Friday, July 2, 2010

The People Everyone Should Want to Work With

Good natural talent is too hard to find now a days in movies. Especially when it comes to the summer blockbuster crowd. They seem to throw together movies just for the sake of exploiting peoples wallets. Anyways here is my list of actors/actresses which will never stop catching my interest.

Scarlett Johansson- While she may be a feast for the eyes she just seems like someone you could have a serious conversation with. Hello shes a die hard Guns n Roses fan and she enjoys cooking. Thats a healthy dose of normal compared to starlets who enjoy ridiculous diets and little dogs. So when I heard that Megan Fox complained that Johansson goes on talk shows and says every big word she knows. All I have to say is this. She wants to be more than a sex symbol and her big words translate to one thing shes smart and sexy. Wearing a 19 inch waisted corset doesnt draw interest to a movie, a girl who kicks ass and wears a leather suit does. Plus if you havent seen Scarlett in Lost in Translation do so now.

John Malkovich- Yes he always plays a special brand of sociopath but thats his niche and he plays it so well. I cant wait to see Red because of him. Plus I almost wanted to see Jonah Hex because of his turn as something Mr. Turnbull......thats an amazing actor.

Wallace Langham- A character actor who many peopl;e wouldnt know. Hes played almost everything. My favorite the extremely narcissistic and wounded David Hodges on CSI. Hes the trace technician and it way worth it to watch. However being interested in his acting has led me to watch the Larry Sander's show (full of dry wit humor) and several other movies. My favorite being Growing OP. He played a drug dealing father I crack up just thinking about it.

Ellen Page- Diablo Cody's writing made her the likable smart mouth teenager Juno and that role alone will make me forever love her. In absolutely anything. Which is why im excited that they are even in talks about giving her the lisbeth role for girl with the dragon tattoo.

Helen Mirren- A cute grandmother with a crazy wild side apparently. The woman has pictures out of her in a bikini and of her in a bathtub. Did I mention shes 60? I cant wait to see Red and Love Ranch because of her incredible sex appeal and way around humor.

Robert Downey Jr.- My celebrity crush of choice. If you havent seen the wet t shirt photo of him in Rolling Stone then find a copy pronto. I love his comeback and his whole backstory. Hes wounded and entirely open about it to boot. Iron man is a narcissistic a hole with a heart of gold. Who can resist that?

Woody Harrelson- I think half of this came from his role in Zombieland its to die for honestly. Hes a real pro environment pot smoking guy in real life which in itself is a character plus. Also he can play serious like in the Messenger. Maybe its his accent or his kind eyes but when he is on screen I cant help but watch his every move.

Adrien Brody- Cute Smile...cute face. Awesome actor which is shown from the Piano. Though i am under the impression that he can do anything. He was in the SCI-FI creep fest splice and he dons abs for a turn in the new predators that comes out next week. Is there anything he cant play? Hes my geek celebrity crush by the way.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Summer Movie List!

Before the summer movie phase kicks off I would like to publish my top list. With some descriptions as to why.

May 7 BABIES!: No I dont just want to see this because it looks other worldy cute. Im also interested with the babies from four corners of the world angle. That will most definately be an interesting cultural study in cuteness.

May 7 IRON MAN 2: Needless to say I saw this. However it is a must see for anyone looking for an action flick. Robert Downey Jr's incredible sense of humor, hotness and bravado as Tony Stark is worth it enough. Though the side characters almost steal the show. Mickey Rourke and Scarlet Johannessen. Awesome.

May 27 SEX AND THE CITY 2: The main reason I want to see this isnt because of the mature subject matter. I am more interested in what the hype is for sex and the city being the major feminine power film. It kinda brought back the idea that women in films can draw box office gold.

May 28 SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD: As a lover of both the zombie genre and the genius of George Romero need I even explain myself?

June 4 GET HIM TO THE GREEK: The comic genius of Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. Too good to pass up. Plus with Judd Apatow's writing there is really no way it can go wrong for me. I mean come on he re-invented the raunchy comedy of our age.

June 4 SPLICE: This movie looks ridiculous. A humanoid creature that is kind of a mixture of a flying thingy and a i dont even know. Basically human cloning is bad mmmkay? Apparently it can end with a new species and world destruction. So along with the scary effect of this movie we have some good old arguments over morality and the sciences.

June 11 THE A-TEAM: Groannn.....another 80's remake. Oh well its shaping up to be the next cliche action movie of the summer. Of course Im going. Everyone will be. Its like Transformers. I might be wrong so dont quote me on this.

June 11 JOAN RIVERS A PIECE OF WORK: At first I thought wow Joan Rivers is never going to go away? I swear the trailer nearly had me tearing up. For a woman with such a great sense of humor she is also incredibly self deprecating.

June 18 JONAH HEX: Grrrr after the whole Jennifer's body Megan Fox fiasco. She dare bring down Diablo Cody? Well shes got another thing coming. Only being casted as hot romantic interests. Cause im not going to Jonah Hex for her. Im going for the action and John Malkovich.

June 18: TOY STORY 3: I grew up with this. Plus its Pixar they win every year for the best animated feature. I think that is enough of a reason.

July 2 THE LAST AIRBENDER: This could go either ways since it is M. Night Shamalayn. Lady in the Water bad or bone chillingly good like Signs/ The Sixth Sense. I did like the show when it was around on Nikelodean though. Apa the big flying bison was my favorite.

July 9 COUNTDOWN TO ZERO: My movies tastes fluctuate kind of dramatically as you can see. I guess when I see this movie I will be in the mood for a documentary about how the world is going to end unless we fix the most impossible problem imaginable. Nuclear Warfare.

July 9 PREDATORS: Im a sucker for an alien or predator oriented movie. Something about the creepiness of a foreign jungle filled with skin peeling ugly monsters. Also Laurence Fishburne co-stars. Shout out to CSI right there.

July 16 INCEPTION: Lets see......Leonardo Di Caprio (Hot and a brilliant actor)+dream analyzing or traveling (One of my interests)+Ellen Page (A cute sarcastic fav of mine)=Inception. How can it go wrong? Did I mention the director is Christopher Nolan who also directed the latest batman. Jeez. Its designed for success.

