Movies of 2013

Remember how last year I wrote about all the movies I saw in 2012? No? Well, it's your lucky day because I'm doing it again for 2013!

Don't worry, I'll only list the movies I saw in the theater. That's only 32 (2 less than last year - I need to up my game!). I know the first few came out in 2012, but I didn't see them until 2013 so I'm still counting them.

1. Quartet

This was a delightful little movie. It combines two of my favorite things - music and Maggie Smith. Oh, three things because Michael Gambon is in it too. It's cute. These four were a singing quartet back in the day and they've all ended up in the same retirement home for musicians. One of the coolest things about this film is that most of the residents are actual musicians. Such a charming film. I think this is one that I'll own.

2. Django Unchained

Now, I thought I saw this soon after it came out, but I didn't list it in my 2012 post, so I guess I saw in early 2013. Loved, loved, loved it. I'll have to watch it next to Inglourious Basterds, but this might be my favorite Tarantino film. Another one I don't own yet, but I totally will.

3. Jack Reacher

I've never read any of the Jack Reacher novels, so I have nothing to compare this to, but I thought it was a fun action flick. With all the crazy stories about Tom Cruise I sometimes forget that I actually do like him as an action star. 

4. Silver Linings Playbook

This was one of my favorite movies of the year even though it came out in 2012 too. I don't know why it took me so long to watch it. Maybe it was before I was truly in love with Jennifer Lawrence. Yes, I think it's weird that they picked two actors with a 15 year age difference to play love interests, but they both were phenomenal and Jennifer Lawrence can seem a lot older than she is when she wants to. Cause she's awesome. But what I loved about this movie was how it normalized mental illness. Everything about this movie was very well done.

5. Mama

I probably wouldn't have seen this if Guillermo del Toro's name wasn't attached. But it was, so I did. It was a decent creepy movie from what I remember. The ending was a little weird, but I often feel like horror movies don't end as well as they could have. If they hadn't shown Mama's face, I think that would have added to the quality, but oh well. What's truly creepy is the footage they used for Mama's inspiration. If I wasn't so lazy I'd find it for you.

6. Warm Bodies

Cute and funny. Although I'll have a hard time seeing Nicholas Hoult as anything but Marcus from About a Boy.

7. The Sapphires

My friend and I wen to the theater to see The Place Beyond the Pines and ended up seeing The Sapphires. I'm sure glad we did. This movie is so freaking good. I'm usually not a fan of the inspirational sports movies, but give me an inspirational music movie and I'll immediately love it. Even if it's not that good. This is not one of those "not that good" ones. Plus, Chris O'Dowd. You really can't go wrong with Chris O'Dowd.

8. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

If you haven't seen this movie yet, do yourself a favor and stay away from it. My friend and I saw it in the dollar theater and felt like we overpaid. And if you thought the 15 year difference in Silver Linings Playbook was hard to swallow, try the 22 year difference between Steve Carrell and Olivia Wilde.

9. Jurassic Park 3D

Let's just get this out of the way, the 3D was terrible. I'm usually not one for 3D generally, but post-conversion is always awful. There was one moment that was cool though, when the raptor jumps up and tries to get Lex as she's being pulled up through the ceiling. At least I think it's Lex. But this movie is worth it cause it's just that good. I remember when it came out. I was 6 and I remember begging my mom to let me see it. She wouldn't for obvious reasons, and I came back with the argument that by the time I was 13 and old enough to see it, it would be black and white. My mother then proceeded to laugh at me and tell me that movies don't turn black and white when they age. This was news to me.

Anyway, I didn't see Jurassic Park until a few years later (my mom didn't make me wait until I was actually 13) and of course I loved it, but I was always a little bummed that I never got to see it in the theater. Enter money making schemes and squeezing the movie going populace for every penny they've got. I was more than willing to give studio suits my money for this one and I was not disappointed.

10. Iron Man 3

A big step up from the second, not as good as the first. Ben Kingsley was of course fantastic. I didn't entirely love it and I don't feel the need to watch it again, but that also could be because I saw it twice opening night.

11. Star Trek Into Darkness

It's an entertaining enough film on the surface. As much as I love Benedict Cumberbatch, white washing Khan was a mistake. As was keeping his identity shrouded in secret. Then again, rebooting the best Star Trek film out there because you reset the universe and you can was the biggest mistake. I'm ready for some originality in my sci-fi again. I was also a giant non-fan of the famous and 100% pointless underwear shot and turning Uhura into a naggy, whiny girlfriend. Sigh... so much potential... 

