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...)

AI Top 7 (again) - The Donna Summer Story

I was actually looking forward to disco week because I like/know a bunch of disco songs and I was hoping for a Lil trainwreck. 

Idol didn't run over this week thanks to lack of a mentor and pre-packaged segments. I didn't mind that they didn't have any Idol Spirit-Guides this week, but I love the pre-packaged segments because it's the only time we, the audience, get to see the personalities of the Idols when they aren't singing/doing those Ford video shoots. So, props to Idol for staying within their hour limit this week, but bring back the pre-packaged segments!

Lil started off the show this week with a less than inspired rendition of "I'm Every Woman", a song that has been done on Idol before by other (better) female contestants. This performance was not an original spin on this iconic disco track and featured Lil strutting around stage in a black jumpsuit singing her little heart out. It wasn't a horrible vocal performance, but it wasn't interesting either. For once Kara was right - Lil has been "every woman" on that stage but herself. And once again, Lil tried to defend herself by saying she had fun... yeah, that's nice, but this is a singing competition... you need to sing well and entertain your audience too. I have fun when I sing that song when I play American Idol on my Wii... does that mean I deserve to be on the show too? Nope. Please, America, let this be Lil's last week.

Kris Allen chose "She Works Hard for Her Money" (Donna Summer Track #1 of the evening) and worked it out! He took another very popular song, but mixed it up, Kris-style. He had his little guitar and Jason Mrazed the song, though out of the side of his mouth. Great arrangement. Kris has the ability to do what Lil cannot - he takes very, very popular songs, but sings them in a style all his own instead of karaoking a carbon copy of the original. (Take notes, Lil) Kris has grown on me these past few weeks and I hope he's around for a few more.

Danny Gokey brought us the Elements - Earth, Wind & Fire - with his *almost* White-People-Church rendition of "September". Not one of my favorite songs, but he worked it out, Gokey-style. There was some awkward dancing, some interactions with the back-up singers, and a whole bunch of Gokey-shouting of the lyrics. I don't even know how to best describe his "singing" voice... don't get me wrong, I love the tone of Gokey's voice when he performs, but doesn't it always sound like his voice is escaping through his throat by clawing/frantically scrapping its way through his vocal chords? I like Danny... I don't think he is going to win, but I like him enough to hope he's around for another week :)

Allison Iraheta brought us Donna Summer Track #2 with "Hot Stuff". Every time I hear this song, I am reminded of the movie "The Full Monty"... admit it, you do too. I actually agreed with Randy and thought the arrangement was self-indulgent, but I still dug it. Props to Allison for singing a version of the song that fits her vocal stylings instead of sticking with the up-tempo original (again, Lil take note!). Allison is another contestant who I like a lot, and she stands out as someone who had a clear idea of who she was before the competition and seems to have carried that with her throughout the run of the show. She's never compromised her image or genre of choice to try and placate anybody.

Adam Lambert continued his every other week routine of Crazy song/reserved performance by bringing us a stripped down version of "If I Can't Have You". It was good, but I was secretly hoping that he was going to rip off his suit half way through the song and be in a bedazzled shirt and bell bottoms and disco it up for the back half of the song. Alas, that did not happen. I still love Adam Lambert, but I'm not buying into it as much as I once did. He's an actor, folks, so of course he's going to be able to look all pained and sad when he's singing "If I can't have you, I don't want nobody baby". I took acting classes for three years, I'm sure I could make myself cry/have that "I love you and need you so much, I feel like I'm going to throw up" look on my face while singing that song too. I just wish he would be himself during a performance, instead of some sort of character that he thinks the public wants to see. I've seen some of his other performances on youtube... and I thought he was great. Idol is a singing competition... I just think Adam is keeping it too PC and not really showing us who he is.

When Ryan announced that Matt Giraud was going to be singing "Staying Alive", I cringed. When Matt actually started to sing "Staying Alive," I was pleasantly surprised. For most of the song, he was on pitch and looking like he was having a good time... looking very, very Justin Timberlake in his little hat and tie/coat combo. Matt put his own soulful vibe into a Bee Gees classic and I actually dug it... but then he hit a couple crunchy notes when he went up into his falsetto right at the end. He seems to do this with every song, and that's sort of disappointing. I love Matt Giraud (like, enough to call 1-866-IDOLS-06 last night for an hour and a half and vote for him), but I wish he didn't use his falsetto in every single performance. The judges used their save on Matt last week and I think his performance was good enough to warrant him at least one more week in the competition. But, if he is around for another week, he's going to need to pick the perfect song and nail it 100% if he wants to stick around any longer. There are a lot of talented people this season and I think Matt is one of the more marketable contestants... he just needs to make good song choices and not botch his high notes.

The show ended with Anoop Desai (sporting a horrible trash-stache) singing Donna Summer song #3, "Dim the Lights". This was the only song I was not familiar with from the whole show, and I was not impressed. From just his outfit alone, I knew Anoop was going to sing a ballad (btw - I am a fan of pink, but I thought Anoop would have been better served if he chose either the sweater/tie combo OR the suit... the combination of the two was fashion overkill). I like Anoop. I like Ballads. I'm getting a little tired of Anoop Ballads, though :( I understand that ballads are his niche, but he's been playing it super safe the past few weeks and I am ready for Anoop to go home. Nothing personal, but there are some really great singers this season, and pretty soon, really great singers are going to be sent home to make way for an Adam Lambert and _________________ finale.

So, I am predicting/hoping that Lil and Anoop are this week's Idol casualties. It's getting down to crunch time, and there is no way either of these two singers are going to win the competition, so it's better to let them down gently now than string them along for another couple weeks. Plus, I don't want Lil to make it to when each contestant sings two songs... that's twice as many harsh comments from the judges that she doesn't want to hear, trust me.

I wonder what next week's theme will be? Hopefully something way awesome like last year's Neil Diamond week :) 

Thank you, American Idol judges, for not ruining Season 8 for me

Tonight marks the second time I've screamed at my television so loudly that I've gone hoarse (the 1st time was when Sean Penn won the Oscar over Mickey Rourke, therefore causing me to tie instead of win this year's Academy Awards predictions). But more on that in a bit...

Let's rewind to last night's American Idol Top 7 performance show, shall we?

