Well, it's been a while since I just wrote a blog post without any particular motive or agenda. No big movies or concerts to review, nothing too earth-shattering to talk about. And yet, it's been a really busy couple of weeks, and the past few days have been no exception. Some random things that have been going on:- Last Tuesday, I attended a taping of THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO as part of a digital partner day at work. It was my first time at the show in a while, but even though the studio was different (in fact, Jay's new studio is the one where Elllen used to tape when I was a Page), everything felt pretty familiar (including the jokes). Still, despite some rather warmed-over humor, it was a really fun show. BETTY WHITE was the main guest, and she was in fine form, with a lot of great quips, witty as always. Sam Trammel from True Blood was also on, which led to some hilarious interplay between he and Betty White. When a clip was shown of Sam (as Sam Merlotte) on True Blood shape-shifting from a dog into a (naked) man, Betty White, without missing a beat, exclaimed "boy would I like a dog that could do that!" Classic. Finally, the musical guests for the show were THE BLACK CROWES, who were pretty rockin' with their very classic-rock-ish new tune. Good stuff. And yes, fellow former NBC Pages, Jay STILL did the Ashley Simpson lip-synching joke before the show, which was lame and outdated circa 2005.
- My friend Mimi from BU was / is in town via New Jersey and Japan! I hung out with Mimi last week after not having seen her since college, so it was great catching up.
- On Friday, I saw a bunch of my friends from Birthright Israel in Redondo Beach, where Sabrina A. hosted a most-excellent Shabbat dinner party.
- My brother moved this weekend to a new apartment nearby to his old one in Burbank. Still, a big move!
- Tomorrow is primary day in many states, including CT. My dad is running for reelection for his seat as a State Rep., so it will be a big day! Make sure you go out and vote!
- This coming weekend is going to be epic! My plans so far include: seeing a SCOTT PILGRIM screening on Thurday, hitting up THE EXPENDABLES on Friday, going to the OC FAIR and seeing WEIRD AL in concert on Saturday, and then gettin' ready to rumble at SUMMERSLAM at the Staples Center on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Indeed, it shall be one for the books.
TV STUFF:
- It's been a while since I talked TV, but this has actually been a pretty good summer for quality comedy, so I'd be remiss if I stayed silent. As I always say, I try not to watch a lot of first-run TV during the summer. Instead, it's a time to catch up on old TV-on-DVD, movies, games, comics, etc. Plus, the last several weeks I've been so busy in general that I haven't had much time for anything. That said, there are two summer TV series I've been faithfully DVR'ing and watching, those being FUTURAMA and LOUIE.
- FUTURAMA reached its high point since returning from cancellation two weeks ago, when it aired the first truly classic episode of its latest run: "The Late Philip J. Fry". This time-spanning epic was a throwback to the best episodes from throughout the series' run -- combining a great sci-fi concept with some real heart and emotion, and, of course, a ton of awesome jokes and gags. This was a flat-out 'A' episode, right up there with the series' best. It made this past Thursday's ep, "That Darn Katz!" slightly disappointing in comparison. The plot, about a race of alien cats involved in a plot to halt the earth's rotation, was amusing if not overly awesome. A decent ep, but not up to last week's standards. Still, it's still amazing and kickass to have Futurama back on TV with new episodes. While the episode quality has been up and down, we've seen that the show is still able to churn out a classic. And, honestly, the overall quality has been very good to excellent. I have a feeling that come the end of the year, Futurama will once again have a place on my list of the year's best TV.
- Meanwhile, LOUIE on FX has been really exciting to watch develop. It's one of those shows that just feels so fresh and unique that, even when it's not 100% clicking with its humor, it's still a real pleasure to watch. At first, I wasn't sure if it made sense to so heavily feature Louie CK's standup, but it's been the standup segments that have been some of the show's biggest standouts. I also enjoy the show's mix of random humor with some pretty pointed social and political commentary. I don't think the show is really political, per se, but at the same time, there's a sense of authenticity to it that is pretty raw. You really feel like you are seeing Louie CK fully exposed for all to see. And that honesty often leads to absolutely hilarious, if not awkward and fairly dark humor. This past week's episode, in which Louie gets paid a visit from his horrible mother, was a good example. It's funny, because on paper Louie deals in a lot of standard sitcom tropes, but the execution, often feeling more like a series of short films than a normal TV comedy, is what makes this more than just standard, watered-down comedy fare. This is Louie CK putting himself and his comedy, unfiltered, up on screen, and it's a total contrast to most other comedies on the air. This is one of the best new comedies we've seen on TV in a long time.
