TRUE BLOOD RECAP: 2.4 “SHAKE AND FINGERPOP”

The joke’s on Jason as he returns from dinner with the Newlins’ to find his fellow bunkmates sprawled around the room with blood [ketchup] leaking from their throats. He is attacked from behind and thrown to the floor where he quickly realizes his attacker is just Luke acting like a vampire. He doesn’t find it very funny and tells them vampires are not a joke, they are scary as shit, then proceeds to break Luke’s nose. At breakfast the next morning, Jason gets in a debate with Luke and Dirk on the origins of the first vampire; some of the usual suspects include: Dracula, Lazarus, Cain, Eve, and even Jesus himself.

Steve Newlin calls Jason outside to accompany him on a drive where they shoot paintballs at vampire targets. Steve is surprised to hear that Jason has seen a vampire staked up close and fantasizes what it must be like to “see God’s awesome power obliterate evil right in front of your eyes”. Then they head back over to the Newlin house, where Sarah is grilling up some ribs and heating up Jason’s mind as he fantasizes her dancing and licking beer bottles to a country and western song. Over dinner they surprise him by declaring he has been selected to become a soldier of the son, an elite spiritual army designed to protect good people from evil vampires. They even invite him to live with them because, according to Luke, Mrs. Pudding has the hots for Jason.

Still turned off by the orgy at Maryann’s the night before, Tara calls Sookie and agrees to move in; afterwards, she lets Maryann know that she will be moving out soon. Maryann tries to play it cool, but seems hurt that Tara would actually want to leave her house of paradise fruit and pot. Tara stands firm and tells Maryann to say goodbye to Eggs for her and walks out. She arrives at Sookie’s house, where she gets a birthday gift of a really creepy picture of the two girls and a photoshopped Gran. [Gee, thanks Sookie, you shouldn’t have…you REALLY shouldn’t have]. Tara wants to know why Sookie chose Dallas and freaks when she realizes it is another mission for the vamps. Sookie fires back that she agreed to help them to save her fool cousin Lafayette. Back at Sookie’s house Tara sits around feeling sorry for herself being alone on her birthday with the gang of Maryann, Carl, and Eggs show up unannounced. They want to throw her a birthday party. Later that night the party is hopping, and Tara and Eggs get their vertical dancing on in the living room before moving upstairs to get their horizontal dancing on, if you know what I mean.

[Okay, small rant but this is a pet peeve of mine - why do shows and movies always have random dancing at house parties. I can’t think of a time I have ever gone to someone’s house to bust a move in the living room – okay, rant over].

As Sam and Daphne continue to splash around in the bayou, he mentions moving away while wistfully defending the pros of living in Bon Temps. When swim-time is over, Daphne wants to take Sam for pancakes, but he politely declines. He sticks around another day and goes to work, where he gets in an argument with Sookie. She is angry that he was planning to leave town without telling her, and lets him know that their years of friendship are worth more than that. Tara’s mom shows up at Merlotte’s that night with a gift for her; since she is not there Sam promises to get it to her. The staff discusses Tara’s party, and Sam decides to drop off the present and continue flirting with Daphne. As they are talking, she leans into his ear and whispers, “I know what you are”.

Meanwhile, Maryann goes out in the yard and starts fluttering, which incites the party into a debauchery of nakedness, fight club, gluttony [hey, food fight!], and even eating handfuls of dirt [Ewww]. Maryann starts digging in the ground as the party continues to rage out of control and when she lifts her hands to the sky we see that she has claw-like talons [the same ones the bull-man used on Sookie last week].

Lafayette is curled up on his house popping painkillers to deal with his shot leg when Tara barges in yelling at him. Sookie blabbed about Lafayette being tortured by vampires and she tries to talk him into seeing a doctor. He refuses and kicks her out. That night he is watching TV when Eric appears at his window. Lafayette freaks and wants to know why they won’t leave him alone. Eric offers his blood to heal Lafayette’s infected leg wound, and later admits he also wants to keep tabs on him as he is important to Sookie, which he find curious. Lafayette drinks his 1000 year-old blood, which causes him to zip around the room like a humping energizer bunny on speed. Man, Eric’s blood must be awesome!