The theme was movie night... and I do love the cinema :)

Allison started the night off okay with an all right rendition of "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" from Armageddon. This song has been done a few times before on Idol and Allison put her little stamp on it. It wasn't one of her best performances, but it certainly wasn't one of her worst.

Anoop decided to stick with his monster ballads and serenaded us with "Everything I Do (I Do It For You) from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (oh Kevin Costner...). But I digress. He gave a solid performance and even had a dramatic pause near the end. Good, not great, but good.

Adam gave a rousing performance of "Born to Be Wild" from Easy Rider. Not one of my favorite songs, but he rocked the beJesus out of it, as per usual. I like how he does a wild rock song one week, then slows it down with a ballad or simple song the next week, then turns it back up to 11 the following week. The boy is a performance genius. I loved the strobe lights, his dancing, his interaction with the band... everything. I've said it before and I'll say it again, J'adore Adam Lambert. Snaps to you, sir. Snaps to you.

Matt Giraud (swoon) sang "Have You Every Really Loved a Woman?" from Don Juan DeMarco (um, hello? Johnny Depp circa 1995... also swoon). Matt hit some crunchy notes, and I mean *crunchy*. Cringe-worthy crunchy notes. But his entire performance wasn't bad, just a couple bum notes here and there. I instantly worried that he would be in the Bottom 3, so I did my part and called... lots of times. (BTW - loved his outfit)

Danny Gokey sang "Endless Love" from Endless Love. I was not a fan of his arrangement, even though I got what he was trying to do. I wish he didn't shout-sing so much... tone it down a bit, Ghokey, and keep those glasses on! I love his voice, but it's a bit harsh sounding for some of the quieter moments in songs. At least he didn't sing "Against All Odds". :)

Kris had the bravest song choice of the night, singing "Falling Slowly" from the brilliant Irish film, Once. Such an amazing song, but I was a bit worried for him as probably a lot of people weren't familiar with his selection. I wish he would have played his guitar, or at least had his duet partner within frame (or split screened) as he sang... it is a duet, and not being able to see the background vocalist was a bit eerie for me. He was also a bit pitchy.

And then there was Lil... singing "The Rose" from The Rose. In her pre-packaged segment, she was singing a very gospelled-up 2nd half of the song and there was hope that she was going to take that song and us on a gospel journey. Well, we were promised a trip to Church and never even made it out of the driveway. Lil is boring and has been giving us boring performances ever since she's been in the Top 13. That girl needs to figure out who she is as an artist and then let the rest of us in on it. I'm sick of her karaoke performances every week. I wanted her to get voted off so bad this week...

Which brings us to tonight's Results Show.

Musical guest Jennifer Hudson sang really well (of course), but please don't ever let Miley Cyrus sing on American Idol ever again. They shouldn't have people sing on the show who would never make it through to the Top 10 if they were normal people and auditioned... Enough with Miley already, geez Louise. 

Throughout the show, we learned the bottom 3 were Anoop, Lil and Matt. Anoop didn't deserve to be there, but all of the people who were safe really have a better chance at winning the whole thing, so by default, he was in the Bottom 3. At least he can have peace of mind that he wasn't in the Bottom 2 this week... that fell to Lil and Matt, and rightly so.

Before it was announced who the person with the least votes was, Ryan asked Simon if the Judge's Save would be put in play tonight and Simon said that he was thinking about it for one of them, but it might surprise that person. I was very much hoping he was talking about Matt Giraud, but we wouldn't find that out until after the commercial break (cue Idol music).

And there they were, Lil and Matt. You could tell that Matt thought he was the one with the least amount of votes and was not surprised with Ryan revealed that Lil was safe (ugh).

So, it Idol's biggest act of humiliation this season, Matt Giruad had to re-sing "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" in front of the judges (sans piano) and try to convince them that he deserves their one judge's save.

And sing Matt did. I thought he did a better performance tonight than last night. He still his some super crunchy notes, but for the most part, he held his own. As he finished his song, the Idol crowd and my sister and I (who were watching from our living room) were all shouting "Save Him! Save Him!" When it came time for the judges to say whether they would save Matt or not, Simon commented that Matt did better last night... but that it was good news.

And *that's* when I started screaming at my television like an idiot. The judges used their one save for my favorite contestant this season, Matt Giraud.  :)  Smiles galore, folks.

This means that two contestants are going home next week. I'm hoping those contestants are Lil and Anoop (sorry Anoop). The theme for the next show is Disco... if Matt picks the right song, he could set himself back on track to making it to the Top 4, easily. I'm just really glad they decided to give him another chance... first with the Wild Card slot, then with the Judge's Save... come on Giraud, work it out!

So, I am a happy Idol watcher, knowing I have at least another week of iTunes downloads from Giraud... 

Do you think he still deserves to be there?

American Idol Top 8 - Well, 7 of 8... then I had to watch Adam's performance on youtube this morning...

I had to work until 9:15 last night, so we were DVRing the Idol... and when I got home at 9:35, I was told by my sister that Idol ran over and the DVR cut off the recording right before Adam. We scrambled to find videos of his performance on-line, or at least find out what he sang... I even called my parents up in Minnesota, but they could only tell me that his performance was brilliant and Simon gave him a standing ovation. So, naturally I was pissed off at Fox and AI's inability to keep their show within the time frame of when it's supposed to be on and had to wait until this morning to watch Adam's performance... thank you to the bajillion kind people who already had it posted. No thank you to Fox and American Idol.

Before I give you a run down of how I thought each contestant did last night/this morning, I need to blow off some steam about the show running over and some probable causes that could be fixed. First off... squeezing 8 contestants into an hour. Take away 16 minutes for commercials and you are left with 44 minutes... that's 5  1/2 minutes per contestant. The judges usually talk for forever and then there is a pre-performance package... OF COURSE THEY WERE GOING TO RUN OVER. Fox, you should have alloted last night's show 90 minutes... the contestants already barely get to sing on the show (90 seconds... maybe 2 minutes tops)... let's give them ample time. I would be for each kid singing an entire song, but alas... no time!

