Ahahahaha I am totally procrastinating studying for finals so I thought I’d update this little blog for fun.

Firstly, I’m annoyed that it feels like there’s zero good movies out in theatres right now… I mean, nobody wants to go watch Jack and the Beanstalk, or the Wizard of Oz + hot air balloons (I’m very surprised by their “success” to say the least). Anyway, I went to watch Olympus Has Fallen and my expectations were… low. What I expected: Die Hard in the White House. What I got: Die Hard in the White House, the rated R version, R for Ridiculous amount of Deaths.

But I’m someone who’s always loved action flicks, and ultimately, that’s what this movie is. It’s not particularly original (it uses some tropes but doesn’t rely on them too much) and it’s honestly quite (veyr) forgettable, but heck, nobody really expects depth, do they? Gerard Butler goes around dismantling those crazy North Koreans, there’s some interesting hostage situations (I like how they attempted to develop the bad guy. I also like it when the bad guy “brings it” and actually kills some hostages to show he means business, it just makes it much more interesting than a world leader with a finger on the trigger shouting Wolf all the time…*ahem*). There’s a nice balance of hand-to-hand combat, John-McClane snark, explosions, guns, and the dumbest people directing a helicopter attack ever.

Things I appreciated: they tied up ‘story lines’ that had the potential to be  cliche quite quickly, thank god. If I spent a whole movie waiting for Gerard Butler to find the President’s son, I would have died. There was also another scene where I thought the bad guys would go kidnap the the main character’s wife, but that didn’t happen either (yay!). I don’t really know what else to say, really, just that the the violence is definitely heightened, and that it looks very similar to the summer movie, White House Down. 

Overall: C+ (decent entertainment, average film, forgettable. Nothing I particularly hated)

In a Scribble: Olympus has Fallen ticks all the boxes for “decent entertainment”, including a likeable protagonist, some Michael Bay-esque explosions, lots of action, and saracsm; however, it’s ultimately it’s kind of forgettable an hour after walking out of the theatre.

Bookish tie-in: Maybe an older version of Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan– lots of action, not too much depth, and pretty fun.

Okay, this is gonna be a short post that I might come back and edit later. Some thoughts on the episode:

• I think the thing with this series is that since the first season, the bad guys haven’t been… bad enough. And that remains true for this one because I just couldn’t find Latimer or Dubenich as a convincing villain, he just bumbled around and never seemed… cunning, smart, and evil enough to take down the team. It was kind of a joke because I never doubted for an instant that Nate would succeed, which makes this finale while still solid, not my favourite.
• I loved Chaos. “Say my name” LOL. And all those amazing lines
• Quinn is seriously hilarious, I wish he could be around more because him and Eliot rock together, I loved the part when he’s like “can I just hit him?” “which one?”
• DAMMIT HARDISON. I need that quote on a t-shirt!
• Ahhh, Hardison calling Archie “sir”, and then Chaos commenting on it
• Parker cares!
• “he looks like a slapped mackerel”
• I really liked some of Eliot’s super-sub-plots here, especially regarding Nate and killing
• BAT CAVE

So, overall, the baddies could have been much badder, but it was such an enjoyable episode and I loved that they brought back some awesome characters.

Grade: B+

Every single synonym for brilliant. Moffat and Gatiss, hats off to you gents.

I’ll admit, I’m totally drawn to this type of movie: quirky, indie, down to earth, not much rah-rah action– hopefully just a good story that’s well acted and with characters that I can become emotionally invested in. And The Art of Getting By does that… well, mostly.

This isn’t going to be my favourite movie ever, but I’ll happily say I enjoyed it and had many positive aspects that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to my friends. It’s a teen movie (yes, the make or break factor of child actors come up again) and I thought both Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts were great. They didn’t ever make me cringe because of acting (so thumbs up).

