April 18th/28th/29th – Conan O’Brien’s, Jay Leno’s and Jerry Seinfeld’s birthdays – since this is TV icons birthday month, those responsible for some of the best past and current shows, we thought it’s a good enough reason to write about the best new TV shows (instead of recommending a Seinfeld rerun for the 100th time…) So here are 10 great new TV shows you should at least check out:

10. Rectify

Sundance channel’s original series looks and feels like quality indie cinema. It’s an absorbing, tense, psychological drama about a man who’s released from prison after 19 years (thanks to DNA evidence) and now has to get used to life in the real world outside. Its pace is slow and it takes a bit of time to get into it, but if you’re patient it will be worth your while.

9. Bates Motel

This prequel to the 1960 classic Psycho is quite far from the original, but I think that if Hitchcock was still alive today he would have been proud of this psychological thriller inspired by one of his works. Bates Motel has a creepy atmosphere, it’s tense and engaging and its leading lady Vera Farmiga is always great to watch (because she’s a great actress; and because she’s not what you’d call ugly.)

8. The Politician’s Husband

A tense political drama about blind ambition and power struggles. The two leading roles in this series, David Tenant and Emily Watson, are both superb in their roles. If you like shows like Borgen, Boss and House of Cards, The Politician’s Husband should also be right up your alley.

7. Vikings

Comparisons to Game of Thrones are inevitable, and it’s true that both shows are stylized and rough and deal with themes of intrigue and power struggles, but they aren’t that much alike. Vikings has its own thing going on, and though it’s not nearly as good as Game of Thrones, it’s still very good.

6. Hannibal

Hannibal’s cast includes Mads Mikkelsen, Laurence Fishburne, Hugh Dancy and Caroline Dhavernas (who was the lead in an earlier excellent Bryan Fuller series, Wonderfalls.) I think that the cast alone is a good enough reason to watch the series. Hannibal isn’t as good as the modern classic Silence of the Lambs, but it’s 10 times better than The Following (the other serial killer show that also started airing quite recently.)

5. Top of the Lake

This mystery/drama series offers great acting, a haunting atmosphere and excellent cinematography. This tense existential mini-series was made in the spirit of the best Scandinavian detective series of recent years – The Killing, Wallander and The Bridge.

4. House of Cards

This clever and deeply cynical Netflix original series offers one of Kevin Spacey’s best performances of his esteemed career. This dark political satire shows politicians and journalists in a very negative light. Kevin Spacey’s character (Frank Underwood) is a manipulative, cunning, ultra sophisticated backstabber; and that’s why we like him. (Just kidding, if you really like him your moral compass might be broken. Or maybe you just weren’t paying attention.)

3. The Americans

FX’s new show (which takes place in the 1980’s during the cold war, with two protagonists who are undercover KGB agents) is a complex, clever, tense and suspenseful thriller. If you miss Homeland, The Americans might make your longings feel more bearable. Although it’s more similar to an Israeli series called Ta Gordin (Gordin Cell) that was already sold to NBC. The great choice of music in this fascinating cat and mouse espionage game helps build the tension and create a paranoid atmosphere.

2. Banshee

Cinemax’s (Strike Back, Hunted, Transporter) new series is executive produced by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, American Beauty, True Blood), and that alone makes it a show worth checking out. It’s obvious right from the start that this is indeed a Cinemax series because all the trademarks are there (violence, sex, nudity and a bit more violence). As for Alan Ball’s touch, I can’t really see it (not gloomy enough), but it’s definitely an action/crime series of the highest quality.

1. Nathan For You

Not many people watch this show, but I honestly think it’s the funniest show on TV right now. It’s hilarious, brilliant and offbeat, and offers a combination of silly, dry and irreverent humor. It’s sort of a parody on business marketing TV shows, and it’s so different and original that it’ll probably get canceled soon… So hurry up and watch it while you still can!

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Technorati Tags: Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Rectify, Sundance channel, Bates Motel, Psycho, Hitchcock, Vera Farmiga, The Politician’s Husband, David Tenant, Emily Watson, Vikings, Game of Thrones, Hannibal, Mads Mikkelsen, Laurence Fishburne, Hugh Dancy, Caroline Dhavernas, Bryan Fuller, Wonderfalls, Silence of the Lambs, The Following, Top of the Lake, The Killing, Wallander, The Bridge, House of Cards, Netflix, Kevin Spacey, The Americans, FX, Homeland, Ta Gordin, Gordin Cell, NBC, Banshee, Cinemax, Strike Back, Hunted, Transporter, Alan Ball, Six Feet Under, American Beauty, True Blood, Nathan For You

Popularity: 1% [?]

