The Fosters episode 1x07 Review

I've been watching this show for a while now and I have to admit it has become my "comfort food" TV show, meaning that it tends to be a nice break from most of the other TV shows I watch which more often than not are bleak and depressing.

For those don't know, The Fosters is a family drama centered on two moms (Stef and Lena) and their five kids: Brandon (Stef's biological son from a previous marriage), Jesus and Mariana (twins that Stef and Lena adopted a few years back) and Callie and Jude (foster kids staying with...The Fosters. Yes, the show is about a foster family named "The Fosters". Try not to let it bother you).

Anyway, this most recent episode, appropriately titled "The Fallout" deals with the fallout (get it?) of Jesus having sex with his girlfriend (who happens to be his sister's best friend) Lexi. Stef (a cop) had given Lexi the Morning After pill in order to keep her partner Lena (the vice-principal of the school the kids go to) from getting in trouble with the school board and, naturally, because she didn't want their son to be a father at the age of 15. Mariana, queen of bad mistakes, had drunkenly told Lexi's parents that Jesus and Lexi had been having sex.

Caught up? Okay. The first story line moving forward here is that Lexi has run away from home after her parents had arranged for her to move to Texas (a bit extreme just because your daughter lost her virginity before getting married, no?). Turns out Lexi and her parents are undocumented (illegal immigrants) so the Riveras (Lexi's parents) ask Stef for help in finding her because going to the cops would cause them even more trouble. The problem with this story is that it feels a bit forced. The Fosters, as a show, tends to deal with or discuss social issues in almost every episode, but it doesn't usually come off as contrived as it does here.

The second big story of the episode deals with Callie and the fact that Liam, the son of a Foster family she had been living with two years ago is afraid she'll tell people (especially his new foster sister, Sarah) about how he raped her and then blamed everything on her. This story has been building for a few episodes now, and while it was predictable, it was handled fairly well. Rape is never an easy thing to discuss on TV and Callie's reluctance to talk about it is understandable. The problem she faces now is that, since no one believed her in the past, she's afraid no one will believe her now. This is amplified when she tries to tell Sarah (Liam's current foster sister and potentially his next victim) in order to warn her about Liam. Sadly, Liam has already gotten inside Sarah's  head and convinced her that Callie has made up the story and is only doing this to hurt Liam. This story doesn't get wrapped up in a neat bow and it looks to be a big part of next week's episode as well since at the end of this episode tells Stef and Lena the truth about Liam in the hopes of saving Sarah.

The third story centers around Callie's younger brother Jude. Two episodes back, Jude had bullied in school for wearing blue nail polish but managed to make a new friend, Connor, in the process. While this story takes a backseat to the other two, fans of Jude will no doubt be happy to see his friendship with Connor progress. I've seen people on Twitter and Facebook posting pictures of themselves wearing blue nail polish in support of Jude as the show seems to be hinting at the fact that he might be gay (it was mentioned way back in the pilot episode that he got in trouble with his previous foster father for wearing a dress). I'm not sure that we'll ever see Jude "come out" or if this will ever be addressed head on, but if it is, it would be the first time I've ever seen such a young gay character (I think he's around 9 or 10 years old) on television. If that happens to be the case, kudos to the writers and the actor (Hayden Byerly) for being brave enough to show it on television.

I know that's a lot to follow, especially if you haven't seen the show before. This episode felt a bit heavy handed when it brought up the idea that Lexi's family were illegal immigrants, but the stories with Callie and Jude were handled well. Also, I'm glad to see Mariana come to her senses about her birth mom, Ana, who's been using Mariana for Mariana to feed her drug addiction (even encouraging her to steal from her family so she can sell off their stuff for money). Over the previous six episodes Mariana made some really dumb mistakes and let other people take the fall for her when the consequences became apparent. Hopefully this will be a step towards her making smarter decisions in the future.

Why I Love Evil Dead (2013)

As a fan of the original Evil Dead trilogy (The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness) I was a little concerned when I heard that a remake was on the way. At first I thought they would try to hire a young actor to play the character of Ash and do his best Bruce Campbell impersonation, which seemed like a mistake. Thankfully, they went a different route. Jane Levy was cast in the role of Mia, whom a lot of fans and critics alike described as a "female Ash" before the film came out, and she and director Fede Alvarez took the Evil Dead in an unexpected direction. Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness became cult classics because of their surreal  humor and Three Stooges type gags. A lot of people (and I'm one of them) will tell you that the reason the Evil Dead franchise has lasted so long is because of the goofiness of Ash and  his attempts to survive the Deadites in those movies.

However, in the original Evil Dead film, while there was some charm to the low budget effects and over-acting, it was always meant to be a brutally shocking and gory horror film. There really wasn't much comedy to be found in it, though most people laugh at it nowadays because of the budget constraints and the way the film has aged since 1981. Alvarez decided to go back to the horror roots of the original film for this "reboot" of the franchise and left out much of the comedy (although some does sneak in, though it seems to be unintentional, much like the first film) though put in enough references to Evil Dead 2 for fans to love.

