Another summer is about to begin and the intelligent tv is nowhere to be found on the major networks. No, I'm not surprised. Maybe some day the big cheeses will notice that the cable networks get so many summer viewers because their offerings aren't dumb. Do we really need another bachelor/bachelorette tv show? Does anyone really expect those people to stay together? Please. My brain is revolting just thinking about the summer network offerings. Instead, I prefer silly shows and infotainment. Does this make me a better person? Probably not. I just like to think that I have a smidgeon of higher standards for my mindless fare. And to that end...
Television: Ice Road Truckers
Season Two starts tonight, baby! I raved about this show when I discovered it last summer and I can't wait to see the crew start up those ice roads again tonight at 10 on the History Channel. The show is in the same vein as Deadliest Catch, which I actually don't watch. These iron-willed truckers with balls of steel make their way up many miles of 3-foot thick ice to deliver massively heavy equipment to various diamond mines in Canada. They actually drive the ice roads with their hands on the door handle so they can bail if their truck goes through the ice. They have very little time to escape before sinking with the truck into freezing waters. What a lifestyle choice! I hear some of the old favorites from last season will be back as well as some newbies. I'm really looking forward to the start of another season.
Film: Sweeney Todd
I was first introduced to Stephen Sondheim in college with the musical Company and I fell in love. Although Sweeney isn't my favorite Sondheim (I love Company and Into the Woods too much), it's one of the most dark and provocative. Tim Burton was just the man to direct this adaptation. Johnny Depp and Helena Bohnam Carter may not have the chops of the Broadway veterans, but their singing works here because it's Sondheim. Sondheim music is extremely difficult to sing - and I speak from experience - and it's not meant to be beautiful and melodious; that would go against many of his characters' personalities. When you sit down to watch this film, don't judge it based on the musical abilities of its leads (especially Alan Rickman). Instead, enjoy the darkness of the humor and brilliant choice in setting and costumes. Consider Sweeney horror-lite and perfect for an evening with the air conditioning running and a pitcher of margaritas. By the way, if you're a Buffy fan here's your trivia tidbit for the week: Joss Whedon loves Sondheim and modeled his musical episode, "Once More With Feeling," after Sondheim's own musical style.
Book: Bitten
My friend Wendi is currently reading this first book in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series and I thought it deserved a mention from me here on the blog. Published in 2004, Bitten introduces readers to Armstrong's female werewolf, Elena, who is the only female werewolf ever. She struggles between a "normal" life and her pack but realizes that she is different and cannot be "normal." But then, what is normal? This book and its sequels - Stolen and Broken - are excellent summer beach reading. And if you're not going to the beach, they are excellent summer porch reading. They are light, easy to get through, and involve some pretty hot sex. What more could you want? Once you finish Elena's story, you can pick up Armstrong's other women's tales in her other books.
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6 comments:
You are so right, Into the Woods is the money Sondheim.
I liked the latest Sweeney Todd but I felt that in places the movie was confused. It started as an animated fantasy, then it went to a gritty drama (it is as if Burton did too good of a job with the mise en scene), then it went back to a fantasy/comedy, and then ended as a suspense/horror film. I liked it though, but I am not sure that it all held together.
And since when did the networks make "smart" shows?
I thought the end was quite gruesome. The fire was a bit scary. The film is definitely not something for the kiddies. I agree that it was a mash-up of various genres. Sometimes I felt it was rushed, too. But I think tht was more the musical genre's fault than Burton's. Musicals can be a bit stop-and-start since they are musicals.
I love Woods. I was going around humming "Giants in the Sky" not too long ago.
PS - I watched "Once" yesterday. I wanted to love it but found myself bored. The music is awesome and I think I'll be downloading some of it this week. However, the story was really pointless; it was simply a vehicle for the music. I was rather sad that I didn't like it better.
The best part of our Sweeney Todd cinema going experience was the guy sitting next to us, who was your almost stereotypical 'dude in a hat' dudes, who turned to his girlfriend after the first five minutes and said huffily,
"So, is this a musical?" and sighed loudly.
Matt, that is better than the time Erin and I went to see "A Streetcar Named Desire" at the DC Screen on the Green. We were getting on the Metro afterwards and two college-age girls near us said, "I thought the movie was supposed to be a love story." Seriously, do people even know what they are going to see? When I went to see "Pan's Labyrinth" this woman had her two sons with her who couldn't have been older than 10 or 11. First, I suppose she had no idea there were subtitles. And second, I suspect she had no idea about the level of violence. But those previews made the film look so cute and Disney-fied!
Oh dear. When we worked in Killadelphia we had these really dumb interns. And during the perfunctory Monday morning "what did you do this weekend" chatter the one said, "I went to see Scary Movie." We asked her if she liked it. She said, "No, it wasn't very scary...more than anything it was kind of funny."
Of course my mother in law once made Nell's niece watch Jaws one summer. She kept saying, "I'm scared of the big mean fishie" over and over. It was early June and she refused to go swimming for the rest of the summer. Ugh.
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