POP & CULTURE

The HOUR of Power Recap OR So Long Stella!

2008-10-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Finally.

For the first time this season "How I Met Your Mother" finally feels like it has knocked off the rust from the summer hiatus, and I think we can now all agree: the show is officially BACK.

And I know I was leading the charge against Stella, but that's not even the main reason why I really, really liked last night's episode (I'm going to give it some time to marinate, but this might be a Top 5 All-Time Favorite Episode for me when it's all said and done).

It felt like the writers finally got back to the quality story telling that made the show great in the first place. There were unexpected and creatively crafted twists and turns, the comedy was top-notch (Ted's protein joke to Stella's sister and Marshall's Seattle Mariners joke were fantastic), and most importantly, the story was about something and carried some emotional weight.

You know what, I'm actually going to just disregard the first couple episodes of this season and count this episode as the season premiere (seriously, you're not losing anything if you just cut out those other eps).

That's how good this one was.

For the most part of the first three seasons, "HIMYM" has always had a very unique and creative ability to make the stories transcend traditional sitcom story telling and breathe like real life events (that's why we all struggled with the Stella story line - it never felt real).

That's what was made this episode.

They nailed the concept that we as self-centered humans tend to think of ourselves as the "lead" or central figure in life's stories, and that's not always the reality of a situation.

Ted thought Stella didn't want Robin at their wedding because he thought the story revolved around him. When we heard her dialogue again at the end of the ep (in the flashback sequence), the reality of Stella's own fears and emotional conflict hit me with a wave of season one goosebumps.

This story wasn't about Ted.

I don't think I even understand how amazing that kind of writing is (the ep was written by Chris Harris, another former "Late Show" staffer).

And that ending sequence was so powerful. It didn't just spoon-feed you the information (even though it was all obvious), it let you experience the situation with the characters. The cuts between Robin on the ferry boat to Ted finding the "Dear John" letter to having Marshall, Lilly, and Barney appear in the room with Ted and their individual reactions (for some reason, the group never seemed closer to me than in THAT moment) to Robin seeing Stella and her ex on the boat all made for griping television.

That's all you can ever ask for from a show.

OK, now what happens next? I've already seen a lot of the fansites and messages boards heating up with Ted and Robin rumors.

Really?

They might flirt with them getting back together but there's just no way.

Robin needs a place to stay now that she's back from Japan and we know she lives in Ted's apartment on his 31st birthday so that will be happening sooner or later. Sure, they might try to get us all going down the Ted and Robin path again, but I think as soon as we are going one way, that stupid yellow umbrella is going to sneak up out of nowhere (remember, it's currently in Ted's possession).

Plus, Ted was just engaged and was basically left at the altar. I can't even see him running into anything new any time soon.

How I love Single Ted!

One last note as we close the book on Stella: I give Ted credit. He was going to go through with it. He stood up to his friends and really felt like she was the one. He made a decision and stuck to it and now he's not the jerk in the end.

Ted's growing up, boys and girls. Sometimes it takes those kind of relationships to get you to the right relationship that you wouldn't have been ready for without those previous experiences.

So long Stella! Welcome back Ted.

Oh, and Sheldon couldn't get to work on "The Big Bang Theory" last night. Seriously, that's all that happened and we didn't laugh once.

Yawn.

- Josh Mahler

The Viewing Dilemma

2008-10-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

So Tuesday night there was nothing to watch and last night (Thursday) there was too much to watch. When I think about how many viewing options I had to navigate through last night, it almost infuriates me that I blew a night this week watching a Jeff Goldblum "mockumentary".

The viewing schedule was heavily debated going into last night, but I'm proud to say that we pulled it off nicely.

I really wanted to check out the NBC premiere of "Kath & Kim" (starring one of my favorite "Saturday Night Live" alums, Molly Shannon - one of the greatest two first name names of all time, by the way) and the special "Saturday Night Live Primetime Weekend Update Thursday" (that has to be the GREATEST, nonsensical title in the history of television); but I knew they probably weren't going to make the cut, so I recorded them and will have to watch them sometime this weekend.

The real issue of the evening was the fact that Game 1 of baseball's National League Championship Series featuring my beloved Philadelphia Phillies was starting at 8:30PM on FOX and "The Office" was airing at 9PM on NBC.

Here were the options:

1. Watch the game first and "The Office" (on DVR) afterwards. Plain and simple, I've been waiting 15 YEARS to watch the Phils in the NLCS again. I was 13 years old the last time they made it this far and I've been excited about the series all week. I couldn't shake the down side, however, that I knew I would want to watch "The Office" at some point last night and if the game went into extra innings, that could make for a late night (and there was no way to tell what my mood would be like at the end of the game).

That got me thinking about trying to pull off the second option:

2. Watch "The Office" first and then the game (on DVR). This was was obviously the more riskier of the two choices because I didn't think I could make it through the 8PM block and "The Office" without getting a text or call from someone or just randomly seeing the score on a random channel. But there was just too much up-side involved to ignore. If we watched "The Office" first, we could then catch up to the game in real time by skipping through the obnoxious pregame festivities and the commercials. The game would end at it's normal time and we would have seen both in the same amount of actual time.

We turned off our phones, threw in an episode of "Cheers" in the DVD player at 8PM to avoid seeing the score, watched "The Office" at 9PM, started watching the game at 9:30, and caught up to real time in the ninth inning.

It was a team effort, but we pulled it off and it made for a beautiful night.

Sometimes you just have to take the risk.

A couple quick notes about "The Office":

- Um... so yeah, it was AMAZING last night. Every time I get wrapped up in "How I Met Your Mother" or "Big Bang Theory", "The Office" slaps me in the face and says, "Nope, I'm actually still the best show on television right now."

I can't disagree anymore. After a lack-luster hour long premiere, they just went back to a solid half hour episode and it felt like a classic ep from season two or three. I appreciated the way they handled Jim's announcement of his engagement to Pam in the cold open ("The Office" has always done a fantastic job of refusing to dwell on a story line), we got treated to a meeting in the board room (where we found out just how little work everyone does), and Jim toyed with Dwight (the "Battlestar Galactica" conversation with Andy was the highlight of the night for me).

Like I said, it felt like a classic episode from the first few seasons that made the show great.

I read a lot of show recaps on other websites and I'm noticing that a lot of newer fans of "The Office" get frustrated with these kind of episodes. They want to see plots twists and turns, but I don't think they realize that in season one (it was only six episodes) there was no plot. None of the episodes were really connected - you could definitely tell that Jim had a crush on Pam, but beyond that, it was just one brilliant half hour of brutal awkwardness after another.

So, needless to say, I liked this one a lot.

And I love Holly. She is really opening up the show for me like Andy did with Michael and Dwight in season three. The funny thing is that I really liked Toby and was sad to see him go.

But after only two weeks, I'm now like, "Send us a post card from Costa Rica, Toby, Holly's filling in just fine!"

I can't wait to see where we go from here.

- Believe me, I'm not being cocky when I say this - only because no one is more pessimistic about the Phillies than me - but other than Manny Ramirez, I'm just not afraid of anyone in the Dodgers lineup. I never thought I'd feel confident with Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton pitching Games 2, 3, and 4 of the NLCS, respectively, but I kinda am.

Paulie called it last night: as soon as the Phillies hitters stopped swinging at Lowe's low pitches and taking them for the balls that they were for the first four innings, he started leaving them up and Utley and Burrell each saw something they could drive out of the park. That's why I love baseball. It just comes down to easy fundamentals sometimes.

Have a great weekend and GO PHILLIES!

- Josh Mahler

Another Redbox Testimonial

2008-10-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

If you have no life like me, you will know that there was absolutely NOTHING on television last night.

Sorry, I consider myself a responsible, well-informed citizen but I can't get into the presidential debates (the candidates just try to maintain the status quo without screwing up too badly), so there goes the network channels and there were no interesting games on because all of baseball's first round playoff series had already been decided (ESPN was running poker tournaments - thanks guys).

Beyond that, as you can see from the bar to the right, there really aren't any new DVDs worth renting either (Adam Sandler got my money once for "Zohan", I'll never let that happen again).

So I used last night night as one of those rare opportunities to find something new, something I wouldn't normally watch or get into.

I stopped by the nearest Redbox machine and was completely open to anything. There really wasn't much that I haven't seen or knew I wouldn't like but for whatever reason, the Jeff Goldblum movie "Pittsburgh" caught my eye. I've been to Redbox many times over the past year and I never noticed it before yesterday (it was released in 2006) and even though I've never been a big Jeff Goldblum fan ("Jurassic Park", "Independence Day"), I thought I'd give it a whirl.

It definitely wasn't amazing but it definitely wasn't bad at all. More than anything, "Pittsburgh" plays with your mind as it completely blurs the line between fiction and reality.

It's filmed in the mockumentary style of the Christopher Guest "Waiting for Guffman", "Best in Show", etc. movies only Jeff Goldblum is playing himself and everything he does is completely real only it's completely fake...

Or is it.

Basically, he's playing himself and he wants to help his Canadian fiancee (actress Catherine Wreford playing herself) stay in the country by getting her some acting work and he agrees to join her in a local theater production of "The Music Man" in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.

Here's the thing, Jeff Goldblum actually played the lead role of Harold Hill in a local theater production of "The Music Man" in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA for the show's two week run in 2004 - you can read an article about it from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette here (This movie debuted at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival).

So everything that happens is technically "real" but it's only real because of the fictional pretense.

It's actually kind of brilliant, especially in the context of our current day and age of "reality" television.

The film had no rating, but it's pretty clean and while I'll wouldn't recommend it on a night when one of your favorite shows is one or you actually have something worthwhile to do, it was bizarrely fascinating and a good option on a boring Tuesday night.

The HALF Hour of Power Recap

2008-10-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

Oh, that's right, "How I Met Your Mother", you heard me.

This weekly recap will be referred to as the "HALF Hour of Recap" until Stella is gone and I laugh at something more than just Barney (I will admit that Marshall's rant about New Jersey at the end of the episode last night was pretty funny, but still).

You know what, I'm actually going to start with "HIMYM" today.

I'm not officially panicked or even worried about the state of the show but my concern grows with each clunker they have trotted out this season.

I'm starting to think that this is just part of a greater "EFF You!" to CBS for almost cancelling the series the past two seasons. Comedian Chris Rock once did a bit about how your girl can keep running her mouth at you and there comes a point when she crosses the line and you both know that you have every right to punch her in the face, only you don't because you're an evolved, civilized human being; but here's the key: once she knows that you're not going to hit her, she just unleashes on you because now there's no fear of any consequences.

So my theory is, the "HIMYM" producers blew all of their creativity the past three seasons trying to keep the show alive and now that they know CBS isn't going to cancel them, they're almost taunting the net by churning out crappy episodes.

Just like "Family Guy" did when Fox brought them back from the dead.

Wow. I'm turning into the Oliver Stone of sitcom conspiracies.

OK, now that I got that out of my system, here's what I really think is going on: We've all been there. We've all had that best friend that gets real serious with someone that we think is bad for them. The relationship change your friend's personality and lifestyle and you would be fine with it IF your friend seemed happy in the process (because we all want what's best for our friends).

Does Ted really seem happy to you right now?

I think not.

And, just like I can't believe we had an entire episode about hamburgers last week, I can't believe we had to sit through the charade of an actual debate about New York and New Jersey.

Here's all you have to know: If you're debating about living in New York or New Jersey, than I can guarantee that New York doesn't want you. That's like if you were looking to buy a really nice, big mansion but then told the real estate agent that you were still considering moving into the dumpster out back.

The agent would make that decision for you.

So while "HIMYM" is displaying some very real Shark Jumping symptoms, I'm not giving up hope. I know we have to go through Stella's sister wedding in November (the father of Stella's daughter returns as a complication) and I think that should be the beginning of the end for Ted and Stella.

And then you know what we will be rewarded with?

Not in a Relationship Ted!

Not in a Relationship Ted episodes are my favorite because Ted is always more fun when he is chasing the unicorn than when he thinks he has caught it. And I really believe that this Not in a Relationship Ted will actually lead to the relationship we have all been waiting for.

I have been wrong before, but it's just a hunch.

Oh, and Robin is not going anywhere permanently. Remember that she has to be living with Ted on his 31st birthday because of the "goat" story. And that's another reason we know Ted and Stella don't work out - there's no way Stella would let Ted have an ex-girlfriend move in with him AND he is still in the apartment in New York when the goat story happens, not New Jersey.

Here's how it will go down: Robin moves to Japan, Ted and Stella break up, it doesn't work for Robin in Japan but now she has no apartment to move back to so she moves in with Ted.

You're welcome.

With that said, "The Big Bang Theory" is blazing right now. This was the first basically Sheldon-centered ep that didn't drag and - oh, my gosh - there was an actual misunderstanding comedy bit (when Leonard could hear Penny and Sheldon talking behind the door of Sheldon's bedroom). The bit was short and kind of predictable but it was snappy and funny.

More importantly, it was there!

Like I've said before, Kelly Cuoco does such a good job with keeping Penny grounded that it's not unbelievable that she would get so wrapped up in nerdy online gaming. That's another reason why I've always said the predictable route for the show would be Penny and Sheldon hooking up (thus creating obvious conflict between Sheldon and Leonard because everyone knows that despite their differences, Penny and Sheldon would make for a better couple), but that's what I've appreciated about "Big Bang" so far - it hasn't gone the predictable route (yet) in terms of story arc.

But if it did, I think it would be handled properly.

They always keep everything really understated on that show. Our TV Group could not believe it when last night's episode was over; it felt like it was just beginning to build towards a climax and then - boom - done with little-to-no resolution.

I like that a lot.

I also have to mention that the best part of the night had to be the fact that we now get to enjoy our HALF Hour of Power in beautiful HD. Like me, Paul has DirecTV and up until last night, he never had the network HD channels; but they inexplicably came in about an hour before our shows aired.

The sad part was that we got so excited about the thought of Sheldon being funny in HD that our buddy Chris had to remind us of Penny.

Ugh. I am getting old.

What did you think of the HALF Hour of Power last night? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

- Josh Mahler

PS - Speaking of "Big Bang Theory", for all of you TV industry nerds out there like me, check out this article by Zap2it.com's Rick Porter about how some of the sophomore shows are doing this season after making it through the writers' strike and summer hiatus. Interesting stuff.

Weekend Recap

2008-10-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm still in a weird state of mind from the joy and jubilation of watching the Phillies clinch a trip to the NLCS for the first time in 15 years while at the same time watching the Eagles get man-handled by the Redskins and drop to 2-3 in a very tough NFC East (thanks again to Paulie for showing both games on two screens at his house yesterday!).

And I'm still a little bitter from "The Office" getting preempted by the VP debates last Thursday only one week into the new season.

Priorities, people.

Needless to say, I'm a little tapped out this morning so I'm going to mail this one in with a couple of videos!

Like I mentioned last week, The Killers were the musical act on "Saturday Night Live" (Anne Hathaway hosted). Typically, I've never been a big fan of the "SNL" band performance (I don't know if it's the size of the stage, the acoustics, the hype, or what; it just never comes off right) and I really didn't like when The Killers debuted "When We Were Young" and "Bones" on the sketch comedy show back in 2006 (both performances fell flat).

With that preface (just so that you know this isn't me gushing as a fan), they actually kinda... well, killed with "Human" and "Spaceman" the other night (I freaking love "Spaceman" - the lyrics are bizarre but it's going to be an awesome radio/rock-out-in-the-car song). And it's not just me, I've been reading blog reviews all over the Internet and I'm not the only one (maybe people are going to like "Human" more than I thought?).

Decide for yourself and let me know what you think. I'll be back tomorrow with the Hour of Power recap!

"Human"

"Spaceman"

- Josh Mahler

"Iron Man" DVD Review

2008-10-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

PASSING THOUGHTS

I haven’t actually bought a DVD in a long time. Usually I just use RedBox when I do reviews, and it’s very rare for me to buy the DVD if I hadn’t given it much attention when it was in the theater.

When I saw “Iron Man” back in May, I earmarked funds for the DVD release date, and yesterday I went ahead and bought the 2-disc version.

Why am I telling you this?

Eight weeks later I saw the much anticipated “Batman: Dark Knight”. It was a good, solid movie, but I don’t plan on picking up a copy when it comes out. I asked myself, “Why?” They’re both well-made comic book adaptations, they were both well received, and their protagonist and supporting characters closely parallel each other in many ways.

The answer came to me in a vision of two stone tablets sitting next to a burning bush. The tablets were titled: “Ten Reasons Why “Iron Man” Is Funner To Watch Than “Dark Knight””. Chalking the poor grammar up to sloppy shorthand, I pondered the comparisons and found there to be truth to them. Mind you, these aren’t reasons why Iron Man is better than Batman—in many ways the characters are knight and day, and it’s not fair to compare two different worlds. These are just the reasons why I actually want to watch “Iron Man” again—why it works as a DVD rental and not just a theater experience.

I. Better Butler
Batman has Alfred: An aging, fatherly figure who brings Bruce his meals and provides sentimental advice with a British accent. Iron Man has Jarvis: A state-of-the-art computer system that takes care of his mansion and doubles as the interface in the Iron Man suit. Bruce leaves Alfred behind when he goes to work, but the snazzy British accent accompanies/assists Tony, even when he’s in the heat of battle.

II. Behind Every Great Man…
Bruce has Rachel: An independent and self-assured professional who berates and judges him incessantly and ends up inhibiting Batman by making herself a target. Tony has Penny: An independent and self-assured professional who stands by him with unwavering loyalty and saves his life twice.

III. A Man’s Home
Bruce lives in a lavishly drab, contemporary, gothic mansion in one of the most depressing cities in the comic book universe; Batman operates out of a spartan cave with a leather chair and a PC. Tony lives in Malibu in a stunning cliffside mansion-of-the-future, complete with waterfalls and holographic windows; Iron Man works out of an immense lab with vintage cars, sentient robots, and what can only be described as one of the most elaborate computer systems seen onscreen.

IV. Public Speaking
When Batman talks, he sounds like he’s an avid smoker of 80 years—almost like a mix of James Earl Jones and a post-Scarface Al Pacino. When Iron Man talks, his voice is crisp and digital with a hint of inflection; a mix that represents a merging of man and machine.

V. Villain Velocity
When Batman hits someone, they crumple to the ground. When Iron Man hits someone, they fly through the air as if they have a propulsion system of their own.

VI. IQ to Shame Einstein
Bruce Wayne is a clever detective, able to follow clues and track down colorful villains. He also has the intelligence to utilize previously-invented technology for his cause and spray-paint it black. Tony Starks is a certified genius who built his first engine before puberty and who escaped from a cadre of terrorists using nothing but a paperclip, a blowtorch, and a few spare rocket parts.

VII. Radiant Centerpiece
Batman’s chest is adorned with a black bat that blends in with the rest of his ensemble and does little for his overall appearance. Iron Man’s chest is adorned with a miniature arc reactor that glows with the brilliance of 6 giga-joules per second.

VIII. Fire With Fire
Batman combats deadly force with fisticuffs and grappling hooks. He refuses to use guns, though he apparently has no qualms with packing a full arsenal on his vehicles. Iron Man combats deadly force with deadly force: big guns, little guns, even guns with laser-guided bullets. …And don’t forget the flame thrower…

IX. Best Dressed
Batman wears armor that costs approximately $300,000 that provides limited protection. Iron Man wears armor that costs $22 million (average cost of a fighter jet) that protects him from everything except bigger versions of himself.

X. For His Own Good
Batman is willing to sacrifice himself to spare the life of a mass murderer. Iron Man is willing to sacrifice himself to end the life of a mass murderer.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you like action, superheroes, seamless CGI effects, engaging characters, and relatively straightforward plots that don’t require too much emotional or intellectual investment. In terms of comics-to-film, this is close to “Spiderman 2” and the “X-Men” franchise.

Steer Clear:
If you don’t like sci-fi or fantastic physics. If comics strike you as lame or uninteresting, this may not be worth a look. Also, “Iron Man” angles more towards the fun, visually-pleasing elements of the comic book genre; it doesn’t have the social and human exploration that “Batman: Dark Knight” does.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
This is a superhero movie, so it’s going to feel like many of the other superhero movies out there. There’s no new twist to take it in totally different direction, though the Iron Man character itself has never been presented like this before.

Buy or Rent:
BUY. Unless you’re pretty sure this isn’t your type of movie and you want to rent it just to see what the hype is about, you’ll probably want to watch it again. It doesn’t have the weight or length of an epic, so it’s easily something you could pop in and watch on a whim. There aren’t any dull scenes to slow the pacing down, and there are plenty of moments that are fun to revisit.

FEATURES

-Languages

-Scenes

-Deleted/Extended Scenes
Approx 24 minutes. There are 11 scenes total, and most of them are “deleted”. The ones that are extended are interesting to watch because they show footage from the movie without the sound effects, music, and green screen mapping, in addition to the extra material. There are a few throwaways here, but most of these scenes were cut because they didn’t work with the pacing of an action flick. If the movie was just about the life of billionaire Tony Starks, they would have been entertaining and probably would have made the final cut. There are also a few key scenes that answer questions (like what Rhodes was doing when Tony got ambushed) and clarify relationships (like a scene between Rhodes and General Gabriel where we find out just how much Rhodes put on the line to go looking for Tony). There’s even an alternate ending to the rooftop battle that is a combination of finished and incomplete footage. All in all, one of the better collections of omitted material I’ve seen.
DUH! FACTOR: 1 out of 10

-Iron Man: Armored Adventures
A brief preview of the new animated Iron Man.

-Previews
There are three: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (DVD), “Star Trek” (prequel teaser), and “Hulk”.

Woulda Been Nice: If there were more extras on the standard DVD. 24 minutes of pretty respectable footage is a nice bonus, but it doesn’t tap into any of the behind-the-scenes features. If you rent “Iron Man”, that’s all you’ll see. But if you buy the 2-disc version…

- I am Iron Man
Approx 196 minutes. This feature can be seen as a whole, or viewed in 7 parts. It’s essentially an all-out documentary on making the movie. It covers everything from pre-production negotiation to post-production reception speculation. There’s something for everyone here, although some parts may be tedious for anyone who isn’t interested in the film-making process. This is an exhaustive exploration that reminded me of the deluxe “Lord of the Rings” features. It taps into all aspects of the film, complete with interviews from director, actors, producers, writers, special effects personnel—everyone.
DUH! FACTOR: 0 out of 10

-The Invincible Iron Man
Approx 47 minutes. This is a feature for the fans of the Iron Man comic. Jim Lee talks about the conception and development, and the history of Tony Starks and his alter ego is meticulously unfolded and explored. Lots of visuals from the comics, interviews with Marvel artists, and discussions on how the comic was converted to the screen.
DUH! FACTOR: 1 out of 10

-Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man
Approx 27 minutes. Exactly as it sounds, this feature looks at the three different special effects companies that handled the visual effects. It discusses everything from the suit to the HUD (Head’s Up Display) inside the helmet. Again, very extensive and detailed with some good technical jargon and a real good look at the folks who invented/created the great visuals.
DUH! FACTOR: 0 out of 10

-Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test
Approx 6 minutes. Essentially this is Robert doing some of the scenes from the movie sans backgrounds, wardrobe, etc.., No bloopers really, but there is some ad-libbing and a variation on some of the lines from the movie. Amusing enough for what it is, though you might not make it through all six minutes.
DUH! FACTOR: 4 out of 10

-The Actor’s Process
Approx 4 minutes. This is a rehearsal with Jeff, John, and Robert. It shows them working through character motivation, action, dialogue, and interpretation during the scene where Obadiah tells Tony that he’s the one who cut Tony out of the company. Great to see for aspiring/current actors.
DUH! FACTOR: 0 out of 10

-The Onion: “Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer To Be Adopted Into Full Length Film”
Approx 2.5 minutes. A news spoof between an anchor and his contact regarding making the Iron Man trailer into a film. It’s a humorous skit interspersed with clips from the trailer.
DUH! FACTOR: 2 out of 10

-Galleries
Concept Art, Tech, Unit Photography, Posters. Good art, but small and a bit of a pain to navigate through.

