Beware of the Linkspam

Note: This list has been in development for nearly 3 weeks now, so really, the warning in title? Is very meant.

This isn't even the worst of it. In anticipation of how sour this could get, let me just say that my new TV boyfriend is Jamie Bamber. (and bombard you with picspam to complement the linkspam coming your way) *sigh....* I do NOT understand how I missed him before. Not only does he have, you know, the body (I am shallow) and the bluest eyes, like, ever, he's also got a FIRST CLASS degree with HONOURS from CAMBRIDGE.

Another bit of absolutely unbelievable news is how Joss Whedon (OMG) and JJ Abrams (OMG) are directing consecutive episodes of The Office. I do not kid.

More year-end "Best of" lists are now out. I will link to them, and discuss some of the more (to me, anyway) annoying aspects. Oh, the WGA nominees are also out, and lets just say that I have some issues.

TELEVISION NOMINEES

DRAMATIC SERIES

24
DEADWOOD
GREY’S ANATOMY
LOST
THE SOPRANOS

The unimaginativeness gets to me, no The Wire, no BSG, no VM, same old Lost and same old Sopranos. Grey's has hardly had a stellar creative year either.

COMEDY SERIES

30 ROCK
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
ENTOURAGE
THE OFFICE

30 Rock is funny but uneven - and Curb Your Enthusiasm is again a symptom of going with the familiar. Where is My Name is Earl? And what about Ugly Betty?

NEW SERIES

30 ROCK
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
HEROES
STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP
UGLY BETTY

No Dexter. And if they've nominated the pilot of Big Love, that could've been on here as well.

EPISODIC DRAMA — any length — one airing time

ELECTION DAY, PART II (The West Wing)
OCCUPATION/PRECIPICE (Battlestar Galactica)
TWO FOR THE ROAD (Lost)
THE END OF THE WHOLE MESS(Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King)
PILOT (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)
PILOT (Big Love)

Really, Really hope BSG takes this one.

EPISODIC COMEDY — any length — one airing time

IT TAKES TWO (Desperate Housewives)
DON'T LOOK AT ME (Desperate Housewives)
BOMB SHELTER (Malcolm in the Middle)
CASINO NIGHT (The Office)
THE COUP (The Office)
UMP FOR JOY (My Name is Earl)

Desperate Housewives. Just.. Guh.

****************

Also, yet another screening of Volver and yet another time I am not going to watch it, because my buddies are a big pile of ditchers.

The SAG nominations were announced, and Oh God, they're even more unimaginative than the Globes. Grrrr.

13TH ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® NOMINATIONS


THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio / BLOOD DIAMOND – Archer - Warner Bros. Pictures
Ryan Gosling / HALF NELSON – Dan Dunne - THINKFilm
Peter O’Toole / VENUS – Maurice - Miramax Films
Will Smith / THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS – Chris Gardner - Sony Pictures
Forest Whitaker / THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND – Idi Amin - Fox Searchlight Pictures

What's with the Will Smith nomination? And, please, a nom for Blood Diamond? For what, the worst accent in history? (Okay, I exaggerate).

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Penelope Cruz / VOLVER – Raimunda - Sony Pictures Classics
Judi Dench / NOTES ON A SCANDAL – Barbara Covett - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Helen Mirren / THE QUEEN – The Queen - Miramax Films.
Meryl Streep / THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA – Miranda Priestly - 20th Century Fox
Kate Winslet / LITTLE CHILDREN – Sarah Pierce - New Line Cinema

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin / LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Grandpa Fox Searchlight Pictures
Leonardo DiCaprio / THE DEPARTED – Billy Warner Bros. Pictures
Jackie Earle Haley / LITTLE CHILDREN – Ronnie J. McGorvey New Line Cinema
Djimon Hounsou / BLOOD DIAMOND – Solomon Warner Bros. Pictures
Eddie Murphy / DREAMGIRLS – James “Thunder” Early Paramount Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Adriana Barraza / BABEL – Amelia - Paramount Vantage
Cate Blanchett / NOTES ON A SCANDAL – Sheba Hart - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Abigail Breslin / LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Olive - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Jennifer Hudson / DREAMGIRLS – Effie White - Paramount Pictures
Rinko Kikuchi / BABEL – Chieko - Paramount Vantage

