Last night, we saw The Adjustment Bureau. It’s a pity nothing better is out for us to see, because we’ve been heavy into the movies this week (one of us will be seeing both Never Say Never and Red Riding Hood soon, so get excited). Now, we didn't spoil anything here, but we did make a comment about whether we liked the ending or not, so if you don't want to see that, be warned.
This movie was frustrating for us, because it had a love story we cared about, at least a little, and an interesting premise that the story sometimes took advantage of. There was tension, excitement, and running. The movie also explored the theme of free will versus fate, an often-debated and mused-over topic, in a fun way. It's also nice to see a movie that wasn't completely ruined by the trailer.
But there were some gaps in this movie’s logic, at least for us. Also, we weren’t nuts about the quick-fix ending. It wasn’t as disappointing as the ending to, say, Secret Window, but it was no Sixth Sense. The movie was entertaining and creepy enough to be a decent romp, but with the lackluster ending, it didn’t have enough to be a good movie.
The two leads and their cute personalities make the movie work. Who knew Matt Damon and Emily Blunt would have chemistry? The point of the movie is that true romantic love trumps everything (SHOCKER in our culture. Not), even plans from on-high. At least the love relationship is strong enough to make the audience believe that through the whole sci-fi show. The movie made us wish that this was a long, intellectual, romantic sci-fi book that could take the time and courage to have a thoughtful, satisfying ending and a more complex plot. We could have stayed in this world and premise longer with the likeable characters. This is one of the best movies in theatres right now, so you could do worse.
Movie Grade: B
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Winter's Bone movie thoughts
Yeah, we skipped some of our shows and saw another movie. Oops. We WILL be on top of things after this weekend though. Spring break will be over, and we will have no lives again. YAY! Plus, most of the shows are on hiatus right? We want to savor the Southland finale. We guess we can always watch Off the Map or something. But we digress.
Winter’s Bone sort of looked like a modern-day Little House on the Prairie from what we saw of the pictures. Pretty Jennifer Lawrence running through the snow. Blah blah blah. How wrong we were. Winter’s Bone is, in fact, nothing like Little House on the Prairie. It’s actually a movie about poor, meth dealing hillbillies in the mountains and a 17-year-old girl trying to track down her father so she can keep the family house. It sounds grim, but it’s actually not depressing. Halfway through the movie, you realize it’s a mystery story.
We liked the acting, the story, the characters, and just about everything else about this odd movie. What we didn’t like so much was the pacing. There were minutes that snailed by. There are moments with genuine tension, and the movie almost evolves into a gripping thriller that you run and tell your friends about. That wouldn’t have gotten the Oscar nod for Best Picture though. Instead, what you get is an interesting little movie that you will probably never want to watch again or own on DVD. We were sad to leave the setting and situation and wondered if there was more potential for a great mystery story there, rather than just a well-made movie. It took too long to get going to get a perfect grade from us.
Movie Grade: B+
We liked the acting, the story, the characters, and just about everything else about this odd movie. What we didn’t like so much was the pacing. There were minutes that snailed by. There are moments with genuine tension, and the movie almost evolves into a gripping thriller that you run and tell your friends about. That wouldn’t have gotten the Oscar nod for Best Picture though. Instead, what you get is an interesting little movie that you will probably never want to watch again or own on DVD. We were sad to leave the setting and situation and wondered if there was more potential for a great mystery story there, rather than just a well-made movie. It took too long to get going to get a perfect grade from us.
Movie Grade: B+
Readers from Japan
Our thoughts go out to the Japanese people. Ya'll will get through this with the same honor, sense of community, and intelligence Japan is known for. Praying for you guys.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Company Men - Movie thoughts
Ashthon went home on American Idol. We are happy. She was not good. Her exit song was one of her best performances though. Too bad she didn’t give America that earlier. We agree with the America’s Next Top Model exit too.
In the past two days, we have shunned most TV in favor of movies with our families. Don't worry, we will catch up on all of our shows. We saw The Company Men today.
The Company Men is less of an entertaining movie and more of Hollywood trying to reach the public where they are now. As a timely message piece trying to hit Americans during a recession, it's great. As entertainment, it was bland and a little forgettable. It was a little depressing, but lacked enough emotion to really touch us. It had a good cast, but there wasn’t much of a story, just a good message. The movie centered on things we can relate to, not people we can relate to.
The movie centered on three rich men. One, Ben Affleck, lost his high-paying, competitive job and had to humble himself, take a lower paying job, and spend more time with his family (and fantastically supportive wife). It was hard to relate to his character at first, because he had a very large ego, and none of us think we have very large egos. : ) Also, he was living paycheck-to-paycheck, spending everything he earned to keep up a showy, extravagant lifestyle. Note to selves: Live well beneath your means, so you have savings and you aren’t relying on material things and your next paycheck. We didn’t want Ben Affleck to find a job, because he was learning too much by not having one, so that plotline lacked tension. Another, Tommy Lee Jones, was laid off at an older age and was able to keep up his lifestyle, but he felt bad about the direction the company he had built had taken. The third man also had a hard time with losing his job. None of these men were remotely poor. They were all white collar and could survive and provide decently for their families, unlike a lot of people in the country right now. So what these men suffered was more of a loss of identity. Reflecting on how the company used to be in the past, Tommy Lee Jones said, “Those men knew their worth. Those men knew who they were.”
We’ve said it before, and we will say it again: Identity and a sense of purpose are central to who we are as humans, and you have to base your identity on something that won’t be a waste of your life. If you base your identity on something you will lose, believe us, you WILL lose it. This movie echoed this truth, but it picked the family and a life without worry as a replacement for work. Being dedicated to your job, taking pride in providing for your family, and working to succeed are all good things. When good things that aren’t ultimate things become your obsession, they turn into bad things. It’s for you to decide what you will devote your life to. If you don’t make a conscious decision, you will make an unconscious one/something will pick YOU without your active permission. You will end up obsessing over what people think of you, stuff, your job, worrying, one specific person, your children, romantic love, whatever. It’s much better to consciously pick what you’re about and monitor it. These men were so surprised by the devastating effect of losing the prestige and purpose their jobs brought them. To be making more than $120,000 per year and then have to live off of $65,000 per year? GAH!!! (Sarcasm. These people went from rich to still rich.) This movie is perfect to take your work-obsessed husband to. It’s well-written, but you already know what’s going to happen. Just watch the trailer. People get fired, lose a sense of self, then either pick their lives up…or don’t. Stretch that over two hours.
Movie grade: B-
In the past two days, we have shunned most TV in favor of movies with our families. Don't worry, we will catch up on all of our shows. We saw The Company Men today.
The Company Men is less of an entertaining movie and more of Hollywood trying to reach the public where they are now. As a timely message piece trying to hit Americans during a recession, it's great. As entertainment, it was bland and a little forgettable. It was a little depressing, but lacked enough emotion to really touch us. It had a good cast, but there wasn’t much of a story, just a good message. The movie centered on things we can relate to, not people we can relate to.
The movie centered on three rich men. One, Ben Affleck, lost his high-paying, competitive job and had to humble himself, take a lower paying job, and spend more time with his family (and fantastically supportive wife). It was hard to relate to his character at first, because he had a very large ego, and none of us think we have very large egos. : ) Also, he was living paycheck-to-paycheck, spending everything he earned to keep up a showy, extravagant lifestyle. Note to selves: Live well beneath your means, so you have savings and you aren’t relying on material things and your next paycheck. We didn’t want Ben Affleck to find a job, because he was learning too much by not having one, so that plotline lacked tension. Another, Tommy Lee Jones, was laid off at an older age and was able to keep up his lifestyle, but he felt bad about the direction the company he had built had taken. The third man also had a hard time with losing his job. None of these men were remotely poor. They were all white collar and could survive and provide decently for their families, unlike a lot of people in the country right now. So what these men suffered was more of a loss of identity. Reflecting on how the company used to be in the past, Tommy Lee Jones said, “Those men knew their worth. Those men knew who they were.”
We’ve said it before, and we will say it again: Identity and a sense of purpose are central to who we are as humans, and you have to base your identity on something that won’t be a waste of your life. If you base your identity on something you will lose, believe us, you WILL lose it. This movie echoed this truth, but it picked the family and a life without worry as a replacement for work. Being dedicated to your job, taking pride in providing for your family, and working to succeed are all good things. When good things that aren’t ultimate things become your obsession, they turn into bad things. It’s for you to decide what you will devote your life to. If you don’t make a conscious decision, you will make an unconscious one/something will pick YOU without your active permission. You will end up obsessing over what people think of you, stuff, your job, worrying, one specific person, your children, romantic love, whatever. It’s much better to consciously pick what you’re about and monitor it. These men were so surprised by the devastating effect of losing the prestige and purpose their jobs brought them. To be making more than $120,000 per year and then have to live off of $65,000 per year? GAH!!! (Sarcasm. These people went from rich to still rich.) This movie is perfect to take your work-obsessed husband to. It’s well-written, but you already know what’s going to happen. Just watch the trailer. People get fired, lose a sense of self, then either pick their lives up…or don’t. Stretch that over two hours.
