Wednesday, November 30, 2005

oh no!

I have to say that I was afraid of this, but Reunion has been cancelled. I mean, no, it wasn't the best show ever but I got sucked into the whole mystery thing and now I'm bummed that we don't get to find out the whole story. Sigh.

So I guess this means that I'll be watching my strange new guilty pleasure Everwood on Thursday nights at 9...

EDIT: According to today's TVGuide Entertainment News, Reunion will continue to air until February 2 and according to Zap2it, it will be up to the producers whether they can wrap up the mystery by that time. Also, I haven't been watching Prison Break but fans will be happy to know that new episodes will return in March rather than the originally planned May.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

yay yay yay yay yay!

From TWO sources, below being tvguide.com:

"I SPY... LOTSA TICKED-OFF FANS: Alias' fifth-season finale in May will also be the series' finale, ABC has announced. The spy drama "is not going to wind down as it comes to an end, it's going to rev up," promises ABC Entertainment prez Stephen McPherson. "We're going to make it the event it deserves to be." And, adds my mole, just wait until you get a load of the wigs!"

FINAL SEASON OF ALIAS!
:-D

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

kind of old but really funny

So for years now I've been trying to be cool and know about all the hot new indie bands before everyone else does and I was doing a respectable job at it but then the OC came along. All of a sudden everyone knows Death Cab, Modest Mouse plays live on the show, and every other new discovery of mine ends up on one of their continously releasing mix soundtracks. Anyway, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, currently one of the aforementioned hot new indie bands, was asked to do a live gig on the OC, and they turned down the opportunity! Gothamist had already been asking bands they interview whether they'd play the Bait Shop, so Daily Refill posted a rundown of the responses. I'm still not really cool enough to recognize all the bands but it was still funny.

Oh and I've never heard of Man in Grey, but one of their members said that her dream was to play the Bronze on Buffy so bonus points to them and I'm now going to check them out. =)

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

So I was kind of worried about this movie a little, because the book was just so long and I didn't know how cutting so much stuff out was going to affect the movie. I knew in advance that I'd probably end up being disappointed at some things, but I think that overall they did a pretty good job at condensing everything. The movie is heavily focused on the Triwizard Tournament and not so much on the whole school year in general. The bulk of the movie involves the 3 tasks, along with a detour to the Yule Ball. They also simplified the plot slightly, cutting out Winky altogether, and Sirius barely appears.

That said, the movie did feel kind of rushed. Each task of the tournament felt like it was taking place right after the previous one, and there wasn't much time for character development really. I kind of felt deprived of scenes where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are just talking things over. Actually I felt like there wasn't really that much dialogue in general: this was much more of an action movie than the previous three. Prisoner of Azkaban (which is still my favorite by far) flowed really well and had a dark but sort of calm style to it. This one was much more fast paced and at times I felt like the transitions were too hasty. John Williams was replaced by Patrick Doyle for the score so the music was also very different.

The CGI and effects and everything really were excellent though. The dragons were great and the underwater stuff looked really good. The graveyard scene at the end was also very well done. Strangely while I was reading the books I never pictured in my head what Voldemort was going to look like at all, so seeing him was really interesting, and Ralph Fiennes was perfectly scary and creepy. I also really loved Mad-Eye Moody. I had sort of pictured him as being more tall and skinny but Brendan Gleeson really grew on me throughout the movie.

I could probably talk about the movie forever, the things I liked and didn't like, so I should probably restrain myself a little here. But my favorite scene was probably the one where Fred asks Angelina to go the Yule Ball with him. It was funny in the book too, but the way they did in the movie was just awesome. My least favorite scene was the introduction of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Each group did a little routine entering the Great Hall and it was really just stupid.

So my final verdict: enjoyable but not as good as Prisoner of Azkaban. They also really skimped on the explanation of what happened at the end and I wonder if people who hadn't read the books would be confused...

Friday, November 18, 2005

top 5 TV villians I loved to hate

1. Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) - I suppose he turned into a semi-good guy by the end there...
2. Cigarette Smoking Man (the X-files) - was always really intrigued by him
3. Krycek (the X-files) - mostly because he was totally hot, haha
4. Lex Luthor (Smallville) - well, he's not fully a villain yet, but his hint of evil has always been there
5. Julie Cooper (the OC) - "this town's really only big enough for one manipulative bitch"

the fake Orange County

The OC this season has been kind of a mixed bag...I'm glad that the couples (Sandy/Kirsten, Ryan/Marissa, Seth/Summer) seem to be relatively stable, and the whole main cast, even Marissa, has been in really good form, but man, all these new characters have been irritating the heck out of me. I wonder if it's becoming the OC's pattern to introduce a whole bunch of new characters at the beginning of the season to "stir things up" and then slowly get rid of them. Like last season we had D.J., Lindsay, Alex, and Zach, and this season there's Dean Hess, Charlotte, Taylor, and the public school kids. Dean Hess is already gone and it looks like Charlotte is too, so hopefully Taylor will up next?

