By Laurell K. Hamilton
Published 1994

Okay, I know Friday I said I’d do back to backs, but I caught whatever the hell Sloane had and I still feel like I’ve been hit by a snow plow, so you’re going to be inundated with Anita Blake posts this week. Especially since I’ve started book six this morning.

What? I can’t cook when I’m sick so I read… avidly.

So over the next week you may get more than one post a day. I don’t want to drive people away by just reviewing one author’s works.

Tomorrow I going along with Liz Strauss over at Successful and Outstanding Blog(gers) in going dark for the V Tech slayings.

So, for now, let’s kick it in gear and get to Guilty Pleasures and its writer.

Laurell K. Hamilton is an outstanding writer. Like all good writers she starts a bit rough in her first novel (first I ever read at least) but smoothes things out nicely as she progresses from book to book. The Anita Blake series, of which there are fifteen now, is a very well written series and you can tell that Laurell took pains to ensure there was continuity from book to book.

A lot of people I talk with who have read these books all agree that the best ones are the first seven. After that we playfully call them vampire smut. The stories are still excellent, but sometimes we wonder if they shouldn’t be marked as romantic fantasy. Not that I’m complaining, you should see the shelves of romance novels I own.

After the break you’ll find an overview of Anita Blake and the review of Guilty Pleasures.
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Yay an extra post of goodness….

Kind of. I haven’t read The Golden Compass yet, but it’s on my To Be Read/Purchased list. Obviously I haven’t seen it , since it hasn’t hit the theaters.

And worse, as a film, it’s CURRENT! So what the hell am I doing talking about it?

Because the website is awesome and offers you a chance to create your own Daemon. Jenn sent me her’s and I turned it into a mouse… she turned mine into a bird. And that is what I’m bringing it to your attention here. It’s a meme, but your friends can actually make it change by answering questions about you. She’s written more about it over at Your Cre8tivity and posted links for her own Daemon and mine.

But I do encourge you to go check it out and maybe create one of your own. Have fun with it. That’s what wasiting time is all about.

Directed by Renny Harlin
Staring Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Yvonne Zima and Craig Bierko
Released in 1996

Okay, let’s clear the air here… I do not think that Geena Davis can act her way out of a wet paper sack. She’s had some good parts, A League of Their Own and Beetlejuice, but for the most part the woman can’t act.

That said, this has to be the most stunning performance I have ever seen her do and definitely the most stand out. In this film, she proves me wrong, and she topped the aforementioned others that I gave her some credit for. The simple fact that she can pull off a split personality role for half the film left me awe stricken. And you can ask anyone, I don’t like her.

And one more thing, she is booping HOT as a platinum blond.

Samantha Caine (Davis) is eight years old and has no memory of anything prior to those eight years. In her lifetime she’s had a daughter, Caitlin (Zima), with whom she was two months pregnant when she was found, and has hired a two bit detective, Mitch Henessey (Jackson) to discover what lies in her unknown past. A freak accident awakens sporadic memories of her past, and when her past – with a push from Timothy (Bierko) – catches up to her, she re-awakens and remembers everything.

Probably not my greatest blurb, but there’s so much that can be so easily reveled and ruin the movie for you. This is definitely one of the ones I plan on adding to my collection and I have to admit I’m very glad Sloane made me watch it.

The movie is amazing and it’s another where the chemistry between the main leads of Davis and Jackson (is there anyone that man CAN’T work well with) enhances the film. Where I would, in the past, say that Jackson had to have held her hand through the movie that is not the case here and it’s blatantly obvious that Davis is the lead here.

I cannot heap enough praise to her for this movie; just don’t expect to see it much more. I still stand that she can’t act, and this movie is an exception to that rule. Buy it, rent it, borrow it, I don’t care, just see it. Especially if you’re like me and don’t think highly of Geena Davis.

I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Rating:

Linking back to Cinematical again, and if any of you came back, thanks for visiting the site.

