To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before

So I know I haven’t gotten to Star Trek in my fangirl posts, do you might not realize this about me:

And as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Original Series, I decided that how last year was on Back to the Future, this year will be on Star Trek. And next year can be Star Wars as it marks the 40th anniversary of that film. But enough on that, let’s get to our year in review!

This is a time to reflect on what the past year held for us, the big posts, what’s new, and what you all seemed to like the most.

This post will only cover a few things, you really should check out the year for yourself. To start at the beginning go here.

The Views

This year I had 68,000 views!

Last year I had 31,000 and I thought that was a lot. Thank you buzzfeed, pinterest, facebook, twitter, and readers who practically doubled my views.

The most viewed day of the year was June 19th, in which I posted Drug of Choice.

The Number One Post

Strangely, my top posts had nothing to do with anything posted in 2015.

But you all like what you like!

So the number one post was from my Romance is in the Air Valentine’s countdown from 2013. That post was Fulfilling the List: A Walk to Remember, and I think I need to post on it once again.

Second place went to A Monster Race: Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988), from 2012, and my first Horrorfest, theHalloween countdown. In third place was I Saw Goody Osburn With the Devil: The Crucible (1996), from 2013 and my Horrorfest II Halloween countdown. In fourth we had In Rhapsody Over Clint Eastwood, a post from 2013. And rounding them out in my fifth place, we had a post from 2014, Men What Happened?

The Followers!

So this community has really grown in numbers and I can not describe how pleased I am about that. We have gone from 14 followers in 2012 to 42 followers in 2013, 169 followers in 2014, and are now at 439. That’s amazing!

So enough about the statistics and numbers! Let’s move on to what was covered this year and what changes I have made to the blog

1)Back to the Future

So with it being 2015 and the year Back to the Future turned 30, we had a lot of Back to the Future love going on. It started with my first post of the year, Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads. On the amazingness of this film as it celebrates its 30 year anniversary, in Back in Time: Happy 30th Anniversary Back to the Future. My joy at watching all three films on the big screen, in The Future is NOW!: Happy Back to the Future Day!. On the importance of November 12th in The Back to the Future series, in The Temporal Junction Point for the Entire Space-Time Continuum. An episode of Supernatural that mimics Back to the Future, in Back to the Supernatural. And a list of everything Back to the Future got right about 2015, in We’re in the Future: Good-bye 2015.

2) Fandom Love

This year I continued my fandom posts, posting on Sundays. This year I wasn’t as faithful, as sometimes life would throw me a curveball, but I am getting closer to completing it. I just have to stop adding things.

So far this year I have covered: Amazing Phil/Phil Lester, Audrey Hepburn, The Baby-Sitters Club, The Beach Party Series, The Brady Bunch, Brotherly Love,  The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, Captain Planet, The Cat Who Mystery Series, Cinemasins, Clint Eastwood, Daredevil, Death on Demand Mystery Series, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Dr. Seuss, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, 8 Simple Rules, Elvis Presley, Eureka, Everyday Sunday, The Fast & the Furious franchise, Foreigner, Full House, Gargoyles, Grimm, Growing Pains, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hans Christian Anderson, Harry Potter, Hawk Nelson, Hell on Wheels, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, The Highlander, How I Met Your Mother, How It Should Have Ended, The Hunger Games, Indiana Jones, James Bond, Jimmy Stewart, Journey, The Kinsey Millhone Mysteries, Las Vegas, Leverage, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Lord of the Rings, Madeleine L’Engle, Make It or Break It, The Mentalist, Michael Crichton, Michael J. Fox, Midsomer Murders, Murder She Wrote, My Chemical Romance, Nancy Drew, The Nanny, NCIS, North & South, The Nostalgia Critic, The Office, Once Upon a Time, The Phantom of the Opera, Pokemon, The Princess Bride, Psych, Ray Bradbury, The Riyria Revelations, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

To read more, click on these links: Fandom Love, It’s Fantastico!, A Fantabulous Post, A FANtastic Voyage, Please Excuse My Dear Fan Lady, I’m So FANcy!, Back to the Fandoms, Old Fandoms and New Fancies, Fantom of the Opera, Fun & Full of FANcy, The Fans and the Furious, It’s a Fan World After All, and Portrait of a Fangirl.

3) Buzzfeed Bust or Library Love

So I was trying to get a job with Buzzfeed and posted a few things as it was part of the application process. However no one was really interested in my lists so I decided to bring that style here. I only did one, Heaven on Earth, in which I listed the best fictional libraries; but I’m thinking of doing a few more in the future.

4) Story of My Life

So this year we once again had stories of my everyday life. First I shared about my horrible ex co-worker, Wanda in Five to Nine. Then there was the time my friend’s car started to overheat in San Francisco and we started to stall on the bridge, in I Left My Car in San Francisco. Meeting Dr. Sexy from Supernatural in real life, in Paging Dr. Sexy.  My spot issues that rivals Dr. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang, in A Spot of Trouble. On how an ear infection wasn’t going to stop me from seeing the midnight showing, in Avengers Assemble. On living in a world that tries to get you to alter your appearance, in Small and Proud. It being so incredibly hot that I try to escape to England, in England Dreamin’ On Such a Summer’s Day. In which I do not learn my lesson and injure my legs again, in Walking on Pins and Needles. The fact that I will probably live out my life alone, in Crazy Book Lady. When I got caught in a crazy storm, in It’s Raining, It’s Pouring. The suffering of wisdom teeth, in Turn Your Wounds into Wisdom, and Your Wisdom Teeth into Wounds. How a baggy sweatshirt saved my life, in A Real Life Saver. Getting caught in a monsoon type rainstorm, in Every Month at the Quarter Moon There’ll Be a Monsoon. Chopping down the Christmas tree in Winter Wonderland.

5) A Sense of Sense and Sensibility 

So last year I talked about reviewing Sense & Sensibility, along with all those based on the works or rewritings. I talked about the girls’ older brother John, and how he severely let these girls down in Promises Were Made to Be Broken. The joys and horrors of sisterhood and how the two act as a unit in Sisterly Roles. Edward Ferrars’ arrival into the house and being the one that brings peace to the house in The Eye of the Storm. On Elinor’s views of Edward, in To Edward or Not to Edward? How young girl’s views of the perfect man haven’t changed in 200 years, in Some Things Never Change.

I also reviewed The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay and Diaries, a book on the behind the scenes look of the path of getting Sense & Sensibilty from book to screen.

6) Holiday Hijinks

So this year we celebrated a lot of holidays, real (recognized by the government) and fictional.

We started with celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and the values he stood for in Color Blind. I also brought back the Chinese New Year post, this time on my favorite sheep/sheepy moments in film and literature, in Well I Feel Sheepish: Chinese New Year. Then we had my Saint Patrick’s Day post, 17 more Irish heroes from literature, film, and TV; in Lookin’ Over a Four Leaf Clover: 17 More Irish Heroes.  Couldn’t go through a year without celebrating the awesomeness of Star Wars with May the Fourth Be With You, in We Want You. I also did a post for Memorial Day, in Do the Right Thing.  Father’s Day, with love from The Terminator in Dear Dad. The 4th of July in Every Heart Beats True for the Red, White, & Blue. Talk Like a Pirate Day and free donuts, in A Pirate’s Life is the Life for Me. Going bats over Batman Day, in Na Na Na Na Batman!. Friday the 13th in The Horror!!!! And of course Thanksgiving, in You’ve Got to Accentuate the Positive. 

7) The Year of the Anniversaries

This year I honored a lot of anniversaries, it started with wanting to do something for Back to the Future and quickly grew to many more things.