July 23 DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS: Im a big fan of Paul Rudd. Whose comic delivery is a mixture of sweet and pathetic all the time. Plus steve carrell and him seem to have some good comic chemistry.

August 6 THE OTHER GUYS: Come on the guy who directed stepbrothers directed this. Its bound to be out of this world stupid but in the most hilarious way possible. Im interested to see how Mark Wahlberg handles a big comedic role. Also Samuel Jackson and the Rock costar by being what they are best. B.A!!!

August 13 THE EXPENDABLES: While I do believe that going to this movie with cause a testosterone explosion, it has a phenomenal cast to back it up. Its gonna be like a witty, wise guy, ultra manly explosion fest. Im interested in how it will play out. Boys and their wrestlers and guns.

August 13 SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: Micheal cera is so cute he almost made Youth in Revolt funny. Which is saying something. Plus this looks to have the trippy actioness like a Burton film. Its the retro teen comedy drama of the future! haha or August 13.

August 27 PIRANNHA 3D: This is the kind of movie that you make fun of for the acting. The whole time thinking oh my gosh this is so silly! While in reality you secretly enjoy it but you dont know why. Its hard to explain but maybe its the watching dumb kids get eaten alive thats so great.

It seems like it is going to be a phenomenal summer for summer movies! Yay! There are a lot that are on my list obviously and i Intend to see them all. :)

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Another Random Observation

Outside of the music hallway is a bright patch of green grass. Of course the ugly brick isn’t much of a spectacle and neither is the car filled road/pavement. I was trying to get some homework done. Naturally with the heat filling my head I zoned out and began to watch the parade of people coming from the school doors.


It should be mentioned that it was in fact people watching and not creeping. There is a difference! Anyways the main people that use that doorway are the wacko music kids (I really love them) and teachers. I guess for me there really isn’t anything more fun than teacher watching. Occasionally said people can be perfect targets for anything from the fashion police to psychiatrists.

This is why I was fairly surprised when I saw teachers emerging who I had for class. Equipped with kind of chic tote bags and they were engaging in adult convos!

I think it is physically required that teachers have multiple personality disorder. This isn’t a bad thing for most of them. Unless their alter teaching ego is a very annoying thundercloud over my day. I like most of my teachers. This year anyways.

It just struck me as odd the different look these teachers had outside on their way home. I mean it could have been the sun because it is no secret that the inside of schools has the brightness of a basement. Some teachers even put colored or black paper over windows. What kind of a sense does that give students? It gives the impression of a darkness worshipping cult or an eccentric prison.

So with this weird sense I have come to the conclusion that while you can tell a lot about someone by the way they teach, a better indicator is what they look like leaving the school. Lets be honest some of them may hate the school as much as the average kid. Plus we kids need to give some teachers breaks. I was under the impression that if my least favorite teacher walked outside she would burst into flames like a vampire or a gremlin. While this is not necessarily true I still have my suspicions

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Yugioh Makes for Interesting Conversation

My prietenu (Romania for friend). Horatiu is one of my best friends. He also happens to be quite the oddball. It would take a whole novel for me to explain the many intricacies. This is not the point. The point is that when I’m with him I feel like a human being. For all the teenage girls out there you know what I mean. I don’t think the word objectify is even in his vocab.
Smack dab in the middle of the lunch room. Catching the stares of all who happened to walk by and the laughs too. We were playing Yugioh in a school setting. Social high school politics genocide.

However when you are around the people you love you really do stop to care. I wasn’t thinking about what that particularly tiny freshman was saying because I was too busy worrying about my red eyes dragon. You see Horatiu is a tremendous card player. The match was a little un-even. He ended up letting me win though in typical sly friend fashion. I mean I am the epitome of terrible at strategy games. When I collected Yugioh cards as a young girl I built my deck based on cuteness. Time wizard was always my favorite.

So in a way I think I passed a very secret and intimate test constructed by my Romanian buddy. It was almost like an initiation. Then I really started to enjoy myself. I was stumbling through trap card etiquette and attacking formation like a major beginner. He always cheered me on though and took care to stop and fix my many mistakes.

There I was laughing like a hyena when the group of kids tried un-successfully to insult us secretly. Upon my laughter Horatiu joined in taking a sigh of relief that I didn’t want to discard him like a 4 week old sandwich. I mean what do those kids have on us? 50 dollar shoes??? I value the friendships I make and how dare they try to get in on that. I was dueling for goodness sakes.

Through a simple card game I became better friends with a guy who I almost barely understand. He is meticulous and kind. Though he doesn’t quite know how to show it. Sure he hints to friendish commitment but for an open girl like me it often isn’t re-assuring. I am learning! I mean come on I used my red eyes dragon to wipe out his one monster thingy that kept summoning stuff from the graveyard. It’s not just game improvement its friend and character improvement.

Meat Jekyl 10x23

The final hour of the tenth season was jam packed with suspense and typical CSI-esque tricks.


The Case: DR JEKYL. The reclusive serial killer with a liking for the surgically weird. He almost treats the human body like some sick twisted artists canvas. Anyways part one of the finale ended with Haskall calling Langston and claiming that he knew exclusively who jekyl was. So in this weeks episode as Brass put it "They got him a limo like he was Paul Freakin McCaurtney". Most of the jekyl game of cat and mouse centered on Haskall and his physopathic whims. All of which included rare steak and a stripper. In turn he really didnt offer up anything but trouble. He never told them the restaurant where he initially met the Doctor but instead eluded to the surroundings. That small peice of could be a lie could be the truth info led the CSI's to a closed down italian restaurant. They were all dressed in black clothes with black shades, so they looked like some kind of SCI-FI secret police. On the wall of the food place was all of the previous victims who all seemed to be in a good business standing. The gray metallic human blood covered operating table in the back was even more interesting. Ok so he fit the serial killer persona officially now. Creepy place of origin...check. Connections to other serial killers...check. Finally a shy awkward look.....check. However Jekyl started to get very very cocky. First it was the package that was sent to Langston from his father who was dead. After close examination it was only his badge but it could have been oh so worse. Then came the meat which had eerie links to DaVinci and some type of vein surgery. This was the discovered mode of death. With a little tool the surgeon goes in through the groin (ouch) and draws clots out of a nasty vein. An examination of the meat (Hodges and Wendy) and IRS records led them to the final showdown arena, a high end eating establishment.

