Entertainment: Movies, TV

.:What I'm Watching:.

30 Days, Season 2. [What better way to give people a crash course in empathy than to have them inhabit somebody else's life for 30 days? That's exactly what Super Size Me director and star Morgan Spurlock does on this popular FX Network show. Season 2 opens with "a border-patrolling minuteman" moving in with an undocumented Mexican family and continues with episodes on abortion, New Age healing, prisons (with Spurlock himself spending time behind bars) and more. ~netflix] the first story was truly touching and amazing. the other ones were entertaining for sure, but didn't pull on my heartstrings like the first one did. looking forward to the second disc. this show is way better than the other trashy reality tv shows. 4 stars.

Cannibal! The Musical. [Featuring riotous tunes, crass humor and sight gags galore, this hilarious genre bender set in 1873 chronicles the tale of Alferd Packer (Trey Parker of "South Park" fame) -- the only American ever found guilty of cannibalism. With Packer at the helm, a party of gold prospectors gets stranded in the midst of a savage Rocky Mountain winter, and next thing you know, ribs and liver are on the menu. "South Park" co-creator Matt Stone also stars. ~netflix] schpadoinkle! before there was South Park, there was Cannibal! The Musical. and seriously, i LOVE this movie. i don't know that anyone else really does. but i LOVE it. 5 stars, damn it!

The Incredible Hulk. [Edward Norton stars as Bruce Banner in this version of the classic comic book tale about a doctor who searches for a cure for his exotic condition, which causes him to transform into a huge green monster when under duress. Drawing closer to finding a remedy, Dr. Banner becomes sidetracked as he's pursued first by the military and then by a rival monster known as the Abomination. Robert Downey Jr. co-stars as adversary Tony Stark. ~netflix] okay. i was kinda disappointed in it. i wanted less talky-talky and more hulk-smashy-smashy. and i seriously wanted to hulk-smash liv tyler's face EVERY TIME SHE TALKED. there were a lot of moments where i just had to roll my eyes and just ignore them because it just annoyed me so much. 2.5 stars. also, the netflix synopsis there makes it sound like robert downey jr actually co-stars. uhm. he doesn't. he's in it for all of ... MAYBE 5 minutes. at the very end.

The Middleman. [A struggling artist is recruited by a secret agency to fight against evil forces. Based on the graphic novels by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine. ~imdb.com] way fun. i was a little iffy about it because the promo posters totally sexed up Wendy Watson's character, but the show is really fun with really good dialogue. i'd suggest reading the comic it's based on, as well. 4 stars.

Penelope. [Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci) is cursed, and the only way out of it is to fall in love with someone of suitable stock. But how can she possibly find her soul mate when she's sequestered inside her family's sprawling estate with only her parents (Catherine O'Hara and Richard E. Grant) to keep her company? Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon co-produced this unconventional fairy tale about a girl who bucks convention to make her own happy ending. ~netflix] it was cute. not a great movie, but i liked it. i thought it was kind of sweet, and at the same time still having that girl empowerment thing going on. oh, and also, Burn Gorman (Owen in Torchwood) makes an appearance. i love him. too bad they didn't give him more to do in this movie. Nick Frost (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hyperdrive) is also in it very briefly. 3 stars.

Samurai Jack, Season 2. [The Emmy-winning series' sophomore season finds the young samurai again wrestling with a bizarre future universe and trying desperately to return to the past. Meanwhile, he continues to do battle with malevolent wizard Aku (who transported the Japanese warrior to the future) and his many minions. Boasting amazing animation and action-packed story lines, this compilation of 13 episodes will keep the kids riveted. ~netflix] i think this season is less focused than the first season. sometimes they'd have completely unrelated things in an episode and i'd get slightly confused. still giving it 4 stars, though.

Wild China. [This six-part series from the BBC uncovers some of the most exotic and uncharted natural habitats hidden within the vast and diverse topography of China, including Yunnan's forests, the Tibetan plateau, the Silk Road and the Mongol steppes. Through high-definition and other cutting-edge camera technologies, the footage presented here captures stunning wildlife sequences, along with a plethora of breathtaking landscape photography. ~netflix] fascinating. really. i'm serious! it's really interesting to watch. i am enjoying the heck out of it. 4 stars.

.:What Mia's Watching:.

The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. [The Care Bears (NobleHeart, TrueHeart, TenderHeart, SwiftHeart, FunShine and Grumpy) fight an evil demon named DarkHeart who wants to stop all caring and loving on Earth. In a pact with DarkHeart, an unhappy girl agrees to help capture the Care Bears using a magical crystal. Will the warm and caring bear clan prevail over the evil DarkHeart and his misguided minion? ~netflix] mia really liked watching the fuzzy, chubby bears. hehe. at the end, she was totally doing that audience participation thing... they ask if anyone else cares and she started chanting, "we care! we care!" hehe... and THEN she started really getting into yelling, "i care! i care!" yeah. it was funny as hell. also, she was totally dancing during the end credits to that bad 80s music they had going on. hehe. she'd probably give it 4 stars. hehe.

Clifford's Really Big Movie. [Colossal canine Clifford (voiced by the late John Ritter) lives with his wonderful owners, the Howard family, whom he loves. But soon, the lovable red dog wonders whether his oversized stature is becoming a burden on his family. Hoping to rid them of the responsibility, Clifford joins a traveling animal circus with his buddies Cleo (voiced by Cree Summer) and T-Bone (voiced by Kel Mitchell). ~netflix] mia still informs me every now and again that, "it's a good day to go watch the clifford movie!" she really enjoyed it and had a fun time at the movies. mia would give it 4 stars... if she knew how to rate movies. hehe. the animation in the movie is much better than the animation on the PBS television show.