Sundry Sunday :: an “I went there for you” 6 list

“I went there for you” lists are lists of actors who I appreciate so much based on one or more performances that I will literally go out of my way to view one or more other performances of theirs.  This is sometimes rewarding; this is sometimes disastrous.  But hey.

6. Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion.  Geeky god-king of the Whedonverse.  Someone I have never not enjoyed.  I appreciated Nathan for Firefly and for Dr. Horrible, and because of my appreciation for him, followed him to Super and Castle, the latter of which is seen above and which I admit that I am woefully, heinously behind in (approximately season two, because I just keep getting distracted with other projects).  I realized that I had already seen him in Slither, which was directed by James Gunn just like Super was; I had watched that just because I enjoy campy-ass, morbid horror semi-comedies, but that works as well.  He is just delightful.

5, 4. Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison

As I have before mentioned, I was basically a Spring Awakening groupie.  I still love it with all my heart.  I naturally found Lea through that, and thought she sang pretty and such.  I saw the original cast of The Light in the Piazza, too, and I absolutely was in love with Matthew Morrison in it, singing so beautifully in Italian all over the place.  So naturally, when I heard all that while ago that they were going to be in a singing television program together, I went “YAY!!” and prepared to fangirl.  Glee, seen above, is one of those “I went there for you” moments that I am now… mildly regretting, though, for the reasons I’ve mentioned before; also, it sucks that I don’t really like… well, a lot of the characters, but I really don’t like Rachel that much, and I really don’t like Will that much, and while Lea gets to sing all the time, Matt doesn’t get to show off what he can actually do.  I miss when he sang in Italian and sustained notes and it was lovely.

3. Dichen Lachman

I love her more every time I see her face.  I fell for Dichen because of Dollhouse, obviously (just like I fell for… most of the cast that I hadn’t already fallen for already).  But I’ve followed her now to two different places: Torchwood: Miracle Day and now the US Being Human, seen above.  I’d never watched Torchwood before, I’d never watched Being Human before, but that’s just how it is.  I didn’t really love Torchwood (I hear that I would enjoy the original more, so I’m not ruling it out in the future), and I admit that I watch her Being Human episodes on my laptop and just do other things in other tabs until I hear/see her scenes come on, but I do love her.  Even when it’s something I do not otherwise care about whatsoever.

2. Patrick Fugit

Surprise!  This is a predictable list, yes.  After falling in love with him in Almost Famous, I proceeded to follow Patrick Fugit to Saved, to Bickford Schmeckler’s Cool Ideas (which is an example of psychic going there for someone, too, since my much-loved Fran Kranz is there t00), to The Amateurs, to Wristcutters: A Love Story, seen above, to We Bought a Zoo, to Cinema Verite… yeah.  Everywhere.  But the thing is, I’m usually not disappointed.  A lot of those aren’t my favorite movies like Almost Famous is, but I don’t dislike any of them.  And I always love him.

1. Summer Glau

But my darling Summer… takes me to places I regret going sometimes.  Firefly was what made me love her, too, and I didn’t follow her to Dollhouse because I was already there, but I obviously regret nothing about that experience; it’s… well, a lot of the rest.  It’s following her to The Cape, seen above; I think I used that picture back in the day when I tried to put the most positive spin I could on my Cape-watching experience, because really, aside from the one girl who was on Deadwood who I decided was my Nolanized Harley Quinn, the above scene is kind of one of the only things I remember about that show.  I tried so hard to enjoy myself with it, but I couldn’t even finish it, and that’s saying something considering my compulsion to finish everything I begin.  It’s following her to Deadly Honeymoon, which I tumbled about that once and… well, yes.  I didn’t mind following her to Alphas, that I liked fairly well; I still haven’t actually watched that show aside from her episode, though I know I should (more with the time constraints).  But it’s not as unfailingly successful, following her places.  Which is a shame, because she tries to make the best of everything no matter where she ends up, and that’s admirable.

–your fangirl heroine.

Film Friday :: 2011 in film (4 opinions, 2 predictable favorites, 3 adorable [pairs of] people, 3 awesome cameos, 2 kickass people)

Opinions
4. Christina Hendricks’ talents were wasted in Drive.
I still… don’t really know how I felt about this movie.  Apparently, the processing process is still in effect.  But I do know that my baby could have been given a lot more to do.  She is so capable of so so much.

3. Ian McShane’s talents were wasted in Pirates.
I mean, he was the best thing in the movie, by a long shot, but they still didn’t know what to do with him and his awesome.  Yeah.

2. I’m still a cynical bitch about romantic comedies.
Even the ones that I can logically say that I liked more than the rest, I don’t feel compelled to ever see again.  Crazy, Stupid, Love.: it was cute, and until the end, it didn’t suck, but just… no.  Once was enough.

