Hugh Laurie on The Simpsons

TV Guide has the first look of Hugh Laurie's character on The Simpsons on November 7th.  They definitiely got the face right, but I think the body is a little too perfect. Might give Flanders a run for his money ;-)

Check out the pic and Laurie's friendly words about The Simpsons here.

Recap: "MoneyBART"

Oh no, I'm running way behind...don't worry expect a full recap soon :-)

Recap: "Loan-a-Lisa"

Coming soon :)

Controversial Banksy Opening to The Simpsons

The latest Simpsons beginning has been getting a great deal of press. The titles for "MoneyBART" was made by a controversial British artist known as Banksy. When I saw this news on EW, I was in shock because I was only confused by the new opening. I saw it's meaning about mass production and it's relation to underpaid asian workers and sweatshops, but I couldn't understand why they decided to do this.  I thought it was just another Ke$ha thing, but I had no idea how attention it would get. But I have to admit I love seeing The Simpsons on the news for being provocative and controversial. It's like the olden days :) Check out the Banksy opening on Hulu and check out more work from Banksy here.

Daniel Radcliffe on The Simpsons First Look

Check out a first look of Daniel Radcliffe's Vampire Character on The Simpsons via Mugglenet. I'm so excited for this episode!

Recap: "Elementary School Musical"

Cable TV Listing episode description: Marge sends Lisa to a performing arts camp, where counselors and fellow campers inspire her to embrace her creative side; upon returning to Springfield, Lisa grows restless with her boring suburban life."
Check back soon for a full episode recap!

New Season of The Simpsons

The new season of The Simpsons starts September 26th (tonight). I will be writing episode recaps for this new season as well. I haven't been able to keep up with a lot of the news this summer, but I plan to get back into it with this new season. I hope you all had great summers. In terms of pop culture I've been watching Big Brother

As usual, the Amazing Race is also starting tonight, so the recaps won't be next day recaps, but always check back a few days later. Enjoy the episode tonight :)

Glee Cast on the Simpsons

As previously mentioned, some members of the cast of Glee will be on The Simpsons this season. And here is your first look at Rachel and Finn courtesy of EW.com.  Also look for details about the episode.

Follow Homer Simpson on Twitter

Not sure if this is an official account, but the daily updates are fun :)
You can follow Homer here --> http://twitter.com/HomerJSimpson

The Simpsons Guest Stars for this Upcoming Season

There's been a lot of news lately about the guests that will lend their voices for this upcoming season of The Simpsons.  The names include Halle Berry, Paul Rudd, Jon Hamm, Martha Stewart, some stars from Glee, Kristen Wigg, Cheech and Chong, Danielle Radcliffe (I mentioned that before), Mark Zuckerberg, Russell Brand (not too sure) and the return of Ricky Gervais. 

The news of Ricky Gervais' return is super exciting. I thought he was super funny during his appearance and I had absolutely no idea who he was. 

Looks like this will be a memorable season of the show and they The Simpsons are irrelevant....

Check out a bit of British Humor from Ricky Gervais' appearance on The Simpsons below and get some additional info from EW.com.

Avatar Spin-off! and some other Avatar News

Well the unexpected turn out for a critically panned The Last Airbender is that they will be making an Avatar: the Last Airbender spin-off.  The spin off is entitled Avatar: The Legend of Korra and will follow a teenage girl named Korra who is a waterbender avatar 100 years after Aang. I read somewhere that she will live in a town where Benders are looked down upon (kind of like the mutants in X-men). Are you excited? Check out a some interesting and in depth info from MTV.

In other news, I read in Indian Express  that Dev Patel was really disappointed by The Last Airbender and it's general reception.  Unfortunately for him, he was really trying to develop a career in the movie business and starring in a flop puts him at a disadvantage.  I feel sorry for the guy, but these things happen.  I doubt he'll get a part in a remake of the film, but hopefully he'll find work somewhere.

Short Summer Movie Reviews

I've officially started my summer movie viewing season. So far I've to two huge blockbuster summer films, Toy Story 3 and Eclipse.  Check out my brief reviews below (coming soon). My next movie will probably be The Last Airbender despite horrendous critic reviews (hence my lack of movie news).