This time it’s not because I’m wowed by one of the writer’s list of overrated actors, but because I saw a post there talking about one of my all time favorite cult classics, Flash Gordon, which has been impossible to get on DVD.

However, as you can see from the post, Universal is finally releasing the dvd again in a collectors edition this August. Can you say pre-order? I knew you could, which will be just what I’m doing the moment it’s allowed. There’s nothing like wanting to get your hands on a movie you love and not being able to pay the outrageous price it’s selling for. And as much as I adore the film, even I’m not shelling out upwards of sixty bucks for it.

Released in 1980 (ye blessed gods I was maybe 3) the movie is camp. From the opening scenes of Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow) looking for a new toy to the rising of the sleezy Prince Barin (pre-Bond Timothy Dalton) and every antic Flash (Sam J. Jones) pulls in between. And this doesn’t even include the seething jealousy between Princess Aura (Ornella Muti) and Dale Arden (Melody Anderson). I think the best lines come from Brian Blessed’s winged warrior Vulcan or the bumbling scientist Hans Zarkov (Topol).

And underneath all that comedic cult classic camp is the exquisite soundtrack by Queen. This film is golden and definitely worth the agonizing wait to get your hands on.

Rating:

This is also known as Final Fantasy II on the Super Nintendo, part of Final Fantasy Chronicles on the Sony Playstation, and Final Fantasy IV Advanced on the Game Boy Advanced. It was my gateway drug into role playing games. True, Final Fantasy was released on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, but I was a bit too young to appreciate it then.

This one I have owned on all three of the aforementioned platforms. While Square has since perfected graphics and music as the Final Fantasy series advances, this is still the one I return to when I need a good RPG fix. The storyline was well put together; the action liner without being completely driven and for the time of its release was one of the more stellar role-playing games released for a console system.

In this incarnation of Final Fantasy you play the primary character of Cecil is the Dark Knight Captain of Baron’s Red Wings. As you journey though life with Cecil you meet his best friend Kain, love interest Rosa and a multitude of other highly likeable characters. Cecil’s main duty is to capture the Light Crystals for Baron and when he questions it he finds himself given one last mission. Sickened with the action he performs Cecil finds himself seeking redemption for his crimes against the world, his friends and himself.

Despite being graphically weaker than today’s games, the game play and story hold up nicely in comparison. It’s a game I highly recommend if you have any of the platforms that can play it (Game Boy Advanced or Nintendo DS, any of the Sony Playstations).

Rating:

I get a lot of my current film industry information from the site Cinematical and today staff writer Jeffery M Anderson published his list of Overrated Actors.

I was simply tickled to see who was on that list, though I have to disagree with the listing of Ledger.  I think his charm, no matter if he’s being cruel or kind, comes across well on screen.  Personally I would have replaced him with Tom Cruise.

I may do a list of my own eventually, but this I just had to share.

Tomorrow I’ll cover Final Fantasy IV.

Directed by Gil Junger
Staring Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gorden-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz and Andrew Keegan
Released in 1999

As a Shakespeare fan I tend to avoid modern day remakes of his plays, unless it’s got Branagh stamped all over it. This one I missed for a few years but when there’s nothing else on at eight in the morning and you really don’t want to be sitting in front of the computer yet or there’s no book handy (perish the thought), you make do. That or you watch the news. But I’m glad I sat down and watched this one.

10 Things is a nice update to The Taming of the Shrew and modernizes the characters enough to make it interesting for people who don’t recognize the Shakespeare hook. The chemistry between the main cast, be they laughing or fighting, helps make the story more believable. It’s a great deal of fun to see the antics that Ledger and Gorden-Levitt go through to get their respective love-interests.

So what’s it all about? If you’re lucky enough to have read Shrew you have a good idea…

10 Things is about a pair of sisters and their prospective love interests. Bianca Stratford (Oleynik) wants to enjoy her life in high school, date, party and have fun. Older sister Kat Stratford (Stiles) had a taste of the high school high life and prefers to do and be herself instead of being molded into the expected. In order for Bianca to date, Kat must date and Kat isn’t biting.

