I feel that the real mark of a good movie is the desire to watch it again. I've seen a lot of critically acclaimed movies that never want to see again. I would rather gnaw my own arm off then see Wong Kar Wai's "Happy Together" (Chun gwong cha sit) or sit through another showing "L'Atalante." Of course I appreciated how artistic they were, the caliber of the performances, and whatever stunning technical assets the movie may have had. But that made them works of art, not entertainment.

My personal philosophy is that a good movie should have a bit of both. When you have artistic merit is something to be appreciated. If you want to make movies that are purely artistic then you should go for shorter length experimental films. Because having a very ideologically challenging movie is all well and good but if it has messed up pacing, irritating visuals, truckloads of pretension, or is depressing beyond belief I don't want to sit through more then an hour of it let alone see it again. You can still have a lot or art and meaning packed into something that doesn't make you want to kill yourself.

For me the mark of an excellent movie is when you still cry or laugh despite the fact that you have seen it before. If a movie can still get you emotionally, or comically after a few views that's when you know you've really got something great.

I must have seen each of the "Lord of The Rings" movies 10 times by now. Today I saw that TNT was running a marathon, and despite having more important things to do I couldn't pull myself away from the tv. This was just another reminder of how much I really love LOTR. I kind of hate to admit it, but I still cry every time when Eowyn says "I am no man." I don't know why that makes me cry every time, but it does so without fail.

"Lord of The Rings" is one of my favorite movies of all times. I consider Fellowship, Two Towers, and Return of the King to all be the same really long movie. After all, Tolkien himself wanted to publish Lord of the Rings as one giant book, the publishing company made him break it up into three parts. It takes a very long time to watch LOTR, and I mean really long because if you want to do it right you have to see the extended edition.

If you have never done so and have an entire day to waste I highly recommend doing a Lord of The Rings marathon. Don't be afraid unleash your inner nerd.

Do any of you have favorite movies that you can watch over and over but still get emotional about, or still laugh at the punchlines? Let me know what your favorite movies are.

Twilight Review

Before I begin I feel as if I should put on some sort of protective gear. Because before I know it the Twilight fans will be on the attack, and I want to be ready for them.

Now I didn't precisely hate the Twilight movie, there were parts that were fairly enjoyable, but I wouldn't call it a good movie by any stretch of the imagination.

I'll admit I walked into the theater with a definite prejudice against the whole Twilight Franchise. The movie really only served to amplify the problems that I had with the book to begin with. The books were fun enjoyable reads, but there was a side to them which I greatly feared. "Twilight" glorifies a very unhealthy, codependent, and obsessive relationship. Any artist is entitled to write about what they want, even if it is about something unhealthy. What concerns me is the age of the readers and fans. I knew that most of the fans were girls in their early teens and last night when I went to the theater this was only confirmed. I was one of the few members of the audience over the age of 20, and I would say that most of the people there were girls between 12-15. Of course the movie deserved it's PG-13 rating, there was some violence but nothing too objectionable in the film. What bothers me is that just about every girl in the audience was in love with Edward, that they wanted to have a boyfriend that was just like him, and worst of all that most of them seem to think Edward and Bella have the perfect relationship.

Perhaps I should back up and go back and explain how the movie even gets to this point.

In case you have been living under a rock I'll give you a little overview of the story. "Twilight" is about a girl names Bella Swan (OMG her name means Beautiful Swan) who moves to a little hick town in Washington. She meets this guy Edward who acts very strange around her, constantly warning her not to be his friend and such. Turns out Edward is a vampire, and honest to goodness sparkly vampire. But it's ok his family doesn't bite humans, so Bella is reasonably safe with them. Bella falls madly in Love with Edward, and Edward falls madly in love with Bella. This occurs for reasons I can't fully understand mainly Edward is really hot and overprotective, and apparently Bella smells extra tasty. But not all the vampires in the world refuse to eat humans, and trouble ensues.

The dialogue in "Twilight" is atrocious. I can only assume the screen writer wanted to make the dialogue "realistic" so they made every single conversation as awkward and disjointed as possible. The conversations were downright painful, there are very few people in real life that are that awkward when they talk.

Forget Team Edward and Team Jacob, I was on Team James for this movie. The only people in this film that were capable of speaking or acting semi-normally were the bad guys. Even when they were killing people, or hunting Bella down, at least I understood their motivations for acting this way. I can't say that for any other group in the movie. The bad guys are usually cooler then the good guys, but the good guys should never be this socially awkward. The overbearing amount of awkward makes the movie is almost hard to watch until the bad guys appear. The move definitely became more exciting to watch once all the action started happening. Go bad guys!

The special effects looked ridiculous. I actually burst out laughing (much to the annoyance of the people around me) when Edward grabbed Bella and went running with her. It was a bit like the roadrunner cartoons you just saw this torso and blur of legs, it looked so fake. I think they took the money they saved from getting a second rate screen writer and put it into a bunch of completely unnecessary special effects. There was a lot of excessive tree swinging from Edward. It was kind of like a five year old going "look what I can do" the scene didn't need it. Save the impressive stuff for the fight scenes, and the baseball game.

When Edward and Bella are in the woods it would have been a lot more effective of a threat if Edward had remained perfectly still, looked Bella in the eyes and said "As if you could fight me off." Instead Edward goes all manic and jumps about randomly ripping off tree branches. It kind of ruins it.

Another special effect that was disappointing was the sparkles. In the world of "Twilight" vampires sparkle in direct sunlight. The effect in the movie made it look like poor Edward had some sort of glandular disorder which caused him to sweat like a cold can of soda on a hot day. Bella and many of the other girls in the audience seemed impressed by this, I was kind of grossed out.

Another problem was that there were too many closeups. Now I personally find too many closeups kind of annoying, but I generally let it slide. This time I couldn't. I can understand that some directors feel the need to have closeups whenever someone is feeling an intense moment (which is almost the whole damn movie) but when a lot of your actors have to wear yellow costume contacts it's a poor choice. On the big screen you could clearly see the little telltale clear rings around the irises showing that the character is wearing contacts.

For the most part I found myself laughing at the movie not with it. So many of the scenes were so over the top that it was actually funny. But now I move onto the more dramatic flaws with the movie. I had some real problems with some of the characters and their relationships.

Despite being awkward as hell, and appearing to be completely disinterested in making friends or getting to know anyone in Forks, Bella is like a frickin rock star. I grew up in a fairly small town so it was always news when someone new moved in, especially if that someone happened to be attractive. However I never saw the school paper want to run a front page story about them, have every single person turn and suddenly want to date that person, and I especially never heard of a new person arriving and already having everyone know her name. Maybe it was just as bad in the book, but I found everyones worship of Bella in the movie quite irritating.

Speaking of worship, lets move on to the character of Edward. Robert Pattinson is one good looking dude, there is no denying that. But does being hot somehow excuse a guy from being creepy as hell? He has a good reason for acting creepy at first it would be hard to be nice to someone when it's taking every ounce of strength you have not to kill them and eat them. But after that Edward continues to be creepy as hell he sneaks into Bella's room at night to watch her sleep (before they are officially together and without her permission), he follows essentially stalks (the fact that he ends up rescuing her does not make it an ok behavior), and of course he says the magic creepy phrase "your scent is like a drug to me."

I went to see "Twilight" with my good friend Grammar Girl from the Trapped in a Comma blog. During one of the scenes I turned to her and said "He is so Creepy." The girls in front od us must have overheard and they said to one another "It would be creepy if it was anyone but Edward." I'm sorry kids being hot doesn't give you a license to be a stalker, the cops just won't care.

The whole Edward Bella relationship creeps me out. Their relationship becomes so intense so quickly. Going through situations where your life is in danger will bond people together pretty quickly, but this is ridiculous. Towards the end of the movie Edward mentions something about leaving Bella. Even at this small threat Bella becomes overwrought with emotion, and it's clear that she would absolutely fall apart if he were to leave her. That should not be used as a proof of how much they love each other, it is proof of how completely unhealthy the relationship is. I am afraid that all the young fans of this book are going to think that this is how love is suppose to be. All of this "without you I'm nothing" shit is in no way shape of form romantic, it's pathetic. You never want to be in a codependent relationship. You should want to be with your partner because you like them and enjoy their company, not because you know your life would be over if they ever left you.

My advice: wait till the movie comes out on DVD to see it. It's ok, especially for something in the vampire genre but it isn't that good. Also if you rent the movie you won't have to deal with a bunch of annoying ill mannered pre-teens in the audience. I don't know about anyone else but the theater I went to had kids that were very noisy, and whenever someone shushed them they talked back, eventually the ushers had to be called. Even the nicer quieter fans were noise, I was completely right in predicting there would be at least a few squeals of glee when Edward first appeared on camera, and various squees and sighs whenever Edward did something "cute" on camera.

