Day 2: Fabulous Females

Welcome back, loves!

Emma Swan

Even though I don't watch Once Upon a Time anymore, it'd be a crime not to add Emma in.
I love her. Despite all her flaws, despite me not agreeing with a lot of the things she says and does, I just love her. She has a lot of amazing qualities and has done pretty incredible things that I adore her for.

At first, she's a lonely, independent gal who enters a situation she didn't want to be a part of.
Then she becomes part of a town that she never expected she'd live in.
Then she forms a bond with a child she never thought she'd see again.
A negative part of her is that she's too much of a skeptic. It takes her a long time to get things and she's completely blind to the obvious, therefore has trouble believing even if the world needs her to.
She's too dependent on what she can see and attached to this negative aspect, she also has trouble believing in people. She has a lot of trust issues, that no doubt stem from when she was "abandoned" and it takes people a long time to gain at least a fraction of that trust.

Even with Henry, it took awhile for a bond to form.
She still felt she would never be a good mother and at first tries to push him away back to Regina, but she inevitably gets the message that he's not going anywhere.
Her relationship with Snow is what also pushes her out of her shell. From the time she entered the town and took one look at her, something within her awoken and it was as if that something just knew; that was her mother. Their progress of friendship within the first season was heart-warming and honestly beautifully done.
Growing closer to Henry and Snow eventually brought love, faith and trust back into her heart, albeit slowly.
To the point where, once Emma felt as if she were going to lose Henry once more, it snapped.
Everything became clear. From that point on, Emma could finally start to believe again.

What I love most about her is her sarcasm and her inner charm.
She also has good potential for a fighter, though she truly isn't a warrior.
She's tough. But she's not that tough.
Still, she's a strong, capable chick and can definitely hold her own if it came down to it.
She has tons of talents and a good heart in a lot of things.
Despite all of her cons, Emma Swan is a pretty fantastic character.





Rose Tyler

How could I not add the beautiful Rose Tyler?
With a charm, strength, loyalty and bravery as strong as her's, there's no question why she was my favorite companion.

Seriously, I don't understand why she gets so much hate from people.
She's funny, sweet and totally sassy when she needs to be. She's got one of the greatest and realest personalities I've seen from that type of character.
With everything that happened to her, you would think the writers just hated her.
Her father died, she was trapped inside a parallel universe, separated from the Doctor, etc, in one of the most horrible moments of Doctor Who to date, I mean geez.
And after all the junk that went down in their travels. Pft.




Seriously though, I love her character. She's amazing.
How can you possibly hate her? She's the Bad Wolf, for crying out loud.
And she did whatever she could to get back to the Doctor. Like blast up some nasty Daleks.
Chick got cool real fast.

What more can I say about her? She was my first companion, from my first Doctor, and she's just spectacular. So bruhaha to all you Rose Tyler haters. She be awesome and there's nothing you could do or say to change my mind. ;P





Lara Croft

Lara's been one of my favorites since I was real little. In fact, next to Mulan, she was one of my few inspirations as a tough girl. One of the first female characters I saw that really broke that damsel in distress trait that others always had. She's powerful and completely capable.
Not that there's anything wrong with having a guy, but she can do just as good without one as she does with one. She's a great mixture of wit, intelligence, agility, humor and cool demeanor, and also keeps a leveled head in tight or panicky situations.



One of her unfortunate downsides is that she's the type of character that they tend to inappropriate.
So yeah, she's not entirely the most modest thing in the world, but for the most part, she's tame.
I think more than anything she plays with it because she can and she just loves boys as much as I do.
But you don't necessarily see her chasing after them. She lets them come to her, which is a part of her I really like. (......I don't chase after boys, btw)



But that part of her personality I easily can overlook because she has such awesome qualities to her.
She's adventurous and skilled, independent and loyal. She doesn't fool around with people or play silly games, nor does she sit there and get emotional over dumb things.
Lara isn't the shining example of what you should be as a girl, but she's still someone you should respect.
That's why I have always admired her as a character. She is who she is, and you gotta love that about her.

