On the Hallmarkies Podcast!

Today my Twitter friend Rachel (@rachel_reviews) invited me onto her podcast to talk about the new Emma film (read my review here!) and how it compares with the four other versions that already exist! It was a fun conversation (talking Jane Austen, so how could it not be???) so if that sounds like a good listen to you, give it a listen below!

2016 Films I Saw

My number of 2016-movies seen in 2016 hits the same as last year -- 20. (Since I technically saw the last two on the list in 2017.) I only went to the theater 10 times this year though, compared to a whopping 17 times from 2015. Only seeing one movie twice helped a lot with that, but there also simply weren't many big releases that interested me enough, and to make up for it I wound up watching a whole bunch of (mainly) sub-par films at home. That resulted in my average rating of the year to be a 3.2 -- compared to 3.6 of 2015.

Still, right now I'm not feeling let down; 2016 gave me four 5-star movies, plus Star Wars which I adore in spite of not being able to swing giving it a perfect score. (And don't forget the TV series Stranger Things which may have been the highlight of the entire year!) I have two regrets: Arrival and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. I'm sure I'll see them soon enough. I did wait to post this until I'd seen La La Land though, because I got the feeling that I would want it to be included, and I think I made the right choice; it was a perfect close for the year.

So here's the 22 I've seen to date, with brief summaries of thoughts and star-ratings. Click the links to read my full reviews! And drop by the comments section to leave your thoughts on the films of 2016! Were you satisfied with the movie year, or no?

Key:
* = the ones I went to the theater to see.
** = watched it using Vidangel. I really enjoyed using that service this year, even to watch films that didn't need anything edited out!


10 Cloverfield Lane* - My first of the year, and my favorite of the year! This is not the sort of movie that needs dozens of viewings, but it was immaculate and powerful and stunning, and I love it. 5 stars!

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice* - I had no plans to see it in theaters but went with a group of friends. I'm glad I saw it on the big screen, because its visual feast distracted nicely from its narrative stupidity. 3 stars.

Captain America: Civil War*- My love/hate relationship with this film is still going strong. On one hand, Bucky and Steve and Spider-Man and those action sequences! On the other, irritating political plot lines and "because you gotta" reasoning. 4 Stars.

Deadpool** - Stripped bear to its basic plot by my liberal application of Vidangel, this one wasn't able to shock me into believing it was actually original. A perverted shadow of the wacky comic character. 1.5 Stars.

The Boy** - As far as cheap horror films go, not complete waste of time. Rupert Evans's face and the ridiculous twist ending made things memorable. 2 stars.

Midnight Special - A special film indeed. A sci-fi genre film that I wish more sci-fi genre films would aspire to be like. Beautiful, heartfelt, imaginative, and excellently acted. 5 stars.

Star Trek Beyond* - A cheaper but fun space caper for the crew of the Enterprise. Decent attention to character. I wouldn't mind them continuing this way, but the franchise won't be the same without Chekov. 4 stars. Second viewing brought it down a bit.

Hail, Caesar!** - A very unusual movie, entertaining in unique and unexpected ways. Not the best from the Coens, not a waste of time either. 3.5 stars, settled to a 3 by now.

Warcraft** - Even worse than I thought possible. I was bored and too confused to bother trying to review it. My brothers understood it well enough though. They didn't like it either. 1.5 stars.

The Magnificent Seven* - Modern blockbuster meets classic cowboy flick. There's really nothing special about this one, but it was a fun ride. 3.5 stars.

X-Men: Apocalypse** - Not at all apocalyptic. But the younger versions of characters were well cast. But Oscar Isaac was completely wasted. But it's decent if you're a fan. 3 stars.

ARQ - A Netflix original that takes the Groundhog Day gimmick and runs around with it in an enclosed sci-fi setting. Small, but worthy. 3 stars.

The Curse of Sleeping Beauty - A low-budget creeper that utilizes smart technique to be an effective supernatural thriller... until the ending messed everything up. 2.5 stars.

Retreat - Fran Kanz joins a cult on Netflix. Weird, creepy, and not exactly rewarding in the end. 2 stars.

Doctor Strange* - An extremely satisfying step outside the box for Marvel. Entertaining, smart, compelling, and appropriately psychedelic. 5 stars! ...but I still haven't seen it twice.

Love & Friendship - Jane Austen's unfinished story get the lazy treatment. The words are sharp; everything else is dull and dry and uninspired. 2.5 stars.

Independence Day: Resurgence** - Pathetic and utterly useless. I'm only glad I didn't pay ticket prices for it. 2 stars. (Because I did enjoy making fun of it.)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them* - A surprisingly enjoyable spinoff adventure. I already like this series more than Harry Potter, although it's not entirely without flaws. 3.5 stars.

Jason Bourne** - It's not terrible, but it is bad enough that I regret seeing it for the previous ending it ruined. No real reason for it to exist. 2.5 stars.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story* - The only movie I saw twice in theaters. Beautiful story, lovable characters, fun and moving. It's not quite perfect, but it lives up to its potential better than seems possible. 4.5 stars!

Zootopia - I didn't expect I'd love it, but I was surprised at how little I enjoyed it. On the surface it looked cute and good enough for a kid's movie, but I may or may not have just offended it by calling it "cute." 2.5 stars.

La La Land - I'm so glad I waited for this one. Superbly moving and wonderfully enjoyable, deeply thoughtful, gorgeous, creative, and everything it should be. 5 stars!