I assistant directed a TV show when I was an undergraduate... sure, our late night variety show was no American Idol, but live TV is live TV... I was responsible for making sure our show didn't run over our alloted time. Surely there is someone on Idol who is supposed to make sure they don't run over their given time as well. Maybe if someone kept the judges comments to a limited amount of time (and encouraged them to give most of their critiques toward the contestant instead of among each other)... I know it's easy to spout on forever about a given performance, but the reason I tune into Idol is to watch the contestants sing. I'm the consumer here... I'm the one who has Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks and David Cook CDs. I'm the one who is going to have Matt Giarud, Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey CDs within the next year... it'd be awesome if I got to see them perform when I watch Idol. ALL of them...

Which brings me to last night's telecast/my youtube adventure this morning...

Danny Gokey - Stand By Me - I was not over the moon with the arrangement of this song, but I am all for Mr. Gokey. He always delivers a strong vocal and puts his own emotions into whatever he's singing... and that is very likable in an artist.

Kris Allen - All She Wants to Do is Dance - That's funny, because I didn't feel like dancing during his performance at all... He kind of sucked the fun out of that song and I thought it was awkward that he was playing his guitar among all those people. It didn't work last week during Matt Giraud's song and it didn't work for Kris either.

Lil Rounds - What's Love Got to Do With It - Jimminy Christmas, get your own identity already. I'm still trying to figure out why the judges keep telling her she's an amazing singer... she's a good singer, but she has consistently hit some bum notes every week has given us nothing but 100% karaoke performances since the Top 13. She needs to get rid of the wigs, figure out who she is and just give it to us already. She completely deserves to be in the Bottom 3 this week, and I hope America puts her there. Give her one more week, but then just let her go already.

Anoop Desai - True Colors - I love when Anoop gives us a tender ballad... kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I like that he went more the Cyndi Lauper route rather than Phil Collins, but still had the Anoop stamp on it. I like it when he does up-tempo stuff too, but he's so much stronger on his ballads. That probably frustrates him. Maybe he can figure out how to make up-tempo songs awesome too :)

Scott MaIntyre - The Search is Over - I didn't recognize the song until he hit the chorus and I realized that it was a song I knew/liked a lot... but he kinda butchered it. He should have used an accoustic guitar, but even that wouldn't have saved this performance. Part way through the song, I couldn't watch anymore, so like last week, I chose that moment to bring my dishes into the kitchen. I almost dropped them when I heard Scott unsuccessfully reach for some crazy high note that he shouldn't have gone for. I like Scott, but I still don't think there is any more room for him to continue on in the competition. There are just too many more talented people than he left and it would be unfair if someone like Kris or Anoop left before him, you know?

 Allison Iraheta - I Can't Make You Love Me - This girl can sing! I loved her song choice and thought she nailed it with her vocal maturity. Randy is right - she does remind us all of Kelly Clarkson. Same bubbly attitude, same huge voice... they even look a bit alike. Allison can sing her face off and I like that she's not all uppity about it. Very strong vocals and another solid performance from Allison!

Matt Giraud - Part Time Lover - Good for him for not using his piano and actually looking like he was having a really great time. I thought he seemed a little out of breath in places, but even that didn't take away from his more-soulful-than-even-Stevie rendition of one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs. Sure, he looked a lot like Justin Timberlake in that hat, but that swagger was 100% Matt Giraud. I'm glad he has proved to Idol watchers that he is super talented with or without a piano... though I do enjoy his piano playing :)

Adam Lambert - Mad World - Haunting and very, very vulnerable. Everyone knows this as the song from "Donnie Darko" (and even Adam's wardrobe reminded me of the hooded sweatshirt Donnie wears over his skeleton shirt), but Adam seemed to make it personal and I really dug the simplicity of it all - him sitting in that chair bathed in creepy blue light. It was a great performance, even though it was pitchy in several spots. Was it deserving of Simon's standing ovation? Perhaps. Hopefully next week I'll get to see his performance on my TV instead of on youtube...

Lil Rounds, Scott and Kris are my predictions for the Bottom 3 this week. Lil or Scott should go home... Kris has another couple weeks in him, but his performance this week was just a bit boring and not as strong as a few of the others.

Happy Idoling!

That was American Idol... more like "The Adam Lambert just took that song to CHURCH Show"

Fellow Idol watchers, did you vote for your favorite Idol this week? I did... about 50+ times, but more on that in little bit.

So, tonight's theme was pretty much a free for all... just pick a song that people download on iTunes. I thought it was supposed to be a super popular song, but I guess that wasn't the case... I like Celine Dion's "I Surrender" as much as the next gal, but I only downloaded it b/c Kelly Clarkson rocked the snot out of it on season 1 of AI... I had never heard the song before that, so that doesn't scream "popular" to me. And I should know, I listen to a looooooooooot of music.

Let's go in order of tonight's performers, shall we?

Starting off the show ("the curse of the first" as past Idolers Kimberly Caldwell and Brandon Rodgers called it on last week's Idol Wrap) was Anoop Desai singing Usher's "Caught Up". I love that song. I love Anoop. But I wasn't 100% over the moon with Anoop singing that song. I respect that he wants to be an R&B artist - he certainly has the chops for it - but he hasn't picked the greatest R&B songs this season to showcase that (see also when he sang "Angel of Mine"... great song, but not for his voice). I hope he makes it a few more weeks b/c I heart Anoop. 

Holy hell, what was Megan Joy singing tonight? Of all the Idol contestants, she and Lil Rounds have had the worst song selections of the season. Megan Joy's outfit was whack, the song was boring and she didn't look like she was connecting with the song or the audience. Look at her eyes when she sings... she looks kinda bored. She shouldn't have chosen a Bob Marley song. She keeps going on and on in interviews about how she loves Bjork... why didn't she sing a Bjork song? At least that would have matched her voice. Or sing Adele or Duffy or Amy Winehouse like the judges suggest. Geez.

And then there was Danny Gokey... a breath of fresh air after Anoop (sorry Charlie Bucket!) and Megan Joy (*she* gave me a headache). Danny, Danny, Danny... I don't love Rascal Flatts, but I liked your version of "What Hurts The Most". You could so tell that he was feeling every word he was singing... and that is infectious. There was pure emotion behind his eyes as he sang, and as an audience member, I appreciate that a lot. He's not just singing to sing, he's singing because he has to - because that's sometimes the only way you can express what you are feeling. Solid performance - very heartfelt.

