Anne strikes me as a name synonymous with entertainment - actresses, writers, musicians, and more.  Through the decades there seems to have always been a woman named Anne providing entertainment.  Hellfire, just go back the 1500’s and you have Anne Boleyn, she may not have been an actress or entertainer per se, but she certainly entertained the Tudor Court by refusing to give into Henry VIII until a proposal of marriage was given.  More so, the entertainment at her expense with her trial for treason and subsequent beheading.

Today, however, we’re focusing on an actress, two authors and - with a slight deviation of the name - a singer.

Anne Hathaway made her mark in Disney’s “The Princess Diaries” films.  Under the guidance of Garry Marshall for the first film he is said to have likened her to “a combination Julia Roberts, Audrey Hepburn and Judy Garland.”  She is certainly as versatile as the three actresses, going from family films for the House of Mouse to a role in the controversial film Brokeback Mountain.  At 26 she has acted along side Julie Andrews, Meryl Streep, Maggie Smith, James McAvoy and the late Heath Ledger to massive success.  Anne has shown growth and versatility in her roles the like of which will continue her launch into stardom and make her a memorable actress for years to come.  Currently she is staring with Get Smart with Steven Carell, Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin.

Anne Rice is, without doubt, a legendary writer, even if half her fan base abandoned her when she came out with Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt.  Having been one of her fans for years, I lived out the days of Lestat de Lioncourt , had all the books, watched the movies and like many desperately wanted to strangle the people who ruined two of Anne’s books to make Queen of the Damned.  But, that digresses from discussing Anne Rice. She has always created memorable characters and stories, its rare for someone not to know who Lestat, Louis, Claudia and Armand are, but the Vampire Chronicles were a gateway series into her better books.  While I am not the avid fan I was, I still keep on hand three of, what I consider, her best books – Cry to Heaven, The Mummy (Ramses the Damned) and The Witching Hour.  I confess to have outgrown the Vampire Chronicles at the turn of the century, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t recommend them to people who enjoy vampire stories, as they are still some of the best.

Remaining in the realm of writers I bring back into the light a name familiar to people who have been with the site for some time – Anne Bishop.  She is the author behind the Black Jewels Trilogy (Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness), three of the best books I’ve ever read.  She spins worlds that turn your expectations on their heads and only gets better with each book published.  Her fan base grows by leaps and bounds to the point that I actually saw some cos-playing at last year’s DragonCon.  There are currently six books in the realms of the Black Jewels with more coming out each year.  Additionally she has a series called The World of the Fae that delves into the connection of earthly bound witches and the Fae; how they must work together to survive.  There is also the duology The Landscapes of Ephemera where a incubus and his cousin must save the world from a living nightmare.  Anne Bishop is the first name that springs forth from my lips when someone asks for a recommendation in novelists.

Finally we deviate a touch from Anne by adding a letter, in which you’ll get Annie.  Now the Annie I’m speaking of in particular is Annie Lennox, perhaps best known as being part of the Eurythmics, I think everyone has heard Sweet Dreams are Made of This.  Annie is a solo artist now, having come out with songs like Walking on Broken Glass and Into the West.  The later of which she received the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2004 for.  She has received a number of other musical awards over the years she’s been performing and is not only an outstanding musician but humanitarian as well.  If you haven’t heard of her, I recommend this and this.  I think you’ll enjoy them.

There are many more Anne’s in the world of entertainment.  Another that springs to mind is Anne McCaffrey, and while I can’t personally recommend her, Jenn has been singing her praises for the Dragonriders of Pern, along with other books, for years.  While I’ve had many people urge me to read more of McCaffrey’s books I’m afraid to confess that I see more of my eyelids than I do the novels.  But don’t let my reaction to them spoil your chance at reading highly acclaimed novels.  Last I heard she would be attending DragonCon this fall and if you’re a fan I would recommend trying to get there, she doesn’t leave Ireland often.

Did I miss your favorite Anne or variation there of?  Share your favorites in the comments.

I watched it Friday at the Alamo Drafthouse.. and.. it was fun. it was nothing like what I’d expected / hoped for..(having seen every single X-Files episode evar).. but that is sometimes a nice thing for me, so I’m happy with the experience.

No, it was not just one long episode.. the structure is a little different (though the formula is as strong as evar (blegh)) The characters are a bit more mature, and have lives outside each other (unless you count the sehks).. and .. they aren’t FBI (they are just consulting).

Yes, it does FEEL like X-files.. up until the very end.. there is a twist that I noticed, which amused me, but.. yeah.. it’s pretty damn atypical..

No, it is not an offensive twist at the end, but it IS somewhat surprising.. In a kinda.. Hmm.. Weird.. sort of a way.

It is worth seeing, but pay VERY close attention to the fine details for some easter eggs. I.E. Read Fox’s Cell-Phone display! Read it! Read it!

If you LOVE the creepy scaryness of the X-files…. You might hate it.. If you HATE the romance and drama… you might hate it…

The ONE (well, two maybe) spoiler: (to protect some of you) is behind the cut..

Rating:

Read the rest of this entry »

SQUEE!!!!!!!!  Gimmie!  Only 115 more days and I will have EVERY Penny I need to see it!  Go check it out, this is going to be wild.

Last week’s question asked:

“Wise man say forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza” was coined in what film?

The answer was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Congratulations to everyone who answered correctly.

Your question this week is:

Which film did not feature a song PERFORMED by Queen?

1. Revenge of the Nerds
2. Flash Gordon
3. Moulin Rouge
4. Highlander

There’s your trivia dose for the week. Think you have the answer, leave it in the comments. Remember, just because IMdB is available doesn’t mean you should use it. :D  I’ll post the answer with next week’s question.

Most .. Offensive .. Movie .. E-FREAKIN’_VAR!!!

This Movie was the most hilarious thing I’ve seen in years.. and YES. It was so VERY, VERY offensive. But, that seems to be the point.

It’s the heart - Warming? Chilling? Tale of two Irish friends who discover the wild, lucrative world of gay prostitution in London. Much to their dismay, however, guys in the community keep turning up dead. Dead, dead, dead, dead, gay, and dead. However, it is after one of these deaths that the boys learn of a mythical treasure stashed away somewhere - a treasure they intend to seize for themselves.

Did I mention that this movie is offensive? Oh yes. It is. It WILL offend. But that’s the point. Now, I can hear you, bleeding hearts now.

“But, why would we want to watch a movie that will OFFEND us, Nick? Life should be all roses and posies and Unicorns farting rainbows! La La Laaa! Please pass the Prozac. Thinking hurts my fragile little brain. la La Laaaaa!”

Sometimes, you gotta be offended, and sometimes, you gotta be shown YOU are offensive. This movie takes social, racial, sexual, biological, phallic, biological and all KINDS of other stereotypes and preconceptions, mixes them up in a big huge blender of Yikes, and pours you a nice, tall glass of:

Open Your Freakin’ Eyes

With a chaser of:

Get The Hell Over Yourself

It’s Brilliant.

My complaints about the movie: Why did they stop the Greek chorus?! Those ladies were PERFECT! See, there were these three old ladies - grandma’ like - sitting on a bench, and they would occasionally overhear and talk to each other about snippits of the heroes’ conversations. We see them about thrice, and really only in the first half of the movie, but then never again! I wanted more! more more more old grandma talking about the trials and tribulations of sodomy and oral schmecks.

In some scenes, it seemed like the actors didn’t want to raise their voices.. even though they SHOULD be shouting at each other.. so there was a decidedly “high-school drama” feel to a couple scenes.

I didn’t care too much for the resolution of the “Nine Dead Gay Guy” countdown. It felt a bit rushed. And, I almost puked during that one scene… You’ll know which one I’m talking about.

