Armchair Commentary

Emmy nominations announced

The Emmy nominations were announced today, and while HBO had the top-nominated John Adams, it was shut out of the Best Drama race, the first time since 1998 (a collective mourn for The Sopranos , please). Despite fervent hope, The Wire's final season once again got no love in the top categories.

Instead, new cable series like Mad Men and Damages broke into the inner circle, the former with 16 nominations--leading all drama series. They've also made Emmy history: The first time any basic-cable show has been in the best-series race. On the comedy side, 30 Rock had the most nods with 17, including seven for guest stars alone(!).

See our list of main nominees and visit our Emmy Central store to get past winners, vote for your favorite moment of 2007's show, see red-carpet photos and more. Which shows or performances got shafted?-- Ellen

Trailer Park: "Terminator Salvation"

Got Terminator fever with the upcoming release of the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles?  Here's the teaser trailer from the upcoming movie Terminator Salvation, starring Christian Bale and scheduled to open in theaters in May 2009. This trailer was apparently released to coincide with tomorrow's opening of another Bale movie you may have heard about, The Dark Knight.  --David

Sneak Peek: Be Among the First to Try the New Amazon Unbox

A download is fine, but it's time for the next thing in digital video: instant gratification. Wanna see? If you act quickly, you can be a part of our limited beta program and test the new Amazon Unbox: hit movies and TV shows that play right now on your PC or Mac. Click, watch and click some more. Oh, and did I mention that the first two minutes are free? Yeah, it's addictive. In fact, I've got the new season of The Closer calling my name, so I've gotta go. But before I do, I'll mention that all our beta testers will receive a $5 Unbox store credit, so click here to sign up now. UPDATE: The beta is full, but you can click here to be notified as it expands. -- Stephanie Reid-Simons

Behind the Scenes of "Step Up 2 - The Streets"

Even though this movie might dial up the the cheese-factor a bit there are some very talented dancers and choreography that make Step Up 2 - The Streets definitely worth the watch. Check out the behind the scenes footage and exclusive clips below.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray version release today -- Angela

Dolly, Wall-E, Happy Mondays and Sunday Clothes

I saw Wall-E on its opening weekend, and he's been a near-constant presence in my life ever since. My 5-year-old twins are thoroughly hung up on the adorable robot and his buddy Eve (or as they call her, Wall-E-style, "E-vah"). I, on the other hand, have not been able to get the songs out of my head. You see, Wall-E isn't just a robot with a mission: He's a robot with a movie: Hello Dolly on VHS(!). It's the 1969 film, starring Barbra Streisand. Anyway, I finally decided to make like Wall-E and watch the film (via download, not VHS, 'cause I'm a gal of my time). The casting is odd (Streisand's playing someone much older, with Walter Matthau as her love interest), but the overall experience is enjoyable, especially if you're an old-school Broadway fan like me. Gene Kelly directed, so the dancing scenes are great, especially when long-limbed legend Tommy Tune goes to town.

Wall-E's definitely centered in on the movie's finest moments: The uproariously optimistic "Sunday Clothes," and the ridiculously touching "It Only Takes a Moment." You'll also enjoy lines like "Let me tell ya something, son. I've worked hard and I've become rich and friendless and mean. And in America, that's about as far as you can go," as uttered by delightfully cumudgeonly Walter Matthau. Not so much will you love his singing, but he's game. Anyway, I can recommend no finer tonic for longing heart than "Moment" or for a tough day than "Sunday Clothes." (Read more about the musical and why Pixar chose it here.)  "Put on your Sunday clothes when you feel down and out/Strut down the street and have your picture took/Dressed like a dream your spirits seem to turn about/That Sunday shine is a certain sign that you feel as fine as you look. ... There's no blue Monday in your Sunday clothes." -- Stephanie Reid-Simons

Trailer Park: 'High School Musical 3'

Disney has released the first trailer for High School Musical 3, the final(?) installment of its blockbuster franchise which leaps into the big screen for the first time. Surely this won't really be the last one ever, although the original cast will have graduated and it seems unlikely that they will be filming anything called  College Theater Department Musical. (Plus, won't Troy have gotten a groovy basketball scholarship that takes him elsewhere?) As I write this, of course, disneysociety.com has posted a rumor that the studio is thinking about High School Musical: The College Years. (Let's think about that title for a bit.)

