Daredevil: Season 2

Hiya gang. Well I have been back to TV and thought now would be a good time to clue you in some shows that are sweeping the internet and TV. Netflix and Hulu both have been jumping on this bandwagon of the binge watchers that enjoy these series from their Smart TVs, Tablets, Laptops and personal computers. That being said, I covered 4 episodes individually of Season 1 of Daredevil, the story of Matt Murdock, a lawyer by day and a crime-fighter by night. With the intense performances of the cast fleshing out these characters to the like I did not think possible in a TV series and I thinking there is no way they can keep that intensity for the next chapter... or can they? This is Daredevil Season 2.

Shane??!!!

Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin (Vincent D' Onofrio of Full Metal Jacket, JFK, Men in Black, The Thirteenth Floor, The Cell, Law & Order: Criminal Intent,The Narrows and Jurassic World) is in the big house, the hoosegow, the slammer and now there is a huge void in the criminal structure. Nelson & Murdock still enjoying some of the limelight of his capture are not making an exorbitant amount of money amongst their Hell's Kitchen neighbors but they are doing their best to stay afloat when a client comes in with a wild tale. The Irish mob took a huge hit on their organization when a lone gunman the media dub the Punisher (Jon Bernathal of CSI: Miami, The Class, The Air I Breathe, Day Zero, Eastwick, The Walking Dead and Justice League vs. Teen Titans) wasted them with superior firepower and special forces training. Trying their level best to protect their client from the cops and the Punisher, Matt dons his new persona from the Devil of Hell's Kitchen as Daredevil (Charlie Cox of There Be Dragons, Boardwalk Empire, The Ordained, Hello Carter, The Theory of Everything and Daredevil) slugging it out with the scum of New York, trying to make some peace for those that can't always turn to the law. Matt tries to reach the Punisher a.k.a. Lieutenant Frank Castle of USMC Recon begging him to find another way to rid the streets of crime.

OMG...What are you wearing??!!!

John Q. Public is also voicing their opinions of the Punisher. Some are for him, others are against and the biggest issue is how Castle's trial is being handled. The D.A. Seems hell bent to burn him at the stake with no mention of the deaths of his wife and children during a major syndicate drug deal of more than 3 different factions that don't even get along but a new player in town called the Blacksmith. As if Murdock didn't have enough on his plate, an old flame name of Elektra (Elodie Yung of The Great Challenge, Fragile(s), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, G. I. Joe: Retaliation, Still and Gods of Egypt) who informs him of an impending danger of the very sect of warriors and assassins he managed to irk when their representative Nobu (Peter Shinkoda of Paycheck, I, Robot, The Hole, Godzilla and Western Religon) was dispatched last season.

With gang violence out of control, a bloodthirsty vigilante blasting everything in sight and a elite guard of monsters on the rise, you would think Murdock would go take a vacation.  Will Frank live in prison? Can Murdock fight all the evil in front of him? Will the Kingpin rule from big house?

The tension is ratcheted to 11 with the first three episodes alone. More character development with Foggy and Karen. Karen is starting to fall for Matt who cannot give her a normal life because it really isn't fair to the girl you are dating to make mad, passionate love and then an hour later go out and beat up bad guys. Jon Bernathal is the fourth man to play the Punisher but unlike the guys prior who only could invoke sadness in a few flashbacks or pure rage, Jon gets to show a human side to Frank Castle in the likes the films could never have the time or really inclination to do so. The Punisher must always be whacking wiseguys like he has a hunting license, but this was moving.

Give it a view, folks and definitely see the first season prior if you haven't already.

No, I am not Batman.  That's Affleck.

TV Episode: Daredevil- In the Blood

Welcome back readers of this fine, outstanding blog to Day 4 of TV Episode Daredevil. As you can imagine, the Russians are getting a severe ass chewing by Fisk to eliminate the man in the black mask. Scouring the streets to find him, anyone that knows him or have had contact with him, the Ranskahov brothers decide to visit their now broken leg breaker in the hospital, as he was the last man to see the man in black. This is Daredevil: In the Blood.

Judging from the screams, that is a long way down.

