My Thoughts On New Moon

Okay, so I will admit that New Moon has only been out for like 11 days or something like that and I have already seen it three times.  But in my defense, one of the times was free, so that really doesn’t count.  Needless to say I totally loved it.

Here are some of my favorite (and not so favorite) parts of the movie.  Things will be a little spoilery from here on out.

*First of all….this movie was made for midnight shows…….seeing it with the opening night crowd was amazing!!!!  There was ooooooohing and aaaaaaaaahing, squealing, and lots of cries of “take your shirt off!!”  (I will admit that even I yelled out “Why are you wearing a shirt?” at Jacob during the scene at Emily’s house………oh funny story about that……apparently my sister yelled out “Who gave him a shirt?” during the exact same scene when she first saw it.)

*I liked Kristen Stewart so much more in this movie!!!!!  Even though she was all angsty and totally lacking in any girl power or sense of self, that is totally in keeping with the book so I could ignore that.  I think I am just really annoyed by her acting when she is around Edward……so that didn’t happen very often in this movie.

*Ummmmmm, Charlie is like amazing!  I totally love him a little bit more each time I see the movie.

Oh Charlie!

*Speaking of non-monster characters…….how about them humans???  Mike and Jessica stole every scene they were in!  Mike was fantastic in the movie scene (man, can that boy play sick!) and Jessica can take a line like “movie night with Bella” and make it the funniest thing ever.

*I am not going to talk too much about how awesome the shirtless werewolves are because it’s kind of creepy.  I’ll just say that Paul was really hot because he is 24 so that makes it a little more okay.  And Jacob was awesome.  That is all.

No Shirts, No Problem!

*Michael Sheen as Aro was the greatest casting in the history of all movies.  I love the fact that he is this super important well respected actor who has been in Oscar winning movies and yet he is not afraid to do stuff like New Moon for fun.  He played Aro pitch-perfectly.  No one else could have done it better!

*I adore Alice…….I also adore Alice and Jacob interacting……….I have such high hopes for the vampire/werewolf interactions in the next movie!!

*I thought they did a MUCH better job of doing the vampire running thing in this movie.

Now on to the things I did not like so much.

*Ummmmm, this is not a high school play……so could you at least get some decent wigs.  Jasper looked hideous….there is no other word for it.  People literally laughed every time he came on screen (and that was before he even started speaking).  Also, Rosalie’s hair was TERRIBLE!!!  I know that she has brown hair in real life, but really…….SNL has better wigs than that.

Yeah, we are scared of your hair too

*Too much lipstick on Edward!!!!!  Also, he looked like an undertaker in that suit.

*I HATED what they did with “The Phone Call.”  In the book, Jacob doesn’t know that it is Edward on the phone and innocently answers “Carlisle’s” question when he asks where Charlie is.  In the movie, Jacob knows it is Edward on the phone and obviously phrases his response to make him think Bella is dead.  Yeah, Jacob hates Edward, but it really pisses me off that they made it a deliberate action on his part.  It is literally all his fault that Edward almost dies.  I’m kind of mad at Taylor for this one because he’s been talking so much about how he really studied the books, and anybody who has looked at Jacob’s character closely would have caught that and fixed it.

All in all, I thought it was a great adaptation of the book.  One of the things I really don’t like about the movie being so popular is that is brings out all the haters.  For some reason, people just cannot leave the movie alone.  Everytime I read an article online about the movie, all the comments are filled with vicious and hateful people just ripping Twilight to pieces.  I understand it is not for everyone, but please…..leave my guilty pleasure alone!

Jen

Are You Ready For New Moon??

I think this should totally be the official poster

In less than 24 hours I will officially be waiting in line with a bunch of 12 year old girls and TwiMoms to see hopefully my new favorite movie The Twilight Saga: New Moon (I think it is really funny whenever people on tv use the full title…..it sounds so corny).  I am uber-jealous because my sister is going to see the movie sometime in the wee hours of tomorrow morning because she works at a theater and they got their print of it today.  She called me just to gloat about it.  Did I mention I was jealous???

I am all set to go tomorrow.  Snacks for waiting in line….check.  Blanket to keep warm on cold floor….check.  Pillow for my old lady butt…..check.  Team Jacob shirt….check.  Headphones to block noise of annoying tweens….check.  Deck of cards for Jessi and I to ease the boredom….check.

