What: Lady Gaga
Why I Hated It: She first came onto the scene with her single Just Dance. It was a really great song that I loved right away. But then I started reading about her in interviews and stuff and she just came across so conceited. She was always going on about how her songs were art and how she was an artist, blah blah blah. And I wanted to scratch her eyes out because doesn’t she know she’s just a another pop star and shut up already? I mean, I loved each song she put out, but I just couldn’t stand her.
Turning Point: Then she did an interview with a German television show wearing a coat made of several Kermit the frogs. And now I get it. It’s an act. No one can possibly wear that coat and take themselves too seriously. It’s just not possible. I bet she goes home and laughs her ass off at the ridiculousness of it all. At least I like to think she does and that’s what makes me love her now.

What: Beer
Why I Hated It: I never had a single drink of alcohol in high school. No, not even for my prom or graduation. Sure, I had sips of my Mom’s frilly drinks at family gatherings from time to time, but a sip of my uncle’s beer when I was a kid was enough to keep me away from it for years.
Turning Point: Then I got to college. In the beginning of my freshman year, I was still holding onto my sweet, non-alcoholic demeanor. Friends would ask me if I wanted to go out with them, and I would decline, instead staying in. Then I talked to my Mom on the phone and she said, “You don’t want to decline so much that you never get invited anymore.” It was true. So I said yes to the next invite I got (probably that night) and we went to the Thursday hot spot called Cheers (the trashiest of establishments, where nobody knew your name) and they had cans of Coors Light for $1 and it’s been magic ever since.

What: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Why I Hated It: Everyone in the world told me I would love this show. I fought watching it for so long because Sarah Michelle Gellar fighting vampires? Really? But I finally gave in and borrowed the first and second season from my cousin Michelle. I watched the first season and it was just okay. But just. The characters were cute, but nothing great, the special effects were kind of atrocious (praying mantis teacher, anyone?) and the Master storyline wasn’t all that great to keep me interested. But everyone kept telling me how great it was so I kept going. That is until I got to Inca Mummy Girl. That was the last straw. It was such an atrocious episode that I stopped watching for a year.
Turning Point: I finally gave in and started watching again because I felt bad that I had borrowed Michelle’s DVDs for so long, and would hate to give them back unwatched. So I figured I’d power through the rest and never speak of them again. The next episode was Reptile Boy. The name alone sent chills of awfulness down my spine. But hey, it was kinda good. Then there was the Halloween episode, which hey, was kinda good too. Then there was Lie To Me, which was pretty damn amazing. But the major turning point was when Angel turned evil and all the plot lines seemed to come together and make sense. That was when it changed from a fun show into an amazing show.

What: Reading
Why I Hated It: I hated reading when I was younger. Absolutely loathed it, in fact. My parents tried to get me to read all the time, but nothing would stick. I couldn’t even get through Jurassic Park, which was based on my favorite movie of all time. Okay, maybe it’s the other way around, but back then movies totally trumped books. I hardly ever read any of our required reading assignments for school. I had really great English teachers too, and they tried their darndest to make things interesting, but I just could never get into a single one. No, not even Catcher in the Rye or The Great Gatsby.
Turning Point: Then came November of 2001. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone came out in theaters, and it was a really good movie. I had obviously heard about the books before then, but never gave them much thought. They were just silly children’s books after all! But after seeing the movie, and knowing that there were three other books with the continuing adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, I just had to get them and devour them. I loved every second of the books. It was the first time I truly ever read for fun. I carried them wherever I went, and would even squeeze in a few pages between classes. Once I finished Goblet of Fire, I needed more books to read, and to this day I never go anywhere without a good book.

There we have it. What are some things you hated at first before falling madly in love with?

So every time (still two words, huh?) we get together, my brothers Adam and John undoubtedly bring up the movie Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and the pet shop scene where Pee Wee goes in and rescues all the animals, passing by the snakes each time until finally when there are no other animals left to save, he runs from the building holding two handfuls of snakes screaming. I, on the other hand, have never seen this movie, so I finally decided to check it out. Did you know that it was directed by Tim Burton? And co-written by the late great Phil Hartman? Bet you didn’t. Anyway, the strong pedigree elevated the movie from what could have been a lame move from the television screen to the big screen into a really funny movie that is fun for both kids and adults. In fact, I would imagine kids not enjoying this nearly as much as the adults watching it with them. The Large Marge scene was ridiculously frightening, which makes me glad I didn’t see this as a child because I would probably would have been scarred for life. And I loved James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild as Pee Wee and Dottie in the final movie, along with Pee Wee’s cameo and dubbed voice. But yes, the pet shop scene was probably the best part.

Netflix #68 – My Fair Lady

Pretty much ever since Glee featured I Could Have Danced All Night, I’ve had My Fair Lady sitting on my dresser waiting to be watched. It’s one of those classics like Gone with the Wind, Mary Poppins, and The Sound of Music, that I just haven’t gotten around to seeing. And it sat on my dresser for a long time since I really didn’t have that much interest in seeing it, and it was so damn long. But me and Mom finally sat down and watched it the other night and I have to say, I enjoyed it very much. I mean, it was still about an hour longer than it really needed to be. Did we really need so much of the father storyline? But it was fun. This was the first time I’d seen Audrey Hepburn in anything and she was amazing. Seeing her at the racetrack was worth the price of admission alone. “Come on, Dover, move yer bloomin’ arse!” The only thing I’m disappointed in was the ending. Spoiler! I’m just mad she ended up (I guess they kinda ended up together, it was vague) with the guy who treated her like dirt and not poor lovable Freddy.

