Ron and Tammys deleted scenes

Fall TV Report Card (Returning favorites pt. 3)

Fringe: The best drama you're not watching returned in fine form for their fourth season. While on the surface, things appeared to be normal (the central case was a typically creepy one involving a translucent man attacking people) we all know that something is very wrong with the world that currently exists. The big problem is the absence of Peter Bishop who after operating the machine last season vanished, erasing himself from the memories of all the other characters. This has produced some changes in the Fringe team. Walter has a fear of leaving the lab, Astrid now occasionally goes out into the field and Lincoln Lee has been brought on as a new member. Of course, each of the actors have done a tremendous job conveying their new role, but it still doesn't help us who are desperate to see Peter return. Thankfully we got glimpses of him throughout the episode, suggesting that he'll find a way to return to our world sooner rather than later. And I haven't even touched upon the 'Other World' members who lurked in the background in this first episode. That's how jam-packed this premiere was, nothing new for this terrific show. In just one episode, they've set into motion a number of different storylines that I can't wait to see how they play out. Grade: A- Saturday Night Live: The stalwart sketch comedy returned for another season and opened on a notable moment as host Alec Baldwin broke the hosting record with his 16th (!) effort. Of course, previous record holder Steve Martin couldn't resist showing up to rain on Baldwin's parade. The rest of the episode was a mixed bag as it related to the humor. The cold open involving a Republican primary debate set the foundation of which cast members would be parodying the key political figures for the next year and a skit involving footage of actors auditioning for the film Top Gun highlighted the talented cast's strengths at mimicking a lot of famous people (Bill Hader's Alan Alda impression is scary good). As usual, some skits fell very flat - in particular a one about a couple on a date dealing with one of the dater's obnoxious child didn't do anything for me. The one impressive thing about this opener though was that it relied almost predominantly on original skit ideas. In recent years, the show had become too reliant on its recurring sketches running them into the ground before they had a chance to peak in popularity. Let's hope that's a trend that continues throughout the year. Grade: B+ The Amazing Race: The Emmy-award winning reality show got started in just about the opposite direction as this year's edition of Survivor did. Watching the opening episode, I found myself struggling to care or root for any of the contestant. Even the one team which features a pair of former Survivor winners (Ethan and Jenna) did very little to make me want to see them win another million dollars. Most of the teams felt like they featured stereotypes we had seen too many times before on the Race. Perhaps as the teams move forward my opinions will change. But even if they don't, I can still enjoy all of the gorgeous locations (the first episode saw teams heading to Taipei, Taiwan) that the show travels to as well as the wacky challenges they come up with for the contestants to endure. This may have gotten off to a rocky road, but this show has proven time and again that they always find a way to right the ship. Grade: B-

I'm Leslie Knope deleted scenes

Here are the deleted scenes from the season premiere of Parks and Recreation:

NMR: Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

So lo and behold after I just got done saying I probably wouldn't be doing anymore Netflix reviews since I switched to their streaming only package, they go ahead and add a new movie that I wanted to see to their Instant View catalog. The fact that I'm doing this review is probably the most positive thing that's happened to Netflix this week. Anyways, this is the documentary that chronicles Conan's concert tour that he put on during the time between when he was kicked off of The Tonight Show and before he got his current show on TBS. Near the end of the film, Conan remarks that what we're seeing is him in his rawest form and that's pretty accurate. By filming him at the lowest point of his career, we see all the reasons there was such a groundswell of support for him and we also see some of the reasons why his run on NBC ultimately turned into a failure. As a human being, Conan's incessant need to be 'on' often comes out in forms that are hurtful and humiliating to those around him. We see him frequently physically and verbally attacking his friends and staff. It can be a bit shocking, but you also sense that anyone that knows him, like his friends and staff would, know that this just comes with the territory. But we also see how that approach manifests itself into an unyielding effort to please all of his fans. The film goes to great lengths to show how Conan never refuses to meet and interact with the people that consist of 'Team Coco'. His devotion to his fans is impressive, but it's also frustrating as it relates to his comedic efforts of late. Both the content of the shows he did on this tour, as well as what he's doing on his new show seem to be self-indulgent and over-produced. None of it really seems to be for the fans or a natural offshoot of what they would enjoy. At times all of it feels as if we're now just the audience for one big therapy session to help him get through the fact that NBC dumped him. As a documentary, it's an interesting look into this particular time in his life, but also could have been better served by adding some additional commentary from outsider perspectives. Flaws aside, this is definitely worth a look for any Conan fans out there. Rating: ****

What is poor sportsmanship?

