Ray Donovan 301: "The Kalamazoo"

Ray Donovan, Southies own guilt-ridden Hollywood fixer, has returned, here once again to work through his anger by watching over the wayward souls of Los Angeles. Two seasons of Donovan Overwatch have yielded decidedly mixed results: hes got a brother in the hoosegow and a mistress in the ground, his kids both have recent experience fleeing from crime scenes, his estranged wife is busy trying to eat Taco Bell while driving drunk, his surrogate father lies dying, his legacy in ruins, and the one guy that Rays been trying to kill since Episode 101 is throwing pool parties in Magnolia Park. Still, its a fool who lets the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Who will join the Ray Donovan Cavalcade Of Guest Stars this season? What will be the proportion ofEntourage-style show biz hi-jinx toSleepers-style PTSD melodrama? Join us, wont youTHE MAIN EVENT

We find Ray, having burnt his professional bridges at the end of Season 2, slumming it: rescuing local weatherman Bronson Pinchot from a fairly low-tech glory hole extortion scheme. His prospects brighten, however, when hes invited by local plutocrat Ian McShane to investigate the first act ofThe Big Lebowski. McShanes dirtbag son (The Bunny) is being ransomed by local ruffians, while his daughter Katie Holmes (The Maude) suspects a put-on.Ray is expected to clear everything up using some combination of five million dollars, physical assault, and theater-trained glowering. Final score: two dead, one severely menaced, and zero million spent. Though its still unclear who in this family is the wounded bird that will stir Rays savior complex (smart money: K. Holmes, later to be revealed as a villainess), hes got great prospects here for interim employment, a fresh fatherly authority figure and sustained glitzy stunt casting.

THE UNDERCARD

Little-known fact: felons in California can end their supervised parole by leaving their son locked in a robbed weed dispensary, blowing up their flophouse, and winning a million dollars at the racetrack. So Mickey Donovanis now free to charm his way around a colorful apartment complex, babysitting the daughters of busy prostitutes, currying favor with his neighbors by sprucing up the common area, and generally expressing his inner SNL-game Christopher Walken. When the resident Nugent-esque pimp rebuffs his services as a management consultant, Mickey ushers him to a Xanax-assisted drowning and creates an opening in the local vice economy.Theres good news and bad news for Season 3 Abby Donovan: shes no longer relegated to asking Ray whats going on in his professional life! Shes now relegated to begging him to have anything to do with the family at all. Having lost the affections of her daughter and her boyfriend, she now spends her time managing Bunchys Match.com profile and engaging in some bold daytime drunk driving. In a fit of inspiration, she picks up a stray dog the size of a Clydesdale, which should provide warm companionship and physical peril in roughly the same proportions that Ray once did.Business at the Fite Night is relatively subdued. Terry is ensconced in prison (and not entertaining visitors), and Bunchy has taken over the front office. He cant manage to collect payment from a co-ed lucha libre troupe thats set up at the gym, promising both future romantic sparks and more of the bracingly devil-may-care race politics that youve come to crave from the Donovangang.Here we must bid farewell to Elliot Gould, who succumbs to his cancer in the episodes opening minutes, screaming out for Rays help as he goes. Ezra Goodman, we hardly knew you, or what you ever saw in Ray, or what led him to latch onto you as a surrogate father.Notably, though, Ezras final visitor is Father Romero (Leland Orser), a priest and member of The Servants Of The Peraclete (a real religious order that assists priests with their personal difficulties), asking after the late Father Danny. Father Romero, a possibly fake, definitely over-achieving representative of the church that has for so long bedeviled the Donovan boys, is well positioned to cause Ray some novel headaches.

