New Girl: My Thoughts on the Pilot

As I was browsing through the Comcast ON Demand offerings, I saw Fox’s upcoming comedy New Girl listed. I figured it was just a short featurette, but to my surprise, they had the complete pilot available. Intrigued, I decided to give it a shot.

Credit: FOX

Before I get too far into this review, I have to make a disclaimer; I went into New Girl with negative expectations. I was somewhat curious about it, but I didn’t like the previews. My biggest issue with New Girl’s pilot is something that had already bothered me in the trailer: I found Zooey Deschanel’s character to be annoying. I’ve enjoyed Zooey in other movies like Elf and 500 Days of Summer, but I thought her performance in New Girl was too over-the-top in its quirkiness. It’s not just Zooey’s fault; the script practically begs viewers to see her character, Jessica, as adorably quirky because she sings a lot and wears glasses. There were a few brief moments where I bought into her character and thought her to be funny. It’s possible that these brief moments could be glimmers of improvement in the future. However, I currently find the character annoying for the most part. I could see some viewers finding her endearing, and I think most people’s opinions about New Girl are going to depend on if Zooey’s character and performance works for them.

I enjoyed her male counterparts a bit more. They form a fun little group and were well cast. However, I was a little disappointed at how one-dimensional the male characters are. Damon Wayans Jr.’s aptly named character, Coach, is portrayed simply as the tough, sometimes insensitive coach, and Max Greenfield’s Schmidt is the girl-obsessed toolish guy. Jake Johnson’s character, Nick, is the closest to having more than one dimension, but he’s still just the guy who’s not over his girlfriend. To be fair, it’s hard to develop characters in a short thirty minute pilot, and I feel like this flaw will be quickly overcome. The three actors have a nice chemistry together. Unfortunately for New Girl, that chemistry is going to be disrupted. Damon Wayans Jr. is currently working on the second season of Happy Endings, so his character has been written off after the pilot. I’m curious how the replacement of his character will affect the group dynamic.

Plotwise, I wasn’t really impressed with New Girl’s pilot. If you’ve seen the show’s trailer, you’ve seen the whole plot of the first episode. There’s just not that much to it, and it’s far from original. Again, this is somewhat forgivable because this was a pilot. Pilots often have scanty plots because they have the difficult task of setting up a series. I did really enjoy the series’ premise. The idea of three guys adjusting to living with a girl may not be an out-of-the-box idea, but it's a fun one. There's a lot of interesting ground that the show could cover.

New Girl's pilot definitely had that pilot feel to it. I see this as both a bad and a good thing. It’s a bad characteristic because it gave it an raw and slightly unfinished mood. As an episode, this pilot just didn’t work that well for me. The writing wasn’t particularly unique or witty, and the main character annoyed me. As a pilot setting up a show, however, it did a decent job. This pilot feel could be a good thing because it gives some hope that New Girl will improve over time and just needs to find its footing.  Plenty of great shows have had mediocre pilots. Plus, there were a couple of moments that I enjoyed, and the premise has a lot of promise. I think New Girl will instantly charm a lot of people. It has that hipstery, Zooey Deschanel vibe going for it, and some people will be drawn to that. Personally, however, pilot just didn’t work for me, I’m probably not going to seek out future episodes unless I hear that it’s improved, but I might stop and watch another episode if I found it while flipping through channels.

If you’re interested in checking out New Girl, you can watch it on Comcast ON Demand like I did, or you can watch it Tuesdays on FOX at 9/8c starting September 20.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on New Girl in the comments. Do you plan on watching pilot? If you've seen the pilot, what did you think? Do you think you'll watch regularly?

Reality TV: The Importance of Having a Favorite?

I'm not sure if I've ever talked about it on here, but I've been a fan of Big Brother since its eighth season. Before then, I, lacking in basic literary references, assumed it had something to do with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Once I gave it a shot, however, I realized it was a lot more interesting than that. Now, I know it's trashy, but I can't help but get sucked into it. Each season, I like to pick someone (or multiple people) to root for in the competition (Sadly, I guess reality television is to me what sporting events are to many people). Unfortunately, at this point in the current season, I'm not sure who I want to win. I feel like I need to root for someone, so I've basically defaulted to rooting for two contestants by eliminating the three I don't want to win.

This got me thinking about the importance of having a favorite contestant (or multiple ones) when watching reality television. I may not always choose a favorite contestant, but I normally pick someone to root for once I've seen a couple of episodes when I watch a show regularly. It makes it much easier for me to be invested in the outcome. I wouldn't necessarily stop watching a show if I despised all of the contestants, but I definitely prefer to have a favorite.

