The King's Speech

Here's a movie I thought I'd have to see on my own. But I forgot that Mike fancies himself a monarchy buff, and so he wanted to see it too.

The King's Speech is the story of the stuttering, reluctant King George VI, and mostly about his relationship with his speech therapist and friend. Not being a student of history, I knew nothing about the story going in. Colin Firth is really good as the King, and they're saying he's going to win the Oscar this year. It's not some big, showy performance, but rather one that makes you feel his struggle and frustration as he deals with both his speech defect and his duty to lead his nation.

It's one of those typical, reserved, quiet little British films that is often funny and always charming. Geoffrey Rush is also very good as the supportive, quirky therapist. Apparently the King and the therapist came to be quite good friends and lived happily ever after. That's just lovely. Anyone for tea?

Baloney & Cereal Twenty-Ten Sillies: TV

I still have a few movies to see before I make a Best Of list for 2010. But I can start with my true love, television. Do I watch a lot of crappy TV or something? Because I can only think of 6 stand-outs. And yes, I realize I need to start watching Breaking Bad. It's building up on my DVR, promise.

Best Shows:

6. Lost. With my lack of long-term memory, it's hard to believe this show was still on in 2010. But May 2010 brought us an amazing season finale. It was all I could have asked for - I thought it was perfect for this show. And I cried my balls off.

5. Being Human. I picked this last year too and begged America not to remake it. America ignored me, and an American version is set for 2011. I'll give it a chance, but no way can it be as amazing as the British version. You really have to do yourself a favor and check it out.

4. The Walking Dead. I watched it for the zombies - and there were plenty - but it was also this great study of different characters, and what happens to people when the world falls apart around them.

3. Community. Team Troy. This show is always hysterical, sometimes genuinely touching, and does meta jokes better than any show ever. It's just a good time. Watch the paintball episode immediately.

2. Mad Men. 2010 was The Year of Mad Men for me, as I finally got caught up. It's just so amazing. I view it as a comedy most of the time, because the things they got away with in the '60s are hysterical. I laugh at everything inappropriate. And I really loved this season -- especially the Peggy/Don-centric episode and the finale. The writing on this show is like poetry. P.S.: Betty Draper is a giant C. Team Sally.

1. Fringe. Sigh. This year brought us the Great Peter Reveal and episodes that alternated between Universes. The show is about bizarre things while still being focused on real (and tragic) family relationships. I. Love. It.

Worst Show I Can't Stop Watching: The Event. I watch it solely to make fun of it now, and to yell at my television whenever That Annoying Prick Sean and His Dumb Girlfriend take up space. I still swear it could have potential, but it tries to prove me wrong on a weekly basis.

Worst Show That Pisses Me Off: I loved Chuck so much back in the day, but I just have not been vibing with it this last half of the year at all. I still watch it for the brief moments of happiness it contains (read: Morgan and Lester), and in the hopes it gets better. I think the whole Chuck/Sarah relationship is a bust. I hate the relationshippy show it has become.

Worst Show I Don't Watch: Glee. I haven't watched a second of it since the series premiere, and I still hate that show more than any other. Die.

Oooo wait. If I add Tosh.0 to the Best Of list, then I'll have a list of 10 shows, which is pretty close to those accepted-by-society Top 10 lists. And Tosh.0 is the funniest show on TV. Huzzah!

True Grit

First off, you won't be able to leave True Grit without speaking like Jeff Bridges the rest of the night. That's a guarantee.

Secondly, can I just say -- Jeff Bridges is a national treasure! Seriously. Tron aside, that man is awesome. He was so lovably tough, drunk, and curmudgeonly in this movie you just want to squeeze him and bring him home.

So the movie's set in the Wild West and it's about a girl seeking retribution for the death of her father. She's got Jeff Bridges as a US Marshall and Matt Damon as a (very proud) Texas Ranger helping her out. The girl in the movie is amazing, and I think it's her first movie. The character is a wise-beyond-her-years girl, but she doesn't come off as cloying or annoying. She's cool under pressure and smart, and before you know it she's charmed you into going along with her, forgetting how young she is.

The movie is a remake, but naturally I never saw the original (too old). I wonder how different it is, because this movie just has Coen Brothers written all over it. I've gotta figure they had a hand in punching up the dialogue. It's just like all of their other movies -- smart, funny as hell, punctuated by violence. It's just delightful.

What I can't figure out is how in the hell the movie got ignored by the Golden Globe Awards - no nominations? This doesn't bode well for Oscar season, and I thought for sure this one would be a contender. Eh, whatever, awards don't matter - it's a great movie you should check out.

