Dollhouse, the original TV series by Joss Whedon was aired on Fox for two and a half seasons before it got cancelled. It is a science fiction series that follows the main character, Echo, through her journey and involvement with a company that uses "Dollhouses" and hires out personalities to wealthy clients. After someone has signed up for the program, their memories and personalities get erased and put onto a hard drive. They become known as "dolls" that are in a permanent child-like state and has virtually no personality. When a client needs anything from a romantic engagement to a high-risk criminal job, they go to the company that runs the Dollhouses. They rent the client out a doll, who is programmed with the appropriate personality. After the job is complete, the doll comes back to the Dollhouse, has their memory and personality wiped, and returns to their "sleeping" state. Echo, who is a doll in the Dollhouse, is becoming self-aware. The people who run the dollhouse are frightened by this, as it reminds them of a similar case in the past which had gotten out of control. When the series begins things in the Dollhouse are running smoothly, but quickly picks up as the government and conspirators try to get involved in their affairs. The show itself is filled with a lot of action and cool science fiction-y technology. It is an excellent show to watch and - doesn't take very long to complete the series! (While you can choose to see that as a pro, it really just goes by quickly because there are only over 20 episodes. Boo, Fox.) The
trailer (another
trailer) along with many explanations for the show can be somewhat confusing, so the best thing to do is to just jump right in! It's not a very hard show to follow - just hard to explain in a three minute clip or in 200 words. Enjoy, the show never became very popular, but everyone who is a Joss Whedon fan will definitely love it! (Also, it's really good science fiction.)
Although The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was released in November of last year, I only recently saw it in theaters. As a huge fan of the book series and the first movie, I cannot say that I am displeased. I'm quite happy with how this movie turned out actually, even though there were minor changes in the plot such as Peeta not loosing his leg and Katniss not becoming deaf in one ear. There is also the unnecessary love triangle which is made all too dramatic in the movies. However, this is how the world of cinema always works and you can't expect a movie to be exactly as the book was (it's a bit impossible to please everyone and make the film exactly as everyone envisioned in their minds while reading The Hunger Games). Not only did the plot progress smoothly, but the costumes, makeup, and set were absolutely gorgeous in the film, along with the special effects. I am pleased with the performances of many if not the entire cast. Jennifer Lawerence and Josh Hutcherson did well, as they did in the first film of the Hunger Games. But the characters that I ended up liking the most were the other tributes that went into the 75th Hunger Games with Katniss and Peeta. Jena Malone was especially excellent in playing the character of Johanna Mason, and succeeded in making the character very unique and likable by the audience. Out of 5 stars, I would rate this movie as being somewhere close to a 4.5. It was a very enjoyable movie, but I hardly ever consider any movies that I see perfect, and while this one may have a few minor flaws that mostly just readers of the series would pick out, it is definitely worth watching.
