Greetings Zayniacs! Sorry for the long delay. It's been hectic to say the least. So, what do all the things up there have in common? No, they're not shots. Or sex positions. (Anyone else's mind just wander to what a sex position named The Kelly Clarkson would look like?) These are actually some of the highlights of the new fall season of TV. As some of you are aware, there was a metric ton of television and I can't get into all of them in this post, but I'm going to try to make a decent dent.
I'm going to go in relative premiere order so hopefully if you DVRed something and are on the fence about watching it, I can swing you one way or the other.
Bones: I stayed faithful to my deleting of this series recording. Not even the promise of closing out the plot arc that has been dragging on for 2 year was enough to woo me back. I do not miss you Bones.
Sleepy Hollow: What a surprise this turned out to be. I thought the premise looked intriguing. It had a very Supernatural (the show) feel to it along with some time travel/fish out of water hijinx. However, I was still a little shocked by how much fun I had watching this show. The two leads have the strongest chemistry I think I've ever seen this early in a show. Everyone in the show acts in a relatively believable manner considering the craziness going on around them. I think the plot arc, while dense, is pretty interesting and they seem to be willing to move things along at a pleasing pace.
There have been 3 episodes so far and each one has had a good blend of funny moments between the two leads, monster of the week creepiness, and plot arc progression. Also, considering this show officially became the first pick up with a season 2 ordered yesterday, I'll be spending quite a bit of time in Sleepy Hollow and I'm so fine with that.
Dads: Sweet Baby Jesus, this was an awful show. I watched the first 5 minutes and it was exactly as awful as I expected and deleted it. Cannot get cancelled fast enough.
Brooklyn 99: I watched this more out of curiosity because the trailers didn't look great but it was consistently on top of most critics' top new comedy lists. I was pretty entertained by the pilot and the second episode wasn't bad either. I haven't watched this week's yet but it's solid weekend catchup fare.
The cast is solid and they have pretty good chemistry for so early on. It's just enough of Andy Samberg to not get tired of him.
So, this was going to be longer but something came up so we'll pick this back up later but I wanted to get something out to you all.
Until next time, Happy TV Watching!
Friday, October 4, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
Fall 2013 Preview - Wednesdays
Let's be honest, this stopped being an Upfronts thing a couple weeks ago. I'm just going to stop making promises about when I'll get another post out because I'm clearly terrible and keeping them. Let's move on to Wednesday shall we?
Ironside: A cop show with Blair Underwood playing a detective who's been paralyzed from the waist down. He's got a hand picked team of agents and solves crimes. Now, this show looks to be a fairly standard procedural but the cast is what makes this interesting to me. Blair Underwood is awesome but the show also stars Spencer Grammar (Greek, Kelsey Grammar's daughter) and Pablo Schreiber (The Wire) who I really like. I'll give it a couple episodes to grab me but I'm afraid I won't last long on this one just because procedurals don't usually keep my interest for long with out an overarching plot or really great characters.
Ironside
Back in the Game: Basically a weekly series of Bad News Bears with Juliet from Psych and James Caan. I'd be lying if I said it didn't look a little funny. Plus, I love Maggie Lawson (Juliet from Psych). There's really not a whole lot else to say about it.
Back in the Game
Super Fun Night: I have no idea how you make this a weekly series but it's Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect) and Liza Lapira (Dollhouse, Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23) so I'll give it a shot. The trailer is just okay, until the 1:00 mark. Then there is a clearly a slow motion dance montage and I find those hilarious.
Super Fun Night
The Tomorrow People: Yes, this is on the CW but it's a show about super-powered humans so I'm going to be on board with it, at least initially. It stars Robbie Amell, brother of Stephen Amell who some of you may know as the star of Arrow. Robbie has had such acclaimed roles as Scooby on HIMYM and the idiot boyfriend on 1600 Penn. I'll be giving it a try. It seems they're already organized and working as a team which is one of the things that made Alphas great.
The Tomorrow People
And that's it for Wednesday shows. Next time, we'll be tackling Thursdays which are going to be a nightmare for me, but also contains one of my most anticipated shows of the new season. See you next time.
Happy TV Watching!
Ironside: A cop show with Blair Underwood playing a detective who's been paralyzed from the waist down. He's got a hand picked team of agents and solves crimes. Now, this show looks to be a fairly standard procedural but the cast is what makes this interesting to me. Blair Underwood is awesome but the show also stars Spencer Grammar (Greek, Kelsey Grammar's daughter) and Pablo Schreiber (The Wire) who I really like. I'll give it a couple episodes to grab me but I'm afraid I won't last long on this one just because procedurals don't usually keep my interest for long with out an overarching plot or really great characters.
Ironside
Back in the Game: Basically a weekly series of Bad News Bears with Juliet from Psych and James Caan. I'd be lying if I said it didn't look a little funny. Plus, I love Maggie Lawson (Juliet from Psych). There's really not a whole lot else to say about it.
Back in the Game
Super Fun Night: I have no idea how you make this a weekly series but it's Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect) and Liza Lapira (Dollhouse, Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23) so I'll give it a shot. The trailer is just okay, until the 1:00 mark. Then there is a clearly a slow motion dance montage and I find those hilarious.
Super Fun Night
The Tomorrow People: Yes, this is on the CW but it's a show about super-powered humans so I'm going to be on board with it, at least initially. It stars Robbie Amell, brother of Stephen Amell who some of you may know as the star of Arrow. Robbie has had such acclaimed roles as Scooby on HIMYM and the idiot boyfriend on 1600 Penn. I'll be giving it a try. It seems they're already organized and working as a team which is one of the things that made Alphas great.
The Tomorrow People
And that's it for Wednesday shows. Next time, we'll be tackling Thursdays which are going to be a nightmare for me, but also contains one of my most anticipated shows of the new season. See you next time.
Happy TV Watching!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
2013 Upfronts: Tuesday a.k.a. The Day Awesome Came to TV
Who has two thumbs and seriously dropped the ball on this....this guy! So premiere dates are slowly trickling out. I'm filling out the calendar as they come and when I have all 5 networks, I'll send it out. So far, it looks like it will be a pretty late start to the season, with almost everything starting the last week of September or later.
Welcome back to Upfronts 2013 Breakdown. We'll be going over Tuesday today, and starting with my most highly anticipated show of the fall. Surprise surprise, it's a superhero show.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: If this show doesn't just melt my face off with all the awesome it produces, I'll be shocked. With the pilot written and directed by Joss Whedon and the week to week show run by his brother and sister-in-law, who were strong creative forces in Dr. Horrible and Dollhouse, I see nothing but greatness in this show's future. It will follow the missions of a team of SHIELD agents as they cover superhero and non-superhero related weird goings on all over the world in an effort to protect the public from the massive Pandora's Box that's been opened across the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Goldbergs: I hadn't heard anything really about this show. It's a comedy about an 80s era family. It almost seems like a cross between The Wonder Years and Modern Family. I do have to admit, there were parts of the trailer I laughed at, specifically the REO Speedwagon sing along. I'll probably check out the pilot and a couple episodes after that to see if it grabs my interest but I'm not hopeful.
