don't be dull, be fannish

I went to see this for Josh Duhamel's Lennox, I admit that. I didn't like the previous movie, but I did like this one. Again, mostly because Col. William Lennox was back. That, combined with the beautiful visuals, made it a good cinema outing for me. Lennox had balls in this movie, sheesh! When he faced [REDACTED] without flinching, I cheered! The movie was also surprisingly funny. But there was a lot of downright cringe-worthy dialog, that's true. But the special effects alone made it worth to be seen in a cinema. That and Josh Duhamel. And Santiago Cabrera ;)

This movie isn't anything special. It has A LOT of star power - Josh Duhamel, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Vincent D'Onofrio, Vinnie Jones... - but the script is average at best. One thing the film does right - and why it's worth seeing - are the relationships.

Josh Duhamel once again plays a character whom everybody likes, a firefighter named Jeremy, and it's really wonderful. Jeremy's relationship with Talia (Rosario Dawson) and with Lt. Cella (Bruce Willis), with the guys at the station... I love how EVERYBODY is so protective of him, they just want to keep him safe. My favorite scenes were the ones with Talia - when she taught Jeremy how to shoot and when she came to take him away from Long Beach after he started killing Hagan's men - and with Cella - I loved that Cella saw Jeremy as a "boy" whom he wanted to protect at any cost.

The thing is, Jeremy was killing people but it was literally destroying him, it was tearing him apart. The scene in the shower, where he tried to wash off the blood and just fell apart... Josh Duhamel was amazing in it. I loved that Talia saw, that she noticed what it was doing to him and she knew she had to get him out or he would end up in jail or dead.

So yeah, the story was only so-so, but there were scenes that I adored and watched several times in a row. Also, James Lesure is in it - he was with Josh Duhamel in Las Vegas! I bet they had a blast together again! (In the audio commentary to LV, Josh talked about how much he admired and loved working with James!).

Family Jewels... where it's all about romantic love! And Danny never gets a cookie, the poor thing! This was pretty much a harlequin story, very sweet.

The Big Bang... where there's a guy with a bomb in the Montecito. I loved how wonderfully in sync Ed and Danny were in this episode. And the scene where Ed talked to Luis and asked him why he let Danny take on the guy with the bomb and Luis responded, "Because it's Danny!" That's pretty much the show in the nutshell. Everybody loves Danny.

Always Faithful... where Danny is recalled to active duty and is to be deployed within 24 hours. I loved how Ed absolutely refused to deal with Danny being send to war. Everybody else mourned - Mary broke my heart! - but it seemed like he just couldn't deal with it. He really does love Danny like a son. Ed was willing to bend or break every rule in the book just to keep Danny in Las Vegas. And then, when he found out where they were about to send Danny... he almost started crying, he was so afraid of losing him. And Danny and Mary... when Mary told Danny, "I love you, Danny McCoy. I always have and I always will," I actually had tears in my eyes, that was so wonderful...

You know, my favorite thing about this show is the amount of love these characters have for each other. Big Ed and Danny. Danny and ALL the girls, both his ex's and the girls he did not sleep with, at the end of the day, they love each other deeply. At Danny's good-bye party in the season finale, they way all the girls hugged him tight, one by one, and wished him safe return... it was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.

And I'm done with S1! I'll probably watch the season finale again because my box set has it with an audio commentary. And then... I wonder what to watch now. So many shows, so little time.

The Night the Lights Went Out in Vegas... where there's full moon, a power outage and a dead body at the Montecito. The whole search for the murderer was pretty hilarious but I loved the scene in the elevator best. Gosh, Danny and Mary love each other so much - too much to be a couple, I think, which is the beauty and the tragedy of their relationship.

Things that Go Jump in the Night... where Danny saves a man who tries to commit suicide. There isn't much I remember from this episode, it was kinda boring - except for the scene on the roof where Danny saved the guy, that was great. But besides that? Well, Paris Hilton guest-starred...

Die Fast, Die Furious... where Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself and gets himself killed (not really). I didn't like that Danny made such a fool of himself. I did like that he tried to help his old Marine buddy, that was sweet of him. But I also liked that he didn't take any BS from him.

New Orleans... where Ed, Danny and Sam go to New Orleans to find a missing client. AFAIK, this was a planted pilot that didn't take, featuring Dennis Hopper. I liked AJ and the way she completely threw Danny off, kept him unbalanced and always guessing.

Born in Las Vegas... where Danny sleeps with Delinda, Big Ed's daughter, without realizing who she is. Big Ed threatens Danny with a fork. Mayhem ensues. The best part of this episode was the reveal that everybody in-the-know knows Danny and really likes him so that basically everybody is always willing to help him out. Also, loved the bit where Delinda's mother told Big Ed that she knew he wasn't angry because Danny slept with Delinda but because he hoarded Danny for himself, his protege, his surrogate son, and he was afraid that Delinda would take Danny away from him. That was lovely.

What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas... where Danny and Mary's old high school friend is found murdered and Danny goes on a warpath to find his killers, despite Big Ed's attempts to dissuade him from it. Luckily, the local cops like Danny just as much as everybody else and give him a pass, even when they probably shouldn't. Loved that Big Ed actually called Delinda to comfort Danny when he was so distraught over his friend's death.

Donny, We Hardly Knew Ye... where Delinda breaks up with Danny and Danny has to play the bait in a stolen car deal. I loved the scene where Danny admitted to Big Ed that Delinda dumped him. And Big Ed finally revealed to him the reason for why he didn't want Danny dating Delinda: not because he wanted to protect Delinda, but because he was afraid she would hurt Danny - as much as Ed loves his daughter, he's the first to admit that she's a flighty air-head.

Jokers and Fools... where Big Ed asks Nessa to lure out a gambling gang - and he doesn't tell Danny. You could see how hurt Danny was when he realized that Big Ed played him. Danny's whole speech about "If I were less secure in my relationship with you, I would think you didn't trust me" was said as a joke but you could see that he actually meant it.

Yes, Josh Duhamel is pretty as a picture and the reason for why I got this show on DVD. I also really love his character's, Danny's, relationship with Big Ed. It's sweet.