Falling Skies (Official Trailer)

Posted on January 23, 2011 by Arleigh

It looks like while vampires and zombies may be battling it out as the “monster of the moment” the past couple of years there’s an oldie quietly sneaking up behind them to try and take up the general public’s attention.

The first shot was a little film from South Africa called District 9. I think more than a few people saw that little film. Then last year we had a film from two special-effects brothers called Skyline. That particular shot wasn’t as good as the previous title mentioned. In fact, it was godawful though not without it’s perverse entertainment value one gets from watching a very awful film that still manages to entertain (though probably not in the way it’s creators intended to).

In less than a couple of months a film called Battle: Los Angeles will hit the bigscreen and will hopefully be a tad better than the similar plotted Skyline. This one has another South African directing it so that may be a good thing.

Coming this June is a tv series that also follows a similar theme of “alien invasion” with the DreamWorks Television series Falling Skies from producer Steven Spielberg and screeenwriter Robert Rodat. The show will premiere on TNT and stars Noah Wylie, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton and Dale Dye. From what brief snippets of information that has been released about it the show looks to be similar in tone to Spielberg’s own War of the Worlds where it’s about the human armed resistance trying to retake their cities and the planet back from the alien invaders.

It definitely seems to be a very ambitious show and one that hopefully has a much leaner and efficient take on the alien invasion story than the current remake of V: The Series on ABC. That one had many hoping for a sci-fi to make a great return to network tv and instead we got aliens meets True Blood.

Here’s to hoping Falling Skies doesn’t have aliens wanting to have sex with humans and instead aliens just wanting to kill and/or eat humans instead. I think that would make for a much better show.

What Lisa Watched Last Night: The Golden Globe Awards

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, I watched the annual Golden Globe Awards show.

Why Was I Watching It?

Well, I wasn’t watching it because I was expecting to see the best films and tv shows of the last year recognized. The Golden Globes are notorious for being odd and anyone who takes them too seriously needs to relax a little. The appeal of the Golden Globes is that 1) it recognizes both television and film in the same ceremony which means you get to see unexpected sights like Jim Parsons, Robert De Niro, Johnny Depp, and the cast of Glee all in the same auditorium, 2) drinks are served throughout the ceremony which means that everyone’s pretty drunk by the end of it, and 3) you can make fun of what everyone’s wearing.

What’s It About?

As the show’s host, Ricky Gervais pointed out while commenting on the odd nomination of The Tourist for Best Picture (Comedy), the show is mostly about the shadowy members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association getting a chance to hang out with people like Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. And who can blame them, really? Quite honestly, if it meant I might get a chance to spend a night with Johnny Depp (or, I’ll admit it, Angelia Jolie), I’m more than willing to love The Tourist too.

What Worked

Oh my God, it was such an odd three hours. While the winners were kinda predictable and boring (how excited can you get — at this point — to see The Social Network win awards) and showed the typical tendency towards embracing the safe over the unpredictable, Ricky Gervais kept things lively. He hosted with an attitude that basically said, “My career doesn’t need your approval so fuck off, Hollywood.” It also pretty much guaranteed that Gervais will never host the Oscars. My favorite Gervais moment came early when he made the comment about secretly gay Scientologists (an obvious reference to Tom Cruise and maybe John Travolta). The way the audience gasped pretty much told you all you needed to know as far as the truth behind the joke was concerned.

Robert De Niro won the DeMille Award and gave a speech that revealed that he’s actually a human being and apparently, a somewhat bitter one at that. Also, I simply have to mention that Robert De Niro is aging really well. As opposed to…oh, I don’t know…Al Pacino, maybe?

Melissa Leo is one of my favorites actresses and it was nice to see her rewarded for The Fighter but her speech did go on and on and the only thing that saved the moment was that some genius in the control booth decided to cut to Helena Bonham Carter who had the coolest “What the fuck?” look on her face.

Angelina Jolie’s green dress was quite simply to die for and I want it because it’s the same color as my right eye. So, I’ll repeat the offer that I made earlier on twitter: whoever gets me this dress (by whatever means) can watch while I try it on and take it off. (That’s a joke, by the way! Seriously though, I so want that dress. Except, of course, I’d want to have Hello Kitty on it somewhere…)

Natalie Portman won best actress in a drama and, out of all the awards given last night, that’s really the only one I agreed with. When Portman’s name was announced, my twitter friend Jason Tarwater asked if I was doing cartwheels. Well, I didn’t do cartwheels but I did attempt to do a pirouette and wow, that was a mistake because I so twisted my ankle the wrong way and ended up in really intense pain. So, I missed Natalie’s speech but I bet it was great.

I do like the way that the Golden Globes divide their awards into a drama and a comedy section. It’s a smart idea, I think.

What Didn’t Work?

I’m not going to complain about The Social Network winning most of the awards. It’s not a bad film, at all. It’s just not the great movie that so many critics are insisting that it is. At this point, I’m not so much anti-Social Network as much as I’m just bored with it.

Al Pacino’s a great actor but seriously, I hit mute any time he wins an award. And, seriously, would it kill him to wash his hair or something before he shows up for an awards ceremony?

Justin Bieber came out and gave an award or something and I’m sorry — he’s creepy. I mean, like David Archuletta creepy. Plus, I always have to go to Wikipedia to find out whether the i or the e comes first whenever I’m trying to type out the name “Bieber”. I mean, I’m only 25 and this little punk and his fans are making me feel like an old woman complaining about “kids today.” NOT COOL, BIEBER!

Aaron Sorkin won for his overrated screenplay and I guess he’s aware that he’s got an image problem because he tried so hard to be gracious but it was kinda like when James Cameron tried to be gracious while promoting Avatar. It just didn’t work. The more humble Sorkin tried to be, the more he came across like a prick. The final insult came when he thanked the best actress nominees for being “smart” women as if that’s such an unusual thing to be. I’m assuming this was Sorkin’s attempt to show that he’s not a sexist pig but it just came across as condescending and fake. It’s interesting to contrast Sorkin’s speech with David Fincher’s speech. Fincher was far more gracious and, quite frankly, the only reason that Sorkin’s screenplay came close to working was because, as a director, Fincher kept things visually interesting so you didn’t really spend too much time thinking about how every single character in the entire freakin’ movie sounded exactly like Aaron Sorkin. Seriously, does Sorkin know anyone who doesn’t talk like him?

Was it just me or did producer Scott Rudin — while accepting best picture for The Social Network — almost seem as if he had to be reminded to thank Fincher? It’s interesting that, for all the acclaim Social Network and Sorkin have gotten, Fincher has often come close to being forgotten. Could it be because Sorkin is a card-carrying member of the Hollywood establishment while Fincher, much like Fighter’s David O. Russell and Black Swan’s Darren Aronofsky, is not?

Finally, the first winner of the night was Christian Bale. Was he deliberately trying to channel Colin Farrell last night or was it just an accident? Regardless, when it comes Colin Farrell, I prefer the real thing.

“Oh my God! Just Like Me” Moment

: “I’ll show you a pair of golden globes!”

Lessons Learned

As excited as I’ll be if Natalie Portman wins an Oscar for best actress, I will force myself not to dance.

What Lisa Watched Last Night: The Bachelor 15

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, I hear the sound of everyone starting to protest and rest assured, I’m not planning on using my space here to start blogging about The Bachelor (though I guess I could if I ever like got really pissed off at men in general…) It just happens that The Bachelor is what I watched last night and it featured a vampire.

Why Was I Watching It?

Because, God help me, I love it so. Everyone has at least one irrational love. I love crappy reality TV, especially if it gives me an excuse to get all catty and show my claws. Meow!

What’s It About?

Since this was the 1st episode of the new season, we met our new bachelor and discovered that he’s an old bachelor — it’s the return of Brad Womack! For those of you who don’t follow these things (and I assume that’s everyone involved with this site except for me), Brad was the Bachelor a few seasons ago. He’s the one who, after he picked his bride, then dumped her on national TV and decided he wanted to marry the girl who came in second. Then he dumped that girl too.

Anyway, Brad’s been in therapy for 3 years and in this episode, he explains that this all happened because he didn’t have a good relationship with his Dad, therefore establishing himself firmly as yet another little boy with daddy issues. (Pardon me while I gag.)

Once Brad’s got that all cleared up, he meets the poor girls who are competing to be his wife and he basically spends the majority of the episode saying, “I just want another chance because I have daddy issues.” You got another chance, you toadsucker. Shut up about your freaking childhood! Fortunately, there’s hope on the horizon because of a vampire named Madison.

What Worked?

First off, everyone spent a lot of time — and I mean A LOT OF TIME — trash-talkin’ Brad. I mean, everyone! The girls, the show’s host, and finally even Brad himself, all they could talk about was how much of a loser the guy is. And you know what? He is. Which is why it’s going to be fun to watch him basically put himself through Hell all over again.

Plus, the girl with fangs got a rose and I imagine that’s probably because the show’s producers thought she’d be good for ratings but who cares? She’s got fangs!

What Didn’t Work?

Well, the show is like sooooo totally shallow and reality TV is just the devil’s programming and it’s all evidence of how stupid people are and blah blah blah blah. Just insert your own boring, anti-reality television diatribe in here. And then pat yourself on the back because, yeah, you’re really like the first person who has ever said any of that crap. I mean, obviously, you’re a freaking genius. Good job, you elitist toadsucker.

“Oh My God! Just Like Me!” Moment

Not that long ago, I used to dress in all black and wear a studded choker. I also renamed myself Pandora DeSaad and wrote poetry about slitting my wrists and watching the blood circle down the drain of the sink. That got kinda tedious after a while and I moved on. Still, even if I hadn’t, I would still hope that I would be allowed to appear on the Bachelor.

