Damn cold...

I suddenly have procured a cold and sore throat. Lovely. So I'm currently battling that.

I received my employee review today and got a small raise. I know the areas in which I need to improve and will do so immediately.

Well, I have to go get my paycheck. I'll be back with my Oscar picks and who I want to win. So here's the nominees and I'll be back later.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Don Cheadle - HOTEL RWANDA
Johnny Depp - FINDING NEVERLAND
Leonardo DiCaprio - THE AVIATOR
Clint Eastwood - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Jamie Foxx - RAY

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Alda - THE AVIATOR
Thomas Haden Church - SIDEWAYS
Jamie Foxx - COLLATERAL
Morgan Freeman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Clive Owen - CLOSER

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Annette Bening - BEING JULIA
Catalina Sandino Moreno - MARIA FULL OF GRACE
Imelda Staunton - VERA DRAKE
Hilary Swank - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Kate Winslet - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett - THE AVIATOR
Laura Linney - KINSEY
Virginia Madsen - SIDEWAYS
Sophie Okonedo - HOTEL RWANDA
Natalie Portman - CLOSER

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
THE INCREDIBLES
SHARK TALE
SHREK 2

ART DIRECTION
THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE AVIATOR
HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

COSTUME DESIGN
THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
RAY
TROY

DIRECTING
THE AVIATOR
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY
SIDEWAYS
VERA DRAKE

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BORN INTO BROTHELS
THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL
SUPER SIZE ME
TUPAC: RESURRECTION
TWIST OF FAITH

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
AUTISM IS A WORLD
THE CHILDREN OF LENINGRADSKY
HARDWOOD
MIGHTY TIMES: THE CHILDREN'S MARCH
SISTER ROSE'S PASSION

FILM EDITING
THE AVIATOR
COLLATERAL
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
THE CHORUS
DOWNFALL
THE SEA INSIDE
YESTERDAY

MAKEUP
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
THE SEA INSIDE

MUSIC (SCORE)
FINDING NEVERLAND
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
THE VILLAGE

MUSIC (SONG)
"Accidentally In Love" - SHREK 2
"Al Otro Lado Del Río" - THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
"Believe" - THE POLAR EXPRESS
"Learn To Be Lonely" - THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" - THE CHORUS

BEST PICTURE
THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY
SIDEWAYS

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
BIRTHDAY BOY
GOPHER BROKE
GUARD DOG
LORENZO
RYAN

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY MUST
LITTLE TERRORIST
7:35 IN THE MORNING
TWO CARS, ONE NIGHT
WASP

SOUND EDITING
THE INCREDIBLES
THE POLAR EXPRESS
SPIDER-MAN 2

SOUND MIXING
THE AVIATOR
THE INCREDIBLES
THE POLAR EXPRESS
RAY
SPIDER-MAN 2

VISUAL EFFECTS
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
I, ROBOT
SPIDER-MAN 2

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
BEFORE SUNSET
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
SIDEWAYS

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
THE AVIATOR
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
HOTEL RWANDA
THE INCREDIBLES
VERA DRAKE

Cinema...

This morning at 8:30AM Eastern, Adrien Brody and Frank Pierson, President of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will announce 10 of the 24 nominees for the 77th Academy Awards.

The 77th Academy Awards will be televised live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, Feb. 27.

As usual, I'll be providing my own commentary after the nominations are announced. It won't be until much later as I don't get off work until 6PM. I'd like to see Fahrenheit 9/11 get nominated for Best Picture, just to piss off the flying monkey right but I think cooler heads will prevail and the Academy voters will be voting for artistic pictures. I think the Best Picture nominees will be Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, Sideways, and Hotel Rwanda. Ray also has a shot here and there is no doubt in my mind that Jamie Foxx will get a Best Actor nomination. I'd like to see The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou get some nominations. Bill Murray needs an Oscar, dammit! It most likely won't and I think it'll stop playing here this week so I need to get my ass in gear and see it...pronto! And I think Super Size Me could lock down a nom and a win for Best Documentary.



Wow. I am SO hooked on this show. It's extremely well-written, layered, and darkly comedic. It's addictive as hell. Give it a chance. I still have 9 episodes left to watch on TiVo and then it's time to start devouring...



And lo and behold, Battlestar Galactica sits waiting for me to watch.

Tomorrow James Toback's new film When Will I Be Loved starring Neve Campbell is released on DVD. It's supposed to be a sexually-charged drama and I've heard great things.

Hide and Seek opens this weekend. It looks suitably creepy. In this movie, I think Dakota Fanning will continue her impressive job as one of the best actresses working today.

At work we got a very low mystery shop this weekend, the first time with "new" guidelines. We'd already been shopped for January using the old ones. The new ones are corporate. (We're franchise) In any case, employees were not performing their tasks. Two were fired today. One employee had already received several notices to shape up or ship out. The remaining employees on that shift were written up. It appalls me to no end that I and the rest of the gang give 110% and then something like this happens and it reflects poorly on our manager and the rest of our staff. We have a great manager and corrective measures, aside from the firings, have already been implemented.

I have found out that if I long to listen to Air America/progressive talk at night and I'm away from my computer, I can tune into WCKY 1530AM The Revolution Of Talk Radio out of Cincinatti. Their website is http://www.wcky.com

And House returns with an all-new episode on FOX tomorrow night at 9PM Eastern. Great show, that one.

Goodnight Johnny....

You are a legend. You are an icon. You are a master. You will be greatly missed.



Rest In Peace

$240 worth of pudding...

Mike Malloy's kicking ass tonight on Air America Radio. And kudos to Senator Barbara Boxer of California for knocking Condi "Lap Dog" Rice to the canvas today. And congratulations to Air America as they added three new affiliates Monday - Washington, D.C., Cincinnati, OH, and Brattleboro, VT. They'll also add Detroit on Thursday at 6AM and Los Angeles on February 3rd. Keep on keeping on gang! Awesome! If we can't get AAR here in Savannah, I'm still enjoying listening to WLTQ-AM - "Progressive 730" out of Charleston during the day. I'd still like a local affiliate but I guess this'll have to do for the time being.

Remember for any and all things Air America, log onto their website at http://www.airamericaradio.com


I'm a bit miffed as this damn site crashed for a moment and I lost a semi-lengthy post. So this will be truncated at best.

Still on TiVo...

Veronica Mars and Desperate Housewives. About eleven episodes of each. They're both as good as you've heard and then some.

vh1's airing "I Love The 90s Part Deux" featuring the inimitable Michael Ian Black. The man's a genius and if you say a cross word, I'll lacerate you. Man. I will.

So I was perousing the "Coming Soon" DVD we play in-store at work sometimes. We got a new one in today you see. Interspersed throughout the movie promos were videos for Raven Symone, Good Charlotte, and Goo Goo Dolls. And then, I was amazed. For I saw the lovely and gorgeous countenance of one Kathleen Hanna as the video for Le Tigre's "TKO" unspooled before my very eyes. Joy! It was tre cool and not the drummer.

I need to play catch-up at the movies. The remake of John Carpenter's Assault On Precinct 13 opens tomorrow and I'll try my damnedest to fit it in among the litany of films I still need to see.

Movie rentals from work I procured and most likely will not watch for quite some time:

Maria Full Of Grace and Love Me If You Dare

I'll inform you of my progress.

We also finally received all seven seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer for rent at work. It's quite a beautiful sight, seeing all seven volumes of that excellent piece of filmed entertainment on one shelf. It goes along with the other great television series we have for rent, like Arrested Development - Season One, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Family Guy, Firefly, and Carnivale, to name a few.

Head over to http://www.apple.com/trailers to see the teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four. I likey.

Congrats to Jason Bateman for his Golden Globe win as "Best Actor In A Television Series, Musical or Comedy" for Arrested Development. The same goes to Desperate Housewives as it won "Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy. I wish Bateman's show had won, but the winner is light years ahead of lameness like Will & Grace. I just wish Piven would have won for entourage. Now that's a great performance. "Let's talk it out, bitch." Excellent.

Tomorrow night at 9PM Eastern, FOX debuts a new supernatural show from Buffy The Vampire Slayer executive producer Marti Noxon. It's called Point Pleasant and is about a young girl who washes up on the shore of a seaside community and brings trouble to the town. Her father's the devil, it seems. Looks cool and I hope it is.

http://www.fox.com/pointpleasant

Well, I'm going to head for bed. Watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the vh1 special I spoke of earlier, maybe Boston Legal or an episode of Veronica Mars. Nite all.

Just sitting here...

First things first...click below please...



I don't care if it's $5 or $50, please give. I am. Consider how fortunate and lucky we are and just how badly others are suffering. Every little bit helps, people.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm currently listening to The Al Franken Show on Air America Radio and relaxing. You?



Air America's morning show Morning Sedition is astoundingly funny. It combines news and human interest stories with a dollop of subversive comedy which makes for a delicious blend of early morning bliss. The hosts are comedian Marc Maron, who's already made a name for himself with a wicked wit, a brilliantly neurotic sensibility, plus numerous appearances on Late Night With Conan O'Brien and Late Show With David Letterman and Mark Riley, a longtime New York radio stalwart.

They have several dead-on bits including "Palm Pilot" which is the official schedule of Washington politicos that a page, Ramon, brings in. "Marc's Dream Diary" in which Maron details the haunting, sometimes surreal dreams he has, all usually involving right-wing reactionaries lurking in his slumber. The best bit so far has been "Radio Halliburton" in which a right-wing caller calls in (actually a Morning Sedition staffer) and then we hear the sound of a radio dial scanning for a station. The show suddenly becomes "Right and Early" and Maron affects a gravelly, loud voice as Marc "The Shark" Maron. It is an amazingly accurate and always hilarious blast at right-wing radio by imitating them to the nth degree. And the show always ends with "The Liberal Agenda", faxed straight from the Streisand compound. It's a compilation that parodies the typical premises and ideas that people define as "liberal". Today's was:

1. Urge Congress to make "gay aphrodisiac" chemical weapon available for civilian use.
2. Send out mass e-mail with the subject heading, "Horny teens are hot for you..." and when they open it, it says, "because of global warming."
3. Prepare for Bush's inauguration. Re-stoke your disgust to pre-November 2 level.
4. For Martin Luther King day, criticize the Blue Man Group for not having any black members.
5. Today's phrase, just drop it into conversation, "You know where Prince Harry got that Nazi shirt? Cheney's closet, man. It looks like the wardrobe trailer for "Triumph of the Will" in there, man."

For any and all Air America shows, log onto http://www.airamericaradio.com
Miss a show? Get the archive at Air America Place - http://www.airamericaplace.com

I plan to catch up on my movie watching at the theatre. It's been terribly sad as of late. I'm way behind on my movie-going and that's never good for a movie geek like myself. Oh yeah, Kevin Spacey as been cast as Lex Luthor, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, and the excellent Hugh Laurie (from the excellent Bryan Singer-produced FOX series "House") has been cast as Perry White, editor of "The Daily Planet". Brandon Routh will be playing the Man of Steel in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. And I for one can't wait. Now if only FOX will sign Joss Whedon to write and direct X-Men 3.

I also need to watch the Battlestar Galactica miniseries DVD as the series itself debuts tonight on SCI FI. It's receiving rave reviews from the media. Check out http://www.aintitcool.com for the scoop. I can't wait to immerse myself in it.

My foot is feeling better. Before I went to cash my paycheck earlier this morning, I took the insoles I had inside my shoes for a month or so. Support and cushion, my ass. The shoes felt looser and more comfortable without these things in them. I do need more padding in my shoes. Or else I'll just buy some new ones with my income tax money.

Green Day performed their epic song "Jesus of Suburbia" on Last Call With Carson Daly the other morning. It was magnificent. They're up for 7, count them, 7 Grammy nominations, including "Album Of The Year". If there is any justice in the world, they'll sweep the Grammys. The band is also performing, but lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong is keeping mum about it. I'm hoping that they'll do the politically-charged, vitriolic, anti-establishment song "Holiday", which is their next single. Maybe on a well-designed set as well? Only time will tell.

Want to watch your Social Security ebb and flow?

Overhauling Retirement Is Worth Risk, Cheney Says

To quote the genius David Cross, "Why don't we all just take that money [from Social Security], [go horse racing] and place it on Papa's Mustache?" Here, I'll speak a language you understand Cheney: go fuck yourself.

