Movie weekend - Based on a True Story

I’m a bit rusty when it comes to blogging.

It’s just been too long since I updated regularly. Sad, considering I saw the two best movies of the year (decade), The Hunger Games and The Avengers in their opening weekends, loved them enough to shriek about them, and yet.

The entries are coming. Probably next year. Le sigh.

But in order to exercise my blogging muscles, let’s have an entry about the movies I’ve watched this weekend. Some newish, one older. I just finished the book Based on a True Story, which takes movies famously based on a true story, and dissects them. It added a rather large amount of movies to my must-see list, including the first one under the cut.

Without meaning to, the following three movies are all based on true (or could-be-true) events. It was an accident, but a happy one.

If nothing else, this entry may reawaken my love to ramble.

Yeah? You and whose army?

Deathly Hallows, Part 2. The end of a fandom era.

Reading Deathly Hollows was a swift blow. Tears and laughter and joy and all the more tears. No more books. But we still had the movies left to enjoy.

And now it’s done. The last movie has been released, and short of locking JK Rowling in a cellar and making her write more (and believe me, we all have ideas), there will be no new Harry Potter.

It’s sad. And it may explain why I cried more during this movie than I have at some funerals I’ve attended.

Many people, including TBF’s hubs, have said they were disappointed by the film. They expected more. I am rewatching the film as I write this (which accounts for the horrendous cam-quality pictures I’ll be interspersing throughout the entry), but I cannot see anything in this film that would cause me to be grossly disappointed in it. The bits that were left out were for obvious reasons, and what I was annoyed about most pales in comparison to what I loved.

So, let’s begin.

Pre-Potter

Yesterday I worked early at the boring job so I could see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the evening with TBF, her hubs, and a friend of ours from high school (who should have a better title, but that’s what he gets).

This was me before, at work all day:

This was me during and after:

If there’s one thing you should know about me, I take my time on blog entries, so the Deathly Hallows entry isn’t done cooking yet.

I do, however, have thoughts on the trailers pre-Potter.

Notoriety for whatever reason, never seems to benefit the noted, only the notees

The first time I saw the trailer for Easy A, I knew I was going to love it. No, really. If you go back through my Twitter feed to last year at some indeterminable time,  you’ll find my tweet. It was even responded to.

I say this not in the Hipster, “Oh, I liked that waaay before it was mainstream” way. I say it because this movie was released in September of 2010 and I took my precious damned time in watching it.

I begged people to see it at the theater with me. (Yes, I am one of those people) I got it from the library twice. I returned it, put it back on hold, and felt like an overwhelming failure.

But HA HA, I finally watched it. Suck on that, Hipsters!

I take it you think everybody is who they say they are

Recent tragedy in my life has pretty much cut me off from watching TV or movies for the past two weeks. I tried to watch a few different things, Season 4 of The Tudors, which I’ve been waiting for from the library for months. 12 Angry Men. The Last Samurai. Okay, I didn’t try particularly hard to watch that one, only pretended to.

But I finally got a weekend “to myself” (read: at home working/moping rather than trying to run around putting out fires), and a couple of brand new (to me) movies. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I blog.

I saw the trailer for Shutter Island movie during whichever Scream Awards it premiered on. I thought, “Wow, a suspense movie by Scorcese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio? This is going to be great! How could it not be?”

I started watching the movie Saturday night. And fell asleep. Several times. Finally gave up, hoping that watching it Sunday morning it would be more interesting. Fell asleep again. Between this and The Depahted, Martin Scorcese is losing some serious points with me.

The worst part is, this should be a movie I would love. Creepy mental asylum, total mind fuckage where you suspect something is going to happen, but have no idea what it. Creepy doctors, all worlds of mystery and suspense. This is totally my genre!

Except I didn’t give a damn about any of the characters. As a matter of fact, the only semblance of sympathy I had through the entire movie was for the characters at Dachau. From the jump, I didn’t care about Teddy’s dead wife. Then when he started seeing her everywhere, I pretty much had it figured that he was, indeed, one of the looney bin occupants, and this was an elaborate dream world. The only part I didn’t see coming was the children being his, and that the doctor had planned it.