Ray Donovan doesnt appear to have shifted much in its themes or delivery, but its heartening to see that, in moving on from Goldman & Drexler and Elliot Goulds role as Rays mentor, its aiming to give Ray a more carefully-sketched relationship with his boss. For a show that constantly interrogates the father-son dynamic, and keeps so many characters raging against the protectors that theyve found for themselves, Ray Donovan never devoted much time to the nature of Rays devotion to Ezra, simply because Ezra was rarely more than another panicked voice on Rays phone, desperate to get out of a jam. We reset that dynamic with the arrival of Ian McShanes Malcom Finney, whose unruly family and gratitude to his own father for delivering him from the criminal life knock Ray for a loop.

McShane can be captivating no matter what his character is doing, which puts him squarely in the shows sweet spot: tremendous actors sometimes called upon to spin their wheels for long stretches. Given the current fashion for limited-run series and prestige stalwarts like Mad Men and Justified charging towards their finales, its jarring to see Ray Donovan set roughly the same table for its third season that its done twice before. The novelty offered by the arrival of McShane, Holmes, Pinchot and the rest is a welcome grace note.

Its also interesting to see Abby and Mickey, thwarted for so long in their attempts to exercise some authority over Ray, adopting his strategy for appointing himself the savior and protector of the nearest imperiled soul. Mickey finds Ginger (Fairuza Balk) and her daughter, and Abby finds a tremendous dog. Neither seems equipped to much more good than Ray, who generates more corpses and recriminations than happily-ever-after stories.

NOTES ON THE DONOVAN FAMILY FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICESPUBLIC NOTICE: If you received a voucher at theDeadwood wrap party redeemable for a guest arc onJustified, those coupons are now being honored atRay Donovan.

Okay, youre playing a fourth-tier L.A. pimp with a touch of red-state Walmart flair when the new grill rolls by, I want your jawon the floor. Youre giving me Ive never seen such a nice grill before. I need Ive never seen burnished metal before.

Congrats to the folks at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet for getting their product placed all the way into the title of the episode.

Urgent memo from the FVX guy who has to composite moving reflections ontoRays iPhone screen: can Ray please go back to using his cars Bluetooth or at least briefly stop walking while he checks caller ID??

Seriously Abby drunk or sober, Mexican is not a behind-the-wheel cuisine. This is why private-sector engineers labored for decades to develop the chicken finger.

Let us warmly welcome this seasons computer-generated portent of self-destruction:Oceans Eleven-era Flashback Elliot Gould. Your predecessor on this show was a dolphin with the voice of Rosanna Arquette, so be prepared to show some flair.

Thanks for sticking with our show! As a gift, heres four uninterrupted minutes of Hotel California.

Source: http://observer.com/2015/07/ray-donovan-301-the-kalamazoo/

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The Strain Recap: Occido Insurance

Kevin Durand as Vasily Fet. Photo: Michael Gibson/FX

Episode Title BK, N.Y.

Season 2

Episode 1

Editors Rating

4/5

Full StarFull StarFull StarFull StarEmpty Star Prev Next Complete Series Coverage

As season two of The Strain commences, we flash back to young Abraham (Sammy Silver) dutifully devouring soup with a wooden spoon at the behest of his bubbe (The Affairs Kathleen Chalfant), whos spinning him a carefully chosen yarn about a benevolent giant whose body is claimed by an insatiable but ailing vampire. Evil takes many forms, his grandmother warns. True dat, Abe all but tacitly replies with a look belying both fear and curiosity. He knows these stories have a source but still accepts them as parabolic hearsay. Only years later, after enduring n**i encampment and encountering the Master, does he discover what even Bubbe may not have realized: The bogeyman is real, and it currently takes the form of a seven-foot-plus immortal bloodsucker with a yen for converting humans into its kind and conquering the planet forthwith.

But after present-day Abe slashed and burned the Master, reducing him to a scarred and charred reduction of his formidable self, he proclaims to Eichhorst that its time for a new host. First and foremost, however, he dispatches his sadistic sidekick to rustle up the newly rejuvenated Eldritch Palmer and purchase a liberally zoned piece of empty factory space in the Bronx. The plan, as wed soon find out, is twofold: entomb a school bus full of blind kids in his mystical loam until they emerge as extra-sensory vamps (or feelers), and use its sophisticated drainage system as an easy way to keep the bloodletting going and flowing.

