Sunday Night TV Recap

Just finished Sunday Night TV on ABC... here are super sentence recaps:

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

An indoor jungle gym? A zoo room? A lifesize dollhouse? This show may have to go off the air--it's making people like me wish there was something wrong in our lives so we could get a cool new house for free. Not good.

Desperate Housewives

Just... ew. Porter and his best friend's mom? Ew. Katherine and Mike doing the dirty in the kitchen? Ew. The old lady from Six Feet Under moving in on the Solises? Ew. And dumb. I suddenly like this show again, though. Great.

Brothers and Sisters

A lot of inexplicable actions in this episode--not the least of which was Kitty totally sabotaging her adoption and Nora bringing George Laffterty to the party. PS Justin + Rebecca = booooooring. 

See you next week!

I's snitting by Orpoh

Alright so last week I was pumped for the return of 30 Rock, but sort of underwhelmed by the first episode of the season. 

Any underwhelmment (is that even a word?) went out the window with this week's episode featuring guest star Oprah. I was wondering how they were going to work Oprah as herself into the script--I should've known it would be genius. It's Tina Fey and crew, after all. 

I loved every aspect of the plot of this episode--Tracy vs. Jenna making themselves up to role play the other's life, Kenneth's tetherball Olympic champion idol proving to be a fake (and him stealing cable in the end!) and Liz Lemon flying to Chicago to get out of jury duty by pretending to think she was Princess Leia. Lemon running her mouth to the woman she thought was Oprah was totally priceless. And the surprise ending was the perfect cherry on top of this fantastic episode. 

If you haven't already watched it, get on NBC.com and watch it. Right now. Then come back and tell me how much you loved it, cause I know you will. Don't tell Michael Scott, but I laughed harder at 30 Rock this week than I did at The Office. 

Two More Quickie Reviews

Changeling
This movie moved me to tears and made me writhe in my seat, beyond uncomfortable thinking what I would do if I was in Angelina Jolie's terrible situation. You'd think after Pride and Glory, I'd have enough of bad cops, but this movie took police corruption to a whole new level--especially since this was a true story! Jolie shines as the main character, and the guy who plays the crazy man on the ranch is perfect for his part (as is the Police Captain). Overall I liked this movie a lot more than other critics and highly recommend giving it a chance. ****

High School Musical 3

I may have been the oldest person there without a child, but it was worth the potential embarrassment to enjoy Zac Efron and friends in their Senior Year at East High. While the costumes and sets were much more high quality, what with a feature film budget and all, I wasn't as impressed with the songs as I was with the made-for-TV HSM 1 and 2. Make fun all you want, but had Zac Efron not been in this movie for some big screen eye candy, it wouldn't have come close to rivaling the original or first sequel. That said, it was fun and peppy and is sure to please its actual target audience--kids and tweens. ***

LOST is Found

ABC has announced a premiere date for Lost Season 5! Get ready for the probably-shouldn't to happen--they apparently return to the island... after spending four seasons trying to get off of it. Only on Lost would that be exciting!

On January 21, we find out why Locke was in a coffin, why Ben wants them back on the island, why Jack has such a crazy beard, and where Claire went! Although, knowing Lost, we won't get any of those answers and instead be presented with 1000 new questions.

But that's what makes us love it! Check out the season promo:

INSERT VIDEO TEASER HERE

History! Victory!

After what seemed like a hundred thousand years, but only a few hours into actual Election Night, the television networks projected Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States and our first African-American president. History was made last night and I couldn't be more excited.

Maybe he won't be able to do everything he has promised, but change is already here--there is no way around that. I wasn't screaming in the streets or bawling my eyes out, but I may have gotten a little misty eyed listening to his speech and watching the new First Family onstage in Grant Park.

INSERT VIDEO OF SPEECH HERE

As much as I'd have liked to see a woman get it first, I am thrilled that history was made in the form of Barack Obama. Now only 90 more days and we'll see what he's gonna do with it.

