PRETTY LITTLE LIARS - 3x13 "THIS IS A DARK RIDE"

Episode Rating: ***.5/5

Words of caution before viewing this episode of Pretty Little Liars: it is not for the faint hearted. It will manage to creep you out so much with it's twisted twists and turns, make you scream out in horror and will barely give you anytime to digest what happened before they move on to the next scary incident. Fasten your seatbelts and stay alert, because trust me, it is A dArk ride.

Unlike the previous Halloween special in Pretty Little Liars, "this is A dArk ride" deals with a a Halloween party in the present time. All the girls are dressed up as characters from movies or books and boy, do they look smoking hot or what? In the beginning we see Mona being her usual creepy self and painting a paper mache head while she talks about Halloween being better than Christmas to a hooded figure. I personally don't believe this is Toby, because if it were truly him then there would be no reason for them not revealing his face.

Mona Mania.

The girls board the Ghost Train with their respective others...well except for Hanna and Aria whose boyfriends couldn't make it. Each of them truly make a fancy appearence. All of them look totally beautiful and fabulous. Spencer is dressed up as Lauren Bacall (and Toby as Humphrey Bogart), Aria as Daisy from The Great Gatsby, Hanna as Marlyn Monroe, and Emily as Barbarella. What they think is going to be a fun evening with great music by Adam Lambert turns out to be a gory and deadly one with a lot of near death experiences, and well, death itself. I don't understand why these girls even go out to such places anymore, knowing the kind of danger that follows them around like a powerful magnet!

While a lot of drama was going down in the train, Hanna's mother Ashley Marin was celebrating Halloween in her house with her boyfriend Pastor Ted when she saw a creepy little girl whom she later believed to be a  ghost. The girl had a dead voice and talked about constant fights with her sister. Her skin was unbelievably and cold and when Ashley went to call Ted, the girl just disappeared like that, out of the blue. It is to be noted that this was the same girl that appeared in the tale narrated by Alison in the previous Halloween episode. Are they playing around with the twin theory here?

This was one of those episodes that manages to keep the viewer glued to her seat until the very last scene and also manages to scare the life out of her every other second.

Some of the highlights of the episode were:

1. Garrett's Story: The entire flashback story narrated by Garrett Reynolds was an extremely interesting and twisted one. The mystery of the night that Alison DiLaurentis died never gets over. When I learnt of the person she had interacted with that night, I had to pause my laptop screen and scream 'HOLY SHIT'. It was one of the most unexpected plots ever, and in so many ways it's so disgusting and twisted. Also, it was interesting to note that Garrett said that he has liked Spencer all along and was supposed to keep her safe. I hope they actually dwell deeper into that.

Garret talking to Spencer.

2. Aria's kidnapping: Hats off to Lucy Hale for her acting in this scene! It was beyond brilliant. She brought out the claustrophobic and traumatizing expressions so well and made the viewer feel what Aria was feeling. The part where she saw the dead body next to her was out of the world creepy and I totally screamed out loud at that part.

Aria trying to set herself free.

3. The girls and their grand entrance: Ooh, this is definitely one of my favourite bits. All of the girls made a never to forget appearence. Hanna was dressed up in a typical Marilyn Monroe  dress and she got a flashy entrance (pun intended), as Lucas took a picture of her just as she entered. Aria, dressed up as Daisy from the Great Gatsby book was shown looking at her reflection in a pocket mirror. Spencer and Toby dressed up as Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Boggart made an unforgettable entrance, as they slowly appeared out of the smoke, looking like THE couple of the night. Last, but not the least, Emily, dressed up as Barbarella entered hand in hand with her girlfriend Paige, and in Hanna's words they did look like "a wedding cake from outerspace." All the girls got wonderful costumes and they looked really rad.

Hanna (Ashley Benson) as Marilyn Monroe.

Aria (Lucy Hale) as Daisy from The Great Gatsby.

                                 

Toby (Keegan Allen) as Humphrey Boggart and Spencer (Troian Bellisario) as Lauren  Bacall.

Emily (Shay Mitchell) as Barbarella and Paige (Lindsay Shaw).

                      

4. Toby making fun of Jenna: When Jenna asked Toby how her pirate costume was, he replied that it was very nice, cockily adding "I liked you better like this", while covering her other eye as well. All one could say was 'OH BURN.' That was, perhaps the only funny moment in an episode filled with a lot of twisted incidents.

