richard-abeysinghe428 Reviews

Bill Nye: Science Guy (2017)

An Essential film at a pivotal moment!

[9/10 · 5 November 2018]

First the big hulahoo is that Bill Nye is not a Scientist. He never says he's a Scientist, he's an Engineer and people call him Bill Nye The Science Guy cause he did a Science show and comments on science topics. That doesnt make him disqualified to talk about important issues affecting all of us like Climate change. He makes it a point in this film to actually visit the Climate Scientists who are freezing their bones in the artic to study the history of our climate and to present their findings to us. It's sheer hypocrisy to reject his points by saying Bill Nye isn't qualified enough when these same people reject the conclusions of the International Climate Science Coalition which collates research from tens of thousands of climate scientists from hundreds of countries around the world. Another major issue many people have is that science isn't consensus? By consensus scientists mean the same experiment being tested repeatedly by different scientists and giving the same results..that is how new medicines get tested. If people are critical of scientists then dont depend on their work. For every dam cold & headache you need your precious medicines..you can't live without your smart phones which wouldn't be there without Mechanical Engineers & Physicists. You can't pick and choose the reality you live in: Its either there or not there. And CO2 is definitely here otherwise where do you think all that smoke from vehicles and factories and planes go to?

Castle: Reckoning (2015) Season 7, Episode 15

Intense!

[10/10 · 17 February 2015]

We've all known fr some time that Kate Beckett is one girl that doesn't need saving. She will save herself (apart from where Castle helped solve her mother's murder & she ended up marrying him), but if there was any doubt it was definitely vanquished by that sheer look she gave Dr. Nieman once she got herself untied (and also offing the evil doctor & standing next to her pool of blood with a bloody scalpel like a serial killer from a horror movie helped too!). All in all this stands as one of the best Castle episodes and certainly as THE best 3XK episode.

• Gate's close work with Rick was well appreciated. Her character has grown a lot despite the relatively short screen time received & was instrumental to the turnaround of Rick's fortunes in finding Kate.

• Talking about Rick, I felt Nathan did some amazing work in this 2 parter, and the writers did well to bring up Rick's disappearance.

• Were Martha & Alexis really shopping abroad once they heard from Rick that everybody was safe? Stress-shopping?

• Imagine a fake Kate coming to live home with Rick (like in Fringe where Peter spent months in bed & at work with an Olivia from another universe without fully realizing it) and the season ended in a cliffhanger where Rick finds out she is fake? Would be a genius move!

Person of Interest: M.I.A. (2015) Season 4, Episode 13

I'd rather find my own fortune than rely on an AI thank you!

[10/10 · 13 February 2015]

After last week's huge brain teaser of an episode, we get another of similar vein but with more resolution: namely an answer to what the hell happened to Shaw? (she is alive for one which actually makes the situation worse as she is probably gonna be used for some pretty nefarious stuff). - The intriguing plot of the hour was the ant farm/Maple and Samaritans use of the town as a study device on humans…eek! (Glad I'm living in a city that's financially stable and doesn't rely too much on one particular industry). Compare Samaritans brutal education to the Machine' more peaceful apprenticeship with Harold on the intricacies of human behavior and we have the crux of this whole big shebang. - The Fusco/Silvia case was well done, giving some much needed focus on Fusco & more intriguingly on Silvia who might continue to be in the picture given that Root looks temporarily out of the picture. - Worth repeating: Amy Acker/Root has been the MVP for much of the past 5 episodes with the occasional golden moment from Harold. All in all another excellent episode to cap what has been an outstanding Season 4.

Castle: Resurrection (2015) Season 7, Episode 14

A taste of the original '3XK'

[10/10 · 13 February 2015]

SPOILERS!

Oh no they did not!! Are 3XK & Nieman one of the best psycho-serial- killing duo's of TV? Possibly. Are they a cute couple?..the way they walked to elevators, hand in hand was oddly cute & creepy in equal measure. My only issue was Kate deciding to pick up Amy alone..which gave away Kate's kidnapping in advance. All in all 3XK's return was awesome & gripping and cut of a similar vein to his very first appearance in the episode '3XK' with the twists, turns & shocking revelations.