Top Chef All-Stars

Quickfire Challenge: Make stuffing. Yep, stuffing. Yum. For whatever reason, they are given the added challenge of not being able to use knives or other kitchen tools. So they're grating cheese on the pantry rack, tearing vegetables by hand, and stirring things with celery stalks. Tre and his awesome-looking Southwestern stuffing won. Yay Tre!

Elimination Challenge: It's a 2-team challenge based on the US Open -- so they go head-to-head, there's some kind of points system, oh who the hell knows - they always stretch for these themed challenges.

The team with Richard, Carla, Fabio, and more wins -- and Jamie's dumb ass never even gets to put her undercooked beans up. I still have a girl crush on Jamie, but I'm beginning to think she can't cook.

Winner: Carla and her African peanut soup. Looks yummy. Good for Carla!

Bye-bye: Spike. Damn. Jamie wasn't even on the chopping block because she didn't compete. But really that's her team's fault for not forcing her ass to serve her nasty stuff. And Spike shouldn't bitch about Angelo messing with his dish -- knock the douche out!!

I Love Random Stuff

The Under Underground series is always good on Saturday Night Live. Holy crap - this one had me on the floor crying. Literally!

Between this and some kickass Eminem performances, this is shaping up to be a good episode!

Top Chef All-Stars

Quickfire Challenge: Team mise-en-place and dish prep race. Always love those races. This time they're doing lamb, garlic, and artichokes. Richard, Spike, Trey, and Stephen won.

Elimination Challenge: Each team eats at a fabulous NYC restaurant and then each individual makes a dish that would be suitable for that restaurant. Two people will be sent home.

Big Fatty Stephen is a connoisseur of fine NYC dining. This comes as no surprise. Fabio has to make French-Vietnamese. Well, he's screwed.

Winner: Asian Dale. YAY! Asian Dale's the man, and his egg-dumpling breakfast dish looked cool.

Bye-bye: Stephen and Gay Dale. Wow, Fabio really skated by. Thank god I don't have to look at Stephen's fat face anymore.

Tron: Legacy

Honestly, I only saw this movie because I am a Supportive Wife and it has a Daft Punk soundtrack. And you know what? It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. It was actually enjoyable, which is high praise from me when it comes to Tron.

We watched the original the weekend prior to seeing this. I had never seen it, and for good reason - if it's not something you saw as a kid and are nostalgic for, then there's no point in watching horribly dated special effects. It just becomes laughable. I have a feeling that's why you apparently can't find it in stores anywhere (we've had a copy forever, natch). Disney probably doesn't want you associating the new version with the old one.

Anyway, the movie's really all about the style and special effects, and they're cool. If you don't see it in IMAX 3D I don't imagine there's any good reason to see it. I don't get the story - never have - you can get sucked into the world of the computer where programs are like people and fight and play games? Really? Whatever. But when there are cool light-cycle chase scenes and dance-fighting mixed with a killer techno Daft Punk soundtrack, you buy in.

So if you've got a couple hours to spare you could see a lot worse. Or I suppose you could just listen to the soundtrack.

It's a Christmas Miracle

Been a long time since I've done a personal post (this blog often gets the shaft in favor of quick-and-easy (read: lazy) Facebook), but I had a special occasion this week when Kim and Jackson visited. Jack's 20 months old, and somehow already knows all of his colors. Also, thanks to Aunt Jen, he also knows "Move", "Yeah", and "Me me me me me." I swear I don't recall teaching him that last one, but it sounds like something I'd say, so he probably just heard it and picked it up. He also enjoyed Baby's First Steak 'n Shake Milkshake and lots of good times at the local playground.

Jen's House might not have toys, but it has ducks, birds, tall grasses that tickle your face, and rocking chairs. That picture of him with the grass is so cute - he loved it there!







Jack also loved my bed - which got a lot of use on Saturday thanks to a rainstorm that ruined Flamingo Gardens plans. Snug-A-Bug!!





Of course, the biggest toy of all is Uncle Mike.





Speaking of Uncle Mike, he had the brilliant idea of taking Jack to The Rainforest Cafe. Here's a picture of what that looked like for the first half hour or so. (But it got better later, promise.)



Thanks for visiting - glad you guys got a couple days of sunny, hot weather!!

I Love FOX

I love that FOX has made a parody commercial about Fringe's new Friday Death Slot. This gives me hope, OK?

The Challenge: Cutthroat: Reunion

Paula has dark hair and looks like an even older cougar than she used to. Tyler still loves the deep V's. Abram's dressed like a polar bear. Really. If Tori announces she's pregnant I will vomit.

