To stop or not to stop watching..

My sister Julia is one of those people that likes to watch precisely EVERY episode of a show. In order. Without missing a single word of it. I used to think that was crazy! I'm not overly fond of TV-shows myself, because I prefer the format of a movie. When it ends, it ends. Sure, they can make sequels, but the original movie will still be neatly wrapped up; comfortably concluded (and I don't have to watch the sequel). Julia never usually watches a movie more than once or twice; that's always seemed like madness to me.

That's also why I've been no stranger to stopping when I've thought a show has been going downhill - even if it has been in the middle of a season. I can count the shows I've actually watched all the way through on one hand. I'm so glad I haven't done that with Friends. It might have taken me a few years, but I'm nearing the end of season three and it's getting really good. I guess there's actually something to be said for not just watching the same movies over and over and over again (until you know the entire dialog by heart). To actually commit to following a story to the end, no matter how uncomfortable it might make you..

Julia, I hail you as my morning star, because you are the way you are..

10 things I love about Leonard Hofstadter

1. That he's willing to watch sports with Penny and paint "Go sports!" on his stomach (season 6, e 01)

2. His willingness to drive Sheldon wherever he needs to go

3. The enormous amount of patience and understanding he has for Sheldon

4. That he won't have sex with a wealthy woman to secure a donation (season 4, e 15)

5. Those times when he helps Sheldon out by calling Sheldon's mother

6. That he's very open and honest about his feelings for Penny  - he's not afraid to say that he loves her + propose to her a lot

7. His openness about his interests + his devotion to them

8. His behavior towards Amy during and after the wedding they attend (season 5, e 03)

9. That he'll spend the night in front of their building in a hard hat, just to please Sheldon (season 5, e 15)

10. The fact that he bought Penny a car to support her acting career (season 7, e 17)

The Big Bang Theory 

In the spotlight: May

I only managed to watch 1,5 of my planned movies this month (Transformers 4 + a little bit of L.A Confidential (decided to not finish it)). I watched a lot of other stuff though - these are my favorites:

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
I will always love these movies. I can't wait for the third in the series! Had a sort of "watch-it-on-repeat"-phase early in the month and just watched it everyday for a week. 

Cinderella
The rest of the month I've had this on repeat, whilst embroidering. I'm seriously in love with this movie! (my review)

Unforgettable
This is really not a very good series at times; it's inconsistent about what story to tell and we loose important side characters without so much as a goodbye. I'm in love with Poppy Montgomery and Dylan Walsh however and that's why I'm on season two right now. 

The Best of Me
It's bad and cheesy but sort of sweet at the same time. The only reason it's on this list though is because I watched it with my mom and my sister Sara - which seldom happens (Sara being home at the same time as my mom's able to stay awake for an entire movie, that is). 


And my non-movie favorite: 

* My niece Sigrid! She was born on the 12th of May and is just the cutest baby I've ever seen.

These reindeer were also a lovely addition to my month. They hung out on a field close to where I worked for a week. 

10 things I hate about Leonard Hofstadter

1. Him apparently calling an eternal "dibs" on Penny - regardless if he's with somebody else or not.

2. Him contemplating cheating or actually cheating on the women in his life.

3. His constant negativity towards any change in Penny's career.

4. His utter lack of faith in her abilities.

5. The fact that he never ever seems caring towards Penny when she makes a mistake. Instead he uses that mistake to feed his own insecurities. 

6. His need to refer to her as unintelligent.

7. Him apparently calling an eternal "dibs" on Penny - even if he goes after other women.

8. The way he prioritizes sex above everything else.

9. If he's not over Penny - why does he date other women and then not tell them about her?

10. The fact that he doesn't keep Penny as a friend when another woman comes along (she's a huge part of their group of friends).

