Ripper Street is the new BBC show that tells the story of Whitechapel in London's East End during 1889 after the Jack the Ripper murders. It follows Inspector Edmund Reid who in the series was one of the lead detectives on the Jack the Ripper case. Constantly reminded of his failure after the Ripper was never found Reid hopes to use science and technology to help him when a new Ripper appears on the streets. Reid is played by Mathew Macfayden known for his role as Mr. Darcy in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice and most recently in Anna Karenina.
Helping Reid with the new Ripper that has appeared is Sergeant Bennet Drake who is Reid's partner, ex-army, and is pretty good at cracking skulls together when the occasion calls for it. Drake struggles to escape his memories of the violence he saw in war and hopes to do so by helping Reid. Drake is played by Jerome Flynn known for playing Bronn on HBO's Game of Thrones.
The third member of the team is Captain Homer Jackson an American who was once a U.S. Army Surgeon and an ex Pinkerton. But despite his resume Jackson is a little untrustworthy, a boozer, gambler, and ladies man. With secrets of his own Jackson came to America with Long Susan a brothel keeper. Together the two of them are hiding out in East End running from some kind of trouble back home. Jackson works with Reid to keep him on his good side.
Drake mistrusts "The American" as he is called on the show and the two frequently butt heads. As the men dig deeper into the case of the new "Ripper" it tests all of them. Because London's East End is anything but Posh and the new Ripper might just be Reids undoing as his past comes back to haunt him.
This incredibly well acted, though grisly BBC drama takes away the romance of the costume dramas and shows the darker side of London's past. Having been intrigued by the Ripper case for a long time I was immediately curious about this show and given that it had Mr. Darcy in it how could I not watch? The season one DVD was recently released in the U.S. and is definitely worth picking up.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Oz: The Great And Powerful (not so much)
I had high hopes for Oz: The Great And Powerful when the trailer was first released. It had a story that I loved. It had great actors with Michelle Williams as Glinda The Good, Mila Kunis as Theodora who was one of the Wicked Witches, and James Franco the title character Oz. The story was supposed to be about how Franco's Oz became the great wizard that Dorothy Gale met on her travels to get back to Kansas. And what started his feud with the Wicked Witches.
Oz is a womanizing con man making his money as a magician in a travelling circus where he flirts with women using a sob story about a music box that was his grandmothers and waltzing to get them to believe he cares for them. The trick comes back to bite him though when he does it with one of the circus girls and her big, body builder boyfriend is more then a little pissed off with him in the middle of a tornado storm. Oz escapes via hot air balloon then gets whisked away to the magical land that shares his name.
There he meets a young woman by the name of Theodora who hopes he will be the worlds savior from the Wicked Witch that killed the King in their land. Theodora promises Oz that if he does so he'll be King. Oz in turn charms her as they flee to the Emerald City after escaping the Wicked Witches minions.
Once there they find Theodora's sister, Evanora, who supposedly will be serving as the Kings advisor if Oz manages to destroy the Wicked Witch. Oz has no intention of following through with any of it instead planning on fooling them with his magician skills until he learns about the treasure he will get if he does kill the Wicked Witch.
Oz reluctantly agrees. Once he is gone though Evanora plots to turn Theodora against him by by telling her he used the same music-box-waltzing-trick on her. Theodora is hurt but she doesn't lose faith in him until Evanora reveals that Oz has met the "Wicked Witch" who is really their sister Glinda the good. When Oz learns the truth about Theodora and Evanora, he sides with Glinda and together with the help of creatures from Oz they decide to take back the Emerald City using a little show magic. Evanora meanwhile turns Theodora to her side by making her heart turn cold after eating a green apple that turns Theodora into the famous Wicked Witch from the stories.
