Zombie Redneck Torture Family

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope it was a good one full of costumes, candies, and cheers. Or maybe it was filled with gory adventures Cabin in the Wood-style. If the latter, do tell me which scary monster you picked to hunt you down...

Was it... Werewolf, Alien Beast, Mutants, Wraiths, Zombies, Reptilius, Clowns, Witches, Sexy Witches, Demons, Hell Lord, Angry Molesting Tree, Giant Snake, Deadites, Kevin, Mummy, The Bride, The Scarecrow Folk, Snowman (wait, what?), DragonBat, Vampires, Dismemberment Goblins, Sugarplum Fairy, Merman, The Reanimated, Unicorn, Huron, Sasquatch/Wendigo/Yeti, Dolls, The Doctors, Zombie Redneck Torture Family, Jack O' Lantern, Giant, or the Twins?

I say anything but the Merman. Because... eewww. Also, how great was this little gem of a film written by Joss Whedon released earlier this year? I was almost glad its release was delayed a couple of years so we could all enjoy the 1-2 cinematic punch of Whedon this year. Could be three if Much Ado About Nothing actually releases this year. Make it happen, Hollywood, or I swear the Angry Molesting Trees will get you.

Looking Forward To...

Lincoln
Release: November 9, 2012
Distributor: Buena Vista
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, David Strathairn, James Spader, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Hawkes, Jared Harris, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jackie Earle Haley, Julie White, Adam Driver, Lee Pace, Walton Goggins, Gregory Itzin, S. Epatha Merkerson, David Oyelowo, and Hal Holbrook

A star-studded cast headed by a legendary director in a movie about one of the greatest historical figure of all time... GIVE IT ALL THE AWARDS! Or not. Can't really say much until I see the film. I mean look at last year's J. Edgar. But I have higher hopes for this film than last year's dull affair mostly due to two elements that are conveniently highlighted in this week's TIME covers.

First, the American cover features Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and surely delving more into the life of the supremely popular president will be a bit more worthwhile than the controversial head of the FBI. The focus on the election this year (this week!) will also keep politics in the forefront of many Americans' minds making the film perfectly topical. The second cover, the International Edition, chose to highlight the actor or in their words, The World's Greatest Actor. It's a bold claim that I'm sure has been widely debated, but it's certainly acceptable. Nothing against Leonardo DiCaprio, but he's no Day-Lewis. Of course, with all of this said, the film can still disappoint, so we'll see!

Parks and Rec: I Say I Do

I've been working on a post where I touch base on all of the new shows I picked up this season and see where I am with each, but I'm going to post that a bit later this week. For now I just want to quickly talk about my favorite comedy, Parks and Recreation, especially since this week it's getting preempted for some stupid reality show.

First, the proposal last week was absolutely perfect. It just felt right that these two characters are taking this next step in their relationship. And even though Ben, yet again, put Leslie and her dreams ahead of his professional career because he realized that he was "ridiculously in love" with her was the stuff of fairy tales, it still felt like this show and these characters EARNED this perfect moment. The fact that it was also a surprise proposal gave me joy since I honestly didn't see it coming. I knew some big, life-changing thing was probably going to happen in the episode. I thought Jerry's heart fart attack was it then I thought it was Ben taking the job in Florida. And even later in the episode, I thought it was going to be Ron opening himself up to a romantic relationship. So when Ben went down on bended knee and opened the box with the ring, Leslie wasn't the only one whose heart skipped a beat.

My love for Ben, Leslie, and their relationship can probably be summed up in this wonderful retrospective video montage of some of their best moments:



Frankly, I'm glad Ben's Washington arc is done as both actors really do play off best with each other, but that's not to say I didn't like it. On the contrary, I have enjoyed seeing Adam Scott have lots of scene with Audrey Plaza as they too had palpable chemistry. But I really was starting to feel uncomfortable as it seemed like the show wanted us to imagine Ben and April together, as in romantically. On the other hand, I knew this show really wasn't like that as that plot development would absolutely break the hearts of Leslie and Andy.

But on to the other characters... how awesome is it that Ron Swanson is dating Xena Warrior Princess? I mean when I heard Lucy Lawless was cast as Ron's love interest, I already knew it would be love at first sight and it really, really was. Speaking of, I'm more and more convinced that Chris and Ann are becoming endgame. Yes, when they first got together it didn't work out, but we now know that BOTH of them were seriously messed up as evidenced by Chris going to therapy now and Ann most recently realizing she's been losing herself in her relationships. I think a season or so of more self-actualizing and both can reconnect. A few of the other things that have made me smile this season: Andy hanging out with kids, Donna livetweeting, Tom's Rent-A-Swag, Ron in princess makeup, Leslie's half-perm, Ben's Star Trek fanfic, and April toying with Ben.

Joss Whedon And the Zombie Apocalypse

It's been a busy week/weekend what with celebrating my birthday and prepping for the hurricane barreling up the East Coast. When I can I do want to talk about me getting to see The Heiress with Dan Stevens and Jessica Chastain and Bryan Fuller's take on The Munsters in his possibly aborted pilot Mockingbird Lane.

For now, everyone should check out Joss Whedon's brilliant endorsement of Mitt Romney's plan to to bring about the zombie apocalypse:


And people wonder why I've been a Whedon fan since 1997.

Looking Forward To...