Movie grade: B-
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Glee - Sexy review
Sorry about the five-day hiatus, faithful readers. It's called spring break. But one of us has crawled back from vacationland and was happy to see that our numbers did not suffer, even though we have deprived you. Muchos gracias. Now, onto the Glee.
It seems like Glee had already tackled themes like celibacy, teen sex, pregnancy, and talking through your feelings. We guess they had to do it again, only more seriously this time. What we DIDN’T like was Holly Holiday asserting over-and-over in the beginning of the episode that it is “unrealistic” and “naïve” to be a virgin through high school. That’s just what sluts say to excuse their behavior. It’s like saying, “Everybody does it, so I can too.” We know plenty of people who made it past high school. In fact, we think it's the majority. http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/04/us-youth-usa-idUSN0440966320080604 Also, by that logic (people can’t control themselves), people can claim it’s impossible to be faithful to your spouse. People can control themselves. Even teens. If they want to do that, if that’s their choice, it’s possible and a good life lesson on patience. Then the episode crossed over into just downright insulting when Holly said that these people were probably “frigid”. Way to make responsible kids who know they aren’t ready yet feel damaged and bad about themselves!
Either you are nodding your head right now, or you are thinking, “Whichever blogger wrote this post is just a sad virgin.” We have no response to that. The show had a lot of good sex tips for young viewers though. A condom protects against pregnancy and HIV. And making a sex tape is child porn.
SO much happened in this episode. It didn’t completely revolve around Holly Holiday either! Other than her previously mentioned comments, we enjoyed her this episode. Gwyneth Paltrow delivered her lines perfectly, moved the plot along, and served to be the funniest character of the hour. "Just remember, when you have sex with someone, you're having sex with everyone they've had sex with. And everybody's got a random." – Holly. Can you believe Emma hasn’t slept with Carl yet? Whoa Momma, he’s hot and they are married. That makes no sense. And the reason might be that she is still in love with Will Schuester? Sorry to tell you, Emma, but we’ve been watching this show for more than a year, and we are pretty sure that guy is gay. Speaking of the gays, the best song this week was probably Blaine and Kurt’s Warbler-backed “Animal.” Kurt was waaaay too autotuned though. If the show can pay to hire Max Martin to write Glee’s original songs, it can pay to have someone competent handle the autotune when they need to use it. There is a way to make it less obvious. It just takes longer. It’s pure laziness on the part of the producers.
We loved Brittany in this episode. We prefer Santana to Artie, but no one deserves to be cheated on. Brittany thinking she was pregnant was priceless. We actually felt for Santana when she very sweetly confessed her love for Brittany in her most vulnerable moment ever. She was shot down (nicely, in a mature way), and it was a good thing, but we felt so bad for her! Artie needs to die and that needs to happen. We know it’s weird that we would rather have Artie die than get cheated on. It might be partly that we don’t want to see him whine for weeks.
We have an apology to make. We thought it was awkward for Kurt to want advice from his dad on sex and for Burt to “educate himself.” We thought a sex talk from Burt to Kurt would just be unnecessary and lame. Blaine felt differently, and adorably went to Burt to ask him to give Kurt a sex talk. Blaine was concerned that Kurt would have a bad experience due to lack of knowledge. Blaine said, "I don't have the relationship with my dad that you have with Kurt. I think it'd be really cool if you took advantage of that." Burt wasn’t into the idea at first, but he came around. And with the following speech, Kurt’s dad became our all-time favorite Dad on TV.
It seems like Glee had already tackled themes like celibacy, teen sex, pregnancy, and talking through your feelings. We guess they had to do it again, only more seriously this time. What we DIDN’T like was Holly Holiday asserting over-and-over in the beginning of the episode that it is “unrealistic” and “naïve” to be a virgin through high school. That’s just what sluts say to excuse their behavior. It’s like saying, “Everybody does it, so I can too.” We know plenty of people who made it past high school. In fact, we think it's the majority. http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/04/us-youth-usa-idUSN0440966320080604 Also, by that logic (people can’t control themselves), people can claim it’s impossible to be faithful to your spouse. People can control themselves. Even teens. If they want to do that, if that’s their choice, it’s possible and a good life lesson on patience. Then the episode crossed over into just downright insulting when Holly said that these people were probably “frigid”. Way to make responsible kids who know they aren’t ready yet feel damaged and bad about themselves!
Either you are nodding your head right now, or you are thinking, “Whichever blogger wrote this post is just a sad virgin.” We have no response to that. The show had a lot of good sex tips for young viewers though. A condom protects against pregnancy and HIV. And making a sex tape is child porn.
SO much happened in this episode. It didn’t completely revolve around Holly Holiday either! Other than her previously mentioned comments, we enjoyed her this episode. Gwyneth Paltrow delivered her lines perfectly, moved the plot along, and served to be the funniest character of the hour. "Just remember, when you have sex with someone, you're having sex with everyone they've had sex with. And everybody's got a random." – Holly. Can you believe Emma hasn’t slept with Carl yet? Whoa Momma, he’s hot and they are married. That makes no sense. And the reason might be that she is still in love with Will Schuester? Sorry to tell you, Emma, but we’ve been watching this show for more than a year, and we are pretty sure that guy is gay. Speaking of the gays, the best song this week was probably Blaine and Kurt’s Warbler-backed “Animal.” Kurt was waaaay too autotuned though. If the show can pay to hire Max Martin to write Glee’s original songs, it can pay to have someone competent handle the autotune when they need to use it. There is a way to make it less obvious. It just takes longer. It’s pure laziness on the part of the producers.
We loved Brittany in this episode. We prefer Santana to Artie, but no one deserves to be cheated on. Brittany thinking she was pregnant was priceless. We actually felt for Santana when she very sweetly confessed her love for Brittany in her most vulnerable moment ever. She was shot down (nicely, in a mature way), and it was a good thing, but we felt so bad for her! Artie needs to die and that needs to happen. We know it’s weird that we would rather have Artie die than get cheated on. It might be partly that we don’t want to see him whine for weeks.
We have an apology to make. We thought it was awkward for Kurt to want advice from his dad on sex and for Burt to “educate himself.” We thought a sex talk from Burt to Kurt would just be unnecessary and lame. Blaine felt differently, and adorably went to Burt to ask him to give Kurt a sex talk. Blaine was concerned that Kurt would have a bad experience due to lack of knowledge. Blaine said, "I don't have the relationship with my dad that you have with Kurt. I think it'd be really cool if you took advantage of that." Burt wasn’t into the idea at first, but he came around. And with the following speech, Kurt’s dad became our all-time favorite Dad on TV.
"For most guys, sex is just always this thing we want to do. It’s fun. It’s feels great. But we’re not thinking so much about how it makes us feel on the inside or, you know, how the other person feels about it….But it’s about more than just the physical. When you're intimate with someone in that way, you're exposing yourself. You're never gonna be more vulnerable, and that scares the hell out of a lot of guys. I can’t tell you how many buddies I’ve got who got who have gotten in way too deep with a girl who they thought was just cool with hooking up. For you, it’s worse. With two guys you've got two people who think that sex is just sex. It's gonna be easier to come by and once you start, you aren't gonna want to stop. You gotta know that it means something. It's doing something to you, to your heart, to your self-esteem, even though it feels like you're just having fun...When you're ready, I want you to be able to do everything. But when you're ready, I want you to use it as a way to connect to another person. Don't throw yourself around like you don't matter, because you matter, Kurt…That’s it, for now. Can I make you some toast?" Pair him with Lorelai Gilmore, and you would have the perfect parents. Who knew one of the most true sex lessons we’ve ever seen on TV would come out of a Burt/Kurt sex talk? If kids listen to this advice, it will save them from getting hard, cold hearts.
As for the other songs, "Kiss" was unbearable. What a butchering. Matthew Morrison’s falsetto sounds like someone is choking him. "Don’t You Want to Touch Me?" was “meh.” Glee’s "Afternoon Delight" didn’t hold a candle to Michael and Maeby Bluth’s version. "Landslide" was lovely, but that song has been remade enough already. As for more coupling news, we do not like Quinn and Finn STILL, even though their scene this week was pretty cute. And yay for Will moving on, even though we know Holly isn’t the endgame. Also, Lauren kissed Puck, even though he joined the celibacy club and didn’t make a sex tape with her. "I like wooing you. Next to dropping my afternoon deuce, it's my favorite part of the day." – Puck.
Last comment: For an episode about sex, it sure was light on freaky Tina and Mike’s abs, right? Light on the Sue too, and everyone knows she is pure sex.
Episode Grade: B (Points off for no substantial Lea Michele song, duh.)
