Watch This! Angel (Pt. 1)

Welcome to Part One of a three part post series on Angel. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a show that was unique at the time and became iconic, to the point that many shows and movies have since tried to capture it's particular brand of appeal, with varying degrees of success. It seems natural that such a larger than life show would deserve a spin-off. Angel was a natural character choice for a spin-off series. His history and mythology are deep enough to be expanded upon over the course of many seasons. It's still surprising to me that the series only went on for five seasons, when it rightfully could have gone on much longer, as evidenced by it's continuation in comic form. But let's just work with the show we have, for now. This initial post will focus on the main cast of characters, with heavy bias on the ones I find the most interesting.

Angel, Out of Sunnydale

Angel himself is far more interesting in his own series than he is in Buffy. One of the problems with his existence in Buffy is the fact that he is supposed to be centuries old. Buffy, throughout his entire tenure as a main cast member, is a high school student. However wise, worldly, and jaded Angel is supposed to be, however tortured he is, we don't get to fully appreciate it because he's  in the role of high school boyfriend. And that, my friends, has an undeniable ick factor to it. Whether or not you like Buffy and Angel together, whether or not you think they're soul mates, you have to see the truth that as long as Buffy is not grown up, Angel cannot act his age. The writers have to temper his maturity so that it doesn't come across as ridiculously skivvy.

Once Angel gets to LA and starts his mission for redemption, all of the sudden you start to feel his age. He is written as a tortured, reluctant super hero. Suddenly his backstory as a vampire with a soul seems darker, and it fits with the darker tone of the entire show. We see, for example, that he isn't mindlessly good all of the time. He makes questionable choices and get's caught up in the need for revenge. In season two, he becomes so focused on taking out the bad guys of Wolfram and Hart that he completely severs himself from his friends. His mistakes are what make him engaging.

Cordelia, All Grown Up

Cordelia is our second transplanted Buffy character. She was originally a shallow, privileged, mean
spirited foil for Buffy. Gradually, however, she was given more depth. She's shown to be smarter than she let's on, and more complex than the typical cheerleader character is usually allowed to be. She dates the comically unpopular Xander, hangs out with the Scooby Gang, and survives some of the bigger battles of Sunnydale. So while you might initially think that she seems like a rather random choice for a main character in the spin-off series, it actually makes some sense. She's already well established, and at least redeemable if not likable.

One of the things I  appreciated about Cordelia's development is that she kind of continues to be a little vain and a little shallow, despite learning empathy and the need for a higher purpose. She's given the gift of visions of people who need Angel's help. The visions are painful and rob Cordelia of the possibility of a completely normal life, time and time again. As a result, she becomes less of a socialite and more of a fighter, though she has much fewer opportunities to kick ass than the boys do.

In terms of how well she functions as a romantic interest for Angel...well, that never rang true for me. While I'm not the biggest fan of the Buffy/Angel pairing, I never felt like Angel's chemistry with anyone else was really complete.

Wesley

In Buffy, Wesley was best described as Not Giles. He's there to try to replace Giles when the council determines that Giles sucks at his job. He comes across as irritating and even a bit comedic, and his character continues in this fashion throughout his initial appearances in Angel. His character development takes a series of turns, however, beginning with the episode in which he's captured and tortured by Faith. From this point on, he becomes steadily darker and more complex, making some morally questionable decisions, but always trying to fight on the side of good. Like Cordelia, I initially disliked his character, and like Cordelia I felt he remained flawed throughout the series. However, his character get's a better treatment in terms of both romance and send off. I really liked him with Fred, is what I'm saying.

Gunn

The first non-transplant character in Angel is also the most manufactured of the main characters. I urban character, a tough guy who has lived on the streets, maybe even been in a gang of sorts, but is still on the right side of the good/evil line." And out of that mold springs Gunn, with his tough sounding name and his tough attitude and his tough toughness. Still, it's hard to dislike the guy, who frequently serves as the team's muscle despite a lack of formal training or super powers of any kind.
can almost hear the writers cooking this guy up. "Okay, we have this urban fantasy set in Los Angeles. We need a really

Angel has a lot of other recurring characters who, depending on what season you focus on are part of the main cast. It would be impossible to fairly cover all of them. In terms of which recurring characters I liked the most...

Darla seems like a natural addition to the cast, since she's Angel's maker and a huge source of conflicted emotions for him. During one of the shows more interesting arcs, she brought back to life as a human with a soul, and she struggles with how to deal with that. Later she's given the Mystic Pregnancy treatment, and her character basically becomes a plot device. I'm mostly okay with the way the writer's handled this, however. I like that, while she's mostly a villain, we do get a sense that she has a good side, a part of her does actually love Angel, and she is capable so sacrifice.

I also really like Lindsey, both as an antagonist and reluctant ally. He's a cynical, jaded character with a murky sense of morality--basically he's the clichéd lawyer from all shows and movies. During his time at Wolfram and Hart, you kind of get the sense that he's in over his head, that he doesn't want to become entirely evil. Yet he's not above some underhandedness, and he does stay with them despite a chance to jump ships. He's the kind of character that I really enjoy, because you can see his motivations, but you're never sure how evil he actually is. And, in fact, he's probably mostly just selfish.

That's the run down of Angel's most interesting characters, or at least as much as I'm able to do in a reasonably sized post. In Part 2, I'll be discussing the world building and How Things Work in the Angel/Buffy universe. The final part of the posting series will of course be a top ten episodes list, and then we'll be moving on to other things. Stay tuned.

