My Halloween Movie Viewing Guide

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. It's kind of a bummer that it's on Sunday this year, but really, the whole weekend can be used to celebrate. It's one holiday you can enjoy at all ages. So in the spirit of the season, I made a viewing guide complete with my recommendations on Halloween films. I categorized them neatly in case you're planning a marathon or viewing party, or just have a certain creepy love of horror movies featuring serial killers. Many of these movies could overlap in multiple categories, but I'm going to list each one once in the category it fits with the best. Also warning: possible spoilers. (If I leave off any vital movies, do tell, since I'm limited to the movies I've actually seen.)

What to watch if you're in the mood for...

...a zombie apocalypse

• "Dawn of the Dead" - original or the remake is fine. If you love zombies, you can't go wrong with George Romero.
  
• "Night of the Living Dead" - Same applies here. But this one has an extra helping of creepy because it's black and white from 1968. And it has one of the best creepy scenes ever in the beginning..."they're coming to get you Barbara!"
• "28 Days Later" - Probably the most truly scary modern zombie movie. And yes, I am counting it as a zombie movie. It's a smart, excellent film that puts a spin on the classic zombie flicks by isolating you and making you fear even the places you thought were safe. ("28 Weeks Later" is optional. While scary, it's much stupider than the first movie. And it follows the disaster movie formula of Saving the Important Children.)
  
• "Resident Evil" movies - lots of eye candy and ass kicking here. I don't care what you're into, Milla Jovovich is smoking hot and these movies are pure guilty pleasure.
  
• "Planet Terror"- Robert Rodriguez's contribution to "Grindhouse." Unlike 98% of "Death Proof," this one is actually enjoyable even if you don't know much about the good ol' days of grindhouses. Pure B-movie through and through, this isn't one for the faint of heart. The ick factor is high. (Bonus points if you can find the fake trailers, especially for "Don't.")

....creepy children

• "The Ring" - the one movie that scares the living daylights out of me. While it has moments that make you jump, they're not cheap thrills like you find in "Paranormal Activity" where a door slams and twenty sorority girls in the theater wet their pants. This movie has disturbing images, a disturbing premise, a disturbing evil child, and a disturbing ending. If you want the full effect, watch this at night with all the lights out. If you watch it with someone else and you want to be an asshole, turn their TV back on in the middle of the night playing nothing but static.
• "The Shining" - a great horror movie that deserves its status as a classic and holds up well today. The lack of gore means less camp when viewed years later as well as a more eerie feel to the events. I don't know what they used for fake blood in the old days, but it was too light red and looked like tomato soup. It's hard to take Romero's old movies seriously when zombies tear off flesh like its rubber and Monty Python-esque blood comes spurting out. But "The Shining" avoids this mostly and instead goes for the cerebral scares. And you're left in the end still wondering as the plot isn't neatly explained and wrapped up for you...which makes this film that much scarier. And even though the Blood in the Elevator sequence is pointless, it looks insanely awesome. Emphasis on 'insane,' of course. (Bonus points for finding "The Simpsons" parody called "The Shinning," which I contend is their best Treehouse of Horror parody.)
• "The Exorcist" - still shocking, although you'll get the most scares out of this one if you're deeply religious.
  
• "The Omen" - The creepy child to end all other creepy children. This is another one that combines lots of basic fears into one great movie. Best viewed by new parents. Make sure the babysitter stays away from the roof. "It's all for you, Damien!"
  
• "Poltergeist" - okay, I've never seen this one. But it's considered a classic so I thought I'd include it. I didn't want to leave off a famous horror film just because I haven't been able to see it yet.
• "Children of the Corn" - it combines the creepiness of the country with the creepiness of children. Genius.

...the lighter side of horror

• "Shaun of the Dead" - One of the best movies ever made, and certainly the best horror comedy. Bonus points if you can spot all the references to classic zombie/horror movies.
• "Slither" - it's a horror comedy that's horrifying and comedic. It has some great gross-out scenes and a perfect cast. It's B-movie perfection. Kind of like "Planet Terror" is the serious B-movie homage, this one is the tongue-in-cheek B-movie homage.
• "Scream" - a must-see for any horror movie fan. It plays with the genre conventions and it's an utter delight. Plus, you get Skeet Ulrich looking like a young, more expressive version of Johnny Depp. And it has one of my favorite lines in a horror comedy: "Movies don't create psychos, movies make psychos more creative!"
  
