I have decided to cut down on daily blog entries. I want to make sure I got stuff to write about and some days it feels like a chore to do so. So let's get to it.
Royal Pains (USA) had a great season finale where we have an interesting medical mystery, Divya wimping out on canceling her engagement, Evan losing HankMed's money in a scam by his father, and Jill telling the Carver (role he played on Nip/Tuck) to take a hike as she chooses Hank. I think that this was a great series and look forward to seeing it return next summer. Rating is an A.
Inglourious Basterds, the new film by Quentin Tarantino, was very good and was a bit of a surprise. Brad Pitt, who is heavily featured in the trailers and commercials, did not have a big a role as you would think. Tarantino really invoked the feelings of a spaghetti Western with this movie as there were numerous references to classic films of that genre. Rope burns around Pitt's neck, the opening scene, and the revenge ending were some of these references. Christoph Waltz and Diane Kruger gave very strong performances that could net them some Oscar nominations. Very well done film and worth seeing. A is the rating.
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (SyFy) was on last night. A bit disappointing as I expected a better fight scene between the two creatures. Still a campy classic that did well enough to maybe get a sequel. I did like the shark jumping out of the water to grab a plane and bring it down. Deborah Gibson was the featured star along with Lorenzo Lamas (he was not very good and his character was boring). I give it a B for campy pleasure.
Oh well.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thoughts: 28-August-2009
I did not get a chance to write my blog yesterday. Too many other things to do and I really did not have that much to say.
Too much anticipation for the SyFy Channel movie this Saturday night, MegaShark vs Giant Octopus, I guess.
MonsterQuest (History Channel) had its season finale on albino sperm whales like Moby Dick. Out of a population of 400,000 sperm whales, there are 100-200 albinos. Well, our MonsterQuest team could not find one normal sperm whale, we had to settle for some shots of a pod of pilot whales. We did get to see some footage from 2004 of an adolesent albino taken by someone not associated with MonsterQuest.
You know, how are they going to find unknowns when they cannot find known animals. We did get to see some interesting information from an English professor researching Herman Melville's Moby Dick. He had the actual natural history source book that Melville used to write Moby Dick and show his comments in the margins which indicated that Melville exaggerated the aggressive tendencies of sperm whales for dramatic appeal.
MonsterQuest gets a C and I have to wonder why people are still watching this.
Dark Blue (TNT) is really becoming quite the strange little show. After all that undercover work, why does every show end in a shootout where the bad guys get killed? When do they go to trial if ever? And granted LA is a pretty big place, but won't somebody get wise to these cops who continue to go undercover?
Last night's show, we have the team go after a dirty cop. But he is not profiting from what he is doing, he is being blackmailed by the crook that he is protecting, by busting every other crook giving him such a good record, that he is getting a promotion to captain. And our great team does exactly the same, but just has dead bodies to show for it.
A good story that shows Cartier is just like this guy, but in the context of this show, just does not work. Dark Blue is getting a C and is starting to bore me.
Oh well.
Too much anticipation for the SyFy Channel movie this Saturday night, MegaShark vs Giant Octopus, I guess.
MonsterQuest (History Channel) had its season finale on albino sperm whales like Moby Dick. Out of a population of 400,000 sperm whales, there are 100-200 albinos. Well, our MonsterQuest team could not find one normal sperm whale, we had to settle for some shots of a pod of pilot whales. We did get to see some footage from 2004 of an adolesent albino taken by someone not associated with MonsterQuest.
You know, how are they going to find unknowns when they cannot find known animals. We did get to see some interesting information from an English professor researching Herman Melville's Moby Dick. He had the actual natural history source book that Melville used to write Moby Dick and show his comments in the margins which indicated that Melville exaggerated the aggressive tendencies of sperm whales for dramatic appeal.
MonsterQuest gets a C and I have to wonder why people are still watching this.
Dark Blue (TNT) is really becoming quite the strange little show. After all that undercover work, why does every show end in a shootout where the bad guys get killed? When do they go to trial if ever? And granted LA is a pretty big place, but won't somebody get wise to these cops who continue to go undercover?