As for the other songs, "Kiss" was unbearable. What a butchering. Matthew Morrison’s falsetto sounds like someone is choking him. "Don’t You Want to Touch Me?" was “meh.” Glee’s "Afternoon Delight" didn’t hold a candle to Michael and Maeby Bluth’s version. "Landslide" was lovely, but that song has been remade enough already. As for more coupling news, we do not like Quinn and Finn STILL, even though their scene this week was pretty cute. And yay for Will moving on, even though we know Holly isn’t the endgame. Also, Lauren kissed Puck, even though he joined the celibacy club and didn’t make a sex tape with her. "I like wooing you. Next to dropping my afternoon deuce, it's my favorite part of the day." – Puck.
Last comment: For an episode about sex, it sure was light on freaky Tina and Mike’s abs, right? Light on the Sue too, and everyone knows she is pure sex.
Episode Grade: B (Points off for no substantial Lea Michele song, duh.)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Our Ideal American Idol Top 12
Before America ruins it and they announce the top 12 tonight, we will list the 12 we would want to see.
1. Casey Abrams
2. Naima Adedapo
3. Lauren Alaina
4. Jovany Barreto
5. Kendra Chantelle
6. James Durbin
7. Brett Loewenstern (Ern caved. He's fun.)
8. Jacob Lusk
9. Robbie Rosen
10. Pia Toscano
11. Lauren Turner
12. Rachel Zevita
Feel free to argue with us in the comments. Leeard wanted to include Paul McDonald on this list, but Ern would not let her, because he just sounds like a crack-headed James Blunt. Leeard does not disagree with that, but still thinks he's amazing. We both harbour a dislike for Thia Megia.
After the top 12 is announced, we will be covering American Idol episodes in more detail, because that show is inherently funny and cries out for commentary.
1. Casey Abrams
2. Naima Adedapo
3. Lauren Alaina
4. Jovany Barreto
5. Kendra Chantelle
6. James Durbin
7. Brett Loewenstern (Ern caved. He's fun.)
8. Jacob Lusk
9. Robbie Rosen
10. Pia Toscano
11. Lauren Turner
12. Rachel Zevita
Feel free to argue with us in the comments. Leeard wanted to include Paul McDonald on this list, but Ern would not let her, because he just sounds like a crack-headed James Blunt. Leeard does not disagree with that, but still thinks he's amazing. We both harbour a dislike for Thia Megia.
After the top 12 is announced, we will be covering American Idol episodes in more detail, because that show is inherently funny and cries out for commentary.
Modern Family - Two Monkeys and a Panda review
Jay and Gloria shopped for a family burial plot, and Jay had to face his fears of his dying way before Gloria, as would likely happen. He was afraid she would marry another man who would turn out to be the real love of her life. Manny reassured him, hilariously. This plot sounds like a downer, but Modern Family isn’t a comedy like Scrubs that will ever bring tears to your eyes as well as laugh lines. Modern Family keeps everything really light.
Cam was trying to get Lily to have positive connotations with the word “adopted” to prepare her for the time when they explain to her what it means. Cam looked at Lily’s birth certificate and found out that there was no hyphen between his and Mitchell’s last names. Cam’s last name was Lily’s middle name. Cam was distraught to hear that Mitchell had done it on purpose, because he was afraid Cam would get cold feet and leave the family after the adoption (hilarious flashbacks ensued). Mitchell apologized and acknowledged what an unexpectedly good and brave parent Cam had become. They wrote a children’s book for Lily together.
The least serious plot of the night involved Haley and Alex. Alex borrowed Haley’s favorite sweater, and Haley was certain that Alex would ruin it. Claire encouraged the girls to share. The sweater got ripped, and Claire had to run around town looking for a replacement. That didn’t work out so well. Since she was busy, it was up to Phil to take advantage of a spa gift certificate that expired soon. Phil got some accurate marriage advice from the women there on supporting his wife in her stressful moments, rather than telling her how she can fix it. Amen. He managed to put his new skills to use but was offended when Claire didn’t notice anything different about him after he had spent all day at the spa.
The plots were strong in this episode. Not too over-the-top. There weren’t as many good one-liners as usual though. No outloud laughs this week. Just some smiles. Not much else to say this week. This show is getting really repetitive lately. It's funny, but it always feels like a repeat.
Episode Grade: B
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Big Love All Seasons Review
Since the jig is up regarding who has been marathoning Big Love for the past couple of weeks, this blogger will write this post in the first person. This post is the culmination of that marathon. I have obviously not mentioned all characters and subplots on this show, because it's such a tangled web of drama that it would take forever. Enjoy.
Season One
The first season introduced an atypical family, consisting of husband Bill and three very different wives, Barb, Nicki, and Margene. Together, they have seven biological children. Barb is the oldest, a lifelong Mormon with doubts about polygamy. Nicki is the manipulative, secretive, stodgy fundamentalist of the group. Margene is young, and both Barb and Nicki look down on her. We do too, in the first season, because her character is sweet, but one-sided and immature at this time. They are keeping their polygamous lifestyle a secret, trying to get along and raise the family, and trying to succeed in business to stay afloat and prosperous. Bill has a long-running feud with Nicki’s father, the “prophet” of a polygamous compound, Roman Grant. Bill grew up on the compound but was tossed out during his teen years. Roman thinks he is entitled to a share of Bill’s profits (a tithe). Also living on the compound is Bill’s younger brother, Joey, and Joey’s crazy wife, Wanda. Bill and Joey conspire to gain a seat on Roman’s church’s board of directors, so they can have some say. Hyjinks occur, with Wanda poisoning Roman’s son and Barb getting outted as a polygamist at an important community event.
This season was a little hard to get into, because polygamy is gross. Also, Margene was annoying and the show wasted the Nicki character by having her spend most of her time struggling with secret credit card debt. The consequences of that storyline were minimal and not worth all the attention spent on it. Nicki was my favorite character from the start though, and she remains my favorite character. She is arguably the least wanted of the wives by Bill (supposedly traded to him for a loan, according to Roman’s son). She is the most damaged and coldest of the wives. But you can also see that she has a heart. She’s the most interesting, and her character could go anywhere at any time. The actress is amazing in her role and deserved the Golden Globe. This show could just go into a spin-off called “Nicki” and I would be perfectly happy.
What was strong about the season? Bill and Barb’s daughter, Sarah, played by Amana Seyfried. She came across as intelligent and relatable and was an anchor the show needed at the time. Also, after coming across people who are similar to Roman (toned-down versions of course), I’ve seen the effect of religious rhetoric, influence, and intimidation used to wrangle others, so I identified with Bill early on where others might not. The way that Roman saw Bill as a threat from a young age is particularly interesting. While many people think Bill is arrogant, lustful, and gross (and he totally is), I liked his strength and struggle to just break free from Roman and the dysfunctional, abusive compound. It was interesting to see Bill’s potential to either become a self-righteous jerk with control issues contrasted with his potential to become a protector of weaker people and a dynamic force against the status quo of fundamentalism. The character has continued to walk that line between the two fates.
The show won me over in episode 10, the baptism episode. The first nine episodes presented the family as dodgy and unworkable but then spun it around to show us the other side in episode ten. By the baptism episode, the show had all the family members sticking up for each other and they sneakily crept into my heart. And that’s where it got interesting (when it started to show both sides of the argument). It contrasted the idea of freedom for consenting adults to do whatever they want with the abuses polygamy can wreak. There is love in the family, yes, but the show also asserts (more in later seasons) that it’s just an excuse for sleeping around while still getting to think of yourself as holy. The show is surprisingly fair to nearly everyone.
Season one grade: B
Season two
It was by this season that the show’s main message really started to sink in. It’s brilliant, really. Everyone is wondering and asking, “Does the show support or condemn polygamy?” Sorry to disagree with Nicki actress Chloe Sevigny, who thinks the show supports it, but I think the show is even on both sides. The message the show sneaks by is one of general tolerance. It takes something that just about everyone disapproves of and makes you look at every side of it, and then it shows other people in the community ridiculing these people who, while not perfect, are doing their best. When these people are shunned and persecuted, you feel really bad for them. You think, “Gosh, I don’t approve of their choices, but why can’t people just leave this poor family alone and be nice?” It’s effective. Most obviously, this experience for the viewer could translate into more tolerance for homosexuals, but really, it could translate into anything. The show gives you compassion for people you disagree with.
This season is more of the same stuff: Family drama, a rivalry with the Grants at Juniper Creek, Joey and crazy Wanda, etc. Except it is better than season one. It moves along more quickly and by now you care. It’s the strongest season. Bill starts dating a potential fourth wife, Ana, who Margene also befriends and likes. That falls through. Margene becomes a better character. She is the most supportive wife, I think. She’s very positive, genuine, and friendly, and I think she loves being a part of the family more than the other two wives. Nicki ‘s character got a little comedy to her (and it worked).
