what i am watching, august update

hi everyone
my friend shu shu said i should write a list of things i've been watching lately
this year i've been doing phases of like writing intensely, reading intensely or watching movies or watching tv intensely
i am in a phase of watching tv intensely at the moment, like rather epicly. this is what i have been watching i guess since i last did a post like this

true blood s1-5
my flatmates kept raving about how good true blood is and i was like ok some of my australian friends enjoy this stuff so i decided to give it a go finally and guess what there are loads of really beautiful sexy people in it and they are naked a lot of the time and you get to watch them biting each other. so i watched probably about 4 seasons in 3 weeks and am now up to date.

newsroom
just discovered this show on the weekend and somehow watched 8 episodes within 2 days i think? there are some weak aspects of this show like the acting is pretty bad but i like the concept of the show. like a kind of pop-news anchor who was doing news to get ratings has all of his team leave him and his ex-gf who happens to be a real good executive producer comes along and she convinces him to 'give people the news'. she is probably the worst actress in the show unfortunately. i think my interest in this show will fade when jim and maggie get together, which they probably will, but not until the end of the season. so it's got me until that happens. also this is enjoyable because they all talk really fast which reminds me of grey's anatomy in a way. also they have poached a lot of actors who've been left by the wayside ie from parks and rec: mark, lucy (tom's gf in s2), anwar from skins.. um...

it's always sunny in philadelphia
i have been gradually watching this over the past couple of weeks, it's just hard to find a good place to stream it. it's a pretty funny show but in the sort of seinfeld sense. it's not like "clever" in the way that seinfeld is but it's like you just get to know the nuances of the characters and like the dumb stuff they do. and that's the appeal of this one really. just waiting for danny devito to get in.

west wing
i watched 2 episodes of this last night because i have heard that it's an amazing show and i figured if i like newsroom potentially i will like west wing. turns out that rob lowe is in it and a whole bunch of other awesome people and it's kind of lame but less lame than a coldplay montage in episode 4 guys (helloo newsroom).

boardwalk empire
this is a really really beautiful show to watch but i find that it's pretty heavy and sort of slow-going. i really like it though, steve buscemi is a genius in it. america in the 1930s seems really awesome. if you don't know about this show it is about prohibition and how the treasurer of atlantic city somehow runs the alcohol racket and basically the whole town. nice

louie
i can't remember whether i was watching this last time i wrote a post like this. it's great, it really is. louie seems like a stand up guy....... .. . . . ..  he is just so bloody clever. apparently he edits the show as well which is nice.

the wire (only sort of)
sometimes i watch this show when i am cooking dinner. it doesn't really appeal to me but people keep saying that it gets good. i think i need to just sit with it and watch it. but i don't know, i can't manage to make myself care about the storyline yet. which is either my fault for cooking while i watch it or just generally the lack of interest that i have in like law/cop drama things.

breaking bad s5
it's better to watch breaking bad when you can watch a whole bunch of episodes at once, same with any show really, so i am letting this accumulate for a couple of weeks then watching a few eps in a row. that train episode was really really fucking good though omg

oh lol my flatmates and i recently watched r kelly's trapped in the closet which is really hilarious and now we sing to each other in that voice all the time

btw i am constantly watching come dine with me

ok also i watched a bunch of movies recently which i will just give a rating out of 10

the jerk 9/10
bad teacher 7.5/10
21 jump street 8.5/10
the woman in the fifth 7/10
the 3 stooges (2012) 5/10
started watching the sitter 3/10
moonrise kingdom 9/10

got a lot of books i need to finish but i just can't stop watching shows.

i am looking forward to spring when parks & rec, community, dexter, gossip girl, probably new girl, saturday night live and a whole bunch of other lil guys come back into my life. i would ask for recommendations but clearly i have a lot going on here.