This Thanksgiving we are grateful for our wonderful families, for our friends, for very nice coworkers, for the food on our tables, for the birds, for the trees, for the sky, for the sun, and for god not destroying us. But since this blog is about movies and TV shows, here are 10 things from the big and the small screen that we are thankful for:

10. Thanks for stylized TV shows about gangsters

Boardwalk Empire, Lilyhammer and Vegas

I think it’s very nice that cool, charismatic gangsters visit your living room (or wherever you watch TV at home) every week and instead of blackmailing you or making you offers you can’t refuse, all they do is entertain you. Boardwalk Empire was already established by Barack Obama as one as the best series on TV today, Vegas is one of the best new Fall shows, and Lilyhammer is a fantastic debut for Netflix, being their 1st original series.

9. Thanks for fun, mindless action

The Expendables 2 and Strike Back

Thinking about the meaning of life, death and love, contemplating the past and planning the future are all pretty important activities, but sometimes you just want to see tough guys blowing stuff up and killing some bad guys while you think about… well, absolutely nothing.

8. Thanks for romantic indie movies about nice people

The Giant Mechanical Man

I can’t recall when I last saw a movie with two nicer characters than the two leads in this lovely movie. If you want to see a romantic comedy with Ashton Kutcher, go ahead, it’s your time that you’re wasting. But if you want to see a romantic comedy about people you can actually relate to, then this is just the right movie for you.

7. Thanks for silly and witty parodies

21 Jump Street and A Touch of Cloth

21 Jump Street was the funniest movie of the year, and surprisingly, it also won the critical acclaim, and I say surprisingly because usually critics don’t really have a sense of humor.

A Touch of Cloth, written by Charlie Brooker (the man behind Black Mirror), has so many gags that are delivered in such a fast pace that it manages to make fun of every cop crime drama ever made (well, almost).

6. Thanks for offbeat comedies about eccentric women

Damsels in Distress

I went to see this movie with no expectations whatsoever, and it absolutely da(m)zzled me. I think it’s one of the movies with the best dialogue I have ever seen/heard. But this movie is not for everyone; first, because the humor in it is drier than the desert, and second, because it’s just weird - weird in a very good sort of way, in my opinion.

5. Thanks for clever foreign thrillers

Headhunters

This Tarantinoesque crime thriller is violent, suspenseful, darkly funny and also a bit strange (or completely insane, depends on how open you are to certain things). There are a lot of unexpected moments in the movie that will leave you with your mouth open and at the edge of your seat.

4. Thanks for TV series about obsession

Homeland and Dexter

It seems that obsessions make really good, quality TV. In Homeland, Carrie’s obsession is the most interesting thing about the series and also what drives it (watch The Bridge if you want to see the closest thing there is to Carrie on TV). As for Dexter, the nice killer who has to kill so he kills only bad guys, season 6 was its worst by far, but season 7 is definitely making it up to the show’s viewers.

3. Thanks for captivating dramas about fatherhood

Wild Bill

I don’t have any kids, but I do have parents, and one of them is my father, so this movie really did it for me. This crime drama takes its time; the first hour is just sort of a preparation to the amazing last half hour and to the moving ending that really manages to define what it means to be a father. If you’re a father and you’re not sure what it all means, child care should force you to watch this movie.

2. Thanks for comedies about goodhearted idiots

Goon

I consider this to be the funniest sports movie since Happy Gilmore. It’s not only funny, but also surprisingly heartwarming and upbeat. Sean W. Scott was never as likable as he is in this role as a violent hockey player with a heart of gold.

1. Thanks for movies about friendship

End of Watch

With all due respect to The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers, End of Watch is without a shadow of a doubt (at least in my book) the best movie of the year. You want romance? You got it. You want suspense? There’s plenty. You want witty dialogue? It’s also there. But End of Watch is first and foremost a movie about friendship. Good friends are hard to come by, at least as good as in End of Watch.

