In the spirit of Dave, comments occur in real time.
HOUR THREE
RECAP RECAP RECAP!!!
Uh-oh, he's in transit. Thats about as safe as a perimeter.
6 Days? Apparently you all forgot the name of the show.
Ooooh! Jacks sporting the sunglasses.
Were surprised that the sniper got through the perimeter? I'm pretty sure he could ahve done that without help.
Oh yeah, Tony is SO not talking. You can just tell by the look on his face.
Who wants to bet that either Gold or Hillinger are the security leak?
"You're running out of time..." aren't we always?
WOAH!!! Tony, Bill, Chloe...bu...ju...wha...What?!? I can't wait until they tell me where the heck this is going.
President Taylor asks how this happened...You shut down CTU and ran off Jack Bauer. Thats what.
The federal government is corrupt. Of course. When is the government not corrupt?
Aww...Chloe told Jack he looked good. You know who else looks good? Bill. I'm diggin' the scruffy look. Much better than the prmi, propper, suit variety.
So...Tony is good? Wow, it didn't take them long to play that card. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic. But after all that "Tony is evil" hype? I dont know. It seems abrupt. There has GOT to be more there.
Gold is gonna die or get hurt or be the leak in this scene. One of those three.
Or just confronted. Anti-climactic. Of course there is an explanation that gets Hillinger off the "mole" hook.
Aw, were suffocating someone just like old times. Brings back memories of season one and George Mason.
"Anyting is possible if you know what you're doing." And Chloe knows what she is doing. Unfortunally I think Gold is going to prove formidible.
YAY! Jack and Tony together! Just like old tiomes. I feel so happy.
Perimeter. Hah. Yeah right. Like there was a perimeter that could hold Jack Bauer and Tony Almeida.
Yep, "really good" is the biggest understatement describing Chloe in the history of the world.
"This is going to hurt." Hahaha...
That was just about the coolest thing ever (meaning the car out the parking garage stunt). Jack, way to pull through for me buddy. I knew you would do something way awesome before long.
END HOUR THREE
HOUR FOUR (I dont know about you, but watching on Hulu makes me sick of the trailer for Taken. Is Liam supposed to have an accent or not? He kind of sounds like Mr. Dramatic movie tralier Voice.)
And...we have recap. Thank goodness for minimum White House sub-plot so far.
Who else thinks the presidents sons girlfriend is stringing the First Gentleman along?
Maybe Larry Moss is the mole.
Wow, Kanin and Taylor. Do we really have to repeat the problem? WE all know what is going on. YOU all know what is going on...lets just waste time in the episode by nutshelling, shall we?
Aw. The empty hull of CTU.
Sad. Tony WAS a bad guy. The tragic villian. I KNEW he couldn't just be GOOD after all that.
"It's just us." Like you would need anyone else.
The more this plot goes on the more I dislike Henry Taylor. I understand the need to look into what happened to his son, but with all that is going on? Can't it wait?
"I'll do what has to be done" I sure hope so. I hope Tony isn't a double-double agent.
Oh jeez. Tony has to kill Jack. This early on we know that wont happen. "They'll get out of it..." Of course they will. Where have we seen Emerson before? I know he was in Highlander, but I never watched that. He's been in some of Charmed and First Wave but as far as I ven tell nothing that I would really remember him from. Oh well.
Everyone is going "Phew!" right about now.
Hillinger is going to be in so much trouble.
C'mon Tony. Jack doesn't underestimate anybody. But everybody underestimates Jack.
And in the midst of it all we follow Henry. Where oh where is this going? I forsee another Sandra Palmer/Walid plot.
Oh, Oh, OOOOHHH. The Dead Roger plot leads us to the mole in the presidency. Got it. Wow, I'm surprised the writers pulled something like this off.
Walker want's to be as awesome as Jack. I wonder if she has the guts to do what she has to.
Go Walker! I'm glad you had it in you. But now she looks like she wants to cry.
Walker is totally going in alone.
Mutobo's wife also looks familiar. (Looks it up) Oh! She was the wife of the divorging black couple in Enchanted!
Beep. Boop. Beep. Boop. Boom.
So far so good. Of course, season 6 started out real promising too. I mean we found out that Jack's brother was Blue Tooth guy and Jack bit someones juglar to get out of custody. Jack killed Curtis and a Nuclear bomb went off. Then it was all down hill from there. Lets keep our fingers crossed.
Also, there are a ton of things left hanging from season 6. Chloe fainting? What was that? And Morris? Whatever happened to him? Speaking of Morris, he was credited on the cast list for the third episode. I'm pretty sure I never saw him. Unless he was an extra. Man I really disliked season 6.
Thats all. Sorry it's so long. I dont think I will ever post an episode review like this again.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
24 Season Premier.
See my real time comments on 24 Redemption when I watched it yesterday if you feel like it.
This, for those of you interested, is my brief review of the first part of the 4 hour season premier. The last two hours will be tonight at 7:00pm. I am sad because I will be working. And every Monday I will be at FHE so I will miss it every week. Thank goodness for the internet and full streaming episodes.
On to the review.
First I would like to say that I called the whole "Tony faked his death and is now a bad guy because he blames the U.S. government for his crappy life" plot line.
I did not think Jack would catch up to him so quick. I was sure that the Tony/Jack face off would come much later creating more tension.
Note that so far Tony has not killed anyone. I am willing to forgive him his wrongs as long as that remains the same.
Funny how the guy who plays Tonys informer was also the horrible spineless UN guy from 24 Redemption. Now they need to bring Carl in for some random bit part that lasts only 1 episode.
I can't get over how young the First Mans (is that proper terminology for the female presidents hubby?) secret service shadow is. He looks about 23. I might be able to accept 25-27. Still that seems rather young.
I like President Taylor but she seems a little threatening. I would not want to be on her staff. If I gave her a wrong look she may fire me.
The brief scene with the trial was good but not long enough. I wanted more of Jack telling the world that he did what he had to for his country and doesn't regret his decisions. On that topic, as I listened to Jacks reasoning for the things he did I was not satisfied. He said he would do ANYTHING to achieve his objective. That makes him seem heartless. The truth is he would do anything unless it meant compromising innocent lives. We all remember how we thought he killed children in season 2 and it was all a trick.
It is a shame that the whole first hour went by and the only violence was a car accident. That is what 24 has done to me. I want to see some kick-butt action. I suppose that makes me a horrible person.
I wonder where the "Mr. Taylor is crazy obsessed with his sons death" plot is going. I have a feeling that it's just another one of those filler plots. One that will probably fall off the face of the show in a week or two and were all left wondering "what was the point?"
I miss Chloe. I was really hoping she would have already made her appearance.
I will say again that as long as we are resurrecting characters, we HAVE to bring back Chase. Any one second that? Steven? Elise?
I'm glad that Jack sees the reasoning behind his trial. I am also glad that random FBI agents out there think that it's wrong and pointless.
As much as we all want Jack to be with Audrey I have a feeling that there is going to be some sexual tension between him and this new FBI chick.
I watched the 4 minute recap of season 6 on the special features of the 24 redemption dvd. The sum-up just confused me even more. I'm used to my shows having some sort of cohesive plot. There was none of that in season 6. I still can't get over that shady agent that looked menacing for one scene and then never showed up again.
