In every generation, there is a Chosen One.

I don't have a movie review for you this week, but oh boy, do I have an incredible TV show to talk about! 

I finally convinced Rachel to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer!! And of course, like any good friend, I started watching it with her. Again. For the third or fourth time? It's a wonderful show.

I think I told the story of how I got into Buffy. It was one of those wonderful Gettysburg finds, recommended by a co-worker destined to change my life forever. I was warned, as was Rachel, that the first season was a little rough but to stick with it. I was a few episodes in and I still wasn't sold, but true to the warnings, by the end of the season I was hooked. 

Rachel and I were discussing this universal warning about season one and now we both have issue with it. Yes, it is a little rough. But aren't the first seasons of shows a little rough? (Barring Firefly, of course. That show was perfection. All 14 episodes.) Honestly, it isn't all that rough. What it is is PURELY 90s fashion goodness with cheesy witticisms. What more could you ask for?

Okay okay. I'll admit. Some things are rough. I mean, we are talking graphics from the 90s. Not perfect, but still pretty good. (They do tend to get better with each season, so there is that.)
The thing that makes it worth it? The same thing that made me hate/dislike Daredevil: dialogue. 
The writers for this show are amazing. For at least two weeks, Rachel and I were trading witty lines via text. The writers seem to understand that a show is only as good as its dialogue. With the Gilmore Girls reunion that happened this weekend, I've been thinking a lot about the importance of story and writing. They aren't the same thing, but when writing supports the story, you have television gold: dynamic characters, interesting plot, character development. When the story drives the writing, your show continues in a linear fashion, but it doesn't progress. Over the course of seven seasons, we see Buffy grow up, learn to be a college student and successful adult, suffer heart break and lots of life grief, make good choices and bad choices. Gilmore Girls works the same way; we see our girls grown and change through the show. Daredevil fights crime and beats people up every episode…and basically that is it. Right? 

Anyway, that's my two cents…

I just finished my Gilmore Girls season 1-6 rewatch. I am so in love with the show that I might break my rule and watch season 7. Jury is still out on that one though. I also started the new season of House of Cards and oh my goodness. Dirty politicians and D.C. never looked so good! I love the first episode hook that they do this season (and by love I mean "find totally repulsive but fits in characters so much that I have to accept it") and so far, have no major problems with the show. I'm only a few episodes but I doubt that my opinion there will change. I love everything about this show, even if it makes me angry with the state of the world. 

I've promised a co-worker that I will start Death Note at some point…he promises that I'll like it. What do you think? Have you seen it? Have another anime to recommend? Let me know in the comments! 

Movies, TV Shows, & Miniseries-- Oh my!

Over the past few years, I have watched fewer movies and more TV shows. I think it might have something to do with long form story telling. Maybe it is also that I can fit in "just one more episode!!" before bed and it doesn't feel like a big thing. However, the idea of watching a WHOLE movie before bed is terribly daunting and I usually fall asleep part way through. I also really hate having to stop half way through a movie to sleep; it messes up the whole movie watching experience. 

I told you a little about Battlestar Galactica in my last post. You probably won't catch me saying anything bad about this show. To save yourself the trouble, you should probably just head to your local library and borrow it or heck, head to Amazon and buy the whole series. Trust me. It's that good. 
In a nut shell, humans created Cylons, humanoid metal machines. The Cylons rebelled against their makers and war broke out. A truce was reached, the war ended and Cylons all but disappeared from the world. Until they unleash nuclear warheads on Caprica, killing most of the world's population. And as an FYI, we learn most of this in the first few episodes. Battlestar Galacitca is the story of what happens next. 

