Oscars 2011: Tears, Triumph and an accidental F-Bomb

Well, the Oscars have come and gone for another year, and in a timely manner, clocking in at just over 3 hours. And, much to my relief, it was an interesting show this year, with many of my favorites taking home the gold, some funny moments, some emotional ones, gorgeous set pieces, and an off-kilter moment or two. Let's go over some highlights...

I'll get the big one out of the way first. Melissa Leo won a much deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Fighter and in her excitement dropped, if I'm not mistaken, the first F-Bomb on the Oscar stage, right on live television. I'm sure a lot of people are going to make a big deal out of it over the next few days, but I found it quite charming, and it was a rare truly unscripted moment during an award show. Winning an Oscar is often a once in a lifetime thing; you can't fault someone for reacting to it strongly.

As I said, many of my favorites walked away with statues, which hasn't happened for a while in award shows I've watched recently (the last Emmys being an example). There were many times during the night I cheered. Some of those favorites include Toy Story 3 for best Animated Picture, Christian Bale for Best Supporting Actor, Natalie Portman for Best Actress and Colin Firth for Best Actor, all of them well deserving and having done exceptional work in The Fighter, Black Swan and The Kings Speech respectively (plus all of them gave wonderful speeches, especially a choked up Firth). Alice in Wonderland managed to grab a couple of awards as well. But in the biggest race of all, it looked like it would be a tight race between The Social Network and The Kings Speech. But, much to my relief, The Kings Speech pulled out ahead, taking the Best Picture statue and my heart.

The Oscar broadcast ran smoothly and promptly this year. I didn't notice any major fashion disasters, though I'm sure the fashion critics will disagree with me. We had some wonderful off-the-cuff moments from the unbeatable Kirk Douglas and other presenters and winners (loved Robert Downey Jr. and Jude law presenting together; can't wait for the next Sherlock Holmes movie). Auto-tune made a surprise appearance. The set and visual effects for the show were just gorgeous, conjuring up the first televised Oscar broadcast (with a hologram of Bob Hope at the hosts podium on stage) and Mann's Chinese Theatre.

And then there were the two hosts, Anne Hathaway and James Franco. I have to admit in that regard, I thought Hathaway did the better job. She was charming, beautiful in her many outfit changes, had some great ad-libbed lines and seemed to be loving every minute of being on stage. Plus she was genuinely funny, especially in her musical dis of Hugh Jackman. Franco, on the other hand, I found a bit flat through most of the broadcast, leaving me to wonder a few times if he was on something while doing this. Perhaps he was a little distracted, being the first host who was also up for an award, but what the hell? The only signs of life from him was during the opening Inception spoof, when he was in a Munroe dress and right at the end. Bah.

Overall, I was very happy. It truly was a great year for movies, and watching them get their proper due is always satisfying and only fuels my love of motion pictures in general. And makes me hope that, one day, I may be on that stage myself, maybe for writing, possibly for directing. One can dream, can't they?

The Valentine's Day Disconnect

So it's Valentine's Day. Hurray! And yes, there is a tone of sarcasm in there (it doesn't come across well in print). Forgive the cynicism but this holiday often brings that out of me. That might have a lot to do with the fact that once again I am single during it, but for a holiday that comes across as being exclusively for couples and seems to punish those who are not part of one, I think I have a right to feel this way. It's like that episode of The Simpsons where Burns tells the plant that everyone who's found love can leave early. Everyone cheers and runs off, except for one poor guy who looks down at the floor sadly while a single tear runs down his cheek. That's how I feel today.

Romance in general has been a touchy point for me lately, and part of that is my tendency to watch court shows while I'm off during the day. There have been soooo many cases involving exes, and it seems to be a feature today. All these people who were once head over heels in love and now hate each other with a blistering passion. It's sad, kind of sick in it's own way, and seems to be fairly common.

Now me, I've never been big on dating. Which is kind of a problem, as everyone tells me I have to get out there if I want to meet the guy of my dreams. Yeah. Dating, to me, is exactly what Jerry Seinfeld once described it as; "A job interview that lasts all night".

My brother thinks part of the problem, not just for me but for a lot of girls, is what he likes to call "Disney-itis". He defines it as that unrealistic expectation that a lot of Disney movies, and movies in general, instill in women that there is a perfect guy out there and once you meet him, you'll know. My brother insists life isn't like that, that you have to kiss a few frogs to get to the prince, and that a lot of great guys are getting passed up because they don't meet that 'Prince' criteria. To give you an example, after doing the Tim Burton exhibit I put on Corpse Bride last night, one of my favorite Burton movies. Despite it's grim subject matter, it's a very romantic movie, and features one of my best loved movie couples, Victor and Victoria, two soft-spoken individuals who have been intended for each other by their parents, and find from their first meeting that their wedding, that they'd both been dreading, couldn't come fast enough. Unfortunately, a mistake and a lovely but dead bride named Emily throws a wrench in the proceedings. But you just know that love will conquer all, right?