- So what else have I been watching? Well, after finishing season 2 of TRUE BLOOD on Blu-Ray, I've been digging into Season 7 of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. So far, it's sidesplittingly hilarious. Amazing. Larry David is a genius. I've also been trying to finish up THE MIGHTY BOOSH, which I kind of stalled on for a while but am now back into again. I still have DVD's lying around of Twin Peaks, Rome, and Planet Earth that need to be watched. And, one perk of working in Digital Distribution? Early access to Hulu Plus on my PS3. On that service, there are complete runs of such series as Buffy, Firefly, and Spaced. Yeah ... so much to do, so little time.
- As far as movies go, the last week or two has seen an influx of smaller indie movies hit that I'm somewhat curious about. Interested in checking out Middle Men, Get Low, Lebanon, and a couple of other smaller movies that have just been released. And, I still need to see The Other Guys, which I'm very excited to see, especially seeing as how it's from the team that brought us Anchorman and Talladega Nights. Now, this coming weekend is going to be very interesting at the box office ...
A few months ago, everyone seemed to think that The Expendables was going to bomb. Here's a random theory on this ... I think that a lot of older critics and writers and media watchers fall victim to "old people time." When you live on old people time, all of pop-culture that happened after a certain point tends to blur together. It's like talking to an eighty-year-old man about rock n' roll. Unless that man was uniquely attuned to pop-culture in his later years, anything after The Beatles is probably the same to him. He wouldn't know the progression of rock from the sixties on. He wouldn't know hair metal from grunge from new wave. If you showed that eighty year old man an old Poison music video, he'd probably say something about that "newfangled rock n' roll music," not realizing that he was watching something already twenty-five years old.
I guess that relates back to something like The Expendables in that the pundits who take the long view, but aren't fans themselves ... well, they aren't attuned to the subtle shifts in fandom. They react to the zeitgeist rather than be a part of it. If you live by old person time, then you probably aren't all that interested in a new Stallone action movie. Afterall, to you, he never left - he's just doing the same thing he's been doing all this time. But if you are a movie fan, an action movie fan, then the recent Stallone renaissance has been a welcome respite from the endless parade of lame-ass wannabe action vehicles that emphasize slick CGI and pretty-boy leading men over the gritty, take-no-prisoners style of action that Stallone and Schwarzenneger made cool back in the day. For every action movie starring a Paul Walker or yeah, a Matt Damon, I think the appetite for old-school, larger than life action heroes has only grown exponentially. But us 80's kids that grew up with Stallone and Arnold alongside He-Man and Sgt. Slaughter have demanded a return to hardcore, balls-to-the-wall action, and Stallone has listened. In return, we want to make his movie a hit. Without being too overanalytical, I think it's sometimes hard for media watchers to see the makings of a true trend. Rocky and Rambo were the warm-ups, the momentum-builders. Now here's when Stallone steamrolls the box office.
By the same token, you have to wonder about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. At Comic-Con, the cool kids were all about Scott Pilgrim. And with good reason - the movie is a love letter to Gen Y, an ode to growing up in the Nintendo generation. But how much monetary power does our generation actually wield? Can a movie aimed at Gen Y geeks succeed? I think Scott Pilgrim's appeal may surprise people. Teens will see it. Guys and girls will see it. Older folks? Probably not. Most likely not. But hey, haven't we had enough movies that celebrate Woodstock or The Beatles or whatever? Isn't it time for a movie that's wrapped in the aesthetic of Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter? I say yes! To that end, support Scott Pilgrim this weekend. See it and see The Expendables. Look, let's be honest here. The Expendables is probably going to be fun as hell, but Scott Pilgrim is likely going to be the better movie. This IS Edgar Wright we're talking about - Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, anyone? To quote the review of the movie up now on film fansite Chud: "This is a great movie from a great filmmaker. And people turn into coins when defeated. If that's not a winning combination I don't know what is." Here's the good thing though - two very cool movies are out this weekend. My point being: if Eat, Pray, Love is #1 at the box office, it will be an epic fail of epic proportions.
Okay, guess this eventually turned into a movie post afterall. So, before things get out of hand ... I'm outta here. Until next time ...
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