Bill interrupts Jessica and Hoyt’s romantic interlude and command Hoyt to get the heck out of his house before he throws him out thru the window. Bill says he is trying to protect Hoyt from Jessica, but Hoyt lets her know he doesn’t believe a word of it. Jessica laments that that was the first time she has kissed a boy and wouldn’t hurt him. After all, she can’t help it if her fangs pop out.

Bill tells Sookie that he jealous of how different becoming a vampire is post-TruBlood compared to when he was turned. Sookie warns that Bill’s parenting methods aren’t working so well so maybe he should lighten up a little, so they decide to take Jessica on the upcoming trip to Dallas. They arrive via Anubis Air, where a limo driver for the Compton party greets Sookie. He seems nervous, so a quick read of the mind reveals he is there to take Sookie. Lucky the flight is delayed so it is dark when they arrive and Bill is able to rescue her. Unfortunately poor Jessica gets stuck in her travel coffin. Bill teaches Jessica to glamour by practicing on the Leon the limo driver before heading over to the vampire Hotel Camilla. Sookie and Bill ponder how they knew about Sookie coming to Dallas and who is behind the plot.

Eric calls Bill and they argue over the FOTS kidnapping plot. Bill is mad that Eric knew it was a possibility and didn’t warn them; Eric reminds Bill that as the sheriff he doesn’t have to share anything with him. Eric finishes up at Lafayette’s house then flies to Dallas to meet with Bill. After interrupting Bill and Sookie’s make-out session, Bill meets Eric in the hotel bar where they continue to argue. Bill wants to know why he is so concerned about Godric. Eric explains that Godric is 2000 years old and if one as powerful as he can be taken, then no vampires are safe. Eric thinks if they don’t find Godric soon, the Texas vampires will start openly attacking humans. Bill wants to remove Sookie from the potential danger, but Eric refuses.

Bill, Sookie and Jessica check into the hotel and continue to question Leon. They find that the Fellowship of the Sun hired him to get the human with the Compton Party, but swears he didn’t even know it was a woman until Sookie stepped of the plane. Bill glamours him to forget everything and tell people that hired him that the Compton party missed the plane and never arrived. While Bill goes downstairs to talk with Eric, Sookie checks out the vampire PPV porn. [Hilarious, I don’t know which title is better: “Intercourse with a Vampire” or “His First Fangbang”].



Sookie answers a knock on the door and finds the bellboy Barry with room service for Jessica, a straight male, B-negative cutie. Sookie frets about how to handle the situation and realizes that Barry is hearing her thoughts. They start having a conversation in their minds before Barry freaks out and takes off down the hall…

And stay tuned for next week’s episode….

TWILIGHT REVIEW (MOVIE)

So I finally sat down and watched the Twilight movie. I had heard all about the Twilight phenomenon – both with the books and movie – and although I am generally a fan of all things Vampire, I originally was not in a rush to check this series out. I knew it was marketed for Young Adults and as a 30-something woman, I felt I would be over the age limit to appreciate it…but as the hype continued to grow and grow I decided to give it a shot.

My wonderful husband rented the movie first, and we settled down to watch it one weekend. In the beginning [especially not having previously read the books] we found it more humorous that it was probably originally intended. For the life of us we could not figure out why they were staring so hard at each other. After awhile, I was able to connect to the inner-Dawson’s Creek part of my brain, and I really started to enjoy the storyline. I cannot say the same for my husband, who continued to giggle and roll his eyes throughout the rest of the movie. I think he was expecting a vampire movie to have more blood and action to it and was a bit disappointed. Overall, there were parts I that I liked, and parts that were “cheesy”, but I definitely recommend if you like a good romance. See below for more details:

What I liked:

1. Robert Pattinson – need I say more? As Edward Cullen he was awesome. The initial staring non-withstanding, I found his portrayal of a conflicted vampire to be spot-on. It also didn’t hurt that he is ridiculously good looking in every scene he is in.

2. Vampire Baseball – this entire scene was entertaining; from the action to the music I enjoyed watching the Cullen family joking around and having a good time together.

3. Port Angeles – this was my favorite scene of the whole movie! I loved everything from watching him rescue her to their whole conversation during dinner to the drive home.

4. Soundtrack – I thought the music really worked for most of the movie; I especially loved the montage of clips and music used in Bella’s Death scene and when she figures out the Cullens are vampires.

