Summer Breeze: movies

3/25/11

The Dead Walk!

My mother claims I'm weird, my cousin saids I'm completely rational, and my husband says I better get really good with an ax or a machete. I say we better prepare, the dead could walk!

Regardless what you think at this point, I KNOW my zombie fear is irrational. My fears of clowns and little people are completely irrational, too, but I'm still absolutely terrified of them.

I know zombies are the least likely thing that ever could happen, but people said a black American president would never happen either (yay Obama!). As I see it, you make something zombie proof and it will withstand ANYTHING!

I've seen countless zombie movies. I've read plenty of books. I have spent time with my husband discussing our zombie survival plan. I'd like to think that if it all goes to hell in a hand basket, I'd survive. I'd bet I could be like Cherry Darling in Planet Terror minus the whole losing a leg (I don't think my husband could make me a machine gun peg leg) and I wouldn't want to lose what she loses (don't want to spoil the flick for ya!). She kicks mega zombie tail and goes on to lead the new world, all while being a total hottie.

All that being said, you still may say, "But Summer, I have no clue what to do about zombies!" This, my friend, will help you:

I could go on and on about how awesome this book is and what it can teach you. However, I did that already ( You Know You Want To Click Here...). (Oh, and FYI, my husband was ok after being hit by the truck. He was back to annoying me after a couple of days. The man is a powerhouse!)

I love pretty much all zombie movies and I've seen most of them countless times. I love George A. Romero's Movies. I actively seek out the goriest reanimated corpse stories that I can find. The funny to the scary, they're all wonderful.

I was ecstatic to see the Nazi zombies of Dead Snow.

I totally hearted the accidental heroes Shaun & Ed of Shaun of the Dead. They brave the undead English world for their family and friends.

And Jenna Jameson and Robert Englung (you read that right, I'm talkin about Freddy frickin Krueger!) totally horrified and titillated me in Zombie Strippers.

But each of these wonderfully fabulous undead sagas are not the inspiration for this incredibly long (and getting longer) post. This is why I am writing this:

Or, if you prefer:

I am completely in love with Robert Kirkman's brain child, The Walking Dead.

The graphic novels (aka comic books) are impossible to put down once you pick them up. I bought the first compendium and read it in 24 hours. It's so addictive!

My favorite person in the novel is Rick Grimes.

Rick is the quintessential alpha male. The series isn't really about the zombies but about how the zombies change the survivors. Rick is the driving force that keeps the books going. He's all about his need to keep his family safe. He battles some deep psychological demons (as do the other members of the rag tag band of survivors) and some real undead demons, but he still manages to keep it together for his son Carl. Rick is a real man in a surreal world. This was easily the best comic I have ever read (remember, I am a nerd so I have read quite a few!)

When AMC announced they were turning it in to a show (after my happy dance and delighted squeals were over) I did everything I could to prepare myself for the fabulousness of flesh eating ghouls.

After quickly falling in love with the show, I found my favorite character of the show. Andrew Lincoln is wonderful as Rick (and the first English person to gain my respect for doing a southern role since Vivien Leigh) but he is not my favorite member of the survival group. My heart belongs to Daryl Dixon.

I don't know if it's because he's a Saint from Boston or because Daryl reminds me of a few men in my family, but Norman Reedus has solidified his place in my heart as my favorite bad ass with this role. With his redneck behavior, ignorant racism and "fuck you" attitude, most people would hate Daryl. Not me. That's the kind of guy I want in my survivor group! He's tough and has no mercy (much like an actual zombie). Look past his rough spots and you'll find a scared man who loves his brother and just wants to keep living. (Well, I'm not gonna lie, I've had a crush on Norman since I the first time I watched him as Murphy MacManus, so I might have been kinda partial on this one. He's just so talented!)

I think the main reason I wrote this was to try to appease my hunger for more episodes of The Walking Dead. It didn't work. Guess I have to reread the first compendium and rewatch season one (for the second time this month). Rumor mill said new episodes start in July. I am beyond excited!!! I recommend that EVERYONE see this series. It's revolutionary!

Any how, don't say I didn't warn you when the dead rise up and decide to have you for a snack!

