TV Recaps Reviews

HBO2 presents the film In Tahrir Square: 18 Days Of Egypt’s Unfinished Revolution. Emmy®-winning documentary filmmakers Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill were on the scene in Cairo, capturing the sights, sounds and passion of a modern-day revolution. The film brings viewers into the streets of Cairo to experience first-hand what began as a small, peaceful demonstration and quickly grew into a revolutionary movement that would force the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. They took over a city square and in 18 days brought down a regime that had ruled for 30 years.

Catch a preview of the documentary In Tahrir Square: 18 Days Of Egypt’s Unfinished Revolution below.

The Academy Award nominations were announced this morning, with some expected results and some unexpected snubs. Woody Allen has a number of nominations for Midnight in Paris, including Best Director. The film Hugo leads with 11 nominations. The movie list of Best Picture nominees was mostly expected. There were some great surprises including a well deserved comedy nomination for Melissa McCarthy as Best Supporting Actress for Bridesmaids. Comedy performances are often left out when it comes time for Oscar nominations unfortunately, and as any good character actor will tell you, comedy is harder to do than drama.

There were a number of high profile Oscar nomination snubs as well, including Leonardo DiCaprio on the Best Actor list for his role in J. Edgar. George Clooney was left off the Best Director list for Ides Of March (the movie was also left off the Best Picture list), along with Bennett Miller for Moneyball and Steven Spielberg for War Horse. Other nomination snubs included Albert Brooks for Best Supporting Actor, and Charlize Theron and Tilda Swinton for Best Supporting Actress, performances touted highly by other awards shows.

The 84th Academy Awards will be presented on February 26th from the Kodak Theatre live on ABC at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PST. Check your local listings for more information.

2012 Oscar Nomination List

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Although there are many different spy movies (James Bond, the Bourne Trilogy, Mission Impossible), there aren’t that many spy TV shows. Coming up with interesting plots around spies and secret agents is pretty tough, especially if you’ve got to keep an intelligent and perceptive audience entertained.

Thankfully there have been some cracking spy thriller TV series in the last 10 to 15 years, so here are some of your favourites. Have we missed any?

1) Burn Notice

Heading into its 7th season, Burn Notice stars Jeffrey Donovan as a former spy, Michael Weston, that has been disavowed and is working to get back into the game. With the help of his trusted colleauges, Fiona Glenanne, Sam Ax and Jesse Porter, Weston plays the role of a modern-day Robin Hood by helping out various clients in Miami while fending old enemies and tracking down the people that ruined his life. Gabrielle Anwar (Fiona) adds spice to the show as Weston’s bomb-happy ex-girlfriend while Bruce Campbell (Sam) shines in his role providing witty banter and strategical expertise.

2) Chuck

A winner of two Primetime Emmy’s, Chuck remains one of the hottest shows on television. Zachery Levi is Chuck, a computer geek that finds himself a wanted man after gaining knowledge of all of the US government’s darkest spy secrets. The secrets are downloaded to his brain after he receives an embedded e-mail from a former friend that works for the Central Intelligence Agency. Formerly stuck in a dead-end job, Chuck now finds himself in the line of fire as a top recruit for the CIA and NSA. The two CIA agents are assigned to help Chuck add an interesting dynamic to the situation as they help Chuck complete the mission while also making sure he keeps his second life a secret to the people he is closest to.

3) Spooks

This multi-award winning show just concluded its 10th and final season. It was a spy drama like no other, featuring tales about the British Secret Service. The show was known for pushing the limits of television with its unique style that included changing its main characters numerous times after having them die in violent display. The series drew several big name stars to be a part of its cast, including Peter Firth, Hugh Laurie, Matthew Macfadyen and Lara Pulver. The final episode of the show aired Oct. 23, 2011.

4) Alias

Alias stars the stunning Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, a young, college student that gets lured into the world of undercover ops by a secret agency within the CIA, known as SD-6. After SD-6 has her boyfriend killed for getting too close, Bristow discovers that SD-6 is a rogue international organization with an evil leader. She decides to become a double agent and take down the organization she once worked for. She battle traitors, terrorists and assassins while working to protect her friends by keeping her second life a secret.

