A salute to great movie action

Yeah, I've been on a youtube craze lately. But this will probably be my last new video for a while. The "Cougar Town" one just came up spontaneously, but this one and my previous Dancing With the Shows video were ideas I'd had for a long time and just now managed to make a reality.

This one is dedicated to action scenes. It features mostly action movies, but there's some horror, sci-fi, and drama mixed in there too. Really, as long as the scene kicked ass and it was from a movie I like, I included it. Like my previous dancing video which played like a list of my favorite TV shows, this one plays like a list of my favorite movies. Ever more insight into the mind of tvgirl ;-)

SPOILER ALERT (a few key plot points are given away, but nothing on the scale of Rosebud or "I see dead people")

"Cougar Town" musical moments video

I'm so glad I learned how to make youtube videos. This one's nothing fancy, just a compilation of musical moments from "Cougar Town." I was watching clips from the show last night and thinking it was weird no one had put all the songs together yet, so I decided to do it myself. Now you can go to one place to get all the greats like "Confident in My Sexuality," "Someday Girl," "Sex With the Ex," "Everything Man," and many more.

"The Dark Knight Rises" is basically "Inception." And I'm okay with that.

Okay, it's not REALLY. But the cast of the third Christopher Nolan Batman movie is largely the same as the cast of "Inception." Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt signed on earlier, and today the news came out that Marion Cotillard is also onboard. I'm thrilled to see her cast. I think she didn't get enough credit for her role in "Inception." Try to imagine anyone else in her role, and see if they could pull it off - her haunting beauty alone made that role unique, but she was also sympathetic despite being the buzzkill in every dream. I can only hope they give her a meaty role in "The Dark Knight Rises." If she didn't impress you in "Inception," go watch her Academy Award winning performance in "La Vie En Rose" and see if you're still unimpressed.

Now we have two strong female leads. I've been unsure about Anne Hathaway being cast in a lead role, but after the dullsville that was Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal in the previous two films, I'm just relieved to see some quality actresses cast. Not that Gyllenhaal isn't talented, but she was not right for the role and, to be entirely shallow for a moment, she's not pretty. Hathaway is a coin toss. She absolutely can act, but she's more well known for lighter roles. Or maybe I'm ambiguous because I can't seem to get rid of the taste of the Academy Awards this year.

I'm very happy the backlash against Nolan hasn't started yet for hiring the same team of actors. I'm sure one will come eventually, and all the "Inception 2" jokes will get passed around, but directors reusing actors is nothing new. If it's not broke, don't fix it. Just look at the frequent collaborators section on Wikipedia for Martin Scorsese - if you get the chance to work with a brilliant director once, why not do it again?

I praised "Inception" before it came out because the cast was amazing and it felt like Nolan had read my mind and cast people I love. Well, once again, I'll get to see all these great actors together onscreen. Now if only we could bring Cillian Murphy back somehow!

We'll never forget you, Sarah Jane Smith

Elisabeth Sladen died today. It was shocking, at least to me, considering she was only 63. She had cancer, which I wasn't even aware of, but it must have been a recent thing because she was still working on her show "The Sarah Jane Adventures." To all "Doctor Who" fans, Sladen was Sarah Jane Smith, one of the most popular companions in the show's history. I never watched old "Who," so I don't have the deep emotional attachment to her that other fans do, but I grew to love her when she appeared in the new series. Even without ever knowing her before, the episode "School Reunion" was special because of her relationship with the Doctor. We'll never forget you, Sarah Jane Smith. But even more so, we'll never forget you, Elisabeth Sladen. Rest in peace.

My Top 10: Favorite Posts from Year 1

Today is the first anniversary of the creation of my blog. My traffic has steadily increased over time, so I consider it a success. I've really enjoyed having this outlet to discuss what matters to me in pop culture and I hope to make it another year and beyond. In honor of my blog's first birthday, I thought I'd list my favorite posts since its inception. Some I spent a very long time on, some I loved writing, and others I just think turned out really well (in my humble opinion). But first, I thought I'd also point out which posts got the most love from readers.

Readers' Top 5:

5. My Top 10: Fictional Eateries I want to visit
4. My Top 10: TV Boyfriends
3. "Lie to Me" - a procedural worth watching
2. My Top 10: Phrases in TV/Movies that should be banned
1. Remakes Galore: "Being Human" - the UK original vs. the US remake

I never thought my "Being Human" post would take off quite like it did, but I'm thrilled considering it actually took me a while to write. I'm also glad my top 10 lists are popular because, let's face it, they're more fun to write and more fun to read.

