Craig and His Technicolor Television

My 2011 Golden Globe Predictions

2011-01-16T07:46:00.000-06:00

MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Burlesque"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"Red"
"The Tourist"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE
"Biutiful," Mexico/Spain
"The Concert," France
"The Edge," Russia
"I Am Love," Italy
"In a Better World," Denmark

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"
David Fincher, "The Social Network"
Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"
Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
David O. Russell, "The Fighter"

BEST DRAMATIC ACTOR
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
James Franco, "127 Hours"
Ryan Gosling, "Blue Valentine"
Mark Wahlberg, "The Fighter"

BEST DRAMATIC ACTRESS
Halle Berry, "Frankie and Alice"
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Johnny Depp, "Alice in Wonderland"
Johnny Depp, "The Tourist"
Paul Giamatti, "Barney's Version"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Love and Other Drugs"
Kevin Spacey, "Casino Jack"

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
Anne Hathaway, "Love and Other Drugs"
Angelina Jolie, "The Tourist"
Julianne Moore, "The Kids Are All Right"
Emma Stone, "Easy A"

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, "The Fighter"
Michael Douglas, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"
Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network"
Jeremy Renner, "The Town"
Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"
Mila Kunis, "Black Swan"
Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"

ANIMATED FILM
"Despicable Me"
"How to Train Your Dragon"
"The Illusionist"
"Tangled"
"Toy Story 3"

SCREENPLAY
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, "127 Hours"
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, "The Kids Are All Right"
Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
David Seidler, "The King's Speech"
Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"

ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, "The King's Speech"
Danny Elfman, "Alice in Wonderland"
A.R. Rahman, "127 Hours"
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, "The Social Network"
Hans Zimmer, "Inception"

SONG
"Bound to You" (music by Samuel Dixon, lyrics by Christina Aguilera and Sia Furler), "Burlesque"
"Coming Home" (music and lyrics by Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey and Troy Verges), "Country Strong"
"I See the Light" (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater), "Tangled"
"There's a Place for Us" (music and lyrics by Carrie Underwood, David Hodges and Hillary Lindsey), "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"
"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" (music and lyrics by Diane Warren), "Burlesque"

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

DRAMATIC TV SERIES
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Dexter"
"The Good Wife"
"Mad Men"
"The Walking Dead"

BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA
Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House"

BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA
Julianna Marguiles, "The Good Wife"
Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"
Piper Perabo, "Covert Affairs"
Katy Sagal, "Sons of Anarchy"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
"30 Rock"
"Big Bang Theory"
"The Big C"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"Nurse Jackie"

BEST ACTOR, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Thomas Jane, "Hung"
Matthew Morrison, "Glee"
Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"

BEST ACTRESS, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Toni Collette, "The United States of Tara"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Laura Linney, "The Big C"
Lea Michele, "Glee"

BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
"Carlos"
"The Pacific"
"Pillars of the Earth"
"Temple Grandin"
"You Don't Know Jack"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Hayley Atwell, "Pillars of the Earth"
Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin"
Judi Dench, "Return to Cranford"
Romola Garai, "Emma"
Jennifer Love Hewitt, "The Client List"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Idris Elba, "Luther"
Ian McShane, "Pillars of the Earth"
Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack"
Dennis Quaid, "The Special Relationship"
Edgar Ramirez, "Carlos"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Hope Davis, "The Special Relationship"
Jane Lynch, "Glee"
Kelly Macdonald, "Boardwalk Empire"
Julia Stiles, "Dexter"
Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Scott Caan, "Hawaii Five-O"
Chris Colfer, "Glee"
Chris Noth, "The Good Wife"
Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"
David Strathairn, "Temple Grandin"

My TV Premiere Week Recap

2010-09-27T14:43:00.000-05:00

Oh what a wonderful time of year for TV junkies. Here is my recap of premiere week:

THE EVENT

NBC has been putting a lot of effort into marketing this potential hit show. Some people are hoping that this mystery-thriller will take over the Lost throne. I doubt it will be as good as Lost, but I was pleased with the first episode. I definitely think it has potential as the sizable early audience means it could be around for a while assuming it doesn't significantly drop off.

I do, however, think that The Event will have a harder time keeping people interested in the same way that Lost did. The main difference that I see so far, is that in Lost almost all of the characters had no idea what “the secret” was, while in The Event a good majority of the characters seem to know “the secret.” It is harder to continue on with using that ploy in this manner because it ends up becoming more aggravating.

It is okay to slowly reveal a secret to both the main characters and the audience at the same time, but if you hold the audience out while the characters know, it makes the audience start to hate the puppet masters.

The “secret” in The Event seems less likely to be sustained over the long haul because of this and that may dampen the show's prospects. I am rooting for it to succeed, however.

UNDERCOVERS

This NBC venture backed by J.J. Abrams seems like a cheeky good time, but is really nothing particularly new or inventive. I think the whole balancing-family-life-with-being-an-awesome spy-thing has been done before.

I am also rather distracted by the bulbous shaved head of Boris Kodjoe (Steven). It is tepid fun and I don't know that this is a show that can hold up over time, especially on a broadcast network.

It seems like something the USA network would have better luck with – although it is nowhere near the fun of shows like Burn Notice or Psych.

HAWAII FIVE-O

The pilot featured some pretty high production values, including tons of stuff blowing up, plenty of helicopters and wonderful cinematography.

This may be a pilot spurge, but I think a new audience should always be concerned about the production costs of a show. It is hard to sustain a show in later seasons if it is not economical.

I thought the pilot was relatively fun, but I think a lot of my fun came from the highly-produced action. Take that away and I am not sure I will enjoy it as much.

The biggest treat of the show so far is Daniel Dae Kim (Lost).

GLEE

I was happy to be back in school for another year of watching the Glee kids and visit with Brittany. She had some priceless one-liners, including “Stop the violence” and “People thought I was on vacation but I just got lost in the sewers.”

Overall, it was a decent episode to set up the second season trajectory.

RUNNING WILDE

This show has probably been overlooked already. I didn't notice it until I saw it on Hulu the other day. It stars Will Arnett (Arrested Development) and Keri Russell (Felicity). I liked the pilot and could see myself getting into this show.

I have to say, however, it was significantly helped by David Cross (Arrested Development) who appeared in the pilot. I say check it out. It is worth 20 minutes on Hulu. Also check out, what seems to be a companion series that will air on IFC this fall, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.

That show stars David Cross with a supporting role from Will Arnett.

CHUCK

I am so happy that Chuck is back for another round of mayhem. The premiere hasn't captured me in the same way that it did last season. However, I am excited to see where the show takes us this year.

I very much hope that Chuck and Sarah are together for the entire season. It is time for them to take their relationship to the next level. Maybe a proposal by season's end? Also, Morgan needs a serious love interest for the season (just sayin').

COMMUNITY

Hey, it is America's sweetheart, Betty White doing a guest spot in the season opener of Community! That is a major plus, but the return of last season's breakout hit was sub par.

I was hoping for a little Jeff and Annie relationship fun this year after their make-out session in last season's finale -- doesn't look like we are going to get it though. Still I am glad this show is back because when it is good, it is really good.

30 ROCK

Again, I thought the season opener of this great show was also sub par compared to the standards it has set for itself over the years.

It featured a nice guest spot by Matt Damon, who is Liz's new boyfriend.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE

What can I say about this show which has been so hyped by critics in recent weeks? Nothing much original other than to note that yes it does live up to the hype so far. It is really movie quality entertainment.

It is a must watch.

TRAILER TUESDAY: Is 127 HOURS going to be another Danny Boyle Classic?

2010-08-31T08:19:00.004-05:00

127 HOURS
****
Opens November 5, 2010

Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) says he never wants to make the same movie twice. I think it is safe to say by his resume that he has accomplished that.

This new movie is again, something completely different. This is the true story about the guy who had to cut off his own arm to save himself from dying.

I love that Danny Boyle is directing this movie. Without him, this would be probably be a TV movie. I am also interested to see James Franco play this role.

My Defense of SERBIS -- Why It Is Not a Craptastix

2010-08-26T13:00:00.009-05:00

This week on the InstaFlicka Podcast we reviewed the movie Serbis. I gave it a tepid three stars out of five, but spent a good portion of my time defending it.

I am under no delusion that there are very, very few people that will like Serbis -- hell, I am not sure I even like it -- but I feel it needs some defense. Here is my written review of the movie:

If you are not deeply committed to independent cinema or perhaps deeply into Asian pornography you won't like this film, but if you are... then I say give it a try.

Serbis -- a Filipino film with subtitles -- tells the story of a three-generation family living in and running a rundown former family movie theater that now runs soft-core porn and caters to a largely homosexual and illicit crowd. The dark movie house is filled with prostitutes, johns and who knows what else. It is all very unseemly in a movie theater that is just as disgusting as the things that go on there.

Throughout the theater there are signs that read “No pissing here.” It is fairly likely that wads of cum are as essential as mortar in holding the rather large and decrepit theater together.

We follow the family as they struggle to survive together and cope with the utterly un-family friendly confines that they are housed. The setting puts everyone's sexual desires and perversions on display for everyone else and especially the viewer.

The director spends a lot of the movie following his characters walking up and down the numerous stairways in the winding and expansive theater as if they are walking through a macabre maze. But no one seems to be getting out and the dead-ends lead to desperation, resignation and exploitation.

The whole thing is carnal, sad and darkly humorous. That last bit is important to note because it may not be altogether clear that this movie tries to be funny. It is easy to lose the humor while reading the subtitles.

If you approach this movie as if it were some kind of odd and disturbing telenovela, you are likely to have a better viewing and maybe even revel in some of the quirky melodrama.

Still, for many, this movie is painfully slow and perhaps unwatchable. I can understand that. There are many flaws. The sound editing is substandard in several patches; the camera work struggles mightily in some stretches, although it is competent in others places; and the dialogue is a little banal.

There is also an uneven -- or maybe just confusing -- tone to Serbis. I mentioned that you can get some delight out of the melodrama, but it is not hard to get thrown for a loop by what seems to be fits of earnestness.

There are moments that make you feel like Serbis is too serious to get away with some of its comical gags, yet there are also moments that make you feel like it is too ridiculous to be taken seriously. These shifts not only confuse the viewer but make one incredulous about the director's intentions.

Is it okay to laugh or should I feel bad that it made me laugh? How should I feel about being titillated by the non-simulated sex scenes? Is this film nothing more than a gritty porno about pornography? Does the director want me to be conflicted?

If this film wasn't worth anything I wouldn't be asking those questions, and if it was better crafted I might know some of the answers. The bottom line is that this venture demands some thought and an opinion -- good
or bad -- and that is more than I can say about a lot of things that flicker on the screen.

Starz's New Mini-Series THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH is Ambitious and Delicious

2010-08-16T15:53:00.001-05:00

Starz's new historical fiction mini-series, The Pillars of the Earth, about medieval England sets the desires of good men and women against the desires of bad ones.

The characters constantly struggle with the question of when it is better to acquiesce or stake their life on things that they want the most.

They are forced to pick their battles wisely as each fight could mean the death of their life and legacy. For some that legacy is the thrown of England. For others it is building a masterpiece cathedral.

The internal and external nature of these struggles add a certain amount of grandeur to the show's scope of storytelling and accentuates the central historical conflicts of the time.

Pillars starts as King Henry I loses his only legitimate son, and heir to the thrown, to a shipwreck. Without an heir, those around him start angling to fill the power vacuum that would be created if the King should die.

Battle lines are drawn between the King's daughter, the young Princess Maude, and his nephew Stephen. When King Henry meets his end, Stephen is handed the crown with the backing of the church.

But Princess Maude, a new mother to a son and potential heir, resists. She raises an army with the help of those loyal to the late King. What follows is a time in England's history referred to as “The Anarchy,” in which the two sides fight for power over nineteen years.

At the heart of this series, however, is the story of Tom the Builder and his quest to build a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge. The building is not only a means to feed his starving family, but also something greater than himself. His plans are beautiful and architecturally revolutionary.

Yet Tom's goal, supported by the local religious authority Prior Phillip, is caught in the middle of the political strife. Tom and Phillip are the underdogs. They struggle to find out if it is possible to make a beautiful piece of work in a time of complete upheaval. They find out that there will be costs in both blood and treasure.

While the building of the cathedral is certainly the emotional center of Pillars, the struggle for power is given just as much weight. This forces the show to handle a variety of important story lines in quick succession, all while jumping years in time from episode to episode – there are only eight.

Those, however, are not the only story lines. Several other important and enjoyable subplots drift through the series, but it would be too encumbering to list them all here.

Pulling all those story lines together in an eight episode mini-series takes precise writing and memorable acting. And for the most part the writers and cast of Pillars exceed in crafting scenes and characters that are endearing, devious and fierce.

Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) is especially brilliant as the scorned and underestimated Princess Maude. Rufus Sewel's (A Night's Tale) turn as Tom the Builder is as handsome and as strong as he as ever been; while Ian McShane (Deadwood) as the corruptible Bishop Waleran Bigod, continuously makes me desirous for more episodes of the short-lived NBC's drama Kings.

Pillars may not be as slick as Showtime's The Tudors or as genius as HBO's Rome – two notable fictionalized, but historically-conceived shows from recent years – but it is just as ambitious.

Its hefty and surprising cast propel this mini-series to succeed more than it fails. The Pillars of the Earth, based on the 1989 novel by Ken Follet, is available streaming online through Netflix.

I'm on a podcast... yes, I am that cool. You have no idea. Check it out.

2010-08-05T22:57:00.000-05:00

Okay, I may not be as cool as advertised but this podcast is pretty cool.

It is called InstaFlicka and it is all about trolling through the golden nuggets and crap that is in the Netflix Watch Instantly library.

I did a guest spot this week and they asked me to come back next week. I think that means I was worth the pay of the three Lienies that it took to keep me in front of the microphone for the hour.

It was good fun and co-hosts Phil Butcher and Jonny Gausewitz were fun to rant with. Go to the InstaFlicka website or find it on iTunes.

My Top 25 Television Shows of the Year

2010-07-09T08:00:00.010-05:00

In honor of the recent announcement of the Emmy Award nominations I thought I might create a list of what I think are the best scripted shows from the last year. I watch a lot of TV, but I haven't seen everything, so there may be an unreasonable snub here and there.

I also have a bias against cop, nurse or lawyer shows and anything with a laugh track -- so keep that in mind.

Here are the Emmy nominations if you are interested:
http://www.emmys.com/nominations

1-5 | House (Fox), Lost (ABC), Dexter (SHO), Big Love (HBO), Mad Men (AMC)

Hugh Laurie and company have created one of the best TV characters ever and the writers continuously take chances and keep things interesting. What a great show.