I agree that it's quite convenient that the senate told Jack his hearing will re-convene in 24 hours. Way to ensure another season. I was so psyched for a trial lasting at least 1 episode. No dice. Now I have to wait another year for that one.
Dave Barry's blog is amusing- as usual. I agree that the 2 hours was slower than most. But I would rather have slow with some inkling of a plot than mindless fast paced action with NO plot. I didn't think it was too bad. Maybe we'll get to see a deeper side of Jack. Static characters are no good right?
Who else is disappointed that Watchmen is rated R?
Okay, thats all I got for the first part of season 1. Tomorrow I will grant all your wishes and give you a review of the premier part two. Supposedly there is a big surprise coming. And that surprise is that Tony is working with Audrey to take over the world.
This, for those of you interested, is my brief review of the first part of the 4 hour season premier. The last two hours will be tonight at 7:00pm. I am sad because I will be working. And every Monday I will be at FHE so I will miss it every week. Thank goodness for the internet and full streaming episodes.
On to the review.
First I would like to say that I called the whole "Tony faked his death and is now a bad guy because he blames the U.S. government for his crappy life" plot line.
I did not think Jack would catch up to him so quick. I was sure that the Tony/Jack face off would come much later creating more tension.
Note that so far Tony has not killed anyone. I am willing to forgive him his wrongs as long as that remains the same.
Funny how the guy who plays Tonys informer was also the horrible spineless UN guy from 24 Redemption. Now they need to bring Carl in for some random bit part that lasts only 1 episode.
I can't get over how young the First Mans (is that proper terminology for the female presidents hubby?) secret service shadow is. He looks about 23. I might be able to accept 25-27. Still that seems rather young.
I like President Taylor but she seems a little threatening. I would not want to be on her staff. If I gave her a wrong look she may fire me.
The brief scene with the trial was good but not long enough. I wanted more of Jack telling the world that he did what he had to for his country and doesn't regret his decisions. On that topic, as I listened to Jacks reasoning for the things he did I was not satisfied. He said he would do ANYTHING to achieve his objective. That makes him seem heartless. The truth is he would do anything unless it meant compromising innocent lives. We all remember how we thought he killed children in season 2 and it was all a trick.
It is a shame that the whole first hour went by and the only violence was a car accident. That is what 24 has done to me. I want to see some kick-butt action. I suppose that makes me a horrible person.
I wonder where the "Mr. Taylor is crazy obsessed with his sons death" plot is going. I have a feeling that it's just another one of those filler plots. One that will probably fall off the face of the show in a week or two and were all left wondering "what was the point?"
I miss Chloe. I was really hoping she would have already made her appearance.
I will say again that as long as we are resurrecting characters, we HAVE to bring back Chase. Any one second that? Steven? Elise?
I'm glad that Jack sees the reasoning behind his trial. I am also glad that random FBI agents out there think that it's wrong and pointless.
As much as we all want Jack to be with Audrey I have a feeling that there is going to be some sexual tension between him and this new FBI chick.
I watched the 4 minute recap of season 6 on the special features of the 24 redemption dvd. The sum-up just confused me even more. I'm used to my shows having some sort of cohesive plot. There was none of that in season 6. I still can't get over that shady agent that looked menacing for one scene and then never showed up again.
I agree that it's quite convenient that the senate told Jack his hearing will re-convene in 24 hours. Way to ensure another season. I was so psyched for a trial lasting at least 1 episode. No dice. Now I have to wait another year for that one.
Dave Barry's blog is amusing- as usual. I agree that the 2 hours was slower than most. But I would rather have slow with some inkling of a plot than mindless fast paced action with NO plot. I didn't think it was too bad. Maybe we'll get to see a deeper side of Jack. Static characters are no good right?
Who else is disappointed that Watchmen is rated R?
Okay, thats all I got for the first part of season 1. Tomorrow I will grant all your wishes and give you a review of the premier part two. Supposedly there is a big surprise coming. And that surprise is that Tony is working with Audrey to take over the world.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
A great start...or not
I'm barely three days into the new year and already I feel unappreciated and underpaid.
I know work rants are boring so I will be brief.
Tonight, I made very little money. The worst tip I got was the worst tip I have received in a while. It was an 11-top. I had volunteered hoping to get a good tip off of it. Unfortunately, we got busy and I wasn't able to give them the attention I wanted. Their ticket came to almost $100. Guess how much they left me?
$10? Nope. GO lower. Apparently 10% was to rich for their blood.
$7? $5? Still too high.
$3. Thats all I got. When I saw the three lonely bills laying scattered on the table I wasn't too worried. They had split the checks and many probably paid with credit. So I was shocked and disgusted when I saw a long line of zeros on my credit tip report. Three dollars. Thats a 3% tip. The least they could have done was act like the service had been bad. They seemed happy enough as they left and were very polite. So I got my hopes up. Plus that leads me to think they are just cheap. If they acted unhappy that at least tells me that I deserved a poor tip. Anyway, I think that anyone at a restaurant who is intelligent enought o see how busy we are should be kind wnough to leave a decent tip. But some people have lost all treces of human generosity.
There were a few good tips tonight. But not enough to make up for what I lost because of this 11-top table. Because of them I wasn't able to properly take care of my other tables. So I got poor tips off them as well. Lots of $2 tips.
I lose the "lets keep this short and to the point" game.
As a side note because of occurances on Thursday, I have been feeling that my managers are taking advantage of my generosity and spinelessness. They ask, I do. What do I get in return? I half-hearted, after thought thanks. Juli got to hear the whole story about this. I will spare you all. If you really want to hear the whole thing, feel free to ask me. You know I lofe the chance to rant and rave about work.
It seems that the more I work at a place, the more I see how flawed the management system is. I think I get big headed. I left Candlelight lodge because they wouldn't give me the hours I needed and because I thought they were felling apart due to some poor management decisions. I left Movie Gallery because they wouldn't give me the raise I deserved and because I knew the company was and still is a sinking ship. Management at my current place of employment is okay overall, but they seem to lack morals when it comes to professionalism. And they also have some problems with porcedure sometimes. I'll get over it. I'm kinf of on my high horse right now. I really am more like Spencer than I ever thought possible. I'm just not that vocal in my complaints. I try to be. But you all know that I am non-confrontational.
In other news, there really not any other news. I saw Australia. Beckie, I will send you an e-mail with my detailed review. But in a few words, I loved it.
Just an FYI to any and all regular readers-I will be posting more often on my other "creative" blog. I told myself that I need to write (or type) something every day and I am going to use my other blog as one of my medium. This blog will be, as usual, a place to update my life so I can stay connected. Feel free to visit my other blog and comment if you wish-but its mostly there for my sanity and as an outlet.
Okay thats all. Time to go to bed. I've been going to bed way to late these past couple days. Thats pertially because I have been trying to train my body to get used to 7 hours of sleep rather than 8 so that one school nights where I only get 6 I wont be as tired.
Right. This time I mean it. Goodnight.
I'm so bad at that. Ask Dad.
I know work rants are boring so I will be brief.