- Jesse Gray

The Hour of Power Recap

2008-09-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

TV Group got rowdy at Paul's house last night!

There was a whole lot of yelling and screaming after "How I Met Your Mother" but the funny thing was that we weren't really yelling at each other because we are on opposing sides of a disagreement, we were yelling in unison over our collective frustration with last night's episode.

More on that in a minute.

First of all, it has to be noted that "The Big Bang Theory" has come out firing this season. Last night's ep wasn't any thing special or memorable and nothing really "happened", but the writers and cast have found this very productive formula where the episode focuses on Leonard, Sheldon runs brilliantly amok, and the rest of the gang is there to nail a few solid one-liners.

Right now, "The Big Bang Theory" is like a football team running the West Coast offense to perfection.

Leonard is the QB and the focal point of the offense, Howard, Rajesh, and Penny are the possession receivers running 10-yard slants to keep the chains moving, and just when they lull you in with the short, quick-hitting passing game, Sheldon burns you down the sideline for a 40-yard bomb.

It will be interesting to see how Sara Gilbert (Leslie Winkle) fits into the mix now that she is supposedly part of the regular cast. I'm just glad they haven't gone the obvious route (yet) with some sort of story arch where Leonard and Leslie are dating and Leslie and Sheldon's animosity towards each other turns to passion Sam-and-Diane style and then there's a big blow-up between Leonard and Sheldon.

Hopefully we'll stay away from that scenario since Leslie broke things off with Leonard (again) last night.

Moving on...

We all got uneasy as soon as "HIMYM" started because it was setting up to be our least favorite type of "HIMYM" episode.

A Marshall episode.

Really?

In the second week of a new season?

In the second week of a new season in which you almost didn't have because you almost got cancelled last spring?

We all know that you have to have a filler episode from time to time where it focuses on someone other Ted and nothing really happens to move the over all story along. But Marshall episodes are the worst. Barney episodes are the best, Robin episodes are the next best, and Marshall and/or Lilly episodes are the worst.

Like we were saying last night, Marshall episodes are almost as bad as Peggy episodes on "King of the Hill". And usually you don't get a Marshall episode until at least October once the season is up and running (you usually get a second Marshall episode in the spring).

Last night was also frustrating because as soon as the episode started, you knew what was going to happen. You knew the burger place Marshall was looking for was going to be a bank (or ATM) and that Marshall was going to take a job with that bank. You knew that in the first minute of the show and they didn't do anything to try and disguise it.

Once we had that set, I thought there was going to be a classic "HIMYM" twist with Ted or Barney or Robin at the end and the whole Marshall plot was just a red herring.

Um... not so much.

I hate to say it, but right now "HIMYM" is the Cleveland Browns of TV shows. A lot of hype and expectations going into a critical season and they've both come out of the gate flat.

Fortunately it's not too late for either of them to turn it around.

That's enough sports comparisons, I'm out...

- Josh Mahler

Mahler's Monday Morning Minutes

2008-09-29T06:20:00.000-07:00

I wish I would post this feature more often, it has the greatest built-in title ever.

Here's hoping.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing and/or productive weekend (which ever you needed most). Here are a couple of my rambling thoughts from this past weekend and the week ahead:

> Gray sent me the following text message on Friday about the new Greg Kinnear film "Flash of Genius" (Kinnear plays the guy who invented the windshield wiper back in the 60's): "Dude, how badly do you wish [that movie] was titled 'Blades of Glory.'"

Hilarious.

> My apologies for failing to mention that Fox premiered the season debuts of "The Simpsons", "King of the Hill", "Family Guy" and "American Dad" last night (Sunday). I honestly didn't know until I was watching football during the day and was lucky enough to remember to record "Simpsons", "King of the Hill", and "Family Guy" during the Eagles game (could care less about "American Dad"). I watched "Family Guy" after the game (nothing special) and plan to get to the other two today. Is this really the 20th season of "The Simpsons"? Say what you want about the show, that's way impressive.

> Speaking of the Eagles game: this is one of those rare Mondays in my lifetime that I'm not devastated by a loss from the day before. The Bears' D was suffocating, Correll Buckhalter is no Brian Westbrook, and despite what the Eagles management will tell you, we STILL DO need a wide receiver that can get open and make a play. If only the Lions can keep losing... well, I'm not going to go there... yet.

> AND, more importantly, I'm not broken up by the Eagles because the Phillies have me in such a good mood (It's really rare for the Eagles to take a back seat to the Phillies in Philadelphia but after this weekend, I think the city is starting to come down a bad case of Phillie Phever). It was just so nice to watch them do it right this year. They didn't make it come down to the last day, they clinched on Saturday so that they could rest Cole Hamels on Sunday and have him ready for Game 1 on Wednesday against the Brew Crew. Wow. It can be done!

> I'm stoked that the Phillies have the afternoon game (3PM) on Wednesday. For whatever reason, I have always loved the October playoff games during the day. I wish MLB would throw us a bone and schedule just one of the Saturday games of the World Series during the afternoon. Never going to happen but it would be nice.

> Anna Farris hosted "SNL" this week and she was certainly better than Michael Phelps a few weeks ago; but it's becoming painfully obvious, however, that "SNL" needs a star again. As I've said before, I really do like the current cast but there's no one that carries the show. I was flipping through the channels the other day and found a 2004 rerun; and even though Farrell was gone, you could tell Jimmy Fallon was the star of the show. Whoa, wait a minute... How sad is this? I'm actually missing Jimmy Fallon.

Moving on...

> And speaking of "SNL", The Killers will be the musical guest this coming Saturday (October 4) along with host Anne Hathaway (Oh, and The Killers' new single "Human" will be available for download tomorrow, September 30).

> "Iron Man" will also be available on DVD tomorrow. That was one of the best surprise movies in recent memory for me. I knew nothing about it going in but really enjoyed it (I saw it twice in the theater). I need to see the list of special features before I think about owning it - who am I kidding, I'm going to own it. It was that good.

> Of all the movies coming out this weekend, the one I'm most looking forward to seeing is not "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist" (saw the whole movie in the trailer, thank you very much) but "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People" or "The Josh Mahler Story".

Have a great week and don't forget to tune in for an all new Hour of Power tonight at 8PM on CBS!

- Josh Mahler

Please Come Home George!

2008-09-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

I found the following on TV Guide.com the other day concerning George Clooney's possible return to "ER" during the show's upcoming final season:

"Anthony Edwards wants him back, the producers want him back, but the chance of George Clooneyreturning to ER for its 15th and final season remains nebulous, with conflicting statements from the actor and his publicist emerging in recent days. 'I've never been asked or approached by anyone from the show about doing an episode of ER,' Clooney told Extra on Wednesday. Yet, Reuters reported Monday that the actor has no such plans to ever make a comeback to County General. 'He is on record as saying he is not coming back,' said Clooney's publicist, Stan Rosenfield. 'It is something he has already done. He is busy making movies.'"

(You can read the whole story here)

We debated this topic the other day on the radio show and Gray is fine with Clooney not coming back, but I'm not. And the more I thought about it, the more frustrated I got with the reality that we're probably not going to see Dr. Ross ever again.

Here are my reasons:

1. It would be EPIC.

I have heard a lot of people say the following (and I feel the same way): "I used to love 'ER'... when George Clooney was on."

Personally, I'm a George Clooney fan now, not because of George Clooney, but because he used to be on "ER" and I liked his character on the show (I will give Matthew Perry, Kelsey Grammar, and Steve Carrell the same free passes for the rest of their careers because of the TV shows they were/are on). Now, on some level you do have to give Clooney extra credit because he actually made the leap to Super Stardom (something Perry and Grammar haven't been able to do yet since their respective shows ended), but he can't let that get in the way to paying tribute to the show that gave him that chance in the first place (more on that later).

How many NBC promos would we see in the weeks leading up to a George Clooney episode of "ER"? A million? A billion? It would set some kind of record. Anyone who has watched an episode over the past 15 years would tune in, along with the fans he has made during his movie career. You would have to think that it would have a shot at setting some modern, post cable ratings records, right? C'mon George, we want to see some history here!

2. It would be a good career move

We all know you're the biggest movie star on the planet, George. We all know you are the modern day Clark Gable or Cary Grant or whoever else you want to be compared to. We all know that you're the closest thing we have to an actual movie "star" in this current era of transition between the studio system and the increasingly more common independent film route.

But we also all know that you haven't exactly been tearing it up lately either.

As you can see from this list of George Clooney's films, the last one that made over a hundred million dollars (that wasn't an "Ocean's" movie) was "The Perfect Storm" in 2000 (YOU READ THAT RIGHT: 2000!!). Yes, he's done a lot of critically acclaimed work and has really developed as a director, but every now and then you've got to do a "Perfect Storm"-type popcorn movie to remind those who didn't see "Syriana" or "Good Night and Good Luck" that you're still relevant (We're trying to tell people about how good "Leatherheads" was though!).

In comparison, Adam Sandler's last three "big" comedies were terrible ("Zohan", "Chuck & Larry", "Click") but they each reached that magical $100 million mark and he still shows up on "Saturday Night Live" from time to time.

Now, there's a guy that doesn't have to.

Are you really trying to tell me that a five minute cameo on the most watched television of the year wouldn't give Clooney some good will and put a couple more fannies in the theaters for his next film?

Really?

3. It would be a nice gesture to "ER"

My favorite line from the story above was when Clooney's publicist said that he can't do it because "It is something he has already done. He is busy making movies."

According to his current IMDB.com profile, I would argue that he's "busy" making movies, but I get the general gist that he's been there, done that. And sure you can argue that Clooney doesn't owe anything to "ER" and you're probably right. But I keep saying that he wouldn't even have the chance to make movies if it weren't for "ER".

Now if what he is saying is true and no one from the show has asked him about it, then this whole column is a non-issue (I'm just in a feisty mood today) but there have been numerous reports about potential Dr. Ross story lines the producers are pitching and how Anthony Edwards is campaigning for his return as well.

What would Clooney really have to sacrifice to film a five minute scene with Julianna Margulies down the street at the Warner Bros. lot? He seriously can't giving up nailing a super model for one Tuesday afternoon?

I mean, at least Anthony Edwards has to ask for the time off from Burger King and his character is DEAD (Why do I always pick on Burger King for that joke?).

It would just be nice and classy; like stopping by to see a sick friend at the hospital.

"Whoops, sorry sick friend that got me where I am today, I can't stop and see you for a few minutes; you're something I've already done."

Don't get me wrong. Regardless of what happens, I'm still going to be a Clooney fan. I like him, I like his persona, and I typically like his work. He's deserves everything he has because, at the end of the day, he's earned it; and maybe I'm just way off here.

Maybe the TV fan in me just wants to witness a historical night. Maybe the old "ER" fan in me just wants to see Dr. Ross one more time. Maybe he just doesn't want to disturb the past because there's no way it would live up to the expectations.

Or maybe I just expect great people to do great things.

And this, in every possible context for Clooney and the fans of the show, would be great.

What are your thoughts on the Clooney-"ER" saga? Should he return to the show that gave him his start? Or do you think you just can't come home again?

Let me know!

- Josh Mahler

Weekend Forecast

2008-09-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

I've never had a TV show get rained out before.

I've seriously only been waiting for the return of one show all summer, and wouldn't you know that three minutes into the season premiere of "The Office", it started storming outside and knocked out our satellite TV for most of the hour.

Don't worry, the storm was over by the time the show had ended at 10 PM.

Unbelievable.

Needless to say, I haven't gotten to see the whole premiere yet; so there's obviously no recap today (I'm going to try to find it as soon as possible at Hulu.com).

Instead, I will leave you will a couple entertainment nuggets for the weekend:

- Be sure to check out Jesse's DVD review of the George Clooney football movie "Leatherheads". If it's going to be nasty outside where you are this weekend and you have nothing else to do, we BOTH highly recommend picking that one up to watch.

- If you do get out of the house and want to see a movie in the theaters, I would venture to say that "Eagle Eye" or "Nights in Rodanthe" are probably your best bets (obviously depending on what you're looking for). I'm going to save "Eagle Eye" for the Bargain Theater (BT) and I'm sure I will have to see "Rodanthe" at some point. I really do want to see "Miracle at St. Anna" but that feels like a Redbox rental to me.

- It's another big college football weekend as well (How does USC blow the doors off Ohio St. and then lose to Oregon State? Haha!). I've been looking forward to #8 Alabama vs. #3 Georgia ever since the Tide rolled all over Clemson in week one (Julio Jones is my latest unashamed man crush - he would be the Eagles' best receiver RIGHT NOW). Other games of note include #24 TCU vs. #2 Oklahoma and #22 Illinois vs. #12 Penn St.

- And it's a REALLY big final weekend in baseball as the pennant race come down to the wire. The Twins and White Sox are still fighting it out for the last spot in the AL playoffs and you know I will be glued to the TV this weekend as the Phillies, Mets, and Brewers are all within one game of each other and only two can get in on the NL side (Phils are up one game over the Mets for the East crown and the Mets and Brewers are currently tied for the Wild Card). If all three teams are tied on the last day of the season, I officially propose a round-robin, softball style two game tournament in Cincinnati on Monday. The Phillies and Mets would play first for the NL East title and then the loser would play the Brewers right after for the Wild Card. That would honestly be the greatest day of baseball in my entire life. I would take off from work for the entire day.

- And finally, I received the following email from local entertainment reporter Eric Feber last week in response to my generic music preview:

"Actually, I wanted to post the observation (ONLY my warped opinion,mind) that just about all those 'anticipated discs' are quite lame. They mostly seem like 'product' with the sole purpose of moving as many copies as possible. With the exception of TV On the Radio and, maybe Bloc Party, I wonder: where's the risk-taking? Where's the shear creativity? Where's the slavish dedication to perfection? Where's the adherence to classic and/or vintage styles laid down by past masters? Where's the music that challenges, confounds and surprises? Where's the excitement, you know, the kind of music that lured most of us in? New and recent discs that stir my fanatic music passions include: Brian Wilson's 'That Lucky Old Sun,' the debut by Fleet Foxes, Dr. Dog's 'Fate,' Paul Weller's '22 Stories,' Take 6's 'The Standard,' Southside Johnny's 'Grapefruit Moon', Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, Aterciopelades' 'Rio,' Broadfield Marchers' 'The Inevitable Continuing,' The Parties' 'Can't Come Down,' Stereolab's 'Chemical Chords,' etc., etc."

Thank you Eric! This is why I'm so glad I know so many people that are so much more immersed in the music culture than me.

Have a great and safe weekend!

- Josh Mahler

"Leatherheads" DVD Review

2008-09-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

PASSING THOUGHTS

Refreshing.

Think of a Norman Rockwell Coca Cola painting: simple, fun and direct with no elaborate visuals or questionable content; a herald back to a younger, carefree America.

That’s “Leatherheads”.

It’s refreshing to see a fight scene that doesn’t feature dramatized kung-fu, slow motion, and over-the-top sound effects. Ditto that for cinematic football game footage.

It’s refreshing to see a relationship that goes “kiss”, “proposal”, then “children” instead of the other way around.

It’s refreshing to see fellas duking it out with each other and sharing drinks afterwards instead of pulling out a gun and shooting the place to Hell.

It’s refreshing to see simple physical comedy that is more reminiscent of the classic Looney Tunes rather than the antics of crass, drunk teenagers who lack control of their hormones and bodily excretions.

George Clooney referred to “Leatherheads” as a “screwball comedy” with an “elevated sense of reality”. I find that to be an apt description, as well as a terrific vision for how he wanted to tell the story. Usually when the director’s description of the film he wanted to make is reflected by the final product, the result is a solid presentation that carries a distinct flavor.

And whether you’re a fan of it or not, “Leatherheads” does have that distinct flavor.

Unlike some of Hollywood’s latter period films, this one doesn’t try to contemporize the characters or the mood. Movies like Luhrmann’s “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Knight’s Tale” took modern clothes, attitudes, and even music and applied them to stories set hundreds of years ago. “Leatherheads” bucks the trend by making sure that the dialogue, attitudes, and soundtrack are distinctly 20’s, which almost gives it a surreal effect. America has changed drastically in the past eighty-five years—so much so that it doesn’t even seem like the events in “Leatherheads” could have happened in this country. Yet the film was loosely based on real events, and real footage of old football games and world events give credence to what is brought to the screen. In fact, were it not for the colorful, crisp footage and the familiar faces of modern celebrities, you might think this was actually shot in the 20’s; not as a documentary, but as a product of filmmakers of that time period.

“Leatherheads” isn’t for everyone, but it will certainly resonate with anyone who enjoyed football in their youth—when everything was still fun, pure, and simple.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you enjoy classic movies (40’s and 50’s) that are rife with wit and snappy dialogue, or if you want a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you want a casual throw back to the good ol’ days with a little football and romance thrown in, this is right up your ally. It’s also good if you want a family-oriented movie: there’s no sex, violence, cheap laughs, or gross-out humor.

Steer Clear:
If you’re looking for a typical gridiron flick with an emphasis on football action, or if you want a deep, dramatic look at the life of a football player in the 20’s. There’s about 7-10 total minutes of football action, and a lot of that is theatrical/comical. This is not an “Any Given Sunday” or “The Program”-type flick.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
The antics remind me of “Necessary Roughness”, “Major League” or “The Replacements”, although the overall style is completely different; in “Leatherheads”, football itself is the underdog, not a team or individual. Like most typical sports movies, there is a romantic aspect, dramatic tension, and a happy ending, but you probably haven’t seen a movie like this since the 50’s. Also, the dialogue often makes me think of “Ocean’s Eleven”, only with more classic vocabulary.

Buy or Rent:
RENT. The DVD features are respectable, but unless the style and feel of the movie grabs you, you won’t be watching it a whole lot. It might be a good purchase if you want to have a quality film that mom, dad and the kids can watch together, but a good portion of the comedy might be lost on a younger audience.

FEATURES

-Language Selection

-Scene Selection

-Deleted Scenes
Approx 8 minutes. Ten scenes ranging from thirty seconds to two minutes. The first two are extra scenes from early pro games (in the cow pasture), and the third is a lengthy scene where Dodge, Rutherford, Lexie, and C.C. are on the train discussing Rutherford’s diet. The third scene also shows/discusses C.C.’s womanizing. The fourth scene is the same as the third scene, only without the C.C. element. The fifth scene is a snippet showing how much Rutherford has helped football financially, the sixth scene shows the army soldiers loaning their uniforms to Dodge’s teammates, the seventh scene is a short exchange between Lexie and her editor, the eighth scene touches on the topic of prohibition in the commentator’s booth, the ninth scene is extra footage of the Chicago game, and the final scene shows a cleaned-up Dodge looking around the empty stadium after the game and then getting his leg humped by the team mascot. The train scene is really the only in-depth addition, the rest simply add a few more lines.
DUH! FACTOR: 7 out of 10

-Football’s Beginning: Making of “Leatherheads”
Approx 6 minutes. This feature looks at some of the true history of football, along with what the game was like in the 20’s. Writers, director, and producers all chime in with bits of the period they found fascinating, as well as how much effort went into recreating the details of the time period. Clooney also talks a little bit about the filmmaking style he chose to use. Unless you’re something of a football/history buff, most of this will be relatively new information.
DUH! FACTOR: 4 out of 10

-No Pads, No Fear: Creating the Rowdy Football Scenes
Approx 9 minutes. This deals mainly with discussing the differences on the field between modern football and what it was in the 20’s. It introduces Coach TJ Troup who is a football historian and helped the actors and stuntmen perform like authentic period players. There are some interviews with the cast about injuries and what it was like to partake in the physical aspects of the game.
DUH! FACTOR: 5 out of 10

-George Clooney: A Leatherheaded Prankster
Approx 3.3 minutes. Footage of a rather elaborate prank Clooney played on some of the cast. Not “ha-ha” funny, but very amusing. First “prank” feature I’ve seen on a DVD.
DUH! FACTOR: 1 out of 10

-Visual Effects Sequences
Approx 5.3 minutes. This feature shows scenes from the movie in split-screen; half of the screen is the final footage as seen in the movie, and the other half of the screen is the original footage before all the CGI was added. It won’t hold your attention for too long, but the split-screen really helps illustrate how extensive the computer effects were.
DUH! FACTOR: 5 out of 10

-Woulda Been Nice: The ol’ staple: bloopers. There wasn’t any other aspect of the movie that wasn’t addressed to some degree in the special features.

- Jesse Gray

Our New Movie Grading Scale

2008-09-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

We try to stick to a basic policy here at the Pop & Culture headquarters:

While we always want to go as in-depth and exploratory as we can with our entertainment insights, our ultimate goal is to keep them as digestible and practical as possible.

So in keeping that policy in mind, I'd like to officially unveil a new grading scale that Gray and I have developed on our weekly radio broadcast to help recommend movies to you and to help you recommend movies to your friends.

Let's face it, with money so tight these days, you can't run out to the theater every Friday night for just any new release.

You gotta make it count.

And when you compare the modern theater experience (high ticket prices, high concession prices, talkative moviegoers, cell phones ringing, and babies crying) to the modern home viewing experience (new and improved high definition television sets, blue-ray technology, and do-it yourself surround sound), the movie theater is not as necessary as it once was.

Don't get me wrong, NOTHING will ever take the place of a date night or going out with your friends on a Friday night to see a highly anticipated new release at the local cinema but that's why we created this new scale - to help you figure out which films are must sees during their theater run and which ones you can wait to view in the comforts of your own home.

I will introduce the five category scale today that will be complete with an abbreviation code that we will use from here on out in the "Movies Opening This Week" section on the bar to the right. On Fridays, I will try to post a quick write-up of each new release and it's place on our scale.

Without further adieu, here are the categories in our official Pop & Culture movie grading scale:

1. OPENING NIGHT (ON) - These are the big comedies ("Step Brothers") or the really big, highly anticipated films ("The Dark Night") that you just HAVE to see the night it opens. Opening Night brings the most loyal crowd out and you get the best theater atmosphere and experience. The laughs are bigger and the emotional responses from the audience are greater on Opening Night. The difference between seeing a big comedy on its first Friday night and three weeks later on a Tuesday afternoon is immeasurable.

2. THEATER RUN (TR) - Say you somehow missed an "Indiana Jones" the first weekend or just kept hearing good things about a "Mamma Mia". It's OK that you missed it on Opening Night because of the Theater Run category. These are the movies that you should definitely see in the theater but you don't necessarily have to break your neck to get to on Opening Night. No matter how nice your home theater is, there are certain epics you have to see on the big screen and there are sometimes those really critically acclaimed films ("Burn After Reading") that you have to see before everyone else does so that you will sound cool when you talk about it at parties.

3. BARGAIN THEATER (BT) - Most towns have some sort of bargain or dollar theater. Here in Hampton Roads, we have the Cinema Cafe (movies are really cheap but you actually sit at a table and can order drinks and food). Since I have the attention span of a sitcom, I usually save really LONG movies (those three hour epics) for the Bargain Theater along with those movies that get mixed reviews. For example, I would have been irate if I had spent $19 for me and my Girlfriend to see "Drillbit Taylor", but for five dollars (for both of us) and an inexpensive, good meal at the Cinema Cafe, it was a great night out.

4. VIDEO STORE RENTAL (VR) - Because of Redbox (the next category) this one is going to be the toughest for any movie to land in. If it wasn't good enough to see in the theater, most people will just opt for Redbox. But for nerds like me there's a DVD that comes out every now and then that's just so jam-packed with bonus features or extra discs that it makes the four dollar rental worth it. At this point, video stores are really only effective for older titles and that won't factor into our new release scale.

