Tag: Jenette McCurdy

Between: Horatio Rising – Adam on the Attack (Review)

Adam and Daisy

Between “Horatio Rising” sees Adam outside of Pretty Lake and taking on both  Prime Minister Miller (Rosemary Dunsmore) and Horatio Pharmaceuticals. Adam goes on the attack. He targets both Miller and the CEO  of Horatio; Dexter Crane (played by Pascale Langdale).

The season of Between could have been subtitled “Liam Cullen’s Magical Mystery Cure.” All who are injected with  the stuff become practically immune to everything. 

Renee not only survives her 22nd birthday but she survives the pointblank gunshot wound to her abdomen.  Franny shot Renee after she shot and killed Gord, who did not have Cullen’s magic vaccine.  Chuck falls through a glass coffee table and wakes up with all his wounds healed. Wiley’s tumor disappears and later in the episode she reminds Liam, who also  got a shot of the miracle “medicine” that his diabetes is also gone.

Mark talks to Franny about shooting Renee and manages to make her feel better about the whole thing.  Wiley finds Cullen in the trunk (boot) of his car and after speaking to Adam ties him up in a shed.

Meanwhile, the survivalist leader, despite having her life saved twice, steals all the vials of Cullen’s vaccine and leaves the hospital.  Wiley insists that they initially ask Renee to return the vials. If that does not work they will storm the facility.

Adam is outside the fence. He takes the van after handcuffing the driver to a tree. Later, Crane’s hired gun shoots the man.  Later Adam gets in touch with Daisy (Loretta Yu) who helps him hack Horatio’s files.

The company finds her shortly after and Crane’s hired hitman flashes a badge and claims to be law enforcement.  Dairy refuses to help and barely escapes being terminated in her own bicycle repair shop.

Adam contacts Miller and she refuses to budge on exterminating the Pretty Lake survivors. Crane also proves be  a difficult opponent. Finally the CEO agrees to give  those who are immunized a chance to leave.

All the while, Daisy and Adam play cat and mouse with the Crane’s gunman; Mr. Brooks (Sebastian MacLean). Adam calls both Miller and Crane threatening both with exposure. The minister gets angry and blames Horatio Pharmaceuticals and demands that Dexter take care of the boy. 

Crane basically plays chess with Adam, countering his every move with one of his own.  All the while the young man is staying one step ahead of Dexter’s hired man.

Brooks methodically hunts down Daisy, whom he apparently dispatches at the mouth of an alleyway.   At the end of the episode, he grabs Adam and forces him into a car with Crane Dexter. The CEO demands all of Liam’s research paperwork.

Back behind the fence, Renee wrests control of the survivalist compound from Ronnie with ease. He would not have lasted long as joint leader anyway as he gave himself special treatment.  Renee begins injecting people in her camp.

Wiley turns up asking for a minimum of five vials, one of which is for her baby Jason. Renee counter-offers three. Mark is found with a scoped rifle aimed at the leader and negotiations end. The two townies are taken prisoner.

By the end of this episode of Between Adam is being held by Dexter Crane, Daisy is presumably dead, Liam is tied up in a shed and Wiley is Renee’s captive.  There are only a couple of hours left till evacuation, if Adam’s plan works, and it looks like only a few of the Pretty Lake survivors will receive an injection.

It is interesting to note that once Adam got out of the cordoned-off area, he became less strident and more “in charge.” His demands were getting a little jittery as not one person wanted to play.  Renee is obviously a stinker full stop and Ronnie has not changed much either. His dead brother did not make an appearance in this episode.

Time is running out for Wiley to retrieve Jason and get him injected. Although Adam seems to be in trouble so the plan may not work anyway.

Between is streaming on Netflix with all episodes available to watch at once. Head over and see what the second season of  this Canadian science fiction drama has to offer.

CAST:

‘Between’ Season 2: Hope – Survival (Review)

Jenette McCurdy as Wiley

A lot has happened since Wiley gave birth to Jason. Now, as the snow swirls and formula has passed scarce and become impossible to find, her child could starve.  In Between “Hope” Gord is teaching the kids to plant seeds, Adam tries to find out more about  Art Carey and Ronnie gets caught up in Renee’s world. This episode is all about survivalists and surviving.

It is also about coping with loss and having to move on.

The last episode had the disastrous escape attempt that ended with Samantha’s death.  Her brother Harrison is still grieving, although her boyfriend Chuck has already moved on apparently.

