You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

Just got around to watching the Glee season finale, and as I was recovering from the fairly spectacular and bittersweet parting of Finchel, I could only think of two things as I watched Rachel arrive all wide-eyed in NYC.

1) If she were taking the train from Ohio, she probably would have arrived at Penn Station and not Grand Central. But of course GCS is a far more attractive setting to shoot.

2) We see her walking up 45th Street, east of 8th Avenue - specifically, past the Booth Theater (not a short walk from Grand Central), and suddenly she's by the Plaza Hotel - 14 blocks up and half the island's width east of where she just was. I couldn't help saying "How'd she get over there?!" I mean, it's not an unreasonable walk with no encumbrances, but with a suitcase? And having already walked from Grand Central to the Theater District? Oh Glee, never stop being implausible. :P

Overall, I was kind of meh about tonight's episode. It was beautifully shot, as always, and especially so given the location shooting in Manhattan. But it kind of fizzled out at the end (though there were some pleasant surprises).

( Spoilers )

Movies
Looking forward to seeing the new Pirates this weekend (and again next weekend). I am staying far, FAR away from any kind of reviews, because 99% of critics just do not get what's appealing to people about those movies. Even the first one, which is more respected than the others.

I forgot to say a couple of weeks ago that I saw The Beaver, which I thought was really well done, though not anything particularly special. Performances were great all around, especially Mel Gibson. I guess I can't say much more about that, though. Sadly, it seems saying anything positive about him at all is controversial.

Phone rings, door chimes, in comes company...
My parents are coming to town next week - yay! I'm taking Thursday and Friday off work so I can drag them onto city buses and all over town. I'm also trying to figure out a way to take them to see at least one show (How To Succeed, maybe?).

Ma Ha Nei Bu, Eebowai!
I downloaded the "Book of Mormon" soundtrack from iTunes immediately after it became available Tuesday. Of course. It's so nice to be able to listen to it while not tethered to the Internet. I'm becoming mildly obsessed with it (becoming?), and I WISH I could share it with someone. juliabway and I were trading quotes on Twitter last week, which was fun, but I'd love to take someone to see it who would not only appreciate the sick humor but would also love the celebration of faith. (In a fit of what could only have been madness, I actually proposed taking my parents to see it while they're here. CRAZY!) If any of my NYC friends are wanting to go see it, let me know and I will totally go with you, because I'm dying to see it again.

There are some killer liner notes that come with the soundtrack, with some of the best inside jokes and loads of pictures from both rehearsals and performances. Many of them I can't share here, but here's a snapshot of my favorite song from the show, "Man Up."



Glee
Loved Sue's storyline this week, but it feels like the show is just marking time until next week's Big Apple finish. Case in point, taking 20 minutes in the middle of the show to have auditions that not only didn't advance any season plot arcs at all, but were completely irrelevant to the episode. Those were all four great performances, but they would have been better served if they had at least all been character moments (like Rachel's barely was).

Still excited for Nationals in NYC next week, though.

I haven't posted much about Glee lately, because I feel like people have such wildly divergent opinions on it, and while I frequently enjoy it quite a bit, I don't really think it's worth a whole lot of dissection and discussion.

As I've said before, though, every once in a while, this show and its use of music steps beyond the merely enjoyable and overwhelms me. Case in point, Kurt's STUPENDOUS rendition of "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from the musical Sunset Boulevard. In the first place, it was the perfect song to express Kurt's joy at - errr, is this a spoiler? - returning to McKinley (and our joy, in turn, at seeing him back where he belongs).

But on another level, for me, as an enthusiastic lover of movies and the process of making them, this song, sung in its original context by a faded movie star from the silent era who (thinks she's) coming back to the set for her big comeback project, it really evokes the atmosphere of a busy set and the magic of filmmaking. The last line of the song ("We taught the world new ways to dream.") KILLS me, because that's exactly what all those pioneers of moviemaking (Griffith, Murnau, von Stroheim, DeMille, etc.) did, and what their successors (I dare not start a list here) have done for the last century and continue to do.

Anyway, this was just an excuse to post the video of this number. I'm so glad they didn't cut this down for the broadcast, like they do with most of the songs. It's five minutes long, but man, you HAVE to see the whole thing.

Jane Eyre (2011)

Epic, Brooding Romance with a Dash of Horror - UR DOING IT RIGHT.
I saw Jane Eyre yesterday and LOVED it. Probably my favorite film adaptation of the novel. My husband, Michael Fassbender, is incredibly swoon-worthy as Rochester and he an Mia Wasikowska have a wonderful chemistry. I wonder if I'd feel differently if I had read the book again in the last year or so, but I can't think of a single thing that I wish they'd kept or that felt rushed or whatever. It was a really good adaptation of the book. I especially loved the use of flashbacks - the film actually begins with Jane running away from Thornfield, and we see brief flashbacks to her childhood and a long flashback to her relationship with Rochester while she's staying with St. John and his sisters.


Red Riding Hood

Epic, Brooding Romance with a Dash of Horror - UR DOING IT RONG.
I also saw Red Riding Hood yesterday, a movie which I would never have seen if the new movie meetup group I recently joined hadn't planned to see it. Oh, Catherine Hardwicke, where did you go wrong? You used to make cool, edgy teen films, like Lords of Dogtown and Thirteen. I'll give the movie this much - it's got way more actual passion than the sparkly vampire movies. But believe the bad press; this thing is baaaad. However, as I expected this going in, I was able to enjoy it for the sheer crack value. If you can dig "so bad it's good" stuff, you might like it too. Bear in mind, though, that it will probably remind you of Twilight.

Adventures in MeetupLand.
The good part of going to see Red Riding Hood was getting to meet some new people. Despite the fact that it's a Meetup.com group, several of the girls seemed to know each other from elsewhere, which was kind of strange when the conversation drifted toward topics that involved the rest of them but not me. But they were all really nice. We went to P.J. Clarke's for dinner (where I had some SMASHING shepherd's pie) and a good time was had by all, I think. Certainly by me.

Rough Week at Work
Boy am I glad it's Friday. Just dude.

Not Quite Feeling the Glee
I've long since given up shipping anything on this show, because the writers seem to change their minds about everything from week to week. And while I'm not a Gwyneth-hater, I really do not like her on the show. Yes, it was hilarious for Emma to lead the Celibacy Club in a rendition of "Afternoon Delight," and yes, it is extremely odd for her to be married to John Stamos and not be hitting that, but I *REALLY* hated when Holly referred to Emma as a virgin like it was a pejorative. I kept waiting for the Brittany Murphy confrontation - "You're a virgin. Who can't. Drive." Way harsh, Hol. In other Glee news, I actually *am* looking forward to this week's episode. I've been listening to the two original songs they've recorded, and I like them both. They're not amazing or anything, but they're still pretty good. "Loser Like Me" is especially catchy.

* Remember a few weeks ago when Kurt told Blaine that Karofsky kissing him in the locker room was his first kiss (or at least the first that counted)? Not true! Perhaps this "doesn't count" (though I don't see why), but he made out with Brittany last season. Does Karofsky basically attacking him in the locker room somehow count *more* than that, just because he was faking straight? This bugs me, because it's either canon amnesia from the writers of the dang show (and the actors, too, I guess, since no one corrected it) or ... well, it kind of strikes me as misogynist. Like it doesn't count with a girl because he doesn't like girls.

* I'm not one to root for people's marriages to fail, and I don't like the way the show (or at least Emma's storyline) has messed around with marriage, but I do think something is up with Emma's quickie Vegas wedding. It happened almost immediately after she tells Will that she and Carl fought because of the Sectionals ticket and that Carl has issues with Will. I wonder if this is building to some fallout later in the season. I can definitely see where Carl might have acted out of threatened feelings and Emma might have done it because she felt guilty. Maybe that's not what's going on, but I can see where the writers might be going that way.

* On a related note, LOL at Finn and Rachel getting couples counseling from Emma. The only person who could give them worse relationship advice is Will.

* I know people hate Rachel because she's obnoxious and self-important, but that is why I love her and think she is awesomesauce. Every time she makes me cringe or roll my eyes, I have to smile. I knew loads of people like this - I occasionally WAS someone like this - in high school. And in many ways she's a caricature (there are parts - PARTS - of her that remind me of Hermione Granger, actually). That said, making out with Puck to get back at your boyfriend? DUMB MOVE, GIRL!

* Okay, I didn't really like "The Substitute", but this is something that especially bugged me. Holly intimates that New Directions got last place at Regionals because the songs they sung were too old. But the group that WON did an even OLDER song. "Bohemian Rhapsody" was released in 1975. The oldest Journey song New Directions did was from 1979.

Can I volunteer myself as Fact Nazi for their writing staff?

So, I was going to do a big post on The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with some additional thoughts on Glee's loving homage, but what I'd REALLY like to do is draw your attention, if you haven't already heard it, to this recording of "Sweet Transvestite," as performed by Anthony Stewart Head. Yes, the very same man who played Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

BTW, you can download that version here (under "Track Listing"; it's the first link for the first track).

I did love Glee's Rocky Horror episode. A loving homage, appropriate to the high school setting (perhaps even stepping over the line occasionally, which is itself an homage the show), and a tribute to the fact that the show (purist concerns aside) lends itself better than most to reimagining and innovative interpretations. Mercedes (and Frank, of course) said it best - "Don't dream it; be it." And if they are nothing else, both Glee and Rocky Horror are all about "being it." Bravo.