You can guess the rest I think. And while it might not sound so terrible let me tell you that it was. My first problem is this: You've got a badass witch acting like a weakling even though she could easily get an army together and take out her sisters without a guy. Also Glinda's badassery is not shown until the end of the film. For most of it she is just an annoying goody-goody who makes bubbles and befriends munchkins. And oh yeah, needs a guy to go save her kingdom despite the fact she's the one who HAS THE FREAKING MAGIC. Furthermore, you've got another badass witch with the power to throw freaking flames from her hands falling apart over a womanizer. If I were a badass witch and I found out some guy had two timed me with my sister who was also another badass witch I would just go fry his ass. Screw a stupid prophecy my Dad set up.
That's another thing. The King is dead in the movie. Yet the sisters aren't going to take over the throne? I know Oz is a different world but if I've got witchy powers and there's a throne involved I would be using said witchy powers and saying nuh-uh. No prophecy is keeping me from my crown. Sorry Dad, but I'm taking a page out of Beyonces book. Girls are going to run Oz not some random smarmy "wizard" from freaking Kansas.
So in short Oz: The Great And Powerful was more like Oz: The Great Sucky Film I Saw Today. If you want a good Wizard Of Oz prequel just get yourself tickets to Wicked. It's got show tunes and the witches kick butt.
Personally, the witches in this film need a lesson from the real wicked witch:
Cambria
Oz is a womanizing con man making his money as a magician in a travelling circus where he flirts with women using a sob story about a music box that was his grandmothers and waltzing to get them to believe he cares for them. The trick comes back to bite him though when he does it with one of the circus girls and her big, body builder boyfriend is more then a little pissed off with him in the middle of a tornado storm. Oz escapes via hot air balloon then gets whisked away to the magical land that shares his name.
There he meets a young woman by the name of Theodora who hopes he will be the worlds savior from the Wicked Witch that killed the King in their land. Theodora promises Oz that if he does so he'll be King. Oz in turn charms her as they flee to the Emerald City after escaping the Wicked Witches minions.
Once there they find Theodora's sister, Evanora, who supposedly will be serving as the Kings advisor if Oz manages to destroy the Wicked Witch. Oz has no intention of following through with any of it instead planning on fooling them with his magician skills until he learns about the treasure he will get if he does kill the Wicked Witch.
Oz reluctantly agrees. Once he is gone though Evanora plots to turn Theodora against him by by telling her he used the same music-box-waltzing-trick on her. Theodora is hurt but she doesn't lose faith in him until Evanora reveals that Oz has met the "Wicked Witch" who is really their sister Glinda the good. When Oz learns the truth about Theodora and Evanora, he sides with Glinda and together with the help of creatures from Oz they decide to take back the Emerald City using a little show magic. Evanora meanwhile turns Theodora to her side by making her heart turn cold after eating a green apple that turns Theodora into the famous Wicked Witch from the stories.
You can guess the rest I think. And while it might not sound so terrible let me tell you that it was. My first problem is this: You've got a badass witch acting like a weakling even though she could easily get an army together and take out her sisters without a guy. Also Glinda's badassery is not shown until the end of the film. For most of it she is just an annoying goody-goody who makes bubbles and befriends munchkins. And oh yeah, needs a guy to go save her kingdom despite the fact she's the one who HAS THE FREAKING MAGIC. Furthermore, you've got another badass witch with the power to throw freaking flames from her hands falling apart over a womanizer. If I were a badass witch and I found out some guy had two timed me with my sister who was also another badass witch I would just go fry his ass. Screw a stupid prophecy my Dad set up.
That's another thing. The King is dead in the movie. Yet the sisters aren't going to take over the throne? I know Oz is a different world but if I've got witchy powers and there's a throne involved I would be using said witchy powers and saying nuh-uh. No prophecy is keeping me from my crown. Sorry Dad, but I'm taking a page out of Beyonces book. Girls are going to run Oz not some random smarmy "wizard" from freaking Kansas.
So in short Oz: The Great And Powerful was more like Oz: The Great Sucky Film I Saw Today. If you want a good Wizard Of Oz prequel just get yourself tickets to Wicked. It's got show tunes and the witches kick butt.
