A Fantabulous Post

Yep you got it! It’s another post full of all the things I fangirl over! Hope it sparks your interest into checking this stuff out! 🙂

Cinemasins

Cinemasins is a youtube video group in which they have a guy narrate everything that’s wrong in films. Except for the times he is making fun of your favorite films, they are absolutely hilarious. In the newer ones if you watch all the way to the very end, he puts in audio from other films that have similar scenes. I never miss a posting.

For more on Cinemasins, go to Let Them Fight: Godzilla (2014)

Clint Eastwood

I mean look at this man! Can you blame me for being crazy about him?

I am a huge Clint Eastwood fan. I fell in love with him when I was like seven and had to watch everything he was in (with parental supervision of course). And from then on I was obsessed.

Everyone told me it would never happen as I was far, far too young for him. I mean he was 62 when I was born. But I didn’t care.

Eventually I realized it wasn’t meant to be as he was married (although now divorced and single!) and the realistic chances of me meeting him are nil. But no matter what he will be my first crush and the first guy to ever have his picture on my wall. Yep, I had a huge poster of The Outlaw Josey Wales.

He’s my dream man.

And one totally awesome actor.

Yep I love Clint so much that I even spent $15 on a magazine because it was full of photos of him and all about his life. 🙂 I’m obsessed. Was and always will be. 😀

Now I won’t go on about my fav films, as that could go on forever! Even Amazon knows how much I love his work:

I will instead just mention my all-time favorite film of his: Bronco Billy.

This film was directed and starred Clint Eastwood. In this film Clint plays Bronco Billy, an ex-shoe salesman. Bronco Billy had always loved Westerns, Buffalo Bill, and other stories of the West. And he decided to start his own Wild West show, just like the ones Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill had. A heiress who married in order to inherit her father’s fortune, finds herself stranded by her husband, and joins up with the show until she can get home. This film is fun, adorable, American, dramatic, i.e. everything you could want in a film.

Anyways, the reason that I love this film is the message of it. Here we have a man who doesn’t feel the need to be confined by his time in life or what people think he can be. Nope, if he wants to do something he’s going to. Even though he might be 100 years too late to be a part of “the West”, it doesn’t matter to him. He is going to achieve his dreams, no matter what.

OMG I fangirled over this movie so hard. In fact I wanted to be in the show. I wanted to be Clint’s assistant and on the wheel that turns and he throughs knives at. I wanted to be in a Wild West Show. In fact, I used to wear Western types clothe and would only wear cowgirl boots.

Yep this is my film.

So while I wil most likely never marry the man or meet him, at least I did get something special from him that I’ll keep forever. I sent him a fan letter and a picture and asked him to autograph it and HE DID!!! YAY!!! I just Love that man!

For more on Clint Eastwood, go to Here I Go

How It Should Have Ended

How It Should Have Ended is another one of those really fun internet video series. They review different films giving them their own twist. These are absolutely hilarious and I never miss a post of these either.

For more on How It Should Have Ended, go to I’ll Be Back: The Terminator (1984)

Las Vegas

So I started watching this show on accident. I think it started the summer between 9th and 10th grade, but it might have been a year later. I’m not sure. Anyways, I was just flipping channels during summer break while I ate my lunch (really breakfast as I didn’t get up until noon) and stopped at this show. I watched an episode and was hooked, watching the 12-2pm block it had on TNT. I continued this every summer, and when I was in college if I and the TV was free at that time. I LOVED this show.

So the show is about a group of people running the fictional Montecito Hotel & Casino Resort in Las Vegas. They deal with the usual issues: staff problems, card counters, performers, chefs, etc; along with helping each other in personal problems. The one thing that made the show lovable, although completely unrealistic, is that all the people enjoyed helping others and would go the extra mile. Because it is Las Vegas, we also get amazing cameos: Wayne Newton, Jean-Claude Van Damm, Sylvester Stallone, etc.

So the crew:

First we have Ed Deline (James Caan). Ed used to be director of the CIA, but has moved on to being in charge of Security and Operations of the Montecito Casino. He later is promoted to President of Operations and is in charge of everything that goes on in the Casino. He is a major tough guy and not afraid to take anyone out. But on the flipside of that he is a loving father to his daughter Delinda as well as a surrogate father to Nessa and Danny. It’s James Caan just how you like him, barking orders and smashing heads.