It was fun to watch at times, especially since I was laughing at how ridiculous the movie was not at the actual jokes. All the same I kind of wish I hadn't spent $10 to see it.

Worst Music Video

When it comes to selecting favorites or least favorites it's very hard to be objective. After all a lot of what we define as good or bad depends on personal taste. Yahoo just came out with a list of the worst music videos ever made.

you can see the full list and videos here


While I don't necessarily agree with all of their choices I have to say one of the videos chosen for the list definitely deserved it's place there.



It is not an easy task but I will try to elaborate on why this is such a bad music video.

1. It's Vanilla Ice, need I say more.

2. To make matters worse it is a slow and "sexy" Vanilla Ice song.

3. This song made my ears weap.

4. There is no story only bad visual effects and random dancing.

5. Contrary to the early 90's belief the cloud graphic zooming behind Vanilla Ice is in no way "cool" or "sexy"

6. Turning the film to a blue shaded negative immage at completely random intervals is not "artistic"

7.I don't know why there are random men dancing in front of a sunset background. If you can figure it out please tell me why.

8. The costume designer clearly gets their design inspiration from the bastard demonic hybrid of Evil Knievel and every a bad Sci-fi movie.

9. It's clear they had a low budget and could only hire the models to "sexy dance" for a short time, and had to keep repeating footage of them.

10. I'm convinced the choreographer was horrified at the prospect of having to make any dance moves go along with the agonizingly slow pace of the song that they walked off set. Forcing the "talent" to come up with their own moves which consist of stepping from side to side, spinning, or giving the occasional pelvic thrust. None of which is in time with the music, then again they would have to be in slow motion to be moving at the pace of the song.

11. There is a part where the song breaks down and it's just Vanilla talking on the phone to a girl. They only had one phone booth to shoot with so they made Vanilla strut creepily outside the phone booth while he talks to the girl. Is this supposed to be romantic, because it just creeps me out.

12. The horror the horror

13. Make it stop now before I cause harm to myself.

14. Why will this song not end?

15. Why were there so many dance breaks in such a slow song?

16. Oh look the Clouds are back for no reason at all.

In many ways this video defies explanation. Why would they make a video for such a bad song? Who is the director and is he still alive, or did villagers storm after him with pitch forks? Who thought this was a good idea?

Thanksgiving

Today I was half tempted to spend my time writing an angry rant about how bad the "Get Smart" movie was. I don't know how you can take a bunch of great comedic actors, have a writing credit from Mel Brooks himself (ok so it's only for writing the characters but still), and turn out so completely terrible. But I'm not going to do it, well at least not in depth.

Today is Thanksgiving and on this day I have decided not to bitch more then necessary. Today is the day where we Americans take time to remember what we should be thankful for friends, family, and an abundance of food. On this day we put time aside to reconnect with relatives, spend time with friends, and throw any semblance of a diet out the window for just one day.

I suppose I have failed you in my holiday suggestions this year, for try as I might the only thanksgiving movie I can think to recommend is "Pieces of April." It stars Katie Holmes, and for once I actually really liked her performance. Katie Holmes isn't playing her usual goody-two-shoes type of role, she is kind of a punk with issues, but somehow she still manages to be completely lovable in this role. The story is basically about an woman who has become estranged from her own family, but decides to throw a big Thanksgiving dinner largely due to the fact that her mother is dying. Everything falls apart and it turns out her oven is broken so she must go around the apartment building begging her neighbors to let her cook a few things in their oven. Despite all of this there is a lot of humor in the movie, and it has a wonderful quirky cast of characters. Most of the funny moments come from Aprils Mother (brilliantly played by Patricia Clarkson) who is dying of cancer and the old grandma with Alzheimers. Granted I haven't seen many Thanksgiving films but I love the way this represents a dysfunctional family, that despite differences still loves each other.

So in an uncharacteristically sappy moment, I want to give thanks to all the people who helped to make film what it is. To the Lumiere Brothers for being true pioneers of the cinema, and for opening the first actual movie theater. For the brave souls who believed that sound would be more then just a passing trend in film. "The Jazz Singer" may not be a very good movie, but who can forget it's first spoken lines and indeed the first spoken lines in all of cinema

"Wait a minute you ain't heard nothin yet"

For the people that painstakingly painted film frames to let us view the screen in color for the first time. For all the technicians who developed greater technology and changed the industry, for all the visionary directors, the talented actors, brilliant composers, and everyone else who makes film possible. Thank you

Film allows us to visit far away lands, to better understand foreign cultures, to see the world in a new view. A good movie can change someones life, or spark the imagination. Film can let us escape our lives for a little while into a wonderful world of fantasy. Or they can finally allow us to feel catharsis so that we can better express and understand ourselves.

I think in many ways film unites us. How many times have you bonded with someone over a favorite show of movie, how many times have you been able to get someone to smile or laugh just by repeating a good line from a movie. We don't think about it but going to the movie theater is kind of a magical experience. There you are sitting in a room full of strangers. And despite never speaking to one another, despite coming from different backgrounds, for that hour and a half you are all experiencing the exact same thing at the exact same time. For that small moment you and everyone else in the theater are connected.

I'm probably a bit too romantic in my view of film, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm wrong.

Right now I just want to express my gratitude to film and almost everything that has to do with film. I would also like to express my gratitude to my readers, thank you so much for stumbling upon this silly little blog and giving it a chance.

So to friends, family and complete strangers I love you all and Happy Thanksgiving

LonelyGirl15 The Resistance Review

I can't say that I was a fan of Lonelygirl15 since the beginning. I only got into after I saw a few news stories about how it was fake, and saw the hilarious recap of the show on WhatTheBuckShow.

Side note: If you have yet to see What The Buck yet, you should do so he his hilarious.


LonelyGirl15 was the first big web series. It brilliantly utilized the short length and accessibility of youtube to tell a story. From the beginning it was never a very well acted show, the scripts were far from perfect, and the production values were very low. All the same the show had this charm that just kept you watching.

The had a lot of fun conspiracy theories mixed into the story. New characters were brought in by commenting on videos. You never quite knew who was on Bree's side or not. There were puzzles to be solved and shadowy figures lurking in the background, all purposefully done so the audience could really feel like they were participating. It was almost like a more grown up version of Blues Clues, and it was a lot of fun. In fact the problem solving aspect is a big part of the shows addictive quality, everyone wanted to be the first to post the answer to a riddle on the forums.

After the big(and rather disappointing) finale of the first season, a lot of people were left wondering what direction the show would be going in. The second season still managed to keep things interesting as it followed Jonas's long lost trait positive "sister" Emma.

The third season is where things began to fall apart. Sure there were still puzzles to be solved and conspiracies to unravel, but the characters were becoming less and less engaging. Instead of series three being about guarding a trait positive girl, it was about a death threat issued to the meddling kids which kept interfering with the Hymn of One. It just wasn't as believable. It is established that The Hymn of One is a powerful cult with ties in every branch of the government. This explains why the kids never went to the cops for help. In the first and second season it is still believable that a group so powerful is unable to get the trait positive girls because the girls must not be harmed in any way until the ceremony. In season three it's pretty unbelievable that a group so powerful couldn't simply kill them. I understand that LG15 is a low budget production, but whenever the Hymn of One attempt to do kill the group they did so in lame drive by shootings that would have made any untrained street thug ashamed. I mean the watchers are supposed to be highly trained, there was a significant bounty put on their heads couldn't they have at least hired someone capable of killing these kids.

All the same I hung on and kept watching. I kept hoping that the series would start moving at a fun and exciting pace again, but it simply did not. LG15TheResistance is really where I had to draw the line and stop watching. It was like the fun alternate reality game had suddenly shifted into a bunch of angsty teens arguing. At first the survailance video style HymnOfNone videos were kind of interesting, but they really didn't lead anywhere. We saw a girl kept in captivity, drained of her blood on a routine basis, and otherwise miserable. Well we also know this girl escaped, in a highly implausible way. Had they changed the story a bit and made things about rescuing this girl, it might have been more interesting. Now we are just stuck with Maggie an annoying character who has a very flat and kind of annoying personality. I know I know, if you were locked up and drained of your blood every day you probably wouldn't be the nicest person on the block. There is a way to properly act in the role of a character who is very damaged and in many ways emotionally dead, the actress who plays Maggie isn't anywhere close to accomplishing that type of performance.

This season it's been more of a chore to watch the series then anything. Today when I went to my youtube page I saw new things from the HymnOfNone and I just did not want to watch them. So far there haven't been too many puzzles and there hasn't been much actual excitement. For the most part it's just four people standing around bitching about how dangerous things are, and getting jealous of one anthers romantic relationships. I mean maybe things can still turn around, but honestly when you get to a point that a show becomes painful to watch there is little hope it can return to it's previous glory.

I guess this is me throwing in the towel. So long LonelyGirl15 it was fun while it lasted, but I'm done with you.