The Goldbergs
Trophy Wife: This show looks surprisingly funny. I think Malin Akerman is a little underrated in regards to her comedy chops and while this show probably won't improve that, I 'll enjoy it while I can. It almost seems doomed for the Cougar Town curse. A show that will change from its initial premise and not get as good ratings as it should because of its name. The pilot however looks exactly like what it sounds. I'm honestly just hoping there's a little more depth to it in future episodes. Also, Michaela Watkins looks to be at least a recurring role. Biiiiiitch pleeze. (What's Scary about Connecticut?)
Trophy Wife
Lucky 7: While sounding like an interesting premise, I don't see caring enough about these characters to really bother watching this on a weekly basis. 7 co-workers win the lottery in an office pool and then consequences ensue. I like Matt Long but not enough to watch this show.
Lucky 7
Dads: I would love for this show to look good but it just looks.....bleh. I like Seth Green, I like Giovanni Ribisi (where the crap has he been?) and I really like Martin Mull but everything about this show just looks boring and cliched. The only bit that was funny was their assistant and the costume they made her wear.
Dads
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: This show looks like it's trying way to hard to be funny. Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher have potential to be funny but most of the trailer just feels like it's a kid in the school yard telling a knock knock joke and looking around with his mouth hanging open just waiting for people to burst out laughing....and it never comes.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The Originals: This was a backdoor pilot out of Vampire Diaries. What's a shame is that two of my favorite characters are going to this show. However, my least favorite character who I could not be happier got his own show is the "star" of this spinoff so I refuse to watch it. Add to the fact that the general premise of this show is wildly uninteresting to me. The remaining Original vampires return to New Orleans where they used to rule and attempt to wrest control of it back from the people who run it now. Also, there's an impossible vampire pregnancy storyline. I can almost guarantee you that anything in the plotline, Angel will have done it better.
The Originals
Okay, so now that I've finally done Tuesday, I'm going to attempt to ramp up and get at least one more day out to you guys by the end of the week.
Welcome back to Upfronts 2013 Breakdown. We'll be going over Tuesday today, and starting with my most highly anticipated show of the fall. Surprise surprise, it's a superhero show.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: If this show doesn't just melt my face off with all the awesome it produces, I'll be shocked. With the pilot written and directed by Joss Whedon and the week to week show run by his brother and sister-in-law, who were strong creative forces in Dr. Horrible and Dollhouse, I see nothing but greatness in this show's future. It will follow the missions of a team of SHIELD agents as they cover superhero and non-superhero related weird goings on all over the world in an effort to protect the public from the massive Pandora's Box that's been opened across the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Goldbergs: I hadn't heard anything really about this show. It's a comedy about an 80s era family. It almost seems like a cross between The Wonder Years and Modern Family. I do have to admit, there were parts of the trailer I laughed at, specifically the REO Speedwagon sing along. I'll probably check out the pilot and a couple episodes after that to see if it grabs my interest but I'm not hopeful.
The Goldbergs
Trophy Wife: This show looks surprisingly funny. I think Malin Akerman is a little underrated in regards to her comedy chops and while this show probably won't improve that, I 'll enjoy it while I can. It almost seems doomed for the Cougar Town curse. A show that will change from its initial premise and not get as good ratings as it should because of its name. The pilot however looks exactly like what it sounds. I'm honestly just hoping there's a little more depth to it in future episodes. Also, Michaela Watkins looks to be at least a recurring role. Biiiiiitch pleeze. (What's Scary about Connecticut?)
Trophy Wife
Lucky 7: While sounding like an interesting premise, I don't see caring enough about these characters to really bother watching this on a weekly basis. 7 co-workers win the lottery in an office pool and then consequences ensue. I like Matt Long but not enough to watch this show.
Lucky 7
Dads: I would love for this show to look good but it just looks.....bleh. I like Seth Green, I like Giovanni Ribisi (where the crap has he been?) and I really like Martin Mull but everything about this show just looks boring and cliched. The only bit that was funny was their assistant and the costume they made her wear.
Dads
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: This show looks like it's trying way to hard to be funny. Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher have potential to be funny but most of the trailer just feels like it's a kid in the school yard telling a knock knock joke and looking around with his mouth hanging open just waiting for people to burst out laughing....and it never comes.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The Originals: This was a backdoor pilot out of Vampire Diaries. What's a shame is that two of my favorite characters are going to this show. However, my least favorite character who I could not be happier got his own show is the "star" of this spinoff so I refuse to watch it. Add to the fact that the general premise of this show is wildly uninteresting to me. The remaining Original vampires return to New Orleans where they used to rule and attempt to wrest control of it back from the people who run it now. Also, there's an impossible vampire pregnancy storyline. I can almost guarantee you that anything in the plotline, Angel will have done it better.
The Originals
Okay, so now that I've finally done Tuesday, I'm going to attempt to ramp up and get at least one more day out to you guys by the end of the week.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
2013 Upfronts: Sunday/Monday
Greetings Zayniacs! Sorry this particular series has taken longer to get to you than I originally planned. However, I'm going to try to do it all this week. We're going to structure this by day of the week. I'll be giving quick synopses of the new shows, sometimes my comments will be attached and I'll be giving youtube links regardless.
Sunday
Betrayal: This show looks part Unfaithful (the awful movie with Diane Lane) and part something else I really don't care about. I also don't know how a plot like this gets dragged out over a whole season but I don't particularly care to find out. There's is nothing in this trailer that looks interesting to me but hey, if it does to you, more power to you.
Betrayal
Monday
The Blacklist: James Spader plays the world's most wanted criminal that turns himself into the FBI and then proceeds to work with them to bring down other criminals on the most wanted list but clearly with an ulterior motive. I'm usually not a big James Spader fan but this show looks relatively good. Despite the very Silence of the Lambs overtimes, there's potential for a relatively fun weekly formula with an interesting arc. I'll be giving this one a shot in the fall to see where it goes.
The Blacklist
Almost Human: In the future where human police officers are paired with an android, one cop with no love lost for synthetic beings gets pair with an android that's more human than we'd like to think. From J.J. Abrams and a large portion of the team that brought us Fringe, nothing about this show looks bad to me. It's like I, Robot meets the buddy cop genre. I love Karl Urban and I'm slowly becoming a fan of Michael Ealy. This is in my top 3 most anticipated shows of the fall.
Almost Human
Sleepy Hollow: Ichabod Crane dies during the Revolutionary War after killing the Headless Horseman and wakes up in present day to discover that people are being beheaded all over town and that the things he's dealing with our bigger than he could possibly imagine. I heard modern day Sleepy Hollow and I rolled my eyes and groaned. Then I saw this trailer and I have to admit that I am very intrigued. Looks like National Treasure meets Supernatural and I am very okay with that combination. I don't know if this cracks my top 3 for most anticipated but it's certainly up there.
Sleepy Hollow
We Are Men: Four guys live in the same apartment complex and help each other navigate their different love lives. Nothing looks terribly exciting here. I'll be passing on it.
We Are Men
Mom: 3 generations of women living in the same house and supposed hilarity ensues. This show looks like such a waste of Anna Faris, Nate Corddry and Allison Janey. I'll watch the first couple episodes out of sheer morbid curiosity but I'm not optimistic.