Watch This! Once Upon A Time, Season 2 Micro-Review

A few notes, just to keep everyone informed:

Now that I've completed my Buffy series, I am planning on moving on to Angel. Hopefully that will be a more organized and comprehensive review series, now that I'm starting to grasp how I would like to structure those posts. I need some time, of course, to rewatch most of the episodes. Tentatively, I that series will start next Wednesday.

To continue that thought, it does look as though many of the Watch This Wednesday posts for the foreseeable future will be retrospectives of older/cancelled shows or shows that have a good number of seasons out already. This is do not only to the accessibility of those shows but also to the fact that I'll have the most to say about things with hours of content. So, if there is a show, mini-series, or movie series that you would like to discus  here, please feel free to drop your suggestions in the comments.

Today, though, I'm between retrospective posts, so it seems like a good time to go over what I though of Once Upon a Time, season 2. I started off the fall TV series watching tons of shows, but sadly Once was the only one I was able to keep up with (without sacrificing reading time). If you're wondering what I thought of Grimm, Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, or Supernatural...well, so am I. Hopefully I'll find an opportunity to catch up on those shows over the summer. In the meantime?

Once, season 2....

When season 1 ended, I felt that the writer's may have made the mistake of blowing the lid off of things too dramatically and too soon, and I worried about where they would go from that point on. One of the things I enjoyed about the show was the one episode retellings of individual fairytales, and seeing how they were reflected and fit into the Storybrooke world. Now that everyone remembers who they are, things are less episodic, more connected. This type of narrative can be problematic if the writers constantly have to find a way to one up themselves, to the point where the story loses it's natural flow. This season showed a struggle to not fall into that trap, managing to be enjoyable despite some stumbles along the way.

 

Henry is more of a plot moppet than ever. Always there to whine about people who want to kill the evil queen or just let her die,. Always there to be the motivation of the other characters, and to get in harm's way when the plot demands it. Poor kid is annoying as hell, and sadly one of the downsides to the show.

Emma, on the other hand, is the show's best attribute in a lot of ways. Interesting and respectable, as much as any fish-out-of-water/savior character can be. She's not vapid, she's decently developed, and she's not solely motivated by romance. Sadly, in the current TV climate that makes her a top shelf heroine.

But this show has an ensemble cast so...what about the rest of them? Well, they're a mixed bag. Snow and Charming are somehow less interesting this season, though I'm glad we're past all of the infidelity business. They tried to give Snow this conflict where she darkened her heart by killing Cora. It's a failure, both because Cora deserved to die and because Snow is all too quick to feel bad about her actions, negating any of the interest you usually get from dealing in moral gray areas. Mr. Gold remains the most interesting cast member, both because he actually does dabble in those moral gray areas and because he's given conflicts that are actual conflicts.

I'm going to leave off with a list of my favorite episodes for the season. These are the episodes that, if/when I do a top tend list, would be contenders.

Tallahassee (Episode 6)
Child of the Moon (Episode 7)
The Outsider (Episode 11)
Manhattan (Episode 14)
The Miller's Daughter (Episode 16)
Selfless, Brave and True (Episode 18)
Second Star to the Right (Episode 21)
And Straight on to Morning (Episode 22)

Happy Watching, everyone!

Watch This! Iron Man 3 Bonus Review, And a Note About Twitter

Okay, so you'll remember that I had promised a review of Iron Man 3. I figure that I better get it up today, because by next week it will be fully irrelevant. So here are my quick and dirty thoughts on the latest Marvel superhero movie.

Better than Number 2, not as good as Number 1.

The first Iron Man movie had an impact on me in that it made superhero movies seem less juvenile. I liked the Sam Raimi Spiderman films...for the most part, but if you watch them now you will undoubtedly notice that they've aged and now appear pretty cheese-filled. Iron Man, on the other hand, had this older, suave, sexy, smart hero with a cool origin story. Robert Downey Jr. was perfectly cast as Tony Stark. This remained true throughout the second Iron Man, and of course in The Avengers. But Iron Man 2 suffered from overstuffed syndrome, where it tried to do too much and ended up falling short of the brilliant simplicity that was the origin story. Iron Man 3 is a more successful story because it dials back a bit and just tells the story of Tony Stark having PTSD and getting overly dependent on his suits.

Tony spends a lot of time outside the suit in this movie, and that's for the best. It ends up being a more human, more character based story. He has panic attacks, he screws up his relationship, he makes colossal mistakes, and he has to kind of MacGyver his way through defeating the bad guys. It's interesting and fun as hell. I also loved that Pepper took a slightly more active role, actually becoming involved in the action portion of the plot instead of standing on the sidelines.

The movie is not without flaws, as we see the usually brilliant Tony making some enormously stupid moves. I'm not sure if that's all to do with being sleep deprived or being arrogant or what, but yeah...kind strayed into TSTL territory. The big issue that the uber-fans have, though, is the way that the villain known as The Mandarin is handled. I'm not invested enough in the Iron Man comic universe to care about that at all. If I were? Yeah, I'd probably be pissed.

So, yeah, Iron Man 3 is worth seeing unless your inner fanboy/girl will implode do to extreme deviation from comic book continuity. Or whatever.

My other note for today is that my original Twitter account is now sadly inaccessible to me.  I no longer have access to the original email that it's connected to and so, unfortunately, I can't do much to fix it and I've had to let it die. I never actually tweeted frequently, just post sharing and the like. What I really used it for was to keep up with authors and other bloggers and the obvious entertainment purposes of easy stalking. It's been hard to be without that tool, so I've started the arduous process of setting up a new account. The new username is @PenguinKumer. As before, follow me and I'll follow you. We'll all get along fantastically.