After sneaking in the hospital and waken Semyon (Alex Falberg of Katya, The Men Who Built America and Progression), the leg breaker spurts out the details he knows... and then they off him. No loose strings for these guys. Suffice to say, these fellas are as subtle is a grenade in a bowl of oatmeal. Vladimir and Anatoly seek the aid of an interogator Sergei (David Vadim of G.I. Jane, Air Force One, Exit Wounds, Punisher: War Zone, Blue Bloods and Allegiance) who captures Claire and hauls her to a secluded place to "ask" her questions.

Karen surprised Ben Ulrich was not interested in the story behind Union Allied attends a local auction as several of the office equipment is up for grabs and it is her hope she can track down the bigwigs behind the scenes. Ben startles her, tells her to bid on some items or she will look even more nervous than she already does. Fisk returns to the art gallery where he met Vanessa and the two seem to hit it off so well he asks her to dinner, which oddly enough she accepts.

Dude is just getting wounded so Rosario will touch him.

Sergei and the cronies are putting the screws to Claire when all the lights go out... coincidence? Our vigilante makes short work of the Russians and Vladimir and Anatoly are on their collective butts again and Claire is in the wind with Matt. Fisk made a prior arrangement offer to the brothers and Anatoly is willing to accept due to they clearly are not working out well enough.

Enjoying a bottle of wine with dinner, Vanessa is blissfully unaware of how much muscle is watching over Fisk. At least 15 men minimum as Anatoly interrupts dinner, putting Vanessa on edge of Fisk thinking that his motives and intentions are nowhere near as pure as he claimed. Anatoly is treated to a pummeling and a horrific beheading which Fisk has the word passed it was the man in black. Will the Russians come gunning for Matt even more so? Will the other mobs accept this direction to go to war with the Russians? Won't they wonder who may be next?

A few bits of amusement of the episode. Fisk's right hand man comments how the vigilante isn't sporting a powered armor or magic hammer so why are the brothers having such a time with him. The tattoos the brothers are sporting at the beginning of the episode are Vory z Zakone (Russian mafia) via made men. Again the depths these actors bring to keep this series grounded to as much reality as needed is commendable.  It is my hope that all the readers here get to enjoy this series as much as I have.

Yeah these boys look like honest church going lads.

TV Episode: Daredevil- Rabbit in a Snowstorm

Welcome back fans of the Devil to Day 3 of TV Episode Daredevil. A quick mention that Season 2 has been ordered up and I for one cannot wait to see them try to top Season 1. That being said, this time around we find Nelson & Murdock have a difficult case ahead of them as they have been asked to represent a John Healy who on the whole, looks like self defense against a local mob boss and his crew. Is it on the up and up? Will justice prevail? This is Daredevil: Rabbit in a Snowstorm.

A priest and a vigilante go into a bar...

After the severe butt whipping of last episode, Matt meditates, heals up and puts on his suit and tie to face the day as lawyer of Nelson & Murdock. Matt and Foggy are visited by James Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore of The Pacific, Underbelly, Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, John Wick and True Dead), Wilson Fisk's right hand man representing Fisk on the QT, offers them an obscene check to represent John Healy (Alex Morf of The Good Wife, Tin Man, Elementary, and In Dubious Battle) a man charged with premeditated murder of a mob boss. Foggy is a bit concerned about Healy but ultimately Matt wins him over with pointing out their young firm may have to represent some scum now and then. Matt gets the vibe from Healy that he is not on the up and up and in fact a mob enforcer but shows the court room the facts of the case which is pretty apparent he is going to walk.

There's a face you can trust... to do horrible things.

Later meeting back up with Healy in his back garb and throwing cowboy with him, Healy gives up his employer's name, Wilson Fisk. He then tells Matt that he is a dead man for talking and his whole family and friends will be wiped out before they get to him. To prevent that from happening, Healy offs himself. Matt has to deal with the balance of following the law and operating as a vigilante at the same time and it is clearly eating away at him.

With Union Allied safely dispersed and hidden under a new name, the conglomerate representing them contacts Karen, telling her they will not pursue legal charges given she broke her non-disclosure agreement (You know, in spite of the fact of attempts on her life twice) and is offered 6 months salary in the form of a big, stinky check for her... inconvenience.

Taken back by this, Karen seeks out harden and dogged newspaper man Ben Ulrich (Vondie Curtis-Hall of Die Hard 2, Chicago Hope, Romeo + Juliet, Broken Arrow, Life is Hot in Cracktown and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) as she spills that there has to be more going on with the former Union Allied, a paper trail leading to the people responsible for Daniel Fisher's murder and the embezzlement of millions. Sensing the story and how deep the rabbit hole will go, Ben tries to discourage Karen in pursuing this obviously dangerous line of inquiry but not sure if he got through to her.

