True Blood - this show has veered away from the "we're so campy" vibe of late season 1-early season 2 and moved into "we're telling a good story in this world full of rich characters" mode... I could have rolled with it either way, but this direction continues to pay off in spades...

Hung - I'm really enjoying this show a great deal. It looks like we're heading into an arc with Ray and Jemma, a cautionary tale about a ho catching feelings for a hot-yet-completely-unhinged-MILF if there ever was one... and through all the potential batshit craziness of that relationship, and the goofy money subplot with the ex-wife, and my ongoing issue with the, uh, "unattractiveness" of the kids, is Jane Adams' Tanya... she makes passive-aggressive failure so riveting to watch, in a show full of passive-aggressive failures (that's for Ana Stezia)...

Entourage - While I'm not as down on it as other cats here, there is the sense that there needs to be a blood infusion of some sort... that said, I'm still mining laughs and intrigue out of a couple of story points, mainly figuring out what Sloan's ultimate intentions for she and E are, and watching the portrait of slimy agent Ari Gold as a conflicted-yet-devout family man... this is Piven's best work since early in the series (all of the seasons have kinda blurred together up to this point, so I can't really point out which specific season is the best season to refer to)...

Weeds - Again, see above for my overall feelings for that show and apply them here... I still get a kick out of Andy's antics and am into the story with Celia and Doug selling weed through Avon, though I wish Shane had more to do and am about tired of the Silas/Doug shit, and am about to hit the Wrap That Shit Up, B button on Nancy and Esteban and nem (didn't see tonight's episode, please don't spoil what happened, thanks!)...

Nurse Jackie - Edie Falco keeps bringing the heat, even as the walls close in on Jackie... I just love the work this woman does... yet they STILL haven't given Anna Deveare Smith much to do except be The Mean Bureaucratic Administrator... I also like Merritt Wever's work, though at some point she's going to have to "harden" or else I'm calling shenanigans...

Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004) - Still a very funny and enjoyable flick... having recently seen the entire run of Spaced, I now have a new appreciation for the 3 scenes in which Jessica Hynes (formerly Stevenson) shows up... they're a nice little fanboy treat in a movie full of them... though the movie's a bit darker than I remember it being when I first peeped it, it's still a lot of fun...

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (John Hughes, 1986) - (Watched with the John Hughes commentary from 1999 on)... Still holds up as a completely implausible good time... I mean, anyone who complains about the "plot holes" should probably start at the beginning of the movie, when about 5 minutes in, Matthew Broderick starts addressing the camera... I still find it fascinating that this is essentially a story about a dude who uses his cool and wits and connections all to big up a friend with serious daddy issues... listening to the commentary, you can hear how gleeful John is when talking about how much Ed Rooney has to pay for disrespecting the youth, which was a recurring theme in John's early movies... also, I should mention that Mia Sara is hot...

Sixteen Candles (John Hughes, 1984) - Watching it now, I can't help but remark on how... well, UNLIKEABLE Samantha Baker is as a character... and most of that has to do with the fact that she's 16 (or that it's Molly Ringwald playing a 16-year old with all of the self-centeredness that's required of the role), so while I wanted to excuse it, the performance was still too bratty to me and made it tough for me to care about her getting what she wanted, which is something I've never really felt until now... on the flipside, Anthony Michael Hall's Farmer Ted is still hilarious to watch... it almost makes you wish that John would have developed a spin off movie or sequel with that character... all that said, some of the film still makes me uncomfortable, such the gong that's heard the first few times we hear Long Duk Dong's name, as well as the way Samantha's girlfriend says "a BLACK guy?" when talking about their dream cars and boyfriends... I'm also wondering just how in the hell this movie got away with a PG rating? I mean, within the first 20 minutes we have Samantha saying "fucking," and we see not one but TWO extended shots of Caroline's ass and titties... then, during the house party we see Ted mixing drinks for Jake as well as the STRONG suggestion of weed being passed around and smoked ON CAMERA... I mean, I ain't no prude, but damn, this movie got away with a lot of shit to be a PG... not to mention the lurking undercurrent of encouraged date rape when Jake has Ted take Caroline home... nonetheless, lot of this movie is still very, very funny (the older relatives had me howling, as did the in-laws during the dinner scene)... EDITED (relax, it's okay) to add a small bit of trivia... I forgot that the Music Supervisor on this film (and a few other ones at the time) was none other than future Interscope Records head honcho Jimmy Iovine...

Rest in Peace, John Hughes, and thanks for providing some early inspiration...
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"I am a rewriter. I rewrite a number of times. Imaginative richness is born in rewriting." - Bernard Malamud