Wreck-It Ralph
Release: November 2, 2012
Distributor: Buena Vista
Director: Rich Moore
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch, Adam Carolla, Rachael Harris, Dennis Haysbert, Ed O'Neill, Alan Tudyk, and Mindy Kaling

Guess What I'm Seeing Tonight

Hint #1: It's not a movie or a TV show, but it was a film at one point that won a few Oscars.

Hint #2: One of its stars (female) is a recent Oscar nominee and has been insanely busy.

Hint #3: Another star (male) is on a show that everyone seems to be watching and/or talking about.

Hint #4: The other male star is also an Oscar nominee, but has been headlining a genre TV show more recently.

If you don't get it after those first four hints, maybe this casual cast photo shot earlier this month after the cut will help you out...

Looking Forward To...

Cloud Atlas
Release: October 26, 2012
Distributor: Warner Brothers
Directors: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, & Tom Tykwer
Starring: Ben Whishaw, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Hugo Weaving, Tom Hanks, David Gyasi, Jim Sturgess, Hugh Grant, Doona Bae, Jim Broadbent, Xun Zhou, and James D'Arcy

Pilot Thoughts: Nashville and Arrow

The involvement of Connie Britton and the great reviews from TV critics were the reasons I checked out ABC's new show Nashville. It also helped that last year I ended up visiting the city and was absolutely charmed by it. I'm saying all of this so you know that even before I saw a single second of the show, I already knew that I wanted to like it, and I'm pleased to say my feelings have been confirmed after the pilot episode. Yes, there are worrying aspects about the show. The biggest will be the political subplot symbolically being played out parallel to the whatever issues Rayna Jaymes (Britton) has with her overbearing father. And while I appreciate Britton's character being pulled in so many directions, her main struggle of trying to be relevant in the country music scene is far more engrossing to me. She is helped by a talented ensemble and a soundtrack that not only sounds good, but also feels real and organic. That final duet with Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen is absolutely bewitching. And even though we meet so many characters within the hour and all their different relationships with each other, I already feel invested in them as characters. Finally, it's also a gorgeously-shot pilot episode, showing off the best of what the city of Nashville has to offer. Really looking forward to seeing more of this. B/B+

As many comic book TV shows and films I have seen in my lifetime, my geekdom knowledge is still relatively limited so the prospect of having a Green Arrow TV series didn't excite me much. But I was intrigued enough to check out Arrow's pilot episode, mostly to see Stephen Amell shirtless and also just to see how the CW would go about giving the property a Smallville-esque reboot to cater to their young female demographic (see again beaucoup male shirtlessness). The verdict is decidedly mixed on my part. Yes, Amell's body is a vision to behold, but his character's Bruce Wayne-ness is feeling a bit flat at the moment especially since we know so very little of him and his supposed big change. I also understand that they needed to pack a lot of backstory, exposition, and setup in this first episode, so the hour felt a bit disconnected and most definitely rushed. My favorite part of the pilot, however, is slowly realizing how similar it was to last season's Revenge. We have the main character, who has gone through extensive training, seeking justice as a result of their father's death and has a penchant for voice-over narration. We also have a wise-cracking wealthy sidekick, a sister dabbling into substance abuse, an old flame they can't get involved in, and an older female mother figure out to get them. I'm not saying Arrow is as good as Revenge. It's not, especially since I'm not immediately invested in the characters as I was for the characters in Revenge or even Nashville. But those similarities will keep me watching a bit. B-/C+

Birthday Boy: Dan Stevens

My favorite male character on Downton Abbey is the pragmatic, stubborn, and romantic Matthew Crawley played by British actor Dan Stevens who celebrates his 30th birthday today. Of course most of that is because his chemistry and scenes with Michelle Dockery are off-the-charts awesome, but he's talented all by his lonesome. I actually first saw him in the much recommended miniseries The Line of Beauty a few years ago way before his Downton days and he impressed me there as well. Playing gay and looking pretty in the film also helped make me a big fan of his early on. Easy to please me really.

The third season of the Emmy Award winning Downton Abbey is currently airing in Britain at the moment and Stevens will also appear in the comedy film Vamps next month from the director and writer of Clueless. Of course, I'm much more looking forward to seeing him on Broadway in a few weeks in The Heiress where he'll act alongside Jessica Chastain and David Strathairn.

Looking Forward To...

Smashed
Release: October 12, 2012
Distributor: Sony Classics
Director: James Ponsoldt
Starring: Aaron Paul, Octavia Spencer, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullaly, Mary Kay Place, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Didn't even know this film was coming out this weekend! I've been excited about this movie when I first heard about it earlier this year when it premiered at Sundance and eventually winning a Special Jury Prize for Independent Film Producing. Now I don't really even know what the film is about other than the cast being one of the coolest ever assembled. And that's pretty much all I need to know. It's opening in very limited theaters so it might not be readily available for everyone yet.

While Smashed is the main film I'm looking forward to this weekend, there are two other films in my radar and they are both opening much, much wider. First is Ben Affleck's Argo which is already an Oscar frontrunner in many pundits' minds. It apparently has that great blend of being a Serious Film whilst also being a people pleaser. Affleck stars in the film which also includes Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, Victor Garber, and John Goodman. The second movie is Seven Psychopaths and the cast is pretty stacked for this one as well. Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Abbie Cornish, and Woody Harrelson all star in this dark comedy written and directed by In Bruges director Martin McDonagh.