Top 5 St Patrick's Day Movies

5) Michael Collins (1996)- A young Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman and Julia Roberts go strong in this tale of the IRA battling for independence from Britian. It's Alan F'n Rickman!!!

4) Maniac Cop (1988) - Bruce Campbell, Tom Atkins, Robert Z'Dar and more star in this cult classic slasher-horror movie about a cop back from the dead all around St Patrick's Day!

3) The Secret of Kells (2009) - For a more animated tale look no further than this charming, family flick! Discover this one on your own, it's worth it!

2) - Leprechaun (1993) - Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston star in this quirky horror-comedy movie about a pot of gold and a Leprechaun gone wild! Watch your lucky charms!

1) - The Boondock Saints (1999) - Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus headline this tremendous action packed thriller of a movie. The dialogue is soft at times, but the action is fast and intense. This is an incredible movie from 1999.

Sci-Fi Friday Presents - Space : Above and Beyond ; Choice or Chance

“When the 58th crash land on a moon deep in enemy territory and Shane, Damphousse and Wang are captured by Silicates. West discovers one of the other prisoners is Kylen.”

We come back hot in this second part episode of Choice or Chance. McQueen and Hawkes, escape from the wreck and patrols and provide some great character building between the two of them. I honestly could see a series just centered around them. Hawkes & McQueen has a nice ring to it! Especially with all the great moments between them, my personal favorite is when McQueen talks about his time in the AI war and then rips an arm off a dead Silicate. Hawkes responds simply with, “Cool.” His inflection is that of the audience and totally captures the spirit of them as a duo.

The rest of the 58th are pretty spread out with their own arcs going on and none of them feel thin. West finds Kylen and subsequently gets a jail break from her. However, West showing he's grown as a Marine and a person doesn't take long to start second guessing if this is really Kylen. Early on, he kisses her but then pauses to look at her but carries on. It could have been a bit more overt that he was catching on, but it drove the point home when needed. Vansen and Damphousse carried on like bad asses when needed and I appreciated them working together to subdue and escape from the Silicates. Last and certainly not least was Wang. This is a curious move, because it felt a bit forced for some reason. I don't mean that by way of the actor, but breaking him so quickly and taping the confession. While I see where the plot will eventually turn with this and yes Wang was injured in the crash, I just have a hard time suspending my disbelief with this one.

The episode is well paced and the stories do show growth with the characters and story. At least this episode did not drag out into a third episode, though some subplots could have used it. Ultimately, the Chig's using the prison more as a lab for experiments with the Silicates was a nice touch. It still felt like a prison right up to that point that Vansen and Damphousse figured out the game plan. The Chigs were attempting to see where the real issues were between the humans and how to best exploit them. I really like that the Chigs are not so one dimensional and that they are playing mind games with humanity.

The line of the episode was definitely McQueen. “Then once, they were doing stuff to me. I hard screaming. Sounded far off, down the hall. I remember thinkin', 'That poor bastard. What must he be goin' through?' Then, when I came to. I realized the screams had come from me.” This is the moment of the episode that felt the most real and humanizing.

Overall, I liked Choice or Chance but I don't feel it really put an exclamation point on a two part story. I contribute this to the forced subplot with Wang. Outside of that, the episode is good and enjoyable. Choice or Chance did follow through for the most part and did flow with Hostile Visit nicely. You won't feel like your time was wasted and great moments are to be had. Choice or Chance gets a solid 7.5 / 10 Hammerheads. I do see the writing improving and I think the weird influx of forced aspects will settle down.

Sci-Fi Friday Presents - Space : Above and Beyond ; Hostile Visit

“After the 58th capture an alien bomber, McQueen suggests that it would help raise troop moral if they use the vessel to attach the alien's home planet – a plan that goes horribly wrong.”

