Happy New Year 2010

Would you believe it, 2 posts within the span of a week, it's a Christmas Miracle! (New Year's Miracle?)

This probably sounds (reads?) sad, but I had fun the other night typing up little blurbs about my DVD collection. It really made me think about why I have the DVDs I have. Sure, a bunch of them were presents or bought out of the dump bin at Wal-Mart or Blockbuster/Movie Gallery/Hollywood Video, but some of them I bought on the day of their release, or at least within the first week.

In fact, yesterday, after taking in a matinee of "It's Complicated" (good movie!), I went and bought (500) Days of Summer (new release in the past week or so) and Bridges of Madison County ($4 deluxe edition, plus I've never seen it before - woot). I have yet to slide them into their proper spot on the shelf, but that'll happen soon, I'm sure.

So, let's continue from where we left off...

56. The Cooler - Great cast... Alec (my favorite) Baldwin, William H. Macy, Maria Bello, etc. I remember we went over some of the disc's extras during one of my film classes during undergrad. Awesome.

57, Hidalgo - One of two DVDs I was given from my grandfather's DVD collection after he passed away. I had seen the film prior to receiving this DVD but have yet to watch it again.

58. Coffee and Cigarettes - Saw this in theaters during undergrad and liked most of the vignettes. Jim Jarmusch is an interesting director.

59. Raising Helen - I'm wasn't a huge rom-com fan and am not a huge fan of Kate Hudson either, but I kept it b/c I like John Corbett a lot.

60. Something's Gotta Give - Another free DVD from my sister. I've seen it once, but will rewatch it at some point b/c I've been on a Keanu Reeves kick. However, I am so not a fan of Amanda Peet after seeing her on Broadway a few years ago. Who keeps casting her in movies?

61. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - This was the other DVD I was given after my grandfather's passing. I have never seen this movie before, even though I wanted to since it came out. When the time is right, I will sit down and watch this. I'm looking forward to seeing it - I love Peter Weir movies.

62. Illusion - Another movie I got just because of the lead actor (Michael A. Goorjian... you know, he was in Newsies and then played Neve Campbell's boyfriend on Season 2 of Party of Five?). He wrote/directed the movie too. It's all right, and well worth the $2.50 I payed for it at Kmart a few years ago.

63, Bourne Supremacy - The only Bourne movie in my collection, though I am meaning to get the other 2 on DVD at some point. Matt Damon is a bonafide action star. A solid sequel to the Bourne Identity.

64. The Missing - A gift from a friend/work colleague when I moved away from Indiana. Solid film - I keep forgetting that Ron Howard directed it, as it doesn't look like his other films.

65. Road to Perdition - I saw this in theaters and recently bought the DVD b/c I just saw Daniel Craig and Jude Law on Broadway. I was pissed, however, b/c the company I ordered it from sent me the Full Screen version (Full Screen sucks). I didn't bother sending it back b/c I didn't want all the hassle. I'm not a Tom Hanks fan, but it's got Paul Newman in it, so that's nice :)

66. My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Another DVD from my sister after she was weeding down her own collection. Again, John Corbett... woot.

67. Bandits - I remember this being kinda funny, plus I am a fan of the three leads.

68. The Majestic - One of Jim Carrey's finest movies. I love when he plays a more serious role (see also The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Plus, I like that this is a movie about people who work in the movie business.

69. The Thin Red Line - Underrated war movie with an outstanding ensemble cast.

70. Gangster No. 1- Haven't watched this yet, but it's got David Thewlis in it, which is why I bought it.

71. Behind the Mask - Another $2.50 movie from Kmart... this one stars Matthew Fox. I haven't even unwrapped it from the plastic yet b/c it looks really awful. Maybe I should have a "crappy movie marathon" sometime soon.

72. Three Kings - Great movie with a great ensemble. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube are so good together. I really dig that scene where they show what happens on the inside when Mark Wahlberg's character gets shot - all the damaged the bullet does to his organs and such. Awesome!

73. Liberty Heights - Anybody else a huge Ben Foster fan? Come on - get your hands UP! Talented young ensemble in a solid Barry Levinson film about racism.

74. For Love of the Game - Oh Kevin Costner, I could watch you in baseball movies all day long. Decent story, but selfish me dug this b/c Costner plays a pitcher whose number is 14... I was a pitcher whose number was 14 too :)

75. The Talented Mr. Ripley - Another recent purchase after seeing Jude Law on Broadway (seeing an actor live on stage completely effects how I see them in movies from then on... in this case, I have a whole new respect for Law after seeing him as the lead in "Hamlet"). I have loved this movie since it came out in 1999 and am glad I have it to watch at my leisure. It's got a phenomenal cast and I love the director, (the late) Anthony Minghella.