The movie itself is relatively quiet, it tells the story of George- a smart, sensitive and artistic student who contemplates the meanings and intricacies of life, yet cares naught for school- in his senior year. The girl he’s crushed on for years suddenly becomes part of his life as their stories come together for a dance then move apart, only to leave him feeling alive for the first time– and it’s cliched and predictable and yet… lovely. I loved the character of George and the way he was portrayed, but I didn’t care much for Sally. I really liked the role of the secondary characters and subplots, particularly that of George’s parents and less than perfect marriage. I thought it was realistic and well done.

These high school characters I didn’t find particularly realistic, yet I found their faults refreshing. The attitude George has for school is believable, as is Sally’s own need to escape her town, but I thought the extra bits– the philosophical side to George might be pushing the boundaries (or maybe I just need to meet more people like him). That said, I found him a sympathetic character and capable of carrying a movie such as this one.

Overall: B

In a scribble: Not exactly the most original thing out there, The Art of Getting By is kind of what you would expect and doesn’t disappoint: a thoughtful look at two teens growing up and discovering the ups and downs of life and love.

Bookish tie-in: definitely a contemp YA, I’d probably recommend Paper Towns by John Green — quirky and thoughtful

I think this is the type of movie in which there is so much that could possibly go wrong, you’re almost intrigued to how much of a train wreck it could be. And I’ll admit that the premise, I was totally on the fence about (I mean, boxing transformers-esque robots? seriously?) but I’m willing to give it a shot, and I’m so glad I did.

The premise of Real Steel is that basically in the near future, people box with robots, and Charlie Kenton is one of the people who participate in the ‘sport’. One day he finds out his ex has died and he has an 11 year old kid to take care of for the summer, and they bond over the sport. It’s not exactly predictable but not exactly super-original either (minus the boxing robots, that is).

But I feel that’s the crux of it, and the people who made the movie didn’t lose sight of it. It was a movie about father and son, and the idea of redemption and determination; you throw in some guts and a really sympathetic underdog story, and it’s like you’ve it gold. I thought the heart of the story and the tentative to dependable relationship between Charlie and his son, Max is what kept this movie from going overboard. The pacing was also something I really liked, because you’re always afraid that the movie will rely too much on fight scenes and either bore you to death or cringe you to death in between. I’m happy to say that I found that these more developmental parts of the plot did neither, and really carried the movie along without it feeling as if the pace was slowing down.

But of course, you’re probably interested about the fight scenes, and I’ll say– I was impressed. And I’m also extremely impressed that it wasn’t overdone (OHEY THERE MICHAEL BAY AND TRANSFORMERS 3) and while it served as an exciting backdrop, it wasn’t overwhelming and was indeed entertaining for me. Some of the matches I was genuinely excited and kind of on the edge of my seat, so to say. I was lulled into this futuristic world easily and I think I avoided the whole “wtf this could never happen, *eyeroll*” possibility, which definitely added to my enjoyment.

There were definitely a few weak parts– the romance factor comes to mind, mostly because it feels as if it was just thrown in there for good measure because “hm, there should be a romance”.

Okay, now here’s a make or break factor (YES, it is a make-or-break): the child actor. Max (Dakota Goyo). Make? Uhm… yeah. I’ll give it to him, but just barely. Because he had some awesome scenes, but he also had some *facepalm* scenes and when finding out the net-win, it was on the positive side… so yay! And I should add I’m kind of unfairly mean and judgemental about young actors because they really can ruin a movie with shitty acting, and I really can’t stand them sometimes. Max does a dance entrance with the robot Atom and yes, it was cheeky and lame but kind of cute.

Maybe, just maybe you’re a female and you want a different make or break factor: Hugh Jackman. More specifically: his arms. Damn, there are some very fine shots in there

Overall: B+

In a scribble: Combining the underdog story and a touching father and son relationship extremely well, Real Steel really is a fast paced, entertaining movie that will please a little part of everyone.

Before I start posting whatever spills out of my brain, I’ll mention that I have never read the original novel (or any of Doyle’s work) so while people may be upset with how the story was adapted into the 21st century, or all the changes the writers made, I can’t comment on that because this is just my experience with a fresh story I’ve only heard the title of.

