Happy Gay Pride Day

'True Blood' Season Premiere Tonight on HBO

TV'S Best: First Six Months 2011 Part 2

'the last word' with lawrence o'donnell is the best of the new year for people like me. mr. o'donnell speaks my mind as well as his own. he picked up where keith olberman left off after being unceremoniousy displaced bt msnbc. may he reign long.

'law and order: criminal intent' returned for a final season with the costars it began with. it has always been the best of the franchise and at least is going out intact. it will be repeated this summer on nbc after it's cable run is finished this month. the always underused julia ormond recurred as d'onofrio's psychiatrist to great effect. bravo to vincent d'onafrio and kathryn erbe you will be missed...again.

thank you pbs and cameron macintosh. the musical event of the season here in america. grand score, grand cast...grand event.

hbo's commitment to better tv gave us this elongated version of the novel. perhaps to elongated at that. kate winslet was amazing even though she may have been miscast. however, five hours of kate in anything demands my attention and acknowledgment. it's for winslet fans at most.

i've said it before and i'll say it again: this was the best new series of 2010 and in 2011 it kept the balls in the air and the plates spinning. it never fails and continues to demand attention. if you are not watching this series you are mad. catch up on season 1 via netflix or any other rental. season 2 begins on the 4th and i'll most certainly be there.

the best of network tv. julianna margulies and a great supporting cast deliever the best lines written in the drama genre. it's time to give this the emmy it deserves. enough 'mad men' already. if julianna loses the emmy this year the voters have gone mad or were well paid off.

how do the writers do it. this show builds year by year while others begin their decline early on. if you have not been watching 'the vampire diaries' you are missing one helluva ride. two vampire brothers lusting and loving the heroine. it puts the 'teilight' series and 'true blood' to shame.

hbo and carrie fisher's 'wishful drinking' was a laugh out loud riot. her 'hollywood inbreeding 101' was pure genius. 

i would give them all emmy's and call it a season. check out part 1 posted on 6/14.

ALLELUIA: He Is Risen

Countdown to Keith: Tonight on Current TV

Ode to the Movie Slap

just a little fun

Apes Gone Wild

trailer 2

Idiot of the Week: What a Weiner

it's not often that a democrat gets this spot but in all fairness right is right. we lost one of our better progressive voices due his own stupidity and arrogance. enough said!

The Tony's Best Moments 2011

neil patrick harris: the opening number

'book of mormon'

'anything goes'

neil and hugh duet

'priscilla queen of the desert'

'spiderman'

it's a 'rap'

'Company' In Concert: 5 Performances Only

check for a theater near you

TV's Best: First Six Months 2011

first and foremost tv has been a helluva lot better than film these past six months. it has offered better acting, better scripts and certainly more adult fare. is this new? probably not but these past six months have been better for tv than in the past. so in alphabetical order these are the best tv had to offer and they were good and in some cases great.

'army wives' has been consistent. with the death of recurring character jeremey in the afghan theater of war they surpassed themselves. catherine bell as his mother was amazing. she made us feel her loss. it certainly is her best work to date...ever. the rest of the cast as always stepped up to the plate. this remains one of cable's best.

'big love' redeemed itself after last year's dismal season. sadly it is now in the past as it has come to an end. i will miss this show with and family with all it's complexities. it was nice to see amanda seyfried come back for the finale.

'the borgias' had a slow start. how exciting can a conclave be? i think more exciting than the premier show especially in the time period the borgias, the medicis et al existed and ruled the catholic church. bit episodes 2 thru 8 steamrolled on and made for grand spectacle. i can't wait for season 2. francois arnaud all but steals every scene he is in. i think he has a post borgis career to look forward to.

'castle' is one of the best scripted series on the networks. nathan fillion and stana katic shine week after week with great support from it's other cast members. it had the best season finale this year. maybe the best any other year also. if the leads do not get emmy noms this year it will be criminal.

