It's been one year, three months, and six days since last I used my journal. "So," I thought, "I better come back with something massive and shiny to distract people from the fact that I've been so utterly AWOL." Well, I did no recaps, MST3Ks, obnoxious fangirling, or pointlessly in-depth analyses during 2009. I missed a whole year of fandom-related fandoming.

In light of that, allow me to distract you all from my long absence with a massive, shiny picspam of everything I wasn't recaping/squeeing about/pointlessly analyzing during 2009.

This is long and will hurt your dial-up.

( 2009 In Films )

( 2009 In Television )


So. I hope that distracted you all thoroughly. I'm gonna actually try to update every once in a while now.

Also I did most of the caps myself and it took forever to clean them up so if you want to use them for anything that's cool just please credit me thanks!

Final Nightshift tally on all my characters:

( long Landel's post is long )

I also saw Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which was most excellent. Except for Felicia Day.

( more on that )

Aaaaand I saw the Dark Knight, but I'll keep that review short. Basically, it could have easily been two movies (it felt like it ended right after Rachel got blown up), they shouldn't have killed Rachel (they'll just have to get a new girl that no one will care about for the 3rd movie), they shouldn't have killed Two-Face (he was AWESOME), and David Wenham and Miranda Otto should have played James and Lily sorry wait that's Harry Potter >.> But overall, it was a lot smarter and a lot better written than the average comic book movie, and a lot darker too (which I liked), but it just wasn't FUN enough. Bottom line: worth my $10, won't be rushing out to see it again.

Oh, and I've figured out who I'm apping as a Nightshift character! They're from our favorite movie, katiria, and they look like this! It will be EPIC.

Lol, tagged.

( list of top movies from 1987-now )

No one ever expects Unexpected!Michaela Conlin

Two movie posts in one day? From me? Why yes!

This one goes behind a cut because it's long and I hate Disney.

( maybe she'd know you loved her if you stopped with the over-handed meta for two seconds (or, an Enchanted review) )

P.S. Was it just me desperately trying to inject something we over-12's could enjoy, or was the "I'm angry!" scene with Patrick Dempsey in a bathrobe really HAWT? Like, "they're three seconds away from ripping each other's clothes off and doing it on the floor" hawt. Even if Patrick Dempsey's performance was clearly inspired by David Boreanaz' shoe varnish.
P.P.S. And call me cynical, but even with the aid of Unexpected!Michaela Conlin and a whole host of Came-From-Nowhere-Munchkins, Giselle wouldn't magically be able to adjust to life in NYC. Even True Love can't get you through mortgage payments and bills I fucking hate bills and roommates. Even when you don't live with them, they still make you hate them..

ETA: I was roped into watching some special features. The "making of" bits seem to be mostly people talking about how incredible it was for them to do all these awesome special effects, like LotR didn't do everything this movie did and more in the sfx department several years earlier. And as for deleted scenes? Imagine my glee to discover Unexpected!Michaela Conlin originally had three whole lines. They weren't very good lines, and the character was indistinguishable from Angela, but Michaela Conlin is never a bad thing.

OMGWTFMONKEYS.

Anya and Mrs. C would definitely approve of the Indiana Jones movie. Apparently Spielberg was like, "You can never have too many monkeys trying to eat Cate Blanchett's hair!" And that was pretty much that.

Oh, and Stephen Sommers would like his ending back.

Karen Allen, meanwhile, deserves a Big Damn Award for managing to make Marion awesome in the face of all odds. She is seriously FTW on so many levels. I think I liked her better in KotCS than I did even in Raiders. She's won her place next to Lena Olin, Elisabeth Sladen, Christine Baranski, and several others on the list of Quinquagenarian Actresses Who Could Pwn You.

MEANWHILE. I'm back in New England, have been for about a week. I spent the past week resting and recuperating from moving all my furniture into storage and acclimatizing to my new work schedule. Unfortunately, I cannot share details of my work here as Lady U mocked me for my job as a receptionist last summer. All she knows of the new one is that I work mornings and had to sign confidentiality papers (although the papers thing may have been a tangled web of deceit. I might be scooping ice cream. Then again, I might not. I might be working for THE ALIENS o.O).

If anyone would like to hang out, I'd be available any day after 1:30 or 2. katiria?

P.S. The Doctor Who finale airs in one week! *goes slowly insane*
P.P.S. Almost done with my Landel's app! I just have to do the first person sample. It's only... oh... 19 pages so far >.>; The history section is under the word limit, I swear!

I have done some research on nightmares, because I am a very morbid person. Well, Irish at least.

