Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

Gilmore Girls was one of my favorite shows growing up and the minute it was released I had to watch it, and I had to review it (I've been singing the last part of this sentence but that's the down side of blogging; you can't hear me =(   )

I sat down and binge watched the first three episodes and after I started to get the feeling that the past 4 and a half hours of my life was wasted and before I could watch another episode I either needed some sleep or a hard drink. I went with the sleep.

For you, and only for you (whoever you are) I have shared my feelings and comments and my opinions, on things that actually don't matter, for each episode with lots and lots and loooots of spoilers. So if you haven't seen the show yet and if you don't like spoilers don't continue to read because I assure that I will ruin it for you. If you don't care, enjoy =)

(As I came back to edit my notes I realized that I jump from one comment to another. This is because I started writing while I was watching, so forgive me this once if I present you with a mess of ideas. Also I know it looks long but it's individual comments on each episode so I couldn't shorten it much; so bare with me.)

"It's the same show we swear! Look Kirk is being weird, look Lorelai can smell snow! See? SEE?? " This is literally the first half hour of the show. I like to see easter eggs from the old series, I love cameos, little reminders... I don't need them to be thrown into my face.

I'm only guessing that it's the warming back into it stages but I remember Luke acting like a grumpy old man not like a mother that does all the work around and is never appreciated.

Seeing a new face and that face being Alex Kingston is really great for me. She plays a total nut-job and I couldn't love her even more.

At some point (before even finishing the first episode) I started to get distracted. But then I saw Logan =) To be honest Logan has always been my favorite. So seeing them together with Rory did attract my attention back a bit. Even though they are in this What Happens in Vegas agreement. Still is much better than that Paul guy.

Who is this Paul anyway? Seriously how did Rory end up with him? It's ridiculous.

The best part of the episode? Always and forever Paris. At the beginning of the original series, she may have been one of the most distasteful characters. But starting with the Yale years she has become one of my favorite characters. In a universe where everyone is just so perfect in their own way, Paris was a character that was so flawed that made her the most interesting of them all.

(Post-edit note: For the review of a 90 minute episode you would expect that I would have more to say right? But no! Because honestly that was all the episode offered to me. The material that is worth filling maybe one 40 minute episode of a 25 episode season.)

In the second episode, I realized that they are not going to play the theme song. Whole week I have been singing Where You Lead waiting for today. How can you deny me that song?

There in the middle of the festival, there is Mr. Kim. Just simply Mr. Kim. That mysterious character that has never been seen in the original series and towards the end wasn't even mentioned by name as if he was abducted by aliens and was erased from everyone's memories. And there he is, a tiny Korean man having the screen time same as the snail on the wall. Mr. Kim....

The town meetings were always fun and they thankfully wasn't short of it here either. I especially love the part where they're talking about a gay parade and someone says "Why can't they lend us their gays?" for the neighboring towns.

In the Dragonfly kitchen, when I saw Rachel Ray I figured there is this running famous chef bid going on  (didn't realize it in the first episode because I didn't know that Roy Choi was actually a real person until I looked him up). The idea wasn't so bad I guess but it seemed a little too parodical for Gilmore Girls to me. (being able to have famous chefs to work for you in a tiny inn in a tiny tiny town and you know... firing them and stuff... Really?)

Paris Geller is still the best thing about this show.

This spring episode was a little closer to home. I've always seen Gilmore Girls as a reflection my troubles. I somehow always related to Rory when my ambitions and the way I look at life was considered. Now (despite the almost 10 years of age difference between me and the character) I can relate to her again in her career troubles and her life not turning out to be the way she thought it would. In this episode, once again, Gilmore Girls became what it used to be to me.

(Post-edit note: This was the best episode among the 4. It only goes downhill from here.)

The secret bar scene was simply genius. When I saw this seen I thought "finally". This is what Gilmore Girl humor is. It's clever, it's relevant, it's not Lorelai firing a world famous chef from her 10 room inn) Speaking of famous chefs, I guess they ran out of them in this episode unless Luke has started his own cooking channel.

So they decide to have a "Stars Hollow Musical". That is again a very Stars Hollowy thing and the auditions part etc. was actually fun. But did we have to watch the entire musical? It started to seem like they're buying some time here. I get the point it's supposed to be incredibly stupid and whatever but we could get the idea from that one opening scene. Instead, just like Lorelai watching the musical, I found myself staring at the screen with empty eyes for a good 10 minutes.

And hey is that the pianist from Glee?

After that ferocity of a musical it was nice to see another familiar face,Carole King (pro hint: the writer and performer of the original theme song for the show, Where You Lead). Her scene was very cute and again I thought it was clever but it was just another reminder that we still haven't heard the theme song.

This episode was a bit scattered in general. It started with a summery cheerful note with the hopes of bringing something. But instead it delivered a 10 minute musical that was horrible, signs of unresolved depression from multiple characters, lots of fights and not much of a movement in the story. I'm hoping that this was only a setup for a great finale; or else it is a sign of an other unsuccessful revival.

(Post-edit note: This was again, like the first one, was only 40 minute worth of an episode. It was like they were throwing ideas for possible storylines and not bothering to deliver a content that was thought-out.)

I'm only imagining that Lorelai is going through some kind of mid-life crisis. And did they just use Jason Ritter as an extra? I mean, I know he's not like a Brad Pitt but he's a well-known actor. Just why?

If Charlie and Esther are inside the office how did they pull the bolt lock thingy from the outside? Yes, I am binge watching this thing and my mind has drifted off slightly bit but that doesn't mean that I'm not gonna get stuck on the little production mistakes that are really not that important.

When I saw that "Get Ready" on the computer screen I knew what was coming. The Life and Death Brigade was maybe the most fun thing this show has produced and seeing the old gang was really fun.