I am going to be bouncing around all day tomorrow at work trying to contain my excitement.  Now some people think it is silly and even pathetic to get so worked up about something like a movie…..or even worse, a Twilight movie.  My response to that is that EVERYBODY gets excited about something.  No matter what it is, everyone gets all worked up about either sports, videogames, the first snow of the season, or pickles, etc.  It is a healthy way to let off energy.  So I just happen to get my kicks squeeing over book releases and movie releases based on books.  Feel free to mock me if you want.

I have been getting ready for tomorrow by re-reading the whole series over (including the first 12 chapters of Midnight Sun), watching the movie again, and watching the cast work their way through countless tv interviews.  Now it doesn’t surprise me that my two favorite interviews so far are from Kellan Lutz and Taylor Lautner.  Emmett and Jacob are two of my favorite characters in the books and the movie so that makes sense.  (Full list of favorite characters: Jacob, Alice, Emmett, Seth, Angela and Garrett.)

Here is Kellan Lutz on Ellen.  He is so adorable when he talks about his dog…..and oh man, when he starts doing push-ups!  Good lord!  Also, P.S. don’t you think he would make a fantastic Peeta??

Taylor Lautner was on the Jay Leno show the other night and it was super adorable (in an awww that’s cute kind of way, not in a creepy old lady kind of way).

So I am all set to see the movie.  I am pretty sure that after I do I will want to read the books all over again…..stupid crazy addictive books!  I will try to take pictures at the midnight show of all the crazies in line with me (and don’t worry, I totally group myself in with the crazies).

Jen

Liz & Jack back on the WB

Remember when I suggested you watch the new show Community?  Remember how good that show is?  Ok, now that I’m holding that over your head, I’m going to try to go 2 for 2.  There’s a new show coming to the CW (formally known as the WB) in January called Life Unexpected.  I’ve already read that this show resembles shows from the good ol’ days of the WB.  Shows like Gilmore Girls, Dawson’s Creek, and Everwood.  (Yes, Jen, Everwood!)  Nothing against the current shows on this channel (because, man, do I love Gossip Girl) but they aren’t as happy-soul-bursting as they used to be.

Life Unexpected is about a teenage girl, Luz, who grew up in foster care and wants to be emancipated.  To do that, she must have the signatures of her biological parents, so she tracks them down to basically say “Surprise, I’m your daughter, and if you’d just give me your signature, I’ll get out of your life again.”  But things end up being a little more complicated than that.  Luz’s biological mom is played by Shiri Appleby aka Liz Parker from Roswell!  And her fiance is played by Kerr Smith aka Jack from Dawson’s Creek!  I didn’t recognize the actors who play Luz and her biological father, but I like them.  Here’s a preview.  Let me know what you think!

– Jill

My REAL Favorite Movies #4

I am a huge fan of almost every Disney movie.  I adore all of the classics like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid.  But the Disney animated movie that I have watched more than all the others has to be Robin Hood.  I ADORE Robin Hood.

A lot of movie snobs (like my dad) rip on Robin Hood because it is one of Disney’s laziest movies.  There are multiple scenes that are borrowed from other movies (the animated action is exactly the same as a sequence in a previous movie) and even some that are repeated within the movie itself.  It is also just supposed to be an all around not great movie.  Even Disney seems to acknowledge it as a “lesser” film because it didn’t even get a Platinum edition treatment…..just a lame Most Wanted Edition.

But I don’t care what any of those people say, because this movie is awesome!!!  I love all of the kid characters in the movie.  The little rabbit family and their friend Toby the turtle.  The littlest girl rabbit is sooooo cute.  She has some of the best lines in the whole movie!  I love it when Robin Hood brings her brother a gift and she says, “come again…….on my birthday.”  Or when someone asks Robin Hood if he’s gonna have any kids and she says “my momma gots a lotta kids.”  Hahahaahaaaaa!  Okay, they don’t sound so funny just typed out like that, but trust me, they are hilarious.

Maid Marian and Lady Cluck

I also really like Maid Marian.  She is so sweet and has the coolest outfit!  I totally want to wear her hat/veil/blanket thing that she wears all the time.  It looks like so much fun.

I also love the music in the movie (not the sappy love song in the middle though….yuck).  Roger Miller plays the rooster minstrel who tells the story and I love the songs that he sings.  I also really like the “Phony King of England” song.  It’s really different from music in other Disney movies, but I think that’s why I like it so much.