 Then we have Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel)

Isn’t this man a dream? Anyways, Danny was simply amazing and the type of guy you want. So Danny was born and raised in Las Vegas, but left to join the Marines. He returns and works for Ed in security, being promoted when Ed is promoted. Danny is sweet, adorable, protective, loving, etc. He does have issues in the relationship department though. He has been in love with his good childhood friend Mary, but she never wanted to have a serious relationship with him. He also dates Delinda, Nessa, and Sam throughout the series. Most of all Danny has a huge heart and is always willing to help others out, something that makes him almost fall for a scheme to take his father’s inheritance. But even though he is sweet, you don’t want to mess with him as he can just as easily take you out. After Ed leaves the Montecito, he is promoted to President of Operations. In the last two seasons, Delinda and him have a committed relationship and are having a child.

Mike Cannon (James Lesure) is an engineer from MIT. Why he works at a casino, I’m not sure. Anyways, he starts out as head valet, but moves on to security, eventually becoming the head when Danny is promoted to president of operations. He’s smart and silly, that perfect combination. When Piper Niekson (the concierge) tries to recruit a Cocktail Tom Cruise type bartender, Mike goes with her. The two get incredibly drunk, and married, of which they tell everyone they annulled, but didn’t really.

Samantha Jane “Sam” Marquez (Vanessa Marcil) is the host of the Casino and it is her job to bring in the whales, i.e. the big gamblers. She is poached from another hotel, but soon fits in with the Montecito family. She is cold and motivated by money, but she also has a soft side, being a “Big Sister”. It turns out she is married to billionaire Casey Manning, but ran away from him as she has issues with commitment. When he dies, she inherits almost everything. She later marries Casey’s brother.

Delinda Deline (Molly Sims) is a genius; although more interested in fashion, makeup, etc. She is not all fluff as she is fluent in French, a graduate of Cordon Bleu, and in charge of entertainment, plus the Food and Beverage Manager. She flits around from guy to guy as she likes to have a good time. In one season her old boyfriend Derek, a doctor, comes back and the two almost get married, but she realizes she is in love with Danny. The two move in together and she gets pregnant. In the last episode they are planning to get married.

Mary Connell (Nikki Cox) is the special events coordinator. She grew up next door to Danny and the two were childhood friends. Mary had a hard life as she was sexually abused by her father, Danny being the one who came to her rescue. He loved her and tried to marry her, but Mary still has a lot of issues regarding love to work out. At one point she meets a rich, nice lawyer and moves in with him, but for reasons unknown, and hinted at being very bad, she leaves him and returns to work at the Montecito. When her stepmother and stepsisters tried to press charges against her father, she helps testify. When he got off,Mary bought a gun, shot him, and took off.

Nessa Holt is from England and was raised by the Deline family. She was the pit boss and worked in the hotel until she discovered her father wasn’t dead, but working for the CIA. She leaves the Montecito to live with him in season 3.

Now their intro is amazing as it is Elvis’ A Little Less Conversation, one of my favorite songs.

But it also got me wondering. I’ve noticed that a lot of movies that take place in Las Vegas, instead of using Elvis’ song Las Vegas, they use A Little Less Conversation. Isn’t that weird? I mean Ocean’s Eleven, 21, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief did it.

It was a very fun show that I highly recommend!

Leverage

I started watching Leverage because my sister Jessica really liked it. We both became so into it that we watched it ever Wednesday, and even watched the first 15 mins of the show that came on afterwards in order to see the next week’s preview. When it was cancelled I was heartbroken as it was such a great show, it should have gone on for 10 more seasons.

So the story is Nate Ford, the mastermind, putting together this crew in order to help out an airplane designer who’s plans were stolen by his rival. When it turns out that guy lied to him and had them steal his rival’s plans, they team up to get his money and revenge. They end up liking it so much, that the team stays together and helps people out who have been treated wrongly.

First we have the Mastermind, Nate Ford.

He started out as an insurance claims investigator, being the one who tracked down the very people he now works with. He was an amazing investigator, and saved the company millions. That all changed when his son became sick and the company he worked for refused to pay for his treatments. After his son died, he turned to alcohol and lost his job and wife. He is extremely talented in creating these schemes, along with seeing each person’s skills.  Fans of Supernatural will spot the same actor who plays Crowley, in this as Sterling, Nate’s nemesis. He and Sophie start dating as the series goes on.

