Color Quiz

This was kind of creepishly accurate.

Matt took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! ""Longs for tenderness and for a feeling of accepta..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

Moon Pizza

On Tuesday, Justin and I went to see this:



So, what were your impressions of the trailer? Looks like a great psychological thriller in a sci-fi setting, doesn't it? Sort of Event Horizon-meets-Solaris-meets-Fight Club.

Too bad it's not. It's actually a Science Fiction Parable that touches slightly on the effects of long-term isolation, but in the end really doesn't have any overarching deeper meaning. It took me 3/4 of the movie to figure that out.

Justin put it very succinctly: It's like being told you're going to get tacos for dinner, and then it's pizza. It's not that you don't like pizza, but you were really looking forward to tacos. That's exactly how I felt this whole film. I kept waiting for the twist. But the only thing that might possibly be considered a twist is revealed in the first 20 minutes of the film, and it's really not that interesting. I kept going "OK, that's interesting, and..." and then the movie ended.

I'm not saying it's a bad movie, because it's not, but my sense of disappointment is so over-powering. Sam Rockwell does a very good job of playing essentially two different characters, and as an actor it was kind of cool to watch. The special effects were really good given the tiny budget they had. The story itself isn't really bad, either, although his hallucinations in the beginning are dramatically underplayed. The biggest fault of the movie is that it's nothing like that trailer, and it pisses me off.

Upon reflection I'm not sure how I would have made a trailer for this film either. It's an interesting film, I guess, but not exactly edge-of-your-seat, or really anything too new. It's an acting showcase for Sam Rockwell set in a moon-base. That doesn't draw in the casual viewer. I think I might recommend it to others, but only with the disclaimer to never see the trailer.

2009 Emmy Nominations

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

• Big Love
• Breaking Bad
• Damages
  Dexter
• House
• Lost
• Mad Men

Where the fuck is Friday Night Lights? Or even Battlestar Galactica? Hmm. I would replace House with either one, and I'd be willing to replace Lost and Damages with Friday Night Lights. Not that any of these aren't good Drama series, but Friday Night Lights is just SO GOOD. And BSG deserved something after 4 seasons.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

• Entourage
• Family Guy
• Flight of the Conchords
• How I Met Your Mother
• The Office
• 30 Rock
• Weeds

I've never seen Flight of the Conchords, and I'm biased given my hatred of the Office, but I would have included Big Bang Theory on this list. And more to the point Chuck. Entourage needs to die, I'm done with it. I watched a bit of the first season and never saw the appeal.

Outstanding Reality Competition

• The Amazing Race
• American Idol
• Project Runway
• Top Chef

I didn't bother to paste the other Reality competition because I don't watch it. I fear Runway has been gone too long to win. Race just had an awesome season, so it'll probably win for the 64th time. Top Chef is good but not worthy of an Emmy win. Idol needs to die.

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA

• Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
• Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
• Hugh Laurie (House)
• Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment)
• Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
• Simon Baker (The Mentalist)

Again, I ask where the hell is Kyle Chandler? I knew McShane would never get nominated but he was good. I like Hugh Laurie, and he's good on his show, but I want fresh meat. I really need to check out Breaking Bad.

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

• Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters)
• Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
• Glenn Close (Damages)
• Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU)
• Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men)
• Holly Hunter (Saving Grace)

Yay Elizabeth Moss! Happy Dance for Mad Men. Where the hell are Mary McDonnell and Connie Britton? Sally Field? Really? Bros and Hos needs to end, even if I do love Scotty and Sarah. Except for Glenn Close and Elizabeth Moss, this category is boring. Hopefully FNL will get some love SOME day.

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

• William Shatner (Boston Legal)
• Christian Clemeson (Boston Legal)
• Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
• William Hurt (Damages)
• Michael Emerson (Lost)
• John Slattery (Mad Men)

Yay Michael Emerson. If you replaced the Boston Legal names with someone who actually deserves it, I'd be happy with this list. If Shatner wins I'm going to be very, very, very angry.

