Five Things We've Learned From Bad Movies- 2011 Edition

Since 2011 is already halfway over, it seems fitting to go back and see what Hollywood has taught us for the last several months:

1. If catch your best friends' spouse cheating, you'll probably be the one who gets punished... not just mentally but also physically:

                   -In the awful Ron Howard comedy, The Dilemma, Vince Vaughn finds his best friend Kevin James' wife cheating with a much younger, hotter, and possibly crazier Channing Tatum. I mean, who wouldn't choose Channing Tatum over Kevin James to begin with but that's not the lesson here. As Vince goes to investigate the cheaters who are randomly meeting at a botanical garden (because why not, right?), he falls into a poisonous plant and gets uncomfortable side effects like painful urination. The rest of the movie is how Vince Vaughn tries to tell Kevin James about the affair and how it ruins his life in the process. So basically, the moral of this story is friends don't let friends tell each other about their cheating significant others.

2. Anyone can be a superhero. Even ridiculous people.

                   -Two movies came out this year about idiotic people trying to be a superhero: The Green Hornet where Seth Rogen tries to save his city by doing nothing and letting his sidekick do all the fighting, and Super with Rainn Wilson trying to get his girlfriend back by taking revenge on her new boyfriend as a "masked superhero."

3. Girls are crazy, especially in college (Apparently)

                   -I'm going to use to two words to describe this one: The Roommate.

4. Nicholas Cage will always do awful movies... Even if once in a while he makes a good one.

                   -After last year's awesome movie Kick-Ass, it seemed as though Nicholas Cage was starting to pick roles in good movies again. Wrong. This year, Cage has already made two terrible films: Season of the Witch and Drive Angry. I believe every couple of years, Cage makes a good film but it doesn't sit right with him. So in order to make up for his good reviews, he has to make three bad films. All the good cancels out. 

5. Fairytales are in. As long as you make bad ones. 

                   - We have already seen two classic fairytales turned into live-action movies again this year and neither were good: Beastly and Red Riding Hood. With Beastly, the downfall seemed to be ridiculously bad acting from the leads while Red Riding Hood was trying to make a Twilight love triangle out of a story about a girl who just wants to deliver food to her grandmother. In the next two years, we'll be seeing two Snow White movies, a Hansel and Gretel movie and a new crime show on NBC based on Grimm's fairy-tales. There's even a new Sleeping Beauty inspired drama out in slecet cities. Hopefully at least one of those will be good. What will be next you may ask? I predict a live-action Little Mermaid set in modern-day Antarctica featuring a love hexagon with humans, mermaids and (somehow) vampires and werewolves. Wait, that was a joke... Well if someone from Hollywood sees this, it'll probably happen by 2014.

Movie News- New Trailer Reviews

There's been a gaggle of new movie trailers out this week and it's my job to watch them all for you and give my two cents. We've got 2011 and 2012 releases showing off teasers and snippets and I've had way too much fun sifting through them all to find the most anticipated. So let's take a look shall we?

1. Arthur Christmas (November 23, 2011)
        A cute British Christmas movie about the son of Santa Claus, Arthur Christmas, who has to finish an important mission before Christmas morning. The teaser trailer was released several months ago, last December before Christmas in fact, and now Sony Pictures Animation has released another much cuter teaser about Arthur showing the audience what Christmas preparations go on during the summer. It's fun and will appeal to families. James McAvoy seems to be having a LOT of fun voicing Arthur Christmas and he is joined by a brilliant British cast including Hugh Laurie (House), Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge), Bill Nighy (Love, Actually), Imelda Staunton (Professor Umbridge from the Harry Potter franchise).

2. Disney's John Carter (March 9, 2012)
                Based on the character from the Barsoom series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this movie tells the story of John Carter, played by Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch, who is transported to Mars and must take over saving the planet from conflicts between its people. It sounds slightly interesting, but after Disney's Prince of Persia was unimpressive with critics and at the box office, it'll be a long journey to the top for this film. John Carter features an all-star cast just like Prince of Persia with Thomas Haden Church (Easy A), Willem Dafoe (Spiderman) and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad).

3. Hugo (November 23, 2011)
             Here's another November 23rd release: a 3D tale about an orphan boy who lives in a Paris train station who tries to discover mysteries about his recently deceased father with the help of a young girl who unknowingly can provide answers. It's a family adventure adapted from the best-selling novel, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" and can anyone guess who it's directed by? The master of family adventure himself, Martin Scorcese! Wait a minute... that doesn't sound right... Why is the man who is famous for dark movies like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Shutter Island and The Departed doing a children's movie? I have no idea but that's what makes this film intriguing for me. This film also boasts a fantastic group of actors (like all Scorcese films): Chloe Grace Morez (Kick-Ass, Let Me In), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Christopher Lee (the Lord of the Rings trilogy), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) all have important roles in the film and Jude Law plays the deceased father. The trailer is beautiful and gives the right amount of child wonderment and excitement to interest me as an audience member.

4. The Thing (October 14, 2011)
          The earliest release on our list, this is NOT a remake of the brilliant 1980 John Carpenter film that blended the lines between science fiction and horror (much like the Aliens franchise). In fact, this film takes place three days before the events of the first film, when a group of Norwegian and American scientists find the alien for the first time. The lead is a girl this time around, Mary Elizabeth Winstead from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World plays American scientist Kate Lloyd who has to try and destroy the alien who can mimic any other life form. If we know anything from the 1980 movie, we know that all of the old crew is dead so we may already know the ending to this film. Nonetheless, the trailer is sufficiently creepy and it seems Mary Elizabeth Winstead is capable of carrying this science horror flick on her shoulders.

5. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (December 16, 2011)
            This is one of the three highly anticipated films and trailers that I'll be showing this week. After a fairly successful critical release and a great success at the box office, it seemed like a no-brainer that the 2009 Sherlock Holmes would garner a sequel. But how were they going to top the first in terms of villainy? Well in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows it seems Holmes will be facing the teased about villain from the first film, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris). Other plot developments include Watson's wedding and subsequent honeymoon and a lot more homoerotic jokes and shenanigans. There seems to be one significant change from the first film to its sequel: No Rachel McAdams. Instead, the female leads seems to be Noomi Rapace who gained fame after starring in the successful Girl with Dragon Tattoo films in Sweden (the first of which is being remade in English for release this December by The Social Network's David Fincher). As usual, the trailer is more comedy than plot but that's the fun with these Sherlock movies.