I seriously may never watch another Scorcese flick again. At least not a new one.

Salt, on the other hand, not only lived up to every expectation I had, it blew them all out of the water and brought my Angelina fangirling to a brand new level. It was not hard to surprise me, though, seeing as how my knowledge of the movie was extremely limited. Originally a male lead, rewritten specifically for her. Bond/Bourne-esque, and The Operative from Serenity is in it. That’s my knowledge.

I always make the error of watching Special Features before the film. Not all of them, if it looks like it’s obviously going to spoil me, I won’t do it. And of course I wait until I’ve viewed the film once before watching any commentary. But I watched a couple of featurettes which pretty much caught me up on the basic premise, without giving really anything away.

Similar to Mr. And Mrs. Smith, we start out with a very domesticated Jolie character, with the knowledge that she’s anything but. I have never liked her as a blonde, not even when she was macking on Christian Kane. And the blonde wig here was just tragic. But the moment the camera rounded her and we saw the black hair, the payoff was well worth it.

As much as I love emotional scenes with this actress, her real talent is in the action, and this movie is crammed with enough fight porn to fill even the most macho of macho men’s quotas for the year. And the best part is that these fight scenes don’t feel choreographed, like with Mr and Mrs Smith, but spur of the moment, vicious and mean and brutal.

And that sums her up in a nutshell. Evelyn Salt/Natasha Chenkova was mean. And that’s what makes this stand out next to other action movies. In the original script, it was a male lead, fighting to fight, yes, but also to rescue his wife and child. Angelina immediately said, “Erm, yeah, fuck that, no kid.” We got a little heart and spirit with her quest for her husband, and the heartbreak on her face for that split second after they murder her husband is very real, and extremely painful. But she snaps back, and keeps going, and turns into the baddest badass you’d never want to run into, male or female.

The pacing of the movie felt weird. It didn’t feel like there was really a beginning, and the end was strange and abrupt. Obviously leaving an opening for a sequel, which I am not averse to. But still, I watched it twice, once with commentary, and still didn’t feel there was a middle. Then again, I don’t watch a lot of Bond-esque movies, so maybe I’m just not used to it.

My Angelina fangirling is safe once more. Amazing.

My Leonardo love is in serious jeopardy, and may not recover.

I Remember My Dream Now

When the promos for The Walking Dead first started making their way into my internet world, I was less than impressed. I enjoy a good George Romero film as much as the next person, but a TV show about zombies? Really?

Two things changed my mind. The first, that this show was going to air on AMC. This is the channel that airs Mad Men. It’s hard to believe that it would waste air time on a show strictly about mmmm, brains. Secondly, in watching the promotional trailers, I noticed it was from the creators of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Now, both of those movies are the brain children of Stephen King, and they’re both very intense, and beautifully done. Never in a million years would I watch either of those and think, “Wow, these people really need to put a new spin on the zombie genre.”

When I mentioned on Twitter and the book of face that I was considering giving it a shot, I got bombarded with WD comic love. Oh. This is a comic? That got my attention. So I set my DVR to record the series, and promptly forgot about it. Well, to be more accurate, I was so bombarded with other things to watch that I didn’t carve out time to watch it. Then the New Orleans Comic Con announced three actors from the show were coming, and I realized if I didn’t watch the show, I was going to be that person. “Oh, yeah, the show looks great. I have it recorded. NO idea who you are. Nice to meet you, though.”

So, I set the weekend before the con aside and watched the six episodes that comprise season one. And then screamed in rage that it only lasted six episodes, and I had an entire nine months to wait for the next season.

Being Boothy

In April, I said I was looking forward to Season 5 of Bones. I also said it would take me a year to watch it.

Good news! It only took me nine months! I’m ahead by three.