I started with the 82nd anniversary of women’s right to vote, in Right to Vote. We also had The Breakfast Club turn 30 years, my post being Don’t You Forget About Me. The birthday of one of my favorite men, Clint Eastwood, in Classic Clint. The 40th anniversary of Jaws in You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Screen, On the amazingness of Back to the Future as it celebrates its 30 year anniversary, in Back in Time: Happy 30th Anniversary Back to the Future. My three year anniversary of being a blogger, in Year of the Anniversaries. The 10th anniversary of The Iron Giant, in A Giant Metal Man: The Iron Giant (1995). And the 200th anniversary of Emma.

8) Romance is in the Air: Part III

So once I again I celebrated Valentine’s Day with a countdown of 14 romantic moments from films I like. The films I reviewed this year were How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), Sabrina (1954), Gigi (1958), Making the Grade (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), A Room With a View (1985), While You Were Sleeping (1995), Hercules (1997), The Italian Job (2003), Why Did I Get Married (2007), Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), What Happens in Vegas (2008), Up (2009), and New Year’s Eve (2011)

9) Commentary on Cinderella Cynics

With Disney’s new Cinderella live action film, I felt the need to call out to the cynics and naysayers, and prove that their smack was unfounded and Cinderella is actually a pretty awesome story.

To read go to If the Shoe Fits: Why Cinderella is Actually Awesome.

10) The Enigmatic and Enjoyable Emma

Like I did with Sense & Sensibility (see #4), I decided that I would begin going through Emma, along with reviewing any adaptations or retellings of this story.

So I started off talking about the uniqueness of Emma Woodhouse among the other Jane Austen heroines, in One of a Kind. How loneliness severely affects the character of Emma and explains her actions, in All By Myself. How easy it is for people and Emma to take credit for something they actually have no control over, in Credit Where Credit is Due. On how Mr. Weston is a great man but no one ever talks about him, in Unsung Austen Men: Mr. Weston.

I also reviewed the book Mr. Knightley’s Diary by Amanda Grange, a book that looks at the story of Emma from his point of view.

And of course, a post in honor of its 200th Anniversary, We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

11) The Painted Path of Christ

I brought back the painted portrayals of Christ, adding one more picture to my Easter countdown. This year I choose the following images: Jesus Enters Jerusalem by Giotto, The Last Supper by Dieric Bouts the Elder, The Taking of Christ by Carvaggio, The Lamentation of Christ or Foreshortened Christ by Mantegna Andrea .

12) Retelling Pride & Prejudice

I didn’t do any posts on Pride & Prejudice the book as I was going through Sense & Sensibility and Emma.  However I did review quite a few novels that are based on or retellings of Austen’s work.

There was Fall for You by Cecilia Gray, in which all your favorite Austen heroines attend The Jane Austen Academy boarding school in California together. This year the school was bought and has some major changes, allowing boys to attend! How would these girls get along in a modern world, follow this link to find out.

The Accidental Bride: A Romantic Comedy by Janice Harayda; is the story of a Jane Austen devotee set to be married soon, when she suddenly has second thoughts. With everyone pushing her in different directions, she relies on her love of Jane Austen to help her through. To read the review, follow this link.

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, by Beth Pattillo, is the tale of a non-Austenite; filling in for her sister and taking a class along with presenting a paper on Austen. She also gets caught up in spylike drama when she becomes the owner of secret Austen papers. To see what I thought of it, follow this link. 

Pride & Prescience (Or A Truth Universally Acknowledged) by Carrie Bebris, is a mystery with supernatural elements. Caroline Bingley bags a wealthy American and marries him right away. But after the marriage she starts acting strangely. It is just nerves or something more nefarious at play? It’s up to Elizabeth to find out. Follow this link to read more.

Darcy’s Story: Pride and Prejudice Told From a Whole New Perspective by Janet Aylmer; in this Aylmer rewrites Pride and Prejudice but told from Mr. Darcy’s point of view instead of Elizabeth’s.

In The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy: A Novel by Mary Street, another author tries her hand at rewriting Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s point of view

13) The Commendable Cecilia Gray

I reviewed the book Fall for You by Cecilia Gray, and while I didn’t completely roast the book, I wasn’t the kindest. But Cecilia Gray took it in stride and retweeted my review, urging others to check it out. I’ve given a shout out before, and just want time to thank her again.

14) 30 Years Has a Nice Ring to It

My post She’s Still Preoccupied With 1985 is an ’80s lover’s dream. In it I detail every amazing ’80 thing that I love that turned 30 in 2015.

15) 30 Day Challenge: All About Me

I brought back the 30 Day Challenge, but instead of Disney I did 30 days all about me. These were the different topics: 1) Put Your Music Player on Shuffle and Write the First 10 Songs that Play, 2) Your Most Treasured Item, 3) Bullet Your Whole Day, 4)A Quote You Try to Live By, 5) If You Could Go Anywhere, Where Would It Be?, 6) Your Views on Mainstream Music, 7) What You Ate Today, 8) One Thing You’re Excited For, 9) Something That Has Inspired You, 10) What You Wore Today, 11)Something You Want to Do Before You Die, 12) Your Celebrity Look-A-Like, 13)Something That You’re Proud Of, 14) Your Favorite Holiday, 15) Five Random Facts, 16)Five Weird Things You Like, 17) Five Pet Peeves , 18) Somewhere You Would Like to Move to or Visit, 19) Something That You Miss, 20) What You Night Was Like, 21) Last Film You Saw in Theaters, 22) Something You Never Expected, 23) Your Dream House, 24) A Book You Love, 25) Your Family, 26)Five Guys Who You Find Attractive, 27) Five Ways to Win Your Heart, 28)Something You Regret, 29)Things You Want to Say to an Ex, 30) Your Opinion About Your Body and How Comfortable You Are With It

16) My Family is Growing

My family is getting bigger! 2015 saw the inauguration of my sister blog Mysterious Eats; which reviews mysteries and recipes.

From Print to Screen was also born in 2015, and it compares the printed book to the screen version, declaring which was better.

17) Horrorfest IV: The Curse

This year’s Horrorfest covered movies, TV shows, music, and more.

For films, we had: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), A Study in Scarlet (1933), The 39 Steps (1935), Jamaica Inn (1939), Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943), Gaslight (1944), Dangerous Crossing (1953), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), The Screaming Skull (1958), The Bat (1959), Psycho (1960), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Stepford Wives (1975), Total Recall (1990), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), The Iron Giant (1995), Thinner (1996), Under Wraps (1997), Alien Vs. Predator (2004), The Brothers Grimm (2005), The Visitation (2006), The Girl He Met Online (2014), & Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).

Every Friday I reviewed a TV show. This year the ones I choose were: the episode Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up from The Twilight Zone; A Haunting We Will Go from The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries; On Leather Wings from Batman: The Animated Series; Ted  from Buffy the Vampire Slayer; & The Magician’s Nephew from Midsomer Murders.

I did a post on some cool Monster Movie action figures I found, in Monster Mash. And I listed five of my favorite song to listen to on Halloween, in Haunted Harmonies of Halloween. 

18) 25 Carols of Christmas

This year for Christmas, I did a Carol countdown. Everyday I posted on one of my favorite Christmas carols.

The carols I picked were: All I Want for Christmas is You, Angels We Have Heard on High, Christmas Don’t Be Late, The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You), A Cowboy’s Christmas, Do You Hear What I Hear, Fah Who Foraze, Dah Who Doraze, Welcome Christmas, The First Noel, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Here Comes Santa Claus, Holly Jolly Christmas, I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas, I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In), It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Joy to the World, Just What I Always Wanted, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town, The 12 Days of Christmas, We Wish You a Merry Christmas,  When Christmas Comes to Town, and You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

19) When Disney Meets Austen

I wrote a post comparing all the Austen characters to Disney ones. It took months to complete but I think it was pretty awesome. You’ll have to tell me what you think. Check it out in Waiter, There’s Some Disney in My Jane Austen.

