#AAD, #AmericanHorrorStory, and Miles Teller (@Miles_Teller , @AHSFX)

Oh, I have a LOT to talk to you guys about today!  Almost all of it is film related, but I do have some writing related news mixed in here.

And speaking of, I have a ridiculously shitty announcement….

It is with great sadness that I announce I will not be signing at Authors After Dark in Atlanta this year as planned.  I have spoken with the convention director and I’m more than a little heartbroken over having to cancel.  I miss my author friends and I was DYING to get to hang out with readers at the Bump In The Night Ball (my secret costume will just have to wait until next year).

For those who were planning to come see me in Atlanta, I will be doing a one-day only sign up on my site for mail order autographed copies of my books.  I don’t normally offer them online as they are reserved for in-person appearances such as conventions and signings, but I feel awful about having to cancel out of AAD.  I will post that separately in a few days.

Although I won’t be attending AAD this year, please do not cancel your travel plans on my behalf.  There is still going to be a whole arsenal of awesome authors, both bestselling and debut, lots of fun events, and TONS of prizes.  If you haven’t gotten your ticket yet, you should totally go and tell them J.M. Gregoire sent you!

Be sure to look at the authors on Facebook right now for this special badge because they’ll be at AAD!

AAD Attendee Tickets Available Here

One more note!  For my writer friends out there, if you have been wanting to get your hands on Literature and Latte’s Scrivener, but didn’t have the extra cash to lay out the $45, App Sumo is currently offering a deal on the program.  The first 10,000 Sumo-lings to buy it through App Sumo get it for just $20!  Here is the link for those interested.  I don’t make any money off of this or anything.  I just wanted to share.  *smooch*

Okay, my loves.  Time to get to the film review portion of our morning.  *wink wink*

In This Post:

      

 

(*only mild spoilers, but spoilers nonetheless*)

 

American Horror Story Asylum

One of my besties, Mel, has been up my ass for the last year trying to get me to watch American Horror Story.  It’s not that I didn’t want to watch, but diving into a new TV show is a time commitment and I didn’t really have the time.  Well, this weekend, I finally gave it a shot.  Thanks to my minor imaginary love affair with Zachary Quinto, I decided to start with Asylum.

There is nothing I can say about this show that hasn’t already been said.  The cast is frikkin amazing and I have a totally new appreciation for Jessica Lange!  When I started watching the season, I hated her character.  Sooooo much.  By the end of the season, my heart ached for her.

And Quinto did it again.  Man, I love this man.  He can act his ass off and I love it when an actor really acts.  He sold me with Heroes and now he’s got a fan for life.  Don’t get me wrong, I love him in Star Trek as well, but the other characters he’s played are just genius and Dr. Thredson was no exception.

Oh, and The Name Game?

As that scene played, this was me:

Granted, that scene is really the only one that left me wondering what the hell was going on, but it left an impression.  Lol

American Horror Story Coven

Once I finished Asylum, I moved right on into Coven and OMG this was an amazing season!  The story line is still quite twisted, but there’s a warmer feel to this season than Asylum.

The cast has some familiar faces, but also has some new folks who are just as good.  The only thing I will say is I knew how the whole season would end by the end of the first episode.  Had it nailed.  There was too much emphasis on finding the next supreme and yet it was almost like everyone purposely avoided the thought that it could maybe be Cordelia.  They also spent the rest of the season avoiding it.  That told me right off that bat that it would be her.  Although I knew how it would end, it certainly didn’t ruin it for me.

I love that all the girls have unique abilities.  It wasn’t a standard cookie cutter witch story with cookie cutter witch characters.  My favorite ability was the girl who was a walking voodoo doll.

Also, Marie Laveau is a main character!  I was psyched to hear that name on the show.  There is so much legend that surrounds the “Voodoo Queen of New Orleans” that she pops up in fiction all over the place (check out the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost!!!) and I love it when she gets involved in stories.  Angela Bassett really brought a scary darkness to the character.  She was awesome.

To top it off, Madame LaLaurie is in this season too!!!  LaLaurie is an infamous serial killer in New Orleans from the 1700’s or 1800’s (fact check me, people!) and she was big into torture.  It was kind of awesome seeing her story come to life and then woven into the AHS story line.  Loved it.