The Characters: For the average CSI fan this episode nearly brought out the tears and the old nail biting habit. I mean Nick seriously looked dead after Jekyl shot him with a really big nasty looking gun. Of course our beloved texan made it alive, I mean come on he was trapped in a box underground once for goodness sakes. Im still trying to figure out where the rumor came from that significant blood would be lost by Catherine. She was fine...the whole episode. The closest she came to danger was the old guy smoking a cigar who looked a bit greasy. Langston however looks dead. I say that without much emotion because honestly I dont think the writers would have chosen to kill him off at this point. Plus his contract has been reknewed for season 11. So um cliffhanger fail. While he wasnt in peril from a back wound I think he did some pretty out there investigating. CSI's are trained to notice details afterall but the kind of things that guy found out from the meat was astonishingly brilliant. Hodges and Wendy had some little moments. Ausiello the spoiler guru said we would know about their relationship. They seemed to be chill but dating thats a very big maybe. Im going to wait and see. Then there is Haskall who is needless to say creepy as anything. I love that actor because he really plays pyshcopath pretty phenomenallly.

Favorite Parts of the Episode:

Meat: Gotta hand it to Jekyl he was a clever creative guy

Food Scene: When it was all the victims through Jekyl's eyes. Bernard second victim fainted at the table. haha.

Haskall: With Brass hilarious. Drawing Langston on the computer haha. Just in general a creepy yet entertaining addition to the episode.

Hodges and Wendy: Breif and possible dating good enough for this die hard wedges fan.

Nick: Not only did he shoot Jekyl but he acted dead through the pain of a shotgun wound.

Cliffhanger: Hes ok. Still a clever way to end the episode.

Henry: Always cute and he seemed to be in this one a lot.

Brass One liners: He really hates criminals doesnt he?

I really enjoyed writing these reviews for all you CSI fans. :) Have a great summer.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Loving TV more than a teenage boy.

No you see I just can’t love you. It would be impossible ya know? I mean you aren’t anything like David Hodges. Yes I know he is a fictional TV show character….but he is the man of my dreams.




There is epidemic sweeping through our youth. I would like to personally call it TV-character-insational-love-itis. Typically in young age dating is supposed to be a natural world ending drama fest. Now girls and some guys are getting their love fix from the TV. Yes that’s right at this very moment your son or daughter could be drooling for a completely made up persona. This is obviously affecting other aspects of their lives.



When it comes to dating, there are certain expectations one naturally has for the other sex. However when these expectations become identical to a person on TV….one should begin to worry. I mean how can I find the everyday David Hodges. The perfect mixture of all the right stuff to create the ultimate narcissist with a secret heart of gold. Mmmmm….damaged men *faints*.



If you ever happen to catch yourself comparing a dating prospect to a fictional character I think its time for a psychological evaluation. Being a fan girl= a lonely life filled with cats. This is the same thing I have observed with big vampire movie blockbusters and hot sweaty emotional singers in bands. Normal school boys just don’t measure up.



A really sweet guy won’t fare well in this environment. For example take Dr. House a relationship toxic man who seems a lot better than my first period AP Euro class pick of the litter. But why? Honestly it’s not the glitz of the TV because even when that man was hugging porcelain from a Vicodin habit….he was hot. David Hodges is a textbook example of narcissism, however if I ever happen to meet a fellow like that I almost can guarantee marriage.



Girls like me need to start lowering their standards. Let’s face it we can never get that bad boy full of problems persona. Something odd about me is that I like being pursued by damaged multi-layered older men. (Robert Downey Jr.) This makes me completely un-dateable. Young pubescent boys just have officially lost their charm. Time to plan the rest of my life around a Chinese take out menu and my mother.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Field Mice 10x18

So as a die hard wedges/labrat fan it is very obvious to see why I loved this episode so much. Every year these are the episodes with the most creativity and humor.


The Case: Hodges and Wendy lead three young explorer scouts on a field trip they will never forget. To challenge them Hodges finds an old case that had until this episode remained unsolved. After a fire at a group of apartment and the firefighter or should i say "evidence erradication team" cleared the scene a body of a young woman was found. The weird thing is she had no evidence of being burned even though she was right in the middle of an arson crime scene. Ultimately they end up putting themself in the CSI position and pulling through as far as solving the case goes. Turns out the russian woman died from a combination of drugs and alcohol, her one night stand put her in a packing box because he had to go to work. Well a little known fact about packing peanuts is that to be environmentally friendly they are made up of starch components. So after the guy left the girl in the box went up in the flames but didnt burn do to the insulation like properties of the packing peanuts. A sort of sub case occured when Nick began to investigate an outbreak of bacteria that was making the lvpd all throw up their guts. It provided some comic relief especially since they cop guy was such a bumbling idiot. Turns out his ex laced some cookies she made for him with the bacteria. In a twist of irony that particular cop was the only one who didnt get sick because of his post break-up diet minus sugary sweets.

The Characters: Of course this episode focused on Wendy and Hodges, but the other characters almost gave them a run for their money. Hodges seemed to really be coming around to the idea that he could have a meaningful relationship, to bad that moment came when he found out Henry was about to make a move. Thing is, Wendy couldnt stop her feelings for Hodges either. Both have tried so many times after all. In the end all went extremely well with a very passionate kiss...wendy practically launched herself at him. Now back to Henry who really came out of his shell in this episode. After apparently hanging out with Wendy he was head over heels. So what did he do? He asked Hodges permission in a hilariously awkward attempt to suck up. Later throughout the show, several bad things happened including car trouble, a GCMS hack and a sticky situation. At first there was no doubt in my mind that Hodges was the evil genius culprit. However the biggest twist of the entire episode was that Wendy was in fact the one behind the practical jokes. She really didnt like how Henry turned from a friend to a potential partner, this was obvious with her pained expression when he mentioned fancy dining and a suit. The french sentence afterwards didnt help. Sub character plots include a drunk cop Brass, Big bully cat lover Robbins and cheesy investigating of a crime by Hodges.