• "Scary Movie" - yes, it's crude and silly. But it's also a great parody of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Scream." The sequels are unnecessary - the first movie is the best. And it has one of my next favorite lines, which parodies the aforementioned "Scream" quote: "Watching TV shows doesn't create psycho killers! Canceling TV shows does!"
  
• "Zombieland" - not as smart as "Shaun," the characters make some really stupid decisions, and it gets a little too serious in the end, but it's still a good ZomCom. Woody Harrelson is so much fun in this I wish they had never gone to the dark place they go to with him, but then you get the Bill Murray cameo and it sorta makes up for it.
  
• "Ghostbusters" - speaking of Bill Murray, this one is a classic. If you've never seen it, get up right now and find it and watch it. You haven't lived if you haven't seen the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man attack New York. Plus, the prick EPA guy is the same prick reporter from the first two "Die Hard" movies. Pissing off John McClane and the Ghostbusters is so not a good idea.
  
• "Freddy vs. Jason" - the definition of a camp classic. Freddy Krueger fights Jason Voorhees. Oh, and if you're like me and you've given up on "The Event" but really liked Jason Ritter, he's in this movie. It's so ridiculous it's great.
  

...found footage type films (warning: may be made of crap)

• "The Blair Witch Project" - never seen this one, but I hear it's basically the next movie, just set in the forest, only instead of spending it in a bedroom with an annoying couple you spend it up someone's nose.
  
• "Paranormal Activity" - I've never watched such a boring excuse for a horror movie, but lots of other people seem to like this one so I'll include it. If you get it on DVD, you can fast forward through all the time they spend just sleeping or the girl spends just standing over the bed.
• "Cloverfield" - okay, not technically a horror movie, but it's sort of scary and if you like these types of movies, you're probably the kind of person who went to see this one too. But come to think of it, none of these movies have happy endings, so don't watch any of these if you have a problem with that. But then again, most everyone in these movies is so annoying anyway that you'll probably cheer when they meet their inevitable unfortunate end.
  

...serial killer and slasher flicks (warning: contains 80s and 90s time capsules)

• "Friday the 13th" - lots of kids get killed at a camp. Oh, and kikikikiki hahahahaha. That's my best approximation of the background music, but trust me, you know that sound. And there's a pre-"Footloose" Kevin Bacon looking very nice. Although this movie started me wondering why the guys wore tighter pants than the girls back then.
  
• "Halloween" - Jamie Lee Curtis gets stalked by a killer. Don't worry, she doesn't have sex, so you can guess what happens from here.
  
• "Prom Night" - Jamie Lee Curtis gets stalker by a different killer. And the music is amazing. The actual prom dance sequence is better than the rest of this movie.
• "Psycho" - the classic reason to avoid motels. And showers. Hitchcock is one of the masters of horror, but I'm more inclined to recommend his other great horror film...
• "The Birds" - ...as birds suddenly deciding to attack us is so simple it's brilliantly terrifying.
• "A Nightmare on Elm Street" - One, two, Freddy's coming for you...in your dreams. Campy for sure, but it's my favorite of all those 80s slasher flicks. The premise is more fun and the villain is more entertaining than Michael Meyers or Jason Voorhees.
  
• "I Know What You Did Last Summer" - I found this to be an exceedingly dull horror movie despite having the 90s cast of all time. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr, and Ryan Phillippe star. I'm convinced the cast was the reason this movie made any money, but is you just love the 90s, you'll enjoy this time capsule of 90s stardom.
• "Urban Legend" - a lesser known, yet still entertaining little movie. Especially if you love classic urban legends as much as I do.
  