Lessons Learned:

None. There were no lessons to be learned from this. The show was pure trash with no redeeming value. That was kind of the point.

What Lisa Watched Last Night: What Did I Do Last Night?

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Lisa Marie Bowman

No, What Did I Do Last Night? is not the latest Lifetime movie, despite the title. (What Did I Do Last Night?: The Lisa Marie Bowman Story — I like the sound of that….) What Did I Do Last Night? is a 30-minute “reality” show that currently airs on the Current TV Network. Check your local listings.

Why Was I Watching It?

Originally, I had turned over to Current TV to watch Al Pacino in Scarface. What Did I Do Last Night? came on immediately after Scarface and, as often happens with my late night television habits, I was just too lazy to change the station.

What’s It About?

Apparently, over the course of each episode, the show’s smug host (Jeff Leach) gets a different English person drunk and then films them acting like a complete jackass. The next day, he shows the footage to his hungover victim and scares them sober. Or something like that.

This episode’s victim was a cheerful blonde named Rita who, once she got intoxicated, ended up climbing on top of a table at a bar. The next morning, Rita responded by saying that she was “disgusting” and then breaking down into tears. That’ll teach her to try to enjoy herself when she goes out.

What Worked?

Well, Rita did say she was going to try to reduce her drinking so technically, I guess you could say the whole show worked. Except, of course, that’s a load of crap because the show’s not about helping people. It’s about humiliating them while the viewing audience thinks, “I might be an unoriginal, boring, unimaginative toadsucker, but at least I don’t ever get that drunk.” And, taken from that perspective, the show again accomplished what it set out to do.

What Didn’t Work:

There’s a thin line between helping and victimizing and this show pretty much crossed that line from the beginning.

This show was a lot like Intervention in that it claims to help the addicted but only after they’ve managed to exploit that addiction for all that its worth. Of course, there is a big difference in that the Intervention film crew doesn’t actually shoot anyone up with heroin while this show actually gets people drunk so that the smug host can criticize them for it. The whole time that Rita was being shown stumbling around drunk, nobody ever asked if, under nontelevised circumstances, she usually drank quite as much alcohol as the show’s producers insisted on providing for her.

Plus, they pulled a very cruel trick on Rita early on in the show. While Rita is debating what to wear on her drunken night out, the show’s producers are heard encouraging her to wear a white dress with a low neckline and a very short skirt. What they didn’t tell Rita — but what they surely knew — was that her entire trip to the bar would be filmed with an infrared camera which would basically make that white dress transparent in a way that a non-white dress would not have been. Since the dress itself was practically skin-tight, Rita didn’t wear any underwear with the dress which means that, for the final 15 minutes of the show, she’s seen thoroughly shitfaced in a see-through dress with a huge amount of pixels over her crotch. And it’s impossible to maintain any sort of dignity when you’re climbing on top of a bar with a blurry twat.

I felt very bad for poor, exploited Rita. I hope somebody bought her a drink afer this show aired.

“Oh My God! Just Like Me!” Moment

At one point, after the producers have gotten her drunk, Rita is shown falling down and then falling again as she attempts to stand back up. “Oh my God!” I shouted, “just like me!” What’s sad is that, for the most part, I rarely drink. Yet, I often fall.

Later on, as Rita was standing on a table and demanding, “Everybody look at me bum!”, my sister Erin said, “Oh my God, just like Lisa.” As much as I love my sister, I have to disagree. Obviously, not being English, I don’t use terms like “bum.”

Lessons Learned

Don’t wear white on reality television.

“I’ll show you a pair of Golden Globes!”

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Golden Globes nominations were announced today and, as usual, they were a strange combination of the expected nominees and a few that seem to have literally come out of thin air. (Check out that Best Picture nomination for The Tourist.) The Golden Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, an organization that seems to be about as shadowy and obscure as an Illumnati splinter group. That said, I’ve always wanted to be nominated for Golden Globe just so I could get in front of a tv camera, thrust out my boobs, and say, “I’ll show you a pair of Golden Globes!”

Anyway, as I looked over the nominations earlier today, three things came to mind.

First off, the Walking Dead was nominated for Best Dramatic Television Series. Yay!

Secondly, I was kinda hoping that Noomi Rapace might be able to sneak in as one of the Best Actress nominees. There is a small campaign going on to win her an Oscar nomination for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and she was nominated for best actress by yet another shadowy group, the Broadcast Film Critics. Unfortunately, a Golden Globe nod was not to be.

Third, I was a little bit surprised to discover that Toy Story 3 was not nominated for Best Picture (Comedy). In the past, the Hollywood Foreign Press has been far more willing than the Academy to nominate animated films and Toy Story 3 seemed like a far more likely choice than The Tourist. In fact, not even the film’s theme song picked up a nomination. Of course, Toy Story 3 did pick up a nomination for best animated film but I still wonder if maybe this could be evidence of a Toy Story 3 backlash. Up until a week ago, I would have said that Toy Story 3 is guaranteed an Oscar nomination for best picture. Now, I’m starting to have my doubts.

