June Geeky Faves

June felt like a breeze - not just because it's been abnormally cool here in Florida but also just by how much time flew by. It's hard to believe we're embarking on July already; only two more months of summer before fall arrives.

Here is a little collection of things I did over the past few weeks and a few plans for July. What did you do last month? What are you looking forward to this month?

Saw Me Before You - My mom and I went to see Me Before You. Surprisingly, my mom ended up liking the movie more than I did. It wasn't particularly terrible or disappointing, and managed to hit all the right notes. Emilia and Sam shared great chemistry, and talk about great costumes for Louisa! Some of the director's interviews during the press tour kinda irked me, just in how she approached scrapping some of the more deeper un-rom-com qualities about the characters. I felt like she and the studios were so aimed at making the movie a Rom-Com Nicholas Sparks-esque spectacle of the summer, they missed out on making the movie more meaningful and engaging in a conversation with people with disabilities.

Saw Independence Day double feature: I had anticipated on seeing this in July but the double feature came along a lot earlier than expected. My sister and I had a great time seeing the first movie, but not so much with the new sequel. That review fully managed to get on the blog.

Swimming - Previous summers have been pretty saturated with offline business and family obstacles, so this is the first summer in a long time I can actually squeeze in swimming. It's been a blast so far. Almost every other (SUPER EARLY) morning I wake up so excited to just dip down to a local pool and almost have the entire joint to myself. The pool even has a radio playing oldies before I get there making it even more worth my while!

Started Monday Motivation on Instagram: Sharing my love of movie and pop culture quotes, I've been making Monday Motivations a weekly thing on Instagram. Feel free to come and join me!

Lost my copy of The Martian: My quest to read The Martian continues. Just when I was so amped up to get down to business with my copy, it disappeared - nowhere to be found. SOOOO. We're just gonna hold onto this goal until it pops up again. SIGH.

Start Everything Movie Wordsearch book: Something I didn't realize I had on my shelf until recently was a movie word search book. I'm a pretty big word-game nerd already, and adding movies as a theme just amped it up a ton of notches.

Plans for July: prepare for and attend GeekyCon (I'm attending as press, SWEET), attend midnight release party for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, get sorted on Pottermore for the Ilvermorny school, see Star Trek Beyond, catch up on a ton of movies!.

15 Epic Quotes from The Walking Dead

There's so many things I love about The Walking Dead, it was a challenge to find the best place to talking about my favorite things. For one, there are some pretty awesome quotes - some are thought-provoking, funny, or cap off a highly emotional moment.

The more I dug around each season, a ton more memorable lines popped up and were very difficult to exclude (I'm looking at you Abraham, Glenn, and Dale!). This list could've gone on forever! You might notice that one character is missing from this list, and that's Rick Grimes. There is really too many to choose from or narrow it down, so he is going to get his very own list.

I hope you enjoy this week's Walking Dead Wednesday! Feel free to share in the comments: What are your favorite quotes?

Independence Day Double Feature

My sister and I have a special place in our hearts for cheesetastic blockbusters. A few years ago when an Independence Day re-release was cancelled, our dreams were severely dashed. There are a lot of movies from the past we'd love to see on the big screen, and Independence Day was one of our top picks. When a sequel was in the making, our hopes came alive again and we were so excited when a double feature was announced by AMC Theaters. Our excitement for the first film was palpable to say the least, while the sequel less so (reboots are just blah, in general).

The following thoughts on Independence Day and Independence Day: Resurgence contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!

Katy's Fauxchella with TickPick

Summer has officially arrived! 'Tis the season to go to music festivals! With the sun shining and blue skies above, it's an awesome time to jam to our favorite bands or new performers. Perhaps one of the most famous music festivals is Coachella. It's notorious for it's appearances by celebrities as regular music fans like us. Though this year's concert has already passed, there's always next year to think about not only what the concert will have in store, but also my dream concert. Gina at TickPick teamed up with me on a collaboration of my dream music Faux-chella festival.

Tickpick's designers customized this awesome poster with my imagined headliners. My music tastes vary all over the place from swing and the 1940s to classic rock. Having attended an amazing concert by Florence and the Machine last month, she was certainly at the top of my list. A solid rock vibe are taking over my playlists these days.

