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2013 Tony Awards Recap (The Moments that Rocked!)


2013 tonys

I gotta say, of the big four (EGOT), the Tonys are, and have always been, my favorite award ceremony. Is it the musical performances? Yes. Is it Neil Patrick Harris who has become a Tony award staple? Yeah. But…it’s also the fact that as much as I love theatre, I haven’t seen any of these shows. So not only is this show a great way to introduce to me to great New York theatre, but I can confidently say I can’t get upset when a “favorite” (if I even have one) loses because…unlike the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys…I HAVEN’T SEEN ANY OF THE SHOWS SO I CAN’T PROPERLY JUDGE! YAY!!!

But, I can still list some of my favorite moments from the entire evening. And there were a lot because, wow, this was the best Tony ceremony from the last few years. Very few sound issues. A couple great speeches (with a couple surprising wins). And Neil…wow. Just when I though having him as a host for a fourth time wasn’t a great idea, he proves me wrong and outdoes himself yet again. Can he PLEASE host the Oscars next year? Anyway…let’s do this:

    • THE OPENING: What can I say? It was spectacular. An ode to all the musicals (sorry plays) that are still on Broadway. We saw the Newsies. We saw those bird puppets from The Lion King. We saw A LOT of kids (more on that later). We saw Neil sing really fast and dance and disappear before out very eyes. I think…this was my favorite opening of all time. It was a nice way to incorporate all the shows without doing an awkwardly edited medley. NPH (and his team) are always creative like that.
    • a christmas story tony
    • THE KIDS: We got a lot performances from the kid performers on Broadway. We started with a performance by the cast of Matilda. “Revolting Children” is such a spirited number and I’m always in awe of the spirit and choreography when watching it. You can tell the cast has such a fun time performing it. By the end of “When I Grow Up,” all four actresses who played Matilda take the stage to sing a snippet reprise of “Naughty.” And then we got a performance from the kid cast of Annie, led by unfairly and criminally snubbed Lilla Crawford (OK, the only nomination snub that made me upset). They performed “It’s a Hard Knock Life.” I have a soft spot for both this musical and its revival so I’m glad it at least got this Revival nomination so they were able to perform, even if they had no chance of beating Pippin or even Cinderella. Unfortunately these little girls were interrupted by Jane Lynch who played Miss Hannigan. Jane Lynch does a good job but…it seemed like a way to sell tickets to the Glee crowd. I would have preferred a performance of “You’re Never Fully Dressed” instead. Lastly, we got a performance from the kid cast of A Christmas Story. Believe it or not, this was my favorite performance of the evening. Johnny Rabe as Ralphie was great, but that little tapper dude (Luke Spring) stole the entire night with that wonderful tap solo. All the kids in the number were wonderful at tapping. And while, having not been familiar with the movie, I didn’t quite understand what was going on, I still smiled the whole way through. Great job to all the kids!!!

cinderella cinderella cinderella

    • OTHER STRONG PERFORMANCES: I can’t say I fully understood what was going on during the Bring it On performance, but by time they got to what I think was the chorus of the song, I was definitely feeling it. Apparently Lin-Manuel Miranda co-wrote the book and lyrics which is no surprise considering how similar the rap is to the raps in In the Heights. It was a cool performance for a show that I wanted to see last year. Unfortunately, it had a short run. Cinderella was awesome mostly because of the cool quick costume changes done by Broadway’s future Laura Osnes and the always fabulous Victoria Clark (“You’d be surprised how many beautiful gowns have crazy women in them!”) who play Cinderella and Fairy Godmother respectively. William Ivey Long definitely deserved his Costume Tony (the only award the musical won that night.) And, despite the fact the high grossing show wasn’t nominated for Best Musical, Motown: The Musical  was still able to churn out a couple dance numbers. I especially liked the performance of another child star, Raymond Luke Jr., as young Michael of the Jackson 5. I love this music so I was really digging it. 
    • WOMEN DIRECTORS: For the first time since 1998, two women directors won for both Best Direction of Musical and Play. First, Diane Paulus won for directing the beautiful and lavish Pippin. Her speech was very heartfelt and articulate, and she especially paid tribute to the great Stephen Schwartz. And then Pam MacKinnon won for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. She started her speech by going, “So…Vegas got this one wrong…an Diane Paulus’s speech was fantastic. Um…so that’s where my head is.” Who run the world!

laura benanti tony

    • BROADWAY STARS ON CANCELLED TV SHOWS: While Andrew Rannells, Megan Hilty, and Tony winner Laura Benanti are all Broadway favorites, on the small screen, they aren’t quite as successful. So the three of them (joined by a smug NPH) sang their woes about being on cancelled (NBC) TV series. Laura Benanti (to the tune of “Ladies Who Lunch”) is especially depressed about being on TWO cancelled TV series. It was one of the funniest moments of the night and showed how talented each of them (esp. Megan Hilty wowza) are! If it’s any consolation, I loved The New Normal,  “mildly” kept up with Smash, and…well…I didn’t watch Go On but I heard a lot of great things about it and I was a little surprised that NBC cancelled that one TBH.
    • JESSE EISENBERG AND THE PLAYS: He introduced the nominated plays…and in record speed. I love Jesse Eisenberg. I love how he can’t keep his jittery body still. I love his speedy voice. Also, you all should watch Now You See Me. Anyway, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike won Best Play. Judging by the little snippets of each play, and the fact that I’ve loved reading all the other Christopher Durang plays, I think the Theatre Wing made the right choice.

pippin revival tony

    • PIPPIN: Pippin  was one of three musicals who dominated the night with four Tonys, including Best Revival and Direction. Andrea Martin won for Best Featured Actress, while Patina Miller won for Leading Actress in the same role that won Ben Vereen a Tony 40 years ago. (Is this the first time two people of different genders won a Tony for the same role?) Patina Miller dominated with a great acceptance speech and a great leading performance in “Magic to Do” with the rest of the spirited cast. However, I’m not going to leave out Matthew James Thomas who did a good job with “Corner of the Sky” in the usually thankless leading titular role. I have to say I love this interpretation of Pippin. The carnival aspect of the show definitely took me by surprise when I first watched the previews. The original production was definitely a lot subtler and simplistic (in an effective way of course). But, theatre is about embracing different interpretations, not clinging on to the old productions. So, I believe what Diane Paulus and her team did with this was excellent and made sense. And, honestly, such a great, talented company. I can’t wait to watch this on bootleg!

kinky boots tony

    • KINKY BOOTS: When most people, including myself, began watching the Tonys, we expected the British import Matilda to dominate the same way Billy Elliot did. However, that wasn’t the case. Yes, Matilda still won 4 Tonys, but it was the supposed dark horse Kinky Boots that took the top honor Best Musical. This sort of surprise just made the night more exciting. And judging from other performances the cast has given on other shows and their performance of “Everybody Say Yeah” (which featured some cool treadmill choreography) tonight, I think this was a just win. Cyndi Lauper won Best Score, and looked so grateful and tearful accepting her award. It’s nice to see this global superstar so humble and gracious. Billy Porter won Lead Actor and gave one the strongest speeches of the night. (“I want to thank…my mother…you are the personification of true Christianity. Your willingness to embrace that which you don’t understand with unconditional love is a template that the world could benefit from employing. Your courage gives me life and I love you!”) It was a good night for the musical that will surely get a boost in ticket sales. The best part about all this is reading the bitter British presses try to bash Kinky Boots. Nice try.

