Let's All Go to the Movies - Another Blanket Box

Let's All Go to the Movies

Since last week's blanket box went down so well and no everyone can see Pillowfort yet, here is another one. This is all about films. I love movies, so this was the next one I picked.

Your favorite movie of all time

Start with an easy one why don't you! :) Oh heavens, how am I supposed to choose?

Given that this is from a horror loving, sci-fi watching, fantasy obsessed, vampire nut, this is going to seem odd, but:

A Nun's Story with Audrey Hepburn. I just love it, I always have and I can watch it over and over again. It is totally not what I usually choose, but it is simply a great film.

A movie you watch to pick you up when you feel sad

RED or RED 2 - they are both full of explosions and laughs and Helen Mirren being badass!

A movie that makes you feel invincible

Wonder Woman - it's an awesome film make with the female gaze showing a woman who can be anything she wants to be. It is simply brilliant.

Which genre of film is your favorite?

Vampires! What? you expected a different answer. I don't count them as horror movies because they just aren't scary and I love them. I have over 400.

A movie that scares you

Ju-on The Grudge - the Asian horror market is simply superb and the Japanese really know how to do movies that will scare the pants of anyone. And take no substitute - the originals are nearly always much better than the remakes. The only one I think that came close was The Eye.

A movie that makes you cry

E.T. - every damn time! With a special mention to Steel Magnolias, which also makes me cry every single time I watch it.

What movie is guaranteed to make you laugh?

Grosse Pointe Blank - I love it. John Cusack is brilliant at Martin Blank the hired killer, but my fav of all is Joan Cusak are Marcella, his secretary. The way she goes from chewing someone out for not getting her the right ammunition at exactly the right time to talking to someone else about soup is so perfect it's difficult to describe.

Your first R-rated movie

I think it must be Evil Dead II - I didn't see it in the cinema, so I have no idea what it was rated in the UK, but I saw it on VHS at a friends and it was the first real horror I ever saw. Scared me silly at the time - I'd only really seen Hammer Horror before that.

The first movie you remember seeing in theaters

Pinocchio, I think, on one of it's re-releases. I seem to remember it was on with A Spaceman in King Arthur's Court - which is apparently also called Unidentified Flying Oddball (because in those days there were b-movies before the feature) and I enjoyed the b-movie much more than the main film :)

The most boring movie you've ever seen

Now this is hard because I tend to erase such things from my mind. Don't think I can answer this.

What movie have you seen that you will never watch again?

Recently - Tom Cruise's The Mummy - OMG, it was so bad. It didn't even pass the Bechdel Test. I thought maybe Tom Cruise was getting over his I-have-to-be-the-only-thing-in-this-movie-that-matters stage, after the MI films started changing, but nope, apparently not. The film should be called Guy With a God Complexnot The Mummy. The plot doesn't even makes sense as far as character motivation goes, let alone a whole.

Also any of the Lethal Weapon movies, which used to be some of my favs, but I can no longer watch anything with Mel Gibson in it.

And Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil thanks to Kevin Spacey.

Your favorite documentary film

Diving Into The Unknown - on a dive in a cave in Norway, a Finnish dive team lost two of their number. The international recovery team deemed it too dangerous to retrieve the bodies and the authorities closed the cave to divers. The remaining members of the Finnish team, plus more of their friends, went back illegally to get their friends' bodies out. They filmed it all.

What movie did you love the most when you were a kid?

Jason and the Argonauts - they used to show it every year either at Christmas or Easter and I never got to see the end because we were dragged off to church, but I loved it nevertheless. Have never lost my love or Ray Harryhausen films.

One story you want desperately to see as a movie (can be a book, videogame, comic, etc.)

Wolf's Hour by Robert R McCammon - werwolves, the Russian Revolution and World War II - brilliant book and it was supposed to have been optioned for a movie, but I've heard nothing about it lately. I want this movie - lots!

What movie do you always recommend to friends?

Fright Night (1985) - it is a brilliant vampire movie that is often overlooked. I knew I would love it because when Barry Norman mentioned it on his film review program he hated it and I always really liked movies he hated ;) Sexy vampire, horror and comedy and Roddy McDowall - how could it not be amazing?

A movie series you love to marathon

Fright Night (1985), Fright Night part II (1998) and Fright Night 2: New Blood (2013) - and yes, I did deliberately leave out the Fright Night remake because it is a travesty!

Also the Evil Dead movies make a good marathon :)

Favourite superhero movie

I'm going to hell because I am a Marvel fan, but I have to say Wonder Woman, with The Avengers and Black Panther coming in at joint second.

Favorited movie based on a book

The Fellowship of the Ring - love that movie.

Favorited animated movie

Zootopia - now that is how to go 'racial profiling is a bad thing' and get the message across.

Free space: Mention any movie you love that you haven't talked about already!

*cracks knuckles*

The Mummy (1999) - there is nothing not to love about this movie.