6. The Dark Knight Rises (July 20, 2012)
           So this is the teaser the world has been waiting for. It was released as a part of the trailer package during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and now it's finally up online. After the great poster for The Dark Knight Rises, the trailer is a bit underwhelming. It has some great images of Tom Hardy as the villain Bane and a great final snippet of Batman looking slightly frightened as he fights Bane but overall, all we get is this weezy dialogue from Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordon telling what sounds like Bruce Wayne to bring Batman back. This obviously means Batman has been completely out of the public eye this whole time after being accused of murdering Harvey Dent in the last film. The image from the poster of the bat symbol made with the Gotham City skyscrapers is a nice touch. No matter what, I'm still extremely excited for this film if only for the director and the cast alone. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and all of the other favorites return along with some talented new faces added: Tom Hardy (Inception), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer, Inception), Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada, Rachel Getting Married), and Marion Cotillard (Inception) are all involved in the final Chris Nolan bat adventure.

For anyone who couldn't understand the dialogue in the trailer, here it is. 
Commissioner Gordon: "We were in this together. And then you were gone. Now this evil rises. The Batman has to come back."
Bruce Wayne: "What if he doesn't exist anymore?"
Commissioner Gordon: "He must. He must."


7. The Amazing Spider Man (July 3, 2012)
             Now this might be the most exciting trailer for me. After all the talk of how bad this new Spiderman reboot might be, we finally get some images from the film and a new teaser trailer that should quiet down many of the naysayers out there. Andrew Garfield, the extremely talented star of The Social Network, is cast perfectly as the nerdy but lovable Peter Parker and Easy A's Emma Stone looks beautiful as Parker's first love Gwen Stacy. We see the origin story again but this time we get snippets of the mystery behind why Peter Parker ends up living with his aunt and uncle. I'm not too familiar with this particular story from this comic books so I'll be interested to see what the film does here. I will admit I had some doubts when it was announced that 500 Days of Summer director Marc Webb would be directing this gigantic budget film as his sophomore project but after seeing the darker atmosphere of this teaser, I'm definitely less skeptical. Here's yet another film with a brilliant cast: Martin Sheen (The West Wing), Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Denis Leary (Rescue Me), Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire).

Judge for yourselves- I've added some pictures (courtesy of Entertainment Weekly's Spiderman Gallery) and the teaser:

Now the teaser:

That's all the major trailers I have for this week. Hopefully we'll get to see clips from more anticipated releases soon!

The Best and Worst in Harry Potter Movie History

I can't believe it.

We've come to the end of the Harry Potter journey. And while the world watches the final film in amazement, I have compiled a list of the 5 best and 3 worst moments of Harry Potter Movie History. Now this list is not just about what scenes or movies were good or bad, I'm going to get a bit technical and talk about directing, music and casting. This is the last new Potter film, but Daniel Radcliffe said it best at the London premiere, "each and every person... who will see this film and who have followed these films for the last ten years will carry this story with them through the rest of their lives." Very poignant Mr. Potter.

The Best Moments (in no particular order)


1. The casting of Alan Rickman as Severus Snape

 Alan Rickman's Famous Snape Stare

        This piece of genius apparently came from the brilliant mind of J.K. Rowling herself. The author had always imagined Alan Rickman playing the Potions Master from the start. The casting directors had a different idea at the beginning; they actually asked fellow British thespian Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction, The Incredible Hulk, Fox's show Lie to Me) to play the complicated man Dumbledore trusted to the end. Good thing he decided to do The Planet of the Apes because we now Alan Rickman and the iconic Severus Snape are synonymous. Like Ian McKellan in the Lord of the Rings triology, Rickman is the Harry Potter franchise's best bet for awards recognition. (Don't believe me? Ask movie reviewer Richard Roeper: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 Review) Rickman's heartbreaking performance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II was magnificent and worthy of great recognition.

2. The Women of Harry Potter

Above: Helena Bonham Carter as Belatrix Lestrange, Helen McCrory as Narcissa Malfoy

Below: Julie Walters as Molly Weasley and Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall

        It's hard to argue that the women of Harry Potter are brilliant from the villains (Belatrix Lestrange and Dolores Umbridge) to the maternal figures (Professor McGonagall and Molly Weasley). In fact, the women overpower their male counterparts at times. One of my favorite villains of the whole series would have to be Helena Bonham Carter as Belatrix Lestrange for her absolutely psychotic and pitch-perfect portrayal of the woman with a terrible obsession with Lord Voldemort. While I adore the performance by Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, the balance of his silent delivery of evil and Carter's frenetic portrayal makes Voldemort's name more frightening than Voldemort by himself. And Julie Walters is wonderful as the kind, overly generous and fiercely protective Weasley mother.

3. The Music of John Williams and Alexandre Desplat
        Some of the most iconic moments of Harry Potter movie history are made all the more epic because of the beautifully composed music by John Williams and Alexandre Desplat. The insanely talented John Williams was responsible for giving us the first two Harry Potter film scores including the famous "Hedwig's Theme" that is used now in each of the subsequent Potter films. There were other composers in charge of films 4-6 who did a great job staying true to Williams' music, but Alexandre Desplat took over the reigns for the last two movies and brought a new spin to the wonderful sounds we all grew up hearing. While Williams created both innocent and dramatic pieces that set the atmosphere for each of the first three films, Desplat had to tackle the dark and dangerous imagery from the last two films (or the 7th book). We all know these themes from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: 

 

 

But here are some of the more dark pieces- The "Obliviate" music from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and the "Severus and Lily" theme from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- OR the changing of directors from Christopher Columbus to Alfonso Cuarón

