Breaking Down "Breaking Dawn"

On November 18, 2011, the fourth installment of the Twilight series premiered.


Breaking Dawn Part I is the first part to the two part finale of the sparkly vampire romance series that millions of twi-hards love.

According to MSNBC.com, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1" broke the $500 million mark at worldwide box offices on Monday after its release only 12 days ago, film distributor Summit Entertainment said on Tuesday."

All of the original characters are back and better than ever. This time, the famed human-vampire couple gets hitched. While on their honeymoon, things take a turn for the interesting when Bella becomes pregnant. From there, the fun really starts. There's some wolf action and some intense moments in this film, there are even a few legitimate laughs thanks to the always gorgeous Kellan Lutz. Fans of the franchise will most definitely not be disappointed.

The acting was probably the best it's ever been. Kristen Stewart, who normally annoys me a lot, didn't make me cringe as much. She kept the lip biting and hair touching to a minimum, which I have noticed is apparently one of her signature "acting" moves. Robert Pattinson is devastatingly good looking in this one, having apparently died his hair darker to give him the whole "broody vampire" appearance. I'm proud to say he has a spot on American accent, which is a huge step up from the first movie, when almost every other word was dripping with the remnants of an accent the Queen of England herself would swoon over. Taylor Lautner is perhaps the most lovable of the trio. His acting in this one is very good, but with a shirtless scene in the rain, is anyone really paying attention to his acting?

Overall, without being too cynical. The movie was okay and a definite must see for anyone who loves the franchise. Or for anyone like me and my friends who keep up with it all just because of the sentimentality of it. I love remembering what I used to be obsessed with; it brings me back to the days of passing my road test, SATs and senioritis. I do have to say that I couldn't stop laughing throughout this movie, and I kind of enjoyed it.

The movie was one of the best of the series visually. Almost everything was striking and really captured your attention. One thing that could have been left out was the constant music playing over almost every scene. There are a few things about the story that are extremely disturbing and questionable; i.e. teen wolf falls in love with a newborn vampire baby named Renseme(if you haven't seen the movie and have no idea what I'm talking about, then just wait and see). But, I suppose if I really want to harp on it, I should just send an angry letter to Stephanie Meyer. 

In my honest opinion, I'd say that the choice to see this movie is personal preference. If you feel like seeing it, then go and if you'd rather do anything else than see it, then go find anything else to do. Anyway, I give it a thumbs up and a thumbs down. A thumbs up because it was okay and probably the best of the three and a thumbs down, well pretty much for almost every sarcastic comment I made throughout this post.

I hate to admit that I once fell into that category of fans who waited for months to see what crazy antics Bella and Edward would get into next. However, I've grown up and since realized there are quite a few things wrong with this series in general. I've also read some amazing novels and realized how ridiculous this story actually is. Anyway, just to humor myself and possibly enlighten you to the things that I deem completely ridiculous, I'll just name a few of my hang ups... 

One: Vampires don't sparkle. I must have missed the memo on that one. How stupid do you think Dracula feels that he never walked around sporting body glitter?

Two: Vampires, also, have fangs. I don't know if you noticed, but the Cullens have immaculate teeth and not a one has a pair of pointy incisors that are capable of drinking blood out of human veins. I know they are rich and everything in the movies, so I guess it's possible they just have a really good dental plan or something.

Three: Sticking with the whole vampire theme I have going, how about the fact they don't drink human blood and are "vegetarians." First, a vegetarian means you eat twigs and vegetables and organic things, not drink animal blood. Last time I checked, vampires drink human blood and even the most Gandhi-like vampire can fall off the wagon once in a while, see The Vampire Diaries' Stefan Salvatore. Unlike the Cullens, Salvatore has fangs and doesn't sparkle, so he gets points in that he tries to be nice to people and not drink them.


Anyway, there's so much more that I think is ridiculous, but I'll spare you the cynical comments on the Twilight series. It's one of the biggest series right now, so they must be doing something right.

I hope my obvious opinions on this series hasn't swayed you one way or another, but if I did, I apologize. Sometimes, it seems, I just can't keep my sarcasm to myself. And I suppose that in the case of this amazing, fantastic, and super awesome movie, I just can't keep my sarcasm at bay.

