Saturday, June 27, 2009

Oscar Predictions - 6/27/09

Best Picture:
Amelia
Avatar
An Education
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Precious
Shutter Island
Untitled Nancy Meyers Project
Up



Best Director:
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones
Rob Marshall, Nine
Lee Daniels, Precious


Best Lead Actor:
Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Viggo Mortenson, The Road
Peter Sarsgaard, An Education


Best Lead Actress:
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Michelle Pfeiffer, Cheri
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Untitled Nancy Meyers Project
Hilary Swank, Amelia


Best Supporting Actor:
Ben Kingsley, Shutter Island
Steve Martin, Untitled Nancy Meyers Project
Ewan McGregor, Amelia
Alfred Molina, An Education
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones


Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Clarkson, Whatever Works
Judi Dench, Nine
Mo'Nique, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Emma Thompson, An Education


Best Original Screenplay:
Broken Embraces
An Education
Untitled Nancy Meyers Project
Up
Whatever Works



Best Adapted Screenplay:
Amelia
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Precious



Best Animated Feature:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
Up



Best Art Direction:
Amelia
An Education
Nine
Public Enemies
Shutter Island



Best Cinematography:
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Public Enemies
Shutter Island



Best Costume Design:
Amelia
Cheri
An Education
Nine
The Young Victoria



Best Film Editing:
Avatar
Invictus
Nine
Shutter Island
Up



Best Makeup:
Amelia
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Wolf Man



Best Original Score:
Avatar
Broken Embraces
Cheri
The Princess and the Frog
Up



Best Original Song:
Nine
The Princess and the Frog
The Princess and the Frog



Best Sound Mixing:
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Nine
Star Trek
Up



Best Sound Effects Editing:
Avatar
Nine
Star Trek
Transfomers: Revenge of the Fallen
Up



Best Visual Effects:
Avatar
Star Trek
Where the Wild Things Are



And projected winners...

Best Picture:
Avatar


Best Director:
James Cameron, Avatar


Best Lead Actor:
Morgan Freeman, Invictus


Best Lead Actress:
Carey Mulligan, An Education


Best Supporting Actor:
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones


Best Supporting Actress:
Mo'Nique, Precious


Best Original Screenplay:
An Education


Best Adapted Screenplay:
Precious


Best Animated Feature:
Up


Best Art Direction:
Nine


Best Cinematography:
The Lovely Bones


Best Costume Design:
Nine


Best Film Editing:
Avatar


Best Makeup:
Wolf Man


Best Original Score:
The Princess and the Frog


Best Original Song:
Nine


Best Sound Mixing:
Avatar


Best Sound Effects Editing:
Avatar


Best Visual Effects:
Avatar

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

American Idol - Season 8: Top 3

Tonight's American Idol is...Top Three Night!

Danny Gokey "Dance Little Sister" by Terence Trent D'Arby
Bad song choice (*eyes Paula) and a pretty ridiculous performance. Definitely one of his worst performances.


Kris Allen "Apologize" by OneRepublic
Great song choice, and although the performance was a bit lackluster, his vocals were very strong.


Adam Lambert "One" by U2
Nice song choice, but the arrangement was awful. Blame that on Simon. Lambert's vocals were still good.


Danny Gokey "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker
His best in awhile, but somewhere Taylor Hicks is laughing his ass off because his version was better.


Kris Allen "Heartless" by Kanye West
Best performance of the night and if he stays, it's because of this performance. Wow!


Adam Lambert "Cryin'" by Aerosmith
A nice little bitchslap to Gokey for trying to do Aerosmith. This is how you rock.


Rankings:
1. Kris "Heartless"
2. Adam "Cryin'"
3. Kris "Apologize"
4. Adam "One"
5. Danny "You Are So Beautiful"
6. Danny "Dance Little Sister"


Goodbye to...
Danny Gokey.

Put. The. Go. In. Gokey!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

American Idol - Season 8: Top 4

Tonight's American Idol is...Rock!

Adam Lambert "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin
Interesting song choice. Nice performance. Great way to start the week.


Allison Iraheta "Cry Baby" by Janis Joplin
Quite possibly her best in a long ass time. Wow. She nailed it.


Danny and Kris "Renegade" by Styx
Awful song choice and Danny did nothing but yell over Kris. Messy performance all over.


Kris Allen "Come Together" by The Beatles
Not his best, but it was good and it successfully erased Carly Smithson Hennessy's version from last year. Yay!


Danny Gokey "Dream On" by Aerosmith
Michael Johns called and he said efff you sir. Puppy Johns left with that song (not his best, but not the worst that night, ahem, VOCAL REST), and really it would be SWEET justice is the same happened to the Gokey.


