VH Corner

Fringe
The Arrival

The show really started to remind me of The X-Files with this episode. It had crazy creepy people that seem to be doing something that could be helpful or could be sinister like Mr. X or Cigarette Smoking Man in The X-Files. This time, it was the bald guy with no eyebrows, known as The Observer. I think he needs a snazzier name. At the beginning of the episode when he wanted his sandwich as raw as possible and all the peppers on the side, I commented that I wondered if he was an alien like those in Roswell that really liked Tabasco on everything since they loved spicy foods. Then he piled the entire bottle of pepper, his plate of peppers and most of the bottle of Tabasco on it. Maybe he is an alien! He doesn’t seem to age in any picture that they have taken of him over the years. He doesn’t seem to interfere with most things, sticking to his title of The Observer, but he did help Walter save him and Peter from drowning. I completely expected Walter to tell Peter that he had died in the lake and he was really a clone or something crazy like that.

Continue reading “Fringe: Can of Magical Space Soup”

Tags: arrival, fringe

It is slowing down with most shows having already premiered. Mostly there are new shows this week, along with CSI, which is my pick of the week.

Pick of the Week

CSI
Channel: CBS
Time: 9/8c
Premieres: Thursday, October 9
Starring: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, George Eads, Eric Szmanda, Paul Guilfoyle, Robert David Hall, Wallace Langham
Trailer

Synopsis: Warrick was gunned down by the Under Sheriff and the CSI team will try to figure out what happened to Warrick. Sara comes back to help work on the case. Grissom leaves the show halfway through the season and Laurence Fishburne will be joining the cast around the same time Grissom leaves. He’ll be playing a CSI that has the same gene that serial killers carry.

My Take: I’ll be sad with William Petersen leaving, but I love the show.

Continue reading “TV: Week of October 5″

Tags: Autumn Reeser, Craig Baker, csi, Easy Money, eleventh hour, Eric Szmanda, George Eads, Gretchen Mol, Harvey Keitel, Hunter Ellis, In Harm’s Way, Jaime Murray, Jason O’Mara, Jay Ferguson, Jeff Hephner, John Michael Higgins, Jonathan Murphy, Kath & Kim, Katie Lowes, Kristoffer Pohaha, Laurie Metcalf, life on mars, Lisa Bonet, Marg Helgenberger, Marley Shelton, Marsha Thomasan, Michael Imperioli, Molly Shannon, Nick Searcy, Paul Guilfoyle, Robert Baker, Robert David Hall, rufus sewell, Selma Blair, Valentine, Wallace Langham, William Petersen

Appaloosa went into wide release, but I already posted it in limited releases a few weeks ago. There are a couple interesting films being released–one with potential young lovers having fun in New York City and the story of the guy who invented intermittent windshield wipers. There are a couple that don’t seem to have much potential–a non-funny satire, an idiot making a fool of himself in front of celebrities, and everyone going blind. Finally, there is a talking dog movie, but let’s try to ignore that. The one I want to see the most is a limited release and would also be the only Certified Fresh movie this week, which is Rachel Getting Married.

Nationwide Releases

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Directed: Peter Sollett
Starring: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings
Trailer

Synopsis: Two young people meet up in a New York City night club and get dragged around trying to escape his ex-girlfriend and to find her drunk friend.

My Take: Michael Cera is funny. I am disturbed that his ex is played by pumpkinhead from Invasion though.

RT Score: 72%
RT Consensus: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist combines a pair of charming leads, the classic New York backdrop, and a sweet soundtrack.

Continue reading “Movies Opening October 3″

Tags: Alan Alda, Allah Made Me Funny, An American Carol, Andy Garcia, Anne Hathaway, Ballast, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Bill Irwin, Bill Maher, Blindness, Chaz Thorne, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, danny glover, Danny Huston, David Zucker, Debra Wigner, Dermot Mulroney, Drew Barrymore, Eleonore Hendricks, Fernando Meirelles, Flash of Genius, gael garcia bernal, gerard butler, greg kinnear, guy ritchie, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jay Baruchel, Jeremy Piven, Jimmyron Ross, Johnny McPhail, Jonathan Demme, Josh Safdie, julianne moore, Just Buried, Kat Dennings, Kelsey Grammer, Kevin Farley, Kirsten Dunst, Lance Hammer, Larry Charles, Lauren Graham, Leslie Nielsen, Marc Abraham, mark ruffalo, Megan Fox, michael cera, Michael J. Smith, Michael Wolfe, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Nigel Bennett, Peter Sollett, Placido Domingo, Pleasure of Being Robbed, Rachel Getting Married, Raja Gosnell, Religulous, Robert B. Weide, RocknRolla, rose byrne, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sergio DiZio, Simon Pegg, Tarra Riggs, Thandie Newton, Trace Adkins, Wayne Chin

Val Kilmer plays a man who doesn’t know what to do with his life after his wife is murdered. He hangs out with a bunch of druggies and Vincent D’Onfronio plays a guy with no nose.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this movie or not, but I really liked it. It is messed up and very interesting. Then it has a twist that I didn’t expect because it didn’t seem like a plot twist movie. Jer also got to play the game of waking me up every minute that I would fall asleep for 10-20 seconds at a time. Fun times!