But I think the reason why I like this movie so much is because Robin Hood himself is so cool!!!  His accent is very dreamy and I would ALMOST count him as a fictional character that I would date except for the fact that a.) he is animated and b.) he is not even a human, he is a fox (and not a FOX fox, but a literal fox).  So I am not quite that creepy.  But when he is captured and all tied up and says “Marian my darling, I love you more than life itself.”  Wow…….most male characters in Disney movies have no personality whatsoever, but wow.  Here’s the video of it.  It happens at 1:15, but stick around for the fight because I love how he takes on all the prince’s cronies without breaking a sweat.

I was watching this movie again last night and I realized for the first time just how weird it really is.  First of all, I am pretty sure that I didn’t understand ANYTHING that was happening when I was a kid.  The movie is about outlaws, and taxes, and English history……..um yeah, I didn’t get any of that.  Also, it is really one of the only Disney movies that I can think of where animals walk around dressed as humans (this happens in The Great Mouse Detective, but mostly just mice).  (Monica from Friends would really hate this movie!!)  They are all wearing clothes, but most of them are just wearing shirts and no pants.  hmmmmmmmm.  And not just one type of animal…….there are elephants, foxes, lions, snakes, chickens, turtles, alligators, and dogs all hanging out together.  This is one very strange movie.

But I love it!!!  I can’t imagine that any of you haven’t seen this yet, but if you haven’t I would highly recommend checking this out because it is funny, cute, and highly suspenseful (at the end, is he alive? is he dead?????).

Jen

P.S.  Here is a cool video that shows how much Disney recycled action to make the dance sequence.  Some of the people in the comments on YouTube are really mad about it, but I think it is interesting to see.

 

ngtjill: Book Review #2

I’ve been MIA for awhile because in the last month I’ve moved & started a job, but I’ve finished three more books on my list.  Yay!

I finished A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray just in time for the 6th annual Anderson’s Bookshop YA Lit Conference.   Like, literally, just in time.  I finished the last few pages the night before.  I didn’t get a chance to write about the conference earlier, and I’m feeling very lazy now, so I’ll just direct you to read Abby (the) Librarian’s write-up.  🙂  Anyway, back to the book.  I didn’t love it (sorry, Amber).  I’m not sure I’ll get to the next two books anytime soon, but hopefully I will eventually since I own the 3rd one.  As I was reading it, I kept picturing it as a Lifetime or ABC Family movie.  It reminded me a TV movie I stumbled upon once called The Initiation of Sarah – a supernatural sorority movie with Joanna Garcia.  Even though I didn’t love the book, I still give it a solid 3/5.

the dead & the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
I didn’t think this one was as good as Life As We Knew It, but it was really interesting to see the “moon disaster” in a different setting, this time in New York City.  At first life isn’t as abnormal as it is in the first book, but after awhile, Alex has to figure out how to take care of his two younger sisters in a city that’s falling apart.  I think I liked Life As We Knew It better because the plot was unique.  This is essentially the same plot in a different setting, and this time, I felt like the dialogue was flat & Alex wasn’t as believable as a character.  But I’ll still be reading the third book when it comes out next year – especially since I think it’s supposed to unite the characters from both books somehow.

The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson series #5) by Rick Riordan
Ok, I won’t gush too much about this one because Lindsay already did.  And I completely agree with it.  It was fabulous!  This whole series was SO good!  I’m really sad there’s only 5 & now I’m done.  I may have to start over soon because one of my co-workers is currently listening to The Lightning Thief audiobook & she said it’s great.  Seriously – if you haven’t read this series yet, go do it!  It’s all-around awesome — captivating plotlines, interesting & believable characters, adventure/action, male main character!, and secret learning!  I never knew much about Greek mythology, but now I am so interested in it AND I already know some things just from the series!  *sigh*  Now I need another fabulous series to fall in love with…

– Jill

An Open Message To Glee

Dear Glee,

First off, let me say that you are the only new fall show that I am still watching (I tried Community, but I found that I couldn’t handle Joel McHale outside of The Soup….he was too much of an ass).  I had such high hopes for you!!!  Everything about your premise seems to appeal directly to me (high school!  music!  outcasts!) and I was mesmerized and blinded by the shiny glare of your first few episodes.  I was also caught up in all the hype and love pouring out of everywhere (Twitterlove!  Entertainment Weekly cover stories!  Fantastic Reception With the Critics!) that it took me awhile to look beyond that and see you for what you really are.  And, as painful as this is to admit, what I finally see is something that I don’t really like.