1. Haters of Sucker Punch to the left.
I mean, I get why people don’t groove on it.  Like I get why people don’t groove on Repo or something.  But… see, the thing is, I actually don’t think it’s just some fetishy fanboy wet dream.  Yes, they’re young women kicking people’s asses. Yes, they’re doing so in a lot of tight, short clothing.  No, Lisa Schwartzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, they are not “psycho sluts.”  In the first reality, yes, it’s a mental hospital.  But that doesn’t automatically mean psycho.  They don’t really go around killing people for fun, they’re just setting themselves free.  And save the deleted scene between the High Roller (Jon Hamm) and Babydoll (Emily Browning), you don’t see any of them actually partaking in sexual behavior except dancing and that time that Rocket (Jena Malone) almost gets raped and Amber (Jamie Chung) sitting on that guy’s lap.  So, uhm… sluts?  How?  It’s not bad to partake in sexual behavior, far from, but it’s not really cool to judge someone in that fashion, or judge a movie in that fashion.  It’s a chicks-kicking-ass movie, and it’s stylized, and it’s weird, and… yeah, I get why it’s not for everyone.  But I have developed a strange protectiveness over it.

Predictable favorites
2. Hugo
Gorramit, this movie was adorable.  I do tend to like love letters to filmmaking, and I love period pieces, and it was stylistic, and there was a steampunk robot and Chloe Moretz.  A recipe for win.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
There was never any question about if I’d like this movie or not.  I mean, there are things I still wish were there, but… it made me cry.  Nothing makes me cry.  That’s magic in and of itself. 

Adorable (pairs of) people
3. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anna Kendrick (50/50)
Predictable, maybe (especially because I like both of them: Anna Kendrick is one of the only forgivable things about Twilight, Joseph Gord0n-Levitt is unquestionably endearing).  But true.

2. Amy Adams (The Muppets)
Again, true.

1. Kat Dennings (Thor)
Yeah, I get it.  Darcy was a brat, a little.  But she was just a damn precious brat.  With precious glasses.  And honestly, her reactions to all of the superhero stuff seemed silly because that’s not how a lot of people in movies act, but it’s how a lot of real people would probably act. 

Awesome cameos
3. Jon Hamm (Sucker Punch)
Because if you watch the deleted scene with the High Roller, it’s… kind of completely different than how it seemed in the theatrical release.  Baby’s just like… “oh okay, I guess I’ll have this intimate time with you now,” and it’s consensual, and it’s good.  It makes sense why the doctor then says that when he was lobotomizing her, it’s almost like she wanted him to do it.  And Jon Hamm is just… all kinds of good.

2. Jim Parsons (The Muppets)
Spoiler alert, finally.  I don’t think there could have been a better humanized nerdy Muppet man than Jim Parsons.

1. Nathan Fillion (Super)
Nathan Fillion anywhere would have been brilliant, but Nathan Fillion in a terrible wig and a cheap-ass super-suit?  In what just may have been the most effed-up movie of the year?  Priceless.

Kickass people
2. Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2)
Neville my darling.  My badass darling.  Coming into his own, being so heroic and amazing.

1. Hayley Atwell (Captain America)
Peggy Carter my darling.  Being so efficient, so adorable, kicking ass and taking names and everything.  She is perfection.

So yeah.  Brief synopses and one giant, giant, 24% of the overall post word-wise tl;dr.

–your fangirl heroine.

Spoiler Alert Saturday :: my thoughts on Super

I will begin with shamelessly stating that yes, I did just see in Entertainment Weekly that Nathan Fillion was in it and had to watch for that reason.  And that it was the writer/director from Slither, too, James Gunn, that certainly helped (I’m a morbid freak, so I thought that movie was hilarious).  And that Ellen Page was going to be there adorable-ing it up, that helped, too.

It’s certainly no great epic spectacle of spectacular or something like that.  But it’s a lot of fun, and it’s pretty ridiculous.  And when they get into the action?  Just as messed up.

Kevin Bacon was a convincing creeper.  Liv Tyler was appropriately “ooo drugs”-y.  Rainn Wilson was appropriately “I’mma go beat up some guys now even if I’m unlikely and stuff.”  He beat some guys up, he used a wrench to do it.  And that was awesome.  I mean, I don’t know where the writers thought that up, but tools are very efficient beating-up objects if used properly.  I’d assume.  I mean… y’know, I’ve never beat anyone up.  Nor do I really want to.  But it seems practical enough?

And Ellen Page was appropriately adorable.  I sort of wanted to slap her when she was coming onto Rainn Wilson (though seriously, Rainn Wilson?  How did you not just go ‘oh, okay’ to that?) but she was precious the rest of the time.  I sort of understand why what happened to her had to happen, but it still made me sad because I liked her more than the others, maybe just because she was such a spazzy insane geek.  I use every one of those terms very seriously, too.

And, of course, my man Nathan Fillion.  Well, he wasn’t in it that much.  But when he was he made me giggle hysterically, continually, and that’s really rare.  An Evangelical television superhero?  Awesome stuff.  Sort of like if the narrator guy from Reefer Madness was a superhero, and a little more overtly YAY JESUS.

All in all?  A fun little adventure.  And hurrah for the bittersweetly happy ending, too.  I mean I won’t give it away, but it’s refreshing.

–your fangirl heroine.