Season Grade: A
Season three
The first two seasons were not about Mormonism, but by season three, the show started taking some Mormon rituals, ripping them out of context, and exposing them on television. It was confusing to non-Mormons like me. Some of the Mormons, as people, are portrayed in a positive light, but others are portrayed as judgmental. But while this season wasn’t the best, it was the most addictive to me. It was the high point of me shunning my schoolwork and other shows to binge on Big Love. Roman Grant was going through a trial for his involvement with marrying off underage girls.
Nicki was undercover at the DA’s office, helping her father at the instruction of her mother. Of course, Bill tried to help get Roman convicted. Nicki’s season-long undermining insured Roman’s freedom, but then she changed her mind and pushed him down a flight of stairs. He was fine. Never having been in love, another shock for Nicki was falling for the DA, who fell for her too. There was so much growth and realization here for this most bad ass of the three wives. It’s a shame the show didn’t see it through. She even got to meet her long lost daughter, Cara Lynn, from a previous, underage marriage. Nicki was determined to have Cara Lynn get an education, and so she took her daughter back home with her. Too bad Cara Lynn is completely dragging down the show right now.
Bill went back to pursuing Ana, and this fell through again. He slept with her outside of marriage (gasp!), lending further support to the theory that polygamy is for men who don’t have the chops to commit to one woman for life. Also losing that ability was Joey. He opened himself up to the possibility of having another wife, but just before they were to be “sealed,” she was killed because of Roman Grant and another compound leader named Green. Green is sort of a gangster compound leader on this show. After Roman’s release, Joey killed him for killing his fiancé, changing the Joey character forever. Bill opened a Mormon-friendly casino. Barb was excommunicated from the Mormon church, and her face as they told her she was cut off was heartbreaking. Oldest daughter Sarah got married (after a pregnancy and miscarriage), and Nicki’s face watching Sarah marry the man she loved was one of the best moments in the show (Nicki was still carrying a torch for the DA).
Season Grade: A-
Season four
The show dropped the ball in this season. Nicki majorly regressed. The DA she liked found out she was Roman’s lying daughter, got angry, and disappeared. I really wanted to see Nicki end up leaving Bill for true love. Call me a soap-loving sap, but that would have been great for her character after all she learned in season three about her father, the corruption of the beliefs she grew up with, and her own feelings.
This season focused mostly on Bill’s ambition to run for state Senator and then out the family as polygamists. This was extremely brave, but horribly naïve. He thought that if the country could see his loving family, it would fall in love with them, and then they wouldn’t have to live in the shadows anymore. Bill won the election (with no help from Sissy Spacek’s nasty character), but his family was not accepted as he might have hoped. The political storyline was ok, but it wasn’t anywhere near the addictive storylines of seasons two and three. Nicki found out she was infertile and cut her hair. There was a really sad plotline with Roman’s gay son and his gay Mormon lover. Dumbest storyline? Bill’s teen son falling for Margene. Second dumbest storyline? Bill going to Mexico with a vengeful Joey to get his teen son back from the Greens who had kidnapped him. This season mixed the dumb with the disappointing. It wasn’t that it was bad TV; it was just so much worse than season 1-3. I think the show focused too much on Bill when he is neither the most interesting nor the most sympethetic character.
Season Grade: C
Season five
I have a question: Where have Joey and Wanda been this season? Technically, Joey never left Mexico and Wanda is on the compound, but I don’t like that. They were major characters for most of the show and I liked them way better than Cara Lynn. Cara Lynn is having an affair with a teacher, and you know how both bloggers feel about THAT storyline. The only silver lining is that we will get to see Nicki’s reaction when she finds out. Ha. Seriously, Nicki needs to be seen to be believed. She is in my top five female TV characters of all time.
This is the season that has the wives fighting the most. It seems like the bulk of each hour is spent on bickering and power struggles between the three, and I am sick of it. I am also really sick of Ana. I’m glad she is taking her pregnant self out of the country. I only liked her in season two. Nicki became legally married to Bill so that the family could legally adopt Cara Lynn. Nicki has fallen in love with Bill. As soon as Nicki started loving Bill, she stopped being as interesting to me. She got meaner and less sympathetic then too. She also looked better with long hair. The entire last two seasons would be redeemed if Nicki left Bill. That’s all I’m saying.
So far, this season has stayed away from the telenovela stuff Chloe Sevigny complained about last season, but it has just left us with the dull political career. Bill and Barb are trying to pass bills and make connections in Washington, and I sort of miss the family drama. Rhonda Volmer is back, and she’s not as fun the second time around. Also, it’s a little cheap that they replaced the actress who played Teeny/Tancy with a more attractive girl. This show sure knows how to dish out intriguing stuff and then rip it away from me.
Season Grade So Far: B-
Bottom line: Watch seasons 1-3. They are very good. The jury is still out on the final season.
Season One
The first season introduced an atypical family, consisting of husband Bill and three very different wives, Barb, Nicki, and Margene. Together, they have seven biological children. Barb is the oldest, a lifelong Mormon with doubts about polygamy. Nicki is the manipulative, secretive, stodgy fundamentalist of the group. Margene is young, and both Barb and Nicki look down on her. We do too, in the first season, because her character is sweet, but one-sided and immature at this time. They are keeping their polygamous lifestyle a secret, trying to get along and raise the family, and trying to succeed in business to stay afloat and prosperous. Bill has a long-running feud with Nicki’s father, the “prophet” of a polygamous compound, Roman Grant. Bill grew up on the compound but was tossed out during his teen years. Roman thinks he is entitled to a share of Bill’s profits (a tithe). Also living on the compound is Bill’s younger brother, Joey, and Joey’s crazy wife, Wanda. Bill and Joey conspire to gain a seat on Roman’s church’s board of directors, so they can have some say. Hyjinks occur, with Wanda poisoning Roman’s son and Barb getting outted as a polygamist at an important community event.
This season was a little hard to get into, because polygamy is gross. Also, Margene was annoying and the show wasted the Nicki character by having her spend most of her time struggling with secret credit card debt. The consequences of that storyline were minimal and not worth all the attention spent on it. Nicki was my favorite character from the start though, and she remains my favorite character. She is arguably the least wanted of the wives by Bill (supposedly traded to him for a loan, according to Roman’s son). She is the most damaged and coldest of the wives. But you can also see that she has a heart. She’s the most interesting, and her character could go anywhere at any time. The actress is amazing in her role and deserved the Golden Globe. This show could just go into a spin-off called “Nicki” and I would be perfectly happy.
What was strong about the season? Bill and Barb’s daughter, Sarah, played by Amana Seyfried. She came across as intelligent and relatable and was an anchor the show needed at the time. Also, after coming across people who are similar to Roman (toned-down versions of course), I’ve seen the effect of religious rhetoric, influence, and intimidation used to wrangle others, so I identified with Bill early on where others might not. The way that Roman saw Bill as a threat from a young age is particularly interesting. While many people think Bill is arrogant, lustful, and gross (and he totally is), I liked his strength and struggle to just break free from Roman and the dysfunctional, abusive compound. It was interesting to see Bill’s potential to either become a self-righteous jerk with control issues contrasted with his potential to become a protector of weaker people and a dynamic force against the status quo of fundamentalism. The character has continued to walk that line between the two fates.
The show won me over in episode 10, the baptism episode. The first nine episodes presented the family as dodgy and unworkable but then spun it around to show us the other side in episode ten. By the baptism episode, the show had all the family members sticking up for each other and they sneakily crept into my heart. And that’s where it got interesting (when it started to show both sides of the argument). It contrasted the idea of freedom for consenting adults to do whatever they want with the abuses polygamy can wreak. There is love in the family, yes, but the show also asserts (more in later seasons) that it’s just an excuse for sleeping around while still getting to think of yourself as holy. The show is surprisingly fair to nearly everyone.
Season one grade: B
Season two
It was by this season that the show’s main message really started to sink in. It’s brilliant, really. Everyone is wondering and asking, “Does the show support or condemn polygamy?” Sorry to disagree with Nicki actress Chloe Sevigny, who thinks the show supports it, but I think the show is even on both sides. The message the show sneaks by is one of general tolerance. It takes something that just about everyone disapproves of and makes you look at every side of it, and then it shows other people in the community ridiculing these people who, while not perfect, are doing their best. When these people are shunned and persecuted, you feel really bad for them. You think, “Gosh, I don’t approve of their choices, but why can’t people just leave this poor family alone and be nice?” It’s effective. Most obviously, this experience for the viewer could translate into more tolerance for homosexuals, but really, it could translate into anything. The show gives you compassion for people you disagree with.
This season is more of the same stuff: Family drama, a rivalry with the Grants at Juniper Creek, Joey and crazy Wanda, etc. Except it is better than season one. It moves along more quickly and by now you care. It’s the strongest season. Bill starts dating a potential fourth wife, Ana, who Margene also befriends and likes. That falls through. Margene becomes a better character. She is the most supportive wife, I think. She’s very positive, genuine, and friendly, and I think she loves being a part of the family more than the other two wives. Nicki ‘s character got a little comedy to her (and it worked).