Adam and Allison "Slow Ride" by Foghat
That was the best thing of the night. What a fantastic way to close the show. If Kris has to go, I hope this is what the finals will look like.


Rankings:
1. Adam/Allison
2. Allison
3. Kris
4. Adam
5. Danny/Kris
6. Danny


Bottom Two Predictions:
No sense in leaving us with a bottom three, so the bottom two will be Danny and Kris. This will be done purely to get Gokey's fans to have them all call in next week to push him past Allison.


Goodbye to...
Kris Allen. The bus came out tonight, but it wasn't as bad as the night it picked up Elliott Yamin or Jason Castro. Kris knew what was coming and the ONLY way he's escaping the bus, is if America refuses to push through Gokey's scream at the end of his song. Phew. Go Allison!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

American Idol - Season 8: Top 5

Tonight's American Idol is...Rat Pack Standards (aka Jazz Week...aka Big Band Week...aka Jamie Foxx? Really?)

Kris Allen "The Way You Look Tonight"
Great song choice. Great arrangement. Nice vocals. Simon's nuts for trying to sandbag him tonight.


Allison Iraheta "Someone to Watch Over Me"
Not as enthused about the song choice, but her vocals were good. Again, I'm not understanding why Simon would try to send the bus at her.


Matt Giraud "My Funny Valentine"
He was fine, but Melinda Doolittle's version of this song from two seasons back is untouchable. So points off for picking a song that someone already did it justice to.


Danny Gokey "Come Rain or Come Shine"
Awful song choice, good arrangement, decent vocals. By default the worst, but it was his best in a long time. That said, put the Go in Gokey please. Bleh.


Adam Lambert "Feeling Good"
I love this version by Muse, so I'm glad Adam went for it. His best "moment" of the season (better than "Mad World" I thought).


Rankings:
1. Adam
2. Kris
3. Allison
4. Matt
5. Danny


Bottom Three Predictions:
Allison, Kris and Matt. What Simon wants, he's going to get. So that means we'll see Allison and Matt again be in the bottom and Kris will finally join them. I suppose they could do "The Huff" this week by having someone be in the middle of two groups, but I doubt it. Kris will be safe (he seems to be getting more text votes than the other two), which will leave us with Allison and Matt.


Goodbye to...
Matt Giraud. I think Simon was nice to him, so his fans won't go crazy to vote for him. He wants him to leave on a high note, and that's what will happen. Better top 5 finish than top 7 (Matt deserves it over Lil and Anoop, but also over Danny, *sigh). There's a little part of me that's worried for Allison, since going second on top 5 night is the kiss of death (save for David Cook and Jordin Sparks, although that was a top 6 night, part deux and she was shiitttty that night with her lame attempt at rock with Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer"). Anyway, I doubt the last girl leaves this early, so she'll be #3. Goodbye Matt!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

American Idol - Season 8: Top 7...Redux!

Tonight's American Idol is...Disco Night (blergh)!

Lil Rounds "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan
Unoriginal, trite and obvious. AWWWWFUL. Go home.


Kris Allen "She Works Hard for the Money" by Donna Summer
Wow. Killer arrangement and a tremendous vocal outing. Wonderful.


Danny Gokey "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire
Anwar called. He wants his song back. Biiiiiiitch pleeeeeeeeze!


Allison Iraheta "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer
Wrong song for her, but she was pretty good. I would fault her on her wardrobe choices, but she's 16. That's how they dress.


Adam Lambert "If I Can't Have You" by The Bee Gees
Wow, another stunner. It would have been my #1 had it not been for his patent screech.


Matt Giraud "Staying Alive" by The Bee Gees
I gotta agree with Simon. That was desperate and not good. What a waste of a save.


Anoop Desai "Dim the Lights" by Donna Summer
Not familiar with the song, but what he did with it, well, I didn't like it. Not as bad as Matt or Lil though.


Rankings:
1. Kris
2. Adam
3. Allison
4. Danny
5. Anoop
6. Matt
7. Lil


Bottom Three Predictions:
Danny, Lil and Matt. I'm not sure how they're going to do this, but I hope they do "The Huff." Have Gokey in the middle and then pick the top 3 and the bottom 3. I would love for it to be Matt, Lil and Anoop on one side and Allison, Adam and Kris on the other and then Ryan tell Gokey to switch with Anoop because they're the bottom three. But then he'll send him back to the couches.

Goodbye to...
Lil Rounds and Matt Giraud. I can guarantee Matt is leaving (what a waste of a save) but I'm not sure who will leave with him. I'm going to guess Lil, but really, I think Adam is the only safe one tonight.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

American Idol - Season 8: Top 7

Tonight's American Idol is...songs from movies!

