Alcatraz

The new JJ Abrams series premiered on Fox last night, and I was not disappointed.  I was a bit worried about giving my time to another of his series, being that I was so disappointed with where Lost ended up.  But, then I remembered what a great ride it was to get there, and I should give this new series a shot.  Plus, who didn't love Hurley and isn't happy to see him in a series again?

Doesn't hurt that I really love things related to Alcatraz prison.  I find it fascinating.  I got to tour it last year, and it's something everyone who visits San Francisco should do.  To say it's creepy is putting it mildly.

JJ Abrams is a story teller divine.  From the first minute of this series, the watcher is completely drawn in.  Guards in 1963 are on Alcatraz, and no one is there.  Poof, everyone is gone without a trace.  It's almost as if Alcatraz was never occupied by anyone.  Flash forward to modern day Alcatraz, and a group of people on the self-guided tour.  A young girl wanders off from the group and comes across a body.  Turns out, he's just sleeping.  When he wakes, he's disoriented and confused.  He's shocked to be outside, and even more shocked that he's free to walk around.  His name is Jack.

Turns out, he's a prisoner from Alcatraz.  Yet, he looks exactly the same as he did in 1963, nearly 50 years ago.  He decides to exact his revenge against an assistant warden who was cruel to him, and his brother who betrayed him.  All hell breaks loose.

One aspect of the series that I'm really enjoying is that they are focusing on multiple prisoners.  It's not just the story of Jack.  There's Cobb, a sniper, who is continuing his reign of terror in modern day San Francisco.  He reminds me of a mash up of Charles Starkweather (being all thin and geeky) and Charles Whitman, who killed many people from the tower of the University of Texas back in the 60's.  I'm sure they will have multiple prisoner story lines.  I look forward to that.

I like where this series is going.  How on earth are all of these prisoners still alive, and yet, the age they were when Alcatraz was shut down?  Who are they killing for?  How are all of these characters intertwined?  Why is there a new Alcatraz to hold the recaptured prisoners (seems kind of cruel - why is that necessary).  Is Sam Neill a good guy or a bad guy?  WHY DOES COBB KEEP TALKING ABOUT THE NUMBER 47??????

I'm REALLY happy to see Jason Butler Harner (as warden E.B. Tiller).  He was the killer in Changeling and he scared the living crap out of me in that.  He's excellent and understated so far in Alcatraz.  Also nice to see Parminder Nagra, who used to be on E.R.

I think I'm going to keep the two-hour premiere on the DVR and see if I can get my husband to watch, too.

The Whitest Kids U'Know

One of the joys of having older children is that they can sometimes turn you onto to something new.  Usually, it's the parents who can't wait to share something they think their kids will enjoy...movies from childhood, etc. etc.

Well, the tables were turned on us recently, and I'm really glad they were!!!  Our daughter was home from college for the holiday and she showed us a sketch on YouTube.  It was called "The Grapist."  I could only hear it while it was on, and I thought it was some kind of animated sketch.  I thought it was pretty funny.  Turns out, it's a sketch comedy troupe called The Whitest Kids U'Know.  Apparently, they have been around since 2007.  I have never heard of them, and we all know my love of all things sketch comedy.

Here's the Grapist sketch:

Fast forward to a few nights ago and my youngest son is on the couch in absolute hysterics, watching something on his iPod.  Turns out, it was another Whitest Kids U'Know sketch.  We found their most recent season on Netflix and man, are they funny!!  They are completely sick, twisted, and perverted, but they make me howl.  I need to invest in finding their previous seasons and see what else they have done.

Here is my favorite sketch, by far.  What REALLY happened to Abe Lincoln.  This is NOT safe for work/kids/etc. so be warned:

Oh, what the heck - one more.  A boss and his employee discuss their activities from the night before, complete with stick figure drawings:

Contagion (2011)

All-star cast movies usually don't thrill me, unless they are Romantic Comedies.  They usually end up being a waste of time, but Contagion was a pleasant surprise.  Lots and lots of familiar faces.  Lawrence Fishburne (I still call him Larry, damn it!), Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bryan Cranston, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, etc. etc.

Luckily, for me, I don't freak out easily, so I wasn't running around washing my hands and sanitizing my entire house after watching Contagion, but I can definitely see how some people would!!!!

One facet of the movie that I liked a lot was the trail - watching how the disease spread from person to person, and finally, at the end, seeing where it really came from.  I also liked that Jude Law's character turned out to be a pretty awful person, instead of this respected blogger who wanted to save everyone.  He was a pig!!!!!!

All of the performances were very subdued and quite good.  I was surprised at how many major characters died.  Surprised at how little certain stars were in the movie, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet.  I adored Matt Damon's performance.  He really came across as an everyday guy whose entire world was shattered.  I felt scared for him and his daughter at times, and I don't always really care about characters and what happens to them.

This wasn't a 5-star, run out right now and see it movie, but it was very entertaining and worth a watch.  If you're a germaphobe, keep some hand sanitizer near - you'll need it!

Miscellaneous New Years Crap

As with everyone, the last few weeks have been hectic, with youngest son's 10th birthday, Christmas, and New Year's one week after the next.  Most of the network television shows are repeats and all of my premium channel shows are over for now, so there hasn't been a lot for me to write about lately.

Both of my sons have really gotten into Friends lately, so we've been watching a lot of that, and when they are playing their video games or what have you, I've been watching SNL episodes on Hulu.  I'm in Season 23 right now, which is Will Ferrell's first season and I'm loving it.  I'm in the Norm MacDonald years and we all know he's my favorite Weekend Update correspondent.

I have a new work out show that I've been watching, as well.  No, not a fitness show - I'm the type of person who needs some serious distraction to get a solid workout in at the gym.  So, I tend to pick a TV series, put it on my iPad and go.  I watched all of True Blood and The West Wing that way.  Wow, the West Wing was amazing!  I had never seen it before. I would probably watch it again some time.

My current selection is Boston Legal.  I watched the last few seasons when it was on, but I have never seen the whole series.  Figured what better inspiration to work out than a very sexy James Spader?  I really enjoy his Alan Shore character.  My dad informed me recently that it was a spin-off of The Practice, which I never realized.  That may be a series that I need to think about for my next workout show.

On the list for future series are Justified, Fringe, and The Good Wife.  I'm definitely taking more suggestions.