Native Audio Grrrl

Just Finished Reading: Naked Lunch

2012-02-16T13:18:00.000-06:00

Ok...wow! This was a strange book to read. This book doesn't really have a plot or a storyline, but is a combination of a bunch of different little stories. I didn't realize that at first so I was getting confused. Once I realized that though, this book was a lot easier to read. My favorite part was probably the part with the mugwump. That or that great section about the man who taught his asshole to talk. While reading it it seemed really familiar to me, and then I realized that it was in David Cronenberg's film version of Naked Lunch. That movie isn't really an adaptation of this book, however. Instead it just has a few elements from this book and other books of his as well as some aspects of William S. Burroughs's real life. Anyways, reading this makes me really interested in his other books, so I'm going to have to check them out.

Character of the Week: Christian from Moulin Rouge

2012-02-15T13:49:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and every Valentine's Day I have a tradition where I watch Moulin Rouge. Moulin Rouge has been one of my favorite movies ever since it came out when I was about 11 years old. I love everything about this movie, but one of my favorite things about it is Ewan McGregor as Christian. I remember being 11 years old and falling madly in love with this fictional character. Christian is a young man who moves to Paris to be a writer and live among the bohemian society. Eventually he fall in love with Satine, a courtesean who is dying of consumption (but he doesn't know that...) He also has a great singing voice and is incredibly gorgeous.

Spotlight On: John Hurt

2012-02-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

This spotlight is on one of my favorite British actors, John Hurt. He is a great actor who has appeared in a bunch of my favorite science fiction films. What I like most about him, however, has to be his speaking voice. He just has this great voice that makes everything sound epic and important. I just want him to narrate anything and everything. He has had a long and great career, and here are my favorite films of his.

Alien

John Hurt is in what is definitely the most memorable scene in Alien. He plays Kane, a man who has a facehugger attach itself to his face. After it comes off, everyone thinks that he is fine, but we soon find out that the facehugger was using his body as a human host for a xenomorph to grow in. If they would have just listened to Ripley and kept him off of the ship then nobody (else) would have died.

He also had a cameo a few years later in Spaceballs playing the same character. It is without a doubt the funniest scene in the movie.

The Elephant Man

This is a movie that just breaks my heart into a million pieces. Hurt plays John Merrick, a man born with severe deformities. He starts out the movie being part of a circus freak show, then gets brought to a hospital where he meets people who actually start to care about him.

1984

Here he plays the protagonist in the film adaptation of one of the greatest sci fi novels of all time. What is really cool is that this movie was actually made in 1984.

Hellboy

This movie and the sequel are both proof that John Hurt should narrate every single movie ever. His voice makes this movie that much more epic. If it wasn't for that voice of his I never would have even recognized him in this movie.

V For Vendetta

Here is is in another dystopian future, except instead of being the victim, he is the villain. He plays a dictator named Adam Sutler who takes over control of England after a series of horrible events that leave people in fear. John Hurt is great as Chancellor Sutler. Even though the majority of the time we see him is just people watching him on a screen, he is so intimidating. You almost understand why people would just let him take over.

Immortals

I actually enjoyed this movie. One of the better things about it was John Hurt as the older version of Zeus. Even though the majority of the movie we see Zeus as younger, when he is on Earth he disguises himself as older so he can train Henry Cavill's character. Plus...John Hurt narration makes every movie better.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I was kind of bummed that he wasn't in this movie more, but he was one of the many great British actors in this movie.

My Review: The Vow

2012-02-13T12:07:00.000-06:00

I went to see this movie for two reasons. 1. I was super bored and really wanted to get out of my apartment. 2. Channing Tatum is really hot. Keeping that in mind, this film served its purpose for me. I got out of my room for a few hours and I got to see Tatum shirtless. This is a movie I could have waited to see on DVD. Watching this movie was really just kind of a bummer. I mean, it was basically just two hours of me just going "oh that sucks" and feeling bad for Channing Tatum's character. To be honest, by the end I really didn't care if she got her memory back. I know that sounds terrible because this is apparently based on a true story, but I really didn't care for Rachel McAdam's character at all. There was one part that really just broke my heart in this movie, though. There was a part in the film when Channing Tatum's co-worker asks him what turns Rachel McAdams on, and he said tickling, so she suggested that he try it. A little later in the movie, he tries to tickle her and she just flinches. My heart fell on the floor, it was so sad. My rating: 5/10

Character of the Week: Katniss Everdeen

2012-02-10T15:38:00.000-06:00

This week's character of the week is Katniss Everdeen, "the girl who was on fire." She is a citizen of District 12, which is a part of Panem. She lives in a dystopian future where every year a boy and girl from each district are chosen to be a part of the Hunger Games, where they have to fight to the death. After her younger sister's name is called, Katniss volunteers to take her place in the games. After winning the games along with Peeta Malark, she becomes a sort of poster girl for the rebellion against the Capitol, sort of a female John Connor. In the upcoming film version of The Hunger Games, she is played by Jennifer Lawrence, which I think is really cool because she is one of my favorite young actresses working today. I am super excited to see this movie and I think she will be great.

Just Finished Reading: Catching Fire

2012-02-10T15:28:00.000-06:00

This book really threw me for a loop. I figured that some sort of rebellion against the Capitol would start, but I just could not believe that Katniss and Peeta would be thrown back into the Hunger Games arena. I thought for sure that something would happen to stop the games from happening, but nothing did, and it was just like the first book all over again with Katniss trying to save Peeta. This book was definitely a page turner because I finished it in no time. Now I am REALLY curious about what happens in the third book now that District 12 is gone. I'm really hoping that we see more of Gale. In this book and The Hunger Games he seems more like a minor character and the focus is always more on Katniss and Peeta. I want more Katniss and Gale! I guess I'm just going to have to buy the third book and see....

My Review: The Woman in Black

2012-02-06T18:33:00.000-06:00

The horror movies that have freaked me out the most have always been ghost stories. Whenever the screen gets really dark my eyes are always scanning the screen because I just know that something is going to move. Also, it is always the anticipation of something happening that gives me the heebie jeebies. The Woman in Black was a really eerie ghost story. It is about a widower with a young son who has to travel to this spooky old house to go through a bunch of legal papers. Once he gets in town, he doesn't get much of a warm welcome from the locals who all tell him to leave. Once at the house he starts seeing glimpses of a woman in black. Then, children start to die. Because her child was taken away from her, the woman in black forces children around town to kill themselves. So, Daniel Radcliffe's character tries to solve this problem before his son comes to meet him. There were several times where I was getting a little spooked watching this movie. It is filled with dark lighting, porcelean dolls, ghost children, and creepy monkey toys. (I swear those are the same hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil monkeys from The Artist). I ended up really liking this movie. While this movie wasn't scary, it was definitely spooky and was an interesting story. My review: 8/10

My Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2012-02-05T16:02:00.000-06:00

What a brilliant cast! This movie is filled with some of my favorite British actors, including the always amazing Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and John Hurt with his great speaking voice. Anyways, this is a movie that I am going to have to watch again. I think that I have a pretty good idea what was going on, but it was a little hard to follow at times. To put it simply, this movie is about Gary Oldman's character George Smiley (great name!) trying to figure out the mole in "the circus", which is another name for British Intelligence. There are just so many subplots in the movie that you have to keep straight, like Tom Hardy's character who got information from this Russian girl who he fell in love with, and Mark Strong's character getting shot in the beginning. For the majority of the movie I thought that he was dead and the stuff at the school and with the kid in the glasses was a flashback, but I guess it wasn't. Like I said, I kind of got what was going on in the movie, but if I had to explain it to someone I don't think that I could. I'm definitely going to have to give it another go. Anyways, I thought that Gary Oldman's performance was amazing. It was a very subtle performance, but was just brilliant. I can not believe that this is his first Oscar nominated role!! He is has several brilliant performances (some far better than this even!) but this is the first time that he is being recognized by the Academy. My rating: 7/10

Best Picture Nominee #5: The Tree of Life

2012-02-01T20:00:00.000-06:00

I am not a fan of this movie. The cinematography in this movie is absolutely gorgeous. You could pick out a random frame of this movie and it would look great framed and hanging up on your wall. This movie is also incredibly boring. There is no plot at all, and to me movies like this are a waste of good actors because the actors aren't really acting, they are basically just being models. Also, I hate when the narration in movies is whispered, because it comes across as incredibly pretentious. After about twenty minutes I really didn't care what happened in this movie. You could watch this movie on mute and it would have the same effect because the visuals are the only thing it has going for it.

My Review: The Descendants/ Best Picture Nominee #4

2012-02-01T17:00:00.001-06:00

What a horrible time to find out that your wife is cheating on you. Well, I suppose there is no good time, but the worst possible time would probably be when she is in a coma and you're about to let her go. I just couldn't help but feel horrible for George Clooney's character in this movie. First he's dealing with the fact that his wife is in a coma, then he finds out that she'll never wake up, then his daughter drops this huge bomb on him by telling him that his wife was having an affair. So this movie is about him and his daughter trying to find out who this guy is, while also breaking the horrible news of his wife's impending death to their friends and family. I couldn't help but laugh when we find out that she was cheating on him with Matthew Lillard. How could someone cheat on George Clooney with Matthew Lillard? Anyways, what I love about George Clooney is that he can both be funny and charming, but also do really dramatic roles. His performance in this movie was just heartbreaking for me. During the scene when his daughter first tells him I just felt aweful, and it was the same when he was confronting his comatose wife. The only thing that really bugged me about this movie was that Sid guy. I didn't understand what Alex saw in him at all. He was just this big idiot. I wanted to punch him in the face when he was laughing at the woman with Alzheimers, so I'm glad that the other guy did. I didn't like this movie as much as the other three Best Picture nominees that I have seen, but I think that is still really good and has a great performance by Clooney. My rating: 8/10

Character of the Week: Terry Bellefleur

2012-01-31T22:20:00.000-06:00

I love a majority of the characters on True Blood and one of my favorites is Terry Bellefleur. Even in the beginning when his role in the show was very small he still had some of the best dialogue like "I can't listen to politicians, it gives me seizures." He is Andy Bellefluer's cousin and is a cook at Merlotte's. He is also a war vet who suffers from PTSD. I just think that it is hilarious that this is the same guy who played Lane's bandmate turned husband on Gilmore Girls. I did not recognize him at all when I started watching this show and I watched Gilmore Girls religiously. I love that he has become a bigger part of the show because everything that he says is just hilarious. My favorite Terry quote is probably when he says to Arlene "I didn't mean to be peculiar at you." I also love the scene shown below.

My Review: Hugo/ Best Picture Nominee #3

2012-01-30T16:37:00.000-06:00

I'm totally bummed that I didn't get to see this in 3D. The closest theater that had it in 3D was way to far to go by bus, so I was stuck with 2D. But, even though it probably would have been a lot cooler in 3D, it was still an amazing film. I swear I was alternating between laughing and crying every five minutes while watching this movie. It is just further proof of the amazingness of Martin Scorcese. Not only does he do amazing with violent gangster movies, but he can do really amazing family films as well. I enjoyed every second of Hugo. Being a Film Studies major I loved it that much more because a major part of the plot had to do with George Melies (I've watched Trip to the Moon in several of my film classes) and the early days of cinema. It was just fantastic seeing the montage of all of the early silent films. This isn't the first time Scorcese has paid homage to early cinema either. At the end of Goodfellas he has a little nod to The Great Train Robbery when Joe Pesci shoots the gun straight at the camera. I thought that the little boy who played Hugo did a great job. You just can't help but cry when you see those big blue eyes of his get sad. Chloe Grace Moretz is great as usual as a girl who befriends him, and I loved Ben Kingsley as George Melies. I knew right away that the little robot used to belong to him because of his reaction to the notebook, but it was a delightful surprise when we found out he was George Melies. It was just heartbreaking seeing his films get burned to make shoe heels. It is disgusting how many old films have been lost forever. There was also a great performance by Sasha Baron Cohen as the Station Inspector. He was an interesting character because he was a villain who sent little boys to orphanages, and yet he was also a pretty sympathetic character. I just couldn't help but feel bad for him the first time he tries to talk to the girl with the flowers and his leg brace stiffens up on his way there so he just gives up. It was just sad (like I said I was basically crying this whole movie). This movie was had great performances, was just visually stunning, and was really fun to watch. My rating: 10/10

Song of the Week: Diva Dance

2012-01-29T18:36:00.000-06:00

Best Picture Nominee #2: Midnight in Paris

2012-01-28T20:15:00.000-06:00

I just got done watching this movie and I loved it!!! It is definitely on my list of my favorite Woody Allen films now along with Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. In my Sexuality and Culture class we watched this documentary about these "sin cities" and one part was about Paris in the 20s, so it was really cool to see all of these people portrayed in this movie. It really made me want to learn even more about this era in Paris. I remember thinking that Josephine Baker was really interesting so it was cool to see her for a tidbit. I also loved Allison Pill and Tom Hiddleston as the Fitzgeralds, and the guy who played Hemingway. Plus Adrien Brody was great as Salvador Dali. This was just a really funny and interesting movie about how we all look back at different eras and think that they are better than our own.

A Fassy-less movie? How could it be?

2012-01-28T15:42:00.001-06:00

After seeing The Artist, I saw this on my bus ride home and thought it was hilarious. It is at the Landmark Uptown Theater. BTW, the last two movies that played there were A Dangerous Method and Shame....hahaha.

My Review: The Artist/ Best Picture Nominee #1

2012-01-28T15:40:00.000-06:00

Making a silent film in 2012 is such an odd thing to do, but I'm really glad that they did it. I really enjoyed this movie! I thought it was funny and entertaining, but there were also times where it was sad and heartbreaking. There were a couple times where I got a little choked up. Jean Dujardin is great as George Valentin, a silent film star whose career comes to an end with the advent of sound. He just has a great face for silent film. It is really expressive and he has that great Gene Kelly-esque smile. The plot of this movie was even similar to Gene Kelly's Singin in the Rain. It is about the rise of talkie pictures and the fall of silent films, except in this film, the silent movie star doesn't want to adapt to the changes. He is stubborn and proud and lets his career fall away because he doesn't want to face the facts that people don't want to see silent films anymore. So while he is fading away, a new star is rising named Peppy Miller, who got her start with the help of Valentin. I thought that this movie would be more of a love story, but it is more about her helping him out than falling in love with him. The two of them don't even kiss in this movie. What I really loved about this movie was how they did have the little bits of sound. I loved the dream sequence when Valentin was having the nightmare after finding out about talkie pictures. He starts hearing everything make noise, but can't make himself speak. This movie also had a great ending. I don't know what it is about tap dancing, but whenever people tap dance in movies it just always makes me happy. My rating: 9/10

Academy Awards Best Picture Nominees 2012

2012-01-28T09:47:00.001-06:00

Last year I was really on the ball with the Best Picture nominees because I saw all 10 of them. This year, it is completely different because I have not seen any of the nine Best Picture nominees! This is something that I plan to remedy. I added The Help, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, and Midnight in Paris to the top of my Netflix queue, and I am going to go see The Artist today. That just leaves me with The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Hugo, and War Horse, which are all playing at theaters nearby. Honestly, I really have no desire to see Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close or War Horse, so if I do see those, they will probably be the very last ones. I also really want to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy because I am really curious to see the movie that Gary Oldman was (FINALLY) nominated for. So...I have a little under a month to see nine movies. It shouldn't take me half that long.

