Matt Bomer XXL

This new character poster for Magic Mike XXL featuring Matt Bomer hit the internet yesterday and good golly, I've lasciviously enjoyed it since I laid my eyes on it. So count me in when this movie opens in July 1st. I'm only human.

Emmy Nominations and Predictions: Drama

Yesterday, I took a look at the comedy categories and talked about who the favorites are and who should've been nominated. With one day left until the Emmys, here are my thoughts and predictions for the drama categories.

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
House of Cards
Mad Men
True Detective

Last year, I was fine with The Good Wife not being nominated, but this year I'm just ANGRY. There's just no excuse for that show to have been left off the list this year after its mind-blowing fifth season. I guess I should be satisfied that there aren't any real dogs among the nominees (maybe Downton Abbey a little?), but how great would it have been to see something like Masters of Sex or The Americans (this show in particular was largely ignored by the TV Academy as well as Hannibal) in the lineup. Breaking Bad is the slight frontrunner here after snatching the reins from Mad Men last year and delivering a nearly flawless final final season, but True Detective (in the wrong fucking category by the way) is the buzzy new kid on the block starring the McConnaisance so it's not a lock by any means.

Prediction: Breaking Bad
Alternate: True Detective
Should Win: Breaking Bad
Should've Been Nominated: The Good Wife, Masters of Sex, The Americans, Hannibal

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Woody Harrelson, True Detective
Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

The Oscars should beat the Tonys at this year's Emmys. I mean, I've made my peace that Oscar winner McConaughey will win and not undeservedly so especially since Tony winner Cranston already has won three times prior, so it's all good. And to be brutally honest, I'm pretty much just anti-Daniels this year whose win last year still confounds and angers me (over Cranston? over Spacey? over Hamm?). So everyone else can literally win as long as it's not Daniels. With that said, did the TV Academy not watch Hannibal with its stunning season-long two-man standoff between Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy? Because wow.

Prediction: Matthew McConaughey
Alternate: Bryan Cranston
Should Win: Bryan Cranston
Should've Been Nominated: Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy, Matthew Rhys

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Robin Wright, House of Cards

The sheer happiness I felt when Caplan's name was called on nomination morning was tempered a bit when I realized that Elisabeth Moss was left out. Out of all last year's nominees, I would've pegged Moss to be the safest based on what she did on her show this season. Her non-nomination was one of those things that you didn't think about until it happened and then everything hurt. I am happy that Margulies came back after being left out last year, especially after such a brilliant season. I have no idea who the favorite is. Danes has won the past two years, but Caplan could surprise as could Golden Globe winner Wright. Write-in vote for Moss? Write-in vote for Tatiana Maslany! Who am I kidding? It'll probably be Jeff Daniels and I'll get angry all over again.

Prediction: Julianna Margulies
Alternate: Robin Wright
Should Win: Lizzy Caplan
Should've Been Nominated: Elisabeth Moss, Tatiana Maslany, Keri Russell

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

I actually still like Downton Abbey and Carson is a hoot, but Carter's nomination is just ridiculous especially in such a seriously competitive and stacked category already. Very happy to see Charles nominated here and it does lessen the sting of his character's loss in the show (and the show's snub... yes, still not over it). Previous winners Dinklage and Paul upped their level making it really easy to see and want either one in the winner's circle again. Voight is the wildcard as he could swoop in as the veteran Hollywood actor to get his first Emmy win. Dean Norris probably should've gotten nominated as well as a couple of my genre picks Jordan Gavaris and Dylan O'Brien.

Prediction: Aaron Paul
Alternate: Peter Dinklage
Should Win: Josh Charles
Should've Been Nominated: Dean Norris, Jordan Gavaris, Dylan O'Brien

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Joanne Froggat, Downton Abbey
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

The good news is that I heart all of these actresses so even if I think a couple of nominations are lazy (Smith, Hendricks), the TV Academy couldn't really do much wrong here. I'm rooting for Gunn and Baranski in equal measure as I want the former to win for delivering just an outstanding tour-de-force performance and the latter to win to continue the awesome Good Wife streak to five years of kick-ass actresses winning the Emmy from that show. With regards to who should've been nominated, there are a few names, but most are from genre shows so I didn't expect them too much. Though what does Maisie Williams have to go to get in on the Emmy love for Game of Thrones? Pay attention, people!

Prediction: Anna Gunn
Alternate: Maggie Smith
Should Win: Anna Gunn
Should've Been Nominated: Maisie Williams, Lana Parrilla, Katheryn Winnick

And if you're still reading here are just my predictions for the Miniseries/TV Movies categories:

BEST TV MINISERIES: Fargo
BEST TV MOVIE: The Normal Heart
BEST ACTOR, MINISERIES/MOVIE: Billy Bob Thornton
BEST ACTRESS, MINISERIES/MOVIE: Cicely Tyson
BEST SUPP. ACTOR, MINI/MOVIE: Matt Bomer
BEST SUPP. ACTRESS, MINI/MOVIE: Julia Roberts

TV Report: Week of 4/8

There are many reasons why I didn't post my TV Report a couple days ago as I try to do, but I won't go into it. Instead in an effort to catch up, just brief snippets on those shows I got to see last week. Note that these don't include any new episodes I've seen since Sunday. Hopefully will get to those this upcoming weekend. Onwards...

Game of Thrones - Not as flawless as the premiere, but still a wonderful episode where we got a lot more of Arya and Gendry than the earlier episode. Plus we also got more Tyrion and Cersei scenes and lord knows I could watch a whole hour of those two just sniping at each other.