Favorite Parts of the Episode-There was no part I didnt Like!!!!

Henry: Back off man....Im a toxicologist!" Funniest thing ever.
Catherine Awkwardness: Her back and forth glances were perfect for the Wendy/Hodges scene.
THE KISS: need i explain why?
Flirting with DNA processes: Hodges initiated it, Wendy caught on and Catherine felt awkward lmao.
Lab Rat references: Mr. Blue Sky playing in the background, and the line "You always get something from Trace"
CSI Hodges: That scene with langston was creepily awesomely narcissistic.
Brass Drunk: That actor and humor are a very convincing mix.
Glue Puns: Langston can be funny! No one was more surprised than me.
Hodges Pout: That was just adorable.
Robbins: "Gimme your notes and GET OUT!" HAHAHA.
Guerrlmo and SuperDave: "DEADLY" I said it first.
Explorer Scouts: Catherine, Grissom and Warrick look a likes lol. creepy.

Monday, April 5, 2010

The Degradation of Kid Movies

Recently I saw the animated movie How to Train your Dragon. Now it wasnt a bad movie, there were some parts that were really cute however it wasnt deserving of an A. I have been wondering why there was such high ratings for a movie that wasnt all that great.

The conclusion I came to was the fact that more and more kids movies today dont meet any good movie standards. So when one that is moderately good comes along like How to Train your Dragon, critics go nuts. Before the movie the previews were cringe inducing. Yes that bad. Some of the truly atrocious kids movies to come are Marmaduke and some animal movie with Brendan Fraser. It was so bad I didnt catch the title because my brother and I were discussing how we would rather shoot ourselves than see that movie. Also remember G Force from last year? A box office smash but widely slammed by critics for being utterly stupid.

My real question is what happened to good old classic kids movies like Jumangi, ET or Gremlins. Maybe Im just being a tad too stuck in the past, but those movies seemed to me like they were the movies to grow up to. If I ever do have kids I will physically monitor what movies they see to weed out all the ick. I would rather have a kid watch Pulp Fiction than G-Force.

It is these kids movies today that are packed with jokes which are so stupid. Now I can appreciate most kinds of humor, but that kind I just mentioned is a new breed of lame. Filmakers of these movies and producers too should focus more on the storyline than selling tickets to an animated animal talking yuk-fest. After all if a young kid can learn to like a true good story, they can take that all through out the remainder of their lives.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

New Layout and New Posting Schedule

The new blogger template program is just awesome. There is no other word to describe it. Im playing around with backgrounds a bit. So expect changes.

New every week I will post one article. Based on something I read or just my thoughts. Sorry this was a short post but I have to get some sleep.

Be sure to check out my CSI review every Friday afternoon!

Friday, April 2, 2010

The Panty Sniffer 10x16

There nothing like a Vegas convention fetish episode, to either make you laugh or cringe while watching with family members. Trust me I would have been laughing if I wasnt next to my mother. While it may have been awkward the story line was well played out.The Case: Ray and Nick were sent to a fetish convention to investigate the death of a hotel worker with an incredibly weird double life. Turns out an up and coming trend is panty smelling, the natural scent of a woman can go for up to 2 grand....! Anyways the woman who died was missing her panties, which in turn pointed the CSI's towards an exceptionally creepy Mr Pudder. I dont know which actor played him, but whoever it was played him very well. Online Ray finds out that this hotel worker was moonlighting for the panty sniffing operation. In fact she was a top seller of vacumm sealed packs of used underwear. According to the convention manager men fell in love with her "scent". Even though he had her underwear in his pocket he had not killed her which was a weird twist in the plot. It was then that Nick discovered her key card to her room was still active and the card the CSI's had collected belonged to another hotel worker. This guy had an obvious double persona. When inquired about this woman he flipped, and come to find out he had kicked her down a set of stairs because he was jealous of her side job. Meanwhile in the same hotel Catherine and Vartann were staking out a couple of exctasy producers in the next room over. These two young guys were the biggest drug producers and had poisoned some young kids in Tahoe. So while watching them bake the drugs through cameras set up by Archie and Greg they waited for their opportunity to collect the hazardous materials, Jim Brass was going to stake out the rave to collect the drug pushers. Of course one of the guys got away and went back to the hotel where Catherine was bagging the chemicals. This led to several intense moments of running around the hotel room, while Vartann just didnt hear anything. It all ended good though with Vartann shooting Belle the drug dealer straight off of Catherine.

The Characters: Mostly CSI didnt stray very far from the core characters of the episode....Catherine, Vartann, Nick and Langston. I always love the pairing of Nick with Langston because its very real. Here are two different guys, one being a brainiac and the other an ex football good looking man. When they get together Im guarnteed to laugh. Being as they both have a killer sense of humor. Their faces when they discovered what the convention really was......priceless. Im sure the Cartann (or whatever its called) fans were upset that the much anticipated kiss, was a decoy to not blow their cover. However they did share several moments of deep conversation. Why does Catherine always go for the damaged guys? Detective Vartann obviously was not a very good father or husband...though he is kind of adorable. Anyways he seems a tad better than Eddy or that Casino Manager smoozer guy. Wendy and Nick shared a cute banter over the law of the underwear for ladies. Although all her info was pretty self explanatory. Lucky Hodges though because she did say she was an expert...meaning her panties must be top notch. Sorry I couldnt help myself with that one ;). It was also cute how Greg wore a very weird rave outfit and kinda has a history with it. Well it was more funny how Brass reacted.

Favorite Parts of the Episode:

Convention: It may have been weird, but weird things do have their place in Vegas

Creep Mr. Pudder: That guy took perverse to a whole new level

Nick and Langston: Cute Chemistry and conversation....underwear vending machines!?

Vartann History: Interesting character development

Catherine's Wandering Eyes: She kept staring at Vartann's ass.

