So Why Aren't You Watching...Steven Universe?

This is the story of the Crystal Gems: four women with unique and world-saving powers...and the son of their late leader, whom they're quasi-raising in a beach house-cum-private lair.

What Makes You Beautiful: The art of fangirling, or ten tips on how to survive fandom in your teen years.

I have been in fandom for twenty years.

That is a staggering statement, when you think about how many people either transition out of fandom or leave it behind for greener pastures.  But here I am, years later.

And to be frank, I'm a little worried.

You see, I keep reading about girls who make suicide attempts in the name of their beloved stars.  Girls who have marred their skin in the name of Justin Bieber.  Girls who are lost and have attached themselves, in hope and in desperation, to fandom and end up worse off for it.

So here are ten handy tips that will help you get through life in fandom and come out the other end of it feeling better about yourself, your childhood and you

The Campbell Chronicles: #9: Mindwarp

This is it: the very movie where Bruce settled into his b-movie machismo milieu.  Moreso than Maniac Cop and Moontrap, Mindwarp sets in stone an image that Army of Darkness would go on to solidify a year later.

So what makes Mindwarp special?

To begin, it's one of the few movies in existence that was produced by Fangoria Magazine.  The horror mag had its own production unit briefly in the early 90's, and Mindwarp is its best known and biggest entry.

Plot details and thoughts exist under the jump:

So Why Aren't You Watching: Brooklyn 99?

I went into this year's fall TV season with a lot of enthusiasm; for the first time in years there were a wide number of things I wanted to watch, and I dove into them with delight.  Some disappointed me (the sadly odious "Back in the Game", which contains the wonderful Maggie Lawson but recycles its plot verbatim from the Bad News Bears with extra dollops of homophobia and racism; "Reign", which takes the compelling tale of Mary, Queen of Scots and adds ghost and the woefully miscast Megan Follows as Catherine Medici.).  But one absolutely soared to surprise me with its humor and humanity.

So why aren't you watching it?

Extinguished: The Rise and Fall of Burn Notice, and why its Series Finale is a disappointment

WARNING: THIS ENTIRE REVIEW EXISTS WITHIN THE SPOILER ZONE.  DOWNKEY PAST THE FOLDOVER IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANY OF SEASON 7

Burn Notice ended its run several weeks ago, and I'm still mad.

Not that the show ended, because it was struggling to churn out plot a season ago, and not even for the death of a beloved character who happened to be one of my favorites.  I'm sad for the loss of potential.

It was once a champagne bubble of a show all about a spy who had lost complete control of his life.  Burned by his agency, he was beaten by his final contact and dumped in Miami, where he found himself running a sort of private detective agency with his retired Navy Seal best friend, volatile ex-IRA on-and-off-again girlfriend, eventually an ex-spy who had been trapped a and yes, even his mother.  The show drew its charm from Michael's deadpan observations, the way the crew applied their expertise to their client's problems, and the chemistry between the characters, which was strong and good right from the start.

I know EXACTLY how it went off the rails, and it all started with a gunshot.

Refutation and Reconciliation: a rebuttal for "the Girl Can't Help It" by Ehrenstein

Confession to everyone reading this: I am a Roger Ebert fan.  Though he occasionally said and did things in the critical world which leaned toward the ridiculous, he had some great opinions and is a childhood idol of mine.  I still have him on my Rss feed, and when this article about the Roman Polanski rape case, written by a Mister Ehrenstein at the Fandoor.com website, showed up I couldn't resist comment.

Mister Ehrenstein's snickering "review" of Samantha Greimer's autobiography strongly implies that Ms. Greimer was not only asking for what happened to her, all of the sexual activity she engaged in  - including an encounter with her boyfriend directly after the rape - indicates that she made up her emotional trauma for money.  It suggests that Ms.Greimer's autobiography - which she wrote as a way to take her narrative out of both Polanski's hands and the police's - is a silly puff piece, tittering over Greimer's sarcastic narrator's voice and retrofitting excerpts drawn from the text to make it look like another simpering tell-all book. It is the most crystal clear example of rape apologia I've ever read.

Review Schedule

Here's a short list of upcoming features:

REVIEWS:

Ladies In Music Month:
The Rose
Grace of My Heart
Dreamgirls
Satisfaction
Light of Day
A Star Is Born
I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Don't Make Me Over: Movie Make-Overs that Fizzled And One that Works
Funny Face
Grease
Princess Diaries
Clueless

High School Hells:
Grease
Hairspray
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
10 Things I Hate About You


Women in Horror:
Scream
Slumber Party Massacre
Black Christmas
I Spit On Your Grave
Aliens


ARTICLES:
What Makes You Beautiful: The art of fangirling, or ten tips on how to survive fandom in your teen years.
Glitter on the Floor: Miley, the burden of adulthood, and the difficulty of fecklessness
Mirrors of Each Other, Passing By: Memories of a second generation fangirl

THE CAMPBELL CHRONICLES:
Mindwarp
Maniac Cop 2
Lunatics: A Love Story

Welcome to That Bouvier Girl, a blog where I will indulge in a bit of critical analysis as well as a bit of wild fangirling.

It will house a series of reviews of various movies and tv shows, and will take a critical and feminist spin on various well-known franchises and films.  It will also include pieces on current events across all spectrums of popular culture as well as The Campbell Chronicles, my reviews of various shows featuring cult actor Bruce Campbell.

Please enjoy your time here, and don't hesitate to comment if you have the urge to do so.

-Lisa