I FINALLY finished Band of Brothers in April. It probably took me 6 months to watch, mostly because I don't like war stories. Look, I understand war is bloody and innocent lives are lost. I realize it is messy and painful and very hard to understand. I get all that. Those are all the reasons I don't like watching it in my entertainment; war isn't entertainment. War isn't a story device or construct of fiction. I struggle with watching war movies and realistically violent movies because to me, that isn't entertainment. 
Okay. I'm gonna try to stop the rant. 
Rant and all, I actually thought they did a wonderful job with the miniseries. At no point did they seem to glorify war; in fact, I think they did a remarkable job of portraying how hard it was to fight in World War II. Seeing it from the front lines changed my perspective and understanding of things. I don't regret seeing it, but I do wish some of the images wouldn't linger in my brain pan the way some of them are…
And hey, as Rachel said, "All of our boys are in it!" She isn't wrong! You've got Colin Hanks, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Damian Lewis, Andrew Scott, David Schwimmer, Jamie Bamber, Simon Pegg, and Jimmy Fallon. Wow. Just…wow. What a list. 
(There is no judgement if you decide not to watch this. Sometimes, I wish I had skipped it. On the flip side, it makes me respect our soldiers and war veterans a little more than I did. We see sacrifice as a beautiful thing when we view it from the home front; it means something totally different on the front lines.) 

Last month, I caught the ugly virus that was going around. It knocked me on my back and was a beast to recover from. I knew I wasn't going to die but part of me wished I would. The first day found me in bed; the second day on the couch, only because if I spent one more moment in bed I was going to scream. Recovering is a hard business. I watched two movies during the recovery process, so my perspective on them might be skewed. 

They were both kinda horrible. 

The first was My Old Lady. Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith. What could be better? 
Well, actually, quite a lot. 
Kevin Kline played a main character and honestly I hated him. I've only seen him in a few things before this role but probably couldn't pick him out of a line up. I'm trying to hold a good thought because he has been cast in the Beauty and the Beast re-make. I'm crossing fingers and toes that the re-make is as near to perfect as they can make it. 

The second movie was Magic in the Moonlight. Emma Stone & Colin Firth? Perfection. 
Or…not.
There is very little I have to say about this movie because I was really disappointed. I'm not even sure I had a favorite line or part. It was just a massive let down on all fronts. 

Okay-- now for some movies I loved!
What? I watch good movies as well as horrible ones!
A co-worker recommended The Artist. I don't know why it took me so long to see this gem! It was beautiful and bold to do in this day and age. (And boy do I feel old for using that phrase…) I found myself enjoying it immensely. If you love old film, new film, classic film and the occasional black and white, this is the movie for you. 

I also got to see Big Hero 6 which may have caused me to tear up. Look out, Despicable Me. There is a new animated super hero in town. Actually, six of them…
My parents are the real litmus test for good kids movies. If they actually giggle at it, you know you have a winner. I'm still waiting for their professional opinion on this one. When the research comes back, I'll update you. (Though don't take my word for it, really.) 

Ah and I promised didn't I? Hm. I too got caught up in the show that is taking Netflix by storm: Daredevil. I finished it against my better judgment and I'm very glad I did. The first 11 episodes have glaringly BAD dialogue. So bad I wondered if there was a scrip or if the actors were ad-libbing scenes. Bad. Our Big Baddie Wilson Fisk seemed so big, so bad, so larger than life that instead of being truly terrifying, he seemed to be a caricature of a big bad villain. Our superhero, Matt Murdock, lacked motivation and true direction. I think by the end of the show, these two things were still true; however, the last two episodes had such good story and drive that you almost could forget that the beginning of the show was horrible. Almost. 
Oh and the violence. Can we just pause for a second and talk about the violence? I do not love it. I don't mind any of the wars in movies like, say Lord of the Rings. In fact, 9 times out of 10 you will find me yelling things like, "Cut the head off that stupid orc! He is just going to..no! What are you doing? GET HIM!!" When I'm not yelling at Aragorn, I'm yelling at Legolas: "More arrows, you poncy blond elf! Come on!!" And blowing things up? I'm a huge fan. 
Violence that is hyper-realistic makes me sick. There were more times than I can count where I watched Daredevil through the gaps of my fingers covering the major violence on my laptop screen (and even a few where I closed my eyes completely). 
On the whole, I give the show a "meh." I was speaking to a friend and decided that I would happily take more episodes of Agent Carter (even though the 8 episode run was the intended length of the show) instead of a second season of Daredevil. I might try a few episodes of season 2, but at this moment, I'm not too worried about the future of Nelson & Murdock, Avocados at Law. 

What are you watching these days? Let me know in the comments!