5. REDBOX (RB) - Back in the spring, Jesse wrote a column about how Redbox should be added as the next official Wonder of the World, and it really has been an amazing addition to my life. For just a dollar a night, you can get most any new release and keep it for as long as you're willing to pay for it. Just last week, I had a free afternoon to myself and picked up Mike Myers' bomb from the summer, "The Love Guru" and actually kind of enjoyed it BECAUSE I hadn't really wasted any of my real time, I hadn't wasted anyone else's time, and I only paid a dollar (speaking of that movie, if it had been made in 1995, it would be one of our all-time favorites. It only came out a decade and a half too late).

So there you go!

We can only hope this will help your movie-going decision process in the coming months. Let us know if you have any additions or complaints with the grading scale in the comment section below; but I gotta tell you, we're pretty proud of it so far.

- Josh Mahler

PS. HAPPY "OFFICE" RETURNS DAY!!!

TV SHOW RECAPS: "Heroes" is Back and "Fringe" Continues On

2008-09-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

Nine Months of waiting is finally over! The WGA Strike cut season two of "Heroes" to a measly 11 episodes and with a few web comics and three mini webisodes (found on Hulu.com) my fears that this might not be that great of a season.

"Heroes" has returned and did it ever. With a one hour recap party and a two hour episode, I have no doubt this year will be great. All of your favorite characters have returned (except Molly, Micha or Monica - who really are my favs) even Malcolm McDowell & George Takei both made a great returning from the grave cameos. The biggest question from season two is answered but more questions arise. Who shot JR, er, Nathan? The answer was not who I thought it was (which I admit is a great feeling). The cinematography and music was great; it's just the little things you never seem to notice but draws you in more and more.

And watching the episode on NBC.com gives you commentaries from Tim Kring and cast.

A few new characters have been introduced and some of the old character got adjusted. Daphne (Speedster) will be Hiro's nemesis, a man in Africa will take Matt on a walk-a-bout (another Lost reference) and the escape of some true villains. Sylar does what he does best, taking powers and Mohinder gains a major superiority complex. After everything, what did they do to Maya. Her english is 1000 times better and I guess the directors want to show off her body more. Chapter 104 of the web-comic is wrapping up most of the summer comics and give a fin to the agents killed by Sylar.

After all that, I'm glad this show is back and there is no fear this will be a great 20+ episode season.

Oh and that ending... is everyone related?

"Fringe" was also new this week. This is definitely FOX's decent replacement of the "X-Files" or "Millennium". This week in Boston (I am so glad I don't live in that city or Cabot Cove) the Pattern Investigation Gang search a bus full of people encased in "something". I love this little description from IMDB.com "Scott's mom appears to be giving Dunham the stink eye."

We do get a little character development with Peter, he has a past and it might start to catch up with him. Walter gets a piano and I didn't see the cow this week. I hope Walter never remembers Agent Farnsworth until she introduces herself then of course Walter will snap at her that he isn't dumb and knows exactly who she is. I'm wondering if there is going to be a week where someone hasn't continued Walter's work in some fashion. In the end, I liked the episode; it's highly unlikely that someone can have enough metal in their body to pick up cell phone calls but that is part of the pattern.

Let me know your thoughts on the "Heroes" premiere and this week's episode of "Fringe".

- Gene Levow

Hilarious Video: Tracy Morgan Attacks Neil Patrick Harris

2008-09-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

I've never been a big fan of the follwing two things:

Jimmy Kimmel and those pre-award show specials that typically feature someone like Barbara Walters throwing hard hitting questions like "Where do you see yourself in five years?" to some actor like George Clooney while sitting on his poolside spacious patio.

So I still don't know what made me record "Jimmy Kimmel's Big Night of Stars" before the Emmy awards on Sunday night, but I'm glad I did.

I got home this afternoon and couldn't make it through the first five minutes of "Worst Week" (as in how you will feel for the next seven days after watching this show) before I went searching through my DVR listings and found Kimmel's special.

And while I'll never be his biggest fan, I gotta give Kimmel a lot of credit: he turned the Pre-Award Special on its head by making fun of every little nuance possible. He interviewed Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, "30 Rock's" Tracy Morgan, movie star Salma Hayek, and the five Emmy hosts and did a good job of keeping the bits grounded and getting the interviewees to play along.

I definitely recommend trying to find the entire broadcast (Kimmel and Hayek do a brilliant musical number together), but the best part has to be the Tracy Morgan interview posted below - if nothing else, start watching at the 7:03 mark where Tracy attacks "How I Met Your Mother's" Jason Patrick Henry, er, I mean Neil Patrick Harris.

- Josh Mahler

TV PREMIERE REVIEW: The Hour of Power Returns!

2008-09-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

The Hour of Power came back with a vengeance last night! It was standing room only at Paul's house last night as we welcomed a few new faces to our weekly TV Group and also celebrated my Girlfriend's birthday.

(Happy birthday baby!!)

Real quick before I get to the show recaps let me just say that difference between Summer Josh (who had nothing to do for three months) and Autumn Josh (football, fantasy football, new TV shows, etc.) is immeasurable.

And I was definitely on system overload yesterday as The Killers debuted their new single "Human" from their upcoming album (click here to listen - just make sure you have the volume turned up when you get to the page) and our TV Group reconvened for new episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother".

I would have taken half of that day just once over the summer.

Both episodes were great, but - and I can't believe I'm saying this - "Big Bang" really brought it and for the first time ever, was the general consensus winner of the night.

Some thoughts on "Big Bang":

- They took their momentum from after the writers' strike and really added to it with this premiere. The characters showed some growth at the end of last season, and that came into play and helped (or hindered, as the case may be) them in facing new obstacles that could only occur because of said growth - EXACTLY what you need to see from a show in its second season.

- I was a little surprised that the big hang-up between Leonard and Penny was that she didn't feel smart enough for him. Really? I'm not going to complain too much because it unleashed Sheldon at his neurotic best - and accomplished it without the entire episode having to revolve around Sheldon (that's where they get bogged down sometimes).

- Was that the first time we've seen Rajesh's apartment?

- I know I'm just kicking a dead horse at this point, but I'd still like to see these characters operate in just one "Frasier"-esque situation. All of the comedy from "Big Bang" comes from the characters verbal or physical actions. We've yet to see them act or react in a creatively constructed situation - and I'm not talking about a wacky "Three's Company" misunderstanding; I'm talking about an well-developed, intricately woven "Frasier" episode like "The Matchmaker", "The Innkeepers" or "The Ski Lodge". "The Matchmaker" was the third episode of season two on "Frasier" so I'm still holding out hope...

Some thoughts about "HIMYM":

- The #1 Reason why I have loved "HIMYM" from day one is that I have never been able to figure out what's going on from episode to episode. They've always kept me off-kilter and on my toes and I've always just sat back and enjoyed it as it unfolds - just like real life.

Yeah, that wasn't the case so much last night.

- First of all, wake me up when Dr. Elliot Reid is gone. We all know she's not the mother (at least we're really, really, really hoping she's not) and these episodes that just delay the inevitable are insulting. Can you imagine being Ted's kids and your dad just wasted a Saturday of your life telling you the story of how his ex-fiance didn't like "Star Wars"? Speaking of, they've been dating all summer and Stella didn't know what his favorite movie was? I lead with stuff like that when MEETING new people, and he waits until they're engaged?.

- And all the plot points were strangely very predictable. It got to the point where Paul was calling out every beat before it happened. "She's allergic to Peanuts!" "She actually hated the movie!" "Barney still sleeps with the waitress!" You shouldn't be able to do that a solid ep of "HIMYM".

- I know Carter and Craig were trying to pull off some artistic gender juxtaposition as Barney and Ted displayed stereotypical female characteristics while Robin and Stella demonstrated traditional male attributes (the "motorboat" and "losing wood" lines from the girls took it to the painfully obvious) but I have to think that the overall comedy suffered from it. This was literally the first time that "HIMYM" got out-laughed by "Big Bang" in our TV Group. Never thought I'd see the day.

- I want to see demented Barney wind up with Robin; not nice, caring Barney. It's their insecurities and inadequacies that make them work together.

(And while we are here, HOW DID NEIL PATRICK HARRIS NOT WIN THE SUPPORTING ACTOR EMMY?? I'm a huge "Entourage" fan and I'm a huge Jeremy Piven fan, but there's no way you will ever get me to concede that Piven was better than Harris last season. The Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama award to Zeljko Ivanek from "Damages" over Ted Danson and William Shattner based on actual performance rather than the name so I'm still confused as to how Piven won over Harris. Oh, and did you see that I got seven out of 11 picks right in my Emmy predictions? I'm very proud of calling "Mad Men" and the big night for "30 Rock". I boycotted the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy so that one shouldn't count and I said that Bryan Cranston should win, so that's like half credit or something. And I was wrong about the five hosts not taking away anything from the telecast - they were terrible.)

- I'm not worried though about "HIMYM" though. We just have to get through this Stella period and we'll be OK. I've heard her sister is getting married, and that's going to bring back the father of Stella's daughter, and of course that will make Ted weird; but if we can get through all of that, we'll be OK.

Wow, I was randomly harsh on "HIMYM" today. I don't even know why because I really enjoyed having the shows back on the air and had a great time watching them. I guess I'm just over Stella as a time-stalling plot device and have developed such high standards for the show because it has always been that good.

Regardless, I'm so excited about the upcoming seasons for both shows. I feel like my life is already geting back to normal now that the Hour of Power has officially returned.

All that's left is "The Office".

Only two more days...

- Josh Mahler

*POSTING NOTE: I'm going to try to find some time today to watch the series debut of "Worst Week" and will post some quick thoughts on that either later tonight or first thing tomorrow. Also keep watching for new music and DVD reviews this week as well.

Excluisive Interview: Have-You-Met-Ted.com's Justin Dickinson

2008-09-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

Ahh, welcome to Television's real premiere week!

I feel like we've been sitting through three weeks of warm-up acts and I'm more than ready for the bands I came to see take the stage.

The Hour of Power returns tonight with the season premieres of "The Big Bang Theory" (8PM, CBS) and "How I Met Your Mother" (8:30PM, CBS) and "The Office" kicks off with an hour-long premiere on Thursday (9PM, NBC).

Just like last year, I will have recaps of all of those shows the day after (and I really try to do more with my recaps than just repeat exactly what we all saw); and I'm always interested in hearing from you and your thoughts on the episodes and my thoughts, so please feel free to comment.

So to kick the week off right, I am proud to feature an exclusive interview with a very special guest.

Last week we posted a link to a video on one of our new favorite websites, have-you-met-ted.com, which focuses on all things related to "How I Met Your Mother". I was so impressed with HYMT.com that I actually dropped a line to Justin Dickinson (the guy who runs the site) just to introduce myself and say much I liked what he had built up.

I didn't expect to ever hear anything back, but he quickly responded and we started sending e-mails back and forth about the show and our sites. He was even gracious enough to answer a few questions about himself and how he got HYMT.com off the ground.

Enjoy getting to know Justin below, definitely check out his site throughout this highly anticipated fourth season of the show, and tune in tomorrow for my Hour of Power recap.

THE MAN

POP & CULTURE: Thanks for joining us Justin! Where are you from and where do you live now?
Justin Dickinson: I am from a small town in Western Massachusetts originally, but I now live in Brooklyn, NY by way of Rochester where I went to school.

P&C: What else do you do besides run HYMT.com?
JD: I'm a web designer/developer for a startup in NYC.

P&C: Do you have any other hobbies/interests?
JD: Outside of making things that go on the Internet and writing about my favorite TV show, I love to cook and check out all the great restaurants here in the city. I'm also really into all the social media tools out there. I'm on Twitter all the time and I have a personal blog, all that stuff.

THE SHOW

P&C: How did you find "How I Met Your Mother"?
JD: It's funny, when “HIMYM” started I wasn't watching any TV at all. I heard a few people recommend the show and I was interested since Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris were stars. The first episode I watched was “A Taste of Liberty”. From there I checked out the beginning of season one and sometime around “The Pineapple Incident” I was totally, completely hooked.

P&C: What kept you coming back?
JD: I really loved how realistically drawn all the characters are. I normally shy away from sitcoms as I feel that they either play to the lowest common denominator of comedy or write characters that are just vehicles for jokes. I really need to identify with characters and see some serialized progress to get into a show and "HIMYM" has that in spades.

P&C: What's been your favorite episode/story line so far?
JD: The subplot I find myself going back to time and time again is the sequence that starts with “Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.” (which is one of the perfect “HIMYM” episodes) all the way through the second season. The season one finale is so emotionally effective; every time "This Modern Love" comes in I get as excited as I did the first time. Another favorite episode of mine is "First Time in New York" for its authentic character development of Robin.

P&C: What did you think of the season three cliffhanger with Ted and Stella?
JD: I thought it wasn't quite as natural as previous seasons. I know they couldn't get Sarah Chalke for too many appearances but I really wished we could've seen more of her. The whole Ted/Barney break up wasn't doing it for me either so I think I was a little removed going into the finale. I'm excited to see how it plays out though at the start of this season.

P&C: How do you feel about Barney and Robin hooking up?
JD: I was a staunch opponent of this idea for a long time while it was kicking around on the web. I thought that it would defang Barney and hurt his character. Now that I see how they executed it, I'm on board. I think it was played exactly right, and felt realistic within each character's personality. It's the thing I'm most excited to see play out this season.

P&C: What is your take on that mysterious yellow umbrella?
JD: I think it's a genius red herring that (series creators Carter) Bays and (Craig) Thomas have created for us to over-analyze all the details. But I love over analyzing details, so no complaints here. That or Ted grows up to be the caretaker for Curious George.

P&C: Would you rather meet the "mother" now and get to know her or do you think we won't meet her until the series finale someday?
JD: I go back and forth on this. If Bays and Thomas introduced the mother and wanted to keep the show going I'd have no complaint. I love the show for the characters, not the search for the mother. As long as it felt realistic and authentic I'd have no qualms. I kind of like the MacGuffin nature of the search for the mother and I do like Ted best when he's eye-in-the-sky romantic. If they find an actress that has chemistry with (Josh) Radnor as good as (Cobie) Smulders is, it'll be all good.

P&C: What are some of your other favorite TV shows?
JD: “Lost” definitely competes for "favorite show ever." As I said, I really enjoy shows that are serialized and have a depth of content. I like having to do a little work with a show, remember call backs to past episodes, etc. and “Lost” takes that to the extreme. I think it's pretty close to perfection. Other than those two I like anything with Alton Brown, Jaime Oliver, or Bobby Flay. I like “The Office”, “30 Rock”, “Mad Men”, “Psych”, and “Chuck”; and “Pushing Daisies” was my favorite new show last year. I also hold “Deadwood” in very high esteem although I don't run across too many people who agree with me.

THE SITE

P&C: What inspired you to create have-you-met-ted.com?
JD: I spend a lot of time online discussing “Lost” and reading analysis of the show's details. I found myself without any friends who were also fans of “HIMYM” so I figured I'd find an online community to discuss the show. I was truly surprised when there really wasn't anything online, save a few fan sites that mostly just rehashed each episode. I wanted a different level of discussion and since it wasn't there already I figured I'd build it myself.

P&C: How did you go about getting it off the ground?
JD: Being a web developer certainly helped. I was familiar with Wordpress, on which HYMT runs, so I created a template and wrote a few posts. The whole process took me about 8-10 hours, during which I re-watched the first season of “HIMYM” while designing and writing.

P&C: What's been the best part of running the site?
JD: Getting to meet the cast and creators was obviously fantastic. That was a really exciting night. More so than that though has to be all the people I've met through the site. Finding people who love the show as much as I do has been so rewarding. The people who regularly participate on the site are intelligent, funny, amazing people from all over the world. It's nice to find something that can connect artists in Canada with families in the US with soldiers in Iraq. It points out the side of pop culture that I love—the unification of like minded people from around the world.

P&C: You got to meet the cast?? How did that go down?
JD: That was a pretty serendipitous experience. I had added Carter Bays and Charlene Amoia (who plays Wendy the Waitress and is one of the nicest people I've ever known) as friends on Facebook. I sent Charlene a message letting her know how popular she was with my readers. She replied back letting me know about a “HIMYM” party in New York that was coming up and wondered if I wanted to attend. Of course I said yes. It was kind of a surreal experience since the event took place in the bar that Bays and Thomas used to visit earlier in their career, the bar that inspired MacLaren's on the show. They showed the episode "How I Met Everyone Else" on all the TVs in the bar. So there I found myself, watching Barney demonstrate the Hot/Crazy scale, with Neil Patrick Harris himself not ten feet away watching the episode on the same screen. After the Q&A I got a chance to talk with the cast who were all incredibly approachable and nice and totally down to earth. My only regret was that Jason Segel couldn't be there since he was off filming a movie.

P&C: How much time do you devote to the site?
JD: I check my Google Alerts every few days, less so now since if there's a good article one of my readers or one of my link partners will send it to me. I spend a few hours each Monday night after a new episode airs re-watching the episode and editing the recap before I post it. I also read all the comments as they come in. It's no where near a full time job but I love writing for the site and wish I had some more time to devote.

P&C: Any future plans for the site you can tell us about?
JD: Not right now. I launched the forum earlier this year which has gone well. This season I'd like to grow the site's viewership and maybe establish relationships with a few new link partners and other similar sites. I plan to keep the discussion going this year and hope to expand my audience even more. You can never meet too many HIMYM fans.

- Josh Mahler

The Official Fall Music Preview

2008-09-22T03:43:00.000-07:00

*Editor's Note - I know I posted a fall music preview last week, but I was actually embarrassed by how ridiculously generic and mainstream it all was (but hey, I'm the TV guy! What do you expect?). I couldn't shake the feeling, so I called up the one person that knows more about music than I do about television and asked him to put something together for us. So, here you go: the Official Pop & Culture Fall Music Preview.

I have to say, 2008 has been a pretty fantastic year for music. We have been graced with new albums by “old” favorites such as Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, and The Raconteurs (just to name a few), as well as great work by newcomers such as Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend, and Santogold (again, just to name a few). With the year almost three quarters of the way over, what more can we look forward to from the wonderful world of music?

Well boys and girls, you can expect a fantastic finish! Here are the ten albums that I am most looking forward to this fall:

TV On The Radio- “Dear Science” (September 23) New York art-rockers return with their much anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Return to Cookie Mountain”.

Cold War Kids - “Loyalty to Loyalty” (September 23) “Robbers and Cowards” was a pretty amazing debut, and the early reviews I have read so far on this album say it should not disappoint.

Ben Folds - “Way to Normal” (September 30) He is one of the few songwriters who can infuse dry, sarcastic wit with a killer hook. Will he stick to the mellow formula he used on “Songs for Silverman” or will he bring back the pop infused rock of “Rockin’ the Suburbs”? We’ll have to wait and see…

Oasis - “Dig Out Your Soul” (October 7) The Brother’s Gallagher return with their first studio album since 2005, and from the bits and pieces that I have heard it sounds like…well….Oasis. Well at least they know what works for them.

Ray LaMontagne - “Gossip in the Grain” (October 14) Mixing elements of soul and folk music, LaMontagne doesn’t beat around the bush. His voice and earnest lyrics cut right to the heart of the listener.

Deerhunter - “Microcastle” (October 28) The follow up to last year’s “Cryptograms” promises to be more melodic, which is saying a lot considering their music is widely described as “noise rock”. Still, I am waiting patiently for this one.

Bloc Party - “Intimacy” (October 28) Attention shoe gazers, break out your skinny jeans because Bloc Party is back! While their previous album, “A Weekend in the City” failed to live up to the hype of their critically praised debut, “Silent Alarm”, this album finds the band exploring the same lyrical territory as they continue to expand their sound electronically. Let’s hope for a better outing this time around.

Ryan Adams and The Cardinals - “Cardinology” (October 28) Fresh off a break-up with Mandy Moore and a tour with Oasis, Ryan Adams returns with a new batch of alt-country jams. He is a prolific songwriter that rarely disappoints.

The Killers - “Day and Age” (November 25) This is probably my most anticipated release of the fall. I was not a fan of “Sam’s Town” at all and I know I’ll take a lot of heat for saying that on this site, but to me, it just wasn’t as good as the hype. I loved “Hot Fuss” and “Sawdust”, and neither of those albums felt as contrived as “Sam’s Town”. Plus, I love the way Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers describes their new sound to Rolling Stone, “It’s like looking at ‘Sam’s Town’ from Mars.”

Coldplay -EP (December, Date TBD) I know, I know. It’s not a “new album”, but apparently their recording sessions were so fruitful for “Viva la Vida” that they had an overflow of material they couldn’t use. I thought “Viva la Vida” was a great record, and I am really looking forward to hearing these new songs. Also, word on the street is that we can expect a new full-length from Coldplay sometime in 2009.

Alright…you’ve heard from me. Now I want to hear from you. What are you looking forward to hearing this fall? Do you agree or disagree? What albums have really stuck out so far in 2008 for you? Let me know!

- Sam Varela

"88 Minutes" DVD Review

2008-09-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

PASSING THOUGHTS

When Al Pacino talked about the nature of “88 Minutes” in one of the DVD featurettes, he said the plot was not action-driven—that the entertainment would be generated by the story’s psychological and emotional exploration.

Unfortunately he was right.

The problem is that said psychological exploration consists of a few flashbacks, a very Scooby-Doo-ish everyone-is-a-suspect presentation, and a touching—albeit brief—monologue by Pacino near the end of the film. Ergo, there is little exploration and even less entertainment. This however, is not where the film went wrong. There are plenty of movies that aren’t action-packed and psychologically-charged but still manage to be entertaining. “88” breaks three rules, which results in an overall lethargic pace and an anti-climatic finish.

The first broken rule has to do with “88 Minutes’” unique premise. If the hook of the movie is that the protagonist has 88 minutes to live, time is important. Speed is of the essence. There should be a sense of urgency in every scene that is more palpable than your average suspense/thriller. But the sequence of events, Pacino’s reaction to them, and the way the scenes are shot gives the film a comparatively leisurely feel that makes the pacing seem even slower than it is.

The second rule concerns the protagonist: at some point, he or she must turn the tables. If the movie starts with the villain holding all the proverbial cards, there has to be a moment—generally at the end of the second act—where the protagonist starts going on the offensive. Maybe he finds a clue that gives him information he shouldn’t have, or he sets up safety measures that come into play later on. Somehow the hero must take control of the situation so that what happens next is based on his decisions not those of the antagonist. Pacino’s character never becomes respectable. He doesn’t follow clues as much as he takes orders from the phone-in-villain, and his countermeasures are generalized instead of inspired.

The final broken rule pertains to the suspense/mystery genre in particular. The villain can be anyone as long as he or she has a credible motive that at least makes sense in retrospect. “88’s” active villain lacks the depth, rationale, and plausibility necessary to bring the mystery to a satisfactory end.

The only explanation is a kind of psychological philosophy that would take more than 107 minutes to figure out.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you just want a very basic story that unfolds leisurely with vague elements of suspense and mystery. It’s well-performed and not without intrigue, so it won’t be painful to watch as long as you don’t expect too much. It’s a rainy-day-not-much-else-going-on type of flick that doesn’t waste your time, but doesn’t give you much in exchange for it either. If you’ve seen every movie you really wanted to see, this is better than the B-movies out there and won’t bore you. Also, if you’re a student of psychology, you might find this an interesting study to wrap your mind around.

