happy 90210 day!

In honour of this special day celebrating the original (and best) Beverly Hills, 90210 I bring you the classic Brenda and Kelly "If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck" clip.....

omg...

...the new season of Gossip Girl starts very soon packed with plenty o'gossip, silly/fabulous clothes and a seemingly alive Chuck Bass? Please tell me our bambina will allow me some quality G.G time...xoxo!!!

excellent tv math

How's this for a formula to Tara's heart?

Take one Zooey Deschanel...

Add "I'm With the Band" by Pamela Des Barres - one of my all-time favourite trashy reads,

...and throw in HBO, my fave TV network.

This is already my new favourite show in the history of television shows and it hasn't even aired yet. Thanks to Big City Kelly for the heads up!!!

nice globes 2009

So I'm a bit late on this, I know. Anyway, here's my annual rant on some of this year's Golden Globe nominations. Not that any of this really matters but I always have fun rambling about this kinda stuff so here we go.

To be honest I haven't seen many of the movies nominated this year but I'll do my best.

Best Motion Picture Drama: I don't so much care which one wins but if it's Inglorious Basterds I'll cry. That movie shouldn't even be in this category. I bet it's Avatar though.

Best Motion Picture Comedy: My heart of hearts wants it to be (500) Days of Summer because I loved every second of that film but I doubt it'll win. As long as it's not Julie & Julia I'll be happy. My guess? The Hangover. And rightly so.

Best Performance by an Actor Comedy: The thing I like the most about this category? Seeing Daniel Day Lewis and Joseph Gordon Levitt listed in the same category. Whodda thunk the kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun would one day be listed in the same category as one of the greatest actors ever.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: If this doesn't go to Anna Kendrick then this award is rigged.

Best Animated Picture: If you're talking quality of a project then it HAS to be Fantastic Mr Fox but it's hard to believe anyone stands a chance against the Pixar giants etc.

Best Original Score: This will likely get swallowed up in the inevitable Avatar tidal wave but really it should go to Karen O for her brilliant soundtrack for Where the Wild Things Are. That soundtrack captured the true essence of a film like few others ever have.

Best Television Series Drama: Man what a category!!!!!! 4 of my favourite shows ever all in one category! This season of Mad Men was pretty spectacular though so that's my pick. But if it's Big Love, then I won't argue with that either - this last season was brilliance!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama Series: Again - what a race!! I really hope it's Jon Hamm but if it's Michael C Hall it'll be totally deserving - his work in this season of Dexter was really excellent.

Best TV Series Comedy: The face that Entourage is even nominated makes me question this whole process. That whole last season was a write off and was one of the worst TV seasons of all the shows this year. I bet Glee takes it this year though -- that show is taking over the world!!

Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy: I love that Toni Collette got nominated this year -- I'm a huge fan of United States of Tara and think her ability to play 5 separate roles so incredibly well makes her well worth the win. I just don't know if anyone stands a chance against Tina Fey though.

Best Supporting Actress in a Series: This has to go to Chloe Sevigny I say -- she was all kinds of batshit crazy this season of Big Love.

Best Supporting Actor in a Series: I REALLY want John Lithgow to win for his work on Dexter this season -- he played one of the best TV villains ever!!! As long as Jeremy Piven doesn't get it for essentially doing more of the same I'll be happy. I bet Neil Patrick Harris wins it though.

And that's my opinion for this year.

office wedding

Obviously there are a ton of promos out there for the upcoming Jim and Pam wedding. After seeing this one though, it's official. I'm 100% going to cry during that episode. Jim's speech?? Killer adorable. And all the flashbacks in this promo -- Jim's face when he tells Pam he loves her and she turns him down?? My heart just curls right up and dies!!

Eeeep!! It's going to be so great!!

sesame street meets mad men

Man, Sesame Street is awesome. Is it wrong for a grown woman to watch it?

i wanna do bad things...

