I Judge You for Your Taste in Movies

I. Love. Movies. No, you know what, that's an understatement. I live for movies. I want to watch them, I want to study them, I want to be in them (someday, hopefully). I'm not saying there aren't movies that I enjoy that would make Roger Ebert turn over in his grave, (Mr. Ebert, we miss you). I have very eclectic taste in cinema. I think that's how one should be. Be open to all sorts of stories told in all sorts of ways.

Except for maybe this..

I recently watched The Judge, starring Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Billy Bob Thornton. This movie was fantastic. I went into not really knowing what it was about, but I was confident that with that cast, it would be good. The premise of the story is that RDJ is a hot shot lawyer in a big city who has an even bigger ego. It's a role that RDJ plays well, but if you're wary that it is too close to his other roles, you can suck it because everything that man touches turns to gold don't worry, there is definitely some layering with this one. Dealing with his own problems at home, he is called back to the small town where he grew up and has to face his father, the town Judge, with whom he hasn't spoken to in years. I'm vastly over-generalizing, as there is a pretty spectacular plot, but I don't want to give anything away.

Except this, I'll give this away because...well, just look at him. 

The setting and tone of this movie are very much throwbacks to the great family dramas of the late 1990's, early 2000's, but without all the cheese. The acting was brilliant. Also, you're probably going to go into the movie thinking that it will be predictable to an extent, which would be wrong. While a lot of dramas like this tend to be predictable, this one was surprising in a subtle way. It didn't throw a bunch of stupid twists at you for the sake of shock value, but it kept you on your toes.

I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates film. When I worked in a movie rental chain in a small, midwestern town, this is the type of movie people would pass over to rent the next Michael Bay flick. In other words, it's good, but most of the average population will probably ignore it.

Let's ride the Sea of Izabella all the way to the Abarat!

Hello fantastic people of the internet. Today I want to talk to you about one of my favorite book series, Abarat. Abarat is written by Clive Barker. There are currently three books out, and two more on the way. I read the first one when I was in high school, and absolutely loved it. It's a fantasy series in which a girl from a small place in Minnesota called Chickentown travels to another world and has to find her way while coming to terms with the fact that it might not be a coincidence that she's there.

Abarat was written for young adults, but is a darker fantasy series that can be enjoyed by anyone of any age. Clive Barker takes a story that could have been a watered down preteen novel, and turns it into a nitty gritty tale about surviving in a world very different, but also surprisingly similar, to our own.

Mr. Barker also does all of his own artwork! 

The so-called 'bad guy' of the piece is the Lord of Midnight himself, Christopher Carrion. Carrion is a complex villain. He feeds off of the fear and agony of others, yet Barker has made him diverse enough to actually be relatable. Obviously you're not going to relate to the darker parts of his personality, (or maybe you do, which is, you know, O.K.), but you start to see why he is the way he is, and it's certainly enlightening. 

Yes he's terrifying and grotesque, but he just wants to be loved! 

Don't let the artwork scare you too much, this book is absolutely fantastic. Clive Barker is a very talented man. He writes novels, short stories, creates artwork, and is generally always doing something creative. This is probably why there is normally a one to two year hiatus between each book, an unfortunate side effect of your work being in high demand, I imagine. Though, being a fan of many things, one gets pretty used to handling a hiatus. (If this is your first one, don't worry, the shakes will go away eventually.) The wait being my only complaint, I would absolutely recommend reading this book. It's a very easy read, without feeling like it was written for a younger audience. What are some of your favorite books? Or for those of you who have read this, what other books do you recommend? 

To Fic, or Not to Fic..

That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the misspelled words and grammatical errors or to take arms against a sea of fics and by scrolling past, end them...

*crickets chirping*

Well, I took that a little further than I had intended. Hello all, just your movie watching, book reading, theater loving blogger here. Today, I want to talk about something that is very near and dear to my heart: Fanfiction, or the shorter version, fics. Now, most of you have probably never had the experience of turning out all your lights, surrounding yourself with trans fatty snacks, your furry child curled up next to you, and reading fanfiction until your eyes feel like the Sahara desert....Or maybe you have. I don't know your life. Anywho, fanfiction is any story that a fan has created based on another story they like. For example, there are several Sherlock fics. Fans of the BBC show Sherlock, (i.e. people who have seen the show), will take ideas for situations they would like to imagine the characters in, and turn them into short (or sometimes, not so short) stories, or even the occasional fan art or podcast. These fans genuinely love the worlds that have been conjured up by the creators and simply want to expand it for their own, as well as others, enjoyment.

I'm gonna let you discover that for yourself...

You may be wondering, "Why would someone want to spend that much time in a fictional story? Seems a bit obsessive." Well, naysayer, you may be right, but there is no difference between what we fans do, and what sports fanatics do, with their bumper stickers and assumption that everyone on the planet is rooting for their team. No, customer at the establishment where I work, I am not "ready for the game." Can you imagine if I walked around asking people, "Hey, you ready for that new Supernatural episode? I hear one of them is going to die again"....Yeah, it'd be weird. That's society for ya. Ok, back on topic.

Fanfiction is an amazing way for writers to get their work out there. It's also great for someone like me, who can't write fanfics to save my life. I just enjoy reading, and that's ok too. There are fanfictions for virtually anything. Plays, movies, books, graphic novels, bands, celebrities. If you can obsess over it, you can fic about it. A couple of my favorite fic sites are Archive of Our Own, and FanFiction.net. That being said, be warned. You have to dig through a lot, and I mean a lot, of bad fics to get to the good ones sometimes. And there's also tons of sex. So if you're not into that, watch out. There are some truly beautiful pieces out there from very talented writers though. Read their stuff, support them, leave nice comments. This is good advice for other things too, like, oh I don't know, a blog you happen to be reading. *cough*

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Google Blogger

If you haven't seen To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, you're doing yourself an extraordinary disservice. It's a delightful piece released in 1995, directed by Beeban Kidron and starring the incomparable Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, and Stockard Channing. Swayze, Snipes, and Leguizamo play drag queens on their way to a Drag Queen of America pageant across the country. However, their car breaks down and they are stranded in an incredible small, mid western town, where they spend the weekend charming the locals and stirring up Snydersville for the better. This movie is packed with good messages, 1940's movie references, and more glamour than a party bus full of showgirls that crashes into a glitter factory.* The people in this forgotten little town embrace these strange women and stand up for them when they need it most. It's one of my favorite feel-good movies of all time. Throughout the movie, Swayze's and Snipe's characters are trying to teach Leguizamo, (Chi Chi Rodriguez), the true meaning of being a drag queen. They are lessons that everyone can relate to, and we see her blossom under their experienced instruction. If you want a good time, and a movie about acceptance, kindness, and how to be fabulous, watch this film. It can most likely be found in the $5 movie bin in your local department store. If this movie doesn't sound like your cup of tea, because you're closed minded about people who are different, or some other such nonsense, the door is right behind you. Ok, actually, it's the little X in the top corner of your screen, but you get the idea.

Iconic.

*No showgirls were harmed in the making of this reference.

Blogging: The Final Frontier

Greetings, all! Welcome to 'Through the Lens'. I'm your gracious and witty host, Stephanie.

Where did the internet get this gif of me?? Weird...

 I wanted to start a blog as a creative outlet, somewhere I could hone my writing skills and also do some entertaining. Who am I entertaining, you ask? Well, mostly myself, but hopefully I'll get few chuckles or thoughtful hmm's out of a few of you. I chose to write about movies, books, and theater because it's what I know and love. So buckle up and join me on this five-year (or however long it takes) mission to explore strange new movies, seek out new books and plays, and go where no blog has gone before.