Just Because

So this isn't really movie or tv related, but I needed to vent. I don't get why people associate with those that drive them nuts. I mean this in a romantic and a platonic way. Why be friends with someone who is a jerk and always acts as such? Are you really getting that much out of them as a friend anyway? I basically severed a childhood friendship because that person's drama brought me down. Their family's problems would make my family have problems and it just wasn't worth it. It came to the point where I realized that I was not getting from the friendship what I was giving.

This goes for relationships as well. The person who gives more in a relationship is probably going to get less out of it. I'm not saying all relationships are 50-50, but it should be close. If every interaction you have with that person ends badly, why stay with them? It's hard because humans are people who crave companionship and we're fearful that if we end something we'll never feel that way again. I don't know. Why is it your friends and lovers are the hardest people to tell the truth to? Maybe because we're afraid we'll lose them. But if they really love us, then wouldn't they eventually understand? And if they don't understand, are they worth it?

New World in My View

So the title of tonights episode is pretty tame compared to what Sookie, Jason, and Bill come back to. Jason knew something was wrong when the Welcome to Bon Temps sign had fuck off written on it along with a doodle of a penis. And love how Jason is so blunt to the first couple that he and Sookie meet. "What happened to your eyes?" It's just the way Ryan Kwanten says everything. Yeah, the residents are really have a bon temps. Haha, like my pun there?

Anyways Bill got the scoop after he got out of his coffin and saw crazy Maxine in his house. Hoyt and Jessica brought her there. Jason believes the war he's been thinking of is this and Sookie wants to go to her house. Maxine is left to play Bill's Wii. I still love that Bill has a Wii.

Sookie and Bill find that her house looks like the house in Jumanji when all the plants invade it. And here is where the most important part of the episode occurs. Sookie finds out that Maryann is the bull who attacked her. But more importantly, when Sookie touches Maryann, some white light emits from her hand and keeps Maryann at bay. I have no idea what this means but my hunch is the fairy blood in Sookie that has not been revealed yet can somehow neutralize Maryann.

Lots of other things happen. Tara finally gets back to her regular self, Jason frees Sam and Andy, and Bill goes to seek help from a certain vampire. This will be the Queen herself, Sophie Ann.

I'm interested to see how Sophie Ann's arc will play out. In the books she reminds me of an older version of Claudia from Interview with a Vampire. I actually think having her in the last 2 episodes will breathe some life into them. Let's hope Mr. Ball doesn't reveal something very important about our Queen too soon.

Other things that had Bite this episode:
- Sookie's second dream sequence with Eric
- Jason and a chainsaw.
- Jason and Andy Bellefleur pretending to be Dionysus.
- Lafayette's hand gestures when talking to the girl who wanted some V.

Things that Sucked:
- All of the Bon Temps people acting crazy. There was too much of this and it was just corny and not necessary.
- Tara being worried about Eggs. Tara, Yolk Boy is bad for you. You need to cut him off!
- Not enough Eric. Eric, I missed you! And for that matter I miss Pam.

And let's hope the next 2 episodes are both longer than 45 minutes.

I Will Rise Up

So, I didn't write about True Blood episode 9 last week, so I got 2 to review this week!

I will start off by saying that "I Will Rise Up" contained my 2 favorite scenes ever to grace True Blood. The first is Sookie's dream sequence with her and Eric in bed. I knew this had to be a dream sequence or a fluke when I saw a picture a few weeks again. While Alan Ball does not follow the books exactly, I believe his storylines follow that of the respective book. My hope is that Sookie and Eric really don't "get together" until season 4. There is a scene from Book 3 that is sexual between them but it's not the same.

What I will say about this scene is that it was perfect. The writing, the acting, and the feel to it. Sookie felt like Sookie, Eric felt like Eric, and I liked Lorena hovering in the background. And as much as I like Stephen Moyer, he hasn't been doing it for me this season. For one, he looks like he's about halfway through getting his geisha makeup on. Really people, the man is better looking than that. Make him look as if he's walking into Merlotte's for the first time again. And Bill this season has been such a wet blanket. I'm sorry but all he does is whine. Add to the fact that Alexander Skarsgard and Anna Paquin had more chemistry in their one bed scene than Anna has ever had with Stephen. I feel Team Bill getting slim nowadays.

But enough about that love triangle. Let's turn to another: Hoyt, Jessica, and his momma. Maxine Fortenberry provided the other best scene of the episode. I love that Hoyt is finally standing up to his mother. And in the process we learned that she is a very bigoted woman. Here are the things she hates and why:

Methodists.(I got my reasons.)

And Catholics.(Just priests and nuns.)

African-Americans.(Hush, that's a secret.)

People who don't take care of their gardens.

People who park their trucks up on their lawn.

Ladies who wear red shoes.(It looks cheap.)

Families with lots of kids.

And checkered curtains and cats and dogs, and bait, every girl that Hoyt ever liked.

Alan Ball you are pure genius. I have met sooo many Southern women like Maxine. And major props to actress Dale Raoul for making what could be a really unlikable character so funny. Though it was kind of low to point out that Jessica can't give Hoyt babies. You have to let the kids leave the nest...especially if that kid is 28. Can't wait to see you again Maxine!