I wasn’t spoiled for this season like I was the last. I saw one episode, the barbecued body one, because it was an opener for Dollhouse. It didn’t spoil me for anything other than Arastoo’s actual accent. I didn’t know where the storyline was going with Booth and Brennan, but I had the feeling I wasn’t going to like it, no matter what they did.

The good news is, I didn’t hate it as much as I did Season 4. But that doesn’t mean I was happy.

Perfect

I’ve said before that I never go to the movies. I’m more the kind to wait for it to come out on DVD, then get it from the library eight weeks later when my hold is up. It’s frustrating, sure. But I’m cheap, and some things can’t be helped.

I make rare exceptions, such as Harry Potter, or the rare Disney flicks that my niece and I go to. I’m still wanting to go see Tangled in theaters, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen.

However, when a co-worker showed me the trailer for Black Swan, my first thought was, “When is this coming out, and who is going to come with me to see it?”

As it turns out, it came out here a week after the release, and none of these bitches wanted to come with. What the hell? Luckily for me, my friend Rachael is pretty much a pushover. It’s not that I don’t feel comfortable seeing a movie alone, I just dislike not having someone to discuss it with immediately afterwards.

My first thought upon leaving the theater was, “There is absolutely no way I can write a blog entry about this.” Let’s see if I can prove myself wrong.

Dobby never meant to kill. Dobby only meant to maim. Or seriously injure.

Hey, remember me? I was abducted by aliens back in September, and am just now getting back to earth.

No, not really. In all reality, I’ve been watching nothing but shitty TV lately, and haven’t had much inspiration for a blog entry. However, today is November 20th, which means…

 

 HARRY POTTER DAY HARRY POTTER DAY HARRY POTTER DAY!

This will most likely end up being a two-part blog entry. I saw the movie today with TBF and her hubs (who postponed a childless date “night” Friday to see it because I couldn’t go with them), and on Wednesday I will be seeing it again with a friend who is coming in from out of town. I’m thrilled beyond words at getting to see a HP movie in theaters twice, as I still have not seen HBP more than the one time in theaters.

My thoughts are odd and confused, much like the movie. Please understand my warning, which is SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS.

Go. Yay. Rah.

As I’ve mentioned several times over, I follow my Whedonverse people to whatever projects they choose. This has led to goodness, and it’s led to awfulness.

Enter the CW’s Hellcats.

When it comes to the projects DB Woodside picks, it’s always a toss-up. He was on Buffy, first of all. He also did an incredible job as a pedophile on CSI, which is horribly upsetting because he’s so goddamn sexy. But he was also on HawthoRNe and Viva Laughlin. Like I said. It’s a toss up.

I hate pretty much every show on the CW. It’s really gross the type of programming they use. I miss the WB. Which…Dawson’s Creek. I shouldn’t miss the WB. But between One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl and all that rot, the CW is pretty much dead to me other than ANTM.

I saw the previews for Hellcats, and thought, “Enh. Bring it On in a television show. Fuck that.” Then it showed up on DB’s IMDB page, and I had kittens. Fuck me, I have to watch this. I waited until my DVR had scooped up two of them before I gave it a shot.

This show makes my eyes roll so much I look epileptic. The plot is trying to be deep and failing miserably. The deep Full House moments are so contrived and ridiculous. Ooh, bitchy cheerleaders! Oooh, super perky happy cheerleaders! How innovative!

Of course, then this walked on my screen.

Well. When you put it that way.

The choreography, which would be something to make me watch the show on its own merits (you know, if I was brain dead), is actually incredible. The moves are modern, and more hip hop than cheerleader, which I have a deep appreciation for.

So, because I’m stuck watching it for DB, I won’t be complaining.

As much.

Go team.

Movie Meme Days 24 and 25 - It’s good

Not even gonna bother with excuses anymore.

31 Day Movie Meme

Day 24 - Quote you use most often

Uhhhhhh.

I had a hard time with this one. Sure, I quote movies, but I do it without even thinking about it. And in general, I don’t notice it until someone laughs and says, “Oh, I know that movie!”