I'm very happy with both noms for Babel.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

BABEL
BOBBY
THE DEPARTED
DREAMGIRLS
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Thomas Haden Church / BROKEN TRAIL – Tom Harte - AMC
Robert Duvall / BROKEN TRAIL – Print Ritter - AMC
Jeremy Irons / ELIZABETH I – Earl of Leicester - HBO
William H. Macy / NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES – Clyde Umney - TNT
Matthew Perry / THE RON CLARK STORY – Ron Clark - TNT

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Annette Bening / MRS. HARRIS – Jean Harris - HBO
Shirley Jones / HIDDEN PLACES – Aunt Batty - Hallmark Channel
Cloris Leachman / MRS. HARRIS – Tarnower’s Sister - HBO
Helen Mirren / ELIZABETH I – Elizabeth I - HBO
Greta Scacchi / BROKEN TRAIL – Nola Johns - AMC

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
James Gandolfini / THE SOPRANOS – Tony Soprano - HBO
Michael C. Hall / DEXTER – Dexter Morgan - Showtime
Hugh Laurie / HOUSE – Dr. Gregory House - FOX
James Spader / BOSTON LEGAL – Alan Shore - ABC
Kiefer Sutherland / 24 – Jack Bauer - FOX

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette / MEDIUM – Allison Dubois - NBC
Edie Falco / THE SOPRANOS – Carmela Soprano - HBO
Mariska Hargitay / LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT – Det. Olivia Benson - NBC
Kyra Sedgwick / THE CLOSER – Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson - TNT
Chandra Wilson / GREY’S ANATOMY – Dr. Miranda Bailey - ABC

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin / 30 ROCK – Jack Donaghy - NBC
Steve Carell / THE OFFICE – Michael Scott - NBC
Jason Lee / MY NAME IS EARL – Earl Hicke - NBC
Jeremy Piven / ENTOURAGE – Ari Gold - HBO
Tony Shalhoub / MONK – Adrian Monk - USA

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera / UGLY BETTY – Betty Suarez - ABC
Felicity Huffman / DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES – Lynette - ABC
Julia Louis-Dreyfus / THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE – Christine Campbell -
Megan Mullally / WILL & GRACE – Karen Walker - NBC
Mary-Louise Parker / WEEDS – Nancy Botwin - Showtime
Jaime Pressly / MY NAME IS EARL – Joy - NBC

Default setting: Megan Mullally for Will and Grace. How about a side order of some IMAGINATION guys. Oh, well.... atleast Jaime Pressly wasn't ignored.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

24
BOSTON LEGAL
DEADWOOD
GREY’S ANATOMY
THE SOPRANOS

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ENTOURAGE
THE OFFICE
UGLY BETTY
WEEDS

I should probably just give up on expecting decent stuff from television awards. Having watched most of the things they nominate, and a LOT of the things they didn't I have to say that these awards are a joke. The Wire, Battlestar Galactica AND Veronica Mars are snubbed in every category, and they are actually pretty much the best things on TV. And where does Boston Legal get all this love?? Like someone suggested on a rant, David E. Kelley must have a good many photos of a good many people in extremely compromising positions to get nominated. Award-whore-bitch-man. [/rant] I'm also not thrilled about continued recognition for Desperate Housewives, especially after its super-sucky Season Deux.

Much love for the Empire's end-of-year movie list though. While I don't agree with some choices (especially the COMPLETELY misplaced love for Superman Returns: for more on my opinion on that film see this post.) I love them for including atleast 5 films from my own best of year list, and not having much that I disagree with. Though I do disagree with their best film of the year, which is United 93. I also *love* that they put The Prestige on the list, and so high up as well. And its looking more and more likely that the best-film-I-haven't-seen-yet is Pan's Labyrinth.