...with Eric.

bored to death

Saw the ad for the new HBO comedy Bored To Death. Starring Jason Schwartzman, Parker Posey, and Kristin Whig I got my fingers crossed for 2 reasons: 1)I really hope I like it and 2) it starts soon. Like now soon. Summer television is killing me.

united states of tara

So are we watching Toni Collette's new show? I am and I love it! Name aside obviously, it's funny, sad, clever and I'm hooked.  Not to mention it's got dreamy John Corbett in it, the guy Carrie should have married instead of Mr. Big in my opinion.  That's right!!  You heard me right!!  I said instead of Big....

real gossip girl gossip

So here is Kelly Rutherford working the baby bump in real life.  Does this mean that Lily Van der Woodsen Bass and Rufus are going to get knocked up???  Cuz that would be crazy!!  Then Dan and Serena really couldn't date!  Even more than they shouldn't already be dating!!

nice globes.....

Ahhh awards season....and so it begins. And so begins of of my favourite pastimes -- getting far too worked up over who gets nominated, who doesn't get nominated, who wins and who loses something that really means absolutely nothing.   I'm blogging from my radio show so I've got 2 full hours to get all worked up about today's Golden Globe announcements.. Unfortunately, most of the movies up this year I haven't seen yet as I live in a town that runs weeks behind everyone else in terms of movie releases. But I'll rant about them anyway. Not all of them though, just the ones I have the most to say about.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
1. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

2. FROST/NIXON

3. THE READER

4. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

5. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

I haven't seen any of these yet but have heard and read enough to know that it's quite a category. The cool people are all rooting for Slumdog Millionaire but the masses may not be able to resist the reunion of Kate and Leo in Revolutionary Road. Hmmmm......

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
1. ANNE HATHAWAY – RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

2. ANGELINA JOLIE – CHANGELING

3. MERYL STREEP – DOUBT

4. KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS – I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (IL Y A LONGTEMPS QUE JE T’AIME)

5. KATE WINSLET – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

All the heavyweights with the new young faves. Star power indeed. Plus the Angelina means the public will go mad for her and Brad on the red carpet. My fave has to be Kristin Scott Thomas cuz she's easily the best actress of the bunch and people are crazy about that film. But it's hard to fight against the new Hollywood darling that is Anne Hathaway and a legend like Meryl. And poor Kate, well she's good but the girl never wins anything. Maybe this is her year...

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
1. LEONARDO DICAPRIO – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

2. FRANK LANGELLA – FROST/NIXON

3. SEAN PENN – MILK

4. BRAD PITT – THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

5. MICKEY ROURKE – THE WRESTLER

The academies do sometimes like the non-obvious so it might be the year for Frank Langella or strangely, Mickey Rourke. But given the critical frenzy forming over Milk and that this is the film's only nod, I think it'll go to Sean Penn. And deservedly so.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. BURN AFTER READING

2. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

3. IN BRUGES

4. MAMMA MIA!

5. VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

Sigh...this category blows. I want it to be Burn After Reading cuz the Coen's are my fave. Happy Go Lucky was the most annoying movie of 2008 and if it or Sally Hawkins wins I will boycott movies forever. And In Bruges??? Who even saw that movie??? Give me a break! At least the Woody Allen movie cushions this category a bit but man....we clearly didn't laugh much this year if this is the best we could do.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE DRAMA
1. TOM CRUISE – TROPIC THUNDER

2. ROBERT DOWNEY JR. –TROPIC THUNDER

3. RALPH FIENNES – THE DUCHESS

4. PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – DOUBT

5. HEATH LEDGER – THE DARK KNIGHT

Give me a break with this category!!! Tom Cruise?!?!? I know everyone loved Tropic Thunder and RDJ's nomination is well-earned (cuz he's just great in everything he does) but Tom Cruise??? Even when everyone under the sun is saying that Valkyrie is shaping up to be the worst movie ever??? How could he get a nomination and not anyone else from Milk?? Awful, awful. Of course, it likely goes without saying the award will go to Heath Ledger. Tragic death aside, he blew the doors off that movie he was so good.