Ronnie, who took Alex’s body back to Renee is not given a hero’s welcome.  Instead he is questioned and kept prisoner. He learns that Renee is the leader of the only faction of Pretty Lake survivalists; a group started by her father.  They have automatic weapons and a seemingly never-ending supply of food.

Harrison heads to the bowling alley and has flashbacks to his birthday when Samantha was still alive and the virus had not yet been released. He is joined by Franny who spends time bowling and having fun with him. Later, the two share a first kiss.

Franny has someone following her and taking pictures of her backpack, the one that Alex was wearing when he stabbed himself.  This will later turn out to be Renee’s people searching for his murderer.

Adam questions Liam again about working with his father and the name Art Carey comes up. The young man is understandably alarmed that Cullen knows the name as the prison officer who tried to kill him last season was a colleague of the man.  He orders Liam handcuffed and Adam heads to the prison with Chuck to find out more.

At the prison, they find the female prison officer who almost killed Adam and get her keys.  When they try to access the security system at the prison, her fingerprints are required and the two young men have to cut off her hand.  Adam finds her office and searches her laptop which has apparently been wiped clean of all files.  He finds, under her desk, a satellite phone.

Before then, Adam and Chuck have an argument and after getting physical, Chuck storms off.

Earlier in the episode, Wiley’s tumor is  shown to be shrinking after the injection and Liam Cullen (Steven Grayhm) is optimistic that his vaccine will save everyone in the town. Later,  Chuck eagerly volunteers for an injection.  

Wiley stops by the orphanage to see if Gord has any formula for Jason. The cupboards are bare but he sends the young mother to the Mennonites.  On the way her car runs out of gas. Wiley takes Jason and heads out through the snow on foot.

Once she arrives at the farm, the Mennonites feed Jason, one of John’s wives still has breast milk. Wiley is told that Jason can stay, where they will raise him and “make him one of us,” but Wiley must leave. She decides to leave Jason so he can survive since she cannot feed him herself.

Gord and Franny make up, Harrison brings her to the orphanage to see her brother.  Gord goes outside to see Franny and after they reunite, he invites her back to the farm.  He turns to get his things so they can leave. Renee and her second in command turn up and grab Franny.

Gord intercedes and knocks the gun Renee is holding away. He struggles with her and her “minion” as he yells for Franny to run.  The survivalist group leader shoots Gord twice in the abdomen. Franny screams his name and the two attackers drive off.

Between is stacking up the bodies this season with three deaths in as many episodes.  (Four if you count the kindly old lady in the first episode.)  Alex, Renee’s little homicidal brother, Samantha and now, almost certainly, Gord. Franny’s big brother has always been the Jiminy Cricket of Pretty Lake and his death will hurt the community.

There were some standout moments in “Hope:”

Ronnie being delivered to Renee a’la the Queen of Egypt.

Stacey bashing Mark in the back of the head with the shotgun butt.

Chuck and Adam chopping off the guard’s hand.

Gordon being shot. (This qualifies as not only a moment that stands out but the most disturbing event as well.)

Is has to be noted that Liam’s calling the vaccine he takes a prophylactic, which is another word for a safe, aka a condom, is amusing. Granted, in the world of medicine the term does mean a preventative measure against disease (i.e. a condom) but it is funny regardless of the “serious” intent.

Between season two is streaming on Netflix at the moment.  Watch it all in one go or space it out. Either way watch and see who lives and who dies.

CAST:

Between: Season 2 Us vs Them – Trust (Review)

Adam

Between this week starts where last week’s episode ended. Chuck, Samantha and her brother Harrison (and his friend) are driving outside the fence. The little group  are arguing  as Chuck has no real plan. Then “Us vs Them” loses Samantha as a sniper shoots the driver from a considerable distance away.

The rest of the van’s occupants freakout and head back to the fence.  Adam, Wiley and their new “friend” Liam Cullen talk in the tunnel.  Liam explains to the couple that he has a vaccine that will save the occupants of Pretty Lake. As they leave the tunnel, helicopters deliver Liam’s supplies on main street.

Chuck heads back to town after he spots the choppers flying past. He arrives in time to join Adam in the “I don’t trust Liam” brigade.  Neither Adam or Chuck will let Liam open his crates. Wiley argues for letting Cullen open the crate and Harrison goes to open the thing instead.

When Chuck tells Harrison that they cannot trust Liam, the boy goes off on the rich townie.   He tells the group that his sister is dead and that it is Chuck’s fault.  Chuck then punches  Liam and threatens to beat him till he tells the truth.

Wiley explains to Chuck that escaping is not an option any longer.   It appears that the one bit of truth the government passed on about the virus is that the stuff is deadly to anyone outside Pretty Lake.