5. Bella and her Dad – I thought they both did a good job of portraying the awkwardness of their relationship. You can tell they care about each other, but are not used to living together.

6. The Prom – I loved the conversation between Bella and Edward on the gazebo at Prom; she wants to be a vampire to be with him forever; he does not want to end her life. They are at an impasse, for now…



What I didn’t like:

1. Special Effects – I know this was a smaller budget, but I really did not like watching Edward and Bella climb the trees or when the vamps were running. It did not look realistic, and frankly didn’t make a lot of sense to me; if Bella is really that clumsy, then why put her on top of a tree?



2. Make-up – my husband’s first comment on seeing the vampires at school was “Jeez, did they get hit with a sack of flour before entering the cafeteria?" The makeup was noticeably off on several of the vampire characters. I understand vampires are supposed to be pale but this seemed over the top

3. The Initial Biology scene – again, they made it obvious that he did not want to sit next to her, but you never really understand that it was her blood causing his reaction (unless you read the book). Based on watching that scene, I was thinking it was the world’s worst case of B.O.

4. The Ending – another thing that didn’t make a lot of sense was having Victoria at the prom. With Edward being a vampire and hearing minds, wouldn’t he have realized how close she was?

5. Edward in the Sun – we finally get to see why Edward can’t go in the sunlight, and find that it is because he is beautiful and “sparkles” like diamonds when sunlight hits his skin. I haven’t decided if it was the concept of this or the CGI involved, but this did not translate well on screen.

My Rating: 7/10

TWILIGHT TRAILER - 11.20.08

clip courtesy of www.ropeofsilicon.com

TWILIGHT RECAP (MOVIE)

Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Bella Swan [Kristen Stewart] moves from sunny Arizona to cold and rainy Forks, a small town near the Washington coast, to live with her father, Charlie, after her mother remarries. She is quickly befriended by many students at her new high school, but she is intrigued by the mysterious and aloof Cullen siblings.

Bella sits next to Edward Cullen [Robert Pattinson] in biology class on her first day of school; he appears to be disgusted by her, much to Bella's confusion. After that first day he disappears for a full week and Bella believes he is gone due to her, although she can’t understand why. Upon his return, Bella is almost killed by a van in the school parking lot. Edward inexplicably moves across the parking lot and stops the vehicle with his hand. He later refuses to explain to Bella and warns her against befriending him. Both his actions and his continuous warnings to stay away from him have the opposite effect; she is compelled to find out his secret.

After much research and a conversation on Quileute legends with family friend Jacob Black, Bella eventually discovers that Edward is a vampire, though he only consumes animal blood. The pair fall in love and Edward introduces Bella to his”vegetarian” vampire family, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie. Interrupted during an entertaining game of “Vampire Baseball”, the group is introduced to three nomadic vampires—James, Victoria, and Laurent. James, a tracker, is intrigued by Edward's protectiveness over Bella and wants to hunt her for sport.



Edward and his family risk their lives to protect her, but James tracks Bella to Phoenix where she is hiding and lures her into a trap by claiming he is holding her mother hostage. James attacks Bella and bites her wrist, but Edward, along with the other Cullen family members, arrives before he can kill her. James is destroyed, and Edward sucks James's venom out of Bella's wrist, thus preventing her from becoming a vampire. A severely injured Bella is taken to a hospital. Upon returning to Forks, Bella and Edward attend their school prom. While there, Bella expresses her desire to become a vampire, which Edward refuses. The film ends with Victoria secretly watching the pair dancing, plotting revenge for her lover James' murder.

TRUE BLOOD SEASON 2 - 2ND HALF SPOILERS

Below are the official HBO descriptions for Season 2: Episodes 7-11. Looks like we are in for a wild ride!

Episode 2.07 “Release Me” (Airdate 08/02/09)
Betrayed by Daphne, Sam finds himself in an unenviable predicament at the hands of Maryann and her wild-eyed minions. Imprisoned with Hugo in the F.O.T.S. church, Sookie uses her telepathic powers to reach out to Bill, who’s being detained at the hotel by a stubbornly obsessive Lorena. After crossing a line with the Newlins, a fearful Jason tries to sever his ties with the Fellowship of the Sun, but gets plenty of resistance from Steve and his enforcer Gabe.

