It's never safe in the car...

So since it's Friday even if it's a little late, let's talk television. In honor of this inaugural TV discussion, I'd like to start with one of my favorite and most under-appreciated shows on the air right now, Chuck!

I'll keep this fairly short because I would go on forever if I didn't set a limit for myself. But let's begin with the basics. This show is hilarious. From the lead actors, to the story line, to every one of the supporting cast, Chuck is perfectly funny. In case you've never seen the show, and I highly recommend you rectify that unfortunate fact if that's the case, the premise revolves around an adorkable guy named Chuck who works at an electronics store after he was unceremoniously expelled from Stanford five years prior. One afternoon, Chuck receives an email from his ex-roommate, who is a spy and also the reason he was expelled, that is embedded with all of the secrets of the US government. Come to find out it is called the intersect and obviously very attractive to enemy agencies of foreign countries. Now, Chuck experiences 'flashes' of government intel when triggered by some sort of sensory stimulation. The CIA and NSA send their best agents to act as his handlers and the rest is television genius in my opinion.

Zachary Levi is brilliant as the lovable Chuck and his comedic timing is perfection. Throw in Yvonne Strahovski and Adam Baldwin as Sarah and Casey, his overprotective and sometimes reluctant handlers and you've got one of the funniest and most enjoyable trio's on TV right now. The growing and strained love story between Chuck and Sarah would keep me tuning in every week on it's own but it is only one element to this original and wonderful show.

The supporting cast boasts talented actors such as Sarah Lancaster as Chuck's beautiful and caring sister Ellie and Joshua Gomez as his loyal and eccentric best friend. There are numerous other actors who make this show good, like Ryan McPartlin as Ellie's fiancee and Vik Sahay and Scott Krinsky as two of Chuck's vibrant coworkers. Not to mention all the incredible guest stars that make memorable appearances.

So much for keeping this short I guess.

At the helm of this great show is Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz to whom I can only say thank you for bringing such a unique and funny show to NBC. That said, I can only hope the execs at NBC realize what a gem they have and give Chuck it's full support. After a near miss with the third season, the fans rallied and demanded the network give this deserving dramedy it's due. Now Chuck will return in March after the 2010 winter Olympics with a shortened season and while I find this decision disappointing and disheartening, I suppose I must be grateful for any kind of third season at all.

All in all, Chuck is the epitome of clever and creative television and I hope it gains the respect it deserves. At any rate, I will tune into NBC for as long as Chuck is on the air. If the day comes that the Peacock decides to pull it from it's lineup, I may very well rethink my viewership.

So watch Chuck and laugh... a lot!

...Hen

Thursday Night Book Club

So I was thinking we should designate a day every week for a discussion of our favorite books. Thursday sounded right to me. Every Thursday evening, we can come here to discuss a book of our choosing; sounds simple, right?

While we're at it, maybe we can pick a day for movies, TV, and music as well. Let's say Monday we delve into our favorite films or at least the ones we've seen recently. Then on Wednesday we can talk about the latest in music and Friday can be dedicated to television. The remaining days can be left for whatever topics that are presently weighing on our minds.

Thoughts, suggestions? Or all out disagreement and outrage at such a preposterous idea?

...Hen

This won't be the last you'll hear from me...

In response to Hen's previous post regarding my want of a mouse in my life, I'll show you the picture, and you can judge for yourself:

Don't even try to tell me that's not cute, and I found the article on cnn.com, in case anyone wants to read up on how the blue they use to dye m&m's helps spinal injury patients.

But since we're on the subject of things that I like, I figure I'll give you a little glimpse into my world. But not too big of a glimpse, or else I wouldn't have much to write about in the future (not to mention you can read the basics in the "About Us"section). Bear with me, and I'll do my best not to be repetitive.

My favorite characters, whether they be in books, tv shows, or movies, are the strong ones (see: Veronica Mars. Really, do. It's one of the best shows to ever grace a television screen). And if that means they're the one we're meant to hate (ahem, Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass of Gossip Girl, or even better, Georgina), then I'll be cheering them on in their scheeming. (I feel like I should mention that most of this will probably apply to Hen as well; we're very similar in our tastes, hence the joint blog). We like the ones who are a bit ballsy, for lack of a better word. When characters are weak, I tend to want them to go away. I guess it makes sense, weakness is boring.

But regardless of our preference in characters, Hen and I have wide and varied tastes in everything. And we mean everything, which is probably why we're so excited about this blog. We needed an outlet. We could go on for hours. And sometimes, we do.

Letty

Shudder...