Tonight, I made very little money. The worst tip I got was the worst tip I have received in a while. It was an 11-top. I had volunteered hoping to get a good tip off of it. Unfortunately, we got busy and I wasn't able to give them the attention I wanted. Their ticket came to almost $100. Guess how much they left me?
$10? Nope. GO lower. Apparently 10% was to rich for their blood.
$7? $5? Still too high.
$3. Thats all I got. When I saw the three lonely bills laying scattered on the table I wasn't too worried. They had split the checks and many probably paid with credit. So I was shocked and disgusted when I saw a long line of zeros on my credit tip report. Three dollars. Thats a 3% tip. The least they could have done was act like the service had been bad. They seemed happy enough as they left and were very polite. So I got my hopes up. Plus that leads me to think they are just cheap. If they acted unhappy that at least tells me that I deserved a poor tip. Anyway, I think that anyone at a restaurant who is intelligent enought o see how busy we are should be kind wnough to leave a decent tip. But some people have lost all treces of human generosity.
There were a few good tips tonight. But not enough to make up for what I lost because of this 11-top table. Because of them I wasn't able to properly take care of my other tables. So I got poor tips off them as well. Lots of $2 tips.
I lose the "lets keep this short and to the point" game.
As a side note because of occurances on Thursday, I have been feeling that my managers are taking advantage of my generosity and spinelessness. They ask, I do. What do I get in return? I half-hearted, after thought thanks. Juli got to hear the whole story about this. I will spare you all. If you really want to hear the whole thing, feel free to ask me. You know I lofe the chance to rant and rave about work.
It seems that the more I work at a place, the more I see how flawed the management system is. I think I get big headed. I left Candlelight lodge because they wouldn't give me the hours I needed and because I thought they were felling apart due to some poor management decisions. I left Movie Gallery because they wouldn't give me the raise I deserved and because I knew the company was and still is a sinking ship. Management at my current place of employment is okay overall, but they seem to lack morals when it comes to professionalism. And they also have some problems with porcedure sometimes. I'll get over it. I'm kinf of on my high horse right now. I really am more like Spencer than I ever thought possible. I'm just not that vocal in my complaints. I try to be. But you all know that I am non-confrontational.
In other news, there really not any other news. I saw Australia. Beckie, I will send you an e-mail with my detailed review. But in a few words, I loved it.
Just an FYI to any and all regular readers-I will be posting more often on my other "creative" blog. I told myself that I need to write (or type) something every day and I am going to use my other blog as one of my medium. This blog will be, as usual, a place to update my life so I can stay connected. Feel free to visit my other blog and comment if you wish-but its mostly there for my sanity and as an outlet.
Okay thats all. Time to go to bed. I've been going to bed way to late these past couple days. Thats pertially because I have been trying to train my body to get used to 7 hours of sleep rather than 8 so that one school nights where I only get 6 I wont be as tired.
Right. This time I mean it. Goodnight.
I'm so bad at that. Ask Dad.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Reunion
Today might have started off good, but boy did kick my butt later to make up for it.
Some biscuits and gravy, stuffed french toast...finish it off with a little Arrested Development.
All in all a very successful 9-11 am. The tornado sirens went off. Nothing exciting. The rain was pretty torrential.
The bad stuff begins the second I set foot in my car. I immediately notice the lake that has formed in the passenger side foot well. My car is leaking from the roof, the light at the front of the car and from lower down (it looks likes it's coming from the glove compartment). Wet, wet and wetter. This does not bode well. I start driving, angry that my car is wet. I am also afraid for my windshield wipers due to their spotty performance lately.
Everything is okay as I drive home to pick up a few things. Its as I head out to meet Ben and Jenni for Lunch that things become a problem. First, my wipers get tangled. Of course. They untangle quickly but they are a little bent and there is no guarantee that they wont do it again. So I put them on low which is a problem because it is raining so hard and I am now on the interstate. This is when things get a little foggy. Literally. My windshield and all my windows fog up and no amount of defrost seems to help. I try everything. Nothing works. Eventually I have to resort to using an old t-shirt to wipe the moisture off the inside of the windshield.
So here I am, ineffectual defrost blasting, windshield wipers doing little to nothing for my visibility. One hand in on the steering wheel, the other is doing a constant circular motion trying to keep the moisture at bay. My arm is tired, I can barely see and I am going 45-50 mph on the highway. I think to myself the on thing that you NEVER think when things are bad : "how can this get any worse?"
It does. There is a crack in my windshield, right? This crack is such that there is splintered glass protruding from the top left corner of the windshield. Guess what happens? I cut my finger on it. I admit that I screamed in frustration. I'm not usually vocal in my anger but I could not help it.
Somehow I managed to get off 70 at the stadium exit and into the mall parking lot without dying. And I stayed there. Ben was ale to pick me up. It was the most frustrating and horrible driving experience I have ever had. I never cried, but I got pretty close.
The shorter story is that I had a lot of fun with Ben and Jenni. The trio reunited. Man we had some good times. As much fun as it is to get everyone together, it's mice for it to be just the three of us sometimes. We went to El Maguay...always delicious. We chatted. We laughed. Jenni made Ben feel horrible for never calling any of us or keeping in touch. I gave them their presents.
Then we went to go see The Spirit. Ben and Jenni thought it was ridiculous and stupid. They laughed the whole time but not in a good way. Ben said the only reason he didn't walk out was because it looked like I was enjoying myself. And I was. IF you have ever read a comic book or a graphic novel, you know that they are formatted in a very over the top, in your face way. It could even be called cheesy. That is exactly what this movie was like. And it was amazing. The cinematography was fantastic, the line delivery was great. Samuel L. Jackson was fantastic. It was really well done. And I KNEW that the guy who played Denny Colt was the guy from that show The Others. That was a great show. I'm sad it didn't last.
Anywho, I now have to throw down a bunch of money to fix my car. And that makes me sad.
Moral of the story? Dont put off car repairs until you almost die. The Spirit is a good movie. You shold see it. Never let go of your best friends.
Some biscuits and gravy, stuffed french toast...finish it off with a little Arrested Development.
All in all a very successful 9-11 am. The tornado sirens went off. Nothing exciting. The rain was pretty torrential.
The bad stuff begins the second I set foot in my car. I immediately notice the lake that has formed in the passenger side foot well. My car is leaking from the roof, the light at the front of the car and from lower down (it looks likes it's coming from the glove compartment). Wet, wet and wetter. This does not bode well. I start driving, angry that my car is wet. I am also afraid for my windshield wipers due to their spotty performance lately.
Everything is okay as I drive home to pick up a few things. Its as I head out to meet Ben and Jenni for Lunch that things become a problem. First, my wipers get tangled. Of course. They untangle quickly but they are a little bent and there is no guarantee that they wont do it again. So I put them on low which is a problem because it is raining so hard and I am now on the interstate. This is when things get a little foggy. Literally. My windshield and all my windows fog up and no amount of defrost seems to help. I try everything. Nothing works. Eventually I have to resort to using an old t-shirt to wipe the moisture off the inside of the windshield.
So here I am, ineffectual defrost blasting, windshield wipers doing little to nothing for my visibility. One hand in on the steering wheel, the other is doing a constant circular motion trying to keep the moisture at bay. My arm is tired, I can barely see and I am going 45-50 mph on the highway. I think to myself the on thing that you NEVER think when things are bad : "how can this get any worse?"