Sometimes the casting people do a wonderful job, and I really like a certain reality television contestant. When I was younger, I was such a huge Ruben Studdard (America Idol) fan that I made buttons showing my support with my B-Stylin' Button Designer that I thankfully just wore at home. Recently, I shared with you my support of Damian in The Glee Project. If I don't have an obvious favorite, I normally just pick the best of the worst.  This season of Big Brother is a good example of that. Regardless, I like having a favorite.

Now, I want to know what you think on the matter of favorite contestants. Feel free to vote in the following poll, or you can leave a more detailed response in the comments.

It's Baaack...Final Destination 5

I mentioned in my "week of movies" post that the one movie from my list that I failed to see was Final Destination 5. On Sunday, I rectified that failure. I'm not sure what this says about the relationship we have, but watching the Saw movies and the Final Destination movies is a guilty pleasure that my sister and I share. Out of the twelve movies that includes, I believe we've watched ten of them together. I was bummed when we never got around to watching the fourth Final Destination in the theater. Mostly, I wanted to see a 3D horror movie, and a Final Destination movie was the only one I would be brave enough to see. Anyway, I was pretty pumped to see that there was going to be a Final Destination 5 because I could finally experience one of these movies in 3D.

Credit: Doane Gregory/Warner Bros. Pictures

Let me tell you, 3D was made for this kind of movie. I saw Captain America recently in 3D, and it added very little to the movie. For Final Destination 5, however, 3D was a huge enhancement. As sick as this may sound, gore looks really cool in 3D. Whether it's an eye ball rolling towards you or a protruding pole on which someone has just been stabbed, it simply produces more of an effect than a slightly-more-dimensioned superhero (even if that superhero is as attractive as Chris Evans is). These visual effects are an important part of the movie because the Final Destination movies are largely visual. Let's be honest; nobody goes to these movies for character development or the complex storylines. If you do, I suggest you view some more movies. I still think Final Destination 5 can be enjoyed in non-3D, but if you are going to see it and you have the option, go the 3D route.

The 3D element also added to the movie's camp factor. The makers of Final Destination 5 were fully aware that this is not a movie that people take especially seriously. Thus, they had fun with it, and there was plenty of campiness and comedy. I wasn't laughing at the movie, I was laughing with the movie. While there was plenty of campiness and comedy, they also made sure to not let these elements completely overwhelm the movie. The deaths are still pretty horrifying, and there's more thought put into the movie that I had expected. The basic plot is still the same always: someone has a premonition of a disaster (this time, an awesome bridge collapse sequence); they use this premonition to escape the disaster, bringing several people with them to safety; death follows them around and tries to kill them in freak "accidents." However, there are a couple of interesting twists to the movie (namely one in particular), but I don't want to spoil it for you

I think a large part of the reason that I enjoyed Final Destination 5 is its fun cast. I wasn't overly familiar with any of them, but I did recognize a few. Rather than knowing them by name, however, it was more like "hey that's Claire's love interest from season two of Heroes," or "that's the girl who I've already seen traumatized in Frozen," or even "I've never seen that girl before, but she could seriously be a Megan Fox/Cobie Smulders hybrid." I must admit that a large part of the cast's charm is that their Saved by the Bell/Final Destination music video primed me to like them (I've embedded it below this paragraph for your viewing pleasure). Honestly, I felt like I would have enjoyed that cast even if I hadn't seen their music video, but maybe that's just my priming speaking.

In short, Final Destination 5 is very much a Final Destination movie. It's more gore than plot. If you don't like the previous ones at all, you probably won't magically like this one. However, if you liked the first movie, but have been disappointed by some of the sequels, you might be pleasantly surprised. I'd say that it's definitely the best one of the bunch since the first, and a case could be made that it was better (although it's been a while since I watched the first movie, so I'd have to watch it again to truly evaluate it).

I would like to give a warning however, that you may find yourself especially paranoid for a couple of days after watching Final Destination 5. Riding home from the movie was somewhat stressful, and since the movie, I've imagined various ways in which an unlikely "accident" could kill me. The latest idea was a ceiling fan becoming detached somehow, spinning towards me, and beheading me.

Cream of the Crop: Nikita

With each new television season, there's a giant new crop of television shows. Some of them are rotten, others are just okay, but a few shine as the cream of the crop. In this series of posts, I'm going to share with you the three new shows from the last year that I've watched and enjoyed.

Photo Credit: Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW

Much like the last show I included in this series of posts, I mocked Nikita before I give it a shot. I had no plans to even give it a chance, and I thought it looked like Alias: The Teen Edition. Well, truthfully, that's not entirely inaccurate, but it's not a bad thing either. I first got a glance at Nikita when the pilot came on after an episode of The Vampire Diaries (another show I initially scorned due to its network). I didn't really pay much attention to it, but I thought that it looked less lame than I had expected. Still, I shut it off about half way through. Flash-forward in time to my experiencing a period of boredom during a break. I'd heard a surprising amount of positive buzz for Nikita, so I decided to give it a shot. I quickly caught up on the episodes and was hooked.