True Blood: You'll Be The Death Of Me Season finale

I just finished watching the season finale of True Blood, and I have to admit I am disappointed. I think some of this is due to the fact that I am a fan of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and that the ending shown on television is far different fro the ending in the book. Yet, even when I turned my mind away from the book ending I still felt the season finale was a bit unsatisfying.

The True Blood series has a lot of sex and violence, but that's not the point of the show nor is it the most interesting part of the story. At it's heart True Blood is about relationships. Now, I'm not talking about the romantic relationship between Bill and Sookie, no I'm talking about the friendships the small town politics. It's pretty clear in "True Blood" vampirism is a thinly veiled metaphor for issues of race and homosexuality. How does the nation, and it's smallest little hick towns deal when some sort of minority group is revealed to the public and suddenly brought to the mainstream. Some are fascinated, some are repulsed, and like my favorite dumb blond Jason Stackhouse some are just plain confused. How do people accept things they don't understand, and how to they cope when they find out that strange things have been happening around them for hundreds of years without anyone really noticing.

In short and without spoilers. I feel like I was disappointed with the season finale because it didn't do enough to explore the major theme, it tied up a few things a little too conveniently, and I felt one of the scenes was completely over the top and unbelievable. And I do mean unbelievable in a world where I am perfectly happy to accept the existence of Vampires, shape shifters, and mind reading waitresses.

There are spoilers below both for the book and for the show. Highlight to read them.

Lets break down the scenarios

In the TV show: Sookie is brought home halfway through a tough day at work by Rene, due to the fact that he rigged her car so it could not possibly run. Sookie is clueless and has no idea he wants to kill her until he starts thinking about killing her grandmother. The chase ensues, violence happens, and Sookie does a lot of running and mind reading. Sam suddenly recognizes that it was Rene's scent he picked up on when he was creepily smelling the sheets at a crime scene and runs off to help Sookie. Bill, feeling Sookie's fear from their psychic link wakes up in the day time and bravely/stupidly marches out into the sunlight to save her. Sookie hides from Rene, is discovered, beat up, and rescued by Sam in collie form. Rene Beats Sam up for a while till Sookie grabs a shovel and manages to kill Rene. Sookie and Sam run off to rescue Bill who is still smoldering in a field from his futile attempt to rescue Sookie.

In the Book: Bill has been called away for secret vampire business in New Orleans. Although he can't be there personally, Bill knows that there is a killer after Sookie and he hires Bubba (who is actually Elvis) to be Sookie's body guard. Sookie is alone in her house at night after a very tough day at work. She has settled down and is washing off her makeup when she hears a noise outside. She calls to Bubba, but there is no response. Poor Bubba, he has been drugged and left unconscious unable to help. Sookie tries to call 911 but there is no dial tone on the phone. Sookie arms herself with a pocket knife and attempts to go out to her car and get away. Rene hears her and Sookie is chased around for a while. Rene catches up with her beats her up a bit and attempts to strangle her, Sookie manages to stab him in the stomach with her pocket knife. Sookie manages to get all the way to Bill's house where she finally calls 911 and passes out. Sookie wakes up in the hospital, with some severe injuries including a broken collarbone.

I guess I'll start with the good news, since there isn't much of it.

I like how the TV series had her use an improvised weapon of a shovel in the graveyard, somehow it makes more sense then being prepared with a pocket knife. I like how they showed Sookie's mind reading ability and how it worked with Rene. You know how Sookie was figuring things out, how Rene was upset that she could see his darkest secrets, how hard he worked to keep her out of his head. Overall the aspects of the chase scene which occurred between Rene and Sookie were well edited.

Now for the things I hated.

A chase through the graveyard at night is so much more frightening then one done in the daytime. Granted lighting at night is difficult, and night shoots are probably more expensive, but I don't care. I thought that the idea of Bill waking up just to fight his way through the sunlight for Sookie to be completely ridiculous. Even if it weren't for many things in the novels which essentially prove it impossible for Bill to have done this, it was over the top. It was sappy, and it was unnecessary. I know they tried to throw it in there to prove just how much Bill loves Sookie, yet I found it sickening. They should have taken all the money they spent on the crumbly Bill Compton, and put them towards a properly lit night time chase scene.

I suppose that point will be better explained here.

Here is where I get real angry. what I love about Sookie is that she is a very typical sort of woman. She comes from a lower class background, isn't very well educated but still smart, she is a waitress, and aside from a few things beyond her control has attempted to stay out of trouble in her life. In the book you see this journey from a very average humble sort of woman into a warrior.

In the book Sookie is left to fend for herself. There is no man to save her, no one to call until she can pass a terrible trial to get to someone else phone. Having Sam and Bill run in to save her makes her feat seem a lot less heroic. In the book it is clear that Sookie manages to outwit and outrun Rene, in the TV show it's clear that Sookie was not strong enough to survive unless there is a man like Sam to swoop in and save her. The character of Sookie Stackhouse deserves more then that, because that is a real turning point for her character. It is never talked about in such terms in the book, but Sookie proves that she can handle herself that she is independent. When she wakes up in the hospital she owes no thanks to anyone but herself for her own survival. In the show she basically calls Sam her hero, and thanks Bill for trying real hard to save her life when she so clearly couldn't have done so alone.

This is a much weaker foundation for this Heroine then I had hoped for. It seems as if they are changing a few other things as well. But I don't know how and when the writers and directors at HBO will back off and let Sookie he the hero in her own story. Sookie is no Bella Swan, her strength does not lay in having a super boyfriend or a super boss. Sookie's powers are completely and utterly her own, she is still a relatively ordinary woman but that doesn't mean she isn't capable of handing herself in most situations.

Side note, I miss Bubba. I can kind of see why they took the character out, but Bubba is one of my favorites. I can only guess they took him out because they wanted the show to be more serious, and Bubba is humorous in his very concept as a character. I still think it would have been great to have him, I mean it's not like Elvis impersonators are that hard to find. Bubba makes a number of appearances in the books, and I really hope they bring him into the TV series.

Writers Block

Well it had to happen sometime. I have nothing to rant about today. I'm not sure if this writers block is a natural occurance or if it has sprung from other frustrations.

Such as:

The inability to find a Taiwanese Soap Opera as charming as "Romantic Princess" or "Silence."

"Romantic Princess is about a girl who was sold on the black market as a baby after she was kidnapped from her Grandfather who is the richest man in all of Asia. Once she is found she is taken away from the people who raised her who, aside from buying a baby are really decent folks. She is brought to an absurdly large mansion and is strongly encouraged to marry one of her Grandfathers chosen successors. Insanity, pranks, backstabbing, and true love ensue. Seriously Ya'll Mr Darcy ain't got nothing on Jin, well except for the English accent.

"Silence" is about a girl who is mute after a terrible accident. While she is in the hospital there is a little boy who is also sick, despite having different backgrounds they become very close friends. Since the girl is mute they write letters to each other, one day they write special letters and put them in a secret spot in the hospita they vow to meet again some years later so that they can read them. The series follows what happens just before they are scheduled to meet each other again. Ok so it's sappy as hell ... but it's so beautiful *cries*

My Netflix randomly taking longer to arrive

My inability to think of any good Thanksgiving movie suggestions to hand out.

All I can think of is "Pieces of April." It's a good movie, but I know there must be more out there.

Inadvertently watching more then 10 minutes of one of the Christmas Movies playing on the Family Channel

It's not even thanksgiving yet and it seems as if they have been playing nothing but Christmas movies for the past two days, how is it even possible for them to make it all the way to christmas at this pace. To make matters worse all of them seem to be terrible, overly sappy, and with zero star power. So far the movies I have glanced at starred such talents as tony Danza and John Boy from "The Waltons."

Hopefully tomorrow I will have a few fresh new ideas to rant about.

Lipstick Jungle

A lot of good shows seem to be on the decline this season.

My beloved Heroes have been on the decline but have managed to be signed on for another season.

It seems as if the delightful and charming Pushing Daisies has finally kicked the bucket.

Now Lipstick Jungle is going through it's last gasps of life. And it seems as if the stars are fighting back with a very staged viral video.



This basically says "watch this show and you will get to see a hot dude in his panties." Really that's almost enough for me to watch a show alone. Lipstick Jungle is a cool show, it's NBC's answer to all the women who liked Sex in the City but wished the women were a little less slutty.

I now recommend that Pushing Daisies has a bake sale to help save it's show. Seriously people you need to start tuning into decently written shows like Lipstick Jungle, and well written shows like Pushing Daisies or the networks are just going to keep replacing them with crappy reality tv shows.

Twilight preparedness kit

Many of you will be seeing the "Twilight" movie when it first comes out, be it tonight at midnight or at some other point this weekend. There are a few key items which will ensure a good, but more importantly safe journey into the world of "Twilight".