It does. There is a crack in my windshield, right? This crack is such that there is splintered glass protruding from the top left corner of the windshield. Guess what happens? I cut my finger on it. I admit that I screamed in frustration. I'm not usually vocal in my anger but I could not help it.
Somehow I managed to get off 70 at the stadium exit and into the mall parking lot without dying. And I stayed there. Ben was ale to pick me up. It was the most frustrating and horrible driving experience I have ever had. I never cried, but I got pretty close.
The shorter story is that I had a lot of fun with Ben and Jenni. The trio reunited. Man we had some good times. As much fun as it is to get everyone together, it's mice for it to be just the three of us sometimes. We went to El Maguay...always delicious. We chatted. We laughed. Jenni made Ben feel horrible for never calling any of us or keeping in touch. I gave them their presents.
Then we went to go see The Spirit. Ben and Jenni thought it was ridiculous and stupid. They laughed the whole time but not in a good way. Ben said the only reason he didn't walk out was because it looked like I was enjoying myself. And I was. IF you have ever read a comic book or a graphic novel, you know that they are formatted in a very over the top, in your face way. It could even be called cheesy. That is exactly what this movie was like. And it was amazing. The cinematography was fantastic, the line delivery was great. Samuel L. Jackson was fantastic. It was really well done. And I KNEW that the guy who played Denny Colt was the guy from that show The Others. That was a great show. I'm sad it didn't last.
Anywho, I now have to throw down a bunch of money to fix my car. And that makes me sad.
Moral of the story? Dont put off car repairs until you almost die. The Spirit is a good movie. You shold see it. Never let go of your best friends.
Friday, December 26, 2008
The after
Yes. I am horrible at updates...(tee-hee, and I'm listening to Dr. Horrible. Horrible. Get it?)
I am striving to be more consistent. If it makes you feel better, I hate long stretches of nothing more than any of you. It makes me feel like I have to catch up.
So, whats new?
A couple things. FINALS ARE OVER! The results are in. I got an A my Ecosystem Management final and a B on both my Limnology and Botany finals. My grades are as follows...
Limnology-C+
Botany-A
Ecosystem Management-B+
Communications-A
Colloquium-Satisfactory
My GPA was a 3.4. Overall I am pretty pleased.
Thank goodness that semester is over. I only have one year left. I will be done by fall of 2009. WOO HOO!
Bob Evans has asked me to train one of the Hostesses, Amanda, to be a server. In a nutshell, Danielle the night trainer is not available to do it. Spencer the night trainer doesn't like Amanada and doesn't want to train her. He kept telling them he would and then he would push the time back. When Shawn approached Steve about it, Steve suggested that he ask me.
To be a "certified" trainer at Bobs you have to go through a process and take a few tests. I am not certified. This made Spencer very unhappy. He couldn't stomach the fact that an uncertified server was taking his job. So according to Shawn, he turned in his training badge. I felt a little guilty but in all honesty, he was throwing a temper tantrum and Shawn was not going to take it.
So, even though I am getting none of the trainer beneits, I am training this hostess. I said yes because it is good experience, more hours and it will look good on my resume. It's going okay do far. I just hope I'm doing it right and she turns out to be a good server. I dont want to let the managers down. It's flattering to be told that you are responsible enough to mold another person into a server. I think I would be very embarrassed if Amanda turned out to be horrible even thought it would onyl be 1.2 my fault.
I cant say that much else is exciting.
It's boxing day. I had a nice photo shoot with Emily, Elise and Juli. I'm pretty sure that my favorite about the holidays is being together with family. It makes me a little sad that as we get older and build our own families that we will be parted for longer periods of time.
I really wish I could post more but my brain is turning into a sleepy mush. I will be more detailed and consistent in the future, I promise....
And guess what? I just updated my other blog. Do you want to read it? It may not make any sense, but I have re-vamped it yet again. Feel free to read the description if you wish to understand.
I am striving to be more consistent. If it makes you feel better, I hate long stretches of nothing more than any of you. It makes me feel like I have to catch up.
So, whats new?
A couple things. FINALS ARE OVER! The results are in. I got an A my Ecosystem Management final and a B on both my Limnology and Botany finals. My grades are as follows...
Limnology-C+
Botany-A
Ecosystem Management-B+
Communications-A
Colloquium-Satisfactory
My GPA was a 3.4. Overall I am pretty pleased.
Thank goodness that semester is over. I only have one year left. I will be done by fall of 2009. WOO HOO!
Bob Evans has asked me to train one of the Hostesses, Amanda, to be a server. In a nutshell, Danielle the night trainer is not available to do it. Spencer the night trainer doesn't like Amanada and doesn't want to train her. He kept telling them he would and then he would push the time back. When Shawn approached Steve about it, Steve suggested that he ask me.
To be a "certified" trainer at Bobs you have to go through a process and take a few tests. I am not certified. This made Spencer very unhappy. He couldn't stomach the fact that an uncertified server was taking his job. So according to Shawn, he turned in his training badge. I felt a little guilty but in all honesty, he was throwing a temper tantrum and Shawn was not going to take it.
So, even though I am getting none of the trainer beneits, I am training this hostess. I said yes because it is good experience, more hours and it will look good on my resume. It's going okay do far. I just hope I'm doing it right and she turns out to be a good server. I dont want to let the managers down. It's flattering to be told that you are responsible enough to mold another person into a server. I think I would be very embarrassed if Amanda turned out to be horrible even thought it would onyl be 1.2 my fault.
I cant say that much else is exciting.
It's boxing day. I had a nice photo shoot with Emily, Elise and Juli. I'm pretty sure that my favorite about the holidays is being together with family. It makes me a little sad that as we get older and build our own families that we will be parted for longer periods of time.
I really wish I could post more but my brain is turning into a sleepy mush. I will be more detailed and consistent in the future, I promise....
And guess what? I just updated my other blog. Do you want to read it? It may not make any sense, but I have re-vamped it yet again. Feel free to read the description if you wish to understand.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Snow (Hey Oh)
These are so much fun! Thanks Kirsti!
1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
1.IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Good Day
2.WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Erin Shore
3.WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Can't Complain
4.HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Carry On Wayward Son
5.WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
My Eyes
6.WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Trogdor
7.WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Run-Around
8.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
9.WHAT IS 2+2?
Hate to Say I Told You So
10.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
The Unforgiven (aw, sad...)
11.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Cheap and Cheerful
12.WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Lovestoned/I Think She Knows(Interlude)
13.WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Dead Wrong
14.WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Stay With Me
15.WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
A Strange Education
16.WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR WEDDING?
When in Rome
17.WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I'm Sticking With You (um...creepy)
18.WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Paralyzer
19.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Nessun Dorma!
20.WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Death is the Road to Awe
21.HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Scotch and Chocolate (Nice)
22.WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Why I'm Here
23.WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
More Than A Little Scared
24.WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
My Last Breath
25.WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Upside Down (Like a monkey!)
26.WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Ruled By Secrecy
27.DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Easier Not to Love
28.IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Penny's Song
29.WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
I Don't Wanna Be In Love
30.WHERE WILL YOU TRAVEL TO?