• The "Final Destination" movies - if you're exhausted with all the unstoppable superhuman villains of the previous slasher flicks, a "Final Destination" movie could be just the cure. The villain is Death, so you're not left scratching your head at how Michael Meyers won't die, and the characters get really creative death scenes, so you're not bored by campers getting simply impaled or stabbed one by one.
  

...lessons why you should avoid isolated country

• "Vacancy" - another reason to avoid motels. But instead of Norman Bates, you get sadistic hicks and a smarter-than-the-average-movie-couple plot. Nothing new here, but if it's on and you have an hour or so, it's worth it.
  
• "Jeepers Creepers" - utterly terrifying premise and the first half of this movie is fantastic. Everyone knows that feeling of isolation you get just driving on country highways and it uses this to great effect.
  
• "Wrong Turn" - don't get lost in the woods. Just don't. Because you know your car will break down, and your phone won't work, and there will be redneck cannibals, and the sun will set, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself for your stupidity for driving through isolated country!
  
• "The Descent" - don't go spelunking either unless the trail is charted by the officials. This movie, like "Jeepers Creepers," shows their monsters a lot towards the end, but the monsters are still scary as ever when attacking in the dark. Absolutely not for the claustrophobic moviegoer.
  
• "Cabin Fever" - once you're in the country, and you realize you can't stay at a motel, don't stay at a cabin either. Because those cabins are absolutely filthy. Forget about influenza and stray bodily fluids, they're filled to the brim with flesh-eating viruses. And stray 90s sitcom stars.

...something deliciously dirty

• "Rocky Horror Picture Show" - an absolutely insane movie that is definitely a group event. But if the whole interactive event isn't for you, it's still incredibly entertaining on your own.
  

...demons and devils

• "Rosemary's Baby" - the two scariest things about this movie are the dream sequence and Mia Farrow's haircut. There's still a great eeriness that permeates the film. Besides, it's another classic, so why not give it a try?
  
• "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" - Jennifer Carpenter is scary good in this one as a possessed girl. Part exorcist story, part courtroom drama, it's not your run-of-the-mill horror movie.
  
• "Constantine" - not as good as it could have been, but it's still pretty good if you're into religion-based horror. Not to mention that the visuals are fantastic for a movie about heaven and hell, angels and demons.
  
• "Devil" - Lol, just kidding. There's only one M. Night movie on this list worth watching and it ain't this one.
• "Suspiria" - yes, this is about witches and not demons/devils, but I didn't feel like giving it its own category. Besides, most old-school witch mythology is intertwined with the devil/demons endowing them with their powers. But to step back from my mini history lesson, Dario Argento's surreal movie is pretty disturbing, even if it does have 70s tomato soup blood.
  

...ghosts

• "The Haunting in Connecticut" - a more recent haunted house story, it's nothing mind-blowing but it's a solid addition to the genre.
  
• "The Others" - if you know the big twist going in, it's not nearly as entertaining, but if you don't, it'll be a blast. Nicole Kidman and her kids discover their house is haunted. The twist is unexpected and refreshing.
• "Ghost" - okay, not technically a Halloween movie per se, but it has ghosts in it so I'm counting it. It's funny, scary, and romantic. You'll never hear "Unchained Melody" ever again without bursting into tears. Or wanting to make some pottery.
• "Beetlejuice" - a Tim Burton classic, and one of only two Tim Burton movies I love. You're treated to very a young Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Winona Ryder. It also has one of the best movie themes of all time.
  

...something nasty that probably qualifies as "torture porn"

• The "Saw" movies - the sequels are pure torture porn, but people forget that the first "Saw" was actually pretty good. Watch and add it to the list of reasons why you should appreciate your life.
• The "Hostel" movies - lots and lots of torture and sadism. Watch and add it to the list of reasons why you should avoid hostels.
  
• "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" - watch this one and add it to the list of reasons why you should avoid Texas.
  

...something for the intellectual horror fan

• "The Sixth Sense" - unlike "The Others," this one is still very entertaining even if you know the big twist. And really, who doesn't at this point?
• "Zodiac" - this is another one that isn't technically a Halloween movie, but it's about a serial killer who actually existed and it's got a great spooky atmosphere and a top-notch cast.
  
