3 posts tagged “heroes”

.:What I'm Watching:.

Chuck, Season 1. [Chuck (Zachary Levi) was a computer nerd working at an electronics store. Then he opened the wrong email and downloaded subliminal government information into his mind. Now, this ordinary guy is running from assassins, spies and terrorists out to pick his brain. With the help of crack CIA operative Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) and a protector from the National Security Agency (Adam Baldwin), Chuck dodges bullets and international intrigue. ~netflix] kinda fun! it's not a smart show, but it's fun. i do have a soft spot for spy shows, though, so that could skew my rating a little... 4 stars. even if McG *is* the executive producer. oh, and also, i LOVE adam baldwin. :)

The Foot Fist Way. [A pompous control freak, small-town tae kwon do instructor Mr. Simmons (Danny McBride) finally loses his cool when he gets wind of his wife's infidelities. Facing meltdown, he sets out on a pilgrimage to see his hero, martial arts master Chuck "The Truck" Wallace (Ben Best), in action. But is the world ready for a meeting between these two black-belt egos? Expertly drawn characters and furious action make this a comedy that really packs a punch. ~netflix] oh, what a funny movie. 4 stars. i really, really enjoyed it. the characters were just awesome. and the acting was terrific. i realize though, that this movie may not be for everyone... so while *i* enjoyed it, i wouldn't necessarily recommend it to people.

The Forbidden Kingdom. [Kung fu legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li star in this exciting adventure about a martial arts movie fanatic named Jason (Michael Angarano) who discovers a mystical Chinese staff in a local pawnshop that transports him to war-torn ancient China. When he learns that the staff belongs to the mighty Monkey King, who's been unjustly imprisoned by an evil warlord, Jason joins a group of skilled warriors to free the captive king and return the weapon. ~netflix] well... the fight scenes were lots of fun (yuen woo-ping, the guy behind the martial arts in movies such as Hero, The Matrix, uhm, pretty much any modern movie with good martial arts in it. heh.) but dang... that dialogue was BAD. and the girl was SO annoying with her stupid talking in 3rd person bit. ugh. but, i will give it 4 stars... mostly because it was a gorgeous movie and it WAS fun. it wasn't great, though. not by any means. it's a teenaged boy coming of age story and i think it'll probably appeal to that demographic. as an aside, we saw Michael Angarano in another movie (Snow Angels) and i've decided that he is the poor man's shia labeouf. when i told steve that he said, "the VERY poor man's shia labeouf." hehe.

Heroes, Season 3. [The dark forces rise up and gather with even more strength as a rejuvenated Sylar (Zachary Quinto) joins them in their attempt to destroy the Earth once and for all in the third season of the riveting smash hit sci-fi series. Meanwhile, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) and Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) try to pull their mother back from the dark side. Hayden Panettiere, Kristen Bell, Masi Oka, Greg Grunberg and Jack Coleman star. ~netflix] Dear Heroes Writers: we watched the first half of it at comic-con so we KNEW that the first half of the season premiere would be awesome... but, DUDE. did you HAVE to ruin the second half by putting in that line about "should've gone with Sprint" in there? really? i understand that you need corporate sponsorship... and don't get me wrong, i'm glad you're back with a vengeance in season 3, but that line totally made me roll my eyes and say, "ugh..." out loud. also, i hate maya. can you let her just DIE already? she's annoying and whiny. although, i guess without her, there wouldn't have been those hot scenes with mohinder. that was awesome. he is a beautiful, beautiful man. but now that we've seen mohinder in all his hotness, we can kill maya off. i thought it was interesting that you put her in form-fitting clothing this time around... perhaps to make everyone NOT hate her??? i dunno. just a hypothesis. oh, also, please stop introducing new characters. i'm getting confused. thanks. xo, g

The Love Guru. [Mike Myers is Pitka, an American raised by gurus on an Indian ashram who returns to his native soil to make a name for himself as a spiritual guide, where he's promptly challenged to settle a rivalry between two pro hockey players (Justin Timberlake and Romany Malco). With one of the player's marriages -- as well as the Stanley Cup -- at stake, Pitka must call upon his healing skills to mend the rift before time runs out. ~netflix] well, i expected nothing and got... well, nothing. stephen colbert stole every single scene he was in. and in case you do rent the movie, watch the special features. they were funnier than the movie. 2 stars.