And while you and your ilk are at it, you want to have your fellow morons apologize to FDR's grandson?

FDR's Grandson Protests Soc. Security Ad

To quote Mike Malloy, "Have I told you how much I hate these people?"



On Thursday, don't buy a damn thing. It may not be as effective as congregating en masse in a major metropolitan city but it's going to make me feel good and others as well so there. As the Liar-In-Thief is coronated by his evil flying monkey yes men, don't let a single cent drop into their coffers. You can get that Starbucks Frappucino tomorrow. Damn, now I want one.



What I've heard of Nellie McKay (pronounced Mi-ki, as in mick-i) is an amazing virtuoso who blends '40s piano with a edgy, slightly profane sense of female empowerment and it makes for a heady buzz of musical heaven. She was a dream and a half on Air America Radio's The Majority Report the other night and I plan to purchase her 2-disc debut album on Columbia Records, Get Away From Me ASAP.

Tonight's the night, people!...

1) DO NOT CALL ME
2) DO NOT TALK TO ME
3) LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE

Now you may ask why? Why total and utter isolation? Hot date? Yeah right and Nikita Kruschev delivers my mail. Is there an outing planned? No, not at all. There are three small words that would send me into an obsessive anxiety like this. And those brilliant words are as follows...



JACK

FUCKING




BAUER

That's right. 24 returns in all of its nail-biting, intense glory with two nights of two-hour goodness, starting tonight at 8PM on FOX. If you've not supped on the bountiful flesh that is 24, then by all means haul your happy ass down to your local video store and rent the previous three seasons. Or borrow them from a friend.
This is appointment television, folks. As has been established each season's twenty-five episodes tick off one hour per episode of a single day in the life of CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) agent Jack Bauer. Now you may not think alot can happen in one hour. And how oh so wrong you would be. Entire episodes plot arcs can shift into something unexpected by the denoument of the final three minutes. So give it a chance - you'll be hooked.

Tonight, CBS will air The People's Choice Awards. Fahrenheit 9/11 is nominated, as Best Film of 2004. Hopefully, it'll win, but it faces some stiff competition.

I worked my ass off last night and really continued believing the lingering hypothesis that I need new shoes STAT. My fucking feet hurt like hell (as I was the floor guy). So then I came home and watched Anchorman - The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (thank you Netflix). It has gently bent and twisted humor that hits you in just the right places and was a hilarious movie.

Watching Alias...

Alias is kicking much ass, by the way, and I'm about to fill out my job's 401k paperwork. I thought I'd regal you with my thoughts on the latest offering from CBS...



The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson - Known to us Yanks as Mr. Wick from "The Drew Carey Show, his first two shows as new host have proved Mr. Ferguson to be an affable, easy-going, laid-back kind of guy. It also sounds like he wrote and recorded the show's new theme song. While I had my heart set on Michael Ian Black as the new host and had hoped Letterman and his crew, along with CBS, had chosen Black, Craig Ferguson seems like a great choice and is proving to be a great addition to late night television. Worth watching.

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/

Wed nes day...

Happy New Year to those that might come across le blog here. It's as much for me as it is for the hypothetical you. Consider this my form of therapy I guess. Would a sane sober person go out at 11:30PM last night to procure two packs of frozen White Castles to take care of his mother's hunger for said sliders as we live nowhere near a White Castle and she and I were browsing a fast food review website prior to our excursion? I think not.

Wow, the world's longest run-on sentence. I am awed.

So the world will return to normal for my workaday life as next week I resume my Mon-Thursday nine hour shifts. Yay!

The tsunami really makes you feel small and insignificant. For something so horrific to happen gives one pause. Next paycheck I plan to give something. It won't be HUGE but it's something. NBC Universal will be airing a relief special on all of its cable networks on Saturday, January 15th at 8PM Eastern. Please folks, I implore you whether it's $6 or $60, give a little.

Listening to The Majority Report right now. Mulling over whether to watch the litany of series on TiVo, the Battlestar Galactica miniseries I purchased at Best Buy Monday night (where yet again I was accosted by someone thinking I work there), or to just wait for the J.J. Abrams goodness that'll be unfolding from 8PM-11PM tonight on ABC - Lost and Alias. I'll admit that I drifted away from the series but the lavish press the new season has been given, plus cast assurance that the network has implicitly instructed that this new season be more stand-alone may help me dive right in.

Here'a a groovy little recently written piece on Air America Radio I just found:

http://fairfieldweekly.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:94806


Off to perouse the web for a bit.

in place of one goes another....

Sorry for the late update but I've been mad busy. Christmas was fun. I received a very nice bedding set and a flat-screen TV. However, said television has grey streaks running through its image. So I'll be taking it back for an exchange or to get another flat-screen TV.

I still haven't had time to go see any movies as of yet. But I WILL be seeing The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and Closer sometime this weekend as I get paid today.

I just finished watching Lost In Translation and WOW. Every single wonderful word that's been written about it is so very true. It makes you feel tired, drunk on sake, hopeful, sad, impressed, hungry for sushi, and tinged with longing. Scarlett Johansson is a luminous, radiant, ethereal beauty. I'll post a review in the next fortnight, I promise. And excuse me, Academy, but how the fuck do you give Sean Penn an Oscar for the overpraised piece of shit that Mystic River turned out to be? Talk about much ado about nothing. If Bill Murray doesn't take home Oscar gold this year, I'll be mucho pissed. Or as the 'Genius' Issue of Esquire magazine recently said of Mr. Murray: "WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE THIS MAN AN OSCAR?!"

2005 is slowly approaching and as I look forward I hope that you reading this have a wonderful year. I hope that all of my friends, family, and loved ones will as well. I'd like to write more, read more, become more cultured. My goal is to travel to London before 2006. I'd love nothing more. This is my major plan for the new year and I'll keep you updated on its progress. The year will also mean another lonely annual with no girl on my arm. It stings but I'm not a moper. Less money to spend on gifts and lavish love tokens. It'd still be nice, however, but fate has made up its mind that that is not in the cards for me. So be it.