Steer Clear:
If you’re looking for a fast-paced action flick with lots of effects and stunts, or you want a suspenseful thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. And for those faint of heart, be warned that there are several scenes depicting violent acts against women. Even though there is little gore, there is blood and not a few chilling moments of women screaming for their lives. The carnage is on-going, not simply something that launches the story and/or wraps it up. Certainly not the most graphic violence (most of it entails a half-naked woman suspended from the ceiling by one leg) but perhaps more than would be expected. On par with the violence at the outset of “The Fugitive”, only more frequent and with just as many flashbacks.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
This reminded me a lot of “Get Carter”: it features a high-ranking star, it has the potential to be stellar, it seems to be a pure action/suspense at the outset, and it takes place in Seattle. –It also neglects a lot of the back story, relies heavily on emotional ramifications, and winds up being all-too forgettable. “88” also reminded me of “Phone Booth” with Colin Ferrell (phone-based with established boundaries for the protagonist), only without the swift pace and pulse. It really combines basic elements from various genres (suspense, mystery, thriller, action, slasher) but never really nails any of them. In this way I suppose it is unique, though the basic theme of “man stalked by unknown killer out for revenge” is going to be ring familiar from any number of films.

Buy or Rent:
RENT. It’s a straight-forward tale with no truly memorable scenes or effects. You’ll see it and most likely be done with the DVD in less than two hours.

FEATURES

-Scene Selection

-Languages

-Commentary with Director Jon Avnet

-Director’s Point of View
Approx 7.5 minutes. A featurette with Jon Avnet as he discusses some general aspects of the film. Avnet’s narration is accompanied by a few behind-the-scenes shots, but most of the visuals are stills or clips from the movie. Most of the monologue is regarding the director’s general thoughts on shooting the film and the subject matter.
DUH! FACTOR: 10 out of 10

-Alternate Ending
Approx 10 minutes (3.20 minutes of new footage). This extra footage doesn’t change the ending, but rather extends it to include scenes of Forster’s execution intermixed with a lecture from Gramm about living life as a victim. A tidy tying of loose ends but nothing that changes the direction or feel of the film.
DUH! FACTOR: 9 out of 10

-The Character Within
Approx 7.5 minutes. Very similar to “Director’s Point of View”, only from Al Pacino’s perspective. Pacino discusses what he saw in the script and the film and why he chose to play the character. The footage beneath his discourse is almost identical to what is seen in “Director’s POV”, and he echoes many of Avnet’s thoughts about what it’s like to be a surviving victim of a crime.
DUH! FACTOR: 9 out of 10

-Previews
(I believe this is the most extensive collection of previews ever assembled on one DVD)
“Lakeview Terrace”, “The Lazarus Project”, “Blu-ray Disc is High Definition!”, “Quarantine”, “Quantum of Solace”, “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”, “Hancock”, “Step Brothers”, “Pineapple Express”, “Prom Night”, “21”, “Vantage Point”, “Made of Honor”, “Starship Troopers 3: Marauder”, Resident Evil: Degeneration”, “Zombie Strippers”, “Redbelt”, “The Shield Seasons 1-6”, “Untraceable”, “The Art of War: Betrayal”, “Tortured”, “Felon”, Hot Action Movies (Footage from “Casino Royale”, “Spiderman”, Charlie’s Angels”, “Ghost Rider”, “Stealth”, “XXX”, “The DaVinci Code”, “A Knight’s Tale”, “Rocky Balboa”), “The Fall”.

-Woulda Been Nice: Other than a few more previews from Sony, I’m not sure there’s anything missing. I think some comments by the writer would have been helpful in seeing whether or not the final vision was anything like what he originally put on paper.

- Jesse Gray

Emmy Awards Preview and Predictions

2008-09-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

I know every site in the world does their own Emmy and Oscar award predictions and they typically always look and sound the same. Traditionally, we like to stray from the norm and put a new spin on your entertainment news and information; but I've always wanted to do one of these, so forgive me just this one time.

We've got some interesting races in this year's Emmy Awards (Sunday, 8PM, ABC) and I actually find myself caring about who wins in certain categories again.

The big story that jumps out has to be the first ever basic cable shows nominated for the Outstanding Drama Series award ("Mad Men" from AMC and FX's "Damages) - and I think one of them is actually going to win it!

This is just another giant step in the leveling of the playing field between cable and traditional network broadcasting. There's more freedom on cable and there's not the annoying pressure to appeal to so many demographics at once. We should all get comfortable with this because it's not going away.

Here are a few other things to keep an eye on during the telecast:

- This is the 60th anniversary of the awards, so get ready for a deluge of nostalgia.

- In case you haven't heard, there's not just one host for the evening, there's FIVE. All five of the Outstanding Reality Show Host nominees (Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst, Ryan Seacrest, and Tom Bergeron) will be sharing the MC duties throughout the night. I don't think it's going to necessarily take anything away from the telecast, but I can't see this adding anything to it either.

- I still can't believe that Amy Poehler from "Saturday Night Live" received an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy nom. Not because she didn't deserve it, just because it's so rare to see someone from "SNL" get that kind of attention. While she's not as big of a star as Will Ferrell was on "SNL", she's definitely more "grounded" (is that right word?) in her roles and deserves the nomination. She will be leaving the late night show sometime soon, however; as she is still slated to do the very mystery new project from Greg Daniels that was supposed to be an "Office" spinoff but now isn't... yeah, I'll get back to you on that one.

- For the second year in a row, the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy is the toughest and best category of the bunch... and that's with Jon Cryer from "Two and a Half Men" included. To me it's a toss-up between Neil Patrick Harris ("HIMYM"), Rainn Wilson ("The Office"), Jeremy Piven ("Entourage"), and Kevin Dillion ("Entourage"). I will give my official prediction in a minute, but as long as it isn't Cryer, I'll be fine (You know it's going to be Cryer, don't you?).

OK, now for the categories:

OUTSTANDING DRAMA
The Nominees: "Boston Legal", "Damages", "Dexter",
"House", "Lost", "Mad Men"

The Skinny: Again, "Damages" and "Mad Men" are the first basic cable shows to be in this category, "Lost" enjoyed a revival last season, "House" and "Boston Legal" are more about the characters and "Dexter" is just happy to be here.
Who Should Win: "Mad Men". You know me, I don't watch a lot of hour-long dramas but I love this show. Very stylish without being cliche and is actually about something.
Who Will Win: "Mad Men". The Emmys love to get attention by making history and an awarding a basic cable show this prestigious honor would do just that.

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
The Nominees: Gabriel Byrne ("In Treatment"), Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), Jon Hamm ("Mad Men"), Hugh Laurie ("House"), James Spader ("Boston Legal")
The Skinny: Spader has already one this one a few times and there's new enough blood to rule him out. "Mad Men" is going to get some love somewhere and it's either going to continue here with Hamm or he might get this one because the Outstanding Series nod is going to "Lost". I've heard nothing but good reviews about Byrne and Cranston and it's tough for me to be subjective about Hugh Laurie because he's just been ripping off John C. McGinley's Dr. Cox from "Scrubs" since day one.
Who Should Win: Cranston. If nothing else, than just for his transformation from the bumbling dad on "Malcom in the Middle"
Who Will Win: Man, this is tough for me. My head is telling me Byrne, but my heart is telling me Laurie. I need to make an official pick so I'm going with Laurie just because I want to be wrong.

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
The Nominees: Glenn Close ("Damages"), Sally Field ("Brothers & Sisters"), Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: SVU"), Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace"), Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer")
The Skinny: Another tough, very talented field that's too close to call. You can't really be upset with anyone that comes out victorious here.
Who Should Win: Hunter. I don't even know what this means but Holly Hunter has always been the quintessential actor to me.
Who Will Win: Close. The Emmys always whore themselves out to big movie stars and I can't see them stopping themselves here.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA

The Nominees: Ted Danson ("Damages"), Michael Emerson ("Lost"), Zeljko Ivanek ("Damages"), William Shattner ("Boston Legal"), John Slattery ("Mad Men")
The Skinny: It's always good to have Shattner around and Emerson is probably the fan favorite in this category. If Slattery (I will always think of him as the principal from "Ed") wins this one, then look out for a BIG night for "Mad Men".

Who Should and Will Win: Danson. With two nominees, I think the voters will try to feel some "Damages" love in this category and following the theory above with Glenn Close, Danson is the guy.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
The Nominees: Candice Bergen ("Boston Legal"), Rachel Griffiths ("Brothers and Sisters"), Sandra Oh ("Grey's Anatomy"), Dianne Wiest ("In Treatment"), Chandra Wilson ("Grey's Anatomy").
The Skinny: Didn't last year's winner Katherine Heigl refuse a nomination because she thought the writing on "Grey's" was subpar? That can't be good news for Oh and Wilson.
Who Should Win: Wilson. Dr. Bailey was really good this year but won't win because of Izzie. I can't help but think that Heigl comments will affect the voters.
Who Will Win: Wiest. She should thank Heigl in her acceptance speech.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY
The Nominees: "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Entourage", "The Office", "30 Rock", "Two and a Half Men"
The Skinny: This category is like a really cool party that you almost don't want to go to because you know that "Two and a Half Men" will be there and will ruin it. I understand why it's the most watched comedy on TV (two stars from the 80's + a demographic of people in their 30's and 40's that have kids and are actually home to watch TV = ratings gold) but that doesn't mean the show is good. It's actually unwatchable. We tried at a couple of our TV Groups last year and couldn't make it through the cold open. I had to take a shower just to get rid of the stench of cliches and innuendos.
Who Should and Will Win: "30 Rock". I'm the biggest "Office" fan there is, but I'll be the first to admit that "30 Rock" was a far superior show last season.

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
The Nominees: Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock"), Steve Carell ("The Office"), Lee Pace ("Pushing Daisies"), Tony Shalhoub ("Monk"), Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men")
The Skinny: This is a two horse race between Baldwin and Carell with Pace as the dark horse
Who Should Win: Carell should win for "The Dinner Party" episode alone. He carries "The Office" each week and it's amazing to watch him grow but never evolve.
Who Will Win: Baldwin. Don't get me wrong, Baldwin is great on "30 Rock" but he doesn't carry the show (Tina Fey does) like Carell does on "The Office".

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
The Nominees: Christina Applegate ("Samatha Who?"), America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty"), Tina Fey ("30 Rock"), Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures of Old Christine"), Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds").
The Skinny: This is another solid category. Louis-Dreyfus has officially left the "Seinfeld" curse in the rear-view, Parker has been money on "Weeds" and Christinia Applegate is one of the funniest females we currently have in the profession. Unfortunately for all of them, they're in the same category with the Emmys' darling Tina Fey
Who Should and Will Win: Fey. She was legitimately stellar last season. She was the best performer on the best show and deserves the recognition.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
The Nominees: Jon Cryer ("Two and a Half Men"), Kevin Dillon ("Entourage"), Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother"), Jeremy Piven ("Entourage"), Rainn Wilson ("The Office")
The Skinny: As much as I would love to see Wilson land a win one year (he deserves it), this category is just too tough. It's like the NFC East in football in that you can't believe someone has to be left out.
Who Should and Will Win: Harris. If the Emmys bail and go the easy route, it will be Piven again; but NPH absolutely made the leap as Barney this past season on "HIMYM" and I think the voters will reward him for it.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
The Nominees: Kristin Chenoweth ("Pushing Daisies"), Amy Poehler ("SNL"), Jean Smart ("Samatha Who?"), Holland Taylor ("Two and a Half Men"), Vanessa Williams ("Ugly Betty")
The Skinny: This is the one category I'm officially protesting. Not that the nominated women weren't deserving but I thought that Jenna Fischer's Pam and Melora Hardin's Jan from "The Office" were two of the best characters on television. Neither of them gets a nomination? Crazy!
Who Should Win: Hardin or Fischer
Who Will Win: Phoehler has this one gift-wrapped.

OUTSTANDING REALITY COMPETITION
The Nominees: "American Idol", "The Amazing Race", Dancing with the Stars", "Project Runway", "Top Chef"
Who Should Win: I will be secretly rooting for "Top Chef". That show took reality programming to a whole new place for me this year.
Who Will Win: I can't see anything knocking off "The Amazing Race"

Well that's it for me, I'm out.

For a complete list of the nominations, click here. I can't wait to watch the telecast and we'll see how well I did on Monday. Who do YOU think is going to be the big winners on Emmy night? Let me know in the comments section below.

Enjoy!

- Josh Mahler

I Will Never Forgive Myself

2008-09-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

I will never forgive myself for what I did last night. There is no punishment or shame that anyone could heap upon me that could be worse than the mental torture that I'm still putting myself through a day later.

It all started innocently enough... it always does.

I was hanging out with my buddy Paul at the Monarch Sports Grille in downtown Norfolk at Old Dominion University (PS. this is my new favorite place in the world. It's the nicest, cleanest sports bar in town and even though it's on the ODU campus, it's part of the new Marriott hotel so it's upscale enough to keep out the cheap, noisy college riff-raff).

The Monarch is right around the corner from my Girlfriend's new apartment, so I've been stopping in regularly to catch a few innings of a Phillies game or just hang out for a while - and by "stopping in regularly", I mean that the entire wait staff knows me by name now, knows my drink of choice without me asking anymore, and they've even started turning the channel to the Phillies games as I walk in the door without me asking. Now if I can only get them all to shout out "Josh!" in unison as I walk in like the gang did for Norm Peterson on "Cheers", I'd be set.

All that to say, that I've been hanging out at the Monarch enough to know that they hold a Trivia Night on Wednesdays and my team has come in second place the last two weeks. The first time we played, I was there with my Girlfriend and some of her friends and I thought the trivia was fun but was paying more attention to the TV than the questions. It wasn't until we won a $25 gift certificate to the Monarch (that covered our tab that night) that I was hooked and have now made it part of my regular weekly routine.

The girls couldn't make it last night so it was just me and Paul and a nice guy we met, Don, that was staying in the hotel on business (my Girlfriend made it for the bonus round, but more on that in a minute).

Here's how Trivia Night works at the Monarch: there are four rounds with four questions in each round. The guy who runs the game asks a question over the microphone and you have like three minutes to write your answer down on a piece of paper they give you and then turn it in. Each question in the first round is worth 10 points, each is worth 20 in the second, and so on.

Then comes the crucial bonus round.

There are only four questions in the bonus round. The first one is worth 20 points, the second is worth 40, the third is worth 60 and the fourth is worth 80. The catch to the bonus round is that if you answer a question incorrectly, those point values are deducted from your score, so you gotta play it safe and skip a question if you just don't know it.

Then there's a final jeopardy round where you can wager your points based on the final category and then you have three minutes to answer the final question.

So, we were plugging along and were tied for second going into the bonus round. There was one group of guys who were answering EVERYTHING correct and were way ahead so we knew we had to make up some ground and be aggressive in the bonus round.

We got the first one right, skipped on the second, and then my Girlfriend showed up just as we were trying to answer the third (what are the only two Great Lakes that only border one U.S. state). We had Ontario but she swooped in and reminded us of Huron, so we got that one right and then were treated to a gimmie with the fourth bonus question (what actress has won the most Best Lead Actress Oscar awards - Katherine Hepburn, thank you very much).

With getting three out of four in the bonus round, we had moved up to 300 total points and were all alone in second place behind the group who now had 460 points. We knew we had to swing for the fences on the final jeopardy question, but it would all come down to how much we would wager on the category.

Two weeks ago, the category was "Inventors" and last week the category was "Geography", so I was prepared to be cautious, but starting doing a victory dance when the guy announced our final category was "Television".

TELEVISION.

The ONE thing I know more about than anything else on the planet.

I couldn't believe it. Paul and I wanted to wager it all and even though my Girlfriend trusted me, she wanted to play it safe and just leave a little in case of the worst.

I was so excited, I proceeded to give her some incoherent, rousing speech on how I would carry us and if there was ever a category, NAY, a moment to go all in on something, this was it. She finally conceded and I turned in our wager of 300 points and then we waited for the final question.

The thing that I will always take from what happened next is how simple the question was and how SURE I was of the answer.

"What television series holds the record of winning 37 primetime Emmy awards?"

That was it.

Instantly, my Girlfriend and Paul looked at me and said "Frasier!!"

My Girlfriend was so excited because this was a slam-dunk question about my favorite show of all time.

"No." I said calmly as I began to write two little letters on the sheet of paper:

"E" and "R".

"Really?" My Girlfriend said. "I thought 'Frasier' won the most Emmys," Paul added.

"Frasier holds the record for most Outstanding Comedy Series wins with five," I said astutely in all of my vast wisdom and knowledge. "'ER' has the most awards."

Some people around the bar were mentioning "Seinfeld" and "M*A*S*H*" ran through my head for a moment, but the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that it was "ER".

Here was my thinking: "ER" has been on FOREVER. It's had so many guest directors and guest stars, not to mention a brand new cast every other year. I just thought there were too many opportunities for nominations and awards and I just COULDN'T THINK of how "Frasier" would be at 37 total awards. I knew it had won the five Outstanding Comedy Series Emmys, I knew it had won a couple of writing and guest star awards, and I knew Kelsey Grammar and David Hyde Pierce had won a couple acting statues; but in my brain I just couldn't get the total past 20-25, AT THE MOST.

At this point, I was supremely confident and we turned in our slip of paper and waited.

I actually stood up as he made the announcement.

And then, everything went silent.

It was like getting shot in the heart by an arrow from a bow. Instant, overwhelming pain and then nothing. I actually got woozy and almost missed my seat as I fell backwards.

"Frasier".

My favorite show of all time.

"Frasier".

The show I would actually die defending as the greatest scripted series ever.

"Frasier".

The REASON why I love sitcoms and why I am writing a post on a pop culture website RIGHT NOW.

"Frasier".

I still can't believe it - but sure enough, it's true (Click here for all of "Frasier's" nominations and awards).

Unbelievable.

I looked it all up when I got home and in my defense, "ER" has been NOMINATED for the most Emmys ever (122) so I guess I heard that somewhere and the wires in my brain got crossed.

But how did I not know that about "Frasier"? I'm the guy that can tell you every episode from every season (almost in order) but I don't know that they've won the most Emmys of all-time?? That would be like if you were a life-long Yankees fan and didn't know that they have the most World Series titles or something.

Grossly unacceptable.

The team that was way ahead got the answer right (of course) and won going away. Fortunately for us, everyone else got the answer wrong as well and there was a three-way tie for second place.

I kinda redeemed myself with winning the tie-breaker question (Which of the following was NOT an actual G.I. Joe character: Beachhead, Hummer, Snow Job - the answer of course, would be Hummer) so we maintained our second place title for yet another week.

Even though we wouldn't have won even if we had gotten the answer correct, I HAVE to get that one... right? Should my rights as a "Frasier" fan be suspended indefinitely? Should I not be able to watch reruns for a specified probration period?

I honestly didn't know what to do next.

Dejected and defeated, I couldn't stop thinking about it when I got home. After searching for all of this information online, I was still restless so I threw in a season five episode on my DVD player. It took a while but I finally relaxed because of the simple knowledge that in my mind, and in the record books, "Frasier" will always be the best.

- Josh Mahler

PS. Oh, and speaking of the Emmys: with the award telecast airing this coming Sunday night, I will be doing my official preview and predictions tomorrow!

New Music Coming This Fall

2008-09-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

Quick side note before I get to the new music: Has anyone else been watching the new season of "Entourage"? Unfortunately I do not have HBO, but our buddy Chris alerted me to fanpop.com, where you can watch full-length episodes (I don't know how "legal" this all is, so you didn't hear it from me. Hey, if HBO wants to pay me to write "Entourage" reviews, I will gladly add it to my service!).

I was hearing a lot of negative reviews about the new season before I got to catch up, but I have to say that I have really enjoyed the first two episodes.

Everyone has been complaining that the characters seem the same and it's starting to burn out, but I've felt just the opposite: Vince seems more dedicated to being a star and E's starting to become a real player in the showbiz scene. Yeah, Turtle is always going to be the same, and yeah, Drama is as annoying as ever (can we please be done with his online girlfriend?), but "Entourage" has always been one of those shows that I just sit back and enjoy.

Enough about that for now... Where was I?

Oh, yeah - new music coming out this fall! Entertainment Weekly.com just posted a feature on the "20 Fall Albums We Can't Wait to Hear". You can see their complete list here, but I just wanted to highlight a couple of them for you on our page (in order of release):

John Legend - Evolver (Oct 28)
David Archuleta - TBD (Nov 11)

Ludacris - Theater of the Mind (Nov 11)

Taylor Swift - Fearless (Nov 11)

David Cook - TBD (Nov 18)

Beyonce - TBD (Nov 18)

Britney Spears - Circus (Dec 2)

Kanye West - 808's and Heartbreak (Dec 16)

Some quick thoughts:

- With Archuleta, Ludacris, aaaand Taylor Swift, there will be something for everyone on November 11 (I'm interested to see if Swift can avoid the sophomore slump), and has there ever been a more appropriate album title in the history of time than "Circus" for Britney's next release?

- It's good to see some big names back on the board. I feel like we haven't heard from John Legend, Ludacris, Beyonce, and Kanye in a while so it's interesting to see them all releasing something new around the same time.

- Obviously people will be keeping an eye on the battle of the "American Idol" Davids in November. Runner-up Archuleta's album comes out on the 11th and the winner's will come out a week later on the 18th (I personally, think David Cook will have more to worry about with Beyonce that week, but that's just me).

- Oh, and finally, The Killers announced on their website yesterday that their new album "Day & Age" will be released on November 25 and their new single, "Human" will debut worldwide on September 22 (the digital release will be available on September 30).

Looks like it's going to be a good music season! Which album(s) are YOU most looking forward to?

Let us know...

- Josh Mahler

Haaave You Seen This Video?

2008-09-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

Seeing how I'm still mentally, physically, and emotionally drained from that epic Monday Night Football game last night, I've got nothing today.

Fortunately, our good friend Gene e-mailed me an awesome video yesterday that I wanted to let everyone know about.

There's this great website out there, Have You Met Ted.com, and it covers all things "How I Met Your Mother" related (THE SEASON FOUR PREMIERE IS ONLY SIX DAYS AWAY!!). Apparently someone out there spliced together this video of all the show's inside jokes and catchphrases (you can go directly to the video here).

It was kind of wild to watch because even though I've been a fan from day one and have never missed an episode, the writers have made a lot of the reoccuring jokes natural enough to the point where you almost don't realize they are there. Of course there are the obvious ones - "Legendary", "Suit Up", and the Slap Bet (to name a few) but for some reason, a couple really jumped out and surprised me.

And when I started thinking about it, I guess that's the way it is in real life. We all have phrases and running jokes that we use or refer to alot (oh, they are legitimately the greatest) but they just kinda naturally get lost in the day-to-day - or in this case, episode-to-episode - and don't stand out like an obvious catch phrase (i.e. "Did I do that?", "How You Doin'?", etc.).

Just another reason why I love this show.

So, if you're new to the show and want to see what the hype's all about or if you just want to get your self stoked for a new season of awesomeness, be sure to check out this site and the video.

- Josh Mahler

PS. The ONLY bright spot about the Eagles losing last night was that if I hypothetically gambled on the game (I don't of course, because that's illegal), I would have definitely hypothetically put some money down on Philly covering the ridiculous seven point spread (Eagles-Cowboys games are ALWAYS close) and I would have hypothetically almost doubled my money and would have been able to hypothetically go out for a night on the town with my best girl because the Cowboys couldn't handle their business in regards to the spread.

It will hypothetically be one of the best nights out in recent memory...

TV PREMIERE REVIEW: "Saturday Night Live"

2008-09-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone that stayed up to watch the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" based on my recommendation last week.

It was awful.

It transcended awful.

It was what you would find on the bottom of awful's shoes.

Fortunately for me, I was out with some friends watching USC blow the doors off Ohio State so I had it recorded (my DVR is SOOOO not talking to me right now) and watched it late Sunday night when all of the glorious football was over for the day.