Mom
Hostages: While this looks like an interesting premise with some really solids actors, I don't know how you stretch over an entire season, even a shortened one of 15 episodes. A government employee's family is taken hostage and she has to help them kill the President. I'll give it a shot and see how episodes 2 and 3 unfold.
Hostages
Intelligence: Josh Holloway (Sawyer from LOST) plays a man who gets a chip put in his head that lets him access, process, and control data while on cases. This looks like a really fun show and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out. This will take Hostages' time slot once it finishes. It looks like Chuck meets Mission Impossible meets something else. Or as Sawyer puts it in the preview, Secret Agent Disneyland for Men.
Intelligence
That's all for right now but I've got quite a few more great looking shows coming your way. Next up will be Tuesday's line up which contains my most anticipated new show that I'm practically foaming at the mouth to see. Stay tuned!
Sunday
Betrayal: This show looks part Unfaithful (the awful movie with Diane Lane) and part something else I really don't care about. I also don't know how a plot like this gets dragged out over a whole season but I don't particularly care to find out. There's is nothing in this trailer that looks interesting to me but hey, if it does to you, more power to you.
Betrayal
Monday
The Blacklist: James Spader plays the world's most wanted criminal that turns himself into the FBI and then proceeds to work with them to bring down other criminals on the most wanted list but clearly with an ulterior motive. I'm usually not a big James Spader fan but this show looks relatively good. Despite the very Silence of the Lambs overtimes, there's potential for a relatively fun weekly formula with an interesting arc. I'll be giving this one a shot in the fall to see where it goes.
The Blacklist
Almost Human: In the future where human police officers are paired with an android, one cop with no love lost for synthetic beings gets pair with an android that's more human than we'd like to think. From J.J. Abrams and a large portion of the team that brought us Fringe, nothing about this show looks bad to me. It's like I, Robot meets the buddy cop genre. I love Karl Urban and I'm slowly becoming a fan of Michael Ealy. This is in my top 3 most anticipated shows of the fall.
Almost Human
Sleepy Hollow: Ichabod Crane dies during the Revolutionary War after killing the Headless Horseman and wakes up in present day to discover that people are being beheaded all over town and that the things he's dealing with our bigger than he could possibly imagine. I heard modern day Sleepy Hollow and I rolled my eyes and groaned. Then I saw this trailer and I have to admit that I am very intrigued. Looks like National Treasure meets Supernatural and I am very okay with that combination. I don't know if this cracks my top 3 for most anticipated but it's certainly up there.
Sleepy Hollow
We Are Men: Four guys live in the same apartment complex and help each other navigate their different love lives. Nothing looks terribly exciting here. I'll be passing on it.
We Are Men
Mom: 3 generations of women living in the same house and supposed hilarity ensues. This show looks like such a waste of Anna Faris, Nate Corddry and Allison Janey. I'll watch the first couple episodes out of sheer morbid curiosity but I'm not optimistic.
Mom
Hostages: While this looks like an interesting premise with some really solids actors, I don't know how you stretch over an entire season, even a shortened one of 15 episodes. A government employee's family is taken hostage and she has to help them kill the President. I'll give it a shot and see how episodes 2 and 3 unfold.
Hostages
Intelligence: Josh Holloway (Sawyer from LOST) plays a man who gets a chip put in his head that lets him access, process, and control data while on cases. This looks like a really fun show and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out. This will take Hostages' time slot once it finishes. It looks like Chuck meets Mission Impossible meets something else. Or as Sawyer puts it in the preview, Secret Agent Disneyland for Men.
Intelligence
That's all for right now but I've got quite a few more great looking shows coming your way. Next up will be Tuesday's line up which contains my most anticipated new show that I'm practically foaming at the mouth to see. Stay tuned!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The Good, the Not So Good, and the Pretty Freaking Ugly
I'm back! I know you're all relieved and super excited. Please contain yourselves...that's just embarrassing. Sorry for the delay. You can blame Mike Hefer for getting me addicted to a web series named Strip Search.
So I've got some catching up to do and I'm going to do my best to get to it quickly. We'll start with the next part of the Season Rundown.
The Following (Fox): I skipped over this one in an effort to comment about my disappointment about Go On. The other reason is that I'm doing this rundown off my series recordings, which The Following is no longer a part of. This show had such a promising start. It was fresh and interesting and the episode with the siege of the farmhouse was spectacular. However, the repeated incompetence of every branch of law enforcement and the sameness of the plots started to grate on me and the thoroughly unsatisfying finale sealed the deal. I think Kevin Bacon and Shawn Ashmore did great jobs but unless season 2 starts getting stellar reviews, I don't foresee giving this another shot.
Grey's Anatomy (ABC): This is the first season of the show I've watched weekly since season...3, maybe? I would usually just catch up on Netflix when it came out but I started to like the show again the past couple of seasons so I decided to go back to being a weekly viewer. I think the show has grown up a lot. Does it still have some pretty childish drama? Sure, but I choose to focus on characters that have legit problems that I can care about. I liked the new set of interns this year, mostly because I knew a couple from other things. I thought it was a relatively strong season and I'm looking forward to its next and probably final season.
Modern Family (ABC): Probably their best season since the original. Consistently one of the funniest shows on TV. If you're not watching it, shame on you.
Nashville (ABC): I had very high expectations for this show going into the Pilot and I was honestly pretty disappointed. I stuck it out because I love Connie Britton and Scarlett and Gunnar sounded great together. About midway through the season, they pulled a twist that was very fresh and surprising to me and I started to take more notice. A couple weeks later, this was very much appointment television for me. Now, all that being said, the finale was VERY soapy and over the top on several plotlines and *spoilers for last night* we got every soap opera cliche, an alcoholic falling off the wagon, a paternity reveal, a federal investigation, a car accident, a pregnancy, a proposal, and a closeted homosexual confronted with his dirty past. It was all just a little much to cram into a single hour of television. My eyes almost rolled out of my head by the end. It was "oh look, Rayna and Deacon are arguing in slow motion while driving a vehicle, what could possibly be coming? Oh, look, their car flipped a bajillion times, I'm so surprised.......... *spoilers over* The music was typically excellent and the show in general has reignited my love of country music that's been dead since middle school. I'll stick around for season 2 and hope they pull some original stories out of all the cliches thrown in my face last night.
New Girl (FOX): No sophomore slump stink on this show. Two words for you: True American. Best fake drinking game ever.
True American: This is the best video of it I could find but doesn't do it justice. 1, 2, 3, 4 JFK! FDR!
This show continues to make me laugh and surprise me on a fairly consistent basis. The progression of the will they/won't they was a pleasant surprise and I'm curious to see where they go with it. The only negative I will say is they spent an awful lot of time getting us to invest in CeCe's wedding, an event we knew would never actually happen.
The Office (NBC): I won't post any spoilers on the finale. I will just say that it's easily one of my favorite series finales ever. Excellent end to an excellent season and an excellent show. We will miss you The Office, but we're glad you went out on a high.
