Looking Forward To...

Iron Man 2
Release: May 7, 2010
Distributor: Paramount
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Robert Downey Jr.

Streaming French Films on My Wii

This weekend I ended up seeing a lot of movies thanks to Netflix. Not only did I have all three discs per my normal account, but with their new disc enabling to stream movies via my Wii system, I was like a kid in a candy store.

It's worth noting that the three movies that came in the mail were all comedies: The Hangover, The Informant!, and Men Who Stare At Goats. I already knew I'd like the first movie. I had high and low expectations for the other two films respectively so of course I ended up liking the latter more than I did the other film.

Without even meaning to, I ended up seeing three French flicks that have been in my queue for awhile. The fact that they were all French didn't even occur to me until I was midway done with the last film, so it wasn't a conscious decision on my part to have French movie marathon of sorts. The three films were...

Paris
A young man sidelined by a heart condition and his sister, played by Juliette Binoche, closely watch the streets of Paris as their lives gradually intersect with a diverse array of strangers.


Chacun sa nuit
Based on real events, this erotically charged drama follows the lives and sexual liaisons of five young denizens of a provincial French town.


Donne-moi la main
Twin brothers journey on foot to their mother's funeral in Spain, but romantic entanglements along the way stir up resentments.


I recommend all of them if you're so inclined. If you do have Netflix, I must also recommend the first two seasons of The Guild starring Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible, Dollhouse). The entire two seasons take less than two hours and they are, of course, available instantly.

Citrusy Federer & Nadal in Miami

Down in Miami for the Sony Ericsson Open, Nike brought out the citrusy fashion for their two top tennis players. Rafael Nadal is lemony in yellow complete with blue accessories and yellow/white plaid shorts. Roger Federer breaks out of his usual blue/red/black preferences to give us a refreshing orange collarless shirt offset by white.

Huge thumbs up from me on both kits especially following their less than exciting choices in Indian Wells last week. For a reminder, Federer wore a nice, but drab red/gray combination while Nadal was half awesome/half awful with his candy inspired shirt and tacky inspired shorts...


Here's to hoping better fashion means better results. Last week, Federer lost to Marcos Baghdatis in the third round and while Nadal reached the semifinals, he has been title-less since Madrid last year. Both made it through their first match this week, something last year's finalists Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray can't say.

Will we finally get a Federer-Nadal final since May of last year? It's felt much longer than that, that's for sure.

24 Runs Out of Time

It's official. The current and eight season of 24 will be its last. I'm not exactly heartbroken about the show ending, but it will still be sad to say goodbye to some of these characters more notably 'Jack Bauer' as played by Kiefer Sutherland and 'Chloe O'Brien' as played by Mary Lynn Rajskub. They are two of three actors who have appeared in more than 100 episodes of the show. Carlos Bernard playing 'Tony Almeida' is the other.

No matter what anyone says, it really was one of the most important television programs of the past decade. Debuting only a few weeks after September 11th, many thought the show about terrorists would not find much footing. Luckily for the show, Americans found themselves a hero in Jack Bauer. Impervious to bullets and torture, he was seen as the Great American Hero saving America from the bad guys during the course of its worst day ever (times eight).

The format of the show was the hook, of course. The show would take place in one day and be shown in real time. To say it was new and ambitious would be understating it. This strength was also the show's weakness because more often than not, the weight of telling a 24-hour story would show with repetitive and/or filler story lines.

Critics, fans, and definitely non-fans have loved picking apart some of the more ridiculous aspects of the show. We never see Jack Bauer going to the bathroom. Cell phones work everywhere and anywhere and don't need to be charged. Jack is tortured one minute and running after the bad guys the next. That car/helicopter/subway/bus could not have reached that place in so-and-so minutes. There's ANOTHER mole working inside the government. Etc.

