movie time

 One of my favorite pasttimes is watching movies. Be it regular movies, documentaries, TV shows, you name it, i watch it.

Recently I discovered an amazing TV show - it is not brand new, but for me it is, i'm slow on the uptake. The show in question is Criminal Minds. The title pretty much gives away the plot - it's about criminals, but the focus is on the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) of the FBI, or to the general public - they are the profilers. Based on the criminals' MO, signature and victimology, these guys are able to pinpoint several characteristics of the unsub (unknown subject = killer), and more often than not are able to catch him/her.

The show is succesfull due to the variety of characters : 

*Aaron Hotchner, is the head of the BAU. He almost never smiles (maybe his face will crack) and tries to be perfect in everything he does - being a boss, a friend, husband and father. However he is stretched too thin and something gives - namely, his family life. His wife eventually files for divorce, not being able to cope with the situation. He is extremely good at what he does, and goes to extreme lengths to protect his team, however he has no problem putting them into place when the situation calls for that.

*Agent Jason Gideon - although present for 2 seasons gives a certain flair to the show. He is known as one of the best profilers out there, but even the best can have problems at some point. After a case involving a serial killer, Jason breaks down and resigns. He is gentle, quiet and his interrogation methods are always unique.Sorry to see him go!

*Agent Elle Greenaway - is the first character to leave the show. She is strong willed, very capable, but snaps after a personal tragedy - I mean who wouldn't after being shot by someone in their own home and having a message written on their wall in their blood by the killer, eeeek! She leaves the bureau after killing an unsub, though she claims it was self-defense(It wasn't).

*Agent Emily Prentiss - a later addition to the team, she is the daughter of a diplomat, and struggles in a few episodes to prove the team her worth. She succeeds and becomes a valuable asset. She is usually the one to talk to female victims, showing empathy. She also played a role in Hotchner's demise, but prefers to quit the bureau rather than destroying someone, claiming "i hate politics" (she's got my vote of confidence).

*Agent Spencer Reid (one of my favorites) - is the boy genius - not in a Dexter's lab kind of genius, but a genius nonetheless. He has eidetic memory - he reads super fast, about 10,000 words/minute and can reproduce accurately what he read. He's not involved in field work much, but is precious member. A traumatic experience for him (and me) was his capture by a psycho, experience which leads him to use medicines as drugs (he kicked the habit - yey).

*Agent Derek Morgan - the eternal big brother to Reid and kids. He is the definition of what a cop should be like (he even was one in Chicago). He is skilled with bombs (recognizing them, not using them), but has trouble trusting his team members, although he is a good listener. He constantly flirts with Garcia and has faith related issues (trusting others and believing in the Divine).

*Agent Jennifer Jareau - JJ for family, friends and fans. She is the link between the FBI and the media. She is like the triage nurse of the FBI, selecting the cases that the BAU should work upon. Being the hottie that she is (don't deny it, she is beautiful and smart to boot), is the one to get engaged to a cop and have a baby ( a cute one at that, but with parents like that...). She grew up in a small town, went to college and joined the academy after attending one of Rossi's book readings (at least he was good at something).

*Agent Penelope Garcia (my other favorite) - she is the fast talking, colourful character of the show. She is also the team's computer wizz. Once a hacker, she joined the FBI (of her own free will i'm sure). She's also the team's comic relief coming up with funny remarks, often using foreign words (french, italian and spanish). After getting shot (and trust me i was keeping my fingers crossed so she'd survive) she meets another technical analyst, Kevin (Xander from Buffy) and hook up (she deserves some TLC too). She and Reid are JJ's baby's godparents!

*Agent David Rossi (strongly disliking him, praying he leaves the show) - he started the BAU, back in the day (of the dinosaurs i assume) and has problems getting back (after being retired for 10 years), especially working in a team. He has written a lot of books on the subject of profiling, becoming an icon on the subject(hurray for him). He tries to connect to the others, sometimes even showing genuine concern.

The show deals with a lot of themes, from religion (which always makes my blood pressure rise), traditions, obsessive friendships, homosexuality. They also deal with the different aspects of human psyche - the good and the bad, the unknown, the morbid. Though some of the episodes creep me out big time, I can't help watching it. CM is my drug!

Another grand show of mine is Ghost Whisperer. Take one supercute female, Jennifer Love Hewitt, give her some superpower, or gift as they call it now, the ability to hear, see and speak to ghost and you got an irresistable package - at least for me, always fascinated with the supernatural.

Jennifer poses as Melinda Gordon, a beautiful, happily married (damn) woman, whose purpose in life is to help earthbound spirits, ghosts to all of you out there, cross into the light. The catch is, they can't move on until they finished some kind of business, so they "call" Melinda. This show managed not to bore me at all, no matter how many episodes i watched - currently waiting for season 5, unlike other shows whose repetitive themes drives me up the wall (see Supernatural - 1 theme/season). The characters are cool, funny, mostly your every-day-life-person-next-door type.

There is one thing that bugs me - although the show is called Ghost Whisperer - neither Melinda nor the ghosts seem to whisper (in fact, some ghosts don't talk or they'd rather shout). Weird, huh?