Kick-Ass, the Movie (no spoilers)

Saw Kick-Ass today. I definitely liked it. I was somewhat conflicted while watching it, but I'm still thinking about it, so I know there 's something there for me. Surprisingly graphic in parts, and I'm okay with that. So not what I was expecting. I thought it looked like a fun, lighthearted comic book/superhero movie. Awkward teen creates superhero identify, as he searches for a way to fit in at school, to get the girl and to dewussify.

The trailer belies the dark underbelly of this movie because the character with the biggest body count is...the little girl! I'm surprised some kind of parent group hasn't been bitching to the high heavens about a movie where a tween girl is a cold-hearted killer, many times over. I'm glad though. I've seen movies where kids kill, and it's always impactful when you see a kid character smoke someone. Makes ya say, "Damn." But this girl killed multiple people, and sometimes it was up close and personal (blades instead of pistols). I liked that she was a badass, but it was a little jarring that this little girl, who didn't quite look like puberty had fully set in, was icing people like a ninja or Jack Bauer. I have to hand it to them, it's something I had not seen before. Points for originality.

And Chloe Moretz (?), the young actress in question, rocked the role. She worked the precocious kid thing in 500 Days of Summer (one of my fave films last year), and she took it the next (homicidal) level in Kick-Ass. I'm calling it--this girl is one to watch. She's got talent and moxy. She says and does things you don't ever want to hear or see from real prepubescent girls, and she does it with aplomb.

On a more general note, there were some really good action sequences in the movie, especially the big fight scene. I was a little flustered after that one. Wanted to give a big fist pump & yell "Hell, yeah!" (I refrained, so as not to freak out the rest of the theater audience. That is, the one other guy who was there.) And I loved that one character, when faced with the prospect of impending death, wondered about what he'd be missing out on: his family, his girlfriend, his future kids...and how Lost ends. LMAO. It woud be a pisser to hang in there for 6 years and not be around for the big finale, true that! There were some very funny moments (some were in the trailer) mixed in with the kaboom and the carnage.

So what grade would I give Kick-Ass (good grief, more grading?)? I'd say B+/A-. I'm torn. (Ths happens when I grade papers too. Damn my indecision.) But I would definitely watch it again, and that's high praise from me. It kinda lived up to its title.

No Lost Tonight!!!

Screeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaammmmmm! Guess I better get used to it. :-(

Diddy

When "Diddy" start looking like this? I never thought much of Diddy physically (nice suits, cool vibe sure, but that's it). But based on this pic, and based on those abs and those hard-earned Ken doll hipbones, you have my full attention, Diddy. Maybe that song on Idol a few weeks back would've sounded better shirtless. I'm just sayin'.

Sean P. Diddy Combs Songs of Summer: 16 Albums We Can't Wait To Hear Photo 10 of 17 EW.com

Lost -- The Last Recruit -- April 20

My favorite lines from an event-filled episode:

“That pilot who looks like he stepped off the set of a Burt Reynolds movie.” – Sawyer, referring to Lapidus. Nobody does descriptions like Sawyer.

“You can bring people back from the dark side. Like Anakin.” - Hurley
“Who the hell is Anakin?” – Sawyer, as he & Hurley discuss how Fake Locke has tainted Claire. I love how much Hurley loves him some Star Wars. Remember when they first went back in time, and he was trying to write out Empire Srikes Back so he could pass it off as his own? He spelled fury “furry.” Good stuff.

Oh, and how sweet was it when Sun & Jin were finally reunited?! I kinda forgot they hadn't seen each other, so it took me off-guard. They are so sweet. And Sun found her English voice as soon as she saw him. It was beautiful. I totally cried, like immediately. It's so cool that a show so steeped in mythology and sci-fi and utter insanity is so unabashedly romantic. The show is teaming with supercouples: Jack & Kate, Sawyer & Kate, Sawyer & Juliet, Jin & Sun and my personal fave, Desmond & Penny. Sigh. Every time they have a scene together, I swoon, brotha. (I adore the way he says that all the time!). Words cannot express how much I love, worship, adore this show. It's giving my all-time fave, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a run for its money. I may have to reevaluate the standings.

