The Pretty Pistol Reports

ACTING: I so don't care about the latest American Apparel model looking ingenue getting methody

2011-11-10T17:25:00.008-05:00

Can we cool it with the creaming our pants, everytime a glamorous actress martyrizes herself by putting on a semi-decent methody performance? When did the documentary aspect of how much torture these actresses put themselves through become more important than how these characters function in the actual narratives? Is it really THAT interesting and revelatory to us, that if an actress puts in the hard work to immerse herself in the psychosis of a character, that it'll result in a good performance?? I don't appreciate being told how AHMAAAAZING a movie is, just to end up seeing a marginally interesting (or sometimes just downright one note and witless) movie that couldn't be saved by the much lauded female lead performance du jour by the likes of Michelle Williams and Jennifer Lawrence.

To be honest, I've been burned enough times now, that I don't actually bother going to see these movies, but I'm still sick of people cooing about these movies and performances during award seasons, and having to field questions from beloved friends and not so beloved acquaintances, who are all like "You haven't seen Martha Marcy May Marlene??? But you're a film buff, you'd love it!!!!!!!" No bitch! I would not! I'd be bored and frustrated, and only mildly engaged at best. But most of all, I hate the feeling of "But what if I'm wrong???" What if the prediction I've made based on the downright scientific methodology I've cultivated over many years of being a hardcore film nerd*, that it'd be a waste of my time, based on a measured survey of various reviews, assessment of past works by involved creators, the general taste level of the people who recommend it, etc. But when I have given these things the benefit of the doubt and Netflixed these movies, time and time again, I find that there are very few suprises in life.

*Please note that this is not a smarmy attempt at a humblebrag. This is a straight up brag, and I don't mind admitting it. ;)

KOREAN DAD EMAIL: Ruminatin' on Sarah Palin

2011-06-13T12:56:00.005-04:00

Another exciting installment- accompanied by a link to a Korean news article, which, as usual, is not readable on my computer...

*************************************************************************************

From: Heehwan Lee [mailto:heehwanlee@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2011 12:12 PM
To: Lee, Virginia
Subject: RE: from RH

How are you?

A woman in Korea sued the government for $7 billion. She claimed
that the government failed to provide proper compensation for her
blessings and prayers for the country while it prosper because of them.
The court dropped the case citing she is suffering from bipolar disorder.

I think she is the most similar person in the world to Sarah Palin.

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/06/13/2011061301383.html?news_Head1

MOVIE: James L. Brooks filmogrphy

2011-04-14T16:56:00.005-04:00

My estimate of How Do You Know based on its marketing was that it was a bland romantic comedy that aspired to be decent, and that Paul Rudd was cashing a paycheck. So usually, this one would've been a skip for me, but the fact that Paul Rudd, national treasure/best comedic dancer, was in it was enough reason for me to check it out on DVD. I remember taking fleeting glances at reviews for this movie, and that they weren't that great. When I sat down to watch it though, I was surprised to find an enchanting cast of characters. Rudd and Owen Wilson do great character work, whilst also being directed to do what they do best. Reese Witherspoon gives an inspired and layered performance, and even Jack Nicholson tones it down for, whatelse, a small but crucial part. After I finished the movie, I went through my usual ritual of reading multiple reviews, and had an aha moment as I realized, of course, this is a James L. Brooks movie!

The movie isn't a masterpiece by any means- it's far too cutesy and sitcommy, and the denouement definitely feels rushed. It's an observation that can be made about any number of Brooks's movies. (Brooks came from a sitcom background, being exec producer behind some of the greats like Mary Tyler Moore and Taxi.) But at the same time, I find his movies beguiling- they're full of razor sharp insights about how people interact and communicate, and he has a knack for highlighting the little lost moments in life. It's a body of work that requires you to "go with it" a bit in order to get past the contrivances, which seems to lead to his movies being either overpraised (As Good As It Gets), or unfairly maligned (Spanglish).

I've actually been meaning to write about Broadcast News for a little while, because when Morning Glory came out, everyone compared the two, which irked me. I have not seen Morning Glory, and do not feel the need to see it to have an opinion on it. As far as I can tell from the trailer, Rachel McAdams plays a smart ambitious young lady with moxie! Which is all fine and good, but it simply doesn't match up to the complexity and nuances of Holly Hunter's character. Broadcast News, suffers from the familiar trappings of James L. Brooks's sitcom tendencies. There's much banter between Hunter and Albert Brooks that would fit right into an episode of Will & Grace, and not in a good way. But it's such a thrilling story in the way it deals with modern issues of working women. There's so many aspects to this movie, and it can't be reduced down to just one thing. But one thing in particular about this movie, that really speaks to me, is the question of "What do you do, when your libido betrays your code of honor?" How many directors can we think of who would ask questions like this, and present it through the prism of such a well drawn female perspective?

In the current climate of extreme Love it/Hate it pop culture verdicts, directors like Brooks tend to get overlooked. I do understand why some would find his work polarizing and even grating. Téa Leoni's character in Spanglish was pretty challenging to sit through to say the least, but I think it's a shame that more people didn't enjoy that movie as a whole, given that it had a lot of good moments outside of that one character. (I'm also constantly surprised at the amount of vitriol that people muster up for unlikeable female characters. Characters are not always there to be likable!!!)

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Tyler Labine

2011-04-04T12:21:00.002-04:00

Tyler Labine is back on TV!!!!!! Mad Love is a not bad sitcom that's a sibling show in many ways to How I Met Your Mother, with which it shares the 8-9pm Monday night slot on CBS. Yes, it's yet another vanilla show about New York yuppies, but it's well written and acted, and best if all it's got Tyler Labine doing his thang. His character is like a super confident chubby Barney Stinson. He's sassy, he's sarcastic, a bit of a dawg, but oh so loveable with his cute build, his cute hair, and the man can really wear a suit.

When I read Michael Chabon's Mysteries of Pittsburgh, I totally kept picturing Labine as Arthur Lecomte, an ultimate object of boyish hero worship, a larger than life character who can't help but follow his natural inclination to infuse high drama into every living moment. They made a really shitty movie out the book, not to be a total cliche fan girl here and complain about the movie not living up to the book, but seriously, they butchered the thing. The book is all about about a recent college grad experiencing in one summer, the trifecta of loves- 1) hetero love, 2) homo love, and 3) the aforementioned hero worship love. So what do they do for the movie??? They combine the gay love interest and Arthur Lecomte into one character, and cast Peter Sarsgaard as the composite character, wtf?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Anyhow, point being, in a world where I would be adapter/director of Michael Chabon novels, Tyler Labine would be given more chances to bestow his awesomeness to the world, and not just be the sassy best friend, because he's super talented, and really hot.

RIP Elizabeth Taylor

2011-03-24T11:19:00.003-04:00

I used this picture of Liz Taylor with Montgomery Clift, because I'm really surprised that he has hardly been mentioned in all the eulogies, even after a thorough listing of all her numerous marriages, major and minor ones. They're the most glamorous and fascinating gay/bestie hag pairing that Hollywood has ever produced, and in many ways, Clift was the love of her life. They starred in three movies together, all three of which are really worth a viewing. Particularly in Suddenly Last Summer, you can witness the easy going and conspiratorial chemistry between them, that can only come from being the oldest of friends. Taylor saved Clift's life during the filming of Raintree County (Hollywood's failed attempt at recreating Gone With the Wind), by dislodging broken teeth from his throat after a car crash. Her effort to save and redeem Clift, whose life was perpetually tragic and alcohol/drug ridden, continued until his death at age 46.

It's a weird thing to mourn celebrity deaths, especially when the world is literally falling apart, with climate disasters and wars going on. It's certainly obnoxious to log on to Facebook and see the usual jumping in the bandwagon banalities of all the RIPs. Conversely, there's the usual backlash of "why do we mourn this vapid actress's death so much, when humanitarians and scientists die every day?" While I think entertainers, like musicians and actors, do probably get more attention they deserve when they die, I think it's not the case when it comes to actresses like Liz Taylor. On one hand, there's the image of Liz Taylor as the ditzy old woman- constantly confused, preoccupied with her perfumes and jewels... But Liz Taylor, the young actress, and the body of work she has left, I think is an important one that should most definitely be celebrated. Because Taylor was not just a great beauty and a great actress. She thoroughly embodied both the real and the super woman on screen, and in my opinion, that is something just as important as the cure for cancer.

Taylor was a master at playing desperation. She acted out desperation with the ferocity of both a wounded animal and a battle scarred warrior. When her characters had to be ridiculous or weak or wicked, she played it all to a hilt. But she managed to layer even the most pitiable characters with dignified resignation. Many of her characters, the way she played them, were smarter, stronger, wiser, more resilient and patient then her male counterparts. On the screen, men didn't always yield to her will, but when she left, they were never whole again. However much this was in contradiction to her personal life, I have a hard time caring. She gave it her all on the screen and was absolutely fearless about it, and that's what I celebrate as we mourn her death.

KOREAN DAD CHAT: we're gonna need a bigger blog

2011-02-18T12:07:00.007-05:00

More gems from my dad talking about politics over chat with my lil bro- I think I may need to franchise these to a different blog...

*burger lite- is a tofu & beef combo burger that my mom has innovated that my dad has thought about patenting/manufacturing.

KOREAN DAD: Good Morning. Handsome boy.
MONTY: ?
MONTY: why do you say that
KOREAN DAD: Haircut.
MONTY: ha
KOREAN DAD: Ready for a story of a very stupid guy?
MONTY: sure
KOREAN DAD: President Lee Myung Bak (MB) despises public servants. He appointed many professors for important positions like director of IRS, national auditing bereau, etc., in the hope that these professors can push sweeping and cleaning measures in the government.
KOREAN DAD: But there is one public servant MB trusted and he appointed him for deputy defense minister in the beginning. This guy was sp powerful, he bypassed defense minister in pushing a very innovative plan. The minister complained and MB replace the minister in the next cabinet shuffling.
KOREAN DAD: This guy had a reputation that he is clean, never touched bribaries.
MONTY: ok
MONTY: and he's corrupt
MONTY: obviousily
MONTY: the public servant
KOREAN DAD: Yes.
KOREAN DAD: He moved to direct the Defense Indusry Bereau presiding over all military supplies and weapon production/purchase and all He has just resignes and arrested for accepting ???
KOREAN DAD: $10,000???
MONTY: wow
MONTY: u should've emailed him
MONTY: hey idiot i can make 3000 in one week with stupid call options
KOREAN DAD : You sure do know how to make a friend with a stranger.
MONTY: lol
KOREAN DAD: ???
MONTY: oh
MONTY: sorry
MONTY: laughing out loud
KOREAN DAD: Now, obviously, this guy has has someone in national DA office who agreed to cut down the amount. MB cannot afford to acknowledge that he backed up 100% a corrupted public servant, so he must put pressure to the DA.
KOREAN DAD: But i cannot believe MB's gut and thick-headedness. How can he believe that the people would buy the idea that this guy threw everything for just $10,000?
MONTY: idk
MONTY: why dont you write him an email
MONTY: you want to start complaining about all the dumb things in this world we can go on for a long time
MONTY: idk = i dont know
KOREAN DAD: I am not complaining. I am just amazed by MB's sheer stupidity.
KOREAN DAD: He used to be very smart.
MONTY: you really should start a blog
MONTY: like Virginia suggestged
MONTY: it'd be really entertaining
MONTY: then you can start selling ads
MONTY: hype up burger lite*
KOREAN DAD: Good idea, but I'll take a raincheck. I just wanted to tell you that most of these powerful and important guys are stupid.
KOREAN DAD: Napoleon confessed near the end that he made the emperor not because he was smart, but because all others were stupid. I just wanted to remind you.

