Total Wrecklamation and Factory Girl

Ok, I want to meet Jodi Murphy. She cracks me up. Who knew an auctioneer could be so cool. She auctioned off stuff from a beautiful home in Downers Grove. I would have killed for that front door! I don't know if she hams it up for the cameras, I don't think she does, but she's really cool.

I love Andy Warhol. Do I? Well ... I like his art ... art? Ok, I like what Andy Warhol did in the art world. Kind of ground it up with his shoe and shoved it back in the faces of the pretentious art gillerati. I think I've seen most of the films that depict Warhol:

David Bowie played him in Basquiat .. so so ... too cartoonish for me
Jared Harris in I Shot Andy Warhol ... again, so so ...
Cripin Glover played him in The Doors ... caught his quirkiness, that's about it

But I think that Guy Pearce did the best portrayal in Factory Girl. With the exception of Crispin Glover ... all the others who have played Andy aren't American.

Factory Girl is about Edie Sedgwick, an heiress, who pal'd with Warhol and his crowd for a brief period of time. She died when she was 28 of a drug overdose, hello Janis, Hello Jimi, Hello Jim. Edie was beautiful. The film portrays her as a lost soul, who knows? She ends up falling in love with Bob Dylan (Dylan threatened to sue the film producers, so he's billed as "musician" ... but it's a big fat duh ... oh, and Hayden Christianson plays Dylan really well). Sienna Miller plays Edie. She's ok ... I'd have to say my favorite portrayals were Christianson as Dylan, Pearce as Warhol and Iliana Douglass as Diana Vreeland.

Overall, the film, to me seemed to try to wow the audience with "oh, they look so much like ... ", but the story was kind of weak, like they ran out of money and could only give the highlights. It could have been better. I thought I Shot Andy Warhol was a much better film. Since Edie was with Andy for such a short period of time, I would have thought it would have been better I guess.

Maybe it's just too hard to make a film about The Factory and Warhol.

I'll Miss You Mad Men!!!

The season finale was fantastic! I was wrong on all counts about Don. He came back, as Don, begging to come back. Betty was her usual deluded self, only now she's pregnant! So what does she do? She goes horseback riding, she's smoking, goes to a bar and drinks and has a tryst in a bathroom with a complete stranger! Then she goes home and proceeds to nosh on a piece of chicken, this was after Sallie said "mommy doesn't like to eat". So she let's Don come back ...

Peggy confessed to Pete about the baby. But I'm confused. Did she give it away? Or was she lying about that to keep Pete from pursuing it??? Pete laid it on the line. Told her he loved her. But he was drinking and lonely. I'm glad Peggy stood her ground. She really left him hanging.

Not sure about the merger. It blew up in Duck's face, which was great. It seems that his whole MO was to get rid of Don via an employment agreement he thought he had, which he didn't. Don just laughed in Duck's face and said "I don't have a contract" and Bert and Roger looking sheepish stating that they didn't think they needed one! This means that Don can go out to another agency and take clients with him. Duck blew up and that was that. Not sure if the merger is going to happen now. At least Pete did the CYO job of all CYO jobs by playing Duck and Don ... Pete's learning.

The entire episode was set up during the Cuban Missle Crisis. Not being alive during that time, but studying it in my history classes in college, it must have been weird (is that the right word?), or just plain scary. It made the entire episode tense, which is what every character exuded ... tension.

I hope they bring it back for a third season. I'll be heartbroken if they don't.

True Blood was great too. Bill is alive ... came crawling out of the ground and grabbed Sookie and they ... well ... you know. We are getting more and more informed about Sam and his nudist ways. Stephen Root made a great cameo appearance as a lonely vampire who doesn't leave his house. He was creepy, but you had to feel sorry for him on some level. He ends up getting kidnapped for his blood by Jason and his new girlfriend, who is something other than human, but not vampire. With Mad Men gone, maybe I'll be able to get better sleep on Sunday nights.

30 Rock starts up again this week!

2 Random Thoughts

I feel really bad about not liking the Albert Brooks movie ... I really do. As I racked my brain today, I remember one of my favorite Albert Brooks performances. It was My First Mister. Brooks plays this incredibly sad man who befriends a young woman and it's just fantastic and I remember crying like a baby at the end of the film. Ok Albert, please do more of these kinds of films. Please!!!!

The other random thought has been rolling around my noggin everytime I pass a Sherwin Williams Paint store. When I was on a train a week or so ago, we passed this huge, what looks like a warehouse, but it may be a factory for Sherwin Williams. Each and everytime I see their "cover the earth" logo, it makes me cringe. Cover the earth? Are you kidding me? With paint? Toxic paint? Heck, I wouldn't want to cover the earth in no VOC paint ... come on! Whoever came up with that lame catchphrase is a complete bonehead!!! Booooooooo!!!!