First and foremost bring earplugs. You don't have to keep them on for the entirety of the film, but imagine the horrible screeching of a hundred teenage fangirls chatting away, now imagine what sort of inane and mind numbing conversations they are having. Protect your ears and your intellect, do not remove the earplugs till after Robert Pattinson has appeared on screen for the first time and the mass squee of the audience has passed. Hopefully the fangirls will be ok after this initial exposure and will not continue to shriek each time he appears on screen.

Body Glitter. It does not seem like an obvious choice but this will help you safely travel amongst fangirls and can also be used as a defensive item. In "Twilight" the vampires sparkle, if you sparkle the fangirls will automatically feel a certain comfort around you and will be less likely to attack or question your presence. If you are accosted, are dealing with someone who will not shut up about how cute Robert Pattinson is during the movie, or if an unwanted suitor has "imprinted" on you body glitter can be used defensively. Pelting someone with body glitter may get you thrown out of the theater. However so long as you are careful not to throw glitter in anyone's eyes you can probably get away with it. Point in fact some fangirls may be so pleased that they sparkle like Edward that they may even thank you.

Feminist Literature of pamphlets from a local women's shelter detailing how to recognize an abusive relationship. Ok, so Edward wasn't so bad in the first book. But sometimes we all need to be reminded that while it may look cool on screen you don't actually want an overprotective controlling boyfriend to be engaged in a dangerously codependent relationship with you. Do not attempt to pass these out, you will get your ass kicked. Just keep them handy when you feel yourself starting to think it would be a good idea to be involved with a relationship this intense or obsessive.

If you are on Team Jacob bring a poncho. If you love Jacob (and I must admit I am a team Jacob member myself) and you feel the need to show all your Jacob gear with pride be prepared for the backlash. Wear a poncho so that anything thrown on you will not stick.

Pictures of Robert Pattinson.


Amongst Twilight fangirls pictures of Robert Patinson are used as a primitive form of currency. If you feel yourself getting crowded in by fangirls simply throw a stack of pictures in the direction you do not want to go. This method can be especially effective when attempting to leave a crowded theater.

Hopefully if you follow these simple guidelines you will be protected from wild fangirl attacks. Remember keep safe, stay smart, and don't let any strangers bite you.

Princess Princess D

Sometimes you hear about a show with a premise that is so odd you simply have to watch it. As you may have guessed from the title this particular show was Princess Princess D. It's a live action show from Japan that plays almost like an anime.

I can safely say it is the gayest show I have ever seen.

Now do not get me wrong here I am using the word gay in it's proper context. This is quite fun and has a certain zany charm to it, but it's a show largely about gay teens. Please allow me to elaborate on my which show is very gay.

1. It takes place in an all male school, not a single woman to be found

2. The school has a tradition where the three cutest first years are chosen and forced to dress in drag to help "alleviate tension" in the school, and exist as a fantasy for all the males in school. They are known as the Princesses.

3. Even when the Princesses are in their normal school uniforms guys still blush around them and are clearly still attracted.

4. Every time one of the boys attempts to wake up his friend for class, the sleeping friend almost always ends up making out with him.

5. Extended shower scenes (No actual nudity).

6. There are boys kissing in the opening credits.

7. It was based on a popular yaoi manga series.

First off let me say how cool it is that Japan is an accepting society that allows a show like this to be created. I know that a lot of big fans of yaoi are actually straight women, but it's great that there is a show for teenage gay men out there. Honestly American TV has very few characters that are gay, lesbian, or transgender. Now I'm not saying a show with a rather absurd premise of boys being forced to dress in drag at school is nessicarily the best way to represent the gay community, it's more the fact that it's being represented at all. I don't watch too many shows aimed at teenagers but off the top of my head I can only think of two with gay characters. Eric the little brother from Gossip Girl, and one of the kids from Degrassi. I'm straight, but I can only immagine how weird it must be to grow up never seeing people like you on television.

Anyway back to the main story. Princess Princess D is kind of like watching an anime that came to life. There are random non sequitors, completly over the top reactions, and lots of cartoonish characters. The story centers around the three boys chosen to be the Princesses, and the main character is a boy who very much does not want to be a Princess. Trouble arises when a second group of three guys become the Dark Princesses and attempt to try and take over the school.

The series has it's fair share of angst, bu overall it is a commedy. The show has lots of crazy sound effects, and while it is like a living cartoon and is quite over the top it is overall a lot of fun to watch. The show has a lot of really quirky characters. The president of the student council has a Fonzie like snap that brings things into action. The sencronised swimming team has hilarious moved that they practice on dry land. One of the Dark Princesses is always making cat noises for no apparent reason.

Side note: did you know that Japanese cats go Nyah. I don't know I always find it fascinating how animal noises change across cultures. Anyway back to the story faster then your dog can go wooah wooah.

The problem with shows from Asia (at least for us who don't speak the language) is always finding a good fansub. Sometimes you will find a small clip on youtube, advertising downloads with english subs, only to find that the entire site does not have a word of english to help you find what you are supposed to download. Another dificulty is finding the complete series. I have no idea how long ago "Princess Princess D" aired in Japan but I have not been able to find all the episodes.

The other big downside of the series is when they have musical numbers. I have only seen it happen two or three times so far. They arn't like big fun musical productions complete with dance sequences or anything. They seem to consist of one guy sining Karoke for like five minutes or a dude singing about his feelings in a basement. The songs wern't particularly fun or energentic, I personally did not like them very much. But who knows maybe the music will be more to your liking.

This show may not be to everyones taste. Like I have said many times before it's kind of over the top and cartoonish. But if you want to experience a show that is completly and utterly different then anything you would see in the US it's something you may want to try watching.

Requests and Questions

Well today marked the first time I have written in response to one of my comments.

Do you have something you would like me to write about?

In this blog I am trying to keep things limited to tv, movies, web series, commercials, actors/actresses, and directors. So ask me anything in one of those categories and I will do my best to answer. Keep in mind I haven't seen every movie ever made, there are some movies I just don't want to see, and there are some areas and genres that I don't know that much about.

But if you want me to rant about something just leave a comment and I will do my best to rant about it.

Ask and ye shall recieve

I got a comment the other day requesting a topic

"hows about a post on how boring his friend matt damon is?
i don't get the whole "matt damon" thing. other than his work in "good will hunting", the man is a walking sedative.
they both seem like nice guys, but i find 'em decidedly uninteresting as actors.
though to damon's credit, he's not quite as hapless as affleck seems in serious roles."

Well thank you for your comment anonymous person, I shall do my best to oblige.

In general I think of Matt Damon as a pretty decent and capable actor. I thought he was absolutely brilliant in "Good will Hunting", "The Talented Mr. Ripley", and "The Departed." He gave good performances as Jason Bourne and as Linus from the Oceans 11 series, but they are just good they are not one of a kind unforgettable performances.

I guess this is where we get into my real opinion of Matt Damon. I think he is a solid and capable actor, but I feel that he is missing that edge of danger and excitement which makes other actors so exciting to watch. He gives a very good performance, but he never seems to take it to the next level. He never seems to give his performances that air of spontaneity or danger. I believe that is the difference between a great actor and a legendary actor.

Back in the day people would line up to see Marlin Brando perform in the stage version "Streetcar Named Desire." At that point in time they would end scenes with all the actors frozen in place. Every single actor would stay frozen in place till the curtain had fully lowered, all except Brando. Before the curtain fully went down he would walk off stage. Some have compared watching a Brando performance to watching a caged lion, there was always this feeling like you wouldn't know what he was going to do next. In "Apocalypse Now" Marlon Brando did not memorize his lines, he had them written in random places around the set, so that with each line you would see the struggle as he tried to grasp hold of what he was going to say next. It doesn't seem ike it would make that big of a difference, but that extra struggle made his mesmorising to watch.

Matt Damon just doesn't have that edge. I hate to use baseball metaphors, largely because I hate baseball. Nevertheless, if Hollywood was a team Matt Damon would be one of the starters, and he would be a very solid, reliable, well rounded player yet he would never hit it out of the park or make one of those crazy darring saves. He is the guy you would want on your team, but he would not be your star player. With the exception of "The Talented Mr Ripley" there hasn't been a single role he played that couldn't be played by someone else. Mind you there are millions and millions out there who could not perform half as well as he did. Yet Matt Damon has yet to create a role so distinct that you can't imagine it being played by someone else.

Think about it, can you imagine someone other then Johnny Depp being Captain Jack Sparrow, or someone other then Heath Ledger playing the Joker in "Dark Knight"; you probably can't. There is a certain recklessness in those performances that can't be repeated in the same way by anyone else. Mind you Matt Damon's lack of recklessness makes him a much more reliable actor, but it also means that he has yet to do anything truly great and unique. Of course he is still fairly young, who knows we may still see Matt Damon make the performance of a lifetime.

Ben Afleck on the other hand is someone whose talent I can't comment on. He has yet to choose a role which can really show his range as an actor. I'm not saying he is a great actor or a terrible one for that matter. Thus far his greatest failing as an actor is that he does not make good choices about what films to be in.

