Recommended
The Tudors
Channel: SHO
Time: 9/8c
Premieres: Sun, Mar 30
Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jeremy Northam, Henry Cavill, Natalie Dormer, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Nick Dunning, James Frain
Trailer
Synopsis: Last season, Henry VII was introduced as power-hungry, angry young man who was all about the pleasures of life when Anne Boleyn bewitches him into wanting a divorce from his queen,which the Roman Catholic church does not condone. This season, he breaks from the Church and starting the Church of England while making Anne his queen so she can produce him a male heir.
My Take: There are a lot of liberties taken with history, but Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Natalie Dormer have tons of sexy chemistry together. It also features all the usual fabulous outfits and epic intrigues of sex, power, ambition and betrayal.
Continue reading “TV: Week of Mar 30″
Tags: anne boleyn, gordon ramsay, hell's kitchen, Henry Cavill, henry viii, James Frain, Jeremy Northam, jonathan rhys meyers, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Natalie Dormer, Nick Dunning, state of the union, tracey ullman, tudors
Top Chef: Chicago
Block Party
The chefs are talking about two chefs being gone and a few of them comment about another woman chef gone. I agreed with the choices about who left so far, but I do hope that a woman chef wins this time around. There has usually been one woman chef in the finale, but they never make it that last step. I’m still for the overall best chef winning, but I always root for the women a bit more. 
I’m still trying to figure out who I liked this season. Antonia is impressive, but I also think Ryan, Richard and Mark are interesting too. I don’t know what to make of Andrew yet since he is such a spaz.
Continue reading “Top Chef: Soggy Sadness”
Tags: block party, chicago, mexican, rick bayless, tacos, top chef
Nationwide Releases
Run, Fat Boy, Run
Directed: David Schwimmer
Starring: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Dylan Moran, Hank Azaria, Ameet Chana
Trailer
Synopsis: A guy with commitment issues leaves his pregnant fiance on their wedding day, and then tries to win her back for the past five years. He thinks he has figured out a way to do it by running a marathon.
My Take: Romantic comedy that can win guys over since it features Simon Pegg from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. It also features an awesome song by The Fratellis in the trailer.
RT Score: 46%
RT Consensus: Run, Fat Boy, Run features sporadic laughs, but is ultimately too formulaic and predictable.
Continue reading “Movies Opening Mar 28″
Tags: , 21, Abbie Cornish, Ameet Chana, american zombie, Angela Finocchiaro, Audrey Tautou, Austin Basis, Channing Tatum, chapter 27, Christopher McDonald, Ciaran Hinds, Craig Mazin, Daniele Luchetti, David Schwimmer, Demi Moore, Diane Fleri, Drake Bell, Dylan Moran, Elio Germano, flawless, Gad Elmaleh, Grace Lee, hank azaria, hats off, J.P. Schaefer, Jane Edith Wilson, Jared Leto, Jim Sturgess, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Joss Ackland, Judah Friedlander, Jyll Johnstone, Kate Bosworth, kevin spacey, Kimberly Peirce, Lambert Wilson, Laurence Fishburne, Leslie Nielsen, Leslie Paxton, Lindsay Lohan, Luca Zingaretti, Marion Ross, michael caine, Michael Radford, My Brother is an Only Child, Pierre Salvadori, priceless, Riccardo Scamarcio, Robert Luketic, Run Fat Boy Run, Ryan Philippe, Simon Pegg, stop loss, superhero movie, Suzy Nakamura, Thandie Newton
The Lookout
Directed: Scott Frank
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Isla Fisher, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino
A star high school athlete losing his dreams when a car accident leaves him with certain mental deficiencies. He’s working as a janitor at a bank when he gets pulled into a robbery scheme.
Even though I never watched Third Rock From the Sun, I have always enjoyed the movies that I have seen with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I enjoyed him in this movie too as Chris, a guy who is hurt in a bad car accident. He was convincing as the hockey athlete before the accident and then the guy who isn’t completely all there and a little slow after the accident. He seems just fine, but then something really simple throws him for a loop, like counting change. It would just hang him up, he’d stumble and try to work through it. Sometimes he could and other times, he would get so frustrated, it was heartbreaking.
Continue reading “The Lookout”
Tags: Carla Gugino, isla fisher, jeff daniels, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, lookout, Matthew Goode, scott frank
Eastern Promises
Directed: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl
After a teenage girl dies in the hands of a midwife, only the baby survives. The midwife tries to find out where she came from by translating the girl’s diary written in Russian. She finds herself embroiled with organized crime in London and dangerous Russian men.
