The Week of Movies: A Mostly Successful Plan

 Before I begin, I just want to point out that the "double the 'c,' double the 's,' and then you'll have success" quote from Full House went through my mind as I was typing the title of this post.

Now that you know that, I'll tell you about my week of movies. When I reviewed Crazy, Stupid, Love. last week, I revealed my plan to have a week of movies. In case you missed that post, let's have a "previously on" segment. I know it's lame, but please indulge me for a second.

Previously on I Like TV and Movies:

"After going to a grand total of one movie in the theater this summer,

I've decided that this week is going to be the week of movies. 

I planned it out two nights ago; Tuesday is reserved for Crazy Stupid Love.,

Wednesday for The Help, Friday for Final Destination 5,

and possibly Saturday for Captain America."

After checking off Crazy Stupid Love. on Tuesday, I followed my plan and saw The Help on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, I ended up going to see Captain America. At this point, I was ahead of schedule. Unfortunately (although I suspect some of you who don't appreciate an good ole' gory guilty pleasure might say fortunately), I've yet to see Final Destination 5. Still, three out of four planned movies in one week isn't bad. In fact, the sane might even say that three movies in one week is a bit too much. But, they aren't any fun. Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to say about The Help or Captain America: The First Avenger, so I'm just going to condense both reviews into this post.

The Help

After reading the book in January, I was really excited for the theatrical adaption of The Help. As a big fan of novel, I can say that I was fully satisfied with the movie. All of the performances and casting choices are wonderful. Octavia Spencer was a fabulous choice for Minny, and her performance in the pie incident scene is just perfect. Bryce Dallas Howard, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Emma Stone give great performances as well. Even though his part is smallish, I was excited to see Chris Lowell cast as Stuart Whitworth. Although I know this is an unpopular opinion, I loved him as Piz in Veronica Mars, and I may or may not have whispered an excited "Piz!" to my sister when he came onscreen. Because The Help is a fairly long book, it was obvious that parts of it would be left out of the movie; overall, I was impressed with how it was condensed for the big screen. However, there are one or two changes that I found slightly baffling, and one particular scene from the book was left out that I was hoping would be included. That being said, The Help is a really well-made movie and a faithful adaption. 

Captain America: The First Avenger

Of the movies I saw last week, Captain America was probably my least favorite. That doesn't mean, however, that I didn't enjoy it. I just really enjoyed the other two movies and had some issues with this one. Most of my problems with Captain America centered around its villain, Johann Schmidt or Red Skull. I found him to be rather boring and over-the-top, and his scenes drag immensely. He becomes slightly more interesting part way through the movie, but I feel as if his character was not explained well. I went into Captain America knowing nothing about the comics, and perhaps I would have enjoyed the villain aspect of the movie if I had entered with knowledge of the back story. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the hero portion of the story. While snarky anti-heroes like Batman are fun, Captain America's earnest heroism is a refreshing break from the trend. His transformation from scrawny to brawny is gratifying to watch, and his underdog beginnings make him an endearing character. Plus, speaking from a completely shallow place, Chris Evans (who plays Captain America) is a very attractive man. I also enjoyed the 1940s setting of the movie; it adds a fun element to the story and provides a interesting style for the movie. Overall, Captain America is a fun summer action flick. It isn't spectacular, but a likable lead character makes it work watching.

Thursday Night TV aka The Night That I Stayed Up Until 3-Something In the Morning Because Too Many Good Shows Air on Thurdays and I'm Impatient

Geeze Louise! That's probably the longest title I've used so far on this blog, and I'm not sure why I used it because now I don't have much to talk about in the intro. So, yeah, like the title says, I stupidly stayed up watching all my Thursday shows when I had an eight o'clock class the next morning. I watched a total of five shows: two CWs and three NBCs. Sad? Maybe. True? Yes. Worth it? Oh yeah. Because I got from 3-4 hours of sleep last night and because whoever's reading this most likely won't care one iota, I'm not going to write up full reviews of any of these shows. However, most of the shows were awesome, and I wanted to touch on them. So, it's mini review time. They may not be as good as other mini things like mini burgers, but they're still pretty awesome. What's that? My lack of sleep is showing? I guess that means I should get onto the reviews. Not that it matters, but they're ordered by the order in which I watched them. Also, be warned. There are spoilers ahoy up in this post.