( a very short review because I spent all day on a plane and am very tired )

PS. Gwen and Ianto appear in the DW finale? What about us who don't like Torchwood and think Gwen and Ianto are boring and obnoxious, RTD??? If they have more than one line each, I will be forced to sic Nightingale on someone. Wow, I haven't threatened to use Nightingale on anyone in years. It feels good :) I'm excited for SJS, Jack, Martha, Jackie, ROSE, and even Mickey. But Ianto and Gwen? RAWR.

If anyone has missed out on the awesome that is Reefer Madness, you should go about rectifying that fact right now.

Alan Cumming, Kristen Bell, Shakespeare, and lots of pot. What could go wrong? It's an epic movie. There's even an Unexpected Chinese Guy. He sings and everything.

( REEFER MADNESS: The Movie Musical )

On the new ratings scale that Lady U and I came up with, known as the Lstar Scale, it rates a solid 0.5/5. But see, on this scale the lower the number, the better the movie is. This movie scores really damn low, meaning it's really damn awesome.

So yes. Go forth and watch.

Donna. Romana. THEY RHYME. Coincidence? I THINK NOT.

Anyway, I've seen several movies between the last time I posted and now. Obviously, spoilers. Although no long recaps. I'm too lazy.

( Cloverfield )

( The Ruby In The Smoke )

( The Colour of Magic )

Oh, and if Ten really does wind up married to anyone besides Rose or Donna, even if it's someone with as cool as name as River Song, this will be one unhappy little chinchilla. TEN AND ROSE'S LOVE IS EPIC AND FOREVER. Ten and Donna's love is endlessly amusing. Ten and River Song's love? IT IS A LIE. EVEN MORESO THAN THE CAKE. And I'm not alone in the DO NOT WANT camp. Admittedly, we're all die-hard T/R shippers in here, but there's A LOT OF US. And we are NOT AMUSED.

Sadly, Lady U, I failed to find a picture of the Dracula puppet from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". But I'll keep on trying. Maybe something'll pop up in a week or two?

To make up for it, I found this photo of Alexis Denisof at the premiere of that movie.

I also discovered that there is a highly amusing Sarah Marshall Fansite, which includes stuff about her new movie "After the Tone," which I suspected was a mock of "Pulse", but my suspicions were confirmed at the fansite, which had a photo from "Pulse" which I sort of want to see now.

There's also an official website for Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime. Which may just be the best crime drama ever.

So apparently production of His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass: The Movie is in full swing, though they only list a few cast members at imdb. The only one that I know or care about is Nicole Kidman, who should be amazing as Mrs. C. Everyone else is, like, Daniel Craig, and Eva Green, and Adam Godely, and other British people that nobody's heard of. I shall tell you: not a bad thing. I've always pictured Ralph Fiennes as Lord Asriel, but if I can't have him, a British guy that nobody's heard of is better than some big superstar who can't act. Also, Chris Weitz is a pretty decent director. Though the first on-set photos of Nicole K have rolled in, and she appears to be blonde. Also, they've cast a brunette as the witch. Eh. Hair color - not that important. As long as they cast some good ole fashioned eye candy soon, I'm happy. We need Nathan Fillion as Lee, I think. Seriously, who's better than Nathan Fillion? Nobody, that's who.
I'm psyched. 2007 can't come fast enough. This is the only movie I've been really exited to see since H2G2. So... I hope it's good.

So... I'm bored. Alias is supposed to come on in about half an hour, which is totally throwing me because usually it's on at 8 on Thursdays, not 10 on Wednesdays. Confusion! So in the meantime...

( a little non-spoilerific Alias fun )
( new trailers out this week )

Well. That was random.

Yesterday I went to see The Legend of Zorro. Lady U would hate this movie if she saw it. I found it quite enjoyable. Not particularly thought-provoking, but a lot of fun with some cool fight scenes. And a horse on top of a train. And Antonio Banderas is relatively... well... really really hot. But they definitely owe a lot to "The Mummy Returns." As in, like... they stole Alex, dyed his hair black and gave his a Spanish accent. And Catherine Zeta-Zones is an amazing actress. And Rufus Sewell... who knew he was capable of being such a pretty boy? For those who have seen Cold Comfort Farm - Rufus Sewell is Seth, the really sexy younger brother who loves the movies and ends up going to Hollywood. He's not as hot in Zorro. He's... pretty. His hair is weird and he's clean-shaven. That's probably why.

Also, there was soap.

That's really all I had to say. I am also excited for HP4 to come out, and I will be seing that as soon as is humanly possible. :)

So every once and a while everyone in the dorm who feels like it gathers in the common room and watches a movie. Usually, I miss out, either because it's a stupid movie and I don't want to watch it, or because I'm never in the common room and therefore never know when this sort of things goes on until my roomie comes back complaining about how she's going to have nightmares because OMG SAW IS FREAKY!

