youre_dark Reviews

Friends with Benefits (2011)

Allow yourself to just let go and have fun!

[10/10 · 15 August 2011]

I'll be honest: I only bothered watching this show for two of its stars, Danneel Ackles and Zach Cregger, and I didn't really expect to enjoy it. The plot sounded unoriginal, and I have very little faith in movie and TV studios to actually bother making things good anymore. That said, I absolutely adore 'Friends with Benefits,' and I think anyone with a sense of humor and no ego will, too.

The show is solid. All its lead actors are adorable and funny, both slapstick and subdued in their humor, and play their roles with a simplicity and honesty that makes them hard to hate. Each episode features a standalone storyline interwoven with the established, budding, and evolving relationships amongst the group of friends, and everything about them is right.

The real reason people don't seem to like this show is, as far as I can tell, that people seem to have very high standards for what they consider comedy. Naturally, there are comedies that are brilliantly crafted instant classics, and 'FWB' isn't one of them. What it is, though, is playful escapism that will make you giggle, if not laugh hysterically, every episode. And, if you're lucky enough to watch it with a friend like I am, the source of endless new inside jokes.

Totes radicchio!

My Bloody Valentine (2009)

Better Than I Expected

[7/10 · 24 January 2009]

OK, let me first admit two very important truths about myself: 1) I hate scary movies. I usually cover my eyes during the gory parts and get nightmares from the scary parts (The Grudge previews on TV gave me nightmares for weeks) 2) I am a HUGE fan of Jensen Ackles (played Tom), and will therefore see ANYTHING he is in - even if it is a scary, gory, 3D death-fest.

That said, you realize the state of mind I was in when I went to go see MBV3D. However, I took a (more gutsy) friend, and together we stomached the movie.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty decent film. It wasn't as gory as I thought it was going to be, which for ME sends the rating HIGHER (though I know that would ruin it for others), and of course, Jensen Ackles looked dead sexy. The story was sort of compelling, although the twist at the end I had already figured out just from seeing the posters and watching the trailers. I couldn't keep any of the girls straight though, they were all screechy and irritating and looked pretty much the same.

Overall, no, it's NOT the gretest movie ever, and I'm not going to pretend that it is. There are parts that are over-the-top and/or kind of cheesy, but I enjoyed myself, and I'd watch it again willingly. Just take it for what it is and don't hope for anything too spectacular, and you'll have fun.

~ Jay Ross-Tristan

Supernatural (2005–2020)

one of THE best shows I've ever seen

[10/10 · 27 September 2008]

When Supernatural first came out in '05, I was intrigued, but I decided against watching it. I'm not a scary movie person (just the commercials for The Grudge gave me nightmares for weeks) and it came on late, so I just kind of gave up. Besides, the main draw at the time was Jared Padalecki as a star, since I'd learned to love him on Gilmore Girls.

Then, just this summer ('08), my best friend Corri shows up at school ranting about this AMAZING new show called Supernatural and how I HAVE to watch it. After weeks of coaxing, she slept over at my house and we started watching her first season box set.

I screamed, I clutched her arm, and I buried my head in her shoulder several times. Yes, the show is scary, but nothing was so bad that I couldn't knock out later, so I took it as a good sign. Besides, it was a good show - funny, definitely entertaining, and kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat!...well, futon, anyway.

The first season, I admit, wasn't anything super-special as far as plot. Most of the episodes were pretty much stand-alones, with only ever a few minutes of important or necessary dialogue, but I didn't care. What had captured my interest (and Corri's) was the relationship between the characters.

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have THE best chemistry of any two actors I have ever seen. They play estranged brothers who grew up with nothing but social barriers and only each other. The raw emotion that pours from them both - especially in their scenes together but in their solo scenes as well - is downright haunting (definitely more so than any spirit they vanquish! *silence* yeah, I really should stop trying to be funny...). They start off seeming like very simple characters in a very simple show, but it becomes apparent very quickly that they are anything but. The layers they reveal as time goes on - like I said, haunting! If you have watched some of the first season and were disappointed at all, PLEASE, do yourself a favor and keep going. If you get into the second season and you still aren't enjoying yourself, please seek immediate medical attention (just not at the Roosevelt Asylum ^^...it's a first season episode joke, sorry). If nothing else, pick things up at the end of second season and treat yourself to the third. That season, while hilarious and heartwarming at times, is also downright chilling.

Now, go settle in with your favorite blankie, spread some salt around your doors and windows, and enjoy some of the greatest hours you'll ever spend in front of the TV. Oh, and you had better be eating pie! ^^ ~ Alex Starr, ardent Supernatural supporter and Wincest Fan ^^ I love you, Jensen Ackles O-O

White Noise (I) (2005)

Good idea, but terrible delivery

[4/10 · 24 March 2006]

This movie can only be described by the word unfortunate. In seeing the previews I thought it was going to be a great thriller somewhere along the lines of Drangonfly, but when I saw it I was horribly disappointed. The movie started off quite strong and it had enough shock value to make me and the people around me jump, (the only reason I merited it a 4), but that unfortunately is the end of its merit.

The plot is based on Michael Keaton's character who gets messages from his dead wife telling him to save people she knows are about to die. Then these three strange black shadows start showing up everywhere, which I took to mean that he was disturbing some balance and these things were coming to stop him. Once it got to the ending the twist that the man was going to die became VERY apparent--so much so that the endless "creepy" music, dark corners, and loud sounds started to become boring and monotonous. The whole idea behind the shadows was never fully explained, and the way the movie finished made it seem as though the filmmakers ran out of time or money and just stopped filming past that point, cutting off the plot and storyline before the movie had actually finished.

In the end, all I'm trying to say is that the movie was a flop and a huge disappointment. What I was hoping for was not delivered, and I left the movie theater feeling both confused and deprived of a decent movie-going experience. My $9.50 would have served me better had I bought myself a Starbucks.