Elevate A Little Higher

Have you elevated yet?


On Monday, November 21st, Big Time Rush released their sophomore album, Elevate.


You know the expression, "Don't judge a book by its cover?" Well, I say don't judge a band before you hear their music. So, don't go and pass judgements because this post is about a Nickelodeon boy band.


The album consists of a series of techno and hip hop songs along with some lyrical songs that would make any girl swoon. The guys really stepped it up and the album is a show of how, as the boys evolve so does their music.

Cambio said, "The guys worked with musical heavyweights like Ryan Tedder, Tricky, The-Dream, JR Rotem and more to get their signature sound just right on this LP, and fans won't be disappointed."


The four guys of Big Time Rush, James Maslow, Logan Henderson, Carlos Pena and Kendall Schmidt, quickly rose to tweeny-bopper fame when their show with the same name premiered in the fall of 2009. They have legions of young fans who are obsessed with their show and music and flock to them like bees to honey.

Once you step away from how these boys came together, the music is actually really good. It's not what you would expect of a boy band crafted by one of the top children's networks today, which I suppose is the credit of the boys who range from ages 21 to 22. The sound in this album is a true mixture, and not one song sounds like the other.


The title song "Elevate," is an upbeat techno song that you could hear in any club or party around. Songs like "Cover Girl," are a testament to the talent these boys truly have. Kendall wrote the song and it is an anthem to all of those girls out there who don't feel good about themselves, and it's really cute. Songs  like "Love Me, Love Me," are beautifully produced and mixed to give it this incredible fast paced beat. Other songs on the album are just as diverse. The single from the album and the number one track, "Music Sounds Better With U," is a cute dance tune which features a rap from the rapper, Mann.





Personally, I kind of have a thing for boy bands, which is probably thanks to the fact that I am a kid of the 90s and the only music I ever listened to growing up was NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. Maybe it is just embedded in my head to love a group of cute boys who can sing and dance. Maybe, I will be forever cursed to love any group that can come out with a good fist pumping song and looks good in the process.


I say to go check it out. Don't look at it as listening to a Nick boy band, think of it as checking out some new music that you might actually enjoy. And if you still can't wrap your head around listening to a band created by the same people that brought you Spongebob Squarepants, then it's your loss, because this music is actually really good, and I for one will continually blast it in my car and sing along to my favorite parts.

A Fairytale Gone Wrong

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, known as television, there lived a show with a great concept, actors, and exceptional ratings! The show got renewed for even more episodes due to it's increasing popularity and they all lived happily ever after.

Okay, so that may not be the best fairytale ever written, but ABC's "Once Upon A Time," is quickly becoming one of the best adaptations of our favorite stories ever told.


Cinema Blend said, "Once Upon a Time is set up like a fairytale, with a dark curse to be broken, but it also seems to be set up like a great TV series, with a story that could play out nicely over the course of a season, if not longer, and interesting characters, some of whom we’re already familiar with."

This show stars House's Jennifer Morrison as Snow White's daughter(yes you read that right). Ginnifer Goodwin plays the princess as white as snow, who doesn't quite remember who she is.  And, Josh Dallas plays the prince, and he puts a whole new meaning to the name Charming.


Set in a small town in Maine, conveniently named, Storybrooke, this show chronicles the lives of the fairy tale characters who don't know they are fairy tale characters. Lost yet? Let me explain.


Emma Swan is a young woman living on her own in a big city, whose life consists of nothing but herself and her job. All of this changes one night, when her son, Henry, whom she gave up for adoption when she was young, shows up on her doorstep. She takes him back to his adoptive mother in Maine and he reveals that she is Snow White's daughter and the entire town has been put under a curse and she is the only one who can save them. All of the people in this town are actually fairy tale characters, they just don't know it, and they have been frozen in time. Are you following me now?


Once, Emma comes back to town, things start moving forward again and the characters can be lifted from the curse and remember who they are. All the while the show jumps back and forth from present day to the times of the fairy tales, showing the viewers exactly how all of this came to be.

