Results tagged “noreservations”

TV Junkie: Bourdain Hits SF; 'Gossip Girl' Pushes Naughty Again

Could anything be as uninspiring as August television? Lookit what we've listed, what are we missing? What precious programming gem are you watching tonight? All we can say is, thank you Anthony Bourdain, we can't wait to see you in our old stomping grounds, San Francisco.

When was the last time an actor executed a more profound career turnaround than Casey Affleck? Gone Baby Gone is his second superb performance of the year. If you don't see it for him, see it for Amy Ryan's breakout, Oscar-nominated turn. The mere presence of the divine Anne Hathaway makes was released? Greatest poster ever?

There's a few new shows and seasons starting this week, including the 2 hour premiere of "Lost" on Thursday but it all just feels like a build-up to the Super Bowl.

So I spent my Sunday sick as a dog on the couch watching, of all things, football, literally because I was too wiped to find the clicker and move on. I'd forgotten how obnoxious the graphics were and how pompous and full of itself football has become. Still, gotta watch the Super Bowl for the commercials so I still have some time to devote to that. Am dismayed that the talentless hack Ryan Seacrest is going to be entertainment host for the Super Bowl and even more dismayed that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are the featured band - can they not find an artist from the most current decade to perform at these effing things?

At this point my whole week is focused on getting to AMC's Breaking Bad which debuts this upcoming Sunday. AMC scored a couple Golden Globes with Mad Men, let's see if they can repeat the success. On face value Breaking Bad is more interesting than anything the Big Four have planned for us.

I've managed to avoid watching NFL playoffs and college bowl games but I'm getting worn down, I'm tellin' ya. If I got the Fox Movie Channel I would watch Less Than Zero tonight at 7pm because I'm just about as strung out as Robert Downey Jr.was in that flick. I'm not begging for the writers to capitulate, I want them to win, I'm just begging the networks to send me some shite to write about. Didn't you guys put stuff out on DVDs for the holidays? I'm sure that there's plenty of folks walking around with unused balances on their gift cards that would drop some cash on some of your repackaged programming.

It all started with Anthony Bourdain's Mexican border episode of his show No Reservations. At one point he picks up a riding crop in a leather shop. He slaps it confidently against the palm of his hand, and says, "Yeah, this is coming home with me." I've always been attracted to his superior punk New York attitude. But the "whack" of that riding crop took it somewhere new. I confessed to my boyfriend, "I'm sorry...

Even though finished third, totalling 11.1 million and now sitting at an unexpectedly robust 152.2 million.

In what the Wall Street crowd might call a flight to quality, North American audiences made nose-dived 65% after an auspicious opening, adding 25.6 million to run its total to 128.5 million.

For what seems like the first time in years, The Simpsons actually exceeded expectations. The first movie of America's first animated family took in a whopp(er)ing 71.8 million dollars at the box office this weekend, demolishing even the most optimistic of estimates. Credit Fox's clever marketing campaign and the opportunity to finally see Bart's shrimpy doodle. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry finished a distant second, making 19 million bucks to raise its total to a dismally robust 71.6 million after two weeks. Why, America? Why?

Anthony Bourdain, the bad boy of the culinary world, is known for eating anything. He's in town on Sunday at Vroman's in Pasadena reading from his new book, The Nasty Bits. Bourdain, the executive chef of Les Halles in NYC and current host of the Travel's Channel's No Reservations, has eaten stuff straight outta Fear Factor: blowfish, roasted sheep's testicle and the still-beating heart of a cobra.

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