Things I Love Tuesday – Lena Corazon

Category: Things I Love Tuesday

Things I Love Tuesday: Repo! The Genetic Opera

For this week’s edition of Things I Love Tuesday, we’re changing up the vibe a bit and looking at a movie that’s received some very mixed reviews over the years: Repo! The Genetic Opera.

Sarah Brightman as "Blind Mag," via We Are Movie Geeks

I admit, I was really skeptical about this film. It first popped up on my radar around 2007 or 2008, when I heard that Sarah Brightman had been cast as Blind Mag, the aging opera singer. As a side note, I own every album Sarah Brightman has ever recorded, and most of her concert DVDs, so I was really excited when I found out that she was going to be in a movie. Still, I didn’t get around to seeing the movie till last week… but now I am obsessed.

Repo! is billed as a horror rock opera, set in a world where a global plague causing massive organ failure has led to the for synthetic organs. The solution to this scourge comes in the form of GeneCo, the company that manages to corner the market on synthetic organs.

Rotti Largo, the head of GeneCo, is a shrewd and heartless businessman — he forces a bill through Congress that allows him to repossess organs from those who have defaulted on their payments.

Repo! Poster, via cyberpunkreview

This development gives rise to the horrifying specter of the Repo Man, who is charged with repossessing GeneCo’s property. As GraveRobber sings in the opening,

Out from the night from the mist steps a figure.
No one really knows his name for sure.
He stands at six foot six, head and shoulders,
Pray he never comes knocking at your door.
Say that you once bought a heart or new corneas,
But somehow never managed to square away your debts.
He won’t bother to write or to phone you…
He’ll just rip your still-beating heart from your chest!

The trailer offers a more complete overview of the film, though as a warning, there is some Sin City-style violence, blood, and gore involved:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzgpU25C6fg]

Alexa Vega as Shilo Wallace

There are many reasons why I love this film. Take, for example, the cast, which includes Paul Sorvino as Rotti Largo (who played Capulet in the 1996 reboot of Romeo and Juliet); Paris Hilton (Rotti’s spoiled, petulant daughter who is addicted to cosmetic surgery and prescription drugs); Alexa Vega (from the Spy Kids franchise) as Shilo, the main character; and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Uther Pendragon from the BBC’s Merlin) as Shilo’s father and the Repo Man.

Tony Head’s role was the most surprising to me, because I somehow missed the musical episode of Buffy and had no idea that he could sing. And wow, he is amazing in this movie. He’s like Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde: a doting, overprotective father one moment, and a bloodthirsty “legal assassin” the next, plagued by guilt and his own personal demons.

Repo! is heavy on dark humor, but it also has an emotional core that I didn’t expect (for the record, the ending made me cry). The film also rocks a futuristic/dystopian aesthetic, mashed up with some Victorian/Goth elements that I love: Blade Runner-style floating neon billboards and women dressed in period gowns with cameo necklaces; eerie three-dimensional portraits alongside dark, creepy Victorian furnishings.

Despite the many, many bad reviews this film received when it came out, I can’t get enough of it. Netflix predicted that I’d give it 4.7/5.0 stars, which is dead on, so maybe that means that I like things that no one else does? At any rate, I can’t stop listening to the soundtrack, and I’ve watched the film so many times via Netflix Instant that I know I’m going to have to just buy the DVD.

Has anyone seen Repo!, and if so, what did you think? Are there any films that you love in spite of poor reviews?

Things I Love Tuesday: Hot Men of Literature

September 13, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 15 Comments

For this week’s Things I Love Tuesday, I turn my attention to the hotties of the literary world. You see, this is another vice of mine: falling in love with fictional characters. Over the years, I’ve fallen for countless characters, like Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, Laurie from Little Women, all of Georgette Heyer’s heroes, Austen’s men… the list goes on and on. However, these lucky guys are the top five who managed to make the cut:

5. Mr. Rochester, from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke from the 1983 production of "Jane Eyre"

In Mills and Boon’s recent survey of the 100 most romantic heroes of all time, Edward Fairfax Rochester topped the list. I must admit, I also love him with a passion. There’s something about a mercurial, sardonic, arrogant guy that never fails to make my pulse beat a bit faster, especially when his vulnerabilities are exposed.

Rochester, however, is a man plagued by demons, many of his own creation. He’s self-destructive, he can be a bit cruel, and while I always feel sorry for all the hardships he endured, I can’t excuse a man who resorts to locking his wife in the attic, regardless of how psychotic she may have been. If it wasn’t for this character flaw, he would rank higher on my list.

Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska in "Jane Eyre," 2011

However, I will grant him many brownie points for the transformation that he undergoes by the end of the novel. He is humbled in body, soul, and mind, and becomes the sort of man who is deserving of someone as strong and staunch in her convictions as Jane. (I am always so impressed that Jane had the mental and moral fortitude to withstand all of Rochester’s advances, despite how much she loved him, but that is a topic for a future post.)

4. Adam Black, The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

Cover art for Karen Marie Moning's "The Immortal Highlander"

No list of literary hotties would be complete without an appearance by a Scottish highlander, and my list has two. The first, Adam Black, isn’t a highlander, per se. Rather, he’s one of the immortal Fae who has the misfortune to anger the queen of the Seelie Court. As punishment, he is stripped of his otherworldly powers, sent to the mortal world, and rendered invisible. However, he meets a young lawyer, Gabrielle O’Callaghan, who was born with the gift to see his kind. Together, they work to stop a plot that threatens both Fae and humankind.