There are great actors that suffer from this same affliction, look at Cuba Gooding Jr. He gave a great performance in Jerry McGuire, and although very few people saw it he completly stole the show in "Lightning Jack." Yet the man keeps choosing terrible movies like "Daddy Day Care" and has lost any credibility that he may have had from getting an Oscar.

The only movies that Ben Afleck has been in besides "Good will Hunting" that were worth watching were Kevin Smith movies (not including Jersey Girl) and while they are really enjoyable, they arn't the most challenging roles. The other movies he chose to be in were all just sort of inexcusably bad movies. I mean I'm sure he is happy that he did "Daredevil" because thats where he met his wife, but most of his choices can't be explained that well. I am sure Ben Afleck is at least a decent actor, but I have no idea if he is capeable of greatness or not because he has yet to choose a single role that would allow him to showcase real talent.

They both seem like nice guys. I have really enjoyed some of their movies. But I will agree with you wholeheartedly dear reader while they may be capeable, they arn't the most exciting actors to watch. There are lots of good actors in this world, but there are few truly great ones.

Heroes: Chapter 9 it's coming

Tonight's episode was the best one they've had in a while. It was kind of like "As The World That's About To Be Destroyed Spins." There was romance, drama, and naturally some action. Unlike some of the past episodes we got more of a change to relate to the characters emotionally, not just see more of their inner workings. Finally we are starting to get more of an idea of where this is all going.

Sure we are not certain how giving everyone powers will cause the world to explode, but a little more of the story is becoming clear. When Angela had a vision earlier on in this season we saw that Tracy (or possibly the third clone Barbra) was standing alongside the villians, and now we are getting more of an idea what role she plays and why she is a bad guy. We get to see a bit more about how Clare makes the transformation from cheerleader to killer, and we also see how Peter is trying to prevent it. For the first time in my life I was not pissed off by the male character telling a woman to run and hide while he protected her, just about anyone would do that if they knew it would prevent their close relative from changing into a cold blooded murderer.

Speaking of cold blooded killers, I am completly loving the relationship between Syler and Elle. They are two people who were made into monsters, and who are trying to find themselves again and be better people. Yea it's a little sappy, but I love it and I have to say it's my favorite pairing since Hiro and Charlie.

In other Syler related News. It now seems that Syler has an almost identical power to Peter. From the very beginning it was said that Peter's greatest power lay in his empathy. Now it is clear that Syler can use his power like Peter now that he has begun to develop a sense of Empathy. Which leads me to an interesting theory. What if Peter and Syler are identical twins. It would be kind of poetic. One twin got all of the goodness, the other got all of the darker more sinister traits. Their powers work almost the same way but they are used very differently. Peter was naturally a very empathetic person he was always in tune with those around him, so he could absorb their powers. Syler was not so good natured, a fact only worsened by being adopted by a crazy mother. Up till now Syler only knew how to understand a persons inner workings by violently exposing them to the light of day, he had no clue how to figure out people except for purely mechanical functions. I mean I'm not the best at guessing ages but it looked like Syler and Peter could be the same age. I don't know, for now I'm going with the wonder twin theory.

I have no theory why Hiro is acting like a 10 year old, other then an excuse for Hiro the be beyond adorable. Arthur Petrelli's power must cause some sort of brain damage, but at this point it's hard to tell why he absorbed Hiro's memory and not his ability. Maybe Ando inturupting had something to do with it.

Next week should be interesting. According to all the promo's it's going to be heroes with no powers. I expect tons of Badassness from HRG and Ando, but I had no idea how the other characters are going to react.

True Blood

Strange things always happen when you transfer things from one form of media to another. In a post not too long ago I expressed that I did not want to read the "Watchmen" graphic novel because I wanted to be able to judge the movie for it's own merit. When it came to "True Blood" I did the precise opposite. I was so excited about the upcoming serious that I went out and I read all of the Sookie Stackhouse novels.

I'll admit it I am a big fan of the Vampire Genre. I have seen tons of vampire movies, am an avid follower of several vampire book series, and a number of my favorite TV series have been of the fanged persuasion. I loved of the witty one liners in "Blood Ties," a huge fan of Buffy, and hell I even watched "Moonlight" despite the fact that it was only average. When I heard that a network like HBO was taking on a vampire series I knew that they would be able to do it with great production values, good actors, good scripts, and enough promotion to help the series get noticed in the first place.

So far the series has changed a number of things yet still remained true to the books. Of course it's HBO so it added 10 times more sex then was in the original novel, but for the most part their additions to the series have been good ones. I was happy to see Lafayette playing a bigger role, and I absolutely love Tara who really didn't exist in the original series. Would you believe that in the books Tara doesn't appear till the second book, is not black, has no anger management problems, does not work at the bar, and most certainly does not have a fling with Sam Merlotte. Jason is not into V, and aside from the rumors around town about the murders he isn't in the book that much.

So far I have really enjoyed "True Blood." It's got a lot of twists and turns, it's funny, it's sexy, it's action packed. It stays true to the books, but really adds a lot of depth to the world now that we can see it through eyes other then Sookies. It's clear they are taking different directions with the plot, especially to how the book ends and what happens to some of the characters. But I must say with only one episode left I will be very disappointed if one thing does not make the jump from the book into the series.

This is without any important spoilers so don't worry.

My favorite thing about the Sookie Stackhouse novels is one character which has yet to be introduced yet in the television series, and that is Bubba. In the Sookie Stackhouse universe the truth about Elvis is fully explained. All those years ago Elvis really did overdose, and he was dead except for the tiniest spark of life which still existed. The person working at the morgue was a huge Elvis fan and a vampire, so he turned Elvis. It was some combination of the amount of drugs in the mans system, and the fact that he was more dead then alive when he was turned, but Elvis did not turn out right. Nope, in the Sookie Stackhouse novels Elvis is a mentally challenged, cat eating vampire, who has to do small jobs for other vampires because he can't be seen in public. Every time he gets seen somewhere they make a big deal about the elvis sighting, not to mention Bubba has a tendency to freak out violently when people call him Elvis.

Bubba is such a brilliant funny character, I will be pissed if the King does not make an appearance in the season finale next week. I'm still holding out hope that he will appear. In the book Bill hired Bubba to look after Sookie while he was out of town. Yet, the show has changed the order and the way in which so many things have happened in the show, I suppose it's possible he could still show up. All the same I hold out home for another Elvis sighting.

My Favorite youtube video of all times

Sometimes the simplest premise is the best



I have probably watched this 100 times and it still hasn't gotten old. Sometimes you just need a little slapstick humor to brighten your day.

Watchmen movie

For those of you who have not heard graphic novel "Watchmen" is being turned into a movie. Admittedly I have not read the novel, nor do I intend to till after the film comes out. I want to be able to judge the movie for it's own merit and not hold it up to the standards of a book. After all Alan Moore, creator of "Watchmen" doesn't want a film adaptation to happen at all.

Alan Moore specifically expressed that he had seen 300, and said that the film adaptation only brought out the flaws he had disliked to begin with in the graphic novel. This is kind of a big problem for the creator seeing as Zack Snyder who directed "300", has also been hired to direct "Watchmen."

Lets face it most of us aren't familiar with the graphic novel "Watchmen," and even amongst those who love the graphic novel there are people who are willing to give the film a chance. Honestly I decided to see it as soon as I saw the first trailer, which played right before "Dark Knight."

In case you haven't seen it yet I give to you the first "Watchmen" trailer.



Like many I was completely blown away by this trailer. I mean it's two minutes long and is already better then a lot of full length films. With Zach Snyder directing crisp visuals, dynamic action sequences, and all around badassitude are to be expected. Honestly that alone is enough to get me to see a movie. "300" wasn't the best movie ever made by anyone's standards yet it was entertaining, had amazing cinematography, and a lot of really good one liners.

I think at this point the real question is how will the director deal with the story. I never read the graphic novel "300" so I don't have much for comparison, yet I thought "300" was pretty well told. It focused on a very tough society that was not into sharing their emotions, but even within those confines we still got to see a lot of emotion from the characters.

Yesterday I finally saw the second trailer to "Watchmen" and I have to say I was underwhelmed. The first trailer was honestly one of the best most captivating trailers I have ever seen, so anything would have had a hard time living up to that standard.

Before I go any further here is the second trailer for "Watchmen."



The second trailer tells us a bit more about the story, but it is infinately less fascinating then the first trailer. I think a lot of it has to do with the editing style and music choice. This was shot almost identically to the way a trailer for any other superhero movie would be. The problem is, that from what little I know about the plot, this is far from an average superhero story.

First off, only one of the "superheroes" has actual powers. If you guessed the shiny blue guy you are correct in guessing he is the one with powers.

Side note: did you know Dr Manhattan (aka shiny blue dude) it is the same actor who played Russell Hammond in "Almost Famous" I totally never would have guessed that.

