Category: Reviews

REVIEW: House of Cards – “Chapter 29”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Netflix - House of Cards 29The following is a review of the third episode of season three. Expect spoilers in the plot description.

Happy Bingewatching! Welcome to the third episode review of the third season of everyone’s favorite political binge-drama. In this episode we are finally introduced to the Russian President. So without further ado, let’s get to the plot description:

The episode opens with a demonstration – people are angry at Viktor Petrov for his actions and opinions that, quite frankly, resemble some of the criticisms of the real Russian President. Just before Petrov arrives, Bob Birch has some questions for Frank – but Bob leaves rather swiftly – prompting Frank to say: “What is the face of a coward? The back of his face as he runs from the battle.” Enter President Viktor Petrov. That is Lars Mikkelsen, brother of Mads Mikkelsen – Danish actor known internationally for being an antagonist on Sherlock. Petrov’s first action? Saying no to Frank Underwood. This won’t end well.  Continue reading “REVIEW: House of Cards – “Chapter 29”” →

REVIEW: House of Cards – “Chapter 28”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Netflix - House of Cards 28The following is a review of the second episode of season three. Expect spoilers in the plot description.

Thank God for bingewatching! I am back with my review of episode two, in which Claire and Frank are to battle for their political lives, as well as set a direction for the rest of Frank’s first term. So, let’s get to the plot description:

The episode opens with Claire having to defend her nomination publicly. She’s asked specifically about DR Congo, and she answers it rather well. Back at the White House, Underwood is being told that the Democratic Party doesn’t want him to run in 2016. If he does run, he is being informed, the Democratic leadership will not support him. Back at the Ambassador-meeting Mendoza, who said he wouldn’t oppose her, is grilling Claire publicly. And he traps her, when she utters that the military is irrelevant in a specific discussion. The Underwoods are under fire, and Frank postpones a meeting for the third or fourth time. The episode becomes a race for supporters for both Underwoods. Whereas Claire is unable to find support from the Senate, Frank finds out that Terry Womack was the one fielding the idea of a new face for 2016. Continue reading “REVIEW: House of Cards – “Chapter 28”” →

REVIEW: House of Cards – “Chapter 27”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Netflix - House of Cards 27The following is a review of the first episode of season three. Expect spoilers in the large plot description.

And they’re back! After waiting for more than a year we’ll finally be able to see Underwood as the Commander in Chief, we’ll finally be able to find out if Doug Stamper truly is dead, and we’ll finally be able to enjoy Spacey’s soliloquys again. Let’s talk about the general plot of this episode: Continue reading “REVIEW: House of Cards – “Chapter 27”” →

REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Hero”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Better Call Saul - Hero
The following is a review of the fourth episode of AMC’s Better Call Saul, which premiered in Europe on Netflix this morning.

Hamlindigo Blue? Seriously? – The fourth episode of the first season of the new AMC-hit Better Call Saul gives us a proper introduction to Slippin’ Jimmy McGill. The secretive attorney from Breaking Bad was full-on con-man in the episode Hero, wherein we saw a great flashback – and the original nature of Jimmy. Continue reading “REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Hero”” →

REVIEW: Marvel’s Agent Carter – “The Blitzkrieg Button”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Agent Carter - ep 4
On the 18th of February 2015 Danish Netflix released the episodes that have aired on ABC of Marvel’s Agent Carter. This is my first time watching and reviewing it, though I am aware of the fact that most Americans have had the opportunity to watch it.

Though it’s nice to see Howard Stark, played by Dominic Cooper, again, I didn’t really like the opening of the episode – sure Carter is as cool as ever, but I didn’t like how Jarvis was acting in the negotiation – actually I thought James D’Arcy’s character was subpar in this episode.

The little ‘game’ at the Griffith was entertaining – though Howard doesn’t seem like his own character – more like a caricature of his son. If he is to have a huge role on this show then he needs to be more than that.