Allison took a small step backwards this evening. And I'm not even talking about her outfit (I dug it - I just thought her hair was sticking up an awful lot)... good for her for bringing out her guitar (or "your ax" as Paula put it... Small tangent - WTF is up with Paula? She over prepares her little monologues after each performance... she usually doesn't make sense, but now she makes little sense with a lot of effort involved. Sometimes I fast forward through her just b/c I can't stand to hear musical nonsense. Small tangent over.), but I don't think that the guitar was necessary. She only used it for the opening run of notes and then the guitar physically seemed to be in the way when she was trying to grad the mic stand. I thought it was not a good arrangement of "Don't Speak". That's a great song, but I don't think that arrangement showcased Allison's singing skills very much.

I like how Scott looks up to and respects Billy Joel, but Billy Joel he is not :( Scott, "I Love You Just the Way You Are" doesn't have as strong of vocals as some of the other contestants - his tone is lacking and there is not much flavor to his voice - he kind of just belts it with his Disney-esque voice. (I still cannot get over how dead-on Randy was about that last week...) It was during Scott's performance that I chose to get up, leave the room and get a drink of water from the kitchen. I like Scott, but this was just not as strong of a performance as some of the other contestants. 

Matt Giraud, as promised, I called 1-866-IDOLS-06 for you this week... for about an hour. You are still my favorite contestant, even if you did sing a song by The Fray (not a fan of anyone who has songs on Grey's Anatomy... sorry!). I don't even remember the title of the song (I think it's "You Found Me", but I could be waaay wrong), but I will still download it. Why? B/c I heart Matt Giraud. He sang fine, but the judges are right - he should stick to the bluesy/R&B songs. I understand that Matt is more well rounded musically than that, but it he was smart, he would sing awesome bluesy songs to get himself a bit further in the competition, and then put whatever the heck he wants on his first album. Don't sell out to the man, but do go against what you're good at. Just because you like a song doesn't mean you should sing it... Not gonna lie, Matt Giraud is very, very talented at singing and playing the piano, and he is awfully cute - I would very much like to hear/see his performances for the next couple months.

Lil Rounds was once again a hot mess. She should not have sung "I Surrender". Why, if you want to be an R&B singer like Mary J. Blige would you sing CELINE DION? At least do a Whitney song, Lil! If you're doing to do a diva, at least do one in your GENRE!! I get frustrated when Lil Rounds picks the wrong songs because the judges have pimped her to be such a great singer/performer and for the 4th week in a row, she's chosen a crap song and done a crap performance. She looked completely disinterested during her performance and her stylists should be fired for putting her in that hideously unflattering dress. So she hit a couple good notes. That's not good enough...

Not when Adam Lambert follows you and sings the hell out of "Play That Funky Music White Boy". He took that song to CHURCH and back. He's a smart one, that Adam Lambert. He still had his slicked back hair and no fingernail polish look going on, but he brought back his little sexy moves, his crazy falsetto, and completely updated that song and made it amazing. Another crazy awesome performance from the most unique Idol contestant ever. Props to him for giving props to the band and the arrangement - he's very gentlemanly and obviously a seasoned performer who knows to give credit where credit is due.  I think he deserved to sing last this week after last week's stunning rendition of "Tracks of My Tears". Ah-MAZ-ing. Snaps to you, Adam Lambert. Je t'aime.

Rounding out the Top 9 was Kris Allen with his decent arrangement of "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone". Good for him for playing the keyboard - showed a different musical side of himself. I thought he was going to sing a Jason Mraz song, but I sit corrected. I don't think that this is the kind of stuff he would sing all the time... but this was another solid performance delivered out of the side of his mouth :) (I'm not knocking him - I think that's kinda endearing). He's had a few good weeks in a row now and deserves the praise he's been getting.

I hope next week's theme is better - something that will challenge the Idols and further weed out the weak links (*cough* Megan Joy). Bring back Broadway week - that always throws the Idols for a loop. All I know is that Megan Joy, Scott or Lil deserve to be in the Bottom 3 this week. I'm not being disrespectful - everyone else just brought it this week (or brought it more, anyway... Scott was a big improvement from last week's hot mess).

So long as Matt, Danny and Adam coast few to the Top 3, all will be well in my book :)

Oh *hell* no, America - Matt Giraud in the bottom 2 this week on Idol - RIDICULOUS!

Yes, I know this is a movie blog, but American Idol is in full swing and takes up multiple hours of my week. Deal! (I am working on a massive blog dedicated to my favorite American actor, Paul Rudd, so that'll be posted soon, I promise).

So, anyways... the Idol.

Tonight was the results show and Matt Giraud was in the bottom three... nay, the bottom two... WTF America?!

First of all, there are many talented contestants this season. There are a few guys (and perhaps one little cranberry haired young lady) who I think will do very well this season, as well as Post-Idol. Second of all, there were three or four performances this week that were waaaaaaay worse than everyone else... instead of Matt Giraud in the bottom, Lil Rounds or Meghan Joy could have easily filled that slot.

Let me explain...

This week's AI theme was Motown (!) Sooooo many great songs to pick from from soooooo many of the greatest artists in music history. No one should have picked a wrong song, but alas - some of the song choices were whack.

Matt Giraud started the show off right singing Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On". I would have been content if he would have stayed behind the piano, but he got up and BRUNG IT front and center stage. His voice is smooth and he's a great performer. He deserves the praise he's getting and the comparisons to Justin Timberlake and Michael Buble are valid. Each week since the Top 13, he's had solid performances... his version of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" is the most played song on my iTunes (20 plays and counting) and I only downloaded it less than a week ago. There was no way on Earth he should have been in the bottom two this week. I usually wait until later in the season to vote, but starting next week, I will be 1-866-Idol-0something for Matt Giraud.

Kris Allen gave another solid performance this week - I really liked his take on "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You". Him and his guitar are a good match for each other - with his little side-mouthed singing... he hit some awesome notes this week and I'm glad that America voted him into the Top 13 even though we didn't see anything from him before the Top 36.