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
1. DANNY BOYLE – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

2. STEPHEN DALDRY – THE READER

3. DAVID FINCHER – THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

4. RON HOWARD – FROST/NIXON

5. SAM MENDES – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

David Fincher = boo. I liked Fight Club quite a bit but the guy can't light a movie in any other way but dark, dark and more darkness. And Ron Howard? Bor-ing. Everyone is saying S.M is Danny Boyle's new return to the post-Trainspotting top but I haven't seen it so I don't know. So let's pick Sam or Stephen to win cuz I've liked most of what they've both done in the past. Most of it....

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
1. “DOWN TO EARTH” — WALL-E Music by: Peter Gabriel, Thomas NewmanLyrics by: Peter Gabriel

2. “GRAN TORINO” — GRAN TORINO Music by: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael StevensLyrics by: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens

3. “I THOUGHT I LOST YOU” — BOLT Music & Lyrics by: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele

4. “ONCE IN A LIFETIME” — CADILLAC RECORDS Music & Lyrics by: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street

5. “THE WRESTLER” — THE WRESTLER Music & Lyrics by: Bruce Springsteen

Duh of course we all want it to Bruce Springsteen! Who else? Miley Stupid Cyrus??? Ewwwww. But of course it'll be Beyonce cuz she's got those sweet, sweet moves.

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
1. DEXTER 

2. HOUSE

3. IN TREATMENT

4. MAD MEN

5. TRUE BLOOD

Always such a great category and this year it does well, not overly well but well enough. Dexter and Mad Men are my faves - if I had to choose I'd choose Mad Men cuz I think Dexter is a bit too gory for the masses whereas Mad Men is just good for all. And it's got better wardrobe. And bucket loads of handsome men. Like Jon Hamm. Mmmm......Jon Hammmmmmm.....

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
1. 30 ROCK

2. CALIFORNICATION

3. ENTOURAGE

4. THE OFFICE

5. WEEDS

Again, always a great category and this year is really over the top with greatness. Hard to pick a fave cuz they're all so different but I always steer over to Weeds just cuz it's so much more different than much of what's on the networks. I just don't think enough people watch it for it to win. I call 30 Rock to win cuz there is just no stopping the Fey machine these days...

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL
1. CHRISTINA APPLEGATE – SAMANTHA WHO?

2. AMERICA FERRERA – UGLY BETTY

3. TINA FEY – 30 ROCK

4. DEBRA MESSING – THE STARTER WIFE

5. MARY-LOUISE PARKER – WEEDS

If this category is anyone other than Tina Fey or Mary-Louise Parker I will lose faith in television. The Starter Wife is just a bad show and there is nothing innovative or exciting about it at all - it's a cookie cutter version of so many other things. And don't even get me started on Ugly Betty...

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
1. ALEC BALDWIN – 30 ROCK

2. STEVE CARELL – THE OFFICE

3. KEVIN CONNOLLY – ENTOURAGE

4. DAVID DUCHOVNY – CALIFORNICATION

5. TONY SHALHOUB – MONK

Now I love me some Entourage but I think Kevin Connolly is the sure loser here. Not only is in not in the same league as these other guys, he's not even on the same planet. And he's not funny in Entourage! He's the straight guy. The other guys are the funny ones. This will be Alec Baldwin I think. I'd say David Duchovny but is it too soon after sex addiction for people to pick him? Hard to say...