My brother may have a point, that a lot of movies may instill unrealistic expectations about what romance and courtship should be (I mean, some of them do feature the living marrying the dead after all). But I can't help but wonder, well, what's wrong with finding your perfect mate? I see so many women in these daytime TV shows putting up with sub-par men for a variety of reasons, likely because romance eliminated all traces of logic and common sense in them, but one likely reason being that they just don't want to be alone or they're under pressure to be in a relationship by the people around them. So they cause themselves no limit of heartache dealing with these losers just so they can say they have a Valentine on Valentine's Day. What the hell? I admit I haven't dated much in my life, but I knew from a very young age that I would much rather be alone than with someone who doesn't get me, who doesn't make me happy or excited or passionate. In short, I'm not willing to waste my time with someone unless there's even a remote chance that he'll check off any of the above list. Not all of it necessarily, but at least some if it. At the very least, I want to be excited to see his email rather than "Oh God, I guess I should answer him and be polite out of a sense of societal obligations". I've never had that before. Really, is that so much to ask? That I find a guy who makes me feel happy, who can talk to me and understand what I feel and just makes me feel love and loved?

In the mean time, I'm going to go treat myself a little today, maybe with a cupcake and a new book, and get a heart shaped pizza for me and my roommate. Why the hell not? If you can't love yourself, you can't love anyone else, right?

And as for romance one day coming my way, well, hope springs eternal. Someday, my prince will come...

The Cape debuts on NBC and proves the Incredibles wrong

Has anyone seen The Incredibles? Fantastic movie, possibly my favorite Pixar film. In it, however, they make a very good argument for not wearing a cape when you design a superhero costume. They can get caught on things that you really don't want them to get caught on and are a huge hazard. But, as anyone who's read a comic book or seen a Batman movie knows, it's tough to do-away with capes because they're just so freakin' cool! Seriously. I mean, capes create an allure and make the wearer mysterious and larger than life. Plus, they flow in the wind and look so graceful. Not practical, maybe, but still cool.

NBC knows that, and they've made it a central theme to their new superhero drama The Cape, starring David Lyons as Vince Faraday, an honest cop in a corrupt town, framed for a crime he didn't commit and presumed dead. He returns as the titular costumed hero he and his son used to read about together to take down the head of the private police force (James Frain) now running the city, who's also a masked villain with freaky eyes named Chess, and regain his good name and his family. The Cape is assisted by the investigative blogger Orwell (Summer Glau, putting another notch in her fanboy fantasy belt), and by a circus gang of bank robbers (you read that right). Oh, and he wears a cape, which also acts as a weapon and can retract into his hood, which does away with a lot of the pesky issues the Incredibles mentioned.

So they had the two-hour debut tonight, and so far not bad. The Cape takes a bit of a different direction than the peacock networks last attempt at a genre show, Heroes. With Heroes, the storyline took more of a modern comic book series feel, with ordinary people dealing with extraordinary things; there were no tights involved and, at least in the first season, the characters dealt with their emerging powers and their enemies as realistically as possible, given the subject material. The Cape, however, has a more old school pulp comic feel to it. The villains have creepy eyes, scales or tattoos hinting at larger criminal networks. The Carnival of Crime are experts in escape artistry, fighting, illusions, cape kung fu, etc. and are willing to teach this new crime fighter all they know. It all centers around a good man whose been left with nothing to loose and must now do something really extreme to make it right. Personally, I like this direction. It's been a while since we got back to basics with superhero story lines. Sure they're not very realistic, but who needs realism here? We've got enough of that elsewhere, thank you very much. And while things happened very quickly over these two hours to set things up, and some of the dialogue was a little strained and corny, it stayed entertaining and engaging, plus completely free of irony. There were a few laughs, cool characters, a bunch of action and The Cape's costume is pretty awesome.

There's potential here, and I think I'm going to stick it out and see where it goes for now. I just hope The Cape goes somewhere really good and doesn't suffer the same sad fate as it's predecessor Heroes. Seriously, the less said of that, the better.

A New Geek Milestone: My first viewing of TRON

So the new Tron: Legacy movie is due this December, and there has been much buzz about it care of Disney and ComicCon and Fan Expo, etc. But it's got me wondering; how many people have actually seen the original Tron? It was a bomb back in 1982, and while it's visual style is still recognizable thanks to references in many forms of media, who's seen it? Who remembers it? Who actually knows what it's about?

Well, I can officially add myself to that select group. I can now see Tron: Legacy and say that I have seen Tron. Yay for me!

So what is it about? Basically it centers around a software engineer named Kevin Flynn (a young Jeff Bridges), who was with the powerful computer company ENCOM until his colleague stole his ideas for games and forced him out. Flynn now runs a video-game arcade, and he's a little annoyed about the whole thing. He's been trying to hack ENCOM to find the code he needs to prove the games are his, but the artificial intelligence that runs ENCOM's mainframe, Master Control, keeps him out. So with the help of a couple of his friends, Flynn makes one more ditch effort to hack in. But Master Control has a surprise for him. Using new ENCOM technology, Master Control digitizes Flynn and brings him into the mainframe. Now, Flynn must survive games and light cycles and work with the computer program Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) to bring down Master Control and find the codes.

Honestly though, the plot is rather secondary to the visual effects. Yes, though the technology was absolutely groundbreaking back in 1982, it looks dated by today's standards. Regardless, it is still visually stunning to look at. Part of it might be that I had the opportunity to watch it in high def, but still it looks amazing. It really gives you an idea of how far film technology has come, and it really makes me wonder why this film wasn't a bigger success. This would've blown people away back then. Maybe it was too new for the early 80s crowd. A shame really. But still, sequel coming!

So join the nerd masses and see it. That way when Tron: Legacy makes use of modern film technology and blows us all away in the present day, you'll know where it all came from.

