Beauty and the Beast - Movie Review

Just gonna go ahead and start this off with a SPOILER WARNING even though I think that a) it goes without saying for anything titled "review" and b) if you have not seen Disney's Beauty and the Beast, you've been living under a rock for a decade or so.

My first memories of Disney's Beauty and the Beast are of a really late night at my aunt's apartment. It was dark, and Beauty and the Beast filled the screen with bright color. I was wearing a sweat-suit... and that's pretty much all I remember of that. I spent a good deal of my childhood absolutely enamored with this movie. I very much wanted to be Belle. I was really into books and brunette like she was. Belle was my second favorite Disney princess after Jasmine, because Jasmine had a pet tiger. I remember endlessly playing with the Belle and Beast McDonald's toys we had.

My most recent rewatch of Beauty and the Beast was spurred by one of my favorite podcasts: Professor Dave's Ark In Space (PDAIS). They did an episode entirely devoted to discussing this movie and why, even today, we're still enamored with it. It was a great episode, go look them up. They do a much better job talking about the movie than I do.

As for my rewatch, my little sister and I watched our VHS copy of the movie. It was a lot of fun discovering things we'd missed the first jillion times through and a lot of fun for me to point out some things to my sister I'd learned from listening to PDAIS. I think we spent a good chunk of the movie talking about the characters and what we thought their roles in the household were... and such nonsense. At one point we'd decided that Cogsworth was the Butler and Lumiere was the Beast's Manservant. Later I decided that Lumiere was the Butler and Cogsworth was the head of the household... or whatever. Downton Abbey might have informed this decision a little...

Over a decade on, Beauty and the Beast holds up extremely well. I enjoyed rewatching it and I can't wait till my nephew is old enough to watch it. I fully intend to show him the copy we have on VHS... assuming our VHS players still work, of course.

Now, some of you might know that there was a more recent re-release of Beauty and the Beast with an added scene/song. I have seen it. I didn't enjoy it as much. I also might have taken part of the added bit the wrong way... but I stand by not liking the movie nearly as much with the added bit in. I wish Disney would stop trying to ruin my childhood by adding stuff to their movies.

Housekeeping

I did not watch Arrow tonight. I'm not watching Supernatural tonight. I'll attempt to watch the episodes tomorrow and get reviews up ASAP. 

If you have any interest in the current Neopets plot -- from now on referred to a Obelisk War -- tonight is your last chance to sign up to a team... I think. That's what it sounded like anyway. The War Starts Tomorrow! I'll be covering the war from the perspective of my chosen team: Order of the Red Erisim... when I have time, anyway.

Last thing, semi-related to the bit above, I changed the look of the blog. It's temporary and we'll be going back to the black and blue look after the Obelisk War is over.

Love ya, Jessie.

Proceed to the Mermorial with Caution

Okay so, after writing out my reviews for yesterday's The Vampire Diaries and Beauty and the Beast, I decided to do those today in a completely separate post than the Grimm initial reactions. So... here you go. If you still haven't seen the episodes from last night, you'll want to go away and come back after you've watched them. This is officially your SPOILER WARNING.

The Vampire Diaries - "Memorial" - Review

     I've discovered I have issues with emotional people being turned. Choosing to be a vampire and then not being able to deal is a problem. It's also annoying as all get out. Elena, it seems, is going down the same road as Louis from Interview with the Vampire. I really, really hope she doesn't. I found myself so annoyed with her. To paraphrase Damon: feed on the damn humans already.

     Also, they really should have brought Caroline in earlier to coach Elena. It was so obvious she should be the one to do so. She understands Elena and wouldn't be distracted by sex. I was so happy when she finally got to coach her in mind-controlling. That just proved my point.

     Anyway, enough about Elena. At the moment, I really, really hate the new hunter. He's clearly much more ruthless than any of the hunters who've appeared on the show, especially Alaric. Speaking of Alaric, I'm glad they brought him back, hopefully for the last time, within the tenants of the show. He's there, nit Damon doesn't know it because he's a ghost.

     I'm very glad Tyler seems to be getting a better role this season and isn't just a puppet for Klaus. I also like that Jeremy's gift is doing more than just showing him dead people. I can't wait to see how he'll be utilizing that.

     Overall, this episode was brilliant. It hit all the right notes of action, romance, and tension. Can't wait to see how they follow it up next week.

Beauty and the Beast - "Proceed With Caution" - Review

      I wasn't exactly enamored with this episode. I understand there needed to be some character building but... it was rather boring. I found JT's small amount of development amusing, though. He's such a nerd! It's awesome.

     The procedural portions of the show were fairly standard and didn't wow me at all. None of the characters in that portion caught my attention at all. I couldn't wait for those parts to be over.

     I can't stand Tess. She's uninteresting and seems to be a stereotypical female cop who has something to prove to the male cops. I don't think it helps that the only time we see her is on the case. No actual character building for Tess.

     Probably the best part of the show is Evan the ME. He's witty and obviously good at what he does. I want to see more of him.

     I'm going to stick around for a couple more weeks, see how the show develops. I'll let you know if it goes the way of 666 Park Avenue.

Housekeeping

Barring any unforeseen random happenings, I'll be having my Grimm initial reactions up later tonight. See you then!

Love ya, Jessie.

Thursday Night Initial Reactions

Just got done watching The Vampire Diaries and Beauty and the Beast back to back... gotta say, I see similarities all over the place. Not gonna get into that now, though. The following blog post will have spoilers, though I'm not exactly sure how many are really that spoiler-y. To be on the safe-side, though, don't read the rest of this unless you've seen tonight's episodes.

The Vampire Diaries - "Memorial" - Initial Reactions

• I kinda like this "previously on" thing with the changing voices.
• Yeah really, Damon... stop being ridiculous.
• She didn't even kill the deer.
• Damon's got a point... but vampires don't have to eat people.
• Oh yay... vampire sex.
• That was unexpected...
• Who's this guy?
• He's a hunter.
• I like her.
• Makes a change from sulky, broody Stefan.
• That's not gonna happen. You have to deal with it, Elena.
• I love people who're crazy cocky.
• Yup, he's a hunter.
• Good thing it was Tyler rather than anyone else.
• April would be a pretty vamp or witch.
• Yeah... you really need to deal with the hunger issue.
• Man, they really miscolored that in the previews.
• Well Bonnie's sure turned around.
• Cute.
• What the?
• Someone needs to talk to Katherine.
• Black dress, white shoes?
• Oh yeah, that's totally where you need to be right now.
• This is not a good thing... except that it give an excuse to get out...
• Weird... something from the otherside then, since Jeremy can see it.
• Someone needs to explain the damn rules.
• It's a not a funeral.
• I'd be in tears if my sister's dog wasn't running around.
• Talking to Alaric seems to make you feel better.

Beauty and the Beast - "Proceed with Caution" - Initial Reactions

• Well that's gotta suck.
• Riley Finn would have been more interesting if he'd had this kind of side-effect... maybe.
• She's like a cross between Ginnifer Goodwin and Ashley Greene.
• Yup, just ignore the little sister.
• Lol. Geeks getting beat after trying to attack professionals.
• Let's poke through evidence with no gloves! That's a good plan.
• Someone crossed Captain America with a werewolf.
• Not quite cool enough for a Batman...
• Weirdly empty...
• It never is.
• Lots of flip-flopping going on here.
• She's not gonna let that go...
• Way to be creepy, JT.
• Of course he would just take the easy way out.
• Yeah, because that was such a good plan to begin with.
• Yay for weird assassins on bikes.
• And of course he's been following you. It's what messed-up guys do after they tell you to go away.
• Yup, he just can't stay away.
• Already finishing her sentences... nice.
• Except he doesn't want you gone.
• Good you realized that.
• Ah, young, unrealized love. It's so sweet...

Housekeeping

Okay so... I discovered I have a hard time staying focused enough on Beauty and the Beast to do my usual initial reactions thing. Not sure if that's going to change in the future so I'm gonna stop writing those for the time being. Thursday nights will dedicated to TVD initial reactions and possibly reviews.

I would like to encourage you to go check out the action over at Gaiaonline. This year's Halloween Event is a lot of fun and a lot less confusing than past ones. Again, you can look me up there; I'm Sorceress Digi. Other than that, you can follow me on Twitter, check out my Facebook, or just leave a comment below.

