See the elusive girl geek as she acts in local theater! Watch as she writes manuscripts, fanfiction, and anything else that come out of her deranged mind! Gawp as she reviews movies that normal women would run from in terror! GIRL GEEK!
New international Ghostbusters trailer (that addresses some haters issues, but do they care, no, SCREW THOSE PEOPLE THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!).
THIS. This is the director of Ghostbusters.
SO many of my favorite things all happening at once. I'm also having a good week at work, rehearsal for Damn Yankees is going well, and next week is my 2 year anniversary with Bahamute. We're going to Red Lobster. :D
Dinner and a show!
It's been a good week. Just wanted to share my joy. :) Happy Friday!
So, what was originally a day of massive joy has
turned into something a bit funky. The trailer for the Ghostbuster’s reboot has
released, and the initial reaction seems to be mostly negative. Granted, this
is just from looking at Twitter, but as a hip young person ™ I don’t have a lot
of other research venues.
Clearly, these women must be destroyed.
There are issues with the trailer. That’s what the
internet tells me. So as a Ghostbuster’s fan, and an avid hater of reboots, let
me break down the most prevalent issues with the trailer and my thoughts on
them. Spoilers, so take 3 minutes to watch it before you proceed.
The Ghostbusters are women.
This has been the cry since the casting
announcements were made, and the new trailer hasn’t stemmed the flow. First of
all, this is NOT the first time there was a female Ghostbuster:
Janine in the original series
Kylie in Extreme Ghostbusters.
Janine, Kylie, and agent Ortiz from the Ghostbusters comics.
Granted, these are extended universe situations and
characters, but they still count. A long line of proud female Ghostbusters,
just as funny, smart, and good at Bustin’ as the men. Next argument please.
It’s racist.
Okay, HEAR ME OUT. I get that Leslie Jones’s character doesn’t
APPEAR to be a doctor. But you’re all assuming that she’s not; the movie’s not
out, we don’t know for sure.
Second, you assume
she’s uneducated based on the way she speaks. Isn’t that racist?
Third, she’s already way more involved in the trailer
than Winston was for the original movies. She is represented just as much as
the other characters.
Forth; she has a distinct personality outside of ‘the token
Black person.’ She’s funny. She knows a good opportunity when she sees one, and
wants to join up. Courageous. Strong, physically. Strong emotionally. Her
friend gets possessed and instead of falling apart she does what it takes to
solve the problem.
What’s not to love?!
There shouldn’t be a remake.
Yeah, in a perfect world there would be no remakes.
Except The Fly. And The Thing. And Hateful Eight. And Django unchained. And
Star Trek (yes, Star Trek, wanna fight about it?!).
Tell me that's not perfect.
These remakes, like Ghostbusters, are about a fresh
take on the material with new stories to tell. If they were just straight
remaking the old movies I’d be the first one ready to burn down Hollywood. But
this is a new story that clearly respects its source. That’s a great and rare
thing, and needs to be acknowledged.
It’s no good.
This is a toughie.
I thought the trailer was funny. Was it laugh out
loud, fall down, crying funny? No. But it was funny. Did the effects look
perfect? No, but it’s still a work in progress. They looked alright, and the design
work was fantastic. I love the blue
class 4 ghost, and the shot of Slimer was great.
The spud looks good.
Long story short, this was a 2 minute clip. I don’t
think you can judge the whole movie from that. I also think people are being
unusually hard, as it has quite a legacy to live up to. If there was no original
Ghostbusters people would be just as excited about this as any comedy starring
the people it stars. We all just need to give Ghostbusters a chance. Will it be
better than the original? No. But it’s not trying to be. It’s trying to be a
fun movie that respects its source; at that, it will succeed.
Being home sick for three days has given me some...interesting dreams. I'll chronicle them here, since that's what I always do.
The first one began with my family and friends sitting just outside my backdoor, having a party. It was dusk, and we were all sitting around a round table when a stranger approached. She looked like a cross between an alien-human hybrid and a shadow person. Yes, I'm an avid X-Files fan.
She looked like a young African american woman, with red eyes and literally black skin. "A shadow person!" I screamed as she moved to attack. Someone at the party asked what that was. "A being from another dimension. No one knows what they want from us!"