Overall, I am totally digging American Horror Story as a whole.  The show was much more than I had anticipated going in.  There is a little bit of something for everyone.  Paranormal/supernatural, aliens, and just plain and simply twisted humans.  One thing I will say about this show is I love the fact that all of the actors play totally different characters in a totally different story year to year.  It’s a unique set up and one that ensures the show won’t get stale.

Now for the Miles Teller Marathon portion of our evening….

My Miles Teller Marathon wasn’t exactly intentional.  I had watched the movie Two Night Stand last week, thought it was super-cute, and absolutely fell in love with him.  He is someone who has a very particular kind of delivery, so even if he’s playing a total dick, you end up wanting to cheer him on…..most of the time.

Monday night, I decided to have an insomnia-fueled marathon of some of his movies.  I couldn’t sleep anyway, so I went through his catalog, picked the flicks that sounded the best to me, and this is what I watched:

Whiplash

I admit it.  I found this movie totally by accident.  I was surfing through the long list of movie channels looking for something to play in the background while I wrote and came across this.  I flipped to it without even reading the info so I had no clue what to expect going in.  Honestly, once I realized it was about jazz music, I figured I would hate it because I am not a huge fan of jazz.  However….

The casting is excellent!  Teller and J.K. Simmons play off of each other perfectly.  Teller’s character is driven and determined.  Simmons’ character is fucking scary.  Period.  Their screen chemistry was just intense.  The writing is solid and the music is amazing.  I would totally recommend this movie to anyone, regardless of your normal tastes.  It’s totally worth the watch.

That Awkward Moment

This is a cutesy romance flick with a cutesy cast of boys.  Truth be told, Miles Teller was my favorite part of this movie.  His character is hilarious and he ends up hooking up with the hottest chick (*big high five to Teller*).  As with any formula RomCom, the writing is predictable but sweet.  If you’re looking for an epic drama, this is not your movie, but if you’re looking for some lighter fare with a romantic flare, you’ve come to the right place.

I do want to mention that Efron’s love interest in this movie is an actress I who is quickly growing on me.  Her name is Imogen Poots.  Horrible name, but she’s a great actress.  I also watched her in Need For Speed recently (more about this below) and she’s got a certain sass to her that I adore.  The scene in this flick where Efron meets Poots in the bar is perfection.  Both were dead on in their delivery.

Teller’s character is kind of a slut.  He’s known for it and, of course, ends up falling in love with the seemingly least likely candidate.  Again, being a classic RomCom, you know from their first scene together that they’re totally going to get pelvic, but it really doesn’t ruin the movie.

The Spectacular Now

This one had a bit of an indie feel to it.  Not going to lie, people.  Shailene Woodley sucks like a Hoover in this one.  Nothing about her delivery sounds natural.  It ALL sounds scripted and forced.  I didn’t expect it either because she was incredible in The Fault In Our Stars and Divergent.  Very disappointing.  Luckily, Teller steps in and saves the movie.

The movie is the story of a dude whose girlfriend breaks up with him and he ends up hooking up with the Plain Jane to bide his time while he waits for his girlfriend to come back to him.  In the meantime, he ends up falling for the Plain Jane.

I will say I didn’t find this movie predictable at all.  It’s got some funny moments, but I thought it was a straight-out comedy going in and it’s not at all.  There are some very serious issues in the story line and it’s hard to get through without ending up all teary.

Even with Woodley’s dead performance, The Spectacular Now was good enough that I rewatched it last night while I was doing some work before bed.  Really good flick and I definitely recommend it.  Just know going in that Woodley’s performance was flat at best.

Two Night Stand

Ahhhhh!  This chick!!!!  OMG.  So, the actress that plays the female lead is Analeigh Tipton.  If you are not familiar with the name, you HAVE to know the face.  She was the babysitter struck with a crush on her charges’ dad in Crazy Stupid Love, and she was the best friend of the main female lead in Warm Bodies.  This chick has THE BEST comedic delivery in Hollywood right now.  If you dont pay attention to what she’s saying, you may miss something because she’s got a habit of slipping sarcasm in under her breath.  I love it!  SHE NEEDS TO BE WORKING MORE!!!

Back to the movie!