More tomorrow. ♥
God bless,

Day 2: Movies I Could Watch Again and Again

Welcome to the second round of our Geek Week!
Let's continue my post-chain, "Movies I Could Watch Again and Again", shall we?

4. The Dark Knight Trilogy

Ok, let's back up a bit here and lemme just say, I am one of the biggest fans, biggest lovers, biggest supporters, biggest everythings of all things Batman.
I can't help it, I have a serious obsession.

Now I absolutely adore the other Bat films, I do! They have a lot of good things about them.
But the DK trilogy is like...oh my word.
There is very little you can say against such perfection.
The style, the characters, the story, the direction, everything is just so intelligently written and perfect.
Christopher Nolan is by far one of the most amazing and talented directors of our time, no lies.
He puts a lot of detail and thought into what he does and he does a bloody brilliant job at it.

I have no favorites when it comes to this trilogy. They're all the same movie to me.
The usage of villains and the characters are just so clever. I don't always dig it when people try to make things I like more realistic, but I definitely did with this one.

Christian Bale did a glorious job as Bruce/Batman. He covered his accent well and humanized the character in a unique way. Bruce's character has always been really interesting to me. He puts up an act with Bruce, which is supposed to be his real identity, but almost reveals the real him when he's Batman. And this has been a different thing from other super heroes. Morally, he's triumphant.
I don't always agree with his stances on things- e.g. the no killing policy- but that's his own walk and I respect it. Because he's awesome at everything he does.
Bale portrayed Bruce in an amazing way, taking everything we've seen from Bruce's character and putting his own spin into it. He acts in a way where it's almost as if he's playing two characters. He separates the two personalities of Bruce and Batman very well, making it look almost effortless.
I love his mixture of emotions and restrain from making who's supposed to be the same person seem like the same person. He did a terrific job as Batman and it's a shame we won't be seeing him play him again.

Of all the Gordon portrayals I have seen, Gary's take was fantastic. He really humbled the character and made him likable even in times where he shouldn't be. I love the loyalty and trust he showed to Batman and how their partnership built up. Gary made Gordon's character seem believable and as good a cop and person as Gordon can be. His character honestly was just as important and heroic as Batman was.
And that's why you need to be careful with how you portray everyone.
In a story like this, everyone has an important role.

I liked Rachel well enough and it was horrible when she died, but there was a bit of an annoyance how she kept friend-zoning Bruce and was so conflicted with her feelings. Not that I was annoyed with how it was portrayed, it was an annoying situation, so it's supposed to be annoying.
Her personality was in the right place; she loved her city and it's people and wanted to try her best to save them both, and I really respected that part of her. She did what seemed right to her and that's always a good thing. I would've loved to have seen her and Harvey together longer, because they did make a good couple.

But thankfully, Selina really made up for the bad relationship that went down in the first two movies.
Bruce needed some love and he sure found it.
I've always loved BatCat's (yes, don't judge me) relationship and adored their sass with eachother.
Catwoman has always been one of my favorites, especially in Batman Returns, but I think Anne's portrayal is my more favored one, simply because she's not as sexualized as with Michelle's.
She's more grounded and realistic and does what she can to survive and doesn't put herself out there for men to boggle over. (Michelle's didn't do this, but you know what I mean)
I love her sarcasm and wit, then change to a more serious and aggressive behavior when it's down to business. She's more like Bruce in this way, as far as knowing what personality to use when it comes down to things. I really loved the way they set the relationship up in the movie. It wasn't rushed or dragged, it was a perfect build. And I'm sorry, but in almost every portrayal of them I see, they are just perfect for one another.

Ahhhh, the villains. I could go on and on about the villains, but I just won't.
You have Villainous Villains for that one.
I will say that I loved Crane in this one and that he actually got to have a film appearance.
That's one of the only shames about the movies is that he didn't play a bigger role.
But who can deny that the whole judge-y scenes of him were not absolutely perfect?

