Month: May 2008 (Page 4 of 17)

Hell’s Kitchen: More Blood than a Horror Movie

May 21, 2008 / Mike Farley

Last night’s “Hell’s Kitchen” featured the final 8 contestants squaring off. Is it just me, or is this season of the show dragging a bit? Anyway, with Ben being eliminated last week, the blue team needed someone from the red team to switch sides and even things out. Jen stepped forward, making the teams Jen/LouRoss/Petrozza/Bobby and Christina/Matt/Corey/Roseann.

At the challenge, in which the contestants had to cook four meals with 20 ingredients, the blue team was having trouble working together. Meanwhile, Matt cut off the tip of his thumb, but taped himself up and continued to work. I’m still mad at the producers for showing us Matt’s bloody stump Continue reading »

Hell's Kitchen, Reality TV, TV

American Idol: Archuleta Delivers a “Knockout”

May 21, 2008 / Mike Farley

Sometimes I hate making predictions and rooting for one side over the other, because that inevitably leads to disappointment. Last night was no different. I wanted David Cook to bring his best effort against young phenom David Archuleta in the “American Idol” final performance, because I thought Mr. Cook had the goods to win. But after last night, it’s just a technicality that Archuleta will be crowned the Season 7 champ tonight.

The show began with that “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” dude firing up the Nokia Theatre crowd and all of America, and both Davids coming out in boxing robes. Yeah, I don’t think that would have worked with Syesha. It barely worked with young David. And while these guys showed that they are too nice to not like each other, the little guy showed that he wanted this more than David Cook. It was, as Simon Cowell put it, “a knockout.” I mean, it was so lopsided that all of America could only be let down.

Here is how it went down. Thankfully they changed things up Continue reading »

American Idol, Reality TV, TV

American Idol Fans: Fasten Your Seatbelts

May 20, 2008 / Mike Farley

Sorry for the cheesy intro, but tonight’s David vs. Davis finale is being hyped as the best matchup since Season 2’s Ruben vs. Clay. I have no idea what these two are singing, but if it’s any indication, I just watched the Season 6 finale DVD, and they usually follow a formula. That means we’ll probably see them each perform their favorite song that they did from this past season, a new song they haven’t done yet, and the single that some fan wrote which will likely be a formulaic snooze-fest, just like “This is My Now” was last year. Blech.

Anyway, here is my take on how I expect it to go down…

David Archuleta–This kid is young but extremely talented. His daddy has been grooming him to be on this show since it debuted in 2002, and it looks like it might pay off. Of course, it helps that the kid knows how to sing. He’s also a humble little guy who respects the spotlight but isn’t afraid of it. He tends to do best with ballads, weaving his own melodic take and getting little girls to scream and vote for him. My guess is David pulls out John Lennon’s “Imagine” again. I also think he’ll just be too robotic overall to beat Mr. Cook.

David Cook–Here’s a dude that showed moral support to his bro, tagging along with him to the Omaha auditions. Magically, the producers made David audition as well, and look how far he got. Heck, he really should win. This guy has the perfect combination of sensitive singer and edgy rocker, and most of the time he pulls out good song choices. If I had my pick, I’d have David do that awesome rock version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” But really, anything he does at this point should be his best effort, and that should be enough to win.

See you all tomorrow!

American Idol, Reality TV, TV

Diary of the Dead

May 20, 2008 / Jason Zingale

It was inevitable that George A. Romero’s latest zombie flick would draw comparisons to “Cloverfield.” Both movies use the first-person camera gimmick as their main storytelling device, but unlike the J.J. Abrams monster movie, “Diary of the Dead” doesn’t have a particularly engaging story to tell. The set-up may be different than Romero’s past films – in this one, a group of college students become victims in a real-life zombie attack while shooting their own horror movie – but the events that transpire are so formulaic that you might as well just pop in “Night of the Living Dead” (now available in a 40th anniversary remastered edition) instead. This isn’t just one of the worst acted horror movies I’ve ever seen, but it’s also one of the most idiotic social commentaries that Romero has ever attempted. Cameras are likened to guns, racist National Guard soldiers play out their hottest Black Panther fantasies, and documentary filmmakers are blasted for their supposed cold-heartedness. Unfortunately, I don’t know a single person that even cares about any of this stuff, and while Romero deserves all the credit in the world for creating such an excellent subgenre, it’s about time he passed on the torch to someone better suited for the job.

Click to buy “Diary of the Dead”

External Movie DVDs, Horror Movies, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs

American Idol Season 6 Finale Performance Show: The Top 2

May 20, 2008 / Mike Farley

With the Season 7 finale of “American Idol” now behind us, it’s interesting to look back at the Season 6 finale DVD that was just released on KOCH Vision. The set is two discs—one of the actual final performances of Jordin Sparks, who won, and Blake Lewis; and the other disc containing interviews and bloopers. The initial auditions and the road to get there for both finalists are chronicled, and it’s interesting to note that both of them came from the Seattle auditions. It’s also worth noting that the performances on that final Tuesday in 2007 are not all that compelling, and in fact it’s hard to imagine either Blake or Jordin having a prayer against David Cook or David Archuleta. The exceptions are Blake’s take on Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” and Jordin’s rendition of Martina McBride’s “A Broken Wing.” Daughtry, featuring former Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, performed at the end of the show. It’s also comical that while Ryan Seacrest was telling us to call or text to vote, there was a line on the TV screen saying, “Please do not call or text these numbers,” because surely that would make some wiseass do just that. Disc 2 was a look back at the journey of not just Jordin and Blake, but of every one of the Top 12 from Season 6—names like Chris Sligh, Melinda Doolittle (who should have won), and everyone’s favorite punching bag, Sanjaya. Interviews with the producers were only mildly entertaining, and overall this DVD set should be reserved for hardcore Idol fans only. The rest of you are better off forgetting it all happened.

Click to buy “American Idol Season 6 Finale Performance: The Top 2”

American Idol, Reality TV, TV, TV DVD Quicktakes