ArtisticallyChill

While I can’t remember what came out on 08.08.08 or on any of the same digit dates before that, this year’s same digit date is a launching point for three things that come to my mind and each of them come from different avenues in the the media entertainment genre.

At the top of that short list is The Beatles: Rock Band. Harmonix has been hard at work with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Olivia and Dani Harrison to bring the most accurate history of the Beatles’ career and history to life. Harmonix even traveled to Abbey Road Studios and incorporating a new method to bring the Beatles’ legendary songs to consoles around the world. Even the game’s progression mechanics have been revamped allowing the players to relive The Beatles history from their early beginnings to their famous concerts in chronological order. The better you play, the more history is revealed with photos and memorabilia. To add more players, Harmonix is adding vocal harmonization, allowing up to 3 people to pic up mics and sing away. It’s safe to say that this isn’t Rock Band 2.5.

Next up is the CG-animated film, 9. Written and directed by Shane Acker, 9 is a post-apocalyptic movie in which the fate of humanity lies in the hands of nine sentient ragdolls. What started out as a short film has become one of the most highly anticipated animated movies of 2009. From the trailers, 9 looks and feels different from your normal 3D animated movie. It can’t really be compared to UP (which I enjoyed and is probably the best animated film of 2009) because it has a more mature theme.

Finally, there’s Glee. Part comedy, part musical, Glee is a show for the aspiring underdog in all of us. Ever since I saw the pilot months ago, I’ve been wanting to see more of Will Schuester’s (played by Matthew Morrison) optimism and the Glee kids’ determination to show everyone at their school that they aren’t at the bottom of the high school social order. If you missed the pilot, Hulu has the director’s cut on their site. I’ve posted it here but it’s best to watch it full screen. Glee is definitely a show to watch this Fall TV season. Hopefully FOX won’t screw us over like they did with so many of their shows by pulling the plug on it early.

~ LoneWolf

Animated Comedic Gold or Spin-Off Epic Fail?

I’m leaning towards the latter. I should really wait til the premiere to decide. If I’m lucky, I’ll be watching something else that will not result in a facepalm.

~ LoneWolf

At only 3 episodes into it’s premiere season, Lie To Me has been a very engaging show to watch. You should definitely check it out if you’ve been unable to find something to watch on Wednesday nights. One of my favorite aspects of this show is how they incorporate real life footage of famous people using gestures that prove they are lying.

The average person tells three lies in ten minutes of conversation.

DR. CAL LIGHTMAN (Tim Roth, “The Incredible Hulk,” “Reservoir Dogs”) can detect the truth by analyzing a person’s face, body, voice and speech. When someone shrugs his shoulder, rotates his hand or raises his lower lip, Lightman knows he’s lying. By analyzing facial expressions, he can read feelings – from hidden resentment to sexual attraction to jealousy. But as Lightman well knows, his scientific ability is both a blessing and a curse in his personal life, where family and friends deceive each other as readily as criminals and strangers do. Lightman is the world’s leading deception expert, a scientist who studies facial expressions and involuntary body language to discover not only if you are lying but why.

From writer Samuel Baum (“The Evidence”) and the executive producers of 24 and “Arrested Development” comes LIE TO ME, a compelling new drama series inspired by the scientific discoveries of Dr. Paul Ekman, a real-life specialist who can read clues embedded in the human face, body and voice to expose both the truth and lies in criminal investigations.

Lightman heads a team of experts at The Lightman Group who assist federal law enforcement, government agencies and local police with their most difficult cases. DR. GILLIAN FOSTER (Kelli Williams, “The Practice”) is a gifted psychologist and Lightman’s professional partner who brings balance to the partnership by looking at the bigger picture while Lightman focuses on the details. He needs her guidance and insight into human behavior, whether he knows it or not. ELI LOKER (Brendan Hines, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES) is Lightman’s lead researcher, who is so uncomfortable with the human tendency to lie that he’s decided to practice what he calls “radical honesty.” He says everything on his mind at all times and often pays the price. RIA TORRES (Monica Raymund, “Law and Order: SVU”) is the newest member of the agency, and one of the few “naturals” in the field of deception detection. She has a raw, untrained ability to read people that makes her a force to be reckoned with.

Samuel Baum, Brian Grazer, David Nevins and Steven Maeda serve as executive producers on the series, which is produced by Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox Television. Robert Schwentke directed the pilot. ~ The Official Site of Lie To Me

Sadly, this show is on Fox. And since Fox doesn’t know it has great show until well after they can it and it becomes a cult classic and can no longer be brought back after the stars, writers, creators and others responsible for said great show have moved on, don’t expect Lie To Me to last beyond its first season. The minute it gets shifted from it’s Wednesday night time slot, you know the show’s already one foot into an early grave.

~ LoneWolf