The Producer's Guild Awards and Director's Guild have also announced nominees, but I can't be arsed to hunt links and post them here, because they will disappoint me anyway.

Anyway, here are the end-of-year lists that are (IMO) important, or atleast the opinions of these publications are considered important.

Time says these (or these) are the best films of the year. But their choice in TV sucks, because a) no Veronica Mars and b) no Battlestar Galactica.

The New York Times movie critics' choices for this year can be found here, here and here. Among them, they have a pretty good list going, though I will never agree with any list that has Miami Vice on it. Though that could just be all my Colin Farrell hate.

A blogger has compiled a list of the best TV based on other best-of lists:

1. 24 (80)
2. The Wire (77)
3. The Office (76)
4. Battlestar Galactica (69)
5. Friday Night Lights (62)
6. Heroes (60)
7. Lost (49)
8. Grey's Anatomy (48)
9. Rescue Me (34)
10. Veronica Mars (33)

I'm a little amazed by all the appreciation for Heroes. I really, really like and enjoy the show, and don't miss an episode, but it is hardly the best-written or best-paced dramas. The plot points leave a lot to be desired, and the acting is good, but not mind-blowing. I'm surprised, for example, that Dexter didn't make it on this list.

Bringing the Christmas Back

End of year festivities means that my office is playing Christmas Carols pretty incessantly. Currently, my colleagues and I are wigging out to Heal the World. Of course when one thinks of Michael Jackson singing it with his penchant for little boys all I get are the wiggins. (Ha, ha. See what I did there? See? See?)

All of this carol singing and tree decorating is bringing back memories that are best left buried. Having gone to a small convent school with extremely strict nuns running the place, Christmas entailed some major competitiveness and parable-sharing. Carol singing competitions, crib-making competitions, skits, plays, trees and a lesson a day were par for the course. As House Captain I'd be standing and trying very hard to shout out militant orders, but mostly (like any good General) I delegated.

There are also better memories, of bone-crushingly enthusiastic children falling all over each other to get first in line to play games at some Christmas Carnival or other. And I shall be re-living said memories in three-dimensional glory, at the IHC on Christmas Day. Oh, Joy. 'Cept not.

However, before I get accused of being too Scrooge-like, let me take this opportunity to direct y'all to an extremely funny Christmas greeting (don't worry, I am not inflicting the atrocious-but-funny 12 Days of Christmas video on you). In keeping with the fact that Battlestar Galactica is my new obsession (having rewatched season 1 and waiting impatiently for season 2 to finish the frakkin' download) I give you:

Happy Holidays, Everybody!

Heroes!

Star World starts telecasting Heroes from January. That is incredibly quick for a show to find its way onto Indian shores. Also proves what a big hit the show is.

I'm not complaining! Yay! One less show to download, that is if the CAS PVR thingy comes in the set top box, or our DTH people start supplying PVRs.

In other news:

Jason Dohring is Yum-may. Here's proof:
All images are courtesy the fabulous LJ user leucocrystal from this post here.

Golden Globes, and Reversal of Fortunes

The inner 11-year old pervert that I am will always snicker when I think of the Golden Globes. But that aside, I normally wait for the Globes with baited breath, considering how it kicks off the award season propah.

This year I was surprised to realise, going through the lists for movie and television nominees, that I was actually more familiar with the television than the movies. It is normally the other way round, but here it just highlights how many films I have yet to see before the Oscars. (I'm a total award whore BTW. I love the whole process of bitching about the nominations, rooting for your favourite, bitching about the awards and examining everyone's dresses with a magnifying glass. So sue me.)

So basically I don't have major gripes with the movie shortlists, if only because I haven't seen enough of them to have an opinion. But running through the list and offering my immediately biased opinions anyway:

Best Motion Picture
Babel
Bobby
The Departed
Little Children
The Queen

Bobby? Really? I have seen it, and... best picture? Puh-leeze.

Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
Thank You For Smoking

Don't even get me started on how wrong all this love for The Devil Wears Prada is.

Best Director
Clint Eastwood - Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood - Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro González Iñárritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Does Clint Eastwood need 2 nominations?

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

I'm absolutely certain Leo does not need two noms, by all accounts his accent in Blood Diamond is horrific.

Best Actress
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Kate Winslet - Little Children

Possibly the one category I have no issues with - if only because I haven't seen any film.

Best Actor -- Musical or Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Kinky Boots
Will Ferrell - Stranger Than Fiction

The one category I have seen all the films in. I liked Aaron Eckhart... but I'm not certain it was nomination worthy. And I love Johnny Depp, and Jack Sparrow, but this was hardly the surprise it was for the first film. I don't have alternate nominations though, so not too much complaining.

Best Actress -- Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening - Running with Scissors
Toni Colette - Little Miss Sunshine
Beyonce Knowles - Dreamgirls
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Renee Zellweger - Miss Potter

Again, I love Meryl Streep, but misplaced is the word I'm looking for.

Best Supporting Actor
Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Brad Pitt - Babel
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

IMO, this category could have been comprised entirely of The Departed. I'd have liked to see Alec Baldwin and Matt Damon recognised as well.

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls
Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Kikuchi Rinko - Babel

Again with the wrongness that is the Devil Wears Prada.

Best Foreign Language Film

Apocalypto
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Lives of Others
Pans Labyrinth
Volver

Apocalypto? Really? Really? Really?

I'm not getting into the other categories, because I really can't have an opinion on them without having seen the films.

So while all in all this is a decent list, the TV nominations? Not even close.

Best TV Series - Drama
24
Big Love
Grey's Anatomy
Heroes
Lost

I like Heroes. I love Grey's. I like 24. I like Lost (even though I have only watched season 1). I even like whatever Big Love I have watched. BUT. I mean, c'mon. Heroes is not even the best of the new shows on network TV. (Portentous writing and a grandiose feel to the whole show does not endear the writing to me. ) Friday Night Lights is possibly that. 4 episodes of Dexter have convinced me that it deserves to be on this list. And Dear God, why no Veronica Mars? Or Battlestar Galactica?

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Evangeline Lilly, Lost
Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy
Kyra Sedgewick, The Closer

No Kristen Bell for Veronica Mars. Really, Edie Falco yet AGAIN? Evangeline Lilly for what?

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
Patrick Dempsey, Grey's Anatomy
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Bill Paxton, Big Love
Kiefer Sutherland, 24

I love Patrick Dempsey. But even his biggest fan would admit that this is a tad undeserved. Thank God Michael C. Hall is on the list though. And I won't object Kiefer, coz he's, well, Kiefer. But I really wonder at the criteria here. I'd have like to see Matthew Perry on this list for Studio 60. And the coach in Friday Night Lights. Please, please get some imagination.

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Desperate Housewives
Entourage
The Office
Ugly Betty
Weeds

Urgggggggh. Desperate Housewives.... Urghhhhhhhhhhhh.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Desperate Housewives.... Urgh..................... Where is Jaime Pressly?

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Zach Braff, Scrubs
Steve Carell, The Office
Jason Lee, My Name Is Earl
Tony Shalhoub, Monk

Yes! They nominated Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock!

(Pardon the formatting issues)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

EMILY BLUNT GIDEON’S DAUGHTER
TONI COLLETTE TSUNAMI, THE AFTERMATH
KATHERINE HEIGL GREY’S ANATOMY
SARAH PAULSON STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP
ELIZABETH PERKINS WEEDS

I haven't seen the Made for TV stuff, so I wont comment on that. But Katherine Heigl, who is ridiculously over the top and the most annoying thing about Grey's lately? No way. None of the girls from Big Love?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

THOMAS HADEN CHURCH BROKEN TRAIL
JEREMY IRONS ELIZABETH I
JUSTIN KIRK WEEDS
MASI OKA HEROES
JEREMY PIVEN ENTOURAGE

Yes! Masi Oka and Jeremy Piven. Yes!