12. The Great Gatsby

Very Baz Luhrmanny, but not in the Red Curtain Trilogy kind of way. I thought the music was fantastic, the movie itself wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. And I'm pretty much never a fan of Toby McGuire. The film itself leaned toward the forgettable side for me, but then again the book did too. I read it about ten years ago and of course I hated it because it was mandatory reading in high school. I always figured that if I read it again I'd love it, but maybe I just don't like the story. Eh, I'll still read it again to make sure. I probably won't watch it again though. 

13. Fast and Furious 6

I hadn't seen any of the Fast and Furious movies until this past year. Number 6 was about to come out and my friend started making plans for us to go see it. I told him I hadn't seen any of the others and I remember him being pretty surprised. I thought, why? What would possibly draw me to a movie like this? Well, turns out a whole lot of ridiculous fun. My friend had me watch the fifth one before we saw the sixth (it may have been the other way around) and I watched Tokyo Drift a few weeks after that. Still haven't seen one, two, or four, but I really did enjoy the ones that I saw. Especially five and six. It seems like they just keep getting better because they take themselves less and less seriously and I'm very much looking forward to number seven. Poor Paul Walker... 

14. Now You See Me

I thought this movie was fun. The love story between Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent was not even a little bit believable, but it was entertaining other than that. And that twist at the end...

15. The Kings of Summer

This may be my pick for most understated movie of the year. I LOVED it so, so much. It was witty, charming, heartwarming... everything a coming of age film should be. This is another one that I will own and one that everyone should watch. 

16. This is the End

This is one of those movies that made me laugh till it hurt when I saw it, but I really didn't want to see it again. Not that I'd be against it, I just to have the desire. It's hilarious, but the type of hilarious you only watch once every few years. 

17. Man of Steel

Often when I see a movie in the theater, I love it. I don't over analyze, I leave my hangups at the door, and I thoroughly enjoy a movie. Then the further removed I become from that initial experience, the less I like it. Like The Hobbit. This was the case with Man of Steel. Coming out of the theater I had enjoyed it a lot. It was big, loud, and had two decently written (for the most part) women. I didn't even care that Superman killed General Zod cause I really never cared about Superman anyway so I didn't feel the betrayal some fans did. But then I thought about it and realized that this movie didn't make me care about Superman. I wasn't connected to him as a character. There were all sorts of fun plot holes and the property damage to Metropolis and Smallville was astounding. Probably worse than any Michael Bay movie. And then there was the product placement. Really, could you have been more obvious with the Sears and IHOP? It was distracting in the movie. That's how bad it was. I'm sure I'll watch it again. I won't hate it, I won't love it. It's a very meh movie to me. 

18. The Heat

This one was the opposite of Man of Steel. Upon my first viewing I thought, yeah, that was good. But the more I watch it the more I love it. I think I was expecting Bridesmaids caliber and I shouldn't have. Once I realized that I liked it a lot more. 

19. The Way Way Back

Sam Rockwell. Need I say more? 

20. Pacific Rim

Monsters and robots and aliens and giant walls and ocean fights and boats used as clubs and surprise swords and Idris Elba and Charlie Day and giant hand to hand combat and loud noises and neon blood and neon guts and a male/female relationship that doesn't end in romance and blue hair and inspirational speeches and mind syncing and Guillermo del Toro and- and- and... 

What's not to love? 

21. The Conjuring

Up until a couple of years ago I would tell you that I don't like horror movies. Any of them. They were either too bloody with the torture porn or not scary. Then I started watching good horror movies. It's still not my favorite genre, but I do like a good haunted house film. And this is a good haunted house film. Just the right amount of creepy, enough to make it a bad idea for me to go see it by myself...

22. The World's End

Also on the list for my favorite movie of the year and hands down the very best theater experience I have ever had. Mainly because I got to sit three seats away from Bill Paxton, four seats away from Simon Pegg, and kiddy corner from Nathan Fillion with a Q&A by Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Nick Frost after the movie (a tale I relate here along with many other fantastic experiences at my first San Diego Comic Con). Not to say this movie isn't fantastic in it's own right, because it is. It absolutely is. I'll have a Cornetto Trilogy marathon one of these days to see for sure, but this one might be my favorite. Or should I say, favourite? (Sara, I'm laughing at this while I picture you laughing at it too).