6-10 | Spartacus: Blood and Sand (SHO), Chuck (NBC), Breaking Bad (AMC), Glee (FOX), Community (NBC)

I think many people might be surprised with the number six entry of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, but this show really captured my attention. The first episode was ridiculous and kind of bad, but as the series went along into its first season things really got juicy. “Jupiter’s cock” is my new favorite profanity. This show might not be in the same league as HBO’s Rome, but Spartacus is quite good.

11-15 | In Treatment (HBO), Friday Night Lights (NBC), Burn Notice (USA), Breaking Bad (AMC), East Bound and Down (HBO)

Every show listed in this range are must watches because of their amazing acting performances. Over a mix of genres, these shows are powered by their amazing casts.

16-20 | Entourage (HBO), Parks and Recreation (NBC), 30 Rock (NBC), The Office (NBC), Psych (USA)

Welcome to the comedy block. These shows gave me some of my best laughs over the last year. I wonder how high on the list The Office will be if Steve Carell leaves?

21-25 | Party Down (STARZ), Fringe (FOX), True Blood (HBO), Royal Pains (USA), Bones (FOX)

Why, oh why, did Starz go and cancel Party Down. What a fun show that was. I can’t believe it was an expensive show to produce but Adam Scott is kind of blowing up lately and I understand it is hard to keep him around. Also, I know that it isn’t ground breaking television, but I really enjoy tuning into Royal Pains and Bones.

Honorable Mention | Californication (SHO), Dark Blue (TNT), Leverage (TNT), V (ABC), Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX), In Plain Sight (USA), Modern Family (ABC), Castle (ABC), Monk (USA)

TRAILER TUESDAY: Yes, Believe It or Not, They're Making a Smurfs Movie

2010-06-22T08:28:00.002-05:00

THE SMURFS

Opens Summer 2011

This movie is about a year away, but I could not resist posting it for Trailer Tuesday. What are the odds on this movie being semi-cool?

I will give them some points for casting Neil Patrick Harris -- a little NPH goes a long way. Still, I can't help getting the feeling that this is going to be another Garfield-like disaster.

It will, probably, still make a ton of money like The Chipmunks movies. It is also likely to be the stoner movie of the year. Your thoughts?

As a side note, I kind of wish that they would combine the Smurfs and The Transformers into one movie. You know, like they did with Alien versus Predator. Does The Smurfs versus The Transformers not blow your mind?

TRAILER TUESDAY: Set the Timer for TiMER, Find it on Netflix in June

2010-05-25T13:05:00.007-05:00

TiMER
***
(Streaming on Netflix June 22)

This movie has not yet recieved a wide release and may never get a wide release, but that doesn't mean that you can't see it. It will be streaming on Netflix in June, so you should save it now so that you do not forget.

It looks fun and original.

However, it is an independent film, and it might not be for everyone. It is also by first-time writer/director Jac Schaeffer, so it is really hard to guess what this movie is going to be like.

For me, it appears to be worth the chance.

TRAILER TUESDAY: This Preview Makes No Sense to Me, Yet I am Going to See the Movie Anyway

2010-05-18T07:19:00.004-05:00

INCEPTION
**
Opens July 16

I have seen three different trailers for Inception and I don't think I really have a clue what this movie is about. Yet, I don't care.

Let's just look at the lineup we have here: Christopher Nolan (director), Leo DiCaprio (movie star), Joesph Gordon-Levitt (super cool) Michael Caine (the man), Ellen Page (adorable), Marion Cotillard (sessy), Cillian Murphy (creeps me out) and Tom Berenger (wait, what?).

I can't wait to see what this movie is all about.

TRAILER TUESDAY: A Baseball Movie that Almost Got By Me

2010-05-11T08:45:00.002-05:00

CALVIN MARSHALL
Opened March 26
***

Okay, so this baseball movie almost got by me. It opened a while ago, but I have just stumbled upon it.

It, however, did not get a wide release and I don't think any theater around me has played it.

It looks like a fairly entertaining movie that I hope to catch on DVD as soon as possible. It combines two of my favorite things: baseball and Steve Zahn.

TRAILER TUESDAY: New TRON LEGACY trailer looks pretty awesome, especially compared to the original TRON trailer

2010-03-09T11:48:00.007-06:00

TRON LEGACY
Opens December 17, 2010
****

This movie looks pretty good. I mean they got Jeff Bridges to come back for it. They seem to have updated it wonderfully without taking away the charm of the original.

Olivia Wilde (House) only makes a brief appearance in this trailer, but she is quite unforgettable in her back outfit.

The only bad thing about this trailer is the fact that it won't open for so long. In case you wanted a reminder about the old version of Tron I include the 1982 trailer for that movie.

My Oscars review

2010-03-08T12:22:00.001-06:00

Last night's Oscars were pretty tame. There were few things in this year's awards ceremony that I am going to remember ten years from now.

Hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were good. I laughed, but I didn't fall over laughing. There jokes were not that biting. They were adequate or serviceable, I guess. I would give them the grade of a "B" for their performance.

There were also few surprises last night in the actual awards. It was somewhat surprising that Avatar, with as much money as it had made, did not take home more awards. However, that is the way I thought it should have gone.

Instead, The Hurt Locker, a truly wonderful film took home top honors Sunday night. It won six Oscars and the all-important best picture. It also earned the best director statue for Kathryn Bigelow. She was the first woman to win that award.

All of those awards were deserving.

The most surprised I was about any award was in the adapted screenplay category. I really do not understand how Precious beat out Up in the Air or District 9. That is confusing.

Other than that, however, everything else went in order. The best actor categories went as the whole world expected. Although, I love Jeff Bridges and am glad that he got the award, I think it would have been awesome if Jeremy Renner would have won.

Colin Farrell gave a great little speech about Renner. You could tell that they were good friends, unlike some of the other people giving tributes. I thought Bridges should have won, but I was kind of pulling for Renner there in the final moments. An award like that would change that man's career. He obviously deserves some more great roles in the future. Let's hope that he gets them.

I think a lot of people felt the same way about the best actress award last night. I think a lot of people were rooting for Sandra Bullock, but last minute were thinking, 'wouldn't it be great if Gabrielle Sidibe would have won.'

Still, even though I did not think Sandra Bullock deserved an Oscar for a middling movie like The Blind Side her acceptance speech was probably the best of the night. It was emotional, humorous and triumphant.

As for the rest of the show there were some glaring issues. That interpretive dance segment was painful to watch. Street dancing is cool, but not really so much to orchestra music. Also, Kathy Ireland... what were you thinking. Were you high? Your red carpet interviews were a train wreck. You are going to be all over youtube after that performance.

One positive part of the show was the tribute to John Hughes. It was nice to see some of the brat pack in the house. It is too bad Hughes directed so few movies in his lifetime. We should have demanded more.

My Oscar night via the Twitter machine

2010-03-08T11:25:00.009-06:00

RT @thatkevinsmith: 'atta girl, Bigs. Double-fist those bad-boys. #DirectHer

so I was 16-24 on my picks tonight... not bad. #oscars

RT @thr: Final score-- The Hurt Locker 6, Avatar 3, Precious 3, Up 2, Inglourious Basterds 1 -Congrats to The Hurt Locker!

I am pleased by those last two awards.... sweet... that made this #oscars worth it... everything else was kinda lame.

RT @sethmeyers21: The Academy makes up for the Oscar they failed to award Bigelow for "Point Break."

RT @uranowski: Shut up Barbra Streisand I was in a good mood after Sandra B's speech and you ruined it. #oscars

despite me not wanting her to win... that was a nice acceptance speech from Sandra #oscars

you wore us down.... #oscars

RT @millbot: I'm going to throw something through something else if Sandra B. wins this award.

RT @tvwithoutpity: "Thank you to the Academy for not considering Na'vi a foreign language." Nice! #oscars

@elizabethbanks you could make a paper bag look good in reply to ElizabethBanks

RT @showbiz411: farrah fawcett left out of oscar memorial

snuggie sighting at the #oscars... nice

they should have let Robin Williams do the interprative dance number... it would have been better #oscars

RT @borowitzreport: Memo to #Oscars: if America liked ballet they'd watch fucking PBS

ummm what the helll is going on... at the #oscars ?

dude, TWILIGHT is not a horror movie... unless you are talking about how bad it is #oscars

RT @borowitzreport: Two hours in, I think the Oscar franchise is badly in need of a reboot. #oscars

RT @robcorddry: First vagina reference less than one hour in. I called it!

what the hell is that lampshade backdrop... kinda sweat... and crazy.... #oscars

oh good lord.... ben stiller... what won't you do... lol #oscars

I thought we had another Kanye situation there for a second #oscars

who the hell is this lady? #oscars

John Hughes should have directed more movies... Here is is his wiki page http://tr.im/R0Rk #oscars

RT @buckhollywood: KATHY IRELAND FOR BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM! #Oscars

apparently Tina Fey is good at speedreading #oscars

RT @filmfan1971: They should have an award for Most Torrented Movie. #oscars

RT @lovelybutton: Now Every Time I see Shrimp I Think Of District 9. lol

can this #oscars go any slower?

RT @followjenyu: Animation skit....snooze #oscars about 15 hours ago via DestroyTwitter

RT @danguyf: Kudos to the #Oscars for giving the people what they want: MORE NPH!
NPH!!!!!!!! #oscars

here we go #oscars

RT @ericvespe: Taylor Lautner is "the most famous werewolf in motion picture history." No. Fuck you annoying red carpet Oscar lady

RT @borowitzreport: I love trashing the way the celebrities are dressed as I lie here in my Old Navy drawstring pants. #oscars

when did kathy ireland become an idiot? #oscars

We have Razzies! Transformers, Sandra Bullock are big winners

2010-03-06T22:55:00.003-06:00

Here are the winners:

http://www.razzies.com/history/09winners.asp

My complete Oscar-winner predictions

2010-03-06T14:11:00.000-06:00

ACTING OSCARS

Actor in a Leading Role

Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney in "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth in "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman in "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"

Actor in a Supporting Role

Matt Damon in "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds"

Actress in a Leading Role

Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren in "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan in "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia"

Actress in a Supporting Role

Penélope Cruz in "Nine"
Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air"
Mo’Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire"

FILMMAKER OSCARS

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

"District 9" Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
"An Education" Screenplay by Nick Hornby
"In the Loop" Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
"Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire" Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
"Up in the Air" Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)

"The Hurt Locker" Written by Mark Boal
"Inglourious Basterds" Written by Quentin Tarantino
"The Messenger" Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
"A Serious Man" Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"Up" Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Directing

"Avatar" James Cameron
"The Hurt Locker" Kathryn Bigelow
"Inglourious Basterds" Quentin Tarantino
"Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire" Lee Daniels
"Up in the Air" Jason Reitman

Best Picture

"Avatar"
"The Blind Side"
"District 9"
"An Education"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"
"Up in the Air"

Animated Feature Film

"Coraline" Henry Selick
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" Wes Anderson
"The Princess and the Frog" John Musker and Ron Clements
"The Secret of Kells" Tomm Moore
"Up" Pete Docter

Foreign Language Film

"Ajami" Israel
"El Secreto de Sus Ojos" Argentina
"The Milk of Sorrow" Peru
"Un Prophète" France
"The White Ribbon" Germany

TECHNICAL OSCARS

Art Direction

"Avatar" Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
"Nine" Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
"Sherlock Holmes" Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Young Victoria" Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography

"Avatar" Mauro Fiore
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Bruno Delbonnel
"The Hurt Locker" Barry Ackroyd
"Inglourious Basterds" Robert Richardson
"The White Ribbon" Christian Berger

Costume Design

"Bright Star" Janet Patterson
"Coco before Chanel" Catherine Leterrier
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" Monique Prudhomme
"Nine" Colleen Atwood
"The Young Victoria" Sandy Powell

Film Editing

"Avatar" Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
"District 9" Julian Clarke
"The Hurt Locker" Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
"Inglourious Basterds" Sally Menke
"Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire" Joe Klotz

Sound Editing

"Avatar" Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
"The Hurt Locker" Paul N.J. Ottosson
"Inglourious Basterds" Wylie Stateman
"Star Trek" Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
"Up" Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing

"Avatar" Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
"The Hurt Locker" Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
"Inglourious Basterds" Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
"Star Trek" Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects

"Avatar" Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
"District 9" Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
"Star Trek" Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

NO ONE CARES OSCARS

Short Film (Animated)

"French Roast" Fabrice O. Joubert
"Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty" Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
"The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)" Javier Recio Gracia
"Logorama" Nicolas Schmerkin
"A Matter of Loaf and Death" Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)

"The Door" Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
"Instead of Abracadabra" Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
"Kavi" Gregg Helvey
"Miracle Fish" Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
"The New Tenants" Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Documentary (Feature)

"Burma VJ" Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
"The Cove" Nominees to be determined
"Food, Inc." Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers" Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
"Which Way Home" Rebecca Cammisa

Documentary (Short Subject)

"China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province" Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner" Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant" Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
"Music by Prudence" Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
"Rabbit à la Berlin" Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Makeup

"Il Divo" Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
"Star Trek" Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
"The Young Victoria" Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

MUSIC OSCARS

Music (Original Score)

"Avatar" James Horner
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" Alexandre Desplat
"The Hurt Locker" Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
"Sherlock Holmes" Hans Zimmer
"Up" Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36" Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from "Nine" Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart" Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

My predictions for the filmmaker Oscars

2010-03-05T07:08:00.000-06:00

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

"District 9" Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
"An Education" Screenplay by Nick Hornby
"In the Loop" Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
"Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire" Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
"Up in the Air" Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)

"The Hurt Locker" Written by Mark Boal
"Inglourious Basterds" Written by Quentin Tarantino
"The Messenger" Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
"A Serious Man" Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"Up" Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Directing

"Avatar" James Cameron
"The Hurt Locker" Kathryn Bigelow
"Inglourious Basterds" Quentin Tarantino
"Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire" Lee Daniels
"Up in the Air" Jason Reitman

Best Picture

"Avatar"
"The Blind Side"
"District 9"
"An Education"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"
"Up in the Air"

Animated Feature Film

"Coraline" Henry Selick
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" Wes Anderson
"The Princess and the Frog" John Musker and Ron Clements
"The Secret of Kells" Tomm Moore
"Up" Pete Docter

Foreign Language Film

"Ajami" Israel
"El Secreto de Sus Ojos" Argentina
"The Milk of Sorrow" Peru
"Un Prophète" France
"The White Ribbon" Germany

My predictions for the best acting Oscars

2010-03-04T07:52:00.000-06:00

ACTING OSCARS

Actor in a Leading Role

Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney in "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth in "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman in "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"

Actor in a Supporting Role

Matt Damon in "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds"