Episode 2.08 “Timebomb” (Airdate 08/09/09)
Sookie’s captivity takes an unexpected turn when Eric arrives to do his master’s bidding on the eve of the Fellowship’s lockdown. In Bon Temps, Sam finds himself in hot water after making a gruesome discovery at Merlotte’s, and Andy proves no help in coming to his defense. Sent home by Bill, Jessica and Hoyt learn that when it comes to sex, every time is the first time. Tara and Eggs devour a mysterious meal prepared by Maryann, with unexpected results. After Jason pays off his debt to the vampires, Godric looks to enlighten his more single-minded followers.

Episode 2.09 “I Will Rise Up” (Airdate 08/16/09)
A wounded Eric plays Sookie for a sucker, to Bill’s dismay, and ends up getting inside her head. Later, Sookie and Jason bond over their recent adventures. Blaming Eggs for Tara’s bruises and bizarre behavior, Lafayette and Lettie Mae try to figure out a way to pry their kin from Maryann’s clutches. Hoyt defends his relationship with Jessica to Maxine, to no avail. Jailed by Bud along with a group of Bon Temps revelers, Sam looks for a way to escape and avoid capture by an increasingly obsessed Maryann. In Dallas, Eric and the vampires defend their recent actions to Nan Flanagan and are shocked when Godric decides to take the fall for their PR disaster.

Episode 2.10 “New World in My View” (Airdate 08/23/09)
Sookie, Bill and Jason return to a Bon Temps turned upside down by Maryann. Lured to Merlotte’s by Arlene, Sam and Andy find cold comfort in their refuge from a group of bloodthirsty revelers. Bill discovers that traditional vampire techniques don’t work on Maryann; Hoyt and Jessica try to keep a lid on Maxine’s madness; and Sookie tries to push through the darkness consuming Tara. With all hell breaking loose, Jason takes the bull by the horns to rescue Sam, at least for the moment.

Episdoe 2.11 “Frenzy” (Airdate 08/30/09)
With the crisis in Bon Temps careening out of control, Bill seeks out the advice of Sophie-Anne (Evan Rachel Wood), the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, but must exercise patience before she gives him critical information. Meanwhile, Sookie and Lafayette find that protecting Tara from herself is more difficult than they anticipated; a desperate Sam turns to an unlikely source for assistance; and Jessica tests Hoyt’s allegiance to Maxine.

Spoilers courtesy of HBO and www.True-Blood.net

TRUE BLOOD RECAP: 2.3 “SCRATCHES”

Bill is driving Sookie's POS yellow car like a maniac while as he berates Sookie for undermining his Maker authority. Sookie apologizes, but the yelling continues until Sookie decides that a 20-mile walk back to Bon Temps is preferable to listening to Bill yell. [Note: I have seen enough scary movies to know that it is never a good idea to wander around alone at night]. Jessica taunts that Sookie wants Bill to follow her and kiss and make up, but Bill is stubborn and remains in the car, stating she will come back. Sookie is walking thru the woods when she hears a series of strange noises; she nervously looks around and sees a half-bull/half-man creature off in the distance, and before she can yell WTF it starts running right for her. She runs but before she can get far the creature takes a swipe at her back with some mean-looking claws.

Bill hears Sookie’s scream of pain and does the vampire 100 yd. dash and reaches her in seconds. He sees the injury and immediately offers his healing vampire blood; Sookie drinks and immediately begins convulsing and foaming at the mouth. Bill yells at Jessica to get the car ASAP! They take Sookie to Fangtasia where Eric has summoned Dr. Ludwig to treat Sookie’s wounds. Dr. Ludwig is a no-nonsense little person that is not a fan of the fang, but agrees to treat Sookie. This process involves digging her fingers thru the open wounds to pull out either poisonous nails/egg sacs that react similar to Komodo dragon poisoning; then she starts pouring a liquid that bubbles like acid over the scratches [Gross! Do not eat while watching this episode]. Once she finishes up Bill is able to give his blood, which her body will now accept, but is warned by Eric to slow down lest he “overcook” her.



