These Weeks in Pop Culture

Things have gotten a little backlogged. I apologize. Lots to cover:

Movies

Let's see, when I did last do a TWPC? September 8? Sheesh. Well good thing I've only seen one new movie, Rush. A Ron Howard biopic that somehow makes race car driving both sexy and filled with nail-biting anxiety, I quite enjoyed this one. Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl were extremely well cast, and their  rivalry was intense. Like, battle-to-the-death intense. It's crazy what some men will do to get well, a rush. 

Television

I think I mentioned fall TV has started? Well now you know what's taken up so much of my time. ANYWAY. The Parks and Recreation premiere was perfect and way better than a 6th season premiere deserves to be. I still love hanging out with those characters each week. And Andy Dwyer is getting way too attractive. It was a little distracting.

I've really enjoyed Brooklyn Nine-Nine so far. The Michael J. Fox Show is ok. New Girl is great like always, and I really hope this is the Year of Winston. The color-blind American citizen deserves it. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was as fun as a premiere as I had hoped (ily Clark Gregg). And Survivor is as crazy as I had hoped it would be. I actually like the loved ones camp a little better than the returnee's. Mostly because that tribe doesn't have Colton Freakin' Cumbie. (Also, RIP Rupert. NOT)

Also, I've caught up to season 6 on Doctor Who. Steven Moffat is a mind-blowing genius and Matt Smith is a world treasure. That is all.

Lessons to live by.

Theater

BIG FISH. EVERYONE GO SEE BIG FISH. Probably Tim Burton's last great movie, Big Fish is one of my favorites. And the musical is everything I hoped. And more. I bawled like a baby at the ending, which was even more emotional than the movie. And Norbert Leo Butz. What a brilliant performer. He's on stage literally 98% of the time and doesn't miss a beat. I'm obsessed and will be seeing this again soon once it's out of previews.

I also saw Cinderella, which was cute and has some great costume changes, but really. Go see Big Fish.

So so good. 

Music

Wheelchair Jimmy, I mean Drake, has a new album and I'm quite diggin it. I don't quite get all this "Started from the Bottom" nonsense though since he basically started as a child star on a hit Canadian show. Maybe he considers Canadian shows the bottom? Nevertheless it's a fun album to listen to surrounded by my sistas on the subway.

Guilty pleasure of the moment: Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball." It's catchy ok? Although this Daily Grace basically sums up my feelings of the music video:

YouTube

Do you guys know about Arturo Trejo's channel? They're a Mormon couple with the cutest son ever and their videos are HILARIOUS. Their last two videos especially had me in stitches.

News

Breaking Bad finale is happening as we speak. I'm still in the middle of season two, so I'm trying to avoid Twitter for the next few days.

Merritt Weaver's speech from the Emmy's is literally the best thing I've seen these past few weeks. She's my new hero.

Also, for those of you who don't know, I've started a vlog of my very own, chronicling my diet and my quest to get healthy. Many thanks to Jenny who visited last weekend and helped on my last video.

That's it for now. I wrote this all really fast because I want to go to sleep so I apologize for the choppy sentences. But I'm not really that sorry.

 Happy Sunday!

My Fall TV Guide

It's that wonderful time of the year again. There are a lot of new shows I'm excited about this year, and of course many returning ones I'm happy to finally have back.

Here's a list of the shows I will be watching or starting this year. Going with my usual rule, I give a new show three hours to hook me. So this means three episodes for dramas, six for comedies. We'll see who wins at the end of the year. Last year didn't fare so well for most new shows. (I miss you, Ben and Kate!)

New shows are listed in red.

Enjoy.

Mondays

8 pm
How I Met Your Mother (9/23, CBS)
Hart of Dixie (10/7, CW)

9 pm
Sleepy Hollow (9/16, FOX)

Sleepy Hollow seems sufficiently scary, and hopefully the final season of HIMYM lands on a sweet note. And by that, I mean the kids calling child support services after having to sit through all those stories of their dad falling in love with women that is NOT their mother.

