Brokeback Mountain

The closing night movie for the Starz Denver International Film Festival was the much anticpated Brokeback Mountain. It's a good movie but not really the movie it could be. It just didn't all come together. I felt it could have been more powerful especially at the end. All the credit in the world to Ang Lee and his production staff for doing such a good job with most of the cowboy elements. The parts with them showering or washing their clothes out in the wild with nothing more than their hats and boots on, so true. It's that incase you die at this moment in time you better do it with your hat and boots on mentality. There were a few things that they seemed to get wrong but no movie is perfect.

As for the performances. Jake Gyllenhaal was fantastic. His desire to live the life he truly wants running smack into the wall of how he had to live his life came through so great in every aspect of his performance. He is the one who deserves all the hype that is for some crazy reason going to Heath. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that Heath's performance was bad it's just that it wasn't that moving either. Yes he did a great job of playing the one desperately wanting to deny his feelings. The quite one who barely speaks and when he does he mumbles more than anything. There in lies part of the problem. In some of the more intimate moments you could not understand what he was saying. Luckily you knew the jist of the scene but I want to hear the dialogue and know what he is saying. There was just no emotional connection to him. If he ends up with nominations that's fine but there is just no way he should be winning anything.

As for the ladies. I don't like Michelle Williams and I will never understand why people insist she is such a good actress. Everything she does is so dull. Unfortunately she got the bigger role in this film and so she's getting all kinds of undue attention. Seriously what movie are people watching that she deserves any credit for her performance. Anne Hathaway didn't get enough work if you ask me so she really couldn't show a lot. The differences in the wifes was very intersting. Anne didn't really get to show what she might be capable of until the very end. See red area for details.


Spoilers ahead!


Okay I have read on more than one occassion that Heath plays the traditionally female role in this movie. The one who is pursued and all that. How the hell do you figure that? Jack (Jake) is the hopelessly romantic one. The one who will do anything for one moment with the man he loves. Come on Ennis (Heath) has this perfect little life but will sneak off to have a few nights with someone else and then return to his family like nothing ever happened. Jack however, wants to leave his wife and get a little place somewhere so him and Ennis can live happily ever after. Which one of those seems more the typical female character to you? Jack puts himself out there for these little rendevous hoping someday that Ennis will come around and run off with him. It's the he'll leave his wife for me someday scenario.

Unfortunately even though Ennis ends up divorced they never end up together. Jack is killed and sadly Ennis only finds out when he gets a post card returned. He calls Jack's wife, Lureen (Anne), and finds out what happened. This is when Anne gets her one big moment. She tells Ennis how Jack was killed in a mishap envolving a flat tire while we see a flashback of what really happened. He was beaten to death by three or four other guys. The lies people will tell themselves and the world are amazing at times. Lureen is the wife who knows somewhere deep down why her husband runs off to Wyoming a couple times a year. And what he may be doing with another man in town but chooses to ignore it and live the life she has created. That's where the lie about his death comes in. But while telling the lie to the man he husband ran off to see she has a quite breakdown. It is the most heart breaking moment in the whole movie to me.

I really didn't buy into the holiday scene with Ennis, Alma (Michelle), their kids and her new husband. While yes, they might invite him over for dinner and all that I really didn't buy into her finally having it out with him over what him and Jack really do up in the mountains. Plus her whole thing about putting a note in his tackle box to see if he was really fishing didn't seem real. Sure we all know what they were doing up there but considering the era in which the film took place they still would have been fishing so they had something to eat while up there. Plus it seemed like them having that fight would have been the last thing that happened before the divorce not that weird bedroom scene.

Jack's dad was true to form. Being so mean that he wouldn't let his son's last wishes be carried out. That was sadder to me than the fact that he died.



Had to pay more than double the price of a regular evening admission to see this screening. Getting to see it a head of the general public and the fact that Ang Lee was there made it worth that. But it is worth a full price admission.

The Matador

The second film I saw at the Starz Denver International Film Festival was The Matador. Overall I was disappointed with the film. I didn't care much for the directors style. He was also the writer and the writing was good as was the basic story. There were some things in the story I would have liked to have explained better. I thought it was rushed a bit towards the end. And while I normally don't mind Greg Kinnear (he's not way up my list of actors though either) I really did not care for him in this role at all. He was not the right compliment to Pierce Brosnan. Pierce however was great. This was such a different role for him. I loved seeing him play someone icky. It was a great role for him that will hopefully show people he is more than just the sauve guy in a suit.

The writer/director Richard Shepard was present and did an audience Q&A following the screening. Nice guy. It's also worth noting that Greg's character lived in Denver and he said he did that because his wife is from Denver and he loves the area. However, due to budget constraints he was not able to shoot in Denver. (I won't even go into my tirade about that right now. That is a seperate entry all together.) It was interesting to learn that he ended up making this film because Pierce and his production company requested a sample of his writing because they were considering hiring him to write another project. Then when pierce read the script for The Matador he wanted to make it. Also he's worked on a couple movies with the always wonderful Maura Tierney. He wrote and directed a movie with her and Adrian Brody called Oxygen and produced a movie with her called Scottland, PA. He is also working on another movie for her. Always worth keeping an eye on someone who will give that woman work.

I had to pay more than a usual full price ticket to see this movie and it was not worth that price. Truth is it is really only worth matinee price and the only reason it would be worth more is for Pierce.

Walk The Line

I know I am way behind. I saw Walk The Line the day it opened. It was a really good movie. Reese Witherspoon is hands down my front runner for all best actress awards. She was simply amazing. I think do to all the fun light hearted stuff she has done people are always a little tentative on giving her the credit she deserves and acknowledging her talent but she showed it all off here. Arguments can be made for her deserving more nominations (at the very least) for some of her past performances and now it is time for everyone to step up and give her the respect she deserves. And believe me with the also long overdue attention Claire Danes deserves it is some what painful for me to accept that she will have to wait to take home anymore statues. (Remember she has a Golden Globe for My So-Called Life.) Anyway Reese was dead on with everything in the movie. From the comedy to the drama she did not miss a beat.

And the same goes for Joaquin Phoenix. He has also given several terrific performances in the past and he is dead on perfect here. While I am a country music fan I have never really had a take on Johnny Cash but what I did know was that he would have to give the performance of his life and it would live and die by his singing. Needless to say he nailed it. Even my Grandmother says both Joaquin and Reese nailed it. When people who knew the entire span of June and Johnny's careers are saying this you know they did something right. And I saw Brokeback Mountain the same weekend and no way in hell does Heath Ledger deserve any awards over Joaquin. This is what it comes down to. If Jaime Foxx won last year and he lip-synced then there is no excuse for Joaquin not winning when he did the singing.

I'm not going into the spoiler area on this one because it has been so long since I saw it.

I ended up seeing it at a matinee but I would have been more than happy to pay full price for this movie and probably will pay full price when I see it again.

Transamerica

I had my first film festival experience this weekend at the 28th Starz Denver International Film Festival. It was very cool. Saw Transamerica starring Felicity Huffman. What a good film. Felicity totally deserves the slowly building Oscar buzz she is getting. If she gets nominated that would be great but I would still vote for Claire Danes if I had a vote that is. Considering it is usually the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender films that are dark and tradgic that get any real buzz it's nice that this funny, dramatic, heartwarming one is getting any attention. Hell it's just nice having a film with a storyline with a central character that is transgender that doesn't end in some sort of tradgedy.

Felicity isn't the only highlight of the films cast. It also features nice performances from Elizabeth Pena, Fionnula Flanagan, and Graham Greene, in small supporting roles. Again if I were a voting member of any award giving comittee I would have to at the very least nominate Fionnula Flanagan for supporting actress. Kevin Zegers who played the son of Felicity's character was amazing. He's been around since he was a small child but I'm not familiar with him.. He should have a big career in front of him.

As an added bonus to all of this Duncan Tucker the films writer and director was present and did an audience Q&A following the screening. It was great to hear some of his stories and how everything has come together for his little film. Especially an interesting one about Dolly Parton writing a song that will play during the end credits when the film is officially released next month. Always have liked Dolly, like her even more now.

I think I will skip the extended review with plot details for this one. I encourage people to go see this film if you have the chance. It's a roadtrip movie as different and funny as you will ever find.

Shopgirl

Waiting for a movie with Claire Danes can be as tormenting as waiting for one with Jodie Foster. But as with Foster it is always worth the wait and for some reason with Claire they always come in groups. I am not a Steve Martin fan so I'm never looking forward to him in anything and in a drama I was a bit worried. I was pleasantly surprised though. Perhaps it's because he wrote the novella and the screenplay so he was very in touch with the character. Whatever it was I don't know if anyone else would have done justice to the role. Jason Shwartman was very good in his role.