Michael Fassbender Appreciation

2012-01-28T00:24:00.000-06:00

I did my weekly Spotlight post on Michael Fassbender back in June, but I see now that I really should have waited. Not only have I seen a few more of his older films since then, but he has had three films come out in theaters since I made that post. In fact, three of the last four movies that I have seen in theaters featured this sexy Irishman. He has just been everywhere in the past year and I love how popular he has become. While the first movie I ever saw him in was 300, the first movie that I really noticed him in was Inglourious Basterds. I just thought he was a handsome devil, and I was thrilled to see all of the cool upcoming roles he had after that. You can pretty much track my Michael Fassbender obsession on this blog. My very first Fassy related post was back in November of 2010 and was about how much I wanted to see Jane Eyre. I even featured him in my list of Actors I'd Watch in Anything back in March before I even saw Jane Eyre. I was definitely true to my word because I have seen every movie he has been in in theaters since then.

Jane Eyre

I love the Brontes! While I prefer Wuthering Heights, I still really love Jane Eyre. I thought that Fassy was amazing as Mr. Rochester. He just oozes sex appeal in this movie, even though it is a pretty unsexy role (Rochester is supposed to be unattractive after all). After seeing this I really just wanted to see Fassbender in a million more romantic leads! I actually cried during the part where he proposed to Jane. Speaking of Fassy and the Brontes, I actually read somewhere that he was originally cast as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights with Abbie Cornish as Cathy before Andrea Arnold became the director. THAT is a movie that I want to see!

X-Men First Class

I remember being really psyched when casting news started coming in for this movie. I remember thinking James McAvoy would be great as Professor X, but I was really intrigued about Fassbender being cast as Magneto. Even though I had only ever seen him in 300 and Inglourious Basterds at this point, I knew that he would be great. Which he was!!! His performance as Erik was definitely the best thing about this movie! I can not wait for a sequel because I really want to see more of Magneto and Mystique!

Shame

Fassbender gave a really powerful performance in this movie. (I'm still annoyed at him being snubbed by the Oscars). I really thought that this movie would be really sexy, but it is more sad than anything because you know that each time his character has sex (which is many many times) he is just feeding his sex addiction. The scene where his sister walks in on him masterbating was really hard to watch because even though it just should have been an embarassing moment, he was so ashamed that he flipped out on her and it was actually somewhat frightening. Oh and BTW...George Clooney really wasn't exhaggerating with his comment at the Golden Globes. ( I mean WOW!)

A Dangerous Method

While I didn't think Shame was all that sexy, I thought that this movie was really sexy. But...what do you expect in a movie about Freud? Keira Knightley goes way over the top with her performance in the beginning of the movie, the scenes with her and Fassbender are much better after her character starts to get over her crazy. While this movie has a sex scene with the two of them, plus two (!) spanking scenes, I thought that the parts of the two of them just talking to eachother were much sexier.

Haywire

I was super bummed that his role was so small in this movie. He plays a British Intelligence guy who gets killed off right away. (LAME!) He does have a really cool fight scene with Gina Carano though, and what few scenes he has are further proof that he would make a great James Bond!

Now what?
Now that I have seen Haywire, I have to wait five whole months to see him in movie theaters again! I think it will be worth the wait though, because Prometheus looks super cool!

For starters, it may or may not be related to the Alien movies (which I love! Ellen Ripley FTW!). How badass is that? I also think that I read somewhere (of course I could just be making shit up) that he is playing a cyborg, like Ash in the first Alien movie. Also, how amazing is the cast for this movie. Not only does it have Fassy, but also Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba, and Patrick Wilson! I do not object to any of those actors. AMAZING CAST!

He is also doing another movie with Steve McQueen called Twelve Years a Slave which will also feature Brad Pitt and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Looking forward to it!

What will I do until June to get my Fassy fix? I suppose I could watch one of my (five, I think I have a problem) DVDs that feature Fassbender. (300, Fish Tank, Inglourious Basterds, Jane Eyre and X-Men First Class). To be fair, those DVD purchases weren't only due to my fangirlishness....I really love all five of those movies.

My Review: Haywire

2012-01-27T23:06:00.001-06:00

Why do female action heroes always have to be super serious? There really aren't that many female action stars (it is basically just Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich and Kate Beckinsale) and when we see female action heroes, they never get to be funny or charming like James Bond. That is plainly shown in Haywire. Gina Carano is a badass in this movie. She is kicking ass and taking names but is just super serious throughout. I really just want to see a movie with a female action star who can kick some serious ass but still smile and make jokes and have cool dialogue. Female action heroes get really lame dialogue, or they just don't speak at all like Miho in Sin City and Etain in Centurion. So anyway....movie review. I thought that this movie was okay. I really didn't think that it was all that memorable. I ended up not really caring about the plot at all and was just waiting for the fight scenes, which were the best parts of the movie. I thought that all of the supporting cast members were really underused. With the exception of the main character Mallory, you hardly saw any of the characters. I really don't understand why this movie needed so many bad guys. I hate to say it but I really didn't see why we needed Michael Fassbender's character. He was barely in the movie and it was a total waste of a good actor. Michael Douglas' and Antonio Banderas' characters also seemed pretty unimpotant. The movie was really only worth seeing for the awesome fight scenes. She kicks the shit out of some really good looking guys! (Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, AND Ewan McGregor....DAMN!) The fight with Fassbender in the hotel room was probably the sexiest man/woman fight scene since Mr. and Mrs. Smith....If I were you I would wait for the DVD and skip past all the boring parts. My rating: 5/10

Spotlight On: Anthony Hopkins

2012-01-27T14:52:00.000-06:00

This week's spotlight is on one of my all-time favorite actors, Anthony Hopkins. I just think that he is absolutely brilliant in everything that he is in, whether is is being scary or crazy, or sad or happy, he is just amazing. He has such a long a great career and I look forward to seeing even more movies with Mr. Hopkins. Here are my favorite movies of his.

Magic

I really loved this movie. Hopkins plays a ventriliquist named Corky, who can't stop talking to his dummy Fats. The main reason I love this movie is for Anthony Hopkin's performance. It is basically two hours him talking to himself and it is just creepy and unsettling and fantastic. One of the best scenes in the movie is when his agent asks if he can make Fats stop talking for five minutes. You'd think it would be easy, but you end up seeing how hard it is for Corky not to talk to Fats.

The Elephant Man

I just watched this movie again about a week or two ago and it still makes me bawl my eyes out. Hopkins plays a man who takes the "Elephant Man" aka John Merrick out of the circus freak show and takes care of him in his hospital. While I think that John Hurt as Merrick has the stand out performance in this film, Hopkins is great as always as a man who grows to care for him.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Anthony Hopkins plays the famous dead hunchback Quasimodo in a TV movie version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The best parts of the movie were definitely when he was talking to Esmeralda.

The Silence of the Lambs

Anthony Hopkins is best known for his role in this film, and with good reason. Hannibal Lecter is one of the best movie villains of all time. Hopkins is one of the very few people to win an Oscar for a horror film role. He is a murdering cannibal, but is also a brilliant forensic psychologist. I liked both Hannibal and Red Dragon, but neither of them come close to being as amazing as The Silence of the Lambs. It is just a classic performance in a classic movie!

Dracula

People say that he goes a little over the top in this movie, but I love Anthony Hopkins as Abraham Van Helsing. My favorite scene in the whole movie is the scene where he kills Lucy. (It would be the shadow scene, but that gets bumped down to second place because Keanu Reeves is terrible...)

The Mask of Zorro

I loved this movie when I was a kid and used to watch it all the time. I haven't seen it in forever (I believe that the last time I watched it was on VHS), but I remember loving the sword fights, the love story, and the scene where he is training the new Zorro how to fight. Hopkins just has that great voice where you just want to listen to everything he is saying.

The Wolfman

"Terrible things Lawrence...you've don't terrible things." In the original Wolf Man, Lawrence Talbot's father kills him, but in this version, he is the one who past the werewolf curse onto him. I don't care what anybody says, I loved the remake of the Wolfman! I thought it was entertaining, it has a cast of actors that I love, the Wolfman make-up looked really cool, and it was just awesome!

Thor

Seriously, who else would they have gotten to play Odin? Hopkins was just great casting.

Upcoming: He has a lot of really interesting looking movies coming out, but the one I'm really excited for is Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho where he plays, guess who...Alfred Hitchcock! One of my favorite actor's playing one of my favorite directors!

Character of the Week: Constance Langdon

2012-01-27T13:49:00.000-06:00

Constance Langdon could have easily been a character that everybody hated. She is a racist, homophobic, Southerner who murdered her husband, Moira, and told Larry to kill her son Beauregard. Why is it that she is so amazing then? Well, she is wonderfully played by Jessica Lange, who makes her into a villain you just love to hate instead of just plain hate. She had four children, and by the end of the season we find out that three of them are dead (Beau was murdered, Tate was killed by the police after setting Larry on fire and shooting up his school, and Addie was hit by a car) and we never find out about her fourth child. On the very last episode, however, we see that she is now taking care of Tate's child that he had with his girlfriend's mom, and oh yeah, the child turns out to be a murdereous toddler. One of the most heartbreaking moments on the show was after Addie died and Constance went to the morgue to make her a "pretty girl."

Star Wars: Uncut

2012-01-23T20:32:00.000-06:00

Holy Shit! I just sat through two hours of amazing amazingness! I was on Stumpleupon and I came across this article on Star Wars: Uncut, which is a fan made remake of A New Hope where fans shot 15 second clips of the movie that were edited together. Being a massive Star Wars fan, I of course had to check it out. I planned on only watching a few minutes, but I ended up watching the entire thing which clocks in at about two hours. It was amazing!!! While some of the clips were a little annoying, most of it was creative and awesome and hilarious. Definitely worth the watch!

Character of the Week: Sheldon Cooper

2012-01-17T13:09:00.000-06:00

This week's character of the week is Dr. Sheldon Cooper from one of my favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory. He is a physisist with a genius I.Q. who went to college at a very young age. He has very little social skills and has some obsessive compulsive habits like always having to knock three times and having to sit in the same spot. I love Sheldon because he always says what's on his mind. It's not because he doesn't care how it will affect people, it's because he doesn't think that people should be offended by facts. He is definitely the character with the best dialogue on the show and Jim Parsons is just hilarious as Sheldon.

My Favorite Movies of 2011

2012-01-16T12:53:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite things to do is to go to the movies. I went to a shitload of movies this year and really enjoyed writing my little movie reviews after I got home. This year I only gave one movie a 10/10, which is my number one movie on the list. (Check it out below...) The five movies that I gave the lowest scores to were Sucker Punch, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Breaking Dawn Part 1, The Rum Diary, and Your Highness. Anyways...here is my list of the 10 movies that I enjoyed the most in the year 2011.

10. The Muppets

This movie was totally cheesy, but I loved it anyway. I've always loved The Muppets and this movie just put me in a really good mood. When ever I leave the theater after seeing a movie that I really like I end up walking on sunshine all the way home, and that was definitely the case with this movie. It was made even better by having the always adorable Jason Segel. I was bummed that I didn't get to see this movie with my little sisters, but they probably already know all the words to Man or Muppet because that song was stuck in my head all through Christmas break so I was singing it all the time.

9. Like Crazy

This movie stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones as two young people who try to make a long distance relationship work after the girl overstays her visa and is no longer allowed in the United States. This movie has lots of really cute and sweet parts, but also a lot of parts that are really sad. They have to deal with jealousy, breaking up and then missing eachother and getting back together and trying to lift the ban on her visa while they are both leading really separate lives in their different countries.

8. Fright Night

This movie really surprised me. I love the original Fright Night, so I was really curious about how they would update the movie (since the old one is VERY 80s). I think that Colin Farrell makes a very sexy vampire, and I liked the way they changed the character of Peter Vincent. He went from old school vampire hunter in the original to a Criss Angel-type magician in this one. I just think that this movie is really fun to watch.

7. Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil

This was definitely one of the funniest movies that I saw in 2011. It is about these two rednecks who this group of college students think are serial killers. In reality, they are just on vacation while the students accidentally kill themselves one by one. I just love it because you see so many movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre where this group of kids get murdered by random rednecks who live in the middle of nowhere, and this movie is a comment on those.

6. Young Adult

I absolutely love Charlize Theron and I think that she was amazing in this movie. She plays a YA novel writer who goes back to her hometown to try to get back together with her ex-boyfriend (who is married with a new baby). The best scenes in the movie were definitely the scenes with Theron and Patton Oswalt, who plays a guy she never really talked to in high school, but confides in about her mission to get her ex back.

5. Jane Eyre

I loved this book so I was super excited when I saw that this movie was coming out. I think that the casting for this movie was perfect and that Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender were both really great as Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. In the book Mr. Rochester is described as unattractive, so casting Fassbender wasn't staying true to the novel, but I really don't care! Fassbender is soooo sexy as Mr. Rochester and he is definitely the best part of this movie.

4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I never thought that a CGI monkey would make me cry, but when Caesar draws his window on the wall it just got to me! Anyways, I always think that prequels are a rediculous idea, but Planet of the Apes was a good movie to make a prequel to since it takes place after so much has happened. It was really cool to see the beginning of how apes take over the Earth. While I love me some James Franco, the real star of this movie is Andy Serkis as Caesar. You see him become more and more human as the film progresses and (SPOILER ALERT!) when he finally talks it is NUTS! I just love how I can watch a whole movie of apes talking and think nothing of it, but when he shouted NO! I just went "WHHAAATTTTT!?!?!?!"

3. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I know that a lot of people were really annoyed about an American movie version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but I was always super excited. Although I love Noomi Rapace and thought that she was great as Lisbeth Salander, I just did not care at all for the Swedish films. I think that Daniel Craig was the perfect choice to play Blomkvist and that Rooney Mara did an amazing job as Lisbeth. It also has one of the coolest opening sequences ever! I really hope that David Fincher directs the movie versions of the next two books as well.