Crazy
31.WHAT IS THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Slipping
32.WHAT DO YOU OFTEN FIND YOURSELF WANTING TO YELL AT PEOPLE?
Walk Away
33.WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?
Horrible Credits
34. WHAT DOES THE PERSON YOU LIKE THINK OF YOU?
Cryptonite
35. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Snow(Hey oh)
And Here's Another one!!!
25 Random Questions
Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.
"...and as if muffled by a rush of wind or water: agitation, uncertainty, and..."-Jane Eyre
Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you reach?
Air
What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Supernatural-two months ago
Without looking, guess what time it is:
11:45
Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
11:45-I am so good at that
With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Carry On Wayward Son-Kansas
When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Last night-Getting out of my car after work
Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
Facebook-Scribblings
What are you wearing?
Jeans, Long Sleeve T under a T-thirt, underwear etc.
Did you dream last night?
I had to write a memoir in the computer lab at school and Jim Halpert was distracting me.
When did you last laugh?
10:15 am
What are on the walls of the room you are in?
Posters, a bulletin board, various pictures, a calendar, necklaces, a Hawaiian mask
Seen anything weird lately?
My manager head butting my last night
What do you think of this quiz?
Meh...
What is the last film you saw?
Twilight...I think it killed my brain
If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
pay off all my debt, a laptop, a nice camera, a new phone, a new iPod...I could go on...
Tell me something about you that I don't know about.
I beat the easy level of Guitar Hero III last night. I was up till 1:30am
If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Get rid of money. We would all live like they do in Star Trek...I'm such a nerd
Do you like to dance?
not at all
Do you like cartoons?
Who doesn't, seriously
Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Elizabeth
Imagine your first is a boy, what do you call him?
Phineas...Not really, but it's always been a dream
Would you ever consider living abroad?
Absolutley! I'm considering it right now...New Zealand
What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
Welcome Home
It says to tag six people. I'm not going to. Do this survey if you want to, but dont feel pressured.
Off to class!
1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
1.IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Good Day
2.WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Erin Shore
3.WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Can't Complain
4.HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Carry On Wayward Son
5.WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
My Eyes
6.WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Trogdor
7.WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Run-Around
8.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
9.WHAT IS 2+2?
Hate to Say I Told You So
10.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
The Unforgiven (aw, sad...)
11.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Cheap and Cheerful
12.WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Lovestoned/I Think She Knows(Interlude)
13.WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Dead Wrong
14.WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Stay With Me
15.WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
A Strange Education
16.WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR WEDDING?
When in Rome
17.WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I'm Sticking With You (um...creepy)
18.WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Paralyzer
19.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Nessun Dorma!
20.WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Death is the Road to Awe
21.HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Scotch and Chocolate (Nice)
22.WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Why I'm Here
23.WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
More Than A Little Scared
24.WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
My Last Breath
25.WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Upside Down (Like a monkey!)
26.WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Ruled By Secrecy
27.DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Easier Not to Love
28.IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Penny's Song
29.WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
I Don't Wanna Be In Love
30.WHERE WILL YOU TRAVEL TO?
Crazy
31.WHAT IS THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Slipping
32.WHAT DO YOU OFTEN FIND YOURSELF WANTING TO YELL AT PEOPLE?
Walk Away
33.WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?
Horrible Credits
34. WHAT DOES THE PERSON YOU LIKE THINK OF YOU?
Cryptonite
35. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Snow(Hey oh)
And Here's Another one!!!
25 Random Questions
Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.
"...and as if muffled by a rush of wind or water: agitation, uncertainty, and..."-Jane Eyre
Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you reach?
Air
What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Supernatural-two months ago
Without looking, guess what time it is:
11:45
Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
11:45-I am so good at that
With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Carry On Wayward Son-Kansas
When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Last night-Getting out of my car after work
Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
Facebook-Scribblings
What are you wearing?
Jeans, Long Sleeve T under a T-thirt, underwear etc.
Did you dream last night?
I had to write a memoir in the computer lab at school and Jim Halpert was distracting me.
When did you last laugh?
10:15 am
What are on the walls of the room you are in?
Posters, a bulletin board, various pictures, a calendar, necklaces, a Hawaiian mask
Seen anything weird lately?
My manager head butting my last night
What do you think of this quiz?
Meh...
What is the last film you saw?
Twilight...I think it killed my brain
If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
pay off all my debt, a laptop, a nice camera, a new phone, a new iPod...I could go on...
Tell me something about you that I don't know about.
I beat the easy level of Guitar Hero III last night. I was up till 1:30am
If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Get rid of money. We would all live like they do in Star Trek...I'm such a nerd
Do you like to dance?
not at all
Do you like cartoons?
Who doesn't, seriously
Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Elizabeth
Imagine your first is a boy, what do you call him?
Phineas...Not really, but it's always been a dream
Would you ever consider living abroad?
Absolutley! I'm considering it right now...New Zealand
What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
Welcome Home
It says to tag six people. I'm not going to. Do this survey if you want to, but dont feel pressured.
Off to class!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Twi-phert
For those of you who have no interest whatsoever in Twilight you may want to skip over this entry right now. I wont be offended. It is exclusively a review of the movie and the series in general.
On the other hand, if you have read Stephenie Meyers vampiric tale and want to hear what I thought of the movie, read on.
Many of you who have read the books and talked to me about them know just how much 'dislike' I hold for the novels which now sit gathering (hopefully) centuries of dust on my shelf. I use the term 'dislike' because 'hate' is no where near a strong enough word and I want to remain civil. Stephenie Meyer is a human being and I do respect her for being an LDS mom cranking out novels that make it on the best seller list.
If you are here to read an objective review that leaves all my personal feeling aside, you should leave now and remind yourself what kind of person I am. If you share my feelings concerning these books and want to hear yet another rant about how they couldn't be worse, stick around. You wont be disappointed. I warn you though, this ones a doozey.
So it begins.
I admit that I went into this film fully expecting to hate myself afterwords thinking that I would come out actually liking it to some extent. But I profess myself pleasantly let down by the movies lack of quality. It's a strange feeling.
However, lets start off on a positive note shall we?
THE GOOD:
1. From the very start, you here Bellas voice quoting the starting lines of the book. That in itself is enough to make me cringe and want to run from the theater and go see Quantum of Solace. But the beginning scene was very well done. You see a deer peacefully drinking from a stream. It is suddenly startled by some unseen hunter. A chase begins. You can here that the deer is being followed but its not until the very end that you see it's humans. The cinematography was striking and effective. Thankfully this held true for most of the movie. The blips of scenes that involved nothing but camera artistry were nice reprieves. The fight scene at the end was pretty good. The best scene overall in the film was the 'baseball' scene but I could be biased because they played Supermassive Black Hole by Muse.
2. The high school students-they were all played pretty well. Again, it was nice to get away from Edward and Bella every once in a while. I'll explain why later. The acting wasn't perfect, but it wasn't forced. It was amusing and fun. 'Jessica' and 'Mike' did particularly good jobs (I'm not going to list actor and actress names).
3. Charlie Swan-By far the best character in the movie. Billy Burke did and excellent job playing his part of the awkward single dad who doesn't know how to look after a teenage daughter. (Note that Charlie Swan is also Gary Matheson from season 2 of 24..a scary man who beats his wife and young daughter). Chief of police Swan is also very good looking in an older man kind of way. A better older man way than Edward anyway.
