BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 6/8

BuzzSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:30:17 -0700

American Idol winner Kris Allen has officially signed a record deal with Jive. - Billboard
Masi Oka conceived of the idea for and will executive produce the adventure film The Defenders for Dreamworks. - ComingSoon
In Treatment might be too expensive for HBO to bring it back for a third season. - Broadcasting and Cable
Neil Patrick Harris will join Vanessa Hudgens and Mary-Kate Olsen in Beastly, the reimagining of Beauty and the Beast. - The Hollywood Reporter
The CW show Blonde Charity Mafia is apparently too good for Summer; it will now premiere next TV season instead. - Washington Post
The IMAX cut of the Transformers sequel will apparently be slightly longer than the non-IMAX one. - ComingSoon
The BBC is making documentaries about The Office and Extras, which will include new footage. - The Sun

Photo courtesy of Fox

Heroes Rundown Chapter 13: "Dual"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:43:45 -0800

"On the sixth day, God created man in his own image. Now it's up to us to figure it all out." Thus begins (in an opening narration by Sylar instead of Mohinder, which I think is a nice change of pace) the final episode in this Heroes volume, "Villains." As has been the case in many of the chapters of this volume, the episode explores what makes people good or evil, heroes or villains, etc. etc. etc.

Sylar plays a little psychological murder game with the foursome he's locked inside Primatech (Claire, Meredith, Angela, HRG), trying to make them kill each other. Meanwhile, Ando, Daphne and Parkman work to bring Hiro back to present-day and Nathan and Peter have differing opinions on what to do with the formula. For more on this episode, read more.

Nathan comes upon Peter gazing upon their father's dead body. He tells Peter that he's going to finish what their father started, even though Peter thinks no good can come from it. Peter punches Nathan out and heads down to the lab.
At Primatech, Sylar traps HRG, Meredith, Claire and Angela in the building and talks to them over the PA system: "You did this to me. And before the night is over, I'm gonna prove to you, one by one, that you're all monsters. Exactly like me.".
Meanwhile, present-day Hiro, who is stuck in the 16-years-ago-past, recaps some things for us while gripping the pole and chatting to a pigeon. "I lost the formula. I failed my father. I lost my destiny."
Mohinder's infection has spread to his lungs and he hopes the formula will cure him. Peter, Flint and Knox burst into the lab, all of them planning to destroy the formula. Flint explains that with the formula, they're not so special anymore. Knox goes to keep an eye on Nathan so he won't interfere with the lab destruction.
Daphne speeds through the lab, stealing the one dose of the formula that Mohinder was holding. She gives it to Ando who injects himself even though Parkman (quite logically, really) wonders what if Ando doesn't get the exact power he wants?
Hiro climbs his way back up to the apartment where he talks with his child self and asks the younger Hiro to find a piece of paper of his father's with numbers and figures on it.
Claire would like to give the tempermental Sylar "a good spanking." Wouldn't we all, Claire? Wouldn't we all.
Sylar tells Claire that he'll let her, HRG and Meredith walk out alive if Claire will murder Angela. Otherwise, Claire is endangering HRG's life. She promises Sylar that if he hurts HRG she'll hunt him down and kill him.

