Random TV and Movie Musings

Golden Girls loss

2009-04-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

Most notable "It would not be until season three that Arthur would win that Emmy bookend. With Getty also winning that night, the quartet joined "All in the Family" in the Emmy record book as the only sitcoms with an entirely award-winning cast. ("Will & Grace" would become the third such show when Debra Messing finally won her Emmy in 2003.) "

I just want to say that Golden Girls is a ground breaking show for lots of reasons; first recurring gay character; first prime time show to deal with women's sexuality in that way; and amongst the winningnest ever. These three shows that hold these records are all ground breaking in terms of material. Do they have that in common or just an incredible cast?

Although my favorite Golden Girl was Sophia (Estelle Getty), who sadly also passed, its hard to imagine my life without watching this show constantly. I hope Bea Arthur, as well as Estelle Getty, is always remembered for her contribution to the discussion of important issues of society and family. I know I will never forget what this show means to me.

American Idol 7 finalists

2009-04-25T19:20:00.001-07:00

Anoop Desai went home finally, but really? i think he just didn't have a fan base - where were all the Indians? He was so good and so cute. Honestly, I think his fan base was missing. He kept getting picked on even though the judges frequently said he was so good. I forgot that he made it top 13 instead of top 12 though - maybe he did better than expected then.

I wonder if Indians just don't watch this show in large number? And shouldn't the UNC base have helped him out quite a bit? I guess when there are so many millions of votes, its tough. Sorry Anoop, if I had been in the US, I'd have voted for you a good 20 times. Love the facial hair though!

Top Chef: New York

2008-11-13T17:55:00.001-08:00

Long time no write, oh well. The new Top Chef series inspired me to begin blogging again.

The first challenge is incredible. I love the relay race element of the "Skills tournament" of it that culminates in cooking. I can't help but think about how Hung would have destroyed these contestants in the knife skills, though.

I need to rewatch the episode, but why do Patrick and lauren say they just reconnected? What are they long lost fiances or something? I mean, its nice to see an old friend, but they could just exchange cell phones and keep in touch. Such melodrama so early. I can't help but feel bad for any person who gets eliminated in the first episode of a reality show. They get such crap forever for being the "worst" even though they are incredibly talented (probably). They don't even get the face recognition of being on the show!

This incredible NY pad continues the trend of making the first season look like "Top Chef on a budget." San Francisco must have had places as large as this place in NY. It's just ludicrous that in such a high rent city, they could fit Season 1's entire house in Season 5's foyer. Well here's to Padma instead of Katie and hitting it big with new sponsors and ratings. My first Top Chef love will always be Harold though.

Okay, so already chefs are nervous saying they've never cooked Indian - or the dude who said he hadn't used a paring knife. Am I the only one who finds this kind of stuff unexcusable? Haven't they seen the previous series? Basic knife and cooking skills are tested throughout the competition. Versatility across ethnicities, across ingredients etc are important. And if someone says they don't have at least two desserts in mind, I might scream. Seriously, microwave connoisseur that I am, even *I* know some basic things I would work on before going on this show. At bare minimum, I'd take the previous 4 seasons challenges and try to do them all on my own, but whatever. Maybe I should make a guide book consisting of the criticisms of all the judges and previous challenges. It'd be a "judge philosophy" book for chefs!

one of these women reminds me of Tiffany because she's a bit stand offish and seems very focused on cooking and winning. Mostly, her comment about liking to cook in silence reminded me of Tiffany freaking out in the kitchen and asking everyone to be quiet.

Okay, so winning the first one may or may not mean winning TC according to them, but as we've discussed, the REAL factor is not winning the first elimination but winning my affection. (Yeah, last season disproves that - oh Ryan - so pretty, so not talented enough). I like Gene and Jeff, though. They're cute!

Ok but the elimination challenge - the judges were ridiculously rough. Not one of them learned by using recipes in a book? All of them by experience? really? not a single book? I find that hard to imagine. And, the expectation that if one is in New Jersey they should be able to see all parts of NYC? They've gotten harsher and meaner.

