24 posts tagged “entertainment 2009”

Oh, sweet cin! sent me a link to this She & Him music video from director Marc Webb of 500 Days of Summer, which also stars 500 leads Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

I realize this video has been out for months, but how did this slip through the pop culture cracks with me! I'd never seen it before.

However, this video is a nice teaser and reminder that 500 Days of Summer comes out on DVD December 22. I know what's going on my Christmas list. I also know what's going on "Top Ten Movies of 2009" list.  

Two movies were released last weekend that depicted female hardships. One was The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which some believe is the downfall of the female American teenager. The other was Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire -- pretty much the most intense female situation I've ever watched on film.

Precious tells the story of Clareece "Precious" Jones, an obese illiterate teenager who's pregnant with her second child to her own father in Harlem 1987. Phew. The synopsis is a mouthful. And when you tell people about this movie, I find it entertaining to watch their facial expressions.

This movie was wonderfully performed and crafted beautifully by director Lee Daniels, but it's hard to tell people, "It was great!" It wasn't a "great" movie. It's like telling someone you really enjoyed watching Schindler's List. It just feels wrong.

And while the film ends with hope (without giving too much about the movie away), there's one particular problem that occurs in the movie that leaves the moviegoer wondering about how much hope there really is. Terribly depressing. When my friend got up to leave the theatre, he said he felt heavy and weighed down.   

I had high hopes for January Jones on "Saturday Night Live" last week, probably because I'm a huge "Mad Men" fan. However, the SNL episode turned out to be one of the worst I've seen in a long time. Although Jones was noticeably nervous (who wouldn't be!), the script and skits did nothing to accommodate her skills.

In the past, "Saturday Night Live" has been able to take the weakest players (for example, Wayne Gretsky) and make them hilarious (Wayne on "Wayne's World")! Nowadays, it appears that the cast is just trying to make anything funny -- including themselves.

This Grace Kelly skit was just awful. I think they missed an opportunity by not parodying the Larry King/Carrie Prejean story instead.

And although some believe Taylor Swift was the best host of the season, I found her quite weak as well, especially in "The View" skit that is normally kinda funny (at least Fred Armisen's Joy Behar always makes me chuckle). She was playing Kate Gosselin for Christ's sake. Anyone else would have had a blast being an octo-witch!

I would like to submit a proposal consisting of five key decisions that will vastly change "Saturday Night Live" for the better. This is a matter of life and death, here. This is turning out to be the unfunniest SNL season ever.

1. A new head writer. I love Seth Meyers and always used to look to "Weekend Update" as the one beacon of funny on the show, but even that skit isn't entertaining anymore. The reviews and ratings indicate it's time for new blood.

2. Keep the funny people. Getting rid of Michaela Watkins was a huge mistake. Watching her grin and bare it as Hoda with Kristen Wiig's Kathie Lee during the "Today Show" sketch was entertaining. Jenny Slate just looked scared as the new Hoda. I also always loved Casey Wilson (also fired).  

3. Don't let Kristen Wiig be in every skit. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: she's not that funny.

4. Get some new African American comedic talent. I always liked Finesse Mitchell. Without him, Kenan Thompson had to learn to play every black character on the show.

5. Find funnier hosts. I think anyone could have predicted Megan Fox would be limited.  Sometimes, I feel like they choose people only because their names are in the headlines.  

Christmas comes early tomorrow for me when It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia releases a Christmas special on DVD.

Since I've become disillusioned by the holidays in recent years (having worked in Customer Service), I'm really eager to see if Sunny can manage to represent the holidays as they should be depicted: with selfish rage. Screw Frosty! This is something I can actually get on board with. 

I saw the film Serious Moonlight last night at the Three Rivers Film Festival in Pittsburgh. Although I am a Meg Ryan fan (she's just so gosh-darn loveable), I didn't have high expectations going into the movie based on the trailers that pigeon-holed it as a screwball romantic comedy.

I was pleasantly surprised to love this movie. Meg Ryan is serious(ly) funny! The movie's format is a bit like a play, with one scene and a character-driven storyline. The late Adrienne Shelly wrote this film, and while I didn't see Waitress, I suspect Moonlight is just as quirky and original as Shelly's directorial breakout hit.