Back at the SSR station I wasn’t very pleased to begin with. I didn’t particularly care for the Sousa-interrogation, though it was nice to hear more about Enver Gjokaj’s character. Thompson’s character did the only sensible thing, and his part in the interrogation was what we needed – sure Thompson can be very arrogant, but he was the smarter Agent of the two during the interrogation.

One of my biggest pet-peeves is seeing Americans act as a Germans. There are a lot, and I mean a LOT, of great German actors – or even just central-european actors – that could’ve done a greater job than Jack Conley as Ernst Müller.

This episode did have a great way of making it feel important in the grand scheme of the MCU. By adding the vial of Steve Rogers’ blood the whole operation felt important suddenly – Peggy’s reaction was spot-on. This was when Dominic Cooper finally did something worthwhile – his argument in the case of the Rogers-vial was much more sound than his portrayal in the beginning of the episode. Hayley Atwell was perfect, I really mean that – and her argument in the giant discussion was touching, incredibly so.

And STAN LEE!! I love that man, great to see him at the very end. Oh and what about Dottie Underwood? That was one hell of a surprise. I wonder who she really is.

Can ABC please greenlight a second season?

B

I’m Jeffrey Rex

REVIEW: Marvel’s Agent Carter – “Time and Tide”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Agent Carter - ep 3
On the 18th of February 2015 Danish Netflix released the episodes that have aired on ABC of Marvel’s Agent Carter. This is my first time watching and reviewing it, though I am aware of the fact that most Americans have had the opportunity to watch it.

As explained after Bridge and Tunnel, I am starting to like the vibe Carter and Jarvis are giving off when they’re together. The dialogue is fun, and D’Arcy is very entertaining. At the beginning of this episode, he was as stellar as ever when delivering humorous dialogue.

As Jarvis was interrogated I was worried that it would fall flat – that it wouldn’t feel as real as it should. Thankfully, the show managed to keep us entertained during the interrogation. They handled it rather well. Jarvis is a very interesting character, and I’m glad that Chad Michael Murray had something to do in this episode by interacting with D’Arcy’s character.

I really enjoyed the debate by the pier between Jarvis and Carter – Jarvis was spot-on – and his subsequent phonecall to Sousa was hilarious. Jarvis and Carter are winning me over, I am starting to really like this show. Sidenote, is it just me or did you also find it weird that Sousa and Krzeminski were signalling that they were on their way to the pier? The SSR should be secret and silent, not loud like they were going to the pier.

The death of Krzeminski adds to the drama of the show, and also aids Carter somewhat. Hard to know how to react to that scene. His death means her secret is safe for now, though the reaction of Rose and the gals was tough to stomach.

The silence was chilling. The fact that they blamed Stark for what happened is good for the show, so I’m not complaining. I liked that Peggy “English” opened up to Angie at the end of the episode, Peggy needs to open up – she seems like too much of a loner (as I’ve mentioned before). This was a great episode. Great story, great character interaction and a great episode conclusion.

A-

I’m Jeffrey Rex

REVIEW: Marvel’s Agent Carter – “Bridge and Tunnel”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Agent Carter
On the 18th of February 2015 Danish Netflix released the episodes that have aired on ABC of Marvel’s Agent Carter. This is my first time watching and reviewing it, though I am aware of the fact that most Americans have had the opportunity to watch it.

We need more great female characters, and I fully expected one to come out of Agent Carter. One of the things I love about this show is how they write Carter as a strong female character – she’s equally smart, and like she proved in the premiere she doesn’t need anyone’s protection. She’s perfectly capable.

One of the great things about episodes following the pilot – and what’s great about sequels in general – is that they don’t have to explain themselves or their characters. This can help any show settle in, and in Bridge and Tunnel this show becomes much more settled. No actions are forced, and the plot is much more nimble and free-flowing on the screen.