Actress in a Leading Role

Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren in "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan in "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia"

Actress in a Supporting Role

Penélope Cruz in "Nine"
Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air"
Mo’Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire"

My Predictions for the Oscars most people don't care about

2010-03-03T07:31:00.001-06:00

TECHNICAL OSCARS

Art Direction

"Avatar" Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
"Nine" Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
"Sherlock Holmes" Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Young Victoria" Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography

"Avatar" Mauro Fiore
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Bruno Delbonnel
"The Hurt Locker" Barry Ackroyd
"Inglourious Basterds" Robert Richardson
"The White Ribbon" Christian Berger

Costume Design

"Bright Star" Janet Patterson
"Coco before Chanel" Catherine Leterrier
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" Monique Prudhomme
"Nine" Colleen Atwood
"The Young Victoria" Sandy Powell

Film Editing

"Avatar" Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
"District 9" Julian Clarke
"The Hurt Locker" Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
"Inglourious Basterds" Sally Menke
"Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire" Joe Klotz

Sound Editing

"Avatar" Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
"The Hurt Locker" Paul N.J. Ottosson
"Inglourious Basterds" Wylie Stateman
"Star Trek" Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
"Up" Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing

"Avatar" Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
"The Hurt Locker" Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
"Inglourious Basterds" Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
"Star Trek" Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects

"Avatar" Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
"District 9" Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
"Star Trek" Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

NO ONE CARES OSCARS

Short Film (Animated)

"French Roast" Fabrice O. Joubert
"Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty" Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
"The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)" Javier Recio Gracia
"Logorama" Nicolas Schmerkin
"A Matter of Loaf and Death" Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)

"The Door" Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
"Instead of Abracadabra" Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
"Kavi" Gregg Helvey
"Miracle Fish" Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
"The New Tenants" Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Documentary (Feature)

"Burma VJ" Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
"The Cove" Nominees to be determined
"Food, Inc." Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers" Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
"Which Way Home" Rebecca Cammisa

Documentary (Short Subject)

"China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province" Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner" Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant" Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
"Music by Prudence" Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
"Rabbit à la Berlin" Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Makeup

"Il Divo" Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
"Star Trek" Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
"The Young Victoria" Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

MUSIC OSCARS

Music (Original Score)

"Avatar" James Horner
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" Alexandre Desplat
"The Hurt Locker" Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
"Sherlock Holmes" Hans Zimmer
"Up" Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36" Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from "Nine" Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart" Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

TRAILER TUESDAY: Which Oscar contender had the best trailer?

2010-03-02T09:11:00.004-06:00

Best Picture Nominees

"Avatar"
"The Blind Side"
"District 9"
"An Education"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"
"Up in the Air"

10) THE BLIND SIDE

9) INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

8) AN EDUCATION

7) A SERIOUS MAN

6) AVATAR

5) THE HURT LOCKER

4) DISTRICT 9

3) PRECIOUS

2) UP IN THE AIR

1) UP

Welcome to Oscar Week!

2010-03-01T07:44:00.003-06:00

TELL ME MORE ABOUT THESE OSCARS

And the nominees are... (as if you didn't already know). If you want a printable ballot you can find them on numerous different websites including the official Academy Awards site.

MY ONLINE OSCARS POOL

Dig into some research at Yahoo! Movies and then join my pool and see if you can out-pick me. The only website that I found that would allow an online pool was funofficepools.com. The site is rather primitive, but seems to be functional. It is also free and updates live.

Join My Oscar Pool Here:

http://www.funofficepools.com/joinpool.php?Passed_Pool_Key=95e31d7c9be

Here are the details if you need them:

Pool Name: Craig's Pool
Password: madison

MORE BACKGROUND

Here are some related posts about the Academy Awards on my blog:

Who is going to be the big winner at the Oscars?
Razzie Nominations Are Out! Suck It TRANSFORMERS!

ON THE BLOG THIS WEEK

Tuesday | Special Edition of Trailer Tuesday, I break down the best and the worst of the Best Picture nominee trailers.
Wednesday | I post my predictions for Oscars most people don't care about.
Thursday | I post my predictions for the best acting Oscars.
Friday | I post my predictions for Best Picture and other important Oscars.
Saturday | Check back for details on the Razzie Awards which will be announced the day before the Academy Awards
Sunday | All of my picks are out. I will be live-tweeting and posting commentary on the blog shortly after the show.

TWEET WITH ME

If you are on twitter and feel like joining the conversation, I would love to hear from you Sunday Night. Follow me at @boscohouse

Happy Oscars week everybody...

TRAILER TUESDAY: THE LOSERS looks like a better A-TEAM remake than THE A-TEAM remake

2010-02-23T08:32:00.000-06:00

THE LOSERS

Opens June 4, 2010

***

This looks like a pretty fun action movie with a hot lady attached to it -- Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek).

The premise of The Losers sounds a lot like the A-Team and it just so happens that a remake of that television series is slated for the big screen this summer. This movie, however, is an adaptation of a comic book.

It looks pretty slick and I get the feeling that it will be a pretty good popcorn movie this summer. In any case, it looks better than The A-Team.

TRAILER TUESDAY: Aldous Snow of Infant Sorrow is back in GET HIM TO THE GREEK

2010-02-16T09:13:00.002-06:00

GET HIM TO THE GREEK
Opens June 4, 2010
***

So I guess you could call this movie a spin-off of the infinitely funny Jason Siegel flick Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Russell Brand reprises his role as Aldous Snow, the lead singer of the band Infant Sorrow, who was also Sarah Marshall's new boyfriend.

Russell Brand was crazy funny in that movie. Jonah Hill, who also had a small role in Forgetting as a creepy fan of Alda Snow, is apparently the straight man in this new flick.

The trailer is not particularly good, and I don't know what to think of this being a spin-off, but I am game. Russell Brand was so good in Forgetting that I have been waiting and waiting for another significant role for him. (Check here if you need a reminder?)

Well, here we go. It should be fun.

TRAILER TUESDAY: Are Aniston and Butler good enough to make THE BOUNTY HUNTER watchable?

2010-02-09T09:52:00.000-06:00

THE BOUNTY HUNTER

Opens March 19, 2010

This movie looks like it could be okay. We all like Jennifer Aniston and I enjoy Gerard Butler so that is a good start.

The plot looks somewhat original, but I worry about the comedy. The jokes, at least in the trailer, seem kind of stale. I imagine this movie will be so-so, probably DVD worthy. I can't imagine it getting amazing reviews or much acclaim.

It also looks like a completely forgettable film. I, however, would not mind being proven wrong. I think Butler has a lot of potential. He is always entertaining and interesting. I just wish he would do a movie that had some value to it.

TV REVIEW: THE DEEP END is an unoriginal GREY'S knock off

2010-02-05T13:53:00.006-06:00

I am going to resist making any one of many possible puns using the name of the new ABC Television series, The Deep End, in telling you how bad it is – let's just suffice it to say this show isn't very good and will hopefully fade away right quick.

This prime time soap follows five young and attractive first-year lawyers being chucked into the deep end of the legal world at the prestigious Los Angeles law firm Sterling, Huddle, Oppenheim & Craft. Although there is certainly a lot of drama between the partners, whose last names make up the firm's name, the show mainly focuses on the youngsters, Dylan Hewitt, Liam Priory, Addy Fischer, Beth Branford and Malcolm Bennet.

Matt Long plays the sensitive Dylan, Ben Lawson plays Liam, an Aussie whore with a heart of gold, Tina Majorino is the somewhat geeky and overwhelmed Addy, Leah Pipes plays the bred-for-success blond with daddy issues, Beth, and Mehcad Brooks is the strong, complex token minority, Malcom.

Okay, I guess Nicole Ari Parker, as Susan Oppenheim, is black and Billy Zane, as Cliff Huddle, could pass as some sort of minority with the tan he is sporting, but still it is generally a show without a lot of diversity.

What there is in this show is a lot of inter(office)course. This is basically the kind of law firm where you would half expect orgies to breakout on the weekends. Dylan pines for a paralegal, who just so happens to be breaking off a sexual relationship with one of the partners, Dylan's boss, who is also married to another high-profile lawyer at the firm. Meanwhile Liam is macking on Beth and Addy has a thing for Malcom's strong silent type.

Someone needs to tell ABC that they need to stop making Grey's Anatomy clones. They already have two Grey's franchises with the original and the spin-off Private Practice -- time for some new ideas.

The Deep End, with its overcooked melodrama and jokes that fall so far flat you are forced to chuckle at how pitiful they are, is a pretty poor knock off.

The show officially solidifies its lame status in episode three when Beth and Addy are assigned to a case defending a high-profile client, a lingerie designer, from a sexual harassment charge. The ladies win the case for their client but feel dirty about it when they realize their client may not be guilty in this particular instance but does systematically discriminate against women at his company.

Tough luck, right? Lawyers defend bad people all the time, that is the way it goes. Even habitual sexual harassers deserve proper legal representation.

What came next was just amusing. Beth and Addy reveal their moral dilemma to their boss and the high-powered superwoman partner Susan Oppenheim (Parker) gets involved. Susan sets an appointment with the client and goes off on him for womanizing and the sexual harassment in his company. After the client is put in his place Beth, Addy and Susan triumphantly march out of the office giving each other high-fives.

Besides being a really lame way to trumpet female-empowerment, it flies in the face of everything that had happened on the show in the first three episodes.

First of all, the lingerie story line was used as an excuse to show as many women in lingerie as possible. Secondly, the law firm that these characters work at seems like the perfect place to work if you want to be sexually harassed.

It is tone deaf writing like that which makes this show a turkey. Stay away and do not let yourself get hooked on this completely unoriginal drama.

LOST was great last night, right?

2010-02-03T08:22:00.007-06:00

I thought Lost was in prime form last night. A few answers and a lot more questions, like it always does. The show definitely had pocket aces for the two-part opener.

Here are some of my crack-brain thoughts and notes on my TV Journal. My theories kept me up thinking all night.

What did you guys think?

UPDATE: This is a great blog discussion the season six premiere.

Who is going to be the big winner at the Oscars?

2010-02-02T20:10:00.000-06:00

Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker vs. Inglourious Basterds

There are two ways that you can define "big winner." First, you can go by the raw number of Oscar wins, or second, you can go by who wins best picture.

The three favorites for both of these distinctions are Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds. Avatar and The Hurt Locker are the obvious favorites, but Basterds has a chance to pull an upset based on the total number of nominations it received. Here is the breakdown:

"Avatar," (9 nominations)
(Art direction, Cinematography, Directing, Film editing, Original score, Best picture, Sound editing, Sound mixing, Visual effects)

The Hurt Locker (9 nominations)
(Jeremy Renner - Performance by an actor in a leading role, Cinematography, Directing, Film editing, Original score, Best picture, Sound editing, Sound mixing, Original screenplay)

Inglourious Basterds (8 nominations)
(Christoph Waltz - Performance by an actor in a supporting role, Cinematography, Directing, Film editing, Best picture, Sound editing, Sound mixing, Original screenplay)

Meanwhile, Up In the Air (6 nominations), Precious (6 nominations) and Up (5 nominations) are sleeper picks for the night's big winner. All are nominated for best picture.

Right now my money is on Avatar winning the most Oscars with The Hurt Locker winning best picture. In that case it is a split decision on who is the night's big winner. That is the way it should go anyway. I really hope Avatar doesn't win best picture and James Cameron better not win best director.

And the Oscar Nominees Are...

2010-02-02T15:03:00.011-06:00

Best motion picture of the year
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

If you recall my predictions, I was pretty spot on. The only movie I really overlooked was An Education. The only other movie that I did not predict, but had hoped would get nominated, was Up.

The two movies that I had inserted into the other slots was Invictus and Crazy Heart. I haven't seen Crazy Heart yet, but I am more than okay with Invictus not getting a Best Picture nod.

Here are the nominees in the other categories that we care about. For the whole list check out Oscar.com here:http://oscar.go.com/nominations/nominees

Achievement in directing
James Cameron "Avatar"
Kathryn Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"
Quentin Tarantino "Inglourious Basterds"
Lee Daniels "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Jason Reitman "Up in the Air"

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney in "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth in "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman in "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Matt Damon in "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds"

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren in "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan in "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia"

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Penélope Cruz in "Nine"
Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

TRAILER TUESDAY: The Movie Being Raved About at Sundance

2010-02-02T08:29:00.001-06:00

CYRUS
Coming Soon
****

I have read a bunch of positive reviews about this movie coming out of Sundance and the Duplass Brothers are a pair of my favorite filmmakers -- The Puffy Chair anyone? -- so I was naturally very interested to see the trailer.

I have to say it wasn't quite what I expected. It still looks good, but this is definitely a different direction for the Duplass Brothers. First of all it does have some well-known faces in it. That, in and of itself, is a big difference.

I am certainly not betting against them here. The movie looks like a lot of fun and Jonah Hill looks creepy. Hopefully I will be able to see it somewhere relatively soon.

Razzie Nominations Are Out! Suck It TRANSFORMERS!

2010-02-01T12:01:00.012-06:00

I am glad to see that I was not the only one to think Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the worse movie of the year.

Box Office Hits, Remakes and Sequels Dominate This Year’s RAZZIE® Nominations

I was a little surprised that Land of The Lost was so heavily "honored." I actually gave that movie a favorable review when I first saw it on DVD a few months ago. I can understand why it got some nominations, but I didn't think it was that bad.

Here is the full list of nominations:

Worst Picture
All About Steve
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Land of The Lost
Old Dogs
Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen

Worst Actor
All Three Jonas Brothers (JONAS BROTHERS: THE 3-D CONCERT EXPERIENCE)
Will Ferrell (LAND OF THE LOST)
Steve Martin (PINK PANTHER 2)
Eddie Murphy (IMAGINE THAT)
John Travolta (OLD DOGS)

Worst Actress
Beyonce (OBSESSED)
Sandra Bullock (ALL ABOUT STEVE)
Mylie Cyrus (HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE)
Megan Fox (JENNIFER’S BODY AND TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN)
Sarah Jessica Parker (DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?)