Last night's show, we have the team go after a dirty cop. But he is not profiting from what he is doing, he is being blackmailed by the crook that he is protecting, by busting every other crook giving him such a good record, that he is getting a promotion to captain. And our great team does exactly the same, but just has dead bodies to show for it.
A good story that shows Cartier is just like this guy, but in the context of this show, just does not work. Dark Blue is getting a C and is starting to bore me.
Oh well.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thoughts: 26-August-2009
Season finale of Raising the Bar (TNT) was pretty good. I really like Jerry Kellerman, who can believe that the same actor who brings him to life started off on Save the Bell. You know, lots of good actors came out of that show. Raising the Bar is one of the best shows on TV and gets an A rating.
Warehouse 13 (SyFy) was pretty good too. A couple of the Eureka cast showed up in a guest appearance, next week Joe Morton guest stars. Nice to see the cross over on the SyFy channel with its other hit shows. Rating is a B.
I cannot wait to see MegaShark vs Giant Octopus this Saturday on the SyFy Channel.
Oh well.
Warehouse 13 (SyFy) was pretty good too. A couple of the Eureka cast showed up in a guest appearance, next week Joe Morton guest stars. Nice to see the cross over on the SyFy channel with its other hit shows. Rating is a B.
I cannot wait to see MegaShark vs Giant Octopus this Saturday on the SyFy Channel.
Oh well.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thoughts: 25-August-2009
I saw in the New York Post that the Hallmark Channel was near bankruptcy. My Mom watches this channel all the time. I like some of their movies like the Good Witch films with Catherine Bell and the Hallmark Channel Mystery Movies like Mystery Woman and Meet Jane Doe. Looks like they have not been making too many new films which may explain the drop in viewership.
Saturday Night on 9 pm on the SyFy Channel, the move will be MegaShark Vs Giant Octopus. Who will win the fight for the control of the Pacific? SyFy has kept up with its tradition of cheesy SF movies on Saturday Night. Maybe they should get a host to introduce these films, like Dr. Shock from Philadelphia's Channel 17 in the days of yesteryear.
A new book by John Skerchock entitled The Frightful Dr. Shock is available from Amazon.com and is all about the classic horror film host. I grew up watching Dr. Shock and this book brings back so many great memories. Where are the Dr. Shocks of today?
The Closer (TNT) season finale was on last night, a lot of hype for an ok episode. I did like the El Paso cop who got the better of Brenda at the end of the show. I would like to see him come back in a future episode. Kevin Bacon did a nice job directing this episode, the truck chase scene was very well done. Overall all a B.
Oh well.
Saturday Night on 9 pm on the SyFy Channel, the move will be MegaShark Vs Giant Octopus. Who will win the fight for the control of the Pacific? SyFy has kept up with its tradition of cheesy SF movies on Saturday Night. Maybe they should get a host to introduce these films, like Dr. Shock from Philadelphia's Channel 17 in the days of yesteryear.
A new book by John Skerchock entitled The Frightful Dr. Shock is available from Amazon.com and is all about the classic horror film host. I grew up watching Dr. Shock and this book brings back so many great memories. Where are the Dr. Shocks of today?
The Closer (TNT) season finale was on last night, a lot of hype for an ok episode. I did like the El Paso cop who got the better of Brenda at the end of the show. I would like to see him come back in a future episode. Kevin Bacon did a nice job directing this episode, the truck chase scene was very well done. Overall all a B.
Oh well.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thoughts: 24-August-2009
A couple of shout outs to my peeps.
First, Sheryl, who I know reads this blog, let me know about a new Landover Novel, The Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks. This series started with Magic Kingdom For Sale/Sold and has progressed quite nicely. I turned Sheryl on to these books and she has kindly let me know a new novel has finally come out. Thanks Sheryl.
She is off to Disney World next week. Now if she can just get off her Twilight love.
22, our former summer intern, has threaten to deface my face all the way from Michigan if I write about her. While I was on vacation, she changed her hair color to from a nice sexy blond to a depressing dark brown/black. I had a crush on her until she dyed her hair. I hope I am not writing about her too much. Heh Heh.
