Ke's blog

Show Review: The Good Guys

Since Psych took it's sweet time coming back this summer (it comes back next week), it was only natural that I'd somehow end up with another crime-related show! I mean, I started White Collar earlier this summer but the new season doesn't start until next week either! Well, thankfully Fox (of all networks) has a new show called The Good Guys. I brought up Psych because the style seems to be a bit familiar to that show, except without the "psychic abilities."

Matt Nix wrote this show, which explains why the title cards are humorously similar to Burn Notice, which was also created by Nix. The gun shot can get a tad irritating after a while though, but I still enjoy it. It's a show about older cop Dan (played by Bradley Whitford from West Wing and Studio 60!) learning a few things from and teaching the new detective Jack (played by Colin Hanks, who was in Orange County and briefly Mad Men!) how cops take risks. They both realize how to combine their talents, which seems to be unconventional ways for Dan and by-the-book regulations for Jack, to find out how crazy a simple property crime can be, despite rarely getting approval from Lieutenant Ana Ruiz (played by Diana Maria Riva, who played Annie on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and was on both West Wing and Studio 60!).

For example, in one episode, they were there to find who stole a humidifier... and it somehow gets them to discover drug smugglers! In the end, they return the humidifier. As amusing as that short summary sounds, that's pretty much how the show feels. It's witty, a bit suspenseful, and full of action! Plus, Whitford has a crazy mustache here that just kills me. There's a bit of a romantic history/sexual tension between Jack and district Attorney Liz (played by Jenny Wade from Reaper!) which is both familiar and at the same time, a nice added touch to the episodes. The episodes don't end up just revolving around the romance and having the crime-solving as an addition but rather the other way around, with a strong bro-mance slowly brewing in the series. The relationship between Dan and Jack seems oddly common but I'm not sure what to reference, since the closest thing I get is that the relationship reminds me of the relationship of the cops in Monk and the two detectives from Psych.

Basically, with a loving and relevant cast, I think they have the show right where people seeking comedy and action would want. In May, Fox may have realized this and ended up calling for for 7 more episodes to be added to this season, making this a 20-episode first season! There's no such thing as a small cases in The Good Guys.

Some of the the funny things from this show:
- In the second episode, the older cop, Dan, doesn't seem to get how computers work, and when someone else does, he says "It's like you're the computer machine whisperer!"
- In the third episode, when they cue into the criminal to begin his story, there's "he's just a pimp" as a musical background.
- In the the fourth episode, there's a translator who ends up getting involved without realizing what is going on, and so he actually tries to get help while translating.

Quote from the fourth episode, to end the post with:

"Do you think Bruce Wayne walks around worried that people are gonna know he's batman?! Hell no! He walks around going 'I'm Bruce Wayne,' damnit! Deal with it!"
     "Bruce Wayne was a comic book character, I'm real!"
"Are you, Steve? Are you?"

Show Review: Hung

Hung is a TV show that makes the most of their 30 minutes on HBO. The show's title is pretty appropriate for the actual premise of the show. It's about a guy whose life is crumbling down and he realizes the one big thing going for him is his lovely area. That's right, I meant big in both senses. Either way, not only does he realize that's the thing he should market to earn in addition to his teaching job, but he ends up going back to the two-night-stand woman who gave him the idea and has her as his pimp. Somehow the whole first season is them trying to make the business, Happiness Consultants, work... and near the end, they all realize how complicated it can get.

Unlike White Collar, there is nothing captivating about the actual premise. I mean, it is interesting, don't get me wrong, but this is a show in it's own field for me. It's a drama but it's a weird kind of drama. The season finale discussed the complications of the business and there was a play-on words that worked too well... which I guess also works because the girl Tanya actually wants to do Lyric Bread, which would be baked goods with laminated poetry contained inside them. It's just that while trying to make this business work, both to get customers and keep them, both Ray and Tanya ends up having massive drama with each other and those involved in their lives. Heck, the first thing that break down for Ray was that his wife left him, so he struggles to keep that family going through whatever pieces he can connect.

