summer movie update

Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest - I remember really liking the first Pirates movie, even if I don't remember at all what it was actually about. I can't really say the same for this second installment. I saw it in a packed two-screen movie theater in Jasper, Alberta while on vacation (where popcorn is ridiculously cheap!) and maybe I was tired from all the hiking we'd done earlier in the day but I definitely dozed off during what was probably the most important fight scene of the movie. I say "probably" because there were really a bunch of scenes that could have been the climax but the movie just kept going on and on and on...I think it was almost 3 hours long! Yeah, there were some funny parts and Johnny Depp was as great as in the first movie, but the storyline just didn't hold my interest. The weird half-dead pirates that were like half fish or covered in barnacles or whatever were really gross and the trading company dude was more annoying than evil. I also found the ending to be pretty dumb. I must be missing something because I don't understand why Will and Elizabeth have THAT much loyalty to Jack, and are we supposed to be excited about that other captain coming back?

The Devil Wears Prada - I read this book, or tried to, and I hated it. I don't remember a lot about it but I thought the writing was pretty awful and I think that there were tons of minute details about stuff that I didn't really care about. But when the movie version came out, I paid attention because Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway were in it. And I was really super happy that I went to go see it, because it was just really fun and has some great performances. Meryl Streep was awesome, and I also loved her assistant Emily and Stanley Tucci as her right hand man. I liked how the magazine writer dude showed himself to not be right for Andy, I liked how and when Andy realized she needed to get out of the magazine, and I especially liked how they humanized Miranda a little, but not too much. Might even be destined to become one of my chick flick favorites!

Emmy nominations

Every year I claim to not care about the Emmys but then I pay attention hoping they'll finally get some stuff right but then every year I realize that my TV preferences really don't align with the Emmy voters. Anyway, this year there was some new voting system so the nominations were a little more interesting, but there were definitely a lot of disappointments and some head-scratchers...

Happy about:
- Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart for 24!!! The Logans RULE! (Further proof that the name Logan just inspires greatness, even as a last name!)
- Arrested Development, the Office and Scrubs for Best Comedy
- Jeremy Piven and Will Arnett for Best Supporting Actor
- Lots of nominations for Bleak House (esp. happy about Tulkinghorn, who was sooo sinister)
- Project Runway for Best Reality Show!! (Third season starts next week I CANNOT WAIT!)
- The end of the Desperate Housewives monopoly, no major awards, yay!
- No unnecessary pimping of any one show in the acting categories. I hate it when there are 3 or more actors from the same show nominated for the same thing.

Confused about:
- Desmond for Lost???? Like, he was good, but it's kind of random, no?
- Two and a Half Men, is this actually good?
- Stockard Channing for Out of Practice? Did anyone even watch this show? Uhhhh it's almost as if the voters were like, hm, we recognize her, let's nominate her for something!
- No Hugh Laurie? No Lost for Best Drama? No My Name is Earl?
- Six Feet Under? Didn't that end a really long time ago?
- Lots of nominations for cancelled/ended shows...Commander in Chief, West Wing, Six Feet Under, Will & Grace, Malcolm in the Middle. Maybe this means next year there'll be more open spots? Which leads me to...

Wishful thinking:
- No Lauren Graham
- No Veronica Mars
- No majors for Battlestar Galactica (only got a few technical ones)
- No acting nods for Scrubs.

I know I sound like a snooty TV critic but eh. The only show that I really love that was well represented was 24...

And even more teen summer series

Back in the heyday of the WB, there were a TON of teen TV shows on air, but then the past couple of years it seemed to die down a bit. But apparently this summer teen TV is making a comeback...two more I've watched.

Whistler on the N. An interesting alternative to the beach summer series, Whistler, a new series on the N, takes the audience to the snowy slopes of Canada. The show begins with the mysterious death of a snowboarding champ and local hero, leaving behind a younger brother (among other loved ones) to deal with the fallout. It's part average family/teen angst and part murder mystery and I have to say that I really liked it. It's a lot less afterschool special than the rest of the shows on the N and I thought that the acting was really quite good. I also really liked the "look" of how the show is shot, it's generally dark with lots of shadows that contrasts well with the stark white of all the snow. I think I'll definitely be following this one.

Oh and KRYCEK IS IN IT! He plays the dad. It's kind of strange that the actors I thought were HOT HOT back in the day are now old enough to play parents to teenagers.

Kyle XY on ABCFamily. Another ABCFamily show that I feel isn't terribly family oriented. I mean, I don't know of too many teenagers that would watch these kinds of shows with their parents and some of the material isn't appropriate for younger children at all. Anyway, besides that, this show was actually pretty watchable as well. It's about a teenaged boy that is found in the woods with no belly button, no memories, and no knowledge of what being human means. Is he human at all? That's the question it seems the series will be exploring. Kyle gets taken in by a psychologist and her family which includes two other teenagers and the expected fish-out-of-water stuations ensued, but to a much bigger degree since Kyle well, didn't even know how to eat. I liked the premiere, but I'm not sure about the show's direction so we'll have to see.