Watched - August.

So despite traversing from Japan to the US, and running up and down the East Coast while jumping State Dept hurdles and visiting family, through the magic of the internets and my trusty laptop I was duly entertained.

The Daily Show, Burn Notice, Penn & Teller - Bullshit, Eureka, Sherlock, The IT Crowd, The Boondocks, Leverage, Lie to Me, The Closer, Louie, The Next Iron Chef [even though I already knew who won, I love me some Iron Chef America when I can find it], Breakthrough w/Tony Robbins, Pioneer One & Better Off Ted.

In the theaters - The Expendables, Scott Pilgrim Vs the World - both of which rocked pretty hard.

Lord of War - I'd watched this years ago and remembered it as pretty good and for some reason had been jonezing to catch it again.  Been on my radar to do it for a while now...  And having rewatched it - still a really good flick - but the kicker, maybe subconsciously I remembered it, but a good portion of it is about running guns in Liberia, featuring pastiches of former Liberian president Charles Taylor and his son.  Watched it today...  and I leave for Liberia tomorrow.

True fact.  Crazy.





Conquest of Hawaii - excellent documentary on the history of the islands...  wow, did they get screwed over by the US.  American imperialism, maybe not at its worst, but still...

Watched - a couple month's worth of stuff.

Stossel, The Big Bang Theory S2 & 3, The Daily Show, Leverage - QFE "I tried being a drunk honest man, a sober thief... so now I'm gonna try being a drunk thief... try that for a little while", How I Met Your Mother S4, Lie to Me, The Boondocks, Doctor Who, Burn Notice, The Green Room with Paul Provenza, Derren Brown Investigates, Louie, UFC 115. Jim Jefferies I Swear to God [hilarious], Paul Mooney Jesus is Black, Ultimate Fighter Finale, Hot Tub Time Machine, Eureka, True Blood, Inglourious Basterds, Penn & Teller Bullshit, Anthony Bourdain No Reservations [the Liberia episode] - cool coincidence, that.

Outrage [political/sexual hypocrisy]


Dispatches: Saving Africa's Witch Children - "There are over 60 million Christians in Nigeria...  extreme churches believe the Devil is literally walking among them... they are convinced their children have become possessed... so their families abandon, torture & murder them, all in the name of Christ..."

Watching this doc probably made me angrier than damn near about anything. Archaic religious, evil bullshit.

5min preview

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A year and a half of living alone has afforded me the time and opportunity to watch lot of TV I wouldn't have otherwise. The quality stuff includes The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Blue Mountain State, Chuck, Glee, Rome, The Wire, NewsRadio, and Doctor Who. Worth checking out, if you're inclined.

The Green Room w/Paul Provenza is fucking hilarious.

Buncha comedians just sitting around and talking shit...  fucking genius.  Some of the funniest stuff I've watched in months.  [Yes, multiple profanities, chock it up to comedy+alcohol.]

"Nothing is ever forgotten. Not really -- Something blue... 2000 years, good on ya mate..."

Definitely goodbye.

"The Doctor & Amy Pond and the days that never came."

Amelia + Rory = the ever loving Doctor Who mother lovin' win.

God that was good.  Painful, even.  But good.

Watched this week.

Chuck S3 - continued awesomeness.  The three leads are great.  Brandon Routh, while I wasn't the biggest fan of the Superman Returns flick, is pretty damn good on this show.  Mark Sheppard shows up for a great cameo.  However, Ellie, the sister, remains one of TV's most annoyingly clingy/whiny characters.

TUF, Burn Notice, Doctor Who, The Boondocks, The Daily Show, Lie to Me

How I Met Your Mother S2 & 3 - NPH and Alyson Hannigan are great, the show seems to be a refuge for Whedonverse actors [Morena Baccarin & Alexis Denisof] and when it decides to be funny, instead of trying to make some 'serious' commentary on relationships, it's really quite, quite good.  Became a true fan with the insane Asian gambling game in S2/Ep 8 + Wayne Brady as Barney's gay, black brother.  Plus 'slap bet' is a genius idea.

NewsRadio S4&5 - surreal, funny, witty, awesome.

"...then you will all be burned to death" - NewsRadio Win.

NewsRadio's one of those shows that, for whatever reason, I didn't catch when it first aired, but am watching now...  Making me a big Dave Foley fan, cause I never really followed Kids in the Hall, plus Joe Rogan, Phil Hartman & Stephen Root are all brilliant. As a straight comedy it's funny, but it gets really well done whenever it tips to the surreal.