23. The Wolverine

I didn't see the first movie. While many of the X-Men are some of my favorite superheros, I don't do well with the movies that Fox has put out. This one wasn't too bad. It was pretty entertaining for the most part. Except the third act. It goes way down hill to the point of ridiculous.

24. Blue Jasmine 

I had no idea what this movie was about going into it. All I knew was it starred Cate Blanchett and that was enough for me. I was not disappointed. This was a fantastic movie and surprising too as far as the story and the subject matter. I loved watching her progress and regress and I just sat through it wondering what it would be like in the mind of someone with narcissistic personality disorder (cause even if Woody Allen didn't think specifically of that, she totally has it) who has a mental breakdown. It was so great.

25. 2 Guns

I suppose I'm too used to buddy cop comedies cause that's totally what I expected here. I don't know why. What kind of comedy will it be with Denzel Washington? I really didn't enjoy this one.

26. Elysium

This is one of those movies that I don't have much to say about. It was entertaining. Not great, but not bad. Probably won't watch it again.

27. Gravity

This, on the other hand, I can't say enough good things. God bless you, Alfonso Cuaron. Fun fact: Ryan's character was written as a woman, but the studio wanted to change her character to a man because they didn't think a female lead would make them money. Isn't sexism hilarious?

Sandra Bullock was fantastic  in this film and her ability to act so well while basically in a box surrounded by light and a camera 6 inches away from her face is extraordinary.

This movie was so great. Probably the most anxious I've felt in years. If you haven't seen in yet, fix that. To the studio who made it - please release this every couple of years in IMAX so I can watch it all the time and give you more money. To the studio who passed on it - stop being a dick.

28. Captain Phillips

I liked this movie a little less after I found out that the real Captain Phillips is kind of a douche bag, but I was really impressed with Barkhad Abdi's performance as Muse.

29. Thor: The Dark World

My next blog post might be about why I hate this poster.

I liked this one a lot more than the first. Still not my ideal superhero movie, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I know some people gripe about them changing Jane Foster's profession, but I love it. And Sif needs her own movie. So does Heimdall. Loki doesn't though. Not because it wouldn't be a fantastic movie (cause it would), but because the Loki fandom does not need any more fuel added to their fire. I love Tom Hiddleston as much as the next sane person, but let's take a deep breath...

30. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I loved this move a lot. So much that I saw it three times in the theater. Okay, maybe three was a bit much, but it was the holidays and I saw it once on my own opening weekend (because I'm that person), once with my family, and once with my boyfriend's family (now, we haven't had that DTR yet, but we've been seeing each other for... maybe 5ish months now and I'm too lazy to say "the family of the guy I've been seeing for 5 months." I say this in the off chance he reads this and freaks out).

Anyway, Catching Fire. And yeah, I know I'm not italicizing any of these movie titles. Again, lazy. But this is yet again proof that a female lead can draw in big audiences and big money. Someday studios will realize that, but until then (and I do think it's going to take a long time, probably until we see more Kathleen Kennedeys higher up even than her) we'll have to deal with a movie like this once or twice a year and a plethora of testosterone filled, mindless action movies with sexy eye candy. I'll just keep watching movies like Hunger Games and Gravity.

31. Anchor Man 2

Very funny movie. Not as funny as the first, but still very funny. Also, I want more Christina Applegate in my life. It's a shame Up All Night got bad and everyone left.

32. American Hustle

This movie was so good. Clever, witty, fantastic cast, and thoroughly entertaining. It's amazing how well Jennifer Lawrence holds her own among some amazing and established actors. Now, I don't want to compare her to Judi Dench or Meryl Streep just yet, but if she keeps going this way, I will.

Welp, that's it. I only saw 32 movies in 2013 for an average of 2.6 a month. It's my 2014 resolution to break that record. You'd think that one movie a week wouldn't be hard, but there were months at a time that I didn't want to see anything, not even in the indie theater. Although I'm sure if I saw those movies I would have been entertained. I'll work on it.

33. Identity Thief

I forgot to include this one. I forgot about it because it was just that bad. I love Jason Bateman and I love Melissa McCarthy, but I hated this movie.

