Movie: Much Ado About Nothing (2012)

Much Ado About Nothing
Comedy, Drama, Romance

There's a few reasons I watched this. One, it's Shakespeare and I'm an English major. Two, it's a Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly, The Avengers) film and I love him. And three, it has a brilliant Whedonesque cast. I also heard it was filmed entirely at Joss' house and who doesn't want to get an inside look at that? Beware, it is a Shakespeare play so the dialogue is archaic and you really must pay attention. It is also filmed entirely in black and white but I think it works better that way.

I spent a lot of time star spotting in this movie. The two verbally dueling leads are played by Amy Acker (Dollhouse, Person of Interest) and Alexis Denisof (Angel, The Avengers) and they are backed up by an amazing cast including Nathan Fillion (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Castle), Clark Gregg (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods, Donnie Darko), Sean Maher (Serenity) and Tom Lenk (Transformers, Argo). I spent more time pointing out actors to my husband than listening to the first half of the film.

I didn't mind it. Like I said, I didn't pay a lot of attention at first but then by the second half I was into it. Maybe it took a little while to get used to the Shakespearean. It was quite funny in places as well. I will probably rewatch it somewhere along the line as part of my study.

3 out of 5 Whedons...

TV: How I Met Your Mother SE9 EP8

How I Met Your Mother 
Comedy, Drama, Romance

How awesome is that promo?! I lol'd!

I love this show and I'll be really sad when this season ends as I've heard it's the last season ever. With that being said, we finally get to meet the mother! I was actually thinking that they might pull a cheeky one over us and get Lyndsy Fonesca - you might have seen her in Nikita - because she also plays Ted's daughter and that clip has actually been recycled; she's all grown up now (see above promo)! But no, they didn't do that... and that's ok too!

So the mother is actually played by Cristin Milioti who you may have seen in The Sopranos, she hasn't done a lot of anything else that I recognize which makes me wonder how she was picked for the role... hrmm interesting. I do like her as the mother though, she is definitely Ted's (Josh Radnor) kinda weird.

The whole Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) wedding that's been going on for as long as we can remember, is actually quite amusing. I just had to point out that Barney's mum is played by Frances Conroy who has been absolutely amazing in American Horror Story with her stand out character for me being the horny maid, Moira in the first season. What brilliant versatility! Another guest star that I keep noticing is Curtis, the front desk clerk that keeps commiserating with Ted about his love life. He's played by Roger Bart who I've seen most recently in Revenge but he's been in heaps of other popular shows and movies as well. He's a very recognizable face.

Highlights of the season so far is Daphne played by Sherri Shepherd (30 Rock) and her and Marshall's (Jason Segel) fight over plane, hire car, everything! That road trip is amusing me to no end and Daphne is fantastic! Also, Lily (Alyson Hannigan, Buffy duh!) and Linus! I am finding myself watching out to see if Lily is ever on screen without a drink (I've spotted it once or twice, come on Linus! lol). A little bit of useless info, Linus is played by Robert Belushi and yes, he is Jim Balushi's son. Cool huh!?

I wonder what they are all going to do when this show finishes. We all know how amazingly talented Tony Award winner Neil Patrick Harris is. I have a feeling Cobie Smolders might move over to Agents of SHIELD. Alyson Hannigan made the move from Willow in Buffy to Lily in HIMYM, so we all know she can probably do that again. Jason Segel has his fingers in a lot of pies behind the scenes. What about poor Ted... I mean Josh Radnor?

4 out of 5 teddy bears...

TV: Once Upon A Time: SE3 EP6

Once Upon A Time
Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

*Disclaimer: This show is really lame and has lots of plot holes which I am blatantly ignoring....but I just can't help myself...*

I am such a sucker for the fairy tales and this episode was all about everyone's favorite mermaid, Ariel. Played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher who you might recognize from Not Another Teen Movie and more recently The Internship (which is hilarious - again, I'm a sucker for these things...). They stick mostly to the typical Little Mermaid storyline, with a little Snow and Evil Queen thrown in. Ariel is totally naive and as sickeningly sweet as Snow is. The Evil Queen appears as Ursula to offer Ariel Snow's legs which she just goes ahead and takes! What the actual? Ariel, leg ettiquette says that you must ask a person before just taking their legs! Sheeeeesh.