76. Elizabeth - I'm a fan of biopics in general, but this one is extra special because it stars a woman but has a solid supporting cast of great male actors. This film is also waaaaaay better than it's sequel.

77. The Big Lebowski - Love. This. Movie. I have been a Jeff Bridges fan for a long time and his performance in this film is legendary. One of the Coen brothers finest creations... this movie has a great cast, completely memorable and quotable dialogue and can be watched over and over again and still be funny.

78. The Truman Show - Another fine Jim Carrey performance surrounded by a talented supporting cast (Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, etc...). Peter Weir is one of my favorite directors of all time, for sure.

79. Evita - I love me a movie musical, even if it's a cheese pop opera from Andrew Lloyd Webber. Madonna and Antonio Banderas are talented, capable leads.

80. Reservoir Dogs - Not a fan of Quentin Tarantino (though I liked Pulp Fiction), but I was curious about what all the hype was about with this movie. I get it now - it's got a good script and great violence, but I haven't been impressed with his more recent stuff.

81. The Player - *The* movie about movies. A classic Robert Altman picture with a brilliant ensemble and one heck of a tracking shot at the beginning of the film.

82. Thelma & Louise - This was one of those movies I knew I needed to see, but just hadn't. So, I finally just up and bought it and I watched it - wow. Thelma and Louise are flawed, but they are such strong female characters.

83. The Wizard - My brother got this for me for Christmas and I look forward to watching it soon :)

84. Chances Are - Robert Downey Jr. and Ryan O'Neal in one movie ... need I say more?

85. The Princess Bride - This is one of the films I could watch over and over and over again and never tire of. Pirates, true love, sword fighting, a giant and another solid ensemble (can you tell, I love ensemble films). Cary Elwes as Westley is one of my Top 5 male movie characters of all time.

86. The Untouchables - Ensemble = awesome. Plus, this is just a solid film on a whole.

87. Stand By Me - I am a sucker for Coming of Age/Buddy movies and this is one for the books. Such a talented bunch of young actors... River Phoenix was a great actor, even at that young age. Makes me sad thinking about his career that could have been.

88. Witness - Peter Weir, of course :) My favorite Peter Weir movie, actually. There are so many good things about this movie - great plot, great cast, beautiful location, great score, etc. I think this is one of Harrison Ford's best performances - he plays John Book as a tough, yet vulnerable guy.

To be continued...

:)

Happy New Year's Eve 2009

Once again, wow I suck at having a blog.

Maybe my New Year's resolution will be to update this blog more :)

What a year it's been...

I applied to grad school, got accepted into grad school, started going to grad school for journalism because I am determined to write about films "when I grow up". And the sad thing is, I haven't been able to watch as many films nor write about them b/c I felt overwhelmed with school and assistantship work.

I'm in the last few days of my (glorious) 6 week winter break. And while I surely haven't done the amount of reading or writing I should have (as of right now, I still have yet to finalize a thesis topic/proposal), I have been able to catch up on some movie watching. I haven't watched the greatest of films, but even getting to sit through a few "meh" films in one day is better than watching no movies at all. Plus, I got to watch The Hangover and Star Trek (both 2009) with commentary... nice.

As I type this, I see my binder of movies (i.e. the hundreds of movies that are out of their cases and slid into a CD binder) as well as the hundreds of DVDs on my make-shift bookshelf (wooden crates - woot). They're so colorful :)

I got a few movies for Christmas this year, as well as ordered a few of my own from Overstock and I put them in their rightful place on the shelf the other day. All of my DVDs (whether in the binder or on the shelf) are in chronological order according to release date. (Exceptions being boxed sets, such as the Harry Potter films, my James Dean collection, the Pirates movies, Star Wars movies, and Indiana Jones movies... those are arranged chronologically within their own sets... as are the 16+ seasons of TV on DVD in my collection...)

Some of the DVDs are still encased in their plastic wrap. Some are movies I have seen, several are movies I have yet to see for the first time. Perhaps another goal this year could be to watch the DVDs in my collection which I haven't seen yet... that's probably around 5-10 movies. Yikes.

As I scan the titles on my shelf, I see that my collection is a real hodge-podge. There are some old classics (Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, West Side Story, Bonnie & Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) as well as some more recent fare that are borderline embarrassing (Dirty Deeds, Dukes of Hazard, Hot Rod, Meet Bill, Twilight). Surely there is a reason for each DVD to be there...

Let's start from the most recent ones and work our way down. I'll give myself an hour to do this - let's see how far I can get:

1. Star Trek - Christmas present from my sister. We saw it together over the summer and she remembered that I liked it a lot.