Even though seeing the full bodies of muppets always freaks me out, I think the clip is completely adorable. I love the sentiment of the song, and it’s a theme I connect very emotionally with and try to use in my own writing. Hope you enjoy.

Next up is Legend of the Seeker. Why are you a fantasy lover and not watching this show?! It’s so ridiculously good and way better than it has any right being! The production values are way better than a lot of other primetime shows out there and the storytelling is incredible. They manage to keep things lively every week, while still moving the overall story for the season forward. And Cara, who is new this season, has quickly become my favorite character. She adds such a nice touch of spunk and sarcasm into the mix of Richard and Kahlan’s dogooderness (which is totally a word). And the show is so good I may or may not have teared up at one point during this past episode. Shut up, you would have too if you were watching!

And lastly there is Caprica. The show I really, really, really didn’t think needed to exist. I mean, how do you spin off from the awesomeness of Battlestar Galactica? I just didn’t think it could be done. Then the pilot movie was released on DVD and it was good, not great, but it quelled my fears a bit. But after seeing the first new episode of the series, I’m really digging it! And not just because of the awesome and super flashy opening credits, which I loved because shiny things distract me. But the show itself was really good and compelling! The adult characters of the two main families, the Graystones and the Adamas really didn’t do it for me in the pilot movie, but they were much better this time around, especially the character Amanda Graystone, who became much more interesting. And I love how they handled the Zoe/Cylon interchanging scenes. Very creepy, but also kinda sad at the same time. Oh, and I still love Serge the robot butler the best!

Look how young and stylish they were! Who knew?!

So what was so bad about it? Well, there will be loads of spoilers in this review, so stop reading if you’re avoiding them. First off, everyone kept talking so dramatically and taking… all these… dramatic… pauses… that it took them forever to say anything! That was the main indication that these people thought they were making a masterpiece. And it’s not even like the action was good either. You could hardly see anything that was going on. At times, the camera would just focus on the guns firing for about 1 minute straight with no indication of where they were shooting or who was getting shot. Oh! And at one point Paul Bettany pulled out a bazooka out of nowhere! It was seriously something out of Airplane! So so so ridiculous.

And the story made absolutely no sense. God gives up on humanity and decides to wipe it out. But instead of sending a flood like last time, he sends the angels to take over human bodies and essentially turn them into zombies to kill a baby who will save humanity. Okay first off, didn’t the flood work out really well last time? Like, really well. So why doesn’t God just stick with that? Secondly, they tried to do this whole Terminator, the baby saves mankind kinda thing. But then God calls off the apocalypse at the end because Paul Bettany showed him the error of his ways or something, so the baby did absolutely nothing. Way to be completely useless, baby!

Oh, and Gabriel (played by Kevin Durand who was not shirtless once and had a seriously funky accent) comes at the end to be the bad guy and kick Paul Bettany’s ass, which begs the question: Why didn’t all the other angels do that? Why did they have to take over human bodies where they were able to get shot and die? Like, Gabriel was super strong and nearly invincible (His wings were bulletproof! He came back from the dead about twenty times!). Why didn’t all the other angels just come as they were? Like, my brains hurts just thinking about it.

And they couldn’t even give me the one scene I wanted with all the angels flying like the hawkmen in Flash Gordon! All day I was singing “dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun!” in anticipation! Oh, and Addison was there which made me sad because not only was she banished to a terrible spinoff show, but now she’s appearing in awful movies. And there was a character named Jeep. Jeep! The only good thing about the movie was the old lady scene, which was a lot longer than what you see in the trailer and was actually pretty amusing. But that was it. Otherwise, it was a hysterical piece of crap.

That is seriously depressing! It’s hard to make fun of because it’s not even like he was telling a joke, and it fell flat. I’m pretty sure the comic represents exactly what he was trying to say, and he does a superb job at it! But really? This comic makes me want to shoot myself in the face. And not just because I’ve had those same dreadful school lunch hours.

What I liked most about it was how well planned out the world was. I love the Underworld movies, but they never give you a sense of what the vampires’ lives are like. In Daybreakers, you see how they live and the restrictions they face since the sunlight kills them. For example, when Ethan Hawke gets a flat tire at one point (during the day, the cars have a cool daytime driving feature) the tire re-inflates itself. Under normal circumstances that would just be a throwaway “future” thing. But here, it’s a necessity since vampires would be stranded if they had to wait for the sun to go down so they could get out and change their tire.

If I had any complaints it would be that there was a bit too much gore. I can almost understand the appeal of gore in cheesy horror movies, if that’s the only thing it has going for it. But the story in Daybreakers was so good, it didn’t need the gore, and it just felt gratuitous. Another complaint would be that it took itself a tad too seriously. Everyone was very glum, and didn’t seem to find the fact that the world was overrun by vampires as amusing as I did. I hate the idea of a comic relief character, but some joke cracking wouldn’t have hurt. Anyway, it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re curious!

Sounds like a great episode! Can’t wait!