TV Binge: Gilmore Girls (Season 2, 2001)

Jumping right after into Season 2 of Gilmore Girls was inevitable. As much as I would choose to wait and write up the TV Binge in between, the series just pushed me forward and I wanted to know what happened with its great characters and hope that Season 2 will absolutely extend and make it all better and wonder what other obstacles they have to face.

Let’s check it out!

Gilmore Girls (Season 2, 2001)

Creator: Amy Sherman – Palladino

Cast: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Jared Padelecki, Keiko Agena, Scott Patterson, Melissa McCarthy, Milo Ventimiglia, Kelly Bishop, Edward Hermmann, David Sutcliffe

The second season starts on a pretty good note. Both Rory and Lorelai had come out Season 1 with great news to tell each other. Now its about building for Rory, in terms of a relationship with Dean and really embracing her feelings for him while Lorelai is preparing for her marriage to Max and ironing out thise details of loving together and whatnot. Dean is now a regular along with a few others from Stars Hollow. There isn’t ever quite a dull moment in Stars Hollow and its amazing the town that they have created for the show especially with all the silly festivities that the Gilmore Girls always become a part of. Plus this season marks the entrance of Jess played by Milo Ventimiglia who is a discussion in itself. We have Rory’s dad Christopher making a much more significant presence on the show as well.

Its taken me a few days to put this recap/binge review together and I realized that perhaps each season of Gilmore Girls attempts to show a certain area of growth. In Season 2, what we love is how the creators developed the various relationships, whether it be friends, family or love. Just saying that I still liked how Gilmore Girls progressed in Season 2 because after learning about our lovely ladies, it is time to move on and see their lives and the people they interact with and how they grow. I think one very important thing to learn about Gilmore Girls and we live through them in Stars Hollow the majority of the time and everyone who passes through their life or who they meet is not exactly about that other person but more about how these life experiences help them grow as a person, and in my opinion, reflects life in a pretty realistic way.

• Lorelai & Rory: The obvious one to show here. Rory is a teen and she’s also growing up in a harsh environment and having to fight her own battles in a world that she’s pretty unfamiliar with but learning to adapt to. While they do have different views in everything from dating to friends and school even, their relationship is based on honesty. In here, we start seeing that Rory and Lorelai both want to be honest as much as they can but also sometimes, make decisions that they don’t approve but things usually work out between them because they have such a strong mother-daughter/best friend relationship

• Lorelai & Emily: Lorelai and Rory have something special between them and in many ways, Emily (Lorelai’s mother) craves the same involvement except there is a difference in view and opinions. It doesn’t help that the isolation and control over the years has left quite a gap between them. Season 2 starts having a lot more of Emily Gilmore and there is nothing quite as fun as watching them bicker and Lorelai’s desperate comebacks. While also seeing that they are growing closer and starting to confide in each other and putting their pride aside sometimes.
• Christopher & Lorelai & Rory: Season 2 shows the increased involvement in Rory’s father, Christopher. From the first glance, even though he has a lovely lady friend that comes into the picture and they are in fact in love and he is settling down from his free-will bachelor ways, his eyes are for Lorelai. He can hide that by just trying to be there for Rory more and he does a good job at it. However, it eventually feels like the perfect time to rekindle those feelings because he is finally who Lorelai wants and needs but is it, right? Since he is with someone else… In many ways, that would make everyone around them happy as well as themselves. And man, Christopher’s eyes when he looks at Lorelai is so genuinely full of love sometimes and I have to say its what makes me love his character.

• Rory & Dean: At the end of Season 1, we saw Rory open up to Dean about her feelings and naturally, they got back together. The way to look at Rory and Dean is that they are really perfect for each other. Or perhaps, Dean is perfect for Rory because he tries to be understanding about and make time for each other. He holds back his anger or over-reacting as much as he can and he does put her first. He cares so much about her and wants to spend time together a lot. Isn’t that what a great first boyfriend is and what puppy love is?
• Rory & Jess: Jess walks into Stars Hollow as the quiet, loner, introvert bad boy who also likes to read. He’s mysterious and rude and self-righteous, I guess. Except he reminds me of a second type of guy that I was intrigued by when I was younger. Except I’m sure they didn’t have a book with them everywhere they went and it was a short crush. Jess has a rough past and it doesn’t take long to realize that there is a genuine connection between them. Plus, they really work on that friendship of theirs while Jess isn’t afraid to show that he probably wants to use whatever way to spend more time with her, even if it means pissing off the towering Dean. Is it the right thing to do? Maybe not, but maybe this is the adventure that Rory needs to break out of the perfect and safe world she’s living in.

