The Help

Got my laptop on my lap and a frozen hot chocolate [with some liquor], so I think I'm ready to watch The Help. My mom has been wanting to watch this movie since she heard it was coming up.

It starts off pretty dramatically. A black woman starts talking about her story. How she knew she was going to be maid growing up and how she spends her life raising white babies.

And we flash over to Skeeter [Emma Stone], who is trying to get into the publishing world. She tried to get employed at Harper Publishing company but needed more experience. And she is pretty much given her break at a small town gazette, the Jackson Journal.

Skeeter seems to be different from all the people she grew up with. She seems to have an appreciation for the help and loved Constance, the black woman who raised her [though not according to Skeeter's mother]. Apparently, while Skeeter was at college, Constance "left" to be with her family in Chicago. She is very independent for her generation.

And the maids are the best part of this movie. They are passionate and have a hard life due to the times. You see things you don't learn in history class, like the idea of a house having a separate bathroom for the help. And you get to see the thought process of the white people of the town. It's amazing to see what they considered being "racist" versus "separate but equal."

Also, there is an interesting lack of men in this movie save for a few glimpses here and there. But then again, this is a focus not only on black peoples' rights, but black women's rights. And so it would be pointless to have much focus on the men.

Either way, I'd definitely recommend this movie. It is certainly different from all those other "chick flicks," for lack of a better words. It's not a laugh a lot movie like Bridesmaids or sappy like anything like Jodi Picoult or New Year's Eve [and yes, I consider that movie to be a chick flick]. It has some comedy, some serious notes, some highs and some lows. All the actresses in this movie definitely did their job of making you feel. They deserve all the award nominations they got and then some.

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Fun Side Notes

• Crisco is to The Help like Windex is to My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
• Stuart Whitworth was played by Chris Lowell, who also played Piz in Veronica Mars

Once Upon a Time [mid-season finale]

Spoilers! The following post does contain spoilers for the Once Upon a Time episode The Heart is a Lonely Hunter [episode 7]. Do not read if you have not seen the episode and do not want it spoiled for you.

Neverland [SyFy mini series]

There may be some mild spoilers in this review. Do not continue if you want to be surprised when watching. You have been warned...

YouTube + Video Games = Many hours wasted

Recently, I've become kind of a youtube junkie... Particularly for guys and gals playing video games. Maybe it's my way of playing the games vicariously through others. I only own my laptop and a PS2 [with a handful of games]. And since I don't own a memory card, I haven't felt encouraged to start any of my games.

Here are some youtube channels focused on video game playing that I have subscribed to:

Hank Games
For anyone familiar with the vlogbrothers, you have probably heard about this channel. It originally started with Hank Green playing video games by himself. I subscribed to this channel when he began playing Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4. I have always liked watching other people play video games... Given they have amusing commentary to go with it. I'd also recommend watching him play Assassins Creed... But start from the first one he played! He's currently on Revelations.

But right now, the first thing I check out is to see if his brother, John Green, has put up a new episode of The Miracle of Swindon Town. Basically, he plays FIFA 2011 as the Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers [not the real name of the Swindon Town F.C. btw] and provides interesting and random commentary. I don't know why it fascinates me so but it does. Maybe it's just the listener in me. I like listening to people and John Green has a lot to say.

Below is the latest episode of The Miracle of Swindon Town

Luke's Arcade

This is a really new channel from a youtuber that I was following before hand, Luke Conard. What I like about the channel is that there are a bunch of different people playing a bunch of different games. There really is something for everyone and I'm excited to see this channel flourish. Not only that, I haven't played most of the games they are taking on.

I have been watching all the videos so far but the ones I guess I'm most excited for are:

Little Big Planet with Luke and Ingrid [missglamorazzi]

and Alex plays Batman: Arkham Asylum [which did a live showing but hasn't been posted yet on the channel].

... Yeah. That's all.

A change from your irregularly scheduled program...

Like I kind of mentioned in my post about Once Upon A Time,  fairy tales are up on the rise with media today.  Really, I think it comes with off the tailcoats of the vampires/werewolves revolution we've been having with the Twilight saga and The Vampire Diaries. By that, I mean that writers and directors and producers are taking a concept that has been around for a while and revamping it for a modern audience.

