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.