Katarina Stratford: Ten things I hate about you

Katarina Stratford

10 Things I hate about you

Julia Stiles

‘Why should I live up to other people’s expectations instead of my own?’

The character is loosely based on Shakespeare’s character of the same name, from Taming of the Shrew, well sorry actually the film itself is based on the play. She’s a strong willed individual, standing out within her first scene, as she pulls up alongside a gang of stereotypically perky American teenage girls, in a battered vintage car listening to Joan Jett.

I related to her, because of her reluctance to conform, she doesn’t let the fact that her father, her teachers and her sister would like her to behave in a certain way, compromise what she wants for herself, and her own preferences. It was probably one of the first characters that I saw in a high school film, that I actually connected with on that level.

I loved her dry wit, and the fact that she will stand up for people that she cares for, the scene when Patrick’s in detention for singing to her on the football field, showing that particular quality, clip uploaded by Raphaella Grego. However, it’s the fact that she has the strength to be vulnerable emotionally, the scene when she reads her poem always touches me, due obviously to Stiles’ performance, clip uploaded by nalbi dat.

I found this great article on Buzzfeed which sums up several of the admirable qualities that Katarina possesses, entitled The Kat Stratford Guide To Being An Awesome Feminist.

Another article which expresses some of the reasons that I still really like this character, and use her as a template for my own strong female characters, is 10 reasons why Kat Stratford should still be your #1 hero.

Fan videos dedicated to the character

Background song: Misfit video created by mcflygaga

Background song: Bitch video created by Natália Tamaio

Buffy Anne Summers: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy Summers: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy Anne Summers

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Buffy was a extraordinary character, written to want nothing more or less than everyone wants, just to have a normal high school experience when we first meet her. The emotional strength and selflessness which remains a strong part of her character is glimpsed throughout the first season, and is especially evident in the final episode, when she decides to face the Master. It’s Sarah Michelle Gellar’s delivery of the character, and handling of the scene when Buffy realises what Giles doesn’t want to tell her, which was the definitive moment for me. I admired the character before that, but that moment was when I truly empathized with her.

 She’s never written to be perfect or without negative qualities, which could have been the case in the hands of another writer. She’s obviously very physically strong, athletic, very pretty, with a quick wit and a kind heart, but she’s also just finding her way.

She makes missteps, and gets things wrong, just like we all do. The independence and determination to keep things neatly compartmentalised is what leads to the end of her romantic relationship with Riley. Although Buffy is essentially driven by her emotions, the break up with Angel, and the brief relationship with Parker seemed to make her more reserved, keeping Riley at arms’ length even during her mother’s initial illness.

The amount of things that Buffy was seen to deal with throughout the seven seasons, would have caused most to collapse, and Buffy did have phases when her duty was too much for her, most notably during the first season finale, third season premiere and fifth season finale, but she always picked up the burden. That level of responsibility and selflessness are definitely two traits to be admired.

There are loads of fan videos and fan sites dedicated to Buffy Summers, but this one seems to distill most of the reasons that she was and is a incredible character. Not just a remarkable female, or a fantasy character but a remarkable character full stop.  A fan video created by Yatta13694

Amy Pond: Doctor Who

Amy Pond

Doctor Who

Karen Gillan

It took me a while to warm properly to Amy. I liked her well enough, in her first few episodes as she followed the trend of the modern era Doctor Who of having the companions initially be people who weren't quite sure of where their life was heading. She was clearly wanting to have something more exciting to do, than living in such a small place, and working as a kissogram.

She was funny, sure, and clearly quite forthright. She didn't seem to be nervous about showing her attraction to the Doctor, and it provided a few comedic moments particularly in her first episode.

It was the episode with Vincent Van Gogh that I really connected with her, though. Gillan portrayed Amy's confusion over the fact that she was sad, about Rory's loss, even though she didn't remember why, brilliantly. The connection that was developed between her and Van Gogh, the two confused redheads was brilliantly played and written, and the scene in the art gallery was wonderful uploaded by Doctor Who

I liked the fact that Amy is, so far, the first companion to travel alongside her husband, and the Dinosaur on the Spaceship episode showcased all three members of the Pond-Williams family to be seen on screen very well. It showed Amy's forthright nature and the fact that she refused to allow the big game hunter to dismiss her, simply because of her being a young woman.

