American Hustle (Movie Review)

The best thing, worst thing, and main thing about David O. Russell's latest Oscar contender "American Hustle" in about the time it takes to watch the trailer. Also don't forget to take a shot at the best ever challenge in the comments!

 

REVIEW TEXT:

I’ve decided this David O. Russell guy may actually know what he’s doing.
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“American Hustle” is this year’s Oscar contender from David O. Russell the guy who gave us last year’s “Silver Linings Playbook” and before that “The Fighter”. He uses many familiar faces to tell the partly true story of a 1970s con man, his girlfriend, and how their love story plays as a huge scandal breaks around them. The movie stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jeremy Renner acting their guts out if for no other reason than to take the attention back from their eye catching 70s attire.
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Seriously though, the acting in this movie is so good. These are great actors at the top of their game. Watching them is the best thing about the experience. Christian Bale once again completely disappears into his role as if to say, “Hey remember last year when everybody was saying Daniel Day Lewis was head and shoulders the best actor around, well I’m standing right here!” The one two punch of seeing him in Out of the Furnace, and then in this, has convinced me he belongs in that discussion. Cooper, Adams, and Lawrence are also incredible drawing us into these characters with both passion and humor. I also love the way Russell tells stories. He knows exactly when we need plot information and he knows exactly how to tell it to us. This (and the wonderful writing) makes for a movie that never once loses your interest. Plus the music is just perfect, capturing the era as well as the emotion of each moment. I also have to give a special shout out to Louis CK whose small role almost steals the show. The running gag of him telling the ice fishing story is one of the most fun and clever things in the film. I loved it.
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So let’s talk worst thing. As good as this movie is, I did have an issue with it. And It’s an issue I’ve had with David O Russell movies before, the tone at times feels a bit too silly. Now don’t get me wrong, I actually think the humor in this works quite well, it’s more that the staging and dramatic beats feel like they would be more at home in a farce than a serious drama at times. Still, it doesn’t steal enough of the dramatic tension to hinder the overall impact but nonetheless it is something that distracted me occasionally as I watched.
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All in All “American Hustle” is another amazing film from director David O. Russell. Using what could be the most talented cast of the year to tell a well woven story of corruption and cons in 1970s America. Even if the tone of the movie is occasionally too silly for its own good I still say it’s an A-.
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Thanks for checking out this Your Movie Friend review, stay tuned for this review’s “Best Ever” challenge here in bit but first, I’m going to put up some stuff you can click over in this area. If you’d like to subscribe, which I would much appreciate, you can do so by clicking the big gray subscribe button. Want to see more reviews? You can click here to see reviews of the Walking with Dinosaurs, Anchorman 2, or the documentary Tim’s Vermeer. You can also Click the logo up here to go to yourmoviefriend.com where you can search by title for reviews. And finally this review’s “Best Ever” Challenge, where you name the best movie ever in a particular category and also try to identify my choice. This time you must name “the best movie set in the 70s ever”. The catch? It can’t have been made in the 70s. Mine was directed by a different David and stars Iron Man AND The Hulk. Drop your own answer and a guess at mine in the comments and first person to guess mine gets a point! Thanks and don’t forget to subscribe!

21 Hours of TV 2013 Fall TV Preview (The Weekend)

5 hours left to fill in my 21 and with the usual wasteland that is Friday and Saturday TV, this just... might... work!

Let it Begin... LET IT BEGIN.... LET IT BEGIIIIIIIN!!!!

The Rest of the Week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
The Weekend (BELOW)

Friday

Friday this year appears to be a night of shows I've given up on.  Undercover Boss, Hawaii Five-O, Shark Tank, and Grimm are all shows I kinda enjoyed that were victims of previous cuts.  The only one I really miss is Shark Tank, and so...

It's back baby!!

In a first ever move on the 21 Hours we are bringing back a previously cut show! Of course to be fair, it was one of my final cuts in an absolutely brutal year last year, but still, it's HISTORY IN THE MAKING!!

Other than that, the only thing on Friday Night that I will be taking in is "Home Improvement 2: Last Man Standing".  The only show on TV worth putting up with a laugh track for, mostly because I'm already conditioned to enjoy Tim Allen that way.

MUST:  Nope.

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - Last Man Standing

CBS - Undercover Boss

CW - The Carrie Diaries
Fox - Masterchef Junior

NBC - Dateline NBC

8:30PM

ABC - The Neighbors

9PM

ABC - Shark Tank

CBS - Hawaii Five-O

CW - America's Next Top Model

Fox - Sleepy Hollow (Encores)

NBC - Grimm

10PM

ABC - 20/20

CBS - Blue Bloods

NBC - Dracula

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Saturday

OOOOOOH, CBS is mixing it up on Saturday's! Now they've added Comedytime Saturday to the already existing Crimetime Saturday!

