Entertainment Wrap Up: December 10, 2008

11 12 2008

Headlines and pop culture tidbits from around the ‘net:

- 40 Inspirational Movie Speeches in 2 minutes. An awesome editing job (and fantastic choice of music) brings us the most inspirationally awesome scene/speech ever put on film YouTube:


* The music is the St. Crispin’s Day track from Henry V (the 1989 Branagh version). A brilliant movie and a glorious score by Patrick Doyle.*

- An early preview/positive review of the DVD release of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I’ve already ordered mine…can’t wait to check out Commentary! The Musical and to see which Evil League of Evil applications made it on as DVD extras. Pocket Paradox…I’m looking at you here.

- After two years on The Daily Show, correspondent Rob Riggle is leaving the show and it appeared this evening’s episode was his last. He’s leaving to branch out like many correspondents before him (Corddry, Helms, Carell, etc) and he’s off to a good start since he’s signed a deal with CBS to develop his own show. His segments were always hilarious and entertaining so I’ll really hoping he goes the way of Steve Carell and not of Vance DeGeneres. Who? Exactly. Canadian husband and wife team Samantha Bee and Jason Jones have signed a similar development deal but their departures from the show have yet to be announced.

- Britney Spears‘ new album, Circus, hit #1 on the Billboard Charts this week…making it her fifth #1 album. I think we can officially call this a successful comeback…stay tuned for the inevitable downward spiral.

- The New York Film Critics Circle have announced their Award winners for 2008. And speaking of best of show pics, Peter Travers – the venerable Rolling Stone film critic – has announced his Top 10 Films of 2008. What I’ve learned from both of these? I need to catch up on movies I’ve missed before the big award shows start to roll around!

- Coldplay responds to Joe Satriani’s allegations of plagiarism. I’ve taken a listen to both and admit there are similarities but there is only a finite number of notes and compositions possible so I have to say I find all music plagiarism allegations a little hard to a)believe and b)prove. I have a feeling this one will get sorted out by a judge…enjoy that, Your Honour.

- End of year lists are popping up right, left and a little more to the left…’tis the season and all that and some of the ones I look forward to each year have been published. Rolling Stone have released their 100 Best Singles of 2008 and 50 Best Albums of 2008. Have I mentioned I love lists like these? Stay tuned for more…many, many more.


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Entertainment Wrap Up: December 9, 2008

10 12 2008

Headlines and pop culture tidbits from around the ‘net:

- Give Me My Remote’s Take 5 series rounds up the very best of Veronica Mars. They’ve got some stellar picks on their list and while I might take the time to quibble order, I think they’re pretty much bang on. Actually, scrap that – I think I would have switched out “Donut Run”, their #2, for the Pilot – which pulled me into the show immediately, the way few other pilots ever do.

- TV Squad weighs in on the Boston Legal series finale. I enjoyed watching this show but never watched religiously. It dealt with some weighty issues very well and had some stellar acting…plus it had The Shatner…but I think this was it’s time to go. I’ll miss those balcony chats between Denny and Alan, the sweetness of Jerry and Katie, and the awesomeness of Shirley Schmidt. Cheers to you, Crane, Poole & Schmidt…when you rocked, you rocked hard…and when you didn’t, well there was still Denny Crane.

- Media outlets across Canada picked up on The Daily Show’s coverage last night of our government in turmoil. How quintessentially Canuck is it that it’s considered newsworthy here when people elsewhere look up from their own lives to notice we exist. I’d mock even more, but you better believe I was smiling and clapping when I saw Jon Stewart introduce their segment entitled “Indecision Oh-Eh!” Also? The segment is completely hilarious…take the time to check it out.

- Twilight‘s director Catherine Hardwicke has announced she will not be directing the sequel, New Moon. Several names have been tossed about as replacements, but I like Deadline Hollywood Daily‘s idea of Joss Whedon because “who has more experience with teenage vampires than Joss?” I admit I have no opinion on Twilight-related items but hey, anything’s better with Joss!

- Anyone who’s watched Grey’s Anatomy recently knows something is up – and it’s looks as if it’s behind the scenes drama stirring things up again! That place isn’t boring to work at, that’s for sure…

- The 14th Annual Critics’ Choice Award nominees were announced today. Heath Ledger received a posthumous nod for Supporting Actor for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

- Winners were announced for the LA Film Critics Awards for 2008.