Season Grade: A
Season three
The first two seasons were not about Mormonism, but by season three, the show started taking some Mormon rituals, ripping them out of context, and exposing them on television. It was confusing to non-Mormons like me. Some of the Mormons, as people, are portrayed in a positive light, but others are portrayed as judgmental. But while this season wasn’t the best, it was the most addictive to me. It was the high point of me shunning my schoolwork and other shows to binge on Big Love. Roman Grant was going through a trial for his involvement with marrying off underage girls.
Nicki was undercover at the DA’s office, helping her father at the instruction of her mother. Of course, Bill tried to help get Roman convicted. Nicki’s season-long undermining insured Roman’s freedom, but then she changed her mind and pushed him down a flight of stairs. He was fine. Never having been in love, another shock for Nicki was falling for the DA, who fell for her too. There was so much growth and realization here for this most bad ass of the three wives. It’s a shame the show didn’t see it through. She even got to meet her long lost daughter, Cara Lynn, from a previous, underage marriage. Nicki was determined to have Cara Lynn get an education, and so she took her daughter back home with her. Too bad Cara Lynn is completely dragging down the show right now.
Bill went back to pursuing Ana, and this fell through again. He slept with her outside of marriage (gasp!), lending further support to the theory that polygamy is for men who don’t have the chops to commit to one woman for life. Also losing that ability was Joey. He opened himself up to the possibility of having another wife, but just before they were to be “sealed,” she was killed because of Roman Grant and another compound leader named Green. Green is sort of a gangster compound leader on this show. After Roman’s release, Joey killed him for killing his fiancé, changing the Joey character forever. Bill opened a Mormon-friendly casino. Barb was excommunicated from the Mormon church, and her face as they told her she was cut off was heartbreaking. Oldest daughter Sarah got married (after a pregnancy and miscarriage), and Nicki’s face watching Sarah marry the man she loved was one of the best moments in the show (Nicki was still carrying a torch for the DA).
Season Grade: A-
Season four
The show dropped the ball in this season. Nicki majorly regressed. The DA she liked found out she was Roman’s lying daughter, got angry, and disappeared. I really wanted to see Nicki end up leaving Bill for true love. Call me a soap-loving sap, but that would have been great for her character after all she learned in season three about her father, the corruption of the beliefs she grew up with, and her own feelings.
This season focused mostly on Bill’s ambition to run for state Senator and then out the family as polygamists. This was extremely brave, but horribly naïve. He thought that if the country could see his loving family, it would fall in love with them, and then they wouldn’t have to live in the shadows anymore. Bill won the election (with no help from Sissy Spacek’s nasty character), but his family was not accepted as he might have hoped. The political storyline was ok, but it wasn’t anywhere near the addictive storylines of seasons two and three. Nicki found out she was infertile and cut her hair. There was a really sad plotline with Roman’s gay son and his gay Mormon lover. Dumbest storyline? Bill’s teen son falling for Margene. Second dumbest storyline? Bill going to Mexico with a vengeful Joey to get his teen son back from the Greens who had kidnapped him. This season mixed the dumb with the disappointing. It wasn’t that it was bad TV; it was just so much worse than season 1-3. I think the show focused too much on Bill when he is neither the most interesting nor the most sympethetic character.
Season Grade: C
Season five
I have a question: Where have Joey and Wanda been this season? Technically, Joey never left Mexico and Wanda is on the compound, but I don’t like that. They were major characters for most of the show and I liked them way better than Cara Lynn. Cara Lynn is having an affair with a teacher, and you know how both bloggers feel about THAT storyline. The only silver lining is that we will get to see Nicki’s reaction when she finds out. Ha. Seriously, Nicki needs to be seen to be believed. She is in my top five female TV characters of all time.
This is the season that has the wives fighting the most. It seems like the bulk of each hour is spent on bickering and power struggles between the three, and I am sick of it. I am also really sick of Ana. I’m glad she is taking her pregnant self out of the country. I only liked her in season two. Nicki became legally married to Bill so that the family could legally adopt Cara Lynn. Nicki has fallen in love with Bill. As soon as Nicki started loving Bill, she stopped being as interesting to me. She got meaner and less sympathetic then too. She also looked better with long hair. The entire last two seasons would be redeemed if Nicki left Bill. That’s all I’m saying.
So far, this season has stayed away from the telenovela stuff Chloe Sevigny complained about last season, but it has just left us with the dull political career. Bill and Barb are trying to pass bills and make connections in Washington, and I sort of miss the family drama. Rhonda Volmer is back, and she’s not as fun the second time around. Also, it’s a little cheap that they replaced the actress who played Teeny/Tancy with a more attractive girl. This show sure knows how to dish out intriguing stuff and then rip it away from me.
Season Grade So Far: B-
Bottom line: Watch seasons 1-3. They are very good. The jury is still out on the final season.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Gossip Girl - Empire of the Son review
Well, they had to give us something to tide us over the break.
Lily turned herself into the DA to stop Russell from forcing Chuck to choose his business over her. Or to stop Chuck from losing his business, if you don’t want to look at it cynically. She told the DA that it was because she hadn’t seen her kids smile at her for years. This can’t be true. That has to be physically impossible. We are trained to let off smiles, if only polite ones.
This was the episode centered around parents’ concern for their children and children being proud of their parents. Serena was proud of her mother, and we think Ben should be proud of his, too. Ben’s mother stole the affidavit from the van der Woodsen loft to clear her son’s name. We think that’s a good mom. Ben was ruining his life for Serena and her slimy family. Ben and Serena broke up, because we guess Ben has to go find himself and only liked Serena because she reminded him of his time as a teacher. Good. And we hope he stays gone. Once again: Not hot, not interesting. Serena kissed him goodbye, but didn’t chase after him. He did have Nate’s dad beat up, after all. Oh yeah, that came out via Vanessa, who made a cameo before she was chased off by Serena.
People who weren’t proud of their parents include Raina and Chuck. Raina saw her dad blackmailing Lily to get Chuck to sign over Bass industries. She thought this was dirty and wrong. He left Chicago, and she didn’t go with him. There was a nice moment where he told Raina that he was proud of her. He also said that she looked more like her mother every day (which should not have sat well on her ears since he lied to Raina and told her that her mom abandoned them for another man, but whatever. The audience knew it was sweet.) With her father gone, we guess she is going to keep hanging around with Nate. Before we start commenting on the good stuff, we would like to point out that we really liked Blair and Lily's party dresses this episode. Ok, back to the review.
As for Chuck, remember how his dad’s building caught on fire and killed a security guard? Yeah, we had forgotten too. It has been two years. But the big bomb Russell Thorpe dropped on Chuck involved this. After being beaten, Russell Thorpe decided to monologue like a classic villain about the reason for his revenge plan. He was even pouring himself a drink as he introduced the confession. He said that Raina’s mother had died in that fire. He also implied that Bart had killed her intentionally. Chuck took it like a boy with daddy issues, whining in denial, saying, “My dad and I had reached a good place before he died; you’re just trying to take that away from me!” Then he shut down the party he had held to celebrate his keeping his father’s legacy intact and sat at the bar, taking shots. Serena found him and told him to take his drunk ass to bed. He moaned that only Blair would understand how he felt. He jumped up to find her. GOOD. It’s about time he went crawling back to her, all yearning and whatnot.
Serena’s other parent rolled into town before the end of the hour and announced that grandma CeCe would be coming in too. They are there to protect Lily in her hour of legal need. How they are going to do that remains unknown. Meanwhile, Dan and Blair have been adorably hanging out and then avoiding each other. Both Dorota and Rufus let their charges know that “Dair” might have feelings for each other that they were afraid to explore. Dan showed up at Blair’s apartment the night after the party and said that they should test the theory with a kiss. This is actually a scientifically sound test: http://www.cracked.com/article_19024_6-factors-that-secretly-influence-who-you-have-sex-with_p2.html (see #3). The frame froze when Blair kissed Dan, and we were MAD. We wanted both Chuck and Serena to walk in and catch them. Now THAT would have been a cliffhanger.
Still, Episode Grade: A-
Gossip Girl returns on April 18th.
Pretty Little Liars - A Person of Interest review
This show is so unbelievably juicy sometimes. Also creepy. Also: Hey Toby! When did you get so good-looking? (The actor who plays Toby, Keegan Allen, is 27 - thank goodness)
What happened to the Pretty Little Liars this week:
-Aria: Jenna has been getting closer to Mr. Fitz, which Aria does not seem to appreciate. Also, Jenna potentially knows about the Ezra/Aria relationship, which is great. While one of us is really starting to warm up to them as a couple, it's still wrong. Having someone else outside the Liars (and A) know about the relationship could be amazingly bad for them. When Jenna gives Ezra one of her stories (a "fictional" account of a girl who was blinded by a smoke bomb in a garage - sound familiar?), Aria decides to come clean about what really happened. Oh Aria. That cannot end well.