Also, several end-of-the-year, best movie lists are out. Check out Slant's list here, and a list from Ryan Stevens, one of Cinematical's contributers. The Observer has also released a 50 forgotten classics list. My thoughts will follow soon.

Also, Chelsea has won their game, Man Utd lost theirs. India has won the test match versus South Africa. Icicles were seen forming in hell.

Child's Play

The Fan

No, I'm not talking about crappy Robert DeNiro baseball movies. This is something I've been thinking about quite often, the more invested I get in certain tv shows and other media, the more I contemplate the intricacies of fandom, the more certain things start bothering me. These issues have merely been highlighted by reading such sites as Television Without Pity. I love TwoP... and the forums, and its posters are a generally well-informed bunch. But there is such a thing as over-analysis, and becoming so invested that you lose sight of the creator's vision and start imposing yours instead.

The lovely utsusemia wrote an excellent post on the subject. (I haven't asked her if I can link to this, but I hope its alright. And for anyone with any interest in VM fanfic, read her Nightfall, quite possibly the most beautiful work of fanfiction ever.)

"Have you noticed that the more people are obsessed with something, the less they seem to actually like the thing they are obsessed about? I never really experienced this before Harry Potter, but since then I keep noticing this strange "I hate the thing I love" torture going on with alot of fan(girl)s. My first obsessive experience, outside of a book, was in anime, which I'm guessing is a very different sort of thing, mainly because by the time you get obesssed with any anime, the entire show is finished and you just sit back and watch it. I'm thinking that it's the impression of a collaborative experience that you get with an obsession with an ongoing show that brings out the strange "fangirl hate" phenomena. I call it strange because it doesn't really happen to me Call me crazy, but the reason I love the sixth Harry Potter is the same reason I loved the first, and whoever the hell Harry or Ron or Hermione get together with isn't going to change my enjoyment of it. To be clear: I'm not the author. I may be involved emotionally, but it's still not my story."

So. Much. Word.

Of Days Long Past

If I were asked why I haven't been blogging, I could quite honestly say I don't know. Its not that I've been too lazy, because [this time] that really is not the problem. Its not even that I've been (as I can often be) apathetic to it all; there have been many moments in the past few days that I would have liked to record. But, invariably, as a result of letting it go, I can't remember them all now.

Good things have been happening to me lately. I went shopping with my mom after a day when I was feeling a bit... depressed, and boy, there's nothing like retail therapy to restore a girl's spirits. I went to the capitalist paradise that is G.K I M-Block market after ages and ages, and God, was it fun. (Of course, this trip to G.K means I don't want to look at me bank account anymore.) Anyway, I spent ages ooh-ing and aah-ing over the new Puma store (Yay!) and a surprisingly affordable Espirit rust cord jacket (which I didn't buy) and an equally surprisingly unaffordable gorgeous Benetton claret velvety jacket (which, needless to say, I also didn't buy).

Another point of great joy on the day was the purchase of two First Editions, one Graham Greene's The Human Factor and the other was Empire by Gore Vidal. While in the bookstore looking over publication histories, I noticed some of the declarations signed in these books. It's hard to describe what I feel every time I think about that (flashbacks to Serendipity notwithstanding), but I think a sense of nostalgia and history is probably accurate. It felt as if I were holding someone's dreams in my hands, and it made me happy and sad and proud all at once. The yellowed pages, the words written... the Love, Jacinda (or whoever) ... they're a part of someone's memories. Nothing but a book can inspire that kind of emotional connection to a complete stranger, in my opinion.

