Thursday, September 29, 2011

"That girl doesn't exist. If she did, I'd be sleeping with her."

The big movies in theaters this weekend are 50/50, Dream House and What's Your Number?

What's Your Number? stars Anna Faris and Chris Evans. Anna plays a woman who goes back through all previous nineteen guys she has dated in her life to see if maybe one of them is her one true love. Some of the actors player her past boyfriends include: Joel McHale, Chris Pratt, Andy Samberg, Zachary Quinto, Mike Vogel, Thomas Lennon, Dave Annable and Martin Freeman. This movie looks kind of cute, but has not been getting stellar reviews.



Wednesday, September 28, 2011

"Better buckle up. Adventure calls."

I watched a lot of television again this week, including the premieres of The Good Wife, Pan Am, Hart of Dixie, Suburgatory and Happy Endings.

Of my returning shows, the premiere of The Good Wife was so good. It started out a little slow, you were not quite sure what was going on with Will and Alicia and then BAM, the best scene happened. If you watch the show, you know what I am talking about ;o) And if you do not yet watch the show, get with the program! I cannot wait for the rest of this season. Also, the first episode of season two of Happy Endings was just as great as last season. While I do think that each character has their annoying moments, I mostly find them hilarious, or ah-mah-zing, if you will.

Pan Am was good, but there was a twist in the premise of the show that I was not expecting. There were a few too many flashbacks for my taste, but other than that I enjoyed the plot. The characters are interesting, but I need them to be developed a little bit more before I make up my mind. Christina Ricci is not my favorite actress, but I like Kelli Garner, Mike Vogel, Michael Mosley and Annabelle Wallis. The other actors I do not really know, but I am interested to see where this show goes.

I did not love the first episode of Hart of Dixie, but I think that it definitely has potential. I like the characters and the actors, I just think they need to fix a few things. For one, someone needs to remind Josh Schwartz that this is not Gossip Girl or The O.C. and he needs to tone down the music a little bit. I have no problem with the actual song choices, but when you play a song too loudly over someone's dialogue it kind of kills the mood of the scene. You are trying to portray the Deep South, the music needs to be a little more subtle, in my opinion. I also hope that the voiceover was only for the first episode and does not continue in further episodes. It kind of got annoying after a while. Like I said, I think this show has potential, but I was not completely sold by the premiere.

Monday, September 26, 2011

DJ: What's your biggest fear?

Scott: A baseball getting hit in my general direction
DJ: That's funny. Seriously, what is it?
Scott: No, seriously. That is..
(Scott walks away)
DJ: Well, hey, good luck with that!
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One of the reasons that I love baseball is there is no time clock. Both teams get three outs per inning and at least nine innings, regardless of how long it takes to play. Sometimes the pace feels slow and sometimes the game seems to fly by. There are no plays where the only purpose is to stop the clock or waste time. One team cannot take time away from the other team. Each game takes as long as it takes and each team gets the same amount of outs to make something happen.

The pace of Moneyball felt like a baseball game to me. At some points there was not a lot going on, you were just waiting to see how things unfolded. At other times you were on the edge of your seat, holding your breath, crossing your fingers, hoping for the winning play to be made.

It is based on the true story of Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane. In 2001, after the A's lost to the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs, they lost their three best players. With a tight budget, he had to find a way to fill the gap that these three left. After meeting Peter Brand and learning about his mathematical player analyses, Beane set out to change the game of baseball and the way players are assessed. Throughout the film, you also see flashbacks of when Beane started out in baseball as a player himself.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

"Who doesn't like hot girls who carry guns?"

This week my DVR was extremely busy and I watched A LOT of television. So much that is all kind of mush in my brain right now.

My returning shows that started this week were How I Met Your Mother, Castle, Hawaii Five-O, Glee, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Community, Grey's Anatomy and Blue Bloods.

Glee seems to be reverting back to season one quality, which is a good thing. If it continues on this path I will continue watching it, if it goes back to where it was last season, I may have to stop watching it because last season got a little crazy. Hawaii Five-O is the same quality as last season, which is not necessarily a good thing. I do not love this show, but it is entertaining enough to keep watching for now. However, it might get dropped this season if my schedule gets too crowded. The same thing goes for Grey's Anatomy. I just do not love this show as much as I did the first couple seasons. I mostly continue to watch it out of obligation to the friends with whom I watch it. On the other hand, Castle and Blue Bloods continue to be great, and Community and How I Met Your Mother are both still hilarious.