Worst Supporting Actor
Billy Ray Cyrus (HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE)
Hugh Hefner (MISS MARCH)
Robert Pattinson (TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON)
Jorma Taccone (LAND OF THE LOST)
Marlon Wayans (G.I. JOE)

Worst Supporting Actress
Candice Bergen (BRIDE WARS)
Ali Larter (OBSESSED)
Sienna Miller (G.I. JOE)
Kelly Preston (OLD DOGS)
Julie White (TRANNIES, TOO)

Worst Screen Couple
Any Two (or More) Jonas Brothers (THE JONAS BROTHERS 3-D CONCERT EXPERIENCE)
Sandra Bullock & Bradley Cooper (ALL ABOUT STEVE)
Will Ferrell & Any Co-Star, Creature or “Comic Riff” (LAND OF THE LOST)
Shia LaBeouf & EITHER Megan Fox OR Any Transformer (TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN)
Kristen Stewart & EITHER Robert Pattinson OR Taylor Whatz-His-Fang (TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON)

Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Land of The Lost
Pink Panther 2
Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen
Twilight Saga: New Moon

Worst Director
Michael Bay (TRANNIES, TOO)
Walt Becker (OLD DOGS)
Brad Silberling (LAND OF THE LOST)
Stephen Sommers (G.I. JOE)
Phil Traill (ALL ABOUT STEVE)

Worst Screenplay
All About Steve (SCREENPLAY BY KIM BARKER)
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (SCREENPLAY BY STUART BEATTIE AND DAVID ELLIOT & PAUL LOVETT)
Land of The Lost (WRITTEN BY CHRIS HENCHY & DENNIS MCNICHOLAS)
Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen (WRITTEN BY EHREN KRUGER & ROBERTO ORCI & ALEX KURTZMAN)
Twilight Saga: New Moon (SCREENPLAY BY MELISSA ROSENBERG)

Worst Picture of the Decade
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
Gigli (2003)
I Know Who Killed Me (2007)
Swept Away (2002)

Worst Actor of the Decade
Ben Affleck (DAREDEVIL, GIGLI, ETC.)
Eddie Murphy (ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH, NORBIT, ETC.)
Mike Myers (CAT IN THE HAT, THE LOVE GURU)
Rob Schneider (THE ANIMAL, THE HOT CHICK, ETC.)
John Travolta (BATTLEFIELD EARTH, OLD DOGS, ETC.)

Worst Actress of the Decade
Mariah Carey (GLITTER)
Paris Hilton (THE HOTTIE & THE NOTTIE, HOUSE OF WHACKS)
Lindsay Lohan (HERBIE FULLY LOADED, I KNOW WHO KILLED ME)
Jennifer Lopez (GIGLI, MONSTER-IN-LAW, ETC.)
Madonna (THE NEXT BEST THING, SWEPT AWAY)

TRAILER TUESDAY: Is REPO MEN Going To Rip Out Our Organs?

2010-01-26T19:42:00.001-06:00

REPO MEN
April 2, 2010
***

Probably... but the question really should be which ones? Maybe our hearts, our lungs, our stomachs or maybe our brains.

It has the potential to be cool as long as this is more than a vehicle for Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) to look cool and buff. Let us hope that this futuristic thriller is closer to Blade Runner than to I, Robot.

I will probably go see this movie depending on the initial reviews.

TRAILER TUESDAY: EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES Looks Extraordinarily Bad

2010-01-26T13:06:00.006-06:00

EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES
Opened January 22, 2010
*

I usually reserve this blog feature to talk about movies that are forthcoming, but I couldn't resist laying a little smack against Extraordinary Measures.

Just as December is the season for Oscar contenders, January is the season for Razzie contenders. This looks like one of the worst movies of the year. What really grinds my gears though are the spots they are running on TV which suggest this is the most inspirational movie ever - that usually means it isn't.

The official trailer is not as bad as the TV spots, but the melodramatic crassness seems to come forth in the trailer as well. Last I checked this movie was sitting at 29 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, by the way.

Josh "The O.C." Schwartz's New Project, Duplass Brothers Shine at Sundance and Another Damn Dirty Ape Movie?

2010-01-26T07:21:00.000-06:00

I have heard some good things coming out of Sundance about Cyrus, the new Duplass Brothers movie with John C. Reilly (Step Brothers), Jonah Hill (Superbad) and Marissa Tomei (The Wrestler). This is the first Duplass Brothers movie with some weighty actors behind it. If you have no idea who the Duplass brothers are... trust me you should figure it out!

Josh Schwartz, the mastermind behind The O.C., Gossip Girl and Chuck has a new comedy in development with CBS called Hitched. Keep an eye out for that.

Apparently, somebody thought it would be a good idea to try to make another Planet of the Apes movie. What the fricktacular?

The SAG Awards: THE HURT LOCKER Snubbed Again, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is the Big Winner

2010-01-24T08:22:00.004-06:00

So Inglourious Basterds took home the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards Saturday. This is probably well-deserved, however, it is another snub for what I consider to be the best film of the year, The Hurt Locker.

Film

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
"The Hurt Locker"
"Precious"
"Nine"
"An Education"
"Inglourious Basterds" - WINNER

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart" - WINNER
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"

Wait, what? Sandra Bullock beat Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren? How did that happen?

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side" - WINNER
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire"
Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds" - WINNER

Is Mo'Nique the Oscar favorite now?

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Diane Kruger, "Inglourious Basterds"
Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire" - WINNER

Outstanding Stunt Ensemble:
"Public Enemies"
"Star Trek" - WINNER
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"

Mad Men is pretty deserving here. The show's cast is great from top to bottom.

TV

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
"The Closer"
"Dexter"
"The Good Wife"
"Mad Men" - WINNER
"True Blood"

Nice. More Glee Club Love.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
"30 Rock"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Glee" - WINNER
"Modern Family"
"The Office"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" - WINNER
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House"

I really don't want to watch "The Good Wife," stop winning stuff. I don't want to have to watch you.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actress in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette, "Medium"
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife" - WINNER
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" - WINNER
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"
Toni Collette, "The United States of Tara"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock" - WINNER
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance" - WINNER
Cuba Gooding, Jr., "Gifted Hands"
Jeremy Irons, "Georgia O"Keefe"
Kevin Kline, "Great Performances: Cyrano de Bergerac"
Tom Wilkinson, "A Number"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actress in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Joan Allen, "Georgia O'Keefe"
Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens" - WINNER
Ruby Dee, "America"
Jessica Lange, "Grey Gardens"
Sigourney Weaver, "Prayers for Bobby"

Outstanding Stunt Ensemble:
"24" - WINNER
"The Closer"
"Dexter"
"Heroes"
"The Unit"

Thank You For Being A Friend, Betty White

2010-01-23T13:32:00.001-06:00

I had to break this out in honor of Betty White. She is being given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Screen Actors Guild tonight. The award show is on TNT tonight.

That reminds me I need to get Golden Girls on DVD.

Oscar Nominations Are Due Today, What Ten Movies Should Be Nominated for Best Picture?

2010-01-23T08:41:00.001-06:00

If you have not already heard, there will be a new or old wrinkle, depending on how you look at it, at this year's Academy Awards.

This year, like it was done 66 years ago, ten films will be nominated for Best Picture instead of the typical five.

You can read about it here.

Today is the deadline for Academy voters to fill out their nomination ballots. The nominees will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Here are the movies that seemingly have a shot:

The Hurt Locker -- Avatar -- Precious -- Up in the Air -- Up -- Inglorious Basterds -- District 9 -- An Education -- The Hangover -- The Blind Side -- Moon -- A Single Man -- Nine -- Invictus -- Crazy Heart -- Brothers -- Julie & Julia -- (500) Days of Summer -- A Serious Man -- The Messenger -- The Informant! -- Where the Wild Things Are

Out of that list this is my prediction on the final ten:

The Hurt Locker -- Avatar -- Precious -- Up in the Air -- Inglorious Basterds -- District 9 -- Crazy Heart -- A Single Man -- Invictus -- A Serious Man

Here are my preferences if I got to vote:

The Hurt Locker -- Avatar -- Up in the Air -- Inglorious Basterds -- A Single Man -- Crazy Heart -- Moon -- The Hangover -- Up -- (500) Days of Summer

Burn Notice is Back, Mythbusters Hang with Craig Furgeson Tonight and TNT Wants More Drama

2010-01-22T07:41:00.003-06:00

Are you a fan of Burn Notice, USA Network's hit cable show? I am. If you haven't tried it maybe you should give it a look. Here is nice review that was on NPR's Fresh Air last night.

If you are a Mythbusters fan, Kari, Grant and Tory are going to be on the CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Furgeson tonight. Watch that after you get done watching Conan's last Tonight Show on NBC.

TNT is picking up a few more new shows. They already have hits in The Closer, Leverage, Men of A Certain Age as well as my personal favorite Dark Blue, but apparently they want more. More power to them.

Also on TNT Saturday will be the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. It might be worth watching solely because they are giving a Lifetime Achievement Award to Betty White.

The Masturbating Bear Returns and the New J.J. Abrams Project Looks Interesting

2010-01-21T07:30:00.000-06:00

Did anybody else catch The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien last night? The Masturbating Bear made a triumphant return... grrr.... grrr... grrrr... and Coco also found a way to burn off $1.5 million worth of NBC money for a one minute sketch.

Is anybody else ready for another J.J. Abrams show? Abrams is the creative mind behind Felicity, Alias, Lost and Fringe. He is also responsible for the Star Trek reboot. Will this new project, called Undercovers, continue to build on his fine TV legacy?

New Spider-man Director, Neil Patrick Harris is the Man and Paranormal Sequel(s) Coming

2010-01-20T07:00:00.001-06:00

Marc Webb, the director of the Golden Globe nominated Best Picture (500) Days of Summer will helm the new Spider-man series. Interesting choice. Can't wait to see who Peter Parker will be played by.

There is a lot of buzz around Glee because of the recent Golden Globes win. Here is some more buzz... well it looks like Glee landed the brilliant Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) for a guest spot. I love it. However, I hope Glee doesn't get over hyped and stretched too far. It is really easy for a show to go from scalding hot to ice cold these days.

I still haven't see Paranormal Activity but apparently it is going to have a sequel, which will no doubt be less cool than the first. Before we know it we will be watching Paranormal Activity 5 -- mark my words.

TRAILER TUESDAY: THE A-TEAM Movie? It Is Funny as A Joke, Probably Not in Reality

2010-01-19T13:33:00.009-06:00

THE A-TEAM
Opens June 11, 2010
**

When I first heard that Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper were going to be in this movie I was a little bit excited and thought maybe this movie could avoid the old-TV-show-movie-remake curse.

The trailer, however, suggests otherwise. The trailer itself is pretty poor -- that usually doesn't bode well for the movie.

The Director Joe Carnahan (Smoking Aces) is also suspect. His filmography is pretty light.

Record Deal for Mr. Schue, @shitmydadsays Gets A TV Show and Avatar's Oscar Chances

2010-01-19T07:01:00.001-06:00

This is old news, but it is relatively new news to me. If you are a fan of @shitmydadsays you may know that the author, if you want to call him that, has a forth coming book, but you may not have known that he has a deal with CBS for a TV show.

I am still a little flummoxed by Avatar's big wins at the Golden Globes. It won Best Picture and Best Director for James Cameron. It is a good movie, the box office recites are amazing, but it is not the best movie to come out this year. Here is an opinion piece talking about it's Oscar chances. Let's hope common sense prevails.

Hey Glee fans, Mr. Schue has signed a record deal. This could be a crazy awesome idea or a crazy bad one -- only time will tell. Remember when Brian Austin Green tried to have a rap career.

My Favorite Tweets From Last Night's Golden Globes

2010-01-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

@actuallynph: Sitting directly in front of this guy: http://yfrog.com/35n84cj Worried that he might try to fight me. What should I do?!?

@wrighteous1: Maybe they thought he was just a homeless dude crashing the #GoldenGlobes? RT @kristyhanson: Where's Zach Galifianakis?

@tvwithoutpity: How do you say "wtf" in Pandoran?#GoldenGlobes

@jbirouftw: Wow, James Cameron broke out into Na'vi during his acceptance speech; and I thought my Buffy mug was geeky.#goldenglobes

@hitfixdaniel: Meryl Streep does not get played off the stage at the Golden Globes. Because... um... she's awesome.#goldenglobes

@bondean: That's it - from now on, I will pronounce it Avadah.#goldenglobes

Really? AVATAR? My Quick Thoughts on the Golden Globes

2010-01-17T22:05:00.005-06:00

I am kind of stunned that Avatar just won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama. It clearly should have gone to either The Hurt Locker or Up in the Air. I might have even been satisfied with Inglourious Basterds, but Avatar...

I loved the experience of seeing Avatar (or "Avadah" according to Arnold) in the theater but it just didn't deserve this win. What is worse, however, is that James Cameron won the Best Director nod. Argh. Again Jason Reitman or Kathryn Bigelow got robbed.

Let's hope that things shake out better at the Oscars!

Some positives... that was a nice standing ovation for Jeff Bridges. He deserves some more accolades after a long and brilliant career. I really hope he repeats at the Oscar's.

The tribute to Marty Scorsese was funny and sweet, although I found it a little odd that they were plugging Shutter Island in a montage of his greatest films. Shutter Island hasn't even come out yet.

The best acceptance speech of the night for me, by far, was Meryl Streep. She started rocky but it really came around. If you missed it you can catch it here on Huffington Post.

The early reviews on Ricky Gervais as host are trending negative. He was obviously going for a one-and-done affair. There is no way Gervais will ever host another Golden Globes.

That is not to say he wasn't funny. I had good fun with Gervais as the host. He was obviously mocking the crassness of the whole awards glitz and glamor dealio. His shameless plugs to all of his projects were meant in that vain.

I can't believe he managed to throw in a few dick jokes. Nice. I would probably give him a C+/B- for a grade on the evening.

I was glad that Glee won the Best Television Series -Musical or Comedy, but I was super bummed that Jane Lynch lost to Chloe Sevigny in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in TV category.

My other big surprise was that Dexter did not win the Best Television Series - Drama Golden Globe. After Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow won acting Globes for their work on Dexter, I thought for sure it would win.

I was saddened to find out during the show that Hall has cancer. Apparently he is doing well according to reports, but still. I hope he wins many more awards. He has been a great actor for a long time.

What did you think?

Golden Globes Tonight! Are You Ready? Get Ready!

2010-01-17T12:50:00.007-06:00

I am Live-Tweeting this bitch tonight. Follow and join the fun at twitter.com/boscohouse

Get ready for the Golden Globes tonight by filling out your scorecard here: http://bit.ly/4nzHkd

Here are my predictions for tonight's winners: http://tr.im/KD0w

Reminder that I am live-tweeting the event tonight. Awards starts at 7pm. Red carpet at 6pm.