Laurel's end-of-season pledge to be nicer didn't stick. She immediately says she'll never do a challenge again because she doesn't want to share money with a bunch of assholes she hates. She says they all sucked and Abram copped out. I'm pretty sure she and Paula are drinking. Heavily. Paula might actually be high as a kite. I hate her, but that old bitch needs help.

Eric comes out halfway through so Laurel's dumb, disgusting ass can defend herself for the awful things she said about him on the show. She's clearly a mean drunk. Laurel claims she felt bad and apologized, but Eric threw her under the bus for doing the exact opposite of apologizing. I hate her. Tyler jumps in, saying they should stop reliving the past. Really? Because it's a Reunion Show, dumbass!! Maria freaking Menounos gets into it with Tyler, it's all a mess. Abram gets choked up and leaves the stage, saying that everyone's character sucks. I love him!!! Remember when Abram used to be the giant, fighting asshole? And now he's the righteous one!

Laurel cries and apologizes, but I don't buy it for a second. It seems really fake. Plus she's drunk.

I hate Laurel so much, but I sure hope she's on the next Challenge!

The Challenge: Cutthroat

We open with Tyler v. Derrick in the Gulag.

Bye-bye: Derrick. Damn, I guess fatties are better at the pushing game than midgets.

Now it's Emily v. Paula. At this point, MTV screwed up and somehow skipped right through a segment. So when we comes back it's over and Paula is gone.

So it's only Jenn and Emily on the Blue Team. That's effed up.

The final Challenge is over 12 miles long, with checkpoints (oh, I'm sorry, Czech Points). Sarah starts crying before the race even begins, knowing she's not a long-distance runner. TJ follows along on his bike, it's adorable. He's taunting/encouraging the teams along the way.

Abram gets heatstroke or something along the way, passing out, seizing, and puking. Somewhere around the violent puking, his team decides he needs help. He gets taken out on a stretcher, and TJ bikes over to let his team know to continue without him. Some time later, Sarah starts puking her everloving guts out. Now that team's down to Luke, Laurel, and Cara Maria.

Winners: Dunbar, Tori, Brad, and Tyler. Ugh. Worst. Winners. Ever.

It's Not All Bad!

I love this couple too!

Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany are expanding their family.

The actress, 40, is pregnant with her third child, her rep confirms to PEOPLE.

Connelly and The Tourist star Bettany, 39, are already parents to son Stellan, 7, as well as Kai, 13, from her previous relationship with David Dugan.

source

I Go Away For One Second....

Seriously, I leave work for an hour and come back to this devastating news. What's next? Brangelina?

Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds have separated.

"After long and careful consideration on both our parts, we've decided to end our marriage," they say in a joint statement. "We entered our relationship with love and it's with love and kindness we leave it. While privacy isn't expected, it's certainly appreciated."

source

Top Chef All-Stars

Is that a Jonas Brother? What the hell has this show come to? Goddamn. At least it was the good-looking one.

Quickfire Challenge: Create a midnight snack for kids to eat when they spend the night at the Museum of Natural History. I used to spend the night at a museum growing up - it was so fun! I couldn't do it now - I mean, I ain't sleeping on no hard floors anymore - but it was fun then.

I like Asian Dale's idea of lacing his corn cakes with Nyquil. And also Gay Dale's idea of making crack for kids - a ball of just about every chocolatey, sugary thing he could think to combine. I just realized there are 2 Dales. Good thing one's gay and one's Asian so I can tell them apart. Tiffany's Rice Krispies/S'mores thing looked amazing. I might have to try to make something similar.

There's a tie (allegedly) between Tiffany and Spike (his fresh carrot chips look the bomb), so they have to pick teams and then make it for the kids to decide.

Winner: Tiffany and her sugar bombs. Oh yeah, there are 2 of those too. The Ginger One.

Elimination Challenge: Make breakfast for the kids and their parents using whatever they've got in the kitchen. The menus are to be inspired by 2 dinosaur diets - one carnivorous, one herbivorous(?). Tiffany gets a choice and she picks carnivorous - not realizing that means just meat and animal products - zippy herbs, zippy flour. Oops.

Guests judge (besides the kids): Katie Lee No-Longer-Joel, Ms. Robohost from the first season. How dare she show her plastic face and monotone voice here again!

Winner: Team Brontosaurus. Their stuff definitely looked better - you can do a lot more with delicious fruits, veggies, and herbs than you can with just meat, eggs, and cheese.

Jennifer is a flaming bitch. She was never this bad before, was she? She was hella rude to the judges and sarcastic and bitchy. Don't get me wrong - I love it, but Jesus, girl, you suck.