5) The State Within

Nominated for a pair of Golden Globes, this show was a politically-charged thriller that ran for six episodes on BBC. Sir Mark Brydon, played by Jason Isaacs, is the British Prime Minister to Washington and works in a world of turmoil. Brydon deals with several personal demons while also attempting to prevent a war and uncover a conspiracy that threatens the governments of the Western Hemisphere. The show also featured Ben Daniels, as an MI6 agent, and Sharon Gless, as the US Secretary of Defense Lynne Warner.

6) Bugs

A four-series show, that ran from 1995-98, Bugs brought viewers into the world of four tech guys turned crime fighters. Ed, Alex, Beckett and Ros are a team of specialists that use their technical skills to help a government organization take down criminal factions. With plenty of explosions and fireworks, this series blended the aspects of an action thriller and a spy drama with a sci-fi twist.

7) 24

One of the most popular spy shows of all time, 24 followed the drama that was the life of Counter-Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer, played by Keifer Sutherland. Each episode chronicled a day in the life of Bauer as he attempted to foil numerous terrorist plots by any means necessary. A typical show involved several plot twists and turns before inevitably ending up with Bauer facing the dilemma of turning on his own morals in order to be the hero. At eight seasons and 192 episodes, 24 was the longest-running spy drama in television history and won numerous awards. It has since spawned a movie, that is currently in production.

Image courtesy of IMDB.com

About the author: This is a guest article by Dan Harrison, an avid fan and collector of spy gadgets and covert spy cameras. Some of the gadgets in his collection include some very bond-esque spy cameras hidden in watches!

Liz walks to 30 Rock and finds that TGS is being picketed by the Gay community. Tracy finds himself in deep trouble after a homophobic rant (a scripted comment on the real life Tracy Morgan incident) and Liz has to fix things like usual. Tracy decides to hold a protest of idiots like himself in front of 30 Rock to get back at the original protesters and draws a large crowd, including celebrity Denise Richards, to support his protest. Jack tells Liz he’s “in her head” when it comes to what he thinks is a bad choice in boyfriends. Jack considers Criss yet another loser that Liz always seems to attract to her. Liz tells Jack he won’t be meeting her new live-in boyfriend Criss, knowing Jack will do everything he can to ruin her relationship. Jack derides Liz over the fact that Criss is jobless and trying to get funding for his new business, an Organic Hot Dog stand.

Jenna is desperate for the florescent lights to be changed in her dressing room, she has to have perfect pink lighting so anyone who takes photos of her gets her at her best. The Gay TGS janitor is protesting against Tracy so Jenna convinces Kenneth to help her sneak into the janitor’s closet and get the pink florescent lights to replace the burnt out lights in her dressing room. Kenneth picks up a box of light bulbs and the bottom falls open, breaking the bulbs on the floor. Kenneth starts to freak since he knows florescent bulbs have mercury in them. Jenna is mostly concerned about cleaning up the mess and not getting caught.

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Ricky Gervais once again hosted The Golden Globes and was funny yet seemed like he had to drag some responses from the acting audience, with the TV and movie crowd seeming much less exhuberant than in previous years. Still the show went well with some surprises along the way. In movie awards it was no surprise that Meryl Streep won for The Iron Lady, while it was impressive to see George Clooney win for The Descendants over high profile actors Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar and Brad Pitt for Moneyball. The Artist grabbed wins for Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical, and Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical, edging out the ever popular Bridesmaids. Veteran stage and film actor Christopher Plummer won as Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture over a imposing list of actors including Kenneth Branagh, Albert Brooks, Viggo Mortensen, and first time Golden Globe nominee Jonah Hill. Woody Allen won Best Screenplay – Motion Picture and Midnight in Paris but Martin Scorcese won Best Director – Motion Picture for Hugo. In TV awards Kelsey Grammer made an upset win for Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama over Golden Globe nominees Steve Buscemi and Bryan Cranston. New series had some wins with Clare Danes winning Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama for her role in Homeland, and Jessica Lange receiving the Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television award for American Horror Story. And I have to say I was happy to see Peter Dinklage win Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for his role in Game of Thrones.

