Simpsons + Glee + Flight of the Conchords = AWESOME!

The Simpsons being back for their billionth season wouldn't normally be big news to me, but then I found out who was guest starring. In "Elementary School Musical", the 22nd season opener, Fox has decided to merge their powerhouses of entertainment together by having some of the Glee kids, namely Cory Montieth, Lea Michele and Amber Riley, stop by and add some music as fellow members of an arts camp Lisa attends. I did wonder, though; Where the heck were arts camps where I was growing up? Seriously?

But if that wasn't exciting enough, playing camp counselors were Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, otherwise known as Flight of the Concords. Their show that aired on HBO is dearly missed by all of us fans of guitar-based, digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo. Clement and McKenzie actually played a much bigger role in this episode than the Glee kids, but I can see why all the promos hyped the Glee stars instead, since Flight of the Concords have more of a cult following.

It's all good though. A solid episode with funny songs. I may have to download this one. Anything with more Concord action is alright by me.

Movie Review: Easy A

So I saw this little gem yesterday. Let me just say, I'm glad Juno re-introduced the concept of movies revolving around smart teenage girls. So many of our young women are overexposed to spoiled, entitled, plastic bimbos in the media that are as dumb as boxes of hair and glorify frivolous things like partying and being super rich (Paris H., I'm looking at you!). It's so refreshing to see a young heroine who actually has something of substance between her ears.

With my rant now out of the way, Easy A introduces us to Olive Penderghast, deftly played by Zombieland's Emma Stone. Olive soon finds herself right in the midst of the high school rumor mill when she helps a friend (Dan Byrd) out with his rep. As the rumors of her promiscuity run wild, she must deal with the fallout with both the help and hindrance of the people around her, including a loud best friend (Alyson Michalka), holier-than-thou good girl (Amanda Bynes), cool teacher (Thomas Hayden Church), unconventional parents (Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci) and potential love interest (Penn Badgley).

The dialogue is one of the best things about Easy A. The characters talk with a snappy wit which never seems forced and which issued many chuckles from me. The cast was great, and I was especially impressed by Amanda Bynes, who was hilarious and managed to avoid doing that weird bug-eye thing she's often done in her roles.

Easy A, I think, really accurately portrays the high school rumor mill, especially in the information age when cell phones and texting make news instantaneous. It made me very glad that I'm no longer in high school, and I'm sure you'll feel the same way as you feel for Olive and admire how she uses her wits and her integrity to deal with the situation.

My Verdict: A smart, funny and real film about teenagers and rumor, and how the two never should meet.

Series One of Sherlock ends with a potential bang

NO! NO NO NO NO NO! DAMN IT, THAT'S NOT FAIR!

Why the passionate response? You see I just finished the third and last episode of Series One of Sherlock, the BBC update I posted about a few weeks ago. What you read above was pretty much my reaction from the couch. Only three episodes ever...and this one ended with a cliff-hanger!

WHAT? It's only been recently announced that the show's been picked up for a second series, and the writer's decide to end "The Great Game" like that, with all of us hanging on the edge of our seats? I just looked, and the next episode isn't scheduled to appear on English TV until the fall of 2011 at the earliest. A whole freakin' year from now! And Lord only knows when we'll see it here in Canada. WHAT THE HELL, MAN?!

Alright, I've vented. You know what? It was still a great show, and I will be counting down the days until we see more. I'm kind of foolish that way.

Just when I thought I was out...

I've had my ups and downs with American Idol for a while now, ranging from true love to serious disappointment. And like a bad relationship, the last couple of years I kept telling myself I wasn't going to watch, but I've ended up watching from start to finish anyway. But I always told myself that if Simon Cowell ever left, then there would definitely be no reason for me to keep tuning in, and that dark day has come to pass. And over the summer both Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi have jumped ship as well, so things were looking pretty bleak. Yep, definitely not going to watch now!

But then today they announced the new judges that would be joining Randy Jackson come the new year; Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.

Aww hell, now I'm going to have to see this. Damn you Fox!

Glee is back, and I'm seeing a pattern here...

...the pattern is that every time Glee comes back from some time off they always seem to start off on a downer.

Has anyone else noticed this? Lets review; "Showmance" airs after the sneak peak of the pilot, and the episode ends with Rachel having set the club back with a reckless group performance, and then finding out Finn is staying with Quinn. Bummer. Then "Hell-O" is the first episode after the fall hiatus, which ends with Rachel and Finn and Will and Emma broken up, plus the emergence of sleazebag Jesse St. James to play with Rachel's heart. Major bummer!

Now tonight Season 2 kicks off with "Audition", and what we get is a solid episode, but once again ending on a down note (pun totally intended).

So what happened, you ask? If you haven't seen it, then skip these next two paragraphs. Things start of promisingly enough, lulling us into a false sense of security. Finn and Rachel are together, New Directions is down a member (so long Matt, we hardly knew ye), but they're eager for new recruits, including new football player Sam, and Filipino student Sunshine (Charice), and Will and Sue are BFF as they join forces against a common enemy, new football coach Shannon Beiste. Plus, the amateur documentary style opening was hilarious (we found out Brittany spent her summer lost in the sewers).

