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Walking in to the movie theater to see the first Toy Story is a memory that has not left me in the 10 plus years of life since it occurred.  At that time in my life, at the impressionable age of 11, going to the movies was a magical experience.  The smell of the popcorn, the lighting of the theater, the cold air of the theater, all experiences of pure joy for a young mind like mine.  My father sat me and my younger brother down and soon I unknowingly embarked on a journey that would parallel mine from my childhood to my adult years.  As I watched the first computer animated full feature I was wowed not by the visuals but by the story and characters.  At that time (and maybe still now) I believed that when I left my rooms my toys came to life. Soo much so that I felt anguish when toys were given or thrown away, I felt as if I were losing a friend.  Growing up on movies like Brave Little Toaster and the Raggedy Anne helped me along but this film was a focal point for me.  When the credits rolled I knew I would love this movie forever and though my mind wasn’t on a sequel yet I felt the story must go on.
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Summer is here, and so is my love for summer programming.  I know that there are easily a dozen summer tv shows I SHOULD be watching, but  too many shows, so little time!  So here is a list of the shows that I do watch and enjoy.

Here is my top 5 list of Summer TV shows that I love!

5. Burn Notice
Alex just recently started showing me Burn Notice and I fell in love instantly.  Even though I’m still on the first season, I hope to finish in time for this season.

4. Eureka
I’m not going to lie, one of my main reasons for loving this show as much as I do is the cast.  My first panel at my first year at Comic Con was for Eureka. It had just wrapped up it’s first season, and the cast had just found out there was going to be a 2nd.  All the main characters were up there (minus Neil Grayston who plays Fargo) and they were completely grateful for all their fans and for the chance to be a part of the show. During the Q&A, everyone from kids in first grade, to teenagers, young adults, adults and grandparents went up and asked questions.  And when they ran out of time for questions, the cast offered to hang out and talk after. This show is charming and original, the characters are fun and interesting and it does a great job of merging future technology and thinking with modern day living.  Oh, and this year, “No More Mister Nice” Gaius from Battlestar will be joining the cast.

3. Warehouse 13
This was my favorite new show last summer.  Its got character chemistry similar to Bones, the fun and futuristic feel of Eureka and is a bit like X-Files with less aliens, but still has an originality that is all it’s own.  The two main characters have a playful and endearing relationship, and the show itself is light and off beat.  Again, it’s a show that will appeal to all ages.  Also, sci-fi fans will love the guest appearances this upcoming season from people like Gina Torres, Jewel Staite and Sean Maher (firefly).  Last season Tricia Helfer (BSG), Michael Hogan (BSG) and Joe Flanigan (SGA) showed up along with Erica Cerra, Niall Matter and Joe Morton (Eureka) as well as Mark Sheppard (every sci-fi show I could think of).

2. Psych
Fake Psychics, Real Detectives. Psych is a show that I randomly caught a few episodes of in it’s first season, and instantly got hooked.  It’s hilarious, each episode has parts that make me laugh til my sides ache.  Shawn and Gus, the show’s main characters, have amazing chemistry and are the definition of “opposites attract”.  I love this show not only for James Roday’s hilarious outbursts, spontaneous rants, random pop-culture references and wacky covers, but also because the show spends almost no time on the characters being worried that their secret will be discovered.  Unlike most shows where the main character has a big secret they’re trying to keep, this show doesn’t lose itself in the typical, boring plot line where they’re trying to keep everyone from finding out.  It’s very much a modern day, American version of Sherlock Holmes with a twist.. and a psychic detective.. who isn’t psychic.

1. True Blood
In a world where all Vampires are painted as sparkley teenage boys who don’t kill, a show that isn’t afraid to take vampires back to what they really are. This show has a very southern gothic feel to it and draws you in with it’s variety of character personalities, satirical elements, soap opera like story lines and who aren’t afraid to be vampires.

So these have been a long time coming. Please forgive how out of date they may be but non the less needed to be committed to digital paper.

