2012 Was Lit

     As this year draws to a close (I can't believe how fast it went!), I like to think back on previous years and I remembered specifically how great 2012 was. One primary reason was that I started college that year which was probably the best decision I ever made. It was primarily a great year for media and entertainment. Multiple blockbusters and the beginning of the British drama revival as well as some great hits that were dropped. The London Olympics was on fire and is still my favorite Olympic Games so far. I was also just a year into my blog and was really beginning rekindle my love for blogging and writing. And I discovered Pinterest...and there's been no looking back since! 

Television

2012 was the year of Downton Abbey mayhem. It swept the Emmy awards and everywhere you turned, whether it was late night television or the catwalk, Downton Abbey was used as inspiration. With the onset of Downton Abbey, there was a Renaissance in British Drama as well as a new found interest in Edwardian and WWI history. Season 2 premiered earlier that year and it was safe to say that Downton Abbey fever was alive and well.

While Downton Abbey may have reigned supreme in the British Drama Renaissance, Sherlock was gaining rapid momentum as well. Sherlock hysteria was on the same level of Downton Abbey mayhem. Both programs were explosive successes and unexpected juggernauts for the revival of BBC and ITV entertainment. In spite of people's initial hesitation to accept the updated detective, Benedict Cumberbatch's breathtaking performance as the handsome, but enigmatic detective took the world by storm. Both Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman went from well known English actors to overnight successes. This new and cool Mr. Holmes was here to stay.

Movies

Even though the MCU had been gaining momentum since the introduction of Iron Man in 2008, followed by Iron Man 2 in 2010, and Thor and Captain America in 2011, the culmination of the heroes (and the addition of several others) made for the box office success of The Avengers. I actually had no interest in Marvel or it's extended universe franchise until I saw The Avengers and strangely enough, it was same story for many other people. However, it was Tom Hiddleston's performance as the tortured and lonely Loki that truly won over Marvel fans and skyrocketed the once unknown actor's career.

Oddly enough I didn't see Les Miserables until the next year, but it was on the top of my '2012 to see movie list.' Excited hesitation was pretty much the feeling for all Les Miserables fans. Bringing together an all star cast, of which most didn't have a stage background, might have been a risk. There was great deal of anxiety regarding the casting of Anne Hathaway as Fantine. However, after her performance of I Dreamed a Dream she broke hearts all over the world and helped her grab the Oscar for best actress. It was also the introduction of Eddie Redmayne to American audiences and who has now gone on to star in many exceptional and successful films (including The Theory of Everything where he won best Oscar for his incredible portrayal of Stephen Hawking).

The most anticipated movie of the year. It certainly met my expectations and I was thrilled that it was going to be a trilogy series. The Hobbit was a great way to end the year. I remember creating my Pinterest board for The Hobbit and getting so excited everytime a new picture or video surfaced the internet. I read the book and managed to memorize the names of all the dwarves before the movie. Martin Freeman nailed it as Bilbo Baggins. Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner and Dean O'Gorman did what many thought impossible and made the dwarves the irresistible heartthrobs of the story. Well done on all fronts. 

Music

2012 was the year for great summer music and these were the top hits that were blaring from every car stereo, Starbucks, Wal-Mart and i-pods. 

Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson

Wide Awake by Katy Perry

Catching My Breath by Kelly Clarkson

Diamonds by Rihanna

Some Nights by Fun

Brokenhearted by Karmin

Live While We're Young by One Direction

Songs that were actually released in 2011, but I didn't really get into them until the next year

What Make You Beautiful by One Direction

Domino by Jessie J

Want You Back by Cher Lloyd

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson

The 2012 London Olympics

     I've grown up watching many Olympic Games, but the London 2012 Olympics has to have been one the best Olympics to date. England brought their pride to the front and America wasn't too far behind. We dominated in swimming, gymnastics and track and field. I did some major Olympic binging when the nightly news recaps from the sporting events aired from 6:00 P.M. to midnight. You can read my highlights from the Olympics -->here<--

Do you have any years that are particularly memorable? 

Hostages (Bnei Aruba) 2013-2016

     I had never heard of this show before until I was scrolling around on Tumblr and it was brought up. Looking it up and seeing that it was on Netflix I was intrigued. As a fan of 24 this seemed to have the same vibe and I wasn't wrong. Within the first couple of episodes of season 1 I was hooked and finished the first season (all 10 episodes) in two days! The first season is entirely filmed in Hebrew with English subtitles, but that didn't bother me at all. And really it's what prohibited me from getting up and leaving the room, you have to stay and watch so you don't miss anything. 

