Goodnight and Goodbye, Coco

As I'm watching the last Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, tears of sadness are sneaking out of the corners of my eyes. I can't believe this is the last time I'm going to fall asleep with Conan on in the background (or is it?), as I've done every week night since he took over a too-short, seven months ago. I'm going to miss: the "the Fonz" and "Tom Cruise"; La Bamba; Andy; Conan's emo Vampire intern-who always hilariously runs out into the sunlight and burns to a crisp when his 'emo'tions get the best of him; in the year 3000 bits; the Universal Studios tour tram stop; and countless other bits that made me smile before I drifted off into dreamland.

I've been a fan of Conan's since he was a writer on SNL and The Simpson's 20 years ago. I stayed up many nights in the past 16 years, way past my bedtime to catch the first 10 or 20 minutes of Late Night. So of course "I'm with Coco!"...

Okay. Sappy time over. Now the rant...Have NBC executives lost their flippin' minds? I realize that they have new owners and the network is DYING due to their past mismanagement, but to jeopardize the future and integrity of the Tonight Show for some short, very short, term gains, is insanity. Did they think this through? Answer: NO! Jay Leno's tenure is over, period. Bringing him back for what should hopefully be only one or two years is just insane. They made a commitment to Conan who has patiently waited over 16 years to have his dream job and they pissed all over that commitment. Who do they have to take over for Jay when he's really done? Jimmy Fallon? Carson Daly? Are they going to try to steal Jimmy Kimmel from ABC, who I also love and have been a fan of since his days as Jimmy the Sports Guy on KROQ, but he has lower ratings than Conan. It's a travesty that NBC gave Conan very little time to grow his audience. Leno had low ratings and lost to Letterman his first few years, until the Hugh Grant, post-scandal interview, tuned viewers in.

When Jay Leno finally does the right thing and really retires, I hope NBC gets on it's knees and begs Conan to come back. Then he'll have the last laugh when he is winning the 11:00 hour while hosting on FOX or wherever he ends up.

As I'm listening to Conan's final remarks, I'm struck by the class and appreciation he is showing to the very unclassy NBC. Now I'm really crying...Goodnight Coco.

Fangirl Status in Jeopardy Over Avatar

Oh no! I think my fangirl status may be in jeopardy thanks to Avatar. I saw the film last night with my friend, Jen. We went to the 3D Imax experience, we didn't go cheap, but even with the 'experience', I left the viewing feeling like it was pretty good, but not great... Not like Star Wars great, or the Dark Knight great, or even Star Trek (2009) great...or, 'gulp', Titanic great. Yes.I.liked.Titanic.better...What does that say about me and my fangirl membership? Or is it the film? This isn't anything personal against James Cameron. I very much enjoy his films, and I feel he tells a good story, but doesn't necessarily write a good story. He directs films well, but usually doesn't direct actors well.
So if it wasn't a dislike of JC, then why did Avatar not 'thrill' me? My first reaction was that it was missing that all important, indescribable 'magic'. I'm very fond of magic, if you couldn't tell by my other posts. Avatar was missing something...now it wasn't missing anything visually, it just seemed like a typically good vs. evil story told on a very interesting planet. I guess that is one of my issues, we don't get into enough of what Pandora is. I know. Jim is saving that for the sequel, but I really would've rather seen 2 hours and 42 minutes of the Na'vi and Pandora than the 35 minute battle at the end that was like pretty much every other loud movie I've seen. Please- don't think that I'm about to compare JC with Michael Bay, the evil of all directors, no way. JC is truly a genus, in the areas I mentioned above and has actual talent.
As far as the story goes, I had trouble buying into the belief that the military really needed to strike an offensive against the Na'vi. They had already destroyed the Hometree and could mine all the Unobtanium (dumbest name for an element, ever, okay- that's nitpicking) that they wanted. Jen said that it was the general's ego that was behind his orders to strike an offensive against the Na'vi. It just seemed unnecessary to me for about 20 minutes and that didn't add to my enjoyment of the film. At times I felt like I had missed something important, it was like watching a book adaption where the film leaves out some explanations expecting the audience to already know important details. For example, it would have been nice to have one line where someone explained about the Na'vi communicators around their necks. Did I miss a scene, was that explained? I did see early in the film when Dr. Augustine used her necklace to communicate with Jake, but I keep thinking that a one line explanation could've been added, much like when Obi-Wan introduces Luke to the lightsaber. Other unexplained details: What do the people of Earth need Unobtanium for? Exactly how did Neytiri's lame explanation to the other Na'vi to keep Jake alive convince them to do so? Did the Na'vi's notice when Jake would leave his Avatar and go back to his human body? At times, he seemed to be human for a long time, and it was light out, so do the Na'vi sleep during the day and for 14 hours? These are some of the questions that came to me when watching...and unless a film is a book adaption, I don't really enjoy watching a film with that many unanswered questions.
I'm also convinced that seeing 25 minutes of the film at Comic-Con last summer really couldn't have helped. My expectations were pretty high going in, and since I've waited five weeks since it opened, I guess I was sure it had to be Titanic good or else it wouldn't be making Titanic money. Walking out of Comic-Con I told a reporter who had stopped me for a quote about the footage I saw, and I told him that the film was going to change the way we watch movies. After seeing the entire film, I still agree with that statement. I think that Jim Cameron has upped the stakes for the quality of 3D and CGI. Unfortunately, I think that Avatar's success has also solidified our collective forgiveness of mediocre story telling and plot holes.
Jen says we need to go see it again, she is convinced our off center aisle seats, didn't give us the full viewing experience. I'm sure she is right in this case because Avatar is all about the visuals. So I guess my point is- If Avatar is truly a great film, wouldn't the story have made up for the short comings of my seat location?

