by Jen

I have to admit I fell off the Bones bandwagon years ago.  I had been a fairly ardent fan, but the whole baby-born-in-a-stable storyline jumped the shark too much for my taste, and shortly after that I found my interest in the show as a whole waning.

But when I heard about last night's crossover with Sleepy Hollow, I was both horrified and intrigued.  I do love the haunted vibe of Sleepy Hollow, but it was difficult to picture Abbie and Ichabod making a smooth transition into the world of Booth and Bones - or vice versa.

And of course it was chock full of deliciously awkward moments.  Most of the action paired Booth with Abbie, leaving Ichabod behind to engage with Bones - resulting in a lot of moments that looked like this:

The crossover lasted for two episodes (one from each show).  Since the first brought the Sleepy Hollow team to the Jeffersonian. I anticipated that the second would take the Bones investigators to Sleepy Hollow - but alas, that was not to be.  I imagine that Bones' strictly scientific point of view wouldn't have made much sense in the supernatural climate surrounding Sleepy Hollow!  So the second episode brought Abbie and Ichabod to Washington once again, to investigate a mystery in a crypt that was originally built for George Washington -which, of course, had a tie-in to the mysterious Revolutionary War-era corpse that starred in the first episode.

Overall, I had expected much more insanity in this crossover - but it was just mildly uncomfortable overall, and the storyline was entertaining.  It didn't take away from my enjoyment of Sleepy Hollow, and it was nice to visit with the Bones crew after taking a few years off.

I just hope that Fox doesn't make this a regular thing.  Once was a novelty, twice could be disastrous...which is not to say I wouldn't tune in if they did it again.  Even I can't resist a good trainwreck!

by Jen

It seems like I have been waiting forever for Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak to come out!  I am an ardent admirer of del Toro's work - clearly I'm a sucker for atmospheric gothic horror films - and the cast of this film made me anticipate this film all the more.  I even drove an extra twenty minutes to see the film in an IMAX theater, because any del Toro film is made better by a bigger screen!

I know some reviewers have been disappointed with the overall experience of Crimson Peak, but I enjoyed it tremendously.  Yes, it is different than del Toro's earlier gothic romances (The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth), but different does not equal bad!  

The characters immediately drew me into the story.  Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, and Charlie Hunnam were intriguing as Thomas Sharpe, Edith Cushing, Lucille Sharpe, and Alan McMichael; but I also enjoyed the performances of Jim Beaver as Edith's father, Burn Gorman as the shady private investigator Holly, and Leslie Hope as Alan's mother.  Hope had a fantastic one-liner - upon seeing Edith enter a party on the arm of Thomas (who she had intended as a potential suitor for her daughter), she says to the girl, "Don't worry, my dear; everyone has a place, and I'll make sure you find yours."

And of course the Sharpe's dilapidated manor house is a character all its own.  Allerdale Hall, with its weird red mud and decrepit structure, would seem haunted even if its halls weren't host to actual ghosts.  

And the ghosts are brutally visual, but we would expect nothing less of specters that materialized from the mind of del Toro!  Poor Edith is haunted, not only by the tragedies in her life but by the literal phantoms in her new husband's family home.

There's not much more I can say without giving away essential elements of the plot, so I'll just leave you with this thought: Crimson Peak might not be the scariest film you see this October, but it's definitely worth the ticket price.  (I'd pay that much just to see the scene at the depot on the big screen again!) 

by Brooke

Last Friday I saw The Martian in 3D. I had read a little more than half of the book when I went to the theater to watch Mark Watney’s Mars adventure. Here’s my short-and-sweet movie review with as few spoilers as possible.

THE ACTION
 
The Martian is space porn and landscape porn at its best. Normally I’d never say this, but do yourself a favor and see it in 3D. Regular post-process conversion 3D movies are a guaranteed headache for me and the jerkiness drives me nuts. The Martian was filmed with RED 3D cameras and it’s seamless.

The movie is tense and action-packed. In a nutshell, a manned mission to Mars goes awry and botanist-astronaut Mark Watney is left behind. He puzzles together unlikely ways to science Mars into a habitable environment with only a few tools at his disposal. We get to watch him grow food in his own poop, create water from inorganic compounds and blow himself up a couple of times. All the while we know the clock is ticking, and every setback is heart wrenching.

THE ACTING
 
Matt Damon’s performance as Mark Watney is spot-on. He brings both gravitas and wry humor to the role. The movie does give us displays of emotion that Watney’s journal omits in the book, and Damon nails these short bursts of hopelessness.
 
The rest of the cast does an excellent job of interpreting their roles, however I do have a few gripes about other casting choices and character changes.

For one, Chiwetel Ejiofor is fantastic in his role of “Vincent” Kapoor. But couldn’t they have cast an Indian actor? Venkat Kapoor’s character was very clearly written to be a man of Indian Hindu background, and many brilliant South Asian actors could have filled the role.
 
Kristen Wiig could have given a powerful performance as Annie Montrose, but the script edits cut off the firecracker PR guru’s balls. Her role in the story is lost, and she seems on the verge of tears in every scene.

Jessica Chastain seems like an odd choice for the tough Commander Lewis. Her honeyed voice, sweet smile and uber-feminine appearance and body language irked me for someone who’s meant to be a no-nonsense military commander. I felt like another opportunity was missed to cast a less “Hollywood” actor.

THE MOVIE VS. THE BOOK

Overall the movie is mostly faithful to the book, though it does take some liberties. Viewers who did not read the book may enjoy the movie a little more than those of us who went in knowing how much more meat there is to Mark Watney’s story.
 
Unlike the book, the focus of the movie is really on how to get Watney home, rather than on his convoluted methods of survival on a hostile planet. This means producers had to edit out most of Watney’s journal entries and scientific breakthroughs, and they even cut a few dramatic events. There is no other way to fit the book into an exciting 2-hour thriller, but as a consequence Watney’s brilliance is underemphasized.

IN CONCLUSION: GO SEE IT
 
The Martian has all the thrill of a summer blockbuster with the brains of a science channel documentary, scientific inaccuracies aside. The movie will get your heart pumping and pique your brain cells. This is high-level entertainment. I highly recommend it to all science, sci-fi and movie lovers. Now go read the book.
 
Watch the new trailer for The Martian by Ellen DeGeneres here: