Hemlock Grove

A while back I saved this article on Netflix’s approach to releasing all of the House of Cards episodes at one time, instead of one each week, per the traditional TV format. The article goes on to discuss the habit of “binge-viewing” television shows.

I am so guilty of this, and I might even go so far as to say that it’s one of my favorite pastimes. I love watching full seasons of television shows in one go, instead of having it drawn out over months and months. The best is when Mat and I find a show we like and can rent the past seasons. The worst part is catching up and having to go back to waiting each week.

The article talks about “hoarding” shows, or purposely waiting until a season (or even entire series!) is complete before watching, to decrease the down time between episodes. As much as I prefer this method of viewing, I am way too impatient to hold off on something that I know I can get right away. It is also kind of nice to have something to look forward to, because it does suck when you near the end and know you don’t have any more episodes to watch.

Our most recent “binge” was Netflix’s second series, Hemlock Grove. 

Ugh. Not enough good things to say (from me—many critics seem to disagree) about this show. I was instantly hooked, if only because I had no clue what was going on. But this confusion continued to pique my interest all the way until the end, and I started to really develop a relationship with the characters. The show kind of reminds me of a mix between True Blood (vampires, werewolves) and American Horror Story (plenty of wtf-ery). The male vampire character is actually True Blood’s Eric’s (Alexander Skarsgard) real-life brother, and it’s funny because the resemblance is prominent in the show, even just in their mannerisms.

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I think fans of the supernatural horror genre will enjoy it, but I do wonder if I would have loved it as much had I watched it on a week-to-week basis. I think I still would have loved it but something about immersing yourself into a show like that really affects me emotionally. I tend to get overly excited and obsessive about things I enjoy, so kind of hard to separate yourself from the fiction, at least to a small extent.

We started watching Dexter after the fourth season had aired, and watched all four seasons in under two weeks. If you’ve seen the show, you know how the fourth season ends, and after thinking about nothing but Dexter during that time, that scene hit us hard. I was depressed all the next day, ha. You feel like you start to know and understand these people.

It’s funny because I never really consider myself a big TV person, but that’s really pretty far from the truth. I never watch TV just for the sake of watching it – if I am bored, I am on my laptop. But when it comes to making the effort to watch specific shows, I have a long list.

Okay, now that you are all starting to get a little bit worried about my TV-viewing habits, I’ll say also that the music in Hemlock Grove is phenomenal. I can’t stop listening to playlists inspired the show (http://8tracks.com/explore/hemlock_grove). Excellent.

Anyway. If you aren’t too busy actually living a real life and need some way to spend 13 hours (and you have Netflix), definitely check out Hemlock Grove (and let me know what you think).

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Thanks for reading, I’m thinking in hindsight this will be pretty embarrassing ;)

Great Gatsby

I'm going to be honest .... I've never read The Great Gatsby.

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Regardless, I want to see the movie. I love Baz Luhrmann's other films, and especially their soundtracks. I used to listen to Romeo + Juliet on repeat. The Gatsby soundtrack is potentially shaping up to be the best one yet. 

Have you seen this track list!?

01 Jay-Z: “100$ Bill”
02 Beyoncé and André 3000: “Back to Black”
03 will.i.am: “Bang Bang”
04 Fergie, Q-Tip and GoonRock: “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)”
05 Lana Del Rey: “Young and Beautiful”
06 Bryan Ferry Woth the Bryan Ferry Orchestra: “Love Is the Drug”
07 Florence and the Machine: “Over the Love”
08 Coco O of Quadron: “Where The Wind Blows”
09 Emeli Sandé and the Bryan Ferry Orchestra: “Crazy in Love”
10 The xx: “Together”
11 Gotye: “Hearts a Mess”
12 Jack White: “Love Is Blindness”
13 Nero: “Into the Past”
14 Sia: “Kill and Run”

I was so excited to see last night that Lana Del Rey had released a song off the soundtrack. I listened to it this morning and am ready to keep it on repeat for the next few months. 