The Immaculate Election

(A little Arrested Development throwback for you)

So here I sit, stomach in knots, yelling at the TV and cursing Kansas and its lousy conservatives.


I can only imagine McCain, sitting in one of his many (did his staff ever get back to us with how many?) homes in Arizona with Botox Barbie on one arm and Caribou Barbie on the other. Across the country, Joe Biden polishes his teeth and Obama marvels at the crazy college kids sprinting across Grant Park to get a spot as close to the stage as possible... even though nobody will speak there for many hours.

I count down the minutes between poll closings along with Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper on CNN, David Gregory on MSNBC, Charles Gibson on ABC and Brian Williams on NBC. I am undoubtedly a major channel flipper. I am also a multi-tasker--posting here, watching the minute-by-minute electoral map updates on MSNBC.com and checking Bloglines for other updates. Oh and I'm also texting friends and playing Quadrum on my phone.

Obama's electoral count is rising, but will it be enough to put him over the 270 mark?

Honestly? I wish it would just go ahead and happen cause I'm already yawning. Uh oh.

Election Bash: I'm Getting Nauseous

It's T-Minus 24 hours until we (might) know the results of the 2008 Presidential Election.

Finally.

Despite looking forward to the relief of the race actually being finished, I can't help but feel a little sick to my stomach thinking about what might happen--either way.

Rather than watch the CBS Election Special on tonight, I'm tuning in to SNL's Presidential Bash to revisit all the great sketches from this election season as well as years past. I'm sure to get my fill of Brian Williams, CNN Newsroom, George Stephanopolous and everyone else (and their brothers) covering Election Night 2008 tomorrow night, so I'm sticking with Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, Amy Poehler and other historic political impressionists.

That is, if I can keep my dinner down.

TOMORROW NIGHT: I'll join in the millions of blog reporters and live update during Election coverage. Let's hope I get any sleep tomorrow night!

The Return of Quickie Movie Reviews

Even though I may not have been blogging a lot lately, but I definitely have not been slacking in the movie-going department. Here are three quickie reviews from recent weekends:

The Duchess
Gorgeous costumes, gorgeous scenery, gorgeous sets, gorgeous Keira Knightley. Not so great? The way men treated women back then. We may not be equal yet, but my God at least we've made a few advances. It may have yet-another-Keira-Knightley-period-film, but at least it was well done! ****



W.
Josh Brolin's Bush chuckle was spot on. Dick Cheney looked like a total D-Bag. Elizabeth Banks' Laura Bush never aged a day. Condoleezza Rice managed to annoy me more than ever before. But it was actually quite interesting. It definitely wasn't the Bush bash I expected from Oliver Stone... at least until the last 10 minutes. Unfortunately it may have been the most entertaining 10 minutes of the film. ***

Pride and Glory
Could've just been another good cop-bad cop movie but this movie was a little more complex than its police drama counterparts. Several big twists kept my interest for the entire 2+ hours--although I'm sure super talented Edward Norton helped, too. And who would've guessed? Colin Farrell was great as a cussing, corrupt cop. ****


I know what you're thinking: only three? Don't worry, three (plus) more reviews to come in the near future...

It's Unfair and It's Wrong

I may not live in California, but I still feel passionate about the issue at hand.

Samuel L. Jackson narrates this video, urging voters to defeat Proposition 8 which would ban gay marriage in the state. It is so relevant and effective to compare this issue to a history of discrimination:



If you live in California, vote No on Prop 8. Defeat discrimination and injustice.

Oh, Halloween!

I know it's like sacrilegious to some people, but I pretty much hate Halloween.

Costumes, ghosts, witches, trick or treating--it makes my skin crawl. Ugh.

That said, I will use today to make a pledge. I may have only made it through 210+ days of Blog 365, but I will challenge myself again to complete NaBloPoMo.

After all, it's what inspired the creation of this blog one year ago.