I think I’ve mentioned (of course I have) how I find Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Sherlock to be absolutely brilliant and witty and entertaining, and I’m sure the 10 million or so viewers agree so yeah, just a note about his genius and my lurve for it. Watson is suitably fantastic and awesome as well, and I really think he humanizes the show just the slightest. Now, my thoughts:

• cold turkey. I like how Sherlock has a harpoon and John’s so nonchalant about it
• Cluedo!! I know, it was just a passing comment but I found it hilarious.
• sniffing the smoke… hahha.. slightly uncomfortable and oddly perfect
• Yay creepy yet expansive and lovely shot of the moor!
• I like how they played up the setting, it really does feel so much different than the usual “London” (if that makes sense)
• John pulling rank, BAMF.
• I thought the introduction of Dr. Franklyn at that time in the episode was too much like those serial crime shows like CSI. If you asked me to guess who the bad guy was halfway through, that’d be my immediate thought (because somehow the bad guy is always introduced in CSI at the, like, 20 minute mark)
• When they’re in the forest, I was suitably creeped out
• I liked the scene after Sherlock thinks he sees the hound, it’s interesting to get a different side of him
• why so rude, Sherlock.
• UMQRA hahaha
• those bright lights going on and off at Henry’s house that night really freaked me out, I kept expecting the hound to jump through the glass
• “I only have one friend” d’awwww
• LOL GREG
• OH SHIT JOHN OH SHIT
• I was totally freaked out in the lab scene as well, I’m reminded by how awesome Martin Freeman is as an actor
• mind palace! I wasn’t too big of a fan of all the hand waving, but the CGI (is it CGI? my ignorant mind doesn’t know) was neat though
• Maggie definitely was a surprising password.. definitely something I thought was kind of unlikely
• HOUND oooooooh. Interesting.
• I thought I’d add that as soon as they mentioned aerosol, I thought of the fog :p I felt smart haha
• That hound beast was flippin scary, I don’t do well with mildly-scary things, as you can probably tell by now
• Way to have the perfect shot, John
• AN EXPERIMENT? That was kind of cruel.
• THAT ENDING OMGOMGOMG.

Okay, this post was kind of lacklustre, but agh, oh well. I thought overall it wasn’t my favourite episode but it was still entertaining and engrossing as always, and even on an okay/good day, Sherlock still surpasses the good-ness of many other TV shows. The mystery with the lab didn’t take me too much by surprise, but I’ll admit I spent a large chunk of the episode believing the Hound was just a genetically modified animal that escaped, and wondering why no one jumped to that conclusion, considering the lab made animals glow. The villain wasn’t surprising either, but it might have been a bit too tidy with him coming down to the foggy area and such at the end (I mean, why did he go down there anyways? Why not keep messing with their minds?). Dialogue is another thing that makes the whole series work, it was sharp, clever and hugely awesome on the awesome scale. The style of the series is still there and still enjoyable, though I’m fearing that the uniqueness and stellar-ness of it is wearing off, I hope not!

Grade: A- 

**THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**

Oh Supernatural. Ending on quite a depressing note before the winter break, as sad as I was, I did hope they wouldn’t try to bring back Bobby by some extraordinary measure because “Death’s Door” really was a touching episode. And I guess they didn’t, but I felt like this week it was a lot more quiet than I was expecting. Thus, the somewhat lessening of caps lock. My thoughts:

• Oh no. Is this New Moon or something?
• good, they’re doing stuff. Good. *sniff*
• Aaaaand, yep, Bobby’s dead.
• this girl Krissy calls because her hunter father hasn’t returned, Sam goes to check it out while Dean pursues leads with the numbers Bobby wrote right before his death
• I really, really didn’t like the way Krissy was acted. Bleh. Try-hard sassy. And another reason I find myself hating child/teen actors all the time. (sorry!)
• my poor heart hurt during those scenes between Dean and Frank (the hacker dude).. it’s like a kind of depressing, heavy-hearted “oh” (minus the pretty funny Gwenyth Paltrow is a Leviathan moment)
• when they go to the field, it was boring
• WHY IS IT ALWAYS SAM? but then again, if it was Dean who got captured, I’d say the same thing. These brothers just can’t keep themselves away from trouble
• GAH Krissy, get out.
• seeing the scenes between Dean and Krissy in the car reminds me how much Dean has grown up and matured through the seasons, and how much shit he’s seen and gone through. It kind of makes me both nostalgic and sad.
• That capture scene and the Krissy barges in and I’m like *facepalm* I HATE YOU KRISSY but then I guess she redeems herself and I hate her a bit less, but I’m still not really a fan.
• I like how Dean told Krissy (and her dad) to have a normal life, it makes me… I don’t even know.
• the last convo between Dean and Sam in the car.. I don’t know how to feel. It scares me to think that sometimes they’re losing hope and again, how much they’ve been forced to undergo in the years. Ah well.
• then Dean’s sad smile at the end. waaaaaaah.

