Sleepy Hollow now big city bound

The supernatural/conspiracy theory thriller "Sleepy Hollow" has begun its fourth season with Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) now hanging his three-cornered hat in Washington, D.C. For now the only other familiar face is "Miss" Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood). Jenny is sister to Abbie, Crane's deceased partner in the Witnessing enterprise.

So far the move is going well. Crane has a new FBI partner, Diana Thomas (Janina Gavankar). She is the single mom to Molly Thomas (Oona Yaffe), who went mysteriously mute about the time Abbie died.

Remember the secret underground library of Everything a Witness Needs to Know which had to demolished due to a demon infestation? Well apparently George Washington set up another one, in D.C. Crane finds it along with its two librarians/guardians, Jake Wells (Jerry MacKinnen) and Alex Norwood (Rachel Melvin.) These two make a great team. He handles the books, she handles artifacts and weaponry. Jake becomes an instant fanboy of Crane's and relishes in learning that the supernatural is "real." Alex is more wary of Crane. Rounding out the new season's crew is villain Malcolm Dreyfuss (Jeremy Davies). He is not a demon or warlock, or at least not yet revealed as such. He is something much worse - a billionaire who wants to control large parts of the world.

So the show is in the midst of big changes. Crane, too, is changing and growing. The colonial-era ponytail is gone and he seems more comfortable with modernity. Case in point - he quickly discerns that looking through the camera on his cell phone will enable him to see through the "glamour" spell rendering a witch's house invisible. Such use of electronic technology would never have occurred to Season 1 Crane.

As crowded as my TV schedule is, for now, I will keep watching "Sleepy Hollow."

Assassin's Creed Did Not Exactly Slay Me

Went to see "Assassin's Creed" this afternoon with a friend. Neither of us had ever played the game the film is based on and my friend's daughter warned us that would make the movie hard to follow. So, like an opera buff reading the libretto before a performance, I researched the game's backstory. Basically a modern-day guy gets put in a machine that allows him to access an ancestor's memories.
Those memories involved lots of swordplay and leaping about trying to protect an artifact (the Apple of Eden) that somehow protects everyone's free will. From the film's perspective, the Assassins are the good guys and gals; the Knights Templar, the bad.
I got bored pretty quickly, which I seldom do in movies. After it was finally over, I asked the teen-age boys sitting in front of us whether the film was faithful to the game's storyline. They said it was. From my pre-viewing research, I don't think the film's story line went too far past the first of numerous game installments/editions. I kept looking for Lucy, mentioned in extended game synopsis I read, but did not see her in the film.
So, if you play the game and/or like movies that have a first person shooter/stabber feel with lots of leaping about a la Super Mario Bros., this is the film for you. Otherwise, talk your movie buddy into something else at the multiplex.

Six Things I Will Miss About Bones

"Bones" begins its 12th and final season this week. I love this quirky/sciencey/murdery show and am already counting the things I will miss when it ends its long and successful run on Fox later this year.
In no particular order, here they are:
* Revolving cast of interns, some of whom come back years later so we can see the changes in their lives.
* Bones/Booth car banter.
* Hodges' love for all things icky.
* Angela, just... Angela
* Bones' occasional social ineptitude and inability to "get" metaphors
* Booth's office decor' such as his bobble-head bobby and "wanted" poster for his ancestor John Wilkes Booth.

Rogue One - The Force is Not With This One

I had looked forward to "Rogue One" for months and wanted to love it. I did not.
This film takes place just before the first Star Wars movie. It describes in graphically violent and depressing detail just how costly getting those Death Star blueprints were, the ones that Princess Leia uploads into R2-D2 as Darth Vader is boarding her ship.
One expects a lot from a Star Wars movie - humor, pathos, mythic narrative, memorable characters. ... Rogue One had one memorable character - K-250, a robot played by Alan Tudyk, who had *all* the best lines and was the sole source of humor. Note to filmmakers: When your robot character is more fleshed out than your many human ones, you might to flag down a script doctor, STAT.
Yes, "Rogue One" had the required Strong Female Lead - Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones. Sadly, Jyn is no Princess Leia, though the two do share daddy issues. The one unintentionally poignant moment came near the movie's end when Princess Leia makes a cameo and the whole theater seemed to take a moment to moan Carrie Fisher.
The lead human male character, Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, seemed rather hapless, as if he was little more  K-250's sidekick rather than a captain in the Rebel Alliance. Granted, it would be hard to out-hero Han Solo or Luke Skywalker, but a bit more effort toward that goal would have been appreciated.
George Lucas, the father of all things Star Wars, reportedly will head the next incarnation of this space opera epic. I expect he was horrified at what "Rogue One" did with his enterprise. I hope the Force is with him. He will need it.