The episode begins, with Amanda (Morven Christie) and Guy (Tom Austen) asking Sidney (James Norton) to marry them in Grantchester. Sidney suggests they reconfirm their decision, before […]
Author: ReelMockery
Babylon TV Show Review EP 5
Since they’re suspended, due to the shooting, Banjo (Andrew Brooke), Warwick (Nick Blood) and Tony (Stuart Martin) attempt to relieve their stress, with a little paintball. The […]
Jamesy Boy Review
Jamesy Boy is a biographic drama film that debuted in the United States on January 3, 2014. When the show opens, James Burns (Spencer LaFranco) is in prison. He is being beaten by a prison guard because he elbowed another inmate in the nose. Flashing back to when James’s mother, Tracy (Mary Louise Parker), is trying to convince school officials to allow James to attend their school. They do not want him there because he already holds an extensive record and is on house arrest. That night he goes to a nearby convenient store, where he runs into trouble, when a group of teenagers start stealing items from the store. The store owner thinks James is involved in the incident, which prompts him to follow the teenagers. He hangs out with them and smokes some weed, then returns home. Back to Prison, James gets into an argument with another inmate. Lieutenant Falton (James Woods) tries to teach James a lesson, about getting into fights, while being incarcerated, but it falls on deaf ears. James begins a friendship with Crystal (Rosa Salazar) and Drew (Keon Clayton), whom he met at the grocery store the night of the robbery. Tracy warns James of his reckless behavior and tells him that he needs to get his life together, before he totally fails. He ignores her pleas and still continues to dig himself deeper into the criminal world. He ends up going to Crystal’s friend, Roc (Michael Trotter), to request a job to make some quick money. James calls his mom and tells her that he is never coming back home, under any circumstances. Back in prison, James is in the shower, when he is jumped by a couple of inmates. He is severely injured, during a scuffle, but amazingly survives the incident. Falton speaks to him again about his bad choices and tries to get James to rat on the inmates, who jumped him, but he refuses. Roc gives James an important job to do, which involves robbing a drug dealer. The robbery is successful and they visit a strip club to celebrate. James has now earned his place in Roc’s gang and for now on will be known as “Jamesy”. In prison, James starts to have night terrors about the shower attack. While out in the prison yard he notices a prisoner sitting by himself and questions why no one messes with him. James attempts to make conversation with Conrad (Ving Rhames), but he tells him to “shut up”. James and Crystal stop at a convenient store, where he tries to purchase a pack of cigarettes, but the clerk, Sarah (Taissa Farmiga, American Horror Story), refuses. She eventually gives them to him because she does not want any trouble. Jamesy continues to do Roc’s bidding, but he goes father than expected every time he robs from the drug dealers. He befriends Sarah, whose dad owns the store and she prefers to work alone at night, instead of dealing with her drunken father. He begins to hang out with her and her friends. After Tracy visits James in prison, he writes poetry and gives it to Conrad. James questions him about whether or not he truly killed five people. He refuses to answer he, instead quotes a biblical verse. Conrad tells him to keep writing to block out what is going on in prison and he does exactly that. James befriends inmate Chris (Ben Rosenfield, Boardwalk Empire), who he tries to encourage to keep his mouth shut and his head down, until he gets released. James goes to Falton to ask him to put Chris in solitude for his own safety, but he refuses. He is approached by Guillermo (Taboo), who tries to provoke him into hitting him, but he sees Conrad sitting on the bleachers and decides to walk away. James becomes upset, when he finds out that the parole board denies Chris’s release, instead they increase his sentence to a total of six years. Chris hangs himself while everyone watches. James tries to stop him, but he is apprehended by one of the prison guards. He attacks Guillermo, when he is released. Conrad is repulsed by what he sees and walks away from the scene. Flashbacks to the night James and Drew are selling guns that he had stolen from a drug dealer, when the cops scoop in and arrest Crystal and Roc. Drew takes off and James ends up running to Sarah for help, but she refuses. Falton is forced to attend a committee hearing about James, while James is becoming a reckless thug in the prison yards. Conrad jumps in to prevent James from making another wrong decision. James attends the committee hearing, but refuses to try and justify his criminal actions. Will James be able to contain his anger in prison and be a model inmate or will he end up being a lifer? Review Jamesy Boy is a movie about a young man, who always chose to take the wrong road. He finally got his chance to be a normal person, when he met Sarah, but he just could not escape the cruel fate that he created for himself. Although a lot occurred, during the film, it was not played out so that it was easy to follow. I am sure that many young men and women that grew up in the hood and high crime areas can relate to James’s story. Some kids are strong enough to stay clear of gangs, while others get pulled into the gang life and end up in prison. While I feel this story is somewhat exaggerated, I still enjoyed watching it. Some great acting by Ving Rhames and Michael Trotter, but no one else really stood out. I do feel that the story would have been better with less flashbacks and more backstory into the events leading up to James ending up in prison. Jamesy Boy deserves a 6.5 out of 10. ReelMockeryJay Skelton is a fan of all television […]
