Homeland review

I’m pretty sure mostly everyone knows Homeland. Or the adventures of Sergeant Brody through wonderland as I call it.

Now I have to admit I’m not that much in to spy drama stuff so I could potentially be a cruel judge. Anyway let’s begin with a disclaimer. This review is spoiler free in general so you may just go ahead and read.

What I am going to do is review the series in general and then review 3 characters in specific. Nicholas Brody, Carrie Mathison and Saul Berenson.

That being said you may now proceed to the review.

A friend of mine studying abroad in England first told me about Homeland. He specifically said that Homeland is the best series ever. Now I don’t take any pride in this but I’ve seen so much TV shows and movies that I can hardly be surprised nowadays. So I went on ahead and saw the first episode. Now the basic storyline goes like this.

A sergeant in Afghanistan (Nicholas Brody) is found in captivity after seven years that was considered dead. The CIA has reason to believe that Brody has turned in to a terrorist by an Osama Bin Laden kind of guy called Abu Nazir. Brody returns to the United States, where all of us try to figure out if he really is a traitor or not.   

That is pretty much the general story behind the series. Two things kept me to see the whole first episode. First one is a ridiculously beautiful woman called Morena Baccarin, playing Brody’s wife, Jessica Brody.

But let us be serious. There was also another reason. Nicholas Brody himself. Or actually the actor. Damian Lewis. I’ve known him since Band of Brothers and he truly is amazing.

So what do I like about this series? It’s all a big scheme and an overture to espionage as we hoped it could or would be. You see the brain being the most effective weapon to protect your country. Now let’s be honest. 

The show is very American oriented in terms of what is a terrorist. There is some critique of course about watching the other side of the coin and the fact that the Americans are also the invaders and stuff but it’s mostly a villain’s talk. Which can be disturbing from times to times but other than that the series manages to keep suspense in to high levels without mechanized crafted cliffhangers. They are pretty honest with that. They build a story and keep you with the story.

 

Now there are many plot twists that make the show great and virtually none of them seems bullshit. That’s pretty honest if you ask me.

 Now let us have a little look in the characters.

Nicholas Brody/Damian Lewis

What can I say about Nicholas Brody technically the whole show revolves around him. An amazing grey character. You never know if he is the asshole or not. He plays his part keeping you wondering what’s wrong. A marine trained to kill, with a heart full of shit after seven years of captivity. The choices he makes can be evaluated in so many levels giving him many chances to get away. One moment he is a coward and an asshole and then he turns out to be the best guy in the world.

Carrie Mathison/Claire Danes

I am really tempted in to describing her as the bitch. But I won’t. The mastermind of intelligence in CIA is Carrie. She’s also young and very hard to find allies in believing her conspiracy theories. She is the one believing that Brody is a terrorist.

Using unorthodox methods but also having a brilliant mind gives her the advantage to prove here points and trying to make the change in protecting her country and the CIA.

Saul Berenson/Mandy Patinkin

What can one say about Mandy Patinkin? Let us not forget he is Inigo Montoya. From princess bride. Yep that’s right. 

The most exquisite poker face you can ever imagine. I Homeland he is very high in the CIA hierarchy and his “child” is Carrie Mathison. He is the one getting her out of trouble and finding solutions for her. Saul is the only skeptic in the show about the “techniques” used by the CIA while on the other hand can be more invasive than any.

So Homeland fans, put on your seat belts and get ready for 4 seasons of great story and suspense (Homeland season 5 release date is around September 2015) that will rock your mind. Espionage at it’s best.

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Books I want to read till the end of the year

This is maybe a suggestion but it's more like a mere reminder to myself that I should probably read more. 

Even though with work and all it can be rather hard to find the time to read I am trying day by day to limit my time of doing any other thing than reading.
So there are not really quite so many books you can read within a year. Let me set up a list here and I promise I will be stating which I've read by the new year.

Game of thrones, A song of Ice and fire. 

I've read quite a few years ago the Game of thrones books in English. Now,  after so long and while Game of Thrones is tremendously mainstream around the globe I started reading them in Greek to. 
To catch up a bit and enhance my story while I am waiting for the winds of winter. So far I've read the Game of Thrones and Clash of Kings. 
Hopefully I will be done with a Storm of Swords by the end of August leaving me until October to be done with the rest of the books. I would like to believe that until then we will be have a release date for the winds of winter. 

Think and grow rich. Napoleon Hill.

Now this book is (at least that's what I've heard) a must for the business world and for entrepreneurs around the world. It's supposed to be a secret for success. I will give it a shot. It's a rather small book and and it's very old. So I'm sure it will be worth it. 