While their performances were good and exactly what the movie needed it really lived and died on Claire's performance. No way this movie gets the attention it is if not for Claire. Doesn't matter who it was really if she had phoned in even a single moment the film was in trouble. Claire didn't and if anyone doesn't understand why she's getting all the buzz it's as simple as this, in subtlety does Claire's greatness lie. It is not just in this film that that is true. Claire's true greatness has always been in what she brings to the small often silent moments of her projects. Anyone episode of My So-Called Life will prove that.


Spoiler time:


The part when he was talking to his therapist and her to her friends about their relationship was really great. It was very intersting to see a scene that shows so perfectly how completely different two people can hear something. It was very funny how he thought what he said was so clear and to the point when it wasn't and how much more she read into it. Perspective really is everything at any given moment in a relationsip.

Along those same lines it was a nice character turn for him in that even though he didn't want anything to serious and committed he still felt torn by certain things. And clearly felt that their relationship was a little more than what he initially thought or he wouldn't have felt the need of telling her about sleeping with that other woman over Thanksgiving.

Jason's goofiness was refreshing for the film. When he was out on the road with the band and still couldn't stop being weird was great. A lot of times in movies he would have come back this whole different person who was all mature and groan up. Basically the younger version of Steve's character. I liked that, that didn't happen. Sure he had his moment when he ran into her in the parking lot in his suit but that was really just a mask. He was still the guy whose really awkward around woman and never manages to say the right thing but isn't ever saying the wrong thing either.


This movie was worth the full price I paid and then some.

NCIS

As I said in my post earlier I was very upset with Kate's death and worried about her replacement both actress and character. They through some nice twists in there with Ziva in the beginning making you wonder what she was up to and if she should be trusted. The whole story with Ari wrapped up nicely and really gave you a good feel for Ziva.

So far I love her character and am very impressed with Cote de Pablo, an actress that I had no knowledge of prior to her joining the show. Tony continues to annoy and get more annoying almost by the episode but she is a very good counter too that. Not only in the sameway as Kate was but also in her own way. I also like how there is a bit of Gibb's in her. Her being a more dangerous driver than him is halarious. They do a great job with her not understanding thing's about American culture and sayings. Like when she saw a yard sale sign and wanted to know why some one would sell their yard.

While I hope Abby will evenutally warm to her I like that she is hostile towards Ziva at the moment. I'm hoping they will have to work together sometime soon. The hostility and abbrasiveness between the two will be good for quite a few laughs I think.

The Fog

It is my tradition to go to a movie on Halloween. (Yeah I know I'm way behind.) So this year I choose The Fog. Some of you might be asking why that and not say Saw 2. Well the answer is timing. While I probably will see Saw 2 I chose to wait because if I go to scary movies to soon I always end up with those annoying people (usually girls/women dragged there by their boyfriends) who don't like being scared and thus don't like scary movies and do aleaviate their fear they start talking when ever it gets tense so they won't be scared. So while seeing them with a big audience is nice because you can since everyone elses tension and fear it's not an option for me any more.

As for the movie itself. I wasn't expecting very much and got even less. They spend to much time showing the back story which totally killed the movie. The ending was the dumbest horror ending I've seen and I've seen some bad horror films. On the upside Selma Blair and Maggie Grace gave nice performances which is probably the only thing that saved this movie.

I'm not going to go into a big huge review like I have with other films. So I'll just get to the end. Paid full price and it wasn't really worth it. Matinee price would not be a waste of money. It's pretty late into it's run so at this point unless you have a two or three dollar theater in your area you should just save the money and wait for dvd.

Prime

This was a pretty good movie. It did have one big problem which you can read about farther down in the red spoiler area. All the acting was good which was vitally important to the movie. Sometimes with comedies they can still play well with subpar acting this was not one of them. This was one where you had to pay attention and keep up with the dialogue to catch the jokes. You also have to keep up with everything that's been happening because it isn't one of those set up the one-liner kind of scripts. A lot of it just came from natural dialogue that was made funnier by knowing what came before it or was quite possibly coming after it. I have a tendancy to laugh so hard at stuff that I miss some of the follow up laughs. This moive had everyone laughing so hard at times that even if I had stopped laughing it would have mattered because you couldn't hear the dialogue over the laughter.


Don't read if you don't want to know what happens this will give away a major plot point.


First off while the thing with David's friend throwing pies in the faces of women who don't want to go on a second date was mildly amusing it was also very lame. That was the only time you saw any of his friends just that one guy and his immaturity. Of course when it came to the friends and age stereotypes the movie didn't do much to dispel them. David had one friend who was very immature and that did eventually rub off on him. Rafi on the other hand worked in the fashion industry and had three gay male friends and one heterosexual female friend who were all very mature and wanted to settle down.

Rafi had her immature moments. She wants to see other people and then throws a fit when she found out he had a one nighter with one of the models she works with. They never established that her and the model had anything but a working relationship so she had no business getting so pissed about it.

Loved when he brought her to his place, which was his grandparents' place. Uma did a a great job of collapsing in shock and embarrassment over that.

Now to the movies big problem to me and that was the ending. I don't mind that they didn't end up together, but the way they orchastrated it was awful. Rafi spends all this time whining about him not being able to give her what she needs (when what she really means is what she wants a a baby and a family) and then when he's finally getting on track with his career and willing to give her what she wants she tells him no because he will regret it. I can't stand taht whole telling someone what they want and feel thing. While it didn't completely destroy the movie it did make me dislike Rafi a lot.


Despite my one issue with the plot it was still worth the full price of admission.

Reunion Returns

On the eve of it's return from the baseball imposed hiatus I thought I'd do a little recap.

1986

We meet the six friends. Will Malloy, Jenna Moretti, Carla Noll, Samantha Carlton, Craig Brewster, and Aaron Trumball.

Samantha and Craig are dating but apparently broke up for a bit and her and Will (who is Craig's best friend) got together and now Sam is pregnant. The only person who knows this is Carla.

Will takes the fall for a car accident that Craig caused while drunk that killed a father of three.

Aaron finallyy gets his chance with Jenna.

Carla and Samantha head off for London.

In the present day of this episode we learn that a necklace of Carla's (scene in the flashbacks) was found on the body.

Also at some point Carla must have been married as her last name is now Holland, although she does not have a wedding ring on. So clearly she isn't married anymore (whether by divorce or death) or there is the other option that perhaps she just changed her name for some reason in the past 20 years.

1987

Sam has her baby (a girl) in London and gives it up for adoption.

Having served 9 months of his 12 month sentence Will returns to Bedford.

Sam and Carla return from London.

Sam goes to visit Jenna in New York and finds Aaron also staying with her. Later he tells Carla that he has dropped out of school.

Poor Aaron also gets his heartbroken when he learns that their summer together meant far less to Jenna than it did to him.

Will runs into his cellmate who gets him to help in robbing Craig's house. They get caught by Craig. In the end Craig ends up with the gun that is later used to kill one of the six friends.

Will also takes a job with Craig's dad's real estate development company.

Aaron heads for Seattle.

In the present day Carla throws the gun into the river. And we learn that Will is still alive and is now a priest.

1988

Sam locates the people who adopted her daughter and contacts them unfortunately they want nothing to do with her.

Not knowing what it's for Will offers to give her the money she needs. Unfortunately for him the project he was relying on to get that money in a bonus falls through and he ends up bribing the guy at the EPA to make it happen.

Carla takes a job as a nanny for the people who adopted Sam's daughter.

Will gets busted for his EPA payoff and can save himself by ratting out Mr. Brewster.

Will gives Sam the money and she promptly returns it and he pushes her back into Craig's arms.

In the present day we learn that Detective Marjorino is the stepson of the man killed in the 1986 car accident caused by Craig. And that Aaron is still alive and has become enormously successful.

Now it's on to 1989 and by 1990 we will know who for sure the murdered friend is.

North Country

Overall a decent movie that could have been a lot better in the hands of a better director. Luckily the directors inabilities with the story and how to show it did not destroy the movie completely which is mostly due to Charlize Theron. She definitely proved that Monster was not a fluke. All the acting was good. Even Woody Harrelson who I normally don't care that much for was on the mark.


Spoilers To Follow:


While most of the stuff at the mine was done pretty well it was all the in between stuff that wasn't handle very well all the time. The scene at the bar when we first meet Bill White (Woody Harrelson) was way to long. It could have been half as long or shorter and still served its purpose. The part when Sherry (Michelle Monaghan) hit on Bill was completely unneccessary and helped show another part of the problem with the movie. It was like Niki Caro didn't want you to feel to sorry for the woman. Like she wanted you to kind of feel like they invited some of it on themselves.