Rating: A-

Fringe
The Ghost Network

Hmm… This is the second episode where the main picture I have used has someone with a weird metal contraption on their head. This show has some head issues. I did not enjoy this episode as much as the previous ones. It was a bit too convoluted and didn’t hold my interest as much. I’ve always liked JJ Abrams shows with the crazy overall mystery. It isn’t that part of it that is bothering me. It is the convenience of Walter working on something that relates to each mystery. I expect that to happen sometimes, but other times, I would think he would just know about it and not have done something personally with each bit of fringe science. Also, the devices just being somewhere that will solve the entire case is getting kinda goofy. I’ll continue to watch, but this one just didn’t grab me like the other episodes I have seen so far.

Continue reading “Fringe: Brain Surgery”

Tags: fringe, ghost network

Amazing Race
Bees Are Much Calmer Than All This!

The beginning of Amazing Race is never very exciting since there are so many teams and everything needs to be edited to fit in an hour. You only get to learn a little bit about the teams and I usually get some confused. This time no one was yelling at donkeys right off the bat like the first team to get booted last season. They were whiny and horrible so I was glad to see them leave. The only team that seemed like they might get annoying was the separated couple where the former football guy cheated on his wife, so she was annoyed at everything he does. I have no idea why they are together since they don’t seem to like each other very much. I was also a bit disappointed about the guys from my alma mater, Arizona State University. When I attended, so many guys were actually good looking. They do not represent the school’s population! I’m from Oregon so the crazy old hippies are a little out there, but there’s a good section of Oregon that is just like them so I can’t say the same thing.

Continue reading “TAR: Cry Team Emo!”

Tags: amazing race, brazil

Wow. It is hard to find trailers for show debuting this week. Where is the promotional push from the networks? It is a very sad state of affairs.

Update: I did only have Sunday up earlier, but now I have the entire week done.

Pick of the Week

The Amazing Race
Channel: CBS
Time: 8/7c
Premieres: Sunday, September 28
Starring: Phil Keoghan
Trailer

Synopsis: They will travel to new locations this 13th season, such as Cambodia and Kazakhstan. Also, one team will make a huge mistake that will keep them for making it to the finish line.

My Take: This is my favorite reality show. I love to see the destinations and the challenges are usually related to something specific about that culture. Also, the people that know each other already have the built-in mechanisms for arguing, which is fun to see heightened with lack of sleep.

Continue reading “TV: Week of September 28″

Tags: Abby Brammell, Adam Arkin, Adam Baldwin, Adam Rothenberg, Alex Borstein, Alexandra Breckenridge, Alimi Ballard, Amanda Tapping, amazing race, american dad, Amir Talai, Amy Brenneman, Anna Friel, Audra McDonald, Audrey Marie Anderson, Balthazar Getty, Blair Underwood, Brenda Strong, Brittany Daniel, Brittany Murphy, brothers & sisters, C.S. Lee, californication, Calista Flockhart, camryn manheim, Chi McBride, Chris Lowell, Christopher Heyerdahl, chuck, Coby Bell, cold case, Damian Lewis, dan castellaneta, Dana Delany, Danny Pino, Dave Annable, David Conrad, david duchovny, david krumholtz, David Zayas, Dee Bradley Baker, Demore Barnes, dennis haysbert, desperate housewives, dexter, dirty sexy money, Donal Logue, donald sutherland, Doug Savant, Dylan Bruno, Elizabeth Reaser, Ellen Greene, Emilie Ullerup, Emily VanCamp, eva longoria parker, Evan Handler, everybody hates chris, family guy, Felicity Huffman, ghost whisperer, Glenn Fitzgerald, hank azaria, Harry Shearer, hosea Chanchez, Imani Hakim, James Denton, James Remar, Jamie Kennedy, Jennifer Carpenter, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jeremy Ratchford, jill clayburgh, Jimmy Smits, John Finn, Johnny Hardwick, Joshua Gomez, Judd Hirsch, julie benz, julie kavner, KaDee Strickland, Kate Walsh, Kathryn Morris, Kathy Najimy, king of the hill, Kristin Chenoweth, Kyle MacLachlan, Lauren Velez, Lee Pace, life, Madeleine Martin, Madeline Zima, Marcia Cross, Matthew Rhys, Max Martini, michael c hall, Michael Irby, Mike Henry, mike judge, Mila Kunis, Nancy Cartwright, Natalie Zea, Natascha McElhone, Navi Rawat, Nicole Sheridan, numbers, Pamela Adlon, Pamela S. Adlon, Patricia Wettig, Paul Adelstein, peter krause, Peter MacNicol, Phil Keoghan, Pooch Hall, private practice, pushing daisies, Rachael MacFarlane, Rachel Boston, rachel griffiths, Regina Taylor, Ricardo Antoni Chavira, rob lowe, rob morrow, robert patrick, Robin Dunne, Ron Rifkin, Ryan Robbins, Sally Field, Sanctuary, Sarah Jane Morris, Sarah Lancaster, Sarah Shahi, Scott Foley, Scott Grimes, Seth Gabel, Seth Green, Seth MacFarlane, Shawn Pyfrom, simpsons, Sopina Brown, stephen root, supernanny, Swoosie Kurtz, Taye Diggs, Tequean Richmond, Teri Hatcher, terry crews, the ex list, the game, the unit, Thom Barry, Tia Mowry, Tichina Arnold, Tim Daly, Toby Huss, Tracie Thoms, Tyler James Williams, Vincent Martella, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Wendy Schaal, wife swap, William Baldwin, Yeardley Smith, Yvonne Strahovski, zachary levi, Zoe McLellan

