Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Robin Hood & A-Team

Double Summer Feature Review- Get Your Popcorn and Frosty Drinks Ready!


First the A-Team.

I think I should add a disclaimer that I love Bradley Cooper deeply and have ever since Alias. I also should warn you I saw this movie with my mom who Liam Neelson she claims at least “melts her butter,” direct quote there. This movie was pure summer popcorn movie and I loved it for that. Murdoch the semi crazy character who tries to hotwire a car with a defiberlator is pretty hilarious at all times. Face is just that pretty and funny and rocks a suit as well as no shirt at all. And the rest of the A-Team are really great at their parts. And everyone else was great too except you Jessica Biel- where are your BDUs!

If you just want a fun Iron Man kind of movie go see this. Smart yet not intense and just plain fun.


Robin Hood was much more serious and to be honest I was a little unexcited about this prospect. But it was really marvelous and had light and dark parts. It is more of a origin story and I was really interested becuase it told the story in a completely different yet great way. What I loved most about this movie and I have to admit I kept tearing up which I still cannot figure out why. Was just the straight out fight of the people even when they were not really in the best situations.

My only complaint had to do with Marion at the end and if you have seen this you know what I am talking about. I don’t disagree with what she did but how she handles herself in the situation. Go see it if you want a great story with some gorgeous scenery. And as always Blanchett and Crowe deliver.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Best Of . . .

Wow, an actual new post from me- it's been awhile! As Heidi said, that whole having a baby (and doing so in dramatic fashion, once again!) has really taken it out of me. And I of course should be sleeping right now since the baby is, and the toddler is, and its 11:34 pm, but I'd rather do something that brings back a semblance of my old life. Blogging, hooray!


It's time for a year in the review for the 2009-2010 TV season. I'd love to know what the rest of the Hacks think too, since everything is now in reruns I can catch up on something you all loved that I may have missed this past year. Hard to imagine that I missed much, since between 26 weeks of morning sickness and bedrest at the end of the pregnancy, I'd say I definitely watched more than my fair share of TV this year, but still, I may have missed something fabulous that I can now watch while nursing the baby. Thank God I was born in the era of two TVs minimum in every home!

1- The best thing about this past season was that comedies are back! Hooray! These are my favorites, I'm all about the half hour sitcom in most cases, and pretty much since "Friends" signed off there's been a dearth of them in my TV viewing. But now, thanks to "Modern Family," "Cougar Town," and the fact that I've started watching "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Big Bang Theory," there's a good two hours of solid laughs. Cameron from "Modern Family" is perhaps one of my favorite characters on TV right now (I crack up just thinking about him shrieking when they left their adopted daughter Lilly on the elevator in the Hawaii episode). We would totally be friends (you know, if he was real.) And although I was initially very off-put by the idea behind "Cougar Town," I discovered that its a quality ensemble comedy with an absolutely terrible, misleading title. Give it a chance!
2- "Glee" deserves the award for the best new thing in TV. I can't think of another show like it, or one that has influenced other aspects of pop culture so well. I read an interview with Ryan Murphy, the creator, where he said at first he was having a hard time getting artists to agree to let their music be used. But after the Madonna episode's soundtrack went to #1 on the Billboard 100 chart before the episode even aired, musicians are now asking him to use their stuff on the show. He brings in a good mix of show tunes, modern, and more classical stuff, and all of the actors are insanely talented. Any show that can give plum spots to Idina Menzel and Neil Patrick Harris is tops in my book.
3- Crazy, complicated, irritatingly addictive dramas ruled the one hour drama spot with the end of "Lost" and the rising popularity of "Fringe." I should admit that I don't watch either of these shows (well, sort of- Shiloh watches "Fringe" so I see it but don't pay that much attention), but I'm going to start streaming "Lost" on Netflix as soon as I figure out how to get our Wii hooked up to our WiFi and then use that disk I got from Netflix, and I believe I'll love it, from what I know, but also be super annoyed by it. I love J.J. Abrams, I've watched everything he's done starting with "Felicity," so I will always give his work a chance.
4- And finally, "Community" wins my award for the Show with the Most Characters that I Wish Were Real People. This show cracks me up week after week, I seriously want to join that study group or teach at Greendale Community College. Abed is my favorite (love his encyclopedic knowledge of all things movie/tv), but Troy got some great storylines as well (favorite line: "Troy, why do you have a monkey?" "It's an animal that looks like a dude. Why don't I have ten of them?") and Joel McHale is my new favorite comedian. He's even got me watching the "E" network, something I would never, ever have done before seeing "Community," because only one half hour a week of Joel McHale's snarky, sarcastic humor is just not enough, and thus "The Soup" has become another show I'll pretty much always stop on.

I've read up a little bit on the new TV lineup for fall, so a future post with what I hope will be the best of the next season is coming. But I think it needs to be stated that summer TV is pretty freaking awesome right now too. I know Abbey loves "Wipeout," she and Heidi got me into "So You Think You Can Dance" this past year, and who doesn't love every single show on USA Network? Not sure why NBC can't get decent programming on their primetime lineup, but God bless whoever is in charge of programming on USA. "Burn Notice," "In Plain Sight," "Royal Pains," "White Collar" and "Psych" are all pretty much must-see viewing for me (and blessedly available for free from Medicom On Demand, so I can watch during these many, many nursing sessions every day.)

Friday, June 25, 2010

The Men of the World Cup

*I'm sorry Kara, I just have to mention something about it : ).  But I promise it won't dwell on the sport part haha.*

Now when I say men of the World Cup, I'm not talking about the ridiculous amounts of eye candy that surrounds every single team and game (however on that note, after taking a poll the US team does have the highest per capita ratio of hot men...., we could think of no one on team who was truly ugly.  Yay US!!)

No I'm talking about the men who are near and dear to my heart because they've been around for all my life.  They're my announcers.  I love when great players who I loved to watch become amazing commentators so they can still be in my life and additionally have a sense of humor.  I have three who I absolutely love.

Alexi Lalas.  He was legitimately my hero when I was little and the main reason I wanted to be a defender.  He was awesome and I wanted to be awesome.  His personality is really sarcastic and often the things he says are 'controversial'.  He likes to go against the main stream and isn't afraid to just say that someone is sucking.  And now that he's lost the nasty hair and beard I must say he's muy good looking.


John Harkes.  Also a good looking individual.  He played around the time that Lalas played so they've been together for a long time.  Someday it is my dream to hear them commentate a game together.  Harkes was a forward so he scored lots of goals.  Mainly what I remember about him was just how graceful he looked playing soccer.  He is always calm and it's very soothing to listen to him matter-of-factly tell the game.


And last Jurgen Klinsmann.  He played for Germany and was their coach for a little while.  Currently he lives in Los Angelas with his American wife and kids.  I mostly just love him because he's German.  And he's the only one with the nerve to say that in "that situation [a breakaway] the player just should have fouled.  A professional foul.  His coach should have told him that."





Love them all!