I liked the difference in how the woman saw stuff and were torn with what to do. Should they side with Josey or just keep quite. Especially Glory (Frances McDormand) being the union rep. She was trying to fix the small things perfectly content to try and be one of the boys maybe hoping the others would follow her lead and that would slowly start to make things better only none of them really knew how to do that. It was also interesting to see how she was still basically afraid or unwilling to help the cause when she had nothing else to lose fearing it might only make the problems worse.

Interesting the difference in the laws and courts today though. If they tried something like they did with that teacher and trying to make her out to be a slut for having sex with a teacher nowadays the judge would most likely fine them beyond all belief. That was so out of control. And that guy was the most despicable person ever for lying about what he saw.

I did like the scene at the union meeting when she tried to speak. I did really care for her father until that point. And I couldn't figure out why he was being such a jerk to her and that scene answered it. He didn't really believe her because he hadn't seen it until then. But when he actually saw how bad it was he realized he had been the jerk and his daughter wasn't lying. Not that, that totally made up for his behavior but at least he came around to her side a bit.

You know that this movie wouldn't have been made if Josie and the others hadn't won their case so I was wondering how they were going to give the end any dramatic impact. That was probably the only thing the director nailed. Having everyone slowly stand up and show their support for Josie, starting with Glory's boyfriend reading that letter for her was really powerful.


Paid full price and despite my issues with the directing it was still worth that price.

The Season So Far

First just a couple thoughts on my last few new shows. I am actually quite surprised with The Night Stalker its stories are better than I was expecting. With stars Gabrielle Union and Stuart Townsend the acting was bound to be good so the stories and how they were told was the big question mark with this show. They are no longer a question mark. The only real problem with the show is that they shoot it too dark. It's way to hard in some scenes to see what's going on and I get that it's suppose to be spooky but when you can't even see the expressions on the actors faces sometimes you just don't know if what's going on is suppose to be spooky or just surprising. It's in a bad time slot and is suffering in the ratings. Not really expecting it to make it through the season.

I am also really enjoying Related it's a lot funnier than I was expecting it to be. The relationship between the sisters is great. I don't have any siblings but can still relate very well to the characters and their connections. Hopefully it will start getting some better ratings and get a full season pick up.

As for other shows I am no longer watching Kitchen Confidential (Just wasn't grabbing me and there was nothing special about it.), Sex, Love, & Secrets (Which I stopped watching before it was officially cancelled.), and My Name Is Earl (It's a fun show but nothing that really keeps me interested.)

Into The Blue

The main reason I saw this one is because I am a Jessica Alba fan. I know a lot of people just see her as another young pretty face but there is so much more there. My expectations for the movie weren't very high and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it turned out. There was some under water stuff with the actors that was a little weird and just didn't look right but, otherwise the over all look of the film was very good. There was some cheesy dialouge but I have to give credit to all the actors for doing their best to sell those lines. No one just phoned it in. Some of the diving footage could have been shortend up which would have helped because of the times when the story seemed to lose focus. Jessica and Paul Walker were both good which isn't a surprise. Felt Scott Caan over did it a couple times but other than that he was pretty good as well. Josh Brolin wasn't very good which also isn't a surprise. But Ashley Scott was just bad. I've seen her in a couple things so far and people just need to stop giving her work.


Spoilers Ahead! Skip the red if you don't want to risk having anything ruined.


I knew pretty early that Josh Brolin was one of the bad guys but I did not anticipate that cop friend of Jessica and Paul's characters being a bad guy. I figured he'd just end up still going to the wrong cop for help.

I was so glad when they finally got rid of Ashley Scott's character but it just was not dramatic at all. It almost would have been better if the drug guys had just kept her hostage and her get killed when Josh's character killed everyone on the boat. The thing with the shark for all the basic build up to it just didn't work really well. That was also one of the things that bothered me about Scott's character, how unfeeling he was. Yes they had only known each other a matter of days but come on that was just a bit ridiculous.

And at the end when they used the sharks to their advantage to help kill the bad guys I have to say having the shark come up from underneath and bite that guy between the legs was rather fun. Yes I'm sure it wasn't so fun for all the guys in the audience but it was different than most shark bites so points to the director for that one.


Saw this one at a matinee and it was well worth that price and I would not have been upset had I paid full price for it.

Domino

Good story a little loose in places. The acting all around was pretty good but Tony Scott's directing style nearly killed it. He needs to learn how to edit stuff tighter. And if there was one more shot of those gold fish in that bowl I may have thrown something at the screen. It didn't drag as badly has some of his other work but useless shots really kill the overall flow. Since it was in the previews I can put it here without doing it in the red spoiler area. While the part with Mo'Nique on The Jerry Springer Show was fun and a good laugh it was pointless to the overall story and another one of those things that if left on the floor could have helped the pacing of the film.


Now a few things that could be seen by some as spoilers so skip the red typing if you don't want anything ruined for you.


Kiera Knightly freaking rocked in this kickass role. I swear even if this movie had turned into a complete disaster it would have been worth it for the part when she broke Brian Austin Green's nose. How many of us would love to do that? And seriously how funny was it when he was telling her how her bad girl act couldn't fool him because he's an actor. He may be an actor but we all know he's a bad one.

The scene when they crash in the desert another example of Tony's bad editing. I am not one of those people who gets down on every sex scene in every movie for being pointless or gratuitous but come on this one was a bit ridiculous. Much better if the bus crashes and then the next morning they manage to flag down a passing motorist.

Also don't need the backstory on their driver/explosives guy. That was just pointless on all levels. It only serviced an ending that didn't need to be serviced by that much screen time.


Paid full price and do good acting and a decent story designed for no other purpose than a couple hours of fun in mind it was worth it. Luckily also the actors understood it was just a fun crazy movie and didn't take it or themselves too seriously. That would have killed the whole thing.

Proof

No more long breaks for Gwyneth. The girl doesn't like for courage on in the roles she takes. To not do anything for so long and then come back and do a role where if she is off the slightest bit it will ruin the whole movie is damn gutsy. And she totally nailed it. I know she played the same role on stage but that can sometimes lead to disaster. She could have tried to do play something slightly different to freshen it up and have it back fire. I don't know that she didn't do that as I never saw her on stage, clearly, but if she did do that it worked. Jake Gyllenhal was great as well. He had a less openly emotional role but he did a great job getting through what he needed to get through from his character. If he had let down the slightest bit to Gwyneth things could have been bad but he didn't. He's always done good work and he continues to show he's at the top of his generation of actors.

Saw it at a matinee and would have been happy to pay full price for it.

Boston Legal

I love this show. The character of Alan Shore was a great addition to the final season of The Practice and an even better one to use for a spin-off. He'd be a great character to base a show around spin-off or original series. David E. Kelley is a master of the quirky character. And in Alan Shore and Denny Crane he's created two of his best. The cases he's come up with so far are also some of his best. The only thing that has surprised me with this show is the female characters. David usually makes great female characters, no one writes women better than David does. But, he just hasn't gotten a real grasp on these women. Maybe that's his cast, perhaps their personalities just aren't meshing well with the characters.

His selection of actresses has been great. Monica Potter and Rhona Mitra, both great. I was worried about the shelf life of Tara (Rhona) once he decided to go ahead and hook her and Alan up. Monica's character never seemed to fit in real well. Lori Colson (Monica) was a little to tight and never got a ton of fun stuff or banter (althought that time when she told Tara she was "nasty hot" still makes me laugh when I think about it). Being the straight woman to everyone elses wackiness just wasn't working. Brad Chase (Mark Valley) being the straight man in that same wackiness works very well but I think that's because he has a very direct oppostion in Alan. Lori being the balance for the rest of the cast was to much to ask. In the first season I was very heart broken by the departure of Lake Bell. I think of all the casting changes that was the hardest to take. The actress and the character had so much potential in David's hands.

The addition of Candice Bergen was a stroke of genius though. She is a great opposition to Alan and Denny. And the perfect actress to go toe-to-toe with Spader and Shatner. Wasn't to thrilled with the addition of Julie Bowen over the summer. In the few times I watched Ed I was not that impressed with her. That has all changed in the first couple episodes of Boston Legal. She has been great. And love the fast one they seemed to have pulled in filming. I'm thinking they left a lot of Monica's scenes on the floor in favor of new scenes with Julie, Ryan Michelle Bathe, and Justin Mentell.

Don't believe me, look at the evidence. The guest appearances by Heather Locklear and Rupert Everett were announced early in the year. There were five episodes left unaired when the show was bumped for Grey's Anatomy, those episodes where then added to the season two run. It's reasonable to assume that by the time ABC made the decision all the episodes were pretty much in the can. (I'd say at least three of them were completely done the other two might have still been shooting or editing.) Add to that, that in the first episode Julie and the other newbies did not appear in any scenes with the established cast members. Julie appeared in one scene with Candice in the second episode, and how else would you explain her letting two pretty much straight out of law school associates handle her divorce? That's a lot of money to risk in the hands of people with very little experience.