-Emily: Emily goes on a few dates with Paige, who then admits she doesn't want to be seen in public with Emily. While one of us is still holding out hope that Maya will be back, being with Paige would be interesting for Emily. However, Emily found her courage a few episodes back, and told Paige that while she'll be friends with her, she's not going back into the closet. We are so proud of Emily for that. Also: Paige sang karaoke. It was hilariously bad but also adorable.
-Hanna: Ashley finally discovers that Caleb has been sleeping in the basement and kicks him out. Hanna decides to lose her V-card to him while camping out in the woods. When she comes home the next morning, her mom freaks out, but after a fight with Hanna (where she implies that her mom was once a foster child, or at least had a crappy home situation), Ashley relents. Caleb and Hanna are adorable, but when Caleb sneaks out to the patio to make a call, we find out that he's been getting closer to Hanna for nefarious reasons and he doesn't want to do it anymore. Both of us knew that he was going to turn out to be a sketchball, but it was a delicious reveal. (Our first clue that Caleb was going to have a secret? He's on this freaking show).
-Spencer: Oh boy. We had to save her for last. First, her parents are forcing her to go to a psychiatrist after they figure out part of what's going on with her, Melissa, and Ian. Spencer understandably doesn't like that her family thinks she's crazy, and her reaction only made them think she was crazier. Then she shared a hotel room, a cuddle, and a kiss with Toby. The police found out that she had a fling with Ian, and now Spencer is a "person of interest" in Alison's death. Poor Spencer! She knew this was coming though.
This was an episode focused on romantic relationships. Aria and Mr. Fitz got closer (darn). Emily and Paige had their thing, which ended because of Emily's honesty, for now. Toby and Spencer made significant strides, and Hanna gave it up to Caleb (dumb move, but we liked it). The twist on the end of the episode made it a nearly perfect weekly offering. Lots of drama and bad decisions, but we loved every second of it.
Our favorite part of the episode? The very end. They showed A watching a video of the girls watching the scene unfold at Spencer's house. A was literally eating popcorn and rewatching the video over and over. It was amazing.
Episode Grade: A-
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Oscars Live Blog
-- It's ON. Ern is rooting for The King's Speech for best picture, and Leeard is rooting for The Social Network. Gloating rights to the victor!
-- We are loving the new "ten nominees for best picture" thing.
-- That wasn't funny, but it wasn't the fault of the actors involved. They were pretty good. And Back to the Future? That was random.
-- Anne Hathaway must think she's in Star Wars with that dress. She needs to sing.
-- You get naked, you get nominated! Ha. That explains quite a few awards.
-- We are loving the new "ten nominees for best picture" thing.
-- That wasn't funny, but it wasn't the fault of the actors involved. They were pretty good. And Back to the Future? That was random.
-- Anne Hathaway must think she's in Star Wars with that dress. She needs to sing.
-- You get naked, you get nominated! Ha. That explains quite a few awards.
-- Just what we need. A throwback to Gone with the Wind. We have to be in bed some time this century, thanks.
-- OMG TITANIC!
-- Best art direction: Ern wanted Harry Potter and Leeard wanted Inception. Alice in Wonderland won. Ok, we can see that. But there goes the trifecta.
-- Dude, no one cares. Maybe your mom. Maybe.
-- We both wanted The Social Network for cinematography. Inception won. We're not too mad.
-- Michelle Williams is sitting with Busy Phillips. That literally just made our nights.
-- This old guy is depressing us. It's like when they let Dick Clark talk on New Year's.
-- Ern wanted Amy Adams for Best Supporting Actress and Leeard wanted Helena Bonham Carter. We both knew Melissa Leo had it in the bag though, so we set our hearts up for heartbreak for nothing.
-- Ern and Leeard are fighting because Ern doesn't know who Kirk Douglas is, nor does she care/she hated him on the Oscars.
-- Leeard rooted for The Gruffalo, Ern for Day and Night. The Lost Thing won.
-- Ern wishes so much that How to Train Your Dragon would have won for Best Animated Picture. It was sooooo good. Leeard picked Toy Story 3, and that's what won. Laaaame
-- Ern and Leeard both picked The Social Network for Best Adapted Screenplay, and we knew it was going to win.
-- We both want Inception. It deserves it after its shunning of best director. But The King's Speech won.
-- Leeard thinks "best idea for a screenplay" should be a category.
-- Good, she sang. We're loving these shoes.
-- Did Hugh Jackman-hating Dr. Cox hijack this show?
-- Oh James Franco, you would.
-- Best Foreign Language Film: Biutiful was Leeard's pick, because she really loves Javier Bardem. Ern shunned it solely based on the spelling of the title, which irks her, and missed the other nominees. In a Better World won. We guess we will have to see it.
-- Best Supporting Actor: Ern and Leeard both think it is about time Christian Bale won an Oscar. Ern really likes Geoffrey Rush though. But why is he so bald? Bale won.
-- Why did Christian Bale choose to have that beard for when he KNEW he was going to win an Oscar? What, is he too cool to look good at this nice event? Funny speech though.
-- Leeard wanted The Social Network for Best Original Score. And it won. Ern didn't care at all.
-- Leeard literally screams in joy every time The Social Network wins something. Ern remains underwhelmed by that movie.
-- Nice Fake 'n Bake, Matt McConawhatsit (however you spell that).
-- Inception deserved the award for sound mixing.
-- Is anyone else wondering why True Grit is nominated for so much? It was good, not great.
-- We love you Cate Blanchett, but this is the one time we disagree with your fashion choices. Agree with The Wolfman for Best Makeup. That movie sucked though, and everyone was miscast.
-- James Franco said "Congratulations, nerds" to the recipients of the technical Oscars. COULD THIS SHOW BE ANY MORE YOUNG AND EDGY??
-- Best costume design: Ern wants The Tempest, even though she hasn't seen it yet. She's seen enough. Alice and Wonderland had good costumes too though.
-- Oh yay, we love when people read their speeches off of a card (sarcasm). She looks really nervous though.
-- They have to show a bunch of good movies songs, because the movie songs nominated this year all suck.
-- Leeard wants the Tangled song to win, but that might just be due to her Chuck obsession. Also, Tangled was a really cute movie. Ern thought the Country Strong song was the strongest, but that just might be because she likes Gwyneth and her voice. Leeard still hates Gwyneth.
-- We saw no doc shorts, thus no opinion. Leeard wanted Banksy for regular documentaries Inside Job won. (Great choice in Oprah to present this one). We didn't see any Live Action Short Films. But can that guy with the afro do EVERYONE'S speech. Except Colin Firth's. That had better be good.
-- Love the autotuning the movies into musicals.
-- Ern would like to make it clear that every time Harry Potter is nominated for anything, it should win.
-- Ern picked 127 Hours for editing. Everything Ern wants loses.... Leeard rooted for the winner, The Social Network.
-- Never thought we'd say this, but we want Jennifer Hudson's body.
-- Leeard is sad about many of these dead people.
-- Ern thinks the dead people portion of this show has gone on long enough.
-- Finally, the good stuff. We both wanted David Fincher for Best Director, but Tom Hooper won.
-- Ern hates these Oscars. What a bore. Lame musical performances, lame hosts (even though we like them as actors), and unsurprising awards. Leeard has called 11 out of 13. We need an upset or something.
-- Leeard thinks that the autotuned movie montage made up for everything else being crappy...except for David Fincher losing for Best Director.
-- Why did the talented Jennifer of Winter's Bone dress and dye her hair like a common slut?
-- Natalie Portman is the most gorgeous pregnant woman we've ever seen, and we are really happy she won.
-- Once again, not shocked by Colin Firth's win, but we are happy about it.
-- Yay for The King's Speech winning. But really, there was no reason for us to have watched this. We called most of them, and so did everyone else.
Other TV show grades for this week
A
Being Human
A-
Modern Family
B+
Shameless
Southland
Off the Map
B
Gossip Girl
Community
30 Rock
America’s Next Top Model (Way to cut out casting week! Yay. But that dumb girl is really grating on us. Are any girls that naive, or are they just working the angle?)
B-
Pretty Little Liars (Leeard disagrees profusely. This was a B+ episode, but Ern dragged it down with her grade.)
Parks and Recreation
Fringe
C-
The Office
Being Human
A-
Modern Family
B+
Shameless
Southland
Off the Map
B
Gossip Girl
Community
30 Rock
America’s Next Top Model (Way to cut out casting week! Yay. But that dumb girl is really grating on us. Are any girls that naive, or are they just working the angle?)
B-
Pretty Little Liars (Leeard disagrees profusely. This was a B+ episode, but Ern dragged it down with her grade.)
