After watching this season of So You Think You Can Dance (and learning who would be on tour) I was claiming that I had zero desire to go to the live tour. My favorite all-stars wouldn't be in attendance and with Alex not performing how could I possibly enjoy the show? Boy was I wrong.
Elizabeth put it best when she said..."how amazing was it to get to watch someone having the best night of their life." That person was Kent Boyd.
Hometown boy Kent Boyd was in rare form all night. The roar from the crowd every time he hit the stage rivaled the N'Sync concert I attended in the mid 90s. He was obviously feeling like a rock star and was loving every second of it. He took the stage during the intros of the dancers with flip cam in hand being sure to capture every moment. Each and every one of his performances was met with standing ovations and watching him cry and take it all in after performing his solo was so incredibly touching. The rest of the performances were amazing as well - especially the Allison and Robert contemporary "Fix You" - but this night belonged to Kent.
Not much video available on youtube (yet) but here is the intro of the dancers (watch how incredibly excited Kent is) - then the "mash-up" of Kent and Lauren's prom dance with "My First Kiss" (danced with Anya on the show.) Finally, the awful video of the finale routine with all of the dancers in their OSU jerseys. Pay close attention to the end when Kent literally would not leave the stage. Adorable!
This will come as no big surprise to those that know me, but I knew almost everything that was going to happen in the finale before the episode aired. Part of it is managing expectations - the more prepared I am, the better I can deal - and part of it is being able to sing the "I know something you don't know" song. Knowing the ending doesn't typically ruin a good story for me as I tend to like the ride more than the final destination. In this case, I am very grateful that I knew the final destination ahead of time, or I may have thrown a shoe through the television.
I need to start by saying that I liked the finale. It was a good 2.5 hours of television that brought some closure to the characters that I had grown to love over the last six seasons. I'll never forget the kiss between Sawyer and Juliet, and I adored the look on Hurley's face when he went to Charlie's hotel room to drive him to the concert. If this episode had been a season finale, I would have been perfectly happy - knowing that more story was to come. But, it wasn't. This was the end of the series and this episode just didn't do it for me in that regard.
LOST was always a show that required me to suspend belief. How else could I watch an island with a killer smoke monster, time travel, Egyptian statues, and a magical man able to grant invincibility? My issue was not that the finale required me to suspend belief, I had been doing that all along, but that it was asking me to suspend thought. The finale attempted to distract me from its shortcomings with tearful reunions and an ending that had a strong whiff of Velveeta.
I'm sure some viewers got the ending that they wanted. But the shortcomings for me were the lack of answers, not just about the island, but about the "purgatory" story as well. Why weren’t Walt and Michael there? Why did we see the island at the bottom of the ocean in the Sideways timeline? How did Claire have a baby if she was dead? How did Eloise Hawking know what was going on all along? Why did Sayid end up with Shannon and not Nadia? Why was baby Aaron there?
In this final episode, the show didn’t only ignore major mysteries that once seemed essential to the plot, it also refused to answer the most fundamental questions of all: What was this island? Where did it come from? What was the nature of the power that it kept? Why did this power need so desperately to be protected? As Charlie asked his fellow crash survivors in the pilot, “Guys, where are we?” Lost was a drama based on science fiction with a variety of supernatural elements. In the end, it would have been nice to get some of those things resolved along with the romance and happy endings (cue the rainbows and butterflies...)
Although the finale episode wasn't all that I had hoped for, the series will remain one of my favorite television shows of all time. The final destination wasn't what I wanted, but for 6 seasons it was quite a ride.
Two things that I need to get out in the open before I start writing this review. One, New Moon was my least favorite in the book series. And two, I have high expectations. Friends better call back if they say they will; Excedrin better get rid of my headache; and Rice Krispies better snap, crackle, AND pop. So, when you go into a movie expecting it to somehow live up to the book, to meet all of your expectations, it’s going to disappoint. Yes, I should have learned my lesson after seeing the first Twilight film, but I didn’t. A bigger budget, a better director, better cast….how could this movie possibly not exceed my expectations? I still haven’t completely figured it out, but somehow, it failed me.
