My plan for Tuesday was to go see Conan O'Brien Can't Stop downtown. However, after driving all the way into Philly, I got to the theater and they had no power. Awesome. So instead, I saw Green Lantern at a theater closer to home.
I walked out of the theater feeling that it was not that bad, but the more I think about it, the less I like it.
I thought that the storyline was interesting, but was not really anything spectacular. Ryan Reynolds is always entertaining...and nice too look at...but even his humor could not save this from being mediocre.
Normally, Mondays are reserved for movie reviews. However, this weekend I did not get a chance to see anything new. Also, Transformers is coming out tomorrow instead of Friday. Therefore, I am switching things around a little bit this week and doing my Weekend Movie Preview a few days early.
Also, if you have yet to comment on any of my previous posts because you do not want to open a Google account in order to do so, you can now send me an email instead! Send me your thoughts, questions and requests to ayetortuga@gmail.com.
Now, back to business.....
Aside from Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the other big movies coming out this week are Larry Crowne and Monte Carlo.
The three big movies opening this week are Cars 2, Bad Teacher and Conan O'Brien Can't Stop.
Bad Teacher stars Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake and Jason Segel. Diaz plays a junior-high teacher who just does not care about her job. She drinks and smokes on the job and all she wants is to marry a rich man so that she can stop working. She gets dumped by her fiancée and then sets her eyes on the hot new substitute teacher, played by Timberlake. She must compete with another teacher in the school for his attention and also spur the advances of the gym teacher, played by Segel. While I am not a huge fan of Cameron Diaz, I think this looks kind of funny. I know that she can be a good actress (if you have not seen Being John Malkovich, it’s a must-see) but she always seems to pick really stupid movies. I am hoping that is not the case this time. It has gotten mediocre reviews so far, but sometimes comedies do not review well and then end up being pretty good, so we shall just have to wait and see.
In Cars 2, we find racecar Lightning McQueen and his tow truck friend, Mater, on an overseas adventure. McQueen is competing in the first-ever World Grand Prix which will determine who is the fastest car in the world. However, Mater gets caught up in an international espionage scheme and is torn between helping his friend and being a spy. Owen Wilson returns to voice Lightning McQueen and Larry the Cable Guy is back as Mater. They are also joined by Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shaloub, Cheech Marin, Joe Mantegna, Michael Caine, John Turturro, Eddie Izzard and Emily Mortimer. The first film got pretty good reviews, but this one does not seem to be faring as well. I will mostly likely wait until it comes out on DVD to see it.
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop is probably the one movie that I am actually really looking forward to seeing. It is about his stand-up comedy tour in the United States and Canada after he lost his hosting job at The Tonight Show. Conan is awesome, so this film is sure to be as well.
For the past few weeks, I have been making my way through the first six seasons of The Shield and am about the start season seven. I have to be honest, it did not interest me at all when it was on the air. Even though it was getting great reviews from the critics, I do not remember a single one of my friends ever telling me that I should be watching it. At least, not until the last few seasons. But I am also not sure that I would have appreciated it as a freshman in college. Actually, the only person I ever remember telling me that they loved the show was the receptionist at my high school swimming pool :o)
So, why did I start watching it now? Well, it took a little while to get me to this point, starting with the FX show, Terriers.....
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I found a full-time job! I have been unemployed for a year and a half, so a paycheck will be very nice. The bad news is, I will have less time for movie and TV watching and less time for writing. If someone would like to start paying me to do this blog (or another similar type of job) I would be more than happy to oblige, but until then, I will do my best to keep on schedule with my updates.
I did not end up seeing any movies in the theater this past weekend. Mr. Popper's Penguins did not really appeal to me and Green Lantern did not get great reviews. I will probably see the latter eventually, maybe sometime this week. I did, however, get a chance to watch The Ledge on Video OnDemand....twice!
Since everyone else on the internet seems to be making these lists, I have decided to share with you who I would pick if I could vote for Emmy nominations.