But there is a quote that I use a lot. It’s not something that comes up a lot, but, given the opportunity, I will say, and I will say it exactly like Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman do, in Bruce Almighty.

Be around me long enough, and you’ll hear me say it. Hopefully not with the big buggy eyes.

Day 25 - A movie you plan on watching (old or new)

I honestly cannot remember the last time I was this excited about a film. This includes the other HP films I’ve gone to the theater to see.

This is technically a cheat, because Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be two movies. But I’m insanely excited about both of them.

This is really the end. The end of a huge era for everyone who has followed along. Whether that was the people who read the books from the beginning, those of us who caught up somewhere in the middle, or even those who have only seen the movies. Harry Potter means something to everyone who has experienced it. I suspect I’m going to cry more watching these movies than I have reading all of the books and watching the movies combined.

Ryan’s choice of Easy A is also valid. I’m very interested in that movie.

On a final note, today is the 10th anniversary of Bring it On. I’ve already mentioned it once in this meme, and (as always) RyAn summed up the love perfectly. See also this Hit Me With Your Best Shot post, and Ry’s response post.

Cheerleaders are dancers that have gone retarded.

Yet we love them anyway.

Screw Body Fascism

I knew nothing about Gina Torres’ new show Huge when Whedonesque said it was premiering. As a matter of fact, I learned about it the day it actually was premiering. I don’t know what’s wrong with me that I’m not keeping up with my people the way I used to.

I set my DVR up to record the show, then promptly ignored it. If I haven’t mentioned it 100 times before, I’m picky about the television shows I watch, and I’m very rarely super excited to jump into a new one.

Finally, I watched the first episode last week. Then I promptly watched the remaining five episodes.

I absolutely freaking love this show.

Bypassing Gina Torres for a moment, let’s discuss Nikki Blonsky. I didn’t jump on the Hairspray remake bandwagon immediately. Zac Effron actually is a Whedon alumni (baby Simon in an episode of Firefly), and I’m a John Travolta fan. But it was a remake of a movie I hold near and dear, and how could anyone possibly take the place of Rikki Lake and Divine in my heart?

I actually bawled my eyes out watching Hairspray. I can’t help it, I’m a big beautiful bitch in my own right, and seeing fat chicks win the gold always makes me happy.

Cut to Huge. This show is actually REALLY depressing. Hell, in the first episode we lose a character because of Bulimia. It’s hard to get more depressing than that unless you show someone slitting their wrists after running over their pet kitten while staring at a picture of their dead mother.

The character Nikki plays, Will, is proud of her fat. Mind you, she’s proud of it as a defense mechanism rather than downright love of her poundage. And that’s okay, because this is ABC Family, for christ’s sake. They need to do something to make up for Pretty Little Liars (which I also record, for Bianca Lawson. We won’t discuss that train wreck)

But Will is a smart ass. She’s a “rebel”. She has fatspiration on her bunk, and she sells contraband Twinkies. There is no bad here. She’s snarky and mean spirited, but damaged. How much fun is this going to be?

Gina Torres is one of the top 10 most gorgeous women alive. She’s also a phenomenal actress. I’ve seen her in some truly horrendous roles (Cleopatra 2525, anyone?), but she plays with real integrity and sharp skills. I enjoy everything she does, and she doesn’t disappoint in this. Her stoic nature is brilliant as a camp director, and the quiet pain of dealing with her father and lying to her mother is just…she brought tears to my eyes, I’m not even going to lie.

It’s hard to focus on any of the other campers, just because there are a lot of them and I’m not good with their names. Mostly it’s “The girl who ___” and “The guy who ___”. I know Amber, solely because if I was a camper in this world, I would do everything in my power to make her life miserable because she’s the pretty one. But this is a wonderfully diverse group of actors. And it’s about damn time we saw some pudgealicious people on television.

I particularly enjoyed when, in the second episode, the bitchy girls squealed and giggled about the book that was an obviously thinly veiled reference to Twilight, then later in the same episode, the awesome girl (Becca, so says IMDB) is quietly reading Hunger Games. Now, I could cry foul that attention was paid to a rip-off of that shitty tripe. But then I realized, Twilight was never mentioned by name. Instead, the stupid girls are shown loving it. And the smart and lovely girl is shown reading the actual book. Awesomecakes.