Toby telling Jenna that he liked her a lot better when she was blind.

As far as acting goes, all four of the lead cast did a great job. Troian Bellisario was as usual outstanding and perfect in each and every scene. Lucy Hale totally aced the scene in which Aria was held captive in a wooden box. Shay Mitchell was her usual subtle herself. Ashley Benson also made a mark. The supporting cast were really good as well, especially Sasha Pieterse and Yani Gellman. 

"This is A dArk ride" was an episode that opened up the forum for many more questions. The mystery of Alison DiLaurentis' murder has just gotten deeper and more complex, with one more suspect being added to it. There is no end to the twisted limits of the show, and sometimes, I believe it is necessary to untangle ourselves from the show, lest we go mad. Who am I kidding? It's kind of impossible to do that, especially since I cried for six hours everyday for a whole week after Toby was revealed to be A!

The promo for the next week's episode shows Toby in his "A" avatar, working for the A-team. It also has some steamy "Spoby" scenes. For the link, click HERE.

That's all for now folks. Keep checking in for more reviews and such.

Until then,

Nidheya Suresh

ONCE UPON A TIME - 2x04 "THE CROCODILE" (REVIEW)

Episode Rating: ****/5

ABC's Once Upon a Time never fails to surprise it's audience with all it's twists and turns. It also never ceases to amaze you how easily it weaves different stories and plots together and comes up with a bigger master plot! Twenty six episodes in, and still doing it perfectly!

Welcome aboard the fourth episode of OUAT which tells us the story of Peter Pan's archnemesis, Captain Hook and his history with our very own Rumplestiltskin. The Crocodile also deals with Rumple and his lady love Belle in Storybrooke. So much happens in the short span of forty minutes, so gear up for it, because it's going to be a bumpy ride!

The episode shifts between the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke, both places telling the story of Rumplestiltskin. On one hand we have his extremely dark history with Captain Hook alias Killian Jones (played by Irish actor Colin O'Donoghue) and his wife Milah, and on the other hand we have Belle leaving him because he isn't honest enough with her. How the story unfolds is for you to see, but let me warn you that it's a stormy ride!

Some of the highlights of the episode were: 

Captain Hook: Oh this guy is sure to become a fan favourite in no time. With his smouldering looks and bad boy attitude, he's going to have the girls swooning for him by the end of the episode. Even though he was described to be a malicious pirate, a villain worse than Rumplestiltskin, you get to see that he is in fact a noble man and not a petty thief, and that he has reasons for his intentions. The key fact that has been reinforced in OUAT over and over again was brought out again, and that is 'Evil isn't born, it is made.'

Colin O'Donoghue as the smouldering Captain Hook.

Rumplestiltskin and Belle: This episode is a must watch for all 'Rumbelle' fans, as it has some really great moments of the couple. Belle was once again upset because Rumple was practising magic and also because he wasn't being honest enough with her. We see real couple problems for these two and it was really nice to see how they work it all out. One thing is for sure, Belle is definitely part of his salvation and redemption, and it's going to be interesting where the writers go with their story line.

Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) and Belle (Emilie de Ravin).

Belle's Independence: Even in Skin Deep Belle had mentioned how she wanted to be independent and brave, and while in the Enchanted Forest she might have not gotten enough scope for that, she is definitely getting it in Storybrooke. In the episode we see how she wants to be an independent working lady and it is such good sight. By the end of the episode she was completely independent and was living on her own, whilst managing the Storybrooke Library.

Belle looks at the books in the library.

The Ruby and Belle Friendship: Yay to this! Ruby is definitely the friendliest people in Storybrooke and she wastes no time in making Belle completely at home. She helps her out in adjusting to the new world, giving her place to stay in, and telling her how to eat pancakes with maple syrup. I hope to see this friendship blossoming with them getting closer in the upcoming episodes.

Ruby (Meghan Ory) and Belle bonding at Granny's Diner.

The Peter Pan References: Aaah, this definitely has to be one of the cleverest episodes of OUAT. There are SO many Peter Pan references, starting with Captain Hook to Neverland, William Smee and also the crocodile. It is wonderful how Rumple is not just himself, but also the beast in 'Beauty and the Beast' and the crocodile that takes off with Hook's hand. In the end we see the Captain take his crew to Neverland to plot a revenge on Rumple, and I'm not joking when I say that this part had me positively squealing with excitement.