I also wanted to comment on Nurse Jackie (Showtime), I caught up with all the episodes including the season finale on Comcast ON Demand. Tonight the finale airs at 10:30 pm, and it was very good. This whole series was so well done, Eddie Faco made me forget about her on the Sopranos. She did an Emmy worthy job on this series, which Showtime renewed. Very good and far superior to TNT's HawthoRNe.
Oh well.
First, Sheryl, who I know reads this blog, let me know about a new Landover Novel, The Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks. This series started with Magic Kingdom For Sale/Sold and has progressed quite nicely. I turned Sheryl on to these books and she has kindly let me know a new novel has finally come out. Thanks Sheryl.
She is off to Disney World next week. Now if she can just get off her Twilight love.
22, our former summer intern, has threaten to deface my face all the way from Michigan if I write about her. While I was on vacation, she changed her hair color to from a nice sexy blond to a depressing dark brown/black. I had a crush on her until she dyed her hair. I hope I am not writing about her too much. Heh Heh.
I also wanted to comment on Nurse Jackie (Showtime), I caught up with all the episodes including the season finale on Comcast ON Demand. Tonight the finale airs at 10:30 pm, and it was very good. This whole series was so well done, Eddie Faco made me forget about her on the Sopranos. She did an Emmy worthy job on this series, which Showtime renewed. Very good and far superior to TNT's HawthoRNe.
Oh well.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Thoughts: 23-August-2009
I saw District 9 yesterday. What an original and creative movie that turned out to be. The story was riveting, the special effects were excellent, and I was very happy to have seen this movie. A great SF picture from South Africa which begs the question, why can't Hollywood turn out a movie like this. We get Rockem Sockem Robots (Transfomers 2) made for a butt load of money and running for almost 3 hours. This is an A film and I urge people to check it out.
I wanted to comment on some comic book trends today. The Spirit was cancelled with issue 32, I ran the last two issues where Mike Ploog and Dan Green did a two part story called The Celtic Stone. Very well done and was an excellent story. Another great comic is cancelled due to low sales. Granted DC stuck with this comic much longer than I would have expected, which begs the question, why are comic buyers not supporting great series like this?
Blackest Night is the current multi comic theme running over in DC. It has gotten rave reviews from Kat Curtis on the Naked News. Sorry, I don't see it. I am bored with the whole current Green Lantern story line. Blue, Red, Yellow, and now Black Lanterns. The Guardians getting all wacky with the rules. And now dead heroes coming back like Bruce Wayne aka Batman. If you want to bring back dead heroes, then bring them back or better yet stop killing them as a sales gimmick.
I will continue to buy Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, and the main Blackest Night miniseries, but now of the other miniseries that DC is pushing. Don't care enough to read it all. I can always catch up on Wikipedia.
I do like Dark Reign running through the Marvel comics line. Norman Osborn is a great villain and is being well handled here. This I can get into. Of course, I am getting tired of all the multiple versions of the Avengers, do we need four monthly books?
And let's bring back the Ultimate line already. I liked the idea of having 2-4 monthly books covering the Ultimate universe and a couple of miniseries, one shots, and annuals filling in the rest of the story. And thank God Nick Fury came back at the end of the Ultimatum miniseries. I look forward to the new Ultimate comics, starting with Ultimate Avengers.
Yes I know, but the Ultimate line is not going to have four Avengers books.
Oh well.
I wanted to comment on some comic book trends today. The Spirit was cancelled with issue 32, I ran the last two issues where Mike Ploog and Dan Green did a two part story called The Celtic Stone. Very well done and was an excellent story. Another great comic is cancelled due to low sales. Granted DC stuck with this comic much longer than I would have expected, which begs the question, why are comic buyers not supporting great series like this?
Blackest Night is the current multi comic theme running over in DC. It has gotten rave reviews from Kat Curtis on the Naked News. Sorry, I don't see it. I am bored with the whole current Green Lantern story line. Blue, Red, Yellow, and now Black Lanterns. The Guardians getting all wacky with the rules. And now dead heroes coming back like Bruce Wayne aka Batman. If you want to bring back dead heroes, then bring them back or better yet stop killing them as a sales gimmick.