At this point of the show I believe Rory has become Logan's mistress. Which reminds me; I was promised a Dean. Where is my Dean?

It's kind of a cliche where the lead character writes a book about their life in the finale. It has been over done and I don't know how I feel about this one. I get that it creates a whole storyline where Lorelai is uncomfortable with it and stuff but at least they could maybe avoid giving the book the same title. If at the end of the episode we time jump to a book signing of Rory I may throw the computer to the wall.

Dean lives in Scranton? Is he also working in a paper company named Dunder-Mifflin?

The wedding scene was a little cliche once more but the kind of cliche I could like. It was cute. The part I don't get is at the end of the scene is it raining rose pedals? Where do they come from? It's too rom-com. Was Gilmore Girls this rom-com? And plus your best friend prepares millions of cakes for your wedding and when you have a secret wedding you don't even call her? You call Michele but not Sookie?

Aaaannndd the last words of the whole season is "I'm pregnant" We understand that they intend to have a second season (even though Netflix says they currently have no plans for it). Either way I have always believed that (especially if you're not going to continue the story) you have an obligation towards fans and ending a season (or the entire show) like that seems... disrespectful maybe? I have strong feelings about things; leave me alone.

They play the song at the end? That is the theme song dude! You can't toss it to the end. You simply just can't. And I'm angry again. You always make me angry!

(Post-edit note: At least they didn't do the book signing thing so that's a win.)

In conclusion, I was crazy excited about this and it just didn't quite deliver for me.

The 4, 90 minute episodes format is better going when you treat each episode as if they are movies. We are getting used to hour long episodes, which are also constructed more in a movie format rather than a prime time TV show, but 90 minutes is a full length movie. Therefore when the story is written in the same pace as the episodes of the original series, it becomes slow and to be honest I got distracted a lot while watching. After a while I turned into Michel on an ordinary day.

It was still nice to have a piece of that old show I loved, but it just didn't feel like that old show that I loved. It felt forced and to be honest it felt like Amy Sherman was just trying to satisfy her need to make a final season for the show which she couldn't because of a contract conflict. She threw but it hit only partially.

But as always, it's just my humble opinion; thank you for reading it.

And here, I put the theme song at the end of the review for you. Apparently that's where theme songs belong now...

Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them Review

Hi there!

I know, it's been a while but I'm back. And I'm back for a good reason.

Last Friday I've had the pleasure of seeing Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and I had to write about it.

Before I write another word I should give the warning: after this point tiny bits of spoilers might come flying towards your face so, if you haven't seen it, beware!

I have this thing about trailers: If I know that I'm definitely going to see the movie, I don't watch them. I feel like they take the magic out of it. They put every scene they deem good and when you see them in the movie it feels like second hand. I just simply prefer enjoying the movie while watching the movie, not while watching the bits and parts of it.

Anyway, the reason I'm telling this is to explain how expectationless (is that a word?) I was when I sat on that chair waiting for the movie to start. Because to be honest I solemnly believed that this was only an opportunity to extract more money from the money tree that is Harry Potter universe. (Well, it still probably is, but at least they did justice to it).

Because of my low expectation, I was waiting there to see nothing but a mediocre piece of film but I really, really did enjoy it.

To begin with, being a huge Harry Potter fan since, I don't know when I was 7, hearing that same old melody, that has been giving me goosebumps every since the first Harry Potter movie came out, at the beginning was just the perfect sign that this was going to be good.

The story revolves around Newt Scamander, the eccentric ex-Hufflepuff alumni who is travelling to collect different beast, study them, nurture them and at the end write a book about them to help people understand the them. (them, them, them, them... it started to sound funny).

If you didn't already know, the text book "Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them" is mentioned in the original Harry Potter series and was actually released as a hard-copy text book in the middle of the Harry Potter merchandise frenzy.

If you are familiar with my previous reviews you may know that I find Eddie Redmayne really charming. His portrayal of the character was very fitting for the general theme of the movie and it was exactly what you would expect an excitable Hufflepuffer who has been expelled most probably because of his love for these creatures.

In general I did enjoy his performance however, at some level his movements, exclamations, his choice of words reminded me awful a lot of Matt Smith's 11th Doctor. Just a thought.

On of the best things about the movie was Dan Fogler, who plays Jacob Kowalski, a no-maj (the American word for muggles) that finds himself in the middle of the adventure of the beast chasing in New York City.

Not only being the comic relief of the movie, he provides some very emotional moments that is what Harry Potter always stands for: funny, adventures and emotional. Therefore it was very sad when we had to say goodbye to him at the end of the movie. However, knowing that there are 4 more movies to come in our way in this series and considering the popularity of the character, I expect him to somehow come back to join the crew again in a future sequel.

When we look just a bit to the general casting, I found it quite successful, however I found Katherine Waterstone as Tina Goldstein, who, by the development of the story, is supposed to be the leading woman character a bit too... dull. She has a very significant role and she definitely brings it in the first about half an hour I guess. However as the movie moves forward Queenie, sister of Tina, starts to stand out better with her fascination with Kowalski and her ability to read minds and, Waterstone's character starts to lose her light becoming a character just simply follows Newt around with less than significant effect on the story.

The finale of the movie just show that the reason Tina Goldstein is there is that Newt needs a love interest. The whole purpose of a character shouldn't be that.

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the movie. The little Easter Eggs such as various spells we are familiar with from the original series and the tiny little mention of Dumbledore's name, the Hufflepuff scarf... these were all little happy moments for me throughout the movie.

Maybe I was this impressed because I had so little expectations. You can't know without seeing it for yourself.

Thank you for reading my humble opinion!...