Trailer Thursday: “The Slap”

I know Trailer Thursday’s are usually reserved for movies, but, this upcoming miniseries “event” on NBC looks just too crazy and bad/good not to share. I don’t know much about The Slap except that it is an American adaptation of a UK miniseries that actually won some acting awards and shit. And since this version features a cast of heavy-hitters (Peter Sarsgaard, Uma Thurman and Brian Cox in a miniseries? On NBC?! insanity!) and is directed by Oscar-nominated writer/director Lisa Cholodenko, I figure it’s either gonna be really good or really crazy bad.

Either way, our DVR has been set for weeks. Enjoy!

 

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Allison Williams as Peter Pan!

OK, I love me some Allison Williams (she is probably my favorite character on Girls) but, even I was a little taken aback by the news that she had been cast in NBC's upcoming Peter Pan Live! I mean, I'm sure she can sing and everything, but, if NBC's latest live “musical event” is as lame and over-produced as last year's The Sound of Music Live!, well, let's just say there's a pretty high probability that it's gonna totally suck.

And then I saw this super cheesy pic (above) of Williams in costume as Peter Pan and I knew that this movie wasn't just gonna suck, it also has serious train wreck potential. Which I always love, especially at Christmas! So, slap my wings and call me Tinkerbell, because this train wreck — which is produced by the reliably ham-fisted duo of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and also features Christopher Walken (!) as a singing Captain Hook! — is only gonna get better/worse from here on out. Simply put, I cannot wait!

Peter Pan Live! airs December 4th on NBC.

 

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Library Store on Wheels in the news!

Hot on the heels of being named one of Wuztwhat's Seven Havens for Booklovers in Los Angeles, The Library Store made the news again this week when the store's mobile truck (and Mrs. Yeti herself!) appeared on Thursday's 6:00PM news on KNBC 4.

Featured in a segment on a proposed bill to streamline and simplify the permit process for mobile vendors and retail trucks, The Library Store on Wheels was just one of three trucks in the piece, but, they definitely got the most screen time. I think they have the coolest-looking truck too, but, perhaps I'm a bit biased.

Either way, kudos to Mrs. Yeti and everyone on her rocking Library Store team on yet another awesome TV appearance. Keep on mobile trucking, guys!

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Kelly Clarkson: “Wrapped In Red”

Kelly Clarkson has been all over the radio and talk show circuit this season — she was even the guest DJ on one of the all-Christmas music stations on Sirius/XMRadio last week! — but, if you’ve heard her new Christmas album, “Wrapped in Red”, you know that the girl has every reason to be proud of it. Loud, fun, sweet and beautifully-produced, Clarkson has called “Red” her favorite album she’s ever done, and I’m tempted to agree with her.

Every song on “Red” — which features a very cool mix of holiday classics and new material mostly written or co-written by Clarkson herself — is infused with Clarkson’s genuine love of Christmas music and the album has songs for every kind of holiday music fan. Clarkson’s rendition of “Silent Night” (sung with Reba and Trisha Yearwood) is just plain beautiful and her recording of “My Favorite Things”, whether intentionally or not, proves that there is only one true American Idol this holiday season. Sorry, Carrie.

But, of course the real gems are the raft of new songs Clarkson wrote for the album. “Underneath the Tree” is already an instant classic (not to mention Greta’s favorite new song to sing!) but the title track and the songs “4 Carats” and “Winter Dreams (Brandon’s Song)” are sure to be around for a while as well. We have over 75 Christmas albums in our collection and, trust me, it’s rare that you find one from a major pop star that feels so artfully-crafted and produced. Seriously, Clarkson knows her Christmas music, yo.

So, if you tired of the glut of mass-produced lump of coal Christmas albums that usually bubble to the surface this time of year, check out “Wrapped in Red” instead. And if you get a chance to catch her NBC Christmas Special in reruns or video on demand, watch that too, it’s freaking hilarious!