Bye-bye: Jennifer. Wow. I didn't think they'd get rid of her. At least keep her around to be bitchy. She's really good. But hey, your stuff sucked this time. She's hysterical though - she walks through the door and starts ranting and screaming off-screen. It's great.

The Challenge: Cutthroat

I've got 2 episodes to catch up on, because once again I forget this show is in my DVR. It's a two-parter anyway so it's better this way. I mean, I just wouldn't be able to live for a week with a cliffhanger! /sarcasm

Tori and Brad bitch at each other, boring challenge, blah blah blah.

Gulag: Tori v. Theresa (who?) and Johnny v Tyler.

Tori considers losing the Gulag on purpose because she doesn't think she can do the final challenge - she assumes it will involve a lot of running - and this way at least Brad can win for them. And their puppy.

At least we have Special Guests at the Gulag to liven things up - CT and Tina. CT's left eye looks bloody - is he ever not all busted up? Each contestant has to go up against our Special Guest - and whoever does better gets to stay.

In the Gulag, they're strapped to each other's backs and have to make their way over to the side of the ring. It usually involves rolling around and crawling and struggling. But OMG - it's hysterical - CT just stands up and walks with Johnny just flailing on his back like a human backpack. He beats him in 19 seconds. HAHAHAHAHA Johnny sucks. Tyler wins based on the fact that he's a big fattie and CT can't lift him.

Meanwhile, Tina sucks because she loses both matches. No one ever said Tina was athletic, did they? She just has a mouth and punches people.

Bye-bye: Theresa and Johnny.

Time for the next challenge. Tori gets a bloody nose. Waaaaaaahhhhh.

Gulag: Tyler v. Derrick and Paula v. Emily.

Aaaaand it's another "cliffhanger". Whatevs. Is that all we get of Tina and CT? Cuz let's be honest, it's not about what they do in the Gulag, it's about the drunken shenanigans. Oh well.

Fringe

Freak of the Week: A guy cuts out another dude's heart and carries it in a cooler. The heartless guy was alive for a little while too. While heartless.

Olivia reports to work and gives Broyles the rundown of what happened Over There. She even fills him in on Other Broyles, but yet doesn't mention the tight black tee shirts. Missed opportunity, bitch.

The Team goes to investigate the now-dead heartless guy. Well, he's dead, but not decomposing like he should be. And in the meantime, the guy who took his heart has implanted it into a girl. He's been doing this a lot lately, taking back all of the organs the girl had donated after her suicide. Next up: corneas. Oh god, not the eyes!!! Not only do we have to see the surgery, but we see the dude after -- walking around with empty eye sockets. Oh the humanity!!

Peter and Olivia have the whole "I thought she was you" conversation and I LOVED IT! It was the most eagerly-anticipated confession since the Peter/Walter one. Oh, their interaction as he explains that he came back for her, and started seeing Faux-livia... I don't even want them to be together and I was holding my breath! Because there's nothing better than angsty, double-heartbreak! She took it well, but you could tell it bothered her. Then when she goes home she freaks out, disturbed by the fact that someone else was all up in her clothes and bed and stuff. Poor, poor Olivia. We never see her break down. She's a real girl with real insecurities! I've also gotta say that their interactions after the conversation are so authentically awkward and dismissive. It's perfection.

Anyway, back to our killer -- he's freaky as hell. He's reassembling this girl - and it's not even his daughter (which adds extra creepiness). He dresses her up in a ballet outfit and strings her up like a marionette. It's really effed up. Once he's done with that freakshow, he reanimates her. For real. It's pretty horrifying - she doesn't do much other than stare and look shocked. Poor thing just wanted to die and this asshole brings her back. By the time the team gets there, the girl has died (again) and the killer is freaked out too because she wasn't the same girl he remembered. He said he looked into her eyes and knew it wasn't her -- and that freaks out Olivia because Peter didn't know the difference. So they have ANOTHER heartbreaking conversation, where she says Faux-livia ruined everything, that she doesn't want to be with Peter anymore. The pain!!!

In the end, the Observer is back, observing (natch) Walter and Peter.

Walter's Food Thing of the Week: Strawberry milkshake with extra whipped cream. It's what he needs after a day like today.

This Week's Code: ADAPT.

Here's what I have to adapt to -- waiting until January 21 for a new one -- when it moves to the Friday Death Slot. UGH! This show is SO GOOD!

Top Chef All-Stars

I'm so excited about this show because they really did pick the best chefs from past seasons! Like, every single one of these people is good! Yay! I'm expecting awesomeness -- and heartbreak at every elimination.

