Mad Men Season 1 Early Thoughts

I had heard a lot about how amazing the award winning show Mad Men was since it first debuted in June of 2007. The hype around the show and the astounding number of positive reviews made me want to start watching it but something always seemed to get in the way. The other day, to my surprise, Mad Men Season 1 disc 1 was in my mailbox from Netflix. Today I popped it into the DVD player and checked out the first two episodes, and I was utterly impressed.

The setting is 1960 in an advertising firm on Madison Avenue in New York City. The show's first episode starts by letting the viewers know that these advertisers were given the name "Mad Men" in the 50's and it was they who coined the term. Right off the bat you get a feel for the time period, dialog, motivations, ideals, and everything that matters to the characters.

There's Peggy, the new girl, who seems to be a lot more playful then she lets on. Peter Campbell, a privileged upstart who is poised to take the top spot in the ad firm. And Don Draper, the hot shot who claims that top spot and does so with all the style in the world.

Characters smoke often and give off a vibe as if they know viewers know it's bad yet they know their time period is just beginning to realize that. Some lines do feel forced as if edited to fit the idea of the time frame instead of written to feel comfortable. But overall it is a killer show with an absolutely commanding presence. Everything from the dialog, to the acting, to the costumes is top notch.

I've only seen the first two episodes and Mad Men has already won me over with its charm and style. I'm sure I'll be catching up in the upcoming months and hopefully it'll stay as incredible as the first episodes have been.

Here's a trailer for season 1 to give you a quick idea of the show



Line of the century: (Said by Don Draper to Pete Campbell in regards to his horny demeanor and young and reckless mindset.)
"I bet the world looks like one big brazer strap just waiting to be snapped to you..."

Time to Get Pumped!

September 24th is making its way towards us as a human population and this means serious life changes for the entire world. The reason for this excitement that is gripping me so tightly is a movie. I admit that some of this excitement is in jest but I am truly excited to see The Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole. the movie has an incredible sense of "feel good" to it and it looks like one of those movies that'll just kick ass regardless of your age. The animation studio behind the beautifully rendered owls is the same studio that made the oh so adorable penguins of Happy Feet fame. In the director chair is Zack Snyder, director of Watchmen and 300. The overall appeal of the movie is something that only the trailer can convey. Yes it is a movie that kids will enjoy because it's an animated feature and the owls are fricking adorable. But it has such a heavily rooted story behind it all. Author Kathryn Lasky wrote 15 books over the course of six years in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series and now it seems the series is being taken "under the wing" (tee hee) of Hollywood. I have not read the books although I may once I see the movie. Honestly I haven't been this excited about a movie since Up! and maybe that says something about me as a movie goer but I couldn't care less. This movie looks fantastic and to show just how serious I am about having people check it out here is my number (6318826666) it comes out September 24th so if you're in town and want to go see it either Friday or Saturday shoot me a text and let's get a shit load of people together for this experience. The newest trailer is linked up top and the first trailer that came out shall be posted below.



Also, as a quick side note, an incredible looking HBO series is being made based on George R. R. Martin's fantastic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. The show starts Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Mark Addy, and Lena Headey along with a slew of other talents. The books are enormous and tell the tale of what is now being called "Soprano's in Middle Earth" by some. To sum it up the setting is typical fantasy but it is all dark and the people are the focal points, not the battles or magic. There is no true magic in the series and the characters are developed in such a way that the enormous cast of characters all seem important. Check out the books if you're into fantasy or characterization and definitely look into the show, coming out in Spring '11 perhaps, if you liked Lord of the Rings at all.