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Technorati Tags:   End of Watch,  The Dark Knight Rises,  The Avengers,  Happy Gilmore,  Sean William Scott,  Goon,  Wild Bill,  The Bridge,  Homeland,  Dexter,  Head Hunters,  Damsels in Distress,  Charlie Brooker,  A Touch of Cloth,  21 Jump Street,  Ashton Kutcher,  The Giant Mechanical Man,  The Expendables 2,  Strike Back,  Boardwalk Empire,  Barak Obama,  Netflix,  Lilyhammer,  Vegas,  Thanksgiving

Popularity: 2% [?]

Winter is the coldest season of the year, a time during which we especially need good TV shows to keep us warm. Many new TV series we had high hopes for were released, only to leave us disappointed: The Firm isn’t nearly as good as the movie on which it is based, Napoleon Dynamite and Unsupervised are both terribly unfunny, The River is ridiculous, House of Lies is Californication for the poor, and The Finder is nice, but not nice enough to make us want to find it on TV every week. Luckily there were some other excellent winter TV shows that were worth our time. Here are 10 great new winter TV shows you should at least check out before winter leaves us and makes way for spring:

1. Black Mirror

It’s Like: How TV Ruined Your Life

If you haven’t seen Black Mirror, you must. It’s a masterpiece comprised out of 3 non-related 1 hour episodes (the episodes are only related in the sense that they all deal with the power of the media and the effect technology has on our lives.) It manages to be shocking in a time when it is almost impossible to shock. Charlie Brooker, the genius who created this thought provoking series said in an interview that there might be a second season coming to the British Channel 4; I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

2. Lilyhammer

It’s Like: Silvio Dante (from The Sopranos) in Norway

Lilyhammer is the first Netflix original series. It is a co-production of Netflix with a Norwegian production company. The series takes place in Norway, where Frank “The Fixer” Tagliano (played by Steve Van Zandt - Silvio Dante from The Sopranos) was relocated by the witness protection program. Frank asked to be relocated there after he watched Lillehammer (Frank calls it Lilyhammer by mistake) in the Winter Olympics in 1994 and was enchanted by it. The reality doesn’t really match his expectations and now Frank (Whose name was changed by the FBI to Giovanni Henriksen) has to deal with his new fish out water situation. This offbeat series that swept Norway is funny and very fun, and the snowy Norwegian landscapes are beautiful.

3. Luck

It’s Like: (Not) The Sopranos with horses and gambling

Luck isn’t really that much like The Sopranos, but whenever there is a new HBO crime drama with a high production value the comparisons are inevitable. Luck is slow, atmospheric, and very dialogue based. After 3 episodes I know it’s a good one, but I still don’t know how good exactly. With Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina and Michael Gambon (he’ll arrive in later episodes as a rival to Dustin Hoffman’s character) the potential is very much there.

4. The Straits

It’s Like: (Not really) The Sopranos on a tropical island

This Australian crime series offers violence, dark humor and absolutely beautiful scenery. Brian Cox leads the series portraying Harry, the cruel and tough head of the family (and the family business which is smuggling drugs and other illegal stuff). Harry tells his 3 sons that he’s getting too old for this s**t and wants to pass on the reins of the business to the son that will prove himself worthy. Will it create a Shakespearean rivalry between the brothers? After Underbelly and Animal Kingdom, The Straits is the next great Aussie crime drama.

5. Great Expectations

It’s Like: A better adaptation than the one with Ethan Hawke

After watching the 1998 version with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow I thought it was a very good adaptation, even if it wasn’t very loyal to the book. Now, after watching the three part BBC mini-series with Ray Winstone as Abel Magwitch and Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham I can say my standards were low. This version is highly stylized, atmospheric and captivating and feels much more loyal to the source material.

6. Touch

It’s Like: The Dead Zone and Hereafter

The concept of a mute child (by choice?) who does the narration for the series is intriguing and also a bit weird. Fox’s Touch is a world spanning and surprisingly uplifting series about a child who has a supernatural ability to predict the future. It’s very far from Kiefer Sutherland’s previous TV role in 24, but I’m not sure it’s not as good as the action series was. Tim Kring, creator of Touch is known most of all for another TV series he created – Heroes. We hope Touch would continue matching the quality of Heroes season 1 and not the quality of Heroes seasons 2, 3 and 4.

