After seeing Deathly Hallows Part 1 for a second time, I have decided to post my thoughts on it. The first time, I was too emotional after seeing it. I immediately loved it of course, but I figured I should see it at least one more time before I solidified my opinion on it.
Beware! This post will be riddled (not to be confused with Tom Riddle...Haha, a little Harry Potter humor there, courtesy of my niece, Emily) with spoilers from the movie and storyline from the 7th book of the series. I really, REALLY don't want to be responsible for ruining this fantastic story for someone who has yet to experience it, so please, think about it before you read on.
*********Seriously..... Spoilers. Storyline ruined. Beware.************
Brief summary of the story: The Ministry of Magic has been taken over by Voldemort and his Death Eaters (trying to rid the magic world of muggles). Harry, Ron and Hermione set off on a journey to track down the rest of Voldemort's horcruxes, in hopes to destroy him forever. (That is a VERY brief summary. Very brief.)
I often refer to this particular book in the series as "Harry Potter and The Very Long Camping Trip" or "Harry Potter and The Book Where Everyone Dies". The camping trip in the book (they are on the run from snatchers, death eaters and Voldemort, hence: the camping) is seemingly neverending the first time you read it (the second time is much more enjoyable) but in the movie, they did a brilliant job of keeping the pace going and adding in a lot of important information along the way. You get a sense of how long and tedious the camping trip is for them but it doesn't seem as long winded as it did in the book. As far as the "everyone dies" aspect of the movie, they stuck to the book just right and dealt with the deaths perfectly. I cried a lot. I'm overly emotional about these characters.
It's no secret that Ron is my favorite character in the books/movies. Of course, I love Harry and Hermione but Ron always breaks the tension and keeps things light and he's super cute. Having Rupert Grint play Ron just adds to my fascination with the character. I love, love, love Rupert Grint. He has always been good in the movies but in Deathly Hallows he was brilliant. He has to play a moody, angsty, frustrated version of Ron and he does it SO well. There is a scene where he gets to play a bit of a hero and it's one of my favorites; When he saves Harry from the pond in The Forest of Dean and recovers the sword of Gryffindor. It was exactly as I saw it in my head while I was reading the book. So fantastic.
I loved the music and the intensity of the scenes when they are in the ministry and running away from Yaxley.
I loved the part where Hermione is reading the story of the three brothers, that basically explains what the Deathly Hallows are. It was such a creative/simple way to explain the story. Also, I could listen to Emma Watson talk all the live long day, so that made it even better.
I loved the scene with Harry and Hermione dancing. Ron has left and Hermione is sad, so Harry tries to cheer her up. It's just sweet and simple.
The parts with Bellatrix (Helena Bonham Carter) and Hermione were fantastic and frightening. Speaking of frightening, I don't like snakes. A great deal of the Harry Potter journey has to do with snakes, so it's sort of surprising that I love the series as much as I do. The snake scenes in the movie are crazy scary (to me, at least). I covered my eyes the second time I watched because they are FREAKING SCARY. Blech. That's all there is to say about that.
My only disappointment with the film is that Harry had no closure with the Dursley's. They were a huge part of his life and they were all so awful to him, that it was fulfilling when he had a bit of a happy ending with them in the book. Harry makes them leave their home, in order to keep them safe. Dudley more or less tells him that he thinks he's an okay guy. I am hoping there will be a deleted scene like this on the DVD.
I know it's a rambling, disjointed review of the story but honestly, it's really hard for me to sum up my feelings on this. I love the books and the movies so much that I just start to gush about everything when I talk about it. All in all, Part 1 was extremely well done. They stuck faithfully to the book (for the most part) and added in some stuff that made it better. It ended at just the right spot too. It was an emotional roller coaster and I couldn't stop thinking about it after I saw it. I know it's just a story/movie but it's so fantastic and it makes me happy. While I can't wait for Part 2, I am going to be so so sad when it's all over. For the past 10 years there has always been something to look forward to, whether it be the next book or the next movie. I love the world that J.K. Rowling created. It will be sad when there are no more to look forward to.
On a completely unrelated note: The TV show, The Sing-Off comes back tonight at 8pm on NBC. It's an all a capella singing contest that takes place over five nights. Ten groups compete, while being judged by Ben Folds (YAY!), Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman. It's a fun competition with absolutely no musical instruments whatsoever. Nick Lachey hosts but I promise, he's the only lame thing about the show. Last year's runners up (and mine and Jeff's favorite group), The Beelzebub's have been in the last two episodes of Glee. These are some seriously talented people. Check it out, it's fun!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Zombies, Flowers and Dragons.
So, there is this new show out right now, it's called The Walking Dead. Maybe you've heard of it? For those who haven't, it's on AMC, Sunday nights at 10pm and it's based on a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman. It's a brilliant show and has come to fill the void in my TV heart that Lost left when it ended. "But I don't like zombies" you say. Let me tell you, there is so much more to this show than the groaning, grunting, chewed off faced "walkers".
*Mild Spoilers Ahead*
I have to give Dennis credit for telling me to watch the show before it debuted on Halloween. He has read the comics and the buzz surrounding the premiere was huge. All the pop culture sites I go to were talking about it and promoting it. I'll admit, I was hesitant. I am not a fan of horror films. At. All. They scare me (duh, that's the point) and I can't sleep and I think about them for weeks afterward. In other words, I am a huge baby. So, you will understand why I had issues with watching a show about flesh eating corpses. The basic premise is about zombies taking over Georgia (probably the whole world, though they haven't shown anywhere else). Deputy Sherriff, Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln, who is amazing and also played that super cute boy in Love Actually who told Keira Knightley she was perfect, aww.) is shot and ends up in a coma. When he wakes up, he discovers he's pretty much all alone and there are dead people walking around. I don't want to say too much more because I want you all to watch for yourselves but Andrew Lincoln is an awesome actor.I was riveted by his performance throughout the pilot episode. I'm sure it's not very common that a television show about zombies can make a person cry heartwarming tears (like it makes me do almost on a weekly basis). It has funny moments, it's incredibly intense and there are tons of moments that make your jaw hit the floor in surprise. It's like a breath of fresh air and I love it.
The season finale is this Sunday at 10pm.
"Sarah, why are you telling us about this super awesome show just days before the season finale??" Because friends, on December 5th (this Sunday) @330pm, AMC will be showing an all day marathon of The Walking Dead, so that you can catch up by the time the final episode airs. Hooray! It hasn't been announced when season 2 will begin but I am betting on next October. Seriously, check this show out. I promise it won't disappoint you. If nothing else, you can pick up pointers in case there ever really is a zombie apocalypse. YOU NEVER KNOW.
Let's discuss Flowers now, shall we? As in Mr. Brandon Flowers. I was lucky enough to see him in concert a few weeks ago at The Royal Oak Music Theater with some fantastic people. I was a teensy bit worried about the concert because of what happened the last time I was at ROMT for a recently gone solo artist (see previous post). There was no reason for my worries. This show was phenomenal. Yes, phenomenal. He came out (in suspenders! Eee!) and was energized and his voice sounded amazing. The whole crowd was singing along with him on several songs and I LOVE that. It was non-stop dancing, singing, screaming for an hour and a half. He was a billion percent better than Steven Page. It made me realize all the more how much Mr. Page has fallen and I am very proud to say that Brandon has replaced him as my #1 musical crush.
This is my favorite video that I could find from our show. LOVE IT.
And Finally Dragons...
The past couple of weeks I have been reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series. It's a Swedish crime novel that I am sure most of you have heard of at some point. The main character is a kick ass girl named Lisbeth Salander. There are movies based on the books (In Sweden) and they are currently in production on the American version of the first film. I have yet to see the movies but the books are really good. The first one was a little slow at first. Ok, it was a lot slow to start off but halfway through the book it got really interesting. It at least hooked me enough to want to read the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire. I finished that one last night and it is fantastic. I literally did not want to put it down. The way Larsson writes is like a giant puzzle that you have to figure out. The story is told from so many different points of view and that makes it more interesting, rather than confusing. I am looking forward to reading the third installment, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, as well as seeing all the films.
One last thing for my Lost friends, Jorge Garcia was cast in a new J.J. Abrams (yay!) show entitled Alcatraz. It's supposed to be on FOX and is about, you guessed it, the famous prison. It also has to do with FBI agents and of course time travel. Because you can't have a J.J. Abrams show that doesn't include some aspect of people traveling through time. We'll see how this turns out, though I don't really have high hopes because it's on FOX and things tend to get canceled very quickly on that network.
*Mild Spoilers Ahead*
I have to give Dennis credit for telling me to watch the show before it debuted on Halloween. He has read the comics and the buzz surrounding the premiere was huge. All the pop culture sites I go to were talking about it and promoting it. I'll admit, I was hesitant. I am not a fan of horror films. At. All. They scare me (duh, that's the point) and I can't sleep and I think about them for weeks afterward. In other words, I am a huge baby. So, you will understand why I had issues with watching a show about flesh eating corpses. The basic premise is about zombies taking over Georgia (probably the whole world, though they haven't shown anywhere else). Deputy Sherriff, Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln, who is amazing and also played that super cute boy in Love Actually who told Keira Knightley she was perfect, aww.) is shot and ends up in a coma. When he wakes up, he discovers he's pretty much all alone and there are dead people walking around. I don't want to say too much more because I want you all to watch for yourselves but Andrew Lincoln is an awesome actor.I was riveted by his performance throughout the pilot episode. I'm sure it's not very common that a television show about zombies can make a person cry heartwarming tears (like it makes me do almost on a weekly basis). It has funny moments, it's incredibly intense and there are tons of moments that make your jaw hit the floor in surprise. It's like a breath of fresh air and I love it.
The season finale is this Sunday at 10pm.
"Sarah, why are you telling us about this super awesome show just days before the season finale??" Because friends, on December 5th (this Sunday) @330pm, AMC will be showing an all day marathon of The Walking Dead, so that you can catch up by the time the final episode airs. Hooray! It hasn't been announced when season 2 will begin but I am betting on next October. Seriously, check this show out. I promise it won't disappoint you. If nothing else, you can pick up pointers in case there ever really is a zombie apocalypse. YOU NEVER KNOW.
Let's discuss Flowers now, shall we? As in Mr. Brandon Flowers. I was lucky enough to see him in concert a few weeks ago at The Royal Oak Music Theater with some fantastic people. I was a teensy bit worried about the concert because of what happened the last time I was at ROMT for a recently gone solo artist (see previous post). There was no reason for my worries. This show was phenomenal. Yes, phenomenal. He came out (in suspenders! Eee!) and was energized and his voice sounded amazing. The whole crowd was singing along with him on several songs and I LOVE that. It was non-stop dancing, singing, screaming for an hour and a half. He was a billion percent better than Steven Page. It made me realize all the more how much Mr. Page has fallen and I am very proud to say that Brandon has replaced him as my #1 musical crush.
This is my favorite video that I could find from our show. LOVE IT.
And Finally Dragons...
