This week’s episode of Newsroom, entitled “The 112th Congress” is unlike any other that has come before it. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials: Newsroom 1.3
07/11/2012 by Leave a Comment
TV Without Commercials: Newsroom 1.2
07/02/2012 by Leave a Comment
The second episode of Aaron Sorkin’s new show Newsroom, appropriately titled “News Night 2.0,” takes place exactly 3 days after the series premiere. This time around the team had more time to prepare and attempted to do its first “real news” show. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials: Newsroom 1.1 Pilot
06/27/2012 by Leave a Comment
Aaron Sorkin has returned to television after writing Charlie Wilson’s War, The Social Network, and Moneyball, all of which had major financial success in the box office. Now, Sorkin has decided to bring his talents to HBO in the form of his newest creation, Newsroom. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Game of Thrones 2.10 (Finale)
06/06/2012 by Leave a Comment
Going into the season finale for Game of Thrones, I was legitimately worried that it would not be able to exceed, or even meet the expectations that were set after last week. However, my concerns were quickly erased once the show was underway. This episode was incredible. In every way possible this blows last years season finale completely out of the water. I thought that if they were going to touch on every single thread of storyline left out last week, this episode would end up being spread far too thin, and we would be left with a disappointing end to an incredible season. I’m not sure how they managed to pull it off but somehow they did. They managed to touch on all the story lines without the episode suffering even a little bit. I don’t think this episode could have ended any stronger either. This whole time we’ve been hearing the men of The Night’s Watch talking about how what they were doing north of the wall was much more important than what was going on south of it. The war for the Iron Throne meant nothing to them and now we finally get to see why. The three horn blasts sounded for the first time in century’s and we finally see the White Walkers in action for first time since season one, and this time there is an entire army marching toward the wall. I can’t believe we have to wait all the way until next season to see how the Rangers (and I’m assuming the wildlings as well) will fight off this undead army. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Game of Thrones 2.9
05/29/2012 by Leave a Comment
This week we saw something that has never before been done in the entirety of Game of Thrones, and I honestly doubt we will see it again for a long time. Episode nine took place inside only one setting, Kings Landing. I can’t speak for anyone else but I was perfectly content with the episode focusing entirely on one setting, especially for this episode. I feel like the entire season so far, and especially the last two weeks, have been building up to this week and it absolutely delivered. This episode was phenomenal and easily the best of the season, and I would even go so far as to say the entire series thus far. I think we were all waiting to see the destruction wild fire was capable of and it certainly did not disappoint. That explosion was fantastic, and the green fire looked awesome. I feel bad for the Onion Knight and his son…and the rest of the fleet even though we never really got to know them. I’m assuming the Onion Knight is still alive, maybe badly burned but his son has to be a goner. The way they played up those first few scenes between the two of them I could tell his son would not make it through the end of the episode, but I definitely did not think it would quite so early…or brutal. Joffrey acted predictably, Tyrion acted heroically and Cersei showed us how evil she really is. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Game of Thrones 2.8
05/24/2012 by Leave a Comment
First off I have to say that I am almost positive last weeks Game of Thrones ended with next week’s previews saying there were only two episodes left. Then this week ends by telling us the same thing. So I’m guessing there are actually two episodes left and not just one. The next two are practically guaranteed to be exciting because this week was completely lacking. This week we were given more set up as to what to expect in the final two episodes of this season. Not only was everything just set up, this had to be the most spread out episode of Game of Thrones yet. What I mean by spread out, is that every single thread of story line was shown this week. I cannot think of a single character that was left out of this episode. Everyone was in it, but the majority of the time was spent covering Robb and Theon. The storyline between the two of them is one of the more interesting ones taking place this season and I wonder what will become of Theon Greyjoy, now that he is truly lost. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Game of Thrones 2.7
05/17/2012 by Leave a Comment
This week’s Game of Thrones gave us a return to the dark themes we have been getting accustomed with since season one. What makes this week unique from all the other events of this season (and part of last season) is that Joffrey was completely absent. He was only a topic of discussion and was never actually seen. Instead, the cruelty we endured this week was from Theon Greyjoy. This week’s episode started and concluded with Theon and in between we saw the person he is trying to become in order to gain the respect of his father and sister. Along the way he is also trying to earn the respect of his men and I would say that out of all the goals he has set out to accomplish, this is the only one he is doing right. Robs Army is marching towards Winterfell to reclaim what is rightfully his, and hopefully Theon has his sister coming to back him up otherwise Rob will surely have his head. Meanwhile Stanis Baratheon and his army move closer and closer to Kings Landing and Tyrion seems to be the only one concerned. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Game of Thrones 2.6
05/10/2012 by Leave a Comment
The Sea has come to Winterfell and Bran’s dream has come true in a way he never could have possibly imagined. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Game of Thrones 2.3
04/17/2012 by Leave a Comment
Tyrion seems to slowly be shifting into the role of the main protagonist as this lengthy story unfolds. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: Game of Thrones 2.1
04/04/2012 by Leave a Comment
The long awaited return of HBO’s Game of Thrones has finally come. [Read more...]