I had to work from 6-11 tonight. Nothing too taxing and I had fun. Two night shift people are being trained in Assistant Manager positions (different shifts), so I'm having to cover the in-between until they get all situated. Tomorrow I'm working 5-10 and the same on Saturday. Sunday I'm off and hopefully after next week I'll be back to my usual schedule of being off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. And for the rare non sequitur, I got a haircut and thus feel thirty pounds lighter.


Today I plan to purchase this:



I've heard great things of it and look forward to immersing myself in its storyline. Let's face it, sci-fi as a genre has been severely lacking on television as of late. And all I keep hearing is just how dark and intelligent this is. Also I've never really watched the original '70s series.

Then on Friday, January 14th at 9PM/8C, SCI FI will debut....



Our friends across the pond have been watching the series on UK's Sky One since October and word of mouth has been increasingly good. Also, pay close attention for a shot of the ship Serenity, from Firefly 10 minutes into the premier episode. Zoic Studios, the visual effects studio that won an Emmy for their work on Firefly, is also doing the work for Battlestar Galactica and threw that in as an in-joke. Zoic will also be doing the effects for the movie Serenity.

So for all things Battlestar Galactica, please visit

http://www.scifi.com/battlestar

this one goes to eleven...

I have new glasses. Those oh-so-trendy black frames that everyone seems to be wearing now. I had to have them refitted today.

Work started out as a decent time but then slowly descended into a bitter clusterfuck, with movies and an irritating overabundance of customers. Look, it's 30 degrees outside. Make some dinner, gather the family, and spend some time together. Don't expect new releases to be in on this pre-holiday week. Plus there's the added bonus of the brats being out of school for almost two weeks.

I recently bought the 1991 novel by Sebastien Japrisot, A Very Long Engagement. It is set during and after the first World War. It's the story of a young woman's search for her fiance, whom she believes might still be alive despite having officially been reported as "killed in the line of duty". Unable to walk since childhood, fearless Mathilde Donnay is undeterred in her quest as she scours the country for information about five wounded French soldiers who were brutally abandoned by their own troops. A Very Long Engagement is a mystery, a love store, and an extraordinary portrait of life in France before and after the War.

A Very Long Engagement is now a major motion picture from Warner Independent Pictures -
http://wip.warnerbros.com

Here's the movie's official website -
http://www.averylongengagement.com

It stars Audrey Tautou from Amelie and is co-written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, director of Delicatessen, The City Of Lost Children, and Amelie. I cannot wait to read this book and see the movie. The movie is in very limited release but it's rumored to have Oscar buzz all over it, so we should be getting it after the holidays. I had a coupon from Media Play, so a $14 book became $9.

Lastly, here's the awesome trailer for the movie.


http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_independent_pictures/averylongengagement.html

As promised, here are my thoughts on the upcoming 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards...

TV

My choices are denoted with an asterisk - *
The ones I think will win are denoted with a plus sign - +
The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards will be broadcast LIVE Sunday, January 16th at 8PM Eastern on NBC.

Here they are!

Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series - Drama

• Michael Chiklis - The Shield
• Denis Leary - Rescue Me
• Julian McMahon - nip/tuck+
• Ian McShane - Deadwood
• James Spader - Boston Legal*

Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

• Jason Bateman - Arrested Development*+
• Zach Braff - Scrubs
• Larry David - curb your enthusiasm
• Matt LeBlanc - Joey
• Tony Shaloub - Monk
• Charlie Sheen - Two And A Half Men

Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series - Drama

• Edie Falco - The Sopranos+
• Jennifer Garner - Alias
• Mariska Hargitay - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
• Christine Lahti - Jack & Bobby*
• Joely Richardson - nip/tuck

Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series - Musical or Comedy

• Marcia Cross - Desperate Housewives+
• Teri Hatcher - Desperate Housewives*
• Felicity Huffman - Desperate Housewives
• Debra Messing - Will & Grace
• Sarah Jessica Parker - Sex and the City

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

• Arrested Development*
• Desperate Housewives+
• entourage
• Sex and the City
• Will & Grace

Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made For Television

• American Family - Journey of Dreams
• Iron Jawed Angels*
• The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
• The Lion In Winter
• Something The Lord Made+

Best Performance By An Actress In A Miniseries Or A Motion Picture Made For Television

• Glenn Close - The Lion In Winter
• Blythe Danner - Back When We Were Grown Ups
• Julianna Margulies - The Grid
• Miranda Richardson - The Lost Prince
• Hilary Swank - Iron Jawed Angels*+

Best Performance By An Actor In A Miniseries Or A Motion Picture Made For Television

• Mos Def - Something The Lord Made*
• Jamie Foxx - Redemption
• William H. Macy - The Wool Cap
• Geoffrey Rush - The Life and Death of Peter Sellers+
• Patrick Stewart - The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In A Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made For Television

• Drea De Matteo - The Sopranos
• Anjelica Huston - Iron Jawed Angels*
• Nicolette Sheridan - Desperate Housewives+
• Charlize Theron - The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
• Emily Watson - The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In A Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made For Television

• Sean Hayes - Will & Grace
• Michael Imperioli - The Sopranos+
• Jeremy Piven - entourage*
• Oliver Platt - Huff
• William Shatner - Boston Legal

MOTION PICTURE

Once again my picks are denoted with an asterisk - *

Who I think will win is denoted with a +

I believe Sideways may win in a few surprise categories as the industry buzz is at full-tilt on this one.

It screened at the Savannah Film Festival and is from the writers and director of Citizen Ruth, Election and About Schmidt

Here they are! The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards will be broadcast LIVE at 8PM Eastern Sunday, January 16th on NBC.

Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture - Drama

• Scarlett Johansson - A Love Song For Bobby Long*
• Nicole Kidman - Birth
• Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake
• Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby+
• Uma Thurman - Kill Bill Vol. 2

Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

• Annette Bening - Being Julia
• Ashley Judd - De Lovely
• Emmy Rossum - Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of The Opera+
• Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind*
• Renee Zellweger - Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

• Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind*
• The Incredibles
• Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of The Opera
• Ray+
• Sideways

Best Director - Motion Picture

• Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
• Marc Forster - Finding Neverland
• Mike Nichols - Closer*
• Alexander Payne - Sideways+
• Martin Scorsese - The Aviator

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture -Drama

• Javier Bardem - The Sea Inside
• Don Cheadle - Hotel Rwanda*
• Johnny Depp - Finding Neverland+
• Leonardo DiCaprio - The Aviator
• Liam Neeson - Kinsey

Best Motion Picture - Drama

• The Aviator
• Closer*
• Finding Neverland+
• Hotel Rwanda
• Kinsey
• Million Dollar Baby

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture -Musical Or Comedy

• Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind*
• Jamie Foxx - Ray+
• Paul Giamatti - Sideways
• Kevin Kline - De Lovely
• Kevin Spacey - Beyond The Sea

Best Foreign Language Film

• The Chorus (Les Choristes) - France
• House Of Flying Daggers - China
• The Motorcycle Diaries - Brazil+
• The Sea Inside - Spain
• A Very Long Engagement - France*

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role - Drama

• Cate Blanchett - The Aviator
• Laura Linney - Kinsey
• Virginia Madsen - Sideways+
• Natalie Portman - Closer*
• Meryl Streep - The Manchurian Candidate

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role - Drama

• David Carradine - Kill Bill Vol. 2
• Thomas Haden Church - Sideways*+
• Jamie Foxx - Collateral
• Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby Clive Owen - Closer

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

• Charlie Kaufman - Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
• John Logan - The Aviator
• David Magee - Finding Neverland
• Patrick Marber - Closer*
• Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor - Sideways+

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

• Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
• Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - Finding Neverland+
• Rolfe Kent - Sideways*
• Howard Shore - The Aviator
• Hans Zimmer - Spanglish

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

• "Accidentally In Love" - Shrek 2
• "Believe" - The Polar Express
• "Learn To Be Lonely" - Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of The Opera+
• "Million Voices" - Hotel Rwanda
• "Old Habits Die Hard" - Alfie*

um..it's tuesday...

I'm sorry. The days got away from me. Anyway, where was I?

Let's start from the beginning...



Director Steven Soderbergh (out of sight, Traffic, the insufferable Erin Brockovich) took a cult classic from the '60s, dusted its premise off and ran with it. The result was the cool, breezy, updated Ocean's Eleven. It was almost too cool for its own good, but managed to project an air of suspense and fun in its caper plot. Now, three years later comes Ocean's Twelve. It is dull, unimaginative and there exists no good reason for it to.



George Clooney reprises his role as master thief Danny Ocean and it's up to him to pay back angry casino owner Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia, collecting a paycheck) or face death. So he assembles his motley crew and they set about planning a score in Europe that will give them a big payday and get Benedict off their back. Along for the ride this time is Catherine Zeta-Jones as a former flame of Brad Pitt's character and an Inspector hot on the trail of Ocean and his gang.

If I made that sound exciting, fun, or in any way involving for the viewer I apologize. Save for one scene with Julia Roberts in a hotel room, the film is on autopilot, as we watch these characters mingle in hotel rooms, trains, jail cells, restaurants, and many more places. As a travelogue, it's brilliant. As a film, it's acrid. The "heist", when it does come, is the least suspenseful ever committed to celluloid. Vincent Cassel is totally wasted as a competiting thief and there never seems to be any credible threat to any of the characters. Ocean's Twelve feels threadbare, worn, and reheated several times. The viewer can picture Clooney saddling up to Soderbergh and saying, "Hey, let's take a trip to Europe and film a sequel while we're there!" The script by George Nolfi (Timeline) was initially to be filmed as a totally unrelated movie entitled Honor Among Thieves, but was retooled as a sequel to Ocean's Eleven.



The movie marks a major misstep for all involved. It splashes its indifference on the screen in broad, unapologetic strokes and expects us to lap it up eagerly. Inferior product is inferior product. With other cinema choices out there and more to come soon (Lemony Snicket's A Serious Of Unfortunate Events, The Aviator, Sideways), please don't let Ocean's Twelve steal your time. It is one of the worst movies of the year.

Yesterday a FedEx Freight truck brought a HUGE yellow crate on a wooden palate. The FedEx driver was adamant that we would not be receiving this unless we helped him bring it in. So the manager and I went outside and he brought it to the rear of the truck. He said to grab the left side of the palate which I did. However, it was not secured to the bottom of this huge yellow crate and he yanked it off of the waist high truck bed. The entire weight of the crate shifted toward me. I tried to back away but the crate fell towards me, breaking my glasses, leaving a friction burn on the right side of my face, and bruising me on the upper left part of my torso. Then today we get a marketing guide book that states that we are *not* to help FedEx Freight drivers unload product. Thanks! I could have used that yesterday. So I am wearing taped glasses and will shortly be receiving new ones, hopefully very soon. And here's the kicker: the damn crate's contents are for a promotion that corporate will be using - we're not participating! Isn't that funny?

Well I'll be back later with all of the Golden Globe nominations and my picks and who I think will actually win.

sunday evening.....

and I hate to admit that I haven't been as productive as I'd have liked this week, at least on the blog.

I returned the Magnavox DVD player. Martin is still here and I cannot bring myself to review it. Maybe later perhaps.

So I'm now off Wednesdays-Fridays. I worked Saturday until 6PM. Let's just say that I was miffed when I got off. The MOD was not doing his job and people were coming in, not being greeted (besides myself doing it). Another worker was on the floor and kept coming behind the counter. I reiterated the importance of staying on the floor. You see, we get "secret shopped" usually the first weekend of every month. Sometimes it's the second. I pray to God we didn't get shopped last night. I got out of there as soon as I could.

I saw Blade Trinity on Wednesday and Ocean's Twelve on Friday. Those reviews follow...



Marvel Comics has seen a resurgence these past few years, with their comic book-to-film adaptations of X-Men and X2, the two Spider-Man films and Daredevil to name a few. True, there have been some stumbles along the way (The Punisher, anyone?) but they've managed to do what their competitor DC Comics has recently failed to: create winning, compelling filmed versions of their long-adored tomes by hiring talented writers and directors. Luckily, DC has righted their sinking ships, with director Christopher Nolan (Memento)'s darker and more realistic Batman Begins being released June 17, and Bryan Singer (director of the X-Men movies) prepping a new, faithful-to-its-source Superman movie. Now comes Blade Trinity, the third film in the Blade saga.



