The Queue

A periodic feature in which I regale you with thrilling tales of my Netflix queue.

Returned
Justice League (Season 2, Discs 2 & 3): Most of the episodes from this series are good to very good, but every once in a while there's one that's "holy shit" good. "The Terror Beyond" was one of those episodes. Not only did it feature a Defenders-homage lineup and culminate and Solomon Grundy and Hawkgirl beating up Cthulhu's brain, but the ending is about enough to break your heart as well. Great stuff.

Sex and the City (Season 4, Discs 2& 3): More of the same.

Slumdog Millionaire: Good, but not great. The writing was clever and the acting was fine, but I guess it didn't live up to the hype.

Spellbound: A fairly interesting documentary about the 1999 national spelling bee. It's worth watching, if for no other reason, to see the musical robot kid (hours later I was still cracking up at that).

At Home
The Muppet Movie
Sex and the City (Season 5, Discs 1 & 2)

I Was Expecting More Marilyn McCoo

We took the girls to see Up last night. Some of it (especially the parts with the dogs) was a bit intense for my 7 year-old, but other than that it was fantastic - easily the best Pixar film since The Incredibles. What really sold it, for me, was the voice work. Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer were as excellent as you would expect them to be, but to get that kind of performance out of an 8 year-old with no acting experience? Just amazing. And if that montage at the beginning didn't break your heart, then I really don't know what to say.

So, Up - highly recommended.

The Queue

A periodic feature in which I regale you with thrilling tales of my Netflix queue.

Watched
Sex and the City (Season 3): 4 to go.

Undeclared (Complete Series): Occasionally brilliant, but very uneven. It's a shame it never had a chance to hit its stride.

In Progress
Justice League (Season 2): On disc 2 of 4. Very solid.

Sex and the City (Season 4): On disc 2 of 3. It makes me laugh every couple of episodes, but it would have been dropped a while ago if it were up to me. It has yet to become intolerable, though.

Unwatched
Slumdog Millionaire: I guess it won some awards or something?

Beware of Knock-Offs

Susi and I have been watching The Fashion Show, Bravo's replacement for the departed Project Runway. It's... not that good. Not terrible, but not particularly memorable either. The biggest weakness is having the Isaac Mizrahi/ Kelly Rowland tandem serve as host, mentor and judge. I miss non-judgemental Tim and extremely judgemental Michael. August, right?

The Queue

A periodic feature in which I regale you with thrilling tales of my Netflix queue.

Watched
Bedtime Stories: My daughters wanted this one. They seemed to enjoy it.

Hoop Dreams: "People always say to me, 'when you get to the NBA, don't forget about me.' Well, I should've said back, 'if I don't make it to the NBA, don't you forget about me.'" It wasn't as spell-binding as the first time I watched it (many years ago), but I was able to see the entire thing this time. Well worth watching, even f you don't like basketball.

Sex and the City (Season 2): By the end of the season, I think the premise was starting to feel played out.

This American Life (Season 1): Since I've become a huge fan of the radio show, this is like an extra little fix.

In Progress
Sex and the City (Season 3): On disc 1 of 3. I get the feeling this series will be a regular entry on the queue for the foreseeable future.

Undeclared (Complete Series): On disc 3 of 3. It's uneven, but seems to be hitting its stride. Not as good as Freaks and Geeks, but then, what is?

The Summer of My Discontent

Tomorrow, the first of May, looks to be the kick-off of the summer movie season. As has become standard, there are a surfeit of geek-friendly offerings to be had. But is there really anything I'm looking forward to seeing? Let's find out:

May 1: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
I never saw the 3rd X-Men movie, and I think I'm all the happier for it. Substitute 4th for 3rd, and I don't think that sentence will change all that much.

May 8: Star Trek
I guess it looks fairly impressive. But on the other hand, it's still Star Trek. And I don't really like Star Trek.

May 22: Terminator Salvation
No thank you.

May 29: Up
Maybe not technically on the geek-friendly list. But it is Pixar. So I'll probably see it.

June 5: Land of the Lost
Really?

June 26: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
I guess "Transformers: More Shit Blows Up" wasn't as marketable.

July 17: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Corry and I have gone to see all the rest of them, but I don't know if he feels like he's outgrown them yet. I may just drag him along anyway.