        Christopher Columbus had the tough task of taking a beloved book and making a faithful adaptation. But luckily for him, as long as he got the main plot points correct and stayed as loyal to the imagery of the book, it would be easy for him to succeed in getting butts in theater seats- and he did just that. And while there's nothing necessarily wrong with the first two movies, there's nothing amazing about them either. When Cuarón came aboard, however, everything seemed like it would change. Before Harry Potter, Cuarón was known for films like A Little Princess and the Spanish film Y Tu Mamá También which features some nudity and sex scenes. While some were worried how much Cuarón would change the tone of Potter, the finished product became the most critically and universally popular Harry Potter film. (before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 which holds a whopping 97% "fresh rating" on Rotten Tomatoes for general critics and 100% "fresh rating" for top critics). Just look at the difference between the first Potter film and Cuarón's Azkaban:

5. Amazing landscapes in the Harry Potter franchise

        There's not much I need to say here. Art directors are involved in set design/decoration/construction, location scouting, and other art department duties. So instead of talking about how great the sets and locations are in these two films, I'll just post a bunch of pictures and have you all see for yourselves the brilliant work done by art directors Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan. It's important to note that these sets are made even more wonderful with the help of visual effects so I'd like to give some appreciation to effects all-stars Roger Guyett who worked on the first and third films and Tim Burke (and his team) who worked on every film except the first:

The Worst Moments (in no particular order)

1. The adaptation from book to film for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
               
        Now I don't know how many people would actually disagree with this pick. To say that necessary information from Half-Blood Prince was left out would be an grave understatement. Starting from Rufus Scrimgeour being cut out from the film to removing scenes about Tom Riddle all the way to the removing the small battle on Hogwarts between Dumbledore's Army and the Death Eaters, too many scenes were shortened or sacrificed so that the romances in the book could be more dominant. Sure, all of the books had to cut important scenes, but Half-Blood Prince cuts were the hardest because those scenes could've helped set up essential facts in the final two films. In the end, Half-Blood Prince was too focused on teenage hormones. And burning down the Burrow? That was inexcusable.

I will give the cast and crew one compliment: the scenes featuring Draco were shot quite well and Tom Felton shined playing the "villainous" boy who has more of a conscience than he can admit to himself.


2. The awkward relationship between Harry and Ginny

        As much as it pains me to say this, I didn't really believe that Harry and Ginny could fall in love from the movies. This might be due to Bonnie Wright's slightly less capable acting skills or it might just be that her character is stripped of a lot of its development due to time constraints. Even while reading the books, I found it a bit strange but Ginny's character was much more fully developed which made it a bit easier for Harry to find her attractive. In the films, there aren't very many scenes that show Ginny even likes Harry until the last few books. Plus the scenes in Half-Blood Prince (as I've mentioned before) don't show any chemistry between the pair. The only time I really enjoyed their relationship was in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2; they have two moments together that are short and sweet.

See? Awkward...

3. The cutting of integral scenes throughout the Harry Potter franchise
       
        As I've discussed in the Half-Blood Prince criticism, there have been several scenes from all of the films that have been cut due to time constraints. While overall screenwriter Steve Kloves (and Michael Goldenberg for Order of the Phoenix) has done a great job keeping the integrity of the books intact, there has been too much sacrifice of fun or essential moments. Here are my picks for worst cuts:

              a. The Quidditch World Cup game in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (only because it would have extremely fun to watch- they should have put this in and shortened the first task scene instead. That scene with the dragon was excruciatingly long)

              b. The House-Elf Liberation Front scenes with Hermione- would have been great for Hermione's character development

              c. Hermione finding out that Rita Skeeter is an Animagus- she turns into a beetle

              d. Ron's quidditch moments in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix- would have been great for Ron's character development

              e. The scene at St. Mungo's Hospital where you meet Neville's parents and find out their story (the parents' backstory is told by Neville after a Dumbledore's Army meeting later in the film)

              f. The small Hogwarts battle scene after Dumbledore is killed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

               g. The death of Peter Petigrew in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 and 2- this was disappointing because the audience doesn't get to see justice for Harry parents and we don't see Peter Petigrew paying Harry back for not killing him in Prisoner of Azkaban.

               h. The absence of Dumbledore's backstory in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2- I can't really explain this without giving away too many spoilers for people who haven't read the book, but Dumbledore was not always the generous, loving and good person that Harry remembered. It's important to see that because then you know why his brother, Aberforth, dislikes him. And it's important to not that Dumbledore seems more human when he learn his mistakes.

               i. The absence of Fred, Lupin and Tonks' death scenes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2- In fact, the entire second wave of the battle at Hogwarts is cut down. While it was sad to see the three beloved characters dead, it was hard to see just their bodies and not get a sense of how they died.


I have loved spending my years with Harry and the gang; it's incredibly sad to see it end. For those of us who grew up with the books and related to each of these characters, the Harry Potter franchise will forever be a reminder of our greatest childhood moments... where we met our three very best friends.

TV Looking Back- Friday Night Lights' Most Emotional Moments

Well everyone,

The time has come again. We say goodbye to Friday Night Lights tonight as NBC airs the series finale that originally aired on DirecTV last October. This marks the official end of the show as NBC struck a deal with DirecTV that allowed the major network to air the show's last season during its spring-season programming. Friday Night Lights has consistently been one of the best television shows in my opinion. It is one of the most realistic shows ever made and provided loyal viewers like myself with heartbreaking and groundbreaking moments. For those who have not seen the show, stream the first four seasons immediately on Netflix Play Instantly and watch the fifth season on Hulu.

I have already seen the series finale and for those who have not, it is the perfect ending to this great show. In honor of the stadium lights dimming in Dillon, Texas, here are my choices for the 12 most emotional moments in the show's 5-year history minus the series finale.

12. Season 3, The Giving Tree- Julie and Tami talk about growing up

                     This emotional scene is preceded by a hilariously awkward moment when Coach Taylor walks in on Julie and Matt in bed together after they have sex at Matt's house. That moment goes from funny to somber after Julie reveals that she's worried she won't be "daddy's girl" anymore to Lyla. The emotional scene occurs when Julie's mother, Tami, tells Julie that she wishes Julie had waited to have sex. Not only that, Tami was disheartened that Julie didn't come talk to her first. Julie breaks down from the sadness of disappointing her parents and though the character of Julie is not my favorite, this moment made me feel sorry for her. The creators were smart to show a conversation that parents regularly have with their children in the most realistic way and it shined a bright light on the strong dynamic of the Taylor family.