Mad Men Season Finale Tonight and I am Sad

Now I think that Don is going to tell Betty that he is staying in California with Anna. Good! Let that stupid twit try to take care of herself. She thinks she's in control? Ha .. nevahhhhhh!!!

John Hamm was the host of SNL last night. Man, that show has really gone in the crapper. It's just not funny anymore. Sure, when Fey & Pohler are together, it has some great comedic moments, but it was just dismal watching last night ... what, a guy playing a robo-cal? Are you kidding me? Belushi and Radner are rolling in their graves right now. Even the skit they tried to spoof Mad Men with guest apperances by Peggy and Roger was lame-O!!! Lorne Michaels, we hardly knew ye.

Life on Mars was a tearjerker in the end. Tyler actually saw himself as a child with his Dad ... sniff sniff. I like the hippie chick character. I wonder if she's a figment of his imagination. She's kind of a Greek Chorus character, keeping him on track. Keitel had some great lines, as usual. I smell an emmy for him! Imperioli already has one for Sopranos, it's Harvey time!

Total Wrecklamation is still fabulous. I wonder how the show is going to do if this teardown craze comes to an end in Chicago. Is it slowing down??? I also really like Living With Ed. It follows Ed Begley Jr. and his wife, Rochelle. She's cool and puts up with his quirks like a trooper. I love his competitive streak with Bill Nye and I kind of have to say that I hope Bill wins .. Ed's kind of smug and holier than thou sometimes.

So, I actually watched a movie. I love Albert Brooks ... Lost in America, Defending your Life .. and yes, Nemo. He's just a funny guy and his brother is too ... did you know his brother is Super Dave? He's also in Curb Your Enthusiasm (when is that coming back on???) Anyway, Albert Brooks just makes me laugh .. very deadpan, not vulgar. Well, he did this strange movie called Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World .. is that the right title? The premise is funny ... he plays himself and gets tapped by the gov't to find out what makes people in the Muslim world laugh. He gets sent to India first .. why, I have no idea. He tries to find out what makes Hindus laugh and completely bombs out and we never really find out why ... come on, something has to be funny to Hindus, or else he's just jabbing at Hindus. The one funny scene is each day, he has to pass by one of these call centers in New Delhi and each day he hears different company names. Well, he bombs doing his standup for a roomful of Indian citizens, so he goes to Pakistan ... he sneaks into Pakistan and he kills (not literally) with the same jokes that bombed in New Delhi, to a crowd of 5 Pakistani comedians ... unfortunately, this causes a major international incident and literally, 20 minutes after the Pakistani standup routine, the movie was over ... poof, done. I don't know, I thought it would be funnier. They shouldn't have spent so much time on the Indian side and focused more on the Pakistani side because THAT was funny. Oh Albert ... I'm sorry, but you lost me on this one.

Life on Mars is Definitely COOL!!!

First of all, I found out that next week's episode is the season finale of Mad Men :( I predict that Don is going to fess up to Betty who he really is and she will completely fall off the deep end and end up in the loony bin, at least I hope so, I'm tired of her craziness. The writers need to give her a rest. I wonder who will lose their jobs in the merger. I have a feeling that Peggy and Pete are going to have it out once and for all. Or maybe Peggy will talk sense into Don and convince him not to fess up to Betty ...

The second episode of Life on Mars was magnificent! I was right, Keitel and Imperioli make the show what it is. The main guy even grew on me a little bit. There was a scene where Keitel and Tyler get into a fight in a hospital room. It's just hilarious. The opening scene where they are chasing a guy wearing a banana hammock was also howl worthy. I have the episode from last night waiting for me ... I LOVE YOU TIVO!!!

True Blood was great. I don't think that Bill is dead ... they can't kill Bill. I'll stop watching the show if they do. Apprently, Anna Paquin and Steven Moyer are now an item for real. Duh, the chemistry is there on screen. I want to know what Sam is .. he was spotted running nekid across a field ... wth?

And Total Wrecklamation, what a great show. I hope her business is getting a big boost from the show because Jodi Murphy is really something to watch. Man, some guy bid 1K on a stone porch ... marble, and won! It was worth at least 12K. It was surprsing to see how blah this beautiful mansion in Wilmette was .. it was downright ugly on the inside. Maybe that's why it was being torn down. She did manage to sell it all off ... every last piece of lumber, so it wouldn't go to the landfill. Love it.

And Gossip Girl is getting great. I can't believe I'm writing that. I love that the writers are focusing on Chuck now. He makes the show what it is. If anyone has seen the documentary, Born Rich, I have a feeling that Chuck Bass is slightly based on Luke Weil. The only problem there is that Luke Weil was busted for heroin awhile back ... I hope they don't do that to Chuck. Blair is just weird looking. The writers do need to stop punishing her though, but hey, at least I don't have to hear that whiney voice of Serena all the time now.