Open Letter to Catherine Hardwick

Dear Catherine Hardwick,
Please stop directing movies...stat! After viewing Chris Weitz's New Moon, I must insist that you please. Stop. Now. Watching Twilight for the first time, a year ago, I was disappointed leaving the theater, but then got over it because it was, well you know, TWILIGHT, so I had to like it or else my whole world would have collapsed as I put so much of myself into everything related to Twilight. After seeing New Moon, I feel like I can now officially scream, TWILIGHT SUCKED! You know why...because of you. New Moon had the same actors, screenwriter, producers and studio as your film and you know what? It DOES NOT SUCK! Guess it must be you. I'm sure if you could defend yourself you would cite the lack of budget as the reason your movie was horrendous. Well the budget was not much larger for this film and yes, it may have all went into special effects, but I'm thinking if you had not been a hack and in the hands of a good director, the film would have worked. Chris Weitz has prior special effect experience which is a huge plus and a genius move on Summit's part to get him on board for the second film. Looking back, why Summit hired you in the first place is such a mystery to me. At the time, I guess they were only going for the teen romance angle and didn't think a bunch of teens would care about the effects and if you could handle them. Well Summit was wrong, and now we have to live with the God awful results that will forever be Twilight, the movie. Walking out of New Moon my first thought was, "can they remake Twilight with another director?" I know this will never happen, mostly because the actors wouldn't go there again and it would be unprecedented. If by some miracle this did happen, you would deserve the embarrassment, sorry but true. You took a beloved work and hacked into a million cheesy pieces and I will never forgive you for it. I truly hope we have seen the last of your work, please say Bye-Bye to your directing career and go back to set design or whatever you did before you thought you could direct a watchable film.
Signed,
One Truly Pissed Off Twi-hard

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince = Disappointing

Guess what Warner Brothers? Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince is no The Dark Knight...but you knew that and you knew that it would make good money in 2009, as good as it would have made in 2008, in spite of the fact that HBP is only half the film TDK was. I would have rather been disappointed last November then now, 8 months later. What a drag! My first words when the movie ended was "what a downer". I know that's what the book was like, but jeez, you couldn't have ended on some positive note? So many other things were changed, you couldn't have given us some reason to get excited for the final pair of films?
I felt this movie was the opposite of TDK. That movie was quickly edited and story heavy in the first half which was semi-difficult to follow. However, the last 60-90 minutes of TDK was perfect, a 10 in my opinion. HBP started out okay- I really liked the look to the film, it didn't feel like every other Potter film. But- after the burrow scene, the film just seemed to be one disappointment after another. The burrow scene was a let down- why was it there? We've been told it was to show that the Death Eaters were reeking havoc on both muggles and wizards, but Harry and Ginny never got to confront or duel with Fennir and Bellatrix, so what was the point? To scare Harry...for some reason?
Then the kiss in the room of requirement was a let down too. Harry got more out of Cho when they made out in Order of the Phoenix, and Ginny was totally hot and heavy with Dean earlier in HBP, but we only get a quick peck for our super-couple? WTH!
After those let downs, now we move onto the cave scene, that has to be awesome, right? Wrong! The cave was beautifully photographed and staged, but he Inferi were not scary enough and the scene seemed to end rather quickly...and boring like.
Okay now things are going to ramp up for the final scenes, or, not. What a huge mistake to cut out the first battle of Hogwarts. This film needed it, badly. I know that the David's (Heyman and Yates) said that they didn't want to repeat, and have two battle of Hogwarts since there is one in Deathly Hallows, but the books did, so why not the films? Another problem with the ending was the Snape business. I was out when he hushed Harry on top of the astronomy tower. Why did they have to change that scene so much? Why couldn't Harry have put on the cloak as he did in the book? Why did Snape see him and hush him? What was the point? I will admit that the Dumbledore parts in this scene were good: his delivery of "Severus, please" was just right; Malfoy disarming Dumbledore, which is totally necessary for the next two films, was perfect; and Dumbledore falling off the astronomy tower was a stunner (great slow motion shots).
Not as much love for the final Snape scene, it is cringe worthy. What a let down! I really respect Alan Rickman, but this was painful for me to watch.
Improves upon second viewing? I sure hope so...but I won't know until the DVD release, I refuse to spend more movie theater dollars on this one. If I wasn't so anal about having a complete DVD collection of the films, I would totally skip buying this one. Please David Yates, don't screw up Deathly Hallows!