Another consistently strong performer is Adam Lambert. He's different, that's for sure. You can tell he is very comfortable on stage and knows how to work his instrument and the camera. He's been all over the place with types of performances, but they are always on pitch and interesting. Last week's version of "Ring of Fire" was insane - and though I felt somewhat uncomfortable watching him sing, there is no denying he is very, very good. (He's very easy on the eyes, but when he started groping the mic stand and making sexy eyes with the camera, I couldn't watch without giggling a little bit :) ) I liked his Elvis-inspired look this week... I also thinks he looks a bit like Ewan McGregor circa Moulin Rouge! (2001)... dark hair, light eyes... almost the same nose/mouth/chin. He'll be around on Idol for awhile and I'm fine with that.

Another one of my favorites this season is Danny Gokey. I dig his different glasses each week and his high-energy performances. He even took "Jesus Takes the Wheel" to white people's church last week, which I enjoyed. I look forward to when he (or anyone this season, really) REALLY takes a song to Church... Gokey's back story is sad, but it's inspiring to see him singing each week. I only wish his friend would have made the Top 13 too :(

My other favorite guy is, of course, ANOOP! I have been rooting for Anoop (as well as the other 4 listed above) since the audition rounds. Anoop is awesome - he can sing a mellow ballad, and then turn around and give a rousing performance of "My Perrogative" - Love It! He's adorable to boot, and I like seeing his parents cheer him on each week.

As for Scott MacEntyre (sp?) - I like him just fine, but he doesn't have what it takes to win this competition. He seems like a super nice guy, he sings pretty well and plays the piano just fine, but he's not a showman like some of the other guys. Randy's right - he's got a Disney voice.

I was so glad to see Michael Sarver leave tonight. It's not that I didn't like him - but between him and Matt Giraud (swoon), Matt Giraud deserves to continue on in hopes of becoming American Idol. Sarver seems like a nice guy and he sings all right, but there was no way on God's green earth that he's better at singing/performing than Danny, Matt and Adam. He should have gone home last week instead of Alexis Grace, but good for him for making it to the tour.

As for the girls...

I was a fan of Lil Rounds during auditions, but she hasn't wowed me at all these past 3 weeks. During Michael Jackson week, she sang "The Way You Make Me Feel". Not the most challenging song in his song book. And she did horrible during Grand Ole Opry week... "Independence Day"? Fine, do that song, but make it your own! Turn it into a hot R&B track, don't just sing it how Martina McBride sings it and look bored as hell while you're doing it. And then this week - "Heat Wave" - she shouted the entire song! That's not musical at all, that's just loud. You best do better Lil Rounds, or all your hype will be for naught.

Alexis was my favorite girl in the Top 13, but she got ousted, so then we're only left with Lil, Megan Joy and Allison. Oh, Meghan Joy, you are KILLING me, Smalls. I dig your quirky singing voice, but pick better songs and quit the dancing. You totally chose the wrong song this week - first off, with your vocal stylings, you shouldn't sing Stevie. Pick a female artist or girl group and look at their tracks. Pick one that you could make bluesy/jazzy. Don't. Sing. Stevie. EVER.

Allison, Allison, Allison. You rocked the beJESUS out of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". That last run of notes was CRAZY AWESOME. I dig you and your red hair and uncensored comments (like the other week when you said you didn't cut yourself... that was priceless). This 16 year old is super talented and very much deserves her slot in the Top 9. Keep going, girl.

America, please do not let Matt Giraud be in the bottom 2 ever again this season... The boy is crazy talented and it would make me (and probably millions of young women across America) very sad if he was not crooning at his piano for the next couple months.

Idol, Indy, SATC...

My last post was kind of manically written post-Idol Finale, pre-Indy 4 screening late Wednesday evening. Since then, I've had some more time to think about my television and movie watching... and since I'm trying to avoid cleaning my apartment right now, I thought I'd write down some thoughts :)

So, American Idol Season 7 is over - and David Cook won. And some people are saying it was an upset, but others are saying that his victory makes sense. I agree with the latter - especially since I thought Cook deserved to be the Idol winner ever since his audition many, many months ago.

Wednesday's Finale was okay, though I shake my head at the Fox corporation... First off - I am friggin' sick of those stupid "Love Guru" time-ins with the show... stop wasting precious Idol time with ridiculous pre-packaged material of the Davids visiting Guru Pitka. As I watched that hideousness unfold before me, I thought to myself "I wonder how much extra time those boys could have rehearsed if they didn't have to make this clip." And I am SICK of Mike Meyers and his dumb characters. The first Austin Powers movie was okay because it was something kind of new... and then he made 2 dumb sequels. And then the whole Shrek franchise - I am not a fan of those films because they are aimed towards kids, but much of the humor is laced with adult themes. Not family appropriate in the slightest, but they made bajillions of dollars, so I guess that's fine! (blah) And now this whole "Love Guru" thing... I think it's kind of offensive.

The Idol Finale had some pretty good music guest... it was cool Cook got to perform with ZZ Top and Archie sand with One Republic. They seemed to be really enjoying themselves. It was nice to see Seal, Donna Summer and Bryan Adams as well. And George Michael... it seems like he's been on TV more this year than in a long, long time (I'm an Eli Stone fan, and he and his music were pretty much at the core of most of the episodes). And I really enjoyed the George Michael medley and his solo at the end of the show, but if Idol is aiming for an increase viewership in the 18-24 demographic, feature someone we like... like Daughtry or Chris Brown. (Yes, I know Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks were on, but even Jordin's song was aimed more towards the tweens than college age people). If the producers thought the 18-24 year olds would enjoy the Jonas Brothers, than I think they are mistaken. I am 24 years old. I even like High School Musical (yep, go ahead and laugh, I don't care...). But I don't get what is so great about the Jonas Brothers. I spent that 5 minutes of the Idol staring at my TV with my head cocked to the side, much like my dogs when they are confused about something. But whatever.

You know what I did like about the Idol Finale... those Guitar Hero commercials. I didn't see David Cook's until the next day (we got home after the Finale started, so we zipped through a lot of the commercial breaks... thank you, DVR). Little David Archuleta's was kind of weird to watch - it's not everyday you see a very well known 17 year old awkwardly dance around in his boxers to "Old Time Rock and Roll". It actually took me a few seconds into the commercial before I realized it was him. And since I hadn't seen David Cook's commercial, I was wondering why on earth that David Arculeta would get a Guitar Hero commercial... especially since he never even played guitar on Idol.