Sex and the City: The Movie. ["Sex and the City" fans rejoice! Carrie Bradshaw and her girls Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda are back, and this time, they're coming to the big screen with this highly anticipated adaptation of the HBO comedy series. Golden Globe winner Sarah Jessica Parker returns as everyone's favorite columnist who, with her three BFFs (Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon), braves the roiling romantic waters of the city that never sleeps. ~netflix] while i really enjoyed the series, i don't know... the movie just seemed like it was allll about carrie and honestly, i like the other characters better. sure they're all caricatures, but toward the end of the series, they had more heart and soul than carrie. oh, and damn. the movie was long. i guess they were just trying to wrap things up so everyone could have a "happily ever after" but sheesh. i didn't think it needed to be THAT long. 3 stars.

Snow Angels. [Based on Stewart O'Nan's novel, this indie drama starring Kate Beckinsale intertwines parallel stories about teenager Arthur Parkinson (Michael Angarano) and his former babysitter, Annie Marchand (Beckinsale). Once the object of Arthur's boyhood infatuation, small-town waitress Annie heads down a fateful path after enduring a stormy relationship with her estranged spouse (Sam Rockwell). The supporting cast includes Amy Sedaris and Nicky Katt. ~netflix] okay. i'll confess. i TOTALLY cried. i think steve secretly thinks it's funny when i cry in a movie. i think he thinks i'm silly. i'll show you silly, steve! *shakes fist furiously* heh. anyway, i thought that it was really good... in fact, read steve's review. i share pretty much the same point of view with him. 4 stars.

Son of Rambow. [Forbidden to watch TV or go to the movies by his ultrareligious parents, young Will (Bill Milner) gets a hold of a camera, and his mind blossoms in this nostalgic comedy from the team behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Set in 1980s Britain, the film tells the tale of the friendship that blossoms between Will and class bully Lee (Will Poulter) when the latter recruits Will to help him make a home movie inspired by Rambo: First Blood. ~netflix] really cute. also, i guess i just never thought about it, but i never realized that other countries had the crazy religious people. for some reason, i thought kookiness was just in the US. hehe. ps - jessica hynes (used to be stevenson) is the mom in this movie. she's an awesome actress. ooh, and so is ed westwick. you know, Chuck on Gossip Girl? ooh, i love him on Gossip Girl. seriously. i do. uhm... i lost my train of thought... oh yeah. Son of Rambow... it was really good... blah, blah, blah... 4 stars. hehe.

The Sound of Music. [The hills are alive with the sound of singing siblings and nuns! In Rodgers and Hammerstein's greatest collaboration, a feisty postulant named Maria (Julie Andrews) is sent to care for the unruly, motherless Von Trapp children. She soon tames them -- and finds herself falling for their stern father (Christopher Plummer). Oscar-winning director Robert Wise used stunning Austrian locations to transform the stage musical into a cinema classic. ~netflix] since i couldn't make it to the Sing-Along at the Hollywood Bowl this year, i made the kids watch it. and i will make mia watch it every year until she likes it, damn it! hehe. i still have fond memories of watching it with my parents and my older sister. we'd pull the couch out so it was a bed and we'd all squish on there with our Jiffy Pop popcorn and watch it. i loved it so much i had the tape and i wore that thing out... *sigh* i love the movie so much. 4 stars. btw, if you purchase the 40th anniversary version, it's got the Sing-Along version on there... which basically means that the movie is the same, but for every song, it's got the words along the bottom like karaoke. :D fun! 5 stars... of course. hehe.