The actual dialogue isn't that sharp either. It's pretty simple and while there is situational comedy, I think the main thing this show has going for it has to be how different it is. I won't spoil the season finale for anyone but that complication is one I sort of saw coming a while back, but he ended up handling it well. Season two just started this previous Sunday at 10pm (on HBO) and I guess I'll find out soon enough how that decision impacted his business. This is a show that is simple enough to comprehend and enjoy, and should at least be checked out... if you recognize and can handle the mere fact that they will make the most of the "hung" reference.

Show of the Moment: White Collar

As evident from my previous entry, I'm pretty big on summer television. It's the one time of year that I am more likely to catch the shows on time, if not just have a lot of time to catch up on shows. It was nice to start White Collar late-May and have it and Firefly occupy random parts of my summer so far, if not by watching movies or music videos. Well, I finally managed to finish the first season of White Collar and oh man, what a good show!

USA seriously has the right idea with focusing on summer programming. They originally had Monk and then they introduced Psych. Now they have White Collar and Burn Notice as successful shows as well. I know they have more shows but I don't really watch all of USA's shows, even though I do appreciate their Monk and House reruns nowadays. I may eventually check out Royal Pains (because of this clip that features Donovan from Burn Notice and Bomer from White Collar) but I already have a full list of shows I'm working on. While I may have finished White Collar, I am now about to start Mad Men and finish up Gossip Girl (10 episodes to go?). Gossip Girl is such a guilty pleasure of mine, it's sort of sad. Mad Men, however, I have only heard good things about and it would be quite nice to be watching a show on time, if I manage to catch up in time.

Anyway, as for White Collar, I wanted to comment on the amazing characters and plot connections. First off, there are two male characters who have a fairly strong connection that only gets stronger near the end of the season. As the actual actors/actresses work well with the show, so does the current theme. The theme managed to change around the 9th episode, becoming shorter and a bit more to the point, probably being the key connection to the actual feel of the program. The actresses keep throwing me off a bit though, ever since I was told about the similarities between Elizabeth and Ellie from Chuck (Matt Bomer, who plays Neil Caffrey, was Bryce Larkin on Chuck), as well as Alex (Neil's old interest before Kate?) slightly reminding me of Fiona from Burn Notice (a USA sibling show). Also, if you watch White Collar, you may have already seen an episode where Tim DeKay was linked to Arnold Schwartzenegger. The episode had Neil trying to get Peter to look like stiff, firm man, so he fixed his suit and put sunglasses on him, only to follow-up with "Now say, "I'll be back!" It was nice to know that the show writers recognized some of the similarities between the two as well! Yeah, the show has quite a few connections, if not a well-placed cast.

I would rather not risk spoiling the show for anyone but if you stick around the whole season, it only gets better. I think my favorite episode was probably either the finale or Free Fall (episode 1.07) just because of how intense the episodes got. I liked how for the whole season, there's this side-plot concerning Neil's love interest Kate and it's not just him longing for her or trying to track her down. She's actually playing mind games with him! What amazing characteristic is that in a partner? They make a search for them fun rather than just leave a simple goodbye note! If that sub-plot doesn't interest you, think of the talents Neil Caffrey has. He's an art thief, who knows his stuff enough to become an FBI consultant as part of a work-release program. He can not only duplicate famous pieces but be able to give you random information on why or how something would be stolen.

I love shows that sort of make me think about the items and plot turns as much as have me reacting about the emotional connections on the show. Peter and Neil might be one of my favorite male counterparts and I cannot wait to see them together again in the following season!

Summer Television

If you're like me, most of your time is spent consuming some form of media. If I am not reading up on something online, I am either am listening to music/podcast or I am watching a movie/show. Well, the last part can be really tricky if most of your shows are Fall/Spring shows. Thankfully, I don't seem to have that problem. I mean it pains me that Chuck and How I Met Your Mother are both over for the season but Psych and Burn Notice finally return! Also, if you like reality television, Last Comic Standing is also coming back!

