Idol worship

I’ve never been a die-hard American Idol fan. I’ve always thought that the contestants who did really well on Idol were usually Star Search material, or beauty pageant intermission-special. Kelly Clarkson started off in that manner after she won the first season, but eventually found her own zone and developed a marketable career. Who the hell knows if Ruben Studdard is even alive? Fantasia Barrino has been flitting in and out of the spotlight, and Katherine McPhee is apparently doing movies now. Carrie Underwood seems to be the most successful of the bunch – while doing touring, recording new albums, getting inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and doing commercials, ads and winning awards, she seems the be the only American Idol who has had real all-around success. I never liked her, though. I rooted for Bo Bice when their season was on. As for Jordin Sparks, I don’t care for her at all, and the same goes for David Cook, although I was shocked when he won last year, considering how Simon Cowell practically crowned David Archuleta the winner the night before the results were revealed.

So in a nutshell, although I am not a diehard Idol fan, I do know the Idols, and I’m familiar with how the show is run. Lately, I’ve been growing impressed with the show, because I’ve noticed that this show has really made some major breakthroughs, ratings-wise, drama-wise, talent-wise and society-wise. Let me elaborate. Ratings-wise, American Idol is a monster. If you’re a struggling new show trying to find a niche audience, you don’t wanna go up against something like American Idol. Lost producers winced when they found out that their move to the Wednesday slot at 9pm would pitt their show against AI. With the growing popularity of reality TV because of shows like The Bachelor, Real World and The Hills (although in that aspect let’s call it “reality” TV), the success of American Idol is not unfounded. But despite being sucessful in the ratings department, a show that has been going on for 8 seasons now needs a revamping, and they have revamped the show, for good and bad.

For one, there is the addition of a new judge: singer/songwriter/producer Kara DioGuardi. I personally think she’s a better judge than Paula Abdul, only because she actually makes sense when she opens her mouth, but for some reason she has rubbed American Idol fans the wrong way. All over the internet are pronouncements of disdain over the addition of her to the show. People felt it was unnecessary, but perhaps they fail to understand that maybe this was a preemptive move in the event Simon Cowell would eventually leave the hit show. There have been rumors swirling around that Cowell simply found it too difficult to do two shows during the same week (American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent) and was going to have to choose one of the two to continue on. Since his contract with American Idol is up after this season (8), he is free to do whatever he wants, so he could very well choose to stick with BGT.

Another addition to the show was the Judges Save – meant to be used to redeem a contestant who the judges feel didn’t receive the right number of votes in order to be safe. Because of what we like to call the “Chris Daughty Effect”, which is when somene who appears to be a frontrunner in the competition goes home because their fans got cocky and didn’t bother to call or text to keep their favorite safe. I have to say that I like this idea, only because you have to admit that America fucked up pretty badly with Chris Daughtry, so might as well incorporate it so that no one who’s worth anything is sent home by mistake.

Adam Lambert, who most assumed was going to be a shoo-in for the finale, landed in the bottom on Wednesday night.

This year’s contestants are the most diverse and original that I’ve ever seen on the show. We are down to the final four, and all four contestants bring something different to the table. You have the clear frontrunner (although after last Wednesday’s shocking results show, we’re not so sure anymore) Adam Lambert, who brings his own brand of glam rock/theater chic into the fray; Allison Iraheta, the youngest of the bunch at 17 and who has a very unique voice and a nice edge to her performances; Danny Gokey, who has  a compelling story and a soulful, raspy voice and a good range; and Kris Allen, a laid-back, singer-songwriter type who is rarely ever seen without an instrument of choice on stage, may it be a guitar or a keyboard.

All of the contestants are stylistically different, with Kris and Adam on opposite sides of the spectrum. I am betting that when it comes down to the wire, it will be an Adam-Kris finale, which I personally am very excited to see. I think that Adam and Kris balance each other out; one puts on a good show and is crazy, exciting and a great performer, while the other is heartfelt, melodic, genuine and easy to listen to. Either one could nab the top spot, in my opinion, although I personally prefer Kris Allen to win the title.