Ando tries to teleport, repeating that he's the master of time and space. Parkman tells him to scrunch his eyes gently because he doesn't want to go back to the Stone Age (ha!). Rather than time travel, however, Ando got the power of supercharging other peoples' powers. They figure out that supercharging Daphne's speedstering causes her to travel through time.
HRG tells the Level Five guys that whoever brings him Sylar will be granted freedom, though he tells Meredith that they're actually bait for Sylar. Puppet master guy, Doyle, tries to control Sylar, but that doesn't work out so well for him. Sylar injects Meredith with adrenaline and then Meredith can't control her fire. Sylar shuts HRG in a room with her and has left him a gun with one bullet in it. Claire ultimately works with Meredith and HRG to shatter the glass and free them from the cell.
Nathan tells Knox that everyone always roots for Peter but in the end he always winds up losing. He starts a fight with Knox which Tracy ends by freezing and then shattering Knox. Tracy thinks that as a politician, Nathan can't recover from a disaster like this one, PR-wise. She says they can start over, but Nathan ends up firing her.
Older Hiro finds the formula just as Kaito walks in, notices the open safe and grabs his sword, calling Hiro a thief. Hiro finally holds up the formula, saying that if he destroys it then it can't be used. He tears it in half before disappearing. In that moment, Daphne and Ando bring Hiro back to the present. Daphne and Hiro then go to Pinehearst where Hiro punches Tracy in the face and grabs the formula.
Speaking of the formula, Flint and Peter are still trying to destroy the lab. They tip over a giant tub of the stuff, some of which reaches the knocked-out Mohinder and his scalies go away. Flint goes to set the place on fire, but Nathan hits him with a metal thing, then hits Peter with it - repeatedly. Flint sets the room ablaze anyway, but then Peter injects himself with the formula and crashes with Nathan through the window and flies them away to safety. Nathan wants to know why Peter saved him and Peter says it's because Nathan's his brother and he loves him.
Angela says Sylar's a hero because he killed Arthur, but Sylar's not having any of her nonsense. He says she's not her mother and she confirms this. She says she wanted him to work for the Company. She saw that he was "flawed, weak, malleable. Someone I could manipulate because that's what I do, because you're right. I'm a monster, too." She says she knows who his real parents are. He starts to force her to tell him but just then Claire gets him in the back of his skull, and he goes down. Claire goes back to the cell to save her mother, but HRG and Meredith tell her to run. As they do, Meredith unleashes her fire and Primatech is set aflame.
Tracy picks up Mohinder in her car.
"Each one of us is capable of both the dark and the light, of good and evil, of either, of all. And destiny while marching ever in our direction can be rerouted by the choices we make. . . by the love we hold on to and the promises we keep."
We get a glimpse of "Fugitives," which picks up three weeks later. Nathan is in D.C. explaining that he wants to round up all these special people and put them someplace where they won't be a danger to anyone. As he leaves the car, he thanks the President.

"Villains" is over! Heroes returns Feb. 2.

Photos courtesy of NBC

Heroes Rundown Chapter 12: "Our Father"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:37:33 -0800

Here we are, Heroes watchers, the second to last episode before the finale of this volume, "Villains." This week, Hiro and Claire have traveled 16 years back in time, and they interact with their parents and their past selves. Meanwhile, the cruel side of Sylar is back in full force, and Nathan sees firsthand what is being planned for the future at Pinehearst.

To chat about this episode, read more.

Hiro and Claire watch as 16-years-ago-Kaito gives HRG the baby Claire to raise as his own. This is, as Kaito says, "Not a request." It's kind of cute seeing Hiro and Claire together. Hiro's mother is dying and she wants to make arrangements for the catalyst. Hiro watches his mother cure a sick dove and says with awe, "My mommy is a healer."
Bad Sylar is totally back. He tells Arthur he's not going to help him anymore and then sets Elle's body on fire. Poor Elle! She and Sylar were my favorite couple on TV for a minute back there.
Nathan tells his father he's taking over Pinehearst. "You wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to make me if you didn't need me." Tracy walks Nathan down to an area where they're keeping soldiers, and explains Arthur's (and her) plan: "We'd like to call it 'intelligent design.' . . . When we perfect the formula, we get to choose who gets what power, and we've chosen the best."
Claire goes to see her mom of 16 years ago on the first day of having adopted baby Claire. It must be weird to hold yourself as a baby. And change your own baby self's diaper. Later, HRG comes home and he knows Claire is lying about who she is. Claire tells HRG that this baby Claire is going to need him to protect her, and that the Company will want to do something to her but he shouldn't let them because his little "Claire Bear" is "fine just the way she is." Awww. . .
Mean ol' Sylar takes the power of a woman who can tell when people are lying - on her birthday. That's just sad.
Nathan chats with one of the soldiers, wanting him to be sure he knows what he's getting into with this program. The soldier believes that if he were more than human, he could be a better Marine, he might have been able to have saved his fellow soldiers in Iraq.

