Best Lost Episodes (so far)

This was really, really hard to do because there are so many episodes of this show that I love, and I had such a hard time limiting it to just 10. (I decided to only pick 2 of the season finales because almost all of them could go on here.) So after very careful deliberation here is what I came up with.

B&N Guessing Game- Saturday Night Edition!

Since I'm missing a game night because of Barnes And Noble, Let's make tonight's shift another guessing game. How many total customers will I have tonight? In order to count as one of my customers, they must purchase either a cd or dvd. I had six customers on Wednesday, but this time it's Saturday night! The place will be hopping. The winner will receive a prize.

Back to the Beginning: Revisiting Season 1 of Lost

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the primary writers of Lost, have stated that if there is one Season viewers should rewatch in preparation for the Series Finale, it’s the first season.  So being a good little Lost fan, I did just that.  I haven’t seen Season 1 since it was first aired 5 years ago, so the re-viewing experience was actually very beneficial because it reminded me of a lot that I had forgotten.  I was also struck by how perfect so many of the episodes of this show are.  The writers really know how to creatively and brilliantly tell a story.  Here are some thoughts and questions from Season one that might come into play for this final Season.

Leading up to Lost!

There is less than a week left until the premiere of Season 6 of Lost! I can’t contain my excitement anymore. Since I am insanely obsessed with this show, I’ve decided to post a couple of pre-season 6 musings. Favorite characters, favorite episodes, questions still left, etc. First is my favorite characters. One of the aspects of this show that I think is executed so well is character development. While the plot can sometimes be intricate and hard to follow, it is the characters that keep us drawn to the events and motivated to what the next episode even if we are completely lost. We may be stuck in a world where it’s hard to believe everything that happens, but these characters are real, believable people. These are my five favorites, the ones who have kept me invested the past five years.

American Idol Auditions: Dallas

A continuous topic for debate about this show is what makes it worth watching:  the contestants or the judges?  The judges (and specifically Simon Cowell) would argue that it’s supposed to be all about the contestants, and while yes, they are why we are ultimately watching the show, the judges play a big part in whether the show is enjoyable or not.  I think that was very clear tonight.  The contestants, thankfully, were better tonight than last night, but what made the show for me was that I really enjoyed watching Neil Patrick Harris.  He was entertaining, fun to watch arguing with Simon and had very constructive critical advice for the contestants.  Joe Jonas, on the other hand, what a waste of space.  And Kara—possibly becoming more annoying than Paula.  Maybe the good judges are the ones who aren’t in the music business themselves. 

So about the contestants:

Barnes And Noble Guessing Game

It's time for a little guessing game. Tonight I'll be working a 5 to close shift in the music/dvd section of Barnes and Noble. How many total customers will I have the entire night? This means they have to purchase something. Browsers do not count. If anyone guesses the exact amount, they will win a prize!

American Idol: An Episode That Doesn't Even Deserve A Photo

To commemorate the one week anniversary of perhaps the worst audition episode in American Idol history, Fox decided to air another candidate for that infamous title. I think I can say more about my ongoing dislike for Avril Lavigne and the obnoxious (but kind of funny) Katie Perry than I can about the quality of these performances. Of course Kara is a fan of the dramatic back stories that ruin our chance of seeing 75% of the people ho make it to Hollywood. So I’ll give a golden ticket to Katie for snapping at Kara by saying, “This is not a lifetime movie.” I was relieved to know I’m not the only one who thought Chris Golightly was overhyped. As Simon often says, Chris was very self-indulgent. Why can’t they just take a great song and sing it without ridiculous runs. Amazingly, 23 people made it to Hollywood despite the fact we saw around five of their performances. This criticism is nothing new, but it stands out even more after an episode that was mostly void of talent.

My Favorite Albums Of The Last 30 Years (#10-6)

I'm almost there! Here are my #10-6 favorite albums of the past 30 years. I should have my top 5 completed by this weekend. I'll mention this a lot more during my top 5 post, but it seems like favorite albums have a greater feeling of nostolgia than favorite films. Thinking about where I was when immersed by these albums was like looking at old photographs.

10. College Dropout- Kanye West


This was the album I listed to the most during me senior year of college in 2004. Funny enough, what I liked most about Kanye’s lyrics were that he was humble and self deprecating. Although he wasn’t the greatest rapper, he was the funniest. My two personal favorites are “She got a light-skinned friend, look like Michael Jackson/Got a dark-skinned friend, look Like Michael Jackson” and “She couldn’t afford a car so she named her daughter Alexis.” Kanye’s technique of speeding up soul tunes seems like a gimmick, but it works brilliantly. Back then he seemed so convincing as a down to Earth nice guy that I’m still holding out hoping that this arrogant side of him is just a façade he’s been showing for the past five years.

American Idol Auditions: Orlando

Orlando, Florida. Disney World. The place where wishes come true. Unfortunately based on the last two nights of auditions, I think most of us are wishing we can skip right to Hollywood week. I've had enough of the heartbreaking back stories (some of which are starting to border on ridiculous) and people who can win screeching contest not a singing contest.