• "Seven" - like the previous movie, it's another David Fincher film, and it's darn good. Yes, it's not really horror, but a crime film. But who cares? It's scarier than a lot of other horror movies, especially the ones out these days. Torture porn is all about grossing you out and shocking your system, but movies like this one are well written, directed, and acted, and absolutely earn their scares. And trust me, there are scares.
  
• "Silence of the Lambs" - I think crime/horror movies are just fantastic. Why don't they make more of these?

...some horror-related TV instead (warning: also contains vampires. May or may not be authentic)

• "Being Human" - a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf live together in England. It's not campy like you might expect, but rather a first rate dramedy that lives up to its dark premise.
• "Dexter" - it's a show about a serial killer! And I never turn up a chance to recommend this show to anyone I can.
  
• "Supernatural" - two brothers fighting monsters and the evil that lurks in the dark. The recent seasons are more mythology heavy, but tune in to great episodes in season one based on urban legends, like "Hook Man," "Bloody Mary," and "Asylum."
  
• "Blood Ties" - a short-lived vampire show on Lifetime that came a few years too early to catch on. But it's better than you might expect from Lifetime, and they still managed to cast a lead vampire hotter than Robert Pattinson.
  
• "True Blood" - I've never watched this one, but it's wildly popular and it has vampires. If you can get past the painful southern accents, it should be worth some of your time.
  
• "Vampire Diaries" - the CW show about vampires. More romantic teen drama, it's like a WB small town drama injected with all things supernatural. Also better than you'd expect from the network it airs on.
  
• "The Twilight Zone" - according the the SciFi channel, this is more of a New Years show, but some Rod Serling is perfect for Halloween night.
• "The Walking Dead" - the new AMC zombie show. The critics have gone gaga and the promotion has been ubiquitous, so why not give it a try? AMC is a network you can trust most of the time these days to provide quality programming.

"Grey's Anatomy" season check-up

I recently caught up on all of "Grey's Anatomy" this season and realized how much I missed this show. Because when "Grey's" is good, it's really darn enjoyable. Recent episodes have managed to include the drama of the past few seasons but also the humor of the early seasons that was sorely lacking in recent seasons. I really miss the time when this show was all anyone ever talked about and the one thing everyone watched, but I guess I'll just enjoy it on my own now since it really has experienced a resurgence of creativity. The cast shake-ups have finally evened out and, with the exception of the pointless Kim Raver, the new staff is really coming together and getting back to the friendships and interactions we knew in the early days. Also, characters have grown into adults over the seasons and several are in stable relationships. It's refreshing to see stable adult relationships on TV, especially since you can forget that they're possible on shows.
The hospital staff is still dealing with the trauma of last season's shooting finale. Most suffer in subtle ways (Avery off his game, Alex not taking the elevator, etc.) but Christina is by far the most affected. And rightly so, since she had to operate on her best friend's husband while she had a gun to her head and people were getting shot all around her. PTSD Christina is barely recognizable, but Derek is fighting for her to stay at the hospital since she did save his life under considerable duress. I'm waiting for the moment she comes back, because we all know she will, and since it's Christina as played by Sandra Oh she will roar back in a great moment...eventually. I love her and Owen together married and I never really thought I would. But he made a great point a few episodes ago when he told Christina he would be there for her and she could take it out on him because he loves her and Christina took his problems when he was suffering from PTSD because she loved him. Meredith was right that they're going through the "for worse" part first and the "for better" part will come later. If Isaiah Washington wasn't such a douchebag I'd almost wish Burke would come back and see how much more awesome Owen is with her. I am loving Christina and Meredith's friendship as well and it's great to see Meredith as the stable, lighter one for once (even if she does have a hostile uterus).