• I wasn't really sure, even after Rick's realization about 3XK's mom down in the holding cells, but that intense scene in the interrogation room, the hand holding with Nieman & that sly wink at Castle surely left us in no doubt that Boudreau is definitely Tyson.

• That fake baby tooth was definitely planted, even though it was some time ago not that 3XK expected Rick to crack open his true motivations, because 3XK is always thorough and doesn't leave any stone unturned.

• I loved those flashbacks. It is refreshing to see my favorite show utilizing them seamlessly, like they did to much fan love in the episode 'Still'.

Grimm: Tribunal (2015) Season 4, Episode 10

Awesome Sauce!

[10/10 · 31 January 2015]

By far the best Grimm episode since Season 3. Just smashing! - Loved how Wu grabbed the new Wesen world by it's horns, even punching his very first hostile wesen! - I was initially delighted when Juliette turned out to be not pregnant (which would have been a dead bore of a plot line, especially for a supernatural show) but a hexenbiest but it is now potentially the best thing on the show. - Loved seeing more of the wolf in Monroe, especially when he killed one of the wesenrein & then joined forces with Rosalee to finish off the grandmaster..which was very satisfying. - Finally to cap it all off Monroe expressing his gratitude for the police escort to the airport before realizing that the escort would be accompanying him & Rosalee on their honeymoon all the way!

Person of Interest: The Cold War (2014) Season 4, Episode 10

A Mashing of AI Minds!

[10/10 · 18 December 2014]

Wow! That was breathtaking in that non-action kind of way...with that quiet understated intensity but all the time lying underneath is a whole avalanche of chaos just about to unfurl, which I think is done purposefully for the following reason: At a similar point last season (midseason finale), PoI was smashing up it's whole setup in a whirlwind of physical action...guns, sirens, broken bones, bombs & myriad explosions, etc. This season there is a similar mash up taking place but with relatively little physical action, only more a mashing of minds/intellects. Which brings me to the reason why I love this show so much as it has become my No.1 current show: It's ability to meld intelligence with action, plus gorgeous settings & of course top notch action all round. Even the guest stars are mostly phenomenal, for example in this episodes portrayal of a young Greer. Super excited for the next two installments!

Castle: The Time of Our Lives (2014) Season 7, Episode 6

Oozing Casketty Goodness!

[10/10 · 11 November 2014]

Warning: SPOILERS! Don't read any further if you haven't watched Ep 7x06.

This was just freaking unbelievably awesome. Brought back sooo many memories of Seasons 1-3 when Castle & Beckett were still dancing around each other. AND that ending just blew our already blissful & saturated minds (from all the preceding Casketty goodness) out the park! – Alternate-Ryan's confused face when his boss Alt-Kate and Rick were in sync while discussing the case despite being strangers was just priceless. – Kate or more exactly Cp. Beckett was totally hot rocking that skirt. Come to think of it we've never seen a skirt-wearing Kate in the precinct! – Did you see Alt-Kate's face when she was secretly reading Derrick Storm late night in the precinct? Epic! So she did read Castle's books, which I thought prior to the episode that she might not have in the alternate reality. – This is as good is it gets for those hardcore Caskett fans who were there right from Season 1, and there is enough Casketty goodness here to last a long long time. My DVR's gonna be busy for a while! Is this the best Castle episode yet? Maybe. Maybe not. Still it sent our hearts a fluttering & I haven't had a grin as wide as I have right now in a long time (since 'Always'?).

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Best X-Men movie yet!