Anyway, here’s the nominees (taken from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association web site):

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

BLACK SWAN
Protozoa Pictures & Cross Creek Pictures & Phoenix; Fox Searchlight Pictures
THE FIGHTER
Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media; Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media
INCEPTION
Warner Bros. Pictures UK LTD.; Warner Bros. Pictures
THE KING’S SPEECH
See-Saw Films and Bedlam Productions; The Weinstein Company
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

HALLE BERRY FRANKIE AND ALICE
NICOLE KIDMAN RABBIT HOLE
JENNIFER LAWRENCE WINTER’S BONE
NATALIE PORTMAN BLACK SWAN
MICHELLE WILLIAMS BLUE VALENTINE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

JESSE EISENBERG THE SOCIAL NETWORK
COLIN FIRTH THE KING’S SPEECH
JAMES FRANCO 127 HOURS
RYAN GOSLING BLUE VALENTINE
MARK WAHLBERG THE FIGHTER

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
BURLESQUE
Screen Gems; Sony Pictures Releasing
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision, Gilbert Films; Focus Features
RED
di Bonaventura Pictures; Summit Entertainment
THE TOURIST
GK Films; Sony Pictures Releasing

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

ANNETTE BENING THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
ANNE HATHAWAY LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
ANGELINA JOLIE THE TOURIST
JULIANNE MOORE THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
EMMA STONE EASY A

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

JOHNNY DEPP ALICE IN WONDERLAND
JOHNNY DEPP THE TOURIST
PAUL GIAMATTI BARNEY’S VERSION
JAKE GYLLENHAAL LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
KEVIN SPACEY CASINO JACK

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

DESPICABLE ME
Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment; Universal Pictures
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
DreamWorks Animation; Paramount Pictures
THE ILLUSIONIST
Django Films, Ciné B and France 3 Cinéma; Sony Pictures Classics
TANGLED
Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
TOY STORY 3
Disney * Pixar; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

BIUTIFUL (MEXICO/SPAIN)

Menageatroz, Focus Features International; Roadside Attractions
THE CONCERT (FRANCE)

An Oï Oï Oï Productions, Les Productions Du Tresor, France 3 Cinema, Europacorp, Castel Films, Panache Productions, RTBF (Belgian Television), BIM Distrubuzione Co., Canal +, Cinecinema and France 3; The Weinstein Company
THE EDGE (Kpaй) (RUSSIA)

Teleshow/Rock Films; Central Partnership (Russia)
I AM LOVE (IO SONO L’AMORE) (ITALY)

First Sun; Magnolia Pictures
IN A BETTER WORLD (Hævnen) (DENMARK)

Zentropa Entertainment; Sony Pictures Classics

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

AMY ADAMS THE FIGHTER
HELENA BONHAM CARTER THE KING’S SPEECH
MILA KUNIS BLACK SWAN
MELISSA LEO THE FIGHTER
JACKI WEAVER ANIMAL KINGDOM

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

CHRISTIAN BALE THE FIGHTER
MICHAEL DOUGLAS WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
ANDREW GARFIELD THE SOCIAL NETWORK
JEREMY RENNER THE TOWN
GEOFFREY RUSH THE KING’S SPEECH

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

DARREN ARONOFSKY BLACK SWAN
DAVID FINCHER THE SOCIAL NETWORK
TOM HOOPER THE KING’S SPEECH
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN INCEPTION
DAVID O. RUSSELL THE FIGHTER

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

DANNY BOYLE, SIMON BEAUFOY 127 HOURS
LISA CHOLODENKO, STUART BLUMBERG THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN INCEPTION
DAVID SEIDLER THE KING’S SPEECH
AARON SORKIN THE SOCIAL NETWORK

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT THE KING’S SPEECH
DANNY ELFMAN ALICE IN WONDERLAND
A.R. RAHMAN 127 HOURS
TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS THE SOCIAL NETWORK
HANS ZIMMER INCEPTION

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

“BOUND TO YOU” — BURLESQUE
Music by: Samuel Dixon
Lyrics by: Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler
“COMING HOME” — COUNTRY STRONG
Music & Lyrics by: Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges
“I SEE THE LIGHT” — TANGLED
Music by: Alan Menken
Lyrics by: Glenn Slater
“THERE’S A PLACE FOR US” — CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER
Music & Lyrics by: Carrie Underwood, David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey
“YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LAST OF ME” — BURLESQUE
Music & Lyrics by: Diane Warren

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

OARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions, Sikelia Productions and Cold Front Productions, HBO Entertainment
DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
Showtime, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company
THE GOOD WIFE (CBS)
CBS Television Studios
MAD MEN (AMC)
Lionsgate Television
THE WALKING DEAD (AMC)
AMC