Here's one of my favorite scenes, where you watch it go from 'normal' to paranoidically nutty at the flip of a switch. Foley's comic timing/delivery is spot on.

 

Watched - 2 weeks, Chuck Season 2 FTW.

Doctor Who, UFC 114, The Boondocks - went with the 'Juice' homage... nice, Glee - Season Finale = awesome, The Daily Show, TUF, Justified, Newsradio S3, Batman Brave and the Bold, Lie to Me - Jason Dohring/Logan from Veronica Mars as the bad guy plus Howard Hesseman = Win, The Devil & Daniel Webster/Shortcut to Happiness...

War, Inc - John Cusack flick, who I generally dig, and I read this flick it was an 'unofficial' sequel to Grosse Pointe Blank - which I love...  but, eh, this was kind of disappointing.  Not nearly as clever or introspective as GPB, and heavy-handed & preachy to boot.  Besides I always preferred to think of Grosse Pointe Blank as the unofficial sequel to Say Anything - because when you don't want to "to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career" - what better career than professional killer?

How I Met Your Mother, Season 1 - laugh tracks are painful, but Neil Patrick Harris is genius.  If the show was all Barney, all the time, I'd be all over it.  And Alyson Hannigan's awesome, 'til they started to write her as the whiny star of 'very special episodes' at the end of the season.  Still, a decent time killer - occasionally really funny - and I'll check out the next season.

Chuck, Season 2 - Chuck S1 was total geekbait, fun but a little uneven, held together by the performances of the leads - particularly the always great Adam Baldwin...  but Season 2 was completely awesome.  By the time Scott Bakula and Chevy Chase show up mid-season, I was thoroughly addicted.  Great series.

Boondocks goes for the 'Juice' homage. Crazy.

Watched/2 weeks - okay, Glee is pretty damn entertaining.

So, since the last the last thing I need is more TV mucking up my life I'd avoided Glee, just on general principles, despite hearing solid reviews round and about the internets.  But given this week is an episode directed by Joss Whedon and [guest] starring Neil Patrick Harris [whose Dr. Horrible and Harold & Kumar work has made me a fan for life] I checked it out.  [Joss Whedon is my master, now.]

Oh, it was good.  It was soooo good.  To the point where I needed to download the rest of this season's episodes.  And while the JW/NPH ep is probably the best of the bunch... geez, is this a just a good, good TV show.  Witty, smartly written, fun.  And Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester is straight genius - "I've always thought the desire to procreate showed a deep, personal weakness."

The Daily Show, Korgoth of Barbaria, Superman/Batman - Public Enemies, UFC 113...

Smallville - season finale... sometimes this show is so good [particularly the Geoff Jones scripted eps] but usually this so is soooooo painful a watching experience.  Despite interesting premises, it has wooden acting and characters who are internally inconsistent and ridiculous to the extreme.  I can't even mention the # of times my internal dialog shouts "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"  But still, the geek allure is strong, and I watch.  Season Finale was equal parts of awesome and "that makes no fucking sense whatsoever."  So there's that.

Doctor Who, Breaking Bad, The Boondocks, Strikeforce Heavy Artillery, House, Castle, Big Bang Theory Season 1, SNL, Justified - [great show, but so sick to death of cop shows where the protagonist violates no end of civil liberties/rights because they're in the "right,"], Modern Family, The Middle, NCIS, Luther, 30 Rock, Community, The Office, Parks and Recreation, The Mentalist, TUF, The Good Guys, Stossel, Chuck Season 1, Newsradio S1&2, WSM 2010...

Watched this week.

Smallville, The Daily Show, The Thick of It - Series 3, Castle, House, Breaking Bad, NCIS, The Boondocks, The Middle, TUF, Stossel, Community, 30 Rock, The Office, Parks & Recreation, The Mentalist

New - Luther - Idris Elba as a damaged British cop. Interesting. A little predictable though.

Extract - with this cast & Mike Judge, should've been way better.

Faves this week - Modern Family. An episode tailor made for me. Set in HI. 'Eye of the Tiger' on the ukelele. And featuring a crazy spouse who packs every vacation and refuses to 'just relax.' Oh yeah, relatable.

SNL - Betty White + Jay Z = TOTAL WIN.

Watched this week.