August 7: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
I'm pretty sure I'll be giving this one a pass.


Looks like I won't be having to worry about my film-going budget too much this year.

Radio on the Movie Screen

Last night my brother-in-law and I went to see This American Life Live, the live taping of their radio show (I believe the one that will air the weekend of May 8-9) that was broadcast to movie theaters throughout the country. It wasn't the greatest episode they've done, but it was very solid. There were bits by Mike Bribiglia (whose story about sleepwalking from a different episode was one of the funniest things I've heard in the last several years) and Starlee Kine, and Joss Whedon performed a song he did for the DVD commentary of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (the commentary is also a musical, apparently). The real show stopper was Dan Savage's piece on the Catholic church and the death of his mother. Extremely powerful.

There is an encore showing on May 7. If you like public radio, and have an extra $20, there are much worse ways to spend a couple of hours.

The Queue

A periodic feature in which I regale you with thrilling tales of my Netflix queue.

There are some months where Netflix really loves us. This has been one of them.

Finished
Justice League (Season 1): I think having each story broken up over 2 or 3 episodes would have bugged em if I was trying to watch them as they aired, but it works well for watching on DVD.

In Progress
Sex and the City (Season 2): On disc 2 of 3. Or would be, if he had gotten disc 2 yet.

This American Life (Season 1): I love love love the radio show. The TV version is a lot like it, but with moving pictures.

Unwatched
Hoop Dreams: Still. I never seem to find time to watch it, and I never remember to just send it back to get things moving again.

Undeclared (Complete Series): I got this one on the basis of liking Freaks & Geeks so much. One of these days, I'll actually watch it and see if it is as good.

News of the WTF

Did you hear Kenley Collins, everybody's least favorite designer from Season 5 of Project Runway, was arrested last week? For assaulting her (now ex-)fiance. With a cat.

WTF?!


Rejected titles for this post:
"I Don't Think That's What They Mean by Catfight"
something something "Fur Flying"
"I've Heard of Girls Using Their Pussy as a Weapon, but This Is Ridiculous."

Ouch

If you didn't see the ritual sacrifice of Jim Cramer on last night's Daily Show, you've probably at least heard something about it by now. If you haven't, go watch it. It was brutal. At times, uncomfortably so. It wasn't as entertaining as Stewart's dismantling of Tucker Carlson on Crossfire, because Cramer in no way attempted to fight back. Or even, after a while, defend himself. As an expression of populist rage, I think Jon Stewart's rant about financiers playing games with people's retirements is going to find much wider purchase than Rick Santelli's "losers."

For all of his grovelling though, I have the sinking suspicion that Cramer will back to business as usual in two weeks, tops.

The Queue

A periodic feature in which I regale you with thrilling tales of my Netflix queue.

Finished
Sex and the City (Season 1): I ended up watching most (all?) of the episodes with Susi, and it was better than I thought. I guess having them unedited helps - for the profanity more so than the nudity, actually.

In Progress
Justice League (Season 1): On disc 4 of 4. Even though the pacing can be languid at times, I'm really digging this series. The 'Legends" episodes (the ones featuring the Justice Guild) were tremendous.

Sex and the City (Season 2): On disc 1 of 3. I'll probably keep watching them until the Flanderization gets to be too much. With no Project Runway on the horizon, I guess this is now out quality time.

Unwatched
Hoop Dreams: I saw the last half of it a couple of years ago and was engrossed.

A Tablespoon of Meh

Hey, remember what I said last time about Top Chef? About the high level of competition no one making mistakes? Yeah - disregard that.

I think that was the least exciting finale since the atrocity that was Season 2. Once it became clear that Carla blew it (and man, did I feel bad for her - this thing was extremely winnable), it became a "race" between the plodding workhorse and the horse that apparently stopped giving a crap 4 episodes ago. Great television!

So congratulations, Hosea. Here's how I think you rate on the scale of previous winners:

1. Harold (S1): Consistently good food with no drama. He may not be exciting to watch, but he is probably the best contestant they've had in the show's history.
2. Stephanie (S4): Not quite as consistent as Harold, but still a great all-around chef. There is a wide gap between her and #3.
3. Hung (S3): Great technical skills, but he always seemed to be lacking in imagination. And also lacking in not-being-an-asshole-ness.
4. Hosea (S5): Steady, workmanlike, yawn.
5. Ilan (S2): Sam, who should have won Season 2, would have made deciding between #2 and #3 much harder.

