(no subject)

[green_queen]

Awesome astronaut.

Adorable Dharma van spam. I've seen a bunch of top 5 'Glee' performance spams, but agree with none of them and may have to make one. Augh.

Apparently, Trucco will be on 'V'. Is 'V' any good?

Pretty 'Supernatural' icons.

I...really liked this episode. Actually, this one plus the last one...I don't know, I mean, clearly the writers are on crack and there's very little internal logic to the way everybody's behaving, but damn if MBV wasn't fun. The title is the kind of in-joke I like - it's a reference to Jensen's film, but not one directly referenced in the show - and there were a lot of great moments (I love the Cupid, and the lovers who are about to commit suicide's "...now jail, maybe.") I like the way, as in 'Mystery Spot', the episode went from scary to hilarious to pitch black. I loved Jensen and Misha in it, and Famine was terrifying and totally brilliant. So, yes, crack, but my kind of crack, unlike crap like 'Swap Meat'.

Okay, I have to do three movie reviews, two of which I saw a week ago. Oops.

Push

This is another sci-fi movie that seems to have been overlooked. It's about a group of people with very specific special abilities, such as telekenesis, psychic abilities, and the ability to put thoughts in people's minds.

I heard a lot of negative press about this movie when it came out, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. It was a little bit jam-packed, and I think it would've worked out better as a TV show - the plot in this movie could sustain half a season, the way TV shows seem to be written these days - but it was a really interesting, engaging mythology. Shooting in Hong Kong separates this movie from the pack. Almost all the actors were really good (I'd like to pretend Camilla Belle doesn't exist, she's awful) and it had a terrific visual style. It definitely could've used some simplifying so the audience would have time to concentrate on some parts of the story, but overall, I really enjoyed it. I'm not going to tell you it's the best movie ever - it isn't - but I thought it was a lot better than some things that are given way more credit. Also, I would never complain about having Chris Evans on my screen in any way, shape or form. That guy should be a way bigger star than he is, he has terrible luck. He's so brain-meltingly hot. He and Dakota Fanning have a great relationship in this movie, and Dakota does a terrific job as a brittle teenager. I've heard it's going to be adapted for TV, which is something I would love to see. It's a shame they won't be able to get most of the cast back (although now that 'Trauma' has been cancelled maybe Cliff Curtis could do it, he's so great), but the story would be a fun one to work with on television. It's kind of like Heroes, but a lot more specific.

Anyway, give it a shot.

3.5 out of 5

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

Otherwise known as Battlestar Galactica: The Porn. Seriously, what's up with all the sex and nudity in this thing? I also think it's kind of a step backwards from the series in terms of how women are portrayed - the women in this film are much more sexualised or victimised than in the series, thanks to the removal/down-playing of characters like Roslin and Starbuck, prostitute!Six, all the female cylons hitting on Cavil, and the aforementioned sex and nudity. Focussing on Cavil meant that 'The Plan' had a similar problem to 'Razor', in that its central character is an essentially unlikeable mass murderer. I don't want to spoil 'The Plan' for anyone, but there is a really disturbing murder in the third act committed by Cavil. Combined with the fact that this is basically a movie without a plot but filling in parts of old episodes of BSG that we didn't see, it means that this is essentially a failure as a movie. Still, it is Battlestar, and as a result we get some really amazing stuff from the Cylon point of view, as well as a bit of a fleshing out of characters such as 'the token black Cylon' that gives us greater insight into what the Cylons wanted and how it all fell apart. I like the message about learning and adapting that the movie sends, although it's really just an expansion of themes in BSG. 'Razor' was better, though. Also, needs more Helo.

2.5 out of 5

Random note: the two kids who have played wee!Sam Winchester on Supernatural each starred in one of the aforementioned movies. How trippy is that?

The Forbidden Kingdom

Saw this one tonight, it's kind of a silly kung fu/kid's adventure movie that doesn't entirely work as a kind of retelling of 'The Wizard of Oz' (I literally said "Scarecrow, I think I'll miss you most of all!" to the screen towards the end. "And you were there, and you..." Also, there was a Neverending Story vibe.) It doesn't spend enough time on the central character before he gets sucked into the mystical fantasy world for him to really connect, so he has his work cut out for him once we are dumped in the action. The movie evens out a bit in the middle, with one too many fight scenes (we KNOW they're good, but really, character development please!) in gorgeous locations shot very nicely. They just start to feel redundant. Still, I always find Jackie Chan enormously likeable, and Jet Li gets to spend some time playing the Monkey King, who is a more whimsical character than we normally see from the very serious Li. Chan and Li are great together, so much so that they draw focus from the weak main character and love story. Also, the female baddie is kickass, I was totally rooting for her. The main baddie is pretty boring. It's not a total waste of time, and kids of 10 and up would probably enjoy the kung fu stuff, but it's not great either.