One year! Who would've thought I would keep it going? Let's call this happy blogiversary rather than Happy Halloween. Makes it a much more enjoyable day for me, at least.

So, here goes NaBloPoMo 2008... let the blogging begin (tomorrow, that is)!

Yeah, It's Been a While

That's the understatement of the year! It's been more than 2 months since my last post and I can't believe it. I was doing so well with Blog 365! That is, until I started teaching, of course.

I guess I made it 200+ days... that's somewhat of an accomplishment.

I thought about posting many times, but then felt like I had so much to catch up on. Now it's been so long, I guess I can basically start over.

So, loyal readers (of which there are none), I'm back. I will post when I have time and no, it won't be every day, but I promise not to disappear for 2 months again. I'm not sure I can handle the separation again.

RIP Bernie Mac

CNN is reporting that Bernie Mac died today, at the age of 50, from complications due to pneumonia.


Pneumonia? How strange and tragic! He was a very funny man and brought a great comedic presence to so many movies and television shows. Definitely a sudden and sad loss for the entertainment industry.

Read more about Bernie's life at CNN.com

8.8.08

8.8.08

Pretty cool, huh? Apparently they are supposed to have a record number of marriages today (just like last year on 7.7.07 and probably just like next year on 9.9.09)...

But what makes today wayyyyy better than all those other #-#-# dates?

The 2008 Summer Olympics start today! Finally!


And, in perfect fashion, the opening ceremonies are tonight at 8:08pm. Should be exciting!

Give Me a Little Paul Rudd and I'm Happy

I came across this trailer over at Buzz Sugar for the movie Role Models. Sean William Scott sort of annoys me, and the plot seems kind of overdone, but honestly? Give me a little Paul Rudd and I'm happy. I really can't stop staring--he is just so darn cute. Look at how normal he is--buying AMC concession stand treats before seeing Pineapple Express:



Oh yeah, here's a trailer for that movie:


Role Models - Theatrical Trailer

Vinne Chase and Crew are Back in Sept.

After a super long time between seasons (thanks, of course, to the writer's strike), Entourage finally returns at the beginning of September. I can't wait to see what happens in the aftermath of Medillin's bomb at Cannes.

HBO is showing little tiny teasers to get people (like me) pumped. Here's one (though it isn't much):

Detour

Tonight I planned on being productive.
Tonight I planned on doing a real post, since quality has been lacking lately.

Instead...
Tonight I spent the night playing around on VistaPrint.com.
You can make all this cool stuff--like business cards, post-its, stickers, notepads, etc.-- for free.

FREE.

All you do is pay shipping and handling.

Too amazing.

One-Line Recaps

1. Mad Men
Your dad died in a plane crash? My baby will cry for you.

2. High School Musical: Get in the Picture
Are these kids supposed to be able to sing? Act? At least they can clap, I guess.

3. Weeds
Holy naked-Nancy, Batman!

4. Secret Diary
Just hook up already, Ben and Hannah. You know you want it.

Yeah, I'm too busy/tired/bored to actually be clever. Sorry.
Maybe tomorrow night.

Random Movie Trailer

Still reading (I know I should be done by now but I did have to be a little productive and it is 750+ pages long) so here's a trailer for a movie I had never heard of but looks like it might be fun:

Sex Drive (looks better than the title sounds AND James Marsden is in it!):

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Too Busy Reading to Post

I am not being productive, working on anything for school, cleaning my house or hanging out with friends.

I am reading Breaking Dawn like the cool kid I am.

So don't bother me.

But feel free to read about how it's breaking sales records...

Do You Realize What Today Is?

Today is August 1.

It is not just the first day of the second half of the year. It's not just the first day I get my health insurance back. It is not just another Friday.

Today (or rather, tonight), Breaking Dawn is released in bookstores everywhere.


If I can stay awake long enough, I will stand in line at Border's until 12:00AM when I get my hands on a copy and probably start reading immediately.

Call me a teenage-wanna-be but I'm pumped.

TEAM EDWARD!