That happiness was destroyed when two episodes later they watched the movie based on that book. But I rather enjoyed that the fake version was as cheesy and horrible as its basis.

More people need to be watching this show. It’s so enjoyable, and I truly hope it continues for many seasons.

My tongue is going, soon I'll be of no use to you at all

I haven’t updated this blog for a few reasons. One, I’ve been so busy catching up with my DVR that I haven’t had time to sit down and create a blog entry about them. Secondly, I haven’t watched a movie since getting Direct TV. I knew this would happen, and it’s irksome. But expected. Lastly, I was so busy working two jobs I had no brain space left for real thought. Luckily for my blogging desires, I got laid off. Obviously the universe wants me to blog more.

Thanks, universe. You fucker.

Bloglet: Desperate Housewives

I don't much care for Desperate Housewives.

The cast is fantastic, mind you. Terri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Doug Savant. Even Marcia Cross, who I adore from Melrose Place, when she was insane Kimberly. But I am not a housewife, no matter how desperate I am, and these people's lives are as interesting to me as the grass growing beneath their feet.

The first episode I watched was the first episode Nathan Fillion was in. After he ceased to be on the show, I didn't need to watch anymore.

Then Julie Benz had to go and get a role on it. Dammit all to hell.

So, I watched her five episode arc. And truth be told, I was mostly annoyed by it.

Julie is gorgeous on the show. They give her beautiful vibrant colors to wear, and her hair is perfection. Her character, however is completely pointless. It would appear she was brought on the show for one reason only.

To attract the horny male demographic.

The character was brought on for good reasons. Stripper with a heart of gold, trying to make a better life for herself. Sure. That's awesome. They put her in some trashy clothes (well, as trashy as ABC will let them get away with), but it got better.

Then it veered off course. I'm talking about the french toast scene, which I just accidentally deleted the images of. But really, you don't need it. It's probably for the best.

They hooked her and Katherine up, and it seemingly made no sense. I understand being attracted to another woman, but the time between initial crush and running away to nowhere together was, what, two days? And Julie is all lovey dovey and "Hi, honey" and it was just weird. There wasn't any gradual build up to the moment, and it struck such a false chord, I can't help but wonder how this show could've won awards. Who thinks this is good, or accurate? It's not even a decent guilty pleasure.

Julie may not be one of my all-time favorite actresses, but she's got talent. And the talent was wasted here. It was a throw-away story arc, and she deserved better.

Ask me again why I don't watch Desperate Housewives.

Spreading the Drones

This weekend, I had the immense pleasure of flying to Florida to attend the Florida Film Festival, and see Amber Benson and Adam Busch's new movie, Drones.

Prepare yourselves. This will be the first time I attempt to do a review with absolutely no spoilers. This is an exercise in self control that I don't have.

I will also put my thoughts on meeting Amber Benson, and one of the stars of the movie, Samm Levine, at the bottom of this entry, so that those who are so inclined may skip the personal junk. There are also pictures from the Q&A, and Amber and Samm with another cast member, towards the bottom.

You've lost your muchness

The Best Friend and I have known we would be seeing Alice in Wonderland in the theater the day it was announced. In fact, the day we went to see Sweeney Todd we discussed it. The poster with Johnny Depp’s face on it was hanging when we saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and we discussed how I would totally have sex with JD in that getup.

Opening weekend of the movie was a busy one for me. The day it premiered, I went with my mother and niece to see Reba McEntire and George Strait in concert. Then the niece was supposed to have practice and a jump rope performance the next day, so that day was out. So we decided on a Sunday viewing, hoping for a smaller crowd and quieter theater.

We lucked out on the latter, and luckily got there 30 minutes early and beat the former.

If I have to tell you there will be spoilers under this jump cut, I am gravely disappointed with you.