Thursday, June 23, 2011

What Emily's Been Watching, May! Edition

Well, This has been a long time coming, but as my readers probably know- I have been majorly distracted lately. Because of my busyness, I really only watched two things too. So this will be short but sweet.

Conviction
(2010) [R] Drama. Rob and I rented this one night and really enjoyed it. It is about a guy that is accused of murder, convicted and sent to prison for life. His sister believes he didn't do it. She actually goes to law school to become a lawyer to help him (and by law school, I mean college too). It takes her many years (I forget how many ok? It's been a while- but it really is a lot). I don't think it's a spoiler to say that her efforts pay off and he is eventually released and cleared of all charges (or much of one since any idiot would know that if she doesn't, this would make a REALLY crappy movie). But not until she has hit every road block in the book including: embarrassed prosecutors that don't want to look wrong, crooked cops and destroyed evidence boxes to name a few. It makes the whole idea of wrongful accused prisoners that were put in jail and given the death penalty, only to be found innocent when DNA testing is invented, hit you a little. "The Innocence Project" has helped free over 250 wrongfully accused prisoners. That's amazing and disturbing. A man was just released in Texas a few months ago that spent 30 years in prison for a rape he didn't do! CRAZY! This whole concept is a disturbing one indeed. Anyway, the movie- it's a true story and it really is touching seeing the lengths that the sister goes to, in the name of her brother. Emily recommends this movie to anyone. Especially if you like yourself a good court room drama and a warm story about sibling devotion and the human spirit and other such things. Oh, and great acting.



Freaks and Geeks (Season 1 (and only) [1999-2000]. Comedy/drama. I have been watching this series for a couple months, but when it is a tv season I'm watching, I usually wait to report until I have finished it. Well, I finished it. I watched this show a bit while it was on the air and really liked it, but hadn't seen it since and didn't catch every episode either including the finale (this was back in the day before DVR's and when I worked a lot of nights). Anyway, it was really fun revisiting it and seeing all the episodes (and many commentaries). This was a well done show, well written and acted and funny. It also was a spring board for quite a few actors including James Franco, Jason Segel and Seth Rogan (whom I have issues with, but as long as I don't have to hear him talk in real life, he is fine (I also CANNOT under any circumstances stand his laugh)), it also features the girl that played Nurse Sam on ER. James Franco is really excellent and man Jason Segel is SO funny as a love sick, verging-heavily-on-creepy, teenager. Also the main geek "Sam" is an absolute doll. I love him. Anyway, the series as you may have guessed isn't about the popular, beautiful high school kids like most shows, it's about the freaks and the geeks- oh and it is set in 1980. It had a pretty big following (now has an even larger one) and it was cancelled after only 18 episodes. Kind of a shame, just a casualty of a network not giving a well done show a chance before it could really take off. Too bad, but happens all too often. Emily recommends this show if it sounds good to you.





I will try not be as late getting June's out (especially since I have watched only one thing so far), but there are no guarantees.

11 comments:

Sue said...

Thank you for reminding me about Conviction! I saw this trailer a while back and decided I needed to see it. I like Hilary Swank and really like Sam Rockwell. Did you ever see Moon? I think you did. And the two seconds they show of Juliet Lewis would get me to see this movie. I LOVE her! She is so talented it is crazy. Anyway, thanks again. I'm putting it on my queue right now.

And I love Freaks and Geeks. I loved it when it was a current show on TV and was very sad when it was canceled. Jason Segal is so great, so is James Franco, but Jason is the best. Is the scene when he sings Lady by Styx to his kind of girlfriend in the first season? I can't remember her name, but she is Sam's sister. Anyway, if you have not seen that scene yet, you are in for a treat! It is the best scene in the entire run.

Emily said...

Yeah, Conviction is great, you'll enjoy it. I really like Sam Rockwell, but I haven't seen Moon yet, but it is on my radar to watch. I made the comment to Rob while watching this movie how Juliette Lewis plays the BEST white trash people ever. If you didn't know better you would SWEAR they found some lady in some small town trailer park and paid her with meth.

Lindsey is Sam's sister's name and yes, the "Lady" scene is so funny. After he sings it, she is confused and says, "uh, do you want to make out or something?" and he says no and just lays down next to her and just kind of stares at her. Oh man, he is funny and she looks so creeped out. There was only one season, and that scene is maybe even less then halfway through the series. The song he writes for her is very very funny too. I think it is also called "Lady", but is different. That would be a fun series to buy, I already miss it.