So yeah, I know I went even more overboard on my so-called "mini" review than I did for Advent Children, but I AM talking about three movies in one here, so go easy on me.
The soundtrack was incredible and because of it, I am a huge fan of Hans Zimmer, cuz golly, the man is the king of music. I'm not kidding.
The plot, the acting, the look, the feel, everything to me is perfect. I could watch those movies every day and not get tired. They're so brilliantly well done and I give every thumb up possible to everyone involved for putting it together. So I give a very strong 10/10, because yes.

5. Terminator 2: Judgement Day

I have always been a big fan of the Terminator films. I love the concept, the story and all the characters.
I haven't fully watched the first one (although I would like to), didn't much care for the third one, even though I could tolerate it unlike other people, loved the fourth and adored the fifth, but the 2nd one was just incredible. They did a massively awesome job with how they went about things in this one.

The build up was done right, with how they opened it and how they brought on all the characters.
And the terminator scenes are intense in their own right. I, for one, always get chills.
The music they use also really helps the mood.
Young John Connor, I'm sorry to say, I always had a crush on him when I was around his age.
But his character was great. Especially when he was interacting with Arnold. XD
Sarah rocked here. I love how intense and aggressive she got after her experience.
Her portrayal was insane and it was bloody epic. But she didn't always do things that made the most sense.
If anything, she started to react to a lot of things in anger, which is totally understandable.
The whole deal really messed her up and it was heartbreaking when she lost Kyle. (Which is why I'm pretty thankful for Terminator 5, because you know...)

Arnold, as usual, was his awesome acting self. He plays tough and serious so well.
The action scenes mesmerize me. And Robert's terminator gives me the willies, mainly because he is so cold and direct with how he acts and kills. Let's be honest, if his kind've terminator existed, we'd all be scroogled.

I just seriously loved this movie. Sure, the language is a bit much, and it has it's own set of flaws, but it's the best one (next to T-5) of the series, mainly because they take this one seriously and didn't mess around with it. The story was great, the actors were great (and intense, my word), the music was mixed in well, and the look of it all was dark and edgy, just the way I like this kind of movie.
I give it a 9.5. ^^


6. Hugo

I will go very far in saying that this movie is stunning.
It is gorgeous in every way. Everything about it was just perfectly done and so full of life.
They really paid attention to things and built it up in the correct way a movie should.
Every time I watch Hugo, I get so full of inspiration.

I originally hadn't even heard much about it, except for one little TV spot and a mention of it when talking to my sister, who saw it and loved it. So when it was available, I decided to give it a try.
And boy, was I right to do so. :)
It has since become one of my most beloved movies. I was super surprised at how much I adored it.
I fell in love with the plot (DEFINITELY the plot), the characters, the look of everything, and just everything in general. It really pulled me in and kept my attention glued to the screen.
I am always fascinated by movies about writing or acting or just simply film-making.
It's a topic that's closest to my heart and I love to see other people's takes on it, especially from the writers or film-makers themselves. They really capture the beauty of books and movies so vividly here and gave out the perfect message that films had the power to capture dreams.

I love Chloe Grace Moretz and this is actually the only movie I own that she's done, mainly because her others just don't interest me, even though she's a fantastic actress.
I adored her character and her lively spirit, even though at time she could be a real brat.
But she makes up for it with charm and compassion and the way her and Hugo slowly become best friends is just so touching. They complimented eachother's personalities really well and they made eachother better people by being around one another. Also, the fact that she became a writer made me love her even more.
Hugo had his moments of being unlikable, but he really pulled through when he started to show more emotion and revealing what was happening within him, to where you really felt for the kid. He had went through a lot and it was a shame he had such a hard life, knowing how smart and talented he was.

Georges Méliès and his wife Jehanne were precious. I loved those two so.
They both had incredible dreams and talents and were so smart and passionate about what they did, it was so shattering to watch them be so broken. Like Hugo, they had their beginning times of being unlikable, but then when you find out what all happened to them, you just really have nothing but pity for them.

