Reaper

Dear CW,

I'm starting to not like you. You canceled Veronica Mars in favor of a stupid show about The Pussycat Dolls. Now it looks like Reaper is on the chopping block. While the show seemed a little formulaic following Kevin Smith's brilliant pilot episode, I think that it was finally hitting its stride before that was killed by the WGA strike. Now you're putting it up against Lost. Right now there's some choice time slots open thanks to the fact that many shows are still on hiatus and you choose to put it up against a HUGE show that isn't. Nice job there. Are you taking programming lessons from those idiots at Fox? Stop that. Of course you aren't going to get the ratings you want going up against Lost. At least let the guys do a full season (something a tad more than 13 episodes) that isn't interrupted for several months before you give them the axe. However, it seems like outside that whole Jericho campaign you folks never listen to our pleas. In that case, I hope you enjoy your Pussycat Dolls and Tyra Banks yelling at models. Good day.

Sincerely,

Brendo

P.S. : Please tell those guys at CBS the same stuff about Jericho. The last few episodes have kicked serious ass. Thanks.

Well, lo and behold, I just looked up the Thin Man series on imdb to start up this post, and discovered that I only watched five of the six movies. I guess when the marathon was on TMC, they either only had a certain amount of time available or didn't care much for the sixth movie. Well, at any rate, the movies I watched were The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, and The Thin Man Goes Home. All of these movies star William Powell and Myrna Loy as Mr. and Mrs. Nick Charles. Their dog, Asta, is in every movie as well. Nick Charles is a detective (of sorts) who seems to have come from a shady background, since he's friends with a lot of dubious characters in all of these movies. He keeps getting roped into cases, and his wife Nora always seems to get involved as well.

The stories are basically murder mysteries, complete with an ending scene that involves all of the suspects being in one room while Nick explains how it was done and who did it. But, it's the way that the mysteries unfold as well as the incredible charm of the screenplays that make them great movies. Nick and Nora are a loving couple, but full of sarcasm and enjoyable quick wit. Nick's love for the drink and the mini adventures of their dog Asta provide plenty of laughs as well. I particularly enjoyed the segment when Asta discovers that Mrs. Asta has been seeing another dog on the sly. I have to admit, too, that it wasn't always easy for me to figure out who the murderer was.

I had a lot of fun watching these movies and can't believe I never saw them as a kid. They are right up my alley, and I'll probably end up buying all of them one day.

I have been looking forward to this movie for quite some time. All I had to see was the photo of Daniel Day-Lewis, and I was hooked. Paired up with director Paul Thomas Anderson, and playing to the score of Johnny Greenwood, how could I not like this movie? The answer is: I don't know how. I loved it.

We all know what the movie is about, so I'll spare you the recap. Day-Lewis has reached a point in his acting career that he makes one feel everything he acts. We just watched In the Name of the Father last night, and even though he was good in that movie, he hadn't yet reached the level of presence he seems to have had in his most recent movies. Nobody doesn't seem to care for it, but to me, it's movie gold, whether he's Bill the Butcher tapping his own eye with a knife, Jack the hippy father who's dying and somewhat improperly attached to his daughter, or Dan Plainview screaming out that he's abandoned his boy. I sat in the theater with a giant grin on my face for most of There Will Be Blood. That's kind of messed up, I know, but his presence is so intense that it makes me giddy.

The movie looks and sounds good as well. From the settings, costumes, and cinematography to the score, I appreciated all of it. Greenwood's score is occasionally not quite right for the scene, but that's early on. There are also some wonderful classical pieces integrated into the movie as well.

I think I've already talked out this movie enough in other places that I don't feel I have much more to say here. I thought it was great, and in the whole No Country vs. Blood debate, I actually prefer this movie, although both are great in their own right.

The Final HARRY POTTER Film Is Actually Two Films Now...And They Have A Director!! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

I'm glad they're doing this but I actually wish they had done it for a couple of the previous movies as well. As far as the decision to stick with Yates as the director, I'm pleased. I thought he did a really great job with Order of the Phoenix. Alfonso Cuaron's Prisoner of Azkaban is probably still my favorite of the bunch from a stylistic standpoint but I also enjoyed Yates' style. I still wish that Guillermo Del Toro could somehow do The Hobbit and one of the Harry Potter films. That would have been cool. I was talking with a friend the other day and we were talking about dream collaborations and we agreed that Jim Henson would have been perfect for a Harry Potter film. I can only imagine. So summer 2011 is when Harry and friends will be put to rest for good and J.K. will buy the bulk of the world with her obscene wealth. The countdown begins...

Sorry for the lack of posting. Now that I'm on my own at work I've been much busier during the day. It's also mid-term time at school so that has been keeping me occupied. I bought Bully: Scholarship Edition last week and have been hopelessly addicted ever since. Between that and homework I haven't done much else. Twin Peaks is sitting on my desk waiting from Blockbuster and I haven't watched an episode all week. Hopefully that will change sometime soon. In addition to all the school madness I am going to Wizard World L.A. on Saturday to support my friend Dominic and to meet Summer Glau. Should be awesome. After the con I'll be heading over to the Arclight to catch the Pushing Daisies panel at PaleyFest. Next week I'm attending the Judd Apatow and Buffy reunion panels. So lots of stuff to keep me busy. I'll do my best to get some good pictures at the various events so stay tuned for that.