So, did you ever have a show that you tried out, maybe when you just weren’t in the right frame of mind to enjoy it? Or maybe you unknowingly gave up on the show and turned it off during the pilot, right before it really started to get interesting and flesh the characters out? Well, that’s exactly what I did with the (now) hit show Fringe.  My husband and I tried this show out when it first came on television. We figured it would be our next JJ Abrams fix since Lost was going to be in the last season and would pulled off the air in a year or so.

We also love the sci fi and eerie mysteries genre, since it fits right in with shows like the X Files and another one that is really more straight sci fi, Battlestar Galactica.  I honestly didn’t know how I felt about the lead actress, who I guess has created quite the swirl in the geek world as the newest hot lady, Anna Torv. By the way, Anna Torv is now married to her hunky Thomas Jane lookalike costar Mark Valley.

Well, we decided to give it another try. We had turned it off during the scene where Agent Olivia Dunham is hooked up to Agent John Scott, who was her partner and also happened to be her lover. Well, at the end of the episode, we find out that he apparently has been working for or with the bad guys. Typical strong leading lady gets played by her lover type stuff, but  a good twist nonetheless.

He was involved in an explosion at a storage facility they were checking out. In the explosion, he was exposed to some biohazardous agent which seems to be eating his body up from the inside out. The special effects must have cost a lot, because he really does look like he’s transparent – it really looks kinda gross!

Olivia is determined to find the cure for this, and eventually does, only to be betrayed by her lover. It ends in a car chase where he apparently dies. But not before a mysterious corporation that seems to have a lot of dealings in chemical warfare and strange occurrences with human guinea pigs wisks his dead body off to “be interviewed”.  We can only imagine what that means, but I know the actor will be in several more episodes, so I’m not sure where it will lead.

It’s very interesting, very well acted, and Joshua Jackson is good as the wise ass brilliant rebel, and I thought he’d get on my nerves.  I think this show is going to be pretty good….

I was really excited to see what was promised and hailed to be “the best vampire movie -ever” according to the cover and a reviewer, and “mesmerizing” according to another reviewer.  I’m not sure what those reviewers consider “best” or “mesmerizing”, but I found the vampire movie “Let the Right One In” neither. It’s a Scandinavian film about a 12 year old boy Oskar who is bullied on a daily basis at school, and who always happens to have a ton of snot running out of his nose – what’s up with that?

A 12 year old girl named Eli moves into the apartment next door to him.  Eli is a little odd. First, he only sees her at night.  She never seems to need a jacket even though there is snow on the ground and you can see your breath.  Eli also seems to have a problem with grooming herself. Her hair is always knotted, and her fingernails and toenails are always filthy.

Oscar and Eli become friends, although the dialogue is so sparse and meaningless that you just don’t feel like in real life these children would have formed as deep of a bond as the movie would want you to believe.  The writing is very stilted, not deep at all, so it’s hard to even develop a liking for the characters.  Oskar is bordering on dense, and you just never warm up to him, but then again, that may be a cultural difference.

Eli is a little easier to warm up to, but you also wonder if she’s not just befriending Oskar so he will become her next caretaker.  She has a caretaker now, an older man, who seems totally inept at getting her the blood she needs to live.  One example of the absurd, disjointed writing is when he strings a boy up to a tree right in the middle of a busy park at night to drain his blood for Eli.  No one in this movie seems to have any common sense of redeeming qualities, which made it really hard for me to relate to or like them.

None of the story lines really resolve themselves either, which is annoying. Several people see Eli attack adults for blood, and yet she is never investigated, and there never is any follow up on the gruesome murders that take place.  There is some really weird, gruesome special effects that I think only foreign films can get away with, and this movie just left me feeling flat and sort of depressed in the end. The only reason we watch it til the end was because my husband said we might as well, we’d already invested time in it.

If it were up to me, I would have turned it off after a half hour!  I give this movie one or two stars. I don’t know how it got such high ratings. I found it boring, absurd, and unlikeable.

I was really disappointed to read this morning about a possible scandal involving America’s sweetheart (and yes, I love her too, she just seems so down to earth and unaffected) Sandra Bullock and her gearhead entrepreneur husband Jesse James.  Bullock and James married several years ago, in what seemed like a bit of an odd pairing. However, the couple seemed clearly in love  and in support of one another any time you heard either talk about the other, or saw them together.

As a matter of fact, James looked like he was choked up just days ago when Sandra accepted the best actress award for her movie The Blindside, which is based on a true story.

However, as a true shock, this morning there were reports that the marriage may be on the rocks, at least as of now, because a tattoo model named Michelle McGee.  I would have thought this may have just been someone asking for attention because of the impression I had of their marriage being solid, but there is even more question and suspicion since Sandra abruptly announced she would be missing her London premier of the Blindside.