Sad! Kaito doesn't think Hiro is responsible enough for the catalyst. He tells his wife that Hiro "will never amount to anything" (harsh!), which Hiro (er, both versions) overhears. The present-day Hiro (who thinks he's 10 years old) tells his dying mother of 16 years ago that he's her son. His healer mother helps Hiro regain his memories. He tells her what he's been up to (saving the world - twice!) and she assures him that she always thought he was meant for greatness. Hiro convinces her that he should get the catalyst, "the light." He says he is strong enough to protect it. So she gives him the light, after which Hiro murmurs, "You showed me what it means to be a hero."
Funny line from Ando after having sped to New York with Daphne: "I like teleporting more. Less windy." Ando, Parkman and Daphne track down Isaac Mendez's sketches for a final issue of 9th Wonder from the bike messenger in New York.
Angela has asked Peter to kill Arthur, so Peter and the Haitian go to find him. On the way, Peter and the Haitian have a heart to heart and the Haitian offers to kill Arthur, but Peter says it's his responsibility.
Arthur shows up in the 16 years ago where Claire and Hiro are talking. He steals Hiro's abilities and the catalyst, too. Then he sends Claire back up to present day with a message: "Tell Angela it's over. I won." Hiro is now stuck 16 years in the past - with no powers. So, Ando decides he should get the teleporting power so he can go back in time and save Hiro. He just needs the formula . . .
Arthur infuses the formula with the catalyst and Mohinder injects the concoction into a Marine.
Peter and the Haitian reach Pinehearst and Peter holds his father at gunpoint, but Arthur doesn't think Peter can bring himself to kill him. Just as Peter shoots the gun, Sylar appears and stops the bullet from reaching Arthur so he can ask him if he's really his son. Arthur insists he is, but Sylar can tell Arthur is lying and he makes the bullet go into Arthur's head.
The Marine reacts to the formula which has given him enhanced strength. He "feels good."

Next week's episode, "Duel," marks the last chapter in this volume of Heroes.

Photos courtesy of NBC

Heroes Rundown Chapter Eleven: "The Eclipse, Part Two"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:44:33 -0800

Ah, what the eclipse tooketh away, the return to normal sunlight has giveth (giveneth?) back. The heroes (and villains, I guess) regain their powers after a harrowing eclipse, and everyone has learned a little something about him or herself. I really liked that spooky gray-light that the eclipse cast on everything. It added an element of drama that perhaps has been missing lately on Heroes.

To chat about this episode, read more.

Peter and the Haitian are still in the forest and Nathan has been taken in by Haitian's brother Baron Samedi. Peter reiterates that all this is happening (the eclipse taking away their powers) to test their resolve, and that "maybe that's a good thing." He and the Haitian return to where Nathan is chained up and has been babbling on to a girl about wishing he'd protected her. Peter and the Haitian free the woman and Nathan, and after a bunch of fighting the Haitian overpowers his brother. He's a real. . . wait for it. . . hero.
Sylar and Elle, getting it on. Sylar says the eclipse could be a good thing - a chance to reinvent themselves without powers - but then HRG comes at them with a gun and Elle catches a bullet in the leg.
In the Kansas comic store, Hiro and Ando ask for the latest issue of 9th Wonder, and Ando shows them that what they're saying shows up in the comic book. Hiro delightedly opens up a box of back issues. "Best. Day. Ever." Breckin Meyer suggests that maybe their powers will return once the eclipse is over, but Hiro is not happy about this. He doesn't want to grow up - "Not now! Not ever!"
The irony of Seth Green (I don't much care what his character's name is, he's just Seth Green) yelling "Everyone needs to grow up!" is pretty great.
Mohinder is all pissed off, but Arthur is feeling and vulnerable and paranoid without his powers, and won't let Mohinder leave. So, Mohinder beats up Flint and runs away. He gets to Maya's apartment just as the eclipse ends and he realizes his scaly things are back.
Daphne has cerebral palsy and tells Parkman she's a villain. When he protests, she insists he doesn't know her and can't help her. Eclipse ends, Daphne and Parkman get their powers back. Parkman tries to convince her she's a good person, she hugs her dad, feels better.

Hiro's having doubts about why he should bother being a hero, but Seth Green says it gives people hope. Then, in a slightly ridiculous move, Breckin Meyer deduces that, in order to get his memory back, Hiro has to bring Claire back to the point in time when Hiro is 10 and HRG is getting the baby Claire.
Having been shot while her powers are gone, Claire's "whole system has been infected" and the police are starting to become suspicious about her case. Claire is sad because she wished for her ability to go away, and now it's gone. "I'm not brave. I'm just a stupid teenager." Ah, the bummers of being a normal human being. The doctors work on her (gross! She's all ripped open!) while we see HRG angrily beating the snot out of Sylar and ultimately slitting his throat with a box cutter while Elle watches in horror.