KOREAN DAD EMAIL: King's Speech inaccuracies

2011-01-28T13:52:00.004-05:00

This is the email exchange I had with my dad regarding British royal history today. Drunk History should do a special edition with Mr. Lee.

From: Heehwan Lee [mailto:heehwanlee@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 1:12 PM
To: Lee, Virginia; 인순 주; Montgomery Lee
Subject: RE: King's Speech

Thanks for the article.

It is no wonder that Churchill's actual character was twisted
in a movie about Edward. Because Edward was a real stupid
guy and they need something to bring about some sympathy
for him. Like loyal friend.

George was not any smarter. He never forgot that Churchill
once sided with Edward. And so he accepted Churchill as the
PM after Dunkirk only because there was no other choice.
There was another really stupid guy called Lord Mountbatten
in all this, but that's another story. (This guy wasted 1,500
British and Canadian lives in a day)

From: Lee, Virginia
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 11:05 AM
To: 'Heehwan Lee'; 인순 주; Montgomery Lee
Subject: King's Speech

Has anyone seen King’s Speech yet? Here’s a really interesting article by Christopher Hitchens on the historical inaccuracies in the movie, especially regarding Churchill’s characterization.

http://www.slate.com/id/2282194/pagenum/all/#p2

TV: Top 10 Comedies

2010-12-14T13:43:00.029-05:00

F/X has really impressed me with their comedy programming. In the 90s, there was of course the indie film movement, and now that DIY, low budget mentality has reached television production, with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as the forefather, an F/X show. Interestingly enough, IFC, whose schedule had been saddled with a whole bunch of uninspired cliched spawns of the 90's indie film movement, is coming out with a whole bunch of indie half hour comedies like Portlandia. This underground TV trend is just starting, but in my opinion, I think the history of indie TV will prove to be far more interesting than that of indie films.

While audiences were leaving network programming in the dust to flock over to these basic cable channels, NBC notoriously made a whole lot of bad investments in stale formats, notably inciting a generational war by ousting Conan O'Brien, and manging to motivate apathetic slacker youngster to actually organize and rally in the form of Team Coco. O'Brien himself kicked network to the curb, and seeked a home in basic cable land at TBS instead of Fox as was expected. But strangely enough, NBC's own Thursday night line up (excluding Outsourced) is a testament to how network channels are still capable of progressive greatness in spite of stricter censorship and advertising expectations. Must See TV Thursday night line up used to consist of things like Seinfeld, Frasier, Mad About You, Just Shoot Me: not all of them are bad shows, certainly not Seinfeld of course. But to witness the current Thursday line up is a testament to just how far TV has come along since a decade ago.

Before we move onto the list, I want to mention Modern Family, this year's Emmy winner for best comedy. I think it's a good thing that this show exists and that people enjoy it; it's family friendly and has decent writing and acting. But it's not the best show out there, not by far, and while I happily watch a whole lot of "bad" TV, this one I personally don't find it interesting or entertaining enough. But that's the thing with these lists, TV tastes are very personal and subjective, and just because I don't like a show, doesn't mean other people shouldn't enjoy them as long they are made with a certain amount of integrity and skills.

Ok, finally here are my top 10!

10. Bored to Death - While HBO's other comedy, Eastbound Down has been garnering most of the attention, this show has been consistently great and unique in its own way. Perhaps I'm being a self centered Brooklynite, but I really get a kick out of this show's use of New York locations. I mean, they had a whole episode centered around Flushing's very own Spa Castle! The show is also a very charming apologia for all the men who are a bit too in touch with their feminine side/ inner child. Living in a city seemingly filled with these kinds of men, it's nice to see them make a convincing case for why I should continue to love to hate them.

9. 30 Rock - Has this season been not as good as the past years? Sure. Are there a lot of time wasting celeb cameos? Sure. Has this show been overpraised, am I making my point by asking a bunch of questions and is that annoying? Yes, yes and yes. Still I can't help but love this show, and the thing that keeps drawing me back is Liz Lemon, so perpetually imperfect, and thus so lovable and relatable.

8. How I Met Your Mother - This is yet another show I feel the need to apologize a bit for including, but consider this: a decade ago, the equivalent to this show was Friends. When people wanted to reference a TV show to talk about what it's like being in your late 20s and living in New York, their only option was Friends. I mean seriously how depressing is that?!?!?!? As boring as I find characters like Ted and Robin, this show still brings it every week with sharp insights and a sense of whimsy that every self respecting yuppie can relate to. I love that I can constantly reference this show to pretty much anyone my age when discussing all the important things in life like relationships and career. Sharing in the appreciation of a TV show and its characters with a whole community is such a rewarding experience, and this show is certainly deserving of that collective appreciation.

7. The League / Archer - I confess to not keeping up with the latest season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelaphia. So if it has been especially brilliant this year, I apologize for not including it on my list, but I did get a bit bored with it last season. It's still a great show, but this year I found myself more drawn to the new fruits offered up by F/X. The League is produced by an interesting marriage of underground stand up comics (Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer) and mumblecore indie filmmaker Mark Duplass, and it's a good example of the low budget indie TV that I was talking about. It's a fun, light handed look at how highly successful adults with real responsibilities like marriage and kids manage to hold on to fleeting moments of childish pride through fantasy football. Archer is a seemingly conventional old fashioned cartoon about a spy agency. It's got the formidable voice talents of H. Jon Benjamin as the title character (IMDB him, seriuosly, he's voiced all the best Adult Swim characters), and the incredible Jessica Walter, the mother from Arrested Development, playing to her strengths as another manipulative mother. I'm not sure how to describe what makes this show so damn funny, but it's just so dark and demented and raunchy and silly, and I find myself really excited about new episodes coming in January. It's the same creators of Frisky Dingo and Sealab 2021, which are shows I didn't necessarily keep up with, but it's a mention that will trigger an "aha" moment for some of you geeks out there I'm sure.

6. Party Down - I'm not happy this show's been canceled, but I'm happy to have Adam Scott on Parks & Recreation, AND they managed to wrap things up in a really satisfying way (unlike Veronica Mars, make a movie damn it!). I'm always and forever a Rob Thomas fan girl, and I'm looking forward to any prematurely canceled and overlooked series that he creates in the future.

5. Community - NY Magazine deemed this show the best of the year, and I can see their point. There's nothing more fun than deconstructing genres when it's done well, and Community certainly does it brilliantly, and it keeps getting better and better. There's definitely been quite a few episodes that really blew me away, like the Halloween zombie movie episode and the conspiracy theory episode. One major complaint I have with this show is that the dialogue can be a bit expository and wooden sometimes, and sometimes the acting isn't quite up to par especially when it comes to Abed, and Abed's acting might be the most problematic perhaps because he is the one riddled with a bulk of the expository stuff. I'm particularly happy that they've expanded Ken Jeong's role- he is my brother from another Korean mother, and I'm so damn proud of him! (BTW has anyone noticed how many Koreans are on TV this season, between Hawaii Five-O, Glee and there's even a 2010 version of Data in The Walking Dead and he's Korean too omg!!!)

4. The Office- This show's not without major flaws, and frankly I'm surprised that in its 7th season, it keeps improving and amazing me with each episode with such keen insights into our culture in and out of the work place. The Glee episode in particular was such a sharp and hillarious take on how we discourse about pop culture, and how difficult and rare it's become to sit down and watch something together without it being a totally disruptive and irritating experience. I have a very bad opinion of the original UK version, and every time I express that opinion, it causes people to hyperventilate in vehement opposition. But I will say it time and time again- the original UK version was a mediocre and sophomoric series with a semi interesting but hardly original premise. I mean, for realzzz? People find the fake documentary format that impressive?? Even back then that was not that new nor novel of an idea, and they don't even do it that well. There's no argument in my mind, just how much superior the US version is- just on the attention to details alone, the UK version fails miserably. In fact the most faulty aspects of the US version is due to being too faithful to the original, such as when Michael Scott's character goes too over the top for no good reason. Speaking of, I love Steve Carrell just as much as the next person, and there's been a lot of speculation as to the quality of the show once he leaves, but I think the show will benefit from dusting off that last remaining residue of the UK version's influence, and I look forward to tuning in next season.

Kenny Powers says "Thou shall not fuck with my branding!"

3. Eastbound & Down - This one is a particular fave during Roommate TV Nights at our house. We can't get enough of the infectiously unique rhythm of the dialogue (filled with the most creative use of curse words since Deadwood, that's right cocksuckers). We can't get enough of Kenny Powers wreaking havoc everywhere, and the setting of Mexico on Season 2 was a perfectly hellish backdrop to Kenny's self imposed exile. This show is filthy, deranged, and utterly chaotic, but it all works because the writing is so precise and the directing is so sure handed. I've seen some really beautiful hand held camera work on this show, and casting and sets are pitch perfect. But most of all the brilliant acting pulls it altogether and make the ridiculously outsized premises work- it goes without saying that Danny McBride really lives and breathes this iconoclastic character, and there's been moments from Will Ferell and Don Johnson that made my jaw drop at their brilliance. To see all the elements come together on this show is like watching a tightrope walker managing that oh so delicate balance. It's the level of artistry and finesse that a show like Scrubs never understood.

2. Louie - This one broke every expectation I had, and it turned out to be the most ground breaking half hour comedy in recent TV history. This really blows a giant hole through the conventions of the stand up comedian centered sitcom. Every episode is an uncompromisingly auteurist glimpse into C.K.'s psyche, and it's so extraordinary to tune in expecting something Seinfeldian, to instead find a totally surrealist narrative reminiscent of European flicks from the 60's. In fact if I was to name the closest spiritual kin to Louis C.K. based on this show, it would be his Spanish namesake, Luis Buñuel. Like many of Buñuel's work, this show is utterly saturated with sexual and existential angst, and there's a particularly harrowing episode about children and religion that I found hard to watch all by myself, eek! Each episode is one of a kind, as they really don't follow any kind of format or structure, and the show is not married to any genre- you never know what to expect. From a financing/business standpoint, the continued existence of this show is truly unprecedented. As soon as I watched the first two episodes, I predicted that it would shortly be canceled, but to my greatest surprise it was soon renewed for a second season! This is truly unheard of that a show runner, an actor/comedian no less, to be given complete free reign to produce a really dark, melancholy and complex show, one that often takes hairpin turns in plot and mood without any attempt at making it easier to comprehend for the mainstream audience. I often hear on Marc Maron's WTF Podcast, about comedians asking their agents for "the Louis C.K. deal" when talking to networks. It's very impressive of F/X to take the chance with C.K. in the first place, and even more so, to be willing to keep nurturing the show. Most of all I'm so glad that this show exists, so that I can tune in and be utterly disturbed at how much I identify with C.K.'s sense of isolation, depression, anger, and general befuddlement about this crazy world and the people who live in it.