Quick side note - How great was that Denver-San Diego game?! Just another reason why I love having the DirecTV football package: I knew that game was going to be an old school AFL shootout and I got to watch it from start to finish while the rest of my region was stuck watching the Pats and Jets in a field goal kicking contest. Greatest.

But I digress...

There was a lot of hype about this particular premiere of "SNL" because U.S. Aquaman Michael Phelps was hosting, Lil Wayne was the "musical" guest, Tina Fey was returning to the show as V.P. hopeful Sarah Palin, and there was supposed to be a guest appearance by Presidential candidate Barack Obama (he decided not to show because of everything going on with Hurricane Ike in the Gulf Coast region - definitely understandable).

And I wanted it to be good.

I've stayed with the show over the years (I didn't bail when Ferrel left) and last season, it was actually really kind of good most of the time (how's that for an endorsement?).

But I was nervous about this one for a couple of reasons:

1. Did you happen to see any one of the 3,894 interviews with Michael Phelps over the summer? He always seems kinda stiff and uncomfortable and that's in INTERVIEWS TALKING ABOUT SWIMMING. This is live TV, with lines that are supposed to be funny, and other actors moving around you trying to be funny.

2. I know this is probably terrible for a pop culture writer to admit but I have no idea who Lil Wayne is and/or what he "sings".

I was excited to see Fey as Palin (in the history of casting, has there ever been an easier choice?) but I went into the episode cautiously at best.

The opening skit was definitely the high point of the night (click here to watch). I always enjoy Fey and Amy Poehler together (pictured above) and it was great to see Poehler trot out her Hillary impersonation again (seriously, if Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton was the real Hillary Clinton, I would probably be more into her).

And of course they took shots at Palin (it was never a question of "if" they were going to do it, but "how") because that's how "SNL" rolls.

Oh, and I'm never going to get excited or offended about how political figures are portrayed on late night comedy shows because after all, it's just a late night comedy show - just make it smart and funny and I'm good. The two types of humans that scare me the most are the ones that (A) get offended by content from comedy shows and (B) use comedy shows like this one or "The Daily Show" or "The Colbert Report" to gather their news information and make important political decisions (and you're kidding yourself if you think these shows aren't trying to influence individuals that can't think for themselves. "SNL" has even lauched it's own "election" site here).

But that's another post for another time.

After the opening skit, it was ALLLL downhill from there.

You can always tell when the "SNL" writers know that they have a bad host on their hands because they give them as little to do in the opening monologue as possible. We had Amy Poehler as Phelp's over-exuberant mom, cast member Will Forte was trying to get Phelps to endorse a do-it-yourself crystal meth lab for teenagers (yes, you read that correctly), and they went for the big guns and brought out William Shatner to give Phelps some tips on doing priceline... er, I mean, celebrity endorsements. It was fascinating to watch them do ANYTHING possible to keep Phelps from having to talk.

And I don't want to sound un-American, but Phelps was brutal. As amazing as he was to watch in the Olympics, he was at the polar opposite here. Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, and Lebron James (to name a few) were really good when they hosted, but athletes can be hit or miss on "SNL" and this was tough to get through.

The rest of the cast came out flat too - even my girl Kristen Wiig (can't wait to see her in the new Ricky Gervais film "Ghost Town", which comes out on Friday). Despite not having a breakout star (in the Will Ferrell-Eddie Murphy-Mike Myers vein) right now, I defended the current "SNL" cast the other day because they've been really solid the past few seasons... so I don't know WHAT happened.

Keenan Thompson had a few humorous moments as Charles Barkley, the T-Mobile spoof with Jason Sudeikis and Wiig at least made me chuckle out loud a few times; but other than that, it was pretty bad.

Rock bottom had to be the Andy Samberg "Space Olympics" digital short (I won't even insult this site by posting it on this page so click here if you dare).

Through the miracle of DVR, I was able to fast forward through most of the sketches after a minute or two and I also skipped through Lil Wayne's gyrations.

But the moral of the story is that regardless of what I or anyone else thinks, the NBC suits are happy this morning because the show debuted to its best premiere ratings in seven years (go figure) so you can't tell them that it was a bad show. Even though the "art" had to suffer for a week, you can't ever blame the Peacock for capitalizing on the combination of a huge Olympic athlete + huge recording artist + return of popular TV star.

James Franco hosts next week (he's sneaky funny - have you seen him on the deleted scenes of "Knocked Up"?) so it will be interesting to see if they can get the comedy back on track.

If not, I might be getting plenty of rest on Saturday nights this fall.

- Josh Mahler

PS. Thankfully I blew out my opponent in one of my fantasy football leagues and am getting blown out in the other one, so there won't be any extra stress tonight as my Eagles go into Dallas tonight (as if it were actually possible to feel more stress during an Eagles-Cowboys game).

Unfortunately for me, I actually feel confident about our chances and that's never a good thing...

Can't wait for kickoff!

3 Doors Down Concert Postponed

2008-09-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

Gray and I were just saying the other day on the radio show that this was a great weekend for concerts at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater - Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts last night, Third Day, Switchfoot, and Jars of Clay tonight and 3 Doors Down on Sunday - but unfortunately, I just found this from pilotonline.com:

"Brad Arnold, lead singer of 3 Doors Down, has been advised by his doctors to take an additional period of time off to rest his voice. The band will postpone the next seven shows on their current headline tour which includes a Sunday stop at the beach amphitheater.

Tickets purchased for Virginia Beach at the venue box office or Ticketmaster outlets will be refunded at point of purchase starting Friday, Sept. 12. Tickets purchased online or via phone will be refunded automatically.

3 Doors Down will be making an announcement as to the re-scheduled dates for the engagement. The band has expressed deep gratitude to their fans for their continued support."

This definitely sucks because I knew a bunch of people that were planning on going and I've been there before (same thing happened to me and Paulie when we drove up to see The Killers in Philly, only they didn't make this announcement until that afternoon and we had already driven up there!)

So our condolences to everyone that had tickets, but at least you found out beforehand and it looks like you can get your money back.

Oh, and I'd love to hear from someone that got to see Taylor Swift live last night (seeing how I obviously was the only person I know that didn't get to attend). How was the show??

- Josh Mahler

TV PREMIERE REVIEW: New FOX Debuts

2008-09-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

It took me a while, but I FINALLY found a window of time to sit down and watch the new highly anticipated Fox sci-fi series "Fringe" as well as the network's new comedy, "Do Not Disturb".

Sorry for the delay, I know you've been waiting with bated breath!

- "Fringe" comes from J.J. Abrams (he created "Alias" and "Lost" and is directing the upcoming "Star Trek" prequel) and it seems to be kind of a updated blend of "X-Files" and the multiple "CSI" shows.

It's definitely not the kind of show that I would be into or watch regularly, but I can imagine that it will find a strong cult following (despite not doing as well as expected in the ratings). It sports a nice style and tone and feels new and fresh as it deals with paranormal or (duh!) "fringe" science (re-animation, invisibility, etc.) but in a practical FBI/"CSI" kind of way.

Anna Torv is serviceable as the lead, agent Olivia Dunham but it's Joshua Jackson (you might remember him as Pacey from "Dawson's Creek" or all the way back as Charlie from the "Mighty Ducks" movies) who stole - and saved - the pilot for me. The rest of the cast is decent, but there's always just too much lame "tough guy" talk for me in shows like this (Poor Lance Reddick has to play waaay over the top as the hard-as-nails head of the Fringe division).

Maybe I've gotten smarter than I realized or maybe the writers conscientiously decided to keep this first installment more conventional, because it was pretty predictable and followed the How to Write a Pilot Episode 101 guidelines fairly to a tee. I guess I was just expecting some convoluted plot that would have me more confused throughout; but maybe they just wanted to appeal to as many people as possible before things get too crazy??

The thing that really impressed me, however, was how FOX handled the commercial breaks. They kept most of them (if not all of them) down to a minute and I don't think there was any breaks for the first 20 minutes or so (don't worry, they made up for it in the last 45 minutes). But that definitely kept you involved in the story at the beginning and kept you from wandering too far during the usual deluge of advertisements.

- As far as FOX's other new show that debuted this week, "Do Not Disturb" should have just been called "Do Not Bother".

My gosh, how shows like this continued to get made and put on the air baffles me beyond any comprehensible reason. Someone seriously had the idea for this show, wrote it, thought it was good enough to pitch it to someone at the network who then thought it was good enough to produce a pilot and subsequently air it.

Can I seriously have any one of those jobs??

I honestly don't know which was more insulting: the stereotypical plot lines, the stereotypical horn-dog playboy, the stereotypical African-American characters, or the stereotypical insecure gay guy. This wasn't a sitcom, this was a parody of a sitcom (are we sure this wasn't just an extended bad skit from Fox's "Mad TV"?). This was the sitcom you would come up with if you were writing a movie about someone who stars in a bad sitcom - or like "When the Whistle Blows" from Ricky Gervais' HBO series "Extras".

I actually felt compelled to apologize to my DVR for asking it to record a trainwreck like that for me.

- So, we are a week and a half into the new TV Season and I've yet to find a new Can't Miss Hit thus far. And from what I've seen or heard about, there's nothing major looming either. There's a couple more new shows that I will definitely check out and write about, but I don't have my hopes up for another surprise-find this year like "The Big Bang Theory" was last fall.

Speaking of, the Hour of Power can't return soon enough!

PS. I also finally got to see the movie "Baby Mama" (starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler from "SNL") last night. I don't know if I was just in the right mood, or that it only cost a dollar from redbox, or if it was actually a good movie, but I really enjoyed it. Fey and Poehler displayed an almost Farley and Spade-type chemistry and I always enjoy seeing their buddies from "SNL" pop up in movies (I know there's no real big star right now, but "SNL" does have a very good, very underrated cast right now - oh, and the season premiere is this Saturday at 11:30PM on NBC!)

- Josh Mahler

TV PREMIERE REVIEW: "Privileged"

2008-09-10T07:06:00.001-07:00

OK, so here was the plan for last night: my Girlfriend was going to stop by my house and we were going to watch "90210" and the series debut of another CW show "Privileged" and then we were going to watch the series debut of the highly-touted "Fringe" on the DVR.

We got through the two CW shows and were ready to start "Fringe" but then a buddy of mine called and wanted to play some Madden '09 so I was off like a prom dress.

So here's the new plan: I'm going to watch "Fringe" this afternoon before we record the radio show and then I will post an all Fox Premiere Review tomorrow covering "Fringe" and the new Jerry O'Connell comedy "Do Not Disturb" (which debuts tonight at 9:30PM).

So there you go.

Before I get to "Privileged" (PS. It might just be me but the word "privileged" seems randomly difficult to type out), I have to make one note on "90210": it's been waaaay too nice these first two weeks. I think I was just expecting something different but all the characters seem to care about each other, there's no real backstabbing, and the main plot from last night's ep was a family bowling night.

FAMILY BOWLING NIGHT!!

Like I've said before, it's already hard enough sitting through these teeny-bopper CW shows; the only thing that makes them worth while is the backstabbing bitchiness. I'm definitely impressed that such a high profile show seems intent on involving morals and values (never a bad thing) but I guess I just had the wrong expectations for a series set in Beverly Hills.

One more random tangent: If we are seeing some kind of Anakin Skywalker-to-Darth Vader origin story evolving with Naomi, then this might be the greatest show of all time. Right now she's kind of sweet and genuinely caring and really concerned about her family, but there was a look in her eye when her mom was totally OK with her dad having an affair that leads me to believe something dark might be brewing underneath. If we actually get to witness her rise to Queen Mean Girl, that would be totally fresh and new and I'd actually really respect the show's writers for taking the time to build the character.

Uh oh, it would appear that I'm starting to care about this show. Let me move on before I bludgeon myself with a stapler.

After this recent overdose of CW shows, I had no interest in sitting through the series debut of "Privileged" (IT SERIOUSLY TAKES ME A MINUTE TO TYPE THAT WORD CORRECTLY). But a promise is a promise, so I buckled down and prepared for another hour of self-centered, teen-angst and drama.

And it was by no means a "good" TV show, but for what it is and for who it's aimed at, it's the best that I've seen so far.

I'm not going to bore you with the plot of the show (click here for that info) but Joanna Garcia - the actress who plays the main character Megan - is really, REALLY good (she's the one to the far left in the picture above).

She's just naturally funny in her expressions, she's got a great sense of timing, and she's cute too - the perfect combination for a female lead. She might even be the find of this TV season the way Jim Parsons (Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory") was last year.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if we start seeing her pop up in a romantic comedies; she has a very Amy Adams/Meg Ryan-esque appeal.

Beyond Garcia, what makes the show fun is that the girls that she's been hired to tutor are actual jerks (Yay!). You already know there's going to be plenty of cruel shenanigans for them to get Megan mixed up in and at the end of the day, that's all we really want from a show like this.

Again, I'm never going to plan my week around this show but in all seriousness, in the great relationship TV trade-off that every couple has to work through, I'd take this one over any of the other CW shows or even a "Grey's Anatomy".

If only it were that easy...

- Josh Mahler

"Forbidden Kingdom" DVD Review

2008-09-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

PASSING THOUGHTS
The key to making a children’s movie successful with adults is simple: put something in the film that adults can appreciate. Modern animated films achieve this primarily by incorporating adult-level comedic relief that is generated by a specific character or through clever dialogue that’s woven throughout the story. For live-action films, the draw is usually in the visual effects; “Wizard of Oz” had Technicolor, “Star Wars” had ILM, “Toy Story” had Pixar, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” had Jim Henson. The problem with “The Forbidden Kingdom” is that it’s a children’s story (originally written by Fusco as a modernized Chinese fairy tale for his young son) presented as an adult story with nothing new to draw the adult mind or eye.

The film’s dialogue is greatly lacking any sort of comedy or depth, and its story moves forward without continuity and focus; such shortcomings are of no consequence to children, but they prove to be a hindrance when it comes to engaging the older demographic. The main draw the film offers is the visual effects, only there’s nothing here that hasn’t been seen in films like “The Matrix” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. The colors are nice and saturated, the costumes are fun, the sets are terrific, and the locations are fresh, but the action and plot that take place among these visuals is lacking substance.

A loose rule of thumb when considering whether or not to watch films like this is to figure that the target audience is the age of the youngest protagonist. If you see a 15-year-old in the previews, chances are the film is designed to appeal to 15-year-olds and younger. Some movies escape this limitation by surrounding the young protagonist with adult situations and/or the aforementioned mature comedy and visual effects.

More than anything, the special features on the DVD reveal why the story, dialogue, and characterizations (everything but the fighting) are awkward and lacking cohesion. Some of it has to do with the fragmented insertion of Chinese folklore into a Westernized film, and some of it has to do with the fact that some important decisions were either made late or not made at all.

All in all though, this is a great film for today’s kids. Adults in general may not appreciate it as much, but I’m sure parents will; it’s a great alternative to films like “The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl”.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you’re a parent looking for a film that you can watch with your kids without wanting to renounce parenthood, or you’re 12-years-old or younger and haven’t been able to watch more adult Kung Fu movies. The director relates to it as a Chinese “Wizard of Oz”, and I’d say that’s pretty darned accurate. If you’re in the mood for flying monkeys (albeit without the bellboy uniforms), wobbly sidekicks, and magic artifacts sought by melodramatic villains, this is right up your alley.

Steer Clear:
If you’re expecting a typical Jet Li film or an authentic Chinese tale like “Crouching Tiger”. This is not a complex or deep story; it’s a fairy tale aimed at kids. Unless you are simply enamored of the sort of fight scenes seen in most action movies since “Matrix”, there’s no real draw to this film.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
Reminded me of “Last Action Hero” in that it’s a young child’s fantasy of being transported to a mystical land, being surrounded by his heroes, having swashbuckling adventures there, becoming someone greater than he was at the beginning, and of course saving the world. It also felt like Disney’s “Three Musketeers” or “Rookie of the Year” in that it depicts adult situations and events while somehow managing to take the edge off of them. There’s killing, but its kid-friendly killing. There’s drama, but it never gets too serious. “Hook” would be another example, though Spielberg managed to make that a little more appealing to an older audience. I would say it’s also like “Chronicles of Narnia”, but even that had a little more tension and subtext than this one did.

Buy or Rent:
RENT. Unless you’re a parent looking to replace any number of horrifically painful children’s movies, this one won’t spend much time off the shelf. If you haven’t already seen it, the seven minutes of outtakes almost make the $1 rental worth it, and the other bonus features are interesting enough to warrant a look. The whole DVD can be easily digested in one sitting though.

FEATURES

-Languages

-Scenes

-Feature Commentary by Director Rob Minkoff & Writer John Fusco

-The Kung Fu Dream Team
Approx 10.5 minutes. Essentially a praise session where everyone talks about how great it is to have everyone else working on the film. It focuses on the Chinese talent, which makes up most of the cast as well as a huge percentage of the crew. It has the typical documentary elements in it, though it doesn’t discuss the script, music, or story—most of those are discussed on other features. This is a collection of interviews and footage that explains why this movie has the true Kung Fu Dream Team. Aptly named, I guess.
DUH! FACTOR: 7 out of 10

-Dangerous Beauty
Approx 6 minutes. A featurette about the two female stars of the film. There are a few tidbits of new information, but a great deal of it consists of interviews with Jackie Chan where he simply praises the girls on their performances. There’s some good behind-the-scenes footage, and you get to see what the White Demoness looks like without white hair.
DUH! FACTOR: 6 out of 10

-Discovering China
Approx 8 minutes. Discussion and interviews regarding what it’s like to shoot in China. It reveals the real life locations of scenes from the movie. If you’ve actually watched the film already, there’s not a lot of new/exciting footage, although it is interesting to realize that even the Boston scenes were constructed and shot on a soundstage in China.
DUH! FACTOR: 8 out of 10

-Filming in Chinawood
Approx 7.5 minutes. This feature explores the vast Hengdian World Studio in China and what it’s like to make a film there.
DUH! FACTOR: 1 out of 10

-Monkey King and the Eight Immortals
Approx 9 minutes. This section focuses on John Fusco as he discusses his own experiences with Kung Fu and talks about the mythology of the Monkey King and the Eight Immortals on which the movie is based. There’s a lot of footage of John on the beach going through the Kung Fu motions inserted throughout as well. For anyone who doesn’t already know Chinese mythology, this is new, if not interesting, information.
DUH! FACTOR: 1 out of 10

-Storyboarding and Previz: The Movie Before the Movie
Approx 6.5 minutes. Rob Minkoff’s narration accompanies most of this feature. It covers the basics of combining green screen/computer effects with real life, and shows how crude 3-D models are used as a sort of animated storyboard (“Previz” or Previsualization). Nothing new really, just some particulars for this film.
DUH! FACTOR: 8 out of 10

-Blooper Reel
Approx 8 minutes. What’s a Jackie Chan flick without the bloopers? These are unusual in that the footage looks like post-production quality and features a lot of the music found in the finished scenes. You see what it would look like if a blooper actually happened in the course of the movie, as opposed to seeing shots that show mistakes on a movie set. There are some added sound effects and the music is stopped at key points to emphasize the jokes, all of which help to create an amusing, “America’s Funniest Home Videos”-esq cocktail of cinematic blunders.
DUH! FACTOR: 2 out of 10

-Deleted Scenes (With or without Commentary by Rob Minkoff & John Fusco)
Approx 7.5 minutes. Six total: “River Boat Escape”, “Jade Warlord Kick Warrior Down Stairs”, “Desert Trek”, “Moonlight Kiss”, “Li and Yifei in Caves”, and “Li and Yifei Take Out Guards”. Half are just throw away bits of action or movement with no real content, the other three involve a little more dialogue and action but don’t fill in any gaps. All of them are finished scenes (complete with subtitles during Chinese dialogue) however.
DUH! FACTOR: 6 out of 10

-Also from Lionsgate
Approx 5.5 minutes. Previews for “Bangkok Dangerous”, “War”, and “The Bank Job”.

Woulda Been Nice: If I was young enough to enjoy this.

- Jesse Gray

The Killers Announce New Album Title

2008-09-09T07:40:00.001-07:00

Check out the video below from NME.com as The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers talks about the band's recent appearance at the Reading and Leeds festivals. He also mentions the title of the upcoming third studio album (should be out in November) and teases a couple of the news songs.

Can't wait!

(Oh, and if you haven't gotten a chance to see it yet, click here to watch a recent live performance of "Spaceman" and "Neon Tiger")

- Josh Mahler

TV PREMIERE WEEK: "90210" Recap

2008-09-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

I've got some good news and some not as good news about the two hour series debut of "90210" on last night.

First the good news: It wasn't nearly as tough to sit through as the other CW shows were from the night before. In fact, if I'm being perfectly honest, I actually kinda got into there for a while (my Girlfriend loved it so I'm sure we will be watching it from time to time from here on out).

- Overall, it just felt a little snappier and sharper than a lot of the other teen drama shows and there is a legit adult-targeted element to the show featuring the grown ups of Beverly Hills (in case you've been living under a rock Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty have reprised their roles as Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh, respectively, from the original "Beverly Hills: 90210"). Maybe I am just that old now, but I was actually more interested in the show when the adults were on the screen. Scary.

- I really liked Annie (Shenae Grimes) as the central "lead" of the show. In complete contrast to what I was saying about "Gossip Girl" yesterday, you knew exactly what was going on; and even though there are so many characters, there was no doubt about who the story kept coming back to. She is nice and sweet and innocently naive without being unrealistic or annoying. Pretty cute too, which always helps.

- Going in, I didn't know how the whole "adopted son" angle was going to work with Annie's African-American brother Dixon (Tristan Wilds) - Please believe, it's not that I'm not for diversity in the show, it's just that plot lines like that (involving race, religion, or sexuality) usually get too forced and feel unnatural - but it actually worked really well and was one of my favorite story lines from the episode. It really opens the series up and gives it some depth and heart.

- It's always good to see Jessica Walter (The matriarch from "Arrested Development") and Lori Loughlin ("Becky" from "Full House").

Now for the not as good news: I was just a little too young to watch the original "90210" series, but from what I'm hearing and reading, there were never that many scenes featuring implied oral sex. That was a little bit much for me; and not just from a moral standpoint. Because it happened in the first 10 minutes of the ep, you KNOW it was there just for the shock value. I guess my point is that if that's the kind of stuff you want to do, then do it throughout; not just as a lame attempt to try and manufacture a "watercooler" moment (I won't watch your show, but at least keep it consistent).

- Did The CW just hand out the same music CDs to every showrunner at the network? We heard the same songs in last night's "90210" ep that we heard in "Gossip Girl" and "One Tree Hill" the night before. Seriously, Coldplay's "Vida La Vida" was the PERFECT way to start "90210" when you think about the context of the show and the lyrics but it just seemed a little silly since we had just heard it the night before on "Gossip Girl".

- I will say it now: "90210" is one comedy-relief character away from me really liking it. No one was really that funny or humorous and there were moments and transitions, where it could have worked and helped. I was hoping it was going to come from the Navid character (he runs the school news) but alas, no dice.

- And, call me crazy, but when I watch these teeny-bopper shows I want the bitchy girls to be bitchy and there just weren't any to be seen. I guess Naomi and Silver are supposed to be the town Mean Girls, but they were actually both kind of likable in their own misguided ways. Totally bizarre.

I could go on, but once again that's waaaaay too much info about something I don't really care about that much anyways. If you like these kind of shows, then this is going to be a good one. If not, then keep moving. I'm not expecting anything revolutionary from it but it does seem a little progressive and ahead of the curve.

P.S. On an unrelated note, If you are a fan, then "The Office: Season Four" DVD is completely worth the purchase for the outtakes and deleted scenes alone. There's not that many bonus features (which I was kind of expecting because of the strike-shortened season) but the deleted scenes make each episode better and fuller and add new dimensions to the characters and story lines.