The past couple of weeks I have been reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series. It's a Swedish crime novel that I am sure most of you have heard of at some point. The main character is a kick ass girl named Lisbeth Salander. There are movies based on the books (In Sweden) and they are currently in production on the American version of the first film. I have yet to see the movies but the books are really good. The first one was a little slow at first. Ok, it was a lot slow to start off but halfway through the book it got really interesting. It at least hooked me enough to want to read the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire. I finished that one last night and it is fantastic. I literally did not want to put it down. The way Larsson writes is like a giant puzzle that you have to figure out. The story is told from so many different points of view and that makes it more interesting, rather than confusing. I am looking forward to reading the third installment, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, as well as seeing all the films.
One last thing for my Lost friends, Jorge Garcia was cast in a new J.J. Abrams (yay!) show entitled Alcatraz. It's supposed to be on FOX and is about, you guessed it, the famous prison. It also has to do with FBI agents and of course time travel. Because you can't have a J.J. Abrams show that doesn't include some aspect of people traveling through time. We'll see how this turns out, though I don't really have high hopes because it's on FOX and things tend to get canceled very quickly on that network.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
TrainWreck.
I suppose at some point in every person's life, there comes a time when they realize that their favorite singer/writer/actor/athlete isn't all that they thought they were. I have always known that Steven Page wasn't the nicest guy in the world and I have always accepted that. His talent always surpassed his personality. His voice and stage presence is what made him my #1 musical crush for so long. The way he could belt out a song and not break a sweat made me melt.
All of that came to an end last night.
**Let me apologize in advance for the long, rambling-ness of this post. I am still upset about it, so I go kind of all over the place when I talk about it, haha**
Steven Page was at the Royal Oak Music Theater last night. When we arrived around 7:40pm (show started at 8), we noticed there wasn't a whole lot of people standing outside. We thought that was a little odd. While we waited in the cold (it was so very cold), we heard one of the workers say that they closed the balcony. Well, that's not a good sign. We were finally let in about 810pm, checked out the merchandise stand (the shirts were really, really ugly), then went inside. There were seats. Lots and lots of seats... at The Royal Oak Music Theater. I was so weirded out by this. There were a total of maybe 50 people there at this point. We found our seats (4th row, center) and waited for the show to start. Naturally, we people watched while we waited and noticed that there were a ton of older people there. It was just a weird atmosphere. I felt like we were waiting for a school play to start or something. Anyway, we waited... and waited... and finally, the opening act came out (by this point the theater had filled up... minus the balcony).
Kate Miller Heidke opened for him and was so fantastic. As a general rule, i'm usually never crazy about the opening act, but believe me when I say this girl is So.Much.Fun. She was great with the crowd and so funny and her voice was kickass. She covered Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" and it was clever and done fantastically well. If you think i'm exaggerating, i'm not. She got a standing ovation at the end of her set and the audience adored her. Carrie even bought her cd after the show. I urge you to google her. Seriously. Fun.
At this point, we were really excited for Steven Page. It's so rare that you enjoy an opening act that much. So, it seemed like a good sign for things to come. As we waited... and waited and waited for Mr. Page to grace us with his presence, we started to realize that things were just not going to go how we thought.
He FINALLY came out at 10:15pm. He was disheveled looking in his brown corduroy suit (which I predicted he would be in earlier in the evening) and looked frazzled. The sound system was a little out of whack and when he started to sing the opening line of the song, everyone jumped because it was so loud. They fixed that and he went on with one of the new songs from his cd (Page One) called, "A New Shore". It's one of my favorites and I was very happy until the song ended and he started singing the weirdest "cover" of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" that we have ever heard. We couldn't understand anything he was saying and it was chaotic and fast and then he lost his voice. LOST HIS VOICE. Steven Page, the one with the amazing operatic voice COULD NOT SING. For whatever reason (i'm sure he was freaking out), he ripped his tie off and wrapped it around his forehead. I dont even know if he finished the song. I was so completely uncomfortable.
He finally calmed down and told everyone to stand (it was too "church-like") and that they were allowed to take pictures (there were signs everywhere saying no cameras were allowed). Well naturally, a bunch of people ran right up to the front of the stage and invaded his personal space (the stage isn't very high there). He told one guy to stop touching him. He was visibly uncomfortable and half the theater was sitting while the other half was standing. Carrie and I stood but didn't go up to the stage. We had 4th row, we could see great and as far as I was concerned, I didn't need a front row seat to the disaster we were already witnessing. He tried to banter (like he used to in BNL) and I just kept thinking "who are you bantering with?? You are a solo artist now!". It was very obvious that he was lacking the companionship he had with Ed. He tried to be funny and it fell flat. He had these old school projectors that he would forget to turn on and when he remembered, he had to use a remote control to get them started. It was just weird and then they tried to do a cover of "P.Y.T" by Michael Jackson and they didn't even know the words. It made no sense! I think he "sang" the first verse and then immediately went into another song. It was just awkward.
He sang some BNL songs. It was weird hearing them though, after hearing BNL do them in concert earlier this summer. Before he sang "Enid", he made a big deal about how the song really resonates with the last 2 years of his life, especially the time where "I got myself kicked out of my own band" and it just seemed in bad taste. He even referenced being in jail at one point. All that he was fine with talking about, but not once did he acknowledge the fact that he wasn't singing well throughout the show. Carrie and I were dumbfounded. This was supposed to be an amazing show. Getting to see my favorite singer live and having wonderful seats and it was so the opposite of amazing. It was a train wreck. He forgot the words to some of the songs, including one of the new ones. It was infuriating! He ended up doing two encores and at one point I thought to mysef "I would be totally okay with leaving right now".
The final song he sang was "Break Your Heart". Most people who know that I love Steven Page, know that this is my all time, most favorite song he sings. Ever. But as the night went on, I kept telling Carrie that there was no way he would be able to sing it. His voice was awful. People kept yelling out requests for it throughout the show, so I think he felt obligated to sing it. It was then that he finally acknowledged the fact that he was "missing a note in his voice" and that he would need help with the song. I'll admit it, I was happy he sang it but it was tainted by my anger. He told everyone to meet him at the merch stand and he would sign stuff. We didn't do that.
I get that singers have bad nights and sometimes their voice is off but it wasn't just his voice. You could visibly see how weird he was being. The whole thing felt as if they threw it together 2 hours before they came out. But then again, I did a search for him on Twitter this morning and the people who were at the same show that we were, were raving about it. Saying he was amazing and it was a fantastic concert. Listen, it wasn't. My hopes were set so high for that show because he has never let me down musically. He may be a hole but he's so talented. Last night he was a hole with no talent and I was so disappointed.
Here are my highlights:
-Hanging out with Carrie
-Hanging out with Carrie
-We had really good seats
-He sang "I Live With It Everyday" from Born On a Pirate Ship and I LOVE THAT SONG.
-"Break Your Heart"
-The ride home with Carrie, where we vented and complained the whole time.
Maybe it was just an off night. Maybe Carrie and I were in some bizarro universe where Steven Page is a bad showman. Who knows? All I know is that he dashed all the adoration I had for him in one single evening and that makes me so sad.
All of that came to an end last night.
**Let me apologize in advance for the long, rambling-ness of this post. I am still upset about it, so I go kind of all over the place when I talk about it, haha**
Steven Page was at the Royal Oak Music Theater last night. When we arrived around 7:40pm (show started at 8), we noticed there wasn't a whole lot of people standing outside. We thought that was a little odd. While we waited in the cold (it was so very cold), we heard one of the workers say that they closed the balcony. Well, that's not a good sign. We were finally let in about 810pm, checked out the merchandise stand (the shirts were really, really ugly), then went inside. There were seats. Lots and lots of seats... at The Royal Oak Music Theater. I was so weirded out by this. There were a total of maybe 50 people there at this point. We found our seats (4th row, center) and waited for the show to start. Naturally, we people watched while we waited and noticed that there were a ton of older people there. It was just a weird atmosphere. I felt like we were waiting for a school play to start or something. Anyway, we waited... and waited... and finally, the opening act came out (by this point the theater had filled up... minus the balcony).
Kate Miller Heidke opened for him and was so fantastic. As a general rule, i'm usually never crazy about the opening act, but believe me when I say this girl is So.Much.Fun. She was great with the crowd and so funny and her voice was kickass. She covered Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" and it was clever and done fantastically well. If you think i'm exaggerating, i'm not. She got a standing ovation at the end of her set and the audience adored her. Carrie even bought her cd after the show. I urge you to google her. Seriously. Fun.
At this point, we were really excited for Steven Page. It's so rare that you enjoy an opening act that much. So, it seemed like a good sign for things to come. As we waited... and waited and waited for Mr. Page to grace us with his presence, we started to realize that things were just not going to go how we thought.
He FINALLY came out at 10:15pm. He was disheveled looking in his brown corduroy suit (which I predicted he would be in earlier in the evening) and looked frazzled. The sound system was a little out of whack and when he started to sing the opening line of the song, everyone jumped because it was so loud. They fixed that and he went on with one of the new songs from his cd (Page One) called, "A New Shore". It's one of my favorites and I was very happy until the song ended and he started singing the weirdest "cover" of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" that we have ever heard. We couldn't understand anything he was saying and it was chaotic and fast and then he lost his voice. LOST HIS VOICE. Steven Page, the one with the amazing operatic voice COULD NOT SING. For whatever reason (i'm sure he was freaking out), he ripped his tie off and wrapped it around his forehead. I dont even know if he finished the song. I was so completely uncomfortable.
He finally calmed down and told everyone to stand (it was too "church-like") and that they were allowed to take pictures (there were signs everywhere saying no cameras were allowed). Well naturally, a bunch of people ran right up to the front of the stage and invaded his personal space (the stage isn't very high there). He told one guy to stop touching him. He was visibly uncomfortable and half the theater was sitting while the other half was standing. Carrie and I stood but didn't go up to the stage. We had 4th row, we could see great and as far as I was concerned, I didn't need a front row seat to the disaster we were already witnessing. He tried to banter (like he used to in BNL) and I just kept thinking "who are you bantering with?? You are a solo artist now!". It was very obvious that he was lacking the companionship he had with Ed. He tried to be funny and it fell flat. He had these old school projectors that he would forget to turn on and when he remembered, he had to use a remote control to get them started. It was just weird and then they tried to do a cover of "P.Y.T" by Michael Jackson and they didn't even know the words. It made no sense! I think he "sang" the first verse and then immediately went into another song. It was just awkward.
He sang some BNL songs. It was weird hearing them though, after hearing BNL do them in concert earlier this summer. Before he sang "Enid", he made a big deal about how the song really resonates with the last 2 years of his life, especially the time where "I got myself kicked out of my own band" and it just seemed in bad taste. He even referenced being in jail at one point. All that he was fine with talking about, but not once did he acknowledge the fact that he wasn't singing well throughout the show. Carrie and I were dumbfounded. This was supposed to be an amazing show. Getting to see my favorite singer live and having wonderful seats and it was so the opposite of amazing. It was a train wreck. He forgot the words to some of the songs, including one of the new ones. It was infuriating! He ended up doing two encores and at one point I thought to mysef "I would be totally okay with leaving right now".