Uggghhh, but the movie, I love this movie so incredibly much. It was so beautiful and fantastic and I adored the Inspector and his lovely love interest and his dog so much. Anyone who has not seen it really needs to, because it's just a perfect film, especially for writers or film-makers like myself.
It always, always fills me with so much inspiration and really speaks to my heart, awakening the passion I have for writing and film-making in really strong volumes.
So yeah, if you haven't, watch it.
You'll probably love it.
All the things are fantastic. I give it a 10/10. Hands down.

That's all for now. Check back tomorrow for more! ♥

My All Time Favorite Show: Chuck

If you haven't seen Chuck, it's about a guy named Chuck. He works at a dead end job at the Buy More, and his life is just boring. He accidentally downloads this thing called the Intersect (hey, now you know where I got my admin name from ;) ), which holds all the information on all of the CIA and the NSA. (Not that he could actually "remember" everything. If he sees something that is in one of the files of each of the agencies he "flashes" and gets all the information at that point.) He finds himself being tracked down by both of these agencies. At first they are trying to kill him, but then they decide to let him work for them instead. And thus, how the series begins. 

The show has amazing characters (such as Chuck), and an awesome plot line. Everything is so well put together, I'm surprised it's not more popular.

Now that you know that, I should probably tell you a little bit about the characters. ^_^

Chuck Bartowski

He is my all time favorite character (like of all of the shows, I've loved Chuck the most). And even saying that is an understatement. I love this man to bits, and he's just the bestest ever. He's loyal, lovable, quirky, geeky, and just an all around sweet guy. He's probably the closest thing that I have to a fictional crush, and even then I only ship him with Sarah. ;)

 The cast directors knew what they were doing when they had Zachary Levi play Chuck. I mean look at this face! 

*ahem* Yeah, he's the best. ^.^ 

Morgan Grimes

He's probably my second favorite character. He's an awesome best friend to Chuck, and I couldn't imagine the show without him in it. If there was no Morgan, who would be there to say stuff like:

He makes the show better just by being there. Who would Chuck be without Morgan? ;) He's hilarious, and I don't know how to describe him other than he's Morgan. XD

Sarah Walker

She works for the CIA, and has some pretty sick spy moves. She's not as funny as Chuck or Morgan, but she has her moments. She's tough on the outside, but she always has this soft spot for Chuck. She has a hard time admitting her feelings, but it's understandable because of the assumed tough past she's had. She's beautiful, and everything you would expect from a female spy.

John Casey

Yes, the same actor who played Jayne also plays Casey. He's a rugged, military man. He loves guns, NSA/spy work, and President Ronald Reagan. (Basically, he's Jayne in another universe.) Need I say more? ;) 

Ellie Bartowski

She's Chuck's big sister, and has been taking care of him since their father left many years ago. She's very protective of Chuck, but still wants him to get out there and do the things he loves doing. She's brilliant, and is a doctor of neurology. She's the one that gives Chuck advice, and is always there for him when needed. 

Captain Awesome

He's Ellie's surprisingly smart boyfriend. He might not seem like the type that would be smart, but he's actually a doctor of cardiology. He works with Ellie at the same hospital. He's one of those guys that always, and I mean always, says awesome. Thus, he is nicknamed (by Chuck) Captain Awesome. His real name is actually Devon Woodcomb. I'm sure if Awesome were to read this, he'd say: 

Jeff and Lester

They're the two weird/creepy guys that work at Buy More with Chuck, Morgan, and Casey. They're not technically "main characters," but I consider them part of the show just as much as anyone else. They play in their own band called Jeffster. But... as they don't really have much talent they're stuck working at the Buy More. (P.S. The one with the crazy hair playing the piano is Jeff, and the one singing is Lester.)

Big Mike

He's the owner of the Buy More, and he loves Subway sandwiches. He's kind of like Mr. Krabs in someways, if that gives you an idea. XD 

Anyways. If you haven't seen Chuck yet, I highly recommend it. I hope this causes you to want to watch the show. I promise that you won't be disappointed. ^.^

Why I Love Movies....