So what will this year hold? I don’t know. I guess you will have to join my expedition to find out.

Happy New Year

For 2014 in review, go to Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads

For 2013 in review, go to Looking at the Past, Focusing on the Future

For 2012 in review, go to Looking Back, Moving Forward

For more on Star Trek, go to Rock You Like a Hurricane

Heaven on Earth: 13 of the Best Fictional Libraries

So if you’ve been following me, you are pretty aware of my love of libraries.

And I decided to do a post on my favorite fictional libraries. After all:

So here we go, my top 13 Favorite Fictional Libraries.

13) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman in the future, and as a fireman his job is to burn books. Books are now illegal, and it is up to firemen to root out the secret libraries and destroy them. After witnessing a woman willingly burn alive with her library, it gets Guy thinking about what the books contain. It begins with one book, but ends with Guy questioning everything he has ever known.

Why the library is awesome!: So we don’t actually know what is in this library, but if a person is willing to die with it you know it has to hold some amazing things. Even if the books are only valuable to the owner.

For more on Ray Bradbury, go to Friday Night Fun

12) The Music Man

A conman salesman, “Professor” Harold Hill (Robert Preston),  visits the town of River City, Iowa; and convinces the townspeople that the only way to save their children from becoming bad eggs, is to create a boys’ band. But where to get the instruments? From Professor Harold Hill of course! Marian, the town librarian, is a piano teacher, and the only one who could expose Professor Hill as a fraud, so Professor Hill sets out to seduce her. Along the way Professor Hill changes as he starts to care for the people he plans to con.

Why the library is awesome!: One of the musical numbers is Marian the Librarian in which Professor Hill attempts to seduce Marian by singing and dancing with her around the library. A library in which the librarian and town dance around singing? You get two in one—items to read and a show.

11) The Cat Who… Series

The Cat Who…Series is about amazing reporter  Jim “Qwill” Qwilleran who solves murders with the help of his cats. Qwill was a nationally-acclaimed reporter, until he became an alcoholic and lost everything. The first book, The Cat Who Read Backwards, Qwill is trying to put his life back in order and is searching for a job as a reporter. He joins the staff of the Daily Fluxion as a feature writer. After his landlord, the art critic, is killed, Qwill starts investigating with little clues pointed out by his landlord’s cat, Kao K’o Kung (Koko for short). As Qwill continues his investigations he ends up picking up another cat, Yum Yum. In The Cat Who Played Bhrams, Qwill journeys up north to the small town of Mooseville, and visits an old family friend. He ends up inheriting millions, but in order to get them, he has to remain in Moose County. This changes his life forever.

Why the library is awesome!: Qwill is an avid reader and collects as many as he can afford. When he inherits the money, he also receives a stone mansion with a giant library. It holds thousands of books from rare pieces that are worth millions to secondhand and beloved buys.

For more on The Cat Who… Series, go to The Cat Who Wrote A Blog

10) The Breakfast Club

So the movie begins one Saturday morning when five very different students have been sentenced with detention and are stuck with each other. We have Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy), “the basket case” who just came for fun; Andrew Clark (Emilio Esteevez), “the athlete”, who recieved detention for bullying a kid; John Bender (Judd Nelson), “the criminal”, sent there because of his acting up in class;  Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), “the princess”, caught skipping school to go shopping; Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), “the brain”, who brought a flare gun to school. At first everyone abides by their cliques, but through the course of the day they all bond together sharing their most personal secrets and working out their dysfunctions.

Why the library is awesome!: A gigantic library with multiple levels and a great sound system! Who wouldn’t want to spend their Saturdays there?

For more on The Breakfast Club, go to The Anniversary of Its Formation

9) My Fair Lady

Based on the play Pygmalion, this musical has Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) is disgusted with how the English butcher their English. As he is complaining, he runs into a cockney-accented, flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn). He makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering, that he will be able to teach Eliza how to speak so well that people will mistake her for a duchess. Eliza agrees to the bet as she wants to own a high class flower shop. However, they have their work cut out for them, as Professor Higgins methods are helpful, but extremely rude and harsh.

Why the library is awesome!: Henry Higgins may be rude and a jerk, but this professor has one of the best libraries. Why can’t all libraries be like this?

8) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

In the late 19th century, something is destroying ships as they are navigating the seas, cutting huge holes in the sides and completely ruining them. Professor Aronnax, a leading marine biologist, theories that the creature destroying the ships may come from the deepest depths of the ocean, which would give it incredible strength. He joins a crew who has set out to destroy it, taking along his assistant. The ship is destroyed; but Professor Aronnax, his assistant, and whaler Ned Land survive. They find themselves on a giant submarine, the Nautilus, joining its creator Captain Nemo on a journey under the sea.

Why the library is awesome!: This library is a masterpiece as Captain Nemo had thousands of books by the greatest minds. His collection covered science, morals, philosophy, and literature-in every language.

Professor Aronnax: “I thank you for having placed this library at my disposal. It contains treasures…and I shall profit by them.”

For more on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, go to Episode VI: Return of the Favorite Movie Lines List

7) The Mummy (1999)

In 1290 B.C. Egypt, a high priest Imhotep is caught having an affair with the Pharaoh’s woman. He is put through all the death rites, while still alive, and buried in Hamunaptra. Fast forward to 1932, a French Foreign Legion officer, Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser), finds himself in Hamunaptra, but lost in the desert. Three years later, librarian Evie (Rachel Weisz) is approached by her treasure-hunter brother Jonathan, with an artifact that he thinks will lead him to Hamunaptra. They pick up Rick O’Connell as a guide, and find the city. As they search for treasure they discover the mummy, and accidentally awaken him.

Why the library is awesome!: Even though Evie makes a mess, most of us book lovers wouldn’t mind putting the library she worked at back together as it would allow us to check out all those books. Plus it holds a map to a lost city that holds the Book of Life and the Book of the Dead.

For more on The Mummy (1999), go to Part X: The Movie List That Would NOT Die!

6) Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

In this Indiana Jones adventure, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is on the search for his dad (Sean Connery) and the Holy Grail. His father had been searching for the artifact and disappeared, causing Indy to pick up the trail. He picks up where his dad left off in Venice with Dr. Elsa Schneider, discovering a clue to the Grail. He continues from there to save his dad on the Austria-Hungary border, and discovers a betrayal stemming all the way from the Nazis

Why the library is awesome!: You have a library that has spiral staircases, stain glass windows, and secret treasure underneath. How cool is that? It does rest over the graves of dead bodies…BUT you hold a key to finding the Holy Grail! That’s a great tradeoff.

For more on Indiana Jones, go to And Away We Go

5) The Swan Princess

Derek and Odette were arranged to be married when they were babies. Every summer Odette and her father would visit Derek and his mother in order to get the two to become friends and hopefully, fall in love. The two dislike each other as they don’t like playing with each other. They reach the marriageable age, but Derek messes up with Odette as he tells her that beauty is the only thing that matters. As he runs after them to make up for his stupidity, Odette is captured by an evil wizard and her father killed. The wizard wants Odette to marry him so he can have her kingdom, but Odette says she will never marry the wizard and is turned into a swan, only to become human when the moon touches the pond. Derek searches for Odette and trains himself to be able to handle it. When Derek discovers Odette, the two have to find a way to save her and change her to human.