The final song he sang was "Break Your Heart". Most people who know that I love Steven Page, know that this is my all time, most favorite song he sings. Ever. But as the night went on, I kept telling Carrie that there was no way he would be able to sing it. His voice was awful. People kept yelling out requests for it throughout the show, so I think he felt obligated to sing it. It was then that he finally acknowledged the fact that he was "missing a note in his voice" and that he would need help with the song. I'll admit it, I was happy he sang it but it was tainted by my anger. He told everyone to meet him at the merch stand and he would sign stuff. We didn't do that.
I get that singers have bad nights and sometimes their voice is off but it wasn't just his voice. You could visibly see how weird he was being. The whole thing felt as if they threw it together 2 hours before they came out. But then again, I did a search for him on Twitter this morning and the people who were at the same show that we were, were raving about it. Saying he was amazing and it was a fantastic concert. Listen, it wasn't. My hopes were set so high for that show because he has never let me down musically. He may be a hole but he's so talented. Last night he was a hole with no talent and I was so disappointed.
Here are my highlights:
-Hanging out with Carrie
-Hanging out with Carrie
-We had really good seats
-He sang "I Live With It Everyday" from Born On a Pirate Ship and I LOVE THAT SONG.
-"Break Your Heart"
-The ride home with Carrie, where we vented and complained the whole time.
Maybe it was just an off night. Maybe Carrie and I were in some bizarro universe where Steven Page is a bad showman. Who knows? All I know is that he dashed all the adoration I had for him in one single evening and that makes me so sad.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
A Birthday Wishlist.
30 things I would like for my 30th Birthday...
1.) An Alias recap/reunion special. This would include EVERY member of the cast, including some guest stars (Quentin Tarantino, Gina Torres etc.), J.J. Abrams (of course) and it would be at least 2 hours long.
2.) For Bonnie to bite it on Vampire Diaries. Not "bite it" as in become a vampire, but "bite it" as in "never come back, go away, you're the most annoying character ever, goodbye"
3.) A bigger house (with a really nice bathroom).
4.) Not to break my car anymore.
5.) For Stephenie Meyer to finish and release Midnight Sun.
6.)For Will Smith, Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington to stop making movies.
7.) For Shanna Swendson to publish a 5th Enchanted Inc. book.
8.) To finally be caught up on all the Chuck episodes we have sitting in our DVR.
9.) No big snowstorms this winter.
10.) For people to stop saying "Keeping busy?" and "Are we having fun yet?"
11.) For Charley to develop a love for bedtime.
12.) A million dollars.
13.) To finally finish watching Buffy and Angel so I can move on to Firefly.
14.) For Steven Page to not be a hole anymore.
15.) For close-talkers to be outlawed.
16.) To become a Pop Culture blogger for Entertainment Weekly.
17.) For my LYBF to find a job in Michigan after she is all said and done with school.
18.) For Booth to stop dating that Hannah girl on Bones.
19.) For my Mom (or anyone else for that matter ) to not have to worry about Cancer scares ever again.
20.) For Andy and Erin to get back together on The Office (because I love Andy and he deserves to be happy).
21.) For Criminal Minds to stop being shown on 3 different channels at one time at all hours of the day.
22.) For Chris Osgood to get his 400th win and have a long overdue winning season.
23.) For Lexie and Mark to get back together on Grey's Anatomy.
24.) For Ewan McGregor to make a good movie (It's been too long).
25.) To not have to go grocery shopping ever again. Let me clarify: To be able to go online and order them and then have them delivered.
26.) Speaking of delivery, for Dunkin Donuts to deliver.
27.) A library in my house.
28.) For Bristow to calm down a little bit.
29.) Cooking lessons from Bobby Flay (or for him to just come and cook for me. I'm not picky).
30.) For my work to invest in a decent tasting coffee maker that makes iced coffees.
Wishful thinking yes, but that's what Birthdays are for.
1.) An Alias recap/reunion special. This would include EVERY member of the cast, including some guest stars (Quentin Tarantino, Gina Torres etc.), J.J. Abrams (of course) and it would be at least 2 hours long.
2.) For Bonnie to bite it on Vampire Diaries. Not "bite it" as in become a vampire, but "bite it" as in "never come back, go away, you're the most annoying character ever, goodbye"
3.) A bigger house (with a really nice bathroom).
4.) Not to break my car anymore.
5.) For Stephenie Meyer to finish and release Midnight Sun.
6.)For Will Smith, Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington to stop making movies.
7.) For Shanna Swendson to publish a 5th Enchanted Inc. book.
8.) To finally be caught up on all the Chuck episodes we have sitting in our DVR.
9.) No big snowstorms this winter.
10.) For people to stop saying "Keeping busy?" and "Are we having fun yet?"
11.) For Charley to develop a love for bedtime.
12.) A million dollars.
13.) To finally finish watching Buffy and Angel so I can move on to Firefly.
14.) For Steven Page to not be a hole anymore.
15.) For close-talkers to be outlawed.
16.) To become a Pop Culture blogger for Entertainment Weekly.
17.) For my LYBF to find a job in Michigan after she is all said and done with school.
18.) For Booth to stop dating that Hannah girl on Bones.
19.) For my Mom (or anyone else for that matter ) to not have to worry about Cancer scares ever again.
20.) For Andy and Erin to get back together on The Office (because I love Andy and he deserves to be happy).
21.) For Criminal Minds to stop being shown on 3 different channels at one time at all hours of the day.
22.) For Chris Osgood to get his 400th win and have a long overdue winning season.
23.) For Lexie and Mark to get back together on Grey's Anatomy.
24.) For Ewan McGregor to make a good movie (It's been too long).
25.) To not have to go grocery shopping ever again. Let me clarify: To be able to go online and order them and then have them delivered.
26.) Speaking of delivery, for Dunkin Donuts to deliver.
27.) A library in my house.
28.) For Bristow to calm down a little bit.
29.) Cooking lessons from Bobby Flay (or for him to just come and cook for me. I'm not picky).
30.) For my work to invest in a decent tasting coffee maker that makes iced coffees.
Wishful thinking yes, but that's what Birthdays are for.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
My Top 4 Most Hated Storylines
I know, I know... It's been a while. I have had "Bloggers-Block", which is much like "Writers Block" but not as important.
This season of Bones has me irked. While I admit that the episode last week was somewhat better than the first 3 weeks, I am still frustrated by it. It has inspired me to create a list of my top 4 most hated storylines.
Just a warning, there may be some spoilers scattered throughout this post for Bones, Alias, Brothers and Sisters, and Grey's Anatomy so if you are not up to date on any of these shows and would like to remain spoiler free, stop reading.
1.) Amnesia - You know the story... there is that one couple you can't wait to get together and just as they are on the verge of professing their undying love for each other (or have finally gotten together), one of them gets hit on the head, or is in a car accident, or goes "missing" for 2 years and low and behold, they can't remember a damn thing anymore. Not only can they not remember who they are/were, but of course they don't remember "being in love". This is weak storytelling and it drives me insane. I know, it doesn't just happen to couples on shows, it happens to single people too. For instance, there is an amnesia storyline happening right now on Brothers and Sisters with Holly. I'm not going to get into the details, mainly because I don't watch the show anymore, but COME ON, you are professional writers. You get paid A LOT of money to be creative and your viewers depend on that, so BE CREATIVE.
2.) The "new" love interest- When two main characters in a show are about to get together and the audience wants them together and then all of a sudden there is a new love interest for one or both of the characters. There is always mention of Moonlighting when it comes to a "will they? or won't they?" storyline. A lot of people say that when David and Maddie finally got together, the show hit a huge ratings decline and went downhill. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but at least they had the gusto to give it a try. On Alias, they brought in Lauren. Viewers HATED Lauren for coming between Sydney and Vaughn after they had gotten together at the end of the second season. What made it worse is that the show jumped ahead 2 years in time, so we didn't get to see the natural progression of things. Which brings me to Bones... Booth and Bones belong together. The producers of the show know it, the viewers know it and all the characters on the show know it. Instead of finding a way of putting them together and making the show work, they had them work on opposite ends of the world for a year. When they met back up months later, Booth was ridiculously in love with this new girl, who we are supposed to accept automatically because they are so "well matched" for each other. No. Three episodes ago, Booth was professing his love to Brennan, so no, I don't buy that you are head over heels in love with this hot blonde girl. Again, get creative. You can't pound it into the viewers heads that these two main character belong together, only to turn around and say "JUST KIDDING!". It does not make for good storytelling. It makes for annoying storytelling.
3.) Poof! You have a brain tumor and/or Cancer- When it comes to Grey's Anatomy, I will be the first to admit that the show has had its ups and downs. I will also be the first to admit that one of my favorite characters is Denny Duquette but when Izzie started seeing Denny again (his character is dead now) in the 5th season, people were annoyed. It had to be a dream of sorts or at the very least, a ghost. No my friends, she had a brain tumor which eventually led to her being diagnosed with Cancer. That "incurable" Cancer was in remission by seasons end. On Brothers and Sisters, Kitty Walker was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma last season. It was insanely depressing (of course), it was also cured within a few episodes. On Bones, Booth was seeing his old friend's "ghost" and Stewie from Family Guy was talking to him. What did that mean? Well it meant that he had a brain tumor, of course! He ended up having it removed through surgery and was fine. I get that these things do happen in real life, but they are also incredibly grueling and not magically fixed in real life. It's insulting to the people who have gone through things like this in their own lives to watch TV and for Hollywood to make it seem like these illnesses are so easily cured.
4.) Oops! We don't have Chemistry!- Remember when Joey started to have feelings for Rachel in season 8 of Friends? I know a lot of people were irritated by that storyline, but I always thought it was interesting. They were thinking out of the box and trying something that no one thought would ever happen. Then what did they do? They had Rachel and Joey (sort of) get together and BOOM, they no longer had chemistry. All feelings gone. On Grey's Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes hinted at the idea of putting George and Izzie together. Fans were adamant that this was NOT a good idea but she went ahead with the story anyway. After an entire season of the two of them pining after one another and them finally getting together, BOOM, they no longer have chemistry. It's a cop out as far as I'm concerned. I didn't necessarily WANT these couples to be together but it would have been nice for their story to be handled differently, otherwise it just feels like a waste of time.
As you can see, these storylines have been used quite often. They are overdone and they are annoying (to me, at least). If a storyline isn't working, be creative and fix it.
This season of Bones has me irked. While I admit that the episode last week was somewhat better than the first 3 weeks, I am still frustrated by it. It has inspired me to create a list of my top 4 most hated storylines.
Just a warning, there may be some spoilers scattered throughout this post for Bones, Alias, Brothers and Sisters, and Grey's Anatomy so if you are not up to date on any of these shows and would like to remain spoiler free, stop reading.
1.) Amnesia - You know the story... there is that one couple you can't wait to get together and just as they are on the verge of professing their undying love for each other (or have finally gotten together), one of them gets hit on the head, or is in a car accident, or goes "missing" for 2 years and low and behold, they can't remember a damn thing anymore. Not only can they not remember who they are/were, but of course they don't remember "being in love". This is weak storytelling and it drives me insane. I know, it doesn't just happen to couples on shows, it happens to single people too. For instance, there is an amnesia storyline happening right now on Brothers and Sisters with Holly. I'm not going to get into the details, mainly because I don't watch the show anymore, but COME ON, you are professional writers. You get paid A LOT of money to be creative and your viewers depend on that, so BE CREATIVE.