Personally, the witches in this film need a lesson from the real wicked witch:
She fulfills her own prophecies. And when a guy screws with her she rips their heart out, literally. *cough*Graham*cough*. Yes witches of Oz. Regina Mills is judging you. And she is anything but impressed.
Love n' Stars,Cambria
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: An Introduction
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a modern adaptation of Jane Austens classic novel Pride and Prejudice. While Austen's novel takes place in Regency England this version is set in our time somewhere in California (although I don't think that's actually been said so don't take my word for it but San Francisco and Los Angeles are both plot points so I'm just going based off of that). Lizzie's diaries tell the story of 24 year-old communications major Lizzie Bennet in her last year of school. With the help of her friend Charlotte Lu who edits the videos (instead of Charlotte Lucas) she puts together a vlog for her thesis project detailing the lives of her "crazy" family.
That family includes:
Jane "Its-so-good-to-see-you" Bennet aka the sweetest person you'll ever meet according to her sister Lizzie. Jane is a fashion merchandise coordinator who works extra hard trying to pay off her student loans.
The Lydia Bennet
Lydia who according to Lizzie via the second video is "a cute, adorable humps the neighbors leg puppy" . Anyone who knows the story of Pride and Prejudice knows that Lydia is the trouble maker in the family. She is in this one too but Lydia's storyline instead of running away with creepy George Wickham is like everything else in the series modernized. And done so incredibly well might I add. Seriously, you won't see it coming if you watch.
The family's life is made even more interesting when new neighbors move in next door. In the novel we had The Bingley's and Mr. Darcy. In the video blog we have Bing Lee and Caroline Lee and William Darcy instead of Fitzwilliam.
Bing Lee
Bing Lee is a rich supposedly med student who seems to spend a lot more time with Jane then actually studying throughout the series...which he should be doing since that's what med school students do. Right???? But perhaps he's not a med school student. Maybe he's secretly James Bond. Kidding. There is no James Bond in this. I promise.
Caroline Lee
Caroline Lee is Bing's super pretty sister who seems to be in love with Darcy although he doesn't seem the slightest bit interested. Probably because Darcy is too busy thinking about "a pair of fine eyes".
William Darcy
William Darcy is the CEO of his own company who "has the social skills of an agoraphobic lobster". Lizzie has to awkwardly dance with him at a family friends wedding and is anything but impressed. And vice versa. She also thinks he's "boring, stuffy, unbelievably rude" and a lot more unflattering things.
Other characters featured
George Wickham
George Wickham in this version briefly dates Lizzie. He's also a swim coach. And I'm pretty sure has devil horns on him somewhere. Kidding. Kind of.
Kitty Bennet
Kitty is actually a kitten in this case. She's Lydia's cat.
Mary Bennet
Mary instead of being one of Lizzie's sisters is their goth cousin who Lydia stays with briefly and films her own vlogs with. They're adorable and just as good as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Plus they explain a lot of important stuff that happens although they're not essential to Lizzie's Diaries. But they're still fun to watch.
Gigi Darcy
Gigi Darcy is William Darcy's younger sister. She shows up in the later half of the series and also gets her own vlog as part of an app promo for Darcy's company. The app is called Domino and explains a little bit about how Darcy ends up helping the Bennets when they end up going through their George and Lydia drama. Again not something you have to watch to get Lizzie's story line but fun.
Mr. Collins
Mr. Collins is adapted into a former grade school friend of Lizzie's who has his own company. He offers Lizzie a job which Lizzie wants nothing to do with.
The series as a whole is incredibly funny, witty, and probably one of the best adaptations of Pride and Prejudice there is. Being the Austen fan that I am I have seen A LOT of them. Any character cut or changed was done so with purpose. The vlog also uses social media resources like tumblr and twitter to add more character development and interaction. Tweets are used to cleverly hint at plots that might be addressed in that weeks episode. As a whole the series is an imaginative re-telling of the classic brilliantly making use of today's technology to add to it.
So if you haven't already check it out on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries youtube channel and to learn more visit http://www.lizziebennet.com/.