List Of 2012 Annual Golden Globe Awards For Television

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In 30 Rock’s Season 6 episode Liz is walking, no practically dancing her way to 30 Rock and meets up with Jack. He can’t get over how cheery Liz is acting, not herself at all. Jack goes on about how predictable Lemon’s Christmas holiday must have been. Liz keeps smiling and Jack admits he is confused by her uncharacteristic perkiness.

At TGS Liz runs into Kenneth who tells Liz and Pete he is prepared for the Rapture that is happening the next day. Kenneth is ready to give away his earthly goods and shows Pete his bucket list to complete. Pete looks at the bucket list and derides Kenneth on his need to finish odd-jobs at TGS instead of doing something he’s never done, like going to the ocean.

Liz meets up with Tracy in the hallway. Tracy is ready to ruin TGS because he is very jealous of Jenna, who has a prime judge job on the new hit America’s Kidz Got Singing! Tracy threatens Liz who tells him to go ahead with his plans, she’s staying out of the drama. Tracy doesn’t know how to take this happy-go-lucky version of Liz.

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The award-winning HBO documentary series “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills” (1996) and “Paradise Lost 2: Revelations” (2000) spawned a
worldwide movement to free the West Memphis 3 for wrongful murder convictions. This film tells the entire story, from the arrests in 1993 to the growing movement, through the entire appeals process and the uncovering of new evidence, concluding with their release. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory premieres on HBO tonight, January 12, at 9:00 p.m.

Catch a preview of Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory below.

Danny McBride stars as Kenny Powers, whose career in the major leagues goes south, forcing him to return to North Carolina to work as a gym teacher. Eastbound & Down is produced by Funny or Die creators Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. The third season of Eastbound & Down premieres on HBO Sunday, February 19th at 10:00 p.m.

Catch a preview of Eastbound & Down Season 3 below.

The documentary “American Bear” is a great concept by these up and coming filmmakers. Help these film innovators by watching the trailer below and visiting their fundraiser online to help get this film made.

“American Bear: An Adventure In The Kindness Of Strangers” follows playful couple Sarah and Greg as they travel around the country for 60 days, relying on the kindness of strangers for a home each night. Armed with nothing but their curiosity and a camera, they met hundreds of fascinating people in 30 states — and only spent a few nights in the car. Their fate-driven route follows the 5 towns called Bear, in Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Arkansas, and Delaware, sending them in a circle through every region of the country. “American Bear” shares the complex and diverse voices of their hosts, at times heartbreaking, hilarious, and inspirational. Most of all, the film is about the power of each individual to generate change, starting with a small act of kindness.

“American Bear” is currently fundraising at Kickstarter: http://kck.st/uHYJ3s. Donations from $1 and up offer incentives like a DVD of the film, a teddy bear like they left behind with each host, as well as gifts from some of the friends they made along the way: dinosaur bones, Cheyenne necklaces, or a private Reiki session. The film will be finished this summer with your help! Thank you so much for your interest, and have a beautiful day.

Catch the trailer of “American Bear” below:

A former Confederate soldier seeks revenge for his wife’s death, determined to hunt down the men who killed her. Cullen Bohannon follows the trail of the murderers to the town of Hell on Wheels, a lawless, corrupt place inhabited by immigrants, outlaws, emancipated slaves, and lost souls. The town services the Union Pacific Railroad’s West construction of the first transcontinental railroad which is overseen by ‘Doc’ Durant.

AMC has produced another fine show with Hell On Wheels. This gritty post-Civil War Western set in the 1860′s has already been renewed for a second season. It is always good to see a realistic style Western that is done well and Hell On Wheels achieves this. The show covers wide-ranging themes of revenge, immigration, slavery, and the civilization of the West, making this show very watchable. The characters are interesting, and the cast is uniformly strong, with stand-out performances by Anson Mount as Cullen Bohannon, Colm Meaney as Thomas ‘Doc’ Durant, Dominique McElligott as Lily Bell, and Christopher Heyerdahl as The Swede. Common also gives a strong performance as freed slave Elam Ferguson.

Catch the final season one episodes of Hell on Wheels on AMC Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Check your local TV listings for more information.