Watch This! Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Pt. 4)

I had originally intended for this to be a seven part posting series--seven parts for seven seasons. However, once I finished my marathon re-watch of the entire series, I kind of felt like it might be time to close this off and move on. And what better way to finish off the series than with a top ten list? So without further ado, my top ten favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episodes.

#10: The Zeppo

Season 3, Episode 13

I haven't really had a chance to mention yet that Xander is one of my favorite characters in this series--he'd rank somewhere in the top ten characters of the buffyverse. He's the heart of the group, the most normal member, the down to earth jokester that restores a measure of reality to the world. Unlike most of the cast, he has no special powers, and his feelings of inadequacy are brought up in several episodes, but never so much and so hilariously as in this one. There is a potential apocalypse on the rise, and Buffy is all caught up in that epicness, but the episode does not focus on that story arc. Instead we follow Xander as through the mishaps of encountering dead, now resurrected bullies. The bullies are trying to make a bomb to blow up the high school, and Xander is the only one available to stop them. I loved the campier tone, the shift in focus, and the respect for the little guy that this episode displayed.

#9: Hush

Season 4, Episode 10

In this episode, everyone in Sunnydale loses their voice, causing mass panic, and the mysterious
beings known as "The Gentlemen" are responsible. They use the silence to steal the hearts of their victims. This episode is unique in that it features almost no dialogue, with close to 30 minutes of relative silence. The team is forced to communicate in gestures and writing, which is hilarious. This is also one of the absolute creepiest episodes of Buffy. The silence is down right eerie. Watching it this time through, I couldn't help but sit up and pay attention.

#8: Restless

Season 4, Episode 22

Season 4 had a relatively weak over-aching big bad story, compared to the other seasons. The finale is a positive note that has almost nothing to do with that arch. Instead, it follows our main characters through a series of dreams in which they encounter the First Slayer. I liked the style of this episode, and how it felt very dreamlike and creepy. I liked that it hinted at the depth of Buffy's power and origin, and that it heavily foreshadowed things to come. Most of all I liked the glimpses into each character's psyche. We get an idea of what they must feel deep down--Xander's insecurity, Giles' fatherly concern for Buffy, Buffy's feelings of isolationism, and so forth.

#7: The Prom

Season 3, Episode 20

At first glance, this appears to be just another common high school experience amplified Buffy style,
but there's actually a lot going on in this episode emotionally. A shot early on shows Buffy's notebook, where she's written "Buffy+Angel Forever" on the cover, and that startled me into remembering that Buffy is still painfully young. She wants to have a normal youth, with normal experiences--like attending prom with her boyfriend. At the same time, Angel is realizing that there's really no place for him in Buffy's life, that he'll only end up hurting her. Despite Buffy's insistence that she doesn't mind the sacrifice, Angel makes the choice to leave. This is completely heartbreaking, and yet inarguably the right thing to do. My favorite moment, however, is when Buffy is awarded the "Class Protector" award, her classmates applauding all the good she's done. After the many episodes where we saw Buffy worry that she'd never amount to much socially, never be remembered, and that she was giving up everything to be the slayer, this moment of validation is incredibly powerful. It's a bittersweet episode, and that's why I love it.

#6: Graduation Day

Season 3, Episodes 21&22

This episode proves once again that the creators understand the significance of all of the milestones of young adulthood, and that they're very good at giving them a supernatural twist. Buffy declares her independence from the council of watchers, and leads the fight against the big bad of the season (The Mayor). All of the students fight back, and it's awesome and hopeful and empowering. I liked the callback to Xander's military training (obtained through a spell that turned him into a soldier temporarily). I also appreciated that Buffy had to appeal to The Mayor's human side, through his connection to faith, in order to defeat him. This episode is good, action-y fun.

#5: The Body

Season 5, Episode 16

This is the only episode that actually made me cry this time around. Buffy arrives home to find her
mother still and lifeless. She calls 911, she tries to revive her, in the end Joyce is just dead. Nothing supernatural is going on--it's a simple case of natural death. The entire episode is slow and somber--even the music is absent, and that silence is deafening. It captures grief and shock perfectly--with Buffy in denial and then sick with sadness. Her friend's reactions are also very well done, just as miserable and helpless. Willow loses it over not knowing what to wear when she sees Buffy, and her performance is absolutely heartbreaking. No one knows how to deal with ordinary, unexpected death, when there is no enemy to fight and no villain to blame. This is one of the saddest things I've ever watched on TV.

#4:The Becoming

Season 2, Episodes 21&22

Buffy loses her virginity and Angel loses his soul. If you know nothing else about this show, you probably know that. It's the ultimate cautionary tale of teenage sex, of boyfriends gone bad, and of what happens when a relationship can't overcome bad circumstance. You can't help but revel in the angsty goodness that is this story. But what makes this story a cut above Twilight and the like, is that Buffy has to make this impossibly hard decision to kill Angelus (evil Angel). As I've said before, Buffy is just your average teenage girl--she get's self absorbed, has brainless moments, makes mistakes---but when it counts, she's strong as hell. And not just physically strong, but emotionally strong.