Taylor's kind of a tricky one though...up until last week I absolutely despised her, but this week she was actually kind of funny. That bit where she was asking Ryan about Seth and Summer just cracked me up, and the scene where she tells Seth that she liked him was hilarious too. ("I heard you were breaking up." "What? Who said that?" "I made it up. But what did you feel when you heard it?") But I was kind of annoyed that Seth was being so nice to her because I kind of just don't want her to stick around at all. I'm kind of meh on Johnny as well. IMDB has him listed as sticking around for awhile also but I don't really see what his purpose is. He's not hot and he's not interesting....

Apparently the next big thing is going to be the return of Kaitlin Cooper, who's going to be even wilder than Marissa, which sounds funny, but I guess while Marissa's done plenty of drinking and other destructive behavior, she's still always kind of given off this good-girl vibe. So I guess Kaitlin is going to be more of a Hailey type?

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

never mind, Rory still sucks

I take it back, Rory now has no chance for redemption...in my eyes anyway. I realize that they're trying to make her more like Lorelai, but for some reason I just can't tolerate it at all. Her badgering of the newspaper editor was something Lorelai might have been able to pull off, but Rory doing it just made me want to strangle her. Especially since it was massively obvious that she was going to get the job in the end. I mean, there's something to be said for being proactive when pursuing a job, but Rory was just being plain irritating. I know that last season I criticized Rory for giving up her dream so easily but seriously, while determination is one thing, being completely unprofessional and disrespectful of authority is really another. If I were that editor, I would have called security and had her removed from the building. I mean, after last week I wanted Rory to suffer a little bit from her dumb choices, not immediately get everything she wanted...

As for the Luke's daughter thing...I read spoilers ages ago so I knew it was coming, and even I hate the fact that this plotline even exists, I kind of liked how they handled it. I liked that she was really geeky looking and that she didn't want anything from Luke besides help in winning the science fair. Obviously she (and her mother I assume) will be staying in the picture which is just manipulative on the part of the writers but for some reason I was just comforted by the fact that they didn't go the typical soap opera route with it.

And when the heck did Zack become so annoying?

Saturday, November 12, 2005

november sweeps, week 2

ON BREAK:
Kitchen Confidential (still! oy...)

SUNDAY:
Desperate Housewives: So Susan and Mike finally come to a head. I'm glad that Gabrielle finaly understands the depth, in its own craziness, of Carlos' love for her. I love Lynnette and Tom's storyline of parents needing to treat themselves every once in a while. And Lynnette's obsession with the suit -- that's something anyone can relate to, falling in love with a material object that makes you feel so much better about yourself. :-)
Grey's Anatomy: Ahhh, the Alex-Izzie kiss was an awesome end to the show. I'm getting a little annoyed with the repeat themes I'm noticing between this show and House. First the surgery of "killing" the patient, to save their lives. Now the request of patient-doctor kisses. Oy. But that kiss was just SO cute.

MONDAY:
How I Met Your Mother: Kinda non-pivotal. Surprising for a sweeps episode, but refreshing as well. But seriously? I wanna see this show go somewhere. SOON.
Laguna Beach: NOT AVAILABLE TO DL YET! BAH!

TUESDAY:
Gilmore Girls: Yeah. Jess is super sexy. I agree with Jenn's post. I spent most of the episode going omg, enough with the Paulanka. And I was very not amused by the girls-soccer-Luke. It's interesting to see a threatened Logan. But mostly, Jess was super attractive. And he reminds me of why I used to like Rory -- because she was this super perfect girl who could see past the exterior of who he was to who he could be underneath everything. Man, Jess is sexy.
House: It was sad to see a diagnoses not pull through. It was probably the first death I've seen on the show (I dunno if it's the first one though, cuz I didn't see ALL of Season 1). But it was a good episode. Finally seeing some more development on the House-Cameron front, at least I think so. And some more insight into House's psyche and what makes him what he is.

WEDNESDAY:
One Tree Hill: Oy, good job Brooke. Letting your desire for vengeance to take over your common sense. But I really like what the show is doing with the Haley-Peyton storyline.

