1762 - Weeds: season eight

It has been a long-ass ride to the end of this series.  Regardless of quality it's one of the more unique series in it's willingness to completely re-invent itself and it did so in some pretty amusing ways.  I was ridiculously impressed when the series actually sent Nancy off to prison and forced her to pay for her crimes.  This season was all about coming full circle, getting back to the suburbs and the heart of the story, and it did so in kind of a clunky way.  What comes now will be SPOILER RIDDEN, so proceed with caution…

As previously mentioned, this series has never had an issue re-inventing itself, jumping ahead in time, etc… so it wasn't a huge shock that the finale would jump ahead…. eight years?  Is that right?  And looking at the other jumps in time, and the seasons themselves it seems as if the entire series takes place over… what 13-15 years?  That's kind of amazing, really.  It almost felt like they re-watched the first season of the series to see what they should revisit here…. Scotson.  Check!  Shane's fascination with Pittsburg - check!  Silas and Megan - check!  Andy and the Rabbi chick - check!  Doug and his gay son - check!  Jumping ahead so far for the finale also meant forcing a lot of focus on a new actor as Stevie, the character who was probably given the least amount of focus for the rest of the series.  Am I happy that they all found peace at the end?  Sure - and I like that it left Nancy feeling pretty fucked up, and that Andy never gave in.  Their relationship was always the highlight for me.  Both Mary-Louise Parker and Justin Kirk are absolutely phenomenal, and their chemistry has been a huge plus to the show, and probably the chief reason that I always returned to it.  Their scene on the spot where her first husband died was a thing of beauty and pain and was easily one of the shows finest moments. 

So farewell to this show - I can't say I'll miss it terribly as I watched it more to see how it would end up - it ceased being the must-watch show that it started out as.  Kind of like an ex-girlfriend whom you have an amicable break-up with.  You still like them but you don't love them anymore, and don't think much about them when they're away. 

1650 - Bullets Over Broadway

So for my second film of my Woody Allen birthday fest I've picked something from the same time period as the previous one.  Woody had his a stride around this time in the early-mid nineties with a lot of solid comedies.  I think he went through a period of wanting to do lighter material, perhaps in response to his personal life being a bit heavy - although, what's the point in assuming?  Let's talk about the film!
John Cusack stars as a pretentious playwright who opens the film declaring "I'm an artist!".  He's had two flops on broadway which were, obviously, the director's fault.  This time he's going to direct - but the only way that his producer can get someone to finance the film is if he's willing to cast a mobster's girlfriend in the show - and she just happens to be an absolutely terrible actor.  It's such a great premise and it's an even better film - especially once the bodyguard meant to protect the girlfriend turns out to be the only true artist and we see just how far he's willing to go to make a great piece of art.  It's chock full of phenomenal performances, great plot turns, and clever lines.  In terms of story it might be one of Woody's more clear-cut films - and perhaps that's more to do with his co-writer than himself, but it's a really great example of comedy through character and situation.  It's bizarre to think that this film is almost twenty years old now (probably because it just makes me feel old), but it's another one of the classic Woody films that if you haven't seen, you really owe it to yourself to check out.

1626 - Weeds: season seven

Weeds has never been shy about showing Mary-Louise Parker off as a sexual object - especially in it's press material as seen above.  And who are we kidding?  She's pretty damn sexy in this show - and not only that but other characters consistently call her on her bullshit, which keeps you from hating the hell out of the character.
One thing Weeds does that no other show does is re-invent itself.  It's first three seasons took place in the 'burbs, but then it boldly shifted, and continued and continued to shift, until last season ended with Nancy being taken off to jail.  And now, it's three years later, and she's out on parole.  If you don't want to know any more I suggest you stop reading here.  There will be SPOILERS AHEAD.

So.  It's a fairly common trend these days for shows that have been on for awhile to do a time jump.  Mad Men did it, as did Desperate Housewives and most recently, True Blood.  It's a nice way to reset the cast and give them new things to do.  I liked the idea of shifting the series to New York and giving as a completely different playground to play in.  I loved bringing Heyla James back into the fold, and I liked seeing the other characters in different places, and I ALWAYS love Justin Kirk - who is as adorable and funny as Parker is sexy and charismatic. 
Weeds is one of those shows that is good at putting their characters into a big pickle and then easily getting them out.  For a more dramatic version of this, see Breaking Bad.  And while the entire season was like this, it's finale took it to a whole other level - one that I might just not buy.  Having Shane commit murder - great season hanger.  Having Nancy dragged off to prison - phenomenal.  Having Nancy with a sniper rifle on her, and ending with an unknown BANG... well... that's just a bit shitty.  Either the show gets cancelled, and the series ends with Nancy finally getting her comeuppance, or the show continues and they need to bullshit there way around this - either way I don't think it's ideal.
Will I tune in next season?  Of course I will.  Nancy is a great character in a series rich with them, and when the writing isn't so-so, it's pretty damn great.  That and I really want to see Nancy and Andy hook up (even if I do think that he can do sooooo much better)...