cicely tyson tony

    • CICELY TYSON: And the award for the greatest speech in the history of awards goes to…the great Cicely Tyson. Let’s walk through this piece by piece. The nominations are called. Tyson is clearly nervous. She wants this. She wants this bad. Her name is called. The crowd goes wild. Most jump to their feet. Cecily stays seated, trying to take it all in. She finally stands, revealing a dress that’s made of nothing but extravagant purple ruffles. The announcer reveals that this is her FIRST Tony nomination and win. It takes her like 5 minutes to reach the stage. She gets a rousing standing ovation in the process. She reaches the mic, not holding the trophy. And she gives her speech in a slow, thoughtful delivery, with plenty of conviction. She takes in the moment. She starts out by talking about herself in the third person. She talks about how she’s last living member of her immediate family. She talks about how it’s been thirty years since she’s done stage work. She didn’t think it would happen again in her lifetime…but she had this burning to desire to just have “one more. One more great role, I said. I didn’t want to be greedy. I just wanted one more!” The audience laughs to this. She thanks the American Theatre Wing for welcoming her home. She takes a long pause before the music comes in. I’m already buying my ticket so I can fly to New York to murder the conductor that decided to play this living legend off. But then she recovers like the pro she is. “Please wrap it, they say…Well that’s exactly what you did with me. You wrapped me up in your arms after 30 years. And now I can go home with a Tony!” She thanks the crowd and they give her another standing ovation. A great moment of television and probably my favorite of the year so far. I still have tears in my eyes. Now, how about we give her one more great movie role, so she can win an Oscar! (And, going off of that, let’s give Cyndi Lauper an Oscar so she can complete her EGOT!)
    • EMPIRE STATE OF MIND: The show ends with NPH doing his usual “recap” of the show with lyrics that were probably written a mere minutes before it happened. He rapped it to Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” with Audra McDonald singing the chorus. Even when she’s not nominated, she’s still fabulous. She ends with a gif-worthy mic drop.

Overall, this was a great night filled with wonderful performances and funny bits in between. I think the only I didn’t like was the characters from previous musical introducing the newer musicals’ performances. (Like Spiderman…I didn’t get that.) But, otherwise, the Tonys prove why it’s better than the other award shows out there. Thanks for reading!

2013
06/10
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2013 Oscars Talk (That’s All Folks!) – 10 Favorite Moments From the Ceremony


2013 oscars

I’ve always liked watching awards. It’s so silly…I don’t understand why we obsess over millionaires getting more exposure and recognition than they already do…but we do. I’ve been following the Oscars seriously for the last four years and I have to say, without a doubt, this has been the most exciting race in a while. Argo‘s sweep after the Direction snub has been darn right inspiring and it’s been fun seeing early Oscar bait front runners Lincoln and Les Miserables knocked down a peg. I’m not saying those two movies were undeserving…but it’s nice to see the little guy win. And it’s nice to see Ben Affleck vindicated after years of ruthless criticism (more on that later).

So…you all have probably read a billion things on the net about the Oscars and the race. And…honestly…I don’t think you need much more from me. So, I think I’m just going to go through some of the moments I enjoyed from this overall great Oscar ceremony.

PS…I got a 15/24 on my Oscar predix. So…yeah…pretty bad (seriously…BRAVE?? Lincoln for Production Design??). However, I have to say, I’m most proud that I got Supporting Actor right. I don’t really understand why so many people were predicting Robert deNiro (despite the fact that he hadn’t won anything beforehand). But…I’m glad I wasn’t pressured by those people. Same goes for my Jennifer Lawrence prediction. A BAFTA win does not an Oscar win make.

For a full list of winners, click here. 

Anyway…onto the list…

les miz live

1. Musical Tributes: It would have been nice if more musical movies from the 21st century had been represented - Moulin Rouge, even the criminally non-nominated Hairspray would have been neat. But there’s no denying the impact Chicago and Dreamgirls have had on the genre, so I appreciated the performances. Catherine Zeta Jones danced her way through “All That Jazz” and did great despite her lip synching (seriously, I don’t get why people have a shit when someone lip syncs.) However, Jennifer Hudson stole the show with a powerful “And I am Telling You” that deservedly earned her an easy standing ovation and reminded people that her Oscar is no fluke. We ended things with the Les Miz cast performing “Suddenly” and the medley live. Yes, there were a couple awkward beats but, man, I found this performance incredibly endearing and brave. I really admire that despite all the overwhelming (and sometimes unnecessary) criticism Russell Crowe has gotten, he still got out there and sang it out (to some applause). Anne Hathaway, Samantha Barks and Aaron Tveit of course stood out the same way they did in the movie. And…Eddie Redmayne…sort of has a sexy baritone going on. Rowr. (I’m straight!)

2. Ted and the Tie: Ted was, without a doubt, the funniest movie last year so I personally loved his segments with Mark Wahlberg, esp. his first one where he  begs the audience to tell him where the big post Oscar Hollywood orgy would be held (Jack Nicholson’s house!) What was more extraordinary was the rare and surprising tie that occurred in Sound Editing. Unfortunately, I didn’t predict either of the winners so I feel doubly foolish. Fortunately, Zero Dark Thirty didn’t walk away empty handed. (It should have won the Film Editing Oscar though…)

3. Anne Hathaway: Was I little teary eyed when my princess diary won the Oscar? Uh…ya. I was afraid for a second. She needed this Oscar. Like…she would not have survived three more hours without that Oscar. In all seriousness, I’m not sure why people hate Hathaway so much. She is the one celebrity that has not done ANYTHING wrong. Yeah, she is a little high strung, but she’s also passionate and it’s nice seeing a winner seem so happy and blessed over an Oscar. Her speech was simple, undramatic and short. What more do people want? Hating Hathaway is getting old (especially behind a computer screen)…find a new hobby.

adele

4. Adele: I’m about to say something weird. When a singer is performing…I sort of like it when the orchestra (background music) is louder than the actual singer. I’m not being sarcastic or anything. I just like the effect. Maybe I’m just someone who naturally appreciates orchestration. I dunno. But…that being said, I completely dug Adele’s performance. Adele performed wonderfully…but, honestly, I appreciated hearing the orchestration which is absolutely beautiful. On top of that, she deservedly won the Oscar for Best Song with Paul Epworth. If I could watch nothing more than her acceptance speeches for the rest of my life, I would be pretty content. She’s amazing. OK, enough gushing.

5. Chicago Reunion + Mychael Danna: Part of my project of watching every Oscar nominated movie from the last ten years, I had just finished re-watching Chicago last weekend. I absolutely love the movie so it was nice seeing Gere, Zellweger, Latifah, and Zeta Jones present together (although, Oscar nominee John C. Reilly was noticeably absent). Gere’s hair is a little whiter but, otherwise, they look exactly the same than they did 10 years ago (esp. Queen Latifah who hasn’t changed since U.N.I.T.Y.) On top of that, it was absolutely lovely seeing Mychael Danna win. One, because the score in Life of Pi was truly the best. But also, because I’ve always been a huge fan of his other work (The Sweet Hereafter, Avonlea among many many other things). It’s nice that this humble Canadian musician finally got some recognition.

6. Quentin Tarantino: He’s another person I like seeing accept an award. He always looks so excited and jazzed. And, even though he was third in my personal ranking, I’m still happy for him…and more importantly I’m happy I predicted him correctly when so many people were turning towards Amour (??). His tiny tribute to the other writers was also appreciated.

7. Ang Lee: What a nice, surprising win. I’ve mentioned this once in an earlier post, but I truly admire Lee. He is a chameleon. He has two Oscars…for two completely different movies. So extraordinary. He is humble and unassuming. And to think, there were some people who didn’t even think he’d be nominated. Not gonna lie though…I find it sort of funny how he’s won two Director awards for movies that didn’t win Best Picture. Kinda weird. Maybe next time! Also lastly, it was a good night for Life of Pi…

jennifer lawrence oscar

8. Jennifer Lawrence: This was an incredibly strong category, the strongest of the bunch. However, I’m really happy and proud that JLaw ended up the big winner. Let’s hope her career is leaning more towards Kate Winslet and not…cough cough…Reese Witherspoon. She’ll be fine! She’ll always have Hunger Games to lean back on! Anyway, she gave one of the strongest performances of the year. But, more than that, she has a great personality. She’s so to down to earth and real. And I’m really glad that the Hollywood machine hasn’t changed her or fazed her. I look forward to seeing more of her (and maybe more nominations?) Yes…the fall was tragic (I can certainly relate to that being incredibly clumsy myself), but she handled herself, gave a nice compact speech, and kicked ass at the press conference. Go her!