According to New York Magazine, this show had "the biggest debut ratings of any new drama over the past two seasons in the prized under-50 demo, and its ratings have largely held up in its three subsequent airings." 


This show is a great twist on our favorite stories, and I for one am slightly addicted to it. I love how it sets princesses in modern day and makes you see what it would be like if they were suddenly dropped into a land where happily ever afters are few and far between. I keep coming back every week because I just want to know when and how this curse will be broken. 

Every time Snow White shows up in the real world, I find myself crossing my fingers and wishing on a star(pun intended), that she'll remember a life when she befriended seven dwarfs and ate a rotten apple which led to her meeting her true love(a love whom she doesn't even know she had). I just hope her and Prince Charming get back together soon, call me a hopeless romantic or sappy, but it just needs to happen!


After last night's intense episode where Cinderella and the evil trickster, Rumplestiltskin, made an appearance, I can honestly say this show is one of the best of the new seasons. If you love the idea of a true love's kiss being the most powerful thing in the world, than go watch "Enchanted." This show is a darker version of your favorite tales, of course there is a little romance thrown into the mix, but it's main point is deeper than that, and in this TV junkie's honest opinion, it is definitely worth checking out!

A Very Bieber Christmas

Meet me under the mistletoe! I'm talking about Justin Bieber's new album, what did you think I meant?

Last week on November 1st, Justin Bieber released his highly anticipated Christmas album entitled "Under The Mistletoe." The album quickly shot to the top spots on iTunes and according to HitFix, the album is "on target to sell up to 220,000 copies." The album is now number three on iTunes' most popular albums list, only being beat out by Colplay's "Mylo Xyloto," and Florence + The Machine's  "Ceremonials."

Justin Bieber's legions of "beliebers"(of which I am not), were literally beyond excited for this one time squeaky singer to unveil his more mature collection of seasonal songs. The album contains a mixture of new holiday songs from the Biebs himself and other classic Christmas songs with a twist only he is capable of. With songs like "Mistletoe," Justin shows he has what it takes to make the type of song people will be singing for Christmases to come. He teams up with Mariah Carey to put a new twist on her classic song, my personal favorite, "All I Want For Christmas is You." A surprising duet, however, is perhaps the song, "Fa La La,", where he teams up with Boyz II Men, resulting in a catchy and smooth Christmas tune that only the classic R&B group can make work.

Pop Crush says, "‘Under the Mistletoe’ is at once classic and modern — did you ever think you’d hear the colloquial term “shawty” used in a festive, holiday jingle? — but our boy Biebs handles himself well."

The 17 year old Canadian has been the hottest thing since he was discovered via Youtube by everyone's favorite "Confessions" singer, Usher. With his charming good looks and personality, his impeccable talent and his over use of the word "girl," in every song, he has proven time and time again that not only can he make legions of girls fall in love with him, but he can put out some pretty good albums, too.

Billboard made a reference, that I couldn't resist putting in my post, when talking about the new album.They compared Justin Bieber's Christmas takeover to, my all time favorite boy band(don't judge),*NSYNC's Christmas album, "Home For Christmas." The comparison made a good note of how the band's album was a good transition for the group before their record breaking album, "No Strings Attached," debuted and sold over 2.4 million copies in one week. They think the same of Bieber's album, saying it is a good way "to set up his sure-to-be-huge next album, out sometime next year."

While I do not have what one would call, "Bieber Fever", I have been known to belt out a pretty mean version of "Baby" in my car, on my way to class. I like some of his songs, but I think the almost Beatle-esque popularity he has is a bit overkill. However, I think the album is pretty good. It's Christmas music, which I really don't think anyone can screw up. Even the classic song "Dominic the Donkey," which makes no sense and has a donkey Hee-Haw-ing in it, is an amazing Christmas tune that can get anyone singing along while eating canolis in mere seconds(or it could just be me and my overly enthusiastic Italian family).

Overall, I say to go check it out. It's Christmas music, and if nothing else, maybe it will get you in the mood to start picking out  Christmas decorations and making a list of things you want Santa to bring you. Cough; The Vampire Diaries Season 2 Box Set...I am just saying.

