The 25 Best Movies of 2010

Due to my dislike of movie theaters, it should be noted my best movies list is compiled of movies released on DVD in 2010.

1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

2. Zombieland

3. Inception

4. (500) Days of Summer

5. Kick-(Expletive Deleted)

6. Shutter Island

7. Toy Story 3

8. Hot Tub Time Machine

9. Easy A

10. Up in the Air

11. 2012

12. She's Out of My League

13. The Hurt Locker

14. Moon

15. Predators

16. The Crazies

17. The Losers

18. Iron Man 2

19. Sherlock Holmes

20. Get Him to the Greek

21. The Jones

22. Couples Retreat

23. Frozen

24. Grown Ups

25. The Men that Stare at Goats

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 1/9/11

How I Met Your Mother: Well that was depressing. I don’t remember the last time a sitcom killed off a character, or at least did so and didn’t play it for laughs (remember when George Costanzia’s fiancé died licking stamps). Even weirder is that right after that announcement, they played the credits (where Neil Patrick Harris was listed as a guest star playing the doctor) with the chirpy theme music. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I remember this show being a guilty pleasure in the first half of the season, but I am beginning to forget what was so pleasurable about the show and it is starting to become tedious. Like whenever anyone brings up a guy’s name, I have no clue who they are talking about because most of them look the same, or were not very memorable to begin with. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Greek: When reviewing the previous season, I thought The Truth Is You Can’t Go Back so Enjoy it While You Can was apposite with half of the cast being seniors. What I didn’t realize when I wrote that was that almost all of them wouldn’t actually leave. And if Vegas would actually put odds on these sorts of things, I bet they would have the over/under on Ashleigh returning to Cyprus Rhoades at 2.5 episodes. And sometimes I wonder if the writers bother to watch their own show. Like shouldn’t have Heath graduated too? He was supposed to last semester but bombed his midterms when his brothers got expelled. We do not even get an explanation this time around why he is still an undergrad. And I am pretty sure they established last season that Betsy (who is looking real good with the short hair) was a senior also. But the show does get points for the great use of the little bit softer part of Shout and we finally got a Rebecca / Dale showdown. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Castle: I didn’t get excited when they announced Laura Prepon whould be playing Nikki Heat, but her method acting was thoroughly entertaining. But two people shadowing Beckett was a little much. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

No Ordinary Family: Holy Ricky Schroder sighting! You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download No Ordinary Family on iTunes.

Glory Daze: More evil Leprechaun please. His mental beat down of Stankowski was hilarious. And it turning out to be a decoy Leprechaun was even better. Here’s hoping the show throws reality out the window more often. You can stream recent episodes over at TBS.com. You can also download Glory Daze on iTunes.

Modern Family: I have considered Luke a throwaway character for most of the series, but his water gun motivation is right up their as one of the funniest sight gags the show has ever done. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Best of the Week - 1/8/11

Quote of the Week: You have learned a lot here at Cyprus-Rhoades, one would hope. Just one reminder: there are no refunds. I thought it was funny. (Dean Cameron, Greek)

Song of the Week: Shout (Pts. 1 & 2) – The Isley Brothers (Greek)

Big News of the Week: Winter Season Starts Already: I am really not ready for the winter season start up, but about half of the shows popped up this week. Here is a full rundown of what I intend to watch while avoid going outside in the cold and when they return / premiere.

Monday
8:00 – Chuck (1/17)
8:00 - Pretty Little Liars (1/3)
8:00 – How I Met You Mother (1/3)
9:00 – Greek (1/3)
9:00 – The Cape (1/9) / The Event (2/28)
10:00 – Castle (1/3)
10:00 – Parenthood (3/7)

Tuesday
8:00 – No Ordinary Family (1/4)
10.00 - Parenthood (1/4)
10:00 – Lights Out (1/11)

Wednesday
8:00 – Survivor (2/16)
9:00 – Modern Family (1/5)
9:30 – Mr. Sunshine (2/9)
10:00 – Justified (2/9)

Thursday
8:00 - The Big Bang Theory (1/6)
8:00 – Community (1/20)
8:30 – Perfect Couples (1/20)
10:30 – Outsourced (1/20)

Sunday
The Killing (4/3)

New Album Release of the Week: Showroom Of Compassion - Cake

New DVD Release of the Week: Greek: Chapter Five - The Complete Third Season

Free Download of the Week: Last week I posted the 100 Best Songs of 2010, and more than a few of them I got for free (legally, because stealing bad, mmmkay) and fourteen of them you can still download for the low, low price of nothing. Please note that some are remixes and live versions and not the original, but again, they are free and legal.