Stephen the Sommelier is fat as shit. That's the sign of a good chef. Casey and Jamie are still hot as ever - girl crushes in full effect. I still can't believe that Richard actually lost his season. OMG! I love Dale! It's really the perfect storm of awesome chefs, fun people, and personalities you want to murder (Tiffany, Angelo). The production even seems sleeker - new graphics and all. Is this the first time it's in HD or something? Everything just seems brighter and better.

Quickfire: Battle of the Seasons. Chefs work as a team within their season, making a dish based on their city. Richard makes mustard ice cream - OF COURSE HE DOES - to go with their deconstructed Chicago hot dog. *puke* Chicago wins.

Elimination Challenge: Make a dish using the same ingredients from the dish for which you got eliminated. That's cool. They can't deviate too much from what they did before. Spike even has to use frozen scallops again!

Criticism of the Day: Anthony Bourdain says Fabio's dish looks like an inside-out animal. And he was right!

Richard gets disqualified for the win because he was plating after the timer went off. Rules are rules, you skinny ass. (Seriously, chefs shouldn't lose weight.) So aside from him, Spike, Angelo, and Jamie are in the top.

Winner: Angelo.

Fabio, Stephen, and Elia are at the bottom. I have no problem with any of those - they all botched things pretty thoroughly. I feel bad because Stephen had to re-do Restaurant War recipes when he wasn't really responsible for them in the first place. Fabio bitched at Bourdain for bitching at him. Given these choices, I'd boot Elia.

Bye-bye: Elia. Yay! She didn't cook her fish properly and didn't improve her dish. Plus she was a stuck-up bitch about it. Adios, amiga!

Fringe

We begin with a replay of the epic scene where Peter finds out Olivia is trapped on the other side. After a couple hours of staring at the clock, Pacey walks out to the living room. I'm not even going to mention that he's in his underwear. Nope, not at all. (Hey, Olivia's been in hers enough on this show!) He starts snooping around her computer, and it doesn't take long for her to wake up and realize she's been caught.

She holds a gun on him and makes him inject himself with something to paralyze him for a few hours. Then Faux-livia heads to the Otherworldly Typewriter to let the other side know her cover's been blown and she needs extraction.

We get a combo credits sequence - both blue and red. SWEET!

Once Peter is himself again he calls in Broyles and Walter. Faux-livia left her laptop behind and took Peter's matching one by mistake, so now they gotta hack in there and see what's what.

Other Universe Time. Walternate's ready to switch the Olivias, but wants Olivia's brain first - for study. So they gonna cut the bitch apart and send her over dead!

Our Universe: Walter works on trying to figure out a way to crossover... while eating a bigass Portuguese pastry. Using said pastry, they determine where Faux-livia has been buying them - next to the Otherworldly Typewriter Shop. They get the last message from the typewriter's carbon or whatever, and determine where her rendezvous point is.

Other Universe: Broyles owes Olivia a solid for saving his son, so he feels compelled to help her. He visits her before her big surgery, and she begs him to get her into the water tank again, but he leaves. The bone saw starts up and then Broyles comes in to rescue her. They get to the lab... but the water tank no longer holds water. SECURITY ALARMS!

Olivia says they've got to try Walternate's lab in Boston, which will surely have a tank. It's always smart to have spares.

Here: Faux-livia meets up with a Shapeshifter, and he injects her a few times with something, but the team is hot on her tail. Faux-livia holds a chick hostage when she's caught, but Peter pieces together that the hostage is actually the Shapeshifter. Good thing he's right, because he pops her in the head. Faux-livia? Caught and cuffed.

There: Broyles and Olivia get to the lab, and, conveniently, it is pretty much like Our Lab. Olivia, having been in this thing 100 times, knows just what to do. She's got the whole salt/drug ratio down. They get caught just as Olivia gets in the tank, and there may have been some shooting, and Other Broyles might be dead.

Here: Astrid's in the lab when there's a splashing in the tank. Guess who's back???

In the meantime, Faux-livia crosses over from within the van -- and when she crosses over, she is exchanged with Other Broyles' dead, mutilated body. Broyles' face when he sees this is pretty damn priceless. R.I.P. Ripped, tight-black-tee-shirt-wearing Other Broyles. Loved ya!

That last piece of the Doomsday Machine that Faux-livia was gathering? Is now in the possession of someone over here who works for the guys over there.

This Week's Code: CROSS.

Hmmmm. That was all too-quickly wrapped up for me. I need an epic, 3-hour crossing-over episode! Though it looks like Olivia suffers some repercussions next week. Next week's episode looks like a return to a creepy, freak of the week case, but there's no way this universe stuff is over. Not yet. For God's sake - I need more Charlie!