I thought I would conclude Day 1 with a special post..why I love movies.

Ok, so who doesn't love movies? But I will tell you some of the main reasons why I love them.

Seeing and Believing
As a writer, I love to tell stories, I love the written word, fiction is where my heart is.
With writing, you can take yourself anywhere and do anything you want. Nothing is impossible.
Logic goes out the window. You create your own world.
When you read, you picture the characters and world around them with your own imagination.
That's one of the beauties about it. It gives you a sort've mystery.
But a movie? Movies are a whole nother class all on their own. But are no less magical.

Movies provide you with the chance to actually SEE the characters. To witness it all before your very eyes. Movies make things all the more real and not just a story. What was once a set of a thousand words can turn into a single scene. There's so much you can do with a movie.
It's taking books to visibility, but still providing you with a sense of wonder.

Emotional Investment
Movies can impact people. They can effect you emotionally, personally, or make you think about things. The ideas within the film can be very influential. Watching the characters, witnessing all that they go through, makes you build a connection with them. You get to know them as people. You're caught up with their lives, as if they're real people. And when something happens to them, it hurts. Because you have grown to have general care for them. Movies further personalize characters and makes them more human.

Immortalized
Over the many years, we have grown to care about the actors, too. They've become some of the most influential people. But is it really the actors we care so much about..or the love of the character?
Depending on our feelings for a particular character, those feelings can spill on to the actor itself and sometimes, it can seem as if they ARE that character. That's why we react whenever the actor does something wrong or something happens to them. Almost as if it was the character itself.
We come to hold them by the standards of the character and expect them to follow them.
Which is why it's so important to remember that to them, it's only a job. Do what I do and love who they play. It's ok to love the actor, but be sure to separate the two; because they aren't their characters.

One of the amazing things about movies is that, even when an actor dies, they live through their roles.
So when you watch a film, everything almost becomes timeless. And they're alive all over again.

Movie Night
We all know how fun it is to not only enjoy the films for ourselves, but share the experience with our loved ones, too. One of the best ways to make a celebration memorable is by going out to the theater, or having a family movie night. You can sit back, eat a bunch of snacks, laugh and bond with the people you care about.
Movies are a great way for bringing out our emotions and feelings on things, and get conversations going.
It can truly help you connect.

Inspiration
People like me love entertainment of various formats, because the imaginative world is so beautiful and wondrous and it inspires us to be who we are. Films can change one's views or opinions, but to others, it can change a life, such as who we want to be. Peter Jackson himself credits King Kong as his inspiration to be what he is today. (and in turn, PJ helped inspire me!)
While one story or character can be one thing for a person, to another, it can spark ideas within them that encourages them to create. To build. To make something better of this world.
So many people in the past were influenced by eachother's works. Like how Bob Kane was inspired to make Batman after seeing Zorro, one of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions and a movie titled, "The Bat Whispers". Pretty neat, eh?
Our minds work differently. You may see something and not find anything special about it, but to another, it can unlock whole new possibilities.

There are millions of other reasons why films are amazing.
And they're perfectly good ones to justify our passion. Of all the things we have done as the human race, films are one of the greatest achievements. They stick with us and bring us joy. They inspire us and can turn a bad day into an enjoyable one within minutes.
They can change thoughts, possibilities, moods, dreams, careers, anything.
In fact, I'd even go so far as to say they can change the world.
It all depends on the story. On the message.
Who knows? You might be a simple fan, watching Star Wars today, and be traveling through the stars tomorrow.
It doesn't matter what the plot or style of a film is. When it all comes down to it, movies are beautiful.

Day 1: Villainous Villains

Here is a series dedicated to villains, where I post a few of my thoughts and reflections of their character and just how evil they are. The order of villains I will be listing start from the lowest of my evil scales.. keep in mind, I'm not doing every villain. Just some of my favorites who I feel are some of the baddest.

But just how bad? We'll see.