So, now it appears that Sylar and Claire are dead, but there's no real drama in this show because we know they aren't going to turn out to be truly dead. That whole thing with Claire on the table feels like it was a waste of time.
Nathan is starting to think that his dad might be onto something. Give the powers to "the right people," and stop all the suffering in the world. He flies off into the night.
Claire and HRG have yet another chat about how crappy a dad HRG was to her before Sylar and Elle show up. Sylar needs to get Claire, and he starts to hurt HRG who suddenly tells him his parents are not Arthur and Angela Petrelli. Then Hiro shows up and grabs Sylar, Elle and Claire.
Sylar and Elle end up on a beach. Sylar is worried that HRG might be right about his parents. He says nobody really changes, and that they're both just damaged goods. Then he starts to open Elle's head! Sylar, nooooo!
At least they eventually explain the whole Isaac-Mendez-is-dead thing, saying that 9th Wonder book is the last posthumous issue. But Seth Green has heard a legend that one more 9th Wonder story exists. "The day he died Isaac Mendez bequeathed his sketchbook to a humble bike messenger. You find that messenger, and you find your story."
Arthur: "I think this eclipse showed us all exactly who we are: Desperate. Angry. And weak." He tells Mohinder to take care of the monster inside of him.
Hiro brings Claire back in time and together they watch Kaito Nakamura give HRG the baby Claire.

Photos courtesy of NBC

Heroes Rundown Chapter Ten: "The Eclipse, Part I"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:35:04 -0800

This week's episode of Heroes shows "there's a moment in every war when everything changes. . . No matter how much we resist the change. . . in the end, we're never truly ready when it strikes."

Arthur sketches all sorts of death and destruction, and then the eclipse begins and the heroes are surprised to find their powers diminished. It's kind of funny to see the characters try to use their powers, tilting their heads or twitching their fingers, and nothing happens. It all looks so silly.

Anywho, to chat about this first part of "The Eclipse," read more.

In the intro, we see Arthur sketching his little heart out. He goes to Sylar and tells him to bring him Claire. Elle insists on going along and helping because after all, she was "raised to be a Company girl." Sylar asks, "You OK with this, Dad?" (Dad? Already?) Arthur calls the two of them "a good pairing."
Claire whines about being the catalyst. Angela tells her to just stay out of harm's way. "But I can fight! I can do more, I can be more!" Ugh, shut up, Claire. HRG appears and takes Claire to Stephen Canfield's house, where Claire whines some more and argues with her dad like a brat. The HRG-Claire relationship used to be so cute but now it's just annoying. Then HRG starts training Claire.
Mohinder's all up in arms because Arthur hasn't cured him yet. And eww, over the course of the episode, Mohinder gets grosser and grosser until he's in his own slime cocoon. Then he disgustingly slithers out of his cocoon thingy and finds that his scales are gone.
Daphne calls Hiro a spaz but Parkman says he's "a walking do-over," and he wants to find him. Hiro and Ando show up at the door, and Ando says Parkman has to fix Hiro because Arthur erased his memory. You know, 10-year-old Hiro is not that different from the way they usually write Hiro's character, sadly. Daphne freaks out, Parkman tries reading her mind (how much would it suck if your boyfriend could read your mind?), and she flees to her parents' house in Kansas.