All in all, it's been a fun ride. I actually didn't start watching 24 until its second season and only caught up with the first season well into the show's run. I have since seen every single season and episode save for the last few episodes of the much maligned (and deservedly so) sixth season. At that point, it was refreshing to see the show switch it up a bit moving the locale from sunny Los Angeles to Washington D.C. last season and now in New York City.

This final season has been a mixed bag. It started out with some promise and then sort of leveled off with some story lines too stupid to endure (Dana, I'm looking at you). But with 11 episodes left, I'm hoping for the best. In fact, the past two episodes have actually been pretty good. So to Jack, Chloe, and the rest of the cast and crew, thanks for the past eight seasons. Looking forward to seeing some of y'all in the big screen.

Thoughts on Idol's Top 10

It's interesting that earlier this season it was all about how the girls are better than the guys this season and that Simon predicted that a girl would win this season and yet the first time the guys and the girls sing together, it was two girls who got the boot early, Lacey Brown and Paige Miles. Neither of them were going to win, but I'd probably keep Lacey and get rid of Tim Urban instead.

In any case, the top 10 is set and these are the ten guaranteed a spot in the annual Idol summer tour, which means a lot of moola and exposure for those ten. Here are my current thoughts on those ten:

Didi Benami - She's good, but she's a bit bland and a wee bit forgettable. She tried to sex it up this past week only to look desperate and fake. She needs to do a performance that will make people remember her or at least feel more inclined to vote for her.

Crystal Bowersox - She's my pick to win and it seems like the judges and the voters agree. It's a difficult position to be in so early in the competition though since SO MANY things can still happen between now and the finale. But if she keeps staying true to herself and belting out great songs one after another, she's golden.

Andrew Garcia - I agree with the judges that not only is he disappointing me, but he's making me regret rooting for him so early on. He's clearly talented, but his song choices and arrangements have been off.

Casey James - I admit I'm a bit of a fan. I mentioned his confidence early on as something very appealing about him and he's continued to display that. Add that to his raw talent and there's not much he can do wrong. He knows who he is as an artist and knows how to play to the audience. Dark horse?

Aaron Kelly - Last time I talked about him, I said he didn't deserve to be in the top 12. I take that back. I still think it would've been better if he came back a year or two older, but he really has held his own again his older counterparts. Plus I was impressed at how he handled sickness this past week.

Michael Lynche - I haven't been wowed by his performance during the past two weeks and I agree with the judges in feeling that he is coasting just a little bit. It helps that he is freaking lovable and that will carry him far, but he needs to step it up and challenge himself a bit more.

Siobhan Magnus - The faux-hawk said it all really. She's someone to watch, crazy talented, and a little bit divisive. She's exciting and is one of my favorites because she's quirky and doesn't mind taking risks.

Katie Stevens - I'm still not jiving with her pop-rock/R&B interests coupled with her old soul voice. It's a little bit like oil and water at least for now. No doubt those two things could combine to a potent performance. Just that she really needs to be careful picking songs and arrangements.

Tim Urban - He's cute. That's pretty much it really. He doesn't have a terrible voice. Far from it, but he's just overly stiff. He tried to dance and slide on stage this past week, but it came off more cheesy and less authentic. His voice caliber just doesn't hold up compared to the others and I do wish he goes sooner rather than later.

Later, I'd like to talk about Crystal Bowersox possibility of winning (or not winning) plus how her "rivalry" with Siobhan Magnus reminds me a little bit (not totally) of the Kris Allen-Adam Lambert rivalry of last season.

Birthday Hotties: Jim Parsons & Alyson Hannigan

They're both talented, hilarious, and damn sexy. Plus you can catch both of them on Monday nights on CBS.

Happy Birthday Jim and Aly!

Castle & Chuck in Charge

Apart from being Monday one-word shows that begin with a C (with the title being the name of the main character no less), Chuck and Castle are both shows I enjoy watching even though their fates last season were a bit hazy. With NBC's fortunes dwindling and its Heroes franchise losing major buzz, Chuck's "just okay" ratings and plenty of buzz should help it go for another season. Castle, in the meantime, seems to be enjoying an upsurge in viewers and it's about damn time, people. Last night both shows delivered one of their best episodes of the season, so I thought I'd give them some ink...