Also, Patrick was robbed. The judges table is very inconsistent - I thought basic culinary sins were worse than not having inspiration? I wish they had an actual rubric set up.

A total aside, Top Design was not that awesome this season but oh my goodness was the finale a debauchery. Perfect Preston should have won!

Podcasts now live!

2008-07-08T05:38:00.000-07:00

The Dartmouth Debate Workshop lectures, which are available on our website free of charge - http://ddw.wikispaces.com - are also now available as a podcast. More lectures will be added in the coming weeks. You can either go to this url
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284449482 or search within the itunes store "Dartmouth Debate Workshop."
Please feel free to leave feedback on itunes!

Stay tuned for the various Dartmouth Debate Institute lectures which will be available on our website - http://ddi.wikispaces.com - and which will also be available as podcasts.

Arrested Development - Episode 2, Top Banana

2008-06-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

A delicious whodunit, after this

George: I haven't taken a vacation in years. I'm exercising, eating well.

Tobias: we are just about ass to ankles here maebe, you wanna hop on your cousin's lap?

Lindsay: I have a job Michael. It's called supporting my husband

Lindsay's accomplishments in high school had always overshadowed Michaels (Lindsay: best hair. Michael: most likely to succeed)

Michael to George Michael: You're staying on top of her, buddy. Do not be afraid to ride her . . . hard

Roger: Remember how crazy our hair was in high school?

George: There's always money in the Banana stand

GOB had not mailed the letter but in an act of defiance, dramatically through it into the sea. This proved a more difficult challenge than he expected.

Mom Bluth: Don't take that tone. He's my son and I want you to make him stop calling me

Lindsay: I was going to say you may want to lean away fromt he fire because you are soaked in alcohol.

GOB: I should be in charge. I'm the older brother.
Michael: do you want to be in charge?
GOB: No, but I'd still like to be asked.

Michael to GOB: You mailed that insurance check, right GOB?

George: There was 250,00 lining the walls of the banana stand!

Arrested Development Episode 1

2008-06-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

I know I'm late on this trend, and in my defense, I have seen some episodes at random. So instead of having non-earth shattering opinions about how funny this show is, I'm just going to type my favorite quotes.

GOB: illusion, Michael. Tricks are what whores do for money . . . . . or candy

narrator: Yes, this is his family. So why is Michael so happy? Because he's decided to never speak to these people again

Michael: I wonder how I can talk you out of ever making that face again

George: Sorry, it's not the right time.

George Michael: I knew it was against the law

Michael: Buster? the guy who thought that the blue ont he map was land?

Michael: I'd love to call it an imposition

George Michael: I'm tempted to kiss againt o teach them a lesson

George Michael: I quit
George: Well, that's probably a smart career move

George: They can not arrest a husband and wife for the same crime

George Michael: You love it here?
George: ah, I'm having the time of my life!

Awesomeness

2008-06-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a website with easy debate lesson plans, lecture videos, citations for arguments like RPS, Climate Change, Business Confidence, and many Kritiks, check out ddw.wikispaces.com The Dartmouth Debate workshop has uploaded videos of virtually all of its lectures and talks in order to allow year-long learning.

Plus, for my three loyal readers, I set up the wiki so you should support the best debate camp wiki around.

Also check out ddi.wikispaces.com - the ORIGINAL debate camp wiki, which will also be handling videos once the Dartmouth Debate Institute starts.

