Lu Galasso and The Half-Blooded Prince

Okay, so I have always been a Harry Potter girl. The first book came out when I was somewhere around the age of 10 and I fell in love. I read the first, second and third as soon as they came out. When the fourth came out I got half way through it and because I was older then I had more homework I had to complete so Harry, Ron and Hermione got put on the back burner. Then the movies began coming out and that resparked my interest. I watched the first 3 films and still didn’t repick up the book. Then I watched the fourth movie and thought, why did I never finish that book? That’s when I finished that book and made sure I read every other one as soon as they came out.

That being said, I have been excited for the release of the 6th film since I heard about its original release date. I was heartbroken when they pushed the date until nearly a year later. Over the weekend I was finally able to go and see it. Now, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it. I knew what was going to happen and so there were no surprises but I had read mixed reviews on the film. After seeing it I understood what was going on in the reviews. Those who did not like it (mostly critics) and those who called in “slow” or “uneventful” were those we had clearly never read the books, or at least they had never read the 6th book. I’m no expert but the impression I got from reading the 6th book and then the 7th was that the 6th book was positioned to set up everything that was going to happen in the 7th and final book. It was if the 6th and 7th book were written together and then seperated in the middle. The 6th book is all about being able to figure out how Voldermort can be defeated so that the 7th can be all about trying to defeat him. The 6th book is a catalyst for Harry to become, for lack of better words, “his own wizard” and for him to come to terms with the fact that he really is “the chosen one”. It is all about Harry and his two best friends to establish to the readers and the other characters that they have grown up. They aren’t little kids anymore. It’s time to bring out the big magic!

The film was done in exactly the same pace as the story. With lots of detail, the addition of new characters and providing new pieces to the puzzle. Although the book always provides more information and better detail than can fit in a film, the film wasn’t too shabby. If you’re a Harry Potter lover, you’ll like this one too. For those who aren’t, well Ron and Harry have certainly grown up. Ron’s even got some muscles now. There’s a little big of magic, a little bit of romance, some mystery and you won’t want to miss the unexpected ending!

Lu Galasso

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Lu Galasso on Showtime and HBO

Okay, so I will admit that this wasn’t an original idea. I was reading www.torontoist.com and they/he/she wrote a post about television shows. That got me thinking about the shows I like to watch and I realized that the majority of the TV shows I like are on HBO and Showtime. So I thought I would share with you some of these shows and provide a description of each of them.

HBO:

Big Love

The story of Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), a polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin) and now-eight children. As the new season opens, Bill, who last season bought a gaming-machine business to supplement his Home Plus superstores, is looking to diversify even further in the face of a flat do-it-yourself market and a crackdown on polygamists around the country (a trend echoed in real life with several headline-making polygamist busts this year).

As we have learned, balancing his professional and personal lives can be tough on Bill, and this season it only gets more frazzling. Over the course of Season Three, Bill will try to convince a native-American tribe to partner on a Mormon-friendly casino; woo a fourth-wife prospect (could it be Ana?) through unorthodox group-dating rituals; face unexpected repercussions from the imprisonment of “prophet” Roman Grant and the ascension of his scheming son Alby; deal with escalating hostilities involving mother Lois, father Frank, brother Joey and sister-in-law Wanda; and navigate crises involving his children Sarah, Ben and Tancy. And that’s just the tip of the Henrickson iceberg in what shapes up to be the most scandalous, entertaining season of Big Love ever.

Eastbound and Down

HBO premieres a new half-hour series about an arrogant, burned-out, former major-league pitcher named Kenny Powers (Danny McBride), who is forced to return home to North Carolina to teach Phys Ed at the middle school he once attended. While wreaking havoc at school with his boorish behavior, Kenny crashes at the home of his brother Dustin (John Hawkes); plots a triumphant return to the big leagues; and makes a pre-emptive romantic strike on former high-school squeeze April Buchanon (Katy Mixon), now a teacher engaged to principal Terrence Cutler (Andrew Daly). The series is executive produced by Will Ferrell (guest staring in two episodes), Adam McKay, Chris Henchy, Jody Hill, Danny McBride and Ben Best.

Entourage

Entourage takes a none-too-serious look at the day-to-day life of Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier), an incandescent young Hollywood actor, and the three buddies he’s brought from their hometown in Queens, NY: manager Eric (Kevin Connolly), half-brother/actor Drama (Kevin Dillon), and party pal Turtle (Jerry Ferrara). Also starring Golden Globe and three-time Emmy-winner Jeremy Piven as Ari, Vince’s frenetic agent, Entourage draws on the experiences of industry insiders to illustrate the excesses of today’s celebrity lifestyle, as well as the difficulty of maintaining relationships and artistic fulfillment in the show-biz fast track.