Two Night Stand is the story of a guy and a girl who meet online and get together for one night of sex.  As she’s trying desperately to leave the next day, they realize they have been snowed in together.  What ensues is HILARIOUS.  They actually manage to get into a decent amount of trouble while trapped in his apartment, and at one point, they use the opportunity to compare notes in a sort of Sex From the Other Half’s POV 101 kind of crash course.  It’s so damn funny.  You all need to watch this movie.  Teller and Tipton were PERFECT casting for this flick.  I honestly don’t think I would have wanted anyone else to play out the story.  Great, great movie.

Divergent

Miles Teller is SUCH AN ASSHOLE in this movie, but I dig him.  For a dude who always plays such a likable guy, he really goes the distance to try to make you hate his ass in this flick.  And succeeds, I might add.

If you’re not familiar with Divergent, I would ask that you please crawl out from under the rock you’re currently under and join the rest of us.  The dystopian scifi is based off of the hit Divergent novel series by Veronica Roth.  I haven’t read the books, I’ll admit, but the movie was great enough that I definitely will be reading them very soon.

Teller’s character is an absolute prick from the first moment you meet him.  You want to punch him in the face….like…..super-hard.  You’re meant to hate his character, but after watching him in so many movies where he is such a likable guy, it was WEIRD to see him play at the opposite end of the spectrum.  Although, it could certainly stand as a testament to his acting ability.  He plays so many roles where he’s a nice guy, seeing him be a douche shows that he’s capable of doing much more in his career.

Side note:  Jai Courtney.  Holy shit.  *swoooooon*  That is all.

    

Need For Speed

I have a bone to pick with the movie critic community.  Can someone please explain to me why this movie got such shitty reviews?  Please?  The only thing about this I thought was shitty was Dakota Johnson.  She’s horrible, but everyone else in this movie was incredible.

Now, I have yet to watch Breaking Bad, so I am really not at all familiar with Aaron Paul.  However, I loved him in Need For Speed.  So much so that my next binge watch will definitely be Breaking Bad.  lol

Here is the problem I have with the critics concerning this movie:  the Fast and Furious franchise features a core cast who are arguably some of the worst actors in Hollywood.  All of them.  Every last one.  They may all be fantastic people in real life, and they all look good in the movie, but they can’t act to save their assess.  Yet that franchise is praised by critics all around, even more so following the death of actor Paul Walker.  FNF is a lot of fun to watch if you’re a gear head, but they’ll never win an Oscar, no matter how dramatic the story line.

Now, flip over to Need For Speed.  Aside from the aforementioned Dakota Johnson, this movie has an excellent cast of actors, every last one of them holding their own and threatening to steal the scene.  Are the driving/race scenes realistic?  Not entirely, but it’s an adrenaline-filled hell ride. It’s supposed to be over the top.  And it is, I promise you that.

In that respect, FNF and NFS are in the same ballpark, but when it comes to the acting, which is what movies are supposed to be about, FNF hasn’t got SHIT on Need For Speed, so tell me why FNF gets all the kudos while this movie gets nothing but ripped apart.

I basically grew up in a garage with my dad so I’m all in when it comes to car movies.  I get that a lot of it is really unrealistic, but the acting should at least be good.  The story line in Need For Speed is solid with no plot holes that I’ve found.

As I mentioned above, this is the first thing I’ve ever watched Aaron Paul in and I’m a little bit in love.  I’d like to take a quick moment to mention the voice.  That fucking voice!  Aaron Paul has one of the hottest voices ever!  How did I not know about this????

Anyway, I loved it.  End to end.  I laughed, I cried, I threatened to throw shit at my TV.  To anyone who loves fast cars, hot boys, and hilarious humor, you have got to watch this flick!

Elysium

I love dystopian scifi.  I love Matt Damon.  I thought this movie was the perfect cocktail for a fantastic flick.  It wasn’t, it sucked, and no one is more surprised than me.  I thought this was a slam dunk.  No effort needed.  Matt Damon can rock some ass in action movies (um, Borne?), but there was just something about this movie that was……..lacking.  The potential was there.  The concept is fantastic.  It just felt cheap in a lot of ways, I guess.  I don’t know.  I wasn’t impressed and I was left a little disappointed.  Meh…..  Two horribly disappointed thumbs down.

Well, that’s it for today!  See you all tomorrow!