THURSDAY:
The OC: Ehh, not really doing it for me. Of course Seth developing a soft-spot for Taylor has lead to her having a huge crush on him and now wanting to sabotage Seth-Summer. YUCK. Ryan-Marissa are really good together, but they're kinda boring, too. I don't like this seduction of Julie Cooper to the dark side business. I do like the threatened surfer-girlfriend hurting the boyfriend before he hurt her aspect though. Because that was a good portrayal of human nature/strive-to-be-independent girl-nature.
Reunion: Yet another twist. Nice! They seriously made it look like Sam was the one who survived but she's the one who was murdered. Yay for twists. That's sad though, cuz I really like her.
Alias: I was skeptical about the new cast additions, but I've gotta say, I am finding that I really like them. I like Rachel Gibson (played by Rachel Nichols. Reminder of Michael Vaughn played by Michael Vartan, hummm...) a lot. And of course there's the romantic tension building up between her and Thomas Grace. Cuz on this show only in office romances can exist. Sydney-Vaughn, Nadia-Weiss, Dixon-the Director of the CIA, and now Rachel-Grace... I'm not too keen on the Evil-ish-Sloan storyline, or the repetitiveness of the show, but the new characters I do like.

Friday, November 11, 2005

top 5 most hated TV characters

Thanks for the suggestion Mira! These aren't really in order...

1. Lauren (Alias) - Vaughn's horrible wife. Everyone hated her so much before she even appeared on the show that they had to make her evil.
2. Oliver (the OC) - No explanation needed.
3. Joey (Dawson's Creek) - The worst part is that she was the one I related to for the first few seasons. Then the writers made her the annoying perfect girl that charms everyone and every single male falls for. Ugh ugh ugh.
4. Tess (Roswell) - Really hated her at first because she was obviously there to mess up Max/Liz, but then I started to like her a little when they paired her up with Kyle. But then they decided to make her evil after all, and then I had to hate her even more. Usually one really bad role can turn me off an actor or actress forever, but strangely I really like Emilie de Ravin as Claire on Lost...
5. Kim (24) - Annoying to begin with, but the writers made it ten times worse by putting her in the most ridiculous situations possible (cougar anyone?). And then somehow she ends up with a job at CTU? Are you kidding me?

Runners-up: Riley (Buffy) and Rory (Gilmore Girls).

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

drama in the LB

Man I'm a posting mood this week...

I haven't watched the latest episode of Laguna Beach yet but I've been intending to post on the show for awhile now and since this has been a less-busy-than-usual week for me I thought I'd just go ahead.

I really didn't think this season would be all that great...I didn't like Kristin last season and this year was supposed to be all about her. But somehow this season turned out to be all about Jason instead, which is really vastly more interesting. I have my doubts about how "real" everything actually is, but man, the last couple of episodes have been the most entertaining thing I've seen on TV in a very very long time.

I mean, the Jason and Lauren hook-up? Kristin probably said it best: "That's the most random thing I've ever heard in my life!" It's so incredibly random and juicy that had it happened on the OC I probably would have brushed it off as contrived, but since this is "real," it was just awesome. I loved how it threw Stephen for a loop too. And then Jason kissing Jessica right in front of LC?? This is so the best show ever. Haha.

Some other random unrelated thoughts:
  • Talan singing at the benefit just killed me. Hopefully he's not serious about launching a music career...
  • Poor Dieter, who was in practically every episode last season as "Stephen's Friend" now gets to be "Jessica's Ex-Boyfriend" as well. I kind of like the dude though.
  • Taylor and Alex M. mimicking Casey = awesome.
  • The show kind of reads my mind for a lot of their music selections. "Existentialism on a Prom Night" by Straylight Run was exactly what I would have put in the prom episode, and "Time" by Chantal Kreviazuk was perfect for graduation.

Season finale next Monday, apparently commercial-free!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Rory's redemption?

So it might be too early to tell but tonight's episode of Gilmore Girls was the first time in a very very long time that I liked Rory. She finally realized how stupid she was being and that everything Lorelai told her about Emily was true. And I'm sooo glad that it was Jess that made her realize it. His appearance was just perfect. Even though I always liked him and Rory together, I'm glad that there weren't any romantic intentions behind his return, and that he was the mature one. I mean, how great was that? The slacker with no ambition comes back with an actual accomplishment and teaches the former Miss Perfect a lesson. Yeah, Jess was hot tonight. Haha.

I'm also glad that they showed Logan's other side tonight. I was a big fan of his in the beginning but he's kind of bugged more and more every week, and the charm turning into jerk was really always a possibility. I have no idea what's going to come of Rory and Logan now though...at first I thought that they were a good couple but now I feel like their attitudes toward life are really just too different right now and they both kind of need to get their shit together before trying to be in any relationship at all.