1. Parks & Recreation - So why is this show my number 1 pick, as opposed to Louie or Eastbound & Down? The short answer is that this show makes me happy, it makes me laugh the most, and I'm always happy to rewatch episodes. This show sends me into spontaneous fits of belly laughs every episode. I remember being a geeky teenager and and laughing uncontrollably listening to Adam Sandler's They're Alll Gonna Laugh At You album with my brother. Moments like that get rarer as you get older, and there's a lot of comedy out there that are more clever than funny, but Parks & Rec manages to send me into that pure state of joy of having your brain tickled, as opposed to laughing at something because you appreciate how smart the jokes are. I really do feel like my 13 year old self, when I find myself rewinding the funny parts to watch them over and over again, whether it be any number of stoic Ron Swanson facial expressions, or Aziz Ansari about to eat a hot pepper and singing "This is how we eat it" set to the tune of Montell Jordan's "This Is How We Do It" Which is not to say this show isn't clever too, it's hella clever, and makes so many great observations about being a woman in the modern work place, and takes some good shots at creaky government bureaucracy. For those of you who saw the first 6 episode mini season, and gave up on the show, please give this another chance- I promise it gets exponentially better and funnier, and Amy Poehler's character becomes much more well rounded as opposed to being a female Michael Scott. In so many ways, it transcends its big brother show The Office, as brilliant as that show continues to be. And for those reasons it's my #1 pick of 2010!

TV: Thoughts on year end Top 10 lists

2010-12-14T11:20:00.018-05:00

Tis the season for Top 10 lists!

I've been pretty miffed by pretty much all of the top 10 TV lists. I'll admit, that it's just not possible for one person to be caught up on all the good TV that's out there now. I can cop to the fact that I have yet to see a single episode of many highly praised shows like Sons of Anarchy, Terriers, Men of a Certain Age, The Good Wife, Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, etc. However, I am seeing way too many blind spots in all these Top 10 lists, that I feel the need to come out of my laziness cocoon and update my blog!!!!!!

But before I get all righteously angry about the quality of any Top 10 lists, it's interesting to consider what these lists have come to mean to us. Are they there, so we can get indignant about what should or should not be included? Should we chastise the authors of these ALL IMPORTANT lists, when we do not agree with them? Should we shed a single tear at the thought of a universe that dares to underrate the Sleigh Bells album? Does the thought of a world that keeps giving awards to Entourage make me feel cold and numb on the inside? I think in the end, these lists are simply a good way to get conversations started about things that entertained & inspired us this past year. And when the lists piss you off way too much, then it's time to make your own!

Before I start spouting off my lists though, I want to talk about some interesting TV trends from this year. The way we watch serialized shows keeps changing so rapidly. Surprisingly, the interweb has yet to really produce any solid serial programming, although many of our favorite television shows are actually being watched on computer screens by many of us. But it seems that we still discover new shows via the television screen. For instance most people did not check out Children's Hospital until it was aired on Cartoon Network.

The big trend in the past 2 years have actually been the various basic cable channels like FX, TBS, TNT, IFC making room for serialized shows in their schedule, following the example of AMC's enormous success with cutting edge original programming like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. The USA channel, owned by NBC has established hugely popular blocks of programming with shows like Burn Notice and Psych. Though not included on my Top 10 list, they produced some of my fave guilty pleasures like Royal Pains, White Collar, and Cover Affairs. IFC is campaigning big time to shed the "movie channel" image and bringing in a whole bunch of sitcoms and sketch comedy shows, as well as rerunning old faves like Undeclared and Arrested Development. (For some of us watching sitcom reruns is a big part of our daily routine, because, it's just one of those really comforting rituals to watch reruns of Seinfeld and The Simpsons and what have you. It's quite nice to have an oddball show like Arrested Development added to the usual mix, and interesting to consider that the best programming decisions that a network makes does not always have to involve producing new content. ) FX in particular have really impressed me, esp. with their comedy line up. That and more, I'll discuss further in my Top 10 lists.

MOVIE: The Leopard (Il Gattopardo)

2010-07-22T10:31:00.006-04:00

I drank in every frame of this gorgeous movie. Every single scene is a marvel of sumptuous color compositions and exotic spectacles of Sicily in the 1800s. The latest Criterion restoration is absolutely crisp and immaculate even to my untrained eyes.

This movie pretty much has everything going for it- important historical events weaved in with great characters, in particular Burt Lancaster, who portrays one of the most compelling patriarch I've ever seen on film- despite all his dialogue being dubbed in Italian. Apparently the book that this is based on was a national phenomenon in Italy- sort of like Gone With the Wind was in America- in that it captured the nostalgic/elegiac spirit of the nation about events that forever changed the future of their country and their way of life. The historical event referred to here is risorgimento, in which a revolutionary movement led to the unification of 8 different states that we now collectively refer to as Italy. This movie focuses on what happened to Sicily and its nobilities during that time. What makes the movie great is that it goes beyond history and pretty pictures, to simply portray a man who graciously faces an end of an era, his own mortality, and the cold hard truth that the next generation will get to experience things that he couldn't.

I'm amazed that I've never heard of Visconti until now- I'm very curious now to check out more of his stuff. He is yet another in a long list of directors that confirm my theory that Italian men with catholic angst make the best movies, i.e. Scorsese, Fellini, De Sica, Bertolucci, etc.

MUSIC: Official summer song of 2010

2010-03-30T10:38:00.005-04:00

Last year's OFFICIAL SUMMER SONG was Mayer Hawthorne's smooth Detroit stylings on Just Ain't Gonna Work Out but now it must make way for a new song, new year.

The Bird And The Bee's album of all Hall & Oates covers has been playing on my iPod non stop these days. It includes one original song by The Bird and the Bee, titled "Heard it on the radio," which I now decree as the OFFICIAL SUMMER SONG of 2010!!!!!!

I find the lyrics to the chorus particularly lovely & appropriate:

Every time I hear it play
I think of you and those summer days

I can still remember
When I heard it on the radio

But Now we are September
Come on, forget what we know

"Now we are September..."- so it's essentially a song that reminisces about a bygone summer or bygone youth if you want to get all deep and stuff. I just like the idea of longing for those summer days that have past before the summer's even begun.

MOVIE: Avatar

2009-12-30T10:09:00.007-05:00

I watched this one with the whole family in 3D IMAX- seeing anything in that format is a bit of a transcendent experience, like discovering the joys of Tivo for the first time, or losing your virginity. (Can't wait to watch Alice in Wonderland with my 3D glasses on!) You do get a hell of a headache though, a bit like being car sick. But it's all worth it of course.

The movie itself is everything you heard it would be- imaginative, wonderous, absorbing, etc. It all leads to a super drawnout, violence/action packed battle scene that made me think "Wow, this is so juvenile..." When I came out of the movie, I kinda felt like this was a quintessentially American product- inventive, grand, ambitious, delivered with an excessive dose of macho jingoism. But when I put 5 more minutes of thought into it, I kinda realized that I was kind of, completely, wrong?!? This movie is actually deliciously subverted! Usually in a Spielbergian/Bruckbuster action/war flick, it's the cookie cutter American soldiers righteously kicking some foriegn/alien asses. But in this movie, it's the Native American-esque, slim & lithe (very un-American indeed) alien foreigners who kick some American asses in the most unapologetic over-the-top fashion. Awesome!!!!!!!! Now, there's people who will point out that the humans in Avatar are not actually specified as Americans. To those people I will point out, how Cameron uses classic American corporate/military archetypes for 99% of the human characters in the movie, and how all the human weaponry have that classic GI Joe asthetic to them. Coincidence? I think not.

During the car ride home after the movie, my brother IMDB'ed James Cameron on the iPhone- and turns out Cameron is actually Canadian. Go figure that this is a product of a warped Canadian brethren.

TV: Mad Men season 3 finale

2009-11-09T19:09:00.004-05:00

Wow, just wow. This show constantly amazes me just by existing. When it comes to the scope of the writing, plotting, thematic depth, all done within the breakneck pace that is the TV production schedule, I can not believe it's possible to execute a show like this. This was especially true of the season 3 finale, where everything was turned around 180 degrees to set up for a completely different show for season 4.

I don't think I can do a better job of summarizing then the amazing posts by Alan Sepinwall, which I've enjoyed immensely this entire season.

One thing I do want to mention is that this episode is all about breaking free from the daily injustice of being undervalued, whether it's at the work place or at home. Peggy and Betty provide a beautiful parallel as the two women that have suffered because Don always underestimated their true worth. It's certainly not everyday that people get a chance to stand up to the people who constantly dismiss them, and earn respect in their eyes. This episode gives such a chance to so many of our beloved characters, and while it's sad to see Betty and Don finally reach a breaking point, it's also uplifting to see so many get a chance to start over.

Uplifting was not a word I was expecting to use to describe this final episode of a season that was so utterly bleak, and heading down a path where it seemed the world was truly about to end epitomized by the JFK assassination in the penultimate episode. But I guess that's the circular nature of life, that with death comes rebirth. Sterling Cooper dies, and Sterling Cooper Draper & Price is born.

Words: The over use of the term "minstrel"

2009-08-26T17:04:00.004-04:00

Those of who know me well, know that I tend to be militantly anti-PC politics, especially the way it's practiced in the good old U.S. of A. Lately, I spy a very disturbing trend of critics being too quick to judge movies and sketch comedy as offensive and derogatory, when most likely, they're probably just underdevloped and lazily written. The over use of the word "minstrel" and "minsterelsy" in particular is very disturbing to me. I've seen particularly egregious uses of these words in otherwise thoughtful and insightful articles and by writers that I admire. For instance in a recent issue of New York Magazine, a writer described Neil Patrick Harris's character in How I Met Your Mother as being "fratboy minstrels." I JUST read an article by the Onion A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin, who I LOVE, use the phrase "Stoner minstrelsy."

Let's think about the origins of the term "minstrels." We associate this word as a derogatory representation of black people on stage during the post-civil war era. "Frat Boys" and "Stoners" are not a race, they're not even legitimate groups of people. These are descriptive titles for existing stereotypes, and it's impossible for a stereotype to be misrepresented or simplified, right??

Tangentially related to this, I've read a lot of comments about homophobic undertones in various Saturday Night Live sketches. One mentioned in particular was one where Justin Timberlake and other dressed up in unitards and heels to be Beyonce's backup dancers. Are we serious? Men dressing up as women have been a comedic inspiration ever since humans discovered the art of the stage. You can tell me I'm the biggest homophobe in the world, but I'll never back down from the opinion that, yes, men dressing up and acting like women is really really hillarious.

At the end of the day, it is very important for us to reflect on ourselves and our works of art, and be certain that we make progress in terms of presenting an accurate reflection of humanity. But it's also important that we must not be hasty and self flagellating in this attempt, and seriously, if you don't think a man dancing in heels is not funny, you do not have a pulse.