They probably should have just called the whole thing wasteoftime Saturday.

MUST:  Seriously?

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - College Football

CBS - Comedytime Saturday

Fox - Fox Sports Saturday

NBC - Repeats

9PM

CBS - Crimetime Saturday

10PM

CBS - 48 Hrs. Mystery

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Sunday

Anyone else feeling a little bit of Deja vu?

Usually with each new season there are shifts, additions, and deletions that shake up the lineup, but this year, with one solitary exception, Sunday is the same as last year.  I don't mean the same for one network, I mean every network, the whole night.  No need to adjust your DVR schedule things will remain the same.

Speaking of remaining the same...

A quarter of a century. That's how long "The Simpsons" has been on the air.  It's mind boggling.  I've already seen the season premiere for this year (That's right, living the high life of a TV critic, seeing FOX animated comedies 3 weeks in advance.) and the most amazing thing is that the quality doesn't seem to be letting up. Yes, there is something about the magic of seasons 3-7, but I have to say, I dare you to watch any episode since season 8 and ID a drop in quality anywhere.  The perfect 10s are fewer and farther between but almost every episode is an 8 or 9.  Hilarious satire 25 years in a row, bravo.

Elsewhere, I'll also be watching the "not quite as Amazing as it used to be" Race, The Mentalist, and checking in with Once Upon A Time to see how they will continue to make that concept work.

MUST: The Simpsons

The color coded breakdown:

7PM

ABC - America's Funniest Home Videos
CBS - 60 Minutes
Fox - NFL OT
NBC - Football Night in America

8PM

ABC - Once Upon A Time

CBS - Amazing Race
Fox - The Simpsons
NBC - Sunday Night Football

8:30PM

Fox - Bob's Burgers

9PM

ABC - Revenge

CBS - The Good Wife
Fox - Family Guy

9:30PM

Fox - American Dad

10PM

ABC - Betrayal

CBS - The Mentalist

Weekend's Total:  Two 1 hour dramas, Two half hour comedies, Two 1 hour reality,  5 Hours
Final Total: 8 hours drama, 4 hours comedy, 10 hours Reality = 22 hours

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WOO-HOO!! We're close!!

In fact losing that last hour is easy! At least two of my hours are reality results shows, so I'll just fast forward to the results and cut out that final hour!

Enjoy the season!

21 Hours of TV 2013 Fall TV Preview (Thursday)

Last year there were 7 hours of television I had on my list from Thursday night, this year.... 4.

To be honest it's a nice reprieve, the past couple years it's been painful to cut down to 21 and this year I may just come in about right on target thanks to the absolute quality dive NBC Thursday night is taking this year.  Of the four comedies they only kept Parks and Rec (which has quietly earned itself upper echelon comedy status) and then traded the other three (30 Rock, Office, and Up all Night... Yes.. I loved Up All Night) for an ok near miss (Welcome to the Family), a well meaning unfortunate miss (Michael J. Fox Show), and possibly the worst pilot I saw of the whole season, Sean Saves the World.  All in all it's a huge disappointment for the peacock but a major coup for my free time!

Elsewhere on the schedule is some of the most popular stuff that I just don't get.  I won't begrudge you your Big Bang Theory even though I find it unwatchable, but I'm sorry, we have to give up the ghost on Grey's and Two and a Half Men by now, right?  No? OK, go on, do what you're going to do, but I don't want to know about it.

There's also actually a few things worth watching.  I think I'm going to love having Robin Williams back on TV with The Crazy Ones, and I'm as surprised as you that I've turned into an Elementary fan.  Also, at the risk of being insensitive, I'm supremely curious as to how Glee will handle this past year's tragic events on the show.

I was also this close to giving a slot to the new Once Upon a Time spin-off OUAT: Wonderland but I couldn't give into the contradiction of the title.  If your show is called ONCE Upon A Time, you only get one show.  If we can't keep our promises as a society, really what are we?

The Rest of the Week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday (BELOW)
The Weekend

MUST:  Parks and Recreation

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

CBS - Big Bang Theory

CW - Vampire Diaries
Fox - X Factor (Results)

NBC - Parks and Recreation

8:30PM

CBS - The Millers

NBC - Welcome to the Family

9PM

ABC - Grey's Anatomy

CBS - The Crazy Ones

CW - Reign
Fox - Glee

NBC - Sean Saves the World

9:30PM

CBS - Two and a Half Men

NBC - The Michael J. Fox Show

10PM

ABC - Scandal

CBS - Elementary

NBC - Parenthood

Thursday's Total: Two 1 hour dramas, Two half hour comedies, one 1 hour reality, 4 hours