Star Wars - all of them except Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

Dracula (1979) - Frank Langela is so sexy!

Dracula Untold (2014) - best Dracula origin story I have seen.

The Lost Boys (1987) - it's a classic, everyone should see it.

The Breakfast Club - another classic everyone should see!

Um ... I had better stop - there are far too many more ;)

Do the Blanket Box Yourself

And also like last week, if you would like to do the Blanket box on your blog, here are the questions in easy copy and paste format. Drop me a link if you do so I can come take a look.

• Your favorite movie of all time
• A movie you watch to pick you up when you feel sad
• A movie that makes you feel invincible
• Which genre of film is your favorite?
• A movie that scares you
• A movie that makes you cry
• What movie is guaranteed to make you laugh?
• Your first R-rated movie
• The first movie you remember seeing in theaters
• The most boring movie you've ever seen
• What movie have you seen that you will never watch again?
• Your favorite documentary film
• What movie did you love the most when you were a kid?
• One story you want desperately to see as a movie (can be a book, videogame, comic, etc.)
• What movie do you always recommend to friends?
• A movie series you love to marathon
• Favorite superhero movie
• Favorite movie based on a book
• Favorite animated movie
• Free space: Mention any movie you love that you haven't talked about already!

The Listener - Telepathic Paramedics FTW! #FanFridays

The Listener

Telepathic Paramedics FTW!

So Rob and I have been re-watching the last two seasons of The Listener and it makes me wish there was more and I so want to share the love.

The premise is that Toby Logan is a telepath and he uses this gift to help people, but it turns into so much more.

So why do I love this show?

• The characters are awesome.
• The cast is brilliant.
• The plots are entertaining and engaging.
• The scripts are well written.
• It kept coming back from the dead.

So first a little warning, the show does kind of change emphasis at least twice. Once after the first season because they got canned and then had to come back and more or less start again. I can only guess that whoever marketed the first season completely failed, because it's a great show and they must have let it down.

They do take into account the first season, which is well worth a watch, so it's not a reboot, but the direction of the show does change, then in season 3 they go up a gear again, which they stick with through to season 5.

The show is also in the same universe as Flashpoint which is also set in Toronto. We know this because Spike from Flashpoint made a cameo in one episode of season 3.

The Characters

Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik)

Toby is our hero with something of a tortured past. As the beginning of season 1 he is a paramedic in Toronto's EMS service who spends a lot of his life trying to hide and ignore his big secret: he is telepathic.

After realising his gift might be able to help people he starts to use it. Over and over he runs into Det. Charlie Marks, who comes to realise his insights are incredibly useful. However, she doesn't fully trust him because she has no idea how he knows what he knows.

Brought up in foster homes, Toby has very little memory of his mother, Maya, or family. All he has are scattered recollections of running from something or somebody, until his mother left him to keep him safe. When Toby's past catches up with him it is dangerous for everyone.

By season 2, however, Toby has left his past behind as well as Charlie Marks. He's using his gift more to have fun than help people because of what happened before. Then, thanks to an amnesiac woman he ends up on the radar of Sergeant Michelle McCluskey and her partner Corp. Dev Clark of the Integrated Investigation Bureau (IIB). After telling Michelle the truth, Toby is taken on by the IIB as a confidential informant.

Then at the beginning of season 3, because of a bank robbery, Alvin Klein, Michelle's boss is also brought into the loop and he sets up a special unit with Michelle, Dev and Toby as a special consultant with Toby taking shifts as a paramedic when he has time (we see this about once :)) to take on the crimes no one else can solve.

Osman 'Oz' Bey (Ennis Esmer)

Oz is Toby's best friend and partner in the EMS. Oz is Turkish and very much involved with his family. He finds out Toby's secret near the beginning of season 1 and, rather than being freaked out, enjoys the opportunities it opens up.

He is funny, loyal and very hard working, although he does seem to manage to get into trouble all the time. He is Toby's rock and treats Toby more like a brother than a friend.

When Toby moves on to helping the IIB, at first Oz is worried, but he continues to support Toby and is kind of thrilled when Toby becomes "a real cop" - even if Toby points out he is a special consultant repeatedly.

From season 2 Oz is in love with nurse Sandy Wardwell.

Dr. Olivia Fawcett (Mylène Dinh-Robic)

Liv is Toby's ex-girlfriend and a doctor at St Luke's where they are all based. She looks out for Toby, especially after he tells her his secret. She is highly intelligent, having chosen to work in the busiest E.R. in town even though other hospitals were bidding for her, and she is very dedicated to saving people.

Liv and Toby's on again, off again relationship finally settles into proper friendship and Liv becomes part of Toby's self-made family.

When he has trouble with his abilities she helps him through it and, like all of Toby's friends, constantly worries about him. Liv is Toby's other rock for as long as she can be.