I love The Captain America Adventure Program radio opening – it fits in perfectly with the time period – and I like to see how the general world is coping with people like Cap having fought for them. Having Carter as the star, the hero, when hearing the radio program later in the episode was also perfect. Atwell is great again, and her little attempt at finding the supposed photograph of her at the club was as fun as it should be.

I am beginning to really like Jarvis, who is actually quite fun in this episode. He wants to help, he feels that it is his responsibility – which doesn’t always jibe with the very capable loner, Peggy Carter. I want to see more from Lyndsy Fonseca’s character – and she did appear quite a lot in this episode – I really like that actress.

This show is really pleasing me, even though I don’t care a lot about Leviathan yet. The characters are interesting, and the way they write Peggy Carter is stellar – this show is entertaining, much more than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was 2 episodes in.

B+

I’m Jeffrey Rex

REVIEW: Marvel’s Agent Carter – “Now Is Not The End”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Agent Carter - Episode One
Today, the 18th of February 2015, Danish Netflix released the episodes that have aired on ABC of Marvel’s Agent Carter. This is my first time watching and reviewing it, though I am aware of the fact that most Americans have had the opportunity to watch it.

For the uninitiated, Marvel’s Agent Carter is about Margaret ‘Peggy’ Carter – the love interest of Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger. They decided to create the show due to the popularity of the Marvel One-Shot titled Agent Carter. Now back to basics. I really love the cast of Agent Carter. Hayley Atwell is back as Peggy Carter, and is joined by James D’Arcy, Chad Michael Murray and Enver Gjokaj. Gjokaj already appeared as a NYPD cop in The Avengers, so that should be annoying for True Believers.

Peggy is a strong character, and the show, thankfully, doesn’t hide that. She’s confident – the hero of her own story. D’Arcy’s Jarvis has a weird introduction, but quickly evolves into the lovable British assistant he was meant to be. Gjokaj’s character is very nice to Peggy, whereas Chad Michael Murray’s character is much more arrogant – and definitely a hotshot.

The information dump in this episode is huge, which is to be expected when watching a show about the 1940s – and especially since it’s about the timeline of Captain America: The First Avenger. But – the scene introducing Carter’s roommate has one awful line of information dump – one that’s absolutely unnecessary.

There are some nice reference in between the story and its information dump – and I actually thought this episode did much better than the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot in appeasing me, and appealing to my interests. This show definitely has potential, and it should improve in due time – seeing as it isn’t as tied down to the MCU timeline as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Finally, I’d like to add that the villains of the show aren’t that original. Their internal interaction was basically stolen from Fringe – and they don’t seem scary.

B

I’m Jeffrey Rex

Top 5 NBC-Era ‘Community’ Episodes

Top 5 NBC-Era Community
POP POP!!

Hey there! So in honor of the fact that Yahoo! is premiering the sixth season of Community on Yahoo! Screen in just under a month, I decided to hand out grades for each episode that I rewatched these last few months – and today release a Top 5 list of the episodes that were broadcasted on NBC in the U.S..

As a sidenote, I’d also like to add here in the beginning of the post that a fellow Community-fan is currently in the process of writing full written reviews of Community episodes over on his blog.

These short descriptions won’t be full written reviews – I’ll leave that for someone else – but they act as a brief explanation of why I love that specific episode and why I view it as a masterpiece. Continue reading “Top 5 NBC-Era ‘Community’ Episodes” →

REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Nacho”

I'm Jeffrey Rex Episode Review - Better Call Saul - Nacho
The following is a review of the third episode of AMC’s Better Call Saul, which premiered in Europe on Netflix this morning.

Here’s Johnny! – This week’s Better Call Saul easily manages to captivate its audience by continuing to obscure the origin of Saul Goodman Jimmy McGill, while giving us another glimpse at Jonathan Banks and Michael Mando’s characters. But I’ll get to that, because while these characters’ transformation and evolution is extremely interesting, the opening of this episode managed to pique my interest. Continue reading “REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Nacho”” →