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jazy3 · 5 years

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Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 15X24

I love this episode! It felt like the old Grey’s! I got to see so many things that I love about my favourite characters and I found that the characters that I dislike were not nearly as annoying this episode. It really sets the finale up well! The big exception to this is Teddy. Prior to this season I really liked her. But her actions in this episode really made me lose respect for her.

Meredith’s in the OR. It’s nice to have her back. She’s wearing her purple scrub cap today. This further supports my theory that DeLuca is not the one and when she finds the person that will be the next great love of her life, she will switch to wearing one scrub cap all the time like she did before. Gives me hope. We find out that it’s a dream sequence! And a really dark one at that. There’s a really dark call back to the shooting episode and CeCe is there! This got dark really fast. Meredith wakes up in bed next to Jo. She’s crashing there and refusing to leave until Jo talks to her about what’s going on. This is what I love about Meredith. She’s a good friend and won’t give up on the people in her life no matter what.

We cut to Amelia and Link in bed. She’s awoken by the sounds of Mer’s kids and freaks out that Link is still there because they fell asleep accidentally. Now he has to stay there until the kids leave for school. Meanwhile Maggie and Jackson are camping. Maggie hates it. This storyline is dumb. Jackson’s being an idiot. Alex is at Mer’s place while she’s at his. He’s making Zola breakfast when Amelia walks in. He’s found a blood donor for Gus! She’s flying in from London, England.

Zola wants to know how long her Mom is going to be staying with Aunt Jo. Alex tells her she’ll be there until she helps Aunt Jo feel better. Zola asks what’s wrong with Aunt Jo. Alex’s face is heartbreaking. Amelia tells him to go take a shower and that she’s got this. “Alex if anyone can help it’s Meredith.” This is heartbreaking! Back at the hospital Gabby is throwing stuffed animals at a sleeping DeLuca. It’s very cute. Catherine arrives in the lobby in a stunning black and white dress. I love her outfits! The wardrobe department always does a stunning job with her. She’s there on Foundation business. Richard didn’t know she was coming. They briefly talk before going into a meeting in one of the conference rooms.

Tom and Teddy talk items for the baby’s nursery. I love them! Amelia and Link talk and he tells her he left the house, and no one saw him because no one was home. He makes a joke and Amelia is not amused. They all visit their quadriplegic stem cell patient. No progress so far. Tom makes a joke that cheers them up slightly. Alex visits Gus and his parents. They get an update on the blood donor from Schmitt. Her agoraphobia is so bad she’s barely functioning. Luckily her therapist is with her. Until some a*holes from customs take him away because of a visa problem. Now they’re screwed. She gets back on the plane. Alex has to tell the family.

Gus’ Mom is pissed. I would be too. She’s done waiting. Gus keeps getting sicker and this woman won’t get off the stupid plane. She’s had enough. She pushes Gus’ latest LEGO building over in frustration. Gus’ Dad is super loving and understanding. He says he feels the same way. He goes to help and slips and falls on the LEGO’s and breaks his ass! This is the Grey’s Anatomy I love! Alex takes him for treatment. Nico for some reason is a jerk to Alex. He’s really getting on my nerves. Owen and Teddy ask what happened. Alex tells him and Owen says he’ll go and get the blood and runs out at lightning speed.

Schmitt and the blood donor Francis are on the plane. She’s refusing to get off and she’s singing Wham! songs. Schmitt’s at his limit. Back at the hospital Tom and Amelia walk up to Richard and ask what’s going on in the conference room. Richard says he doesn’t know but they’ve been in there for over an hour and that can’t be good. Richard wonders out loud if Catherine is selling the hospital. To which Amelia replies, “Don’t you think you’d know if your wife was selling the hospital?” in a joking way. Richard just stares at her. Considering he didn’t know she had cancer I wouldn’t put it past her.

Nico is now being a jerk to Teddy. I really hate this guy. He killed a man, refused to take responsibility for it and is now being a jerk to his superiors for not trusting him for obvious reasons. Richard and Teddy share some hilarious banter! Meanwhile Mer is still in bed with Jo. They talk about Mer’s crap instead. She admits that a small part of her may be hiding out here because DeLuca SAID he loved her not because she believes he actually does. She tells Jo it’s terrifying but that she’s mostly here for her. She refuses to leave because she promised Alex she wouldn’t go until she got Jo to talk to her. I love their friendship.

Jo tells her that listening to her complain about love is not helping. Mer counters and says her husband died and that the ‘I love you’ scares her because the last person she said it to was Derek. She tells Jo that her and Alex are not delicate flowers, that they understand pain and there’s nothing Jo could tell them that they can’t handle. In response Jo finally tells her what happened and it’s heartbreaking.

Meanwhile Maggie and Jackson are hiking. She gets stun by something and twists her ankle and they have to head back to camp. Back at the hospital DeLuca is showing Gabby how the MRI machine works by doing a scan of her toy cat. Alex walks in and DeLuca asks how Jo is. He says he doesn’t know and that Mer’s still over there and that he’s probably heard more than him. DeLuca says he actually hasn’t heard from Mer in a while. Yes! Let this be the final break up! Come on! Let it end!

Back at the loft Jo shares a story from her childhood. She says she feels all the abuse she’s suffered is her birth right and her inheritance and she can’t move past it. Mer sits there and compassionately listens. Owen arrives at the hanger. He talks to Francis who explains her therapy and how she came to be where she is. It turns out she also has a fear of needles. Good lord this woman. She’s also a hypochondriac. Schmitt is losing it. She starts singing again.

Alex is with Gus’ Mom. He tells her they’re taking her husband up to the OR. It looks like she’s crying only she’s not. She laughing! Alex and her have a good laugh! And then Gus goes into distress! Nico and Richard operate on Gus’ Dad. Helm comes in to update Nico on his other patients. She asks if she can scrub in and is chatting about the humorous injury when Nico cuts her off and is a complete ungrateful jerk to her! I get that Nico is hurting but he’s taking it out on both superiors and insubordinates like a complete asshole. In real life that would get you fired. He’s also not teaching her anything and this is a teaching hospital! Richard gives Nico a talking to about the BS he just pulled. He makes reference to the Judy Doll episode. There’s a lot of great throwbacks for long-time fans in this episode.

Meanwhile Owen is still trying to get Francis off the plane. He suggests she put the blanket over her head between there and the car, but she says she can’t. Schmitt is livid. After talking some more Owen has an idea. He video chats Alex and says Francis wants to meet Gus. Gus’ Mom speaks to Francis because Gus can’t because he had a heart attack. He talks Francis into trying. She puts the blanket over her head. They’re on their way. Owen’s speech visibly moves Teddy. Owen lifts a covered Francis and carries her to the car.

Back at the loft Meredith is reminding Jo of all of the wonderful things she’s done and made happen. All of the people she’s saved. She tells her that violence isn’t her inheritance. It’s something she survived. She tells her she’s taken the darkness life gave her and used it to help others and turned it into light. If her birth mother can’t see that well that’s her problem not Jo’s. Jo’s still not buying it, so Mer shares her story about the time she almost drowned years ago. Another great throwback for long time viewers.

Hearing that Meredith stopped fighting and almost died because of it is what gets through to Jo. Mer asks her if she needs a few more days or if this is her telling her she wants to stop and quit. Jo considers it and says doesn’t wanna stop and she does need a few more days. Yeah Jo! Mer says they need to talk to Alex and Bailey in order to get her the right kind of help and a proper leave of absence so that her career is waiting for her when she comes back. She convinces her to take a shower and makes her laugh for the first time in ages!

Meanwhile Owen, Francis and Schmitt are stuck in major bumper to bumper traffic on the freeway as fog rolls into Seattle. Dun dun duh!!! Francis is singing again, and Schmitt finally cracks and joins in! If you can’t beat em join em! Owen is not amused! Back at the hospital Gus is oxygen deficient. Alex decides to move him to the hyperbaric chamber until the blood arrives. Teddy gets called to another patient. Meanwhile Maggie and Jackson have arrived back at camp. Jackson is treating her injuries when he looks at his phone and realizes Alex needs her for Gus’ care. They have to go now. Just then thunder rolls in!

Carey the quadriplegic patient’s labs are back. They’re not good. She needs surgery. Her adult child Toby starts freaking out. Her Mom gives a speech about eschewing a safe life for one of adventure and bravery. Teddy is moved and starts to tear up. Carey decides to do the surgery with Toby’s blessing. Link tells Amelia who’s with Leo whose now sick. Since Owen’s on a rescue mission she’s taking him home. Link asks if this her past or her future since she called Owen’s Place home. Hesays this is starting to be real for him, but he’s upset that Amelia hides him from her family and is playing house with Owen.

He asks her what she wants. If what they have is real for her too ‘cause if not he needs to know. I really hope they end up together. He says she doesn’t need to tell him right this minute, but soon. Which I think is fair. Meredith brings Jo to the hospital. They run into DeLuca and Mer says they need to talk to Bailey. He says that’s not a good idea because she’s been in the conference room all day. Jo says she can wait until Bailey’s done if Mer can talk to Alex for her. Mer asks DeLuca to stay with Jo and not to leave her side and that it’s important.

Once she leaves Jo asks him if he loves her. He says who wouldn’t? Which is not the proper response to that question! What an idiot. I hate this guy. Bailey needs to speak DeLuca. Jo says she’ll stay there and to go. He enters the conference room. They have questions about Gabby’s treatment. We find out the people at the meeting are inspectors from the insurance company and they’ve found out about what Meredith did. They want him to rat everybody out. To be honest I really thought he was going to. He always has in the past.

Tom runs into Teddy. He tells he’s going to put together an Ikea baby changing table for her. She says she has to do something at work. He says no problem he’ll meet her home and order some food for them. I feel so bad for Tom! He’s such a sweetheart and so good to Teddy. He doesn’t deserve this crap. Owen and Teddy just need to go and stop hurting people like assholes. Alex is putting Gus into the hyperbaric chamber. Mer comes to talk to him. She decides to come into the chamber with him.

Teddy goes to Owen’s house. Amelia is there with a sick Leo. Amelia makes it clear she’s just there for Leo and that her and Owen are finished. She welcomes Teddy in. There’s some real growth from Amelia here which I love. Teddy tells her that she loves Owen and it’s scary and they hurt each other, and it is not easy. In this moment I lost all respect for Teddy. Sigh. Amelia says these are all things she already knows. Teddy says she doesn’t want safe and she wants her daughter to see love and that Tom makes her feel, but Owen is the only one who makes her feel passion and a bunch of others things.

She says she has to tell him now before her daughter is born. Her water has broken, but she wanted to say all that before she went into labour. They leave to go to the hospital. Meanwhile Maggie gets a text. Teddy’s water just broke so she can’t cover her service anymore. Her and Jackson decide to leave some equipment behind and go immediately. As they are about to leave a heavy down pour starts and they see heavy fog has rolled in. Yikes! Back at the hospital Meredith is about tell Alex what happened with Jo when someone calls her name outside the chamber.

It’s DeLuca and Catherine’s behind him. Mer tells him it’s not a good time, but he says it can’t wait. He tells her it was him who put Ellis’ name on Gabby’s paperwork and takes the fall for it. Mer tells him no but there’s only so much she can say with Catherine standing behind him. He says he’s going to the police but that he wanted to speak to her first. He says it’s not fair to her or her kids. That they need her. She tells him not to. He says he committed felony and that he’ll likely go to jail. He mouths ‘I love you’ before Catherine escorts him out. She yells at him not to go to the police. He doesn’t listen.

I’ve never liked DeLuca but that was a bold move. I’m surprised he took the fall. I think it’s the only time he’s done that and one of the only times he’s done the right thing for that matter. I’m not sure how they’re going to end this one. Will he go to jail? Will he work out some kind of deal? Will he leave the country? I’m guessing this is going to involve him being written off the series. Meanwhile Owen, Francis and Schmitt are still stuck in traffic and now it’s raining. The fog is now thick it’s a wall. It’s pea soup at this point! Francis asks if they can keep the window open as it reminds her of home. She’s just started to relax when there’s a crashing sound behind them and they all lurch forward! There’s a massive multi car pile up on the freeway they’re on because of the fog! Things are about to get so much worse!

Until next time.

Au revoir!