Liebster Award!

I was nominated for the Liebster award by KG at KG's Movie Rants! Thanks a bunch!

Rules:
1. Answer the 11 questions given by the person who nominated you
2. Nominate other bloggers (up to 11) and give them 11 questions to answer.

KG's questions:

1. Snack of choice when you go watch a movie?
Popcorn is always a winner. Or chocolate -- but that can get dangerous.

2. What movie title best describes your love life?
I'm torn between Mission: Impossible and Minority Report.

3. What movie do you think should never have been made?
The 2014 Annie. Such a terrible and totally unnecessary movie. But really I should have just not watched it. 

4. What movie from your childhood would you love to see remade?
So many of my childhood movies are being remade -- or have been already. It wouldn't exactly be a remake, but The Silver Chair. I liked the BBC version as a kid, and was really excited at the possibility of a new one led by Will Poulter as Eustace, was let down. 

5. Do you prefer to see movies alone or with a partner and why?
If a movie is extremely melodramatic or overly serious or a tear-jerker, I find that I can enjoy them better and less self-consciously alone. And I absolutely must watch comedies and silly movies with people because it's much more fun to laugh at things with people. Most of the time I would choose to watch with people.

6. If you could have dinner with any two movie stars (dead or alive) who would they be and why?
Oh boy. Sam Rockwell sprang to mind almost immediately. He's been a favorite actor of mine for a long time, and I'm sure would be a great dinner companion. And I'll say J.J. Abrams for the second, because I dreamed I met him a few nights ago, and afterward realized that if I really met him I'd want to thank him for Super 8 and 10 Cloverfield Lane, and pick his brain about storytelling.

7. Do you put ketchup on your fries or do you pour the ketchup on the side and dip your fries? Pour and dip for maximum control of ketchup quantity.

8. What song is currently on repeat on your playlist?
This:





9. If you could be any movie character, who would you be and why?
Mark Watney, because to (hypothetically) experience what he (fictionally) did would be incredible and life-changing. Hypothetically. And as long as I couldn't mess anything up, because if I could I would die so fast. 

10. If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Can I pick The Lord of the Rings and pretend they're one film? If not I'd probably die of indecision and then go with The Princess Bride. Or... or... arg.

11. What movie did you expect to hate but ended up loving?
Well, I didn't end up loving it by any stretch of the imagination, but if you were to look at anything I wrote about it before it came out you would see how incredibly much I expected to hate Batman v Superman. I was right in most of my assumptions, but they didn't cause me to hate the movie. And while I didn't come close to loving it I do think that it's an alright movie that's worthwhile. I can see why people like it, and I saw in it things you can't find in other movies. A movie that I expected to hate when I first saw the trailer but changed my mind about way before it released was The Martian, and I definitely ended up loving that one. But I can't remember ever changing my mind from hate to love during the run of a film.

I'd like to nominate these great blogs: Oh So Geeky, Miss Daydreamer's Place, Dreaming Under the Same Moon, Through Two Blue Eyes, Revealed in Time, J and J Productions, Hamlette's Soliloquy, and A Free Mind.

Here are my questions:

1. Favorite movie genre, and why?
2. Favorite movie that's an adaptation of a book you've read?
3. An actor or actress you're enjoying who you've only recently noticed?
4. A favorite "unexpected surprise" movie?
5. A movie that has a cast catered to you?
6. An obscure movie that you think is great and you wish more people knew about?
7. A movie that has a great soundtrack?
8. A movie that reminds you of summer?
9. A movie you loved as a kid and still love (not because of nostalgia)?
10. Plot device pet peeve?
11. Ending preference for movies, and why?

If you're not interested in doing a post on your own blog to answer them, feel free to answer them in the comments, because now that I've gone through the effort of thinking up the questions, I'm curious to see some answers! Even if I didn't tag you, I'd love to see your answers!

The Blogging-About-Blogs Tag

Thanks to Hamlette for creating and tagging me in this!

Blog that makes me laugh
Hamlette's Soliloquy -- her reviews are often laugh-out-loud funny -- and Through Two Blue Eyes -- she has a great sense of humor and reading her posts never fails to make me smile.

Blog that makes me think
Sarah at A Free Mind posts great, deep things about life that makes me think, and Rath's Reviews challenges the way I think about and judge movies which I really enjoy.

Blog that teaches me things
That would have to be The Edge of the Precipice. I've never learned more at someone's blog than I did with her Hamlet read-along a little while back. 

Blog with beautiful headers
I love the headers that Ivy Miranda makes for her blog, Revealed in Time. Always lovely and stylish. 

Blogger who takes great pictures
Princess Faith is a very talented photographer and I enjoy seeing her work!

Blogger whose recommendations I trust
James of J and J Productions. We seem to have very similar taste in movies, so I can always count on his recommendations being worthy ones.

New blog I'm enjoying
Not sure which is the newest, but I think Josh Taylor's great blog Dear Future Josh is relatively new. Especially compared with how long Blimey Cow has been around!

Blog I've followed the longest
That's gotta be my sister Lizzie's blog, His Redeemed Child. Because sisters.

Blog I've started following the most recently
A to Z -- I found her blog through this tag, and her post about ensemble casts easily won me over!

I'm just gonna tag who I mentioned -- play if you want! I know a lot of you have already been tagged, and some I mentioned don't usually participate in tags.

New "About Me" Page

I say "New About Me Page." I should just say "About Me Page" because I have never had one before now! But since I joined Twitter I've stopped keeping my identity private, so I figured it was about time that I fully introduced myself here.