Alas, Poor Fabio

We have entered the territory on Top Chef where good enough is not good enough anymore. Neither of the last 2 chefs eliminated - Leah and (sniff) Fabio - are out because they made a bad dish, but because the other dishes were better. Ultimately, that's what you want on a competition show, especially at this stage of a season.

The finale is shaping up to be very interesting. Hosea has spent most of the season being too intimidated by Stefan to be at the top of his game. Stefan has spent most of the last several episodes trying to mess with Hosea, evidently to the detriment of his own cooking. Carla could end up being the dark horse, but she's at her best when the challenge is in her comfort zone (which the last several have been); how will she respond to the wide-open nature of the last challenge?

A few random thoughts:

• Stefan could have easily been eliminated after each of the last 2 challenges, but I think the judges know, in the back of their minds, he is the most likely to wow them in a "cook anything you want" challenge. I still think he will win, but it is not a foregone conclusion like it seemed it would be halfway through the season.
• World famous chefs have very simple requests for their last meals.
• It was an interesting twist to let previously-eliminated chefs back for another crack at it, but I'm glad they had the "win or go home" restriction (similar to the black & white challenge from Season 3 of Project Runway). It was nice to see Jeff have a chance to redeem himself a bit, and the judging was extremely tense when it was clear that he was one of the favorites and Stefan and Fabio were in the bottom. Good television!
• I would be very surprised if Fabio doesn't win fan favorite.
• I agree with my wife's assesment that it must suck to be Gail Collins. She's very pretty, but every time she's on TV she has to be next to Padma Lakshmi. That's enough to give anyone a complex.
• I think I may love Carla a bit. Just a little. And I don't think I would be upset if she won. I am totally shocked that I feel that way.

Of Ceviche and Celery

Since my last post on Top Chef, we have lost Jeff and Jaime. For both of them, I am bit surprised, but only in that there were other people I thought would be eliminated first.

The Super Bowl episode seemed to inhabit some bizarro world where "all-star" means someone who finished, at best, in 5th place and Stefan is a lousy cook. I was pretty sure Hosea was going to win (his dish seemed the most innovative), but if Carla was able to make a good gumbo in 20 minutes, then more power to her. Meanwhile, Jeff was undone by his conception (which goes back pretty much to the beginning of the season, as far as I can recall) that it is better to do three mediocre things than one good thing.

In the Bernardin challenge, I knew as soon as Colicchio said that they would be tasting 6 dishes what the challenge was going to be (6 contestants, 6 dishes, not hard). And really, they should have, too. I was kind of hoping that Carla would win again, since she had one of the most challenging dishes, but Stefan obviously nailed the flavors. Over on the losing side, I'm not unhappy to see Jaime go, but I have to wonder how Leah is still around.

The remaining chefs are:

• Carla: She has pulled it together for the last couple of challenges, but I think (like Araine before her) that she is on a hot streak that won't last.
• Fabio: I'm still a bit worried about my man Fabio - he hasn't actually won anything since the second challenge. Although he struggled a bit with the chefdown (although, seriously producers, Green Bay? Really?), he did much better on the Ripert episode.
• Hosea: I think it will come down to Hosea and Stefan in the end, but I don't think American baldie has what it takes to beat Euro baldie.
• Leah: No, really. How is she still around?
• Stefan: Still no indications that this contest anything other than his to lose. As long as he doesn't get overconfident again.

The Queue

A periodic feature in which I regale you with thrilling tales of my Netflix queue.

Finished
30 Rock (Season 2): Great show, maybe the funniest on television right now. Great characters, extraordinary writing.

House (Season 4): Either they've given up on the procedural part, or I've grown more dense and can't figure out what is going on medically half the time. Still worth watching for Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard, but a fairly weak season.

In Progress
Justice League (Season 1): Finished 1 of 4 discs. We own Justice League Unlimited (S1), but I had a hankering to see it from the beginning. I tend to be the only one that watches them, so progress is limited to me having sole access to a TV.

Upcoming
Sex and the City (Season 1): Susi and I recently had a "discussion" about how the things she puts in the queue have a tendency to keep sliding downward on the list. So now we are getting this.

