Being Human has finally come to the United States – a full-on American version, that is. Fans of the original British series, available on BBC America, have mixed feelings. For one, the core storyline is exactly the same: a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost living together trying to be as normal and human as possible. So basically, if you developed any kind of relationship with the British cast, you’re probably going to have some separation anxiety. However, to be fair, the producers of the American version have changed the names of the three characters, so there’s that, and they’ve also said that they don’t expect that the American series will follow the plot direction of the British series, which could be cool. The show’s premise is based on three supernatural creatures living together without having to hide what they are from each other, while facing everything else going on in their everyday lives.
Either way, the premiere held its own for me on Monday night. I’ve only seen a couple episodes of the British version so I’m pretty open to an American cast with its own direction. I thought that the first episode of Syfy‘s Being Human had decent special effects, funny one-liners, and one seriously hot vampire (Aidan) – played by none other than Sam Witwer (Doomsday from Smallville). The werewolf, Josh, is played by Sam Huntington (Jimmy Olsen from Superman Returns or Ox from Not Another Teen Movie), and the ghost, Sally, is played by Meaghan Rath. The premiere opened with a bang with a neat werewolf shifting scene in the middle of the woods (more lycan-like in the Underworld tradition as opposed to the werewolves from Twilight, which was awesome), and a vampire attack on an unsuspecting victim … with fangs!!
Aidan (vampire) and Josh (werewolf) are two friends working in the same hospital in Boston. Separated from their families/covens, they decide to move in together. The only problem is their new abode is haunted by a ghost (Sally) who is trapped inside. They all have baggage – Aidan trying to escape the drug-like nature of his vampiric curse, and staying away from Bishop, the vampire leader who keeps drawing him back to being a monster; Josh dealing with shifting every month and running away from his family; and Sally who can’t come to terms with the fact that she had everything and now is left nothing as a ghost. Being Human is about their lives, their stories, and their relationships with each other, in their struggle to be human. As Aidan put it, “We just want the same things that you do, a chance at life, at love. We’re not so different in that way. And so we try, and sometimes fail. When you’re something other … a monster, the concequences are worse. Much worse. You wake up from your nightmares, we don’t.”
The episode had a great start, a slow middle, and picked up some more steam in the end, when Josh finds himself trapped in his no-exit “change” room with his sister, and he has already begun to shift. Unable to reach Aidan, who has been lured back into Bishop’s depraved clutches to partake of human blood (which he has supposedly sworn off), Josh appeals to Sally to find the strength to leave the house to help him, and then the episode ends.
Overall, great foundation. Apart from the fact that Aidan is smoldering hot and perfectly cast as the vampire in the trio, I can’t wait to delve deeper into their world. I also really enjoyed the humorous one-liners which lightened up some of the darker elements.
Josh (about getting an apartment with Aidan): We’ll have full moon parties. We’ll invite the neighbors over and eat them.
Interestingly enough, in the information section on the channel guide, it was categorized as a comedy on Syfy. I enjoyed the banter, and some of the laugh-out-loud moments like Josh stealing and wearing a dress when he wakes up post-werewolf in the nude. Classic. Even the stalwart and scary Bishop has a tongue-in-cheek comment about the reality of being a vampire that was pretty funny.
Bishop to Aidan (about killing his date): Somehow between the tiramisu and the naughty bits, we lose our head.
I really enjoyed the episode, and am looking forward to the next one. Jury is out on whether this will be as popular as it’s British counterpart and namesake, and whether it has the staying power of other vampire/supernatural series like Buffy or The Vampire Diaries or Supernatural is yet to be seen.
I finally got around to reading this little novella of Stephenie Meyer‘s, intended to be a sort-of companion to the Eclipse novel. The story is about Bree Tanner, one of Riley’s vampire minion crew bred to attack the Cullens as part of the redheaded vampire’s retaliation plan from Eclipse. You will remember Bree if you’ve read the book or seen the movie as the girl after the Cullen versus newborn fight who tells Carlisle Cullen that she doesn’t want to fight. He, in turn, offers her the chance to have a chance at life with them. Things don’t work out of course with emotionless and cruel Jane leading the Vampire Police Squad, so Bree is executed for her crimes. Hence the “short” in the title of the novella.
So basically this is a short story, 178 pages to be exact. Most Twilight fans will definitely enjoy this short book, if only for a bit more of the world surrounding Stephenie Meyer’s breed of vampires. Bree’s story is told after she has been turned, and chronicles her journey of discovery as a newborn vampire, her questions of the secretive Riley, her budding romance with Diego, and her odd but comforting friendship with the strangely repulsive Fred. A slave to her blood thirst, she is a vampire first and foremost, but Bree doesn’t allow herself to be manipulated by Riley, and in the end, she makes the decision not to fight in Riley’s war…the decision that causes Carlisle to take pity on her, even if she still dies.
I thought that Bree was a sympathetic character, even though it was somewhat tragic that she traded her humanity for a cheeseburger. Still, she does seem to retain more of her humanity than the others in her coven. I liked that she was strong and independent, and thought for herself. I didn’t really care for any of the other newborn vampires and I found most of them to be quite irritating – they seemed more like brats than killers to me. Although I did like Diego more than the others, to me, he was just a foil to emphasize Bree’s vulnerability as a girl with girl-like emotions at the core despite her vampire nature. I did like Fred, and I will most likely enjoy his story if told. He was the only other cool character for me in this novella. Things do become more interesting toward the end, especially as Bree interacts with the Cullens from the Twilight Eclipse story because of the tie-ins. In terms of the pros, it’s interesting to learn about things in the Twilight world from the point of view of a newborn, and the connection with the Cullens at the end is cool. In terms of cons, it’s a very quick read (too short!) and I definitely would have liked to see more of Fred!!!
I’d rate The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner four out of five stars for Twilight fans, and five out of five for the proceeds to charity because that was definitely for a for a worthy cause!
Ok, now I know I’m probably going to get beaten for reviewing this movie…but hey, it’s about vampires and it’s the hot kid from 90210! So give me a break, ok?
Anyway, I’m a dubious fan of spoof movies because I don’t find them that funny even though I find myself getting sucked in and watching them and then being all angry for having wasted ninety minutes of my life (Meet the Spartans, anyone?) I held off from watching Vampires Suck until just this past weekend. Given that I’m gearing up to read The Passage by Justin Cronin, I figured that some serious vampire laugh therapy was needed. That said, apart from some minor eye-rolling, I did get a couple laughs even if it only got rated at a pretty terrible single-digit 4% on the Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer.
Basically Vampires Suck is a spoof of the first two Twilight movies. In the tiny town of vampireville Sporks, Becca, a misunderstood, angst-ridden teenager, is torn between two boys – the segway-riding vampire and the cat-hunting werewolf. Everything from then on goes toe-to-toe with the scripts from Twilight and New Moon, and then it all comes to a head at the prom when Becca gets her wish to be with Edward forever. Go Team Edward!
Yeah, you read those three lines right. That’s it. That’s the summary. It’s pretty much exactly what happened. Other than the segway and the werewolf “Raining Men” dance (which were both shown in the previews), there wasn’t a ton of laughs to be had. The best part about this movie was Jenn Proske, whose impersonation of Kristen Stewart literally had me in tears every time she opened her mouth. She could have been her doppelganger. I also liked that Jacob kept running off after random cats, but that was only because I love the dogs in Up who scream “squirrel” and lose all concentration. But sadly, that was pretty much it.
Overall, as far as spoofs go, this one barely rated, and belongs in the pile where Disaster Movie and Epic Movie ended up. My recommendation? Only watch it if it’s 1) free and 2) you get something inexplicably rewarding out of seeing Twilight made fun of (this means you, you Twi-haters). I’d rate Vampires Suck half a star, just for Matt Lanter’s sparkly hot bod.
I’m a couple weeks late after the newest Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer came out but I only saw it when I went to see Inception. It looks like it’s going to be phenomenal! I do have to say though that this whole splitting the last book in a series into two movies is just wrong. Harry Potter, Eclipse…I mean come on…we’ve bought and read all the books, we’ve gone to all the movies, we’ve bought the DVDs…do you have to stretch the beejezus out of the last one? Come on!
Rant said, the Harry Potter trailer looks awesome. I could almost be convinced that it would be worth it to see it in two parts. Almost. All I can say is that they have to do it right – and not just stretch it out painfully so that they can make the two movies. They both have to have standalone substance.
I finally managed to get in to see Eclipse over the weekend. I can honestly say that from Twilight to New Moon to Eclipse, the movies have definitely improved. But of course, boatloads of money will do that for you. I’m still not a huge fan of Robert Pattinson *gasp* but I’m very impressed with Taylor Lautner in this go-around. I found him to be very interesting (and hot) as Jacob, and am now wavering in my self-professed “vamp-girl-for-life” persuasion.
Rated at 54% on the tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes, the film did have some great moments, like the fight scene between the vampires and the wolves which was exciting and fast-paced. I’m not sure I’m a fan of the diamond bodies – something about it just doesn’t resonate with me but that could be because I’m a crumble-to-ash-when-staked kind of girl. Old school. Nonetheless, in the new school, it was still pretty cool.
The core of the novels, I didn’t really enjoy the love scenes between Bella and Edward as much as I did when I’d read the books. In the film, I found them long and drawn-out. They were tedious and sappy, and I wanted to get to the action sequences. Something about Edward in this movie also felt a lot older to me – he didn’t seem as young as he did in the other two movies. Maybe that’s what made the love scenes seem awkward. Not entirely sure. I did like the interaction between Bella and Jacob – they were far more interesting. Plus you can’t help rooting for Jacob – the little underdog…er…wolf.
I also really enjoyed the back stories of each of the Cullens, and I especially liked Jasper’s story. I thought he was really great in this film – loved his humor and found that he reminded me of Louis from Interview with a Vampire at times (when he was conducting the training of the vampires and werewolves to fight the newborns), which was very cool.
Overall, I’d say it was a decent representation of the novel, and a film that most Twihards will enjoy. Me, I liked all the action scenes, Jacob’s constantly shirtless tanned body, and the nice one-liners throughout.
Edward: Doesn’t he own a shirt?
Not to mention the first kiss between Jacob and Bella which was so funny.
Charlie: What’s going on?
Jacob: I kissed Bella. And she broke her hand. Punching my face.
Classic. Love Charlie!
The film had both good and bad moments, but overall I enjoyed it. I thought that Xavier Samuel who played Riley also did a good job of being Victoria’s little minion. But in the end, he dies, poor thing. Dakota Fanning as Jane, in the little we did see of her, does a great job combining the little girl looks with stone cold killer. Got chills from that one…nice. Not sure who the other two Volturi were but didn’t care too much on that front. Jane and Felix were enough for me.
Overall I would rate Eclipse, the movie, 4 out of 5 stars. It was fun and stayed true to the book which fans will love. Couple that with Edward’s broodiness and cool vampire hair, and Jacob’s chiseled abs, and well, you’ve got box-office millions. Enjoy!
I started reading Shiver and immediately loved the language. I loved the lyrical and descriptive sentences, as well as the fact that it was based on two points of view, both Grace and Sam. However as the story progressed, I found that sometimes it was very difficult to keep track of who was speaking…ie., who was the “I” in that particular chapter. It got confusing at times, and I found myself having to go back and check the chapter title.
That said, my favorite thing about this book was unequivocally the imagery. Maggie Stiefvater is an excellent writer and creates a world that is so visual that you get drawn right into the middle of it, even if you don’t want to. I loved that about Shiver. Her writing is so rich and evocative!
I adored Beck. Now he was an interesting character! I would have loved to have known more about him, and also get a little more dynamic between him and Grace…sort of ex-father figure and new love interest. Who where the three people he turned and why did they want to be turned? I also liked Isabel a lot – she seemed to have more spark and dimension than Grace. I wanted to see more of her, and loved that she was so feisty when she was out looking for Sam in one of their barns.
Overall I would rate Shiver 4 stars for its gorgeous writing. As many other reviewers have said, fans of Twilight will enjoy this story, especially younger teen readers.
Daybreakers has been out for a week but I have yet to see it. This vampire movie takes a new approach to the vampire-mania across the nation – it portrays a world where vampires are the majority and humans are the minority, hunted and farmed for blood. Enter power, corruption, and politics. Nix teen-angst, sparkles, and cool vampire hair. Oh wait, the cool vampire hair is still there. Like blood, I guess you can’t have a vampire flick without it. At least this one has fangs.
The reviews from Rotten Tomatoes look decent, at 66%, which in the Rotten Tomato world is pretty darn good. And I heard the 6 Second Review guy this morning say that he’s in because the vampires don’t sparkle. Classic.
Check out those 6 seconds here.
Maybe I’ll get a look at it this weekend. For now, here’ s the trailer if you haven’t seen it.
Ok, so maybe Blade Trinity wasn’t one of the best, but seriously you have to love Ryan Reynolds and his dry, witty comments, “I picked Danica up in a bar, and spent the next five years playing hide-and-go-suck as her little vampire cabana boy.” He cracks me up everytime, not to mention his interaction with Parker Posey, “Her name is Danica Talos. You met her earlier. And unlike typical vampires, her fangs are located in her vagina.”
Blade Trinity was nothing like its two predecessors, but overall I enjoyed it for mindless, vampire-filled entertainment. And yes, complete with FANGS and BLOOD. Hooray!
I’m only posting about this because I watched it right after I went to see New Moon (check out my review), and it was cathartic. I needed blood, guts, and fangs. I needed “real” vampires. And I got them, even if they were bad ones. So the moral of this story is that some things are good for something. Or maybe, the sad fact is that every not-so-good vampire movie ever made will get better after watching any one of the Twilight movies.
You will remember my last post on the subject – the hilarious vampire parody that just makes you laugh so hard, it hurts – Intercourse with a Vampire. Well, get ready for more! Its talented, funny creator, Jake Fleisher, has just posted two new follow-up episodes. Get your New Moon anti-gas medicine here!
Dating a vampire in high school is awesome, but sometimes love shouldn’t be eternal.
Episode #1: Something is cold in this bed, and it’s not your feet.
Episode #2: Introducing your parents to your boyfriend’s family is always going to be nerve wracking. A bit more so when his family are bloodsuckers.
Episode #3: Vampires can move at superhuman speeds. Where they squander that gift is their own business.
Check out my friend Brad Blanks’ (celebrity journalist extraordinaire) interview with every teen girl’s fantasy, Robert Pattinson aka Edward Cullen and his human love muffin, Kristin Stewart aka Bella Swan.
Brad Blanks interview with Robert Pattinson. Surprise, surprise, he interviews way better than he acts!
Brad Blanks interview with Kristen Stewart. This girl has a brain, even though she doesn’t come across this way in the media most of the time. Very interesting.
Being Human has finally come to the United States – a full-on American version, that is. Fans of the original British series, available on BBC America, have mixed feelings. For one, the core storyline is exactly the same: a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost living together trying to be as normal and human as possible. So basically, if you developed any kind of relationship with the British cast, you’re probably going to have some separation anxiety. However, to be fair, the producers of the American version have changed the names of the three characters, so there’s that, and they’ve also said that they don’t expect that the American series will follow the plot direction of the British series, which could be cool. The show’s premise is based on three supernatural creatures living together without having to hide what they are from each other, while facing everything else going on in their everyday lives.
Josh, is played by Sam Huntington (Jimmy Olsen from Superman Returns or Ox from Not Another Teen Movie), and the ghost, Sally, is played by Meaghan Rath. The premiere opened with a bang with a neat werewolf shifting scene in the middle of the woods (more lycan-like in the Underworld tradition as opposed to the werewolves from Twilight, which was awesome), and a vampire attack on an unsuspecting victim … with fangs!!
The episode had a great start, a slow middle, and picked up some more steam in the end, when Josh finds himself trapped in his no-exit “change” room with his sister, and he has already begun to shift. Unable to reach Aidan, who has been lured back into Bishop’s depraved clutches to partake of human blood (which he has supposedly sworn off), Josh appeals to Sally to find the strength to leave the house to help him, and then the episode ends.
Ok, so maybe 
see 
