9 more kick-ass women movies I want to see

Here is yet another installment of my kick-ass women in movies and TV project. Since I’m starting to have trouble keeping track of which movies I’ve already listed, I’ve started up a master list. So far, it has my first 5 lists, and can be found under pages in my sidebar.

Below is the second list of movies that I should see. (To those of you gave me some more recommendations, Thanks!) As in the previous installments, the movies in this list are ordered chronologically.

9 more kick-ass women movies I want to see

  1. Supergirl (1984)
    I really know almost nothing about this one, but I have fairly low expectations from this US-made movie from the darkest depths of the Reagan era. I’m curious, though. We need more women superhero movies.
  2. Swordsman II/Xiao ao jiang hu zhi dong fang bu bai (1991)
    This Brigitte Lin movie has been recommended to me by a new friend and Hong Kong cinema buff. While I’d been curious about this movie in the past, her review of the movie makes me downright eager to see it.
  3. The Swordsman III/Dung fong bat baai 2: fung wan joi hei (1992)
    If I like the second Swordsman, I’m instructed to see the third.
  4. Bride with White Hair 2/Bai fa mo nu zhuan II (1993)
    I haven’t yet seen this sequel, starring Brigitte Lin, even though I already have the DVD in my collection. I should get to it!
  5. Point of No Return (1993)
    Bridget Fonda stars in this La Femme Nikita/Nikita remake. The reviews aren’t as bad as I’d expect from a remake that didn’t need to be made. (Though how many remakes really do? Why is that folks make remakes of the good movies? Ooh. There’s a fun list to make…seriously flawed movies that should be remade.)
  6. Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997)
    Julia Ormond stars in this mystery/thriller. I don’t know too much about it, though I read the book ages ago. (From what I understand, though, the movie makes a pretty big departure from the book.)
  7. The X Files (1998)
    This is the movie, which a friend (a big fan of the show) says she found a bit disappointing. It’s probably still worth considering for Gillian Anderson’s famed role as Scully.
  8. Resident Evil (2002)
    Milla Jovovich stars. Based on the game. Has been recommended to me. Have duly added it to my queue.
  9. Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
    The sequel to the above item.

Some kick-ass women movies I need to see

Here’s another installment in my ongoing project to collect and categorize kick-ass women movies and shows. This is a list of such movies that I haven’t seen yet, but hope to (or should) see someday soon. (This is my fifth list in the series. The first four lists are of movies I’ve seen and loved, or at least enjoyed.)

9 kick-ass women movies I need to see

  1. Coffy (1973)
  2. Foxy Brown (1974)
    Two 70’s classics starring Pam Grier. I’m curious, but wary. Wary of the 70’s mostly, I guess.
  3. Aliens (1986)
  4. Alien 3 (1992)
  5. Alien Resurrection (1997)
    It’s pretty shocking that I’ve never seen any of the movies in the Alien franchise. Especially considering that Sigourney Weaver’s role of Ellen Ripley is legendary in the kick-ass woman genre. These are at the top of my to-see list. (I need to see the first one, too, but I understand that Ripley is not yet too kick-ass yet in that one.)
  6. GI Jane (1997)
    More military than most of the kick-ass women movies I watch. Demi Moore stars in this one as woman in a Navy Seals training.
  7. Die Another Day (2002)
    Halle Berry is supposed pretty good in this, though I’ve heard it’s not a great Bond movie overall.
  8. House of Flying Daggers/Shi mian mai fu (2004)
    I believe this one is supposed to be pretty good. It’s got Zhang Ziyi. I have high hopes.
  9. Elektra (2005)
    This should have been great. I heard it wasn’t. I’d sill like to check it out. Jennifer Garner reprises (somewhat) her role from Daredevil.

rise and shine

Time to get to work! It’s about 8:30, and I just took a shower and got dressed. Mind you, it’s 8:30 p.m.

It’s been a rough day. Phoebe home sick from daycare. John recovering from the flu. Me coming down with a cold. This has not been the productive day I’d planned. Okay, now to get some work done. For real this time.

Look who’s stalking

I was recently telling John (my husband) about something I’d read in “one of the blogs I’ve been stalking.” To which he replied “it’s usually called ‘reading.'”

Oh, right. I suppose it is. But it’s just that I’m only now getting used to this business of dropping by and getting a glimpse into someone’s life and thoughts, without them knowing. I feel like a voyeur. Here I am, sneaking around behind the bushes (following links). Peaking in windows (clicking on old posts). Eavesdropping on conversations (reading comments). Tiptoeing back in the middle of the night to see if anything’s changed (hitting refresh). Wondering if I’m leaving my footprints in the mud (a residual ip address).

Now that I’m actually writing a blog of my own, and learning more about the whole blogging process, I’ve made the following startling discovery: bloggers intentionally leave the blinds open. They actually generally want other people to read what they’ve written. Even total strangers.

