Author: kathyfuller
Kathy sees Criminal Minds: “Through the Looking Glass” S8:3
I really wanted to write a two word review of this episode: Hated it.
However, it’s unfair (not to mention lazy) not to give a couple of reasons why I wish “Through the Looking Glass” had never happened. So here’s five.
Kathy sees Criminal Minds: “The Pact” S8:2
Synopsis for “The Pact”
Overall, I thought this episode was an improvement over last week’s. Not only that, I learned something: Criminal Minds ain’t what it used to be. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, depending on your perspective.
What I like most about CM is the mystery aspect—the team profiling, finding, and arresting/killing the perpetrator(s). But over the past couple seasons there has been a trend toward featuring the unsubs (unidentified subjects, in case you don’t know) and their stories. So what used to be a mystery show has morphed into 43 minutes of suspense, with the team becoming superfluous because they are two steps behind the audience.
Kathy sees CRIMINAL MINDS: “The Silencer” (8.1)
Admittedly showrunner/episode writer Erica Messer had her work cut out for her in the Season 8 opener. In 43 minutes she had to: introduce a new character, give the character some “character,” tie her into two existing characters, write a solvable crime, show what the existing characters did on summer vacay, plant the seed for a series-long criminal arc keep existing viewers happy/interested while intriguing new viewers so the suits upstairs would be, like, WTG Criminal Minds. Yes, that was a ridiculous run-on sentence, which is kinda what this episode felt like–the run-on sentence from hell that would make your high school English teacher break out in hives.
I would love to coherently recap the actual crime our intrepid profilers “solved”, however I’d have to watch it three more times, and this ep doesn’t warrant a repeat viewing. As usual the actors were great–they always are on this show–but from a writing perspective, I found “The Silencer” difficult to follow, full of exposition, way too much dialogue for normal people (unless they have Red Bull intravenously fed through them every half hour) and an ending that was supposed to be creepy, but just wasn’t.
Maybe I’m jaded. Maybe after seven seasons I can’t help but see the formula seeping through the show. Maybe Messer was trying to cram too much into one episode, which ended up dulling the impact of this week’s criminal mind. I don’t know. I’m not ready to give up on this show…but I’m not lowering my expectations, either. And–this is important–neither should you.
Kathy sees THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Warning: Parts of this review are spoilerific, so if you haven’t seen the movie and you read this review and I spoil it for you…well, sorry about that.
Okay, fess up time: I saw this movie over a month ago and am just getting a chance to write the review. So I had to reach way back into the crevices of my brain to remember what this movie was about. Certain parts stuck with me–Bane’s awesome headgear, the uselessness of Catwoman, the fact that Batman always sounds like a ten-pack-a-day-smoker ready to choke on his own phlegm at any moment. My overall recollection of the film is that it was good. More than good. I’d say a very good film that I would easily rent on DVD.
Rent, not own.