So, that Veronica Mars movie, huh?

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After a few stressful days I decided to treat myself to The Amazing Spider-Man because I find Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone adorable and I really enjoyed it. Granted, I have no attachment to or even much memory of the Sam Raimi trilogy and I won't argue with you if you call this one a cash-grab. But even though this film wasn't necessary, Andrew Garfield makes the role his own. His Peter Parker is less of a dweeb than I remember Tobey Maguire's being and he has a much more pronounced sense of humour. I think this film also does more to establish Peter's science bona fides so you buy it when he starts inventing things (still no thorough explanation of how he gets the suit and gets into it, though, and this kind of detail bothers me as a costume nerd).

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I think I've told you all this before but I was thirteen (or perhaps not quite) when I started watching The West Wing and I was fan from the start. The series didn't quite click with mainstream Australia and the reason or the result was that it was jerked around the schedule a bit. It got pushed later and later into the evening and even in the first season the network that was airing it (Channel Nine) stopped showing promos for next week at the end of the episode.

But although that was all frustrating I didn't waver in my devotion - and you had to be devoted. The West Wing dealt with complex ideas and and the characters talked so fast you needed to watch every episode more than once to get everything that happened and then you enjoyed it all the more because once you understood what the characters were saying you could appreciate how they were saying it: the dialogue was sharp and funny.

What about the show appealed to thirteen year old me? One of the main things was the show's essential optimism, that a group of intelligent and honourable people would work together for the benefit of a nation and the world. That seemed wonderful then and still does now. I always enjoy works of art that affirm our humanity than doubt it, even though I'm a realist quick to think the worst of people.

And so I loved The West Wing. I love The West Wing. I watch it more critically now and I recognise it's faults but I still enjoy it despite them.

This is a post about disillusionment.

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So there is going to be a new, Canadian produced Anne of Green Gables series. AWESOME. The details so far:

- The first season is going to be thirteen episodes.
- They are currently interviewing writers.
- It's going into production this time next year.
- They're going to film in the Maritimes.
- The heirs of L.M. Montgomery are involved.

And best of all:

- It's not being produced by that chucklehead Kevin Sullivan who made one great adaptation, one decent sequel, one good TV series, a second terrible sequel (ANNE WHY WERE YOU PRETENDING TO BE A NUN DURING WORLD WAR I?), and an abomination of a prequel.

Seriously, that guy may have found the perfect Anne in Megan Follows but what he ended up creating makes me want to smash a slate over his head. Apparently the rights have finally reverted back to Montgomery's heirs so they are giving it another go. Great, I say.

Well, until the casting is announced - if they don't do a fantastic job I'll change my tune. But for now I'm all for this.

Someone wrote an academic paper on Josh/Donna shippers in The West Wing fandom. Even if you didn't watch the show it's still an interesting read on the culture of fandom.

Greetings all. It's been quiet around here for the past couple of months because I was away and then I was trying to catch up on all the school work I didn't do while I was away. I've been sneaking onto LJ when I could give myself the chance.

I am mostly caught up on TV and film so lets talk about that.

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I saw The Avengers the day it came out here but damn that was while ago now. I really liked it then but I'm not hugely into the fandom (my studies and fandom's reaction of "SHIP ALL THE WHITE GUYS" are largely the reasons why). Moonrise Kingdom is wonderful and I heartily recommend it.

I've not been posting for the last couple of weeks for a reason other than my usual excuses (school, laziness, absolutely nothing to talk about): a lot of my family is here and we're currently driving through England up to Scotland and wi-fi has not been readily available. This is coming from somewhere in the Peak District where I have managed to find a steady source for a couple of hours.

I've handled the lack of regular internet connection fairly well. In fact, there has been an upside as I haven't had to duck and weave all The Avengers spoilers. That film still hasn't opened here, but luckily I'll be in Edinburgh when it does (and luckily I've been to Edinburgh before so I won't feel bad about sitting in a dark room with a bunch of other transfixed nerds for two hours when I could be up at the castle).