Captain Killian Jones becoming Captain 'Hook'.

Robert Carlyle has once again done an excellent job in portraying Rumplestiltskin, and he manages to bring out all his emotions and feelings to life in an excellent way. Emilie de Ravin is brilliant as Belle, and she has done a great job in portraying the role of a strong-willed independent woman. Colin O'Donoghue makes a fantastic and mind-blowing debut as Captain Killian Jones alias Hook and I'm excited to see where his character will go.

The Crocodile is hands down, the best episode of OUAT's 2nd season and there is no way I'll be able to wait for the next one. It was such an exciting episode, full of interesting twists and turns. It's going to fun to see where they head with the story. I definitely missed Emma and Snow, and August needs to come back, as I need to see his pretty face on my screen asap!

The promo for the next episode reveals Dr. Whale's (David Anderson) fairytale counterpart. If you are curious for more, click HERE.

Come back soon for more reviews on tv shows, movies, books and other such stuff!

Until then,

Nidheya Suresh

MOVIE REVIEW: STUDENT OF THE YEAR

Director: Karan Johar

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Rishi Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Sana Saeed

Almost every youngster has a display picture containing Varun, Sidharth and Alia and it is no surprise, because Karan Johar's Student of the Year is definitely THE movie of 2012. It is the ultimate movie for youngsters with all the necessary cliches and a fresh storyline. Also needless to say, the cast is extremely good looking AND fresh, sure to pull in a crowd.

Set in the sprawling grounds of St. Theresa's School, Delhi, SOTY is the story of Rohan Nanda (Dhawan) and Abhimanyu Singh (Malhotra), two very different boys coming from contrasting backgrounds. Rohan is the typical brat with a stylish red car and a beautiful girlfriend Shanaya Singhania (Bhatt), whom he takes for granted. He rules the school and even has his own chamcha in Jeet (Sanyam). Every girl wants him and every guys wants to be him. Well they did, until Abhimanyu enters. He is the guy who lives a modest life, but wins everybody over with his talent, style and attitude.

This tale is narrated to the audience by four other members of the gang while they were at the hospital because their school Dean Yoginder Vashisht (Rishi Kapoor) was in the hospital in a very critical condition, and their coach (Roy) had asked them all to come and see him.

Varun Dhawan (left) and Sidharth Malhotra (right) as Rohan Nanda and Abhimanyu Singh, respectively.

Despite their initial rivalry, Abhimanyu and Rohan become good friends, and over the period of time, best friends. On seeing that Rohan is always flirting with different girls, especially Tanya Asrani (Saeed), Abhimanyu and Shanaya hatch up a plan to flirt with each other and make him jealous. This works to an extent, but only causes for Abhi to fall in love with her as well.

Varun Dhawan (left), Alia Bhatt (centre) and Sidharth Malhotra (right).

All this is the natural cliched stuff. This is the point where the twist enters. The dean announces that a competition is going to take place known as 'Student of the Year' based on which one student from the school gets to fulfill all their dreams. This is being funded by Ashok Nanda, Rohan's father, with whom he shares a very complex and negative relationship. All the students gear up for the competition, not bothering about anyone else.

What follows is how the competition causes a lot of problems and ruins personal relationships by forcing everyone apart. Lies, deciets and other such stuff take place. Amidst all this, Abhimanyu begins to develop deeper feelings for Shanaya, while Rohan continues to take her for granted.

Shanaya and Abhimanyu caught in a moment.

The story is a classic example of old wine in a new bottle. It's a refreshing story with all the cliched elements, but it works, it really does work. The story is fraught with emotions and that definitely helps it to connect with the audience. All the girls will have a good time, as there is plenty of shirtless scenes of the boys to ogle at. It also has quite a few heart wrenching moments that will make one shed a tear or two. 

Disco Deewane.

St. Theresa seems to be the perfect school to study in. The campus is beyond beautiful and so is the environment there. The dialogues are realistic. The soundtrack is refreshing. Disco Deewane is a personal favourite, while almost every single person has Ishq Wala Love as their Facebook/Whatsapp/Twitter statuses. 

Ishq Wala Love.

