a little entertainment

The TV buff that I am, I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the fall shows. The premiere dates for fall were released this week, and I can't wait to program my DVR for my shows. Of course I am excited about the return of my longtime favorites Grey's Anatomy {Sept. 22} , Gossip Girl {Sept. 26} , and Glee {Sept. 21-hopefully it will be a little better this season than last}, but am also anticipating some new shows too.
The two most promising newbies that I can't wait to check out are New Girl on FOX starring Zooey Deschanel-OBESESSION- and of course Simon Cowell's new show X Factor, also on FOX. There's a few others that have peeked my interest- The Playboy Club on NBC: sort of has a Mad Men look about it and also Pan Am on ABC: it's set in the 1960s around the iconic airline Pan American World Airways. Another interesting comedy coming on NBC has sparked my interest Up All Night starring Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, and Maya Roudolph. The promos are pretty funny so it too may be promising. I'm so ready for the FALL!

This week my favorite summer show has come to an end So You Think You Can Dance {shoubeedoobedooee...dance,dance,dance} Melanie from Atlanta was crowned America's Favorite Dancer for 2011. The show this year just wasn't as exciting to me as years past. I never got REALLY excited about any of the competitors. I mean I really did like Melanie and Sasha but never in the same intensity as I LOVED Kent, Robert and Lauren last year or Jeanine, Ade, Brandon and Philip of Season 5. And though there were some great dances this season, there wasn't an Alex Wong/Twitch hip-hop masterpiece, Kent/Lauren prom spectacular, or a Jeanine/Philip love story in lyrical hiphop. It just didn't have any of those AMAZZZZING moments of years past-in my opinion.Although I did love the Kent/Sasha pairing as well as the Twitch/Sasha dance {probably my favorite of the season} I still long for next season when it happens all over again and Cat Deeley graces my television.

I was also led back to the cinema twice this week. I saw The Help with my mother on Thursday night and Friends with Benefits on Friday with Bayley.

The Help was wonderful. It had all the elements a good movie should: laughter, uncomfortableness, tears, and some type of character redemption. I definitely left with tears streaming down my face, but it was a very enjoyable two and half hours. It also shows you how far we have come in society-especially being a Mississippian. Emma Stone, who plays the lead role of Skeeter, is one of my favorite actresses of the moment. I have loved her in everything I have seen she has starred in. I think Viola Davis is the true star of this film and Bryce Dallas Howard. They captured their characters beautifully. I also appreciated the southern accents not being too overdone. Nothing is worse than watching a movie where it's way overplayed. They captured it just right. I definitely recommend.

I was hesitant when I first saw the previews for Friends with Benefits because I had JUST seen a movie that seemed exactly the same-No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman. My love for Justin Timberlake led me to the theatre anyway and I was not disappointed. The movies are not quite the same, yes they have the same relationship concept, but not alike really at all in terms of how they get to the ending. I did love this movie. Yes, it was filled with so many pop culture references that it has NO chance of standing any test of time-but I don't think that was the point- it made me laugh, which is what it was supposed to do. Looking at JT for two hours isn't a bad time either. Emma Stone is actually in this movie too-just the first five minutes but she makes a mark in just that short amount of time-a funny one.

It's been a good week. I hope it continues over into the next one.