I think Serious Moonlight has something to say about relationships as they grow and get older. Although Ryan's character chains her husband to the toilet at one point, there is actually substance beneath the comedy. Plus, a twist ending I kinda saw coming.  

While I can foresee the backlash (anything Meg Ryan does lately is deemed crap), I stand by my endorsement of this film. It was just a lot of fun.   

I heard the Magic Kids on my XM radio yesterday and was thoroughly impressed. They have a sound like the Beach Boys meets the Pipettes meets the Brady Bunch. This song certainly makes me happy (like all of the other bands mentioned above normally do)!

I can't get much info on them from their Myspace page (they're apparently from Tennessee). Hopefully, we'll only hear more from this group.

Carrie Prejean, the Miss California USA with a sex tape, was on "Larry 'Inappropriate' King Live" last night, and she refused to answer any questions. This is pretty much one of my favorite television clips of 2009.

I find it strange that this woman would want to be on a talk show only to avoid talking about every issue and controversy in which she's involved, deeming everything Larry said, "inappropriate." Why even go on the show to begin with? I suppose even bad publicity is good publicity.

I feel bad that Larry King was left in the dark on what questions he could ask her, though. Although, I'm pretty sure he probably is always in the dark.

P.S. With January Jones from "Mad Men" hosting "Saturday Night Live" soon, I hope they include her in a skit where she plays Carrie Prejean. Don't they look alike!

Most recently, I decided to take a stab at reading Ayn Rand's Atlas, Shrugged. But once I took a look at the length of the book (clocking in around 1,000 pages in my paperback 70's edition), I realized it was going to be a challenge for my reading stamina. I find it a struggle to read a long book, unless of course it's remarkably written (I haven't yet been able to judge Rand since I'm only about ten pages in).

I've realized I simply love short stories. I believe that short stories capture real life more than any novel ever could.  

I think that's why I like misterab.com. Each video is a short little tale that makes you think and doesn't require more than two minutes of your time.

They post a new video every Wednesday! Here's the latest!

It's no secret that the sitcom is dead. People have been talking about this for years. However, when probed about why I like the NBC show "Community," I say that "I like the characters even though nothing really happens."

Then, I got to thinking about all of the other shows I watch on television. This year, more than ever, I am more excited about the shows on the air right now, including "Modern Family," "Community," "30 Rock," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and "Mad Men." Yet, these shows are character driven. Aside from "Mad Men" ("Who are you Don Draper?"), there's no major conflict looming over the heads of the characters on the other shows, meaning there's no "situation" in these comedies. People tune in each week because they like the characters. I think nowadays people tune in for the characters and not the situation. If you can write a great character, you have it made.

The cancellation of "Arrested Development" marked the ultimate death of the sitcom, in my opinion. Even though it was pretty fresh and subversive in its execution, at the heart of the story was a sitcom premise: a man has to help his crazy family get back on their feet (emotionally and financially). Yet, I think its character development has inspired some of these shows on the air today.  

I think most shows on the air today have great characters. "Modern Family' is a perfect example. Every character on the show is believably flawed and entertaining to watch. The scenarios feel real.

With "Community," I think it isn't the leads that carry the show. It's the side characters. Senor Chang is probably the funniest character on the show. Professor Ian Duncan and Professor Whitman ("I'll have. . .a birthday cake!") are also standouts. Without all of these wacky characters, the show about Community College life has the potential to wane because, again, nothing really happens. (I have a theory that "Community" is really like "Lost," where the characters are all stuck in some sort of purgatory known as Community College. We never see their home life! It almost appears as if they all live on campus -- which I actually like).

Like any trend, the sitcom could make a comeback sometime in the future (although who would have thought the reality show craze would still be around). But for now, it's good to know that people like Sweet Dee, Dennis, Mac, Charlie, and Frank will continue to be misanthropes, blindly repelling people in every episode with no end or goal in sight. I'll continue to tune in.    

ABC debuts the sci-fi remake "V" tonight, starring Elizabeth Mitchell from "Lost."

This intrigues me. Especially because I learned to love Juliet on "Lost" and will basically follow Mitchell anywhere at this point. It starts tonight at 8 p.m. I need my sci-fi mix while "Lost" is still on hiatus.