Overall Total: 6 hours drama, 3 hours comedy, 8 hours Reality  = 17 hours

21 Hours of TV 2013 Fall TV Preview (Tuesday)

Tuesday this season holds my favorite comedy, New Girl, my favorite new comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, AND my favorite new show on all of television, Marvel's S.H.E.I.L.D.  In addition it has two shows I had mixed feelings about in their debut seasons last year.  "The Mindy Project" had moments of humor but overall felt a bit forced to me so I've given up on it, whereas "Person of Interest" was intellectually engaging but was completely void of any comic relief for most of the season.  However, with the addition of a couple characters and an interesting finale, I'll give it another season to see if it finds it legs.  I'll also be watching the most emotional reality show on television (and the one with the best record of relationship successes) "The Biggest Loser" while consuming Andy's Custard through an I.V. just to balance out all that weight loss so the earth doesn't skew its rotation.

The Rest of the Week:

Monday
Tuesday (BELOW)
Wednesday
Thursday
The Weekend

MUST:  New Girl

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

CBS - NCIS

CW - The Originals

Fox - Dads

NBC - The Biggest Loser

8:30PM

Fox - Brooklyn Nine-Nine

9PM

ABC - The Goldbergs

CBS - NCIS: Los Angeles

CW - Supernatural

Fox - New Girl
NBC - The Voice

9:30PM

ABC - Trophy Wife

Fox - The Mindy Project

10PM

ABC - Lucky 7

CBS - Person of Interest

NBC - Chicago Fire

Tuesday's Total: Two 1 hour dramas, Two half hour Comedies, Two 1 hour Realities, 5 hours

Overall Total:  3 hours drama, 1 hours Comedy, 4 hours Reality, 8 hours

21 Hours of TV 2013 Fall TV Preview (Monday)

Welcome to the 7th annual 21 hours of TV Fall preview. Everyday this week we will look at the current day of the week and what will be on that night (Friday, we will look at the weekend). It's my self imposed task every year to limit my TV viewing each week to 21 hours (14 without commercials, just so you understand I'm not as addicted as you think.). In going through the daily schedules I will rate each show red, blue, or green. Green means I will be watching (at least initially), blue that I won't but I won't hold it against you if you do, and red that I refuse to believe anyone of sound mind could be interested. At the end of the week I will add my total hours up and cut what I need in order to get down to the required 21, which won't include the 3 hours every week I peek through my fingers to see if the Detroit Lions have learned what this thing called "Football" is supposed to look like.

Oh one more thing.  Each day I will pick one or two "MUST" shows that in my humble opinion should be an automatic DVR add for all members of the human race. 

Monday

Wow, Monday has gone dry.  I've lost interest in Castle, and other than a couple exceptions the night is full of run of the mill, boring network fare.  There's nothing wrong with most of this stuff, Bones can be fun, I'm sure How I Met Your Mother is funny, and I know many who enjoy "Attempted Dancing with the People Someone You Know May Have Heard Of".  Even the new take on "Sleepy Hollow" is somewhat decent, but none of it is worth a slot in my precious 21.   I'll stick with "The Voice" at least through the interesting part and I'm excited about Spader's new drama, but other than that, blah.

The Rest of the week:

Monday (BELOW)
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
The Weekend

MUST:  The Voice

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - Dancing with the Stars

CBS - How I Met Your Mother

CW - Hart of Dixie

Fox - Bones

NBC - The Voice

8:30PM

CBS - We are Men

9PM

CBS - 2 Broke Girls

CW - Beauty and the Beast

Fox - Sleepy Hollow

9:30PM

CBS - Mom

10PM

ABC - Castle

CBS - Hostages

NBC - The Blacklist

Monday's total: One 1 hour drama, zero comedies, One 2 hour reality = 3 hours today, 3 hours total.

The 2013 Summer Seven (Most Anticipated Movies of the Summer)

May has arrived and though the weather in these parts more resembles winter right now, the weather at the cineplex is full on summer. With the release of Iron Man 3, summer 2013 kicks off in earnest, and won't let up until August. I've been doing the "Summer Seven" for several years now, highlighting in order the seven summer movies I am most anticipating, and this year is easily the most packed I can remember.  Usually I have to leave one or two movies I'm excited about off the list, but this year I have an additional runner up seven that just didn't quite make the cut.  World War Z, Great Gatsby, Fast and Furious 6, Much Ado About Nothing, The Lone Ranger, Despicable Me 2, and Elysium all have me excited and yet not a one of them could crack the "Summer Seven" this year. That might mean this could be one of the greatest summers for movies of all time, or it might just mean I'm getting a little too excited for movies that will eventually let me down.  Either way, here are the seven movies that did make the list, in order, culminate with my most anticipated movie of Summer 2013.