This drew even more speculation that what seemed like a common tabloid fantasy may have been based in truth.  All I can say is, I hope the public gives them time to sort out this very private matter on their own. And Jesse, seriously, what the hell were you thinking?  You’ve got a gorgeous, talented, intelligent, funny and down to earth wife who is very famous and still has her head on straight.  Get your head out of your ass man!

I have to admit, I was a little bummed to see the recent news that Kate Winslet, the talented British actress of Titanic and several other high and low budget films (most much better than Titanic, just not as high grossing) and her director husband Sam Mendes. Both hail from the UK, and both are very talented in the entertainment industry and seemed to be largely unaffected by it.

They kept their relationship out of the tabloids, which is respectable for the Hollywood lifestyle, and for people who have had connections to such critically acclaimed work. My favorite movie by Sam Mendes is American Beauty, which was his breakout directorial premier, and he also recently directed his (now maybe ex) wife in Revolutionary Road with Leonardo DiCarprio.

I still need to see that movie, and it’s high in my cue, now I really want to see it, not only because I’m a huge fan of both actors, but I would like to see another one of Mendes’ films because I was a fan of American Beauty.

There is really no dirt on why they broke up, but they have apparently been split up for a while, and just now announced the news.  It’s sad that so many marriages end in divorce when it seems like people are so well suited for one another. In Hollywood, divorce is at even higher rates than it is out here in the “normal world”, and many credit the pressures on Hollywood stars with attention from media, but I think that it has a lot more to do with career-mindedness and ego if you ask me. 

I think us regular folks already struggle with this, but in Hollywood, they struggle with this even more because of the pressure to keep producing, to one up, etc. etc. because the competition is so fierce.

I won’t even disrespect these two talented people by speculating, but I hope maybe they can work it out, especially since there are children involved.  Good luck to both of them, and may they keep their private business private…..

This past weekend, we had a few movies at the house for the inlaws visiting, just in case one was bad, we had another for stand by, or in case they had already seen one.  I’m glad we had the stand by of the Scorsese masterpiece “The Aviator”, because we did end up deferring to that one after the first movie we tried, “Public Enemies” pretty much bored everyone out of their mind.

I was just talking to a friend about this, and we were both surprised that I was bored by it because I do like Johnny Depp, and I like Christian Bale (although I prefer him in his older stuff).

However, it was just so boring, and none of us could really get into it. So, we popped in the almost three hour Aviator, which I had already seen back in 2004 when it came out, in the theater, with my sister.  Seeing it again just reaffimed how awesome of an actor Leo DiCaprio is, and also eased by critique of Scorsese using him in so many movies.

I can see why, he’s not only ultra talented, but versatile as well.  He held our attention to the screen, fascinated, and wanting to know more about the real life of Howard Hughes, whom the movie is based on.

This movie is basically based on a lot of the life of Howard Hughes, who was born into money, but who also had a knack and almost a genius for aviation.  I didn’t realize until I saw this movie how many innovations Hughes was responsible for, because unfortunately in the end, he is remembered for his eccentricity and desire for solitude in the last several years of his life, as well as his womanizing in his earlier days.

A lot of his creativity and ultimately his genius has fallen by the wayside, and we forget that he was the pioneer behind a lot of modern technology today. He also died one of the first billionaires ever.

The movie depicts his start as an ambitious young man, who owned a motion picture company and filmed the most expensive movie of all time up until then, many thinking it would flop but it ended up being a success.  He then funneled a lot of his energy into the flight industry, and we see in the movie that aeronautics and engineering was his true gift and passion. The women were just a biproduct of his curious and flamboyant nature, which is interesting considering he spent the last several years of his life in seclusion from civilization.

DiCaprio does an excellent job at capturing his eccentricities, his vulnerabilities and his ultimate spiral into madness.  You actually feel like you know Hughes by the end of this movie, and you are rooting for his triumph every step of the way, especially when the government comes down on him in hearings that many believe were designed to discredit him and allow a complete monopoly of the flight industry under Pan Am (of course, long since disbanded).

Cate Blanchett gives a great performance, if not over the top at first, of Katherine Hepburn, and the supporting cast of Alan Alda, Alece Baldwin, John C Reilly and more are all phenomenal. I’m beginning to wonder if anyone isn’t at their best in a Scorsese production…..

Well, in another tragic story in Hollywood, a rather troubled actor who hit it big as a young guy, Corey Haim, who was also known as the other half to his bff Corey Feldman, has died.

Details are pending, but I’m hoping it wasn’t related to drugs or alcohol, since he was so young this seems to be the most logical choice though. Details forthcoming. Our thoughts are with his family.

I actually got to watch the Oscars last night. I’m still shocked that my husband and I actually sat down with our little DVR’d show and watched it!  Of course, we flew through the boring sound awards and the stuff that you’ve never heard of or that you don’t really care about (at least for us), but nonetheless, for once I wasn’t waking up in the morning finding out who won all these awards with my morning cup of joe.

I have to say, I quite enjoyed this one! Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin did a great job hosting. They are both hilarious of course, but I am partial to Alec Baldwin, who I think is an understated comedic actor that cracks me up just by looking at him. The two of them really played off eachother well, and the writing was truly funny.