Why the library is awesome!: So we only see this library for one scene in the film and it rivals that of Beauty and the Beast. Multiple levels, spiral staircases, and incredibly tall ladders to reach everything.

For more on The Swan Princess, go to You Should Write a Book

4) Harry Potter Series

Harry Potter discovers that he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts School, learning magic spells, potions, and having to fight all kinds of creatures.

Why the library is awesome!: Think of all the magical knowledge within in this place? How awesome would it be to roam these stacks and unlock that. Really explains why Hermione likes to spend so much time there.

For more on Harry Potter, go to A Bit Pottery About Jane Austen

3) Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy is a teenage girl that discovers she is a slayer. She’s equipped with certain abilities that allow her to take down all kinds of monsters-demons, vampires, etc.

Why the library is awesome!: You have a library that holds tons of books for school along with almost anything on the supernatural. Not to mention it doubles as a training area that holds all kinds of weapons. What else do you need?

For more on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, go to Simply Fantastic

2) The Sandman Chronicles

The Sandman Chronicles follows the story of the sandman, or Dream. He was captured and imprisoned, but manages to escape after years, and then has to right his dominion and the rest of the world. These series combines Christianity, mythology, Shakespeare, and more.

Why the library is awesome!: The library in Dreaming holds every book ever dreamt of, even those that were never written. How awesome would it be to roam those stacks?

For more on The Sandman Chronicles, go to Dreaming of the Sandman 

1) Beauty and the Beast

Belle loves to read and finds it hard to relate to anyone in her town. Her father goes out of town on business and gets lost, staying over at a castle he finds. He upsets the owner and is kept prisoner, that is until Belle offers herself in her father’s place.

Why the library is awesome!: Do I really need to explain how awesome this library is? I’m sure every book lover has fallen in love with it. Multiple levels, spiral staircases, and comfy chairs in front of the fireplace-it’s a dream come true.

Yep:

For more on Beauty and the Beast, go to You’re Doing It Wrong

Yep these are some of the greatest libraries ever, and I hope the one I create is even a fraction of these.

For more on libraries, go to When in Doubt

For more book filled posts, go to Taking in Strays

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Perfectly Imperfect

For more quizzes, go to Fandom Love

Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads

So it’s that time of the year again!

It’s time for our year in review! This is a time to reflect on what the past year held for us, the big posts, what’s new, and what you all seemed to like the most. 😀 Something I did this year that I have never done before is post every single day, in fact I have reached my 300th and 400th post in this year.

So even though what I have listed below may seem like a lot, especially compared to the previous year’s reviews, this post is actually only covering a few things. You really should check out the year yourself. To start at the beginning go here.

1) The Views

This year I had 31000 views!!!! Isn’t that amazing! I had only 9,542 views last year, which means this blog has widely grown! I have all of you to thank along with twitter and the good people at Buzzfeed who have been using my pics and linking them back to me. The top viewed day was October 11, in which I posted my review of Scream 2, It’s Happening Again, Isn’t It?: Scream 2.

2) The Number One Post

The number one post this year came during my 30 Days of Disney (see #17) in which I wrote about my favorite Disney princess. Since Disney has acquired Lucasfilm that makes Princess Leia a Disney Princess, and, in my opinion, the ultimate one. To read more go to A True Princess.

Second place went to a post from my first Valentine’s Day countdown, Fulfilling the List: A Walk to Remember. In third was a post from my 2013 Halloween countdown, I Saw Goody Osburn With the Devil: The Crucible. In fourth place a post dedicated to my sixth month anniversary, Happy Anniversary. And rounding out this list we have in fifth place, a post all the way from my first holiday countdown, Horrorfest, A Monster Race: Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf. 

3) The Followers

So this community has really grown in numbers and I can not describe how pleased I am about that. We have gone from 14 followers in 2012 to 42 followers in 2013, and are now at 169. That’s amazing!

So enough about the statistics and numbers! Let’s move on to what was covered this year and what changes I have made to the blog!

4) Quotable Quotes

I started a new category this year called Quotable Quotes. These are different quotes from books or sayings that I just absolute adore. Since I’ve added it, I’ve had a gazillion of them posted. In fact, almost every post has a quote or saying now incorporated in it. Be sure that 2015 will bring many more!

For more on Ayn Rand, go to In Their Proper Place: Metropolis (1927)

For more Quotes, go to The Final Chapter

5) Social Media

This year I have expanded myself throughout social media! I am on facebook, twitter, and tumblr. Follow me for extra goodies, including my #ManCandyMondays and #FilmFridays.

6) Quizzes

Go here to see who you are

Another new category I added this year was quizzes. Everyone loves personality quizzes, right? Well I’ve decided since I love to take them, that I might as well incorporate them in my posts. They are fun, and I always include the link so you can take your own.

For more Quizzes, go to What a Fanatic!

For more on Mean Girls, go to Food, Food, Food!

7) Chinese New Year

With 2014 we saw a return of the Chinese New Year post, but it being a bit different. Because there are so many lovable Horse characters, I decided to list 14 of my favorite fictional horses from books and movies; instead of favorite moments involving horses. To read the post, go to A Horse’s Tale. 

8) Romance is in the Air: Part II

I brought back my Romance is in the Air: 14 Most Romantic Moments. I have to say some of them may be unusual, but my blog, my choices. The movies I covered were: It Happened One Night (1934), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Roman Holiday (1953), Mystic Pizza (1988), The Little Mermaid (1989), Anastasia (1997), Flintstones Viva Rock Vegas (2000), Princess Diaries (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Love Actually (2003), The Notebook (2004), Persuasion (2007), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (2011), and Catching Fire (2013)

9) Scenes from My Life 

As every year I like to include little snippets of my everyday life. Such as my brush with death in Final Destination: Bike Edition. A weird experience in the mall, A Trip to the Mall Turns Into the Twilight Zone. Getting attacked in Snow White of a Day. Phone harassment by an ex-girlfriend in Do You Know Where Alex Is? A teddy bear I could NOT get rid of no matter how hard I tried in The Teddy Bear that Would NOT Die! My views on clothes of the day in Fashion Show. A day of incredibly BAD luck in Just One of Those Days…Nights…No Days. How ordering pizza can be more than ordinary in Pizza Delivery. My attempt to start a revolution and its failure in Viva La Révolution. My attempts to dye my hair in That Girl is Poison. An exercise attempt gone horribly wrong in The Little Moreland. A chance meeting with a really hunky guy in Just a Moment. How chickens really hindered my day in Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?  And an attack by a Christmas Tree in O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree.

10) My Favorite Movie Lines

As promised I brought this back! I tried to post every month 100 of my favorite movie lines: Episode III: Revenge of the My Favorite Movie Lines, Episode IV: A New Favorite Movie Lines List, Episode V: My Favorite Movie Lines List Strikes Back, Part VII: It Was Said One Night, Part VIII: The Little Movie Line List, and Part IX: Adventures in Movie Lines.

In June I did a whole post on my favorite Disney movie lines, Episode VI: Return of the Favorite Movie Lines List. In October I did a post on my favorite horror film lines, Part X: The Movie List That Would Not Die. And in November, I did an ’80s themed post: Part XI: A Movie Lines List Excellent Adventure.

11) Verne’s Back

2014 saw the conclusion of the Verne Saga. Some of you may have read my Verne Saga, but for those of you who have never heard of it before, Verne was a guy who kept hitting on me and never leaving me alone. Everytime I thought it was over, he’d pop up again. Although this last sighting was the very last one…I hope.