Writer of all three David S. Goyer (and the upcoming Batman Begins) steps into the director's chair for this film. The half-human/half vampire vampire slayer Blade must deal not just with the undead, but the law as well, as he's set up by the vampires after he mistakenly kills a human. The vampires are lead by Danica Talos (Parker Posey, in a delicious role) and they aspire to resurrect Dracula. Blade needs help and gets it, from Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel) and Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds). They name themselves "The Nightstalkers" and are part of a much larger collective of vampire slayers across the nation.



The first Blade film was a loud garish blast of a movie, full of nonstop violence and sensory overload visuals. The second was ably directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy) as a Grand Guignol-type comic book splatterfest but in my opinion was undone by its overabundance of CGI and non-interaction with the mortal world. Blade Trinity brings us a barrage of new plot points and speeds through them rather quickly, giving no time for newbies. Wesley Snipes is even more wooden and aloof, and it works as he's given the backseat for The Nightstalkers. Ryan Reynolds steals the movie as Hannibal King and provides the movie's comic relief. I will admit Goyer's direction is very much of the "quick edit" school and more time could have been given to the fight scenes so they weren't so choppy. I liked it more then Blade II but the first remains the best. Blade Trinity felt like a pulpy comic book movie should, in a good way, and was ninety solid minutes of kinetic entertainment.

I'll be back later tonight with my review of Ocean's Twelve. Don't forget the Golden Globe nominations will be announced at 8:30AM Eastern. Hopefully there'll be some excellent nominations. With me being the huge movie geek I am and the weather getting colder, now is the time for intelligent movies and "my Super Bowl", the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

saturday again...

Well, sugar cookies have been made. They have holiday sprinkles. They taste delicious.

I should honestly be in bed right now. Silly ol' me. I'm actually going to try to wade through the rest of the Firefly box set's commentaries before it gets too late. I'm having buyer's remorse for the Magnavox DVD player and Martin. Don't get me wrong...Martin was an interesting character study but the combo of that film, the new DVD player, and the quick loss of bank in my wallet have proved a bit disconcerting if nothing else. I will post a review of Martin soon, nonetheless. I need to seek out George A. Romero's The Crazies as I've heard that's a much stronger film than Martin. I'll give Martin one thing...it has some creepy moments, and one HELL of an ending.

There are rumors that the new trailer for Batman Begins will debut in front of Ocean's Twelve this Friday, as will a new one for Constantine and possibly a teaser for the Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise remake War Of The Worlds. We will soon see.

So yep...I have to work in the morning. I hope the day's not too taxing. Stress can build up quite easily but hopefully tomorrow won't be too crazy. It'll be quite interesting to have the middle of the week off (Wed, Thurs, Fri) instead of the weekend. At least that frees me up to see Blade Trinity on Wednesday. Perhaps this middle of the week off-time will allow me to conserve more energy instead of going full-tilt nonstop all week practically. (Not that I'm unable to work four days in a row...I'm no novice.)

And drats I didn't get around to watching Lost In Translation this weekend. Another time, this week perhaps. And I without a doubt will be viewing, very soon, the remaining items that are currently housed on TiVo...







As I've previously stated, Frankenstein aired on USA back in October. Well, I'm tired. Have a great week and I'll be back later with more.

the friday post...

I just picked up George A. Romero's 1977 horror film Martin on DVD for $10.99 at Best Buy. The word around the campfire is that this is a brilliantly disturbing horror film with nightmarish imagery, one of the best horror films of the '70s, and one of the best vampire movies of all time. I WILL post a review of this, mark my words. Then I plan to watch and review Lost In Translation.

I also got a $47 Magnavox DVD player. So I'm on the precipice of being broke. Hopefully I can use my connections to see Blade Trinity this Wednesday as my new schedule has me off on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays instead of Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. I'm going to try to save the remaining dollars for Closer if at all possible.

Hopefully this review of Blade Trinity is correct:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000730866


Oh, the doctor's visit went swimmingly. I have a hydrocele. Curious what that is? Google it. WebMD it. Quite interesting, eh?

I did get some inserts for my sneakers. My feet already feel more comfortable.

Firefly..I finished it and have started listening to the commentary on the first episode. I can't wait for Serenity to come out on September 30th.

Here's the teaser poster for Batman Begins. It looks like The Dark Knight just may be getting back to his roots...

Click here to visit the official Batman Begins website

One more thing...

My ULTIMATE goal this weekend (as I am off the next three days), however, is to finally watch...





I bought this DVD the day it came out, back in February of this year, and still haven't watched it yet. Silly, crazy me. I'm quite looking forward to it. I also have all of the so-far aired episodes of Desperate Housewives and Veronica Mars to wade through this weekend. And I plan to!

Happy birthday to me!...

Art by Sam Brown; Visit his website at http://www.explodingdog.com

Well I'm twenty-three now. I hope the rest of the year and the next finds myself, my family and friends, and anyone who may perouse this blog well.

I've been having headaches recently, along with various other aches and pains and it seems like this morning before work, while I was showering, I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. I blinked and all of a sudden I was sitting in the tub, water spraying on my face. However I didn't hurt my back or my head. I wasn't in any pain. I noticed a slight bruise on my right leg but other than that, nothing apparent. So in other words, I blacked out in the shower, I guess. This is just another lovely addition to the odd asortment of maladies I've been facing for the past few months. I believe I need new glasses (hopefully the reason I've been having headaches and my left eye twitching off and on now and then) and either insoles in my shoes or new shoes because our work only has carpet slapped onto a hard floor. This said floor is what I think has caused my left ankle to hurt when I walk on it from time to time. Not daily but every once and again. So long story short my ass will be seeing a doctor tomorrow. I'm through joshing and joking around. I want myself fixed up nice and proper so that I can return to my regular, healthy cynical, sarcastic, witty video store clerk self.

So we've started DVD trading at work. It's an ingenious concept...depending on your outlook. I've still got $31 and some change on my account. You get $5 store credit for every DVD you trade in. They must be in mint condition and in their original packaging. I've picked up The Manchurian Candidate (1962) for $7.99, Alex Proyas's excellent sci-fi noir Dark City and tomorrow I'll be picking up something a customer traded in today: the short-lived live action adaptation of The Tick that ran on FOX for barely a minute. We get paid Friday and I hope it's a nice sized check. I hope my time-and-a-half from Thanksgiving helps out at least a bit.

