Evan Peters As Kit In American Horror Story

I love these cast photos from American Horror Story: Asylum.

Evan Peters as Kit.

American Horror Story: Tricks And Treats

I am absolutely unabashedly loving this season of American Horror Story. Not that this is surprising, being such a huge fan of season one, and of pretty much all of the actors this season. Zachary Quinto made his first appearance this week. Love him so much. He looks awesome in glassses. So handsome, as always.

This week's episode called "Tricks and Treats" was insane (in a great way). I cannot believe this stuff is happening on TV. Cable TV, sure. FX, ok. But still, AHS is particularly brutal and relentless this time around. At least, that's my feeling. I feel like it's one thing after another after another at Briarcliff. Does the horror never end?

Take "Bloody Face". So horrific and gross looking. I had made this delicious Fall vegetable (sort of) stew for dinner. Super excited to eat it. Super excited to watch AHS. Completely lost my appetite after one look at "Bloody Face". Completely. No appetite whatsoever.

Like last week, I don't want to give too much away for those who are getting caught up. And there's not too much to dissect yet, but be warned. Once there is, I'll be dissecting it like crazy. Fixating on the littlest detail. What does it mean? What's the secret? Is there a secret? I guess the one thing that I'm fixating on a smidge is the song that plays in the common room. You know, the very up tempo French song (I think it's French?) I wonder about that. Clearly, it would drive anyone mad to have to listen to it day in and day out.

As for the characters, Kit and Grace are adorable already. Love them. Love Grace's devotion to Kit, and so early on. James Cromwell's Dr. Alden is indeed very sinister and scary. Both of the Sisters (Jude and Mary) are super interesting. Sarah Paulson's Lana Winters (great name) continues to break my heart.

I'm making a conscious effort not to watch any teasers or trailers for the coming week's episode so as to be totally surprised by it. So far, so good. That said, I did happen to see that this week's episode (to air on Halloween night) is called "Nor'Easter". Love it.

American Horror Story: Welcome To Briarcliff

Before I start, I want to point out that while this post contains no real spoilers, it does reveal some details that may be better left unknown for those of you who have not yet watched.

And on that note. Let's talk American Horror Story. Everyone's favorite psycho-horror-drama is back for its second season, and it is as creepy, suspenseful, and stylish (as always). This week's season opener was great! I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to see how the season unfolds.

Let's see. Highlights? I'm already head over heals for Evan Peters' character, whose proper name eludes me now. He was referred to as "Bloody Face" for much of the episode. I adore Sarah Paulson. She was a favorite of mine last season. Love her style, her voice, her general presence. And she's a fantastic actress.

James Cromwell is super creepy and sinister. Very villainous. Very tall. And of course, there's Jessica Lange. She's so amazing. Sister Jude is going to be an interesting one. Not entirely a villain, but definitely not heroic.

All in all, I'm crazy excited for this season of AHS and look forward to being good and properly creeped out by it week after week after week. Until next Friday.

Sam and Dean, Meet Mulder and Scully

This past Spring I did something that I should have done a long time ago. Something that was a ton of fun and kept me totally entertained for months. I watched The X-Files from start to finish.

This was quite an undertaking, but I loved it so much and may do it again this Winter. While watching, I kept a list of actors who I recognized from my favorite show of all shows Supernatural (which will be returning for its 8th season on October 3rd!) I'd planned on sharing this list in the Spring, but decided to save it to include as part of my countdown to Supernatural series of posts.

And so here you have it! Note that the actor's name is listed first, followed by their Supernatural character name and finally, their X-Files character name.

Jim Beaver: Bobby/Coroner

Mitch Pileggi: Samuel/Skinner

Steven Williams: Rufus/Mr. X 

Mark Sheppard: Crowley/Bob the Caretaker

A.J. Buckley: Ed Zeddmore/The Dude

Katharine Isabelle: Ava/Lisa Baiocchi

Chad Lindberg: Ash/Bobby Rich

Nicki Aycox: Meg Masters/Chastity Raines

Mark Pelligrino: Lucifer/Derwood Spinks

Titus Welliver: War/Doug Spinney

James Otis: Famine/Arien Sacks

Fredric Lehne: Azazel/Young Arthur Dales

Mark Rolston: Alastair/Bud LaPierre & Richard Odin

William B. Davis: Folklore Professor/Smoking Man

Nicholas Lea: Elliot Ness/Alex Krycek

If there's anyone I've left out please feel free to share in the comments section below. Enjoy!

