.:reflections of twilight:.

So. Went and saw The Hunger Games today. Went with mom, my co-worker, her two twin daughters and one of their boyfriends. I knew I was seeing this as soon as I saw the very first trailer. Even before that even.

So, onto the review.

( May the Odds be Ever in your Favor )

I probably left some stuff out, but I took a nap when I got home and my thoughts aren't all organized much anymore. But, I'd see this again (as would my mom, and she knew NOTHING about the story going in).

Wow, I totally meant to do this earlier in the week, but I wussed out and didn't do it. So, this will be the final post for 2011!

Now, my thoughts may be a bit scattered since I saw these last week, so I shall do my best.



( I want you to help me catch a killer of women. )


I think I'll go and see this this again on my day off on Wednesday.



( What is it that makes the women in my life destroy themselves? )

Well, Happy New Year to everyone!! Expect another post tomorrow of the usual One Sentence meme that I do every year. Enjoy! Stay safe!

Well, went and saw a few movies over the weekend. Well, more than a few, but these were the ones I've seen for the first time. So onto the reviewes!



Probably not gonna cut this since I'll keep the spoilers to a minimum. Went on Black Friday to see this and it seemed as if the entire world went to see the movies this weekend. The theater was PACKED!! I expected there to be a few kids there, but not this one annoying kid who kept making stupid comments during the movie and stamping his feet. Both mom and I wanted to strangle him.

Anyway, I digress.

• I was expecting there to be songs, but not from the human co-stars. Usually it's just the Muppets themselves who have the song montages. After the initial jarring sensation, it was fine. Bret McKenzie (of Flight of the Conchords fame) wrote the songs, FYI. It was funny in one scene where the entire town broke into song and after the main characters leave, the townspeople collapse in exhaustion when they're out of sight.

• Frank Oz wasn't back as Miss Piggy, but the Muppetteer who replaced him did a decent job, I think. I still kinda missed Frank, though.

• At the end when they put on the telethon and sang the old Muppet Show theme song, I got a little misty eyed I admit. Especially so when Kermit sand 'Rainbow Connection' again. S'cuse me, I have a little nostalgia in my eye...

• Jim Parsons cameo made me and mom both laugh out loud for several minutes. I think you have to be a fan of 'The Big Bang Theory' to understand why.

So all in all, I loved it. But then, I have a longstanding love for the Muppets in general.




This would be my second horror movie foray (after the original 'Halloween', another John Carpenter film). I watched this one via my Netflix instant on my Wii console so I could see it on my television set for a larger screen. Quality wasn't bad except for a few times I lost the signal, but after a while it got straightened out.

• I like the way it was shot. I noticed this while watching Halloween as well. A lot of establishing shots and lingering camera angles to heighten the tension.

• Again, the deaths weren't overly gruesome. A lot of cutaways and quick shots gave you just enough of what was going on without being too graphic. I like that. As I've said before, I lean more toward the creepy rather than the gory.

• Jamie Lee Curtis shines again as one of the heroines in this film. Adrienne Barbeau is the other and I loved that most of her scenes were where she was alone. Very little interaction with any of the other characters save for phone calls or over the radio. I think it added to the peril as she was being pursued by the vengeful ghosts.

• At least these ghosts seem polite. They knock on the door first before they kill you.

• Janet Leigh was in this one as well, acting alongside her daughter. I thought that was a nice touch.

• I thought the ghost effects were decent. Shadowy figures in the midst of the supernatural fog. The glowing eye effects were a little dated, but it didn't take away from the film, I thought.

Well, that's this week's movie review. And, in case anyone missed it, the new Breaking Dawn episode of made_of_fail_pc is now up (and no, I am not in charge of PR. I just like the podcast and am willing to share... if you ask nicely).

Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later by Francine Pascal

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Ahhh, the Sweet Valley High books. I read them religiously as a preteen/teenager. Now we follow the Wakefield twins into adulthood and their distinctly different lives.



I think this series started me on my fondness for twins. Sure, the stories and characters were idealized and a little fanciful. But that's what makes good fiction. Best of all, the characters had identifiable flaws.



Personality-wise I identified more with Elizabeth (except the flawless beauty of course) than with her twin Jessica. But I was engrossed by their many adventures and day to day lives. The books were a nice escape.



ETA:



Well, it's strange to see how the truth is masked by nostalgia. I think my fondness for the series was tempered by the fact I was a teenager and teenagers tend to not have the greatest taste in literature (the twilight series being a prime example).



Basically what I'm saying is the SVH series was the literary equivalent of Beverly Hills 90210. Your basic cheesy High School drama series.



In any case, in this particular book, we revisit the pretty, perfect California Wakefield twins ten years after they graduate High School. Elizabeth has moved away from Sweet valley, California and is a struggling writer in New York (is there any other kind?) writing for a small Off-Broadway review blog and living in a tiny apartment. Her once close relationship with her identical twin Jessica has been seemingly irreparably damaged after it was revealed that Jessica had been involved in a secret relationship with Elizabeth's fiance, the staid, stalwart Todd Wilkins.



This is the very same Todd Wilkins that Elizabeth has had a relationship with throughout almost the entire series and also with-whom she's had the warm fuzzies for since KINDERGARTEN. We find out later in flashback (and there are a LOT of flashbacks in this book), that Jessica and Todd had sex once during their senior year of college five years prior. Granted they had secret meetings with one another over a period of one month in a out of the way diner.



So Liz leaves the two in a fury and flees to New York, stewing in her hate and disgust. Meanwhile, Jessica and Todd have moved in together and are planning to wed. Jessica is feeling tremendous amounts of guilt, not only for her betrayal eight months before the start of the story (which led to Liz moving to New York), but also for the initial affair five years previous.



The story is told mostly in third person, but when we get to a particular plot point, the perspective shifts to first person narrative and it can be a little confusing as to who's talking at first since it's used for several different characters throughout the book.



Also, we find out that the twins' older brother Steven is gay (which came out of the blue. I think because in order to be relevant to the times, there needed to be at least one gay character).



I don't know if Ms. Pascal wrote this book herself or had one of her ghostwriters do it. But the style seems uneven from the previous series. Jessica's vocabulary is very off in that she uses 'teenage' slang frequently when she never did in the book. It seems especially odd since she's now in her late twenties.



Also, is no one physically flawed in this book. Everyone has perfect hair, perfect breasts (well, the women do) and perfect teeth. They all have interesting jobs and impeccable fashion sense.



There's also swearing in this book when there never was in the original series. It seems very out of place. I guess it's to show this is a more 'mature' story. That and the sex (which is always fabulous, btw).



In the end, after a major fiasco at the twins' grandmother's 80th birthday party, they eventually make up when Liz realizes she fell out of love with Todd a long time ago but due to her committed personality, she never thought of leaving. Then, Liz hooks up with Bruce Patman (rich, gorgeous and a former jerkass), and they have awesome sex and they go to the wedding and things are fine.



I know this series is far from realistic, but I may be a little cynical anymore. I just hoped to have a little more depth to it is all.







View all my reviews

I really need a twins icon...

Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I had this series recommended to me by many people, so I thought I would bite the bullet and check it out. I only have the first volume (compiled issues 1-5), but what I've seen so far looks to be promising. The story and premise is compelling and the art is decent. I think I might pick up the next few volumes and see what fate has in store for these characters...



View all my reviews