9. Daniel-Day Lewis: First, let’s discuss the bad ass way Meryl Streep announced the winner. Did she even open the envelope? Or did she just know? (Like everyone else in the world.) Nevertheless, it was exciting seeing a three time winner give Lewis his third Oscar. A perfect moment IMO. I always like his speeches. They’re just funny and fresh and…I really want him to do a comedy because he’s really funny!

10. Michelle Obama gives Ben Affleck his Oscar: Was it random? Yeah. I still love Obama and her bangs so I didn’t mind! I also didn’t mind seeing Argo win Best Picture. Like I mentioned early, this whole journey has been exciting t watch. Argo is a really great movie and, despite the Direction snub, makes a very worthy Best Picture winner. Ben Affleck has been incredibly gracious throughout this entire award season and seeing him ramble out his thank yous to beat the clock put a small tear in my eye. Ben Affleck has been getting acclaim for the last few years over his movies Gone Baby Gone and The Town…but this Oscar is solid proof of his “comeback” and…this win just created a nice Hollywood moment.

seth macfaRlane kristin chenoweth

And if I had to pick an “11th moment” it would be towards Seth MacFarlane’s hosting gig. Was he perfect? No. Were his jokes hit or miss? Yep. But he was better than the last few we’ve had…by a mile. Honestly, it seems silly to criticize MacFarlance for being too crude and crass. I mean…it’s Seth MacFarlane! We were expecting this, even if it was the Oscars. But, overall, I thought he did a great job. Not as great as Ellen, Jon Stewart (2nd gig) or even Chris Rock…but he was definitely better than Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, Anne Hathaway, James Franco and even Billy Crystal’s gig last year. I thought he opened the show well (I esp. liked the dance breaks featuring Charlize, Channing, JGL and Daniel Radcliffe…I wasn’t feeling the boob song…until he got to Kate Winslet!) and it was nice that he stayed with us throughout the ceremony. His last song “Here’s to the Losers” with Kristin Chenoweth was cute. And the Sound of Music gag was excellent. I think the best part was the fact that he didn’t try to pimp out his animated shows. In fact, I don’t think I remember a single reference to Family Guy which I appreciated. People seem to be mixed but I thought MacFarlane (and the ceremony as a whole) was at least an improvement  over the last few.

So…this is it. That’s all for this Oscar season. Time to move on to…THE EMMYS!!!! See ya then.

2013
02/25
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Favorite Moments of the Golden Globes (+an Update on the State of the Race)


Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I tell you Argo would walk away the big winner? We have to remember, when predicting these awards, that the Hollywood Foreign Press are, well, FOREIGN. So sometimes their winners reflect that. No, there was no way Maggie Smith was going beat Jennifer Lawrence. But I think if the voters had the choice between the “semi-International” Argo and the equally great, but more patriotic Zero Dark Thirty, they would choose Argo. 

For a full list of winners, click here. 

What I wasn’t expecting was Ben Affleck to pick up his second trophy for Direction. And, to a larger extent, I wasn’t expecting Lincoln to be so shut out (The only award it won was the expected Lead Actor in a Drama Movie for Daniel Day Lewis). But, like I mentioned before, Lincoln may be “too American” for the Academy…even if half the actors in the movie arent’t American.

For the most part, I liked a lot of the films/actors who won. Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain. Daniel Day Lewis, and Chrisophe Waltz, all deserved their wins. I feel more ambivalent towards Hugh Jackman and Les Miz beating Bradley Cooper and Silver Linings Playbook but the wins were far from shocking. I was very happy to see Quentin Tarrantino win for his screenplay among a sea of heavy competition. And I think it was cute that Mychael Danna won. I’ve always loved his work…particularly for The Sweet Hereafter and Road to Avonlea among many other things.

So what do these Golden Globes say about the competition for the more important award?:

  1. Daniel Day Lewis and Anne Hathaway are pretty much going to sweep their categories. Anne Hathaway may be on some thin ice because she totally “Kanye West-ed” the producer when he went up to the mic to accept the award for Best Motion Picture. But, I honestly think the only people who will make a really big deal out of that are people who irrationally hated her in the first place.
  2. Supporting Actor is still very much up in the air. Imagine if Leonardo Dicaprio had won. That would have made the race even more exciting. Right now, Waltz, Hoffman and, yes, Jones have a slight bump…but it’s still anyone’s game.
  3. Lead Actress is still “Lawrence vs. Chastain” because they both won their respective categories. And considering Riva wasn’t nominated for the Golden Globes and the SAGs, she is still a very possible dark horse for the Oscar, thanks to the many surprise nominations Amour received.
  4. Best Director is more competitive than ever. I actually hope Ben Affleck wins the DGA…then we’ll really be biting our nails by Oscar night.
  5. For the first time since Driving Miss Daisy, a film (cough cough Argo) could win Best Picture without a Best Director nomination may still win Best Picture. Think about it.

That’s all for now. When the guild awards announce their winners, we may get a better idea as where the buzz is heading.

The TV Awards were a lot less exciting. One, because the Emmys already happened. And two, because the wins were, for the most part, expected. If my #1 prediction didn’t win, you can bet your ass my #2 won. Homeland swept all their categories except Supporting Actor. I have to admit though: the Girls wins were pretty surprising…but not really at the same time. The Globes love new shows and young winners. They killed two birds with one stone.

Last, let’s discuss some moments I loved more than vanilla cream cheese and store brand Wheat Thins.

  • Tina and Amy were amazing hosts. Was there any doubt that they wouldn’t be? That opening was unbelievable…probably the most hilarious opening I have ever seen on an awards show. The jokes aimed at James Cameron and James Franco (theme?) had me go nuts. Their delivery was pitch perfect. I wish they appeared a bit more throught…but, really, that opening monologue was almost too much. Hopefully they’re invited next year. Maybe the Oscars in 2014?
  • Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell presenting Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Movie probably got the biggest laugh out of me. It was essentially “Garth and Kat” + Ferrell, minus Fred Armisen. I just loved it and it sounded like the audience was feeling it also. They essentially did a bit where they pretended to watch all the movies so they would be prepared. They weren’t prepared…
  • Some of the acceptance speeches were really great. Jennifer Lawrence’s was refreshing and funny. Chastain’s was heartfelt and emotional. Anne Hathaway’s mini-tribute to Sally Field was very genuine. I actually like it when someone takes the time to write a speech and read it, so I appreciated Lena Dunham’s (even if I wasn’t too thrilled over her win). Adele’s win was nice. She’s always just…so COCKNEY when she wins an award. It’s hilarious.
  • Jodie Foster’s speech was also very nice. It was rambling. It was slightly confusing and jumbled. It was funny. It was cheeky. It was awkward. It was heartfelt. It was genuine. She came across as completely likeable and…I need to see more of her movies. I heart Flightplan is fun. I absolutely loved this moment.

I dreamed a dream doo doo doo doo

And then I went and had a sandwich.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I actually had a lot of fun watching this ceremony. And, I just gotta say that this is probably the most exciting Oscar season in a while. So…I can’t wait to discuss it more.

Also, yesterday was the blog’s two year anniversary. I decided not to do anything major. I just want to say thank you. Whether you’re a regular or you just happened to stumble upon this blog for the first time…thank you for reading. And here’s to another year!

2013
01/14
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2012 Emmys Recap!