7. This Is England 88′

It’s Like: The previous This Is England’s (movie and series)

After the very successful movie This Is England (2006) and the critically acclaimed TV series This Is England 86′, Shane Meadows concludes his trilogy with the three part series This Is England 88′. Just like the previous two parts in the trilogy, 88′ is also emotional, bleak, rough and disturbing, and yet, also very moving. The 3rd entry in the franchise maintained a harsh feeling of realism, and had very strong performances from its ensemble cast.

8. Inside Comedy

It’s Like: Talking Funny

Showtime’s talk show series is great for everybody who likes comedy, and who doesn’t like comedy? The host David Steinberg talks to one or two greats from the world of comedy every week (Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Larry David, Steve Carell and Don Rickles will all appear on the show). Steinberg does a great job as the host/interviewer, not because he’s charismatic or asks difficult questions (he’s not and he doesn’t), but because he just lets his guests speak, and all of them have a lot to say.

9. Inside Men

It’s Like: Inside Man

This tense four part BBC series has everything a heist thriller needs: It revolves cleverly around universal themes of greed, morality and temptation, it’s full of mind bending twists and most important of all, it has men wearing scary masks. Inside Men is slow paced but very gripping.

10. Alcatraz

It’s Like: Shutter Island meets Lost meets Prison Break with a hint of The X-Files

J.J Abrams‘ new show isn’t nearly as good as Lost, but it’s still mysterious, mind bending and suspenseful. The show has a lot of potential as the cliche’ goes, but it could have done a much better job in casting its leads: The policewoman is a bit pale and looks like a Barbie doll, Jorge Garcia will always be Hurley to me, and Sam Neill is surprisingly not convincing as the mysterious Emerson Hauser. Despite the fact that it didn’t really earn the critics consensus, Alcatraz brings very good numbers to its network (Fox).

Other notable new winter TV series:

1. Mr. D (He looks like a Canadian Will Ferrell and acts like a Canadian Michael Scott). 2. Luxury Comedy (Weirdest sketch comedy series you’ve ever seen). 3. Smash (for fans of musicals), 4.House of Lies (Californication for the poor is still better than many other shows) and 5. The Finder (It’s interesting to see that Michael Clark Duncan can fit into a small screen).

Technorati Tags: TV, shows, series, The Firm, Napoleon Dynamite, The River, House of Lies, Californication, The Finder, Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker, Channel 4, Lilyhammer, Silvio Dante, The Sopranos, Netflix, original series, Steve Van Zandt, Luck, HBO, crime drama, Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina and Michael Gambon, The Straits, Australian crime series, Brian Cox, Great Expectations, Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, BBC mini-series, Ray Winstone, Gillian Anderson, Touch, The Dead Zone, Hereafter, Kiefer Sutherland, Tim Kring, Heroes, This Is England, Inside Comedy, Talking Funny, David Steinberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Larry David, Steve Carell, Don Rickles, Inside Men, Inside Man, Alcatraz, Shutter Island, Lost, Prison Break, The X-Files, J.J Abrams, Jorge Garcia, Fox Network, Mr. D, Will Ferrell, Michael Scott, Luxury Comedy, Smash, The Finder, Michael Clark Duncan

Popularity: 2% [?]

As an update to our previous post, we’ve now spoken further with Netflix and have a better understanding of the issues at hand. The team at Netflix tells us they are working now on adding ratings history access to the API. Although this is a complex process, they are working hard to make this available as soon as they can, in order to provide the best experience for importing ratings. We appreciate the good will and initiative from Netflix in providing an API that is of great value for developers and services like Jinni.

Technorati Tags: Netflix, Netflix API, OAuth

Popularity: 3% [?]

Since March, we’ve offered an option to connect your Netflix account with Jinni. Until now, an optional feature has been importing ratings, so Jinni can quickly learn about your taste and recommend only movies you haven’t seen.

Unfortunately, Netflix has demanded that we remove the import ratings feature. If you already imported your ratings, they will stay on Jinni.

We, and many other developers and users, have been asking Netflix to open the ratings data for a while, to give you the choice to import your Netflix ratings as you wish. We’re working with Netflix now to initiate adding an import ratings option to their API - as your ratings actually belong to you.

Davis Freeberg wrote an interesting reaction: Netflix Closes Silo (again) - Forces Jinni To Disable Ratings Feature (also published on Zatz Not Funny)

Technorati Tags: Netflix, Netflix ratings, Netflix API

Popularity: 4% [?]