Say it ain't so!

Ok, this is probably the most disappointing news I've gotten in a while. Will Arnett, who was supposed to be the voice of KITT (and already recorded all the voiceover parts) in the Knight Rider TV movie that's going to be on next Sunday, is no longer going to do so because KITT is being "played" by a Ford Mustang and Arnett is the voice of GMC Trucks. He's being replaced by Val Kilmer.

I was actually going to watch it! But now... nah. Val Kilmer does nothing for me.

New York > Boston

Truly, my love for Jon Stewart knows no bounds.

18-1 is a beautiful thing

Giants 17, Patriots 14.

In the immortal words of Jason Bateman in Dodgeball, "I feel shocked."

In an awesome way, of course. Way to go, Big Blue.

There was a barber and his wife, and he was beautiful...

At this point in my life, there is no other way to describe a Tim Burton movie than as a momentous event in my life. This sounds overdramatic, but bear with me. Burton was my first "favorite" director, before I started getting pretentious and and into foreign films and other things of that nature, and Edward Scissorhands was the first DVD I ever bought. Burton remains one of my favorite directors, and, as I confessed to a friend the other day, I so want his films to be good, I actually get a bit nervous when I go to see them.

Such a line of thinking seems to set one up for disappointment, and yet, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was anything but. You surely know the story of Sweeney Todd - falsely accused barber gets revenge by slitting the throats of those who have wronged him while the woman downstairs turns their bodies into filling for her meat pies - and if you didn't, you do now.

It seems like fodder for a z-grade horror movie, not a Broadway musical, and yet, it's been both. It is composer Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece, and although he is quite the imposing figure, Burton manages to put his own stamp on the film, allowing it to be both a Tim Burton film and a Stephen Sondheim film.

The gory, darkly humorous musical is almost too perfect for Burton, the only musical you could ever imagine him directing. Blood and gore, a gaunt, pale protagonist, a bleak story with touches of equally dark humor - all hallmarks of Burton's previous works, especially the ones with his favorite muse, Johnny Depp. Depp does a surprisingly excellent job with the notoriously complex score, and Helena Bonham Carter, although not quite as good as Depp, does an admirable job as well.

Visually, the film resembles Sleepy Hollow - de-saturated with vividly colored flashbacks emphasizing the contrast between then and now, and gushing geysers of red, red blood, which, frankly, look amazingly cool against the nearly black and white background. Reflections are everywhere in Sweeney Todd, from puddles on the dirty London streets to Sweeney's beloved razor to the shattered mirror in his shop - and notably, all of these reflections are in some way distorted. Whatever they are supposed to reflect - Sweeney's own perception of himself as a pariah, the morally ugly person he's become since being consumed by revenge - they are pretty awesome solely on a visual level. And while that's occasionally been the case with Tim Burton's films - visually stunning but a bit lacking in other areas - Sweeney Todd doesn't disappoint in any way.

A note: I realize the importance of timeliness and relevance - and a review of a film that is neither nominated for Best Picture or playing for more than one showing a week is neither timely nor relevant. But I loved the movie so much and really wanted to make sure that I did it justice with my review, and I took my time. So there.

Daniel Day-Lewis for President?

When I watch TV these days, I only see commercials for the New York Times' endorsement of Hillary Clinton and Paul Thomas Anderson's film There Will Be Blood. They are starting to meld into one. 

There Will Be Hillary.

Eerily prophetic, or way off balance? I suppose only the future will tell. But can't you hear it? Instead of hearing the commercial begin with "I'm Hillary Clinton, and I approve this message," she would instead be screaming, "I've abandoned my boy!"

I don't know, it really sounded funnier in my head.

L&Oh no

So Sam Waterston is no longer in the Law & Order credits march. This makes me super sad.

Santanamania!

So is anyone else a bit puzzled that Johan Santana ended up with the Mets? I'm not familiar with the Mets' farm system, so I can't really speak to the quality of the prospects they sent to the Twins but... they're just that. Prospects. Both the Yankees and Red Sox offered young players with proven MLB experience, and yet, the Twins went with the Mets.

I'm not complaining, though. I'm glad the Yankees were able to hold on to Melky and Phil Hughes, and I'm glad that they won't have to face Santana more than once or twice a year in interleague play.

I still love ya, Tim!

Man, what does Tim Burton have to do to get some Oscar love? This year was a particularly strong crop of directors but... nothing for Ed Wood, nothing for Big Fish, and now nothing for Sweeney Todd.

Boo.

Momentary Panic

When Late Night with Conan O'Brien started tonight, I was temporarily taken aback. Conan was beardless. And it wasn't until the point in his monologue when he spoke about a "big sporting event" that was the NBA Finals (which take place in the spring) and not the Giants' victory over the Packers that I realized it was a rerun.