I'm Not There

2007-12-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

I saw this Bob Dylan movie on Saturday night and can't stop thinking about it. I basically agreed to see it because of Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, but ended up loving every minute.
Bob Dylan is portrayed by six different characters each that, in theory, are based off of different characteristics/time periods of Dylan's life. In the array of Bob Dylan's that we see, we have an ADORABLE little boy (played by Marcus Carl Franklin), a variety of hot middle age Bob Dylans (played by aforementioned actors), an older Billy the Kid character (played by Richard Gere), and the somewhat older Bob Dylan played by Cate Blanchett.
Two things I want to discuss. First, Cate was incredible. At first, it was a little tough for me to get over that it was here playing Bob Dylan. To some degree I think this is the issue I have with any big name actor in a movie - I'm always going to think of them as the tabloid personality before the character. When I saw Jennifer Aniston in "The Break Up", I looked for the Jennifer Aniston i read about in US Weekly as well as Rachel from friends. When I saw Vince Vaughn in "Fred Claus", I delighted to see the Vince Vaughn from "Old School" and "Wedding Crashers." But once I was willing to suspend disbelief, I saw that she was simply incredible at this part. The hard sell wasn't that it was a woman playing a man, just Cate Blanchett; Her incredible acting made it easier to believe. The wardrobe choices, loose yet tailored suits, helped to create the silhouette of a man. Her mannerisms, although somewhat effeminate, seemed totally appropriate.
Second, multiple characters playing one person. Although many people will likely discuss this in their much more well thought out and written reviews, I think this movie makes an interesting discussion point for philosophical studies of the complexity of identity. I understand that Todd Haynes justifies this by saying that Dylan was a complex person who constantly reinvented himself. Am I the only one was under the belief that we are all complex people? We all reinvent ourselves with new time periods, significant events, insignificant meetings, etc. I don't meant to belittle the effect this had on his depiction of Dylan. Instead, I mean this to say, why don't we use this more often? This should become the new film thing just like film montages and the real time format (a la "24").

Sorry, sorry, sorry

2007-12-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

It's been so long, ugh! Well, more random musings.
First, Top Chef. Its been months since it ended, but thank goodness Hung won! I know people say Tre broke the streak, but loyal readers, I think people are creating causal relationships without knowing all the facts. The prevailing theory was whoever won the first elimination challenge won Top Chef. That's only because all of those theorizing didn't realize the REAL causality; whoever I get a crush on during the first episode wins Top Chef! It was just correlation, and not causation, that Harold and Ilan won the first elimination challenge. Although, for the record, I still can't believe Tre was knocked out so early. Totally ridiculous.
Don't believe me? I've got more proof of my gut reaction on these chef elimination shows. "The Next Iron Chef" had a variety of very talented contestants with Peshe popularly called the front-runner. My favorite was Michael Symon; Michael Symon won! And he won his first challenge, too!

For now, loyal readers, what shows should I add to my DVR? I'm especially looking for recommendations from the non-prime time networks so I feel like I'm getting my money's worth from my outrageous cable bill.

Top Chef - Season 3

2007-06-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

As always, I'm blogging as I go. Spoilers everywhere, so beware!

Quickfire -
Hung should have picked up the shellfish from the floor, but is that really that bad? And seriously, since when did Top Chef turn into Fear Factor? Getting their own shellfish? Having to open them? It's like all this super gross stuff that in theory
Shellfish and white wine can be done by a monkey, according to Hung. If that's true, can I get a pet monkey who will cook that for me? If you read my previous post about animals in Evan Almighty, you'll remember my adoration for personified animals. So, Hung, if you read this, I'll pay you real big bucks for the cooking monkey, especially if that monkey is snuggle and can talk.
The guest judge, , seemed very positive. "its an acquired taste" - is that a euphemism for "how are you still on this show?"

Healthy elimination challenge -
This is quite an homage to the previous seasons challenge to do a low calorie meal for the kids camp. I really really like these challenges because it kind of refocuses them away from just cooking with favorite ingredients and heavy sauces and butter. Plus, I would love to go to restaurants and order healthy food that isn't just green salad. However, are there no guidelines for "low cholesterol?"

Did NONE of these contestants watch previous seasons to study up? Instant mashed potatoes? Hello, remember in season 1 during the Wedding challenge when the cooks got flack for using cake mix? And that was the cake when none were pastry chefs, etc. AND Dale is going to use precooked chicken? Wow, wow, wow.