Cultural Shut-In

Nominations for the Oscars were announced this morning. There are only 3 categories where I have seen more than one film nominated (visual effect and the 2 sound categories). Comparatively, there are 12 categories where I haven't seen any of the nominees (including best picture, directing and 3 of the 4 acting categories). For reference, the list of nominated films I've seen consists of: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Wall-E.

So, do I suck, or does Hollywood suck?

What If They Had a Restaurant War and Everyone Sucked?

Since my last post on Top Chef, we have lost Melissa and Eugene (no real surprises there), Ariane and Radhika. Both of the latter were deserved, but I was a bit surprised they didn't last longer. While Ariane obviously butchered the butchering, any member of that team could have gone home. Radhika, meanwhile, seemingly grew more flustered and overwhelmed with every episode to the point of disappearing (maybe the editors were on to something).

Is it just me, or has the judging has gotten quite a bit harsher ever since the "Christmas" episode? Especially on Colicchio's part - he seemingly grows more and more exasperated each week at the crap that is turned out of the kitchens. I swear during judge's table for the farm-fresh challenge he looked like he wanted to vomit and/or slap someone.

Anyhow, the remaining chefs are:

• Carla: Somehow, she is still around. Not for much longer, I think. She especially did not endear herself to the judges after the whole "putting love into it" thing during the last challenge. Gone soon.
• Fabio: Even though Stefan won the last challenge, Fabio's charisma is what gave that team the win. On the other hand, he hasn't been exceptional in the kitchen lately. I agree with the TV Without Pity reviewer though, in that I hope even if Fabio is eliminated at some point they keep him around to narrate the rest of the season.
• Hosea: I hope the whole "relationship" thing is over now. I sort of wrote him during the early episodes for some reason, then started to like him, then got sort of skeeved out by the Leah thing. He's obviously pretty talented, but needs to focus on cooking.
• Jaime: She stills annoys me, because she doesn't realize she's as arrogant as Stefan, just more passive-aggressive about it.
• Jeff: I don't know what he's doing half the time, aside from running around like a headless chicken. Too many ideas, not enough execution.
• Leah: I think she is also suffering from Radhika Syndrome. Not for much longer, though.
• Stefan: I've seen no indications yet that he is not the one to beat. And granted, he's an asshole, but in a somewhat charming way that Hung or Ilan never conveyed.

Projected finalists: Stefan, Jaime, Hosea.

The Queue

A new periodic feature in which I regale you with thrilling tales of my Netflix queue.

Ugly Betty (Season 1): We only made it through 1 disc before deciding that it wasn't for us. Not that it was bad, exactly, but there seemed to be a certain sameness to the plot of every episode.

The Office (Season 4): Not as good as previous seasons, but still entertaining. The 'super-sized' episodes that led off the season felt too padded, and the writers strike obviously hurt as well. However, once it got rolling, there were some very good episodes. Steve Carrell just gets better and better as a clueless, aggressively incompetent man who still manages to retain his warped version of dignity.

House MD (Season 4): We are through 2 discs (of 4). The selection of the new team was OK at first, but the plot line started to drag so I am glad it is finally over. Again, not quite as good as previous seasons, but we'll see how it finishes up.

30 Rock (Season 2): Only 2 episodes into the first disc, but it is very enjoyable thus far.

Love Actually: We've seen it before, but I thought with the Christmas season upon us it was worth another viewing. We didn't actually get to it until the 27th, though.


Upcoming: More House, more 30 Rock, 1st season of Justice League, 1st season of Sex and the City (my efforts to stall it from rising in the queue having finally failed.)

So That Was Christmas

It just wouldn't be a holiday at my house without some form of sickness. This time, it was "only" a cold (and thus, much better than Thanksgiving), and Susi and I were the only ones seriously affected by it. So I guess that is better?

On the gift-reception front, Christmas was pretty geek-friendly for me. My parents (with some help from some pretty specific hinting) got me Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan. I had played each before, but not recently. I figured that they qualified as new classics, though, and should probably be part of my collection. From Susi and the kids, I got The Dark Knight (plus, Corry got Iron Man) and Lego Batman for the Wii. The game that is getting the most play, however (even though, technically, it was a gift for Corry) is Guitar Hero World Tour. Some day I will master you, drum part of R.E.M.'s "The One I Love." On Easy, at least. Maybe.