2. X-Men First Class

There were a shitload of superhero movies that came out in 2011, and X-Men First Class was by far my favorite! I thought that the casting was perfect for all of the characters with the exception of January Jones as Emma Frost (I'm sorry I just don't like her). The star of the movie was definitely Michael Fassbender as Magneto and I'm not just saying that because I love Michael Fassbender. Magneto is one of the more interesting X-Men characters and he is just a badass in this movie! I am bummed because I can't find a Youtube video of that scene where he kills those German guys in Argentina...Whatever...here is another cool scene. I loved the parts with Magneto and Mystique and am hoping that we see lots more of them in the sequel!

1. Bridesmaids

Fooking hilarious! I saw this movie in theaters with my mom and we were both laughing our asses off the entire time! I thought that the entire cast was brilliant, even the people with smaller parts. This is one of the funniest movies to come out in a long time. I laughed my ass off the first time I saw it, laughed my ass off again when I saw it at the movie theater in Coffman with a full crowd of people, and continue to laugh my ass off whenever I watch it on DVD. Love this movie!

Song of the Week: Rolling in the Deep

2012-01-16T11:10:00.000-06:00

My Review: A Dangerous Method

2012-01-15T15:27:00.000-06:00

Is is possible for Michael Fassbender to do a bad movie? I really don't think so. I don't know if he just chooses excellent movies or if movies instantly get better with his presence. And what a presence it is. Even looking very old fashioned with his mustache, glasses, and attire, he still manages to be unbelievably sexy. Every time he flashed that Fassbender smile in this movie I couldn't help but smile myself. Oh right... A Dangerous Method. I have to admit that I am totally biased in favor of this film. Not only does it have a cast that I really love, but it is directed by one of my favorite directors, David Cronenberg. Having said that, I did really like this movie. I thought that it was sexy and interesting and was made even better by the fact that I had to read a lot of Freud for my Sexuality and Culture class last semester. Fassbender was great as always, and even though he was smoldering, he probably had the least interesting role. I really loved Viggo Mortensen as Freud. He was the only person who managed to bring some humor into the film and really gave an effortless performance. I understand why Cronenberg likes to work with him so much. I thought that Keira Knightley went a bit over the top playing the crazier Sabina in the beginning of the film, but she was much better as the recovering psychology student version of Sabina. The scenes with Fassbender and Knightley are VERY sexy, including (or especially) the scenes where he's not spanking her. I was bummed that Vincent Cassell's role was pretty small. I loved the scenes with him and Fassbender, where he helps Carl Jung develop the courage to start his affair with Sabina. My rating: 8/10

Just Finished Reading: Oryx and Crake

2012-01-14T16:41:00.000-06:00

This is the other book that I bought with my Barnes and Noble gift card. It just shows how expensive books are...I had a $30 gift card and I was actually $5 short with this book and The Hunger Games. Thats why I usually get my books from Amazon. And if you spend $25 or more you get free shipping....so thats always good. Anyways, I loved this book. I've been wanting to read it since researching for my presentation on female science fiction writers for my Women Writers class. The way that the story is told is really interesting. It starts out after everything has happened and then slowly tells everything that led up to it. It starts with Snowman, who takes care of these lab made people that he calls the Children of Crake. We find out that Crake is not a god, but was his scientist friend who made them. My favorite parts of this book were when Snowman/ Jimmy was thinking about Oryx, the woman he loved. He became obsessed with her since seeing her in a kiddie porn video. That is pretty creepy, but he doesn't actually meet her until she is an adult. Oryx is a very interesting character because she always laughs off Snowman/ Jimmy's concerns about her and her past. She has had this pretty traumatic past, but she just shrugs it off like it's no big deal.

Just Finished Reading: The Hunger Games

2012-01-14T16:33:00.001-06:00

I don't normally read YA novels, so I was going to wait to see this in theaters. But, everytime I watched the movie trailer I just became more and more curious about this book. So..I used my Barnes and Noble gift card that I got for Christmas and I bought this book. I literally could not put it down. I started reading it one night and got about 1/4 of the way through and then I read the rest of it the next morning. Now I am just super excited to see this movie! I think that Jennifer Lawrence will be great as Katniss. As soon as I become a little less poor I plan to buy the other two books in the series and read them as well. I will never descriminate against a story just because it is a YA novel ever again. Actually...that is probably not true.

Just Finished Reading: The Fall

2012-01-14T16:21:00.000-06:00

I have been without working internet for the past three weeks, so that is the reason for the lack of posts. Over my Christmas vacation I read three different books, with the first beeing The Fall, the second book in the interesting Del Toro/ Hogan vampire trilogy. With this book we get more creepy vampires with their long stingers coming out of their mouths. The most interesting character in these books is Setrakian, an old vampire hunter. In my mind I picture him as Christopher Plummer. It was cool learning more of his backstory in this book. This book also ended with a bit of a cliffhanger with Eph's ex-wife (who is now a vampire) having his son... I guess I'll have to read the third book to find out what happens next...

American Horror Story Season Two

2011-12-22T22:39:00.000-06:00

Okay...so I have just found out some interesting/ disturbing news that you can read about HERE. Apparently last night was the last we will ever see of the Harmons and the Langdons. They are making American Horror Story into an anthology show where each season will have a new setting, a new story, and a new cast. This really bummed me out when I read this. For starters, I have come to really like these characters. We will never see more of Tate, Constance, Moira, Chad, Patrick, Infantata, Elizabeth Short, or any of the other characters that I have had an interest in throughout the first season. It just sucks because it leaves you with so many unanswered questions. Like...will Violet and Tate ever get back together? What will happen with Vivien and Tate's anti-christ child?

I mean, an anthology show could be kind of cool. Having a new story each season would definitely keep the show fresh. I honestly don't see where they could have taken the show after last nights episode. All of the characters are dead, and you can't just have the entire second season be episode after episode of the ghosts scaring people out of their house. Turning American Horror Story into an anthology show is probably them just being lazy and not wanting to figure out how to continue this story. I mean, they never mentioned this before! If I knew that this story was only going to last this one season I probably wouldn't have got so invested in it. It just SUUUUUCKS!

On the bright side Ryan Murphy did say that, while we will have a lot of new faces, some of the cast will return. I am hoping that it is Jessica Lange and Evan Peters. Those two are basically the whole reason to watch the show. Of course, even if the two of them do return, they wouldn't be Contance and Tate. They would be two completely different characters and it could turn out completely awful! It says that we will find out more about the second season in February and I am really curious about where this is going to go...

My Most Anticipated Movies for 2012 (Part 1)

2011-12-22T20:04:00.001-06:00

I'm going to this this three months at a time because my list always gets too long and I end up forgetting some. So... here are the movies I plan to see in January, February, and March of 2012.

JANUARY

The Devil Inside

Its been a while since I've seen a movie in theaters that actually scared me, and I'm hoping that The Devil Inside will do just that. Although I'm getting sick of all these exorcism movies, this movie does look pretty freaky. The first time I saw the trailer it did give me a bit of a fright. Of course, so did the trailer for Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and that movie was kind of shitty.

Underworld: Awakening

I still haven't seen Underworld: Evolution all the way through, but I have until January to watch it. This movie actually looks pretty cool. I'm loving the little werewolf/ vampire hybrid girl, and Kate Beckinsale looks awesome as always in her black leather suit.

Haywire

This really isn't my type of movie at all. I think that the plot of this movie is something that has been done a million times before and it doesn't really look all that interesting to me. Why do I want to see it then? Well for starters it has Ewan McGregor and Channing Tatum...definitely some eye candy. And oh yeah...MICHAEL FASSBENDER. If that handsome Irish actor is in a movie, you know my ass is going to be in those theater seats.

We Need to Talk About Kevin

This is a book that I was planning to read because I heard that it was both really good and really disturbing. Now I guess I don't have to because I can go see this movie.(And all the literary snobs cry...) From what I have read about the plo,t the trailers that I have seen haven't really given too much away about what this movie is really about. I guess it is about parents dealing with the fact that their teenage son shot up his high school.

Albert Nobbs

I saw the trailer for this movie when I went to see Like Crazy and thought that it looked really interesting. Glenn Close plays a woman who pretends to be a man called Albert Nobbs.

FEBRUARY

The Woman in Black

I love me a good ghost story! This movie looks really cool and the fact that it is produced by Hammer makes it that much better.

W.E.

What make this movie neat is that it is directed by Madonna. This story is about Edward VIII and how he gives up the throne for the woman he loves. We got a hint of this story in The King's Speech, though that movie focuses on his brother. I am curious to learn more about Edwards story with this movie, because in The King's Speech I really didn't care so much for his character. Plus, maybe seeing Abbie Cornish and Oscar Isaac in this will make me forgive them for Sucker Punch.

This Means War

Totally going to see this just because it has Tom Hardy. He always plays such super serious characters, so it'll be nice to see him to a comedy. Also, I love Chelsea Handler, so it'll be cool to see her in this as well.

MARCH

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

There is not a poster or a trailer for this movie yet, but with a title like that, how could you not want to see it?

The Raven

I have never read anything by Edgar Allen Poe, with the exception of a few poems (including The Raven) but that is something that I plan to fix in the future. This movie stars John Cusack as the famous writer, and is about a series of murders that are inspired by his novels.

Mirror Mirror

I'm actually still debating whether or not I really want to see this movie because it looks corny as hell! I might still see it so that I can compare it to Snow White and the Huntsman which comes out later in the year.

21 Jump Street

This movie actually looks pretty funny. I think that Channing Tatum is much better in his comedic roles than his dramatic ones. Plus...I read somewhere that Johnny Depp is going to have a cameo!!

The Hunger Games

I'm really not a fan of YA novels, but from what I've read about this movie it seems like an interesting story. A part of me is curious and wants to read the books, but another part of me just wants to wait to see the movie so that I can be surprised.

Wrath of the Titans

While I am still irked that they replaced Alexa Davalos as Andromeda, I am curious to see this movie. It actually looks pretty cool, and I'm always up for seeing Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes!

My Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

2011-12-22T18:23:00.000-06:00

Super cool!!! While I loved Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander, I have to say that Rooney Mara did a great job. Mara is a pretty girl, but not so pretty that it distracts from the character. Even though she does have plenty of nude scenes, Lisbeth isn't supposed to be a sex object. She is supposed to be tough, crazy, and super smart, and Mara does a great job with that. Daniel Craig was the perfect choice to play Blomkvist, and I also really loved Robin Wright and Christoper Plummer in their roles as well. A lot of people really didn't see the point of having an American version of this movie, since the Swedish ones were so popular. Although I do slightly agree with that, it doesn't change the fact that this movie was incredibly cool. I was sucked in right away, especially after that opening sequence with the Karen O/ Trent Reznor cover of Immigrant Song. The fact that I read the book and knew the entire story didn't take away any of the suspense for me. It was just a great, interesting film to watch, and it didn't even feel like 2 1/2 hour long movie. My rating: 9/10

American Horror Story Episode 12: Afterbirth

2011-12-22T00:48:00.000-06:00

Woah...what a way to end the season. You think that everything is going to be all hunky dorey, and them BAM!, Hayden murders Ben....right away! I couldn't believe it! I mean I guess it makes sense that he would be dead too since his wife and daughter are there. So, Constance takes care of the baby, who is technically her grandson. Then, the realtor lady sells the house to this couple. As soon as their supercute teenage son walked in the door I just knew that there was going to be some Tate jealousy issues involved. I had no idea that he would try to kill him though! He said that he wanted to kill him so that Violet could be happy. Luckily, Violet saves him. I really didn't care for the scenes with Tate in this episode, except for the one of him talking to Ben. I love how Ben describes him as the worse kind of psychopath because he has charisma. Then Tate goes on to say all of the horrible things that he has done. He has done some incredibly awful things, but you just can't hate him because he has that face!!!

So anyways, Ben and Vivien overhear the new couple say that they want to have another baby. Wanted to protect their baby from the house, they decide to scare them out of the house, and we get one of the coolest scenes this show has ever had. I'm bummed that we didn't see Chad and Patrick, but they really aren't scary I guess. The best parts were definitely Beau jumping down from the attic and having a chopped up Elizabeth Short lift her head and start speaking...LOVE IT!!! What I can not believe, though, is that they didn't have Infantata! He is the scariest ghost in that house! So naturally the new owners get the fuck out of there! We get a nice little scene of the Harmon's decorating their Christmas tree with Hayden and Tate watching. Hayden says that Violet will never talk to him again, so Tate says that he is willing to wait forever. Then....it flashes forward three years! I had a total WTF moment and had to double check my eyes to make sure I was reading it right. The show instantly goes three years in the future and we see that Tate and Vivien's son is a lot like his father. After a scene at the hair salon that takes way too long, Constance goes back to her house to find that her three year old grandson has murdered his babysitter...and that is how the season ends! I am super bummed that this season is over! Season two probably isn't going to premiere until next October, so I have to wait 10 whole months! That is what I hate about shows on FX, AMC, Showtime, and HBO...the seasons are so SHORT!!! Well...I guess I will have to wait patiently for this season to come out on DVD.

My Favorite TV Couples

2011-12-19T22:04:00.001-06:00

Here is a list of my eight favorite TV couples. I was going to make it ten, but I honestly couldn't think of two more. These are couples who, no matter what they go through, I think should make it in the end.

8. Marshall and Lily from How I Met Your Mother

HIMYM is a show that I only watch every once in a while, so I am really not an expert on the show, but I love Marshall and Lily. They are absolutely adorable together and I love their nicknames for each other: Marshmallow and Lilypad

How they got together: They met their Freshman year in college and have been together ever since
Current Status: No idea...but I'm sure the two of them are married by now...

Most Romantic Moment:
Like I said, I don't watch this show that often, but here is a cool video I found of the two of them...

Most Dramatic Moment: NO IDEA

Random Scene I Love:

7. Violet and Tate from American Horror Story

These two are an extremely dysfunctional couple. Tate is a homicidal ghost and Violet is a troubled girl who ends up committing suicide. Now these two are stuck in that house forever...

How they got together: They met when he was seeing her psychologist father and ended up getting to know each other better.
Current Status: They seem to be over for now...I can't really blame Violet, considering that he got her mom pregnant and then her mom died in childbirth...

Most Romantic Moment: After Tate attempts to save her life (we find out later that she actually died), he tells her that he loves her for the first time.

Most Dramatic Moment: Violet dumps Tate after her mom dies.

Random Scene I Love:

6. Liz and Max from Roswell

I loved this show when I was in elementary school. It isn't a show that I would get into if it was just starting now, but I still love it for nostalgic reasons. Max is an alien who has been in love with Liz since they were kids.

How they got together: Even though he loved her all of his life, they don't get together until she gets show one day and he heals her. Then, he has to explain that he's an alien and they end up falling in love
Current Status: Married!

Most Romantic Moment: Max proposes on the shows last episode...

