Emmy picks 2011

Just for fun, my personal favorites...

Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire; Dexter; Friday Night Lights; Game of Thrones; The Good Wife; Mad Men

My vote: Sentimentally I'd favor "Friday Night Lights" since it's never won, but "Mad Men" had one of its strongest seasons and deserves to win again. (Haven't seen "Dexter," "Game of Thrones")

Should be nominated: "The Walking Dead," "In Treatment"

Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates, Harry's Law; Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights; Mireille Enos, The Killing; Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU; Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

My vote: Britton because she's never won and the role of Tami Taylor should've earned her at least one by now. But if she already won, I'd be torn between Margulies and Moss. (Didn't see Bates beyond the pilot; saw less than five for Hargitay)

Should be nominated: Katey Sagal, "Sons of Anarchy"

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire; Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights; Michael C. Hall, Dexter; Jon Hamm, Mad Men; Hugh Laurie, House; Timothy Olyphant, Justified

My vote: Hamm all the way. (Haven't seen Hall, Laurie, Olyphant)

Should be nominated: Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment"

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife; Michelle Forbes, The Killing; Christina Hendricks, Mad Men; Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire; Margo Martindale, Justified; Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife

My vote: Without seeing Martindale (who would probably get my vote), I'd go with Macdonald over the universally strong competition.

Should be nominated: Amy Ryan, "In Treatment"

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age; Alan Cumming, The Good Wife; Josh Charles, The Good Wife; Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones; Walton Goggins, Justified; John Slattery, Mad Men

My vote: Haven't seen half the contenders here (Braugher, Dinklage, Goggins) which would force me to go with Cumming, a solid but not dominant contender.

Should be nominated: Michael B. Jordan, "Friday Night Lights"; Vincent Kartheiser, "Mad Men"; Irrfan Khan, "In Treatment"; Denis O'Hare, "True Blood"

Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory; Glee; Modern Family; The Office; Parks and Recreation; 30 Rock

My vote: Easy call: "Parks and Recreation."

Should be nominated: "Bored to Death"; "Louie"

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Laura Linney, The Big C; Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly; Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope; Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

My vote: Poehler is the best part of the best comedy on TV. But Linney is nearly as good, which says a lot. (Didn't see McCarthy or Plimpton beyond their pilots)

Should be nominated: Lea Michele, "Glee"

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock; Louis C.K., Louie; Steve Carell, The Office; Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory; Matt LeBlanc, Episodes; Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

My vote: I wouldn't object to Carell finally winning but without seeing "The Office," I go with CK. (Haven't seen either "Big Bang" actor)

Should be nominated: Danny McBride, "Eastbound and Down"; Jason Schwartzman, "Bored to Death"

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock; Jane Lynch, Glee; Sofia Vergara, Modern Family; Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live; Betty White, Hot in Cleveland

My vote: Vergara.

Should be nominated: Heather Morris and Naya Rivera, "Glee"; Merrit Wever, "Nurse Jackie"

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell, Modern Family; Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men; Chris Colfer, Glee; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Ed O'Neill, Modern Family; Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

My vote: Colfer, though my "Modern Family" vote would go to Burrell, even better in the show's second season. (Haven't seen Cryer)

Should be nominated: Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis, "Bored to Death"; Rob Lowe (foolishly submitting himself as lead) and Nick Offerman, "Parks and Recreation"

TV movie or miniseries
Cinema Verite; Downton Abbey; The Kennedys; Mildred Pierce; The Pillars of the Earth; Too Big to Fail

My vote: Richly cinematic "Mildred Pierce" over elegantly addictive "Downton" (Haven't seen "Pillars" or "Too Big"; suffered through just a partial episode of "The Kennedys")

Should be nominated: "Carlos"; "Luther"; "Sherlock"

In TV movie/mini-series acting I'd go with Edgar Ramirez ("Carlos"), Kate Winslet ("Mildred Pierce"), Guy Pearce ("Mildred Pierce") and Maggie Smith ("Downton Abbey").

Should be nominees:
Actor - Benedict Cumberbatch ("Sherlock")
Supporting Actor - Martin Freeman ("Sherlock"); Brendan Coyle ("Downton Abbey")
Supporting Actress - Ruth Wilson ("Luther")

Oscar picks for 2010

My choices for the best in 2010 film.

Top picks denoted with a (*).