The Vampire Diaries
I know all-caps are annoying and kanye-esque so I'll resist the urge to use them. But pretend that they are there to get the full-effect of my opinion because they encapsulate my feelings. Also, don't judge me if I sound like a teenybopper. This is a CW show, so I'm allowed to embrace my inner teenybopper. Anyway, this episode was so so so so awesome. Jenna finally found out about the vampires, and now, maybe she won't be so extraneous to the plot/useless/inviting vampires in/ect. Stefan was so awesome and supportive in this episode. Damon kind of sucked and had a lot of feelings. Stefan, Elena, Elijah, & co. are trying to come up with a plan that doesn't involve Bonnie dying, and Damon's off sulking in the corner. I'm glad that they're finally addressing how awful he's being though, so props for that. What else? Oh yeah, apparently there's no sun and moon curse. Hahaha. Sometimes a twist like that would anger me, but I kind of love the writers for making all of that stuff up. But, apparently Klaus is a werepire?!?!? What? It's a little bit crazy, but I think I like that twist. Also, Elijah is his brother. What? And he's also totally awesome. I liked Elijah okayish the last time around, but he totally won me over in this episode. Okay, I better stop writing because I feel like your opinion of me is dropping with each additional word, and this is supposed to be "mini."

Nikita
Nikita wasn't quite as thrilling as TVD, but it was still a pretty solid episode. I like the Michael, Nikita, and Alex combo quite a bit. I know that a common criticism of recent episodes is that there's been too much focus on Alex. I definitely think that the show could use some more focus on Nikita, but honestly, it hasn't bugged me too much. I like both Nikita and Alex, and so I enjoy watching whichever one the show runners choose to show me. Jaden, on the other hand, could use less screen time. She's annoying, and I would have shed any tears if she'd died in the explosion. Her little turncoat move at the end just proved that I'm justified in not liking her.

Parks and Recreation
I finally got caught up to Parks and Recreation last weak (in a shamefully short amount of time, might I add), and I love this show! Amy Poehler is the reason I started watching, but the whole cast is great. From Andy's favorite food to Tom's lingo, this episode was chock-full of amazingly hilarious moments. Also, the moment between Leslie and Ben in front of the mural was kind of adorable. The whole episode worked really well, and I was really impressed with it.




Community 

Community was pretty brilliant this week. I typically dread flashback episodes, but using fresh material for the flashbacks was an amazing idea. My favorite parts of the episode were the Jeff/Annie and Pierce/Abed montages featuring one of my favorite songs, "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles. In case you didn't know (I read this online before watching the episode), these videos were a spoof of a Jeff/Annie fanvideo posted on Youtube. But, honestly, the whole episode was pretty ace.




The Office 
For some reason, this episode of the office didn't click with me (for the most part, but we'll get to that in second). The jokes weren't that funny to me, and the storyline was just kind of blah. However, what did work about this episode was a nostalgia factor. This was Michael Scott's second-to-last episode, and for that, it was worth watching. It was touching to see all of the employees embracing the Dundies that they had earlier mocked. And the final song was unbelievable sweet. It may have even brought a couple of tears to my eyes. I guess it's a warm up for next week when I will most likely be bawling my eyes out (figuratively, of course because literally that would be disgusting).

I Believe in a Thing Called Love...

Just try to tell me that reading of the title of this post didn't have you busting out your falsetto to sing "... Just listen to the rhythm of my heart." It didn't? Okay, I guess that's just a me thing. Anyway, that awkward  exchange was my attempt at introducing this post about the various Valentine's Day episodes I watched this week. Maybe I'm just a sap at heart, but I thought all of these episodes (except for one and that one exception was still pretty good) were really fantastic. Thankfully I watched all of these by myself (ironic, I suppose) because I kept smiling goofily at the sweetness. So without further ado, here are my reviews:

Glee: "Silly Love Songs"
I think we can all agree that the much-publicized Super Bowl episode of Glee was pretty mediocre (minus a couple of great moments like Rachel's smiling as she entered the football field). So, I wasn't expecting much from this episode. However, I was pleasantly surprised by it. Most of the characters were likable, there wasn't a million guest stars, there wasn't any ridiculous story lines about cannons, the songs were generally good, and there was actually some plot development. I loved both of the Warbler songs: "Silly Love Songs" and "When I Get You Alone." However, I did think that it was pretty creepy of Blaine to sing to and chase someone who was obviously trying to get away from him. I think Finn is adorable, so I really want to like him. But, he was kind of a jerk in this episode. It wasn't completely out of character for him, but it still made me sad. While I thought it was weird that he just happened to have a gift for Rachel with him (has he just been carrying that around everywhere?), I loved the necklace he gave her and the speech that went with it (even if it sounded like a cop out so he could get with Quinn). Overall, I'd say this was probably the best episode of Glee since "Duets."