Breaking Bad, Kims of Comedy, Daniel Tosh Completely Serious, The Daily Show, NCIS, The Boondocks, Stossel, Doctor Who, The Middle, the Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, TUF, The Mentalist, Justified, House

Community - when this show gets surreal, it's awesome.  This week's post-apocalyptic-paintball-war-action-gangster-John Woo-homage was straight genius.

Watched this week.

Breaking Bad, Stossel - Taxes/Myths Lies and Downright Stupidity, The Daily Show, SNL, House, Justified, The Middle, Modern Family, TUF, You Don't Know Jack, Believe - The Eddie Izzard Story, Community, Parks & Recreation, The Mentalist, 30 Rock, The Office, Smallville

K-1 WGP Yokohama, UFC 111 & 112, The Voice VS Joe Rogan Interview

Note on this week's Batman The Brave and the Bold - a "children's cartoon" where one of the heroes turns the villain into cheese, in order to be eaten by rats? = TOTAL WIN. Later, Detective Chimp plays Jackie Chan. Plus gorillas on cell phones and doing semaphore. This show is so full of massive win it's not even funny.

Defendor - surprisingly good, though niche, so I see why it went straight to video.  Drama where Harrelson plays a guy who's a little slow on the uptake who fancies himself a costumed crimefighter.  Worth checking out.


Diner - I'd never actually seen this classic early 80s flick.  A definite 'who's who' of the era.  Great dialogue, good performances.



Seven Pounds - really a quite moving film.  Enjoyed it far more than I imagined I would.  The romance bit seemed to drag/was a bit forced, but overall I'd recommend it.  Strong performance by Smith.  Far more understated than his typical work.

Documentaries on Liberia I've watched this past week... Iron Ladies of Liberia is probably my favorite of the three...

Why Democracy? - Iron Ladies of Liberia -

"After fourteen years of civil war, Liberia is a nation ready for change. On January 16, 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was inaugurated President. She is the first ever elected female Head of State in Africa, winning a hotly contested election with the overwhelming support of women across Liberia. Since taking office she has appointed other extraordinary women to leadership positions in all areas of government, including the Police Chief and the ministers of Justice, Commerce and Finance. Can the first female Liberian president, backed by other powerful women, bring sustainable democracy and peace to such a devastated country? Iron Ladies of Liberia gives the viewer a behind-the-scenes access to Sirleaf’s first year in government, providing a unique insight into a newly elected African cabinet."

Pray the Devil Back to Hell
"... an uplifting and gripping account of a group of brave and visionary women who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation torn to shreds by a decades-old civil war.

This acclaimed film won Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival as well as many other film festival accolades. Recently the film was screened at the UN Headquarters in Geneva and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even mentioned it during her speech at the 58th National Prayer Breakfast.

"Uplifting, disheartening, inspiring, enraging — the mind reels while watching the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell," says Manohla Dargis of the New York Times"

Sliding Liberia
"...a story about war, peace and surfing on the world s deadliest stretch of coastline. Combining an epic quest for perfect surf with documentary-style interviews of local Liberians (including the only Liberia surfer), the directors invent a completely new film genre one where surfing becomes a catalyst for social justice. As pros Dan Malloy, Chris Del Moro, and Crystal Thornburg follow their friend Nicholai s lead through the war-torn country in search of what could be the best wave setup in Africa, they are forced to recognize the harsh realities of their surroundings. Shot in a hybrid of 16 mm, video, and archival footage, Sliding Liberia has won awards at several major film festivals, including the Grand Prize at the Alpinist Film Festival, the Emerging Filmmaker Award at X-Dance, and Best Surf Film at the Byron Bay Film Festival, and boasts media coverage in several major surf and non-surf publications worldwide."

Watched this week.

SNL, Breaking Bad, Smallville, The Daily Show, House, Justified, TUF, The Mentalist, Smallville, The Office, Community - the more surreal this show gets, the better it is - Doctor Who [2 parter, grrr...], 30 Rock

Watched this week.

UFC Fight Night - Florian v Gomi, Blue Mountain State, Doctor Who, Saturday Night Live, The Big Bang Theory [I'll watch any Evil Wil Wheaton eps], The Daily Show, House, The Middle, Modern Family, TUF, Breaking Bad, Justified, Human Target, Stossel

Watched this week.

Human Target, Daily Show, Castle, Breaking Bad, NCIS, Justified, South Park, Frasier, The Mentalist, TUF, Stossel, Bill Moyers' Journal, Smallville

Watched this past weekend.

The Mentalist, The Daily Show, Smallville...

Doctor Who - the premiere of the 11th Doctor.