#3: Normal Again

Season 6, Episode 17

I always like the stories that delve into themes of insanity and reality, and this one is no exception.
Buffy is exposed to a venom that splits her mind into two realities. In one, she's in a mental institution being treated for extreme delusions--her entire nightmarish, demon filled life is a delusion, as are her friends and her powers. Her parents are there, begging her to come back to reality and be normal again. In the other reality, she actually is living this life with demons and monsters that want to kill her friends. The magic of this episode is the fact that it's completely plausible to have a teenage girl with schizophrenia build an entire fantasy life around having superpowers and being able to safe the world. It speaks volumes that there's a part of Buffy that may want to choose the reality in which she is insane but ordinary, just for the sake of being normal.

#2: Chosen

Season 7, Episode 22

What can I say about the series finale? It's a great conclusion to an incredible story (though the story does go on in comic book form after the show ends). Buffy and the crew fight the biggest bad of all, The First, the ultimate in evil world destroying demons. They are joined by all of the potential slayers. It's a big girl power episode, with all of this young ladies getting strong and kicking ass. They suffer their share of loses, with characters dying and sacrifices being made, but in the end Buffy finds that she can smile. She's overcome all of the odds and survived the worst of the worst, and she's not alone anymore.

#1: Once More, With Feeling

Season 6, Episode 7

What can I say, I love a musical. The musical episode of Buffy is pure fun, but also strangely sincere.
Tara and Willow glow with love and magic (they are my very favorite couple in the series). Xander and Anya sing about their secret doubts for their married life. Spike sings of his unrequited love for Buffy. Giles sings of needing to let Buffy find her independence. And then, the big reveal, Buffy confesses that she had been in heaven before she was brought back to life. I love that this episode is able to poke fun at musicals, showing people singing about sidewalk sales and parking tickets, while still acknowledging the power of singing out what's in your heart.

So, that's my top ten. You guys, this was ridiculously hard to put together. There are 144 episodes of Buffy. In the process of doing this, I initially just made a list of all the episodes I found memorable or emotionally jarring, and that list included close to 40 episodes. I had to do a lot of narrowing down, and I still feel like I'm leaving out a lot of excellent stories. I'm going to finish off with a quick list of honorable mentions. If I still didn't hit your favorite episode, go ahead and talk about it in the comments. Happy Watching!

Honorable Mentions

Angel (Season 1, Episode 7)--First glimpse at Angel's backstory.
Surprise/Innocence (Season 2, Episodes 13&14)--Angel experiences perfect happiness and loses his soul.
The Wish (Season 3, Episode 9)--Cordelia wishes Buffy had never come to Sunnydale--Anya's first appearance.
Earshot (Season 3, Episode 18)--Buffy gains the ability to hear people's thoughts.
Wild at Heart (Season 4, Episode 6)--Oz learns that his control over his wolf side is slipping, and he betrays Willow.
The Replacement (Season 5, Episode 3)--We see two versions of Xander--the successful one, and the total loser.
Fool for Love (Season 5, Episode 7)--Buffy asks Spike how he killed two slayers.
The Gift (Season 5, Episode 22)--Buffy sacrifices herself so that Dawn may have a shot at a human life.
Two to Go/The Grave (Season 6, Episodes 21&22)--A grief stricken Willow turns evil and threatens to destroy the world.
Selfless (Season 7, Episode 5)--Anya's backstory.

Watch This! Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Pt. 3)

When Angel left the show and went off to his own spin off, there was a kind of boyfriend vacuum around Buffy that just had to be filled. Enter Riley Finn, the very bland anti-angel college boyfriend.

I liked a lot of things about seasons four and five. I liked seeing Buffy go on to college and mature as an adult. I liked that the show allowed her to develop and gave her new, more adult challenges to cope with. I liked that the plot itself took some risks and went in very different directions, instead of sticking with the constant monster-of-the-week format. What I did not like, one little bit, was the romantic subplot of Riley Finn.

As previously stated, Riley is written to be as anti-Angel as possible--he's human, entirely good, a faithful boyfriend that offers Buffy a kind of stability that she's never had a chance at before. As the show progresses, Riley is given a bit more depth, getting in over his head in the supernatural world and ending up fairly damaged. But however tortured the writers tried to make him, he always failed to do the one very important thing (at least in my mind), which is challenge Buffy in any way.

The normal, familiar boyfriend vs. the challenging, complicated boyfriend has been done often enough that we can safely call it a cliché. If you go through the list of well known love triangles, you'll find that this conflict is often the basis of the triangle. The most familiar of all--Edward vs. Jacob, does it with the least subtly of all. Jacob is not only the best friend/old friend of the family boy, but he out right says on multiple occasions that he's Bella's only choice at a normal life--she wouldn't need to change to be with him. The easy, comparatively normal choice is almost never the one that wins out. In fact, I'm having trouble thinking of a single occasion in which a heroine chose the normal, nice guy over Captain Tortured Pants. Why not? In short, because that would be boring.

Being with Riley is too easy for Buffy. He's entirely human and, until later in the story, pretty much without emotional baggage. He already knows about the supernatural world, so she doesn't have to explain her lifestyle to him, per se. She can sleep with him as much as she likes. Their relationship is completely dull. There are several episodes where you can feel the writers struggling to come up with a conflict for the two of them, and when they do it's always disappointing. Maybe Riley is insecure because Buffy is so much stronger than him? Okay, that just makes him seem like a whiney baby.

One of the things I did sort of appreciate about the Riley story arc is the fact that even the writers seemed to understand that he was only ever going to be a rebound boyfriend. They made sure that Buffy got emotionally involved, but always held something back, so you kind of knew that the relationship had an expiration date--and it could not come soon enough for me. I felt like the time spent with Riley might have been better spent with Buffy learning to be okay alone, and I could have done without the whole thing.