None of the wide releases seem super interesting this week. There is a WWII war movie that has the most potential. There is also some stupid thriller, mushy older people love story, and marriage-on-the-rocks fable that only having faith God can save. The limited releases don’t look much better. There are tons of documentaries and only Choke seems interesting to me this week.

Nationwide Releases

Miracle at St. Anna
Directed: Spike Lee
Starring: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller
Trailer

Synopsis: During World War II, an all-black unit gets separated from the other troops in Tuscany, Italy. They must fend for themselves and risk their lives to save an Italian boy.

My Take: It seems like an interesting story that just happens to be set during a World War.

RT Score: 27%
RT Consensus: Miracle at St. Anna is a well-intentioned but overlong, disjointed affair that hits few of the right notes.

Continue reading “Movies Released September 26″

Tags: Al Goldstein, Alex Kendrick, All Roads Lead Home, Amazing Truth about Queen Raquela, Amiri Baraka, Anjelica Huston, Barney Rosset, Ben Bevel, Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, Brax Villa, Brian William Henke, Choke, Christopher Meloni, clark gregg, D.J. Caruso, Daniel O'Connor, Danny Jacobs, Darren Grodsky, Dennis Fallon, derek luke, diane lane, Eagle Eye, Erin Bethea, Fairuza Balk, Fireproof, Forever Strong, Frances Conroy, Gary Cole, George C Wolfe, Greta Scacchi, Humbolt County, Ishmael Reed, Jack Thompson, Jag Mundhra, Jason London, Jason McLeod, Jeremy Strong, John Hurt, Julian Lennon, Kelly MacDonald, Kim Kindersley, Kirk Cameron, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Laz Alonso, michael chiklis, Michael Dukakis, Michael Ealy, Michael Pena, Michelle Monaghan, Miracle at St. Anna, Molly Hagan, Naseeruddin Shah, Neal McDonough, Neil Burger, Neil Ortenberg, Nights in Rodanthe, Obscene, Olaf De Fleur Johanesson, Olivia Galudo, Om Puri, Omar Benson Miller, Penn Badgley, Peter Bogdanovich, Peter Boyle, Peter Coyote, Pierce Brosnan, Rachel McAdams, Raquela Rios, richard gere, rosario dawson, Ryan Little, Sam Donaldson, Sam Rockwell, Scott Glenn, sean astin, Sean Faris, Shia LaBeouf, Shoot on Sight, Spike Lee, Stefan Forbes, Stephen Greif, The Lucky Ones, Tim Robbins, Tom DeLay, Valery Grand, Vivien Cardone, Whaledreamers

Burn After Reading
Directed: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Starring: George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, Tilda Winton

Synopsis: Dumb gym employees find an ex-CIA’s memoirs and try to blackmail him.

I would have not known this was a Coen brother movie, if I didn’t know it going in. They usually have a way with words and weird phrases that I love. They even had weird phrases in No Country For Old Men, but I didn’t find any of it in this movie. It mostly had the same actors from other Coen brother movies and it was on the odd side, but it wasn’t one of their better movies.

Continue reading “Burn After Reading”

Tags: brad pitt, Burn After Reading, Frances McDormand, george clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Winton

Below is a listing of some albums being released this week, links to the band’s website, where to buy it on Amazon.com and a video from YouTube so you can check out if you like it.

Recommended

Artist: Kings of Leon
Album: Only By The Night

RIYL: My Morning Jacket, Beck, Coldplay, Raconteurs, The Verve

Continue reading “Music Released September 23″

This is the official season premiere week, which is why everything in the world is new. Set up those TiVo and DVRs to catch everything you want to watch!