Disclaimer: No person, thing, book, show, movie or zombie mentioned in this post in any way, shape, or form, asked me to write this or gave me any compensation to write this. I jacked all images from Google image search and just assumed they fell under the Public Domain Usage thingy. Please don't sue, I'm broke anyways. I just wanted to share my zombie obsession with Bloggywood! While I was not offered anything to write this, I will be more than happy to receive any swag you may want to send my way.

- Whether you love me or hate me, you know who I am.

8/14/10

What Clueless Has Taught Me About Life...

I actually wrote this on July 12, 2008 on MySpace, but I figured it deserves to be reposted here because I love it so much. So, with some tweaking of the original, here ya go!

I may have been 10 years old when it came out but Clueless has taught me many things...

1. Donald Fasion ~ If it wasn't for Clueless I never would have discovered one of my favorite comedic actors. If you don't think he's great then, hello!, Scrubs! He always makes me giggle!

2. Cast systems are not dead. Just like in high school, life works on a cast system. They aren't as cut and dry as in Clueless, but they are there none the less.

3. Gay men make great shopping buddies. Christian is a little over the top but what fabulous gay man isn't?

4. No matter how pretty, fabulous, rich, smart or special you may think you may be, if you don't go with the natural order of life, and try to change it, then shit isn't going to go right (this is also explored in the movie Failure To Launch). As we see with Cher trying to change Tai, trying to force Tai on Elton, trying to keep Tai from Travis, trying to bed Christian, trying to deny her feelings for Josh (yea, I totally didn't realize until 2008 that "Josh" is Paul Rudd, I do LOVE him, but I am slow, too!), and trying to get her way all the time at the wrong time. When she tries to force things they blow up in her face. Life has other plans, so just go with it! How does that prayer go? God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

5. Give the new kid a chance. Don't try to change them, but do make an effort to be friends. Whether it's school, work or a party, everyone is the new kid once in a while, you know how it feels, so be welcoming!

6. Fashion is vital. Nothing more needs to be said.

7. In certain situations, arguing is very important and can get you your way (it works even better if you're hot! Or if the rebuttal comes from Daddy…). Just make sure not to do it all the time.

8. Shopping can make you feel better, or at least clear your head. Well, it always has for Cher and myself anyways...

9. How to flirt. If you're seen the movie, then you know what I'm talking about.

10. Superficiality can get you into trouble and causes you to miss out on the beautiful moments in life. It's fine to be hot, and glad you're hot, but it is not the be all and end all of life.

11. Sometimes the best person for you is closer than you think.

12. It's not hard to be who you want to be. Just make up your mind you're gonna be that person and be them! Cher does it and it works out great for her (as I point out in point 13...)

13. Spreading good karma, sends you good karma. Sure, at first, Cher does the right things for the wrong reasons, but when she starts doing the right things for the right reasons then her life gets totally Karma-licious! She helps people find love, helps people find themselves, and she helps people in need. This all ends with her finally getting the man of her dreams, who also happens to be a total "Baldwin" (no, not the brothers...) and a good person to boot! She becomes the person she always wanted to (and was meant to) be.

So, once again, thank you to Clueless! To this day, when I talk about a pair of shoes with a strap I still wave my hand back and forth (like Travis). Every time I roll through a stop sign (like the ones in my mom's neighborhood) I still say "I totally paused!" even when there's no one in the car to say it to. I still refer to people who are pretty far away and "a big mess" up close as "Monets" and I am not ashamed to admit I often find myself talking very much like Cher ("I'm totally buggin!" and "As If!"... along with other phrases...). Clueless may seem like a stupid movie to most people but to me it was and still is a very important coming of age film for my generation. Every time I see it I can't help but grin ear to ear but now instead of thinking "How great will it be when I'm that age..." I think "How great was it to be that age!" and "How great it was to survive that age!"

Oh, and an intresting side note, (well, intresting to me, anyways) I use to have like 5 copies of the movie poster (my aunt worked at the theatre and came home with a whole box of Clueless stuff for me). The soundtrack was in the box and it was the first cd I ever owned (I even had it before I got a cd player). I STILL have it, it's not scratched and all the songs are loaded on my iPod... even "Fake Plastic Trees" (btw: I HATE that song!)