To read the Verne Saga from the beginning,  go to Flirting With Disaster

13) Honoring Pride and Prejudice

Two years ago marked the 100th birthday of Pride and Prejudice and I was hoping to do extensive posts on the book; going over the novel, reviewing books based on it, movies, TV series, etc. Unfortunately, things happened and I was unable to continue. However, I did pick it up this year, and here are the posts I did on it. In Flu Season I talk about how Kitty is treated unfairly. In Just Can’t Get a Break I discussed how worse off Mary has it. In First Impressions, I talked about all the wrong things Mr. Darcy did when he was introduced to everyone. In Oh NO YOU DIDN’T I wrote on Elizabeth’s reaction to Darcy calling her “tolerable.” In The After Party, I wrote on how one always discuses what went on during a dance when it has ended. In An Assembly Such As This, I reviewed Pamela Aidan’s first novel in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series. Be assured there are plenty more to come.

Now when I was working on going through the novel, I decided it was unfair to the rest of the works to ignore them all. So what I have decided is that I am going to try and do all at the same time. Reading so many chapters in one, and matching that in all the others. Of course, along with doing books based on, films, etc. I have already started on Sense and Sensibility. 

I have so far done only one post on it, A Family Affair, but there are plenty more coming. I also will be doing something on Emma as December 25th marks her 100th birthday as well.

14) Painted Portrayals

For Easter, I once again discussed different pieces of Art that depicted Christ. This year I chose The Last Supper by Juan de Juanes, Duccio’s Betrayal of Christ, and Reubens’ The Elevation of the Cross. 

15) Musical Stylings of Me

So I continued my posts of my favorite songs. This year I covered The Final Countdown by Europe, Unbound (The Wild Ride) by Avenged Sevenfold, Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas, Na-Na-Na (Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na) by My Chemical Romance, Highway Star by Deep Purple, Rock You Like a Hurricane by The Scorpions, Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace, and In Love with the ’80s (Pink Tux to the Prom). There will be many more as I love music!

16) Scenes of Supernatural

Since my love of Supernatural is extremely strong and I include stuff from them all the time (i mean they have a gif for everything), I have also included a Supernatural category this year. There is plenty in the past and even more of Supernatural in the future.

For more on Supernatural, go to I Before E, Especially After P

17) 30 Day Challenge: Disney Edition

Every day in the month of June I did a post on something I love about Disney. I’m such a Disney girl, that these were hard choices but I was able to complete them all. Day 1) Your Favorite Disney Princess, Day 2) Your Favorite Disney Prince, Day 3) Your Favorite Disney Heroine, Day 4) Your Favorite Disney Animal, Day 5) An Underrated Disney Movie, Day 6) Your Favorite Disney Villain, Day 7) Your Favorite Disney Male Sidekick, Day 8) Your Favorite Disney Female Sidekick, Day 9) A Disney Film You Like but Others Hate, Day 10) The Most Aesthetically Pleasing Disney Film, Day 11) Your Favorite Disney Song, Day 12) Your Favorite Disney Love Song, Day 13) Your Favorite Disney Villain Song, Day 14) Your Least Favorite Disney Song, Day 15) The First Disney Movie You Ever Saw, Day 16) A Disney Movie that Makes You Laugh, Day 17) Your Least Favorite Disney Classic, Day 18) Your Favorite Disney-Pixar, Day 19) Your Least Favorite Disney-Pixar, Day 20) Favorite Disney Sequel, Day 21) A Disney Movie that Makes Your Cry, Day 22) Saddest Disney Death, Day 23) Your Favorite Disney Theme Park Ride, Day 24) Your Favorite Disney Kiss, Day 25) Your Favorite Disney Classic, Day 26) Your Favorite Disney Original Movie (DCOM), Day 27) Your Favorite Disney Hero, Day 28) Your Favorite Scene from Your Favorite Disney Movie, Day 29) Your Favorite Disney Remake, and Day 30) Your Favorite Disney Character of All-Time.

18) Getting Over a Heartbreak Series

This July I started a series of songs to help someone get over a break up. I would post every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from July to September. It was a lot of work but fun as well. The songs I chose were If It Means a Lot to You by A Day to Remember, The End by Silverstein, I Don’t Love You by My Chemical Romance, Now You’re Gone by Everyday Sunday, Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley, Good or Bad by Action Item, Love Stinks by The J. Geils Band, That’s What You Get by Paramore, Chin Up Kid by Forever the Sickest Kids, I’ll Be Alright Without You by Journey, For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic by Paramore, Missing You by John Waite, Gone Forever by Three Days Grace, Put Me Out by The Used, But It’s Alright by Huey Lewis & the News, Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson, Move Along by The All-American Rejects, Up and Up by Relient K, Red Rubber Ball by The Cyrkle, Over You by Daughtry, I Don’t Want to Be in Love (Dance Floor Anthem) by Good Charlotte, Here I Go Again by Whitesnake, Love Will Find a Way by Pablo Cruise, Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey, The Lining is Silver by Relient K, Whip It by Devo, Be Good to Yourself by Journey, Any Way You Want It by Journey, Unbound by Avenged Sevenfold, Here I Go by Relient K, and I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.

19) Harry Potter

So this year I read all the Harry Potter books and saw all the movies. I am planning on doing a post on my thoughts of them soon. (I just have so many ideas and never enough time!) But because of that, I included a new category on Harry Potter and have mentioned it in many posts. And, yes I am a Slithryn, just like my favorite character Snape.

For more on the Harry Potter Series, go to When in Doubt

20) Horrorfest III

So this was the third installment of my horrorfest series, that is 31 days of horror films or Halloween episodes.

I covered the following films this year: Metropolis (1927), The Wolf Man (1941), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Laura (1944),  Under Capricorn (1949), Dial “M” for Murder (1954), I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957), Queen of Outer Space (1958), Jaws (1975), An American Werewolf in London (1981), The Terminator (1984), Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Phantoms (1998), Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000), Scream 3 (2000), Along Came a Spider (2001), The Ring (2002), When A Stranger Calls (2006), The Mist (2007), The Lovely Bones (2009), Vampires Suck (2010), The Wolfman (2010),  Scre4m (2011), Godzilla (2014), and Gone Girl (2014). 

I also reviewed the following TV episodes: Happily Ever Aftermath from Grimm, Monster Movie from Supernatural, Tuesday the 17th from Psych, and Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf? from Boy Meets World, 

And I did a post on 100 of my favorite movie lines from horror films, Part X: The Movie List That Would Not Die. 

21) The Fifth of November

So celebrating the 5th of November isn’t exactly new as I have done it in the past. However, the last time I did it, it was on Doc Brown’s amazing idea of Time Travel. This year I did it on V for Vendetta. To read the post, go to Remember, Remember the 5th of November.

22) Fandom Posts

This year I started a series of posts on things I am a huge fan of or fandoms I am in. It was supposed to just be one post, but instead has become very many. I post every Sunday, with each post covering six of the things I fan over. So far I have covered: Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock,  Anne of Green Gables, Archie Comics, The Avengers, Avenged Sevenfold, Awkward, Back to the Future, Batman, Bones, Boy Meets World, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Captain America, The Chronicles of Narnia, Copper, Criminal Minds, CSI, DanisNotOnFire/Dan Howell, Deadwood, Diagnosis Murder, Disney, Downton Abbey, Frank Peretti, The 4400, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friday Night Lights, Game of Thrones, Garfield, Gilmore Girls, The Godfather, and Jane Austen

If you would like to check these out, go to Fanning All Over the Place, Simply Fantastic, Fantastic Fantasies, A Whole Lot of Fanfare, and What a Fanatic!