TWITTERFEED TIDBITS: The French Love HOUSE, Possible FOUR BROTHERS Sequel and J.J. Abrams Talks New Projects

2010-01-15T08:00:00.005-06:00

Check out our downloadable Golden Globes ballot, and follow us @IMDbLive for our live coverage of the show on Sunday.
@imdb

I am also going to be live tweeting about the show on Sunday night. Keep track of me at www.twitter.com/boscohouse

Golden Girls' Rue McClanahan Suffers Stroke: Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan suffered a stroke wh... http://bit.ly/59KRhb
@tvguide_us

An Exclusive chat with J.J. Abrams on #STARTREK2, #FRINGE and #UNDERCOVERS - check it out - http://bit.ly/6FRFgf
@ifmagazine

French in love with 'House': Weekly International: U.S. series raise ratings roof in French -- "House" is truly at... http://bit.ly/7CzDIy
@variety

Paramount eyeing 'Four Brothers' sequel http://bit.ly/65r0b1
@thr

P.S. I am still trying to figure out the most appealing way to organize this new blog feature so don't laugh at me while I work it out. You may continue to laugh at me for other things.

TWITTERFEED TIDBITS: Hitler is with Coco, Ghostbusters 3 and Glee is Renewed

2010-01-14T08:00:00.007-06:00

Showtime Orders New Series THE BORGIAS with Jeremy Irons http://goo.gl/fb/iS1U
@daemonstv

Fox Renews GLEE For Season 2 http://goo.gl/fb/zKdu
@daemonstv

I'm With Coco: Internet Rushes To Conan's Side (VIDEO) http://bit.ly/5k6rAp
@huffingtonpost

The Conan vs. Leno Wars: Hitler Weighs In http://www.mediaite.com/ltbft (Because, why wouldn't he? Oh, Internet.) RS
@mediaite

Demand for "The Late Shift" (dramatizatn of war btwn Letterman & Leno to replace Johnny Carson ) up 335% from 2 wks ago. #latenightwars
@netflix

'Mulholland Dr.' is L.A. critics' film of 00s Beat out 189 other titles chosen by 41 LAFCA members http://bit.ly/8ryQGx
@thr

Ivan Reitman to direct Ghostbusters 3! http://bit.ly/6OrnlL #imdb
@imdb

The Vatican Attacks 'Avatar' - http://bit.ly/6Hyjoy
@hollywood_com

The Lovely Bones is a dismal 38%, with 104 reviews. http://bit.ly/5eDPrQ
@rottentomatoes

TWITTERFEED TIDBITS: Conan Speaks, Cowboys & Aliens, Lost News and How to Make A Michael Cera Flick

2010-01-13T08:00:00.005-06:00

@huffingtonpost Conan Speaks! Will Not Follow Jay http://bit.ly/8EKric

@aoltv ABC Renews 'Cougar Town,' 'The Middle' and 'Modern Family': ABC is sticking by its Wednesday night comedies (well, u... http://kl.am/6h9O

@imdb Lost creators confirm Michael and Libby will return to Lost for Season 6 http://bit.ly/7LiRbz #imdb

@Hollywood_com Downey Jr. Out of 'Cowboys & Aliens' - http://bit.ly/72Vly0

@huffingtonpost How To Make A Michael Cera Movie (PICTURE) http://bit.ly/86gAoN

@ifmagazine #LOST producers also say you don't have to be a fan to check out the series finale either. REad about it here: http://bit.ly/8t8Gc4 #TV

RT's Best Reviewed Films, Anti-AVATARism and Things Look Good for CHUCK

2010-01-12T13:09:00.000-06:00

The 11th Annual Golden Tomato Awards are out and Up and The Hurt Locker are the year's best film. Check out who else got nods.

Some people are saying Avatar is anti-American, anti-Marine, anti-Christian and anti-a bunch of other stuff. Read what one Chicago Alderman has to say.

Chuck continues to receive critical support entering its third season. Here is one reviewer that thinks the show is looking up.

Director Sam Raimi and actor Tobey Maguire are done with Spider-man. That means a complete reset to the franchise. Here is what the studio has to say about it.

Apparently Seth Rogen is working on a new movie about Cancer.

TRAILER TUESDAY: Is KICK-ASS Going to Kick My Ass?

2010-01-12T10:00:00.000-06:00

KICK-ASS
**** (I CAN'T FRIGGIN' WAIT)
Opens April 16

It probably will, is my answer.

This movie looks like it is going to test my sensibilities about violence. You know you are stepping it up a notch when you have a little girl blowing away people like in the The Matrix lobby scene – see what I mean in this alternate trailer:

I have seen three different trailers for this movie already and all of them have been great – that usually means there is a good movie in there somewhere. Here is the other trailer:

Let the buzz begin.

Holiday Movie Season Wrap: SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE BLIND SIDE Can Wait Until DVD

2010-01-11T15:23:00.002-06:00

SHERLOCK HOLMES
I fully expected to either love or hate this movie. On the one hand, I thought there was a chance that I was going to be blown away by Robert Downey Jr. and the exploding razzle-dazzle of Hollywood. On the other hand, I thought there was a chance I would walk out of the theater cursing the filmmakers for having the gall to pervert Arthur Conan Doyle's best known work.

In the end, however, I was stuck somewhere in the murky middle. Doweny as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as his sidekick, Dr. John Watson, were quite entertaining; the rest of the movie was just so-so. The studio should have tapped a more capable director than Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels).

THE BLIND SIDE
The Blind Side is a 'Hollywoodization' of a wonderful true story of Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Michael Oher. It is full of likable performances from Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and others. This movie is pretty much what you expect it to be. There is no trick play, just a base package that is worth a screening.

The Blind Side feels a lot like another football feature, Remember the Titans. I liked that movie and I liked this one, but if this movie wins any awards this year I am going to throw a yellow flag high into the sky.

My Latest Predictions for the 67th Golden Globes

2010-01-10T17:16:00.009-06:00

Here are my predictions for the Golden Globe winners this year. The awards show is scheduled for Sunday, January 17.

For a good briefing on this year's awards check out this guide from Variety.

Also, I am planning on Live Tweeting during the show. So if you don't already, make sure to follow me (or just keep tabs at twitter.com/boscohouse). Join the conversation!

My predictions are in RED, while my hopes are in BLUE. If there is only red, my hopes and predictions align.

I might update my scorecard before Sunday, but here are my best guesses.

FILM

BEST FEATURE - DRAMA
"Avatar"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious"
"Up in the Air"

BEST FEATURE - COMEDY
"(500) Days of Summer"
"The Hangover"
"It's Complicated"
"Julie & Julia"
"Nine"

ACTOR - DRAMA
Jeff Bridges - "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney - "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth - "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman - "Invictus"
Tobey Maguire - "Brothers"

ACTRESS - DRAMA
Emily Blunt - "The Young Victoria"
Sandra Bullock - "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren - "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan - "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe - "Precious"

ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Matt Damon - "The Informant!"
Daniel Day-Lewis - "Nine"
Robert Downey Jr. - "Sherlock Holmes"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - "500 Days of Summer"
Michael Stuhlbarg - "A Serious Man"

ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Sandra Bullock - "The Proposal"
Marion Cotillard - "Nine"
Julia Roberts - "Duplicity"
Meryl Streep - "It's Complicated"
Meryl Streep - "Julie & Julia"

DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Kathryn Bigelow - "The Hurt Locker"
James Cameron - "Avatar"
Clint Eastwood - "Invictus"
Jason Reitman - "Up in the Air"
Quentin Tarantino - "Inglourious Basterds"

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon - "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson - "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer - "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci - "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz - "Inglourious Basterds"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz - "Nine"
Vera Farmiga - "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick - "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique - "Precious"
Julianne Moore - "A Single Man"

SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell - "District 9"
Mark Boal - "The Hurt Locker"
Nancy Meyers - "It's Complicated"
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner - "Up in the Air"
Quentin Tarantino - "Inglourious Basterds"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Baaria" (Italy) - Medusa Film; Summit Entertainment
"Broken Embraces" (Spain) - El Deseo SA; Sony Pictures Classics
"The Maid" (Chile) - Forastero; Elephant Eye Films
"A Prophet" (France) - Chic Films; Sony Pictures Classics
"The White Ribbon" (Germany) - Wega Films; Sony Pictures Classics

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"
"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"Up"

BEST SCORE
Michael Giacchino - "Up"
Marvin Hamlisch - "The Informant!"
James Horner - "Avatar"
Abel Korzeniowski - "A Single Man"
Karen O, Carter Burwell - "Where The Wild Things Are"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Cinema Italiano" from "Nine" - Music & Lyrics by: Maury Yeston
"I Want to Come Home" from "Everybody's Fine" - Music & Lyrics by: Paul McCartney
"I Will See You" from "Avatar" - Music by: James Horner, Simon Franglen; Lyrics by: James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell
"The Weary Kind" from "Crazy Heart" - Music & Lyrics by: Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett
"Winter" from "Brothers" - Music by: U2; Lyrics by: Bono

TELEVISION

TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
"Big Love"
"Dexter"
"House"
"Mad Men"
"True Blood"

TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
"30 Rock"
"Entourage"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"The Office"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Simon Baker - "The Mentalist"
Michael C. Hall - "Dexter"
Jon Hamm - "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie - "House"
Bill Paxton - "Big Love"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Glenn Close - "Damages"
January Jones - "Mad Men"
Julianna Margulies - "The Good Wife"
Anna Paquin - "True Blood"
Kyra Sedgwick - "The Closer"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Toni Collette - "United States of Tara"
Courteney Cox - "Cougar Town"
Edie Falco - "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey - "30 Rock"
Lea Michele - "Glee"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"
Steve Carell - "The Office"
David Duchovny - "Californication"
Thomas Jane - "Hung"
Matthew Morrison - "Glee"

MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
"Georgia O'Keeffe"
"Grey Gardens"
"Into the Storm"
"Little Dorrit"
"Taking Chance"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Kevin Bacon - "Taking Chance"
Kenneth Branagh - "Wallander: One Step Behind"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "Endgame"
Brendan Gleeson - "Into The Storm"
Jeremy Irons - "Georgia O'Keeffe"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Joan Allen - "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Drew Barrymore - "Grey Gardens"
Jessica Lange - "Grey Gardens"
Anna Paquin - "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler"
Sigourney Weaver - "Prayers for Bobby"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jane Adams - "Hung"
Rose Byrne - "Damages"
Jane Lynch - "Glee"
Janet McTeer - "Into The Storm"
Chloe Sevigny - "Big Love"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Michael Emerson - "Lost"
Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother"
William Hurt - "Damages"
John Lithgow - "Dexter"
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage"

Holiday Movie Season Wrap: INVICTUS and THE ROAD are Worth Seeing and Feeling

2010-01-10T15:08:00.001-06:00

INVICTUS
There are a lot of beautiful things in this film about Nelson Mandela and a rugby team he hoped would bring his racially-divided South Africa together after apartheid was ended. The fact that the movie's name comes from one of Mandela's favorite poems is quite fitting – Invictus, the movie, unfolds like a bit of poetry.

Unfortunately, rugby does a terrible job of translating onto film and makes little sense to an American audience that has little experience with the game. The rugby scenes do little to heighten the emotion and intensity of the movie like they should. Still, there is a wonderful story to enjoy here, along with some heavyweight acting performances by Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

THE ROAD
There is nothing easy about watching this movie about a man and a boy traveling on a road to the coast in search of a better life – or one that is not as tragic as the one they currently have. The road is fraught with the perils of a post-apocalyptic earth: a lack of food, death and cannibalism.

It is a dirty, cruel and ugly movie. It is also a desperately hopeful, well-acted and well-crafted movie. It is not for everybody and the story will leave you as malnourished as its painfully thin characters, but there is something very engaging in The Road if you are willing to give it a try.

Tomorrow I will discuss SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE BLIND SIDE.

John Travolta is the Laughing Stock of Twitter

2010-01-09T18:51:00.006-06:00

For the record, I kind of like John Travolta. That said, he has made a lot of shitty movies lately and he doesn't look too convincing in his latest, From Paris with Love.

Like everybody watching football today I saw the advertisements for this new flick on TV. Shortly after I began tracking "John Travolta" on Twitter. It was amusing. Here is what I culled in a matter of ten minutes or so.

@misterlacy Between news of a Mannequin remake and that new John Travolta movie trailer this has been a serious WTF movie day.

@BlackCanseco Based on the trailer 4 John Travolta's new movie, the Village People are back and adding a Hitman.

@The6thHeartbeat John Travolta was in High School 35 years ago (Welcome Back Kotter). Why is he still trying to be cool?

@erikcervantes Just saw a commercial for "From Paris With Love." Sorry John Travolta, but I think your acting days are over.

@fred_davidson Just saw an ad for "From Paris With Love"...so John Travolta has shaved his head, grew a goatee, and is pretending to be Bruce Willis...

@Constant22 Quentin Tarantino should publicly apologize for revitalizing John Travolta's career. It's gone too far.

@drumminherbie For some reason, I think John Travolta makes a sissy of a terrorist (i.e. Pelham 123 and From Paris With Love)

@antbrent John Travolta looks like Mr. Clean in that new flick "From Paris With Love"

@JizzySal Lol @ John travolta. What do you think it's about? It's about terrorists?! That movie looks turrible. Also, we have a ballgame now folks

Here is the official trailer if you care to watch it.

Holiday Movie Season Wrap: AVATAR and UP IN THE AIR Are the Best of the Bunch

2010-01-09T14:50:00.002-06:00

The holiday stretch is always a good time for movies. Good ones get sent to the theaters this time of year as filmmakers look to capture the family movie-going experiences that tend to happen around the holidays.

A lot of the filmmakers are also looking to win some awards. Most filmmakers looking to gain Oscar or Golden Globe buzz for films get them released in December to bleed into the awards voting season. Here are a few that got my attention:

AVATAR
The money I spent on Avatar in IMAX 3D was the best money I have ever spent on a movie theater experience. Director James Cameron spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars making this science fiction epic and it shows.

There is a moment in the film when a real (or at least I think it is real) human hand touches a computer generated alien face. It blends flawlessly as each appears as distinctly organic skin. It is amazing. Avatar and the world Cameron created is amazing.

UP IN THE AIR
Director Jason Reitman knows how to make a movie. It is likely he will be on the short list for a best director Oscar again this year – he was also nominated for his direction of the 2007 smash hit Juno. I doubt he will win, simply because of his notable competition.

That said, expect this movie's stars, George Clooney and Vera Farmiga, to be serious contenders in the the best actor and best supporting actress categories. Rietman has a way of making the people around him better. He helped first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody win an Oscar; he also helped the elegant Ellen Paige get an actress nomination with Juno.

Reitman's movies, especially Up in the Air, are well-rounded, without overwrought sentimentality and without easy answers. His direction is clean and understated. That is probably why it might take him a while to win an Oscar, but it is why he has won my theater-going loyalty.

Tomorrow I will discuss INVICTUS and THE ROAD.