Maddie, my older daughter, and I took Carcassonne for a spin last night. It was as easy to learn (and teach) as I thought it would be. Too easy - she won the second game we played even though stole one of her farms away from her.

Also, since last report, I have played 3 more games of Pandemic and won them all. The first was a game with Maddie and Corry, and amazingly we didn't have a single outbreak the entire game. The second win, with all 4 of us from game night, was much closer and came only 2 turns before the game would have ended due to running out of cards to draw. The last win was with Corry and I in a 2-player game where we tried out the Normal setting (5 Epidemic cards instead of the 4 in the Easy version).


Edit (12/31/08): Now that the Geek is online again (thank heavens!), I can can provide links for the games.

Food Fight

I have declined to comment so far on Top Chef Season 5 because it usually takes me about a half-dozen episodes to learn people's names and form an opinion on them. It doesn't seem like there have been any unjustified eliminations yet, but then (as last night's episode showed) the overall level of competition hasn't seemed to very high. Are they just playing it safe? Are the judges just being pickier this season (which highlights the show's biggest drawback - we have to rely on the judges to tell us how something actually tastes unlike Project Runway here we can see the garment for ourselves)? And what's with all the purees? Hopefully these questions, and many more, will be answered as the season goes on.

My quick handicap of the remaining contestants, preserved for posterity so we can all laugh at it it a couple months:

• Ariane: She has been very inconsistent - she was down in the first couple of challenges, and on top in the next ones. Is she finding her stride, or is she the only loose one while everyone else is playing tight? My money is on more of the latter. I see her sticking around until late in the season, but gone before the finals.
• Carla: Wholly unimpressive thus far. I think she'll be gone soon. Also, she reminds me of a baby giraffe. A very easily startled baby giraffe.
• Eugene: I want to like him, but he's been making some bad decisions. Mid-season elimination.
• Fabio: I really like Fabio. He's charming without being overbearing, and his beef carpaccio with 'spherical olives' was the most exciting dish we've seen yet this season. I think if he doesn't make it to the finals, he'll be around until close to the end.
• Hosea: I'm still having a hard time figuring him out. He's done really well in some challenges, and made some disastrous decisions in others. At this point, I don't see him making it to the finals, but I wouldn't be shocked if he does.
• Jamie: I don't think Jamie is as talented as she does. For all her talk of how arrogant Stefan is, she's been the one saying she deserves to win all the time. I think she will stick around until close to the end, though.
• Jeff: My wife and I call him "Chase" (for his resemblance to the character from House). At this point, he seems like a better organizer than chef, but he's been showing flashes. I think he'll make it pretty far.
• Leah: She seems to do well in the quickfires then disappear in the elimination challenges. I don't think that bodes well for her.
• Melissa: See Carla, except for the giraffe part. Also, I really really really hate her bangs.
• Radhika: Like Leah, she seems to be a little invisible at times. I think it may be editing in this case, because she's done some dishes the judges have responded positively to. Of course, it is possible that I am being influenced by her cuteness, of which there is much.
• Stefan: Nobody aside from Fabio seems to like him, but everyone respects his talent. Unless he screws up at some point, I think he has to be considered the favorite at this point.

Assuming 3 people in the finals, I am prognosticating Stefan, Hosea and Jeff. I think Fabio and Radhika also have strong chances, and Ariane and Jaime have outside chances.

I Like Pretty Dresses More Than Guys Who Go Boom

And the Project Runway winner is... Leanne. For the first time since season 1, I agree with the judges. For the first time ever, it really felt as if any of them could have been the winner.

Kenley's collection was interesting (which is not always a good thing), but felt a bit scattershot to me. Unless there were significant bits cut out in the editing, I think she was making too much of the 'copycat' charges against her - I got the impression that the judges felt that she needed more awareness, not that she was doing anything maliciously. I can see where she would seize on that though; it is as if she can't conceive of the fact that maybe, just maybe, the judges liked another designer's efforts better. She is clearly talented, though, and it would be a shame to see her potential eaten up by her insecurities.

I really enjoyed Korto's collection. Of any of the designers, she had the most compelling personal story. It would have liked to see, when asked why she should be the winner, her emphasize her background and point of view as something that is currently lacking in the fashion industry. At the very least, I hope she wins fan favorite (when are they awarding that anyway?).