Too bad Lia failed to execute, I liked the general idea of her way to update frank and beans.
I love the facial expressions of the judges. Its so obvious they hate a bunch of these dishes. Howie's dish looked the most delicious - made my stomach growl for sure.

Top two AGAIN? This shouldn't really bug me, but it really bugs the beegebus out of me. And Howie clearly is the better chef of him and Dale since Dale USED A MIX! So glad that Howie won and he finally got a real prize - a trip to work with a chef, etc, as oppose to just a big pile of autographed books.

Bottom five? I know they were unhappy, but c'mon. I think it was kind of obnoxious to bring in Brian just to lecture him about using lobsters. I don't think Tom was rude or mean, but still. Lia apparently didn't do much, Sara's food was apparently awful, CJ's meal was apparently a little blah, and Micah's food was bad - plus she was so haughty and "above" meatloaf. Clearly CJ and Lia aren't going home - they're food wasn't bad. I'm glad Micah went home since her food was the least favorite of the people - and she was totally obnoxious.

Okay so Hung and Marcel are friends. Hung and Marcel are given a hard time by the other cooks, unfairly so. I kind of wonder if at least part of it is the editing. Do we have to have a villain every time? Stephen, Marcel, Hung - all talented, arrogant, young cooks who make enemies quickly. All three have a huge explosion early on with someone who seems to be a strong personality. Stephen, however, apologized and redeemed himself at the reunion. Since there was no reunion for season 2, I guess those folks never had a chance. I guess my point here is - are all overly confident but yet talented cooks total jerks? Or does Bravo just find the real gems? And are they really as bad as they are edited to look like? Not exactly ground breaking questions, but seems like the pressing question for loyal TC fans.

Evan Almighty

2007-06-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

I loved this movie. I'm pretty sure this makes me a HUGE dork because it was mostly a cute flick with lots of corny jokes. It's everything that you would expect, but I mostly want to make two points - Steve Carell is the new Adam Sandler and all movies should have personified animals.
Anyone out there remember when Adam Sandler was churning out funny movies like crazy? Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, etc. They were hilariously ridiculous movies with a cute kind of moral. Steve Carell offers us 40-year Old Virgin, Evan Almighty, etc. Seems to follow the same career progression. I do hope that Steve Carell will avoid the Adam Sandler mistake of making repetitive movies. The other strong similarity is that both seem to be great about making movies consistent in their ridiculous corniness. In Billy Madison, or example, the dancing penguin is throughout and it seems very consistent in the world of the babble at dinner, the 20 something in kindergarten, and the creepy classmate with the kill list. In Evan Almighty, the homages to Carell's days on the Daily Show, the reference to 40-year Old Virgin, the bird poop, and witty comments from Rita (Wanda Sykes) all keep this movie well into the family humor genre.
Secondly, can EVERY movie please find a way to integrate in cute animals? (Spoiler warning), when those monkeys were drinking out of glasses, I like almost lost it they were so cute. There are SO many scenes where these incredibly cuddly animals act like people, and every time it makes me wish I could have one as a pet/roommate that would watch movies with me, sit around in the sun chatting about books, etc. I know, I know, none of the animals spoke, but they helped to build an ark, they fetched refreshing beverages and they literally shat on a republican - its not unreasonable to think they could learn to talk.

Top Chef Season 3 Episode 2

2007-06-22T13:02:00.001-07:00

Watching it on reruns, but I have avoided any news of it. Let's see how this season goes.
I do wonder, though, what happened to Kenmore. Now the kitchen is GE Megasomething. Did Kenmore not want to give them a big kitchen? Did the Top Chefs not appreciate it? I wonder if Harold was able to use that kitchen in his new restaurant.

Also, I think they should create a Top Chef Restaurant guide. So in x city, what restaurants are run by former Guest judges or contestants. That way, when I'm in Orlando, I turn to that page, and can visit one of their places, etc. I think this is a genius idea. Anyone agree? I wonder if I can sell it to Top Chef in exchange for a free meal at some of these places.