There are obviously lots of other thing going on. We see Jess and Luke, Lorelai and Luke, Rory and Paris, Sookie and Jackson, etc. There’s a lot going on in the season and its hard to go through everything and those friendships and relationships are a ton of fun to talk about as well, especially Lorelai and Luke, except they are just growing and I’m sure I’ll be talking about them more.

Overall, Season 2 was pretty awesome. The best parts could be really in terms of giving Rory and Dean and Jess some friction. There’s some nice moments of Lorelai and Luke who, lets face it, is my couple to ship which I’m sure will, in time, get together. Their chemistry is just building up every single quiet moment they have together. This is a much slower episodes but feels very natural to watch. In many respects, we have a few things going on in the background but never does it feel like too much. The town is bustling as always. There’s always some fun festival going on in Stars Hollow. The relationship building is fantastic. Before I wrap this up, as I was talking about Dean and Jess and Rory, a thought came in my head about something that was i The Vampire Diaries which applies here which was mentioned about the love triangle there. If you think about it, the character design here is very similar. Dean is perfect and he’s safe which is a great thing but Jess challenges Rory and takes her out of her comfort zone and maybe thats a good thing also. Which one is right for her, well, we’ll see, right? I’m sure at the end of all the Gilmore Girls binging, I’ll have an extra post on the guys in the Gilmore Girls life.

Have you seen Gilmore Girls? Are you a fan?

TV Binge: Gilmore Girls (Season 1, 2000)

What was I doing in 2000? That was the question I asked myself when I looked at Gilmore Girls and everyone was talking about it because of the revival season on Netflix and I had never even seen an episode. I remember vaguely watching a snippet but back then, I was 14 and I remember TV time being rather sparse and when I did have a long TV time, it was usually spent binge-watching Hong Kong TV series over an entire weekend. What can I say? It was my life back then. With that said, I couldn’t just sit around and not get this hype so I had to watch it. As I’m writing this TV Binge, I am currently halfway through Season 3. So, let’s just say, I want to get this over with and get back to binging some more.

Let’s go!

Gilmore Girls (Season 1, 2000)

Creator: Amy Sherman-Palladino

Cast: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Keiko Agena, Scott Patterson, Yanic Truesdale, Kelly Bishop, Edward Herrmann, Melissa McCarthy, Jared Padalecki, Liza Weil, Chad Michael Murray

A drama centering around the relationship between a thirty-something single mother and her teen daughter living in Stars Hollow, Connecticut. – IMDB

 Gilmore Girls is an interesting little show. Why do I say this, despite probably a lot of fans agreeing with already? The Gilmore girls, naming thirty something mother, Lorelai and her teen daughter Rory, have an amazing dynamic. They talk fast and rebound each other really well. There is a connect and a charm and a fantastic chemistry. Its kind of the dream mother-daughter relationship. Perhaps, my fascination with it is that it really builds their characters through their snarky and sassy comments. Their comebacks are sometimes silly but always a lot of fun. Actually that is really just the beginning of what makes this show, and this first season, such a hook. What makes this show is the characters and that applies to everyone.

Things I love/like:

• Gilmore Girls (Rory and Lorelai): Both Rory (Alexis Bledel) and Lorelai (Lauren Graham), are not only mother and daughter but they are best friends and tell each other *almost* everything. This almost is sometimes what causes their arguments and differences in opinions and how certain situations are treated. Even their arguments are more like children fighting. Individually, these characters create a similar but contrast whether its their coffee addiction or their love of mocking movies together or their constant sarcastic comments. Whether its being adult or a teen, they both are sheltered by Star Hollows and in the most awkward situations will still do some pretty funny things or say some equally awkward comments that doesn’t ease up the situation.
• Sookie (played by Melissa McCarthy): What I can only assume is a breakout role for Melissa McCarthy without looking at her filmography (you can correct me in the comments if you’d like), Sookie is one of the most hilariously endearing characters on the show because she not only is passionate for her food and her chef. What seems petty and silly like arguing over the quality of vegetables to Jackson, her vegetable provider and her clumsiness in general, makes for some fun little snippets. Her character here is really different from the roles she has taken in the last few years, at least the humor is much more subtle and more my pace.

• Dean (played by Jared Padelecki): I’ve watched a grand total of one episode of Supernatural. I know I should catch up with that and it might happen after Gilmore Girls. Jared Padelecki plays Dean, who really has a not so frequent appearance since Gilmore Girls uses the supporting characters to build up the character of Lorelai and Rory. Dean is Rory’s first boyfriend and in many ways, he also is a fantastic character because he kind of is that first boyfriend that we’d love to have. He cares a lot for Rory, supports her and wants to be there for her a lot while stil making okay with her having to spend time with her mom and the extra time studying. He’s a sweet boy.
• Luke (played by Scott Patterson): Perhaps one of the most crankiest characters on the show who just can’t help but give in to Lorelai and has no idea how to deal with these Gilmore Girls, but I am totally team Luke. I’m pretty sure eventually the chemistry between Luke and Lorelai will happen. They are both just too stubborn to give in to it or want to ruin the friendship they have now.