2.) The "new" love interest- When two main characters in a show are about to get together and the audience wants them together and then all of a sudden there is a new love interest for one or both of the characters. There is always mention of Moonlighting when it comes to a "will they? or won't they?" storyline. A lot of people say that when David and Maddie finally got together, the show hit a huge ratings decline and went downhill. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but at least they had the gusto to give it a try. On Alias, they brought in Lauren. Viewers HATED Lauren for coming between Sydney and Vaughn after they had gotten together at the end of the second season. What made it worse is that the show jumped ahead 2 years in time, so we didn't get to see the natural progression of things. Which brings me to Bones... Booth and Bones belong together. The producers of the show know it, the viewers know it and all the characters on the show know it. Instead of finding a way of putting them together and making the show work, they had them work on opposite ends of the world for a year. When they met back up months later, Booth was ridiculously in love with this new girl, who we are supposed to accept automatically because they are so "well matched" for each other. No. Three episodes ago, Booth was professing his love to Brennan, so no, I don't buy that you are head over heels in love with this hot blonde girl. Again, get creative. You can't pound it into the viewers heads that these two main character belong together, only to turn around and say "JUST KIDDING!". It does not make for good storytelling. It makes for annoying storytelling.
3.) Poof! You have a brain tumor and/or Cancer- When it comes to Grey's Anatomy, I will be the first to admit that the show has had its ups and downs. I will also be the first to admit that one of my favorite characters is Denny Duquette but when Izzie started seeing Denny again (his character is dead now) in the 5th season, people were annoyed. It had to be a dream of sorts or at the very least, a ghost. No my friends, she had a brain tumor which eventually led to her being diagnosed with Cancer. That "incurable" Cancer was in remission by seasons end. On Brothers and Sisters, Kitty Walker was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma last season. It was insanely depressing (of course), it was also cured within a few episodes. On Bones, Booth was seeing his old friend's "ghost" and Stewie from Family Guy was talking to him. What did that mean? Well it meant that he had a brain tumor, of course! He ended up having it removed through surgery and was fine. I get that these things do happen in real life, but they are also incredibly grueling and not magically fixed in real life. It's insulting to the people who have gone through things like this in their own lives to watch TV and for Hollywood to make it seem like these illnesses are so easily cured.
4.) Oops! We don't have Chemistry!- Remember when Joey started to have feelings for Rachel in season 8 of Friends? I know a lot of people were irritated by that storyline, but I always thought it was interesting. They were thinking out of the box and trying something that no one thought would ever happen. Then what did they do? They had Rachel and Joey (sort of) get together and BOOM, they no longer had chemistry. All feelings gone. On Grey's Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes hinted at the idea of putting George and Izzie together. Fans were adamant that this was NOT a good idea but she went ahead with the story anyway. After an entire season of the two of them pining after one another and them finally getting together, BOOM, they no longer have chemistry. It's a cop out as far as I'm concerned. I didn't necessarily WANT these couples to be together but it would have been nice for their story to be handled differently, otherwise it just feels like a waste of time.
As you can see, these storylines have been used quite often. They are overdone and they are annoying (to me, at least). If a storyline isn't working, be creative and fix it.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Premiere Week
Fall premiere week has come and gone and while I was disappointed with a few favorites, I was more than happy with Grey's Anatomy and Modern Family and even pleasantly surprised by some new shows.
Here is my take on a few of the season premieres (there may be some mild spoilers scattered throughout):
Castle: A show that started out as Jeff making fun of me for watching (I adore Nathan Fillion), quickly turned into a show that has become his favorite. The comaraderie between the main cast (Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever) is so fun and the storylines are always interesting. I was pretty sleepy while watching this but I managed to pay attention. The episode was funny and sweet and very cleverly done. It didn't really focus on last season's cliffhanger (which was small) but it was still fun.
How I Met Your Mother: It was a decent opener and had both Jeff and I laughing. I have to admit though that I am a little sick of the teases of "almost" meeting the mother. Yes, I know that is the basis of the show but for goodness sakes! The producers are saying that this is going to be their best season ever. I am looking forward to seeing if that's true.
Glee: Oh, my wonderfully fun Glee is back! Hooray! First an observation: Lea Michele and Cory Monteith are tan and way skinny. I liked this episode, but I didn't love it. I honestly thought it was a little depressing and I was expecting more of an upbeat episode. Maybe my expectations were set too high? I loooved Sue and Schue working together to take out the new football coach (Coach Beiste) and while i'm not crazy about the new characters they are introducing, I really loved the boys performance in the choir room. I thought it was fantastic! Next week is the Britney Spears episode. I am very much looking forward to seeing it, but not seeing Britney Spears herself.
Running Wilde: This is one of the new comedies on FOX, starring Keri Russell and Will Arnett. I'll start off by saying I love, love, love Keri Russell, so right off the bat I am telling myself that I will like this show. I thought it was a real good start to a new comedy series, though I really don't know how long they will be able to sustain the storyline of her trying to "fix" Will Arnett's character by making him a better man. The little girl who plays her daughter, Puddle (Stefanie Owen), was brilliantly cast. She looks just like Keri Russell and she's a good little actress! Will Arnett was great and the fella who plays his neghbor, Fa'ad (Peter Serafinowicz), had me cracking up. Also, tiny horses make me laugh real hard. I'll keep watching this show, not only to support my favorite Felicity alum, but because I am curious to see how they can sustain the funny.
Detroit 1-8-7: I decided to watch this because I was curious. Curious to see how they represented the "D" and I wanted to see what kinds of Detroit references they would make. It was better than I expected it to be and it was cool seeing all the Detroit stuff (street signs and things of that nature). I wasn't crazy about Michael Imperiolli playing the typical "grumpy veteran cop, who doesn't like his new over-eagar rookie partner". I guess that's supposed to be one of the interesting aspects of the show? It just seemed kind of cliche to me. It ended very unexpectedly though and I love when a tv show can surprise me like that, so, with that being said, I will be giving it another shot.
Modern Family: Words cannot describe how much I love this show. It's funny. SO, so funny and that is how a comedy is supposed to be. Consistently funny every week and I respect that so much. There isn't much else to say, except, if you aren't watching this show, then you don't enjoy laughing. It's fantastic and I am so happy it's back! Also, "WHAT'S THE PLAN, PHIL??"
Bones: This show has a tendency to really miss the mark when it comes to important episodes. I hated their season finale last Spring, so I went into the premiere with low expectations. While I was happy to see my favorite characters again (Booth, Sweets), I feel disconnected from this show. Something is off and I can't quite place what it is. I'm glad it's back though so it can find its footing again... At least I hope it can.
The Office: Yes, we finally caught up on all those episodes from last season. I ended up really enjoying them and was happy with the premiere, particularly the opening:
I am still worried about the whole Steve Carell thing, but i'm also interested to see what they do with it.
Grey's Anatomy: Last year at this time, Grey's Anatomy and I were fighting. I was furious with what Shonda Rhimes had done to one of my favorite shows and was VERY ready to give up on it, but, I am happy to say that she has redeemed herself (slightly). The season finale from last Spring will probably be ranked in my top 5 most favorite finales ever. It was that good. The premiere this season was a great capper to that finale. I am very happy with the direction the show seems to be taking this season and can't wait to watch more of it. Welcome back, Grey's. Welcome back.
Undercovers: Anyone want to guess if I liked it? Surpise, surprise, I didn't. Whether I am overly critical of all spy shows or not, I found it boring. I didn't care about the mission Steven and Samantha Bloom (Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe) had to go on and I honestly thought they were too gooey-gooey in love. Blech. I may be way too harsh off the bat because this is a J.J. Abrams show and I don't understand why he would need to delve back into the spy genre for a tv series. Maybe i'm a little bitter? Maybe. After watching it though, it just depressed me and made me miss Sydney and Vaughn a whole, whole lot. I may watch it again just to see if I like the next episode more, but I think I am way too critical when it comes to this to be fair.
I left Chuck off my little list here because I am still working my way toward last season's finale. I believe we have 3 episodes to go and I am thoroughly enjoying them. I love hearing good things about this show because it's so fun and deserves having good things said about it. I look forward to finally catching up with Chuck Bartowski!
What did everyone else think about all the premiere's? Particularly Undercovers? Am I being too much of a snob?
Here is my take on a few of the season premieres (there may be some mild spoilers scattered throughout):
Castle: A show that started out as Jeff making fun of me for watching (I adore Nathan Fillion), quickly turned into a show that has become his favorite. The comaraderie between the main cast (Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever) is so fun and the storylines are always interesting. I was pretty sleepy while watching this but I managed to pay attention. The episode was funny and sweet and very cleverly done. It didn't really focus on last season's cliffhanger (which was small) but it was still fun.
How I Met Your Mother: It was a decent opener and had both Jeff and I laughing. I have to admit though that I am a little sick of the teases of "almost" meeting the mother. Yes, I know that is the basis of the show but for goodness sakes! The producers are saying that this is going to be their best season ever. I am looking forward to seeing if that's true.
Glee: Oh, my wonderfully fun Glee is back! Hooray! First an observation: Lea Michele and Cory Monteith are tan and way skinny. I liked this episode, but I didn't love it. I honestly thought it was a little depressing and I was expecting more of an upbeat episode. Maybe my expectations were set too high? I loooved Sue and Schue working together to take out the new football coach (Coach Beiste) and while i'm not crazy about the new characters they are introducing, I really loved the boys performance in the choir room. I thought it was fantastic! Next week is the Britney Spears episode. I am very much looking forward to seeing it, but not seeing Britney Spears herself.
Running Wilde: This is one of the new comedies on FOX, starring Keri Russell and Will Arnett. I'll start off by saying I love, love, love Keri Russell, so right off the bat I am telling myself that I will like this show. I thought it was a real good start to a new comedy series, though I really don't know how long they will be able to sustain the storyline of her trying to "fix" Will Arnett's character by making him a better man. The little girl who plays her daughter, Puddle (Stefanie Owen), was brilliantly cast. She looks just like Keri Russell and she's a good little actress! Will Arnett was great and the fella who plays his neghbor, Fa'ad (Peter Serafinowicz), had me cracking up. Also, tiny horses make me laugh real hard. I'll keep watching this show, not only to support my favorite Felicity alum, but because I am curious to see how they can sustain the funny.
Detroit 1-8-7: I decided to watch this because I was curious. Curious to see how they represented the "D" and I wanted to see what kinds of Detroit references they would make. It was better than I expected it to be and it was cool seeing all the Detroit stuff (street signs and things of that nature). I wasn't crazy about Michael Imperiolli playing the typical "grumpy veteran cop, who doesn't like his new over-eagar rookie partner". I guess that's supposed to be one of the interesting aspects of the show? It just seemed kind of cliche to me. It ended very unexpectedly though and I love when a tv show can surprise me like that, so, with that being said, I will be giving it another shot.
