tumblr
All of Inbetween: The Incredible Burp


THE ANIMORPHS SERIES

I Am Not Looking Forward to the Lego Movie

I can't remember what show I was watching when a trailer came on. For a moment I thought it had to be a joke. That no way could this actually be a real thing. But, nope, I have seen the trailer many times since and have to deal with the fact that it actually exists.

Yes, folks, I am talking about The Lego Movie.

Now I'm not against Lego having a movie of its own and for children to enjoy it. I'm not against Lego having a means for parents to distract their kids for an hour. The thing is that this movie is having a THEATRICAL release.

The lines in the trailer (and from IMDB) make me very sure that this will not be a good movie.

Will it be successful? Probably as it's aimed towards kids and there is a nostalgia factor.

But just because a movie is successful does not indicate if it's good or not.

Liam Neeson will be lending his voice to this film and it'll come to theaters February 7, 2014.



Lego Games

Animorphs Re-Read: #4 The Message (Chapters 9-12)

Chapter 9

Cassie dreams again of the voice under the water. She also dreams of the dolphin she acquired in the last chapter.

Cassie goes on to wonder about the intelligence of dolphins. While I don't agree about wondering if morphing intelligent creatures is right because morphing is the same concept EVERY TIME. So if you start to wonder if it's right or not just because you're turning into a cute animal I can't really take your argument seriously.

However, I like Animorphs since it does delve into how animals think. How animals really view the world. So Cassie wondering about how the dolphin views the world is interesting.

Cassie calls Jake to see how the mission will proceed. Of course they talk in code since they don't want to be found out. Tom, Jake's older brother and a human controller, is mentioned again.

Jake says that they'll morph in a river since morphing in a place where lots of people could see them isn't the smartest idea in the world.

Cassie gets to the spot and sees it's hidden away from the sight of other people. She shares a joke with Tobias and I'm happy. I'm just so glad that she is allowing Bird-boy to handle his situation how he sees fit.

Tobias will be the time-keeper for the mission and it turns out Rachel bought him a watch. I find it cute that Rachel bought him the watch. Aw!

Cassie, of course, is made to be the one who will morph the dolphin first. She doesn't think the others should admire her for her morphing ability so much. That she morphs just as well as everyone else. She is a very modest girl.

Cassie is afraid she'll encounter the actual dolphin's mind when she morphs. Not just the instincts. Yes, Cassie, because the rules of morphing change if the animal you're morphing is INTELLIGENT! Holy fuck, that's a leap in logic.

Cassie goes down to her morphing outfit. The shoes thing is brought up again. For some reason no type of shoes can work in morphing, no matter how tight the shoes are.

Cassie starts to morph and wants to hold onto her legs as long as she can. Cassie is usually described as the best morpher, but in this book and the last there's a morph that she's described as not doing pretty. I don't mind her being the best morpher, but it seems to be more said than shown in the last book and this one.

Cassie feels her back as she grows a dorsal fin.

Cassie waits for the dolphin mind to overtake her. She waits for fear to overtake her but the dolphin mind isn't afraid. The dolphin mind is like a little kid's.

She is relieved not to find a true mind when she completes her dolphin morph. Holy fuck! I couldn't see the fact that the morphing rules didn't change when morphing an intelligent and cute dolphin coming!

Cassie then continues on how the dolphin's mind is like a kid's and how all it wants to do is play.

Tobias asks Cassie how she's doing and she says that she wants him to come play with her. Tobias makes a joke about that not being a good idea. Aw, come on, Tobias, don't you want that dolphin hawk rodeo? Wait...that scene comes in a different book. Never mind.

Cassie calls to the others to morph. She wants to play in the ocean since the river isn't right for her.

The others morph and Tobias flies overhead while the others swim.

Cassie is enjoying her dolphin morph. How she describes the connection of dolphins to the ocean is just poetic.

Cassie and the others, except Tobias, start jumping and they have fun doing so. Why am I so jealous of fictional characters right now? Is it because they're so damn happy?

Cassie and the others get too into their morphs and Uncle Tobias has to point out that they need to focus. I like how Tobias here, like in the previous book, is the one who has to remind the group about the time. This is good that he has a job since he can't participate in most missions.

Cassie laughs him off but he tells them how the dolphin minds have affected them even though they don't think so.

Tobias reminds them that they morphed dolphins to look for an Andalite ship. The group then treats finding the Andalite ship like a game. That the first person to find the ship wins. Uncle Tobias comments that they are acting like a group of five-year-olds.

Cassie uses her echolocation and senses something that she can't place. She asks the others and Marco agrees that there is something bad out there. She searches in the dolphin mind for the answer.

She figures out that she senses a shark! And here's another chapter ending on a cliffhanger.


Chapter 10

Uncle Tobias tells the others that they aren't there to fight sharks. Cassie agrees saying that dolphins don't pick fights with sharks. It's then revealed that there is a group of sharks attacking a whale.

However, the whale is referred to by Cassie as a 'great one'. Animorphs is supposed to be a sci-fi series and not a sci-fi/fantasy series. This means that fantastic things can happen, but they all have to be scientific in nature. Even if the science is flimsy as Hell. Many think the Ellimist and Crayak being like God and Satan of the Aniverse is bad since it breaks the sci-fi feel of the series.

But, from this chapter alone, we can see that the fantasy parts of this series was started very early on.