Remember, it's not necessarily that I think these will be the best seven movies of the summer, but they are the seven I'm most looking forward to seeing.

7. The Wolverine - Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is the through line of the X-Men film universe and even though the movies have been hit or miss, and his X-Men Origins movie was largely on the miss side, I'm excited to see what tricks they might have up their sleeves.  In my opinion, the X-Men franchise could be the greatest film franchise of all time if they play their cards right, so it will be very interesting to see what kind of hand we are being dealt with this one.



6. After Earth - Eventually M. Night Shymalan has to remember he can make great movies right? Truth be told, it's the subject matter (post apocalyptic earth) and Mr. Will Smith that have me most geeked to see what this is about.  But if M. Night finds his touch again I will be so thrilled I might just forgive him for "The Last Airbender". Wait, just remembering that trauma again, never mind, no forgiveness available.  Let's just start with atoning for "The Happening" and go from there.



5. Monsters U - I just find it harder to get excited about Pixar sequels (or prequels) than their originals.  Still a Pixar movie is a Pixar movie and Monsters U does look like an interesting setting in which to revisit Mike and Sulley.  The most interesting hurdle to jump for the team though may be how to replace what was essentially the heart and soul of the original, Boo.  If Monsters U somehow manages to succeed without her I'll once again tip my cap to the greatest story tellers and filmakers working today.



4. Pacific Rim - Of the seven, this is the one I know the least about.  I know there will be mechs and monsters and that they will be delivered by a director who is adept at stunning visuals. In the end, I guess that must be enough cause I cannot wait to see what is going on with this one.



3. Man of Steel - Speaking of visual directors, I'm pumped to see what Zach Snyder does with such time honored material especially under the tutelage of Chris "brain bender" Nolan. The problem is I'm not sure if "Dark Knighting" the son of Krypton will actually be a good thing.  I miss the days when we focused on the superhero part of superheros more than the alter ego part.  If they focus more on Clark Kent than Superman, not only will I end up craving more super powers, I will probably have to make some sort of, "They should have called it, Man with Glasses" joke. Even so, I can't wait.



2. Iron Man 3 - Marvel owns summer these days, and the big guy in the can comes out to play solo for the third time. Let's face it, all they have to do is have a halfway decent story, some cool visual effects, and a partially menacing villian and Robert Downey Jr. will do the rest.



1. Star Trek: Into Darkness - So much to be excited about; JJ Abrams, an incredible cast, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the wonderful characters of the Star Trek universe. Though I know many eyes will be on this to continue to evaluate how JJ will do taking over the Star Wars universe.  I'm content to just get another great Star Trek movie, and I'm pretty confident that's exactly what we are getting.

Monday Stuff (YouTube Channel News, A Twist on The Office, The Fringe Finale, and JJ Abrams Directing Star Wars VII)

I kick off the week with some thoughts on the YouTube Channel, a huge twist on "The Office", the Fringe finale, and of course whether or not JJ Abrams is the right choice to direct Episode VII of Star Wars.

If you would like to check out the "Who Reviews the Reviewers" Contest that I'm in you can go to the Geekvolution YouTube channel and if you would like to vote for me you can click here (http://www.wearegeeksnotnerds.com/contact.htm) and send a message saying you want to vote for Aaron Dicer.


 

21 Hours of TV 2012 Fall TV Preview (Weekend)

Wow, this is going to be tough.  I've already got 19 and a half hours accounted for and only 1 and a half hours left to spare to stay under my 21 hour limit.  Now I know that the weekend is generally slow, but it ain't that slow.  Which means one thing;  once I go through these final three days of programming and cull my favorites I'm going to be in for some major work in pruning it down.  But that's what it's all about, right? Discipline. Commitment. False Assurances.

Let's whoop this thing... Gangnam style if need be.

Bring on the pain.

The Rest of the Week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
The Weekend (BELOW)

Friday

There is something mystical about Friday nights.  I think networks try and use it as some sort of television magic potion when a show just isn't quite working.

"Shark Tank is floundering?"

"Pour some Friday on it and see what happens!"

"It's alive!! IT'S ALIVE!! IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!"

(floundering.... hehe... it's like a pun.)

Anyhow, sometimes it works, (so glad "Fringe" is still kicking) and sometimes it doesn't (RIP Firefly).  This year we will see if Touch, Whitney,and Community can be revived by the move.

Well, you can see about "Whitney", I won't be anywhere near that monstrosity.

MUST:  Community, Fringe

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - Shark Tank

CBS - CSI: NY

CW - America's Next Top Model
Fox - Touch

NBC - Whitney

8:30PM

NBC - Community

9PM

ABC - Primetime: What Would You Do?