Lest you think that I'm hating on the "everyman" characters, I want to say that I'm all too eager for someone to subvert the cliché. I would love to see more everyday heroes presented as a viable choice for the heroine, instead of as the third wheel or the conflict that must be overcome in order to reach the real happy ending. It's worth stating, also, that I really like Xander--and he's as ordinary as they come. His lack of special powers is what lends him his charm, and I would love to see something similar in more of our male love interests.

Watch This! Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Pt. 2)

If you missed Part 1 (here, have a link), I focused on how Buffy has effected the way that I view fictional heroines, and in particular those of urban fantasy. Today I'm going to talk about Angel. Now, I might at some later date dedicate a post or two to the Angel spin-off series, but today I'm going to focus on Angel's character as he's introduced in Buffy's story, and prior to his show.

I think we all tend to forget, in this Twilight soaked modern day, that Stephenie Meyer did not invent to sympathetic and more accessible vampire (that crown likely goes to Anne Rice, although I'm far from an expert). Angel and Buffy did the centuries old vampire/teenage girl love story years before, and with more intelligence.

Angel is a vampire cursed with a soul. In the Buffy universe, vampires are essentially demons who feed on humans and lack a conscience. The fact that Angel has a soul means that he does have a conscience, and he feels really bad about all of the people he killed before he had a soul. Dark, broody, self punishing--all of the ingredients necessary for romantic drama with a vampire slayer.

The romance between Angel and Buffy is just as starcrossed and just as silly as any YA novel, but Joss Whedon does more with it than you'd expect. One of the shows early weaknesses, in my opinion, was the fact that it failed to explain why they like each other in the first place. You barely see them talk or share anything. They have little in common besides a mutual desire to kill evil vampires. We're just supposed to buy the idea that they feel this attraction, and it won't go away, and so they must be together. The setup is shallow, but the conflicts and the payoff are a lot more interesting, and that is the point, after all.

The conflict between Angel and Buffy stems not only from their antithetical roles as slayer and vampire, but also from their age difference and finally (the biggest catch of all), from the curse that makes Angel sympathetic in the first place. The fact that they're aware of the age difference and actually play on the creepiness a couple of times in and of itself gives us permission to not take it to seriously (although, of course, we do). I particularly like the Halloween episode when Buffy dresses like the girls Angel would have known when she was his age (and turns into an airhead as a result of the shenanigans), because it underscores how ridiculous their relationship is in the first place.

The culmination of their relationship is fairly well known, even among non-fans of the show. Angel's soul-having curse comes with the catch that if he experiences true happiness, he loses that soul. And turns all evil and stuff. And kills people. So Angel and Buffy do it, it makes him happy, and he turns evil. I've never gotten over how contrived that plot point is, but it's also an interesting metaphor. It puts Buffy this position of feeling guilt and loss and sadness, emotions that aren't altogether uncommon for women after an ill advised sexual encounter. Everything about Buffy and Angel's relationship speaks to how actual teenagers fall in and out of love, right down to having to say goodbye and move on.

In the interest of total honesty, I actually liked Angel a lot more after he left the show and got his own. The brooding romance did start to wear out after a time, and it was for the best that they put a stake in it.

Watch This! Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Pt. 1)

This month, I thought I'd dedicate a few posts to one of my all time favorite shows--Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show first started in 1997 (I would have been 7 at the time), but I didn't get into it until around 2000. At that time, I had just discovered Harry Potter and with it, a love of fantasy and all things supernatural. Buffy has a very different tone, but it's similar in that it's grounded in the real world, where most people are not aware that supernatural forces exist, and that the heroes are normal teenagers with normal problems that are only exacerbated by the presence of magic and so forth. Also similar is the "chosen one" premise, the idea that fate picks one seemingly ordinary individual to be the savior. The difference in premise is that while Harry has one singular task to perform (kill Voldemort), which once completed will ultimately leave him free to live out a happy ending, Buffy is stuck killing vampires until she dies. Harsh, yes?

Buffy is the Mother of the Kick Ass Female Protagonists of Urban Fantasy

Oh, there were kick-ass females before her and there have been even  kick-assier females since. Hell, Anita Blake predates Buffy by about four years, and she's certainly earned her alpha stripes (despite enumerable flaws). But what Buffy did, in my humble opinion, is bring the kick ass female into mainstream light. The show is popular, a pop culture phenomenon, and for my generation she was the final word on unlikely female heroines.

Joss Whedon has become somewhat famous for his ability to make petite female protagonists into convincing fighters. Buffy is consciously written to subvert the cliché of the ditsy blond teenager who is the first to die in every horror movie. Her influence has made small-but-lethal ladies into a popular trope in and of itself in urban fantasy. Buffy makes up for her weak appearance with implied superpowers--supernatural strength and speed. Many UF authors do something similar, granting their heroines magical powers or gifts that bely their harmless visages. Others use brains or extreme weapons training, or some combination of all of the above. You can see why this is such a popular premise to launch a series on--it makes for such interesting and varied protagonists, with varying levels of angst and drama.