But problems surface early; Tina and Artie are broken up as she's bonded with Mike over the summer and Will gets down and dirty in his dealings with Beiste. And then things gradually get worse, despite the awesome musical numbers for "Empire State of Mind" (a public lunchtime performance to instill excitement about Nationals being in New York), "Billionaire", "Telephone", etc. Rachel's self-absorption (seriously, that girl is nuts) ends up screwing the club's chances to add Sunshine to their ranks and she ends up being swept up by Vocal Adrenaline's new coach. Finn gets kicked off the Football team, loosing his quarterback status and dissuading Sam from joining the glee club when he sees first-hand how it affects your status in the school. Quinn ends up back on the Cheerios, but at the cost of Santana's standing as head-cheerleader, causing serious tension between the two. And Will looses Sue's friendship when he decides to be nice to Beiste. Things end with Rachel singing "What I Did for Love" (what she did indeed), before stepping into the choir room presumably to beg the club's forgiveness.

A great episode, but once again I feel depressed. If there is a pattern here, what is the plan? To start off so low that the only place to go is up? If that is the idea it's working, because Glee is not likely to slow down anytime soon, nor am I likely to stop watching.

And if this pattern is to continue, then things will perk up soon. Next week is the much hyped Britney Spears episode, and future episodes include a tribute to Rocky Horror and a Christmas episode. So we all know it's going to be great, and gosh darn it I just can't wait!

A new modern update of Sherlock Holmes and it's not House!

I almost missed this show. Let me say that again; I almost didn't see this! Can you believe that? This is so up my alley it's not even funny. The only reason I heard about it was because I was checking my email and once I signed out I came across a link for new TV on Canadian channels, and there it was. And of course, I was intrigued, and immediately marked it on my calendar so I wouldn't miss it.

That show is Sherlock, a BBC series that aired across the pond earlier this year and has now made it's way onto Showcase here in Canada. The premise is that it's the Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson we all know and love, plus other familiar characters like Inspector Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson and Mycroft Holmes (plus a certain notorious villain), but their adventures are set in 21st century London instead of 19th century London. A modern retelling if you will. So we have Holmes practicing his deductive skills amidst the practices of forensic science and during the height of the information age.

And while that sounds like a total gimmick, it works so well. So well. Our two heroes call each other John and Sherlock now, because nobody calls their friends by their last names these days. The John Watson presented here is still a veteran of Afghanistan, but the war he fought in was the war on terror instead of the second anglo-afghan war. Plus he still writes about the adventures he has, but on a blog.

As for this Sherlock Holmes, he is a modern man in every sense of the word. He makes full use of texting and the Internet and posts a website on the art of deduction, but he can still read a crime scene or a person with just his eyes and a magnifying lens and make it look like he has ESP or something (a notion he would find laughable). The modernness never feels forced, I think because Holmes himself was always a modern man, even in Arthur Conan Doyle's stories.

The first episode, and there are only three 90 minute episodes, so I don't know if that counts as a series, is called "A Study in Pink", and as you may have guessed it's an update on "A Study in Scarlett" the very first Holmes story written. Many of the same elements are there, including Holmes and Watson meeting and forging their immortal partnership. The entire 90 minutes was so gripping I couldn't dream of turning it off. There was action, a great chase scene, intense stand offs, and a surprise twist regarding one character that I never saw coming. And the two leads fantastically embody their characters. Benedict Cumberbatch (great name) perfectly portrays Holmes' energy, eccentricities, humor and cool demeanor. Plus he's fairly easy on the eyes, which I can always appreciate. And Martin Freeman, who I recognized from the BBC's The Office and The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, nicely pulls off the more down-to-earth counterbalance to Holmes, while keeping Watson a smart, resourceful, funny man-of-action that he is.

Can't wait to see what else is in store, and I'm so glad I came across that article. Funny how fate comes along and brings a new obsession.

Book Review: Blood Oath

I am reviewing yet another vampire book. Yeah, don't act so surprised. But Christopher Farnsworth's Blood Oath is one of the most satisfying books of any genre I've read in a while.

In a unique set-up inspired by an actual historical event, the reader is introduced to Nathaniel Cade, a vampire who has spent nearly his entire second life in the service of the highest office of the United States, through several different administrations since the 19th century. Why he does so is something to be discovered by the reader, but Cade is officially "The President's Vampire", and it's his job to deal with the supernatural threats that crop up against the free world.

Blood Oath centers around a new emerging terrorist threat just as Cade is breaking in a new human partner, Zach Barrows, a young up-and-coming White House staffer who, of course, has no idea what he's in for and sees this assignment as something of a punishment.

I loved the set-up, which kind of fits along the same lines as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, mixing up real world politics with supernatural elements. The characters were intriguing, complex and never boring. Cade could carry a whole series of books, as Farnsworth has already discussed writing. Plus there was a lot of action, cool gadgets both magical and technological, truly scary villains (ranging from megalomaniacs to the purely psychopathic) and adult language. Plus it touches on themes of religion, addiction and the fear of the unknown, so it's a little deep on top of everything else.

My Verdict: Gripping and high octane, everything you could ask for in a grown-up supernatural novel. No Twihards need apply (yeah, I know, I'm ragging on Twilight again, but come on!).