List of TV series I have watched in bulk so far this year

Party Down S1+2
Parks & Recreation S1-3
Harvey Birdman S1+2
Archer S1
Snuffbox S1 (didn't really like it? idk)
Masterchef S3
Tom Goes to the Mayor S1
Tim & Eric S1-5 (on repeat)
Community S1+2
Gilmore Girls S1-6
30 Rock S5
Family Guy S9
Gossip Girl S4
Saturday Night Live (selections of latest seasons, also season one)
A Bit of Fry & Laurie S1-4 (always)
Portlandia S1
Entourage S8
Sex and the City S1-6 (twice)
Alias S1, currently on 2
Breaking Bad S1-3, currently on 4

frightened by how much television this is : (
but frightened by the fact that I just want to watch more, there's not enough timeeeeee

the last 10 things I downloaded #2

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

I saw a poster for this album at Clifton Hill train station and knew I had to have it. Am presently listening to it, feels real good man. Not too much like their debut album. Pleasantly suits current (freezing) weather. Want to be in a log cabin with Robin Pecknold right about now.

the Black Keys discography

When I was 16 I really liked this band, but since then I haven't really listened to them. It turns out they release like 5 albums per year and have a giant back catalogue, so I figured getting their discography would be the best way to take care of that shit. Also they were live on one of the SNL episodes I downloaded recently.

SNL s36e11 - Jim Carrey

Lots of my friends are anti-SNL for some reason. I guess a lot of the sketches are 'too American', but sometimes they get that shit totally right. And Kirsten Wiig... amirite? Jim Carrey wasn't a terrible host, but he's so demanding and attention grabbing. I also felt like I'd seen half of the material he used before in the extra features of Bruce Almighty.

SNL s34e22 - Will Ferrel

Will Ferrel spent the bulk of this episode in song. This was a pretty good episode just because of the guest stars. I think this must be a thing they do for the end of every season. Tom Hanks is in this one! And Anne Hathaway playing a guitar for some reason? It's pretty good just for the weird cameos. Also I love Tom Hanks. Need to get more of that guy in my life.

30 Rock s05e22

I didn't realise that this is the final episode of the season. Was kinda a let down. After watching the whole of season five, I'm pretty on board with the general feedback I've heard going round: just not up to usual standard.

30 Rock s05e20+21

Double episode. Fuck, I hate Lemon's crappy ex-boyfriend. I guess there were some good moments in this ep. Three Jacks were pretty funny, especially the bit where the young one goes "we're all going to have sex later, right?" and they all agree. Oh those guys. If I was Jack Donaghy I would want to have sex with myself. Fortunately, as a woman, I can want that anyway. What?

The Big Chill

I was looking for old movies of relative decency a couple of weekends ago (which the rest of the list will reflect) and this one came up. The cast is pretty good, Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum and Glenn Close to name but a few. It's about a bunch of old friends who reunite after another one of them commits suicide for no apparent reason. I guess I've been thinking a lot lately about what it will be like when me and my friends are at that stage of our lives (well hopefully nobody commits suicide). Apparently somehow you just end up there, with kids and houses and junk. It's worth noting that Jeff Goldblum is not the (weirdly) sexy bro that he is in Jurassic Park, he seems creepy and overly tanned. Sup with that?

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Hugh Grant, just so charmingly befuddled! Dunno, didn't think that Andie McDowell was really right for him. How was she such a 90s babe? This movie was pretty funny. Really vibed the humour. The passing of time wasn't very well handled though.. or something. But yeah, this is funny, even if you hate Hugh Grant with a passion. Particularly liked the way he and his roommate were always late to everything. Just seemed authentic, like you're in this 'serious' stage of your life, but you never really stop being a teenager/kid/young person, even though everybody is getting married around you.

Office Space

OMG this movie is so fucking legit. Can't believe it took me so long to watch it. Now I finally know what this Family Guy parody is of. Anyone else think that the guy who plays Michael Bolton looks a bit like Stacey's ex boyfriend Sam?? (though I think the actor is more nerdy/jowlsy)

Gossip Girl s04e18

Aw poor Dan. Amirite? Can I just say that Nate is a terrible friend? Is he still a stoner? Like, I really want to party with/do him, but seriously, as if you go and date your ROOMMATES VERY RECENT (read: the same week) EX!!!! Clearly smoking too much weed. I don't like the introduction of this cousin character, but I think it's safe to say that Dan won't be sad/single for long.

Try Seventeen (Australian title "All I Want")

This is a movie starring Elijah Wood and Mandy Moore from like 2005. I can't exactly remember what it is about but I remember that I watched it like three times when I hired it out from the dvd store. I have a feeling it was pensive, life affirming and uplifting because on the movie poster Elijah is riding a motorbike. You can't not be a thinker with blue eyes like Elijah's. Anyway I'm curious to see whether it 'resonates' with me as much five years later.