We Will Fandom You

So yes we are back with the fangirl posts! Here we go with another four!

Alias

Alias  was a show that came out in the ’90s, produced by J.J. Abrams and starring Jennifer Garner. Jennifer Garner played Sydney Bristow, college student getting her masters in literature by day; incredible CIA operative by night.

My interest began not with the show but the prequel novels. I reserved a book in the library thinking it was a part of another series I was reading. Well one book got me hooked, and after reading all about Sydney’s adventures in SD-6, finding out that her dad has secretly been a spy as well, etc.; I decided to watch the TV show.

Now the thing that surprised me was that the novels are radically different than the TV show. So the show starts off with Sydney having just become engaged to her boyfriend Danny. When he starts talking about them having children, Sydney decides to tell him the truth. Danny of course freaks out, but later calls Sydney when she is out on a mission and leaves a message that they will make it work.

SD-6 does not want information out and kill Danny. When a heartbroken Sydney starts thinking about quitting, and is almost killed by SD-6; her father drops the true bomb. SD-6 is not the real CIA. The person in charge left the CIA and started SD-6 to undermine it and achieve their own means.

Sydney decides to become a double agent, working for the real CIA to take down SD-6.

So Sydney has a full plate between studies, being a best friend, and keeping all three (school, SD-6, CIA) lives separate from each other. Things get sticky when one of her best friends, played by Bradley Cooper, who is a journalist, starts investigating and is put on the SD-6 radar. She also has a partner that is growing a bit suspicious, and a man who doesn’t like her and wants to take her down.

Oh Sydney and Michael, I ship those two so hard!

But you spend so much of the series unsatisfied as they can’t date and work together sort of thing.  And then he’s with Laura, but eventually they get back together which makes me very happy.

For more on J.J. Abrams, go to I Feel A Great Disturbance in the Force: Star Wars, The Force Awakens

Gossip Girl

So this was something that I struggled with whether or not I should include on this list. I liked it, but at the same time I had quite a few problems with it.

So the show is about the upper East side in New York. The p0werful children of the powerful families, whether old or new money. We follow the lives if Serena Van der Woodson, one of the popular girls at the best prep school, She has been gone for a while, but back and finding it hard to get back into the groove of her old life.

Then there is Nate Vanderbilt, dating Queen Bee Blair Waldorf. He is good guy, who wants people to like him. Only problem is, he likes Serena and even though he is dating Blair he is trying to get with her.

Blair Waldorf is the Queen of the school and has huge goals in mind. She’s happy to have her best gal pal back, until the truth comes out about Nate and Serena, and their past indiscretions. She ends up turning to Chuck Bass and sleeping with him, him later being her partner in crime to secure her queendom and take down Serena.

Charles “Chuck” Bass is the son of Charles Bass, part of the new money group. He has grown up alone with a father that would sooner cry marble than ever show his son love. Chuck spends all his time with booze or girls; or being tall, dark, & brooding. Yep, he’s one of those guys who only needs the love of a good woman to make him want to be the best. He falls for Blair but when she dumps him for Nate again, he goes down a tailspin.

And then we have our wild card, Dan Humphrey. He’s from Brooklyn on scholarship. He has been in love with Serena, but always on the outside looking in. Serena and him start dating and he finds himself brought into the in crowd even though his best friend Vanessa wants him out and Serena’s mom, Lily, wants him away from her daughter.

Then we have Gossip Girl, no one knows her identity but she knows everything about everyone and posts it online.

So I really enjoyed the first season of this show until Georgina came, ugh hate that actress. Once she came in I didn’t like how the dynamics changed, how they seemed to find all kinds of reasons (and really stupid ones) to try to keep all the couples you wanted apart, and how everything was all about the drama (with some real outlandish plots). Like the screenwriters were the same people who wrote the spanish soap opera on Psych.

One of my biggest issues I had with the show was Nate dating 17 year-old Sage Spence. Even though in the state of New York that is legal, how could he do it? How could anyone see that as a good idea, especially someone trying to be a professional. I wouldn’t want to work for someone who is one year above rape. That was a horrible story plot.

Now the main reason I continued  watching sporadically because of four people. First I loved Serena’s mom Lily, and Dan’s dad Rufus having an old romance and trying to get back together. Rufus was so hot and adorable! I loved when they got married but hated that the writers broke them up. Really? Lily would go back to Charles Bass when he was a total jerk and horrible to her? Or in the end remarry her ex-husband William Van der Woodson who was trying to make her think she had cancer just so she would get back with him? After she discovered that lie how could she possibly trust him again? It makes no sense! And the fact that Rufus would side with Charlie AKA conwoman Ivy, rather than his own wife Lily?

And of course the real reason I put through the drama, was for one thing:

Chuck and Blair! I hated how they got them together and they were so awesome, and then the writers broke them apart. But at least they fixed them in the end married with a cute baby boy.