The quickfire challenge seemed kind of cool - lots and lots of citrus. The display did look really nice. Hung is turning out to be very pompous, though, and may not stay as my favorite for very long. I know he and Tre are good - they were on the top of the first challenge, but they keep editing him with these ridiculous quotes - (and I paraphrase)" we're clearly the favorites" and after winning the quick fire " I didn't expect anything less." C'mon. Every time CJ is on screen it is kind of awe-striking how tall he is. He is clearly literally the top chef. I also loved the amount of alcohol in the quickfire - a tequila hinted smore, a mojito, a Grand Marnier drink. The guest judge, Van Aken, was very blunt with the contestants, but I thought his being critical comments all seemed like they could be helpful.

Champagne Barbecue - the sheer name of the challenge makes my stomach growl. And high end barbecue, I actually think this seems like something a Top Chef should have to do!
I love Tre - in the kitchen he quickly switches away from Shrimp quietly, smartly as he sees that others are doing it. He just seems so nice. Hung continues to be intense and kind of annoying. I am, however, surprised there was no coordination between the contestants. Maybe there was no time, and maybe barbecues don't require it, but they could have eliminated repetition, made sure there were some drinks, etc.
The barbecue itself is kind of boring. Everything looks fairly tasty, but nothing seems amazing. Part of it, though, is some of the people are getting so little screen time. Camille, for example, is not getting a lot of screen time. Makes me think she's not going to be the best or the worst this challenge. Someone who is getting a lot of face time is whiny Joey. Why is Joey so upset about Hung's Watermelon drink? They aren't allowed to make a beverage with the same fruit? You'd think Hung stole the watermelon literally out of Joey's hands.

SO Sara was a surprise. I thought the whole episode that she was going to be eliminated - she has trouble with the quickfire with shrimp, orders the wrong amount of protein until Hung corrects her, she doesn't know what her peppers are, can't start a barbecue. Micah being in the top, though, is frustrating since she was annoying all day.

Again with the bottom 4. Total insanity.
Joey needs to watch more Top Chef. Picking other people to be eliminated is not a smart idea.
I like that their decisions are made on a definitional question of what is up scale barbecue. However, I am really touched by everyone's reaction to Sandee's departure. She must have been really great to be so well loved after so little time.

Another episode down. I'm lukewarm about this season. Nothing turning me off, but nothing really getting me invested in these chefs either.

Spiderman 3

2007-06-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

Spoilers beware, but really this movie sucks so bad, it shouldn't matter if I "ruin" it for you. I think this movie proves that restraint when writing is crucial. Three outside villains, a personal struggle against evil, and another woman. That's like 8 movies, not one almost THREE hour long movie. As a result, none of these plots were well explained. What happened with Gwen? Where did the black stuff come from? Why does it hate vibrations? Why did it wait to make a move until an hour into the movie? And why did it only affect the Spiderman suit at first? Why was Topher Grace's character such a jerk? Why did Kirsten Dunst just forgive him? Didn't she care that he HIT her in public? And she forgave Harry quickly too? And why, in the name of all that is holy, did the butler suddenly walk into the secret room and tell Harry about his father's wound? The butler couldn't have mentioned this earlier? And Harry suddenly decided to believe him and put down the vendetta? And his father's spirit just went away? And who is inheriting all that money??
I've got a billion plot questions left from that awful movie. But to be fair, the first hour would have been a great movie. Kill the sandman. Be upset about it. Wam, bam, thank you writers, done. I even think it'd have been cool to show Topher Grace get the black stuff and then end the movie there. We come back for Spiderman 4 where there'd be some more development of Harry. The butler's revelation could have been less of a random aside, and they, together, could have had the end battle scene that was mediocre. (Um, the Sandman just goes away? That makes zero sense) In exchange, they could have explained a bit more in Spiderman 3 and put in more jokes.
Despite the bad reviews, I went to see this in the theater thinking that the battle scenes and the special effects would make this worth seeing on the big screen. Yeah, I was wrong. Wait for it to come out on DVD, pay the rental to see the movie, and hate it for cheaper.