2. Role Models (unrated) - I hadn't seen it before, but will watch anything with Paul Rudd in it. Turned out to be super funny.

3. Milk - Again, hadn't seen it before but am a fan of Sean Penn and James Franco. I now understand why Sean Penn won Best Actor over Mickey Rourke - I don't think I've ever seen him smile that much before in my entire life. Very powerful film.

4. Australia - Saw it in theaters and wasn't super impressed, but I liked the epic scope of it all, the director, and cowboy Hugh Jackman (not gonna lie, he looked super sexy in this movie). Means more to me now that I've seen Hugh Jackman on Broadway and have his autograph.

5. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Saw it in theaters and like Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Plus, it's all about NYC :)

6. Tropic Thunder - Not a fan of Ben Stiller or Jack Black, but loved RDJ. Bought it so I can listen to the commentary at some point.

7. The Duchess - Never saw it before, but am a HUGE fan of Ralph Fiennes (he's my favorite actor - woot). Turned out to be a decent period piece.

8. Twilight - Not a fan of the franchise after reading all the books and seeing the movies. I was curious to listen to the commentary to see if the director and actors were sincere in thinking that this was a good film. The plot infuriates me, as does the entire series. Bella Swan is not a good role model for young girls.

9. Sex and the City: The Movie - LOVE this movie. I loved the TV series and this movie was just the tastiest icing on the tastiest cake. I love strong women characters, and it's a plus with all the fashion and settings.

10. Pineapple Express - Fan of Judd Apatow produced films and the pairing of Seth Rogen and James Franco. James Franco needs to do more comedy.

11. Be Kind Rewind - I love Mos Def and was a fan of how they Sweded the movies. Very cute movie from the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

12. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Dear Jason Segel, I love you and your Dracula puppet musical.

13. Atonement - Great book, great movie. James McAvoy was great as Robbie and should have been nominated for more awards.

14. Meet Bill - Still haven't watched it. I only bought it b/c it stars Aaron Eckhart. Since I bought it, however, I became totally over Eckhart and no longer respect him as an actor (he was only good in Thank You For Smoking and Conversations with Other Women).

15. Becoming Jane - James McAvoy again! Hathway does a decent job at portraying Jane Austen, though this was a poor-man's Pride & Prejudice.

16. The Painted Veil - Good book, good movie again. Edward Norton and Naomi Watts are great actors. Gorgeous film.

17. Starter for 10 - James McAvoy (do you see a small theme?) is great as a quiz bowl contestant. I was on the Academic Challenge team when I was in high school and this brought back memories...

18. Hot Rod - After becoming a fan of The Lonely Island, I decided to check out their feature film. Not the best movie ever by far, but it makes me chuckle.

19. Hairspray - I love movie musicals! Plus, this one addresses a lot of themes like body image, racism and overall tolerance. Great music, mostly great cast, just a fun movie.

20. Diggers - I thought this was going to be funnier than it was, but Paul Rudd gives another solid performance.

21. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - I completely dug Johnny Depp as Todd. Another great film from Tim Burton... great cast and really eerie feel to it. I wish they would have kept the main song in the film, though, instead of just as part of the underscore.

22. Superbad - One of the greatest buddy comedies in recent years. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are great together. A solid script from Seth Rogen.

23. Knocked Up - Though I am not a fan of Katherine Heigl in the slightest, I do like Rogen and his buddies a lot.

24. In Bruges - Colin Farrell's best performance to date for sure. Dark and darkly funny film with a great cast of Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes.

25. Hot Fuzz - TOO FUNNY! Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are so great together in this hysterically funny and violent British cop romp. "Punch. That. Shit."

26. The Prestige - A solid film from Christopher Nolan with a great ensemble of Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine. So dark... and you want to watch it again because of all the twists and turns.

27. Little Children - Great book, great film, solid cast. Kate Winslet (my favorite actress) gives a phenomenal performance. Plus, I'm a big fan of Patrick Wilson (who is just as hot in person as he is on film... oh yes)

28. The Illusionist - The "other" magic film (came out the same year as The Prestige). Underrated, but there were solid performances all around. Edward Norton is great, as always.

29. Borat - I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. Perhaps I can laugh because I was not offended by the exploitation of ignorant Americans.

30. The Departed - Soooo good. My favorite Scorsese film of all time. Great cast - you can't get any better than this. I love the violence and deception. Glorious.

31. Capote - Phillip Seymour Hoffman was amazing as Capote, but it was Clifton Collins Jr who stole the show, in my eyes, as Perry Smith. That scene where the gun shots just rang out scared me so much, I nearly leapt out of my seat.

32. I Could Never Be Your Woman - Odd movie from Amy Heckerling. Paul Rudd is adorable - and that dance sequence is funny.

