Beastly

I was hoping this movie would be better. I was hoping this would feed my inner teenage girl. I have not read the book, but I'm sure the book was probably better. Don't get me wrong, there were some cute, heartfelt, and funny moments. I loved Neil Patrick Harris as the blind tutor. He was excellent. But, I felt like there were details missing from the story. There wasn't quite enough build-up before Kyle was cursed with his beastliness. I needed more time to hate his shallow character before I really believed he had changed by the end of the film. Alex Pettyfer is ridiculously gorgeous, but acting is not his strong suit...at least not yet. I liked him much better in I Am Number Four. Pettyfer, who is from England, sports an annoying American accent that gets under my skin for some reason. This was the first movie I had seen Vanessa Hudgens in. She was okay, but all I could keep thinking about was how she cuddles with Zac Efron every day (or at least used to). If I'm distracted by the actors' love lives and fake accents, the story didn't grab me like it should have.

Firefly and Serenity

Just last night, I finished my Firefly marathon. I'd heard of Firefly's popularity and so began watching the cancelled-too-soon TV show on Netflix, immediately followed by the film Serenity. This TV show, created by Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, is a sci-fi western, with lots of comedy, action, and compelling characters. Serenity is the film that wrapped up the Firefly story and answered fans' burning questions that were left unanswered when the show was cancelled after only 14 episodes. Loved every minute of it!

I have to say, I have never seen a show quite like this. I liked the dialogue and the cursing in Chinese, the sexual tension between Mal/Inara and Simon/Kaylee, and the stupid but strong essence that is Jayne (Adam Baldwin--also love him on Chuck). It's difficult to pick my favorite character, but I might go with Mal. Nathan Fillion makes a great captain and now I think I may have to start watching Castle because of his Firefly performance. Makes me curious as to what he can do.

I can see why this show and movie reached cult status. Fans can do so much when they are enthusiastic about a story and its characters.

Apparently I blog in spurts...

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I blogged last. And I see that my last post was right before I went on my yearly vacation to the Black Hills, SD. Where am I now? Yep, same place. Vacation in the Hills provides me with the most free time. Free time = movies, books, TV shows, and motivation for blogging. :-)

Life has been busy for me. Since I posted last, I have graduated with my masters in Social Work (go me!) and I landed a therapy job. I've worked at the same hospital for 3 years, and now I've moved up from tech to therapist. Feels good to use my degree and get paid more! Yay!

Of course, I have been reading and watching movies and TV for the past year too, when time and energy let me. It will be overwhelming to try and cover everything I've seen, but I can touch on the main cool stuff. Let's start with last summer's reading list. I actually read three of the books I posted about last time:

Spells
This was the sequel to Wings. I did not like it as much as its predecessor. Spells was not as fast-paced. I thought the story didn't move along quite like the first book did. The prose was still very pretty and enchanting, but I wasn't as thrilled with it. I'm hoping the third book in the series is better.

Marked & Betrayed
I read the first two novels in the House of Night series. I really enjoyed them, especially the voice of the main character, Zoe. These books actually read like it was written by a teenager--lots of spunk, attitude, and fun. I need to continue the series! Time to borrow from a friend...

Catching Fire
This is the third and final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. What an amazing finish to a thrilling series! Absolutely loved it. Books like Twilight and Marked are fun and fast YA novels, but The Hunger Games is in a whole other category. It's been rated some of the best YA fiction in the past decade.

Right now, I'm in the middle of Beautiful Creatures. Next, I plan on reading Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. :)