Actor Drama 1. Charlie Hunnam - Sons of Anarchy 2. Timothy Olyphant - Justified 3. Mark Harmon - NCIS 4. Kyle Chandler - Friday Night Lights 5. Matt Bomer - White Collar 6. Donal Logue - Terriers
Actress Drama 1. Katey Sagal - Sons of Anarchy 2. Connie Britton - Friday Night Lights 3. Jennifer Beals - The Chicago Code 4. Mirielle Enos - The Killing 5. Lauren Graham - Parenthood 6. Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife
Supporting Actor Drama 1. Josh Charles - The Good Wife 2. Ron Perlman - Sons of Anarchy 3. Walton Goggins - Justified 4. Matt Czuchry - The Good Wife 5. Joel Kinnaman - The Killing 6. John Slattery - Mad Men
Supporting Actress Drama 1. Michelle Forbes - The Killing 2. Margo Martindale - Justified 3. Archie Panjabi - The Good Wife 4. KaDee Strickland - Private Practice 5. Mae Whitman - Parenthood 6. Christina Hendricks - Mad Men
Best Drama 1. Sons of Anarchy 2. Justified 3. The Good Wife 4. Parenthood 5. NCIS 6. Friday Night Lights
Actor Comedy 1. Joel McHale - Community 2. Josh Radnor - How I Met Your Mother 3. Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory 4. Zachary Levi - Chuck 5. Steve Carrell - The Office 6. Charlie Day - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Actress Comedy 1. Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds 2. Kaitlin Olson - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 3. Tina Fey - 30 Rock 4. Kaley Cuoco - The Big Bang Theory 5. Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation 6. Melissa McCarthy - Mike & Molly
Supporting Actor Comedy 1. Chris Colfer - Glee 2. Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother 3. Danny Pudi - Community 4. Jason Segel - How I Met Your Mother 5. Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family 6. Adam Scott - Parks and Recreation
Supporting Actress Comedy 1. Heather Morris - Glee 2. Kristin Wiig - Saturday Night Live 3. Alyson Hannigan - How I Met Your Mother 4. Alison Brie - Community 5. Busy Philipps - Cougar Town 6. Jane Lynch - Glee
Best Comedy 1. How I Met Your Mother 2. Community 3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 4. The Big Bang Theory 5. Chuck 6. Weeds
I do not watch a lot of comedy shows, so some of those choices are a little random. They mostly came from liking specific actors in other projects that they have done. I also only watch about three reality TV shows, so I did not list my choices for that at all.
Do you agree/disagree with my selections?! Let me know! The actual nominees will be announced July 14. Make sure you are following me on Twitter and/or Facebook for that.
The two big movies coming out this weekend are Green Lantern and Mr. Popper's Penguins.
Green Lantern stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins and the voices of Michael Clarke Duncan and Geoffrey Rush. Based on the DC Comic of the same name, it is about a test pilot who is given a mystical ring which gives him superpowers and makes him part of the brotherhood of Green Lanterns. These warriors are protectors of peace and justice for the entire Universe. Reynolds' Hal Jordan is the first human to ever possess the ring and he must help the Green Lanterns save Earth from a new threat in the Universe.
Midnight in Paris was fantastic. I did not know what to expect going into it, but I really enjoyed it a lot. Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams play an engaged couple, named Gil and Inez, who are traveling in Paris while her father is there for business. Gil is a screenwriter who is trying to write a novel and finds inspiration when he walks the streets of Paris at night.
It was written and directed by Woody Allen and the storyline is creative and interesting and funny. I usually do not really like Woody Allen films, but I found this different than anything else in theaters right now. Of course, you do have to know the names of 1920's historical figures to get most of the jokes :o)
I am not sure if it is because of all the hype leading up to Super 8, but I was a little underwhelmed. Do not get me wrong, it was good, I was just hoping to be completely blown away and I was not. J.J. Abrams kept so much of the storyline a secret and I actually think that made it worse because I was expecting some big surprise about what was going on in this town and it definitely did not happen like that at all.
I felt that the mystery was too drawn out for what the eventual reveal is finally. By the time they show you what is going on you have pretty much already figured it out for yourself. Of course, I got sick of Lost and gave up in the middle of the second season. I like to know up front what is going on and I get pretty bored when things get dragged out too far without being explained.
Opening this weekend is Super 8 and Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer.
Super 8 is brought to us by J.J. Abrams, the mind behind TV shows Lost, Fringe, Alias and Felicity. It was also produced by Steven Spielberg. The cast includes Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, and Noah Emmerich.
Set during the summer of 1979 in rural Ohio, a group of young teenagers are making a movie on their super-8 video camera when they witness a train accident, which they inadvertently capture on film. The town's residents begin to disappear and no one can figure out why. Abrams has been very tight-lipped about details from the movie, but it promises to be a thrilling and suspenseful supernatural mystery.
The holiday weekend threw me off my posting schedule a little bit last week and I apologize for that. Not that any of you actually really care, but I will try my best not to let it happen again :o)
And now onto business...
X-Men: First Class was very well done and highly entertaining. The story was interesting and was well-acted. It was over two hours long, but at no point did I feel like it dragged at all.
The movie begins by showing us where Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier grew up and how those individual circumstances affected why they eventually end up on opposite sides of the mutant war. It gives us an idea of where William Stryker started and an interesting "history" of the Cold War. We are introduced to several new mutants and the first Cerebro device. We also find out how Charles ends up in a wheelchair.
Erik: Peace was never an option ------------------------------
Opening this weekend is X-Men: First Class. This joins X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine as the prequel to the franchise.
In this, we find Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr as young men just discovering their mutant powers and looking for others of their kind. We see what events set these men on the path that leads them to where they are in the first X-Men movie. We see their friendship and what ultimately but them on opposite sides of the mutant war.
The Hangover Part 2 was not quite as good as the first movie, but definitely not as bad as the reviews it has been getting. I thought it was pretty hilarious, but it did have some flaws.
To begin with, I think they tried to stick to the formula of the first one a little too closely. Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug head to Thailand for Stu's wedding but, instead of losing the groom-to-be, they wake up missing Stu's future brother-in-law, Teddy. They spend the rest of the movie retracing their steps from the night before trying to figure out what happened.