Bill and Eric agree that they have never heard of a human rejecting vampire blood and wonder what this creature could be. Eric sends Chow and Pam and her sassy pumps to scan the area for signs of this unknown creature. They return and found human tracks with an animal smell. Eric agrees that Pam did have great pumps. Bill doesn’t want to move Sookie so Eric offers up an extra coffin at the bar. Bill also begrudgingly thanks Eric for his help saving Sookie, to which Eric replies that he is sure Bill will find a way to repay him.

Sookie awakens at Fangtasia and a quick look in the mirror shows no permanent damage. Ginger walks in and brings her a disgusting sandwich of peanut butter and chocolate syrup. As they chat Sookie feels that Ginger is hiding something so she reads her mind and discovers that Lafayette is locked in the basement. She beats Ginger to the gun and demands to see Lafayette, where she promises him that she will get him out of there.

Bill awakens that night and is relieved to see that Sookie is healed. Sookie questions Bill about Lafayette and thankfully he is clueless. Eric walks in and states that Lafayette was exchanging sex for vamp blood, which is illegal and within Eric’s rights as a sheriff to investigate. Sookie gets right up in Eric’s face and bitch-slaps him, but he only smiles and complements her attire. However, he is less amused when she threatens to get the police involved, flashing his fangs before stepping back and saying they can come to an arrangement. If Sookie will agree to go to Dallas to look for the missing vampire, then Eric pay for all expenses, plus $10K and agrees to let Lafayette go; she agrees, but only if Bill gets to accompany her to Dallas. Eric has Pam bring Lafayette up from the dungeon. Before she leaves, Sookie and Eric exchange a charged look that seems to be a teaser of things to come…

Meanwhile at the crazy church camp, Jason awakes from nightmares of Eddie and asks for a sign; but it is fellow camper Luke that sends the message in the form of a thrown pillow. The next day they are sharing vampire horror stories at camp. Jason recalls that all the vampires he knows are nice and it was people that killed his loved ones, not the vamps. Sarah twists all his words around by saying his loved ones would be alive if vampires didn’t exist. Jason gets confused and they end up praying together. That night Jason is invited to dinner at Steve and Sarah Newlins where the vampire hatin’ continues. In one of the funniest moments of the night, Steve declares there is a war going on out there; true to form Jason immediately looks over his shoulder out the window…[oh Jason, you are so simple, how can we not love you]. Sarah then brings out her famous dessert, to which Steve tells Jason that he must be pretty special as she doesn’t just whip her pudding out for anyone…[oh snap!]

Maryann has Carl cooking and prepping food to host a small gathering for later that evening. Tara walks in and asks why Sam would hate Maryann. They toss several theories back and forth over breakfast while Maryann prepares the world’s largest joint. Later on Eggs serenades Tara with a lame guitar chord, and they both laugh as they realize she is late for work. She decides to skip, saying it’s just a job and she can always find another one. That night the party is in full swing and Tara and Eggs are making out in the hot tub. Detective Andy is even in attendance and is dumbfounded to see a large reddish brown pig in a playhouse at the party; but when he questions Maryann the pig has disappeared, causing Andy to second-guess what he really saw. When a half-naked chick joins them and offers a back massage, Tara gets annoyed and really starts looking around. She realizes that everyone is getting naked and gyrating on each other in complete abandon. She jumps out of the hot tub and tells Eggs she is not into the “Lifestyle” or him, if that is his scene.

Jessica awakens alone back at the Compton house and is annoyed that Bill and Sookie never came home. In typical teenage fashion, she decides to get all dressed up and head to Merlotte’s for some fun. As she sits down, she makes eye contact with sweet Hoyt, who comes over and offers to buy her a drink. He thinks it’s awesome when she orders a Tru Blood and admits to being a vampire. They continue to flirt awkwardly yet sweetly with each other as they now take the lead for cutest couple on the show. After drinks, Jessica invites Hoyt back to “Vampire Bill’s house”. They discuss playing Wii and before you know it they start making out on the couch. Jessica gets turned on and her fangs pop out; she covers them in embarrassment, but Hoyt tells her it's natural and to never be ashamed of whom she is.



Bill and Sookie drop off Lafayette and continue to drive home while discussing how vampires, like people, are both good and evil; she professes that she hates Eric and knows Bill has a dark side but she knows he also has a good side too. They kiss as they walk in the house before they notice Jessica and Hoyt making out on the couch. Bill quickly rips Jessica of Hoyt and growls at him. [To Be Continued...]