This past season of Chuck has mostly been dealing with Chuck's new goal of wanting to be an official spy. In last night's episode, he finally became one changing once again the ever-evolving relationship he has with Team Bartowski, but more specifically, Sarah. I am actually totally loving the complexities of Sarah and Chuck's roller coaster relationship. Sarah is pulling away from Chuck because he's becoming less the person she fell in love with while Chuck, on the other hand, is thinking that the only way he could be with Sarah is to be a real-life spy. Yay for Catch-22s!

And while Chuck has gotten much better at lying and even hurting people, he's still not a murderer, something he'd have to be if he wanted to pass his final spy test and be a "real spy." Fortunately, newly-civilian John Casey was there to help Chuck kill his target. So he passed. But in turns out he got the worst of both worlds in return. Knowing he didn't really pull the trigger, he still doesn't consider himself a real spy worthy of Sarah's love even if he has the official badge and gun. And of course he also loses Sarah since she believes he actually killed someone.


Last night's Castle really gave the show much needed urgency. It's already a fun romp, but this episode ramped up the darkness and suspense. When a serial killer targets Nikki Heat aka Castle's character based on Detective Beckett, things get a little too personal for both of them. With things getting a little heady, the FBI steps in with their fancy gadgets and Agent Jordan Shaw, the federal version of Beckett, played with aplomb by Dana Delaney.

It was nice seeing Beckett just a wee bit jealous of the quick rapport that developed between Castle and Shaw, but the show is at its best when Beckett and Castle bounce off on one another be it in front of a crime scene, the white board, or in Beckett's apartment. Speaking of, he stayed the night and made her pancakes in the morning. Nothing happened, but still... aww. Since this was the first part of a 2-part episode, it had to end in a cliffhanger and what a cliffhanger it was: Beckett's apartment blowing up while she was still in there. Clearly, she's not dead (please?) but with Martha possibly moving out, Castle does have a spare room now. Let it be so.

Indian Wells Surprise Winner

Let's start with good news/bad news for Rafael Nadal who I dubbed, a little too prematurely, as the "man of the tournament." The good news is that he finally won a title since May of last year. The bad news is that it was only for doubles as he lost in the semifinals against an inspired Ivan Ljubicic who then went on to defeat Andy Roddick. For the American, it's another "so close, yet not" results while the unexpected doubles win for Nadal against the number one doubles team should alleviate the sting of not winning a title. Though it would do him a lot of good to get a title before his usual dominant clay season.

Ljubicic, on the other hand, wins his first Masters title defeating three top ten players (2nd ranked Novak Djokovic, 3rd ranked Nadal, and 7th ranked Roddick). It capped off a strange BNP Paribas Open with the favorites faltering including Australian Open finalists Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

I was hoping for a French Open rematch between Nadal and Robin Soderling, but after the semifinals, the man with the losing record against the other player would go on to win: Ljubicic (1-5) d. Nadal, Roddick (0-2) d. Soderling, Ljubicic (3-7) d. Roddick. In any case, this is a great result for the veteran player who was the runner-up at Masters events three times prior. He takes his new top 15 ranking into Miami where many people will sure pay closer attention to him.

Two former US Open finalists went head to head in the women's final with Jelena Jankovic winning in straight sets over higher-ranked Caroline Wozniacki. This was Jankovic's first title since nabbing the Cincinnati title last summer. Her win restores a bit of stability in the tournament that saw some of its biggest draws like Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, and Svetlana Kuznetsova making early exits as well as the conspicuous absences of the Williams sisters.

Caprica Is Getting So Good

Caprica is really starting to hit its stride. I admit that as a big Battlestar Galactica fan, I was worried, but open to the idea of this prequel. When I saw the two-hour pilot, I was mostly underwhelmed, but knew I'd see the next few episodes before giving up on it entirely. Thank the gods I did.