I was personally annoyed by how f-wordy all the gay regulars were.. but then I realized.. DUH that’s the POINT. Unfortunately, there’s NOT much re-watch value, imho. It gets laughs from the shocks it delivers, and once we realize that we’re shocked because we’re being faced with our own world misconceptions, it loses its edge. On a second viewing, one could get to thinking, “Yes, we know, not all black men are enormously hung. Yes, I get it, a Dwarf is not an M-word, and they don’t all have 3.5″ dangers. Yes, okay, not all Jewish men are like that.” However, on that first watch through, there were a couple of moments where I found myself feeling dirty and guilty because, Yeah, I *DID* happen to think that about X kinda’ person, and WOW, I really DO have some streaks of prejudice that need to be cleaned up.

Now, this movie is NOT a porno.. There are no willies to be seen (except the latex and vinyl kind) Though, there are a few dude butts. There’s a good deal of language, especially in the asides and voice overs. And.. well.. adult themes out the wazoo. If you can laugh at yourself, it’s a good flic. If, uh, you’re not gay.. then it might not do much of anything for you.. except on the “We’re not all like this, realize your own prejudices and let them go away, please.”

When I watched this movie, I got the distinct feeling that THIS is what the world thinks we are like. We’re not. And that’s the point.

I’d give it top ranks, but technically, it needed some tightening up.

So …

Rating:

P.s. Oh yeah.. and EEEEW Gross gross gross gross gross! They take EVERY potentially erotic moment and just DESTROY it with grossness. I loved it!

Last week’s question asked:

Who played the Secretary of Defense in the 2007 release of Transformers?

The answer was Jon Voight.  Congratulations to everyone who answered correctly.

Your question this week is:

“Wise man say forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza” was coined in what film?

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2. I was a Teenage Werewolf
3. Mean Girls
4. Cheaper by the Dozen

There’s your trivia dose for the week. Think you have the answer, leave it in the comments. Remember, just because IMdB is available doesn’t mean you should use it. :D  I’ll post the answer with next week’s question.

Okay.

So, it’s pretty rare that a movie comes along and offends me so thoroughly as to keep me up at nights. These rare few cinematic abominations go right on my “you’re a schmuck if you enjoyed this movie” list.

Well, okay, so no, you’re not necessarily a schmuck if you loved one or more of the films on my list of detestation. But, I might look at you funny when you back is turned. Maybe throw a soda cap at your head and then play innocent when you look around for who threw it.

But, not a coke cap. Those are valuable.

Anyway.

Stardust is absolutely, positively, without any doubt in my mind - NOT one of these movies.

I expected a dumb, little romance about a guy and a girl and yadda yadda hetero icky tuh kissing and bla bla bla with magic and froo froo and witches and .. flying things. I thought it was gonna be cute and fun at best.

OOOOoooh boy.. was I * EVER * wrong. Okay, most of the time, beautiful parts in movies make me get all choked up and squirt out a couple tears and stuff. And, while this movie HAD plenty of beautiful moments, I never got choked up. I don’t know why, really – probably because it never poked at any of my deep-rooted emotional scars. * emo moment *

Somebody play some The Cure, eh?

Anyway. Stardust is a romance. True. It’s *thinks* cliché and yeah, a little bit predictable as far as the grand scope of things go, and it’s fantasy, so SURE, there’s a little it of a deus ex machina. However- The devil is in the details. It’s the cute little, unexpected twists that brought this movie to life for me.

Sheeit! More than brought it to life! Made me freakin’ squirm with glee! It’s AWESOME! OOOOOH my god and that last sword fight .. is .. AWESOME!!!!

I am thinking of having some friends over and watching it again before sending it back to Netflix. I advise you to get your hands on a copy of it.

Loyalty, Honor, and what True Love is all about. It’s a fantastic movie

Rating: