“Justified” caught my eye because it stars one of my favorite sheriffs. Timothy Olyphant, formerly Sheriff Seth Bullock on the HBO series “Deadwood” is back as a modern day gunslinger in this new drama on FX.

Olyphant stars as US Marshall Raylan Givens, a man reminiscent of Olyphant’s former character, Seth Bullock. Givens is a tough lawman, who plays by his own rules and wears a white hat.

In last Thursday’s premiere, Givens wild west style has gotten him in trouble with his superiors and he is transferred from sunny Florida to his hometown in the rural mining area of Kentucky where he comes face to face with his past.

The series is based on several books by award winning author Elmore Leonard.

After watching the premiere, I’m hooked. 

You can check out “Justified” on FX on Thursday nights. 

Director James Cameron poses with the award for best motion picture drama for "Avatar" backstage at the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

A while ago, a fellow writer friend mentioned she enjoys watching the Golden Globes because everyone gets drunk.  Last night definitely lived up to the billing.  Even the greats including Meryl Streep and Harrison Ford seemed as though they’d indulged in more than a few cocktails during the event, and there was lots of giggling during post-show interviews.

“Avatar” was the big winner, snagging both Best Director and Best Motion Picture Drama.  Although this style of movie seldom gets the big awards, I was not surprised at the win.  Avatar fits perfectly with Hollywood’s political views of the day; it represents the future of movie making and it’s making quite a lot of money.  The Golden Globe judges (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) aren’t usually concerned with the amount of money a film makes, but this year it seems they kept it top of mind.

Sandra Bullock walked away with her first Globe for her role in the mega-hit “Blind Side.” Blockbuster movies did well all night. Other mainstream winners included:

Meryl Streep – Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical for “Julie and Julia”

Robert Downey Jr. – Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical for “Sherlock Holmes”

“The Hangover” – Best Motion Picture Comedy Musical

Does this mark the end of the independent film?  The independent film has been dying a slow death for years.  As bigger and bigger names got involved in so-called independent projects, the genre has taken on a much less indie-feel.

Jeff Bridges did pick up a Best Actor in a Drama Golden Globe for his role in “Crazy Heart,” the story of a broken down country music singer.  ”Crazy Horse” isn’t really an independent film, but it has had a much more limited release than the other winners, playing mostly at theaters such as the Esquire in Denver.

As far as Golden Globe fashion, I was rather under-whelmed.  It seemed the eighties are back, including shoulder pads, which should only be worn by football players.  Hopefully the Academy Awards, airing on March 7, will prove to be a better night for fashion and perhaps a better night for the great films of 2009, including “An Education” and “Up in the Air.”

Follow me on Twitter @HeidiTown. 

The vampires of the Twilight franchise.

The People’s Choice Awards were last night and apparently the people like vampires. Despite their blood-sucking ways, the creatures of the night won big, and they’d better relish it, because this is the only awards show where “Twilight” will walk away with Best Movie. This is slightly confusing, because technically, “Twilight” came out in 2008, but who cares about technically? This is the People’s Choice Awards!

The “Twilight” franchise and actors weren’t the only bloodsuckers (emphasis on suck), to walk away with awards. The show “Vampire Dairies,” won favorite New TV Drama and HBO’s “True Blood,” was favorite TV Obsession.

A man who may actually be a vampire, Johnny Depp, won Actor of the Decade. Depp showed up to accept this not-quite-as-prestigious-as-an-Oscar award looking rather vampire-ish, or perhaps he just hadn’t slept in awhile, or showered. 

Because no award show would be complete without her presence, Taylor Swift won favorite Female Artist, while another blonde, Carrie Underwood, won in the Country Artist category. Swift’s popularity puzzles me. The only person I know who listens to her is my five-year-old niece, and I’m fairly sure she didn’t get online and vote in this poll.

Very few of the winners would have gotten my vote, if I had voted, which I didn’t, but I was happy to see Alyson Hannigan win for “How I Met Your Mother.” She’s one funny gal. Another one of my favorites, “The Big Bang Theory,” won the TV Comedy category.

In the end, this award show really doesn’t matter much. It’s just another excuse for Hollywood to dress up, pat each other on the back, thank God, and pose in front of the cameras, but if you are one of the vampire-crazed voters, you likely had a happy night.

We rented this HBO miniseries at the recommendation of an Army reservist who I interviewed for the newspaper last month. The reservist had just returned from his second yearlong tour in Iraq, and he told me “Generation Kill” was a favorite of many of the men he served with while stationed at Ballad Air Force base in Iraq. The men felt the miniseries represented a realistic and unbiased look at the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“Generation Kill” originally aired in 2008, on HBO. The series is based on a succession of articles entitled, “The Killer Elite,” by Evan Wright, published in Rolling Stone magazine in 2004. Evan Wright is reporter who had been embedded with the 1^st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the initial invasion of Iraq.

The seven-part miniseries was filmed in Africa and with four parts directed by Susanna White and three directed by Simon Cellan Jones (both British television directors).  

We rented the series from Netflix and watched it over a several week period. Impressed by the young actors hired for these roles, as well as the writing, this miniseries definitely deserves a recommendation here at HeidiTown.

The audience is taken on a ride with the 1^st Reconnaissance Battalion, a group of Marines rolling through Iraq in humvees, hoping to reach Baghdad in time to be part of the action. In the meantime, they work their way through the Iraqi countryside encountering good and bad guys along the route.

This isn’t a miniseries for everyone. It isn’t horribly violent, but it is raw. “Generation Kill” is unfiltered. In this miniseries we are privy to the way men, under enormous pressure, deal with the stress by telling jokes, mostly crude, off-color jokes; but this is partly why the series feels so real.

“Generation Kill” is a behind the scenes look at a war; a war that continues to take Americans lives every month, but whether you support the war, or are opposed to it, the stories told in this miniseries are those of heroes.  

Be sure to watch the bonus material at the end of the last DVD. There is an intriguing interview with Evan Wright and several of the Marines depicted in the miniseries, as well as some behind the scene footage. 

Note: Last month, one of the stars of “Generation Kill” was in Berthoud, Colorado. Jon Huertas, who played Sergeant Antonio Espera in the miniseries, served eight years in the US Air Force before heading to Hollywood. He is now a vocal supporter of the Puppies Behind Bars Dog Tags program, and flew in to attend and speak at the Dog Tags graduation ceremony held in Berthoud on August 29, 2009.

1. Football

2. Movies

3. Survivor (yes, I still watch it)

Yes, the fall movie line up is here and this means the summer blockbuster will be replaced by more thoughtful story lines, better acting and more movies made for an adult audience. 

This summer wasn’t a total loss. My favorite movie this summer was “The Hurt Locker” (5/5), followed by ”Star Trek” (4.5/5). The worst movie this summer (by far) was “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” a flick I’m embarrassed to have spent money on. 

Film critic, Christian Toto, www.WhatWouldTotoWatch.com, put up a great post, 2009 Fall Preview: The best of the rest, previewing a handful of fall flicks.

Here are a just a few of the fall films I am most looking forward to:

“Sherlock Holmes“ (opening Christmas Day) – Okay, so this one is really a winter movie, but with Guy Richie directing Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. John Watson, I will be in line to see this one. There’s a high possibility I will be disappointed, but despite that knowledge, I will still be in line. 

“A Serious Man” (Oct. 2) - The Coen brothers are at it again in this comedy about a man in the late 1960’s whose life is coming apart at the seams. I like the setting and I like the Coens (most of the time).

“The Invention of Lying” (Oct. 2) – This comedy about a world in which only one man can lie stars Ricky Gervais, a personal favorite. He’s not every one’s cup of tea, but this dry-humored Brit can make me laugh just by standing in a scene. This film also star Jennifer Garner, who is always very cute and likable.

“Bright Star” (Oct. 15) – I am a sucker for beautiful period pieces and this film, about 19th Century poet John Keats is sure to please on both accounts. ”Bright Star” got great buzz Cannes where it was nominated. 

So there you have it. Despite the cold weather looming, we can find warmth and entertainment in the theater this fall.