11. Season 1, Homecoming- Jason is welcomed back to the stadium by all of Dillon.

                     An obvious choice for one of the best FNL tearjerker moments. Jason Street is hesitant at the beginning of this episode to come back for the homecoming game but all of his worrying and fears are gone as he bursts through the Panthers logo. The entire town erupts in applause and cheers for his return. I'd be genuinely surprised if anyone can watch this scene without getting emotional. See for yourselves.



10. Season 5, Texas Whatever- Tami and Eric's arguments about Eric's job offer

                     No one likes to see their parents fight. And as most FNL fans will tell you, Eric and Tami Taylor have become our TV parents. This was a hard to watch because Tami spills years worth of anger and resentment about "being a coach's wife" to Eric. Never being one to make Eric feel like crap, this is the one time Tami does it because she has just been offered the job of a lifetime and Eric is trying to make the executive decision in the household. Even though it's too much to handle, it's scenes like this that make this show so memorable. The realism in the small moments are affecting, especially when Tami may have to give in one last time:



9. Season 3, Underdogs- Tyra reads her college essay to Landry

                     "Underdogs" is one of those FNL episodes that is good from start to finish with no errors. So when Tyra reads her college essay to Landry- the college that she's been working on all weekend, the college essay that decides whether she gets in to UT or not, the college essay that decides whether or not she gets to leave Dillon for good- it's an intense moment that is used as a voiceover for all of the other characters getting ready for the state championship- and for the changes to come. 

8. Season 2, Leave No One Behind- Smash's future becomes uncertain/Smash's locker room breakdown

                      This again is another one of those FNL episodes that's brilliant from start to finish. It's also one of those FNL episodes that could have been submitted to the Emmy's for Gaius Charles' brilliant performance as Smash's college dreams are taken away because of a racial dispute where he was (in my opinion) clearly in the right. I put both scenes together because they are both equally powerful.

7. Season 3, New York, New York- Jason reunites with his son/Jason leaves Dillon for good

                      Jason gets a job in New York City just so he can be with his son and his girlfriend. He leaves behind Riggins but not without saying, "Texas Forever." What else do I need to say? That was it, tears were flowing. On top of that, Jason's love for his child was more than enough to send me over the edge into sobs-ville.



6. Season 2, Leave No One Behind- Matt's drunken breakdown in front of Coach Taylor

                     Matt's having a tough time when this scene comes around. He's just been dumped by Carlotta, Grandma Saracen's live-in nurse, and he isn't the same guy he was before. Everything that he's been keeping inside bursts out when Carlotta leaves and he goes in a downward spiral of skipping school, drinking and overall being a giant tool- he's trying to emulate what he thinks Tim Riggins does all the time. But when his grandmother has an accident and he's too drunk to pick her up himself? He knows he's gone too far and the Coach doesn't let him forget it. Coach Taylor throws the still drunk Matt into the shower and turn the cold water on him, but before he can lecture the kid, Matt breaks down and lets everything he's been resenting out with a bang.


5. Season 4, I Can't- Vince asks his mother why she uses drugs

                     After many of the main characters "graduated" at the end of season 3, FNL had to find new blood and they couldn't have done a better job than finding Michael B. Jordan to play Vince, a kid from "the wrong side of the tracks" in Dillon who ends up playing quarterback for the East Dillon Lions. Vince can't catch a break. He's a juvenille delinquent, his father is in jail and is useless when he gets out and his mother is drug addict. Of course this means that he has to take care of everything in his family. In that aspect, does he remind you of anyone? Yes, he in a way, becomes the new Matt Saracen and he definitely fills in Matt's big, problem-filled shoes. This scene is self-explanatory:



4. Season 1, State- The Dillon Panthers win State/Tami's big news/Eric leaves Dillon

                  This is another one of those episodes that is just perfect from start to finish. I don't have much to say other than this was originally shot as a way to end the series if NBC didn't pick up FNL for a second season. And as much as I would have hated NBC for cancelling it this early, it would have been a hell of a way to end the show. The Dillon Panthers win State, Tami finds out she's pregnant and Coach takes a job to be the new quarterback coach at TMU.

3. Season 4, Thanksgiving- Tim takes the fall for his brother, Billy

                    Who doesn't love Tim Riggins? The resident slacker/bad boy has some amazingly poignant scenes in Friday Night Lights when it comes to his love life but this scene is one of the first times we see how much he's willing to sacrifice for family. Billy Riggins has been running a side car repair business with Tim but without telling Tim at first, he tries to use stolen/chop-shop parts. The boys get in trouble with the law and Tim takes the fall for Billy so that Billy can be with his son. Tim basically goes to jail so that Billy's son can have a good childhood. Who wouldn't cry at something like that? Also, just watch the whole episode. This is another one that's perfect from start to finish.


2. Season 4, The Son- Matt's breakdown during dinner at the Taylor's house/The funeral

                      Emmy voters made an egregious error by not giving Zach Gilford an Emmy nomination for his heartbreaking portrayal when Matt's father dies in Iraq. The funeral scene is hard to watch, with both Matt and Grandma Saracen barely able to keep their heads up but the dinner scene at the Taylor house is the most emotional scene of the episode. After Matt catches a glimpse of his father being prepared for a close-casket ceremony, he goes to the Taylor house for dinner and finally breaks down after somehow managing to keep it together since he found out about his father's death.



1. Season 1, Pilot- Jason gets injured/Everyone gathers at the hospital

                      One of the best pilots of recent TV history with one of the best speeches. The fact that FNL can have so much emotional depth in the very first episode and has never lost that moment is a real testament to the show as a whole. In the last scene, pretty much the entire city of Dillon gathers at the hospital to pray for Jason's recovery and Coach finds out there's no hope- Jason is paralyzed. I'm not going to post a video for this one; if you haven't seen the show, just watch the pilot and thank me later.