The Big Bang Theory

In the spotlight: March

Although we didn't make time to watch any classics in March, Julia, Sara and I still watched movies together (a LOT of Disney). Here are my favorites (in no particular order):

1. Cinderella (2015)
I loved this. I can see why people may think it's too sickly sweet, but it was just the right kind of sweet for me! 

2. Anastasia
This used to scare the crap out of me, but now it's become a real favorite. Rasputin's such an overreacting drama queen that it's hard to take him seriously anymore (not gonna lie - the green monsterghostcreatures that help Rasputin still makes me uncomfortable though)!

3. Elementary
I was on a roll this month (I very much prefer movies to TV shows) and watched season two, then re-watched season one and started season three. It's not my favorite adaptation, but my favorite Sherlock. 
 
4. Red dragon
I think that Silence of the Lambs is a superior movie and infinitely more scary than this sequel, but I prefer to watch this one. I really do!   

Sherlock is bae: a comparison

Sherlock Holmes (two movies total)
The most action packed and esthetically pleasing, though the crimes are never thoroughly explained and therefore hard to fully grasp.
  
Sherlock (Robert Downey Jr.): Almost TOO eccentric (he's hyper and needy at the same time). And you're never given a clear insight into his methods, which makes him unpredictable and hard to connect to.  
Watson (Jude Law): The best Watson, in my opinion. He is bossy but supportive. Independent but caring. He doesn't let Sherlock walk all over him - and he's not dependent upon him either.
Moriarty: I'd say medium level scary - like that tiny black lump on the floor that makes you jump because you think it's a spider..

Moriarty? 

Sherlock (tv series)
Detailed crimes that really shows you how Sherlock can see what no one else does. Truly a one-man show! The only downside is that Sherlock's such a genius he's become a sociopath that lacks warmth. 

Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch): He picks up on everything = easy to root for him to solve the crimes. Infuriatingly robotlike with no empathy = easy to want to give him a poke in the eye.
Watson (Martin Freeman): Brings a lot to the story by being himself rather than by contributing with knowledge and partnership. Sort of a shoulder angel for Sherlock (which he needs). 
Moriarty: Eerily unpredictable and by far the scariest Moriarty. 

 I'm still savoring the third season of Sherlock, since the fourth one won't air until 2016..

Elementary (tv series) 
An unpredictable re-telling where nothing really is as you expect it to be. It even shows you Sherlock as a teacher - not a god. It's a crime series though, which makes it easy to predict when the killer will be revealed. 

Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller): He's the most human of the three and truly cares about people - he even heartbreakingly loves a few. The most sensitive and therefore my favorite.
Watson (Lucy Liu): A true partner. She has real knowledge and helps to solve the crimes as a second detective. What's great about this Watson is that she does it for herself; because she gets something out of it.   
Moriarty: Meh. Neither really threatening nor very scary.

Movie night: Cinderella (+ a lot of Elementary)

Julia was driving, I was in charge of the music (took full advantage of that fact and chose 'hits from 1998') and Hanna (blue hat) fell asleep in the back seat. We arrived at 6 pm and the sun still hadn't set! 

Cinderella was much better than we'd thought (it only got two stars in our local paper) and I have to say it's my favorite fairytale retelling to date. 

The rest of the weekend was spent re-watching season one of Elementary, eating blood oranges and doodling dinosaurs in top hats.  

In the spotlight: November

I watched more new-to-me movies than I have in months. I didn't watch one of them over and over either, which happens to me more frequently than might be healthy (hellooo Singin' in the rain). These are the ones I liked the best, in no particular order:

1. Winged Migration
A documentary about the lives of migrating birds.

2. A Good Day to Die Hard
The fifth movie in the Die Hard-series, I've only seen number four before.

3. Pompeii 
Another Gladiator but with a really laughable villain.

4. Guardians of the Galaxy
Avengers plus antiheroes minus supernatural powers.

5. The Bone Collector 
Like a long Criminal Minds-episode with a hasty ending.

6. Perception, season 1
Has a more complex, vulnerable "The Mentalist"-hero.