So…that just happened. Can I be honest? Between late July and now, my interest level in the Emmys have dropped considerably. Like I came into this ceremony not really caring about…anything. I suppose that’s a good thing because there were one too many “wasted wins”. So…congrats you rich celebs! Let’s just go through this…THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY!

THE GOOD

  • The following wins: Damian Lewis (I was hoping Bryan Cranston would make history but Lewis was my second choice and it’s nice seeing an underdog win), Homeland (again, I was technically rooting for Breaking Bad, but, by golly, this was a spectacular first season and I’m glad something beat Mad Men this year. Proud of the cast and crew.)
  • I actually liked the opening video. It was kind of cool seeing a nominated actress pop up, one after the other. Seeing a nude Lena Dunham eat cake in a stall was…interesting. And I did have a pretty big LOL moment when Heidi, Howie, Tom, Ryan and Jeff popped up said they would host the show. It wasn’t as great as Jane Lynch’s last year. And it doesn’t even come close to the likes of Jimmy Fallon’s or Conan O’Brien’s…but I guess I have to appreciate the fact that Jimmy didn’t piggyback off those past hosts and do a song or put himself in other shows. It was a short and sweet opening.
  • Louis CK winning two Emmys. That was nice. He won his first Emmy for writing which was a slight disappointment considering I thought the script he submitted was pretty weak compared to some of the others. But Louie CK writes every episode on his show so I’ll say this Emmy represents his solid work along the season. I’m just glad he walked away with an Emmy. It would have been tragic if he had been snubbed this year.
  • Sofia Vergara happily chanting “BRAVO!!” to her co-star Julie Bowen after she won, showing how great of a sport Vergara is. I suspect her time will come soon.
  • During the “Best Direction in a Comedy Series” clip package, the directors are asked who make the best directors. Lena Dunham’s “Jewish Men?” had me chuckle.
  • Despite the fact that I was pretty angry with Modern Family dominating again, their clip package involving a badass Lily was funny. Funniest quip: “Can anyone understand what [Sofia Vergara's] saying?”
  • Melissa McCarthy going over the Lead Actors in a Comedy Series (Alec Baldwin has great chest hair, Jim Parsons is smooth like a baby.) She’s such a funny lady on such an unfunny TV show!

THE BAD

  • The following wins: Eric Stonestreet (although his slight pro-gay rights message was appreciated), Julie Bowen (which means Kristen Wiig has ZERO Emmys for her work on SNL. ZERO!!!), Steve Levitan for Directing in a Comedy Series, Modern Family (so, yeah, pretty much anything having to do with Modern Family), Jon Cryer (although his utter disbelief didn’t make the whole moment seem too terrible), Maggie Smith (she’s excellent on Downton Abbey, but in such a strong year for supporting actresses, did she really need another Emmy?), Kevin Costner (Really? Really.),

THE UGLY

  • Last year’s Emmys was so great because they had these beautifully edited clip packages for all the actors nominated. This year, they had nothing for the comedy actors, and barely anything for the drama/Movie actors. C’mon! Remind us one last time why these actors are great!

AND THE OUTSTANDING

  • The following wins: Aaron “Freakin’” Paul!!! (Deserved a second win through and through! I love how passionate and intense his speeches are. As great as Esposito is, I don’t think he should win just because his character dies), Claire Danes (“Mandy Patinkin. HOLLA!”), Julianna Moore (and pretty much all the love Game Change got was fantastic)
  • Y’know, I was really rooting for Amy Poehler to finally get a golden baby, but I absolutely adore Veep and I think Julia Louis Dreyfuss was still deserving. That little skit she created with Amy Poehler was hilarious and genius and was definitely the brightest moment of the entire night. Amy Poehler continues to have such a great attitude despite her continual losses. Let’s cross our fingers for next year.
  • Again, Jon Stewart’s 10th win was pretty disappointing. What made it better was Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert pulling Stewart back to prevent him from getting on the stage. And what followed was a pretty earnest speech from Stewart, giving props to all the other nominees in particular. I don’t think Jon Stewart should pull a “Candice Bergen” and drop out of the race, but I really hope next year someone new can win. I hope this every year and it never happens!

Overall, I can’t say this was a great Emmy night. It was so-so. Some great funny little bits, a couple deserving winners, a few undeserving ones. Jimmy Kimmel was a fun host, but I think he could have been better. But…who am I kidding? I’m just glad this is all over! Goodnight!

2012
09/24
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2012 Tony Awards (10 Favorite Moments)


Although, this summer, I’m pretty much devoting most of my time to the Emmys (expect prediction posts to be coming either tonight or tomorrow). I thought it was fair to at least acknowledge last night’s Tony Awards (even though I literally have not seen ANY of the shows…I haven’t even watched the movies the musicals are based on…except Once). So, without further ado, here are 10 moments I loved from the ceremony!

  1. Neil Patrick Harris - I think I agree with some people who say Harris’s third attempt was a little stale. He sort of does the same “schitck” over and over again. But, hey, it’s funny schtick and I enjoyed myself a lot. I thought the opening number about what life would be like if it was more like theatre (pretty much exclusively musical theatre). It featured cameos from 30 Rock‘s Patti Lupone, Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson as NPH’s “understudy”, Amanda Seyfried (“Mama Mia!”) and that little girl who will play Annie in the fall. (By the way, is anyone else excited for that?) I also loved his little tribute to the award winning  scores from the last 50 or so years. It was very impressive. And of course, I always like the closing number where Neil sings about the night. So…overall, I think Harris was great…but I think it’s time for another new host next year.
  2. Newsies - Newsies only walked away with two awards (score and choreography), but at least they showed that they deserved those two awards with this incredibly energetic performance, featuring Tony nominated Jeremy Jordan (Keke Palmer’s usual white love interest from Joyful Noise.) I just thought the choreography was slamming. I loved the thing they did with the newspapers. That was like unnecessarily awesome. It’s like…they didn’t need to do that…but they did, anyway. And just all the gymnastics and…it was really amazing.
  3. Spider-Man - No, not Andrew Garfield (I’ll get to that later), but NPH dangling on a wire upside down as class act Angela Lansbury and Ted Chapin talk about the Tony organization. “Thank you for your undivided attention”. So funny! I loved it. Rewound like 10 times.
  4. Guy Love - Andrew Garfield and Christian Borle were both nominated for  Featured Actor in a Play. They were both pretty much the front runners, but only one could win. Who won? It was Christian Borle, the gay guy from Smash (the most prominent gay guy I mean). And before Borle got on the stage, he and Garfield shared a really adorable hug. I didn’t even know these two knew each other but OK. As for Borle winning…even though I haven’t seen Peter and the Star catchers, I’m so happy for the actual actor. He’s a great Broadway performer. He was great in Spammalot and, more importantly, Legally Blonde the musical. So I’m happy he’s finally getting his due. And the show itself also sweeped up four technical awards, making it the most awarded play for that night.
  5. Lead Performers in a Play - Weren’t the winners just adorable? Brit James Corden won for the play One Man, Two Guvnors. He not only got to perform a small monologue (which was pretty crazy), but his speech was just too cute. First, he has the cutest little English accent I’ve ever seen. It’s like scratchy, like a 4 year old in the morning. And then the dedication to his “baby mama” was pretty baller. Afterwards, Nina Arianda won for Lead Actress in a Play for Venus in Fur. She began her speech by telling presenter Christopher Plummer he was her first crush and that his whistle blowing from Sound of Music was a highlight. It was hilarious. I just overall loved how excited and happy they were for winning.
  6. Les Miserables - Yes! A highlight for me was watching the short trailer for the upcoming musical movie. I dunno ’bout you, but I think Anne Hathaway is very very talented and I’m really looking forward to this movie, which will also have Hugh Jackman and Amanda Seyfried (and NOT Taylor Swift thank God. I love her music, but she is not a “singer”). So…I’m putting it on this list.
  7. Clybourne Park - It seemed like the seemingly cute Peter and the Starcatcher would win for Best Play, but, instead, it went to Pulitzer Prize winning Clybourne Park. Of course I haven’t seen the show, but I did read the play, particularly because A Raisin in the Sun is literally my favorite work of literature. (CP is sort of a midquel and sequel to the Lorrainse Hansberry play) So, I’m happy the show pulled off an upset and ended up winning the big one, despite only 4 nominations and no other wins. It doesn’t make up for the fact that ARIS lost Best Play during their year, but…it’s still nice I suppose.
  8. Once and Porgy and Bess - If there were two shows I’d see on Broadway this season, it’d be these two, and their respective wins and ceremony performances confirmed that. Steve Kazee and the Once company performed “Gold” and everything about it was lovely. The instrumentals, the lighting, the subtle choreography, and even Cristin Milloti slowly wandering around until she finds her way to Guy (Kazee). (FUN FACT: Milloti was that “sexy girl” from that hilarious 30 Rock episode “TGS Hates Women”. So you can say that Fey discovered her first sorta). It was spellbinding. The Porgy and Bess performance was filled with songs we all had probably heard, yet didn’t know where they came from. It featured Audra McDonald performing a sweet, operatic version of “Summertime,” Norm Lewis singing “I Got Plenty of Nothing,” and David Alan Grier performing “It Aint Necessarily So,” along with the company doing a fun little dance. There were other good performances from the night, including the before mentioned Newsies, but also Follies,  Leap of Faith, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and Evita. I didn’t particularly like Ghost, Godspell or the cruise ship Hairspray. But Once and Porgy and Bess won the night for me (and, more importantly, they won best for Best Musical and Revival respectively).
  9. Book of Morman - The opening number with the cast singing “Hello” was a lot of fun, especially the beginning when they went into the dressing rooms of certain actors like James Earl Jones and Cynthia Nixon. However, the real treat was Matt Stone and Trey Parker presenting Best Musical, making fun of the fact that had now become a part of Broadway elite. It was probably the funniest thing of the night, behind the Spider Man gag earlier in the ceremony.
  10. Steve and Audra - Steve Kazee winning for Best Actor in a Musical was somewhat of a surprise for me. I thought it would go to like Jeremy Jordan or even Norm Lewis. But Kazee ended up taking the big prize and really made everyone in the audience (and at home) cry from his dedication to his mother who died of cancer on Easter Sunday. It was beautiful and heartfelt and any small malice the other actors felt for losing was immediately lost with his beautiful tribute to his mother, his costar and his company. Now with that win, it seemed like Cristin Milloti had a chance at winning. Instead, clear favorite Audra McDonald won and not even Milloti, who immediately and graciously gave McDonald a standing O, could be too disappointed over the loss. I surely wasn’t. McDonald, at age 40, has become one of Broadway’s greatest stars. She had already won 4 Tonys, and it’s simply amazing that she finally won a Leading Actress award – her fifth! Her speech was moving, a little hilarious and I think everyone’s eyes went blurry when she told her daughter that giving birth to her was the best day of her life. AWWW!