2.5 out of 5

TWEET @jellybeansoup WITH REASONS TO READ HARRY POTTER!









Matron of mystical mumbo-jumbo
Green Queen

Comments

[hobbitofkobol.livejournal.com]

I really like V, Elizabeth Mitchell and Morena Baccarin are amazing in it. It's only been 4 episodes so you can catch up quickly if needed.

Yeah, The Plan was kinda weird. I really loved some of the scenes but it didn't feel like a movie. And yeah, I did not need to see these body parts, EJO.

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

I love Elizabeth Mitchell, but I always felt like Morena was the weakest link in the Firefly cast. Alan Tudyk and Scott Wolf, though! I might give it a try, I suppose.

I know, right? It wasn't really its own thing.

[outoftime.livejournal.com]

I like V a lot too - it has promise. And like hobbitofkobol said, Elizabeth Mitchell and Morena Baccarin are awesome in it. It also has Joel Gretsch from "The 4400" and Alan Tudyk was in it as well.

And Michael Trucco has an awesome role!

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

I don't know who Joel Gretsch is. The only people that I really remember from the couple of 4400 episodes I saw are Summer Glau and that cute boy Chris Lowell kissed once.

[subtle--sarcasm.livejournal.com]

TRUCCO ON V OHMIGOD! I like V. It has Elizabeth Mitchell, so I really can't be all that objective about it, but I think the few eps they actually aired so far were a good start to a show.

I absolutely don't understand why Push got such negative reviews. It gets a little tangled up in it's mythology, but it's interesting both visually and story-wise and the acting was solid. It's certainly a lot better than, say, Jumper, which for some reason got a lot more press and promotion even though it was SO TERRIBLE.

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

JUMPER WAS SO AWFUL. When baldie_troll and I were hiring 'Push', we were like I HOPE IT ISN'T ANOTHER 'JUMPER'!!!

[subtle--sarcasm.livejournal.com]

SO AWFUL! And hehe, that was my exact thought when a friend suggested we watch Push.

[snuffkin.livejournal.com]

I agree on everything you said about the latest two SPN episodes ♥

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

LOL I'm glad.

[overthemoo.livejournal.com]

I heard an interview with Sackhoff where I believe EJO, while directing The Plan, was all "Wait, this is straight to dvd - let's get naked!!!!" lol idk...

Trucco on V? Sweet. I've only seen the pilot. I should catch up since there only a few other eps.

I'd be very interested in seeing your top 5 Glee performances. I enjoy very few of them, but I think my #1 would be "Maybe This Time" w/ Cheno and Lea. That was all sorts of fabulous. Made me think of Garland/Streisand duets. Obviously not AS epic but pretty amazing.

Um, that last picture makes me unusually happy. I mean, it's NOT unusual gives that it includes some of my most favorite things - violins, cellos, and Dominic Monoghan!

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

OMG MILK ICON.

Yeah, but it makes The Plan come across as sleazy and gross.

I think my list would go something like: Proud Mary - Jump - Don't Rain On My Parade - Sweet Caroline - Don't Stop Believing. I'm not as fond of "Maybe This Time", because it wasn't a proper duet, it was just cutting between them. Also, Cheno is so much better than Lea in it, which is weird. I don't feel like the vocals were good enough in Keep Holding On to warrant a place, which everyone else has added to theirs. Meanwhile, there are other epic vocals without the performance aspect. I suppose Sweet Caroline is that, but it's my FAVOURITE. I want to include It's My Life/Confessions, though. Hmm. Maybe I should just do group numbers and solo numbers separately! ...and make more work for myself.

[overthemoo.livejournal.com]

So much love for that scene. (re: Milk icon)

I hear ya. I haven't seen it but I know I'd agree. I hate that kind of stuff and kind of went :\ when Katee mentioned it.


hahah Yes. I made a top 5 and then realized there were others I liked, and I couldn't choose because some I liked for the same exact reason. Maybe just don't limit yourself to 5 and just point out WHY particular numbers are superior? I enjoyed Proud Mary, too. That was great. As for Maybe This Time, see, I don't think of it as a duet. I liked that it was showing 2 different aspects of the song' I thought that was smart, weaving in 2 separate storylines. That's partially why I like it so much, the other being the vocals, of course, and lastly - I prefer when they are simply performing. None of that walking through the hallways and our hair is blowing around - WHAT was that with Rachel and Finn?? lol Back to MTT, though.... Seeing vocals compared like that just goes to show you Lea still has a lot of work to do. Her voice isn't fully developed. Cheno is properly trained and all. Lea's got some habits I wish she'd drop - particularly the squeaking before and after words. It IS a habit, I use to do it and now I don't. Lea really is quite exceptional, really - at times she has incredible power. But there are some kinks to work out, changes to be made.

Ugh.. Keep Holding On. I thought that was too dramatic and whatnot. Didn't feel natural. Ntm, the song and performance just wasn't that great. And why are they always performing on stage with light cues so much?? No one does that! You rehearse in the classroom. Stage rehearsals come right before a competition/show.