The guest judges have for the most part been an improvement over Paula and last night was no exception. First let me say this about Kristen Chenoweth. The first time I saw her was as Glinda when Wicked first opened on Broadway in 2003. She was absolutely amazing then. The funny thing is now, I keep picking up on that perky kind of attitude, and it's a little annoying. However she did give some of the most constructive criticism out of any of the guest judges we've seen so far.

On to the singers worthy of mention in this post (of which there weren't many):

American Idol: Chicago

*Starting this week, Christina and I are going to attempt a back and forth discussion on the American Idol episodes. Instead of posting a separate blog, Christina will continue this blog with her comments. I will then do the same for her post on Wednesday's episode.


Well, this should be an easy one to talk about. In one of the worst audition shows ever, there were only a few contestants who really stood out as long term potentials.

First let's start with Shania Twain! I think she would fit perfectly as the new Paula. She's pretty, nice to the contestants, and doesn't make me want to fast forward my DVR the way Paula did. She may have not offered too many great critiques other than "nice bottom", but do you really expect that from the judges at this point? It's unfortunate that we had to sit through two hours of Victoria Beckham and only an hour of Shania. I think she should have made it to Hollywood.

Thoughts On The Golden Globes(and trying to think of more clever titles for posts)

I usually don't pay too much attention to the Golden Globes, but I thought it would be fun to see if researching the history of the awards can help predict the Academy Award nominations. I'll only concentrate on the Comedy/Musical side since everyone already knows Avatar will get an Academy nomination.


The immediate reaction is that The Hangover might be a surprise pick for a Best Picture nomination after winning Best Picture for a Comedy/Musical the G.G. Over the past 20 years, the Best ComedyMusical winner was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture 9 times (45%). What throws this statistic off is the fact that ten movies will be nominated for an Academy Award instead of five. This means that there is a better than 50% chance that The Hangover will be getting a Best Picture nomination.

American Idol- Georgia On My Mind

American Idol- Georgia On My Mind



As soon as we were introduced to Skibo Ski I was saying to myself, “Please be a decent singer, please be a decent singer.” There is always room for a flashy, hilarious, crazy, nonsensical singer. He’s only had one appearance on the show, yet he already has a list of moments that made me laugh. I don’t know which one is my favorite. I’ll have to go with when he compares himself to a dollar store by saying, “Even with the dollar store, you can have everything you want in that one package, and it only costs you a dollar.”

The day after I make fun of Randy for his repetitive “I was not expecting that” comment, I have to admit I was not expecting Holly Harden to be as good as she was. Usually the Halloween outfits are a signal that I can just fast forward the performance. I think she has a great soulful voice.

American Idol- Boston Auditions

I agree with Christina when she says the first audition episodes are the worst ones for American Idol. It annoys me how we have to sit through horrible singers and their creepy back stories while we miss the auditions of 17 people who made it to Hollywood. What I do find fascinating about the initial audition and Hollywood episodes are how certain singers who seem destined for the final 12 do so badly in the next round that they’re barely given screen time during Hollywood Week. One thing’s official based on last night: I do not miss Paula at all.


My favorite singers from last night:

Girls:

Ashley Rodriguez- I hate to sound like Kara, but it really seems Ashley has the total package. She has a great voice, she’s attractive, and seems to have a confidence that some other golden ticket recipients do not have.

American Idol: Boston

The first night of Season 9 of American Idol!  While I absolutley love this show, I'm not a big fan of audition weeks for two reasons: 1. I have no tolerance for hearing bad singing. My t.v. gets muted as soon as the first note comes out of their mouth. 2. I thinking hearing all the contestants backstories can get a little tedious after a while (however I have found they're extremely useful for identifying contestants).  I know those two aspects are part of the draw of these few weeks, but I would just rather hear more good singers.  Anyway, while I'm still anticipating the best part of this show to start, I do enjoy getting to see the occasional impressive voice and seeing moments such as the following:

Best moment of the night: Kara giving that arrogant kid an attitude.  "I am now angry at you who I do not like at all." I liked seeing that side of Kara; she has to start taking a side on people. (Although she's still using the word "authentic". Somebody please tell her to stop.)

But onto the more important part...

5 favorite American Idol Contestents/American Idol Preview

As I said in yesterday's post, I expect this season to be a lot better than the last one which was marred mostly by the horrible job by all judges and the production team. There is no excuse in the DVR age that we live in for the #1 show in America to exceed the listed ending time. Of course I should have learned from my mistake and taped the show for an extra two hours just in case. Of course, I never learned my lesson. Anyway, a few points before unveiling my top 5 favorite contestants of all-time (Except for Season one which I still have never seen in its entirety.)


- It’s amazing how much television has changed. I remember when any show that did not have the traditional September-May schedule was considered garbage even before it aired. Right now most of my favorite shows including American Idol, Lost, Chuck, Mad Men follow an “unconventional” schedule.