Derek and Meredith as a happy couple is fantastic, although I'm hoping the Alzheimers thing was just a one-time plot point. It was a valid concern, and utterly terrifying to think about, but this hospital has had enough misery for now and we really don't want a repeat of Derek's clinical trials a few seasons ago where he lost a ton of people and had a breakdown. What "Grey's" needs to do right now, amidst the trauma recovery, is go back to the simple days of fascinating surgeries and cases with touching and humorous relationship drama. That's exactly what it's been doing lately and it's been fantastic. I'm loving Callie and Arizona reunited and I'm hoping Lexie will eventually go back to Mark. I do feel bad for Alex, though. Once again, if Katherine Heigl hadn't gone on to be the awful RomCom star she is now, I wish Izzie wouldn't have experienced such character assassination. Izzie and Alex were great together and Alex was there for her through the cancer, and Izzie ups and leaves him just because he inadvertently got her fired while the hospital was doing cutbacks anyway. No, I'm totally not bitter about this still at all.

The new people are doing better since they're attempting to make April more interesting. She still has that undercurrent of psycho killer like she could snap at any minute, but she's less of an annoying irritant these days. Jackson looked damn good without his shirt on, but I hope they give him more to do on a deeper level since I think he really is an interesting character. Teddy's rejection of his flirting to get ahead scored her major points when she really needs it. I was terrified that they were going to make them sleep together and she would be an even worse female character on the show, but no, they gave her some balls and she acted like a professional. You're not an intern in Season 1, Teddy. No need to bed the young hottie.

All in all, I wish "Grey's" would get more attention this season for having a creative resurgence. It's out of the super dark and twisty place it got bogged down in and it's really a fun hour again. I highly recommend revisiting it for any viewers who tuned out.

Why has this Fall TV season been so lackluster?

At first, I thought it was just my busier life this year that caused me to watch much less television lately. But then the other articles started up, asking why there are no break-out hits this year. It made me stop and think about this season and realize that it wasn't just me - there really aren't any big hits this year.
It's been a while, but it's been a long time since there was not a single new show I was excited about. I decided to drop "The Event" this week, "Nikita" never grabbed me, "Undercovers" just felt unnecessary with "Chuck" still around, "No Ordinary Family" sounded like a perfectly ordinary family drama, and I couldn't even bring myself to watch more procedurals. You want to know what my big, new obsession is this fall? "Six Feet Under." I recently acquired the DVDs and have been making my way through that show, effectively extinguishing any desire for a new show actually on the fall schedule. But I've turned to old cable shows because I just can't see beyond the flood of more and more procedurals. At some point, the American viewing public has to get sick of cops and lawyers, right? I'm fine if cops and lawyers are done well (like in "Southland") or with some interesting premise that hooks you ("Life on Mars" or "Eli Stone"), but the majority of shows out there are just run-of-the-mill, boring procedural shows. And I suppose a lot of the new fall shows are okay, but they aren't anything to get excited about. I remember how thrilling "Heroes" was in those early days, or how "Pushing Daisies" transported you into a fantasy world unlike any other, or how riveting "24" was every week, and I still get glimpses of the heartwarming enjoyable hour "Grey's Anatomy" used to be and still can be.

It's like "Lost" just left a huge void in quality TV and everyone is afraid to try anything big again. Although if they do try something big, they will be inevitably compared to "Lost," whether they intended to copy it or not. "Lost" was just such a big sensation among all demographics that I think TV is taking some time to collectively catch its breath. Also, as my new "Six Feet Under" love has noted, it's just easier to find quality television shows on cable networks. Cable networks still have freedoms that basic channels don't so they end up taking more risks, producing fewer shows but concentrating on making those few shows stellar. It's why a lot of good TV comes out of the UK - their seasons are short and they end the shows after only a few seasons. It may not be as satisfying in the short term, but in the long term, you realize that's why it was able to maintain its quality. Who knows, maybe a show like "Firefly" wouldn't have gone down in TV history as one of the greatest shows of all time if it had had more than one season to screw things up. Sure, there are some shows that can last a long time at a great level. "Supernatural" has had ups and downs, but I think it's one of the most consistently well written and acted shows on television now. But the lesson here is that the basic networks rarely take chances on something big, and more often than not, it doesn't pay off anyway.

