It’s the end of June. Occasionally I like to rant and rave about entertainment happenings. See if you agree:

A RANT -

The Academy Awards ceremony next March is going to look different because they are going to expand the number of Best Picture nominees from FIVE to a whopping TEN!!!?…WTF?

This past year at least a couple of great movies were left off the Best Picture list (Wall-E and The Dark Knight.) I think the exclusion of commercial (read=popular) movies from the nomination list has left many film fans (myself included) a little jaded about the Oscars. Doubling the number of nominees though is a little too much! At this rate “Land of the Lost” could end of nominated! (that’s satire…not a prediction)

On the other hand…

A RAVE -

They are also changing the Oscar rules to limit Best Song nominees. So if all the music sucks, we won’t have to listen to it and they won’t give out an Oscar to it. Does anyone really think “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” should have a Best Song Oscar (for “Hustle and Flow”?)

A RAVE -

Watching TV in HDTV. Even a lame program can look good…

A (Techie) RANT -

So how come so many theatrical movies on channels like FX, A&E and others are not 16×9 HD? What’s almost worse though, is when some channels (like TBS) stretch 4×3 sitcoms like “Friends” to fill the whole 16×9 rectangle…making Jennifer Anniston look wider in wide screen!  

A RANT -

DTV is wonderful…but losing Channel 6’s audio that used to be at 87.7 on your FM radio dial is terrible. The audio went away with the analog signal switch-off ordered by the FCC.  Hundreds of viewers have emailed and called to tell us how much they miss listening to the 6 NEWS and GMA in the mornings on the way to work or to Judge Judy and 6 NEWS on the commute home. We miss it too!

A RAVE -

AMC aired a restored/widescreen version of “Lonesome Dove” on that mini-series 20th Anniversary this month.

I had forgotten how good it was!

And Robert Duvall is truly an acting icon! The man is pure genius! If you haven’t watched, check it out.

Outstanding!

A RANT -

ABC is airing the final episodes of “Eli Stone” this summer on Saturday nights.

Great storytelling.

Too bad it didn’t get enough eyeballs.

A RAVE –

“Wipeout.” Big Balls. People crashing and stumbling. Announcers making fun of them. Great summer TV. Especially in HD!

A RAVE -

Dave versus Conan. The late night battle is giving Letterman new sarcastic bite…As much as I love Conan and Andy Richter, Big Dave is the new King of Late Night. (Forget the Sarah Palin swipes…it was how Dave reacted to people protesting that he should be fired that makes me love Letterman even more!)

A RANT –

“Transformers”.

Intern Joe’s quickie review: (I paraphrase)

It’s very loud.  

But it is what it is and that’s a popcorn movie about fighting robots. It’s just numbingly too long.

I can’t wait to see it on my big home theatre screen. It will rock the sound system.