So, if you have a hankering to see what I look like, to know the origin of this blog's title, or to know a little about my other interests besides movies and writing and movies and movies and movies -- then check it out here, or just above!

2015 movies I've seen!

Mostly for my own information, I collected together all the movies I've seen that were released in 2015. There were 20, which was more than I expected. I missed a few like The Man from UNCLE and Brooklyn that I still need to see, but not bad, considering how great and packed a year for movies it was! I thought I'd share the list with you guys, so here they all are in order of release, with some brief thoughts and the star-rating I gave them.

* = saw it twice in theaters.

** = saw it at home, not in the theater.

No link = I never reviewed that one.


**Jupiter Ascending -- How much of a movie do you have to see for it to count? For this one I missed a bit near the beginning and slept through the climactic battle... but I know it was terrible! 2 stars.

Old Fashioned -- Wouldn't care to ever watch it again, but I enjoyed it the one time, and appreciated what they were trying to do. 3 stars.

Cinderella* -- First love of the year. Adored this one from top to bottom! 4.5 stars. Could have maybe been a 5.

Insurgent -- I knew it wasn't great when I saw it but since then, the number of times I forgot about it tells me that it deserves less than the 3.5 stars it got from me.

**While We're Young -- Almost started to review this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly, in retrospect, Adam Driver's character. 3 stars.

**The Age of Adaline -- Liked some of it, scoffed at some of it. Typical reaction to romantic dramas. 3 stars.

Avengers: Age of Ultron -- Gave it 5 stars because it was exactly the same as The Avengers. Upon the second viewing I realized I just didn't like it that much. 4.5 would be a fair adjustment.

Far From the Madding Crowd -- Memorable period drama with excellent characters. Inspired me to read the book! 4 stars.

**Ride -- Typical indie comedy made memorable by surfing, Luke Wilson, and Helen Hunt's clingy, stuck-up mom character. Good, but not great. 3 stars.

**Aloha -- I tried to like this one, but only wound up caring about John Krasinski's silent character, and he wasn't in it all that much. 2.5 stars.

Jurassic World -- Chris Pratt rules; beats up dinosaurs. 4 stars. 5 star enjoyment!

**Inside Out -- The one where I'm not mainstream and didn't absolutely adore this movie. The middle section bored me, and I didn't appreciate having my emotions toyed with. 3.5 stars.

Ant-Man -- Second love of the year! Awesome small-scale superhero flick that reminded me why I love superhero flicks in the first place. 4.5 stars.

Paper Towns -- Not a terrible movie, but a huge disappointment after that stunning novel. 2.5 stars.

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation* -- Third love! Couldn't get enough of the loveable characters and the amazing, thrilling action! 5 stars!

**Before We Go -- Chris Evans and Alice Eve make this one a memorable small-scale charmer. 3.5 stars.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials -- Keeps the series going strong and in a unique direction. Dystopia. Mind games. Non-stop pace. Freaky zombies. 4 stars.

The Martian* -- Fourth love. It gleaned some of my love for the novel, but is a beautiful, moving, groovy, and faithful adaptation. 5 stars!

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 -- Makes a semi-valiant effort to redeem Part 1. Ugh, I'm just glad it's over at this point. 3.5 stars.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens* -- Fifth, and final love. I felt like I did as a kid falling in love with the original trilogy. Totally and completely blown away. 5 stars!


For 2016 I should make it a goal to review all the 2016-released movie I see. Out of the 7 new movies I saw at home, I only actually reviewed 3 of them. Must do better!

How did your movie stats for 2015 work out? Excited for the 2016 movie year?

5 Male Characters Tag

Rules:
1.) List 5 of your favorite male characters (book or screen)
2.) Tagging other people is optional
3.) If you are tagged link back to the person that tagged you
4.) Link back to Revealed In Time (preferably using the link to this post)

Choose one from each category.
1.) Hero
2.) Villain
3.) Anti-hero
4.) Best book-to-screen adaption
5.) Best character perception

Thanks again to Ivy Miranda -- who also hosted the 5 Female Characters Tag a while back -- for tagging me in this! I had a bit of a harder time with this one in general, because I have more favorite male characters than female. In the end, I decided to feature a character in each category who has recently impressed me with his greatness. Here they are:

Hero: 

Private Reiben

played by Edward Burns

in Saving Private Ryan

Basically, if I really like a character, I consider him to be a hero is some way. I could feature almost any of my favorite characters here. I picked Private Reiben from Saving Private Ryan, because he is the hero who was most recently introduced to me. (Yes, I only just recently saw Saving Private Ryan for the first time.) Reiben starts out as quite the antagonist (though not villain) in the movie, being irritable and careless and callous, and resentful to Ryan for getting special treatment, but every great hero needs an origin story, and Reiben's was my favorite part of the fantastic movie. He jumped out at me as an early favorite by looking and sounding like Edward Burns, kept the attention by being the source of much dramatic conflict, and eventually made an undeniable and moving turn to the heroic. The moment pictured above was my favorite: while waiting for the battle, Reiben watches Ryan, and you can SEE him change his mind about hating him. By the end I was very impressed, and glad for arbitrarily choosing such a great character with such a unexpectedly great heroic journey to invest in.

