I want to love True Blood. I really do. I want to see dark, misunderstood creatures of the night that look great in black and have a sexual magnetism that no man or woman can resist — much like myself.

But Sunday night's True Blood left me hanging. I couldn't get past the bad dialogue spoken with the faux Southern accents out of the middle school production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  Did Jason really start flossing his teeth after that energetic session with Dawn?  Was Sookie really going for a bit of self-love, or was she just trying to remember where she put her keys?

If I have to ask, not hot.

When you go to a diner, you order scrambled eggs because you know that it's a safe bet — you can't screw up scrambled eggs. You'd think that girls doing manual labor in short shorts on a blistering hot day would be the scrambled eggs of hot scenes. 

Not so much: Sookie doesn't even break a sweat pushing that lawnmower before Gran comes out in her house dress and a glass of lemonade.  … continue reading

The shine isn’t even off the 2008 Academy Awards yet, but I say on to 2009! What? No point dwelling in the past. While it’s still an entire year until the next set of statuettes gets handed out, it’s never too early to be totally wrong with your Academy Award predictions. Here’s a quick look at 10 upcoming projects that caught my eye and maybe, possibly, with any luck, might catch Oscar’s eye as well.

The Argentine/Guerilla: An ambitious two-film project by Steven Soderbergh about Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara, starring Benicio Del Toro, Franka Potente, Benjamin Bratt and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Viva la revolucion!

Australia: Moulin Rouge maestro Baz Luhrmann returns with an epic love story set during World War II, about an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) who teams with a ranch hand (Hugh Jackman) to herd cattle across the outback. Sounds like Far and Away meets City Slickers. I kid, I kid.

Burn After Reading: All you need to know is Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and John Malkovich in a political comedy-thriller about top-secret CIA information falling into the wrong hands — and it's directed by the Coen brothers. Yes, please.

The Changeling: Angelina Jolie may get her 2008 Oscar snub revenge with this Clint Eastwood–directed Prohibition-era thriller about a woman whose kidnapped son is returned, but he could be the wrong child. Clint has been money when it comes to Oscar nominations these past few years, so Angelina, start thinking up a snappy speech. … continue reading