Mike Hall: For Sale

Alright, so fall is coming! This means school starting next week and loads of fun for everyone. But… it also means one more thing… quality television shows! Now I have to admit. This is really starting to get out of hand. I have so many shows to keep track of this year it really might get to be too much. Also, Nikki, I know you’re reading this, rolling your eyes and thinking “Great, I’m not going to have a husband this fall.” Well babe, you will. I promise this won’t consume me… maybe… Anyway, here we go! Here’s a little big list of all the shows I love and can hardly wait for!

One Tree Hill
Season Premiere on CW: Monday, September 14th 8:00PM

Okay okay, before you go and take my man card let me explain. Yes, as you should have assumed, this one is for my wife, Nikki, who I love more than anything. Now I haven’t seen all of the past seasons of One Tree Hill but I have seen the last two at my wife’s request and they haven’t been all that bad. I have to say that I am definitely willing to watch this show this season and I will. So that’s why it made the list. Also, to clarify this list goes by which shows start the soonest and One Tree Hill starts the soonest. That is the only reason it at the beginning. Okay? So to make sure we understand… this list is not by preference.

The Jay Leno Show
Season Premiere on NBC: Monday, September 14th 10:00PM
I love Jay Leno. I grew up with Jay on television. I just don’t think it would be television if Jay Leno wasn’t on it in some form or fashion. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Conan, and I think Co Co doing a fantastic job with Late Night. But I’m really excited to see what Jay does with his next show.

Fringe
Season Premiere on Fox: Thursday, September 17th 9:00PM

Fringe is another project co-created by one of my personal idols, J.J. Abrams. Oh me oh my, he is good, oh so good. The show deals with the wacky world they call “fringe” science. The different twists and turns this show has are awesome and the acting is pretty good too. My favorite character is of course Doctor Walter Bishop played by John Noble. If you haven’t yet, check this show out! You will especially love it if you’re a fan of The X-Files or The Twilight Zone.

The Office
Season Premiere on NBC: Thursday, September 17th 9:00PM

Now I have to be honest. I have greatly enjoyed many years of The Office. I really have. But… in the last two seasons they have started to lose me. I think that they’re still doing a good job, but not as good as a job as I think they can do! I have faith in The Office and I hope this next season is as great as the first three were.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Season Premiere on FX: Thursday, September 17th 10:00PM

I have fallen in love with “It’s Always Sunny.” I think that this show takes some of the more controversial and simply outrageous topics and spins them in ways I could never have imagined. It’s creators Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day deserve to be worshiped in my mind. Oh and let’s not forget about Mister Danny DeVito. His performance in this show is amazazing.

How I Met Your Mother
Season Premiere on CBS: Monday, September 21st 8:00PM

This is show is legen… wait for it… dary! I have my great friends Alex and Tysin to thank for introducing me to this show. I’ve now seen seasons one and two and I’m trying to catch up on seasons three and four in time for the premiere. I’ve loved this show so far and I’m told that it only gets better. I can’t wait! Suit up!

House
Season Premiere on Fox: Monday, September 21st 8:00PM

House is to the point now where it is just classically great. There is never much story development which I actually like for this kind show. I like being able to just watch an episode of House anywhere in the season and be able to catch up on what is going on while thoroughly enjoying the constant mysteries in each episode. I just wish I understood even a third of the medical lingo they throw around.

The Amazing Race
Season Premiere on CBS: Sunday, September 27th 8:00PM
I want to be on this show! Now I must confess, I haven’t watched the last few seasons as religiously as I would have liked but I think that this is still my favorite reality show out there. That’s all I have to say about that.

Lie to Me
Season Premiere on Fox: Monday, September 28th 9:00PM

I got hooked on Lie to Me last season thanks to Hulu. Without that glorious site I most likely wouldn’t have given it a try. But I am really excited for this next season. The show deals with a company called The Lightman Group started and run by Doctor Cal Lightman played wonderfully by Tim Roth. The Lightman Group investigates and finds the truth in situations by interpreting human micro expressions. Lie to Me has great acting with one of my favorite television concepts ever.

30 Rock
Season Premiere on NBC: Thursday, October 15th 9:30PM

Tina Fey’s marvelous creation: 30 Rock. Now, 30 Rock has gotten quite a many awards, including 22 primetime Emmy Award nominations in 2009 alone. That speaks for itself! If you haven’t seen every 30 Rock episode then you should go out and buy it right now. Practically perfect in every way, you will be laughing out loud every week.

Lost
Season Premiere on ABC: Early 2010

Lost is my absolute favorite show on television. I’m sad that it has to be here toward the bottom of the list but it stupidly doesn’t start until, as ABC says, “early 2010″. Yes I’m sad about it and yes I am sad that this will be its last season but I’m excited to get some answers. My years of devotion will be paid off and I can’t wait. Lost is such an amazing show and I’m sad to see it go but I foresee many great things coming from its creators Damon Lindelof, J.J. Abrams and Jeffrey Lieber.

Parenthood
Season Premiere on NBC: ???
Parenthood was supposed to premiere on September 23rd but got pushed back to sometime “mid-season”. The sole reason I am excited for this show is that two of its executive producers are Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. Now, not only do I love Ron Howard and everything he touches but both of these men were producers of the greatest, and my personal favorite television comedy ever… Arrested Development. I have high hopes for this show and I hope that it brings me more laughs that I can adore for ages to come. I’m eagerly crossing my fingers and my toes for this one.

Whew! What did I tell you! That is quite the list I know! It’s going to be quite the entertaining winter! Enjoy!