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

JULIANNA MARGULIES THE GOOD WIFE
ELISABETH MOSS MAD MEN
PIPER PERABO COVERT AFFAIRS
KATEY SAGAL SONS OF ANARCHY
KYRA SEDGWICK THE Closer

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

STEVE BUSCEMI BOARDWALK EMPIRE
BRYAN CRANSTON BREAKING BAD
MICHAEL C. HALL DEXTER
JON HAMM MAD MEN
HUGH LAURIE HOUSE

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

30 ROCK (NBC)
Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little
Stranger Inc.
THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS)
Warner Bros. Television
THE BIG C (SHOWTIME)
Showtime, Sony Pictures Television, Perkins Street Productions, Farm Kid, Original Film
GLEE (FOX)
Ryan Murphy Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television
MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
Twentieth Century Fox Television
NURSE JACKIE (SHOWTIME)
Showtime, Lionsgate Television, Jackson Group Entertainment, Madison Grain Elevator, Inc. & Delong Lumber, Caryn Mandabach Productions

EST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL

TONI COLLETTE UNITED STATES OF TARA
EDIE FALCO NURSE JACKIE
TINA FEY 30 ROCK
LAURA LINNEY THE BIG C
LEA MICHELE GLEE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

ALEC BALDWIN 30 ROCK
STEVE CARELL THE OFFICE
THOMAS JANE HUNG
MATTHEW MORRISON GLEE
JIM PARSONS THE BIG BANG THEORY

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

CARLOS (SUNDANCE CHANNEL)
Film En Stock and Egoli Tossell Film, Sundance Channel
THE PACIFIC (HBO)
Playtone and DreamWorks in association with HBO Films
PILLARS OF THE EARTH (STARZ)
Starz, Tandem Communications, Muse Entertainment Scott Free Films
TEMPLE GRANDIN (HBO)
A Ruby Films, Gerson Saines Production, HBO Films
YOU DON’T KNOW JACK (HBO)
Bee Holder, Cine Mosaic and Levinson/Fontana Productions, HBO Films

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

HAYLEY ATWELL PILLARS OF THE EARTH
CLAIRE DANES TEMPLE GRANDIN
JUDI DENCH RETURN TO CRANFORD
ROMOLA GARAI EMMA
JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT THE CLIENT LIST

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

IDRIS ELBA LUTHER
IAN MCSHANE PILLARS OF THE EARTH
AL PACINO YOU DON’T KNOW JACK
DENNIS QUAID THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
EDGAR RAMIREZ CARLOS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

HOPE DAVIS THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
JANE LYNCH GLEE
KELLY MACDONALD BOARDWALK EMPIRE
JULIA STILES DEXTER
SOFIA VERGARA MODERN FAMILY

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

SCOTT CAAN HAWAII FIVE-O
CHRIS COLFER GLEE
CHRIS NOTH THE GOOD WIFE
ERIC STONESTREET MODERN FAMILY
DAVID STRATHAIRN TEMPLE GRANDIN

Scenes I Love: Messiah of Evil

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since we all just watched the season finale of the Walking Dead (you did watch it, didn’t you?), I figured I’d highlight two scenes from one of my favorite “zombie” films, 1973’s Messiah of Evil.

The first scene is one that I never fail to think about whenever I find myself going down to Wal-Mart at 3 in the morning.

The second scene is one that really hits home for me because it takes place in a movie theater. If nothing else, it perfectly illustrates why you should always have a date (preferably a strong one) if you’re going to the movies. As sidenote, the unfortunate actress in this scene was named Joy Bang.

Willard Huyck, director of this film, also co-wrote the script for American Graffiti.

Review: The Walking Dead (EP06) – “TS-19”

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Arleigh

[Some Spoilers Within]

So, we’ve finally reached the season finale of a very short inaugural season of Frank Darabont’s tv adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s critically-acclaimed and very popular comic book series, The Walking Dead. AMC ordered an initial 6-episode for this season which made setting up the world for the non-fans of the comic book a top priority. This could be seen in the first five episodes as each one explained the rules of this new post-apocalyptic world and how it has changed how people have now begun to behave.

The tv series has stayed mostly loyal to its comic book source, but some divergence from the source material has caused some grumblings amongst the comic book’s legions of fans. It doesn’t matter to them that the comic book’s creator has been ok with the changes and actually an active participant with said changes. These changes have been somewhat minor in the show’s five episodes but as episode five rolled to an end we got a major departure to the source material. Rick has taken his band of survivors back to Atlanta where the CDC (Center for Disease Control) is headquartered at. This never happened in the comic book and it’s inclusion to the story has driven many a fan of the source material batshit crazy.