     Season One: The Danon family are your typical, run-of-the-mill family living in the suburbs of Jerusalem. Dr. Yael Danon is a successful surgeon who has received the exciting news that she's going to perform surgery on the Prime Minster, much to the annoyance of her elderly mentor. Her husband, Eyal is the headmaster at the local high school where their teenage son, Assaf, seems to be hitting a run of trouble. Finally, their seventeen year old daughter, Noa, has come across some terrifying information of which she is unsure how to tell her family. While they may look the picture of regularity, the Danon's have secrets that will come to the surface when their own lives are at risk.

     The night before Yael has to perform the surgery, her family is attacked and held hostage by four masked intruders. Their demands are that Yael is to kill the prime minster. The reasons are withheld from Yael, but if she does not meet with their demands, her family will be killed. With her family's well being on the line, Yael must walk a dangerous tightrope that will challenge her morality as a doctor and her devotion as a mother. To save her family (and possibly her career), Yael begins to search for the identity of the group leader. And who she discovers is beyond anything she could have expected.

     Meanwhile, Adam Rubin, chief of the Special Police Unit in Jerusalem, is ready to have his final mission before he retires. Adam has spent his career working in intense hostage situations and has made a respectful name for himself in Jerusalem. He is well known for his calm and capable nature when dealing with threats and an extraordinary ability to negotiate to avoid violence. Needless to say, Adam is one of the few people who knows how to do his job well. After he successfully apprehends his final hostage threat, Adam is done with his police service.

     And later that night, it's Adam and a group of associates that hold the Danon family hostage and demand the Yael take the life of the prime minister. Why would this hometown hero become what he has spent his entire career fighting? There is more than one reason as to why the prime minster is wanted dead. Some for money and revenge, but for Adam it's deeper, personal and as he puts it to Yael, "Think of it as saving your family." However, Yael soon realizes that it's not her family that Adam is necessarily referring to. 

   

     Season Two: Picking up literally hours where season one ended. Adam Rubin is once again caught in a hostage crisis, this time one of his own making. For five days, Adam and his family and friends are held up in a run down synagogue, desperate to flee the country. Yet, Adam's actions from the week before have caught up with him. While this hostage situation outside of Jerusalem is making news, the 'death' of the prime minister has sent waves beyond Israel; and this event brings to the forefront unlikely people caught up in a web of political lies and coverups.

     A beautiful young lawyer who arrives in Jerusalem to make a business deal.

     A ruthless mercenary with no compassion, just a desire to get the job done.

    A rookie security agent who comes across startling information about the murder of a man close to Adam Rubin, but her bosses refuse to let her investigate.

    All of these people are caught up in Adam's life and the hostage threat that he has created. 

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    Unfortunately that's all I can say without giving away the entire, very complex storyline of season two. However, I will warn you that the last episode may leave you emotionally distraught for the next several hours. Yet, it's absolutely worth the watch!

Handsome, wonderful Adam...

     I've tried really hard to review this series without giving too much away! I will say that Adam Rubin is seriously the primary reason I kept watching the show. Within five minutes of meeting him, I was absolutely in love with him! His ever calm demeanor when dealing with life threatening situations, unwavering compassion, devotion to his family and friends, a history of absolute good will and above all, immense courage that effects everyone around him. 

     He's kind of a mix of Jack Bauer-just without the emotional damage-and Captain America, only he's Israeli. Not to say that's he's perfect, he's far from that and he makes some terrible mistakes (including threatening to kill a fourteen year old boy), but it's his flawed nature and his desire to be better that the criminals he's hunted down that makes all the more admirable. 

     One other aspect that I enjoyed about Hostages (and other reviewers brought this up too) was being able to see Jerusalem in its absolute beauty. You get some stunning views of rural and urban landscapes and just being able to view another culture in their day to day life was intriguing. I didn't know that the city was so metropolitan and incredibly breathtaking. 

     I'm still recovering from the end of season two, but seriously this was a very good series. If you don't mind watching the show in English subtitles, while swooning over a very well written hero and at the same time trying piece together a story that makes no sense until the very end, definitely watch this show.