Which gets to my main point: I'm really excited for the Snow White movies that are coming out next year. Like, really really really excited. Like, I may actually want to see these movies in theaters... Which doesn't really happen for me with a lot of movies.

So the following is my take on the movies so far along with the trailers.

Snow White & The Huntsman

This is the one with the tough Snow White, played by Kristen Stewart. We have the typical part of the story:

- Queen wants to be fairest in the land

- Snow White is gonna beat her

- Queen wants Snow White dead

- Queen sends Huntsman to kill Snow White

And then we get a change. The Huntsman [AKA Eric] is apparently reluctant to work for the Queen from the start. He appears to have been captured and is to either kill Snow White or be killed. From there, he apparently starts to train Snow White to fight in a battle against the Queen. Definitely pretty exciting in my opinion.

Kristen Stewart is the Snow White in this version and that hasn't deterred me from this movie yet. But I'll have to see another trailer because we haven't actually heard her speak, which could be a deal breaker for me. I've seen her in the Twilight saga and have noticed... Her acting has not evolved much through the series. I'm hoping that maybe in the strong female role, Stewart will flourish.

Mirror Mirror

This version of the Snow White tale seems like it will definitely be very different from the other. It may have been the impression from the trailer, but this story seems to focus more on the Queen then Snow White. And with Julia Roberts playing the Evil Queen, it's a no wonder. However, I don't know if I'd call her evil so much as self-absorbed. The trailer has her coming off as insecure and less scary. She almost comes off as comical in the trailer.

Something you do get from this movie that doesn't seem to appear in the other? The dwarves. You get a glimpse of them and Snow White training [again with the strong female who previously wasn't] for her fight against the Queen.

Also, the music in the trailer at the beginning actually makes me think Bollywood. It's really weird but exciting at the same time.

Bones [SPOILERS]

I've been on and off with this show for a few years now. I usually catch old episodes on TNT [though I think I've seen most of them by this point]. I've never been committed to watching it once a week even though I really like Bones.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the Bones/Booth couple with a bun in the oven. It just seems kind of strange after so long for them to finally be together.

Even still, Brennan and Booth are two very different people. Tonight's new episode ["The Memories in the Shallow Grave"] seems to be showing us a lot of the obstacles that they are going to face not only as a couple, but a couple with a child on the way.

Brennan is very factual and scientific. Her way of thinking has not changed much since the first season give or take a smidgen. She has no belief in a God and has never really had a functioning family or anyone else to depend on.

Booth is a very emotional and bases his decisions on gut instinct. He is as open to ideas as he can be. Family and friends have always been #1 in his life and he is a bit more in touch with people than Brennan. And while he didn't grow up with the conventional family [his grandfather raised him], he still understands the functions of a family.

We can already tell that the following topics will need to be discussed/resolved this season:
- Finding a new place
- Religious upbringing
- Brennan working far into her pregnancy [because I can't imagine she'll be able to sit or whatever]
- Picking a name [which I think will be hilarious]
  ~ In relation, deciding on the child's last name
- Dealing with Parker [Hopefully this will be addressed because I feel like Booth's son is so easy to forget]
- Brennan's hormones [which I'm sure will come up the entire season]
- Money [which will probably come up more than once]

I'm sure there are more but those are what are coming to mind right at the moment. Any other ideas are welcomed.

First episode back was pretty good. We got to see Brennan have a few awkward moments and the kissing between Booth and Brennan were cute as oppose to weird.

The murder was so strange that it was kind of boring. I was more interested in the relationship aspect then the murder aspect. It is usually the other way around with me. I'm excited for what is to come and I'm going to try and keep up with the show, which will probably be difficult once Vampire Diaries goes on hiatus.

Once Upon a Time

I know, this is a little late but whatever...

I cannot express how excited I was for Once Upon A Time. Of course, I've kind of been excited for all the fairy tale story line shows that are coming out [Grimm] but this one especially. It is just such a new and different take on the tales. I've always been a lover of the fairy tales, whether Grimm or Disney.

Here is a link to the ABC website where you can watch the first episode of Once Upon A Time. If you don't want to be spoiled to the first episode, don't keep reading... You've been warned.