Check out the stone cold denial the woman in the middle gives the Jeopardy champ as he tries to shake her hand at the end of a game earlier this week.

Fall TV Report Card (Returning favorites pt. 2)

The Big Bang Theory: The big question for this show would be how they would address the shocking cliffhanger from last season that saw Raj and Penny seemingly have sex after a night of heavy drinking. I was not crazy about that twist so I was glad to see they copped out of it to begin this year by explaining what exactly happened. The rest of this hour premiere was a good collection of hearty laughs from the expanding cast. The show really felt like it was already in mid-season stride, which was nice to see. The addition of the female cast members has really made this a richer show and prevented it from simply becoming the Sheldon show. This may not be the smartest show, despite being about very smart people, but it's one of the most consistent performers and I look forward to another strong season from this merry band of geeks. Grade: A-

Community: After making a promise through song and dance that this show will be 'less weird' this year (yeah right), the rest of the half hour was spent trying to introduce us to a couple of new recurring characters this season - Michael K. Williams (The Wire) as a tough as nails biology teacher and John Goodman as Greendale's vice dean. Both played imposing forces that will likely cause many problems for the study group and dean, respectively. As is often the case, the show veered into some dark territory that didn't exactly provide a lot of laughs but made for an interesting character study. Here's hoping that as the season progresses, we get fewer character study and more group efforts that showcase the widely talented cast that this show has to offer. Grade: B

Parks and Recreation: You cannot imagine how happy I am to see this show return. This premiere picked up right where things left off last season with Leslie dealing with the prospect of running for city coucil and Ron trying to run away from his evil ex-wife Tammy One (played by Patricia Clarkson), not to be confused with his other evil ex-wife Tammy Two. Because we had a lot of story to get through in the episode, this wasn't their funniest effort, but a strong outing nonetheless. Leslie's breakup with Ben was perfect and extremely heartbreaking. The fact that we learned Tammy One works for the IRS is just brilliant (the one agency even more evil than the library). I was also really happy to see that Andy opted to work as Leslie's assistant rather than with Tom at Entertainment 720 since that will likely yield more comedy gold. The stuff with the revealing photos being sent to everyone's phones was a bit silly, but it also showed that the people that run Pawnee as just as creepy as the people they represent. All in all it's great to be back in Pawnee. Grade: A-

The Office: While news had leaked earlier this summer that James Spader had been added to the cast, we also knew that he would not become the regional manager (his Robert California character actually convinced the Sabre CEO to give him her job). The answer came in the premiere and low and behold, Cornell's own, Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) was chosen. He's probably the best person for it as he has the acting chops and star quality befit of this bigger role and he doesn't have to abandon the qualities that made him a great character to begin with (unlike if say someone like Jim had become the manager). The other big surprise was learning that both Pam and Angela are pregnant. That will likely yield some interesting comedic situations throughout the season. While Steve Carell's presence was missed at times, I thought the show did as well as it could to move forward without him. This is certainly a whole new show now. I feel that there are enough talented people working on the show to still allow the show to remain funny, but it's likely it'll never reach the greatness that it once had. Grade: B

May the farce be with you

This came out a few days ago, but I've just now had an opportunity to post it. It's a short video featuring a lot of funny people (including SNL's Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Emma Stone) reenacting some famous scenes from the Star Wars trilogy. Their efforts are also meant to be for a good cause as they are trying to raise awareness for the Stand Up 2 Cancer campaign. If it moves you to help with the cause, great. If it simply makes you laugh, that's cool too.

Fall TV report card (New shows pt. 2)

