Monday's Movie and TV Talk! (8)

Welcome to Monday's Movie and TV Talk! I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world... 

Okay, so I've been a GLEEk since the beginning... I love high school dramas, I love singing...what was not to love? The first season was amazing and though the show struggled a little in season 3 (tacking on what I thought was a needlessly cruel final episode for the season), I persevered and hung on to see how the show's creators would continue in season 4. 

Now, though, I'm sad to say that I think GLEE has finally lost me. 

With storylines that are bouncing from one state to the next, characters being added, and old favorites taking on new (and mostly unwelcome) changes in their character choices, I just find that I no longer CARE.  

I LOVE THE MUSIC. I still love the music. I would watch just a 25 min compilation every week of their musical performances... I just have no desire to follow the character arcs anymore.  And, it breaks my heart. I used to be so invested in what was going to happen...who would find "true love," who would overcome adversity, who would back-stab whom... and now it all just seems meaningless. 

Has anyone else been experiencing this LACK of enthusiasm for GLEE?  Does anyone think I should hold on? I want to say I'll watch through the end of the season...but I'm not even motivated to watch the next episode... 

Monday's Movie and TV Talk! (7)

Welcome to Monday's Movie and TV Talk! I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world...

Okay, so remember when I reviewed Beautiful Creatures (read it here) and told ya'll that the main reason I read it was because I was SO excited for the movie? Well, guess what I saw last week on President's Day??!

First off, I have to mention how much I LOVE going to the movies at odd times. I went on Monday morning to the early show (10 a.m.) and I was one of three people in the whole theater! It really makes the experience so much more fun if I can actually hear the whole movie without the crowd noise. (And, yes, I do know that this makes me *that* weird girl that goes to the movies alone...I don't care! LOL.)

 

I also want to mention that I was right *brushes shoulders off proudly* when I said in my review that this book translates really well to the big screen.  This movie was good.  I really liked it and will probably see it again...even though they did change some BIG things!

 

All right, without trying to ruin this for anyone, I will try to disclose how I felt about the changes without giving too much away.  Let's see if I can do it!

 

One: A huge revelation about a character's secret identity is revealed about one third of the way into the movie...allowing viewers to build the story upon that reveal...BUT I loved how in the book, I was pretty sure that was going on, but did not find out for sure until the LAST third of the book.  I thought it was much more dramatic in the book, though the revelation scene in the movie was well done, too!

 

Two: Although the movie still features one of the coolest libraries I've ever seen in fiction, I was saddened that they combined two characters in the movie, cutting out the awesome librarian from the book series. I suppose this was to make it easier for viewers to keep track of characters, but it also inadvertantly changed Ethan's mother's backstory in a way I wasn't too fond of... *and* the library itself is a little downplayed in the movie. *My librarian heart is breaking.*

 

Three: When Lena must finally face what is going to happen on her sixteenth birthday, she decides to handle the situation all on her own.  A HUGE change from the book.  This change sets in motion a bunch of littler changes, including the entire moral character of one of her cousins, and allowed for a very different ending to seem to happen. Thankfully, in truly movie magic fashion, and a very dramatic way, the moviemakers pulled through at the last moment and things work out again...though it will make for an interesting start to the second movie...

 

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and think that people who have not read the book will love it.  I think readers will probably bemoan the same things that I did, but also realize that this made for a great *movie* experience.  And now, I have to read book two!

Monday's Movie and TV Talk! (6)

 

Welcome to Monday's Movie and TV Talk! I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world...

Okay, so I don't know where you all live...but I'm in Connecticut and this past weekend we were hit with a super-fun blizzard. It also happened that my brother-in-law was here from Arizona, so on a weekend when I could have been snuggled up and reading, instead I spent a TON of time cooking, cleaning, entertaining, and yup...shoveling. 

 

Anyway, you'd think I might have watched some TV or movies in there, but not really... I did see the newest Ice Age movie finally, but today, I'm actually going to talk about the two movies I watched the week before because I think they go together really well for a post. 

 

So, first, I watched PITCH PERFECT, which I LOVED!!

 

First off, as a Gleek, I had to love that this movie covered the same sort-of random bursting into song moments that Glee does.  This was the slightly raunchier (at times) college version, which I loved, as well.  Even with the naughty bits, this movie still had not only great girl-power type friendships, but also a sweet romance. *sigh*

 

I ended up watching this movie twice before bringing it back to the library, which is something I almost never do...and a great indicator that I eventually need to own this one. :)

 

Then, I watched the newest dance movie in the Step Up series, STEP UP REVOLUTION.

Man, do these movies make me want to take dance classes!  This one was set in Miami, which I desperately want to visit, and actually featured a pretty cool (though mostly unrealistic) plotline.  Boy heads up flash mob dance group...meets hot dancer girl...discovers her father is head of the hotel chain that wants to destroy his neighborhood...they band together to set up "protest" dance mobs to get hotel plan nixed.  As I said, not really realistic, but super fun to watch and root for!!

 

I loved the flash mob aspect of this movie and thought they got to exhibit a lot of really cool types of dances based on the locations where they appeared.  I liked the sense of neighborhood loyalty and being true to yourself that were big themes in this movie. 

 

I also LOVED that this DVD version let you just watch the dance sequences again in the special features, too!!

 

All in all, it was a musical, upbeat sort of week.  The kind that leaves me smiling and dancing my way through doing the dishes or folding laundry...

 

Any thoughts on either movie?

Monday's Movie and TV Talk! (5)

 

Welcome to Monday's Movie and TV Talk! I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world...

So, last weekend (I think...) my husband and I watched TED.  We were super excited because we both love FAMILY GUY and this was Seth MacFarlane's first "real" movie (If you don't count the Family Guy Star Wars trilogy).