As for the big case. Heather Locklear was perfect. Spader was on his game. That thing when he was stretching before pointing at and accusing the housekeeper of the murder was to funny. Freaking love David bringing Anthony Heald over as Judge Harvey Cooper from The Practice. Those were two of my all time favorite episodes and he was a big reason they were so good. Ranks as one of my all-time favorite tv judges.

But the end when Betty White whacked Leslie Jordan with the frying pan and killed him was the best part of the second episode. I absolutely love how David takes actors and actresses always associated with the nice character and has them do something so bad. Can't wait to see how this case plays out especially with Alan and Denny off in Canada fishing.

The Constant Gardener

This wasn't a movie I was initially going to see. It just didn't look all that good. But it was getting tons of critical praise (not something I pay a lot of attention to) and some of that praise was leaning towards award buzz. I do try to stay up on award stuff unless it's just something I can't stand. Unfortunately that buzz (and ultimately nominations) can lead to miserable hours of watching movies such as Lost In Translation and Sideways. But since I am a fan of Rachel Weisz I figured I'd see this one.

It was okay. Rachel and Ralph Fiennes gave nice performances. The story was pretty good unfortunately a lot of that was lost in not so great direction and way to slow a movie. The pacing was way to slow for a movie of this type. That slowness killed any suspense in the movie and the story needed the suspense. They easily could have shaved ten minutes off the film and that would have made a huge difference. I know to some people that may not seem like a lot but believe me with a movie like this it can make all the difference. I don't know what the director hoped to accomplish with some of the framing of certain shots but whatever it was it didn't work.


SPOILERS Ahead:


Considering all the people close to Justin (Ralph) who conspired in their own ways against Tessa (Rachel) and ultimately played some hand in her murder he never got mad enough for my taste. Yes he hunted down the truth but he never really got angry at anyone. I mean he looked two different men in the eye who admitted informing different parties about her where abouts and he just walked away from them. He never directly lashed out at them physically. And yes violence is not always the answer but come on we are suppose to believe her loved her so much that he would give up his career and ultimately his life for the truth but he wouldn't punch the people who made it easy for the bad guys to find her and kill her. Not buying it.

And that part about him giving up his life. Yeah, I didn't care for that much either. Exactly what was the point of him doing that other than to be with her. Fine he got the report and the letter off to the right people but why didn't he continue on then and make sure people were punished or something. I didn't like him just sitting out there in the middle of nowhere waiting for the bad guys to come kill him. And no I don't care if it is based on a book and that was probably the ending in the book it's still a stupid ending.


I saw this one at a matinee and that is what it's worth money wise, but, like I said it was at least ten minutes to long.

An Unfinished Life

The number one comment I have about this movie is, why, why can't she just be Jennifer Lopez the actress why does she insist on being J. Lo the star most of the time?

It was a pretty good movie. Good performances all around. I was especially impressed with Becca Gardner, the young actress who played Jennifer's daughter. She was in what could have easily been intimidating company every where she looked in every scene but she held her own. The whole movie was beautifully shot and well executed. The overall story was good rather subtle on it's exact theme but that was just how it needed to be. It was not something that should have been done in a a heavy handed way.


SPOILERS Ahead:


There was some stuff I didn't fully understand. Especially with the bear, at first anyway. I did like it but I didn't always get what it's emphasis on the movie was. I mean it was important to explain Morgan's character and what happened to him. It did turn out to be an intersting way for Redford and the girl to bond though. I was surprised though that after they tried to set the bear free that Jennifer didn't lose it when she found out what they had really been up to. I mean he did put the only good thing she really had left in her life in a rather dangerous situation. And man when Morgan had to stand there and let that bear charge him that must have been freaky.

Didn't really care for or buy that whole thing between Jennifer and the sheriff, played by Josh Lucas. I mean her basically using sex to get protection unnecessary. It's a small ranching town the sheriff doesn't have a lot to do and being friends and all with Redford he'd have been looking out for her anyway. That's what sheriff's in tiny towns like that do. If it had been played as more of a real relationship from the start it would have been more believable.

It was a different story than I was expecting. The previews lead you to believe there was more of a big mystery behind what happened to his son but it was nothing more than an accident and him just not being able to deal. Didn't hurt the movie made for a better movie this way really.


So over all it was worth the time and money of seeing this movie. That's basically how I rate movies by how much I paid. I pay full price for most things and then gauge if it was worth that much or not. And yes I paid full price for this one.

NHL Returns

Tonight's the big night play officially resumes in the NHL. Okay so yes they have been playing preseason for a couple weeks but that doesn't really count since they don't show those games. At least not here they don't.

I am so excited for this now red line for passing rule. That is really going to create some great stuff I think. I wonder if they will really stay tight with obstruction calls all season. They've said they were going to crack down on it for the past couple season but about 20 games or less in they suddenly don't see the hooking and grabbing going on. It's always good when they are calling it because powerplays can be really exciting and really stressful depending on which side your team is on and how close the score is.

Living in Colorado I am an Avs fan. Sad to see Peter go but since had he stayed there's a 90% chance Alex Tanguay would have been traded I'm not that upset about it. I'm sick of all my favorite players being the ones to go. And being that my eastern confrence team is the Montreal Canadians and my favorite player there has for years been Patrice Brisebois I was extremely happy when he signed with the Avs. He was the one player I thought they should go after.

Reunion writing

I do see some of the flaws in the writing for Reunion however, it seems some people are being a little to hard on it. I've been trying to figure out why exactly that is. I think I may have figured it out.

Us the viewer have become accustomed to very clever writing with these kinds of shows. A lot of that comes from pop culture references. Those references are usually very 80's-centric and now 90's stuff is in there a lot too. So we get Reunion a show that spans the mid 80's to now, and there by can not at this point make those clever references to stuff since it is either happening at that time or has yet to happen. Perhaps if everyone lays off a bit it will gradually get better as the years go by and these people can reference all that stuff. Stuff I might add that they will be able to reference in a different way than a lot of characters on tv since they will have actually lived it.

If you pay attention they are already doing a fun job in some ways. The first epiosde made reference to Carla being the Molly Ringwald of the group. Good reference that is usuable then, hell that reference will still be usable 10 more years down the road. And for those of us who 9 or so that thing with Jenna dancing on the cars in the music video priceless.

Veronica Mars

HOLY CRAP! It's back and better than it was last season.

I was so disappointed when the person at the door was Logan. Glad Veronica was too. He is a jerk and not worthy of Veronica. And even if he had the potential to be worthy of her he's done nothing to prove it. He has even more work to do now to redeem himself and that's just to get back to being friends. There may not be enough redemtion to make him worthy of more. Duncan however, is so much better for her. Yes, I know he was a jerk to her for awhile as well. But, he had reason to treat her like that. I mean possibly sleeping with your sister, and then her dad trying to destroy his family (with cause but he didn't know that) it's not exactly the makings of a good relationship. Now that, that's all worked out they can get back to being a happy couple. Of course if it weren't for how strange and icky things might be on account of their parents dating I'd like to see her with Wallace. And it would ultimately ruin their great friendship which would suck.

Anyway onto the real reason this show rocks, the mystery. Wow, first that thing with Logan being suspected of killing one of Weevil's boys. And then the crash. I think I may have actually stopped breathing for a minute. I had read the big mystery involved a bus accident but never anticipated it being why the bus plunged off a cliff. And with Meg on board, heartbreaking. What a great move by the writers having a vision of Lily lead Veronica to Weevil and off that bus. Guess someone had a guardian cheerleader.

Great to see the shows numbers were up. Not by a big amount for a show on a big four network but a huge amount for UPN. Now if all those poeople will just keep watching and help get more people to watch.

And to anyone whose reading this and contemplating watching the show who thinks it seems kinda lame and that's why you aren't watching. I was you last season until Alyson Hannigan's first guest appearance. Big fan and I read she was all mean so I wanted to see that. Watched one episode before her appearance to kinda get a feel for what was going on and I was totally hooked. It is well worth your time.

Sex, Love, & Secrets

In the first episode it seemed that this was clearly one of those good in theory shows. The idea just didn't play out very well. Even with a fairly decent cast it can't be saved. It seems the characters aren't very well thought out. The only one who seemed complete was Denise Richards. Now that might be because the bitch is usually not a very complex character and if she is it's hidden under all that bitchiness and the fun of the character is figuring out why she's like that. Then again it could just be that Denise knows exactly what the point of her character is and how to play it while the others have no idea what's going on.

The second episode was better it had a lot more focus. It would have been very easy to figure out what was going on without the first episode. The network should have dumped the pilot episode and just started with episode two. Perhaps the reviews wouldn't have been quite so bad if people would have seen that episode instead. Doesn't mean it would have faired any better in the ratings but, you never know.