This season, after weathering a series of professional storms, Vince has bounced back after the opening of Gatsby, his new film directed by Martin Scorsese. Meanwhile, the guys each take steps to develop their own careers, and Ari looks to build up his agency with the help of a new partner, Andrew Klein (Gary Cole).

Entourage airs Sunday nights at 10:30pm

Flight of the Conchords

HBO presents the Season Two premiere of the “delightfully quirky” (Boston Herald) musical-comedy series co-conceived (with James Bobin) and performed by Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, the folk-comedy duo from New Zealand whose live stage shows and CDs as Flight of the Conchords have won them a worldwide cult following, a 2005 One Night Stand on HBO, and a 2007 Grammy for Best Comedy Album.

Over the course of ten new episodes this season, Bret and Jemaine (playing fictionalized versions of themselves) find their sophomore year living in the East Village at least as challenging as the first, and resort to a variety of desperate tactics to jump-start their lives and career. These include: turning to prostitution as a way to pay bills; starting up a gang; impersonating Simon & Garfunkel in a look-alike contest; falling for the same girl (what else is new?); even dating an Australian (a taboo in New Zealand). As usual, the duo’s misguided efforts to find romance or land a gig rarely yield dividends, but they do spawn all-new Conchord tunes about life, love, and the pursuit of an elusive music video.

Hung

Years ago in high school, Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane) was athletic, popular, and destined for success. Now, as a high-school teacher and basketball coach, he’s underpaid, uninsured, and embittered that his wife of 20 years (Anne Heche) has left him for her dermatologist. After a fire damages the rundown Detroit home he inherited from his parents, Ray’s fortunes reach an all-time low when his twin children, who had been living with him, move in with their mom and her clean-freak hubby. Lonely, run-down and at wit’s end, Ray attends a local self-help class whose mantra is to identify a personal “winning tool” to market for financial success. After a not-so-fulfilling encounter with a fellow attendee – an ex-flame and would-be poet named Tanya (Jane Adams) – Ray has a “eureka” moment. With the help of Tanya, Ray resolves to take advantage of his greatest asset, in hopes of changing his fortunes in a big way.

Hung airs Sunday nights at 10pm

In Treatment

HBO presents Season Two of In Treatment, the critically acclaimed half-hour drama series starring Gabriel Byrne (who won a Golden Globe in January for his role), and adapted from the popular Israeli series created by Hagai Levi (one of HBO’s executive producers, along with Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Warren Leight, Paris Barclay and Rodrigo Garcia). Set within the highly charged confines of individual psychotherapy sessions, the series once again centers around Dr. Paul Weston (Byrne), who recently divorced his wife Kate, and has moved from Maryland to a brownstone in Brooklyn, New York (where this season is shot). Rebuilding his practice while wrestling with some of the demons he left behind — including a lawsuit filed by the father of Alex, a patient who died last year — Paul takes on several new patients, including the four seen in individual episodes each week. He also commutes to Maryland every Friday to continue his own sessions with Dr. Gina Toll (Emmy®/Oscar® winner Dianne Wiest).

Summer Heights High

HBO premieres a scripted comedy series written and starring Australian comedian/actor Chris Lilley, who masterfully portrays all three lead characters, each on their own journey at one “average” public high school. Over eight half-hour episodes, the series documents the public-school experience through the eyes of two students and one teacher. There’s “Jonah,” a charmingly unruly middle schooler; “Mr. G,” a delusional drama teacher; and “Ja’mie,” a conniving private-school exchange student obsessed with maintaining her “queen bee” status. Outrageous, politically incorrect and laugh-out-loud funny, Summer Heights High chronicles a world that we’ve all been a part of, one that’s full of characters that will make us cringe with recognition.

True Blood

Thanks to a Japanese scientist’s invention of synthetic blood, vampires have progressed from legendary monsters to fellow citizens overnight. And while humans have been safely removed from the menu, many remain apprehensive about these creatures “coming out of the coffin.” Religious leaders and government officials around the world have chosen their sides, but in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps, the jury is still out.