Turnoff Week?

According to my favorite blog (and primary infotainment source), EW’s popwatch, this week is “Turnoff Week.” Apparently you’re supposed to not watch tv from now until Sunday. (Don’t ask me why “Turnoff Week” starts on a Tuesday, assuming the writer meant today as “now.” Weird.) A day without TV. That’s like a day without air. A day without sunshine. A day without purpose. The writer was so vehemently opposed to this ridiculous notion that he proposed we pick up 3 new shows we currently don’t watch instead. So rather than turning off the tv, turn it up with even more shows!

Needless to say, this notion got me all fired up. Until…he recommended Nurse Jackie (already watch it), Justified (already watch it) and The Middle (watched a few, still trying it on). The fact that I already watch his recommendations tempered my excitement. So I decided to read the message boards. Let’s see what other tv-lovers are recommending. Don’t you know there wasn’t a single show listed that I don’t already watch or have cooling on my dvr?! I don’t know whether to be proud or profoundly disturbed. Every once in awhile I’m reminded just how much tv I watch. It’s an inordinate amount. If I’m addicted to anything, it’s tv (oh, and sweets, especially anything covered in buttercream icing—yum!).

So I went in search of proof that I'm not crazy for testing the capacity of my dvr. I always enjoy coming across a message board post that totally echoes my sentiments. It makes me feel validated in my opinions, ya know? So here’s today’s winner for “soulmate posting.” I don’t know if Big D is a man or woman, but I think I love him/her!

Big D
Tue 04/20/10 4:34 PM
Turn Off Week is an absolutely insane concept to me. My DVR is routinely 90%+ full, plus I have shows I follow On Demand and on-line and some taht I have fallen so far behind on that I switched them over to being Netflix projects. Turn off the TV for a week? Madness!

Big D, you complete me. Sigh.

So Long, Ugly Betty

I just deleted an episode of Ugly Betty from my dvr...for the last time. :-( The first of my tv goodbyes, this season. And it hurt more than I expected. I know a lot of people lost interest in Ugly Betty after the first year, and it's certainly had its ups & downs since that great freshman season. Overall though, I always found the show to be touchingly sweet with some stellar moments of funny. Wilhelmina, Mark & Amanda had some great lines, even during the so-so episodes. We're talking hi-larious funny. Little Justin's "coming out" moment a couple weeks ago was precious

I will miss this show. I actually cried quite a bit during the finale, what with all the goodbyes and sweet moments. I'm glad the writers had enough time to tidily tie up everyone's storylines. Happy endings all around! If only shows didn't have to die. (Just wait until Lost and 24 bid adieu. I am going to be apoplectic and inconsolable!)

Thanks for 4 fun years, Betty. This post from EW Popwatch (Entertainment Weekly is my bible) poignantly captures the why Betty was far from ugly. Even the post made me teary. http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/04/14/ugly-betty-why-it-mattered/

I'm Smart. Really I Am.

A friend of mine was talking about her online dating experience, specifically her criteria for selection. She likes smart guys, so she pays special attention to the “books read” section. If he doesn’t have anything listed--red flag! At this point I had to interject: “Wait a minute. I don’t read a damn thing, and you’re friends with me. See, it can work!” My point being that you can’t write someone off just because they don’t read. I’m an intelligent person. Learned. Erudite. (I have to be smart to know all those synonyms, right?)

What’s my favorite book? I don’t know. If you’d asked me like 25 years ago, I might have had an answer. I was a reader back then. But now? My favorite reads are Entertainment Weekly (in print and online) and TV Guide. (Yes, I still subscribe but not for the grid—for the articles. And yes, they have terrific articles and all kinds of casting news, upcoming storylines and guest stars, etc. In short, they have all the kinds of info someone like me wants and needs.)

