Monday, September 17, 2012

Alex J. Cavanaugh's Genre Favorites Blogfest

Welcome to another Monday!  Two more weeks until my first speaking engagement at AuthorFest of the Rockies, just shy of a month before my next speaking engagement.  Funnily enough, both ended up falling on weekends when Cons are also being held, so I'm trying to figure out if I'll be able to attend my first fan con in October.  I can just miss a couple hours, right?

I am behind on responding to comments, but hope to catch up today.  Sorry about that!  You know I'm good for it, though, right??  I will always respond and visit you guys back; sometimes I may just be a little late about it.

Moving on, today is Alex J. Cavanaugh's Genre Favorites Blogfest.


Favorite Movie Genre:

As with all these genres, it's hard for me to pick just one, especially as I tend to go through phases where one type of thing consumes me, then is replaced by something else.

For this category, I will go with...wow, I just waffled right there after having chosen one.  Let's see.  My favorite movie genre right now is action movies.  Sometimes I'm in a horror mood, sometimes in a comedy mood, but right now I'm liking me some action movies.  They're like empty calories.  I don't have to think while watching them, and right now I need to be able to phase out and watch a movie, take in some explosions, enjoy some cheesy one-liners, absorb the fantastic special effects, etc.  I need a little snark in my action movies, thus I really enjoy Iron Man, for instance.  You can't beat Robert Downey, Jr. for snark.  Plus, he's hot, and there some ass kicking.  What more can a girl ask for?

 Favorite Music Genre:

I'm going to say a pretty widely encompassing genre for this one: rock.  It can be hard, alternative, mainstream, whatever.  I enjoy something with a good, hard, rhythmic beat, something that makes me want to move, sometimes to sing along, and always to feel that pulse running through me.  Sometimes I need it angsty.  Sometimes I need it sexy.  Sometimes I need to be taken back to my teenage years.  Rock can do it all.

Favorite Book Genre:

My automatic response tends to be horror, because that was my all-time favorite genre for, well, two decades, really.

However, I would consider urban fantasy my current favorite (inclusive of YA).  There are several UF authors whose books I automatically snatch up when they come out, and I can't say that about any other genres at the moment.  As with action movies, I expect a little snark and sarcasm to really get me into the story.  I especially like those UF books that are moving away from the vampire theme, or who have that as a minor portion of the story, rather than the main.  I enjoy UF because of the often clever ways they wrap supernatural creatures into the world we live in now, especially when they do so believably.

My Guilty Pleasure:

I'd have to say my guilty pleasure is horror comedy.  You know the type?  Lake Placid, Tremors, movies with horror factors that make me laugh, and not simply because they're cheesy, though they do all tend to have a "spoof" factor to them, as well.  They have main characters with great comedic timing: Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward in Tremors; Oliver Platt and Betty White in Lake Placid.  But in those movies, it wasn't just the main characters.  The entire casts worked so well together, played off each other, delivered their lines perfectly, that I couldn't help but love them, no matter how cheesy the giant ketchup filled worms might have looked.  I've now added Cabin in the Woods to this genre.  The people in the control room were hysterical, so callous and yet so funny.  I like it when the jumps are interspersed with laughter.  I cheered when I finally got to see the Angry Molesting Tree from the white board (though I was taken down a notch when I watched Evil Dead and saw how molesty the original AMT was...unpleasant).  In short, these are the horror flicks that don't take themselves seriously, yet still deliver.

Those are my favorites; what are yours?  Do you have a strong favorite in each, or are they interchangeable for you?  Do you go through phases?

May you find your Muse.

49 comments:

Rebecca said...

i tend to go through phases my favorite things tend to change from week to week depending on my mood

Come Say HI

Arlee Bird said...

Great picks. My wife's favorite genre is Action packed films and that's okay with me. And "Rock and Roll is here to stay".

I'm looking forward to hearing about your speaking gig.


Lee
Genre Favorites Blogfest
Wrote By Rote

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Love your favourites, I wrote about rock "n roll.

Yvonne.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Those horror movies aren't guilty pleasures - I enjoyed Tremors and Lack Placid. (White really cusses up a storm, doesn't she?) And you're a rocker chick - awesome.
Thanks for participating in my blogfest!

Huntress said...

I think we could easily sit and enjoy a movie or book together. I'll buy the popcorn :)

Great choices.

M.J. Fifield said...

I think snark in an action movie is a must. Of course, I think snark is a must in just about everything. =)

Dani said...

I love Tremors! These are really great picks!

Nancy Thompson said...

I will always love Nirvana!

Isis Rushdan said...

Love action movies and anything RDJ is in :). Nice to meet you.

Unknown said...

guilty reveal... is awesome... and wink if you love iron man... see you are winking too.

Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]
Howlin' Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine

mshatch said...