Wendy: Always feisty and fun to watch

Langston and Robbins: Your very creepy doc! hilarious.

Nicks Delivery: He has such a dry sense of humor especially with the pervert convention.

Monday, March 29, 2010

My Hate Affair with Excessive Sequels

Most normal stories follow the traditional pattern of a beginning middle and end. There are some that constitute sequels that continue a story about fairly interesting characters. Really its not sequels that are the problem, there have been several great ones like with Kill Bill or Spiderman. Trilogies even have their place in my movie heart. There is something really interesting about them, I mean if the storylines keep my interest kudos to the production team. I love the From Dusk til Dawn trilogy and the Indianna Jones one as well.
The problem is rooted in greed, a once hit movie being overplayed for the sake of gold at the box office. It's the ever not classy fourth installments of movies! However I am not saying all are absolutely terrible because in pop culture that can not be said for anything. Call it a golden rule! I did happen to like the fourth Die Hard film, based on the fact that Bruce Willis still has the tough funny edges. Shrek does not. As a matter of fact that was my inspiration for this post. I remain a firm believer that the third shrek was a yuk-fest, which bored me to tears. While I also read up on upcoming movies, my advice to Sam Raimi or whoever may be directing the spiderman 4 movie, should drop the project and make something else.
Pretty much the only movies that should go above three films are movies based on books, like Harry Potter. The Goblet of Fire (the fourth installment) remains one of my favorites. Though a young powerful wizzard IS NOT a big green ogre. Someone tell Mike Meyers that while the paycheck may be extremely sweet (over 100,000$ a minute!?) the lack of storyline may produce the worst grossing shrek film yet. Do they have no dignity? This is what i wonder. The big green ogre hasnt been funny since the first and second movie.
Do not even get me started on the utter fail of a movie indianna jones four. Sure Bruce Willis was a tad old in the fourth die hard but it was nothing compared to Harrison Ford. That man (60 years old) has seen some better times and needs to retire the action routine. The effects were decent until the wtf moments at the ends of the movie. Aliens?! To this day that remains un explainable to me. I just could not comprehend the story line along with the oldness of Harrison Ford. They may be in talks for a fifth......someone shoot me......right now.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Restricting Creativity 3/17/10

It seems like everything in my life right now is screaming at me to finish my homework, and get good grades. What if my ideal career is in film? That has nothing to do with Chemistry, Algebra 2 or Ap European History. Its excessive, I barely have time to write on this blog. I say there should be schools available strictly on a creative basis.

The elusive IB program....its the bane of many of my classmates existance. However they are not taking the right things from it. If academics is what you think I get from this program you would be plainly wrong. My entire film career is hinged on observation, people and their deepest darkest feelings. I appreciate my hobby of people watching. I pride myself in the art of people reading. The IB program is a breeding ground to narcissism, weirdness and opinionated personas. Sometimes I hate it. Other times I use just someones look to delve into them and create a whole made up back story detailing their escapades. Weird? Yeah. I get that a lot. This is the only existing method of sanity keeping I have among the seas of notes and formulas, that I drown in academically.

My advice to up and coming IB freshman, is observe the people around you and determine from them the nature of human condition. I will take more people lessons from Ms. Chen the person than her class Chemistry.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Unshockable 10x14

After a long long break from CSI due to the extremely long Winter Olympics, it was good to be back. Though the Rascal Flatts storyline kind of took to the back burner to the highly confusing CIA case the episode was fairly well planned out.

The Case: While playing their new song, Unstoppable a Rascal Flatts bandmate comes close to death by his guitar. A strong surge of electricity went through his amp to his guitar to his microphone and finally to him. Ultimately he suffered short term neurological damage and had a short hospital stay. It was kind of funny how the effects of a strong shock do to the brain. While lying in bed he claimed to have switched his music tastes to be more of a rap persuasion. For the Rascal Flatts gang it seems like they would have had a fun time filming this, as a fake bruise inducing fight even occured. However later in the episode after many strives by the CSI's to collect evidence they find the primary evidence (Jay's Guitar) in a devote follower of the bands. Upon doing an autoposy of the classic instrument it was discovered exactly how the surge worked out. The explanation itself left me a little dizzzy. While everyone pointed fingers at the other bandmates, it was discovered that the culprit was actually the standing bass tech for Jay who just wanted his moment to shine. Meanwhile the other case took a 007 CIA mystery spin. A dead CIA agent brought CSI's Langston and Sidle under complete chaos. When the head hancho agent got involved everything took a turn for the worst. The CIA confiscated evidence, took pictures of the investigators and just creeped in general. Come to find out what killed the agent was a very top secret biological weapon....Sarin. Which actually induces stage four cancer. As Henry said it was straight out of a bond movie. As the CSI's slowly peiced together small transfer evidence samples more and more of the blame began to fall on the agents estranged son. There were even pictures taken by germans to prove it. However in a big twist, Langston uncovered a big suicide plot. Turns out Head hancho agent had given the dead agent the Sarin because he wanted to die a hero supposedly at the hands of sworn enemies. So much for heroism.

The Characters: Mostly this episode had a spread out array of character quirk, which is exactly the way it should be. Langston apparently knows an inceredible amount of other languages. Chinese from Deep Fried and Minty Fresh and now German breifly in this episode. That requires some extreme brilliance because im struggling just with my spanish classes. Catherine played the role of fierce boss lady and charmer perfectly in one hour. I admire a strong woman who can win over an electrocuted country star and stand up to the head hancho agent on the phone in the next. This was also a good character study episode for Hodges. While talking to Langston about the dead agent found in fishing clothing he began to talk about his father for the first time. Claiming that, his father never took him fishing so he stayed home and baked cookies with his mother and some people wonder why he can be such a suck up? Lack of fatherly love as a kid may have caused that. Nick and Robbins banter about Texas and country in relation to him almost cutting into a classic guitar was perfect. One of the funniest moment of the episode along with the crazy fan and Hodges getting hacked of course. Overall the episode had the clash of funny with serious in a twisting and confusing way. There was a case too many really.

