The Good Wife 7x08 "Restraint" Review

-SPOILERS BELOW-

I was so happy that we finally got a Diane-centric episode. It’s really been long overdue. I just hate that she is continually having to fight against what she believes in. It’s really a shame that we haven’t seen her smile in a while. Ethan Carver and Reese Dipple should let Diane go back to her old ways, then maybe she wouldn’t have as many negative altercations with the judges. I would love to see her argue a case where her clients aren’t asking to transfer to Alicia, even though Alicia is becoming a very accomplished free-lance lawyer.

I really loved seeing Grace taking charge in this episode. I thought it was very innovative of her to find the recording of office noise online and then play that on as many computers in the house that she could find. If I was a potential client, I certainly would’ve thought that I was getting involved with a very busy law firm. Well done on your part, Grace. With all this work she’s been doing for her mom, I didn’t think it was out of the ordinary for her to ask for a set amount of payment. It’s only fitting since Alicia and Lucca are going to be asking for more money for their services from clients.

Something I felt that was quite unnecessary was the kiss between Courtney and Eli. I thought Courtney was going to be a character that would be off the show soon and I don’t think she’s a good match for Eli. I really don’t know how I feel about the relationship but I hope they don’t create a story arc out of it. I do want Eli to be happy, but I don’t think that a relationship for him at this point and time is the right thing. I wish they would stop creating these small relationships with new characters. They have other characters with established relationships, like Kurt and Diane, who haven’t gotten a chance to shine this season.

I don’t like where some things are going but I like some of the directions they are going in. The core, original cast needs a solid story arc that doesn’t always lead back to Alicia. It’s a bit silly of me to complain about too much focus on a main character, but I just really feel like they aren’t exploring some potentially great storylines and arcs. 

Thoughts on the Hunger Games Franchise

With the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 tonight and the end of an era slowly approaching, it only seems right to share my thoughts on this franchise that I love to death (pun intended).

The Hunger Games first came into my life in 7^th grade. I have my 7^th grade LA teacher to thank for my obsession with this franchise. It baffles me to think that without having read the first book in class, I might have never read it at all. Around this time, the first installment of the movie adaptations was released. When seeing this the first time, I thought it was an amazing adaptation. Looking back, I see how flawed the first film is. Gary Ross is heavily to blame for this. With his directing style, I feel we lost major characters, plot points, and even some character quirks. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the first film. The casting was absolutely fantastic and really upheld the wonder that Suzanne Collins had written. I love how they took what she wrote and added their own spins to their characters, like Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket.

Catching Fire is my favorite film of the franchise thus far. I thought it was a very faithful adaptation and really stood out to me through every aspect. There are just too many great scenes! I think Catching Fire was such a success due to the switch in the director’s chair. The franchise benefitted greatly due to the switch from Gary Ross to Francis Lawrence. It may seem a little out there to say, but I think his vision and direction for this film resulted in a perfect adaptation. I am so glad he went on to direct the rest of the films. This is my favorite cast from the 4 movies, hands down. Once again, perfect casting. I really love that over the course of two movies, they started to build a subtle relationship between Haymitch and Effie. I usually don’t like when things are heavily changed, but this one works so well. I really have no complaints about this movie. The arena is spectacular, the CGI looks very believable, and everything just meshes together so perfectly.

Elizabeth making fans scream.

Katniss or Jennifer?

Same, Effie, same. 

Of course, Finnick. 

Last, but not least, we end with the 2-part finale of this wonderful franchise that I have grown up with. Though Mockingjay Part 1 is not my favorite, and Mockingjay was my least favorite book in the franchise, the movie was still so amazing. The fact that they were able to make an entire movie that doesn’t end in 24 tributes stuck in an arena and have almost the entire thing take place in an underground bunker without losing the attention of the audience is simply amazing. It just proves how very interesting and compelling this story is. I can’t wait for Part 2!

There’s one last thing I’d like to touch on. The subtle symbolism in this franchise just fills me with joy. There are 2 specific examples of symbolism that stand out the most to me. The first being the TEAM motif that is spread throughout each book and movie. The way Suzanne Collins was able to engineer character names to display this is amazing to me and also very innovative. 