Mad Men ... Best Episode Yet

Each and every scene was key. I adore the "other" Don. He's relaxed and ... NICE! Seems that we have met the wife of the real Don Draper and she is honestly, Don's soulmate. I think that Don is considering just staying with her.

Poor Joan. She obviously made the wrong choice in a man, sigh. And there's Joan, just taking it, so unlike Joan.

Betty, psycho Betty, manipulative Betty, horrible friend, Betty. She knew what she was doing when she set up her friend and the stable guy and then to feign anger afterwards??? She put Sallie in the closet for punishment for smoking! Oh, and she's not upset that this little girl is smoking cigarettes, she's ticked because she may burn the house down! My god .. I just shake my head.

Peggy is really coming into her own. I think that Roger gave her the office just because Peggy had the nerve to come right out and ask. But who knows what will happen now that the merger has been approved. Roger, of course, loves it and Bert is broken hearted .. I wish he would have voted nay. Boy, Don sure is going to have a case full of surprises when he gets back.

I do have a feelng that Pete is going to go after Peggy with a vengeance again. Who knows, maybe they'll end up together after she loses her job as a result of the merger and she'll tell Pete that they have a kid together and he can be rid of Trudy and that family of hers.

Can't wait for next week!

Much to catch up on

Last Wednesday, I really went to town on my shows.

True Blood was magnificent. Sookie had to bury her Gran and tried hard to block out the voices in attendance, but couldn't .. ended up telling everyone in town to, well ... shut the up. Then she actually LET bill bite her ... that's where it ended. It will be interesting to see where it goes tonight. I want to read the books, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Wonder if they are following the books much? Alan Ball really pushes the envelope sometimes. OK, we get it .. JASON IS A DOG! We just don't need to see it every freaking week.

Mad Men was downright surreal. Don and Pete were in LA and Don ditched Pete to go with some eurotrash nomads out to Palm Springs. It was strange strange strange. Don ends up making a phone call telling the person that he's Dick Whitman, so we'll see where that goes. Peggy found a good friend who dolled her up and took her to see Bob Dylan .. or maybe they didn't make it to the Dylan show because he gave Peggy a new look. I just love how this show is written. That, along with the writing of Life On Mars, is incredible. I also have to say that it was nice to not have to hear psycho Betty for an episode. Not enough Joan though :(

Californication is getting funnier and funnier, which makes me happy because the season opener was just rude. I do wish they'd do something with the daughter though. Am I the only one who thinks they are trying too hard to have her be a real life version of Emily the Strange? And the way she talks ... does anyone really speak like that?

Z-Rock is what it is ... I'm glad it's only a half hour, but it does prove that Joan Rivers still has what it takes to be funny.

Total Wrecklamation, still, is my favorite non-fiction show. Jodi Murphy is great. I highly recommend this show to anyone. I wish I could get in on her auctions. Her company is Murco Recycling and she has a website. She is doing great work.

Watched the first episode of the new Starter Wife weekly series and it was wayyyyyyyy better than the miniseries. I was really skeptical, but it's true. Judy Davis' character is more likeable and Debra Messing actually seems to meld better with the new cast of characters. I think I'll keep this one.

I ditched Heroes. I just couldn't take it anymore.

I'm now trying to catch up on shows that I missed while I was on my trip to my most favorite city in the world catching up with my "peeps".

New shows ...

I watched the miniseries, The Starter Wife last week. It was about as fluffy as a show can get and I can't believe that I kept up with it. I used to like Debra Messing. I loved the show Ned & Stacey, it didn't stay on the air long enough. Never got into Will & Grace. I just looked like a really pretentious show that was trying to shock, yawn. Starter Wife must have been an easy paycheck for Joe Montagna. I don't know if I'll watch the new series. I think I have the first episode recorded, we'll see.

And ... doo di dee dee doo dee doooo!!!

Life on Mars! Seriously folks, the ONLY, and I mean THE ONLY reason to watch this show is for Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli. Keitel looks like he's having fun playing to type (total badass mofo). Going back in my memory, Keitel's done a few stupid roles (can't remember the show about the monkey), but between Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Bad Lieutenant, Mean Streets ... why hasn't this guy won an Oscar yet? Well, hopefully this will get him an emmy. Michael Imperioli! Love that guy. He looks different from any other role he's done. Kind of like Serpico and that's only because I can't think of anyone else to compare him to. Like Keitel, he's having fun with the role. Hopefully he'll get more meaty stuff later. The main guy, Jason O'Mara is ok, but he's definitely second fiddle to my main guys. It is nice to see Lisa Bonet acting again. She has such a troubled face, but she's a good actress. I really liked her in High Fidelity and I haven't seen her in anything else except for Life on Mars. Looking forward to next week.