Then we have the Hitter, Eliot Spencer

Eliot is from a small town in the South and left to join the military when he was eighteen. After he got out he couldn’t find work besides a “retrievalist”, that is going in to get objects by taking others out. Besides being extremely strong, he’s quite the hunk (and my favorite character), and incredibly sweet with kids. Eliot is also an amazing singer, as we find out when the team goes in to take out an evil country music record company. He also is an amazing cook, the one thing that kept him from going over completely to the dark side.

The Hacker, Alec Hardisan

Alec was raised in a foster home and is a complete computer and science fiction geek. He does all the hacking, creating false internet information, and in charge of all the groups gadgets. He’s wise-cracking and hilarious. As the series progresses, he and Parker start dating; making one of the cutest TV relationships.

The grifter is Sophie Devereaux

Sophie is an art and antiquities thief, using her skills at acting and manipulation to the highest degree. Now Sophie really wants to be an actress, but while awesome on the job, is horrible when on stage as she is too over the top. At one point in the series she left because she was mad at Nate and sent her friend Tara to take her place, but Tara was horrible. Luckily, Sophie came back and as the series progressed she and Nate started dating.

And last but not least we have the Thief, Parker

Parker has a very sad childhood, moving from foster home to foster home, and encountering a lot of abuse. At 12 she was trained by Archie Leach to become the best thief, pickpocket, safecracker, etc. But due to this childhood she doesn’t know how to talk to people, and instead closes herself off.

And has no clue on how to talk to others. As the series goes on she starts thinking of the Leverage crew as her family, and they try to help her as well. She starts to have feelings for Hardison, but is unable to express them well, which causes a very slooow courtship, but it is the cutest thing!

I love this show and think that any one out there who is a fan of sticking it to the man or just desserts, will love it as well.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

I’m going to do a whole separate post on this as part of my Happy Birthday Pride & Prejudice, so I don’t want to spend too much time on it here. I wasn’t even going to include it, but felt bad about leaving it out of my fandom list. It is a modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice set as webisodes. I LOVED it so much and will continue writing on it later.

For more on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, go to It is a Truth Universally Acknowledged

So I may be a nerd fanning out about this stuff, BUT…

So this will be my last post for a while on fandoms. I have to take a break as my Romance is in the Air: Part III, 14 Days of My Favorite Romantic Film Moments countdown for Valentine’s Day is coming up. As soon as I’m through with that I’ll bring back these fandom posts.

For the previous post, go to It’s Fantastico!

Stay tuned for part 9

For more on Psych, go to In Love With the ’80s (Pink Tux to the Prom)

You’re My Exception: He’s Just NOT That Into You (2009)

Most Romantic Moment #2

He’s Just NOT That Into You (2009)

I first saw this movie on recommendation from my mother who had seen it in theaters with some friends. And I LOVED it! My favorite thing about it was that you had all these different characters that were all connected to each other in some way. Just like a Jane Austen book, although much more complicated.

So as you can tell from my diagram, this movie can be a bit messy just plotting it out on paper, but I will do my best.

Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) is searching for a soulmate, her perfect match. She goes on a date with Conner, her friend Janine’s realtor but after that blind date he never calls. Not one to give up on what could be “the one”, she goes to Connor’s best friend’s restaurant in hopes that she can find him. Instead she runs into Connor’s best friend, Alex (Justin Long). The two become friends, with Alex giving her advice on guys and promising to set her up with someone. However, all the time they spend together causes Gigi to start falling for him and believing her cares for her too. Is she right? Or will she just mess up her friendship?

Janine (Jennifer Connelly) and Ben (Bradley Cooper) dated all through college, marrying after graduation. They’ve been the perfect couple, having just bought a house, one that Janine has been actively redecorating and renovating. But not all is going well in their household. While Janine wants a baby, Ben doesn’t even want to be married, starting an affair with singer/yoga instructor Anna (Scarlett Johansson). While Ben is out all the time, Janine starts wondering if Ben is being completely truthful to her. Will they power through this or fall apart?

At first Ben tries to stay away from Anna, but they become friends, developing into an affair, both emotional and physical. Anna at first doesn’t mind being the other women, but when she is frustrated or in need of an ego boost; she heads over to her boy toy and doormat, Connor (Kevin Connolly). Connor is a sweet guy who has been in love with Anna and is willing to take anything he can get to be with her. But when he pushes for more, will he gain a real girlfriend or lose her?