CBS - Made in Jersey

CW - Nikita

Fox - Fringe

NBC - Grimm

10PM

ABC - 20/20

CBS - Blue Bloods

NBC - Dateline NBC

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Saturday

To be honest, I'm not sure why I even continue to list Saturday in these things.  Apparently those network execs really take that whole Sabbath thing seriously, cause they all basically take the day off. Therefore, so am I.

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - College Football

CBS - Crimetime Saturday

Fox - Fox Sports Saturday

NBC - Repeats

10PM

CBS - 48 Hrs. Mystery

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Sunday

Sunday finds one of my favorite new shows of last year, a reality show that is losing its spark, a show I love spending it's first year at a new slot, and a show I love spending its 24th year on the air. In case you are playing the home version of the game that's "Once Upon A Time", "The Amazing Race", "The Mentalist", and "The Simpsons" respectively.

MUST: Once Upon A Time, The Simpsons

The color coded breakdown:

7PM

ABC - America's Funniest Home Videos
CBS - 60 Minutes
Fox - NFL OT
NBC - Football Night in America

8PM

ABC - Once Upon A Time

CBS - Amazing Race
Fox - The Simpsons
NBC - Sunday Night Football

8:30PM

Fox - Bob's Burgers

9PM

ABC - Revenge

CBS - The Good Wife
Fox - Family Guy

9:30PM

Fox - American Dad

10PM

ABC - 666 Park Avenue

CBS - The Mentalist

Weekend's Total:  Four 1 hour dramas, Two half hour comedies, Two 1 hour reality,  7 Hours
Final Total: 12 hours drama, 5.5 hours comedy, 9 hours Reality = 26.5 hours

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:Face palm:

5.5 hours over.

:sigh:

OK, let's do this thing.

First, I'm not dumping any comedy.  I need to laugh and I only have 5 and a half hours of it anyway.  Reality is probably the genre easiest to cut, so let's start there.  Both "The Voice" and "The X Factor" will have one hour results shows that I can ax, and I can live without Shark Tank (even though I'm really digging what Mark Cuban is doing on that show).  I'm also going to go ahead and say I can fast forward through enough of the other reality filler to make up another 30 minutes. Which brings me down to just 2 hours over.

Now the hard part, I'm really going to have to eliminate shows I'm interested in watching.

Lets cut the drama then.  First, lets dump "Touch", I dig the concept but there seems to be a lack of forward momentum that makes the show difficult to get excited about.

One hour left and nowhere to go.

How about this?

Of the four new hour long dramas I'm watching (Revolution, Vegas, Nashville, and Last Resort) I will commit to dumping my least favorite after the 3 ep test and that will bring me down to 21!

Happy watching and come back to yourmoviefriend.com for more commentary and reviews during this TV season!

21 Hours of TV 2012 Fall TV Preview (Thursday)

Ahhhhh, Thursday night. The old faithful of network TV.  No night is as guaranteed to give my DVR the workout it needs to stay in shape. Actually, now that I think about it, the fall TV season makes my DVR work harder, but the result is that it gets MORE bloated.  Is there anyway I can be on the DVR weight loss plan where the less I work out the less I gain?  "Hey, I need to lose a few pounds, guess I'll have to quit that 5K training I've been doing."  Works for me.

The largest chunk of Thursday's ability to put heft on my DVR queue comes from NBC's comedy line-up.  Yes, "The Office" is becoming harder to watch, but it's completely made up for by how great "Parks and Rec" is becoming.  Which is good news, because it may be the only one of these shows that will even be around next season.  "30 Rock" has officially said it's going away and it would take a big year from "Up All Night" ratings to keep it around as well (a wonderfully underrated show by the way).

Elsewhere "Glee" makes a move to Thursday nights, "Person of Interest" tries to hold viewers' interest for a second season, and new shows "Elementary" and "Last Resort" try to break in to the Thursday crowd.  And that's not even mentioning "Big Bang Theory" or "50 Shades of Grey's Anatomy", two shows that have loyal, invested followers, even though I am not one.

Finally, and possibly most importantly, Thursday gives us "Rock Center with Brian Williams", which sounds completely amazing even though I have no idea exactly what it is.  Now, I know I could just Google it but instead I'd like to figure it out myself. Here are my top three uneducated guesses at what this show is about, based solely on it's title.

1) "Rock Center with Brian Williams" follows newsman Brian Williams and scientist Bill Nye as they travel the world learning about the geology of various climates through the pebbles, stones, and boulders they encounter.  Join Brian in his emotional reaction to the pervasive igneous formations of the ancient mayans and what it might mean for your future.

2) Don't miss "Rock Center with Brian Williams" a new reality show set in Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Contestants compete head to head with newsman Brian Williams in competitions involving KISS makeup, smashing guitars, and having "moves like Jagger".  The winner will ultimately be the one who can definitively settle the Elvis vs. The Beatles debate.