Det. Charlie Marks (Lisa Marcos)

Charlie is a good cop working for Metro Homicide in Toronto. When she first meets Toby she sees him a a wannabe who is going to get himself into trouble, but eventually she comes to trust his insights, if not him completely.

They repeatedly team up, more by luck than judgement, to solve various cases and help the people of the city.She is dedicated to her job and has overcome her own share of hardships, so she comes to an understanding with Toby.

When Toby's past comes back to haunt him she puts her life on the line the save his.

Sergeant Michelle McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith)

Michelle has had a meteoric rise to her position in the IIB. As a rookie she managed to catch Magnus Elphrenson, a genius who made off with 50mil in stolen money, who had eluded all other law enforcement agencies. She is humble enough to say it was partially luck, but it boosted her career.

When she meets Toby and he helps her save an informant, she becomes interested in his past with Charlie Marks. She needs because one of her undercover operatives may be in danger and Toby tells her he's a face reader. She uses him on the case and he reveals the truth to her to save lives.

More interested in making sure dangerous criminals cannot hurt people than the letter of the law, Michelle uses Toby's cover story as a face reader to bring him on board, only telling one other person the truth, he partner Dev Clark.

Michelle's personal life is not completely uncomplicated, especially when she runs into her soon-to-be ex-husband, Adam, on a case. They split because of Adam's gambling problem, but Adam has quit now and is running a successful up market bar. There is still chemistry between them and they begin to reconnect.

Michelle's father was also a cop, dishonourably discharged in what looks very like a fit up. She is that most dangerous of police officers to any who would go against her: she is strong, intelligent, honest and she cannot be bought. Threaten her or those she cares about and you will go down.

Corp. Dev Clark (Rainbow Sun Francks)

Dev Clark is a hacker genius with a badge and a gun. Once he was on the other side of the law, but he switch sides and now uses his skills for the IIB after coming up through the RCMP.

He is a geek of the first order and can perform what seem like miracles to mere mortals on computers. Toby might read minds, but Dev has an almost  mystical link with all things electronic.

His skills are invaluable when tracking down suspects, creating efits of the people Toby sees in suspects' heads and tracking down who they might be. He's also handy in the field and more than capable of taking down bad guys away from his desk as well.

Alvin Klein (Peter Stebbings)

Alvin Klein is a lawyer and there to advise the IIB on all things legal. He is also a consummate politician and when he sees the chance to create an elite unit within the IIB he does so.

This is the man with the contacts and he will support his team with everything he has. He knows how to play the game while they get on and catch the bad guys. He smooths over their contact with Metro and other agencies. He calls in the top brass when they are needed. He is basically the fixer.

He trusts Michelle to do the police work while he deals with everything else.

Tia Tremblay (Melanie Scrofano)

Tia is a reporter and Toby's girlfriend as of the end of season 3. They meet on a case and Tia almost manages to get Toby fired, which might not be a great start to a relationship, but Tia has something Toby finds fascinating: he cannot read her at all.

While Toby loves Tia for her sparkling personality, her integrity and her intelligence, he finds the fact he never knows what she's thinking amazing. He's never met anyone who was completely a blank wall before her and he loves it.

When Toby finally tells her the truth it almost breaks their relationship, but in the end makes it stronger. Tia helps Toby with leads she gets through her work and he helps her by giving her the exclusives when the cases break. They make a truly powerful couple.

Adam Reynolds (Kris Holden-Ried)

Adam is Michelle's husband. His gambling problem almost destroyed their relationship, but it is clear they are both still very much in love with each other.

He supports her in what she needs to do and, although their relationship has rocky moments, they become a very solid couple.

George Ryder (Arnold Pinnock)

Ryder runs his ambulance station with an iron fist. He takes no crap from anyone and seems to have a special interest in making sure Oz walks the line. He's tough, but fair, and mostly keeps Oz and Toby from doing anything stupid.

When Oz decides to go for his supervisor exams, Ryder is there to support him all the way and make sure he is very serious about the whole thing.

Sandy Wardwell (Tara Spencer-Nairn)

Sandy is one of the nurses at St Luke's and she is very good at what she does. She also finds Oz adorable.

Her relationship with Oz is sometimes up, sometimes down, but she is always there for her friends and to do her job.

Staff Inspector Brian Becker (Anthony Lemke)

Becker, when he was a Det. Sergeant was Charlie Mark's boss and sometimes partner. He completely blamed Toby for what happened to Charlie.

When Klein is poached by the foreign office for another assignment, Becker becomes the head of the special unit in the IIB. This causes a lot of friction since he doesn't trust Toby at all.

In the end, however, he has to admit Toby gets results and they come to an understanding of sorts: they might not like each other, but they can work together.

Ray Mercer (Colm Feore)

Ray is a psychiatrist who helped Toby when he was first brought to Toronto. He knows about Toby's gift and he knows that Toby was hidden to keep him safe. While he supports Toby's need to help people, he can also see the dangers.

He gives Toby good advice from time to time and helps with a few cases.