Assault On My Senses: The hunt for "Juno of 2009"

2009-08-02T14:23:00.001-04:00

Earier this summer, I went through a rather horrendous back to back sickness- which I'm convinced was some mutated strain of the pork flu. I had been confined to my bed for so long and so bored out of my mind that I actually watched Juno on HBO. I had successfully avoided watching this movie for over a year, because based on the trailer, reviews, video clips, and feedback from acquaintances, I fully confirmed to myself that I would hate this movie. And boy was I right! I really disliked this movie for exactly all the reasons I already knew I'd hate it for. Out of the many things I could point out that's bad about this movie, I will just point out one thing- two thirds of any movie's characters should not talk exactly like Diablo Cody.

Juno, ah Juno, the little indie movie that could! How I scoff at your Hal Ashby by way of Wes Anderson wannabe 70s asthetic, and your "witty" dialogue, and your obnoxiously lethargic Moldy Peaches filled soundtrack! But this is not just a year late backlash against Juno- rather I am on the lookout for the next cutesy indie that explodes in popularity, and proceeds to annoy me as I silently suffer conversations taking next to me on the subway about how "quirky" and "touching" it is, and how good the soundtrack is.

As far as I can see, Juno is actually not the first sitcommy indie that burst on to the scene- though I'm sure many other examples are out there, in my memory the first cutest indie to annoy me, the patient zero, if you will is My Big Fat Greek Wedding of 2002, which was followed by Little Miss Sunshine in 2006. But neither these movies have fostered the kind of ire I bear against Juno, and and its specific brand of preciousness.

Earlier, I feared that Away We Go would be the Juno of 2009. Fortunately, no one went to go see it.

Yesterday I went to go see (500) Days of Summer, and carefully examined it for symptoms of Juno-itis, and was relieved to find that it was a legitimately likeable movie.

So, next on the look out list is Paper Heart, a documentary/fiction hybrid starring Juno-ite Michael Cera, and the stoner Asian girl from Knocked Up. I may not actually watch the movie to make my assessment, but you can be sure I will be closely examining the trailers, the vid clips, and subway conversations for Juno-itis.

MOVIE: (500) Days of Summer

2009-08-02T12:01:00.006-04:00

In the interest of full disclosure, let me just state that I could never dislike any movie that prominently features Patrick Swayze's "She's Like the Wind" as a leitmotif.

Anyhoo, I read a negative review of the movie, where the reviewer says this in reference to a scene where the film's two lovers bond over their love of The Smiths: "I mean, my Mom likes The Smiths. ...the relationship between Tom and Summer is full of meaningless signifiers." While I agree with this statement, the reviewer completely misses the point that the movie intentionally highlights the shallowness of shared interests that often bring two people together, in movies and in real life.

On the other hand, I really can't blame the reviewer for being confused. I myself was truly puzzled to see that this movie, whilst being a sincere and thoughtful critique of youthful passivity and romantic projections, also embraced some of the worst rom com archetypes, such as:

1) Sassy Precocious kid: this one goes hand in hand with the infamous Manic Pixie Girl character as defined by the Onion A.V. Club. Please, no more with the little kid who is wise beyond her years and is the voice of reason, barfffff!!!!!!!

2) Unnecessary omniscient narration by a suspiciously Morgan Freeman like voice, who spells everything out for the audience! Please stop explaining shit to me!

3) Unrealistic but metaphorically convenient work places: Tom works as a copywriter for a greeting card company, but is an aspiring architect. The architect thing is a little cliched, but I can forgive that much. But a greeting card company, how sitcommy can you get?? Also, if Tom is an aspiring architect, isn't he more likely be designing the greeting cards, instead of writing them? All in all, a very uninspired, unimaginative choice.

But, inspite of these missteps, I really liked and enjoyed (500) Days of Summer. It's a nuanced look at a modern relationship, and an effective illustration of how our perceptions can fool our emotions. It's also a valiant mea culpa of a man who learns from a love that was plenty on lust & shared pop culture tastes, and not enough on true insight of his partner.

Also, let me not forget to mention, how deliriously fun this movie is. I got my money's worth just from the two scenes featuring: 1) spontaneous street dancing, and 2) hillarious send up of Godard/Bergman/Fellini in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets slapped by a French mime.

Speaking of Gordon-Levitt, please let's forever more stop referring to him as that kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun. Gordon-Levitt has turned in many memorable performances in many decent indies since then, and here he truly proves himself to be an exciting up and coming talent, and an excellent dancer to boot. Not to mention he also became the latest #1 celeb crush of myself and all three ladies I watched the movie with.

The reviews had me worried that Zoey Deschanel's character would be two dimensional and a symbolic blank slate, but I am happy to report that is not the case. Summer definitely remains elusive to the end, but there's shades & hints of emotions she keeps hidden from Tom, which we see more of as Tom emerges from the fog of blind devotion and re-examines the relationship with a clear head.

My friend Julia joked before going into the theatre "So, we're going to see The Ugly Truth, right?" And I think that about sums it all up.

INTERNETS: Kevin Pollack's Chat Show

2009-07-05T21:55:00.008-04:00

I stumbled on to this internet talk show while reading the blog section on the Mad Men website. (Season 3 starting in August!) Kevin Pollack is a character actor who's been around for a long time, and while I'm certain I've seen dozens of movies starring him, I fail to name any off the top of my head. He's sort of a cross between Kevin Spacey and Paul Giamatti, and I bet I used to confuse him with Giamatti all the time, before Sideways came out and made Giamatti a household name.

(Can you tell which one he is?)

Anyhow, Pollack as a host is pretty decent. The pace of the show could use a little speeding up, but overall he's very assured, and is good about providing an enviroment where guests candidly discuss insidery media biz things. He interviews some cool people like John Hamm, HGOTD recipient Dan Finnerty, Kevin Smith, Paget Brewste, etc. It reminds me of Jon Favreau's IFC show from a while back called Dinner for Five, where each episode was Favreau eating dinner with various actor/director/screen writer types, and they would freely discuss the bizarre machine that is Hollywood.

I would love to see a web based talk show like this go and find a sizable audience, especially when the alternatives on TV are pretty stale in format. I know that Kevin Pollack is hardly the first celebrity to do a web chat show, but he seems to be the first one to take it seriously and put out a polished show with a clear mission statement.

Oh yeah, he was in Usual Suspects. And many other movies. That I can't remember.

http://kevinpollakschatshow.com/

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Dan Finnerty

2009-06-15T15:09:00.006-04:00

You may think you've never seen this guy beefore, but in fact you have- most notably in Old School, where he sang a memorable version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart." You may also remember him singing in Starsky and Hutch, and most recently in The Hangover.

In real life, Dan Finnerty is the fierce frontman of The Dan Band, an awesome group that remains strictly an LA institution as opposed to a household name as they deserve to be. The band consists of Dan and his two back up dancers/singers (pictured), and they tour around the country with a whole repertoire of songs made famous by female pop divas. The concept may sound flimsy, but with Dan's considerable vocal chops, well placed curse words ("Fuck no! I don't want no scrub."), hillarious banter, and chubby guy foxiness, they put on a damn good show.

Here's the Dan Band performing a Britney/Christina Aguilera/TLC medley featuring a dance involving hula hoops:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KYvpskat0I

I also heartily encourage everyone to youtube the Dan Band's version of Erykah Badu's Tyrone, Ring My Bell, You Oughta Know, and No More Drama. For this and so much more, he is the Hot Guy Of The Day.

MOVIE: The Hangover

2009-06-15T11:09:00.006-04:00

This was one of the few movies I was excited to see this summer, given the riotous trailer, the Mike Tyson cameo, and the super likable cast that includes Bradley Cooper (hottie from Alias), Ed Helms, piano playing stand up comedian Zach Galifianakis, and Hot Guy Of The Day honoree Justin Bartha.

Overall, the movie delivered lots of laughs and was a good way to spend 90 minutes. I think mainstream bromantic comedies still have a long way to go in terms of delivering three dimensional female characters who are likeable or unlikeable on their own merits. Although I think some credit should be given to the Apatow factory for making sincere efforts, and and at times succeeding. The Hangover however, sets it all back to square one by delivering purely perfunctory wives/girlfriends stereotypes. That is not to say that the male lead characters are any better drawn out- they all exist merely to support the funny plot lines.

Random factoids:

*My friend Julia cracked me up by stating afterwards "Zach Galifianakis's back must've hurt from carrying that movie."

*For fans of Old School, the wedding band that delighted with an F-word ridden rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" makes a welcome appearance.

MOVIE: The Ten

2009-06-12T12:11:00.003-04:00

Holy crap I love the Netflix streaming video thingy- on which I caught The Ten. It's from the Stella guys who did Wet Hot American Summer, and it's ten short films based on each of the Ten Commandments. Paul Rudd introduces each segment and is also featured in a hillariously obtuse Woody Allen tribute for the "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" segment.

My expectation for this was a hapharzdly put together, underwritten sketches, with a couple of funny moments. But I was pleasantly surprised to find the whole thing to be very well written, with an anarchic arbitrariness that really lent itself well to the pace and the anything goes spirit. The dialogue and the situations were so cleverly deconstructive without being self conscious, and it was consistently funny throughout.

Kieslowski (of the Red, White, and Blue films) famously worked with the same premise in Dekalog, ten stories each based on a commandments set in a Polish apartment complex. It's supposed to be a total masterpiece, but I woudlnt' know, because I couldn't even get through the first episode which was depressing and dreary. I'm sure it was insightful and brilliant and blah blah blah, but do I really regret not being able to get through it? Not really. I'll take well crafted & entertaining over too slow & depressing any day. That's just how I roll.

Having said that we are living at a time where comedy is being valued and revered, and I am loving this trend, even if that means being innundated with endless Judd Apatow productions, of which I end up enjoying at least every other movie. It's really amazing that a movie like this can be made with really decent production value and a ton of fun cameos by household name actors. (i.e. Wynona Ryder in, whatelse, "Thou Shalt Not Steal") I've been really uninspired by the indie film scene for a long time, I'd love to see smaller comedy productions like this share the cache given to all the faux cinema verite crap and mediocre foreign imports.

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler)

2009-06-12T10:45:00.003-04:00

The only thing I remember Kyle Chandler from pre-Fridayday Night Lights is this show that used to randomly be on at 4 am on Sundays- I never found out if this show actually had a prime time schedule. It was called Early Edition, and here's the premise of the show as described on IMDB:

"His name is Gary Hobson. He gets tomorrow's newspaper today. He doesn't know how. He doesn't know why. All he knows is when the early edition hits his doorstep, he has twenty-four hours to set things right."

Kristy Swanson, the original Buffy of the vampire slaying kind, was his love interest on the show. Pretty much when this show came on, it meant that I had stayed up way too late, like so late that absolutely nothing else was on, not even Elimidate.

Anyways! So imagine my surprise to discover what an amazing actor Kyle Chandler turned out to be, and kind of depressing that he had been wasting his considerable talent all these years on crap like Early Edition that probably never even aired during normal waking hours for all I know.