Letty just told me she wants a pet mouse. And then she sent me a link to an article about blue m&m's reducing spine injury. The mouse in the picture, used for research I assume, is admittedly cute with it's adorable blue paws but as a pet? I'm not entirely sure I could get past the eek factor.

...Hen

Bloody hell, Harry...

The most recent movie I've seen is Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and yes I have seen it twice now. I have to admit, I wasn't sure how it would hold up when compared to The Order of the Phoenix. It's hard for me to say it was better because the fifth book and subsequently the fifth movie are my favorite of the series, for many reasons. The primary reason being the turning point we see in Harry and the overall tone of the book. It's considerably darker than the previous four and for good reason. The second and almost equally as prominent reason is in the fifth installment we meet my favorite character: Bellatrix Lestrange. Call me crazy but she is just so wonderfully evil, I can't help but find myself drawn in by her complete lack of sanity. And I would be lying to say that Helena Bonham Carter's brilliant portrayal in both movies didn't solidify Bellatrix's position as my favorite character.

Now, on to the sixth movie. Without a doubt, one of the most surprising aspects of the film was how often I laughed. The Potter movies are no stranger to humor by any means but I was thoroughly impressed by the successful balance the film achieved between light comedy and the serious nature of the plot. Daniel Radcliffe made me chuckle genuinely on more than one occasion, Rupert Grint's impassioned and love struck Ron was extremely funny and Emma Watson's timing when evading her date at the party was perfect! All three of them really stepped up to the plate in my opinion and it's refreshing to see young actors continue to grow and maintain such genuine chemistry. And I can't move on without mentioning how much Tom Felton elevated the emotional depth of Draco Malfoy. Gone is the sneering little rich boy, instead Felton portrays Draco as the broken, terrified, and conflicted mess he is.

The other aspect that I was greatly impressed by was the casting. Jim Broadbent was wonderful as Professor Slughorn and Helen McCrory played a perfectly passionate Narcissa Malfoy. I also thought Lavender Brown, played by Jesse Cave, was true to my own imagination's depiction of her and quite funny. Both of the actors who played the young Tom Riddle were appropriately chilling and quietly frightening, as well.

Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman stole the show for me, once again. Both actors are so perfect for J.K. Rowling's characters that I sometimes wonder if she didn't have them in mind when creating them. I would watch this movie over and over if only to see the scenes in which they played.

Of course there were things left out of the film that would have been wonderful to see but I understand the need for editing and the factor of time. One of the story lines, and two of the characters, that I missed most from this film was the Tonks and Lupin relationship. I would have loved to see the tormented Tonks and resolute Lupin as their romance unfolded. I thought J.K. Rowling's realistic depiction of a love that developed in such troubled times deserved a place on the screen. Alas, small sacrifices.

The sixth film stayed remarkably loyal to the book in my opinion and that is one of the greatest gifts a filmmaker can give when developing a book series. The characters we love are where we expect them and doing what we expect them to be doing. David Yates and those responsible for bringing them to life on screen refresh the storyline not by altering it but by supporting it with dazzling effects, beautiful landscapes, superb direction, and a brilliant cast of British actors.

Perhaps I'm biased because I have long been a fan of Harry Potter and I am by no means an expert of film or acting, but what percentage of the Potter audience is? As a fan of the books and previous films however, I find myself reinvested in the characters and their plight as the movie progresses toward the final confrontation.

...Hen

Introductions are in order....

A Twist of Austen is our first foray into the world of blogging and we're very excited to be here! To begin, an explanation: Letty and Henrietta (Hen for short), are two of our favorite heroines brought to life by the wonderful Lauren Willig in the historical fiction 'Pink Carnation' series. We humbly borrow their names for anonymity so all credit for anything 'Pink' related that may pop up on this blog must deservedly go to Ms. Willig. We debated for some time over which nom de plume we would choose and ultimately decided between the aforementioned names and our favorite Austen characters. Letty had picked Anne Elliot and I was torn between Hen and Elizabeth Bennet. In the end we wanted to broaden our blog beyond the (beautiful) realm of Austen, so we begrudgingly left Anne and Lizzy to Jane herself and embraced Letty and Hen.

Letty and I have been friends for quite some time now and one of our greatest similarities is our love for books, movies, music, and the world of pop culture. So we created this place to discuss and share our thoughts with others who may share similar tastes.

I'm sure we will inundate this page with musings on our favorite books, TV shows, films, and music and will no doubt have to reign in the impassioned discussions that ensue. But that is essentially how our conversations run every day, so nothing new there.

...Hen