[10/10 · 23 June 2014]

By far the best "X-men related" outing yet..including Wolverine's solo runs. The saying goes that the stronger the villains the better the movie & DOYP has first-class adversaries in the advanced-sentinels. That opening battle between the half-dozen mutants & Sentinels has to be the best action sequence alongside Nightcrawler's attack on the White House (X2) & Wolverines train fight (The Wolverine). The real-hero of the film is Wolverine. Here he has to mentor his mentor in order to save the mutant & human races & he displays remarkable maturity. The true show-stopper/star-turn though has to be "Quicksilver". Cool as a cucumber the scene in which he rescues Magneto from the Pentagon has to be the coolest scene of the series! He was wait-for-it- LEGENDARY!

The Mentalist: Blue Bird (2014) Season 6, Episode 22

Jane finally moves on from his tragic past!

[10/10 · 19 May 2014]

Hell Yeah!!! Why am I shouting and crying again? Oh yes Jane & Lisbon kissed (while in holding in TSA) and Jane confessed his feelings and a big 'I LOVE YOU' to Lisbon (which she returned later) in front of a whole plane load of people that apparently made all the women in the plane green with envy at Lisbon! – This is definitely the most invested I've got in seeing a duo getting together after Rick & Kate got together in Castle. – Amazing acting from Simon Baker and Robin Tunney, especially Simon (who is always at the top of his game but was simply marvelous today). His face was a mirror to the turmoil of emotions running inside him. – Best episode of Season 6 after the 'Red John' episode. Now CBS' decision to renew the show is put into perspective…we definitely need a Season 7!

Person of Interest: Deus Ex Machina (2014) Season 3, Episode 23

Person of Interest' evolution into a 'truly great' show!

[10/10 · 16 May 2014]

Shoo away everybody who thinks Person of Interest is no longer about the "Person of Interest of the week" and hence sucks. If you don't like it, simply don't watch it. While PoI was a good/great show when it dealt with a 'case of the week' theme in the first two seasons, it has elevated into a truly great show in Season 3, a show that can now be spoken of in the same breath as the likes of Breaking Bad. 'The Crossing' and now 'Deus Ex Machina' have been two of the best hours on TV the past season. – The closest comparison to PoI's evolution would be Arrow, a show that was good in it's first season dealing with a baddie of the week but has now elevated into a great show with a season-long-baddie in Season 2. - I honestly thought that there would not be a show in a long time that could match the grandeur & scale of 'Lost'…such was the enormity & complexity of Lost that it's creators themselves couldn't understand where the show was heading. Now I can happily tick that item off my list of TV worries now that Person of Interest is here to keep me company in it's 'machina' arms! Besides the PoI writers actually seem to know where the show is heading, unlike the ones at Lost.

24: Live Another Day (2014)

Events occur in real time!

[9/10 · 6 May 2014]

Wow. What an exhilarating start to the return of 24! Bombs, interrogations, shootouts, drones presidents in danger (of course!), cover-ups, & a potentially high-quality villain in Michelle Fairley ...plus a heavily transformed Chloe (still the same at the core) looking hot with that new punk-rock style!

• Don't recall a previous season of 24 that was as fast paced or as adrenaline rushing as this, though we are still to see whether they maintain this same pace, but is a high possibility with the shortened season.

• In short it is everything I loved about 24 but made more modern, which only adds to the quality. Couldn't hope for a more high quality return and it reminds viewers that 24, especially this new fresher version, can give blockbuster action films & even Game of Thrones a run for their money!

• "Events occur in real time"! Hearing Jack saying this at the start was the moment I truly realized how much exactly I missed 24.

• Last but not least...it wouldn't truly be 24 if there weren't a healthy dose of DAMMIT's from Jack which were in abundance!

Castle: Veritas (2014) Season 6, Episode 22

Closure at last for Kate Beckett.

[10/10 · 6 May 2014]

Warning: Possible Spoilers on Joanna Beckett's murder case & Senator Bracken.

Wow! This was an immensely satisfying & badass end to Kate's mother's murder case..the case which has been key to Kate's successes & failures in equal measures.