The funniest bits in BK, N.Y. come therein, as Palmer, mistaking himself for a corporate-magnate answer to Austin Powers, puts the mack on real-estate agent Coco Marchand (American Horror Story: Asylums Lizzie Brocher). All Eichhorst can do is roll his undead eyes as Eldritch flirts with this foxy young thing, whom he eventually hires away as his personal assistant. Palmers on quite a roll, in fact. He helps maintain a credible face by offering an open line of credit to the city and thus inspiring the typically adversarial mayor (Ron Canada) to sing his praises during a press conference. Granted, hes also hopelessly unaware that hes an ultimately disposable cog in the Masters plan. That is, after all, a weary Eichhorsts only consolation.

So what helps comfort poor Ef at night? Hes lost his wife and is all but losing his son to a justifiably accelerated case of teen angst, and has to reconcile that. As he puts it to Fet, As a vampire hunter, Im total s**t. Good thing theres plenty of vodka on hand. After failing to slay the Master, Efs back on the wagon in earnest, meaning Dutch has a drinking partner and Nora (not to mention we) gets a version of Dr. Goodweather that is, by her own admission, more affable. But it turns out Ef was being a touch dramatic. When forced to take up arms against wily vamps at the Brooklyn pathology lab and, later, the storage space where Abe stashed his homemade explosives (silver grenades!), he handled himself quite capably. Maybe, unlike Palmer, our protagonist doesnt need evil spirits (in every sense of the term) to get his groove back.

Still, for the time being, Ef and Nora are mostly content to busy themselves formulating ways to combat the strigoi. Vaccines and outright cures are all but impractical, they reason, before the a-ha epiphany that they need to essentially infect the infected, non-turned humans with a combative strain and, in their own words (not to mention Fleetwood Macs), break the chain. Easier said than done, since a scant percent of victims get away with a scrape or a scratch and live to tell for minutes or hours. Most get their circulatory systems siphoned in short order by a vampires fanged protuberance. Good thing, then, that a middle-aged couple hiding out in the aforementioned storage facility got nicked but survived, making them the perfect test cases.

Dutch and Vasiliy laid relatively low this episode, tinkering with ways to vampire-proof their Red Hook safe house and, in Dutchs case, hard-wire some kind of gizmo that a tipsy Ef gazes on curiously but without a clue. Not that were any the wiser, which is how Ms. Elders prefers it. Its around this point that Fet and the others begin to wonder just where Abes been all this time. Out retracing his steps after failing to vanquish the Master, Setrakian appeared to be playing fast and loose with the impending dusk. As it happened, hed been snatched byVaun and taken underground, where he was reunited with Gus (small world!) and introduced to the Ancients.Vaun breaks it down that the Ancients and Master are more or less brothers, but the Masters a black sheep who broke away from the pack and tries to disrupt their unified thought patterns to aid his hunger for general mischief. Abe,Vaun proposes, must forge an unholy alliance with this enslaved sextet of telepathic vamps in order to best find and foil their wayward kin. The old mans skeptical at first, but after watching them torture and devour a human sacrifice (a game Josh Horvath),Cenobite-style, he figures it best to play nice. Besides, hes gotta focus on finding the Occido Lumen, The Strains iteration of a token sacred text that can decrypt the mystery of how this menace came to befall us and can be stopped. Provided Ef and Noras experiments dont crack the code first, or that Kelly now gifted with speech and thought and put in charge of the sentient child vamps doesnt singlehandedly undo their collective quest.

As can be gleaned, The Strain has plenty on its plate in the weeks ahead, and we still havent seen Bolivar or met future key players like Samantha Mathiss Councilwoman Faraldo or Tom Kemps Cardinal MacNamara. But it should be noted with great optimism that the Master we saw feasting in that opening flashback was a thing of ugly beauty, with its repellant gizzard neck, lurching movement, and terrifying taunts. If the special effects continue taking steps forward and canned banter keeps giving way to cutthroat badassery, FX could have a legitimate Sunday-night contender, even if its Toronto sets will never quite pass as an authentic New York.