Now if I am lucky enough I have two more books I'd like to read. There are actually in my library but I haven't read them yet. 

Catcher in the rye. J. D. Salinger. 

Two reasons for reading this book. 
One it's the book Mark David Chapman said made him kill John Lennon. 
Two. It's mentioned in South park in one of my favorite episodes. 
Seriously I think it's a nice reading about alienation and it's a classic. So, might as well read it.

The social Contract. Jean Jacques Rousseau.

Back in my first year and for two more years after that, I had decided to study sociology. Later I realized there was no way I could possibly find a job as a sociologist, so I decided to find something I am good at, but can also earn me money. 
That's why I studied advertising. Smart choice? I guess we shall see. So far it's good. 
So, about the book. I've read all sort of notes out of it but never read it all. So I guess, since it's a really small book I could read it in about Christmas time!

That's about it! I'm open for suggestions! 
Feel free to share books you would like to read. 
You might give me ideas on what to read after I finish with those! 

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Tried reading game of thrones yet?

Many people around haven't read the game of thrones books. They just watch the show. 

Now let us clarify. It's called "song of ice and fire". Not game of thrones. Nonetheless. My critique about this subject is going to be a bit more general. 

We grew up as a generation that doesn't read. Our attention span is around 2 seconds. We would never stay longer and reading. Which is bad for two reasons. 

First is because you probably reached till the first sentence of the blog and then left (joking). 
Second is because that way we lose interest so easily. We miss all the beauty in life. One of them is reading a book. 

So what I am going to try right now is to convince you to read. At least game of thrones for a beginning. First off. have you read Harry Potter? 

Why was it easy to read Harry Potter and hard to read George RR Martin's "Game of Thrones"? 
It's on the same level of interest. Trust me. I read both. One other thing. Have you tried reading Lord of the Rings? Perhaps the Silmarillion? 

OK you may have found that boring. But Game of thrones isn't like that. Really. It may be a bit more descriptive than other books but that's great. Because you get to know so much.
Another thing. George RR Martin has done something innovative with Game of Thrones. His chapters are in POV. Point of view. 
So every chapter follows a specific character in his own POV hearing his thoughts only. It truly is amazing when you start reading the first 2-3 chapters. POV really changes the way you perceive truth. POV really makes it what it is. 
Now for an important argument. You probably heard EVERYWHERE from book posers that a show is just the tip of the iceberg and the book is like 90% more bla bla bla. 

Unfortunately it's true. Not only the book contains tons of other information that will solve a LOT of your questions, it also has a different mood than the show. Have in mind one important issue about the book. Pretty much everyone are children in the books! Rob and Jon are 15 and Daenerys is 13!! Beric Dondarrion is 22!!!

So you get to live two different realities. Which is great.

Another amazing thing? You can finally live a spoiler free life. You will know everything. You will be up to date. You are going to be spoiler-proof. All that by reading close to 7000 pages. 
It's not much trust me. In the beginning you might find hard to read a full chapter. After a while though it's going to be hard for you to stop reading. So give it a chance. Imagine the pleasure you are going to feel after that when no spoiler will be able to harm you!

The books are the real deal. George RR Martin has written a fantasy masterpiece. Show your respect to him by reading his works. Don't be lazy! Read! It will do good to you! 

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In the flesh. An unexpected masterpiece

You probably haven't heard about "in the flesh". 

But to be honest it really is hard to get to know it. Why is that? First of all, its a British show. Created by BBC. 
That makes it really hard to travel on the other side of the Atlantic. Let's face it. Quite rarely you get to see a show that is not created in the United States. 
Which is quite fair really. If you consider the production costs the American shows have but also the audience it's very easy to achieve it's goals.
But how about when its British? And it talks about zombies? With Walking Dead just around the corner? 

What are the odds of hearing about it? Small.

So Why am I here? Because you need to hear about it. This show is one of the best mini series I have ever seen in my life. It's only 3 episodes long. Well to be honest, now there is a second season, but season one provides closure. 
Season one is actually the one I am going to talk about.
What makes in the flesh so special then? Another zombie themed show. Who cares? 

Well thing is that this show takes the zombie issue out of a very different scope. It starts after the zombie apocalypse and it takes us to a rehabilitation centre for Zombies! They actually got the cure now!

Zombies are healed, yet forced to remain undead with those weird looks. That is all that has to do with zombies. 