Highlights of Comic-Con 2009

Why I love The Con, Transformers gotta eat!


First off a very big thank you to my fellow Twi-hards for your much improved behavior this year during the Summit panel on the first full day of Comic Con. The questions presented to the panel were far more interesting and relevant and you were more respectful; we could actually hear the very soft-spoken Rob Pattinson's responses this time around. I was pretending all morning that I was only camping out since 4:45 am for a glimpse of Tim Burton and the hope of all hopes that he brought along a special guest, but after the much improved behavior, I'm no longer ashamed to be a Twi-hard while at The Con.
The New Moon panel was for sure a highlight but it was not as awesome as the entire Disney presentation. Thankfully, Disney hired the very capable Patton Oswald to moderate and he was fantastic. I was such a squealing fangirl, even for Robert Zemeckis (I love Back to the Future & Forrest Gump). But the real screaming was during the highlight of day one, Tim Burton and his imaginary friend, Johnny Depp. I think two of the guys in front of me have permanent hearing damage now. It was kind of a bummer that they only brought the trailer for Alice in Wonderland and no extra Comic-Con special clips, but I'm not going to complain (can you believe it?) because it was awesome for them to just show up. The trailer looks amazing! It is classic Tim Burton: colorful, kooky, and magical.
The best fanboy moment of day one was by far when Jim Cameron walked out on stage. I loved the energy in the room from all the fanboys and the appreciation they had for him. I was so shocked when JC told us he had brought 25 minutes of footage from his upcoming film Avatar. I'm really wondering what kind of marketing idea this is, to show so much from the film when you know that it is going to be leaked on the internet about 30 minutes after the panel ends. I'm sure the buzz will be nothing but positive. I was blown away by the 3-D (which I'm not a fan of, as I'm not a fan of headaches) effects and the beautiful imagery in every scene. Sam Worthington doesn't look too bad either, hello! I wish he had been present for the panel afterward but he did send along a taped message. I was also blown away by how beautiful Sigourney Weaver is in real life.
After sitting in Hall H all day on Thursday it was nice to just walk the exhibit hall on day 2...Star Wars Day! I ran into a family of Mandalorians right off the bat. Where do they find the authentic looking baby suit? Guess you can get anything off the internet! While riding the escalator I spotted Han Solo and Boba Fett together about four steps below me and when they got to the bottom, Han adjusted Boba's helmet for him...must be true love! I didn't have the heart to tell Boba that one day Han will feed him to the Sarlacc (I know he escapes BTW, I do have Wookieepedia bookmarked). The best moment from day 2 is the one captured above. Where else can you see Transformers in line for food? I rode this high for hours. The crowds are a bummer but it's all part of the excitement and experience. I spent a lot of time in the Lucasfilm area, as the costumes the fans sported were just amazing.
I really liked the gaming area also this year, too bad most of the games seemed to be uberviolent or strictly for kids, but the layout was better than in the past.
For day 3 and 4...I stayed home! I know. I know. I fail as a fangirl! After driving back and forth for preview night and days 1 and 2; I just couldn't find the energy to make the drive one more time nor find the nerve to leave my kids with my super understanding husband one more day. Oh well, another successful year and I'm already looking forward to 2010!

Who Exactly are Michael Bay's Fans?

Aargh! I was back out on the IMDB Star Trek (2009) message boards last week and found a thread I just had to get into. Some guy had the nerve to suggest that if Michael Bay had directed Star Trek and it had been the same movie, it would have been panned because MB's name is on it, instead of JJ's. Is this guy serious? Of course the movie would have been panned, because it wouldn't have been the same! Duh! It would have been louder, cheesier, had an ending that was entirely in slow motion (for God only knows what purpose), and would have had one or two A list stars totally mis-cast.