Modern Family: Words cannot describe how much I love this show. It's funny. SO, so funny and that is how a comedy is supposed to be. Consistently funny every week and I respect that so much. There isn't much else to say, except, if you aren't watching this show, then you don't enjoy laughing. It's fantastic and I am so happy it's back! Also, "WHAT'S THE PLAN, PHIL??"
Bones: This show has a tendency to really miss the mark when it comes to important episodes. I hated their season finale last Spring, so I went into the premiere with low expectations. While I was happy to see my favorite characters again (Booth, Sweets), I feel disconnected from this show. Something is off and I can't quite place what it is. I'm glad it's back though so it can find its footing again... At least I hope it can.
The Office: Yes, we finally caught up on all those episodes from last season. I ended up really enjoying them and was happy with the premiere, particularly the opening:
I am still worried about the whole Steve Carell thing, but i'm also interested to see what they do with it.
Grey's Anatomy: Last year at this time, Grey's Anatomy and I were fighting. I was furious with what Shonda Rhimes had done to one of my favorite shows and was VERY ready to give up on it, but, I am happy to say that she has redeemed herself (slightly). The season finale from last Spring will probably be ranked in my top 5 most favorite finales ever. It was that good. The premiere this season was a great capper to that finale. I am very happy with the direction the show seems to be taking this season and can't wait to watch more of it. Welcome back, Grey's. Welcome back.
Undercovers: Anyone want to guess if I liked it? Surpise, surprise, I didn't. Whether I am overly critical of all spy shows or not, I found it boring. I didn't care about the mission Steven and Samantha Bloom (Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe) had to go on and I honestly thought they were too gooey-gooey in love. Blech. I may be way too harsh off the bat because this is a J.J. Abrams show and I don't understand why he would need to delve back into the spy genre for a tv series. Maybe i'm a little bitter? Maybe. After watching it though, it just depressed me and made me miss Sydney and Vaughn a whole, whole lot. I may watch it again just to see if I like the next episode more, but I think I am way too critical when it comes to this to be fair.
I left Chuck off my little list here because I am still working my way toward last season's finale. I believe we have 3 episodes to go and I am thoroughly enjoying them. I love hearing good things about this show because it's so fun and deserves having good things said about it. I look forward to finally catching up with Chuck Bartowski!
What did everyone else think about all the premiere's? Particularly Undercovers? Am I being too much of a snob?
Monday, September 20, 2010
A Killer Goes Solo
When it was announced that Brandon would be putting out a solo record, I thought it was a brilliant idea. Not only is he handsome, but he has the stage presence, energy, talent (he plays the piano/synthesizer as well) and the pipes to pull it off. Let me tell you, he pulled it off. His first solo record, Flamingo was released last Tuesday (September, 14th) and it's awesome.
This is "Crossfire", the first single from the cd. I have posted this on Facebook before, but why not watch it again?? The video features himself and Charlize Theron:
Some of the songs remind me a bit of the tracks from Ben Folds, Songs For Silverman, not lyrically, but musically (if that makes any sense). My favorite song (today) from Flamingo is "Was it something I said?". It's upbeat and fun and tells a story and makes me smile (even though it's about a girl leaving him, haha). The other song I really like is one of the bonus tracks, "The Clock Was Tickin'". It's probably the most "country" you will ever hear him and the song starts off really sweet about a couple meeting and falling in love...you can listen to it to find out how the song ends, but I love it and I believe this is Jeff's favorite from the cd as well.
If you plan on purchasing Flamingo, make sure to get the deluxe edition. It has 4 extra songs on it that he could have very easily incorporated into the regular version. Every song is great. All in all, I would give the cd 5 out of 5, but I am easily swayed by the sound of his voice and his dreamy looks. Go buy it for yourself and let me know what you think!
Also, he is coming in concert to The Royal Oak Music Theater in November. Dawn and I are going. You should all check him out too because hearing his voice live is a pretty amazing experience.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Keep on Rocking in the free world...
When I think of the MTV Video Music Awards, I immediately think of this:
I remember watching this performance (from the 1993 VMA's) over and over again with Dennis and our friends. Now, I am not a big Neil Young fan, but we thought this was amazing. Right before they sang "Keep on Rocking in the Free World", Pearl Jam did "Animal" which was the new single from their 2nd cd,Vs. We were all eagerly anticipating their performance and hearing something new from them so much, that I think the excitement carried on over to the duet with Neil Young. We loved it. That whole performance sums up what our excitement was like for that awards show back then.
Dennis and I always made a big deal about the awards. It was usually the night before we went back to school and some times (after we were sent to bed for the night), we would sneak down stairs to catch a glimpse of what was happening. I remember doing this when Guns N' Roses were performing "Live and Let Die" and being so upset I couldn't sit and watch it. Of course, this was back when MTV still played videos and we could discuss which ones we thought should win and which ones were going to win.
These days, MTV doesn't play videos. At all. So the fact that they still have an award show boggles my mind. I get it, it's a tradition, but really? Who is seeing these videos? Other than Lady Gaga, I didn't think artists even made videos anymore. Do the bands/artists/performers make the video and then it gets sent immediately to the MTV website? I know there are other stations who show videos, but MTV is not one of them. Perhaps it's time to let one of the other legitimate music networks take this award show over?
I'll admit, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the show last night. I fast forwarded through the entire first hour, but what I did see of it, wasn't too exciting. Maybe i'm too old now, maybe i'm not "with it", but the performances didn't do much for me and a good majority of them were lip synced. That's one of the things that I can respect about Lady Gaga. She may be kooky and out there and wear dresses and hats made of meat, but she is talented. Her voice is amazing and as extravagant as her musical performances are, she always sings live (as far as I know anyway). That's awesome.
Watching the VMA's is more of a joke now. Who is going to make a fool of themselves? Who is actually going to sing live? Who is going to interrupt who? At least I will always have those fun memories of staying up late on a school night, with my brother and watching our favorite bands rock out.
Now, the reason I dvr'd the first half of the VMA's is because we were watching the season finale of True Blood. It literally pains me to say how disappointed I am in the finale. It started off fantastic. It is probably the best Sookie episode so far. She was funny and finally, FINALLY stood up for herself and got her snarkiness on. So fun! The Eric parts had me riveted, not only because I love Eric, but because they were the most interesting parts of the episode. Other than that, the whole thing fell flat. The timing seemed off and to be quite honest, I don't think I care about any of the cliffhangers they left off with. A small part of me thinks I am being hugely biased because of the books. For the most part, I try to separate the books and the show. I know each is their own world, but when it veers off so much from the characters and story I love, it irks me... and I am irked. I won't get into specifics because I don't want to spoil anyone but I am a little annoyed. The only thing I wanted them to do with that episode, was set up the following season. As far as i'm concerned, there was no set up. Not if they are following the books anyway. If you know me, or have spoken to me about the Sookie books, you know #4 is my most favorite of all 10. L O V E it. The finale should have ended in a very specific way... I have the final shot they should have used in my mind and when it didn't, it left me disappointed. Maybe I need to not be so critical and just enjoy the ride? Oh well, I'm still looking forward to next season!
I remember watching this performance (from the 1993 VMA's) over and over again with Dennis and our friends. Now, I am not a big Neil Young fan, but we thought this was amazing. Right before they sang "Keep on Rocking in the Free World", Pearl Jam did "Animal" which was the new single from their 2nd cd,Vs. We were all eagerly anticipating their performance and hearing something new from them so much, that I think the excitement carried on over to the duet with Neil Young. We loved it. That whole performance sums up what our excitement was like for that awards show back then.
Dennis and I always made a big deal about the awards. It was usually the night before we went back to school and some times (after we were sent to bed for the night), we would sneak down stairs to catch a glimpse of what was happening. I remember doing this when Guns N' Roses were performing "Live and Let Die" and being so upset I couldn't sit and watch it. Of course, this was back when MTV still played videos and we could discuss which ones we thought should win and which ones were going to win.
These days, MTV doesn't play videos. At all. So the fact that they still have an award show boggles my mind. I get it, it's a tradition, but really? Who is seeing these videos? Other than Lady Gaga, I didn't think artists even made videos anymore. Do the bands/artists/performers make the video and then it gets sent immediately to the MTV website? I know there are other stations who show videos, but MTV is not one of them. Perhaps it's time to let one of the other legitimate music networks take this award show over?
I'll admit, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the show last night. I fast forwarded through the entire first hour, but what I did see of it, wasn't too exciting. Maybe i'm too old now, maybe i'm not "with it", but the performances didn't do much for me and a good majority of them were lip synced. That's one of the things that I can respect about Lady Gaga. She may be kooky and out there and wear dresses and hats made of meat, but she is talented. Her voice is amazing and as extravagant as her musical performances are, she always sings live (as far as I know anyway). That's awesome.
Watching the VMA's is more of a joke now. Who is going to make a fool of themselves? Who is actually going to sing live? Who is going to interrupt who? At least I will always have those fun memories of staying up late on a school night, with my brother and watching our favorite bands rock out.
Now, the reason I dvr'd the first half of the VMA's is because we were watching the season finale of True Blood. It literally pains me to say how disappointed I am in the finale. It started off fantastic. It is probably the best Sookie episode so far. She was funny and finally, FINALLY stood up for herself and got her snarkiness on. So fun! The Eric parts had me riveted, not only because I love Eric, but because they were the most interesting parts of the episode. Other than that, the whole thing fell flat. The timing seemed off and to be quite honest, I don't think I care about any of the cliffhangers they left off with. A small part of me thinks I am being hugely biased because of the books. For the most part, I try to separate the books and the show. I know each is their own world, but when it veers off so much from the characters and story I love, it irks me... and I am irked. I won't get into specifics because I don't want to spoil anyone but I am a little annoyed. The only thing I wanted them to do with that episode, was set up the following season. As far as i'm concerned, there was no set up. Not if they are following the books anyway. If you know me, or have spoken to me about the Sookie books, you know #4 is my most favorite of all 10. L O V E it. The finale should have ended in a very specific way... I have the final shot they should have used in my mind and when it didn't, it left me disappointed. Maybe I need to not be so critical and just enjoy the ride? Oh well, I'm still looking forward to next season!
Monday, September 6, 2010
A mish-mash of TV rants, reviews and thoughts.
It has been a week and to say that I am disappointed with The Emmy's would be an understatement. While I get that Breaking Bad and Mad Men are excellent shows, this was Lost's last hurrah, their last chance to get the recognition they deserve and what did they get? Absolutely nothing. Zero. Nada. They got a funny tribute performed by Jimmy Fallon as Billie Joe from Green Day (which I loved), but that's not the point. Whether you liked this show or not, whether you "got it" or you didn't, you cannot deny that what Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and J.J. Abrams created was unlike anything on television before. THAT alone should be rewarded.