Best Picture of the Year
“Black Swan”
“Blue Valentine”
“How to Train Your Dragon”
“Inception”
“The Kids Are All Right”
*“127 Hours”
“Shutter Island”
“The Social Network”
“Toy Story 3”
“Waiting for ‘Superman’”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Shutter Island”
Michael Douglas in “Solitary Man”
Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
*James Franco in “127 Hours”
Ryan Gosling in “Blue Valentine”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in “Mother and Child”
Julianne Moore in “The Kids Are All Right”
*Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Emma Stone in “Easy A”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
Andrew Garfield in “The Social Network”
Kevin Kline in “The Extra Man”
*Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
*Kerry Washington in “Mother and Child”
Olivia Williams in “The Ghost Writer”

Best Achievement in Directing
“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
“Inception” Christopher Nolan
*“127 Hours” Danny Boyle
“Shutter Island” Martin Scorsese
“The Social Network” David Fincher

Best Screenplay Based On Material Previously Produced or Published
“How to Train Your Dragon” screenplay by William Davies, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
“127 Hours” screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
“Shutter Island” screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis
*“The Social Network” screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
“Toy Story 3” screenplay by Michael Arndt; story by John Lasseter and Andrew Staton & Lee Unkrich

Best Screenplay Written Directly For the Screen
“Black Swan” written by Mark Heyman and Andrés Heinz and John McLaughlin
“Blue Valentine” written by Derek Cianfrance & Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis
“Inception” written by Christopher Nolan
*“The Kids Are All Right” written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
“Please Give” written by Nicole Holofcener

Best Achievement In Art Direction
“Black Swan” Thérèse DePrez, production designer; Tora Peterson, set decorator
*“Inception” Guy Hendrix Dyas, production designer; Larry Dias, Doug Mowat, set decorators
“The King’s Speech” Eve Stewart, production designer; Judy Farr, set decorator
“Shutter Island” Dante Ferretti, production designer; Francesca Lo Schiavo, set decorator
“TRON: Legacy” Darren Gilford, production designer; Lin MacDonald, set decorator

Best Achievement In Cinematography
*“Black Swan” Matthew Libatique
“Inception” Wally Pfister
“127 Hours” Enrique Chediak, Anthony Dod Mantle
“Shutter Island” Robert Richardson
“The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth

Best Achievement In Costume Design
“Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood
*“Black Swan” Amy Westcott
“Burlesque” Michael Kaplan
“Inception” Jeffrey Kurland
“The King’s Speech” Jenny Beavan

Best Achievement In Film Editing
“Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum
“Blue Valentine” Jim Helton, Ron Patane
*“Inception” Lee Smith
“127 Hours” Jon Harris
“Shutter Island” Thelma Schoonmaker

Best Achievement In Makeup
“Alice in Wonderland”
“Black Swan”
*“Shutter Island”

Best Achievement In Music (Original Score)
“How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell
“Inception” Hans Zimmer
“Let Me In” Michael Giacchino
“127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
*“The Social Network” Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Best Achievement In Music (Original Song)
“Black Sheep” from “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
*“Shine” from “Waiting for Superman”
“Sticks & Stones” from “How to Train Your Dragon”
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from “Burlesque”

Best Achievement In Sound
“Black Swan”
*“Inception”
“127 Hours”
“Shutter Island”
“TRON: Legacy”

Best Achievement In Sound Editing
“Black Swan”
*“Inception”
“127 Hours”
“Toy Story 3”
“TRON: Legacy”

Best Achievement In Visual Effects
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”
*“Inception”
“TRON: Legacy”

Best Feature Length Animated Film
“How to Train Your Dragon”
“Tangled”
*“Toy Story 3”

Best Foreign Language Film
*“Dogtooth” Greece
“Lebanon” Israel
“A Prophet” France
“7 Days” Canada
“Vincere” Italy

Best Documentary Film
“Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer”
“Exit Through the Gift Shop”
“Inside Job”
“The Tillman Story”
*“Waiting for Superman”

Special Awards
Ensemble Cast: “Mother and Child”

Stuntwork: “Inception”

Voice Over Performance
Jay Baruchel in “How to Train Your Dragon”
Ned Beatty in “Toy Story 3”
*Steve Carell in “Despicable Me”
Mandy Moore in “Tangled”
Donna Murphy in “Tangled”

Youth Performance: Kodi Smit-McPhee in “Let Me In”

And because limiting nominees isn't enough for acting categories, honorable mentions to the following performances...

