New Fall Shows

The Fall Television Season is officially underway, and here are some of the new shows I've tried watching.

New Shows I love:

The Mentalist (CBS) -- I have been a fan of Simon Baker for quite awhile, and I just can't get enough of him. He is very charming in this show where he portrays a former "psychic" who now uses his skills to work for the CBI (California Bureau of Investigations). He is not really psychic (he says there's no such thing), his real skills are observing and manipulating people to get them to reveal the truth. He constantly frustrates the people he works with, because he is able to read people and instantly know if they are lying or telling the truth, but he can't provide physical evidence to prove them innocent or guilty. He often clashes with the head of the department because he wants her to follow up on leads, even though he can't prove why he believes the way he does. Of course, he's usually right, which drives her crazy. This show should fit in well on CBS, with all of the other crime dramas it has. This one has a lighter tone than the CSI shows, with more humor than most.


Raising the Bar (TNT) -- A legal drama, but what I love about this show is that it's more about the lawyers than the actual cases. Every week we see the various attorneys (District Attorneys and Public Defenders) as they work on their cases, but only a small portion is spent in the courtroom. Instead we see what goes on behind the scenes in the judges chambers, jail cell conversations and office politics. My only complaint is Mark-Paul Gosselaar's hair. Please cut it already!


Do Not Disturb (FOX) -- already canceled. I actually enjoyed the humor of this show, starring Jerry O'Connell and Niecy Nash, but Fox canceled it after only 3 shows, so it's pointless for me to say anything more about it.




New Shows I am Lukewarm about (keep watching, but I'm not hooked):

Fringe (FOX) -- JJ Abrams has a 50/50 record with me: I LOVED Alias, but couldn't care less about Lost. So, I went into Fringe with an open mind. And I'm saddened to say that this show really just hasn't hooked me yet. The storylines are so convoluted, it's hard to follow what's going on and I feel like nothing is accomplished each week. At least with Alias, they would solve little mysteries each week, even as the plot got more and more complicated. I enjoy the humor that Joshua Jackson's character brings in his interactions with his father on the show. And for now, that humor is all that's keeping me tuned into this show week after week. I will keep watching, though, and hopefully it gets better.


The Ex List (CBS) -- I am typically a fan of "cutesy chick flicky" type shows, but this one might even be too cutesy for me. The premise is that a woman goes to a psychic who reveals to her that she must get married within the next year, or she will remain single for the rest of her life. The catch? The man she's meant to be with is someone that she has already dated in her past. So each week she's going to go back through her previous relationships to re-examine them and see if she can find her "soul mate." The problem I have with this show is that it's billed as a "romantic" love story, but you don't really know who to root for! If she's going from guy to guy each week, then you already know in advance that these relationships aren't going to work out. It's only been 1 episode, though, and I believe in giving shows 3 episodes to hook me, so I will keep watching, for now. It's not like there's much else on tv on Friday night's anyways!

Gary Unmarried (CBS) -- This show is really not that great, but it's not bad either, so that's why I put it in this category. It's more of a "background" show, in my opinion, which means I will put it on in the background while I do other things, but I don't feel like I have to pay attention to it. Some of the jokes are pretty funny, but some fall flat, so for now, I give it a "well, I didn't hate it."


Coming Soon:

My thoughts on Privileged, Kath & Kim, and My Own Worst Enemy

Movies Opening Week of Oct. 3, 2008

This will be a crazy weekend at the movie theaters, because there are 8 movies opening. No matter what the movies are, when you have this many opening all at once, it makes for a very busy movie theater! I don't know that every movie theater has these 8 movies opening this week, but here they are (movie descriptions come from Yahoo! Movies):

An American Carol


A cynical, Anti-American "Hollywood" filmmaker sets out on a crusade to abolish the 4th of July holiday. He is visited by three spirits who take him on a journey in an attempt to show him the true meaning of America.