I knew what this one wanted. She wanted to kill. She was evil. I slammed her head into the ground, and she began to deflate into a paper figure. I screamed about Jesus compelling her to leave, how God banishes her from this place, etc. The creature began to cry and I went on, in full-blown southern preacher style, to explain Jesus was sent here to die for us, and her only salvation lay with Christ. She agreed, became 3d, and said she'd leave.
But.
There was a small hair ribbon she needed from inside my house. I told her to go without it. She refused, asking to come in. I asked one friend to wait with her, watch her, while I got it. I went in to my house and while I searched for 2 seconds, all went quiet.
I ran back outside; the creature laughed over the bodies of my dead friends and family. All but two were dead. I demanded why my living friend hadn't stopped the slaughter. No answer. I woke up instead.
And like an idiot, went back to sleep.
I was going home from work with my friend and coworker when we detoured into a frozen, snowy field. In this field was my Grandmother, who passed away last year. She looked fine, and was walking towards a bank. I stopped her, and she was glad to see me. She explained that she was going to apply for a credit card, that she just HAD to get this credit card. I followed her in, bewildered. Inside was the rest of my family, in line, seemingly unaware of my grandmother. My grandfather was there. What should I do? Do I tell him that his wife is alive again, or just wait to see how it played out?
There was a third dream, but all I remember is being unable to listen to an important voicemail and the members of NWA (as portrayed by their film actors) trying not to get killed by one another.
I've been a fan of Deadpool for several years. I don't remember how I stumbled across the Merc with a Mouth, but I did, and now I'm the proud owner of many Deadpool bound editions. I do know it was before the movie announcement, since I've been hyped for years.
And boy, did it come through.
This is the first great rated R superhero movie since Watchman (yes, I remember Kickass and its sequel. They're fine, not great). There's gore, violence, torture, sex, and of course:
I am so very happy.
It hit all the marks of being a proper Deadpool movie. Just enough 4th wall breaking, a great story, and fantastic actors. Hud is in it! And Daario! And Leslie Uggams! What even is this movie?
I've seen Deadpool twice now, and it's not one of those movies that seems great but falls flat after repeated viewings (I'm looking at you, Matrix sequels). It's still funny, exciting, horrifying, and above all, Deadpool-y.
At this point, I just want more material of the same caliber. But even if the sequel is disappointing I'll still be awed by the fact that we got even one Deadpool movie, never mind it being nearly perfect.
Could the villain have been more menacing? Eh, sure. Could more have been done with Vanessa to get her to Copycat? Yeah, okay. But it's not about them. It's about Wade, and Wade was perfect. So I'm happy.
After re-watching my childhood favorite Christmas special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with some friends, I came to an interesting conclusion; Frozen is very similar. Behold, my mighty trove of evidence:
1. The main character is shunned and made to feel ashamed of their non-conformity.
Sam the Snowman literally calls it a "non-conformity." What the hell, 1960s.
2. Talking/Singing snowman.
3. Prominent Reindeer character.
Rudolph has more, but they look a little funkier than Sven.
4. Blond side-kick who needs to do their own thing, accompanied by said Reindeer.
5. Plenty of songs children will love, but will be ear-worms for adults.
6. Parents who mean well, but fall short.
At least Donner repented.
Now, am I saying that Frozen would have been enhanced with a sassy (possibly gay) elf ? Yes, but only because that's true of almost any movie.
As much as I'm a proponent of scaring kids, this is neither the time or the place. Even if the sub was allowed to show them movies in class in lieu of a lesson plan, there's plenty of terrifying age appropriate movies.
The only conclusion I can come to is the teacher can't be fired, but is done working with kids. The infamous rooms of teachers who can't be put with children but keep getting paid is this sub's destination. Or maybe it's just the most creative 2 weeks notice of all time.
Let's hope the blame stays on the sub, not the material itself; so far so good, but this kind of thing turns on a dime. If any of those kids grow up to be criminals, someone will trace it back to this 'mentally scarring' incident. Keep your fingers crossed.