Top Chef Season 3 Premiere

2007-06-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

After watching Season 1's top 4 defeat Season 2's top 4, I couldn't wait for Season 3. This season is a make or break it deal for me. Season 1 was awesome (especially thanks to Harold!), but Season 2 was a huge disappointment. Sam should have been in the finals, Elia was ridiculous, and Marcel - victim or victimizer - who knows and really, who cares?
Okay, but Season 3 seems more varied in terms of background and personality. Lot of interesting hairstyles, at minimum. (Spoilers begin - beware)
I love love love that the first quickfire begins during their party. It's like the ultimate "left over" challenge (unlike that pathetic attempt in Season 2 where they had TONS of stuff in a fancy hotel's kitchen). I do think its a bit outrageous that they don't have utensils, an ability to heat, etc. Also, does anyone care about hygiene? Did they wash their hands before preparing that food? I hope none of them give one of the judges a cold! The "Tuscan sushi revisited" by Micah looked impressive and tasty. Clay's gazpacho, however, seemed kind of pathetic. Apparently not small enough, but also just gross, not soupy, etc. It kind of disappoints me that we didn't get to see all of the quick fires, though. Of the 6 we saw, though, I want to point out that I liked Micah's the best. (I'm blogging as I watch, so on my honor, I thought it was the best even before Colicchio called it.)
Season 3's digs are outrageous. If i were Season 1 or 2, I would be writing to complain. Season 1 and 2 were able to trash talk in smaller quarters, why does Season 3 get a hot tub to talk about how each of them is the best chef EVER. (Hello, has anyone picked up that a little humility goes a long way on this show? At minimum, so you don't get beat up).
The Surf & Turf elimination challenge is kind of gross. I am kind of surprised, though, that they didn't use Ilan as a guest judge. I liked that Harold was the guest judge last season for the first challenge - it acknowledged that the best of the previous season might have something to share. I am a big fan of traditions though, so who knows.
Howie fails to put his second protein on the plate. Wow. This is the kind of drama that made Season 1 a must watch. (Anyone remember when Dave forgot to make a third dish for the Cirque performers in that semi-finals?) I am embarrassed for Howie that he has to show an incomplete dish. Clay's dish is, however, inedible. Better to finish or better to have good food? That'll be the judge's table for sure.
On an aside, Brian, is an idiot. So he doesn't finish his dish. It looked done. There was a lot on there. Why not just present the positive things instead of saying "oh and I am bad at time management." This hurt Marcel in the finals when he mentioned that his Heart of Palm dish was suppose to include carpaccio. Do these chefs not study up before going on the show???

Okay, so judge's tables and there is only a top two? Not a top three? Well at least the top two are my early favorites as people.
Hung - I love this guy already. He's my pick to win (hey, and last two seasons, I fell for the top chefs during the first episode, so all you gamblers out there, put you money on Hung!) This does run in direct contrast with the trend from the last two seasons that the person who wins the first elimination challenge wins the show.
Tre is favorite, too. Apparently his cooking is excellent, just like Hung's, and they seem to already be pals. Tre complemented Hung's cooking, which I like.
TC exec's are keeping us on our toes with a bottom 4, and a jerk judge.
Asking Howie "What is your major malfunction?" C'mon, that's rude. Howie knew he screwed up. He was awesome in the way he was standing up to the judges. I like this guy's gumption, but someone needs to teach him time management skills.
I just can't help but feel like Clay was set up as the poor dumb southern kid. He looked like he was going to cry. But, to vote Clay off stands in the face of the rules of the game.
They were told to prepare two proteins.
Howie didn't.
Period.
It shouldn't matter how good his first one was. Really, what if someone had said - screw it, I'll cook one of these SUPER well and just not do anything with the other one? This decision allows for unfair strategic calculations. This should be a TKO.
And on a total tangent, Joey seems like a real character. He doesn't like Micah's mothering of Clay. He is a time freak. He was shown wielding a big knife. This guy could turn out to be the catalyst for a lot of interesting behind the scenes stuff. That being said, can we eliminate the awful bickering from Season 2? The end of the show already shows clips of that fighting. Just edit it out! Please! Don't ruin a great show. So, I think the premiere is great. But I'm a little suspect of the season still.