So, overall, it was a good night for theatre. Neither the ceremony or the shows presented seem as good as they were last year, this was still a great night and I just love theatre and Broadway so much…

Now onto the Emmys! 

2012
06/11
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My Oscars 2012 Reactions Post (part 1 or 2)


Tonight, I’m just going to quickLY discuss the winners and losers. Tomorrow or sometime next week, I’ll make a longer post about what I thought of the actual ceremony/Billy Crystal and the Oscar season as a whole.

FOR THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS, CLICK HERE.

First…for the dependable readers out there, I want to apologize for not posting predictions. And, really, I want to apologize for not being as invested in the 2012 movie season as I was last year. This week, I was contracted with an ugly case of the stomach flu, so I’ve pretty much spent the week lying in bed, groaning, holding my stomach, vomiting at the vomit stank coming out of my trash bag. So…I didn’t really have time to post predictions. And, frankly, I didn’t have much of a mind to think about who I would have predicted for a lot of the categories.

Like for the Screenplay categories. It’s not shocking that The Descendants and Midnight in Paris won. However…would I have predicted that? I dunno…I think I would have predicted The Artist for Original and thrown a curve ball and predicted Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for Adapted. But…who knows? I think all four of these films are wonderful so I would have been happy either way. Actually…I would have been happiest with Bridesmaids winning. Think of it…”Oscar Winner, Triangle Sally”. So great. However, The Descendants may very well be my favorite movie of the year so I was very happy to see it win for Screenplay…esp. since Community’s Jim Rash shared the prize. (And he was pretty hilarious tonight…more on that another time).

As much as I loved The Descendants and George Clooney’s performance…the right leading actor won. Jean Dujardin was brilliant in The Artist. He was funny. He showed so much emotion with his face. He proves that you can be silent for a full movie and still be genius. And he was. And…after appearing on SNL, he’s pretty much the coolest person ever. I’m not gonna lie…it would have been cool if his co-star Berenice Bejo had won for her category…but I’m just glad The Help has an Oscar and Octavia Spencer’s performance is a good representation for the film and its many great performances. And…let’s admit it. Christopher Plummer had to win. End of story.

Speaking of The Help…I have very mixed feelings concerning Viola Davis losing. Viola Davis gave the best female performance of the year. She was my personal pick…and I thought the Oscar was hers. However…Meryl Streep is friggin’ amazing in EVERYTHING she does, and I’m very glad that she won her third Oscar, and that I was alive to see it. I was actually very giddy when Colin Firth initially called out her name. And I still am. But…this will always be a bittersweet moment for me (well…until Viola wins in the future hopefully). I know a lot of people are happy about this and I’m right there with them. But…if I was the one to pick…I still would have given it to Davis. Oof.

Anyway, onto the two other big awards. Y’know…Hugo won a lot of technical awards in the beginning of the ceremony (including Cinematography and Visual Effects wtf), so I thought that Martin Scorcese (take a swig of vodka) would win. So I was little surprised that Michel H-whatever won for The Artist…but not really. The Artist also won for Best Picture. There isn’t much to say about the win. It’s been the favorite since the beginning of the season. It’s a deserved win…I have no problem with it. I don’t really like silent films, but I loved this movie. So…go it.

For the most part…the rest of the wins weren’t shocking. Rango and A Separation won for their respective categories. (OK, maybe it was a little shocking that A Separation won because a lot of time, Foreign Language film is unpredictable…but A Separation was so huge this year that the voters couldn’t resist . Some people even think it should’ve been nominated for Best Film…I haven’t seen it so I’ll have to wait and see if I agree with that.) But, really, most of the wins were safe…

…except for one. And that is Best Film Editing. This is an important category because it’s been a LONG while since a film has won Best Picture…without at least getting nominated for this category. So for people (like me and nerds) who are obsessed with movie awards, this is a very important category. Many thought that either The Artist or Hugo would win. Even The Descendants winning wouldn’t have been too shocking. But, instead, the Academy really went out on a limb and gave Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. This doesn’t really make up for the movie getting snubbed Picture and Direction…but it’s still pretty nice!

Check back later for my review of the ceremony and my closing thoughts on this Oscar season. Thanks for reading!

Also…I have a message for the Meryl Streep fans…don’t be stupid. Don’t be smug. You got your way. Meryl won. Don’t be political. Don’t make comments like “I’m glad voters gave it to the best performance, and not for the actress with the darkest skin”. Seriously let’s not play this. You’re not speaking for Streep when you make idiotic comments like that. You’re only speaking for your stupid self. Be happy. Rejoice! But…don’t be stupid.

And Viola fans…don’t be stupid also. Don’t talk about how racist the Oscars are and all that junk. Be sad because you thought the BEST ACTRESS lost tonight…not because another black actress lost.