34. Much Ado About Nothing

Good grief, I suck. This movie did not suck but I still forgot to include it. I think the list of movies I was using to go off of kind of sucked. This was a fantastic adaptation of my favorite Shakespeare comedy. And I think it made up for the fact that Fred and Wesley never really got together a little :)

35. In a World

Okay, this is just getting out of hand. I loved this movie. In fact, I don't know why I don't own it yet. I'll fix that in just a second. I've been slowly discovering Lake Bell this year, and after this movie I decided she's one of my favorite people in Hollywood. The movie was great, had a lot of fantastic things to say, and it kept me laughing. I'm sure I cried a little too.

36. Prisoners

So, I'm writing this one in November of 2014, because that's how long it took me to remember that I had seen this movie. It was dark, it was gross, it was not something I will ever see again. This movie was too dark even for me.

Okay, that's really it. And look! I broke my record from last year! Unless there were others I forgot about last year... remind me not to use Wikipedia when I do this for the 2014 films. 

A Few Thoughts on an Untitled Batman/Superman Film

DC has put out 22 films released in the theaters since the 60s. Of those 22, 14 of them were either Batman or Superman films. Only two featured female protagonists (unless you count the one woman in Watchmen against the three [or was it four?] main men) and both of those were terrible (Supergirl and Catwoman if you were curious). The vast majority of the others were pretty terrible too. Watchmen is always up for debate on whether that's a good film or not, but pretty much everything else is throwaway or not throwaway purely for the camp and nostalgia.

My point to all this, I'm bored.

I love Batman. He was my first introduction into the superhero world and I will always love him for it. But I'm bored with him. There are 8 live action Batman films. I'd say half of them are very good movies, but that in and of itself doesn't warrant more Batman. Then there's Superman. We have... six(?) Superman movies, fewer of those are good, but that's in part because I never was a fan of Superman. Meaning I was already bored with him. 

Because I'm bored, I just don't care very much. When Ben Afleck was announced as playing Batman, my response was, "meh. Call me when they make a Wonder Woman movie."

Enter the convoluted mess that I'm 80% sure the Batman/Superman film will be.

Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are all confirmed to appear. Rumors are floating around that The Flash, Martian Manhunter, Doomsday, Nightwing, Lex Luthor, and Metallo will appear. Even if only half of those characters turn out for the movie, that's still a lot of unknown characters. And even if the Justice League members are only showing up briefly to introduce them and a Justice League movie, that's still a lot of people/aliens/gods to introduce in one movie. I am both interested and worried to see how, or rather if, they pull this off. Given a good script, I'm sure it could be done with the right director. But I don't have much confidence in either Goyer or Snyder. Especially Snyder.

And that is why I'm concerned for Wonder Woman.

That's right, gentle readers. Wonder Woman has been cast.

Say hello to our own beloved Amazon: Gal Gadot.

I don't have major problems with Gadot because I've learned not to judge an actor in a specific role until I've seen them play that role. Granted, my first instinct when I heard the news was to groan, but taking a step back, I remember what I thought when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker or with the entire cast of The Last Airbender. Okay, so I was right on that last one, but it still boggles my mind that I thought Crispin Glover would be a better Joker than Heath Ledger. Anyway, with Gadot, I'm holding back judgement of her performance until I see it. I don't think it was the best pick (any of the actors I previously mentioned, specifically Jaimie Alexander, duh!), but she could surprise me. 

That being said, I do want to cover the big controversy because I'm still a geek and I still feel very strongly about these things and I'm a feminist geek, which mean I automatically feel extra strong about Wonder Woman. Yes, I do think she's too skinny to play Wonder Woman. 

I know people have said that it doesn't matter because Diana's powers are mystical so her physical build doesn't matter, but no one says that about Superman. How would you feel, fanboys, if they cast a Topher Grace or Matt Smith for Superman? Actually, fanboys I'm sure are by and large on my side, but still. You get what I mean. And granted, people can bulk up for a role, but given the time frame and the fact that Gadot is almost painfully skinny (she was a model, after all), I don't know how feasible that is for her. And I know as a feminist I shouldn't be body shaming her, but as a feminist I would also love to see different shapes other than skinny on the big screen. Especially Wonder Woman.

Now back to the big reason I'm concerned for Wonder Woman: the writing.

For a moment, let's forget about both Goyer's and Snyder's past writing. Pretend Sucker Punch didn't happen and that The Dark Knight Rises had a plot that made sense. Let's just look at this Batman/Superman film. 