My only real complaint is with NCIS. This is one of my favorite TV shows and I watch the reruns on USA every time they are on. My complaint is that over the past couple seasons the major plots for each season have gotten too convoluted. The acting has been as great as it has always been, I just feel like they are trying to do too much with the storylines and it is just gets confusing. This also applies to NCIS: Los Angeles.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

"Helpin' you kids is about the only good thing I've done in this life."

There are a few big movies out this weekend. They are Moneyball, Abduction, Machine Gun Preacher, Killer Elite and Dolphin Tale.

In Killer Elite, Jason Statham plays a retired member of Britain's Elite Special Air Force who is forced out of retirement when his mentor, played by Robert DeNiro, is captured. He must kill three assassins and their leader, Clive Owen. This movie is based on the novel The Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes.



Moneyball is based on a true story about Oakland A's manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt. Beane tries to put together a baseball team with a very small budget by using a computer program to asses his players. This movie also stars Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Chris Pratt.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

"If I drive for you, you'll get your money...

You tell me where we start, where we're going, where we're going afterwards, I give you five minutes when we get there. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours no matter what. Anything a minute either side of that and you're on your own. I don't sit in while you're running it down. I don't carry a gun. I drive."
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We all know that I love Ryan Gosling, so I would have seen Drive regardless of the reviews, but this movie really was excellent.

Gosling's character has no name, but is simply referred to as 'Driver.' He is a movie stuntman by day and a criminal getaway driver by night. He becomes interested in his neighbor and when her husband come home from prison, he tries to help with a heist and it goes horribly wrong. A contract is put out on him and he now must protect himself and the woman he loves.

I thought that it was fantastic. The tone and style of the movie are totally different than any thing you have seen. Like Gosling's character, the plot is simple and to the point. There is not a lot of dialogue in many of the scenes because the Driver only speaks when he feels it is necessary. It was a little darker and more violent than I expected, but not in a bad way. There actually is not a lot of violence, but in the few violent scenes it is pretty intense.

Monday, September 19, 2011

"Note to self: Hold the trophy like it's The Lion King baby."

I did not watch the Emmys live last night because I was at the Phillies game. Instead, I DVR'd the show and stayed up until 2am watching it. Here now is a list of some of the things I liked about the show and a few things I could have done without:

Likes:
-All the Friday Night Lights love! I got a little overly excited when Zach Gilford, Jesse Plemons and Michael Jordan were featured in Jane Lynch's opening number, even though you only saw them for about 30 seconds. And, even though I knew they were coming because I had checked twitter from the game, Jason Katims winning Best Writer for a Drama and Kyle Chandler winning Best Actor in a Drama made me ridiculously happy as well.

-Cee Lo Green having trouble with his chair from The Voice made me laugh, probably harder than it should have.

-The Best Actress in a Comedy beauty pageant was hands-down the best part of the show. All the ladies standing onstage holding hands, then all hugging when the winner was announced and Melissa McCarthy actually being crowned and handed a bouquet of roses was awesome. I have loved McCarthy since Gilmore Girls but I do not actually watch Mike & Molly, so I really could not say whether she deserved the award or not, but the presentation of the award was hilarious.

-Clifton Murray, who plays one of Channing Tatum's friends in the movie She's The Man, is apparently one of the Canadian Tenors who sang Hallelujah during the In Memoriam montage. I found this to be incredibly random and I am probably the only person on the planet who realized that. It made me smile though :o)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

"I know there's alcohol at high school parties. I've seen Friday Night Lights."

This week, I have watched the season premieres of Parenthood, The Vampire Diaries and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the series premieres of Ringer, Up All Night, Free Agents and The Secret Circle.

I get made fun of a lot for liking The Vampire Diaries, but it is mostly from people who do not watch the show. I know I have said this a lot, but it is so good and just when you think that it cannot possibly get any better, it does! The season three finale was fantastic. A few questions from last season's finale were answered, a few were made more confusing (in a good way) and some new questions were posed. I do not like to spoil things for people who do not watch the show yet, but what is going with Mrs. Lockwood?! I am intrigued and excited. This is one of the few shows that I need to watch the night it airs because I just cannot wait until the next day. I am serious, you really should be watching this if you are not already.