I did wish there was more of Bobby addressed, but I get that the quiet followup to that emotionally draining episode, it just kind of fell flat for me personally though. Minus a few key development scenes (I’m thinking Dean/Frank here), the plot and monsters were formulaic and sure, there was some set-up for future Leviathan shenanigans (that field) but it was slightly boring. I wished this episode could have done good with either more emotion (that wasn’t just mopey beer-drinking) or more action.

Next week does look a bit more sparkling though, eh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5Zm9WJTsU0k

Grade: B-

**THIS POST INCLUDES SPOILERS**. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Okay, here’s the deal with me. I rarely cry in movies/TV Shows/books, but sometimes I just feel like I want to cry and I go into a book expecting (or hoping) maybe some tears and considering what shizz went down in the last episode before the break (like dude, that was just… cruel) I was ready. I brought tissues.

Little did I expect what happened. Oh gosh. As usual, I skip a recap (or actually, here’s a super mini one: 1. Henry’s dead. I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW IT WAS TRAGIC SO MANY TEARS. 2. Cristina has to hang out with Teddy as they joke and laugh and TEDDY DOESN’T KNOW. 3. This girl’s parents die and she SEES THEM BOTH HAPPEN (they were in that car crash with Mer and Alex) ON HER BIRFDAY. 4. Something with Bailey and Torres and Alex which was NOT AS IMPORTANT) and just go on to highlight moments and my thoughts and reactions, and perhaps some verbatim texts b/w me and my friend.

• Teddy is being all nice about Cristina and I’m just like *sads*
• and okay, I know I tend to focus on one thing and forget the rest… thus, the whole deal with Sloan/Julia/Lexie was all meh. Okay, okay, I might be more concerned next episode, I mean, it did bring up another love triangle and we all know how many love triangles Grey’s has had…
• Alex! Uh oh, should I be concerned??
• Cristina mocking Kepner was pretty funny, I’ll admit that.
• EVERY TIME they mention Yang or Henry or Teddy I just feel awful. Awful. Shonda Rhimes makes me care for these characters TOO MUCH it is NOT COOL TO BE MESSING AROUND WITH ME LIKE THAT.
• the tears start with the “I just turned 18 four hours ago” MAKE IT STOPPPPPP
• someone lives! Yay! If only I cared because it seems like EVERYONE IS DYING WTF
• there is a nice Julia/Lexie moment there somewhere amidst ALL THE DYING.
• AND THEN CRISTINA TELLS TEDDY. RAIN ON MY FACE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.
• when the dad dies so so so
• something is happening between Bailey and that other guy, and I don’t care too much for it either, even though I love Bailey (yes, I know, priorities!)
• Teddy goes to the morgue. No. No. NO. NOOO.
• Me and my friend texting:

Her: Omg audweey this isn’t ok she better not pull up that sheet.

Why

Why

Why

Me: I knooooooow whyy

Her: :”'(

Me: So many :””(

Her: Legit

• Trust me. It was tragic. I was totally crying and yes, I totally loved Henry/Teddy and I don’t care what you think.
• but the end!! THE END! Okay, whatever, I’ll stop being gleeful because I never really *loved* the Mer/Der/Zola storyline, and yay they’re bringing Zola back but I know there’s gonna be more drama, probably surrounding Alex too…
• I’m probably looking forward to whatever happens to Teddy and Cristina the most for next week. (both characters were fantastic in this episode, if you don’t mind me vomiting more of my opinion onto your screen)

Oh gosh. Okay. And my bullet points are not in sync with the actual timeline because I’m writing this post after the episode and I don’t have any notes. Shucks.