Fisk making all the moves from the shadows is now finding some artwork for his penthouse tower that captivates and moves him. He finds not only a painting but the lovely gallery director Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer of Munich, Vantage Point, Ingenious, Angels & Demons, Man of Steel and Last Knights) who almost instantly captivates him. We see him exhibit humanity in a otherwise cold exterior. Tensions run high in the underworld. Is Murdock making that many waves? Will Fisk and company come at him hard? What about the growing closeness of Foggy and Karen?

A few facts on the show now. The character Ben Ulrich is a white guy in the original comic and no one should lose their mind over a talented actor handling the role. The model of pistol in the crates is a Heckler & Koch P30 which can be a 9mm Parabellum (German caliber created by Georg Luger) or a 40. caliber S& W. The bowling alley this episode was film at was Whitestone Bowling Lanes in Flushing, NY. I guess due to the lack of harsh lighting in the joint. I mean have you ever seen a bowling alley with that tame of lighting before?

Man that body really sunk deep in the river.

TV Episode: Daredevil: Cut Man

Hey true believers, welcome back to Day 2 of TV Episode Daredevil. A quick recap on Matt Murdock. As a child, Matt was blinded by a vat of volatile chemicals that were on a truck accident he saved an old man from dying. While unable to see in the conventional sense, he has a sort of radar sense and his other senses seem almost heightened. After the previous episode the Russians abducted a boy from his father and left a trail of bread crumbs for him to follow. This is Daredevil: Cut Man.

The lengths guys will go to impress Rosario Dawson.

While a young man Santino (Moises Acevedo of Don't Let Me Drown, Remember Me, Kings of Bushwick, Flat Out Amazing and Three from the Block) takes out the trash he notices a battered masked man in black laying in the dumpster. Running upstairs to fetch Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson of Josie and the Pussycats, Men in Black II, Sin City, This Girl's Life, Clerks II, Death Proof, Wonder Woman, Unstoppable and 10 Years), a nurse on night shift. The two haul the man in black (Matt) to her apartment where she discovers he has busted ribs, several cuts that he is bleeding out from and more than likely a concussion.

Matt wakes up on Claire's couch in absolute pain and is unmasked and tells Claire that the Russians laid a trap for him, hence he looks like the losing end of a soccer riot. Knowing the Russians won't be happy until he is a corpse he tries to deal with them, get the boy back and save the proverbial day. If he could stop passing out. We are treated to a flashback of Matt (Skylar Gaertner of Locke & Key, The Americans, Alex of Venice, Every Secret Thing and I Smile Back) listening to a boxing match with his father Battling Jack Murdock losing the fight. Jack gets back and gets stitched up by Matt as they talk about never staying down in a fight. Murdocks always get back up.

Dad, no more PTA fist fights.

With the Russians combing Hell's Kitchen looking for him, he plans to capture one of them and get him to talk... by typical vigilante terms of a butt whipping.

Meanwhile Karen and Foggy are bar hopping and bonding as Karen unloads on Foggy saying she can't bear to be in her apartment after her former colleague was killed there and she herself was almost killed. Foggy's lighter view starts to show Karen there is good in the Kitchen with the community giving a damn about one another which puts her in a better mood.

Matt/Man in Black awakes to deal with one of the Russians, get intel on the abducted boy and plans his assault in spite of all his injuries. Can he save the boy? Will he survive let alone put up much of a fight against the Russians? What will saving one life accomplish?

A few keynotes of the episode now. With director Phil Abraham (The Playboy Club, Hell on Wheels, The Walking Dead and Mad Men) at the helm, this episode is an excellent follow-up from the pilot, not pulling punches or forgetting to show that our hero is in fact, human and vulnerable. The issues Claire has with Matt's flexible morality on beating down the bad guys leaves her in a tight spot on whether or not he is one of the good guys. The atmosphere, lighting and scope of Hell's Kitchen all encompasses the story giving you tragic stories, areas of triumph and insight to the characters around.