Sex & the City 2
So my first brief review is of Sex & the City 2. I think I wrote about this movie before, so I'll real short. It was insufferable, fake and a disappointment. I don't care to see the DVD and I rather just pretend like the movie was never made.

Iron Man 2
This sequel was not as disappointing as SATC2, but it wasn't exactly astounding.  It was funny, had good characters (I thought Whiplash was a good addition), but I didn't really feel a good connection to the characters and their problems.  It's been a while since I've seen this movie, so I don't think I have much else to say.

Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Overall, this movie was pretty good. I admit I've mostly enjoyed these movies for their eye candy, so I can't say that the plot has really been a deciding factor for me.  I fell in love with Edward in Twilight and drooled at Jacob's abs in New Moon, this movie didn't really have that factor.  There was no new hot dude, although Riley was defiinitely attractive.  However, the story, special effects and just the look of this movie was great. The actors have obviously learned to act without being awkward.  There were some awkward lines ("I'm hotter than you"), but they didn't distract from the interesting and well paced plot. I would definitely recommend that you see it.

Toy Story 3
So, I wasn't really sure I was going to see this movie in theaters, but after hearing about how brought most viewers to tears I figured it wouldn't hurt to see it in the movie theaters in 3D.  I am so glad that I made that decision.  This movie is one of the best of the year.  I guess it meant a great deal to me because Toy Story was one of the first kiddy movie that I saw as a child.  It was also the first feature length computer animated film, so the touching story of Andy giving up his toys meant a great deal to me.  I managed not to cry by the end of the film, but it did solidify to me the significance of this film in my life.  I would say see it enjoy it and even buy the DVD.

Inception
WOWWW!!! I think that is the one word that sums up this movie to me.  This film pretty much established that Christopher Nolan is my favorite director.  Before I saw the film I read an article about some of the films Nolan directed which includes many of my favorites like The Dark Knight, The Prestige (blew my mind), and Batman Begins.  But by the end of the article I learned that he also directed Memento another movie that blew my mind and really challenged the way I thought a movie story could be told.  I decided from that moment that if I really liked Inception Nolan would be my fave director. 

Now, I've already said that he is my fave director, so now you know that I loved this movie.  First of all the look of the movie.  I love a movie that is clean cut and clear. Second, the cast.  All members of the cast were good characters, believable, and good looking.  Third, but most importantly, the intricate and intense plot.  A lot of reviewers said that the movie was really confusing, but luckily it wasn't that confusing. I didn't really grasp a moment at the end, but I was able to get through the story with a good understanding of everything that happened. The ending was open ended, but I feel like that it didn't need to end any other way.  A huge part of my appreciation for this movie is that I decided not to overanalyze it.  I think Lost took away my ability to get too deep into what can be an inexplicable plot.  I've learned to "let go" and enjoy something for what it is.  So, no, I didn't go home thinking about kicks and totems.  Instead I went home thinking about the incredible and challenging experience that I had in the movie theaters.  It could only compare to The Prestige, which I also saw in theaters. I hope to see this movie again soon, but in IMAX. Can't wait! If you haven't seen it yet, see it now!

Still haven't seen The Last Airbender and may not be able to (they're not playing it in the city much), but hopefully I'll get a chance to see it soon.  There no other movies on my movie horizon at the moment, but I hoping to see some other things and give some more reviews in the future.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter had it's grand opening in Universal Orlando studio last week. I wish I was there :( but there has been a lot of great coverage from  MuggleNet (my fave Harry Potter website)and The Leaky Cauldron.  Check it out when you can :)

Update: Happy I didn't go...an 8 hour wait would be too much for me and I LOVE Harry Potter.

Futurama Premeires Tonight!

If you're a huge Futurama/Matt Groening/Simpsons style drawing fan tonight is the night you've been waiting for.  Futurama premieres on Comedy Central tonight at 10pm. I guess I'm a little late, but just in case you didn't know you can tune in now or scan for the repeats.  I'm personally not a fan of the series, but I just want to support Matt Groening and any fans out there with this post.  Enjoy having you're fave show back.