My Top 5:

5. In Theaters: "Toy Story 3" and "Inception"
4. My Favorite Things of 2010
3. In Defense of "Cougar Town" - Why It's Not the Show You Think It Is
2. "Inception" - All you need to know is that you should see it
1. My Halloween Movie Viewing Guide

Of all my posts, I probably spent the most time working on my Halloween movie guide. It took a while, but I worked hard and got it out in time for Halloween weekend and I'm incredibly proud of it. I'm also very proud of my "Inception" preview post. It had a superb cast and crew behind it and it has become one of my favorite movies of all time. I kind of hate this time of year because studios generally refuse to release any movies of quality until summer, which means I don't get to write about movies in theaters as much as I'd like to. I'm also very happy with my first "Cougar Town" post, as almost a year later the show is better than ever and absolutely not about cougars. If nothing else, I've tried to use this blog to dispel myths about this great little sitcom.

Let's hope we get plenty of great movies this year as well as a better fall season of TV. Because barring any unfortunate life events or "Final Destination"-esque death, I'll be here to blog all about it for another year.

Featured article: USA Today recommends tonight's "Justified"

I recently got into FX's excellent show "Justified," and a review of it is in the works. But in the meantime, USA Today lauds tonight's sure-to-be thrilling episode, where a lot of plots that have been building up should finally come to a head.

The link is here, but I decided to just reprint the short excerpt below for your reading pleasure.

"Critic's Corner: Justifiable praise for 'Justified'"
By Robert Bianco
If that Peabody Award recently won by Justified (* * * * out of four, 10 ET/PT) wasn't enough to make you tune toward this fabulous FX series, then this will.

Tonight's outing is the kind of artistic breakthrough that, if there's any justice at all, is certain to draw Emmy attention to the show itself, and to Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins and — tonight especially —Margo Martindale, who has a tour de force outing as Mags Bennett.

The spark is a "whoop-de-do" Mags throws to rally her neighbors against the mining company that has designs on her mountain.

But with this excellent series, nothing is as simple as it seems. Mags doesn't just have a plan, she has a dream, and Martindale brilliantly exposes every facet of her determination and delusions, to the point where we fear her and feel for her simultaneously.

There is humor and horror in near equal measure, as Boyd (Goggins) plays his trump card and Raylan (Olyphant) proves to be tougher than the Bennetts anticipated.

As for the Bennetts, note how marvelously Jeremy Davies, Brad William Henke, Joseph Lyle Taylor and Kaitlyn Dever embody the rest of the temporarily extended clan.

Or just sit back and enjoy one of the best hours you'll find anywhere this season.

My Top 10: (Modern) TV Opening Credits

These days, if we're lucky, we get an opening credits sequence before our shows complete with music and cleverly arranged clips. Many times we just get something basic, like a quick slideshow of the cast and credits with a simple theme tune. Think "Smallville" or "NCIS." But the better ones hold our attention, say something about the show, and beg us to watch them every single time they pop up.

My terms: the intro must include a song as well as credits list, so a show like "Lost" got disqualified immediately. The reverse is also true, so the intro must display its credits in a unique way, rather than just listing the cast. "Wonderfalls," "Psych," "Veronica Mars," and "Firefly" have excellent theme songs, but the credits are really no more than a cast list. The point of this Top 10 is to have the whole package. Here, we're talking about my favorite opening credits, not just my favorite theme songs. If it was just theme songs, rest assured, those previous four would definitely have been included.

I watched many intros from many shows I don't watch, and tried to include a wide variety. The problem is, though, that without watching a show, it's sometimes hard to grasp the opening theme's significance. However, upon further contemplation, I realized that a great opening theme tells you all you need to know and sets the mood for the show. I am only including modern opening credits, from about 2000 onward, because there are far too many classics to give due credit to. Unfortunately, that disqualifies "ER," which I hoped to include, but cannot. But there are plenty more excellent opening credit sequences from recent times that had to duke it out for a spot on my list.

10. "Desperate Housewives"

I've long since dropped the show and the show has long since dropped the opening credits sequence, but their intro was clever when it didn't really need to be for a primetime soap. Scorned housewives throughout art history along with the whimsical theme introduce a sense of humor and scandal right from the start of the show.