Here’s my analysis: (get ready for some serious brain power here...) If you are a 100% true Twilight fangirl who lives and breathes for this book series, then this movie met all of your expectations and you loved it. If you enjoyed the books, but didn’t love the first movie, then you are relatively neutral (i.e, me.) And, if you only enjoy incredible movies with fully developed characters and plot points, then you hated this.
So, I’m somewhere in the middle. The movie followed the story line of the book almost to a T. Bella and Edward are a happy couple…check. Edward leaves Bella as a crying mess on the forest floor….check. Jacob’s abs show up….check. Bella recovers after seeing said abs….check. Edward goes to Italy to flaunt his pasty torso…check. Volturi creep me out…check. Edward and Jacob fight over Bella…check.
For me, the best parts of the movie were the portrayal of Aro by Michael Sheen, creepy yet obviously amused with himself, and Dakota Fanning as Jane. I also enjoyed Anna Kendrick as Jessica who delivered the few lines she had with great comedic timing. Of course, the naked werewolves didn't hurt either. The wolves were a tad too “muppety” (copyright Jessica Roberts 2009) yet the visual effects worked for me overall. It was a good movie, not a great movie, but good.
Now for a few questions:
What was up with Jasper’s hair? Did McDonald’s have a sale on Ronald wigs?
How funny was it that Bella was flying on Virgin airlines?
The scene of Edward and Vampire Bella running through the field was supposed to be funny, right?
Final thought: Taylor Lautner really surprised me as Jacob. I believed the majority of his lines, and he seemed to capture the true emotion of Jacob. If you haven't read Stephenie Meyer's description of Jacob's emotions through Twilight and New Moon, check it out.
As for me, I am fully Team Jacob - - at least until June when Eclipse is released and I swoon over Edward once again.
First, let me say what a great time I had last night with Ric and Joe. Seeing Ric's stalker at dinner and talking about all of the "interesting" people walking into the Schottenstein Center (including a drag queen in full on "Slave For You" costume WITH a yellow python.) The crowd in the Schott was a mixed bag. I saw some little girls that didn't look a day over 6, I saw some old men with beer bellies, and I saw a whole lot of fierce boys with killer shoes. Our seats were fantastic - 12th row, perfect view of everything.
The opening act was the Pussycat Dolls, and they were impressive. They are all truly incredible dancers - especially considering they were dancing in some serious heels. Lead singer Nicole was singing live and seemed to hit all of the big notes. She gave quite a few shout outs to being so close to her hometown (she grew up in Kentucky then went to college in Dayton) and she mentioned that lots of her family was in the crowd. They performed all of the songs I wanted to hear, including their remake of Jai Ho from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. For a group of glorified strippers, it was an entertaining show.
Now on to Britney....Britney, Britney, Britney....
She's had a rough couple years. Two kids, a divorce, shaving her head, beating up a car with an umbrella, dating the paparazzi, obvious mental breakdowns, etc, etc, etc... As a fan of the woman who has grown up in the media spotlight, I am proud that she has gotten her shit together and is performing again. For someone who I wasn't sure would live to see 2009, I'm glad that she can get thousands of people in an arena to stand for 3 hours and dance. However....she is 20% of the performer that she once was and it's sad to see in person.
First, the good news!
- Britney looks very good. The hair looked great, her costumes were INCREDIBLE, and her body is fit. She's not a tiny little stick figure girl - she's got a butt, she's got boobs, she's got hips...which as a role model for girls of all ages is a refreshing change of pace.
- Her backup dancers were AH-MAY-ZING. At one point in the show, each dancer did a solo and they did things that had my jaw on the floor.
- The actual show "experience" was great. Circus performers all over the stage, the lights, the smoke, the fire, the confetti (we left the Schott covered in confetti) - - you did truly feel like you were in a circus.
Now for the bad news....
- The entire show was lipsynched. Yes, I knew this going in, but in person it was just sad. There were multiple places in the show where she was singing, but her lips weren't moving at all. The first time I let it pass, but by the fifth or sixth time, I could tell she wasn't even trying.