Most Dramatic Moment: Oh goodness...the most dramatic episode ever is probably the season 2 episode The End of the World! A Max from the future goes back in time to convince Liz that she has to make Max from the present stop loving her or the world will end. After several failed attempts, she decides that the only way he will stop loving her is if he thinks that she slept with her ex-boyfriend Kyle. In the video at about 06:30 is the most heartbreaking moment ever...

Random Scene I Love:

5. Lorelai and Luke from Gilmore Girls

Even though Rory had three very cute boyfriends on the show, her relationships were not nearly as good as her mom's relationship with Luke.

How they got together: Luke had been in love with Lorelai since forever, but they didn't get together until the trial run of her new Dragonfly Inn.
Current Status: Although they called off their wedding and hit a rough patch, they got back together on the shows last episode.

Most Romantic Moment: I love when they go on their first date and she realizes that he has been in love with her for eight years. You can find the clip here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCnGFYcFTP8

Most Dramatic Moment: Probably when Luke and Christopher have a huge fight over Lorelai...

Random Moment I Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5K5vkN6CbA

4. Sookie and Eric from True Blood

I am Team Eric all the way! I think that just one scene of the two of them together is better than all of the scenes of Sookie and Bill combined!
,
How they got together: Although Seasons 2 and 3 were filled with Eric/Sookie sexual tension, they didn't get together until Season 4 when she had to take care of him after his memory was erased by witches.
Current Status: Sookie couldn't choose between him and Bill, so she chose neither...(DUMB!)

Most Romantic Moment:

Most Dramatic Moment: Instead of choosing to be with Eric (which she should have!), she chooses to be with neither Eric nor Bill.

Random Scene I Love:

3. Kurt and Blaine from Glee

Klaine is my favorite couple on Glee, beating out both Finchel and Brittana. I read somewhere that they are recasting the show next season when all of the Glee kids go off to college. That really bums me out, and most of the reason is because we won't see more of Kurt and Blaine!

How they got together: They met when Kurt tranferred to Dalton. Kurt crushed on him for a while, then Blaine realized he liked Kurt too.

Current Status: Still together, but it wouldn't be a teen show without some relationship drama. Enter Sebastian, a guy who is making Kurt jealous...

Most Romantic Moment: Blaine tells Kurt he loves him...I love it because he just says it out of the blue.

Most Dramatic Moment: Blaine Drunk=BAD

Random Scene I Love:

2. Jim and Pam from The Office

Although I don't really watch The Office anymore, I used to watch this show religiously! One of the main reasons I watched it (besides the fact that it is hilarious) was for the scenes with Jim and Pam.

How they got together: After two seasons of Jim pining for Pam, and then one scene of them pining for each other, they finally started dating in Season 4.
Current Status: The last episode I saw was their wedding episode, but I read somewhere that they currently have a second kid on the way.

Most Romantic Moment: I cried when they finally got married.

Most Dramatic Moment: I remember freaking out durning the last episode of season 2 when Jim tells Pam that he loves her. I am so annoyed about not being able to find a better quality video than this...

Random Scene I Love: I LOVE the scene when Jim finds out that Pam is pregnant. It is even better because we are looking at them through the window, so we only know what is going on because of his reaction. It starts at about 1:04. I am very disappointed in Youtube for not having better videos! If anyone can find me better quality versions that I can embed, please let me know...

1. Blair and Chuck from Gossip Girl

These two are another very dysfunctional couple. Although their good moments are very good, their bad moments are TERRIBLE! With all of the things that these two have done to eachother, they should hate eachother. However, despite all of the drama, these two are meant for each other and always find their way back.

How they got together: Blair lost her virginity to Chuck in the back of his limo after breaking up with his best friend Nate. They have been off and on ever since.
Current Status: Even though she is engaged to the Prince of Monaco and is carrying his child, she realized that she can't marry him because she is still in love with Chuck. Since the show never lets these two have a happy ending, they got into a horrible car accident right after getting back together. Although I highly doubt that Chuck is dead, I have to wait until January 16th to find out...

Most Romantic Moment: When Chuck finally tells Blair that he loves her. If you watch the show, then you know what a big deal this was...

Most Dramatic Moment: This is a tough one. These two have done some awful things to eachother. She slept with his uncle and destroyed his relationship with Eva. He traded her for his hotel back and flipped the fuck out when he found out that she was engaged. The worst thing, though, was probably when he had sex with Jenny. Blair was supposed to meet Chuck on top of the Empire State Building to prove that she loved him, so of course that was when Dorota went into labor. When she was late, Chuck was very upset and made the stupid mistake of sleeping with Jenny. What makes it worse is that Blair finds out right when Chuck is about to propose. You can find the scene here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxf9p0YnVV8

Random Scene I Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6vexKRlIb8&feature=related

My Review: Shame

2011-12-16T17:53:00.000-06:00

This was my very first time seeing an NC-17 film in theaters...so go me! I thought that it would be totally awkward, but thank goodness there weren't any people sitting near me. This film features the very handsome Michael Fassbender as Brandon, a sex addict. He is constantly looking at internet porn, jerking off, and picking up random women (which is really easy for him...) He has a really strange relationship with his younger sister Sissy, who come to stay with him for a little while. I thought that this was a very odd role(and mature!) for Carey Mulligan to play because she has such a baby face. It was just weird seeing her do a nude scene. She plays a singer, and I really think that Steve McQueen should have cut the scene of her singing. Mulligan's rendition of New York, New York was like watching paint dry. (Although she does look lovely in all of her close-ups). Anyways, this film isn't about Brandon trying to get over his addiction, but about coming (hehe) to terms with how he feels about it. Throughout the film you see more and more how ashamed he is of his addiction. There is a really intense scene when Sissy walks in on him masterbating, and he just flips out on her. There are several really graphic sex scenes in this movie, with the most graphic one being a three way sex scene with him and two other girls. There aren't really all that sexy though. While they are shot beautifully, they are just really sad because you know that it is just feeding his addiction. Fassbender really gives a fearless performance here. There are several really heartbreaking moments in this film, especially towards the end, and Fassbender really delivers. My rating: 7/10

Violate: I Ship Violet and Tate Forever!!!

2011-12-16T10:38:00.000-06:00

My Tumblr dash since yesterday morning has been flooded with photosets from Wednesday's episode of American Horror Story. It makes me really sad because most of them are of the final scene with Violet and Tate after her mom dies. Violet finally tells Tate that she loves him, but then dumps him and tells him to go away! (Which, if you're a ghost, means that you are forced to vanish...) Honestly, I do think that Violet was right to do what she did. Even though Tate really loves her, he has done a lot of fucked up shit, including indirectly leading to the death of her mother. I would be ridiculous of her to just overlook all of that stuff, so she did make the right decision.
Having said that, it was still really heartbreaking! One of the main reasons to watch this show is for the scenes with Violet and Tate. I really don't know how she is going to forgive him though. I mean, he put on his latex suit so he could trick her mom to have sex with him so that he could get her pregnant. Then his little antichrist baby killed her. That is a lot to handle, especially when you're the ghost of a teenage girl. But...they have all of eternity to make it work because they are both stuck in that house together forever. (Along with Tate's baby mama and a bunch of his victims...) I can not wait until next week's episode! Basically everyone in the house knows that Tate raped Vivien except for Vivien, so maybe next week she will find out...What I am really excited for are the Violet and Tate scenes!!!! After the end of Wednesday's episode, I am really curious as to how they will be around eachother...It is a really fucked up situation for both of them, but I will never give up on Violate!!!

American Horror Story Episode 11: Birth

2011-12-15T00:31:00.000-06:00

HOLY SHIT!!! What a fantastic episode! I was a total emotional rollercoaster that whole time! I'm not gonna lie, that opening scene have me the heebie jeebies, when little Tate first sees the Infantata. Yikes! But...then he gets comforted by Nora. The real craziness in this episode is that Vivien goes into labor! We find out that one of the twins is growing really fast, (it is never said, but I'm assuming it is Tate's baby), and that Ben's baby is getting weaker. So weak, in fact, that the poor thing ends up stillborn. After giving birth to the other one, Vivien dies!!! SHE DIES!!!! Oh yeah, and Violet finds out that Tate raped her mom! I couldn't help but feel bad though at the end when she told him to go away. I mean, he totally deserved it, but it was really sad when he was all "you're all that I have!" There was so much going on in this episode that I can't even keep it all straight. One of the best parts was when Tate was trying to seduce Patrick so that he could get his ring and then Patrick beats the crap out of him. I love the smile on his face after Patrick punches him. So he got his ring and Violet got Chad's watch because the medium told them about this spell that supposedly gets rid of ghosts.Of course it doesn't work! So, instead of getting rid of ghosts, we get one more when Vivien dies. The ending of this episode was so sad. I can't believe there is only one episode left!

Just Finished Reading: He, She and It

2011-12-14T20:56:00.000-06:00

I had to read this book for my sex and culture class, and I found it really interesting. In class we discussed whether or not Yod should get his wish and be recognized as a citizen. I was basically the only one in my entire class who thought that he shouldn't. I had to get out my nerdness and explain how cyborgs being recognized as citizens could lead to a robot apocalypse and to humans being obsolete.

Character of the Week: Marla Singer

2011-12-14T12:05:00.000-06:00

This week's character of the week is Marla Singer. She is portrayed by the lovely Helena Bonham Carter in the film Fight Club. I love her because she is such a total trainwreck. Although this seems like the normal kind of role for Bonham Carter now, before this film she mostly did a lot of period pieces. She was perfect in the English Rose type of role, and Marla Singer was a big departure from that. Marla Singer is someone who, along with Fight Club's protagonist, goes to support group meetings (even for testicular cancer). She is someone who the protagonist believes is sleeping with Tyler Durden, but we soon find out that there is no Tyler Durden! This is one of my favorite of Helena Bonham Carter's roles. She is fantastic playing characters who are batshit crazy, and Marla Singer is definitely that...

Spotlight On: Cate Blanchett

2011-12-12T12:52:00.000-06:00

This spotlight is on the lovely and talented Cate Blanchett. I have been a huge fan of hers since I was around 12 and I saw Charlotte Gray on television. Since then I have pretty much loved her in everything that I have seen her in. Here are my favorite films of hers (the Elizabeth movies are not included because I have not seen them...)

Charlotte Gray

This is kind of a weird movie for a 6th grader to love, but I watched it every single time it was on TV. Blanchett plays a Scottish woman who goes undercover in France to help fight the Nazis.

Lord of the Rings

Who else could they have possibly cast to play the beautiful elf Galadriel? Blanchett is perfect in this role! One of my favorite scenes in the entire series is when she is giving her gifts to the fellowship. I just love how Gimli (a total elf hater) ends up completely taken with her beauty. You can find that link at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRGB1kmTyFc&feature=related

The Aviator

Here Blanchett won an Oscar for playing legendary movie star Katharine Hepburn. Bringing Up Baby and The Philadephia Story are some of my favorite movies, so I'm a big fan of Hepburn, and I think that Blanchett did a great job with her voice, and she definitely has her cheekbones.

Notes on a Scandal

Here Blanchett plays a high school art teacher who has an affair with one of her students. It is pretty creepy because he is so young! I think he is supposed to be 15, but he looks around 12. Blachett's best part in this movie is definitely when she is yelling at Judi Dench's character. It is a very intense scene, and Blanchett pull it off marvelously.

I'm Not There

I didn't really care for this movie as a whole, but it is worth watching to see Cate Blanchett's version of Bob Dylan.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

In this film, Blanchett plays a ballerina who falls in love with a man who ages backwards. It is really quite sad how few years they get together, considering that he was an old when she was child, and that while she starts getting wrinkles, all of his go away.

Upcoming: we get to see Blanchett plays Galadriel in The Hobbit Part 1 and 2.

Song of the Week: Little Drummer Boy

2011-12-12T11:44:00.002-06:00

My Review: Young Adult

2011-12-09T17:47:00.000-06:00

While 2011 was the year of Natalie Portman, I think that 2012 is going to be all about Charlize Theron. She has two upcoming films that look fantastic, Snow White and the Huntsman and Prometheus, and also her flawless performance in this film. Theron plays Mavis, a divorced YA writer who goes back to her hometime to try to get back together with her high school boyfriend (who BTW is married with a new baby). What makes this movie great however, is her budding friendship with a guy she never noticed in high school, marvelously played by Patton Oswalt. The scenes with Theron and Oswalt are definitely the best moments in the film. Both deliver excellent performances and even though they seem totally mismatched, they have great onscreen chemistry together. Throughout the movie we see Mavis become more and more of a hot mess until she eventually loses it at her ex-boyfriend's baby's naming party. This movie was both funny and moving with a great script by Diablo Cody, and was one of my favorite movies this year. My rating: 9/10

Character of the Week: Tate Langdon

2011-12-08T17:25:00.000-06:00

This week's character of the week is from one of my favorite new shows, American Horror Story. He is a ghost in the Harmon house who has been dead since 1994. After setting his mom's boyfriend on fire, then shooting up his high school, he was killed by cops at the hauted house. Since he was killed there, he is stuck in that house forever, except for on Halloween which is the only day that the ghosts can leave. What makes Tate interesting is that even though he is a murdererous ghost who got his girlfriend's mom pregnant, he is still absolutely adorable. If you go to Tumblr and check out the posts tagged American Horror Story, you will see a shitload of posts/ gifs about Tate, so I'm not the only one who thinks so.

American Horror Story Episode 10: Smoldering Children

2011-12-08T00:05:00.000-06:00

So it turns out that I was right! Violet is dead as a doornail. Tate put her dead body underneith the house. That sucks so much for her and her parents. Now they'll never be able to leave. I highly doubt that Ben and Vivien would abandom Violet there, so they are just stuck in the murder house with all of them ghosts. Speaking of ghosts, we got to see Larry's wife and daughter for the first time. They look all burned and gross. Speaking of burned and gross, we also find out that Larry didn't get burned by the fire that his wife killed herself with. He was actually burned at his office by Tate before he went off to do his school shooting. I don't understand why they keep changing Larry's story. First, he got burned by the fire he used to kill his family. Then we find out that they killed themselves. Then we find out that that isn't even how he got burned...it is just a coincidence. This show has so many plotholes, (like the fact that the medium said that Tate didn't know he was dead when now it seems that he has known the whole time) but it is still the first season and I think it just took a while for this show to figure out what it wanted to be. This episode also has the aftermath of Constance's boyfriend's death. Naturally, she is the main suspect even though he was killed by the surgeon ghost. Luckily for her though, Larry confessed to killing him. I thought for sure he was going to lie and say that he saw Constance do it or something, but instead he said that he did it. Now we have Vivien in a mental institution and Larry in jail...the characters on this show just can't catch a break! I'm bummed that there are only two more episodes left...sad face! :( Here's what I'm thinking will happen next week. I'm pretty sure that Violet is going to find out that Tate boned her mom. Ben totally saw his face before he passed out, so naturally he would tell Violet that her boyfriend is the father of one of her little brothers/sisters. She certainly won't be a happy camper when she finds out, especially since she is stuck in that house with Tate forever. Also, I'm hoping to see more of Zachary Quinto and Mena Suvari...I loved them as Chad and the Black Dahlia.