The Wolfman is going to be a movie people hate or love, some may not fit in that group but most will. That being said the movie is great; tone, atmosphere, music, and performance are all elements the modern horror film tends to lack and this one had it. The trouble about this genre is that it has gone through so much change and it still is on uneven ground at best. Yes there are classics but to make a successful modern film one has to do just that, make it modern. Not necessarily in setting but at the very least in film making technique. And boy Johnston delivered on that. Wolfman feels part Sleepy Hallow, part Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with some good make up and art design thrown in. Benecio Del Toro gives a quiet but amazing performance and with a masterful vet like Hopkins you get a great base cast.  But lets PLEASE not forget Hugo Weaving who delivers every second he is on screen.  The film has it’s scary parts and the color work definitely fits the film to a tee.

The movie isn’t perfect. It has some poor editing choices that make the movie feel a bit choppy at times.  The story also leaves one with some connect the dotes moments. Neither of these drag the film down much at all and fans of horror film and many other film goers will be pleased by this movie that is hopefully a new direction for films of this genre.

Martin Scorsese and Leo Dicaprio go together like a beautiful/depressing peas and carrots.  And anyone who is a fan of the book will feel this pair hit the mark with Shutter Island. With it’s noir meets the red scare story, absolutely a-fucking-mazing cinematography, and an encompassing and emotionally powerful performance by Leo.  For those who don’t feel the need to incessantly guess the ending this film is a gripping hauntingly gorgeous story you won’t soon forget.

Almost every actor involved embodies a character that is rich and enjoyable to watch unravel as the plot thickens.  Mark Ruffalo has some weak moments but does great over all, it may just be that most actors pale in comparison to Dicaprio. The man has amassed a titanic collection of amazing performances (over used pun intended).  Ben Kingsly and Max Von Sydow give the plot some great texture and there is a great many layers to this story.

The environment gives the movie a great claustrophobic feel and an audience member can have moments. Overall it’s a tale with pain and resonance and one damn good movie.

No doubt most have seen a movie that was like a seed being planted in the brain. At first it was just a nice little unimpressive package but after time becomes a full fledged enjoyable experience. That’s the best metaphor that can be used for Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. At a glance the film might seem unremarkable at first. But after time the work put in to this Chris Columbus gem shines through.  It tells an interesting tale in a unique way and with enough flair and entertainment to make it enjoyable.  There is great design and special effects put in this, it looks really really good.

There are some damn odd and really great casting choices. Most the main choices are great and it can be pretty entertaining to see some of these actors fill these rolls. The great production elements can sometimes be dragged down by some forcibly inserted teeny moments. Leaving one pulled out of an enjoyable experience by some forced dialog or odd character actions. But when all is said and done Percy Jackson stays with you and before you know it, you want to watch it again.

From the moment I realized that I was going to ACTUALLY have a date for Valentines day this year, I started bugging Alex about what it was we were going to do. Being that I haven’t had a Valentine since I was in 8th grade, this was kind of exciting for me. Previous years I’ve stayed home and had Alfred Hitchcock movie marathons, or horror movie marathons.. this year was a bit different.

I had been bugging Alex for weeks about figuring out what we were going to do, and then the weekend before Valentines Day, I stumbled across this:

The Gold Class Cinemas are these super fancy, totally classy movie cinemas, and we’re lucky enough to have one right by us in Pasadena. Being that we both love movies, this was a perfect way to spend Valentines Day. I sent the link to Alex, and he called right away and made reservations for us to see The Wolfman at 10:15. Perfect.

On Saturday night we had Pimms and Lemonade and played Apples to Apples with the roommates. Woke up Sunday morning and amused myself playing with my DS, reading Bruce Campbell’s Autobiography and then when it got to be noon, I turned on Jurassic Park so Alex would wake up (which he did – he heard 10 seconds of the movie and asked “Did you go downstairs and get my copy of Jurassic Park?” – so cute). After getting up and dressed we set off for lunch and to find something to do.

Since we were going to be having a fancy dinner, and we are tight on money, we were okay with being a bit cheep with our lunch. We got drive thru from our favorite fast food joint and drove up the hill to Huntington Library – a beautiful park/art library that is quickly becoming one of our favorite spots. There we grabbed the Pirates of the Caribbean blanket out of my car, 2 books (mine – Soulless by Gail Carriger and Alex – Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Prodigal Son) and our lunches and picniced and read until it got dark.

After stopping by my place so I could change and get ready, and stopping by Alex’s place so he could do the same, we took off for Old Town Pasadena for our date.