I'm sorry to say, but I was disappointed in TED. You know when you watch a movie trailer sometimes and you pray that all the funniest bits have not just been shown in the teaser... well, sorry to say about 75% of the funniest bits of the whole movie were. :/

Now, I loved the idea of the movie (total flashback to my Teddy Ruxpin days...) and there were a few moments of PURE COMEDIC GOLD, but then it was like Seth MacFarlane was trying too hard to marry a raunchy guy comedy with a "chick flick." I think he was trying to create the ultimate date night movie - something funny enough to keep a guy's attention and romantic and heartfelt enough to make the ladies sigh - but it just didn't quite mesh and so there were definite moments when it felt like the movie dragged. 

I also really hated the premise that Lori kept trying to change John to make him into the guy she really "should" end up with for the rest of her life... Women, smarten up!! Guys do not change. You cannot make them. You don't like him?  Move on. 

Has anyone else seen TED? Care to weigh in??

Monday's Movie and TV Talk! (4)

 

Welcome to Monday's Movie and TV Talk! I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world...

 

So, today I wanted to talk about the cropping up of Russian spies...I've been watching my normal TV shows and keeping an eye on what's coming out soon and I noticed that several storylines seem to focus on Russian spies.  Are we thinking Cold War part II might be coming?  Hmmm...

 

For instance, on the January 3rd episode of ELEMENTARY (starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu, a woman ends up dead in an industrial dryer in a hotel.  *Spoilers Ahead!!*  In digging deeper into the woman's background, Sherlock eventually deduces that both the woman and her husband are actually Russian spies! I thought it was really interesting, too, to see how the writers crafted things so that the couple fight over whether or not to bring their American-born daughter into the family business as a second generation agent...  *End Spoilers*

 

Then, premiering on FX on January 30th, is the new show, THE AMERICANS. Starring Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, and Noah Emmerich, the show follows two KGB agents posing as Americans in the suburbs of Washington D.C. I find the whole premise intriguing and will probably watch at least the first few episodes to try it out. 

 

Have I missed any Russian spy sightings lately?  I feel like there must be more...

Monday's Movie and TV Talk! (3)

Welcome to Monday's Movie and TV Talk! I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world...

So, today I just wanted to share the teaser trailer I found online for Star Trek 2: Into Darkness.  I think this looks great. Cannot wait until it comes out in May!



I absolutely love the casting choices they made for these movies...and with rumors of Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) playing Khan!!! OMG.


I also found the very first promotional picture posted online from the upcoming movie, Ender's Game!! From Entertainment Weekly, this is Harrison Ford all decked out as Colonel Graff, preparing to dress down Asa Butterfield’s Ender Wiggin, who’s concerned that his emails to home are being blocked.

I am SOOOOOO excited for this movie. It's one of my favorite books of all time!! 

Monday's Movie and TV Talk! (2)

  

Welcome to Monday's Movie and TV Talk! I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world...

 

So I LOVE the TV show, Game of Thrones.  LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. It is epic in every sense. Beautifully filmed, great casting choices, surprising storylines (based on the books which I am slowly working my way through)...

Sooooooo...I am beyond excited to be able to share the teaser trailer for season 3 of Game of Thrones which will start up again in March!!




I also wanted to mention that I saw the movie Breaking Dawn, Part Two over the holiday weekend.  (I was super stoked, too, when I realized the tickets were only $5!! SWEET!)

 

Happily I went to the movies with another person who loves to lean over and make little comments like I do, so it wasn't a problem when I kept leaning over and saying things like,

Oh my God, fakest looking baby ever!

They're Amazons and vampires, they don't feel the cold...

OMG, so awkward to film that when you're dating in real life, too!

 

LOL.  Don't get me wrong.  There is just something about the train wreck that is each Twilight movie that I absolutely love...but no one will ever argue that they're really GOOD. These are not meant to be award winning movies...they're campy fun vampire romances, come on...

 

I am very glad at this point that I am done with the Twilight franchise.  It's been eons since the first book came out and honestly I am ready to be done with the whole thing...  but I'm not quite done with Stephenie Meyer.

 

I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THE HOST. LOVE!!

Monday's Movie and TV Talk!

Okay, this is another new feature that I'm going to try out here... I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world...

So... today, I want to talk a little bit about the TV show, GRIMM. 

It's my second favorite show right now and it just went into a season break for the Holidays. I can't wait until it returns in January...especially since it ended with the dreaded TO BE CONTINUED...

 

I will, however, forgive GRIMM for this horrible tease because they just keep writing an excellent show that feeds into both my love of gritty fairy tales and cop drama. I love the idea of a homicide detective that can see the creatures that go bump in the night... it makes for some very interesting cases!

 

*Spoiler(s) Alert*

 

Okay. We are currently in season two.  I don't know how many of you are also GRIMM fanatics, but I love how this season has somehow gotten even grittier with Nick tapping more into the power (and the scare tactics it can provide) that he weilds as a Grimm over the Wesen population. 

 

The fact that he now not only has Monroe as a great sidekick, one who can interact more easily with the Wesen population, but now has also revealed everything to Hank (aka sidekick #2!) makes for a very interesting trio of investigators. This last episode also brought Monroe and Nick to a whole new level of "doing whatever it takes" to keep those around them safe...breaking laws, both officially written and those that are unspoken between the Wesen.  :)

 

I am super excited to see what happens in January with the "Battle Royale"... Will Nick discover that not only did the Captain try to inadvertantly steal his woman, but is also the secret Royal in Portland? Will Juliette truly leave Nick?  Will Nick cross all the lines and be unable to come back?  Dun. Dun. Dunnnn! 

*End Spoilers*

Let me know if you're also a GRIMM watcher and what you think may happen... but be kind and prepare people for spoilers in your comments if you're going to make any!!!