33. High School Musical - Yep, guilty pleasure alert right here. The movie is pure Disney cheese, but the songs are catchy and the theme of expressing yourself is always nice to see.

34. Little Miss Sunshine - Quirky family fun. I remember seeing this in theaters and laughing hysterically during Abigail Breslin's dance number.

35. The Squid and the Whale - One of my favorite "indie" films. Great cast - Jeff Daniels and Jesse Eisenberg are brilliant.

36. Clerks II - Perhaps my favorite Kevin Smith film. Randal Graves is my favorite Smith character of all time.

37. Thank You For Smoking - Oh Aaron Eckart, you were so good in this film, what happened since then? Great cast and script.

38. Superman Returns - I really dug this movie when it came out. Brandon Routh made a great Superman, but I don't think this franchise should continue...

39. Casino Royale - I was so happy when they announced Daniel Craig as James Bond. This is my favorite Bond movie ever - it would have been a great movie even if it wasn't about James Bond. I love Chris Cornell's theme song and the plot of the film. Because of this movie, I will gladly see future Bond movies.

40. A Prairie Home Companion - Robert Altman's last film :( Loved Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly together.

41. Notes on a Scandal - I still have yet to watch it. I just bought it b/c Cate Blanchett is my 2nd favorite actress.

42. Batman Begins - Made me a fan of Batman again. Great cast (except for Katie Holmes) and solid re-into of how Bruce Wayne came to be Batman.

43. Hard Candy - F-ed up movie! Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page are great in this F-ed up movie about pedophiles.

44. The Chumbscrubber - Not a great film, but a decent ensemble cast. I don't know how they assembled these people.

45. Everything is Illuminated - Bought it w/o seeing it, and I ended up liking it a lot. Really emotional movie about finding out about your roots.

46. Good night, and good luck - Great movie about Edward R. Murrow. Made me a George Clooney fan. Plus, amazing ensemble cast!

47. Conversation(s) with Other Women - Interesting film... I appreciate the split screens throughout the entire film.

48. Jersey Girl - Not Kevin Smith's best film, but a good performance from Ben Affleck. It's nice to have something to remember George Carlin by...

49. The Aviator - I didn't like this movie much, even though it has a good cast. My sister was getting rid of her DVD, so I kept it.

50. Dirty Deeds - Not gonna lie, I only bought this b/c I had just started watching Heroes and thought Milo Ventimiglia was hot.

51. Dukes of Hazard - Another one my sister was going to give away... saw it in theaters and laughed. Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott are funny and there was an Air Supply reference.

52. Frequency - Dennis Quiad + James Caviezel = awesomeness.

53. How to Lose Your Lover - I went through a big Paul Schnieder kick a while ago and though this wasn't an awesome movie, it was only $3 at Big Lots.

54. The Upside of Anger - I will watch Kevin Costner in just about anything, and this turned out to be a decent movie (I saw it in theaters when it came out).

55. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - Not as good as the first movie, though I remember liking this book a lot. My dad has a funny Colin Firth story, so it makes these movies extra special to me.



Well, my hour is up... perhaps I will finish this list in the new year :)

Have a great end of 2009 and start of 2010 everyone!!

Wow - I suck at this (part II)

So, it's been a freakishly long time, once again, since I wrote on this blog. 

It's not like nothing has happened or anything in the past few months since Idol ended. I have been busy! I took a few summer classes to prep for grad school this fall (journalism - woot!) and I've been writing for a newspaper called The Post. Because we can't post our material written for that paper on our own blogs, you'll just have to go check it out for  yourself... 

http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/

I have been to the movies a few times this summer... haven't been wowed by anything in awhile, though. I am looking forward to seeing Funny People this weekend - big fan of Apatow and company... glad they included Aussie Eric Bana in the mix :) He was a stand-up comedian before he scared the crap out of everyone with his brilliant performance in Chopper.

I am also very much looking forward to Julie & Julia... Amy Adams and Meryl Streep covet two slots on my "Favorite actresses" list, and it'll be great to see them in another movie together... though they never actually share the screen this time around. Their dynamic was great in Doubt, but this time around, they each have their own half of the film to carry. I'm obsessed with cooking shows, so a movie about cooking will probably send me over the edge :) 

What else, what else?

Comic-Con went down last weekend. Even though I never actually attended a Comic-Con, I love watching clips online and reading EW's coverage of the event. I am so excited for a lot of the projects they covered this year!!! (I'm such a dork)

So, the Big Lots store in our area has had DVDs on sale for $3, so naturally I bought about 20 or so... they are stacked in a high pile next to the crates that house the other hundred+ movies/TV on DVD that I already had, not including the hundreds of DVDs/TV on DVD that I have in a binder... which is sitting in its own crate across the room from where I'm sitting right now. I couldn't help it!