Alex Kendrick (Natalie Krill)

Alex is a forensic specialist assigned to the IIB. She can get DNA from sources no one else would even try and she is incredibly good at puzzles. She's also a bit of a geek.

Her and Dev hit it off immediately and have an adorably awkward will-they-won't-they romance while solving crime.

Alex is the best in her field and becomes an essential cog in the workings of the IIB's most successful unit.

The Cast

The cast are a brilliant group of actors. I think Canadian TV is very like British TV in that there are a stable of awesome actors who keep showing up in everything. Even the bit parts do their job well and the main cast are superb.

Ennis as Oz was clearly brought in as the comic relief, but he becomes so much more so quickly. Craig as Toby is very human and plays at being slightly broken beautifully. I loved Lisa as Charlie in season 1 and I have no idea why they wrote her out, whether it was because they were canned so she moved on to pastures new, or they wanted a slightly bigger name in Lauren Lee Smith, but they both carry their parts so very well.

There is no one who lets this cast down - they are brilliant.

They are also diverse with plenty of female characters to balance the guys, and characters of various ethnic backgrounds. This show is not just white guys saving the day.

The Plots

This isn't Lost or The X-Files, it just has a whiff of the supernormal in Toby's abilities. They brought in a bit of Toby's past as an arc in season 1 and they let it linger in the background through the rest, but this is, at its heart a police show with a telepath, and that's what makes it so great.

This is just like Unforgettable or Lie To Me where it's all about solving cases and bringing the bad guys to justice, but with an unusual edge to it. Luckily this one does not go off the rails like Unforgettable did in season 4.

If you like police procedurals you like The Listener.

The plots are well thought out and clever and will keep you guessing, even when seeing flashes of Toby's telepathic reads.

The Scripts

This is a well written show. Yes there is a voice over at the begining of season 2, but I think that was just to make sure everyone remembered what had happened and that everything is new after such a long break.

I did not have to sit and cringe my way through an episode ones.

The geek speak is well thought out and not as incredibly unbelievable as some shows I have watched.

The writers of The Listener know what they are about.

It Rose From the Dead

Whoever marketed the first season was an idiot and it was canned on NBC after only 7 episodes. It almost never saw a season 2, but foreign markets saw it rise from the dead to go on to five seasons. From the way it changed pace again at the end of season 2, I suspect it almost sank there too, but it survived.

I am sure it had a sixth season in it as well, but clearly TV producers are not as forward thinking as I am. I keep hoping they may resurrect it for some reason, but it is a faint hope.

How to Watch

The biggest problem with this show is how to watch it. It never took off in the US because of time slots etc, so they have never released any of it on DVD in region 1 and I'm not even sure the whole show has been shown. The only way to see it is to catch it in re-runs (or y'know Google 'watch the listener' and check out what comes up) because TPTB have yet to release anything except season 1 on DVD and, as I mentioned above, only in region 2. I don't know if it's available on Netflix, but it doesn't seem to be on Amazon Video.

I so wish they would release the rest - I want it badly, especially if they would release on Blu-ray. Since there are 13 eps a season and 5 seasons they could do a box set of the whole show really easily. Why won't they take my money? *pout* If this was a US show it would all be out there by now.

Anyway here are the links to the season 1 DVDs for any who are interested in purchasing them. They are the cheapest in the UK.

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon CA

Somebody else has to watch The Listener - have you?

Paranormal Recs on Wattpad #FanFriday 23

Paranormal Recs on Wattpad

Like all publishing platforms, Wattpad has a high signal to noise ratio. We have a mixture of:

• Excellent fiction - great plot, great characters, no huge grammar and spelling issues etc (occasionally perfect).
• Good fiction - great plot, great characters, needs a little work on the grammar and spelling etc.
• Could be great fiction - great plot, great characters, badly formatted, spelt and grammar checked
• Has some good ideas, but needs lots of help fiction - has something that catches the eye, but plot or character is missing and the execution is lacking.
• Cannot be saved fiction - books that nothing but the delete key will work for.

Hence I thought I'd dive in and see if I could find some of the gems and report back here.

So far I have found two I am really enjoying as they go along, and one that is complete that I also enjoyed. There are a few others I plan to look at, but I'd spend all my time reading if I had got to them all already :).

The Midnight Cleaning Company by MiloTamm

Fleming is a Cleaner. Stripped of an individual identity, a slave in all but name; reduced to a cog in the infrastructure that maintains The Secret.

A decadent secret society of vampires cavorts across Europe, throwing lavish parties and leaving destruction in their wake. The mess is taken care of and the bodies are hidden by the obedient Cleaners, until the resurgence of a traumatic conflict, the return of old friends and the indoctrination of a new generation threatens to destroy the system from within.

This is the one that made me inhale all 12 chapters, that are currently up, in one sitting. So far I'd rate it excellent.