Trinket, Everdeen, Abernathy, Mellark 

The second being the relationship between Katniss and President Snow. We’ve always known Katniss as the Girl on Fire who always finds a way to foil the plans of President Snow, and eventually is there for his downfall. So, how is this symbolic? Fire always melts Snow. 

Enough said, right? 

Her Heart Grew Three Sizes That Day

Today is a very special day to me. It is the 15^th Anniversary of the live-action remake of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I can’t believe it’s already 15 years old, and I’ve only been aware of it for about half of that time. Nothing makes me happier than to watch it on TV every December. It only seems appropriate that this would be one of the movies that holds a very special place in my heart. This is because Christmas has always been my favorite time of year and green has always been my favorite color. It almost seems too good to be true, but I love it so much.

It all started in 4^th grade, at least that’s my earliest memory. Something clicked in my young mind after watching it that particular time, making it my second favorite movie of all time. After that day, it became an obsession. That obsession has never left me. I’ve seen it a countless number of times now (I wish I knew the exact number, that would make me really happy), enough that I have the entire thing memorized from start to finish. I can also pinpoint the time-stops of certain scenes. When it is shown on ABC Family, I know when most of the commercial breaks will come due to the sheer amount of times I’ve watched it on TV. Despite all of this, I never get tired of watching it. In fact, when the credits roll, I almost want to watch the whole thing over again.

I now own several pieces of merchandise and memorabilia from both the movie and the cartoon. It may seem a bit excessive, but I own the movie on VHS, two copies on DVD, and the soundtrack. I feel you can never have enough of a good thing. The DVDs are quite special to me because of the long list of special features that are explored. I love behind the scenes featurettes and I love to learn about the creative process. I also felt the commentary done by Ron Howard was very informative and I learned a lot that I didn’t know. Every time I watch the movie, I spot something new.

So, just why do I love this movie so much? Well, it’s simple, it just makes me really happy. I don’t know how else to describe it. This is also the movie where I discovered my favorite actress, Christine Baranski. It’s still my favorite movie she’s ever been in and just another reason to love it. I consider this movie to be a holiday classic and I would recommend it to anyone. 

The Good Wife 7x07 "Driven" Review

-SPOILERS BELOW-

I found myself becoming bored with this episode. I think it was greatly attributed to the fact that the episode aired almost an hour late, yet again, due to the football game. Despite being tired and wanting to go to sleep, I watched the episode anyway.

I felt like they had some really cocky clients this week. The case about a car that can operate without a driver’s assistance causing an accident seemed like something that could very well happen. I know driverless cars are being invented and will probably make their way onto the streets sometime in the near future. Seeing that there was texting, dozing off at the wheel, and possible hacking to the driverless car, I felt that both parties were guilty in some way for the accident. I felt there was a lot of tension that was awakened by those involved with this case.

It absolutely broke my heart when Alicia walked into the conference room. Seeing Diane and Cary completely shocked to see Alicia working against them was hard to watch. I could feel my stomach drop. I just hate to see these three former colleagues pinned against each other by the very work that brought them together. I know Alicia doesn’t want to feel like there is a higher power controlling her, I get that, but it still pains me to know that what happened in the past is going to stay in the past. Then you throw Louis Canning back into this boiling pot and things become more heated.

I really feel like Louis is up to something. He is continually finding clients to hand over to Alicia, and now Lucca. I don’t know if these are good intentions, or a plot for her downfall. Maybe he just wants to sweeten up to her so he can potentially get her to partner with him. I think they both know that Diane and Cary are a force to be reckoned with and I think Canning may see a similar potential between Alicia and himself.

Nothing having to do with Alicia’s love life is appealing to me. I think she’s much better off by herself, without a man. The fact that she still has to pretend to be happily married and in love with Peter for the greater good of his campaign is ridiculous. I did not enjoy the, to keep it clean, bedroom scene with the two of them. It’s just awkward knowing that Alicia doesn’t love him, and he knows that, but they still fool around. I hope this isn’t the path she will take with Jason. It’s almost sad to see that Alicia has given up caring about everything. 

ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas

ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas is the even that I look forward to the most every year. It is the highlight of December for me. The thought of being able to watch a Christmas movie every day and night for 25 days straight makes me so giddy. I just love the holiday season and Christmas is my favorite time of year. I get so excited when they finally release the schedule and start showing promos for Countdown.

Although I’m extremely excited, I have to admit that I’m not as happy with this year’s schedule as I was with schedules from past years. I think last year’s schedule was the best for the movies that I enjoy watching the most, plus I think the promos they showed for the movies were amazing and got me really hyped. I feel like this year does not have a fair and equal distribution for all the movies. Though, I do wish even some movies that get a lot of air time would get even more. This is because I’m one of those people that can watch a movie over and over and will still beg to watch it again.

2014 Schedule

As you probably know if you’ve seen some of my other posts, my favorite Christmas movie is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This movie alone is why I love this month-long event so much. It kind of angers me that it is only being aired 7 times this year. I say this because other well-known favorites, like Elf, are being aired 12 times. I get that Elf is the more current movie of the two, but do they really have to almost phase out some of the classics? I’m not knocking Elf, in fact I love it, but my love for How the Grinch Stole Christmas is astronomically higher.

One of the reasons I look forward to its airings is because somehow ABC Family was able to gain access to the director’s cut of the movie. Some of the deleted scenes didn’t even make it onto the DVD release. Though this does make the flow of the movie more choppy, I love seeing cut footage (and I surely don’t mind my favorite getting a longer runtime). The scenes were cut for good reason, but they sure are a lot of fun (and can be found at the end of the video below).

Overall, I can’t wait for December. I will be tuning in on December 1^st to start Christmas early with The Grinch, of course. 

The Art of the Love Triangle

Love triangles are nothing new. Films, television, and theatre are all known for using them as a plot device. Personally, I love a good love triangle and tend to lean towards stories that contain one. They tend to lead to some juicy conflicts within the plot of their story. I’ve found that some people find them annoying or unneeded, but I think they provide some great material. I usually prefer the love triangles that are centered on two guys fighting over a girl.

One of the most current and popular of this type of love triangle is Katniss, Peeta, and Gale from the Hunger Games trilogy. I really love this love triangle and I feel that it is up there with the love triangles that cause the most controversy and divide between fans. Personally, I support Katniss and Peeta. I’ve supported this pairing ever since I read the first book. As for Gale, I never really liked his character to begin with. Since this triangle originated from a book trilogy, they have had time to change and grow.  This being said, my stance did not change. This particular love triangle is interesting because Katniss has shared many a kiss with both Peeta and Gale. This could cause confusion to ensue for those who do not know the outcome of the triangle. I’m extremely that this triangle went in the direction that I wanted it to.

Another love triangle takes a different approach. In Corpse Bride there is a triangle that is the opposite of what I’d mentioned previously. This love triangle consists of Victor, Emily, and Victoria. I have talked about this triangle in a previous post, but I’d like to go a little more in depth with my stance. Personally, I support Victor being with Emily. Sadly, this love triangle did not go in my favor. I think this triangle is wonderful even though it didn’t end up like I wanted. The fact that Emily sacrifices herself so that Victor can be with Victoria is both heartbreaking and beautiful. I love that Emily’s love for Victor is what eventually set her free. In a way, my hopes weren’t completely shattered because Emily lives on in Victor’s heart.

I saved my favorite love triangle for last. I’ve talked about this triangle in a previous post as well, but this is a triangle that I’ll never run out of things to say about it. It consists of Grinch, Martha May, and Augustus from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This love triangle goes back to the first type of triangle I talked about. This triangle was always in favor of what I wanted. I think Grinch and Martha are such a beautiful paring. Though, this particular triangle is unique. It isn’t often that a point in the triangle completely causes the entire thing to collapse. In this case, Augustus was the cause of a divide between the resulting paring, twice. Augustus is such an awful character, you could say he gets a “loathe entirely” from me. This love triangle carries a tremendous weight of a sad backstory on its shoulders. Because of this, the outcome is that much more rewarding and satisfying. When Martha finally stands up for Augustus and tells everyone who she really loves, my heart just swells with joy. This love triangle has the largest impact on me out of all of them. 