And I think that's it for the rantings of someone who watches too much television and doesn't see enough movies....

general hospital tractor beam

Inevitably, whenever I'm not at work be it on holidays or home sick, I somehow end up watching General Hospital without even realizing it. It's like at 3:00 I'm drawn to the TV like a zombie and unconsciously turn it on to see what's going on in that great city of Port Charles. I can't help it!! It's been my soap opera of choice for years and while others have fallen by the wayside (sorry Y&R), GH somehow maintains its hold on me. It doesn't help matters that it takes all of 25 minutes to be completely caught up on 6 months of storylines either. Well, it's happened again this year. It's Thursday and I'm moreorless sucked right back in despite still being a bit clueless about some stories -- Georgie's been strangled??? Luke is in the hospital and appears to need some kind of transplant?? Elizabeth and Jason have surrendered to their passion once again??? Soap opera's most perfect chararcter Sonny Corinthos is shacked up with some totally new woman that's not Carly???? So many questions. So much to learn.

tis the other season

The beginning of awards season! The times where celebrities join together to tell each other how great they are and revel in their collective greatness. And I love it! Golden Globe nominations were announced today and here are some of my faves and disses:

Best Motion Picture Drama:
No Country For Old Men: I haven't seen it but the Coen brothers are probably my favourite filmmakers so go team!!
There Will Be Blood: PT Anderson's new movie that nobody's heard of and yet everyone is raving about....interesting.

Best Performance by an Actress:
Cate Blanchett: She shouldn't even have to show up, they should just give her every award always cuz she's that good.
Julie Christie: Away From Her was the saddest movie I've ever seen and completely wrecked me as a person. She could win too. She was that good and is so breathtakingly gorgeous still it's almost unbelievable.
Kiera Knightley: She can just suck it. The other women in this category should embarrass her as she is not fit to shine their shoes.

Best Motion Picture Comedy:
Kind of a strange mix I'd say -- was Hairspray really that good?? Why do I think there were way better movies this year that got ignored?

Best Actress in a Comedy:
Amy Adams: for Enchanted??? Wow.....if she wins I'll just say it's cuz she didn't win anything for Junebug which she was so great in.

Best Actor in a Comedy:
Now this is a category!! Johnny Depp, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly and Tom Hanks. One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong.....Tom Hanks! Go sit with the other guys who used to be funny...

Best TV Series Drama:
The Tudors: Yay for Brit porn!!!!

Best TV Series Comedy:
No Office???? What the........but yay for Pushing Daisies and 30 Rock! I guess that's better than nothing.

Best Actress in a Comedy Series:
I'd like it to go to Mary Louise Parker but really, as long as it doesn't go to America Ferrera yet again I'll be happy. Attention everyone: Ugly Betty is NOT a good show! You are being tricked!!

Best Actor in a Comedy Series:
Lee Pace: Now I like Pushing Daisies a lot. But there's no way Lee Pace is funnier than Steve Carrell or Alec Baldwin. Sorry Lee, you can probably just stay home that night and eat pie.

Writers' strike

I stole this youtube clip from Dennis' blog cuz it is truly priceless. The writers strike continues and as much as it sucks to be sans new episodes of The Office, we must support the writers. They've been getting screwed out of their profits from the wild west that is the internet market. So if you've been feeling the squeeze of more bad reality tv and lack of Jim and Pam check out this video.

Brit porn

I cannot even say how much I'm loving The Tudors! It's decadent, trashy, gossipy as all get out, and basically all that's great about the seedy underbelly of British monarchy that we all love so much. The art direction is outstanding, the costumes make you want to put on a corset and lay about the house and all the sexy affairs, lying and backstabbing is almost more than this gossipy girl can handle! And all the annoyed shooing away of the help? So snooty I love it! Jonathan Rhys Meyers is unbearably dreamy as a spoiled King Henry and this Natalie Dormer woman playing Anne Boleyn is just the prettiest thing to ever grace the small screen I think. Where did she come from? She's breathtaking! Although she really must stay a brunette I'm afraid. When she's blonde it all goes away. I'll be sad when this mini-series is over and I fear it might become the new BBC Pride and Prejudice for me --even though you've seen it a million times, whenever they run it in its entirety on PBS you gotta watch it.