Renee (Mercedes Morris) returns the gun she stole from Ronnie and the two have sex. Afterward she asks his help in finding her brother. (The lad who fell on his own knife when attacking Mark).

Gord cuts up Franny’s cow and after he loads the  meat in the truck, someone steals all the beef and the vehicle. In town  Ronnie asks Mark if he has seen the Renee’s brother  and both he and Stacey (Samantha Munro) lie and say no. 

Liam (Steven Grayhm) explains the science behind the vaccine. He also reveals that Adam is actually immune.   Before he can inject anyone, Adam injects the outsider. Cullen blows up at Adam telling him that he just wasted a life.

Ronnie argues with Pat on the way back from town.  At the height of the conversation he stops the truck and tearfully cries out that Pat left him.  Wiley confronts  Adam about  not telling her of his immunity and Gord finds his meat.

Franny took it  to Harrison’s group and they refuse to give it back.  When Gord goes to grab the food, Franny says it was not his to give.  The gang of kids threaten “Gordo”  and he leaves without the meat.

At the lab, after  waiting two hours Liam insists that they give someone the injection. Wiley volunteers over Chuck and Adam’s objections.

Gord sees Ronnie eating peaches and he accuses him of hoarding food. The two get into a fight. The altercation ends when Ronnie begins to laugh. He tells Gord that all he has are the peaches he is eating. (These are  ones that Renee gave him.) Gord then asks Ronnie to help him with something.

Wiley gets the injection.

Ronnie and Gord go to retrieve the meet. Harrison is rebellious right up until Ronnie shoots the radio and threatens Harrison. Gord keeps his “attack dog” on a short lease and no one dies or is shot as they grab the food.

Wiley passes out in agony after the injection.  The pains that have been plaguing her since the start of season two have overpowered her.  Later Liam discovers that Wiley has a tumor. Adam believes that Cullen’s vaccine gave it to her.

Adam may have come to grips with shooting his father but he, and to a lesser degree Chuck, has been almost too paranoid in season two. Waving his pistol about and allowing Chuck to “torture” Liam has taken the quietly confident lad from season one and turned him into a whiny little b*tch.

When he is not going on about not trusting  Liam, he is threatening the man. Chuck has always been an annoyance but he is worse now that he got Samantha killed.

Ronnie and Gord go to see the Mennonites. John refuses  to donate food initially.  Hannah and John’s other wife talk him into helping.  (Not before Ronnie gets the line of the episode however. John queries who Gord’s friend is and Ronnie replies, “I’m Jebidiah. What’s up?”)

After the Mennonites donate  the food Ronnie shows them the picture of Renee’s brother and they reveal that the lad is lying dead behind their farm. Ronnie retrieves the body to show Renee.  John then tells Gord and Ronnie never to return.

Harrison holds Samantha as they dig her grave, Adam worries about Wiley, Mark and Stacey are still having sex and Franny comforts Harrison. Ronnie and Gord deliver the food to the orphanage and Tracey sees the body of Renee’s brother.

Stacey also spots the body and Mark realizes it is the kid who attacked him. Wiley reveals that she had pain before the birth of Jason.  Adam tells Wiley about the tumor while Liam uses a satellite phone to report in.

His message ends with, “They’re starting to  trust me.”

Between this season is bleak and even more grim than the first season.  Food is a problem and even though the population is smaller, after the government tried to murder the lot of them, rationing is in effect.

Gord is still the conscience of Pretty Lake  and Chuck  has lost much of his first season over-confidence.  Adam has become  increasingly annoying with his paranoia and at one point it would have been nice to see Liam punch the kid just to shut him up.

The series is available on Netflix to watch all in one go.  Head over and binge the second season or watch it one episode at a time. Between has managed to come back strong for its second season and it is pretty gripping stuff. Check it out.

CAST:

Between: Season 2 Episode 1- Get Out of Town (Review)

Jennette McCurdy and cast on Between

It has been a long wait to find out what has been going in in Pretty Lake since the season finale of Between last year.  The first episode of season two “Time Will Tell” sees the remaining 541 survivors struggling to survive. This return to the small doomed Canadian town with its dwindling number of under 21s began again on 30 June.

The rest of the episodes  aired on 1 July so the entire second season could be binged in one sitting.  While we have seen the entire show, Mike’s Film Talk has opted to cover one episode at a time.