Constantine: Angels and Ministers of Grace Review
The show opens with the introductions of Taylor (April Billingsley), who attempts to score some drugs, before her brother’s funeral the next day. While trying to consume […]
The Fall Season One Review
The Fall is a crime drama television series that aired on the BBC network. It began airing on May 13, 2013. When the show opens, we are introduced to Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan), who is a bereavement counselor. He is in session with Liz Tyler (Seainin Brennan) and her husband, James (Brian Milligan), who are seeking bereavement counseling after the loss of their child. Paul gets really involved in their case and even goes so far, as to visit Liz at home, which is totally against the rules. When James finds out about his visit, he threatens Paul and his entire family. Liz eventually agrees to enter a private home for abused women and James becomes more irate, even getting his friends involved. Paul has an obsession with murdering highly sophisticated, professional women. His obsession started with stalking and raping women, then finally escalated to the point of murder. He works diligently keeping a portrait diary of each woman he kills including some of their personal items such as; ribbons from panties, photos, and a lock of their hair. He stores all of his murder memorabilia in the attic, which is accessible from his young daughter, Olivia’s (Sarah Beattie), bedroom. Olivia begins to suffer from night terrors, which everyone seems to think is just a phase that she is going through, but only Paul knows the real cause. Paul’s wife, Sally Ann (Bronagh Waugh), goes to the hospital where she works as a neonatal intensive care nurse, while Paul scouts the Internet for his next victim. Once he finds a victim, he scours their neighborhood and locates an access into their home, without leaving traces of forced entry. He goes in and out of their homes, before he does the actual killing, during which he collects his memorabilia. He tells Sally that he is working for a twenty-four hour suicide call center, which he resigned from three months prior. They rely on fifteen year old Katie Benedetto (Niamh McGrady), to care for Olivia and her brother, Liam (David Beattie). She has a mad crush on Paul and entices him into having sex with her, which Paul eventually reveals to Sally. After the murder of Alice Monroe, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) is assigned to investigate the murder. While she is investigating Alice’s murder, she receives a call that a second woman, Sarah Kay (Laura Donnelly) has also been murdered. She digs into the crime scene and discovers that the same killer committed both murders. She is now appointed to head the Musicman Operation Task Force team. Stella has a one night stand with Detective Sergeant James Olson (Ben Peel), who is later assassinated in front of his home, while his young son watches from his bedroom window. Paul has chosen his third victim, Annie Brawley (Karen Hassan), which turns out to be a botched attempt to follow through with his ritualistic murders. This is another escalation point into his psycho antics of killing young women. Stella digs deeper into the investigation and discovers that the killer likes to cleanse his victims and paint their fingernails with a bright red lacquer. She tries to tempt the killer by painting her own nails with a red lacquer and it seems to have worked, until she receives a mysterious call from none other than Paul, himself. Review The Fall is definitely a dark and twisted psycho-thriller that is filled with squeamish, gruesome murder scenes, which will leave you hanging onto the edge of your seat. The murder scenes are so realistic that one will want to lock and bar their doors and windows so that you cannot exit and no one can enter. It also allows, you to get in the mind of a serial killer, while watching him escalate from one point to the next, until he is ready to go were no one has ever been before. One complaint that I did have about The Fall and that involved the slow script, which I imagine was due to the main character development, but no important details were omitted. The acting is superb, but I enjoyed Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan the best. I cannot wait to see Dornan in the Fifty Shades Of Grey movie, which I am sure will be great. The Fall is not a gory slasher, instead it is a well thought out psychological thriller that will leave your skin crawling nonetheless. The Fall definitely deserves a 9 out of 10. ReelMockeryJay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to […]
How to Get Away with Murder: Best Christmas Ever Review
