spinning-jennie: the media b/log

2009 Book List

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:17:04 -0700

1. The Washingtonienne - Jessica Cutler
2. The Rift - Walter Jon Williams
3. Windfalls - Jean Hegland
4. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
5. Petaluma's Poultry Pioneers - Thea S. Lowry
6. Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind
7. Sea of Glass - Barry B. Longyear
8. Map of the World - Jane Hamilton
9. Rebel Angels - Libba Bray
10. The Far Euphrates - Aryeh Lev Stollman
11. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street - Michael Davis
12. Prairie Tale - Melissa Gilbert
13. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
14. Marcelo in the Real World - Francisco X. Stork
15. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
16. The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland - Jim DeFede
17. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate - Jacqueline Kelly

18. Reading - Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
19. Reading - I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

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2009 Movie List

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:14:38 -0700

Italicized titles are re-views.

Be Kind Rewind **
Breaking the Waves ***
Little Miss Sunshine *****
Mulan ***
Double Happiness **
Chaos Theory ***
Super High Me **
Art School Confidential ***
X-Men: The Last Stand ***
Speed (Riffed) ****
The Lake House ****
Rambo *
Horton Hears a Who **
The Tale of Despereaux ***
Must Love Dogs ***
Hot Fuzz ***
The Shop Around the Corner ****
Die Hard (Riffed) ****
Little Lord Fauntleroy ***
Flannel Pajamas ***
Tron (Riffed) *
Twilight Zone: The Movie *
Broadcast News ***
Pineapple Express ***
In Between Days ***
The Fall ***
Paris, je t'aime **
My Super Ex-Girlfriend **
The Clone Wars *
Jaws (Riffed) ***
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone *****
Underdog **
Aqua Teen Hunger Force **
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement **
Kung Fu Panda ***
Return to Me ****
Pygmalion ****
Monsters vs. Aliens ***
Space Buddies **
Jumper ****
Just Friends **
Women in Love **
Shopgirl ***
Disaster Movie *
Meet The Spartans *
The Bank Job ***
Slumdog Millionaire *****
Get Smart **
Zach and Miri Make a Porno ****
The More the Merrier **
Seven Pounds ***
Minority Report (Riffed) ***
The Secret Life of Bees ****
Beverly Hills Chihuahua *
Five Children and It **
Star Trek *****
Heidi (2005) ***
Madeline **
National Treasure: Book of Secrets **
The Adventures of Milo and Otis **
The Jane Austen Book Club ***
Love in the Time of Cholera **
Cashback ****
Penelope ***
LolliLove * (just couldn't finish it)
Role Models ****
Fat Head ***
Ice Age ***
Henry Poole is Here ***
The Puffy Chair ****
WALL-E ****
Smart People ***
Dumb and Dumberer **
Word Wars ***
Wedding Crashers **
Ice Age 3 ***
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ****
Up ****

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Double Disappointment

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:00:32 -0700

Your Movie Sucks

The new season of At the Movies begins the weekend of September 6th. I wasn't really expecting Roger Ebert back in the balcony, but Richard Roeper's contract negotiations didn't go well, and he won't be returning, either.

Now we'll have two new hosts, and a "revamped At the Movies aimed at a younger demo." I guess I'm not part of that group, because I liked the the format just the way it was: a little bit like watching Statler and Waldorf banter about movies, but cattier. Michael Phillips, Ebert's long-time stand-in, was even beginning to grow on me. So this bit:

Meanwhile Roeper and Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips will shop their show to interested buyers.

is encouraging, at least.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince [Theatrical Release]

You may have heard the news by now: the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been pushed back from this November to JULY 2009, and it's all about the bottom line. Which, of course, is the WB's prerogative.

They just shouldn't be surprised if, in the process, they enrage a majority of their very captive audience, and possibly even lose some allegiance to the Meyer-based films, the first of which is sliding in to take Harry's pre-holiday spot.

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Scrubs...?

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:17:06 -0800

Scrubs - The Complete Sixth Season

Apparently ABC wants to carry it next year.

Personally, I got so fed up with all the scheduling fits and starts over the past couple of years, I'd pretty much made my peace with seeing NBC wrap it up this year. Maybe if ABC can handle it better... It's not as if they have anything else good going in the way of sitcoms.

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The Red Balloon

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:04:48 -0800

The Red Balloon (Released by Janus Films, in association with the Criterion Collection)

Janus Films and The Criterion Collection will be releasing The Red Balloon (as part of a double feature with White Mane) on DVD April 29th. The bub and I, however, have already enjoyed it several times on the PC via Netflix's Watch it Now, and he is just as enchanted with it as I was, seeing it for the first (and only, before now) time as an elementary school student.