Age of Love - WTF?

2007-06-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

While watching "Last Comic Standing" (this season looks okay, stay tuned for blogging on that some other day), I saw a preview for "Age of Love." This show has to be the most ridiculous form of blatant sexism on TV today. This is eloquently explained by http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/11/age-of-love-hits-nbc-in-june/
I just want to add, though, these women might have signed up for a dating show, but did they know the full results? Perhaps those women fully knew how they'd be grouped and depicted, and I won't question their to choose that. However,just become those women agree, does that make it fit for prime time tv?
It's outrageous. Grey's Anatomy correctly takes a stance against homophobic slurs and eliminates a well loved character, but no one thinks to stop a show that is so clearly misogynistic? I thought television executives were finally accepting some responsibility for the messages they put out in society.
There is a slim chance for redemption - some of the commercials just introduce the show with a tag line of does age matter if you want to fall in love, or something along those lines. However, when the groups are called "kittens" and "cougars," I remain skeptical that this show will not be the worst of all the dating shows. Really, if this show was about whether love was ageless, and all the women agreed to compete, would there be a need for grouping of the women with those titles? We couldn't stick to the old format created by "The Bachelor" ?

Bicycle Thief

2007-06-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Such an important and written about neo-realist film seems out of place on this blog. Since I'm blogging about things as I see them, please forgive me for writing a sub par critique of a truly excellent flick.
This post I want to focus on the where's waldo aspect of the film. Where's waldo, or rather, where's the bike? Given the title (and well, I did absorb an occasional fact or two in those film studies classes) I knew that the bike would be stolen. I found myself constantly scanning the screen for the A Rides frame. I could barely take my eyes off of the handle bars when he walked up the stairs after his wife when she visited the Sonata. When it was off screen, I visualized it being stolen by all kinds of different hooligans. This hyper sensitivity to one object heightened my sense of paranoia about this fairly quotidienne object. At first, I thought this was annoying and felt as if I was missing out on enjoying the beauty of the city and the acting of the people. Now, I feel as if this is part of the message of the movie. The main character, Antonio, often looks past the beauty of the city in search of his bike. It's almost shocking how often he looks past his own son, Bruno, in search of his bike. This intense focus on an ordinary object distracts him from enjoying the rest of his life, perhaps like the focus on the bike distracted me from enjoying the rest of the film.
The bike was, of course, not just an ordinary object to Antonio, nor is it ordinary to the viewer of the movie. To Antonio, the bike is the vehicle (literal and metaphorical) that would carry his family out of poverty. He adds the amount he would have earned and laments having to lose that this economic freedom each day. The family's dreams are pinned on this bike, which is amplified by the opening scenes where each part of the family invests in this chance for advancement. Maria, Antonio's wife, sells the sheets that were a part of her dowry in order to buy back the bike from the pawn shop. Bruno cleans and repairs the bike as it hangs in the apartment. Maria and Bruno each are shown riding on the bike with Antonio at different times, perhaps foreshadowing the possibility that this bike would carry them to a more carefree life. To the reader, the bike is of crucial importance as the plot revolves around it. Without the bike, the watcher would have nothing for which to search.
So, in this instance, I think knowing a bit more about the plot of the film, or at least the title of the film, allowed me to sympathize with the protagonist as he/we focused on a seemingly ordinary object. Just as those destitute workers had to focus on the daily essentials of life and not on the beauty of their surroundings, so too did I miss out on the beauty of the city.

