My Review: My Week With Marilyn

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

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

My Review: The Muppets

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


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

Character of the Week: Regina George

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

The Walking Dead Episode 7: Pretty Much Dead Already

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

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

Spotlight On: Zooey Deschanel

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

Almost Famous

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


Manic

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



The New Guy

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



Elf

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



The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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



Yes Man

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

(500) Days of Summer

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



Your Highness

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



New Girl

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

My Review: Breaking Dawn Part 1

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

Just Finished Reading: Romeo and Juliet

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

Just Finished Reading: The Awakening

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

American Horror Story Episode 8: The Rubber Man

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

Character of the Week: Daryl Dixon

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

The Walking Dead Episode 6: Secrets

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

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

Song of the Week: The Thanksgiving Song

Spotlight On: Charlize Theron

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

Mighty Joe Young

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



Monster

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



North Country

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



Aeon Flux

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



Arrested Development

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



The Road

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



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

Young Adult

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



Snow White and the Huntsman

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



Prometheus

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

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

The Two Snow White Films

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

My Review: The Rum Diary

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

American Horror Story Episode 7: Open House

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

Just Finished Reading: Damned

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

Character of the Week: Selina Kyle

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



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

The Walking Dead Episode Five: Chupacabra

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

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

My Review: Immortals

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

Just Finished Reading: The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb

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

Song of the Week: Oceans

Just Finished Reading: The Lottery and Other Stories

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

Spotlight On: Alan Tudyk

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

A Knight's Tale

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



Firefly/ Serenity

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






Dodgeball

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




I Robot

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



Death at a Funeral

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




Knocked Up

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



Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil

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



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

My Favorite TV Shows

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

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

Random Moment That I Love:

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

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

Random Moment That I Love:

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

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

Random Moments That I Love:

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

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

Random Moment I Love:

Favorite Character: Captain Malcolm Reynolds!

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

Random Moment That I Love:

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

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

Random Moment That I Love:

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

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

Random Moment That I Love:

Favorite Character: It is a tie between Joan and Peggy

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

Random Moment That I Love:

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

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

Random Moment That I Love:



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

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

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

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

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

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

Random Moment That I Love: