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Supernatural starring Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles

Posted on January 13, 2011 Written by ripitup

Supernatural starring Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles. Feat. Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Plot Summary, Characters & Episode 1

22 years ago, baby Sam and 5-year-old Dean lost their mother to a supernatural evil. Their father John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) barely got them out alive before the whole house burned down. From then on, it became John’s obsession to fight all supernatural evil and find what killed his wife. He also trained his sons to be warriors against any evil thing they might encounter.

Today, Sam (Jared Padalecki) is a student at Stanford, trying to get in to law school and happily coupled up with his girlfriend. Then he gets a visit from his brother Dean (Jensen Ackles) who fought evil with his father. Dean and Sam haven’t spoken in a long time, since Sam is longing for a normal life. But their dad is missing and Dean persuades Sam to help.

Following their father’s tracks, they find themselves in the middle of a case where men are abducted by a hitchhiker ghost and murdered.

Episode 1- spoilers

They solve the case. Sam goes back to his life, only to witness his girlfriend be murdered just like his mother was 22 years ago. He then leaves his Stanford life to help Dean find their father, as well as killing their mother’s killer.

**

Of course, there are many more supernatural evil to fight on the way: ghosts, demons, spirits, shapeshifters, wendigos….And it is beginning to seem like their dad doesn’t want to be found…

**

Verdict

Supernatural is a really fun horror/thriller with some decent thrills, nice one-liners for comedic relief and good chemistry between the two leading characters. I can say the show is pretty addictive. I started watching the first season DVD yesterday and I watched 7 episodes in a row. OK, so I was sick at home (since there were no new blog posts yesterday, sorry about that) but Supernatural episodes definitely kept me hooked and entertained.

It’s not for those who can’t stand to see some weirdness and/or blood on the screen. But for supernatural stuff lovers, it is a gem. Oh, and the soundtrack rocks. AC/DC, Ratt, Metallica…I feel like the music was selected just for me.

Fun notes:

* Does anybody else feel like the main casting was done by a woman? The two leads are gorgeous and appropriately, they have Jeffrey Dean Morgan as their father. How cool is that? Morgan has so far appeared in 12 episodes in the show’s seasons.

* Season 1’s 3^rd Episode, Dead in the Water features a guest appearance by Amy Acker- who is no stranger to fantasy shows. She co-starred as Fred in Angel TV series.

Also on Supernatural:

Supernatural Cast Trivia Feat. Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles & Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Supernatural: Sam and Dean Winchester’s Entertainment References

Supernatural: Sam and Dean Winchester’s Entertainment References 2

Supernatural: Sam and Dean Winchester’s Entertainment References 3

Cursed starring Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson & Jesse Eisenberg

Posted on December 29, 2010 Written by ripitup

Cursed starring Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson & Jesse Eisenberg

Ellie (Christina Ricci) is working for a TV show & living with her high school student younger brother Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg). They have lost their parents a while back.

Ellie’s main problem is her boyfriend, Jake (Joshua Jackson), who used to be a player and she is afraid he may not want to commit.

Jimmy has the typical geek problem – the girl he likes is not even aware he exists. Moreover, she is dating a jerk who loves giving Jimmy a hard time.

However, none of these problems however will hold a candle to what happens one night on Mulholland Drive- they get attacked by what seems like a werewolf. Jimmy is sure of it, but Ellie is skeptical. What are the odds, right?

From then on, they go through changes – heightened senses, more strength, blood appeal and more. Jimmy is enjoying his new found confidence although Ellie is freaking out. Because, as it turns out, there is a werewolf on the loose killing people. Who the hell is that?

Cursed is as fluff as horror/comedies go. It is better taken as a parody and let go of the horror/thriller label completely as the movie is more amusing than chilling. OK, it is not chilling at all. A little gross at parts, but that’s it.

Frankly, I never really got the horror/comedy concept as what scares me typically doesn’t make me laugh and vice versa. The only successful example of this hybrid genre I recall is The Frighteners with Michael J. Fox. It was creepy and funny enough. This piece by Kevin Williamson works as a comedy but it is troubling if Williamson attempted to frighten us out at all.

As I said, fluff. It is better watched, multi-tasked with some other activity.

*Stuff I liked:

– Portia de Rossi as a fortune teller

– Jesse Eisenberg’s later haircut and his wrestling scene

– Joshua Jackson’s looks

– Michael Rosenbaum’s nice, uncomplicated role. It is different than his Lex Luthor in Smallville.

* Stuff I didn’t like – potential spoilers:

– The giant werewolves. A couple of years ago, my friends and I shot a mock horror flick, with a giant evil teddy bear as the villain. This movie’s werewolves looked just as scary as our scary bear. Yes, I am disappointed given that the effects were done by Rick Baker and he is better than that.

– The twists and turns with Joshua Jackson’s character Jake. I mean really? First, he acts like a guy who seems just not that into Ellie, then a misunderstood romantic, then a concerned boyfriend, and then….come on…Don’t make me spell out the last part. You know Kevin Williamson.

The point is a curse is not enough to explain Jake’s actions. I think Jake has MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder).

Written by Kevin Williamson, directed by Wes Craven. 4.8 on IMDB.

Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec (co-producer here) are better when they are writing The Vampire Diaries episodes together. At least Vampire Diaries have nice shapeshifters and not “wolf-men” with ridiculous make-up.

My favorite wolf movie is still Wolf starring Jack Nicholson, James Spader & Michelle Pfeiffer.

More on Cursed Cast & Crew:

Cursed Movie Cast & Crew Trivia Feat. Joshua Jackson, Christina Ricci, Portia De Rossi, Kevin Williamson & More

Other Posts on Joshua Jackson

Fringe starring Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv & John Noble

Fringe Trivia: 13 Facts About Fringe Cast, Crew, Plot Feat. Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv, Mark Valley…

The Shadow Dancer starring Joshua Jackson, Claire Forlani and Harvey Keitel

Other Posts on Jesse Eisenberg

The Social Network starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake and Armie Hammer

The Hunting Party starring Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg

Other Posts on Christina Ricci

Penelope starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy

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The Vampire Diaries starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder

Posted on November 20, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Vampire Diaries starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder. Co-starring Steven R. McQueen, Candice Accola, Katerina Graham, Michael Trevino and Zach Roerig, Sara Canning. The second season is on. Image via byterology.com

The Plot

Small town. Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) is back at high school. She and her brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), also a high school student, have lost their parents at an accident last spring and things have never been the same ever since. Elena struggles to make it through, while Jeremy spends most of his time getting high, giving drugs to Vicki (Kayla Ewell) and hoping she will choose him over the cocky football player Tyler (Michael Trevino). It is up to their young Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning) to look after Elena and Jeremy.

In the meantime, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) is back at his home town after a long time. Stefan is a 17-year-old going on over about 160. He is a vampire, who refuses to feed on humans and is lured back into town because of Elena’s existence. Elena carries an uncanny resemblance to his ex-love Katerina (also played by Nina Dobrev). He wants to carry on a normal existence, while getting to know her. So he enrolls in her high school. Everyone is intrigued by the presence of this new hot student, especially Elena’s friend Caroline (Candice Accola). Unfortunately for Caroline, Elena seems as smitten as Stefan. At first this pleases Elena’s best friend Bonnie (Katerina Graham) and depresses Elena’s ex Matt (Zach Roerig), a good-natured football player who is still in love with her.

Unfortunately, Stefan’s peaceful existence is challenged by the mysterious deaths occurring all around town and he has a pretty good idea who is sucking their blood- it is none other than his vampire but not-so-good-natured brother Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder). He has no intention of behaving himself. In fact, there is nothing he loves more than complicating Stefan’s life. He was also involved with Katerina and their past issues comes up- along with flashbacks- throughout the episodes.

Another problem for Stefan is that Bonnie is coming from a long line of witches and she is starting to gain some powers, and she is not enjoying the vibe she is getting from the new love of her best friend…

The Background and the Fun Stuff.

The series are based on a series of books written by L. J. Smith, also called The Vampire Diaries. One of the show’s producers is the famous horror/thriller writer Kevin Williamson who is famous for Scream, The Faculty, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Cursed. He was interestingly also the writer of the hit teen show Dawson’s Creek starring Joshua Jackson, James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson.

On a side note, the actor playing Jeremy, Elena’s brother, is played by Steven R. McQueen, who is the grandson of the late movie icon Steve McQueen.

The Vampires

The vampires in this show can’t be hurt by garlic or holy water. They can be killed by fire, pretty much the standards the modern vampires hold. However they still need to be invited into a home before they go in, pretty much like the vamps in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. There is also the issue of the vampire faces- while they don’t get as much make-up done as the ugly faces of the Buffy vampires, their eyes go red, weird disfigurement appears on their faces and their teeth show. It is also funny that they get this face when they get turned as well. They also have special rings that allow them to go under the sun without hurting.

One of the episodes also carries a fun reference to Twilight in one episode. As Damon is sitting on Caroline’s bed and reading one of her Twilight novels, she asks him why he doesn’t sparkle like Edward and he answers that he lives in the real world where vampires get burned under the sun. He also makes a fun comment on he doesn’t understand why everyone in the series is so fascinated by Bella and says she’s got them all whipped.

The Verdict

The Vampire Diaries is a fun and addictive vampire/mystery/romance show. Sure it has lots of teen angst and drama but it balances it well with enough mystery and action. There are enough murders and blood-sucking to keep this in the action genre but not enough gore and sex to compete with True Blood.

