CliqueClack

DirectTV’s Rogue subverts the male-dominated action trope

Contemporary TV currently features a series of female-led revenge shows – Revenge, Scandal, Damages, Red Widow and Deception. Some are good (Scandal), some aren’t (Deception) and some I haven’t seen (Damages, Revenge, Red Widow). Somewhere along the line, producers realized that women experience obsessive revenge fantasies and tapped into it. Rogue, starring Thandie Newton, is the latest entry. Thandie Newton (Crash, M:I-2, ER, Run Fatboy Run, Truth About Charlie) plays Grace, a job-dedicated cop (to the point of obsessive) which consistently hurts her family. While investigating mobster/gangster Jimmy Lazslo, her 7-year-old son is murdered which she suspects relates to Lazslo’s affiliations.

I watched Rogue‘s first three episodes because of my huge ass Thandie Newton girl-crush. No, seriously. I WANT to be her in the most stalkery way possible. If I were smaller, British and hotter, maybe people would mistake me for a pre-plastic surgery version of her. Rogue isn’t normally my cup of tea. I hate gangster films, violent shows or anything overtly gritty like The Wire. Despite watching for Thandie, I eventually liked the show for itself. And, in the show, Thandie’s facial expressions are always perfectly on point.

The premise is this – if your son is killed, you’re a cop and you FEEL you can hunt down the killer …what do you do? Do you turn a blind eye, live an emaciated half-life and support your remaining family members? Or do you give into your compulsive side — the side that’ll do anything to bring in a killer — to pursue vague leads and hunt this person while your family suffers? I think we all know which option Grace chose.

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Do Game of Thrones’ changed reveals really matter?

After months of waiting, Game of Thrones is back … and back with a vengeance. Reports say that the show brought in 4.4 million viewers Sunday night, breaking its own record (Torrentfreak also reports that the premiere set some piracy records as well, and had been downloaded an estimated 1 million times in the two days since). Fans tuned in and caught up with Jon Snow and the wildlings, Joffrey and his new bride-to-be, Stannis tasting defeat … and, of course, those dragons.

The producers of Game of Thrones have an incredibly difficult job trying to manage portraying George R. R. Martin’s epic work on the television screen, and of course can’t make everyone happy. Fans were more than a little disappointed that favorites like Arya and Bran Stark were left out of the premiere. Having seen the first couple of episodes, I can say that their stories are tracking well, and making more room for them in the second episode back was a good move. The series has seen its share of changes from the books, changes that Bob and I have largely supported in Beyond the Wall. This week however, we’re going to take a deeper look at how some of the awesome reveals from the books will be lost on those that only watch the show.

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The Walking Dead finale: Boring? Or misunderstood?

And there you go. The season ender of The Walking Dead, in the books.

The build up to the finale was, by many accounts, too prolonged with not enough meat to sink one’s teeth into before reaching fruition. (“Prey,” of a few weeks ago, in particular was one of my least liked episodes.) And when the season ender finally came around? It seemed not to deliver the goods. It was a let down as far as a season capper goes. I said that about the finale on my initial viewing because that’s exactly how I felt after having watched it. It wasn’t really that bad, but it was far from great. And, in fact, there were some excellent aspects to it.

Without a doubt, an accusatory finger was pointed directly at the writer of “Welcome To The Tombs” — none other than season 3 show runner Glen Mazzara himself — with a lot of “no-pulled-punches” talk complaining, it contained enough suckiness to fill a sack. The question is: Was there? Was there that much lackluster resulting in a finale of substandard quality failing to satisfy?

And then I watched it again and picked up on subtleties I’d missed the first time around. The reality is, whether you liked this episode or not, it all came down to a matter of perspective. … Continue reading 'The Walking Dead finale: Boring? Or misunderstood?' »

Mark Burnett’s The Bible mini-series comes to home video

It’s a light week for new TV on DVD releases, but there are a few things of interest. The History Channel’s controversial The Bible mini-series, produced by Mark Burnett (Survivor) and his wife Roma Downey, comes to video just days after concluding its run on TV. Also coming to home video is AMC’s second season of The Killing, in anticipation of the surprise third season set to debut in June. Fringe fans who miss seeing John Noble on their screens every week can pick up his Science Channel series, Dark Matters, where he still uses his Walter Bishop voice instead of his own Aussie accented one. To see these and the rest of the TV shows coming to home video April 2nd, have a look at our shopper’s guide and click on a link to get more information or to make a purchase.

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The Avengers have finally assembled on home video

It’s not a big week for new theatrical releases on home video, but the long-delayed and eagerly awaited Marvel’s The Avengers box set is finally available, complete with a newly designed briefcase and glowing Tesseract! All of the films from Iron Man to Marvel’s The Avengers are included (2D and 3D versions) with some nice new extras (all the extras from the previously stand-alone releases are included), including some sneak peeks at Iron Man 3 and Ant Man! This is the definitive collection of Marvel’s Phase One productions.