TV WIthout Commercials Review: On Freddie Roach 6
02/29/2012 by Leave a Comment
The final episode of HBO’s On Freddie Roach opened with a knockout. This knockout however was not by one of Freddie’s fighters, but by Freddie himself. Freddie never got to the level of boxing that he wanted to reach. He never won a world title and therefore was never a world champion, but today he known as the best trainer in boxing, and has been in the corner for dozens of world champions. Freddie trains fighters constantly, and literally never takes a day off despite being affected by Parkinson’s disease. Peter Berg does an absolutely fantastic job giving us a glimpse into his life and each one of these 6 episodes. The final episode is by far the most fascinating and gives a perfect conclusion to one of the best documentaries I have seen in a really long time. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: On Freddie Roach 5
02/21/2012 by Leave a Comment
Last week in On Freddie Roach we saw Freddie beginning his training with his most talented, and by far most popular fighter, Manny Pacquiao. This time, however, Freddie is not in Manny’s native Philippines. Instead Manny is in Hollywood at Freddie’s Wild Card Gym, and is only a few days away from his third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. It was incredible to see the change in the gym once Pacquiao is there. Any other time we have seen the Wild Card is has looked like any other boxing gym, but with Manny’s presence it has an entirely different aura, and in the middle of it all is Freddie who quietly reigns over everyone else inside. Pepper is still in rough shape from his stroke but he is definitely better than he was when we last saw him. It’s still sad to see him struggling to walk around, and move objects with his left hand when we saw him in the second episode having all of his motor skills functioning properly. The thing that easily stuck with me more than anything else from this episode though, and was something I didn’t think too much of last week, is the temper of Manny Pacquiao. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: On Freddie Roach 4
02/15/2012 by Leave a Comment
This weeks episode of HBO’s On Freddie Roach we finally get a chance to see Freddie working with his bread and butter, Manny Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao is single handedly the reason Freddie Roach is the most famous trainer in this current era of boxing. The two of them went from being somewhat well known in the boxing community to super stars of the sport and they did so with the help of one another. This gave both men a great deal of respect for each other, and I love the way Freddie Roach puts it in one of his voice overs. He says that Manny do this day still calls him master, but the reality of it is that without Manny, Freddie would not be the same person he is today. Before Freddie heads to the Philippines he attends what appears to be a party for Pepper’s release from the hospital. Pepper is still in rough shape from his stroke and it appears that he is barely able to get around even with the aid of his stick. His left arm is also in a cast of some kind, and it’s movement is still limited. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: On Freddie Roach 3
02/06/2012 by Leave a Comment
This weeks episode of On Freddie Roach gave us an opportunity to see yet another side of the remarkable Freddie Roach. For the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics Freddie has taken it upon himself to work with each one of the U.S. hopefuls. One thing that HBO didn’t really go into much detail on about this is that Freddie decided to do this on his own. No one is paying him, and no one asked him for his help either. Just the idea of asking a professional trainer, especially one as accredited and famous as Freddie Roach, is unheard of. What is discussed in this episode, by Freddie himself, is that he wants boxing to be what it once was in this country. Professional boxing is no where near what it once was in terms in popularity but amateur boxing is in even worse shape and Freddie is determined to change that. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: On Freddie Roach 2
01/30/2012 by Leave a Comment
This episode of On Freddie Roach was intense to say the least. We got to see and learn a lot more about Freddies past, mostly what his home life was like growing up. We got to a chance to see him interact with his older brother Pepper as well as his mother Barbara. Both of them work at Freddie’s Wild Card Boxing Gym located in Hollywood California. Actually I don’t think his mother works there, I’m pretty sure she just spends time there looking after her two sons. I’m not too sure if Freddie has other siblings. From the way he and Pepper spoke of their upbringing it sort of sounded as though they did but maybe not. Either way, Freddie and Pepper are very close to one another as well as their mother, and Freddie takes care of both them with complete selflessness. [Read more...]