Things that had Bite:

- Lafayette and Lettie Mae rescuing Tara from Fruit Lady and Dairy Boy.

- Eric having way too much fun watching Sookie suck the silver bits from him. Eric in general.

- Stan being dead. He's such a better character in the books anyway.

- Jason. His witch and son a bitch line. Hahaha.

- Steve and Sarah on tv. Sarah's hair line to Nan.

Things that Sucked

- Maryann and Eggs. The wheels on the bus go round and round. So does this storyline. And it sucks because I like Michelle Forbes. Eggs needs to go the way of the dodo. The dodo can come back and replace him.

- Godric. The writing, the actor, the makeup- nothing was good. He killed children in the books. That's why he wanted to meet the sun. Here, I really don't care. And those special effects were like something out of an '80s movie.

- Nan Flanagan- I like her only when she's on the tv.

So only 3 more episodes after this. And I just saw the first of those 3 so I'm going to talk about that one in another entry!

Timebomb

So the last time I wrote one of these was in May. Wow, I am so on the ball.

I thought I would express my thoughts on True Blood this season. I read the books after I saw the first season so I see many of HBO's characters in the my head, but I am basing this season on what occurs in Living Dead in Dallas. Now I know that television is a different medium than literature so changes must be made. I thought the changes were to an advantage in the first season. I liked getting a 3-dimensional look at Sam, Jason, Tara, Lafayette, etc. I wasn't sure about the introduction of Jessica, but now I feel Alan Ball has created a truly wonderful and relatable character. The first season was actually better for me than the first book.

The second season, however, I'm still on the fence with. The first five episodes were way too slow. By ep 5 in the first season Maudette, Dawn, and Gran had been killed; we met Eric and Pam; and we learned how Bill was made. This season it was exposition that didn't feel like it was explaining all that much. I'm all for that if I learn something, but I feel we only got glimpses of each character b/c they were all separated. I stopped watching LOST when that happened. Not that I didn't love Sookie being attacked by Maryann or Lafayette ripping off a dead dude's leg with his mouth so he could get a metal hip bone. But that's all I really remember of the first 5.

Things started to pick up with Sookie and Jason in Ep. 6 which was good, but Tara and Sam's stories are running in a merry-go-round. For me Sam is the most likable guy on the show (even though I have a bigger crush on Eric). He's a strong guy and he's basically been reduced to fleeing from Maryann every 3.5 seconds (which is ironic since they make whoopie in the books). This goes the same for Tara. I complained that she was angry too often last season. Well, this season she is too naive. I know Maryann is supernatural and has power over humans, but I feel Tara would be the first person to realize something is wrong when Andy Bellefleur becomes the sane one of the town. Wake up girl!!! That lady likes fruit too much!

So what about our most recent episode. Well, Godric was in it...too much. It worked better in the books when only Sookie saw him. I'm not digging the whole Professor X "we can co-exist" babble. And Lorena needed to be MIA too. I could deal with her in a flashback sequence in the first episode, but I don't think she was needed here. The great thing about Book 3 is that Bill leaves Sookie for her and Sookie sees her for about a millisecond before going all Buffy. Add to the fact that the actress who plays Lorena is very miscast. I'm just not getting the feeling from her that I got from Darla on Buffy and Angel.

And finally, I'm not pleased with Sookie this season. I don't think it's Anna Paquin's fault. I know a lot of people don't like her, but I blame the writing. Sookie could be a whiner last season, but she was proactive. Not that she's not proactive this season, but I feel it's because people are making her be so instead of her wanting to do it on her own. I want to see her smash a guy's head with a shovel again. I'm so glad Rene died in the tv show.

Oh yeah, I don't like Eric being petty and sending Lorena to interrupt Bill and Sookie. Eric may be sly, arrogant, and elitist, but he's not petty. He's perfect and wonderful, haha.

So what have I liked?
- Lafayette not being dead. Because Nelson Ellis (and his turbans) are genius and amazing.
- Andy Bellefleur and the pig. Haha, that makes me laugh.
- Eric doing a hick accent in the church. Eric in general.
- All of Sookie's clothes especially the cute blouse and skirt she wore on the plane.
- Jessica and Hoyt. I love Hoyt. And Maxine is perfect.
- Maryann killing a rabbit and cutting up Daphne's heart and serving it to Tara and Eggs (which is very close to the House of Atreus story from Greek mythology; read it, it's messed up)
- Jason not knowing anything about the Bible. "You're Judas." "What he'd do to you?" Haha.
- Jason shooting Steve in the head with a paintball gun.
- The "Jesus Asked Me Out" song- so spot on
- Bill shopping at Forever 21 for Jessica. WTF? And the worker thinking he and Eric were gay!

So I'm hoping the next 4 episodes pack a lot of action. The gang will have to leave Dallas and go back to Bon Temps and see it as an orgy-fest. And I guess Sophie-Anne will be brought in to help them deal with Maryann. I think Evan Rachel Wood is good casting, but I don't want too much about the queen to be given away too early. She's a trip in the books.

I'm going to try to write a blog for the next 4 episodes. Since blogs are getting so much attention, why not?