Professor Ratigan




Evil Scale: 5.9

You've gotta admit, for a rat, he was a pretty good villain. Regardless of who he was based off of.
Ratigan was a gentleman of sorts and had a twisted sense of humor and order, much like his human counterpart. But you could tell, there was always something hidden there that he tried to keep at bay.
He's a rat of class and likes to keep things under control. His control.
But that doesn't stop him from showing a dark and menacing side that can sometimes slip out if he's pressed too hard. Especially when referred to as a rat.
Not too often does he get his own hands dirty, except for when he's brought to absolute necessary levels, so he's much like your average crime boss. He relies well enough on his lackeys to do the job and shows little to no compassion for those who he suffers through his schemes and actions.



Like many a villain, his goal is power and wealth and dominion over those he sees lesser than him.
And he'll stop at nothing to get him there.
If you are no longer of use to him, he doesn't hesitate for a second on getting rid of you.
He respects his opponent Basil to a certain extent, but his pride and arrogance that clouds his good judgment leaves him blind to see that Basil is far greater than him.
In the end, when everything falls out of his control, he loses all of his cool demeanor and breaks free of the gentleman shell to release a far more barbaric and unpredictable part of himself that up until that point, he tried so hard to keep at bay. Image and status is important to him, but it's not his fashion or manner that he worries about.
It's the fear of appearing weak and beatable. It's the fear of losing control.






Edgar



Evil Scale: 6.0

Massively grotesque and due to his species, heavily unpredictable, Edgar has just got to be included solely because of the way he killed and the way he felt about us.
The irony of his character is that even though he himself was a bug, he felt differently about our roles to one another. He felt like we were the bugs. We were the infestation.
He saw us as a disgusting race who were too many and decided to take matters into his own hands to extinguish us. It's made clear that the only thing he really cares about is his own kind.
Therefore, to us, he shows zero tolerance and a heavy disregard for our own lives and he kills us in a cold, callous way, much like one would do to a bug.



A few of his actions or choices of dialogue can unintentionally be comical, so he keeps his character leveled with a menacing manner, but still be humorous to watch.
There are times with him in the movie where you feel grossed or creeped out, or you laugh, or have chills running down your spine, which makes for an excellent brand of a villain. The only thing that stops many a villain from being truly bad to the core is their care for something, and this is the same with Edgar.
His actions may have been evil, but he showed a weakness and he let it drive him.

His seemingly callous nature towards us winds up taking part of his downfall where he doesn't recognize the capability of K and J in stopping him, therefore plays it out in an ignorant, cocky manner, that led to him being outsmarted and eventually defeated.

Ghostfreak

Evil Scale: 6.0

If you were unaware before, I am a huge Ben 10 fan (particular of the old series) and one of my favorite characters from it is Ghostfreak.
I dunno why, his character is just seriously interesting.
He was created to be intentionally creepy and spooky for it's own genre in Ben's selection of aliens, but his background is actually more dark and mysterious than the writers had intended. And I think that's what gives Ghostfreak his charm. The way they brought him in was pretty clever, from what seemed to be just another alien for Ben to turn into, to a rather cunning and dangerous future adversary.



I love every episode he's in, but especially the ones where he teams up with Frankenstein, The Wolf and The Mummy. While Ghostfreak may have his own weaknesses, it doesn't stop him from being cold and twisted to his victims. For a kid's show, Ghostfreak was pretty dark, implied or otherwise.
So dark, he terrified other villains. Even the great Vilgax had problems taking him down on his own.
Cuz Ghostfreak is just that cunning and powerful. He can take you over with ease and make you do anything he wants. One of those dangerous sorts of villains that take over your mind. And once they get in, it's difficult getting them out.
While he may have the disadvantage of being vulnerable to light, he does quickly have the means to turn this around by taking over your body and treating you like a puppet.
His abilities make him all the more threatening, making him a rather worthy foe for Ben to face.
Villain or not, Ghostfreak is awesome.



Tune in tomorrow for my next villainous post!