The End Of An Era

           When I first saw the news that Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol after this season I reacted as if some celebrity just died. Was that an overreaction? Well, yes it was. But Simon was always what separated American Idol from all the other talent shows on television. I think his presence on his show is even more important than the talent level of the contestants. When Simon was fully invested in the show, there was added drama for the audience to see whether the Real Judge echoed our own opinions on the couch. I’ll always remember the many times my mom exclaimed “That’s exactly what I said!” when Simon agreed with her. Can you remember the last time you were proud that Randy too thought a singer was pitchy? Or were you ever beaming with delight when Paula and you agreed that a singer’s dress looked fabulous? Simon served as a barometer for our own abilities to judge these singers. Sure we can argue about how everyone has their own musical opinion, but you have to admit that your opinion felt just a little more validated if Simon agreed with you.

Best Picture Predictions

Like Mitch, I’m pretty sure the expansion from five movies to ten is a ratings move.  With more nomination sports to fill, there is a greater chance that audiences will have seen more of the nominated movies and will have more of a reason to watch the broadcast.  However one question remains:  Is widening the pool going to allow more “blockbuster” pictures to be nominated (which is what the Academy wants) or open the doors to more independent films (that people still haven’t seen)?

The Best Picture Race

       

Before I get to my predictions, here are some thoughts on the expansion this year.

 The Best Picture race this year will feature 10 nominees instead of the traditional 5. This is something I don’t like. I am not sure what reason the Academy is officially giving for this change, but the real reason has to be ratings given. I guess I can’t blame them for that. Oscar telecasts have notoriously been losing its viewership over the years. One popular theory is that because most of the nominees for Best Picture are lesser known films, the public has less of a reason to see who wins. This seems logical enough. Also logical would then be the theory that by adding five more movies to the category, there is a greater chance people will have a reason to watch. However, I don’t think it will add any real drama to the race. Whether they nominate 5, 10, or 100 films for Best Picture, it will end up coming down to two or three movies by Oscar night.

Top 27 Albums of the Last 30 years

I was preparing my list of favorite albums over the last 30 years when I realized something; I really didn’t love music from the 80s. There’s only one album from the 80s that made my top 10. I realize a lot of this is due to the fact that I grew up during the 90s. If I was ten years older, I would probably have a greater connection to Appetite for Destruction or Back In Black. If I was a huge rap fan maybe I’d also love Raising Hell or It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back. The other reason is I think music production was at its worst in the 80s. As far as mainstream records, a lot of albums featured

A little baseball trivia

I just read that Randy Johnson's retiring right before he would have played in his fourth decade. How many major leaguers are about to begin their 4th decade right now? I can only think of three right now although I'm sure I'm missing a few more. I'm not going to look on the internet for this one. How many players can you come up with? If you're participating in trying to answer this wonderful question just post the number of players you were able to come up with and then on Friday you can post the actual names you came up with.

And In The End: Movies vs. Albums

                 There is no question that the ending of a book or a movie can change how you view the overall piece of work. This is only fair. It’s the job of an ending to tie all the themes together and to create a lasting impression. Sometimes an ending can be so perfect that it elevates the entire movie to a higher level like my experience with Before Sunset (see my top 15 favorite movies of the decade). Other times, however, an ending that falls short of expectation or which does not match the tone created by the rest of the movie can devalue the whole experience. There’s a reason why English teachers hate the “It was all a dream” ending.

My perfect food court

This isn’t entertainment related but the news of McDonald’s closing in the Freehold Raceway Mall got me thinking: What would the perfect food court look like?


So let’s assume the imaginary food court has room for 10 businesses. Here’s my list:



Roli Boli- For those of you not familiar with this chain that no longer exists, a boli consisted of soft baked dough that’s wrapped around various meats and cheeses baked to perfection. It’s similar to Stuff Yer Face only around 1000x better. I have no idea why this franchise failed. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the result of some conspiracy involving every other major food corporation that was afraid of Roli Boli’s eventual global domination.

Christina’s Top 15 Movies of the Decade

Here’s my long anticipated list of movies for the decade.  I never realized how hard it was to make these lists—so much second guessing that goes on.  Unlike Mitch, I’m a big fan of fantastical elements in films which I think had a large influence on my list.  I’m also not a big fan of current American comedies which is why I think our lists are so different.  Get ready to compare and criticize!

15. Up  I cried three times while watching this movie (tears down the face, sniffling, I needed tissues cries) and then laughed the rest of the way through it.  The montage at the beginning of the film is  most talked about because with very few words, cartoon characters succeed in absolutely breaking your heart.  Carl is a loveable, curmudgeonly old man and Russell an even more loveable wilderness explorer.  The supporting cast of characters including the talking dogs and Kevin make this film purely delightful for a person of any age to watch and enjoy.

Top 15 movies of the decade

Here’s a countdown of my 15 favorite films over the past decade. I’ll admit I’m not the world’s biggest fantasy fan. I did not even finish the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Maybe I’ll make that my new decade resolution (but then again, probably not). That being said, I think this list represents a nice mix of genres. We did not plan it this way, but my list is pretty different from Christina’s. Let the debating begin!

15. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind- It’s safe to say that there are thousands of movies in existence that deal with the subject of love. Leave it to Charlie Kaufman to find a way of tackling the pain of heartbreak and the optimism of new beginnings. It’s a shame that Jim Carrey didn’t keep the ball rolling after this performance.