We got there about an hour early, which left us just enough time to browse the nearest Barnes and Noble (one of our favorite places). At 9:45 we checked in at the cinema where they seated us outside the theater and served us drinks while we waited to enter. The Valentines Day package came with 3 drinks each, so we started off with our first, a Stella, while we waited. At about 10:00 a waitress (in a very tiny dress) came and picked up our drinks and showed us to our seats. The best way to describe the seats in the theater is comparing flying first class to flying coach. If typical theater seating is like coach, Gold Class is like first class.
Basically… describing the seats wont do justice, see for yourself:

Yeah, nice, right? The seats recline so far that you’re almost flat, there’s leg rests, a table between the two seats and a little button on the table for you to call your waiter (should you need a pillow, blanket or refill on your drinks). Because it was Valentines Day there was a rose and a box of chocolates on the table, waiting for me, I felt so special.

After everyone was seated, the trailers started, we got a refill on our drinks and as the opening credits for The Wolfman began, they brought out the first course of our meal. I was a bit afraid that being served food while trying to watch a movie might be a bit distracting, but it wasn’t that way at all. The servers were quiet and did not distract from the experience. A half hour after the first course, we got our main course and then a half hour after that we were served dessert. How was the food? It was fancy. For most people, that’s perfect, but I’m a meat and potatoes kind of girl, I’m the pickiest eater I’ve ever met. So every plate that appeared before us, I’d let Alex take a bite, and then I’d ask him what it was, and he’d tell me if I’d like it or not. I ate about 1/3 of everything we got served.

After a fancy three course meal and three rather large glasses of beer, the end credits for Wolfman we rolling and it was time to leave. The movie was awesome, both Alex and I loved it quite a bit – but I believe Alex is writing a review for it, so I’ll let him tell you more about what we thought.

All in all, it was the perfect Valentines Day.

I know it’s been almost a month since we’ve updated this thing – no real reason,  things keep coming up.  Since we started this blog, Alex and I have had friends asking if they could start posting articles and opinions and such to SooMuch.  We kinda fell in love with the idea of having a blog where a handful of our friends can post.  We came to the decision that we’re going to keep SooMuch.net to just us (because that’s what we started it for – us). BUT (!!!), thanks to my insane obsession with randomly buying domain names, we are going to open a 2nd blog where friends and fellow nerds can post to their hearts content.  Mostly, I haven’t updated because I’ve been focusing on getting that going.  Anyway, if any of you are interested in posting at the new blog (RobotRollcall.org), just let Alex or me know.  We’re going to be keeping SooMuch.net though, so don’t worry.

So what have we been up to?
Here’s a quick update: Went to Disneyland to celebrate 2 months, Mass Effect 2 has taken over Alex’s mind, Johnny and Megan (1.0) moved, we went to the anti-mall with Josh and Tammy, I became a ginger, Alex inherited an iMac g4, I installed airport in his g4, the “bomb” (Alex’s car) still wont start, I got the steampunk Mickey vinyl at Disneyland, Alex joined a D&D campaign (making me miss D&D tons), we finished Series 1 of Doctor Who, we traded in Alex’s room mate Eon and got Mike, Justin and George in exchange (a billion times better), Alex got me to read (and actually like) a Marvel comic book, Henry learned to crawl, I have spent a collective 4 hours trying to get first place on the Westcliff shooting range on Fable 2, Alex and I love Brand Library/Park, we saw The Wolfman last night for Valentines Day at the Gold Class Cinemas (fancy) and this weekend we’re going Big Bear.

That’s about the gist of it all right there, I’m sure I’m forgetting some stuff.

Anyway, I promise it wont be another 3 weeks until our next post.

Perspective of an audience member on the last Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
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10 UK TV Shows Americans Should Watch (pt 1: 1-5)

It’s common knowledge among my friends that I watch way more British television than American television.  I’d wager that a majority of the people living in the states have had very little exposure to British Television, and that makes me sad.  If there’s one thing I love about British television, it’s the complete originaliy of almost every show that airs overseas. With British television you get unique plots that present storylines and ideas that are far from the norm.  So if you’re sick of the typical shows that air in the states, or you’re tired of seeing shows with plots that have been done before, you should check out the shows listed below.

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