Through 6 seasons they had their ups and downs. I admit that I was ready to give up very early on in season 3, but they realized what was wrong (unlike so many other shows, coughHEROEScough), owned up to it and fixed it beautifully. The show was creative, clever and had fantastic characters. It NEEDS to be recognized for that. How many buddy cop shows, Law and Order's and CSI's are on your tv right now? A TON. They thought outside the box and challenged viewers without dumbing down their storylines and I loved that. The worst Alias episodes were always when they tried to "catch viewers up" and remind them what was going on. We don't need reminders. If you are truly invested in a show, you get what's going on. Those actors, Matthew Fox, Terry O' Quinn, Michael Emerson, Elizabeth Mitchell (to name a few), should have been rewarded for their efforts. They were fantastic and I guarantee you will not see characters such as their's again... or at least for a very long time.
That concludes my bitter Emmy rant.
What did I love about The Emmy's? This:
Jeff and I still have yet to catch up on The Office. We have 5 episodes remaining. It makes me sad that I don't feel like watching. I'm irritated because most of last season was painful to watch and I think I am a little disheartened by the fact that Steve Carell is leaving and they want to continue without him. Here's some advice for The Office peeps; Don't do that.
True Blood's season finale is next week and I have no clue how they are going to wrap things up. They created loads of new stories, so I am very curious to see what happens. I'm also VERY sad that it's coming to end. I am going to miss my weekly Eric Northman fix.
Season 2 of The Vampire Diaries begins on Thursday (9/9), YAY! Even Jeff is excited for that to come back (though, he probably won't like me telling everyone that). This show is so fantastic at surprising you and they reveal important things every week. It keeps the momentum going and never lets the viewer get bored. Also, Ian Somerhalder is AMAZING in it. AMAZING. I didn't care for him as Boone on Lost, but as Damon on VD? Awesome. Love it.
The season finale of White Collar is tomorrow night and I have yet to hear about a season 3 renewal. Let me tell you, I will not be happy if this show doesn't get picked up for another season. If they gave they go ahead to Covert Affairs (Alias Lite) and not White Collar, I may feel obligated to write a letter to the USA Network. Seriously. My television cannot be without Matt Bomer. Nope. Also, I stopped watching Covert Affairs after the 2nd episode. Not only was it boring, but I really can't get over all the Alias rip-offs. And I can't justify watching a show with Sendhil Ramamurthy. No thank you.
The coming weeks will be bringing back all my favorite shows, yippeeee! I can't wait!
Through 6 seasons they had their ups and downs. I admit that I was ready to give up very early on in season 3, but they realized what was wrong (unlike so many other shows, coughHEROEScough), owned up to it and fixed it beautifully. The show was creative, clever and had fantastic characters. It NEEDS to be recognized for that. How many buddy cop shows, Law and Order's and CSI's are on your tv right now? A TON. They thought outside the box and challenged viewers without dumbing down their storylines and I loved that. The worst Alias episodes were always when they tried to "catch viewers up" and remind them what was going on. We don't need reminders. If you are truly invested in a show, you get what's going on. Those actors, Matthew Fox, Terry O' Quinn, Michael Emerson, Elizabeth Mitchell (to name a few), should have been rewarded for their efforts. They were fantastic and I guarantee you will not see characters such as their's again... or at least for a very long time.
That concludes my bitter Emmy rant.
What did I love about The Emmy's? This:
Jeff and I still have yet to catch up on The Office. We have 5 episodes remaining. It makes me sad that I don't feel like watching. I'm irritated because most of last season was painful to watch and I think I am a little disheartened by the fact that Steve Carell is leaving and they want to continue without him. Here's some advice for The Office peeps; Don't do that.
True Blood's season finale is next week and I have no clue how they are going to wrap things up. They created loads of new stories, so I am very curious to see what happens. I'm also VERY sad that it's coming to end. I am going to miss my weekly Eric Northman fix.
Season 2 of The Vampire Diaries begins on Thursday (9/9), YAY! Even Jeff is excited for that to come back (though, he probably won't like me telling everyone that). This show is so fantastic at surprising you and they reveal important things every week. It keeps the momentum going and never lets the viewer get bored. Also, Ian Somerhalder is AMAZING in it. AMAZING. I didn't care for him as Boone on Lost, but as Damon on VD? Awesome. Love it.
The season finale of White Collar is tomorrow night and I have yet to hear about a season 3 renewal. Let me tell you, I will not be happy if this show doesn't get picked up for another season. If they gave they go ahead to Covert Affairs (Alias Lite) and not White Collar, I may feel obligated to write a letter to the USA Network. Seriously. My television cannot be without Matt Bomer. Nope. Also, I stopped watching Covert Affairs after the 2nd episode. Not only was it boring, but I really can't get over all the Alias rip-offs. And I can't justify watching a show with Sendhil Ramamurthy. No thank you.
The coming weeks will be bringing back all my favorite shows, yippeeee! I can't wait!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Summer Concert Review
I have been to several concerts this summer. It may be safe to say that I am Concert-ed (I made that up) out. While each one was super fun in it's own way, I think I will be happy to take a break from it all for a while... Unless Ben Folds or Brandon Flowers decides to come here... Or Steven Page... Or The Hip.. Or.. ok, i'll stop.
I have decided to give you lucky people a rundown of each of the shows I went to. In no particular order:
She and Him- Royal Oak Music Theater
I am shocked that I was able to find video from this concert because security was SO tight regarding cameras and recording devices. Every 5 minutes someone was getting yelled at for taking pictures. The show itself was awesome. Zooey Deschanel is adorable and has an incredible voice and can rock a tambourine! Dennis and I had a great time despite the PACKED in crowd, smelly people and being crazy tired from being on our feet for so long.
Gaelic Storm- The Ark in Ann Arbor
First off, if you have never been to The Ark for a concert, you need to. It is by far, the coolest place to see a live show. It's intimate and relaxing and you feel like you are in someone's basement. It's just really, really cool. Secondly, the majority of you probably don't know who Gaelic Storm is. In short, they are a ridiculously fun Irish band that Jeff and I adore. We love them a lot and they make us happy. To see a band like this at The Ark was such a treat. They talked to the crowd, told stories and just rocked the place. It was such a good show! The following video isn't from our particular concert, but it is just a taste of what a fun group they are. It's a true story about how the lead singer (Patrick Murphy) got into a fight with Russell Crowe years ago. Jeff and I love this song! Also, the boy off to the side, in the blue shirt is Peter Purvis. He is crazy, CRAZY talented. I am pretty sure he can play every instrument there ever was. Oh, and I have a real big crush on him. He's so cute.
Barenaked Ladies- The Toledo Zoo
It's kind of weird to see a concert at a zoo. It's even more weird to see a concert at a zoo, in Ohio. Ohio-ans are different. The seats we had (the actual seats, not the location) were so uncomfortable. Giant metal bleachers, ugh. This was mine and Carrie's first post-Steven Page BNL show. They sounded great and were just as fun as ever. They still sing some Steve songs. Some are done really well ("Old Apartment"), others are not ("Sound of Your Voice"). We had a lot of fun and it felt SO nice to be back laughing, dancing and listening to our most favorite band ever. The video below is from that show. It's also mine and Carrie's (lybf) favorite BNL song and believe me when I say, we were ecstatic that they played it. Ecstatic.
Tom Petty- Palace of Auburn Hills
This was an extra special concert because my whole family was going. Mom, Dad, Dennis, Jay, Natalie and myself. An occasion like that hasn't happened in a very long time. Unfortunately, my dad ended up getting really sick and wasn't able to go, but he was with us in spirit!! I was sick as well, but was able to enjoy myself. This is one of those concerts where you just know EVERY song they play. Seriously, everyone knows every song. It's so much fun! They sounded awesome and Tom Petty's voice is exactly the same as it was years ago. We had some super fans in front of us that danced really wacky and were on their feet the entire time, but I can respect that because they were having fun. Not only that, but they provided Dennis and I with some extra entertainment and when you go to a concert, there SHOULD be super fans. That's what it's all about, right? This video is from our show. I chose "American Girl" for my mom because after all, she is An American Girl!
Barenaked Ladies/Kris Allen- Pine Knob (DTE, whatever)
This show had a bit of drama, to put it lightly. We were asked to sit down by 3 different people (1 of which wasn't even in the correct seats) during Kris Allen and during BNL. Sit down? At a concert? No. I paid good money to see these people. I am a Proctor. My parents are Tom and Carol Proctor, I KNOW how to act at a concert, seeing as I have been to countless of them. YOU DO NOT SIT DOWN AT A CONCERT. Aside from that crap, we had a fantastic time at this show. Kris Allen was great and sounded amazing. Natalie and I were so excited to see him and he did such a good job. He sang a bunch of songs off his album and did a few covers as well, including "Man In the Mirror" and "Heartless". I can honestly say that I can't wait to see him again.
BNL were fantastic as per usual. They sang a few songs that we haven't heard them play in years and I love when that happens. We had great seats for this show and that made it even more fun (even though we were asked to sit down and politely declined). Kevin sang "Sound of Your Voice" again and thankfully it wasn't as horrendous as the first time I heard it. Though, I still wish he would just stop it. They have found their groove without Steven and I think that's great. But I have to admit that I still miss seeing him up there, doing his super kicks and hearing his voice. Each of the following videos were from our concert.
And seriously, go ahead and tell me Kris Allen isn't adorable. He's so handsome.
I picked an adlib clip for BNL because it's about Pine Knob and it's fun.
Green Day- Pine Knob
I have been to several Green Day concerts (the first one, being 16yrs ago, as was pointed out to me by Dennis). One of the things that's sort of frustrating about them is that they tend to do the same show over and over and over again (all while sounding great of course), so much so that we pretty much know when Billie Joe is going to say certain things. I am so happy to say that this was not the case last night. FINALLY they changed it up (for the most part) and did SO many old school songs, we were losing our minds. It was SO. Much. Fun. We were on the hill, which was a lot of fun. There were no people being holes around us (with the exception of one girl who would NOT shut up) and we brought a picnic basket and a cooler and relaxed. They sounded fantastic and we danced and sang at the top of our lungs and it was just a really awesome time. I love when bands change their set list. I LOVE it and I was so happy they decided to do that. Billie Joe swears A LOT. He also says "MICHIGAN!!!" a lot and "AAAAAAAAA OOOOOOOO" and it's fantastic. The video is from last night's show. This is the only one I could find, otherwise I would have put a song from Kerplunk! or one of the older songs on here.
My summer concert extravaganza has ended and I enjoyed each and every show. I love music and I love people who appreciate music. Just remember the next time you go to a show that everyone is there for the same reason; to listen to the band and enjoy themselves. No one needs to be knocking anyone else for whatever it is they are doing. Just sing, dance and be merry, people!
I have decided to give you lucky people a rundown of each of the shows I went to. In no particular order:
She and Him- Royal Oak Music Theater
I am shocked that I was able to find video from this concert because security was SO tight regarding cameras and recording devices. Every 5 minutes someone was getting yelled at for taking pictures. The show itself was awesome. Zooey Deschanel is adorable and has an incredible voice and can rock a tambourine! Dennis and I had a great time despite the PACKED in crowd, smelly people and being crazy tired from being on our feet for so long.