Sidharth Malhotra has given a really good performance and he's done justice to the role of Abhimanyu. Alia Bhatt was good as well, but she has the scope to improve. The show stopper was definitely Varun Dhawan, as he brings Rohan Nanda to life in such a realistic and beautiful manner. Rohan was not someone you might like at first, but by the end of the story he is mostly going to end up as your favourite character. Rishi Kapoor didn't disappoint as the lovable dean harbouring feelings for the coach, and as for his part, Ronit Roy was excellent as well. The supporting cast did a marvelous job.

The show is packed with amazing dialogues, especially the one about friendship right at the very end. If you are looking for a feel good movie that you can see with your friends, then this the one for you. 

PS: The very reason I didn't discuss Alia Bhatt's Shanaya is because there's very little patience I have for such people before I hit them on the head with a brick over and over again.

RATING: ***.5/5

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES - 4x02 "THE MEMORIAL" (REVIEW)

Episode Rating: ****/5.

One warning to all TVD fans before you watch this episode: be prepared. If you aren't, go grab a bucket, some tissues and all the comfort food that you need. Then, remove all the kohl and mascara from your face. Also, if you have an issue with crying in front of people, make sure you are in a dark room with no one around you, because you are going to cry, and cry real bad.

Even though the season premiere "Growing Pains" surpassed expectations, "The Memorial" will go down in the history of The Vampire Diaries with the honour of being one of it's BEST episodes ever. It was an episode that stirred everybody's emotions, an absolute tearjerker, and a real sexy ride!

The episode started off with Damon and Stefan having an argument over Elena's feeding techniques. While Damon was sure that a 'bunny diet' would push her off the rail for longer than usual, Stefan was and still is in denial and believes that Elena can actually master her urges without going through the bloodlust phase that every vampire needs to go through in order to be in control of it. One of the best moments of that scene was when Damon tells Elena (as she and Stefan were off to their bunny picnic in the woods) 'You're a vampire Elena. Be a vampire.' This is a key moment, because it once again tells the viewer that the older Salvatore believes in embracing his true nature.

Damon and Stefan

After feeding on a deer Elena and Stefan proceed to have a full on vampire make-out session in the woods, only to be interrupted by her puking out all of the Bambi blood. She then decided to go to Damon, Damon mind you, not her epic love Stefan, for help. When she told him that she didn't want to drink human blood, he asked her to drink his blood, warning her that blood sharing was personal thing.

What follows was one hell of a sexy scene. It was far more intimate than any other scene in the show. Elena took Damon's hand and drank from him, pushing him against the wall and leaning in against him. Damon was clearly aroused, but he just patted her, supporting her.

While people accused Damon of blowing up the whole council, he sarcastically retorted to both Liz Forbes and Elena, with witty lines such as 'If I were to kill twelve people I wouldn't blow 'em up, I would have a dinner party' and 'Am I wearing my I blew up the council t-shirt?' Though the scenes were filled with typical Damonesque snarky comments, they were also mingled with some really touching moments, for he doesn't let anyone sit next to him saying 'that seat is already taken' in reference to his late best friend, Alaric Saltzman. 

Two new characters enter the show in the episode. The new baddie vampire hunter Connor, and the daughter one of the dead council members, April Young. While the former is ruthless and heartless, the latter is a confused young girl (pun very much intended) who is caught in the middle of a very dangerous game.

Grace Phipps as April Young

Todd Williams as Connor Jordan

Some of the highlights of the episode were:

Damon and Elena's blood sharing: This has got to be one of the steamiest scenes in the show. Yet, as the writers always make sure is the case with with Delena scenes, it was also one of the most emotional ones. The sharing of blood meant more to Damon than to Elena and he was putting himself in a very vunlerable position by letting her drink from him. Yet, he didn't care because he's easily one of the most selfless characters on the show...actually the most selfless character.

Elena feeding off Damon

The memorial scene and Tyler's sacrifice: It's a delight to watch how the entire group communicates secretly, yet wide out in the open. The way all of them reacted to April's blood dripping was really cool and showed howw truly united they were.

Stefan, Elena, Matt and Jeremy at the memorial

Tyler Lockwood's sacrifice is also worth mentioning. He has never been shown as an official part of the group, as his scenes never entwined with their emotional ones. But today, he stepped up to help Elena and his friends, despite knowing that he was the only vampire Connor actually knows. It was such a touching scene and shows the level to which his character has developed over the seasons. This is also reflected in the touching speech he gives about Pastor Young. This sacrifice gives Damon and Stefan the lead to run after Connor.