Buffy suffers from the classic fantasy heroine conflict--she wants a normal life, but she can never have one. Something always gets in the way. But she is, essentially, just like every teenage girl--and thus she goes through all of the same milestones--but on steroids. The loss of her virginity is a huge disappointment, to the tune of her boyfriend turning psycho-killer. She runs away from home and is met with a wake up call, in the form of a bizarre demonic slavery system. She finds that she wants to be popular, and become Homecoming Queen, but ends up fighting homicidal monsters all the way to the dance, only to find that she's not even runner-up. And so on. Buffy is relatable because, like most teenage girls, she feels like nothing ever goes her way and the world is against her. In Buffy's case, her life really is often miserable and the world really is out to get her. The relatability draws you in, her losses and disappointments make you emotionally invested, and her constant triumph over the monsters brings you comfort.

The fact that Buffy was so widely popular and is still remembered fondly (and continues on via comic books and so forth), means that she's often the basis of comparison for any UF heroine. Rightly so. When I read young adult urban fantasy in particular, I'm always looking to see in they included the traditional Buffy character--naïve but not stupid, seemingly and yet actually quite strong, snarky and unexpectedly smart. Maybe she has a group of friends like Buffy, or impossible romantic relationships like Buffy. Whatever variation the author goes with, there's almost always a tiny tribute in there somewhere.

Watch This! Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

For now, I've kind of nixed the music moment posts until I can figure out a more reliable way to do them. But, we're going to carry on with the other music themed posts of this month.

I think I've talked about my general affection for Sweeney Todd before. I actually saw a local production a year or so back. I saw this when it was in theaters. There's something appealing about a horror/comedy set in Victorian London that I'm just not sick of yet. It doesn't hurt that the movie itself has Johnny Depp at his Johnny Deppiest and Helena Bonham Carter playing more or less the character she always plays. But to the credit of the story, even in a live theater with much less famous actors, it's still very engaging in it's deliciously unsettling way.

If you don't already know the plot, it goes as follows: Sweeney Todd was once a young, optimistic barber, married to a beautiful woman with whom he had a lovely baby daughter. But, an evil judge played by Alan Rickman wants the his wife, and so he arranges to have him transported. Years later, he comes back, and he teams up with Mrs. Lovett (a pie shop owner), to take revenge on his enemies.

By far my favorite musical number is "A Little Priest", in which Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett gleefully sing about putting their murder victims into pies. It's catchy as hell, so upbeat and cheery, and yet so overtly disgusting. Some of the other scenes and numbers elicit an uncomfortable, spine-tingling sort of way, but this is the only one that made me actually laugh.

Some of the subplots (like the romantic subplot with Johanna), are not things that I would want to spoil for anyone who hasn't seen some version of the story yet. Everything in the movie kind of pales in comparison to the revenge plot in any case, but I kind of feel the dark and unfortunate love story could merit it's own retelling some day.

Anyway, I think I've officially talked this movie and play to death. If you have the opportunity to see it live, you really should, but even if that never happens the movie is really excellent on it's own.

Watch This! Across the Universe

Here we are in the first Wednesday of March, talking about our first movie musical. At the time this came out, husband and I had to ride the bus to see it, and it was worth it.

The plot follows the Jude, a young man from Liverpool, who travels to the US to find his absentee father. Once there, he meets Max, a party animal, and subsequently meets Max's sister, Lucy. After Lucy's boyfriend is killed in Vietnam, Lucy starts to have feelings for Jude.

Of course the main point of the movie is the music. You  have to like The Beatles, or you won't enjoy this movie. For the most part, the song use is appropriate and effective at telling the story--although perhaps they cram in a few too many. The other thing that sticks out about this movie is the visuals. It conveys everything from love to heartbreak to what it's like to be on LSD. Like the music, you either love it or hate it, but either way you have to admit that it's interesting. Some of it has the unfortunate habit of screaming SYMBOLISM at the top of it's lungs (e.g. recruits carrying the statue of liberty during "She's So Heavy"). It's not subtle.

My favorite musical number for this movie is "I've Just Seen a Face," which is takes place in a bowling alley pure undiluted fun.

Overall, I know this movie is not for everyone, but if you like musicals you at least have to respect what it's trying to do. See it, if you haven't already.

Watch This! The Switch

Okay. When I was trying to come up with things to review for romance month, I watched so many romcoms that my brain started to melt.There were funny movies and there were stupid movies and there were mind-numbingly boring movies. But nothing I watched was quite as blatantly offensive and awkward and The Switch, and that's why I decided to review this one.

So the premise is this: Kassie wants a baby, and decides she's going to go it alone since she doesn't have a husband. She hires Roland, a handsome professor who needs the money, to be her donor. She has a party to celebrate her upcoming pregnancy. He best friend, Wally, who has always secretly liked her, gets drunk at the party and switches his sperm with the donor's. Wacky hijinks! Kassie leaves town, and returns years later with a kid that  reminds Wally a lot of himself.

Oh God, where to begin? This movie is supposed to be comedic, but I found it literally impossible to laugh at most of it. The sperm switch is not just absurd, it's deeply disturbing. Hubby called the incident "rape-y" and he's not wrong. It's kind of equivalent to getting drunk and violating your best friend. It's not forgivable and it's not particularly funny. Pregnancy is one of the most personal experiences a woman can undergo, and to have that experience hijacked is so terrifyingly wrong. The wrongness isn't really addressed, though, because you know, wacky hijinks!

 Then there's the kid. This freaking kid. He's a little adult with loads of neuroses, most of them way more overt than what you would ever see in a real life normal child. One of his quirks is collecting picture frames and making up stories about the people in them, because he feels something is missing because he doesn't know his father's family. That's kind of precious, I guess. He's sweet, but he doesn't seem like a real child to me. The dynamic between the kid and Wally is actually nicely done, but it didn't manage to offset the extreme awkwardness that the original premise left me feeling.