Favorite Parts of the Episode:

Nick and Robbins banter: Haha committing murder to a guitar....classic musical Robbins

Henry Awkward Humor: I love how no one got his reference from bond

Catherine Best of Both Worlds: Sassy one moment and serious the next

Hodges: Him getting hacked and his personal files haha.

Physco fan: Hilarious one of the high points of the episode

Head Hancho Agent: Bad ass and creepy to boot!

Ray speaking German: What is that like four languages!?

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Satire 2/20/10 English Assignment

Satire and It’s Affects on a Changing Society
Satire is a form of witty social commentary which communicates ideas through humor and comics. Whether it is political cartoons found in the weekly newspaper or a weekly comedy skit show, satire exists as a major medium of the circulation of ideas. Some of the biggest examples of satire in our society are Saturday Night Live, Family Guy, The Simpson’s and newspaper political cartoons. Using humor may be the most effective way today to get people to listen and think. In many ways political satire is the dominant form, but social is out there as well based on the contrasting moral values we face everyday. Contrasting issues of abortion and stem cell research fight back and forth between political parties and people. People become so passionate about a topic they feel is morally wrong that they form groups that put out biased advertising which may be ironic or funny, thus satire is created. Writers especially of TV shows and movies use this to kind of secretly advocate their ideas to audiences all over the world.
In Avatar now a world wide billion dollar grossing movie there are green party ultra democratic ideas that take place in various parts of the plot. Often times we the audience have to laugh at the over the top army officer, who brandishes his scars and his ignorance like a medal war of honor. A TV show like Saturday Night Live which often puts out comedy skits hurting both parties, may have led to the downfall of the republicans in the last election. Had they not have portrayed Sarah Palin former runner for vice president as a redneck dimwitted person, the respect not have gone down and decreased votes. Satirical pop culture is too influential to be ignored. Some even say Pop culture picked the president. Another show which brings irony and humor to society is Family Guy, an animated show which shows the true ugly ignorance of the human race and how sometimes religion is blindly followed. This medium of entertainment has a major impact on society, as it points out the hypocrisies in government and society.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Misjudgements 2/19/10

Being the opionated person that I am and being the age that i am I dont or didnt believe in misjudgements. I could call someone for what they are a mile away without even saying a word to them. This has been the week of contradiction.

First: Normally to even look upon Lindsay Taylor's face brought disgust to me. Taylor began talking to her and I will admit, I am still to this day jealous. I cant talk to her about band after all and Lindsay became her friend quick. I didnt mind until she left her crushed last summer. I will NEVER forget some of the things she told me and how I could feel the sadness in her words. Recently they reconciled, but I never did. I couldnt bring myself to do it. I am not one to forgive easy. However drivers ed poses a new challenge, I sit right across from her. Maybe I was semi-wrong. She still has emense powers of evil dont get me wrong (though doesnt everyone) but she is nothing but kind to me. Strike one on the misjudgment score for me.

Second: Those who inhabit Old Mill know Mrs. Neville. People groan sometimes even aloud when approaching her desk for attendence in the main office. She is mega-anal for one thing and is always rude. Not the best of people. When I went to the MVA on thursday, I arrived to school and prepared to face the beast early on. Upon reading that I was at the MVA based on the note penned by my grandmother, she remarked that it was in fact not an excused absensce. Based on the knowledge that the MVA could be visited after school hours. I told her that I had drivers ed after school so couldnt it be excused? The annoyance in my voice getting higher by the second. With a surprisingly sweet voice she said ok, lets just call this an appointment smiling through her horn rimmed glasses. I managed to stutter an ok and took my pass. Strike two on the misjudgement score for me.

Third: Every week when I get Entertainment weekly on Fridays I devour it cover to cover. One of the highlights is a pop culture article done either by Stephen King, Diablo Cody or Mark Harris. Normally seeing an article by Mark Harris I skip it without even giving it a second glance. By some works of fate my grandfather pointed out this specific article that I just had to read. On of the worst movies in the best movie category would be in my opinion the Blind Side. It was so traditional and feel good. Dark depressing is where its at. Though most of the time I dont have the words to express my disgust without sounding politically ignorant. It is a republican movie though. Now reading this article, It was like the stars alligned. Ok thats a little cheesy but still. Anyways he saw the movie two times, then read the book and found obvious discrepencies. He deserves to be nighted, thats how good his article was. Strike three on the misjudgement score for me.

My mother is always going on by that spiritual jazz, including how I am quick to judge. I hate to see it but she is right. Fate has given me so many signs. I dont say that often either. :)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Dream Journal: 2/18/10

Last night I dreamed truly the weirdest dream ever. Tommy, Chris and I were at a sort of swanky beach hotel. It had at least 10 floors, a glass elevator and a cheap gift shop on each floor. However my room resided on a desolate beach. I don’t remember having any basic kind or living structure. I had mountains of books, magazines and my black laptop. Did I mention I was kind of a hard core serial killer. On this beach home I had actually buried countless amounts of my kill. One other thing I remember is walking into a black room probably located in the surrounding town or a level of the beach hotel. It was sort of like a planetarium, very mystical and there were star lights shining from above. There were a series of people, whom I can’t recall a recognizable face. They had this supernatural power that allowed them to be able to hold a small object, focus on it and then their mind disappeared to the surface of that object. One of them was attempting to teach me with a small purple sparkly stone. I truly believed I could not do it. However several people began giving me various methods that were truly effective. First step was to focus on the object with all available mind power, second was to feel the object and memorize it. After that it would feel as if you had opened your eyes and were standing on that little objects world. Following my many failed attempts, I finally opened my eyes to a world swirling in magma and vibrant purple. In the middle there was a narrow light purple tunnel. Upon crawling into the tunnel I saw a small critter scurry away from me just beyond my reach. The center of the tunnel was even weirder. I heard a deep voice claiming that those very critters were some form of gremlins. I don’t remember the official name. Flash to an entirely different part of the dream. I was found out! The police were tailing me. I would only find out how they had found out nearing the end of my dream. Anyways I ran to the glass elevator and pressed 10. Slowly I went up seeing the sights around me and the people who climbed in with me, unknowing of who I was. At level 8 I couldn’t take the people anymore and I was starving. I casually walked to the nearest gift shop and stole a jelly roll, without even removing the wrapper I took a bite feeling the jelly ooze down my chin. When I saw the police lieutenant who liked the Latina one from Dexter, I grabbed another jelly roll and ran to the elevator. Cut to my beach for the rest of that segment of the dream is really foggy. However the tide was beginning to climb dangerously high on my exclusive beach. Tommy was there and he was trying really hard to help me relocate my various things. We were moving them up on a bank right above a hill covered with palm trees. I picked up my laptop and tried to lug it up the hill. It was near impossible with the cover up so I put it down to close it. Water soaked it and the screen went a sickly black. Cut to big piles of various books Chris took the back cover off my laptop and observed that it was dead forever. I was devastated. On the bank Tommy was flitting through the water on the bank and stumbled upon one of my beach graves. The grisly gray flesh could even be seen from where Chris and I stood. I remember the thoughts that were crossing my head even. I am not a true killer…. how do I get out of this? Suddenly all of the id cards of my victim appeared before my eyes and for some odd reason they were all pokemon. The causes of death appeared to be murder. I really couldn’t remember killing them and that was my game plan for the trial. I walked into Tommy and Chris’s room which looked like Tommy’s Chinese room and said I’m sorry guys. They both smiled at me. Suddenly I had the realization that I wasn’t a killer. The dream goes black and I wake up.

