The Emmys air on FOX this Sunday evening. I'm looking forward to the fashions and, of course, the awards themselves. While I can't wait to watch, the Emmy's are actually my least favorite awards show of the major awards. But, alas, I always get sucked in and so here are my predictions...
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Apparently I don't like comedies seems as how the only show I've seen that has been nominated is 30 Rock. I guess I'm just a super serious person. So I'm going with Liz Lemon. I mean Tina Fey.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Again, the only one I watch is 30 Rock. I mean, yes, I've watched a few episodes of The Office, and I didn't find it funny. (On a side note, Zombie just came on. Gotta love the 90s.) I am voting for Alec Baldwin, who I would have voted for anyways even if I did watch the other shows.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: The Modern Family characters. They are both so great. Maybe I should just flip a coin. Heads: Julie Bowen. Tails: Sofia Vergara. Tails. Sofia is my prediction. But can I just add that I love that Kristen Wiig has been nominated for "various characters"?
(Brandon Flowers - Right Behind You. Love, love, love).
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Oh wow. All four of the men on Modern Family have been nominated. All are great. Although Mitchell drives me insane sometimes. So that narrows it down to three. This poses a problem (Lenny Kravitz - Rock and Roll is Dead). Don't be confused. I don't mean that Lenny Kravitz poses a problem. I mean that I have three options, but a coin only has two sides. So I guess I will just have to choose. Umm. We'll go with Phil. Whose real name is Ty Burrell.
Outstanding Comedy Series: Modern Family
Outstanding Lead Actress is a Drama Series: (The Killers - Losing Touch). This is hard. I love many of the actresses on this list while at the same time have a love/hate relationship with their characters. Peggy from Mad Men - I love that she doesn't take crap from the chauvinist pigs of the 1960s, but at the same time, why does she have to be so annoying. And get a better haircut, please. Mrs. Coach from FNL. I love her y'alls and the fact that she wants to try to get the kids out of the hell hole that is Dillon, TX. And now that I'm writing this, I realize that she doesn't really bother me that much. She didn't back down when crazy Luke's e-van mom came after her, and she didn't put up with Coach's crap. (Elvis Presley - Wooden Heart. We may have hit a snag in the playlist). Alicia Florrick - The Good Wife. It's great that you went back to work after being the homemaker and going through your husband's sex scandal. But seriously, Alicia. Make up your mind. Either give Peter a chance or divorce him. And am I crazy to be on Peter's side for their last fight? So Kalinda slept with Peter. Like Peter said, she wasn't Alicia's best friend when he slept with her. I'm just saying. I don't really know why the chick from The Killing was nominated, but she is giving gingers a voice, so I guess that is good. After typing all of this out, I guess I'm going to have to go with Connie Britton, although I know she's not going to win it. It will come down to Peggy or Alicia. (Bruce - No Surrender. Thanks Bruce, for coming through and saving the day).
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Here I am, scrolling through the nominees list and saying, Jon Hamm for sure. Then what happens? I scroll down a bit more and see Timothy Olyphant for Justified. I'm still going with Jon Hamm, but Olyphant is really fantastic as well. And you never know if that really weird looking guy will come out of no where (and by really weird looking guy, I mean the oddly hilarious Steve Buscemi).
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: (Edgy cover of Who Wants to Live Forever). Christina Hendricks. CHRISTINA HENDRICKS!!!! Gingers of the world Unite! Christina, Christina, would you like to play the single mother to an angst-ridden, pre-adolescent ginger?
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: I was thinking to myself that I really want the guy that plays Jesse in Breaking Bad to win, and then I realized that Breaking Bad hasn't been nominated in any of the categories. I then remembered that they were not eligible for any awards for some reason. It's a shame really. And now I've looked at the nominees. WTF? How am I supposed to choose? I thought the Lead Actress/Drama was a hard decision. I feel like you could just pull any one of these guys' name out of a hat, and that would be a fair assessment of the talent. Okay. Let's get serious. John Slattery. Obviously love him. Don't know much about Andre Braugher. Wolton Goggings - Gimmick guy from Justified! Who would have known that a criminal could be so charming. Peter Dinklage looks like a midget, so he's bound to be funny. Josh Charles. I think he's fabulous. He is just one part of a great love triangle on The Good Wife. And then you have Alan Cumming, who plays the brilliant Eli Gold. I'm narrowing it down to John Slattery and Alan Cumming, with my final vote to John Slattery.