I'm going to try and catch up on LJ and the latest TV (Tumblr has to be a impossible after this long). Do link me your Avengers posts so that I can check them out after I've seen it!

And by the by, I've now seen a lot of the major UK tourist destinations and a few off the beaten path so if anyone wants advice now or in the future feel free to drop me a line.

Just so you know, Jeremy Irons does the audio guide for Westminster Abbey and it is seriously one of the creepiest things I have ever heard. As I was walking under, around, and over the monuments of hundreds of people, it felt as though Scar from The Lion King was stalking me like a wildebeest.

I'm putting this behind a cut in case any of you haven't seen the latest Avengers trailers but it isn't really spoilery.

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If you're looking for a stream, go here.

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Guys. Guys. Leslie Knope is up against Hermione Granger in the Final Four bracket of Fandom March Madness. She is currently winning (!!!) by only a handful of votes. So please vote and make that margin a littler wider.

1. I thought Tom Hiddleston had the worst fans but Benedict Cumberbatch's fans are currently the actual worst. He's talented and you want to have his babies. WE GET IT. I'm not even tracking his tag on Tumblr and I feel overloaded with Cumbernews and Cumbergifs and Cumberinspiredtea. I would put him on Tumblr Saviour but he's starring in the adaptation of Parade's End later this year and I fucking love those novels.

2. The Good Wife. ( SpoilersCollapse )

3. In a stunning display of maturity and excellent life choices I watched all two seasons of Syfy's Haven in about five days. The thing is: this show is not very good. I'd like to think that it improves in the second season and really deepens the mythology and it does to an extent, but it's still not very good. What it has going for it are three things, really.

Firstly, the lead dude, Nathan, can't feel anything except for the lead female, Audrey. Quite a few shows are built around the trope that if the official couple touches then one of them will die or lose their soul. I really hate that trope. It's stupid. But this kinda reverse is magical. Seriously, in all future kink memes I will be prompting: The only thing I feel is you.

His face when they come into even the most minor contact is pretty great (never has a high-five been so emotionally tense). Also pretty great? His face and the body that is attached to it (second reason to watch). ( Photographic evidence for the purpose of scientific evaluationCollapse )

The third good reason is Audrey, the main character, who took me a couple of episodes to get used to because I was expecting either a) cold emotionally reserved badass, or b) snarky emotionally reserved badass.

One of the weird tropes I often see with badass female characters is that because they're physically capable, highly intelligent, and able to be ruthless, they need to be taught - generally by a male character - how to feel, how to empathise, and to learn the value of friendship. Off the top of my head I'm thinking Sarah from Chuck and Aeryn from Farscape fall into this pattern, but I'm sure there are others and there is a wider trend in romantic comedies of career women being need to be taught how to feel by men.

But Audrey is really in touch with her emotions and her capacity to care and empathise is what makes her a good at her job. And while she is kind of a friendless outcast in the beginning, she is that way for plot/mythology reasons that are super justified. And Nathan is just as lacking in relationships as she is, if not more so, thus she tends to be the one to prod him to make an effort with people.

Of course I ship them. Their partnership is built on friendship and trust instead of bickering and different methods, and that's actually kind of refreshing. It's nice when people genuinely like each other and don't obfuscate their feelings by pretending they don't need each other. "Adults acting like actual adults instead of teenagers in adult bodies" is one of my interests. Plus, you add in the touching thing and you've got some quality shipping crack.

1. Recently it has been my pleasure to co-beta kore_rising's Inception fic World's Beyond Number, the inspiration for which was Possession by A.S. Byatt and Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. Do check it out.

2. I've stopped watching The Vampire Diaries and The Office and I'm particularly sad about the latter which was one of my first fandoms. But it's just depressing now to think about the Jim and Pam of the early seasons and watch what they've become.

3. I started watching Smash which is ok. At the very least it's nice to see Jack Davenport on TV - I only wish I could say the same about his wife, the ridiculously talented Michelle Gomez. She needs to work way more than she does.