Speed Racer. [Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) stars as Speed in this big-screen adaptation of the popular 1960s-era Japanese animated series from directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, the minds behind the blockbuster Matrix trilogy. With the support of his parents (Susan Sarandon and John Goodman), his girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), and his onetime rival Racer X (Matthew Fox), Speed sets out to conquer a cross-country race known as the Crucible. ~netflix] i liked it. i thought it was fun and i liked the effects. it probably would've been awesome on acid! haha! 3 stars. matthew fox is yummy, but i think i like him better with buzzed hair. you know... the haircut he sports on LOST. mmm... matthew fox.... oh, and i think i would've liked it more if emile hirsch didn't talk. i'm pretty certain that the boy can't act. i just kinda tune him out at this point. oh, and did john goodman lose a ton of weight? he looked much thinner than i remember him looking....

.:What Mia's Watching:.

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! A Tale of Tails. [Come join yellow-hued Wubbzy (voiced by Grey DeLisle) and his pals -- the pinkish Widget (Lara Jill Miller) and the purplish Walden (Carlos Alazraqui) -- for some delightful animated adventures in this collection from the popular Nick Jr. series. Tag along as his friends try to help Wubbzy iron out his kinky tail, win the Wuzzleburg Derby road race and steer clear of the soon-to-erupt Mount Fizzy-Pop. ~netflix] could there be any more exclamation points?! hehe. anyway, it's just cute and sweet! it's bright and colorful and slightly frenetic, but it's really entertaining for the kiddies. 4 stars. read steve's review: here. he's also got an informative episode recap.

before my recap, i just want to say that since i've been back, mia's told me no fewer than 20 times (in different ways) that she loves me.
"mama, i just LOVE you!"
"i love you, mama!"
"i looooove you!"

yeah. all last night and this morning she's been telling me... boy, make her feel abandoned and she'll be a good little girl and tell me she loves me. woohoo! best.mom.ever. she hasn't told me that she loves me since... i don't even remember! it's been MONTHS. and she only told me that once!

oh, and she started getting sick at grandma's. :( she's not too bad, but last night, she had a pretty high fever. i didn't measure it, but she hasn't had a fever in a long time. poor baby. she takes after me, i guess. up until high school, i used to get sick anytime i spent the night away from home. :( literally homesick, i guess. weird, huh? hopefully she gets better soon. i had to tell conner's mom to keep conner home. i didn't want him to get sick.

anyway, back to the con. there weren't very many freebies this year so i don't really have anything to send out to anyone. but, i do have some Doctor Who and Spaced postcards, so if you want one, PM me and i'll mail one out to you. :D

there's a long post ahead... and/or peep my pics. they're not that impressive. i didn't take any pics on the floor (too many people and it was nuts) and in some panels, i wasn't at a good angle to take pics of the big screens... so yeah.

THURSDAY

i was fully packed and ready to go. packed the car up while the kids were sleeping so that when conner's mom came to pick him up, i could just stick mia in the car and take off. i was trying to make the 5pm train and i knew it would be tight. so mia and i ran to the car and we were gone before conner's mom was even finished getting conner in his car seat. haha! i raced back and got to the train station with maybe 40 or so minutes to spare, but i was still nervous because there were a TON of people trying to get on the train. i finally got on, but it was basically standing room only. which sucked. i ended up sitting on the ground. and that REALLY sucked. but i just started a book and in no time at all, i was in san diego.

there was a HUGE accident going southbound on the 5 so steve's friends who left at 7:30 AM didn't end up getting to the con until 1:30. that's a 1.5 hour trip that took 6 hours. i'd be PISSED. steve and co. left around... 9ish? and they took the long way (without traffic, maybe a 2 or so hour drive?) and it took them 3 hours because there was an accident there, too. but that's WAY better than 6 hours. but i am SO glad i took the train. only 2 hours and i didn't have to be stressed out during the drive or finding parking or driving down those stupid one-way streets in SD. woohoo!

anyway, the train got there after 7, so i couldn't pick up my badge. boo. steve came to the station to pick me up and we walked to the hotel (quick maaaaybe 10 min walk) and we dropped my stuff off, we went to the food court at horton plaza to grab a bite and meet everyone else. i think all i did was drink on thursday night. haha!