And Finally (Because I don't care about mini-series/made for TV) Outstanding Drama Series: Mad Men.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
A Dog Returning to its Vomit...
I know I've been MIA for the summer. I know I promised that I would review the movies I saw. But guess what...I don't actually like to blog. But rather than giving up, I like to keep telling myself that it will get better, so here it goes. A quick rundown of both movies and books from the summer...
Something Borrowed: I liked it. It wasn't as good as the book, but it was still entertaining. And I hate to say it, but I like John Krasinski now. He was the one character that I loved, though that doesn't surprise me, as in the movie his character is a mashup of my two favs from the book. But I won't bore you with that.
Harry Potter: 7 Part 2 or whatever it's called. I'm glad that the series is finally over, but seriously, the movie sucked. It was incredibly anti-climatic. Even the gimmick 3D glasses couldn't make up for it.
Sarah's Key: I saw this at what my kid brother likes to call the "edgy movie theatre." I don't think Shirlington qualifies as edgy, but to each his own I guess. This was the first movie of two that I would see during the annual GJWHF held each August before I head back to school. I hadn't seen previews for this movie until the week before it came out. I was excited that they were making it into a movie. I had read the book and remember liking it, but I really couldn't remember what happened in the story. The movie was good. It wasn't anything earth shattering, but it was a nice change of pace from the movies I had seen around the same time. And any movie where French is the dominant language spoken is always a good decision. After watching French movies I always wonder why I didn't keep up with my French classes. It's such a beautiful language, even if I can't get the freaking accent down. But back to the movie...I find Aidan Quinn attractive. Enough said.
Midnight in Paris: LOVE LOVE LOVE! This was such a great movie. I may or may not have been the youngest person in the audience, but don't let that make you shy away from this movie. Owen Wilson was back to his hilarious self. The guy that always plays Tony Blair played a role that wasn't Tony Blair. It was great to see many of the places that I visited when I went to Paris. And although Owen Wilson was fantastic, I think the guy that played Hemingway stole the show. I honestly can't say anything bad about this movie. You need to see this the first chance that you get. By far the best movie I saw this summer.
Now to books: Book Club didn't go as planned. Me and the bros just couldn't take the ball-breaking that is Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask. I only made it through about one-third of the book before giving up. And we consulted the trusty 1001 Books to Read Before You Die to find out that it wasn't even in the book! So I had to go back through and revise the book list - at least for myself. I ended up reading the following:
Slaughterhouse Five: This was my second Vonnegut, and it was pretty entertaining. The thing I love most about Vonnegut's novels are that they are short and they are funny.
The Plague: This was pretty much an early 20th century version of Outbreak/The Hot Zone. It was really interesting, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. This is my second Camus novel that I've read (The Stranger), and I have enjoyed them both. I guess I should check out more of his work. And it doesn't hurt that the artwork on the books is fantastic.
Far From the Madding Crowd: Poor Gabriel Oak. The poor guy has to deal with such douches while he tries to win his woman's heart. The guy just wants to be a simple farmer. He wants his dirty woman, and he wants to tend to his sheep. Instead, he has to deal with a creeper old man, and a British, 19th Century version of a Bachelorette contestant (thanks, Steve, for that great comparison). Of course I loved this book. This is my fifth Thomas Hardy, and I have loved everyone that I've read. He just does such a great job of describing the human condition and all of the experiences and emotions that that may entail. And spoiler: this one doesn't end in the tragic, downward spiral that is characteristic of Hardy novels.
In the Pond: This was the first book I've read that deals with Chinese culture. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. This book had very similar tones to 1984.
And finally...Brothers Karamozov: Talk about ball-breaking. Talk about a masterpiece. How is it that I could be so into something that is simultaneously killing me softly? I wasn't sure that I was going to finish it by the time that I left for school, but thanks to a few power outages, I was able to pull it off. Russian literature really makes you step back and think about people and relationships. And there is something just so enticing about snow and fur hats.