Still, I think Leanne's show was the best of the evening. I was a bit concerned that the wave pattern was too repetitive (and Nina did touch on that, although I felt her specific criticism was unfair - the challenge wasn't to present 40 or 50 looks, it was to present 10). Still, her variety of pieces - dresses, slacks, coats, etc - more than made up for that, I think. Plus, the geek in me likes to see the mousy girl make good.

...

In other news, it took me until yesterday to realize I had missed Heroes on Monday night. I guess that means it has dropped from 'must watch' status to 'watch if I can' (and given how convoluted the plot seems to be, I'm guessing it will drop further to 'whatever' rather quickly).

And We're Back

Last week was primarily consumed with making final preparations for Nuke-Con (long post on that later). I think I'll be back to my regular posting schedule, such as it is, now.

And just a quick update on Project Runway: last week's decision to not have an elimination was a cop-out, but I guess I can understand where they were coming from (nobody did great, but nobody was terrible either). I was disappointed to see Jerrell go this week, but I think it was the right decision. Based on what we've seen of the final collections so far (and I've avoided looking at them online), I'm really interested in what Leanne has going. Her bridal/bridesmaid's dress combo was far and away superior to anything else on that stage.

And Then There Were Four

Since my last Project Runway post, we have lost Blayne, Terri, Joe and Suede. Of those, only Terri was somewhat surprising. I didn't necessarily like all of her looks, but they were almost always very well done from an execution standpoint. As far as the other three, well, you knew it was only a matter of time with those guys. So now we are left with:

• Jerrell: He's really come on strong in the last several challenges (personally I thought he should have won Rock n' Runway; dare I say, he made Kenley look pretty smoking). I'm still worried about his consistency, though. When he misses, he really misses.
• Kenley: I am so ready for her to be gone. She excels in her one aesthetic, and struggles with everything else. The whining on the runway has seriously got to stop, as well.
• Korto: I think she has become, very quietly, the one to beat the season.
• Leanne: I worry she may have peaked a couple of challenges ago. She's done some really amazing pieces, but has come out somewhat flat in others. She seems to be at her best when she has a freer hand to develop the look, so hopefully the last challenge will be more up her alley.

If I were a handicapper, Korto is the only one I would place as a sure bet to make it to the final three. Leanne would get pretty good odds, and I think it will come down to a coin toss between Jerrell and Kenley (my gut is telling me Jerrell will be the odd designer out).

Third Time Not So Charming

The premiere of the third season of Heroes was Monday night, and it was... meh. It could just be a reflection of my general interest level (which was lukewarm, at best), but the show seems like it is starting to tread the same water over and over again. Time travel from dystopian future (that may or may not be the same one we've seen before)? Check. 'Gritty' version of previously naive hero? Check. Re-using the same old characters over and over again until the world becomes a claustrophobic circle-jerk? Check.

I'll probably be giving it a couple of more weeks to see if it picks up at all. Unless something better comes up.

Watch List: 9/3

Now that the Olympics and the Democratic convention are over, the Netflix queue is in motion again. We finally finished season 2 of Veronica Mars, and while I enjoy the hell out of the crisp dialogue and superb acting from the leads, the big seasonal-arc story again felt way too condensed into the last couple of episodes. So, a good show but not without flaws.

Alongside more Muppet Shows, season 1 of Ugly Betty has showed up at our house. For some reason. I guess I'll give it a shot, but I'm more excited for the latest seasons of House, The Office and 30 Rock a bit farther down the queue.

In live viewing, it's about halfway through season 5 of Project Runway. So far, there haven't really been any eliminations I thought were unwarranted (maybe Jerry in the first episode, but we saw so little of him it was hard to tell). My thoughts on the remaining designers:

• Blayne: He is still somehow managing to be somewhat entertaining and vapidly frustrating at the same time. I don't think he'll be around for much longer.
• Jerell: I like him, but he's been a bit inconsistent. I'd like to see him go far, but I don't know that he will.
• Joe: Meh. Will be gone soon.
• Kenley: She's turned out to be pretty annoying. She seems like she has enough chops to get to the finals, though.
• Korto: I don't know that I really have her figured out. Some of her looks have been exceptional, though, so I wouldn't be surprised to see her go far.
• Leanne: I'm really starting to like her, but again she's been hit-and-miss. Just as likely to be in the finals as go home next episode.
• Stella: Her shtick is about up. But aside from that, her old man (and you just know that's what she calls him) is named "Ratbones." That's gold.
• Suede: As my wife pointed out, he's made the same dress for every challenge. I think he's close to being done. Also, one more blown kiss to a dead relative and he ends up on my Giant List Of People Who Need To Be Punched In The Face.
• Terri: She has some crazy sewing skills, but I haven't been in love with most of what she's done. And she seems kind of bitchy. Surest shot for the finals, though.