There you have it. The end of a beautiful show. Friday Night Lights was just nominated yesterday for 3 major emmys: Best Actor in a Drama Series- Kyle Chandler (Coach Taylor), Best Actress in a Drama Series- Connie Britton (Tami Taylor) and Best Drama Series. Thank goodness because this show deserves all of this and more. I hope, even as this show ends, it can find more fans through Netflix and Hulu, and DVD sales because it's a show worth talking about for years and years to come.

Here's the brilliant promo that DirecTV posted when they aired the series finale of Friday Night Lights. It has the same speech that Coach Taylor makes in the last scene of the pilot and it beautifully reminds us of five amazing years on this one amazing show.

And just so we don't end on a sad note, I have a special surprise from YouTube for all the Tami Taylor fans out there, courtesy of the YouTube account "guyismdotcom". Thanks FNL, it's been a great ride.

Emmy Predictions 2011

Well the Primetime Emmy nominations are just hours away and I have last-minute predictions for all of you! When the nominations are announced at 5:35 Pacific Time (8:35 Eastern Time), I'll have an updated list with the actual contenders and we'll see the accuracy of my guessing. If I'm completely off-base on every nomination, we'll know there's something wrong with Emmy voters... Not me of course.

UPDATE:
The actual nominees are listed under my predictions. If I got a prediction wrong, the name will be crossed out and added next to the previous name. My predictions of winners will take place closer a week before the Emmy's televised date which is September 18th.

Best Comedy Series
1. 30 Rock
2. Modern Family
3. The Office
4. Glee
5. Parks and Recreation
6. Nurse Jackie The Big Bang Theory
Dream Nominees: If only Community could get the recognition it deserves but with its shutout last year, it seems unlikely even with the show putting a hilarious and sweet sophomore season. Another fantastic show that may lose out on a spot is The Big Bang Theory even though its main star is sure to get nominated.

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
           -I'm so pleased to be wrong about this fifth spot. While Edie Falco's performance on Nurse Jackie is definitely worth a nomination, the show is not. It's so wonderful to see five of the best shows on television actually be recognized. I would say six normally, but this season of Glee was so disappointing, I would have much preferred its spot to be given to the far superior Community or Cougartown.  

Best Actor: Comedy
1. Steve Carell, The Office
2. Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
3. Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
4. Joel McHale, Community Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
5. Matthew Morrison, Glee Louis CK, Louie
6. Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Dream Nominees: Louis CK will be egregiously snubbed again this year even though his performance on his FX self-titled show is pretty much brilliant.

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
          -It looks like I missed two from this list. I am incredibly happy that there is finally some love for Louie CK for his amazing show, Louie and rounding out the list is another Big Bang Theory cast member, Johnny Galecki. I'm not ecstatic about Galecki's nomination, I would've preferred Joel McHale get that honor for Community's stellar second season but hopefully he will get his due soon.

Best Actress: Comedy
1. Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
2. Tina Fey, 30 Rock
3. Toni Collette, The United States of Tara Melissa McCarthy, Mike and Molly
4. Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
5. Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
6. Laura Linney, The Big C
Dream Nominees: Courtney Cox one of my dream nominees even though I want Amy Poehler to win. Cox, as many know, was the only Friends cast member that was never nominated in the show's 10-year history and her wonderful turn as Jules Cobb on Cougartown deserves recognition. Another dream nominee is the underrated Kaley Cuoco from The Big Bang Theory.

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
          -I was able to get all but one correct on this list. I missed Melissa McCarthy from Mike and Molly. Though this is not my favorite role, McCarthy deserves make-up nominations for her amazing performances on both Gilmore Girls and Samantha Who?.


Best Supporting Actor: Comedy
1. Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
2. Chris Colfer, Glee
3. Ty Burrell, Modern Family
4. Ed O'Neill, Modern Family
5. Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
6. Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Dream Nominees: Pretty much all of the other Parks and Recreation men deserve nominations here. Adam Scott and Chris Pratt turned out funny and adorably sweet performances and Nick Offerman's iconic brawny-man Ron Swanson is the the perfect foil for Poehler's sweet, annoyingly-optimistic Leslie Knoppe. Another dream contender is the amazing Danny Pudi for his multi-dimensional portrayal of Abed on Community.

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
           -My biggest fear has come to fruition. I was dreading the possibility that Two and a Half Men's Jon Cryer would make this list, sullying it and taking away from it's beautiful, high-class standing created by the men of Modern Family. But it happened. And I believe it only happened because Cryer is getting rewarded for having to deal with the Charlie Sheen debacle. Isn't getting Charlie Sheen off the show enough? Cryer over Neil Patrick Harris by the way, is another heinous crime that's just too painful to talk about. This was, by far, one of the best if not the best season for Harris' womanizer with a heart, Barney Stinson.

Best Supporting Actress: Comedy
1. Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
2. Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
3. Julie Bowen, Modern Family
4. Jane Lynch, Glee
5. Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
6. Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Dream Nominees: Alison Brie's adorable performance on Community is nomination-worthy, as is Busy Phillip's hilarious, dim-witted but surprisingly sweet Laurie on Cougartown. Phillips getting a nomination would probably be the best news for me but since I forsee a complete Cougartown shutdown, there's no way this will happen. It would also tickle me to see Aubrey Plaza's dry, witty portrayal of April from Parks and Recreation get some admiration.

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
           -Considering how upset I still am about Jon Cryer making the supporting actor list, it's nice to see that I got 5 out of 5 on this one!!

Best Guest Actor: Comedy
1.  John Lithgow, How I Met Your Mother Zach Galifinakis, Saturday Night Live
2. John Slattery, 30 Rock Will Arnett, 30 Rock
3. Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live
4. Matt Damon, 30 Rock
5. Idris Elba, The Big C
6. Nathan Lane, Modern Family

Best Guest Actress: Comedy 
1. Gwyneth Paltrow, Glee
2. Cloris Leachman, Raising Hope
3. Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock Elizabeth Banks, 30 Rock
4. Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live
5. Megan Mullaly, Parks and Recreation Dot-Marie Jones, Glee
6. Kristin Chenowith, Glee

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
           -I was really hoping the nominations I had for this category would be right because I didn't want to go on a rant about Megan Mullaly's egregious omission from the list. I think Dot-Marie Jones added some great vulnerability to Glee this season but Mullaly's uncompromisingly hilarious performance is comedy GOLD. I don't understand why shows like Glee don't have their own Dramedy category; it's truly frustrating.