The schedule and links to check out shows:

Sundays:  Hung (HBO) from June 27! Mad Men (AMC) from July 25!
Mondays: Last Comic Standing (NBC) from June 7th! The Good Guys (FOX) from June 7th!
Tuesdays: White Collar (USA) from July 13?
Wednesdays: Psych (USA) from July 14! -Weeds (Showtime) from August 16-
Thursdays: Burn Notice (USA) from June 3 and Futurama (Comedy Central) from June 24!
Fridays: Childrens' Hospital (Adult Swim) from June 11

It seems USA and Comedy Central will continue to be my favorite channels for this summer. I have not seen Big Lake (new show by Will Ferrell on Comedy Central set to premiere sometime in August) or White Collar but I feel like I can catch up to WC by the time season 2 starts. I mean it has Matthew Bomer (Bryce Larkin from Chuck!) and is on the same network that has BN, Psych, and originally had Monk... um, yeah, way too many good things already going for me. I just haven't gotten around to checking it out.

Big Lake seems like it'd be fun as a new series.  I can't wait for Childrens' Hospital to be seen on Adult Swim! I became a fan of the web-show a year or so ago through a friend and I look forward to rewatching the episodes on Fridays. Also, while I do not watch Mad Men, it is nice to know that it starts in the summer, since maybe it'll motivate me to actually watch the show ? Who knows. All I know is that I'm pretty darn excited for this summer!

Flashback Music Video: LFO - Girl On TV

LFO-Girl on tv

Nope, I'm not kidding with this.

I am sure I am missing a show or two, so let me know if that is the case! :)

Edit 5/26: Oh man, I forgot about Weeds! Thanks to Steven for reminding me. I'm only two episodes behind on that show and I will catch up by August... I've got months!

Edit: 6/24: Since I am half-way done with Mad Men season 2, I figured I'd add that to my list of summer shows. Also, I started Hung, which has a season 2 premiere in a few days.

Edit 7/07: Started watching Good Guys.

Sources:http://www.jaxobserver.com/2010/05/23/summer-tv-preview-much-more-than-repeats/
http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/47205877.html
http://www.ugo.com/tv/comedy-central-announces-new-shows
http://www.collider.com/2010/05/21/childrens-hospital-rob-corddry-adult-swim-malin-akerman-lake-bell-rob-huebel/

comment for Phoenix picture

Phoenix

"this is pornographyc..that guy is rubbing his nipple..!!!" HAHAHAHAHA

Conversation

I think my roommate is way too cool and talented.
I think my neighbor is way too opinionated.
Both are admired, yet I can talk to my neighbor more than I ever can talk to my roommate without feeling intimated.

I have issues.

I like the way you do this

Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded [CD/DVD]

I think I was wrong to write about how much impact a certain year was having or was going to have. I am starting to realize that with everything, you gain something and you lose something. This year, I got to experience something very trivial in the summer but from a different perspective. I also am going to get to re-live my freshmen college year. Both are quite exciting but of course, are not on the same level as other things I have been excited about in the past.

I am just glad that I tried my best when it came to this year and while there will be days when I will hate everything and other days when I will have a huge smile on my face, I am just have to remember that everyday is a learning experience and I am okay with being a student. Now if I could stop anticipation and worrying about stuff beforehand, then life would be swell. Otherwise, no worries.

Quote from Gilmore Girls (a rerun I got to catch a few days and it just stuck)
TAYLOR: Oh no, just look at that arm!
RORY: It’s fine, really.
TAYLOR: Does it hurt?
RORY: No, not much.
TAYLOR: Well, I hope you’re not getting addicted to painkillers like those Hollywood people do.
RORY: Um, I’m not, don’t worry.
TAYLOR: Good, because pain is your body’s way of saying ‘I’m not okay now, but I will be soon.’
RORY: I will remember that.
TAYLOR: You don’t wanna shut your body up too soon. That’s called death.

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Inevitable [Mix CD for Friend w/o comments]

Inevitable

I made a few mixed CDs last winter but I forgot to mention them. I still have some of the playlists saved somewhere but I thought I would share this one. One way to sum it up would be "Inevitable" by Shakira, so I uploaded that. Since I did not want two images here, I included the album cover of the mixed CD (did not do anything at all this time, other than adding text). I realize I could have been more creative but when I get personal, I really lack talent but rather cover it with cheesiness.  Also, I do realize how the tracklisting did not include Shakira's Inevitable but that is to avoid coming off redundant.

The theme of this mixed CD was love, finding it, feeling it, and then losing it. I tried to include a lot of songs as my way of making an "epic" CD, since to many people love is quite big. Obviously this would not represent the ideal mixed CD for many but that is where the personal touch comes in. I tried to include songs that would portray my feelings as when I started to fall in love to the part where I would be angry that I did, since that is the time you either cannot have them, they find someone else, or you guys just drift apart/hate each other. The next mixed CD will be featured sometime near the end of this summer.

Total Time: 1.4 Hours or 84 Minutes
The tracklisting:

01. Wallflowers - One Headlight
02. Paramore - Crushcrushcrush
03. "Weird Al" Yankovic - White and Nerdy
04. Tsunami Bomb - Take The Reins
05. Lights - I Owe You One
06. Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life
07. Kaki King - Pull Me Out
08. Men, Women & Children - Who Found Mister Fabulous?
09. Headlights - Cherry Tulips
10. Neon Neon - I Lust U
11. Lykke Li - Little Bit
12. Foo Fighters - Long Road To Ruin
13. The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else but You
14. Róisín Murphy - Primitive
15. Sara Bareilles - Bottle it Up
16. Bell - Echinacea
17. The Veronicas - Someone Wake Me Up
18. Snake River Conspiracy - Breed
19. Fear Factory - Back The Fuck Up
20. Nine Inch Nails - Capital G
21. Rivers Cuomo - This Is The Way
22. Dandy Warhols - We Used To Be Friends
23. Rihanna - Take A Bow

File: Inevitable.rar - Size: 129MB

Some Movie Reviews

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When it comes to movies, I think I might have seen some of the best movies of all-time...

Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story [Blu-ray]

as well as one of the worst movies of all time. One of the best movies would be Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which was a work of genius. The characters, the plot, the songs... I loved them all! At first I only went to see it because I heard it was going to be funny and had Jenna Fischer but as I watched on, I came to adore every second of it. I have to admit, there were a few awkward moments (especially when you see more than you want to) but the whole movie had a nice way of bringing in the laughter. My friend even enjoyed it and she had not even heard the hype about the movie. Oh and who could not enjoy songs that had more meaning to the lyrics or style? I really though at least one of them should have been nominated for the Oscars but oh well, it is not that surprising. I mean when I saw this in two theaters, there were less than a handful of people. What gives? Such an amazing movie and yet not that many people went to saw it? I do not know if it was just my timing or what but it was still crazy.

As for one of the worst movies of all-time, The Mist probably takes the cake (for now). Not only was the story and character cheesy, the overall execution was not that much better. I guess

The Mist

I either expected more graphics or just a believable story and yet it just ended up funny. Okay, I should admit that I was still curled up but that is because every movie like that, no matter how bad it is, makes me a bit scared, but you know it's bad if you're laughing when you should be curling up even more or covering your eyes. The bruises and such were not pretty but the monster itself was just a big slimy thing. The characters were a bit exaggerated, where one would refuse to believe and the other would be the strong guy out there to guide everyone. I especially hated the ending of the movie. I mean, there was no real conflict resolution... but just a weird way of ending the movie. I guess you could say the characters in Walk Hard were predictable or exaggerated but it was not meant to be taken seriously. I just thought the mist could have been a lot better. I mean I don't watch these kinds of movies and I found the few that I did a lot scarier than this, so yeah, horrible(ly amusing).

Now, another movie that I really enjoyed: Enchanted. I know how much people have wanted to see it and how almost

Enchanted (Widescreen Edition)

every song was nominated but it really is worth checking out. I would not say it is worth all of the hype it has received but it was such a cute movie! As a firm believer of true love's kiss, or rather just the idea of "the one," I thought this movie did a nice job at mixing reality with fairy tales. It had the cheesy songs and the super cute animals but it also had the idea of dating integrated as well as having an ending for the other girl. I just don't think it deserved four nominations for the songs. I mean, they were cute and composed nicely, but seriously they were not that amazing. I could just really relate to the movie and that is another reason why I really enjoyed it. I mean, like I said, I believe in one love and the idea of knowing right away... and this movie had the character sort of learn how to experience love through reality but at the same time, go with what she believed. It just felt nice. Plus, there were good-looking actors/actresses, including Amy Adams who reminded of Jenna Fischer!