While at Merlotte’s, Sam yells at Daphne for being the world’s worst waitress. Tara offers some wisdom she learns from Maryann, which irritates Sam even more. Sam warns Tara to stay away from Maryann and keep her out of the bar. Sam is fed up with everything and decides it is time to cut and run. The next day Terry catches him packing up the truck and calls him a coward. Sam decides to stay and work one more night before leaving town. Afterwards, he decides for one last run with Dean the dog and jumps in the bayou for a midnight swim. Daphne strolls up and Sam apologizes for being so hard on her; she decides to strip down and join him in the water, and as she pulls off her shirt we see the same scratches that Sookie received. Interesting…

And stay tuned for next week’s episode….

Rating: 9.5 /10

NEW MOON TRAILER # 1 RELEASED 5.31.09

Below is a look at the first "Twilight: New Moon" trailer that made its debut at the MTV Movie Awards on 5.31.09. I can't wait to see this movie on November 20th!





clip courtesy of www.ropeofsilicon.com

TRUE BLOOD COMIC CON SNEAK PEAK [SEASON 2]

Many thanks to HBO and the Rope of Silicon website for this awesome preview of the rest of season 2 on True Blood. Everything about this clip gets me pumped and I can't wait to keep watching to see how it unfolds.

Warning: this clip may contain some spoilers so watch at your own risk... [but trust me, it's totally worth it!]




clip courtesy of www.ropeofsilicon.com

TRUE BLOOD RECAP: 2.2 “KEEP THIS PARTY GOING”

Eric hits Lafayette with what is left of Redneck Royce, and then asks if he has blood in his hair. Pam is predictably upset that her Eric makeover is ruined, and advises him that they will have to go much shorter on his haircut due to the blood. Jeez, I think washing the blood out would be the easier way to go, but that was not presented as a valid option. We find out that Eric has held Lafayette hostage to get information on his V dealings and his relationship with missing vampire Eddie. Lafayette claims he doesn't know what happened to Eddie, butJason Stackhouse may know where he is. Lafayette also reveals that he has V dealings with p*ssylover9 in the Dallas area, which interests Eric since the Sheriff of Dallas is currently missing. Lafayette has no other information, so it is back to the dungeon he goes, although not willingly.

Locked in the dungeon, Lafayette remembers that Redneck Royce mentioned having a fake metal hip, so he proceeds to grab what is left of his leg and digs thru the tissue to extract the metal joint to help break the chain imprisoning him. Oh Yuck! I wish they wouldn’t have showed that in such graphic detail. So Lafayette is now free and quickly trying to find a way out of Fangtasia while it is still daylight, when he is stopped by waitress Ginger who shots him to prevent him leaving. Eric returns that night and confronts Lafayette on his escape attempt. Eric offer 2 options to Lafayette, let the leg wound kill him, or have the vampires do it for him. Lafayette goes with option 3, which is to make him a vampire to serve for Eric. Eric is intrigued by this offer, and lets him live for now, but not before the vamps use Lafayette as the main course for the evening.

Jason is on a bus heading to church brainwashing camp, where it is mandatory that you sing annoying songs while passing the time. Jason meets fellow camper Luke McDonald, where they bond over past football exploits. Luke seems jealous to find out that Jason personally knows Steve and Sarah Newlin. Luke and Jason are both very competitive, which becomes obvious during a game of “Catch the Flag”, ending with Jason besting Luke on the field and attracting the attention of Sarah Newlin. That night they attend a gospel concert that includes the provocative rendition of “Jesus Asked Me Out Today” [now available on iTunes… seriously]. They end the night by play-acting an encounter with a vampire sympathizer [played by Sarah] and one of the “good guys” [played by Jason], which ends with Jason breaking an American Flagpole to fake-stake the fake-vampire Sarah, complete with fake plastic fangs to get the point across. I guess getting almost staked turns Sarah Newlin on as she continues to be enthralled with the newest LODI recruit.

Tara continues to find out more about Eggs’ past, including that he has no job, no home, no money, and he spent time in prison for drugs and armed robbery and assault. Yep, sounds like just the winner that Tara was hoping for. Tara heads off to work where Sookie comes in on her day off to invite Tara to live with her. Tara has felt odd staying with Maryann so Sookie’s invitation comes at a perfect time and she tells Sookie she will think about it. Maryann overhears and does not seem as thrilled that Tara may be moving out soon.