Appaloosa


When two gunmen, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, arrive in Appaloosa they find a small, dusty and lawless town suffering at the hands of renegade rancher Randall Bragg. Bragg has not only taken supplies, horses, and women for his own, but also has left the city marshal and a deputy for dead. In Bragg they find an unusually wily adversary who raises the stakes by playing with emotions. It is now up to Cole and Hitch to stand against the actions of the renegade rancher, which have already taken their toll on the town.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua



A pampered Beverly Hills Chihuahua named Chloe finds herself accidentally lost in the mean streets of Mexico without a day spa or Rodeo Drive boutique anywhere in sight. Now alone for the first time in her spoiled life, she must rely on some unexpected new friends -- including a street-hardened German Shepherd named Delgado and an amorous pup named Papi -- to lend her a paw and help her to find her inner strength on their incredible journey back home.


Blindness


When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine.




Flash of Genius


Based on the true story of college professor and part-time inventor Robert Kearns' long battle with the U.S. automobile industry. When Bob invents a device that would eventually be used by every car in the world, the Kearns think they have struck gold. But their aspirations are dashed after the auto giants who embraced Bob's creation unceremoniously shunned the man who invented it. Ignored, threatened and then buried in years of litigation, Bob is haunted by what was done to his family and their future. He becomes a man obsessed with justice and the conviction that his life's work -- or for that matter, anyone's work -- be acknowledged by those who stood to benefit. And while paying the toll for refusing to compromise his dignity, this everyday David will try the unthinkable: to bring Goliath to his knees.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People


Sidney Young, a smalltime, bumbling, British celebrity journalist, is hired by an upscale magazine in New York City. In spectacular fashion Sidney enters high society and burns bridges with bosses, peers and superstars. After disrupting one black-tie event by allowing a wild pig to run rampant, Sidney catches the attention of Clayton Harding, editor of Sharp, and accepts a job with the magazine in New York City. Clayton warns Sidney that he'd better impress and charm everyone he can, if he wants to succeed. Instead, Sidney instantly insults and annoys fellow writer Alison Olsen. Sidney, of course, doesn't stop there, finding creative ways to annoy nearly everyone. His saving graces: a rising, sexy starlet develops an odd affection for him, and in time, Alison whose friendship with him might be the only thing saving Sidney from torpedoing his career.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist


Nick frequents New York's indie rock scene nursing a broken heart and playing the bass with his band, The Jerk Offs. Norah is questioning pretty much all of her assumptions about the world. Though they have nothing in common except for their taste in music, their chance encounter leads to an all-night quest to find a legendary band's secret show and ends up becoming a first date that could change both their lives.


Religulous


Comedian Bill Maher examines the presence of religion in many of the big news stories of recent years, from Muslim riots over cartoons to the Ten Commandments in front of courthouses, a born-again Christian in the White House and Scientology in the birthing room.






So, you see, there is quite a selection for you to go see this weekend. Just about something for everyone!

Personally, I am looking forward to seeing Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

According to an insider I have at the local movie theater, the big movie this weekend is Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I guess because it's been awhile since a "kids" movie has been released.

Hamlet 2

Hamlet 2 is what I would call a "renter." You know, the kind of movie that is somewhat entertaining, but you shouldn't waste $10 to go see it?

I don't really have anything bad to say about the movie except that you should avoid it if you are easily offended. The humor is very similar to that of South Park, which likes to take aim at anything and everything. The same goes for Hamlet 2. No one is spared!

The movie had some really great, funny moments, but also fell flat during many parts. David Arquette, who has the potential to be a very funny actor wasn't given anything to do in this movie. Elizabeth Shue, on the other hand was a joy to watch. I love to see actors poking fun of themselves in movies (Neil Patrick Harris in Harold & Kumar comes to mind as a favorite of mine.)

But by far the best part of the movie was when we finally get to see the play at the very end of the movie. The musical numbers are ridiculous and offensive and very catchy! Try to get "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" out of your head after seeing it.

Speaking of that song, I feel the need to stick up for it in the movie. Knowing people who work at a movie theater, I know that there have been a lot of complaints about the trailer for Hamlet 2, because of that song. People find it offensive. What I find ridiculous is that the people that were complaining about Hamlet 2 being offensive were there watching Tropic Thunder, which has offensive content on it's own!