My annual war on Christmas begins even earlier

I saw the most ridiculous thing yesterday. A Christmas commercial. Do you notice the date on the calendar? Halloween hasn't even happened yet.

Hell to the no! I am such a big advocate of keeping Christmas at Christmas time, that to see a commercial before my second favorite holiday has even happened just burns my canolli. They are not taking Halloween from me, darn it! Who's with me?

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving People!

The leaves have changed, the air is crisp, and the smell of turkey and pumpkin fill the air. I love this time of year so much. And again I have a lot to be thankful for. Of course there are my friends and family, my job, my kitty. There's also my new car, my new computer, my HD DVD player. Plus the world of entertainment has been intriguing and well...entertaining.

Not too many recommendations for Thanksgiving entertainment that I haven't already mentioned from last year, but there is "Thanksgiving" from the final season of Boston Legal, and the song "I've got plenty to be thankful for" from Holiday Inn.

Now go eat the turkey!

Simpsons + Glee + Flight of the Conchords = AWESOME!

The Simpsons being back for their billionth season wouldn't normally be big news to me, but then I found out who was guest starring. In "Elementary School Musical", the 22nd season opener, Fox has decided to merge their powerhouses of entertainment together by having some of the Glee kids, namely Cory Montieth, Lea Michele and Amber Riley, stop by and add some music as fellow members of an arts camp Lisa attends. I did wonder, though; Where the heck were arts camps where I was growing up? Seriously?

But if that wasn't exciting enough, playing camp counselors were Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, otherwise known as Flight of the Concords. Their show that aired on HBO is dearly missed by all of us fans of guitar-based, digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo. Clement and McKenzie actually played a much bigger role in this episode than the Glee kids, but I can see why all the promos hyped the Glee stars instead, since Flight of the Concords have more of a cult following.

It's all good though. A solid episode with funny songs. I may have to download this one. Anything with more Concord action is alright by me.

Movie Review: Easy A

So I saw this little gem yesterday. Let me just say, I'm glad Juno re-introduced the concept of movies revolving around smart teenage girls. So many of our young women are overexposed to spoiled, entitled, plastic bimbos in the media that are as dumb as boxes of hair and glorify frivolous things like partying and being super rich (Paris H., I'm looking at you!). It's so refreshing to see a young heroine who actually has something of substance between her ears.

With my rant now out of the way, Easy A introduces us to Olive Penderghast, deftly played by Zombieland's Emma Stone. Olive soon finds herself right in the midst of the high school rumor mill when she helps a friend (Dan Byrd) out with his rep. As the rumors of her promiscuity run wild, she must deal with the fallout with both the help and hindrance of the people around her, including a loud best friend (Alyson Michalka), holier-than-thou good girl (Amanda Bynes), cool teacher (Thomas Hayden Church), unconventional parents (Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci) and potential love interest (Penn Badgley).

The dialogue is one of the best things about Easy A. The characters talk with a snappy wit which never seems forced and which issued many chuckles from me. The cast was great, and I was especially impressed by Amanda Bynes, who was hilarious and managed to avoid doing that weird bug-eye thing she's often done in her roles.

Easy A, I think, really accurately portrays the high school rumor mill, especially in the information age when cell phones and texting make news instantaneous. It made me very glad that I'm no longer in high school, and I'm sure you'll feel the same way as you feel for Olive and admire how she uses her wits and her integrity to deal with the situation.

My Verdict: A smart, funny and real film about teenagers and rumor, and how the two never should meet.

Series One of Sherlock ends with a potential bang

NO! NO NO NO NO NO! DAMN IT, THAT'S NOT FAIR!

Why the passionate response? You see I just finished the third and last episode of Series One of Sherlock, the BBC update I posted about a few weeks ago. What you read above was pretty much my reaction from the couch. Only three episodes ever...and this one ended with a cliff-hanger!

WHAT? It's only been recently announced that the show's been picked up for a second series, and the writer's decide to end "The Great Game" like that, with all of us hanging on the edge of our seats? I just looked, and the next episode isn't scheduled to appear on English TV until the fall of 2011 at the earliest. A whole freakin' year from now! And Lord only knows when we'll see it here in Canada. WHAT THE HELL, MAN?!

Alright, I've vented. You know what? It was still a great show, and I will be counting down the days until we see more. I'm kind of foolish that way.

Just when I thought I was out...

I've had my ups and downs with American Idol for a while now, ranging from true love to serious disappointment. And like a bad relationship, the last couple of years I kept telling myself I wasn't going to watch, but I've ended up watching from start to finish anyway. But I always told myself that if Simon Cowell ever left, then there would definitely be no reason for me to keep tuning in, and that dark day has come to pass. And over the summer both Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi have jumped ship as well, so things were looking pretty bleak. Yep, definitely not going to watch now!

But then today they announced the new judges that would be joining Randy Jackson come the new year; Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.

Aww hell, now I'm going to have to see this. Damn you Fox!

Glee is back, and I'm seeing a pattern here...

...the pattern is that every time Glee comes back from some time off they always seem to start off on a downer.

Has anyone else noticed this? Lets review; "Showmance" airs after the sneak peak of the pilot, and the episode ends with Rachel having set the club back with a reckless group performance, and then finding out Finn is staying with Quinn. Bummer. Then "Hell-O" is the first episode after the fall hiatus, which ends with Rachel and Finn and Will and Emma broken up, plus the emergence of sleazebag Jesse St. James to play with Rachel's heart. Major bummer!