4. In a voice mail, Juli asked me if this movie was like Eragon and The Seeker, both of which had trouble following the book. My answer to this is no. It followed the book down to almost every detail. Even the exact same lines. This isn't necessarily a good thing since I'm not a huge fan of the book anyway. I do have to say that out of the quartet, Twilight is the one I am most likely to read again. Well, maybe New moon as well. I don't know. Knowing how they end, I am so torn.
5. The music was also okay. It kind of sounded like the music from The Fountain (which you all know I LOVE!). Bellas lullaby may have been a little too simplistic for my taste (I know that sounds petty but I picture Edward being a musical genius and this song did not portray that). There was a Muse song and that's always a major point winner. The other songs chosen were pretty good as well. Meyer really needs to get into Keane if she hasn't already. They would have been perfect.
6. Hmmm...what else was good? I got nothin'. I'd have to watch it again and I don't know if I could stand it. Maybe only if I were watching it with someone who also disliked the books.
THE BAD...which sadly outweighs the good.
1. And the number one worst thing in the movie was? (drum roll...........) THE ACTING! It's hard enough acting out a book with sketchy plot in the first place. Throw in the fact that both the lead roles are practically novices (I guess a handful of films each is not enough practice) and you have...blah. I couldn't even come up with a good descriptive word. This will probably be my longest rant so bear with me. I'm even going to start a new paragraph for your sake.
So many things go under the bad acting category that we are going to letter them.
a).The acting was too forced-Kirsti mentioned that seemingly 'bad acting', the kind you might find in independent films, is popular right now. She is right. It seemed that this is what they were going for except it wasn't consistent and it was horribly fake 'bad acting'. If they werent trying to 'act badly' on purpose then that's all the worse. Or maybe its better to be horrible at something rather than being horrible at trying to be horrible. Dr. Horrible? Sorry. It was like having to watch and hear two people shlucking grapes for two hours (sorry Elise). Hard to take.
b). Along with the whole forced thing, Edward often said lines that made him seem mentally challenged. I don't just mean incoherent. I mean it sounded like he was, for lack of a better word (forgive me) slow. I wish I could remember the exact line. I'm sure he was going for incoherent with rage (as in the restaurant scene after he saves Bella from a 'rapist') or desire (as in the scenes where he is close to Bella and trying to keep his distance). But it never comes off that way. In one scene, Bella says that sometimes when he talks it's like he's from another time. Maybe she meant the time of neanderthals.
c). Often, Bella seemed too scared. This is just me being picky. Bella is supposed to be unafraid of Edward and the Cullens. Even when she discovers that they are vampires. She is intimidated but never afraid. She even says this in the film and yet there are times she looks like she could pee her pants. I don't blame her. Wetting yourself over vampires is the normal reaction. Maybe if she had, Edward would have been like, "Ew." and told her it would never worked. Then we could have been spared.
d). Many of the scenes between Bella and Edward were WAY too awkward. I don't mean that they were too sensual (this happened only once and it is equally awkward in the book). I mean they seem so uncomfortable talking to each other. Especially at first which is somewhat acceptable. Most people are a little weird at first meetings. But this never changes as the movie goes on. Most of the problem stems from too much stuttering. Like they forgot their lines. stuttering is a normal human thing. So it's okay for Bella (except that because she cant act it comes out painfully forced). But for Edward, stuttering was never a problem. They sound like skipping records. Skipping records of people shlucking grapes...or chewing with their mouths open. *shudder*.
There was also too much random sighing. Like the doors in Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy only not contented.
e). Delivery was all off. Flow and timing in the lines was just weird. Sometimes it was like the actors were counting in their heads the seconds before it was time to deliver their lines ("okay, he just said his line. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi...crap what was my line? I should stutter to cover myself..."). Added to this was the really weird unnatural facial expressions. They never seemed to match the situation. There were a few times that Edwards smile was well placed. But that was the only facial expression besides his bored sort of arrogance at the beginning that worked with the timing. Edward, in general, looked constantly in pain. I know that Bellas scent is supposed to awake an indescribable hunger inside him. But once he gets used to it I'd think that he could look less like he bad menstrual cramps. Okay, bad comparison. Sorry.
f). Kristin Stewart just cant act.
I think that's all I got on the acting front. Sadly the majority of the poor acting credit is given to Edward and Bella. Though Jasper seemed to have only one facial expression...Sick. Like he's trying really hard not to vomit at the bad acting. Poor guy.
2. Marty Hook once said that the whole world is tension and release (I'm sure he got that from somewhere). I would have to agree with this statement. We all know that the key to a good love story (maybe not real love in life but books and movies) is properly planned tension and release. Meyer has a pretty good handle on this in her books (though Breaking Dawn ends like a deflating balloon. Not the POP! You want it to be. Not even the scattered flying around with the funny flatulent noises. It was a quick annoying squeaky passing of tension. This kind where you pinch the opening of the balloon. She built up all this tension and then...nothing. But not just any nothing. A really annoying nothing.). The movie does a horrible job at timing the tension and release properly. The kiss scene is a little too drawn out. You know how you can build the tension by holding the distance between the two peoples lips for a little while? That hesitation can be very effective. But Edward takes approximately 5 minutes to close the gap. Maybe he was counting again...("15 Mississippi, 16 Mississippi, 17 Mississippi...oh, wait! I was supposed to kiss her 7 seconds ago! Oh well, better start over again to be safe. One Mississippi..."). After that it gets a tad racy. But not too bad. Anyway long story short, the tension and release police officer (i.e. the director) was on a coffee break during those scenes eating a doughnut-filled with 'lets-not-tell-the-kids-they-cant-act' flavored jelly.
3. Not enough Cullens-this is just me being petty again. I love Emmit and we get far too little of him in this movie. Not enough Alice as well. And not enough screen time for papa Cullen who is by far the most beautiful of the bunch.
4. I know I said earlier that having a Muse song earned the movie points. Half of the points are taken away because of the one they chose. I love Supermassive Black Hole. It's on my top 10 list of favorite songs. But there are so many other songs that would fit better and could be better placed. I'm not sure who was in charge of that decision, but I don't like it. Call me critical. You all know I am way too judgmental of other peoples work. At least I admit it.
5. The 'drinking Bellas blood to save her from vampire venom' scene-I cant really explain why this bothered me so much. I think Kirsti put it a good way. It lacked finesse. I always pictured is more...elegant, not ravenous. I suppose the way it's done in the film makes some sense. Edward is drawn to Bellas blood in frightening ways. And it is a thirst that he longs to quench. So maybe it should look like a man dying of thirst in a desert guzzling water and not wanting to stop...It just seemed off. And it kind of grossed me out...hmm that makes sense too. He is drinking blood. I don't know. This is another scene I would have to make myself sit through to understand better.
(okay, I had to go to work and come back to finish thins entry...so I am trying hard to remember all the things that bothered me. They are slipping away like the remnants of a dream...or more like a nightmare. I think most of it was just the usual 'there are so many things wrong with this story' complaints that I feel about the books.)