Parks and Recreation
Fringe
C-
The Office
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The Vampire Diaries - House Guest
This episode gave us a lot, including two deaths. We were sad about them, because these two were only guilty of trusting the wrong people (until Jonas' revenge frenzy). They were good people who were just trying to save the life of a family member. Jonas’ death was particularly sad for us. We never really warmed up to Luka. But Jonas DID stab Matt in the neck, so maybe we aren’t that sad.
The Vampire Diaries has been teasing that Aunt Jenna would finally be told what’s going on in Mystic Falls for a while now. The actress has given interviews about it as well. Amazingly, we totally forgot about the possibility of Matt finding out the truth. But this show loves to surprise us. Matt knows that Caroline is a vampire and that his sister, Vicki, was right about their existence. This ended on a cliffhanger: Matt looked like he was blaming Caroline for his sister’s death. Hopefully, when he stops yelling, Caroline will be able to tell him that she was turned after Vicki’s death. We forget how much Matt has been through because he has been so stable this season. The real question for us is whether Matt is down with dating a vampire, even if she does sing to him so beautifully. That was a little cheesy, but we love Matt and Caroline so much that we will accept it. We also loved his reaction to hearing the truth - it felt real and we don't blame him for totally freaking out.
Also, now Bonnie knows how to kill Klaus. Good. Let’s get that party started. Also, we love that Damon had the fortitude to reject Katherine’s sex offer. We've also decided that Katherine should not die at the end of this season. We like her.
This show is now on hiatus and will return April 7th. We are pissed.
Episode grade: A+
Grey's Anatomy - Not Responsible review
The most interesting part of this episode for us, even though it wasn’t necessarily at the forefront, was the fight between Cristina and Owen. First of all, because it was realistic. Second of all, because they both had great points. The show left it unresolved and we think that it’s going to start a bunch of problems between the newlyweds. We will be less amused if they break up over this, because they’ve been through so much as a couple, it would be a shame to break them up over babies. We've already seen that happen with a couple on this show. It would make our favorite character, Cristina, seem cold. It would make Owen seem like another Burke repeat who didn’t know or accept Cristina either. We don’t think that’s fair to either character.
Cristina told Owen that she married him because she was a “PTSD wastoid,” freaked out, and rushed into it. We were all thinking the same thing, but he married her for the right reasons. That’s not good…and not nice to hear from someone you are married too. He has been really nice to her through all her meltdowns, walking out, and offering to trade him for Teddy. She’s our favorite, but she’s not being nice. A career is NOT all there is to life. When you mature, you realize it is your loved ones who matter. He is completely right about that. Yeah, kids poop and keep you up at night, but they are part of life. It’s nice to be unselfish and have a family. Plus, he's being reasonable. He's not pushing for it while she's a resident and focusing on her career. He didn't throw down an ultimatum. His main point was that she should consider his wishes, discuss the possibility, and lay it out on the table. He thinks he should have a say.
However, when it comes down to it, we think Cristina should win this fight. He went into the marriage knowing that she didn’t want children and “thought she would come around.” She was honest. He married her anyway. You can’t marry someone thinking you are going to change them. It’s not fair and it hardly ever works. Case closed; he needs to live with it, even if he thinks she’s wrong. Even though Owen has been really good to Cristina this season and he has a point, we are Team Cristina on this, because she has been fair as far as this issue goes. Also, how funny looking would those kids be? Actually, they would either be really ugly or really gorgeous in an unconventional way. Whose side are you on?
Another reason this is interesting is that it may be related to other, more substantial insecurities. Owen doesn't feel listened to. Cristina is blocking him and insisting that their marriage might not have been a good idea. She might be wondering if he wants to change her like Burke. She might have intimacy issues because of her dead dad and freaky mom. We foresee that this is going to stir up a lot of drama for these two in the final half of this season. This looks like a catalyst to take this couple through a rough time. It might be about more than babies. This could turn into something VERY interesting. It could either mean personal growth for Cristina and more uncovering of the warm, gushy heart we know is hiding behind those walls. Or it could mean a split for this couple. That could create opportunities to couple these up and provide more plots for the show. Or it could create the opportunity for them to get back together and re-marry, and do it right this time and not rush it.
Other thoughts on the episode:
-Did anyone else tear up when the little boy, Kyle, started singing "Walk the Line" to his mother? So sweet (and sad).
-We liked Stark more after he asked April out. He wasn’t being a jerk and he was even cute in a dorky way when he did it. We always pictured April getting her V-card plucked by one of those male models posing as doctors, not mean, older Stark. This was funny and we look forward to an awkward date between these two. It rounds his character out, too.
-This episode also redeemed Lexie and Jackson a little bit for us. Lexie has many immature moments, but her speech to the cystic fibrosis girlfriend was direct, wise, and professional. It probably saved their lives as well. Jackson, known for saying really stupid things at really stupid moments, finally said something right when he told Lexie that he was “in line” for her. We know so many people will be upset that Jackson might ruin Mark and Lexie, but those two have had a while to get together and have blown it too many times for us to still care. Besides, Jackson and Lexie are more appropriate together.
-We were with Mark. Knowledge is not worth risking a miscarriage. Take it as it comes. Don’t risk making things with your baby worse. Plus, nine-inch needle. Mark is doing a great job with this whole inconvenient triangle, and he’s embracing responsibility. Lighten up, Arizona. He’s a laugh!
-Meredith has been benched, for the most part, for the SHOW for the last two seasons; the chief doesn’t need to bench her from the O.R. Ughhhh. Meredith was right (probably) about the chief’s wife. Maybe he hates her subconsciously because of that.
Other thoughts on the episode:
-Did anyone else tear up when the little boy, Kyle, started singing "Walk the Line" to his mother? So sweet (and sad).
-We liked Stark more after he asked April out. He wasn’t being a jerk and he was even cute in a dorky way when he did it. We always pictured April getting her V-card plucked by one of those male models posing as doctors, not mean, older Stark. This was funny and we look forward to an awkward date between these two. It rounds his character out, too.
-This episode also redeemed Lexie and Jackson a little bit for us. Lexie has many immature moments, but her speech to the cystic fibrosis girlfriend was direct, wise, and professional. It probably saved their lives as well. Jackson, known for saying really stupid things at really stupid moments, finally said something right when he told Lexie that he was “in line” for her. We know so many people will be upset that Jackson might ruin Mark and Lexie, but those two have had a while to get together and have blown it too many times for us to still care. Besides, Jackson and Lexie are more appropriate together.
-We were with Mark. Knowledge is not worth risking a miscarriage. Take it as it comes. Don’t risk making things with your baby worse. Plus, nine-inch needle. Mark is doing a great job with this whole inconvenient triangle, and he’s embracing responsibility. Lighten up, Arizona. He’s a laugh!
-Meredith has been benched, for the most part, for the SHOW for the last two seasons; the chief doesn’t need to bench her from the O.R. Ughhhh. Meredith was right (probably) about the chief’s wife. Maybe he hates her subconsciously because of that.
We liked that, while this episode featured the Mark/Callie/Arizona baby drama, there were other things in the episode. It was well-balanced between all of the characters. They all had substantial storylines Thursday night.
Episode Grade: B+
Unknown
One of us just saw Unknown, starring Liam Neeson. Whereas Taken, Neeson’s other action vehicle was a stupid story with good direction and entertaining pacing, Unknown was a pretty good story with poor direction and pacing that made it stupid. This is an unremarkable action thriller. The first half is really bad. There are moments during that first half where the movie feels like a parody of an action movie. The second half picks up in momentum, starts revealing things, and gets a little more entertaining. This blogger never really cared about the characters or what was going on in the movie though. It’s pretty run-of-the-mill. Slightly above average. There were times where we were bored.
If you really want to see this, go ahead. If your friends are trying to drag you to see it, fight it. But if they won’t give in, go ahead and see it. It’s ok. It’s mildly amusing. But this blogger is sure that anyone who enjoyed Taken and is looking for something similar will be disappointed. It’s really a shame, because the trailer looked interesting, and there’s not much in theatres that we haven’t seen that is watchable.
Liam was decent. Diane Krueger was good. January Jones can act about as well as a piece of bread. It was set in Berlin, so it was nice to hear a little of the German language. The artist guy from The Lives of Others was in it, but that just made this blogger sad that she was watching Unknown and not The Lives of Others.
Movie Grade: C+
If you really want to see this, go ahead. If your friends are trying to drag you to see it, fight it. But if they won’t give in, go ahead and see it. It’s ok. It’s mildly amusing. But this blogger is sure that anyone who enjoyed Taken and is looking for something similar will be disappointed. It’s really a shame, because the trailer looked interesting, and there’s not much in theatres that we haven’t seen that is watchable.
Liam was decent. Diane Krueger was good. January Jones can act about as well as a piece of bread. It was set in Berlin, so it was nice to hear a little of the German language. The artist guy from The Lives of Others was in it, but that just made this blogger sad that she was watching Unknown and not The Lives of Others.
