TV for Alias fans

A little insider advice on some new TV shows coming out in the fall...we get to see all the pilots here at work (yes I get paid to watch TV!!) before they come out in the fall.

Last week I saw The Bionic Woman, which I have to say I was very cynical about. But luckily there are very few similarities to the original 70s program. It's actually more in the vein of Alias. The two main characters even resemble Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan. The title character, Jamie Sommers, gets in a car accident with her doctor boyfriend and wakes up in an underground lab to find she's got bionic limbs. The boyfriend (Will) is part of it, he works for some mysterious government agency, he has a mysterious criminal father that he doesn't like. There are creepy people lurking around every corner and a multitude of openings for future plot twists. SOUND FAMILIAR???

This was only the pilot, which is hard to judge from because they are trying to get across so much set up in that one hour, but I think it could be good. I'll reserve total judgement until I've seen a couple of episodes to see how the momentum is going forward. Also, I just read that Isaiah Washington of Grey's Anatomy fame is making a few guest appearances in the first season so that could be interesting!

Another pilot I didn't see but that several coworkers have told me is really, really bad is Cavemen. Yes, as in the Geico pitchmen. Now I did just read that they're revising the pilot quite a bit, probably because of such feedback, but sounds like they'd need to start completely over.

Diggers

I'm gonna throw this one out there... passing along un-tested advice is risky I know...but I just read a review for a small indie film called Diggers, starring Paul Rudd. The call out was "If you're sick of the sequels and bad action films this summer, see this one". I fall into that category. Sign me up Netflix.

They said: it's a coming of age story set in 1976 abour four working-class friends growing up in Long Island as clam diggers. It encapsulates the magic of good movies. It is the kind of film where you don't just root for the characters, but the whole film.

I like Paul Rudd and he's done way too much Adam Sandler goofy comedy lately. This sounds like a refreshing change. Let me know what you think!

Hairspray

I took my 6 year old daughter to this one and she absolutely LOVED IT. From the very start she was hooked by the energy and fun . Who wouldn't be energized by Tracy Turnblad's enthusiasm and passion for life? Kennedy was giggling and clapping and jumping out of her seat.

The movie is PG and they do a great job of making it safe for 6 year olds.

All the music was wonderful, very few "slow" moments like in many musicals so it kept Kennedy interested. The dancing was so fun.

The most fun parts were of course John Travolta as Edna Turnblad and Christopher Walken as Wilbur Turnblad. Michelle Pfeiffer was great as the mean Velma Von Tussle. It was fun to see John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer dancing and singing again...brought back great memories of old Grease viewings!!

Four stars!!

More about Colin...

Let's continue talking about Colin Firth for a minute...he's just so sexy in a serious but adorable way. If you haven't seen the 1996 TV mini-series he did of Pride and Prejudice, you haven't lived. It's six hours long so it doesn't cut anything out like last year's Keira Knightley version. It's one of Susan and my faves.

Also, he's incredible in Bridgett Jones, which is a modern take on P and P.

He's also great in The Importance of Being Earnest and The Girl with the Pearl Earring. What can I say, I love period films and I love him in them.

And some other great modern day films: What a Girl Wants, where he's actually Amanda Bynes father. You know you're old when you go to a teeny-bopper film to drool over the dad!! And one of my favorite films of all time: Love Actually.

I think his best performances are all in the same sort of character: quiet, seemingly moody but really just serious and passionate. The exception would perhaps be my previous mention in Valmont. He plays a playboy bad boy here, but he does a great job!! Maybe because the bad boy is passionate about what he wants and Colin plays passionate well.

Valmont

Valmont is from 1989 and it stars Colin Firth and Annette Benning. I had never heard of it before last week, which I blame Susan for as we are both huge Colin fans. She should have told me of this film. :-) Anyway, it's yet another version of Dangerous Liasons but it has Colin in it (in tight-fitting period clothes - did I mention how much I like him??) so I consider it more visually appealing.

I don't know anyone who thinks John Malkovich is sexy so this would be an improvement even if it Adam Sandler were in it.

It's also directed by Milos Forman, a great director who has done fabulous films like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus.

I give it four stars.

Mother of all rolls

You may notice there is the mother of all blog rolls on the left. This is for Shelly (oh, and me) and of course all of you: our readers.

Shelly is going through the initial growing pains of being a new blogger and not quite knowing where everything is etc. Over the past few days I have received emails from Shelly entitled:
@(*)#*Blogger and Blog Help amongst other things. Those of you who know Shelly, know how well she deals with things that just don't work the way she wants them to. Therefore that is why she has me as Blogger Technical Support.

So, if there are any links I missed let me know, I will keep on adding them in as I find them...

Little Miss Potter

Received Miss Potter starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor the other day in the mail from Blockbuster Online. I have been wanting to see this for awhile, however just didn't think I would be able to convince the home office of viewing since there is NO ONE on the face of this earth who makes him cringe more than Renee Zellweger. I don't know what it is about the woman, but he just can't deal.