Parenthood is another awesome show that just keeps getting better. The relationship between each of the family members is always changing and always full of fantastic drama. Lauren Graham and Mae Whitman especially give great performances each and every week. It may sound a little crazy, but The Bravermans make me want to have a big family of my own. One can only hope that they will be as entertaining. :o)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Chris: I don’t know how she does it. All those children…

Kate: I have two
Chris: So impressive
Kate: You have four!
Chris: Yeah, but two of mine are twins
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The big movies coming out this weekend are: I Don’t Know How She Does It, Straw Dogs and Drive.

Drive is about a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a get-away driver for criminals. He must protect his neighbor and her son after a heist goes south. This movie stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks. I think we all know that I would be seeing this movie regardless, but it actually has been getting great reviews.




Monday, September 12, 2011

Principal: You're a teacher. You got no business in the ring with those animals!

Brendan: Actually, I used to be one of those animals. I guess I forgot to put that down on my application.
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I have to say, I really enjoyed Warrior, a lot. It is getting good reviews, but I still went into the theater not sure if I was going to like it. I am not a huge fight fan but this was FANTASTIC.

The acting was great, the music by Mark Isham was moving and you cannot help but get into these fights.  There were even a few ladies behind me in the theater that were cheering and clapping :o)

The story is about two brothers whose parents got divorced when they were teenagers and each boy chose to live with a different parent. Tommy chose his mother who he ended up taking care of when she gets sick. He is an ex-Marine who has just come home for the first time in fourteen years. Brendan chooses their alcoholic father so that he can stay near the girl he loves, with whom he ends up getting married and having two children. He is a former UFC fighter and is currently teaching Physics to high schoolers. Both brothers individually decide to start training for SPARTA, the biggest winner-takes-all, mixed-martial-arts tournament ever.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

"It's figuring us out faster than we're figuring it out."

The big movies that are coming out this weekend are Warrior, Contagion and Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star.

Warrior is about two brothers competing in a mixed martial arts tournament with a huge prize. One brother is an ex-marine who turns to his alcoholic father, a former coach, for training. The other brother is a former fighter and current teacher with money and family problems. It stars Tom Hardy, Joel Edgarton, Nick Nolte and Jennifer Morrison. This is also my pick for the weekend. It is getting great reviews and looks like a compelling story.


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

"And the freak circle is complete."

The season premiere of Sons of Anarchy aired last night and it was everything I had hoped it would be. I will say that it was slow in a few places, but that is mostly because they are setting things up for the rest of the season. Also, the FANTASTIC final montage totally made up for it. I especially enjoyed some of the great dialogue in this episode, which I found to have a little more humor than previous seasons. I will now share with you some of my favorite lines:

Clay: Damn, that was fast
Gemma: Yeah, that's because you're used to speed bangin' Juice in dark hallways
Clay: Hey, don't turn what Juice and I had into something cheap and tawdry
Gemma: I'm sure it was sweet Puerto Rican magic

Clay to Unser: I got a call, Jed Clampett wants his front yard back

Jax to Tara: We should talk about all the chick shit you decked out my house in

I also always enjoy seeing Floyd the barber, even though he does not really do much. I also noticed that the actress playing Opie's daughter had changed and although I recognized her I could not for the life of me remember from where. It took all day, and the help of a Twitter-friend, to finally figure out that it is Kerris Dorsey, also known as Sarah Walker's daughter on Brothers & Sisters. (Yes, I am a dork for being able to recognize her, but I cannot help how my brain works :o) And, even though some of the casting news was announced over the summer, I had forgotten about a few and was happy to see another Deadwood actor and another Shield actor. I am hoping there is at least one scene between David Rees Snell and Kenny Johnson and one with Ray McKinnon and Dayton Callie. There were also a great Deadwood reference, when Clay referred to the new sherrif as "Wild Black Hickock."

Overall, I would say that I loved the episode and I cannot wait for the rest of the season! If you are not watching this show, I am not really sure what else I can say to convince you. It is awesome and you are totally missing out!

And in other television news.....

Sunday, September 4, 2011

"If you don't believe in even the possibility of magic, you'll never find it."

As I have done the last two years, and with the start of Fall TV upon us, I will now share with you the shows I plan to check out. There are a lot of new shows this year that appeal to me and many returning shows as well, so I am going to be very busy this year.

Returning Shows:
Blue Bloods
Castle
Community
The Good Wife
Grey's Anatomy
Happy Endings
Hawaii Five-O
How I Met Your Mother
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Parenthood
Sons of Anarchy
The Vampire Diaries
The Walking Dead