It was edgy without being schmultzy, so they really pulled it off.  The mood seemed to be light and fun as well, perhaps some of the blue mood from the economy and past events has warn off and people are ready to have some fun.

In a big shock for me, Sandra Bullock won for best actress for her role in the true life drama “The Blind Side”.  A nicer woman couldn’t have won, but she herself even said did I deserve this, or did I just wear you down?  I saw some clips of her performance. It seems solid, but I’m not sure about Oscar worthy. I’d like for her to win anything any time though, she’s just so likeable, I can’t help it.

Jeff Bridges won for Crazy Heart, which I’m dying to see now. I love Jeff Bridges. I think I’ve loved him since I had a mega crush on him as a young girl when he played in the remake of King Kong. He’s not only a great actor but seems like a really cool “dude” in real life. I mean, come on, how could you not love his “the dude” character in the Big Lebowski?

The biggest victory of the night went to best supporting actor Christoph Waltz. I couldn’t help but go “aw” when he accepted his award, clearly blown away and humbled.  I’m a big Tarantino fan, and we went to see this movie at the theater, but I must say it wasn’t my favorite Tarantino flick, however, Waltz made the scenes intriguing that he was in. In fact, he held me mesmerized in the opening scene to the movie and my husband and I were both like Who WAS THAT GUY?

Mo’Nique won for best supporting actress for the ruthless, cruel mother in Precious, which is based on the novel Push by Sapphire about an obese african american girl and her abusive family.

So last night’s episode of Lost had me riveted to the television, I must admit. Then again, I am a fan of Sayid, and any episode which uses him a lot in the story line usually has me glued to the TV set. It doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes, but his acting is really superb on the show, and he’s a consistent reason that I like to watch it.

Naveen Andrews plays soft and hard all at once so well, being a ruthless, deadly assassin and torturer that he was for the Iraqi Republican Guard, and alternating between his newfound “good guy” turn since he joined the island survivors. Sayid is one of the best examples of a bad guy put in purgatory, and I think he’s one of the compelling arguments that people have for this show being about heaven hell, evil and good, and limbo, or purgatory.

However, to my dismay, Sayid seemed to choose the evil side in last night’s episode, joining Locke’s entity (we’re still not really sure who this guy is, besides “evil incarnate”), along with Claire, and at the end of the episode a dazed and confused Kate whose played by the lovely and talented Evangeline Lilly (what did that mean anyway, is she still lost between the blurred lines of good and evil, after all, remember, this girl did kill someone in the real world, before the island).

Last night was all about Sayid, and his life back in the seeming alternate reality, the intermittent flashbacks to a different “real world” for some of the characters, including Kate, Jack, Claire, Locke, and now Jin and Sayid.  Sayid apparently works for an oil company in this alternative reality (is this the reality that would have happened had he not landed on the island, or the reality that is going to happen if Locke fulfills his promise of reuniting him with his long lost love?)

There is a tandem thing going on though, because Sayid ultimately chooses murder as the way out of his quandry back on earth, and he also chooses murder as the way out back on the island, which seemingly joins him back to the dark side with Locke and Claire.

Is the choice he made in the alternative reality the reason that he joined the dark side on the island?  It’s hard to say how the two are related.  My theory now is that the people on the island were approached by Jacob back on earth/reality and given options to make the wrongs in their life right – aka purgatory. They had the chance to prove themselves on the island, and if they fulfill their destinies on the island and make the right choices, then they ultimately will go to a good place or “heaven”.  The problem is, I’m still trying to fit these alternate flashbacks in with that theory, and it won’t quite work together.

I had never really heard comedian Louis C.K. do much standup before I heard him as a routine guest on radio show (well, now, only satellite radio) Opie and Anthony. On the show, I thought he was hilarious, clever, intelligent, and offered a bitter family man view to the mix, whereas Opie, Anthony and Jim Norton were single.  I especially loved that it was no holds barred when he talked about the trials of having a wife and two young kids.  Well, how funny he was on the show was no comparison to the nonstop gut busting comedy he offers on his Chewed Up DVD.

My husband and I watched the whole thing the other night, and I’ve never watched a standup DVD that long without seriously drifting off at some point after the first half hour. I mean, let’s face it, most comedians don’t that much good material to last as long as a full length DVD, but the talents Mr. C.K. does.

He rants on everything from how he hates when people say the phrase “the N word” to how much he hates deer now.  Every single bit of the mundane details, he makes into pure comedy.  He truly has a gift for being totally lewd and crude and yet maintaining his likability, which is rare.

I think to be truly funny, you have to be brutally honest, and he has this all down to a T. Don’t rent or buy this DVD if you like comedians that sugar coat and dumb down their comedy so as not to totally offend and go into the gross out realm, because you’ll probably be offended, and that’s how he likes it.

I give this a five star rating – definitely the best full length standup DVD I’ve seen in a looooong time.