Lana seals the deal for me, but I listened to the sampler and everything sounds amazing. 

What do you think of her new song? Are you excited for the film?

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Bachelorette

My fiance started a new job recently, and his work schedule went from being pretty standard to irregular. While it sucks having less time together, it is giving me some time to catch up on Grey's Anatomy and movies that he definitely wouldn't watch, such as Bachelorette.

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Have you guys seen this yet? I feel like this movie really fell off the radar. I remember hearing about peripherally but didn't think about it again until I found this GIF and searched for the quote (because obviously that is a life motto). 

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(Only a little bit awkward when someone uses your computer and "F*ck everyone I like ice cream" is still in your search bar.)

Anyway, I loved this movie immediately. I think it got mixed reviews, but aside from being funny and having an awesome cast, it made me feel really nostalgic. It kind of felt like Mean Girls on steroids, especially since Lizzy Caplan is in both flicks. 

The basic plot is as follows: Becky (Rebel Wilson) is the first of her HS group of friends (the "B Faces") to get married, and the last one they expected. This makes the other girls jealous and a bit hateful—especially Reagan (Kirsten Dunst), who is Becky's maid of honor—but it also makes them take stop and assess the state of their lives.

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Shenanigans ensue and there is lots of humor. Honestly, I thought the characters, though exaggerated, were accurate and relatable. I also love Kirsten Dunst and Lizzy Caplan so I might just be biased, but it was great. Adam Scott even has a small role. So ladies, if you have a night to yourself, definitely check it out. 

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In other news, I found this hot chocolate mix at Target the other day, and ohmygod is it good.

Pretty sure I'm making my design friends cringe, but I don't have a lot of tools at my disposal right now, ha. 

We're halfway through the week, hooray! 

Good night friends,

Kristin

GIRLS

Let's talk about HBO's GIRLS.

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The season two finale aired last night. If you don't watch the show, I don't really want to give anything away. I will just say that I was SO happy with how everything turned out. Finales are always either super frustrating (season one) or incredibly satisfying (season two).

I have had such a mixed relationship with this show. Each season is ten episodes. I didn't really starting loving it until episode seven of the first season. I'd start to get into it, and then they would just throw something totally unexpected (and uncomfortable) that would put me off it. Half the episodes made me feel like I needed a shower after they were over. But still, I kept watching, and I'm glad I did.

With the exception of maybe a few moments, I loooved this season. Loved. I think it's because I finally could relate to the characters. In the first season, I understood the characters in a peripheral sense, but aside from being a twenty-something, I couldn't draw any comparisons. This season I could relate to everyone -- Hannah, Marnie, Shoshanna (much more than I thought I could!), and even Jessa at times, although she's the most distant for me. Jessa's entertaining to watch, but not as grounded in reality (for me).

I really started to feel for Hannah toward the end of this season and especially in the finale. I'll be honest, I have trouble with her character. I initially felt like I "had" to like her, or was "supposed" to like her, because she was so different -- and honestly, I wanted to like her. But the things Hannah does ... she's just not likable a lot of the time, as Laird called her out on the finale, and I think maybe that's the point. 

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I'd be lying if I said that my desire to like Hannah had nothing to do with her appearance. Here was finally a normal-looking woman starring in a show, just being who she is. It's sad that Lena's weight even has to be noticed or commented on, but those are the constructs of our society, and  even though I felt relieved by Lena's presence on screen, I am just as guilty. As Lena bared more skin, the topic fell under more and more scrutiny. It's so silly that it's getting so much attention for being so much "out of the norm." 

I read an article the other day on Thought Catalog, titled "What’s Up With Lena Dunham?: Celebrating Women’s Bodies," that said, "Lena Dunham doesn’t have a 'bad body,' she has a human body." This made me want to hug the author. (Thank you!). As someone who is no stranger to self-criticism, this made me want to cry, "Hallelujah! We are just human." Lena is very pretty, smart, and obviously incredibly talented, and it's shameful that so much of that is lost to a perceived deviation.