I think that Adam Lambert is exciting to watch and he definitely gives you a performance to remember, but it’s mostly not because of his singing, but rather, his theatrics. Lambert has a background in theater, and so he can not only belt out notes that could easily shatter a piece of glass, but he also is very exaggerated with his facial expressions, costumes, make-up, etc. He’s like Prince or Cher, maybe even Britney Spears, in that the music is exciting, probably up-tempo and crazy, but you really only come to the show to see what he will do next. The reason Lambert has many fans is because he is an Idol first; he’s the first Idol who people are actually excited to see what he does next, and the first Idol who has pretty much destroyed arrangements (like that horrible rendition of “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash) and yet escaped with nothing but a few “I didn’t understand that performance” comments from Simon. He’s also the first openly gay contestant on American Idol. Lambert performs to shock an audience, and so people flock to him like he’s this bright and shiny object. I’m not sure where he will be in 10 years, of course, considering that someone who thrives on the exciting and the shock factor can only do it for a few years before it eventually gets old.

Kris Allen sings "She Works Hard for the Money" during Disco Week, and gets rave reviews.

Kris Allen, on the other hand, is someone who could have a lasting career. His voice sounds like a cross between Jason Mraz and Landon Pigg, both singer-songwriters known for their easy charisma and melodic music. Allen is the complete polar opposite to Lambert. He isn’t one for the spotlight, which doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to win the competition, it just means he has a different approach to his performances. Rather than deliver shocking performances and crazy vocal gymnastics, Allen’s best asset is the fact that he can arrange a song and make it his own – even a hit. His arrangement of the classic “Ain’t No Sunshine” was impeccable and original and made the song seem like it had only been released on the airwaves. His performances are very down-to-earth, and you can see that when he sings, he really does love making music. Allen is very earnest on stage and even though he has been consistently good during the course of the show, it was really only recently that he finally got the praise that he deserves.

The other two contestants are extremely predictable, which is why I am not going to be surprised if either one of them leaves in the weeks to come. Iraheta has a rock edge to her voice, but her arrangements are not original. The same can be said of Gokey, who has a nice tone to his voice and is a big belter, but who not only doesn’t arrange music personally, but has the personality of a rock. He also is the very American Idol-esque contestant on the show. He never really excites you when you are watching him. He just sings well. Iraheta has the same effect; not exciting, but she has a great voice.

I am rooting for Allen because he seems like the most genuine of the bunch. By genuine, I mean that he doesn’t seem to be in it for the fame, whereas Lambert seems to come off as such. I believe that Lambert is more suited for Broadway. He has the stage presence and the talent to be a big success on Broadway. I don’t think his voice is suited for making music. I’ve never had any desire to purchase any of his songs on iTunes, simply because I don’t feel the need to be shrieked at for 3 and a half minutes. I would go see Adam Lambert live, but I would go out and buy Allen’s album and see him live as well. I think Allen has the potential to have a long career in making music, and even Jamie Foxx has said he would want to make an album with Allen. I think that if Allen wins, he will be a first in American Idol history, because we’ve never had an Idol quite like him. The same is applicable to Adam Lambert. If Lambert wins, which is very likely (although I have by no means written off Allen), he will also make good of the American Idol title. I am just rooting for Allen because he is the underdog, and it’s about time that nice, talented guys who don’t live on hype finished first.

Pride and pretense

I had been putting off watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona because I’m not the biggest fan of Scarlett Johansson and I didn’t feel an overwhelming desire to watch her for an hour and a half. I’m not going to waste your time by going over the details of why I’m not a ScarJo fan, but I will tell you this: Penelope Cruz’s  Oscar is well-deserved. I haven’t seen Volver yet, but I am sure she is equally as intense in that movie as she is in this one. 

The movie revolves around two best friends, Vicky and Cristina, American women who go to Barcelona for the summer and fall for the same guy, an artist played by Javier Bardem. Vicky and Cristina are apparently polar opposites, and yet supposedly best friends. Quite unconvincing, considering how much disdain Vicky has for Cristina’s lifestyle, and how disapproving Cristina is of Vicky’s uptight demeanor. Anyway, Vicky is the more practical one; all common sense, no spontaneity. She is in Barcelona for educational purposes, as she is doing a thesis on Catalan identity. Cristina, on the other hand, is more of a caricature of the hipster folk we see these days. I say that she is a caricature because she isn’t a person, but more of an idea. The idea is that this woman has no qualms about anything, no hesitations about making spontaneous decisions, and is in love with the idea of being impulsive and unequivocal with her life, so she does everything in her power to enforce this idea. I had absolutely no patience for her character, and the movie actually does address that her character is pretentious, which I was a little surprised by (in a good way).