3) "Rock Center with Brian Williams" is a fast paced work out show where newsman Brian Williams teaches you the tricks he's used to form his legendary 6 pack.  Simply follow Williams through a variety of abdominal exercises as he continues to deliver important news and information.  The only place you can both learn about your political party's planks and do planks at the same time.

Actually, that last one is a killer show, you know you'd watch.  Plus, it would be nice fall back when that DVR diet plan fails to pan out.

The Rest of the Week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday (BELOW)
The Weekend

MUST:  Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - Last Resort

CBS - Big Bang Theory

CW - Vampire Diaries
Fox - X Factor

NBC - 30 Rock

8:30PM

CBS - Two and a Half Men

NBC - Up All Night

9PM

ABC - Grey's Anatomy

CBS - Person of Interest

CW - Beauty and the Beast
Fox - Glee

NBC - The Office

9:30PM

NBC - Parks and Recreation

10PM

ABC - Scandal

CBS - Elementary

NBC - Rock Center with Brian Williams

Thursday's Total: Four 1 hour dramas, Four half hour comedies, one 1 hour reality, 7 hours

Overall Total: 8 hours drama, 4.5 hours comedy, 7 hours Reality  = 19.5 hours

21 Hours of TV 2012 Fall TV Preview (Wednesday)

Yes, Survivor continues to be amazing.  Yes, Modern Family is the funniest thing on TV.  And yes, I too did a double take when I realized CSI is somehow still on the air.  But make no mistake, this is about settling once and for all that X-Factor, in it's second year, is the best singing competition this side of "The Sing Off".  Since we can all agree that American Idol is on a respirator with it's power of attorney in the hands of a public that has given up hope, the only competition is "The Voice".  And with the ratings basically a tie ball-game, it lands on me to break it down. So here, without further ado, are 5 reasons I think "The X Factor" is a better show than "The Voice".

1.) Simon Cowell - Say what you will about the man in the white T-Shirt and jeans, he has defined what it means to be a reality judge.  His presence offers a legitimacy to the panel that AI has floundered for since he departed.  He also has this incredible knack for being honest and harsh to those that may need to hear it which makes his praise seem all that more weighty when he gives it.  Adam Levine is the closest thing "The Voice" has to someone like him, but the "coaches" don't really have any incentive to be honest when their team messes up, because they are invested in them winning.  It adds up to a show without any teeth or critique and therefore no satisfaction in performance comparison.

2.) The Singers - Maybe it's just me, but I've yet to really fall in love with a performer on "The Voice".  Certainly there have been some good ones, but no one has stopped me in my tracks like Melanie Amaro did  last season on X.  Already this season there have been at least 3 drop-jaw performances on X, and I can't think of a single one yet this season on Voice.

3.) The Prize - $5 Million vs. $100 Thousand.  Literally 50 times larger. Now you may not think this matters to your enjoyment of the show, but if you were a talented singer, which show would you try-out for?  Perhaps reason 2 has something to do with reason 3.

4.) The Stadium - I love the gigantic stadiums for these auditions. "The Voice" feels more like a large karaoke bar while "X Factor" feels like a sold out show.  It adds a sense of grandeur to the proceedings that creates atmosphere and added emotion.

5.) The Variety - While the only difference in eligibility appears to be the lower age limit (The Voice limits contestants to over 15, X Factor has no limit) the way X-Factor uses young singers and groups adds an interesting flavor to the overall competition.  Arguably the two best performances on the two episodes of X Factor this season would not have even been considered for inclusion on Voice. Carly, the 13 year old who brought down the building with her composure, tone, and strength of voice would have been too young, and the guys from Emblem 3, would have never gotten away with doing their original song. Both shows do well at bringing a variety of styles, but only X-Factor ends up feeling like a true variety of people.

I'll be watching both, but I think "The X-Factor" may be one of the most underrated shows on TV.

The Rest of the Week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday (BELOW)
Thursday
The Weekend

On to the color coded breakdown of the rest of Wednesday.

8PM

ABC - The Middle

CBS - Survivor

CW - Arrow

Fox - The X Factor

NBC - Animal Practice

8:30PM

ABC - The Neighbors
NBC - Guys with Kids

9PM

ABC - Modern Family

CBS - Criminal Minds

CW - Supernatural

NBC - Law & Order: SVU

9:30PM

ABC - Suburgatory

10PM

ABC - Nashville

CBS - CSI

NBC - Chicago Fire

Wednesday's Total:  One 1 hour Drama, Two half-hour comedies, Three hours reality, 5 hours

Overall Total: 4 hours drama, 2.5 hours comedy, 6 hours Reality = 12.5 hours

21 Hours of TV 2012 Fall TV Preview (Tuesday)

Tuesday may be the most confusing night of TV for me. Most of the new shows I've decided to watch might end up being duds (Go On, The Mindy Project, Vegas), and many of those I'm not watching (Ben and Kate, Happy Endings, The New Normal, Parenthood) could be very, very good.