I have to say, this is one of the more interesting of episodes that contained a pretty basic plot but wrapped with a lot of development character and plot wise and mostly hits all the marks. Hostile Visit can be a give or take on name value alone, as it doesn't seem much went their way as planned. It's a Trojan horse story and once they got to Cerus, the alien home planet they took out a sentry satellite base but completely missed the target of the base or city in an interesting curve ball. However, it wasn't for whatever the target was. It seemed all by itself, in the middle of no where with a lack of surrounding cities. I mean this could have been a limitation on the CGI, but it's nothing a matte painting couldn't have fixed to a point. However, the fact is this basic plot drove the point home that not everything goes as planned and train the audience to expect the unexpected. I, honestly, forgot this was a two part episode and had lost track of time up to the end.

What really helped this episode was the key character and story developments. I loved seeing Wang get an opportunity to really grow in his role within the 58th and the overall story. He is quite the Joker, especially with his spot on impersonation of McQueen. It made me wonder if the actors had been goofing off in between takes and someone said, “Let's use that in an episode!” It was downright hilarious and of course covering his butt with McQueen was perfect as well. Wang was able to further his love of Chicago and also develop a love interest. This was an interesting step to take since romance went off the table with West in the first handful of episode with Kylen. McQueen and Ross continue to develop their on screen acting chops giving both much needed exposition for their individual characters and between each other. Honestly, what's not to like about the 58th ? They are a well oiled unit evidenced by the shenanigans they put the tech's through to assist McQueen with his plans. Hawkes and Wang were the duo to watch in that scene.

The overall plot was nicely furthered with the Aero-Tech shady business and with the Chigs in the war effort. I mean with this character Sewell and Aero-Tech, we have a reminder that corporate interests are very much at play here. Even though Sewell swiped the data, the 58th and other Saratoga officers were able to make up for it. It's appropriate that the 58th are very much aware of his duplicitous nature and question his integrity. I look forward to seeing karma get him. However at the end of the episode, he's the one who advises Ross to go after the 58th. He clearly knows something and has plans; Ross is keenly aware of the questionable nature but proceeds anyways. We are still in the dark about the Chigs but the small hints keep on coming. This comes mostly from observations the 58th make while studying the bomber. The ship designs, exterior and interior are fascinating and detailed but the CGI doesn't do it justice.

Overall, Hostile Visit is a very solid episode. It was an interesting choice to play a two-parter, so full judgment will wait until Choice or Chance plays out. In the future, two-parters will be reviewed together and we may bump to reviewing two episodes at a crack. The premise was basic, but the characters and sprinkle of plot development made this a promising start to a bigger story. I'm going to give this 8 / 10 Hammerheads.

Sci-Fi Friday Presents - Space : Above and Beyond ; The Enemy

“The members of the 58th turn on each other after they land on the planet Tartarus and encounter a Chig mind-altering weapon that wreaks havoc on the area of the brain that controls fear.”

In this next episode, titled “The Enemy” the 58th faces off against the greatest enemy to date. The enemy within themselves. I found one quote in particular in this episode very succinct in how it covered the premise. “Here the light is an enemy, an ally with the darkness. There's no place to run. There's no escape.” A bit on the dark side, but also served to convey the greatest enemy is the one within. This was a heavy episode.

The nicest part about the narrative structure of this episode is how to told different stories from the 58th, without contradicting itself. Despite getting a bit goofy at times, this episode does go a bit sideways at times, we do get different perspectives played in one singular story. This was good, but also contributed to some pacing issues. The metaphors were strong and well executed, the reference to the planet being called Tartarus, the electronic nerve gas and all the subtlety within each characters fears. None of the fears themselves over powered one persons in particular, giving weight to each character and a pivot point for development. This also showed a reliance on the cast to carry the episode with minimum guest appearances. We've blown past the introduction phase of this season and we're rolling right along. I didn't hate the writing of this episode, but it felt off at times.