And there you have it. The movies I saw in the theatre proper this summer and the debrief of the Christensen Summer Book Club. I could say that I am going to continue writing reviews of movies and books as I see them, but I don't want to set myself up for another failure. I will say, however, that the book I am currently reading is fantastic. Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's is a great read. I'm only one chapter in, but I can already tell that I'm going to love it.
Something Borrowed: I liked it. It wasn't as good as the book, but it was still entertaining. And I hate to say it, but I like John Krasinski now. He was the one character that I loved, though that doesn't surprise me, as in the movie his character is a mashup of my two favs from the book. But I won't bore you with that.
Harry Potter: 7 Part 2 or whatever it's called. I'm glad that the series is finally over, but seriously, the movie sucked. It was incredibly anti-climatic. Even the gimmick 3D glasses couldn't make up for it.
Sarah's Key: I saw this at what my kid brother likes to call the "edgy movie theatre." I don't think Shirlington qualifies as edgy, but to each his own I guess. This was the first movie of two that I would see during the annual GJWHF held each August before I head back to school. I hadn't seen previews for this movie until the week before it came out. I was excited that they were making it into a movie. I had read the book and remember liking it, but I really couldn't remember what happened in the story. The movie was good. It wasn't anything earth shattering, but it was a nice change of pace from the movies I had seen around the same time. And any movie where French is the dominant language spoken is always a good decision. After watching French movies I always wonder why I didn't keep up with my French classes. It's such a beautiful language, even if I can't get the freaking accent down. But back to the movie...I find Aidan Quinn attractive. Enough said.
Midnight in Paris: LOVE LOVE LOVE! This was such a great movie. I may or may not have been the youngest person in the audience, but don't let that make you shy away from this movie. Owen Wilson was back to his hilarious self. The guy that always plays Tony Blair played a role that wasn't Tony Blair. It was great to see many of the places that I visited when I went to Paris. And although Owen Wilson was fantastic, I think the guy that played Hemingway stole the show. I honestly can't say anything bad about this movie. You need to see this the first chance that you get. By far the best movie I saw this summer.
Now to books: Book Club didn't go as planned. Me and the bros just couldn't take the ball-breaking that is Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask. I only made it through about one-third of the book before giving up. And we consulted the trusty 1001 Books to Read Before You Die to find out that it wasn't even in the book! So I had to go back through and revise the book list - at least for myself. I ended up reading the following:
Slaughterhouse Five: This was my second Vonnegut, and it was pretty entertaining. The thing I love most about Vonnegut's novels are that they are short and they are funny.
The Plague: This was pretty much an early 20th century version of Outbreak/The Hot Zone. It was really interesting, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. This is my second Camus novel that I've read (The Stranger), and I have enjoyed them both. I guess I should check out more of his work. And it doesn't hurt that the artwork on the books is fantastic.
Far From the Madding Crowd: Poor Gabriel Oak. The poor guy has to deal with such douches while he tries to win his woman's heart. The guy just wants to be a simple farmer. He wants his dirty woman, and he wants to tend to his sheep. Instead, he has to deal with a creeper old man, and a British, 19th Century version of a Bachelorette contestant (thanks, Steve, for that great comparison). Of course I loved this book. This is my fifth Thomas Hardy, and I have loved everyone that I've read. He just does such a great job of describing the human condition and all of the experiences and emotions that that may entail. And spoiler: this one doesn't end in the tragic, downward spiral that is characteristic of Hardy novels.
In the Pond: This was the first book I've read that deals with Chinese culture. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. This book had very similar tones to 1984.
And finally...Brothers Karamozov: Talk about ball-breaking. Talk about a masterpiece. How is it that I could be so into something that is simultaneously killing me softly? I wasn't sure that I was going to finish it by the time that I left for school, but thanks to a few power outages, I was able to pull it off. Russian literature really makes you step back and think about people and relationships. And there is something just so enticing about snow and fur hats.
And there you have it. The movies I saw in the theatre proper this summer and the debrief of the Christensen Summer Book Club. I could say that I am going to continue writing reviews of movies and books as I see them, but I don't want to set myself up for another failure. I will say, however, that the book I am currently reading is fantastic. Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's is a great read. I'm only one chapter in, but I can already tell that I'm going to love it.
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