Here's a quick backstory for the non-watchers. Caprica is a show that takes place in the seemingly futuristic city of Caprica. There are lots of commentary about religion, technology, politics, sex, faith, etc., but the show filters all of this through the family drama within and between the Graystones and the Adamas. You see, the daughter of the Graystones (Zoe) was inadvertently involved in the terrorist attack that killed the wife and daughter (Tamara) of Joseph Adama killing herself in the process. The twist? Dr. Daniel Graystone is a big time technological genius who has developed a virtual world where people can play (or do pretty much anything) with their virtual identities or avatars. Guess whose avatars are now stuck inside this world: Tamara and Zoe.


Joseph Adama has had a hard time trying to get over the loss of his daughter, but as he was finally about to let her go, he finds out she's still "alive" in the virtual world. As expected, the virtual world is a hard and dangerous place and to survive one must in turn become hard and dangerous. While not a saint in real life, Joseph has never killed anyone directly. This past week's episode, he has had enough. Getting some way-too-on-point advice from his gangster brother, he successfully pulls the trigger a few times and I bet his journey will only get darker as he tries to find his daughter.


And yet his story is nothing compared to Daniel Graystone and his quest to "find" his daughter. Unlike Tamara, who is stuck in the virtual world, Zoe's avatar was accidentally placed in a military robot. Zoe is able to control the robot's body (sometimes to hilarious effect), but she doesn't tell her father because of a sense of betrayal from him. It's worked so far, except Daniel is now suspecting her daughter is in there. This past episode was devoted to him psychologically torturing her in order for her to give herself away. He starts out small by making her do monotonous tasks while he smokes, an activity she disapproved of in the past. She bears it, but momentarily flinches giving Daniel what he wanted. He then sets the robot on fire knowing that his daughter had a traumatic fear of fires. She nearly gives herself up, but holds strong. His final test was difficult to watch. He orders the robot to shoot the family dog. Talk about taking the character to a really dark place! She does shoot the robot only for us to find out that not only were they blanks, but that she knew they were by the weight of the gun. WHEW.

Heady stuff, right? Next week I'm expecting both of these story lines to come to a head especially since it's the season finale. As great as it is seeing New Cap City, I'd really like to see a reunion between Joseph and Tamara finally if only for Joseph to see that Tamara is not the same little girl he once knew. I'm okay with Zoe not "coming out" to her father yet if only to drive him more insane than he already is becoming, but I hope she tells someone else she's in there other than her best friend... perhaps the cute assistant she has a mad crush on?

Catching Up on Indian Wells

I admit that after Roger Federer was upset in the third round (he had three match points!), I didn't really keep an eye out on what's happening over at Indian Wells, but there has been some interesting results. Like world no. 2 Novak Djokovic out in straight sets in the fourth round to Ivan Ljubicic. Or how about 6th seed Robin Soderling blistering to the weekend by pummeling Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and more impressively world no. 4 Andy Murray in straight sets? Andy Roddick also have done well for himself to reach the semifinals.

And other than his absolutely hideous shorts, the man of the tournament, however, is no one other than defending champion and world no. 3 (weird, right?) Rafael Nadal. People underestimated him, but not only is he one match away from the final of the first Masters tournament of the year, but he is also in the finals of the doubles tournament. Bad knees? What bad knees? Whatever happens, he should be quite proud at what he accomplished in the past few days, though it's certainly not over yet. I'm hoping to see a French Open rematch between Nadal and Soderling. Both will have more than a title to play for.

As for the women's side, it was hard to really feel passionate about it after Svetlana Kuznetsova, Kim Clijsters, and Justine Henin faltered early. Great showing for Sam Stosur to reach the semifinals and it should mean she will crack the top 10 in rankings next week. Stosur is also still alive in the doubles tournament. The finals will have a face off between 2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki and 6th seed Jelena Jankovic. It will be the first title of the year for either one of them.