• Chilton Academy students: Rory getting into Chilton is probably what kickstarts a lot of motion right from the beginning. It highlights the relationship with her parents. It brings Rory’s father more into the picture in some way and also sparks up Rory’s life to be more competitive. She starts to break out of the protective barrier she had even if a bit of her expectations to focus on studying is shattered because if anything, the students at Chilton are even harsher to deal with. The standout probably goes to Paris Gellar (played by Liza Weil) who is so funny to watch and becomes somewhat of a frenemy by the end of the season. As well as Chad Michael Murray who sadly only had a few scenes as the rich bad boy who likes Rory a lot. I have a soft spot for Chad Michael Murray so it was great to see him there.  
• Lane Kim & Mrs. Kim: Lane is played by Keiko Agena, who is Rory’s best friend and Mrs. Kim is her very strict Korean mother played by Emily Kuroda. The whole strictness of her mother makes for some hilarious moments especially when her best friend is Rory who has the most relaxed upbringing especially with a cool mom like Lorelai. Lane’s sneaking around her contraband music and everything and her random appearances sometimes makes for some great times.

Something I’m lukewarm about:

• Max Medina (by Scott Cohen): Max is Lorelai’s love interest who also is Rory’s teacher in Chilton and man, as much as I think he is quite charismatic and there’s some great moments, there’s something about his character that seems incredibly scripted.

I know that I kind of just highlighted characters for the pros and cons. Fact is, Gilmore Girls’ charm is really in its characters and their adventures and misadventures. I haven’t even started with the people at Stars Hollow because they are quite a cute and entertaining bunch as well. There’s also Lorelai’s co-workers and so on. I’m sure they’ll make some more appearances later. To say that, the journey and the finale was pretty awesome for the first season of Gilmore Girls. Its probably why I broke my normal habit of writing up this post before moving on. I just needed to know what happened next.

Are you a fan of Gilmore Girls?

Netflix A-Z: Identity Thief (2013)

Moving right along, we hit the I selection.  You know, these are pretty slim pickings.  I, Q, X, you know.  My second round is proving to have some holes where I’m waiting for some interesting selections to pop up. I’m taking chances on some pretty funky stuff for some of these letters. I can only hope I’ll find some treasures.  However, there was no doubt that the first round for I would be this choice, Identity Thief.  I’ve been looking at it for a while.  I just hesitate because Melissa McCarthy’s humor doesn’t always work for me.

Let’s stay positive and give this a go! 🙂

Identity  Thief (2013)

Director: Seth Gordon

Cast: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, John Cho, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, T.I., Genesis Rodriguez, Robert Patrick

Mild mannered businessman Sandy Patterson travels from Denver to Florida to confront the deceptively harmless looking woman who has been living it up after stealing Sandy’s identity. – IMDB

I always start reviews on comedy genre movies saying that is fully subjective. The humor I appreciate might work for me and not you and vice versa.  Melissa McCarthy falls into the category of not working so often because she always goes into the absurd stupid humor.  I like absurd. I watched Stephen Chow growing up but I don’t like stupid. So there was a 50/50 chance of this not working.  Even the director himself is a hit and miss on my book.  Seth Gordon did Horrible Bosses which I enjoyed but he also did Four Christmases which I dislike. Now that I’ve kind of cushioned where this movie could be a hit or miss, I would like to say that this was for the most part a miss.

Identity Thief was mostly really hard to get invested into. I’m not saying I didn’t laugh a little because there were some parts that worked and I kind of chuckled here and there.  Then the humor was kind of weird and absurd (in a bad way) and pretty stupid.  Melissa McCarthy does certain troupes that don’t always work and for me, it worked only a little here and there but for the most part, it felt like its been there done that and I just felt a little repulsed by it. Other times, it just felt so boring that I tried to stay focused but went off to flip through other pages as I surfed the Internet and it played in the background. Like that scene below was really ugh…like I turned my head in disgust and just didn’t enjoy it.  I understand how for some it could be funny but it didn’t make me laugh.  It was just kind of cringe-worthy.

Set some uneffective jokes aside, as a road trip movie, which it is because Jason Bateman’s character Sandy has to bring Diana (Melissa McCarthy) home from Florida to Denver within a set time frame, they both do have charisma for the characters they play.  They have certain expected things that happen and their dislike for each other and just fight for survival does lead them to do things that can be classified as adventurous or ridiculous.  While I sympathize for Sandy a little more, its hard to not notice that the story did want us to connect with Diana more because they do try to build a back story for her.  For a moment, it almost did pull me in but at a certain point, not funny just got annoying and it just stopped me from caring about them.  I get the urgency and the hate and whatever relationship they have, but it just didn’t work so well.

The parts in the movie I did like was really the more action comedy parts with the two up there who work for a crime boss or gang or something and they are after Diana for something she owes them. It still has some comedic value to these characters but they added a bit of entertainment that gave a break from Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman and their jokes.  It added some danger and intensity (just a bit).  They had some funny bits along with another “bounty hunter”-esque sort of fellow played by Robert Patrick who was actually more fun to watch than the other ones.

Honestly, I’m out of stuff to say about Identity Thief.  It was okay.  I’m a little indifferent but mostly just bored because its the same old troupes that I expected.  I still think Jason Bateman can be a very funny guy when given the right script.  Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing for Melissa McCarthy but her performance always stands out more because its more explicit and/or absurd.  There are a few laughs here but I’m sure in a few days it’ll completely escape my mind and I won’t remember it anymore.  If I wanted to watch a good road trip movie, I’d rather watch something like Little Miss Sunshine and if I wanted a better comedy, I’d go for a thousand other choices like Horrible Bosses even.

Did you see Identity Thief? What are your thoughts? Do you like comedies with Jason Bateman or Melissa McCarthy?

J is up next! What do you think it is? Hint: Irish drama

The Heat (2013)

So…there should be another review before this one but I’m still pondering how to write up on Mud.  Lets do this one first, ok? I love Sandra Bullock.  I believe I’ve expressed my love for her many times before. Just look up my review on While You Were Sleeping or Gravity. I’m positive that I’ve talked about it.  Now, before Emma Stone and Anne Hathaway, I think my first girl crush was for Sandra Bullock and its been probably the longest.  She’s just awesome! 🙂 Now, The Heat had tons of mixed reviews and I wasn’t sure if I’d like it.  Melissa McCarthy is hit and miss for me.  But still, lets check it out, shall we?

Director: Paul Feig

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Rapaport, Demian Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael McDonald

Uptight FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is sent out to Boston to investigate and shut down a drug lord Larkin.  In Boston, she ends up being paired up with Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) who doesn’t follow the rules. They are absolute opposites and treat all the situations in completely different ways.  However, as the investigation gets deeper and they follow more leads, they realize that they have overcome their differences and become buddies.

I really don’t like doing write ups about comedies, mostly because what I find funny is probably different to what you find funny and even if we did both find this funny or say, This Is The End funny, it doesn’t mean we’ll find this one funny anyways.  You see, subjective? No one can pinpoint exactly what makes the humor.  It could just be that day you enjoyed this sort of humor and another day, its another type.  Anyways, I can talk about the philosophy of humor or whatever in the twisted confusing way on top all day and night but point is, I like this one a lot.  Was it THE BEST comedy I’ve seen? Well, no.  I mean, Paul Feig is the guy who did Bridesmaids also so I was expecting him to one-up that with a lot of awkward situations and yup, it was there.

Melissa McCarthy in this one is definitely better than the weird and kind of funny in the most bizarre sense person in Bridesmaids.  The more I watch Bridesmaids, the more she grows on me and that really helped because she was pretty funny in this one.  Plus, her and Sandra Bullock had a really good connection.  When they were playing off each other, it was downright hilarious.  Its either what I find funny has changed or whatever was going on just really worked to what I liked but it worked.  If there was a second one, I’d go see it just for them.  Melissa McCarthy is really good at entertaining and I look forward to seeing more of her stuff.  Even when she was by herself, she did really good and I also remember having a few WTF laughs.

Now, I have to talk about Sandra Bullock.  Its really weird because I actually think as a group with McCarthy, Sandra Bullock did better than by herself for this one.  I’ve seen her do better comedies, although they were mostly romantic ones.  Still, a good part of her part plays off of McCarthy’s role as Mullins because before Ashburn moves to Boston, she was in New York and super uptight, so that part wasn’t all funny..well, except for that opening scene.  She had her moments too 🙂

The Heat benefited from Sandra Bullock and especially Melissa McCarthy.  The story itself wasn’t anything unpredictable.  Everything happens pretty much as you’d expect it to.  But, what I did like was the refreshing concept of a female buddy cop flick.  We’ve see a ton of guy buddy cop flicks throughout the years.  I was wondering when we’d get this sort of thing going.  I’m happy it wasn’t disappointing.  I didn’t have high expectations for this but it turned out to offer a good amount of laughs and was pretty fun overall to watch 🙂

What did you think of The Heat? Are you fan of Melissa McCarthy and/or Sandra Bullock?

P.S. I’m going to try to maximize on reviewing 2013 releases for the rest of this week (before February hits) along with other regular stuff going up, so it’ll be busier here.  Remember to check back 🙂