So far I've only been watching the extra material on the movies I have already seen before. I watched bits and pieces from Superman Returns, Liberty Heights, How to Lose a Lover and Good Night and Good Luck. (BTW - George Clooney and Grant Heslov's commentary was AWESOME!!!! Made me appreciate the movie even more!!) I bought some movies I hadn't seen before, but haven't had the time to watch them yet. I got a boxed set of most of Stanley Kubrick's movies... I'm not a fan of his thus far, but I will give his stuff another chance. I'm also looking forward to watching the original King Kong. I was not a fan of Peter Jackson's version, or the one w/Jeff Bridges (swoon), so hopefully the original lives up to all the hype!

Even though Idol is over (and this is a movie blog), I probably will be writing about Season 8 one more time next month, as I will be seeing the Top 10 in concert on August 25th. Even though it's been a couple months, Idol has still been in the news b/c of all the contract drama w/the judges and Seacrest. I just saw a headline a couple minutes ago that says Kara will be back to judge this season... that pisses me off. They best keep Paula around, then, if we're going to be stuck with Kara. Paula is a more important part of the show - she has been there since the beginning. Kara has judged one season, and while I was on her side at first, she quickly lost my favor as the season progressed.

Don't take away Paula... sure she doesn't make sense half the time, but she's a necessity for the viewers and contestants. If I sang crappy, I would want her to be there to say something positive about my outfit and gently let me down. I hope the Idol executives man up and give Paula the money she deserves and keep her on the show.

Anyway, enough about the judges... bring on the Top 10! Less than a month until I'm at the concert. I will let you all know how that goes down... maybe post a couple pictures? I will be screaming like an idiot, I can picture it already!

I hope you are having a fabulous summer and that you are enjoying the few good movies that have been popping up here and there... (Side note - I can't wait for (500) Days of Summer to finally open somewhere near me! )

Happy movie watching!!

AI - Who should win??

This will be a short post, as I need to head to work very soon, but I just want to comment that last night's Idol Top 2 show was BORING like WHOA.

Adam and Kris both gave solid performances on songs they already gave solid performances on this season, no surprise there. In round 2, they were given socially conscious songs from AI producer - and both did fine.

And then came round 3... where both Adam and Kris sang the same Piece of CRAP song co-written by Kara DioGuardi... holy hell, I didn't think it was possible to fit that many cliches into one song, but brava Miss Crazy Judge, you mananged to do it AND think that your song was good. (Here's a small hint - it was not a good song... maybe even the worst Winner's song EVER on Idol... yep, even worse than "This is My Now").

I was hoping for so much more in a Top 2 show, but hopefully tonight's results show will kick butt. I will be honest - I voted for Kris. I didn't get through as many times as I hoped, but I did vote for him and sincerely want him to win. It's not that I think Adam doesn't deserve to win, because he does, I just think Kris would benefit more from winning. Adam is going to be fine and will be a performer until they have to pry that black nailpolish and eye-liner off of his cute self.

It was a great Idol season... and I look forward to seeing the Top 10 on tour this summer :)

Happy Idoling :)

American Idol Top 3 - 3 contestants, but only 2 songs apiece...

I know this is a movie blog, but truth be told, folks, I haven't seen very many good movies lately. The last movie I saw in theaters was Wolverine and that was a big ol' POS. I have liked all of the prior X-Men films, but this one reeked of horrendousness. There was a lack of plot, and what plot we were given had ginormous holes in it. I wanted more of the Hobbit, but alas. And now they've green lighted (green lit?) a movie about Ryan Reynold's character? WTF? I shan't be seeing that... I am officially giving up on the X-Men franchise (sorry, Magneto, I won't be seeing your opus either).

I'm hoping to see Star Trek sometime in the next week to re-boot my interest in movies that are currently in theaters. But until then, there is AMERICAN IDOL!!!

So, remember last season when the Top 3 sang 3 songs apiece - I miss that. Hell, the Top 5 last year sang 2 songs apiece... seems like the economy has effected our music on television. Downsizing sadness!

On last night's show, the judges picked a song for each contestant, and then he got to pick a song of his own. Danny Gokey went first and sang the tune that Paula selected for him - "Dance Little Sister" by Terrence Trent D'Arby . This was the only song of the whole evening that I didn't know prior to being performed and because Danny pretty much Gokey-shouted the whole thing, I didn't really catch many of the lyrics (sorry Danny!). I am a big Danny Gokey fan, but I was not a huge fan of this performance, and I agreed with Simon - I would not have had that saxophone guy there at all! He was so big and his sax was so small (and it didn't sound very good to boot) that it was distracting from Danny's performance.