Best actor: Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network); Ryan Reynolds (Buried); Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In); Stephen Dorff (Somewhere)

Best actress: Giovanna Mezzogiorno (Vincere); Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone); Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole); Hye-ja Kim (Mother)

Best supporting actor: John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone); Zach Galifianakis (It’s Kind of a Funny Story); Vincent Cassel (Black Swan); Matt Damon (True Grit)

Best supporting actress: Amanda Peet (Please Give); Elle Fanning (Somewhere); Vanessa Redgrave (Letters to Juliet); Rebecca Hall (Please Give)

Favorite albums of 2010

• "The ArchAndroid," Janelle Monae
• "Body Talk," Robyn
• "High Violet," The National
• "The Lady Killer," Cee Lo Green
• "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," Kanye West
• "Odd Blood," Yeasayer
• "Plastic Beach," Gorillaz
• "Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son of Chico Dusty," Big Boi
• "The Suburbs," Arcade Fire
• "Treats," Sleigh Bells

"Contra," Vampire Weekend; "This Is Happening," LCD Soundsystem; "New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh," Erykah Badu; "Record Collection," Mark Ronson & the Business Intl; "Hands," Little Boots

Oscar picks for 2009

My choices for the best in 2009 film.

Top picks denoted with a (*).

Best Picture of the Year:
“Funny People”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Moon”
“Ponyo”
*“Precious”
“A Single Man”
“Sugar”
“Summer Hours”
“Up in the Air”
“Where the Wild Things Are”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
*Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
Matt Damon in “The Informant!”
Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
Sam Rockwell in “Moon”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Abbie Cornish in “Bright Star”
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Catalina Saavedra in “The Maid”
*Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious”
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Zach Galifianakis in “The Hangover”
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
Christian McKay in “Me and Orson Welles”
Brad Pitt in “Inglourious Basterds”
*Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
Melanie Laurent in “Inglourious Basterds”
*Mo’Nique in “Precious”
Paula Patton in “Precious”

Best Achievement in Directing:
“Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
*“Precious” Lee Daniels
“Summer Hours” Olivier Assayas
“Up in the Air” Jason Reitman
“Where the Wild Things Are” Spike Jonze

Best Screenplay Based On Material Previously Produced or Published:
“Coraline” screenplay by Henry Selick
*“Precious” screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
“A Single Man” screenplay by Tom Ford, David Scearce
“Up in the Air” screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
“Where the Wild Things Are” screenplay by Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers

Best Screenplay Written Directly For the Screen:
“Funny People” written by Judd Apatow
*“Inglourious Basterds” written by Quentin Tarantino
“Moon” written by Nathan Parker, story by Duncan Jones
“Sugar” written by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
“Summer Hours” written by Olivier Assayas

Best Achievement In Art Direction:
“Avatar” Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, production designers; Kim Sinclair, set decorator
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Stuart Craig, production designer; Stephanie McMillan, set decorator
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” David Warren, Anastasia Masaro, production designers; Caroline Smith, set decorator
*“Inglourious Basterds” David Wasco, production designer; Sandy Reynolds Wasco, set decorator
“Where the Wild Things Are” K.K. Barrett, production designer; Simon McCutcheon, set decorator

Best Achievement In Cinematography:
*“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
“Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
“Precious” Andrew Dunn
“A Single Man” Eduard Grau
“Where the Wild Things Are” Lance Acord

Best Achievement In Costume Design:
“Bright Star” Janet Patterson
“Chéri” Consolata Boyle
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
*“Inglourious Basterds” Anna B. Sheppard
“The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Best Achievement In Film Editing:
“Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
“Moon” Nicolas Gaster
*“Precious” Joe Klotz
“A Single Man” Joan Sobel
“Up in the Air” Dana E. Glauberman

Best Achievement In Makeup:
“District 9”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
*“Star Trek”

Best Achievement In Music (Original Score):
“Moon” Clint Mansell
“Ponyo” Joe Hisaishi
“Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
“A Single Man” Abel Korzeniowski
*“Up” Michael Giacchino