There has been a fair bit of controversy over this new film amongst movie goers. Some fans of the original trilogy think that it doesn't have any of the suspense of Sam Raimi's first Evil Dead and that it suffers because it doesn't have enough humor. Some female fans love Mia as a character while others are disappointed that she didn't do more to free herself from the possession of the demon (which apparently makes her less impressive as a feminist hero than they would have liked). Some people find it overly gory. Some people don't find the characters memorable enough or don't have enough personality before they get killed off (I have to keep wondering if these people have even seen the original film).

For those of us who love the new Evil Dead (and Mia as a character), I have to say that, aside from the references and nods to the original trilogy, my favorite aspects of this new chapter in the Evil Dead franchise is that Alvarez comes up with a new reason for the five friends to go to the secluded cabin in the woods (it's a drug intervention for Mia, who is trying to quit drugs cold turkey) and establishes that Mia hasn't had the best life up to this point. Her mother is dead, her brother left her when she needed him most, and her two remaining friends don't have much faith that she'll be able to sober up. In addition to her withdrawal symptoms, this emotional turmoil makes Mia a prime choice for demon possession. Mia is given more backstory in one film than Ash had over the course of three movies. There is a story of redemption here (for both Mia and her brother David) that works well enough to move the story forward. Since Alvarez has been given the go ahead to start working on the sequel (he's planning on making a trilogy to stand alongside the original Evil Dead trilogy), hopefully he'll show some character growth for Mia in the next two films as well.

While the majority of the cast do a fair job with the material they're given, the real stars of this movie are the practical effects (make-up, gore, etc.) and Jane Levy. Levy goes from struggling addict to demon to hero in the span of an hour and a half and while we don't get to see much of Mia the hero until the last 10-15 minutes of the film, she does leave an impression. She's given interviews as to how intense the making of the film was for her (everything from wearing prosthetics for hours on end to being buried alive) and if you watch her TV show "Suburgatory" (a comedy on ABC) you'll see just how different a role this is for her. Hopefully the next two movies will get to showcase just how much of a bad-ass she can be and have her kicking ass a lot more.

Evil Dead hits Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow (July 16).

Looking Ahead

It's been a long time since I updated this blog. Not that anyone really reads it. Still, it helps me exercise my old writing muscles which don't get used much any more. So, to fill up space and give myself something to do, here are a few things I'm looking forward to in 2013.

Video Games

Bioshock: Infinite - I'm a huge fan of the original Bioshock game. The game's atmosphere, the exploration, the variety of weapons and abilities, the story, the awesome soundtrack and the very often creepy audio recordings made for a fantastic game experience. Bioshock 2 was okay, but it felt like a watered down version of the first game (I thought the Minerva's Den DLC was much better than the full game). Fortunately, Bioshock: Infinite is made by the original Bioshock team (not the guys that made Bioshock 2) and they've brought back the exploration and a whole new city and new environments to play through. And it looks like there is an emphasis on storytelling once again, which I like. Can't wait to play this.

The Last of Us - The trailers and sneak peeks at this game have been impressive. This is by Naughty Dog, the same company that produced the first three Uncharted games for the PS3 and I can't wait to see what they do with this new world and its characters. Touches of The Walking Dead abound in it and the graphics look amazing. Hopefully the story and gameplay will be just as impressive.

Movies

Star Trek Into Darkness - Say what you want about J.J. Abrams 2009 Star Trek film, but it was a lot of fun. Based on that and the fact that they've cast Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) as the villain (who cares what his name is?) I'll be waiting in line to see this when it hits theaters.

Man of Steel - The Marvel movies have been pretty good. Much better than the comics have been for the last twenty years at least. However, I'm a DC fanboy. Always will be. The Dark Knight trilogy was good, but pretty much every other DC superhero movie since the original Superman film with Christopher Reeve has missed the mark by a wide margin. I know there have been some controversial changes to the Superman universe with this film (Perry White is played by Lawrence Fishbourne, Jimmy Olsen is now Jenny Olsen) but I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out nonetheless.

Evil Dead - I'm a huge fan of the original Evil Dead trilogy. It was just so weird and fun (even funny). Looking forward to this update (sequel?) to one of my favorite franchises, even if Bruce Campbell doesn't put in an appearance (though I hope he does).

Comic Books

Earth 2 - a great take on an old concept by James Robinson and Nicola Scott. I love seeing new things done with old characters like Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, Al Pratt, Hawkgirl and Sandman. Looking forward to the new storyline with Doctor Fate. I hope it is appropriately epic.

Batwoman - even with J.H. Williams III stepping off the artwork for the next 7 issues or so, I'm still looking forward to the new story arc for two reasons : 1) I love Kate Kane as a character. 2) I'm really glad that the whole "missing children" plot that has been going on for the last 16 issues will finally be wrapped up.

Saga - Read the first trade of this a month or so back and loved it. A great sci-fi/fantasy opera set in space, focused on family and with enough wild and crazy ideas to fill up three comic book titles. Saga is probably the best and most original title since Chew (another favorite). Looking forward to reading the second trade. If the book didn't sell out so damn fast I'd probably buy it in single issues too.