So, the bottom line is, if the title of the song "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" offends you, then just skip the movie, because it only goes downhill from there. But if you are open to all kinds of humor, then I recommend you see Hamlet 2. Just wait til it comes out on dvd and rent it!

Big Brother 10 -- Final Two

Tonight was the final Head of Household competition for this season of Big Brother. We found out that Dan won round one of the competition, leaving Memphis and Jerry to vie for the second position in the final round. Memphis easily kicked Jerry's butt in the competition ( 8 minutes to Jerry's 51 minutes) which meant that Dan and Memphis got to compete in round 3. Dan won, and it was no surprise (to anyone except maybe Jerry) that Dan chose to evict Jerry and take Memphis with him to the finals.



Dan and Memphis have had the "Renegades" alliance since week 4, and I have to give them both so much credit. Dan played this game the best out of everyone; he lost when he need to look weak and won when he needed the power to save himself. He "betrayed" people and voted people out, never forgetting that "this is a game." In a season when so many of the houseguests took things personally and forgot the whole point of the show, Dan always remained cool, calm, and in control.



Memphis played a strong game, too, though. Brian mentioned in the first week that Memphis was not to be discounted, and no one believed him. Memphis won the first luxury challenge, yet still he didn't have a target on him. Memphis coasted along each week, never having to win an HOH competition. He made alliances when he needed to, broke those alliances when he needed to and also followed the mantra of "it's only a game."

This is the first time in many seasons of Big Brother, where I can actually argue for each of them to win the prize money. My preference is probably Dan, because he did stick his neck out on the line and make more "big" moves in the game.

I am looking forward to seeing how the jury members choose the big winner next Tuesday.

Go see The Rocker

I am a huge fan of the US version of The Office. I imagine that the cast must really get along well and has so much fun working together. If you have any doubt as to the relationship these stars have with each other, than look no further than the support that The Office cast members are showing to Rainn Wilson as he promotes his new movie The Rocker, which opens August 20th.

It all started with a blog on Jenna Fischer's Myspace page saying that Rainn Wilson had kidnapped her and won't let her go unless his movie makes $18.7 million at the box office opening weekend. That idea has branched off into a hilarious web site, full of blogs and videos. Check it out, you won't be disappointed!


www.freejennanow.com

Olympics Opening Ceremony

Tonight is the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. I'm not a huge follower of the Olympics, but I do prefer the Summer Olympics to the winter ones. I've always enjoyed the gymnastics and swimming events, so I will probably check those out as they air on tv.

The thing I hate about the Olympics being held in a country that's so far away is that everything has already happened by the time it airs on tv. For example, the Opening Ceremony is tonight on NBC, but I came online this morning and found an article with pictures of the whole event. I know that it doesn't make sense to air events early in the morning and during the day. NBC wants to capitalize on the most viewers, so they want to air the events in the evening when more people are home to watch, but I still get bummed out when you can read all about the winners before the events have even aired on tv.

I guess the bottom line is this: If you are the type of person who doesn't like spoilers, then you'll probably want to avoid the News pages on the Internet over the next few weeks so you don't get the results of the competitions ruined for you.

With that being said, Good luck to all of the athletes over in China. Go USA!!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

I went and saw this movie last night, and my opinion is that it was a nice way to spend 2 hours. I was a fan of the first movie (not a huge fan, in that I don't own the movie on dvd and I haven't read any of the books that these movies are based on) but I did enjoy it and I've been known to watch it several times on tv.

The sequel picks up a couple of years after the first movie and at this point the girls have graduated from high school and have finished their first year of college. The girls are older, so the problems and issues that they face are a little more "grown up" than before, but the heart of the movie remains the same. It's about four friends as they try to navigate growing up, falling in love, and determining their place in life.

I won't go into too much detail about the movie, if you don't know what the synopsis is, then my guess is that you wouldn't be interested in this movie. However, If you saw the first one and liked it, then this is a great little sequel and gives you another chance to spend some time with these four unique, very different friends.