• Kate was possibly even more badass here than when she went undercover earlier this season. Faking being drugged and taking out those two thugs while being clubbed on the head with a bottle was just epic!

• Finally...a sigh of relief and pride at Kate for finally taking down the person responsible for her mother's death. Immense gratitude to Rick too for standing by and supporting her despite the many dangers he was facing and Kate's stubbornness.

• Now the duo can finally approach their wedding in peace...oops there is one more item on the list: 3XK! Hope he thinks this summer is too warm for complicated plans to terrorize the duo!

Castle: Knockdown (2011) Season 3, Episode 13

"Castle" doesn't get any better than this!

[10/10 · 17 December 2013]

Best episode of S3 until this point..I'm almost 3 yrs late in reviewing this episode & hence I have got around to watching the rest of the season, but I assure you 'NO SPOILERS'.

• All round excellent, if not often pitch-perfect, acting from the cast. The episode not only focuses mainly on Rick & Kate but also focuses equally on Cp. Montgomery, Esposito & Ryan and their respective portrayers don't disappoint at all...which is one of the strength of this wonderful show.

• The plot was perfectly played out. We got enough fodder on Kate's mother's murder to get us through a few weeks but not enough so as to keep us practically salivating till the next outing.

• The chemistry between Rick & Kate was literally simmering & bubbling on the surface & it all came to a heady explosive peak when Castle grabbed Kate & kissed her right on the lips! Too bad it was mainly undercover but still at least 90% of the kiss was genuine. Kate was moaning so sensually I thought they might forget they had to save their buddies & hop into the nearest motel or if not their car!!

• Perfect ending scene. It was as true to Kate's nature as a scene will ever get to. Determination, diligence, intimidating, honest, fair, bad- ass..and more of what Kate is true to heart. NO matter how tough a nut Lockwood is & whether he cracks or not, he must be privately admiring this wonderful strong woman standing in front of him & thinking this is as close to a match as I'm ever gonna get!

• Again this episode reassures me that "Castle" is THE best show for me at least. No showboating around, no big sets or big mighty budgets, no big divas running around. Just old school, true to heart, life affirming stuff. Which is why Castle is my special private sanctuary..the place I snuck into when I started college in a foreign country & got me through the tough times & here I am 3 yrs on in my final year still lying snug inside my little Castle kingdom.

Castle: Watershed (2013) Season 5, Episode 24

Unnecessary & out of character behavior-induced-disaster averted in time!

[7/10 · 15 December 2013]

Castle has been an idiot sometimes in the latter half of this season, what with him being undecided over choosing his precious video game or a horny Kate. Still this is to be expected of him. Although Rick has matured a lot over the years spent with the NYPD, he still retains that air of a bumbling idiot/silliness. Kate spent 5 years with him before finally doing the deed & hence she knows him best..hence my disapproval over her behavior after the above-mentioned 'video game' incident. - She almost gave into the charms of a billionaire playboy while in a relationship with Castle. If she could deal with the advances of Castle (who not only was a ruggedly handsome millionaire playboy but also her favorite author who's novels helped her get over her mother's murder)at the start of Season 1 despite being single for over 5 months, how come she almost gives into Mr. Vaughn (she did let him kiss her on the lips) while being in a relationship? Was she feeling lonely & bereft of attention...just because Castle kind of ignored her for 5 mins? Please! That move went totally against her nature. That whole episode should have been written differently as it's not like Castle's nature either to ignore Kate..who is the center of his existence along with Martha & Alexis. Writers mistake. Andrew Marlowe should not have let this happen cause quite a few faithful Castle fans were let down big time..including me, particularly as the episode "Still" was designed to be aired before "Squab & the Quail" (but was eventually aired after due to the bombing incident) where Castle literally decides to die together with Kate.. .not exactly an indication that he was already fed up with Kate & ignoring her! - The real problem with the job offer that some fans missed was the fact that Kate took it behind Castle's back. It meant that she did not really trust him & that she didn't have total faith in her relationship with Castle. Despite what Martha said, Kate had second thoughts not because she didn't have a ring on her finger (which was some real stupid advice) but because it was in her nature to be doubtful of everything. Plus she was acting out of character too. Yes Castle is a rich author who can write from anywhere. But his problem was that Kate didn't confide such an important decision with him, whereas Castle has been asking advice/discussing on practically every major decision he took (even Alexis's boyfriends) even before they were in a relationship. - Ultimately though Rick & Kate managed to work through this huge mess & Kate's distrusting nature to end up getting engaged, which would only make their relationship more stronger.