I already talked about the ridiculous number of really big characters, many of whom have unfamiliar and crazy backgrounds, so I'll just say that the only reason Avengers worked is because we had been introduced to every single character with a speaking role in another movie. That is, besides the alien that was played by Alexis Denisof, Maria Hill, and the shadowy council that decides to drop a nuclear bomb on New York. Now, I'd say by and large that people are more familiar with the Justice League characters than Avengers characters, but you still need to introduce them. Not just to audience members who are unfamiliar with them, but for the sake of a cohesive story. There's just so many people to do that with in this movie! 

My other big concern is how they're going to use Wonder Woman in this or any other movie that is not her own. Hollywood has gotten into a bad habit of making their Strong Female Characters solely for the male gaze. If you don't know what the male gaze is but think it sounds a bit creepy, you're on the right track. It's basically the idea that the men are the watchers (objectifiers) and the women are the watched (objectified).

The (tired) shot above gives us a great look at her butt and her boobs!

A perfect example of this is Gadot's character in the Fast and Furious movies. I don't dislike her character, but she isn't presented as a character on her own, she's presented as a character men want to boff. She's sexy, she likes sex, she likes cars, and she knows her way around a gun. None of these things is a bad trait, but that's all she is. She is a less developed version of the men in the movie, there for the sole purpose of getting men all hot and bothered (I'm not saying it works, I'm saying that's what the filmmakers/studio think makes them money). 

I have enough faith in most filmmakers (anyone besides Michael Bay, really) to not go this far with Wonder Woman. As terrible as his prior female characters have been, I don't see Snyder having Diana walk away from the camera for that great ass shot and briefly look back with a knowing smile as Batman and Superman ogle her. But she could very easily become a side kick simply because she is a woman. Now, I don't think this always happens intentionally, but sexism and gender roles are so ingrained in our society that it's really difficult to shake that off without consciously trying to do so. Even when you try to it's hard. Sucker Punch was apparently Snyder's attempt at making an entire movie with a feminist subtext and look how that turned out. 

So please, Zack and all of you suits down at Warner Bros. that wanted Sandra Bullock's character to be a man because you didn't think Gravity would make money. Make sure your Diana is more along the lines of this:

not this:

Or maybe this:

as opposed to this:

You could even do this:

instead of this: 

And please, for the love of all that is holy, make her this: 

not this:

Got it?

Thanksgeeking

I know I'm not the only one who came up with that term, but I did come up with it all by myself, and I'm pretty proud of that. 

It's that time of year when everyone is telling everyone else what they're thankful for. That may have sounded like it annoys me, but it doesn't. Hearing everyone give thanks always makes me think about what I'm thankful for. Truth be told, I'm thankful for a lot and since this blog has taken a geeky feminist turn the last however long, I thought I'd list all the geeky things I'm thankful for. Well, not all. I stopped at 5 because I wrote a lot for each one and because 5 is a great number to stop a list at (OCD much?) 

1. Joss Whedon and His Creations

There is only one thing that Joss has created that I don't love: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (from Marvel), and I'm blaming that more on Jed and Maurissa and the fact that they just take a while to get a show moving along (re: Dollhouse). But that leaves Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Cabin in the Woods, Much Ado About Nothing, Avengers, Fray, Astonishing X-Men, and a slew of scripts he's fixed and written over the years. 

Buffy will forever be my first pure geek love. I liked geeky things before that of course, but nothing as much as Buffy and I have yet to find something that I love as much as Buffy. From there, my love for Joss only grew. Well, first it was a complicated relationship because characters dying was a new thing for me and I didn't know how to handle it. Since realizing how much more exciting a story can be when that's the risk, my love for Joss has only grown. 

My favorite thing about Joss is he really does write women well. There are those who disagree with me, but they're wrong. I'm not saying he's perfect, but the female characters in his works are characters, not caricatures. It's sadly something we still don't see very often and while I can enjoy TV and film that don't write women well, the vacuum is always there and whatever I'm watching or reading isn't as good as it could be. 

2. Catching Fire

I thoroughly enjoyed the Hunger Games books. The first movie was alright. Catching Fire is a giant step up from that (how do you feel about firing Michael Arndt now, Disney/Abrams, huh?). The production quality was great, the script improved on the source material, and it had the fifth largest opening weekend in history (largest November open ever). 