Song of the Week: Bachelorette

2011-12-05T16:31:00.000-06:00

Spotlight On: Cary Grant

2011-12-05T16:29:00.000-06:00

Cary Grant is one of my absolute favorite Classic Hollywood actors. He was very charming and handsome, and I loved him in both comedic and dramatic roles. He is the male lead in several of my favorite romantic comedies, as well as some of my favorite Hitchcock films. Here are my favorite Cary Grant movies.

The Awful Truth

This is one of the several movies in which Grant plays a man who steals back his ex-wife from another man. My favorite part in the entire movie is the part where his ex-wife hides the man who he believed that she was cheating with in the other room when Grant's character shows up. Then when Ralph Bellamy shows up, he goes into that room to hide too and finds the other man there. I love the gesture that he makes to the hat, before he knocks it out of the other man's hand. "Yours?"

Bringing Up Baby

This movie features Grant as a man who is engaged to be married, but has Katherine Hepburn trying to win his heart. I love how she keeps tricking him into staying with her...You can find one of my favorite scenes HERE

His Girl Friday

This is my favorite of his screwball comedies. He plays newspaper editor Walter Burns who tries to win back his ex-wife by having her write one last story for him before her wedding. His Girl Friday is by far the greatest of the talking-a-mile-a-minute screwball comedies, and I love him paired with Rosalind Russell.

The Philadelphia Story

I love Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart, so I knew I would love this movie. I was right. This movie is funny, and adorable, and Grant is great as C.K. Dexter Haven, a man who (guess what!) is still in love with his ex-wife. But this time, he has to fight off two other guys, her fiance, and a reporter played by Stewart.

Notorious

In one of my favorite Hitchcock films, he is paired with the absolutely stunning Ingrid Bergman. He plays a detective (?) who falls for the woman who he places undercover to get information about a man who he believes is a criminal. Unfortunately for him, she goes too deep undercover and ends up marrying this guy.

An Affair to Remember

This movie always makes me cry. Grant plays a man who falls for this woman while on a boat back home. They both have sugar daddys/mamas so they agree to give eachother six months to work so that they can marry eachother. They agree to meet on top of the Empire State Building, but unfortunately she gets hit by a car on the way there. I love the ending scene when they see eachother again after all of this time. When she opens the box from him and it is his grandmother's shawl it always makes me cry...

North By Northwest

In another great Hitchcock film that he did, Grant plays a man who is caught in a case of mistaken identity. This film has tons of iconic scenes, but the most well known is definitely the crop dusting scene. You can find it HERE

My Review: Melancholia

2011-12-03T10:41:00.001-06:00

This movie starts out letting you know that the world is going to end. We see a bunch of slow motion shots of certain characters moments before it happens, and then we see this giant blue planet crash right into Earth. Kind of a downer, but it looked absolutely amazing. Then we get to Part One: Justine, which is all about Kirsten Dunst's character on her wedding day. It starts out totally normal, with her and her new husband (played by the very handsome Alexander Skarsgard) having some trouble getting their stretch limo through the wavy driveway. They seem like a very happy couple, and when we get to the wedding we are introduced to her sister, her brother in law, her mother (who is opposed to marriages) and her father (who appears to be drunk the whole time.) We soon start to see that Justine is less than happy on her wedding day, and start getting hints of her mental problems. I don't understand how someone could be unhappy after marrying that tall drink of water Alexander Skarsgard, but whatever...Anyways, Part Two: Claire is about Justine's sister (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg) who is stressing out about this planet called Melancholia, which she believes is going to hit Earth, even though her husband (Keifer Sutherland) assures her that it won't. After seeing the second half I really didn't see the point of the first half. The first half doesn't mention the planet at all, and the second half doesn't feature most of the characters from the first half. After the first half is over we don't see Justine's new husband, or Justine and Claire's parents ever again. I suppose part one was just there to let us know that Justine is a little off center. Anyways, Melancholia goes right past Earth as Claire's husband says, but then a few days later, it starts moving closer to the Earth. I thought that the last shot of the planet coming close to Earth while Justine, Claire, and Claire's son were sitting under their "magic cave" they made looked really cool. I do think that the second half really dragged a bit though. Of course, that could just be because the popcorn I had at the theater made me a little sick and I just wanted the movie to hurry up and get over with. This movie isn't all that entertaining and I wasn't very interested in the characters of Justine and Claire, but it does have some great visuals. The only characters that I were interested in (Skarsgard, John Hurt, and Charlotte Rampling's characters) were only in the beginning... My rating: 5/10

Just Finished Reading: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

2011-12-01T10:52:00.000-06:00

I've never really read any erotica before, but I thought that Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty Trilogy looked really interesting. To be honest, I really didn't find this book all that sexy. It is about this kingdom that takes royalty from other kingdoms and uses them as sex slaves. The prince of this kingdom wakes Beauty from her sleep (with his penis) and claims her as his personal slave. I have a tendency to picture myself as characters in books that I am reading and I had to stop doing that with this one. Beauty has to do some really humiliating and degrading thing in this book. I just wish she wasn't so submissive. If it were me I would just run away, regardless of how handsome the prince is. I also thought that this book was like two separate books. The first part was all about Beauty and the prince, but the second half is all about another slave named Prince Alexi. I plan to read the other two in this trilogy, so hopefully the second two will be better.

American Horror Story Ghosts

2011-12-01T10:33:00.005-06:00

Okay, since there are so many ghosts in the Harmon house now, I am going to try to keep track of all of them. These are the ones that I remember at the moment (please tell me if I am missing any). If there are any more as the show progresses, I will be sure to add them to this list...

Tate

Hayden

Young Moira

Older Moira

Chad

Patrick

Charles

Nora

Demon in the basement

The nurse and the young girl

Home Invasion Girl

There was a guy with this, but I couldn't find a picture of him.

The Twins

Beau

Elizabeth Short

Travis

Okay, so that is 18 ghosts right there. We haven't seen Larry's wife and daughters yet as ghosts on the show, but since they died in that house, they are probably ghosts. That brings the count up to 21. I also have the theory that Tate didn't save Violet in time and that she is dead.

That would explain why she never leaves the house. On the other hand, wouldn't there be a body? So...as you can see there are tons of ghosts in this house. I think that this show really needs to cool it with adding more and more ghosts and should focus on the characters they already have. I mean, on last night's episode we didn't see Violet at all, and we only had glimpses of Tate and Larry.

Update: 12/03/11Oops...I forgot about Constance's husband, who died the same day as Moira...

Update: 12/08/11

Violet

Also...Larry's wife and two daughters are ghosts. So their are 23 ghosts in the Harmon house...DAMN!!!

Update: 12/15/11

Okay, so I got rid of one of the home invasion girls because apparently she wasn't killed in the house. I don't really remember, but I'm going to go ahead and believe the comments...The ghosts count is still up to 23, however, because we have a new ghost.....Vivien Harmon!

Update: 12/22/11

Wowsers! I have three more ghosts to add after that season finale! First we have the exterminator guy who was killed by Tate.

Exterminator

Then, of course, we have Ben Harmon who was murdered by Hayden...

Also, interestingly enough, we have Vivien and Ben's baby, which was stillborn. The poor thing is going to be a baby for all eternity now...So now the ghost count is up to 26!

American Horror Story Episode 9: Spooky Little Girl

2011-12-01T10:01:00.002-06:00

So...apparently only one of Vivien's twins is Tate's and the other baby is actually Ben's. Oh, and apparently Tate and Vivien's baby is also the antichrist! Yeesh...this show really likes to pile it on. We have two more ghosts in this house, one is Elizabeth Short, aka the Black Dahlia, and the other is Constance's young lover who gets killed by Hayden. I REALLY think that they should stop there or else there will be no place to move in that house because it will be filled with ghosts. So, Ben finds out that one of the babies is not his, and he gives this little speech about his wife being a liar. What a hypocrite! For starters, Vivien had no idea that it was Tate in that latex suit and secondly, Ben cheated on Vivien numerous times with Hayden. So...what an asshole! Also, where the hell was Violet this episode? We didn't see her at all! We only saw a glimpse of Larry, and we only saw Tate when Constance was yelling at him for having sex with Vivien. "Tell me you didn't crawl on top of that man's wife!" There are only three more episodes left, so I am really curious about how they are going to end this season. Next week's episode looks SO GOOD!!!!

My Review: My Week With Marilyn

2011-11-30T12:32:00.000-06:00

Michelle Williams looks absolutely stunning as Marilyn Monroe. She doesn't really look all that much like her, but she is so great in this movie that that doesn't even matter. I've seen The Prince and the Showgirl so it was really cool to see the scenes where they are working on the movie. It isn't my favorite of Olivier's movies, but it is an entertaining film. Although Williams is great as Monroe, my favorite thing about this movie was Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier! He really was the obvious choice to play Olivier, and he was perfect! He has his voice, and even looks like him in this movie (although not quite as handsome). He definitely has his upper lip...or lack thereof. It just made me really happy to see him as Olivier.

Branagh as Olivier definitely made this movie worth watching. I didn't really care for the story. It is about a young man named Colin Clive who falls in love with Monroe while working as 3rd Assistant Director to Olivier on The Prince and the Showgirl. The whole movie Marilyn is trying to be a great actress, and Olivier has to deal with her method acting, which he hates because he is a classical actor. I thought it was really funny when Judi Dench's characters says that acting is more than just false noses, because Olivier used a lot of false noses while acting in the theatre. Anyways, everyone has to deal with Marilyn being late to the set all of the time, and with her mood swings. It is basically about a young man who wants to take her away from the hard life of being a star. Emma Watson has a part in this movie as Clive's love interest prior to falling for Monroe. She looks lovely in this film, but her character was pretty unimportant to the overall story. Anyways, don't see this film expecting an interesting story, but go to see the amazing performances by Williams and Branagh. Perhaps Branagh will follow in Cate Blanchett's footsteps and win an Oscar for playing an Oscar winner... My rating: 7/10

My Review: The Muppets

2011-11-30T12:07:00.000-06:00

This movie was pretty cheesy and had a really obvious storyline, but I couldn't help but love it! It is just so darn adorable! I've loved The Muppets ever since I was a kid, so it was really exciting to see them all on the big screen. I couldn't help but laugh at all of the rediculous jokes that were in this movie. I thought that the songs were pretty cute too, with my favorite being "Man or Muppet?"

Jason Segel is adorable as always, and Amy Adams is super cute as his girlfriend. The plot of this movie is that Tex Richman (played by Chris Cooper) wants to tear down the Muppet Studios to drill for oil, and Segel's character's brother (who is also a Muppet) plans to get the Muppets back together so that they can raise $10,000,000 and save the studio. So, they of course get back together, and although they don't raise the money, they still have a happy ending. It is totally corny and obvious, but I'll forgive that because this movie just put me in a really good mood. My rating: 8/10

Character of the Week: Regina George

2011-11-30T11:47:00.000-06:00

This week's character of the week is everyone's favorite mean girl, Regina George. I just love her because she is such a bitch and she doesn't even care. This is one of my favorite teen movies and Rachel McAdams is great as the leader of the plastics. She has some of the best dialogue in the movie and is probably the most memorable character from the film.

The Walking Dead Episode 7: Pretty Much Dead Already

2011-11-28T14:03:00.000-06:00

SOPHIA!!!!! The entire time they were looking for Sophia she was in that damn barn because she was a walker! I figured that they would just never find her, so it was surprised when she came walking out of that barn. That just sucks so much! I suppose that it is pretty realistic though, because there was no way she was going to survive out in those woods by herself, especially for how long they had been looking for her. Anyways, although I do think that Shane is a douchebag, I do have to agree with his actions at the ending. Rick is getting much too soft with following Hershall's rules. It was just not safe to have that barn full of walkers. I wouldn't care if it was his land, the protection of the group should come before being respectful. I am so bummed that this is the last episode until February!!!! LAME!!! That is too long of a wait!

Song of the Week: You Really Got a Hold on Me

2011-11-28T12:33:00.000-06:00

Spotlight On: Zooey Deschanel

2011-11-28T12:31:00.000-06:00

This spotlight is on actress/ singer Zooey Deschanel. She is known for her big blue eyes, her quirky film roles, and her singing voice (which she showcases in a lot of her films). She is the She in the indie group She & Him is is now on one of my favorite new shoes, New Girl. Here are some of my favorite roles of hers.

Almost Famous

In this film she plays Rita, the older sister of the film's protagonist. She is a rebellious girl who leaves home to become a stewardess after not being able to take her mom's rules anymore.

Manic

Manic is a pretty intense film about a group of teenagers at a psych ward. She plays Tracy, a girl whose mom treats her like crap and who is often up at nights screaming in her room.

The New Guy

This movie is actually pretty stupid, and only worth watching for the scenes where Zooey sings.

Elf

Normally I think that Christmas movies are totally corny, but I think that this is a really cute movie. Zooey plays Jovie, a department store elf who is the love interest for Will Farrell's character. It is also another movie (out of several) where she shows off her singing voice.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Here she plays Trillian, a girl who was taken aboard a spaceship right before her planet was destroyed. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is on my list of books that I want to read...

Yes Man

I only saw this movie once, when I saw it in theatres, and the only part that I remember is Zooey's fake band singing "Uh Huh." I actually downloaded that song after I saw this movie. You can find the video for it HERE

(500) Days of Summer

I LOVE this movie!!! I think that Zooey and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are so cute together, I love that it doesn't have your typical romcom ending, and I LOVE all of Zooey's clothes in this movie.

Your Highness

Didn't really care for this movie as a whole, but Zooey was in my favorite scene from the whole movie where Leezar pretends to be James Franco.

New Girl

New Girl is one of my favorite New Shows this season. I love Zooey as Jess, the adorkable girl who moves in with three guys.