But the actual Hot Guy Of The Day, or HGOTD as the cool kids call it, is Coach Eric Taylor, as I have yet to see Kyle Chandler in any other role. Coach Eric is like a really hot version of your friend's dad who was your high school principal or history teacher who coached the football team. He's really hot in general, but he's especially hot when he's angry like in this picture. He's also hot when he's doing the following things:
-giving tough love/inspiration to one of the many hot boys he coaches
-scaring the hell out of the boys that his daughter dates
-being a total dude and not understanding when his wife needs something
-quietly brooding when he has to deal with crazy Texas town politics

For that and so much more he is the Hot Guy Of The Day.

MOVIE: Away We Go

2009-06-11T11:56:00.005-04:00

I haven't seen this movie, but I just get the bad feeling that Away We Go is going to be this year's Juno. You know, the little indie movie that could, that's all cutesy and heartwarming, and everyone loves it and everyone loves the soundtrack........... Except for me, as I sit alone in a dark room, hating life, and hating the world, and falling ever so deeper into a desperate pit of isolation.......

Okay I'm kidding about the last part, but seriously, I hate this cutesy indie movie bullshit. I mean the whole indie scene hasn't done much to inspire me in the last 10 years anyways, but this cutesy stuff especially gets to me. Also, did I mention that I think John Krasinsky is a hack actor?

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Zachary Levi

2009-06-11T11:11:00.006-04:00

When Chuck first came out, a friend of mine had a theory that NBC executives were trying to duplicate the success of resident heartthrob Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) by casting a look alike, give him the same haircut and nebbish good boy manners. That may be so, but Chuck is no second rate Jim Halpert, and Zachary Levi is a much better actor and way hotter. Can you tell that I kinda dislike John Krasinski? I don't know, to me he has the hacky fake good guy vibe of Zach Braff, and about as much acting talent.

I actually recognized Zachary Levi from the little known sitcom Less Than Perfect, where he played a very different character, a super metrosexual cutthroat up and comer who was lovably shallow. I was pretty impressed by his range, and he continues to be super adorable and funny on Chuck. Also unlike John Krasinski, I don't see him telegraphing Chuck's kind hearted manners. And for that, he is the Hot Guy Of The Day.

TV: Renewals & Cancellations

2009-06-11T10:28:00.006-04:00

So the end of TV season cancellation/renewal news cycle is over, and I would summarize my feelings on it as thus:

Kings - CANCELLED - It was too good to last... I shall miss you, close ups of Ian McShane's incredibly expressive face!

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - CANCELLED - Boo! It was actually starting to get good! We'll never find out if John Connor will find closure on his hot unrequited robot love. And I will miss Sarah's brooding.

Pushing Daisies - CANCELLED - I only watched two episodes of this cloyingly "adorable", disgustingly precious show, not to mention the badly written voiceover narrative, and I'm so sick of hearing people gush about it, good riddance!

Dollhouse - RENEWED - I'm happy. This show is no Firefly, and Eliza Dushku is just not rangey enough of an actress to pull off the role, but it has enough interesting elements to keep me watching. Especially shirtless Tahmoh Penikett- more please!

Chuck - RENEWED - Yay! My favorite fun show! This show has the most likeable & talented cast, and it's always been a delightful mix of pop culture hipness with a throwback to the classics vibe. (Totally random but delightful detail about the shot: Adam Baldwin's hardass NSA agent character keeps a framed picture of Ronald Reagan in his apartment.)

Friday Night Lights - RENEWED - Oh thank fucking christ! The end of season saw Coach get an outsized comeuppance for the one time he lied to his wife. I can't wait to see hot it all rolls out!

TV: How Top Chef screwed up this season

2009-02-12T09:32:00.003-05:00

Top Chef Season 5 Misfires: Courtesy of Television Without Pity.

A really good article pointing out how contrived many of the challenges have been and how the eliminations have been less than satisfying. Also mourning the absence of Anthony Bourdain- while I also wonder why oh why did they get that low rent Simon Cowell guy instead of offering the job to my personal fave Ted Allen??

CONCERT: Punch Brothers P-Bingo Night

2009-01-17T16:20:00.007-05:00

So the setting for Thursday night's Punch Brothers concert was pretty crucial- The Living Room, a super intimate space where we sat at tables and ordered drinks from our super duper preggers waitress who was like resting the drink tray on her ginormous stomach whilst walking around. Extremely good acoustics there by the way.

This was the best picture I could get with my stupid cell phone camera, but Sharlene has much better pictures & a video clip in her blog.

The program was a loose mix of their album stuff, classic bluegrass tunes, Radiohead & Weezer covers. Gabe Witcher (fiddle) sang D'Angelo's one mo'gin with Chris Thile (mandolin) on back up vocal - the performance was at once rousingly soulful and unbelievably hillarious at the same time. If I may dare say so, upon checking out the original album version of the song, I think the boys out-souled D'Angelo on this one.

I was a bit iffy on going to a 10pm concert on a school night and was thinking that I'd sneak out when the clock hit midnight, but it turned out to be one of the best concert going experiences of my life and totally worth staying out until 1:30 am. The boys gave an absolutely flawless performance on both their instruments and with their impressive & seasoned vocals. It's thrilling to see a group who so thoroughly embodies the consummate professionalism of classically trained instrumentalists and at the same time fearlessly tackle the improvisational passages with such passion and wit. I had a huge grin plastered on my face almost the entire time and at times I would notice a band member expressing the same surprise and joy during their fellow band members' improvised solos.

The boys are playing the same show again next Thursday before they go on tour. I will be attending again, because it really was that good.

TV: How great is the advertising for Kings?

2009-01-16T13:57:00.001-05:00

I know little to nothing about the premise of upcoming NBC show Kings, but the instant I saw the beautiful subway ads, I was intrigued. I'm not able to track down a picture, but you've all seen it. It's the back of a young guy holding an orange flag with a black butterfly on it, and he's turned his face toward you ever so slightly, but you can't see his face because of the bright light that hits his face. Then I saw a tv promotion for the show featuring Ian McShane (of Deadwood!) doing what he does best, be really scary and awesome with ferocious rage! So that's about all I know, but I'm excited to check it out.

UPDATE: I took a picture of the poster described above. It's beautiful, mysterious, intriguing, easily the best subway poster I've seen in a while.
Although I am also partial to this poster of Paul Rudd from Role Models. The dope ass hair cut, the cute pout, SWOON!

TV: Back into the deep darkness of American Idol

2009-01-14T22:42:00.005-05:00

Since the magical first season of American Idol, when my girl Kelly Clarkson rightfully won (despite claims of racism, because the black girl from that season didn't win, when Kelly clearly had the better voice, talk about white guilt! Okay I digress) - AI has been increasingly exhausting to watch. Every season the format got more and more stale, and yet the episodes got longer and took up more days of my week. Every season I would vow to never waste my time again on this piece of shit show. I would swear that I was sick of the crazies who audition, sick of the corny old songs, and most of all the judges and their asinine non comments to each and every performance. Now we all know about Randy's 2 catch phrases he recyles over and over, and Paula's zoloft prozac cocktail rant. But Simon, who was supposed to be the voice of reason, was the worst offender. Now I have never ever given credence to the common consensus of "Simon is right. Simon just knows." The only thing Simon has going for him is that he's got decent instincts and happens to be a little more articulate than the other two judges, which is really not very hard. But here's two other things about Simon: a)he talks in mad libs- uses the same metaphor over and over, and b) he is a big fat BEIGIST*. Now let me clear up your amnesia here- because I clearly remember him not being very supportive of Kelly Clarkson at the beginning of season 1. He only jumped on the bandwagon, when it became clear that the girl has never been at the bottom 3 and was clearly headed to win. He was also the biggest supporter of Carrie Underwood, the very vanilla stepford wife turned scary skinny fembot.

Anyhow back to why I find myself climbing down to the abyss of hell and spending two hours of my time watching AI again. Every season I would fail to follow up on my resolution not to devote my time to this show, but it was always too hard to pass up the chance to voice my very opinionated opinions around the water cooler the next day. Last season I came the closest to not watching it when I milked the TIVO to its fullest potential, and managed to watch every episode in under 10 minutes. And yet yesterday and today, I watched 80% of each episode, why oh why! Well ladies and gentleman, just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in with... a new judge! A lady judge! She's cool and sassy and is a singer herself and actually makes specific comments when the other three let her talk, and she wrote Kylie Minogue's "Spinning Around" and my fave Kelly C. song "Walk Away" and other tolerable/catchy songs sung by obnoxious pop stars. Her name is Kara something, and so far she's brathed new life into the show during the audition episodes which have thankfully been drastically shortened and far better edited than past seasons. I'm not promising that I'll start watching 80% of every episode, but so far this is a good start to a show that used to make me ill at myself for watching.

*Beigist- a term coined by my favorite journalists/troublemakers Mark Ames and Matt Taibbi. It's a person whose personality and taste embodies the color of beige.

TV: Friday mania as two great shows come back!

2009-01-14T14:01:00.004-05:00

So I am counting the seconds til this Friday when both Battlestar Galactica and Friday Night Lights will premiere new seasons!

Sadly it's the last season for BSG, as it wraps up a series that has been remarkably consistent and constantly surprising. The end of last season gave the audience everything it's ever wanted in the most glorious fashion, then of course they had to go and pull the rug out from underneath our dancing feet! I can not wait to find out if Lee will stay skinny, Tigh & Six's cylon baby will live, or Adama's mustache will come back for another memorable guest appearance. Oh and also the thing about who the last cylon is.

While Friday Night Lights wouldn't make my list of best! shows! ever!, it definitley makes the fringe list, and at the least has always been thoroughly entertaining and beautifully acted by every single member of its cast. It's a great insight into how the other half lives, the other half where all the adults vote republican, actually gives a crap about highschool football, and attend mega churches. Where else could you see a show where they take you inside a mega church? It's good stuff.

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Eric Bana

2009-01-12T13:29:00.008-05:00

So ever since I got HBO, I've wasted way too much time watching really crappy movies. One of them was Curtis Hanson's Lucky You. The whole thing was a mix of interesting tidbits about various Vegas hustler types and then really bad dramatic plot featuring dialogue with bad poker puns. Hot damn even the title is a bad poker pun! I've enjoyed Curtis Hanson stuff for the most part except for that totally unnecessary Eminem self promotion movie. Wonder Boys is one of those movies I loved in college but have grown out of since, although I still find it fun to watch. Anyhow, the important thing is that Eric Bana is reeeeeeeally hot in it. He's all leather jacket cool riding around in his motor cycle being a bad boy carrying around his daddy issues and all emotionally unavailable- so hot! I've always enjoyed him in various movies including Chopper, which is about a real life killer, which I went to go see with a date, which was a horrible idea. It got especially akward during the scene when the title character whips out his schlong because he thinks that's a good way to hit on a woman. Not romantic at all!

Why the Gloden Globe Awards Piss Me Off

2009-01-11T20:42:00.008-05:00

It's no news that all the big awards show suck, because the decision makers are all old industry people who who are too busy patting the backs of their fellow mainstream friends to really pay any attention to non-Hollywood media trends. Now the film nominess/winners for Golden Globe only half annoys me, the TV awards make my blood boil and that also goes for the Emmy's. The quality of television and the abundance of alternative programming has grown at such a rapid rate in the last few years, that the creaky old beigist award voters have even more trouble recognizing true television achievements than ever before. Nowadays, they seem to be sticking to the "If it's HBO, it's probably good" strategy which is especially annoying given that the major new HBO show of this year True Blood was such a silly insubstantial show, with its only merit being the abundance of sex, violence, and nudity. It's especially annoying given that The Wire -arguably the best and most important/relevant HBO show- was strangely ommitted when it came to the nominate anything HBO strategy.