the art of music placement and why mary louise parker is great

I love "Weeds" and I have a girl-crush on Mary Louise Parker and think she is one of the most underrated actresses out there. I am thrilled she seems to have finally found her way to being noticed. On the first season of Weeds there was an episode ending that just about killed me and illustrates 1) why M.L.P is outstanding and 2) how vital the right song can be to a scene. In this scene Nancy, whose husband recently passed, is watching an old tape they had made of them being intimate. The way her faces changes from laughter to utter longing for the past kills me. The song is Leona Naess' "Ballerina" and I can't imagine a better song for this scene. It's what missing someone sounds like. Watching this scene breaks my heart everytime and makes me want to grab Marc and never ever let him go.

Click here for the clip. You won't be sorry.

Weekend round-up

Well, I'm not really sure what to say about this weekend cuz not a whole lot happened and yet it still managed to be outstanding. This weekend was one of those weekends that can be rare in the life of a married couple. Sometimes you just have so much crap to do and general life stuff to manage and while that can still be fun, it's not always quality time. Also, the harder you sometimes plan for "this weekend is going to be quality time," the less likely it is to be the case. This weekend was one of those weekends where nothing was really planned except errand running and expectations were pretty generic. It turned out to be the exact opposite. The weekend was super couple-y and honestly one of the best "married couple" weekends we've had in awhile. And so much better cuz it was so unexpected. We rented some more episodes of "Dexter" after discovering our love for them last weekend, set up camp in fuzzy blankets on the couch to hide from the miserable Halloweeney weather, drank mojitos and ate guacamole, made 2 delicious dinners, drank a bottle of wine, Marc made a fire and we carved our pumpkins in front of it (I know, we actually did that -- it was like being in a Norman Rockwell painting), tidied up the yard and got the gardens ready for winter and just generally acted like mushy newlyweds all corny and mushy. It was probably a good thing nobody was really around cuz it was most likely pretty nauseating. A great mixture of weekend loafing and productivity actually. What a rare combo...

Weekend roundup

Alright so I wish I had some super exciting kickass news to share about how I spent my weekend but I was a tad under the weather this week, resulting in a fairly subtle weekend of activities. So since I spent Wednesday and Thursday at home sick, Friday was a fairly low-key night. We watched the first 4 episodes from season one of "Dexter" on the recommendation of Brittainy and Jocelyne and I gotta say, what a stellar show that is. It's smart, well written, thrilling, interesting and seriously F-ed up. Like seriously. It's the weirdest show I've seen in a while and I'm so down with that. We wished we had more episodes to watch. I loved him in Six Feet Under and am thrilled to see he went on to things of equal greatness. Dexter = awesome.
Saturday was spent doing a whole lot of nothing. I slept in a whole bunch which helped me to feel like I could finally see the light at the end of the sickness tunnel. We watched many Jaws movies cuz they all were on TV and Marc had never seen the sequels. I know, how is that possible you say? I'm not sure but we can consider that remedied. Then we watched the movie we rented that we thought was Bobby starring William H Macy but which turned out to be Bobby Z starring Paul Walker and Laurence Fishburne -- a decidedly worse movie. Note to Blockbuster -- don't stock your Bobby Z movies in a big pile behind the case for the movie Bobby. It results in sad customers. It was one of the worst movies I've ever seen and I'll never get those 2 hours back.
Sunday was spent hitting up the sales spotted in the Friday newspaper flyers and watching Marc seal up our backyard wedding arbour for the winter. Good job Marco! Hung out with the parentals and scored a sweet silk table runner that was bought and then disliked by Ma and Pa. Yay us! We then proceeded on to do some batch cooking with Dan and Lisa that rapidly turned into a Sunday drunk. On the menu, our famous pumpkin turkey chili and Dan and Lisa's turkey meatballs in a marinara carrot sauce. Also on the menu -- yummy Belgian beer, a bottle of Prosecco and a bottle of Shiraz. Result - me being drunk early on a Sunday evening. What fun times were had though. We finally scored some brownie points with Dan and Lisa's kids, Ava and Sammie and I think I officially rule. At least with Ava anyway. There was a lot of high-fiving going on and then there was some hardcore diaper-no-pants time which seemed like a heck of a lot of fun too. I wish I could have shared in that action. Oh to be 2 years old again....
Tonight the plan is to check out the Wooden Stars and Wintersleep at the Townehouse even though I saw Wintersleep at the Hillside Festival last year and they kinda blew. But the Wooden Stars rock and a little birdy told me they're going on 1) early and 2) first. All good news for Tara and her mental state Monday morning.

