bennet_7

Last night I saw Haywire which I've been looking forward to for aaaaaages because it is a) a female-led action movie, b) stars an MMA fighter, Gina Carano, who can legitimately kick ass, and c) is directed by Steven Soderbergh, who directed one of my favourite movies Out of Sight.

And I really enjoyed it! I was worried because the reviews, while positive, have not being overwhelmingly so and it was too much too expect first time actor Gina Carano to turn in a brilliant performance*.

*And yet I had my hopes because Soderbergh is frequently great at pulling career best work from unlikely actors. Jennifer Lopez is freaking amazing in Out of Sight. Yes. J.Lo portrays one of my favourite female characters and it is due equally to her performance as to the writing. I'll be sharing Out of Sight soon and if you haven't seen it, I urge you to snag it. (It'll be friends-only but I'm happy to share with others.)

Still, Carano has a really strong presence on screen and is very believable in the role. I think given time and acting lessons she will only improve and I'd like to see her in other films.



Plus Carano is really pretty! Those are leading lady looks there and changeable too. Just in terms of make-up and costuming she appeared different with every cover story. She has more muscle tone than your average wafer thin actress - you believe her when she strangles a guy between her thighs - but she isn't big at all. She could be a star.

Where she excelled was in the fight scenes which are some of the best I've seen in years. CineSnark pointed out that Carano fought like a woman, using leverage and momentum, when most films choreograph masculine fight scenes for women. The scenes are also shot so that you can actually see the action, with very little editing and full bodies in frame. That was wonderful because I really hate the quick cutting and jerky camera work that became so prevalent in the filming of fight scenes after the second Bourne movie.

The plot isn't anything new although it does cohere. There isn't really an emotional arc. This isn't a great movie but if you go in with the right frame of mind its better than most action movies. And hopefully if this does even moderately well it will show that there is a market for female-led action movies. That's been my thinking in paying to see this and Colombiana.

( Spoilers )

Earlier today I watched the series finale of Chuck, a show I've never loved but often enjoyed. The last season was so great that I might actually miss it. I'll certainly miss the musical performances of Jeffster! Their final song was A+. You can watch all the others here in one file. I've always been partial to their cover of Toto's "Africa" because I unironically love that song.

Farewell, Chuck.

I really need to make some icons for my new fandoms because although I'm using the one for Chuck right now, the latest episode was the most disappointing out of all my returning shows. ( Spoilers ) I really hope that Chuck and Sarah get married in the season finale. If the show continues after that I won't be watching.

I really enjoyed the third episode of The Killing. Not a lot happened but it was strangely compelling - they're very good at making characters thinking interesting. I wasn't particularly taken with Holder during the first episode (though I don't think we were supposed to be) but I'm liking him more now and I discovered that the actor is actually Swedish so now I'm really impressed with his performance - I certainly couldn't tell from his accent.

( Spoilers )

The Chicago Code produced a decent episode plot-wise and a very interesting one in terms of relationships. ( Spoilers )

One new pairing was intriguing that I had to picspam it a little. I may have found a ship. ( Spoilery picspam )

I haven't updated in ages for a couple of reasons, chief of which has been uni. I've been so busy lately with school, researching and writing, and I tend to feel guilty about posting to lj if I haven't finished the latest assignment. Fortunately, that hard work has been paying off as my current results stand at three high distinctions and one distinction, which isn't too shabby at all. One of those HDs was for an essay on the relationship between India and China since their independence and my prof said that it was the best essay he'd read in ages.

So yeah, very cool.

Unfortunately, all this hard work has had a deleterious effect on my health and I caught the flu. The worst part has been the headaches which were so bad I spent my 20th birthday (which was Tuesday) in bed. Not cool. Plus, I had an essay due the next day which I hadn't finished so I ended up doing that too. Yuck.

But I'm definitely on the mend now. I finished my last assignment this morning and spent three blissful hours sitting on the couch watching the 1996 BBC mini-series of Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

(Which was very good by the way. While there were some diversions from the novel which slightly irked, it did succeed in capturing the spirit of the novel which is better. Helen was just as kickass awesome as she is in the novel, but I didn't immediately warm to the way they wrote Gilbert. They took away his narration of the story which disappointed me, but as Gilbert comes of as very smug in both the novel and series, it might have been a good idea. Anyway, the camera work was a lot less staid than you generally see in period mini-series and I for one was thankful, and the performances were great. It isn't as good as Pride and Prejudice or North and South, but I recommend this one).

Anyway, I have been sort of keeping up with the TV shows because I watch them while eating. That way I use the excuse "Hey, can't eat and type at the same time!" and my conscience is ok with that.

Here are my thoughts on:

( Pushing Daisies )

( Chuck )

( Gossip Girl )

( Dirty Sexy Money )

( Heroes )

( The Office )

I haven't been watching Dexter so far, but I plan to catch up. I've avoided Friday Night Lights but I am going to give the second season a shot, despite my misgivings.

Finally, my icon: great or greatest?