My Review: Breaking Dawn Part 1

2011-11-28T11:51:00.000-06:00

I'm really not a fan of the Twilight series, but I thought that I would give this movie a shot. My verdict is that it was okay. I thought that the first three were terrible, but this one had a few moments that I liked. This must have been a long ass book because this is only part one. I think that this movie, with it's Avatar-esque ending would have been a fine way to end the series, I really don't see any reason why there should be more after this. I mean, they're married, they had their vampire kid, she became a vampire, what else needs to happen? I thought that the dialogue in this movie was all really corny, but that is nothing new for this series. Kristen Stewart is wooden and blah as usual, and Robert Pattinson is still good looking. I was getting really bored during this movie, especially during the middle. I have to give it to the people who did the make-up and the special effects because they really did a good job of making Stewart look like hell thoughout this movie. When she was getting all bony she just looked gross. I thought that the birth scene was actually kind of cool. These movies are made for like 13 year old girls, so I was really surprised during that scene. They have to cut her open, and then Edward has to get the baby out with his teeth! Yikes. I also thought it was pretty need at the ending, when Bella was healing, and you see her ribs pop back out. I thought it was kind of weird though that Jacob "imprinted" on their baby. I don't even really get what that means, but it seems pretty creepy. Why don't they just have him get together with that wolf girl? Also, since she is a vampire, shouldn't that baby stay a baby forever? How is she going to get older? My rating: 4/10

Just Finished Reading: Romeo and Juliet

2011-11-28T11:39:00.000-06:00

I've been wanting to reread this for a while, so I bought a copy for $3 at this used book store. Of Shakespeare's works I have only ever read this, Hamlet, and MacBeth. Romeo and Juliet is by far my favorite of the three. A bunch of the lines from this play have become totally cliche now because of how much Romeo and Juliet has been done in movies, but I don't think that it takes away from how great this play is. I'm really curious to see how Hailee Steinfeld does as Juliet. We're so used to seeing older actresses play this part, and the only other movie I have ever seen her in has her playing a rugged southern girl.

Just Finished Reading: The Awakening

2011-11-28T11:34:00.000-06:00

I actually finished this a while ago, but I kept forgetting to post about it. I actually really liked this book. I don't really understand what was so controversial about it though, I was expecting it to be a lot more scandalous. It is about a married woman who falls in love with another man. He ends up leaving, though, so he isn't even there for a majority of the book. When he does come back, all they really do is kiss and then he bails on her because he "loves her too much." I didn't see any reason why this book should have been banned. It isn't nearly as "scandalous" as a book like Madame Bovary or others like that...

American Horror Story Episode 8: The Rubber Man

2011-11-28T11:27:00.001-06:00

Tate is the Rubber Man? TATE IS THE RUBBER MAN??? TATE!?!?!?? That is just so...weird! That means that his girlfriend's mom is pregnant with his babies. EEEW! His children will be siblings to his girlfriend. How weird is that? I'm also thinking that Violet is dead. I mean, the last thing that this house needs is more ghosts, but her being dead would explain why she hasn't been to school in 2 weeks...I love this show, but I'm really starting to wonder how they can keep it going. We are getting more and more ghosts each week and all this crazy stuff is happening...How are they going to keep it going for another season? For starters, they need to knock it off with the ghosts. There are like 20 of them now, and it is really getting rediculous. I also think that we need more scenes with Constance. She wasn't in this episode at all and neither was Larry. This episode was all about Ben thinking that Vivien was crazy. I was getting so pissed off at him, AND at Violet! It is all Violet's fault that her mom got taken away. If she would have just told the truth, then everything would have been fine...I was actually kind of glad though when Vivien shot Ben...he really deserved something like that.

Character of the Week: Daryl Dixon

2011-11-22T09:52:00.000-06:00

This week's character of the week is Daryl Dixon. He is my favorite character on The Walking Dead. The is a crossbow carrying redneck who was originally part of the group with his brother. Unfortunately, his brother was handcuffed and left on a roof and when they went back to find him, they found that he cut his hand off. Recently, he has been helping in the search for Sophia (who they are never going to find.) He is the only one to have gotten a real lead to where she is because he found her doll. He almost died finding that doll, only to come back and be shot by stupid Andrea. While at first he was somewhat of an unlikable character, he is starting to show more of a human side with each episode.

The Walking Dead Episode 6: Secrets

2011-11-21T12:47:00.000-06:00

Poor Glen...the guy is not good at keeping secrets and he had to keep two major ones. 1. There are walkers in the barn. 2. Laurie is pregnant. He didn't make it very long though, because he ended up telling Dale right away. So we find out that there are walkers in the barn because the doctor guy they are staying with just believes that they are sick. I swear, in every zombie story there has to be someone who wants to find a cure so that their love ones can turn back to normal. That never happens, though, so I would just go in that barn and kill all of those walkers. I'm glad that Rick knows about Laurie's pregnancy now. It was a shitty way that he found out though. He finds out that his wife is pregnant because he finds an open thing of morning after pills on the counter. Yikes! I can totally see where Laurie is coming from though. I would not want to bring a baby into the middle of a zombie apocalypse. How would it survive? What would happen if they were surrounded by walkers? Also, how would Laurie's anorexic frame even carry a child? How much do you want to bet that she miscarries... Anyways, not only does Rick find out about the pregnancy, but he finally finds out about Laurie and Shane. He wasn't too surprised though. Speaking of Shane...he totally got in on with Andrea!!! I was actually kind of surprised, but good for them. This was the first episode of the season where I wasn't completely annoyed with Andrea. I was kind of bummed that we didn't see much of Daryl. Hopefully he'll have a bigger part in the next episode.

P.S. They are never going to find Sophia...

Song of the Week: The Thanksgiving Song

2011-11-21T11:33:00.000-06:00

Spotlight On: Charlize Theron

2011-11-19T11:45:00.000-06:00

This week's spotlight is one the beautiful and talented actress, Charlize Theron. I love Charlize Theron because even though is is absolutely gorgeous, she takes such interesting and challenging roles that require more than a pretty face. She has three upcoming projects that I am really REALLY excited about and I look forward to more from her in the future. Here are some of my favorite roles of hers as well as a look at some upcoming projects.

Mighty Joe Young

I used to love this movie when I was a kid. Theron plays a girl who lives in the jungle and takes care of a giant gorilla named Joe. I haven't seen this movie in FOREVER, but it used to be one of my favorites.

Monster

I actually have not seen this entire movie, but I have seen enough pf it to understand why Theron won her Oscar. She is completely unrecognizable as Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute turned serial killer. She gained weight and then had a lot of make-up put on her to transform her from beautiful to what you see above.

North Country

She followed her Oscar win with another amazing performance in North Country. She plays a woman who tries to get a sexual harrassment lawsuit against the mine where she works. This is a movie where I actually cried because I was getting so pissed off!!! Whats worse is that this movie is based on a true story.

Aeon Flux

While not the best movie in the world, I did find the whole clone plot really interesting, and Charlize does look really cool in this movie!

Arrested Development

I loved when Theron was on this show! She played Rita, a British woman who Michael had a crush on. We eventually find out that she is Mr. F...or actually a MRF. (Mentally Retarted Female)

The Road

In this postapocalyptic movie she plays Viggo Mortensen's wife who ends up leaving him and her child after the world goes to shit. She isn't in the movie for very long, but she is still great in her small role.

Upcoming Movies!
Like I said before she has three upcoming movies that I am really excited for!

Young Adult

In Young Adult she plays a girl who was really popular in high school and returns to her hometown to get back together with her ex. Except he is married...This movie looks really funny and Mavis looks like a really cool role for Theron.

Snow White and the Huntsman

What perfect casting! I think that she looks amazing as the Evil Queen and I am looking forward to seeing her evil side!

Prometheus

don't know who is in this picture...

THIS is a movie that I am REALLY looking forward to. It starts Theron, Noomi Rapace, AND Michael Fassbender. What could be better than that? Oh yeah, the fact that it is some how connected to the Alien movies!!!!

The Two Snow White Films

2011-11-17T12:12:00.001-06:00

Okay, I take back what I said about the Julia Roberts/ Lily Collins film looking better than the Charlize Theron/ Kristen Stewart one. Snow White and the Huntman looks waaaay more interesting than Mirror Mirror. While I think that Mirror Mirror looks like it could be kind of a fun movie, it also looks corny as hell! Definitely a kids movie. So, even though I still think that Kristen Stewart was a terrible choice for Snow White (who is going to believe that she is fairer than Charlize Theron?) I think that Snow White and the Huntsman looks WAY better.

My Review: The Rum Diary

2011-11-17T10:53:00.000-06:00

I have never read this book, but I'm certain that it must be better than the movie. This movie has a great cast, and has its interesting moments, but a lot of the time I was just bored and wasn't really caring about the story. Johnny Depp (who looks all kinds of good in this movie) plays a journalist who goes to Cuba to work for this newspaper that does a bunch of stories on bowling alleys. While there, he gets recruited by this guy played by Aaron Eckhart to write about an island that he plans to put a bunch of hotels on. He ends up getting drunk a lot, has run-ins with the law, and falls for Eckhart's hot girlfriend, played by Amber Heard (who is much too young for both of them). I don't know what it is about Aaron Eckhart, but whenever he gets mad in a movie it is just scary! Like there was apart where he got pissed off at Depp's character because he brought his photographer friend on his island and his boat. Yeesh...he was frightening... Anyways, I really didn't think that this movie had much of a plot, and I thought that Heard's character was kind of pointless. My rating: 4/10

American Horror Story Episode 7: Open House

2011-11-17T10:41:00.000-06:00

The last thing this show needed was another ghost, but this episode introduced us to Bo, Constance's deformed son who is chained up in the attic. So that brings the ghost count up to like a billion! We also find out that Larry is in love with Constance, and that he did not murder his wife and children like he claimed he did. Instead, we find out that his wife killed herself along with their daughters by setting their room on fire. Constance is such a terrible person, but I guess that is why I love her. I loved the scene between her and Larry after she meets him in the basement. In this episode they are really trying to sell the house, and they have this once prospective buyer. Moira tries to convince him to put a pool in the backyard so they can dig up the ground and find her bones. The buyer sees the young Moira, so I think that I was right before in thinking that only men see her as young because Vivien, Violet, Constance, and the realtor all see older Moira. Unfortunately for Moira and Tate, and the SEVERAL other ghosts who live in this house, this guy wants to tear it down and put in affordable housing. So, Moira bites his penis off!!! I couldn't believe it!!! She bit it off, and then Larry suffocated him. Yikes....

Just Finished Reading: Damned

2011-11-17T09:44:00.000-06:00

If there is a hell, and I was forced to go there, I would not want it to be like it is in this book. Hell just sounds gross. There are lakes full of semen and fingernail clippings all over the place.... Eeeeeeeeewwww!!!! So...this book is about 13 year old Maddy Spencer, the daughter of a movie star, who is sent to hell after she dies of a marijuana overdose (or does she?) I read this book in no time at all because I could not put it down. It is really funny and gross and interesting and what I would expect from Chuck Palahniuk (Invisible Monsters is one of my favorite books.) I was kind of annoyed at the To Be Continued... at the end, but that just means that there's gonna be another one! Can't wait!

Character of the Week: Selina Kyle

2011-11-17T09:39:00.000-06:00

This weeks character of the week is Selina Kyle, who is better known as Catwoman. While I think that Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt looked stunning in their Catwoman costumes, my favorite person to ever play Selina Kyle was definitely Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns. She went from frumpy secretary to a slinky sexy criminal and she was so badass!

Anne Hathaway has some big shoes to fill in The Dark Knight Rises. Even though I don't really like Hathaway, I am still hoping that she is good because I really want Christopher Nolan's last Batman movie to be good!!!

The Walking Dead Episode Five: Chupacabra

2011-11-14T13:19:00.000-06:00

This whole episode was basically Daryl being a badass. They are sending out search parties to look for Sophia, even though they are never going to find her. Daryl takes a horse and plans to take it to the top of this ridge to see if he can see her. The horse he was riding gets spooked by a snake and knocks Daryl off. The horse runs off and Daryl goes rolling down a hill. When he gets up, we see that he has an arrow though his side! There were several times this episode where I thought that Daryl was going to die. I would have been pissed if he did because he is my favorite character! Anyways, since Daryl is such a badass, he still plans to climb to the top of the hill. Then he starts hallucinating and seeing his brother. When I saw Michael Rooker's name in the opening credits I got so excited!!! I thought maybe Daryl would see him as a zombie and then have to shoot him or something, but instead he was hallucinating that he was seeing him. Merle ends up motivating him to climb to the top by pissing him off, which ends up working. I am starting to really not care if they find Sophia or not, because this is going on too long. Daryl did end up finding her doll, but god damn! this is taking waaaay to long. Anyways, after all of that hardship, Daryl ends up getting shot by stupid Andrea!!! As soon as she said that she saw a walker I knew that it was Daryl, and they told her not to shoot, but stupid Andrea has to be so....stupid!!! Thankfully, she just grazed the side of his head. What an idiot!!!!

OH! I forgot to mention this one part that freaked me out. The part after Daryl first sees Merle and then realizes that a zombie is munching on his shoe! Yeesh!!!!

My Review: Immortals

2011-11-14T13:06:00.000-06:00

I actually thought that this movie was pretty cool. I was expecting a cheesy rip-off of 300, and while I suppose you could call it that, I still thought it was a pretty cool movie. Of course, I am a sucker for the sandals and swords genre. Handsome Henry Cavill plays a man named Theseus who was trained to be a fighter by Zeus. After his mother is murdered, he ends up a slave, but escapes with another slave, a monk, and a virgin oracle. They are set on keeping this magical bow away from Hyperion (played by Mickey Rourke and his raspy voice) because he wants to use it to release the titans. There is a crazy part in this movie where Hyperion punishes a man who beytrays his fellow soldiers to join up with Hyperion. He says that he wants to end his bloodline, so he orders to have his junk bashed in!!! Yikes... The fight scenes with all the gods are pretty cool, but weird. What makes them strange is that while the gods are moving at a normal pace, whomever they fight move really slow. So do the gods slow down their enemies, or are they just moving really fast. I am assuming that it is the latter because they have these streaks of light that follow them. Freida Pinto's character kind of ticked me off in this movie. She plays the virgin oracle, who had these three decoys with her to protect her and her power, and she ends up getting it on with Henry Cavill and losing all of her power. Even though she said that she wanted to see things through her own eyes and that her gift was a curse, I thought that this was a slap in the face to her three decoys and the monk. These girls died to keep her and her power safe, and the monk cut out his own tongue to protect her, and then she just gives up all of her powers!!! I mean, yes, Henry Cavill is really hot, but still.... My rating: 7/10

Song of the Week: Oceans

2011-11-14T12:10:00.003-06:00

Just Finished Reading: The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb

2011-11-14T12:10:00.000-06:00

This book is more drawings than actual comics. I love the ones that he did of these two girls that he went to high school with. My favorite parts in this book were probably the little comic strips of him and his daughter Sophie.

Just Finished Reading: The Lottery and Other Stories

2011-11-14T12:08:00.000-06:00

I love Shirley Jackson, she is one of my favorite writers. Most book stories don't have her books, though which is unfortunate (and if they do it is usually just The Haunting of Hill House). So, I was really happy when I found this one at Barnes & Noble. It is filled with really cool short stories, with her most famous story The Lottery being the very last one. Some of my favorites were Charles, After You, My Dear Alphonse, The Witch, The Dummy, and of course, The Lottery.