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

• Cherry Jones (24)
• Rose Byrne (Damages)
• Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy)
• Chandra Wilson (Grey’s Anatomy)
• Dianne Weist (In Treatment)
• Hope Davis (In Treatment)

Sandra Oh didn't DO anything this season on Grey's Anatomy. And Rose Byrne I think was much better last season. Not having seen In Treatment, I'm going to go with Chandra Wilson. She wasn't as strong as last year, but she'sreally the only watchable part of that mess lately (occasionally Callie is good, but I'm so done with Izzie).

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY

• Jermain Clement (Flight of the Conchords)
• Tony Shaloub (Monk)
• Steve Carell (The Office)
• Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
• Charlie Sheen (Two & a Half Men)
• Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)

Yay Jim Parsons! Boo Tony Shaloub and Charlie Sheen. Where is Zach Levi on this list? Why hasn't Monk ended already?

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

• Julia Louise Dreyfuss (The New Adventures of Old Christine)
• Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?)
• Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Show)
• Tina Fey (30 Rock)
• Toni Collette (The United States of Tara)
• Mary Louise Parker (Weeds)

Having never seen New Adventures of Old Christine I'm not devastated by any of this. I'm glad Toni Collette got a nomination, and I hope she wins it.

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

• Tracey Morgan (30 Rock)
• Jack McBrayer (30 Rock)
• Kevin Dillon (Entourage)
• Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
• Rainn Wilson (The Office)
• Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men)

Neil Patrick Harris, all the way. I would have liked Michael Urie to get something, but I'm not surprised he didn't. Tracey Morgan isn't the best part of that show, but go Jack McBrayer, who is the third funniest thing there (next to Baldwin and Fey). If Kevin Dillon wins in place of Jeremy Piven, I will throw something at the TV. And why is Jon Cryer supporting if Charlie Sheen isn't? Aren't they BOTH the Two and a Half Men?

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

• Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)
• Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies)
• Amy Poehler (SNL)
• Kristin Wiig (SNL)
• Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty)
• Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds)

Kristin Wiig is hysterical, but KRISTIN CHENOWITH! My other two picks would never have been nominated, even if I think they're funnier than Elizabeth Perkins on Weeds. All in all I support this list, although VDub wasn't as good this season, but that's not so much her fault as the shit writing on Betty.

Emmy Dream Ballot 2009

So apparently they're announcing the Emmy ballot on Thursday? These things sneak up on you. It's no secret that I LOVE the Emmy's, because they are the awards show I know the most about. I'm a TV aficionado (as Kristen, Brian's sister-in-law, now introduces me to people). So if they are coming up, then I want to list some of the people I think deserve to be nominated for each of the categories.

Best Drama Series

Mad Men
Lost?
Friday Night Lights
Battlestar Galactica

From what I hear, Big Love and True Blood are also great, as is Breaking Bad. I'm kind of behind these last few months. But I did finish season 2 of Mad Men, which was excellent, and Friday Night Lights had its best season EVER. Last season was kind of crap with the stupid murder subplot, but everyone was on this season. It was such a joy to watch every week. BSG is over, and should have been nominated ten times over. The last half of the fourth season I thought was more consistently strong than the series had been since season 1. Yes, there were some missteps but it was great. Lost really sucked me in with all the time travel stuff, but I'm not sure it deserves an Emmy yet. I feel like they should give it an emmy at the end of it's run. Overall I'd love for Friday Night Lights to win, but BSG can't be nominated again.

Best Comedy Series

Better Off Ted
30 Rock
Big Bang Theory
How I Met Your Mother
United States of Tara
Pushing Daisies

I hate the Office. I say this having never actually watched the office. But still I hate the office. I don't like Steve Carell, and I could care less about Jim and Pam. And in fact I kind of hate all sitcoms, except these four. Better Off Ted is black comedy brilliance and deserves to be recognized for it. 30 Rock is hysterical and has deserved its wins. I'm not sure BBT and HIMYM deserve an actual award, but they should be nominated. Definitely BBT over HIMYM, if I had to choose. Tara was new and innovative, although not exactly Laugh Out Loud funny. Not Weeds, last season was depressing and dark and frankly not that funny.

Best Reality Program

Amazing Race
So You Think You Can Dance
RuPaul's Drag Race

Top Model will never be nominated because it's garbage. Runway has been off the air too long I think. Race was fantastic this year, a true return to form. Dance is always good, although I still think season 3 was the best I've seen. Certainly this season isn't doing me any wonders. I don't think Drag Race will ever be nominated, but it was such a GREAT reality show. It had all of the pieces a good reality show needed, and it was moving. When Ongina announced he was positive? Insane (although in hindsight probably staged).