I was already mildly annoyed when Gabriel Byrne, who didn't even bother showing up, won over Don Draper and Doctor freaking House! And then my inner rage really came to a full tilt when Anna Paquin won over the incomparable new talent January Jones for her performance as whiny boobs with a bad southern accent role in, you guessed it True Blood!

While the Emmy's appeased me a little when they rightly awarded 30 Rock and Mad Men, but the recurring nominations of shows like Two And A Half Men, Boston Legal, and Entourage annoy me to no end. Especially when their noms should be taken up by shows that are constantly ignored as if they don't even exist. Where is the love for the progressive comedy shows like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and fan favorite Flight of the Conchords? What about the incredibly talented ensemble cast of Friday Night Lights? And don't even get me started on Battlestar Galactica. It is simply a crime that Edward James Olmos is not even invited to these things while Jeremy Piven and Williams Shatner collect second and third awards for playing themselves.

MOVIE: Bigger Than Life

2009-01-09T13:24:00.005-05:00

Hello, I'm finally reviving me blog due to very high demand, ha! I think I'll be blogging more about other stuff too, like music, general pop culture stuff, etc.

Caught this one at my favorite NYC theatre, the Film Forum. I've been kinda interested in Nicholas Ray's (as well as Vincente Minnelli's) take on life in America, so I knew I wanted to go see this one without a doubt. For those of you who think, "I've never seen a Nicholas Ray movie", yes you have, Rebel Without a Cause. The other one I've really enjoyed is "In a Lonely Place", which is a crazy good existential noir.

This was by far the most subversive commentary on marriage and family life I've seen since I took my family to go see Harold Pinter's Homecoming on stage last year. Me and my friend Song sat in our seats with our jaws dropped to the floor afterwards, and didn't even immediately get up to leave because we were so busy discussing it.

The premise as far as I will reveal is that James Mason is a small town school teacher who's devoted to his wife and son, and when he develops a terminal illness, he signs up for an experimental treatment which involves the brand new drug called cortisone (ha!). It was based on a true account documented in a newspaper article.

To sum up how I feel about it in a few words, it's totally Kafa-esque, a bit surreal, really well acted, and pretty flawless. Unfortunately the run of the very crisp restored cinemascope print is over at Film Forum now, but I hope more peopel can catch it in the future. The movie also has an interesting history of being panned in reviews and flopping at the box office when it came out, then being brought out of obscurity by none other than Truffaut and Godard. Godard supposedly said "Nicholas Ray IS cinema." Ha, of course he would say that, the pretentious bastard, but as usual I have to grudgingly agree with him.

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Javier Bardem

2008-02-26T09:54:00.004-05:00

I don't think I'm the only one who sat up and took notice of how sexy this guy is during the Oscars. Also, he brought his mom as date, aww!

Woody Allen: Why He Is Dead To Me

2008-02-12T13:09:00.003-05:00

I just caught this news on IMDB. Nothing against portrayal of lesbian sex on film, and nothing against two of the hottest working actresses going at it. But wow, to be recruited by an old mysoginistic perv, just so you can act out his wet dream fantasy? Something about this doesn't sit right with me.

Cruz & Johansson Set for Lesbian Love Scene
Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson are to steam up the big screen in Woody Allen's new movie - by taking part in a reported lesbian sex scene. The actresses will lock lips and get hot and heavy in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which also features Cruz's boyfriend Javier Bardem. According to British tabloid The Sun, Allen's aiming for one of the most erotic scenes in movie history. A source tells the publication, "People will be blown away and even shocked. Penelope and Scarlett go at it in a red-tinted photography dark room, and the whole scene will leave the audience gasping."

Reality Schmeality: Making the Band 4

2008-02-06T15:57:00.001-05:00

Okay, are you watching this show yet?? I caught the second episode on Monday, and it just continues to be a riveting hour of television. There were further incestuous flirtating going on between the three Bad Boy bands: Dawn and Q went on a cutesy date and fed each other desserts while Robert and D. Woods had their first fight. Awesome! Also the boys couldn't get their rivalry issues worked out, and foolishly let all the drama spill out in front of their boss Diddy. Oh Diddy, I love to hate you! You are the greatest reality show villain ever! Diddy kept being amazing at being himself as he told them "Bitch-assness is a serious disease affecting our community. (dramatic pause, then in calm quiet voice) There will be no bitch-assness allowed at Bad Boy." I don't know which "community" he was referring to here, but I think bitch-assness is a disease that affect ALL communities, so well said, amen brother!

Later on, the gang puts on their Sunday bests, and goes to church! That church looks like the most fun time ever, I wish I was religious so I could join the party. Robert gets back in touch with his spiritual side by belting out a gospel number after a rough week of fighting with D. Woods, not performing well in the recording studio, being told he's too arrogant, and being accused of bitch-assness by Diddy. Seriously, why aren't you watching this yet?????

MOVIE: 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days

2008-02-06T15:20:00.002-05:00

This is not the kind of movie I would go see on my own. In general I have a hard time sitting myself down to documentaries or even fictional films with a strong documentary element. My friend Judy described this one as "the Romanian abortion movie" which didn't make it sound any more enticing. So I had to be dragged to this one, but I'm happy that I have friends who drag me to these things, especially when the movie turns out to be as good as this.

This movie is set in the 80s during communist regime in Romania. I don't think I've seen neo-realism employed for a period movie before, and I find that to be quite innovative. I didn't even realize that the movie wasn't set in current time, and throughout the whole thing I kept thinking, "oh my god, rotary phones???" and "that acid washed jean shirt is heinous!" It's definitely a glimpse into a very different world, where every action carries much heavier consequences than we're used to.

There's been much praise of the dinner party scene, but I found that scene to be a little too long and obvious, though well acted & written. For me the real standout was the scene where the abortion doctor negotiates with the girls. (*spoiler alert*) His proposition is so unexpected, and it is genuinely creepy to see the doctor layout what he expects as payment in such a matter of fact way, as if he reached that conclusion by way of empirical deduction. (*end spoiler*)

All in all, this is not a movie I would watch again, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that fact. As a modern viewer, I believe in using the film medium for various purposes, much like books. We have text books we're made to read for the sole purpose of gathering knowledge from them. We may not ever crack them open again once we're out of school, but we still learned from them, and they lived out their purpose of educating us. This movie, while not quite a documentary, is also far from being pure entertainment. While I won't ever watch it again, it was still a damn good way to spend 2 hours, and certainly enlightening in many ways. Who can ask for anything more?

What r the kidz watching?: Snoop Dogg's Sensual Seduction

2008-02-04T09:54:00.001-05:00

My TiVo recorded an hour of music videos from some lame channel called Fuse. I figured I would check out what kind of music the kids are hip to these days, and ended up fastforwarding through most of it. Man, music videos are boring! Like, yeah Nelly Furtado is really gorgeous in black & white, but do I really have the patience to sit through 3 minutes of it? Even if she changes outfits a lot? Hell no! In fact the schizophrenic editing makes these videos even more boring. Why can't they just come up with a cute story and put it to the music?

Anyhow, I did stumble on to this awesome Soul Train-ish, Rick James-esque, Snoop Dogg video, and I actually found myself watching the whole thing beginning to end. Imagine that! Dude, just check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSS_DY_z-Dc

TCM Treasures: Barbarella

2008-01-29T13:45:00.001-05:00

This movie was a blast! It really captures the late 60s mentality with kitschy eye candy and witty jabs at the idea of sexual liberation. Jane Fonda is such a standout here. She is so young and lovely, and her acting is top notch. It's so satisfying to see her tackle this character with such dead pan naivete, but at the same time this is clearly the work of an intelligent actress who fully understands the inherent comedy in the material. And what about all her dope ass outfits, they are total hotness! No wonder all these actresses are standing in line to play her in a new version. Who wouldn't want to rock the Brigitte Bardot hair style, metallic mini disco dresses, and futuristic hooker boots??

BTW, Barbarella is pretty different from most movies I end up watching on TCM, but TCM being the greatest channel there is, they have a lot of cool alternative programming. I think I even saw Russ Myer's Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! on there once.

A Tribute to Turner Classic Movies

2008-01-29T13:02:00.001-05:00

Tuner Classic Movies (or TCM as it shows up in your channel guide) is pretty much the greatest channel that ever existed. It is without a doubt the best resource for people who enjoy classic films. I discovered TCM when I imposed on myself the task of watching every movie on these three best movie lists:

1)AFI 100 -which recently went through a revision, which means I'm still not finished with it
2)Time Magazine's 100 Best Movies -a great mix of current & old / foreign & American
3)Slant Magazine Essential Films -sort of an alternative to the conventional best movie lists. It includes lesser known films of beloved directors, a lot of silent film classics & indie movies.

All three lists contained a lot of films from 1920s-1950s that I had not seeked out before, and it turned out TCM played all of these movies on a regular basis. Soon I was swimming in great classics, discovering westerns & and falling in love with actors like Robert Mitchum and Montgomery Clift. I learned the history and evolution of movies in a way I never understood before. I soon began a ritual of downloading TCM's monthly calendar, and scheduling my life around movies I wanted to catch. (I don't do that any more, since I have TiVo)

My favorite experience with TCM happened on the night I decided to quit my wretched job in Baltimore. I stayed up til 4am and caught Marnie on TCM- a later work of Hitchcock that was dismissed as silly and insubstantial when it came out. I was introduced to a long list of Hitchcock films in college, but I had never heard of Marnie before. There were scenes in this movie that were so provocative and effective that it literally made my jaws drop. It's a movie that helped me appreciate Hitchcock on my own, as opposed to being told in classrooms why he was so great. To this day, I feel that it is an underappreciated classic, and I recommend it to every movie fan I meet.

I think most of the movies on TCM can easily be found on Netflix or your local video store. But it's so much more fun to stumble on to a movie you've never heard of before as I did with Marnie. I also totally L-U-V the short host segments before and after the movies. Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz (yes, of that Mankiewicz family) are both fantastic hosts. They always highlight things I wouldn't have noticed, and are full of cool trivias and anecdotes. They also have these great mini segments between movies, where a current actor will talk about an actor from the old days, and why they love them. I especially love the one where Laura Dern talks about Shelley Winters, and also the one where Tony Curtis talks about being of fan of Cary Grant and then getting to finally work with him in Operation Petticoat. All the movies are shown uncut, uninterrupted, and in their original format. Yeah suck it AMC!

Reality Schmeality: Making the Band 4

2008-01-29T11:19:00.001-05:00

Yes I watch this show. Shut up, stop judging me! I mean, is it really necessary to justify our guilty pleasures any more? It seems like almost every intelligent productive people I meet admit to watching shows like Rock of Love or that Tila Tequila bisexual show, The Hills, America's Next Top Model, etc.

