Month: November 2009 (Page 16 of 24)

Dancing with the Stars 9.16 — Round Eight

November 10, 2009 /

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We are down to five couples, producing a lopsided quarterfinal. One of these couples will be exiled from the ballroom tomorrow night. I’m not positive what route the elimination process takes from that point on, but I hope it’s respectful towards my patience. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care who won this thing, but I don’t want to find out in 2010. I admire those who have watched every episode this season. What were the producers thinking when they decided to start with 16 celebrities? It’s far too much dancing, most of which is an eyesore. Still, you guys stay strong, knowing a mildly interesting celebrity such as Aaron Carter or Joanna Krupa will win something called the “mirrorball.” Obviously, we don’t consider their “star power” at this point. We just want to see a fun performance. Considering those that remain, I think the judges and America nearly got it right.

Each couple will perform two dances tonight because, well, there’s a hefty time slot to fill. It is more of a challenge, however, to master multiple dances in one week, so the better contestants should prevail.

I wish there was a Laker game on, but hey, it’s “Dancing with the Stars!”

Dance #1

Mya with Dmitry Chaplin (quick step)

I knew Len Goodman would come around. He couldn’t continue giving Mya mediocre scores all season. She really deserved his score of 10. Since Mya kicked off the show, it will be interesting to see if the other couples can match her and Dmitry’s performance.

Aaron Carter with Karina Smirnoff (fox trot)

I’ve been impressed by Aaron over the past two weeks. I really didn’t think he would make it this far. Considering Donny loses steam, voters stop pimping Kelly, and Joanna commits a horrible mistake, Aaron should find himself in the finals. Karina is battling a fever, but I couldn’t tell. This fox trot wasn’t perfect, but I think the judges will show this team some pity later in the night.

Joanna Krupa with Derek Hough (quick step)

This dance was just a bunch of running. It looked like a slightly choreographed cartoon of two kids chasing each other around a schoolyard. Joanna needs to nail her next routine if she wants to make the semifinals. The audience should also note that these dances are much longer, leaving more room to screw up.

Kelly Osbourne with Louis Van Amstel (fox trot)

It’s funny. I needed somebody to root for early in the season, so I picked Kelly. However, I’ve been silently wishing for her elimination for a while now. Her performances are consistently the weakest and I’m wondering why America is keeping her alive in this competition. What is it? Do you like that she keeps claiming she’s become a “lady” on this show? Please.

Donny Osmond with Kym Johnson (Vienese waltz)

Donny and Mya are the only celebrities who are very good with dances at various tempos. I rarely catch Donny making a mistake. If the show’s schedule doesn’t tire him out, he might be able to surpass Aaron and make it to the finals.

Dance #2

Hopefully this makes sense. The couples will now perform era-specific Latin dances. As you’ll see, Mya got the 70s, so Dmitry had to choreograph a samba with influences from that decade. I would have no clue where to start.

Mya with Dmitry Chaplin (70s samba)

Look at Mya’s back. How does it bend like that? Her whole body is a coil. Kelly and Joanna don’t have that kind of flexibility. Compare Mya to Karina and you’ll notice the similarity in the way each uses their back. The girl is nearly performing at the same level as the female pros.

Aaron Carter with Karina Smirnoff (90s samba)

They were very sharp. Somehow, Aaron manages to improve every week. He may not have the natural ability, but it’s obvious that he really listens to his teacher. He must put in countless hours of practice.

Joanna Krupa with Derek Hough (futuristic paso doble)

Props to Derek for constructing such a challenging dance. I don’t know how he did it. Sure, those dorky metallic outfits were a bit distracting, but their performance really seemed like a “paso doble from the future.” The song selection was spot on as well. I’m not sure what song the band played, but it sounded like a mishmash of Devo and Sterolab. Joanna is back in this thing.

Kelly Osbourne with Louis Van Amstel (60s jive)

Kelly is lucky she got the 60s. She is a talented dancer, but she doesn’t have the ability to pull off what Joanna and Derek just accomplished. Nevertheless, she found her comfort zone with this jive. The faster-paced routines prevent her anxiety from causing too much damage.

Donny Osmond with Kym Johnson (80s paso doble)

Donny was visibly fatigued. He might not have the energy to tackle two dances in one week. He wasn’t fluid or charismatic. Instead, he labored through many of the steps.

Who do you guys think is the next to go home?