You know, I've got geek cred, comic book style - but I'm no long term Doctor Who fan.  I've a vague idea who the guy with the muffler was, but I never watched Doctor Who till the relaunch with Eccleston.

And I enjoyed the hell out of Eccleston's run, and thought Tennant verged on brilliance during his time as the 10th Doctor.

But I felt a bit trepidatious with the advent of Matt Smith and the new era, and watched the debut ep with a wary eye.  Clearly, I should not have worried.  Because it was deft, funny, and a bit awesome.  Should be a fun ride this year.  Karen Gillian as Amy Pond seems particularly sharp.

Finished watching NCIS Season 6, and can now say I've seen every ep of the series.

I blame my father-in-law and whatever basic cable channel runs the show constantly back in the US, for my addiction that started during last summer's visit back to America.

Here's the thing, at its core, it's another cop procedural, so it's not really breaking a lot of new ground - but it's a very well crafted and acted [particularly, imho, Mark Harmon and Rocky Carroll] procedural.

And you know, as a former jarhead I... appreciate... the fact that it emphasizes those parts of military service that are admirable and worthwhile, while never devolving into the chest-thumping jingoistic patriotism that it could very easily pander to.

Though it does, as a cop TV drama, far too frequently dip into the 'we are on the side of good and our hearts are pure, so we may break all the laws we feel like' cliche which irks the hell out of me.  And I continue to fail to understand why more folks don't simply lawyer up and tell Gibbs to kiss their ass.  But hey, let's not mix our entertainment with reality, yes?  And it is an eminently entertaining show.

Watched - Movies.

Like 3 months worth of movie watching here...

Eh, okay, I guess... if you're into that kinda thing
Observe and Report - tried too hard to be dark and edgy
Paul Blart: Mall Cop - the clear winner of the battle of the mall cop movies
Zack & Miri Make a Porno - I haven't really felt a Kevin Smith film since Clerks II
Fanboys - thought it'd be better
Surfer, Dude - not Mcconaughey's finest work
Couples Retreat - with this cast, shoud've been waaaaaay better
W - Brolin's performance was good, but wasn't served by the script
School for Scoundrels - not bad, really...  predictable though
The Informers - just not that good a film...  I imagine it makes Brett Easton Ellis cry
Be Cool - likewise, this probably made Elmore Leonard cry
Margaret Cho: Beautiful - I really dug Cho's early specials, the last few didn't really do it for me...  this was a step up, but still kind of "eh" for me

Pretty good
Rules of Engagement - older flick, Tommy Lee Jones & Sam Jackson as jarheads
The Proposal - surprisingly good romcom
American Gangster - Denzel and Russell Crowe ensures impressive acting
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - funny
The Ron Clark Story - was watching an education docu with clips from the film, so decided to check it out.  Dig Matthew Perry and while the inspirational/motivational "true story" is a little cliched, it IS based on a true story that's pretty cool.  Ended up picking up some books by Ron Clark on education.  Good stuff.  Review on that to come later.
Walking Tall - the remake.  Good, if cliched, action-y fun
12 Angry Men - never seen the Henry Fonda version, despite being in the high school play... still remembered some lines of dialogue...  crazy
Wilde - it is, indeed, probably the role Stephen Fry was born to play
Get Smart - Steve Carrell, pretty funny
Fred Claus - Vince Vaughn, likewise

Recommended
The Hangover - hilarious


District 9 - maybe some of the best scifi of the last few years


A Christmas Story - obligatory Xmas watching


Crank: High Voltage - turn your brain off, enjoy the ride












Zombieland - rivals Shaun of the Dead as best zombie comedy ever

The Wrestler - outstanding performance by Rourke, a moving film...  really resonated with me


Big Fan - Patton Oswalt showed off some damn impressive acting chops in this...  you slowly get to watch an obsessive compulsive spiral downward










The Ringer - yes, a 5 year old Johnny Knoxville flick makes the "recommended" cut...  I lmao...  and it made a potentially cringe worthy film damn funny

Sherlock Holmes
- saw it in the theater... count me among the fans of Downey & Law as Sherlock and Watson.  The script could've been better, but the visuals and the acting were top notch.  Just a lot of fun.