Pick of the Week

Heroes
Channel: NBC
Time: 9/8c
Premieres: Monday, September 22 (two-hour premiere)
Starring: Masi Oka, Hayden Panettiere, Christine Rose, Adrian Pasdar, Greg Grunberg, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Ali Larter, Milo Ventimiglia, James Kyson Lee, Dania Ramirez, Zachary Quinto, Jack Coleman
Trailer

Synopsis: The season ended with Nathan Petrelli getting shot at a press conference where he was about to reveal his superpower. This season, his shooter is revealed and everyone has to deal with all the bad guys locked up in Level 5 being released.

My Take: After last season doing a poor job introducing new characters while ignoring fan favorites, this season is trying hard to win those fans back. I’ve stuck with it so far, so I’ll give it a shot.

Continue reading “TV: Week of September 21″

Tags: A.J. Buckley, A.J. Cook, Adam Rodriguez, Adrian Pasdar, alex kapp horner, Ali Larter, Alyson Hannigan, America Ferrera, Ana Ortiz, andrew mccarthy, Angela Kinsey, Angus T. Jones, Anna Belknap, Anthony LaPaglia, Ashley Jensen, B.D. Wong, B.J. Novak, Becki Newton, big bang theory, boston legal, Brian Baumgartner, Brian Dietzen, brooke shields, Brooke Smith, bruce davison, Bruno Tonioli, Candice Bergen, Carmine Giovinazzo, Carrie Ann Inaba, Chandra Wilson, Charlie Sheen, Christian Clemenson, Christine Rose, Christopher Gorham, Christopher Meloni, Chyler Leigh, clark gregg, Cobie Smulders, Conchata Ferrell, Cote de Pablo, Craig Robinson, Creed Bratton, criminal minds, csi miami, csi ny, dancing with the stars, Dania Ramirez, Dann Florek, david alan basche, David Bartis, David Caruso, David McCallum, david norona, deanna russo, doug liman, Ed Helms, Eddie Cahill, Eddie Steeples, Ellen Pompeo, Emily Procter, Emily Rutherfurd, Enrique Murciano, er, Eric Close, Eric Dane, Eric Mabius, Erinn Hayes, Ethan Suplee, Eva La Rue, gabon, Gary Anthony Williams, Gary Scott Thompson, Gary Sinise, Gary Unmarried, Goran Visnjic, Greg Grunberg, grey's anatomy, hamish linklater, Hayden Panettiere, heroes, Hill Harper, Holland Taylor, how i met your mother, Ice-T, J.D. Roth, Jack Coleman, Jaime King, Jaime Pressly, James Kyson Lee, James Pickens, James Spader, jason lee, Jason Segel, jay mohr, jeff probst, jenna fischer, Jim Parsons, Joe Mantegna, John Krasinski, John Larroquette, John Stamos, Johnny Galecki, Jon Cryer, Jonathan Togo, Josh Radnor, Jr., Judith Light, julia louis-dreyfus, justin bruening, Justin Chambers, Kaley Cuoco, Kate Flannery, katherine heigl, kim raver, Kirsten Vangsness, knight rider, Kunal Nayyar, Kurtwood Smith, Kyle Bornheimer, law and order svu, Len Goodman, Leslie David Baker, Linda Cardellini, lindsay price, lipstick jungle, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Marin Hinkle, Mariska Hargitay, mark harmon, Mark Indelicato, Masi Oka, Matthew Gray Gubler, Maura Tierney, Mekhi Phifer, Melina Kanakaredes, Melora Hardin, Mentalist, Michael Urie, Michael Weatherly, Michaela McManus, Milo Ventimiglia, Mindy Kaling, my name is earl, Nadine Velazquez, Nancy Lenehan, ncis, Neil Patrick Harris, new adventures of old christine, office, opportunity knocks, Oscar Nunez, Paget Brewster, Parminder Nagra, patrick dempsey, paul blackthorne, Paul Campbell, Paul Lieberstein, Paula Marshall, Pauley Perrette, Phyllis Smith, Poppy Montgomery, Rainn Wilson, Rebecca Romijn, Rex Linn, Richard Belzer, Robert Buckley, Robin Tunney, Rocky Carroll, Roselyn Sanchez, Ryan Malgarini, Saffron Burrows, Samantha Harris, Sandra Oh, Sara Ramirez, Scott Grimes, Sean Murray, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Shemar Moore, Simon Baker, Simon Helberg, steve carell, survivor, Sydney Tamila Poitier, T.R. Knight, Tamara Tunie, Tara Summers, Taraji Henson, Thomas Gibson, Tom Bergeron, Tony Plana, trevor gagnon, tricia o'kelley, two and a half men, ugly betty, Vanessa Williams, wanda sykes, william shatner, without a trace, worst week, Yancey Arias, Zachary Quinto