So that's why I'm not blogging as much about TV as I wish I was. Long-term loves have been my focus as some shows, like "Fringe", have finally become great while others have always been great. It's also about that time when shows five or more seasons in experience a revitalization of creativity. But nothing new this fall has captured my attention, and that's really a shame because I'm not too hard to please when it comes to TV. I guess we'll all just hold on until next fall and hope someone, anyone, takes a gamble and brings us something great. It doesn't have to be the next "Lost." Just the next show that doesn't rehash the same formula we've seen a million times.

My Top 10: TV Heroes

It's been a while since I last did a Top Ten list, and everyone loves lists, so I figured I'd focus on the best of the best on TV. We all love a good hero and we know the basic short list for All Time Heroes (Batman, Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, etc.). The list of movie heroes is long, varied, well-worn territory, so I'd like to salute my favorite lesser-known TV heroes and heroines. I'm defining a hero through the use of a hypothetical scenario. If the there was some sort of doomsday scenario and the world was in jeopardy, who would I want if I could pick a team of ten people to help avert disaster? Okay, not all of them are heroes in the epic, world-saving sense, but I would want every one of them on my side when I'm in a bad spot. And I'm admitting right now that I am clumping together some related people when they are absolutely necessary as a team. What can I say? My list, my rules.

10. Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of "Buffy." I find it to be one of the most overrated shows out there. One of the reasons I have a hard time watching it is because of the fact that I don't like any of the characters. Any except Giles, that is (and Spike). I've only gotten four seasons into the show so my love of Giles is based solely on them, but from what I've seen he's the only person on that show who can get anything done. Buffy can kick ass but she's not very bright, Xander's a useless dork, Willow's smart but weak, Anya is a bitchy third wheel, and Angel was a moody miserable stalker who didn't become interesting until he got his own show. Giles, on the other hand, is brilliant and can kick ass if he needs to. The introduction of Wesley improved his image, but I liked him from the beginning. If the world was in jeopardy from supernatural forces, Giles would figure out what was behind it and how to stop it.

9. Malcolm Reynolds (Nathon Fillion) from "Firefly"

This spot would go to River Tam, but she got to be awesome in basically only one episode in "Firefly." "Serenity" is where she shined and if this was a movie heroes list she'd definitely place. But Mal is the hero of "Firefly" that I would want around when the shit hits the fan or any scary monsters are around going "grrr, argh." Okay, he wasn't exactly a hero in the strictest sense of the word, but he was a damn good leader of his little outfit and he did the right thing when making tough decisions.

8. Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) from "Veronica Mars"

Some of my heroes aren't action stars, but they still fit my definition of hero. Anytime someone has screwed you over, Veronica is able to get to the bottom of it - and look great doing it. But more than just super sexy eye candy, she's clever and she knows how to work her appearance to her advantage. While someone like Giles could solve problems with his book smarts, Veronica would fill out the team with her street smarts. She's the kind of girl who could get a criminal to confess without him even realizing it. She's kind of ninja-like in that way.

7. Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) from "Burn Notice"

He's sort of the male version of Veronica, but with much more experience in the professional world of espionage. He's also got that whole MacGyver thing going on which would totally help in my hypothetical doomsday scenario. He also has an ability unlike anyone else on this list to assume false identities for his jobs and that earns him a spot on this list.

6. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) from "Lie to Me"
He's a human lie detector. What more is there to say? Lightman keeps a strong commitment to finding the truth and looking at a situation rationally. Sure, Dr. House can declare that "everybody lies," but Lightman can tell you who specifically is doing the lying and what about. He backs up his natural skill with years of scientific experience and study, so you can trust him to save the day when your ass is on the line. His expertise with interrogation would stop us from needing a Jack Bauer character to come along and torture an answer out of someone.

5. Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) from "Fringe"

I've raved about Olivia for some time now, so of course she earns a top spot on this list. She's another take-charge lady with nerves of steel who can travel through universes just to help someone she cares about. She can face the strangest of the strange with a level head and still serve justice. I absolutely love her and would have to enlist her in my team of fictional superheroes. (Super referring to their awesomeness, not their comic book based powers.)

4. Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) from "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"

This might seem strange to put her so high on the list, as she wasn't my personal female hero like Olivia, but she had a lot more to deal with than Olivia did. In a world full of deadly machines, she was truly the unstoppable force to be reckoned with. She combined top-notch combat skills with fierce maternal instincts and I'm sure even the FOX execs who cancelled her show would agree that she would be ideal to have by your side when the world is in peril.

3. The Winchester clan (Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins) from "Supernatural"

This is the start of "my list, my rules" because I am counting the next two as package deals. Sam and Dean Winchester with the help of Castiel are quite the team. Sure, they started the apocalypse, but they also managed to stop it, sort of. The self-sacrificing goes beyond what they do for each other and extends to what they sacrifice to help other people. When Dean lives a Twilight Zone version of his life if he wasn't a hunter, he cannot accept a life where others died because he wasn't around to rescue them. Sam agrees that their lifestyle "is unfair, and it hurts like hell, but it's worth it." Castiel rebels against the corrupt establishment in Heaven to try and save the Earth and gives up everything he had to do it. It's a shame the Heaven in the "Supernatural" universe is in such disarray because if anyone deserves it, it's these three heroes.

2. The Torchwood team (Naoko Mori, Gareth David-Lloyd, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, John Barrowman) from "Torchwood"

Talk about more self-sacrifice in the line of duty. Three out of the original five team members died and Captain Jack Harkness had to sacrifice his grandson to stop a horrifying alien threat. Jack is a dashing hero who can't even die which makes him an incomparable hero. He's smarter and much more responsible than he seems and he picks loyal team members. An immortal ex-Time Agent, a cop, a doctor, a computer genius, and the tea boy who was so much more made one powerful group of heroes. Which is why it's that much more painful that the show insists on killing them off! (Oh, and you're pretty much ensured crisis sex with this horny bunch).

1. The Doctor (David Tennant or Christopher Eccleston) from "Doctor Who"

This is no shocker. The Doctor saves the universe every season and does it without firing a gun or throwing a punch. He'll take care of those damn Daleks every time they come back, he'll stop the Cybermen whenever they reappear, and he'll even burn his own planet out of existence to stop a threatening race bent on genocide. River Song put it best, when she commented that "now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days when the wind stands fair and the Doctor comes to call, everybody lives."

In Theaters: "The Social Network"

The trailers:

"Red" - This would look subpar, but Helen Mirren stars in the ensemble. She's a fantastic actress and she's done plenty of eccentric roles before, so it might be worth the price of admission just to see her kicking some ass. The trailer didn't wow me, but it's a neat concept so I really hope it turns out well.

"Never Let Me Go" - I'm surprised how little Keira Knightley is advertised for this one since she's arguably the bigger star. Carey Mulligan has been in more recent films and might be the better actress. Or at least she's been in better roles. It also stars Andrew Garfield, who has a lead role in "The Social Network." I'm still not entirely clear on the premise of this movie, but it has three great leads so it's up to the writers and director to screw that one up.

"Unstoppable" - I saw a poster for this one walking into the theater and wondered what Chris Pine's next post-"Star Trek" vehicle would be. Apparently it's about a runaway train and the people trying to stop it. Denzel Washington and Pine are incredibly likeable actors, but I have a feeling the concept could produce either a brilliant movie or a painfully stupid one.

The film: "The Social Network" is the Facebook movie. It takes its subject very seriously though, which doesn't seem so strange when you get into the nitty gritty of the lawsuits that came out of its birth. If you've read a single other review of this movie, you've probably read plenty of praise for it. The professional critics are completely gaga over it; last I checked, it had a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. I'm not prefacing with this statement because I'm going to bash the film. In fact, it was a really good movie. But it falls short of greatness with some characterization problems. The directing is great and the screenplay is whip-smart. What else would you expect from David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin? But the problem with that Sorkin dialogue is that, while it is quick and witty, it's not entirely realistic. The first ten minutes of the film introduce you to his style really well and you immediately get the picture that you have to pay attention to catch it all.