2012
02/27
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2012 Grammys Recap (The Great, The Good, and the “Ugh”)


The tough thing about having a blog is that when you want to recap an important awards ceremony, you have to post it as early as possible (late night or early morning) so you can take advantage of the buzz and receive the most views. The tough thing about having a blog, not being paid to blog, and being a full time college student, is that a lot of times you have to choose between sleeping at a reasonable hour or spending two hours writing a post. I chose sleeping. So I’m sort of disappointed this recap is coming so late. Hopefully, people are still excited about the Grammys that they’ll give this write up a chance.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS HERE. (it’s a wikipedia page…)

Now let’s go through the great moments, the good moments, and the moments that made me go “UGH”!

GREAT!!!!

  • ADELE! Everything about Adele was great tonight! She was 6 for 6, tying Beyonce for the most wins for a female artist in a single night. And, I must say, for the most part, all those wins were very deserving. Her speeches were cute, yet gracious (I loved how she mentioned snot running down her nose during her Album of the Year speech. SO CUTE!) And her “Rolling in the Deep” performance was definitely a comeback. It was huskier than usual, and she definitely had some nerves…but that just made the performance have more weight. Here’ s hoping she strikes the same gold with “24″, “25″, or “26″.
  • I have to put it in the category. Foo Fighters performance of “Walk” was SLAMMIN’! It’s such a good song. I’m really glad they ended up winning an award that night. And even though David Grohl’s speech (and how it ended) was slightly cringe worthy, that still doesn’t take away how effin’ awesome this performance was.
  • First The Civil Wars performs a soulful and tender “Barton Hollow” (they also won a Grammy earlier that night). It was perfect and I wish it was longer. Then Taylor Swift (who rightly won two Grammys for Country Song and Performance) blows most of the acts away with “Mean”. I loved everything about it. Her strumming the banjo, the sway-like dance moves, the overall staging, the set, and, really, this was one of her strongest live vocal performances. Standing ovation well deserved! Both these acts were definite highlights. I just wish Swift had won for Country Album, but I don’t begrudge Lady A for  taking the title.
  • Honestly, I did not know who Glen Campbell was, but for a guy with Alzheimer’s, his performance of “Rhinestone Cowboy” was really good. It only got better when The Band Perry and Blake Shelton joined him. This is how you create a lively and entertaining tribute performance. They all just looked like they were having the time of their lives.
  • I feel sort of bad categorizing Jennifer Hudson’s tribute to Whitney Houston but…really, her performance of “I Will Always Love You” was beautiful. 98% of the viewers agreed. To the 2% who found anything wrong with this performance…you can fudge yourself…right in your pants. She was great. It wasn’t pitch perfect. But she was emotional. I mean, if you remember, Whitney Houston presented Jennifer Hudson with her first Grammy. So this was probably hard for Hudson, especially at such short notice. But Hudson was respectful and Houston would be proud. This was the tribute Houston needed that night. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Good

  • Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band definitely began things on the right note with a lively performance of “We Take Care of Our Own”. I need to listen to this band more. When I stumble upon one of their performances, I usually enjoy them.
  • LL Cool J was definitely a competent host. His beginning monologue was really well done. Beginning with a prayer in honor of Whitney Houston, and ending with lively call outs to artists in the audience. Overall, he did a good job.
  • Bruno Mars also did a good job, picking things up with an incredibly lively and skilled performance of “Runaway Baby”. I loved it when he told the audience to get off their “rich asses”. Bruno Mars is such an amazing artist. He can sing, he can write music, he can perform, and he’s a pretty sweet dancer. I don’t think he gets all the recognition he deserves.
  • OK, there was a slight microphone mishap towards the end, but, otherwise, the duet between Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean was solid and beautiful throughout. Those harmonies just killed. And hey that technical difficulty at the end created a great comedic moment between the two.
  • The Rihanna/Coldplay showcase was good. I think there was something wrong with each section. I’m not even convinced that middle duet between Chris Martin and Rihanna was necessary, but, I like both songs so much that I couldn’t help but enjoy it.
  • I liked Katy Perry’s performance. Nothing special, but not train-wrecky either. After E.T., I seriously thought that was a technical issue, but apparently it wasn’t. I’m very impressed with how that was set up.
DISAPPOINTING
  • Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED the duet between Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt in honor of Etta James (who also died this year), and it was so refreshing they chose to sing the lesser known “A Sunday Kind of Love”, as opposed to the over sung “At Last”. But…I’m putting it in this category because I don’t think it was necessary to call out Whitney Houston, even if she had died less than 24 hours prior. They should have just made this moment about Etta. It’s tough…they had good intentions…but I can’t help but feel disappointed. But, still, beautiful, simple duet!
  • OK…I don’t condone guys hitting girls. And I don’t condone the fact that so many fan girls are posting on twitter how much they want Chris Brown to hit them. It’s stupid. But, honestly, I’ve forgiven Chris Brown. What he did was stupid and that dark cloud will always hang above his head. However, I think we should just move on and let him continue making music. No one’s forcing anyone to buy his music or listen to him. If you see him on TV, you can turn it off and come back in 5 minutes. That being said, I think he did a nice job performing. He really is a strong dancer. I just have a problem with the fact he won Best R&B Album. Kelly Price, Ledisi or even El Debarge would have been more worthy. I feel like in this case, the voters just went with the more recognizable name. But I did appreciate how humble he felt during the speech. But I don’t think he should be winning awards.
  • Where’s Kanye and Jay-Z? WHERE?? They won! Where were they?!
  • Yeah, the Nicki Minaj performance of “Roman Holiday” was a complete and utter mess and failure. I’m more disappointed than angry though. I think Minaj tried way too hard. I felt like the theatrics distracted us from actually hearing the real song. I could tell that Minaj really wanted this to be a memorable performance. It was memorable…but for all the wrong reasons. Minaj…you don’t need to be a black Lady Gaga. Even my 60 year old parents think you shouldn’t try to be like Lady Gaga (again, they’re 60). Watch your “Superbass” video. Remember a simpler time. Don’t go too nuts. OK, babe?
  • Some disappointing wins include Skrillex beating Robyn in the Dance categories, Corinne Bailey Ray beating Ledisi in R&B performance, Kanye West’s ”All The Lights” beating some other more deserving songs in various categories (kill me), and Betty White beating Tina Fey‘s “Bossypants” for Spoken Word Album.
  • Overtime? C’mon!

UGH BLAH!

  • Sorry, the whole Beach Boys tribute thing was just…dull, uninspiring, boring. Was it the songs? Was it the performance? I suppose if I was 20 years older and white, maybe I would like this more. But, from where I was sitting, I was just waiting for this all to be over. Why couldn’t Foster the People perform “Pumped Up Kicks”?
  • Apply my above words to the various Paul McCartney performances throughout the night. I just…don’t…care.
  • I’m sorry but Tony Bennett has to be here. Not only did he undeservedly win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for that boring song with Amy Winehouse beating Foster the People and Coldplay. But his performance of “It Had to be You” with Carrie Underwood was also pretty dull. I know it sounds like I generally dislike Bennett. I don’t. I just like it when he’s singing more upbeat songs, like his fun duo with Haley Reinhart during the American Idol finale. Or his duet with Lady Gaga “Lady is a Tramp”. When he sings this soapy, sappy stuff, I can’t help but fall asleep. Well…what do I know? The audience seemed to love it more than I do.

OK…and last note. I have to say that I sort of found it refreshing that the winners shown in the telecast didn’t try to pull the contrived “Whitney Houston inspired me” shtick. I think if Adele had gone down that route it would have turned phony. Actually, I quite liked most of the speeches. Bon Iver lost me for a second but he got back on track.

But, overall, I thought this was a fine ceremony. I’m glad to see it did so well in the ratings. Thanks for reading this long post. And…stay tuned for Oscar recap coming in a couple weeks. Thanks!!!