Overall, one of the least funny comedies I've ever seen. It means well, but in the end it comes off as gross and offensive. There are a lot of shoddily addressed implications and not enough chemistry between the main characters to make up for it. Of all of the romcoms in all of the land that you could potentially watch, I recommend staying away from this one.

Watch This! Nicolas Sparks Movie Day

Hello, and welcome to Watch This! Wednesday, romance edition, and you know what that means! It's Nicholas Sparks day!

Nicholas Sparks is somewhat infamous for his gushy mom pleasing novels that center around love and relationship development. They escape the stigma of romance novels by somewhat frequently breaking the rule of the happy ending. If I sound bitter about that, it's because I am. I find that tragedy is not synonymous with profound meaning, and the idea that a piece of fiction becomes "literature" only by being depressing is the height of discouraging.

Nevertheless, I have read (and to some extent enjoyed) four of his novels, although it was years ago and long before I started reviewing books. And, I'm kind of ashamed to say this, but I really like most of these movies. Yeah, I know. I'm not sure what's wrong with me, either. So, anyway, here we go: snippet review of all seven movies currently available on DVD, in the order of their release.

Message in a Bottle (1999)

The plot of this movie is as utterly improbable as it is depressing.Theresa, the heroine, finds a message in a bottle while she's jogging on a beach. It's a love letter, and finding it makes her believe in love again. She get's caught up in the mystery of finding the letter's author. And then she does. And they fall in love. Because of course they do. I've never found this movie appealing. Not only does the romance not work for me (I'm not a huge fan of widow stories), but it ends on an unrelentingly hopeless note. So, overall, it's not one that I recommend.

A Walk to Remember (2002)

Now this one, this movie, is one of my all time favorite love stories. Teenage bad boy Landon falls in love with the preacher's daughter, Jamie. Through her, he learns about faith, compassion, and what it means to give your heart to someone entirely. It's young love, opposites attraction, redemption, and hope in the face of death--all things that I love in a romance. The fact that it's sad is actually okay, in this case. This is one to watch when you want to cry a bit.

The Notebook (2004)

Every woman I talk to likes this movie at least a little, and for good reason. It's the story of a first love and forbidden love that turns into last love. People think of it as said, because it deals with dimension and growing old and passing on, but in my mind it's the happiest ending I can imagine in the harsh Nicholas Sparks world. These two people get a whole life together, and their story is epic. Its a happy tears sort of movie.

Nights In Rodanthe (2008)

Don't remember this one? Yeah, no one really does. This is a movie that's definitely meant for the older generation, and I don't think even they like it that much. It's a romance between two disillusioned older people who both have strained relationships with their adult children. Adrienne, the heroine, is taking care of an inn for her friend and Paul, the hero, is in town because he's being sued. Much like Message in a Bottle, there are few or no uplifting parts to balance out the tragedy, so it doesn't leave you feeling better about humanity. It also suffers from serious pacing issues. I don't recommend it.

Dear John (2010)

Okay, so this is one of two that I had to watch specifically for this post, because I hadn't seen it yet. Because based on what I knew of the plot, I thought I wouldn't like it. Oh, my God, this was a terrible movie. So, yeah, the plot is that John is a soldier and he falls in love with Savannah, who agrees to wait for him, and they write letters. But then 9/11 happens and he re-enlists and she starts to get understandably antsy, until ultimately she sends him the dreaded break-up letter. Aside from the fact that there is nothing about that core plot that appeals to me, I just didn't feel any sort of romantic vibe from this movie. John and Savannah have little chemistry to speak of, so I had trouble buying their relationship to begin with. Couple that with very serious pacing issues, selfish decisions, and a total lack of an ending, and I'm left wondering why on earth people like this movie. I really don't recommend this one.

The Last Song (2010)

This was the other one that I had to watch for the first time in order to write this post, and I expected to like it less than Dear John. You know what though? It's not that bad. No, I mean, it's flawed. Miley Cyrus is not a great actress, and she's not right for the part, and her speaking voice is extremely grating. I could buy her as a snotty teenager, but I had trouble cheering her on as a romantic lead. Nevertheless, the story kind of got to me. I could really appreciate the character development and the relationship development between Ronnie, our erstwhile heroine, and everyone else in the movie--from her father, to little brother, to her boyfriend Will. I found myself imagining the story with someone else in Miley's place, and I'm forced to say that I like it a lot. So, would I recommend it? Yeah, actually, I would--if you like that kind of thing.

The Lucky One (2012)

I won't say much about this one, since I already talked about it when it came out and you can read my thoughts here. I did like this one. It's not the most profound, and Zach Efron is just okay as an actor, but it's a more complete and appealing story than, say, Dear John.

I haven't yet made plans to see Safe Haven, which came out on Valentines Day, but I'm sure I will eventually. This is one of those odd fascinations that I feel compelled to see through. But that's it for now, folks. Go watch a good movie, share your comments, and have a happy day!

Watch This! Top Ten Best Romances in the Disney Universe

Disney movies. They are so iconic and so deeply imbedded in our culture that they are often the first stories children are exposed to. To extend that thought, they are probably the first love stories most of us are exposed to. Now, I'm not saying that's a great thing. It's a point of fact that Disney treats love in the most sanitized, watered-down, and in some cases slightly sexist manner possible. But they exist, and they are romance, so we have to talk about them. Because I say so.

Having said all of that, you might imagine that this "Best" list is more of a "Least Awful" list, but...that's mostly not true. Mostly.