First or second episode though the narration is overdone and really annoying. It serves no purpose to the story. As much as I like Desperate Housewives its success has unfortunately led to, too many shows using narration as if that's the secret key to success. News flash for all those people it's not helping. Most shows I've seen suffer as a result of the naration a few it really does help but if it's just there to be there like with this show then it needs to be cut from all scripts.

Even though the second episode was better with the announcement that UPN has shut down production on the show there is no reason to continue watching to see if it keeps getting better.

FLIGHTPLAN

This was a decent movie. Needed some better pacing and it would have been better because it would have been more intense. Jodie Foster can pack and emotional punch with nothing more than a passing glance at times, which serves the movie very well. All the decision makers made the right choice by changing it from a male lead to a female lead. It really would just be a pretty standard action film with a male lead and most likely wouldn't have the emotional pull that it did. While her part was small Erika Christensen made a smart choice in doing this film. Nothing was riding on her box office wise and she got to spend a lot of time watching one of the best in the business. Something tells me she probably learned a few things from Jodie and considering how good Erika is already that can only spell greater things for her future. And anyone who doesn't think Erika is anything special then you need to rent the movie Home Room and if you still don't get it then you never will.

SPOILER ALERT: Anyone planning to see this movie that doesn't want to know crucial information about the film skip all the red typing.

Okay so I go to these things and I get so into it that sometimes I seem to make sure I don't figure it out. I knew the head flight attendant was in on it but I didn't completely see the air marshall (Peter Sarsgaard) being the other bad guy. At times I thought it was him, then I thought no it's got to be the pilot, then no that's to obvious. Basically I was back and forth the whole time. And I was really beginning to wonder if there was a third person involved as well.

I was 99% sure that she wasn't losing her mind and that her daughter wasn't dead. Even so when she opened the coffin I found myself hoping the girl wasn't in there too. I think I may have even held my breath for a moment.

I did find it a little odd that the captain would just believe she wouldn't make the demand for the money herself or that, there wouldn't be a demand coming from somewhere on the ground. That just seemed a little to odd. But what was even worse was that it only took like a minute for the captain to call the right people at the airline to get 50 million dollars wired. It would take longer than that to wake up the right people because I'm sure they aren't just hanging around the corporate offices at that time of night. They needed to find away to extend that area a bit.

The one other thing that was weird was Erika's character. The whole movie I felt like she was going to end up being more pivitol to the plot. That she was going to stumble upon some clue and find away to help Jodie more. It even felt like those scenes had originally existed but got pulled. It was very strange.


Now I'm just going to say enough with freaking boycotts. Ya know I bet at least 90% of the movies made are offensive to some group somewhere. If you don't like it don't go but just get over it. Flight attendants saying that it depicts them as unhelpful and uncaring need to get a clue. The notion that the role of airline staff will be undermined is beyond obsurd. The truth is that if you really pay attention to the movie the captain isn't really helpful. He's only doing it to try and calm her down and not cause more problems on board and the attitude of the rest of the crew comes from him. I saw it as them thinking the captain doesn't really care so why should we.

Killer Instinct

When I first read about this show I thought it sounded interesting. Sounded like it would have a lot in common with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit only with a wider scope of crimes for the special team to investigate. Then I started to see the previews and I started to get a little worried because some of the dialogue just didn't sound that great and the acting didn't seem much better. Upon viewing the premiere it was better than the previews looked.

However, I don't much care for Johnny Messner. I don't know exactly what it is there's just something about the way he's playing it that I don't like. It kind of feels like he doesn't completely believe in his lines which may help to explain why the dialogue doesn't seem so great in several places.

There were also some serious story flaws. Like the fact that they didn't seem to learn about the guys lab until the very end. What kind of detective work is that? I mean when they got to his house they should have figured out that, that wasn't where he did his research. And for all his genius of using the spiders to paralyze his victims the guy sure was an idiot when it came to escaping. If he'd have just gotten in his car and taken off after he talked to his accomplice he'd have had a much better chance.

I'll give it an episode or two more to see if the problems work themselves out. That may not really matter though because even before seeing the show I wasn't real happy with the news that Marguerite Moreau had been removed from the cast. I like her and I liked her character. I don't understand why they made this change and even worse than the change is the way they left it. They left a big mystery hanging there and it's just stupid if the explanations don't make much since and the new girl isn't very good I won't keep watching. At the very least they could have figured out away to wrap up what ever she was up to in a couple episodes before letting her go.

It is nice to see Chi McBride in another show.

Ghost Whisperer

Really didn't know if this show would work very well since it's not a mystery of the week type thing like Medium but I am happy to report it seems to work just fine. I like that unlike Medium her friends know about her gift. The shows are two different takes on the same basic gift. I wouldn't be surprised if there is an occassional mystery to be solved but I hope not to often I like that this one is a more personal aspect of the characters.

And can everyone please lay off Jennifer Love Hewitt. I don't know what she did all those years ago to piss every critic in the world off and make them hate her but get over it. She's a lot more talented than they want to give her credit for she just hasn't always done a good job of picking material that shows it.

Aisha Tyler took a pretty big risk leaving CSI:... for this show. I hope the ratings hold and it works out for her. Wondering how much we will get to see her character hopefully it's a good amount. It's cool how she's still a little creeped out by the whole thing.

Charmed

If you are any of those people that watched the show in the early years that turned away recently because it got a little dark and heavy, you have to come back. This was the best season opener in at least 2 years. It was so funny like those first few years. Paige coming to the wake as Janice Dickenson was classic.

How cute is Wyatt? First being all sad and confused because he didn't recognize mommy and then when "he" vanquished the demons. That little boy is so cute. I wonder if he'll actually get some lines this year or if he'll just continue to be silent.

I will admit I was a bit worried with the addition of Kaley Cuoco. Not because of the actress but just the story. There's always a lot of risk there bringing in a younger character like that. But so far it seems like it may work. She was great.

Phoebe quizzing that guy as to why he never asked her out was so her. But when she had everyone at the newspaper all confused was perfect especially then when she left without having gotten any of her things.

Can't wait to see how they figure out how to start living as themselves again.

Crossing Jordan

The show got off to a lot better start than it did a finish. That was a great case.

Woody is such a jerk. I've never cared much for his character and he doesn't need to be acting like that towards Jordan she's not responsible for what happened to him. On the bright side his attitude means they won't be getting together since they don't belong together.

Glad we didn't have to wait for Macy to come back into the fold but I did find the very end there with the evidence a bit lame. After how zealous Slocum was in getting Macy it didn't seem like he would just give the evidence back and let it go. But that is one of the weird things about this show while it's fun and can be really good they have this nasty tendancy to just drop storylines. It seems they don't always plan how to get out of the stories they create and then just end them out of nowhere.

I wish they would get a new underylying season long mystery it hasn't been the same since they ended the whole who killed Jordan's mom thing. It was much better when that was always haunting her.

And why do we have to have another cross-over with Las Vegas? It wasn't that good last time and they are annoying when you see those episodes in syndication.

Desperate Housewives

Great show last season even if the answer to mystery became apparent a little sooner than I was expecting it to. At least it did for me. And it is off to a great start this season.

Edie you gotta love her. She was to much with being disappointed that Susan wasn't hurt by Zack while he was holding her hostage. Those two and their love hate relation ship is one of the best dynamics on the show. And she is such a scene steeler. But considering she gets some of the best lines in the whole show that's not hard to do.

All the stuff surrounding Rex's funeral was fabulous. I loved when Bree told his mom that she would have security guards to keep her from the funeral that would beat her with sticks if she tried to get in and that if the preacher didn't back her she would pull the funeral from his church and go non-denominational. I can honestly say I've never heard a threat like that before. But we all know the best part of the episode was when Bree couldn't handle Rex being buried in that hidious tie and changed it like she did.

Even without the mystery the addition of Alfre Woodard is a great one. I am dying to know why they have him chained up in the basement. That almost makes up for the whole Gaby being pregnant storyline. The show doesn't need anymore kids. I'm sure people are going to think I'm the worst person in the world but the best thing that could happen is for her to miscarry.

Cold Case

Everything about this show from the stories to the way it's put together with flashbacks or flashes of the younger person is very well done and the season premiere did not disappoint. It's been awhile since it's taken me so long to figure out who did it for sure. It's characters balance each other very well. None of them are made to always be the bad cop and even when they are the bad cop in an episode they still have moments in that episode where they are good and you see why it is that a case affects them so much.

I really like the addition of this new female detective Josie Sutton (Sarah Brown). The only problem with the show has been to much male perspective on cases it will be nice to have a second female perspective on cases. It will also be fun to see what happens when Lilly and Josie have different perspectives on the same case rather than the standard female vs. male opposing perspectives all the time.