And then the next morning, I saw the David Cook version - and it made me laugh so hard I thought I was going to choke on my own spit. It was great - he had the song down and was completely channeling Tom Cruise in "Risky Business"... Cook had way better moves than Archie. And he's more believable with a guitar in hand. Even if it is just a Guitar Hero guitar.

Now that Idol is over, I can get back to my usual routine of watching movies (though, you can be sure I'm going to try and make it to an Idol tour show this summer and I'll be keeping my eye open for Cook's album... I can't remember the last time I bought a CD, but I'll drop a Hamilton or two the day his album drops).

My first film post-Idol was, of course, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Now, I won't reveal major plot points or anything, because it's still opening weekend and I respect people who don't like to know spoilers before going to the theater, but I will say that I was disappointed. A lot.

I LOVE the first 3 Indiana Jones movies... I remember getting them out from the library a lot when I was younger and they were always fun to watch with the whole family. We still use the phrase "He chose poorly" probably once a month. They are staple films from my childhood and I know them by heart. This Indiana Jones movie does not fit in nicely with those other 3.

I thought Indy 4 opened slow... probably because of the opening credits. I don't remember opening credits from any of the other films. I was also super tired because the film started around 12:15 because of more than a few crappy movie trailers before the film actually started... so, my eyes were ready to shut if something awesome didn't happen. Luckily Indiana Jones showed up and my eyes widened and there was a grin on my face the size of Texas. Oh Harrison Ford, I missed you. (The last Ford movie I saw in theaters was Hollywood Homicide... Yeah, I know.)

And then some more expositiony stuff goes down and my eyes wanted to shut again. But Hello Shia LaBoeuf... my eyes reopen and stay open for the remainder of the film (though not necessarily on the screen the entire time... for those of you who know how poorly I reacted to Spielberg's 1982 opus, I couldn't watch some of Indy 4 for similar reasons).

While there were some cheeky nods to the previous Indy films and some good scenes between Ford and LaBoeuf, there were some major problems for me in the plot and the CGI sequences. I won't go too into detail for you people who have yet to see the film, but let's just put it this way - Why on Earth are there crappy CGI sequences? Speilberg has made films with great CGI parts (i.e. Minority Report - crap movie, but good effects) and George Lucas's Lucasfilm/ILM is pretty much responisble for a majority of the digital effects that have been in films for the last 30 years... so shouldn't the CGI stuff look FLAWLESS?

This film did feel like other films of the 1950s, but I was looking for more than that. I was looking for the perfect bookend to an already awesome trilogy, but instead, I don't feel like I can watch Indy 4 again. At least not for a really, really long time.

Last summer, I wrote an article about film franchises. It was about the time Live Free or Die Hard came out... I was skeptical about that film, because Die Hard was another trilogy that I grew up on (thanks Dad!). Before Live Free or Die Hard came out, I was worried it was going to tarnish the Die Hard name, but instead it was a welcome addition to the series. Indy 4 had the opposite effect for me... I probably won't even want to own this one and when I speak of Indiana Jones movies in 10 or 20 years from now, I will be sure to exclude Indy 4.

I did this to myself - these high expectations. Last summer I was not looking forward to Indy 4. But then I saw teaser trailers and rewatched Raiders and Last Crusade and got my hopes waaaaaay up. And then Indy 4 happened and I felt let down. So, in order to move on, I have to turn my attention to the movie that has now become my most anticiapted release of May 2008... Sex and the City: The Movie.

I managed to avoid seeing anything Sex and the City related until last March. My sister has all 6 seasons on DVD and she was on her spring break and I took a week off from work and instead of working on a script I had started, I decided to watch SATC and see why everyone was so obsessed with it.

I get it. I really do. This is a great show - it's refreshing to see 4 girlfriends work and play hard in the greatest city in the world. And even though Carrie was the main character, we got to know everyone on that show - these were women who were playing out completely realistic situations (though some of the stories and a lot of the fashion were exaggerated beyond the norm).

It's hard to pick a favorite character out of the 4 women, as they all have assets and flaws that make them loveable and dislikeable at the same time. And then all of the men on the show... there are just so many characters to choose from. I liked Aidan a lot (who didn't?), but my favorite guy was Jack Berger, hands down. I did think the relationship ended poorly (a Post-it? Come on!), but when he and Carrie were in the swing of things, it was magical.

Sex and the City: The Movie opens this coming Friday and I am more than excited to see it. I do not see "chick flicks" a lot, and in fact prefer action/adventure movies with lots of shoot 'em ups, but this is one "chick flick" I wouldn't miss for the world. After watching 6 seasons in about a month's time, I am invested in Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte and I sincerely want to know what they've been up to. Plus, it's going to be interesting to see if Jennifer Hudson can act in a movie where she's not singing most of the time...

Well - it's time to clean the apartment. Or maybe take my portable DVD player out on the balcony and continue to catch up on some SATC Season 6 while I paint my nails :)

Have a lovely day, and I'll cya at the movies!

Season 7 American Idol is... DAVID COOK!!!

So, I've been looking forward to the Season 7 Finale like you would not believe... I'm sure my colleagues at work are looking forward to the day when I finally shut up already about Idol and the politics going on with this show and how much I love Jason Castro and David Cook...

Well, David Cook just became our American Idol, like, 1/2 hour ago, so I won't be shutting up any time soon... well, at least not for a ocuple days.

I'll give you more of my opinions about the Finale this weekend... I'm heading to the movie theater in about 1/2 hour to get seats for our mini posse for the first screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull... but right now, it's IDOL TIME!!

As we all already know, I have been rooting for David Cook since he first sang at his audition. Last night after the last time both he and little David sang, I called for 2 hours solid (I didn't always get through, but I figured at least that meant other Wordnerds were voting for him too... BTW, I'm not an official "Wordnerd" in David's fan club, but I've been doing crossword puzzles every day for the last 2 years - yep, before my love for David Cook [what can I say, I loves me some crossword puzzles], so I'm a Wordnerd all on my own).