4. Power (Remix) – Kanye West (Kanye West)
15. In Sleep (Live) - Lissie (Spinner)
24. Release Me – The Like (RCRDLBL)
28. Got Nuthin’ – Spoon (Amazon MP3)
36. Dog Days Are Over (Breakage Remix) – Florence + the Machine (RCRDLBL)
42. Gimme Sympathy – Metric (Amazon MP3)
45. Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero (RCRDLBL)
59. All Summer – Kid Cudi, Best Coast and Vampire Weekend (Converse)
63. He’s Not a Boy – The Like (RCRDLBL)
66. Dear God 2.0 – The Roots featuring Jim James of Monsters of Folk (RCRDLBL)
68. Infinite Guitars – Sleigh Bells (RCRDLBL)
71. Stylo (Chiddy Bang Remix) – Gorillaz featuring Bobby Womack and Mos Def (RCRDLBL)
80. Written in Reverse – Spoon (Amazon MP3)
85. Working This Job – Drive By Truckers (Spinner)
90. People Say - Portugal the Man (Spinner)
98. Heaven and Earth – Blizten Trapper (Spinner)

Deal of the Week: Over 1,000 Albums for $5 Each: Amazon MP3 has an overabundance of cheap albums to download this month, many that were on my list of the 25 Best Albums of 2010 including Cee Lo Green, Lissie, Sara Bareilles, and Broken Bells.



Video of the Week: In a story I broke earlier this week, Greek season 3 hits shelves this week (see The Truth Is You Can’t Go Back so Enjoy it While You Can) including all twenty episode, here is a promo for the set.

Greek: Chapter 5, Season 3 – DVD Trailer


Next Week Pick of the Week: Lights Out, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: I already declared the show one of the 11 Events That Will Make 2011 Awesome, check back later this week for a full review.

Around the Tubes - 1/7/11

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Unlikely Animal Friends, Alaska State Troopers, Hoarders, Merlin, British TV on DVD, and The Cape.

- I am sure if you are on the internets, you have seen videos of strange animal pairings like a monkey riding a pig. If you cannot get enough of those, you will want to tune into the National Geographic Channel tonight at 9:00 for Unlikely Animal Friends 2 where you can see a sheep befriend an elephant. In other NGC premiere news, Alaska State Troopers returns Sunday for a new season at 9:00. Until then, here is the sheep and elephant.

A Match Made in Africa


- As new season begins, others are ending like the season finale of Hoarders this Monday at 10:00 on A&E. The episode features Glen who “hoarding” has pushed him out of his house and into his shed. The stuff that has overrun his house: 2500 rats. Animals are also part of the second half of the finale; Lisa has taken in thirty cats that may get her evicted.

- Next Wednesday is the return of Merlin for its third season on Syfy. Here is a sneak peak:

Merlin - "The Tears of the Uther Pendragon Part 1"


- Fans of British television should be content that twenty show will be released her stateside over the next two months including “Garrow’s Law, a riveting new courtroom period drama seen on BBC; Single-Handed, following a lone cop fighting crime and corruption in rural Ireland; New Tricks, Season 3, the smash hit UK crime series; Murphy’s Law, BBC’s undercover cop series starring James Nesbitt (Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit); Murder Investigation Team, the realistic procedural crime drama in the vein of CSI; Napoleon & Love, starring Ian Holm (The Lord of the Rings); Fresh Fields starring Julia McKenzie (Marple) and Anton Rodgers; Man in a Suitcase, a stylish, action-packed 1960s spy series; Pie in the Sky starring Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter); Dirty Tricks starring Martin Clunes; The Guilty starring Michael Kitchen (Foyle’s War); Discovering Hamlet (Athena) featuring Kenneth Branagh and Derek Jacobi in a behind-the-scenes look at Hamlet, narrated by Patrick Stewart; Midsomer Murders Set 17, four new episodes available to U.S. audiences for the first time of Acorn’s top-selling series; Blue Murder: The Complete Collection, called “The most fascinating British female cop since Jane Tennison” (San Francisco Chronicle); as well as more from Bill Moyers with In Search of the Constitution and World of Ideas-Writers."


- The Cape premieres Sunday before settling in at its regular timeslot Monday, here are some behind the scenes interviews with stars David Lyons and Summer Glau:

Behind the Cape