Whitney: Comedienne Whitney Cummings is all over the place these days. Not only is she starring in this new sitcom on NBC on Thursdays, she's also co-created 2 Broke Girls, the new sitcom on CBS that I reviewed earlier this week. While I liked 2 Broke Girls, I'm not as sold on this one. The basic premise is that she has a long-term boyfriend but neither of them want to get married. So instead we just get to peer into their lives and see their, primarily Whitney's, take on relationships. I liked both Whitney and her boyfriend. I found them funny and had good back-and-forth. However, there are two major problems with the show. All of the people around these two are complete stock characters who were not funny and added nothing to the narrative of the show. The other big issue was the laugh track. While I typically prefer shows without a laugh track, I tend to not notice the laugh track in the shows I watch that still has it, like The Big Bang Theory. Here though it was SO noticeable and grating. Even worse is that the actor seemed to be taking even more deliberate pauses between lines in order to give time for the laughs. The opening minutes felt as if I was watching a parody of a sitcom. They are going to need to dial down the audience noise a lot if they expect me to stick around. I did manage to audibly laugh at a handful of the jokes though which gives me hope that the show can improve: Verdict: Week-by-week basis Person of Interest: This has been the show I have most strongly connected to thus far. I was prone to like it already given that J.J. Abrams had a hand in its creation and it brought back Michael Emerson (Lost's Ben Linus) back to the small screen. In this drama, Emerson plays Finch, a mysterious, wealthy man who has the ability to know victims of crimes before they occur. He hires former solidier Reese (played by Jim Cavizel) to prevent these deaths from occuring. Watching the show, it felt very much like watching a modern day Batman. It's a detective show with a focus on vigilantism. The connection to Batman shouldn't be surprising since the show was created by Jonathan Nolan, brother of Christopher Nolan. It's unclear whether this show will take on a 'case of the week' format or if a larger mythology will be developed, but either way I'm in. The show had a fast pace with lots of good action and a few good one-liners, mostly from Emerson. Verdict: Earned a season pass

An amazing Race

Earlier this week, The Price is Right returned for a new season celebrating their 40th year on TV (unbelieveable!).  They chose to commemorate the special occassion in style by doing something they've never done before.  Watch the video below for this instant classic moment.

Fall TV Report Card (Returning favorites part 1)

Survivor: South Pacific - The show had an admittedly down year last year with a weak cast in the fall and then Boston Rob's dominance leading to predictable episodes in the spring.  Thankfully the show seems to show promise once again in their latest effort.  This seems thus far like a strong, likeable cast.  There were very few people that I was wishing would get eliminated quickly.  The returns of Ozzy and Coach should be interesting as well as they aren't the same players as Russell or Rob, so how they'll fare is still a bit unclear.  Speaking of Russell, his nephew is part of this cast and he's one of the few that I'm not crazy about.  He seems creepy, especially around women.  He claims he wants to keep his relationship to Russell a secret, but I highly doubt he'll be able to do that.  Lastly, the redemption island twist is back once again.  I wasn't overly crazy about it for a number of reasons, but I'm willing to see it play out again before completely condemming it.  If it can reward someone worthy while also providing some good gameplay, I'll be happy.  For now, this new season has restored my faith in this stalwart series.  Grade: A-

How I Met Your Mother: The show seems to be taking a renewed interest in Ted's lovelife, even if we aren't really anywhere closer to learning who the titular mother is.  If true, I would say that it's a positive step since I am more interested and invested in that than I am in their fruitless efforts to neuter the Barney character by saddling him with this relationship storyline involving him Robin and Nora.  That is a total snoozefest which unfortunately took up way too much time in the first two episodes that premiered this past Monday.  As for Lily and Marshall, they remain enjoyable and it should be fun seeing them approach parenthood.  The show offers enough laughs to keep me around, but they better make some wise choices with regards to their storylines.  Bringing back Ted's old girlfriend, Victoria the cupcake girl, at the end of the second episode was certainly a move in the right direction.  Grade: B

Be Hoover

Leonardo DiCaprio has a terrific filmography, but no Oscar gold to show for any of those performances.  That may change this year with his portrayal of J. Edgar Hoover in this Clint Eastwood biopic.  Here's your first look at the film...

Fall TV Report Card (New shows pt. 1)

So it's premiere week for television where all of our favorite TV shows return and networks try out their new programs.  While I'm not watching every new show, there are a few that have caught my eye.  With each review, I'll let you know whether or not the show is good enough to gain a 'season pass' on my DVR or not.

New Girl: This actually premieres tonight, but a free preview of the pilot has been available on Time Warner On Demand for a couple of weeks now. This stars quirky Zooey Deschanel as a girl who gets dumped and ends up moving in with three young guys. Most will make the argument that your enjoyment of the show rests on how appealing you find Deschanel. For me, she runs hot and cold. At times, she can be charming and sexy in that nerdy kind of way, but at other times I feel she tries too hard to be zany and it becomes annoying. My bigger issue with the show was the three guys who had zero charisma or appeal. They were combined a big bunch of nothing and I had no interest in seeing her interact with them on a continued basis. I also feel as if the show would have been better served with a small town location rather than the big city where everyone including the extras in the background come off as pompus douchebags. Zooey may have star power but this show does her no favors. Verdict: Deleted from DVR