And then tonight, oh glorious night of Idol, you crowned my favorite Idol contestant EVER, our new American Idol. WOO HOO

The Finale on a whole was sub-par, and I thought George Michael's song was going on a bit too long there... by time we got back from the last commerical break, it was 9:57 here. Luckily, the show spilled over until 10:06ish, so my man Cook could have his moment, shed some tears, hug his mom and sing another lame Idol Songwriting competition winner...

But just before Ryan read the results, Simon Cowell did one of the nicest things he's done while on the show - he apologized to David Cook for treating him disrespectfully the previous night. For those of you who watched David sing his heart out and then the judges rip his song choices apart, you know what Simon is talking about. It. Was. Harsh.

But all is forgiven, I'm sure. David Cook had 12 million more votes than little David, and he won fair and square. Props to little David Archuleta... he took his loss like a man. He didn't cry, he didn't make mean faces or storm off - he seemed genuinely happy for his pal David Cook. He is an upstanding citizen, and it takes a lot to have that kind of composure after being hailed as the Front Runner the entire season, only to have someone else walk away with the Grand Prize. But he'll be okay...

Well, I will write more eloquently later... I'm just too excited from Cook winning the Idol and the countdown to seeing Indy 4 in less than an hour and a half (!)

Have a great day!

American Idol Top 2 - Let's go David (Cook!)

Yes, since the dawn of Season 7, I have been a David Cook supporter... and since the last half of the season, so has the AI website...



Have you noticed that little David Archuleta used to be featured in the center of the weekly group photos, but in the past few weeks, David Cook has been the man in the middle.



I think AI finally realized that they should support Cook because in the end, he's going to rack up more record sales than little Archie... and probably have a stronger career. Week in and week out, David Cook has improved, covering pseduo-obscure covers or coming up with his own awesome arrangements which pique the interest of viewers. Archie sings well, there is no arguing that, but he's plateaued. He hasn't had any amazing performances as of late, unlike Cook.



Also, there is the age/maturity factor... David Cook is 25, went to college, had some "life experiences", worked as a b"arrrrgh"tender, has been in some bands and has given the music industry a whirl. Little Archuleta is 17, still lives with his parents, and seems like a genuinely nice teenage boy who has yet to face the harsh reality of the "real world". He's been groomed to be a performer, but do you actually believe him when he's singing songs about "love" and relationships and heartache and sorrow? Because I don't... not one bit. When Cook sings, the lyrics have that extra punch of "yeah, I've been through this" whereas what Archuleta is belting out are just words. Mostly in tune words, but just words nonetheless.

So, how about tonight's performances? It was the last time the Top 2 performed for the viewer's votes... and by the judges tally, little Archuleta won. (Boo/Hiss)

Up first was David Cook:
1. Clive's pick - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - now, I'm not a U2 fan, but Cook's performance was great, in my opinion. True, he didn't change a huge amount of stuff, but his vocals were solid, and I felt like he was saving himself for his later performances. He wasn't wielding his guitar on this song, which is fine - as he is awesome enough to rock a song with or without an instrument.

2. AI song - "Dream Big" (?) - Pretty lame song, but because David Cook was singing it, I dug it. I enjoyed the guitar and it had a decent beat. At least it didn't have the word "moment" or the phrase "this is my now" in it.

3. David's Choice - "The World I Know" - I know this Collective Soul song just like everyone else, but it never meant anything to me. It still doesn't, but David's performance was endearing - with his accoustic guitar and the orchestra behind him. I liked the arrangement and when it was over, and David was getting a little emotional (you could tell he realized how big all of this is and how he knows the end is near and he's probably almost at a breaking point) and it actually made me tear up.

The judges (well, Randy and Simon at least... Paula is just a seat filler who spouts kind things to anything that moves) gave Cook sub-par scores throughout the evening, especially Simon. Which was totally weird b/c Simon was on Leno and Ellen last night and today and told them that he wanted David Cook to win. So, Simon, what's with the harsh Cook critiques? He didn't suck, and he certainly didn't do worse than Archie... what gives?

Speaking of little Archie:
1. Clive's pick - "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" - Um, didn't Clay Aiken sing this on Season 2? (Answer: Yeppers) And the judges went wild with praise... but from my recliner at home, I could hear some pitch problems... it sounded a little shrieky even at times. And that little boy still moves his microphone around like it's the secret to how he manages to hit the right notes on those runs he puts into every freakin' song.

2. AI Song - "I Wanna Be" (?) - Lametastic... one of those little HSMesque numbers talking about how you are in your moment blah blah blah. Yes, he was in tune - he best be in tune - no one should make it to the finale if they can't sing well - but that song was hideous. If I heard that on the radio, I'd flip the channel. Though, I'd probably only hear that song if I was on Radio Disney or some other teen ballad station that features the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus 24/7. And that's not what I listen to...

3. David's pick - "Imagine" - Wow, that was such a *surprise*. Of course he chose the song he got the most praise for. (Cook went with a song he had never sang on the show before - a gutsy move on his behalf, as everyone and their moms are fans of his versions of "Hello", "Billie Jean" and "Always Be My Baby"...) So, of course the crowds were on their feet. And little Archie was so overwhelmed he looked like he was going to tip over.

The show ended with Ruben Studdard "Celebrating" himself "home"... and I turned off the TV in Idol anger (I'm taping my Dancing show finale... I'll get to it in a minute - this way it'll be mostly commercial free... thanks DVR:) )

Why were the judges so harsh on Cook? Is it some kind of reverse psychology to America? If Archie wins, he'll be super happy, and maybe throw up a little in his mouth, and then have to go off and do a bazillion interviews. Have you watched this kid give interviews before? It's almost painful. He still has some growing up to do - his voice is there, but his social skills are not. If we plaster the title of American Idol on him, he's never going to get a chance to live a little bit. He'll just be thrown into the machine that is the music industry, and I'm sincerely afraid it will chew him up and spit him out. He seems like such a nice little person and as much as I think he'll do fine with a music career, I just don't think he's quite ready yet.

So, dial 1-866-IDOLS-01 (03 or 05) with me, America, and vote for David Cook. This guy has a lot to offer - he's a talented musician and vocalist, appears to be a genuinely polite guy and though he's teared up on occassion (only because he's a real person and not a musical robot), he seems mature enough to handle himself on his road to music stardom.