Once Upon a Time (ABC): In my opinion, this show knocked it out of the park this year. Sure, there was a small slump in the middle of the season but the first 7-8 episodes and the last 6-7 were something pretty special. The show consistently works to improve its formula. Changing the game and putting people in new situations. After successfully juggling 3 plot lines in season 2 (Storybrooke, Enchanted Forest Past, and Enchanted Forest Present), I'll be curious to see if they can do the same with seemingly 4 plotlines in season 3 (Storybrooke, Enchanted Forest Past and Present, and now Neverland)
Parenthood (NBC): This show is simply amazing and thankfully, after a criminally short order of 14 episodes this season, this fall will be the beginning of a 22 episode season. The show handled almost every storyline perfectly last year and I'm looking forward to spending more time with the Bravermans.
Parks and Rec (NBC): Best comedy on TV, hands down. Moving on.
Psych (USA): After a really disappointing season last time and an almost year break, I was very wary of Psych this season. However, they came back with a vengeance and an energy I haven't seen for a couple years from them. The 100th episode Clue homage was one of my favorite hours of TV ever and giants leaps in the main relationship of the show have been handled extremely well. I'm looking forward to the two-hour musical episode to close out the season. If any show can pull off something that ridiculous, it's Psych.
Revenge (ABC): What was a solid guilty pleasure show in season 1 became a bit of a chore to watch in Season 2. I'll probably watch the premiere of season 3 to see how the new showrunner handles the cliffhangers but I'm probably done after that. I have way too many shows that look interesting next year to continue on with shows that don't engage me more than half time.
Smash (NBC): Oh Smash, you fixed some problems of season 1, just to replace them with new problems in season 2. Megan Hilty as Ivy continues to be the one consistent bright spot in a sea of hit-or-miss characters. The music for the new musical was consistently stellar but the obnoxiousness of one of its writers made it hard to really enjoy. I'm sad that this show never really reached the potential it's premise had but I can't say I'm terribly sad to see it go.
Supernatural (CW): Yet another show that rebounded like a boss from a lackluster year. I thought the show had finally run its course after the very poorly executed Leviathans plot in season 7. However, this show came back with a season that will probably rank top 3 for me (below seasons 4 and 5)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS): This is really the only "traditional" sitcom I still watch. It's really hit or miss for me. There are things that I've found hilarious, like an entire episode dedicated to Sheldon's reaction to the cancellation of Alphas, and things that I've had to sit through to get to the good stuff, like most things involving Raj.
The Good Wife (CBS): Sweet Baby Jeebus this show is so freaking good. Season 1 was solid TV, Season 2 was mind-blowingly awesome, Season 3 was a little slower, but better when watching on DVD, and then Season 4 comes along. A show with this many high profile guest stars should not work but while the marketing department make a big deal out of it, the show writes the characters and these particular guest actors just merge into these roles seamlessly. Nathan Lane, Kristen Chenoweth, Michael J. Fox, Maura Tierney, Amanda Peet, Matthew Perry, Denis O'Hare. All of these actors are in recurring roles on this show and never once do they overpower an episode with their presence. They just complement everything that is already great about it. I can't recommend this show enough. Although most of your are probably wishing I could since this is attempt #237 to get you to watch it. It's one of my favorite shows on TV right now.
Tosh.0 (Comedy Central): I think this show might have run its course. There's so little laughable stuff left. Most of the time its too crass (even for me and that's a really high bar) or just plain gross. I had to look away from last week's episode because I started dry heaving and came this close to actually throwing up. That's no longer entertainment for me.
So that does it for my season rundowns. Please feel free to leave your own thoughts and comments below. Would love to hear from you. I'll be back possibly tomorrow but at the least next week with the first part of my Upfronts breakdown, complete with previews for all the surprisingly solid looking new shows next fall. Then again, I did strongly recommend Revolution and look that got us all.
Until then, Happy TV Watching (what little of it there is left)!
So I've got some catching up to do and I'm going to do my best to get to it quickly. We'll start with the next part of the Season Rundown.
The Following (Fox): I skipped over this one in an effort to comment about my disappointment about Go On. The other reason is that I'm doing this rundown off my series recordings, which The Following is no longer a part of. This show had such a promising start. It was fresh and interesting and the episode with the siege of the farmhouse was spectacular. However, the repeated incompetence of every branch of law enforcement and the sameness of the plots started to grate on me and the thoroughly unsatisfying finale sealed the deal. I think Kevin Bacon and Shawn Ashmore did great jobs but unless season 2 starts getting stellar reviews, I don't foresee giving this another shot.
Grey's Anatomy (ABC): This is the first season of the show I've watched weekly since season...3, maybe? I would usually just catch up on Netflix when it came out but I started to like the show again the past couple of seasons so I decided to go back to being a weekly viewer. I think the show has grown up a lot. Does it still have some pretty childish drama? Sure, but I choose to focus on characters that have legit problems that I can care about. I liked the new set of interns this year, mostly because I knew a couple from other things. I thought it was a relatively strong season and I'm looking forward to its next and probably final season.
Modern Family (ABC): Probably their best season since the original. Consistently one of the funniest shows on TV. If you're not watching it, shame on you.
Nashville (ABC): I had very high expectations for this show going into the Pilot and I was honestly pretty disappointed. I stuck it out because I love Connie Britton and Scarlett and Gunnar sounded great together. About midway through the season, they pulled a twist that was very fresh and surprising to me and I started to take more notice. A couple weeks later, this was very much appointment television for me. Now, all that being said, the finale was VERY soapy and over the top on several plotlines and *spoilers for last night* we got every soap opera cliche, an alcoholic falling off the wagon, a paternity reveal, a federal investigation, a car accident, a pregnancy, a proposal, and a closeted homosexual confronted with his dirty past. It was all just a little much to cram into a single hour of television. My eyes almost rolled out of my head by the end. It was "oh look, Rayna and Deacon are arguing in slow motion while driving a vehicle, what could possibly be coming? Oh, look, their car flipped a bajillion times, I'm so surprised.......... *spoilers over* The music was typically excellent and the show in general has reignited my love of country music that's been dead since middle school. I'll stick around for season 2 and hope they pull some original stories out of all the cliches thrown in my face last night.
New Girl (FOX): No sophomore slump stink on this show. Two words for you: True American. Best fake drinking game ever.
True American: This is the best video of it I could find but doesn't do it justice. 1, 2, 3, 4 JFK! FDR!
This show continues to make me laugh and surprise me on a fairly consistent basis. The progression of the will they/won't they was a pleasant surprise and I'm curious to see where they go with it. The only negative I will say is they spent an awful lot of time getting us to invest in CeCe's wedding, an event we knew would never actually happen.
The Office (NBC): I won't post any spoilers on the finale. I will just say that it's easily one of my favorite series finales ever. Excellent end to an excellent season and an excellent show. We will miss you The Office, but we're glad you went out on a high.
Once Upon a Time (ABC): In my opinion, this show knocked it out of the park this year. Sure, there was a small slump in the middle of the season but the first 7-8 episodes and the last 6-7 were something pretty special. The show consistently works to improve its formula. Changing the game and putting people in new situations. After successfully juggling 3 plot lines in season 2 (Storybrooke, Enchanted Forest Past, and Enchanted Forest Present), I'll be curious to see if they can do the same with seemingly 4 plotlines in season 3 (Storybrooke, Enchanted Forest Past and Present, and now Neverland)
Parenthood (NBC): This show is simply amazing and thankfully, after a criminally short order of 14 episodes this season, this fall will be the beginning of a 22 episode season. The show handled almost every storyline perfectly last year and I'm looking forward to spending more time with the Bravermans.