Best Achievement In Music (Original Song):
“All is Love” from “Where the Wild Things Are”
“Hideaway” from “Where the Wild Things Are”
“Only You” from “The Young Victoria”
“Somebody Else” from “Crazy Heart”
*“The Weary Kind” from “Crazy Heart”

Best Achievement In Sound:
*“Avatar”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”

Best Achievement In Sound Editing:
“2012”
*“Avatar”
“District 9”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”

Best Achievement In Visual Effects:
“2012”
*“Avatar”
“District 9”

Best Feature Length Animated Film: “Ponyo”
(Honorable mention: “Coraline”)

Best Foriegn Language Film:
“Afghan Star” U.K.
“The Headless Woman” Argentina
“The Maid” Chile
*“Summer Hours” France
“Thirst” South Korea

Best Documentary Film:
*“Afghan Star”
“Collapse”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Garden”
“More Than a Game”

Special Awards:
Ensemble Cast: “Precious”

Music Supervision: “Crazy Heart” / “Inglourious Basterds”

Voice Over Performance: James Gandolfini in “Where the Wild Things Are”

Youth Performance: Max Records in “Where the Wild Things Are”

Favorite albums of 2009

For the, um, record...

• "Fantasies," Metric
• "Actor," St. Vincent
• "Merriwether Post Pavilion," Animal Collective
• "Revolution," Miranda Lambert
• "Manners," Passion Pit
• "It's Blitz!," Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• "It's Not Me, It's You," Lily Allen
• "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," Phoenix
• "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand," Franz Ferdinand
• "The Blueprint 3," Jay-Z

Oscar picks for 2008

My choices for the best in 2008 film.

Top picks denoted with a (*).

Best Picture of the Year:
*“The Dark Knight”
“Pineapple Express”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“The Visitor”
“WALL-E”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Clint Eastwood in “Gran Torino”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Synecdoche, New York”
*Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”
Sean Penn in “Milk”
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Juliette Binoche in “Flight of the Red Balloon”
*Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
Michelle Williams in “Wendy and Lucy”
Kate Winslet in “The Reader”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Aaron Eckhart in “The Dark Knight”
James Franco in “Pineapple Express”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”
*Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
Haaz Sleiman in “The Visitor”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Hiam Abbass in “The Visitor”
*Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis in “Doubt”
Rosario Dawson in “Seven Pounds”
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”

Best Achievement in Directing:
*“The Dark Knight” Christopher Nolan
“Pineapple Express” David Gordon Green
“Slumdog Millionaire” Danny Boyle
“The Visitor” Thomas McCarthy
“WALL-E” Andrew Stanton

Best Screenplay Based On Material Previously Produced or Published:
“The Class” screenplay by François Bégaudeau
“The Dark Knight” screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David Goyer
“Let the Right One In” screenplay by John Ajvide Lindqvist
*“Slumdog Millionaire” screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
“Tell No One” screenplay by Guillaume Canet

Best Screenplay Written Directly For the Screen:
“Pineapple Express” written by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, story by Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg
“Synecdoche, New York” written by Charlie Kaufman
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona” written by Woody Allen
“The Visitor” written by Thomas McCarthy
*“WALL-E” written by Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, story by Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter

Best Achievement In Art Direction:
*“The Dark Knight” Nathan Crowley, production designer; Peter Lando, set decorator
“The Fall” Ged Clarke, production designer; Riccardo Pugliese, Cynthia Sleiter, set decorators
“Slumdog Millionaire” Mark Digby, production designer; Michelle Day, set decorator
“Synecdoche, New York” Mark Friedberg, production designer; Lydia Marks, set decorator
“WALL-E” Ralph Eggleston, production designer

Best Achievement In Cinematography:
“Changeling” Tom Stern
“Che” Peter Andrews
“The Dark Knight” Wally Pfister
“Let the Right One In” Hoyte Van Hoytema
*“Slumdog Millionaire” Anthony Dod Mantle

Best Achievement In Costume Design:
“Changeling” Deborah Hopper
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Jacqueline West
“The Dark Knight” Lindy Hemming
“The Duchess” Michael O’Connor
*“The Fall” Eiko Ishioka

Best Achievement In Film Editing:
*“The Dark Knight” Lee Smith
“Let the Right One In” Tomas Alfredson, Dino Jonsäter
“Pineapple Express” Craig Alpert
“Slumdog Millionaire” Chris Dickens
“WALL-E” Stephen Schaffer

