Thursday, April 3, 2008
Technical Difficulties -- Please Stand By....
Life is not necessarily imatating art - although my apartment does look like the Mertz's apartment from the episode where Ricky and Lucy move to country! Moving and life's hiccups have caused my recent absence and I will be back online blogging regularly after April 15th -- YES TAX DAY!!!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
My DVR...
Yes 60% of it is taken up by various cartoons but for the precious 40% that remains it is a constant battle to tape my share of fluff, trash TV, news, classic movies and movies I had never gotten around to watching. Currently taking up that space on any given day are the likes of LOST, America's Next Top Model, The View (I adore Whoopi Goldberg and will not apologize for it), Frontline, Charlie Rose, Meet the Press, The Biggest Loser, the pilot and series finale of Charmed and Sports Reporters. These come and go as I try to watch them and stay on top of things. Also there though are those movies I never seem to be in the mood to watch. Currently - Lilies of the Field, The recent remake of A Raisin in the Sun, From Here to Eternity, Citizen Kane, A Patch of Blue and the Illusionist. Save for A Patch of Blue, a Sydney Poitier film I adore, I haven't seen the other films yet. The other two mainstays on my DVR are the TV shows Friday Night Lights and Eli Stone.
Friday Night Lights -- An NBC series based off the film of the same name has teetered on extinction since it debuted two years ago. A show I never took to because it had the misfortune of landing at a time when I didn't record to VCR anymore and had a full load of series television that I watched. The strike freed up time to revisit this little engine that could in repeat and on HDTV. Like the movie before it, this film follows the lives of a small Texas town coach and the football team the town's lives revolve around. While football serves as the backdrop, the show looks squarely on the human frailty of when a life peeks at the age of 18. The football players are revered and they are treated like rock stars. All the while these young men have the perfect view of what life will hold for the mass majority of them when they don't go onto to play pro football. It is a show with flaws and great heart which is what keeps it compelling. I was happy to hear this past week that NBC picked it up for another season. It reminds me of another show NBC nurtured that never found a large audience, Homicide.
Eli Stone - I admit, my giving this show a chance has as much to do with the fact that it follows LOST as anything it's plot and actors offer. That said, I admit I was skeptical of this one. The trailers all played up the George Michael songs playing in the protagonist's head. The quick synopsis - Eli Stone is an attorney who is diagnosed with an inoperable aneurysm. The result is that he hallucinates scenes that aren't really there - often musical numbers (a la George Michael singing in his living room). The pilot felt like Ally McBeal (the dancing baby) meets LA Law (the first season). I have caught all five episodes (thanks to my DVR) and the jury is still out. Ricky Lee Jones who plays Eli makes this character likable and compassionate even when the material feels forced and trite. The show has a solid supporting cast with the likes of Victor Garber, but I don't know that it's "each case presents a moral message" theme can sustain interest and creativity. I have found the Eli hallucinations to be distracting since the first two episodes and often they feel like they are there for the sake of being there doing little to advance the plot in an interesting way. I mentioned my DVR because Eli Stone is a perfect example of a show I would likely bypass if not for the ability to record it. Proof in the pudding is, Eli Stone aired on Thursday, I just got around to watching it this evening. It had one of it's strongest episodes and it still is not close to the appointment television list.
What is on your DVR/TIVO? What has sat there waiting for you to watch it that you wonder why it is still on there?
Friday Night Lights -- An NBC series based off the film of the same name has teetered on extinction since it debuted two years ago. A show I never took to because it had the misfortune of landing at a time when I didn't record to VCR anymore and had a full load of series television that I watched. The strike freed up time to revisit this little engine that could in repeat and on HDTV. Like the movie before it, this film follows the lives of a small Texas town coach and the football team the town's lives revolve around. While football serves as the backdrop, the show looks squarely on the human frailty of when a life peeks at the age of 18. The football players are revered and they are treated like rock stars. All the while these young men have the perfect view of what life will hold for the mass majority of them when they don't go onto to play pro football. It is a show with flaws and great heart which is what keeps it compelling. I was happy to hear this past week that NBC picked it up for another season. It reminds me of another show NBC nurtured that never found a large audience, Homicide.