You can be sure I'll be plastered to my recliner tomorrow night watching the 2 hour Finale. I look forward to seeing some Idols past and some Idols present singing their cheesetastic group numbers and some duets with established musicians. And after David (hopefully Cook) is annouced this season's American Idol, I'm off to the movie theater for a midnight screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (woot!).

So, my final Idol thoughts on this blog will probably be coming sometime this coming weekend, after I've had some time to process it all (and enjoy some Indy 4).

Happy Idoling, and to those of you also partaking in some Indy goodness - I'll see you at the movie theater :)

If David Cook doesn't win American Idol, then something is seriously wrong with America...

Good day,

So, I know this is supposed to be a movie blog, but American Idol is closing in on its finale (next week!!), and I am committed to this show for the long haul.

Let's take this back to last week...

I'm in Minnesota at my parents house, vacationing with my entire family. Playing lots of Boggle and Ping-Pong and attempting to master Guitar Hero (dude, I can barely play those songs on Easy Mode... but it's cool strumming along to "Barracuda" and "When You Were Young" and pretending you are in Heart and The Killers, respectively)...

So, last Tuesday, instead of watching the Idol from my recliner here in Indiana, I watched it sitting next to my mom - a non-lover of Jason Castro. After he gave a not so awesome performance of "I Shot the Sheriff", I had to listen to my dad saying how much he sucks and how he can't believe I have been voting for him for the past 2 months. And then a little later we watch Castro forget pary of his lyric for "Mr. Tambourine Man" (which I'm actually listening to right this very second as I'm typing this... no, that was not planned, that's just the magic of iTunes "Shuffle Mode" while I'm on my Jason Castro/David Cook playlist... oh snap).

As I cringed on the sofa while our puppy, Moose, was trying to get our attention to play fetch, I realized this was the end of the road for my favorite Dreadhead... but I still did my civic duty and called for an hour and a half.

To no avail, Castro got ousted last Wednesday with a smile on his face and a sincere look of relief in his eye. After much hub-bub about people thinking he mouthed "Don't Vote" and wanted to get kicked off the show, he has said in every interview since then that he wanted to make it as far as he could and was saying "Vote, Vote". I believe it... the guy recognized his inexperience compared to the remaining 3 contestants and he left the show as happy as he was the first week he was on. Good for you sir, good for you. Plus, he's been on a bunch of talk shows this week, so it's fun to see him do interviews because they really aren't his forte. Though, it seems everyone just wants to talk about 2 things: "Vote, Vote" and his hair. Come on, interviewers, there are way more important things to ask him then that...

So, tonight, the Top 3 sang 3 songs apiece. In all honesty, I was not blown away by anyone, though David Cook was obviously the best performer this evening.

Lemme break it down for ya:
1. David A - I wonder how all this press about his Stage Dad is going to affect the votes. The kid sings well, there is no denying that, but he doesn't really have stage presence. He stands there - eyes mostly open these days, and only licking his lips on occassion - and belts his little heart out, shaking the microphone during every run he sings. I thought his Billy Joel song was he strongest of the night. He should *not* have sang Chris Brown's "With You" - because no one can compare to Chris Brown. Though David A. and Chris Brown are close in age, they are not close when it comes to charisma... plus he botched some of the words. And though little David A. sang Dan Fogelberg's "Longer" quite well, Simon was right, that was not a good song choice for this little 17 year old. The lyrics are well beyond his years. He'll still make it through to next week, though.

2. Syesha - I still hate her. And I know "hate" is a strong word, especially because I don't personally know her, but that's the problem - we don't know who Syesha is because she's such a phony every time you see her on the TV. Did you notice then when the pre-packaged material where she received her Judge's Pick, she was all alone in a limo... whereas the Davids were with other people, interacting like normal folks. Syesha is an actress, and a damn good one because I (along with the whole of America, I suppose) have no idea what kind of person she is or what kind of music she would put on a record. All 3 of her songs showed a different person, and there was nothing that linked them together except that Syesha was singing them. With "If I Ain't Got You", it seemed as if she was trying to sing it exactly like Alicia Keys, who is awesome because she is Alicia Keys... when Syesha sang it, it just sounded like karaoke. And then that whole "Fever" fiasco. Simon was right - it was a lame cabaret act. She worked that chair like a pro, but the song is too old fashioned for her, and she made it seem like a showtune instead of a contemporary hit (which is what she should have done). And then that last song... I don't even know the title (I didn't see "Happy Feet", so I'm in the dark about this one), but she didn't look like she was into the song at all... like she felt it was beneath her or something. So what if the song the Producer's picked isn't your kind of song... MAKE IT YOUR OWN! She needs to go home tomorrow night, for reals.

3. David Cook - Oh, David Cook. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I've been a fan since we saw your audition (Anyone who can sing "Livin' on a Prayer" as well as Bon Jovi has my vote... plus he had on a vest at the audition). He is the most consistent Idol contestant this year, and he's got a really great voice (his "Hungry Like the Wolf" is playing now... thank you iTunes :) ), and he plays the guitar well, and he's a true performer, commanding the stage and the microphone as opposed to just standing up there and singing his song selection. So, I thought the Roberta Flack number was great - yes Randy, we know he's the rocker guy, but he's capable of singing other styles/genres of music too... (see Andrew Lloyd Webber week for further proof). And I thought his version of Switchfoot's "I Dare You to Move" was good. I thought the song was too short, though, as soon as he started rocking out, he was done, and I literally sat up in my chair and said aloud to myself (my sister is out of town, so I was solo-Idoling tonight), "What?! That's it?!) And then "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"... I don't really like this song (so sue me), but I thought he did well. Plus, Diane Warren was sitting right there... that's got to be intimidating.

So, Syesha needs to go home and the two Davids need to duke it out in the final next week. And David Cook needs to win... just because I think he could handle all the press and craziness that comes with being the American Idol. If David A. wins, he'd probably hyperventilate and keel over. But so long as a David wins and not Syesha, than that'll do.

When Idol is over, I suppose I'll have to get back to watching movies :) I did see Iron Man and Speed Racer (liked 'em both) and am very much looking forward to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the Sex and the City movie... Idol withdrawl will be hard, but it'll be nice to get back to what I love most - film.

Have a fantastic day and I'll catch ya later :)