Best Drama Series
1. Mad Men
2. The Good Wife
3. Friday Night Lights
4. Dexter
5. Boardwalk Empire
6. Justified Game of Thrones
Dream Nominees: Friday Night Lights is my dream nominee here. It is one of the most realistic,  emotionally honest dramas ever put on television in my opinion. The fact that its never been nominated for a Best Drama nomination before is almost unforgivable, unless it gets nominated this year and wins. But for shows not already on the list, I think this season of Fringe has been excellent as well as the first season of the HBO show Game of Thrones and AMC shows The Killing and The Walking Dead.

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
          -With nominations for Timothy Olyphant AND supporting actress and actor Margo Martindale and Walton Goggins, I was a truly surprised that FX's Justified was not nominated. My second choice would have been The Killing, but HBO's reign continues with it's new runaway hit Game of Thrones getting the coveted last spot.

Best Actor: Drama
1. Jon Hamm, Mad Men
2. Michael C. Hall, Dexter
3. Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
4. Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
5. William H. Macy, Shameless Hugh Laurie, House
6. Timothy Olyphant, Justified
Dream Nominees: Continuing my open love for Friday Night Lights, my dream nominee is fairly safe to get a nomination this year. Kyle Chandler's portrayal of Coach Taylor on the DirecTV (previously NBC) show has been one of the best performances for the 5 years this show has been on television. Also, if Peter Krause could get nominated for his superb job on NBC's Parenthood, all would be right with the world.

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
          -Looks like Hugh Laurie still has enough pull with Emmy voters to snag a nomination away from the always great William H. Macy, despite an especially disappointing season of House.

Best Actress: Drama
1. Julianna Marguiles, The Good Wife
2. Elizabeth Moss, Mad Men
3. Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
4. Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer Mireille Enos, The Killing
5. Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy Kathy Bates, Harry's Law
6. Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: SVU
Dream Nominees: Connie Britton should have won last year, in my opinion. No offense to Kyra Sedgwick, but Britton's portrayal of Tami Taylor is better than most anything I've seen on television this year or last. Glenn Close's Patty Hewes from the FX show Damages has not lost any strength in the last few years. Her nomination would be a dream. As would the nominations of Mireille Enos from AMC's The Killing, Anna Torv's maturing work on Fox's Fringe and Lauren Graham's performance on Parenthood.

 ACTUAL NOMINEES:
           -Looks like one of my dreams came true! AMC's surprisingly good new show, The Killing gets a win with its lead Mireille Enos getting some well-deserved recognition. The other nominee is not so well-deserved in my opinion. While I enjoy her performance on Harry's Law, Kathy Bates is not better than Katey Sagal. That was definitely another mistake by Emmy voters.

Best Supporting Actor: Drama
1. Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
2. Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age
3. Walton Goggins, Justified
4. Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
5. Michael Pitt, Boardwalk Empire Josh Charles, The Good Wife
6. John Slattery, Mad Men
Dream Nominees: I would love to see both Michael Shannon from HBO's Boardwalk Empire and Josh Charles from CBS' The Good Wife get nominations. But alas, Charles may not have gotten enough meat in the show this year for voters while Shannon's performance might be too subtle to get noticed. My dreams come true would be to see True Blood's Denis O'Hare get a nomination for his villainous turn as the psychotic Russell Edgington and Fringe's John Noble for showing us so many different and demanding portrayals of one man.

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
          -Poor Michael Pitt. Though I believe he is good enough to score a nomination for his work on Boardwalk Empire, it looks like Josh Charles has finally snagged his WAY overdue nomination. Josh, consider this redemption for not getting rewarded for your great performance on Sports Night. And of course for another great portrayal on The Good Wife.

Best Supporting Actress: Drama
1. Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
2. Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
3. Margo Martindale, Justified
4. Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
5. Michelle Forbes, The Killing
6. Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Dream Nominees: Khandi Alexander from HBO's Treme and Regina King from TNT's Southland deserve as many accolades as they can carry but the shows are too under-the-radar for the Emmy people to notice or care. It's really too bad.

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
           -5 out of 5! This is the second supporting actress list I've gotten right! And all are well-deserved nominations this year. 

Best Guest Actor: Drama
1. Jonny Lee Miller, Dexter Paul McCrane, Harry's Law
2. Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
3. Michael Emmerson, Parenthood Jeremy Davies, Justified
4. Jeremy Irons, Law and Order: SVU Beau Bridges, Brothers and Sisters
5. Robert Morse, Mad Men
6. Bruce Dern, Big Love

Best Guest Actress: Drama
1. Julia Stiles, Dexter
2. Shohreh Aghdashloo, Law & Order: SVU Loretta Devine, Grey's Anatomy
3. Ellen Burnstyn, Big Love Mary McDonnell, The Closer
4. Joan Cusack, Shameless
5. Debra Messing, Law & Order: SVU Alfre Woodard, True Blood
6. Gretchen Mol, Boardwalk Empire Cara Buono, Mad Men
7. I didn't know there could be SEVEN Randee Heller, Mad Men

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
           -I just have to comment on how badly I did with the guest actor and actress in Drama. Who knew you could have seven nominees? And who knew the Emmy voters would pick people who were barely on the episode for which they're nominated like Alfre Woodard? Also, another Harry's Law nomination? Really? And over Jonny Lee Miller's brilliantly evil Jordan Chase on this season's Dexter? No Emmy voters, just no.

Best Miniseries or TV Movie
1. Mildred Pierce
2. Sherlock: A Study in Pink The Kennedys
3. Too Big to Fail
4. Downtown Abbey
5. Carlos Pillars of the Earth
6. Cinema Verite

Best Actor: Miniseries or TV Movie
1. Idris Elba, Luther
2. Edgar Ramirez, Carlos
3. William Hurt, Too Big to Fail
4. Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
5. Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: A Study of Pink Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys
6. NONE Barry Pepper, The Kennedy

ACTUAL NOMINEES:
          - I wasn't going to say anything about these nominations if I could help it but I believe a grave mistake has been made. Benedict Cumberbatch gave the most intellectual performances of the year with his modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock: A Study of Pink. His absence from this list is an error that should have never been made. I won't even talk about howthe fact that Martin Freeman's emotionally damaged John Watson not making the Supporting Actor list is a crime.