I concur completely re: Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr. Hot and a little snarky :)

And Tremors. Ha! "We plan ahead so we don't have to do anything now." or something like that. Evolution with David Duchovny and Julianne Moore is funny like that. Might qualify as guilty pleasure. Except I don't feel guilty.

Unknown said...

Horror comedies are a great choice. My favourite so far is Dog Soldiers.


Jamie @ Mithril Wisdom

Jeremy Bates said...

We pretty much share the same tatses to a tee. If you are into comedy horror, you must track down "Blood On the Highway." It was made in the U.S. and has a cult following in Europe. It is hilariously horror at its best.

Cheers.

Jennie Bennett said...

huh, I didn't pin you as a horror gal (I have no idea why) but I guess that makes sense! :)

Allison said...

I love Robert Downey Jr. too. Now there's a man who can act.

Allison (Geek Banter)

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

As a romantic, I don't like horror at all. It's a good thing everyone doesn't like the same thing.

Nice to meet you at the blogfest!

Monti
Mary Montague Sikes

D.G. Hudson said...

Tremors was like a B-version of the DUNE worm, but no one worshipped this one. That was a tense movie, even if cheesy.

My responses are heavy on the scifi and music by Bob Dylan.

LD Masterson said...

I wish I'd been counting all the people who included cheesy horror movies as their guilty pleasure as I've hopped through Alex's blogfest. Way more than I would have expected.

unikorna said...

You're a horror lady..so lovely..I also enjoy horror, but I choose carefully the moments I watch or read smth of this genre...because last time I happened to be home alone and I couldn't sleep one minute. Rock on!!

M Pax said...

Horror can be a fun read. Amityville Horror made me scream my head off when I was a teen. I looked up and saw two red eyes, figured it was those Jodie eyes. Nope, just tail lights, but I sure screamed.

E. M. Prokop said...

I tend to go through all consuming phases as well..I can relate to that..I've never been much into horror...I'm too much of a scaredy cat for that!

Julie Flanders said...

Haha Tremors is a perfect guilty pleasure. And I've just been getting into Urban Fantasy as well, a year or so ago I didn't even know what it was! One of the best things about blogging is learning about so many great genres I never paid attention to before.

Cherie Reich said...

Such great choices! I love Iron Man, and horror comedy is so much fun!

Unknown said...

Yay for Urban Fantasy and NOT horror! I read The Shining when I was young and it completely terrified me.

James Garcia Jr said...

Hello, Shannon. I'm still working my way through the list. Darn day jobs!
In any event, being a horror writer and all, I have to stop and say hello whenever anyone has anything positive to say about the genre.
You also cracked me up with the Lake Placid shout-out. That film cracked me up. I'll never forget Betty White in that and her filthy mouth. So funny!
Thanks for sharing.

-Jimmy
http://jamesgarciajr.blogspot.com/

Shannon Lawrence said...

Becca, exactly how it is with me.

Lee, I'm looking forward to being done with it, but I'm also excited about it, so that is good. I'm certain my hubby is not sad that I love action flicks.

Yvonne, thanks to Lee, I now have the song "Rock n' Roll is Here to Stay" stuck in my head, but there ya' go.

Alex, I absolutely love Betty White in LP! She had some truly choice profanities in that movie, that's for sure.

Huntress, sounds good to me! I'll sneak in the chocolate.

M.J., I'm inclined to agree (in case you couldn't tell by my choices, haha). Snark is magnificent.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Danielle, it's a great movie, isn't it? I just watched it again the other day.

Nancy, me, too! I still listen to Nirvana regularly.

Isis, great to meet you! Oh yes, anything with RDJ is a winner.

Jeremy, definitely winking!

Marcy, yes, Evolution is fantastic, as well! And David Duchovny is another master of snark. His delivery is so deadpan; I love that.

Jamie, I am stunned; I have not seen Dog Soldiers. Will definitely have to look that one up and check it out.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Jeremy, I will definitely look that one up. Thanks for the recommend! That reminds me of a horror/comedy book I really liked by Ian T. Healy called Blood on the Ice. Great book!

J.A., really? I love horror. I should definitely step up the horror fannage on here. ;-p I also write it, though only in short form for whatever reason. My novel-length books always end up fantasy.

Allison, no doubt! Adore that man.

Monti, definitely good everyone doesn't have the same tastes. There'd be so much less out there to enjoy, and I tend to like a wide range in everything.

D.G., I never made that connection, but good point!

LD, there has to be a reason they still make it, right?



Shannon Lawrence said...

Petronela, horror rarely keeps me up, but you know what does? True crime. I get all kinds of jumpy after a deeply disturbing true crime novel. People are scary!

Mary, that's great! Amityville was a scary story. Somehow it became scarier to me when I found out a friend's dad had lived in Amityville. I guess it made it seem more real to me?