Villain: 

Kruger

played by Sharlto Copley

in Elysium

Strangely, this was the hardest category for me to make a choice in with trying to include only my most recent favorites in all the categories. After way too much thought, I discovered that I haven't been too keen on any villains recently. But a little more thought brought me around to Kruger, from Elysium. Kruger is a villain to the core; a gleeful embodiment of a guy who just loves being bad. Occasionally terrifying, surprisingly often very funny; epic South African accent; all thanks to the delightful Sharlto Copley. What I love most about Kruger is his fun-loving, laid-back attitude. He seems to put style above all else and relishes his villainous position. This guy makes evil look cool, and overshadows everyone else who appears in this movie. Even Matt Damon -- and that's saying a lot.

Anti-hero: 

David

played by Dan Stevens

in The Guest

With this category I was very tempted to pick a character that I mainly consider to be a hero, just with one or two flaws that are cleared up by the end. The definition of an anti-hero is a protagonist who lacks heroic qualities so I would have been within my rights, but instead I decided to go to the opposite side of the spectrum, and that landed David from The Guest in this place. David is certainly the protagonist of The Guest. Interestingly, he is also the villain, and confusingly, he is for the most part, well-meaning in his villainy, making him a perfect, complicated anti-hero. Dan Stevens' performance of this strange and crazy character, is so incredibly perfect that I was literally laughing at his awesomeness many, many times. The balance of creepy and charming is still mind-blowing to me, and his expression changes are to die for.

Best book-to-screen adaptation: 

Thomas

played by Dylan O'Brien

in The Maze Runner, and The Scorch Trials

The Maze Runner series has just passed The Hunger Games as my favorite YA Dystopian series with the second movie installment, The Scorch Trials, in which Dylan O'Brien plays the hero, Thomas. In the books, Thomas never bothered me, but neither did I really ever feel particularly sympathetic towards him or get involved in his personal plights. O'Brien's performance of him in the first movie was very good adapting work, as he was obviously Thomas, with no real character changes, while actually improving on the character's likability. In The Scorch Trials he continued that trend, and is now a really, very involving character. He's still not my favorite character in the series (I still like Newt and Minho better personally) but I do like him way better than I ever expected to -- all thanks to some super great adapting and acting work.

Best character perception: 

Benji Dunn

played by Simon Pegg

in Mission: Impossible III, Ghost Protocol, and Rogue Nation

For this category, I easily decided on a Simon Pegg character. But then I had an incredibly hard time choosing between Benji Dunn of the Mission: Impossible franchise, and Shaun, of Shaun of the Dead. Characters who surprise you by being better than you originally thought is one of my all-time favorite things. It gets me ever time. I'm a total sucker for it. And it's something that Pegg does amazingly well. Benji won out simply because our changing perception of him took three movies (so far -- who knows what will happen next!) to get where we are now, and that's just awesome. Even though his brief appearance in M:I3 was hardly more than a cameo, the character was nailed immediately; as Benji earns his stripes by passing his field exam and going on missions with the legend Ethan Hunt, and eventually becoming his best friend, his base is always that nervous, geeky tech guy. But then we witness him beat a polygraph like it's no more than a slightly hard level on a video game, or passionately telling Ethan that he is perfectly willing to put his job and life on the line to help Ethan with an important but unsanctioned mission -- and we realize that Benji always was a lot more and a lot deeper than just the quirky comic relief.

I believe everyone I would tag for this has already been tagged, so I won't bother. But if you haven't been tagged yet and want to fill out his list, please do! I'd love to see your answers! What do you think of mine?

10 Favorite Screen Characters

Jamie at Through Two Blue Eyes has tagged me to make a list of 10 of my favorite screen characters, which is something I could not pass up on spending way too much time on!

Instructions: For this quick, fun blog hop, you just name your 10 favorite characters from movies or TV, then tag 10 friends (if you can) to do the same!

Pretty simple. In theory at least. Leaving people out is one of my least favorite things to do, and my list of favorite characters goes on way beyond the number 10. (It goes way beyond 100 for that matter!) But I'll try to not think about it too hard and just go with some favorite characters who have been impressing me with their greatness lately.

The descriptions of the characters my contain spoilers for their character arc. I'll try to keep away from unnecessary plot spoilers though.

"Oh, did you hear that, lads? He says we'll blunt the knives!"

Bofur -- The Hobbit Trilogy (reviews: movie 1, movie 2, and movie 3)

Since this is for favorite screen characters, I will forgo mentioning Bard, Bilbo, and Thorin, because I first loved their characters in a book, not on the screen, but Bofur is different -- there is no personality for him in Tolkien's novel. But the dwarf played by James Nesbitt in the Hobbit movies is full of personality, stands out effortlessly, and is easily my favorite of the twelve dwarves. (And for someone who is just fun and fun to love, he even beats out Thorin.) I love his chipper attitude, the way his hat and braids to not conform to the laws of gravity, and his fantastic mustache. I love that he's always eager to help out, honest and straightforward, and that he's always the one who wonders where Bilbo is. He keeps things peppy and lighthearted and is just generally one very cool dwarf.

"He'll keep calling me... He'll keep calling me until I come over. He'll make me feel guilty... Uh, this is ridiculous. Okay I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go."