I purchase and start books that I never finish (Angels & Demons, the 6th Harry Potter book,
Jane Austen Book Club). They make everything into movies now anyway. Much smaller time investment, and you never have to experience the letdown of the movie not living up to the book. But I respect readers, and I fully encourage it in my students. Hypocritical, sure, but when I was their age--and didn't have all these adult responsibilities eating into my free time--I read voraciously. That's gotta count for something. As long as you were a reader at some point you get residual smarts, right?

So next time you’re judging someone based on their bedside reader, remember me. Sure I know bubkus about politics and world events (I readily admit to being an idiot on such matters), but I maintain that my lack of conventional reading material does not indicate a dearth of intellect. Just a dearth of time. And patience. And a plethora of tv channels with quality (and more than a few channels with irresistibly mindless) programming.

I know it's a sad irony that the English teacher doesn't read. But hey, I yam what I yam. (Popeye) and What I am is What I Am (Edie Brickell).

Gaga Be Damned

Really. Damn her! Her 2nd show in Houston sold out in mere seconds. I was in there immediately requesting tickets, and I was immediately rejected. Denied! Fail! (The kids say this all the time now. I’m ashamed to admit it’s rubbed off on me. I like “epic fail” even better, but perhaps that’s too sophisticated for my middle schoolers.) So no Gaga for me. I better not have this problem with Lilith Fair tickets.

"Twin Peaks": The Mother of "Lost"?

'Twin Peaks' 20 Years Later: How the Show Changed Television - Inside TV

Yet another opportunity to feel really old. Twenty years ago--that being during my freshman year of college!--the original tv freak show, Twin Peaks debuted. Can you believe it was 20 years ago?! When I saw this article (see link above), I had to read it because I worshipped at the altar of TP (shorthand for Peaks; I'm not referring to toilet paper). I remember my floormates mocking my unreasonable attachment to that weird show. It was so out there, so unlike any other show and so...entrancing.

I've always watched a lot of tv, and I was adamant about never missing an episode of every show I watched. I had "appointment tv" long before the term ever existed. But TP was different than my other shows. You really had to watch it every week. You wanted to anyway because it was appealing, but you also felt compelled to watch. Miss an episode, miss a lot. Funny enough, that's the kind of show I still live for. I guess TP spoiled me for "episode in a box" procedurals. I appreciate labyrinthine, intricate stories with tons of characters and a long-term, overarching theme. You know, the kind of shows most people hate b/c they don't want that kind of commitment or time investment. Conversely, I thrive on it. I welcome it. I seek it out. And I repeatedly mourn its loss, after complicated serial after complicated serial falls prey to the ax. Clearly the mystery folks with the Nielsen boxes loooove procedurals and hate serialized shows. The Nielsen people are all idiots that must die! But I digress...

I don't remember why was drawn to TP in the first place, but I remember how immediately I became obsessed. With the Log Lady and the dancing dwarf and the cherry pie at the diner and Agent Cooper and, of course, who the hell killed Laura Palmer. The "Who Killed Laura Palmer" question was probably the biggest thing since "Who Shot JR?" back in the early 80s.

How deep was the obsession? So deep that my friends bought me The Diary of Laura Palmer and the Agent Cooper tapes (both mentioned in the article linked above). Seriously, I gotta wonder how many shows before TP had "merchandise" such as that. What a goofy concept for the early 90's. Of course it's virtually de rigueur for shows nowadays. I also bought the TP soundtrack. I still listen to it occasionally. It's mostly instrumental, but there is one eerily, hauntingly beautiful song with words. I loved that soundtrack from day 1, and I still think it's awesome.

This my favorite excerpt from the article: What the creators of 'Twin Peaks' proved, which persists to this day, was that television no longer had to be cinema's slower and simpler cousin. It took more than an hour to sort this show out; if you missed one episode, subsequent episodes could be virtually indecipherable (though sometimes they were even if you saw them all). Consequently, viewers reveled in the mystery, ending each episode more frustrated and perplexed than they began but always returning the next week. Sound familiar, 'Lost' fans?