Parks and Rec (NBC): Best comedy on TV, hands down. Moving on.
Psych (USA): After a really disappointing season last time and an almost year break, I was very wary of Psych this season. However, they came back with a vengeance and an energy I haven't seen for a couple years from them. The 100th episode Clue homage was one of my favorite hours of TV ever and giants leaps in the main relationship of the show have been handled extremely well. I'm looking forward to the two-hour musical episode to close out the season. If any show can pull off something that ridiculous, it's Psych.
Revenge (ABC): What was a solid guilty pleasure show in season 1 became a bit of a chore to watch in Season 2. I'll probably watch the premiere of season 3 to see how the new showrunner handles the cliffhangers but I'm probably done after that. I have way too many shows that look interesting next year to continue on with shows that don't engage me more than half time.
Smash (NBC): Oh Smash, you fixed some problems of season 1, just to replace them with new problems in season 2. Megan Hilty as Ivy continues to be the one consistent bright spot in a sea of hit-or-miss characters. The music for the new musical was consistently stellar but the obnoxiousness of one of its writers made it hard to really enjoy. I'm sad that this show never really reached the potential it's premise had but I can't say I'm terribly sad to see it go.
Supernatural (CW): Yet another show that rebounded like a boss from a lackluster year. I thought the show had finally run its course after the very poorly executed Leviathans plot in season 7. However, this show came back with a season that will probably rank top 3 for me (below seasons 4 and 5)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS): This is really the only "traditional" sitcom I still watch. It's really hit or miss for me. There are things that I've found hilarious, like an entire episode dedicated to Sheldon's reaction to the cancellation of Alphas, and things that I've had to sit through to get to the good stuff, like most things involving Raj.
The Good Wife (CBS): Sweet Baby Jeebus this show is so freaking good. Season 1 was solid TV, Season 2 was mind-blowingly awesome, Season 3 was a little slower, but better when watching on DVD, and then Season 4 comes along. A show with this many high profile guest stars should not work but while the marketing department make a big deal out of it, the show writes the characters and these particular guest actors just merge into these roles seamlessly. Nathan Lane, Kristen Chenoweth, Michael J. Fox, Maura Tierney, Amanda Peet, Matthew Perry, Denis O'Hare. All of these actors are in recurring roles on this show and never once do they overpower an episode with their presence. They just complement everything that is already great about it. I can't recommend this show enough. Although most of your are probably wishing I could since this is attempt #237 to get you to watch it. It's one of my favorite shows on TV right now.
Tosh.0 (Comedy Central): I think this show might have run its course. There's so little laughable stuff left. Most of the time its too crass (even for me and that's a really high bar) or just plain gross. I had to look away from last week's episode because I started dry heaving and came this close to actually throwing up. That's no longer entertainment for me.
So that does it for my season rundowns. Please feel free to leave your own thoughts and comments below. Would love to hear from you. I'll be back possibly tomorrow but at the least next week with the first part of my Upfronts breakdown, complete with previews for all the surprisingly solid looking new shows next fall. Then again, I did strongly recommend Revolution and look that got us all.
Until then, Happy TV Watching (what little of it there is left)!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Business in the UpFront, Party in the Back....Front
It's that time of year Zayniacs. UPFRONTS!!! That magical time of year when networks roll out their schedules and preview all the new shows that will be tantalizing our melons in the coming year. We'll be getting to my UpFront Rundown by day of the week all in due time. But first, it's time for my yearly review.
As you know from reading this blog. I watch a lot of TV and I'm going to do my best to give you relatively short reviews on the overall seasons. Some finales have aired, some have not but we're going to do the best with what we have to work with.
Archer (FX): After a mildly rocky 3rd season thanks to their idiotic plan to air a 3-part episode in the fall and then the rest of the season in the spring, I can thankfully say that Sterling Mallory Archer sprang back to life in his 4th year. The writing was sharp as ever and every episode had a least a couple moments I had to rewind because I was laughing too hard to hear the next joke. If you're not watching this, you're missing out.
Arrow (CW): One of the few new shows to make both my and the network's cut this season. It's certainly not the best written show ever but it does its job well. Be a fun and competent weekly super hero show. Granted, no villain, despite extremely solid guest star casting, has really stood out from week to week outside of the season's Big Bad. The show continues to improve in almost every regard so I look forward to season 2 and what they'll do with their largely expanded cast.
Being Human (Syfy): I have 8 episodes still sitting on my DVR. After watching 70% of season 2 over a couple days, going back to week to week viewing in season 3 was not working for me so I started stockpiling again and have not gotten a big enough breather to watch it together. However, the first 3-4 episodes are wildly promising. This show took some huge leaps and so far, they've been really paying off. The first two seasons are on Netflix Instant and I would highly recommend them to anyone who wants a well-written supernatural show fix over the summer.
Bones (Fox): This is the first of my series recording victims. The finale this year was abysmal. After being strung along on the will they/won't they for 6 seasons, their coupling was handled awfully but I stuck with it. Now, (finale spoilers incoming) they get engaged only to break it off in the final moments because Pelant who is still a bad guy after two seasons threatens Booth's moral code. It's lazy writing and emotional manipulation and I'm not going to take it anymore. The cases of the week are not that interesting and if they character stuff is going to enrage me so much, it's not worth my time or my DVR space. Congratulations Bones, you've lost a viewer from season 1.
Castle (ABC): How appropriate for this to follow Bones on my rundown, because Bones' writers need to watch Castle to learn how to successfully couple their main characters and have it make the show better. This season of Castle started out with the absolute best episodes of the series so far. It unfortunately took a dip in the middle of the season with a few WTF episodes but it's always been at least mildly entertaining. However, these last 2-3 have been stellar and the final moments of the finale genuinely surprised me. Looking forward to next season.
Community (NBC): Somehow, Community got renewed for season 5 despite a very polarizing season 4. The creator/showrunner was fired at the end of season 3 and the tone of the show felt it immediately. After a relatively solid start, the show quickly became laughless for me. I might smile or chuckle but the full laughter had faded. The finale felt the most like old Community with the return of the Darkest Timeline from the series' best episode, Remedial Chaos Theory.
On the bright side, there are rumors that Dan Harmon might return for this presumably final season of Community and I can absolutely get excited about that.
Continuum (SyFy): You probably have no idea what this show is but if you're looking for a shockingly solid little sci-fi show, look no further. The story of a police office from 60 years in the future getting sent back to present day along with a group of terrorists could not have surprised me more with how good it was. The characters are instantly likable and Rachel Nichols (Alias, Star Trek) sells the crap out of it. This show handles time travel more deftly than almost anything I've seen before. Paradoxes are discussed and it actually made sense to me. The first season can be found on Netflix Instant and season 2 starts in about a month.
Cougar Town (TBS): Something about the show felt slightly off after its move to TBS. It was still amusing and the characters were still largely likable but some of the charm wore off a little. I'll still be watching the next season and hopefully I can find the love again.
