Friday, January 13, 2006

time's a wastin'

In the tradition of talking about television and other useless and already well-documented topics, and thanks to the addition of cable and Netflix to my life, I submit my newest obessions:

24--My friend was on the first season which got me completely hooked. Due to my schedule I stopped watching but recently got caught up on Seasons 2 and 3 via my DVD player and am about to embark on a marathon of watching Season 4 before Season 5 starts on Sunday. Holy Moly! This is really one of the best shows ever. It's impossible to watch just one. I want to be Jack Bauer when I grow up. And by that I mean, I want to be a heroin-addicted, ruthless, detached federal agent with emotional problems who will stop at nothing to save his country.

Project Runway--I have always eschewed reality TV (Except for Tough Enough, the MTV show about people competing to become WWF wrestlers), but this has got me hooked. The clothes! The egos! The hilarious bitchiness of Michael Kors and Nina Garcia! And the awesome Tim Gunn who tempers elegant support with blunt criticism. I even sort of like Heidi Klum. This show has made me respect a model. What is the world coming to?

Movies!
I am currently taking a very enjoyable improv class studying the form "The Movie." Our teacher, Dyna Moe, gives us assignments of movies to watch. This is great because I can spend hours in front of my TV and feel like I am actually accomplishing something! Thus far I have watched:
Breaking Away (old favorite, great movie)
Miracle (sappy, crappy, but great hockey game at the end, which is probably only enjoyable if you like hockey, which I do. Plus a friend of mine from acting school plays the goalie.)
High Noon (classic western, dated but fun)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Sergio Leone was a genius--great music, great visuals, great story)
The Maltese Falcon (ridiculous plot, great Bogart)
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles can't be beat)
Singin' in the Rain (Gene Kelly=Great Dancer, Terrible Actor).

On Deck: The Music Man, The Blue Dahlia. Brief and Useless Reviews Forthcoming.