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Thanks to Hulu and Netflix I have discovered a TV show I really like. The premise is that con man Neal Caffrey persuades the FBI agent who captures him (Peter Burke) to allow him to stay out of prison. Caffrey dons a tracking anklet with a two mile radius and becomes a special consultant, helping Burke and the FBI to crack their toughest white collar cases.
Suspension of disbelief is crucial to enjoying the show. Caffrey’s expertise in the world of white collar crime is Macgyver-like in its perfection. Caffrey and Burke always succeed and they make it look effortless every time. Once you manage to suspend your disbelief, however, watching them bring down the bad guys is 40 minutes’ leisure’s great pleasure.
One thing I appreciate about this show is how clean it is. Because of its white collar crime focus, the violence, gore and disturbing subject matter that characterize so many crime shows is left behind. Women will love this show. Neal Caffrey is undeniably pleasant to watch, but also the women in the show are smart, beautiful, and important. Agent Burke’s marriage receives a surprising amount of screentime. Peter loves his wife Elizabeth. He goes to her for advice and a listening ear, and is always seeking new ways to please her. They have a stable, loving, long-term marriage–far too rare on television. Neal is not a different story on this front. Although he is a huge flirt, the overarching plot in seasons 1 and 2 is driven by his devotion to Kate and his desire to get her back.
White Collar will resume its first-run episodes on the USA network next January, but until then, there’s always Hulu and Netflix!
I woke up this morning with that feeling of waking from a dream. The dim memory of something wonderful fading, a too bright sunlight arresting my reverie and calling me to the reality of the day. What happened? Was it real? Is it over? Will it last?
Oh, yes. Barack Obama was inaugurated as our 44th president yesterday. Four years ago, I heard his voice for the first time; it was exciting, but he was an unknown. Two years later he announced his candidacy; he was promising, but was he prepared? Yesterday he became my president. Oddly, I find that my misgivings related to his lack of experience have dropped away. After two years of watching him, my confidence in his ability to handle himself and to represent me has grown. My trust in his capacities is signficant. And yet—will his capacities be sufficient? Am I right about who he is and how he will behave?
One of my intentions for this blog is to have lots of reviews. I suspect that this might not include a high proportion of movie reviews. Pdad loves movies; I am less interested. The other day I was looking at a several year period when I reviewed almost every movie I saw (not that many) for our family website. I noticed a pattern: I would review the movie and pan it saying, “Not very realistic, not believable, I didn’t like it much.” blah, blah, blah, and my brother would respond, “Really?! I loved this movie. We just bought it on DVD. Have you ever heard of suspension of disbelief?”
Miss Potter, 2006
Grade: A-
Highlights: a) This is the true (and interesting!) story of Beatrix Potter. b) Reneé Zellweger’s acting.
Profanity: None
Violence: None
Sexual Situations: None
Recommended for: Preteens and Adults. Women and girls will enjoy it most.
Pdad and I took a break from the neverending “Christmas is almost here” to do list last night to spend some peaceful moments cuddling and watching a movie. We had a nice time. I liked the movie a great deal and while this chick flick won’t go to the top of Pdad’s favorites, he enjoyed it enough to talk about it afterwards. I would strongly recommend this film if you haven’t seen it yet. Read more