'downton abbey' showed up on pbs. for some odd reason they cut about 70 minutes out of it???? however, it worked. i'd recommend renting it to see it in full. it was great to see elizaeth mcgovern back on screen as she has been spending most of her adult life on the british stage. she has certainly improved on her craft. maggie smith as always was grand. and a hoot.

'fairly legal' was the best piece of froth the cable networks offered. a slight diversion at best but a happy romp. sarah shahi is a charmer. tired of all the reality crap on air? check this out. and have a good time.

'game of thrones' seduced me with episode 1. i thought not having read the books i'd be lost. after the first 2 episodes i was able to just roll along with it and go with the strange names and manner of speech. it is a good old fashioned epic presented anew.

'the killing' on amc is a good old mystery. a murder, suspects galore, twists and turns abound. each episode takes place in a single day. it ravels and unravels at it's own pace. it's adult. it's one more notch on the bed of amc which is shining in original fare. don't let this one get by you.

(to be continued)

The Winners of the 65th Annual Tony Awards

Book of Morman' and 'War Horse' take top prizes at tony awards.

and the winners are:
Best Play: War Horse
Best Musical: Book of Mormon
Best Revival of a Play: The Normal Heart
Best Revival of a Musical: Anything Goes
Best Direction of a Musical: Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker for Book of Mormon
Best Direction of a Play: Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris for War Horse
Best Actress in a Play: Frances McDormand for Good People
Best Actress in a Musical: Sutton Foster for Anything Goes
Best Actor in a Play: Mark Rylance for Jerusalem
Best Actor in a Musical: Norbert Leo Butz for Catch Me If You Can
Best Featured Actress in a Play: Ellen Barkin for The Normal Heart
Best Featured Actor in a Play: John Benjamin Hickey for The Normal Heart
Best Featured Actress in a Musical: Nikki M. James for Book of Mormon
Best Featured Actor in a Musical: John Larroquette for How to Succeed in Business
Best Book of a Musical: Book of Mormon, Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Best Costume Design for a Play: Importance of Being Earnest
Best Costume Design for a Musical: Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Best Scenic Design for a Play: War Horse
Best Scenic Design for a Musical: Book of Mormon
Best Lighting Design for a Play: War Horse
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Book of Mormon
Best Choreography: Kathleen Marshall for Anything Goes
Best Score for a Musical: Book of Mormon
Best Orchestrations for a Musical: Book of Mormon
Best Sound Design for a Musical: Book of Mormon
Best Sound Design in a Play: War Horse

The Book of Mormon wins 9 Tony Awards, War Horse wins 5, The Normal Heart & Anything Goes each win 3. Winning 4 Tonys, Trey Parker ties with Josh Logan who won 4 in 1950 for South Pacific.

They're Back...

finally, at last, tomorrow night. let the fun begin.

The Tony's: Best of Broadway Tonight

once again joyfully hosted by neil patrick harris

some tony nominated and/or winning memories

from 'cats'

from 'next to normal'

from 'south pacific'

from 'la cage aux folles'

from 'mame'

from 'a chorus line'

from 'chicago'

from 'spamalot'

from 'evita'

from 'fosse'

from 'cabaret'

from 'my one and only'

from 'anything goes'

from 'into the woods'

from 'kiss of the spider woman'

from 'wicked'

from 'ragtime'

from 'les miserables'

from 'fiddler on the roof'

from 'the lion king'

from 'hair'

from 'drowsy chaperon'

from 'dreamgirls'

from 'west side story'

from '110 in the shade'

from 'the act'

from 'song and dance'

from 'grand hotel'

from 'the apple tree'

from 'the threepenny opera'

from 'sunday in the park with george'

from 'nine'

from 'rent'

from 'phantom of the opera'

from 'you're a good man charlie brown'

from 'sideshow'

from 'man of la mancha'

from 'my fair lady' and 'camelot'

from 'damn yankees'

from 'purlie'

from 'woman of the year'

from 'they're playing our song'

 (the biggest snub in tony history was in not nominating lucie arnaz in this role. however, she showed her professionalism showing up on award night and performing)

from 'xanadu'

from 'rags'

from 'sweeney todd'

from 'gypsy'

and one more time: neil patrick harris

i hope you enjoyed this trip down tony's memory lane. i certainly did preparing it and watching these wonderful musical moments.