The movie starts off with Naomi Watts’ midwife, Anna, who is trying to find someone to translate the dead pregnant girl’s diary so she knows if the baby has any family before she ends up in foster care. She starts with her Russian uncle who is old school and hilarious in his backwards way. He is a bit of troublesome while translating it so Anna tries to find out if the girl worked at a restaurant after finding a business card in the diary. She meets a seemingly kindly man who owns the restaurant and he says he can translate the diary for her. When she brings a copy of the diary the next day, she slowly starts to realize that she might have walked into something dangerous. She sees the man’s gangster son who is a mess. His driver is Nikolai, which is Viggo Mortensen’s character. He seems a bit more friendly, but she suddenly doesn’t trust any of them. It is too late at that point since they know where she works and where she lives. While her uncle finally gets through translating the diary, they realize what a mess they have all found themselves in. It goes back and forth between her and her family teetering on the edge of the Russian mob and Nikolai moving up the ranks as a full-fledged gangster from just a driver.
Continue reading “Eastern Promises”
Tags: Armin Mueller-Stahl, david cronenberg, eastern promises, Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen
The Other Boleyn Girl
Directed: Edward Shearmurk
Starring: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana
The two Boleyn sisters that were mistresses of Henry VIII, the king of England.
Henry VIII has always been an intriguing fellow. I knew he had many wives, he broke from the Catholic Church and starting his own religion in order to get a divorce, and Anne Boleyn was involved somehow. That is about all I could remember from high school history classes. I started watching The Tudors on Showtime last year, but only watched the first episode. The rest have been saved on TiVo since then while watching other things first. Going into this movie, I didn’t know what was real and what was historically inaccurate. I just go with what happens in the movie, but while watching it, I always wonder how much of it is true. It makes me go research what really happened, which most people might not do, but makes me go learn history so I find that a good thing!
Continue reading “The Other Boleyn Girl”
Tags: Edward Shearmurk, Eric Bana, natalie portman, Other Boleyn Girl, scarlett johansson
Canterbury’s Law
Channel: FOX
Time: Friday, 9/8c
Starring: Julianna Margulies, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Ben Shenkman, Keith Robinson, Aidan Quinn
Synopsis: Denis Leary is one of the executive producers of this drama about a strong, rebellious female defense attorney.
I wasn’t too sure of the show after the first episode. It seemed to be trying too hard. I liked it a lot better after the second episode as the actors settled into their characters a little more. I really like Julianna Margulies. She came across as super aggressive the entire first episode and only showed a softer side at the very end. The second episode she was a little more well-rounded throughout the entire episode. She is obsessed with her work and haunted by her son being kidnapped three years ago. It is ruining her marriage, but she is trying to hold it all together. She just isn’t doing it very well.
I’d like to see more of it, but it just got bumped off of Monday nights to Friday nights. It hasn’t been canceled, but I’m not sure how long it will last on Friday nights. It is a death spot. That’s too bad since I think this show does have potential that it just started to show after two episodes.
Tags: Aidan Quinn, Ben Shenkman, canterbury's law, Julianna Margulies, Keith Robinson, Trieste Kelly Dunn
Bank Job
Directed: J. Peter Robinson
Starring: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, David Suchet, Keeley Hawes
Based on a true story in 1970s London where a robbery of bank safety deposit boxes is more than just about money, but also scandalous secrets.
What I expected to be a fun, little British heist caper ended up being that plus a whole lot more. It was more intelligent than I expected and I had to pay attention so I didn’t miss anything. Jason Statham was impressive and believable as the main guy who used to do bad things, tried to shape up and does odd jobs while relatively staying out of trouble.
I really enjoyed all the British colloquialisms used in the movie like calling the bad guys “villains” and an unsavory girl “scallywag.” There were twists and turns to keep it interesting until the end. There were some unexpected acts of violence that made some of it sad, but everything came together in the best way possible.
Rating: B+
Tags: bank job, David Suchet, j. peter robinson, jason statham, Keeley Hawes, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore
The show was canceled last season, but after ardent fans bombarded CBS with peanuts (a shout-out to the last episode), they brought it back. It was renewed just for seven episodes, but they had hoped the ratings would improve enough that it would come back for a third regular season. The ratings this season were worse than they were last season, so it couldn’t be saved a second time. The show did prepare for this to happen by shooting two last episodes–one that left a cliffhanger in case it did come back for a third season and another one that wraps things up a bit, but not completely. Sorry Jericho!
Source: TV Guide
Tags: canceled, jericho