Best Achievement In Makeup:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
*“The Dark Knight”
“Synecdoche, New York”

Best Achievement In Music (Original Score):
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Alexandre Desplat
“The Dark Knight” Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard
“The Reader” Nico Muhly
“Slumdog Millionaire” A.R. Rahman
*“WALL-E” Thomas Newman

Best Achievement In Music (Original Song):
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“Little Person” from “Synecdoche, New York”
“O…Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
*“The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler”

Best Achievement In Sound:
*“The Dark Knight”
“Quantum of Solace”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Best Achievement In Sound Editing:
“Cloverfield”
*“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Best Achievement In Visual Effects:
*“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Incredible Hulk”

Best Feature Length Animated Film: “WALL-E”
(Honorable mention: "$9.99")

Best Foriegn Language Film:
“The Class” France
“The Counterfeiters” Austria
*“Let the Right One In” Sweden
“Reprise” Norway
“Tell No One” France

Best Documentary Film:
“Bigger, Stronger, Faster*”
“Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father”
“Man on Wire”
“Religulous”
*“The Unforeseen”

Special Awards:
Ensemble Cast: “The Dark Knight”

Voice Over Performance: Dustin Hoffman in “Kung Fu Panda”

Youth Performance: David Kross in “The Reader”

Memo to idiotic Emmy voters

Hour long shows can be comedies too.

This was a really strange year for TV and overall the nominations aren't terrible.

But these picks are way better.

Long time, no post

I've been busy, busy, busy but I'll try to keep updating on occasion (I try to keep the sidebars fresh, if nothing else, but I need to update with some summer music including White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, Mandy Moore and Rihanna).

A Top Ten TV list is a strong possibility sometime soon, hopefully before Emmy nominations.

But the most important thing right now is that there are a lot of good movies out there.

Starting with one of the best in some time: Ratatouille.

This week also brings one of Michael Moore's best efforts, Sicko, and a surprisingly satisfying sequel, Live Free or Die Hard.

Knocked Up is the only big movie so far this summer to display real box office staying power, and understandably so (although I suspect Ratatouille will change that).

A Mighty Heart, may be a mighty tough sell, especially in summer, but it's still worth seeing.

I still haven't caught up with Once, but Waitress, Away From Her and Paris je t'aime continue their deservedly charmed box office runs and Lady Chatterley is just starting out.

Even Transformers isn't horrible. A major success by Michael Bay standards.

I've been less impressed the past two months by (in descending order):
Ocean's Thirteen
La Vie en Rose
Broken English
Shrek the Third
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
1408
Nancy Drew
Bug
Evan Almighty

Summer movies

Summer movie season kicks off today with Spider-Man 3 (quick review: it's more of the same for the franchise, but this time a little bit less).

I've also already seen and enjoyed Away From Her, Waitress and Paris je t'aime, which are playing in select cities and will expand through the summer. They're small and worthwhile alternatives to the bigger Hollywood offerings.

I wrote this preview a couple weeks ago, and finally found time to mention it here too.

I'm much more excited about this summer than I was about last summer but I have a hard time singling out a movie as the one I'm most looking forward to.

Last year even most of the movies I wanted to see turned out to be disappointing (and I think the only pleasant surprise was Monster House, which I didn't catch until DVD). But with appropriately sunny optimism, here are the ten movies I'm most excited about this summer (in no particular order):

favorite franchises return with The Bourne Ultimatum, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Ocean's 13;

promising Sundance titles Joshua and Rocket Science;

40 Year Old Virgin director Judd Apatow's heavily buzzed Knocked Up;

Pixar's latest, Ratatouille;

interesting actor/director combinations in A Mighty Heart (Angelina Jolie with Michael Winterbottom) and Talk to Me (Don Cheadle with Kasi Lemmons);

and Hairspray, which originally sounded like a disaster but now appears more likely to do its enjoyable forerunners (on film and stage) proud.

But honestly I even want to see Michael Bay's Transformers (oh the inevitable pain...but I can't resist) and there's something intriguing about that trailer for the Fantastic Four sequel (which could be one of two sequels I see without bothering to check out the original, since I'll almost certainly be seeing Evan Almighty).

Oh summer.

Best Idol Ever

Oh happy day.

Stankjaya got the boot.

The glee on Simon's face as he realized his season-long dream coming true was priceless.