Um, lets see...Oh! I figured out at the end who played Bellas mom. It's non other than 24's longest lasting super-evil villain! No, not Sherry...Nina Meyers! Man, just think if Jack Bauer was Bellas dad. That would have made the movie a whole lot better. Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that we have two 24 alumni in this movie.
I should probably mention James. I forgot to in the Good section. He did a good job at being creepy. He delivered his lines well and had perfect facial expressions. He kind of looked like a younger version of Sabertooth from X-men.
Just a few other things about the books in general that were emphasized by the movie.
1. Edward says that he wanted to kill Bella the first time he saw her. Yeah. Thats a good start to the relationship. That definitely means you should be together.
2. The line 'your my personal brand of heroin'-the line was poorly delivered in the first place. Again with the bad timing. But more importantly...does that sound like a healthy relationship to you? People who have a love affair with their drug addictions never end up happy.
3. Edward sneaking into Bellas room to watch her sleep (and especially the way he describes it) it just creepy. Stalkerish. Also not healthy. Obsession is NEVER the answer.
4. Bella wanting to choose immortality-This is something I can finally agree with Edward on. Being immortal is not natural. You are supposed to get old and die. That is why I love Tuck Everlasting. In the end, the girl realizes this and gives up being with the boy she loves. Why wont Bella be smart and see that? Oh yeah, the whole 'thinking' thing. I'd think that Meyer, being a member of the LDS church, would favor living a mortal life. It's part of Gods plan. She doesn't have to put that in the book but I thought she would make that her theme in the end. Nope.
5. In the movie, the way Bella acts with Jacob is more natural. Theres no weird stuttering and sighing and she doesn't look scared. She looks content and happy around him. At one point (in the books) Jacob says "I was the natural course you life would have taken" or something like that. The key word here is "NATURAL". *Random, ill placed sigh of melancholy* Jacob is natural and real. If you want I have a whole rant on Jacob being the right choice. Call me and ask me about it. Even if you've heard it before, I love talking about it. Especially if you agree. There is no such thing as being Switzerland in this case people.
Alright, this post is far too long already. I hope it didn't bore you. And I do apologize if most of my comments seem petty. I'm just overly critical. Twilight fans (or former Twilight fans) go see the movie. I wont say that its worth your time and money. I am overly critical. I'm sure most of the world loves it. Maybe if I was team Edward and loved the books I would like the movie more. Who knows.
It's late and I need to get to bed. It's THANKSGIVIG BREAK!!! I am very excited. But now I feel like I need to see a good movie to make up for this one...Elise, I would love to see Quantum of Solace with you. Transporter 3 or Australia anyone?
On the other hand, if you have read Stephenie Meyers vampiric tale and want to hear what I thought of the movie, read on.
Many of you who have read the books and talked to me about them know just how much 'dislike' I hold for the novels which now sit gathering (hopefully) centuries of dust on my shelf. I use the term 'dislike' because 'hate' is no where near a strong enough word and I want to remain civil. Stephenie Meyer is a human being and I do respect her for being an LDS mom cranking out novels that make it on the best seller list.
If you are here to read an objective review that leaves all my personal feeling aside, you should leave now and remind yourself what kind of person I am. If you share my feelings concerning these books and want to hear yet another rant about how they couldn't be worse, stick around. You wont be disappointed. I warn you though, this ones a doozey.
So it begins.
I admit that I went into this film fully expecting to hate myself afterwords thinking that I would come out actually liking it to some extent. But I profess myself pleasantly let down by the movies lack of quality. It's a strange feeling.
However, lets start off on a positive note shall we?
THE GOOD:
1. From the very start, you here Bellas voice quoting the starting lines of the book. That in itself is enough to make me cringe and want to run from the theater and go see Quantum of Solace. But the beginning scene was very well done. You see a deer peacefully drinking from a stream. It is suddenly startled by some unseen hunter. A chase begins. You can here that the deer is being followed but its not until the very end that you see it's humans. The cinematography was striking and effective. Thankfully this held true for most of the movie. The blips of scenes that involved nothing but camera artistry were nice reprieves. The fight scene at the end was pretty good. The best scene overall in the film was the 'baseball' scene but I could be biased because they played Supermassive Black Hole by Muse.
2. The high school students-they were all played pretty well. Again, it was nice to get away from Edward and Bella every once in a while. I'll explain why later. The acting wasn't perfect, but it wasn't forced. It was amusing and fun. 'Jessica' and 'Mike' did particularly good jobs (I'm not going to list actor and actress names).
3. Charlie Swan-By far the best character in the movie. Billy Burke did and excellent job playing his part of the awkward single dad who doesn't know how to look after a teenage daughter. (Note that Charlie Swan is also Gary Matheson from season 2 of 24..a scary man who beats his wife and young daughter). Chief of police Swan is also very good looking in an older man kind of way. A better older man way than Edward anyway.
4. In a voice mail, Juli asked me if this movie was like Eragon and The Seeker, both of which had trouble following the book. My answer to this is no. It followed the book down to almost every detail. Even the exact same lines. This isn't necessarily a good thing since I'm not a huge fan of the book anyway. I do have to say that out of the quartet, Twilight is the one I am most likely to read again. Well, maybe New moon as well. I don't know. Knowing how they end, I am so torn.
5. The music was also okay. It kind of sounded like the music from The Fountain (which you all know I LOVE!). Bellas lullaby may have been a little too simplistic for my taste (I know that sounds petty but I picture Edward being a musical genius and this song did not portray that). There was a Muse song and that's always a major point winner. The other songs chosen were pretty good as well. Meyer really needs to get into Keane if she hasn't already. They would have been perfect.
6. Hmmm...what else was good? I got nothin'. I'd have to watch it again and I don't know if I could stand it. Maybe only if I were watching it with someone who also disliked the books.
THE BAD...which sadly outweighs the good.
1. And the number one worst thing in the movie was? (drum roll...........) THE ACTING! It's hard enough acting out a book with sketchy plot in the first place. Throw in the fact that both the lead roles are practically novices (I guess a handful of films each is not enough practice) and you have...blah. I couldn't even come up with a good descriptive word. This will probably be my longest rant so bear with me. I'm even going to start a new paragraph for your sake.
So many things go under the bad acting category that we are going to letter them.
a).The acting was too forced-Kirsti mentioned that seemingly 'bad acting', the kind you might find in independent films, is popular right now. She is right. It seemed that this is what they were going for except it wasn't consistent and it was horribly fake 'bad acting'. If they werent trying to 'act badly' on purpose then that's all the worse. Or maybe its better to be horrible at something rather than being horrible at trying to be horrible. Dr. Horrible? Sorry. It was like having to watch and hear two people shlucking grapes for two hours (sorry Elise). Hard to take.
b). Along with the whole forced thing, Edward often said lines that made him seem mentally challenged. I don't just mean incoherent. I mean it sounded like he was, for lack of a better word (forgive me) slow. I wish I could remember the exact line. I'm sure he was going for incoherent with rage (as in the restaurant scene after he saves Bella from a 'rapist') or desire (as in the scenes where he is close to Bella and trying to keep his distance). But it never comes off that way. In one scene, Bella says that sometimes when he talks it's like he's from another time. Maybe she meant the time of neanderthals.
c). Often, Bella seemed too scared. This is just me being picky. Bella is supposed to be unafraid of Edward and the Cullens. Even when she discovers that they are vampires. She is intimidated but never afraid. She even says this in the film and yet there are times she looks like she could pee her pants. I don't blame her. Wetting yourself over vampires is the normal reaction. Maybe if she had, Edward would have been like, "Ew." and told her it would never worked. Then we could have been spared.
d). Many of the scenes between Bella and Edward were WAY too awkward. I don't mean that they were too sensual (this happened only once and it is equally awkward in the book). I mean they seem so uncomfortable talking to each other. Especially at first which is somewhat acceptable. Most people are a little weird at first meetings. But this never changes as the movie goes on. Most of the problem stems from too much stuttering. Like they forgot their lines. stuttering is a normal human thing. So it's okay for Bella (except that because she cant act it comes out painfully forced). But for Edward, stuttering was never a problem. They sound like skipping records. Skipping records of people shlucking grapes...or chewing with their mouths open. *shudder*.
