Moving on

Ok, forget what I said about the tale of my worst week ever. It's over, it's done, I'm moving on. In fact, I'm starting a new feature here! I just signed up with Netflix and I'm planning on posting my reviews of the dvds I watch here. Here we go:

"I wanna do bad things with you"- True Blood, Season 1 Disc 1

Mediocre. A decent premise, but there's something... off. It might have something to do with Anna Paquin's performance, which is pretty uneven. I usually like Anna Paquin. Fly Away Home was one of my favorite movies in my youth, she's a main character in the X-Men movies, and she has a small role in Almost Famous as the awesomely named Polexia Aphrodisia. So she's built up a lot of good will with me over the years. But still, she's not working for me in True Blood, at least not yet. The first disc only has two episodes on it, so I'm going to give it another shot before I give up on it. The basic premise of the show is this: A synthetic blood (TruBlood) has been developed, allowing vampires to try to assimilate into society. AP plays Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress at a bar in Louisiana who happens to read minds. She gets her crush on with a vampire, Bill, who is old enough to remember the civil war, much to the delight of Sookie's grandmother. I love a good twist on the vampire legend (one that doesn't completely fuck with hundreds of years of mythology- I'm looking at you Twilight), and the setting and supporting characters are great, so I'm willing to give the show some time to get going. I mean- AP won the Golden Globe for her performance. She's got to get better, right? The best part of the show so far has been the opening credits. No, really. When the second episode started I was excited because I was going to get to see the credits again.

"I don't get tough with anyone, Mr. Gittes. My lawyer does." - Chinatown

I'm trying to alternate between a tv show and a movie, for no real reason. My second netflix pick is the classic Jack Nicholson flick Chinatown. Holy crap. It was so good. I mean... sooo sooo good. It would have swept the Oscars for sure had it not had the misfortune to be released opposite The Godfather Part II. Political corruption, murder, sex, 1930s fashion... it's all here, and it's all awesome. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, because it's so intricate. I actually knew one of the movie's big secrets because I caught about 10 minutes on TV a couple of years ago, but it actually made it better (It was the slapping scene towards the end, if you've seen the movie and you're curious). That's the sign of a good mystery- it gets even better after you know the secrets. The movie is dark, for sure. I loved the ending though, because [minor spoiler] I kind of love it when the bad guy wins. Rent it. Now. You won't be disappointed.

Be Prepared

Coming soon to a blog near you (specifically- this blog): The Tale of Miranda's Worst Week ever.

'Royal Pains' is like 'Entourage' on crack...

... in a good way. At least that's how Daniel Carlson (of Pajiba "fame") describes it in this review. Which is weird, because from the looks of the commercials I thought it was going to be terrible. USA normally produces exactly the kind of shows I like to watch: I love Psych and Burn Notice, and I enjoyed the few episodes I saw of The Starter Wife. I even liked old-school USA sci-fi shows, like The 4400 and The Dead Zone. And everybody enjoys Monk, even if they don't admit it. 

But then there was In Plain Sight, a show I don't really like, but I can't figure out why. Abby suggested it was because there were no men good looking enough to hold our interest. That could be part of it, but I enjoy Law & Order: CI, and Vincent D'Onofrio isn't my idea of eye candy, so that can't be the only reason I don't like the show. It's had great guest stars like Sherry Stringfield, Dave Foley, and Wallace Fennel. Why don't I like the show... I think it's because something about Mary McCormick (the actress who plays the main character) grates on me. For a while I thought it was just the way her character was written, but then I saw an interview with her on Chelsea Lately and she was even more annoying. I rented another movie that she's in to try and figure out if it's really Mary McCormick I have a problem with. I'm guessing it is her, because I've actually already seen the movie, and I can't remember her character at all. And she has 3rd billing on IMDb, so you'd think I'd at least kind of remember her.

So anyway, here's what I'm getting at: the promotion leading up to Royal Pains is bringing back memories of the marketing for In Plain Sight, which isn't a good thing. Although I do remember USA started showing ads for IPS months before the premier, so I was already annoyed by the show before it even premiered. I really thought Royal Pains would be another disappointment, but since it was given a positive review from a reviewer I've been following for years, and he likens it to Burn Notice, I'll give it a shot and let you know what I think.