Best Actor: Drama

Kyle Chandler
John Hamm
Ian McShane

Other than that I don't know. Some people will say Olmos, but I never really enjoyed watching him. Chandler is freaking incredible in FNL and deserves a nomination, if not the whole freaking award. John Hamm is of course amazing. Ian McShane probably won't be nominated, but holy hell he is the best part of that show. Kings as a whole was weak, I admit, despite my love of it, but every scene Silas is in is Great TV. Other than that, who else is there? Anyone from Lost I feel should be "Supporting", and even then I can name only one character I would actually nominate. You'd think with all the TV I watch more would jump out at me.

Best Actress: Drama

Connie Britton
January Jones
Elizabeth Moss
Mary McDonnell

Any of these women deserve it, and if you don't agree, just watch the freaking shows. Each one of them was amazing to watch. I feel Big Love would round out the category, but again, behind. Glenn Close was also very good in Damages, but as a whole Damages was better last season.

Best Supporting Actor: Drama

Michael Emmerson
Bryan Batt (Sal from Mad Men)

Whoever else they nominate, Michael Emmerson deserves it. He was incredible to watch. While I love Mad Men, I didn't think any of those guys did great, although I could go with a nom for Vincent Kartheiser. Maybe also Taylor Kitsch from FNL.

Best Supporting Actress: Drama

Christina Hendricks
Adrienne Palicki

I don't know. That's all I've got. I loved Christina's performance so much I can't suggest others. Adrienne did a good job of showing the shit Tyra had to fight. Katee Sackhoff wasn't so bad on BSG, and I really liked her ending arc. Same with Kate Vernon. I should probably put them on here.

Best Actor: Comedy

Lee Pace
Alec Baldwin
Zach Levi
Jim Parsons

I would love for Lee Pace to win for Daisies, but I doubt he will. I also doubt he'll be nominated but oh how he should be. He and Chenowith MAKE that show. Baldwin is of course hysterical, hence his past win. How awesome would a Zach Levi win be? He'd give Chuck renewed energy, and he does a really good job in the show, so it wouldn't be undeserved. Really though, if Jim Parsons is nominated, he SO deserves the win. Without him on BBT, the show would die. If Tony Shaloub or James Spader are nominated, I'm sending a bomb. Just saying.

Best Actress: Comedy

Tina Fey
Toni Colette

If Toni is nominated, I'd think she'd be hard to beat, as she's playing five different characters, each different but amusing. And she can play humor and drama all in the same scene. That takes real acting chops. Tina Fey is freaking hilarious, and I wouldn't be upset if she won.

Best Supporting Actor: Comedy

Neil Patrick Harris
Michael Urie
Keir Gilchrist

I stole these from Low Resolution, but I agree with all of them. Neil Patrick Harris has been nominated numerous times and a win on top of his hosting gig would be amazing. Michael Urie deserves a nod, as he was the only watchable thing on Ugly Better (well, him and Amanda, but I'm getting to her). Keir did a great job as a gay teen dealing with his mother's shit, and he deserves a nom just for that scene where he burns down the shed.

Best Supporting Actress: Comedy

Kristin Chenowith
Portia de Rossi
Jane Lynch

Kristin deserves it, as she was far and away the best thing about Pushing Daisies. Every scene she was in was excellent. Portia is hysterical on Better Off Ted, and that makes me happy. I didn't watch all of Party Down, but I love Jane Lynch in everything she does.

So that's it. Not full lists by any stretch, but my ideas on names that shouldn't be ignored. We'll see how right I am.

The Ramen Girl

This has been quite an interesting week for movies. First I saw Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, which isn't worth mentioning. Then I watched The Fall, which deserves it's own blog post because it's just awesome. And tonight I watched "The Ramen Girl," which was unwise. Not because it was bad (to be honest, it wasn't that great, either), but because it was so...Japanese.