Finally! Mid-season TV Premieres that Took FOR-EV-ER to Get Here

2010-01-07T13:05:00.008-06:00

Welcome Back to CHUCK, BIG LOVE and LOST

CHUCK (NBC)
Sunday, January 10

I first started watching Chuck – now entering its third season – shortly after one of my all-time favorite TV shows, The O.C., went off the air. I found it to be the closest substitute. (Think of Chuck as an older Seth Cohen, except as a super agent).

Many of the ancillary characters on Chuck also had some spot roles in The O.C. This is likely because it was created by Josh Schwartz, the mastermind behind The O.C. as well as Gossip Girl.

If you haven't been watching the show, now is a good time to get involved. You can catch up on some of the episodes at Hulu.

Also, this show is struggling for viewers and if it doesn't gain an audience this season, it will likely die.

BIG LOVE (HBO)
Sunday, January 10

A show about Mormons and polygamy might not sound like the most interesting TV show in the world, but keep in mind this is an HBO program. It is really quite brilliant and in my book a “can't miss” show.

Season three was amazing. It really is an intense show. I can't wait to see what is in store for Mr. Henrickson, Mrs. Henrickson, Mrs. Henrickson and Mrs. Henrickson. Possibly another Mrs. Henrickson?

LOST (ABC)
Tuesday, February 2

Prepare to have your mind blown.

I never watched this show until this year when all of the episodes surfaced for free online. You can catch all of the seasons via Netflix or Hulu. I spent the last three months watching this show and easily got addicted. I can't wait to get some answers and see how this crazy show pans out.

I know I am logically going to be disappointed somehow. The finale is too anticipated. It is like The Sopranos or the third Matrix movie, there is no way to finish up without it being disappointing.

Still, I am going to be glued to the show. I think you should be too.

Some Thoughts on James Cameron's AVATAR

2010-01-07T06:53:00.005-06:00

I didn't feel like writing my own review of Avatar yet so I decided to piggy-back off those of others.

Let's start with Rotten Tomatoes. I think RT nailed it pretty well with its boiled-down consensus of critical analysis of this science fiction epic.

"It might be more impressive on a technical level than as a piece of storytelling, but Avatar reaffirms James Cameron's singular gift for imaginative, absorbing filmmaking."
-Rotten Tomatoes

There has been a lot said about the plot being Dances With Wolves in outer space and talk about how it doesn't live up to the spectacle of Avatar, which I find true, but then again it is hard to live up to the mind-blowing spectacle.

"When all the hype and hullabaloo about Avatar calms down, we will be left with a film that’s no masterpiece, but still well worth seeing."
-Cosmo Landesman
Sunday Times (UK)

Go see this movie for the pure simplicity of watching the special effects, if for no other reason -- and see it in IMAX 3D if possible.

"Yes, you are effectively watching a special effects showcase - but no more so than Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings. And that was nine hours long. So go and see Avatar on the biggest screen possible - you won't regret it."
-Andy Morris
GQ Magazine (UK)

This movie really is as amazing as people say it is.

"The narrative would be ho-hum without the spectacle. But what spectacle! Avatar is dizzying, enveloping, vertiginous ... I ran out of adjectives an hour into its 161 minutes."
-David Edelstein
New York Magazine

Throughout this movie I felt like I was on vacation in a crazy new world. It is an entirely engrossing adventure. This is my favorite review that I have read about Avatar so far.

"Mr. Cameron's singular vision has upped the ante for filmed entertainment, and given us a travelogue unlike any other. I wouldn't want to live on Pandora, mainly because of the bad air, but I'm glad to have paid it a visit."
-Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal

TRAILER TUESDAY: When Is the Last Time Martin Lawrence Made A Good Movie?

2010-01-05T13:20:00.002-06:00

Death at a Funeral
*** (COULD BE DECENT)
Opens April 16

Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence are funny people, but they don't always make very good movies.

That is what I first thought when they popped up in this trailer, but it seems like they are just going to be the anchors in this seemingly ensemble-based movie. That could work, especially when you have Tracy Morgan (30 Rock), Peter Dinklage (Elf), Luke Wilson (Old School), Columbus Short (Accepted) and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) in that ensemble.

Let's hope this movie is decent, it might be Lawrence's only chance at a movie being certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes for a while. His next two features due out are Wild Hogs 2 and Big Momma's House 3 - this is not a joke.

Honorable Mention: SUGAR -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2010-01-01T13:06:00.001-06:00

This might be one of the most overlooked movies of the year.

It may not be the best baseball movie ever made – that honor goes to Major League – but it may be the best movie about baseball ever made.

The movie is understated and engaging, if not a little sad. It is a movie every baseball fan should watch, while simultaneously being a movie that every independent film fan should watch, whether they like baseball or not.

1. PAPER HEART -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-31T13:01:00.003-06:00

Charlyne Yi – the stoner girlfriend in Knocked Up and Wheelchair Jody in Semi-Pro – stole my heart in this endearing and quirky pseudo-documentary romantic comedy.

It is uncompromising, silly and fun; it is why I love independent movies. I can't wait to see what Yi does next. I hope she continues to find ways to make movies on her own terms. I love her as an unconventional leading lady.

So enough gushing over Yi... let me gush over Michael Cera (Juno, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist). He is also in this movie. Yi and Cera seem like a perfect fit for this weird little movie.

If you haven't seen this movie, do yourself a favor and find it if you can.

Should MONK, ENTOURAGE and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Get Movie Deals?

2009-12-30T19:30:00.003-06:00

Five TV Shows That Should/Could Be Made into Small or Big Screen Movies

Monk
Let's face it, Monk is our generation's Matlock. When we are in rocking chairs we are going to be watching this show on reruns or hopefully replays of some forthcoming TV movies. This show is really tailor-made for TV movies. There is no doubt in my mind that we will see Mr. Monk in new adventures again.

Lost
This may be an outside the box pick, but I think it can be done – but only if J.J. Abrams is involved. Wouldn't that be fun Lost fans – especially since the show starts its last season in January.

Arrested Development
There are already rumors that this might happen and if you have Jason Bateman, Michael Cera and David Cross together, that sounds like a movie to me. This cult hit never really had the widespread viewership that many thought it deserved, nonetheless fans would no doubt love a movie.

Entourage
Entourage has been described as a male version of Sex in the City. Both have been enormously popular and if Sex can sell on the big screen, why can't the much cooler and hipper, down to earth Entourage do the same? Executive producer Mark Wahlberg and several of the stars said they would like it to happen, so let's get cracking. Think Entourage: E's Wedding.

X-Files
Okay, I know that there have already been two already, but we need to complete the trilogy. The newest X-Files movie was decent and really just whet everybody's appetite for more. Let's finish the alien invasion story line once and for all.

2. UP -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-30T13:02:00.003-06:00

Pixar does it again.

Although this is an animated feature it has a very adult story line, and one that is captivating.

Parts of this movie only work for the kiddies, but the surprising amount of action works for everybody.

TRAILER TUESDAY: Does Cusack + The 1980's Still = Awesome?

2009-12-29T18:05:00.001-06:00

Hot Tub Time Machine
*** (COULD BE DECENT)
Opens March 19

Okay, I can't imagine this movie being particularly amazing based on its gimmicky plot, but hey, I am probably going to watch it.

It does have Rob Cordry (The Daily Show), Craig Robinson (The Office) and oddly enough John Cusack (Just about every teen movie made in the 1980's). You have got to love that a movie where the main characters get sent back to the 1980's, one of the most iconic 1980's movie stars is involved. Kudos to whoever pulled that one off.

This will be a big test for the sophomore directorial project of Steve Pink, who directed Accepted. That was a decent movie, so lets hope this one is too.

3. THE HURT LOCKER -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-29T13:03:00.004-06:00

This was one of the most intense movies that I have seen in recent years.

It is by far the best war movie made about the Iraq War. I doubt anybody will top it. It is beautiful, stirring and brazen.

I expect The Hurt Locker to win a lot of awards in February.

The Impossible Task of Recasting WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE

2009-12-28T19:25:00.003-06:00

I was watching What's Eating Gilbert Grape the other day and I was really taken with the acting performances. Each cast member brought a great amount of depth and sincerity to their role. I thought, “wow this movie really could not have been cast any better.”

Then, for one reason or another, I got to thinking about the impossible task of casting a re-make of the movie with today's young actors and actresses. Here is what I came up with:

Johnny Depp as Gilbert Grape
Lou Taylor Pucci, Emile Hirsch, Rory Culkin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Darlene Cates as Bonnie Grape (Momma)
Impossible

Juliette Lewis as Becky (love interest)
Zooey Deschanel, Evan Rachel Wood, Michelle Williams

Mary Steenburgen as Betty Carver (desperate housewife)
Mary Steenburgen, Mary-Louise Parker, Diane Lane

Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnie Grape (mentally-handicapped younger brother)
Zac Efron, Anton Yelchin

Kevin Tighe as Ken Carver (Husband of desperate housewife)
Alec Badwin, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, James Gandolfini

Laura Harrington as Amy Grape (older sister)
Amy Adams, Emily Brunt, Natalie Portman

John C. Reilly as Tucker Van Dyke (friend)
James McAvoy, Jesse Plemons, Jesse Eisenberg

Mary Kate Schellhardt as Ellen Grape (younger sister)
Ellen Paige, Kristen Stewart, Emma Stone, Mia Wasikowska

Crispin Glover as Bobby McBurney (friend)
Martin Starr, Elijah Wood

Remember this is pretty much an impossible task. Your suggestions, comments on my suggestions, or thoughts about the original actors?

4. THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-28T13:04:00.000-06:00

This movie really blew me away.

In my mind this is the best movie that Steven Soderbergh has ever made. Something about this movie wrenches at the ambiguity of wants and desires. It is dark, sad and longing.

It follows the tribulations of Chelsea, a high class New York City prostitute, that provides the girlfriend experience to her clients – basically pretending to be their girlfriend.

While so much of Chelsea's life feels detached from feeling, there are strong undercurrents of emotion simmering throughout this movie.

I guarantee that this movie will leave you conflicted and thought-struck.

5. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-27T11:15:00.000-06:00

Finally, a romantic comedy that is not just a mash-up of previous romantic comedies.

This movie is inventive, fun and funny.

Props to Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.

6. HUMPDAY -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-26T01:06:00.000-06:00

This movie, like its characters, makes you uncomfortable.

It is a comedy about a funny situation but it really digs deep into the ideas that we hold about ourselves as a person and persona. It asks intelligent questions about male identity and forces you to laugh at the story and yourself.

A wonderful trip of a movie.

7. THE HANGOVER -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-25T13:07:00.003-06:00

This movie probably makes my list because it came out of nowhere. I thought this movie would be fun, but I didn't expect it to be that fun.

The movie is buoyed by strong performances by a bunch of actors that have normally been supporting crew – Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crashers), Zach Galifianakis (Bored to Death) , and Ed Helms (The Daily Show, The Office).

Galifianakis had me at “lone wolf.”

Let's hope the forthcoming sequel can live up to the hype.

8. STAR TREK -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-24T13:08:00.002-06:00

Trekkers hate it, but I love it.

J.J. Abrams is a steely-eyed genius – the man knows how to get me on the edge of my seat (i.e. Lost and Fringe).

A lot of the trekkers criticism of the new Star Trek is that it isn't cerebral enough – its all flash and no substance. They have a point, but the flash is quite brilliant.

I gloss over this criticism largely because I believe that subsequent sequels will dig deeper into the Star Trek ethos. I expect the second flick to be analogous to Batman Begins and The Dark Night. Abrams gave the new Star Trek franchise a lot of room to grow – lets hope it does.

Five Things You Should Watch Every Christmas

2009-12-24T08:00:00.001-06:00

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Don't we all belong on the island of misfit toys.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
No, not the Jim Carrey live action one. The animated one. No contest.

Christmas Vacation (1989)
Spend Christmas with the Griswolds, you won't regret it. “Merry Christmas, shitter was full.”

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
It may be sentimental but you have got to love that little Christmas tree. (Watch on Hulu.com)

A Christmas Story (1983)
Watch it at least 3.5 times.

9. WATCHMEN -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-23T13:09:00.001-06:00

This movie is slick and visually-striking.

It is sometimes a little too loyal to its source material, which could have used some re-imagining after 20 years.

Still, it is nice to see a superhero movie with a bit of nuance. This movie is a welcome departure from the Spiderman, Superman movies.

10. AWAY WE GO -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-22T13:10:00.001-06:00

I use the term charming way too often to describe movies that I like, but this is truly a charming movie.

Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) takes us inside the grounded and well-worn relationship of a quirky and lovable couple, played by Maya Rudolph (SNL) and John Krasinski (The Office).

The pairing just fits and even when the movie falters, Rudolph and Krasinski hold it together.

Honorable Mention: I LOVE YOU, MAN -- My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far)

2009-12-22T00:05:00.001-06:00

The infamous Judd Apatow wasn't involved in this picture, but I think it is fair to call this movie in the Apatowian tradition.

Bromance is the subtext of many recent great comedies like Pineapple Express, Knocked Up and Superbad, but in I Love You, Man it is the central theme.

It is not as good as any of those previously-mentioned movies, but it is certainly in the same league. You can't go wrong with Paul Rudd in my book.

My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2009 (so far) -- TEASER

2009-12-21T13:11:00.002-06:00

It is probably a bit early for me to lock in my Top 10 Favorite Movies List of 2009. There are loads of movies competing for Oscars here in December and there is no way that I can view all the contenders before 2010 arrives.

However, I thought I would throw something together for my own entertainment. I fully expect some of the movies to get bumped off my current list.

Also this is a favorites list, not a best of list. These are movies that I absolutely enjoyed. I look forward to your quibbling.

Oh, ya, I almost forgot the point of this post. I am teasing my slow reveal of my list over the last 10 days of 2009. Number 10 will be revealed Tuesday, number 9 will be revealed Wednesday and so on.

I know, it is kind of lame, but the blog remains fresh over the holidays while I am busy doing hopefully more productive things.

Happy Holidays.

How Brittany Murphy Will Be Remembered, Her Top 5 Movies

2009-12-20T14:23:00.007-06:00

I am sure you were all stunned as I was to find out that 32-year-old actress, Brittany Murphy died today of an apparent heart attack.

I wasn't a big fan of her, but it is still a sad thing being as young as she was. I am sure she will get a nice tribute at the Oscars.

Her biggest impact on me was either as the hapless sidekick in Clueless or, probably more so, as the voice of Luanne on the long-running animated FOX comedy, King of the Hill.

Murphy had roles in about 30 movies in her movie career, which was jump-started by her role as a stoner in 1995's Clueless.