Now tonight Season 2 kicks off with "Audition", and what we get is a solid episode, but once again ending on a down note (pun totally intended).

So what happened, you ask? If you haven't seen it, then skip these next two paragraphs. Things start of promisingly enough, lulling us into a false sense of security. Finn and Rachel are together, New Directions is down a member (so long Matt, we hardly knew ye), but they're eager for new recruits, including new football player Sam, and Filipino student Sunshine (Charice), and Will and Sue are BFF as they join forces against a common enemy, new football coach Shannon Beiste. Plus, the amateur documentary style opening was hilarious (we found out Brittany spent her summer lost in the sewers).

But problems surface early; Tina and Artie are broken up as she's bonded with Mike over the summer and Will gets down and dirty in his dealings with Beiste. And then things gradually get worse, despite the awesome musical numbers for "Empire State of Mind" (a public lunchtime performance to instill excitement about Nationals being in New York), "Billionaire", "Telephone", etc. Rachel's self-absorption (seriously, that girl is nuts) ends up screwing the club's chances to add Sunshine to their ranks and she ends up being swept up by Vocal Adrenaline's new coach. Finn gets kicked off the Football team, loosing his quarterback status and dissuading Sam from joining the glee club when he sees first-hand how it affects your status in the school. Quinn ends up back on the Cheerios, but at the cost of Santana's standing as head-cheerleader, causing serious tension between the two. And Will looses Sue's friendship when he decides to be nice to Beiste. Things end with Rachel singing "What I Did for Love" (what she did indeed), before stepping into the choir room presumably to beg the club's forgiveness.

A great episode, but once again I feel depressed. If there is a pattern here, what is the plan? To start off so low that the only place to go is up? If that is the idea it's working, because Glee is not likely to slow down anytime soon, nor am I likely to stop watching.

And if this pattern is to continue, then things will perk up soon. Next week is the much hyped Britney Spears episode, and future episodes include a tribute to Rocky Horror and a Christmas episode. So we all know it's going to be great, and gosh darn it I just can't wait!

A new modern update of Sherlock Holmes and it's not House!

I almost missed this show. Let me say that again; I almost didn't see this! Can you believe that? This is so up my alley it's not even funny. The only reason I heard about it was because I was checking my email and once I signed out I came across a link for new TV on Canadian channels, and there it was. And of course, I was intrigued, and immediately marked it on my calendar so I wouldn't miss it.

That show is Sherlock, a BBC series that aired across the pond earlier this year and has now made it's way onto Showcase here in Canada. The premise is that it's the Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson we all know and love, plus other familiar characters like Inspector Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson and Mycroft Holmes (plus a certain notorious villain), but their adventures are set in 21st century London instead of 19th century London. A modern retelling if you will. So we have Holmes practicing his deductive skills amidst the practices of forensic science and during the height of the information age.

And while that sounds like a total gimmick, it works so well. So well. Our two heroes call each other John and Sherlock now, because nobody calls their friends by their last names these days. The John Watson presented here is still a veteran of Afghanistan, but the war he fought in was the war on terror instead of the second anglo-afghan war. Plus he still writes about the adventures he has, but on a blog.

As for this Sherlock Holmes, he is a modern man in every sense of the word. He makes full use of texting and the Internet and posts a website on the art of deduction, but he can still read a crime scene or a person with just his eyes and a magnifying lens and make it look like he has ESP or something (a notion he would find laughable). The modernness never feels forced, I think because Holmes himself was always a modern man, even in Arthur Conan Doyle's stories.

The first episode, and there are only three 90 minute episodes, so I don't know if that counts as a series, is called "A Study in Pink", and as you may have guessed it's an update on "A Study in Scarlett" the very first Holmes story written. Many of the same elements are there, including Holmes and Watson meeting and forging their immortal partnership. The entire 90 minutes was so gripping I couldn't dream of turning it off. There was action, a great chase scene, intense stand offs, and a surprise twist regarding one character that I never saw coming. And the two leads fantastically embody their characters. Benedict Cumberbatch (great name) perfectly portrays Holmes' energy, eccentricities, humor and cool demeanor. Plus he's fairly easy on the eyes, which I can always appreciate. And Martin Freeman, who I recognized from the BBC's The Office and The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, nicely pulls off the more down-to-earth counterbalance to Holmes, while keeping Watson a smart, resourceful, funny man-of-action that he is.

Can't wait to see what else is in store, and I'm so glad I came across that article. Funny how fate comes along and brings a new obsession.

Book Review: Blood Oath

I am reviewing yet another vampire book. Yeah, don't act so surprised. But Christopher Farnsworth's Blood Oath is one of the most satisfying books of any genre I've read in a while.

In a unique set-up inspired by an actual historical event, the reader is introduced to Nathaniel Cade, a vampire who has spent nearly his entire second life in the service of the highest office of the United States, through several different administrations since the 19th century. Why he does so is something to be discovered by the reader, but Cade is officially "The President's Vampire", and it's his job to deal with the supernatural threats that crop up against the free world.

Blood Oath centers around a new emerging terrorist threat just as Cade is breaking in a new human partner, Zach Barrows, a young up-and-coming White House staffer who, of course, has no idea what he's in for and sees this assignment as something of a punishment.