- Britney's dancing was atrocious. (I can barely use the word dancing) She basically walked around the stage, would stop and pose, then walk some more, stop and pose, shake her butt, then walk some more. When she did some of the more famous moves from her videos (i.e. Slave for You) she was putting in about 10 percent effort, never did anything full out, and seemed to be seriously phoning it in. With everything going on around her it was still exciting to watch, but as a dancer she peaked many many years ago.
- Overall, she just seemed tired. Although she did smile throughout the show, it looked incredibly forced. The dancers pushed her around the stage on multiple props, there were at least 5 times during the show when she wasn't on stage at all for more than 5 minutes, and when she was on stage she had zero enthusiasm.
I've been very lucky to see some great live performances over the years. Of the 100 or so concerts I've been to, I'd rank Britney very close to the bottom in terms of talent, but closer to the top in terms of a concert "experience." The best that I've seen were Madonna, Justin, Sarah McLaclan, Dixie Chicks, Kelly Clarkson, Cher, and Paul McCartney - - the Britney of 2009 doesn't even rank in this list.
So, as a person who loves to hear live music and has had the opportunity to hear some of the best actually sing live, this show was a huge disappointment. But, as someone who loves to see talented dancers (even if they are the backup dancers) do their thing, this show was fabulous!
First, I need to say that I absolutely LOVED the book Twilight. I started reading it after the prompting of Liz – and after getting about 20 pages in, I knew it had me at hello. I read the first book in one sitting and immediately had to go out and buy the next two in the series. In hindsight, I was more a fan of the characters themselves rather than the story. It came to a point when I didn’t really care how the plot twisted and turned, I just had to know how it affected Edward and Bella.
So, last night going into the movie I had big expectations for those characters that I had come to know and love. I wanted them to be everything that I had dreamed up in my head. I wanted them to look right, I wanted then to speak right, and I wanted to “feel” the exact same way when watching the movie as I did when I read the book for the first time. Well – in the immortal words of Meatloaf - 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.
The cast of the movie did not disappoint. Rob Pattinson was the perfect Edward (yes, Liz was right all along…) Beautiful, a tad creepy, the true “sensitive guy” feel when he speaks. He nailed it. From the first moment when he was on screen, he was Edward. Kristen Stewart also surprised me as Bella. She was just awkward enough, just pretty enough, and just annoying enough to make me feel like she wouldn’t be afraid of a vampire who wanted nothing more than to kill her. The rest of the Cullen family, although not in the movie too much, was also well cast. My only complaint was the makeup on Carlisle the first time we see him – a bit too “Memoirs of a Geisha” and not enough “Lost Boys.”
As far as the story of the movie, I was happy that it stuck very closely to the plot of the book. Only a few things were changed, most likely due to time constraints. Creative license was taken to show Edwards speed and strength, and at first the “tree climbing” and what almost looked like flying, really bothered me, but I know it was needed to fully explain just what he is capable of.
So, the thing that made me not 100% absolutely love this movie, was not so much the fault of the movie, but the fact that nothing could possibly live up to the love I had for the book. Taking a 700 page book and condensing it to a 2 hour movie is bound to feel rushed. It’s bound to make me feel cheated that I didn’t get to see Edward and Bella’s love truly develop, and it’s bound to make me just wish it could have been 30 minutes longer. The book goes to great lengths to make you truly understand why, and how, Edward is able to love Bella so much that he wouldn’t ever kill her. The movie tried to show this… but just simply didn’t have enough time to make you “get it.” Had I not read the book, I would have thought, “um, so why is the beautiful vampire who had known a girl for a few months so willing to do anything for her?”
Overall – a movie that I would recommend, especially to anyone who had the read the book and can “fill in the blanks” of the plot. I will see it again, hopefully on an IMAX screen, not only so I can watch without the screaming teenage girls in the audience, but so I can see Rob Pattinson on a 3 story screen. Come to think of it, I wish Rob Pattinson would just sit (shirtless) and read the book aloud to me on the IMAX screen, now that I would pay for over and over again.