Can I get an AMEN?! I am a Lost disciple, just as I was a TP fanatic. If TP begat Lost, then God bless David Lynch for getting his crazy on, and for sharing it with us. And God bless JJ Abrams for picking up that gauntlet and running with it. I was pissed when Twin Peaks went off, and I'm distraught about Lost (only what, 5 more eps?!). Sidenote: the only reason I'm not pissed about Lost is because the show is going out on its own terms, not being forced off the air like TP.

I recorded a marathon of season one of TP (all glorious 8 eps) over Christmas break, but I didn't get around to reliving the magic before I was forced to delete them (I'm in a constant battle with dvr--it ain't easy keeping up with my tv schedule. More on that later...). As I mourn the passing of Lost this summer, I will reminisce with its mother show this summer. Back to where it all began. I can't wait for summer (for a lot of reasons, but this is the newest one!)

Gaga for Gaga

My first post. I'm just gonna jump in here. I had an annoying experience today that I feel like sharing. Lady Gaga is coming to Houston this summer. I’m not the hugest fan, but I like her stuff (my fave is probably "Bad Romance") and I am endlessly fascinated by her freakishness, her melodrama, her "pop art." Like she says in that song, "I'm a freak bitch, baby." Yeah she is! So I got together a little posse of friends, put on my best poker face and prepared to just dance at her sure-to-be-a-spectacle-like-no-other show. It'd be fun b/c she's crazy, and because I'd be hanging with my girls.

I made sure my students were working independently so that I could buy tix online as soon as they went on sale. You see, I don't play when it comes to concert ticket purchases. I believe in purchasing as soon as they go on sale, so as to avoid a sellout situation. Plus I usually want the cheap seats (unless it's Prince, I don't need to be all up close and personal; nosebleeds + binoculars = affordably priced satisfaction), and sometimes those go quickly. So I'm on my game. I also don't tend to let others buy the tickets. I'm a control freak like that.

Anyhoo, I get online all set to get my Gaga on, and lo & behold, I can't even get on Toyota Center's website for almost fifteen minutes! I knew that was not a good sign. When I finally get through, I request my 5 tickets, and I have to type in that ridiculous “security word.” (Sidenote: the security word isn’t even a word, it’s a bunch of nonsense letters and they’re all askew and crazy looking, and half the time I get a letter wrong, then have to start all over, which is endless fun…) No tickets. What the **bleep**? I wasted another fifteen minutes still trying (it didn’t say the show was sold out). Mind you, it took me about 10 minutes to get back onto the freakin’ website. Same thing. I even called the charge-by-phone line, something I haven’t done in over a decade. It made me a little nostalgic for a simpler time. I remember when I felt all progressive for ordering on the phone, as opposed to getting up at dawn and gong to stand in line and wait for tickets in person. Ah, memories…

Finally they officially posted “sold out.” I had lost. I was crestfallen. The whole experience left me speechless. What kills me is that Gaga was slated to be the opening act for Kanye last fall (before Kanye “soy bombed” Taylor Swift at the MTV Awards, forcing Gaga to distance herself—she be a freak, not a fool). Opening act, people. Now that bitch is selling out arenas all by her lonesome, in record time no less. Wow—what a difference 6 or 7 months makes. It’s good to be Gaga.

It also strikes me that I had no problem getting tix to Madonna’s show in Houston back in 2008 (which I perceived as a personal affront to Madonna’s iconic status). This baffled me, seeing as my recent Madonna shows (NJ 2001, Chicago 2004, CT 2006) all sold out very quickly. Granted, Madge was playing at the baseball stadium here, which is much larger than Toyota Ctr, but still. It’s insulting and it made me wonder what the hell is wrong with these Texans and their pop sensibilities? But they embrace the Gaga, who, let’s face it, is just the reincarnation of, yep you guessed it: Madonna!

But back to today’s drama. I was hoping they’d announce “second show added,” and after another hour or so they did! But in the interim, I was really bummed cuz I thought my Gaga girls’ night wasn’t going to happen. Tix for the second show go on sale next week, so I’ll prepare to do battle again. The disco stick dream lives! I’m praying she can’t sell out two shows. At least not before I get my tickets!

Ra ra ah ah ah
roma roma ma
ga ga ooh la la
want your bad romance