Sunday, January 11, 2015

Favorite TV stuff from 2014

In no particular order:
6 Favorite TV Shows of 2014:
1. Game of Thrones (Favorite episode: 4.08 "The Mountain and the Viper" ) 
2. The Americans (favorite episode: 2.13 "Echo")
3. Fargo (favorite episode: 1.06 "Buridan's Ass" )
4. Bob's Burgers (favorite episode: 4.17 "The Equestranauts")
5. Hannibal (favorite episode 2.13 "Mizumono")
6. Doctor Who (favorite episode: 8.11 "Dark Water")
 

Honorable Mentions: True Detective, Rick & Morty, Mad Men, The Leftovers, Silicon Valley, Orange is the New Black

6 Favorite TV Characters of 2014:
1. Philip Jennings "The Americans"
2. Molly Solverson "Fargo"
3. Tina Belcher "Bob's Burgers"
4. Clara Oswald "Doctor Who"
5. Barry Allen "The Flash"
6. Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' Warren "Orange is the New Black"

Honorable Mentions: Will Graham "Hannibal," Helena "Orphan Black," Brienne of Tarth "Game of Thrones," Regular Sized Rudy "Bob's Burgers"
6 Favorite TV Ships of 2014:
1. Jamie/Claire "Outlander"
2. Danny/Clara "Doctor Who"
3. Philip/Elizabeth "The Americans"
4. Daryl/Carol "The Walking Dead"
5. Gus/Molly "Fargo"
6. Carson/Hughes "Downton Abbey"

Honorable Mentions: Ichabod/Abbie "Sleepy Hollow," Jaime/Brienne "Game of Thrones," Regular Sized Rudy/Adventure "Bob's Burgers"

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Okay so it's been a long time since I did one of these...Look what I found--a draft version of my round up from last year!


2013 Round-up 

Best Book: Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore
Best Discovery: The Civil Wars
Best Theatrical Experience: Star Trek: Into Darkness & The Day of the Doctor
Best Animated Film: Frozen and Wreck it Ralph 
Best Website: Buzzfeed
Hardest Goodbye: The Ponds (Especially Rory) 
Looking Forward to: Veronica Mars the Movie!


And for this year--2014 Round-up 

Best Book: Yes Please

Amy Poehler is honest, genuine and someone worth knowing. She provides a peek into her life and her what following her passion took and where it took her and who she became as a result. 
She provides readers with three points of advice: Say what you want, Do what you want and Be who you are. 
Read it if you haven't and she's a great voice to carry in your purse/bag for a bit. 

Favorite Song: "Compass" by Lady Antebellum

There are a ton of a great songs and fun songs that came out this year and party jams but something from Lady Antebellum's track really resonants with my being. 
Here's the chorus for you to peruse for yourself: 

So let your heart sweetheart be your compass when you're lost
And you should follow it wherever it may go
When it's all said and done you can walk instead of run
'Cause no matter what you'll never be alone

I find it encouraging, great for a road trip and simply great advice to follow. It really just became my anthem this year. 

Best New Show: Selfie


I have been made aware of the terrible truth, but from what I have seen I have enjoyed every bit of it. The cast is hilarious. I love John Cho and wish he were on TV and many other screens all the time. He and Karen Gillian (who is amazeballs) have wonderful give and take. I really wanted to see where their characters Henry and Eliza went and how they changed and effected one another. Also the supporting cast was phenomenal and split siding funny. Lastly I really enjoyed the evaluation, analysis and response to the current popular culture. 

Besides where are going to get good old Henry gems such as these:

“You need to go. Just pack your paper holes and get out of here.”
“As you can imagine, I will now be removing that jam from my playlist”

It was nominated for a People’s Choice Award—good grief ABC! Please, please oh please hear my cry Netflix!

Best Movie: Veronica Mars & Gone Girl


Veronica Mars came out in March and all of our fangirls dream came true. Surprise guest stars, Wallace and of course the ending and answers to what became of Logan and Veronica. Eep! I really enjoyed it and have never been happier to support this Kickstarter project. I’ll probably be watching it tomorrow :D



Gone Girl happens to be the most screwed up book I have ever read and became a movie I waited nearly a year to see. It was a great translation and the cast, crew, writers and director did a phenomenal job bringing it to the silver screen.  Marriage is hard and being in love is a lot different than being married. So when Amy goes missing all eyes are on Nick. I love the way that Gillian creates and builds her characters. Further I really appreciate the role of the media and the power it has over the public’s perception. Flynn’s assessment of its role in our judicial system is genius. Gillian Flynn #kudos.

Hardest Goodbye: Psych 


C'mon Son. Talk about friendship and humorous hijinks. No one does it better than Shawn and Gus. The final episode was excellent and help with the easing but I will miss the mysteries and the craziness that is Shawn Spencer and the neurotic Gus. Plus there was a musical! Doesn't get any better than Gus and Shawn and the crew singing their lungs out. 