I think McConaughey would make a spectacular Man in Black. He's got that charming with a touch of menace thing down pat. Roland though? He's too young. That role needs someone in their mid 40s...
...which I just discovered McConaughey is.
Huh.
Well then. He's still way too handsome to play Roland (nicknamed "old long tall and ugly" by his friend). But that's to be expected in any Hollywood adaptation. Ron Pearlman would be a great fit.
I'm not as attached to this film as I am to the (possible) remake of IT. I've long said Seth Green should play the adult version of Richie "Man of a 1000 Voices" Tozier. Especially since he played the kid version last time.
But that's as far as I've got. Frankly, I'm not excited for the new version. Much like LOTR, IT's been called unfilmable, and I have to agree. I'd love Hollywood to prove me wrong, but I'm keeping my expectations low.
And if Roland says 'alright alright alright' I'm going to murder everything.
My first *full* day. I've had 2 weeks of training, half-days, shadow days, tests, desk-set up, and other rigmarole. Today I start my regular (until January) shift. I've decorated the small shelf in my half-cube with a golden Homer/Buddah, a happy Harley Quinn, some plastic white tigers, and Makoto Kino (better known as Sailor Jupiter). Happy faces I can look at until I get a photo of Bahamute.
See?
I remembered my lunch, my ID badge, and my shift time. I arrived with more than enough time to write, drink cocoa, and ease into my day.
So far, so good.
The floor is quiet: most shifts start later, like mine. Gives me my much-craved solitude. I'm going to like this slow start to the day.
Now, to get all my pointless internetting done before I need to be productive. Better hurry.
King of the Hill is one of my favorite animated shows. It is, as my Brother in law Grizz says "A show about a man who has a mid-level management job at a propane store, and thinks he has life by the balls."
Hank Hill, the aforementioned ball-holder, is the patriarch of the Hill family, and often the only sane man in a world populated by twigboys, tree-hugging noodle brained communists, and Christian Rockers.
Preach it, Hank.
Hank is a Methodist, but not a bible-thumper, which is addressed in several episodes, but none so notably as Hilloween. Here a newcomer to Arlen Texas, Junie Harper (voiced by the incomparable Sally Field) starts weaving the words of God into a tapestry of lies. Hank's niece by marriage, Luanne, gets sucked in, and helps convince the town to ban Halloween, and Bobby to see his father as a Satanist. It's up to Hank to save Halloween, and his son from a group of religious extremists.
Accurate. Sort of.
The episode, aside from being hilarious, is one of the few TV depictions of Halloween that matches my personal views. It's not a holiday about worshiping Satan. It's just a time for horror-themed fun. Hank's whole plan for the holiday is he "...Just want['s] Bobby to have a real scary Halloween, like I did as a boy."
The scariest thing in this episode is the notion of people using God's name to be cruel and intolerant. Glad nothing like that happens in real life!
As a Baptist, and a big proponent of horror, this sums it all up. I don't agree with Hank's pro-egging and TP attitude, but other than that, we're on the same page. Most Halloween specials are about kids getting TOO scared, and parents having to talk them down, or shame themselves for taking it too far. As a kid, this ticked me off. I never got that scared at haunted houses or scary movies. Those kids seemed like wusses, and the parents like dweebs. Hank was the first TV parent I saw who 'got it.'
And by 'it' I mean POSSESSED BY SATAN!
Another thing the episode tackles is the Christian alternative to a haunted house, a Hallelujah House (more commonly called a Hell House). It's a haunted house that delivers pro-Christian messages with scenes of abortions, premarital sex (special focus on gay couples giving each other aids!), school shootings, suicide, and evolution.
Since Halloween is when all the kids go get abortions.
I went to one of these with my youth-group once. Once. Our pastor never made that mistake again. Next year we went to a normal haunted house. When the Baptists are scared off, you KNOW you're going too far.
Not only does he have AIDS, he has SATAN!
Hank manages to save his son, his niece, and his town's Halloween celebration from the intolerant "Christians", all without losing his own ties to religion or personal beliefs. THAT'S a message I can get behind.
For more info on Hell Houses (and how to derail them) see THIS hilarious blog. Happy Halloween!
"Fine, go on, all of you! More room in Heaven for me!"