Modern Family: "Bixby's Back"
Shockingly, Modern Family's Valentine's Day-themed episode was the one that I just wasn't feeling. It wasn't terrible, but it was mediocre for a show that I normally adore. None of the story lines really did it for me. As a plus, though, I'm excited for the return of Dylan.

The Office: "PDA"
If I had to describe this week's episode of The Office in one word, I'd use the word "adorable." Holly and Michael may be one of the cutest television couples I've ever seen. I was literally smiling the whole episode at how cute they are. Even if it's the most predictable option at this point, I really hope Michael leaves to be with Holly when Steve Carell departs from the show. But, the other couples featured in this episode were pretty cute as well. I know that some people complain about Erin and Andy being Jim and Pam 2.0, but I think they're adorable together. They were so cute going working on Gabe's puzzles together. I did feel a little bad for Gabe, though. He seems like a nice enough, if slightly annoying guy. Lastly, Jim and Pam were actually cute again this week. Their knowing smiles at the end were adorable. (Want to play a drinking game that'll most likely lead to alcohol poising? Take a shot for every time I've used the words "adorable" or "cute.") My only complaint is the lack of a Kelly and Ryan storyline. They always crack me up, and a Valentine's Day story line for them would have been assuredly fun.

Community: "Early 21st Century Romanticism"
This week, Community juggled several story lines, but all of them were properly developed and hilarious (except for maybe Pierce's storyline). The Britta storyline was hilarious. If you've watched the episode yet, enough said. I also loved Troy and Abed's storyline. It was such a wonderful subversion of the typical "two guys fall in love with the same girl and get into a fight over it" plot. I definitely awed when Troy broke up with the girl for calling Abed weird. Their bromance is so sweet. My heart melted when Jeff sent such a sweet email to the group at the episode's end. It was a super sweet moment, but because we rarely get to see that side of him, it wasn't overly so. Lastly, we have Pierce's story. I found it slightly tedious, but I have to give Community props for continuing what we saw of Pierce last week. I have to admit, I'm curious to see where his downward spiral is going to end.


In closing, (and pretend it's Monday for this part) Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!

Short Review Time

So, from now until the end of next week, I'm going to be totally swamped with work.
I don't think I have any regular readers that are going to be devastated at my lack of posting, but I feel like summing up my thoughts on the shows I've watched this week. For the sake of time and my laziness, I'm going to post a bunch of mini reviews. And please, don't judge me by the horrific amount of television shows I watch:

• How I Met Your Mother - "Baby Talk": I had mixed feelings on this week's How I Met Your Mother. It had some funny moments, and Laura Bell Bundy's reappearance. But I felt it was overall a little blah, and can't see myself wanting to rewatch it anytime soon (and I'm the queen of HIMYM rewatching). It felt more to me like an episode from the earlier seasons, but it seemed like a more mediocre episode than the majority of the episodes in the early seasons. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I digress.

• Glee - "The Rocky Horror Glee Show": This was a somewhat fun episode even if it was almost plotless, but I think I would have understood it more if I'd seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Also, this episode brought Will's creepiness and inappropriateness to a whole new level, and his "creature of the night" face was one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. And Finn looks completely adorable in those glasses.

• Raising Hope - "Happy Halloween": This episode was funny, as all of the other episodes of Raising Hope have been. This is getting to be a new favorite show of mine.

• Modern Family - "Halloween": Modern Family was excellent, and it continued to live up to my high expectations. Gloria's "American accent" was one of the funniest things I've seen on the show and had my dying. Also, Mitchell's spiderclimb down the building was an excellent payoff.

• 16 and Pregnant - "?": I don't remember the girl's name, but there was a girl who was 16 and pregnant. And she had a tire cake at her wedding.  
•  

• Grey's Anatomy - "These Arms of Mine": I have to admit, this week's Grey's Anatomy bored me, and I didn't really pay attention while I watched. However, they may just be because I started freaking out about all my work. So, I might need to rewatch this to form an accurate opinion.