2012
02/14
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Golden Globe Winners Announced! (Musings on ceremony and Road to the Oscars)


OK…this post is going to be a doozy. There’s a lot to process. So, first let’s talk about the TV awards, since they’re less important for obvious reasons.

There weren’t too many surprises in my opinion. Downton Abbey, Modern Family, Jessica Lange, Peter Dinklage, Idris Elba, Kate Winslet (thank God!), Matt LeBlanc (c00l), and Claire Danes (sweet) won as planned, and I got all those predictions right. And, for the most part, these wins are OK. I did predict that Kelsey Grammer would win for Boss. I’m sure Bryan Cranston is crying behind his three Emmys. Are the Globes like trying to make a statement by not awarding Cranston? I can’t be mad yet. I really haven’t watched Boss. But I can’t help but feel a little sad that the best male dramatic performer lost. Even Damien Lewis would have been sweet. But, again, I can’t complain.

And, hey! At least Homeland won for Best Drama Series. That shocked me out of my mind! I am so happy. I did not predict that to be honest, but I’m very pleased I was wrong in the end. Homeland had an amazing first season, and despite the fact that there are a couple other drama shows I prefer, I wouldn’t mind seeing this show win the big one come September. So proud of them.

Another win that shocked me was Laura Dern’s. I did have her at second, but I thought this was clearly Zooey Deschanel’s to lose. Like Kelsey Grammer’s win, I can’t in all fairness be disappointed because I haven’t seen Enlightened yet. (I’m going to watch the pilot after I finish this post). But…eh…I have nothing else to add to this.

What does this mean for Emmys? It’s still very early to be honest. Big players like 30 Rock and Mad Men have not really aired their newest seasons yet (well, 30 Rock aired one episode, but still too early). However, it looks like Modern Family is a front runner for another win. It looks like Homeland will do very well (including Claire Danes). And Lead Actor in a Comedy Series is open as ever because LeBlanc’s show Episodes won’t air their next season until summer. Again, it’s so early. I guess now’s not the time to think about the Emmys. Moving on…

The movie wins were technically a little more shocking because I got more of my predictions wrong…but not really. The winners were pretty much by the book. I thought Michel Hazanavicius would win Best Director for The Artist but, really, Martin Scorcese winning for Hugo wasn’t scandalous at all. I thought the team from The Descendants would win for Best Screenplay, but Woody Allen is Woody Allen so of course he still had a fair shot and he ended up winning for the wonderful Midnight in Paris. I thought Jessica Chastain would win for The Help, but she was beaten by her costar Octavia Spencer. Not that big of a deal. I thought Hugo would win for Best Drama…but The Descendants got the prize. The Ides of March winning would have been crazy. The Descendants? Not so much.

But A Separation, Christopher Plummer, Michelle Williams, JeanDujardin, George Clooney, and The Artist won as planned and I predicted all of them. I also predicted that Tintin and Meryl Streep would win Globes…but maybe I’m a little surprised by their wins, especially Streep’s. After the Critics choice awards, I thought maybe Viola Davis would be the one to beat…but I knew right. I knew the HFPA loved their Streep. But can I say…I love watching Streep accept awards. She’s so funny and lighthearted. And I loved how she gave shout outs to actresses who weren’t nominated. So awesome, Streep!

Which brings me to my next point…the Oscar nominees will be announced on the 24th. Less than 10 days from now. We gotta start predicting. My predictions will be coming soon, but let’s keep in mind how open this race is. Like…I think The Artist will win Best Picture, but clearly The Descendants and Hugo are still big players. Those three movies are the real locks for a nomination. But, y’know, I will announce my predictions soon.

As for the actual ceremony. Everything went smoothly…well except when the microphone went out during the announcing of the Supporting Actor in a TV Program nominees. That was embarrassing. But, overall, it was a fine ceremony. Ricky Gervais was hilarious yet again in his opening. His zings towards Eddie Murphy were hilarious. And I loved when he said that Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler played all the roles on The Help.

I also enjoyed watching Tina Fey, William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman present. They were especially funny. I thought the acceptance speech for Modern Family was very funny. The tribute to Morgan Freeman was good…except for Helen Mirren who sort of bombed. I knew it. She knew it. The audience knew it. Let’s just get it out of the way.

But, overall, this was a nice show. No shocking winners, but, hey, I’m sure The Oscars won’t be any better. Thanks for reading! And be sure to check back later for my Oscar and SAG Award predictions!

2012
01/15
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Miss America 2012 (Talent Recap)


So last year, I recapped the 2011 Miss America, and it was one of my most read posts. So, hopefully, this post gets me a bunch of views also. I don’t really have many different general  musings that are different from my last recap, so make sure to read that after reading this.

The talent portion is the only part I really care about. I mean, I love seeing hot chicks in bikinis, but this night was disappointing. No one fell. No one slipped. No one farted. No one did anything out of the ordinary. All 15 of the finalists were perfectly pleasant in their bikinis and gowns as they strutted down the stage. So…I don’t know how anyone can say one is better than the other in that respect. But the talent is a lot of fun, and I feel like it’s fairly easy to pick out the best talent from a sea of “OK-ness”. So, let’s do that. This is a talent recap, y’all!

PS…this is stream of conscious. I was typing these as I was watching the show live.

Miss Arizona (Dance):

This was a sexy dance that really showed off her flexibility. Man, she looks scarily thin. She’s very tall and lanky, so some parts were a little awkward. She’s talented and she definitely did some impressive stuff. And she did a good job of showing off her flexibility. But honestly…she’s not the best dancer I’ve seen.

Miss Illinois (Ballet en Pointe)

This was an interesting piece. In the beginning and end, she does this weird “robot” dance thing that sort of fit the music, I guess. I liked her green tutu and her choice of music. I appreciate that she tried to be unique, but her moves are too slow and labored. And sort of lazy. I didn’t like this very much. We are not off to a good start.

Miss Oklahoma (Irish Step Dance)

OK…this is what I am talking about. I’m a sucker for a good Irish step dance. And…this is exactly what it is…good, not great. The beginning was a little sloppy, but in the end when she picked up speed, she really worked the crowd. In a nutshell, it got better as it went along.  Definitely best so far.

No singers yet? Weird.

Miss Texas (Piano)

“New World Symphony”. She plays along to a recorded orchestra symphony. I would have preferred if she had played alone. It’s a very messy (intentionally), but beautiful and skilled piece and performance. She did make a couple unintentional mistakes, but I’m going to say it came from her fiery, crazy passion. And I loved it…but not as good as Teresa Scanlan, last year’s winner.

Miss Wisconsin (Opera Singer)

She has some very nice high notes, but she’s sharp in a few places and sounds throaty in some places (esp. the beginning). And off key and pitchy. Maybe she was nervous. And that last note…uh oh. Am I being too harsh? Hey, I was in choir for eight years. I have an ear for these things.

Miss New York (Singer)

“Disneyland”. I…don’t really care for her voice that much. She sounds breathy…and out of breath at the same time. Again, maybe it’s just nerves. But she had one too many bum notes. There were some faint moments of inspiration, but overall, I was left underwhelmed. At least her last note was decent.

Miss Louisiana (Contemporary Dance en Pointe)

Ooh. This is interesting. I don’t hate the concept or idea…I just think the choreography is weak. Throughout, I was just hoping for more. I like her outfit, and I like her…but the mediocre choreography didn’t help her. She actually had potential.

Miss Tennessee (Opera Singer)

“Memory”. She has some of the same problems as the last opera singer…but this is more pleasant to listen to. The climax when she goes up an octave is pretty magical, and she stays on key throughout. And she nails the last note. She seemed very happy about that performance. She should. It was one of the better ones tonight.

Miss Iowa (Singer)

“You Raise Me Up” After the very good last performance, this was pretty disappointing. Her voice seems very thin and squeaky.I’m not sure if this was the best song for her. It’s too much for her. But…it was OK.