2010 Summer Movies

I don't think there has been a year that I've been less excited about Summer movies.  This is probably because the few movies that I have seen have been pretty underwhelming.

The first movie I saw was Iron Man 2. I guess it was more like a Spring movie, but I consider it Summer anyway.  It had it's funny moments (Tony Starks competitor) and exciting moments (Whiplash at the race track), but it still didn't make it to that epic level of the first Iron Man.  The final fight was really short and the overall movie was kind of long. I'm not saying it wasn't good, but it didn't live up to my expectations.  It was a typical sequel...not as good as the original. 

The next movie I saw was Sex & the City 2. Once again another sequel and an unneccessary one at that.  I saw the scathing reviews, but I thought I loved the show and the first movie.  So, I figured it would be one of those times that being a fan would make it better, but I was wrong.  I tried to like it, but the storyline didn't move me and didn't even really entertain me.  It was trying to hard and was a little too much.  I felt that stories like Miranda quitting her job could've been explored a little further versus Carrie and Big's boring relationship (I think I like it better when they're fighting or struggling with their relationship).  The part in Abu Dhabi made them seem like ignorant Americans versus worldly women of New York City.  I expected more from my NYC girls.  So yeah this movie got a thumbs down from me, I'm not getting that DVD.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen any other big movies, but I do have a new obsession that I might be blogging about in the future. It is called Avatar: The Last Airbender.  The movie The Last Airbender is coming out on July 1st or 2nd (I've seen 2 different dates). I just started watching the show about 3 weeks ago on Nicktoons and I have to say it is a really interesting show.  It is so well thought out that it reminds me of the Harry Potter books and as a AVID Harry Potter fan that is saying a great deal.  I love Aang, Sokka, Katara, Zuko, Iroh...everybody.  This is the one movie that I'm hoping won't disappoint me this summer. Hopefully, I'll catch some news to keep everyone informed :-) In the mean time check out the trailer below.

Homer Best in 20 Years

Homer is officially considered one of greatest characters of the last 20 years. I have to say I'm not surprised. Almost any character on the show could've easily made it on the list in my opinion. Check out an EW interview with Matt Groening and Dan Castellaneta at the link below. Congrats to Homer :-)
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/06/09/simpsons-matt-groening-dan-castellaneta-greatest-character-homer-simpson/

FIFA World Cup

While the Simpsons are in repeat and the summer shows have yet to begin, the perfect distraction is Football! By football I mean soccer of course.  The World Cup started this past Friday and so far the games (especially the USA vs. England game) have been pretty good. I watched my first World Cup in 2006 and it's great for it to return with the players I still remember. The games are daily and air on ABC and ESPN. I encourage you to check at least one USA game before the cup ends on july 11th.

Also check out the Nike Football ad below.  At around 2:22 you see Ronaldo kicking the ball past Homer. Who says Ronal-doh! Gotta luv it. The Simpsons are everywhere.

Recap: "Judge Me Tender"

I'm super late on this recap, so I'll keep it brief, but as informative as I can based on my notes.

Well, the chalkboard was really interesting because Bart wrote "End of Lost: It was all the dog's dream."  This was particularly striking because Lost had just come to a beautiful, but disappointing end.

The episode starts with Bart and Homer giving Santa's Little Helper a makeover, so he can win the ugliest dog contest at their local dog expo. When they arrive at the expo Lisa and Marge begin to explore.  The get to a booth where Flanders has Jesus fish that bred himself. Lisa asks him "So that natural selction was the origin of the species?" (Some good old Darwin evolution talk) Initially Flander agrees, but when the fish attempts to evolve and walk out the fish tank, Flanders stops it and says not on my watch.  Meanwhile at the ugliest dog contest Moe, who can't find a seat at the contest,  argues with Krusty over the quality of his judging.  Moe then shows that he has good judging skills, one of his judgements include saying "PETA called saying you could kill this one" to describe one really ugly dog. When Bart presents Santa's Little Helper's backside as his dog he wins the ugliest dog contest.