Anyway, from the trailer it's pretty obvious that some of the heroes aren't so keen on saving the world anymore. This is a pretty brilliant twist on the traditional superhero genre. However presented as it is in the trailer, it makes you not care as much about the heroes themselves.

If your trying to build interest and get someone to watch a movie you want to make people like the characters. You can do awesome montage of clips set to good music like in the first trailer, you can have a trailer that looks like a typical superhero movie only to leave people shocked and pleasantly surprised when they get to the theater, or you can have something at the beginning which establishes the watchmen as the good guys before explaining why they no longer care about saving humanity. You never want to give the whole story away with a trailer, but the second trailer just seems messy.

The beginning is good, it sets up the entire purpose of the plot. A superhero has been killed, and one of his friends seems to think it's part of a government cover up. After that it's like they didn't know what to do. The visuals don't match the story thats being told all of the time, point and fact sometimes they almost detract for the story they are trying to tell. While they had a voice saying "The watchmen are over" they show the hot chick descending the stairs. I mean it throws you off, why not have the blue guy screaming leave me alone, and then say something about how the watchmen are done, after that close off with Rorschach saying you attack one of us you attack all of us. that makes more sense then what they did.

I'm still going to see the movie, I still encourage others to see it. But seriously fire the dude who made the second trailer.

Watchmen comes out on March 6th. I am positive that the film will be visually stunning, and filled with some really cool stunts and effects. Let's just hope the plot of the film is better pieced together then the second trailer.

Puppies!

Ok so normally I'm not into the voyeuristic nature of live camera feeds.

But these are adorable puppies. I just like to have this running on my computer as I go around and do other chores, so every now and then I look over and go "Awwww."

Even this sarcastic critics heart gets warmed up by the site of puppies.

Webcam chat at Ustream

Foreign movies for real men

This could be alternately titled "Foreign films for people who don't like foreign films." There are a lot of men out there who love foreign cinema, and likewise there are a lot of women who hate movies with subtitles. Weather you are a Joe sixpack looking to impress a cute film buff, a gal trying to get your partner to be a bit more cultured, or someone who wants to bravely dive into the world of foreign film I have prepared a guide for you.

Everything has been arranged according to how threatened you feel by foreign film. And it has been made to match the US Homeland security threat level system.

Red or Orange: Severely threatened or Highly threatened by foreign film.

Perhaps you had a bad experience with a mime as a kid, maybe you were traumatized by having to sit through something like "Tout Va Bien", maybe you have never been exposed to foreign film before. Yet the case is clear you are shaking in your boots expecting a dreadful artsy-fartsy movie that drags on forever and makes you bored to tears. Your afraid that if your friends find out you have seen a foreign film they may think your not manly anymore.

Here is the solution, start out small and travel over to an English speaking country.

Guy Ritchie is a great director who has created some awesome action packed manly films set in England. Check out "Lock stock and Two Smocking Barrels" about a bunch of guys who get into trouble when they put their money into a high stakes card game. "Snatch" is my favorite Guy Ritchie movie to date (I haven't seen RockenRolla yet) it's about a diamond heist and how everything goes horribly and hilariously wrong afterwords. "Snatch" also deals with underground boxing, Pikies, and why you should never trust a man who owns a pig farm.

Some other great manly action films from England: La4er Cake, Trainspotting, and need I remind you that James Bond is English

Australia isn't a bad place to go for film either. Check out the Mad Max series. It was filmed in the 80's before Mel Gibson went insane.

Yellow: Elevated

Lets face it you tried to watch a foreign film once and it sucked. You have no real desire to see people opening up doors going "Oh, um oh" and shutting and opening more doors. Maybe you have found that you can stand certain foreign films. Perhaps ones that don't require the reading of subtitles, or ones that are so action oriented and cheesy that you don't find them threatening at all.

The man you have to see is Akira Kurosawa. Now this does require a small leap of faith. The movies I am suggesting are in black and white and they require the reading of subtitles. Yet Kurosawa is arguably the best director of all times, his story telling ability is legendary, the cinematography is great, and he has a way of incorporating humor into serious movies.

"Yojimbo": It's almost like Japans answer to a western. Yojimbo is a ronin who has wondered into a town controlled and terrorized by two rival gangs, and the drama just builds from there. The movie has action, a great storyline, and decent amount of dark humor.

"Rashomon": Three strangers stand trapped beneath an overhang waiting for a storm to pass. To entertain themselves they begin talking about a murder which recently occurred near town. The movie then shows the crime from different perspectives, as the men beneath the overhang slowly piece together what happened.

Blue and Green: Gaurded or low

Your not that threatened by foreign film, maybe you have even seen a forign movie that you really liked. All the same you haven't exactly been going out of your way to broaden your horizons and seek out new foreign cinema.

To you I offer French Film, the final frontier

"13 Tzameti": This is a psychological thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire duration of the film. I don't want to give it all away, but it's about a man who follows instructions left for someone else towards a money making opportunity.

"La Haine" or "Hate" as it is called in English: Often when we think of french film we only think of white actors, artists, and the rich. This movie isn't about any of those things. "La Haine" takes places in the ghettos of France. It's centered on three friends of varying ethnic backgrounds as they try to survive and stay out of trouble. the movie has a lot of artistic merit, but it also has a story that will keep your interest.

So go out there, and try to watch a few foreign films off the list. You may be surprised to find that not all films are boring, or overly artsy, and that they are still accessible to Americans. although we generally only get to see artistic (aka depressing as hell) Oscar worthy foreign films in the US, trust me other countries make plenty of horror films, action films, and screwball comedies.

Music videos

Music Videos hold a near and dear place in my heart. While all the other children watched things like Sesame Street and cartoons, I was watching MTV. That's right way back in the 80's MTV actually played music videos, I would sit with my grandmother and watch the videos all day long. I became an expert on 80's music at the age of 3, and I would have continued to be an expert had it not been for a certain Phil Collins music video which gave me nightmares. I know what your thinking, Phil Collins is not the type to have a scary music video. Check out Genesis "Land of Confusion" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt6R6sTwsa4 and tell me that those puppets wouldn't scare the crap out of you when you were three. Due to nightmares about the Ronald Regan puppet my parents made me stop watching MTV for quite a few years, but my love of music videos remains.

I always find myself shocked to find so many of my friends have never really watched music videos, or at least none before they became viral videos. So here I offer to you a crash course on what I consider to be the top 10 best music videos. I tried not to judge on merit of the song but more on the artistic quality of the video, and how it represented and interpreted the song. I also tried to get a mixtore of high budget and low budget, and mixture of approaches.

1. "Take on me" by A-ha

I had to start with one of the first music videos I ever loved. The effects were pretty good for the 80's, and the storyline is so adorable you can't help but get wrapped up in it a bit. Does it make perfect sense with the lyrics, net exactly but the action in the video is paced well to the tempo of the song.



2. "Yellow" by Coldplay

This video is proof that sometimes the simplest approach is the most effective. No special effects, no big budget sets, no casts of actors, and it still manages to be brilliant. It's just one man, one camera, a beach, a pretty song, and timing that is beyond perfect.



3. "Praise You" Fatboy Slim

The story goes that Fatboy Slim very much wanted Spike Jonze (Director of Adaptation and a number of Brilliant Music Videos) to direct his next video. For some reason or another Spike was unable to direct it, but as sort of a thank you to Fatboy Slim he sent a video of himself dancing to one of Fatboyslims songs. That is where the idea for this music video was born. Before you ask, yes Spike Jonze is the main dancer. You can tell this video was shot guerrilla style, and I completely admire them for taking that chance.



4. "It's Oh So Quiet" Bjork

This video was also directed by Spike Jonze, but you will find it is significantly different from his last. In many ways it makes sense that some music videos would be shown and performed as musicals, yet Spike Jonze accomplishes it with a quirky humor which fits perfectly with Bjork. Look out for the dancing garbage cans in the background of the last scene they are my favorite.



5. "No Rain" Blind Melon

This video was an interesting pick. I chose it because of the cultural importance of Bee Girl and the misunderstood individualism she represents. I think we can all relate to Bee Girl in one way or another, and thats what makes this a great video.



6. "I'm Not Ok" My chemical Romance

Say what you will about their music, but the music videos for their first two albums were amazing. The song "I'm Not Ok" is practically an anthem for high school angst, and what better way to show it then to make a movie. When I first saw this video I thought it was a movie trailer, and naturally that was the directors intention. It's a brilliant idea, and a very fun music video, kind of makes you wonder what would have happened if they had made a full length movie.



7. "Lenores Song" Yunyu

Yunyu is an amazing lesser known artist who wrote this song as a response to Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. The video is comprised entirely of stop motion animation from over 16000 digital photos. the video is disturbing, yet utterly fascinating. It is one of the most creative music videos I have ever seen and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.