What's not confusing?  That "New Girl" was easily my favorite new show of last year, and one of the only shows to deliver both "laughing so hard I had to pause the show so I don't miss anything" moments as well as "that was so good I'm going to immediately watch that scene three more times" moments.  I was so impressed by how quickly that cast came together and how the show got better throughout the year.

Oh and one other thing; Is there any chance we could combine the Dancing with the Stars results show with the NCISes and have the very first Reality Crime Procedural? No? Really? Sigh... Reminds me of the look on my wife's face when I suggested we do a murder mystery wedding. And that's fine, but when somebodies making millions off of CSI: Survivor don't come crying to me, I laid it right out there for you.

The Rest of the Week:

Monday
Tuesday (BELOW)
Wednesday
Thursday
The Weekend

MUST:  New Girl

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - Dancing with the Stars

CBS - NCIS

CW - Hart of Dixie

Fox - Raising Hope

NBC - The Voice

8:30PM

Fox - Ben and Kate

9PM

ABC - Happy Endings

CBS - NCIS: Los Angeles

CW - Emily Owens, M.D.

Fox - New Girl
NBC - Go On

9:30PM

ABC - Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23

Fox - The Mindy Project
NBC - The New Normal

10PM

ABC - Private Practice

CBS - Vegas

NBC - Parenthood

Tuesday's Total: One 1 hour drama, Three half hour Comedies, One 1 hour Reality, 3.5 hours

Overall Total: 3 hours drama, 1.5 hours Comedy, 3 hours Reality, 7.5 hours

21 Hours of TV 2012 Fall TV Preview (Monday)

Welcome to the 6th annual 21 hours of TV Fall preview. Everyday this week we will look at the current day of the week and what will be on that night (Friday, we will look at the weekend). It's my self imposed task every year to limit my TV viewing each week to 21 hours (14 without commercials, just so you understand I'm not as addicted as you think.). In going through the daily schedules I will rate each show red, blue, or green. Green means I will be watching (at least initially), blue that I won't but I won't hold it against you if you do, and red that I refuse to believe anyone of sound mind could be interested. At the end of the week I will add my total hours up and cut what I need in order to get down to the required 21, which won't include the 3 hours every week I peek through my fingers to see if the Detroit Lions have learned what this thing called "Football" is supposed to look like.

Oh one more thing.  Each day I will pick one or two "MUST" shows that in my humble opinion should be an automatic DVR add for all members of the human race. 

Monday

Monday night for me will start off with "The Voice" or as I like to call it "The show that starts off with an amazing premise and then quickly turns into every other singing show out there." I know I say it every single time I mention this show, but can you imagine if it had the conviction to stick with it's premise of only picking talent based on singing ability?  Imagine a singing show where neither the judges or the audience EVER see the singer until they are either A) voted out, or B) win the whole thing.  Every week would be an incredible reveal and the suspense would be intense! :sigh: I guess I'll settle for enjoying Adam Levine's insightful commentary and the occasional good performance while waiting til later in the week for the much better X-Factor (Yes, I am aware I am in the minority on this, I'll back it up later this week).

I will also be seeing on Monday if J.J. Abrams has some more magic left with the intriguing "Revolution" and what happens with my man Nathan Fillion on "Castle" (RIP Firefly).  Though I must admit Castle is quickly falling into that zone of a show I can kind of half watch while catching up on other stuff. You know, important stuff, like Angry Birds: Space.

The Rest of the week:


Monday (BELOW)
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
The Weekend


MUST:  REVOLUTION, CASTLE

The color coded breakdown:

8PM

ABC - Dancing with the Stars

CBS - How I Met Your Mother

CW - 90210

Fox - Bones

NBC - The Voice

8:30PM

CBS - Partners

9PM

CBS - 2 Broke Girls

CW - Gossip Girl

Fox - The Mob Doctor

9:30PM

CBS - Mike & Molly

10PM

ABC - Castle

CBS - Hawaii Five-O

NBC - Revolution

Monday's total: Two 1 hour dramas, zero comedies, One 2 hour reality = 4 hours today, 4 hours total.

The 2012 3 Ep Test (New TV Preview)

Have you ever seen someone tackle one of those restaurant giant food challenges?  You know the kind.  They tempt you with a free meal if only you can down every last bite of the volkswagen sized burger with all the toppings. If you have, you’ve probably seen the result.  By the time the poor soul who bought it is trying to stuff down the last bit of beef he would gladly pay triple his bill just to go back in time and convince his idiot self what a stupid idea this was.