They ask why make the changes, both minor and major, to a story that was already full of story-arcs, subplots aplenty and enough characters down the line that new ones weren’t needed. I can’t blame them for asking such questions for I, too, are a major fan of the comics right from the very beginning. But these changes is exactly why the story being told by this tv adaptation look and seem fresh to me. The end of the last episode was such a major departure that I can now honestly say that I have no idea what Darabont and Kirkman have in store for Season Two. It’s that element of the unknown and the surprise of not knowing what’s around the corner why I don’t rail against these changes. If I wanted a page-by-page, panel-by-panel adaptation then I’d rather just bring out the comics and re-read them for the umpteenth time.

Now we get to the season finale and whether the major change will actually improve or just ruin the series.

I must say that I was guarded in my optimism about this major departure and the inclusion of the CDC. What I’ve liked about some of the best zombie stories ever put on film or on paper is that the zombie apocalypse never truly gets a definite explanation as to how it began or what caused it in the first place. This season finale episode titled “TS-19” seemed like Darabont’s attempt to try and explain the cause of the zombies and who or what let it loose in the first place. Very bad zombie stories try to over-explain and end up tripping over themselves in the process and thus ruining the experience.

With “TS-19” we get Dr. Edmund Jenner (Noah Emmerich), last surviving researcher in the CDC, give a brief explanation as to the process of when a person goes from living to dead to reanimated corpse. While the fancy computer-enhanced imagery seemed to explain much it really doesn’t. It just scientifically showed what everyone already knew. They still don’t know if it’s a viral or bacterial disease or if it’s even a disease at all. Even Jenner doesn’t discount Jacqui (one of those new characters added in that fans of the comics railed against) mentioning that it could be the wrath of God. The sequence even answers viewers’ question about how long it takes for a recently dead to return back as a “walker”. The answer to that is that they don’t know.

This episode highlighted how ineffectual the very institutions people depended on for help, security and safety when the zombie apocalypse finally hit critical stage. We see this in the show’s cold start prologue as we go back in time to see the final moments at the King’s County Hospital where a comatose Rick Grimes was being kept at for observations. Shane, his partner and best friend, sees the brutal solution the military has for those either infected but alive and/or unwilling to vacate the hospital as it began to be overrun by the “walkers”.

This sequence answered questions about why the military was so inefficient. It’s also a damning condemnation about the rigidity of such a major governmental institution unable to adapt to an ever-changing situation where the enemy didn’t sleep, didn’t stop to rest or wasn’t afraid about being fired on. This was an enemy that was conducting the true meaning of “total war” on a people who were already on the ends of their last rope. The fact that their solution only swelled the ranks of those they fought just showed how doomed the world is when something this apocalyptic occurs without warning and without a means to fully understand and combat.

Even Jenner doesn’t know what made the zombie apocalypse begin and the source of what scientists thought was something they could find a cure for. This ambiguity needed to be shown to stop question from the audience about the “why’s” and “how’s” and instead get the series back onto the road where survival and holding onto their humanity remains their ultimate struggle.

This episode does get them back onto that lonely road with some deciding to stay as the facility began a countdown towards a final decontamination. We get also get a nice scene between Jeffrey DeMunn’s Dale and Laurie Holden’s Andrea that should make fans of the comics happy. The same goes for showing just how ineffectual Rick has been as their leader as every decision he has made has put the group in danger. It shows Rick’s intractable belief in doing the right things and holding on to the vestiges of civilized behavior could be just a front to give his wife and son hope that things will be better. This episode shows Rick that what’s better is to stay for that final decontamination instead of going back on the road where only death and suffering will await him and his group. Jenner’s comment that was heard was like a prophetic announcement that Rick will regret going back out.

So, we finally end Season One of The Walking Dead and have a very long wait (hopefully AMC make the decision to air Season Two not on October but at least a month sooner, if not a couple of months.) til the series picks up again with the convoy of survivors headed to parts unknown. Parts unknown not just for the characters in the series but for fans of the comic book as well. Here’s to hoping that while Darabont and Kirkman uses the comic book as the main path for the series moving forward that they also deviate from it from time to time if there’s a good story to tell on those small paths and tributaries.

Extras

* “Dude, you are such a buzzkill.” – Glenn finally gets back his witty ways as he reacts to Shane’s questioning of Jenner during a celebratory dinner.

* “Man, I’m going to get shitfaced drunk, AGAIN.” – Daryl’s reaction to Jenner’s news that there may be no one left anywhere.

* I found it quite ironic that of all the people to hold out the longest as the rest of the world gave up it would be the French.

* There was quite the Lost In Translation moment towards the end as Jenner whispers something into Rick’s ear before the group bolted to escape. Theories on what already has odds on Lori’s physical situation after the tests Jenner gave the group.

* As a military nut I smiled at the use of the acronym H.I.T. to literally mean a hit of a high-impulse thermobaric high explosive. That’s what I call a hit.

* Scene as Rick tries to plead with Jenner to let them go one can see Daryl still axing away at the blast doors.