But last night we watched "Silence of the Lambs." It was a lot of fun. Reactions ranged from "Shut up! Hannibal is speaking!" to "I'm so confused. Scared as hell, but... so, so confused" to "Oh my God! Agh! Oh wait... never mind" to "Hah! She's SHORT!" to "That's... um... gross..." to, finally "If I have nightmares tonight, it's YOUR door I'm gonna be banging on at four in the morning!"
I was one of two people who had seen the movie recently enough to actually remember it, and we spent the movie making faces at each other. But then she ran away right before the basement squence. Admittedly, the basement seuqence is really scary, especially at one in the morning with all the lights of and someone making sucking noises from a corner of the room. And of course the Halloween decorations are up, so there are cobwebs and rather gooey rats all over the place, so that only added to the freakyness of it all. But still. It's the best part of the movie!

SotL is also, if you are someone studying film-making *cough*LadyU*cough*, a must. I WILL make you watch it soon, Lady U! You cannot escape!

It's overcast here, and rather dark at only 5:30. Which is sad. *tear*

But Oct25th is fast approaching, and for those who do not understand the significance of that date... A plague on both your houses! And no, it's not the anniversary of Mercutio's death! It's... :P wait and see, grasshoppers. You shall know the truth.

Now, I have many papers to write and very little time to write them in. So, tah.

So yesterday I biked to the theater and saw Flightplan. I wouldn't recommend that anyone else see it, unless you really like Jodi Foster THAT much. Or Sean Bean. Because Sean Bean is... well... Sean Bean. And Jodi Foster's really good in it. And that's about it.

The day before yesterday (that being... um... Friday), I saw Everything Is Illuminated. I thought it was really good and everyone should go see it. I don't know if Lady U will feel the same way because a) she's Lady U, and b) I don't know how close it is to the book, having never read the book. But I thought that it was definitely quality.

On the way back from the movie theater, a bug flew into my mouth.

On a completely different note, congrats to my godfather and his boyfriend who got married yesterday! Well, really they just went to the place where you sign the papers and signed the papers and had cake afterwards, but hey. It's still marriage. So, lots of love and such to them.
It's raining here, which is indcredibly sad, mainly because... it's S. Cali. It's not supposed to rain damnit! Ah well. Hopefully it'll be back to normal (ie. 80s and sunny) tomorrow.

I had nothing else particularly constructive to say, except that I think the Rachel Bitch should die, Rousseau should be made the main character of Lost, and there should be free buritos for everybody!

Speaking of which - thanks for the post card, hebei. :)

That's it, really.

Oh. I'd also like to point out my new icons to Lady U, who needs a new icon. Mine are in slight protest of the fact that the old gang is dwindling and the Rachel Bitch and NotScott are taking the spotlight, because Will and Francie are gone (wtf? Why?!) and Nadia, very much unlike the Rachel Bitch, is a Derevko. And at least one Derevko will end up ruling the world (probably not Nadia, 'cause she wouldn't be conscious long enough to actually put any kind of world domination plan into action, but... one of them anyway...). It's just... fate.

I finished Thud! early this morning (by early, I mean around 11:30). A review is enclosed, with as few spoilers as possible. Also, I watched the commentary for H2G2. :) It was the director, the producer, Martin Freeman, and Bill Nighy. Can I marry Bill Nighy? Or can he come live under my bed? Pwease? The only really annoying thing was that the sound of the movie came back in every now and then while they weren't talking, even if it was just for a second that they were quiet, while sometimes it didn't do that at all. It was really starting to piss me off by the time the Vogons were blowing holes in Arthur's trailer.

Also, Trillian's shirt was explained. Like this:
Me: It's Zaphod's shirt! That's why it's weird! It has 3 sleeves!
Lady U: *pause* She's a trollop.


( a line in the sand: The Thud Review )


PS. I'm going to college tomorrow, and my parents have been nagging me nonstop. "Is this clean?" "Have you memorized this monologue?" "No, don't sit down for five minutes, organize this!" Grrrrr.

Ran out and got Hitchhiker's on DVD. Lovely.

( 'love and kisses, Zaphod' - the H2G2 DVD review )

I have just returned from Lady U's. And she wants to watch Mummy2 tomorrow. Lady U, did you hit your head? Oh, yeah, you like Pirates. You like these action/comedy/adventure/hot guys kinda movies. And Hot Egyptian Guy is hotter than anybody in Pirates. :P

In other news, I have an exciting new icon, made at 5 this morning.

I also saw the dawn break. It was beautiful. And it was annoying. I was trying to sleep, and the dawn kept getting in my eyes. I told it to go away, but it said I should stuff it 'cause it was my own damn fault. This is probably the truth, but the dawn could have been nicer about it.