For more Gossip Girl, go to For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic

One Tree Hill

I had the same problems with One Tree Hill that I did with Gossip Girl. I liked the first season, but after that my watching became sporadic. Too much drama, relationships that you want together breaking up for the worse reasons, on and on. You know what I’m saying.

So the show revolves around the town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. Nathan Scott is the son of the famous basketball player, Dan Scott. He rules the school with his girlfriend Peyton. Meanwhile on the other side of town, Lucas, Dan’s other son, lives with his mom Karen. Dan got Karen, head cheerleader and high school girlfriend, pregnant but left her for higher things. Shortly after, Dan got his rich college girlfriend pregnant and married her.

Lucas best friend is Haley James, a tutor and waitress at Lucas’ mother’s café. The other light in Lucas’ life is his uncle Keith, who takes care of him like his father should.

Everything changes in Lucas’ life when some ballplayers get suspended and Coach Whitey recruits him for the team. All of a sudden everyone is into him, including head cheerleader Brooke Davis.

Nathan starts attacking Lucas and pranking him to get him to quit. Peyton and Nathan break up when Peyton publishes a comic about Nathan in a bad light, it is under a pseudonym; but Nathan recognizes himself.

Nathan is starting to fail some of her classes, and looks to get Haley to help tutor him. It starts out as a way to get to Lucas, but soon Nathan falls for her and she for him. With the pressures from his dad continuing, Nathan leaves home and befriends his older brother, Lucas.

Things get intense as they have to deal with drugs, drunk driving, school shootings, etc.

So there were a few things I did not like about this series. Number one was Peyton Sawyer.

I thought her character never made sense, how could a punk artist ever desire to be a cheerleader; she isn’t the right type to be super popular, she’s written more as one of the outsiders. I thought her character wasn’t right for Lucas and never bought their relationship as they had no chemistry. I hated how she tried to get with Lucas while he was with Brooke, horrible friend, just horrible.

So who kept me watching? Well Brooke:

I  loved Brooke and how her character changes to be such a strong woman. I really wanted her with Lucas or Mouth, I thought they were better for each other.

Also Nathan and Haley:

I loved how  Haley valued him as a person rather than a ballplayer. I loved how Nathan worked hard to be her dream guy and was willing to wait to have sex with her. I loved how he encouraged and supported her every dream.

I hated when she left with that stupid Chris guy and threw her marriage away. Haley when you married you made a vow that your life wasn’t going to be just about what you wanted but what the both of you wanted. But in the end they stay together!

For more One Tree Hill, go to Move Along

Queen

Queen is a band that needs no introduction. They were created in the 1970s and had so many amazing songs. I just love them, maybe a little too much.

The music and lyrics were just amazing, these artists were true geniuses.

It would be hard to choose one song, all are amazing. My top favorites are: A Kind of Magic, Another One Bites the Dust, Bicycle Race, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Don’t Stop Me Now, Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy, I Want It All, Killer Queen, Radio Ga Ga, Somebody to Love, Under Pressure, We Are the Champions, and We Will Rock You

I haven’t reviewed a Queen song yet, but will.

For more on Queen, go to In Rhapsody Over Clint Eastwood

For the previous post, go to Fan-do or Fan-don’t. There is No Fan-try

And Stay tuned for part 23

It’s Coming From Inside the House: When A Stranger Calls (2006)

We traced the call! It’s coming from inside the house! Do you hear me? It’s coming from inside the house! You need to get out!

So I love this movie so much! It came out during the period of remakes of 1970s horror films, you had Dracula 2000, The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), The Wicker Man (2006), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), Carrie (2002), The Omen (2006), The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Halloween (2007), and Invasion (2007). 

I thought it was a great remake, although I’ve never seen the original. And as the trailer revels the climatic ending I don’t feel bad about doing so either.

So the film starts off a police cleanup as a baby-sitter and the kids she had been watching were ripped to shreds.

 Then we cut to out protagonist Jill who is practicing track. She is suffering from a supremo of bad days. Her times are all off and she needs to improve her speed. Part of the reason she is sucking so much is that she is distracted by her broken heart.

It turns out that her boyfriend and best friend hooked up! What jerks!

And she is grounded because she went over the mins on her phone. Remember, back in the day when every cellphone plan had min limits, and everyone was going over them all the time?

Oops!

She really wants to go to the bonfire party, but the only place she is allowed to go is to babysit.

Yep, the money from the job is supposed to be enough to cover the cost of the phone bill. They must be paying her an awful lot of money.

To further her punishment, she can’t have her own car but has to be dropped off by her dad and then dropped off by the couple when they return from their night. Now this is a pretty sweet baby-sitting job. It is for a rich family, who lets you eat anything in the house, watch things on their massive TV, getting paid lots of money, and you don’t even have to look after the kiddos as they’re sick.

Only one problem, she is in the freakin’ middle of nowhere. But it is a beautiful house!

It has a so many glass windows and such, it also has an inside garden/aviary thing.

Now my home has a whole wall of windows, so when I first watched this with my friends we were all freaked out during the…well I’ll save that for later.

