Haley: Yes, you are, and when you're not, you have me
-----------------------------------------
All of my shows have premiered and I am ridiculously over-scheduled this year. Luckily, there is not much to watch on Wednesdays, so I have a day to catch up on what I DVR'd Mondays and Tuesdays :o)
I really enjoyed Lone Star and am very sad that FOX has canceled it after only two episodes. Although, I am not terribly surprised because FOX has a habit of canceling really good shows (ie. Firefly and Dollhouse). I really liked James Wolk and am hoping he will land an even better role. Of my other new shows, I have also really enjoyed Blue Bloods, My Generation, No Ordinary Family and Hawaii Five-O. Nikita, on the other hand, despite its continued good reviews, I just could not get into. I love Shane West, but it just is not holding my interest at all.
Other new shows that I have checked out OnDemand include: Terriers, The Event and Chase. The jury is still out on The Event. I really, really liked Terriers with Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James and it has now been added to my list of shows to watch. I was hoping Chase would be better, because I like Cole Hauser, but it was just not.
My newest TV obsession these days, though, is Friday Night Lights. I did not like the movie with Billy Bob Thornton very much so, when the show started in 2006, I had no interest in watching it. I am also not a huge football fall in general, so I figured it was a show that I could skip. Over the past couple years though, it has gotten really good reviews from the critics and it seemed like maybe I should check it out, but I was already watching way too much television, so I continued to ignore it. But then, a few weeks ago, ABC Family started playing the entire series from the beginning every week day. So I decided, now was as good a time as any to see what all the hype was about and, from the first episode, I was hooked. The show is focused around the town of Dillon, Texas and their obsession with high school football, but it is really about the people of this town and how they deal with every day issues. As one of the actors, Scott Porter, put it in one interview, "You can't build a show around a sport, you build it around the people." It is beautifully shot on location in Austin and the writing is simple, but brilliant. I am a little disappointed that I waited so long to find this show, but highly recommend you watch it. As you can tell, I have been mostly occupied with television the past two weeks, but I did get out to the theater to see a couple new movies: The Town and Easy A.
The Town was awesome. It was gritty and exciting and everyone should see this movie. I was particularly impressed with how good Blake Lively was in her role. I enjoy her on Gossip Girl, but...well...it is Gossip Girl, so who is really expecting all that much? Her part was not very big, but she played it very well. Jeremy Renner and Jon Ham were phenomenal, as usual and Ben Affleck did a great job directing and starring. If this does not at least get nominated for a few Academy Awards, I will be shocked. Seriously, go see this movie.
I also found Easy A to be very well done and pretty hilarious. While I was not a huge fan of the theater full of obnoxious teenagers, the movie kept me entertained throughout. Emma Stone is great as Olive, the modern-day Hester Prynne, and Amanda Bynes is great as the pious antagonist. I think my favorite characters, however, were Olive's parents played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson. How Stanley Tucci does not have an Oscar is beyond me, because he is amazing in every role he plays, no matter how small. Some of my favorite lines from the movie include:
Brandon: Is there an Olive here?
Olive's mom: There's a whole jar of them in the fridge!
I know, totally corny, but it made me laugh, as did this:
Olive's Mom: No offense, but you kind of look like a stripper
Olive: Mom!
Olive's Dad: A high-end stripper, for governors or athletes
This movie is not going to win any awards, but if you want to be entertained and/or just need a good laugh, then this is the movie for you :o)
Starting next Wednesday, my Phillies start their run at world domination...or a World Series, either is fine with me :o) I will, therefore, be distracted by baseball for a little while. Also, make sure you check out my dream Phillies movie cast.
I hope you are all enjoying some new fall TV shows and please let me know if there are any movies you think I should be seeing!
xoxo
c
----------------------------------------------