Well in the world of TV, I’m the idiot self, and this year I refuse to order the Volkswagen platter.

Each year I pick a handful of new TV shows to give “The 3 Ep Test”.  This test is based on the theory that every new show can be adequately evaluated by watching the first 3 episodes, no more, no less.  After the third episode I make the call.  “Out forever” or “In for life”.  This is the 6th year of this experiment (links: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007) and each year has been a pleasant experience of lightly tasting 5 to 7 new shows hoping to catch my attention...... until last year.  For some reason a year ago I decided it would be a good idea to try out 13 new shows, and by the end of the fall season I felt as bloated as the sad sack who couldn’t stomach that last bit of Angus.

The problem wasn’t just that I picked 13 (ok the problem was mostly that I picked 13) but also that I stuck with so many of them.  Unlike the abysmal 2010 list, where the only show that didn’t get cancelled was one I didn’t like, 10 of the 13 are still running! Of those 10, 6 managed to pass the test including the incredible “New Girl” which has quickly become one of my top 5 shows.

Point being, this time traveler has lectured his idiot self successfully and will not be making the same mistake again.  So here (in order of anticipation, from least to most) are the 7 shows I will be testing out for the 2012 fall season.

If there are any good ones I miss, they will just have to wait for next year’s “Ketchup” List...

It’s quite possible I’m very hungry right now.

7) Elementary (CBS)
Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 10/9c

The first mystery Holmes should solve is the theft of his own show.  “Elementary” is clearly a rip off of BBC’s successful (and brilliant) modern take on the London sleuth.  The only difference is that this time “Watson” is a lady.  Well that as well as the fact that it has no chance of being as good as the version starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. I’ll be watching though, mostly out of curiosity, but also because I love a good detective story, especially when Sherlock Holmes is on the case.

6) Vegas (CBS)
Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 10/9c

Quaid and Chiklis are the draw on this one, as a rancher and a gangster going head to head in the early days of Las Vegas. The “Vegas” previews look melodramtic and over the top, but the fact that it’s all based on a true story gives it a foundation to possibly overcome it’s own cheese factor. This has the highest risk/reward factor of any of the new shows for me, meaning it might be amazing, OR it might just be the worst thing to hit the small screen since I accidentally let go of the Wii remote while bowling several years ago.

5) The Mindy Project (Fox)
Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 9:30/8:30

You may know Mindy Kaling from her role as Kelly Kapoor on “The Office” or you may know her from..... hmmmm..... no, that’s about it.  But apparently it was enough to land her not only her own sitcom, but one with her own name attached.  I don’t have extremely high hopes for this one, but have heard enough good things about Kaling’s comedy skills to give it a shot.

4) Last Resort (ABC)
Premieres: Thursday, Sept. 27 at 8/7c

OK, so go with me here. “Last Resort” follows the leader of a renegade submarine crew that goes on the run after defying an order to fire nuclear missiles and then declares themselves the world's smallest nuclear nation.  AND YOU AREN’T GOING TO WATCH IT?! That’s what I thought.

3) Go On (NBC)
Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 9/8c

I’d follow Matthew Perry just about anywhere.  In fact I have.  I loved him in “Studio 60” a few year’s back and even enjoyed what he had to offer in last year’s “Mr. Sunshine”.  Apparently, I was the only one who knew that show existed, but the point is, I think the dude is hilarious.  I don’t even really know what this show is about, I just know I’m about to get my Chandler Bing on and that’s rarely a bad thing.

2) Nashville (ABC)
Premieres: Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 10/9c

What on earth could entice a country music hater like myself to so desire to tune in to a show about country music?  Nope, not Hayden Panettiere, though it will be nice to see her on TV again. Nope, not the plot either, though I do think the old school music vs. new school music could be an interesting exploration. Nope, the real reason I’m so excited is much simpler.  I have a friend in the cast.  Well, technically a friend’s brother. What I’m saying is that every few minutes I get to point at the screen and yell, “Hey, I know that guy!” and isn’t that really what life is all about?

1) Revolution (NBC)
Premieres: Monday, Sept. 17 at 10/9c

J.J. Abrams takes his rightful place at the top of my annual list once again.  Look, when you bring me Alias, Fringe, and LOST, you’re going to have to let me down pretty hard to keep my eyeballs away from your work.  “Revolution” appears to be another perfect Abrams concept, with both mystery and relationship.  And though I can see why the previews might be reminiscent of a certain youth novel about teens killing other teens, I think the show itself will prove itself to be very different.  My prediction is that every week he will leave us with one answer and five new questions, so that by the end of the fifth season there will be about 100 answered questions and 500 unanswered ones, and once again he will have left himself shy of the ability to please the uber fans who want to know every detail.  My other prediction? That I will enjoy every last second of it.