So, anyhoo I stayed up a little later the other night for my own private screening of the Beatrix Potter story and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised as to how much I enjoyed the movie. It is an option for the entire family (except DLS). There is no swearing, shootings and there are cute little bunny pictures. It took me a bit to get used to once again hearing Renee's British accent. I couldn't help but think, "It's Bridget Jones in dowdy clothes and a bad hat."

Overall it is a sweet little movie.

3.5 out of 5

Recommendations for Carey

Here are a few of my recent favorites for trip to grandma's:

• The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls - very, very good memoir. Bit heavy, but so worth it. One of my favorites. 5/5
• The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - Read this long ago, but recently re-read. Loved this book, not as much as the Outlander series, but good. They are making a movie of this with Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. Shel - WE HAVE TO GO SEE THAT WHEN IT COMES OUT. 4/5
• The Book of Joe - Jonathan Tropper - Good story, light at moments. You liked Beautiful Girls so you will like this. 4/5
• Love, Rosie - Ceceila Ahern - Really liked this, quick as the book is 99% emails and letters between Rosie and her best guy friend Alex. 3.5/5
• The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella - Very cute light read. I like Sophie Kinsella, she is better when not in her Shopoholic series. 4/5
• Can You Keep a Secret - also by Sophie Kinsella - Good light fun. Easy read. 3.5/5
• Also just read new Ann Brashears book, I know you loved The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, so maybe give it a go. It is a quick read which I usually like however am in the throes of summer and want a little something more to hold onto amidst the chaos.

The Last Summer (of You and Me)

I picked up the first "adult" novel by Ann Brashares this week while at Costco. I was #32 of 206 on the waiting list at the library, but after reading the jacket decided I would go ahead and buy it. I finished the book rather quickly, but now am thinking I could have waited for my place in line at the library.

The book is an easy read, very fast, but there just isn't much to it. It is completely predictable and to be honest I was disappointed. I read the last page feeling like I had just watched a movie made for Lifetime entertainment all wrapped up rather neatly at the end of the two hour allotment.

I have only read one other of Brashares books (I am actually in the middle of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for book club), so I really didn't know what to expect. She does have moments where she thoroughly captures and conveys real life situations with the simplest of terms and you think, why have I never thought of it that way before? Then in the next line when you expect the clarity to continue and it falls short.

The story tells of the relationship between two sisters, Riley and Alice and how their summer neighbor Paul, comes in and out of their lives. The characters are in their early 20s returning for another summer, but you can't help but feeling they are so much younger.

There are a few adult situations thrown in along with a few swear words, but overall it feels like a teen novel wanting to be more. I wanted to get to know Riley, the eldest sister better, but she never really got a chance to let you know her. Alice is a sweet, naive woman who the author sells short. Paul, the neighbor, is just confused and is definitely someone you would never want your daughter to date. I know it sounds silly, but I felt I got to know the characters homes better than their occupants.

Maybe I am being too harsh, but it just wasn't what I was looking for right now, however put me on the beach and it would be a much better pairing. Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

What a great Waitress

Warning: I'm new to this blogging thing. I'm not a good writer like Susan or Carey, I crunch numbers all day.

That said I love movies and books so I'm willing to talk a little about my favorites.

Saw the indie movie Waitress awhile back. AWESOME (sorry julie!). I loved it because it's a wonderful story about the inner strength that we women possess and sometimes hide. I loved the main actress, Keri Russell. I was a huge Felicity fan and she's come a long way! And it was bittersweet because the woman who wrote, directed and starred in the movie, Adrienne Shelly, was killed before the movie debuted. She was also amazing in the movie!

Four stars from me! (Susan we need our own rating system!)

RAT-TAT-TAT

Little man and I had a date yesterday since AE was off having fun. We went to Ratatouille, rated G for one and all. Have to say Pixar did it again, both of us really loved the movie. Others must have liked it as well because it has an 8.8/10 rating on IMDB which makes is #40 of the 250 best rated of all time on their site. Can't remember the last time that happened.

Like I said, can't get over Pixar, the things they do with computers is amazing. I spent quite a bit of the movie in awe of the characters' hair and how each little follicle shows up on the screen. Freak I know, but I love the little details. Also spent a lot of time trying to figure out the main characters' (Remy/Linguini's) voices - don't bother because no one has ever heard of either guy before, I shouldn't say that. Remy is voiced by Patton Oswald from The King of Queens, which I have never watched and Linguini is Lou Romano - no relation to Ray.

Kids will love the story, it is easy to follow and they will want a pet rat just like Remy by the end of the show. They really make the rats kind of loveable like a hamster, but parents know better and it is kind of unnerving when thousands of rats run in a group on screen, they didn't seem so warm and fuzzy then. In fact some of the parents let out a little eek.

Good fun for one and all, it is a little long, but most of the kids in the theatre didn't seem to mind, they were busy watching a cooking rat work his magic in gay Paree.

The only part of the whole experience I wasn't too impressed with was the little Pixar short they show before the main feature. Lifted is about a little alien and his on the job training, didn't find myself laughing out loud like with previous Pixar shorts. JG liked it as he is still talking about the aliens, let's hope he will not be talking about aliens at 2 a.m. after a nightmare featuring his alien abduction...

Ratatouille - 9/10
Little Man's Rating - Way, way good

Well here we go... will anyone else read other than us?