4. I've also begun watching The Wire and am currently a couple of eps into season two. If anybody spoils me they shall die a painful death. I totally understand why people call it The Greatest TV Show Ever. I really enjoyed the first season and didn't find it hard to get into at all but the second season is proving a challenge as there are now even more characters to keep track of. At least I'm not letting myself get attached to them - that's how you get got.

5. I rewatched all of Avatar: The Last Airbender which was wonderful but slightly difficult to accomplish as my DVDs are in Australia so I had to download it all over again. Finding viable links was tricky as the fall of Megaupload really has had a devastating effect on the link archives out there. Avatar being recent and fairly fandom popular was barely manageable - trying to find obscure 90s indie movies is basically impossible at the moment.

6. Oh, Gossip Girl, I wish I didn't care about you but I do. I'm back to watching entire episodes just so I can make sense of the crack ramblings that these writers pass off as plots. There have been story arcs that have frustrated me on various shows before, but I don't think I've ever stuck so long with a narrative that is as down right gross as Gossip Girl's. Seriously, what they have done to Blair and what they do to Blair...it's vile. How is it that the smartest, most driven character, whose interest in art, culture, and world affairs is possibly only second to Dan's, is, at twenty-one, married, unemployed, and a college drop out? (Like she's ever going back to Columbia - has she even been to class this season?) But Nate and Chuck (NATE AND CHUCK!) run successful companies? And Serena has a job as a writer?

I just do not get this fucking show at all. I live in hope that Blair will have ambitions outside of a relationship and be happy with herself and by herself and so I keep watching. But I'd really like to ignore everything but the early episodes of season one and that run of episodes from season four where Dan and Blair went from bickering private detectives from a screwball comedy to bickering co-workers from a different screwball comedy to best friends.

If you're a fan of both Sherlock and The Thick of It (you really do need to know both to appreciate this) then go read Grace Under Pressure. Mycroft Holmes + Malcolm Tucker = awesomeness

Last night I saw Haywire which I've been looking forward to for aaaaaages because it is a) a female-led action movie, b) stars an MMA fighter, Gina Carano, who can legitimately kick ass, and c) is directed by Steven Soderbergh, who directed one of my favourite movies Out of Sight.

And I really enjoyed it! I was worried because the reviews, while positive, have not being overwhelmingly so and it was too much too expect first time actor Gina Carano to turn in a brilliant performance*.

*And yet I had my hopes because Soderbergh is frequently great at pulling career best work from unlikely actors. Jennifer Lopez is freaking amazing in Out of Sight. Yes. J.Lo portrays one of my favourite female characters and it is due equally to her performance as to the writing. I'll be sharing Out of Sight soon and if you haven't seen it, I urge you to snag it. (It'll be friends-only but I'm happy to share with others.)

Still, Carano has a really strong presence on screen and is very believable in the role. I think given time and acting lessons she will only improve and I'd like to see her in other films.



Plus Carano is really pretty! Those are leading lady looks there and changeable too. Just in terms of make-up and costuming she appeared different with every cover story. She has more muscle tone than your average wafer thin actress - you believe her when she strangles a guy between her thighs - but she isn't big at all. She could be a star.

Where she excelled was in the fight scenes which are some of the best I've seen in years. CineSnark pointed out that Carano fought like a woman, using leverage and momentum, when most films choreograph masculine fight scenes for women. The scenes are also shot so that you can actually see the action, with very little editing and full bodies in frame. That was wonderful because I really hate the quick cutting and jerky camera work that became so prevalent in the filming of fight scenes after the second Bourne movie.

The plot isn't anything new although it does cohere. There isn't really an emotional arc. This isn't a great movie but if you go in with the right frame of mind its better than most action movies. And hopefully if this does even moderately well it will show that there is a market for female-led action movies. That's been my thinking in paying to see this and Colombiana.

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Earlier today I watched the series finale of Chuck, a show I've never loved but often enjoyed. The last season was so great that I might actually miss it. I'll certainly miss the musical performances of Jeffster! Their final song was A+. You can watch all the others here in one file. I've always been partial to their cover of Toto's "Africa" because I unironically love that song.

Farewell, Chuck.