And all the people sing Tomorrow

Don’t stop believing – that Glee premieres tomorrow!

Photo courtesy Fox TV

2 more days!

There are just 2 more days until Glee – WORD.

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3 more days!

I just want to express myself…there are only 3 more days until Glee, sir…

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4 days!

Oh hell to the no!  Glee is 4 more days away!

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5 days!

5 days until the new Marc Jacobs collection surfaces on Glee!

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6 days!

6 days, maggots…

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7 days!

The Glee premiere is coming in just 7 days!

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The new Project Runway

At long last, the sartorial madness of Project Runway has returned to television.  But now it’s on Lifetime.  Is that good?  Is it bad?  Let’s discuss.

Well here’s the good news – the show is pretty much exactly what you know, love and remember from it’s previous 5 seasons on Bravo.  There is no discernible change in the variety of the challenges.  Tim is still there giving his pithy comments, and Heidi adds amusing commentary with her delightful accent.  The runway shows are set up exactly the same, right down to the music.  And that means – you guessed it – the drumbeats of doom are still there, too!

The biggest change is that this season is taking place in Los Angeles, although the final runway shows will still be back at New York’s Fashion Week.  The move to the west coast isn’t a big one – the work room at FIDM is similar to Parson’s (although a bit roomier), and there’s even a branch of Mood nearby.  We do get some establishing shots of sunny weather, of course.

But the real change with the move to LA is that the number and wattage of the celebrity judges is increased.  We’ve already seen Lindsay Lohan and Rebecca Romijn.  We know that Eva Longoria Parker is coming up in the near future.  Who knows who could drop by?  Now, all that might make you worry that we’re not going to see many luminaries in the fashion world, but never fear – we’ve already had Monique Lhuillier sitting in for Michael Kors this past week.

As for the designers, it’s hard to keep up with all of them at this early stage of the game, but I certainly think that Christopher is a cutie to watch.  Of course, if he keeps up the “I have no formal training” shtick every week, he’s going to wear on my nerves.  I’m also starting to like Althea, who seems to just be very genuine and sweet.

So – overall, the show is really all that you love, and you’ve got nothing to fear by switching your channel to Lifetime.  Sit and debate with your friends which network is more for gay men.

There is a change that comes with the new producers – Bunim/Murray of The Real World infamy.  They’ve developed a short follow-up show called Models of the Runway, where we see all of the model selections/eliminations, and the girls all live in the same house.  But America’s Top Model this ain’t.  It’s bland, full of shrieking girls with mashed potatoes for brains, and a complete waste of time.  Do yourself a favor – when this show comes on, turn the TV off and curl up with a good book.  I recommend the one I’m currently reading – My Life in France by Julia Child.

Photos courtesy Lifetime Television

District 9 – a review

District 9

This movie was a real challenge to watch.  If you want any evidence of that, let me throw out that I saw it a week ago, and am just now getting a review up.  And that’s really because I just couldn’t decide how I felt about it.  I had a lot of conflicting feelings about it – was it brilliant?  Did I hate it?  Who would enjoy this?  I joked to a friend last night that I should just come up with a list of pros and cons.  Why not?  Here’s my list:

Pros

• A really creative concept – the idea of aliens not coming down to take over the world, and instead being a crazed group of “mindless drones” is definitely unique in the alien invasion genre.
• A new location – usually these alien movies are in the same places – New York or maybe DC.  But Johannesburg?  Great idea.
• A cast of unknowns – there’s not a soul in this movie you will have heard of before.  The lead is an animator/director that happens to be friends with the director of this film.
• A compelling message – we purport in this world that racism is unacceptable, but what happens when humanity pulls together and discriminates against an alien race?
• Great action – when the action sequences get going, particularly in the latter half of the movie, it does get exciting.

Cons

• Ultra-violent – I’m used to violence in movies, but this one has a level of gore that was sickening.  (The horror movies in the previews didn’t help matters much for me.)
• Disturbing premise – although I think the overall concept is creative, it was hard to take that the humans could be so insensitive and so cruel.  Couldn’t we see just a little bit of people who believed in the idea of aliens’ rights?  The closest we got was a couple protesters with signs in one scene.
• Predictable – even though it’s a unique movie, it started to get to a point where you felt it was heading to only one possible conclusion.
• Hollywood ending (sort of) – speaking of the conclusion, it was at least partially the sunshine happy ending we come to expect.