So enjoy Troy, Gabriela, Sharpay and the gang as they cuddle in the rain, dance in a junkyard (very "Greased Lightning" of them), and duet across a basketball court. What do you think? Will this cable hit work on the big screen? -- Ellen

The DVD Special Feature I Love: Felicity's "Docuventary"

Whilst enjoying the third season of Felicity, one of my favorite series of all time, I stumbled upon a bonus feature I'd never checked out: The "Docuventary"--the name for Sean (Greg Grunberg)'s confessional documentary filming all season in hopes of getting aired on TV--makes a welcome reappearance, with Grunberg tracking down all the actors after the show had ended to film new interviews. The camera caught the entire cast, including Donald Faison (Tracy) and Scott Foley (Noel) on the set of Scrubs, Ian Gomez (Javier) at a production office, co-creators J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, and even Robert Patrick Benedict (Richard).

A couple nuggets from the interviews: Amy Jo Johnson (Julie) revealed that she left the show because her mother had passed away as the show began and the schedule didn't give her a chance to grieve, and Kristen Lehman, who played gunshot victim-turned-Ben-pursuer Avery, says her audition scene was sympathetic, and that she didn't know she was supposed to be a villainess until she got her first script. Keri Russell laments her hair's "awkward growing-out period," and others have a laugh making fun of Scott Speedman's penchance for whispering. Good times. -- Ellen

Best of the Month: Editors' Picks for July

Below are our Significant Seven selections for the Best of the Month. For more about the DVDs on this list, plus our picks for Seven on the Side, visit our Best of the Month store. -- Ellen

Kiss of the Spider Woman (Amazon.com Exclusive)
Starring: William Hurt, Raul Julia
Directed by: Hector Babenco
Significance in Seven Words: Groundbreaking, Oscar-winning indie released for first time

The Counterfeiters
Starring: Karl Markovics, August Diehl
Directed by: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Significance in Seven Words: Best Foreign-Language Film winner also compelling docudrama

The Band's Visit
Starring: Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz
Directed by: Eran Kolirin
Significance in Seven Words: Egyptian band stuck in "bloody nowhere": Delightful!

In Bruges
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson
Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Significance in Seven Words: Hit-man comedy is Farrell's best work yet.

Weeds
Starring: Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins
Significance in Seven Words: Third season involves gangs, guns, and chaos.

Centennial
Starring: Robert Conrad, Richard Chamberlain
Significance in Seven Words: 1978 miniseries is 26.5 hours of greatness.

Funny Games
Starring: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth
Significance in Seven Words: Shot-by-shot remake of Haneke's suspense shocks again.

What's your favorite Fourth of July movie?

If your long weekend includes any movie-watching that isn't in the theaters (or Will Smith), will it be something that you love to watch every Fourth of July?  Either something that takes place on the 4th, or just seems so American that it's perfect for hot-dog-and-fireworks season?  I've listed some possibilities below.  --David

1776 (watch below): This is usually the first movie I think of. It's history (the signing of the Declaration of Independence), it's a musical, and it's more entertaining (and more involving) than you'd expect.  No doubt that more people will be interested in the main character, John Adams (played by William Daniels), following the new HBO series.

The Music Man: Along with 1776, this used to be on network TV on the Fourth of July every year, and I'd try to watch one or both.  Not only is the music pure Americana (band music, barbershop, etc.), but the main action takes place on July 4.

John Adams: The aforementioned new HBO series, which I haven't seen yet.

The Patriot: Mel Gibson's Revolutionary War epic, which I did see once and haven't felt the need to watch again.

Johnny Tremain: 1957 Disney movie about the Revolution.  I still remember one of the songs: "Yes, we are the Sons, yes, we are the Sons, the Sons of Liberty."

Liberty's Kids: animated series about kids who live in the 1700s--pretty good, as I recall.

Fanboy Fun: Chuck and Hellboy

Yeah, I'm a girl, but I'm still a fanboy, which is why my inner geek is loving the promos for the new Hellboy movie, featuring the most crushworthy nerd around -- aka the title smarty from the NBC show Chuck (check it out here). Enjoy! (And thanks to fellow fanboy Dan for pointing it out.) -- Stephanie Reid-Simons, Unbox TV Freak