Local waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), however, knows how it feels to be an outcast. “Cursed” with the ability to listen in on people’s thoughts, she’s also open-minded about the integration of vampires — particularly when it comes to Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), a handsome 173-year-old living up the road. But at the service of Bill’s less virtuous vampire associates, Sookie is drawn into a series of catastrophes that will put their love to the test.

The latest hit series from ‘Six Feet Under’ creator Alan Ball, ‘True Blood’ delves into the meticulously-crafted world of novelist Charlaine Harris. Described by the Emmy®-winning Ball as “popcorn for smart people,” the first season of ‘True Blood’ caused an overnight sensation – and the new installments only build on his colorful cast of supernatural misfits.

True Blood airs Sunday nights at 9pm.

Showtime:

Californication

Californication is a Showtime TV series production created by Tom Kapinos, starring David Duchovny as Hank Moody, a troubled novelist whose move to California and his writer’s block complicate the relationships with his ex-girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone) and daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin).

Dexter

He’s smart, good looking, and he’s got a great sense of humor. Michael C. Hall stars as Dexter, everyone’s favorite serial killer. Miami forensics expert by day and murderer by night, this serial-killer killer is making the world a better place – one homicide at a time.

The Tudors

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is King Henry VIII as never seen before. With a lust for power and an appetite for love, the stunning young monarch ruled his kingdom as he lived his life – with ruthless abandon. This epic series reveals the untold story of the beloved tyrant whose reign was marked by treachery, betrayal and intrigue.

United States of Tara

One woman. Multiple personalities. From executive producer Steven Spielberg comes the new Showtime Original Series UNITED STATES OF TARA, starring Toni Collette. Between juggling family, career and her ever- altering personalities, Tara Gregson never knows what – or who – to expect next.

Weeds

Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Mary-Louise Parker stars as the single mom who resorts to dealing pot after her husband dies suddenly . But when an off-beat way to make ends meet grows into a mini-empire, the mother of all dealers finds she may be in over her

head – an

d on the verge of taking everyone else with her.

Well that’s all I’ve got for you today. Let me know any other shows that you think are worth while and I’ll have to check them out!

– Lu Galasso

Lu Galasso on Hp

Lu Galasso here,

Well keeping with the theme of pop culture, I obviously have to talk about one of the biggest and most anticipated pop culture phenomenons – Harry Potter. The moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived and Harry Potter and The Half-Blooded Prince is being released this week. It was originally set to be released sometime last year but complications arose and it got pushed. For those of you who are like myself and are avid Harry Potter fans, this book is where the story starts to turn. What once started out as a light hearted book about a boy becoming a wizard, having adventures and making new friends, has turned into a dark, twisty and mysterious plot. Harry Potter is no longer a boy, he is becoming a man. This film deals with relationships, death and more. It is no longer a story aimed at children, or at least in my opinion anyways. I started reading Harry Potter as a kid, when it was first released and kept up right until the end. Although the films are unable to fully capture everything that J.K Rowling writes in her books, I would have to say they do a pretty damn good job for what they have to work with.

In this book, as well as in the final novel, there were parts that even as a twenty year old, terrified me. In this final books I laughed, I cringed, I was nervous and I even cried. Why did Rowling make them so dark? Perhaps it was because she was aware that as she was writing these novels, the majority of her fan base was growing up with them. The first film came out in 2001 – making me about 13. The books came out even before that. I’m 21 now and the final book was released two summers ago. Meaning that Harry Potter and friends have grown up with me.

Rowling, as well as the film producers were smart, in that I believe they foresaw the popularity of twilight. Although, like Harry Potter, Twilight is popular across all age groups, its essentially the new Harry Potter, and its younger fan base will be more familiar with Twilight than our friend HP. Therefore, if Rowling had made her most recent books fairly childish, than she would likely loose some of her most loyal fans, the now older generation, leaving the new youngsters, who have likely not read her first novels, to have their own series.

Anyways, enough talk from me. I found a great article on the thestar.com that talks about the upcoming HP release. I have copy and pasted it below.

Hormones race, but the magic mainly idles in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, a stage-setting film in which boyish fascinations give way to manly concerns.

The sixth Harry Potter movie and the last to exactly track J.K. Rowling’s book series (the seventh and final novel will be split into two films) is at once more realistic and less wondrous.

Gone are many of the whimsical fantasy elements that have made the series such a delight. The boys and girls have grown into young men and women, leading to serious romantic entanglements and attendant jealousies.