Sound Of My Voice

I saw (and loved) Sound of My Voice when it was first released in theaters, but it's taken me until now to fully realize what a brilliant movie it is. I think that Brit Marling is a super talented, interesting actress and screenwriter. The music in the movie is awesome. And the story is fascinating, subtle, and unsettling.

The story follows a young couple who are in the initiation process of joining a cult, lead by the beautiful and mysterious Maggie (played by Marling). Initiates believe that Maggie is from the future. She dresses in all white, as do her initiates. And there's a very complicated handshake that initiate-hopefuls learn in preparation for their first visit with Maggie.

One of the things that makes this movie so interesting, entertaining, and compelling is the suspense, so I don't think I'll share more than that, plot wise.

I had a discussion recently with my niece (the same one who came to see Jack White with me) about indie movies versus big budget Hollywood movies. I posed the question "are there indie movies out there that are better off being indie?" And when I say indie, I'm not talking about Miramax (though they've made some really great movies). I'm talking about super low budget, obscure, unlikely, and typically original movies with original stories. This is one of those movies. It doesn't need anything else. Not fancier sets, or more well known actors. It's got everything it needs.

I highly recommend this movie. It's indie movie making at its best.
Watch the trailer for Sound of My Voice here.

Written by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, who also directed the movie.

Photo: Brit Marling

Fantastic Movie Poster

I love this movie poster for The Cabin In the Woods. It's perfect. Rustic-ish. I really enjoy the muted brown. It reminds me (not in style, but in concept) of the poster for The Innkeepers which I wrote about a few months ago.

The Cabin In the Woods, Surprising + Clever

As both a horror movie fan and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, I have been waiting (and waiting...and waiting) for Joss Whedon's ode to the horror genre, The Cabin In the Woods. The movie was written by Whedon and Drew Goddard, who also directs. Goddard is known for his work on Buffy and Lost. This review will contain no spoilers, since I think my thorough enjoyment of the movie had an awful lot to do with element of surprise, so...

I'll just say that if you're a fan of horror movies you've got to see The Cabin In the Woods. It's not your usual college-kids-on-vacation-at-some-creepy-cabin horror flick. Trust me.

As a side note, Jodelle Ferland makes a fantastic appearance in the movie. She's awesome! She's been in not one but two episodes of my favorite TV show Supernatural, and she's been in horror movies like Case 39 and The Messengers. She may be more widely known and Bree Tanner from the Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie.

Handmade + Sci-fi = Cyber Monday On Etsy

It's Cyber Monday, and Fussy Gussy is offering 20% off your entire order + free shipping! Just enter coupon code: CYBERGUSSY at checkout. It's as easy as pie!

I LOVE this still from the movie The Science of Sleep. It's one of my all time favorites. But what does this movie have to do with Cyber Monday you might ask?

Take the words: Cyber Monday. I think they have a bit of a sci-fi ring to them, don't you? And so, I thought, what does this have to with handmade goodies on Etsy? And that's when I thought of the movie The Science of Sleep, in which the lead character creates all of these supposedly high tech, sci-fi sort of devices using the most basic, everyday objects. Like bike helmets and some wire tubing. But these objects are handmade, so they're wonderful, special, and unique.

And that's that. I hope that you a lovely Monday!

Flaming Lips At The State Theater

Monday, October 24th, what a night! After work, I hopped in my car armed with two new mixes, both chock full of Flaming Lips songs.

A couple of hours later I was in Portland, Maine at the State Theater watching Wayne Coyne rolling around (on top of) the audience in his magic human hamster ball. It was so awesome!

