Reviews and More

I’ve now finished watching 15 episodes of The O.C. (Season One) and have to say that I really think the show is beginning to hit its stride. The characters and their personalities are well established, and the storylines are just starting to get pretty interesting. Here are some highlights from episodes 1×12-1×15, called “The Secret,” “The Best Chrismukkah Ever,” “The Countdown,” and “The Third Wheel,” respectively.

First, I was happy to see that Seth chose Anna over Summer. Don’t get me wrong, I already know that Seth and Summer end up together and that they were one of the most beloved TV couples among the teen set. I just meant that it was totally in character for him to choose Anna. As I mentioned before, Summer was treating him like dirt and came off as such a snob most of the time while Anna shared all of Seth’s interest and just seemed more down to earth. So given that situation, I totally agree that Seth should have chosen Anna. (Of course, I can’t wait until Seth and Summer actually get together though!)

I like the way Ryan is truly becoming a part of the Cohen family. This became clear in the Chrismukkah episode where a tiny bit of Seth’s enthusiasm for the holiday rubs off on him. The minor details, like hanging up his stocking with the rest of the family or being part of the Cohen holiday photo, were fantastic. I enjoy this angle of the show and hope to see more episodes focused on the family dynamic.

Not enjoying the Hailey storyline. What’s the point? Is this just to give the Jimmy Cooper something to do? Ditto with Luke’s dad being gay. Why did that need to be a storyline? Just to give Luke and Ryan a reason to become buds, which in turn keeps Luke involved with the main OC crowd? I checked IMDB.com and it looks like neither Jimmy nor Luke make it to the second season, so perhaps that’s why I already feel like their storylines are a waste of time.

The Oliver character is creepy, and I can already tell from the way he’s being portrayed that something bad’s gonna happen with him. And of course, the rocky road of Ryan and Marisa’s relationship continues.

As an aside: even though I’m an adult, I find that I’m not interested in the adult storylines at all. Sandy, Kirsten, Caleb, Julie, Jimmy, the lawsuit, the divorce, the dating… sorry, not interested. More of the teen drama, please!

Photo from: Flodu43

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I’ve mentioned a couple of times on here how Cold Case is one of my favorite TV shows (I know — I should start recapping it here!) and I’ve often lamented the fact that there aren’t any DVD box sets available from earlier seasons. Well, I finally came across an explanation as to why we likely won’t be seeing a box set anytime soon: it’s because it would simply cost way too much to license all the songs the show uses for each episode.

I have no idea what kind of numbers they’re talking about, but it would have to be pretty significant to keep a popular show like this off the shelves.

Some fans have discussed the possibility of the producers releasing the DVDs without using the original music, but I think everyone agrees that that would be a huge mistake. The eps rely so heavily on period music to set the scene for viewers that it wouldn’t be the same show if it had a generic soundtrack.

Well, needless to say, I’m pretty bummed about this. I love Cold Case and would buy every single DVD in a heartbeat….!

My husband and I have been on somewhat of an insurance kick recently. We’re reviewing all the policies we currently hold to make sure they’re still relevant to our situation, and we’re also looking to upgrade the policies that we find a little lacking.

While doing a few online comparisons to verify that we’re paying the lowest premiums possible, I came across a website that features child life insurance quotes. We had never considered insuring our son before, but after reading some of the information on the site, I could see how it might be a good idea.

For example, if I start my son with a policy right now, his coverage will be guaranteed regardless of future changes in age, health, or occupation. Plus, a life insurance policy would build cash value, which could also benefit my son in the future.

This is something that I’m going to have to talk over with my husband after he gets home from work. For now, I’ll do a bit more research to make sure I have all the facts before I bring the subject up for discussion.

It was slim pickings over at my local video store this past weekend, so instead of getting some of the new releases I was hoping to see, I was stuck renting some older movies that I passed up the first time. One of them happened to be The Family Stone, a 2005 holiday comedy/drama starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Luke Wilson, Diane Keaton, Claire Danes, and Rachel McAdams (yeah, it was an ensemble piece). Although the film got some good reviews from prominent critics when it came out, I felt the plot contained plenty of recycled formulas and clichés, and was therefore mostly predictable.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Mulroney plays Everett Stone, the eldest of five grown children in the close-knit Stone family. This Christmas, he’s bringing home a new girlfriend named Meredith (played by Parker), who is very uptight and worried that she won’t fit in with Everett’s family. It’s important that they like her because Everett is planning on proposing.

It seems that one of Everett’s sisters, Amy (McAdams), has already met Meredith and doesn’t like her at all. As a result, Amy does everything in her power to make Meredith feel uncomfortable and unwelcome — and she eventually succeeds in driving Meredith out of the family house and into a nearby hotel. Meredith is so overwhelmed by what’s going on that she calls her sister Julie (Danes) and insists that she come immediately to help Meredith out.

Meanwhile, Ben (Wilson) is the only one of the siblings who seems to understand just how awkward and difficult things are for Meredith. He empathizes with her, and they spend an evening out at a bar together as Everett (and now Julie as well) search all over for them. Ben and Meredith spend the night talking, and discover that despite seeming completely different from each other, they get along together very well. And while Everett and Julie are searching for Ben and Meredith, they can’t help but notice that they have a lot in common. Hmmm…. are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yes — it does happen in this movie! There’s an actual sibling/couple swap, which really made no sense at all to me.

There are other subplots in The Family Stone, including one that involves the terminally ill mother (Keaton) and her steady-as-a-rock husband (Nelson). With so many characters to deal with, there were a lot of things going on in the screenplay, but I obviously just touched on the main points here.

My reaction: I’m not sure why The Family Stone was billed as a comedy. I didn’t see much humor in it, and was bored practically from the get-go. There weren’t any surprises (even the couple swap was telegraphed from miles away), and none of the characters were remotely compelling enough to warrant investing any emotion into. Honestly, I can’t even find anything interesting to say (either good or bad) about the movie. It was just so… blah!

Overall, I give The Family Stone 4.0 stars out of 10 and can’t understand why it rated so high with critics. Maybe the fact that I saw it in the middle of June rather than at the height of the holiday season has something to do with my low rating, but I just didn’t get into this film at all. Skip it!