In fact, we're already considering it a good candidate for a Halloween costume -- just a tight grey turtleneck sweater and pants, brown shoes, a little old schoolbag, and a big red balloon on some kind of wire. Tres facile, non?

I guess at least some of the adults would make the connection...

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Crazed Fan Newsybits

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:49:59 -0800

X! Files! Crappy bootleg teaser trailer and nice production still here.

Indiana! Jones! Trailer here.

Mister! Darcy! The 2005 production of Pride and Prejudice (with mmmmmMatthew MacFadyen and Kiera Knightley) will be premiering on Oxygen Saturday, March 8th at 8pm PST.

F**king! Matt! Damon! Jimmy Kimmel's gut-splitting followup video here.

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Post-Strike Show Returns

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:00:58 -0800

There's a list at EW of how many episodes of each show will be produced this season (if any), and when they'll begin to air. I'm just going to list the ones relevant to me here, for my own quick reference:

Desperate Housewives - 4 or 5, late April

Heroes - 22+, Fall 2008

Lost - 13 total, in progress (break in mid-March)

The Office - 5 or 6, April 10

Scrubs - 5 (+4?), April 10

Ugly Betty - 4 or 5, late April

Then I realized that this list isn't complete, pshaw. So on to the next list, at TV Guide:

Jericho - 4 (I think?) episodes left, continuation of series TBD

Journeyman - Kaput

Pushing Daisies - Fall 2008

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Future TBD

And of course The 4400 was cancelled a couple months back. No idea about Breaking Bad, though it appears to be doing well ratings-wise and critically, so I'm assuming it'll live another season at least.

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Not Just Strike Filler

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:15:17 -0800

Breaking_bad

I don't watch the AMC site, but I probably should. Because I know I miss great classic movies all the time, and I nearly didn't catch their fantastic new original series, Breaking Bad. I might have caught on eventually, through Entertainment Weekly, but then I would've missed out on a few weeks of super WGA strike programming, and what a shame. It was just pure dumb luck that I happened to be watching an AMC movie live (never happens), and caught an ad that reeled me right in like a worm-starved trout.

Bryan Cranston was a comedic genius as the dad in Malcolm in the Middle, but he really gets to show off his range here, as a madly desperate cancer-stricken chemistry teacher. But the plot runs just a wee bit crazier -- nay, effed-upped-er -- than all that would imply (don't go in with a weak stomach, either). I haven't watched many basic cable dramas, but I'll go out on a limb and guess that this one isn't anywhere near run-of-the-mill. The premise is fresh, the writing and cinematography cinematic, and the casting a treat.

You can watch episodes one and two online right now. Hooray!

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The Hype That Ate New York

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:46:56 -0800

Cloverfield

See, you have to go in knowing what to expect. Which is a thriller, plain and simple, and not the twisty-plotsy surprise! stuff that you're used to getting from Bad Robot.

So with that in mind, it wasn't bad, especially if you willfully ignore all the leading build-up over the past year. Don't think about that. Then you'll just feel like you were cheated out of something groundbreaking and clever. If you expect a pretty good monster movie, you'll end up much more satisfied.

You'll also be happier if you have a strong stomach, one not prone to motion sickness. Mine is made of steel, only assailable by viruses or other physical attack (or pregnancy hormones, bleargh), and I still got a little queasy about halfway in. And this when my tummy was all happy and soothed because of Junior Mints (they offered me a box from the fridge, how awesome is that?)! I was forced to look away from the handheld camerawork for a few seconds to calm it down. D. was queasy until we got some fresh air after the show.

One thing it does share with previous Abrams work, Alias, is the vaguely Michael Vaughn-esque Rob Hawkins character. Or that could just be me, projecting my Michael Vartan love... hmmmmm.

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Movie List 2008

nobody@vox.com(spinningjennie) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:19:11 -0800

1. Stardust * *
2. The Bourne Ultimatum * *
3. December Boys * * *
4. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants * * *
5. The Ex * * * *
6. The Terminal * * *
7. Cloverfield * * *
8. Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything * *
9. Live Free or Die Hard * * *
10. National Lampoon's Class Reunion
11. Jurassic Park (RiffTrax'ed) * * * * *
12. Pride and Prejudice (1995) * * * * *
13. Sherrybaby * *
14. Stranger than Fiction * * *
15. The Matrix Reloaded (RiffTrax'ed) * *
16. Chocolat * * * *
17. Zodiac * * *
18. Beowulf (RiffTrax'ed) *
19. Eight Legged Freaks * *
20. I Am Legend * * * *
21. In Her Shoes * * *
22. Hide and Seek * * *
23. Crossroads (RiffTrax'ed) * *
24. Casanova * * *
25. Cloverfield (RiffTrax'ed) * * *
26. My Boy Jack * *
27. The Darjeeling Limited * * *

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