23) Thanksgiving

Two years ago I did a Thanksgiving post, and I decided to do it again this year. I not only talked about what I’m thankful for, but pie, Twin Peaks, and Supernatural.

Last year I mentioned I found this on Pinterest:

But I ended up with so much stuff I actually had to do a shoebox full. Just so you all know, I will be posting on that shortly.

So happy 2015 everybody!

And don’t forget to dress like this!

And this!

May this year be as awesome as always imagined!

To read a review of the year 2013, go to Looking at the Past, Focusing on the Future

For the review of the year 2012, go to Looking Back, Moving Forward

For more on Back to the Future, go to Just a Friendly Reminder

The Little Moreland

So you all are aware I’m a Disney fan right? I mean after my 30 Days of Disney I think it’s pretty obvious.

So being female, I loved the Disney princesses, my favorite being Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty and Belle from The Beauty and the Beast.

Now in the past I have compared myself to Cinderella, Snow White, and Belle; but I never thought I would compare myself to Ariel.

Although now that I’m a redhead, I can see it.

In fact, I once took a quiz that said I was her, and I thought yeah right, that’s not me.

Go here to see which you belong in/are

But the other day I was full on The Little Mermaid. Although, truth be told it wasn’t really the Disney version, but the hardcore Hans Christian Anderson one.

You see in the original story The Little Mermaid was the youngest of six sisters. On her 15th birthday she is able to go up to the surface where she sees the prince and saves his life during a storm.

She visits him everyday at his palace at the seashore and falls in love.

So romantic!

She soons becomes heartbroken as she can’t be with him. Nothing makes her happy, all she wants is to be human.

The other mermaids tell her to be happy, she can live for over 300 years. But she won’t have it. She travels to the sea-witch who lives in a horrible area and is an awful crazy person. The sea-witch turns her into a human, for her voice. However, their are strong consequences. One, she can never, ever be a mermaid again. Two, every step will be agonizing pain. Three, if the prince marries another, the next morning she will die with no soul but turn into foam. The Little Mermaid agrees and her tongue is cut out.

She washes up on shore and the prince takes her into his house. He clothes her and cares for her, as if she was his little sister. He tells her of the girl that saved his life and that she will be the only one he will ever love.

Yay!

Well time comes when the prince has to marry. And the girl chosen is so beautiful he agrees. In fact, he asks the Little Mermaid to be in the ceremony.

She is in so much heartbreak as she is doomed to die while the man she loves is to be married to another.

Her five sisters come to see her. They have cut off all their hair and given it to the sea-witch. They give her a knife and tell her that if she kills the prince and sprinkles his blood on her feet then she will be a mermaid again. But she must do it before the sunrise. She goes into the room to kill him…but she can’t do it. She loves him too much.

So she dies.

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!

Yes she dies. But she doesn’t turn to foam. She instead is given an eternal soul because she sacrificed herself for another.

I always knew the books we read as kids strongly affect us.

But I didn’t know how much until now.

So you are probably wondering what this has to do with me? How am I like The Little Mermaid? Book or film, I’m pretty sure all of you are wanting me to get to the point.

Well for Halloween this year I decided to be Poison Ivy. She is my favorite villainess, as I think she is just amazing. I did a post on her that includes pics of the costume.

So anyways, this past summer I mentioned I was in Wyoming, and that is the land of meat + potatoes. Fruit and veggies are few and far between. So since that summer, I’ve been feeling large.

Yes I do, but I noticed I have put more weight on in the butt/thigh area, or at least that’s what it feels like. So I decided that it was time to get into shape. I started doing squats and did about 100.  I was feeling pretty good about it too.

The next day I was a bit sore, but still feeling good.

The next day that was radically different. I drove to an interview, wearing my two inch boots, preparing to change into my four-inch heels when I got there. When I reached the site, I had to park a bit away. After I parked I changed into my heels.

Now I love heels. If you remember from a previous post, I’m short. I’m only 5’3, so heels are great as they finally make me closer to my dream height. They make me feel powerful and awesome. The higher the better.

So walking in 3-5 inch heels is not unusual for me. However, this time was much different. It WAS SO PAINFUL.

No no no no no

I felt just like The Little Mermaid.

“It will feel like a sword were passing through your body…each step you take will feel like sharp knives piercing your feet. “

That’s how it felt with me. Each step was utter agony as my muscles just burned and were so inexplicably sore.

I had to take so many breaks. As soon as I could I went to my car and changed my shoes. I’ve decided to rest from squats. And heels. I’ll just have to accept my bod for what it is.

Or focus on a different exercise!

For more on The Little Mermaid, go to I’m Not Gonna Lose Her Again

For more on Hans Christian Anderson, go to Disney Lesson

For more on my fashion style, go to Fashionably Postworthy

For more on Disney, go to Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf?

For more fairy tales, go to Happily Ever Aftermath

For more book-y posts, go to Conan the Librarian

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Part XI: A Movie Line List ‘s Excellent Adventure

You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat: Jaws (1975)

You’re gonna need a bigger boat…

Jaws really is revolutionary movie. It is an amazing piece of cinema that breaks a lot of previous horror film rules. It focuses on both the people and the creature they are trying to kill. The camera uses are unparalleled. Instead of constantly being shown the shark (as it malfunctioned a lot) it is filmed from the shark’s point of  [something down later in Friday the 13th (1980)] which adds to the terror of the film.

AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!

This also was the first “summer blockbuster” film. It opened on 409 screens nationwide (unusual for the time) and quickly became the highest grossing film of all time. Previous to Jaws, they would show the film on a few screens and then move the picture around. This mass-screening, all-over at the same time became so popular that it set the standard for what film companies do today. Jaws lost its place as the highest grossing film of all time in 1977 when Star Wars IV: A New Hope came out.

This film also brought a huge interest in sharks and marine biology. Now previous to this film you had monster movies and horror films that were about sea creatures attacking. Films such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms were you have some radioactive created creature that is ginormous and attacks the world. Or the mythological fishman from The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Godzilla, being another radioactively changed creature that is trying to destroy or protect the city. It Came From Beneath the Sea a giant octopus that causes havoc and destruction. The Monster that Challenged the World where giant mollusks come out of a crevice in the ground and try to kill everyone. But have you noticed something? All of these are large creatures, most of the time accidentally or purposely genetically altered. Or fake, such as the fishman. None of these were an actual creature that you could come into contact with…like a great white shark. Not only is Bruce (the shark in the film, named after Steven Spielberg’s lawyer) something real and normal-sized; but he’s just freaky! The book and the film both present actual data (although more studies proved some of the behavior previously associated with great whites are false) and an actual creature you could come upon. I mean great white sharks have over 300 teeth, they can get to be over 21 feet long, they are pretty fast swimmers, can jump out of the water, and are constant eating machines. How could you not be afraid?

But just like Spielberg’s other film Jurassic Park made dinosaurs the “it” thing (and they have been ever since, although never as on top as in the ’90s) Jaws made sharks really cool. And they remain so. I remember back in grade school sharks were just so awesome! We had a guy come to our class that did a whole presentation on sharks, and everyone was riveted. And people still remain so. Sharks will never stop being cool. I mean after all, ever summer we have a week devoted to them, Shark Week, on the Discovery channel. Buzzfeed even did a quiz on “What Type of Shark are You”. And did I take this quiz  you may ask? You bet I did!

To see what type you are, go here.

Yep, Jaws is pretty amazing. So I’m sure you are now ready for the review, but I’m not about to go there just yet. So Jaws is based on the book by the same name, authored by Peter Benchley. The book was okay, but I preferred the movie. Unlike the book Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton; Jaws the book doesn’t hold a candle to the film version. This mostly has to do with the way they create the characters in the book. Hooper in the film is a an arrogant-rich kid, but you like him because he really gets involved in his work, and loses some of that stigma as the film progresses. In the book he is always annoying and he has an affair with Brody’s wife. The whole affair took away from the storyline and seemed tossed in, rather than attempting to flow.