There was also too much random sighing. Like the doors in Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy only not contented.
e). Delivery was all off. Flow and timing in the lines was just weird. Sometimes it was like the actors were counting in their heads the seconds before it was time to deliver their lines ("okay, he just said his line. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi...crap what was my line? I should stutter to cover myself..."). Added to this was the really weird unnatural facial expressions. They never seemed to match the situation. There were a few times that Edwards smile was well placed. But that was the only facial expression besides his bored sort of arrogance at the beginning that worked with the timing. Edward, in general, looked constantly in pain. I know that Bellas scent is supposed to awake an indescribable hunger inside him. But once he gets used to it I'd think that he could look less like he bad menstrual cramps. Okay, bad comparison. Sorry.
f). Kristin Stewart just cant act.
I think that's all I got on the acting front. Sadly the majority of the poor acting credit is given to Edward and Bella. Though Jasper seemed to have only one facial expression...Sick. Like he's trying really hard not to vomit at the bad acting. Poor guy.
2. Marty Hook once said that the whole world is tension and release (I'm sure he got that from somewhere). I would have to agree with this statement. We all know that the key to a good love story (maybe not real love in life but books and movies) is properly planned tension and release. Meyer has a pretty good handle on this in her books (though Breaking Dawn ends like a deflating balloon. Not the POP! You want it to be. Not even the scattered flying around with the funny flatulent noises. It was a quick annoying squeaky passing of tension. This kind where you pinch the opening of the balloon. She built up all this tension and then...nothing. But not just any nothing. A really annoying nothing.). The movie does a horrible job at timing the tension and release properly. The kiss scene is a little too drawn out. You know how you can build the tension by holding the distance between the two peoples lips for a little while? That hesitation can be very effective. But Edward takes approximately 5 minutes to close the gap. Maybe he was counting again...("15 Mississippi, 16 Mississippi, 17 Mississippi...oh, wait! I was supposed to kiss her 7 seconds ago! Oh well, better start over again to be safe. One Mississippi..."). After that it gets a tad racy. But not too bad. Anyway long story short, the tension and release police officer (i.e. the director) was on a coffee break during those scenes eating a doughnut-filled with 'lets-not-tell-the-kids-they-cant-act' flavored jelly.
3. Not enough Cullens-this is just me being petty again. I love Emmit and we get far too little of him in this movie. Not enough Alice as well. And not enough screen time for papa Cullen who is by far the most beautiful of the bunch.
4. I know I said earlier that having a Muse song earned the movie points. Half of the points are taken away because of the one they chose. I love Supermassive Black Hole. It's on my top 10 list of favorite songs. But there are so many other songs that would fit better and could be better placed. I'm not sure who was in charge of that decision, but I don't like it. Call me critical. You all know I am way too judgmental of other peoples work. At least I admit it.
5. The 'drinking Bellas blood to save her from vampire venom' scene-I cant really explain why this bothered me so much. I think Kirsti put it a good way. It lacked finesse. I always pictured is more...elegant, not ravenous. I suppose the way it's done in the film makes some sense. Edward is drawn to Bellas blood in frightening ways. And it is a thirst that he longs to quench. So maybe it should look like a man dying of thirst in a desert guzzling water and not wanting to stop...It just seemed off. And it kind of grossed me out...hmm that makes sense too. He is drinking blood. I don't know. This is another scene I would have to make myself sit through to understand better.
(okay, I had to go to work and come back to finish thins entry...so I am trying hard to remember all the things that bothered me. They are slipping away like the remnants of a dream...or more like a nightmare. I think most of it was just the usual 'there are so many things wrong with this story' complaints that I feel about the books.)
Um, lets see...Oh! I figured out at the end who played Bellas mom. It's non other than 24's longest lasting super-evil villain! No, not Sherry...Nina Meyers! Man, just think if Jack Bauer was Bellas dad. That would have made the movie a whole lot better. Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that we have two 24 alumni in this movie.
I should probably mention James. I forgot to in the Good section. He did a good job at being creepy. He delivered his lines well and had perfect facial expressions. He kind of looked like a younger version of Sabertooth from X-men.
Just a few other things about the books in general that were emphasized by the movie.
1. Edward says that he wanted to kill Bella the first time he saw her. Yeah. Thats a good start to the relationship. That definitely means you should be together.
2. The line 'your my personal brand of heroin'-the line was poorly delivered in the first place. Again with the bad timing. But more importantly...does that sound like a healthy relationship to you? People who have a love affair with their drug addictions never end up happy.
3. Edward sneaking into Bellas room to watch her sleep (and especially the way he describes it) it just creepy. Stalkerish. Also not healthy. Obsession is NEVER the answer.
4. Bella wanting to choose immortality-This is something I can finally agree with Edward on. Being immortal is not natural. You are supposed to get old and die. That is why I love Tuck Everlasting. In the end, the girl realizes this and gives up being with the boy she loves. Why wont Bella be smart and see that? Oh yeah, the whole 'thinking' thing. I'd think that Meyer, being a member of the LDS church, would favor living a mortal life. It's part of Gods plan. She doesn't have to put that in the book but I thought she would make that her theme in the end. Nope.
5. In the movie, the way Bella acts with Jacob is more natural. Theres no weird stuttering and sighing and she doesn't look scared. She looks content and happy around him. At one point (in the books) Jacob says "I was the natural course you life would have taken" or something like that. The key word here is "NATURAL". *Random, ill placed sigh of melancholy* Jacob is natural and real. If you want I have a whole rant on Jacob being the right choice. Call me and ask me about it. Even if you've heard it before, I love talking about it. Especially if you agree. There is no such thing as being Switzerland in this case people.
Alright, this post is far too long already. I hope it didn't bore you. And I do apologize if most of my comments seem petty. I'm just overly critical. Twilight fans (or former Twilight fans) go see the movie. I wont say that its worth your time and money. I am overly critical. I'm sure most of the world loves it. Maybe if I was team Edward and loved the books I would like the movie more. Who knows.
It's late and I need to get to bed. It's THANKSGIVIG BREAK!!! I am very excited. But now I feel like I need to see a good movie to make up for this one...Elise, I would love to see Quantum of Solace with you. Transporter 3 or Australia anyone?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)