72 Days of Wedded Bliss?

On Monday, October 31st, word got out that Kim Kardashian's "fairytale wedding" didn't have such a happily ever after, after all.

After what the media and fans alike were labeling, "A fairy tale wedding," reality star Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from husband, Nets player, Kris Humphries, citing "irreconcilable differences," as the reason for the split. With all of the coverage this was getting, I just couldn't resist taking a stab at it(apparently even Humphries found out about his crumbling marriage through the media. Harsh.).

According to E!, the reality star said, "After careful consideration, I have decided to end my marriage."

Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure when Cinderella and Prince Charming said "I Do," it was for forever, not for 72 days. 

Well, 72 days is all it took for this marriage to fall apart. Trending on twitter was the hashtag, #ThingsLongerThanKimsMarriage, where people posted something that laster longer than the star's nuptials. Some clever answers included "the movie Titanic" and the "NBA Lockout,"(which coincidentally has kept Humphries out of work for quite some time).

Another thing apparently longer than Kim's marriage: This article. (Thanks to one of my besties, Jess, for that clever remark).

The two wed in a lavish ceremony on August 20th of this year. The wedding was capitalized on and was made into a four hour special for E! television channel. The special showed all of the planning and drama that went into this wedding, as well as the actual ceremony and reception. According to the Washington Post, the first night of the special "average 4.4 million total viewers," and the second night, "drew an average of 4 million viewers from 9-11 p.m." Viewers seemed to love the in-depth look the special gave on the relationship between Kardashian and Humphries.

Although, perhaps the constant fights on the special, as well as the fact that Kim threatened to walk out, should have been a tip off for the doomed marriage. Kardashian herself says she ended it due to "intuition" and a feeling she had beforehand. Well, if she had this so called feeling, one can't imagine why she'd go through with it.

On her personal blog on Tuesday, Kim wrote, "First and foremost, I married for love. I can't believe I even have to defend this." 

Well, apparently she does, because people are now speculating it was all apart of some clever rouse to keep people interested on everything the 31 year old star does. 

The LA Times writes, "E!, known in some circles as the Kardashian network, denied orchestrating the marriage for the cameras, calling such rumors 'completely false'."

I for one, don't think it was all a ploy, however, the timing of the divorce is a little too convenient for my liking. Kris Jenner has been promoting her new memoir, Kris Jenner...And All Things Kardashian, non stop in every media outlet known to man; and the new season of Kourtney and Kim Take New York is set to debut in November. It's almost as if the timing of this divorce was meant to promote whatever new venture this family undertakes.

Whatever the reason may be, it looks like this media princess may have to keep looking for her prince charming. Luckily, she has her multiple reality shows, clothing lines and endorsement deals to keep her warm at night.

Paranormal Activity is Back and Scarier than Ever

Creepy children who can talk to ghosts, alla "The Sixth Sense"? Check.

Home movies that reveal dark seeded family secrets? Check.

A third installment of the extremely low budget yet suprisingly popular "Paranormal Activity" series? Check.

This past weekend the highly anticipated "Paranormal Activity 3" premiered and made quite the scare, pun intended. According to MTV this movie, "broke the box-office record for the biggest fall opening with an estimated $54 million debut, passing "Jackass 3D" to become the highest-grossing September/October opening ever."

Back in 2009 when the first "Paranormal Activity" premiered, it did surprisingly well. On The Scene Blog said, the movie only cost "about $15,000 to make." According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the film "had $193.4 million in worldwide ticket sales." And, according to the same website, the second movie in the series,"cost $3 million and took in $177.5 million."

The charm of the film is the  "Blair Witch" style of filming, where it is shot in a series of lower quality videos that give it a home movie feel. It seems so real, that audiences are kept up for hours on end wondering if it could happen to them.

The entire series is based on this one family that has an apparent ghost or in this case demon attached to them. The first movie focuses on a young couple who start to have weird things happen to them in the middle of the night and soon things go horribly wrong when things start breaking and becoming possessed. The second movie is supposed to be set during the same time as the first one. It centers on the young woman's sister and what happens to her. The third movie, however, is more of a prequel, focusing on the girls back in the 80s and what exactly it is that happened to them and caused their adult lives to become so horrific. I definitely recommend seeing the first two before seeing this one, because you will better understand the dynamics of the series better.