Reality TV, TV, TV Reality

Blu Tuesday: Up, Monsters Inc., and Watchmen

November 10, 2009 /

It’s been awhile since my last proper Blu-ray column (a little longer than I’d like to admit, in fact), but it’s been really busy around here at the Bullz-Eye office, and when it comes to priorities, well, Blu Tuesday ranks pretty low on the list. Still, with the holiday season just around the corner, the studios are beginning to make an early push with plenty of great new Blu-ray titles that simply can’t be ignored any longer.

“Up” (Walt Disney)

Many people will tell you that “Up” is one of the best films of the year, but I’m not one of those people. In fact, though I did like Pixar’s latest film about a cantankerous old widower named Harry Caray – er, I mean, Carl – who goes on an adventure through the jungles of South America, it just barely cracks my Top 5 favorite films from the Disney-owned animation studio. Still, there’s plenty to love about the four-disc Blu-ray release, including three copies of the movie, the “Partly Cloudy” short that ran in front of the film, and an all-new short that details what Dug the dog was up to before meeting Carl and Russell. There are also some cool production featurettes on things like character design and the different endings devised for Muntz, as well as an alternate version of the opening montage, but the best of the bunch is a documentary about the Pixar crew’s trip to Venezuela and how it inspired the look and feel of the film.

“Monsters, Inc.” (Walt Disney)

“Monsters, Inc.” was probably the best film that Pixar had put out at the time, and though it might not seem quite as good when compared to more recent films like “Ratatouille” and “WALL*E,” it’s just as charming as you remember it. Even though its story is pretty straightforward (based on the original treatment included on the Blu-ray, it’s amazing they were even able to stretch it into a full-length feature), the movie shows hints of the raw emotion that director Pete Docter would later inject into his sophomore effort, “Up.” Because the original DVD release was already jam-packed with bonus material, however, the new Blu-ray edition is more about owning the film in high definition than the extras that come with it. As you can probably imagine, “Monsters, Inc.” looks incredible in 1080p, and even with the changes in technology, you could still hold it up to any Pixar film released in the last three years. The few new special features that have been included also serve as a nice complement – particularly a filmmakers’ roundtable that looks back at the making of the film and a sneak peek at the “Monsters, Inc.” attraction at Tokyo Disneyland.

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Monday night at the movies

November 10, 2009 /

* We’ve been pretty enthusiastic here about both trailers for “The Wolfman.” Still, there’s been some disconcerting news about the promising looking remake of the 1941 Universal monster classic. Composer Danny Elfman, who has a terrific way with slightly over-the-top genre material going back to his earliest work with Tim Burton on “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” has left the project due to “scheduling conflicts.” Word that a score has actually been composed makes it seem even a bit odder. It’s true that there’s a lot more to scoring a film than composing the music, but there is more than one way to deal with that short of dumping a largely finished score if all there really is is a time problem, I’d guess.

More worrisome is Elfman’s replacement, Paul Haslinger, whose resume includes the rock scores for two of the “Underworld” films Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Death Race.” To be fair, Haslinger was a member of synth group Tangerine Dream from 1986 to 1992 and participated in the scores to films like “Near Dark.” However, I’m usually of the opinion that a period picture requires a period sound and the vague Euro-synth of the “Underworld” music does not inspire me. Hopefully, he’ll go for more of an orchestral sound.

Even more worrisome still, Renn Brown over at CHUD makes a strong case that this is a generally troubled production. At the same time, movie history is filled with troubled productions that turned out great and fun-to-make films that turned out to be horrible-to-watch. We’ll see when we see.

* New York film critic David Ansen will be artistic director of the Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF), writes Anne Thompson.

* Alex Ben Block declares Peter Jackson producer of the year. His methods and approach sound almost Pixar-like in his openness to collaboration. It’s a complicated method: hire good people and listen to them.

* Apparently, Jackson lost all a bunch of weight a few years back simply by swearing off junk food while maintaining a punishing work scheduled during the making of “King Kong,” and he’s kept it off since. Good for him. Judging from the picture in today’s Variety, however, Winona Ryder might consider a regime that includes the occasional milkshake and order of chili cheese fries. Okay, none of our business and, in any case,  the role she is “circling” in Darren Aronofsky’s all-star oddball thriller, “Black Swan,” calls for her to play a veteran dancer, but, my god, those protuberant cheek bones. Part of me just wants her to mainline my mom’s brisket or something.

As for the movie itself, what I’m hearing reminds of just a little bit of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s “The Red Shoes,” and not just because of the ballet setting. There’s also the underlying psychoses.

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