What Emily's Been Watching, October Edition

Lots of TV on DVD this month, and also two movies are tacked on at the end being ones I overlooked last month. So I watched them in September, but forgot while I wrote the post- so I am adding them here, at the end. (Alright- I can already tell I am going to be fairly incoherent tonight, perhaps I will finish in the morning....)

Dexter, Season 4 (2009) [NR-but we may as well call it R]: Crime Drama. Ok, I have been a Dexter fan for a few years now. I have loved it, considered it extremely well written, and interesting, and well acted. I have to say- Season 4 blew the other seasons right out of the water. The bar is raised. For those who don't know, Dexter is a show on Showtime about a serial killer whom you root for. He is a sociopath that works in Miami for the police as a blood splatter analyst. His father, (he was a cop and Dexter is his foster son that suffered from an unspeakable childhood trauma I won't get into) (don't want to spoil season 1!). Anyway, his father noticed (and was looking for) behavior from Dex that spoke of something being very wrong with him, so instead of snuffing it out, gave Dexter a "code" to kill by. So as an adult, Dexter follows this code religiously and kills people that have gotten away with horrible crimes either by not being caught, or getting off on trial from a technicality to soothe or quiet his "dark passenger". This is why you root for Dexter, cause he is killing bad guys (and it's fiction and also he is a very likable guy). Besides all of that, Dexter is trying to have a normal life with a family, and working murder cases for the police department, you can imagine that craziness ensues. It's a very interesting show and I really, really recommend it. Season 4 featured John Lithgow as another serial killer, and his character was MESSED UP! He did such a fantastic job, and was a guest star through the whole season. Anyway, awesome show and I am happily 3 episodes into the current season. Emily recommends Dexter if you have interest in crime shows and just really well done TV. There IS plenty of language and violence -mostly crime scene stuff-, disturbing content (as a mother, I have lost a little sleep over some aspects of the story, but after some reminders that it's fiction, I'm back for more). Some sex, but it's quite mild and downplayed for a show on these sort of channels. Basically, this one isn't for the innocents, but you probably already knew that.


Bleak House, Disc 1 (2005) [NR]:Drama. This is another BBC beauty, but this time, it isn't a mini series (I guess Dickens is long enough to warrant an entire tv season.) I have only been able to watch the first disc and there are three, so it's safe to say I am about a third of the way through. The episodes are a half hour long with the exception of the premier which was an hour. I am hooked, I must say. Another well written, well acted triumph. What makes this show unique and interesting is it's a period piece that is shot very modern if that makes any sense. The lines, costumes, and subject matter are all very 19th century Dickens, but the camera angles, the (I don't know the technical term for this) but the transitions from scene to scene have a very distinct cutting edge feel to them. I can't think of another show done this way and I find it really interesting. The shining star of this series is Gillian Anderson who plays Lady Deadlock. She has a commanding presence and the show wouldn't be the same without her. So far the story is mostly about the legal case of an inheritance that is so complicated it has been going on for generations. There are mysteries wrapped up in the plot that add intrigue. It's a very good story and I am enjoying it very much. I will get to disc 2 soon I hope........ Emily recommends this to anyone who didn't fall asleep from my description of it. There will be more to come with this review hopefully next month. Stay tuned.


Horatio Hornblower, The Duel(1998) [NR]: Action/Adventure. This was another recommendation from my friend Ami. She has a good track record with me, so I pretty much watch/read everything she tells me to (if I remember -by the way Aim, I finally read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society -awesome read, as always-). This was a recommendation from way back I just got around to (I didn't say I get to them right away). It's a movie that is actually a series of movies or maybe it's TV shows- it's from A&E. Anyway, whatever they are, they are adapted from the C.S. Forester novels that I have never read. I don't know about the rest of them, but I really enjoyed this one. The main dude was interesting and the plot was good and a swashbuckling good time. Wow, swashbuckling is actually a word (at least I didn't get the red squiggly line). So they take place during the French Revolution and Horatio is a young seaman from the British Royal Navy. Anyway, check it out, good fun for the whole family. Emily recommends this movie to really anyone- young and old alike. It's well done and has a good story and fun action, and a promise of more to come.

(Sorry, another fan trailer)

The Verdict(1982) [R]:Courtroom drama. Not going to say much about it here, this one is to be discussed in The Kid's Were All Wright movie marathon "Inglourious Picktures". Can't tip my hand just now. You are welcome to join us in the discussion of it sometime soon. When exactly- couldn't tell you.


Here are the movies I overlook having had watched last month:

Paper Heart(2009) [PG-13]: Documentary- kind of. This was a documentary dreamed up by a young comedian, Charlyn Yi. She wanted to do a documentary about love. Her producer friend suggested that she add a twist to it, by way of her doing a documentary about love and intermingle in it a fictional love story involving her and her secret boyfriend Michael Cera. You got that? So the documentary parts (interviews) are legit, real interviews involving couples talking about love. In the middle of this, Charlyn meets Michael Cera (playing Michael Cera) who falls in love with her while she is doing this documentary about love because she has never been in love and is convinced that she never will be- so love is an interesting subject for her. Even though the love story is fictional, apparently they did date in real life (secretly). Hope you stayed with me, cause I found this movie to be charming and warm and I enjoyed myself very much. I haven't seen a lot of Michael Cera movies and I know he is wearing thin with people, but since I haven't seen him much, I still find his shtick tolerable. Oh they also did this thing that I just absolutely loved- when they told a story, they had these paper diorama things act the story out. I just loved it and found it a very unique and charming addition to the movie. Emily totally recommends this movie if you like documentaries, if you still like Micheal Cera and if you don't know who Charlyn Yi is (or if you do and like her I guess)- I thought she was adorable and a very funny/great interviewer. It is a VERY soft PG-13 by the way, no sex, nothing but a little language and none of the really bad words either (well, the one really bad word I should say). My theory is that they pushed for the rating cause they didn't want a PG movie.


Shaun of the Dead(2004) [R]: Horror/comedy. This movie was apparently the "inspiration" shall we say for Zombieland (which I LOVED). No, I don't like inspiration- more like this movie opened the door for Zombieland. While I totally see why, they are very different films (this is not a Let the Right One in scenario- even though they come from different countries -England and America-). They both take the subject of a world where zombies have taken over and you follow a group of people fighting them all with a comedic element instead of terror. I can't say which one I liked better. I liked them both very much in their own ways. Both films are totally worth seeing. So I didn't start this review with the intention of comparing the two the whole time, but that's what I did. Oh well. I would say that Shaun of the Dead was a bit less gory then Zombieland perhaps, and Shaun has that touch of smart British humor that tickles me, while Zombieland has that GREAT setup of the titles and "the rules" that I just found astoundingly clever (I also liked the cool camera tricks (the twist on slow/mo). So seriously- they are both outstanding films and LOTS AND LOTS of fun-- if you like zombies and humor and I do indeed. Emily recommends this movie if you liked Zombieland (duh). Or if you haven't seen either and you like or think you might like comedic horror, check them both out! Good stuff.


May as well aye?