Personally, I thought the amount of movies being made about this same family and their demon friends, resembled the amount of movies the "Scream" franchise seems to believe is necessary. Now, don't get me wrong, "Scream" is one of my favorite slasher movies; if not for it's ridiculous serial killer dressed in a mask and black robes, but for the hilarious parody, "Scary Movie", making it even more of an enjoyable movie to watch. I don't think "Scream 4" was necessary, but it was nice to see Neve Campbell and one of my favorite friends, Courtney Cox, reunited to deal with that pesky Ghostface Killer. That being said, it actually had a good twist on the end that made it worth the $11.50 I paid to see it. But, I digress(you get me talking about horror movies, and there is just no stopping me!).

E!'s movie reviews (whom I don't usually make my opinion based off of, because when I think a movie is good they seem to think it is the worst movie on the face of the planet) even had  something nice to say about the movie. E! said, "Set in the late '80s, to explore what exactly happened all those years ago, 3 has the most likeable cast by far, some honest laughs and plenty of those patented Paranormal scares."

I went to go see this movie on Thursday night with four of my friends. Two of us were excited beyond belief to see it, while the others were slighly less than enthused; they hate horror movies, but like good friends, we dragged them anyway. As the third in this series, I was expecting a horrible movie that had a few creepy moments and made a story that is three years old even older. What I got was completely the opposite.

This movie in the "Paranormal Activity" series was, dare I say, the scariest of the three. The first one was thrilling and the second had a few good scares, but this movie, had more screams than I thought possible of a threquel. I think what made it so scary was the fact that children were involved and that there were a few too many references to witchcraft and demons than I'd like to remember(personally, I think there are some things you just shouldn't screw with). Without giving too much away, this movie definitely messes with your mind and makes you believe one thing, when really all along it was something else(Check out the trailer below!).

I'd say, if you want a really good horror movie to see this Halloween season, go check out "Paranormal Activity 3". Even I, a self proclaimed horror movie lover, had a few moments where I was desperately clutching on to my best friend's arm, while trying not to scream like a five year old who just saw a spider in her room.

I loved it and I can't wait to go see it again to try and catch all of the little things I missed, when my eyes were closed and my head was buried in my arm. But, if I had to choose one thing that would make you go see this, I'd say it would have to be the horrible 80s clothing, which in my mind was perhaps the scariest thing about this movie!

A Pretty Little Halloween!

Got a secret, can you keep it? Well the girls of Pretty Little Liars sure as hell do!

So I know I promised this review on Thursday, but these days it seems like I have a pile of work that can never get done. But don't fret kiddies, because here is the long awaited review about the new PLL!

The popular ABC Family show came back last night for a Halloween special, and let me just say that it did not disappoint, although it did confuse me even more than I thought possible(I have about forty new questions that I know will never get answered until the series finale, which I kind of hope never comes!).

Wetpaint.com, an entertainment website, said, "As the first show on ABC Family to kick off the channel’s “13 Nights of Halloween” event, the spooky time-traveling episode scored huge ratings: 2.5 million viewers! Not only was it the Halloween special’s most-watched show of all time, but it was also last night’s number 1 cable show among young women."

If you are not a fan of the show then you should seriously start watching it because 2.5 million people can't be wrong. This show is fun and full of moments that make you gasp out loud, and not only because the theme song is super creepy, although that is a plus(check it out below). For those of you that don't know what the show is all about, here's a little something to get you started and help you learn all about these Pretty Little Liars(pun intended).

The show centers on four best friends: Hannah, Spencer, Aria and Emily. They are dealing with dark secrets and problems that if revealed, could ruin their lives in a second. For real, these problems are not "I wonder if the cute boy from class likes me" type of problems, more like "I just caused a girl to become blind" type of problems. They had a best friend, Ali, who was popular, gorgeous and quite frankly, a horribly manipulative person. When she goes missing, the girls lose touch and go off in separate directions.About a year later they find themselves back together and their ring leader dead...and that's only the beginning. Things start to go from bad to worse when a stalker who goes by the name of "A" and apparently knows all about their little sisterhood of secrets, starts to blackmail them.