I loved the set-up, which kind of fits along the same lines as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, mixing up real world politics with supernatural elements. The characters were intriguing, complex and never boring. Cade could carry a whole series of books, as Farnsworth has already discussed writing. Plus there was a lot of action, cool gadgets both magical and technological, truly scary villains (ranging from megalomaniacs to the purely psychopathic) and adult language. Plus it touches on themes of religion, addiction and the fear of the unknown, so it's a little deep on top of everything else.

My Verdict: Gripping and high octane, everything you could ask for in a grown-up supernatural novel. No Twihards need apply (yeah, I know, I'm ragging on Twilight again, but come on!).

Oh yeah...the Emmy's were on.

Geez, I was so busy with everything else it almost didn't clue in that the Emmy's were on this past Sunday. By that point my brain was so fried with Fan Expo it almost didn't register. Yeesh!

So just a quck word or two. Jimmy Fallon did fine as a host. Loved the opening Glee number (though could've done without Kate Gosslin). Cheered for Jim Parsons and Jane Lynch winning acting awards, as well as Neil Patrick Harris for his role on Glee and Betty White for SNL. Still annoyed that Hugh Laurie keeps getting shut out by Bryan Cranston. Surprised by Modern Family's win and disappointed by Glee's loss.

There we go, short and sweet. See you next year, and hopefully I'll have the energy to give the ceremony it's due.

Fan Expo 2010: Day 3 (Last Day)

Ahhhh, last day. But what a day it was. I'm exhausted, I'm sore, but damn it I'm happy! And I'm so glad I did all three days to get the true experience.

So, to recap: Got down to the convention center right around 10 am. The line down Lower Simcoe was almost under the tunnel, but not quite, and before too long I was back up across the parking garage and very nearly where I was yesterday. But Lord it was hot. I stood baking in the sun for over an hour, listening to very loud geeks discuss whether or not David Tennant's sideburns are real and whether or not Data could have a child biologically. Sigh. I ended up meeting one of those geeks, dressed head to toe in a Doctor Who suit, named Ellen, when I discovered she was also racing to the line-up to get James Marster's autograph. It was just after 11am by that point, and he was starting at 11:30. She made a beeline for one of the merchant tables, however, to buy a sonic screwdriver, so when I got to the line-up a mother/daughter team by the name of Denise and Alicia got in behind me, and then Ellen got in behind them. Denise and Alicia chatted me up as we waited, and it turns out they're pretty hardcore fans. Alicia apparently had even been to a Twilight convention.

As we got closer, and I could see Mr. Marsters sitting up front, dressed in a blue t-shirt that hugged his torso nicely, I began to get nervous. Just as I had done with Bruce Campbell the year before, my nerves were getting to me. I checked with my new friends if I looked alright, and they assured me I looked fine and to relax, it was going to be fine. But still, this is James Marsters were talking about. There was no relaxing here.

Once I paid for my autograph and handed over my DVD cover of Spike episodes that I wanted him to sign, I found I was having the opposite problem that I did with Mr. Campbell. Instead of rambling, I clammed up! The two people ahead of me had lovely chats with the man at the booth, and he seemed happy to talk with them (this was a little less formal than the session I went to last year), but as soon as I got up there it was almost death. I smiled and said hi, he said hi and shook my hand (I TOUCHED HIM!), I asked how he was and he said fine. He complimented me on my hair, and I said thanks, I had just got it done. Then there was a lull as he signed my cover, so I mentioned that I had been to the Q&A yesterday, and it was a lot of fun. He said he had fun to, but wished that the hosts hadn't asked quite so many questions so that the fans could get more of an opportunity. And here's where I choked. In retrospect, I could've said how his singing was my favorite part, but my mind went blank at that moment. I smiled, nodded, said thank you very much it was nice to meet you, and made a hasty retreat. Gaaah. I hope he could see I was nervous and he didn't think anything of it. He meets lots of people, I'm sure, so he could probably tell. But I went and stood at one of the tables behind the lines for the autograph tables and waited until I settled down and was sure that the ink had dried on the signature before sliding it back into the DVD case with trembling fingers. Still, I looked at that signature, in silver ink, and was so happy. I had done it! I had met Mr. Marsters, shaken his hand, spoken with him and got his autograph. So cool! That disc will now have a place of honor on the shelf.

After that I had another mission. I had t-shirt requests from my brother and my roommates sister and brother-in-law. After looking at some of the tables that had shirts, and getting side-tracked at the Marvel table with free comics and a photograph with Captain America's shield (which made me look so tiny, as you can see) I went back to the big Stylin booth to find two Bazinga shirts for my roommates people, and a Green Lantern shirt for my brother. Mission accomplished, and they still had the sizes I was looking for.

After all this, I figured I'd earned a break, and I was not going to make the same mistake I did yesterday, where I only lived on granola bars. I got a slice of pizza to keep my energy up (and listened to a kid have a full blown tantrum in a stroller. Lovely). Then, as it was just past 1pm by that point and I had some time to kill before the afternoon events I wanted to attend I worked the floor, searching through boxes and boxes of discount graphic novels and getting some more free stuff. There weren't quite as many people as there were yesterday, which made navigating the crowds easier.

By the time I made it to the lowest floor for the Vampires in Film and Television panel discussion I was really feeling the exhaustion. Because of that, and because of the podium blocking off the table from where I was sitting so I could only see three of the five people, and the guy sitting beside me leaned forward the entire time, so I had to as well to see even that, I didn't catch every point that was made. But what I did catch was very interesting, like how some mediums use vampirism as a commentary on homosexuality, and the defanging, so to speak, of vampires in YA fiction when adult vampire fiction is so mature. There was a little talk on the difference between Western and Eastern vamps, and on favorite vampire movies or books. I do love my vampires.