Da Vinci's Demons (Starz): This show, created and written by the co-writer of The Dark Knight trilogy took me by surprise. Despite a few very ill conceived shock value concepts in the first episode, this show has become a very entertaining jaunt into Florence during the Renaissance. It's tone is what I imagine an Assassin's Creed 2 movie will feel like. Get past a couple of poor choices in the premiere that last for only a couple minutes and immediately vanish from the show and you're in for a period piece treat.
Elementary (CBS): I watched this show out of morbid curiosity to see just how bad it would be compared to Sherlock on BBC (watch it by the way) and found myself getting sucked into it. Is it as good as the BBC's version, absolutely not. Not even close, but it's good at what it does. It's a relatively entertaining case of the week with a few character plotlines carried over week to week. It's not appointment television by any means, but it's great filler.
Glee (Fox): If not for texting back and forth with a friend mercilessly mocking each episode, this show would have probably made me break my TV by now. Despite the injection of a new set of cast members that are better in every way than the originals and instantly more likable, the show continued to hover on old characters who should have moved on. Idiotic choices and unearned drama abounded this year.
Go On: The biggest tragedy of the merciless network act. This show was so great with a talented cast that had chemistry in spades. This show deserved 100% to make it season 2 and join Parks and Rec on Thursday nights but thanks to NBC's new moronic focus on family-skewing comedies and moving away from "hipster" shows, this gem has fallen back into the rough, never to be seen or laughed at again.
That's it for right now. We'll continue on later. Possibly tomorrow, possibly Thursday. Keep your internet tuned to my page or subscribe below for updates. If you have a specific show you'd like to know the fate of, please feel free to shoot me a line in the comments. If it's not already on my list, I'll do my research and add it into my next post.
Until then, Happy TV Watching!
As you know from reading this blog. I watch a lot of TV and I'm going to do my best to give you relatively short reviews on the overall seasons. Some finales have aired, some have not but we're going to do the best with what we have to work with.
Archer (FX): After a mildly rocky 3rd season thanks to their idiotic plan to air a 3-part episode in the fall and then the rest of the season in the spring, I can thankfully say that Sterling Mallory Archer sprang back to life in his 4th year. The writing was sharp as ever and every episode had a least a couple moments I had to rewind because I was laughing too hard to hear the next joke. If you're not watching this, you're missing out.
Arrow (CW): One of the few new shows to make both my and the network's cut this season. It's certainly not the best written show ever but it does its job well. Be a fun and competent weekly super hero show. Granted, no villain, despite extremely solid guest star casting, has really stood out from week to week outside of the season's Big Bad. The show continues to improve in almost every regard so I look forward to season 2 and what they'll do with their largely expanded cast.
Being Human (Syfy): I have 8 episodes still sitting on my DVR. After watching 70% of season 2 over a couple days, going back to week to week viewing in season 3 was not working for me so I started stockpiling again and have not gotten a big enough breather to watch it together. However, the first 3-4 episodes are wildly promising. This show took some huge leaps and so far, they've been really paying off. The first two seasons are on Netflix Instant and I would highly recommend them to anyone who wants a well-written supernatural show fix over the summer.
Bones (Fox): This is the first of my series recording victims. The finale this year was abysmal. After being strung along on the will they/won't they for 6 seasons, their coupling was handled awfully but I stuck with it. Now, (finale spoilers incoming) they get engaged only to break it off in the final moments because Pelant who is still a bad guy after two seasons threatens Booth's moral code. It's lazy writing and emotional manipulation and I'm not going to take it anymore. The cases of the week are not that interesting and if they character stuff is going to enrage me so much, it's not worth my time or my DVR space. Congratulations Bones, you've lost a viewer from season 1.
Castle (ABC): How appropriate for this to follow Bones on my rundown, because Bones' writers need to watch Castle to learn how to successfully couple their main characters and have it make the show better. This season of Castle started out with the absolute best episodes of the series so far. It unfortunately took a dip in the middle of the season with a few WTF episodes but it's always been at least mildly entertaining. However, these last 2-3 have been stellar and the final moments of the finale genuinely surprised me. Looking forward to next season.
Community (NBC): Somehow, Community got renewed for season 5 despite a very polarizing season 4. The creator/showrunner was fired at the end of season 3 and the tone of the show felt it immediately. After a relatively solid start, the show quickly became laughless for me. I might smile or chuckle but the full laughter had faded. The finale felt the most like old Community with the return of the Darkest Timeline from the series' best episode, Remedial Chaos Theory.
On the bright side, there are rumors that Dan Harmon might return for this presumably final season of Community and I can absolutely get excited about that.
Continuum (SyFy): You probably have no idea what this show is but if you're looking for a shockingly solid little sci-fi show, look no further. The story of a police office from 60 years in the future getting sent back to present day along with a group of terrorists could not have surprised me more with how good it was. The characters are instantly likable and Rachel Nichols (Alias, Star Trek) sells the crap out of it. This show handles time travel more deftly than almost anything I've seen before. Paradoxes are discussed and it actually made sense to me. The first season can be found on Netflix Instant and season 2 starts in about a month.
Cougar Town (TBS): Something about the show felt slightly off after its move to TBS. It was still amusing and the characters were still largely likable but some of the charm wore off a little. I'll still be watching the next season and hopefully I can find the love again.
Da Vinci's Demons (Starz): This show, created and written by the co-writer of The Dark Knight trilogy took me by surprise. Despite a few very ill conceived shock value concepts in the first episode, this show has become a very entertaining jaunt into Florence during the Renaissance. It's tone is what I imagine an Assassin's Creed 2 movie will feel like. Get past a couple of poor choices in the premiere that last for only a couple minutes and immediately vanish from the show and you're in for a period piece treat.
Elementary (CBS): I watched this show out of morbid curiosity to see just how bad it would be compared to Sherlock on BBC (watch it by the way) and found myself getting sucked into it. Is it as good as the BBC's version, absolutely not. Not even close, but it's good at what it does. It's a relatively entertaining case of the week with a few character plotlines carried over week to week. It's not appointment television by any means, but it's great filler.
Glee (Fox): If not for texting back and forth with a friend mercilessly mocking each episode, this show would have probably made me break my TV by now. Despite the injection of a new set of cast members that are better in every way than the originals and instantly more likable, the show continued to hover on old characters who should have moved on. Idiotic choices and unearned drama abounded this year.
Go On: The biggest tragedy of the merciless network act. This show was so great with a talented cast that had chemistry in spades. This show deserved 100% to make it season 2 and join Parks and Rec on Thursday nights but thanks to NBC's new moronic focus on family-skewing comedies and moving away from "hipster" shows, this gem has fallen back into the rough, never to be seen or laughed at again.
That's it for right now. We'll continue on later. Possibly tomorrow, possibly Thursday. Keep your internet tuned to my page or subscribe below for updates. If you have a specific show you'd like to know the fate of, please feel free to shoot me a line in the comments. If it's not already on my list, I'll do my research and add it into my next post.
Until then, Happy TV Watching!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Summer Movies, Had Me a Blast...
Greetings Zayniacs! I know it's been a long time, some would say too long, others, probably not long enough. By request, this post will be about movies. I know, what the heck do I think I'm doing not writing a post about all of the TV, good and bad, of this winter/spring season? Well fear not, my year end rundown series will be starting very soon. Several finales have aired and a couple have been officially removed from my DVR. However, we will get to that all in good time, probably starting early next week.