Apart from all that:

• Glad to see Robert Maillet get some screen time sans creature makeup.
• Didnt they speak English in all Romanian villages circa 1932?
• So the Ancients are kind of like Samantha Morton in Minority Report.
• Re: Coco Marchand, I guess Revenge already claimed Margaux LeMarchal.
• The feelers are very Village of the Damned.
• Very eager to see who the Master will next embody.
• Oh, and sorry to see Ben Hyalnd go as Zack, but welcome to the newly profane Neighbors alum Max Charles in his stead.

Source: http://www.vulture.com/2015/07/strain-recap-season-2-episode-1.html

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"Star Wars 7" Comic Con Teaser: Everything You May Have Missed Including ...

Fans who attended the San Diego Comic-Con panel for Star Wars: The Force Awakens didnt get to see a new trailer for the film. However, they were far from disappointed with the showcase from J.J. Abrams and the cast.

The director announced that a new trailer for the film would be coming sometime in the fall, with the movie premiering in December. Unfortunately, that meant that there was no shocking new footage of the film for the crowd in Hall H in San Diego. However, that doesnt mean there was nothing to show. In the behind-the-scenes video (below), fans were treated to their first look at both new and returning characters as well as a brief history lesson on what Star Wars has meant for people over the years.

To help ensure that no teaser gets lost in the shuffle of the behemoth that is the San Diego Comic-Con, below are a few things you may have missed in the newly released behind-the-scenes video.

Practical Effects

The trailer began by inviting people to take a look at the way Abrams brought Star Wars to life again for a modern age. While it would have been easy to just put everyone on a green screen stage and add the movie magic in later, the way George Lucas did with the infamous prequel trilogy, the video revealed that The Force Awakens will rely heavily on practical effects rather than CGI. Thats not to say the film will be without computer-generated effects, but the team brought out some advanced puppets of new alien characters to show the crowd in Hall H that they built the real thing for this movie. iO9 even has a clip of the moment Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy introduced one such puppet.

Destruction

The second teaser trailer for the movie showed an empire starship in ruins on a desert planet. This behind-the-scenes footage, in addition to shots featuring the Millennium Falcon, showed a broken down Tie Fighter. It shares a similar color scheme with the armor of Game of Thrones actress Gwendoline Christies character Captain Phasma, but its unconfirmed if the vehicle belongs to the villain or not.

Scotty Cameo

It simply wouldn"tt be a J.J. Abrams science fiction movie if it didnt feature his Star Trek buddy Simon Pegg. After previously denying rumors that h**l appear in the film, Simon Pegg is very clearly sporting some alien attire on the set of Star Wars: Episode 7. Its worth mentioning that theres no telling exactly who h**l play or if his character will be anyone of consequence. After all, in the video Pegg seems so thrilled to simply be on the set of a Star Wars movie. As CollegeHumor fans will note, he even tried to remake the first Star Wars with his friend Nick Frost a few years back.

Old Dogs, New Tricks

As fans will know, the below video isnt the first time weve been treated to a look at Harrison Ford as Han Solo in the newest film. However, hes not the only one reprising his role from the original trilogy. For the first time ever fans got to see Carrie Fisher in full costume reprising her iconic role as Princess Leia - and yes, shes ditched the bun hairstyle in her older years. Interestingly enough, a lot of the outfit looked similar to images that were leaked prior to the event. Its possible it could lend credence to other leaked rumors spilling from the production of the movie. Purposefully left out of the teaser is a costumed Mark Hamill, although the actor shows up as a talking head. Rumors indicate that the return of Skywalker will mark a big plot point in the upcoming sequel.

Unfortunately, fans will just have to wait until the fall to know for sure whats in store for The Force Awakens when it hits theaters on Dec. 18. As The Verge notes, Abrams said the trailer wont arrive until autumn. So, theoretically, fans may just have to wait a couple months to see Luke Skywalker in action.