Once the discussion was over I raced up one floor to find the room where they were screening an episode of Supernatural. I found it full, so I stood for the first few minutes, but people were coming and going, so it didn't take long to find a seat, and even though it was in the back I could see everything perfectly. I hoped it would be one of the many episodes I haven't seen yet, but nope; it was "Lazarus Rising". Still, an excellent episode, introducing favorite character Castiel, and I stayed and watched the whole thing.

After that it was just before 5, with a little more than an hour until the Expo shut down. So I decided to make a few last loops around the convention floor. At the Tron booth they were throwing out t-shirts and light disc frisbees, but I was not fortunate enough to grab one. What I did find though was the other iTunes card I wanted sitting out on the DC table, so I grabbed one for myself and some for other people. Sweet.

A lot of the collectibles I was looking at were so expensive, so I ended up getting one more graphic novel. By then it was twenty to 6, so I took a moment to take every in one last time, and then went downstairs to head back out onto Front street and to Union station. The ride back had a slight delay (what is with Subways this weekend?) but nothing major, so I got back home alright.

I'm sad it's all over, but I'm also wiped, so maybe it's good that it is only three days. Back to work I go tomorrow, but I feel happy. I feel like I was a part of something special, something big, and the more I go to Fan Expo, the more I feel that these memories will stay with me forever. I really feel I belong, and it's a great feeling.

Another year until we do it all again. I'll see you there.

Fan Expo 2010: Day 2

I think I'm in love. With who you ask? James Marsters. Now lots of you will probably think, yeah, we know, you've been in love with Spike for ages. True, but now I'm in love with the man behind Spike.

And so leads us to my second day at Toronto's geek heaven. The trip to and from was much easier this time around (thank God, no smoke on the tracks I guess). How would I describe today? Exhausting and not without it's mild irritants, but mostly...magical.

I arrived at the Convention Center around 9am and found a line, as I'd expected, but a much shorter line this time around, only going down Simcoe a little ways. And though I travelled alone, I managed to make a line buddy by the name of John. We chatted for some time about likes, dislikes, home life and what brought us here today. He was there mostly for gaming and anime, so the opposite of what I was there for, but we found a lot to talk about regardless and he explained the finer points of his costume to me.

I got in at about 10:15am. Perfect. I had time to take a quick look around, ask about the iTunes gift cards and discover that they were only being given out to people buying tickets that day (Boo!) and to find the room, two floors down, where the DC Universe panel discussion was being held. That was a very interesting talk between some DC writers and artists about some upcoming projects, and some very interesting questions came up (among them were what everyone's favorite DC and Marvel characters were).

I left that a few minutes early to get in line for the Tron Legacy sneak peak. I was a little worried once I saw the line, but it turns out it was in a huge theatre, so finding seats was no trouble. There was some talk of everyone having to confiscate their cameras and phones, as they were showing secret movie scenes, but fortunately it did not come to that. They just had security guards to keep an eye on things. Once in my seat I met another Melissa and her mother and brother. The Tron preview was hosted by InnerSPACE hosts Ajay Fry and Teddy Wilson, and featured a peak at the new video game with one of the games designers and a Wii demo on the big screen. Then we had a great compilation of clips showing Tron references in pop culture, from 30 Rock to Family Guy to music videos and South Park. Then a very cool surprise; Mr. Bruce Boxleitner was brought out, an actor who has starred in both the original Tron and the upcoming feature, and is maybe best known for starring in Babylon Five. Then we were shown both a trailer and seven minutes of never before seen footage, all in 3D (glasses were handed out as we came in). Honestly, the movie looks pretty cool, and I'm excited to see it. Mr. Boxleitner came out with Ajay Fry to answer a few questions from the audience. I quite enjoyed Mr. Boxleitner, he was funny and charming. One thing he pointed out was that the original Tron was slammed by the critics at the time and did poorly at the box office, but he feels that some of the blame for that lands on the fact that E.T. came out that same summer and, as he put it, sucked all the oxygen out of the room. But, he was quick to point out, E.T. doesn't have a new movie coming out 27 years later. The audience cheered at that. He also encouraged all of us to go out and see it four times each opening weekend.

By the time that wrapped up and we had deposited our 3D glasses in the recycle bin it was a little after 1. I knew it was too late to try to go to the Stan Lee presentation, but as that wasn't high on my list of things to do this weekend that was alright. I was ready to get some lunch. But, by then the size of the crowd had ballooned to almost locust-like proportions. There was a nice sized crowd of people waiting to get in outside, so leaving the building was impossible unless I wanted to join the wait to get back in. And they were only letting people back upstairs a few at a time to try to control the crowd, so there was a crowd of people waiting around the escalator. Seeing I had nowhere to go and nothing to do, I decided to go get in line for the James Marsters Q&A, even though that wasn't for a couple of hours. I found the right line, got comfy, found a granola bar I'd packed for just such an emergency and settled in with my iPod Nano. Plus I had to deal with a mass of people, including a few behind me who kept talking at booming volumes and kept wiggling into my personal space. Grrr.

