True Blood 5×01-03

Beginning this post with a nice Estonia reference, yet again True Blood mentions this small country, this time regarding a vampire uprising that is taking place there. Well, good to know, because I now can stock up with some stakes. On a much realistic note, True Blood is bringing in more politics this season and lots of it.

I don’t really have to say that there are major spoiler ahead, right?

True Blood is a kind of show that has the perfect amount of entertainment mixed with blood and sex. Sadly, it does have the tendency to have way too many characters and a lot of them are forgotten time to time. Such situations happen when there is too much going on with the main cast including Sookie, Bill and Eric. They are the trio that are driving the show but I am slightly seeing a change in this pattern after first three episodes of season 5. It seems that the focus is now more or less divided in between other characters and there is less and less of Sookie. I assume it is because Anna Paquin is pregnant and can’t really do nudity, let’s face it, its something that has worked well for her in the past. But one thing that I would have liked to see changing was the screen time Tara (Rutina Wesley) had. She got shot in the end of season 4 but then got turned by Pam (Kristin Bauer) and now, even as a vampire, she still annoys me.

Season 5 sets in motion multiple story lines just like TB always does and one that I already mentioned I would like to ignore from now on, so the vampire-Tara gets no attention, starting from NOW. All the new plots that are emerging in the first three episodes are supposed to keep us interested and some of them actually work for the most part. As far as Eric and Bill go, at the moment, I am not very invested in how they are doing there, being all locked up and all. It is strongly connected to the former storyline of the vampire laws which is now featured from the point of view of Christopher Meloni’s character. I get that it is still heating up, but after the first episode where Eric gets saved by his sister (which is an interesting family relationship) the whole story kind of wears down. Though, the bromance between Bill and Eric, even after the whole Sookie drama, is still there and quite pleasing. Meanwhile, Pam, who’s maker is Eric, and Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), Bill’s baby, finally get their spotlights that they have deserved ever since they have been on the show!

Not sure which one I like the best, but I think it is purely up to the episode itself, second and third was super exciting for Pam who gets couple of flashback scenes with Eric. She is a delightful character because she is so evil but yet so sweet. Now I can totally see why she is so cold and rigid but at the same time cares about others, the flashbacks to her past were heartbreaking – especially when she cut her wrists. She wanted to live forever because she would have died alone in the streets if Eric hadn’t come along. I feel kind of sad that she had to trick him but I guess if Eric didn’t really have to save her by making her. Jessica will probably have much more action with the new guy who appeared in episode 3 and apparently smells really good, don’t know why though, I doubt he is a male-fairy or something because Jessica should be used to that smell, with Sookie being all fairy dust shooting creature that she is. Maybe it’s an animal instinct type of thing like imprinting in Twilight. Oh no, hopefully not, cause that would be so not cool – what next, glitter Lafayette and even more sparkly Sam?

So far True Blood has explained a lot of things in a relatively logical way but when Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) and Terry (Todd Lowe) start having supernatural problems, the former with his ex-boyfriend and the latter with his ex-combat friend, I start thinking of the worst. There are such things as going too far and I hate to see the show going the extra mile to make everything revolve around supernatural ghosts in season 5. Not to mention the whole Alcide (Joe Mangeniello) and his pack issues which don’t interest me at all. What this season should be all about is poor-poor Jason and his love/sex problem.

There is no doubt that Jason (Ryan Kwanten) has been the sweetheart on True Blood. He is the naive boy who can’t keep his pants off (to be honest, I prefer him without them anyway) but who now faces an issue regarding his ex-best-friend and his friend-with-benefits Jessica. Jason is definitely in love with the little baby vampire but she does not feel the same, especially with the guy who smells like cotton candy and sex. I hardly think that this is a reason for Jason to run to Steve (Michael McMillian), another new vampire who we know as reverend Newlin who has been around but keeps popping back up and this time I am actually thrilled to see him. Steve might go to Jason and compel him or something (oh, yes, please!), for him being gay and in love with Jason and all! – honestly, the best story line twist in season 5 so far!  McMillian is a cute actor and mixed together with his unpleasant character he becomes a treat for the eyes, so sleazy and uncomfortable that it is actually fun.

So not to make this post like way too long compared to what I usually write, I just want to add that I think my True Blood hype is wearing off. I think it is because last season had all that Eric and Sookie thing going on and this season is totally stripped of that even being a possibility (at least so far). I feel like things are not progressing but slowing down and going backwards, this is probably why a lot of the supporting characters like Terry and Andy are getting more screen time. Or is it just me who feels like the balance has shifted? I mean, do we really see so little of the golden trio and so much of others? Either way, I will keep tuning in on True Blood because Pam wore a Walmart sweat suit and turned straight for Eric or was straight for him and then turned lesbian because he was the only man she ever wanted to be with… in other words: so much confusion but so much awesomeness.

