...I've done a lot of complaining over the years about the quality of TV shows and movies. For example, I thought "Slumdog Millionaire" was good, but hardly deserving of Best Picture of the Year. I don't honestly know what film should have gotten that award because I don't see enough movies. The truth is, most of them put me to sleep. When I look back at some of the finalists for Best Picture this decade, I'm struck by how little buzz there's been about so many of them. For example, no one has ever recommended to me "No Country for Old Men," "The Departed," or "Crash," the three winners before "Slumdog." I don't know if I know anyone who's even seen them. Personally, I can only point to "Juno" as a movie I would actually recommend from this list. I saw the first half of "There will be Blood" and thought Daniel Day-Lewis did a good job, but I never felt compelled to watch the rest of it. In my mind a better title would have been "There will be Boredom." I also didn't find Hilary Swank convincing in "Million Dollar Baby," and all Bill Murray proved to me in "Lost in Translation" was that he could read his lines (same with "Broken Flowers"). As for "Sideways," everybody I knew at the time raved over it, but it was lost on me.
As far as television is concerned, I'll admit I'm starting to like "The Office," although it's taken me a while. I'll concede that it's creative but I'm not completely sold on it just yet. To be fair, my older boy swears by "Lost," and says it may be the best show he's ever seen. And I especially liked Alec Baldwin in the couple of times I've seen "30 Rock."
Having said all that, I'd like to put in a plug for HBO. I've been a big fan of "Real Time with Bill Maher" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" for a long time now and am enjoying the new season of "In Treatment," with Gabriel Byrne. Larry David really takes "Seinfeld" to a new level with "Curb" and anyone who's ever seen a therapist would appreciate the realism of "In Treatment." I think the shows on HBO are infinitely better than anything else on TV or on the Big Screen. They're edgy, gutsy, and deeply textured in a way that I haven't seen elsewhere. "The Sopranos" needs no bona fides from me, although the mob isn't my cup of tea. "Big Love" gets a Big Thumbs Up from my wife and my older boy speaks highly of "Entourage." Other series that I've heard good things about are "The Wire," "Rome," "Deadwood," "Six Feet Under," and "Da Ali G Show." Maybe now that the election is over I can stop watching all those political shows and check out more of the stuff on HBO. It's a premium channel and costs extra, but I'd tell anyone to skip paying nine bucks for a movie and get a subscription instead.
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The Departed is actually pretty awesome. I rented it once (after I had seen parts of it here and there) and after watching it, I went to the chapter menu and started watching it all over again. I can't remember if I've ever done that with a movie before or since. I also thought the most recent Batman was excellent. It was entertaining but had an interesting level of complexity too. I saw it at an IMAX theater and it seemed to add to the experience. Chicago looked great in it too.
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