The Good Wife 7x06 "Lies" Review

-SPOILERS BELOW-

This episode was just full of more bickering. I feel like every episode this season has contained some sort of bickering between the characters. The only compromise that seemed to be met was between Eli and Ruth. Personally, I don’t like that Peter announced that he is running for president. I just feel like it’ll be a disaster if he does end up winning the election. His scandal when running for governor was bad enough. If he wins, that means that Alicia will become the first lady. That’s just not going to work at all. I think everything was better back in the first season when Peter was in jail and Alicia was still a first year associate at the firm.

I was really annoyed with the whole deal with Diane, Cary, Howard, and David. I understand that they want some fresh faces around the office, but do they really have to fight about it so much? I felt it was completely right for them to kick Howard out of their meeting due to him not even being a name partner. Plus, some of the comments he was making about the possible associates were a little questionable. I wish Cary and Diane would stop getting in arguments over the littlest things and learn to be a working pair that can choose the best direction for the firm.

When everyone was interviewing Monica, I liked her. I thought Diane handled the interview very well. But when it turned out that she didn’t get the job and Diane had to tell her the news, things went south. I was very unhappy when Monica blew up at Diane. I thought Diane’s offer to Monica on giving her help on anything was very gracious. The fact that Monica recorded the whole thing and then made a negative video about the partners about only hiring young, white men was something I found to be very unprofessional.

My interest in Jason greatly died down after this episode. Learning the further details about his criminal past really got me to rethink about him and his workings with Alicia and Lucca. I laughed so hard when the phone tappers came back. They brought a lot of laughs with them in previous seasons, so it was nice to see their antics again. I was so entertained by the fact that they ended the episode with one of the phone tappers showing his colleague a goat-remix of “I Will Always Love You.” 

Inside Out Review

I’m a little late to the party on this one. I was not able to see Inside Out when it first came out in theaters. Watching it today was my first time watching it. Just a warning, I will mention a few spoilers.

In typical Pixar fashion, I knew this movie was going to turn on the waterworks. They did not disappoint with this one. I knew I was going to enjoy this movie just by the characters. An emotional movie about emotions? Now, that has to be good. I thought the emotions themselves were great characters. I had some first impressions of the emotions set in very soon. Joy kind of got on my nerves due to her mentality of being the leader of the group who has all the answers. Sadness just seemed like a total screw up to me at first because she kept turning core memories from happy to sad. Disgust is just great and is very relatable. Anger and his witty humor and short fuse is very entertaining. Fear is very fun as well.

As for Riley and her family, I thought they were great too. I loved seeing Riley’s progression and the inner workings of her mind and personality. The one thing this movie gets a whole lot of credit for is how creative and clever it is. It is so colorful and imaginative. I loved the touch that was added about how several memories can be created in a given moment while experiencing different emotions. I felt bad for Riley the entire movie. I’ve never had to move to a different state or even considered running away from home due to being unhappy, but I certainly felt all of the emotions that Riley was feeling. You could say this movie is a trip down memory lane.

My favorite character was definitely Bing Bong. He is just so lovable! I think I had the strongest connection to him because I had an imaginary friend myself when I was younger. I loved all of his mannerisms and wacky personality. I believe he even had the boot from Wall-E in his little pouch. At times, I felt he paralleled Lotso from Toy Story 3. His departure from the movie was when I absolutely lost it. Seeing him sacrifice himself so Joy could get back to Headquarters to save Riley left me completely heartbroken. I was thoroughly hoping that he would come back towards the end of the film, but to no avail. Even after the movie had ended, I still felt the urge to shed a tear.

One thing that bothered me throughout the movie was that Joy had blue hair. All of the other emotions have a signature color, but Joy broke this pattern. I wondered, she’s yellow, so how come she isn’t blonde or something? After the movie ended and I’d walked away for a while, it dawned on me. Blue is Sadness’ signature color, so why would Joy be sporting a blue ‘do? I concluded that it was because Riley needed to feel sadness in order to feel joy. I never would’ve thought colors would be such a large metaphor. Well done, Pixar, well done. 

