It's Fall, which means the new Fall TV schedule. Now I had high hopes for a lot of the new series introduced this season, but like most hyped up shows, most of them are pretty lame. Out of all of the season/series premiers that I've seen (about 60% of the line up, and am still waiting for premiers like "30 Rock", "Cavemen"*-hey, it could be funny- and "Pushing Daisies"), there are only two (reality shows excluded) that will stay on my DVR:

Chuck NBC Mondays 8pm
Surprisingly, this is a really well done, original one-hour comedy/drama. We kept seeing the previews and I was positive it was going to be the worst show to ever hit prime time, but I was wrong. The writing was a refreshing change from the other mediocre story lines that are out there and there's great chemistry with all of the characters. Nothing seems forced. I definitely recommend it.

Ugly Betty ABC Thursdays 8pm
Starting it's second season with a brilliant premier, this show has some extremely clever writers. It's definitely over-the-top/cartoonish/soap opera-esque, but it totally works. Because of the commitment of the actors and the high caliber of the script, I never find myself questioning the storyline. They are so good with comedic timing, but there's a dramatic side as well, the end of the premier had me in tears!

With the new fall schedule also starts Oscar season. All of the movies hoping for an Academy Award will start showing up in theatres.
I saw a screening of a very interesting movie the other night called "Control". I highly recommend it. It's about the lead singer of "Joy Division" (a group that later went on to become "New Order"). If you're a fan of the band then seeing it is a must, but even if you don't know who they are definitely make time to see it, just read up a little on the group. It's somewhat depressing/hard to watch, but it's very well done and I was really impressed by the performance of the lead, Sam Riley (playing Ian Curtis). Shot in black and white and directed by a photographer (Anton Corbijn) who spent most of his career following bands around taking photos of them, the film has a really real and gritty quality to it.

I also saw "Resident Evil: Extinction" recently. Now, not an award winning movie, and not everyone's cup of tea, but I had a lot of fun watching it. It's not as good as the first in the series, but it's way better than the second (not hard to do). It's suspenseful, and full of action and Milla Jovovich, one of my favorite actresses, does a great job.

I hope there are some amazing films this season, and perhaps my celeb/theatre sitings will continue. At "Control" Drew Barrymore sat in the row in front of us, and at "Resident Evil" we saw (get ready to be jealous) Elizabeth Berkley a.k.a. Jessie from "Saved by the Bell".

*Update: Cavemen- not funny

My parents came and visited this weekend! It was my dad's first time to CA and my mom's first time without having to decorate an apartment. On Friday night we went to a Dodger game! My dad loves baseball so it was a lot of fun, and lucky for us we went on the night of Tommy Lasorda's 80th birthday. To celebrate, everyone received Tommy Lasorda Bobbleheads!