ER

I swear if I hadn't watched this show since day one I probably wouldn't still be watching it. But at this point I've been with it so long I have to see it to the end. It kind of like staring at an accident as you drive by you just can't look away. I need to see just how bad it can get and there's always that tiny bit of hope that it may get going again.

A couple seasons ago when they brought in the characters of Sam and Neela and most stuff seemed to revolve around them and Abby it looked like it might get back on track. Then the pissed that all away again last season when they pulled back from them and they didn't have Sam being so fiesty. Ever since the departure of Carol they have needed a tough ass nurse.

They really gave Sam and Luka some great stuff there in the opener. If it weren't for that, the episode may have fallen flat on its face. Although I did like how they showed the different styles of doctoring and teaching of Abby, Ray, and Neela. Especially Abby just doing everything on her own. Neela's student was interesting to say the least. Neela may have had trouble with her interaction with patients in the beginning but at least she didn't blow every single diagnosis she made.

The episode (and most episodes lately) would be better if they had sustained emergencies. Unfortunately over the last five years they have been way to focused on everyones personal lives which really only serves the show when it directly impacts their jobs but they don't really work it that way anymore.

This weeks episode is interesting though. The previews make it seem a bit like the second coming of one of the most talked about episodes in the history of the show Love's Labor Lost. Hopefully Ray will have a better outcome than Mark did.

CSI:... The Original

I am in what seems to be a small group that is still trying to figure out what was so great about the season finale. Honestly, I expect so much more. They had a good story but somehow it all just didn't click. I felt they should have made it 90 minutes to make the pacing better. Also they barely did any investigating. I mean it really just fell into their laps where he was which was even dumber. I knew where the guy had buried Nick when Sara interviewed his daughter. Sara's a lot sharper than that and it didn't even occur to her where he was? Also if there was bomb material under the test box with the dead dog did in it why did it not blow up when they moved the box and why did they not see the explosives when they moved the box?

They did start the season off pretty well although I felt they were over doing it with three cases. My main problem with last season wasn't so much the team being split up as it just led to, too many cases at one time so everything always felt rushed and poorly done. Anyone who watches this show knows it's at it's best when the whole team is working on one or two cases and occassionally they have a third case. I do actually enjoy both the science of the show and the actual investigation. To many times last season it seemed like the evidence just fell in line and didn't twist and turn as much as it did in previous seasons. It did at times but not consistantly and that's how it seemed to work in the season premiere as well. Especially with Cathrine and Warrick's case. Way to convienant. Not necessarily that the rebar ended up being used to hold up the crime scene tape but that the guy was still just sitting over there. That's one of those cases where it was more likely to never be solved. Which is one of the nice things about the show every once in awhile the bad guy/girl gets away.

The cases this week were interesting. Especially the opening one. That's one thing they always do well is keeping the deaths somewhat fresh but they just need to get back to a little more mystery overall.

Interesting turn of events with Warrick. Wonder if we will ever meet the new Mrs. Brown and how long they will last.

I do have one question though in regards to stuff I read before the season. I read more than once about someone leaving the lab but not the show and one of those articles said it would be shocking. Is someone else leaving the lab or are we suppose to be shocked by Sophia becoming a detective? I certainly wasn't. She tried to leave last season and Grissom kept her from doing it. And I think it's a good element for the show to finally have a female detective.

And while I'm not a huge fan of the season finale I am intrigued by the new twist that there might be someone else involved. That's something they could have used to enhance the finale.

Joey

Why are people so hard on this show? It's not suppose to be anything serious just simple fun. I mean what did everyone really expect when they made a spin-off with the least sharp tool in the Friends shed? I admit that it was very up and down in it's first season but it finished strong. I kind of wish they hadn't ended the Sara storyline. I think it would have been fun to watch Joey try to navigate through being a movie star with a steady girlfriend rahter than watching him work his way through all his new fans.

Gina being Bobbie's new assistant is a great move in the show. Especially now that she's Bobbie's hatchet-woman. Those two should create all kinds of trouble for themselves and others.

How Michael pulled off being Joey is a mystery for the ages.

More troubles in the ratings probably spells the end for Joey though.

Lost

Those of you who read my Emmy post know that I said I didn't watch Lost. Well that true I didn't watch it last season but I am watching it this season. And no I'm not jumping on the band wagon because the show is so popular or because it just won the Emmy. The one reason I am watching is Michelle Rodriguez.

I'm thinking it may take a couple episodes to really get into the show. I didn't see anything that amazing about the show to warrant all the hype. I understand the need for the flashbacks but it seemed that there were to many of them. Perhaps that was this episode, perhaps not. Guess I'll find out this week.

Of all the characters that I started to get a feel for in this episode Hurley was my favorite. As a person who pays attention to how certain numbers seem to pop up in ones life more than others his cursed numbers do intrigue me.

Still Standing

Yes I watch this show. I started watching it last season when I really didn't have anything to watch on Monday's and Jami Gertz just kills me. I enjoyed to opener but I missed her telling her sister about Bryan and how she figured out the girl was a con artist on account of them pre-empting for that plane landing.

Nip/Tuck

I watched the first couple episodes of this show but just wasn't that impressed. I found it to be a bit boring and very poorly paced. I've caught on occassional episode here and there since when there's nothing else on. I follow what's going on on a lot of shows I don't watch and I do keep tabs more on the ones with cast members I'm a fan of, for this show that includes Julian and Roma. I must say even without watching it I did find the addition of the carver to be and interesting twist in the show.

So if I don't watch the show why am I writing about it. Well with the addition this season of Rhona Mitra I figured I should check it out again. Maybe it had gotten better since those first couple episodes. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case. At least not in the first episode of the season. I still found it to be a bit slow and boring.

I really just don't see what everyone finds so great about this show. I don't find it to be provacative at all. And the sex in the show seems to be there more just because they can get away with it on cable and to see how far they can go rather than being really important to the story. Christian's a sex addict good but if the scenes are doing anything to really move the story forward there's no point. I'm sure some of the scenes do forward the story but they never really seem to when I watch. Yes, the one at the end of the episode did establish that Christian was back to his old self but it happened it a pretty lame way and it was a bad scene.

Law & Order: SVU

I love this show. It is one of the best shows on television and it has been since it started. Even with it's occassional cast changes it has never been hurt. Sometimes it takes a bit to get a character into a groove but they always find it and things keep going. I will never fully get over the loss of A.D.A Alex Cabot but that is the curse of the Law & Order francise the A.D.As will always be changing. There is one thing I wish they hadn't done though and that was have Elliot and his wife split up. I really liked that they had one character on there that could keep his family together. That all has nothing to do with the start of this season though.

Wow, what a great season premiere and a great episode for Elliot. He really had to go through some stuff in that episode. All those years of putting those guys away only to pretend to be one and have to sit there and listen to them talk about the things they did knowing that, that allows them to be back out on the street. I'm surprised he didn't beat that guy to a bloody pulp. It took a lot of restraint for him to not do in that guy.

The thing that's really great about this show is how it can be just as good when the focus of an episode is on one character or when it's a group effort and they are all getting pretty equal screen time. It's a rare show that can pull that off and shows how great the show is all around. How it isn't consistantly nominated for Outstanding Drama Series is beyond me.

Next weeks episode looks awesome. Two episodes three great guest stars already. The season is off to a great start. I'm really looking forward to the episode I've been hearing about where Olivia spends pretty much the entire show on the phone with a missing girl, whose locked away somewhere. What little I've read sounds like it's one of their best episodes ever.

Earl

I was a bit disappointed in My Name Is Earl. It was amusing but I just didn't find it as funny as it seemed like it was going to be. I absolutely love the premise of the show so hopefully it will get better. I try not to judge new shows by their pilots alone so I will be giving it a few episodes. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. One thing I could live without was the narration. I don't know what the deal is with so many shows having narration lately but it's quickly becoming annoying. I do see the need for a little bit of narration here and there with this show but I felt there was a little to much of it. They don't really need to have him telling us that he made that guys life hell when they were growing up while they are showing us a flashback to that affect. So if they tone that down a little I think it will make for a better show.

NCIS

I have never been so stunned or pissed off at a season finale in my live. Literally left me breathless for a moment then the anger set in. When they announced that someone was going to die in the finale I hoped with everything I had that it would be Tony (Michael Weatherly). In the first season his character was fun but in season two they just got too out of control with him and his frat boy crap. The fact that I don't like Michael Weatherly only made him worse to me. I was so close to not continuing to watch this show. For a couple days until I found out that Sasha Alexander had asked to be let go it was going to depend on who her replacement was. I don't really know why I liked the character of Kate so much perhaps it was her ability to put Tony in his place and aggravate him by not letting his antics get to her as much as he wanted.

