Appointment Television 30 Rock
Better Off Ted
Big Love
Big Bang Theory
Californication
The Daily Show
Dexter
Entourage
Friday Night Lights
Lost
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Mad Men
The Middle
Modern Family
Rescue Me
Robot Chicken
The Office
South Park
True Blood
The Tudors
Homework TV
House
How I Met Your Mother
Saturday Night Live (w/DVR fast-forward)
Two and a Half Men
Guilty Pleasures
Batman: Brave & The Bold
Clone Wars
Glee?
Legend of the Seeker
On the Bubble
Community
Cougar Town
Grey's Anatomy
The Riches
The United States of Tara
Weeds Currently Catching Up
NewsRadio (finished s4)
Curb (on s5)
To-Do List
Malcolm in the Middle
Nip/Tuck
Sons of Anarchy
Have Definitely Seen Every Single Episode
Action
Angel
Battlestar Galactica
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Carnivale
Coupling (BBC)
Dead Like Me
Deadwood
Dollhouse
Firefly
Freaks & Geeks
The Mighty Boosh (BBC)
The Loop
My Name Is Earl
Rome
Scrubs
Sex and the City
The Shield
Slings & Arrows
The Sopranos
Anything with “Star” in the title (...unless there's dancing)
Spaced (BBC)
West Wing
Wonder Falls
Veronica Mars
So currently in limited release is Repo! The Genetic Opera.
I can’t tell whether I should see this movie. I mean, some reviews imply that it’s one of the more original artworks to come along in years. Meanwhile, the presence of Anthony Stewart Head, especially if he’ll be singing, makes this Buffy fan immediately vow to see the movie.
However, this clashes with my directive to never, ever, ever contribute in any way to Paris Hilton’s right to appear in any non-porn. Plus… Sarah Brightman? That’s just weird. And, it’s from the people behind Saw, officially the most successful franchise I will never see.
Maybe it’s not as cool as the Beowulfone I put up yesterday, but I’m no less excited by Iron Man.
With a release date of next May, clearly this is Marvel’s attempt at filling the Spider-Man void (till the 2009 release of Spider-Man 4, according to IMDb, but it’s hard to say how official that news is…) I’m curious to see if a relatively more obscure comic book hero like Iron Man can translate to a big box office hit the way the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises did. The trailer looks great. It’s got star power in Robert Downy Jr. and Gwynneth Paltrow, plus a nicely character-driven story line. (Tony Stark, Iron Man’s secret identity, is a billionaire weapons tycoon with a drinking problem and physical limitations.)
Then again, Ghost Rider had all that going for it, too…
I have long said that Robert Zemekis is one of the most underrated directors alive, especially when it comes to pushing the technology envelope. But this new Beowulf trailer is truly amazing. Look at the screen capture above. Did you realize that it’s 100% computer animation? I didn’t pick up on the fact that it was animated until viewing the trailer a second time… and I knew already! This is why I love fall movies!
Fall has long been my favorite season. The leaves go orange, the air turns crisp, and the mindless summer tentpoles give way to passion project Oscar bait. Of course, we’re not free from knock-offs of previous box-office champs, nor from standard Hollywood drivel. Still, the percentage of art-house fare rises, and I couldn’t be happier. There are quite a few I’m looking forward to this fall and winter.
I think the movie I most expect to love is Elizabeth: The Golden Age, coming October 12. Queen Elizabeth was a badass, and so is Cate Blanchett. If the trailer is to be believed, this movie will move past political intrigue to full-on war. Sweet. After a summer dripping with franchise sequels, here’s a story that actually begs for a trilogy. I’m glad director Shekar Kapur was able to convince Blanchett that this needed to happen.
Next would have to be Sweeny Todd, due December 21. I’m preparing myself for the kind of disappointment I felt from Corpse Bride and Sleepy Hollow. Tim Burton can only do so many Johnny Depp, Helena Bonnam-Carter movies, wallowing in cartoony darkness, before we all turn on him. But something tells me that tackling a Sondheim musical with a story that just shouldn’t be will summon up the best in Burton. Bringing us the demon barber of Fleet Street, in song, will no doubt push Burton out of his comfort zone, and that’s often where the best art happens. Allan Rickman may be the aspect to which I most look forward form this outing.
Then, on January 18, we get “Cloverfield.” Not since The Blair Witch Project has a movie so effectively generated preliminary buzz. Considering we haven’t even been told a damn thing about the movie, (Cloverfield isn’t even its real name…) some marketing guy somewhere clearly deserves a promotion. It has worked on me. There’s no way the movie can deliver on the promises of the marvelous trailer, but I’ll still be in line when it comes out.
You know what movie was pretty darn good? Bridge to Terabithia. It has been sitting unwatched on my desk for a couple weeks, as other Netflix movies have come and gone, and tonight I put it in for background noise, expecting Narnia lite.
The trailer for this movie was second in recent memory only to Pan’s Labyrinth in setting up false expectations. In both cases, we’re led to believe we will see a story of children entering a fantasy land of mysterious creatures, but in neither is that what the movie is ABOUT. Terabithia is a coming of age piece exploring themes of loss, imagination, and young love/friendship. Best child actors I’ve seen in a while. The movie captures the moment between child and teen in a way that few stories can.
If you’re at all given to family fare with adult appeal, it’s worth renting. I’m going to read the book.
Fall has long been my favorite season. The leaves go orange, the air turns crisp, and the mindless summer tentpoles give way to passion project Oscar bait. Of course, we’re not free from knock-offs of previous box-office champs, nor from standard Hollywood drivel. Still, the percentage of art-house fare rises, and I couldn’t be happier. There are quite a few I’m looking forward to this fall and winter.