Gaelic Storm- The Ark in Ann Arbor
First off, if you have never been to The Ark for a concert, you need to. It is by far, the coolest place to see a live show. It's intimate and relaxing and you feel like you are in someone's basement. It's just really, really cool. Secondly, the majority of you probably don't know who Gaelic Storm is. In short, they are a ridiculously fun Irish band that Jeff and I adore. We love them a lot and they make us happy. To see a band like this at The Ark was such a treat. They talked to the crowd, told stories and just rocked the place. It was such a good show! The following video isn't from our particular concert, but it is just a taste of what a fun group they are. It's a true story about how the lead singer (Patrick Murphy) got into a fight with Russell Crowe years ago. Jeff and I love this song! Also, the boy off to the side, in the blue shirt is Peter Purvis. He is crazy, CRAZY talented. I am pretty sure he can play every instrument there ever was. Oh, and I have a real big crush on him. He's so cute.
Barenaked Ladies- The Toledo Zoo
It's kind of weird to see a concert at a zoo. It's even more weird to see a concert at a zoo, in Ohio. Ohio-ans are different. The seats we had (the actual seats, not the location) were so uncomfortable. Giant metal bleachers, ugh. This was mine and Carrie's first post-Steven Page BNL show. They sounded great and were just as fun as ever. They still sing some Steve songs. Some are done really well ("Old Apartment"), others are not ("Sound of Your Voice"). We had a lot of fun and it felt SO nice to be back laughing, dancing and listening to our most favorite band ever. The video below is from that show. It's also mine and Carrie's (lybf) favorite BNL song and believe me when I say, we were ecstatic that they played it. Ecstatic.
Tom Petty- Palace of Auburn Hills
This was an extra special concert because my whole family was going. Mom, Dad, Dennis, Jay, Natalie and myself. An occasion like that hasn't happened in a very long time. Unfortunately, my dad ended up getting really sick and wasn't able to go, but he was with us in spirit!! I was sick as well, but was able to enjoy myself. This is one of those concerts where you just know EVERY song they play. Seriously, everyone knows every song. It's so much fun! They sounded awesome and Tom Petty's voice is exactly the same as it was years ago. We had some super fans in front of us that danced really wacky and were on their feet the entire time, but I can respect that because they were having fun. Not only that, but they provided Dennis and I with some extra entertainment and when you go to a concert, there SHOULD be super fans. That's what it's all about, right? This video is from our show. I chose "American Girl" for my mom because after all, she is An American Girl!
Barenaked Ladies/Kris Allen- Pine Knob (DTE, whatever)
This show had a bit of drama, to put it lightly. We were asked to sit down by 3 different people (1 of which wasn't even in the correct seats) during Kris Allen and during BNL. Sit down? At a concert? No. I paid good money to see these people. I am a Proctor. My parents are Tom and Carol Proctor, I KNOW how to act at a concert, seeing as I have been to countless of them. YOU DO NOT SIT DOWN AT A CONCERT. Aside from that crap, we had a fantastic time at this show. Kris Allen was great and sounded amazing. Natalie and I were so excited to see him and he did such a good job. He sang a bunch of songs off his album and did a few covers as well, including "Man In the Mirror" and "Heartless". I can honestly say that I can't wait to see him again.
BNL were fantastic as per usual. They sang a few songs that we haven't heard them play in years and I love when that happens. We had great seats for this show and that made it even more fun (even though we were asked to sit down and politely declined). Kevin sang "Sound of Your Voice" again and thankfully it wasn't as horrendous as the first time I heard it. Though, I still wish he would just stop it. They have found their groove without Steven and I think that's great. But I have to admit that I still miss seeing him up there, doing his super kicks and hearing his voice. Each of the following videos were from our concert.
And seriously, go ahead and tell me Kris Allen isn't adorable. He's so handsome.
I picked an adlib clip for BNL because it's about Pine Knob and it's fun.
Green Day- Pine Knob
I have been to several Green Day concerts (the first one, being 16yrs ago, as was pointed out to me by Dennis). One of the things that's sort of frustrating about them is that they tend to do the same show over and over and over again (all while sounding great of course), so much so that we pretty much know when Billie Joe is going to say certain things. I am so happy to say that this was not the case last night. FINALLY they changed it up (for the most part) and did SO many old school songs, we were losing our minds. It was SO. Much. Fun. We were on the hill, which was a lot of fun. There were no people being holes around us (with the exception of one girl who would NOT shut up) and we brought a picnic basket and a cooler and relaxed. They sounded fantastic and we danced and sang at the top of our lungs and it was just a really awesome time. I love when bands change their set list. I LOVE it and I was so happy they decided to do that. Billie Joe swears A LOT. He also says "MICHIGAN!!!" a lot and "AAAAAAAAA OOOOOOOO" and it's fantastic. The video is from last night's show. This is the only one I could find, otherwise I would have put a song from Kerplunk! or one of the older songs on here.
My summer concert extravaganza has ended and I enjoyed each and every show. I love music and I love people who appreciate music. Just remember the next time you go to a show that everyone is there for the same reason; to listen to the band and enjoy themselves. No one needs to be knocking anyone else for whatever it is they are doing. Just sing, dance and be merry, people!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Cakes, Comics, Vampires and A Hole.
In case you haven't noticed, I changed the design of the blog. Some people were saying the colors were making it hard to read, so I am going to try this one out. Don't be surprised if it looks different again the next time you stop by!
Since I finished re-reading the Sookie novels and the Flowers In The Attic books (apparently this is my summer for re-reading things), I have been filling my free time by watching cake shows (and trying to read Andromeda Klein, by Frank Portman). I'm not picky when it comes to these shows, I will pretty much watch all of them. Well, almost all of them...
I love Ace of Cakes (The Food Network) because I love the relaxed atmosphere of their bakery, Very rarely do you see any of them get stressed out over finishing a cake on time, or if something goes wrong during the design process. They all just go with the flow and that's awesome. Their cakes are always spot on, neat and clean. By that, I mean, they look simple and to the point. There is never anything too extravagant about the design and I love the simplicity of it. The end result is always, always impressive and by the end of the show, you just want to be friends with everyone who works at Charm City Cakes.
Since it aired, I have refused to watch Cake Boss (TLC). Why? I couldn't stand all the yelling. It wasn't until I sat down one night and forced myself to watch (because I wanted to see their process for creating/decorating the cakes), that I started to enjoy it. There, I said it, I enjoy Cake Boss. I am fascinated by how quickly Buddy can ice a cake, by the way he says "modeling chocolate" ("mwodeling chwocolate"), by the absolute busy-ness of that bakery and how many employees it takes to make it run efficiently. There are always TONS of people in the background working on different cakes and pastries. So. Much. Fun. I want to sample every delicious treat in there and help make little people sculptures right along with them. Some of the downsides to the show are his sister Mary being crazy annoying (I can't stand it when she yells at him) and at times, I find some of the cakes to be way over the top and almost gaudy looking. But I'll admit that one day, I would love to visit Carlo's bakery in person.
I have also been into Cupcake Wars (The Food Network) and Amazing Wedding Cakes (WE). I am absolutely enthralled by the decorating process and the way each bakery has their own techniques and recipes. I love it! The creativity of it all mesmerizes me and makes me want to practice, bake and eat delicious cupcakes!
I do not, repeat, DO NOT like DC Cupcakes (TLC). The two women who "ditched their corporate jobs to start a bakery" are not enjoyable to watch at all. All they do is bicker and call for their "mommy" and talk about their "signature swirl" (which any person with no baking experience could do). They are full of themselves and all of their employees seem miserable. I have no problem saying that I very strongly dislike the show and will not watch it.
Sticking with television and things I have been watching, True Blood has been A M A Z I N G this season. That is not an overstatement or an exaggeration. It has been wonderfully fun and entertaining. They have done a great job of remaining faithful to the book, plus making it more exciting at the same time. The new cast members have been phenomenal, particularly Dennis O' Hare as Russell Edgington, Joe Manganiello as Alcide Herveaux (Mmmm) and James Frain as Franklin Mott. All three have exceeded my expectations with what they have done with their characters. They were perfectly cast and have brought spunk and charisma to a show that was already exploding with it. Also, Bill is so much more enjoyable this season and I think it has to do with him being away from Sookie (can you tell I am Team Eric?). I cannot wait to see what the second half of the season brings.
Comic Con was last weekend and one of my favorite things to come out of it, was hearing J.J. Abrams thoughts on the Lost finale:
"I personally believe that Damon and Carlton kicked incredible ass and wrote an amazingly emotional finale"
Awesome.
Watching all the Comic Con coverage prompted us to take Charley to his very first comic book store. He was begging us to take him to the convention, "let's by tickets to go there!" so we figured the comic store would be the next best thing. We took him to Comic City in Novi (they also have locations in Canton and Pontiac and the owners are fantastic people, who Jeff and I have known for years). He loved it (especially the Star Wars stuff) and came away with a new fascination for Spiderman. I came away wanting the $70 Dr. Horrible figurine that they had in the display case (ahem... my 30th birthday isn't far off if anyone is looking for ideas...) and Jeff came away with a longing for the comics he used to collect every week. Ladies and gentlemen, we are grooming our Charley Bear to be a huge nerd and couldn't be more proud of it!
On a more musical note, Steven Page released his first solo single yesterday, "Indecision" (since departing BNL in February of 2009). Listening to it (3 times in a row) made me realize how much I have missed his voice and that I now have a love/hate relationship with my one time #1 musical crush. I looooove his voice and could listen to it all the live long day, but now I cannot hear it without thinking of him as the hole who broke up my favorite band and made me feel bitter. Damn him for that! The single itself is good and very reminiscent of "Bull In a China Shop" (from BNL's Barenaked Ladies Are Me). Hearing it makes his absence more noticeable on BNL's new cd, All In Good Time (obviously) and made me realize that while it is a good record, THAT'S what is missing from it (again, obviously). Maybe as more time passes, I will be able to move on from his departure from the band, but in the meantime, I can always put both of their new cds on and hit shuffle and it will be as if nothing ever even happened.
Since I finished re-reading the Sookie novels and the Flowers In The Attic books (apparently this is my summer for re-reading things), I have been filling my free time by watching cake shows (and trying to read Andromeda Klein, by Frank Portman). I'm not picky when it comes to these shows, I will pretty much watch all of them. Well, almost all of them...
I love Ace of Cakes (The Food Network) because I love the relaxed atmosphere of their bakery, Very rarely do you see any of them get stressed out over finishing a cake on time, or if something goes wrong during the design process. They all just go with the flow and that's awesome. Their cakes are always spot on, neat and clean. By that, I mean, they look simple and to the point. There is never anything too extravagant about the design and I love the simplicity of it. The end result is always, always impressive and by the end of the show, you just want to be friends with everyone who works at Charm City Cakes.
Since it aired, I have refused to watch Cake Boss (TLC). Why? I couldn't stand all the yelling. It wasn't until I sat down one night and forced myself to watch (because I wanted to see their process for creating/decorating the cakes), that I started to enjoy it. There, I said it, I enjoy Cake Boss. I am fascinated by how quickly Buddy can ice a cake, by the way he says "modeling chocolate" ("mwodeling chwocolate"), by the absolute busy-ness of that bakery and how many employees it takes to make it run efficiently. There are always TONS of people in the background working on different cakes and pastries. So. Much. Fun. I want to sample every delicious treat in there and help make little people sculptures right along with them. Some of the downsides to the show are his sister Mary being crazy annoying (I can't stand it when she yells at him) and at times, I find some of the cakes to be way over the top and almost gaudy looking. But I'll admit that one day, I would love to visit Carlo's bakery in person.