How do I know so much about MB's movies, I've tortured myself by viewing at least two of them, and one, only yesterday. Flipping through the channels last night, I came upon Armageddon, a movie that didn't seem quite terrible the first time I viewed it in the theater back in 1998. But watching it again last night, I really had to try hard to not laugh, gag or be embarrassed for having it on at all. I came in about 40 minutes from the end, and wow, what a hunk of crap that movie is. I love Bruce Willis and man, I had a hard time looking at the TV every time he had to say his lines, I felt sorry for him. The worst was the montage when he died, ouch...that is the worst attempt at sympathy for characters from a director I've ever seen. Liv Tyler couldn't have been more bland after seeing her father die, and I have to give the credit for that to MB. The actors take their direction from the director, and that must have been his stroke of genius. I then sat through the super slow montage of various persons looking at the sky after the meteor is split in two. It reminded me of the end of Pearl Harbor, I can't bring myself to watch all of it, I saw who died and who she ended up with, and it seemed too forced...oh and it had another slow motion montage, what is up with that??!!

The other MB film I saw was The Rock. I had the pleasure of seeing this film in the theater while sitting only two rows from the screen. I've never come so close to throwing up in a theater. The editing and camera work was so poor, I couldn't follow the story, ha! I know, what story, but seriously, I was lost because I had to keep closing my eyes or else I would feel nauseous and lightheaded. Couldn't tell you if it had a slow motion montage at the end, I wasn't paying attention by then, I think I was trying to catch a nap.

One of the previews before Trek was for the upcoming Transformers sequel, and I turned to the husband after the preview ended and said "That movie is going to be loud, and nothing else, huh?". I know the fanboys are going to be crazy for this movie, but I have to abstain. I just can't support MB, I don't appreciate his style and I don't like his work, period.

I ended up posting to the thread on the Trek board with just a quick comment about how MB couldn't hold a film together the way Trek was held together, because he is a hack. Too harsh? Maybe. I just don't get it. Why does this guy have so many fans??

Go Back to Your Mom’s Basement for Another 40 Years

Aaargh!! I need to get off the Star Trek (2009) boards at IMDB. I cannot believe the amount of boneheads on that board who want to do nothing more than to snivel about their lost Trek cannon, the ruined timeline, the travesty of the destruction of Vulcan, and loads of other BS. GET OVER IT!! Geesh! The rest of us Star Wars babies are sick of hearing about how this Star Trek is too much like Star Wars…you know what? Star Wars is better, therefore this Trek ROCKED! That’s right; this was a Star Trek film that was actually good and entertaining! Get off your bloated high horse and enjoy the film for what it was…a good time at the movies.

A small part of me feels sorry for these people. I wish that they could’ve felt the same way I did when exiting the theater…joyous, exhilarated and ENTERTAINED! Isn’t that a big part of what a film is supposed to do? I left Trek feeling the same way I felt when I left Ironman a year ago, like I had just been entertained the hell out of for over two hours. Get over yourselves and your precious cannon...nobody cares!

Thanks for Nothing John Noe

Aaargh! Don’t you hate it when people disappoint you? I know it’s really my fault. I put unrealistic expectations on people, and so when they turn out to not meet those expectations, I end up completely disappointed. John Noe can’t help it that he let me down (or can he?)…I made him out to be an “expert” due to some stupid Podcast he happens to be on. Who is he anyway? Why did I give him so much power in my mind that I would be set up for such disappointment? I know it has to do with the fact that he is the person who introduced me to Twilight back in February of 2008. I’m sure I would have picked up the books eventually because six months later you couldn’t open a magazine or turn on the TV without being inundated with the fandom. But I’m proud of the fact that when I read the first book, I didn’t know that they were making a movie, I didn’t realize that there were hundreds of websites devoted to this series and that it was going to explode the way it did only a few short months later and I guess I’ve always credited John Noe with being the person who turned me on to my obsession before the pop culture Gods at Entertainment Weekly did. I’m proud to be a Twilight Original and it’s a big deal for me. John Noe is trying everything in his power to ruin that for me. Thanks for nothing!

Now I can’t even turn on an episode of one of John Noe’s podcasts without hearing him dig, rip, tear, or beat up Twilight and its fandom. I know I shouldn’t take it personally, he doesn’t even know me, but really? Do you have to show so much hate for something you gushed about only 13 months ago!! Do you even know how many people, like me; you probably turned on to the series, only to turn them off of YOU a year later?