There is one instance, however, where we are going to excitedly reveal a little secret about upcoming episodes of the show.  Keep an eye out for Pascal Langdale in later episodes.  If the name means little to you, perhaps the character he plays in the the Quantic Dream/Sony video game Heavy Rain will jog your memory. Langdale played Ethan Mars (and the actor’s likeness was used for the game as well.) 

(When Pascal appears, despite his being in person versus a computer generated likeness of himself, you keep expecting him to start shouting, “Jason!”)

Episode one of Between begins with a mother and father trying to get into Pretty Lake to be with their son. Harrison and his pals are taunting the guards at the gate. As they refuse to leave the area, the couple searching for their child drive through the minefield trying get in.

They die in a massive explosion.

Food at Pretty Lake is running out and and Wiley is having mysterious and debilitating pains. Adam uses an electric razor to shave his head and trim his beard. He urges Wiley to leave the town and head to a nearby farm house. He wants to test whether they really are contagious.

Adam believes that the government will return to kill off the rest of the surviving population. He urges Wiley to consider the plan if only for Jason’s sake.

Mark catches a young lad stealing booze from his club. He confronts the boy who pulls a knife and stabs Mark. The boy tries to stab him again and misses, falling onto the knife when he slams into the side of a parked car.

The kid dies.

Mark disposes of the body and the kids’ belongings.  Adam and Wiley take the tunnel out of the fenced in community.  Stacey (Samantha Munro) comes in the bar to find Mark drinking and she asks about the boy. He reveals that the kid died. Stacey tells him that she wants her bar back. 

Gord and Frannie drop off food at the orphanage and she takes the dead kid’s backpack. Samantha (Abigail Winter) tells Gord that the kids are hungry and need more food.  Chuck finds Harrison fighting for money and he is puzzled about their motives.

Ronnie visits Pat’s (Jim Watson) grave and his dead brother speaks to him. A girl, Renee (Mercedes Morris) walks up and startles Ronnie. The two head to the house to warm up.  Adam and Wiley head out of the tunnel after he shoots the lock off.  

Harrison and his fight club pal show up at the gate with three thousand dollars and Chuck watches the young boys exchange the money for goods.  Wiley and Adam leave Pretty Lake and head to a nearby farmhouse.

Tracey (Jordan Todosey) interrupts Ronnie and Renee and while he pleads with Tracey to depart  so he can “get laid,” Renee leaves with the gun.  Wiley has another pain and Gord learns that the food he stockpiled for the orphanage has been stolen. 

Chuck makes a deal with Harrison. Giving the lad $10K cash he tells him that he wants in. Adam and Wiley reach the farmhouse as Gord accuses Mark of stealing his food.

Soldiers arrive at the farmhouse shortly after and ask the kindly Sandra, if she has seen Adam and Wiley. Lying to the armed men she then makes more food for the couple. Harrison makes the deal with the gate guard as Chuck watches.

Adam and Wiley’s host offers to get some formula for Jason only to learn that she may be infected. Samantha invites herself along to Chuck’s escape attempt with Harrison. Frannie makes dinner with the food she found and Gord tells her off. He also refuses to eat.

Wiley’s pains are getting worse. Gord heads to the barn to shoot Frannie’s cow. The last one on the farm. Frannie is upset and angry.  Gord shoots the animal and Wiley finds  Sandra has died. The young couple now know that they are contagious.

They return to Pretty Lake.

Harrison and his friend arrive at the gate to set the escape plan in motion. Chuck waits to shoot the soldier with a tranquilizer dart once the gate is opened.

Adam and Wiley return to the tunnel and bump into Liam Cullum (Steven Grayhm) who claims he has a cure for the virus.  Chuck shoots the guard. Samantha arrives with the van and they all drive away from the gate. 

As the couple confront Liam in the tunnel, there is an explosion and all three take cover.

The second season of Between has continued increasing the tension behind the fence.  The survivors have not formed a community. The attempted murder of all the survivors earlier has thrown everything up in the air.

Adam seems to have coped with the stress of killing his father and Wiley worries about feeding Jason. Gord and Frannie are being pushed apart and Ronnie has a severe case of the guilts. The death of the boy who attacked Mark appears to be a portent of bad times ahead.

Chuck escaping with Samantha, Harrison and his friend seems far too good to be true.  This venture seems destined to end in tears. Renee is an interesting new addition to the proceedings and at first glance looks to be a good match for Ronnie.

There is not an overabundance of action in this opening episode but the stakes for the survivors are high and it appears that the government are still determined to starve the kids out.

Between is streaming on Netflix. All six episodes are available to watch now. Tune in and check this Canadian offering out and catch up by watching last season’s six episodes.

CAST:

%d bloggers like this: