Musings of a TV Addict

moretoignore:

:(

The best part of the whole series - even better than Pam’s last line, I think. 

(via televisionwithoutpity)

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel has been my favorite book since I first read it at the age of 16. I have read and taught it several times since that first reading, and when it came time to view the film adaptations, I always found them horribly depressing. So, I have been eagerly anticipating Baz Luhrman’s version for years now… and for the most point, I found it an excellent representation of the novel. However, it’s not even close to being good enough to substitute for actually reading the original.

Top 5 Great Parts

1.) The screenplay is largely created from the novel’s original lines.

Plot is not what makes Gatsby one of the best novels ever - it’s the writing. It was a wise choice to keep so much of it in tact.

2.) Carey Mulligan as Daisy.

Carey Mulligan managed to make me not hate Daisy until Myrtle’s death. No one (not even Fitzgerald) managed to keep me invested in her for as long. She managed to bring out a lot of layers in the character and actually shows a reason for why Gatsby is so into her in the first place.

3.) The Valley of Ashes depiction.

Perfect, exactly as I saw in my mind all these years.

4.) All of the symbols were well preserved.

The green light, the cars, TJ Eckleburg’s eyes, the weather, the clock!

5.) The houses and the parties!

Gatsby, Tom & Daisy, Nick, Wilson’s, even Tom & Myrtle’s apartments. Each one perfectly reproduced. And the parties were so exquisitely choreographed!

And now for the…

Top 5 Bad Parts

1.) Leo

I don’t know if all of it was his acting choices or Baz’s direction, but he just seemed too emotional all the time. There should only 2 times where Gatsby breaks his cool facade: leading up to his initial reunion with Daisy and the confrontation with Tom. This version of Gatsby seemed ready to crack at any moment. Plus, he’s far too tan.

2.) The music.

Jay-Z’s music selections aside (some of which worked and others were just obnoxious), there was so much cheesy underscoring that some moments seemed more melodramatic instead of just dramatic/tragic.

3.) So Nick’s in the looney bin now???

NO! NICK CARRAWAY MOVES BACK TO THE MIDWEST! Geography is an essential motif in the novel, and Nick returning from whence he came is an important final example of it. I know films require some narrative reason for a character telling us the story in retrospect, but I didn’t like this choice.

4.) The Meyer Wolfsheim scene.

Um, why did this scene seem to take place in a teeny-tiny version of Gatsby’s front room? I mean, that speak-easy made me worried for everyone’s health and was just so not classy! I always imagined that scene taking place in a small Little Italy-esqe restaurant (mob-owned) where you could whisper and be easily heard. This was atrocious.

5.) The final scene where Nick hand-writes “The Great” above single Gatsby title of his manuscript.

Cheese, cheese, cheese!

The Infinite Wisdom Of Creed Bratton, Just In Time For ‘The Office’ Series Finale
As Josh has already thoroughly outlined, it’s going to be an undeniably emotional series finale to The Office tonight. So before we collectively dive in this evening I’d like to pay tribute to the one consistently magnificent character on the show: Creed Bratton. The thing that will hurt most as The Office departs our lives forever is not the later stage mismanagement of a show that could have gone down as a top ten all-time sitcom, it’s the knowledge that I still have so much to learn from Dunder Mifflin’s Quality Assurance Director.

nprfreshair:

David Edelstein on Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby:

It’s hard for a director like Luhrmann to capture the notion of longing to be somewhere you can’t be. He’s not that spiritual. Leonardo DiCaprio embodies that longing, though. The performance is broad — and he’s more tan and healthy than I imagine the character being. But that works here. His Gatsby is still glowing with youthful dreams; he feigns an upper-class accent in the sincere conviction he can rise in society. It’s easy to believe he thinks that with his new wealth he can vanquish time.

Image via NPR

huffposttv:

entertainmentweekly:

This week in EW: Make yourself a breakfast of champions — vodka rocks and a piece of toast, perhaps — and check out our latest Arrested Development cover story, which will fill you in on the long-awaited revival of one of this century’s most beloved cult comedies. As a bonus, we’re celebrating the show’s return with three collector’s covers; find them all on our site.

OMG.

Do you watch Game of Thrones?

(via televisionwithoutpity)

Gatsby/Arrested Development Mash-Up is the greatest thing I've online in weeks!

uproxx:

Who’s More Punchable: Joffrey Or Pete Campbell? - In Depth Analysis

huffposttv:

hipsterlibertarian:

CISPA, the anti-internet privacy bill, is back. This bill just won’t die, will it?

Starting today, Reddit, Craigslist, and more than 30k other websites are displaying ads collecting signatures from those who oppose CISPA to lobby DC against the bill. This comes just a month after 300,000 petition signatures against CISPA were sent to Congress.

(via upworthy)