Images from True Blood homepage.

True Blood covers EW

Following my very long post about a very disturbingly awesome movie, I saw these bad boys on the Internet and thought I’d share just because. The show’s newest season is very very close and I can’t obviously wait any longer, especially now as I’ve seen these covers of Entertainment Weekly. I guess those promotion things actually do promote things. As you can see from the magazine covers, this is a very manly show and to be honest, I actually made it a little bit manlier by not including the image of Tara – the character I hate and thought was gone for good but apparently not. Oh well, she’s not gonna ruin this post, so enjoy this True Blood cast this time without her and get Christopher Meloni instead, who’s character probably has his own laws and brings new order to the show (see, see what I did there? – hint).

Images from Celebitchy.

# 227 – The Romantics

The Romantics is a movie packed with well-known names which really doesn’t make the movie any better. My issue with it is mostly the writing or the story in general which is probably why I actually can’t remember anything nice to say about it.

Katie Holmes plays the lead character, a broken down woman who is in love with her ex (Josh Duhamel) who is going to marry her sister (Anna Paquin). I’m not gonna lie, I dislike Katie Holmes cause she isn’t what people call a chameleon – she stays in a safe box and portrays characters that are so similar that I think that she is just like the people she portrays. Same goes for Josh Duhamel although this was a more serious role for him that he kind of pulled off. Anna Paquin was a place filler and still managed to steal the thunder from Katie.

Other characters were their friends, two married couples who had this weird scene that looked so unbelievable in a sense that all that couldn’t happen like it did. Too unreal. Although it was nice to see Malin Akerman and Adam Brody together, they seemed adorable but I didn’t enjoy the story-lines they had to play out.

So a lot of bad things to say about The Romantics but I’m pretty critical today. On a lighter note, there were moments when the whole vibe of the movie was pleasing. I enjoyed the scene where Anna Paquin was waiting for her sister and friends by taking sips of alcohol and eating candy. It seemed so polished which made it look a bit funny but sad as well. So yes, the movie had its moments but the overall story was a bit shaky and I can’t even remember what happened in the end so it is also forgettable.

IMDb gives it a solid 5,2 which is okay I guess but I’m throwing it with a 2 out of 5. Probably due to the fact that I’m not in a mood for romance and this movie just reminds me how everybody and every love story is bad and actually, this movie didn’t have any healthy relationships at all. I guess that made it a really unrealistic movie – not everybody needs to have a broken relationship. So all in all, The Romantics forgot to show me the romance.

# 215 – True Blood season 4 (TV-show special)

What an amazing season but I would credit the awesomeness to the last couple of episodes which really brought things together and made the whole season worth watching. We had some great moments this season and by we I mean the fans of True Blood and by moments I mean story-lines and scenes that made this season more special than the previous ones. So just to sum up this season I’m gonna list some of my favorite moments based on the characters and talk about the bloody season final (in short:spoilers) which I just watched and I have to be honest – I cried just a little. Out of joy and out of sadness but I laughed as well – final was filled with emotions – loved it!

Probably the most important moment of the season like any other is the entering of the villain. The English actress Fiona Shaw (probably best known for her role in the Potter saga as aunt Petunia Dursley) plays Marnie, a witch who during the entire season tries to wipe out the vampires cause of the inner anger she has and thanks to her newly found power that a 400 year old ghost-witch gives her. Marnie is a very annoying character which is a great compliment to Shaw cause she managed to make me scream inside when another Marnie’s plans came together.

While the first episode revealed a lot of new information like for instance – over a year had passed while for Sookie it felt like hours (in that fairy place) but Eric telling her that he owns her house (and her) was by far the best in the first episode. It marks the beginning of the many moments between Eric and Sookie that kept the fans wanting more – Eric loosing his memory, Eric getting high on fairy blood (not Sookie’s) and swimming in the sun, Sookie and Eric kissing for the first time and etc. Some of you didn’t like the snowing in the shower scene but I thought it was funny and cute at the same time which is interesting cause I never saw Eric as funny/cute. He was more like scary/bad boy/dangerous/hot – he has this whole new side to him now, even after he got his memory back.