English Tone Assignment 2/17/10

This was written yesterday but there was a complication in the internet connection.

Going to the Movies:

The plush red velvet surrounds a small walk space for those in the ticket line. Through the glass of the ticket booth, all of the movies and showtimes flash in red writing. Beneath the counters where the workers sit some kind of a ticket machine is turning its wheels and gears, eventually producing little paper tickets. I prefer to think its magic. When I spend one whole week without seeing a movie, whether it is at home or the cinema I lose my mind. However there is something so amazing about sitting in the plush seats with the faint smell of popcorn and watching a movie. Sure the underside of some seats may be colored in mulit-colored gum chunks or littered with food wrappers but every experience is guarnteed at least original. Unless of course you go to see a movie several times, when the story just cant leave your head. I enjoy the sheer message and spontaneity of movies. Movies are the one thing everyone can discuss, it unites a people and for future generations film will show how culture was today. Also it exists as the recession proof and heavily expanding giant of our time. After purchasing tickets, sometimes with minutes to spare the snack line is another indulgence in its own.
Concession stands may be the last remaining food carriers (along with fast food) that serves nothing but greasy food. However no one can say the overly-buttered melt in your mouth and arteries popcorn isnt the best guilty pleasure next to McDonald's fries. Even the less than attractive containers endorsing the tonight show for Jay Leno never fail to make me laugh. Along with popcorn the movie theater concession stand offers the always stale pretzel and candy in a box not big enough to fill a half of a person. For the prices, the food is cheap but deliciously guilty fun to enjoy during the movie.
Lights dim out and the theater is still lit with thousands of cell phones in the process of being turned off. Green light emerses the room with a message about the previews to presume. Seeing as many movies as I regularly do, I play the preview guessing game. Within the first second of some I can name the title and main actor/actress. My knowledge is perhaps best with movie trivia just dont ask me to chemically balance a formula. After fifteen movies of the same previews I saw last week for a different movie the opening credits begin to roll. For the next couple of hours only my brain is in the works. To say I leave my body is an understatement, I become emersed in the fictional world created by the video camera. Which proves how far special effects have truly come. Under no circumstances do I like racous talking, seat pushers and obnoxious texters then again who does? Being a movie going veteran there is a grace to the whole act. I embrace the peculiarities (pink panther 2) to say that the true art of the movie experience includes overly priced cheap food, ticket machine magic and the possibility of a good movie here and there.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Disecting the Oscars: Best Director 2/16/10

Disecting the Oscars is a regular blog post I will be doing that focuses specifically on one category of the big awards night. Tonight I am featuring the director elite, on who I want to win and the reasons that these people made the cut. Enjoy!

James Cameron Director of Avatar: If there is one person who knows the art of filmaking it would have to be Cameron. His films (others include Titanic) delve into human connection, love, and secret hippyness. This nomination was deserving, the billion dollar world movie gross of Avatar is proof of that. However my opinion remains that more technology and cgi were in this movie than there was any directing. Except for when he had to be behind the camera filming actors/actresses prancing around in front of green screen. I am not denying the fact that this man slaved over this movie. He even created the high tech cameras necessary himself. Its true Avatar is a work of art, a dream come true movie straight from Hollywood, but directing is way different behind a camera than behind a computer.

Kathryn Bigelow Director of The Hurt Locker: Watching a movie is supposed to transport the viewer to a whole other world. The Hurt Locker was shot in a gritty in your face style in such a way where you could feel the hot desert sun and wild debris from road side bombs. It was real and with a movie making only 12.7 million its obvious that Bigelow made a big impression on the academy. In the same category as Avatar this movie is the underdog. What I enjoyed about it was that it wasnt your typical war movie, because I dont typically like war movies. By incorporating shots of a soldier at home confronted with a aisle full of cereal, the movies social commentary spoke a message loud and clear. For this particular soldier, all he knew was dismantling bombs perhaps the most dangerous job in the world. As a matter of fact he was more afraid of life at home than life in the heat of Iraq. That is why she should win this award, and it also may be a little of the fact that she is only the fourth woman to be nominated. :) go director ladies!

Quentin Tarantino Director of Inglourious Basterds: I may be the biggest female tarantino fan there is. I pride myself when I can put quotes from his movies in everyday speech even when no one around me gets it. I love the violence, I love the music, I love the actors, I love the writing. Which is why I figured I might be just a tad biased as far as this category went but I had to go with Kathryn Bigelow. However his directing style an exploitation of human emotion through dramatic and over the top lines of bad-ass character speak to so many people. Just not the academy, I am sure he wont win. It sucks because one day for one movie he needs a win. I mean who was more deserving of the best director award when he was nominated for Pulp Fiction? You heard it here the academy people are Tarantinoist. (A combo of tarantino and racist lol) His movies arent artsy and indie, perhaps they never will be. When Lt. Aldo Raine stepped up to the basterds proclaiming his desire to scalp every nazi he came across, I was sold.

