Oh, great! Now The Cheerleader, The World & The Show Need to be Saved. Heroes & Other Overrated TV Shows

Ever had people tell you certain TV show is completely amazing and you just HAVE TO watch? Just to realize you have no idea what all the fuss was about? Here’s the list.

American Idol (2002-Present; season 9 in progress)


I’m not really into reality/game show type of entertainment. I watched couple of episodes during season 8 final (Adam vs Chris) and wasn’t that impressed. I mean, it’s cool they give opportunity to talents no one would ever know otherwise, but do they actually succeed (with the exception of Kelly Clarkson). Anyway, it’s nice to watch if you have nothing better to do, but it’s definitely not as amazing as everyone says.

Lost (2004-2010; season 6 and series finale will air on May 23rd)

I watched this show just last year, borrowed from a friend. I loved it, especially caused by Ian Somerhalder (Boone) and Hugo. I loved season 1 and 2, but in the mid of season 3 I suddenly lost interest. Firstly because of the whole Kate-Jack-Sawyer love triangle thing. It's just not an easy thing to watch these 2 nice men fighting over some selfish bitch. Call me jealous. I don't care.


Second cause I started to slow down watching Lost is when they killed off Boone.
Hello!!! Killing Ian Somerhalder - the ultimate eye candy and the good enough guy in that show?



The Office (2005-; season 6 finale will air May 20th)


It was supposed to be funny, hilarious even. Yeah, I didn’t get that. To me it was just a bunch of boring people in the office. Situations in which they got into, their relationships, whatever…it wasn’t entertaining enough for me to keep watching. And it’s more painful than funny. Sorry.

Glee (2009-; season 1 finale airs June 8th)


Usually when new shows come out ,I pick one or two episodes to watch, then decide if I’m sticking with them or not. I pick Glee all together with "The Good Wife", "Human Target" and "Spartacus". The Good Wife is the only thing I'm hanging on to after watching the first 2 episodes. Still trying to decide whether to watch the ridiculously entertaining action of Human Target. Glee didn’t make the watch list. I don’t know, maybe it’s the whole teenagers singing songs for an hour deal that doesn’t appeal to me. I might give it a chance later if some other series turn out to be bad so I can make time. We’ll see.

Mad Men (2007-; season 4 starts airing in July)


This one keeps coming up in conversations as super awesome show. I watched the first 2 episodes and thought the show is just "meh". Sure the whole advertising thing might appeal some of us working in the industry, but not others. I don't think so. Even Don Draper (plus the lovely Christina Hendricks) is not enough to get me to watch the 3rd episode. I just can’t buy into Mad Men. Something about the show has always struck me as fraudulent. Maybe it’s the fact that all those cigarettes you see being smoked on Mad Men aren’t even real.

30 Rock (2006-; season 4 finale airs May 6th)


Comedy. Isn’t that suppose to be funny? This one’s not. Not even a little bit. Maybe it’s the script, storyline or the cast, I just don’t like it. The only thing that’s funny about it, is the fact I usually love Alec Baldwin, but in this show he bugs the hell out of me. Can't compare this with How I met Your Mother, let alone Friends.

Heroes (2006-2010; season 4 ended in February)


Oh, Heroes. When it came out it was fresh, entertaining, different. I loved it. It was the only sci-fi show I could watch in a while. It became super popular and soon after lost all of its appeal. I watched the first two seasons and stopped in the middle of third. It was right after Adam Munroe's death and after Sylar killed Elle. The show started to loose its former glory around the end of season 2, but I kept watching because of Kristen Bell. When she was killed off, I really had nothing to look forward to anymore. Weak storyline, average performance by the cast and no more silver lining. Forget the heroic actions. After that, heroes became ordinary people. Boring ones.

So, what do you think about these shows? Love them, hate them, love to hate them? Let me know :) And be sure to come back for the most underrated ones.

Between a Humanitarian, a Former Prime Minister and A Comical Couple

The Book of Eli

Saw this last week. I have to say I’m impressed with the post-war futuristic yet apocalyptic and grim setting of the movie. In some common Hollywood movie, we will get a visual satisfaction of what the future would be, and certainly not the one captured in this movie. That is what makes this movie interesting. The idea of "The Book of Eli" is to rebuild society, but who will carry those ideas? The clash between Eli (Denzel W) and Carnegie (Gary Oldman) is quite interesting to watch. As Eli, Denzel’s performance is impeccable. Oldman is a remarkable actor, we are all aware of that. But to see him in this movie is to be aware that he allocates his entire spirit and personality for this role (Carnegie). I can’t stop observing his performance and I think it’s inimitable.

Lastly, I like the movie partly because it is a reminder to us human, not to waste things, to have a respect for objects we threw away, we might need them someday.