Eli Stone - I admit, my giving this show a chance has as much to do with the fact that it follows LOST as anything it's plot and actors offer. That said, I admit I was skeptical of this one. The trailers all played up the George Michael songs playing in the protagonist's head. The quick synopsis - Eli Stone is an attorney who is diagnosed with an inoperable aneurysm. The result is that he hallucinates scenes that aren't really there - often musical numbers (a la George Michael singing in his living room). The pilot felt like Ally McBeal (the dancing baby) meets LA Law (the first season). I have caught all five episodes (thanks to my DVR) and the jury is still out. Ricky Lee Jones who plays Eli makes this character likable and compassionate even when the material feels forced and trite. The show has a solid supporting cast with the likes of Victor Garber, but I don't know that it's "each case presents a moral message" theme can sustain interest and creativity. I have found the Eli hallucinations to be distracting since the first two episodes and often they feel like they are there for the sake of being there doing little to advance the plot in an interesting way. I mentioned my DVR because Eli Stone is a perfect example of a show I would likely bypass if not for the ability to record it. Proof in the pudding is, Eli Stone aired on Thursday, I just got around to watching it this evening. It had one of it's strongest episodes and it still is not close to the appointment television list.
What is on your DVR/TIVO? What has sat there waiting for you to watch it that you wonder why it is still on there?
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Reality TV - Come on, you know you watch at least one!
OK, first my apologies for the lack of wrap up from the Oscars, the Monday after and the week that has succeeded it have been crazy and illness filled.
Reality TV aka cheap TV to produce and a network's dream programming. There is a gluttony of shows in this category that range from interesting to insane. Many often point to Survivor as the big leader of this genre. I would say give credit where credit is due, to MTV's The Real World. Long ago in 1992 Andre, Becky, Eric, Heather B., Julie, Norman and Kevin moved into a loft in Tribeca (before was the destination living place it is today) and MTV had a birds eye view into "What would happen if seven strangers lived in a loft together for 6 weeks". What happened was an ongoing series for 16 years (and the beginning of the end for MTV actually reflecting Music Television).
Flash forward to last night - In prime time network alone last night there was Supernanny, Wife Swap, America's Next Top Model, and American Idol (night 2 of 3). Tonight brings us Idol redux, Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice and Tuesdays gives The Biggest Loser, Big Brother, Beauty and the Geek and of course Idol. This does not take into account the fact that old hits The Bachelor, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Amazing Race are coming back soon, the first two come back on air this month.
If that last paragraph hasn't given you a headache, think of what I have left out. All cable reality which has brought television viewers not what scrapes the bottom of the barrel but what lies underneath it - the likes of Flavor of Love and I Love New York. There are at least a dozen of these insipid shows. I also did not include borderline shows like the new phenom "The Moment of Truth". Finally, missing are shows that have recently run their course (and hopefully will not be back for seconds). Two that come to mind are Dance Wars, which banked on the popularity of two Dancing With the Stars judges -ahem, moving on and Kid Nation which places a couple of dozen children (ranging in ages 8-12) in a deserted town and left them to build a community amongst themselves. Where's the old NY "Shame on You" report when you need it - who were these parents?
So now that you have been completely bombarded by all things "Reality" here is my confession. I watch it! Not all of it, but enough of it to feel the shame of it. The ultimate favorite is Amazing Race. It's travelogue with competition, there is little not to love in watching couples of all types racing around the world, seeing places you'd never visit on your own and seeing people compete in challenges that inform you of the culture, history and customs of the nations they visit. It is the only reality show I would jump at the chance to go on in a New York minute. No luck so far in finding a partner to do it, but I will contend to the day I die that my brother and I would get on and WIN if we did this show.