The rocket science team of Randy and Kara picked One Republic's "Apologize" for Kris... which was sang by David Archuleta and One Republic at last year's finale. Kris sat behind the piano and did a competent copy performance of the original. It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't the kind of "moment" he needed right then. It was nice to see him behind a piano - he's certainly shown that he is, in fact, a musician and not just a singer. Again, I agreed with Simon when he called Kara's complaint about Kris's lack of original arrangement a "cop out". Yes, in weeks past, Kris has made some really great original arrangements of his songs and he didn't with that song last night, but it's not fair of Kara to judge his performance on his lack of originality. She helped pick the song, so she had no right to quash his performance because of his lack of originality of the song. He sang fine - it's a singing competition. Kara needs to shut her mouth and not come back to Idol next season. There already isn't enough time devoted to the contestants singing and she's the fourth judge - during auditions she brought something to the table but the past couple months her comments haven't really been super constructive for anyone. I wish we could vote her off the show.

Anyways, back to the contestants, because that's who the show is for. Adam sang Simon's choice, U2's "One". I am not a fan of U2 (yep, I just wrote that) and I thought Adam's performance was a bit self-indulgent (as most of his performances are), but he still did a solid job. Adam hasn't butchered any songs this season, and although he's been pitchy at times, his performances still out-rank everyone else's because of his stage presence and his ridiculous range. He is being pimped by everyone to win this season, so right now everyone else is just singing for second place. Adam even got his own cover of Entertainment Weekly... two weeks prior to the finale of AI. He hasn't even won yet and he's already a cover boy! That's gotta make everyone else feel a little salty, right?

I like when the contestants get to pick their own songs because they can sing any genre and pick whatever song they want (so long as it gets cleared - I know the legal side of it). Danny Gokey chose to sing Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" and really made it work. For one, he didn't shout the entire song and instead gave a soft and very, very controlled vocal which was really tender and beautiful. He even looked like he was crying a bit towards the end of his own song. Either he or Kris is going home on tonight's results show and Gokey left his heart and song out there on the stage. He was worthy of being in the Top 3 and would make a good contender in the Top 2 as well. Gokey proved to be one of the most likable contestants on Idol and I thought he did a great job with this performance.

Kris surprised me with his acoustic take on Kanye West's "Heartless". Props to you, Kris Allen, your guitar-only rendition of "Heartless" completely kicked the crap out of Kanye's version (both the radio version and Kanye's weird performance of it on the show a few weeks ago). I totally dug it - so chill, on pitch, just brilliant. I bet Kara ji**ed in her pants during Kris's epic solo because of how "original" it was. Kris deserves to be in the Top 2 as well... hell, I think he actually deserves to win this season. I like Adam, but Kris came out of Idol obscurity to make it this far, I think he can go all the way. He wasn't shown really in any of the audition footage, then somehow made it into the Top 13 with an only okay performance of "Man in the Mirror", but has proved himself worthy of the title of American Idol. And I also like that he has been so humble the whole season... last week when it was announced first that he was saved, he genuinely looked shocked. Yeah Kris Allen. Whether you win or lose, you are an American Idol because you seem like you actually enjoy the music and are not in it for the fame and fortune.

Adam closed the night with Aerosmith's "Cryin'" and this was not his best performance, but I blame whoever that off-pitch backup singer was... Holy hell, was that irritating every time she completely landed on the wrong note... and then it seemed like her mic was up too high because he voice over-powered Adam's at times. (Blasphemous!) Adam worked the mic/stage like this was the grand finale to the Adam Show... and in a way it was. Everyone has been saying for weeks that he's going to win. That was nice of him to say that he felt lucky to be in competition with Danny and Kris, but on the inside, he is probably jumping for joy that he's been getting non-stop praise and attention. Who wouldn't? He's loved by millions and millions of people for his crazy awesome range, his bigger than life personality, and his commanding stage presence. I thought it was wise that Simon took everyone in the audience down a peg during the Adam love-fest and reminded people to actually vote for him.

Wouldn't that be a pisser/the biggest Idol shock EVER if Adam was not in the Top 2 this year? Danny's the only one who's never been in the Bottom 2 this season... I'm just throwing that out there. I think the Top 2 should be Kris and Adam, but an Adam/Danny or Danny/Kris finale would be fine by me too. Right now they are all winners regardless of who actually takes the title. It's not like if you win you will be more successful than other contestants. Just compare Daughtry and Taylor Hicks's record sales... I have both of their albums, so I contributed evenly to that comparison, but Hicks finished first and got dropped by his label, while Daughtry had one of the biggest selling records of 2007 and has a highly anticipated album coming out this summer. Winning isn't everything when it comes to Idol. So, yeah, Adam is projected to win this season, but how long is he going to last? Longevity is key. Good luck to Danny, Kris and Adam - it's going to be an interesting results show tonight, for sure.