Love ya, Jessie.

Surprise! Initial Reactions for TVD and Beauty and the Beast

As promised, here are my initial reactions, beware SPOILERS, for tonight's episode of The Vampire Diaries. And as another bonus, you get my initial reactions for the new show: Beauty and the Beast.

The Vampire Diaries - "Growing Pains" - Initial Reactions

• Being in Elena's head must suck right now.
• Bitter much, Damon?
• I agree with Damon.
• What's wrong with being a vampire? Ya know, except the not dying forever part.
• The world doesn't revolve around Elena, Damon. Knock it off.
• Don't eat yourself, silly.
• You totally shouldn't be there, Jer.
• She'd be fine as a vampire. Turning doesn't erase your personality, it just makes you more durable and whatever.
• If you want her help, why are you threatening to kill her? She can't help you when she's dead.
• Poor Caroline.
• Crap. That's really very not good.
• Yay for weird emotions.
• Compelling stuff coming back... yay. And yes, the pun is intended.
• Why's it sound like a radio freaking out?
• Bye bye, Rebecca.
• Yay for Klaus and Tyler being on the same page.
• Seriously Damon, knock it off.
• No vamps except Elena.
• Oh, just bite him. He's slimy.
• She obviously doesn't want to listen to you talk.
• Creepy Klaus is now creepier than usual.
• Damon's doing such weird things with his face...
• You suck, Rebecca.
• Frak, Gramma witch.
• There's a reason you don't goad the jailors.
• Seriously, Klaus. Why can't you just wait? So impatient for being really old.
• Rebecca is bored.
• No, he's just getting shot...
• No more Grams.
• No more black magic for you.
• Vamp tag team. Yay.
• She's going to be soooo guilty after...
• Grab his arm and pull, stupid.
• Or you, know, lick it off your fingers instead...
• He just stabbed him with a gun. lol
• Elena says "No!"
• Mr. Selfish is selfish.
• Klaus, you're a giant asshole.
• Why didn't Buffy and Angel ever have rooftop conversations?
• Totally an engagement/daylight ring.
• They're all gonna die...
• The beginning of what?

Beauty and the Beast - "Pilot" - Initial Reactions

• Creepy nighttime dumpsters...
• Car not starting...
• The mom's gonna die, I bet.
• Called it.
• Now why are they after her?
• Vampire? Werewolf? Werelion? Hulk?
• Interesting hotel...
• It's that guy...
• That guy's familiar. To me. Different guy than the last one.
• Creepy building...
• He's very nerdy...
• Vibes. She could be a Warehouse agent.
• British ME... or Australian. He needs to talk more.
• Through the creepy gate...
• Things are going to get super complicated now.
• That's a good question.
• Of course you're not. Everyone says that when it's super obvious.
• Yay, bitchy fashion people.
• I don't really like Chandler's partner. She bugs me.
• Obvious bad guy was obviously bad.
• Beast guy is back.
• Of course she dropped her cellphone. Of course.
• Love at you totally saved me... again.
• I think we've learned from comics that "super soldier serum" isn't a good plan. Also, Buffy.
• Man-made lycanthrope-types.
• Nice to have an explanation in the first episode.
• You could cut that tension with a knife.
• She's gonna come back anyway. Or you're gonna go to her.
• Guys look silly when they eat with ties over their shoulders.
• No, that guy's not creepy at all... <-- obvious sarcasm
• He's totally a less scary version of the Hulk. Don't get him angry, it's a bad plan.
• Good thing, no watching lab equipment run.
• Beast-y's gone vigilante. There's a shocker. <-- again with the sarcasm
• Well don't you look all fancy...
• Diary motif. Cute.
• Batman pose!

Housekeeping

Okay so... I've decided to watch Beauty and the Beast next week as well. I quite liked today's episode. I'm also going to be taking a look at Arrow. Won't have initial reactions up for the first episode of that, but I'll attempt to review it asap. If I like the first episode, chances are I'll be adding it to my list of TV shows to watch... which is long this season. Slightly glad Warehouse 13 had its mid-season finale already... slightly.

Love ya, Jessie.