1516 - Naked in New York

I don't think I'd even heard of this film prior to seeing it on netflix, and the siren call of Mary-Louise Parker is pretty much enough to lure me into anything.  Here she co-stars with Eric Stoltz as a young ambitious couple while both of their careers take off and force them to live apart. The film doesn't tackle so much the idea of a long distance relationship as it does about choosing what's important in life, personal relationships or professional?
This film is full of a lot of really lovely little moments, my favorite being the one about where Mary-Louise Parker is self conscious from having an orgasm in front of someone for the first time.  It really is a simple lovely little touch.  I think that she's just such an interesting actress and just commands the screen.  There is an unpredictability to her and I love it.
The other aspects of the film are okay as well.  It wanders into pretentious here and there, and then on the other hand it's trying very hard to be like a Woody Allen romantic comedy film, but tries too hard at times to work that tone, abandoning it''s own.
A decent film - hard to find I imagine.  It's ending, despite being set up quite well thematically, is still completely unsatisfying to me and probably the weakest thing about the film.  That being said one might be interested in it regardless, and if that's you - by all means - dig right in!
Naked in New York  Naked in New York

1481 - Saved!

I've broken my Christmas-film streak already. In all fairness I really wanted to watch Love Actually tonight but it would appear as that my copy is M.I.A. and netflix doesn't have it. I had some other options, but ever since I saw this on netflix I've been meaning to watch it since it's been on my list of films to watch for many many years.

I grew up surrounded by religion and I find it an interesting topic. I don't really prescribe to a religion. I'm of the opinion that all you really need to be is a descent person - if it makes you feel better to lend yourself to a deity - all the better. What's really interesting about this film is that it's not about "is religion useful or useless?". It's about how people misinterpret religion and assign it to horrible rules and regulations. The key line comes when someone questions all the rules in the bible and questioned "Why would God make us all so different if he wanted us to be the same?" People could easily argue that that is actually the test, to restrain from being too different. If that's true, if that's what we're supposed to do in this life, then I'm happy to fail.

This film is full of great young performers (not to mention Mary-Louise Parker, whom will always hold a place in my heart). Jena Malone continues to delight me in everything I see her in. Patrick Fugit is still one of the more under-used actors of his generation - why he's not cast more often I have no idea. I'm just starting to become familiar with Eva Amurri, but I like what I see. Macaulay Culkin is also a treat here. And Mandy Moore, well, who doesn't love to play a villain as juicy at this one?

If you can dig on a thoughtful film about religion and moral ambiguity search no further. It's smart, fun, and fresh. Well worth an hour and a half of your time!

1470 - Weeds: season six

If absolutely nothing else you have to give this series some credit for having the balls to throw caution to the wind and do something else consistently. Ever since the Botwins fled Agrestic at the end of season three, things have continually gotten stranger and worse for the clan (which is saying something). Weeds does amazing season-ending-cliff hangers and last season's was no slouch. In fact it resulting in this ENTIRE season dealing with the fallout from it - and that will actually continue onto the next season, understandably so. If you aren't up to date on Weeds stop reading now - spoilers to follow:

Shane has been going off the deep end for some time now and last season ended with him snapping completely, and in a fantastic fashion. So this season saw the Botwins fleeing, scraping by trying to come up with a plan to flee the country in general. Just as that becomes a possibility Nancy has to put Plan C into motion - and what a plan it is - it's the kind of plan that will, once again, change this series in a major way. But not just as a plot - it was a huge character move for her - it was her (besides saving her own life) doing something completely selfliss (which is saying something considering that Nancy is a borderline sociopath).

Mary-Lousie Parker is brillint here. You couldn't stick with her character otherwise. The stand-out for me is always going to be Justin Kirk - damn it I love that guy. I thought that they did a pretty great job this season and I look forward to where our team takes us next, and hope that the gang isn't apart for too long.

1264 – Weeds: season five

I’ll be the first to admit that I almost tapped out of this show around season three when it got… weird. But then starting the fourth season it kind of re-invented itself to the point where, now, it’s in a state of complete awesomeness.

What was beautiful about this season in particular is that all of it’s characters, new and old, got some form of reality check. Mary-Louise Parker continues to dazzle in both performance and beauty, but Shane is quickly becoming the most interesting character, even though Justin Kirk’s Andy is still my favorite aspect of this series. I heart that man and would be extremely happy to have the chance to work with him one day.

Without spoiling anything, this is a series that prides itself on cliff-hanging season finales, and this one, was probably the best of the best. Can’t wait for season six!

1124 - Weeds - season four

After a pretty bland third season Weeds came back fighting, re-inventing itself in a little border town just outside of Mexico. Just like their second season they've ending on a beautiful cliff-hanger that leaves you wondering the fate of all involved in the show. There's a rumor floating around that the fifth season will be it's last. This feels about right. Don't get me wrong. I love this show, but because of it's nature of consistently getting it's cast in and out of trouble there comes a point where you just want to see them settle in. As much as this is Mary-Louise Parker's show, and she really is fantastic in it. She's beautiful, smart, sexy, and she never ever has a false moment. Really great performance. But like I said, as much as it's her show I love Justin Kirk. I think he's equally as fantastic as Parker but in a different way. Not sure where they found him but he's a gem. Can't believe I have to wait till May for new episodes. Thank goodness Dexter and Californication are coming back soon...