In the meantime, I will apparently be spending a majority of my summer indoors...at the theater...in a big comfy reclining seat. In anticipation of Iron Man 3 this Friday, I'll be doing a quick rundown of all the big movies this summer and a few tidbits about them.
May 3
Iron Man 3: This movie is going to be epic, there's no doubt about it. Coming off of Avengers, I can't imagine a better followup than the biggest, baddest, most armor-y-est (?) installment of this franchise yet. Go see it. The reviews are awesome, not that those should matter to you in the first place.
May 10
The Great Gatsby: If you have girl parts, I'm sure you're stoked for this movie. I, am not.
May 16
Star Trek: Into Darkness: I've had to cut myself off from trailer and commercials because marketing departments nowadays are dicks. I don't have any plot details to tease you with. Suffice to say, if you liked the first one, this should be a no-brainer for you.
May 23
The Hangover Part 3: I really liked the first one, the second one was okay. I don't know if I'll see this in theaters but I'll definitely see it at some point just to see how crazy they make a third one.
May 24
Epic: This is a new animated movie from the Ice Age people. It's about a woman who gets shrunk down in a forest where apparently a bunch of things live. It basically sounds like updated Ferngully with more action. I'll probably rent it from Netflix, just to see how much they ripped off.
Fast and Furious 6: Alright, I'm mildly ashamed to admit it, but I kind of like these movies. They're ridiculous, the acting is barely par level, and their plots make little to no sense, but damn it if they aren't really fun. This movie will be resurrecting a character whose death was a major plot point of 4 so I'm also curious what explanation they'll be pulling out of their butts for that.
May 31
The East: This is about a group that goes after corporations that have wronged the world and the FBI agent that tries to stop them. The trailer looks kind of interesting and the cast is solid with the likes of Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlbM1voHKYw
After Earth: This is the movie with Will Smith and his son playing father and son on a post apocalyptic Earth. It's by M. Night Shamalamadingdong so that instantly makes me not want to see it, then I watched the trailer...and it's even worse than I thought. Their accents change by the minute and overall it just looks like a movie with things that have been done better before. I will definitely be passing on this one, regardless of reviews.
Now You See Me: Ocean's 11 meets The Prestige. This movie looks fantastic. It's a group of magicians who use their acts as covers to pull off huge heists. The cast is huge and awesome, including Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Dave Franco. I hope the review are good because I will be severely disappointed if something with this much potential does not deliver. I'll be seeing this in theaters.
June 7
Much Ado About Nothing: This black and white update of the Shakespeare classic was shot by Joss Whedon, at his house, with a bunch of his friends, over the course of several days, right after he finished filming The Avengers....for fun. This is how he wound down from making one of the most successful movies of all time. Whedon alum abound in this remake whose trailer looks extremely interesting. The movie was very well received at SXSW and I look forward to seeing it finally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAMsDP_DMHE
The Internship: I had honestly never heard of this movie until yesterday but it looks pretty great. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are back together in a comedy about two non-tech savvy guys trying to make it as interns at Google. I find it hard to believe that you could go wrong with these two together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdnoqCViqUo
June 14 (aka Zayne's Day at the Movies)
I've decided I'm just going to take the day off that Friday and just go marathon all 3 of the movies coming out on that day. I'll be starting with...
Man of Steel: This movie looks beyond awesome. I was cautious when it was announced, curious after the first teaser, intrigued after the first full trailer and then by the time the trailer from a couple weeks ago rolled around, I'm now foaming at the mouth in anticipation for this movie. It looks incredible. The effects, the emotions, the acting, everything is working for me on so many levels. I'm really not kidding about taking the day off for this movie.
You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive for. They will race behind you. They will stumble. They will fall, but in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.
If you don't have chills at 1:55 in this trailer, something is wrong with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6DJcgm3wNY
This is the End: 7 words say it all: Hermione just stole all of our shit. This movie looks hilarious. All of the actors in it are playing themselves. Basically the end of the world happens and this group of guys are trying to survive. I'm attaching a trailer but it's the Red Band so the language is very NSFW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kliQSsD_npo
The Bling Ring: This movie, based on a true story, is an attempt by Emma Watson to really break away from Hermione. The movie doesn't look bad. It's about several teenagers who went around robbing different celebrities' houses.
June 20
Monsters University: A prequel to Monsters Inc. that I was quite skeptical about until I've now seen the trailers and think it looks great. I know some people would prefer a sequel, but this still looks good.
June 21
World War Z: Brad Pitt, pandemics, zombies (basically). They seem to keep wanting to generate buzz for this movie but I'm having a really hard time getting excited about it. Maybe something will spark my interest by release time but I'm not optimistic.
June 28
The Heat: I never thought I could see a Sandra Bullock movie that had a Red Band trailer but this movie with her and Melissa McCarthy pulls it off. It looks a little generic but also hilarious. There's a good chance I'll be seeing this in theaters. Bullock plays an uptight FBI agent while McCarthy plays an off the rails beat cop and they end up working the same case and hijinx ensue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5m7Ml76zoA
White House Down: First of all, didn't this movie come out a couple of months ago, only being called Olympus Has Fallen? Did it not do well enough so they're releasing it under a different name to try and recoup their losses? Also, Channing Tatum as a Secret Service Officer? Nice try, but no. Just no.
Despicable Me 2: The first one was...okay. It had more heart than I was expecting but the funny was not there. I'll be waiting for a movie channel release on this one.
July 3
The Lone Ranger: Honestly, this does not look good and Johnny Depp's Tonto seems borderline offensive. Pass.
July 5
The Way Way Back: Had not heard about this movie until yesterday but it looks kind of amazing. A kid with a douchey stepdad moves to a new town and attempts to find his place in the world. A really solid cast including Steve Carrell, Allison Janey, Sam Rockwell, and many more puts this movie on my watch list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiH5wmuexZY&feature=player_embedded
July 12
Pacific Rim: I knew very little about this movie outside of the basic concept of Giant Robots vs. Giant Monsters. However, the most recent trailers make it seem kind of amazing. Watch List.
July 19
Red 2: I really enjoyed the first one and I think this second one looks just as solid. I'll be checking it out.
R.I.P.D.: I had no clue what this was but it's apparently based on a comic book about law enforcement for the dead. The Rest in Peace Department tracks down lose souls and brings them in. It stars Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds and looks kind of great. I'm certainly intrigued.
July 26
The Wolverine: Hairy guy with claws and a temper goes to Japan. Snore, next, moving on...
P.S. I hate Wolverine, he sucks. Seriously though, you couldn't pay me to go see this movie. He's awful. The worst. Iceman rules all. Suck on an Omega Level mutant you giant furry tool.
Wha...Where am I? I think I blacked out with nerd rage there for a second. Anyway, moving on....
July 31
The Smurfs 2: Haven't seen the first one, don't plan on seeing the second. Moving on.
We're going to have to pick up with August at a later date. My fingers hurt. Highlights include Percy Jackson 2, Kick-Ass 2, The To-Do List, and The Mortal Instruments.