Movie Grade: C+
Friday, February 25, 2011
American Idol Top 24
We found a good picture gallery of the top 24. We don't think it's time to pick a favorite yet. A lot of these people we have yet to hear very much out of. We like Casey, Lauren, the Italian guy, and Robbie.
Here's the link:
http://mediagallery.usatoday.com/%27American-Idol%27:-Season-10%27s-top-24/G2061,A8578
Here's the link:
http://mediagallery.usatoday.com/%27American-Idol%27:-Season-10%27s-top-24/G2061,A8578
Idol is so much better this season than last.
Tomorrow, as soon as possible, we are going blog about Grey's Anatomy, Fringe, and that doozy of a Vampire Diaries episode last night.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Great Freaking News
Two and a Half Men has shut down production for the rest of the season. Yayyyyy!
Glee news
Someone is going to be dying right before regionals. It's going to have a big impact on regionals. Guesses?
We hope it's Artie.
We hope it's Artie.
American Idol - 2/23
Ern is really bummed that Ashley went home. That girl is entertaining, and she definitely has a voice. She is a real life, female Gollum! But whatever. Ern should NOT pick anyone she likes, because, historically, everyone Ern likes is sent home. This could be because Ern has crazy taste in American Idol contestants (Siobhan Magnus anyone?), but it could also be that Ern is jinxed.We are both less bummed that Chris Medina was sent home. That guy was likeable, but he didn’t have a voice. And he sang “Fix You” by Coldplay. YUCK and cliché. The producers probably put him up to it. No wonder J-Lo cried: The show strung him along so that it could take advantage of his sob story. We would have cried to be a part of that too. We like that Jennifer Lopez cried. We don’t think it was manipulative or acting. We think that this is a person who really knows what it’s like to come from nothing and have a dream. She could really connect with all of these people in a way that Simon Cowell could not. This may lead to emotion. She’s human. And she learned a lesson: Idol will exploit everyone’s weaknesses for entertainment, even those of a famous judge.
We get that some of the contestants are only 15, but the fact that they don’t think they’ve ever heard a Beatles song (they have and just didn’t know it) should bar them from any respectable stage. But some of the people we haven’t seen much of before started to stand out. There ARE some good people on this show this year, they just didn’t have interesting enough stories to get coverage earlier. Singers everywhere: If a close family member gets cancer, your first thought needs to be, “Great, I’m trying out for Idol this year.” Scotty, Robbie Rosen, and Lauren Alaina made it through. We disagree with letting Scotty through. He’s shown himself to be supremely lame during Hollywood week. And if he sings that one song he likes again, we are going to smash our TVs. Molly the White House intern is gone, and we think they should have kept her instead of Scotty. Leeard will be happy, because she hated Molly’s personality. Sadly, they got rid of Hollie Cavanaugh too, even though she certainly held her own during this week. The judges told her to come back in a few years, and we think she should. Then they won’t be able to say she’s too young.
We are so ready for the rest of the top 24 and to get this show and voting started.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Glee - Blame it on the Alcohol review
Did Glee REALLY rub another Bieste/Will kiss in our faces? While this one was more friendly and quick, it was still them kissing and we are still not fans. Also, we didn’t like the topic this week at all. It was preachy and awkward. Interestingly, there were no students in the Glee club who thought drinking was wrong, even though there are plenty of high school kids who do. Hey, at least they had a DD….With the statistics casually thrown out and the lame moment where Will quit drinking, plus the fun party scenes, we felt like the episode contradicted itself. One of us thinks there is no reason that teens should be drinking. When one blogger was a teen teetotaler, she got the message from the media that drinking was the most fun thing a person could do, and that a full life could not be complete without it. Adulthood newsflash after some boozing: Drinking IS fun (depending on who you do it with), but it isn't even in the top ten most fun activities, unless your life is just sad. This episode definitely made drinking look like an amazing time, when really only one time out of ten is that fun. There were some consequences of course: Will’s drunk dial and the vomit, which we will get to in a moment.
The show should have treated the drinking episode with pure, Heathers-like dark humor, not half PSA and half funny episode. You can’t have a PSA in the episode where hangovers last from Saturday morning until Monday. It would have been gone by then, even if they had enough to black out. Also unrealistic? How good and autotuned Rachel and Blaine sounded singing when they were that drunk. Not that we didn’t enjoy the heck out of that number, which was the best, most simple, and most fun song of the night. But what on earth was Rachel wearing and where did she get it? Don’t her gay dads have enough style to dress her? We are loving her hair though. Straight bangs were just too harsh on her.
Rachel’s song about her headband made us laugh out loud. Thank God the character Rachel isn’t REALLY writing the songs with dumb Finn. We read that Max Martin, maker of such top 40 hits as….well, most P!nk songs, boy band songs, and other very popular pop, helped write the original Glee songs. Nice.
The Rachel/Blaine kiss was awesome. They go great together. Too bad Blaine is really gay. We love both Rachel and Blaine drunk. When Blaine’s hair is a little more wilder, he’s even cuter (what’s with us and hair, this post?). Kurt was dead-on with his hilarious words to Rachel after she went on a date with Blaine. He was less dead-on with his words to his father about how he wished his father would be able to give him advice on gay loving. What was that? His father is accepting. Does he really need to know the technicalities of what went on in the Brokeback Mountain tent to be a supporting father? Also, he was treating Kurt just like he would if Kurt were straight. Most 16-year-olds aren’t allowed to have lovers spend the night. That’s just good parenting, gay or straight. He was also a douche to Blaine in this episode. But we like when the show allows Kurt to have faults, rather than portraying him as this tragic, perfect martyr. He’s a real character.
We liked the final performance, because Heather Morris has charisma, but the Ke$ha cover was completely unnecessary. The vomit was funny though. Ern is happy to say she has never been vomited on; Leeard has not been so lucky. The best part of the episode, for one of us, was when Sue played Will’s accidental drunk dial meant for Emma over the school’s loudspeaker. We loved Emma’s little smile, and Will’s mortification was very funny. After suffering this trauma, Will took it out on the Glee kids by having them sign a pledge not to drink until Nationals. It was a heartfelt moment. Will gave the kids his number in case they got drunk and needed a ride home or an adult to call. This is actually a cool move. Ern’s school principal did this at the beginning of every school year. Some kids actually did call him when they were in trouble. They had to endure a mother of a lecture though….We’re sure Will would just throw out a few platitudes and then go off to mack on Bieste again.
The show should have treated the drinking episode with pure, Heathers-like dark humor, not half PSA and half funny episode. You can’t have a PSA in the episode where hangovers last from Saturday morning until Monday. It would have been gone by then, even if they had enough to black out. Also unrealistic? How good and autotuned Rachel and Blaine sounded singing when they were that drunk. Not that we didn’t enjoy the heck out of that number, which was the best, most simple, and most fun song of the night. But what on earth was Rachel wearing and where did she get it? Don’t her gay dads have enough style to dress her? We are loving her hair though. Straight bangs were just too harsh on her.
Rachel’s song about her headband made us laugh out loud. Thank God the character Rachel isn’t REALLY writing the songs with dumb Finn. We read that Max Martin, maker of such top 40 hits as….well, most P!nk songs, boy band songs, and other very popular pop, helped write the original Glee songs. Nice.
The Rachel/Blaine kiss was awesome. They go great together. Too bad Blaine is really gay. We love both Rachel and Blaine drunk. When Blaine’s hair is a little more wilder, he’s even cuter (what’s with us and hair, this post?). Kurt was dead-on with his hilarious words to Rachel after she went on a date with Blaine. He was less dead-on with his words to his father about how he wished his father would be able to give him advice on gay loving. What was that? His father is accepting. Does he really need to know the technicalities of what went on in the Brokeback Mountain tent to be a supporting father? Also, he was treating Kurt just like he would if Kurt were straight. Most 16-year-olds aren’t allowed to have lovers spend the night. That’s just good parenting, gay or straight. He was also a douche to Blaine in this episode. But we like when the show allows Kurt to have faults, rather than portraying him as this tragic, perfect martyr. He’s a real character.
We liked the final performance, because Heather Morris has charisma, but the Ke$ha cover was completely unnecessary. The vomit was funny though. Ern is happy to say she has never been vomited on; Leeard has not been so lucky. The best part of the episode, for one of us, was when Sue played Will’s accidental drunk dial meant for Emma over the school’s loudspeaker. We loved Emma’s little smile, and Will’s mortification was very funny. After suffering this trauma, Will took it out on the Glee kids by having them sign a pledge not to drink until Nationals. It was a heartfelt moment. Will gave the kids his number in case they got drunk and needed a ride home or an adult to call. This is actually a cool move. Ern’s school principal did this at the beginning of every school year. Some kids actually did call him when they were in trouble. They had to endure a mother of a lecture though….We’re sure Will would just throw out a few platitudes and then go off to mack on Bieste again.
Overall, the fun moments outweighed the awkward and preachy ones.
Episode grade: B
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