8. "Jeremy" Pearl Jam

This is one of the most critically acclaimed music videos ever made. Like the song the video is about a young man who shot kimself in front of his entire class. It's a dark video, but it's a powerful one. The representations of the boys life shown in the form of giant photos in the woods, are images that have never left my mind not. Nor has this become any less shocking and emotional each time I have seen it.

the company Sony BMG has disabled embedding of the video. So please take my word and copy and paste this link to their official youtube channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMRTOZExfJA

9. "Smack My Bitch Up" Prodigy

This is one of the videos banned from MTV and undoubtedly other networks. It's a brilliant music video done entirely from the perspective of one individual. It was banned because of violence, nudity, and I'm fairly certain drug use as well. If you are offended by any of these things then don't click the link. Wait till the end of the video, there is a twist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43GxJBsw2k4&

10. "Perfect Drug" Nine Inch Nails

This is one of the few high budget music videos that I absolutely love. It was directed by Mark Romanek who is one of the best music video directs of all times, if not the best. Apparently his video for Madonna's Bedtime Stories and his more famous Nine Inch Nails video Closer are on permanent display at MOMA.

Trent Reznor admittedly hated this video, but that's him and not me. It is one of those music videos that you have to watch a few times to really get the story. The video is dark, takes place in a very Gothic Victorian setting, and apparently drew inspiration from artist Edward Gorey. the first time you see it the visuals are so outstanding that it is hard to see past them and into the actual story.

Instead of following a more obvious theme for the song and doing a video about an obsession over romantic love, the director made it instead about the love for a lost child. The story seems to be about a man who has lost his son, and has become addicted to absinthe and other drugs to deal with his pain and loneliness.

Universal Music Group does not allow embedding of this music video so please follow the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0s5UOVsMDg


Side note, I don't understand why some record companies will not allow their music videos to be posted on other sites. Music videos are created for promotional purposes, and what better way to promote then by sharing. I am not in any way trying to take credit for these videos, I have given proper credit to the artists and in some cases to the director as well. No I am promoting artists, and now that music videos can be bought on iTunes I am also promoting the sale of music videos.

Decisions, decisions

Should I sleep or watch the newly discovered "Lost in Austin" series.

"Lost in Austen" is about a modern day woman (Gemima Rooper also known as Thelma from Hex) who is obsessed with Pride and Prejudice. Suddenly she gets sucked into the world of Pride and Prejudice taking the place of Lizzy Bennet.

The choice is easy.

I can always sleep some other time.

Sports movies that I don't hate

I am not a sports person, never have been, never will be. There is not an athletic bone in my body, and with the exception of Superbowl and the Olympics no sports are watched in my household. Not surprisingly if you don't like sports to begin with, it's kind of hard to like sports movies. I have been told stories about seeing into the soul of a game and I know people whose religion is baseball, but that doesn't mean I "get it." Heck even if you do love sports and are very passionate about them, it doesn't mean that you nessicarily like sports movies. The plots are pretty predictable, the main team almost always wins, and the characters don't very too much from film to film.

All the same there are some sports movies that I actually like and here is a list of them.

In the world of Hockey movies, nothing in my mind comes close to the kids classic "The Mighty Ducks." The tale of a lawyer with a drinking problem forced to do community service working with a kids hockey team. The story had potential to be very preachy and sentimental, and while it did have it's moments "The Mighty Ducks" was a highly entertaining and often comic movie. I think what really makes the movie is the team itself, the little back stories and quirks for all the kids. In a lot of sports films it's all about the coach and maybe two big players, while there are clear leads I would consider Mighty Ducks more of an ensemble piece. It's also one of the few movies where the sequel was better then the original I "D2 The Mighty Ducks" was more fun then the origional.

In general kids sports films are the way to go. Call it nostalgia but I will take the annexation of Puerto Rico and the antics of The Icebox over any serious sports moviem, any day of the week. "Little Giants" was another cute kids movie about a ragtag team brought together to face off against the tough guys. The dialouge is clever, the coaches are played by Rick Moranis (of Honey I Shrunk the kids and Little Shop of Horror fame) and Ed O'Neil (Al Bundy), the kids do a great job. Really what I like most is how it departs from most sports movies. The underdog does not triumph from hard work; they cheat like crazy, get away with it, and still come out as heroes in the end. "Little Giants" spoke to the unathletic nerds, I may not be able to catch a ball but I could put glue on my hands or outsmart a bloodthirsty jock.

Do not fear not all of my choices are kids films. Although I would like to say for the record that The Sandlot was awesome as were the Bad News Bears. Although compeditive martial arts is not a typical sports film "Sidekicks" with Chuck Norris, was awesome in the cheesy over the top way Chuck Norris movies tend to be. "Angels in the Outfield" is a very cute movie, see if you can spot Matthew McConaughey and Adrian Brody in the team.

In my mind the other good sports movies are ones that don't nessicarily rely on sports games to create the drama. It's not just about winning the big game, it's about personal drama, historic situations, or simply finding out who you are.

"Breaking Away" is a wonderfull film about a young man who is obsessed with Bicycle racing. It takes place in the American midwest in the time before Lance Armstrong, when racing was only a big deal Europe. At the tie the biggest and best competition in the world was the Italian racing team. The main character is obsessed with Italy and spends his days speaking in a fake Italian accent, learning to speak Italian, and listening to opera. His parents have dificulty dealing with his fascination with all things Italian, but they are hilarious. the main characters three best friends also are cause for some hilarity and some more tender moments. You get to see a very young Dennis Quaid. And yes kids this is the first movie I have recomended (at least in this post) that won an oscar, so it's not just my opinion here.

My other favorite sports movie is actually a documentary, but don't let that scare you away. "The Endless Summer" follows a group of surfers as they go around the world in search of waves, and avoiding being caught anywhere resembling the winter. There are great action shots of surfing, amazing locations, and the entire film is held together by a very humerous narrorator.

Heroes

It is well known that NBC just fired two of the writers for Heroes, and honestly I can't blame them.

I am a complete Heroes fangirl, but even I have to admit that something has to change. It kind of breaks my heart to write this entry about a show I love so much, but sometimes the best way to prove your love and your investment in something is to be brutally honest.

The first season was everything you could hope for in a series. The characters were well developed, the story lines interesting, and the plot was just twisted enough to keep you coming back for more. There was romance, intreague, adventure, and a journey of discovery happening for character and viewer alike.

The second season did not fair as well. They introduced new characters all willy-nilly without attaching them to people of plot lines that we were invested in. Good characters were killed off, and not enough time was spent with the characters we liked. The only new characters brought on in season that anyone really loved were Adam Monroe and Elle. The Shanti virus was kind of a lame way to wipe out the entire world, sure they were probably trying to explore broader themes of biological warfare. For some reason a specific disaster hitting a specific area, or group of people is a lot more investing to a viewer then a broad world wide disaster.

While the second season simply wasn't up to snuff, the third season is just too complex. I am someone who has watched every episode (often more then once), I have read all the graphic novels, and I am even involved in the heroes online community Heroes Evolutions; sometimes it even takes me a minute to figure out how things are tieing together. the story is very complex, heaven help the person who is attempting to just jump into watching season three without doing their homework. The major threat on the world this season is that a serum will be made giving any normal person super powers.

Even going back and rewatching this seasons episodes it's hard to see how the future shown connects to what is going on now. How does giving everyone powers result in the world splitting appart? Why are people born with authentic powers being put into camps while people who got their powers from injections allowed to walk free? How and why does Claire turn evil? Why have Elle's powers gone haywire? Why is Mr Petrelli trying to do this?

So far what I like about season 3 is the character development which has been occuring. We can now see Syler as more then a serial killer. We get to see more of Mrs. Petrelli and what she is about. We get to see Claire becoming a stronger person because of the hardships she has suffered. We get to see Parkman for the sweet romantic guy he is, and we can see the posibility for a good relationship in his future. I like getting to find out a bit more of the backstory and charater insight, but a series like heroes can not run on backstory alone. I feel like much of season three would be better served as the extras portion of a DVD set, or added to their online videos section.

Speaking of their online section. This summer heroes graphic novels came out,as did hints on heroes run websites, and text messages. Almost none of them had anything to do with the current plot, or characters that were going to be introduced. I feel almost as if I wasted my time reading so much about Evesdropper (I know they spell it differently chill out) when I can't see how he fits into the plot. Durring the first season there was more interactivity. The week after we were asked to call HRG's voice mail we saw him hanging up a phone and looking annoyed in an episode, we "heleped" keep linderman from rigging the election of Nathan Petrelli, and we got to see a lot more backstory on a small but important character. I am really missing that this season.

I guess the bottom line is, the show has become pretty dificult to digest for anything less then hardcore fans. The show needs to have a less convoluted plot, a more easily understood threat, and better connections to how the present is effecting the future. I think it's great thet they are exploring the fine line between Hero and Villian, however I feel like they are leaving us in the dark about too many things.