Cameron Frye -- Ferris Bueller's Day Off

This John Hughes iconic classic is, in my opinion, one of the more hilarious movies ever made, and Alan Ruck's Cameron, best friend of professional hooky-player Ferris Bueller is a big part of the film's greatness. He's the guy who protests to everything but is bullied into participating in crazy adventures because the hero is sure that the only reason he's a sour-puss in the first place is because his parents bullied him that way. Definitely true for Cameron. This movie doesn't have much plot or character development to speak of -- it takes place in one day, and is almost nothing but high quality, funny fluff -- but interestingly, Cameron does get quite a bit. He learns to stop worrying and start living. He also stares into the eyes of a child in a pointillism painting and seems to see something quite profound. And he makes a very necessary third wheel to the party of three friends who have the chemistry for teenage adventure and hilarity like no one else.

"You like a man who takes himself too seriously. You want my opinion? You need to lighten up!"

Dr. Johnathan Crane -- Batman Begins (review)

An easily overlooked Dark Knight Trilogy villain what with Bane and the Joker, but Cillian Murphy's psycho psych doctor has found a special place in my heart. It has a little to do with his dramatic and off-putting facial bone structure, and a little to do with his dazzling blue eyes that seem to drill into your very soul, but mostly it's his eerie calm persona, particularly in that one scene where he puts Falcone out of commission. Every time I watch that scene I am struck again by the detail and subtlety of the performance, and the way Crane puts on a poker face, but is just readable enough. I love the details of him; the way he smacks open his mouth and breathes audibly before speaking; the way every eye movement and smile seems like a precise and conscious act; and the way he calls Batman "the bat man."

"Oh, the park? I've always been there. Ever since I was a small Cambodian child. Of course, that was after 'Nam. Then I joined the circus to become a clown fighter. I know about 46 ways to kill a clown. I hate clowns. I'm kidding -- except for the part where I really do hate them."

Owen -- The Way, Way Back (review)

I'm fairly sure that there are no roles that Sam Rockwell has taken that aren't awesome. Every time I see him his characters are the funniest and the coolest. Owen, the underachieving manger of a retro water park though, is arguably his best. He jumps at the chance to befriend an awkward, lonely kid, Duncan, who wanders into his park, impressing him with his extravagant comedy routines, and uncanny ability to dodge work. He becomes a friend, mentor, much-needed father figure, and place to escape to for Duncan. And when Duncan opens up to him, he sincerely encourages and consoles him, putting the jokes aside. Though they seem like opposites on the surface, Owen sees himself in Duncan; someone who is hurting more than he shows, and feels oppressed by the world. He doesn't have all the answers, but commendably does his best help Duncan on his way -- and makes him and us laugh with his signature Rockwell-style banter.

"I'm not seeking forgivness for what I've done, father, I'm asking forgiveness for what I'm about to do."

Matt Murdock -- Marvel's Daredevil (review)

Defense lawyer by day; masked vigilante by night. One interesting twist though: he's blind! As he says though, "there are other ways to see." And he uses every single one of those ways to help him "see" better than sighted people can. Then he uses this skill to kick butt. Awesomely. He fights criminals at night and defends accused criminals during the day, and all the time, fights the devil inside him, and tries to find a balance with it, not knowing if he should embrace or eradicate it. Charlie Cox's immaculate performance portrays both of Matt's contradictory sides with ideal balance. On one side he's kind and gentle, easy-going and fun loving; but is driven, and cares about the things and people that need caring for. Then the darker side does more for those things and people than the good side and the law will allow. This side tells one villain that he enjoys hurting him, and says it very convincingly. The best thing about this character though, is the incredible jaw-dropping fight scenes he is involved in.

"I'm a leaf on the wind; watch how I soar."

Hoban "Wash" Washburne -- Firefly/Serenity

Joss Whedon's TV show Firefly and its sequel film has no shortage of totally awesome, totally original characters. I however, am partial to the goofy pilot Wash, who is, for the most part, the comic relief. He is played with comic genius by Alan Tudyk (along with Whedon's brilliant comedy-writing skills) and never fails to be hilarious and endearing. He's laid back, wears Hawaiian shirts and plays with plastic dinosaurs on his console. He's married to his totally opposite -- the captain's right-hand woman, hardcore and serious Zoe -- and their relationship works every bit as well as you wouldn't think it would. He may be a goofball, but when there's a call for it, can be serious too, and the change just adds that much more gravitas to whatever the situation may be. There are nine very shiny people on board the Serenity, and weird blonde guy who flies her is one of them.

Morse: "How do you do it? Leave it at the door?"
Inspector Thursday: "Cause I have to. Case like this will tear a heart right out of a man. Find something worth defending--"
"I thought I had! Found something."
"Music? I suppose music is as good as anything. Go home. Put your best record on. Loud as it'll play. And with every note, you remember: that's something that the darkness couldn't take from you."

Endeavour Morse -- Endeavour (reviews: series 1; series 2)

Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) is a young, opera music and crossword puzzle loving Detective Constable for the Oxford Police in the 1960's. He's reserved and sensitive, usually quiet with occasional outbursts of passion; very smart, but not very wise. He sees connections in cases that no one else does, and is often ridiculed for his wild theories -- but to be fair, he is by no means right all the time. I like him for these reasons, and because of how he goes against the grain; in his work and pretty much everywhere else, and even as a character. Sure, on the surface he may be your typical brazen, world-weary detective who's a loner and drinks too much, but he's really too young to be world-weary yet, loneliness is a hindrance to him, and his brazenness is a facade too easily seen through. He's also a complete gentleman, gentle, kind and caring. Often scared, but always brave; in some ways modest, in some proud; and if you want someone who will never give up on a case until the end, there are a lot of detective shows out there that boast their detectives have that quality, but for DC Morse, actions speak louder than words.