Hope you all enjoyed your Summer Movie Breakdown Part 1. Catch you on the flip side.
In the meantime, I will apparently be spending a majority of my summer indoors...at the theater...in a big comfy reclining seat. In anticipation of Iron Man 3 this Friday, I'll be doing a quick rundown of all the big movies this summer and a few tidbits about them.
May 3
Iron Man 3: This movie is going to be epic, there's no doubt about it. Coming off of Avengers, I can't imagine a better followup than the biggest, baddest, most armor-y-est (?) installment of this franchise yet. Go see it. The reviews are awesome, not that those should matter to you in the first place.
May 10
The Great Gatsby: If you have girl parts, I'm sure you're stoked for this movie. I, am not.
May 16
Star Trek: Into Darkness: I've had to cut myself off from trailer and commercials because marketing departments nowadays are dicks. I don't have any plot details to tease you with. Suffice to say, if you liked the first one, this should be a no-brainer for you.
May 23
The Hangover Part 3: I really liked the first one, the second one was okay. I don't know if I'll see this in theaters but I'll definitely see it at some point just to see how crazy they make a third one.
May 24
Epic: This is a new animated movie from the Ice Age people. It's about a woman who gets shrunk down in a forest where apparently a bunch of things live. It basically sounds like updated Ferngully with more action. I'll probably rent it from Netflix, just to see how much they ripped off.
Fast and Furious 6: Alright, I'm mildly ashamed to admit it, but I kind of like these movies. They're ridiculous, the acting is barely par level, and their plots make little to no sense, but damn it if they aren't really fun. This movie will be resurrecting a character whose death was a major plot point of 4 so I'm also curious what explanation they'll be pulling out of their butts for that.
May 31
The East: This is about a group that goes after corporations that have wronged the world and the FBI agent that tries to stop them. The trailer looks kind of interesting and the cast is solid with the likes of Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlbM1voHKYw
After Earth: This is the movie with Will Smith and his son playing father and son on a post apocalyptic Earth. It's by M. Night Shamalamadingdong so that instantly makes me not want to see it, then I watched the trailer...and it's even worse than I thought. Their accents change by the minute and overall it just looks like a movie with things that have been done better before. I will definitely be passing on this one, regardless of reviews.
Now You See Me: Ocean's 11 meets The Prestige. This movie looks fantastic. It's a group of magicians who use their acts as covers to pull off huge heists. The cast is huge and awesome, including Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Dave Franco. I hope the review are good because I will be severely disappointed if something with this much potential does not deliver. I'll be seeing this in theaters.
June 7
Much Ado About Nothing: This black and white update of the Shakespeare classic was shot by Joss Whedon, at his house, with a bunch of his friends, over the course of several days, right after he finished filming The Avengers....for fun. This is how he wound down from making one of the most successful movies of all time. Whedon alum abound in this remake whose trailer looks extremely interesting. The movie was very well received at SXSW and I look forward to seeing it finally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAMsDP_DMHE
The Internship: I had honestly never heard of this movie until yesterday but it looks pretty great. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are back together in a comedy about two non-tech savvy guys trying to make it as interns at Google. I find it hard to believe that you could go wrong with these two together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdnoqCViqUo
June 14 (aka Zayne's Day at the Movies)
I've decided I'm just going to take the day off that Friday and just go marathon all 3 of the movies coming out on that day. I'll be starting with...
Man of Steel: This movie looks beyond awesome. I was cautious when it was announced, curious after the first teaser, intrigued after the first full trailer and then by the time the trailer from a couple weeks ago rolled around, I'm now foaming at the mouth in anticipation for this movie. It looks incredible. The effects, the emotions, the acting, everything is working for me on so many levels. I'm really not kidding about taking the day off for this movie.
You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive for. They will race behind you. They will stumble. They will fall, but in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.
If you don't have chills at 1:55 in this trailer, something is wrong with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6DJcgm3wNY
This is the End: 7 words say it all: Hermione just stole all of our shit. This movie looks hilarious. All of the actors in it are playing themselves. Basically the end of the world happens and this group of guys are trying to survive. I'm attaching a trailer but it's the Red Band so the language is very NSFW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kliQSsD_npo
The Bling Ring: This movie, based on a true story, is an attempt by Emma Watson to really break away from Hermione. The movie doesn't look bad. It's about several teenagers who went around robbing different celebrities' houses.
June 20
Monsters University: A prequel to Monsters Inc. that I was quite skeptical about until I've now seen the trailers and think it looks great. I know some people would prefer a sequel, but this still looks good.
June 21
World War Z: Brad Pitt, pandemics, zombies (basically). They seem to keep wanting to generate buzz for this movie but I'm having a really hard time getting excited about it. Maybe something will spark my interest by release time but I'm not optimistic.
June 28
The Heat: I never thought I could see a Sandra Bullock movie that had a Red Band trailer but this movie with her and Melissa McCarthy pulls it off. It looks a little generic but also hilarious. There's a good chance I'll be seeing this in theaters. Bullock plays an uptight FBI agent while McCarthy plays an off the rails beat cop and they end up working the same case and hijinx ensue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5m7Ml76zoA
White House Down: First of all, didn't this movie come out a couple of months ago, only being called Olympus Has Fallen? Did it not do well enough so they're releasing it under a different name to try and recoup their losses? Also, Channing Tatum as a Secret Service Officer? Nice try, but no. Just no.
Despicable Me 2: The first one was...okay. It had more heart than I was expecting but the funny was not there. I'll be waiting for a movie channel release on this one.
July 3
The Lone Ranger: Honestly, this does not look good and Johnny Depp's Tonto seems borderline offensive. Pass.
July 5
The Way Way Back: Had not heard about this movie until yesterday but it looks kind of amazing. A kid with a douchey stepdad moves to a new town and attempts to find his place in the world. A really solid cast including Steve Carrell, Allison Janey, Sam Rockwell, and many more puts this movie on my watch list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiH5wmuexZY&feature=player_embedded
July 12
Pacific Rim: I knew very little about this movie outside of the basic concept of Giant Robots vs. Giant Monsters. However, the most recent trailers make it seem kind of amazing. Watch List.
July 19
Red 2: I really enjoyed the first one and I think this second one looks just as solid. I'll be checking it out.
R.I.P.D.: I had no clue what this was but it's apparently based on a comic book about law enforcement for the dead. The Rest in Peace Department tracks down lose souls and brings them in. It stars Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds and looks kind of great. I'm certainly intrigued.
July 26
The Wolverine: Hairy guy with claws and a temper goes to Japan. Snore, next, moving on...
P.S. I hate Wolverine, he sucks. Seriously though, you couldn't pay me to go see this movie. He's awful. The worst. Iceman rules all. Suck on an Omega Level mutant you giant furry tool.
Wha...Where am I? I think I blacked out with nerd rage there for a second. Anyway, moving on....
July 31
The Smurfs 2: Haven't seen the first one, don't plan on seeing the second. Moving on.
We're going to have to pick up with August at a later date. My fingers hurt. Highlights include Percy Jackson 2, Kick-Ass 2, The To-Do List, and The Mortal Instruments.
Hope you all enjoyed your Summer Movie Breakdown Part 1. Catch you on the flip side.
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