I haven't clicked the unsubscribe button yet under Pottercast, but I'm very tempted. John's hatred has spilled over to the other hosts and when they all get in digs, boy, is that entertainment! Listening to sour grapes pop up every episode gets me all excited...not! To John Noe: Shut up about Twilight, get over it, and stick to Harry Potter!

The one bit of entertainment I have found in this mess is, listening to the rival Potter podcasters from Mugglecast- who also podcast about Twilight under Imprint, and happen to live with John (not to far from here)- discuss "someone" they know who turned on the Twilight series because of Renesmee's name and is clearly jealous about the explosion of the fandom and how it has taken press away from the Potter fandom. I enjoy listening to them in hopes that one day they let slip that it is John they are discussing. I'm pretty sure it is, at least I'm holding out hope that it is...just so I can make sense of why John Noe disappointed me.

It's a Movie, not the Frakkin' Beatles!

Aargh!! Went and saw the Twilight movie yesterday, twice. God help me, I should have stopped after the first viewing, but the second viewing date was set with the fellow Twi-hard sister-in-law, weeks in advance. And in my defense, I had a wonderful viewing experience in the early afternoon showing with fellow Twi-hard best friend, so how was I to know that the evening showing was going to be the most painful and God awful viewing experience since either The Lawnmower Man or Highlander 2, whichever came out the most recent.

Where do I start in regards to last night's showing: the pain of waiting in line for a movie I've already seen and didn't have to wait in line for earlier in the day; with the over 30 crowd who brought their significant others, by mistake; with the mom's who brought their 8 year old boys, by mistake; with the girls that would not shut up with the screaming, not by mistake; or with the inappropriate laughing, also, not by mistake.

The first showing was awesome- at my favorite theater (Big Newport), early afternoon, 20 people in the theater, quiet, respectful- an overall pleasant movie going experience (ignoring the fact that the movie disappointed upon first viewing).

The second showing was painful- at one of my least favorite theaters (Irvine Spectrum otherwise know as "the closets"); prime time; a sold out audience; loud-due to nonstop screaming; a very disrespectful crowd that talked and laughed continuously- an overall horrendous movie going experience (ignoring the fact that the movie actually improved upon second viewing).

Really, was it necessary for the tweens, teens, twenty somethings, and mom's (too!) to scream, at the top of their lungs every time one of the beloved vampires came into view? NO! But worse was the inappropriate laughing, yes the film was oozing cheese (thanks Catherine, BTW, your directing = horrible!), but did you all have to project your uncomfortable giggles to the point where they heard you two theaters over?! If I hadn't noted the "welcome to Irvine" sign driving up to the Spectrum, I would've sworn I was somewhere in the 909 (area code slang for the valley of the dirt people, or just Riverside to non-Southern Californians), the trailer park trash was that prevalent.

The movie is just a 6/10 and yes, I've already been to IMDb to log my vote, but the viewing experience for #2, was a -6/10. Thank you to every bonehead at the 8:00 viewing...it's an experience I'll regrettably never forget.

Did You Seriously Ask About His Underwear?

Aaargh! What the hell is up with certain Twilight Mom’s and why do certain fangirls insist on thoroughly embarrassing the rest of us? CHILL already women & girls!! I have never been more embarrassed to be a member of a fandom then I am, right now. I knew there was a reason that I have only visited the Twilight Mom’s site one time since joining this fandom, some of these women are crazy and need help. I know that I’m acting like an overgrown teen myself, by showing up at Comic Con, but I would NEVER have asked a 22 year old young man what kind of underwear he wore, boxers or briefs… that is wrong, on so many levels. I wish I had run into that woman so I could have had the opportunity to ask her what the hell she was thinking and give her the slap she so richly deserved! Really? Are you that deluded to think that you would look “cool” or “hip” to the youngsters in the fandom, or gasp, to the young man?! You just looked pathetic and OLD! And guess what? You are now forever immortalized on You Tube and your stupidity will be repeated over and over again until November 21st. Enjoy your 15 minutes of infamy, dumb ass!

Okay, now on to the screaming. Really, it was necessary? We couldn’t have just clapped or whistled or done something other than SCREAM! Rob is cute, yes, we all know it, and so didn’t you want to hear what he had to say…I WANTED TO! Goodnight!! How embarrassing for the rest of us, to be lumped in with a fandom full of screaming 12 year olds…oh wait, they weren’t there alone, the Twilight Mom’s were helping, the Twi-teens…about ½ of the room was testing out the acoustics…guess what, they amplify as they are meant to!! IDIOTS!! We’ll be the talk of this year’s Comic Con, for sure, but I doubt it will be in a positive light…next year, I’m sticking with Star Wars Day, at least that fandom doesn’t cause deafness.