This has a really different take on vampires, the structure of their society and how they react to different stimuli. It's also exciting and fast paced.

It's first person done really well and I am really enjoying the protagonist, Fleming. He's a rules man, and yet he is being introduced to new concepts (I won't say what because of spoilers) and his world is changing.

I really, really hope this continues to be as good, because I'm hooked.

~*~

Redfern by Nevervane.

His ex-girlfriend has moved on to bigger things, like taking control of Europe. His older siblings are at the far flung corners of the earth, utilising their incredible powers. And Arran Redfern is stuck in Lancashire.

He's getting nowhere with his own powers, he's got no plans for the future and whenever his mother happens to be in the country she won't stop saying that she's worried about him. Is it any wonder that Arran spent the summer drinking, fighting and sleeping around?

But summer is over and it's time to get back to reality. The paranormal world's uneasy peace is wearing thin, power systems are shifting and Arran has to go back to school.

This is definitely a YA title and so far has 17 parts. The protagonist is a teenage vampire and I just like him. I'd rate this one as good, and, depending on how it goes, it may be great - the grammar and spelling are good, so no probs there, I'm just not sure where it's headed yet :).

The supernatural world building is interesting and it's well written. It could do with some shorter paragraphs so it's easier to read, but, other than that, I had no trouble with it.

The story telling is good and the characters are interesting - I very much hope it goes places.

~*~

The Ghost Files by AprylBaker7

Cherry blossom lipstick: check 

Smokey eyes: check 

Skinny jeans: check 

Dead kid in the mirror: check

For sixteen year old Mattie Hathaway, this is her normal everyday routine. She’s been able to see ghosts since her mother tried to murder her when she was five years old. No way does she want anyone to know she can talk to spooks. Being a foster kid is hard enough without being labeled a freak too.

This is another YA and it's all ghosts and demons this time. It's another first person and Mattie is a great character. This is another excellent story for me.

There is a murder mystery to go along with the ghosts and its very well put together. It's exciting, well paced and definitely worth a read.

~*~

It's also Friday which means update day for my vampire novel (which of course is excellent ;)):

Dead Before Dawn: The Vampire Curse - Ch2: Body and Blood

Max Statton is in Moscow for the premier of his new movie when a terrifying encounter turns his life on its head. Attacked by one of the city's resident vampires, Max is bitten and infected. Only a team of local vampire hunters prevent him being dragged into the underworld of the undead.

Fighting for his very existence, Max must resist the vampire curse with the help of Yulia, the hunter's doctor. But with his humanity slipping away, Max only has two choices: ask the hunters to end it, or risk becoming a monster. His fame makes it dangerous to just kill him, but there may be no choice.

When Yulia offers him a kill or cure option, Max must decide if he has the courage to take it. He wants to go home, he wants to see his family and friends, but his life is poised on a knife edge.

#vampire #gay #adventure #romance #mature

New chapters every Tuesday and Friday.

Do you have any Wattpad story recs, or authors to check out?

Star Trek at 50 #FanFriday 22

Star Trek is 50 this week, so how could I not use it for Fan Friday? Such a wonderful show - let me tell you why I love it.

Star Trek at 50

There is one thing that I have always loved about Star Trek above all else and that is it strives to show a universe where diversity and tolerance are what most of society aim for. In a time when there was racial strife, they put an African American woman on the bridge of the Enterprise, and they have always tackled issues head on.

Sometimes they've managed it well, sometimes terribly awkwardly where we look back and cringe, but at least they tried. This is one science fiction series that tried to show that the status quo was not the ideal.

Now I have been watching Star Trek ever since I can remember. I used to watch it in repeats on BBC2 as a child. It made an impression then, but I didn't become a Trekkie proper until The Next Generation hit our screens.

I was in secondary school at the time and Next Gen was everything I'd been waiting for in a program. A mixed race, gender balanced crew on a brand spanking new Enterprise, NCC 1701 D, going where no one had gone before.

It had everything:

• a great captain in Picard
• the handsome first office Riker
• female characters that actually had stuff to do, including Tasha Yar and Deanna Troi
• Data
• and my OTP - Riker/Troi

I loved it from Encounter at Farpoint all the way through to All Good Things.

At university I ended up the president of the Star Trek society and I am proud to say we were the largest society on campus that wasn't political or religious :). We used to meet every Wednesday in one of the lecture theatres to watch episodes we had acquired from the States via some contacts in one of the local comic shops. Bear in mind, in those days there was no download - this was a VHS tape that had been converted from NTSC to PAL and then copied. We used to watch it on a large TV that we perched on the desk at the front of the lecture theatre.

At the time this was awesome. We used to see eps only a week after they were shown in the States. They were a little fuzzy and vaguely green, but we got to see them!

We also used to have quizzes, which I would most often set from memory and check the answers afterwards. Have to admit, people still couldn't answer a lot of the questions. I was a geek of the first order :).