Best Actress: Miniseries or TV Movie
1. Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce
2. Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
3. Hayley Atwell, The Pillars of the Earth Taraji P. Henson, Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
4. Jean Marsh, Upstairs Downstairs
5. Elizabeth McGovern, Downtown Abbey

Best Supporting Actor: Miniseries or TV Movie
1. James Gandolfini, Cinema Verite Tom Wilkinson, The Kennedys
2. Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
3. Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail
4. Martin Freeman, Sherlock: A Study of Pink James Woods, Too Big to Fail
5. Tim Robbins, Cinema Verite Brian F. O'Byrne, Mildred Pierce

Best Supporting Actress: Miniseries or TV Movie
1. Maggie Smith, Downtown Abbey
2. Evan Rachel Wood, Mildred Pierce
3. Melissa Leo, Mildred Pierce
4. Eileen Atkins, Downtown Abbey
5. Cynthia Nixon, Too Big to Fail Mare Winningham, Mildred Pierce

UPDATE:
So here they are my dears, your Emmy nominations. Some extremely well-earned (Louis CK, Timothy Olyphant, Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton), some really wrong choices (Jon Cryer, the absence of Sherlock the miniseries).

The summary of nominations: Mad Men, Modern Family, Boardwalk Empire and Mildred Pierce cleaned out this year. As usual, HBO is the winner of the most nominations of any network with a total of 104. CBS was a distant second with 50. The Good Wife also dominated with almost all of their major actors getting nominated.

Glee's Jane Lynch is hosting the awards this year. Let's see if she and the winners are worthy.

Movie News- The Dark Knight Rises Poster!

In a stroke of marketing genius, the people over at Warner Brothers and The Dark Knight Rises have decided to release a teaser poster of the film that goes hand-in-hand with the teaser trailer that will be released during screenings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. While I'm glad for ANY news about The Dark Knight Rises, this poster not only makes me wish I could see the teaser, but it makes me ache for it to be Summer 2012 already. Here's the poster, decide for yourselves!

Photo from Entertainment Weekly

At first glance, it looks similar to Inception poster in that it's very dark. It's a great poster idea as well; putting the bat signal up using crumbling Gotham City buildings. It seems to echo the possible downward spiral of the city and of our trusty bat friend himself. Apparently, there are rumors of hidden images within the poster- an image of the Joker, a faded symbol of Two-Face but even without all of those possibilities, I'd say it's pretty damn cool.

Movie Review- Horrible Bosses

 Rated R for Really make sure you're age-appropriate

You know when a movie has a funny premise, looks hilarious from the trailer, and has a fantastic cast but can't follow-through on its potential?

Well THANK GOODNESS Horrible Bosses is nothing like that.

After some "not good at all" comedies this summer (No Strings Attached, The Hangover Part 2, Just Go With It) and some "not bad, could have been great" comedies (Paul, Bad Teacher), it's nice to see a hilarious movie that has relatability in the face of a completely outrageous premise.

The story is one we are all probably familiar with: three longtime friends hate their jobs only because they have insane bosses that are making everything hellish for them. From the very beginning of the film, the bosses' roles are directly laid out. Nick (Jason Bateman) has the psychotic and evil boss (Kevin Spacey), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) has the cokehead and incompetent boss (Colin Farrell), and Dale (Charlie Day) has the sexual predator boss... DDS (Jennifer Aniston).

The idea of murder comes in hypothetical form during a night out after yet another awful day at work: Would the guys kill their bosses if they knew they would get away with it?

I don't want to give too much more away but obviously they end up attempting the murders. And because the characters are so adorably stupid, hijinks ensue.

Screenwriters Michael Markowitz, Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley (from Freeks and Geeks and Bones) strike gold with their intelligent mixture of dirty and dark humor with a bit a sweet naivety thrown in. The editing and flow of the film is fast and smooth; in 100 minutes we get a several different kinds of jokes while wrapping up the story quite well.

The cast here is fantastic. There's great chemistry between the trio of men in an almost minimum to maximum range of comedic delivery and timing. Jason Bateman is the king of subtle, sarcastic humor, Jason Sudeikis adds easy charm and with a hint of insanity, and Charlie Day's has a frenetic craziness that provides balance with the other men. The bosses are no less worthy of appreciation. Kevin Spacey is fantastic in a role he's familiar playing: a psychopath. It's absolute genius. Colin Farrell is very brave to play such an offensive and ugly character and pulls it off completely and it's refreshing to see Jennifer Aniston FINALLY playing against type. Jamie Foxx also gives a nice cameo performance as the trio's self-titled "murder consultant" with an inappropriate first name.

But it's not all sunny, positive words for the film. While the script is effective, the story is extremely cliched. The men get into some situations that don't make sense even in the film's skewed view of reality but the results are almost always predictable. And we don't get the answers to some questions that are brought up throughout the film. But it's easy to ignore the faults. Horrible Bosses is consistently funny, dark, and one of the better comedies of the year.

B+

TV Recaps- True Blood Season 4 Episode 1

It's that time again people!

Can you feel it?

It's witch season on True Blood and to paraphrase Shakespeare (and Harry Potter), something wicked this way comes.

I had the pleasure of watching the season premiere at a fun, quirky bar in New York City called Professor Thoms. It was the perfect True Blood-watching atmosphere, complete with televisions at every booth, silence for every scene and extra-large nachos for a very affordable price. So if you are 21+ and ever want to watch this show with a group of like-minded True Blood fanatics, this is definitely the place to do it. Sunday nights are reverse happy hour nights and every time a True Blood characters dies, everyone in the bar gets a free jello shot. Come and find me, I'll be the Indian girl in the corner booth stuffing her face with XL nachos and free refills of soda.