I don't normally watch Dancing with the Stars, but since my other Monday night shows were reruns, I decided to give it a go. Watching the hour and a half snooze fest reminded me why I stopped watching it years ago - - not only is it boring, but the show title leads one to believe that you will actually get to watch some dancing - - I saw neither dancing, or stars.
I was embarrassed, not only for the "celebrities" who were humiliating themselves, but for the professionals who have to deal with this week in and week out. Amazing shows are on the verge of cancellation (Pushing Daisies) yet shows like this remain.
Many people I know and respect watch this show faithfully, so we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. Bottom line, this show just isn't my cup of tea. If you want to see an amazing dance show on television, check out "So You Think You Can Dance" when it comes back next summer.
So the 5 of us tried to meet at Don Pablos (at Lennox) for dinner - - well, Don Pablos no longer exists. We watched as mulitple cars pulled up in front of the restaurant, people looking curiously at the blacked-out windows. Unfortunately, most people (like us) seemed to be deciding to go to Chammps next door which caused some issues. After getting a table, we waited forever for our food (as did most people sitting around us.) The Manager came to our table (without anyone complaining) and comped all of our food and drinks. So free food and alcohol!! The night was off to a good start!!
The show started with all of the dancers coming out for a group number. They were wearing Ohio State jerseys and long shorts. Of course I was focused on Mark, but they all looked pretty cute. The dance was an intro of each person, similar to the opening of each weekly show. Following the dance, Twitch welcomed everyone to the show, and did a little O-H......I-O with the audience. He seemed to be genuinely surprised at the response to such a simple cheer.
Next came the dances that we saw during the season, along with solos from half of the contestants. But first....Katee came out to tell the crowd that she was injured and would not be performing. This didn't really bother me as I wasn't a huge fan of hers, but after thinking for a second I realized that this meant none of the performances that she was involved in would be shown (no "door" routine, no "pas de deux" with Will, no "Bollywood" with Josh.) Oh well...as long as Mark was there I was good to go.
So then the dances started - - - with the dancers themsleves serving as MC between each dance. Courtney (who is teeny tiny) and Gev (who isn't much bigger) had the running joke throughout the show of him being in love with her, and Josh and Twitch kept reffering to each other by their childhood nicknames (Boo Boo and Duck Lips.) I can't remember all of the dances from the first half of the show, but I do know that Mark and Comfort's Hip Hop (the kids sitting in detention) got the loudest applause, as did "The Garden" the weird contemporary with Mark and Courtney. There was waaayyyyy too much "Twitchington" for me - but with Katee hurt, that meant that Josh didn't perform much (since they were partners more than any other two) and they needed filler. Kherrington didn't impress me at all (her solo was horrific) and Twitch just seemed tired. His lines were bad, and you could see how bad his technique was in ballroom numbers. The second half ended with the group Bollywood (which was beautiful.)
I did realize something in the first half of the show that Stacey will be very happy to hear..... Will was robbed. My God can that boy move. I've seen some good dancers over the years, and he is right up there with them. He is technically perfect in every way... the two routines that he did with Jessica left me in awe. (and she sucks in person!!) His solo was flawless and his personality between numbers was charming. Did I mention that he rarely had a shirt on which really helped?
The second half of the show was much the same format with dances interlaced with skits and talking done by the contestants and some video of show highlights. The dances I remember are the Russian Trepak - very impressive in person - - Josh can jump like nobody's business. The door routine performed by Twitch and Kherington filling in for Katee (ugh) and the "Bleeding Love" routine with Mark and Chelsie (which was amazing...) Then out came Josh and Katee to do "No Air" - - people lost their minds. And I must admit...those two are good. Not only are they good apart, but they were so in sync with each other.... Hard to believe that dance was from the first week.
Overall - - the group dances were much better in person because you didn't have the crappy camera work to deal with and could really see the movement across the floor. But, for the most part, the pair dances were worse. You couldn't see facial expressions (and we were close) and it was much easier to pick the bad dancers apart when there was less going on. Mark was adorable, Comfort was really likeable, Gev's solo was wonderful, and Courtney was better than she got credit for. Three hours of dancing (with only a short break) - - those kids are talented!!