In the meantime, check out the video below and comment or tweet your thoughts to @TylerMcCarthy.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/star-wars-7-comic-con-teaser-everything-you-may-have-missed-including-princess-leia-2004365

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Nicky Hilton marries James Rothschild in Valentino at Kensington Palace

Simply stunning! Nicky Hilton married James Rothschild in a bespoke Valentino gown, which she proudly showed off as she left Claridge"s hotel. The couple, who got engaged in August 2014, said "I do" in front of their family and friends in a romantic ceremony at The Orangery in Kensington Palace on Friday.

"Ever since I was a little girl I wanted Valentino to design my wedding dress. Valentino is the definition of timeless elegance, I don"t think there"s another couture house like it," the 31-year-old bride exclusively told Harper"s Bazaar ahead of her big day.

Photo: GC Images

Nicky was closely followed by her older sister Paris Hilton, who wore a long light blue gown. Meanwhile her flower girls looked pretty in dresses from luxury children"s wear designer Marie Chantal.

Guests at the couple"s nuptials included Paris" boyfriend Thomas Gross, Chelsea Clinton and her husband Marc Mezvinsky, and Florence Brudenell-Bruce with husband Henry St George.

Photo: GC Images

Close friend Petra Stunt was also among the guests. The couple famously met at Petra"s wedding to James Stunt back in 2011, with Nicky later saying it was love at first sight. James popped the question during a romantic holiday in Lake Como in August, presenting his wife-to-be with an incredible five-carat Asscher cut diamond ring.

The couple"s choice of wedding location couldn"t have been more fitting for their fairy-tale day. Located within Kensington Gardens, The Orangery is licensed for civil weddings and allows for receptions on its terrace. It is also located next door to Prince William and Kate Middleton"s apartment

Photo: GC Images

The new Mr. and Mrs. Rothschild are expected to keep the party going late into the night with a rumored performance from Lionel Richie before Paris takes over the decks with a DJ set at the end of the night.

Source: http://us.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/1201507106156/nicky-hilton-marries-james-rothschild-in-valentino-at-kensington-palace/

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Paris Hilton feels her sister Nicky Hilton and her new husband James ...

Paris Hilton feels her sister Nicky Hilton and her new husband James Rothschild will be together forever because they make the perfect couple. Theyre just perfect for each other. Theyre best friends, Paris told People Magazine before the wedding.

In a recent Inquisitr article Paris Nickys elder sister strongly believes this relationship is a match made in heaven. Theyre the ultimate couple. Theyre like a prince and princess, sighed Hilton romantically of her little sister.

According to financialexpress, Nicholai Olivia Hilton and James Amschel Victor Rothschild were married Friday on the grounds of Kensington Palace in London. The ceremony took place at the Orangery, a structure originally built in 1704 for Queen Anne as a greenhouse in the style of a palace to protect citrus trees from harsh winters

Nicky is a designer of handbags, accessories and apparel. Her book, 365 Style, was published last year and offers readers advice on how to create their own personal style. She has also been a guest judge on Project Runway, the reality television show. Her first marriage was annulled.

Nicky Hilton is a daughter of Kathy and Richard Hilton of Los Angeles and the younger sister of Paris Hilton, who was her maid of honor. The brides father is the chairman of Hilton & Hyland, a Beverly Hills real estate brokerage firm. Her mother is an actress, fashion designer and philanthropist.

Nickys great-grandfather Conrad Hilton was the founder of Hilton Hotels.

James Rothschild, 30, is a partner and a vice president of the Monument Capital Group. He works in the firms Washington and London offices, specifically with its investment, advisory and portfolio management teams.

The groom, a descendant of Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who established the family banking business in the 1760s, began his career at the familys London bank, N.M. Rothschild & Sons.