One particular quote I remember from the movie: "Before, people had more than they needed. They threw away things that people would kill for now.”

Verdict: 4.2 out of 5

The Ghost Writer

The movie is directed by Roman Polanski. Couple of years ago, he was quite famous.... for being a pedophile. For some time we seem to forget the great director behind the man. His latest big movie was The Pianist, gain Oscar nomination, but not quite as entertaining as Rosemary's Baby. It was my favorite Polanski movie by far.

Well.... I think the great director is back. Now I can remember him as the Director of Rosemary's Baby. As RB, I can also describe The Ghost Writer as a dark thriller. It's a dark political thriller and it gave me an unsettling feeling, through the uncertain nature of conspiracy. The movie was made with precision, supported by a great cast and a creepy atmosphere, Polanski left no detail unattended. The story centers around a politician and his support for America, or should I say his service to America to follow and back up whatever its direction lead him. Was Mr. Polanski inspired by the “love” story between Tony Blair and GWB? I think so. It’s a brave subject to begin with, Mr. Polanski. (I think I'm going to see Rosemary's Baby for the umpteenth times). Verdict: 4.5 out of 5.

Date Night

I'm very critical of comedies, so the fact that I giggled throughout the movie is a good sign. I like Tina Fey, so I took a chance on it. I didn’t like Steve Carrell, I always thought he looked stupid, but this movie proved me wrong. Still not loving him, but I have to admit he is a good comedian. They both are and they had great chemistry. The plot is silly, but the dialogue was hilarious. I would put this in the "dumb movies that are funny" category. I'd recommend it.

Verdict: 3.7 out of 5

What Are Your Guilty Pleasures?

I am now inside my room, browsing the internet and blogging...... wearing a very loose batik daster/caftan (it's like a caftan made of batik) while listening to Britney Spears' Toxic and other songs on my guilty pleasures play list.

Sooo..... what is a guilty pleasure anyway? How do you define that? I found myself having a hard time putting it into words, so I turned to yet another guilty pleasure: the internet. Dictionary.com and Wikipedia came up blank on the concept. Google didn't acknowledge it as a whole concept (define: guilty; define: pleasure).

So, I just have to come up with my own definitions:
1. Guilty pleasures are things that I like but having a hard time admitting to anyone.
2. Guilty pleasures are songs that I listen to (i.e. Britney, NKOTB) but sure as hell wouldn't wear their t-shirt in public.
3. Guilty pleasures are things that I enjoy doing although I know it's baaaaaad for me.
4. Guilty pleasures are things that I enjoy but ashamed to admit.
5. Etc.

Hah!! Talking about music taste, this is really not my taste (for most of the times). But I have to say I secretly enjoy listen to these songs when I'm feeling kinda crappy. What are the others? Well... to name a few: The right stuff by NKOTB (^_^), Material Girl by Madonna and Boyzone's No Matter What.

Daster/Caftan
And I'm not yet getting into the daster/caftan part. It's really really a comfy piece of clothes, as I can eat whatever I want while wearing it.


Food
Ok, so I don't have a hard time admitting that I like oily and very spicy belacan fried rice (with sunny side egg) and cakes, but I have a hard time feeling good after finishing a big plate of fried rice and later a thick slice of choco fudge cake, accompanied by mocha ice blend, with extra whipped cream. Peanuts, chocolate and ice creams are my weaknesses. I enjoy life a tad too much sometimes.

Music & Film
The likes of Britney and NKOTB for sure. Also a little Air Supply and The Bee Gees (shock right?). I also have a whole box set of Jane Austen Romance Movies. My favorite is Pride & Prejudice.

I have six versions of Pride & Prejudice Movies:
1. 1940 BW version starring Greer Garson and Lawrence Olivier (my fave version).

2. 1980 AE version (downloaded from the internet)

3. 1995 BBC version starring Colin Firth (my least fave - bought the box set in Lahore, Pakistan in 2004). I think Jennifer Ehle is too cynical and serious, kinda ruin the Lizzie character.

4. 2003 Indian version starring Aishwarya Rai

5. 2003 modern version (downloaded)
6. 2005 version starring Keira Knightley and Matt McFadyen (I have to say he's my favorite Mr. Darcy, he gave me mixed emotions: anger, annoyance, excitement, compassion and love)

Apart from movies, Grey's Anatomy and Vampire Diaries are my current TV obsession. Heroes used to be one, but the show become so ugly it's no longer a guilty pleasure, more like a public annoyance, like Sinetron.

Books
I like historical romance novels.... yeah. Jane Austen's I enjoy, but not exactly embarrassed to admit. I like the cheesy ones. There. I said it. This is one of 'em.