enjoy the tony's tonight

'Teen Wolf': A Summer Surprise on MTV

cable fills in the blanks during the summer hiatus of network programing. all the major networks offer are more mindless reality programs. duh! 

last year's nicest surprise was usa's 'covert affairs. this year, at least as of now, it is 'teen wolf'. i didn't know mtv had it in them. if you like 'the vampire diaries' you should enjoy this. based on a michael j fox film it is fun, witty and has a retty good cast of newcomers. give it a go. you may enjoy yourself.

'Midnight in Paris' ***star Charmer

woody creates magic in paris. at the stroke of midnight one man (owen wilson) magically escapes a demanding fiancee and her parents and enters a world of the greatest writers of the past in the paris of the 1920's. the scenes in the past which are the majority of scenes so outshine the present day episodes. in the past woody allen brings his latest film to life. in the present day scenes you want the film to fast forward to the past again. happily it does. 

owen wilson is surprisingly charming as gil the want to be novelist. adrien brody shines as salvador dali. kathy bates portrays a delightful and so human gertrude stein. corey stoll all but steals the whole thing as ernest hemingway and should get a supporting actor nom come oscar time. rachel mcadams as gil's fiancee inez is a horror. this actress has just not lived up to her post 'the notebook' potential. she alone was utterly miscast. mimi kennedy as her mother is just plain annoying throughout. but have no fear.....

marion cotillard comes along as adriana the woman in the past. charming, delightful, scene stealer. she continues to light up the screen with every film she is in. as the film returns to a 'golden age' so does the presence of ms. cotillard remind us of the past wonders of film and the potential for the present and past. i am madly in love with marion. unashamedly in love with her. oscar nom? i hope so.

woody allen in his golden years is better than he was when younger. since 'match point' in london, 'vicki christina barcelona' in spain and now paris he is amazing me. oscar nom for pic and director is a possibility. i can't wait for his next film filming in rome. sadly ms. cotillard is not among the cast. see...i am in love with her.

trailer

Happy Birthday Johnny

Happy Birthday Julianna

Nurse Jackee

We're Invited to the Wedding of the Year

'Sondheim: The Birthday Celebration'

How the hell did i miss this one. well now i own it on blu ray. a glorious birthday bash for stephen sondheim. hosted and written by an hilarious david hyde pierce it's a delightful romp for him. the artists sing the 'singable' sonheim songs fot the most part. okay let's be honest here: not all of sondheim is singable. the biggies are sung by the best assortment of diva's assembled in one place in a long long time. lupone, peters, mcdonald, strich, murphy, mazzie and benanti: it gets no better. throw in mandt patinkin, michael cerveris and george hearn and the world is momentarily blissful and at peace. bravo to all of them and the brilliant arrangements and conducting of paul gemigani and the mighty new york philharmonic. who could ask for more.

***********

bernadette peters and mandy patinkin: "move on'

patti lupone: 'the ladies who lunch'

donna murphy: 'could i leave you'

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

 

curtain call

First Look: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes''

'The Ringer' Coming to the CW This Fall

'ringer'. sarah michellr gellar in 'ringer'. bette davis in 'dead ringer'. sarah michelle gellar pulling off a bette davis role? i probably think not!

Gruesome Twosome

Bridesmaids' ***stars

anyone who has followed my blog knows that comedic films are not my thing. so kicking and screaming, figuratively, i went with my friends this weekend. i had the best time. perhaps part of it was the company of friends. but mostly it was in the end the film. bathroom humor abounded literally in fact. the lines were funny, the sight gags hysterical. i was surprised. happily. i can really recommend this flick although i may be the last person who saw it as it's been doing blockbuster business. i assure this will not start a trend. i will not go see 'hangover 2' as the first was was as dumb as gw bush.

so there are some comedy surprises still coming out of hollywood every decade or so.

June Blu Ray Releases