After the contest, everyone in town is impressed with Moe's judging skills.  Moe is then picked to judge the crazy beard contest. In order to close the bar early he has the flicker the lights to make Homer and the rest of the drunks to leave like pests or rodents.  This leaves Homer to spend more time with Marge which actually freaks her out.  After messes up the house she drives Homer to a sports bar, but he only feels out of place.  Back at home Homer does more dumb stuff like taking apart their washing machine. Abe encourages Marge to push Homer toward golf.

After the beard contest the Rich Texan encourages to judge/hate on a great deal of  other contests including the bonsai, bully, and car competitions.  Moe then goes to LA to judge on American Idol. Moe meets Simon Cowell and Simon reveals that he is impressed by Moe, but he also encourages Moe not to be the mean judge because it will make him lonely. Everyone is mean to Moe and even Ralph curses about him while Simon just blends into the shadows with his black shirt.  After the first performance of an American Idol contest Randy used all his usual comments ("dog" "pitchy" ....the usual), Kara said you rocked it, Ellen just rambled on, and Moe loves the performance due to Simon's encouragement. Finally, Simon gives very harsh feedback and even mocks Moe's comments. Moe realizes he has been doubel crossed and attempts to kill Simon with a broken coke bottle (classic Moe <3). During the struggle, Moe is encouraged by Ryan to keep the bottle's label toward the camera, but he quickly hauled away by security.

Meanwhile, back in springfield Marge has to stop Homer from getting addicted to golf.  Moe returns to Springfield and is back in the bar.  He laments that he didn't rip out Simon's voice box, but is comforted by the fact that he did stretch out his shirt. There was bit with Murdoch and Jay Leno at the end, but my notes aren't clear. Overall, the episode was an okay way to end the 21st season. I love Moe, so that helped. Having all the Idol judges (the old ones) was good, too.

My Goodbye to Lost :-)

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I started watching Lost right before the second season premeire.  They were airing reruns of the 1st season on ABC in anticipation of the second.  I remember wanting to watch the series premiere, but I was hooked on some other show, so I only saw bits and pieces during the commercial break. I was interested, but too committed to my other shows.  But once I caught the pilot I was hooked.  I had so many questions that I knew I had to watch the second season to get on with my life. Little did I know the questions would not be answered and each season I would be presented with more questions than answers.  Still I loved every moment of it (minus Strangers in a Strange Land...you know the infamous Bai Ling/Jack's tattoo episode). 

On Sunday night (in May) the series ended and I wasn't disappointed. I got the hint from the creators (Damon and Carlton aka Darlton or Cardam) that there would probably be little answers, so I let go of my expectations and took the episode for what it was. I can only describe the finale as beautiful.  It's difficult to remember moments where I wasn't trying my best to fight back tears. The tears started with the Jin and Sun reawakening, came back full force with the Claire and Charlie reawakening, and as the episode concluded in the church and Jack straggling back to the bamboo forest where he first met the island they wouldn't stop. The pictures from the credit were just as painful to watch. I couldn't believe that that's where it began and that the journey was over.  No more Tuesdays where I turn up the tv and prepare to get LOST.  It was like an escape to a world beyond comprehension and that forced me to go to message boards and led me to EW.com (my fave pop culture website).

Although the series is over and many questions were left unanswered (why were Walt and Aaron so special? What were the exact effects of the Incident?), but I felt that it was still a very satisfying finale.  I haven't been through many planned series finales, but if they were all as touching as these I would always be satisfied (I'm looking at you Simpsons).  Just wanted to say thank you to Darlton and J.J. Abrams for creating such a wonderful show that really changed what TV meant to me and thank EW's Doc Jensen for both illuminating and spoiling a lot of the show for me.

Can't wait to find my next TV addiction.  It's comforting to know that there are some decent summer shows coming up like my fave Big Brother and new additions like Bad Girls Club (yup there is a summer season in the works) and Jersey Shore (I'm sure nothing will top the original, but there is always hope).

Until next time.

