Saturday, December 03, 2011

Friday, December 02, 2011

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Monday, November 28, 2011

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Premieres and Notables: November 28- December 4, 2011

Monday, 11/28

The Sing-Off (NBC; 7 pm CST). Season Finale.

Bored to Death (HBO; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.

Pawn Stars; History. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Rizzoli & Isles; TNT. 9 pm CST. Mid-season Return.


Tuesday, 11/29

America's Supernanny; Lifetime. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Deborah Tillman uses her childcare expertise to help parents with their little angels.

Weed Wars; Discovery. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A look at the founder of Oakland's largest medical marijuana dispensary.


Wednesday, 11/30

I Hate My Teenage Daughter; Fox. 8:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Jamie Pressley and Katie Fenneran star as two moms who don't want their teen girls growing up to be the types of classmates they hated themselves when they went to school.
I'm giving it a shot-- but I will say I haven't been hearing good things.

Hot in Cleveland; TVLand. 9 pm CST. Mid-season Return.

The Exes; TVLand. 9:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Kristen Johnson plays a divorce lawyer who is also the landlord to three of her former clients (Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, and David Alan Bache).
I haven't anything good about this one either.


Friday, 12/2

The Take; Encore. 8 pm CST. Mini-series Premiere.
This four-part British mini from 2009 stars Tom Hardy as an ex-con who wants to take-down organized crime.

Starving Secrets With Tracey Gold; Lifetime. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Gold helps anorexics get better.


Saturday, 12/3

Would You Rather? BBC America. 10 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Graham Norton hosts this fun celeb-panel version of the "home game".

Hulk vs. Ewok

Friday, November 25, 2011

Thursday, November 24, 2011

The Muppets-- film review

I used to post reviews and kinda got away from it because they were tough to write-- especially knowing barely a handful of people actually saw them.

But I am still interested in pointing people toward good movies and away from bad ones.  And when a film is still in theatres, it's important to point people in a timely manner (something I'm terrible at).

So here's a few quick thoughts about the film The Muppets, which opened yesterday:

First off, I'm not a huge Muppets fan. As a kid, I was more interested in the wackiness of the Gonzo stunts-- or the hosts (like Mark Hamill) of the prime time series.  And, as an adult, I never really watched any of the films even though my kids had periods where they liked watching some of the movies again and again.

But none of that mattered to see this new film. As a Jason Segal fan, I knew getting this film produced was a labor of love, and it shows (not to give Segal all the credit; he's just the guy I know who had a large part in making this).  Segal has a way of completely convincing us that he is sincere (when he needs to be)-- no matter how ridiculous the goings-on of a movie-- and it really worked here.

It's the Muppets, so corny is expected, and there was some of that, but there was also some real heart (and non-corny) humor to this one.  Sure, some of the "heart" was a little too overt, but I'll admit to getting a little teary-eyed a couple of times.  Even though it was rushed at times, the story was organic, and other than tying up the film during the credits, it was a good-start-to-finish film with no lagging scenes.

All in all, this is a great movie for kids-- that doesn't insult adults (actually, adults will "get more" from it).  That's extremely rare. The music is really good, and the songs are funny-- another breakthrough.

And I know old school fans will never accept anyone other than Jim Henson as Kermit, but Steve Whitmire was excellent.  Kermit has no facial features that can be manipulated to express emotion, but the mere moving of the arc of his head showed a lot. It's subtle, but effective.

There's nothing terribly original here-- but it's all done so well, I can't give this any less than a B+.  It's worth checking out.

Breaking up a fight using only words

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Just because I think this is cool

Not to put a damper on a new (and I think has potential to be pretty good) film releasing today, but I love this picture.



Monday, November 21, 2011

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Premieres and Notables: November 21-27, 2011

Monday, 11/21

The Layover; Travel Channel. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Anthony Bourdain hosts this new travelogue.

You Deserve It; ABC.  8:01 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Some sort of gameshow where the contestants play for people who need the quarter-million dollar prize more than they do.


Tuesday, 11/22

Dancing With the Stars (ABC; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.

Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel; HBO. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere
Highly recommended.

Thursday, 11/24

Noodle and Doodle; Sprout. 8:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A crafts and cooking show for preschoolers...


Friday, 11/25

Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse; TBS. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Michael Jai White and Tasha Smith reprise their roles from Perry's film Why Did I Get Married? in this new series.

All on the Line With Joe Zee; Sundance. 8:30 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Sunday, 11/27

The Walking Dead (AMC; 8 pm CST). Mid-season Finale.
The shit really hits the fan for the survivors-- and then AMC is going to make us wait a few months for the rest of the season.

And sometime tonight (I'm guessing 9 or 10 pm CST), Chelsea Handler's After Lately will debut its second season.  If you like Chelsea Lately, then it's must-see.  If you just like seeing coworkers humilate and ridicule each other, then it's a must-see for those reasons as well.

Bank America Listens

Friday, November 18, 2011