- Josh Mahler

TV PREMIERE WEEK: Opening Night Recap

2008-09-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

In the attempt of becoming a more well-rounded TV analyst this year, I have committed myself to watching as many series debuts and season premieres as possible over the next few weeks (my poor DVR never saw it coming).

And, after a couple CW premieres ("Gossip Girl" and "One Tree Hill") and an episode of "The Hills" last night, I now realize it's going to be a lot tougher than I originally thought.

Seriously, it was like binging on SweeTarts for three hours.

I guess the good news is that if I can make it through that, I can make it through anything... right??

(I'll let you know after the debut of "90210" tonight.)

One thing I am learning, however, is that you can't get too critical of these types of shows. They are what they are; they are monster hits with the demos they are aiming for, and that's all the networks care about. "Gossip Girl" blew up last year in its first season and I wanted to see what the hype was all about for myself.

A couple things stood out on the night:

- Just from the show's characters, tone, and dialogue, it instantly felt like a watered down mix of the movie "Cruel Intentions" and the TV show "The O.C." My hunch was verified when I did a quick google search of the series and found that it was indeed created by Josh Schwartz... the creator of "The O.C." Hey, if it 'ain't broke...

- All in all, the episode wasn't terrible (I'd still rather watch this than an ep of "Two and a Half Men") - the girls were cute, the boys were brooding, the dialogue was snappy in a "no one really talks like this" kind of a way - but my biggest contention was that for a season premiere of a sophomore show, I had no idea what the hell was going on for most of the hour.

Seriously, I'm one of those people that HATES exposition. When I go to a movie theater, I will watch the previews then leave to go get snacks when the movie starts because I hate suffering through the setup and I'm always able to catch up with what's going on.

I give the "Gossip Girl" writers credit, because they stumped me.

There's this omniscient voice narrating the story but she isn't one of the characters. Some of the characters were in the Hamptons, some were in New York and none of them really seemed connected. I honestly didn't even know WHO THE MAIN CHARACTER WAS (or if there was supposed to be one) for the entire ep.

And I guess my point is that when you are kicking off your second season and you've gotten a lot of positive buzz after your freshman season and you know new people will be tuning in, don't you kind of want to go out of your way to make everything crystal clear as to who is who and what is going on? I mean, even shows that rely heavily on an ensemble cast ("Friends", "Cheers", "The O.C.") have a clear cut main character who holds everything together (Ask Paul, I plan to write a book on this topic).

I'm embarrassed that I just wrote that much about "Gossip Girl" but all that to say, that when I teach Television Theory 101 one day, this episode will be used as an example of how not to start a season.

- On the flip side, I've never seen an episode of "One Tree Hill" in my life but they did such a good job with the opening scene, I instantly knew what was going on. You could immediately tell where last season had ended and how this scene was a pay off for the dedicated fans of the series.

To be fair, this is "Hill's" sixth season (as opposed to "Girl's" second) so they've had more time to perfect the art; but like I said above, I believe it's more important to nail your premiere in your early seasons.

But I digress...

- I've never had any shame admitting that I loved MTV's "Laguna Beach" back in the day (just recently bought the first two seasons on DVD, thank you very much) but the L.C. spinoff "The Hills" is just unwatchable for me. Lauren and Whitney don't do anything anymore and Heidi's boyfriend Spencer has become so deplorable that he is now just an exaggeration of himself at this point ("Gossip Girl" would be AMAZING if Spencer was a character on that show).

On a random side note, every time I watch "The Hills" I imagine Stephen Colletti (Lauren's attention starved love interest from "Laguna") calling MTV every other day just to let them know he is available if they need him to stop by on the new show.

Whew...

I honestly didn't know I had that much in me on those three shows (savor the flavor because I can't see it happening again).

I am looking forward to recapping "90210" tomorrow and don't' forget season premiere of "The Shield" airs tonight at 10PM on FX.

Oh, and P.S. Did you happen to see all the new TV shows on DVD that came out this week??

Greatest.

I picked up "The Office: Season Four" this morning and hope to sneak some eps in between all the new premieres and football this week.

Ahhh, What a nice problem to have...

- Josh Mahler

TV PREMIERE WEEK

2008-09-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

HELLLLOOO SEPTEMBER!!!

Ahh, my favorite time of the year.

I watched 40 college football games on Saturday, Pro Football kicks off on Thursday, and maybe most importantly, the networks start rolling out their fall lineups this week.

We still have a few weeks to wait for the returns of "The Office" and "How I Met Your Mother" (among others) but The CW and FOX are trying to get an early jump on the competition; especially with a few highly publicized new shows ("90210" debuts tomorrow night [Tuesday] on The CW at 8PM and FOX will premiere "Fringe" [the new series from "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams] next Tuesday at 9PM)

I'm planning to post reviews of both but PLEASE let me know if there are any other shows you want to know more about. For more news and notes about the fall season, click here for TV Guide.Com's complete coverage.

Oh, and as you can see from the new addition to the bar on the right, I will be posting the new premieres and debuts each day for the month of September and then will spotlight the best shows each week from there on.

Looking forward to it, it's good to be back!

- Josh Mahler

Worst. Weekend. Ever.

2008-08-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

Gray and I didn't get a chance to talk about it on this week's show so I just wanted to go on the record here that I have to disagree with the movie poster to the left in that this might be the worst week ever in terms of new movies coming out to the theaters.

I noticed it the other day when I went to update the bar to the right and still can't believe that our only choices this week include Vin Diesel ("Babylon A.D.), a bad "American Pie" knock-off ("College"), and the next installment from the "Scary Movie" folks ("Disaster Movie"). That's it?!

And don't get me started on "College" as the name of a movie. That's just taking laziness to a whole new level. Why stop there? Why not just call it "Movie"??

Worst.

Maybe I've just been spoiled from one hit after another this summer (we've talked ad nauseum about how much better movies have been this season compared to the last year) but still, this is just a little ridiculous.

I know it's Labor Day weekend, and I'm guessing that this weekend is historically bad for new releases but are you seriously telling me that the new "X-Files" movie would have done any worse opening up now than it did the weekend after "The Dark Night" came out (Mulder and Scully got absolutely trounced by the Batman with a paltry $10 million opening; and after a month in the theaters, it is just now about to make up it's production costs of $30 mil - and that's with the foreign gross added in!)

I'm sure that there are a lot of people a lot smarter than me that get paid a lot more than I ever will to make these decisions that are probably a lot more difficult than I will ever realize, but sometimes it just doesn't seem that hard (that's what she said!).

Like I said, it's been a great summer of movies and it's a shame to see the last week go out with such a whimper. With September and October fast approaching, we'll start getting bombarded by "Oscar" films and performances, but I will always remember the summer of 2008 as one of the best movie-going seasons of my life.

If you're like me and try to see a new movie every week, you might be in trouble. Fortunately, I've yet to see "Tropic Thunder" so that might serve as this week's replacement. If you are all caught up, however, I would recommend seeing "The Dark Night" again or even (I can't believe I'm saying this) Anna Farris in "The House Bunny" before I'd go to any of these three.

All I can say is thank the Dear Lord that college football starts this week and the pros get going next, because it would appear that the 2008 summer movie season is officially over.

- Josh Mahler

"What Happens in Vegas" DVD Review

2008-08-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

*Editor's Note: We are happy to have Jesse back reviewing new DVDs for us each week. Please feel free to let us know what movies you'd like to see reviewed either by posting a comment on the site or by emailing us at thepopandcultureshow@gmail.com!

PASSING THOUGHTS
This movie reminded me of an improv game where players are given random sentences that they have to work into a dictated situation. The end result tends to be amusing, but it’s also understandably contrived and usually somewhat awkward.

Every plot has certain points that need to be hit to move the story along and allow the characters to show some kind of growth. Ideally these points are submerged inside the story, disguised as dialogue and events that happen naturally based on circumstances. For the most part, “Vegas” doesn’t achieve any kind of subtlety when it comes to said plot points. The reasons for certain lines and situations become all-too-apparent the instant they develop, which makes this love story seem more forced than most. Instead of the movie being like a real person with muscles and sinews working together to create fluid movement, “Vegas” was more like a skeleton that had the necessary pieces in place but had nothing to animate them.

The main reason for the overt contrivances seems to be a noble attempt to give the movie a depth and a heart that it shouldn’t have had. When a movie premise is a gimmick or a bizarre circumstance, the film can go two ways: it can either take the uniqueness seriously and use it as a creative way to expose something equally unique about life, or it can use the gimmick to set the stage for a series of increasingly ridiculous and implausible events that, if done well, allow hilarity to ensue before injecting a touch of sentimentality at the end. Films like “Bruce Almighty”, “Notting Hill” and “Stranger than Fiction” take the former approach, allowing what comedy there is to come about as a natural byproduct of the situation, whereas films like “Liar Liar” and “Rat Race” are essentially designed to be a string of laughs.

“Vegas” was designed to be a laughter platform but tried to take itself seriously at certain points; naturally those points stuck out like sore thumbs and robbed the film of its comedic flow.

On the plus side, the film was far less crass than it might have been. For the most part it avoided truly low-brow antics and didn’t turn to rampant nudity, graphic sex, or gratuitous substance abuse to illicit laughs. There were some good lines and reactions throughout, and while the characters were mostly caricatures, they weren’t obnoxious or annoying.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you want a casual romp that revolves around pranks and one-upmanship and doesn’t require any emotional attachment, or if you enjoy Ashton Kutcher movies in general.

Steer Clear:
If you’re looking for traditional romance, you enjoy the gradual progression of love into a relationship, or you’re seeking smart comedy.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
While no particular movie comes to mind as a precedent for this one, it does focus on a typical antagonistic relationship—albeit one that’s more exaggerated than most. If you’re familiar with the sitcom “Frasier”, think of Ross and Bulldog. In some ways it feels like a less mature, less intelligent version of “27 Dresses”, where both parties are constantly at odds with each other.

Buy or Rent:
RENT. No special features, no draw for a repeat viewing. Obviously if you found the shenanigans funny you’ll enjoy watching it again and again, but for the most part you can glean all there is to glean from one pass.

FEATURES

-Languages

-Scenes

-Trailers
“Deal”, “Charlie Bartlett”, “Marley and Me”—Teaser

-Woulda Been Nice: Once again I’ll revert to the gag reel—outtakes for comedies are always nice. Not much else to look for in terms of bonus features; it’s pretty cut and dry.

- Jesse Gray

Pop Culture News and Notes

2008-08-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

There have been so many pop culture headlines recently that I've wanted to write entire columns about but just haven't had the time (My cousin invited my Girlfriend and I up to his new house in Southwest VA this past weekend and we had a blast!).

Regardless, there are a few things that I absolutely have to comment on before they slip my mind and become irrelevant; so we're going to do some pop culture news mcnugget style today.

- First of all, thanks to the suggestion by our good friend Kevin, we will now have a local events calendar in the bar to the right. We get so focused on the national that we tend to neglect the local and he's right, we want you to do your one-stop shopping right here on popandculture.com. My Girlfriend and I are always finding random local events to do and our friends are constantly commenting that they would do more stuff if they knew about them, so here you go! And with Labor Day coming up, this wasn't a bad weekend to start posting events. I believe that local band, and our good friends, Days Difference will be playing with Paramore on Friday night at the nTelos Pavillion in Portsmouth (great venue if you've never been there). On Sunday, there's Brad Paisley at the VA Beach Amphitheater for all y'all country fans and if you have no money but are looking for a nice night out, definitely check out the VA Symphony Orchestra at Chesapeake City Park (I've done that event before and it's a great show - I think they do fireworks at the end, just be sure to bring a lawn chair).

- In national entertainment news, "American Idol" producers recently announced that they will be adding a fourth judge (songwriter/producer Kara DioGuardi) to the panel with Simon, Paula, and Randy in hopes to spice things up and help fix the slumping ratings from this past season. If you ask me, a fourth judge is not the only thing "Idol" needs to become relevant again. We've talked about it at length here and on our show, but I've always said that the audience should be able to see the voting results from top to bottom each week (I believe our buddy Paul agrees with me on this one). I know we get to see who was in the bottom three each week but imagine if you could know who was in the top three. I really think it would get more people interested and voting for their favorites. And as much as I liked Neil Diamond week, they really do need to do more modern theme weeks. I know it all comes down to what music they can use based on ownership rights but instead of Elvis night or Barry Manilow week, let's see the contestants try U2 or Green Day. Just something more modern and relevant.

- I've been loving the casting rumors for the next villain(s) in the next "Batman" film (if there's even going to be one). First it started with Johnny Depp as the Riddler, which would actually be kind of interesting; but then it turned into Phillip Seymor Hoffman as the Penguin AND Angelina Jolie as Catwoman. And now Entertainment Weekly has the scoop on the newest rumor on who might play the Catwoman (I would have to see this one to believe it). I just don't know how you top Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker (or why you would even want to). I guess "The Dark Night" left the door open for a third installment and I believe most of the cast is signed for a third picture but director Christopher Nolan is not as of now; and I just think it would be a repeat of what happened with the original franchise if they moved on without Nolan (curse you Joel Schumacher!!). Let's lock up Nolan and Christian Bale first and then we can start talking about the villains.

- Finally, it's been sad to see a couple of entertainment legends pass away the past few weeks. Bernie Mac was a complete shock as was Isaac Hayes, but the one that really hit home with me was LeRoi Moore (sax player in the Dave Matthews Band). I was fortunate to be just old enough to experience DMB in their prime and Moore's sax was one of the main reasons I loved the band. That's something I've always tried for in this life - to do something that lasts beyond your time and means something to someone (I'll let you know if I come up with anything!).

Let me know what you all think on any or all of these topics and keep checking in throughout the week for new posts and updated info...

- Josh Mahler

Welcome To Pop and Culture!

2008-08-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

It's been waaaay too long since we have posted regularly on this site (you know that whole "having to work real jobs so we can pay our bills" thing is a real pain sometimes) but I received the following email from one of our devoted Pop and Culture readers the other day and it has inspired me to get back to posting more often:

"I wasn't much into watching any new shows cuz I was burned out on the old ones and none of the new ones seemed promising, but because I was already a 'HIMYM' fan and you recommended 'The Big Bang Theory' as a show in the same league, my husband and I started watching the re-runs this summer and we LOVE it... Although 'HIMYM' has been a true winner from the beginning for us, 'The Big Bang Theory' is another show that we can both sit and enjoy... Anyways, bottom line, thanks for tuning us in to a good show that we mutually love!"

And that's why we started doing the show and this website in the first place.

I can't speak for the rest of the guys, but with the new TV season only a few DAYS away, I will definitely be on here more regularly with new show reviews, the standard recaps, and all the latest and greatest news and updates.

P.S. - I have also been doing some TV shows on DVD reviews for our good friend Will Harris and the folks at Bullz-Eye.Com. You can read my "Cheers" season nine reivew here and here is the newest one I've posted, the first season of "Caroline in the City".

- Josh Mahler

Two Killer New Songs

2008-08-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

The Killers, one of Pop and Culture's favorite bands, trotted out two new songs at an exclusive fanclub only show last week in NYC. According to various reports, the Vegas-based band will be trying out some new tracks here in the States and in the U.K. (Reading and Leeds festivals) over the next few weeks as they finalize their third studio album which is supposedly due out in November.

The first one posted below is "Spaceman" and definitely has more of a synthesized "Hot Fuss" feel and the second is "Neon Tiger" which sounds like it could have come straight off of "Sam's Town".

And that's what I really like about The Killers right now: I know they got ripped when Brandon compared them to Springsteen when "Sam's Town" was released in '06 but now they are really coming into their own with a very distinct sound - a great blend of classic rock combined with a synthesized modern flare. It's retro and progressive at the same time, but without coming off too cliche either way. I'm just not hearing it anywhere else.

Enjoy!

Spaceman

Neon Tiger

Let me know what you think...

- Josh Mahler

Jesse’s "Juno" DVD Review

2008-04-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

PASSING THOUGHTS

It's a rare occurrence when you actually enjoy hearing characters talk in a film. So many times dialogue is simply used to segue between action sequences or to reveal some crucial plot device. Few are the films that give conversation a chance to be entertaining, and fewer still are the films that actually succeed in making conversation entertaining. But thanks to the very distinct voice of the writer and the stellar performances of the actors, "Juno" is able to tell a fascinating story with only words and a natural progression of events.

When it comes to a movie about teen pregnancy, there are usually only two directions for the plot to go. Either it will be an obnoxious tale of low-brow humor and crass gimmicks that attempts to throw some kind of heart into the fray, or it will be an increasingly depressing and morbid exploration of the human condition with an emphasis on tragic consequences. "Juno" marches right between these two options. Many times I was worried that the bottom would fall out and the events would culminate in a suicide, accident, or some other depressing method of ending a life. I was waiting for the parents to turn into irrational adversaries full of animosity and hatred, or for Juno to accidentally kill the baby, or for Paulie to be a jerk and flake out. But thankfully none of those clichés came to fruition.

While the language got a bit coarse at times, it never went Tarantino. There wasn't a time when it seemed like the writer went for a cheap laugh or made an attempt to induce shock. If something was funny or shocking, it was naturally that way. Juno and her friends use an inspired and advanced vocabulary that most 30-year-olds don't have, but that adds to the appeal. It's like a Calvin and Hobbes comic; there's something appealing about having awareness, maturity, and complexity coming from someone far too young to be at that level. At times it can be a little distracting, but for the most part it makes the characters more vibrant and likeable.

The character of Juno reminds me a lot of a young Janeane Garofalo in terms of her mannerisms, delivery and thought processes. I'm not assigning any kind of value to that comparison, I'm just saying that there are some amazing similarities between Garofalo's early stand-up work and Ellen Page's portrayal. She has a very dry yet peculiarly emotive delivery in most scenes that bears a strong resemblance to the sarcasm associated with Garofalo's work.

What really takes the story to the next level is probably Juno's attitude through the whole ordeal. There's no real self-pity, no depression, no long moments of introspection where she contemplates how wretched her life has become. In her own unique way, she keeps an honest and positive outlook as she moves forward. Her character is so crisply defined that she would almost seem two-dimensional, but her range of emotions and level of self-awareness makes her more complex, and therefore more interesting to watch.

BASICS

Your Cup O' Tea:
If you like snappy, crisp, somewhat stylized dialogue, steady character development, and something of an edgy coming-of-age-type film.

Steer Clear:
If you're looking for overt physical comedy, a traditional love story, or if you avoid anything that might elicit an emotional or mental response. There's some language and subject matter that conservative audiences may have a difficult time enjoying. It's a very borderline PG-13.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
The teenage lifestyle and subjects are vaguely reminiscent of "Clueless", and the dialogue is like a teenage (and censored) version of that found in "Pulp Fiction". Honestly not a lot of films like this one.

Buy or Rent:
BUY. This is the first movie I've seen that has prompted me to want to watch it again on the same day. It's not complex, just fun to indulge in. If you're not huge into dialogue and like more action (sexual and otherwise) this won't pull you back, but the overall good-feeling and swell acting does have a draw. In addition, there are a good number of special features on the DVD that could make a purchase worthwhile. If you saw it and liked it, chances are you'll want to keep it around.

FEATURES

-Inside Look: 2 minute sneak peek of Fox's film "What Happens In Vegas"

-Scene Selection

-Language Selection

-Feature Commentary with Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody

-Screen Test:
Approx 22 minutes. This is a collection of seven scenes that were apparently done as screen tests for the film. No bloopers or outtakes, just the scenes acted in front of a black screen with minimal props. It's fun to look at initially, but the tests are so well done that it's almost like watching the scene in the movie. The only differences are that sometimes one of the secondary roles is played by a different actor.

-Cast and Crew Jam:
Approx 3 minutes. Wacky behavior by cast and crew in front of a sparkly background set to music. It can be fun to watch everyone having fun, but it might not hold your attention for long.

-Gag Reel:
Approx 5 minutes. A lot of "I'm sorry" moments, missed lines, etc.., The usual in terms of mistakes, but nothing really funny. Ellen has a good thirty second chunk trying to get a line out (obviously a little slap happy) which is amusing, but the rest are just so-so outtakes. Lots of 'em though!

-Deleted Scenes (with optional commentary from Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody):
Approx 20 minutes. There are eleven deleted scenes total, and they range from minor alterations to all new material. Some of them fill in holes but most are extraneous. It's more of the solid dialogue and performances though, so it's worth taking a look at. Good scenes, but as always, there's a reason why they ended up on the cutting room floor.

-Gag Take:
Approx 2 minutes. This is essentially a performance between Rainn Wilson and Jason Reitman as actor and director engage in a mock argument about hitting the mark for the bags. It's amusing to watch the other folks on set trying not to laugh. For his part, Reitman was very believable as an irate director.

-Woulda Been Nice: To include some less-produced footage for the bonus materials. The jam, the gags and even the screen tests looked rather polished. For a film like this, it's nice to have the interviews and background. Also the music, which stands out, doesn't get any attention. I don't mind, but many films lately have dedicated a section to talking about the score. It was a little strange not to have that.

- Jesse Gray

The Rules

2008-04-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks I ago I was wandering around the local Barnes & Noble when a book titled “The Rules: A Man’s Guide to Life” caught my eye. Basically it is a book of 668 simply stated rules and guidelines for every man to live by that was complied by a bunch of writers and editors from “Esquire” magazine.

At first, I thought it was nothing more than a humorous take on life (Rule No. 18: No talking at the urinals. Rule No. 23: If you become annoyed with a telephone customer-service representative, be aware that the words “I’d like to speak to your supervisor” are generally understood to mean “I’d like to speak to your friend in the next cubicle who will pretend to be your supervisor.” Just so you know. Rule No. 347: Captain Crunch should be Admiral by now.)

Then, I became increasingly surprised with how much I agreed with most everything that was included (Rule No. 63: People with state pride are to be strictly avoided. Rule No. 75: The ampersand should be more popular. Rule No. 518: Something probably happened in Delaware but nobody knows what that its, not even people in Delaware.)

And by the end, I was beginning to think that I had written the book myself (Rule No. 160: No straws. Rule No. 310: Never wave at a video camera. Rule No. 491: Scoreboard races demean us all.)

Actually, in the whole book, there was only rule that disappointed me. Rule No. 125: Nobody named “Josh” is over 35. Seriously? Because “Joshua” sounds like an old preacher man that would offer you a place to stay while you cross the Oregon Trail.

I’ll take my chances with “Josh” thanks.

But other than that, I really believe that if we could get just half of the world to live by just half of these rules, country line dancing clubs would go out of business, there wouldn’t be any more obtrusive advertisements all over every corner of the screen during your favorite TV shows, and there would never be another movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

As good as the book was, however, it just didn’t feel complete; so I had to add a couple of Rules of my own (please feel free to add any that you can think of as well). NOTE: A couple of mine will be familiar to those who have read my stuff over the past couple of years but I had to get them on the record as official Rules.

So, here ya go.

Rule No. 669: You can’t get a ticket for driving through green light so why are you putting on your breaks?

Rule No. 670: It’s always “water, no lemon”.

Rule No. 671: Every time you have to sit at a reception waiting for the bridal party to finish taking pictures, you lose precisely 14% of your will to live.

Rule No. 672: Do not plan your wedding for the same day as a major sporting event.

Rule No. 673: Just go with July or August to be on the safe side.

Rule No. 674: There are exactly 82 real New York Yankee fans, 56 real Dallas Cowboys fans, and 35 real L.A. Lakers fans in the world right now.

Rule No. 675: Never take a pink Starburst candy unless it’s offered to you.

Rule No. 676: And even then you have to respond with a sincere “are you sure?”

Rule No. 677: Don’t wait until it’s your turn at the front of the line at a busy coffee shop, concession stand, or fast-food restaurant to look at the menu for the first time.

And finally, and maybe most importantly:

Rule No. 678: When you have 47 pennies that means you have 47 CENTS, not 47 cent. Failure to use the plural form will result in a public stoning.