Also out this week are the cult favorite John Dies at the End, and new Blu-ray releases of Hello, Dolly! and That Thing You Do!. To see these and the other movies coming to DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download on April 2, have a look at our shopper’s guide and click on a link to get more information about a title or to make a purchase. Remember, any purchase made at Amazon though any link helps to support our efforts here at CliqueClack. We thank you for that!

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Interviewing Rogue’s Josh Sasse and Leah Gibson

I enjoyed talking to Rogue’s Joshua Sasse and Leah Gibson, the gangster version of Lord and Lady Macbeth. Rogue, starring Thandie Newton, premieres Wednesday, April 3 at 9PM on DirecTV’s Audience network. The show surrounds a vengeance-focused cop, Grace (Newton), who runs a “rogue” undercover investigation on  gangster Jimmy Laszlo. She suspects someone affiliated with his operation can reveal the truth behind her son’s mysterious death. UK-raised Josh plays Jimmy Laszlo’s impetuous son, Alec. Strong and hot-headed, he’s desperate to ascend to the throne in a kingdom run by a long-living monarch (think Prince Charles). Canadian Leah Gibson portrays his wife, Cathy, the brains behind the throne. Serving as her husband’s dark id or reverse Jiminy Cricket, she consistently pushes Alec to achieve roles or take action his father disavows. Each of the Lazslo family members, including Cathy (Gibson) and Alec (Sasse), have an odd relationship with Grace (Newton), alternating between interest,  camaraderie, jealousy, desire and distrust.

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CliqueClack giveaway: Mad Men prize pack!

In celebration of Mad Men‘s April 7th return, CliqueClack’s giving away a mega prize pack, sponsored by Gold Label’s Mad Men online store, including:

• Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce mug
• Mad Men Pop Art iPhone case
• Mad Men journal
• Mad Men Lies Mousepad
• Mad Men logo t-shirt

In the comments, tell us why you’re excited for Mad Men‘s return. Entries to this giveaway must be made by Wednesday, April 3 11:59 PM ET. We’ll pick one comment completely at random and Gold Label will ship the prize pack, which should hopefully arrive in time for the premiere (make sure your spam filter allows @cliqueclack.com addressed email!) Only one entry per person and you must have a valid U.S.-based mailing address. You must be 18 or over to enter. Not following these guidelines voids your entry. Good luck!

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Gaming Editorial: Is the Wii U flopping?

Earlier this month, news had dropped that a top video game retailer in Europe had cut Nintendo’s Wii U prices by £100, which roughly equated to $130 USD. Since then other European retailers have cut the price to help stimulate the Wii U’s lackluster overseas sales. Price drops are a common occurrence in a video game console’s lifespan, but four months after a console’s release? Not so much — especially when the price drop was initiated by the retailers … not the console manufacturers.

Before I go any further I will state that as a video game fan I don’t pledge any allegiance to a particular brand of video game console or company. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are all wonderful companies and I like what they have to offer. If I had it my way I’d own everything they put out that suited my tastes but today’s economy is telling me to keep pinching my pennies. So until I win the lottery I will continue to observe the gaming industry as it shifts into the next generation of home entertainment. I just worry that Nintendo doesn’t stand much of a chance.

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G.I. Joe Retaliation redeems itself

For everyone who watched the abysmally terrible G.I. Joe film, Rise of the Cobra (2009), worry not. G.I. Joe: Retaliation redeems itself admirably. Directed by Jon Chu and written by Zombieland writers Rhett Rheese and Paul Wernick, Retaliation returns the film to a more realistic version of its 1980s cartoon origins while dropping the first film’s hideous foolishness. The mind-washed Baronness? Gone.  An inane romp through Paris? Finito. Marlon Wayans? Nary a site.

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Time for talk is over on The Walking Dead

Rick and the prison gang are on the brink of war with the Governor and the army from Woodbury. We know this because the characters have been talking about it for 7 episodes. So winter is coming to the prison and just like on Game of Thrones, they’ve been talking about it incessantly without delivering the goods. Although, if the final image of last season’s finale of Game of Thrones is any indication, we’ll be watching both winter and war this Sunday night (let’s hope).

Unfortunately, this inevitable (and unnecessary) war has taken some of the steam out of this half of the season, because we know the war is coming, therefore, we know that the main players (Rick and the Governor) will live long enough to engage in that final battle. It’s a little like watching a prequel – I wonder if Anakin and Obi Won are going to survive the poison gas? Umm, yes, because they’re both alive in Episode IV. There’s no real tension watching life and death scenes involving those characters

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