But you know what? Totally worth it! I got a great seat, just a couple rows back from the front and on the aisle, so I had the clearest view I think I've ever had at Fan Expo. After another half-hour, our hosts (Teddy Wilson and Natasha Eloi) introduced the man of the hour. He's looking good, that guy; his brown hair's grown out a little bit and he had on a sleeveless shirt, showing off his arms. Meow. It was funny hearing him talk and not sound British. He sounds very American, and I thought at times I detected a Southern twang to his voice. Still, I'm not picky.

He was an absolute delight. He was funny, intelligent, gave nice full answers and was great with the fans. Turns out he's a well rounded actor. He's not only done the Sci Fi stuff like Spike or Captain John or Brainiac, but also the stage and Shakespeare and more main stream stuff as well. When asked about playing villains he talked about how in Shakespeare there are no villains (with the exception of Iago or maybe Richard III), and that that's how he's always seen the characters he's played. He told some great stories about working on "Once More With Feeling" and how hard the cast worked to make that come to life. He talked about his new projects and how much he relates to his character on Caprica. He talked about Angel and having to make it look like he was kicking David Boreanaz's butt while Boreanaz had a bad knee but wouldn't give up until the scene was finished. Of course he was asked about his kiss on Torchwood with John Barrowman. Again, meow. He described Barrowman as a born leader who helped him out of a tight spot while filming and made him feel comfortable about that hot and heavy scene. Apparently Marsters was originally hoping to get on Doctor Who but they didn't need him for anything there and came up with this role on Torchwood instead. Our gain.

A couple of my favorite responses: when asked if there was anything about Spike he would've played differently; "Nothing." And when asked if it was better playing a supercomputer than a vampire; "Actually, I don't think anything's been better than Spike." Yay! Spike's voice even made a brief appearance this afternoon.

But the most awesome thing came right near the end. He sang for us. Someone asked him if he remembered any lyrics from "Once More With Feeling" and would he sing them for us. He confessed that he didn't, but he could sing something else. A song from a TV movie he'd done for SyFy. I made sure the video option on my camera was running. Honestly, it was lovely when he started singing. For a song from a TV movie it was haunting and sad, and he sold it. The whole auditorium went silent. I was beaming and felt something pretty deep. It was a real moment.

And then he finished, and it was over. One last round of applause and a standing ovation, myself included. I left feeling so satisfied and happy. I knew that if I'd experienced nothing else that whole day that one hour would have made the trip worth it.

The crowd had dispersed somewhat by that point, so I made it back upstairs and basically walked around for about an hour and a half looking at comics and collectibles and displays until my shoulders ached, my feet started to hurt and my mind went numb. I got some graphic novels, some free stuff, and checked to see when Mr. Marsters would be signing autographs tomorrow. Then a little after 6 I left to head back to the subway. They were keeping the Expo open until 8 tonight to meet demand, but I figured it's been a good day and the time had come to leave.

So there's two good days. Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring. Last day, a few things on the agenda. How will it all go down? To be continued...

Fan Expo 2010: Day 1

After a long wait, a year of anticipation, one of my very favorite times of the year is finally upon us. Fan Expo, one of the biggest geekfests in all of geekdom, opened it's doors to all at 4pm this afternoon. And where was I at that time? Not quite where you might think.

Picture this. I and my roommate Andrea get ready to leave for about 1:30pm. I've got my Batman t-shirt on, my new Capri jeans, my shape-ups in the vain hope that this will tone my legs (I've put on weight recently), and I've done myself up with black-eyeliner, silver sparkly eyeshadow and red lipstick to go with my awesome, recently dyed purple hair. I'm dressed to kill, I have everything I need, my ticket is in hand, I'm ready for anything.

Or so I thought. We get on the subway line from Yorkdale headed to Union station. So far things are fine, we're aiming to be at the Convention Center early to avoid a massive line-up. We get to the St. Claire West Station, and are told that due to some smoke in the tunnels, we all have to leave the train because it will go no further until the fire department gives the all-clear. But don't worry, they tell us, because shuttle buses will take you to the next station down south and you can hop the train from there. All of this would have been fine with me...if we did not have to wait a good forty minutes or so to catch one of those buses. Lord, did that tick me off. I felt like I was waiting for Godot. Not so much the wait, but the fact that the instructions for where we wait and for what were not very clear and there was no one to ask. I mean, what kind of operation are they running?

But we get our shuttle bus (we practically had to knock people over to get on), get to the St. George Station and take that the rest of the way in. We end up chatting to a Melissa, a fellow geek who's meeting her husband down at the convention. We finally get to Union, get to the Convention Center...but by this point it's after 4, and my worst fears have been confirmed. A line up. A massive line up, snaking all the way down under the tunnel on Simcoe Street. And not only must we wait, but we must wait in separate lines, because Andrea still needed to buy her ticket. So I'm standing alone for about an hour and a half to get in. Fortunately there were lots of costumes to see and I had my iPod with me, but still it was a long wait.

By the time I get in, get my wrist band and get onto the convention floor it's about twenty to 6. I figure there's no point in trying to make any of the 6pm panels I was hoping to get to and try to occupy myself until Andrea makes it inside (the line for ticket buyers was longer than the one with advanced tickets). However, how could I possibly stay down hearted? It's Fan Expo, for God's sake! Even in the little bit I saw tonight and with the heavy crowds my heart leapt. These are my people! This is where I belong!