Spotlight On: Alan Tudyk

2011-11-14T12:03:00.000-06:00

This week's spotlight is on one of my favorite character actors, Alan Tudyk. He was in one of my favorite TV shows and is always great in everything that he is in. If I see his name attached to a movie, there is a really good chance that I will go see it. Here are some of my favorite of his roles.

A Knight's Tale

Here Tudyk has a supporting role as one of Heath Ledgers friends who are helping him become a knight. He has what is probably the most memorable line in the whole movie...

Firefly/ Serenity

In the short-lived TV series Firefly and its movie version Serenity, Tudyk plays Hoban "Wash" Washburne, the pilot of Serenity. He is one of my favorite characters on the show, and I am still PISSED that they killed him off at the end of the movie! WTF!?!?! Theres this huge thing where people want Nathan Fillion to buy the rights to Firefly so that it can be back on the air, and while that would be kind of cool I am hesitant about it. For starters, what if it comes back and it sucks!?! The last thing I want would be for one of my favorite shows to be ruined. Secondly, how the hell can they have Firefly without Wash??!?!?!? They can't!!!!! Unless they resurrect him or something, then I don't see any point in bringing back the show.

Dodgeball

In Dodgeball, Tudyk plays Steve, a man who thinks that he is a pirate. I don't know about y'all, but I think that it is so sad when Vince Vaughn pretty much destroys his entire world and tells him that he is not a pirate.

I Robot

In I Robot, Tudyk plays Sonny, a robot who is a suspect in a murder case even though robots are believed to be unable to harm humans.

Death at a Funeral

Here Tudyk plays a man who is high off his ass for his fiance's uncle's funeral. This is because he took what he thought was valium, but instead turned out to be a hallucinogenic drug. I just watched this movie for the first time a few days ago, and I was laughing my ass off the whole time!

Knocked Up

Here he plays Katherine Heigl's boss at E! He has pretty small role, but the scenes with him and Kristen Wiig are some of my favorites in the movie.

Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil

I loved this movie! Tudyk plays Tucker, one of the men who a group of college kids believe to be a murderer. I loved this movie because it is making fun of all of these horror films where people are getting murdered by hicks such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Upcoming: I am super excited to see Tudyk in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. How could you not want to see a movie with a title like that?

My Favorite TV Shows

2011-11-10T12:27:00.001-06:00

Favorite Character:
I love Lafayette and Pam, but my absolute favorite character is Eric Northman.

Least Favorite Character:
It is a tie between Amy and Crystal. I could not stand Jason's hippie girlfriend, and the werepanther subplot was probably my least favorite storyline in the whole series...

Random Moment That I Love:

Favorite Character: The lead character, Dexter Morgan. He is a serial killer, but you can't help but love him...

Least Favorite Character: Lila, the skanky English artist. I really really hated Lila. The second season of Dexter is probably my least favorite just because it has her in it...

Random Moment That I Love:

Favorite Character: Although I love both Rory and Lorelai Gilmore, I think my favorite character is Paris Gellar.

Least Favorite Character: Definitely Dean, Rory's first boyfriend. He is a nice looking dude, but I always thought he was kind of a douche.

Random Moments That I Love:

Favorite Character: Emmett Honeycutt is a close second, but my favorite character is Brian Kinney. He can be a total asshole sometimes, but I always forgive him...

Least Favorite Character: Dr. David. I really didn't like Michael's doctor boyfriend from season 1...

Random Moment I Love:

Favorite Character: Captain Malcolm Reynolds!

Least Favorite Character: I really love all the characters, but I'm starting to like River less and less the more that I rewatch this show...

Random Moment That I Love:

Favorite Character: Bill. I love him because he is such a dork...

Least Favorite Character: Cindy. At first it was because she was way too nice, but then she got all weird towards the end of the season...

Random Moment That I Love:

Favorite Character: I love Bret and Jemaine, but my favorite character would have to be their stalker Mel.

Least Favorite Character: This is a tough one, but if I had to choose it would probably be Sally...

Random Moment That I Love:

Favorite Character: It is a tie between Joan and Peggy

Least Favorite Character: Betty. I just don't like January Jones for some reason.

Random Moment That I Love:

Favorite Character: Daryl...I am liking him more and more each episode...

Least Favorite Character: Andrea...I am liking her less and less each episode

Random Moment That I Love:

New Shows: These shows just started, but I am already starting to like them...

Favorite Character: Tate Langdon. Adorable (but homicidal) ghost boy who has no idea that he is dead

Least Favorite Character: Ben Harmon. What a douche! I really just want someone to bitchslap him!

Random Moment That I Love: there aren't really any clips on Youtube, but here's the promo for the show...

Favorite Character: While Zooey Deschanel is adorable as Jess, my favorite character so far is actually Nick.

Least Favorite Character: Probably Jess's douchy ex-boyfriend Spencer

Random Moment That I Love:

American Horror Story Episode 6: Piggy, Piggy

2011-11-10T10:31:00.000-06:00

So it turns out that Tate is a ghost who has no idea that he is dead. He was shot by a group of cops after he shot up his high school and killed the people we saw in the previous episode. It is really sad because he has no idea that he is a murderer and that he has been dead for about 16 years. Constance asks for Violet's help because she wants her to help him "cross over." I really don't want that to happen! Tate is one of my favorite characters on the show, and if he crossed over he wouldn't be around anymore! It was such a sad scene when we saw Tate dragging Violet down the hallway after he found her passed out after she tried to kill herself. I know that he is a crazy murderous ghost, but I really want it to work out between him and Violet. We also find out that Adelaide is not going to be a ghost. The medium that was talking to Constance said that she didn't get her to the lawn on time. That is kind of a bummer, but this show really does not need more ghosts. Including the several ghosts that I mentioned last week, we saw some this week that I forgot to mention. We have the ghost of the doctor that built the house as well as the people that were murdered in the home invasion. Oh, and I guess Vivien's baby is a demon! She went to see the ultrasound technician who fainted, and she said that the baby was a beast, with hooves and all...Yikes! Also, I feel so bad for the crazy urban legends guy. If he wasn't treated in the Harmon's house he probably would have been semi-fine. Its hard to help a guy who is afraid that he will see a killer in the bathtup when you have ghosts everywhere! That also really sucked that he got shot! He was almost having a breakthrough. If he wasn't being robbed, then he would have seen that the Piggyman wasn't in his bathtub. Poor guy. He just has rotten luck.

So here is what I want to see happen:

more scenes with Tate and Violet (perhaps a scene where Violet tells Tate that he is dead)
I want to know who the Rubber Guy is! (I have a theory that it is the security guy. He is the right build and does appear to have a thing for Vivien...)
I want them to cool it on the ghosts. (We have over a dozen already...the house really does not need more)
I want someone to bitchslap Ben (what a douche)

Character of the Week: Wallace Wells

2011-11-09T11:14:00.000-06:00

I have never read any of the Scott Pilgrim comics, but I loved the movie! My favorite character was Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells. He is Scott's gay roommate who likes to steal people's "straight" boyfriends, stalk actors, and give out advice. The scenes with Wallace are some of the funniest in the whole movie, and he had a way of making scenes better.

The Walking Dead Episode 4: Cherokee Rose

2011-11-07T13:03:00.000-06:00

So Lori is pregnant!!!! What a shitty shitty time to bring a baby into this world. It'll be hard to run from zombies when you have a giant pregnant belly. All of the stress that comes with living in a zombie apocalypse certainly doesn't help with pregnancy either. But the question is...who is the father? Is is Rick or Shane? How much do you wanna bet that that child is going to come out with ginormous ears? Well, maybe Rick will finally know the truth about his wife and his best friend. What a terrible way to find out, though. Well you never know, the baby could end up having Rick's lovely blue eyes.
I think that I am right in thinking that they are never going to find Sophia. I thought for sure that Daryl was going to find her at the house where he found the Cherokee Rose, but nope! But..maybe Daryl giving the flower to Sophia's mom is a sign that they will find her soon. Maybe next episode? Also, how nasty was that zombie they found in the well? That was probably the most disgusting looking zombie they have ever had on the show. I knew that it was going to break apart when they were pulling it out of the well, but it was still really gross when it happened!! Also, I can't believe that old guy is going to make them leave. I mean, I understand that more people means more mouths to feed, more water being used, and more people to look after, but it also means more people to look after you. I really hope that he reconsiders. This season is getting so good!!!! Can't wait til next week!!!

My Review: Martha Marcy May Marlene

2011-11-07T11:53:00.002-06:00

Saturday was my Indie Film day because after seeing Like Crazy, I took the bus to Uptown (which was on my way home anyway) and saw Martha Marcy May Marlene. I ended up liking this movie too. It is about this girl named Martha (played by Elizabeth Olsen) who escapes from this cult (where she is known as Marcy May) and goes to live with her sister. Her life with the cult is shown in flashbacks while she is dealing with living in a "normal" household with her sister and her husband. We find out that it is a cult where all the new girls are raped by the head of the cult, and then led to believe that it is a good thing. They also go to people's houses and steal from them. We see Marcy May's transistion from newcomer to cult member and we see how this changes her behavior, which is seen as not normal by her sister and her sister's husband. She does things like swim naked, and entering their room while they are having sex and laying down next to them. We eventually find out that she left the cult after she witnesses a murder at the hands of one of the other women that she lived with. I thought that Elizabeth Olsen was great and that they used the flashbacks really interestingly. I didn't really care for the ending though... My rating: 7/10

My Review: Like Crazy

2011-11-07T11:34:00.001-06:00

The total time it took me to take the bus to the theatre in back to see this movie was more than the movie itself, so I'm really glad that I loved this movie. I have been really wanting to see this, but the closest theatre it was in was in Edina, so I had to sit on the bus for about an hour, then walk around 10 blocks to get there. It was totally worth it. Like Crazy is such a sweet, subtle, moving, heartbreaking, romantic, amazing film. It is about these two people (played by the adorable Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones) who fall in love a little before they graduate from college. The problem is that the girl is from England and she gets banned from the country after she violates her student visa after staying three extra months in America to be with her love. So, the whole movie is the two of them dealing with their long distance relationship. They deal with issues of jealousy, missing eachother, trying to sort out her visa, and plane trips. There are times when they agree to see other people, but then end up getting back together because they miss eachother so much. They also both end up doing really well at work in their countries. The one thing that bothered me about this movie is that the guy is perfectly find with her giving up her job and moving to America, but he can't move to England. It would have been much easier that way, considering that he works for himself. Anyways, I really love how this movie shows the transition of time. Like for instance, when she overstays her visa, you see a montage of them in bed together over the course of the months, and then suddenly he is laying there alone. It never says "three months later" or shows her getting on a plane back to England, you just know that she is gone. You see something similar to this later when they are taking the train to the airport so he can go back to the States. They are sitting across from eachother, and it keeps cutting back and forth between the two characters, and then suddenly his chair is empty and she is wearing different clothes. It doesn't say how much time has passed, but we find out later that it is quite a bit of time. I thought that Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones were fantastic in this film. They were really cute together, and just made me really feel for these characters. I do with that Jennifer Lawrence had a bigger role. She plays Yelchin's American girlfriend and all she really does in this movie is look sad. I felt so bad for her during this one scene when he called her Jones's character's name. This was just a really sweet film with great performances, and was totally worth the long ass bus ride. My rating: 9/10

Just Finished Reading: The Death-Ray

2011-11-07T11:17:00.000-06:00

Drawn + Quarterly sure likes giant books. The Death-Ray and Wilson are both ginormous. Anyways, this is another great book by my favorite comic book artist Daniel Clowes. It is about a boy who finds out that he has super strength when he smokes cigarettes. He also has something called the Death-Ray, which makes things completely disappear. What makes this superhero-type character different is that he really has no ambitions. He does beat up bad guys for a while, but he ends up just becoming a miserable person. I thought that The Death-Ray was really fun to read, and the pictures were amazing. Of course, I am probably biased because I believe that Daniel Clowes can do no wrong...

Song of the Week: Puttin' It Down

2011-11-07T11:12:00.002-06:00

Spotlight On: Christian Bale

2011-11-05T11:49:00.000-05:00

This week's spotlight is on one of my favorite actors, Christian Bale. He is an actor who has appeared in two of my favorite film franchises, Batman and Terminator. He is also very dedicated to his roles and has lost a lot of weight for several roles and has gained a lot of muscle for others. I have never seen The Machinist, but I have seen photos of Bale in that role, and it is just eery how much weight he lost for that movie. Anyways, he is a very talented actor, and here are some of my favorite roles of his.

Little Women

Little Women is still on my list of books I need to read, but I love this movie. One of the best things about it is Bale as Laurie and his relationship with Winona Ryder as Jo. It just breaks my heart everytime she rejects his marriage proposal.

Pocahontas

I added this one just because I think it is hilarious that Bale voiced Thomas in Disney's Pocahontas.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Here he is in the film version of Shakespeare's famous play. He plays Demetrius, a man who is under a love spell and falls in love with Calista Flockhart's character.

American Psycho

My absolute favorite role of his, I love Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman. He is just this total yuppie rich guy who has to have the best everything and hates it when someone has stuff that is better than his. Oh yeah, and he is also a crazy psycho murderer...or is he?
Here are some of my favorite scenes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwicLgOGJOI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqJsycuqILM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VXRVq_1EYg

Batman Begins/ The Dark Knight

Here Bale plays one of the most well-known superheros of all time. What makes Batman different from other superheros is that he doesn't have any powers. What he does have is a lot of money, a cool car, a batsuit, and a utility belt.

Terminator Salvation

Here he plays sci-fi hero John Connor, the man who is prophesized to lead the resistance against the machines. While not the best Terminator movie, I still really liked it and am looking forward to another one!!!

The Fighter

This is the movie that Bale won his Oscar for. He plays Dickie Eklund, a former boxer and crackhead whose younger brother is getting his chance to be great. I thought that Bale was brilliant in this film, and think that he really deserved his Oscar.

Upcoming: I am super excited to see Bale in the remake of Oldboy. I loved the original, so naturally I was pissed about a remake. But with Josh Brolin confirmed to be in it and Bale rumored to be in it, it should be great. What I am REALLY excited to see, however, is The Dark Knight Rises, which will be the last time he will be playing Batman.