Here is a quick Top 5 of Brittany Murphy flicks:

5. Girl, Interrupted
4. Sidewalks of New York
3. 8 Mile
2. Sin City
1. Clueless

It is notable that Murphy's best movies were the ones in which she had supporting roles. She was best received in smaller doses.

Check out a complete list of her movies here.

13 Great GLEE Club Moments for 13 Great Episodes

2009-12-17T13:05:00.001-06:00

The first 13 episodes of Glee were a wonderful ride. Unfortunately, the show is on a four month hiatus while the back nine episodes of Season One are being put together.

As a way of remembering and a way of putting off the fix for new episodes, I put together a list of 13 great Glee moments in honor of the program's first 13 episodes.

1. Don't Stop Believin'
The fledging New Directions show choir bands together to perform the Journey classic “Don't Stop Believin.'” This is when a lot of people fell in love with the show at the end of episode one.
(Watch Here)

2. Mashups
To keep the kids fresh Mr. Shue challenges them to do Mashups of two different songs combined into one. To make it even better it becomes a battle of the sexes. Plus there is the fact that all the kids are hopped up on drugs courtesy of Mrs. Shue. (Watch Here)

3. Sue and the Kitty Kat
There are so many priceless one-liners from Sue Sylvester but this one, when she threatens Mr. Shue, is one of the most random and funniest. “I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat. Then on some dark, cold night I will steal away into your home, and punch you in the face.” (Watch Here)

4. Sweet Caroline
Shit, Puck can sing – thats what we learned from his tribute to a Jewish musical icon. (Watch Here)

5. Iron Tablet?
Did everybody else catch this startling exchange between Mr. Shue and Sue?
SUE: “Iron tablet? Keeps your strength up while your menstruating.”
WILL: “I don't menstruate.”
SUE: “Really? Neither do I.”

6. Sue's Corner
Local TV was changed forever when we all saw how Sue “Cs it.” Unfortunately for everyone I can't find these clips anywhere.

7. Sue the Wrestler
OK – so this has happened a bunch of times and each time it is hilarious. By my count I have seen it happened at least three times. Every time Sue storms off after an argument she chucks a student out of her way, sometimes going out of her way to push a student. Priceless.

8. Shue's Got Some Moves
Shue's rendition of “Bust A Move” was definitely an early highlight. Will's cool factor tripled in lest than three minutes. (Watch Here)

9. The Glee Kids Sex It Up
New Directions spices up their performance at a school assembly. The group is trying to get more recruits and they decide that sex sells. Therefore they do an incredibly explicit performances of “Push It.” I was in stitches. (Watch Here)

10. Pep Talk
I may have pumped a fist after Mr. Shue's pep talk to Finn in the locker room at school during Sectionals.
FINN: “Mr. Shue, you left your keys.”
WILL: “No, I didn't.”

11. Acafellas
Mr. Shue starts a boy band. (Watch Here)

12. Santana and Brittany Sitting in a Tree
Brittany sure dropped a bomb in episode 13. This was one of the best laugh out laud moments so far. Here was the exchange.
SANTANA: “Sex is not dating.”
BRITTANY: “If it were, Santana and I would be dating”

13. Sue Loves Minorities
Remember when Sue tried to break up the glee club by pitting the minority students against the white students. Her best line in the episode: “I love minorities so much I might move to California and become one.”

What did I forget. Let me know.

Initial Thoughts on the Golden Globe Nominations – TV Edition

2009-12-16T13:00:00.000-06:00

It is hard to make projections about the Golden Globe motion picture awards, but when it comes their small screen counterparts it is a lot easier.

The biggest question in my mind is whether this is, indeed, the year of Glee. The breakout hit on FOX leads the way with four GG nominations. Several other shows have three nominations.

It is hard to imagine the show, which has only aired 13 episodes, taking all four. And judging by its competition its seems more likely that it will only take one of the awards – that said I am not the judges.

It did lead the way in nominations, so someone obviously likes it. To me, however, it may be more likely that Dexter takes the cake – after another amazing season.

Here are my early predictions:

Best Television Series – Drama
Big Love (HBO), Dexter (SHOWTIME), House (FOX), Mad Men (AMC), True Blood (HBO)

House was amazing last year, but with all the buzz surrounding the recent Season Four finale of Dexter. This could be a good year for the cable show.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Glenn Close (Damages), January Jones (Mad Men), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Anna Paquin (True Blood), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)

Nobody owns their show more than Kyra Sedgwick owns The Closer. She is the heavyweight in this division.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Simon Baker (The Mentalist), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hugh Laurie (House), Bill Paxton (Big Love)

I think Michael C. Hall will get the win. Hugh Laurie should probably get a GG every year – he is that good, but Dexter is hot this year.

Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical
30 Rock (NBC), Entourage (HBO), Glee (FOX), Modern Family (ABC), The Office (NBC)

Glee. No doubt.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical
Toni Collette (United States of Tara), Courteney Cox (Cougar town), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Lea Michele (Glee)

Toni Collette was wonderful in the United States of Tara. She deserves the GG, but I could see Edie Falco getting some love in the lead role of Nurse Jackie. Lea Michele is the sleeper.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Steve Carell (The Office), David Duchovny (Californication), Thomas Jane (Hung), Matthew Morrison (Glee)

This is a real toss-up. The GG could easily go to Baldwin, Carell or Duchovny, but the 30 Rock star is the most deserving for his work. Although Morrison did some awesome break dancing on Glee this year it is hard to see him taking home a GG. My big prediction, however, is this: if Morrison wins, Glee with have a clean sweep of four GGs.

Best Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Georgia O'Keefe (LIFETIME), Grey Gardens (HBO), Into the Storm (HBO), Little Dorrit (PBS), Taking Chance (HBO)

I am pretty ambivalent about this category. I will only say that I enjoyed Into the Storm.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Joan Allen (Georgia O'Keefe), Drew Barrymore (Grey Gardens), Jessica Lange (Grey Gardens), Anna Paquin (The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler), Siqourney Weaver (Prayers for Bobby)

Drew Barrymore got a lot of props when Grey Gardens premiered on HBO and I think that gives her a leg up against her serious competition, Joan Allen, whose film premiered on (scoff) Lifetime.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Kevin Bacon (Taking Chance), Kenneth Branagh (Wallander: One Step Behind), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Endgame), Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm), Jeremy Irons (Georgia O'Keefe)

See above about Into the Storm.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jane Adams (HUNG), Rose Byrne (Damages), Jane Lynch (Glee), Janet McTeer (Into the Storm), Chloe Sevigny (Big Love)

Let's keep the Jane Lynch love train rolling. This is definitely her time in the sun.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Michael Emerson (Lost), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), William Hurt (Damages), John Lithgow (Dexter), Jeremy Piven (Entourage)

It's John Lithgow as a serial killer. How could he lose.

Initial Thoughts on the Golden Globe Nominations – Motion Picture Edition

2009-12-16T10:00:00.005-06:00

The Golden Globe Nominations are out. Let the speculation, jawing and general ranting and raving begin.

There is not a lot that I can say about the movie nominations – largely, like most people, I haven't had the opportunity to see most of them. I am sure I will have more to say after a few visits to the local theater. I will make full predictions before the show (Check out the all the nominations here).

Here are my initial thoughts and predictions on the major categories:

Best Motion Picture -- Drama
Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, Up In The Air

It seems like the momentum is behind The Hurt Locker at this point. It has been at the top of a number of major critics groups over the last week.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama
Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria), Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)

I have no idea. I haven't seen any of these movies yet. If I had to put money on it, I would go with Mirren.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up In The Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Tobey Maguire (Brothers)

Again, I have seen none of these movies, but I have heard raves about each one of them. Some are saying that Jeff Bridges could get rewarded for years of quality service without awards. I would be okay with that. I think he's owed one for playing the Dude in The Big Lebowski.

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
(500) Days Of Summer, The Hangover, It's Complicated, Julie & Julia, Nine

This is a toss-up category. I have only seen (500) Days of Summer and The Hangover, so I can't give a good pick. That said, The Hangover, seems to be a favorite.

Best Director - Motion Picture
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) James Cameron (Avatar), Clint Eastwood (Invictus), Jason Reitman (Up In The Air), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

This is probably the most interesting category. First of all you have the match-up of Bigelow and Cameron, who were married from 1989 to 1991. Then throw in Eastwood and Tarantino and we have some debating to do – but lets not forget the 32-year-old Reitman who is getting a lot of kudos. Up In The Air is his follow up to Juno.

The Last Six Months in Movies According to Craig Via Twitter

2009-12-15T01:01:00.000-06:00

Okay, folks. This is the last six months of my twitter movie reviews. I thought it might be helpful to anybody trying to brave the winter and holidays with a nice DVD rental. Most of these flicks are out of DVD or can be watched online through Netflix.

add WHATEVER WORKS to the good pile of Woody Allen movies. I love it when conversations play out like action scenes.

as far as melodramatic RomComs go GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST is not bad; add the sprinkle of Michael Douglas and Emma Stone and I am sold.

the best part of THE ANSWER MAN is the supporting cast... Lou Taylor Pucci, Olivia Thirlby and Kat Dennings. The rest is rubbish.

the indie flick SPREAD starring Ashton Kutcher plays out like a modern day Hollywood fairy tale - that is both a good thing and a bad thing.

there is something uncomfortably brilliant about HUMP DAY. whether it is a comedy that is dramatic or a drama that is comedic, it is great.

THE GOODS: LIVE HARD, SELL HARD -- watch comedy's bit players fight for laughs. Bad movie but who cares. Also nice cameo by Will Ferrell.

THE PROPOSAL... snooze! A RomCom without much Rom or Com.

GI JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA... horrible script (how does this script get made?), vapid characters and a banal onslaught of future techs. Poor.

indie flick DARK MATTER feels like a mashup of Van Sant films ELEPHANT and GOOD WILL HUNTING. Not as good as either, but still worth a look.

OBSERVE AND REPORT -- Aside from a few brillant moments this movie fails on the whole to entertain and create laughter.

Watched two indie flicks this wknd... SLEEPING DOGS LIE and EXPIRED. Both are far from perfect but still charming in their own ways.

MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY...not with the majority of critics on this 1. It meanders betwn trying to be hip poignant...it just tried to hard.

have you ever listened to a 3rd grader tell a story. That is how I felt watching Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

BE KIND REWIND is currently on HBO2. Def one of my favorite movies.

just watched X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE... some pretty piss poor sp effects... plot was lame and the style was not sleek like the other X flix

gave Will Ferrell's LAND OF THE LOST a screening last night. Critics @rottentomatoes were not too favorable on it, but I enjoyed the ride.

saw a couple flicks this week. COUPLES RETREAT is rather poor, while ZOMBIELAND is fun, but forgettable, except for an awesome cameo.

I was wowed by THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE last night. For my money it is the best movie Steven Soderbergh has made to date.

BLOG: THE MIST and LIONS FOR LAMBS: Papa Don't Preach http://bit.ly/ADj52

watched TAKEN last night. Pretty straight forward action thriller worth checking out. It is what it is... and I mean that in a good way.

DUPLICITY - pretty decent espionage movie w/ JuliaRoberts and CliveOwens, sadly TomWilkinson and PaulGiamatti stole the movie w/ tiny roles

just watched THE PRIDE AND THE GLORY... some heavy weight actors... but generally a poor man's THE DEPARTED. Was fun to watch though.

DISTRICT 9 - pretty good scifi flick. Main character is rather annoying with annoying accent. So that was basically annoying. But OK overall

I really enjoyed PAPER HEART today. Where have you been all my life Charlyne Yi?

THE INTERNATIONAL: Watts and Owens are good, plus some good supporting cast. Great shootout in the Guggenheim. Still not a thilling thriller

FUNNY PEOPLE... was very interesting... not as perfect as I had hoped...but I continue to chew on what Apatow made...

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER ... was a quality movie if u r looking 4 something diffrnt. It just misses 4 me though as a potential great movie

watching PINEAPPLE EXPRESS ... i love this movie.

DECEPTION not too bad compared to its rotten tomatoes %... was worth watching. I am relatively favorable on it. Michelle Williams was HOT.

THE HURT LOCKER... a war epic. very good film. probably the most relevant iraq war movie made so far.

PUBLIC ENEMIES ...too dark... too shakey... too boring... too little

EAGLE EYE... ehhh... it is what it is I guess. Forgettable film. I wish Shia would do a decent movie one of these days... hes got potential

just saw DRAG ME TO HELL. horrible campy horror flick. I am sure Ms. Lohman went to bad acting school for this one. Ending was GOOD though!

STAR TREK is very good. I would compare it 2 BATMAN BEGINS... thesequel could b great if done right. I liked it. Trekkers hate it

just watched the movie CHOKE. It was an okay movie. Was most likely a better book.

Is GLEE the Best New Show of 2009?

2009-12-10T23:28:00.000-06:00

It is a sad thing when favorite TV shows get senselessly hacked up by heartless executives, but it is the way of the world. It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, right?

As painful as it is to lose shows there is the chance to fall in love all over again every TV season. The following are my five new favorite shows of 2009.

5. White Collar (USA)

The USA Network scored another hit with its slick new character Neil Caffrey, a con-artist turn FBI helper, in White Collar. It is like the Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg movie Catch Me If You Can, except smoother and and sexier.

4. Royal Pains (USA)
This show, about a doctor who lands himself a sweet gig as the personal doctor to the rich in the Hamptons shortly after getting fired from a steady job at a New York hospital, is bright, charming and funny. There is no doubt that the show is a little fluffy, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Watching the show is sort of like being on a vacation from meaty shows like Lost, Fringe and House – and I am more than happy to take this vacation in the Hamptons.

3. Community (NBC)

Laughs abound in this witty new addition to the NBC comedy line-up that already includes The Office, Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock. Community, with Joel McHale (The Soup) in the lead, is just as good as any of those aforementioned gut-busters. The ensemble cast of Community has been brilliant -- especially Donald Glover as Troy and Danny Pudi as Abed. (see what I mean here)

2. Dark Blue (TNT)
I wasn't sure what to make of this new series starring Dylan McDermott. I didn't really believe that McDermott could pull off the gritty bad ass cop thing. Yet, he does, and he does it well. Even though McDermott is great, the supporting cast (if you can call them that, because they get the more screen time than McDermott) are even better. Somebody deserves a pat on the back for the amazing casting job.

1. Glee (FOX)

I didn't want to like this show at first. I thought it was all camp, melodramatic, after-school special-like, general waste of TV time. Then I realized that it was all camp, melodramatic, after-school special-like, generally great TV time. The camp is the point. The show is nothing less than fun and even a little sinister underneath. If for no other reason, this show is a must-watch because of the comedy stylings of Jane Lynch (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Role Models) as the evil Sue Sylvester.