He is the son of Anita Guinness Wigan and the late Amschel Mayor James Rothschild, and is the stepson of James Wigan. The grooms father was the executive chairman of Rothschild Asset Management, a director of N.M. Rothschild & Sons and an apple farmer.

The bridal couple met in 2011 at the wedding of Petra Ecclestone and James Stunt in Rome. Dating regularly after that event, Ms. Hilton and Mr. Rothschild have led low-key yet busy working lives in the United States and England.

Last year, the usually private Ms. Hilton told The London Daily Mail that Mr. Rothschild is the love of my life.

It was while the couple were vacationing in Europe in August 2014 that Mr. Rothschild proposed. According to reports, during a romantic boat ride in Lake Como, Italy, the old-school bachelor got down on his knee and proposed with a large diamond Asscher cut engagement ring after secretly flying to Los Angeles to ask Ms. Hiltons parents for permission to wed. People.com recently reported that Ms. Hiltons sister said of the couple, They are so loyal, and theyre so in love. Theyre the ultimate couple. Theyre like a prince and princess.

[Image source Getty]

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/2245247/paris-hilton-feels-her-sister-nicky-hilton-and-her-new-husband-james-rothschild-will-be-together-forever-because-they-make-the-perfect-couple/

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UPDATED: Suicide Squad trailer premieres at Comic-Con, complete with Jared ...

Fans of Squads and the suicidal people who join them got a treat at todays Warner Bros. Comic-Con panel, with the studio releasing the first official trailer for its Suicide Squad movie. Sadly, the trailer hasnt made its way online yet, but it apparently gave fans a look at most of the members of the teamincluding the first live-action glimpse of Jared Letos Joker. (The entire video was apparently set to a creepified version of The Bee Gees I Started A Joke, to give you an idea of how much emphasis was put on the role.)

Speaking of Leto, he was the only member of the movies cast who wasnt in attendance at the panel, with director David Ayers parading Margot Robbie, Will Smith, and the rest of the Squad out to wave at the cheering crowd. (Robbies Harley Quinn was apparently another focus of the trailer, appearing in a Hannibal Lecter-esque cage and speaking with Viola Davis Amanda Waller.)

Once the video makes its way to the internet, well be sure to pass it along, but for now, we can all go back to imagining all the cool things that must have happened. Deadshot shooting people! Amanda Waller glaring at people! Captain Boomerang, throwing stuff, imbued with a cocky confidence inspired by its inevitable return! And if your imagination buckles under all the possibilities, feel free to take another look at that fake trailer the Nerdist put together to help it back onto its feet.

UPDATE: A version of the Suicide Squad trailer clearly filmed on a cell phone by a fan in the audience at Comic-Con has leaked online, and is being hosted over at Movieweb. the visuals are obviously not very good, but the dialogue is audible, and we do get a good look at the Joker at the end. Well keep you updated when the official version comes online.

Source: http://www.avclub.com/article/jared-letos-joker-showed-todays-suicide-squad-comi-222139

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Armed man robs 7-Eleven in Davie Wednesday

DAVIE, Fla. -

An armed man wearing a yellow bandana over his mouth and a black skully hat robbed a 7-Eleven in Davie Wednesday.

The incident was reported about 4:45 a.m. at 4490 Weston Road.

Surveillance video shows the man pull out the handgun as he enters the store. He was wearing baggy camouflage shorts, a long-sleeve black shirt and black low-top sneakers.

Police said the robber told the store clerk to hand over the cash register drawer.

It"s unclear how much money the robber made off with.

Police said he left in a newer-model black four-door car, believed to be a BMW.

A similar robbery was reported the day before at a BP gas station in Pembroke Pines.

Police have not said whether the two incidents are related, but in the first case the robber was also wearing a yellow bandana and black skully.

Police said the robber got away with an undisclosed amount of cash in a two-door black vehicle.

Anyone with information about either robbery is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

Follow Local 10 News on Twitter@WPLGLocal10

Source: http://www.local10.com/news/armed-man-robs-7eleven-in-davie-wednesday/34099166

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