The Walking Dead S6x13 The Same Boat

Photo Credit: The Walking Dead / Gene Page

Rick's group descended into murder territory with last week's No Way Out. After successfully wiping out Negan's compound, or one aspect of it, the group's ready to get some final answers out of one last survivor. Then, Carol and Maggie were kidnapped by more Negans. Good guys or bad guys, walking dead or alive - we're all in the same boat. Below includes spoilers of the series so far. You've been warned but hope you enjoy!

The Fandom Struggle is Real with Divergent

Since the epic finale of Harry Potter and Twilight, several young adult franchises tried to compete against the next-best phenomenon The Hunger Games. The list of franchises failing to get beyond a first installment is insane: Beautiful Creatures, The Golden Compass, The Mortal Instruments, Vampire Academy, Ender's Game, The Host, The Giver - to name a few.

A lack of interest by movie goers matched with negative reviews by critics is what has killed these potential series. Except for Divergent - the young adult series authored by Veronica Roth. Successfully making its way into a third installment despite less than favorable reviews is a major feat. Though it's not a universal favorite between reviewers and fans, and reached the same phenomenon level as Hunger Games or Potter, it's survived somehow.

I, for one, love the Divergent series. With the three-quel on its way to theaters, I realized how much my fandom for the series is quite ambivalent; a mixed bag of feelings towards the books and their adaptations.

The Walking Dead S6X12 Not Tomorrow Yet

Photo Credit: The Walking Dead / Gene Page

The Walking Dead is inching its way towards the sixth season finale. We're going come hell and high water - more specifically coming face to face with Negan and his compound. Desperate to make a deal to kill the cult leader in exchange for food, Rick and Alexandria lead a mission against their newest enemies.

My thoughts are behind the cut. Warning that gifs in this post contain a graphic nature and spoilers.

Awful Movies I Watched for a Celebrity Crush

When we love a celebrity, we put ourselves through real endurance tests. Us fangirls (or boys) go through a few stages. We tumblr, binge on every film, tv shows, interview, and special event he or she has ever been apart of, gif every youtube video or movie our crush has ever made their glorious presence.

Which means in our pursuit of trailing hotness, we have sat through some real duds; some stinkers that no abundance of reasoning or bad reviews convinced us not to watch the thing. To watch or not to watch is not even a question that comes across our minds. We live to watch all the things. We will sit through the great and the downright horrible.

Script, character development, and wasting our time be damned - we have to see our faves with puppies, or wearing suits / period clothing / grandpa sweaters / taking care of babies / dating so we can vicariously live through the other character / attend weddings and imagine ourselves as the bride/groom / kicking ass and taking names in tight superhero outfits and so much more.

Like any fangirl I've had some favorite eye candy and survived some real flops. Here are 15 that make me question my devotion and praise my perseverance.

The Walking Dead S6x11 Knots Untie

Photo Credit: The Walking Dead / Gene Page

Last week The Walking Dead took a bizarre turn of events. The show got all Dukes of Hazaard and romantic on us. It brought to life fan's long awaiting ship of Rick and Michonne, and made the return of ~sassy Daryl~. A new threat by the name of Jesus is on Alexandria's territory now in Knot's Untie. Below includes spoilers of the series so far. You've been warned but hope you enjoy!

Brooklyn (2015) sets up camp in your heart

Photo Credit: Brooklyn / Fox Searchlight Pictures

Brooklyn sets itself apart by bringing a focus to immigration with an uplifting coming-of-age journey. Life is moving too fast and not fast enough for Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) whose gifted with the opportunity to migrate to the United States from her small Ireland town. Leaving her mother and sister behind to forge a new life across the pond, she tries to ward off homesickness while charting a difference course with a charming acquaintance Tony (Emery Cohen).

Finding kindness from strangers, love and her own maturity as a young woman, Lacy's story is about homesickness and coming into one's own. As a booming city and skyscrapers replace cobbled streets and small-town businesses, she acclimates to her surroundings and acquaintances. The story is wonderfully remarkable in how delicate and endearing her tale explores as immigration in the 1950s was no easy feat. The film is a touching love letter for those young hopeful settlers who anguished and dreamt of prosperous horizons in America, and braved leaving family behind in order to start somewhere else.

Two key players in making the film come to life are the Saorise Ronan and Emery Cohen. Both as individuals and a couple they bring an old-fashioned and much-missed romance between young lovers back to life. Ronan, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, brings out a splendid display of a modesty and apprehension as Lacey realizes how her heart lingers back home. As she discovers more about the world around her and herself, she grows mended sense of self. Cohen as Tony puts forward one of the most charming performances as a leading male. He's beautifully naive and kind. His spirited Italian nature matches well to Ronan's hearty warmth, as her confidence expands.

Though their romance might be the centerpiece, Brooklyn also offers a strong variety of women working, finding marriage, and making friends. Staying at a boarding house with roommates much more firm or outspoken than herself, Lacey finds a stable community around her in lieu of separating from her mother and sister. The supporting cast offers plenty of support to Ronan's Lacey as well as humor and comfort: Father Flood (Jim Broadbent), Madge Kehoe (Julie Waters), a firm boss Miss Fortini (Jessica Paré), and giddy husband-hunting roommates Patty McGuire and Diana Montini (Emily Bett Rickards and Eve Macklin), and a plausible companion Jim Farrell (Domnhall Gleeson)

Contrasting typical Oscar-bait films, Brooklyn isn't bogged down with being dramatic or setting a political tone of how our country is a melting pot of cultures. Instead, the film is wonderfully bold and vibrant, almost like a dream. Every scene is an emotional and visual delight, even if it gives you tears of joy and sadness or the rich, colorful production of her surroundings. Brooklyn transports us back to another era of the world as well as film-making.

As much as the film is about being homesick, it's also about having the patience and perseverance of having a new place to call home. Lacey is connected to people and places from both sides of the pond. Faced with the conformity of her former homestead or possibilities of modern opportunities, she struggles to decide where her heart truly lies. It can be two places at the same time but deciding which one to stay with is the ultimate clash. How her heart tugs her courage in another direction makes Brooklyn so delightful and refreshing. It's set-up camp in my heart forever.

Rating: ★★★

Have you seen Brooklyn? What are your thoughts?

Hollywood's Golden Underdog: Leonardo DiCaprio

As far back as I can remember, Leonardo DiCaprio has been one of my favorite movie stars. The tall tale of his fans' adoration is an extraordinarily common one: young girl watches Titanic (or Romeo and Juliet), falls in love, and continuously cries out for the subsequent snubs he's received with every Academy Awards ceremony.

Rewind back to my 1997 where every friend, friend of friend, and relative took me to see Titanic - a film about two fictional passengers from opposite social classes who fall in in love on the fated ocean liner. The chemistry between the film's stars Kate Winslet and DiCaprio radiated on-screen making it easy for the world to fall head over heels. As I grew up, most movies of my teenagerdom fell to the wayside except for Titanic. Its intricate production was filed into my fandom archives under "I Will Defend This Movie Until My Last Breath". And, DiCaprio remained a hardcore favorite.

Pinpointing the exact origin of my love for his work is difficult. His good looks probably played a role a long time ago, as time has passed, his ability to move from teenage heartthrob into mature actor has become an increasingly influential quality I've admired.