Sam is torn between yelling at new waitress Daphne, and dealing with Maryann’s unplanned visit to Merlotte’s. Maryann decides to eat one of everything on the menu then later that night she stirs up the crowd at the bar and incites them to get their freak on dancing and humping each other on the pool tables. Even Detective Andy gets into the vibe with his dancing that does look like “an epileptic on meth”. Sam pulls Maryann into his office and tells her leave his town and his people alone. She does not respond well to threats and starts doing her shaking thing, and suddenly Sam is transformed into a dog. She lets him know that she can do this to him at any time if he ever threatens her again. Yikes!




Sookie and Bill relax in bed after the “make-up lovin’” session we witnessed last episode. Apparently it was good for both of them, although not as good as the “I thought you were dead sex” from Season 1. Bill discusses Sookie’s habit of always picking fights with him, and they agree not to make this a habit because they don’t want to be one of “those couples”…uh guys, I think that ship has already sailed! They continue to discuss Jessica and how to treat their new “stepchild”. Bill fears she will be an uncontrollable vampire terror, but Sookie thinks she sounds more like your typical teenager.

Later that night Sookie has promised Jessica girls-only time, so she arrives at the Compton mansion to find that Jessica has been watching TV and also saw her parents on the news. She cries blood tears and begs Sookie to drive them to her parents, where she can just observe them. Against Bill’s orders and her better judgment, Sookie agrees to drive her for a quick look from the car. Obviously this is not going to end well.

Bill is clothes shopping for Jessica at the local “Forever 21” when a post-makeover Eric finds him. [Whoa, can I just say that haircut and tracksuit combo is totally hot on him!] Eric notifies Bill of Godric,the missing vampire from Dallas. Eric wants to borrow Sookie and use her powers to help find Godric in Dallas. Bill refuses, to which Eric replies with my favorite line so far “If I want her, I can simply take her”. He leaves with Bill saying “No” is his final answer, but I am guessing this is far from over.



Outside Jessica’s parents house, Sookie and Jessica are talking when she glimpses her mother and sister thru the window. She uses her vampire speed and is at the front door before Sookie can blink; Jessica’s mom opens the door and invites both women inside, overjoyed that Jessica is back home. Sookie is livid that Jessica betrayed her and probably worried what Bill will think. Jessica’s dad comes home and after hugging Jessica he starts berating her for making them worry. Her fangs come out and tensions rise as she is ready to kill her abusive daddy when Bill arrives. Bill is seriously pissed at Sookie, and glamours Jessica’s sister into letting him in so he can clean up the mess they have created…

Stay Tuned for next week’s True Blood…

My Rating: 8/10

TRUE BLOOD RECAP: 2.1 “NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD”

Welcome to Season 2 of the hit HBO show “True Blood”. Personal disclaimer: this is one of my favorite shows on TV right now as well as one of my favorite book series, so I am pumped to see how close they follow each other. I think Alan Ball did a great job in Season 1 keeping to the spirit of the books while giving some great storylines to the supporting cast. I think one of the best new storylines to the show from Season 1 is the Jessica subplot. I can’t wait to see what kind of havoc she brings to Sookie and Bill’s relationship in Season 2! Now onto the Season 2.1 recap:

Season 2 begins right where we left off from last season’s cliffhanger. We quickly find out the body in the car is NOT Lafayette!!! [More on his fate later…] Only Tara recognizes that the body in the backseat of the car is former voodoo con artist Miss Janette. Yuck, I don’t think she is going to be performing any more fake exorcisms any time soon. Sookie reads her friend’s mind and convinces Tara to tell the police how she knows the victim. Tara is then escorted to the police station where a drunken Andy interrogates her. She reveals all she knows about Miss Janette being a con and is appalled when her mother shows up after receiving the news from the police. Tara is afraid that the news of Miss Janette being a fraud will cause Lettie May to relapse, but she finds that her mother is still sober and full of faith. As they are leaving Maryann shows up, calls Lettie May out on being the world’s worst mother, then escorts Tara to her convertible…Ouch, that was a pretty harsh speech, even if it is partially true…

Tara is still living with Maryann in her big white mansion and still flirting with the other poor house resident “Eggs”. Apparently living at Maryann’s entails a lot of relaxing by the pool while smoking pot and eating tropical fruit. I think if the rest of the town knew this secret then you would see a full house! Tara and Eggs’ almost kiss is interrupted by house servant Carl, checking to see if they need any fresh towels. They don’t, but the mood is broken and Tara remembers she has to go to work. We see that Maryann definitely has another agenda for Tara as she bitch-slaps Carl for interfering; she also has an agenda with Sam as she visits him later on at Merlotte’s.