Oh, and look! Over 40% of those who saw this movie opening weekend were men! Wait, does that mean that men identify with female protagonists? I mean it's common knowledge that women moviegoers identify with both men and women, but so far men have only identified with male protagonists. And, hang on, how much money did the movie make? But the lead is a woman! That's not supposed to happen...  

Dear Movie Executive that I was impersonating in the paragraph above: YOU ARE A COMPLETE WASTE OF SPACE AND YOU SHOULD NOT BE DECIDING WHAT MOVIES GET MADE! 

Let me ask the men reading this a question: have you ever identified with a woman? Movie Executive, take note. Every single man said yes (except the psychopathic sexists, but they don't read this anyway). Chant with me now, Movie Executive - a female lead does not mean men won't go see a movie. A female lead in an action movie does not mean it won't make money. 

I'm thankful for Catching Fire because we FINALLY have a chance to show ass hats like my friend, Movie Executive, that they're wrong. Both men and women will go see a well written film, no matter what the protagonist has in their pants. When you give us garbage like Elektra or Catwoman, of course it won't make money. You didn't try to make it so it would. Give us a film like Catching Fire and you'll make money. I promise. 

3. The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Now remember, I'm not talking about X-Men (as much as I want to) or Spiderman since the movie rights to those characters aren't owned by Marvel. 

Thanks to Kevin Feige (I wrote Paul Feig at first... I'm always doing that for some reason), Marvel is its own movie studio. Granted, they only became so after they had sold off all my favorite characters (namely lots of X-Men) to other studios, but Feige fixed it before they sold off just about every Avenger character. 

God bless Kevin Feige. Cause really, do you realize how big of a thing it is that they're doing? Do you?! Taking four characters and making four movies (well, really three cause I'm pretty sure they didn't have Avengers in mind when they made Incredible Hulk, although I could be wrong) in order to introduce those characters for an ensemble movie. Then they say, "Oh hey, that went well, let's do it again and this time, let's add TV shows to it!" and announce 4 shows for Netflix and one more (hopefully) on the way for ABC, not to mention the other one they already have on ABC. Now, they probably won't all tie together the way Avengers did, but they could be making Avengers movies forever with this model! Kill off Iron Man, throw in Black Panther (although we better get Black Panther before then). Kill off Thor, throw in Captain Marvel (again, we better be seeing her sooner than that). 

Oh! Oh! Not only that, but they're making a movie about essentially space Avengers with a talking tree and a raccoon with machine guns. It's going to be freaking amazing. 

Meanwhile DC makes another movie about Superman and/or Batman. Again. For like, the 40th time because they're scared of taking risks since Green Lantern didn't make money (not that they tried to make it good enough to make money) and Wonder Woman is too "tricky." 

4. Comic-Con (both SDCC and SLCC)

 

I first went to SDCC last year. I won't go into the details of that since I already did, but suffice it to say that it was incredible. I didn't even mind the crowds (and I HATE people) because I saw everyone there as a kindred spirit. Either that or I mentally prepared really well. 

Salt Lake had its very first Comic Con in September and while it wasn't as good as SDCC by a long shot, it was still fun. Although the crowds did bother me more there. But it'll get better. First year meant a lot of mistakes and very poor planning. They initially planned on 2,000 and ended up selling 60,000 tickets. Even with the bigger venue there wasn't enough space. Not many big names, but I did get to meet Nicholas Brendon again and Stan Lee decided to show up last minute. That was pretty fantastic. They're doing two next year, one in April and one in September. Don't ask me why. My guess is anyone who goes to the one in April will also go to the one in September. I doubt they'll reach a wider audience. But whatever. I'm still going to the one in April because James Marsters and Adam Baldwin are going to be there along with about half the cast of TNG so far. *Please get Patrick Stewart... Please get Patrick Stewart...*

San Diego Comic Con is nerd Mecca. I made my pilgrimage for the first time last year and I'll go as long as I have money and people to share a room with. Salt Lake Comic Con was the largest inaugural Comic Con ever and will hopefully keep growing and attracting bigger names. Those are my people and I love it. 

5. Nerdy Family and Friends

Harry Potter birthday party 

My nephew at Halloween a couple years ago

The Justice League

Happy Birthday, Buffy! 

Very tall Ash. 