Tuesdays

8 pm
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (9/24, ABC)

830 pm
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (9/17, FOX)
The Originals (10/3, CW)

9 pm
New Girl (9/17, FOX)

930 pm
The Mindy Project (9/17, FOX)

There are several reasons I'm excited about Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It was created by the Parks and Rec people, it has Andy Samberg, and I'm curious to know if I'll catch all the references now that I'm a bona-fide resident of the titular city. Super excited for New Girl's return after a perfect second season. AND MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. I can't stop fangirling about this.

Wednesdays

8 pm
Survivor: Blood vs Water (9/18, CBS)
Arrow (10/9, CW)

9 pm
Modern Family (9/25, ABC)
The Tomorrow People (10/9, CW)

930 pm
Super Fun Night (10/2, ABC)

Yes, I still love Survivor. And this concept of pitting family members against each other sounds like either the greatest idea or the worst idea the show's ever had. I'm only checking out Super Fun Night because of Rebel Wilson, so I hope it's a little bit funny. The previews weren't super promising. And it's been too long a summer without Stephen Amell's abs and that beautiful salmon ladder.

Thursdays

8 pm
Parks and Recreation (9/26, NBC)
The Vampire Diaries (10/3, CW)
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (10/10, ABC)

9 pm
Reign (10/17, CW)

930 pm
The Michael J. Fox Show (9/26, NBC)

10 pm
Parenthood (9/26, NBC)
Elementary (9/26, CBS)
Scandal (10/3, ABC)

Thursdays are a blessed day. So much goodness happening, and since I watch it all on Hulu, now you all basically know how I spend my Friday nights (Kidding. Just a little bit.) Being on the CW, Reign seems like it could either be soapy "historical" goodness or a hot mess, and The Michael J. Fox Show has been getting great reviews.

Fridays

8 pm
Masterchef Junior (9/27, FOX)
The Carrie Diaries (10/25, CW)

10 pm
Dracula (10/25, NBC)

Little kids getting reamed by Gordon Ramsey. How could anyone miss this?

Saturdays

1130 pm
Saturday Night Live (9/28, NBC)

Sundays

8 pm
Once Upon a Time (9/29, ABC)

830 pm
Bob's Burgers (9/29, FOX)

9 pm
Revenge (9/29, ABC)
Homeland (9/29, Showtime)

With the exception of Bob's Burgers, all the rest of the returning Sunday shows had disappointing last seasons. Here's hoping they return to form for their respective third seasons.

This Week in Pop Culture

Yeah, I skipped last week. Sorry, I was just busy MOVING TO BROOKLYN and STARTING A NEW JOB.

So here's my pop culture list from the last two weeks. Obviously it's not too much because I was slightly busy.

Movies

My mom came last weekend to help me move and we had mother-daughter bonding time watching the Audrey Hepburn classic. Neither of us had seen it before for some strange reason. At first I wondered what all the fuss was about, but by the end I got it. What girl hasn't thought like Holly Golightly at least once? Men are rats or super rats. The trick is in finding our own Fred.

I was slightly disappointed they never actually ate breakfast at Tiffany's though.

Television

I finally finished season 4 of Doctor Who, which was a mega-fest of all the great characters during Russell Davies' reign. I may have teared up a bit at Tennant's "I don't want to go." I'm on episode 3 of season 5, and I'm enjoyed the manic silliness of Matt Smith so far. And Karen Gillan's face is simply unfair.

Also this week was the SYTYCD finahhhle, as Cat Deeley says. I love all four them. I couldn't vote. Why was Gabby Douglas on the panel? I don't think she said one interesting thing. Also I'm obsessed with Mark Kanemura's choreography:

Theater

I saw Matilda with mom last weekend, and I loved it. I loved the movie when I was little (and consquently became scared of wearing pigtails henceforth) and thought the Broadway adaptation was really fun. And a little darker than I was expecting. That Miss Trunchbull is a nasty piece of work. The little girl who played Matilda was phenomenal, though. She was what, nine years old? Makes you question what you've been doing with your own life.

YouTube/Music

This video is a thing that exists on the Internet and the world is a better place because of it.

News

FALL TV IS ALMOST HERE!! I'll post a list like I did last year of all the shows I'm looking forward to, both new and old.

That's about it for now. I'm seeing Big Fish on Broadway this week, and I am so freaking excited. Stay tuned for a longer review on that.