True Confession -- I also watch Biggest Loser, America's Next Top Model, American Idol (after the auditions) and So You Think You Can Dance. OK I watch Dancing with the Stars too, I have to, it is literally the show they made just for my mother. Ballroom Dancing made popular. I have thoughts on these as well as all of the ones mentioned in this blog. Over the next few weeks I will break them down slowly, so no one implodes and certainly so none of you stop reading.
Go on confess -- which ones to do you watch? Better yet, what was your favorite Real World?
Reality TV aka cheap TV to produce and a network's dream programming. There is a gluttony of shows in this category that range from interesting to insane. Many often point to Survivor as the big leader of this genre. I would say give credit where credit is due, to MTV's The Real World. Long ago in 1992 Andre, Becky, Eric, Heather B., Julie, Norman and Kevin moved into a loft in Tribeca (before was the destination living place it is today) and MTV had a birds eye view into "What would happen if seven strangers lived in a loft together for 6 weeks". What happened was an ongoing series for 16 years (and the beginning of the end for MTV actually reflecting Music Television).
Flash forward to last night - In prime time network alone last night there was Supernanny, Wife Swap, America's Next Top Model, and American Idol (night 2 of 3). Tonight brings us Idol redux, Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice and Tuesdays gives The Biggest Loser, Big Brother, Beauty and the Geek and of course Idol. This does not take into account the fact that old hits The Bachelor, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Amazing Race are coming back soon, the first two come back on air this month.
If that last paragraph hasn't given you a headache, think of what I have left out. All cable reality which has brought television viewers not what scrapes the bottom of the barrel but what lies underneath it - the likes of Flavor of Love and I Love New York. There are at least a dozen of these insipid shows. I also did not include borderline shows like the new phenom "The Moment of Truth". Finally, missing are shows that have recently run their course (and hopefully will not be back for seconds). Two that come to mind are Dance Wars, which banked on the popularity of two Dancing With the Stars judges -ahem, moving on and Kid Nation which places a couple of dozen children (ranging in ages 8-12) in a deserted town and left them to build a community amongst themselves. Where's the old NY "Shame on You" report when you need it - who were these parents?
So now that you have been completely bombarded by all things "Reality" here is my confession. I watch it! Not all of it, but enough of it to feel the shame of it. The ultimate favorite is Amazing Race. It's travelogue with competition, there is little not to love in watching couples of all types racing around the world, seeing places you'd never visit on your own and seeing people compete in challenges that inform you of the culture, history and customs of the nations they visit. It is the only reality show I would jump at the chance to go on in a New York minute. No luck so far in finding a partner to do it, but I will contend to the day I die that my brother and I would get on and WIN if we did this show.
True Confession -- I also watch Biggest Loser, America's Next Top Model, American Idol (after the auditions) and So You Think You Can Dance. OK I watch Dancing with the Stars too, I have to, it is literally the show they made just for my mother. Ballroom Dancing made popular. I have thoughts on these as well as all of the ones mentioned in this blog. Over the next few weeks I will break them down slowly, so no one implodes and certainly so none of you stop reading.
Go on confess -- which ones to do you watch? Better yet, what was your favorite Real World?
Saturday, March 1, 2008
The 24 Hour News Cycle
News News News... We live in a world where there is no moment in time that you do not have access to news. TV, Internet, radio, print surround us. It can be at once inundating and annoying as much as it is informative. The combination platter of immediacy and laxed standards in what is news and how it is reported has changed so dramatically and it is interesting to see the slow death of the nightly news. I admit that I have embraced the podcast. I almost do so in secret shame, however at the end of the day I love the first hour of the Today Show and enjoy nightly news. With a 2 years old in the midst of dinner and bedtime routine watching the news generally doesn't happen until later in the evening and podcast eliminates the dreaded commericals. I continue to be a fan of folks like Charlie Rose and many of PBS's news vehicles.
What I also find fascinating is how many people have taken to John Stewart. The vast majority of my friends watch him faithfully. He is
What I also find fascinating is how many people have taken to John Stewart. The vast majority of my friends watch him faithfully. He is
Sunday, February 24, 2008
T-Minus 11 hours and 45 minutes...