#grey's anatomy #Meredith Grey #jo karev #alex karev #reviews #thoughts #critique #season 15 #15X24 #drawn to the blood

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specsnsarcasm · 7 years

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My Review of... ‘Passengers’

I finally got around to seeing the movie Passengers (2016) and umm… what the hecking heck was that?!?!

[Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!]

CASTING PROBLEMS:

First of all, I know it’s supposed to be everybody’s cinematic wet dream, putting Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt together (the way people wanted to see what the offspring of the two so-called “most beautiful people in the world” - Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt - would look like). It was the people’s experiment! Put these two “likeable”, “relatable”, “funny”, good-looking people together, and watch the movie magic unfold! So riddle me this: why put these two in a sci-fi drama of all things, when a simple rom-com would have sufficed!?

Second, I don’t think these two had much chemistry. Sure, they don’t do anything empirically wrong (save a little overacting here and there), but I just didn’t believe them as a couple. I was very aware that I was watching two people acting the way you think two people should when they’re in love. You can practically see the weight of everyone’s expectations on their shoulders. Be sexy! Be charming! Be perfect! I wondered if they had any fun making this movie at all!

I also found something very odd about this pairing. Maybe it’s the age difference (25, at the time, to his 36)? I find that Lawrence tends to play too mature for her real age, playing a lot of late-20′s or 30-something characters. She has lots of time for that, but I guess she’s highly bankable right now and can physically play a wide range? Hollywood is not kind to women. They cast a 25 year old as a 35 year old, and a 35 year old as dust (but that’s another story). Or maybe it’s the imbalance of star power? She is arguably the bigger star. Either way, something was off.

I maintain that Pratt’s best work is as a comedic actor. I know he’s trying to branch out or whatever, but I just don’t buy him as a “leading man”. Not in an all-out, dramatic role. Not yet, anyway. He was good in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) as the wise-cracking, cocksure rebel. And in Jurassic World (2015) as a more rugged, wise-cracking, cocksure rebel. And in The Magnificent Seven (2016) as an EVEN MORE rugged, wise-cracking, cocksure rebel. He just didn’t quite fit the bill here for me. Although he plays it straight, he kept making me laugh unintentionally (that’s the problem with getting typecast). Especially with three, count em’, one, two, THREE gratuitous butt shots. (We get it!!! BUTTS!). Anyway, dozens of other, half-decent “name” actors could have done a perfectly serviceable job in this role, so by casting Pratt, you’re asking for something that only Pratt can do well. Let him do his thing if that’s why you like him so much!

CHARACTER/STORY PROBLEMS:

Right away, the movie has parallels to the extremely hard-to-top The Martian (2015). But this film has neither the charm, humour, or the gravitas. I found myself comparing Jim to Mark Watney. Both are stranded and alone, both have technical skills. However, unlike Jim, Mark has the mental fortitude NOT to crack almost immediately under pressure. Not that I judge Jim, but the emotional progression in The Martian seems more steady and realistic than in this, which dealt with its characters' emotional journeys very superficially. I didn’t feel that the movie did a good enough job of tapping into Jim’s early despair, psychology, or the agoraphobia of space. At one point when things start to go wrong with the ship, Lawrence’s character says that she was trapped in her room for days. Show me, don’t tell me! That would have been interesting to see! Just as it would have been interesting to see (not just glean) how Jim and Aurora live out the remainder of their years. I thought the movie would eventually get to it. They don’t. Superficiality was a running theme.

Another one of the film’s downfalls is the lack of curiosity about its own premise: the science fiction of it all! I wondered about their training on Earth beforehand, and why Jim doesn’t scan through the other bios to find a doctor, biologist, or another engineer - someone with whom he can work the problem! I want so badly for Jim to “science the shit” out of something, as Watney does. Instead, he opts for the company of the aptly named (if not a little on-the-nose) sleeping beauty, Aurora; a writer, who isn’t very helpful in that regard. For such a futuristic premise, the story is disappointingly regressive. (i.e. a love interest with nothing to offer but being pretty? Okay).