Watch List: 8/6

The Netflix queue is back in motion. We've finally finished season 4 of Soap (if you ever find yourself watching the show, stop after season 3, seriously) and have started season 3 of The Muppet Show (featuring more Muppet Labs segments than before - hurray). Also, we're down to two episodes left of season 2 of Veronica Mars. Once again, I'm enjoying it, but everything is coming fast and furiously now after some dragging mid-season.

I've also been re-watching some Firefly episodes sporadically, hoping they will inspire me to start putting together the rpg convention game I've been thinking about. No luck so far.

It's still too early to decide on any favorites on Project: Runway. Kenley has turned out to be kind of annoying. Blayne alternates between vapid, hysterical and bizarre, but is fun to watch. I get the feeling he's not going to be around for too long, though.

Good Grief

One of the trailers shown before Dark Knight was for the upcoming Watchmen movie. I still I have my doubts that a big screen adaptation is workable (or necessary, for that matter). I was relieved to find that they had gotten away from some of the early concept art I had seen, though:

A Stephanie Brown-Free Review of The Dark Knight

I went to see The Dark Knight last weekend. Unlike just about every other person on the internet, I was not overwhelmed by it. Maybe it was a case of too much hype building it up. Or maybe it was sitting in one of the front rows of an Imax theater where the air conditioning was out. Whatever the case, the movie has two main problems that prevented it from being as good as I had hoped.

Before I get to those, though, I would like to say a word about one part of the movie that I really did enjoy - the acting. Heath Ledger is as fantastic as advertised. Aaron Eckhart is great. The supporting roles, especially Morgan Freeman but also Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and even Eric freaking Roberts are all extremely solid.

You'll notice there is an important name missing from that list, which leads me to the first problem I have with the movie. Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne very well (even if he and Gyllenhaal have zero chemistry), but his Batman was a mush-mouthed mess. It's a problem when your lead actor is outclassed in every scene he appears in. At times, I even wondered if the movie was actually about Harvey Dent and the Joker, and Batman was supposed to be a supporting character.

The other problem I have is with the direction and editing. The movie doesn't really build to a climax so much as lumber to one. And even then, the climax isn't all that climactic in light of the things that have gone on previously. Also, my bladder would have appreciated chopping about 20 minutes out of the film (preferably the ham-handed political irony and/or the overwrouht speeches at the end). And on a smaller scale, the fight scenes are so dark and so choppy I had a hard time following the action.

These complaints aside, I thought The Dark Knight was a good movie, just not a great one.

Animated Discussion

I took the girls to see WALL-E a while ago. It was cute - definitely worth seeing - but I don't agree with the buzz I had been hearing that this is Pixar's best film yet. On a purely visual/technical level, I can see that. The animation truly was fantastic. The story, however, seemed to ramble aimlessly and seemed long even at just over 90 minutes.

So what do I consider to be Pixar's best? Let's take them in order:

1. The Incredibles: Granted, I'm a sucker for superheroes, but this one was pitch-perfect. Great story, great animation, great heart.
2. Toy Story 2: If Jessie's song doesn't break your heart, I'm not sure that I want to know you.
3. Finding Nemo: Funny without having to be zany; sentimental without having to be maudlin.
4. Toy Story: An amazing first effort. The animation may not be up to today's standards, but still a great story with great characters.
5. Ratatouille: Beautiful animation.
6. WALL-E: This one is pretty much a toss-up with Ratatouille, actually. I just happen to like cooking slightly more than robots. There is a small-ish gap between these two movies and the top four, and a large-ish gap between them and the bottom three.
7. A Bug's Life: Cute but ultimately forgettable.
8. Monsters, Inc: I don't know why, but this one never did it for me.
9. Cars: I've tried to watch this one exactly once, and I fell asleep halfway through out of self defense.