The show opens at the Hamrick Hotel in Philadelphia on Christmas day. Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) is shown in a suite drinking and eating, while ignoring a […]
Stalker: Lost and Found Review
The show opens with the introduction of Coach Baker (Andrew W. Walker), who is being stalked. He heads under the bleachers to get his cellphone, which was […]
The Flash: Crazy for You Review
The episode opens, with The Flash (Grant Gustin) rescuing a couple from a car explosion. This time the pair know who the Flash is and thank him. […]
Crime After Crime Review
Crime After Crime is a documentary that touches on the 2002 law that allows incarcerated domestic violence victims the right to petition the courts to reopen their cases. This film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on July 1, 2011. Deborah Peagler Wilson was found guilty for assisting with the murder of her husband, Oliver Wilson. When Deborah met Oliver, she was just fifteen years old and a sophomore in high school. He was a charismatic, runway model for men attire and offered her the world, or so she thought. Oliver would buy Deborah whatever she wanted in the beginning of their relationship, but that was short lived. Deborah was soon forced into prostitution by Oliver because he needed money for drugs and his expensive lifestyle. Zabrina, Oliver’s sister, denied having knowledge about Deborah’s abuse, but never said that she was lying, instead said that she was most likely a closeted victim. Zabrina admitted to being a closeted victim because she was sexually abused for years by her father and uncle. Deborah goes on to explain in depth about the abuse that she sustained at the hands of Oliver. If she refused to prostitute, he would beat her with a bullwhip. The beatings escalated, when Oliver started using drugs. He tried to ease up on the beatings, when he found out that Deborah was pregnant, but that was only temporary. In 1982, Deborah got her opportunity to leave Oliver, when they were evicted from their apartment. She agreed to take their kids and move in with her mother, while he moved in with his mother. She thought that she was rid of him for good, until he started threatening and harassing her. He would show up at her mother’s house with guns trying to force Deborah to come back to him, but she continued to refuse. The cops were called and Oliver was arrested, but he was released the next day. Two Crips gang members, Ramone Sibley and Timmy, get word of Oliver and his buddies bringing guns on their turf and threatening one of their people. Ramone and Timmy strangled Oliver to death in an empty field, but Deborah denies being present. In 1983, she is charged with first degree murder and soon pleads guilty to the charges, just to avoid the death penalty. Ramone also plead guilty and was handed down a life sentence, as was Deborah. Timmy refused to admit to his guilt and soon met his fate in prison. Deborah’s daughter, Natasha, says that her father molested her, when she was just six years old. Deborah had received a seventeen thousand dollar payout from Oliver’s life insurance policy. She says that most of it went for Oliver’s funeral and burial expenses. The courts decided to use this against Deborah and called Oliver’s murder a “murder for hire”. A former gang member, Tony “deadman”, testified against Deborah. He had fallen in love with her, while she was separated from Oliver even though he had a wife and kids. She rejected him and he scornfully became the prosecution’s main witness. He wanted to back out of the deal, when he found out that Deborah would face the death penalty, but the prosecutors refused. In 2002, the California Haveas Project got word of Deborah’s case and decided to represent her pro bono. Nadia Costa and Joshua Safran fight to get Deborah freed, but the parole board denies her release in 2003 and 2004. In 2009, she is diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. Joshua and Nadia continue to fight for her release, but the requests are still denied. Will Deborah survive her fight for release from prison and her fight for her life or will she be forced to spend the rest of her days behind bars? Review Crime After Crime is a very touching film that focuses on one woman’s fight for freedom, after being handed down a life sentence for first degree murder. This film does very well exposing the American “injustice” system. I am a big fan of exoneration documentaries and found this one, just as interesting. Although it did drag out a bit, everyone should take the time to watch it, but only if you are willing to admit that our justice system needs a complete overhaul. It is difficult to see someone fighting for his or her life behind bars and separated from their families, but it is a common occurrence in our penal system. Many prisons now have nursing home type facilities setup for the ailing prisoners and their caretakers are none other than prisoners themselves. I feel that Crime After Crime deserves a 7 out of 10. ReelMockeryJay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best […]
Empire: Dangerous Bonds Review
The show opens with Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) and Tiana Brown (Serayah) being interviewed about Hakeem’s career and his father. Hakeem talks about his new song, Drip […]