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Remember, remember, the 5th of November; the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.

Ever heard of this quote? If you haven’t, you probably haven’t seen V for Vendetta. I think this movie is a masterpiece that deserves more attention. Personally, I haven’t read the DC comic book that was the inspiration for the movie. Despite this, I still love the world that was created through the cinematic universe.

I saw this movie on accident while at a friend’s house. I was in middle school at the time and was really excited because this friend owned the game, Spore. While I was downstairs playing the game, I heard my friend’s sister say that they were going to watch The Exorcist. I certainly wasn’t going to watch that, considering that I don’t do well with horror movies. They ended up not watching it, but watching V for Vendetta instead. I went upstairs because they said that the pizza had arrived. The movie had been on for a while, so I came in late. I was intrigued by what I was seeing, so I stayed. I stayed until the end of the movie and loved it. It would a few years later before I’d see the movie in its entirety.

I think this movie is very compelling. This movie has some very interesting characters. My favorite thing about the movie is the growing relationship between V and Evey. I love that he recuses her, tells her she has to stay with him for a year, she doesn’t want to confide, and then she ends up bonding with him and helping him. They are such a beautiful pair and I love how they learn from each other.

V is such a mysterious character. I love that he dresses in all black, has a cape, and wears his signature Guy Fawkes mask all the time. His backstory is so sad, but he is a survivor and does not let his burns stand in his way. I love the scene when V is cooking breakfast for Evey, with his gloves off, and she walks in and is startled by what she sees. It’s so humorous when he just puts his gloves back on like nothing happened. It’s also so cute to me that he cooks, and cooks very well.  Evey is a great character as well. I love that she is a rebel and sees the good in V’s otherwise heinous crimes, enough to assist him. Her dynamic works incredibly well with V. 

The Good Wife 7x05 "Payback" Review

-SPOILERS BELOW-

I really enjoyed this episode. I liked that there was quite a bit of character development happening. When the last episode ended, it seemed pretty clear that Alicia and Lucca would start working together outside of bond court. I think they work very well as a pair. I just wish Alicia could’ve done this with Diane instead of Lucca. Having Alicia working out of her apartment and taking any case she can get didn’t seem like a plot line that was going to work out, but I think it is so far. I still really enjoy that Grace is working for her mother as her assistant, and tries very hard to bring in as much money as she can.

I’ve felt bad for Eli ever since Peter fired him, but this episode hurt all the more. It was great to see Marissa back. It was nice to see her concerned for her dad’s wellbeing. I was shocked when she went to Alicia and asked her to tell her dad that she doesn’t need him anymore. I know she just wanted her dad to get his mind off of his whole situation with Peter and everything, but it was just so hard to watch Alicia tell him to find work elsewhere with a straight face.

As for Jason, he’s growing on me. I still don’t like that he is being turned into the “new Kalinda” just because he is an investigator that can use scare tactics to get what he wants for a client. I’m still not over the fact that he behaves in such a parallel manner to Kurt (who has still has not even gotten a mention this season.) His charm is definitely working, but he shouldn’t be the main focus. I still don’t know how I feel about the fact that he is slowly becoming Alicia’s new love interest.

I am so sick of Howard Lyman. His 1 episode absence is over and the antics still ensue. I agree that it was wrong for Howard to mention to a client that Cary has been to jail and cause speculation with this client, but why did it have to add fuel to the fire? I wish they would drop the whole subplot of Howard threatening to sue the firm because of the ageist remarks that he continues to deal with. All it’s providing is useless material for Diane and Cary. Diane continually has to play referee for the 2 “kids she has to babysit” and she shouldn’t have to do that. The whole sensitivity exercise was comical to say the least. How does wearing cardboard glasses, putting a cotton ball up your nostril, and walking around with loose corn in your shoes simulate old age? I really think it’s ridiculous and I wish Howard would stop guilt-tripping his way around with people and just leave. Other than that, enjoyable episode.