I only just slightly summed up two years of awesome-ness, so if you are interested, go check out the show page on ABC Family's site. If you are already a fan and haven't seen the show yet, I warn you, the rest of this post is filled with oodles of spoilers and speculations. For the rest of you, read on for my opinion on the Pretty Little Liar's Halloween special, "The First Secret".

 

(From Left to Right: Aria, Spencer, Hannah and Emily)

First off, I just need to get this out: OMG!

The episode was insane! It took us all the way back to before Ali disappeared, and we got a glimpse into how this dynamic quad of friends operated with a fifth more dubious member of the group.For long time fans, I'm sure you'll agree with me in saying the amount of references to everything over the past two seasons was a nice touch. They strategically placed things in the episode that made your brain do a 180 back to the current season.

So, Noel Kahn was in the episode quite a bit, of course looking gorgeous as ever, and we get to see the crush Aria had on him back in the day, and it was a cute way to perhaps show that she may not completely be over him. Personally, I really like them together in the book and I think they would be cute together. Mona and Lucas were friends...who would have thunk it? I mean he is the epitome of Geek Chic now, but Mona has moved passed the thick rimmed glasses she was sporting in Wednesday's episode, into more designer shades. Jenna was there, causing trouble with Ali already and she wasn't blind yet. There was a cute little cameo from Ezra as a young college student bumping into Aria as a young pink haired goth chick. And, the scene throwback from the pilot where Aria caught her father cheating was a nice touch and made me long for the days of first season when this show was only kind of confusing.

I am so relieved that these girls have grown up though, because their clothes back then were so 2008, which I supposed makes sense considering it was 2008 back then, but you know what I mean. Hannah was the exact opposite of who she is now and her clothes were a little too much for me, no really she had more fabric in one skirt than I've seen girls wear in entire outfits! Aria was overly Gothic/Emo/Punk. Don't get me wrong, I love a good pink hair streak and black on black combo as much as the next girl, but it was all a little too Morticia Adams for my liking. Spencer was really just a nerdy version of herself now, without the amazing preppy sophisticated wardrobe. And Emily pretty much only wears tee shirts anyway. Thank god these girls have realized there's more to life than maxi skirts and black fishnets!

Considering this was a Halloween special, there wasn't a lack of screams. The entire abandoned/haunted house scene at the end had me gripping onto my pillow in pure antici-PATION(Excuse the Rocky Horror Picture Show reference!).  And that person dressed in the creepy mask that was "attacking" Ali seriously gave me the heebee-jeebees! But what was worse, was the fact that it wasn't who Ali had thought it was and at the end there was more than one creeper in a mask at the party.

But besides all of the amazing references to things that have been mentioned in current episodes, the ending was a shock. Ali got a text from "A"!! Now, I don't know about you, but that was something I really wasn't expecting. I only thought the creepy one lettered stalker showed up around the time Ali was found dead, I didn't realize "A", whoever it may be or may not be, started to terrorize way before that. This just begs the question, who is "A"?

(GIF from Tumblr.com)

I have my theories. After this episode, Lucas is looking more and more suspicious and so is Mona. They both didn't neglect to make it clear how much they hated the pretty blond and how soon she'll get what's coming to her. And, only because of the summer finale of this show, I think it may be Noel Kahn, which is such a waste of pretty. He didn't do anything particularly mischievous in Wednesday's episode, but he is always one to watch. Other than that, I really have no idea...and I read the books! But if there's one thing I can be certain of, the way the books went, is not the way this show seems to be heading. But then again, the writers know how to keep us on our toes, so I could be sadly mistaken.

Overall, I loved how this episode showed the massive transition the girls have made over the couple of years since their lives went from a fun little episode of "Friends" to a seriously disturbed version of "Murder She Wrote", but with no Angela Lansbury. All I know is, I don't know anything about what is going to happen, and that makes me so excited for the winter premiere in January.

I hope you all enjoyed my little review on this episode and that perhaps you'll be more careful of the things you do and the secrets you keep. And until next time, to take a note from our favorite creepy stalker...

Stay Safe Little Liars,
D