After Chris' disastrous performance I thought he'd be going home (he's been in the bottom three twice before, suggesting his fan base is weak, and he was practically as bad as lil' Stanky last night). But he didn't even hit the bottom three. Apparently America agrees with him that "nasally" is a valid form of singing...

LaKisha also seemed to be on shaky ground and was the last one standing next to He of the Demonic Grin.

But all negatives aside, now that the kid is gone I have to hope he doesn't have a life of ridicule ahead of him. The nasty side of Idol is in the way it can build people up and then toss them aside with no regard. It's not completely the show's fault, it's also Sanjaya's and his family's for deciding to enter the competition and stay in under the pressure.

Hopefully he'll just move on to a life and career outside of music. But the temptation to cash in on fame while he has it may be too much to resist. And the attempts to do so will surely be painful.

But the competition will be a lot more fun from here on. I don't think it's a coincidence Melinda and Jordin are now the only two contestants to never land in the bottom three. I think we have our final two right there (barring a Daughtry-esque elimination "shocker").

Go Doolittle!

Halle, just say "no"

I kind of wish I had thought of this to say about Perfect Stranger, the new Halle Berry trainwrec...er, thriller opening today:

Life is full of choices, and Halle Berry has made another bad one with Perfect Stranger, a perfectly off-putting thriller.

But that's from Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern, via Metacritic.

I also wish I had been gutsy enough to just call it what it is, a "crappy thriller," like Lisa Schwarzbaum in EW (unfortunately I saw that quote from her before I could even think of it).

Anyway, here's my review.

And no my mind wasn't made up just because of what I wrote about this movie close to two years ago. I'm just prescient like that. (Incredibly bizarre coincidence further tying this crap to Rich Man's Wife: character actress Clea Lewis is in both, and this is her first significant live action movie since that one.)

Also, I reviewed a not quite as bad Guy Pearce thriller, First Snow, last week. That one's just boring.

In praise of The Shield

The Sopranos' return to HBO was the TV event of the week (and probably the season) but one of its few true peers, FX's The Shield, is back on the air too.

I'm lucky enough to be the LA Times "showtracker" for the series and my first piece is up on the recently launched Showtracker blog.

Big fat spoilers if you've never seen The Shield, not to mention it won't mean much if you haven't, but I feel a little bit honored to be able to write about something so good. If it's not too lame to admit that.

First decent Idol results of the season

Finally, one of the top 12 who really deserved to be booted actually was. Goodbye Haley, no one will miss you or your botched attempts at sex appeal.

And since Stankjaya is still seemingly Untouchable (offense intended), it was appropriate to see Phil and Chris in the bottom three.

Latin week was hideous. Country week is up next...

These Idol producers really know how to pick a theme well suited to their contestants, don't they?

Idol thoughts

I’ve been silent on American Idol so far this season but it’s not because I haven’t been enjoying it. Melinda and LaKisha are terrific and Blake and Jordin help to keep the competition interesting. One exceptional, one near exceptional and two solid talents make for a more satisfying line-up than last season. With any luck they’ll be the final four…but who knows.

There is the Stankjaya problem. To give the Worst Top 12 Contestant Ever some credit: he does bring a bizarrely compelling quality of his own to the show. The producers must be watching all of this nervously. He’s pushing the limits of the any-publicity-is-good-publicity theory and his presence on the show blurs the line between the top 12 performance shows and the audition rounds like no one ever has before. All that credibility carefully cultivated by album sales, Grammy wins and even an Oscar win for former contestants could be in serious jeopardy.

Right now it’s a given that he’s going to outlast more talented people. Last week was the first time in over a month that someone significantly better wasn’t eliminated after A.J., Sabrina, Brandon and Stephanie were knocked out over the previous four weeks. And last week’s victim, Chris Sligh, didn’t start off horribly, he just fell apart under the pressure. Obviously he too should’ve outlasted Stankjaya in any normal competition.

Tonight is “standards” night and the contestants most in jeopardy have to be Phil Stacey and Haley Scarnato, who have both long outlasted their welcome (neither deserved top 12 placement). Phil did better than ever before last week but there’s no reason to think either of them have enough support to stay around much longer. Standards week could also do some damage to another mediocre contestant, Gina Glocksen, and Chris Richardson needs to avoid being boring.