Heroes schmeroes...

Alright Heroes, I'm trying real hard to be on your side this season but you're making it really hard. Remember last season when every episode kicked ass? Did you fire your whole writing staff or something? Not to mention your special effects crew? Last night's episode was, I think, the worst one this season so far. The scene were whatshisname picks up cheerleader girl and carries her up into the sky? I don't even know how to do special effects and I think I could have done a better job. It seriously looked right out of Superman circa 1978. Was that the point? I don't know. And Peter Petrelli -- one minute you're ready to kill yourself some Irishmen and then 5 minutes later you're getting a tattoo of the family crest on your arm??? Give me a freaking break -- you barely speak to the brother you have and he never tried to kill you! And as for you Irish lassie -- that is the worst Irish accent I've ever heard. Good thing you have those tattoing skills to fall back on?!?! I am happy to see Silar finally -- he's far too dreamy to not be on the show every episode. And of course that illusionist girl turns out to be fat in reality. Of course! There's no way she could just be a normal girl -- let's say she's fat in real life and feels she has to take on this hot redhead form for Silar to get better. Is that really what you topnotch writers put together? I don't know man. Oh and that brother and sister trying to get to the U.S??? You clearly don't really need writers for them cuz all their dialogue consists of this: "Alejandro! ALEJANDRO!!!!!!! We need to get to the doctor in the U.S! Alejandro!!!" Riveting. I get that it's kind of like Arcade Fire making their next record after "Funeral" -- how do you top it right? I get it, I really do. But dudes you better find something good and stick to it pretty soon cuz all you're doing is making me sad the first season is over. I'm not abandoning hope yet by any means but I just want it to get a lot better really fast. And someone grab Hayden Panetierrre's head and give it a little tug upwards. I know that girl's gotta have more neck in there somewhere....

ANTM Prep

Alright so we ramped right up into ANTM last week after it snuck up on us unannounced. Before seeing an actual episode I visited the website and randomly picked Kimberly as the winner based solely on the one awful picture of her. As I said, she seems to have that street kid waif fashionista look about her. After one viewing, I can still say she's high on my list despite being one of the dimmer girls in the lineup. Of course, there is the requisite overly confident/bitchy girl in Ebony -- what can you say? I don't think it would be ANTM without one. I think there's a staffer whose main job is to find "that girl" and cast her. What can you do? Attitude aside, she's undeniably gorgeous. Underdog favourite has to be Heather. Poor thing has some condition which the other girls kept ignorantly referring to "Ass-burger" disease which only made me side with Heather even more. Sure she's awkward and a bit strange but the girl is GGGOR-GEOUS with 3 G's and totally stole the photo shoot from her snooty partner whatshername. Yay Heather! You take your weirdness and run with it! I also loved Tyra's laying down of the law with her "This cycle is a no smoking cycle" *da da da* So ominous Tyra, such dramatic delivery - well done. I secretly love how Tyra gets crazier every cycle. I keep waiting for her to show up for panel in a chicken suit saying "Sometimes in modelling you have to learn how to be comfortable and yet still fierce....in a chicken suit." God bless her...

So tonight we shall see what happens and who goes home. Although it would be hard to top Mila's departing comments last week "Well, I was really thinking I would win so being eliminated is really quite shocking to me." Oh Mila, you keep that Bambi-fied face of yours up. One day your hair will flip just right and you'll forget all about ANTM....