FRIDAY

i wanted to go to ralph's to pick up a sandwich and i had to get registered, so i sent steve to stand in line. while i was (speed)walking to the con by myself, some dudes totally whistled at me. haha! i laughed. oddly enough, they were pretty normal looking dudes. they weren't all nerded out. woohoo! i still got it! sort of. anyway, moving on.

it was already a zoo. soooo many people there. the first panel i went to go see was Watchmen. seriously? Watchmen looks so awesome, i don't even know what to tell you. they showed us some extra footage and i don't know how i'm going to wait until march 6 to watch it. (coincidentally, the watchmen release date is also steve's 40th birthday. that is ALL he wants to do for his birthday. haha!) i literally got chills watching the extra footage. anyway, not only did the footage look amazing, but all the actors in the Watchmen showed up to promote the film.

after that panel was done, we decided that we were going to get into joss whedon's panel with the actors of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. (if you haven't watched that yet, DO it. it's awesome.) anyway, for those of you who have never been to a con, joss whedon's panels are pretty hard to get into just because he is SO popular. there is usually a looong line and sometimes you don't even get in. soooo... steve and i snuck in. haha! we were able to get in without anyone noticing. phew. steve is so slick, i swear. hehe. i think it's because he just looks like he's not doing anything wrong. i always look guilty. hehe.

anyway, after we were in, i stood against the wall to charge steve's camera and after a few minutes of standing there, neil patrick harris walked RIGHT BY ME. i could've reached out and touched him... well, except for the security around him. haha. i seriously had a mini-heart attack.

the panel was awesome. nathan fillion, felicia day, NPH and the other guy (whose name escapes me) were all there along with joss and the writers. it was a great panel. joss definitely has one of the more entertaining panels around. and it was a lot of fun. and they were all funny. nathan fillion is such a ham. i love him. no really. i love him.

so after that, i ended up walking the floor... picked up a bunch of cute stuff. i spent a bunch of money. heh. OH! and i ran into patrick wilson on the floor. (well, he was surrounded by security.) he is a seriously good-looking man. *meow* hehe. oh, and they were having a Watchmen signing or something and jeffrey dean morgan was standing up waving and we locked eyes and he pointed at me. haha! i looked around as if to say, "are you looking at me?" and then i looked back at him and he nodded and pointed again. haha! so i waved. i didn't know know what else to do. haha. it was a total teeny bopper moment.

and at some point in the day (wait. i'm not sure if it was friday or saturday. might've been saturday. the days are running together.) i saw joe mcqueen. he is in the documentary Confessions of a Superhero. (btw, that is an awesome documentary. you should watch it.) i talked to him for a bit and he was really sweet. :)

after that was just dinner and more drinks. hehe. then we went to go watch the World's Worst Cartoons. no, seriously. they literally ARE the world's worst cartoons. they weren't purposely made bad. they are old and there was no budget. so yeah. they're just bad. and funny. especially when you're drinking. heh.