That family includes:
Jane "Its-so-good-to-see-you" Bennet aka the sweetest person you'll ever meet according to her sister Lizzie. Jane is a fashion merchandise coordinator who works extra hard trying to pay off her student loans.
The Lydia Bennet
Lydia who according to Lizzie via the second video is "a cute, adorable humps the neighbors leg puppy" . Anyone who knows the story of Pride and Prejudice knows that Lydia is the trouble maker in the family. She is in this one too but Lydia's storyline instead of running away with creepy George Wickham is like everything else in the series modernized. And done so incredibly well might I add. Seriously, you won't see it coming if you watch.
The family's life is made even more interesting when new neighbors move in next door. In the novel we had The Bingley's and Mr. Darcy. In the video blog we have Bing Lee and Caroline Lee and William Darcy instead of Fitzwilliam.
Bing Lee
Bing Lee is a rich supposedly med student who seems to spend a lot more time with Jane then actually studying throughout the series...which he should be doing since that's what med school students do. Right???? But perhaps he's not a med school student. Maybe he's secretly James Bond. Kidding. There is no James Bond in this. I promise.
Caroline Lee
Caroline Lee is Bing's super pretty sister who seems to be in love with Darcy although he doesn't seem the slightest bit interested. Probably because Darcy is too busy thinking about "a pair of fine eyes".
William Darcy
William Darcy is the CEO of his own company who "has the social skills of an agoraphobic lobster". Lizzie has to awkwardly dance with him at a family friends wedding and is anything but impressed. And vice versa. She also thinks he's "boring, stuffy, unbelievably rude" and a lot more unflattering things.
Other characters featured
George Wickham
George Wickham in this version briefly dates Lizzie. He's also a swim coach. And I'm pretty sure has devil horns on him somewhere. Kidding. Kind of.
Kitty Bennet
Kitty is actually a kitten in this case. She's Lydia's cat.
Mary Bennet
Mary instead of being one of Lizzie's sisters is their goth cousin who Lydia stays with briefly and films her own vlogs with. They're adorable and just as good as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Plus they explain a lot of important stuff that happens although they're not essential to Lizzie's Diaries. But they're still fun to watch.
Gigi Darcy
Gigi Darcy is William Darcy's younger sister. She shows up in the later half of the series and also gets her own vlog as part of an app promo for Darcy's company. The app is called Domino and explains a little bit about how Darcy ends up helping the Bennets when they end up going through their George and Lydia drama. Again not something you have to watch to get Lizzie's story line but fun.
Mr. Collins
Mr. Collins is adapted into a former grade school friend of Lizzie's who has his own company. He offers Lizzie a job which Lizzie wants nothing to do with.
The series as a whole is incredibly funny, witty, and probably one of the best adaptations of Pride and Prejudice there is. Being the Austen fan that I am I have seen A LOT of them. Any character cut or changed was done so with purpose. The vlog also uses social media resources like tumblr and twitter to add more character development and interaction. Tweets are used to cleverly hint at plots that might be addressed in that weeks episode. As a whole the series is an imaginative re-telling of the classic brilliantly making use of today's technology to add to it.
So if you haven't already check it out on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries youtube channel and to learn more visit http://www.lizziebennet.com/.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Putting Yourself Out There
I'm not good with attention. I like hiding in the corner and not being noticed. But that doesn't exactly work when you are trying to sell a self-published e-book. In order to sell things you have to know people so that they can buy them. I once read an interview with Taylor Swift where she was talking about her record label and how she was once told that in order to sell a certain amount of records, you have to go out and meet that many people. I forget the exact quote but it was something along those lines. And for those of you who don't know Taylor Swifts record label Big Machine was small when she started on it. It was a baby label. But she knew what she wanted and she had people who believed in her to help her get there.
I spent a better part of yesterday trying to figure out what I'm doing with this thing and even a better part of it wondering if maybe I should just take it down. Because I have no clue what I'm doing with it. I don't know how to sell things. But then I remembered Taylor Swifts quote and I knew what I had to do.
