Recent movies

I went to see Super 8 this weekend... loved it! Although it dragged a bit in the beginning, for the most part, I thought it was great, the kids were great, and I especially liked this character...



And of course it did not hurt to have Coach Taylor, AKA Kyle Chandler...



Another movie I really liked from this spring was Win Win.

And of course, Bridesmaids, which was hilarious. As usual, I would say that Judd Apatow needs to remember that comedies are 90 minutes for a reason. But really funny, and one of the funniest endings I have seen in a while. Kristen Wiig. She can do no wrong.

I couldn't be less interested in the superhero and comic book movies that are coming out now... but I am very excited for this one...



It looks cute and funny, and I love....



LOVE...



Really LOVE...



Really like...



But... unfortunately...really can't stand....



She's in Anne Hathaway territory for me. But I'll still see it. No blue make-up involved, so I hope it is good.

The highlight of my weekend....

FNL

Okay, people, here's your chance. "Friday Night Lights" is coming to ABCFamily and you can watch it from the beginning.

check it out here. You won't be sorry. (mostly I'm talking to people that may be on maternity leave right now.)

it's, like, so good!!

best reviewed movies of the year

Besides Precious, which I loved, I've seen a few other movies that have been praised by the critics. My review on all of them is "Really? What's the big deal?" That includes:

Up in the Air. Yes, George Clooney looks great in a suit and I do like the relationship between him and his protege. Other than that? I feel like it's a story that's been told before.

Broken Embraces. I found myself trying to read my watch during the movie. I guess some people are comparing this movie to Alfred Hitchcock movies, which I admit, I've seen very few of. But still, I wasn't really entertained.

A Single Man. A beautiful exploration of grief. But kinda boring. Still love Mr. Darcy, though!

None of these movies would beat out a good night at home, watching Friday Night Lights!

One last plea

I love Friday Night Lights. Very few people watch it. It might get cancelled. Tonight is the first night of season three on NBC. It's good. You should watch. Or if not, turn your TV to NBC and go to bed. I don't care. I just want a fourth season.

You can watch past seasons here.

FNL season 3

it's on! If you have DirecTV, which I now do. If you don't, you can (and should) watch in February on NBC.

What I really want to write about is...

... the craziness in the political world right now! Seriously, lipstick on a pig? This is making headlines??

Instead, I'm going to do my fall TV preview, which I know you are all dying to read. Last year, I had a very difficult time choosing shows because there were so many to choose from (most did not pan out). This year, I'm very pleased to say that there are few to watch. I am assuming this is because of the writer's strike so few new shows were created during this time (I think this also means that shows that weren't doing so well got a second chance that they may not have otherwise). This makes me happy because I am overwhelmed with work--I don't need to be overwhelmed with something that I'm supposed to enjoy.

So... First of all, I have to say that the best show on TV right now is "Mad Men." They just started their second season on AMC back in July, I believe, and thank goodness because there was nothing on this summer. Not even reruns of "30 Rock" which I would have watched every single week. Just before "Mad Men" season two premiered, they showed a marathon one Sunday afternoon into evening. Leolani and I watched 4 or 5 in a row that day and then I watched two a night until the premiere, which was on a Sunday night. If you are not watching, you can get season one on DVD. It is really good and those people are messed up!!

Okay, new shows:

I'll admit it, I recorded "90210." There! I said it! But then I asked Jill and she said it was terrible and Leolani gave me a look like, "are you kidding?" and then I remembered what a terrible love/hate thing I had with it in the first place that I decided to delete from my DVR and felt satisfied with that choice. Then... Leolani said she liked it and I heard that it was getting good ratings and I do love Jessica Walter, and now what am I supposed to do? Help!



Okay, moving on...
Paging through EW, I get all the way to Tuesday before there is a show for me!

Fringe -- a show by JJ Abrams that is being compared to "X-Files" and "Alias" and "Twilight Zone." I have to give it a shot, although I'm only mildly interested. It says in EW that it's not supposed to start until Sept. 19 but it might have started last night. I turned it on in the middle of a car chase and couldn't keep myself interested long enough to watch the end of the car chase. Now that I have DVR, I can't stand to watch shows in the middle and I can't stand to watch commercials.
The Mentalist --appears slightly interesting, I like the lead actor, but it is likely not going to make it into the rotation.
Gary Unmarried -- could be painful, but I like Jay Mohr. It's on the same time as ANTM and Pushing Daisies, so we'll see.
Life on Mars -- another one I might try out but not really thrilling me.
Kath & Kim -- looks funny and I love Molly Shannon!
Returning shows I'm most excited for...
Friday Night Lights -- I'm so happy they are giving this show a chance! It's only on Direct TV from Oct. - Feb. and I am actually considering changing cable companies just for this show. I have seasons one and two on DVD if anyone wants to catch up before the premiere on network TV in February.
And The Office and 30 Rock of course, so look for the quotes coming up on or around September 25!