My friend from England turned me on to the show, Little Britain, a few years ago. For some reason .. ahhhhh .. hmmmmm ... she thought that I'd like the humor. Wow, she was right. What can I say, I grew up watching Monty Python on PBS as a child (shame on my parents ... yea right). I love the Python movies and I have to admit that I've let my kids watch SELECT skits, but so far, they really dig the Terri Gilliam cartoons.

Anyway, Little Britain is on HBO as Little Britain USA. Their characters are now in the US. They have some new characters as well, but they are lame compared to the standbys. It's raunchier than the British version. I don't know, maybe they think that Americans are more vile .. are we??? I love the lady who leads the weight watchers meetings. Rosie O'Donnell was a guest on that sketch and you can only imagine where it lead ... funny nonetheless. There were a couple sketches, one involving naked bodybuilders in a lockerroom that was too over the top, but overall, it was funny.

But my new show is called Total Wrecklamation on Planet Green. It's a show about this auctioneer in Chicago who goes into houses that are going to be torn down and auctions off everything she can, thus saving as much as possible from the landfill. The first show I saw had this family get an 85K kitchen for 14K! I was amazed. The sticking points though are that the sales are cash only and the stuff has to be out by the end of the day. It really is something to see though, what people are willing to teardown, but I wonder how much more that will be happening now ... sigh. That's an entire other diatribe.

Vote!

This is as personal as I'll get here ...

You Are a Green Crayon

Your world is colored in harmonious, peaceful, natural colors. While some may associate green with money, you are one of the least materialistic people around. Comfort is important to you. You like to feel as relaxed as possible - and you try to make others feel at ease. You're very happy with who you are, and it certainly shows! Your color wheel opposite is red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you.

What Color Crayon Are You?

I'm downsizing, slightly

As my Tivo is loading up by the hour, it seems ... I'm weeding out a little bit. Just a little.

Watched the season premieres of Pushing Daisies and Chuck and decided to nix 'em. I don't like cutsie shows and these shows have turned decidedly cutsie .... awwww, look at Chuck, so cute with Sarah .. awwww, fooey. I have to say that I'll miss Morgan and his Nerd Herd crew, but between Chuck and Sarah and Chuck's god awful annoying sister and fiance ... oh, and I'll miss the guy who played Animal Mother in Full Metal Jacket too, sigh. Sorry guys, I gotta cut you loose. And Pushing Daisies really disappointed me ... again, yea yea yea, Ned and Chuck (wait, maybe I just have an anti-chuck thing going .. have to marinate on that one) ... he can't touch her, she'll die again, blah blah blah. I'm getting tired of that lovelorn look he constantly gives her. Awwww, he has to wear bell slippers around her .... poor Ned. I wish he'd just hook up with Olive and realize that she's way better than Chuck. I'll miss Chi McBride. He's great. And the guy at the morgue ... but the entire show has become too narrative and too cartoonish. It really disappoints me too because I loved Bryan Fuller's show, Dead Like Me ... why couldn't ABC just pick that up instead??? Man, I really need to run a network.

Heroes is my last holdover from last season, well, it's in it's third season and the only reason I'm watching it is because I'm so confused by it. Matt Parkman still annoys the snot out of me and I wish that guy wouldn't have come to rescue him in the desert. Mohinder's character is too Jeff Goldberg in the Fly ... come on writers ... you can do better than that! I like the Hiro, Claire and Petrelli storylines though. But Syler just creeps the heck out of me. Those eyebrows are just not to be believed and I HATE his acting .. he delivers every line with this raspy fake voice that just makes me want to give him a new voicebox that has a normal voice. He tries to act evil too much ... his coach should be fired.

So anyway .... I am looking forward to the premiere of Life on Mars. Keitel is going to be awesome, and Michael Imperioli too ... how cool is it that they are going to play 70's cops. It's right out of a Scorcese movie. Maybe he's a consultant. I have no idea who the main character is, I'm just excited about the supporting cast.

Well, now that I've cancelled Chuck, I can get back to Gossip Girl!!! Woo hoo! I missed the last one because of Chuck. I wonder if Reaper is coming back .. hope so ... that was a show that didn't take itself seriously and even though it has it's cutsie moments, it's not annoyingly cute, blech.

True Blood is getting better and better. It's almost making me want to go read the books that the show is based on. NOOOOOOOOOO ... I can't start reading!!!!!!

Oh, and the other show I'm keeping is Dirty Sexy Money. Simply the best cast on tv. I can forgive Donald Sutherland for doing that stupidass Fierce People movie now. Watched the series opener and it was just brilliant. I mean, I can't complain about any of the characters, they are all fantastic, even Billy Baldwin ... I will say that I think my favorite character is Jeremy, he and Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl should meet. Wow, they could throw a great party. Ok, WB/ABC ... have a crossover episode!