I dumped even more general thoughts on the show so far into this photo gallery. And the page for the departed Chris Sligh.

Season finale, times three

In an unusual coincidence, there are three season finales for quality serial dramas on TV tonight. Showtime airs the fourth season finale of The L Word, Sci Fi has the third season finale of Battlestar Galactica and HBO will run the second season (and also series) finale of Rome.

The L Word has rebounded nicely from a series-worst third season with a lighter, fresher approach driven by new relationships and evolving characters. The performances have always been the show's standout element, and this season has given Jennifer Beals another chance to shine as alternately vulnerable and narcissistic power lesbian Bette Porter, provided some of the best material yet for ace supporting actresses Katherine Moennig (who brings the drama as perpetually damaged Shane) and Leisha Hailey (who brings the comedy as sprightly social hub Alice) and enjoyably transformed Brit actress Rachel Shelley's character from vaguely villainous to a lovably neurotic mess (which gives the gorgeous Shelley an opportunity to show off considerable comedic skills).

And the show added a couple of recognizable TV faces: Marlee Matlin fits in perfectly as a new love interest for Bette, while Cybill Shepherd feels more like stunt casting as Bette's colleague who comes out as a lesbian late in life. Foxy guest star Kristanna Loken and welcome new addition Rose Rollins have also delivered this season, helping to make The L Word good soapy fun and more entertaining, if not necessarily better, than ever.

Rome, on the other hand, has had a difficult time matching the sharpness of its first season. It's still an addictive adult pleasure but the storylines were a little flabbier this time around, especially for former Centurions Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson). And the political intrigue of Mark Antony vs. Gaius Octavian (who will become Caesar Augustus) hasn't quite matched the compelling first season arc of Julius Caesar. But the ensemble cast is still effective and the knowledge that this would be the show's final season seems to have encouraged the producers to knock off key characters with ruthless efficiency. Someone seemed to die in practically every episode (of course history may have necessitated much of that as well). In an encouraging sign for tonight's finale, Rome's most recent episode was also the season's best. The excellent hour finally brought together Antony and Cleopatra and set the stage for a war between Antony and Octavian. Chances are good this unusual series will end on a high note.

The only one of tonight's finales that I've already seen is Battlestar Galactica's, and considering the show is the best of these three I'm betting this exceptional season ender is also the highlight of what's airing tonight.

Battlestar is known for thrilling cliffhanger endings and what happens tonight will change the series' world as much as last season's jump into the future. Nearly every major character reaches a turning point and the show furthers the season's mystery involving previously unseen Cylons. Battlestar has had its roughest season yet, with too many self-contained episodes in place of its usual compelling story arcs and not enough material for some key players including Mary McDonnell's President Roslin and Tricia Helfer's Cylon Number Six. But even when it's weaker, Battlestar remains one of TV's top hours. And when it's really on its game, as it has been for the past three weeks and continues to be tonight, it's a prime example of just how good serial television can be.

Lots of reviews

Just a bunch of links to what I've been writing the past few weeks:

Two very good foreign films, The Lives of Others (one of my favorite films of last year) and The Host, and one much less interesting, Avenue Montaigne.

Two of today's wide releases: Pride and TMNT.

Finally, last week I wrote reviews of Chris Rock's latest, I Think I Love My Wife, and a Sundance prize winning documentary that hasn't done much business, God Grew Tired of Us.

FX rebounds with The Riches

Tonight's premiere of The Riches on FX couldn't arrive any sooner. The "edgy" cable network still has its most recent misfire on the air, and they haven't launched a successful hour since Rescue Me which is about to enter its fourth season. With The Shield's latest season still nearly a month away from launch there's a serious lack of quality at the network right now. I'm not sure The Riches has what it takes to become a ratings juggernaut but at least the pilot is good, and suggests the start of something worth paying attention to.

The show is a strange creation, even for a boundary-pushing network like FX. Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver star as the heads of a family who live out of their camper, roaming from town to town stealing for a living. It's a gypsy lifestyle and from what we learn in the pilot it's also how Driver's character was raised. But when the family gets an opportunity for a fresh start they take it.