American Horror Story Episode 5: Halloween Part 2

2011-11-03T10:54:00.001-05:00

I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I goddamn knew that Tate was Constance's son!!!!! And he's also a murderer from about 20 years ago? I have no idea what was going on with that. This show always leaves me with a huge question mark hovering over my head. I mean, he is only supposed to be like 17-ish years old and one of the zombie people that he supposedly killed was around the same age but said that she was supposed to be 34 by now. Tate said that he didn't remember them, but he was getting flashes. So...is Tate a ghost? Did the real killer die and them come back reincarnated as Tate? WTF? Like I said, I have no idea what is going on with that, so I guess I'll have to wait to find out. I just feel really happy that I was right about him being Constance's son!!
Anyways, so Hayden came back! (another thing that I knew would happen...I am so smart...) It is interesting how other people can see the ghosts. Like that cop who was taking her to jail before she disappeared from the car. I am sort of happy that she told Vivien about her pregnancy. I mean, it sucks for Vivien, but she had a right to know that her husband is even more of a douche than she already thought he was. I thought that the ending was really cool when we saw all the ghosts coming back to the house. So, as far as ghosts go we have the following people:

The wife of the man who built the house
the nurse and the teenage girl
Moira
Zachary Quinto's character and his lover
the twin boys
Hayden
the rubber man
Adelaide?

I thought for sure that Adelaide would be one of the ghosts we would see walking towards the house, but I was wrong. Maybe they're waiting til next time to bring her back. Even without her they still have 10 ghosts haunting their house. Damn! And they're probably going to bring in more and more.
I am super excited for next week's episode! I really want to learn more about the thing with Tate, and it looks like a bunch of crazy stuff is going to happen with Vivien and her baby.

Character of the Week: Pam Swynford De Beaufort

2011-11-03T09:40:00.000-05:00

This week's character of the week is one of my favorite vampires, Ms. Pam Swynford De Beaufort from True Blood. I've loved Pam since season 1 and I am glad that she is getting more airtime now. I love her because she is such a bitch, but she is also super loyal to her maker Eric. I'm really hoping that in Season 5 we get some backstory on Pam and see when Eric made her a vampire. According to her, she used to be a hooker, so maybe Eric found her in a brothel somewhere...

My Review: In Time

2011-11-02T11:48:00.000-05:00

This movie takes place in a future where you don't age past 25 and you are only engineered to live to 26 unless you can afford to live longer. In this future time is money, literally. Instead of using currency, you spend time. For example, to take the bus you have to spend two hours. This plays a lot in the language of this movie. Like if you're from a wealthy family, you come "from time" and the police are called "time keepers." So, the rich can live forever and the poor die young. In fact, the cost of living keeps getting raised in this film, making sure that the poor die. So Will Salas, played by Justin Timberlake, along with his hostage turned accomplice, played by Amanda Seyfried, plan to put a stop to this by going Robin Hood and taking time from the rich to give to the poor. I thought that this was a pretty entertaining movie. Some of the cast members were obviously over the age of 25 (Cillian Murphy, Johnny Galecki, Vincent Kartheiser), but I'll forgive that. Although it was entertaining, I really don't think that the story was that interesting. I feel like they could have done more with it. My rating: 7/10

The Evil Queens

2011-11-01T10:37:00.002-05:00

With the show Once Upon a Time on ABC and two upcoming film versions of Snow White (one with Kristen Stewart, one with Lily Collins) we are seeing a lot of this famous fairy tale. The character that I was really curious to see for all three versions was the Evil Queen. Here are the three different queens...

Once Upon A Time

Snow White and the Huntsman

Untitled Snow White Film

While I think Lana Parrilla is great on the show, I am not a huge fan of the Evil Queen's outfits on Once Upon a Time. I think that they are much too simple. I am really excited to see Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen. I think that she was a perfect choice, and that she looks really cool. As for Julia, we all know that she is going to be amazing, and the dresses that I have seen look great.

Horror-A-Day: Day Thirty One

2011-11-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

I thought that the original movie was aweful because of how violent the rape scene were and because I don't think that the punishments she gives her attackers were violent enough. With this movie it gets a little more even. The rape scenes in my opinion were not as bad as the original. When I watched the original it freaked me out because of how helpless she was, and while she was helpless in this film it didn't have the same effect for me. Also, I don't think that a woman would act like she did in real life. If someone broke into my house I would be screaming at them to get the fuck out, not just standing there all quiet. Also, I don't think that the lead actress was that great in this film, with being with victim or the revenge-getter.This movie actually made me gag. It always grosses me out when I see people get things shoved in their mouths so I gagged both times she did that, with the rat and the guys penis. EEEEWWWWW!!!!

Best Werewolf Movies

2011-10-31T15:18:00.000-05:00

In celebration of Halloween and my werewolf costume, here is my list of my 13 favorite movies featuring lycanthropes.

13. Cursed

This is one of the corniest horror films ever made, but it is a total guilty pleasure for me. I mean, you don't see many movies where a werewolf gives you the middle finger.

12. The Company of Wolves

This Little Red Riding Hood story has the strangest werewolf transformations I have ever seen. The weirdest one is probably the one with Stephen Rea where he peels his skin off.

11. Underworld

While this movie is mainly about vampires, I was much more interested in the Lycans. I loved Michael Sheen as Lucian, the lycan who once had a vampire bride that was murdered by her own father for loving a werewolf. I haven't seen Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, but I am really curious to because the backstory of the werewolves was something that I found interesting from the first film.

10. The Wolfman

This movie didn't get the best reviews, but I actually love it. I love Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Emily Blunt, and I thought that this movie was really cool. "I will kill ALL OF YOU!"

9. Trick r Treat

This movie was cool because I had no idea that they were werewolves until they started transforming. I thought that they were just a bunch of college girls looking to get laid, but they were actually looking for victims. Awesome. You can find that scene HERE

8. Silver Bullet

A bunch of really great werewolf films came out in the 80s and Silver Bullet was one of them. I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid, but I used to love this movie. Here is one of the best scenes in the whole movie.

7. Wolf

Here we see Jack Nicholson as a man who gets bitten by a wolf and finds himself turning into a lycanthrope.

6. The Howling

Another classic 80s werewolf movie. Those were the good days when they used practical effects instead of CGI, so all the transformation scenes look really cool, like the one HERE

5. Curse of the Werewolf

This is one of my favorite Hammer horror films, starring the handsome Oliver Reed. My favorite scene starts below at about 2:38.

4. The Wolf Man

This is the classic 1941 Universal horror film starring Lon Cheney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot aka The Wolf Man. "Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright."

3. Dog Soldiers

This movie is really cool. It is about this group of soldiers trying to fight off this pack of werewolves in the middle of nowhere. This movie goes old school and has the werewolves walk on two legs.

2. Ginger Snaps

I love this movie. It is about these two death-obsessed sisters, and one of them gets bitten by a werewolf. So, she slowly starts turning into a lycanthrope, and that includes growing a bit of a tail.

1. An American Werewolf in London

Best. Werewolf. Movie. Ever. That just goes without saying. This movie features the best werewolf transformation scene ever, has a great story, some great gore effects, and is also really funny at parts. It is not only the best werewolf movie, but is one of the best horror films ever made. I love love love this movie!

Halloween Playlist

2011-10-31T13:57:00.000-05:00

For all of you people having spook-tacular Halloween parties tonight, here are some suggestions for some tunes!

Happy Halloween!!!!

2011-10-31T13:52:00.000-05:00

Once again it is my favorite day of the year, Halloween! Unfortunately, Halloween is on a Monday this year and I will be stuck working on my paper that is due tomorrow. It is all good though. I celebrated Halloween on Saturday with my older sister. We checked out some costume contests and saw some really cool costumes. This year I went as a werewolf, one of my favorite horror monsters.

I hope that everyone has a spook-tacular Halloween!

The Walking Dead Episode 3: Save The Last One

2011-10-31T13:42:00.000-05:00

God damn! They are never going to find Sophia!!! They barely even looked for her in this episode. I bet next week they won't even look for her at all. Anyways, I knew that Shane was going to be fine. I figured that Otis might die, but not in the way that he did! I thought that Shane was looking a little guilty when he got back without Otis, but I thought that was just because he couldn't save him or something. As soon as he was in the bathroom and they showed the patch of hair missing I knew that it was Shane's fault that Otis didn't come back. Poor Otis! Shane just shot him and let him get eaten by zombies so that he could get away! I mean, Carl was dying, they needed to get that respirator back, and the zombies were gaining on them, but that is still an aweful thing to do. He could have at least shot Otis in the head, so he didn't have to feel them munching on his body before he died. At least Carl is okay. I thought the part with the dangling zombie was really cool. When Daryl and Andrea see the man who tried to hang himself, but turned into a zombie first and got his skin eaten off his legs by other zombies. That just looked really cool. Even though they don't give him a lot of lines, I think Daryl is becoming one of my favorite characters.

Song of the Week: Monster Mash

2011-10-31T12:29:00.000-05:00

Spotlight On: Christopher Lee

2011-10-31T12:28:00.000-05:00

Christopher Lee is both a horror icon for his appearances in Hammer Horror films in the 1950s, and also a geek icon for being the only actor to appear in both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings films. He is a great actor with a fantastic deep voice, and here are some of my favorites of his roles.

The Curse of Frankenstein

Here he played Frankenstein's monster in his first starring role for Hammer, and one of several times that he was paired with the great Peter Cushing. You can watch a scene from the film HERE

Horror of Dracula

Here he plays another horror icon, Dracula. This is probably his most famous role from the Hammer films, and he is in my opinion, one of the best people to have ever played Dracula.

The Wicker Man

While this film has become slightly overshadowed by the shitstorm that was the Nicolas Cage remake of this movie, the original The Wicker Man is a horror classic. Christopher Lee plays Lord Summerisle who was the leader of this crazy cult. You can find the best scene of the movie HERE

Sleepy Hollow

He only appears in the beginning of this film, but he definitely leaves a lasting impression with his little cameo. He plays the Burgomeister, who is the one who sends Icabod to Sleepy Hollow. You can find his scene HERE

The Lord of the Rings

I am not the biggest Lord of the Rings fan (I'm more of a Star Wars person), but I love Christopher Lee as Saruman. He just has that great voice of his where you just have to listen to everything he is saying. One of my favorite scenes in the whole trilogy is his fight with Gandalf.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones/ Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Christopher Lee also appeared in the Star Wars prequels as Count Dooku, a man who was trained as a Sith Lord. I love Dooku because he manages to knock down Anakin a few pegs, who was just way too cocky in Attack of the Clones. Also, you just have to love the scene where he fights Yoda.

Upcoming: He will be apparing in the movies Hugo, Dark Shadows, as well as playing Saruman again in The Hobbit movies.

Horror-A-Day: Day Thirty

2011-10-31T11:49:00.000-05:00

What a waste of handsome! In this movie, Michael Fassbender plays a Nazi vampire, but you only see his actual face when they have the scene in the '30s. For the rest of the movie he has this crazy make-up on. The other vampire people looked normal, so why couldn't he? Well, I suppose the wouldn't have been scary if he was a handsome vampire. Oh well, we still have Henry Cavill to look at. The one thing that I really loved about this movie was that after they killed Fassy's character, the teenage vampire girl suddenly aged really quickly and then died. Her curse was broken, but then her age caught up with her.

Horror-A-Day: Day Twenty Nine

2011-10-31T11:46:00.000-05:00

This wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be, but I still kind of liked it. The best thing about it was probably seeing Bill Paxton as a vampire. I loved him as Severen. I also love that there are three people from the movie Aliens in this film.

Horror-A-Day: Day Twenty Eight

2011-10-29T16:28:00.000-05:00

This movie was fantastic! I cannot believe that I have lived 21 years and have never seen Return of the Living Dead! It is strange that it has zombies that can talk, but this isn't a super serious movie, so it really works. The best part was definitely with the Tarman! When that girl finds him in the basement and he is all "BRAINS!!!!" it was fantastic. Love this movie!!! Plus the part with the woman who they tied to the table was really cool when she was explaining why zombies eat brains.

Horror-A-Day: Day Twenty Seven

2011-10-29T16:24:00.000-05:00

This movie was an interesting take on the classic Little Red Riding Hood Story. It is about a pretty young girl named Rosaleen who is warned about men who are "hairy on the inside" from her grandmother. The special effects are rediculous in this film, but that is what makes it so great. When Stephen Rea's character turns into a wolf it just looks strange, but I love it.

The best part, though was probably the part at the ending when the werewolf who killed her grandmother transforms and we see the wolf's nose coming out if his mouth. Unfortuanately I can't find a video of that on Youtube...

American Horror Story Episode 4: Halloween Part 1

2011-10-27T11:21:00.000-05:00

Oh My God!!! This episode was intense!!!! There were quite a few shocking moments! It starts out with a gay couple who lived in the house a year ago, one of whom is played by Zachary Quinto. After having a fight, one of them leaves to go to the gym, while Quinto's character gets murdered by the rubber man. Fastforward to now, where Ben and Vivien are still trying to sell their house. Their real estate agent suggests hiring a fluffer to spruce up the place, and interestingly enough, Quinto and his boyfriend show up at the door and Vivien assumes that they are the fluffers. We also find out from Tate that the creature that haunts the basement is the ghost of the son of the doctor who first built the house. He was murdered by a man who wanted revenge on the doctor, and then was transformed into some hideous beast by the doctor. That part was crazy! When they showed the doctor sewing the baby hand my jaw just dropped. The other part of this episode that really shocked me was that Adelaide died!!! Oh my god!!! The whole episode she is saying that she wants to be a pretty girl for Halloween, which is really sad, so her mom buys her a pretty girl mask. Seeing a group of pretty teenagers trick or treating, she decides to run after them, and then gets hit by a car! I couldn't believe it! They just killed off Adelaide!!! Well, before she died her mom dragged her on the lawn of the house to be with "her friends" so I am assuming that that means she will be coming back as a ghost. Speaking of coming back as ghosts, I knew that Kate Mara would be back!!! It is just like I said...she was buried in the same place as Moira, and if Moira can come back, then Hayden can come back. I can not wait until next weeks episode!! Also, I'm pleased to see that Ben is treating Tate again. We didn't see a whole lot of him last episode, and he is one of the more interesting characters. His relationship with Violet is certainly moving along too. He did say that they would be going on a real date, and then that rubber man showed up at the house while Larry was knocking on the door. I'm really curious if that is just Tate. He was wearing that rubber suit earlier in the episode...I mean, I don't think that Tate is the actual Rubber Man who killed Zachary Quinto and had sex with Vivien, but it might me him trying to scare Violet again. That would explain why Violet wasn't at the house at the end. I have no idea, though, so I guess I'll have to wait until next week...

On the show's website is describes Halloween Part 2 like this: Halloween night concludes with Tate coming face to face with his past. Ben and Vivien are haunted by one of the house's newest guests. Well I'm guessing that the new guest is Adelaide's ghost. As for Tate's past...maybe it is what I talked about last week about how Constance might be is real mother... Hmm...