Brittany Murphy plays Abby, a slacker youngin' who follows her boyfriend to Japan, only to find out he's not so interested in her. She feels lost and lonely when her sole purpose for existence moves to Osaka, and eventually wanders into a Ramen shop in the rain, where she just starts crying. The Japanese couple that runs the shop doesn't know what to do with her other than give her a bowl of ramen, which seems to heal her. She decides from then on that she will learn how to cook Ramen, and that she will have the マスタ of the shop teach her. He's predictably an asshole, but eventually they develop a mutual respect for each other (although he has a hard time showing it EVER, being as he's Japanese). The ending is unusual by Western standards, but I think it's very, very Japanese. And I'm sure anyone that never went to Japan would ask "What do you mean?" but I can't explain it without giving it away. I've already said too much.

I saw "Lost in Translation" before I ever went to Japan, so I don't really remember how Japanese it is. I watched it and thought it was so random, and kind of amusing, but the majority of the cultural significance was lost on me. But now I've been. I've lived there for two years. I'm dating a guy who is close to as Japanese as one can get without being actually Japanese. And about half an hour into this movie I realized what I was watching. It's an ode to things that are Great in Japan, but not karaoke or beer or crazy America love. It's all about the people.

Which sounds ridiculously cliche, but it's true. I was never one of the 外人バー foreigners. I didn't have many foreign friends (although I admit it was nice to relax around them every so often). I wanted to spend as much time with Japanese as much as I could, cause I could hang out with Americans here. I wasn't as successful as I would have liked, but still I tried. And the Japanese people are unlike people anywhere else. Which you can say about people from anywhere, so it's not exactly an earth-shattering revelation.

Although now that I think about it, while the movie is about the Japanese, I'm not sure that's what makes it Japanese. It's the whole attitude of the thing. About putting your heart and soul into something. About the power of food. About how there are things you have to do. I wonder how someone outside of the Japanese sphere of influence would perceive the thing.

I think I'm losing my train of thought, which makes the continuance of the post rather pointless. So I will go, leaving the reader with a recommendation to watch "The Ramen Girl" if he or she would like some insight into Japan, or if he or she would like to just reminisce. It's interesting, without a doubt.

Kings: Brotherhood

So first, HAPPY DANCE, Kings is back! Granted it's only so they can burn off the extra episodes before releasing them on DVD (which I've preordered), but still I'll take what I can get.

And honestly, I think they came back with a great episode. There were two main plots this episode, the first involving Jack and David crossing enemy lines on a secret mission and the second concerning the outbreak of plague (which is oddly topical, given the episode was filmed like 5 months ag0). I'll get to the specifics in a second, but two overall things I really wanted to commend this show on are the dialogue and the music. First, the tone of every sentence in this episode had a very regal feel. Not being anything close to a linguist, it's hard for me to describe exactly why it was so great, but it had a lot to do with unconventional sentence structure and word choice. I thought it was all very deftly handled. And then the music really created a great sense of tension. Usually I watch TV and never think twice about the score, but this week I was really wrapped up in it all. It all got a little spooky at times, which fit really well with the plague storyline.



David and Jack are sent on a "diplomatic mission" to kill an insurgent leader in Gath, until they get ambushed and have to get all guerilla warfare on things. They eventually find and capture the leader, which leads to some emotional scenes by Sebastian Stan as he more or less throws a tantrum to this complete stranger about David. Honestly, as much as I like Jack and tolerate (to use a term loosely) David, I thought both of them were a little weak. I just can't picture either of them as these fantastic soldiers, especially Jack. And Jack did come off a bit as a brat, which I did not care for at all. But the whole point of this storyline is to put two characters who are at odds with each other in a situation where they have to work together. It's been done a thousand times, but it was still interesting to see the final scene of the two men in the church. I honestly can't tell if Jack is happy or annoyed that David saved his life. Probably a bit of both, although it's always annoying to owe something to a person you detest. I see Jack as trying to do all of these things for David, none of which David wants, until they have a heart to heart and Jack realizes he just has to be a nice guy. We'll see how much of that happens in the last 5 episodes.