As something of an experiment, I'm writing a Vaughn/Nadia fic. Because I'm already shipping Nadia with three of the Alias men, I might as well go all out and ship her with everyone. Jack/Nadia, Marshall/Nadia, Dixon/Nadia... but not Will/Nadia, because he's mine.

Okay, that was a joke. Except about the Vaughn/Nadia fic (and Will being mine). It's a total experiment, since we all know that Vaughn belongs wholly to Sydney, but meh. Just for the hell of it.

Alias the Sitcom is coming along nicely - the rough cut edited by moi comes in at just under 25 minutes, and this without two scenes. Yes, we have no life.

Quote of the Moment:
"Oops."
~Evy Carnahan after knocking over an entire library, "The Mummy"


So the Chinchilla has once more demonstrated her amazing prowress in the field of bad film watching by magically convincing Lady U to watch the first half of the The Mummy, and we have actual plans to see the second half. My plan for world conquest is progressing nicely...


At any rate, I have read Lstar's lj post regarding spoilers, WHICH I F-ING HATE! *makes Jack face* But yeah, I think we all knew Mr. X would be the one to kick it (other than, ya know, Weiss and Nadia, who are just so unimportant that nobody cares that they're leaving). Bigger and better things, my ass. Nobody wants to see Greg G. in some indie film with a bunch of famous indie actors, who cares if Mia M is Richard Dreyfuss' new love interest, and seriously what's the big fuss about J-Lo? C'mon, Vartan, you know where your loyalties lie.

And I do not approve of this Rachel character. Or this man. Stupid man. Why, Speedman, why? Screw Underworld - BE ON ALIAS!


I also put together a rough-cut of the first fifteen minutes or so of The Sydney Bristow Sitcom, which, if you ask me, needs a better title. I will brainstorm (heehee Project Brainstorm. A friend of mine said recently: "That'll be what it says on your gravestone: 'Actually, on Alias...'").


It was time to get new icons as well, so I did. A rather simple cut-and-paste one I made of Charlie on-stage in cool lighting, the return of the Queen of Spades icon I made months ago ever since Weiss started doing his dumb card tricks for Nadia, and one of the R/Hr ones I made the other week. :) New icons are my friends. :)

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I am SO voting for Beeblebrox for President! That man makes my year. Although how Trillian managed to put up with him for even that one week...the world may never know. And if the world couldn't guess, I saw Hitchhiker's again yesterday. And I thought the world needed to know that.

Martin Freeman and Mos Def continue to rock my world (even if the world did kinda get blown up... oh well). Zooey Deschanel... I don't know why, but I like her more every time I see it. I get this strange feeling that she's really doing something brilliant and I'm just not getting it... But that's just perfectly normal paranoia! Everybody gets that! I know not what this cheese you speak of is, but... I'D RATHER BE HAPPY THAN RIGHT ANY DAY. Are you? NO, NOT REALLY. HAH! THAT'S WHERE IT ALL FALLS DOWN! I'm madly in love with Slartibartfast and I want him to come live in my closet.

I also need to get more sleep. Even though I went to bed at about 8:30 last night.


IRINA'S BACK, BITCH! SHE IS SO BACK! Rock on, Alias. But if Mia and Greg both leave... the world will know of my displeasure.... grrrrr... We must have Nadia/Weiss, which will be rather tricky without either Nadia or Weiss... Unless they both die, in which case there can be much angsting. And since it's Alias, they could still come back! Because how many times have both Lena Olin and Amy Irving died now and they're STILL coming back...? At least twice each. At least.
My greatest wish is this: before the end of the season, we need one scene with all the Derevko women in one room together. The meglomanical Elena, the duplicitous Irina, the malignant Katya, the insecure but malipulative Nadia, and the very very badass Sydney. That would be the most amazing scene. Or a scene with Jack, Irina, and Sloane in the same room. That, too, would rock. But in any case Nadia and Irina have to meet. Because that would be horrendously depressing.
And, yes, I thought the world needed to know all this.

This was the second shorest and most pointless post ever by the Chinchilla.


PS. THE CRUCIBLE IS OVER! MY AFTERNOONS ARE MY OWN! :)

Honestly, this is more for me than for anybody reading this. I need to review some movies. They are:
1. Underworld (which, because I'm me, I loved)
2. Rush Hour 2 (I adore Jackie Chan! He's cute like Snoopy!)
3. Machurian Candidate (which I saw over a month ago. Do I remember it?)
4. a movie that will make Lady Uranus cry

Underworld I need to finish, which should take maybe a couple of days. Rush Hour 2 will probably never get a full review and neither will Manchurian Candidate. The 4th movie definitely will get a full review, because it will make Lady Uranus cry.

That's all I've got for now. Except Underworld sometime this week. Right now, I'm sick. So probably don't expect anything today.