And here we are on Oscar day. My traditional Oscar party is not what it use to be. I am not certain whether that is due to the sprawl in which my friends now live or the fact that this, unlike NY is not as much of a movie town. Regardless there will be pernil and rice to go around for whoever is here. Truth be told, I do miss the larger gathering with trash talk, Vicky never having her $10 for the pool, Robin and Kylie's favorite part being the red carpet walk to breakdown how the outfits went horribly wrong, Wes' aggravation over the academy's inability to think like him and Lydell's never wavering belief that he is going to win (and the fact that it is Tikketha's fault when he doesn't). I suspect that is what made the party the most fun.
But enough nostalgia, I have two more categories to cover - Best Director and Film.
Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, Scaphandre et le papillon, Le
OK, this category is a no brainer. You need only follow the rule of thumb that says. As goes the Director's Guild, goes the Oscars. The DGA selects its' best director each year in advance of the Oscars and the last time that director did not go on to win the Best Oscar was over 20 years ago when Steven Spielberg won the DGA for The Color Purple and lost the Oscar to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa. All of this to say - Joel and Ethan Cohen will win this award tonight. Period.
Side note -- Remember when the Oscars (and all awards shows for that matter went politically correct and stopped saying "And the winner is..." for the more gentile "And the Oscar goes to..." This was the start of a trend against winners and losers that permeates our lives now. Little Leagues give everyone trophies, there are no winners and losers. It is the slow erosion of competition. But I digress...
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:
Atonement - Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster
Juno - Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick, Russell Smith
Michael Clayton - Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox, Kerry Orent
No Country for Old Men - Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar
This is the unfortunate part of the evening. It's a solid bet that No Country for Old Men will win this category. There is minimal to no chance that Juno or Michael Clayton could dark horse this race. It is unlikely though because No Country for Old Men has the wind at its back and was as much a critical darling as Juno and Michael Clayton. It makes for a boring last half hour of the Oscars because it holds little to no suspense. I liked the film a whole lot, would still likely select Juno if I was picking a best film of the three. It's an odd category this year because none of the five films are classics in the making. They are simply good work. So don't feel any shame in going to sleep early this year and checking the Internet or Today Show for a wrap up in the morning.
I of course will be up for the long haul. I am a die hard though and this is my fun night. I like to watch and critique it all from the speeches to the memoriam. I may blog along the way tonight or simply recap in the morning. Stay tuned.
But enough nostalgia, I have two more categories to cover - Best Director and Film.
Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, Scaphandre et le papillon, Le
OK, this category is a no brainer. You need only follow the rule of thumb that says. As goes the Director's Guild, goes the Oscars. The DGA selects its' best director each year in advance of the Oscars and the last time that director did not go on to win the Best Oscar was over 20 years ago when Steven Spielberg won the DGA for The Color Purple and lost the Oscar to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa. All of this to say - Joel and Ethan Cohen will win this award tonight. Period.
Side note -- Remember when the Oscars (and all awards shows for that matter went politically correct and stopped saying "And the winner is..." for the more gentile "And the Oscar goes to..." This was the start of a trend against winners and losers that permeates our lives now. Little Leagues give everyone trophies, there are no winners and losers. It is the slow erosion of competition. But I digress...
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:
Atonement - Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster
Juno - Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick, Russell Smith
Michael Clayton - Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox, Kerry Orent
No Country for Old Men - Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar
This is the unfortunate part of the evening. It's a solid bet that No Country for Old Men will win this category. There is minimal to no chance that Juno or Michael Clayton could dark horse this race. It is unlikely though because No Country for Old Men has the wind at its back and was as much a critical darling as Juno and Michael Clayton. It makes for a boring last half hour of the Oscars because it holds little to no suspense. I liked the film a whole lot, would still likely select Juno if I was picking a best film of the three. It's an odd category this year because none of the five films are classics in the making. They are simply good work. So don't feel any shame in going to sleep early this year and checking the Internet or Today Show for a wrap up in the morning.