She remained strong-willed throughout her character arc, but like Rose before her slowly came to realise that she needed to allow others in a bit more. It became clear throughout her tenure as a companion, just how important Rory was in Amy's life, and I loved the fact that the two of them travelled as a married couple. I think that it might be the first time that the series has had a married couple travelling together with the Doctor. The final moment before they decide to jump and remain in the past was incredibly emotionally affecting, both Darvill and Gillan were remarkable in the scene, uploaded by Doctor Who

It's her sarcastic nature and her ability to empathise with people that really won me over, and that's the reason that she is one of my favourite characters.

Fan Videos

Background song: Katy Perry's Roar. created by redhairandbowties1

Background song: The Power of Love created by Annie The Fan Girl

Urban Legend

Urban Legend

Starring Alicia Witt, Joshua Jackson, Tara Reid, Jared Leto, Rebecca Gayheart, and Michael Rosenbaum

This horror movie revolves around a group of college students, who are being targeted by a killer in a parka who uses urban legends to kill. Stories like the man with an axe in the backseat, and the dog who is dried in the microwave, are included.

Witt’s Natalie is the hero of the story, it’s her that we really follow, as she tries to solve who is responsible both for the deaths of her friends, and the mystery of what happened on the campus in 1973, when students were murdered. She’s a reasonably likeable character, and I did feel pity for her when her high school friend dies at the beginning of the movie.

It’s a reasonable film, albeit one with generic characters. I mean Witt’s the quiet girl with the dark past. Rosenbaum’s Parker Riley is the party animal. Jackson’s character Damon Brooks is the joker. Leto’s the earnest reporter Paul Gardner. Tara Reid plays the sexually confident radio host Sasha. Rebecca Gayheart’s Brenda is Natalie’s best friend with a crush on Paul. There’s also Danielle Harris’ Tosh, Natalie’s goth roommate, among the college aged characters.

I think the idea of having a killer using urban legends to exact revenge, was kind of a good idea in theory, but wasn’t great in reality, especially the idea to have them wear a parka as their disguise for the majority of the film.

There were a few humorous moments, especially when Damon pretends that his stomach is going to explode from eating popping candy mixed with coke. There are some gross moments, particularly bad for me was the dog in the microwave.

Trailer uploaded by CappaZack

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park

I love this film, it’s got incredible special effects, and I remember liking the fact that Lex, the elder of John Hammond’s grandchildren is instrumental in saving the survivors in the final few scenes when I was a kid. I was eleven or twelve when the film first came out and was blown away by the special effects, the first time that the dinosaurs are revealed, was just as awe inspiring for me, as it was for the characters. Extraordinary!

My brother had a fascination with dinosaurs, like so many boys developed after the film came out. I can’t quite remember if he liked them first, and then developed a greater fascination after watching the film, but he did have loads of models. Anyway, he had a Triceratops before the film, and I was fascinated by the fact that the filmmakers had somehow managed to make a living and breathing version of the animal onscreen.

I’ve come to realise that Dr Grant’s not exactly the best person to deal with kids, though, the scene with the little boy at the dig shows that he’s incredibly short tempered at the start. How did the kid get to the dig?

There are plenty of impressive stunts, and the special effects still hold up today, a truly remarkable thing seeing as it’s 22 years old. I remember several scenes vividly, despite not having seen it for quite a few years. The scene just before the T-Rex is revealed to have escaped has been parodied quite often throughout the years, with good reason, How did they do this?

The scene with the kids and the raptors in the kitchen have stuck in my mind too. How would you stay calm with raptors so close? I remember being in awe of the kids thinking so clearly in such a dangerous situation, the first time that I watched it.

It was realistic, the reactions of certain characters, I mean you would hope that you would react like Dr Grant or Ian Malcolm if children were in danger, but it’s understandable that the flight mode would click in first.

The warmth that Richard Attenborough brought to the role of John Hammond is one of the reasons that I’m really glad that they didn’t stick rigidly to the book, and let him make it all the way to the end.

All of the performances that I recall were good, but Goldblum’s sarcastic and yet heroic mathematician, Attenborough, and Ariana Richards’ playing Lex were my personal favourites.

Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman

I doubt that many people have no knowledge at all of this movie, seeing as it was in some ways the start of the nineties fascination with romantic comedies. But just in case you haven’t seen it, the basic plot is that Richard Gere is an uptight executive called Edward, and he happens to Julia Roberts’ character Vivienne, a laid back prostitute while having some car trouble.