The stand out character of this episode, at least to me was Lt. Wang. He's been steadily becoming more and more a unique and fun character in the group. He's story in particular about the roaches and why he hates them really brought a quality to his character that's been missing. Wang was the glue of this episode, while Damphousse played the opposite of being the agitator. The rest of the 58th each had their moments but were quickly followed by the paranoia and fear running through them. The cast really hit a home run playing off of each other with their intensity and emotion. It was almost enough to make McQueen and Ross, feel like the background characters to the story. My one complaint is that Damphousse's fear about blood wasn't addressed at all and was glossed over. Now, everyone in some way had a chance to explain their fear except for her.

Conspicuous bu their absence the Chigs ultimately did not appear but their presence was certainly felt. It was a great touch to see that the 58th is picking up another detail in the Chigs. As that the Chigs have to understand the concept of fear and understand human physiology to construct a weapon like this. The mystery grows deeper from their interaction with the enemy. As I watched this episode, I must confess I felt like this was more like what Starship Troopers should have been like. Granted I like that movie, but this has the right tone and chemistry going for it. I don't think it was a jab, but the bug hating was pretty funny!

Overall, The Enemy is an interesting episode. Aside from pacing issue, getting goofy at times and glaring over subplots this is a solid episode. Now despite feeling like this episode took a step back, it did give great play to the group dynamic. It feels like a calm moment before the storm. I'm going to give this 7 / 10 Hammerheads.

Sci-Fi Friday Presents : Space : Above and Beyond ; Eyes

“In an effort to get West to help with an assassination plot, the young marine is told that high-ranking Earth officials knew about the aliens before the colonists were sent to Vesta Colony.”

Welcome back to Sci-Fi Fridays here at Suns and Shadows. We hope you are enjoying the weekly re-watch and review of the cult classic Space : Above and Beyond. Man alive, who ever wrote these official synopsis clearly were not fans of the series because it spoils plot points for those who have not seen the episode. These are served to offer a taste of the episode, not show off the big plot point. Anywho, this weeks episode brought a different flavor to the series with various Earth centered subplots.

The plot of this episode of an assassination attempt and the fallout of the election of a new official. We've seen this in many forms through the years but Space : Above and Beyond I think pulled this off a bit better. The world building and character development thus far allowed for some interesting diversions while keeping it fresh. It was great to see a plot like this actually have real depth and serve the larger narrative of the series. The episode touched on some sensitive topics especially in politics. I do like how it was handled and written. Now, there's almost too much to go over for this plot without getting incredibly long winded, let alone spoiler-ific. However, I liked how it all played out and who was behind everything. It was calculated, methodical and ultimately failed... yet somehow, ultimately succeeded. The loyalty tests for In Vitro's and subjecting Hawkes and McQueen to them reminded the audience of the divisions of the classes and ongoing discrimination.

I'm saying it again, Tyrus Cassius McQueen is a great character and really excelled in this episode with his honor and character work. James Morrison continues to impress, but he didn't quite steal the show in this one. I'm giving that to Commodore Ross, who is taking a larger role steadily as we progress. Tucker Smallwood showed such authority and presence in his character work that he nearly stole the episode on his few scenes. West and Hawkes most definitely get special props for how their stories tied into the overall narrative. I liked how the episode ended when he said he'd rather have the truth or the medal and the new Secretary General kept the medal, said nothing and walked away. This is very telling and well directed, leading much to be speculated about with what's really going on in this war.

The remaining cast all played well, with some times they were obvious with their intentions and some were not. In general, the character work is really coming together on this series. Ambassador Heydon is the most complicated and interesting of the bunch to the say the least. The main cast play effectively and the stories can float freely now, without being hampered by unnecessary plot points. At first, it was not clear who would take center of this episode and it basically grew from the events organically. I'm looking forward to seeing the Wild Cards continue to grow and go from here!