Miss California (Ballet en Pointe)

She dances “Black Swan”. This is quite good to be honest. I just realized…maybe the dances seem so underwhelming because the stage is so small. But still…this last dancer really worked it. I LOLed at the end when she pulled out the cape. I liked this.

Hm…does anyone else agree that the talent last year was stronger?? But I guess I did like that there was a greater balance between singers and dancers. But I have to say…the best talent was the piano player, Miss Texas. Miss Oklahoma and Miss Tennessee also stood out.

Other Stray thoughts about the program:

1. Is it just me or is Brooke Burke totally annoying? The girls that don’t make the “interview round” need to be seen, not heard. We don’t need to interview them every free second we get. I’m sick of all the “I’m just blessed to be here” responses.

2. I liked out how they introduced the girls this year. I like how it was pre taped on various occasions. And I like the choreography. I found myself dancing along. I liked it!

3. I have to say, and I don’t want to get too specific, but the top 5′s responses to the questions were strangely articulate and lacked any real controversy. There were questions concerning Occupy Wall Street, regulations of children’s nutrition, presidential candidates, and celebrities flaunting their religion (like Tim Tebow), yet all the responses were reasonable and fair. Although, honestly, the actual questions weren’t terribly controversial themselves

4. Last year’s Miss America looks great! Day-um!

5. What did everyone think of the moment when the remaining Miss America contestants chose their favorite to be apart of the top 13. I felt so sorry for Miss North Carolina in the middle. She clearly had the least supporters. It was embarrassing. She must be the “bitch of pageant”. Congrats, girl!

So Miss America 2012 is…Miss Wisconsin! (Laura Kappa-something)

This really means nothing to me. Neither New York or the state I grew up in won so these judges can go fudge themselves. So…good night. And thanks for reading!

2012
01/14
CATEGORY
awards
ceremony
current events
miss america
music
recap
reflection
review
television
tv
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ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!! Thoughts and Reflection


For part 1, click here.

Oh geez! First mistake of my second year. I was supposed to have this posted a day earlier. My actual anniversary is actually the 13th, not the 14th. But I somehow completely forgot. I guess the bad luck of Friday the 13th really got to me. So, I apologize.

Again, it’s just so cool that I’ve maintained this blog for a year. However, I’m going to begin this post on a downer. I think it’s fair that I discuss the disappointments from the last year. (These will be related to the site, not the many disappointments related to school or family or relationships that I encounter daily in real life). In terms of the number views that  I’ve had, or the number of comments I’ve received: I’m not disappointed. I was expecting maybe an average of 1000 views a month, but I’ve far far surpassed that figure (although last December I had one of my worst months in a while, but I’m still very pleased.)

I think I’m disappointed in myself and how I’ve ran the blog. Some things are inescapable. I’m not Alan Sepinwall or Michael Slezak. This isn’t my job. I go to college. I began this blog when I was sophomore, and now I’m a junior. So, it’s hard to post everyday. I don’t even have time to write little, tiny posts every day. I wake up at 9, come back to my dorm at 5, then sleep until 8…and then I watch a couple TV shows, and then do my homework until 2am, and then I crash and fall asleep again. Even weekends are tough. I was hoping that the summer would allow me to post more…but lo and behold, I got a summer job and that surprisingly took up a lot of my time. So…first and foremost, this wasn’t the “daily experience” I was hoping for. Although I’ve written over 200 posts in 365 days…I still see it as a disappointment.

My second disappointment is the lack of diversity in my posts. Obviously, I wanted to write about my personal favorite things. But there a lot of things I love besides Degrassi, Glee, Saturday Night Live, American Idol and The X Factor. I stopped my Glee recaps, and I don’t actually talk too much about Degrassi. It’s the last three that I do a lot of. Sometimes there would just be weeks where it would just be American Idol recaps, and then an SNL recap Sunday morning. The truth is, those posts are very easy to write (they take a long time, but don’t require much thought). But I don’t want this to be a niche site. In an earlier post I wrote about maintaining a site, I admit that having a site with a clear, direct focus gets you more viewers/a more committed reader base. Sometimes I consider just packing everything up and turning my site into Vote for the Worst. But I don’t want to turn into that. I want to be like the AV Club. I want to write about everything. Although I think I’ve covered all grounds (music, movies, television, awards) at least  few times each, I think this blog tends to be TV heavy, and only really focuses on a couple shows. I was hoping to write short reviews of Good Wife, 30 Rock, Breaking Bad episodes more consistently. But I didn’t. Oh well.

A third disappointment, and I’ve mentioned this before, is sometimes when I start a “series”, I don’t finish it. Like the 30 day song challenge, The Sopranos Countdown, and showcase my favorite children shows. I promise I’ll get to these. Don’t give up hope! But, it’s taking longer than I thought it would. This really connects with my first two points. Sometimes, I just don’t have time. And because SNL recaps are easy to write, I opt to write those instead of finishing these series. So…new years resolution time! I plan on finishing these. By December of 2012, these will be finished! Yeah!

OK, those things aside, I’m very proud with what I’ve accomplished. And I like how my site looks. It’s not perfect. But I like it. I think the best thing I’ve done is not be too negative. Obviously, if I’m talking about the Emmys or Oscars, I will be a little negative with some of the choices or whatever. But, at least I think so, everything I’ve written about has been something I enjoy to watch or follow. I respect the Oscar and Emmys and their choices…even if I don’t agree with them, I still think they’re great institutions. If I thought any less, I wouldn’t spend my time with them. It’s the same with TV shows. Yeah, I have my gripes about American Idol (cough cough the judges treatment towards Haley), but I enjoy watching the show. I genuinely like the talent, and I’m not sure if I want the show to end anytime soon. You don’t see me reviewing Jersey Shore, or the Work it premiere, or any of the Real Housewives. I don’t have an issue with other people’s guilty pleasures, but they don’t pleasure me (rowr). And I would never discuss why I hate these shows in depth. And I’m pretty sure in my 220+ episodes, I’ve never spent a significant amount of space discussing a show I hate and the reasons I hate it. I have a passion for everything I write about. And that’s exactly what I wanted this blog to be about. To try to get people to appreciate what I enjoy…not hate on something. (Although, if you hate anything I write about, I invite you to comment on it.)

So…is there anything else to write about? Well, in my very first post, I discussed two of my favorite TV shows. So, I think I’ll end this by revealing my favorite movie (since I’m trying to focus on more things outside television). For the longest time, I didn’t know what my favorite movie was. But now it’s easy for me to say. That is…In America. It follows the Sullivans, an Irish family who immigrate to New York City from Canada on a tourist visa. While they’re desperately trying to make ends meet, the memories of Frankie, the son of the family who died from a brain tumor, haunt their lives and affect their relationships. I remember first watching the movie when I was in 8th grade, and since then, I’ve gone to this movie when I feel sad/happy/anything. It’s an emotional, sentimental treat and it seems like most people have forgotten about it. But I haven’t. This movie has everything: humor, tears, great acting, and a great climax scene involving Samantha Morton in a hospital bed and her on screen husband Paddy Considine. Speaking of Samantha Morton, she was nominated for an Oscar. Djimon Hounsou was also nominated, along with movie’s original screenplay. But if you ask me, this movie shoulda been nominated for Best Picture, and Considine and young Sarah Bolger should have also gotten a nom for their performances. Such a great film.

Reading back, this review might sound like I’m a spokesperson for the film. But I swear I’m not. This movie is 10 years old and well into syndication so…there’s not much that can be done for it.

So…ONE YEAR! Here’s hoping for many more! And thank you all for reading! Let’s party by listening to Cimorelli’s “Dynamite” cover!

2012
01/14
CATEGORY
about me
academy awards
american idol
awards
ceremony
emmy awards
emmys
movie
music
reflection
review
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1 comment

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