American Idol Top 4 - Rock, Tight Pants, Screams...

A moment of silence for last week's voting off of my favorite contestant this season, Matt Giraud. 

*sigh*

But this week the theme was "Rock" for our Top 4 contestants... a very, very broad genre which resulted in an interesting, and at times horrifying, performance show.

Adam Lambert kicked off the show with his rendition of Led Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love". Now, I am not familiar with Led Zepplin music, so I had nothing to compare this version to, but I like Adam's performance. I liked that he had his "rock outfit" on - complete with loads of guyliner. He had his stank face on, really getting into it and interacting with the guitar player. I must admit, the man is comfortable on the stage and that ease only enhances his performance each week. I think this was the Adam I was hoping to see all season. Another solid vocal. Of course.

Allison followed up with her own strong performance of Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby", but there was no way she was going to get better judge's remarks than Adam. That's just not humanly possible at this point in the competition. Allison gave it her all, though I would have liked to her her version of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love". For only being 17, Allison is a strong competitor and a brave young woman for getting on that stage each week and proving that she does deserve to be there among her older male peers. Props to Allison for saying that she didn't want to sing "Piece of My Heart" because it's been done so many times on the show... the voice of reason!!!!

The next song was a duet of "Renegade" from Kris Allen and Danny Gokey. Not one of my favorite Styx songs, but I was so excited to see/hear duets from the Idols last night!!! I thought Kris and Danny complemented each other very well during the harmonies, but when they sang their little solos here and there, they felt lacking. If they would have selected a song that fit them better they would have been amazing. Too bad they got upstaged later by the Rock God/dess combination of Adam and Allison.

Kris and Danny's solo performances followed their duet and both guys sang songs that were sung last season of Idol. (Come on, guys, pick new material!)

Despite the judge's harsh comments about Kris, I actually really dug his take on the Beatles "Come Together". Carly Smithson sang a rockin' version last season but I enjoyed Kris's "man-with-guitar-who-also-sings-out-of-the-side-of-his-mouth" performance. Kris is not a rock guy the way Adam is a rock guy, so it was nice to see him not try to make himself into the type of artist he could never be. Kris stuck with what he knew, and I liked it. I still think he's the only one of the four left right now who is contemporary and unique enough to be on the radio right now. 

And then there was Danny Gokey... oh Lord, Danny Gokey. So, remember last season when Michael Johns sang "Dream On" from Aerosmith and then got the boot from the show? I have a feeling this year will be a repeat of that. Danny, like Kris, is not a rock singer. Gokey, unlike Kris, decided to take on one of the most well known rock songs from one of the biggest rock groups ever. And boy, did that risk not help his cause... You know how at the end of that song, there is that big, long scream? Well, Danny's entire performance was off pitch and then when he attempted to hit that final note, the strobe lights started flashing and the camera was at such an angle on Gokey that it looked like he was possessed, or being riddled with bullets (which is how my ears felt). And it pains me to write that, as I love Danny Gokey, but DAMN SON, that was one of the worst song choices ever made on American Idol.

To close the show, Adam and Allison did their duet of "Slow Ride" and rocked the stage, of course. There's no way to ignore the wardrobe changes - Adam was wearing the tightest pants I've seen seen on a man since high school (I believe we referred to those as "nut crunchers"). Vocally, though, Adam and Allison are a perfect match for each other and for once Randy/Kara/Paula were right - they should do duets on each other's albums because everything about their performance just worked. Unlike Danny and Kris's performance, where they just kind of stood next to each other and held their mic stands like they were trying to be badasses (which Danny Gokey should never, ever do again), Adam and Allison interacted with each other and played off of each other. 

Simon was probably right - Allison's duet with Adam might save her from being voted off this week. That leaves Danny or Kris to get kicked off tonight. As much as I hate to say it, but I think Danny should go home. His performance was just not good (though in his defense, he is not a rock person... but maybe he could have tried to make a rock song his own?) and I think Kris really didn't deserve the harsh comments he got last night.

Regardless who goes home, the Top 3 will be solid because everyone left in the competition is awesome and could easily have won prior seasons.

Happy Idoling!!!!

American Idol Top 5 - Anything but Standard

So this week's American Idol theme was songs from the Rat Pack era. I was looking on the Idol forum this past week to see what other fans thought of the theme and one person asked "What the hell is Rat Pack?"

Ignorant youth.

I am sometimes ashamed of my demographic... though I am only 25, I sure as hell know who the Rat Pack were and the music that spawned from their peer group. I have a Frank Sinatra CD in my car at all times - music from that era is AMAZING. Solid songs that punch you in the gut with emotion... how I love me some standards!