Sam’s story involves a flashback to his teenage years, when he was a homeless and wandering pup that went thru the wrong doggie door and into the house of the mysterious Maryann. Although his basic objectives appear to be food and household items to steal, he is caught naked in action by Maryann and quickly introduced to her sexual prowess. He freaks when she starts shaking in bed and decides to cut and run while she is in the shower, but not before helping himself to the $100K in cash he finds in her dresser. When Maryann reappears in his life present day, he assumes it is for the missing money. He offers her repayment cash, and then learns it is not the money that Maryann wants; she also lets him know this is much more than payback from the past, and it doesn’t only involve him.

Jason is out of jail and cleared of all charges from last season. He is now into reading the book of the Fellowship of the Sun [FOTS] because it makes him think about things. Jason thinking is a very scary thought indeed! His FOTS recruiter introduces him to the head of the church, Steve Newlin, and his sexy wife Sarah, both of whom encourage him to sign up for their Light of Day Institute [LODI] Leadership camp…for the small fee of $1200 plus class expenses. Jason is deterred by the price but Sarah advises him to pray on it…and when Sookie gives him Uncle Bartlett’s blood money, it appears to him that his prayers have been answered. He lets Sookie know that he is off to camp, although he tells Sookie that he is off to Marlboro Camp, not the vampire-hating LODI.

Sookie leaves work late that night and heads over to the Compton place, where she quickly discovers that Bill has a new roommate, the young new vampire Jessica. She is now living with Bill where he wastes no time in telling her to clean up her look as she dresses like a “Lady of the Evening”; her curfew will be 4:00 am and not a second later; and they will recycle Tru Blood bottles and paper products. Once Sookie arrives the rest of the episode focuses on Sookie’s love/hate for Bill. It goes something like this: you killed a innocent teenager [I hate you]; oh, you killed her as retribution for saving me [I love you]; but you did this 2 weeks ago and kept it a secret from me [I hate you]; you killed my molesting Uncle Bartlett [I hate you more]; but you love me and will atone for all misdeeds because I am your “miracle” [I still love you]…. cancel that, based on the bedroom scene that follows [I really, really love you and your body]. Wow, that was a pretty intense love scene, but why would a vampire have white bedding if they are spilling blood every time they have sex.

Lafayette is still alive and kickin’ for now, but he does not appear to be in a good place. When we last saw him, he was abducted at night while taking out the garbage at Merlotte’s. We now know that he has spent the past 2 weeks chained up with some other unfortunates to a slow-rotating wheel in a dark, dank dungeon. During this episode a new victim is brought down; it’s Royce, the homophobic redneck that refused Lafayette’s AIDS burger in last season. He is full of questions and confessions to Lafayette, who remains quiet and subdued. Redneck Royce decides they need a plan to escape when the door opens to my favorite reveal of the night….

Who comes down the dungeon stairs other than my favorite vampire Eric! He appears annoyed that his beauty session with Pam was interrupted [I am assuming that based off his attire of a hair cape and highlight foils]. He unlocks Redneck Royce and begins to take him up for further questioning regarding a fire that killed 3 vampires, but before they reach the stairs, Redneck Royce whips out a silver crucifix and slams it against Eric’s face. Clearly you do not want piss off a vampire! Eric peals off the cross, grabs a scrambling Royce off the stairs, and proceeds to rip him apart limb from limb as Lafayette watches on in horror.

And tune in next week for more True Blood….

My Rating: 8/10

Welcome!

Hi, and welcome to my first blog... I am an affectionado of all things movies, TV, and books and this blog will give me an opportunity to provide reviews and opinions on both the good and bad. Much more to come....