“The Sound of Music” LIVE

As usual, we’ve been watching loads of schmaltzy Christmas TV movies this season — thanks to the holiday-loving programming elves at Lifetime and ABC Family! — so, we were all very excited to watch tonight’s insanely-overhyped LIVE presentation of The Sound of Music on NBC. But, man, were we disappointed!

Actually I lost both of the girls ten minutes in and ended up watching the rest of the show alone, so, I guess I should say “I” was disappointed. And actually, disappointed is putting it nicely…

Overhyped, glacially-paced and curiously underlit (seriously, I’ve seen better lighting transitions in high school plays!) perhaps the worst thing about this so-called “major television event” was the woefully miscast Carrie Underwood. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Carrie Underwood and she did the best she could with the songs here, but, whenever she had to actually, you know, “act” Underwood was positively bloodless. It was like watching a really bad first time audition or something. It’s not that she didn’t try, but, wow, watching her try to inject some actual life and character into Maria was almost painful in spots. And the lack of any discernible acting skills on Underwood’s part was even more glaring anytime she shared the stage with a “real” actor.

But, honestly, this Music was so dead on arrival and totally tone deaf that even the real Broadway actors with serious chops like Audra McDonald and Christian Borle had a hard time bringing it to life. If there was one thing that kept this rickety old train running, it was the songs, which, let’s face it, are pretty hard to screw up.

And even though I found myself singing along in spots, I gotta tell ya, the only thing this ill-advised and totally unnecessary “remake” did for me was make me wanna dig out my Blu-Ray and rewatch the original. Sorry, NBC…but you get a big old lump of coal for this clunker.

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2013 Golden Globe Nominees

Seeing as I was already up working, I figured I’d stay up a few minutes more to hear this year’s list of Golden Globe Nominees. Despite some really great movies in contention this year, I haven’t been exactly thrilled (or, more accurately, surprised) by any of the movies being nominated by critics groups and such so far.

The Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) announced their nominations yesterday and it was a total snooze, nothing new on the TV front (Glee for Best Comedy Ensemble?! Have you watched that show lately? Yikes!) and nothing too totally unexpected on the movie front either. Although, it was nice to see Naomi Watts score a SAG Lead Actress nomination for her superb work in The Impossible, even if they left poor Ewan McGregor off their list (again!). I swear to God, if McGregor goes totally empty-handed again this award season after his career-best (which is saying a lot!) work in The Impossible, I’m gonna be really pissed. He has been overlooked for too long, man, give the Jedi his due!

Ooo…hot damn! Someone’s ears must have been burning. Megan Fox (!) just announced that Ewan McGregor snagged a Golden Globe nomination, not for The Impossible, but, for Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. Haven’t seen it yet, but, hey, I’ll take it. Good on you, Ewan! Also congrats to Emily Blunt for her nomination for the same film. I love her in anything, so, even if the movie sucks, glad to see her getting some award season love!

Also happy to see Argo score a bunch of major nods (although I wish there was room for both Alan Arkin and John Goodman on the Best Supporting Actor list) but was a little surprised that they completely snubbed The Hobbit and that Matthew McConaughey was overlooked for his sleazy perfection in Magic Mike. That dude made the movie and he seemed like a lock for some Hollywood Foreign Press love, but, hey, there’s always the Oscars!

Anyway, the entertainment reporter on NBC just called Kathryn Bigelow “Karen” like, three times and the L.A. Times website misprinted Rachel Weisz’s name as “Richard Weisz”. So, either I’m really sleepy or these people are all total morons. Either way, I need some sleep.

To see the complete list of this year’s Golden Globe Nominees, click here.

Fall TV 2012: Winners & Losers

Most people look forward to watching the new fall shows like, the minute they air. My Mom actually writes the air dates down in her datebook, so she can remember to watch. Yes, she still has a datebook, but, mostly because she’s an esthetician. Anyway, in year’s past I Tivo-ed like, every new show and watched them all right away. But, that’s been a little harder to do with Greta in the picture.