* “The world runs on fossil fuel. How stupid is that!” – Jenner pointing out that places still doing research to find a solution failed because the power grids which run on fuel stopped due to lack of it.

* “This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event.” – Jenner finally voicing what everyone in the show has been avoiding and should give a clue as to the true meaning of the show’s title.

* The episode ends with a Bob Dylan song, Tomorrow Is a Long Time, that was very appropriate.

The Walking Dead Writing Staff Changes

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Arleigh

Season One of The Walking Dead is just days away from concluding. The show has been a runaway hit for AMC. It’s ratings since the pilot premiered on Halloween night has tripled the numbers posted by AMC’s other critically-acclaimed hits like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. It’s showrunner in Frank Darabont with veteran Hollywood producer Gale Anne Hurd the show had the firepower to allow a basic cable network to take a chance on a tv series based on a long-running comic book series about survivors in a post-zombie apocalypse world.

With Season 2 already approved for a 13-episode pick-up the only question now is whether the show will be able to take the foundations laid by Darabont and his writers this first season and continue to improve on the product. This question may have just taken on a certain significance as Deadline has reported that Frank Darabont has fired all the writers of this first season and plans on writing the second season by himself with freelance writers being brought in to work on each episode’s scripts.

For a show that has garnered great reviews from critics and fans alike, not to mention ratings that it’s sister shows on the network could only wish for, this change in how the upcoming season would be written might just put the shadow of worry over it’s growing legion of fans.

For some, this news might seem like a panic move designed to placate the vocal minority of blog reviewers who have pointed out how the show’s writing didn’t pass muster after a powerful pilot episode. How the series’ first season seem to have a Jekyll and Hyde tone to it. One episode being great then the next just so-so. Could the negative criticism (some justified and others just criticism for criticism’s sake) have reached the heads of AMC and the show’s producers and a decision for a change was made off the cuff.

This report, if confirmed by Darabont and the network as true, does mean Darabont becomes the sole writer for the show with hired freelancers doctoring finished scripts then it could be a blessing for the show moving forward. There will now be a singular voice that will dictate how the show goes forward. Some will think this may just ruin the quality of the show not having a staff of established writers on-board like the first season had, but it’s those very same writers who the show’s detractors have been blaming for the show’s missed opportunity to create a brave new show on tv.

Also, it’s not such a rare thing to have a show written by one individual and for a series that’s really one long story with some very complicated subplots thrown. Having that one writer could keep things from getting too confusing. It could also solve the up and down nature of the episode quality.

AMC, hasn’t stated that the show will not have a staff of writers. There’s a chance that Darabont will hire both freelance and series writers to help smooth the transition from Season One to Season Two. The good thing is that the network and the producers pretty much have 11 months to decide on exactly how to proceed.

Source: Deadline

2010 Oscars: The Search For A Host Or Two

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, I guess this the type of silly, gossipy stuff that I — and I alone — am a sucker for but anyway … the hosts of the next Academy Awards ceremony have been announced and the winners are Anne Hathaway and James Franco!

Huh?

Don’t get me wrong, I love them both. James Franco was great in 127 Hours and Anne Hathaway starred in the story of my life, Rachel Getting Married. But what exactly about either one of them screams “Oscar host?”

To be honest, Oscar Host has always seemed like a thankless job. Jon Stewart did a pretty good job a few years ago (and it was really cool how he brought Marketa Irglova back out on stage so she could give her speech after winning the award for best original song) but otherwise, is it really a job that anyone wants?

(And, even if Stewart was a great Oscar host, he’s been getting progressively more and more smug, annoying, and self-important ever since.)

Remember when Hugh Jackman hosted and he sang that song that just went on and on and then we all realized that we didn’t really like Hugh Jackman that much in the first place?

And I guess last year it was Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin and … yeah, that was really memorable.

Ellen DeGeneres hosted the Oscars and suddenly, she was a judge on American Idol and did that do anyone any good?

Actually, I think the ideal host would be someone like Jeff Probst, someone who would just smirk after the winner’s announced and ask the other nominees what it felt like to be losers.

Seriously, I’m worried for Franco and Hathaway. I think that perhaps in the future, the role of Oscar host should be reserved for people who are already generally acknowledged as being annoying. That way, at least, nobody will shed any tears when the Oscar Host Curse kicks in.

Kara DioGuardi needs the work.

Review: The Walking Dead (EP05) – “Wildfire”

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Arleigh

[Some Spoilers Within]

We’ve now come to the penultimate episode of The Walking Dead‘s first season. If there’s been one thing about this tv adaptation — of the Robert Kirkman comic book series which it’s based on — has proven it’s that the show is willing to go off the reservation when it comes to following the source material. The show has made some interesting storytelling and character choices right from the start. Scenes which occur later in the comic book have been moved up and combined with others. New characters, both recurring and disposable ones, have been introduced to the original numbers from the book.