What did you think of the episode?! AGH WHO CRIED?! *raises hand*

Grade: A-

Basically, there was a lot of things going on in this episode. As Marshall visits his dad’s grave in Minnesota for some old-school traditions, he recounts the story of New Year’s Eve and what happens with the gang. Now I’m not here to recap the episodes, just drop my random thoughts. Overall, I did want a bit more from the episode, especially since the ones leading up to the Christmas break have been amongst my faves (yeah, I really dug those cliffhangers) but this one was nice. It made me smile.

• LOL Marshall and his Enigmas of the Mystical book and the egg salad sandwiches
• that phone call did make my heart hurt for Lily a bit
• douche-nozzle!
• bleurgh, I’m constantly reminded by how much I ship Barney and Robin… I love you Kal Penn but I hate Kevin!
• Sandy Rivers really had some golden lines
• and now I’m eagerly anticipating Robin’s storyline, though I wasn’t too impressed with her New Year’s shenanigans
• the deal with Puzzles was… underwhelming
• “that’s my girl” NO IT’S BARNEY’S GIRL GTFO
• the end with Lily’s Dad mad me happy and way too sentimental for my cynical heart So did the part with Marvin.

Overall: C+ for average

GUYS GUYS GUYS IT’S BACK IT’S BACK IT’S BAAAAAAACK!!!!!

(if you don’t know what I’m talking about, shame on you! Sherlock is a BBC series that adapts Sherlock Holmes to the 21st century and it is ahmaaaaaaaazing)

My most hotly anticipated show of 2012 seriously did not let me down, as the first episode of series 2 started and finished with me at the edge of my seat. As you should become more familiar with my blog, a lack of coherency should be expected.

OMGGGGG DID YOU SEE THAT DID YOU SEE THAT?? So much amazeballs, I can’t even.It’s hard to sit back and soak all the brilliance in when all I wanted to do was absorb and decode EVERYTHING that happened.

The episode was just brilliant. Fastpaced, funny, precise, smart, and with such marvelously portrayed characters and filmed with a sense of style that is very pleasing. And this is coming from someone who knows nada about filmmaking but I can still spot the difference and uniqueness of its style. The plot was convoluting but fantastic, I can’t think of a more apt description. I’m completely unfamiliar with the book series by Doyle but this episode just blew me away. The details of the characters, the text messages, the small glances, the off-handed comments, I loved every moment of it. I loved the way John and Sherlock’s relationship was developed and explored, but I also loved the portrayal of Sherlock Holmes by Benedict Cumberbatch. At the end of the episode (with one big revelation after another after another) we learn that Sherlock isn’t the invincible know-it-all and sometimes things do crumble and ‘the game’ crosses over to something much bigger. But you see all these sides to him that might be less than socially acceptable, yet you can’t help but totally sympathize with him.

But WHATEVER I just want to mention AGAIN all those little parts I liked, because hell, this is a new blog and I made no rules for myself.

• the part when Mycroft says “shut up, Mrs. Hudson” and Sherlock and John both yell at him. Then Sherlock’s little comment right after :p
• pretty much EVERY scene with Mrs. Hudson actually, by gosh, I love that woman
• IRENE ADLER WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME
• IRENE ADLER WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SHERLOCK
• ^^ that character is just… @_@ LOOOOVED her and her role
• *AAAAAAH*
• oh poor Molly, I really do feel bad for you
• “we’re not a couple”… “yes you are” (I don’t even ship them!)
• SHERLOCK IN A BEDSHEET
• THAT PASSCODE
• THE ENDING OMGOSH THAT ENDING. to say I did not expect that would be an understatement… I need to stop underestimating our Sherlock here

So there you have it. My fresh thoughts on Sherlock… oh what did you think of this episode?