I think either my DVD player or my television is going out. I'm getting fading every once and again. So I think when I come into some extra spending $$$, I'll get a small flatscreen and a decent name brand DVD player that won't break the bank. Here's a helpful hint consumers...don't buy Goldstar, Apex, or any of those brand names you've never heard of yet the player's priced so attractively. Nine times out of ten they'll break sooner than you think. I can't count the number of times a customer's come in complaining about how their DVD won't play and when pressed on the issue, it's usually one of the off-brand DVD players they've got (unless the DVD's scratched...or they're playing it on a PlayStation 2)

I am also quite irate that Mike Nichols' new movie Closer is not going to be released here this weekend. However our fair city will be receiving the Nicole Kidman starrer Birth and director Walter Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries. It's about a young Che Guevara and his trek through Mexico with a friend while he was in his twenties. The film, released by Focus Features, is produced by Robert Redford. So I may check out one of those this weekend. I will be staying far, far away from Alexander. Perhaps a rental is in the offing for that particular title.

Blade Trinity opens this Wednesday and to say I'm so there is quite the understatement. Hopefully writer/director David S. Goyer brings this trilogy to a fitful and excellent conclusion.

And now it's time for Bitch Fest 2004. This morning's topic? Why people with no lives! Now I have a semblance of one, it's true. I possess a truly frightful amount of movie knowledge and am the most knowledgeable person on our staff at work. I love movies. I adore watching trailers and enjoying the cinema and all its offers. I love watching a great movie on DVD and appreciating its warmth and enjoyment. Recently I watched The Adventures Of Robin Hood, the 2-Disc Special Edition. I've had this sucker for a while now and finally got around to watching it. It's a masterful piece of work, a triumph of art direction, score, set design, acting (Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland are simply masterful and Basil Rathbone cuts a devilish and quite debonair swath as the enemy), and heart.

But....

There is simply no way that I would be at a video store at 9:30 in the morning to rent a movie! NO WAY! People, the movie's not going to evaporate! Every morning people are at the door waiting for us to open, I hate greeting them. Call me crazy but those first few people get my dander up. It's like, 'You can't wait an hour or so?!' Maybe I am crazy but so be it. Case in point: When Universal Pictures releases the film version of the television series Firefly, Serenity, I will be buying that. I don't need to rush out like thar's gold in them thar hills! Even for comedies like Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story... (street date 12/07) I don't need to be at a video store first thing in the morning! Have some coffee, catch some breakfast, but don't act like we're giving away money.

Another fun facet is to watch said individuals when they see us in the store before opening and they don't bother to read what time we do open (It's 10AM, by the way). The customer in this situation performs what I like to call "The Arm Jerk". They will grab the door handle and YANK on it with all of their might. It appears to be hard enough to yank their arm out of the socket.

Hey cell phones can be fun! Sure they can be a rather nice old time! Until you're being processed at a place of business and a clerk is waiting on you! I'm sure you yap away like that when the teller gives you money at your bank, right? Because who cares if she shorts you $20, am I right? We make sure to notate on their account which cell phone customers are unresponsive during transactions. That way when they come back in complaining of late fees, we can explain what happened. When I worked at another video store, a girl came in, talking on her cell phone. It was near the holidays and she purchased $100 in gift cards. I was off the next day and one of the assistant managers told me that she'd come back the next day and said, "Um, I'm sorry, I was busy talking on my phone and I only meant to get $50 in gift cards." The AM politely told her that we couldn't do anything about that. So in conclusion people...PUT THE DAMN PHONE DOWN! "What do you want for dinner? Okay I'll pick it up. Am I busy? No, I'm just getting a movie." Yeah, and you're pissing me off in the process. Leave some of that conversation for when you get home or is the atmosphere there too tense to try to initiate any talk at all? Sorry for the rant but it had to be addressed. I've got a million more. You tend to rack up millions of stories in almost four-and-a-half years of video store service. I'm telling you I need to write a book.

I'm on the last episode of Firefly. It's bittersweet, really. After that I plan to indulge myself in all of the yummy bonus feature goodness: cast and crew commentaries, deleted scenes, an Easter egg, and then rewatch them all again over and over and over until Serenity comes out September 30th.

Well, I'm headed for bed. Off to watch Late Night with Conan O'Brien that TiVo graciously grabbed for me and Firefly. Anyone see Tom Brokaw's last newscast tonight? What an excellent pro that man is. I'll miss him in the anchor chair, that's for sure. Brian Williams seems to be a great guy and he'll no doubt do well in the spot. Anyone that's seen him on Conan's show knows he's not just some pampered and preened talking head. At least on there, he comes off pretty sharp and funny.

Nite all!

Joss Whedon's "Serenity" Pushed Back From April 22nd to September 30th!

This was just posted on Whedonesque.net by Joss:

Are you guys starting to hear that fanfare? Those distant drums? Are you slapping on your side-arms, pulling on your long brownish-colored coats and thumbing your crisp new bills in anticipation of the cinematic event of the year? Well, it's official: on April 22nd you, the true the blue the loyal, can step right up with the rest of America and WAIT FIVE MORE MONTHS.

Heh. See, sometimes studios shuffle around release dates...

Okay. Don't panic. right now you're panicking. you're thinking, "how could they do this to me?" But what you SHOULD be thinking is: "How could they do this to JOSS?". Seriously. That pity is mine and I want it back.

So what happened? Well, nothing terribly original. April got crowded with a lot of titles aimed at a similar demographic, and the studio decided September was a clearer corridor for the film to make the kind of impact it should. This isn't about a lack of confidence in the film -- in fact, they told me this before they even saw it. And now they have seen it, and unless they're way better liars than I'm used to, they dug it. Actually, they dug it pretty large, which is a good sign since there's not a single finished effect in the film. There's no reworking the end, no reshoots, no "does it have to be in space?". It's just a marketing issue. Now you'll get to watch lots of trailers in the summer. And hopefully, by the time it comes out, other people, people who ain't us, will get a whiff of what we're up to, and come along too.

I love this movie. I HATE waiting to show it too you. I felt pretty much the way I imagine you're feeling right now when they told me. But these guys know what they're doing, and they're trying to protect their investment, not bury it. So I gotta be a grown-up. The release date is September 30th. Hopefully it won't change again.