Tyler giving a speech, which in turn is a sacrifice for his friends.

Elena's first compulsion: When Elena sees a bleeding April she's unable to stop herself from rushing forward to attack her, so thank heavens Caroline was there to stop her. It is also important to mention how much their friendship has grown from the first episode of the show, because the minute Elena left the Lockwoods and Caroline, the later knew where she would be and rushed to her.

So, when Elena told Caroline to let go of her, the latter reminded her that April was her friend, a young confused orphan who needed their help. She then asked the new vampire to compel their greiving friend, wisely telling her 'the only way you can learn is if you do it yourself.' Shaking, Elena proceeded to the bleeding girl and told her that she's going to be okay and she'll be there for her. At the end of it, she happily looked up at Caroline, who was wearing a very proud smile.

Elena making her first compulsion.

Caroline proudly looking at Elena after the latter completed her first compulsion.

Japanese paper lanterns: This scene also was very touching and Stefan made a good point about how all of them were hiding their sorrow and pain, numbing it down or making jokes out of it. They finally paid a tribute to the ones that they lost, by lighting up lovely Japanese paper lanterns and releasing them into the air. It was such a beautiful sight to see the entire gang (minus Tyler who was at the hospital) come together and take part in their own funeral. It was also really, really sad, as you realize that they have lost so so much in such a short period of time. On hearing Alaric's name Damon just walked off, still very much in denial of his best friend's death.

The gang releasing Japanese paper lanterns in the memory of their loved ones.

The eternal 'Bromance': The last scene in which Damon poured his heart out to Alaric's tombstone has got to be one of the most heartwrenching scenes on the show. It tears you apart and the minute you learn that he was talking to Alaric you burst into years. This scene also proves how much Damon has grown and who he actually is. It shows the depth of their friendship and also how much he is grieving for him. 

We get to see yet another layer of Damon that not only cares for Elena and Stefan, but also for the rest of the gang as well. He didn't just stay back for Elena, he stayed back for Alaric as well. He stated a brutally honest fact: when we lose someone, no amount of memorials actually make it better. The pain is always there, reminding us of the beloved person we lost. It's always there, always. It was so bittersweet to learn that Alaric is still there, listenining to Damon when no one else did. He was so lonely and alone and Alaric's death has made it a hundered times worse.

And Alaric's 'I miss you too, buddy' truly ripped all our hearts open.

Damon talking to Alaric's tombstone with him listening.

The new big baddie: Finally the show has a villain that is actually scary! I didn't find Klaus to be much of a bad boy in season 2 and 3 and am super glad we finally have a villain that is not funny and just wants to harm all the good guys. Unlike Klaus, Connor was ruthless and can stoop to horrible levels to get what he wants, and this was visible when he stabbed the innocent April just to bait Mystic Falls' vampire coven. It was good to see that we have new big baddie, and I truly hope to see Connor causing for the Originals to join with the other Mystic Falls residents. AT LEAST ELIJAH!

Mystic Falls has a new bad boy- Connor Jordan!

Damon's witty one-liners: This episode was filled with them and boy, were they funny or what?

Just one of Damon's many one-liners of this episode.

Overall it was an excellent episode, a tearjerker, really. Every actor gave their best, especially Somerhalder, Dobrev and Davis. Accola excelled in her scene with Dobrev, while Wesley and Graham were really good in their scene at the beginning. Newbies Grace Phipps (April Young) and Todd Williams (Connor Jordon) have made a mark in their first episode on the show and have made a very promising start.

Season 4 of the show seems to be taking a different route all together. This one is more of teamwork, friendship and it's really lovely to see that. I love the bond the gang share and I cannot not mention the part in the paper lanterns scene when Jeremy heads to Damon with a candle. I see hope for a brand new bromance there!

And Jeremy is finally getting an independant and interesting storyline of his own. As scary as it is, that he might be seen fulfilling his legacy of being a vampire hunter, it's something that is very much needed for the character and the brilliant actor playing him, Steven McQueen.

Check back soon for more reviews on movies, tv shows, books and other such stuff!

Until then,

Nidheya Suresh