Allison Iraheta "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith
This was horrible. I don't know if it was the crappiness of the song, the arrangements, or Allison's voice (she sounded kinda sick), but this was all sorts of wrong. This should have been a lot better. Boo.


Anoop Desai "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams
The song is super-cheese, but it's the guilty kind. That said, Anoop did a nice job with the vocal, although you can tell QT's instruction of growling it out was difficult for him.


Adam Lambert "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf
Not a surprising song choice, but it was a terrific vocal and performance. I laughed when Simon compared it to The Rocky Horror Picture Show because my brother said the exact same thing as Adam was performing.


Matt Giraud "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman" by Bryan Adams
Of the two Oscar-nodded songs by Bryan Adams, this one is worse because it's way, way, way too cheesey that it goes from bad to good and back to bad. Matt tried to make it interesting, but I think he failed. He's been very inconsistent this season.


Danny Gokey "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
Sweet Jesus, really? His vocal was one of his better ones, but this was the third time, he ignored a mentor's suggestion. QT told him to avoid using his hands and what does he do? Use them. Eh.


Kris Allen "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
I looooove this song (so happy it won the Oscar two years back). I'm surprised that Kris knew it, but it shows that he was thinking about what song would best suit him. It was good, although I do think he was a little sharp at some places (def. not off pitch Randy), and I'm not sure if the arrangement was the best.


Lil Rounds "The Rose" by Bette Midler
This should have been amazing, but it seemed like Lil was trying to have her cake and eat it too. I'm glad Simon called her out again and while I'm glad she *finally* grew a pair to talk back to Simon, I hope this is the end of the road for her.


Rankings:
1. Adam
2. Kris
3. Anoop
4. Danny
5. Lil
6. Matt
7. Allison


Bottom Three Predictions:
Anoop, Kris and Matt. These were the three that Randy and Kara got to judge (and that whole thing was COMPLETE bullshit!), so I think TPTB are trying to tell us something. I think what will happen is (because it's top 7 night), these three will be on side of the stage and then Allison, Lil and Adam will be on the other side and Gokey will have to pick the highest vote getters. Bleh. I'm going to say Anoop gets sent to the couches, which will leave Kris and Matt.

Goodbye to...
Kris Allen. I think TPTB put the bus on full speed and aimed for Kris tonight. Even during the recap, they clearly played the dress rehearsal clip, where Kris didn't sound that well. Plus, even though I think it's pretty kick ass that "Falling Slowly" got to be done on the Idol stage, and even thought it won the Oscar, it is a pretty obscure song that Middle America doesn't recognize. What doesn't make sense is that Kris is the right kind of artist to market right now in a world dominated by Jason Mraz and John Mayer. Gokey does urban music, but he's white. Adam does powerrock shit, but he's gay. The girls won't win and the other guys won't win either. Idiots.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

American Idol - Season 8: Top 8

Tonight's American Idol is...songs from the year you were born!

Danny Gokey "Stand By Me" by Mickey Gilley
Do. Not. Like. I thought no one could eff up "Stand By Me" more than Archie did last year. I was wrong.


Kris Allen "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" by Don Henley
Bad song, but Kris tried his best to change it up. Didn't work.


Lil Rounds "What's Love Got To Do With It" by Tina Turner
Only one I predicted correctly. And it should have been awesome...but it wasn't. And I have sadly come to the conclusion...Lil is worse than Syesha "Vocal Rest" Mercado. *ducks


Anoop Desai "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper
Very nice. Agree with Simon, not the best, but a very good job.


Scott MacIntyre "The Search Is Over" by Survivor
LLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMEEEEEEEEE!!


Allison Iraheta "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt
Love the song, but I'm not sure if it was right for Allison. Her vocals were fine, but I still prefer Kimberly Locke's version (what is it with her and doing old Idol songs?).


Matt Giraud "Part-Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder
All memories of Kevin Covais doing this one have been erased. Thank God.


Adam Lambert "Mad World" by Tears for Fears
Simon has NEVER stood up for anyone. Damn.


Rankings:
1. Adam
2. Matt
3. Allison
4. Anoop
5. Kris
6. Danny
7. Lil
8. Scott


Bottom Three Predictions:
Kris, Scott and Lil. I pray that Kris is safe (this was his first bad week), so that it's Scott vs Lil.


Goodbye to...
Scott MacIntyre. Not only will they finally ditch him, but it will also scare Lil's fans to wake-up (ditto Lil). But I also worry that somebody good might leave. 8th place has been where somebody bad finally leaves (Haley Scarnato, Bucky Covington, Jon Peter Lewis, Rickey Smith, A.J. Gill) or a semi-shock boot to an early favorite (Michael Johns, Nadia Turner). Please let it be the former and not the latter (which would mean Kris, Anoop or Matt are in trouble).