This is where the boys come in. Joey (Keegan) and Cameron (Gorden-Levitt) are both interested in Bianca and will do anything to get her on a date. Cameron and friend Michael (Krumholtz) enlist Joey’s assistance to set Kat up with the wild boy felon Patrick (Ledger). Being paid for per date, Patrick sets off to woo shrewish Kat so the boys can her sister.

Admittedly I had a lot more fun with Krumholtz’s Michael, the man has the wisdom tempered humor to help everyone out in the end, even himself. There are a lot of nods to Shakespeare fans in the movie, but to top it all off there’s a kick-ass soundtrack.

Look for Allison Janney in a witty cameo role as the school counselor.

Rating:

Directed by more than one director
Staring Lots of Actors
Released in 1987

I don’t usually post on Fridays since Sloane’s got the day off and I try to spend some time with him. However, when there’s unintended vengeance involved then there just has to be a post.

Sloane and I sat down and watched Amazon Women on the Moon last night. I rather figured he’d like it since I thought it was his kind of comedy, being that he’s into Chevy Chase and all that. I think I had more fun watching him that I did the movie as I saw the looks of horror and fear channel themselves across his face.

I had a blast and hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time. He, on the other hand, said he understood how I felt after watching Big Trouble in Little China. When I realized I had melted his brain I was lost in a fit of laughter and scaring the cats away with it.

So, what is this movie about that it melted the brain of a Chevy Chase fan?

Amazon Women on the Moon is the name of the movie trying to play during a bunch of commercials and other snippets of shows. Its sketch comedy with the likes of Arsenio Hall, Michelle Pfeiffer too many more than I can name each doing their own 10 – 15 minutes little piece with various directors. Honestly hard to explain, but not to hard to enjoy, especially as it was done in the late 80s and you’re aghast to see some of the actors you see involved. Still, with John Landis’ name on it, I think most of the actors would have been foolish to pass it up, no matter how bad it was.

I enjoy it. There are pieces like Video Pirates, Son of the Invisible Man and Bullshit or Not – the case of Jack the Ripper, that just leave me rolling. And there are some, like Roast your Loved One, that walk the line of tastelessness.

It’s perfect for when you need a night of brain melting entertainment. I think it fits in with the category of Cult Classic.

Rating:

Well, I was going to write about a movie, which will hold till next week, until I signed into Yahoo this morning and was informed by Jenn that one of my favorite actors was having his birthday today. And since I’m a fan of Tim Curry’s I just couldn’t let it slide. Not that he’s ever likely to stumble upon this post on this tiny blog site.

But how do you choose one standout film of an actor you enjoy? Sloane said to write about the one that left the biggest impression on me and I did that with my first actual review entry. I still think he makes Satan sexy.

I’m hardly an expert on the works of Curry, I know he’s done more than I’ve seen and gods know they’ve all left an impression on me. From horrifying to transsexual and running a gambit of comedy in between the Englishman leaves an impression on a lot of people.

Can I name favorites? That’s easy … Legend, Rocky Horror and It; where as Sloane’s rather fond of Clue and the role of Wadsworth. All right, I admit it, I like Clue as well, but it’s hardly one of my favorites.

I think I like Curry at his sleaziest, and he does so well in those roles. I don’t like clowns to begin with but Pennywise takes the cake and Curry embodied the role that Stephen King first penned. Then there’s Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers, sinfully at his most vile as he tries to usurp the French throne and queen and beyond that The Shadow as Farley Claymore. His roles are amazing but you’ve got IMBD to tell you that.

Curry is among the actors that I could listen to talk for hours. His voice, cultured and hypnotic, well, he could read the dictionary and I think I’d still be enthralled. Though, what I like most is that laugh of his, it’s completely unmistakable.

So while I cannot personally wish the man a happy birthday I can recommend every film I’ve named here and many of this other roles. In the meantime I think I’m going to go drown myself in Tim Curry movies.