FNL

Another reason to love it... now they have a foster child on the show!

Finally, Finally, Finally

I'm caught up on FNL!! yipee! I have to say that I put it off a little because I wanted something to look forward to. I finished season 1 two weeks ago in a 5 hour marathon (totally worth it). Then I watched one episode each night after work last night (also, a great way to do it). Have I mentioned that I LOVE this show??

I had been hearing that season 2 was a little disappointing. There is one story line that's pretty annoying, I admit. Don't want to give it away because I know not everyone is watching this show (but everyone should!), but basically, someone killed someone out of self-defense and then didn't report it. Don't people know that self-defense is a REAL defense!? People do it all the time and don't go to jail for it! But the rest of the plotline for these two characters is so good, I just pretend the murder isn't even part of the show. Murder? What murder?

The other good thing about this season is that all the guys on the show have gotten hotter over the summer. Which definitely helps.

My friend informed me today that they are pulling new episodes off the schedule due to the writer's strike. This means that there may not be new eps for a while... and that we may not get a full schedule. I supported this writer's strike until this minute!!

Update

So, I wrote a few days ago that my roommate stayed up until 2 am watching FNL... she really stayed up until SEVEN IN THE MORNING and watched the entire season! Then she took a shower and went to work. She did not sleep one bit. I asked her, "You know I own this, right? You know you could have finished it the next day, right?"



seriously,FNL is... like.... so good!!

Another new convert

Anne Lise converts her friends to the church. I convert people to TV shows (see earlier post regarding Arrested Development).

The season premier of Friday Night Lights was two Fridays ago. I am still on disc 4 of season 1. What is wrong with me? I have been so busy, I have not been able to finish it and it's pissing me off! My roommate, however, caught up to me in ONE DAY. She started disc 1 after church yesterday and stayed up until at least 2 am last night watching.

Clearly...

I took on too much, considering I haven't watched any of the new shows I said I was going to watch. I did watch "Private Practice" and I'm already bored of it, so that will be easy to give up. I only watched the first "Gossip Girl" and haven't gotten around to watching the second one yet, and there is already a third. Oh yeah, and "Chuck", which was underwhelming.

For returning shows, "Heroes" was only vaguely interesting to me. I watched the "previously on" for "Grey's Anatomy" and as they recapped each storyline, I said, "I hate that one, I hate that one, Not interested, oh yea Izzie loves George and I hate that one..." so I wasn't too interested in any of it. I only like Alex and Mark, and neither of them have plotlines at the moment (Mark hasn't really even had one except to be second fiddle to Addison).

So, basically, all I care about is "Friday Night Lights" which I went out and bought rather than wait for it to come with Netflix. It was the best decision I ever made. This show is so good. Here's some of the topics they have been covering:
Domestic violence
The effect of the Iraq war on military families
Steriods in sports
Racism
The economy/Lack of jobs in small towns
Teenage drinking

I have the last two discs left and I felt depressed when I realized that there are only 10 episodes left to watch. But, the new season starts on Friday, so I'll continue to get a fix.

Of course, I still have "30 Rock" tonight and "The Office."
And that's it. I'll see if I can talk about anything other than TV in my next posting.

my new favorite show

(that won't be the last time you read that title, btw)

Last year, there were so many new shows in the fall season that I was excited about, that I decided not to add "Friday Night Lights" to my list. For a few reasons: (1) I saw the movie and thought it was boring and overrated, (2) it's about football, (3) in Texas. When all the other new shows didn't pan out (i.e. "Brothers and Sisters," "The Nine," "Six Degrees") and FNL was getting great reviews (including the love and adoration of my roommate) I wanted to add it midseason. However, in this day and age, there's no reason to do that since you can just wait until the summer and get the whole season on DVD. Which is what I did last week. I've now seen the first four episodes and I'm hooked. It is so much more than football!

But... it is still about football. HIGH SCHOOL football. In Texas. Where high school football appears to be more important than anything else. Which is pretty weird.