SATURDAY

saturday was a heavier panel day for me (since friday i only went to two)... the line to get into the Heroes panel was INSANE. get this... people started lining up THE NIGHT BEFORE. that's 12 hours of sitting out on concrete. people are nuts. the line snaked back and forth and then like a mile back. yeah. i know. it was crazy. we thought about not going in to that panel. but steve thought we'd get in (Hall H fits like, 6500 people or something) so he just went ahead and got in line. our friend gave up and went to a different panel. and i went to go get my SWEET SWEET Watchmen shirt (exclusive for the con)... and i walked on the floor... got myself a super cute belt... and i made an asshole of myself by singing "happy birthday" to Astroboy so i could get a big ass bag. (if you've never been to a con, this probably doesn't make a whole lotta sense. hehe.) i saw lena headey in person. when you see her in movies or tv, she is a pretty woman. but in person? she's BEAUTIFUL. seriously? she is like, one of the top 10 most beautiful people i've ever seen.

and then steve called me and he's like, "the line's starting to move. call [our friend] and you guys get over here." so i start RUNNING off the floor and i call her and tell her to GET OVER HERE. so she starts running and we got there RIGHT in time to get into Hall H. dude, we were so elated. it was awesome. hehe.

and it was SO worth it because they showed us the entire first episode of season 3. YOU GUYS, IT'S SO GOOD. i was kinda starting to lose interest in Heroes during the second season... i just didn't think it was that good and i thought they were introducing too many new characters. but... man. this episode has renewed my faith in them. hehe. it was REALLY good (i'm sure it's up on youtube somewhere)... and yeah. it was just awesome. i didn't get any pics because the Hall was so packed that we weren't at a good angle for picture taking. but everyone was there and it ruled.

OH. during the Q&A portion of it, this little kid gets up to tell zachary quinto (Sylar) how awesome he is so he's like, "SILO, I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT YOU'RE AWESOME!!!!" hehehe. that "silo" seriously made EVERYONE laugh. it was SO cute.

after Heroes was LOST. we stayed until the Q&A portion. i wish we stayed a little bit longer because apparently, matthew fox showed up. GAH. i love him.

we ran to get into line to see the Dollhouse panel. (another joss whedon panel) it was a long, long line. steve went to check out the sitch and what happens? he sneaks in again. and leaves me and [our friend] to fend for ourselves. haha. it was okay cuz we got in, but that place was PACKED. whether we made it in or not, i would've been okay. i would've liked to see the Dollhouse panel, but if i missed it, i didn't really care cuz i was REALLY wanting to see the Battlestar Galactica panel.

anyway, the Dollhouse panel didn't disappoint. i missed the show's trailer, but i'm interested in watching it when it comes out. eliza dushku is a little spitfire. hehe. she's so cute and funny. and tahmoh penikett (helo on BSG) was there. he was looking a little clammy and pale. i thought he was going to pass out... oddly enough, he didn't show up for the BSG panel even though it was RIGHT after the Dollhouse panel.

BSG had tricia helfer (six), katee sackhoff (starbuck), jamie bamber (apollo), james callis (baltar), michael trucco (anders) and ronald d. moore and david eick (executive producers) were there. i was just happy to be in there. seriously. i thought i wasn't going to make it to any of the panels and i got into them all. i was stoked.

on the way down to check out the panel for the new Pixar, i saw felicia day (dr horrible) so that was cool. so, the new Pixar called Up is really cute. they showed some footage and it looks pretty amazing, as well. i'm looking forward to that one.

and the floor was so crazy that i couldn't get a picture of the enormous Castle Grayskull on the floor, but i'm sure if you really want to see it, someone will have a picture of the Mattel booth online. sometime during this time, i got to see LE and her boyfriend... it was just for a few minutes. and turns out that she and i bought the exact same super cute belt for ourselves. hehehe. i gave them the astroboy bag i got (he's a big fan, i'm not) so yeah... that was about it. then it was time for us to separate and keep on doing stuff. good lord, we were busy. hehe.

after the floor, we went back to the big hall to see the Sony panel. they showed a trailer of Quarantine, which kind of scared me. heh. i probably won't watch it... although, jennifer carpenter (who plays Dexter's sister in ... Dexter. heh.) is in the movie. and i really like her. we'll see. that movie looked scary. what? i'm kind of a wuss. the 3rd installment of Underworld (which is supposed to be a prequel) looks like a whole lotta SUCK, but i'll probably still watch it. haha! and then it was Pineapple Express. i think it's gonna be pretty funny. i mean, it's a buddy-action-comedy-weed flick. how can it NOT be funny????