Oh, okay, a little commenting. My favorite number was Emma's "Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me," but it did have some amusing/disturbing elements. I get that they wanted to have Will and Emma do that number, but the way it was worked into the episode was very awkward indeed. To begin with, Will recasts himself as Rocky, but ... obviously in the actual play he'd be doing that number with RACHEL (who is actually playing Janet), not Emma. Ew. Also, LMAO at his insistence that he needed Emma's help to rehearse that number, when that is Janet's number and Rocky has two lines, both of which are the SAME line ("Creature of the night!"). I know lots of people don't like Will, and I'll agree that a lot of things he pulls on the show are at least a little reprehensible (though some, including his actions in this episode, I'm sure are meant to be part of the satire). But this was a pretty stunningly bad idea, even for him. I do think, however, that this is the writers' attempt to pry his storyline away from the "pining for Emma" element, which is good, because he hasn't been terribly sympathetic and comes off like kind of a dick a lot of the time. I'm excited to see what kind of a wrench Gwyneth Paltrow's upcoming guest stint throws into the mix.

"--pation." :P

I was anxious about Glee's big Religious Episode, but for the most part I thought it was well done and surprisingly fair and balanced - and I mean that in the actual sense, not the Fox News sense.


"Dear Grilled Cheesus..."

( Cut for comments about the episode, with a healthy dose of my - I repeat, MY - religious beliefs, so if you think that might be distasteful to you, feel free to scroll past. )

I had totally meant to do some special posts this month, or at least a few posts about horror movies, or ... something. But I haven't had any time. *sadface* I fully intend to make an effort, but it's probably not going to be every day. Here are some scattershot October-ish musings to hopefully get me started.

* I did see Let Me In this weekend. It is, as many of you know, an American remake of the wonderful Swedish film Let the Right One In (by the way, the title - if nothing else - is an improvement on the original). I really liked the remake, though not quite as much as the original (which was a LOT). I don't think it was unnecessary. There's a subtlety about the original that I think lots of American viewers could have trouble penetrating. I know I, for one, did not pick up on a major aspect of one of the film's key relationships until afterward, when a friend pointed it out to me. The remake leans much harder on this (a little too hard, actually), in an effort to make sure people get it. On one hand, that kind of defeats the purpose of something that made the original so wonderful, but on the other hand, if you don't get that thing about that relationship, you're missing what makes the story so tragic. But whatever its failings might be, it's still 12 million times better than Twilight, if for no other reason than this is a story that GETS that there's no "happily ever after" to being a vampire.

[Side note: I'm pretty sure the remake casts some pointed jabs at Twilight. Owen's class is reading Romeo & Juliet, and he and Abby make a couple of comments about it. Owen even watches the movie in class, echoing a very similar scene in New Moon. Only Owen's class is watching the "dirty" one - meaning the 1968 version with all the nudity. I watched this version in an English class my freshman year, but my teacher, unlike Owen's, stood in front of the television during the naked parts. :P]

* One of my favorite blogs, Final Girl, is doing something pretty awesome for what she calls "SHOCKTOBER." In years past, she has reviewed movies each day, but this time she asked all her readers to submit a list of their 20 favorite horror films so she could compile them for a special Shocktober project. She got way more response than she anticipated - over 700 films in all - and she's posting the results 24 or 25 films at a time each day this month. I am seriously putting all these titles into a giant Master List that I may be chipping away at for the remainder of my days. I love discovering great horror flicks I've never heard of, especially when they're not on most people's All-Time Classics lists. I mean, where would my life be if I'd never seen Chopping Mall, for example? NOWHERE, I TELL YOU. Also, though I chickened out of putting A Serbian Film on my own Top 20 list, I was kind of pleased to see it was on someone else's. It may be the sickest thing I've ever seen, but it's still a darn fine film.

* If you do not watch Glee, I would not dare insist upon your watching it, because it's not exactly everyone's cup of tea. BUT. On October 26, the week of Halloween, there will be a Very Special Episode of Glee - THE ROCKY HORROR GLEE SHOW. I've tried to find details about the plot, but there's not much out there so far. Here's what I do know. They're singing the following songs from the show/movie - "Science Fiction Double Feature," "Dammit Janet," "There's a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)," "Time Warp," "Sweet Transvestite," "Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?" (Hot Patootie), and yes, "Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me" (which I'm almost certain is going to be sung by Emma, as this was Jayma Mays' audition song for the show during the original casting process). Adam Shankman (Hairspray) is directing. I'm trying to figure out who will play who, or if they're even actually doing the play itself, and failing. I can't wait to see what they do with it.

* In other Glee news, I'm a little nervous about how they're going to tackle religion tonight. Their approach so far has been frankly a little insulting, with the only references being the chastity club and Quinn's Fox-News-watching father.