I love the rest of the cast and their characters so it wouldn't have been the easiest thing to do to stop watching this show. Another reason I was mad was because this ending came on the heals of that horrid series ender for J.A.G. having two of my favorite female characters disrespected like that was just to much. It wouldn't have been so bad it they had been from different creators. So once it came out that Sasha wanted to leave I knew I'd keep watching the show at least for a bit. Afterall if the new person blew the chemistry of the show it wouldn't be worth watching anymore anyway.

And the new season begins on the right note. They kept up the suspense of the story arc very well. I like that they went with it being the same night and not with Ari getting away and it being months later. When I saw the previews for the show I was a little worried about the scenes with everyone's vision of Kate. However, they work really well. A show like this really shouldn't be able to get away with that stuff but they executed it perfectly. I think the reason it really works so well is because Abby, Tony, and McGee's fantasy versions of her are balanced by Gibbs seeing her the way she died. It's a bit creepy but is exactly how he would see her.

I don't know what is going on with this agent Ziva David. I'm not really liking her working with Ari. When I read about Cote de Pablo joining the cast they indicated her character would be Kate's replacement so I am highly confused with what's going on in the story. This whole thing that Ari didn't shoot Kate is not amusing. If they some how work it that he really didn't they still better capture him or something because he's still somewhat responsible for her death. His antics lead to all of it and he was going to kill someone and he still might.

Love the addition of Lauren Holly to the cast. She is so under used and under appreciated in the industry. Her character is great. She's going to be a handful for Gibbs in so many ways. I didn't see her and Ziva knowing each other previously coming. Should be interesting to see how that plays into whatever Ziva's up to.

Gilmore Girls

Guess I'll just give my thoughts on the first two episodes in one post.

I thought last season ended on a very bad note. I didn't like the way they shattered Rory's dream and I didn't believe that would be Rory's reaction. Things have always stood in her way and she always fights her way through it. Nothing was ever going to stop her and now just because some guy who thinks he knows everything about the newspaper industry tells her she doesn't have what it takes she throws everything away. No, that's not her character. I could see her maybe going a little crazy and stealing the boat but it's the leaving Yale thing that just went to far. And come on he decides she doesn't have what it takes based on her not being assertive in a meeting. At least make your judgement on her ability to get a story which would actually have baring on if she would be a good journalist or not.

And I don't know exactly what she said to her grandparents but I don't believe they would give into her leaving school either. Lorelai was the only one who seemed to be true to what they have created over the last few years.

Then the season starts and nothing has gotten better. Yes it picked up right where it left off and Luke saying yes and all that followed was spot on perfect for them but other than that it's just not looking that great. Nothing seems to be indicating that Rory is going to come to her sinces and go back to school. I thought they had learned their lesson a couple years ago that if Rory and Loreli are apart to much the show doesn't work. At least they did give Rory a decent punishment. Although I don't see her being the slacker type at all so again not believable and hopefully that changes soon. At least they did seem to be indicating that Rory was already getting bored with not having anything to do in the second episode.

Loved Paris's reaction to Rory not coming back to school. It's a goot thing they didn't screw up her character. Even better was when she went to Lorelai trying to convince her they had to team up and get Rory back to Yale. Paris is so right what will she do without her main competetion.

The second episode was a little better. At least we finally got a scene between Lorelai and Rory. And while it wasn't as heartbreaking as some of their fight scenes have been it was still good and Lauren sealed the deal at the end when she was trying not to cry on the way back to the car. Luke was right in telling Rory about the engagement even if he shouldn't have done it, he was right to. He shouldn't be in the middle. It is the one area where the slipped a little with Lorelai because no matter how mad she is at Rory I really don't feel she would keep that information from her.

If the episodes can continue to get better as they did between the first two episodes there is hope for the season.

Although there is one episode in November that I am not looking forward to. That would be the rumored episode with another appearance by Jess. He isn't a good character or actor and they need to stop dragging all this crap back up. I don't care if he is related to Luke and now his mom lives in town there's no need for it.

The Return of Medium

While Emmy winner Patricia Arquette returned in fine fashion the show was a little bit off. They built all the suspense into the season finale and the season premiere ended up being a bit boring. I had figured out by the end of the finale that it was a sibling not the father of the victims. I hadn't figured out that is wasn't someone also conceived through an anonymous donor.

The real question for the episode was would Captain Push survive or not. Which he did and he got to be the hero in the end which was nice. However, I'm a little torn about him surviving. I like it because he's a good guy and character. I wonder if they can convincingly work him into future episodes or not. He could still be a good guy and a good character from the other side though. I think his character could have served very well as an occasional guide of some sort for Allison through the crazy signs and dreams she gets from the dead.

Dead or alive Captain Push is still a nice asset and the show isn't hurt by him being alive which is good. And the previews for the second episode look like it's fully back on track.

Kitchen Confidential

Fun show. Just wacky enough to be the perfect fit with Arrested Development. I did laugh a lot don't know if it can keep up that level of funny though.

I did have a couple problems that may influence my decisision to keep watching or not. I don't like that all the kitchen staff he hired were men. And of the women they do have working out front they are stupid or just basically unlikable. I also didn't like his girlfriend leaving him. She believed in him so much that she basically got him the job then used it against him as an excuse to leave. That was just lame and bad writing. I know it's loosely based on a real guy and if that really did happen then that woman is horrible but they should have done something different for the show.

If they don't fix the female characters I won't be watching for long I just don't have a tolerance for shows with boring females.

Of course if numbers don't perk up for this and Arrested Development, FOX may end up making the choice for me.

Arrested Development

We all know this is a show that you either love or hate. I love it. Have since the beginning. I said it in my Emmy post and I'll say it again Jason Bateman should have won. I love that he tries so hard to be a better parent than what he had and yet sometimes he just falls into the same traps and bad habits. And that as aware as he thinks he is he still pretty much has no idea what is going on in his sons life.

Lindsay and Tobias are just messed up enough and just mismatched enough that you're always hoping they will get back together someday while dying to see how they are going to mess things up again.

Unfortunately FOX made the stupid mistake of moving it to 7 o'clock. Monday isn't necessarily a bad day for it but it shouldn't be on before 8. (I live in the mountain time zone.) It's not really a good family show so it shouldn't be on early. It needs to be on after the young ones have gone to bed. I don't know if FOX is going to have a later whole open up in their schedule but if it doesn't I don't think Arrested Development will make it into a fourth season.

Surface

I don't care what any of the pre-season write ups about this show said it's fun and not getting to see exactly what the creatures look like adds to the mystery. Sure there's somethings that can be a little better but no pilot is perfect and it generally takes a couple episodes for stuff to gel especially with dramas. The people who actually get paid to write about these shows would do well to remember that.

I am not a big sci-fi fan and generally it takes an actor or actress that I like to get me to watch it whether it be a television show or a movie. That is the case here as I have been a fan of Lake Bell since the first episode of the short lived Miss Match. I'm glad she picked this show because it's just fun. I do like to have a few dramas that are just fun and this is one. And how cute was it when she was making her flight reservations and her son was sitting in her suit case?

I'll confess that I was so into it I was moving around in my seat as if I would be able to see around the corners better when the boy was looking for the one that got loose in his house. Yes I know that wasn't going to happen but that's how into the show I was.

It had strong opening numbers. Better than most people thought it would. Hopefully those numbers will hold.

Out of Practice

This season is highly abnormal for me in the amount of new sitcoms I am checking out and so far I have been pleased with them all. I still have one more after this one to view but so far Out of Practice is my favorite. It definitely has the best cast of any new show out there. It also caught a huge break that such a late time slot was available for it. That banter between Oliver (Ty Burrell) and Regina (Paula Marshall) about her past girlfriends and possible future ones would never fly if it had gotten stuck in an early slot. Considering all the relationship issues in the show it would be seriously hurt if they couldn't use that kind of dialogue.

Ty Burrell is the only cast memeber I'm not familiar with. And not only is it a great cast just because of who they are they all fit their characters perfectly. The late addition of Jennifer Tilly as Crystal the receptionist and girlfriend of Stewart (Henrey Winkler) is brilliant as far as I'm concerned. Leave it to Jennifer to play a character whose first appearance on screen is in a towel.

I honestly didn't expect this show to be as funny as it was. You hope that so many good people wouldn't gravitate to bad material but sometimes even with good material you put that much talent in a room and they don't mesh. They don't play the characteres off each other well but that was not the case at all with this show. Everyone not only seems to have a good grasp of their characters but they seem to really know what each other is doing with their respective characters which is good since they are suppose to be a family. If they didn't understand each other it would kill the show.

It had good opening numbers I hope those hold because it'll make Monday so much more enjoyable.

How I Met Your Mother

The presentation of this show is fun twist on the standard find "the one" sitcom. Question is since we know the guy does find "the one" will it become annoying waiting for him to finally get to when he met her?