Neil (Ben Affleck) and Beth (Jennifer Aniston) have been dating/living together for seven years. Beth wants to be married but Neil doesn’t believe in it. Beth has never tried to push it, but just hoped that Neil would change his mind and propose, but every year she is disappointed. After hearing the advice Alex gave Gigi, Beth comes to realize that Neil will never marry her. She gives him an ultimatum and when Neil still doesn’t propose, she ends the relationship. Will she be able to move on? Or has she ended a relationship with her soulmate?

Mary (Drew Barrymore) is like Gigi and looking for love; except she went the online dating route. Through social media, dating sites, and more; Mary searches but finds herself constantly disappointed. What’s a girl looking for an old-fashioned romance going to do in this 21st century way of electronic dating?

Most Romantic Moment: You Are My Exception

*Spoilers*

So anyway, what I find to be the most romantic moment is in the Gigi and Alex storyline. Gigi, as I have said before, is a little boy-crazy and has had many bad relationships. In her chance meeting of Alex he gives her some stone cold advice. If he isn’t marrying you, he won’t marry you. If he isn’t calling, he won’t call. If he goes out of town and doesn’t call, end it he doesn’t care about you as he can always call. You can pretty much summarize it up in this one key sentence:

Alex: So trust me when I say if a guy is treating you like he doesn’t give a s***, he genuinely doesn’t give a s***. No exceptions.

So Gigi continues to ask him for advice, they become friends, and then Gigi falls for him hard. She believes he likes her too, but when she makes a move Alex turns her down fast. Gigi is made but lectures him about how she makes mistakes but believes in love and will keep trying to find her “perfect match”.

So, the most romantic part is at the end. Gigi has just gotten back from her blind date that Alex set her on when there is a knock at the door. To her surprise it is Alex!

Alex has been destroyed since her turned Gigi down. He can’t sleep, eat, his focus is off. He realized the mistake he made and came to tell Gigi how he feels.

Gigi: [opens the door, thinking it’s Bill] Did you forget something?

Alex: Yeah…

Gigi: Really? What did you forget?

Alex: [pulls out a promotional pen from his pocket] This.

Gigi: So you came all the way here at 11 o’ clock in the night to give me a promotional pen?

Alex: Yeah… Yeah, I did. I thought I would come up with some really great excuse to get over here. That’s how it’s done, right?

Gigi: [smiles] Sometimes.

Alex: Look, I can’t stop thinking about you. I… It’s a problem. I drive by your place; I call and hang up; I’ve turned into…

Gigi: Me.

Alex: Yeah.

Gigi: A wise person once told me that if a guy wants to be with a girl, he will make it happen, no matter what.

Alex: That’s true.

Gigi: But when I was hurling my body onto yours, you did not seem to want to make it happen.

Alex: Okay, yeah, here’s the thing about that… You were right. I’d gotten so used to keeping myself at a safe distance from all these women and having the power that, that I didn’t know what it felt like when I actually fell for one of them… I didn’t know.

Gigi: Look, I just went out with your friend Bill. He might be just exactly what I need. No drama, he calls; he does what he says…

Alex: [stepping closer] I can do that stuff too…

Gigi: But you didn’t! And that same wise person told me that I’m the rule. That I have to stop thinking that every guy will change, that I have to stop thinking that…

Gigi: [Alex kisses her, she smiles]… I’m the exception…

Alex: [whispers] You are *my* exception.

[they kiss again]

Awwww! That moment is so romantic.

How romantic

The fact that he listened to her to do his approach the same way that Gigi did it earlier when she was trying to meet up with Connor. The fact that he was willing to share how he feels with her! And that he told her You’re My Exception, after telling her she wasn’t an exception she was a rule. To reenforce that she is special, ah, just unbelievably perfectly sweet.

This part became doubly romantic when I found out that it was a true story. I couldn’t believe it! 😀 This last spring I found the book He’s Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys, when I was stacking books at the library. The book was written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, and is really good. Anyone who has been in or will be in a relationship in the future should read it.

The character Alex was based on Greg; especially the story of the exception. It was so sweet reading about how when he met his wife everything changed, he changed.

That she was his exception! An Aww Moment!

How romantic

To start Romance is in the Air from the beginning, go to Boom Box of Love: Say Anything (1989)

For more on Ginnfer Goodwin, go to Fantom of the Opera

For more on Justin Long, go to Every Twenty-Third Spring for Twenty Three Days, it Gets to Eat: Jeepers Creepers (2001)

For more films based on a book, go to Feast Your Eyes On My Accursed Ugliness: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)