Kurt, being awesome as usual

Now, before you get all upset, let me mention the things I LOVE about you.  I ADORE every time there is singing.  From the big production numbers down to the individual solo moments (HELLO Puck singing “Sweet Caroline”!!!!  My heart melted a little seeing him with that guitar) I love them all.  I also love Kurt.  Anything and everything he does is awesome.  I am also fond of Artie and Mercedes.  Jane Lynch is of course phenomenal, but that is to be expected.  Hmmm……..and that’s it.  When I think about the fact that most of the musical numbers are released online before the episodes air and my favorite characters only get five minutes of screen time an episode, this does not bode well.

Now I will go into the things that I am not so fond of.  Hopefully I will not come across as too mean, since I don’t want to hurt your feelings.

I cannot handle the pregnancy storylines!!!!!  Just the fact that I had to make that statement plural proves how ridiculous it is.  Oh wait, but one of them is fake, so it isn’t really that crazy (hopefully the sarcasm is registering here).  I despise Will’s wife.  She and her sister need to just leave the show.  They don’t even need to explain it, they could just disappear and I would be okay with that.  I am not a fan of Quinn or Finn as characters, so their whole part in the storyline is totally boring to me.  I was hoping when Quinn first announced she was pregnant that it was some kind of evil trick to make Finn pay attention to her and ignore Rachel, but alas, I was mistaken.  So, take note……both of these storylines are ridiculous and uninteresting.

This picture is almost too perfect

I really don’t like Will……….or Emma………at all.  One of the blogs I read labeled them as the “Next Jim and Pam.”  Whoa Whoa Whoa!  I may have broken up with The Office a long time ago, but even I still hold that title sacred.  I dislike Will more and more with each episode of the show.  First of all, his wife is so heinous that it actually reflects badly on him.  What kind of a person is he to be with her for so long and not know how awful she is?  Also, he has to be the worst, most unobservant husband in the world if he hasn’t figured out that she is totally faking her pregnancy.

He is also really cruel to Emma.  He knows that she totally wants him and he leads her on.  I hate guys like that……feeding their own ego at the expense of someone else.  Also, ummmm…….he treats the Glee kids like crap.  I kind of wonder why they are even still talking to them.  He got their hopes up and abandoned them in the first episode, them he abandoned them again for his own selfish reason (Acafellas anyone?), he doesn’t listen to their suggestions, he brought in a ringer…….need I go on?

Emma, looking extra creepy

Emma……………oh, Emma.  I really liked her at first.  I loved her quirky tendencies and thought she was really funny.  Then she started making really stupid choices and I just couldn’t handle it.  I totally understand that she is in love with someone she can’t have.  Been there, done that.  But why did she have to date Ken and then, splutter, gasp, agree to marry him??????  Does she live in a universe where Will and Ken are the only men available to her.  And then is she not confident enough in herself to be alone rather than be with someone she doesn’t even like????  I lost all respect for her because now she is not only hurting herself, but someone else as well.

And one other thing………I know I have been taking a lot of hits at you, but there is one more thing………Every episode seems to be about the exact same thing.  I think you would have been so much better as a limited series or a mini-series.  Your writers don’t seem to know what to do so they just repeat the same formula every week (someone abandons Glee!!!  someone interferes with Glee!!!!  Everything works out okay and they all come back together!!!!)  How will you keep going for multiple seasons??  Are we supposed to believe that these 20-somethings are high school juniors, or God forbid, freshman???

Okay…..I think I am done ranting now.  I think I am so disappointed in you because my hopes were so high.  Watching the promos still brings joy to my heart, probably because it includes the things I love most…..the songs and the dancing.  I think I will be getting my Glee fix from now on by watching the promos and I will be just fine.  I might watch next week’s episode because I know it revolves around Kurt, but after that I think I am done.

The Original Glees

I will listen to the soundtrack from the show and it will make me happy enough.  This might all sound harsh, but I am very hard on television shows.  My time is valuable to me and if a show is not living up to my expectations, I gain an hour of reading time every week (that’s why I said goodbye to The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, and Lost).

Hopefully you aren’t too upset.  I know you have millions of loyal followers who still worship at your feet, so you probably won’t even notice I’m gone.  I know many of my friends (and fellow bloggers) are big fans of the show, so I’m sure they will defend you in the comments.

Jen