Castle: The Blue Butterfly (2012) Season 4, Episode 14

Fan Favorite Episode #1

[10/10 · 3 November 2013]

This felt like it was a tribute the uber-faithful fans who kept the show going during its turbulent first 2 yrs..until "Still" came along in S5. I've watched my share of black & white 50's & 60's movies as my grandpa was a movie director of sorts & hence his movie craze kind of rubbed off me, and I've got to say that for a TV procedural with one of the lowest budgets on ABC, Castle got everything pretty much spot on, from the accents to the props to those fantastic dresses that Kate & Lanie wore. Excellent plot, superb acting. And even better was the love story unfolding. Stana was just drop dead gorgeous in that blue dress! And THAT kiss at the end..the Castle fandom literally exploded! Kudos to Tamala Jones..who knew she has such great pipes? She should sing more often.

For Lovers Only (2011)

Hauntingly beautiful, poignant & heartfelt!

[10/10 · 21 October 2013]

It's one the most hauntingly beautiful movies I've seen in a long time. Just fell in love with it during the first scene itself. True many say that there is nothing much to the story, but I loved how it ended: open for interpretation. The other fact that made it such a wonderful experience was how realistic it all felt. It could have happened to any one of us. Plus haven't most of us had that love who somehow got away, despite the many opportunities? Having followed Stana Katic's career ever since she starred on 'Castle', I feel so grateful that she took time off of her summer holidays to shoot a movie that started off as just a travel & shoot movie but ended up touching a lot of our hearts!

Jack Reacher (2012)

Excellent movie, but a bad portrayal of the 'Jack Reacher' character from the novel

[7/10 · 19 October 2013]

Good thing I hadn't read a single book in the Jack Reacher series cause the fact is this film isn't the best portrayal of the actual Jack Reacher character in the novels, which I've come to know quite thoroughly as I read all 17 novels in the series after watching the film. But therein lies my point: which is that the 'Jack Reacher' movie by itself stands strong, what with the decent script and solid performances from Tom Cruise & Rosamund Pike, an assessment I could present as an impartial judge having not read the book before watching the film. Most negative reviews are from readers of the novel & hence they are justified in criticizing the film as an inaccurate portrayal of the novel. But saying that its a stupid/bad film is wrong as its a pretty good movie!

Castle (2009–2016)

Best TV Show for any mood & for any time!

[10/10 · 3 October 2013]

When you say 'Best TV show', you think Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Wire or GoT. But lets be honest: can you watch any of these shows without feeling at least a bit depressed? womanizing, drugs, incest, cold- blooded killing are some of the major themes linking these shows. 'Castle' is a light and fun procedural with an overall positive attitude towards murder. Castle has fun and mostly serves to make people happy and it is consistently entertaining and well-written/acted. So does this make it somehow inferior to the dark and depressing shows that gets all of the awards? Logically, most would say no. But in reality, that's often how it shakes out. Speaking of more pros to Castle: Being an arts major for a short while, I've come to appreciate the comedies of 1930's & 40's made great by the likes of Katherine Hepburn & Cary Grant and Castle brings this back by its witty banter & the oft-tempestuous relationship of 'Caskett'. Also who makes the good old fashioned 'whodunit' mysteries any better? So no matter how good shows might be with their heavy negative themes, there's something to be said for a show that can be watched in any mood and at any time. "Castle" is one such show: even old reruns make for an entertaining hour!