Up All Night: The pilot for this sitcom aired last Wednesday and has been replayed throughout the week before it settles in to its regular Wednesdays at 8:00pm timeslot on NBC. It stars Will Arnett and Christina Applegate as a couple who have a baby later in their life. The show centers around the upheaval the new addition causes them and their way of life. Maya Rudolph is also part of the cast as an Oprah-like talk show host that Applegate's character works for. The first episode had some legitimate laughs thanks in large part to the three funny actors. My biggest concern is relatability. Being a single guy I question whether I'll enjoy baby and parenting humor on a regular basis. There is definitely a large part of the country that should really enjoy this however. I'm not totally sold, but I'll stick with it for the time being. Verdict: On a week-to-week basis

2 Broke Girls: They are not really breaking new ground either comedically or stylistically with this sitcom about 2 Brooklyn waitresses trying to make ends meat. That said, the two leads, Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs, have already shown that they have great rapport. Thus far, they've been able to raise up the quality of the writing through their performances. I'm not sure if this show has legs from a storytelling perspective, but being nestled between How I Met Your Mother and Two and Half Men on CBS' Monday lineup ensures that it'll be given plenty of time to find its voice. Verdict: Receives a season pass

The Playboy Club: It would seem as if all the kerfuffle that religious groups made about this show were either very successful or completely pointless as the first episode bombed in the ratings last night. I gave it a look to see if it was scandalous and/or appealing and it turned out to be neither. The Playboy Club setting turns out to be mere window dressing for a bloated, uninteresting mob story. It was clear that the show was made in an attempt to sponge off the success of another 60's period drama, Mad Men. However, that aspect failed to hook me either. The male chauvinism that was on display was more eye-rolling that poignant and their attempts at addressing other topical issues of the era (racism, closeted homosexuality) fell flat. There was absolutely nothing here that gave me a reason to stay, so if it ends up being the first show cancelled, you won't see me shed a tear. Verdict: Deleted from DVR

Zoo crew

I've never been a huge Cameron Crowe fan and the premise of his new film, We Bought a Zoo, seemed a bit shaky, despite being based on a true story.  But watching this trailer I was sold.  This seems like it has the right combination of talented actors and animals to make this a solid story worth seeing.

NMR: Everything Must Go

This is a somewhat historic review as it is the last movie that I'll watch from Netflix on DVD. Like many Americans, I was not pleased with Netflix's decision to raise their subscription prices. It's a move that clearly seems designed to phase out the hard disc side of their business. For now, I'll remain a streaming customer, but since most of the movies available on their streaming service are older films, I'm not sure how many of them I'll actually bother reviewing on the blog. If they don't improve and update their library, Netflix could be losing me as a customer altogether. So from now on, all of the new movies I rent will come from Redbox. As a result, I'll begin using the code RBR (Redbox Review) in the titles of these reviews.

As for this movie, if you're not familiar with the title, this was a small dramedy that was screened in theaters last May starring Will Ferrell as a man who's losing everything in his life. On the same day he gets fired, he comes home only to learn that his wife has left him and placed all of his possessions on their front lawn. Frustrated and mad, Ferrell decides to simply live on his lawn as a form of protest against everything that's happened to him. Of course, in doing so we see him engage and talk with people who show him a reason to go on and have a happy life. Ferrell, a man mostly known for his comedic roles, does a nice job here pulling off the drama, although I wasn't as sold that he was as big of an alcoholic as the movie claimed he was. I also liked the smaller performances from people like Rebecca Hall, Michael Pena, and Stephen Root. Overall though, I just felt as if there was nothing here. There wasn't a deep enough exploration into either any of the characters nor the story hook about living on the lawn. It's as if we see the whole story from some unseen neighbor living on the street who's watching these events unfold from afar. If you like smaller independent films, you may find this appealing, but I would imagine those who are fans of Ferrell's films like Anchorman or Talladega Nights will likely be bored by this. Rating: *** 1/2

Bird-brained

There's no denying the comedic talent of Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, but watching this trailer for The Big Year, I was a bit disappointed that the focus of the film seems to be more on their characters personal crises rather than on the birdwatching expedition, which seemed to be rife for comedy of the mundane. Take a look and see if you agree.

Going viral

Now that I've just gotten done washing my hands for the 50th time, I think I'm ready to type up my review of Steven Soderbergh's latest film, Contagion. This is a smart and impressively realistic thriller exploring the possibility of a deadly virus spreading across the globe.

