Shadow of the Real World

A few musings from Kansas by a high school literature teacher. Over the past few months, this blog has turned a commentary on media. I will probably continue to focus on film and television, but books and music might sneak in... By the way - If you would like me to post on a regular basis - please comment, even if it's just to say, "Hi." If my audience disappears, I lose the motivation to write! Thanks!

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Trailer and Today's Questions

Here is the trailer for V for Vendetta. I'm intrigued. Natalie Portman is usually quite good and Hugo Weaving is always a delight. Of course, I am always interested in movies based on comic books and graphic novels.

I saw The Island yesterday. It has not been getting very good reviews, but I enjoyed it. It was a little slow at the beginning, but the slowness was a great story technique. It conveyed the setting and the characters' situation quite well. The film is not a copy of the Matrix, even though a few elements were similar. The story is completely different. Ewan MacGregor does a great job of playing two completely different characters. It was fun to watch him interact with himself. Also - Sean Bean and Steve Buscemi... What else needs to be said? :-)

Here are today's questions:
1. Do you consider yourself a "fan" of reality TV?
Absolutely not! I hate it with a passion. First of all - why would I want to watch other people be mean and miserable? Yuck. Also - It's taking away TV time from scripted shows. I wish there were more good dramas, If only we could have another West Wing or Season One of Alias...

2. What's your "can't miss" reality TV show (or shows)?
I did watch Beauty and the Geek this summer. It was great. The contestants seemed to want to truly help each other.

3. What reality TV show do you suppose the devil plays on the TV in Hell as punishment?
Any of the dating shows. Fifth Wheel, etc. Yuck.

~Bonus~ If you were given a free ticket to be on any reality show, which one would you choose?
Okay - I confess. It would be fun to be the Bachelorette. Does that make me a bad person?? It seems kinda like being a Princess to have men trying to win your hand... :-) :-)

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Home Theater questions

So I went to the audio store today to get some information on home theater systems. Boy howdy - I could shell out some change! These things are not cheap. I don't need a Rolls Royce, but I don't want a Pinto either. Apparently the "home theater in a box" is a bad way to go, but I'm not sure the guy at the stereo store is the best source of information! :-) Any thoughts? How much should I budget? My hope is to have a system that will give me a slight shiver when I hear the TIE fighter race by. Can I do that on a budget? Just sending the question out into the cosmos...

More TV Questions

1. Which TV doctor would you choose to remove your appendix?
Dr. Peter Benton (during the early years of ER)
2. Which TV doctor would you not let touch you with a 10- foot pole?
Dr. Jason Seaver. :-)
3. Which TV doctor/hospital would you choose for the best medical care?
Maybe the one on Gray's Anatomy? The Chicago hospital from ER has far too many helicopter accidents, terrorist attacks, and insane homicidal patients.
~Bonus~ Everyone knows nurses run the hospital. Who was/is your favorite TV nurse?
Carol Hathaway

I'll be standing in line...

Check out the new international Serenity trailer. You can click on the format you wish; I recommend Quicktime. It's always been the most reliable for me. I definitely like this trailer better - Shelley, what do you think? Does it represent the movie?? :-)

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

O.C. Marathon

Hi Everyone - I know, it's been ages since I've posted... Life has gotten a little nuts for me. I had a good friend come to visit and she stayed an extra day. (I love the summer! "Jill, I don't want to go home..." "Well then, stay!") It was great. She is living in a somewhat tense environment and what she needed most was a place to relax. I had so much fun providing that place. We just veged out and did nothing. (Except that I re-upholstered a chair while we watched TV.) I'm afraid that I tempted Suzanne with the television equivalent of crack -- The O.C. She got a little addicted and watched the entire first season (27 episodes) in three days. Don't blame Suzanne; she is not the first friend of mine to do this. My best friend from college came up to visit over Spring Break and did exactly the same thing. There is just something about Seth, Ryan, Summer and Marissa. Very addictive! I'm not sure why. The show is sort of a smart, sarcastic 90210 with interesting adult characters and way over the top story lines. I nicknamed Suzanne "Soapy McSudsy" because she kept guessing the plot lines in advance. Too much fun was had by all.

I've been thinking about adding a question and answer section to the blog. I found another blog, TV Tuesday, that asks weekly questions about TV. It's kind of fun. So - I'm going to attempt to answer some of the questions periodically. The answers will be my first thoughts and NOT well thought out... I think I'll add in movies and music to mix it up a bit. I would love it if some of you, dear readers, would answer them also. What are we thinking about media?? :-)

Here's the first set --

1. What is your favorite "Classic" TV show? (Classic is defined as "no longer making new episodes".)

That's easy - Beauty and the Beast starring Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton. It was a modern re-telling of the classic fairy tale. I believe it was on the air from 1989-1991. That's somewhat of a guess.

2. What character from a "Classic" TV show would you like to be?

Maybe Laura Holt from Remington Steele? I don't think I'd want to be Catherine from Beauty and the Beast because THEY NEVER GET TOGETHER!!! (Well, they did, but he didn't remember and then she died.) Aggghhhhh... UST should someday become RST! :-) Of course, there's always Delenn from Babylon 5, Aeryn Sun from Farscape, and B'lanna Torres or Seven of Nine from Voyager (or maybe Deanna Troi?) Hmmmm.... I just can't choose...

3. On which "Classic" TV Show would you have loved to have a walk-on role?

Something with action - maybe Airwolf or Macgyver. Although, any of the Star Treks would have been very cool.

~Bonus~ Can you remember a line you liked from a "Classic" TV show?

Is this a trick question? Which show would you like a line from? How about "Fascinating." or "He's dead, Jim." or "Make it so." (Okay - those are all Star Trek, I've got it on the brain.) See you on the flip side...

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Joe Anyman faces the aliens

I saw War of the Worlds last night. Impressive. I confess, I went into it a little skeptical. All the Tom and Katie hype has turned me off a tad. But -- it's a Steven Spielberg movie and I tend to enjoy Spielberg's work. I also have vivid memories of listening to the radio drama by Orson Welles when I was a kid. (I think a teacher played it for us in grade school.) I wasn't sure how this was going to play out in a film.

I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like this. The aliens invade and we never see the President or the joint chiefs meeting. We don't see the hot shot fighter pilot blowing up anything. We don't have the "girl next door" who, strangely enough, looks like a supermodel and needs to be rescued. This is a story of what would happen to you or me if aliens invaded. How could I survive (or not) on the ground with no special knowledge or talents? A few things happened in the last minute of the movie that I thought were pretty unbelievable. (As much as any movie about aliens is "believable.") You'll see what I mean when you see it. Those things didn't ruin my enjoyment of the movie, however.

I don't think I've been that tense coming out of a movie in a long time. I mentioned to my friend who was with me that this movie really needed a very comfortable couch and someone with a shoulder I could hide my face in every once in a while! :-) Spielberg kept ratcheting up the tension. I think that's one of his gifts as a filmmaker. All in all, great summer flick. Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning did a great job. I'd give it a B+.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Yet another trailer

I promise I am going to do more with this blog than just put up movie trailers...but here is Peter Jackson's new film -- King Kong. Enjoy. I hope everyone has a terrific 4th of July. (If I have any visitors from upside the U.S. - have a great Monday!) :-)