Now the film on the other hand, follow the story pretty closely, but takes out the extra action not really needed. Plus the people they chose where just perfect. Roy Scheider was an amazing Chief Brody, balancing being a tough police chief, with a scared i-don’t-know-what-to-do everyday person. Richard Dreyfuss, as I mentioned earlier, smoked it as Hooper the marine biologist/rich kid. And Robert Shaw. No one will ever hold a candle to your Quint, no matter how the world may try.

So now let’s get back to film review-wait, wait wait. Let me say one last thing. So it feels really weird to be talking about this film without mentioning a few more memories. So let me say I have seen every Jaws film created, even the incredibly horrible ones (as pretty much each sequel was). I actually watched them all at a really young age with my older sister Paige. They were doing a movie marathon and we sat down and saw them all (which took a long time as these are not short films). When I was older, I actually couldn’t remember the finer points of the film, the biggest thing that stuck in my mind was the SeaWorld underwater tunnels and shark attack in Jaws 3-D.

Now every 4th of July I used to do the same thing. I would watch the Twilight Zone marathons that they would show on the SciFi, now SyFy, channel. (I know, I know. I’m a huge fan, but have yet to review any episode for a Horrorfest. I promise I will do at least one next year.) SyFy stopped doing this for a while (they have since brought it back but every year is iffy). Now AMC does some movie marathons on the 4th of July that usually had some patriotic feeling (like Rocky). One year they did a Jaws marathon, as the 4th of July plays a huge role in the film. I watched it that year and loved it all over again. Now my tradition trades off between Twilight Zone and Jaws every 4th of July.

So now we are seriously back on to the film review.

First let’s set the mood. It is the summer of 1975. Many families, young adults, teens, etc. are vacationing at beaches. Amity Island (where our story takes place) is one such beach. It is located on the east coast (a sort of Martha’s Vineyard that poor and rich can afford). On this particular night there are quite a few college age kids having bonfires on the beach. They are drinking beer, toking up (it is the ’70s), etc. One guy, Tom Cassidy, spots a blonde, Chrissie. The two run off away from the crowd to “be alone”.

As they get far from the crowds, Chrissie begins stripping and invites Tom in for some moonlight skinny dipping. She dives in right away and Tom tries to follow. However, he is far too bombed and collapses on the beach.

Chrissie is unaware and continues to swim. This is the last swim she will ever take.

The next day we are introduced to Martin Brody, the new Chief of Police. Brody is a native of New York City, but he and his family moved out to take over the Amity Island police force as they thought it would be easier, simpler and less deadly.

Anyways, we’ll get into that later. So Chief Brody (Scheider) has been called to go looking for Chrissie. He and his deputy Hendricks, go down to the beach to search for clues. It doesn’t take them long until they discover her corpse.

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

Back at the police station he gets asked to deal with the usual cases of the day; kids karate chopping down fences and other stuff. It seems to be business as usual until the report comes back. It states Shark Attack.

Immediately, Brodie runs to the hardware store to pick up materials to make sign to close the beaches.

However, the Mayor doesn’t like that. He knows that if word gets around that there are sharks in the water he can say good-bye to all those summer dollars.

Good-bye

Without that money, the winter will be hard on everyone. These people depend on the summer dollars to keep the island going year round. The Mayor convinces the coroner to “take a second look” of which causes the coroner to determine he had made “a mistake”. There was no shark attack, just a boating accident as she swam into a propeller.

Since that is the decision, Brody can’t do anything but allow the beaches to remain open. But this is all against his better judgement.

But hey, he is a newcomer that lives in a small town. He has to play the politics. Even if they have dire consequences.

So as time goes on more tourists come to the island. The beaches are stock full of visitors. Brody is worried and nervously scans the water. Everything is fine…until it isn’t.

I just love that scene when they zoom into Brodie’s face. It is fantastic. So Bruce sure did a number.

After her son’s death, Mrs. Kitner issues a $3000 reward for the capture of the shark. The town holds a meeting in which Brody lets them know he contacted someone from the Oceanographic Institute for advice. Brody wants to close down the beaches, but no one will listen. The fighting is interrupted by Quint, in one of the best scenes.

So great it was spoofed:

Brody goes home and orders his children to go nowhere near the water, even though his son Michael just got a new boat. Brody’s wife Ellen thinks he is overreacting, that is until she looks at the pictures in his shark book. She then firmly decides that staying out of the water is a great idea.

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

With such a high bounty, everyone wants to kill the shark. Expert fishermen from all over. Average joes. Everybody.

Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) comes to town, as he is the person from the Oceanographic Institute. He has an interesting background. Hooper was a rich boy that was into science and became a marine biologist. This can often be something that is hard to fund, so his parents + trust fund really come in handy.

Anyways, once Brody finds out who he is, has has him take a look at the remains.

“[Hooper is examining the remains of the first victim – describes the post-mortem into his tape recorder]

Hooper: The height and weight of the victim can only be estimated from the partial remains. The torso has been severed in mid-thorax; there are no major organs remaining…Right arm has been severed above the elbow with massive tissue loss in the upper musculature… partially denuded bone remaining…[to the m.e. and Brody] This was no boat accident! [to Brody] Did you notify the Coast Guard about this?

Brody: No. It was only local jurisdiction.

Hooper: [continues post-mortem] The left arm, head, shoulders, sternum and portions of the rib cage are intact…[to Brody] Do not smoke in here, thank you very much. [lifts up the severed arm] This is what happens. It indicates the non-frenzied feeding of a large squalus – possibly Longimanus or Isurus glauca. Now… the enormous amount of tissue loss prevents any detailed analysis; however the attacking squalus must be considerably larger than any normal squalus found in these waters. Didn’t you get on a boat and check out these waters?

Brody: No.

Hooper: Well, this is not a boat accident! And it wasn’t any propeller; and it wasn’t any coral reef; and it wasn’t Jack the Ripper! It was a shark.

Conclusion: Shark

Meanwhile, out on the ocean, some fishermen have caught a large shark. Everyone is happy to see it and that the reign of terror is over. The monster has been slain.

Hooper steps up to investigate the shark:

And tells everyone that it is the wrong shark. It is a tiger shark, not a great white. The bite radius is all wrong. They decide to keep the beaches closed until they can cut him open and see if the remains are inside it. Before they leave, Mrs. Kinter arrives and  slaps Brody across the face. She heard about the deaths and how they suspected sharks were in the area and blames Brody for everything.

Now Brody just takes this as he blames himself, but I always hated that. It wasn’t his fault! He wanted to stop them from keeping the beaches open. It was the greedy, evil mayor who wouldn’t listen.

Mayor from Buffy the vampire slayer

Well, I guess he could be much worse.

So Hooper joins the Brody clan for dinner. Now in the book, Ellen knew Hooper’s older brother and the two just spent the time reminiscing. They later had an affair. Luckily Speilberg was smart enough to cut that out, and they instead discuss the situation. Hooper explains that a rogue shark will often claim territory to an area where the feeding is good and will remain there until the food source is gone. In order to protect the town, they decide they need to get down there and cut that shark open.

No human remains means that the real shark is out there. Bruce? Where are you hiding?

Here I am!

Hooper decides they have to go out that night as the Great White Shark is a night feeder. Now Brody hates the water, as we mentioned earlier, but goes out with Hooper. Using Hooper’s fancy equipment, they pick up a fishing boat, that Brody recognizes as Ben Gardner’s. Hooper dives under and finds one big surprise.