Two of my nieces (ages five and two) love Avatar and anime in general. My third niece (age three) is going to be a paleontologist when she grows up and knows more about dinosaurs that I do. My oldest nephew (age five) was Yoda two years ago for Halloween, Iron Man last year, and Michelangelo this year (my other two nephews are too new to like anything but food, clean diapers, and sleep). He's also on his way to becoming a Bronie (a cool one. Not the one that asks Lauren Faust for her autograph so the toy she signs has a higher resale value). They are like this because their parents are like this. My family rocks. 

I do not have a shortage of geek friends either. If I want to geek out/geek complain about anything (including feminist geek stuff), I have at least five people outside of my family at any given time I can call or text for that purpose. And if not, my best friend (who is not a geek) will humor me. My friends also rock. 

All in all, my geek life is good. Although it would be better with a Wonder Woman movie. 

The Best and the Worst of the Whedonverse Deaths

Before I get started, I just want you to know that this post will be riddled with spoilers from Firefly, Buffy (show and season 8 comic), Angel, Cabin in the Woods, Dollhouse, and Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. So Katy, stop reading. 

I read this article the other day and I decided I wanted to fix it. Cause, let's face it, the woman who wrote this article was generally wrong. Not just in the order of many of the characters, but she completely left out some major characters and put in some non-major characters. Some people... 

For better or worse, Joss Whedon is known for killing off characters. Joss has been very open about how much he hates this reputation. I'm sure he gets tired of hearing questions like, "who are you going to kill off this time?" but I for one would love to see more characters die off in general. In my mind, writers like Joss and George R.R. Martin are defined by so many more things, but they are also willing to kill off characters. Martin more than Whedon by a long shot. Whedon has never killed off "essential" characters without bringing them back to life. With Martin, no one is essential. Except Arya, Jon, Tyrion, and Danerys. I might stop reading if one of those four dies. 

This raises the stakes because you know (almost) no one is safe and I'm a big fan of that kind of anxiety in my fantasy/sci fi material. Except when it's Supernatural and it kills off every single person. Then it just gets predictable and boring. I don't watch that show anymore, but I'm sure they'll ax Felicia Day sometime soon. She's been in what, 5 episodes maybe? It's about that time... Wow. I haven't watched that show in over a season and apparently I'm still not over how bad it got. 

Anyway, here's my list of least to most devastating Whedonverse deaths. I have one rule for including characters: they have to be main characters. This means I won't be including Bennett from Dollhouse, Jonathan or Warren from Buffy (as fantastic as Warren's death was), Darla from Angel and Buffy (although I really would have only counted her death in Angel since she was only in a handful of episodes in Buffy and we never saw her out of vampire face), or The World in Cabin in the Woods (even though that was pretty fantastic as well). 

I also need to make the caveat that being sent to a hell dimension doesn't count as dying. I'm also including season 8 of Buffy but only season 8 because I haven't started season 9 yet even though I have the first three issues waiting for me on my bookshelf. I'm not including After the Fall or Angel and Faith because I haven't read those yet. 

16. Paul Ballard

I was not sad when Paul died because I was not happy while he was there. The show is a good one, but Paul Ballard was not a part of that. I still can't decide if it was the actor or the character, but I just wasn't a fan. I can't even remember how he dies. 

15. Giles

Giles' death felt very forced and not at all moving. Forced because I still have no idea what the hell was going on with Angel. He was possessed by Twilight or The Twilight, but there was a lot surrounding those events that just didn't make sense to me. There's a lot of that in the comic series, actually. But I'll keep reading as long as Buffy is on the cover. It wasn't moving because I wasn't attached to Giles anymore. I've heard it said that Giles' character didn't work in the comic format, and that's probably true. I'll go back and read them again someday, but Giles kind of became not so essential before the TV series ended. Which makes me sad, but it left something wanting from his death that was supposed to leave you feeling shocked. 

14. Buffy

Don't get me wrong, Buffy's death was touching. I love her final speech and she gives her life not for the world, but for her sister. It's cute. But it's not that sad. It's sad because the Scoobies are sad (Spike's reaction is the saddest), but you know Buffy's coming back so it's not that big of a deal. Although for a minute there in season 6 I really did think the rest of the series was going to be with the Buffybot.  

13. Anya

This is one of the places where I agree with the author. Anya deserved more than the death she got. She's one of my all time favorite characters in anything let alone Buffy, and she should have had a better death than getting cut in half by a random lackey ubervamp. 