These are the bands I picked: Alabama Shakes, Elle King, BØRNS, Florence and the Machine, The Lumineers, Fitz and The Tantrums. I've included each band and my favorite tracks that would be awesome to hear.

Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight

Lead singer Brittany Howard's sound and her band first blew me away as apart of the Silver Lining's Playbook soundtrack back in 2012. Their style and especially her vocals are ridiculously soulful. Don't Wanna Fight is just one of several tracks of of their most recent album Sound and Color that I love listening to over and over again. Check them out - don't fight me on this. They're awesome.

Elle King - Ex's and Ohs

King's Ex's and Oh's has become a big radio hit as well as her other song America's Sweetheart. What can I say? Her voice just freaking kills it. Though Alabama Shakes' ruminations about relationships and life are a bit more soulful but nevertheless honest, I love how King is bringing back exciting, bad-ass (female) anthems to rock again.

Borns - Electric Love

I don't really remember how or when I first came across Borns, but it's been one of my favorite discoveries as of recently. This band isn't like the first two on this list, which might add some spunk to a concert of my dreams. Like King, Borns has a very cool eighties-esque sound and one of the coolest songs around right now.

Florence and the Machine - Ship to Wreck

This selection was a bit of a cheat since I just saw her live and can't get over her concerts. Her ability to perform is like mixing Janis Joplin and Queen - she is that good. Smaller stages really do her a disservice because at full voice and barefooted, Florence can't be tamed. She runs around the stage and unleashes an amazing energy. She gives an unbelievable concert, so she would no doubt be a good addition to my dream Fauxchella.

The Lumineers - Ophelia

Similar to Alabama Shakes, The Lumineers caught some big air play with their hit song from Silver Linings Playbook called Ho Hey. It's no doubt a great song and very catchy. Some of their more recent songs like Ophelia are great follow-ups to the shout-along feel that initially made them such a big hit.

Fitz and the Tantrums - The Walker

Fitz and the Tantrums is just such a groovy band. I love how they sound very rockish but also have a pop vibe to them. As the lyrics goes, The Walker just makes me want to break out and dance. One of their other best songs is definitely the totally groovy Moneygrabber. The music video has a very old-fashioned sixties feel while also remaining hip and modern rock. Basically, I would give them (and every artist on this list) all of money to see them in person!

A big thanks to TickPick for reaching out to me for this project. It was a lot of fun and definitely got me letting loose to some awesome beats for the summer. If you're going to pick up tickets, check out TickPick's official website information about concerts and the NFL.

What about you guys - who would you love to rock out to?

Shall We Dance? (1996) sweeps self-expression of its feet

Photo Credit: Shall We Dance / Toho

A middle-aged businessman Shohei Sugiyama is riding the train home one day from work. He's successful and has a loving family, but something is unsettled. He's resigned to spending his life paying off the house he just bought. As a business-person in Japan, life is centered on working and going home long enough to sleep, wake up and go back to work again. Hobbies, especially ones of self-expression in public is rare, if not entirely prohibited and frowned upon.

Looking up from the train window one evening, Sugiyama notices a woman Mai Kishikawa standing at a window of a dance studio. With every passing commute, he slowly gains the courage to go up to that studio with the intention of approaching the mystery lady for a coffee or something more, we're not quite sure. Intuitively aware of his intentions and facing her own issues with dance as a failed ballroom competitor, she adverts his advances but Sugiyama ends up taking dance lessons anyways with her fellow teachers.

At first, it's easy to believe that the movie will enter another Middle Age Man Has An Affair territory. But Sugiyama's attempt to meet or engage with Kishikawa grows into another kind of relationship: one to express himself in a society that doesn't necessarily recognize individuality.

In Japanese culture, it is considered embarrassing to participate in Western ballroom dance. Something as simple as public affection is considered scandalous, but the intimate proximity of the Tango and Waltz is infinitely more taboo. The outside world forces Sugiyama to hide his dance lessons not only from his wife but also friends and colleagues. For a while, his immediate world is not ready to meet up with his hobby, but he also can't forfeit a passion that gives his mind and body a connection to another source of focus besides work.