Oh, and this just dawned on me during the episode, but when Luke and Lorelai get married (note my optimism despite the preview for next week and annoying spoilers I've read), Rory and Jess will kind of be cousins...

Monday, November 07, 2005

Battlestar Galactica

With a title like Battlestar Galactica, you might have some preconceptions of this show as being another random mediocre space sci-fi show, but you should throw those away, because really, this show kicks some serious ass.

A remake of a short-lived 70s series, Battlestar Galactica is kind of a meld of two popular sci-fi notions: most of the characters are the crew of a spaceship, and humans are being rebelled against by their own robot creations (called Cylons). This is a future where Earth is a long-lost planet, and humans live on twelve colony planets ruled under a single government that is oddly linked to some kind of unified religion. That, is, that’s how it was until the Cylons destroyed the colonies and left only 50,000 or so humans on a handful of ships, who are now trying to find Earth. And the Cylons, still after them, have somehow evolved to look and act and even think like humans.

For a sci-fi show, the style is pretty unique in that it's actually pretty ordinary. I love that they didn’t waste time trying to come up with dumb futuristic clothes, there are no aliens, and things like cancer and news reporters still exist. But there are resort spaceships that simulate sunlight and of course, plenty of space battles and weird biological enemy spacecraft. And even though the special effects are top-notch, Battlestar Galactica is very character-driven. This isn’t about all the weird things you encounter in space, it’s about how the human race is literally struggling against extinction. The main cast of characters is balanced nicely, and they all have great backstories. I’m almost done watching season 1 on DVD and I’m hoping to catch up with the first half of season 2 before new episodes start up again on Sci-Fi Channel in January. And I’ve been told that the show gets even better!

Finally, a sci-fi show to get excited about!

november sweeps, week 1

On break this week because November Sweeps starts next week for them, apparently:
Desperate Housewives, Gilmore Girls, Kitchen Confidential, How I Met Your Mother, Alias

Everything else:
SUNDAY&MONDAY (don't really count, cuz not yet November, but whatever)
Grey's Anatomy: Drs. McDreamy, well-deserving of each other. Cristina, finally showing her ability to be really girly and pulls a freak-out attack on her *awwww* boyfriend. Izzie, being recruited by Mrs. Doctor McDreamy. Abby (from Dawson's Creek) makes a guest appearance as a girl who's attached to another man by a subway pole which is going straight through both of their chests -- GROSS! Overall? Not that interesting of an episode. Obviously had to get it out of the way before Sweeps begins.
Laguna Beach: Jessica is officially on my TV Shit List. I hate that girl. Other people of note on this shit list: Oliver (Season 1 of The OC), all the new characters on Season 3 of The OC, Rory (Gilmore Girls), there are more but I can't think of them. Jenn, you should make a Top 5 list of the character's you've hated most on TV ever. And then a Top 5 list of the ones you've loved to hate the most (Spike!).

TUESDAY:
House: nothing really interesting to report. Cameron almost developed a crush on another doctor but then realized he wasn't Dr. House. A man almost died but last minute Dr. House was able to diagnose his mysterious ailment.

WEDNESDAY:
One Tree Hill: so glad Karen's running against Dan for mayer. Super annoyed by the Brooke-Lucas-SluttyGirl storyline. Enjoying the Peyton-Ellie storyline. LOVE the Dan-Deb pranks-war. And the highlight of this past week's episode? The simultaneous fights between the basketball players and the cheerleaders.

THURSDAY:
The OC: One villain down, two more to go. And seriously, Marissa --so awesome this season!

Reunion: Okay this show seriously as a whole is very played out. Like it makes a big deal out of making certain things a mystery. But for the first time EVER, I was actually surprised by one of its twists. Like the previous twists have been all like well duh. Like Will turning out to be a priest? If you saw the posters for the show, you already knew. But today one of the twists surprised me. Present-Day-Craig is parapalegic! I had nooooo idea! Finally, surprise. One additional redeeming aspect of the episode is that fiiinally Aaron and Carla hooked up, and though it sounds to be a one-time thing? It was really special and their reasons for leaving it at that were really perfect. I loved how Aaron is all surprised to find out she was a virgin (he didn't realize that WHILE they were doing it?) and then he says, "I just can't believe it, a girl like you? How does it take you 21 years to find the right guy?" and she replies, "Actually it only took me 14 to find him, it took him 21 to find him." *collective sigh right here* Anyway, it's little things like that that will keep me watching this show. Plus I love all the musical walks down memory lane. Because they're taking full advantage of representing music in each year, right now it still being the 80's, we're still getting 80's pop songs!