Then came Deep Space Nine, which was also awesome, until they got bogged down in the whole war with the Dominion. I know that's why lots of people loved it, but I didn't. We were all a bit worried to begin with that a space station would be too static to be interesting, but the colourful new characters and interesting conflicts kept it going.

My favourite characters were 

• Jadzia Dax
• Odo 
• and Dr Julian Bashir.

I also still think season 1 is brilliant even though it's a little awkward in places.

In recent years I have also become a big fan of The Original Series. It has it's problems, as with any show of the era, but it does it's best and it is wonderfully entertaining.

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

How exciting is that?

Of course, as it turned out they weren't always exploring strange new worlds, but they did enough to keep us hooked. I'm not sure there isn't a contemporary trope that the show didn't hit.

My husband thought he'd catch me out the other day when we were watching an ep. He started it up and then paused it a few seconds in, looked a me and said: "So which one is it?"

I smiled, looked at the paused shot and said: "It's the one with the horta."

1 point to me :)

Never test a trekkie! The great god Roddenberry looks down from the beyond and smiles on us. ;)

Back when I started watching Trek I was sweet and innocent, these days I'd slash Kirk and Spock in a heartbeat. For those who are unaware, slash is fanfiction where you take two male characters and pair them together romantically. The name comes from where it started (possibly) with Kirk and Spock and was written Kirk/Spock.

My favourite character from TOS, hands down, is Spock, but I have also come to appreciate the dry wit of Dr McCoy.

I could go into why I didn't really gel with Voyager, why I love the original movies, but can't stand the Next Gen ones, why I think Enterprise missed the mark, and how much I love the reboot, but that would take too long :). Let's just say I've seen them all.

I shall leave you with just a few of my favs from over the years:

• Fav Eps - everything to do with the mirror universe: Mirror Mirror (TOS), Crossover (DS9) and The Naked Time  (TOS)/ The Naked Now (TNG) closely followed by The Trouble with Tribbles (TOS).
• Fav Movie - The Wrath of Khan
• Fav Series - The Next Generation
• Fav Captain - Picard
• Fav crew member - Data or Spock - I can't choose :)

Here's to another 50 years.

What are your favourites from Star Trek?

The Wonders of the Ghostbusters Franchise PT 1 #FanFridays 21

The Wonders of the Ghostbusters Franchise Pt1

N.B. This post is full of spoilers for the original movie, but it's been out for over 30 years, so I hope you don't mind.

I have, along with many others, been a fan of Ghostbusters for a long time. I did not see it in the cinema because in 1984 I was pre-teen and it would have scared the pants off me :). I saw it when it hit TV, but I have no idea when that was. I just know I loved it.

Nothing the franchise has brought to the big or small screen has really disappointed me since either, no, not even Ghostbusters II.

Ghostbusters (1984)

Without a doubt my favourite ghostbuster from the original lineup has to be Ray. Dan Aykroyd plays him beautifully and I love how earnest and enthusiastic he is.

He gives everything his whole heart and seems to be the one who can cause the most trouble just by being himself.

He is, after all, the reason for one of the best lines ever:

Winston Zeddemore: Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!

Egon is definitely a close second. Harold Ramis played him so completely straight laced and academic, yet, slightly from left field. I loved the fact that here you have a highly intelligent, gifted scientist who has a complete fascination with spooks.

Dr. Egon Spengler: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.

Other things I absolutely love from the film:

• Sigourney Weaver's interpretation of being possessed - she's brilliant.
• Louis Tully's complete social ineptitude.
• The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
• The fact that Gozer is a woman.
• Slimer, sliming Venkman.

This is not a perfect film, but it is a fun one. It has ghosts for a start, which is always a winner for me, but it also brought something new to the genre. It lifted it. I think it was the "science " angle that I loved. Ghostbusters mixes spooks with science fiction so very well and makes us laugh as well.

In 1991 I was lucky enough to go to Florida and I still remember the Ghostbusters experience at Universal Studios. I assume it is long gone now, but it is one of those things that has stuck in my memory, just like the film.

Ghostbusters is a good film - next week, Ghostbusters II.

Are you a fan? Who is your favourite character?

Review: Wicked Little Things - A Satisfying Horror #FanFriday 20

Review: Wicked Little Things
A Satisfying Horror

I mentioned this film yesterday over on my Livejournal, but I enjoyed it so much I decided it was worth a full review, not just a recommendation. Now I usually start with the poster for the film when I do a review, but since the poster appears to have nothing whatsoever to do with the movie, I won't today :).

Title: Wicked Little Things (2006)
Cast:
Lori Heuring ... Karen
Scout Taylor-Compton ... Sarah
Chloë Grace Moretz ... Emma
Ben Cross ... Aaron Hanks
Summary:
Karen Tunney and her two daughters, Sarah and Emma are moving to Karen's late husband's old family home in the Pennsylvania mountains. In 1913 there was a mine accident in the area that buried many of the local children alive and local legend has it that the children still roam the woods at night. Problem is, it's not so much a legend.