Mad Men - Apart from Don's feverish dream where he commits murder, the episode really revolved around Peggy and Joan being awesome and that's all right by me since they are my favorites. Peggy had two great scenes conning Roger and hanging out with Dawn while Joan finally kicked Greg out of the apartment!

How I Met Your Mother - I don't think it's an insta-classic, but it was pretty damn close. Love all of the flashback/flashforward stuff with the guys reflecting on their lives every three years or so. I especially loved Cobie Smulders rocking the wigs and costumes this episode. Plus Ted with the baby made me smile.

2 Broke Girls - Nothing much to say about this episode where the girls had to do drug testing for money. It's a show I watch because it's after HIMYM. I enjoy the leads, but the show itself isn't good. Moving on.

Smash - Toning down Ivy's histrionics and giving Karen the understudy role were all good-ish or at least relatively compared to everything else. But I really didn't like how Eileen treated her potential investor, Dev's work problems, or anything to do with Julia's crisis at home (though Messing's performance is very good). So more bad than good I'm afraid. And the last-second Uma reveal is... yawn.

Glee - Matt Bomer was in this episode. That's pretty much where my interests began and ended and even then I cringed at even some of his scenes, because oh god why? My love affair with Blaine is rapidly declining though that gratuitous shower scene was much appreciated. I just feel sorry for every actor in this show to be honest.

New Girl - Other than wanting to know exactly how True American is played, this episode didn't really hold my attention. I do like Jess/Russell together, but this episode wasn't one of their better ones. Winston's B-plot was also a bit mediocre except for the ending as he tried to get his babysitting job back.

Suburgatory - While not everything worked, a lot of it did that it made the episode worthwhile. Don't really buy Lisa/Malik, but the actors had so much fun with their gross PDAs. Ryan's feelings for Jane were also not exactly organic, but I dig it. Plus we got tons of Yakult/Dalia which is a rivalry for the ages.

Modern Family - Was I the only one who didn't enjoy that episode? I mean I really can't point to a single reason why I did, but nothing really clicked for me. The worst was probably Cam/Mitchell getting into trouble yet again by being overly judgmental.

Community - What was not to like? The Dean gets lots of screen-time to steal scenes, Jeff/Shirley gets to hang out, Britta gets to Britta herself, and Troy's feelings for Britta resurfaces. Cool, cool, cool, cool.

30 Rock - Good to see Elaine Stritch back as Jack's mom as she's always good for a zinger or two plus Krakowski is still doing good work this season this time checking off a couple of items in her sexual walkabout checklist. The best scene, however, was Liz dancing as dollar bills rained down on her via Tracy and his son.

The Office - Not sure what to think of this episode. On the one hand, we get more development on Nellie and Andy/Erin, but for the most part it all felt just a tad bit awkward for everyone involved. I supposed this show's motto is making awkward, well, funny, but I think this time around the execution fell short a bit.

Awake - I get so depressed talking about this show knowing it'll get cancelled due to its anemic ratings, but I tell myself to just enjoy the ride and whatever episodes do air. This week's episode wasn't as perfect as the week prior, but it still gave us little clues as to the nature of Britten's accident. Need more! Of it all!

Fringe - What's the point of reviewing this episode when all I want to do is give every cast member an Emmy at this point? Anna Torv and John Noble especially showed off why it's ridiculous they haven't been showered with all of the award this past week's episode and Seth Gabel two weeks ago did the same when one of his characters died. For me, it's these performances that make it worthwhile. The cool sci-fi plots are just bonuses really.

Finally, I have checked out the first episodes of Scandal and Don't Trust the B- in Apt. 23 and will check out the pilot for HBO's Girls very soon. I'll do a quick post on all three when I can!

White Collar's Matt Bomer Comes Out

I know this news is a few days old, which in internet time is an eternity, but I just wanted to say a quick congratulations to the impossibly beautiful Matt Bomer who officially came out publicly while accepting an award for his charity work. Of course, it wasn't one of those "Hey everyone! I'm G-A-Y!" announcement. In fact he simply thanked his family listing off the names of his partner Simon and their kids. To those not in the know, they'd be none the wiser, but it was nonetheless greeted by many as a shattering of the glass closet they believed Bomer was in.

Still, others maintain that Bomer's speech changed nothing at all, but that's their cross to bear. Bomer in the meantime will continue to live his life with his loving family and working in Hollywood. And I do mean working. Apart from starring on his hit TV show White Collar, he's also set to participate in a limited-engagement reading of Dustin Lance Black's play 8 as well as do a quick stint on Glee. He'll also appear in the film Magic Mike as one of a few male strippers and the film version of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart taking over the part played by John Benjamin Hickey in Broadway that won him a Tony Award. Read my thoughts on that play here.

And to think, it seemed as if it was just yesterday when I first mentioned Bomer on this blog. Pretty crazy ride.

Four Reasons to Watch White Collar

Okay, I lied. It's not really four reasons. More like just the one. His name is Matthew Bomer and he is the star of the new USA Network show, White Collar.

His IMDB page is a bit lean, but surprisingly I've seen him in quite a lot. I first noticed him on Eliza Dushku's first post-Buffy TV show Tru Calling. I then saw his short-lived (and entertaining) show Traveler only to last see him in a recurring role on Chuck.

As you can see he went from FOX to ABC to NBC. And I didn't even mention his Guiding Light sting on CBS early in his career. But I think he's finally found a home at the USA Network, which is increasingly becoming the missing 10pm hour of NBC.

The show itself is escapist fun and shot beautifully in New York City. I was meaning to catch up on the show, but never got around to it, but thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday and Hulu.com, I'm all caught up.