Javier Bardem plays Juan Antonio, an artist who seduces the two friends and makes a proposition to sleep with them both. The offer, although probably intended by Woody Allen (who wrote and directed the film) to come off as sexy and endearing, felt contrived at best. I feel like Bardem’s character was too much of a cliche. It was as if Allen thought of all the things “real artists” say during normal conversations and came up with the most insanely off-base portrayal of one.

Penelope Cruz was the breath of fresh air that the movie badly needed. The film started off in a very pretentious manner, with a voice-over that grew really annoying as the movie progressed, so it really needed one kind of haphazard element that made the movie look gritty and undeliberate. Cruz was absolutely fabulous as the aggressively beautiful Maria Elena, Juan Antonio’s crazed ex-wife who occasionally threatens to kill herself or the other people around her in a vicious act of passion. I totally understand why she won the Academy Award for this movie.  She was just brilliant, and she proves time and time again that she is more than just a pretty face.

Overall, the movie was a little painful to sit through. Normally, I’m pretty good with Woody Allen movies. I loved Annie Hall, and enjoyed Sleeper. I didn’t particularly care for Match Point, but considering all the hot guys who were in that movie, I couldn’t resist. But Vicky Cristina Barcelona was just the movie I didn’t need to see after The Go-Getter completely didn’t agree with me. Some people might like the movie because they think that when people go to Spain they want to live the life of the passionate artist or whatever, but that is just Allen capitalizing on people’s romantic ideals of European travel. It’s a very true romantic ideal – to want to be swept away by some tall, dark, handsome brooding painter who spouts philosophy on a regular basis while on vacation in one of the most sensual countries in Europe – but when you package it in the way Allen has done in Vicky Cristina Barcelona,  the ideal is no longer romantic and it becomes a reflection of the increasingly mainstream hipster crowd we are getting these days. The Diablo Codys and Chuck Klostermans of the world can gush about the genius of Vicky Cristina Barcelona all they like, but I sure don’t see what the fuss is about.

Nothing is what it seems

Some movies can surprise you. The one thing you learn about Hollywood after years of watching is that when you come in with high expectations, you’re more likely to be disappointed than to be wowed. Take for instance, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I had made an event of this premiere and was about ready to crawl out of my skin from utter excitement. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know how I feel about this film, so I won’t bother with the gory details. The short story: I absolutely hated it. I felt so robbed of my 1o dollars and faith in the movie that I felt like crying. No joke. I know it seems melodramatic to the lot of you, but when you’ve been a fan of the Narnia books since when you were a kid, you would understand how important a movie adaptation is.

And then there’s a film like The Go-Getter. I like Lou Taylor Pucci; most of his films I’ve enjoyed, like Fifty Pills and Thumbsucker. So I came in expecting a good time. What I got in the first ten minutes of the film was absolute drivel. I remember thinking, at the time I watched the movie, what pretentious garbage it was. The beginning was catchy; a hipster quote about Huckleberry Finn. Can’t go wrong with that. But as the movie progressed, it came off like a group of fresh-out-of-film-school students decided to come together, apply all their knowledge about the indie movie, and make a film about a guy who goes on a road trip for some random reason. Don’t get me wrong; I love indie films. I do, however, from my frequent watching of them, know exactly what is an indie film and what isn’t. A good old indie film doesn’t feel like it has to have all the elements of an indie film. An indie film doesn’t classify itself as an indie film. An indie film becomes an indie film because the story is small but the message is big and most often insightful. An indie film is a small package with a memorable surprise. In The Go-Getter, whatever genius message it was that was being communicated by the scriptwriters was lost amid the pretentious crap they were trying to pull. From the empty, fluffy language of the film up to the over-the-top indie music that was being played all throughout the film, I felt like I was about to throw up any second as I was watching it. What irks me more than any other film in the world is a film that tries too hard to be something. I appreciate films that are at least honest about how stupid they are, like Paul Blart: Mall Cop, for instance. I would take that film over The Go-Getter anytime, only because the former is filmed with a clear view of what it wants to be: a mindless comedy with people flying around in the screens. The Go-Getter aspired to be this one transcendent film, filled with clever anecdotes that no one in real life really says, and filled with music that would give the impression of coolness. It was like watching a fucking Chuck Klosterman book unfold.