Some of these changes have been welcomed by old fans of the book, but there’s a vocal minority who don’t see why there’s a need for such changes and additions. To new fans whose experience with this franchise has been just through the show the changes don’t mean a thing. They’re coming into this fresh and with open eyes. For long-time fans this need to watch this show with open eyes instead of clutching at the strict canonical material that are the books it would be a hard time going. I’m one of those who have been reading the books since the beginning and for the most part I’ve accepted these changes. Even the major departure introduced to end this episode I find quite interesting and with guarded optimism that it will lead to a surprising season finale and set-up season two properly.

We begin the show the very morning after the zombie attack on the camp which ended the previous episode. The survivors are cleaning up the bodies of both the “walkers” put down and those people they lost. The scenes showing how both Carol deals with her abusive husband’s corpse and how Andrea deals with her younger sister Amy were quite powerful in their own way. In one scene, we see an abused and beaten down wife taking out her anger and relief on the source of her problems with a pickaxe. In another, we see an older sister remembering past regrets of never being there for her much younger sister despite promises to do so. The scene with Andrea goes against much of what most zombie survival aficionados would do, but it brings to light just how much the Andrea loved her sister and even if it means seeing her come to a semblance of life just one more time to say her goodbyes she would do it. Knowing what she would need to do in the end just made her tearful final goodbye that more powerful.

The third farewell doesn’t happen until 3/4’s of the way into the episode (though we do see Morales and his family go their own way. Going to miss him going for the fences with that baseball bat) and involves Jim. An injury incurred from the fight during the night leaves him and the group with a problem that gets resolved in one of the more poignant scenes in this series, so far. As Morgan Jones from the pilot episode instructed Rick the “walkers” and their bites are a death sentence. The two competing leaders of the group in Rick and Shane want to solve their Jim problem using different methods. Rick wants to take the group to the one place he thinks could still help Jim and that’s the CDC near Atlanta. While Shane, with enthusiastic support from Daryl, wants to put Jim down before he becomes a dangerous liability.

In a scene reminiscent of a similar one from Romero’s original Dawn of the Dead, Jim makes the final and ultimate decision about his life. The goodbyes made by everyone to Jim after he’s made his decision to be left behind was very heartbreaking. Jim might have been a secondary support character but the last couple episodes have fleshed out his character enough that we care what happens to this man who has lost everything and thinks his predicament will reunite him with those he has lost.

The growing schism between best friends Rick and Shane gets a few more nails added to it as we see Shane gradually losing his command of the group. The group looks to be gravitating towards Rick as their leader now and even the wildcard in Daryl seem to look to Rick for the answers. The scene between the two as they patrol the woods near the camp definitely widens the gulf between the two even if Rick looks to be unaware of what’s really going on with Shane. The sudden appearance of ever stalwart and ever watchful Dale sure thinks something is amiss.

It’s the final ten minutes of the show where we finally know why the episode was titled “WildFire”. In another departure, one that would be called huge by fans of the comic books, we see the lone surviving researcher within the CDC sending video reports on what’s being called “Wildfire” and how research on the so-called “disease” has remained useless with no answer in sight.

The whole entire sequence reminds me of the early parts of Stephen King’s own apocalyptic epic novel, The Stand, as scientists desperately try to stem the tide of the approaching apocalypse to no avail. It’s little subtle references to other apocalyptic stories and tales like this which keeps some of the changes and departures from the source material bearable and, at times, even welcome.

It’s this major departure that will send some long-time fans of the comic book apoplectic. The vocal minority will definitely get even louder as to why Darabont and the writers are messing with the timeline and the stories in the original comic book. As one of those fans I should be screaming just as loudly, but the zombie and apocalyptic genre fan in me actually like how this show has gone off the beaten path of the original source material.

If they had stayed word-for-word and panel-for-panel true to the comic book then there’s no surprises to be experience. Knowing how everything unfolds right from the start could get boring even if it is about something read and re-read with love. There’s still no guarantee that the final pay-off of this particular major detour from the comic book will end in a good way, but the possibility of not knowing how this story-arc will end this first season is both exciting and tense-inducing. It could succeed in the best way, but also fail in an epic one. Either way the path now is not set in stone and everything moving forward will be undiscovered country.

Extras

* Quote of the night: “I think tomorrow I’m gonna blow my brains out, I haven’t decided. But tonight, I’m getting drunk!” – nameless CDC researcher.

* For once Glenn doesn’t have a witty quip or remark which just highlights the somber mood of this episode.

* There’s still no news on the whereabouts of one Merle Dixon though he gets name-dropped a couple times.

* A sneaking suspicion that Merle will not appear again this season, but may in the next or later ones.

* Bear McCreary’s score and choices of music for the episode the best in the series, so far to date. Especially, the use of John Murphy’s Adagio in D Minor from the sci-fi drama Sunshine which was recently used in Kick-Ass.