"You're just different now. You're just different now, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Leo Fitz -- Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D.

Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) was always my favorite character -- from the very first episode I believe. First of all, you're naturally twice as awesome if you have a Scottish accent, and Fitz's is an exceptionally good one. Also, I like that he is a novice at field work and unusually not good at fighting for a SHIELD agent. But of course has the bravery go in the field and fight if he needs to. At the beginning of season two he lost a little of his coolness with the trauma-induced speech and motor skills dysfunction, but that just added depth and sympathy to the character. And then, in the 11th episode of season two he just blew me away. I thought for sure he was going to tell someone when he leaves after finding Skye with all the broken glass, but no -- he understood immediately what was going on because he's smart, but he also knew what to do because he's really smart, and is experiencing a similar situation. His quick thinking in that scene seriously impressed me and his compassion and understanding of Skye that made my favorite Agents of SHEILD moment. Now, every time I see him I think to myself, "Oh my goodness, Fitz is so amazing."

"You know, 'nerd culture' is mainstream now. So, when you use the word 'nerd' derogatorily, it means you're the one that's out of the zeitgeist."

Ben Wyatt -- Parks and Recreation

I only ever started watching Parks and Rec for Chris Pratt's hilarious goofball Andy Dwyer, so a few things about the show really surprised me; like how awesome and funny the show is overall, and how great all the characters are. The show's quality gradually gets better from the very first episode, and finally hits its peak only after Ben Wyatt and Chris Trager join the cast of characters. Ben (played by Adam Scott) is the uptight stick-in-the-mud geek; shamelessly nerdy, and surprisingly cool. I began to really like him only because he and Leslie's romance was so cute, and it's really neat how they complement each other in such strange ways, and then upon re-watching some episodes I really began to appreciate the contradictory awesomeness and awkwardness of him. I love how he nerds out over things like the Game of Thrones throne, or creating The Cones of Dunshire or the claymation movie, yet can be very charming as has healthy relationships with everyone in the Parks Department (even Ron!). And I just love that he never gets the appeal of Little Sebastian -- he's like the show's reality check.

"Hello little guy! It's the sweetie man coming!"

Wikus Van de Merwe -- District 9

I only recently saw District 9 for the first time, and in spite of the super-unique premise, and the incredible visual quality of it, the thing that blew me away and impressed me the most was the main character's character arc: Sharlto Copley's dorky South African government employee who gets way more than he signed up for when he is selected to head up the relocation of a huge population of stranded aliens. At first, Wikus is completely unlikable. He's a jerk, insensitive, oblivious and self-obsessed, and putting on a front for the "documentary" cameras -- though I don't think even he knew he was. Once the gloves come off we see the real him -- an even worse person -- still self-serving and even more of a jerk, plus a coward. But he's also confused, scared and desperate, so as we begin to understand him we also begin to sympathize with him and become involved in his journey to heroism. It's a journey that he gives a lot of resistance to, before all at once completing the transformation and becoming a totally awesome, full-fledged selfless action hero. It really is one of the craziest character arcs I've ever seen, and along with Copley's charming and raw performance, makes a very uniquely endearing character.


Phew! And there you have it. And interestingly there seems to be common theme or trait among all these guys, but I'm not sure exactly how to define it... they're all more than they seem to be? That's true of most of my favorite characters. Anyway...

I am tagging:
Neal
Sarah
Banrion An Gheimhridh
Lizzie
Hannah
Benjamin
Elora Shore
Olivia
Faith
Tegan Hall

Obviously, you're not obliged to participate, but if you'd like to, I love to see your list!

The Janeite Tag

Thanks to Hannah over at Miss Daydreamer's Place for tagging me to talk about my love for Jane Austen!

The Rules:

• Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
• Tell us how you were introduced to Jane Austen and share one fun fact about your Janeite life (this fun fact can be anything from "I stayed up all night reading Emma" to "I visited Chawton and met Anna Chancellor.").
• Answer the tagger's questions.
• Write seven questions of your own.
• Tag as few as one or as many as seven other Janeites and let them know you've tagged them.

My introduction to the world of Jane Austen:
It would be hard to pinpoint the exact moment I became a fan of Austen, but it was sometime between when I first saw the 1995 Pride and Prejudice when I was about eleven, and when I finished reading all her books for the first time, when I was about eighteen. It was probably closer to the latter though, because even though I would watch P&P with my family every time they watched it, it took a while for me to come to appreciate anything more than the pretty dresses and the pretty horses. It could have been in '08, when the new version of Sense and Sensibility aired on TV, and waiting a week between episodes was filled with impatience. Or you could argue that it was when I first appreciated Austen's work in it's purest form; perhaps when I was at the end of Emma and it suddenly occurred to me how much I'd enjoyed the book -- way more than either of the film adaptions. To quote Lizzy on her loving Darcy, "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberly." So I guess you could say it really was the pretty dresses!

My fun fact about me and Austen: 
This past summer I portrayed Mary Bennet in my theatre group's performance of Pride and Prejudice, a Musical. I got to sing and play the piano badly and everything. And now I feel slightly more connected to and understanding of poor Mary.

Hannah's Questions:

What is your favourite Jane Austen novel?
Oh, starting with a hard one, I see. I remember enjoying reading Emma the most, but I wouldn't take that to mean it was my favorite. Northanger Abbey made me laugh the most, and Persuasion was wonderfully melancholy. But I think I'll have to go with the classic, and say Pride and Prejudice. It has a little of everything, and I think the best romance.