When we last left our morally ambiguous group, they were about to face some strange and difficult times (as always). Sookie was transported to fairy land, Jason was taking care of incestuous panther-people, Bill was about to fight Queen Sophie Anne to the death, Tara was leaving her hometown for good (not really), Sam was about to shoot younger brother Tommy, and Eric was... covered in cement.

For the first ten minutes, we are transported to fairy sanctuary with Sookie in what I can only assume is some sort of land one would hallucinate during a bad acid trip. While being shown around by fairy godmother, Claudine, Sookie runs into season 2 hotel employee Barry accompanied by his chiseled fairy godmother Lloyd and yes, you did read that correctly.

Sookie sees her grandfather Earl (played by the always wonderful Gary Cole) who has no idea that he's been stuck in fairy world for over 20 years. This time lapse is apparently caused by "light fruit" which basically looks like a glowing pear.

 See? Weird, glowing, yet delicious-looking pear.

The fairy queen appears and tries to force Sookie into eating the fruit. Sookie sees the manipulation around her, throws her light fruit to the ground and pushes away the fairy queen with her white light power which reveals fairy land to be a desolate disgusting place where the fairies are unwashed and covered with warts.

 And... now I've lost my appetite for the rest of the day.

As Sookie and Earl try to escape (no more mention of Barry by the way), they are chased by the creepy fairies and are forced to jump into a giant hole in the ground that supposedly will transport them back to the real world. They come back to Bon Temps and Sookie is fine but Grandaddy Earl ate the light fruit so he wasn't supposed to come back. Sadly, Earl dies in Sookie's arms right by the grave of his wife, Sookie's grandmother Adele. And as quickly as Gary Cole came onto the show, he left even quicker... What a waste.

Sookie goes back home and finds strange contractors threatening to call the police on her if she doesn't leave. She, of course, throws a sassy line in their direction and in no time, Officer Jason Stackhouse (Really, I'm serious) arrives at the scene. Sookie's confused as to how Jason is a cop already and Jason is just surprised to see Sookie alive. The big twist here is that apparently, Sookie's 10 minutes in fairy land is more like 13 months in the real world so everyone thought Sookie had been killed by Bill. Also, Jason sold Sookie's house to an unknown buyer.

Now that we're back in Bon Temps a year later, it's time to see what everyone has been up to.

As we know now, Jason is a full-blown cop, ill-fitting khaki suit and all. He's now partners with Sheriff Bellefleur who, not so surprisingly, is completely addicted to "V." In a rather hilariously hypocritical turn of events, Jason is trying to get Andy to quit the stuff which he himself didn't stop using until his girlfriend was murdered next to him while he was high. So maybe Andy will have to learn the hard way just like Jason did.

Bill was the main suspect in Sookie's disappearance/possible murder and is cleared of suspicion when Sookie bails him out by saying she was on a secret vampire mission for him (She has only told Jason of her time in fairy land... so far). Bill is looking a LOT more well-rested and is now the vampire King of Louisiana! Guess that explains what happened between him and ex-Queen Sophie Anne. Bill and the American Vampire League leader Nan Flanagan (played by the brilliant character actor Jessica Tuck) are trying to lead a movement to salvage vampires' reputation after it was demolished by Russell Edgington's heinous murder of the anchorman while onair last season. And let me tell you, the anti-vampire fans are out in the hundreds protesting vampire establishments like Fangtasia every night.

Tara is now a resident of New Orleans where she takes part in the respectable, lady-like occupation of... ultimate street fighter? So basically, Tara has found a new way of taking out all of her aggression in the dumbest way. But an actual surprising change for Tara: she's in a lesbian relationship now. But here's a surefire reason why things won't turn out well for these two: the lesbian lover doesn't seem to know Tara's real name, where she's from, and who she used to be.

Sam is still the owner of Merlotte's and is not in jail. At first I thought, "Maybe he didn't go through with it. Maybe Sam decided to help his brother instead of shooting him." BIG no on that one. He definitely shot Tommy but only in the leg and is now paying for rehabilitation that Tommy is milking BIG time. Big surprise on Tommy: he is now living with Hoyt's mother as a sort of replacement Hoyt I guess.

Speaking of Hoyt, he and Jessica are now living together and it looks like the honeymoon period of their relationship has been punted out the door. Hoyt wants a meal waiting for him every once in a while when he gets home while Jessica despises the smell of human food. According to her, handling human food for her is like a trip to the morgue for him. Plus, Jessica keeps eyeing every vampire-lover in Fangtasia during her and Hoyt's trips out on the town.

Lafeyette and Jesus are still together (seems to be Lafeyette's longest relationship) and Jesus drags Lafeyette to wiccan gatherings where he meets Marnie (played by the amazing Fiona Shaw- Aunt Petunia from Harry Potter). Things start out normal enough, the weirdo waitress from Merlotte's who tried to help Arlene get an abortion last season is at the meetings as well. However, normal is just not True Blood's style and of course Marnie introduces necromancy into the proceedings. She has everyone join hands to bring a bird back to life. Lafeyette is hesitant at first and nothing seems to be happening. But as soon as he joins the circle, the bird comes flying back to life (pun intended). Strange... we'll see who wields the real power in the coven in the coming episodes.

All that's left now is Eric. Eric is still Eric. He's still the owner of Fangtasia and he is still extremely loyal to his progeny, Pam. Two differences however: He now has to answer to both Bill and Nan Flanagan and it is revealed that he is the owner of Sookie's home. In the final scene, Eric reveals this information to Sookie and tells her that since her house belongs to him, she cannot get rid of him from the house. Also, he seems to think that since her house now belongs to him, she belongs to him as well. Yea, he'll learn soon that the house keys don't also open Sookie's heart... even though they should.

Well there you have it folks. The first episode of True Blood, retold/wrapped nicely in an efficient manner. I'm only going to be recapping the first and last episodes of the series and doing a quick review of the whole season after the finale airs. Sad I know, but it makes for great suspense. Hope to see some of you at Professor Thoms this Sunday and if not, enjoy the witchy/vampire-y/monster-y world of True Blood. And let's hope Alcide will be popping up soon!