She drives him back to his hotel, and through a brief conversation with his lawyer, he invites Vivienne to spend the week with him, posing as his girlfriend for a series of business meetings. The man whose business Edward wants to take over is quite old fashioned, big on family values. Anyway, Vivienne accepts, and the two fall in love over the week.

It’s chock full of funny moments, such as the first shopping scene, when Edward has asked Vivienne to get herself a dress for dinner. The sales assistant on Rodeo Drive isn’t exactly pleasant, in the clip uploaded by digitizellc. Vivienne and her roommate are quite funny together, and I liked the strength that Roberts gave the character. She might be down on her luck, but she won’t let anyone take her for granted, or demean her. It’s a great scene when she stands up to the snobby sales assistant, Uploaded by Dominik Ferenczy

Even though it’s not exactly realistic, I mean that the couple would fall in love over the course of a week, and make it work given their very different backgrounds, it’s a sweet movie, with a lot of sexual chemistry between Roberts and Gere, regardless of how attracted the two actors reportedly were to each other uploaded by MARCOS EC.

The ending has become quite iconic, and I bet some women are still, in their heart of hearts waiting for their Richard Gere to sweep them off their feet. Uploaded by Romantic Scene

In some ways it’s the film that set the blueprint for all the romantic comedies that followed, seeing as there’s a couple who are from different financial situations, or coming at the world in different ways, they aren’t really friends at first, but then grow close over the movie, and learn to respect each other’s point of view. There’s a separation which often in the subsequent romantic comedies is through an argument or some kind of truth being revealed, and then a public gesture of affection at the end which solves everything.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Starring Robert Downey Jnr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Colbie Smulders, Samuel L Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. 

Teaser Trailer

Synopsis: The Avengers reassemble to take on an artificial intelligence called Ultron who has a world destroying agenda.

Most of the things that were so great about the first Avengers movie are still present in this one. Whedon’s swift wit, and character driven moments popping up alongside the remarkable special effects, and well-crafted fight scenes.

It was nice to see another woman joining the Avengers’ roster, Olsen’s Scarlet Witch/ Wanda is someone that I’ve no knowledge of, but she was one of the more memorable characters. I liked the interplay between her and her brother, (Taylor-Johnson) they actually seemed like siblings. It was also a nice scene between her and Renner, when he’s trying to convince her to join the final fight, in the made up country of Sovokia in Eastern Europe, he does all the talking, and she’s silent, it made me laugh.

I really like the character Natasha, she was one of the things I liked the most about the first Avengers movie, and Whedon had given Johansson the opportunity to show elements from Natasha’s past and her softer side in the scenes opposite Ruffalo. Although I liked the idea of seeing other aspects of Natasha’s character, I did feel that the romance element kind of came out of nowhere, I don’t remember there being anything romantic between Natasha and Bruce in the first movie. Admittedly there have been three years between the two films, so there might well have been something in the comic books referencing the advancement of their relationship, that I’m unaware of. I actually thought that the creators of the movies were going to put Captain America and Black Widow together, after seeing them interact in the second Captain America movie, they were very flirtatious for quite a few scenes.

The conflict between Captain American and Iron Man in this one seems to be laying the groundwork for the Civil War that is supposed to be part of the third Captain America movie. Although some of it’s played for laughs, but the scene when Bruce and Tony are preparing to insert Jarvis’s consciousness into the body that Ultron intended for himself, and Steve accompanied by Wanda and her twin try to stop him shows how far their friendship could fracture, given their differing world views.

I was also surprised, just like the rest of the Avengers were, when it was revealed that Barton had a wife and two children, with one more on the way. The character hasn’t had much dialogue admittedly, in his appearances, but it was still a surprise. The interplay between Renner and Cardellini was nice, and they actually had a good chemistry in the few scenes that Cardellini appeared in.

Another surprise was the fact that neither Jane Foster or Pepper Potts made an appearance, even during the scenes featuring Iron Man and Thor’s worst nightmares. They were mentioned during an early party scene but that was it. So if you’re a particular fan of those relationships or characters you will be disappointed.

It’s a fun movie, with a lot of positives, if you like superhero movies like I do, although it wasn’t as good as the first one. Loki, the first movie’s villain was a lot more memorable than Ultron, due to Tom Hiddleston’s performance and chemistry with Hemsworth and Downey Jnr in particular.

Video created by CinemaSins: Everything wrong with Avengers: Age of Ultron