Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Best Medicine



One of my favourite shows on TV this moment has got to be Modern Family. I know it has been around for a while now but I am becoming more and more obsessed with it.

The show has all the makings of a great TV comedy series but what’s more important too is that, it also has all the essential ingredients of MY favourite TV pastimes – it’s witty, with great writing, brilliant cast and so SOO damn, f***ing funny. Never mind a couple of its main characters probably wouldn’t see the light of days in our primetime TV slot, or on our streets for that matter, but the dialogues are so smart, they usually left me rolling on the floor – literally.

The half-hour series is largely presented in a mockumentary style. It follows the families of Jay Pritchett, his daughter, Claire Dunphy and his gay son Mitchell Pritchett.

And how is this family exactly called ‘modern’ you may ask?

Well – take a long, deep breath - Claire is married to Phil Dunphy (my favourite of all) with their three children, Haley, Alex and Luke, while Mitchell and his partner, Cameron Tucker have a Vietnamese baby daughter, Lily. Jay, himself, is married to a young hot Colombian woman, Gloria Pritchett with a son from previous marriage, named Manny Delgado.

Now with all these diabolically (but extremely lovable) twisted nuts around, of course the chaos ensures.

It never ceases to amaze me, how the writers can come out with such brilliantly hilarious dialogues for every single episode. Add that to a bunch of genius comedians like them, the show is really a laugh-a-riot. No wonder it managed to snag the highest accolades on American TV - Best Comedy Series last year at the Emmys for their first season (sorry Gleeks!). And I wouldn't be surprised at all if they will again repeat their successful run at this year’s awards season. The show is simply unstoppable. (Sorry again, Gleeks!)

For all the great things that are going on for it, which I probably won’t be able to stop gushing, it’s unfathomable why it receives a rather lukewarm response here in our local TV scene. Well, for starter, if you are subscribing to Astro’s variety package, you can only catch it on Fox (Channel 702), at ungodly hour, 10.30pm on Sunday night. I mean, to be fair, my guess it's possibly due to its so-called ‘risqué’ theme, which I must admit, it should’ve been expected. Boo!

Anyway, since I’ve committed myself to ‘other equally important things’ on Sunday nights and until I got myself an Astro Beyond decoder, I have to look to other options (legal or not) to get hold of every episode. Now what a dude, with black market connections got to do to satisfy his TV’s fix? Well, He went and bought pirated ones from one of his ‘friends’. Ha!

(And Oh! Just for your info, the original DVD isn’t out yet from Speedy Videos network, I know that, cause I have been harassing that poor sales clerk lady from Speedy Videos, everyday)

I have also been streaming and downloading every episode online, but my internet bills had gone out of the roof. So now, I make a completely use of my new office's wifi coverage for my illegal activities. Thanks to my diligence and steel perseverance I now got the entire episodes on season 1 and some from season 2 in my laptop. Hooray!

I know this is unhealthy, in a freaky sort of ways, but for something can make me laugh so hard, how can it be so bad?

Sunday, May 15, 2011

End Of The World As We Know It!

Oh good gravy.

James Durbin is gone. Finally.

Now who do I want to see get booted next? Oh please - everybody, say it with me! - Haley!

Since the beginning of the show, these two contestants really grate on my freaking nerves. So looking one of them go is like laser-beaming a half of a kidney stone the size of tennis ball.

But my friend warned me, “Don't write Haley out," he said, "When the earth is destroyed, I am convinced that cockroaches and Haley will survive. She seems to have a quality and ability to rise from the ashes."

NOOOOO……..

(Sound of gunshot, crows caw as they fly away, gray world spins on. loud thump, silence. Then, wind chimes.)

Oh man! I want to be like that. I mean, I want to be like her. I can’t sing but I sure can survive the post-apocalyptic world. Oh come on, just look at my bedroom now. Serious.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Stupid, Angry Me

This is it. I had it. I am soo over American Idol right now. When American Idol started this year, I was wondering who would fill the void Taylor Hicks left 5 years ago as the only real winner - I am sad to say it looks like it’s not going to happen this year.

It seems like that this year, that shrieking jackal James Durbin (Urgh!) is gonna take the crown.

I don't really need to go into all the reasons why James makes me want to shove my ears with a pencil. Just watch him perform Bon Jovi’s ‘I’ll be there for you’ and everything will become clear to you. You'll wish you could stab your ears with a pencil too.

James isn't a bad singer, it's just everything else! When he does that signature wail, garage doors go flying, cars combust and dogs run into traffic. The b*****d sounds like a hyena on helium getting shot.

It's like his scream is taunting me to punch him in the mouth.

That said, I hate him so much that I think I love him. When he debuts his post-Idol album that no one buys, it will be bittersweet for me. I mean, who else will make me write this stupid angry outburst on my blog using the blood from my bleeding ears?

Sunday, May 1, 2011

So Long, Suckers!

Recently, I watched a really great movie on HBO. I think it’s called ‘Chaos Theory’ or something – starring Ryan Reynolds, Stuart Townsend and Emily Mortimer and some other unknown actors.

Okay, I know the cast were all suspiciously good looking but I can assure you that’s not the whole point I am trying to make here (though I probably wouldn’t mind to elaborate on that with you in private *wink*)

Anyhoo, the movie was about a time-management specialist cum professor and extremely organised man whose life turned upside down when one day he accidently broke up his iron-tight routine. And what happened next was just a series of stunning and hilarious revelation about his own life.

I must say, though the movie has its funny moments - in parts, but it’s more of a drama type about how our hero, Frank finding out that meticulous planning and efficiency does not make him any happier or sane. This realisation and complete personal change is engagingly portrayed throughout the film. Frank's situation connects to the viewers, and easily evokes much sympathy - especially when that particular viewer is also kinda, ehem, constantly undergoing “personal change” himself.

Oh yeah, no matter how hard I try to be less narcissistic sometimes, at the end, I still manage to make even this pathetic attempt on so-called movie review all about me, don’t I? Ha!

Anyway, like I told you, I have tendered my resignation and last Friday was my last day. I left the place where I’ve been busted my ass for the past 4 years and I finally am moving on. No drama, just, well, move on. I loved the place - just it wasn’t as much fun as it was before. Tsk! Tsk!

So, what is more important in life? Is it loyalty? Own personal growth? Or free parking slot?

You know what, that’s the very same question that haunts me constantly. And the movie best summed up how I felt in recent months – uncertain and confused. But as Jack says in the movie, ‘when the chips are down, no matter how far ahead or meticulous we may have planned out our life for, we would still bound for little surprises along the way, so stop fretting,!' I guess, I wouldn’t know what the best life has to offer if I never even try to wonder, wouldn’t it?

And Oh, and just to celebrate my latest ‘personal change’, I got myself a new skin (blog skin, silly!) to symbolise the fresh start, the new beginning, the new era. I feel the need to start with a clean slate.

Cool innit?