It's very well written and the acting is pretty good. Neil Patrick Harris's character being the juvenile womanizer in a suit instead of the usual dress for that type of character is rather ammusing to me.

And how perfect was the casting of Alyson Hannigan? Love that there's a hint of her American Pie character in there. Talking about her fiance not being able to spank her in bed was great. But by far the best moment of the show was when he was sitting on the side that she had the eye patch on and he scared her.

WB comedies

New show Twins is fun and funny in an off beat way. It runs the risk of getting stale fast if they aren't careful, hopefully they can keep it fresh by mixing up the focus of the episodes among the different characters. Farrah (Molly Stanton) is almost a little to much of a ditz. I look forward to the moment when she does or says something really smart (as all ditzy characters do) and blows everyone away. Sara Gilbert was my reason for watching this show and she did not disappoint. Although her character was bit too dry in the first episode. And Melanie Griffith and Mark Linn-Baker are the perfect pairing for the odd couple parents. That scene in the restaurant when they were arguing over who asked for a divorce was great.

As for my other WB comedy that would be the returning Reba, still on its game. It's nice that Cheyenne is going to struggle with her alcoholism a bit but that cigarette thing is over used. Not so much as a way to keep someone from drinking but rather the stuff where everyone else once smoked and now they are tempted again. Van getting drunk on every conceivable typed of alcohol to try and keep Reba from drinking was to funny. I especially liked when he sneezed and spit his gum in her wine.

Speaking of Reba, I got to see her in concert this summer. She's awesome, even if she did make me wait until the very end to hear my all time favorite song Fancy.

Reunion

I was completely hooked before the first commercial break and anxiously await the second episode. Yes, the writing and the acting is a bit cheesy at times but you know you're dying to know who did it, why they did it, and who they killed. I have a couple picks for who I think it is but I'm not saying yet. I know who I wish it was but I never get my wish with these shows so I'm sure it's one of the people I don't want to be dead.

I confess that while I find the premise of the show very cool I probably wouldn't have decided to tune in if it weren't for Chyler Leigh. So you can guess how happy I am that she isn't the dead one. They made the best decision in casting her in that role. And who else out there saw those moments in the flashbacks where you could have been looking at the 80's version of Angela Chase (Claire Danes) from My So-Called Life? (I know people who have only seen bits and pieces of that show and still saw it.) Those moments only became better when it turned out her father was played by Tom Irwin. (For those of you not in the know he played Angela's father on My So-Called Life.) Yes small weird things like that make me enjoy stuff even more.

The O.C.

I've been watching this show since episode one and it started off pretty strong. And that doesn't mean it was ever at the top of the quality pile but it was what it was which was just a fun show. However, even that started to slip and by the end of the first season it wasn't looking that promising. It only continued to slide with the start of season two yet it was briefly revived (even before her and Marissa got together) with the arrival of Alex (Olivia Wilde) and once she left the show began to slide even more rapidly. The end of season two while more dramatic and traditional in it's cliffhanger than season one was not much better story wise.

Three months of waiting and all we get is more bad stories and bad wrap-ups. Why the hell did they not just let Trey die? The last thing the show needs is for him to comeback. I know Julie does some dumb things but they really stretched it with her paying Trey to finger Ryan for the shooting. The writers want us to believe that after being nearly killed by his brother and then seeing his girlfriend shoot said brother in the back that the first thing Ryan would do is take the gun and put the safety on. Don't think so. I knew that moment was going to cause problems and it did because all the cops cared about where Ryan's prints on the gun. They must have the stupidest cops in the country. Marissa's prints would have been on the gun too and any cop or forensics person with half a brain would have done a gun shot residue test which would have told them who pulled the trigger. Yes, I know it isn't a precedural crime drama but come on there's still going to be a propper investigation not just them going after the supposedly bad kid. Especially not when you factor in who his family is in that town.

Then parents get their undies in a twist and Marissa gets kicked out of Harbor. Here's another sign that this show always goes one step to far over the line. That Dean of Discipline is the worst character ever. Eric Mabius isn't the greatest actor in the world but he's better than what he showed in the second episode. I'm trying to figure out if he's deliberatly acting badly for some reason or if he truly just can't play that character for some reason. The character himself has no reason to be out for Marissa and Ryan. By his own admission he's only been in town a couple weeks and all he knows about them is what he's heard.

The only real purpose served by Marissa getting kicked out is to set up the feud between Summer and Taylor Townsend. Which is already proving to be fun. Summer's undying loyalty to Marissa is probably the best thing about the show. But lets face it that storyline is funner if Marissa is still at Harbor and Summer backs her up.

I know a lot of people don't like whatever it is that Charolette (Jeri Ryan) is up to with Kirsten but I do like that arc. I haven't yet figured it out but I do like it. It won't surprise me one bit if they go over the top and kill it in the end as well but at the moment it is a good bit of intrigue.

Emmys

Over all not a bad night. Considering the not so great set of nominees I actually wasn't as disappointed in the winners as I thought I would be. Ellen was good but I don't much enjoy all the backstage stuff that hosts have been doing during awards shows lately. That Emmy Idol thing was fun and hopefully a onetime thing. Despite the votes (which by the way stupid since it's only live on the east coast) Kristen Bell was the best of the four. She actually had to put some real time into it not to mention having to wear that 80's outfit.

As for actual awards. The awards for Everyone Loves Raymond were predictable yet annoying. The only one I was really okay with was Doris Roberts. Between Peter Boyle and Brad Garrett if one of them had to win they gave it to the wrong one. So, so happy Patricia Heaton and Ray Romano didn't win. As for the show itself it should have been Arrested Development. People want better sitcoms stop tuning into rehashes of the same basic plots and start watching creative stuff like Arrested Development. Comedy leads, really would have prefered seeing Jason Bateman win. Tony Shalhoub's role would read funny while Jason's wouldn't so it takes a lot more work and talent for Jason to get the laughs than the other nominees have to put into their roles. As for Felicity Huffman so, so wrong. Prior to the awards I thought I would be fine as long as one of the housewives won however I could not have been more wrong. I was actually upset by Felicity's win. I am a fan of hers and I do enjoy her work on the show, however hers is not a role that should really be nominated or win in the comedy category. Had the show been a drama hands down she takes it home.

For the dramas. As a greater fan of dramas than sitcoms this is where I usually have the greatest disappointment but this year it went so well and I couldn't be happier. I love Huff and Boston Legal so I am extremely happy with the awards these two shows took home. Blythe Danner is so powerful in that role. Just when you want to smack her for being so mean she turns around and does something very motherly and she plays it to perfection. While I was pulling for Oliver Platt to win I'm happy that William Shatner won because any validation for that show is a good thing. I really didn't think the pattern of repeat wins would hold for the lead actor but when James Spader won it was a great relief. It's never easy to play a character that seems so unredeemable yet in his own messed up way always makes sure the good guy comes out on top. And in the category that always causes me the most stress lead actress in a drama. I like most people hands down believed this was going to Glenn Close and even though I didn't want her to win I had accepted that she would. My hopes where that after being so unbelievably robbed last year that Mariska Hargitay would finally get her long over due Emmy. I still didn't get that wish but my second choice came through and a big conratulations to Patricia Arquette for her win. She gives very powerful performances on Medium and if it couldn't be Mariska then I'm glad it was her. Those two have to deal with dark and often horrific subject matter week in and week out it's how they portray the emotions that come with that, that makes their performances stand out. Sometimes they get to explode but more often they have to keep it in and show it in subtle ways and to show that heartbreak subtly is truly amazing. Perhaps next year will finally be Mariska's year. I don't actually watch any of the shows nominated for Outstanding Drama but if one of them had to win at least it was Lost. Even though I could live without the extra hype for the already over hyped J.J. Abrams.

Couple final notes. Mariska Hargitay was the best dressed woman in the place. Props to her and Portia De Rossi for being daring in orange. And the best speech of the night goes to S. Epatha Merkerson.

There may be some random thoughts that pop up over the next couple days but those are the overall impressions from the night.

First Post

I wonder how many people title their first post "first post"?

I'm starting this on Emmy day so my second post will most likely be reactions to the nights events. As I wasn't really happy with a lot of the nominees this year I'm sure I won't be much happier with the winners.

As the description above says this blog will be a lot about entertainment stuff. For those of you who may be reading this that don't know me I watch a lot a movies and television. I go to the movies at least once a week plus rent a lot of stuff. And I enjoy renting movies that go straight to video and actively search for stuff that will probably be bad. But as me and my friend like to say they're "bad in a good way". As for my television veiwing as the new season kicks off I will be watching 29 hours of new scripted programming. Add another hour later on when the new season of Huff premieres. A few of those shows have already started and I will be making some comments on those shortly.

But at the moment it's time for the red carpet parade to begin.