Most locally owned joints can’t afford the Sunday Ticket and like all fantasy football players, my husband and I do not go out on a Sunday to watch the game. We go out to watch the games.

Our two must-haves for a Sunday football watching experience are, 1) Sunday Ticket and 2) good food and drink specials. And, because they provide both we usually end up at the Old Chicago in Loveland at 1436 Hahns Peak Drive. In addition, they have a weekly football pool, called “Beat the Leader.” We usually manage to beat the leader several times a season. Lastly, we like the bartenders at this Old Chicago location.

We’ve tried other places around Northern Colorado, such as Jackson’s in Fort Collins at 925 Harmony. It seems every fantasy football player from Cheyenne to Longmont ends up here on a Sunday. They open early, which is cool because you can order breakfast. However, if you don’t manage to get there early, you will be relegated to a seat requiring you to twist your neck in odd angles in order to see a television.   

Sportscasters at 165 E. Boardwalk in Fort Collins wins the award for most televisions, with over 50. They do have the Sunday Ticket and feature small televisions in the booths. The food is very average, but they run satisfactory beer specials. On Sundays, however, football battles NASCAR at this bar.

We like Stonehouse Grill on Mountain Ave. in Fort Collins, but we don’t usually end up there for football. The Stonehouse seems to embrace college football, but not professional. They have nice, big HDTVs, but the Celtic flare of the restaurant seems better suited to soccer. We’ve arrived for an 11 a.m. kick off only to find the front doors still locked. Lastly, at last check, they do not have the Sunday Ticket.

Do you know the perfect sports bar in Northern Colorado? We’d love to find a place serving breakfast at game time. If you’ve got a recommendation, please leave a comment.

Cook will use his skills as a writer and his vast knowledge of the movie industry to review “District 9.”

Read all about Troy Cook here.

Visit Troy Cook’s Website at www.TroyCook.net.

As my girlfriends will tell you, I need no excuse to organize a girls’ night out, but “Julie & Julia,” coming to theaters this Friday, is the perfect excuse!

For a brief, yet wonderful, moment in time, I belonged to a recipe club. At our first “club” meeting, we spent three delightful hours talking about all things food-related: our favorite televisions chefs, our culinary inspirations and our cooking success and fiascos. We spent over an hour passing around our “tried and true” recipes and giving brief (and sometimes lengthy) descriptions of where the recipe came from as well as our experiences with the recipe. We laughed until our faces hurt. To deem the party a success would be an understatement.

We would meet, once a month, at a different the club member’s house to share recipes and food. We even took a “field trip” to The Med in Boulder, Colorado, to partake in tapas. Tapas is the Spanish name given to a wide variety of appetizers. Sitting on the patio, we tried everything from Datiles con Tocino (bacon wrapped dates) to Catalan Shrimp (shrimp swimming in olive oil infused with red pepper and garlic).

When I saw the previews for “Julie & Julia,” I decided this was the perfect opportunity to get the group back together for some wine and appetizers at a local restaurant. Then we will head to our local theater to see the film.

The perfect girls’ night out?  I think so.

The newest “Star Trek” movie may help the franchise live long and prosper… continue reading this Movie Review.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been a fan of “Star Trek: the Next Generation” since childhood. The new movie, “Star Trek,” due out Friday, is bringing out my inner-geek.

My all-time favorite character from the Star Trek franchise is Data, played brilliantly by Brent Spiner. When I was a child, Data intrigued me simply because he was a robot, but as I grew older, I realized it was his unyielding fascination with human beings that makes the character so enjoyable. In Data’s desire to unravel the mystery of what it is to be human, we, as the human audience, discover a little something about ourselves.

Some of my most beloved episodes involve Data delving into the character of Sherlock Holmes while on the holodeck. Like Data, Holmes is always rational and logical, and Holmes is probably the one human Data  ever really figured out.

My second favorite character was Q. John de Lancie played this puzzling, God-like alien, who liked to pop on board the Enterprise whenever he felt like mucking around. He especially liked to goad the usually unflappable Captain Picard. Episodes featuring Q provided some of the most entertaining shows in the series.

Who was your favorite character?