I was beyond happy when I heard the theme was Rat Pack and was keeping my fingers crossed that Matt Giraud would hit a homerun with a genre that seemed to be right up his alley.

Even though I was disappointed that all the contestants only sang one song apiece, it was a great night for Idol. Even mentor Jamie Foxx (who I'm not a huge fan of) contributed some thoughtful and helpful advice to our Top 5. 

Kris Allen started the night off right with his own little take on "The Way You Look Tonight". That's a great song on its own, and Kris's arrangement was all right. He started it off nice and slow - good diction. He picked up the tempo near the end which got mixed reviews in our household (I dug it, my sister did not). I really think Kris has a shot at the Top 3... he could even win the whole thing. No one this season is really out for blood when it comes to winning... none of the winners have ever had huge egos anyway... To me, those who set out saying "I am the best, I am winning this and I will mow you down in my path" never win this competition. This is why I think everybody that's left has s decent shot at continuing on in hopes of becoming American Idol.

Another contestant who lacks major ego is Allison Iraheta. She sang a very Allison rendition of "Someone to Watch Over Me". I liked how Jamie Foxx recognized that she's too young to really be in love in the way the song suggests, but instead to make the love in the song more relatable for everyone in the audience. Allison always gives a solid/on pitch vocal, but unlike Kris, her diction is usually horrible. Some vocal coach needs to help her with her pronunciation - she butchers the beginnings and endings of words. I love her voice, but it's a good thing I usually know all the words to the song she's singing, or I would be confused.

Matt Giraud tackled "My Funny Valentine" - a song Melinda Doolittle KILLED two seasons ago. Matt's version was good (a couple pitch issues here and there), and though I really liked it, I feel I would have loved it if we were treated to a longer version of the song... a minute and a half does not do most of these songs justice. I'm glad Simon gave Matt a positive critique - Matt did connect with the song, his runs/phrasing was good and you could tell he really connected with the style of this genre. I feel like he still deserves to be in the competition and called non-stop for the full two hours. He's a relevant artist and I really would like to see him hang around for another week or so at least.

I was worried for Danny Gokey this week... but he brought it home with his version of "Come Ran or Come Shine". His performance started off a bit bland, but he took it to white people church in the latter half of the song and really got into it. He took a lesson from the David Archuletta school of microphone holding and was really shaking the heck out of his mic as he scrunched his face up and gave a truly soulful spin on the end of his number. I like Danny Gokey a lot - his voice is great and he just seems like a genuinely nice guy. I hope he makes it another week.

My pick to go home this week is Adam Lambert (even though more than likely he will not be heading home). I'm soooooo over Adam. I know I've gushed about him in a couple previous posts, but I will no longer gush for his predictable/theatrical/faux-personality performances. The boy can sing, there is no denying that, but I want my next American Idol to be genuine and musically relevant and sing the kind of music that plays on weekly Top 40 countdowns on the radio. Don't get me wrong, I looooooove theatrical singing - showtunes are great and I listen to Broadway music almost every day, but it doesn't play well on the radio. Showtunes are great if you've seen a performance because then you can imagine the live performance every time you hear the song from then on out... That's how Adam's music is. He's a performer - his songs are meant to be seen while they are being heard. But I also still feel like he is hiding who he is from the whole of America (well, at least the viewers who have yet to see any of his stuff that's posted on youtube). Tonight he sang "It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day" (not sure if that's the title, but that's how the chorus starts) and since it was his non-ballad week, he did the version of the song that they did on this season of Eli Stone instead of the traditional standard version of it. And he hit some crazy high notes and held one of them for a crazy long time. At this point in the competition, that's a YAWN INDUCING performance from Adam. And yet the judges keep praising him... Kara WhatsHerName looked like she "Ji**ed in Her Pants" after his performance.

The judges are a whole other story... Randy is a broken record ("Yo, dawg, you can SING!"), Kara is as crazy as Paula with her crazy critiques and Paula's critiques sound sooooo over rehearsed. The only judge worth listening to is Simon. Please Simon, don't leave the Idol... you are the only saving grace when it comes to the judging panel. If/when Simon leaves Idol, Idol will be done for. Mark my words. 

So, I'm hoping Adam gets the boot tonight to make way for Matt, Kris and Danny/Allison. I have a feeling, though, that Danny, Allison and Matt will be the Bottom 3.

Hopefully next week, each contestant will get to perform 2 songs... after all, this is a singing competition :)

P.S. Yes, I am looking forward to seeing Taylor Hicks perform tomorrow night on the Results show... Soul Patrol! (Totally saw him in concert 2 years ago...)