Recap: "The Bob Next Door"

Recap coming soon. The Survivor finale is my excuse this week. Oh yeah and my laptop will be unavailable for a few days :-)

In this episode of the Simpsons they took the concept of craziness to another level, but that made it even more enjoyable. However, I am getting ahead of myself. This episode e started with the City of Springfield going through a budget crisis. At a town hall meeting they decide to make cutbacks. These cutbacks mean no more dead animal cleanups (cut to a scene where Krusty is shipping these dead animals for use at Krusty Burger). They also decided to release all low level criminals who do things like steal grapes and take multiple newspapers out of those weird newspaper boxes. Many people decide to sell their homes and move to Detroit for better lives (and that’s saying something).


As a result of all this movement the Simpsons get a new neighbor. Lisa and Marge are already fond of him after seeing his furniture and his hybrid car. Bart decides to introduce himself to new neighbor, but is freaked out when the stranger says “hello Bart” in a voice extremely similar to that of Sideshow Bob’s. But Walt, that’s the neighbor’s name, argues that he sounds like a lot people including Frasier

Everyone in town is smitten with Walt because he is really nice, but Bart remains suspicious. He tries to prove Walt is really Sideshow Bob by tempting him with Gilbert and Sullivan songs. They sing Three Little Maids from the Mikado (I think that’s the name of the musical), but Walt is shows no desire to join them. When Walt is out Bart searches his house and this forces Marge to take Bart to jail to check if Sideshow Bob is still there. When Marge arrives with Bart in the prison the prisoners start to catcall her, but in true fashion once she announces that she is married they leave her alone and apologize. When they arrive at Bart’s cell they see Sideshow Bob with pen in his mouth writing things on Bart dying. This comforts Bart, so he leaves with Marge. But Bob manages to escape when the guards attempt to help him as he chokes on the marker in his mouth.

Back at home Walt offers to take Bart to a baseball games and Bart happily accepts. While on their way to the game Sideshow Bob shows up at the Simpsons’ home and he is immediately attacked by Homer and Marge. But he manages to tell them that he is the real Walt Warren and it is believable because his voice is nothing like Sideshow Bob’s. They then wonder who is with Bart. We then cut back to the scene where “Walt” is driving Bart to the baseball game, but they drive right past the stadium. When Bart asks about them passing the theater “Walt” uncurls his feet from the tiny shoes and reveals that he is the really Sideshow Bob. He also uses this as an opportunity to sing all the Gilbert and Sullivan he wants.

Bob then explains how he performed a face transplant while in prison in order to take on Walt Warren’s appearance. And because Walt was a mild offender he was released a low level criminal. Back at home with Marge, Homer and Walt they search Bob’s home and find a room where he has dozens of pictures of Bart with knives through them (“Man that guy does not like Bart”). So, Homer and Marge take the car and go after Bart and Bob. Bart and Bob stop at rest stop and a diner waitress pulls a loose thread she finds on Bob’s neck and it loosens his face and it falls off and he rushes away with Bart. Walt, Homer and Marge stop at the same space and she pulls a loose thread on Walt’s collar and his Sideshow Bob face begins to fall off and the lady becomes convinced that she won’t find a man with a face that won’t fall off. She also convinces Homer and Marge that Bart has been taken to Mexico, but Warren heads in another direction because he isn’t convince

So, Bob takes Bart to the 5 corners in order to shoot him from on state, get hit in another state and then die in a third state which would make prosecution impossible. And he declares that it would be the “Best murder since Snape killed Dumbledore!” I was super excited to hear this Harry Potter reference, but Bart was disappointed because he hadn’t read the Half Blood Prince yet. Bob argues, and rightfully so, that it’s a 4 year old book. So, Bob tries to kill Bart, but Bart hops into the same state as Bob every time he moves. Eventually Walt arrives, steals Bob’s gun and tries to save Bart, but a Bee underneath his face distracts him and Bob gets his gun back. Meanwhile Homer and Marge are trying to translate Taco to a street vendor in Mexico. Luckily, Wiggum and police from many states show up to help them out. They found them because all hybrids have tracking devices because of the government. After Bob is put back in jail Ned’s cousin Ted Flanders moves in next door which equals pure torture to Homer- “Stop! Stop!”

Overall it was an awesome episode. I thought they would have been out of good Sideshow Bob ideas, but this was good. I was happy they decided to leave out his Italian family; they weren’t really fun for me. I especially like the whole loose thread bit. Great penultimate episode to this season of the Simpsons.