Lets hope the next few episodes answer a lot more questions, and let us fall in love with our favorite characters again. the show was great once, and I believe it can be great again.

Guilty Pleasures

Everyone has movies or tv shows that they love despite their better nature or taste chiming in. I am no different, point in fact as the Renegade Film Snob I tend to indulge in guilty pleasure movies more then average.

At this moment I'm fairly certain I should feel ashamed for watching all of Gossip Girl season 1 in one weekend, but I have to say I enjoyed it. It started out simply enough, I thought that one episode couldn't hurt, but that's always the way it goes with soap operas.

The show provides you with a view of a life most of us only dream of, yet it keeps everything so wrought with trouble and drama that we don't entirely want to live there. Each character is deeply flawed, yet at the same time they have moments where they are completely capable of being loved. The production values are quite good, and the plot is scandalous and strangely addictive. You always want to tune in to see who triumphs and who fails next, because for so many characters your rooting for both of those things to happen at the same time.

Gossip Girl is the tip of the ice berg when it comes to guilty pleasures of the small screen. Be it bad sci-fi, over the top acting, reality shows that you know you will go to hell for watching, or over the top dram like Gossip Girl; there is a guilty pleasure show out there for all of us.

In the realm of Bad Sci-Fi there is a whole galaxy (sorry for the joke if your talking about bad sci-fi you have to go there) of things to choose from. It also seems to be the feild with the most undiscovered or at least lesser heard of shows. So I'll leave everyone to find thier soap operas, reality shows, and other mindless fun; the sci-fi suggestions are on me.

There are the classics the origional Star Trek almost always causes me to go into fits of giggles over the bad acting and zany plot lines. From hot alient babes to Nazi's in Space, you never quite know what to expect from Star Trek. The best thing about the Origional Star Trek is that it's easily accessed, you can watch the entire origional series at www.cbs.com for free. You can also watch the Twilight Zone for free there too, it's not a guilty pleasure but it's good and it's free.

I also recomend The Tribe which is a "childrens" show produced in New Zealand. It takes place in a post apocalyptic world where all of the adults are killed off and children are left to fend for themselves. The costuming and makeup is amazing and really shows the best of sci-fi design. The acting is terrible, the production values low, and the story lines are obscenely over the top. All the same you will finding yourself laughing at the acting, and incresingly crazy wardrobe. I can't explain why but this series is very enjoyable, so long as you embrace how bad it is.

Other sci-fi shows to look at
Birds of Prey- Short lived superhero series about the bastard child of Batman and Cat woman, the Daughter of Black Canary, Batgirl, and a host of other recogniseable characters.
The Secret World of Alex Mac- A Nickelodeon production about a girl who is splashed with toxic waste and gets magical powers.
Lost in Space- A classic tv show which has not aged well. It's pretty well written and highly enjoyable, but it's low budget special effects and rediculas alien costumes are always good for a laugh.

Do you have any guilty pleasure shows you would like to talk about? Leave a coment. What are soe of the shows you love to watch, but hate to admit you like them?

Tonight instead of being a good blogger, I went bowling.

My only regret was that I ordered a Whiskey Sour instead of a White Russian. Otherwise I could have turned the experience into an awesome rant about "The Big Lebowski".

The idea of matching drinks to activities seems a bit silly, especially when you consider using movies as a guide. Just as with real life people end up doing a lot of stupid things when they get drunk, point in fact I don't recommend it. Although the following combos might be ok in moderation.

Cosmo's when having a girls night out
Classic Martini Shaken not Stirred when I am gambling or committing acts of espionage
and naturally White Russians and Bowling

Also remember alcohol is not the only drink to avoid in certain situations. Think of the great lesson taught to us by Ron Burgundy, if you are going to be running on a hot day Milk is a bad choice.

Twilight

As everyone knows the Twilight series is pretty hot right now, and soon (November 21st) the Twilight movie will be out. The movie looks like it will be a fun entertaining piece of fluff just like the books. Personally I don't think I'll see it in theaters just to avoid the shrieks and squee's of the legion of Twilight fangirls.

I dare not say too much against Robert Pattinson (I think he is good looking but he is not the end all be all of sexy) or the Twilight Series itself (which I think glorified an unhealthy codependent relationship) for fear of being torn apart by wild fangirls.

However I will speak out against one thing, that I think even the hardcore Twilight fans will be ok with. My problem is with the merchandise. Now most of the shirts and various other items are cute, but one disturbes me.

Hot Topic is currently selling a shirt that says "Your scent is like a drug to me." on the front with no other marks indicating it is from Twilight. Now it is a quote from the book, but seriously it's creepy. Don't believe me picture Gary Busey, or anyone else that scares that living crap out of you wearing it.

Here I'll help with a visual aid. The actual shirt is Black with fancy white script, but this will give you an idea.


Do you really want to see that walking down the sidewalk at you? The answer should be no.

I mean if you are a creepy person and you embrace your creepyness then by all means buy the shirt. But seriously people that shirt is not cute no matter how much it reminds you of your love for Edward and Bella. I don't think there is a way to wear that shirt without looking really creepy.

Bad Movies

Have you ever seen something and wondered how a it could go so horribly wrong? As I see it there are four distinct ways a movie can be bad.

1. They Never Had a Chance:

This is a category filled with the best intentions of new film makers. You could have the best idea for a screen play and even good directing instincts; yet if you have no money you can't succeed. Lets face it there are a lot of films out there that could have been amazing had they simply gotten a better budget. I actually wrote and directed a small film, so I can tell you how hard it was. My movie wasn't very good, but I'd like to see what Spielberg could do with one week to shoot, no crew, a crappy hand held camcorder, a non professional cast, a budget of nothing, and shooting that all had to be done guerrilla style.

A bigger budget means better actors, better equipment, more takes, more time available, and often a better crew. Every once in a while you get a small low budget film that everyone loves, but for every "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" there are thousands of even lower budget failures.

2. They were incompetent

Sometimes a big budget is not enough to save you. It could be the script, it could be actors, but a lot of time I place the blame on directors. Take for instance the infamous Uwe Boll director of such abominations as "House of the Dead", "Blood Rayne", "In the Name of the King", and "Bloodrayne 2." Admittedly it is a difficult task to translate a story from video game format onto the big screen. Yet even with access to big budgets, and great actors like Ben Kingsly he still managed to make something that was beyond horrible. The stories were flat, the acting was flat, the transitions rarely made sense, and the plot was barely held together.

If you combines problems 1 and 2. That is to say having someone both broke and incompetent that is sometimes the area where things go so wrong they go right. everything Ed Wood made is in this category, as is Manos Hands of Fate, and many other complete disasters.

3. They knew exactly what they were doing

"Snakes on a Plane" was actually made on a bet of who could come up with the worst pitch for a movie. When a big actor like Samuel L Jackson signed on for it, they wanted to change the name to something more respectable. Yet being the great man he is Samuel L Jackson stood up and said, he signed on to do this only because it was called "Snakes on a Plane." Sometimes there is a lot of Joy to be had in awesomely bad movies, so if you can't be good why not be amazingly bad.


I have to believe that half of the movies made by the Sci-Fi Channel fall under this category. I mean when the script for "Heatstroke" arrived on the executives desk I have to imagine fits of giggling. "A movie about aliens that look like dinosaurs causing global warming, and terrorizing a bunch of hot models. Genious!" They know they are going to be making something terrible so why not have some fun with it all.

4. They tried to make everyone happy.

Immagine a board room meeting.

"Alright we need a new movie and we need a hit. Give me ideas here people."

A person raises their hand "Ok, why not a movie about the mob and gangers, The Sporanos are really hot right now."

"I like your thinking, but women never go for movies like that. We would loose the entire female demographic."

Another person speaks "What if we made it a romantic comedy about the mob. A woman falling in love with a hitman."

"No, No I got it the woman will be the hitman it's a nice twist." someone improvises

"I don't know team, we may be loosing the men on this one." the executive says pacing the boardroom

"Ok what if we make the woman a smoking hot Lesbian. Like Jennifer Lopez or something." suggests mail room guy who wandered into the room for no apparent reason

"Would anyone believe Jennifer Lopez as a tough hit woman?" suggests a woman

"Why not, I think she'd look good in leather pants. And, uh, we'll pair her with a wimpy guy who will make her look tougher, why not Ben Afleck or something. and she he decides to sleep with the guy ... we'll figure why she wants to do that later. But it's hot right, that would totally bring back the male audience." explains the mail room kid

"Brilliant, we'll call it something kooky but mysterious Gigli. Yes, I like it it sounds bouncy like Jennifer Lopez's ass." replies the executive

Thus began the birth of one of the worst movies ever made. If you try to make everyone happy, you end up failing. Gigli is the best example of a movie that tried to appeal to too wide of a demographic, but there are definitely others out there if you look around.