Elle uses a rental car guy to ignite Sylar's anger and his "hunger."She says they're all trying to make him into something. "Who are you really?" Later, Sylar and Elle drive off in a snazzy red car in search of Claire.
Tracy is still in cahoots with Arthur, hoping to make it into the oval office, but she's growing uneasy as she starts to see all that Arthur is capable of. He wants her to go to Paris Island, the marine training facility because, Arthur says, "Every war needs an army." Angela appears in the doorway and Tracy gets up to leave, saying, "No rest for the wicked." Ha, Angela: "I guess not."
So, Claire was a sad little girl because her dad went on lots of trips. Yawn. Soon, Sylar and Elle come in but neither of them can use their powers. Still, Elle gets ahold of the gun, tries to shoot HRG but Claire jumps in the way of the bullet. HRG picks her up, just like in Arthur's sketch. He brings her to their house where he and Sandra treat her "flesh wound."
Hiro teleports Ando and Parkman and himself to Kansas in search of Daphne just before the eclipse starts, which depletes all the heroes' powers. In Kansas, Daphne's dad won't let him see her. When Parkman tries to read her dad's mind, he looks at Parkman, puzzled. "Why are you turning your head sideways?" Ando explains to Hiro that Parkman can't use his powers. "This is a part of the Hero's Quest," Hiro says. "Can you triumph without powers?" Hiro throws corn at Parkman until he goes back to Daphne's house.
Nathan and Pete fly off to find the Haitian, but they fall to the earth as Nathan loses his power to fly. They then begin a trek through the forest. Nathan spots a doll tied to a tree and Peter explains they're like "messengers. Prayers for salvation, redemption." The two brothers start quibbling: Peter doesn't want to be treated like an "idiot kid brother," and Nathan says he should try earning his respect. Then Peter accuses Nathan of being Arthur's puppet. It turns out Peter's sore because in the future Nathan chooses their dad over him.
Hiro and Ando set off to find the next issue of the comic book. At the comic book store they find Breckin Meyer and Seth Green.
Mohinder's scales, abilities - all gone. So, he looks up Maya (again with the Maya?). He starts to leave, but Arthur doesn't let him.
Peter wants to help the Haitian find his brother, but of course, Arthur has other plans for them. He manages to have Nathan captured.
Parkman tells Daphne he loves her, then walks into her house and sees that without her powers, she is in leg braces, on crutches. This is what Arthur saved her from, apparently.
OK, Elle popping Sylar's shoulder back into place while he roars made me laugh, I admit. She says without their powers they can't take what they want anymore. "Says who?" Sylar says huskily. He grabs her and kisses her, as HRG watches them with a sniper gun.

As always, to be continued. . .

Photos courtesy of NBC

Heroes Rundown Chapter Eight: "Villlains"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:39:31 -0800

This week's episode of Heroes goes back a year, filling in some blanks and connecting some stories with others we've already seen. Is it wrong that I might've liked this episode more than the others recently because it includes bits of season one?

The episode goes back to show how some of the heroes became villains in the first place. As the opening narration explains when Hiro goes all white-eyed, "To fight evil, one must know evil. One must journey back in time and find that fork in the road where heroes turn one way and villains turn another." From there we see what Hiro sees - the secret goings-on in some of the heroes lives a year ago.

To chat about this episode, read more.

It's interesting: It used to seem like Linderman was the ultimate in evil villains but as it happens, Arthur is so much worse. Arthur tells Linderman he'll try to convince Nathan to keep his office from investigating "all things Linderman," and if it doesn't work Arthur will kill him. He then references Shakespeare: "When the son challenges the father, only one is left standing."
Turns out Meredith and Flint "fireball hands" are siblings and the Company's Mr. Thompson (Eric Roberts) hunts them down, takes them to the Company and tells Meredith she can become an agent for the Company or remain a prisoner. She hates the Company, but chooses the agent option over prisoner.
Wow, Sylar tried to hang himself? Elle walks in just in time ("showing up out of nowhere, like an angel") and saves him. "Forgive me," he says to her before starting to cry.
Nathan still wants to bury Linderman in "a very deep hole for a very long time," so Arthur is the one who causes the car accident in which Heidi is injured! That's some fatherly love. It breaks my heart to see Angela - who was once so much more innocent - trust in Arthur, who is such a jerk.

Also sad: Elle has feelings for Sylar! Sylar's happiness at the peach pie ("That's my favorite kind!") is so sweet. Elle wants the Company to back off of Sylar but HRG says they need to witness Sylar killing someone, and Elle needs to follow the Company's orders or else she's on her own.
Poor Angela! Arthur just gets in her head and makes her believe things, like "Nathan has to die." Linderman tells Angela he can heal the scars that Arthur leaves every time he puts thoughts in her mind and erases her memory, saying, "Arthur is betraying you in the most heinous way possible. He's going to kill your son." She slaps him and calls him a liar, but he continues: "You have to decide: Do you want to live in blind obedience, or do you want to know the truth?" She chooses the truth.