“Oh ma gorsh…” that is my review of Ben Folds new album that came out yesterday. It truly is amazing. If you haven’t already got a copy of this album you truly need to. Feel free to comment or email me and I can help you out.
Ben Folds has once again taken his beautiful music to another level. I think that he truly has done an incredible job on this album. Another thing to check out are the music videos. If you happen to know of Tim and Eric you will be happy to know that that “zanny, wacky, sometimes crappy” duo has directed the music video for the song “You Don’t Know Me” featuring Regina Spektor. Check out the video below. And if you haven’t already got this fantastic album go now and get it. It is, thus far, my favorite album of the year.

“Hypnotically epic and astounding, the greatest Batman film of all time.”

“Good evening, ladies and gentle men… we are [this summer's] entertainment.”
Batman has always been my favorite super hero but today Batman has reached a new level. The Dark Knight is not only greatest movie of 2008 but the greatest super hero film ever created. It takes Batman to a level that has never been shown in anything but the imaginations of it’s fans.
The most exciting part of the film is Heath Ledger’s performance as Joker. Maitland McDonagh’s beautiful review for TV Guide stated,

“Ledger’s mesmerizingly damaged agent provocateur is the film’s dark heart, a presence so malevolently unpredictable that it remains palpable even when he’s not on screen.”

I have now seen the film in the IMAX and in a regular theater and I have to say…. if you can, you must see it in the IMAX. It makes a world of difference. Christopher Nolan has the brilliant idea to film several of the key sequences with an IMAX camera. This gives an experience that one truly has to see to believe. Erin McCarthy for Popular Mechanics has a more detailed description as well as a video which you can view at from the following link, http://bit.ly/1biKg2. I have to once again give my compliments to Heath Ledger. Truly he has created an everlasting villain. The performances of Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine and Maggie Gyllenhaal are awe inspiring. If you have not seen this film, drop everything, leave it all and go. Go and see The Dark Knight. It has truly earned it’s five star review.
The Dark Knight: ★★★★★

I’ve been majorly excited to see Wall-E for a long time now. I mean almost too excited. Okay, not really… but I have wanted to see it. So… I did! I’ve seen it twice now, the first time I saw it with Nikki and I have to admit that… I loved it! I thought it was one of the greatest Pixar movies there has been! I honestly fell in love with two robots (and a fat couple). I really did.
Now I went and saw the movie again with my family on Independence Day. Guess what… I loved it again! I really did. I was disappointed to find out that my Dad, my brother Adam, and my grandmother! All hated it. And I’m not talking about just not liking it… they hated it! How could they I scream! How dare they! No no no, it’s all good. I don’t mind… but still. I loved Wall-E I thought it was great. I gave it a nice four (4) out of my personal five (5) stars. I thought that it was better than they’re previous movies like, ‘A Bug’s Life‘ and I even thought it was better than ‘Cars‘ but come on now, let’s be realistic… nothing can beat the classic ‘Toy Story‘. Okay, that and I really loved ‘Finding Nemo‘ … okay and I love, love, love… ‘The Incredibles‘. But other than those, it was rockin’!
To those of you out there that don’t like it… well, as Weezer says in the new Red Album… “…If you don’t like it, you can shove it.” Okay that’s kind of harsh but I don’t care I love Wall-E. Anyway… sorry about the anger there, it’s been a rough day. To continue from that beautiful song… “…You don’t like it, you love it” (or at least you should). So go out and give Wall-E a chance. He’s just a poor little guy, and he’s lonely… Love it or I’ll punch you in the tooth.
Wall-E: ★★★★

“Fantastically empowering and dark.”

Fight Club is a book that I have been meaning to read for a long long long long time. I have loved the film and I have known that I needed to read this book for a while now. Well I’m finally done, and surprisingly… I loved it. It truly is a fantastically dark story that captures the reader and doesn’t let go. Its a book that simply makes me want to give the entire word a big ‘Screw You’ … Okay okay, that might not be the best thing to do, but still. It’s a story that helps you feel okay with being yourself. I truly believe that each and every one of us has tremendous potential and power. I know that any of us can do anything we truly love or desire with enough effort and gumption. This book will help the people say ‘Bring it on world, I can take you, and I’m ready for it.’ If you haven’t read it check it out, links to where you can buy it are below as well as links to more information on Chuck Palahniuk and Fight Club. Enjoy!

Chuck Palahniuk - Wikipedia

Fight Club - Wikipedia

Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Borders

Now this movie truly was a difficult one for me. Still now, three days after seeing it I still don’t know what to think. I enjoyed some parts of the film, but other parts I truly hated. Sorry Tim but I really think you could have done so much better on this film! You did not step up to the typical quality that I come to expect from you. Another thing is… well… I don’t really even know how to describe it, well, I just think that the characters didn’t have enough depth, I just didn’t quite believe them. For me, this movie was not a film about Sweeny Todd, Mrs. Lovett, Judge Turpin or any of the characters. To me, it felt like a film about Edward Scissorhands, Marla Singer, Borat, and Severus Snape. I just do not feel like the acting was convincing enough. If you cannot tell, I really am still having a hard time with this movie. I just do not know!
I have to admit that I truly loved the soundtrack. The vocals we’re great. But not good enough to make the movie for me. Now… onto what I predict for the future…
I think that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp once again have enormous potential. I really feel like there is something under their sleeves that that will simply blow the film industry away, but Sweeny Todd was just not it. So come on Tim, come on Johnny! Give me what I know you got! Give it to me good. Let’s see what you really can do. Give me the quality that I know you have stirring in your veins. Enjoy!
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: ???