Spread the word. Keep the faith. And gleam the damn cube already.

-j.

-------

My thoughts?

Wow

Oh well. We'll just have more time to promote the hell out of our BDM. Truth be told, I was worried that XXX: State Of The Union and the next Star Wars movie would come along and deposit our BDM underneath them both, and the media analysts would have a field day with the overbooked spring release schedule and take it out on Serenity (i.e. "Whedon's Firefly movie fails to soar"). So September 30th sounds good. According to Yahoo! Movies, it's a week after The Legend Of Zorro and Serenity will be opening up against Curious George. I'd rather there be no competition, but maybe Serenity can battle for a premium chunk of box-office gold. Onward, Browncoats!

And now here's further proof that Universal is making sure that they don't shoot themselves in the foot by releasing Serenity at too crowded a time in the box office marketplace.

U shuffles '05 release sked

From Yahoo! News

U shuffles '05 release sked

Mon Nov 22, 8:22 PM ET

Claude Brodesser, STAFF

(Variety) — Universal Pictures has confirmed it has moved back the release date for upcoming Nicole Kidman starrer The Interpreter causing a chain reaction of changes to its release sked over the next 12 months.

The Sydney Pollack-helmed pic has been moved from Feb. 18 to April 22.


This, in turn, means that Serenity -- based on the now-canceled Fox skein Firefly created by Joss Whedon -- has been moved from April 22 to Sept. 30. However, that displaces Jarhead, the Sam Mendes-helmed pic based on Anthony Swofford's memoir as a Marine sniper in the first Gulf War (news - web sites).


"Release dates and the distribution calendar are fluid documents," said Paul Pflug, a U spokesman. "As a distributor, we're always looking for the best dates available."


Meanwhile, U has dated two other pics on the release calendar. Kate Hudson starrer The Skeleton Key -- a thriller helmed by Iain Softley and penned by Ehren Kruger -- has been set for July 8; Judd Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin a coming-of-age pic by the helmer and Steve Carell, has been slated for Nov. 23.

...i'll teach you how to swim...if you turn the bad in me into good again...

Rilo Kiley

As I've grown older, I've tired of the chord-verse nature of most music. While I was weaned on the grunge and alternative aspects that the late '80s and early nineties offered, it seems that sans original, creative bands like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The White Stripes, most musical acts now have a throaty yell, unintelligible lyrics, and nothing to offer but faux rage and lame bass riffs. These bands think these attributes are tantamount to aural brilliance when nothing could be further from the truth.



Los Angeles's Rilo Kiley have been recording since 1998. The band's new album More Adventurous is their first on their own brute/beaute records, a Warner Brothers imprint. I have not heard their last album, The Execution Of All Things, but the new one makes me eager to learn more. Singer/songwriter Jenny Lewis conveys a wide swath of emotions over eleven tracks, each one different from the next. The disc starts out with "It's A Hit", an anti-Bush tome that shifts into an attack on suburban platitudes. "Does He Love You?" is told as a girl lost in a loveless marriage and her friend on the sidelines, hoping to have the other's man. Lewis's voice is all ache, anger and anticipation, resonant and finite towards the end of the track. "Portions For Foxes" sounds like it should be on the radio, a sunny call of admiration and warning ("The talking leads to touching/And the touching leads to sex/And then there is no mystery left") to a lover. It's one of the album's highlights. "I Never" could be a b-side for a '70s Top 40 soul artist. It marries Lewis's powerful voice with a classic jazz backing. "Ripchord" is the sole track written and sung by guitarist Blake Sennett and it's a stirring acoustic piece. "Love and War (11/11/46)" relates a tale of Jenny's resentment of a past lover and then brings us her grandfather's final days and the themes combine in front of a buzzy, guitar-laced riff. "A Man/Me/Then Jim" is just what it sounds like, stories of various people and their daily discomforts. The album closes with "It Just Is", a small number that seems to borrow a bit from an old John Lennon track, complete with what sounds like an electric piano at the very beginning. A bright yet compact burst of energy at the apex of a brilliantly smart album.

Rilo Kiley offers a disconnect from the mindless neanderthals that populate the playlists of every modern rock station in every city across the country. More Adventurous is a sparkling love letter to life, good and bad, and it provides the listener with a taste of all the great things smart songwriting and competent musicianship can offer. It's an album that's alive and magical and worth every dime spent on it.

Fucking genius band...

I just picked up Rilo Kiley's new CD More Adventurous. It's the L.A. band's first release on their own Brute/Beaute Records, a Warner Brothers imprint. The album is a masterpiece and I'll post a review sometime tomorrow. Go pick this up immediately.



http://www.rilokiley.net
http://www.rilokiley.com

A truly great show...

Last night I finished a marathon of all of the episodes of Jack & Bobby so far...thank you TiVo!



This series is about the President Of The United States in 2040, Robert McCallister. Jack & Bobby follows high school students Bobby, his older brother Jack, and their liberal college professor mother, Grace. Into the mix is the daughter of the college president, Courtney. She has feelings for Jack, who's dating the daughter, Missy, of a local reverend. Throughout the show, interspersed if you will, are interviews with various members of Bobby's future administration and other politicians. I'm making the show sound vapid and uninvolving, but nothing could be further from the truth. It consistently portrays its characters with real and vivid motions. Christine Lahti is amazing as the vibrant and quite opinionated mother of the two boys. Another facet of the show that differs is the relationship between Courtney and the reverend's daughter. This isn't The O.C. and it depicts Missy reaching out to Courtney as a friend because all of her own are gossip queens.



The other crucial piece of this dramatic puzzle is the testimony of various politicians. How Bobby was a Republican who ran as an Independent and won. How his campaign managed to avoid smearing a girl accusing him of sexual assault. Allegations of adultery with his female Vice President. The way he managed to avoid a second Cold War with China through a simple game of chess. Jack & Bobby presents a truly fascinating and intimate portrait of America, how one boy's dreams and aspirations lead him to the White House. If you enjoy compelling drama, then please watch this show. It airs Wednesday nights at 9PM on The WB.

Jack & Bobby Official Website

http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Show/0,7353,1985~1,00.html