The CGI budget must have gotten a bit bigger with this season because Regina (Lana Parrilla) as Ursula didn't suck as much as I thought she would and Ariel's tail was actually kinda cute... well, that's what I was thinking until we see the actual Ursula in the mirror at the end... that was not the best guys! Speaking of the real Ursula, I recognised that voice right away as Yvette Nicole Brown from Community.

Regina took Ariel's voice before she could meet up with Prince Eric (Gil McKinny) and so he went on his big adventure. I have a sneaking suspicion that we will see both Eric and Ariel in Wonderland sometime soon as I heard Eric say something about Agrabah. I love crossovers.

Back to our main characters and the Echo Cave. I thought Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) - *fans self* - would have a bigger secret to tell than that he kissed Emma (Jennifer Morrison). Like really Hook? That's it? So obviously that means he's not betraying them then... right?! And Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin)... another baby? *voms* We all knew that Charming (Josh Dallas) would have to tell everyone about the Dreamshade, that one was obvious.

Neal (Michael Raymond-James from True Blood) and Emma, finally! Sorry Hook...

So like I said at the beginning; so corny, so many plot holes... but the fairy tales!

3 out of 5 guilty pleasures...

TV: Gossip Girl SE6 EP1

Gossip Girl
Drama, Romance

I know, I know! This show is... not to my usual standards but I just cannot help myself! I have some kind of sick fascination with the back stabbing illuminati of the Upper East Side. Last season seemed a bit lackluster to me at first but now I'm looking back on it I realize how much stuff actually happened; I've gotten so used to these crappy short seasons that when I come across a long twenty-something episode one I go a little into shock.

Lets see how quick I can run through this. Last season; Bart Bass (Robert John Burke) returns from the dead with the help of Diana Payne (Liz Hurley) who then leaves to run a magazine in London, Bart ousted Chuck (Ed Westwick) from Bass industries blaming his obsession with Blair (Leighton Meester) over his lack of business acumen. Gossip Girl (Kristen Bell - the voice of GG) starts uploading parts of Blair's diary that Serena (Blake Lively) left on the laptop GG stole back, Blair kicks Serena out, so Serena goes and sleeps with Dan (Penn Badgley) and films it to get back at her. Dan is furious and tells Serena he doesn't want to see her again so of course Serena spirals and goes back on the drugs...again. Blair has to chose between Dan and Chuck and we all cheer when she gets back with Chuck... cos you know, how weird was it with her and Dan together? But Chuck says they can't be together yet after what just happened with Bart and Bass industries. Dan takes Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) to Italy with him in order to use her viciousness to help him write his next book.

Meanwhile, Lily (Kelly Rutherford) has to decide between Bart and Rufus. Due to Bart being alive and the tension between her and Rufus (Matthew Settle) she decides that her marriage to Rufus is invalid because she's obviously still married to Bart... I know, confusing... and that's only two of her marriages! One of her other ex-husbands, William Van der Woodsen (William Baldwin), is discovered as Lola's (Ella Rae Peck) father... he'd had an affair with Lily's sister Carol (Sheila Kelley) and so Lily took revenge by sabotaging her court case and stealing her inheritance from Cece's (Caroline Lagerfelt) death. When Lola discovers she is a Van der Woodsen, William signs over her portion of the inheritance which she promptly gives to Ivy (Kaylee DeFer) to help her exact their revenge on Lily while Lola goes on tour with her acting group. Ivy moves in with Rufus. Nate (Chase Crawford) receives a copy of the video of GG stealing back her laptop and is in the process of trying to figure out who she is.

I think that's it... not as short as I wanted but I remembered a lot actually happened in that last episode. And now... Dan's pissed that Blair dumped him for Chuck and that they are not actually together, meanwhile he's been taking advice from Georgina on how to write his next best seller... She's determined that everyone be named and shamed in the next publication. Serena - who we all thought actually had died as GG told Nate - is alive and well and has dumped everyone she knew in life to start again... but then comes back to the Upper East Side anyway? I don't understand that...