I mean, sure, I still Tivo everything. I just don’t get around to watching it until weeks, sometimes months later. That said, here is my very belated list of the best and worst of the new fall shows. Enjoy!

The Best New Shows

Ben & Kate (FOX):

Oddly enough, my favorite new show has my least favorite title of all time. I mean, seriously, does it not sound like that horrific Jon & Kate Plus 8 show? Yikes! You couldn’t have thought of a better title for a sweetly funny show about an adult brother and sister living together with her young daughter? Anyway, ignore the title and watch the show. It’s beautifully written and hilariously funny. We love it!

The Mindy Project (FOX):

Although I’m still on the fence a little with this one, I do love the cast and the writing is terrific. And how cool to see a female lead that isn’t a perfect freaking stick figure! Go, Mindy!

Made In Jersey (CBS):

I know what you’re thinking. First: You watched that? And the answer is: “Yes, I did and I loved it.” And secondly: Didn’t that show just get cancelled? Again, sadly, the answer is “Yes.” But, let me tell ya, the lead actress, the stunning UK import Janet Montgomery is destined to be a star. Seriously, I got goosebumps the first time she was onscreen. I haven’t seen someone with that much star-wattage to burn since Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping. Jersey might be gone, but, mark my words, Montgomery will be around for a while.

Go On (NBC):

Mrs. Yeti fell in love with this show immediately, but, it took me a little longer to warm up to it. But, now that I have, I cannot wait to watch it every week. The cast is great, the writing is crisp, heartfelt and original and I gotta tell ya, I’m a sucker for therapy groups in movies and TV shows. Be it the darker skewing therapy scenes in Fight Club or the hilarious, angry women’s group scenes in About a Boy, people sitting in a circle contemplating life is comedy gold in my book!

And now, for the worst new shows. As you can see, they totally outnumber the good shows this season. Which is fine by me, I mean, I’m just glad I didn’t get hooked on more dramas since one hour shows are so much harder to watch with Greta running around the living room. Whew!

The Worst New Shows

Revolution (NBC):

Total crap from start to finish, this show feels like it was put together by a freaking computer. “Insert Plot Device A, add a little bit of Movie B and TV Show C, then stir vigorously.” Yikes! And I know it shouldn’t matter, but, even the cast is dumpy. Sorry, but, they are. And that main girl, oy, don’t get me started. Why she is still on TV and my sweet-faced Janet Montgomery is not is a riddle for the ages.

The Neighbors (ABC):

All I can say about this crapfest is: WTF?! Seriously, I want the twenty minutes I spent watching this hopelessly-dated, terribly-unfunny aliens-next-door show back. When it was all over, I actually felt kinda bad for Jami Gertz and I usually hate her in anything. Run, Jami, run!

Partners (CBS):

I was really looking forward to this one and it was disappointing on every level. I mean, the pilot was almost unwatchable. Wait, we stopped watching halfway through, so, I guess that makes it all the way unwatchable. Either way, Partners is a total bomb filled with really annoying characters that will drive you up a wall. Literally!

The New Normal (NBC):

Speaking of annoying characters, this might just be the worst thing Glee creator Ryan Murphy — the king of smug, topical humor that will age as gracefully as Glee has. Which means very badly! — has ever unleashed on the public. There is nothing new or normal about this show and frankly I’m surprised the gay community isn’t picketing the crap out of this mess. Yikes!

Guys With Kids (NBC):

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of picketing shows. I’d like to start a movement to picket this piece o-crap pronto and I’m not just saying that because I’m a stay-at-home-dad. I really expected this show to be better, I mean, come on, Jimmy Fallon is one of the producers! I don’t know what happened, but, the episodes I’ve watched are not about guys or kids. Again, it’s like some marketing flunkie at NBC came up with the poster and the title and then hired people to write the show and fill in the blanks. Urgh…a total trainwreck!