There is still magic, but it all has dramatic purpose – and much of it points to the final two films, in which youthful wizard Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his nemesis Voldemort, the Dark Lord, will engage in decisive battle.

Emboldened by his impending return, Voldemort’s airborne henchthingies, the Death Eaters, have stepped up their attacks, including muggles (humans) amongst their prey. An early scene resembling a terrorist attack sees pedestrians on London’s Millennium Bridge sprinting for safety as the Death Eaters ravage the structure.

Not even such heavenly preserves as Diagon Alley and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are safe from Voldemort’s minions, who now include a fully engaged Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), who considers himself the Dark Lord’s opposite to Harry’s status as the “Chosen One” among wizards.

The annual train journey to Hogwarts, in which Harry and pals Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) head for the start of their sixth year, takes a violent turn as well-meaning subterfuge leads to a brutal beating. The students arrive at Hogwarts to discover they must now pass through a metal detector, since repeated Death Eater attacks against the school have forced the need for greater security.

Storm clouds real and metaphorical hover over the proceedings, which returning director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves have fashioned as more of a mystery than previous instalments, and with many more plot threads.

The picture begins as an adult detective story, as Hogwarts patriarch Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) whisks Harry from a sexy muggle encounter (what a trip that would have been!) back into the fantasy realm to investigate what appears to be a savage Death Eater attack.

“Wands out, Harry!” Dumbledore warns. But it’s a set-up to meet an important new character in the franchise: Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent, perfectly cast), a former professor of potions at Hogwarts who taught Tom Riddle (played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffen and Frank Dillane at different ages), the troubled student who became Lord Voldemort.

Dumbledore convinces Slughorn to return to Hogwarts, hoping that Harry – whom Slughorn is star-struck by – can cajole or con him into giving up important information about Riddle that could lead to Voldermort’s undoing.

Harry is now Dumbledore’s adult sidekick rather than his boyish protégé, an important development in the saga. But it’s frustrating to see Radcliffe still playing more boy than man when the time comes for Harry to whip out his wand. You’d think that five years of training would have made him less of a fumbler.

There are many more developments in the tale, including further elucidation into the puzzling motives of Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), now promoted to teacher of defence against the dark arts. He’s obviously being primed for greater revelations to come, as is Voldemort’s female consort Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), whose violent urges take a fiery turn this time.

Also firming up are relations between Ron and his secret admirer, Hermione, amusingly complicated by male and female interlopers, and between Harry and his own covert devotee, Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright). Could one of Slughorn’s concoctions be Love Potion No. 9?

Yates and Kloves have done a commendable job of distilling the essence of Rowling’s mammoth text and maintaining control over plot complications (including the identity of the titular Half-Blood Prince) that could befuddle anyone not fully versed in Potter lore.

Quality remains high in every regard and the cast is almost entirely intact, rare feats for a franchise this far into its run.

Rowling and her dutiful film deputies have kept pace with their core audience, most of whom are now into their late teens and 20s, and who are facing some of the same life issues as Harry and his career, albeit more of the earthbound variety. The same Potterphiles who went with their parents to see the film series’ debut in 2001 are now old enough to attend tonight’s midnight screenings on their own or with their pals.

Yet despite the many pluses of The Half-Blood Prince, it’s unlikely to become a series favourite for many people, at least in the celluloid format. Harry’s development as a wizard and as a hero remains gallingly slow – he often gapes rather than reacts – and the story’s one major development is bizarrely treated almost as an after-thought.

Think of the film as a stepping-stone to greater drama to come, much like The Two Towers in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and heed Slughorn’s words of caution: “These are mad times we live in, mad!”

– Lu Galasso

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Lu Galasso Gets Herself in Gear

So as I'm sitting here, I'm thinking of interesting things to talk to you guys about. To get people engaged. And I think I've finally got it. I am going to talk about POP CULTURE. we all love pop culture, whether we realize it or not. Pop culture is something we all indulge in. Whether it be that new episode of the hills or the new Jonas Brother's cd that has just been released. It is everything from music, to television, to movie stars, to books. I got this idea because I recently finished the book written by Chuck Klosterman entitled Sex, Drugs and Coco Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. It is essentially a variety of essays he has written on popular culture. I highly recommend it. If there is a certain book or film or television show or song you would like me to discuss PLEASE, i encourage you to comment and/or add me on facebook (lu galasso) or twitter (lu_galasso).
I am going to sign off for now but when I get a good tid bit of information I am going to come back and update you guys.

xo
gossip girl.

just kidding.

-- Lu Galasso