12. Sheppard Book

Book's death was sad more because of the lost potential. Like Firefly. But not sad because 1. he wasn't in Serenity enough and 2. come on, who didn't see that coming? 

11. Penny

I probably wouldn't care so much about Penny's death if it wasn't Felicia Day, but I've had a crush on her since she was Vi in Buffy so it stung. 

10. Cordelia

This one wasn't as bad as it could be because the show prepares you for it. First her body is taken over by a higher being (although you don't know that yet) and does all sorts of terrible, icky things and then she's in a coma for about a season and comes back for one episode. By the time she died, you were already used to her not being there. 

9. Spike

I know Spike comes back, but unless you watched Angel you don't know that so I'm still including him. What I love (and hate) about Spike's death is his last exchange with Buffy. "I love you." "Know you don't. But thanks for saying it." For years watching this it made me sad, but it doesn't much anymore. She totally loved him. Ask Joss. Spike just said that because he knew he couldn't be around for her to love him so it was something to make him feel better in his last moments. Or something. Either way, it's sad. 


8. Jenny

So, I wasn't so sad because Jenny died. I wasn't even sad because Angelus killed her. By the way, Angelus is an extraordinarily better character than Angel. Anyway, I was sad because of what it did to the Scoobies. And how it happened. That was a pretty brutal scene for Giles to walk in on.  

7. Wash

"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I-"

6. Doyle

I've heard that Joss had Doyle die because he always wanted to kill someone who showed up in the opening credits. He hadn't done that with Buffy except in the series finale so it makes sense. Doesn't make it any harder to handle. Doyle was such a fantastic character. 


5. Topher

We're getting into the "I cry every time, doesn't matter how many times I've seen it" territory. Topher's death is heartbreaking for two reasons. First, he is hands down the best character in Dollhouse by a ridiculously long shot. Second, what he becomes in Epitaph II is heartbreaking in and of itself. He goes from being a carefree, hilarious genius to being a broken, tortured genius. He created the tech that brought down society not knowing how powerful it was and he gave his life to fix it. It was a great death though. 


4. Wesley

This one sucks. So much. I wonder if Joss would have killed off just about every character if Angel hadn't ended where it did. Wesley is lying there dying, looking at the demon living in the body of the woman he's loved unrequited for years minus maybe three episodes ago when they finally got together. 

"Would you like me to lie to you now?" "Yes. Thank you, yes." 

He's with Fred when she dies, Fred is with him when he dies. That's the only good thing about it. That and Illyria punching the magician demon guy through the head. 

3. Joyce

As far as characters go, Joyce was expendable. But The Body is one of TV's finest pieces of work. It's the only non-mystical death in the Buffyverse and it's gut wrenching. I didn't know it could be any harder to watch, but turns out your mom getting cancer makes a lot of things (movies about cancer patients or moms dying in TV shows) 100% worse to get through. I've never had anyone that close to me die, but I imagine it's a lot like this episode. Minus the vampire at the end.

2. Tara

Oh, Tara. Probably my favorite under-utilized character. Pretty much every member of the Scoobies had something going on in their own right, but Tara's stories always revolved around Willow. Except for that one episode with Amy Adams. Tara really annoyed me the first couple times I watched Buffy, but she's grown on me more than any other character. I love watching her slowly come out of her shell and her relationship with Willow is one of my favorites in the Whedonverse. Except when Willow started playing with her memories. That sucked. Her death sucked too. And actually, her death wasn't mystical either. Stupid guy with a stupid gun. But her death did cause Willow to go into some super interesting places. Although I hate Kennedy. If Tara hadn't died, Willow wouldn't have started dating Kennedy. I would have been more than okay with that. 


1. Fred

Sigh... This is the only death that still makes me not only sad, but mad. There was a purpose to most other deaths to move the story along. They were sad, but they worked. Not so with Fred. The only reason they killed off Fred was to showcase Amy Acker's acting abilities. And don't get me wrong, she does a phenomenal job as Illyria and Illyria would have been one of the most interesting characters if the series had continued (I really hope they do good things with her in the comics I will eventually read). But I miss Fred. There's nothing about Illyria I don't love, but I love Fred more. Plus, they had to go and make it even worse by having Illyria basically eat Fred's soul. She's just not dead, she's gone forever. For someone raised in a very religious household, that's rough.