So like I said before, some movies disappoint you when you least expect it to. On the other hand, if you come in with no expectations, you’re most likely to be pleasantly surprised. Like for instance, the movie Happy-Go-Lucky, starring award-winning actress Sally Hawkins. I had come in not expecting much from the movie, because I had seen the previews and didn’t think it was anything more than a glorified Bridget Jones’s Diary. It was quirkier than I expected, and not in a good way. I found myself in awe of how silly of a character Poppy Montgomery is, but at the same time, found her lack of self-consciousness quite fascinating and bordering on the endearing. She grows on you, this Poppy Montogomery. I thought the film started out a bit slow, but picked up towards the end. The best parts were the ones involving the driving lessons she was having with a complete psycho who referred to the rearview mirror as “Enraha”, the “all-seeing eye”. Absolutely ridiculous. Anyway, I see why Sally Hawkins won the award for Best Actress in a Comedy, and it is well-deserved. The film will probably not be liked by everybody, but it’s an endearing film, and Poppy’s happy-go-lucky attitude does rub off on you a little bit.

And then there’s 17 Again. I admit that even a toxic movie nitpicker like me has some weaknesses. That weakness would be a deliriously cute boy like Zac Efron. I don’t care if I’m made fun of, YES, I went to see 17 Again because Zac Efron is cute as a button and I had nothing better to do on a Saturday night. So sue me. I had expected nothing but fluffy drivel, but it wasn’t at all. It was entertaining fluffy drivel, with a cute boy in the midst of it. Zac Efron was his usual charismatic, gorgeous self, and although he was pretty much playing the self-assured heartbreaker he usually plays in all of his films, he did however surprise me towards the end, when he has a dramatic scene in a court room as his character tries to win back his wife, who is filing for divorce. So I still have hope for him that he will someday break out of his teen heartthrob status and become a more refined actor. The movie had its unfunny, cliched parts, but it also had its moments, such as a painfully gush-worthy scene involving Efron, a leather jacket, a hot car, and Spoon’s “The Underdog” playing in the background. Speaking of which, this movie had some pretty good songs in its soundtrack; songs from Cat Power and The Kooks among some of them.

Soldiering on

I’m a big fan of Rachel McAdams, and I think she’s a terrific actress and could be the next Jodi Foster, if she plays her cards right. So when I heard about The Lucky Ones, I immediately rented it from Netflix. The Lucky Ones is a story about three soldiers who get back home from doing tours in the US army, and they’ve gotten so used to being in the military that they don’t seem to know what to do with themselves when they get back out into the real world.

 The story starts when Tim Robbins’ character, Fred Cheaver, is the only one with the rental car and Rachel McAdams and Michael Peña’s characters tag along for the ride. T.K. Poole (Peñ) wants to go to Las Vegas because he was sent home from Iraq after some shrapnel got into his thigh, resulting in him having erection problems. The trip to Vegas is to see if a bunch of strippers can get him aroused enough to remedy the situation. Rachel McAdams plays Colee Dunn, a Southern sweetheart whose earnest demeanor can charm, but also irritate. Her character goes on a road trip with T.K. and Cheaver in order for her to return a guitar to the family of a fallen comrade in Iraq.

The story seems comedic at first, but it’s really emotional too. The writing is funny, and the message is very clever. It’s sort of like recidivism for the military, is what is being explored in this movie.  So the three soldiers get out of war expecting all these things from the world they come back to, thinking that because they fought for America they expect the world to be a little bit different, a little bit better, and instead, it’s not so much. And they don’t know how to function in this strange society, so they go back into the army even if they vowed they would never go back. This movie is a pretty good watch. It’s not a stellar movie, but it’s one of those movies that makes you go “huh.”

If Jason Bourne had a daughter…

…and she was kidnapped while on vacation in France by an Albanian organization that specializes in human trafficking, drugs and murder, it would pretty much be the movie Taken, starring Liam Neeson as an ex-government operative/spy/CIA agent who stops at nothing to get his daughter back.

The movie was awesome. Being than I’m a big fan of the Jason Bourne series, I felt like the film was on the same par, even though it’s not related to the series. I had doubts on whether Liam Neeson would be able to pull off playing a badass, but he did it effortlessly. The movie was hard-hitting, intense, fast-paced and definitely action-packed, and it’s one of those films where you’re on the edge of your seat for pretty much the entire duration of the movie.

It was nice to see Maggie Grace again, who played Shannon on Lost. Maggie Grace plays Liam Neeson’s daughter in the movie and she gets kidnapped while in France with a friend. The film demonstrates just how easy it is to be in the middle of a dangerous situation when traveling abroad and what tactics these underground organizations use to lure unsuspecting teenagers.

Taken is one of the best films I’ve seen this year, and it was believable, dramatic and had great performances. I learned some pretty valuable stuff, too. I highly recommend watching Taken.