Adam Black is the ultimate bad boy: he broods, he smolders, he oozes sensuality. He sports black leather pants like a rock star, is uber-muscled and chiseled, and yet harbors a heart of gold (and feelings!) beneath all of his male bravado.

Finally, I feel that I have a duty to inform you all that Adam Black has his own official twitter account. My mind, it is boggled.

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Things I Love Tuesday: Hot Men of History

September 6, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 18 Comments

Today’s edition of Things I Love Tuesday is a bit self-explanatory, at least judging from the title. I am a dork for history, and one of the side effects of this affliction is my tragic tendency to crush on men from the past. This is, I suppose, the epitome of unrequited love, second only to that other disorder, falling in love with fictional characters (a blog post in and of itself).

However, I’m not alone in this. My high school American History teacher, for example, used to talk at length about her undying love for former U.S. presidents John Adams and Teddy Roosevelt, and over the years, my friends have confided their own hidden attraction to prominent historical figures, both famous and infamous. The internet has helped to reinforce my silly crushes, especially blogs like My Daguerrotype Boyfriend and Hotties From History.

For fun, I offer a selection of my Top 4 Hot Men of History:

"Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) in the Uniform of the New York Artillery" by Alonzo Chappel (1828-1887)

Number 4 on my list is Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), also known as the gentleman whose face graces the United States’ ten dollar bill. He was a smarty pants, co-authoring the Federalist Papers with such luminaries as John Jay (the first chief justice of the Supreme Court) and James Madison (the 4th president of the U.S.). The Federalist Papers were a series of essays defending the American constitution, published during the Revolutionary War, and continue to be cited by constitutional lawyers and judges today.

Hamilton was also the country’s first Secretary of the Treasury. As part of his job, he helped to construct the Bank of the United States, the first central bank in the country’s history. He also helped to establish the national mint, which created a single currency for the whole country (as opposed to the hodgepodge of over 50 currencies being used in the latter part of the 1700s). I still haven’t quite forgiven Aaron Burr for killing Hamilton in a duel.

Yes, I hold grudges against historical figures. Don’t judge me.

Things I Love Tuesday: My First Story

August 23, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 7 Comments

Welcome to Things I Love Tuesday, my weekly post where I get to showcase the things that tickle my fancy.

One of my favorite things about visiting my parents is the chance to dig up treasures from my youth. I know, I know — I’m only 24 years old, so we’re not talking a huge span of time. Still, I am inclined towards nostalgia and I have a tendency to save things (though nothing on the level of Hoarders folks), which means that when I dig through the storage bins in the garage, there’s always a chance of uncovering something precious but forgotten.

I’ve saved the normal sorts of things, like old report cards, essays that received high marks, awards from elementary school, but what I really treasure are the books that I’ve kept, especially the ones from when I first learning how to read.

Today’s find: my copy of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, a present for my 5th birthday. What makes these books extra special, however, is that it’s also where I wrote my first story.

The front page has an inscription from my mom, written in red crayon. It still smile whenever I read it, because it brings back memories of the day she wrote it for me.

"Jamila will have a birthday soon! She will be 5 years old. Jamila will go to an ice show with her mom and dad."

My mom taught me how to read and write before I got to kindergarten. I’m her first-born, and she thought that I would need the skills when I started school. For the record, I ended up incredibly over-prepared.

The reading bit was an accident; she read to me every day, and eventually I started reading back to her. Once I mastered that, she taught me letters, words, and sentences. When I had those building blocks in hand, there was no stopping me. I wanted to make stories of my own.

Granted, they’re a little silly, disjointed, and short, like the above: “I am Jamila on a big cat.” Still, I tried for a little complexity:

One thing I had down by this point, quite clearly, is my name. One thing I didn’t have down, and that was the whole “books go from left to right” business.

On the right, we have the start of the story: “Jamila story book by Jamila Jamison Sinlao.” (No grasp of possessive nouns, either.) As it continues,

the story. [I am] 4 and I will be 5 next year and my TV…

The fox ate the rabbit and the lamb.

the end of the story

What I really love? The fact that my mom wrote out, “The end of the story” so I could copy it down myself. Gotta love parents who encourage their children’s endeavors.

Really, what we have here are my first attempts at flash fiction. :p But what I also think it shows is that for me, my love of reading and writing fiction sprang up together.

When did you start writing fiction? Was it an early hobby, or something that you adopted later? Any fun stories about your first stories?

Introducing Things I Love Tuesday: Dengue Fever

August 9, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 1 Comment

It’s time for the first installment of Things I Love Tuesday, my weekly series dedicated to the things that bring a smile to my face.

-oOo-

For my inaugural post, I offer a bit of music: Dengue Fever’s latest single, “Cement Slippers.” I had the fortune to see Dengue Fever in concert a few months ago and their talent and sheer energy completely blew my mind (they’re currently on tour now, so if you have a chance to see them live, do it. You won’t regret it, I promise). Formed in 2001, the band blends psychedelic rock with 1960s Cambodian pop music. The result is an amazing marriage between East and West: bright, fun, and high-energy.

Dengue Fever records in both Khmer and English, and the lyrics of their songs are often playful and mockingly ironic, dealing with the topics of failed romances and long-distance romance. Their latest album, Cannibal Courtship, is my current summer obsession. I highly recommend it for anyone who is interesting in awesome rock music with a global twist.

How’s the week going, everyone? Any songs that you can’t manage to get out of your head? Any musical recommendations to send my way?

Lena Corazon

Flights of Fancy