Best Discovery: Digital reading, Sherlock & Scandal 

Yes, yes. I am late on all three fronts but now that I have discovered these amazing and wonderful things I shan't go back. Thank you Polar Vortex.

First off, I am old school about books and will probably never stop buying hard copies but its super nice to have a book in like 4 inches of tablet. And really comfortable for reading in bed.


Sherlock—okay obviously its brilliant. The casting, the production, the twist and turns; seriously this show is just great and unfortunately we have only 9 episodes at this point to keep us company as we wait for season 4 on the edge of our seats.



Scandal is just amazing; it’s clever, it’s scandalous. Kerry Washington is the modern female hero on Capitol Hill and she is amazing at everything she does—until you meet her father.  Even though Olivia Pope is the protagonist, she is flawed and faulty and just what I want to watch on a Thursday night.


Looking forward to in 2015

Parks and Recreation's Final season


I’ll be sad but I’m sure it will be fantastic. I have truly enjoyed watching this episodic series about a small parks and recreation office in Pawnee, IN. It’s been fun seeing the crazy, creative and hilarious things that Leslie Knope has gotten herself, Ron, Ann, Donna, April, Andy, Jerry, Ben and Chris into. The writers have given us sentimental and meaningful gems such as “I like you and I love you” or comedy gold like “The only thing I’ll be waving is your decapitated head on a stick in front of your weeping mother!” Yup a show for the ages and will always have a special place in my heart. I’ll always cherish blaming Jerry for anything that goes wrong in life.


I look forward to seeing Leslie Knope having it all with Ben Wyatt in tow (he’s totes adorable—seriously every time he wears his Letters to Cleo shirt, I lose it). The beginning of the end starts on January 13.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Veronica Mars The Movie: #happymaking #addicted #seeit

Spoilers abound. Essentially, Veronica Mars, the movie was everything a fan could have hoped for in the allotted 107 minutes. Here are the bits I enjoyed immensely.

 Watching it with the girls

  Good friends with great taste are such a blessing. And we had soooo much fun watching it together. It was such a blast and am glad we had the opportunity to do so.

Dax Sheppard and James Franco surprises

All of the guest stars in the film were great during the club scene but Dax Shepphard (Kristen Bell’s real-life husband and father of her daughter) is a complete idiot trying to hit on Veronica—seriously nothing made me laugh more.

The next best guest star was definitely James Franco, Dick mentions a viral video and they literally watch it and then the film cuts to James Franco in his trailer. So much perfection. 

Mac, Wallace, and Veronica



Lifelong friends that allow you to fall back into old patterns is amazing. Plus it was like they missed Veronica as much as we did. Also, Mac's hair is amazing!

 Texting her Dad when facing death

 Her dad is literally lying unconscious in a hospital and even though she knows he won’t get the message for a while she makes sure he knows that she loves him more than anything. It is the sweetest thing in the movie. Those two always take care of each other and their bond is so strong.

Piz and Veronica break up


Okay, I’m not heartless. While yes it did provide the opportunity for the now respectful Logan and hesitant Veronica to reunite, it also for the first time ever made me feel bad for Piz. Because after all, he is a good guy, he just happens not to be the right guy for my girl Veronica. In this scene, we see his strength, because he tells her that they don’t belong together. Which is not an easy thing to do, especially if you love that person. He realized it wasn’t enough and in his heartbreak was strong.

Old Jokes in a New Movie

 There were several amazing moments and references to the series but I definitely loved the fact that Piz never having a murder charge made him a great boyfriend. Veronica sure can pick them. 

Logan has changed for the better

"You should only wear this"-Veronica

So Logan, ahem actually became an adult. He’s still charming, still has his fire and is often fighting a battle within himself. But he’s a JAG, what he could have become yet another celeb’s kid gone bad but instead, he decided to serve his country. And he was pretty sweet with Carrie Bishop, he took responsibility in their relationship even for things that may have been beyond his control. I can finally say kudos, Logan.

Lesson Learned

 The film starts with Veronica in New York, she made it out of her small idiotic town and was on the path to become a successful high power lawyer. I mean that’s the dream, right to successfully escape your hometown and never look back. But it turns out dreams aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. In the end, Veronica discovers that she was always meant to fight the good fight in Neptune. Being a good guy and feeding her habit.
  
It’s extremely comforting to know that sometimes you don’t have to look too far to find your true purpose, your happily ever after.

LoVe Scene(s)


Yes! I am a total girl for this but when Logan carried her up the steps after her Father’s accident. My heart just soared because I knew it was on, I knew it was meant to be, I knew nothing could ever separate them again. And I literally started having flashbacks to the good ole days before rape accusations, Madison, Piz, lies, and arguments. Their chemistry was off the charts and just so perfect. I could not have imagined/wrote it better myself.

My hopes and dreams were confirmed, when they are separating for 180 days and they repeat my favorite scene to one another, line by line. Epic indeed.