I'm not innocent in this, by any means. I get the appeal of models and celebrities. Let's be honest -- I was enjoying Channing Tatum's and Joe Manganiello's performances in Magic Mike far more than Kevin Nash's (sorry dude). Yet I also don't think it follows that they should be considered the standard -- isn't that defeating the whole purpose? It's refreshing to see someone just being who they are for a change, and it makes me feel like it's okay for me to be me. And for all the critics of Lena's constant nudity -- guess what? Sometimes people get naked. 

If you watch GIRLS, what did you think of the finale? I'm dying to talk about it with someone! I think I might actually go watch it again right now, ha.

I hope everyone had a fun St. Patrick's Day! Definitely check out Jenny's post of some green treats... mmmm.

Veronica Mars

The Veronica Mars Movie Project Kickstarter launched and met it's goal of $2 million in under ten hours. 

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That is INSANE!

You can still donate here. Definitely check out the video.

I LOVE Veronica Mars. I am psyched !!

200 Cigarettes

Ensemble films are hard. It sounds like a good idea to throw a bunch of celebs in one movie, but it doesn't always work out. The best example (in my mind) of one done right is 200 Cigarettes. I loved this movie since it first came out in '99. Unfortunately, it's hard to find! Netflix doesn't have it, Amazon doesn't sell it .... 

Much to my surprise, when looking for a movie the other night, I found it on HBO Go!! Elated, I instantly pressed play. 

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The movie takes place in New York on December 31, 1981. It follows the stories of different groups of people who are ultimately headed to the same New Year's Eve party. Dave Chappelle plays the cabbie driving everyone around.

The cast was huge: Chappelle, Paul Rudd, Kate Hudson, Christina Ricci, Gaby Hoffman, Ben and Casey Affleck, Janeane Garofalo, Courtney Love, and Jay Mohr are among the more prominent characters.

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200 Cigarettes is quirky and funny, with a great soundtrack and amazing wardrobes (can we talk about Kate Hudson's outfit?). I have to admit, though, that my favorite part is Casey Affleck as a young punk.

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So, have you seen 200 Cigarettes? Do you share my love? If you haven't, I hope you have HBO Go!

Weekend recap & Movie Monday

How was your weekend? We go to the movies a lot, so whenever I see something over the weekend, I'll try to post about it on Monday. 

I don't think we mentioned but in general, I will be trying to post on Mon/Wed/Fri, and Jenny will be posting on Tues/Thurs/Sat, with Sunday being a free day. We might not stick to it too strictly but that's the plan for now. 

Anyway, Sunday morning we woke up and went to see the new Stallone flick, Bullet to the Head.

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We love going to the movies on Sunday mornings because it's usually $5 (or less) and not crowded. We hit up the 10 a.m. show with just a handful of other people in the theatre (although I'm pretty sure that had nothing to do with it being Sunday morning).

This movie was pretty terrible. It had it's moments but with Stallone's acting, the random racism, and the fact that it was early, I almost dozed off a few times. Granted, I didn't have super high hopes, and I was still entertained, but with Sly and Arnold both releasing movies this year, I have go with Arnold. 

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The rest of the weekend was uneventful. Mat is starting a new job soon so Saturday we celebrated with a ridiculous amount of Taco Bell. Those new roller things are delicious. We also watched the Total Recall reboot. It feels like it hasn't stopped snowing here so we tend to stay inside as much as possible.

I guess there was some kind of football game on last night ;) but to be honest I didn't watch any of it. We were more interested in the Man City v. Liverpool game (or Tottenham v. West Brom for that matter). Were there any good commercials? 

Yesterday we also listed a few new things in our Etsy shop... check them out in the link to the right!