So Jill doesn’t have much to do as the kids are sick and knocked out upstairs. The maid is there, but will be leaving shortly after she finishes her rounds. The couple have an older son who attends college and he may or may not be coming back to visit, but if he does he’ll crash in the guest house in their backyard.

Seems easy enough

So Jill gets ready for a night o’ fun. She eats popsicles and tries on jewelry and clothes.

Everything is fun and games until Jill begins to receive anonymous and annoying phone calls.

Jill Johnson: [phone rings] Hello? [no answer] [sighs] Mandrakis Residence.

Voice of the Stranger: Have you checked the children?

Jill Johnson: What

[Stranger hangs up. Jill runs and checks on the children. Comes back downstairs]

Jill Johnson: [phone rings] Hello?

Voice of the Stranger: [pauses] How were the children?

At this point in the film if you look hard enough you can actually see him watching her through the window while she is walking around and talking to her on the phone.

In between she gets some creepy calls from her ex’s friends. She gets even more calls, but then one turns out to be her ex-friend Tiffany. Tiff the big, bad, boyfriend stealer.

Tiff comes and tries to fix things between them, with Jill feeling lukewarm about the whole thing. She kicks Tiff out, who tries to leave but can’t as a tree blocks her path. A tree that wasn’t there earlier. That means only one thing, bye-bye Tiff.

Goodbye now!

 

The calls continue getting even creepier.

Jill Johnson: Tiffany, I know it’s you. I can see your name on Caller ID, genius.

Voice of the Stranger: This isn’t Tiffany.

Jill Johnson: Who is this?

Voice of the Stranger: [pause] Who is this?

Jill Johnson: Cody?

Voice of the Stranger: Who’s Cody?

Jill Johnson: You better cut this out!

[stranger hangs up]

Now for the most part Jill is pretty smart girl. She calls the police and tries to get them to trace the call and get rid of her stalker. She keeps the security system on at all times. When she sees a light go on in the guest house, she thinks it might be the son and tries to get him to come back with her to help.

She turns the security system off and runs down to the guest house to get the son. When she gets in there, she discovers that there is no one there.

Jill concludes that it must have been the maid, going over here to clean and then left after she completed the job. She runs back to the house, causing the security system to go off. She gets a call from the company, but tells them that it is only her. She must have only thought she turned the system off.

She continues to get more calls from “the Stranger”, telling her that he can see her.

Oh Crap!

Jill Johnson: He can see me!

Officer Burroughs: Sorry?

Jill Johnson: It’s Jill, the girl who called before about the man who keeps on calling.

Officer Burroughs: What’s going on?

Jill Johnson: He called me again.

Officer Burroughs: What did he say?

Jill Johnson: He’s out there, he’s outside, he’s watching me through the windows.

Officer Burroughs: Did you see him?

Jill Johnson: No, but I know he can see me, because I went upstairs…

Officer Burroughs: Okay, take a deep breath, where’s the house keeper?

Jill Johnson: I don’t know, I saw her purse and the keys but I can’t find her.

Officer Burroughs: The house locked up?

Jill Johnson: Yes.

Officer Burroughs: Alarm system?

Jill Johnson: It’s on.

Officer Burroughs: Okay, you’re safe inside that house. If he wanted to break in, he wouldn’t be calling.

Jill Johnson: But he must want something!

Officer Burroughs: Listen to me, Miss, it’s just some a****** trying to hassle you.

So when my friends and I were watching this film, we were in the living room which has a whole wall made entirely out of windows, similar to the house in the film. There is also a window behind the TV. As we were watching this part, something hit our window.

AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our cat had jumped up on the fence outside and hit the window with her tail. We were just so into the film that we were creeped out.

So back to the film. So Jill keeps trying to talk to “the Stranger” so the police can trace the calls. It is so creepy, it was like when that crazy girl kept calling/texting me last spring.

Jill Johnson: [On phone] You really scared me, if that’s what you wanted. Is that what you wanted?

Voice of the Stranger: No.

Jill Johnson: What do you want?

Voice of the Stranger: Your blood all over me.

As gross and creepy and Nightmare in Elm Street’s Freddy Kreugar.

EW!

That’s when everything starts to fall apart.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Besides Tiff, Jill also finds the body of the housemaid. She tries to help save the children, but end up getting in a deadly fight with “the Stranger”.

Save the Children!!!!

Jill is awesome how she takes down the stranger, totally kicking butt.

Kudos for carrying the crowbar

The cops come and capture the killer and cart him off, taking Jill with them to be looked at.

The ending is great, with its nod to Friday the 13th. Check it out, it is an amazing film!

The creepiest thing about this film is how the guy watches her and how he gets in the house and does the whole cat and mouse game. It is such a creeptastic film.

To start Horrorfest III from the beginning, go to Even a Man Pure of Heart

For more on When a Stranger Calls, go to Do You Know Where Alex Is?

For more on psychopathic killers, go to Everyone’s Entitled to One Good Scare

For more great remakes, go to Redone Done Right

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)