Trying not to make this post all about Eric’s and Sookie’s short lived love (though I’m thiking they will bring it back in season 5) I’ll say this – Pam had an amazing season! She had so many great moments and the whole rotting thing was just so not for Pam but she handled it with utmost grace. She had great one-liners and in the final episode she said what everybody is thinking: “Sookie is a stupid name!” – it really is, especially when Bill says it with his weird accent. But Eric told Pam to go away and she was left crying in the season final, such a sad moment.

Jessica and Hoyt finished their love and Jessica got kind of together with Jason. I approve that relationship with both my hands, I think Jason is a much better fit to Jessica and I’m really hoping to see Jason in a relationship. He was with that panther girl but then she raped him and used him for making babies and well, that is not a healthy relationship. Alan Ball should give Jason a love story that is not gonna end up like the ones he has had – I know Ball loves Jason’s character, I know he does so he is going to make him happy in the end for sure.

Lafayette and Jesus had an amazing season as well but like Kevin Alejandro (who played Jesus) said – happy relationships on TV-shows are boring so I think that this is the reason why Jesus was killed off in the final. In a manner that made me cry real tears cause I thought they were great together – I’m sad that it lasted such a short time. But I wasn’t sad when Sam’s brother died (couple of episodes before), I was so over him this season that I actually was happy when he met his end. And I was happy when Alcide’s girlfriend Debby was killed by Sookie! Shocking I know, I never thought she had it in her but I guess after Debby killed her best friend she found that evil inside. And this isn’t going to be a shocker – I was happy when Tara died! I was so happy and well she had a great death as well so I am happy for many reasons (cause I think she is definitely dead – or if not then I’m disappointed). Another death in the final was by Bill’s hand who killed the vampire politician Nan lady who I could care less about – she always was a place filler for me.

So in conclusion the season what started off good, got a bit wonky in the middle and ended with a bang (or should I say many bangs?) was another great addition to True Blood. I hope the next season will have less supernatural things though, I’m happy that the ghosts are there and the witches but honestly it is a mess to keep up. But we already saw Terry’s war friend coming to the picture and it looks like he’s bringing trouble with him. Scott Foley, who is also going to be a regular on Gray’s Anatomy is coming to season 5 and I think he is going to bring something good to the mix – good-bad I don’t care really, I like him. So I’ll be waiting patiently for the next season to start because I can’t get enough of Ball’s cruel ways of killing people off the show and his take on this new situation between Eric, Sookie and Bill. She can’t be alone for long and maybe, maybe she will even get her clothes off for Alcide (he really wants to as we all know) – cause we know that Ball likes his characters naked.

Keep the blood in mind until next summer!

Images mainly from True Blood’s FB page.

# 202 – Almost Famous

Cameron Crowe is another director/writer/producer – the best always come in threes (at least I’ve heard) and since I’ve seen at least 3 of Crowe’s movies I can say that this is pretty much true. Jerry Maguire (1996), Vanilla Sky (2001), Elizabethtown (2005) are under his belt, all except Vanilla Sky I liked a lot. I had seen Almost Famous (2000) when I was younger but I re-watched it just few weeks ago.

Almost Famous tells a story about William, a teenager, who feels left out but finds his way by getting on a tour bus with a band. He is basically hired by a magazine to write a story about them, the band which has its ups and downs while they travel from a concert to a concert. While listing the actors I must start with Patrick Fugit, Almost Famous is his movie debut, and a quite good one I have to admit. He hasn’t done much ever since but I still remember his performance in White Oleander – so quality over quantity.

Other names in this are Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Bijou Phillips, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anna Paquin, Zooey Deschanel and Frances McDormand as the William’s mom. So the cast is solid, all of these names are pretty much known and some are even greater now than they were back then. But not to make this all about the actors I would say that the movie had many great moments. Although it’s a comedy it had a certain depth to it: a friendship story, a little bit of love – and all in all it, shows William (Fugit) growing up in the midst of a concert tour. It all gets a bit crazy at some point and the female roles in this are rather annoying (except Williams mom, she is a tough cookie): but I guess it’s what rockn’roll looks like.

Not to get all into it, Almost Famous is a rather interesting Monday night entertainment and worth the 4 out of 5 I’m giving it. No surprise it has an 8,0 on IMDb and out of all the movies I listed in the beginning, this one is Crowe’s greatest work. I like Elizabethtown a little bit more but it might be because I like Kristen Dunst’s character more than Hudson’s in this one. But this is a whole different matter that I’m not gonna get into at the moment.

If you check the movie out be sure to watch the opening credits which are simple and brilliant at the same time, besides there is something symbolic about them as well.

•Making things honest: images are from cswap.