The closest comparison for The Riches on TV today is HBO's Big Love, which also looks at an American family with circumstances so unique they might as well be from another planet and their awkward relationship with society at large. The basic set-up of a family assuming new identities recalls The CW's instant flop Runaway, while Izzard and Driver appear primed to play out the kind of complicated relationship full of moral ambiguities that Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen were robbed of when CBS rudely yanked fall's promising crime drama Smith. Like the latter two shows The Riches wouldn't have a prayer on network TV, but like Big Love it has the opportunity to speak to an appreciative niche audience while making the most of the creative freedom cable provides.

There's plenty of naughty language, some violence and a little sex in the show's pilot but unlike some other FX shows The Riches doesn't seem eager to abuse its freedoms and "push the envelope" just for shock value. The characters are more than enough to grab viewers' attention.

The Riches will air Mondays at 10 on FX with repeats throughout the week and the pilot is available to watch anytime this week on Yahoo! TV.

Four good movies and one overhyped surefire hit

Several good films have hit theaters over the past few weeks, but they're all getting trounced at the box office by garbage-y looking bigger product like Norbit, Ghost Rider and Wild Hogs.

The Astronaut Farmer is a quirky inspirational drama that deserved a wider audience, while Zodiac and Breach—two adult dramas based on true events—have performed a little better but are still posting only modest grosses.

Black Snake Moan faced the double dishonor of undeservedly harsh reviews and a poor opening weekend. I think audiences would be pleasantly surprised if only they'd give the woman-in-chains drama a chance. Samuel L. Jackson's performance is worthy of an Oscar nomination (not that it will ever come).

But this weekend's #1 movie will obviously be 300, which is at least a step up in quality from the rest of the year's box office chart toppers. The graphic novel adaptation has generated a lot of buzz, especially online, for the heavily CGI visuals used to tell the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartan warriors held off considerably more Persian adversaries.

I originally saw 300 before any of the films mentioned above and at the time I was really hoping for the year's first good film. Director Zack Snyder previously did an unexpectedly great job with the Dawn of the Dead remake and advance footage looked promising.

But 300 is too flawed to even be called good, let alone great. Pitiful dialogue, underscored by obnoxious voiceover, and a horribly misguided politically driven subplot are just two of the problems. Even more troubling is how seriously this campy action spectacle ultimately takes itself. It aspires to the faux-heroic inspirational vibe of Gladiator and Braveheart, which adds an unwelcome pretentiousness that defeats the movie's guiltier pleasures.

There's definitely fun to be had in many of the battle scenes with their over-the-top visuals and Snyder clearly enjoys bringing some of comic book legend Frank Miller's more outlandish images to the screen—I still have no idea how that's actually Rodrigo Santoro (the new guy on Lost/Laura Linney's Love Actually love interest) as ten foot tall Persian king, and self made god, Xerxes.

Gerard Butler also makes for a great leading man as Spartan King Leonidas, bringing the right amounts of humor and charisma to the role. Unfortunately, he's alone in that.

I'm still cautiously optimistic about Zack Snyder's future, but hopefully next time he'll direct a better screenplay and only take the story as seriously as it deserves.

Lost lessons

Lost was much improved last night, the turnaround from an all time low last week to one of the season's best this week was dazzling. (Of course being one of the "best" in a mediocre season isn't much to celebrate, but I think it's all that can reasonably be expected from the show anymore.)

Top three reasons why:

1) John Locke. Don't the writers understand this is their best character? And unlike Hurley or Sawyer he's worth including in every episode.

2) A backstory that was well acted, well written and actually meant something for the episode. Plus, Sayid is probably the show's second best character.

3) I was able to fast forward through the handful of Sawyer scenes. I only watched the first scene for Sun & Jin and the entertainingly awful new characters.

Tracking Heroes, Lost

I wrote an item on Monday's episode of Heroes for the new LA Times TV feature Showtracker. It's very spoiler heavy, so if you watch and haven't seen the latest episode yet you'll want to steer clear. But it's really the first piece I've written specifically for LA Times, so that's exciting.

And in anticipation of this week's new episode of Lost I'd recommend this recap of last week's staggeringly awful hour (the writer happens to be really talented and beautiful but that's not my only reason for liking it).

The episode was such an unnecessary tangent, at such an inopportune time, I really think it might be the single worst Lost episode to date. That's quite an achievement considering previous pointless hours wasted on Sawyer, Kate, Hurley and Charlie. The next two weeks supposedly focus on Sayid and Claire and will hopefully give me a reason to keep watching without feeling like a complete masochist.