9. "Mad Men"
(Embedding was disabled on this one, so here's the link)
The silhouette of a man. The jazzy yet dramatic music. The dissolving office. The American Dream according to advertisements surrounding a man floating down, down, down until we pull back from the same silhouette lounging in a chair, cigarette in hand. This intro is the definition of suave, and wins bonus points for evoking classic James Bond opening credits.

8. "Chuck"

Yes, call me crazy, but it wasn't until the end of season 1 of "Chuck" that I realized the theme song was actually a shortened version of a real song. I had heard a number of great Cake songs before, but had never heard Short Skirt/Long Jacket, which is used as the show's theme. The intro plays like a cartoon version of Bond movie credits, thereby perfectly setting up this spy comedy.

7. "True Blood"

I've never watched "True Blood," but I've always heard about its excellent opening credits. Down and dirty Southern sleaze has never looked so good. If I wasn't generally OD'd on vampires, I might pick this show up just because of its fabulous intro. The imagery is deliciously provocative, filled with sex, religion, and death. It's unsettling, in a good way.

6. "Justified"

It would have been the predictable thing to do a simple credit sequence with a standard country song, but "Justified" embraces a modern Southern tone right from the get-go in the show. It sets the rural scene without feeling painfully outdated or cliche, which is quite an impressive feat in my opinion. I love the down-to-earth realism of the setting, in the show as well as the intro, which can seem like something straight out of a novel while also seeming like a town you could easily drive through wandering through the South. Sometimes shows set in rural locations get a little too entrenched in the mythical tranquility of small-town life or the mysterious danger of unbridled nature, but "Justified" and its opening credits sit firmly in reality, albeit a very kickass reality.

5. "Batman Beyond"/"Justice League"
(Embedding was disabled on "Batman Beyond," but the link is here and very worth the view)

I normally wouldn't classify cartoons with regular, adult programming, but I make the exception in this case. (Hey, I counted two cartoons as one point on this list, I think that makes up for the inclusion.) While they are animated series, they are definitely not cartoons in the way that, say, "Spongebob Squarepants" is a cartoon. These two are dark series from the very beginning of the 2000s that are like what I imagine superhero stories would be if a director like Christopher Nolan made cartoons instead of movies. They were absolute staples of my late childhood and, upon revisiting them a few months ago, I have to say they hold up quite well. There's a lot of scripted programming on these days that wishes it could have opening credits as badass as these two.

4. "Southland"

"Southland"'s intro immediately steps into the authenticity it strives for, showing a series of old-school LA crime scene photos. The music is intense and serious to match the raw, visceral crime footage. It all introduces us to a show that is dark and gritty, but deep as well. "Southland" isn't just a standard procedural - it has something to say and it's not afraid to aim for the gut with every plot twist and character development. The intro tells you everything you need to know about the show in less than 30 seconds. Job well done.

3. "Six Feet Under"

The theme music and imagery evoke the surreal nature of this show. Life, death, imagination, dreams, love, time, fulfillment, loss, tradition, humanity...the opening credits quickly and neatly encompassed the big themes the show spent five seasons examining.

2. "The Wire"

Five seasons, five different versions of the opening credits. I'm not just talking about different clips - they re-recorded the same theme song with five different artists. The song is called "Way Down in the Hole" and is originally by Tom Waits, whose first version is used to open Season 2. But my heart will always belong to the first season's credits, sung by The Five Blind Boys of Alabama with raw gospel funk. Much like "Southland" and "Justified," "The Wire" above all strove for realism, and did a better job of scripting real life than 99.99% of reality shows. Watching the show, you forget you're seeing a fictional program. The same characters and dialogue could play out on a security camera on a streetcorner and not feel forced or unauthentic. Likewise, the opening credits look less like a TV show ready to start and more like a very artistic person filming random scenes of crime and justice around urban Baltimore.

1. "Dexter"

Rather than go with an on-the-nose sequence of standard serial killer imagery (bodies, blood, knives), "Dexter" finds the violence in everyday life as the titular character goes about his morning ritual. Creepy and catchy, morbid and mundane, horrifyingly familiar, you won't look at your morning routine the same way again. Right away we're greeted with the Dark Passenger in normal, rote life events. We must face the evil hiding behind the innocuous. Welcome to "Dexter," where not even breakfast is safe.

Honorable Mention: "House," "Lie to Me," "The 4400," and "The Walking Dead" (only the music is linked on the last one, the actual credits aren't posted on youtube)