Eve, I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes through phases like that.

Julie, I've only been reading it a couple of years, as well. I had no idea it was called that, though, and was considering it Horror Light.

Cherie, Iron Man is even my favorite Avenger!

Rachel, ooooh, that is such a good book! Have you seen the episode of Friends where Joey and Rachel are so scared by it that they put it in the freezer? I got a little placard about that from The Stanley, where the story was based (called The Overlook in the book).

Jimmy, she had such a fantastic filthy mouth! And you are way ahead of me. I've barely visited anyone and am trying to catch up a bit tonight.

Brinda said...

I could hang out with you! All of your choices are great. I almost went with action movies myself. Nice to meet you in the hop.

Bish Denham said...

So many people like horror. I must be missing something... :)

Unknown said...

Very good choices all around - I will give you a thumbs up!

Chippy said...

Ooh Robert Downey Jr. You know my brother's girlfriend actually tried to argue that Chris Evans is better than Robert... the girl's insane!

Have you ever seen Shaun of the Dead? That's a British horror comedy - very funny in my opinion

farawayeyes said...

Hey Shannon, nice to meet you.

Can't say that I rally like horror, but those horror/comedy, almost cheesy movies like 'Tremors' are fun.

Morgan said...

What a great blog! New follower here... It definitely is all about the Urban Fantasy... for sure! But horror? Gaaaaah... ;)

Anonymous said...

I gave up horror...nerves couldn't take it. ;)

Nice to meet you, Shannon. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Action flicks and rock music? Sounds good to me! :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I love Lake Placid and Tremors. I have to watch Cabin in the Woods. A few people have mentioned it on this blogfest.

Livia Peterson said...

I do not like horror flicks or books. They scare the heck out of me and I end of having nightmares. I love chick flicks and inspirational stories.

Tamara said...

Hey Shannon,

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Robert Downey Jr. And the Iron Man movies are the best superhero movies in my opinion. I just love that they had a cool, intelligent premise on HOW this guy became a superhero.

He wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider. He didnt' drop in from another world. He had to build a weaponized suit to escape terrorists. How awesome is that, right? haha.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Nice to meet you!!

Elise Fallson said...

Hi Shannon,

Thanks for stopping by my blog. We do have similar tastes, but I'm not a big fan of horror these days. I recently read Armstrong's book No Humans Involved having never picked up an Armstrong book before. And overall I liked it. It was refreshing to read about a MC that isn't a virginal teenager. (:

Ellie Garratt said...

Tremors! I love that film. It's a classic of the cheesy horror genre.

Good luck with AuthorFest. I'm sure you will be brilliant!

Kelly Polark said...

I love your sentence, "Rock can do it all."
I agree! :)

DMS said...

Great post! I love Robert Downey- and he is snarky! Also- I am a big fan or rock- I like that there are different types of rock to fit my varied moods. :)
~jess

Cynthia said...

Thanks for visiting my blog recently. I like dark comedy, which I suppose could be a close cousin to horror comedy.

Mike said...

Rock is good. I like your guilty pleasure I know I have laughed through a few horror movies

Golden Eagle said...

I have strong favorites in most categories, but I do go through phases of liking something in a completely different genre.

Tia Bach said...

I love snark, too, and Robert Downey, Jr. Yum! And I definitely go through phases. I'm a bit of scared-cat, so horror movies aren't usually my go-to.

And, yes, I'm just now getting around to a lot of these posts. Good thing they are all so enjoyable to read!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Brinda, we'd have a great time then!

Bish, maybe horror distracts us from the real horrors of life?

C.M, why thank you!

Chippy, that girl is DEFINITELY insane! What!? And yes, I have seen that. Just watched it for the billionth time recently; perfect example of what I was talking about!

Farawayeyes, nice to meet you, as well!

Morgan, welcome! 1 out of 2 ain't bad!

Linda, I can understand that. Nice to meet you, too!

Carrie, even when combined!

Susan, I hope you like it!

Livia, it's wonderful that we can each have different tastes!

Tamara, I agree! His background is dark, yet different from what you usually see in a superhero movie.

Elise, I'm glad you liked it! I enjoyed the earlier ones the best, I think. Bitten and Stolen are interesting.

Ellie, Val and Earl are the best, aren't they?

Kelly, yes! It can be so many things.

Jess, me, too! One kind can work when I'm sad, another when I'm angry, another when I'm inspired. It's so great all around.

Cynthia, I like dark comedy, too, and I agree that they could be cousins.

Mike, it's great to be able to be scared and amused at the same time, isn't it? Even when you're technically not mean to laugh...

Golden Eagle, phases keep our lives interesting, I think.

Tia, I STILL haven't gotten around to everyone, so no judgment here!