Meredith captures her first "special person" successfully (though for getting a blow to the head with a heavy metal fist, that dude she's working with recovers amazingly quickly), and feels accomplished. Soon, however, she discovers Flint has been taken in by the Company and he says he's going to be an agent, too. She thinks they're tricking him because he's dumb. "Remember what daddy used to say? God gave you a big sister instead of a brain." They try to escape, but Mr. Thompson finds them, and Flint jumps off the train. Meredith tries to escape as well, after setting the train on fire, but ultimately Mr. Thompson captures her again. However, as soon as she tells him she hates the company because they killed Claire in a fire, he lets her go free. I definitely did not see that coming.
It's so sad how Elle deceives Sylar, even when she doesn't want to. She introduces him to another "special" guy, Trevor, but when it comes down to Sylar getting the hunger and doing his brain thingy to him, Elle caves, electrifies him and tells him he doesn't have to do this. In the end, though, he tells her to leave and opens Trevor's brain as HRG watches.
Angela poisons Arthur! "I lied. It's not your mother's recipe." She is my new favorite character. "You were a visionary, but somewhere along the line you lost your soul." Nathan comes home and gets his father to the hospital where Angela and Nathan are told Arthur's dead. In truth, Arthur is alive and still has his power - but is now paralyzed. At his memorial service Angela instructs Nathan and Peter to "not idolize your father because he's dead. He wasn't a god, he was a man. Deeply flawed in ways you will never know."
Elle feels guilty about Sylar: "He had a soul, Bennet, he could have been saved." HRG, ever the Company Man, tells her simply that they're agents and they just have to follow orders. He then gets into a cab driven by Mohinder, goes to JFK.
Then the crazy ending! Hiro awakens/comes out of his spirit walk thing and finds Usutu beheaded (gross!). Suddenly, Arthur appears and grabs Hiro's head. Hiro starts screaming.

Photos courtesy of NBC

Heroes Rundown Chapter Three: "One of Us, One of Them"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:36:14 -0700

"What kind of person are we? Does the hero, or the villain inside us, win the day?"

Ah, yes. The hero/villain question at the heart of Volume Three of Heroes. In this week's episode we get more of the scoop on who Tracey is (or rather, who she's not), Angela Petrelli insists that Sylar has simply been "misunderstood," and the pairing up of HRG and his new partner turns out to be surprisingly awesome. And then there are the Claire, Parkman, Hiro and Peter storylines, so to chat about it read more.

Angela Petrelli gets all maternal on Sylar, telling him she never should have given him up for adoption, and now she's going to take good care of him. She pairs Sylar up with HRG, saying that Sylar has has just been misunderstood and needs structure. HRG: "So your solution is to send the psychopath after the psychopaths."
The escaped Level Five guys go into a bank and raise hell. One of them formulates a plan to lure HRG to the bank and take his revenge on him.
Uh-oh - Mom showdown. (Also, I love it when hero and non-hero life life collide: "Um, we don't smoke in the house"). Claire says she was hoping her mother would teach her how to fight so she won't be the victim all the time. Her mother tells her, "There are some things you can't fight, Claire." She then tortures her daughter into telling her the truth about why she wants to get bad guys. Claire screams, "To hurt him, okay? To hurt him like he hurt me!"
I like how the African guy, Usutu, makes Parkman's name sound a little like "Pac-Man." "It's your spirit walk, Pac-Man, not mine." Usutu paints images of Parkman (Parkman and Molly, Parkman getting thrown out the window by Jessica, etc.), just like Isaac Mendez used to paint scenes of the future. But then there is a painting of Parkman with a woman and a baby, which Usutu says isn't the future anymore. "The future changed."
Sylar wants to know if Angela is really his mother; it seems like Angela's really getting to him. I like it when Sylar feels stuff. He says he thinks HRG is right, he's just a killer. Angela: "No, it's not your fault, it's your ability, there's a hunger that you cannot control, it's made you that way. But we're going to fix that." Later, HRG says to Sylar, "You do realize she's playing us, right? This is all one big game to her."