That’s all I have for now but this is something that I feel will be regularly revisited and updated.

Did I leave anything out?

- Josh Mahler

Jesse’s "There Will Be Blood" DVD Review

2008-04-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

PASSING THOUGHTS

Time is precious. Time is a fixed commodity for all of us; once it’s gone there is no way to earn, borrow, barter, steal, or in any other earthly way obtain more of it. It is for this reason that I find myself remorsefully bitter when two hours and thirty-five minutes of my time is utterly wasted by a piece of nonsensical tripe so far removed from the human experience that it is not merely irrelevant, it is perverse.

This story—no. I cannot even call this a story. It is a nightmare. It is a nightmare because there is enough imagery to mimic reality, but nothing that happens makes any sense within the context of reality. There are human forms, but they do not act human. There is speech, but it makes no sense. The whole film is a vague shadow that uses familiar elements to create a completely foreign world that cannot be understood or reasoned with. Violence without explanation and unhinged dialogue are accentuated by music that seems to be composed for the sole purpose of adding to the cacophony.

The nightmare is comprised of pure lunacy. Not greed, not faith, not hate, but utter madness. A few of the peripheral characters are not infected with this madness, but the rest are relentlessly driven forward by it. The first indication of trouble starts with Paul Sunday’s question game with Daniel. Every question is answered in kind by another question, sometimes one that has no relationship to the train of thought. Paul seems very unnatural, very strange—traits that apparently run in the family.

His twin brother, Eli, also likes to play the question game and shares his brother’s propensity for playing hardball. Eli comes across as abnormal from the moment he is introduced. He speaks and reacts with an eerie detachment that makes him seem psychotic. I was waiting for his head to spin around or for him to start levitating. His authority over his family is unsettling, as is the fact that he is supposed to be the pastor of a church. His behavior is erratic and frankly unbelievable once it becomes clear there is no catch. He’s not possessed, he’s not an alien and he’s not a manifest spirit. He acts like he could be any of those things, yet we are to believe he’s just a man of faith trying to get his church up and running.

The scene where he jumps on the table and starts beating his father clinched it for me. I thought for sure he was an imposter pretending to be part of the family; some kind of psycho swindler who’s plan was foiled by Daniel. What son attacks his father like that? What mother allows it? What father just sits there and takes verbal abuse? Was the film simply trying to display the hypocrisy of religion? If so, it shouldn’t have used an overtly deranged boy as a representative of faith, particularly when faith never makes so much as a cameo. There’s a twisted version of salvation involved, but it is treated with even less integrity than the man who presents it.

Daniel seems somewhat normal at the outset, but it soon becomes clear that he is not in his right mind either. Apart from a brief monologue about his desire to compete and prevail, there is absolutely no indication that greed drives him. His actions are incomprehensible because there is no motivation for them. He publicly beats Eli in a random act of violence, and he fondles his future daughter-in-law. After stating that he just wants to make enough money so that he can get away from the people he hates so much, he turns down a huge sum of money saying he wouldn’t know what to do with his time. When a man suggests that Daniel could spend the free time with H.W., Daniel flies off into another tantrum that culminates with him threatening to cut the man’s throat while he sleeps. It’s clear by every man’s reaction at the table that they think Daniel has lost his mind, and at that point I completely agree with them.

When Daniel finds out that Henry lied to him about being his brother, he kills him. Henry was not a competitor, he wasn’t a threat. He was a liar, but nothing more. Then Eli, in desperate need of money, visits Daniel in his house where Daniel bludgeons him to death with a bowling pin. Eli posed no threat to Daniel in any shape or form. He also was not a competitor, but Daniel saw fit to take his life anyway. These are definitive moments for Daniel’s character, and somehow they are chalked up to greed.

Greed? How can any of these bizarre actions be in any way associated with greed? The only possible murder Daniel could have committed out of greed would have been to kill H.W. because his faux son could have possibly become a viable competitor. But Daniel doesn’t kill him. Instead, he opts to reveal the truth about their relationship with inexplicable venom and animosity. I expected to see him start foaming at the mouth during this speech, as he comes across as little more than a rabid dog.

After an hour and a half, I was done with this movie. It seemed to be nothing more than a series of on-the-job accidents and slap fights held together by two complete loons doing strange things that could not be explained by any normal human condition. I watched it until the end, hoping for a revelation or some kind of twist that would justify the perpetual disconnect these characters have with reality.

I hoped in vain.

I eventually caved and went online to see if I could glean something from a synopsis, and I was horrified to discover that this cinematic debacle was actually praised by critics. Apparently it even won two Oscars. I cannot fathom what state of delirium the advocates of this movie must have been in to see it as anything more than a tragic waste of silver, but then I cannot understand how a human mind could spawn such nonsense in the first place.

As for the nuts and bolts of the film, it had some great acting, great cinematography, a fantastic wardrobe and some believable sets. Very high production values. The score, however, sounded like a musical version of Tourette’s. It never fit the mood or tempo of the scenes, and oftentimes it proved to be a distraction. Sometimes it was downright repetitive and annoying. I would say that it didn’t relate to the film at all, but its complete lack of cohesion fit very well with the "plot".

The so-called themes of this movie never show up. Greed may have a presence, but it doesn’t come through in the action. Family exists, but it has no form or effect. Faith is never seen as a viable virtue. The only theme this movie presents is one of oppressive insanity. No reason, no logic, no rationale…just a series of actions and reactions that comes to a merciful and abrupt end.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you like the feeling that you’re watching a nightmare, you enjoy long bouts of insubstantial silence, or if you can appreciate stellar acting as the only redeeming virtue of a film.

Steer Clear:
If you want multi-dimensional characters, an involving plot, and a story that makes any kind of sense.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
Fortunately I can think of no other film that bears any semblance to this atrocity.

Buy or Rent:
RENT.

FEATURES

-Language Selection

-Scene Selection

-Woulda Been Nice: If the filmmakers would have offered some kind of feature that could possibly explain how they justified making this movie.

- Jesse Gray

Bands as NBA Players: Part V

2008-04-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

*This is Part V in a series of columns by Paul Phipps.

5. Coldplay is Kobe Bryant

The year was 2000. I was no longer a kid. The soundtrack of my youth had included With or Without You (U2) as child who barely understood the meaning, Wonderwall (Oasis) as a naïve 16 year old, and Karma Police (Radiohead) as an 18-year old punk who thought he had all the answers. The signature songs from the groundbreaking albums from the best bands of my lifetime.

But this was the new millennium. I had just turned 21 and I was heading into my last year of college. The song was Yellow. Everyone knew it, and everyone had heard it. You couldn't get away from it. It took me a while to even remember who the artist was. In fact, remember when Gwyneth Paltrow started dating Chris Martin? I think I actually called him the "Yellow Guy" at that time. Of course the more musically astute at that time had the foresight to realize that Coldplay was a legit force in the industry. Parachutes is a great album. It just took a while for me to figure that out. And I wasn't alone. Although it has since gone double platinum in the US, it only peaked at #51 on the charts. The 2000's was a new era. I already had my rock stars. No one would ever be better than U2 so why try? No one could be as huge as Oasis was in '96, and Radiohead was Radiohead and there would never be another. We were a generation of haters and skeptics now. If you were popular you had sold out, and if your song was on the radio you were a marketing ploy.

Then came A Rush of Blood to the Head. Maybe I was wrong.

Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player on the planet. You don't like how that sounds do you? Well I don't know how or when it happened, but it's true. You know it and I know it. You're right, he's no Jordan. Jordan is retired. You're right, he's no Shaq. Shaq was a freak of nature and it's over now. I know you like Iverson. He's one of you; blue collar and squeezing the most out of what he has. Kobe is privileged, and lucky and coddled. I know.

One day I just accepted Jordan was gone, and I looked around, and there he was. Kobe Bryant was just the best. Maybe he hasn't earned it or deserved it. Give him time.

In My Place is an amazing song. I have listened to it a thousand times. I never wanted to be a Coldplay fan. In fact I was so late to the party I almost missed it, but I glad I didn't. This song and the band's second album made me go back and appreciate the first. By the time X&Y was released in 2005, I waited in eager anticipation, and we had a legit rock band with three multi-platinum hits. Coldplay had dodged the critics who accused them of trying to be Radiohead; they had ignored those who said they could never top Oasis, and as blasphemous as it is to say, we have a band for those looking for the next U2. Of course they are not, but it's always fun to look. And while Yellow was a massive hit, the band's best may be yet to come. Hey you never know.

Kobe Bryant has three championship rings. Ironically, his claim to supremacy may not be stronger than the '07-'08 season. Now in his prime with a strong supporting cast, pundits are finally admitting that he is the player you most want in the clutch. He is your first choice if you are in a must-win game, and there is no doubt you want the ball in his hands taking the last shot. Nobody wants to play against him that's for sure, and this year could be his defining moment. His chance to stake his claim, to shake out of the shadow of Shaq, to prove his detractors wrong, and to take his rightful place as the best player of his era. Maybe there will never be another Jordan, but Kobe has a chance to go down in history as the best to a generation of fans.

On June 17, 2008, Coldplay will release their fourth album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. If I have my druthers, Kobe Bryant will be carrying the Lakers to another title days later. So don't be a hater. How often do you get a chance to see the best band and the best basketball player of the new millennium at the peak of their success at the same time? Who knows, maybe in 20 year we will be talking about the next Coldplay, and the next Kobe.

- Paul Phipps

Bands as NBA Players: Part IV

2008-04-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

*This is Part IV in a series of columns by Paul Phipps.

4. Oasis is Shaquille O’Neal

Dominance. When I first thought of Oasis, I couldn’t help but to recall when they first burst onto the music scene, and it felt like they would be on the radio every other song. But unlike so much overplayed music, they never go old. No matter how many times I heard Wonderwall or Champaign Supernova I didn’t change the station. Oasis was great and that’s just how it was.

The most dominate NBA player of my lifetime was a player I loved to hate. Shaq was a force, and in the post-Jordan era he would not be denied. Brute strength and over-powering post play was his forte’. He was unstoppable and that’s just how it was. Dominant.

And like Oasis, Shaq was unmatched at his peak and continues to maintain his relevance even after his best years are behind him.

Musically, the early 90’s will inevitably be remembered for the grunge movement. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains channeled teenage angst into mainstream success. Grunge gave Generation-X an anti-establishment sound that ran away from pop music as fast as their flannel shirts would let them. The fun and excess of the 80’s was over. Bleak music was king. Rolling Stone playfully referred to Seattle as "the new Liverpool," an ironic reference to the British city that played a large role in the UK’s pop music culture.*

While Seattle was telling the whole world how dark things were, there was a 15-year old kid in Virginia Beach that tried to sing along to Smells Like Teen Spirit but didn’t really have that much to be pissed off about. Thankfully for me, 30 miles from Liverpool there was a little band in Manchester proclaiming "You and I are gonna live forever." For me, Oasis lived up to their name, and apparently I wasn’t the only one as Definitely Maybe became the fastest selling debut album in UK history (at the time), and went platinum in the US. Pop music was far from dying, and Oasis set out to prove that it never would.

When Jordan retired from the Bulls for the last time, it left a cloud over the NBA. The year after his retirement a lock-out delayed the start of the season and the future of the game was in doubt. Then Shaquille O’Neal proved one of the age-old adages of the NBA – you can always win with a dominant big man. Maybe Jordan had proven that scorers could lead dynasties, but Shaq would remind us all, thanks to three straight Championships, that the demand for an unstoppable center will never die. Shaq became the face of the NBA and helped guide the league through the post-Jordan years. By the time he won his fourth championship, his legacy was sealed.

If Definitely Maybe was the fresh-faced Shaquille that led the Magic to the finals and endeared himself to a new generation of fans, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? was the Laker years. The album is the third biggest-selling album in UK history; it went 4-x platinum in the U.S. and sold over 18 million copies worldwide. And it wasn’t just the record sales, regular radio play continued years after the album’s initial release. Oasis were the Britpop Kings, and American kids like me couldn’t get enough.

The band played before packed arenas around the world, most famously Knebworth House in 1996 where they played back-to-back nights in front of a total of 375,000 people. Even more impressive was the 2.5 million people that applied for tickets.

In 2005, Don’t Believe the Truth became the band’s sixth album, and like the previous five albums, it entered the UK charts at 1. It also contained two more 1 hits. Maybe there were no 15-year old kids singing along to Don’t Look Back in Anger, but Oasis proved they still had plenty left in the tank.

The following summer, the Miami Heat raised a championship banner to the rafters, in large part thanks to the big fella. The Lakers had to choose between Shaq and Kobe, and choose the younger, hungrier, more talented player. Shaq proved he could still dominate, and added another ring to his collection.

In the Summer of 2005, Coldplay rolled into my hometown having just released their third album, X&Y (the top selling album of that year). They were the hot ticket in town and all of my little brother’s friends were going to that show. I would have been there, except for one little thing. I was in another state, four hours away with a slightly older crowd. Oasis played before 18,000 strong and we sang every word of every song. I chose a four hour drive and Oasis, over a 10 minutes jaunt to Coldplay. There was time for Coldplay later. I couldn’t pass up a chance to listen to the soundtrack of my youth. Oasis, like Shaq, was just that dominant.

Speaking of, I leave you with this, tune in tomorrow for the next band: Coldplay is Kobe Bryant.

- Paul Phipps

Josh’s Christmas in April

2008-04-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

I promise that I had a regular “Just Being Josh” column all laid out for this week but then NBC gave me the greatest present in the world this past Wednesday.

The Peacock broke all procedural precedence by announcing its fall primetime programming in early April instead of waiting for the traditional “upfront” period in May (the week where all the nets trot out their new lineup in front of a bunch of potential advertisers in New York City).

And, on top of that, there were just SO many intriguing programming ideas and announcements that I have to give NBC some credit for trying to get themselves back on the map. Gray and I talked about this a little on the radio show the other night, but we didn’t get a chance to even scrape the surface, so I’ve been itching ever since to fully break everything down.

But first things first.

A little back-story.This whole thing is kinda a big deal only because NBC has become somewhat irrelevant the past few years. I can’t even begin to tell you how badly they dominated the TV landscape for over 20 years (early 1980’s – mid 2000’s) with hit after legendary hit, including “Seinfeld”, “Friends”, “Frasier”, “Cheers”, “The Cosby Show”, “ER”, etc.

It all started to fall apart for the Peacock in 2004 when “Friends” and “Frasier” both bowed out and since they had been on cruise control for 20 years (and hadn’t come up with anything new to take over) things just haven’t been the same.

Other than “The Office”, “30 Rock”, and “Heroes” the net has struggled mightily to develop successful new serial shows and has displayed an unhealthy dependence on reality television (“The Biggest Loser”, “The Apprentice”, “America’s Got Talent’, “Deal or No Deal”, “American Gladiators”, etc.)

I need a shower just thinking about it.

And this has obviously shown in the ratings as well. The other networks, Fox (“American Idol”), CBS (The “CSI” shows) and ABC (“Desperate Housewives”, “Gray’s Anatomy”, “Dancing with the “Stars”) have all developed monster cultural hits while NBC has been slipping gradually towards oblivion.

This past year, Ben Silverman (a former producer on “The Office” strangely enough) took over the reigns as the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and has been trying to find new ways to make the Net relevant again; especially with two major crown jewels in their pocket for this upcoming year: the Summer Olympics from Beijing and the next Super Bowl in February.

Obviously those two events are going to be a ratings boon for any network, so Silverman knew he had to shake things up, step outside the proverbial box, and take some risks.

And this is what happened this past Wednesday.

Here are two main points about NBC’s schedule announcement that I noticed and could potentially be a big deal down the road and ultimately affect the future of programming:

1. Getting the Jump on the Competitors

After the writers’ strike was resolved, there was increased speculation that NBC would skip the dog-and-pony show at the May upfronts. They did just that with this scaled down presentation last Wednesday; and beyond just ditching the pomp and circumstance, they got a jump on the other networks in regards to catching the advertisers’ eyes. Right now, NBC has all the buzz and they have people (read: advertisers) talking and thinking about them exclusively for a few weeks. The other nets have all said they will present their fall lineups during the traditional upfront week but it will be interesting to see how (or if) this process changes if NBC gets things turned around a little this upcoming season.

2. Not Just a Fall Season Anymore

The biggest thing that jumped out to me was that NBC did not just unveil a fall lineup with a bunch of midseason replacement shows (that typically debut in January after a few of the fall shows get axed). Instead they announced a 65-week schedule that they will gradually roll out over the next year. Basically they are trying to cut down on ever having repeats. NBC has already been doing this with “Heroes” as have other networks (i.e. Fox with “24” and “Lost” on ABC) but no one has ever done it in such a “macro” format with every show on the schedule (Fox has tried variations of this the past few years but it’s tough to pull off when so many new shows don’t last more than a couple of weeks). This obviously won’t be in affect for every NBC show at the start of the fall season, but as more and more networks try this kind of programming, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

OK. Beyond those points, there were a couple of major NBC programming notes that warrant mentioning (I have included a news clip from Zap2it.com’s Rick Porter at the top of each nugget and then I will give my thoughts)

1. “The Office” spin-off

"The Office" executive producer Greg Daniels will oversee a spinoff of the series, and it will premiere with the highest possible profile. That much we know. As for the rest of it -- its title, premise, stars, locale, even how many episodes will get made -- NBC isn't telling. Nonetheless, NBC is planning to premiere the show, along with an episode of "The Office," after its broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII in February, when a good 30 million people will likely be watching (that's the five-year average for the post-Super Bowl program). – Rick Porter, Zap2it.com

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. Some of my friends are nervous about “The Office” being diluted by a spinoff but the only thing I can say is that the “Office” producers have done a terrific job managing the series in its first four years. Every time you think the series is going to take a predictable, cliché route, they have taken it into a completely unexpected direction and I can’t imagine them taking on a spinoff unless they had a clear concept of what they wanted to do with it. Fans of the show are hoping that the original series doesn’t get poached too much by a second series but there obviously will have to be some kind of blending or cross-integration. All I know is that I CAN NOT wait for Super Bowl Sunday next year. Win, lose, or draw it’s going to be a great night with “The Office” and the new spinoff to cap the night off.

2. “Friday Night Lights” deal with DirecTV

NBC has entered a partnership with DirecTV whereby the satellite-TV service will get first crack at the new season [of “Friday Night Lights”]. Episodes will air on DirecTV's original programming channel, The 101, starting in October, but they won't make it to NBC until early 2009. Given that the show averaged only 6.2 million viewers a week this season, though, something more than a straight renewal was probably required to keep the show on the air. Bringing in DirecTV to help shoulder the cost will make iffy ratings easier to take, and will also allow NBC's sibling Universal Media Studios, which produces the show, to sell another season's worth of DVDs. – R.P.

I’m personally not a fan of “Friday Night Lights” (I watched a couple of episodes when it first aired but I just couldn’t get into it) but I was so excited to hear about this deal with DirecTV. From “Boomtown” to “Arrested Development” there have been so many shows that I have really liked and have had strong followings but have suffered from low ratings and ultimately get cancelled. If something like this had come around for one of the shows, I wouldn’t care that I wouldn’t be able to see it until the spring if I didn’t have DirecTV. I would just be stoked that new episodes were getting produced. It’s also a great deal for DirecTV to get some original programming and maybe pull in a few new customers and it’s even bigger for NBC in terms of generating some positive publicity as they show some commitment to a fan favorite.

3. Remakes are so hot right now

The point Silverman and Teri Weinberg, the No. 2 person at NBC Entertainment, repeatedly made was that NBC in 2008-09 is going to be about escapism and inspiration. Real life is kinda bleak right now, they think we think, and they want to offer a respite from that when people turn on their televisions at night. And how does one accomplish that? With a lot of remakes and updates and retellings. – R.P.

With a new slate of shows that are basically remakes (everything from a “Knight Rider” update to a remake of the Australian based sitcom “Kath & Kim”), NBC is getting a lot of critical flack for showing a lack of originality – but seriously, is there really anything that new under the sun? “The Office” was a remake and it’s one of my favorite shows on the air right now. I don’t have a problem with the Peacock trying to capitalize on familiar vibes, I just want a quality product. You can take the greatest original concept and execute it poorly just as easily as you can take the most redundant story and give it a fresh flair. I’m going to wait to offer an opinion on this move until I see the quality (or lack thereof) of the new offerings.

4. “Scrubs” is a free agent

NBC confirmed on Wednesday that "Scrubs" will end its seven-season run on the network in May. Which doesn't necessarily mean the show is going away for good. It's widely expected that "Scrubs" will end up on ABC next season, given that it's produced by the network's Disney brother ABC Studios. – R.P.

Because “Scrubs” was produced by ABC Studios, NBC has always kind of treated it like a red-headed stepchild (ABC should have just picked it up originally but whatever). They have never done a great job promoting the show or even supporting it in general; and it seems like every year we’ve had to endure talk of NBC threatening to cancel the series until ABC starts showing some interest and then NBC winds up taking it back like a jealous girlfriend. It’s like they don’t want the show but they don’t want anyone else to have it either. Annoying. Fortunately they’ve finally let it go and it looks like ABC will pick it up and really support it for a final season and give it the send- off it deserves. Granted the show has gotten outright silly in its old age, but anytime you make it seven years, that’s something that should be rewarded with a proper farewell. As perturbed as I am with how NBC screwed this up, I’m glad “Scrubs” will get to say goodbye on its own terms.

As crazy as it might sound, there was actually a whole lot more that I could have gone into (and probably will at a future date) but these were the main points that I took away from everything that was presented last week. I’m personally looking forward to tracking all of this; and like most things, it might just be a much ado about nothing situation. I do have to give NBC credit though for taking some risks and trying to get back into a game that they once owned.

We should expect nothing less.

- Josh Mahler

Bands as NBA Players: Part III

2008-04-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

3. U2 is Michael Jordan

OK, OK. Calm down.

I know some of you just lost your minds. This is a good time to clarify the rules of this little game. Most importantly the bands are all from my lifetime; no Beatles, no Zeppelin, no Stones. Point 2: It’s as much about the popularity, success, and social impact, as it is the quality of the music. And you know what?

This is how they ’feel’ in my twisted brain; my game, my rules.

Let’s remember how this whole thing got started. I needed a way to place the Chili Peppers in my mind. They are Karl Malone to me. You can argue Malone is better than Iverson, and I agree that Radiohead is better than the Peppers. The comparisons I made are based on all the factors I discussed in Parts I and II. Less important is who is better.

We can argue about that anytime.

Lastly, almost by the definition of the game, the bands will be a little older than the players because a band takes a few albums to become established. Even Radiohead, who had a massive single on their first album, didn’t make it huge until "OK Computer", two albums and four years later.

To a lesser extent NBA players can flame out, but we were pretty sure what we were going to get out of Malone and Iverson three years into their careers (Malone’s year three per game averages of 27.7 points / 12.0 rebounds were higher than his hall of fame career averages. Iverson averaged 23.5 ppg and 7.5 assists as a rookie and only got better). The Chili Peppers were formed in 1983, lost two members in ’88, and it wasn’t until ’91 that they released "Blood Sugar Sex Magik".*

Now that I wasted half of today’s column on the rules (just ask my ex-girlfriends; my need to be understood is insufferable), let’s get to U2 and Jordan.

If you understand my explanation above this one is really as clear cut as any on the list: The best band and the best player. U2 fans will have no problem with this; non-fans and Jordan lovers may feel His Airness is being undersold. While U2 may not be the best band of all-time, their body of work, longevity, relevance, and success makes them one of the best ever, and certainly the best band of my lifetime.

Simply put, U2 is Michael Jordan.