Who is your favourite Austen hero and heroine? (I guess that could be considered two questions!) So since it's two questions, I can pick a hero and heroine who hail from separate stories? If I had to choose them as a pair, I'd say Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney. They are just so adorable together. Separately, I've always been partial to Mr. Knightley, and identified most with Elinor Dashwood. But don't underestimate my liking of Lizzy and Darcy, separately, and as a pair.

Who is your favourite secondary character?
It's funny how most of Austen's secondary characters are usually pretty dis-likable, isn't it? I could never really find it in me to dislike Mr. Churchill though, ever since I first saw him as Ewan McGregor with that adorable smile and that weird, long red hair.

Which relative of any of Austen's heroines/heroes do you find most annoying?
Mrs. Bennet. Next question! Oh, wait, maybe Lady Catherine... hmmm, no, I'll stick with Mrs. Bennet.

Provide up to five of your favourite Austen quotes. (I know, hard! Just pick a few random quotes that you love. They don't have to be your absolute favourites) (Passages, more like, for me!)

1. (A hilarious conversation between Catherine and Henry in Northanger Abbey.)‘“Now I must give one smirk, and then we may be rational again." Catherine turned away her head, not knowing whether she might venture to laugh. "I see what you think of me," said he gravely -- "I shall make but a poor figure in your journal tomorrow."
   "My journal!"
   "Yes, I know exactly what you will say: Friday, went to the Lower Rooms; wore my sprigged muslin robe with blue trimmings -- plain black shoes -- appeared to much advantage; but was strangely harassed by a queer, half-witted man, who would make me dance with him, and distressed me by his nonsense." 
   "Indeed I shall say no such thing." 
   "Shall I tell you what you ought to say?" 
   "If you please." 
   "I danced with a very agreeable young man, introduced by Mr. King; had a great deal of conversation with him -- seems a most extraordinary genius -- hope I may know more of him. That, madam, is what I wish you to say."’
2.  (My admitting to liking this one might make me out to be anti-social, but, oh well. Said by Lizzy.) "The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense."
3. (This one from Mr. Bennet reflects the lighter side of my anti-social tendencies.) "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?"
4. (This is one of my favorite moments of Elinor's.)"My dear," said she [Mrs. Jennings], entering, "I have just recollected that I have some of the finest old Constantia wine in the house, that ever was tasted -- so I have brought a glass of it for your sister. My poor husband! how fond he was of it! Whenever he had a touch of his old cholicky gout, he said it did him more good than anything else in the world. Do take it to your sister."
   "Dear ma'am," replied Elinor, smiling at the difference of the complaints for which it was recommended, "how good you are! But I have just left Marianne in bed, and, I hope, almost asleep; and as I think nothing will be of so much service to her as rest, if you will give me leave, I will drink the wine myself."
   Mrs. Jennings, though regretting that she had not been five minutes earlier, was satisfied with the compromise; and Elinor, as she swallowed the chief of it, reflected that, though its good effects on a cholicky gout were at present of little importance to her, its healing powers on a disappointed heart might be as reasonably tried on herself as on her sister.
5. (And since I've already made this very, very long, I'll put Mr. Knightly's declaration of love last. Not the entire thing though. But I like the entire thing.) “My dearest Emma," said he, "for dearest you will always be, whatever the event of this hour's conversation, my dearest, most beloved Emma -- tell me at once. Say 'No,' if it is to be said." She could really say nothing. "You are silent," he cried, with great animation; "absolutely silent! at present I ask no more."
   Emma was almost ready to sink under the agitation of this moment. The dread of being awakened from the happiest dream, was perhaps the most prominent feeling.
   "I cannot make speeches, Emma," he soon resumed; and in a tone of such sincere, decided, intelligible tenderness as was tolerably convincing. "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am. You hear nothing but truth from me. I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it.”

What is your favourite adaptation for each of Austen's books?
For Pride and Prejudice, the '95 version. Hands down, no contest. (If you're interested, here is my review of the '95, and my review of the '05.)

Northanger Abbey is also easy, since I've only ever seen the '07 version with Felicity Jones and J J Feild. In spite of it's shortness, I consider it to be a very good adaption, perfectly cast at the very least. With the rest though, things get a little more complicated. (Click here for my review.)

For Sense and Sensibility, the '08 version. It's a close call though, as the '95 version is great as well, but the longer runtime, the casting of people who look like they could be their required age, the great casting of the side characters, Dan Stevens, and David Morressey all make me partial to that version.

With Emma, there are commendable aspects in three versions, but I've never really included Kate Beckinsale's version; the race is really between Gwyneth Paltrow's and Romola Garai's, and they're practically equal, only with differing good parts and bad parts. Combined, they would be nearly perfect, but as it is, I think I must go with Paltrow's version, because it's better-made in its own right.

For Mansfield Park, I have to say the '07 version with Billie Piper. None of these adaptations are very good, but the 1999 is just way too different from the book, and the 1983 is old and of low quality had distractingly ugly actors. Plus the '07 has James D'Arcy in it.

With Persuasion it's halfway like Emma -- if I could combine the versions it would make a good one -- and halfway like Mansfield Park -- there really aren't any good versions. The '95 version is certainly the best adaptation, but it doesn't have the heart (however misguided) of the '07 version. Neither does the characters how I see them. (Click here for my review of the '07 version. But know that my opinion of since writing this has dampened slightly.)