Dance is more than the steps. Feel the music and dance for sheer joy.

Director Masayuki Suo's Shall We Dance? gives viewers a peek into how intimacy plays a role at large and letting it unravel during Sugiyama's late-night lessons. The studio itself is an underground of meet-ups, yet an exuberant test of wills to release their worries and a certain sense of repression. Aside from Sugiyama, other pupils find a way to nurture self-confidence through dance, and it's hard not to feel swept away by all of them. He offers so much vigor and enthusiasm through the personalities Sugiyama encounters and becomes friends with, you feel like you're in on their little secret which grows more and more complicated.

It's difficult to shine a light on the performances in general because they are all outstanding. However, Kōji Yakusho in particular, as Sugiyama, gives a beautiful performance. Even though his character steps out of bounds of what society expects from him, ultimately his and his family's notions about connection change. He carries the movie with such an enigmatic grace. It's hard not to just fall in love with him by cueing in on his emotions and thoughts, and wanting to see him succeed on the dance floor.

While the story might not seem as different as many others, Suo's film about going against the grain is truly touching. Dance is a universal language and so is the drive or want to tend to parts of ourselves we didn't know needed fulfillment. His film is slow and steady filled with romance and charm. At the Japanese equivalent of 'Academy Awards' it won every award it was eligible to win: fourteen, in fact, including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director. Shall We Dance? Yes, lets.

Rating: ★★★ Have you seen Shall We Dance? What are your thoughts?

5 Ideas To Get Out of A Streaming Slump

Maybe it's the summer heat down here in Florida, or I'm just in a really bad movie rut. Because I am having a really difficult time watching any kind of movie. And, nothing feels less inspiring as a movie buff or blogger than to watch a dozen movies and come away feeling BLAH about them all.

Sure, we all don't like a movie here and there. Typically, even when I watch a flick that isn't an instant fave or something I'd watch again, I still try to find something redeemable.

After watching a string of movies that just weren't any good, where I just felt like I wasted my time, where I couldn't find something that made me go Well it was all right because this actor's performance stood out or at least this scene made me laugh, doubts arise when I go to watching something new: what if I just don't end up liking it? or it gives me nothing new to think/write/talk about?

Basically, my curiosity or excitement to watch movies has dried up for the time being. I know I want to watch something but I just don't know where to start. I wanted to fix how I or others can get back on the film wagon. These are five ideas on how to get out of a streaming slump. Good luck!

May Geeky Faves

About a month ago I started a little end-of-the-month series, and I can't believe we're already into the second version. Here is a little collection of things I did over the past few weeks and a few plans for June. What did you do last month? What are you looking forward to this month?

Captain America - I'd been looking forward to the Ultimate Captain America marathon all Spring. When Civil War's release date finally arrived, it was the best thing ever. My sister and I had so much fun seeing the five movies in one day, and then seeing Civil War an additional two more times. Definitely one of my favorite movies of the summer.

Florence Welch concert - To celebrate my sister's birthday, we attend our first Florence and the Machine concert. Her performance was nothing short of amazing and thrilling.

Twister 20th Anniversary - Twister is undoubtedly one of my all-time favorite movies. May 10th was the twentieth anniversary since it was in theaters. My family and I celebrated by having a mini-Twister party - watching the movie, having an Aunt Mae-esque dinner (steak, mash potatoes, corn, etc.), and I wrote a little post about the movie's leading ladies.

Try Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans - One of my goals for May was to try Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and I was really happy to check it off of my Harry Potter-esque bucket list. While I can't say enough good things about flavors like marshmallow, equally so, soap and dirt flavor. BLECK.

Watched X-Files Season 10 finale - This only took me about two months... I still don't know what to make of it. Thoughts are still reeling in my brain because it was everything I expected but also....not. Expect a very-belated post coming soon.

Plans for June: continue avoiding Walking Dead filming spoilers, see Me Before You, read The Martian, prepare Independence Day cosplay costume for Resurgence in July,  re-instate Walking Dead Wednesday posts, and start Everything Movie Wordsearch book.