Nashville (ABC):

We waited for this show for a month and lemme tell ya, it was not worth the wait. The music was great and I loved seeing all the real-life Nashville locales featured in the pilot (long live The Bluebird Cafe, whoo-hoo!) but by the thirty-minute mark this show was dragging big time. It could improve over time, but, sadly, time is not something a parent of a toddler has, so, for now, Nashville has left the building. Or, um, you know…our Tivo Season Pass.

And finally, I want to give a heads up to some of the shows that don’t really fall into either category. They were good enough to watch once or twice (and maybe revisit, now that Made in Jersey bit the dust) but, I don’t know if I’d Tivo them on a regular basis. That said, all of the shows listed below are worth checking out if you have the time.

Good Enough to Watch Once

Last Resort (ABC):

I initially Tivo-ed this show because a buddy of mine from The American Mall is in it. She was fantastic in both of the episodes I watched — Autumn plays the ruthless nuclear submarine designer desperately trying to save her “baby” from destruction — and so was the rest of the top-notch cast. The biggest problem I had was that the show’s mythology is already, at just a few episodes in, a little thick for my taste. I mean, I’m all for a good geeky mythology, but, I don’t know if I wanna invest in something that dense right now. Sorry, guys, but, the show is still very good. So, rock on!

666 Park Avenue (ABC):

I know a lot of people didn’t like this show from the get-go, but, I gotta tell ya, again, it all boils down to the hot chick in the lead role. Just kidding. Kinda. But, the lead character here is the plucky, ever-resourceful Rachael Taylor and, well, she’s really pretty and really smart and I’m kinda worried about what kind of trouble she’ll find as she digs deeper into the mystery of this spooky old Manhattan apartment building. So, if you’re along for the ride (like me!) you might dig it. But be forewarned, this show is definitely not for kids. Way too scary!

Elementary (CBS):

Of all the shows I sampled this is the one I think I might reconsider adding to our Season Pass. Lucy Liu, as always, is fantastic and the guy who plays Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) is much better than I expected him to be considering his lackluster movie performances of later. I mean, really, could he have looked worse in Dark Shadows? Egads! The show is light, entertaining and, well, did I mention that I have a thing for Lucy Lui? Definitely worth watching!

And that’s it. Sadly, we don’t have the greatest cable set-up, so, we don’t get to watch all the fancy cable shows like Homeland and Boardwalk Empire. But, quicker than you can say library, the DVD’s will be on the shelves of ours. And lord knows we love our library…so, we’ll catch up then!

Dying to hear what new shows you guys are watching, so, fire away.

P&G’s London Olympic Mom Clip

As any long-time reader knows, we are huge fans of the Oympics in these parts. I had a friend who once joked that the only sport Mrs. Yeti and I watch is “Olympics”, and he wasn’t far off. We might not watch football or baseball, but every couple of years we burn the hell out of our Tivo taping every event we can during the Olympics.

And with the Opening Ceremonies set to take place this Friday in London, well, we’ve been fools for anything Olympic-related for weeks now. So, when I caught an airing of the American-Mom only version of this new ad from Proctor & Gamble, I cried my ass off and thought it was brilliant.

But, then I found this International-Mom clip and, well, I haven’t stopped crying yet. It really is advertising gold. So beautiful! The only thing that would make it better was if they had one for Dad’s too. Enjoy and see you at the games!

Michael Bublé Christmas Special airs tonight! (via make.see.eat.do)

Spent the weekend putting up the tree, decorating the house and trying to explain to Greta why we don’t wear our Christmas stockings on our actual feet. She calls them “socks” and, well, why shouldn’t she? Explaining the whole thing to her last night, Mrs. Yeti and I kept looking at one another, like: “Wow, this is kind of a weird tradition…no wonder she’s confused!”

Anyway, Greta and I are still putting the final touches on Christmas-izing our merry little household, so, you’ll have to forgive me if I cut corners a bit and post something from our sister blog here today. I know it’s totally cheating, but, I promise to dazzle you with some exclusive content real soon. So, for now, Merry Christmas and enjoy the link!

Michael Bublé Christmas Special airs tonight!.