Hitman 3.1 - Ferris Wheel

Hitman: Ferris Wheel

Genre: Action

Director: Francis Lawrence

Writer: Dwight Gallo

Based on the video game series

Cast: Ed Skrein, Charlotte Riley, Joseph Mazzello, John Pankow, Johnny Ray Gill and David Harewood

Plot: In Baltimore, Maryland, at the Southland Amusement Park, the park's Ferris wheel becomes detached from its base and begins rolling through the park. The destruction kills 36 park guests. The owner of the park, Joseph Clarence (John Pankow), is forced to close down the park after the accident.

Agent 47 (Ed Skrein) is on a private jet, sitting across from Diana Burnwood (Charlotte Riley). She is explaining that his next contract now that he's back onboard with ICA is to eliminate Joseph Clarence. 47 comments that he seems like a lower-level target than what he's used to. Diana says that the contract was taken out by the parents of one of the people killed in the Ferris wheel accident at Southland.

Clarence is in his office at the amusement park drinking when the door is kicked in. Gangster and drug lord Scoop (Johnny Ray Gill) enters the office flanked by some of his men. Scoop offers Clarence a deal: let Scoop and his men use the closed park to produce and distribute their product, and they'll kick back some cash to him. Clarence looks at all of the bills from his lawyers on his desk and agrees to the deal.

Reporter Rick Henderson (Joseph Mazello) for First Edition sits in the newspaper's office across from the editor Harold Langston (David Harewood). The editor tells Rick that a very rare and intriguing offer has been made to the newspaper: an extensive one-on-one interview with the former head of the FBI and the CIA, Leland Alexander. Rick says that sounds interesting, and Langston offers the gig to him. Rick is surprised that Langston would pick him for such a high-profile article, but Langston tells him that he didn't. Leland Alexander personally selected Rick for the interview.

47 pulls up to the front gates of the Southland Amusement Park in an inconspicuous rental car. He takes a look around, before finally scaling the chained front gate and hopping down to the other side. 47 starts walking through the park offices. Once he gets outside Clarence's office, he hears voices down the hall. He ducks into the office and into a closet.

Clarence and Scoop walk into the office arguing. Clarence is demanding the money they agreed one, but Scoop pulls out a gun and aims it at Clarence. Scoop tells him that he's just decided to take the amusement park rather than rent it. Clarence threatens to call the cops, but Scoop pistol whips him. 47 opens the closet door and shoots Scoop with a silenced pistol. Clarence thanks 47 profusely. 47 tells Clarence not to thank him, then shoots Clarence in the head.

The second season lacked the action set pieces that made the game famous and aside from the last scene, this episode was too, devoid of any action, which isn't a good look for an action series.

While this episode was a little bland compared to what we've seen in the past, Hitman remains a solid series, thanks to the strong work of star Ed Skrein and Francis Lawrence behind the camera.

This episode feels like a misstep along the way, as it lacks the sense of urgency or the tension a series like Hitman requires. I still believe Hitman can be an entertaining and solid series, but this episode didn't do it for me.

Call My Agent 3.1 - Déjà-Vu

Call My Agent : Déjà-Vu

Genre : Comedy / Drama / Satire

Showrunner: Jason Reitman

Writer : Dominic Wilkins

Cast: Lesley Manville, Caroline Dhavernas, Rainn Wilson, Brian d'Arcy James, Jennifer Carpenter and Steve Carell

Plot: Miranda Jones (Lesley Manville) gathers everyone around following their meal at the restaurant. She thanks everyone for their support after her tough time and she raises a glass of champagne to new beginnings. The celebration is short-lived, as she says it’s time for them to get back to do their job, the agency still needs to make money. Wilson (Brian d’Arcy James) ask them if they have anyone coming in and Bob (Rainn Wilson) says he has a client coming over. Wilson points out to Andrea (Caroline Dhavernas) that she should start bringing in clients soon, as Bob is bringing every client as of late. Bob simply says that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep this agency alive. Andrea simply smiles and goes back to work.

Miranda invites Andrea and Wilson in her office while Bob is working on papers for his next client. Wilson talks to them about what they need to do for Bob’s next meeting. He is meeting with someone who is up to play a man who imagines people, in a new movie called Spark of Madness. Andrea says she wants to see if he’s the right man for the job, so she wants everyone to play along. Miranda doesn’t understand, but Andrea says she’ll find out soon enough.