Daredevil always looks hopelessly outnumbered, outmatched and out maneuvered in the comics and this is no exception. With fight choreography via stuntman Philip J Silvera (Never Surrender, Cop Out, Chuck, FlashForward, DC Universe Online, Bad Girls and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City) with ten years of experience helping TV, film and video game fighting design, the realism is there, the punches sound meaty and vicious and Murdock gets tagged. No Spidey sense or bottomless pit of stamina assists him as it is all his will and determination.

She is so out of your league, Foggy.

TV Episode: Daredevil: Into the Ring

Hello all and welcome back to the week. From the ABC Studios production team comes a different kind of hero. Streetwise, book smart and quite the fighter. Today we head to New York or more specifically Hell's Kitchen. Violence in the streets, drugs being pushed and humans trafficked in sex slaving. With the cops being bought off, people terrified to speak up and no Avengers coming to save the day, the folks of Hell's Kitchen pray for an angel... or perhaps a devil they know. This is Daredevil: Into the Ring.

Batman? I could take him.

With the partnership that is Nelson & Murdock, our young lawyers Franklin "Foggy" Nelson (Elden Henson of Cast Away, Manic, Cheats, Under the Tuscan Sun, Lords of Dogtown, Deja Vu and Smith) and his partner blind man Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox of Stardust, Stone of Destiny, Glorious 39, Boardwalk Empire and Hello Carter) have just secured their practice in Hell's Kitchen, hanging their shingle out and ready to defend those in need. No sooner have they set up a few desks, a friend on the police force, Sgt. Mahoney (No, not Steve Guttenberg but Royce Johnson of Life on Mars, Law & Order, Conspiracy X, A Magic Helmet and The Following) calls the fellas explaining a young lady is being held in custody due to being found with a dead man covered in the man's blood, found with the murder weapon and scared out of her mind.

Vampire Jessica! SHAME ON YOU!!!

Matt and Foggy are on the scene and ask the very confused and frightened Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll of Aces 'N' Eights, True Blood, Mother's Day, Seven Days in Utopia, Catch .44 and The Automatic Hate) details to the case. Genuinely scared she starts explaining how she didn't kill the man. Matt believes her and he and Foggy are going to do everything their power to get her out as she hasn't even been charged for what clearly looks like an open and shut case. As she later tells Matt that she is a whistle blower on the odds and ends of Union Allied when she finds discrepancies in the books that screams a pension embezzling.

Nelson & Murdock point out to the detectives in charge there is too many holes in the case, coupled with an attempt on her life while in their care, Karen needs be released ASAP. Karen still terrified to be in her apartment opts to stay with Matt for a few days. Matt drifts off to sleep as Karen leaves to go back to her apartment in search of her copy of the records on Union Allied. An assassin is posted at her apartment to end her, take the records and clean this mess up. Unbeknownst to the assassin, a black garbed man with a mask is there to beat the crap out of him and save the girl. With the files in hand, the information is leaked to the press and whomever was keeping this underwraps has a scandal on their hands. Is Karen safe? Is there more to this that just a money making scheme? Who pulled the strings to frame Karen?

A few points of interest now. We are introduced to a re-occuring character from the comic, such as petty crook Turk Barrett, one of Daredevil's unwilling informant. Michael C. Hall of Six Feet Under and Dexter expressed interest in playing Daredevil. The real estate agent pitching the building to Matt and Foggy points out that they are lucky this spot in Hell's Kitchen is even around after the events that last summer commenting on the Battle of New York in the Avengers. Nice link up there.

You know I can't see you flipping me off, right?

TV Episodes: Daredevil

Hello all and welcome back to the week. Yesterday I was bogged down in chores and alas didn't feel up to getting some writing done. This week we tackle the few first episodes from a budding TV series. With 2015 here new series have been created in almost every genre. I felt this time around we see what Marvel Comics has produced via Netflix.

Ew, what did I step in?

With 13 episodes already in the bag, each an hour long, the story of Matt Murdock, lawyer by day and costumed vigilante by night, you can imagine the levels of fisticuffs he encounters on a nightly basis. Determined to clean up his city, stop crime and in general, improve the lives of others, our young hero fights the good fight on his own with only his training and heightened senses at his disposal. Will anyone else aid him in either of his guises? Will the police try to stop him? Can one man truly make a difference. Find out as we explore the first look since the disaster of a movie into a closer take on this iconic Marvel character, Daredevil.