Some Show Reviews

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I have been watching a lot of shows lately and it seems I have taken away all internal and external energy and used it to keep myself hooked to television. In a way, I am trying to go back to my roots by allowing myself time to read, do well in class (which I am still working on), and write about things that may be pointless to converse about (especially if no one else watches the shows I want to talk about) but at the same time, know that I can survive without interaction. While it is television that has helped me step away from my social desires, it shall be everything else that shall keep me away (for the most part). I am not against people but I just want to be less into interacting, especially since most of my conversations are awkward.

First off, I missed Reaper's return last night, so that really stinks. I might either wait for the rerun or catch up online. I doubt the latter though. However, I remembered to watch Make Me A Supermodel on Bravo and man, I hate that whenever I want someone to go, they do really well. My favorites in that show are probably Ben, Ronnie, and Shannon. However, those three are always the one that happen to be in the bottom three, or two in the latest episode. I think Perry is arrogant and nothing special. Holly really seems fake and while she can pull off cute, she just annoys me. However, since I do not want them to win, they probably will.

Actually, last season in America's Next Top Model, the one person I really did not want to win won the whole thing. Even when she was criticized, Saleisha won. This season, I don't have a favorite but I would love to see Lauren, Whitney, Fatima, and Clair do well. Clair actually makes me think of Julia Stiles, haha. I think the only show that had a winner I wanted was The Shot where Maria seemed the most talented and she just happened to win. Too bad I forgot to watch the finale and totally missed it. Maybe if I don't watch a series, my favorite will go far? :p

I am glad the rest of the shows are coming back from the writers strike though! The Office... can't wait to finally see how amazing Jim and Pam are together while having dinner with Michael. How I Met Your Mother, just cannot wait to eventually find out about who the mother is. With 30 Rock and My Name Is Earl, I am just waiting to see new episodes, since each seems to only complete Super Thursday's awesomeness. The only thing not awesome is realizing how this is the last season for Scrubs and it was already cut down real short. I used to love the series before it started to go downhill around season three, where I thought was the peak for Sarah Chalke's character. Actually, my favorite episode with her still remains to be episode 3.01, where she changed from a weak shadow to one who helped out her friends the most.

Speaking of shows that are ending, apparently About A Girl (a show the N had picked up) has been dropped after one season. That really stinks since it was just starting to grow on me and I liked the overall synopsis of a girl living with four guys. Maybe they might bring it back? I hope so. If nothing else, there is Unhitched, which seems to be out four friends who are single and one of them happens to be a girl, so it sort of has the same feel. The humor is a lot different though. Also when it comes to new shows, I cannot wait for the second season of Chuck! Oh man, Chuck is almost a guilty pleasure because what girl would not mind a guy like Chuck? Well, I know I wouldn't, but that is beside the point. The show seems to be fun, sort of have an alias-feel to it and have enough drama for it to not be totally random. Unhitched is sort of similar but it is not as fun. In fact, compared to Chuck, it seems mediocre at the moment but that might be only because I like how the corniness of Chuck, as well as how it is a guilty pleasure for me.

I know I watch too much TV seeing this is really not everything on my mind but it is enough for now. Maybe I will comment on other shows later? If not, maybe something on the news or politics? Just to throw it out there: I hate super-delegates and the electoral college :)

P.S. The image to the top-right represents an amazing moment during the writer's strike. This was a few weeks after all three late-night talk shows came back and I think they just could not handle having no writers that they made a really pointless argument that ran through all three shows for days. After Huckabee's success, Colbert said that he had made Huckabee with his Colbert Bump (tm) seeing Conan was saying that he made Huckabee because he made Chuck Norris who seemed to support Huckabee. When Colbert made fun of Conan, Conan tried to say that he made Colbert by having him on his late night show. A few episodes later, Jon Stewart made an appearance on Colbert Report with an old tape saying that it was The Jon Stewart Show that made Conan who made Colbert who made Huckabee. Therefore, Jon Stewart made Huckabee. To continue the fun, they all decides they would fight it off and on January 21st 2008, all three made appearances on each other's show and finally "fought" during Conan's show. Amazing.

Conan O' Brien on the Jon Stewart Show