Ten Dollars. Two people...One Day

For my local readers who may not know, allow me to share this little nugget: select Regal Theaters have $5 movies on Tuesday nights. Any Tuesday, any movie (except 3D and IMAX obvi), any showing. For a list of participating theaters, click here. 

The very estimable Natalie Kennedy and I find ourselves at the Fiesta more often than not on a Tuesday night. This past Tuesday was no exception.

We decided to see One Day. Here is the story line (courtesy of IMDB): After spending the night together on the night of their college graduation Dexter and Em are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives. They are sometimes together, sometimes not, on that day. 

I went into this blind, having never seen a preview. I had seen the poster (seen above) with the tagline "Twenty years. Two people...One day" so I cleverly pieced together that this would span a couple of decades of their life. 

I have been a fan of Jim Sturgess since Across the Universe and I am a sometimes-fan of Anne Hathaway. I thought they were both great in this. It was a cute, occasionally funny, at times earnest and usually very sweet movie. 

WARNING: mild spoiler ahead...

I was debating about how to review this movie without giving anything away and came to the conclusion that if you are reading this blog, you either want to know if a movie is worth going to or you are a loyal friend who would read my blog regardless of the content. So, with that possibly erroneous conclusion in mind, I will tell you that I am not a fan of movies without happy endings. I am not one who watches a movie for the lesson or the art. I want to have 2 hours where I am not thinking about work, or any of the myriad of other mundane details in my life, where I can just sit and be entertained. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't like a good drama - I do. It just means that I want to leave the theater feeling better than when I came in.

As I'm sure you have ascertained by now, being the clever readers that you are, this movie did not allow me to walk out of the theater happier than going in.

The crux: This movie had me invested from the get-go. It had a good story line,   interesting characters and  a cute love story. If you hate sad endings, skip it. If you don't mind them, get it while it is hot. If you are somewhere in between, Redbox it.

If any of you have seen this movie, tell me what you thought of it. If you haven't, drop me a comment anyway.

Summer Series Summary

Confession: I am someone who lives in fear of there being an amazing TV show out there and me not knowing about it. I realize that may sound silly to some of you, but I genuinely like TV. I know it is the fashion is to pretend like you don't have the time to watch it or that you prefer the erudite and cerebral pursuits to the fatuous hunt for somewhat brainless entertainment. If you are that guy...read no further. I am banning all things scholarly and academic from my blog.

For this, my first post - I will be sharing my thoughts on the Summer Series' of 2011, specifically new series'. My follow-up blog will cover my favorite summer shows from years past (only the still-running shows...canceled shows will just depress me).

WILFRED

Premise: The story of Ryan, a depressed man who believes he is getting nowhere in his life and plans to kill himself. In the middle of his attempted suicide, he is asked to watch his neighbor's dog, Wilfred, but Ryan can only see Wilfred as a real person instead of an animal that everyone else sees. As they begin to bond more and become friends, Wilfred teaches Ryan a life lesson about people, love, and living.

Sounds ok, right? I will admit that I am a tad bit more lenient with shows that are original. If you are coming up with something fresh, you are allowed to be a bit dumber than your less original counter-parts. That said, I don't care how original you are if your show is complete crap. 

Here is my rule with new TV shows: I will watch 3 episodes of a show before deciding to delete the DVR timer. I recognize that a pilot episode is rarely that great because they are spending most of the show setting up the characters and storyline. If you haven't won me over by the 3rd episode though, you have lost the opportunity.

This is one of the very few shows (I can think of maybe 2 or 3 in my extensive history of TV watching) that I just couldn't bring myself to watch even a second episode. The first was painful enough and I would hope that I have enough self-love to spare myself the agony of any more.

Bottom Line: Don't do it...learn from me and save yourself!

SUITS

Premise: One of Manhattan's top corporate lawyers sets out to recruit a new hotshot associate and hires the only guy that impresses him: Mike Ross, a brilliant but unmotivated college dropout. Though he isn't actually a lawyer, this legal prodigy has the book smarts of a Harvard law grad and the street smarts of a hustler. However, in order to serve justice and save their jobs, both these unconventional thinkers must continue the charade.

This is my favorite new series. I like all of the characters and the storylines are actually interesting. This is one of a small handful of shows that I usually watch on the night it comes on rather than whenever I have time to catch up.

If you haven't seen this show yet...might I suggest catching up on this year so you can be ready for next summer?

FRANKLIN AND BASH

Premise: Lawyers and lifelong friends Jared Franklin and Peter Bash are recruited by a large firm's major partner after winning a high-profile case.

I got the premises for these shows from IMDB. I don't feel like this one really does the show justice. They are actually super unconventional trial attorneys that pull ridiculous stunts in court. If you are looking for a realistic court drama, keep looking. If you are looking for a light-hearted, usually funny, always entertaining show about 2 besties - here it is.

I will admit, I might be a little biased in its favor since I really like Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer (who I may have met at a Barenaked Ladies concert once). I was pretty bummed when Raising the Bar got canceled (random fact: UK, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Canada all spell it cancelled) and am rooting for this one to last. 

I think those are the only new shows I tested out this year...let me know if I am missing out on anything. I do have all of the episodes of Falling Skies on my DVR, but haven't had a chance to watch them yet. Is it worth the 10 hours of my life it would take to catch up on it?

I hope you enjoyed my delicious insight into this year's crop of Summer shows. Let me know what you think of the new shows this year.