So maybe this thing won't sell at all. Maybe it will. It all depends on what I do with it. Because no one is going to pay attention to something that they don't know about. So no more hiding in corners. That being said:
Hi.
I'm Cambria Covell.
I've published a book I wrote called Heroes House. It involves a strong girl heroine, hot guys in capes, ninjas and a British butler who may or may not be ex MI6. I hope you'll read it and like it.
Nice to meet you.
Love n' stars,
Cambria
I spent a better part of yesterday trying to figure out what I'm doing with this thing and even a better part of it wondering if maybe I should just take it down. Because I have no clue what I'm doing with it. I don't know how to sell things. But then I remembered Taylor Swifts quote and I knew what I had to do.
So maybe this thing won't sell at all. Maybe it will. It all depends on what I do with it. Because no one is going to pay attention to something that they don't know about. So no more hiding in corners. That being said:
Hi.
I'm Cambria Covell.
I've published a book I wrote called Heroes House. It involves a strong girl heroine, hot guys in capes, ninjas and a British butler who may or may not be ex MI6. I hope you'll read it and like it.
Nice to meet you.
Love n' stars,
Cambria
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Piper Powells Rules For Dealing With Superheroes by Cambria Covell
Piper Powells rules for dealing with superheroes
1. Do not touch the secret stuff.
2. Do not speak of capes. For some reason this makes them huffy.
3. Making out with a superhero might seem like a good idea at the time but if he dresses up like a vigilante for fun he’s probably got issues. AVOID THE MAKING OUT THING IF YOU CAN. SERIOUSLY, GO FOR THE NORMAL BOY IF THERE IS ONE. He might not have a super cool getaway car or great muscles and a hot crime fighting costume but at least you won’t find yourself hanging from a bridge while some psycho tries to kill you so they can take over the world. I’m just saying.
4. Always have a plan because you never know when giant robots are going to attack and you’ll need a distraction.
5. Become good at lying because when your best friend wants to know why you were involved with a group of secretive, weird people you can’t tell her you are living in a superhero hideout. Plus if you tell your best friend chances are the group leader will possibly kill you.
6. If you think you can trick the butler you are wrong. The butler knows everything.
7. Cookies are excellent tools of manipulation. Even superheroes like baked goods. Especially guys.
8. Remain calm. Freaking out only encourages the villains.
9. Get in shape. You’ll be running a lot.
TrAnd most importantly——-try not to go crazy.
To find out more about life with superheroes check out Heroes House by Cambria Covell available on kindle for .99 cents.
Storytelling and Doctor Who, (careful there are Spoilers Sweetie).
When I was about ten I read a book on writing for kids that said every story should have a great first sentence. Being ten, I took that completely the wrong way. I thought "great first sentence" meant I had to make something worthy of Dickens or Shakespeare. But here's the thing: Dickens and Shakespeare didn't know they were great until someone said that they were.Hard work and determination can get you far but as to whether or not your work is something people will be putting on bookmarks (that is if we even have bookmarks in the future) isn't something anyone can ever guess.
It took me years to figure out that writing a great first sentence just meant writing something that made people want to read on. For instance: Jane saw the dead body floating in the river on a Tuesday. Automatically, the reader is asking these important questions: Who is Jane? Why is there a body in a river? Where is Jane? What is she doing looking at a body? It gets the reader curious and makes them want to read on.
Television is actually a great way to learn about great beginnings. If a show doesn't catch your interest in the first five minutes you're likely to change the channel or stop watching altogether.
Doctor Who is particularly excellent at this. For those of you not in the know Doctor Who is a British sci-fi series that's been on in various forms since 1963 and the "new series" which started in 2005. It tells the story of a mysterious man called The Doctor who is descended from an ancient alien race of time travellers known as The Time Lords. The Doctor travels with companions through time and space saving people from all sorts of things.
If you haven't watched the series but are going to and don't want to be spoiled I suggest you don't read on. If you are one of those people who don't mind spoilers (like me) then go ahead.