The Vampire Diaries has caught a great balance with the modern vampire understanding (the pretty vampires who don’t burst into flames) but they carry some of the classic myth (they need invitations, they have vampire faces- they are not pretty when they turn…).It is also refreshing that the reason Elena and Stefan don’t have sex right away is that Stefan is afraid she will see his vampire face- it is not like he is afraid he will bite her or hurt her or something like that.

Fun, modern and unisex. Sure, Salvatore brothers do and will have more than their share of female fans but it doesn’t change the fact that this is one engaging show. Give it a shot.

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8 on IMDB, with nearly 60.000 votes.

Other Vampire Show and Movie Posts Covered

Moonlight starring Alex O’Louglin, Sophia Myles and Jason Dohring.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Dracula, Lestat and Other Vampires

The Twilight Saga Posts

The Ultimate Twilight Saga Test – Read to Decide If You Will Enjoy The Twilight Movies

Twilight Saga 101: 33 Things You Should Know About Twilight Before Seeing New Moon

Twilight Saga 102: 24 Things You Should Know About New Moon Before Seeing Eclipse

Twilight Mania: Twilight Movie Review

New Moon Movie Review: New Moon Dissected

Eclipse Movie Review

Twilight Saga Cast Trivia 101: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner

Twilight Saga Cast Trivia 101: Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Elizabeth Reeser, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz

Twilight Saga and The Rest of The Cullen Family

Case 39 starring Renee Zellweger, Bradley Cooper, Ian McShane and Jodelle Ferland

Posted on November 3, 2010 Written by ripitup

Case 39 starring Renee Zellweger, Bradley Cooper, Ian McShane and Jodelle Ferland

Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) is a Social Services worker, dealing with abused kids. She is too involved in her work to date, even though she is not exactly oblivious to her friend/child psychologist Doug (Bradley Cooper)’s attempts.

Her crazy workload however gets even crazier when she is assigned her 39^th case. Lilith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) has the typical symptoms of an abused child: dropping grades, social withdrawal, falling asleep in class…So Emily goes to talk her parents, Edward (Callum Keith Rennie) and Margaret (Kerry O’Malley) who do not seem normal or loving at all. She confides in with her boss (Adrian Lester) and her cop friend (Ian McShane) Mike but they are both unwilling to dig deeper into the case without certain proof.

However she is able to prove the abuse when she gets a terrified call from the girl. She calls Mike and rushes into the house where the parents are trying to kill her. With Mike’s arrival, they manage to arrest the parents and save the girl.

Both of course when your “villains” are sent to an institute in straight jackets pretty much in the beginning of the film, and the abused girl is just all so nice, clever and perceptive, you do know your real villain is out and about. But of course every horror/thriller has at least one stupid or extra- naïve person and in this movie it is Emily. She feels so sorry for the girl that when she insists on living with Emily, our lovely social worker petitions to make it happen. She does get to be her foster parent until new arrangements can be made and their heavenly relationship is about to get very disrupted when Lilith starts to show her true colors and endangers everyone around her.

I did call Emily naïve and stupid, because you don’t just welcome abused children into your home. I am not saying she could have seen she was a psycho but at least she should have been smart enough not to start living with a girl whose parents tried to burn her in a oven, for crying out loud! She was meant to be mentally disturbed and well, of course without Emily’s stupidity, we may not have had a story.

But then again, it would be perfectly OK not to have shot this movie. It is not bad but it is just so not necessary. And no matter how many fine actors you put in a film, supernatural horror movies usually end up being a disappointment and this one is no exception.

Oh, and if you got suspicious that Bradley Cooper’s name was credited after the little girl and Ian McShane, you were right. That was not a good sign on how much screen time Bradley would end up having in total. Written by Ray Wright, directed by Christian Alvart.2009.

6.1 on IMDB. I just might rate it slightly higher than Kevin Costner’s The New Daughter and Simon Baker’s Not Forgotten as Case 39 wasn’t that ridiculous but still, 6.1 is just too much. 5.5 from me.

The moment there was a mention of possession and demons, Case 39 just lost (bored) me.

Other Posts on Renee Zellweger

11 Actors, 11 Drastic Weight Changes for Roles: With Christian Bale, Jared Leto, Renee Zellweger

4 Good Movies with Awesome Soundtracks: Shoot ‘em up, Jerry Maguire, Reality Bites and Vanilla Sky

The Bachelor starring Chris O’Donnell and Renée Zellweger

Embracing Your Inner Bridget Jones

Renee Zellweger Trivia: Facts About the Oscar Winner Bridget Jones

Other Posts on Bradley Cooper

The Hangover Part II: The-Not-So-Hilarious Sequel to the Hilarious Hangover

Bradley Cooper Trivia

The Hangover starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha

He’s Just Not That Into You feat. Cooper, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Connelly