I'm not quite sure where to start on the plague storyline. I guess I'll start with the good parts and move on to the parts that annoyed the crap out of me. Silas was (as usual) awesome this week. Him dealing with the signs and portents was really cool, and played up the fantasy aspect of the show. I remember in the first episode, when there was a LITERAL crown of butterflies I was a bit put off by the heavy-handedness of prophecy, but this week it was much subtler. That bit with the candle was great, and the look on Silas' face when he realized who the "poison" was was great as well. The political intrigue parts of this show are where it really shines. Watching as Silas has to navigate these obstacles to his rule highlights Ian McShane's acting ability, and is probably the most engaging part of the series. And the fact that there is some higher power at work makes things all the more interesting. The viewer gets the feeling that Silas really does care for the people, and that he believes he is the best choice for King, and that he will do anything to keep his seat.

I also enjoyed watching Queen Rose deal with the Plague. When Silas said "there will be costs, to you more than others," she basically said "do what you have to do, my children come first." Makes you realize she is not to be trifled with, and I think if they ever let her go she'd level cities.

Now for the thing that pissed me off: Princess Puppy walking into quaruntine without so much as a SARS Mask on. I almost threw a shoe at my screen I was so angry; it is RIDICULOUSLY cliche. Does she not realize her position? Could she not put on at least some gloves and a hazmat suit (sidenote: Does she not care about infecting the kid further?)? Was I supposed to see this as noble or stupid? Are the writers trying to make me hate her? Yes, it's sad that the kid is sick and dying. And it was very nice of her to want to be with him. But someone needs to put a frigging leash on this girl as she is the damned PRINCESS of the country. Even if she's not in line for succession, she's still important, and if she gets killed bad things will happen. This is just as stupid as when she went in to 'negotiate' during the insurgence and got captured. Does she not have a personal guard? Does she not have common sense? I'd really like to see her learn a lesson at some point from all of this, but perhaps that's unrealistic. It is infuriating to me how great a character Silas is and how craptastic a character she is. Or maybe they're both craptastic, it's just Ian McShane is a hundred times better than Allison Miller.

The other thing that annoyed me, although clearly not as much as stupid, stupid Princess Puppy, was why Silas didn't kill his brother-in-law. Is it a "better the enemy you know..." situation? You KNOW this man is after your throne, and if it wasn't for luck and some clever maneuvering on your wife's part, would already have had you removed. Why not slit his throat and dump in a ditch somewhere and move on? Is there a maximum number of people that the King can have offed in one week? "Well, I've filled my quota this week, but just you wait!" I suppose it's good for the drama, and he IS your wife's brother, so I can let it slide this time.

So that was episode 6. I believe they shot 13 total, so we've got *maybe* 7 more before it gets yanked permanently. It still makes me sad, even if I saw it coming. And I'm not naive enough to think it might get picked up by a cable channel, although Sci-Fi or Showtime might have a fun go of it. I think if this show could be a bit more adult it might be more effective, too, but I'm not a TV executive. Mainly because I have taste. Oh snap.

Were the World Mine - Review!

Friday night I was able to catch a DVDrip (US DVD release is June 9th) and I loved it. For anyone that doesn't know, Were the World Mine is a feature film based on a short film called Faeries. It's about this boys boarding school that does a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Puck is played by the (seemingly) only gay kid in the school. During rehearsals he discovers a secret love potion within the pages of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and shortly everyone is falling in love with a member of the same sex. I should also point out it's a musical.

I've had the soundtrack for several months, and I've listened to it so many times I have the whole thing memorized. It helps that the main singer is about my range, so when I sing it (which I do all the time) I don't sound horribly off from the recording. Anyway, many of the lyrics are taken directly out of the original Shakespeare (I didn't actually check, so if it turns out that's not true, then whoops), and the songs themselves are great, I think. A lot of the bigger numbers are played as dream-ish sequences, but that means there also tend to be half-naked boys dancing around as faeries.

The movie itself is pretty good, certainly better than 90% of the gay-themed trash cinema. I like the main character, played by Tanner Cohen, and I was slightly drooling over his love interest Jonathan. Then again anyone with abs who can sing is pretty ok in my book. My biggest complaint about the film is that when some of the characters are "changed" they take on some pretty stereotypical behavior. The gym coach in particular gets a limp wrist and "clutches his pearls," which I find to be kind of annoying. But since he's not on the screen all that often, I'm willing to let it slide. Overall I think it's one of those movies that is fun to sit down and watch as long as you don't put too fine-toothed a comb to it. I'd say the same about Shelter and Latter Days, though, both of which I very much enjoyed.