The film begins its focus on Beth Emhoff (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) , a businesswomen on her way home from a trip to Hong Kong, who quickly becomes sick and just as suddenly dies. Doctors, as well as her husband (the always terrific Matt Damon) are at a loss as to how this could have happened. Soon we see other people dying after exhibiting the same conditions and before you know it we have an epidemic on our hands.

From here, the film splinters off into several different storylines connected to this disease. We see people from the Center for Disease Control trying to locate where this virus began in order to identify a cure for it, as well as stopping it from spreading further. We meet a blogger (Jude Law) who initially attempts to break the story on the epidemic and then turns his attention towards attacking the goverment and promoting his own homeopathic remedy to the disease. We also spend more time with Damon as he tirelessly works at making sure his daughter does not get sick (Damon himself is immune to virus).

At times, the multiple storyline approach can be frustrating because some of the stories don't receive the attention they could have had for further development, while other stories could have been eliminated and it wouldn't have dramatically hurt the film. I feel like if there could have been a way to combine Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard's storylines together, that may have been more effective. And yet, I think it was a smart approach to deal with this story in this manner. Like the virus itself the storytelling here continues to spread and grow sometimes in an uncontrollable way. It gives the film an added feeling of chaos that would surely ensue if such an event actually occurred.

One of the best things about this film is Soderbergh's attention to detail. The way he frames his shots makes you acutely aware of the surroundings without being overt about it. Suddenly you're picking up on all of the different ways that you could easily contract germs. Watching the film will cause you to never look at a bowl of bar peanuts or a door knob in the same way. While awareness is an important element of the film, I don't feel like it's intent is to make us all into neurotic germophobes. The film is just as much about people as it is about the virus. We are in a global society today - something that we often take for granted. As a result we are often incorrectly take an microscopic look at things. Having a better understanding of the bigger picture in life can help all of us work better together.

I know there will be some that will be turned off by the subject matter and will refuse to see this film, but I think they are doing themselves a great disservice. This is an excellent film that deftly juggles a lot of characters (played by an all-star cast) and appropriately addresses a touchy subject matter. Credit also to the Soderbergh for being able to find moments of levity to sprinkle throughout the film. Their presence prevent you from being a frazzled bunch of nerves by the end of the film while never causing the subject matter to be taken lightly. I wouldn't blame you for skipping this film in theaters, which are a germ breeding ground, but at some point do yourself a favor and check this out. I guarantee you'll find it infectious. Grade: A-

Never forget - 9/11

So with everyone commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, I thought I would share some of my own personal memories and reflections on the day as well.

Like virtually everyone else, I remember vividly where I was when all of this went down.  I had gone to my first class hearing about the first plane hitting.  At the time I thought it was a random accident.  That morning class happened to be a religion class and we had said a prayer for those people.  I came home from that class only to learn that something much bigger was happening.  The rest of the day then became a blur of disbelief, sadness, confusion, and fear.  Living in my fraternity house at that time, I had friends and roommates who lived in areas directly affected by these attacks.  To say there was a wide range of emotions displayed by these people is an understatement.  I did my best, in whatever small way possible to help everyone come together united in our grief, yet also our patriotism to help get through this terrible tragedy.

Now 10 years later, I'm struck by so many things that have resulted because of those attacks.  It truly changed our country and the world at large forever.  While things like multiple endless wars are difficult to endure, there have been small ways where a horrific incident like this has caused people to change for the better.  At church today, I was moved by the message of forgiveness that was at the center of the sermon.  Of course none of us will ever forget what happened on this day back in 2001, but for us to actually move on and improve things in this world, we have to find ways to forgive others.  Harboring ill will only leads to more hate - something we don't need.  Let's hope we can continue to unite in ways that strengthen our communities, our country and the world as a whole.  That's the only way we'll ever truly win a war against terrorism.

Lastly, I'll post this video from the first live entertainment gathering that occurred after the attacks.  It's the opening moments of WWE Smackdown.  Specifically it's then ring announcer Lillian Garcia's rendition of the National Anthem.  Being the terrific singer that she is, she always does a wonderful version of this song, but on that particularly night her performance was particularly stirring, causing anyone to get goosebumps listening to it.

Pigskin preview

While the Indians continue to mire in mediocrity, now is as good of time as any to begin looking toward football season and what we can expect from the Cleveland Browns this year.  Here's SI.com's Peter King's take on how Colt McCoy and co. will fare.