Rachel wants to rescue the whale which surprises no one as she's usually the first one that wants to rush out into battle. Tobias' reply show that she stresses him out, but that he still loves her.

Tobias gives a report of what he can see from the air. There are at most five sharks and a really big whale.

Cassie rams into a shark and describes it seeming to be made out of something like steel. Cassie is dazed by the impact but sees she has hurt the shark. YES!

Turns out the whale is a humpback whale and Cassie is angry that the sharks out eating it.

Jake and Rachel join in on the shark fighting thing.

This whole fight seems like it's modeled after space battles from the Star Wars movies. I know that's probably not the case, since Applegate is a Trekkie, but I can't help but be reminded of Luke going against Tie Fighters at the end of A New Hope.

Cassie remarks that being a dolphin isn't all a game now. That she feels that there are serious consequences now. The thought that she might die frightens her. Of course, Cassie being Cassie, she thinks of the others dying before she thinks of the same fate for herself. I see it as her being more concerned about the others.

The sharks then turn from the group and attack the injured shark instead. The shark that Cassie had injured.

The group checks up on each other. Of course it's Marco that's injured. They make a comment on how he can't swim back.

Yes, because he can't demorph and then morph back into a dolphin. Anyone else thinking that? No? Okay, it's just me again.


Chapter 11

The start of the chapter begins with everyone panicking with what to do. Demorphing and morphing would be too logical to consider.

I admit the only moving part of this scene is Marco worrying about dying like his mother did. She died by drowning in a boating accident. Of course we later find out what really happened, but this is what Marco knows right now.

Cassie finally says what I've been saying and the group questions her. I want to hug you so much, Cassie.

Marco points out that he can't swim and Jake says that they'll take care of him. I won't make a certain joke because I think it borders on racist.

As Marco is passing out from loss of blood he starts to demorph.

When he's back into human form Cassie exclaims that he is fine. And Marco, being the joker of the group, says that it's true and now he's drowning. Oh, Marco, you are so funny!

Cassie offers her fin to him and then she notices that the humpback is rising towards them. Rachel gets freaked but Cassie tells her to calm down after the whale communicates to Cassie.

This is yet another fantasy element put into the series. There is nothing scientific about this. It's all a person's dream of how awesome whales are and how connected Cassie is to the animal world.

I don't mind it, but it does feel a little out of place.

I know you could say that it's because whales are more intelligent than we thought, but that seems more of an excuse than anything else.

Rachel agrees that she knows everything is fine since the whale is communicating in its own way.

How the whale communicates is so beautiful that I guess it's the reason that I don't mind the whale 'speaking' as much.

The chapter ends with Cassie listening as the whale begins to 'speak'.


Chapter 12

The whale talks to Cassie. What the whale basically tells Cassie is that he has lived a very long life and yet has never seen a dolphin become a human. I am just laughing at the idea of the whale being a grandpa. What makes this image even more clear is that the language reminds me of how a stereotypical Native American speaks.

The whale says that the Animorphs aren't the only new thing in the sea. Can the whale possibly know about the Andalite ship?

Cassie describes how the whale seems to talk in some language that is very hard to explain. The only thing I can compare the description to is how the Second Foundation (in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series) communicates.

The whale sends an image to Cassie of what looks like an Andalite in a ship underwater. I think it's part of the Dome ship.

Cassie finishes talking with the whale and the others are worried. Seems as though the whale only talked to Cassie. I'm not surprised that it thought to talk to her since she does have a very kind feel to her (though what she does to David shows she has a dark side to her).

Jake says the others didn't try to wake her since it seemed to be wise to not interrupt the whale.

They say that Marco is ready to try remorphing. Dudes, you morph the DNA of a creature and that's not impacted by injures. There is no reason to worry.

Tobias tells the others that they don't have much time left.

Marco begins to morph back into dolphin form. Cassie remarks that when Marco remorphed into a dolphin that he wasn't injured anymore.

Imagine that!

As they swim back to shore they hear the whale sing a song. Cassie tells the group the whale is singing for a mate. Marco uses the phrase 'cruising for chicks' and I'm reminded that this is a kid's book. That no matter how dark it gets there will always be some humor.

And, trust me, it will get very dark.
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Animorphs Re-Read Table of Contents

THE ANIMORPHS BOOKS

Almost Human "You Are Here" Review

I take a look at yet another Almost Human episode!

Divergent, Please Don't Suck

I like to go into movies with an open mind. But, of course, that's not always the case. Sometimes I have bias for a movie I'll be seeing.

For the upcoming Divergent movie I'm biased because I love the books. I want to see a good adaptation of the books on the big screen. I am well aware that doesn't usually happen, but Harry Potter and The Hunger Games have gotten some decent adaptations.

What makes me worried about the Divergent movie is the fact that events are being changed and characters are being dropped. Those things always make me a little nervous.

Yes, you can tell a great story without some characters, but it makes your job a little harder. And it seems those who do movie adaptations usually don't realize what is at the heart of what they're adapting for film. So it means they have even more of a chance to fuck things up when they change the order of events and drop characters.

Shailene Woodley is set to play Beatrice "Tris" Prior who is the heroine of the Divergent Trilogy.

Theo James is set to play Four/Tobias who is a fellow Divergent and love interest.

If you're wondering: Yes, Veronica Roth is an Animorphs fan.

Jai Courtney is set to play Eric and is also being considered for the role of Kyle Reese in this upcoming film:

The Divergent Trilogy
Good Film Adaptations