So while I still feel like a stalker, I’ve decided to try to be the sort of stalker who clumsily waves hello. And perhaps who leaves the occasional calling card. (I’m adding to my blogroll…)

last minute gift ideas for folks who have everything

Running out of time for holiday shopping? Tired of spending lots of money on wasteful gifts that people don’t need? Here are some creative, thrifty and useful last-minute gift ideas that anyone can put together. Enjoy!

  • Everyone loves holiday treats! Cakes, candies, cookies and the seasonal favorite, fruitcake. Chances are, Aunt Martha will already have eaten too much of these. So how about giving her a festive jar of antacids? Mix up a variety of Tums, Rolaids, perhaps some chewable Pepto-Bismol. Use that tree-shaped jar you got candy in from your coworker.
  • Out of ideas for the in-laws? Consider a bouquet of toothbrushes, toothpicks, toothpaste and of course, floss. Get some of that green foamy stuff they use for floral centerpieces and shove some stuff in. Voila! An attractive array that will brighten up those smiles.
  • Show your loved ones you care! Give some support for the tough months of the cold and flu season. Dad won’t sneeze at his gift basket featuring a box of Kleenex (make sure they’re not used!), a package of decongestant and some cough drops. If you’re feeling particularly generous, throw in a couple bottles of Nyquil, one red and one green. So festive!
  • Why go for the pricey perfume? Your sister will surely appreciate other scented options just as much. Go for the improve-your-smell assortment. Breath mints, underarm deodorants and room deodorizers. And what could say Christmas more than the little tree-shaped car air freshener?
  • Uncle Bill will surely appreciate a new pair of rubber gloves, a scrub brush and some dish detergent. Worried he won’t have a use for them right away? Include a used coffee mug. (That one with the kitten in a santa hat you got from your office secret santa will be just the thing!)
  • You know how people package up pretty little kits to make cookies, smores or other desserts? Instead, offer Mom a do-it-yourself set for a traditional delight that will surely make her nostalgic: grilled cheese! A loaf of bread, a stick of butter, and a package of American cheese. (Nothing says “I love you” like individually wrapped slices of pasteurized processed cheese food!) For an extra finished look, place these items in that big tin with the ice-skating teddy bears that you got cookies in last year. (Shake out the crumbs, though. You don’t want to be tacky.)
  • Jingle bells. Singing chipmunks. Bing. Nothing says holiday cheer more than those old standard Christmas tunes. That we get to hear again and again. And again. What better way to help than to give the gift of pain relief? Advil. Stick a bow on it.
  • And finally, what do you do when you realize last minute that there’s one more person you forgot to buy for? Give the gift guaranteed to be regifted: wrapping paper! Gift wrap up those last remnants of gift wrap and bows. As an extra bonus, you won’t need to put your gift wrap away. It’s all taken care of!

    • Flashback episode

    Remember that time when I wrote about needing to finish my paper? And then I wrote about how I finished it? That was so cool. And then there was that time when I wrote I was going to write about kick-ass women movies and stuff, and then I wrote some lists about kick-ass women movies? And then I wrote my fourth list like that? And remember that time when Fonzie jumped the shark?

    I just realized. I’ve now been blogging here for 1 month. So I thought it would be a good chance to reflect on what I’ve done. In the spirit of the clip show. Or maybe I’ll just reflect on clip shows.

    Clip shows are a longstanding TV tradition. And one that’s likely to continue. Sadly.

    And they really don’t work when you buy a DVD box set and watch episodes basically back-to-back. For instance, I recently discovered Alias, a fun show with a great kick-ass woman protagonist. We bought the first season on DVD, and proceeded to work our way through the discs in rapid succession. And then towards the end of the season, we got to the clip show. In the great tradition of a wafer-thin pretense to show some clips, the episode was “cleverly” set up as an interview between a government interrogator and the main character:

    Interrogator: You’ve been working for a dangerous really, really bad organzation pretending to be the good guys. You claim that you didn’t know. Why should we believe you?

    Agent Sydney Bristow: In my defense, check out these clips. [Some clips are aired.]

    Interrogator: I see that you wore a number of different disguises.

    Agent Sydney Bristow: Yes, that’s true. Many of them involving wigs. And look at these additional clips. [More clips.]

    Interrogator: Wow. You sure used a lot of neato gadgets. Plus you spoke in different accents. I’m convinced.

    It’s kinda hard to get nostalgic for episodes that you just saw within the last few days…On the other hand, my favorite clip show/flashback episode of all time is the second episode of Clerks, the animated series. (Yes, the second episode. Which includes flashbacks from the all the previous episodes.)

    Hey, remember that time when I wrote about clip shows? That was awesome.