One cool thing about U2 is they were a huge success early. Their first album "Boy" (released in 1980) saw international release, a hit single (in the UK) and a European and United States tour. By their third album "War" (’83), they had such hits as "Sunday Bloody Sunday," and "New Year’s Day." They were socially relevant as well, (again, celebrities and politics is another column, but you get my point. They were becoming larger than life).

Why do I mention all this? Because in 1987 they made music history. Two words: "Joshua Tree". This is the album that gives them Jordan status. Two Grammys, two 1 singles (as well as a third that hit 13), 10+ million in US sales, and the cover of Time magazine. The "Joshua Tree" tour saw U2 playing in sold-out arenas around the world.

I’ll spare you the history lesson, but by 2000’s "All That You Can’t Leave Behind" (4+ million sales, featuring most-notably "Beautiful Day"), U2 had put out historic albums in 3 different decades.**

The nature of music includes tours, writing sessions, and the inevitable over-reaction to not living up to past success (see: Radiohead post "OK Computer"). As such, bands cannot sustain success, or ’dominate the sport’ in the same way as a basketball player. But while every other band from the 80’s was drifting into oblivion, U2 immerged as a tour de force.

They are the band I will remember as the soundtrack of my youth. My kids will think of them as "classic" rock and I will feel old; just like the Beatles and Stones do for my parents. In fact, many wonder if the next U2 is even possible; in today’s musical landscape, can one band span THREE decades ever again?

And that, dear readers is dominance in as clear as it can be attained by a band. U2 is not my favorite band, I never had their posters on my wall. And for most of his career, I cheered against 23. And that is the common thread: You didn’t have to love them to recognize the greatness. And as the careers climaxed and descended, you had to respect the legacy and we can’t help but look for the ’next MJ’ and the next U2. We may never see either again.

Perhaps as a nod to his greatness, I will not even waste column space or your time to describe the impact Jordan had on the game, it’s history, and our culture other than to say this: like him or not, anyone who ever saw him play will tell that story to their kids; even if it was as a shadow of his former self in a sacrilegious Wizards uni.

And when U2 rolls through your town, you better pay whatever you have to just to stand a half mile from the stage. You just can’t pass up a shot to see the greatest rock band of my lifetime.

It may never happen again.

* Blood Sugar Sex Magik was the band’s 5th album and first smash hit. The bands 4th album, Mother’s Milk was the first to go gold but peaked at 52 on the charts. **Achtung Baby was released in ’91 sold 8+ million records in the US. It featured 5 singles which made the Billboard Hot 100.

- Paul Phipps

Learning to Love Again (or The Hour of Power)

2008-04-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

Anyone that really knows me will remember that I was in a very serious relationship when I was a student at Christopher Newport University from 1999-2001. It was a great relationship, we had a lot of fun, we really only got to see each other once a week or so, and back then I thought it would last forever.

It ended however – as many college relationship do – and the sting of that break-up has lasted with me through the years; so much so that I have had trouble letting down my guard and letting go of my heart ever since.

Ladies and gentlemen, that all changed last night as I’m proud to announce that I have found a new weekly TV group.

(What did you think I was talking about?)

Back at CNU, a bunch of us would get together on Thursday nights for "Friends" at 8:00 p.m. and then "Frasier" at nine and to this day, those nights together are still on my Top 10 Greatest Memories of My Life list. There’s just something about a group that makes a show better. The jokes are funnier, the drama is more suspenseful, everything just seems to "pop" a little more than when you watch it by yourself.

Thinking I could never recapture the magic, I have actively stayed away from getting involved with another TV group but this new one came to me more that I came to it.

If you have read any of my stuff at all over the past few months, you know that I’m a big fan of the CBS sitcoms, "The Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother"; and since CBS is apparently mentally unstable, "HIMYM" has yet to officially be picked up for next season, so I’ve been on a personal campaign to get people to watch because (A) selfishly, I want the show to return and (B) I really do feel like it is the best show on TV right now and people are missing out.

Of course the writers’ strike happened and derailed everything but when the shows came back on the air, there started to be some rumblings amongst my friends about trying to get together to watch on Monday nights. My Girlfriend and I have been big fans of both shows since the beginning but in a weekly TV group, you obviously need more than that. Fortunately, the Britney episode last week got some of our other friends interested and in some cases, re-interested in the show, so this seemed like the perfect week to try a test run for a group watch.

There were about eight of us and we all met at my buddy Paul’s house and I have to say that the night was glorious.

I was a little nervous a couple of weeks ago when CBS announced that "Theory" and "HIMYM" would be swapping timeslots ("Theory" now airs at 8:00 p.m. and "HIMYM" follows at 8:30 – before the strike, they were swapped) because networks have beaten people like me into believing the hype that the 8:00 show is the "anchor" show of the hour. A lot of people (including myself) felt like this move was a slap in the face to "HIMYM" because they’ve been on longer and this is just "Theory’s" first season.

But I have to give credit to Paul. He was excited about the move because he feels like "Theory" serves as the perfect lead-in for "HIMYM". He used the analogy that "Theory" is like a warm-up comedian and after three weeks of the change, I think that is very accurate.

And this is nothing against "Theory", it is a brilliantly written show and I’ve already realized that over time it could actually be one of my favorites (I’m such a sucker for sitcoms about pompous intellectuals, read: "Frasier"), but it is still finding its way. Also, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it seems to have a little bit more of a generic, mass appeal to it than "HIMYM". Again, that’s not an insult, I don’t mean "generic" in a negative sense. "Friends" and "Cheers" were the same way and they are legendary shows.

"HIMYM" definitely has more of a cult feel for some reason and you really do have to follow it week-in and week-out to get the full experience, where as you can just hop into a "Theory" ep and catch up quickly.

That’s the difference.

Regardless, the night was great and the shows were great and the more I think about it, that might have been the best "HIMYM" ever or maybe the great group dynamic is just coloring my judgment.

"Theory" was the perfect appetizer but every week I keep waiting for the episode to be epic and really launch the show into greatness. That didn’t happen again this week, but still a solid outing. It’s probably better that I’m not running the show, because I probably would have Penny and Howard hooked up by now and the show would be out of gas by the third season (i.e. "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey’s Anatomy").

The producers are being smart and letting the characters grow naturally. It’s been a little eerie how many ways "Theory’s" freshman season reminds me of the first season of "Frasier".

Not a bad playbook to follow I guess.

"HIMYM" was off the charts awesome last night and since there’s no possible way to rank the moments, I will just list a couple of my favorites:

- Of course I loved the whole NCAA basketball tourney parallel and they PERFECTLY capped it off with the "One Shining Moment" montage at the end.

- The fight between the group over which of Barney’s conquests was worse. From "12 hours to live girl" to Ted’s emphatic feelings about "fake baby", it was HI-larious.

- The nod to Neil Patrick Harris’ former series, "Doogie Howser, M.D." at the end of the show with the "Doogie" music playing while Harris’ new character Barney was typing on his laptop.

- The way that they left it with a cliff hanger for Barney! I legitimately can’t wait for the next episode (which won’t be for another two weeks because of the NCAA championship game this coming Monday night).

This ep was also a great way for "HIMYM" to follow up last week’s ratings boon. Last week was solely centered around Ted and was kinda serious. This week was all about Barney and the group (Ted actually took a pretty reserved back seat) and really showed the series’ light and fun side.

Great move by the producers.

I know there’s only like five or six new episodes this season and there is still a dumb chance that "HIMYM" doesn’t get picked up for the fall, but it doesn’t matter to me.I’m so happy to be in a weekly TV group once more, watching two shows that I really do like. And just like the beginning of a any new relationship, it is fun learning how to love again.

- Josh Mahler

Bands as NBA Players: Part II

2008-04-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

* This is Part II in a series of columns by Paul Phipps.

2. Radiohead is Allen Iverson

Unconventional. Unique. Controversial. Wildly popular yet somehow under-appreciated

Radiohead is my favorite band of all time. I am going to see them in Charlotte next month, and I have never been more excited about a show. When I first thought of Radiohead I wanted to put them with Jordan, Magic or Bird; a sure-fire Hall of Famer. But then I thought about my favorite player of MY lifetime. It was easy: Allen Iverson. An all-time great that was worshipped by those that loved him, and misunderstood by those who didn’t. Both Iverson and Radiohead were at the same time overrated (by critics and fans alike), yet underrated and judged by the masses.

Radiohead had one-hit wonder written all over them after "Creep" became a massive radio hit. Some of you reading this right now would know "Creep" if you heard it right now, but have no idea who Radiohead is. Their second album, "The Bends" was (mistakenly in my opinion), considered a disappointment by many. But in 1997 Radiohead put out the best album of my lifetime: "OK Computer". It was revolutionary and relevant. You could listen to it happy or listen to it sad. It propelled Radiohead into iconic status for their fans and critics around the world.

They would never put out another "normal" album. There next 2 albums ("Kid A" and "Amnesiac") were recorded together and released separately. Oh yeah, it was done without guitars. They did not make radio songs, and they didn’t care what people thought about them. They didn’t care about the money or fame, and these ’weird’ albums sold by the millions.

They released their songs on Napster so fans could get a ’feel’ for the music and it made "Kid A" a chart-topping success (remember at the time every other band was trying to get Napster shut down). Fans and critics loved them for it ("Kid A" won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album and was nominated for Album of the Year), but to this day, there are many who wonder where the boys that put out "OK Computer" have gone.

Last year they released the critically acclaimed "In Rainbows" over the Internet. My Friend Who Knows About Such Things told me they made more money on that album than all of their other albums combined (thanks to not having a label). They don’t need the radio, and they don’t need you to like them. They have been called snobby, pretentious, and arrogant. All of those things are true on some level. But to those that love them, they can do no wrong. Those that know music know they are brilliant. And there will always be those that wonder if they could have done more.

Philly fans are notoriously rude, obnoxious, and unrelenting. When Philadelphia native Kobe Bryant returned to his hometown, he was booed lustily by the town he once called home. But with Iverson, it has always been nothing but love.

Misunderstandings with management and coaches? They loved him. Missing practice but pouring his heart and soul onto the court from tip-off to the final buzzer? They loved him. He could do no wrong, and he couldn’t take a bad shot. He was applauded after every miss, and brought the crowd to their feet with every make.

Critics lauded him as the hardest worker in the NBA, the little man who got more out of his body than anyone who ever played the game. A warrior, a gamer, a show-stopper…but the masses disagreed.

He was more style than substance, too much flash and not enough results. Yeah he could score, but couldn’t anyone who hogged the ball as much? He had too many tattoos before too many tattoos were ok (or at least overlooked). His cornrows and baggy clothes made it all too easy for people to dismiss him as a thug. He never cared. He didn’t do it for you, for me, or the fans. He lived his life and played the game for himself. As long as he could sleep every night knowing he was true to what he believed; that when the game began he would put 13 teammates on his 165-pound back and will them to a win. That’s all that mattered.

His "OK Computer" moment was 2001 when he won the MVP with a 31.1 ppg average, won the All-Star game MVP in leading a completely undermanned East squad to victory, and took his rag-tag Sixers to the NBA Finals. In game one he scored 48 points to upset the defending-champion Lakers. They would go on to lose the series, but I will never forget that season.

On any given night, in any given arena, Iverson could win you a game by himself. You could talk about the best without him. Like Malone, there are players that were more consistent, or steady, or reliable. But you can’t talk about the best NBA players without bring up Iverson, and you can’t talk about the best band of my lifetime without mentioning Radiohead.

Maybe they weren’t your favorite, but you can’t deny me Iverson’s ’01 season, and you can’t deny me the best album of my life: "OK Computer".

- Paul Phipps

The Mailman Has Two Faces

2008-03-31T11:22:00.000-07:00

Josh and I were driving downtown the other day and "Snow" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers comes on the radio. You know the song, "Hey Oh… Listen what I say Oh…" The next thing I know I am singing the words and having a significantly better-than-average time. "What a great song," I think to myself before remarking aloud to Josh,

"The Chili Peppers are Karl Malone."

The look on his face begged for an explanation so I continued, "Think about it. There are so many great Chili Peppers songs, but they are never a band that naturally comes to mind when I think about the greatest band of my life. In fact I don’t know anyone who says they are their favorites. But you can’t deny their greatness. Just like the Mailman. He even has his own nickname, but outside of Utah have you ever seen a Karl Malone jersey?"

This conversation dominated the rest of the night as the bands of my life became NBA players. And of course Josh has this annoying habit (he’s just like my dad in this way), of turning fun into work, so here you have it.

(Ok, first the rules. This is my list. These are bands that came to mind as I was thinking about the defining rock music of my life. All of the music and all of the players are from the modern era. I also went band first. Thought of a band and then the player. Some important players will inevitably be left of the list. Lastly a disclaimer: I am not a music guru. You are not going to get in-depth analysis; people way smarter than me do that stuff every day. A lot of the fun of this list has to do as much with the relative popularity and success of the bands as it does with the quality of their music.)

1. The Chili Peppers are Karl Malone

The Peppers have always been there, and they have always been the same. Consistently good. Solid. Steady. Always near the top, but were they ever the best at any point in their careers? Malone has a couple MVP trophies in his case, but even those are questionable. The win in ’97 is one of the sports world’s biggest ’oops’ awards. The media was tired of giving Jordan MVPs, so they went with, ’let’s give someone else a turn,’ and the nod to Malone was a more of a lifetime achievement award. It was fitting actually. And I think that’s my point. He deserved the lifetime achievement recognition. When he won it again two years later in the strike shortened ’99 season (the year after Jordan retired), I thought, "Why not him? Malone is solid." It was a perfect cap to a great career. But even with Jordan out of the way he could not deliver a title to the Jazz; it was a young Tim Duncan who emerged and led his team the first of four championships (more on him later).

When the Peppers collected their Grammy for Stadium Arcadia at last year’s Grammy’s I couldn’t say it wasn’t deserved. It was the top selling rock album of the year. I don’t remember anyone telling me I "just had to have it," but obviously people enjoyed it. As they stood there on that stage that night I thought, "Good for them. When you think about it, they have had a great run. They deserve it." And just like Malone, you’d never want to take anything away, but you don’t exactly remember a moment when they were the absolute best. But when you see a perfectly executed pick and roll you might think of Stockton and Malone, and if "Snow" comes on your radio I dare you not to sing along.

TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR BAND 2

- Paul Phipps

Sam's Top 10 Albums of 2007

2008-03-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

Warning. In the interest of full disclosure, this blog is written solely to fill my weird desire to write a year-end "best of" list. I hope you get something from this.

Those of you who know me well, know that I am a huge music nerd. I know very little about politics. If we are debating nationalized health care, you’ll end up making me look like Miss South Carolina trying to explain why "U.S. Americans" can’t read maps. But I can tell you why the Rolling Stones are better than the Beatles, why Paul Simon’s "Graceland" is THE must have "Trapped Alone On a Deserted Island and You Can Only Have One Album" album, or how listening to Kid Rock and Nickleback will limit your career opportunities to just two jobs (roofer or professional douche bag).

For most, Christmas comes once a year. For me, it comes every Tuesday. Nothing makes me happier than buying new music and discovering something amazing. These are the ten albums I bought this year that changed me. I encourage all of you to give them a listen (I’ll even burn you a copy if you want…I won’t tell if you don’t).

10. Feist- The Reminder
She’s pretty and so is her voice. Listen to "My Moon, My Man" and "I Feel It All".

9. Pela- Anytown Graffiti
They hail from Brooklyn and sound like the Killer’s during their "Sam’s Town" phase, only WAY better. Trust me. Listen to "Lost to the Lonesome" and "The Trouble With River Cities".

8. Radiohead- In Rainbows
It’s Radiohead. Not as weird as their newer fare, but a little closer to the masterpiece that was "OK Computer". Listen to "Faust Arp" and "Nude".

7. Modest Mouse- We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
A great album with no radio hits (remember "Float On"). Is that a bad thing? I think not. Listen to "Missed the Boat" and "People As Places As People".

6. LCD Soundsystem- Sound Of Silver
James Murphy may be the coolest guy on the planet. We can discuss that later. If you are having a party, put this on repeat. Listen to "All My Friends" and "North American Scum" (possibly the best song of the year).

5. The National- Boxer
I was hooked from the beginning. Amazing! Listen to "Start a War" and "Fake Empire".

4. Ryan Adams- Easy Tiger
My wife thinks I should marry Ryan Adams. Listen to "Oh My God, Whatever, Etc." and "These Girls".

3. Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
"You got no fear of the underdog, that’s why you will not survive." This album does it all, without overdoing it. Whatever it is. Listen to "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" and "Don’t You Evah".

2. Band Of Horses- Cease To Begin
Their first album was amazing. This one blows it away. Listen to "Is There a Ghost" and "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands".

1. Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
Lead singer Win Butler graduated with honors from the Bruce Springsteen Academy of Songwriting. Listen to "Intervention" and "The Well and the Lighthouse".

- Sam Varela

I Just Feel Sorry For You

2008-03-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

I just got done watching the greatly appreciated Britney Spears episode of "How I Met Your Mother" and I couldn’t help but notice a few things along the way:

1. There is obviously a lot of things going on behind the scenes with the show right now. CBS has been looking for a justifiable reason to cancel the show and the show’s creators and executive producers (Carter Bays and Craig Thomas - two guys I worked for at Letterman) responded by pulling the ultimate stunt casting move of all time by bringing in Britney Spears and Sarah Chalke from "Scrubs" (PS - it has been awesome to see the show getting so much attention on websites and on magazine covers the past week. It’s just a shame it’s not because of how great the show is but whatever).

2. In the first three years of the show this was the first episode written by Carter, Craig, and Chris Harris (another Letterman writer that they brought over to "HIMYM") and this was only the fifth episode written by Carter and Craig in the last two years. To me this says that they were taking this ep very seriously and they knew there was a lot riding on it. They knew that with having Britney and Sarah there was potential for it to get out of control in the wrong hands and they even brought in Chris to help keep it grounded. I could be reading waaaay too much into this but that instantly struck me when I saw the writing credits at the beginning of the show.

3. Britney was actually kind of funny. The dialogue overall felt a little forced at times and first 20 minutes of the episode were kind of awkward because it featured so much of Ted, Sarah (playing Ted’s dermatologist), and Britney (playing the office receptionist) and relegated the rest of the (stellar) cast to a complete supporting role but that leads me to...

4. How it was all worth it for the "two minute date" at the very end. That was completely epic and one of the creative sitcom moments I have ever seen. Did you also notice that there were NO edits in that scene? Amazing.

5. And that leads me to my fifth and final point. For the last three years I have been killing myself telling people about this show and trying to get people to watch. For whatever reason people don’t and it will probably get cancelled. People will keep complaining that there’s nothing good on television and CBS will continue failing to connect with younger viewers because they couldn’t realize that they had something there to pave the way all this time. But after seeing that "two minute date", I just felt sorry for everyone that didn’t get to see it. Instead of feeling sorry for myself for liking yet another show that will be prematurely axed, I was proud that I have been there along and I got to witness something truly special.

The ratings will come out tomorrow around 12:00 p.m. EST and hopefully the Britney cameo and media pub will give it a little spike. A 7.2 rating/12 share would be awesome, however unlikely, but something like a 6.6/10 would have to get the attention of CBS (the show has consistently been in the 4.8/7 - 5.9/9 range for the last two seasons).

I actually think next week’s ratings - without Britney - will have more to do with the hope of future seasons.

But I honestly don’t care anymore. All the emphasis going into tonight was on Brit (and she delivered) but Carter and Craig knew that they needed something more to keep people coming back next week and that’s why we got the "two minute date" and that kind of thinking has been the driving force to the continual brilliance of the show.

Watch or don’t, it doesn’t matter anymore.

I did and you missed it.

- Josh Mahler

"Dan in Real Life" DVD Review

2008-03-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

PASSING THOUGHTS
No jokes about bodily functions gone awry. No ludicrously bizarre odd-ball characters. No contrived moments designed to pull at your heart strings (and gag reflexes). No perverse relational juggling between leads who have the scruples of crack addicts in need of a fix.

Surely I couldn’t be describing a romantic comedy—not one worth watching anyway! How could love possibly be entertaining without any of those crucial elements?

I have no clue. But that don’t mean it ain’t so.

Generally, wholesome, family-oriented movies are reserved for those who are too young to know how cruel and coarse life can be (In this day and age, I’m talking mostly about four and five year-olds). But “Dan in Real Life” manages to achieve two key balances that make it easy to watch, easy to believe, and ultimately easy to appreciate.

The first feat of balance comes with the writing: the presence of a script is never in question, but the lines don’t sound scripted. It was obvious that there were intentional beats, moments and conversations that were arranged to form a coherent story, but it didn’t feel like those arrangements were forced into words or actions. The motivations came from authentic necessity, not a filmmaker’s desire to insert a joke or build suspense.

The second feat comes with what I hope will be a new breed of documentary. Documentaries are shot raw and kept raw to give the feel of authenticity. Even in rehearsed shows (like “The Office”) there is an effort to convey a sense of spontaneity and realism to the audience. Yet the continual shaking of the camera, the odd angles, the knee-jerk pans, and the abrupt shift in focus all come together as one big distraction, making it harder to really get into the story. You are constantly aware that there is a camera in the room, apparently manned by someone without a tripod. What “Dan” manages to do is give the illusion that you are a fly-on-the-wall watching the unpolished interactions of a family, without being distracted by an intentional lack of production.

Besides the balancing acts, “Dan” manages to put a bit of uncertainty into a genre that typically leaves very little to the imagination. Of course for a romance to be a comedy (versus a tragedy) the two leads have to find love, but oftentimes there aren’t enough obstacles in the way to make for an interesting journey. With “Dan”, the rival love interest isn’t some loser jerk nobody likes; it’s a brother who seems to be genuinely in love with his girlfriend. The opposition isn’t a distant antagonist and a quirky plot device, but rather an internal struggle and the nature of family.

From concept to execution, “Dan in Real Life” delivers the combination of humor and heart that many of us experience and can relate to in our real lives.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you like subtle comedy, awkward moments, and a more realistic portrayal of relational interactions.

Steer Clear:
If you’re looking for a comedy like “American Pie”, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”, or “Good Luck Chuck”.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
Has the family-oriented set-up of “Meet the Parents”, and Cara (Brittany Robertson) bears the resemblance of a young Rene Zellweger.

Buy or Rent:
RENT. It’s a fun movie, so it does have replay value, but more than likely you’ll want to watch it three times in as many days and then you’ll be done for awhile. It’s more of an experience, an exploration of another man’s life and family, more than a continuous stream of jokes that’ll have you in stitches time and time again.

FEATURES

- Scene Selection

- Subtitles

- Register DVD

- Just Like Family: Making of Dan in Real Life:
Approx 15 minutes. For a flick like this, there’s not a whole lot to talk about in terms of effects, makeup and costumes. It’s mostly a discussion about how the movie came together and what it was like for the actors to be a part of it. Short, simple, typical.
DUH! FACTOR: 7 out of 10

- Handmade Music: Creating the Score:
Approx 10 minutes. A short exploration of composer Sondre Lerche and how the score came together for the film. A rather unique occurrence and a relatively thorough documentary about it, but not something that’ll pique a whole lot of interest (a must-see if you want to figure out how to pronounce his name though).
DUH! FACTOR: 2 out of 10

- Deleted Scenes:
11 total. Interestingly enough, they all seem edited as part of the finished product. The sound and picture match that of the movie, perhaps indicative of how far the clips made it before being cut. Mostly fringe scenes with little substance.

- Outtakes:
Approx 3.5 minutes. Amusing but not terribly funny.

- Audio Commentary:
Done by writer/director Peter Hedges.

- One More?:
Easter Egg. Small compilation of more outtakes; mostly Steve Carell getting hit in the head with a football.

Woulda Been Nice: To see a section just on some of the improvised moments as well as the actors relating to each inside the house during filming.

- Jesse Gray