#10: Sleeping Beauty (1959)

This is one that I've only seen a handful of times, and I actually had to rewatch it closely to decide if it really belonged on this list. It made it by virtue of the fact that it's not only intentionally a romance, but the romance actually has some (some, not a lot) set up and pay off. The set up is that Phillip and Aurora are promised to each other upon Aurora's birth. Aurora is cursed and then hidden away as a peasant girl, under the name Briar Rose. Sixteen years later, Phillip meets and unknowingly falls in love with Briar Rose. It's love at first sight and there's not much conversation, but there is a big battle with a dragon, and that's romantic, right? Right.

#9:Cinderella (1950)

You know, Cinderella gets a lot of bad press. I'll own to the fact that Sleeping Beauty deserves its reputation as one of the least pro-feminist stories of all time--the heroine literally does nothing except fall asleep. Cinderella though? She's just a sad, lonely, and frankly very patient girl who would like to go to a dance. And then she does. Good for her. Do I buy that she instantly falls in love with the prince and he's so enamored with her in return that he upends the kingdom trying to find her--after one dance and presumably a little conversation? Well no, not by real world standards, but it the logic of the 1950s Disney universe it's fine. I always imagined an epilogue to this story where the prince (Jesus, he doesn't even have a name) and Cinderella have to talk and come to terms with this insane attraction between them, and the ramifications of marrying outside their social standings, and they make it work in the end. That's how I justify the story to myself.

#8: Tarzan (1999)

This is one of those Disney movies I always tend to forget about, until I look at a list and I'm reminded--oh, yeah, Disney did Tarzan. I think it's because when it came out, I was at that weird age where I thought I was too old for children's movies and I didn't yet appreciate the idea that adults can enjoy them, too, and so I didn't see it until long after it came out. But I do like it. And, of course, it's on this list because of Tarzan and Jane, who are surprisingly sweet together. I put it low on the list because I've always felt that the chemistry between them is based largely on the fact that Jane is literally the first and only human woman Tarzan has ever encountered, and that kind of circumstantial togetherness is always a bit unsettling to me. Outside of that context, would they even like each other? I don't know, but it is an interesting story for all it's flaws.

#7: Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Why, yes, I did put non-humans on the list. Judge me if you will, but watch this movie and tell me it's not adorable. Go ahead. Yeah, I thought so. Lady and the Tramp is a classic opposites attract tale about a hero who shuns the idea of a home and a heroine who dearly loves hers. They go on adventures and have a little tryst, and eventually a happy ending. The spaghetti scene alone earns it a spot on the list (incidentally, eating pasta that way is far less romantic in reality).  And I'm pretty sure there's a secret baby plot in there too.

#6: The Little Mermaid (1989)

I struggled quite a bit with where to put this on the list because, truth be tole, this is probably my second or third favorite Disney movie of all time. But in terms of how well it works as a romance? It's pretty shallow, at least initially. Ariel's impulsive and obsessive need to be with Eric is based entirely on appearance. Any attraction Eric feels for Ariel is based on her pretty, pretty voice. This is all redeemed when they end up spending time together while she can't talk, and it becomes apparent that they have a legitimate connection.

#5: The Princess and the Frog (2009)

This might actually count at my second non-human romance on the list, since they spend the majority of the movie as frogs. This is a movie about working hard to achieve goals while not ignoring the importance of finding love. It's actually quite heavy handed with that message, but it's not necessarily a terrible thing. I like the adventure and the time that Tiana and Nevine share, and I like that they both work for their happy ending.    

#4: Aladdin (1992)

This is likely the most "boy oriented" movie on the list, but it nevertheless counts as a romance. Pretty much everything Aladdin does is motivated by a desire to get the girl. It's yet another case of two people who like each other regardless of social rank, and it addresses the issue more effectively than most. I like that Jasmine, despite not being at the center of the action, is not a wilting flower and does, in fact, display a mind of her own. It also happens to have one of the most memorable and romantic love songs in the Disney universe.

#3: Tangled (2010)

This movie is one of the most watchable, fun children's movies I've seen this decade. And, although the romance isn't necessarily the main point, it's there and it's spectacular. Flynn and Rapunzel get to know each other over their journey (witness, Flynn telling Rapunzel his real name), they fall in love, and they make huge sacrifices for each other. It's cute and funny when it needs to be, serious at other times, and everything comes together to make a very satisfying story.

#2: Up (2009)

Am I cheating with this one? Hell yes, I am. Up is decidedly not a romance, at least most of the movie isn't. But the first ten minutes or so? Oh God. Two people meet as children, become friends, fall in love, and share a big dream that they never quite get to realizing. But they have a life together, and they're mostly happy despite some huge disappointments. I cannot watch this part of the movie without crying. Everything that's happens after that point is motivated largely by that relationship and those dreams, so I actually think it is fair game to count it on this list. It's brilliant, and a testament to the principle that a simple love story is often the best.

#1: Beauty and the Beast (1991)

If you've been following this blog for awhile, this one probably doesn't surprise you. This is my very favorite Disney movie, and it likely ranks in my top 10 favorite movies of all time. But do I really think it's the most romantic? Absolutely, I do. It's a story about getting to know someone on a deeper level, and loving them based on an emotional connection rather than physical appearance. The Beast has to learn to be a decent person, and Bell only comes around to him after he figures out that he needs to treat her properly. It's pretty much a perfect movie in my mind, and I can't say enough about it.

So that's the list, folks. Feel free to agree and disagree with me in the comments. Have a romance-filled day.