    Another 9 kick-ass women movies

    Here’s another installment in my endeavor to catalogue, critique, and otherwise classify movies, shows and other media that prominently feature kick-ass women. This is my fourth list of movies. The first three lists contained more of my all-time favorite movies (or at least those movies I know better), but this list still includes some great movies (or at least some movies that have great kick-ass women roles). At some point soon, the lists will be moving into the following territories:

    A pre-list list of upcoming lists:

    • Movies that I hear are good, which appear to have very kick-ass women, but which I have (shamefully) not yet seen
    • Movies in which there are some great kick-ass women, though with roles that are less central
    • Movies with kick-ass women where either the characters or the movies themselves were disappointing (or just plain awful)
    • Movies that I haven’t seen, but heard or suspect are crap, but which I should probably still see anyhow.
    • TV shows! I’m happy to say that TV has many more kick-ass women characters than in the days when Cathy Gale and Emma Peel first fought their way onto the small screen. I’ll likely start with my favorites.

    And then at some point, my plan is to devise a rating scheme whereby I can actually rank the movies, shows and kick-ass women characters.

    Okay, onto the real list. Like the previous lists, these movies will be ordered chronologically.

    Another 9 kick-ass women movies

    1. A View to a Kill (1985)
      Grace Jones (Mayday) played an atypical “Bond Girl” role in this one. Not restricted to the role of pillowy soft femininity to bolster the masculinity of Bond.
    2. La Femme Nikita/Nikita (1990)
      This is an important movie that probably should have appeared on one of my earlier lists. Anyhow, a great movie, and a great role. Anne Parillaud kicks ass in style. And in French. Perhaps even in French style.
    3. Thelma & Louise (1991)
      This is more about kick-ass strength of character than ass-kicking action, but this movie is still a classic of the kick-ass women genre. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon take no prisoners.
    4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
      It’s not the amazingly great TV show, but still fun. Kristy Swanson’s portrayal of Buffy is still worthy of being labelled kick-ass.
    5. League of Their Own (1992)
      I’m not generally a big fan of sports movies, but this one is worth mentioning, especially since it’s based on some real-life women who kicked ass, in their way.
    6. Iron Monkey/ Siu nin Wong Fei Hung ji Tit Ma Lau (1993)
      Jean Wang plays a supporting role, but holds her own and kicks ass along with Donnie Yen. This movie also scores extra points because the kick-ass young boy in the movie was actually played by a kick-ass young girl. And it’s a great martial arts movie, overall.
    7. Supercop 2/Chao ji ji hua (1993)
      It may be pretty clear that I am a big fan of Michelle Yeoh. In this one, she reprises her role from Supercop (the one with Jackie Chan). It wasn’t a super movie, but it did have some super ass-kicking scenes.
    8. X-Men (2000)
      While this movie gets points for having women superheroes, I actually found the X-Women to be a wee bit wimpy. Especially in the fight scenes–they only kick moderate ass. On the other hand, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique counterbalances with a more impressive display of ass-kicking, and is menacing to boot.
    9. Mrs. & Mrs. smith (2005)
      I can’t say I loved this movie, but I did appreciate the kick-assedness of Angelina Jolie’s character.

    Fait accompli: incomplete complete

    At least, I hope it’s complete. I’m happy to say that I have turned in my paper for my damn incomplete. My professor had set my new deadline as December 15th, and remarkably, I sent in the paper this evening. Over an hour ago. On the 14th. A whole day early. That is, in itself, a newsworthy event.

    My paper was for a Field Methods class I took last fall. Looking at Palestinian Arabic. I looked at intonation. And funny thing, Palestinian Arabic intonation looks shockingly similar to English intonation. Who’d a thunk it? (There’s the short version of my paper.)

    This is not about “ass”

    As may be painfully obvious to me some day as I look back on these early posts, I am new to blogging. Today, I’ve learned an interesting lesson.

    It turns out, Technorati has something to learn about compound words, and perhaps about metaphorical usage. You see, a compound does not necessarily equal the sum of its composite elements. Someone writing about, say, the Whitehouse is not talking about the color white and houses. We all know that.

    I’ve recently been writing posts about women (real-life and fictional characters) in film, TV and other entertainment industries whom I have admired. I feel that these women “kick ass,” in the metaphorical sense. I have been terming such women “kick-ass women.” A compound with a hyphen. Much like “dog-ear.” An expression, which I’m sure you know, refers neither to dogs, nor to ears. To dog-ear a book is to fold down the corner of a page (or pages) of a book to mark your place. You see, it’s a compound term, as well as a metaphor. While there may be some visual resemblance to the floppy ears of a doggy, we’re not talking dogs, and we’re certainly not talking ears.

    Anyhow, I just pinged Technorati last night, after discovering that my blog wasn’t getting hit by their search engine. And I have 3 new hits for the Technorati tag “ass.”

    In a way, it kind of amuses me that folks looking for porn will stumble across my site. ‘Cause they’re not gonna find any here. Of course, now someone will probably find this post by searching for keywords “ass” and “porn.” I’m screwed. Oh right, let’s add “screwed” to the mix. Perhaps with all this talk of compounding, we’ll even get “pounding” thrown into the mix. Oh right, we will now. (Oh crap, I just realized I’ve also used the word “doggy.” Nooo!)