I will continue to buy Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, and the main Blackest Night miniseries, but now of the other miniseries that DC is pushing. Don't care enough to read it all. I can always catch up on Wikipedia.
I do like Dark Reign running through the Marvel comics line. Norman Osborn is a great villain and is being well handled here. This I can get into. Of course, I am getting tired of all the multiple versions of the Avengers, do we need four monthly books?
And let's bring back the Ultimate line already. I liked the idea of having 2-4 monthly books covering the Ultimate universe and a couple of miniseries, one shots, and annuals filling in the rest of the story. And thank God Nick Fury came back at the end of the Ultimatum miniseries. I look forward to the new Ultimate comics, starting with Ultimate Avengers.
Yes I know, but the Ultimate line is not going to have four Avengers books.
Oh well.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thoughts: 22-August-2009
I watched Eureka (SyFy) last night and thought that it was a very good episode, that show has such a charm all to its own, and you really care about the characters. Henry losing his love a second time, Carter and Tess kissing at the end of the show, were such wonderful moments. I give this an A.
Last week Monk (USA) has a nice show where Monk helps solve a hit and run which killed the wife of these Nigerian man. The bonding and emotion displayed by Monk as he compares this crime to the unsolved death of his own wife was quite touching. An A, and this final season of Monk is going out with a bang.
On my recent visit to PA, I like to take the opportunity to visit various bookstores and newsstands to look for magazines that are hard to find in CT. For example, I have not seen a new issue of Newsweek for a long time and wanted to check out its new format. I also love classic horror magazines, such as Scary Monsters magazine whose subscription I let lapse, and hoped to find some of these magazines.
Well, I was a bit disappointed. Newsweek I found, Scary Monsters Magazine I did not. In fact even at Barnes and Noble, there was not much there. Sure Fangoria, and Rue Morgue, the current best sellers were there, but not much else. And now I read that Diamond Distributors has cut back on magazines like Scary Monsters as they do not reach a certain sales criteria.
I have sung the praises of Midtown Comics and buy a lot of comic books and magazines there. With these new restrictions, Little Shoppe of Horrors and Scary Monsters Magazine will not be carried there anymore. This sucks. Sure I can see buy them direct or through Creepy Classics, another excellent online venue for these products, but decreasing the number of outlets for these publications will in turn help decrease sales and eventually they will cease to publish.
What to do? Luckily the Classic Horror Film Board provides a sounding board to let folks know what is out there and how to get it. Still, the more trouble one has to take to get these magazines, they less luckily they will buy them. Future does not look good.
Oh well.
Last week Monk (USA) has a nice show where Monk helps solve a hit and run which killed the wife of these Nigerian man. The bonding and emotion displayed by Monk as he compares this crime to the unsolved death of his own wife was quite touching. An A, and this final season of Monk is going out with a bang.
On my recent visit to PA, I like to take the opportunity to visit various bookstores and newsstands to look for magazines that are hard to find in CT. For example, I have not seen a new issue of Newsweek for a long time and wanted to check out its new format. I also love classic horror magazines, such as Scary Monsters magazine whose subscription I let lapse, and hoped to find some of these magazines.
Well, I was a bit disappointed. Newsweek I found, Scary Monsters Magazine I did not. In fact even at Barnes and Noble, there was not much there. Sure Fangoria, and Rue Morgue, the current best sellers were there, but not much else. And now I read that Diamond Distributors has cut back on magazines like Scary Monsters as they do not reach a certain sales criteria.
I have sung the praises of Midtown Comics and buy a lot of comic books and magazines there. With these new restrictions, Little Shoppe of Horrors and Scary Monsters Magazine will not be carried there anymore. This sucks. Sure I can see buy them direct or through Creepy Classics, another excellent online venue for these products, but decreasing the number of outlets for these publications will in turn help decrease sales and eventually they will cease to publish.
What to do? Luckily the Classic Horror Film Board provides a sounding board to let folks know what is out there and how to get it. Still, the more trouble one has to take to get these magazines, they less luckily they will buy them. Future does not look good.
Oh well.
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