Okay now that's settled, let me just say, this new episode was SO good! This season, three different Bad Boy bands will be holed up together to record their albums all at the same time. First there's the Making the Band 4 boys(sort of a throwback New Edition type group) + Donnie the solo artist(pretty boy with 90's NSYNC hair) + Danity Kane(from Making the Band 3)
All 11 of these people go out together to celebrate, and they all immediately pair up and start flirtating! Wooha! So far so good. There's also a really juicy scene where Aubrey from Danity Kane gets scolded by Diddy for changing up her weaves without getting approval. Awesome!

I love Diddy on this show. He's always been such a sadistic bastard- so self righteous about abusing the Making the Band kids. (Remember when he made Da Band walk all the way to Brooklyn to get him cheesecake?) You gotta love moments like when Diddy bursts into a recording session, and breaks these kids' spirits by spouting gems like "This is some fake Jodeci shit!" Oh Diddy, where have you been? I missed you so so much!

TV: Terminator:The Sarah Connor Chronicles

2008-01-24T16:48:00.002-05:00

I've been watching this show because a)my TV standards have been downgraded due to the writer's strike, and b)it stars Summer Glau -River from Firefly. Incidentally Summer Glau's guardian robot girl character is the only thing semi-interesting about the show. Her character reminds me a lot of Dorothy from Big O- one of those cool Japanese animation shows you can catch on Adult Swim. (Where I also discovered my fave animation show Cowboy Bebop) They're both stoic in demeanor, because, duh they're robots. But they are curious about human behavior, and are always observing. Well, that's about all I have to say about this clunker of a show. I usually just have it on in the background while I clean my room or check my emails or whatever. The special effects are pretty cool though. Awesome, brah!

MOVIE: There Will Be Blood

2008-01-23T23:43:00.002-05:00

There are many things to love about a P.T. Anderson film. He has created so many thrilling moments that are absolutely saturated with volatility and kinetic energy. He draws out incredibly visceral & animalistic performances from his actors. Despite all this, I have been disappointed by most of his films. He lets his own emotions/opinions overwhelm his subjects & characters. He has very little restraint as a director, and doesn't know how to temper the explosive moments with quieter ones. Magnolia was an entire movie made up of nothing but climaxes, and it got very boring and then just plain old exhausting.

Having said that, I have to admit that There Will Be Blood is an improvement for Anderson, and he seems to be paying more respect to narrative structure, and even practicing some restraint. But it's not enough. He's still suffering from the same ills that undermined him in his past endeavors. I did hear that he handed in a 5 hour movie and the studio made him cut it in half. Many people have told me they could've watched more of it. The ending definitely feels rushed, and extra time probably would've helped.(5 hour Director's Cut on DVD!) But I don't think an extra hour or even three would help this movie much. 2 and a half hours should be enough to explain what makes these characters tick, but the movie is too busy being allegorical to get into their inner life. My one big qualm was the handling of the character of H.W. As a child, H.W. is dark and sullen, and so desperate to secure his place by his father's side, that he resorts to arson. But the actor who plays H.W. as an adult version has a face that is full of sweetness and innocence. The character takes a similary confounding turn, as he is desperate to get away from his father to start a life with his equally sweet & benevolent bride. Extra scenes could help explain this transition, but it couldn't make it convincing.

I really wanted to be just swept away by this movie, but I wasn't. Still, I'm glad I went to go see it on the big screen, and I still have great hopes for Anderson's future projects.

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Stephen Colbert

2008-01-23T13:13:00.002-05:00

My fiery burning passionate love of Stephen Colbert is well known by my family & friends, so perhaps this post is redundant. But I did want to mention him today, because last night's episode of The Colbert Report was especially exceptional. They showed a short documentary piece about how black nurses striked for equal wages during the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina. Turns out the only hospital administrator who was willing to talk to the nurses was Colbert's father, who managed to negotiate a raise for the black hospital workers in the midst of heated opposition from his colleagues. Colbert still managed to tie up this tribute to his father in a hillarious way that was true to his self serving TV alter ego, but nonetheless it was nice to see him relate this personal family history. I know that Stephen's father died in a plane crash when Stephen was pretty young, and it added to the poignancy of this tribute.

Later on Stephen interviewed Andrew Young, the civil rights activist who negotiated with Stephen's father on behalf of the nurses. He simply asked him "Do you remember my father?" Young answered "I do, very very well," and proceeded to tell us the story of the negotiation. I think often the best way to remember our dearly departed ones is to tell their stories, and it was nice to have such an intimate moment on The Colbert Report.

Um... and for that he is the Hot Guy of the Day.

MOVIE: Once

2008-01-23T00:52:00.002-05:00

I finally caught up with this lovely musical after seeing it on various 2007 best movies lists. This movie works for all the reasons that made Sweeney Todd such a bore. Most importantly this movie works, because the musical numbers work. It's a simple story, with almost no specificity and flourishes, but the music supplies all the emotional nuances we need to understand how Guy feels about Girl (yes that's the actual character names in the credits).

All of the musical numbers are set up in a way that's antithetical to what we're used to in standard musicals. There's no breaking the third wall, and characters going into song & dance without explanation. The main characters are both musicians, and we're essentially sitting in on various practice or recording sessions. In fact the whole movie is consciously antithetical to the conventions of the musical genre. All of this works to the movie's advantage, but honestly I'm hesitant to praise it for its convention breaking ways. Obviously musicals have been in dire need of modernization for a long time. But I still feel that this genre can be reinvigorated without completely throwing out all the things we love about it. I'll keep waiting for the movie that both modernizes AND pays tribute to all the great classics, and allthough Once is not that movie, it's still a great one and a must see.

All Teched Out: The Many Options of a Modern TV Viewer

2008-01-22T11:19:00.002-05:00

I've got the craziest set up on top of my television right now. My DVD player, cable box, and Tivo sit right on top of each other, and it's all held together by a combination of velcro tape and makeshift cardboard pivots. I keep expecting it all to come tumbling down, but it's been continuously defying the laws of physics, and holding steady. (Mom & Dad- don't worry if you're reading this, I have it set up so that it'll slide toward the wall, as opposed to everything landing on the floor, and potentially onto my feet, ouch!) I keep monitoring the velcro for any sign of peeling, but it hasn't budged even a lil bit. I'm going to monitor this situation for two more weeks, and if it's still horizontal, I'll declare myself McGyver of stacking geeky gadgets on top of non-flat surfaces.

So, why oh why do I insist on cramming all these gadgets into my tiny Brooklyn apartment? Because my dear, my world is cold and gray when I'm not enjoying all the options that are available to me as a modern viewer of all things TV. Here is the comprehensive list of said options as I see it. I'd love to hear if anyone has additions to this list.

1)The good old fashioned way- satellite, cable, rabbit ears

2)DVD Player
3)DVD player that plays DivX files

4)Tivo/DVR

5)Netflix

6)Downloading from the internet (i.e. BitTorrent)

7)YouTube & any other types of streaming videos

How many on this list do you take advantage of? (I'm 7 for 7 of course, ha!)

MOVIE: Atonement

2008-01-18T12:30:00.002-05:00

Okay kids, it's time for me to get serious, as I review a very serious movie. So, I've read the book at my mom's recommendation and enjoyed its beautiful prose style, and its use of melodramatic love in a war time story to support its overarching theme about writers & their relationship to the universes/characters they create. I wasn't especially eager to go see the movie- I felt that there were aspects of the book that would just not translate well to film. But my parents wanted to go see it, my mom because she read the book, and my dad because he heard that the war scenes were really cool.

After having seen the movie, I have to say that it was exactly what I expected. The love & war stories translated well, the overarching theme not quite. The Rashomon bit of telling the same story multiple times through different eyes were done very effectively, and the whole thing was edited in a pleasantly tidy manner. However I could've done with a little less tidiness in the ending segment (*slight spoiler, but not really alert*) with Vanessa Redgrave. In the book, the last chapter provides such an elegant elegy to all the characters. The movie give us an ending that feels truncated and tacked on, and Redgrave's monologue spells everything out where as in the book Briony's writerly intentions are much more ambiguous.

Nonetheless, I really did enjoy the movie and I'm glad I went. It was beautiful, lush, and the war scenes were nothing short of stunning (to the absolute delight of my dad). The acting was very solid all around-Keira Knightley is really stunning and the role fits her like a glove. (Yes she is very skinny, but wow, can we stop obsessing over who's too skinny and who's too fat?) Anyhow, there's been lots of award nomination talks for Knightley, and I feel ambivalent about it. She is quite good in the role, but the character is not all that complicated. James McAvoy is pretty damn hot, and oh yeah his acting's pretty good too.

HOT GUY OF THE DAY - Round 2(!) - Matt Taibbi

2008-01-17T14:28:00.002-05:00

In a stunning unprecedented turn of events Matt Taibbi is bestowed the Hot Guy of the Day honor for the 2nd time in a row!!!

So remember that I said that it was a bit of a cheat to mention him on my blog, because he wasn't really a TV personality? Well, it looks like that's going to change. This past weekend, Matt showed up on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, and it was announced that he would be a regular on the show as a field reporter type covering the presidential campaign. Over the years, Matt has been occasionally invited to speak in small news panels for the likes of MSNBC, and he's shown himself to be pretty camera-genic. He's well spoken, funny, inserts pop culture references when appropriate. His camera style is not nearly as agressive as his writing style, and actually he's rather reserved and not all that eager to get his words in. That doesn't mean he is not completely interesting and effective: cause he is. On Real Time, Matt got in very few words, but he did manage to get Tony Snow enraged enough that he started pounding the desk as he lectured the panel about all the progress we've made in Iraq. Matt's face was a perfect mix of disbelief and smirk, as he looked at Tony Snow the way one would look at a crazy homeless guy ranting about Jesus on the subways. Love it! I think we're going to be seeing a lot more of Matt on our tv screens in the future, and you can quote me on that.

Here are the segments of the Real Time episode with Matt:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Matt Taibbi

2008-01-10T10:06:00.002-05:00

So, this one's kind of a cheat, because Taibbi's not really an actor or director or screen writer, but rather a political journalist. But I'm slipping this one in, because technically he's on TV sometimes. I first learned about Matt from seeing him interviewed on The Daily Show, and last night he was interviewed on The Colbert Report. The interview was kind of a dissapointment as Matt didn't really push very hard to get his opinions in, which you have to do when you're interviewing with Colbert. Though his interviewing style is mild mannered and pleasant, in writing he is caustic, hillarious, and insightful. He's also had a pretty illustrious life, playing basketball in Mongolia, running a newspaper in Russia, chasing John Kerry around in a gorilla suit, and canoeing with Sean Penn in New Orleans after Katrina. And for that he is the hot guy of the day.

Check out Matt's profile on the presidential candidates:
Mitt Romney
Barack Obama
John McCain
Rudy 91ul1ani
Fred Thompson
Mike Huckabee
Hillary Clinton

MOVIE: The Last Castle

2008-01-03T14:58:00.002-05:00

I saw this over the holidays sitting on the couch at my parents' place. The description read something like "Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo. A general leads a revolt against a corrupt warden at a maximum security military prison." That was good enough for me- Mark Ruffalo is hot, and y'all know I love me some war movies. This one's not technically a war movie, but it's got soldiers in it, so I figured the hot guy quotient should still be pretty good.