In the first episode of Doctor Who we meet a nineteen year-old named Rose Tyler who is a perfectly ordinary London girl living with her Mom and working in a shop. This is Rose:
Roses first episode starts with her living a completely normal life but then---then something happens. While closing up her work one night she gets attacked by plastic store dummies and is saved by a mysterious man (yes, that'd be The Doctor).
Yes. A girl getting attacked by plastic store dummies. You are intrigued aren't you? Why would store dummies attack? How are the store dummies "alive"? What is The Doctor doing there in the first place? And that is what every great opening should do. It should make you ask questions and keep you interested.
So my point is basically don't be afraid to have a girl getting chased by plastic dummies as your opening no matter how strange it might seem. Its better then: Jane woke up from a terrible dream.
Or worse still: Jane was a girl with brown hair, brown eyes, who stood at exactly five foot six. Make your first sentence-or your opening-jump. More likely the weirder it is the better chance you've got of someone reading on.
Love n' Stars,
Cambria Covell
It took me years to figure out that writing a great first sentence just meant writing something that made people want to read on. For instance: Jane saw the dead body floating in the river on a Tuesday. Automatically, the reader is asking these important questions: Who is Jane? Why is there a body in a river? Where is Jane? What is she doing looking at a body? It gets the reader curious and makes them want to read on.
Television is actually a great way to learn about great beginnings. If a show doesn't catch your interest in the first five minutes you're likely to change the channel or stop watching altogether.
Doctor Who is particularly excellent at this. For those of you not in the know Doctor Who is a British sci-fi series that's been on in various forms since 1963 and the "new series" which started in 2005. It tells the story of a mysterious man called The Doctor who is descended from an ancient alien race of time travellers known as The Time Lords. The Doctor travels with companions through time and space saving people from all sorts of things.
If you haven't watched the series but are going to and don't want to be spoiled I suggest you don't read on. If you are one of those people who don't mind spoilers (like me) then go ahead.
In the first episode of Doctor Who we meet a nineteen year-old named Rose Tyler who is a perfectly ordinary London girl living with her Mom and working in a shop. This is Rose:
Yes, she is holding a gun. Yes, she will kick your arse if you hurt her Doctor. Or upset her Mum. Or anyone she cares about actually. She saves the world. A lot.
Yes. A girl getting attacked by plastic store dummies. You are intrigued aren't you? Why would store dummies attack? How are the store dummies "alive"? What is The Doctor doing there in the first place? And that is what every great opening should do. It should make you ask questions and keep you interested.
So my point is basically don't be afraid to have a girl getting chased by plastic dummies as your opening no matter how strange it might seem. Its better then: Jane woke up from a terrible dream.
Or worse still: Jane was a girl with brown hair, brown eyes, who stood at exactly five foot six. Make your first sentence-or your opening-jump. More likely the weirder it is the better chance you've got of someone reading on.
Love n' Stars,
Cambria Covell
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Music and Writing
It used to be that I never listened to music while writing except for sometimes. Usually, I had on a movie in the background. But I discovered that I became distracted when it came to movies. So these days I usually put on the Pandora website, pull up Microsoft word, and get to work. With Pandora in the background and headphones on I'm not tempted to pull up a video or something because I don't want to miss the song I'm listening to. It's important for me to have music that goes with the mood of what I'm writing. For instance, I'm writing a very dark love story at the moment so I've been listening to a lot of Lana Del Rey. Her songs are like stories themselves.
If you haven't heard of her you should definitely check her out. She's like a 1940's jazz singer with a modern pop rock blend. Her songs tend to be about tragic love and longing which helps out when I'm writing scenes about people separated by time as I am at the moment.
I'm obsessed with a song of hers called Born To Die.
So what are some of your writing habits?
Love n' Stars,
Cambria Covell
If you haven't heard of her you should definitely check her out. She's like a 1940's jazz singer with a modern pop rock blend. Her songs tend to be about tragic love and longing which helps out when I'm writing scenes about people separated by time as I am at the moment.
I'm obsessed with a song of hers called Born To Die.
Love n' Stars,
Cambria Covell
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)