Hiro, Ando and Daphne all end up at the movie theater where the Haitian is getting back the half of the formula for Angela Petrelli ("Given recent events, Mrs. Petrelli thinks it wise to keep her half closer to home"). Daphne tries to drive a little wedge between Hiro and Ando, which Hiro immediately recognizes: "Don't listen to her, Ando. She's trying to divide us. It's villainy 101."
Ha! I really enjoyed watching Sylar cop an accent and take charge of the hostage situation with the cops. I don't just love to hate him in this episode, I really like him.
In New Orleans, Tracey sees Niki (who looks just like her) lying in a coffin. She meets Micah (poor Micah!) who looks up Tracey's old records, which have some key similarities to Niki's. They get a name: Dr. Zimmerman. When Tracey visits Dr. Zimmerman she asks, "Do you know me?" Dr. Zimmerman: "Know you? I created you."
The campy piano music of the Chaplin movie is perfect for Hiro and Ando's bumbling mission to get the briefcase from the Haitian, which Daphne promptly swipes.
Peter gets out of Jesse's body and disappears into the future. Meanwhile, the real Jesse is back in his own body and he advances on HRG, only to be stopped by Sylar. HRG yells at Sylar, saying that he told Sylar to stay put. Sylar: "You told me that to make sure I wouldn't, didn't you?" Sylar then traps Jesse in the bank and slices open his forehead, telling HRG he can't fight it. "It's the hunger."
Claire's mom: "You gotta learn to save yourself before you can save the world." But Claire is still intent on getting the bad guys, and drives off with a Primatech box.
Parkman sees a painting of him carrying the woman who was holding the baby in the earlier painting, and he asks if he can stop this future scene. Usutu brings Parkman to his house (where a turtle climbs over the 9th Wonders comic book, ha). Parkman eats some stuff, then puts on Usutu's headphones and gets the milky white future-seeing eyes, like Isaac Mendez and like Usutu.
Nathan is sworn into office, which Tracey misses altogether. Later Nathan is seen reading the Bible (Genesis).
Hiro and Ando are now at Level 5! There, the Haitian asks HRG if he's being replaced (by Sylar). HRG: "Only for a while. Just until I find his weakness. And then I'm gonna kill him."

In the preview for next week's episode, Sylar is wearing an apron and kissing Mr. Muggles! This episode was fine and all, but I look forward to seeing that.

Photos courtesy of NBC

Remember Heroes? Season 3 Is Coming, Here's a Preview to Prove It

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:30:15 -0700

Whether or not you've been keeping up with the new webisodes for the online Heroes companion series "Going Postal", NBC still wants to ensure that you don't forget about Heroes starting up again this Fall. Now we've got a one-minute trailer for the third season (or "volume" or whatever it's called), "Villains."

The trailer's pretty exciting, as we once again see a whole bunch of our old familiars like Claire, Peter, Mohinder, Hiro, HRG and Parkman, among others. There are even a few flashes of that ~~sexy~~ horribly evil Sylar. The end of the trailer is the best part, and pretty funny considering what's going on behind the scenes.

Basically, I can't wait to see this next season because they've had quite a while to dream up exciting storylines and plot twists. I expect a lot from this season - which starts September 22 - so I'm hoping it won't disappoint. To check out the trailer, read more.

Get Smart: A Light, Easy Treat

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:30:10 -0700

You know when you're tired, cranky, and hungry right around mid-afternoon and you know you should just gnaw on the baby carrots you put in the office fridge during a fit of optimism but all you want to do is grab the Ho-Hos (or in my case, those Tag-a-Long Girl Scout cookies) in your top drawer and stuff your face? And then sometimes you decide to stuff your face and it's insanely satisfying (if only temporarily)? That's what my experience of watching Get Smart was like. This was one week when I needed a good, lighthearted laugh and in that sense, Get Smart is the perfect thing. It's obviously not high art and it's not even really clever as far as comedies go. It's just fun. I watched, I laughed, I went home happy.

Steve Carell resurrects Maxwell Smart, the main character from the 1960s TV series on which this movie is based. Smart only becomes a secret agent for the spy organization CONTROL when The Chief (Alan Arkin) needs more people on his team after their offices have been attacked by nemesis spy team, KAOS. Now deemed Agent 86, Smart is paired up with the intelligent, accomplished Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) and, together with The Chief and the outrageously manly Agent 23 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), the CONTROL operatives struggle to stop KAOS from carrying out their plans of mass murder and world domination. Other CONTROL duos like Agent 91 (Terry Crews) and Larabee (David Koechner, who I wish had been recast with Rob Corddry), and the young geek team Bruce (Masi Oka) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence) provide additional laughs when necessary. To find out what I liked best about the movie, read more.