So, done with week one. Time to catch up with week two! (Meaning new Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy!)

Friday, November 04, 2005

top 5 songs I've been digging lately

1. Radiohead - I Want None of This
2. Death Cab for Cutie - Marching Bands of Manhattan
3. Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Goin' Down
4. Pinback - Fortress
5. Wolf Parade - Shine a Light

Also listening to new albums from Wilderness, Franz Ferdinand, the New Pornographers, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I've been into the indie rock stuff for a few years now...I wonder what's next?

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

our poor neglected page

So I've amazingly enough FULLY caught up in ALL my TV shows! I'm caught up and ready to watch all the new episodes of TV! Crazy, no? So look out for spoilers galore for those of you not caught up. Here's my rundown on what's been happening so far this season...

THE RETURNERS

Alias: Frickin, so the new blonde = Sydney, Jr. So if Jennifer Garner does indeed leave the show, that leaves it open for new girl to just do for another 5 years the same thing Sydney did for the last 5. Except she was a failed attempt at being a counter-intelligence agent, since obviously she can't hide her fear. Oy. And obviously the new guy is set up to be either Sydney or Sydney, Jr.'s love interest. Oy. I've gotta say the storylines are getting old and predictable. And even if they go and do something not predicted, that's predictable because that's how it always is. And damnit, I knew Vaughn was getting killed off but I didn't expect him to get killed off EPISODE ONE! Oy. And there's so much more passion for Vaughn in Sydney now that he's actually dead. Strange how that happens, huh?

Gilmore Girls: Rory bores me. Luke I still adore, but even him and Lorelai's relationship doesn't much interest me. Logan is still a hotty, but damn, him being with Rory annoys and bores me. This show just, I dunno, it's not doing it for me.

One Tree Hill: This show actually interests me more than the above two. I love watching the developing relationships, seeing the ruptured ones try to refix, etc. The guys are hot, the girls are hot. The same villain, Dan, is as evil as ever. And there are new annoying characters, unlike...

The OC: How do you add SO many annoying, evil characters in one season? THREE? The Dean, Kirsten's stalker lady, Ms. Teen-Spirit-Audrey. YECH. Seriously, I'm glad there was baseball playoffs the last few weeks. I didn't miss you all that much. But I do have to admit, that as long as Ryan and Marissa are together, Marissa is a lot less annoying as a character. Instead, I'll watch...

Laguna Beach, The Real OC: This is my guilty pleasure. Seriously, season 2 with it's less concentrating on the love triangle of Kristen-Stephen(hottie!!!)-LC, but on the man-whore-iness of Jason has been so entertaining. Ahhh seriously, I just love this show. I can't help it!

Desperate Housewives: Is slightly less annoying than the end of last season. But it's because I'm watching it not with the thought that this show is so great, but just this show is so WEIRD. And seriously, looking at the show in this way makes me simply enjoy the quirkiness of the characters and the oddball storylines the writers keep throwing at the audience. Though thank goodness, it's followed by...

Grey's Anatomy: This is the winner for returning shows, this season. Seriously, hands down I am enjoying this drama moreso than any other drama. It keeps it's random elements of comedy, and it's got crazy ass storylines that I really enjoy. Like McDreamy and Mrs. McDreamy. Izzy and the Jerk. Meredith finally 'fessing up to McDreamy her true feelings. The rest of the crew finding out about Alice Grey's Alzheimer. Good stuff! Can't forget about my other hospital drama though--

House: This, too, has been on hiatus thanks to baseball. But before it went away, it was keeping up its standard top-notch acting, interesting storylines, interesting characters. But it was weird because one week both House and Grey's Anatomy did the same rare surgical procedure. That was weird. Onto the newbies...

THE ROOKIES

Kitchen Confidential: This handsdown is one of my favorite shows this season, if not my FAVORITE. It's light, got a greatlooking cast, got an eclectic group of characters, and pretty fastpaced. It's seriously great for a 20 minute break from life to just laugh and be happy.

How I Met Your Mother: This too is a funny, cute show. I enjoy it because I think that this show seriously fills the void left behind by Friends. Just an entertaining romantic comedy with awesome supporting characters. Plus this gave me my fill of Halloween costumes in last week's episode. Being out of the country, I definitely missed out on Halloween. But between this and One Tree Hill, I got to look at awesome costumes and feel like it was indeed Halloween season.