I did think the idea of Adam Sandler crossing the picket line was pretty odd...

Mmm... scruffy

Yup. Definitely a fan of the strike beard.

I am unable to deny my nerdery

So yeah, it kind of sucks that there aren't any A-list actors on the non-CBS talk shows, but Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw are easily two of the best interviews Conan's had in a while.

Yeah, I'm also a huge nerd.

Yippie-kay-yay, motherfucker!

I think it bears repeating that Bruce Willis in Die Hard is way more attractive than you remember. Seriously. Also, this might be one of the funniest things ever:

I am an idiot

I love when I'm an idiot and for some reason, think The Wire is on at 10 PM instead of 9. Well really, I don't love it. Thankfully it's on again at 10:30. 

ETA: Oh McNulty. Why why why??? Even despite being pained at McNulty's bad decision (he's an alcoholic, but I don't think he's a bad person), it's still the best hour currently on TV. I know that's not saying much considering what's on TV in these strike days but to quote Kevin on The Office, it's awesome.

Murder Unscripted

I'm sure you've been following the clusterfuck that is the writers strike. Here is what would have to be my favorite "without writers TV is history" video, "Murder Unscripted," featuring a smattering of actors who have all appeared on yours truly's favorite show, Law & Order:

Strike Beard Love

Am I the only one that's finding Conan O'Brien with Strike Beard kind of hot? I mean, I've always had a bit of a crush on Conan - as I do love me some geek boys - but the beard is bringing it to a whole new level.

The Wire!

The Wire is back on and I'm so psyched. It feels like the only thing to look forward to in the doldrums of the writers strike.

I don't love it quite as much as Homicide (but that's just a matter of personal preference), another criminally underwatched show from the mind of David Simon, but even if the strike wasn't turning television into a reality television wasteland, The Wire would still be the best thing on. Check it out, I promise you won't be disappointed.

There's Something About (Hating) Ticketmaster

When I bought Ricky Gervais tickets for my parents to give to me for Christmas, it was a tossup as to which date to get tickets for - I pulled up nearly identical seats for both shows. So I went for the 15th. How was I supposed to know that July 15th was the date for the baseball all-star game at Yankee Stadium?

Not that that's going to be an easy (or cheap) ticket, but.... boo.

Semi-related (because the Ricky Gervais tickets arrived today and I was looking at them), I'm no consumer advocate, but doesn't it seem that any and everyone who buys a ticket to a concert/performance/sporting event is getting royally raped by Ticketmaster? There is a disclaimer on the back of the ticket saying TIME, OPPONENT, ROSTERS AND DATE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. ENJOY THE EVENT! So in addition to tacking an additional $20 onto your order for the "convenience" of doing battle with the scalpers' automated programs so you can buy a ticket in the upper tier, you are seemingly not guaranteed to see the event you paid for. Lovely!

I hate you, Ticketmaster. 

Foo!

When I was in middle school, I loved staying home from school because I could watch Saturday Night Live reruns on Comedy Central (you can probably trace my desire to be a comedy writer back to then) and music videos on MTV. Sure, Real World reruns were more plentiful on the channel, but there actually were a few music videos on, and if you were lucky, you'd see some classics directed by Spike Jonze (namely from the oeuvre of the Beastie Boys).

I thought back then that maybe someday, I'd get my big break via music video - befriend some up and coming band, offer to shoot a video for them in return for the exposure but now, what good is a music video when there's no outlet for it? I mean, sure, there's YouTube, but you can't intentionally manufacture a viral sensation, you know? And so if you make a music video now, exactly why are you doing it? If someone doesn't know your band, they won't seek you out on YouTube, whereas in a block of videos, it is possible that a band might be exposed to someone who isn't already familiar with their music.

Anyway, all of this is because the Foo Fighters just keep making hilarious, awesome videos, regardless of MTV's failure to live up to their 'M.' It involves 70s porn star mustaches, killer sideburns, Rashida Jones, and lots of screaming girls. Watch it and be awed.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=68qqym-_K4w

I think I'm kind of crushing on new L&O executive assistant DA Michael Cutter (aka Linus Roache). He's no Jack McCoy, that's for damn sure, but I kind of like him. And I'm loving Jeremy Sisto as the new cop. It may never be the same post-Jerry Orbach, but I think this new lineup has a lot of potential (even though it did make me really sad to see the credits march without Sam Waterston).

Also, I went to see Juno today (awesome, full review to follow) and among the trailers was one for Made of Honor, a My Best Friend's Wedding ripoff starring Patrick Dempsey. The movie looks horrendous, but there were two really well-orchestrated bits of physical comedy involving Dempsey crashing into a waiter at a restaurant in the trailer. Well played, crappy romantic comedy trailer, well played.

It's 2008

Happy New Year, I suppose...