And boy was there a lot to see. The tables for Marvel and DC and the Tron Display kept me occupied until Andrea made it in at about 6:15. We went to the food court to get some pizza (with me getting a Fangtasia tattoo along the way), which was right near the autograph stations so we saw a few famous faces like Ernest Borgnine and Felicia Day. After getting my picture taken with the Metallicar (see above, so awesome!) we went to the big T-Shirt store and Andrea got some really good scores with shirts featuring Sheldon Cooper's Friendship Algorithm and Pinky and The Brain's to-do list (1. Wait until tonight 2. Take over the world). While she was doing that I tried to find out about the collectible iTunes cards that the Expo is handing out. She got one, with Doctor Who on the front, when she got in but I didn't, so I went back to the ticket counters only to find out that they were fresh out. Aaahhhh! Fortunately Andrea gave up hers, as she's not a fan of Doctor Who or Torchwood, so yay! Hopefully they will have lots to give out for the next two cards over the next couple of days.

After a stop at the HMV set-up there, we went downstairs to room 205B. That's another thing that surprised me about this year's Expo. While last year it was held in the South Building in the deepest, darkest depths, this year it was in the North Building, which is all open with lots of room and lots of natural light. A nice improvement. Anyway, room 205B was a panel discussion on the X-men comic series, featuring bigwigs from Marvel comics. Andrea was talked into this with the promise of having somewhere to sit. Before it started and while she was saving our seats I picked up a couple of things and had two separate but similar conversations about True Blood with two vendors, after they noticed my Fangtasia tattoo. Once they heard I haven't seen Season 3 they kept mum so nothing would be spoiled, which I appreciate.

The discussion itself was very interesting. I admit, I did wonder if I would get kicked out once people noticed my Batman t-shirt, but nobody seemed to mind. After our speaker pointed out a kid Wolverine and his X-23 mom, we got into an update of what's been going on in the comic series and what we can expect in the near future. This is great for me because I'm very behind on the comics and have no idea what's going on. For instance, I had no idea that one of my favorites, Nightcrawler, had died. Whaaa? Or that the devastation to the mutant population from the House of M events may start to turn around with a new group called Generation Hope. Plus we got into a little bit of insight into how that industry works. Once I heard the questions from the hard core fans, I was a little reminded of how out of my league I was. Wow.

So, aside from a few hiccups, it was a good day. I got some great free samples, especially from the DC table, where I lined up to get free comics and lots of buttons and posters. I was able to squeeze in an event, and there's two more days of cool stuff to look forward to, with my orange Deluxe wrist band strapped on for the whole three days. All in all, a good start.

Now please God, let the subways be working tomorrow...and let the line ups be short.

Movie Review: Eat Pray Love

On Sunday Mom and I had an afternoon at the movies, and she wanted to see Eat Pray Love, the new vehicle for Julia Roberts based on the best-selling book. Not top of my list of movies to see, but I figured I'd give it a shot. It's always good to step outside your box every now and then.

And I have to admit, I liked it. Quite a bit actually. Roberts plays a woman looking for meaning in her life, and ends up taking a year to live in Rome, India and then Bali. I could go on and on about how this is total wish-fulfillment for most women, as the average person could never afford to do this, but hey, it's an excuse to see lots of gorgeous scenery, and boy did we.

But that's not the only reason I liked it. As someone trying to do some soul-searching herself, I couldn't help be relate to what our heroine is going through. She tries to find what will make her whole and truly happy in life, including eathing pizza, and that's a journey that anyone can relate to. Plus she meets some colorful characters along the way, gets spiritual and again, that scenery makes the price of a ticket worthwhile. Plus it's Julia Roberts! The woman is luminous and doesn't seem to age, ever.

My Verdict: Give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Cloverfield and the genre of "Lost Footage"

I got around to watching Cloverfield, the surprise Sci-Fi/Horror hit of 2008. And while I enjoyed the movie very much, though it was a little bleak, it got me thinking about the genre of "Lost Footage", or "Found Footage", a genre of filmaking often used in horror, in which the movie is presented as recovered footage made by the poor schmucks who are going through what you see on screen, giving the film a touch of realism. This has been used not only in Cloverfield (the note at the start of the footage states that it was found in the area 'formerly known as Central Park'; well that can't be good), but in movies like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and The Last Exorcism. It's use dates all the way back to 1980 with Cannibal Holocaust.

The real question is this; is this an effective form of filmaking? Does a movie seem scarier when it looks like it actually happened? I found it particularly effective for Paranormal Activity. But, considering how some people just can't watch the shaky camera films without feeling queasy, is it always the way to go?. Sound off below on if you feel this ramps up the fear factor, or if it's just a gimmick.

Supernatural Soundtrack - What a rip!

I just caught wind that there is a soundtrack for the show Supernatural. Immediately, I'm excited. I've always been both a fan of the show and a fan of the music that's on it. You see, Dean Winchester is stuck in a pretty firm time warp when it comes to his musical tastes. He's a big fan of Metallica and 80s rock in general, or as his brother Sam once referred to it; "The greatest hits of the Mullet rock era" (to which Dean gave the immortal reply; "Driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts his cake-hole"). The very thought that there's a CD out there that compiles all this great music that fits the show to a "T" was enough for me to emit squeals of joy.

But those squeals were quickly stifled. The soundtrack is entirely instrumental. What the hell? It begs the question; why put it out at all if you're not going to give the fans what they want? Likely it has something to do with money; royalties can be a pain to pay.

Another great opportunity lost, and I'm back to playlists on my iPod. Anyone else as ticked off as I am?