Jesse Eisenberg's dialogue as Mark Zuckerberg is the quickest and that serves to show what a genius he is but it also feeds into his characterization problems. Among an otherwise excellent cast, Eisenberg is the weak link. Not because he's bad in it, but because he's just not given much in the way of development. You really do only scratch the surface of his character which isn't very good for a movie about him. It chronicles what he does, but not all of why he does it. Is he really an asshole? Is he a sad, misunderstood kid with social issues? I know that's probably intentional to leave it open to interpretation, but his character didn't ring as true as the others did. Eisenberg does the best he can, but the flaws are in the writing, not the acting. There are moments where he truly does seem concerned for his friends, and they're touching, but the moments quickly pass and he goes back to being a mostly one-dimensional jerk. While the real people behind the film might be upset by the film's representation of Zuckerberg, they shouldn't worry since you don't forget for a moment that this is a fictional character. I don't think the real Zuckerberg is anywhere near as bitter, introverted, or socially inept as the fictional Zuckerberg.

The rest of the cast is great, including Justin Timberlake. I didn't know who Andrew Garfield was before this movie, except that he was cast as the next Spiderman. Now I can say wholeheartedly that I would love to see him as Peter Parker since I loved him in this movie as Eduardo Savarin, Zuckerberg's friend and co-founder of Facebook. His excellent portrayal unfortunately underscored how unrealistic Eisenberg's character was, but it was still a delight to watch Garfield since he is the second biggest role in the film. My favorite part was the climax where Eduardo and Zuckerberg finally separate as Eduardo is pushed out of the company. It was interesting to see how Eduardo went from his best friend to his legal enemy in just one scene, especially opposite the ongoing Winklevoss twins' storyline about trying to get to legal action for almost the whole movie. Speaking of, Armie Hammer was also great playing the twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. They weren't portrayed as black-and-white as I was expecting. I thought they'd be the douchebag rich WASPs that the Ivy League is apparently full of. While they are Children of Privilege and Entitlement, they are also two hard-working, honest young men who get screwed over and are rightfully pissed off about it. The don't get nearly as screwed over as Eduardo in the powerful climax scene, but they don't grate on the nerves like I thought they would.

As for the women in the movie, they are mostly relegated to background roles. And I don't mean that as a slam, but as a statement of fact. I've seen too many articles that slam the film for its depiction of women but they really don't have a leg to stand on. But it's an easy story to grab onto where you can make an issue out of the simple fact that the leads are all men and the women involved are mainly their prizes for fame and fortune. Basically any film that doesn't equally proportion men and women is sexist for some people. Mostly women is fine, but mostly men is not. I hate these arguments, because sometimes you just don't have a lot of female roles. This is based on true events and real people, and most of the people involved were men. They weren't intentionally excluding females, they just weren't awkwardly adding any. The few women in the film are models and shallow party girls. Do these professional critics not remember college? Just like it's unfair to portray a whole gender in a negative light, it's equally unfair to portray a whole gender in an entirely positive light when that's just not accurate. There are tons of college girls like this, especially in the environments the lead men are in, who latch onto the hot guys who look like they're going places or just want to party in the prime of their lives. Rooney Mara's character Erica, Zuckerberg's girlfriend in the beginning of the movie, shows that Sorkin doesn't just hate women here. She's intelligent and even-headed and she's the one woman Zuckerberg can't get out of his mind even while sexy bimbos are all over the place. Also, most of the females in this movie are young girls, not thirtysomething women. You have to look at the setting and the context of a movie. When a lot of it is set in happening clubs and raging college parties through the perspective of some young, arrogant men, you shouldn't be surprised when all the females around aren't perfect ideals of womanhood.

To step back down from my soapbox, I'd like to conclude my review by saying that this is a very good movie and well worth seeing. It's slightly different than you may anticipate, though. The darker tone might throw some for a loop who were expecting a light drama about college kids making a website. This movie is much less about the social experience of young people and what it means to put that online or why Facebook became integral to our lives and more about the founding of a major website and the ensuing legal problems. I was hoping for more of the former, especially amidst all the praise for the film for being a great comment on my generation, but it's still a compelling movie.

My grade: B