I totally thought that Rufus was too smart to fall for the likes of Ivy... it kind of sickened me that they got together, gross! I thought he had guessed her game for a second there, maybe he has and is just playing along? Really convincingly? Ugh. I don't understand why GG traded the photos of her stealing the laptop for Serena's whereabouts... the photos don't show her face after all, it could have been anyone under that hood! How is that a breaking story?

With this season being the last of GG forever I'm hoping there will be some juicy storylines and possibly an in front of the camera shot of GG herself?! Come on guys, you have to give us that at least!

3 out 5 back stabbers...

[Quote]

I'd just like to point out that most serial killers are high functioning members of society who lead a double life. She could be trapped in the basement or buried in the backyard." - Georgina Sparks

TV: How I Met Your Mother SE8 EP1

How I Met Your Mother
Comedy, Romance

This is one of those shows that I'm not going to post about a lot but you guys have to know that I'm watching it! Plus, after last seasons revealing cliffy I feel like I have to say something....

So it's been Robin (Corbie Smulders) all along who's marrying Barney (legend-wait for it-dary Neil Patrick Harris)!!!!! They've been showing us this wedding for years and we've all been wondering who Barney was finally going to tie the knot with. Then along came the stripper Quinn (Becki Newton) and for a while I thought it was her... Then I actually guessed Robin... Then Quinn again... Okay, so I really didn't have any clue!

Then even though they revealed Robin as the bride, they still haven't told us whether it all actually goes ahead or not. I mean, Robin said she can't go through with it right? So... do they?!? *rips out hair* Also, yet another tantalising glimpse of the mystery woman that is Ted's wife... Thanks guys! Such a tease! Are we ever going to see her face? I also loved Uta, Klaus' sister played by Colleen Smith. Her accent was great and the conversation with Barney over the phone made me giggle.

How Barney and Robin met in under a minute? Challenge accepted! I couldn't find a youtube clip of it to share with you but there is this one from my ever faithful IMDB. Only Neil Patrick Harris would be able to pull that off. Love it!

Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily's (Alyson Hannigan) underwater vision was hilarious! I know that's how I feel when I'm overly tired, of course I've never had a baby so, thank goodness for that...

3 out of 5 runaway brides...

Movie: StreetDance 2 (2012)

StreetDance 2 (2012)
Drama, Music, Romance

This movie is so crap. I wish they'd just skipped the plot line altogether and just made it a documentary about dance, if they'd done that I might have actually liked it. I haven't seen the first one but I assume it's just as crap, the movies generally are.

Having said that, the dancing is amazing! Sofia Boutella has some damn fine legs! *fans self* I had to watch her original dance twice. The final dance was pretty awesome too and even though I hated this movie, I still found myself cheering along for the good guys to win.

The story is your usual one; Guy (Falk Hentschel) enters dance competition, loses badly and spends the rest of the film putting together a new team and trying a new style so he can go back and beat the guys who walloped him before. Of course everything goes to plan and he gets the girl in the end.

Very predicable. No recognizable actors but I'm assuming they are actually all dancers. not actors... and you can pretty much tell that fact when watching it. Don't bother unless you're really bored, I don't know why I did... and yet, I bet after I post this review I will go watch the first one...

1 out 5 flamingos....

Book: Terry Goodkind - The Sword of Truth (Series)

Terry Goodkind
The Sword of Truth (Series)
Action, Adventure, Epic Fantasy, Romance

Okay, so I haven't read the entire series...really close though! It took me about the same amount of time it takes to gestate a child to read the first eleven books of this series and as I went to write this review I started doing a little research, as I do, and found out there is actually another book to this series; The Omen Machine. I'm both happy and sad about that; happy that there is more Richard and Kahlan, and sad that after all that reading there is still another book! It's kind of win / win though isn't it?

Before you say it; yes, I'm aware there is a TV series (Legend of the Seeker) based on these books and without saying too much about it I will tell you that I watched the show first and then started reading the books. I'm glad I did because even though the first season follows the first book pretty closely, the second season does not. I plan on watching the show again now that I've finished the books just to see how much I like it the second time round. Stay tuned for a post on the show.