TV Series HOUSE Has Gone off the Rails

2009-12-09T10:21:00.000-06:00

House has gone off the rails, but in a good way.

This season's premiere was one of the most anticipated episodes of House, ever. At the end of Season Five Dr. Gregory House had checked himself into a psychiatric ward – potentially finally admitting defeat against his inner demons. Changes were coming in his life, but I didn't realize the show would be changing so much.

It isn't radical or anything. The beloved series is still a medical detective show with the brilliant, socially malignant doctor. The secondary plot lines of psychological warfare between the characters in House's fish bowl still exists.

However, the show's writers seem much more apt to go away from the episodic nature of the show, in which a new patient or case is unraveled throughout the hour. The cases are still there, but it doesn't seem to be the primary focus anymore. The show is gravitating toward wrapping its primary plots around its characters' well-being and less about the patients.

The two-part premiere, the epic “Broken,” was completely different than the show's normal format. There was no patient – unless you count House as the patient. It was brilliant, but this turn was probably expected to kick off the season. From that point forward you would expect the show to return more to structuring itself around the medical mysteries.

That hasn't happened. Although the eight other episodes that have aired this season include medical mystery cases, most of the time they feel ancillary and in the background. Other shows have focused on the relationship between House and Dr. Lisa Cuddy (or “Huddy”), the assembling of House's dream team of diagnostic helpers in yet another cast shuffling, and House momentarily considering life as a chef instead of a doctor.

Another notable show this season, “Wilson,” made House the sidekick and gave his best friend Dr. James “Not Jim” Wilson the spotlight. House and his team are pushed off to the side and barely appear in the show.

These type of episodes are not entirely new for the series -- for example, there was that episode in which Wilson drugged and kidnapped House to make sure that he went to his father's funeral.

It has undoubtedly been an evolution, but it stands out in Season Six.

For those who love the show for the psychological and emotional terrorism that is practiced in the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, this is undeniably a good thing. It may be less exciting for casual viewers, who are more drawn to House solving cases.

Changes like this often happen with episodic shows when they start winding down and the writers need to wrap-up various emotional threads that have percolated throughout the life of the series – like consummating an unrequited love, which so many shows function on.

House, however, doesn't really seem to be slowing down. In fact, I think it has only gotten stronger. The shuffling of secondary characters – House's diagnostic team – including reality show like tournament of whits that was used in Season Four to select new members, has kept the engine turning. Meanwhile the cinematography and direction of the show have reached extraordinary heights. Some of the final shows of Season Five were beautifully realized. Episode 19, “Locked In” starring Mos Def was great.

House has always worked because of its characters – that is true with any great TV show. It wouldn't work if we didn't want to invite them into our homes over and over again. It is, however, a testament to the strength of the show and the confidence of the writers to take focus so intensely on them.

Season six may slide back closer to the familiar case-driven format eventually, but let's appreciate how amazing it has been to be off the rails for a while.

A.V. Club Produces Snoody List of the Decade's Best Films

2009-12-04T00:23:00.000-06:00

What the hell is wrong with the A.V. Club?

I have a lot of respect for their reviews, but I was astounded by their list of the 50 greatest films of the 00's. No doubt any list like this would create a lot debate, but I was blown away by the how incredibly poor this list came out.

-- Check Out the List Here --

The list seemed rather pretentious and lacking. I like artsy independent movies as much as the next film buff, but this list was down right snoody. Where are all the comedies?

Also note that of the nine Oscar winners for best picture over the last decade only one is in the list. Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Million Dollar Baby, Crash, The Departed and Slumdog Millionaire were all excluded while No Country for Old Men cracked the top ten.

I am not saying that the Academy is the end-all-be-all of determining what is a great movie, nor would I have included some of those movies on my list, but they did win awards for a reason.

What bothers me the most, however, is the lack of comedies. Just like the Academy the list is dismissive of the genre. In my opinion it is harder to make a comedy that works than it is to make a drama that works, but that is neither here nor there.

I must also say that there are few filmmakers that have been more influential in the late 2000's than Judd Apatow. At least one of these films, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Pineapple Express, should have cracked the list.

Other notable comedy snubs are Meet the Parents and Little Miss Sunshine.

Another failure of the list is the inclusion of the worst film Gus Van Sant has ever made, the drivel that is Gerry. I am a huge Van Sant fan but Gerry sucked big time. There were far better choices among Van Sant's other films of the decade Elephant, Paranoid Park, Finding Forrester and Milk.

Also, what was the best Pixar movie made in the last decade? How many of you answered The Incredibles? I didn't think so.

Yet the movie comes in at #26 higher than the only other Pixar movie WALL-E at #30. First of all, that is a huge insult to the best movie of 2008, WALL-E, and secondly there is no way that The Incredibles is better than Monster's Inc., Finding Nemo, Ratatouille or Up.

On another note, AI: Artificial Intelligence at #32? Really? Just because Stanley Kubrick had something to do with it does not make it a good movie.

I agree with one of the comments posted on the site about the rankings -- “This list sucks major donkey cock.”

Five TV Shows That Should Go Away Just Like 2009

2009-12-03T02:33:00.000-06:00

There are plenty of TV shows that I hope continue to go strong into the next decade – House, Psych, Community, etc; but there are some I wish wouldn't make it. I wish these five shows would fade away just as the 2000's will this January.

The Simpsons
In its heyday this show was controversial, funny and generally exceptional, but jeepers isn't 21 seasons enough? What else is there for this show to accomplish? It has had a successful movie, seems to rolling in reruns in perpetuity and it helped give birth to its successor Family Guy. Time magazine even named it the greatest television series of the 20th Century. It is time for Bart, Lisa and Maggie to grow up.

Heroes
When a TV show starts breaking out the lesbian kisses, things are either riding real high or riding real low. For Heroes it is real low. This show has completely fallen apart. Most people didn't see this show going far beyond its first season, which was truly amazing. Still, I thought the beginning of season two was great and interesting. Unfortunately, then came the writer's strike and the show's producers did something incredibly stupid. They decided to abandon the season's story arc. (Anybody remember Peter's girlfriend, who is apparently still in the future somewhere?) From there the show started to tumble in my opinion. The current season is some of the worst TV I have seen in a long time. Somebody buy me season one on DVD and let me forget about the rest.

The Jay Leno Show
Jay. Leno. Not. Funny.

Two and a Half Men
When some child actors grow up they seem to forget how to act. Angus T. Jones, who plays Jake on the show, seems to be in that category. Most of the amusement from the show comes from Jake interacting with Charlie, well that amusement has been seriously hampered. I was never really a fan of this show, just another laugh track whore if you ask me. Charlie Sheen is also getting creepier every time I see him.

CSI: Miami
David Friggin' Caruso. I am theorizing that if CSI: Miami were to go away so would Caruso. I mean how does this guy get an acting job? Seriously? I am sure he would be good at commercials, maybe sunglass commercials, but carrying an hour TV show, not so much.

STATE OF PLAY: A Poor Man's All the President's Men

2009-09-25T14:00:00.000-05:00

I am not sure why but I didn't think I was going to like State of Play. It was pretty good, however. The acting was very good, led by Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren.

And for once a journalist is the hero of a story and not the sniffling scum of the Earth that they generally personify in Hollywood movies.

That said Crowe's version of an investigative reporter Cal McCaffrey is far from ethical as a journalist. This is not a tutorial, nor the way a good journalist works. I guess I have to look at this role in the same way that real police officers look at those played on TV (You know when they go into the interrogation room and beat the truth out of suspects).

In the end, I did like this movie, but it is no All the President's Men.

Premiere Season, Thus Far

2009-09-23T23:33:00.000-05:00

Bored to Death (Grade C)
HBO's latest half hour venture, "Bored to Death," featuring the incomparable Jason Schwartzman was underwhelming. I hope that it improves in the coming episodes but the pilot was kind of lame. It lacked funny. If it wasn't HBO I wouldn't likely be watching episode two, but it is and I have learned to give HBO the benefit of the doubt. Even if it is just for the sake that it is surely going to be something different than the mostly lame network material.

Community (Grade B)
This show might have something. It's central character played by that guy from The Soup, Joel McHale, was pretty snappy in the debut. You have got to appreciate anything that is shot in a real live location with more than three walls. McHale is quite good and charming. Hopefully the supporting cast, which was largely unimpressive, will step up in the coming weeks. I am not a big fan of Chevy Chase being in this series. It doesn't work for me. He was also largely unfunny in the pilot. Hopefully he goes away and makes another family vacation movie.

Heroes (C+)
The two-hour season premiere of Heroes did not at all set the stage for this season. I have no idea where it is going and I don't really mean that in a good way. It was kind of lame really. I am really sick of Claire trying to fit in. That story line has been played out. My interest in this once great show (C'mon Season One!) has seriously dwindled. I still love the characters but it is starting to come off the rails. It started losing me after the writer's strike when they ditched a whole story line without finishing it. That was rude to the audience don't you think? Here's to hoping for a Hero's rebirth, but judging by the way things are going we may be saying goodbye to this series before long.

Bones (B)
There was a lot of issues to address after last season's crazy alter-reality episode. They handled it deftly though. I am not sure how they keep this show rolling but they do. They continue to be inventive. It seems like now that the show is in syndication everybody knows everything from here on out is just gravy. So, why not add Stewie from Family Guy into an episode. This show is still fresh and could go for a few more strong seasons.

THE MIST and LIONS FOR LAMBS: Papa Don't Preach

2009-09-17T02:50:00.002-05:00

It was probably fortuitous that I watched The Mist and Lions for Lambs in the same weekend. They are both similar movies, at least in how heavy-handed they are in trying to make a political point.

The Mist, inspired by a Stephen King short story, is so wrought with anti-Bush fervor, you almost forget to enjoy the fun of murderous extra-worldly creatures.

The movie is about a mystical mist that descends on a small town after a violent thunderstorm. A number of town residents become trapped by the mist and the frightening creatures it cloaks.

The strength of the movie is its simplicity and its acting. You will probably not know the name of the actors but you will know their faces. There are many strong character actors in this movie to be enjoyed.

The movie is at its worst when it becomes preachy.

Basically, don't follow religion blindly and if you are one of the good guys, namely people who are prone to being rationale, you can't give up -- even if you are surrounded by a world of rubes.

Lions for Lambs is an interesting rumination on the war in Afghanistan, made a couple of years ago when nobody much cared about the war we were fighting in that country.

It is a more straight forward political message flick as its main characters include a Congressman, a veteran news reporter, two soldiers and a political science professor.

Again the message is laid on thick. The few, intellectuals that have been drowned out by apathy and the political winds, need to stand up and fight even if they have no chance to win.

I think I would have enjoyed the film more if I had just watched the acting performances which were really great actually. Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, among others, were all quite good.

Give these a watch if you are bored, but don't expect too much from them.

THE FINAL SEASON: A Good Little Baseball Flick

2009-01-18T16:01:00.001-06:00

The Final Season is a good little baseball movie. It is an independent movie with a good screenplay. The acting is on par with the expectation that you have Sean "Rudy" Astin in the lead role. That said all the performances are manageable and little movies can go a long way when the screenplay is put together solidly.

If you like baseball movies this is pretty darn good. It is better than Hardball and probably somewhere close to For the Love of the Game. It is a simple movie about the struggle of rural communities losing their vitality in the modern world.

There is a lot to enjoy here. Give it a watch.

BE KIND REWIND: Don't Underestimate Gondry

2009-01-16T01:58:00.000-06:00

I will never underestimate Michele Gondry again. The french director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep proves he is one of the most visually inventive and amusing filmmakers working today.

I underestimated The Science of Sleep prior to viewing it, primarily because I gave way too much credit for the great Spotless to screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. I thought his minimal but surrealist style would be overbearing, but it wasn't.

Similarly I did not know what to expect from Be Kind Rewind because I thought the casting was odd for the movie.

I just did not see how Gondry could meld Mos Def and Jack Black into his style and although I think the casting could still have been better, I enjoyed the film very much.

For some reason I find myself seeing Gondry as a modern day Capra-type director with a bit more grit. His films have all proved to be uplifting, but not overly glossy.

I won't ever again question whether I should watch a Gondry movie again. He's very good.

That said some may not fall into the Gondry universe and if you didn't like the Sciences of Sleep, you won't like this. And if you are Gondry fan already, there is plenty to like in this movie.

I would recommend you check out Spotless and Science of Sleep before watching Be Kind Rewind in order to get a feel for Gondry. It might give you some illumination and ease you into his wildly interesting world.

Be Kind Rewind is certainly not a great film, but its very enjoyable. Gondry makes the movie his personal sandbox.

Just enjoy this one, there are some very good laughs.

GOLDEN GLOBES: Holy Slumdog Millionaire

2009-01-12T00:43:00.000-06:00

Here are the Winners

That is pretty crazy that Slumdog pretty much swept the major awards, except in the acting categories.

I thought the movie was very good and I am a Danny Boyle fan, but I didn't really see this movie as a true Oscar contender, but I guess it is.

I would rate Slumdog less worthy than Wall-E and the Dark Knight.

I am also glad to see that 30 Rock got some good props. Great Show. You betcha Tina Fey.

GRAN TORINO: Classic Clint Eastwood

2009-01-12T00:24:00.001-06:00

This is one of those movies that should end up in a Clint Eastwood box set someday with Dirty Harry and the like.

Eastwood is cranky as ever and pulls a modern-day John Wayne type performance.

The supporting roles in this movie are relatively poor. The movie however survives because of Eastwood and surprisingly because it is really funny.

The first words I heard walking out of the theater were... "I didn't know I was going to see a comedy," and "I haven't laughed that hard in a while."

It was really funny. The racial insults were rediculously funny in a Don Rickels sort of way.

This movie should not win any Oscars this year, but it certainly is a solid effort from Eastwood.

MARLEY & ME: Damn You Marley

2009-01-11T02:21:00.000-06:00

First of all any movie that makes me cry has to get good praise.

Dogs are easily the most sentimental characters in any movie and Marley certainly became that in "Marley & Me."

There is no plot to this movie, it just is what it is, and I am okay with that. For a movie that muses about how life takes hold of you, surprises you and twists your stomach thats not a half bad approach.

For as much as I wanted a plot early in the movie I realized late in the game that I needed to just enjoy the ride and take stock of some good entertainment and a really good acting performance from Owen Wilson.

I would definitely give this movie a go, although I get the feeling it is more suited for the couch than the movie theater.

So enjoy it, but be prepared to say goodbye good old Marley at the end.