I enjoyed this movie because it managed to be really creepy and not utterly disgusting. This is, in essence, a zombie movie, however, it's not like any zombie movie I have seen.

The children simply look like children. They are not decaying, or shuffling or supper fast, they are simply children. They hunt in packs and use their mine tools to take down their prey and to butcher it before ripping it apart.

One of the children has a midnight snack.

They are more frightening because the most supernatural thing about them is they're already dead, so you can't kill them. They just keep coming without saying a word.

The cast does a superb job too. Lori Heuring is great as Karen, trying to be strong for her daughters even as she still grieves for her dead husband. She holds it together, but only just, and then zombie children get thrown into the mix.

Scout Taylor-Compton is the right balance of annoying and concerned as teenage daughter Sarah.

Chloe Grace Mortez as Emma

Then we have Chloë Grace Moretz as Karen's youngest daughter Emma, who is brilliant as ever. Innocent and sweet and the perfect bridge between the living and the dead. Emma makes friends with Mary, one of the dead children from the mine, who also happens to be a relative.

As you can see, Mary's pretty adorable alive or dead.

I have seen Ben Cross play many things from an aristocrat to a nutty vampire, but I have never seen him play a wild around the edges mountain man before. He's very good at it. Aaron Hanks has lived on the mountain all his life and he knows exactly who and what the children are; he also does his best to make sure they don't kill people. He's a bit nuts, but knows what he's about.

It is beautifully shot too, using the dark forests of Bulgaria, where it was filmed, to build an atmosphere of fear and oppression. The house the family move into is the right amount of old and decrepit, but with possibilities.

This was a film where I enjoyed the plot, the characters and the filmography; it's the whole package.

It also has a very satisfying ending. Over and over again I watch a good horror movie only to be incredibly disappointed with the ending. Not this one. This one has it spot on.

I don't know if this film is available on Netflix, but it is definitely on DVD and Amazon Video in the US. You can pick up a used copy for $0.01+shipping on Amazon US and new for £4.46 on Amazon UK, so it's not going to break the bank :). Links are below in case anyone is interested.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Have you seen Wicked Little Things? What did you think? What is your favourite zombie movie?

Highlander - the Fandom that Dragged Me Online #FanFridays 19

Greetings and welcome to my blog for another Fan Friday. Today I have chosen a fandom which started  my whole online life and which still holds a special place in my heart.

Highlander - the Fandom that Dragged Me Online

Now Highlander actually started way back in 1986 with the original film and the original Highlander:

Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod

(Christopher Lambert)

I saw this movie on VHS and let's just say it made an impression. I love the movie, I love the music and I really, really hoped there would be a sequel.

The main premise is that there are Immortals among us. People who can only be killed by removing their head from their shoulders. If done by another Immortal, the winner takes the losers Quickening, their life force, and gains in power. All Immortals fight with swords and their only refuge is holy ground, where none of them will fight. They are all waiting for the Gathering, where they will be drawn together and one of them will win the prize. They all know that:

There Can Be Only One

Let's just say, when I got my wish about a sequel I was not impressed. Sorry, but I think all the movies that aren't the original one should disappear and never be seen again :).

However, then in 1992 came Highlander: the Series. I first saw this during one of my summers as a student apprentice in Stevenage and, I have to admit, I was also unimpressed. Trust me when I say, do not judge this series on the first few eps of season 1 - they are not the greatest. It improves enormously once the action moves to Paris and the writers seem to get a clue (half of each season was filmed in Vancouver and half in Paris).

Luckily for me I gave it another try a little later and, this time, I was not disappointed.

Highlander: the Series gave us

Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod

(Adrian Paul)

Now Duncan is Connor's cousin, although actually they aren't blood because all Immortals are foundlings, but they come from the same Scottish Clan. Duncan is just a little younger than Connor.

Duncan's (or Mac to many of his friends) sword of choice is a katana, just like Connor's and he gets through Kimmies (bad immortals - so called because so many of them had names beginning with K or a hard C sound :)) like there's no tomorrow. At the beginning of the series they keep going on about the Gathering, but, since there are six seasons, it seems to be taking an awfully long time.

In season 1 and 2 he is involved with the lovely Tessa Noel (Alexandra Vandernoot). She is an artist and together they run an antique shop in the city of Seacouver (the setting for all the Canadian made episodes).

They also take in waif and stray Richie Ryan (Stan Kirsch) after he breaks into their shop and sees Duncan and then Connor go at a bad Immortal.

During season 2 Richie turns out to always have been a pre-Immortal, another reason Duncan took him in, and when he is killed becomes Immortal like Duncan. Duncan then becomes his mentor.

Through the series we also meet Joe Dawson (Jim Byrnes), a mortal who is part of an organisation called the Watchers. They make it their business to record the goings on of Immortals, but never interfere. That goes out the window with Joe and Duncan, however.