Other than that the series is a continuous struggle to survive in today's society. The whole show is a huge allegory about racism, discrimination and ignorance in general. We see the "former now" zombies try to get their old lives back.
through that we see the human survivors really making it hard on them to get back to society. Let's face it. Those zombies once killed people. They are not sure what they are. What they want. Or if they are really good or bad.

So I believe we should get to meet the three main characters of the show. For the first season at least. Let me point out that this article is for the first season only. You will also find out that none actor is so widely known.

1. Kieren Walker/Luke Newberry

Kieren is the main character of the show. Only 19 years old when he decided to take his own life due to the fact that he was gay in a small village in the country in love with a neighbor that was forced to join the army and go to Afghanistan in order to stop seeing Kieren and be a man. 

Through his eyes we get to see the discrimination he is facing on both levels. Both of course serve the allegory. Being gay and an undead. Which is why he tries to always hide his true nature. 

2. Amy Dyer/Emily Bevan 

Amy is another undead that after she rise from her grave and cured was actually taking in pride of what she was. Just for being proud of what she was then she was but a pariah in the small village she came from. She wanted to walk around without make-up that was covering up her true existence. Which of course provoked the people of her town. Again. It's the allegory.

3. Rick Macy/David Walmsley

Rick was coming from a conservative family. Unlike Kieren he was trying not to face his true identity. 

Whether than being gay or a zombie. Which is why when in doubt he joined the army, denying his love. Which is why when he came back as an undead he, again would not face his true nature. He would wear make-up trying to disguise himself from others but also and mostly from his own self. 

You see the 3 categories of people here. 

The one that is hiding, the one that is proud and the one who is not facing reality. A constant allegory of what is happening in our society every day that goes by. 

This is why you need to see "In the flesh". 
You will see a very deep social drama. It will talk to you. Zombies are only the setting. 
The deep meaning behind it is for you to find out.

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Penny Dreadful. A first look

Penny Dreadful is a brand new series by showtime. Will it manage to climb to the top as other TV shows?

I guess that's what we are here for. I found out about Penny Dreadful completely out of a random event. It popped out on my Facebook feed from a friend.
Why did I bother watching it? I mean I am currently watching so many series. Could I possibly see one more?
Well yes. I can never stop exploring new things. So Penny Dreadful could be the one. Why Penny Dreadful? 
I am a simple man. Truth is that the only reason I even considered watching it is Eva Green. The one and Only Eva Green ladies and gentlemen. 

If you are a frequent reader of this blog then you may know how many movies Eva Green made me watch. Such as the latest 300. 

What's the case though. The entry point was in fact Eva Green. Thing is. Will it manage to hold me as a viewer? 
I began searching what Penny Dreadful is about and the rest of the cast.
Let us start from the main story. In case you are worried about any kind of spoilers, this is where you should probably stop reading, go watch the Penny Dreadful pilot and then come back.
What is Penny Dreadfull to begin with. It's a pulp fiction. A very cheap kind of reading that flourisher in the 19th century. It's name comes from the cost (Penny) and the topic (Dreadful). 

Whatever someone was writing it was published and sold for a penny. As you may realize it wasn't considered an art back then, but rarely pop culture gets a huge credit in it's creation time. 

The show itself then is placed on a Victorian London setting with a supernatural world behind it. 
What makes the show different (hardly) is the fact than any famous character from famous horror books is present in the series. There is Frankenstein, Mina from Dracula and as I saw even Dorian Gray. 

So yeah... It might not get an originality award.

Still. At least the very first episode of the series doesn't seem like complete shit. I mean the production is amazing. John Logan writes the series (Aviator, Skyfall, Gladiator and many more). This show production wise is excellent. 
Which is why it gets an 8,8 on IMDB i suppose. 
Now to be completely honest since I've only seen the first episode I guess we could give it a shot. It may have a chance to succeed. Not only because of a great production and a rather good script. Mainly because of Eva Green and the rest two main actors. 

Timothy Dalton. Sir Malcolm.

He is good. At least at this show he is. I mean he got old. He got better by the time. 

Josh Hartnett. Ethan Chandler. 

Now that is a great surprise for me. I really like Josh Hartnett. Ever since Black Hack down. He trully also is really good in this one too.

Along with Eva Green these are three "top actors" playing in a series. Even if it's bad they can make it better. 

So. Should you watch it? Should you give it a chance? I need to be honest with you. If it wasn't for Eva Green I would not watch a single second. Now that she is on the show I'll go for five episodes. If it's good then I'll stay. It's only normal to wait for at least five episodes before you quit watching a show. 

I believe it can surprise me. And I will give it some time. I hope it's worth it. I guess we are going to find out. 
Feel free to share your thoughts with me.

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