Lee Daniels Director of Precious: The directing in that movie was something of beauty which seems unlikely under the horrible plot circumstances. However the contrasting red scarf under the bridge blowing in the wind on the dreary light post was a symbol I couldnt get out of my head. As a matter of fact I couldnt get most of the movie out of my head. Its something that sticks with you. When Precious is getting raped by her father for a second time the camera shows maybe a little too much of the fathers sweaty stomach but quickly sweeps away into the cracks of the ceiling. We see that Precious's mind is somewhere else, she is a superstar all glammed up and people love her. Those were the saddest moments of the movie because you wanted to go to that girl and give her everything her heart desired. The dreary slum she lived in, the darkness of her house and then the beauty of her dreams were something of directing genius.

Jason Reitman Director of Up in the Air: The shots of a movie determine the theme or underlying message. Its what I personally love about movies. Up in the Air showed a man Ryan Bingham who was in the business of loneliness. When the camera showed him moving with grace through the airport (a typically dreary wait-filled place) it is shown how often in his life it is that this man dances the boring ballet. In one scene Bingham looks down through those awful oval windows of the plane and looks upon the detailess spots of habitation. Which creates the sense with later scenes of him acting distant with people he knows, that he is constantly up in the air in an airplane while even on land. Loneliness and work exile in the most extreme form show the true loneliness behind it all. Showing the necessity for human connection even if it means not actually traveling. After all a picture really can do the trick. I really do wish Jason Reitman would win an award for best director because you can tell he really wants to and he directed Juno. Unfortunately it is not his year. :( The two front-runners remain Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron.

Monday, February 15, 2010

School's Out Blues 2/15/10

Since we now have tomorrow off, I have finally decided now is the time to write on the dilemma of long unexpected breaks. I am alone as many are with deep thoughts. I hate deep thinking because I dislike where my mind takes me. So the activities I throw at myself are quite amusing if not pathetic. Last night as you know if you read my last blog post that I trashed some loserish v day flowers with glitter like a five year old. Checking Twitter has become something of a habitual obsession. Checking it hundreds of times a day and then acting frustrated when nothing has been posted is a representation of how boredom turns all of us into desperate people. I do go to see movies on a regular basis with my grandparents, which is the only time I see the sunlight and even that is breif as I trudge into the dark theater. Communication is by text and text alone, otherwise I may have totally fallen out of my friends minds.

Loneliness is a dangerous thing, soon all of the music on my ipod started to sound the same and my family began to take devilish form right before my eyes. I was going stark-raving mad. Everyone responds to it differently of course. Oh yes, at first it was a great relaxing break. That wore off by tuesday of last week. Ever since Ive been playing the same videogames everyday just so I wont habitually check twitter. My regular healthy diet, has officially flown out the window as I now eat around six irregular meals a day. The weirdest phenomenon is that my sleep schedule is....normal. Those who know me, know that I go to bed late and wake up even later. Bedtime is a word I never would have used during a school break time however at this point in writing I am very tired and it is only 10:50!!!!

Being snowed in didnt affect my schedule at all I didnt have anywhere to go. However just the idea that I cant go somewhere, that I am restricted makes me crazy. Call me a free spirit! Whats worse, CSI hasnt graced my television and wont until MARCH! I have resorted to drastic measures by rewatching at least a dozen episodes seen a thousand times each. I am now not afraid to admit that I miss school, this endless snow is ridonkulous. Being cooped up for so long surrounded by a winter wonderland has done a number on my psyche. I am about to sacrifice certain members of my family (No one anyone reading this knows personally) just to make the 8ft chillyness go away! Im sure a certain number of my friends hate this break as I do by now. Oh well.....time to check Twitter.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Defacing Valentine's Day 2/14/10

A pink array of roses is thrown at me with a chuckle while I peacefully sleep. A few minutes pass because as I glance at the clock, I have only been sleeping for five hours it is 9 am. Sleep is such a rarity at my dads house. Most of the night, my child-like rage fuels the most ridiculous writings. While I flip from movie channel to movie channel. On the list last night.....Fatal Attraction, Zoolander, Scream and Watchmen. The temperature had risen dramatically in my room because of a small space heater, things just cant ever go right. Events from last night fill my head as I sit up taking in my surroundings. A significantly smaller room, with pasty walls and hard board floor. A White (except for small crayon marks) blanket engulfs barely half of my body. I brush a greasy hair off of my forehead with disgust, for I remember showering last night.

Upon stretching, my legs grazed a rather crinkly paper. I looked down and there they were, pink cheap valentines day flowers. Attached was a card which I read with something less than zeal. Enclosed was a small amount of writing detailing how though I was hard on my father it was for his own good. The writing was ended with an I love you. Little substance, little feeling. Now I wasnt expecting a big gift, quite the opposite. This is the norm, cheap flowers. I dont even like pink, which they were so sickenly colored. I threw them against the wall in another fit of kid rage, so typical of me. Wiping away tears I got up, I couldnt breathe in my room I needed some comfort food. Lucky for me the new gal pal of my dads made some gooey blueberry muffins. While I devoured my hot fruity pastry I thought about my dilemma. What to do with the horrid Valentines Day flowers?

My first 10 thoughts involved fire, and I quickly pushed past them fully embracing how silly I get when angry. Then it hit me later in the day during craft hour with my new stepsisterish kid Skyler, why not turn my puke inducing pink flowers into someting of beauty. I know what your thinking, flowers are already the most beautiful creations on the planet. Perhaps so but if someone who you comfortably dislike gives them to you, its a different story. So I write now after picking flowers apart, smashing them with glitter, glueing them to poster board and whatever else I might want to do. I have successfully turned my hatred into art, and along the way have defaced the pure perfect pink flowers characteristic of Valentine's Day.