One of the best things about this movie is that the humor comes in quick, brief spurts as the plotline trots gamely along. So often the complaint with things that "should be funny, but aren't" is that the gags go on for too dang long. This is not a problem in Get Smart, and I seriously appreciate it. In a similar vein, with the exception of Carell, no one actor is used for so long that we start to tire of them. Each person does what he or she does best and then gets out of the way.

For example, as much as I like Alan Arkin as an actor, I'm glad he's not in the movie more than he is, and the same goes for Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson who, I'm convinced, was born to have roles like these. His good looks and overt masculinity are played for laughs, but this schtick is doled out in moderation. As much as I enjoy looking at him (and I truly love looking at him), I wonder if instead of carrying entire movies on his own, he should have smaller roles like these in a variety of different projects. I'd like to see that.

As for the guy carrying this movie, Carell's Maxwell Smart is not too different from his alter-ego on The Office, Michael Scott. Carell rarely strays too far from his Michael Scott-style naivete, but then again, Carell is often a pleasantly restrained actor. While I've seen episodes of the original Get Smart series, I don't have such an attachment that I have any specific feelings about the transition from little screen to big screen. At first Anne Hathaway seemed an unlikely choice as Agent 99, but there's an explanation for why she seems so much younger than Agent 86, and she's capable enough in the role. Overall, I think Maxwell Smart - especially as played by Carell - works well in a modern-day movie, and the director makes several clear nods to the original show.

An older gentleman at my screening said he didn't like the movie and thought it was "stupid," which I can understand, but maybe it's because I've also seen The Love Guru and I know what extremely stupid looks like (more on that here) that I can appreciate something that's neither mentally taxing nor insultingly dumb on every possible level. Also, this man told me he doesn't watch The Office, and I think there are simply some people who enjoy that humor and some who don't. I don't presume everyone will like this movie. It's not super intelligent and it's not Apatow-crass - it's just plain silly. But if you're brain's fried and you've had a long week, it might be just the cure, if only temporarily.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Heroes Rundown Chapter 11: Powerless

BuzzSugar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:30:43 -0800

Here's how I feel upon the completion of the second volume of Heroes: 80 percent annoyed, 20 percent relieved. I'm relieved because this first half of the season is over and now everyone can work on making Heroes good again for the third volume, "Villains." I'm annoyed because - along with being a pretty lame episode - they told us "two heroes would fall" in this episode and there are definitely more deserving victims than the ones who bit the dust this week!

I also feel like this season has been a waste so far. Even Tim Kring has admitted as much, which just frustrates me more. I'm going to have to think long and hard about watching this show again when (if?) it returns in the Spring.

For now, some thoughts on this week's final chapter of volume two:

If nothing else, this week's episode included some playfulness and humor that isn't always present in the show: Maya wearing an apron, borrowed from Mohinder and Parkman, that reads "World's Best Dad;" Nathan and Parkman's rocky landing together; Claire saying to Mr. Muggles, "You won't leave me, will you, Mr. Muggles?" The dog turns and trots away.
I really warmed to Elle this episode. She's getting more character depth, and more to work with besides just making snarky comments and being weird. She seems like such a little girl sometimes and I feel sorry for her.

More thoughts (including spoilers) if you read more

What does it say about me that I’m still attracted to Sylar even when he’s so horrifically evil? No, actually, let's not talk about it.
Angela Petrelli must have a hard life, being so evil and also a mom.
West, go home!
"Hello, Claire Bear." Awwww!
Monica's situation with the thug trying to set her on fire featured a kind of real-world evil - not superhero comic-book evil - that made me uneasy and scared.
The Peter vs. Parkman mental argument is the dumbest thing I’ve seen in a while. Their jerky heads and contorted faces just look laughably ridiculous.
So, that would make the montage of heroes at the end while we hear a voiceover of Nathan's speech the second dumbest thing.
Maya just carries a photo of herself and her brother in her pocket? At all times?
Nathan: "We’ve been used by these people, manipulated. But it stops here." That's how I feel about this show in general.
This episode was way harsh on the kids: Molly witnesses all sorts of horrible things and Micah watches as the building containing his mother explodes. Sheesh.
Great. Now Nathan and Niki are gone, but we're still stuck with Maya and Sylar (and any number of other unnecessary people). I think they killed off the wrong characters. What do you think?

No more Heroes for a while, guys, so chat it up! What did you think of this week's episode?

Photo courtesy of NBC