The first few books are great. I always love the beginning of a major series, the character and world set up is great. Looking back on the beginning now, I have to say that those first three or four books are my favourites. Towards the middle and end of the series Goodkind starts to talk.... a lot... and although it is stuff that you need to know about the itty bitty details of magic and how it all works, it repeats itself a lot. I found myself skim reading a lot of the magic explanations and previous books recap paragraphs... there was a lot of them.

Side Note: If you are going to skim read paragraphs of explanations, make sure you still read the stuff Richard is thinking / saying - 'cos you know, he's the Seeker of Truth and he normally figures stuff out well before everyone else!

It does impress me when an author builds a whole new world, religion and different peoples, and Goodkind has definitely done that here. Maybe that's why there are so many wordy explanations.

It was nice to see previous important characters from the first few books such as Gratch and Gregory make another appearance right at the end to save the day. I did semi-expect another appearance of Darken Rahl but was okay with it when that didn't happen. Denna being a good spirit, the evolution of Nicci, defeat of Jangang and opening of the Boxes of Orden. Brilliant!

Not one of my absolute favourite series but definately an awesome addition to my bookshelf!

Buy them here. See what I'm reading now on Goodreads.

4 out of 5 Seekers...

PS.

I've been a bit slack over the last few days because I just bought a Kindle and have spent the entire weekend reading books... I got through three in two days... 

Movie: Love and Other Drugs (2010)

Love and Other Drugs (2010)
Comedy, Drama, Romance

Mmmmm Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Source Code).... this post might be a bit...ahh, distracted 'cos of that hawt piece of man meat. *swoons* I think I may have actually seen his man meat at some point in this film...albeit briefly. And my God, Anne Hathaway (Alice in Wonderland). I swear I heard she was never going to flash her puppies on screen! I counted and could have made a drinking game of how many times I saw her boobs in the first half of this movie. Damn!

It's actually a love story and it's kinda beautiful. Gyllenhaal is a drug representative (I don't really know why this line of work is important in the scheme of the movie...) and Hathaway is a Parkinsons sufferer (even though it sounds like it could have some bearing now that you've heard that...). And they fall in love *swoons*

It's like an emotional roller coaster they go on...

Not bad, really soppily sweet... not much else to say about it except noms =p~

3 out of 5 Viagra pills...

Movie Quote - "Were you molested by a carebear?" - Oliver Platt

Movie: The Invention of Lying (2009)

The Invention of Lying (2009)
Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

This is a comedy set in a world where no one lies... everyone tells the truth, all the time... the ugly, ugly truth, which of course makes this bloody hilarious. Check out the trailer above and you'll see what I mean.

It's written, directed and stars hilarious funny man Ricky Gervais (What hasn't he been in? If you don't know who he is, we can't be friends), as well as Jonah Hill (Superbad, Moneyball) and Jennifer Garner (Alias, married to Ben Affleck duh). Appearances are also made by Rob Lowe (Wayne's World, Austin Powers), Tina Fey (30 Rock & writer of Saturday Night Live for like, ever), Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development) and Jimmi Simpson (Date Night). One itty bitty role by Stephanie March (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) made me giggle.

How's that for a funny man's cast, eh?

Except this movie was more drama than comedy. Normally with Gervais it's holding-my-guts laughter, this is not like that at all. I really do need to give Gervais a huge round of applause for the sober and heart wrenching scene of his mother dying. It was lovely and he did a beautiful job, you don't normally see that kind of a scene from him.

There were a few funny bits; all the truth was confronting and at times hilarious, reading the commandments from the back of two Pizza Hut boxes, referring to God as The Man In The Sky and that he was constantly whispering in Gervais ear, Rob Lowe.

3 out of 5 Golden Globes....

If you have no idea what I'm referring to here, you must watch Gervais hosting the Golden Globes here. Hilarious!

Favourite Bit - Gervais answering the front door in a sheet looking very much like The Man in The Sky.