Despite my Alias comparison, Nikita is actually based on prior source material that predates Alias. I've read that there was both a movie, Nikita, and a television show, La Femme Nikita, but having seen neither of these, I can't tell you how similar the current version of Nikita is to either of these. I can however, give you a brief rundown of Nikita's plot. Nikita is former member of an organization named Division. Division was once a U.S. government organization with good intentions but has abandoned those intentions in favor of bad ones. After the death of her fiance at their hands, Nikita has become focused on taking down Division, a goal made easier by the fact that she's got a mole on the inside, Alex.

There's plenty more to the story, but there's enough twists and turns that it's probably best to just let the story unfold by watching it. In fact, the constant shifts in its direction is one of Nikita's best qualities. The plot constantly marches onward; several twists that I would have expected years later if at all happened well before the first season's end. Another aspect I love about the show is that it features two kick butt women (sorry to scandalize you with the PG language, but some ideas call for strong words). Along with categories like "Witty Romantic Opposites Attract Movies," Netflix often recommends TV shows and movies with "Strong Female Leads," and Nikita provides that. There are lots of action sequences where Nikita and Alex kick major butt. Sometimes Michael aka Shane West (who I like to call Shanye West) even joins in on the fun; I like "strong leads" of all genders.

While I've been surprised at how good Nikita is, I'm not going to pretend like Nikita is flaw-free show. It tends to suffer from cheesy dialogue. The cheesiness is not as bad as it could be, but it's undeniably there. In addition to cheesy dialogue, I don't feel as attached to the characters as I feel I should. I like most of them, but they just don't have that extra something that makes me care about them overly much. I feel like part of the reason for this may be that the plot moves forward at such a fast pace that there isn't a whole lot of time for character building. The plot is fun and fast enough for me to enjoy Nikita, despite the deficiencies in its characters. However, I haven't felt much of an urge to watch any reruns, and I think the lack of character development plays a big role in that. That being said, I'm still super excited for new episodes in the upcoming second season.

Overall, Nikita is speedily-paced, entertaining show. If you can withstand a little cheesiness and like watching people kick butt, I'd recommend giving it a try and watching a couple of episodes. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it, and you might even find yourself hooked.

The new season of Nikita premieres on Friday, September 23 at 8/7c on The CW.

Link Roundup: Volume 7

Friday Night Lights joins Veronica Mars and Arrested Development on the growing list of shows I love that tease me with the possibility of a movie. I'm not sure if it would translate well to the big screen, but I know I'd have to check it out if it were to happen.


Speaking of Arrested Development, there are rumors about about the plot for the movie that I refuse to believe is actually happening until I see it in theaters.


Unless I die and somebody drags my corpse to theater, I doubt that I'll be seeing Spy Kids 4-D. However, I was curious to find out what was meant by "4-D." Apparently it's just a scratch and sniff card. I'm pretty sure Cartoon Network did this several years ago. The child version of me did think it was really cool though.


As much as I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I'll be the first to admit that their idea of fashion was often pretty wonky (although viewing the episodes years after the original air dates didn't help). The Bitter Buffalo's "Buffy Fashion Roulette" is a hilarious series of posts about the wardrobe of Buffy. 

Speaking of Buffy, Angel Does Stuff is one of the funniest tumblrs I've seen. If you're a Buffy fan, you must check it out.

So Starbucks Spelling is technically not related to television or movies. However, it reminds me so much of the fantastic "Swarley" episode of How I Met Your Mother that I felt it was okay to include it.

The Week of Movies: A Mostly Successful Plan

 Before I begin, I just want to point out that the "double the 'c,' double the 's,' and then you'll have success" quote from Full House went through my mind as I was typing the title of this post.

Now that you know that, I'll tell you about my week of movies. When I reviewed Crazy, Stupid, Love. last week, I revealed my plan to have a week of movies. In case you missed that post, let's have a "previously on" segment. I know it's lame, but please indulge me for a second.

Previously on I Like TV and Movies:

"After going to a grand total of one movie in the theater this summer,

I've decided that this week is going to be the week of movies. 

I planned it out two nights ago; Tuesday is reserved for Crazy Stupid Love.,

Wednesday for The Help, Friday for Final Destination 5,

and possibly Saturday for Captain America."

After checking off Crazy Stupid Love. on Tuesday, I followed my plan and saw The Help on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, I ended up going to see Captain America. At this point, I was ahead of schedule. Unfortunately (although I suspect some of you who don't appreciate an good ole' gory guilty pleasure might say fortunately), I've yet to see Final Destination 5. Still, three out of four planned movies in one week isn't bad. In fact, the sane might even say that three movies in one week is a bit too much. But, they aren't any fun. Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to say about The Help or Captain America: The First Avenger, so I'm just going to condense both reviews into this post.