And then there is Methos (Peter Wingfield) a legend even among Immortals. Supposedly the oldest living of them all he had been around at least 5000 years and even he doesn't remember his origins. The character was originally only supposed to be around for a couple of episodes, but he was so popular they kept bringing him back.

Of course no list of Immortals would ever be complete without Amanda (Elizabeth Gracen). Another fan favourite, Amanda is a thief and opportunist who knows how to survive.

When Highlander finished the producers wanted a spin off and after spending the entirety of season six (also know to many as season sux - some of us hated it so much we wrote our own version - Highlander the Fanfic Season - be warned the site is very old - all hand-coded by me) parading a bunch of female Immortal candidates across the screen. they actually listened to the fans and gave Amanda her own show.

Highlander: The Raven was awesome, but, unfortunately only had one season. In it Amanda gets a new blond hairdo and finds that even she can be convinced to use her skills to help people rather than just herself. Especially when she is falling in love with a cop.

Amanda had two sidekicks for the series:

Nick Wolfe (Paul Johansson), a cop who becomes a PI, after stumbling into the world of Immortals.

Lucy Becker (Patricia Gage) a mortal Amanda has known a long time and who is her closest friend.

Together they get involved with everything from simple theft to international terrorism and put the worlds to rights.

Highlander is the show that dragged me online. I may have been doing a Computer Systems Engineering degree, but I didn't really go online, not until I joined Highlander fandom. Back then most of the fandom consisted of three mailing list:

• The main list HIGHLA-L
• The fiction list HLFIC-L
• The slash fiction list (it was back when male/male stories were too shocking to possibly have on the main fiction list)

We then added to this with the Richie list as well because there were those of us who thought he was the best character and some of the writers and some of the fans really hated him, so we needed our own space.

I have life long friends thanks to Highlander fandom. We did a quick calculation on how long we'd all known each other the other week and all blanched at how long it had been :). I was a Trekkie before I was a Highlander fan, but this is the fandom that launched my online presence and my fanfic writing. 

It's also where my fanfic pseudonym comes from (Beren) - I had a character called Berengaria in a Highlander fic and when I couldn't get my real name on a Harry Potter website, that's the pseud I picked :).

What was your first online fandom? Do you still remember it with joy or shudder at the thought? :) Do you still have friends from that fandom? Have you ever seen Highlander?

The 10 Best Things About Cheo Yong (KDrama) - #FanFridays 18

As I have mentioned before, I'm somewhat in to Korean dramas. Today I have another one of my favourites for you. I hope you enjoy.

The 10 Best Things About Cheo Yong (KDrama)

Now if you were following my posts during the AtoZChallenge this year, then you know a little about this drama because I mentioned one of the characters as my fictional phantoms.

Cheo Yong - Ghost Seeing Detective

This is a police procedural with a twist - the lead detective, Cheo Yong, can see ghosts. Sometimes this helps, sometimes it's just a pain in his rear end.

I love this series and I really hope they go for season 3. There are many wonderful things about it, but here are my top 10.

1. Han Na Young (Jun Hyo-seong) - she is a ghost, but she has more life than a lot of the living characters.
   
   She died when she was still at school, so is always in uniform and when she discovers she can possess people she loves nothing more than eating.
2. Cheo Yong (Oh Ji-ho) - he's gorgeous :) and the way his character evolves is brilliant. The first time we see him he is a striving hero, but he falls and becomes disaffected, running from what he can do, until, over the first season he rises back towards what he was.
   
3. Effective Female Characters - the ladies in this show are not window dressing, they have a lot to do and pull the hero out of the fire at times.
4. The Comic Relief - there are always moments of comedy in the episode. There is lots of serious stuff too, but bits will make you laugh to break the tension as well. Some of the characters are there specifically to be comic relief too, but they're also used in the main plot.
5. The Level Up From S1 to S2 - the first season is set in a normal police department and everything Cheo Yong can do is known only to him and Na Young, but season 2 takes many of the characters and puts them in a special task force where Cheo Yong's abilities are actually employed openly.
6. High Production Values - you will not be embarrassed watching any of the special effects.
7. Good plots - the plots are well thought out and well executed. I can't comment on the dialogue because I only see the subs and some of those are entertaining.
8. The Ghosts - they make the whole show much more interesting and they are all different. More so in the first season.
9. No Cliffhangers - I hate how US shows always seem to go for the cliffhanger to get themselves renewed and then it's never resolved because they aren't. This show wraps it up every season and still makes me want more.
10. The adorable WTF expression Cheo Yong seems to have half the time - what? - it is adorable :)
    

So, there you have it, many reasons to love Cheo Yong, It really is a good show. It is available on DVD, but is ridiculously expensive - it might be on Drama Fever, but that's a US service so I can't be sure. However, search the fansub sites and it will likely pop up :).

Have you seen this series? Did you enjoy it? Have you seen any shows with a similar theme?