The next morning Brody and Hooper try to get the Mayor to listen to them, but all the Mayor is thinking about is the graffiti on the Amity Island billboard.

Sign from Universal Studios Backstage Tour

Hooper has figured out that the shark that is attacking is a great white. The evidence all points to it and they need to close the beaches down. But the mayor won’t listen to him. Hooper lost the Great White Shark tooth he found and the Mayor sees it as tooo convinent. He believes that Hooper is just trying to spread a sensation as he wants to be written up in the National Geographic or something. However, that’s not the real truth. To be honest, the Mayor is just thinking about making money over saving lives.

Bad things happen when you don’t listen

July 4th the beaches are flooded. This is not good, not good at all. Brody, Hooper, and the cops are constantly patrolling the beaches, but all are on edge as they are waiting…waiting for the shark to attack.

Michael, Brody’s son, wants to go in the water, but Brody won’t let him. He tells him to go to the estuary instead as it is safer.

You never learn

Suddenly a shark fin appears in the water

AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!

But it turns out to be just a prank. Some stupid kids decided to dress as a shark. Seriously guys, what were you thinking?

While everyone is watching this and dealing with it…not too far away something happens.

A girl painting down by the estuary see’s a shark. She starts crying out the word, but most think it is a hoax. Brody starts to head over, but when he hears his son is down there he runs like crazy.

Now this is a great scene but I can’t find a good clip of it online. You’ll just have to watch the film! So Michael and his friends get capsized along with another guy. The shark devours tons of people, including the man that tried to help them.

Here I am!

Michael makes it out okay, but suffers severely from shock. Brody takes him to the hospital and yells at the Mayor, demanding that he pay all of Quints commands and let’s him kill the shark.

So the three set out to catch that fish, even though they face some issues. Quint wants to go it alone, but Brody insists that he and Hooper have to come along. Quints dislikes Hooper as he sees him as some rich boy having fun with daddy’s money, not a real fisherman or worker like Quint. Quint also dislikes having Brody as he knows nothing about fish or fishing, but at least he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. Hooper is tired of the all the “you don’t know nothing, kid” crap he is getting from Quint and also annoyed at Brody. Brody has a fear of the water that he is trying to overcome, managing two grown men who are acting like children, and is afraid that he might not make it home to see family. There is a lot of stuff going on.

 Once at sea they start getting ready for the hunt. Baiting lines. Chumming the water. And that is when we have the most famous lines from the film uttered. (You know it wasn’t even scripted. Scheider just uttered it in the heat of the moment.)

And that is when the real hunting begins!

That night the guys get drunk and start bonding. Singing drinking songs. Comparing scars and wounds. You know, the typical guy stuff. But that’s when things get serious and Quint describes his hatred for sharks.

At this moment, its not about the money. It’s not about the fame. Quint has become Captain Ahab, and he wants his whale…or shark in this case.

In fact this is one of the most dramatic scenes in the film as you get the underlying reason why this is so important to him. Of course as it is one of the most famous scenes, it has to be parodied.

Back to the film. The next day the hunt continues. They try and take the shark but Bruce proves to more powerful than they expected. They tried to reel it on, but it nearly capsized the Orca. Hooper decides to be lowered down in a shark cage to shoot Bruce with a harpoon filled with strychnine nitrate.

Hooper manages to escape the shark. This was were he was supposed to die, but then Speilberg changed his mind. After attacking Hooper, Bruce decides to go after the ship.

Pic of the shark from the Universal Backstage Tour ride

He crushes it and causes it to lean toward him. Brody and Quint struggle to hold on, but Quint loses his grip and finds himself in the belly of the beast.

Brody takes on killing the shark all by himself. This is why Brody is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One Shark Week on Discovery channel they actually tested out everything in the film. They discovered that if you shot a tank from the 1970s you could blow up a shark. You just have to shoot it right.

Hooper finally gets his act together and meets up with Brody, the two creating a raft and swimming off in the distance.

“I used to be afraid of the water,” Brody admits.

“I can’t imagine why,” Hooper replies.

But that’s not the end of the post. Oh, no we still have a bit more to cover. 🙂

So for my 20th birthday, my parents told me we could do whatever I wanted. It was the last time they were going to throw a party for me. I really wanted to go to Disneyland as the last time I had gone was when I was 12 (I went recently and will do a post on what it was like later). I decided on Universal Studios as it was much cheaper, and they were having a special for their anniversary that you buy a pass, you get in free for the year! Sweet!

So as we entered the gates, I was asked by a worker to fill out a survey for a free gift. You know me and free.

So I did and we got to skip the lines for the Backstage Studio Tour! Whooooooooooo!!!!!

So you see all kinds of cool things on that tour, but I’m not going to speak on everything. We gotta stay Jaws focused here. So at one point we drive to Amity Island.

Sign from Universal Studios Backstage Tour

We see the fake shark that they thought was Bruce but wasn’t.

Then we things get intense. Bruce attacks!

There were actually three Bruces created for the film. The first one is passed along museums, the second is at Universal studios, and the third privately owned. After Bruce attacks, they blow him up!

It’s so intense! The flames feel so close! It’s AWESOME!

Later I got to see Brody’s actual costume in the Universal Pictures Museum (that’s where I saw the Marty McFly one from Back to the Future: Part III).

But that’s not the end! So the other day a friend and I were discussing Jaws and Bruce’s motives.

Anjelica: Is this a horror movie? Or is it an animal, drama/history movie about a misunderstood shark that only wants hugs from others, but his eating disorder and anger issues gets in the way?

Me: Horror film. He is purposely hunting down Brody and his family, as seen in the sequels.

Anjelica: “Hunting down” or passionately pursuing the family he always wanted to have. Jaws should just befriend, Orca: The Killer Whale. lol

Me: I have changed my view on Bruce the shark. So Quint was in a shark attack but survived. He was supposed to die in it but somehow cheated death. Bruce is a supernatural entity (that’s why he can’t really die and comes back in the 3 sequels) in the guise of a shark that has been hunting him down to right that past wrong. He finally succeeds in killing him and is supposed to take Hooper too (as he dies in the book and original draft of the script) but Brody gets in the way. In fact Brody manages to destroy his “earthly form”. Then Bruce becomes angry and falls from his post (like Davy Jones in the Pirates films) and starts hunting for Brody, along with taking down all of his family.

So there we have it. I have officially joined the dark side. I have fully become a tumblr with that last comment.

So there we go. One of the best horror films that have affected us as people so strongly. People are afraid to swim because of this movie. Ever summer one week on the Discovery Channel is devoted to sharks. The theme is so AWESOME!!!!! I mean every time you go in water you have to hum it.

It is one amazing film. If you haven’t seen it, watch it. If you have seen it, watch it again.

And that’s the real end. I swear. Hope you enjoyed it!

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

For the previous post, go to Monster Movie

For more on Jaws, go to Part X: The Movie List That Would Not Die

For more shark attacks, go to For All the Men Who Wonder What It’s Like

For more on hunting a monster, go to Let Them Fight

For more monster movies, go to Keep Clear Of the Moor. Beware the Moon

For more films based on a book, go to Murder is My Favorite Crime

For more films that spanned sequels, go to You Will Die in Seven Days

For more in Universal Studios, go to There Are Many Strange Legends in the Amazon

For more quizzes, go to I’m Batman!

For more on Star Wars, go to Part IX: Adventures in Movie Lines

For more Buffy the Vampire Slayer, go to Every Time I Bring a Girl Over, You Try to Eat Her!