The Idiot Box
of late i have spent a lot more time watching television than normal. partly, i suppose, is because there have been a few more quality shows on broadcast television:
- house -- hugh laury plays dr. greg house plays a doctor that speaks bluntly to his patients, hospital staff and administration, and ... well ... anybody. it is to the point of being rude, but almost always the truth. there were clearly some skeletons in his closet one of which was worked out in the final two episodes of the season. we'll see how the next season goes, as the show definitely uses the same formula over and over and it is likely to get boring if they don't spice it up. the season ending helped with that, so there is promise on the horizon.
- law & order: trial by jury -- bebe neuworth plays a sexy assistant district attorney in a show that highlights the investigation and prosecution from a different angle than the other law & order shows. like most shows of it's kind, they'll often use current news in their story lines.
- grey's anatomy is yet another "doctor show" that to me is akin to er in it's early days. it has an interesting cast of characters and the plots tend to be reasonably original. the season ender was a bit of a kick in the pants and should make next season worth watching. network execs and nielson's must have agreed as its pilot bumped one of my fav's "boston legal" to play out the season.
- boston legal -- features james spader and william shatner as two "interesting" attorneys at a prominent boston legal firm. denny craine (shatner) is a partner that probably should have retired years ago, but still manages to make things happen. alan shore (spader) is the spin-off from the highly successful series "the practice" -- he is an attorney that seeminly has no morals and does what needs to be done to win a case. of course, when he is ignoring ethics and alike, it tends to be for a good cause that simply doesn't match up with what might always be "legally correct", so he tends to get plenty of sympathy from the audience. not that he would care, as he makes it perfectly clearly that he is ok with his behaviors and just lets those around him "deal with it". we all could use a little more alan shore in us. well, i could at least. when looking for the link, i noticed they even have a decent "unofficial fan site with rss feeds and a countdown to season two.
moving from broadcast to paid television, i'm still waiting for the next (and last?) season of the sopranos and am currently watching the last season of
six feet under and wondering when/if
huff will come back.
ok, i'll use this entry to throw out the movies i've seen recently...
- Suspect Zero -- the dust cover made it look like this was going to be a really good movie. it was "ok" and worth a rental should nothing better be available.
- Darkness -- don't bother. seriously.
- Unspeakable -- another is a long list of "ok" movies.
- Sideways -- a little wine. a little whine. i thought they were heading up to napa when they talked about the "wine country". it had it's amusing moments but all-in-all was pretty much middle of the road.
- White Noise -- terribly disappointing. i was all jazzed to get to what this right away and ended up wondering why i bothered.
- Kinsey -- informative i guess. i didn't know a lot about this guy and this flick filled in some details. it did make for an amusing story which i'll think about entering one of these days.
- National Treasure -- my expectations were low... and they were met. a decent rental, albeit a bit long. solving the puzzles on the dvd to unlock the extra content was amusing at 2am. and no, i won't give away the answers.
- Last House on the Left -- anw picked this classic movie (wes craven's first movie). it showed it's age, but was still fun to watch. not great by any standard, but coupled with the extras on the dvd.. it was entertaining. and yes, that is a little like saying "she has a nice personality"...
- Assault on Precinct 13 -- a little shoot 'em up is always good. the plot? eh, so-so. fine if you just want to veg out with something that isn't going to just put you to sleep.
- The Life Aquatic -- i expected a bit more from a bill murray comedy. the movie was amusing in rather subtle ways and a touch long for my taste.
- Boogeyman -- typical japanese horror. similar filming to "the grudge" with the camera movements and angles. it isn't something that is going to scare you and the ending has a lot left to be desired, but if you have nothing better to do you could pick worse.
- Are We There Yet? -- a predictable comedy that will make you chuckle from time to time anyway. ice cube shows (again) that he can actually act, but will never be confused with any great actors. of course, those actors haven't done as well as him in the music business, so i guess that makes them even.
- Blow -- that was johnny depp? he definitely had a different look and it took a second look for it to sink in. a pretty good movie about how the columbia drug cartel gained some of its first successful roots in the united states. go get 'em tuna!
i still have aviator checked out, but at 3 hours, i have no idea when i'm going to watch it. eventually i'm sure.
Posted by ac at June 12, 2005 05:34 PM