The Help

After reading the book in January, I was really excited for the theatrical adaption of The Help. As a big fan of novel, I can say that I was fully satisfied with the movie. All of the performances and casting choices are wonderful. Octavia Spencer was a fabulous choice for Minny, and her performance in the pie incident scene is just perfect. Bryce Dallas Howard, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Emma Stone give great performances as well. Even though his part is smallish, I was excited to see Chris Lowell cast as Stuart Whitworth. Although I know this is an unpopular opinion, I loved him as Piz in Veronica Mars, and I may or may not have whispered an excited "Piz!" to my sister when he came onscreen. Because The Help is a fairly long book, it was obvious that parts of it would be left out of the movie; overall, I was impressed with how it was condensed for the big screen. However, there are one or two changes that I found slightly baffling, and one particular scene from the book was left out that I was hoping would be included. That being said, The Help is a really well-made movie and a faithful adaption. 

Captain America: The First Avenger

Of the movies I saw last week, Captain America was probably my least favorite. That doesn't mean, however, that I didn't enjoy it. I just really enjoyed the other two movies and had some issues with this one. Most of my problems with Captain America centered around its villain, Johann Schmidt or Red Skull. I found him to be rather boring and over-the-top, and his scenes drag immensely. He becomes slightly more interesting part way through the movie, but I feel as if his character was not explained well. I went into Captain America knowing nothing about the comics, and perhaps I would have enjoyed the villain aspect of the movie if I had entered with knowledge of the back story. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the hero portion of the story. While snarky anti-heroes like Batman are fun, Captain America's earnest heroism is a refreshing break from the trend. His transformation from scrawny to brawny is gratifying to watch, and his underdog beginnings make him an endearing character. Plus, speaking from a completely shallow place, Chris Evans (who plays Captain America) is a very attractive man. I also enjoyed the 1940s setting of the movie; it adds a fun element to the story and provides a interesting style for the movie. Overall, Captain America is a fun summer action flick. It isn't spectacular, but a likable lead character makes it work watching.

The Lying Game's Alexandra Chando: A Human Rorschach Test?

While I've watching ABCFamily lately, I've been bombarded with ads for their new series The Lying Game. I honestly know very little about this show other than the fact that's based on a book series by the author of Pretty Little Liars and the main actress plays a pair of twins. Also, it looks like it features some kind of mysterious twin-swap hijinks and maybe murder or something fun like that. Anyway, the plot is irrelevant to this post because it has nothing to do with the real mystery of this show. No, the real mystery is how Alexandra Chando, the lead actress, resembles so many different people. 

The trailer for the show came on the screen while I was watching television with my sister. I said that she gave off a JoAnna Garcia vibe, but my sister said that she reminded her of Mischa Barton. After she rewound to a certain clip, I had to agree with her. I understand that Alexandra is made up differently for different characters, but this girl truly is a chameleon. For those of you who have your doubts, I'm submitting proof below. The celebrity lookalikes I'm listing should be fairly recognizable, so I'm not going to insult your recognition by providing comparison pictures. Okay, that was a bit of a lie. I really just don't want to go through the trouble of finding them.

Joanna Garcia lookalike       Credit: ABCFamily Promo

Mischa Barton lookalike       Credit: ABCFamily Promo

Maggie Grace lookalike           Credit: ABCFamily Promo

I know this picture is from a bit of distance, but I also see a resemblance to Victoria Justice. 

Credit: ABCFamily Promo

 That about covers it for the promos, but I'm not done yet. In the course of my researching Alexandra for this post, I realized that there are a few other celebrities that can be added to her lookalike list.
 I'm linking to them instead of posting them here.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2032308992/nm1322469
Maybe it's just the bangs, but I get a serious Rachel Bilson vibe from this photo.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3776100352/nm1322469
I must have The O.C. on my mind because this picture looks like Willa Holland to me.

http://www.alexandrachando.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=4&pos=0
Finally, I see a resemblance to Sophia Bush in this shot.

Maybe Alexandra Chando is a human Rorschach test; perhaps the celebrity that a person sees her as reveals something about that person. Maybe she's just a master of disguise. Likely I'm just crazy for making this strange post.

Do you agree with any of my selections? Do you think Alexandra looks like a celebrity that I haven't mentioned? Do you think I'm completely crazy for writing any of this? Whatever the case may be, feel free to weigh in on the matter in the comments.

I'm editing to add this picture that I forgot to post:

Alexandra also reminds me of Nina Dobrev. Part of this is her voice and mannerisms, but I think she does resemble her, at least a bit.        Credit: ABCFamily promo