So who will like this movie?  Well – I think if you can handle the violence and you take it all with a grain of salt, this would be worth seeing on the big screen.  But for me, it was hard to watch, and I certainly don’t need to see it again.  My rating for District 9 is a C+, but for those with stronger stomachs this could easily be a B.

10 reasons to watch True Blood

I admit it.  We got sucked into another great TV show.  And once again, we were a bit behind the times.  Although to be fair – this time it’s because we don’t have pay cable.  I’m going to justify it all by saying we just gave up two major addictions that have come to an end (Battlestar Galactica and Pushing Daisies).

Anywho, our new obsession is the vampire show True Blood on HBO.  The basic premise is that vampires have “come out” to live in modern society, because a Japanese company has found a way to manufacture synthetic blood.  This eliminates the need for vampires to feed on humans (in theory).  All of this sets up all kinds of subculture ideas – vampire bars, “fangbangers,” people who choose to drink vampire blood as a drug…it’s fascinating.

If you think you want to try it out, the whole first season is available on DVD (thank you, Netflix), and the second season is currently airing.  Sadly ScottE and I don’t have HBO, so we may be hunting down a friend with On-Demand, so we can camp out at their home for a day!  (Hey – you folks that have seen the show – no spoilers here, please!)

“But why should I care about this show?  It’s just another Twilight thing, right?”  Not so much.  Forthwith, I present:

1.  It’s on HBO.

Sure, it’s pay cable, and that’s a downside if you’re budget-conscious like us.  But you know that for the most part HBO = quality.  This is the network that brought us Sex and the City, The Sopranos, and Six Feet Under.  They are known for quality shows, memorable miniseries, and risk-taking.  Which leads me to…

2.  Lots of skin.

It may be a show that’s primarily about the interaction between humans and vampires, but they sure do have sex a lot.  A lot.

3.  Gays as subtext and more.

In case you hadn’t heard, I am the gay.  It’s not like I just seek out gay content, but I appreciate it when I see it’s been done well.  On this show there is a clear analogue between how vampires are treated in society, and how gay people are in our own society (example – Vermont becomes the first state to legalize human-vampire marriages).  There is also a lead gay character named Lafayette, and he ain’t no fool.

4.  Fun accents!

The show takes place deep in the bayous of Louisiana, so the accents are thick.  For a Yankee that loves a good Southern accent, this is like heaven.  I done been walkin’ round the house talkin’ like it fer days.  In season 1 we even got a nice Cajun accent from Rene, which was awesome.

Photo courtesy HBO

5.  Anna Paquin doesn’t suck (no pun intended).

This girl really, really should get on my nerves.  Her take on Rogue in the X-Men movies was most annoying, and certainly the worst part of them.  But for some reason as lead character Sookie Stackhouse, she just works.  Perhaps it’s her transparent, no-nonsense attitude.  Maybe it’s the accent.  Or is it that she got older?  I just know she’s fun to watch.

6.  The attitude!

When you take some sassy Southern gals and pit them against a bunch of hick rednecks, you get yourself some serious attitude.  And most of that is wrapped up in lead character Tara – a whole new kind of diva.  Love!

Photo courtesy HBO

7.  Sexy men!

It wouldn’t be HBO without some hot beefcake.  And this show has it – take your pick.  Like your man a little gruff and mysterious?  Sam the bartender is for you.  Like him brooding and pale?  Bill the vampire.  Blond nymphomaniac?  Jason Stackhouse, c’mon down.

8.  Drama with a sense of humor.

I like a good drama and all, but what makes this show work well is it doesn’t take itself too seriously.  After every scene of mounting tension, we get some comic relief which could come from any corner – it might be Sookie popping up with her sunny disposition, Lafayette laying down some attitude, or blue collar Hoyt being sweet and clueless.

9.  Redefines the vampire myth.

Part of what makes all these vampire things so dreary is that it’s almost always the same.  What’s great about this show is it “debunks” many of the vampire myths.  Crosses?  No big deal.  Garlic?  A minor annoyance.  Sunlight?  Well…OK, that one’s still a serious problem.

10.  It’s all wrapped up in a mystery.

What has made so many new shows really spark viewer interest?  A good old-fashioned murder mystery that spawns the length of the season (Desperate Housewives being a pioneer in that respect).  True Blood centers around just such a mystery in season 1, and it won’t be a spoiler if I tell you it takes all season to find out who the killer is (and no, I didn’t suspect correctly).

Can’t wait to see what’s in store for season 2!  Could it have anything to do with Maryann?  (Who is so Admiral Cain from BSG, and the Oceanic spokesperson on Lost by the way.)