Are there any books that you would recommend to a fellow Janeite? For example: some books that I would recommend to a fellow Jane Austen fan are Much Ado About Nothing, North and South and Cold Comfort Farm. 
Oh yes, I definitely agree with the recommendation of North and South. Great book and film adaptation. If you can handle longer and darker, I would recommend Little Dorrit, which was amazing, and more romantic than I expected it to be. (And it has a fantastic, 8-hour-long film adaptation too (my review)) And perhaps if I'd read other Dickens' I could possibly recommend those, of maybe a Bronte, but sadly Austen is just about as far as I've gone with that type of novel. The next closest thing that springs to mind is The Great Gatsby, but I'd recommend that to anyone. If you like the Austen-type movies though, you absolutely must see Cranford -- it's wonderful.

Little Dorrit

It seems that all my Janeite blog friends have been tagged already, I'm going to opt out of the last two steps. However, if you do love Austen, haven't been tagged yet, and want to participate, you absolutely should -- consider yourself tagged and answer the same questions I did!

Top 20 Movie Posters: 10-1

Just in case you missed it, here is yesterday's post containing numbers 20 through 11, and my rambling explanation of how the list is organized.

Now on to my top ten!

Part 3: Respect the Artistry

Honorable mentions:

If fact many Shyamalan films have neat, artistic posters; a cute, warm collage of JGL's movie obsession; simple slick and stylish for the latest 007 flick. (review)

#10. Zero Dark Thirty

Now this is a bold move. White background and thick black lettering -- bold. No faces or pictures or even actor names of any kind -- bold. "Censoring" all the text to make it rather hard to even read -- very bold. And it worked. That's all. (4 of 4 I haven't seen)

#9. The Truman Show

It's enough for me that Jim Carrey's handsome mug is filling the whole poster with such an unfailingly optimistic expression, but it's made up of a collage of moments in the unknowing character's life -- a creative and memorable way of expressing the movie's theme and premise.

#8. Star Trek

What is it that you need in a poster to convince someone to go see the advertized film? In the case of Star Trek, all you need is those two words, in that font. That b-e-a-U-tiful abstract depiction of the Enterprise blasting into the unknown is just icing on the fanboy's (girl's) cake.

#7. True Grit

Bridges. Damon. Brolin. Coens. True Grit. Every bit of information you'd need to decide if you want to see this movie is right there. (And the answer is yes, by the way.) But just in case you're still lost and unsure, there's the bold western wanted poster style, and that there bullet hole with blood dripping down. Oh yes.

#6. The Dark Knight

Okay this one's pretty incredible. It has the innovative design and uncluttered minimalism of my #1 and #2 (the smoothness is a good contrast to other Dark Knight posters with cluttered, debris-filled backgrounds) and, the emotional weight of my #1 and #3. It lands at #6 simply because it's too twisted and unsettling for me to wholeheartedly love.

Part 4: Getting Personal

Honorable mentions:

I love this immaculate, beautiful image, but as a poster it needs less words; Shakespeare knew how to throw a party, Joss Whedon knew how to update into his signature style, and whoever made this poster knew what they were doing too (review); the teaser for the beginning of Bilbo's journey is inviting and expectant. (review)

#5. The Adventures of Tintin

Doesn't this poster just tickle and excite your adventurous side? Burning ships, crashing planes, a globetrotting trenchcoat wearer with unusual hair and an animal sidekick. The serious atmosphere and dramatic lighting, and the unabashed adventurous spirit it evokes (along with a certain name) promises less of the silly kiddie fare and more of the pure action/adventure fun of Indiana Jones. Oh, and by the way, Tintin delivers on his promises.

#4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Grab your towel, and don't panic. As a representation of one of the most odd-ball adventures through space out there, this poster doesn't quite convey the extreme extent of gleeful ridiculousness the film possesses. It focuses more on the visual splendor and spacey style -- which is gleeful and ridiculous in its own right -- and invites with bold, friendly letters, and assorted randomness hurling though blue starry space -- who wouldn't want to come along?

#3. The Hurt Locker

The New York Times says the movie is "ferociously suspenseful." I agree, and feel the same about this poster. The image strikes tension and dreadful excitement into you with the force of the explosion you sense is coming, but without being too obvious about it's intentions. You wonder what will happen; you feel the grit and honesty of the moment, and even though you can't see his face, if you know that's Jeremy Renner (now you do) you suddenly know the acting would just, well... blow you away. See what I did there?

#2. Super 8

It was a tough call between #3 and #2 for this spot, but this Super 8 poster lands it for one reason: rotate this poster 45 degrees counter-clockwise, and instead of ruining it, it's still a great poster. I prefer it turned this way though. Okay that's not all -- I also love the beautiful monotone landscape, the boiling clouds, the silhouettes, the little hint of sci-fy, and the fact that none of it is too overshadowed by showy text and/or lots of fine print. Minimal information; maximum intrigue.

#1. Moon

Gosh, what it there to say that doesn't point out the obvious? The psychedelic moon surrounding the lonely astronaut design is so minimal, yet incredibly unique and perfectly evokes the quiet, unsettled feel of the film; the lighting, color, balance of the text and the image... all flawless. And unassuming at first, but knowledge of the movie helps you realize the effort and thought that must have gone into assembling this piece -- just like the film it represents so perfectly. An easy pick for my #1.


Now feel free to tell me which ones I forgot -- I'm sure there are many. And maybe which ones you agree with me on?