Overall, Eyes is a very effective yet sensitive episode. One that plays with multiple subplots while tying into our squadron. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The episode did not treat the audience like a bunch of idiots and the red herrings served well to keep it exciting through out. What I felt was missing was the Silicate subplot that basically went nowhere. I was very happy with this episode and as Rowdy Roddy Piper once said, “Just when you think you have all the answers, I change the questions!” That's how this episode played out; things are getting very interesting. I give this episode 9 / 10 Hammerheards.

Sci-Fi Friday Presents Space : Above and Beyond ; Ray Butts

“The members of the 58th are suspicious after a tough war veteran, who arrived on the Saratoga with orders to take them on a classified mission, changes the mission's objective once they're behind enemy lines.”

I bid you all welcome, to the first uniquely named but excellent episode of Space : Above and Beyond. Ray Butts! What else can you say? Any fan of this series knows this episode and the stamp it put on the series. That kind of stamp that says, buckle up and enjoy the ride cause we're driving this show forward!

Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Thomas Butts, played by Steve Rankin, kicks off the episode in style. A lonely Hammerhead docks on the Saratoga after overriding security and safety protocols. When the security team open the cockpit they find an unknown pilot knocked out. What's funny is that someone mistakenly thinks he's dead and ultimately a huge brawl spills out. One of the lines of this episode, and mind you this is a highly quotable episode, is from McQueen. “Kind of a bummer, getting your butt kicked by a dead guy!” All while making facials bemused of the situation. Butts comes across harsh and rough early on, but as the episode develops his character gets fleshed out in regards to motivation, story and ultimately who Lt. Colonel Ray Butts really is. Butts has a profound effect on the team in just about every way. Steve Rankin played this role just perfectly. This character never set out to be a hero of the episode or even a “good” guy. His character exemplified a man who has been through so much in his entire career and life. Yet, somewhere in there is a man of honor and respect who sees what he became and to make peace with that.

The 58th stand tall as the secondary cast to Ray Butts. This is perfectly fine as we don't need one individual to stand out in this episode. The group has finally connected and it was Butts who cemented that. When Butts initiated a brawl with Wang and the 58th it stood to became a definite highlight of the episode. It's especially notable in regards to Wang who showed a set of balls after being dressed down by Butts. In one of the more unintentional, largest laughs of this episode is when West accidentally punches Hawkes in the middle of the brawl. The cast played off Steve Rankin exceedingly well, he brought a dose of reality and harshness. At the same time it also brought awareness and unity to the team. My favorite scenes are actually with McQueen and Butts as being two sides of the same coin. The two of them have exemplary records and history with the Marines, each have grown into similar but very different characters. James Morrison and Steve Rankin could have done so much more. At the same time, they did just enough to allow each and every scene to breathe between them. It's pitch perfect! This, to me is Space : Above and Beyond at it's finest.

The acting is settled, the writing is tight and the group dynamic is stellar. The character aspect of Space : Above and Beyond is truly a sight to see. It is the bread and butter of this show. It's no wonder how series, years later, took that concept further. The score and music selection are somber and epic. Johnny Cash brought a nice brevity of emotion to round out the episode.

Other fun notes for this episode come in the form of the Wild Cards helmets. These look so cool, the detail work on full display and then seeing the nicknames the characters have. King West, Joker Wang, etc... The battle towards the end and the black hole effects, while dated, are interesting, fun and a damn to cool to watch! If only they had the graphics of today! It was fitting that the Chig's played a role in this episode. This is especially useful as they keep moving through the background of the last few episodes. It's not like we need a reminder, but it shows the focus and determination to make every episode important. We are definitely building to something big coming up. I, for one, cannot wait to see how this develops on my re-watch.

Overall, Ray Butts is the first episode where everything feels like it's hitting on all cylinders and delivers in spades. The character arc of Lt. Col. Ray Butts is nothing short of outstanding for that exclamation point on the Wild Cards. Ray Butts is an utterly fantastic episode, even the rough CGI couldn't take points off for this one! My one complaint would be this would have served well as a two part episode. I'm sending 10/10 pancakes into space! “Easy as eating pancakes!”