Having read about the Lips' live shows, I knew a bit of what to expect, but it was so much more theatrical, beautiful, and colorful than I could have imagined.

The show was wicked noisy, which I loved. They sounded fantastic. "See the Leaves", "Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung", and (what I'm fairly sure was) "Is David Bowie Dying??" were my faves. "Do You Realise??" was also amazing, of course. It closed the show. Someone fainted a few rows ahead of me. Very dramatic and confusing.

There were tons of oversized balloons, confetti, oversized balloons filled with confetti, green lasers, and plenty of fog/smoke (from fog/smoke machines, of course). Wayne Coyne was wearing his usual dress pants and button down shirt, as well as a very cozy looking fur-type neck warmer/stole. He was quite a joy to watch, let me tell you. Very funny. Charming. Sweet. He has a wizard-meets-circus-ring-master kind of vibe, with a smidge of Fraggle, and/or any member of The Electric Mayhem.

I adore the Muppets, so any comparison to Fraggles or Muppets is a huge compliment! I really, really love Muppets. They're charming and adorable! I think this vibe has a lot to do with his wildly curly hair, and general playfulness and energy.

I'm still buzzing from it. Can't wait to see them next time they're in my neck of the woods!

The above photo was taken by a friend of mine who was also at the show (we went together, and danced our hearts out!) It captures the balloons, confetti, and fog/smoke very well. Beautiful, and magical. Thanks for the pic!

Wayne Coyne + Exciting News

Oh, how I love a man in a three piece suit! I came upon this photo of Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne earlier this week, and I love everything about it. The three piece suit is (obviously) a draw. The cluttered fridge. The where-have-you-been-all-my-life pink stove/oven that seems to have been plucked straight from the part of my brain that fantasizes daily about home decor.

And now, for the most exciting part of this post: I'm going to see The Flaming Lips next week!!! I'm so, so, so, so, so excited, I can't even stand it.

Thank Goodness For The Flaming Lips

I can't seem to get enough of the The Flaming Lips lately. I don't know what switched on in my brain recently, but all of sudden I'm buying up Flaming Lips stuff like there's no tomorrow. I've always liked them and have been intrigued by their experimental, psychadelic, space rock, avant-garde sensibilities.

And I've always found Wayne Coyne's personal style very appealing. Love the neutral colored suits with vests, love the dress shirts. Love the hair.

I may never figure out why all of a sudden my long-standing intrigue has been replaced by full fledged love, but I'm really enjoying it. And it makes me happy. So, who cares why!?!

Helena Beat

I watched the music video for the incredibly catchy Foster the People song "Helena Beat" yesterday, and I was entertained, inspired, creeped out, and disturbed. It's a great video. I don't want to tell you anything about it, because it's all about the element of surprise, I think. But it's a good one.

Never Let Me Go

I saw the movie Never Let Me Go yesterday afternoon, and I loved it. BUT, it disturbed me, and had me in tears for a good while both during the movie and afterward. The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. I've not read the novel, and so I went into this movie with very few expectations. I suspect that this might be the ideal way to see it.

The story follows three students at an isolated boarding school in the UK, from middle school through their late 20s. The story is broken up into three parts: 1978, 1984, and 1994 (if I remember correctly?) Without revealing too much, I'll say that the story is very dark. Perhaps even sinister. Sad. Tugs at your heart strings. It is also sweet, romantic, and oddly cozy.

Carey Mulligan (who until now I honestly didn't care for), was fantastic as the female lead and narrator of the story. Andrew Garfield (the reason I wanted to see the movie in the first place), was also great. I just love him. Keira Knightly plays the (sort of) villain of the story and she's well cast. I have to make special note, though, of the child actors who are on the screen for the first 40 or so minutes. They were unreal. So, so good. And the casting director really looked for kids who resembled their adult counterparts. It was remarkable. Especially in the case of Kathy, Carey Mulligan's character.

I would definitely recommend this movie, but it's not for everyone. What movie ever is??? This one, though, in particular could either move you or leave you cold. For me, it will stay with me for a long while. I'm over the initial upset, but it gives me chills as I write.