Steve Carell (Steve Carell) enters the Jones Agency offices and shakes Bob’s hands. He stares at him for a while and he asks him if they met each other before. Bob doesn’t think so, because it’s the first meeting between the two of them. He previously was Mr. Jones’ client, but Steve’s folder got on Bob’s desk after he passed away. Steve says it’s not what he had in mind, he feels like they’ve seen each other somewhere else. Bob assures him they haven’t and Steve is persuaded he worked with Bob before, but can’t remember on which production. Bob tells him to forget about it and he invites him in the conference room so they can discuss his contract for the upcoming film.

As they enter the conference room, Miranda is seen exiting the room and begs their pardon. She tells Steve she is a huge fan is his and thanks her for the compliment. She sneaks up behind him and she asks him, whispering in his ear, if it’s true he’s a virgin. Steve is taken back by the remark and he says he isn’t. She says that’s a shame and she asks him if he’s sure, because she read an article called “Steve Carell: The Forty-Year Old Virgin”. He says that was just a movie and she says that’s a shame because he looks lovely. He thanks her for the compliment.

They finally settle down in the conference room where Bob talks about Steve’s career for a bit. He mentions his previous films, like Welcome to Marwen, Last Flag Flying and the Despicable Me franchise. Bob notes they are all masterpieces and wonderful films. Steve stops him right there and he says Bob is acting like a suck-up and that reminds him of someone, but he can’t put the finger on it. He worked with someone who looked like him on television, but he can’t remember who. Bob says a man like him shouldn’t worry about television, he’s a movie star! Steve says he can try to dodge the subject all he wants but he’s going to find out soon enough.

Andrea, who is in Miranda’s office alongside Miranda, whispers through the phone in the conference room that Miranda activated that she thinks Anchorman 2 sucked. Steve looks around and asks Bob to repeat what he just said, but he insists that he didn’t say anything. Wilson adds that Dinner of Schmucks was a disgrace compared to the original. Steve doesn’t catch on the act and is now genuinely upset. He tells Bob that he liked him better when he was a suck-up. Steve says he’s hungry and he asks if he has some food to eat. Bob offers him his lunch since they went to the restaurant and Steve is now eating Bob’s beat salad. Steve points out the salad is very good and Bob says he made it himself. Steve asks him one more time if they have seen each other before, but says he doesn’t think so.

Miranda comes back in the conference room and asks Steve if he can give her a minion, as she thinks they are so cute. Steve uses his Gru voice to tell her he can’t give her a minion and Miranda is now sad. She says he has so many of them he could give some to her and Steve doesn’t want to. Bob interrupts Miranda : “Question. When will you stop bothering my client?” Miranda says he could just ask his boss and Bob gets up to get Miranda, but he can’t, because Miranda is heckling Steve. Wilson enters the room and stands next to Steve. He suggests he should sign the contract and get out of here before it’s too late, speaking in a ghostly manner. Steve now understands what they’re up to and they ask them they are trying to make him crazy. Wilson is now on the defensive and he points to Miranda saying “That’s what she said”. Steve is mad because Wilson stole his catchphrase and he says it again, this time looking at Bob and his mustard-yellow shirt. He says it again looking at Bob and thinks for a second. He asks him if he played an extra on The Office and he says that could have happened somehow. Steve is satisfied and leaves the offices, saying he’ll come back to sign the contract at another time, they are just trying to make him crazy before shooting starts right now.

Bob sits at his desk turning in his chair, still mad at his colleagues for running his meeting. Andrea says it’s not too bad, he’ll sign the contract anyway. They hear someone knocking on the door and Wilson answers. Det. Debra Dexter (Jennifer Carpenter) enters and arrests Bob Hollis for the murder of Mark. Bob swears he didn’t do it, but she says they have proof that say otherwise. They all watch in disbelief as Bob leaves the offices, handcuffed. Wilson is wondering why Debra Dexter rings a bell in his mind, wasn’t there a show where a main character looked just like the detective ? Miranda and Andrea disagree, they haven’t seen her before, or heard about Debra Dexter. 

Following a mildly received second season, Call My Agent returns to form in its season 3 premiere, thanks to a hilarious cameo by Steve Carell. The eccentric cast is at its best and all the ingredients all fall in place. Let's hope it's a sign of what's to come for this season.

The season 3 premiere of Call My Agent is a welcome return to the quirkiness of the first season, using its oddball cast to poke fun at celebrities, while the celebrities poke fun at themselves. If this is the level of referential humor we can expect this season, it should be a good one.

If we learned one thing from Season 2 of Call My Agent is that the show doesn't work too well when it ventures into the more dramatic side and by the looks of what happened at the end of said episode, I'm afraid we might be heading into that direction again.