[...and watching Sherlock Holmes led me to track down a copy of] The Seven Percent Solution - based on one of the best Holmes pastiches of all times - outstanding book by Nicholas Meyer I first read back in high school - Alan Arkin as Freud, Robert Duvall as Watson... good stuff.  [The link on the left takes you to Amazon, but if you've got a region free DVD player, you can get it for cheap from Amazon.co.uk]





Three outstanding comedy specials you can't go wrong with - Eddie Izzard: Stripped



Eddie Izzard: Wembley



Doug Stanhope - Deadbeat Hero













Finally, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths - damn good animation, story, voice acting, action/fight scenes... for geeks only, clearly.  But awesome.

Watched - a month's worth of TV.

Been procrastinating this for a while...

Smallville, Batman The Brave and The Bold, Men of a Certain Age, Burn Notice, NCIS, The Daily Show, Modern Family, The Middle, Community, Parks and Recreation, Archer, Castle, House, SNL, The Big Bang Theory, Scrubs, 30 Rock, UFC 110, The Human Target, Ugly Americans, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, UFC Vera vs Jones, Dream 13, TUF

In particular...

Justified - Bullock from Deadwood VS Shane from The Shield?  Sign me up.  Great show.

Blue Mountain State - goofy, immature, juvenile.  So, yeah, I enjoyed the hell out of it.

The Pacific - Cleary no Band of Brothers.  Hasn't really captured my attention.  And I really wanted to like it, too.

Stossel - Occasionally over the top and a bit goofy - 'shattering conventional wisdom'?  Really? - And anything involving the studio audience is a waste of time, but they have some fascinating stuff.  Their episodes on Education, Medicine, Prohibition and Licensing were all excellent.

Newswipe with Charlie Brooker, Series 1 & 2 - take Jon Stewart, make it British, more caustic, cynical and funny and that's Newswipe. TOTAL WIN. The 2nd series, as a whole, serve as a brutally effective takedown of the complete inanity of modern 'news' services.  Plus bonus Doug Stanhope as the "American correspondent."









Older made for TV movies [the internet is glorious] based on the Robert B. Parker Spenser novels - Ceremony, Pale Kings and Princes, Judas Goat, A Savage Place - all entertaining, and you can't beat Avery Brooks as Hawk.






Mentalist - a good show, noted here from a line of dialogue I couldn't help but notice - "a punched in mirror is an act of self hatred" ---  Helloooo college! 

Community - Lee Majors = WIN.

The return of Breaking Bad is great TV.  "I'm the bad guy."  Indeed.

Watched - 2 weeks of TV...

NCIS Season 4, The Middle, SNL, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Millionaire Matchmaker, NCIS, Castle, Community, Modern Family, The Office, The Big Bang, Monk [series finale], Stossel, Archer, The Mentalist, Burn Notice, UFC 109, Smallville, Human Target, Men of a Certain Age, Batman The Brave and The Bold, Modern Family

Best of...

Friday Night Lights is just awesome. Best drama on TV.

30 Rock - "You are truly the Picasso of loneliness." - "I learned to talk to gorillas when I worked for GE Medical... 'We're - going - to - test - poisons - on - you.'" - "She was on Maxim's 'I'd Rape That 100.'"

Leverage - "My name is Nate Ford, and I am a thief." Truly outstanding season finale.

Watched - TV this week.

NCIS, Modern Family, Stossel, Batman: The Brave and The Bold, SNL, Iron Chef America Super Chef Battle, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, House, Human Target, 30 Rock, Community, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Bill Moyers Journal, Burn Notice, The Mentalist, Archer, Smallville, Leverage, The Middle, Strikeforce Miami

Best of the week -

Iron Chef America Super Chef Battle! Featuring the White House Executive Chef and veg from the White House garden. Which was cool, since, you know, I've been there. Plus, living in Japan, it's rare that Iron Chef America shows up on those special places on the Internets where I can watch. Missed the show. You know, given my personal menu is composed only of things I can generally make with one fry pan within 10 minutes, why I love this show is beyond me. But it is awesome.

Strikeforce Miami - Nick Niaz is a phenom, Herschel Walker is an inspiration.

Bill Moyers Journal featured Nick Gillespie of Reason.com and Reason.TV Lawrence Lessig on the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. I love Lessig's work with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and on copyright, but am more in line with Gillespie's position. But a great, reasoned discussion - something missing all too often from the political sphere.

Link to watch the video here - http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02052010/watch2.html

Finally, the 2hr Smallville Absolute Justice telefilm. I could pick little things apart like a true nerd, but overall, it was geektastic. Too bad the show can't always be that good, instead of devolving into bad soap opera and ennui. They laid some nice Checkmate foundation though. That might be interesting.