Watch List: 7/23

The Netflix queue has been at a virtual standstill as of late. We're down to the last three episodes of Soap, and it is obvious to see why there was no fifth season. We've received the first disk of The Muppet Show, season 3 but haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

The bigger news around our house is that season 5 of Project Runway has started. It's hard to form much of an impression after only one episode, but there entirely too many "I'm an edgy rocker" types floating around. My early favorite is Kenley, but only because she is adorable. One thing that is certain? The move to the earlier time slot sucks (seriously, Bravo!, Shear Genius is terrible, no matter how much you try to pimp it).

Watch List: 6/25

The DVD queue has been moving slowly of late - we're only up to disc five in Veronica Mars Season 2, and disc two of Soap Season 4. VM seems to be at the point where it is ready to start resolving some plot lines instead of introducing new ones. I am really enjoying many of the actors, especially Kristin Bell, Enrico Colantoni and Jason Dohring (Ryan Hansen's Dick Casablancas is usually good for an amusing scene, as well). Soap, on the other hand, is becoming something of a chore to watch. At this point I think the only reason we are still watching is just to get all the way through it. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Top Chef ended in an acceptable manner, for the first time since Season 1. I was a bit disappointed that Richard muffed the last challenge, but I have no problem with Stephanie's win (or her equally unsurprising Fan Favorite award). I think next up on Bravo! is the hair-cutting show. I can't say I'm excited for that one, but my wife will watch it (and probably all of the 613 times it will be re-run during the week) so I'll probably absorb it by osmosis.

The only movie I've watched lately is 300. I guess I wasn't expecting it to be so... boring? I guess maybe overly-stylized is a better term, but I didn't find it compelling viewing. The whole 'completely inappropriate for the time/place fetishization of freedom' thing managed to be even more grating than when they did it in Braveheart.

Watch List

We've been using Netflix for about a year and a half now, and around 90% of our rentals are TV shows that have been released on DVD. Those shows tend to fall into three broad categories - classic shows we haven't seen in a long time (WKRP, The Muppet Show), out-of-production sees we missed entirely the first time around (Freaks and Geeks), and currently in-production shows that we got in late on and/or are unable to catch when they are aired (House, The Office, 30 Rock). Currently dominating our queue are season 2 of Veronica Mars (falling in the second category) and season 4 of Soap (an example of category one).

I didn't give Veronica Mars much of a thought when it was still airing. I had heard that if you liked Buffy (which I did), you would like this show too. I was skeptical. I was also wrong. Season 1 was filled with crisp writing, snappy dialogue and (with a couple of exceptions) solid to spectacular acting. If I had a complaint, it is that the resolution of the season-long mystery seemed crammed into the last couple of episodes. The thing I most enjoy about the series, though, is that it gives its audience some credit and doesn't feel the need to explain the obvious. Or even the inobvious - there have been times when I'll figure out what just happened the next day. That may not be for everyone, but I love those "A ha!" moments. So far, I haven't been enjoying season 2 quite as much as season 1. We are only 10 episodes in, though, and it does seem to be picking up.

Soap, in it's final season, is clearly on the downward slide. Katherine Helmond's Jessica is the only reliably funny character, although I think a lot of that has to do with the writing becoming more and more ludicrous (and on a show like this, that is saying something). Taken as an entire run, though, it has been great to re-watch this show in sequence as an adult. In addition to being even funnier than I remembered (I guess that comes with understanding all the jokes), it packs in a bunch of pathos that I had completely missed. Also, I had never quite realized how talented the cast was, particularly Helmond, Robert Guillaume and Richard Mulligan (an amazing physical comedian). It's also been interesting to see Ted Wass develop from a somewhat stiff one-note character to the one of the best 'dumb pretty boy' characterizations I've seen for quite some time.

About the only shows we catch live are the Wednesday night reality-competition shows on Bravo!, which currently means Top Chef. Barring a rain-out of my stepson's baseball game, I'll be missing the finale, though. So far my desire for anyone-but-Lisa meaning she will win is still alive. I think it will take massive screw-ups by both Richard (whose weird combination of super-confidence and dorkiness has become more and more endearing) and Stephanie for her to get all the way through. Stranger things have happened, though (see Ilan, season 2).