Anyhow, I have to say this movie is totally awesome. I don't know how this one slipped under the radars and failed to become the overhyped favorite of frat boys everywhere. It's like Shawshank redemption, but with hot young soldiers! Redford is predictably wise & heroic and Gandolfini is delightfully weasly. The eye candy quotient is not too shabby, though I've seen better. (Straight women of the world, please check out Band of Brothers: hot hot hot!) Mark Ruffalo is totally hot as I expected- he plays the bad boy outsider who at first questions Robert Redford's ways, then comes around and helps everyone in an awesome scene where he climbs aboard a flying helicopter, knocks out both pilots, and commandeers the thing, eventually crashing it into a guard tower then crashing on to the ground, AND he walks out of there unharmed, except with a streak of blood clinging to his face which makes him look even hotter.

*SPOILER ALERT*

The ending is a totally awesome. It's like patriotism porn. Robert Redford insists on hanging this American flag upside down as a signal that the prison is no longer under control. And he totally doesn't even need to do it, because the prisoners have already won! Gandolfini goes nutso and shoots him, and Redford crawls to the flag pole and dies shortly after hanging the flag. And then... one by one the prisoners start to salute the flag, and we realize the flag is hanging right side up. God bless America indeed!

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Conan O'Brien

2008-01-03T13:45:00.002-05:00

The relationship you have with your favorite talk show host can often be like a friendship. You develop a daily routine around your favorite shows, as they're on Monday through Friday. There's ones that you tire of after a while, but sometimes you make a special connection that lasts for many years. You get to know these people pretty well over time. You start remembering details like who their favorite author is, or what kind of music they like. You notice when they get a new haircut, or if they've gained a little weight, and eventually you can tell when they don't like the guest they're interviewing. As they get older, you do too, and this could go on for ten, fifteen years, and sometimes even longer.

I never really got into any of the female oriented day time talk shows- I don't want to get mentored about my personal life by Oprah. I've always been more drawn to the late night comedy boys club. (BTW, it's not that I prefer hanging with boys over girls- it's just that TV executives are very myopic about the types of women who should be represented in such forums.) I started watching Late Night with Conan O'Brien 9 years ago, during my freshman year in college. It started out as a massive crush, and over the years it has developed into a beautiful glowing ember of a friendship. I never watch his show sitting down any more, as I'm so familiar with his jokes and sketches. Usually I'm cleaning my room or checking emails, and only half paying attention. A lot of times hits bits don't make me laugh, but it's comforting to have them play in the background. These days, Stephen Colbert seems to be the guy that lights my fire the way Conan used to, but Conan is like the husband that I love and will come home to at the end of the day. He's a bit a of a nerd, a bit of a scholar, and his self deprecating routine can get a little tiring, but he's a gentleman at heart and I love him. I look forward to spending another decade growing old with him, and for the he is the hot guy of the day.

TV: the return of the late night talk shows

2008-01-03T13:43:00.002-05:00

Last night saw the return of all the late night talk shows, and I managed to catch the two bearded ones, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien. (incidentally, I did catch the last 5 minutes of Jay Leno, and was excited to see Amerie performing, the genetically superior black + Korean hybrid and diva in traning). I have to say that as much as I wish for a timely end to the Writer's strike, it's a pleasure to see the strike bring out new shades of the familiar personalities. Letterman, as everyone knows, did come back with his full writing staff on duty, but there was the beard to get used to, and a generally heightened excitement/energy level after the long hiatus.

Conan came back without writers, and it turned out to be an absolute treat. We got many insider scoops on the show in lieu of written sketches. Conan showed us rehearsal rituals like seeing how long he can spin his wedding ring on his desk, and took us into his office where his famous Eisenhower mug sat next to lots of other toys. We even got to see the room where writers take a load off by playing Guitar Hero (actually Rockband), and how Conan interrupts them by playing the same songs on his actual guitar.

I have to say I'm excited to see how Conan fares in the coming weeks, and getting to know him better as he's forced to show aspects of his life & personal he's carefuly guarded over the years. With no end to the Writer's strike as far as we can see, it could turn out to be a long and interesting ride.

HOT GUY OF THE DAY: Justin Bartha

2007-12-29T21:38:00.004-05:00

Have I mentioned how cute and funny he is in National Treasure? He's like a funny geeky American version of Gael Garcia Bernal! He's even cuter in glasses!

He's even hot when he's playing an autistic guy in Gigli, and for that he is the hot guy of the day.

Movie Review: National Tresure 2

2007-12-29T21:38:00.003-05:00

After watching the first National Treasure movie, my dad said "all the American national treasure is stuff they stole from other countries." Nevertheless he enjoyed the movie, and I did too. So we were eager to go check out the second installment, which also featured "stuff stolen from other countries." Oh wait, did I forget to say spoiler alert? My bad.

So let me just go ahead and call this post what it is. It's not really a review, it's a straight up rebuttal. Here, I'll even bullet point.

It features the best bad movie Nic Cage character ever! He's like a geeky patriotic Indiana Jones who can recite the Bill of Rights by heart.
Justin Bartha is the cutest funniest sidekick in recent memory. He's so cute, and snarky, and cute, and adorable, and funny!
The relationship between Nic Cage & Diane Kruger is very well handled- wistful and sweet, it's one of the better romantic subplots I've seen recently.

Yes, this is a Jerry Bruckheimer action flick, a bruckbuster if you will, with a silly plot of the tin foil hat variety. But it's really entertaining, and well written. It actually takes a lot of creativity and hard work to make something new & fun from the mainstream genre driven format. It's not a premise that insults the audience, and it even taught me a thing or two about appreciating historical artifacts as important symbols of our society that's been lovingly preserved by historians and museum curators. You dig?

MOVIE: Charlie Wilson's War

2007-12-29T21:23:00.002-05:00

So I got to go see this one with the whole fam (mom, dad, and lil bro) and that was quite nice! Anyhow, I enjoyed this one, despite Aaron Sorkin's ability to annoy me even when I agree with him. The whole thing is very easy breezy, and the real life events & characters are interesting and absorbing. For those out there who are annoyed at the mere mention of Julia Roberts, don't worry, she's not in it all that much. They basically spell it all out for you at the end, as to how these earlier events in Afghanistan led to the current situation. But then, if it's not preachy, it's not Sorkin.

MOVIE: Sweeney Todd

2007-12-29T20:54:00.002-05:00

Oh wow, I did not expect to be disappointed by this movie, but I totally was! Yes, it's a very good looking movie, and OMG Johnny Depp's in it! Well guess what, they made a freaking musical with a bunch of bad singers!

Perhaps somebody can think of a better example, but for now, I'm going to blame the whole "it's okay to put amateur singers in musicals" mentality on Woody Allen's "Everyone Says I Love You." I mean I get what he was going for, he wanted to capture real people emoting through songs and to do away with overly polished & choreographed hamminess that musicals have become negatively associated with. I mean, we've all been to karaoke bars, where that one really drunk person really makes you feel that Def Leppard song, even though they've been off key the entire time. But guess what, that is the opposite effect of what you get when you put amateur singers with passable voices in a sound booth for a production like this. What you get are timid performances, with their voices lodged in the back of their throats. The Sondheim tunes/arrangements are perfectly lovely, but they never get a chance to pop. Instead they just wilt and lay limp, and the musical numbers become purely purfunctory and very very boring. And when the music doesn't come alive in a musical, then all the good will, perfect casting, and beautiful production design is just wasted.

TV: 5 favorite shows that are interrupted by the writer's strike

2007-12-29T13:35:00.002-05:00

So, the land of TV is going to be a pretty bleak place while this strike continues on. The influx of terrible reality shows is already making my skin crawl. I might actually have to turn my TV off and go interact with other human beings!

Well, til that day actually comes, here are 5 shows that I hope to see back on screen real soon.

1)HOUSE has always been brilliant at defying our expectations, and the first half of this season was especially packed with surprises. House fired all three doctors from his team, then proceeded to run a Survivor/Bachelor type competition for the three jobs.

From 40 initial candidates, Kal Penn made the cut. That's right, Kumar will be sharing lots of quality screen time with Hugh Laurie. Need I say more?

(btw, I recently figured out that since House = Sherlock Holmes, that means Wilson = Watson! Isn't that cool? Okay I'm done)

2)FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is the most misunderstood show by those who shun it. I admit that I myself was very skeptical. I figured it was one of those things that get endorsed by the Bible belt for the sole purpose of annoying me. (i.e. FOX news and Carrie Underwood) But oh my god was I ever wrong, y'all! This story about a football obssessed Texas town is neither flattering nor condemning of its small town characters. It's a fascinating glimpse into how the other half lives: the other half that goes to church, hides their gays, and votes for Bush.

3)30 ROCK is the show I wish people would talk about around the water coolers instead of The Office. I actually like The Office, and I love me some Mindy Ephron("fashion show, fashion show, fashion show at lunch!). But if I overhear another "Oh my god, Jim's reaction was so funny!", why I will just go really crazy and, um, put on my headphones, and blast my iPod really loud! Oh, you don't think I'll do it, you just watch me!

Anyway, it's a great show that's hip, smart, and consistently hysterical. Tina Fey's character is an icon in the making for all the single girls out there. Also, I can't wait to see the very special 30 Rock episode that addresses the strike, as no other show does self referential quite like this one.

4)HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER is alternately awesome and pedestrian. It's basically like Friends, except not awful and not out of touch. But at times it gets very wrapped up in its own New Yorker hipness, and is too clever & neurotic for its own good. But when it's good, it's so good! Neil Patrick Harris is infinitely quotable, and there are superior moments when the show really captures the romance and whimsy of life in your 20s.

5)Battlestar Galactica is not actually interrupted by the strike, but the new season (also its final season) has been postponed to March from the original January date. It's in danger of getting further postponed if the strike continues. Oh god, how will I live????!?!!?!!

I've joined the blog wars

2007-12-27T19:12:00.001-05:00

So I've started this blog, because I need a forum to talk about the copious amounts of movies/TV I watch. I usually end up boring my friends & family by talking about stuff I watched the previous day, often when they're trying to concentrate on other tasks such as work, driving, child rearing, scientific research, etc. Now they can read my opinions when it's actually convenient for them. Also, I am a terrible public speaker. This is especially true when I get to talking about movies/TV, because I'm really hesitant to reveal plot points or give specific opinions about programs people have not yet watched.

Anyhow, here's what I'm looking forward to as I start on my merry blogging ways:

1) My friends & family will get to know me better. When you write down your opinions, you get to really geek out and get in depth as opposed to when you're conversing and trying to sound cool. I find out new things about my friends from their blogs all the time, even people I have known for many years.

2)Exercising my brain. Writing is the best way to exercise your brain & mind. Mine has gotten pretty feeble and pathetic even at a relatively young age.

3) The comments section! I am really looking forward to having discourse through this blog. I would also love for my friends to post here eventually. I'm sure there are whole categories of movies/TV that I neglect.

Well, look out for many many posts to come about TV shows, movies, characters, and actors I love or love to hate.