Sue said...

Freaks and Geeks was only one season? I thought they had half a second season and then got canceled. That's right, Lindsey. Sam is so adorable! And I totally loved his friends. That was such a great show, so sad it didn't go on for a few more seasons. I loved it when his one friend dressed up like the Bionic Woman for Halloween! I don't remember the song Jason Segal wrote for Lindsey, but I am sure it was funny. I love it when he becomes a disco roller skater at the end. Awesome.

Yes, Juliette Lewis can play white trash like no one else. I love your comment about paying an actual white trash person with meth. Hilarious. She is great in everything she does. I forgot she spells her name with the extra "te". I also meant to say in my former comment that if Rob liked the movie, I better check it out. That is pretty rare for Rob to like a movie.

Emily said...

My favorite Sam moment is in like almost the last episode. The cheerleader he has had a crush on all year told his friend she wanted him to ask her to this girl's party cause she now likes him. Sam is hearing this news and is totally stunned and they are watching her talk to all these other cheerleaders and jocks and his friends tell him he has to go over there and ask her and he hesitates and Neal is like, "why not????" and Sam just goes (with a squeak in his voice and totally like a frightened little kid) "I'm scared". It was so honest and so funny.
Nick dancing to disco in the last was GREAT (especially his dance -there are outtakes of this dance in the deleted scenes that is well worth a watch-) it is so funny that he is beaten by a guy doing magic tricks. He only does a couple dance moves and spends his time doing magic tricks and he wins. So funny.
Yes the bionic woman costume was great and so was Sam's body suit (different episode, not a halloween costume). Remember that?

And yes, Rob dislikes most movies. It isn't always the movie itself though, he just has a hard time sitting down and watching a movie for a few hours. It just isn't something he really enjoys doing very much. (Basketball games on the other hand-- totally kosher).

Sue said...

I think Sam dressed up as a robot or something in that halloween episode. I kind of remember the girl Sam is in love with. They date at the end and she ends up not being as great as Sam thought she was. I also love the neighbor girl that used to be Lindsey's best friend. The little churchie girl.

I love the episode when Bill prank calls the coach. Oh and the episode when Sam's other friend finds a garage door opener in his Dad's car and rides his bike all through town finding what garage door it opens. I am going to have to buy Freaks and Geeks. I read on Wikipedia that they originally shot 18 episodes and only aired 13 of them. That must have been what I was thinking about.

You know the guy that plays the kind of hippie guidance counselor? I met his parents. They live or at least lived in Utah when my friend Doug's partner Gordon was dying of brain cancer. Gordon was the organist at a community church that they went to. They came over to visit Gordon. Freaks and Geeks was on the air at the time. I was talking to the Dad and he told me his son was an actor on a new TV show. And I looked at the dad and said "Freaks and Geeks!". He looks exactly like his dad I knew exactly who his son had to be.

Emily said...

That is so cool you met Mr. Rosso's parents! I was going to mention him in a post or two back how funny he is. All those moments you mentioned were great, LOVE Bill's prank call. According to the commentaries it was scripted word for word which makes it even funnier in a way. I have to add one more funny moment: when the geeks (mostly Sam) are worried about Lindsay having a keg party, so they secretly switch it with a keg of non alcoholic beer.

Emily said...

Oh and if you go to it's IMDB page, they have a really funny trailer that features many of the dance scenes in the show.

Sue said...

Oh yeah the keg episode, that is a good one. Bill ends up drinking it. I am definitely going to have to buy the DVD set so I can listen to the commentary. I'll have to check out the IMDB page when I'm on a different computer. I'm at work right now and we can't get on IMDB, it's blocked. Lame.

Pops said...

This comment will post as dad but it is really Sue playing on dads iPad. I don't want to log him out. I just watched the Freaks and Geeks trailer and was reminded of another favorite episode. When Sam buys the leisure suit. The scene of him posing and dancing with it in his bedroom is so great and the confidence he has about the first 10 seconds he is a t school before he realizes what a terrible mistake he made. It is heartbreaking. That was a great trailer.

Emily said...

I must admit, I got excited for a second there seeing that dad made a comment. The leisure suit is what I was talking about when I mentioned the "body suit" a few comments back. He is so excited about it and gets made fun of so bad. Funny. It makes a brief reappearance in a later episode when he is going through his closet trying to find something cool to wear to take Cindy to that party and he pulls it out of his closet and briefly considers it. Hee hee.

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