Category: TV Dramas (Page 74 of 235)

True Blood 2.5: Never Let Me Go

“Dallas vamps are serious and scary as shit.” So says Barry the telepathic bellboy when Sookie presses him about his “gift” tonight. As far as I can tell, all vampires are serious and scary as shit, but if the Dallas vamp branch is indeed more serious and scarier than the southern variety, I feel for whomever has abducted Godric. Apparently holding true to their reputation, the two Dallas vampires (I didn’t catch their names) who are working with Eric and Bill to try and locate Godric aren’t very interested in a peaceful resolution – the male is ready for war with the Fellowship of the Sun – but you just knew Sookie was going to get tangled up in whatever plan they adopted. Sure enough, she volunteered to infiltrate the Fellowship, which I’m sure will go swimmingly considering Bill won’t be able to help her should she run into any daytime trouble. (On a side note, am I the only one who chuckles anytime Sookie talks tough to a group of vampires? Since when does being a telepath qualify you as a badass in a room full of thirsty vampires?)

I had assumed (as I’m sure others had as well) that Eric’s intense interest in finding Godric was because the latter was the former’s maker, and sure enough, we were treated to a cool flashback of the day Eric got his fangs. He seemed to be a medieval warrior of some kind (was that Swedish they were speaking?) who knew his way around a battlefield, so much so that Godric just had to have him. I’m even more intrigued by the Godric storyline after seeing how young he looks and knowing that he’s actually 2,000 years old. Dude’s been around for a while, huh? I’m guessing Bill’s maker can’t quite match Godric’s lifespan, but judging by the final scene tonight, I’m also guessing we’ll be learning a lot about Lorena in the coming weeks….

Meanwhile, if it’s war that the Dallas vamps want with the Fellowship, Reverend Steve will be happy to oblige, judging by the impressive arsenal he showed Jason tonight: wooden arrows, wooden bullets, a flamethrower, silver throwing stars (very cool) and a guillotine that’s apparently on order. After wrestling with his feelings about vampires early in his Fellowship experience, Jason appears to be all in now that his Light of Day Institute (L.O.D.I) bootcamp has started. He’s not getting the Golden Boy treatment anymore but he definitely impressed Gabe and Sarah when he helped sorry-sack Luke over the fence. ‘That’s a frickin’ soldier of God,” Gabe proclaimed, and Sarah later showed that she agreed by…um…helping Jason put the finishing touches on his bath. Their exchange was classic: “No.” “You don’t mean it.” “No, but I should.” It’s okay, Jason – we don’t blame you. I mean, the preacher’s wife is smokin’ hot! And now, with Sookie’s plan going into effect next week, it’ll be interesting to see how and when Jason’s new path crosses Sookie’s (and Bill’s, of course).

I’ll admit that the Tara/Maryann storyline runs a little hot and cold for me. I’m definitely interested to find out what exactly Maryann is trying to accomplish by keeping Tara around, but the story didn’t advance all that much tonight. Sure, it’s good to know that Maryann can apparently alter the energy around her however she sees fit, tonight choosing to have everyone in Merlotte’s gang up on Tara after Tara told Maryann that she couldn’t move into Sookie’s house with her, but what the hell is her endgame? And how is Eggs involved? I’m still not a fan of Daphne’s either. Sam sure likes having another shape-shifter around – especially one as cute as Daphne – but where did the gashes on her back come from and, more importantly, how did she survive the attack in the first place? For now, I’m assuming Maryann was the attacker (though that’s just the easy guess at this point) and, since she can force Sam to change into a dog whenever she feels so inclined, I wonder if she can actually turn someone into a shape-shifter. That may seem far-fetched but there’s obviously some kind of story behind those long scars on Daphne’s back. And besides, is anything really far-fetched on this show?

One more fantasy movie moment: “Beauty and the Beast” (1946)

With due respect to the later Harry Potter films, and as much as I consider Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” cycle possibly the ultimate single film of this first decade of the 21st century, if I had to pick the greatest fantasy film of all time, there’s one film that pretty much stands alone for me. Poet turned auteur Jean Cocteau’s version of Beauty and the Beast has never been rivaled. This “fairy tale for adults” remains a masterpiece of entertainment and cinematic poetry, and it’s in-camera effects remain truly stunning. In some respects, even Jackson’s incredibly brilliant WETA crew has never quite matched what cinematographer Henri Alekan, and production designers Christian Bérard and Lucien Carré managed in devastated post-war France.

I suppose I’m already guilty of it, but I try not to build-up classic movies too much lest I build up expectations so high that no movie can really live up to them at first blush. They’re only movies. But take a look at this trailer, which includes narration by Cocteau himself. To me, this is beauty.

A Chat with Cassandra Sawtell (“Harper’s Island”)

You asked for it, you got it: another “Harper’s Island” interview, this time with the young lady who played Madison, the creepiest little girl on the island. Rest assured, however, that it’s a testament to Cassandra Sawtell’s acting abilities that she was able to pull off her role on the series. I spoke with her this afternoon, and she couldn’t have been more pleasant, and she even managed to surprise me with an upcoming film appearance of hers that isn’t mentioned within her IMDb listing…and, wow, what a high-profile film it is!

Stay tuned for…

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The 2009 Emmy nominations are in…

Per TV.com…

Best Drama Series
Big Love
Breaking Bad
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

Best Comedy Series

Entourage
Flight of the Conchords
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
30 Rock
Weeds
Family Guy

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace

Lead Comedy Actor

Jemaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords
Steve Carrell, The Office
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Lead Comedy Actress
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

The biggest snubs? No “The Wire,” “True Blood” or “The Shield” for Best Drama…zero nominations in major categories for “Friday Night Lights” — especially Connie Britton, who should have cracked a weak field of Lead Actress in a Drama…”Battlestar Galactica” finishes its critically-acclaimed, five-year run with no major Emmy award nominations…at all…over the five seasons…ugh.

Click here to see the rest of the nominations.

Harry Potter and the ginormous filmgoing hordes (updated)

We’ve got an early and rather light box office preview this week because only one new wide release is coming out. However, it’s already looking to be a doozy. Yes, it’s time for another highly profitable trip to Hogwarts with today’s (actually early as possible this morning’s) release of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

Anyhow, word of highly boffo early ticket sales outpacing the midnight opening of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” has proven out. Estimates of the Wednesday morning midnight take are roughly $20 million, says Variety and Nikki Finke. THR‘s Carl DiOrio wrote yesterday of roughly a $140 million five day gross and $100 million weekend. However, perhaps taking the fact that the $20 million figure beats both the Wednesday midnight opening of “The Dark Knight” by $2 million and “Transformers” by $4 million, the diviners reporting to Finke are telling her to expect $175-190 million, but with a $90-$100 million weekend a la DiOrio.

[UPDATE: The midnight gross turned out to be an even more whopping, more record breaking $22.2 million. Nikki Finke is now talking about the possibility of the fantasy flick breaking the $200 million mark in its first five days.]

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