I won't go through them all as I'll probably make a post, but one thing I dig is moments like Papa Don't Preach, Sweet Caroline, Alone, etc. Furthermore, they could have easily stuck with little snippets of Rachel singing that "Take A Bow" song over and over all over the house instead of having her sing it "out of sight" at school. That was odd to me.

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

If we're talking vocals, Alone does it every time for me. It's boring in the show, but I couldn't stop listening to the track for months, it's AMAZING. I also love On My Own by Lea and And I Am Telling You by Amber, which were treated horribly by being cut short. Also, Amber does a beautiful cover of Don't Make Me Over that never made it into the show. I think that the focus on Finn and Rachel really short changes the others in a lot of performances.

Well the challenge over at picspammy is Top 5s, which is why I want to do it. Also, I'm obsessed with Top 5s. Saying 'make a top 5!' is like waving a red flag in front of a bull for me, I take it and run with it. I want to make a million. I've also currently got "characters I fell instantly in love with" and "characters that took a little more time" going, and I keep coming up with more.

I HATE NO AIR. I could do a 5 least favourites, too, and No Air would be #1.

I actually love the way everyone acts the fuck out of Keep Holding On, I just hate the song. Also, I wouldn't question some of the constructs of the show - stuff like rehearsing on stage - we have to just go with it because they don't have that many performances.

[overthemoo.livejournal.com]

I just heard "Don't Make Me Over" today actually. Really loved it. And agreed, the rest are really short-changed. And I'm not buying the "reports" of the second half being more about the other kids. It's obvious it isn't with the new cast members having involvement with the main players.

haha. See, that's exactly why I want to make top 5s but at the same time - that's why I don't. I feel like I could never actually pick just 5. But you know what, I just might do some since there's a challenge - all Sondheim-related probably. :)

But what I'm saying is they could easily put songs in the show without putting them on a stage with complex lighting cues. I mean, light cues take hours! When I first heard about this show, I was all "OMG this was exactly what I wanted to do for a show. Just show kids hanging out and doing impromptu musical numbers with one another and practicing in class, at home, etc. etc." A year ago, during one of show rehearsals THIS HAPPENED. :) And I just think the show would benefit so much from doing stuff like this. You incorporate stories more and a lot easier I just think the show overdoes a lot of things. And the writing needs to improve, of course. lol And it wouldn't be that difficult! I feel like the writers don't think about what they're writing. They're just like "Um, have this dramatic moment take place and then AWESOME MUSICAL NUMBER." The show almost always feels half-assed to me.

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

Actually, at least a couple of the newbies are in relation to Kurt and Mercedes, so we'll be seeing more of them at the very least. I know we're getting a bit more Tina and Artie, too. Hopefully they'll start giving Matt and Mike lines, lol.

Hmm. I don't know, I think a lot of the things that cause those problems are bigger than that. They have to shoot everything and record everything separately, to start with, so that when it ISN'T on stage it sounds very fake. We've also got to keep in mind that the first 13 episodes were all shot together, without any feedback, so they must have had a certain structure. Also, I think of the show as more like a cartoon than the kind of realistic shows we are used to - the way the kids tend to wear the same thing all the time, exaggerated characteristics, things like that. I'm tired of defending Glee, actually. It's not all that badly written, it's just done very differently to what we expect. It could benefit from tightening up, but it's only 13 episodes old - look at the first few episodes of Buffy!

[overthemoo.livejournal.com]

I sure hope so!

I think I'm disappointed that a musical-ish show finally came along and I can't get behind it because of the lazy writing. So many conversations between the characters have made me cringe. The show has had its good moments, but they're too far and few between, IMO. And otherwise, even if I put down my criticisms, I just don't enjoy it as much I should. I mean, people are singing!! I enjoy that! But somehow this has made it not enjoyable for me. But I keep watching hoping it'll change. And I'd love to see it do so in the second half.

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

Eh, I like it the way it is. I don't think the writing is so much lazy as not up to speed yet. There are enough things I love about it to overcome that, for me. Especially Kurt, I love Kurt.

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I Wanna Sex You Up! I forgot it! Bugger. This is hard!

[entwashian.livejournal.com]

V is very meh. It's slick & the CG is beautiful, though as a sci fi fan, it's nothing that hasn't been seen 100 times already. But Elizabeth Mitchell plays the lead, so it's got that going for it. I am also liking Morris Chestnut. The weakest part of the show so far (for me) is an annoying cliched sexy/rebellious teen storyline.

[zombres.livejournal.com]

I quite liked Push, too, and I really hope it gets the TV treatment. Chris and Dakota had TONS more chemistry than Chris and Camilla (though I thought she was pretty, hence the shallow icon), and CLIFF CURTIS IS SUCH A DAMN BAMF.