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SNL 2008 – Gold even without the election

3 11 2008

Tonight is the SNL Presidential Bash…which contains some new material and some classic skits from episodes past. Phil Hartman‘s Reagan and Clinton are amazing, I’d forgotten how awesome he was, and Dana Carvey as George Bush Sr. was so very perfect. Normally seeing older skits like that would cause me to bemoan the state of SNL today and how much better it was back then…but not this time! The past couple of weeks have been excellent shows…not to mention all the Election skits which I’ve previously posted (comedy gold)…so I thought I’d highlight some non-election recent skits – seriously, give them a go…funny!

Both Jon Hamm and Ben Affleck did great jobs as hosts…check out the rest of their skits on NBC.com.

And because I can’t post on the current SNL episodes without highlighting the amazing stuff they’ve been doing with the election. I’ve posted all the election skits so far but for some reason I forgot one of my favourites…the Presidential Debate (cameo by Bill Murray!):

And for my American readers…tomorrow’s the big day…make sure you VOTE!


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Jason Dohring coming back to primetime!

23 10 2008

Now it’s no secret that I was/am a huge fan of Veronica Mars and of the main actors that brought their A-game to every witty, heart-rending episode of the series. The biggest disappointment for me when the show was cancelled after it’s 3rd season? That I wouldn’t get to see those actors on a weekly basis anymore, acting their asses off (see also my still-fresh bitterness re: Buffy and Angel). Luckily Kristen Bell has shown up quite a bit (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Heroes, Gossip Girl), Enrico Colantoni has found a spot in primetime (Flashpoint), and Jason Dohring was around, but severely underutilized on Moonlight. But sadly, it got canceled. Since then I’ve had my fingers crossed in hopes that he would find something worthy of his talent that would get him back on television full time…and it appears wishes just happen to be horses today!

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting (oh they of the reliable info) that Jason Dohring has been cast as a main character in the new HBO comedy series “Washingtonienne.”

The series is produced by Sarah Jessica Parker and based on the Jessica Cutler “lewd, boisterously smutty, funny, observant Washington tell-all” (according to Amazon.com) novel of the same name, which revolves around the lives of three smart 28-year-old girls working on Capitol Hill. Jason will play Spencer, a senior legislative assistant for the same senator for whom the main character works. Also starring in the show? A certain former MuchMusic VJ…Ms. Amanda Walsh. Two worlds collide in one giant comedy conflagration! We’ve seen his extreme dramatic chops and we’ve seen him deliver wickedly sharp sarcastic zingers like a trained marksman, but I can’t wait to see what he does with a true (possibly raunchy) comedy.

Bring it on, Mr. Dohring, you bet I’ll be watching!


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SNL: Palin appears and Weekend Update rocks again!

19 10 2008

SNL continues to mine the comedic gold that is the 2008 election…this time with an actual appearance by Sarah Palin (with Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin) and 2 of my favourite Weekend Update characters.

And boy did I call that Mark Wahlberg thing…you just knew he couldn’t be that much of a douche. Although as my friend pointed out, his portion of the first skit SHOULD have ended with “Oh and Lorne? Say hi to your mother for me…” but either way, good comedy times.


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SNL: More Election Greatness

17 10 2008

I always enjoy Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers‘ news segments, but was honestly a bit leery when I heard they’d be stretching the segment to fill the majority of a whole 30 minute show. So I’m happy to report that the quality of the election stuff has been top notch – they are bringing the funny in 30 minute chunks of sarcastic goodness…so yeah, loving the special SNL’s Weekend Update Primetime Thursday edition. In case you missed it, here are the two best segments so far:

Crazy McCain Rally Lady:

Really?

I love the “Really?” segment on Saturdays but this one is even better then usual!


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Evil League of Evil – Last day for submissions!

11 10 2008

As some of you might know, Joss Whedon and crew are working on putting together the Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog DVD (coming soon to an online store near you – and by that we mean in time for the holiday rush! Stifle it, Scrooge, nothing says Christmas like a musical with a PhD in horribleness). So far we’ve heard about a couple of the extras that will appear, most notably a musical commentary track to accompany…well…the musical. You just know that’s going to be awesome.