I of course will be up for the long haul. I am a die hard though and this is my fun night. I like to watch and critique it all from the speeches to the memoriam. I may blog along the way tonight or simply recap in the morning. Stay tuned.
Friday, February 22, 2008
48 Hours to John Stewart's Opening Monologue
Tonight it's about the screenplays - adapted and original.
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Juno, Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl, Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille, Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco
The Savages, Tamara Jenkins
OK, this is a no brainer. Juno's writer Diablo Cody will win. Aside from the fact that she arguably wrote the most insightful, witty screenplay in years her personal story is one that makes for fun news fodder (she was formerly a stripper). It is also an opportunity for the academy to award a deserving film without giving it the Best Film award. The shame in that is that Michael Clayton's sarastic, twisting conversation thriller winds up odd man out. One final note, I need the Ratatouille nomination explained to me in tiny language. I love me an animated film as much as the next one, but the second you have three authors credited means you are writing by committee. MY BET - Juno
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published *Otherwise known as - Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominees:
Atonement, Christopher Hampton
Away from Her, Sarah Polley
Scaphandre et le papillon, Le, Ronald Harwood
No Country for Old Men, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson
While this isn't a lock, No Country for Old Men is the good bet. If it does win, expect a sweep of the top categories it is nominated for in the last hour of the show. If by some stroke of cruelty, if Javier Bardem loses than this category is wide open. I actually think the dark horse is the French film, The Diving Butterfly. It is a unique film that is shot and told from the perspective of a man who suffers a stroke that leaves all but his left eye paralyzed, the story of his life/containment is told through the visions and imagination of the places he has not been and wished to journey to in his lifetime. Strange I know, but so unbelievably original, it may take it in an upset. Away from Her also has an outside shot here. It is a heartbreaking tale of compassion and the real depth of love in face of alzheimer's disease. Again, the Cohen brothers are beloved in the academy, the movie has moments of genius and the momentum going into Sunday night.
MY BET - No Country for Old Men
QUICK FOOTNOTE -- LOST - OMG!!!! So Kate is raising Aaron. I suspect we now know who the survivor is that will be killed either next week or week after next. What an amazing comeback season they are having.
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Juno, Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl, Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille, Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco
The Savages, Tamara Jenkins
OK, this is a no brainer. Juno's writer Diablo Cody will win. Aside from the fact that she arguably wrote the most insightful, witty screenplay in years her personal story is one that makes for fun news fodder (she was formerly a stripper). It is also an opportunity for the academy to award a deserving film without giving it the Best Film award. The shame in that is that Michael Clayton's sarastic, twisting conversation thriller winds up odd man out. One final note, I need the Ratatouille nomination explained to me in tiny language. I love me an animated film as much as the next one, but the second you have three authors credited means you are writing by committee. MY BET - Juno
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published *Otherwise known as - Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominees:
Atonement, Christopher Hampton
Away from Her, Sarah Polley
Scaphandre et le papillon, Le, Ronald Harwood
No Country for Old Men, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson
While this isn't a lock, No Country for Old Men is the good bet. If it does win, expect a sweep of the top categories it is nominated for in the last hour of the show. If by some stroke of cruelty, if Javier Bardem loses than this category is wide open. I actually think the dark horse is the French film, The Diving Butterfly. It is a unique film that is shot and told from the perspective of a man who suffers a stroke that leaves all but his left eye paralyzed, the story of his life/containment is told through the visions and imagination of the places he has not been and wished to journey to in his lifetime. Strange I know, but so unbelievably original, it may take it in an upset. Away from Her also has an outside shot here. It is a heartbreaking tale of compassion and the real depth of love in face of alzheimer's disease. Again, the Cohen brothers are beloved in the academy, the movie has moments of genius and the momentum going into Sunday night.
MY BET - No Country for Old Men
QUICK FOOTNOTE -- LOST - OMG!!!! So Kate is raising Aaron. I suspect we now know who the survivor is that will be killed either next week or week after next. What an amazing comeback season they are having.
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