by then it was about 7. we went back to the food court at horton plaza to grab a bite. i had one of my worst ideas ever. i had mongolian bbq... and then followed it up with chili cheese fries... mmm, salty dessert. hehe. oh! and i saw jon heder. he just picked up some food and was looking for a place to sit and went upstairs to the second floor seating. hehe. it was funny cuz he was slowly walking by looking around and i was like, "dude! he looks JUST like jon heder! weird!) and then i caught a glimpse of his badge and it read "jon heder." hehe. i was like, "OH! it IS him!" hehe.

after that, i was just TIRED. went back to the hotel to relax a bit. we must've walked at least 10 miles each day (steve's friend had a pedometer and it told him that he had walked 11 miles on saturday) and yeah. well, that was mostly it. sunday we just woke up, had breakfast and came home. this year i saw so many more celebs and stuff in person. usually i don't run into anyone. so it was interesting. i usually don't give a crap, but during the con, i turn into this crazy teeny bopper. hehe.

i was happy to see mia, she was happy to see me and that was that. hehe. we went to souplantation last night and mia and i ate a ton of food. and dude, can anyone tell me why it took me like, 3 weeks to lose 6 lbs, but only 3 days to gain 2.5lbs BACK?! jeez.

.:What I'm Watching:.

Knocked Up. [A one-night stand results in an unexpected pregnancy for entertainment reporter Alison (Katherine Heigl) in Judd Apatow's romantic comedy. Determined to be a good mom and keep her career on track, Alison decides to try to make things work with the baby's father, slacker Ben (Seth Rogen). It's anything but smooth sailing as the odd couple gets acquainted, but Alison finds there's more to Ben than she originally thought. Paul Rudd also stars. ~netflix] it was pretty darn funny. we watched the unrated version. i think that was why we got to see the baby's head crowning. *shudder* i didn't even want to see my OWN baby's head crowning. i know it wasn't real, but it was still gross. hehe. i think judd apatow's amazing. lah-lah-love his work.

Tekkon Kinkreet. [Based on Taiyo Matsumoto's popular manga serial "Black and White," this surreal anime adventure follows two penniless orphans, Black and White, struggling to survive on the mean streets of Treasure Town. When a megacorporation threatens to tear down the town to build an amusement park, Black and White engage in the fight of their life. Directed by Michael Arias, this dazzling tale comes from the creators of Animatrix. ~netflix] really good. confusing at times, but isn't all anime confusing? hehe. we just got the manga yesterday. i know i should read it. but it's really thick and long. (that's what she said! heheh. sorry. couldn't resist that.) i just don't know if i'm going to have the time to read it. i even have LAST month's comics to read. i am behind!

Vacancy. [A young couple (Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson) stranded at an isolated hotel are shocked to find that their room is wired with video equipment -- but their anger turns to terror when they realize that they may become the star attractions in a snuff film. As the two struggle to escape, they find evidence that the murderous filmmakers have been producing these twisted movies for quite some time. Frank Whaley also stars. ~netflix] i don't watch much horror. so this movie kinda freaked me out. i guess in hindsight, it wasn't that scary, but while i was watching it, i was pretty scared. heh. also, it didn't help that i was alone because steve and the boys went to oktoberfest and i was alone.  heh. it kept me tense, but for not much payoff. i didn't DISLIKE it. i just didn't think it was great.

and i'm still watching:
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Doctor Who
Jekyll

and don't forget new TV:
Bionic Woman
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Desperate Housewives
Heroes
Prison Break (which i was going to give up after last season... but it somehow sucked me back in. even though it angers me! GAH!)
Robot Chicken
The Simpsons
South Park

i know there's more... but holy cow. addiction, thy name is television.