I have also been into Cupcake Wars (The Food Network) and Amazing Wedding Cakes (WE). I am absolutely enthralled by the decorating process and the way each bakery has their own techniques and recipes. I love it! The creativity of it all mesmerizes me and makes me want to practice, bake and eat delicious cupcakes!
I do not, repeat, DO NOT like DC Cupcakes (TLC). The two women who "ditched their corporate jobs to start a bakery" are not enjoyable to watch at all. All they do is bicker and call for their "mommy" and talk about their "signature swirl" (which any person with no baking experience could do). They are full of themselves and all of their employees seem miserable. I have no problem saying that I very strongly dislike the show and will not watch it.
Sticking with television and things I have been watching, True Blood has been A M A Z I N G this season. That is not an overstatement or an exaggeration. It has been wonderfully fun and entertaining. They have done a great job of remaining faithful to the book, plus making it more exciting at the same time. The new cast members have been phenomenal, particularly Dennis O' Hare as Russell Edgington, Joe Manganiello as Alcide Herveaux (Mmmm) and James Frain as Franklin Mott. All three have exceeded my expectations with what they have done with their characters. They were perfectly cast and have brought spunk and charisma to a show that was already exploding with it. Also, Bill is so much more enjoyable this season and I think it has to do with him being away from Sookie (can you tell I am Team Eric?). I cannot wait to see what the second half of the season brings.
Comic Con was last weekend and one of my favorite things to come out of it, was hearing J.J. Abrams thoughts on the Lost finale:
"I personally believe that Damon and Carlton kicked incredible ass and wrote an amazingly emotional finale"
Awesome.
Watching all the Comic Con coverage prompted us to take Charley to his very first comic book store. He was begging us to take him to the convention, "let's by tickets to go there!" so we figured the comic store would be the next best thing. We took him to Comic City in Novi (they also have locations in Canton and Pontiac and the owners are fantastic people, who Jeff and I have known for years). He loved it (especially the Star Wars stuff) and came away with a new fascination for Spiderman. I came away wanting the $70 Dr. Horrible figurine that they had in the display case (ahem... my 30th birthday isn't far off if anyone is looking for ideas...) and Jeff came away with a longing for the comics he used to collect every week. Ladies and gentlemen, we are grooming our Charley Bear to be a huge nerd and couldn't be more proud of it!
On a more musical note, Steven Page released his first solo single yesterday, "Indecision" (since departing BNL in February of 2009). Listening to it (3 times in a row) made me realize how much I have missed his voice and that I now have a love/hate relationship with my one time #1 musical crush. I looooove his voice and could listen to it all the live long day, but now I cannot hear it without thinking of him as the hole who broke up my favorite band and made me feel bitter. Damn him for that! The single itself is good and very reminiscent of "Bull In a China Shop" (from BNL's Barenaked Ladies Are Me). Hearing it makes his absence more noticeable on BNL's new cd, All In Good Time (obviously) and made me realize that while it is a good record, THAT'S what is missing from it (again, obviously). Maybe as more time passes, I will be able to move on from his departure from the band, but in the meantime, I can always put both of their new cds on and hit shuffle and it will be as if nothing ever even happened.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Alias "Lite"
It is a simple fact that I will always and forever compare all spy genre shows to my beloved Alias. It doesn't matter what the premise is, I will immediately say it's an Alias rip-off. When Chuck first came out, I was intrigued by it but at the same time, I was snotty about it and figured they were stealing things from the wonderful world of SD-6. They weren't. Like I said, i was just being an Alias snob. Chuck is actually a really, really fantastic show. It has all the fun spy stuff, it's super funny and they always leave you surprised. The storylines are original and it's this show that introduced me to Mr. Matthew Bomer (Of White Collar, which I will get into in a bit).So, of course I had mixed feelings about watching the premiere of Covert Affairs on USA (Tuesdays @ 10pm). It stars Piper Perabo (of Coyote Ugly fame) as Annie Walker, a 28yr old CIA agent leading a double life... and she works at a bank! Just kidding, she doesn't work at a bank. I think her "cover" is that she works at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. I won't get too much into the plot in case people want to watch it for themselves, but there were some semi interesting twists and turns. It didn't overly impress me, but I didn't hate it, so that's good. Separately, I really like everyone on the show. Christopher Gorham (most recently from Ugly Betty) is my favorite part about the show. He's the "tech guy" who just happens to be blind. I really enjoyed his part in the episode. It also stars Peter Gallagher ( The O.C. and Center Stage), Kari Matchett (Invasion, where she played a Dr./alien fish) and hold on to your hats Heroes fans because the fan favorite (not really) Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder Suresh) is in it as well. Though he wasn't in the Pilot episode, I am eagerly anticipating his appearance (not really).
Just a few observations (silly, yes, but they all ran through my mind as I watched the show):
- Some parts of the episode were ridiculous, like the extremely long car chase scene. I told Jeff it reminded me of the pod race in The Phantom Menace. It was unnecessarily long and kind of pointless.
- Annie Walker is no Sydney Bristow. At all. Though no one can compare to Sydney, she certainly doesn't kick ass like her. She is a likable character, but there is something off that I can't put my finger on.
- Her apartment (which is really her sister's pool house? Guest house?) looks just like Sydney's.
- Jeff kept saying the music was very Alias-like (though not as good, of course).
- "Truth is complicated" is the new "Truth takes time"
All in all, I will refer to the show as "Alias-lite" (props to Carrie for that one). I will keep watching and see where it goes, but really, all it does is make me want to watch Alias. If I hadn't had an episode of White Collar to watch, I probably would have watched "Truth Be Told" before I went to bed.
I also watched the 2nd season premiere of White Collar. The basic premise of the show is about a white collar criminal named Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) who cuts a deal with the FBI to help them with crimes using his expertise as an art thief and counterfeiter. His partner is Peter Burke (Tim Dekay), who is married to Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen) and the 3 of them have a really fun relationship. They all play off of each other really well. There is always some crime (obviously) that they need to solve, but it is always done in a clever way. And the thing that always surprises me about the show is how funny it is. I love that. It also made me like Tiffani Thiessen again, who I liked on Saved By The Bell but hated on 90210. Willie Garson (Stanford from Sex and The City) plays "Moz" and he is actually one of the best parts about the show. It was a good season premiere and I am looking forward to next week's episode. I know I said it before, but if you are looking for something to watch this summer that isn't reality tv, you should check it out.
J.J. Abrams new spy series Undercovers premieres in the fall and you know I will have things to say about that. Hooray, something for all of you to look forward to!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Dear Emmy voters...
Emmy nominations were announced this morning and while there are a slew of awesome nominations (with Glee leading the pack), there are a few of the same names we have seen over and over and over and over and over!
Case in point: TONY SHALHOUB
Really? Tony Shalhoub again? Including this year, that is 8 times in a row. 8!! Have any of you ever even watched an episode of Monk?? I find it REALLY hard to believe that it's that good of a show (the show itself has never even been nominated). I remember watching a little bit of an episode a few years ago and not being impressed with it. I just don't get it. It's beyond ridiculous. There are so many fresh, new, talented actors out there. Wake up Emmy voters! Just so you know, Monk is no longer on the air but i'm sure that won't stop them from nominating him again next year out of sheer habit.
Alec Baldwin, I sort of get, even though this will be his 4th nomination in a row. He's funny and 30 Rock is a great show (and the rest of the cast is always recognized, along with the show as a whole).
I have a few other problems with the nominations, but these are fun problems to have...
Outstanding Drama:
Lost
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Mad Men
True Blood
The Good Wife
Obviously, I am going to go with Lost here, but I can't lie... I would be pretty ecstatic if True Blood ended up taking this one. Lost deserves it though. Hands down.
Case in point: TONY SHALHOUB
Really? Tony Shalhoub again? Including this year, that is 8 times in a row. 8!! Have any of you ever even watched an episode of Monk?? I find it REALLY hard to believe that it's that good of a show (the show itself has never even been nominated). I remember watching a little bit of an episode a few years ago and not being impressed with it. I just don't get it. It's beyond ridiculous. There are so many fresh, new, talented actors out there. Wake up Emmy voters! Just so you know, Monk is no longer on the air but i'm sure that won't stop them from nominating him again next year out of sheer habit.
Alec Baldwin, I sort of get, even though this will be his 4th nomination in a row. He's funny and 30 Rock is a great show (and the rest of the cast is always recognized, along with the show as a whole).
I have a few other problems with the nominations, but these are fun problems to have...
Outstanding Drama:
Lost
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Mad Men
True Blood
The Good Wife
Obviously, I am going to go with Lost here, but I can't lie... I would be pretty ecstatic if True Blood ended up taking this one. Lost deserves it though. Hands down.
Outstanding Supporting actor in a Drama:
John Slattery (Mad Men)
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
Martin Short (Damages)
Terry O’ Quinn (Lost)
Michael Emerson (Lost)
Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age)
Smoke Monster or Henry Gale? If we are going by last season alone, I have to go with Terry O' Quinn, but gosh I love Michael Emerson.
OUTSTANDING COMEDY
Glee
Modern Family
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Nurse Jackie
30 Rock
The Office
Curb Your Enthusiasm
How to choose a favorite? With the exception of a few episodes (most notably the wedding episode), The Office had a pretty disappointing season. Jeff and I still have the last 5 episodes sitting in our dvr, waiting to be watched. You all know how I feel about Glee. I adore it so so much and would be thrilled if they won, however, Modern Family is the only show that actually had me laughing for the entire half hour. It's a brilliant comedy. The writing and acting are truly phenomenal, so I suppose they have my vote.
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Matthew Morrison (Glee)
Steve Carell (The Office)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Tony Shalhoub (Monk)
Again, judging by my disappointment in The Office this season, I have to go with Matt Morrison. He’s crazy talented and would totally deserve a statue. Not to mention the fact that he’s super handsome. But Tony Shalhoub will probably win.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Chris Colfer (Glee)
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)
Jon Cryer (Two and A Half Men)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)
I told you Modern Family was a good show. Look at all those nominations! Jon Cryer is insignificant in this category, as far as I'm concerned. Chris Colfer was awesome on Glee and I loooooove NPH, as well as Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet but I have to go with Ty Burrell. The man is freaking funny.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Jane Lynch (Glee)
Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live)
Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)
Julie Bowen (Modern Family)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
Holland Taylor (Two and A Half Men)
I am going with Jane Lynch. She’s a comedic genius.
Matthew Fox was nominated for Best Actor in a Drama and Elizabeth Mitchell was nominated for her "guest spot" this season. Of course, I believe both should win. If nothing else, Elizabeth Mitchell should win for us having to endure her heartbreaking scenes over and over and over again (thanks Lost editors!).
There you go, those are my Emmy thoughts. If you want to see the full list of nominees and not just my biased choices, here is the link:
http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/07/08/emmys-2010-nominations/
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