The two of them experience no real sense of existential wonder/dread, curiosity about the ship, about the technology, about space. It's all restaurants and fucking on cafeteria tables! They might as well have been at an Earth resort! At one point, they are literally standing up close to a Red Giant, but they look at it for all of two seconds before they’re like “OK cool. Welp! Let’s go have sex now!” This isn’t so much a science fiction movie as it is a 'bottle' drama, that happens to be set on a space ship. The location is completely secondary, and the beautiful visuals of space and the ship are just convenient backdrops to the “will they or won’t they?” romance. *Sigh*.

One of the most interesting parts of the story, I found, which they don't even discuss, is the nebulous “Homestead Corporation”. It manufactures faulty pods, and even in the future on other planets, it treats passengers by class. I wonder what sort of civilization they hope to create on a new planet by doing this. Is this the reality that people have accepted in the future? Is there any opposition to this? By whom? They mention other colonies: what do they look like? How do they function politically? Do other countries or competing companies possess these technologies too? Is it completely private, non-governmental or governmental? If so, do countries own planets, or is it just corporations? They could make a whole movie out of this! (Copyright: Specsnsarcasm, 2017. haha)! In essence, it’s similar to the Weyland Corporation in Alien (1979) & Prometheus (2012).

MAJOR PROBLEMS

Arthur and its whole vibe. I was instantly creeped out by Arthur the android (played by the delightful Martin Sheen). It operates a bar that is decorated in 70′s decor that is reminiscent of The Shining (1980). The reason for this retro aesthetic is kind of confusing and jarring on such a futuristic vessel (but sure!). But it also primed me to think that, like the bartender in The Shining, there was something amiss about Arthur. It befriends (as much as an android can) Jim first, then Aurora. Early on, Jim entrusts it not to divulge his terrible secret to Aurora. A promise which Arthur makes, yet readily betrays. But why would Arthur tell her? It’s an android, it has no moral imperative to divulge the truth. Nor does it have any reason to show loyalty to Aurora over Jim or betray an expressed request. This tricked me into thinking there was an Alien/Prometheus situation going on with Arthur, in that it was secretly behind some of the mischief that was going on aboard the ship. But OF COURSE that turned out to be a red herring (because that would be TOO interesting). The reason for Arthur’s slip is NEVER explained, nor is it ever addressed. Jim isn’t even mad! He doesn’t even find it strange that he was outed by the machine, and they literally never mention it again. WTF?

Laurence Fishburne is utterly wasted in this film! Practically blink-and-you’ll-miss-him (rude)! He only wakes up so that the two protagonist can have a mind-boggling, deus ex machina way of saving themselves with his security clearance bracelet thingie. And why was his pod the only faulty pod to cause terminal illness? (THAT'S RACIST! Jk. lol). Shouldn’t Jim have also had some health problems, though less severe? (Sometimes I wonder why Larry and Sam Jackson put up with this shit, but ANYway...👀). Also embarrassingly wasted in his role is Andy Garcia there at the end. Poor, poor Andy. Such disrespect! He grew that great big beautiful bushy beard for nothing! lol.

Also, why is there only ONE medical pod on a ship with 5000 ppl and 258 crew? That ratio seems dangerously low and irresponsible to me, even if they were only intended to survive on the ship out of suspension for 4 months before reaching the planet.

CONCLUSION

In the end, I’m not upset because this was a romance posing as sci-fi film. I would have loved to see a good sci-fi OR a good romance movie. Unfortunately, this rather middling on both fronts. It had boundless potential, and I guess I just expected more. With the quality of TV shows these days (as well as the price of a movie), you’re going to have to do a lot more than toss two good looking people on screen with some candy coloured effects to get people interested.

I suspect this film started out as an entirely different movie than the one we ended up with (judging from the big name actors in almost cameo roles). Perhaps it had more of a sci-fi story, but it was changed to feature the love story more heavily?

On the pairing: as much as the internet likes to get its way and see the fruits of its fan pairings come to life on screen, I think this is a cautionary tale about how real life sometimes falls short of our imagination (see: the Veronica Mars movie). It’s also yet another cautionary tale for Hollywood about why they need to re-evaluate their strategy of big budget SFX movies with paltry scripts. The ability to develop interesting, in-depth characters is why cable television and streaming services are eclipsing movies, who routinely struggle to meet box-office expectations.

[Note: These are just my opinions. I’m not a professional critic, I just like to watch movies and write about them!].

#passengers #passengers movie #my review of

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