But in keeping with the whole “cutting edge” aesthetic of this whole creative endeavour, they are also working a little user-generated content into the extras section. The creative team behind the Dr. Horrible phenomenon have been holding a contest which asks fans to submit their applications to join the Evil League of Evil (headed up by Bad Horse, the thoroughbred of sin)…but sadly today is the last day to submit your video pleas. So go get to being creative and leave the blogging to me…

While you’re at the site…be sure to read the fine print footnotes. Seriously.

While life events have meant I’ve had no time to think of a submission, never mind produce one…I’m happy to say everyone else has been stepping up to the plate with gusto. Horrible, horrible gusto. Behold some of my favourite awesome fan submissions:

The Pocket Paradox

The Diabetic Duo and Hawaiian Music Man

The Vengeful Vegan

Earl Grey: The Aristocratic Nightmare

OCDemon

The Spoiler


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Fall Sneak Peek: House, Season 5

26 08 2008

I don’t know about you, but the season 4 dual-episode finale of House was just about one of the best season finales I’ve ever seen. And if you know me, you know I have a lot to compare it to. Like many of House’s more interesting episodes, the plot execution was fantastically non-linear, the mystery was challenging and unexpected and the payoff was devastating…seriously if you haven’t seen it, Season 4 just came out on DVD or you can watch it again the week before the Season 5 premiere (which is scheduled for Sept 16 at 8 pm on Fox).

Until then, I suggest checking out these great new promos for the upcoming season – no major spoilers but a ton of great one liners:

I cannot wait! Plus, looks like lovely Whedon-verse alum Felicia Day (Buffy, Dr. Horrible) is going to be guest starring in the season opener “Death Changes Everything“…something else to watch for!


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The BtVS and Angel Quote Game

21 08 2008

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The game is simple. A quote from either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel: The Series is posted…then you have to guess who said it and when (episode or situation if you don’t know the ep). Then the person who gets it right posts the next quote…and so it goes until the end of time. Or when we run out of quotes…or we forget we’re playing. Whichever comes first.

Bookmark the permalink, get out your DVDs, and start with the guessing!

And our first quote is… *drum roll please* :

Good god, I hope he doesn’t try to operate heavy machinery!

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd go!


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Veronica Mars on the big screen?

19 08 2008

Okay – so I know to take all TV bloggers and their scoops with a grain of salt but I still enjoy and read them on a daily basis and laugh heartily at their wit and jauntiness. You see…they are like me, we are indeed multiple peas in a giant couch-potato pod…the only difference being they get paid to be obsessive about television shows and characters (and they get to meet them) whereas I get to do it more as a side-gig (and not so much with the meeting). So I go along, eyes pouring over any and all info I can get my hands on, taking that pinch of salt and distributing it liberally over everything I read…but every now and again I come across a “scoop” that makes my heart (hypothetically) leap for joy: Case in point, the pretty reliable Mr. Ausiello’s “exclusive scoop” on the possibility of a Veronica Mars movie.

Now I’ve heard rumblings of this kind before…both about VM and stories within the Whedon-verse (Spike movie anyone? I’m still sad that one never got off the ground)…but those scoops were always based on hearsay or creators/actors wishful thinking. This one seems more legit…and hopefully, more accurate! Sure creator Rob Thomas is busy with new shows (a re-do of his show Cupid, a new one Outrageous Fortune, and I believe he may still be involved in the new 90210) and Ms. Mars herself (aka the most adorable girl to ever grace our screens), Kristen Bell, has her plate pretty full…but Mike Ausiello is usually pretty reliable (from his days at TV Guide to his new gig at EW) so all I can do is hope he’s got the right end of the stick!

Besides…any excuse to hope that I could see Jason Dohring inhabit my favourite psychotic jackass with a heart of gold, Logan Echolls, is enough to keep me interested.

If you want to join in my daily TV scoop scouting, check out some of these blogs:

The Ausiello Files
Watch with Kristin
TV Squad
BuzzSugar
Give Me My Remote
The TV Addict
I Watch Stuff


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