A Beautiful Mind

2007-06-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

I loved this movie. However, I want to blog about how I ruined it. I knew the premise of the movie, that it was about a schizophrenic, and I knew to guess about what were hallucinations, etc. I didn't guess the full extent of these hallucinations until well into the movie, but all the same, I feel like I missed out on a complete movie experience. Luckily, of course, I have now seen this movie many years after it came out (not as bad as the Sting at least) but I feel like the morale of the story is to not watch previews or read about movies before I watch them. Does kind of put me in a conundrum for how to pick movies, though. I guess I can fall back on the old method of picking movies - just look for the attractive actors!

The Sting

2007-06-10T20:56:00.001-07:00

Saw this movie for the first time tonight and I can't wait to see it again. I'll do my best to not spoil anything too major in the storyline.
First, I'd be remissed not to mention that the young Robert Redford is totally dreamy. However, that is the smallest reason to watch this movie. This 1973 movie is about Johnny Hooker (played by Redford) seeking revenge on Doyle Lannegan (played by Robert Shaw) for the death of one of his close friends. Hooker finds help in a friend of a friend, Henry Gondorff (played by Paul Newman). Together, Hooker and Gondorff manage to pull off a series off cons in order to get the best out of big time crime boss, Lannegan.
The costumes are impeccable, as are all the elements of the set. The integration of music into the movie is by far the most outstanding. The usual montage sequence was accentuated by these Scott Joplin tunes (performed and adapted by Marvin Hamlisch). The entire period feel is carried through in every element, but truly the music seals the deal.
The plot is perfect. I'm usually persnickety and look for holes, especially in these kind of caper flick. In this case, I can't imagine a more eloquent plot where the mystery of it all isn't revealed until the last 2 minutes of the movie.
I'm most impressed, however, that the makers of this new favorite showed some restraint. Unlike some current caper films, there were no extraneous romances, no obnoxious shots of everyone being pleased with themselves, and no need to leave open the possibility for a sequel.
But really, it's all about Robert Redford. Especially when he delivers this line -
"You know me. I'm the same as you. It's two in the morning and I don't know nobody."
*sigh*

Golden Girls

2007-06-10T15:34:00.001-07:00

Hey

I thought my first post should be about my favorite TV show ever - Golden Girls. The pilot was not the best episode, but its too hard to choose my favorite, so I thought I'd just choose the first one. In the pilot, they had a gay housekeeper/cook, Coco but he was dropped before the regular season. Thank goodness, because his role in this episode is just to be an extra body. He plays no part in any of the jokes, or in the character development.
Rose plays the role of a grief counselor as she counsels Blanche through the devastating ending to this episode. Sophia arrives from in a cab from the home that burned down. Now, people, the woman is elderly and in a home because she had a stork that rendered her, as Dorothy put it, "completely annoying." If the retirement home burns down, would they really let their residents just hop in cabs off to wherever they want?
Well Sophia arrives just as Blanche is about to go out with Harry, who has proposed to her. Now, I was just a little one when this episode came out, but was the audience so gullible as to believe that one of the main characters would be married off in the pilot? This storyline fails to pass the gut check to this avid and devoted watcher.
Despite the poor plot idea, the episode ends with Dorothy, Rose and Blanche agreeing to always stay together - even if one of them gets married. With 25 million viewers, this first episode of Golden Girls launches a seven season long friendship that is nothing less than heart warming and inspiring. Maybe that's why it's my favorite show - a bunch of woman live together who do nothing but make fun of each other, but in the end (or at least at the end of 25 minutes), they go back to being live long friends. It also helps that this show is totally hysterical.

Thank you for being a reader!

2007-06-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hi readers (of which there are none yet)

In order to justify my obsessive purchasing of DVD's and constant late night TV binges, I thought I'd write about them. Hopefully it's not totally inarticulate garbage, but I hope the title demonstrates I make no promises about the quality of my posts.

Please suggest movies and shows you think I'd like. I'm constantly looking for more distractions!

Thanks