I have also been watching a movie a day. So much better than having to eat an apple! Anyhow, in the past week or so, I have watched these films: Scoop!, John Tucker Must Die, The Break Up, The Interpreter, In Her Shoes, Equilibrium. With the exception of In Her Shoes, they were all crap. I was especially disappointed by Scoop! which was so bad that even Hugh Jackman couldn't make up for the awfulness. What I really disliked about the film was that Woody Allen couldn't resist inserting himself into the film yet again, and his routine is really unfunny now. Equilibrium, with Christian Bale, was not so much awful as a mish-mash of every seminal SF film over the last 20-30 years. One would be far better off watching the stuff that patently 'inspired' this film, from 1984 to Blade Runner.

Since most of my favorite shows are on hiatus, I'm going to now catch up on other stuff, what everyone swears is fabulous but for some reason or other, I haven't gotten around to it. (Yes, A, I'm talking about the Wire). Also, the arc finale for Veronica Mars means t my love for Logan has reached unhealthy heights now. Sigh...if ONLY he were real!

ETA: I realized I hadn't said anything at all about my absolute anger at PVR for first raising my hopes with a 'Next Change' for the Prestige, and then cruelly deciding to not release it.

Secondly, I have yet to express my views on both The Departed and Casino Royale. I thought the Departed was toe-curlingly good. I haven't been blown away like this at all this year. I also love Scorcese for his use of Puccini. For a review, read this piece, which I [mostly] agree with. A disclaimer: I certainly do not share the love for The Aviator or Gangs of New York.

I watched Casino Royale right after the Departed, which might be why I didn't like it as much as the rest of the world seemed to. However I saw it a second time and it did improve on repeat viewing, but I still don't understand the fuss. My gripe then, and now, is that were it not a James Bond movie, if the protagonist was called Jeremy Smith instead, we would dismiss it as a decent thriller, nothing more, nothing less. And while I was never someone who had a problem with the casting of Daniel Craig as Bond (I love his eyes, so cold and blue) I don't believe he is right for future Bond films. He was good in this movie, no doubt, but I can't see him doing suave as well as he did the thug. I keep thinking someone like Hugh Jackman, who can effortlessly do both (Wolverine, anybody?) would have been a better choice. Things I loved about the movie however, were the opening sequence (which made me visualize a Bond film filmed in black-and-white, nearly causing me to asphyxiate with excitement) and the credit sequence (even though the song was well below-par). The parkour-with-things-exploding-alongside was considerably less adrenaline-thumping that many other parkour sequences seen even on TV (Top Gear).

BTW, I also watched Dhoom 2, in which I lusted after Hrithik Roshan for the first time ever. High on style, low on plot, it was nonetheless a fun film with equal opportunity oogling. As the NY Times put it:

"The pleasure principle is palpable in the giddy, slick ''Dhoom 2,'' a satisfying example of the new, thoroughly modern Bollywood. The film is shot in sharp, primary colors, with sophisticated stunts, exotic location hopping and songs sung partly in English (and available on iTunes no less).... Hrithik Roshan plays Aryan, the ''smartest and coolest thief alive,'' as his police nemesis, Jai (Abhishek Bachchan), enthuses. (Jai to Aryan: ''I like your confidence''; Aryan to Jai: ''I like you.'') And the buffest: at the mere hint of a flamenco beat, Mr. Roshan whips off his shirt."

Heh. And also, some HoYay!

All I Want for Christmas

This is for any friends, family and other kindly souls who feel like gifting me, for being me. Coz I'm so awesome, and all that. And Santa Claus, this goes for you too. Also: this is a Christmas and Birthday wish list, all rolled into one, for easy perusal and reference.

1. An Apple iPod 30 GB.

2. A Nikon D-50.

3. A burgundy red leather coat.

4. The Television without Pity book.

5. The Michael Schumacher Biography (translated, of course)

6. All the usual stuff - A trip to Paris, Moet et Chandon, Chocolates etc etc.

7. A Saxophone. A good one, mind.

8. Television without Pity t-shirts, and a Slacker t-shirt. Preferably the one Logan wears on VM. Like, the actual one.

9. The Complete Friends DVD set - The One with All Ten Seasons.

10. Vintage, Oversized Sunglasses from Valentino or Chanel.

I'll be extremely happy to provide links for purchases online. :)