SYTYCD has ended... now what to do with my Wednesday nights?

A (mostly) brilliant season of SYTYCD has ended and now my children will be able to play outside on Wednesday and Thursday nights instead of being ushered inside so mommy can "watch her show." :)  So very many memorable dances this season (and some seriously silly and amateur ones as well)! Perhaps I'll bother you with some YouTube vids of my faves another day when I have time :) But, for now, a link to an editorial I couldn't agree with more about the guest judges:   http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2011-08-11.shtml
Yes, I know, it's written by Orson Scott Card. I promise, I don't always agree with him. But, this is almost the exact article I would write (if I could think straight when I have time to blog) about the differences in approaching guest judging between Christina Applegate (charming, interested in the contestants, helpful) and Lady Gaga (I can't think of phrases to aptly describe the wretchedly horrific, attention-greedy antics).
Just scroll past the review of The Rise of the Planet of the Apes if you want.

In honor of a new season of So You Think You Can Dance?

How can I possibly post all my favorite dances from the past 7 seasons? There isn't enough room, but I'd like to post some of my very faves since this new season is going to kick "A" :)

First, here's the only ballroom dancer to get in this year. Dancing with Pasha (*drool*)



Jeannine and Jason dance a Travis Wall contemporary in season 5



Katee and Joshua from season 4(?) dancing a Samba. This was so the power couple that season (next in line would probably be Mark and Chelsea).



Ellenore and Jakob from season 6 dancing my favorite Sonya routine (Mark and Courtney dancing "The Garden" would be my second fave Sonya routine)



Oh no! I forgot my other favorite Sonya routine! :) Alex and Allison dancing to "Hallelujah" - so beautiful!



Speaking of Alex, how about one of the most surprising hip hop performances ever?! Sorry for the quality, most of the vids had embeding disabled



Kayla and Kupono dancing "Addiction" by the dancing genius that is Mia Michals



Sexiest Argentine Tango and there's only ONE video posted on YouTube and it won't let me embed it. *grrrr* Go check out Lauren and Pasha (oh big surprise) from season 7

http://youtu.be/E81hcQQRm5s

The dance that made me fall in love with Mia Michaels. Lacey and Kameron from season 3:



And, how do I choose a Wade Robson routine to share? I don't... I choose a few :)

"Ramalama" from season 2



How do I not include the Hummingbird dance? I think this is season 3



Brandon and Janette dancing to "Ruby Blue". Janette got gipped! She should have made it to semi-finals, at least!



How do you not include one of the very first NappyTap routines? Mark and Chelsea "Bleeding Love"



And I can't resist one more glorious Mark routine - "The Garden" :)




Oh, okay, I could go on and on, but I won't. Must stop watching dance vids... must.... stop :)

BBC's Sherlock Holmes

I have to confess, I haven't seen many Sherlock Holmes films - the pipe-smoking pompous know-it-all detective aided by the bumbling fool just never interested me, I guess. I did see the Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law movie and thought it was fun and enjoyable. I just recently rented "The Hound of the Baskervilles," which I found out, through the featurettes, was one of Arthur Conan Doyle's most popular Holmes novels.
The only actor I was familiar with was Richard E Grant (A&E's fantastic Scarlet Pimpernell, also the dad on "Penelope"), whom I'm a big of. And he's fantastic in this as well. As Holmes, they cast Australian Richard Roxburgh, who has such an interesting screen presence. He seems a really great mix of being able to pass as an English gentleman, but there's something off about him, which works great.
And Ian Hart as Dr. Watson is personable and SMART! I love that there was geniune frustration between Watson and Holmes.
The supporting cast is beyond fantastic as well. John Nettles, who plays Dr. Mortimer is able to carry off the telling of the legend of the curse of the hound of the Baskervilles - a feat not to be taken lightly. What could have been the most cheesy part of the movie ends up being actually creepy and feels almost Shakespearean.
This movie was superbly done from the acting, to directing, the CGI is a little cheesy, but for a small budget, it was passable. It's eery and genuinely creepy. Love it! I would definitely recommend this one!

Here is the clip of Mortimer explaining the legend. You need to forward it to 7:15, where it begins. It only goes till about 8:30, so super short and will give you a flavor. The whole clip is actually the beginning of the movie if you want to watch the whole 9:40 to get a better idea.

Were you "one of those" who missed "Arrested Development?"

I had caught a few episodes here and there when Arrested Development was on the air and remembered it being funny... boy, was I wrong. It's HILARIOUS! It's right up there with "Scrubs" and "The Big Bang Theory!"
If you aren't familiar with the story line, it's pretty simple:

Level-headed son Michael Bluth takes over family affairs after his father is imprisoned. But the rest of his spoiled, dysfunctional family are making his job unbearable.

You have GOB (pronounced like Job from the bible), Michal's older, womanizing, money-spending, aspiring magician brother, whose tricks don't always work out the way they're supposed to. I couldn't find the clip I wanted of him doing a coffin trick at his Dad's funeral, but here's the opening of his act on stage (he ALWAYS plays this music):




Then you have his twin sister Lindsay, who isn't the brightest crayon in the box. And she is married to former Dr. Tobias Funke, who has the most horrible habit of saying double entendres and not realizing it. Some fabulous person put together this compilation:



You have the baby of the family, Buster, who is still treated like a baby.



You have the patriarch in jail, who at first is finding it a bit pleasant.
Then the matriarch, who is a sharp-tongued ego-centric booze-hound in such a delightful way.
Then you have Michael's son, George Michael, and Lindsay's daughter Maibe who also have their own awkwardness going on.

There are a few fantastic things about this show:
It's all so politically incorrect, but the joke's on the main characters, not the group they're mocking.
Some of the most quotable lines (i.e. After Gob finds out he has a son,
Gob: What is this.... feeling?
Michael: What you're feeling is what most people think of as a feeling.
Gob: It isn't envy. I'm not hungry.
Michael: It's love Gob.
Gob: I know what an erection feels like, Michael. This is the opposite, it's like my heart is getting hard.)

The most crass and vulgar stuff gets bleeped out. Which is NOT a shame. What's funny is knowing that a character is saying something so completely disguisting and how the other characters react to it. The bleeps that I have no idea what they might be bleeping out are just as funny as the bleeps where I do know what they're bleeping out.
It's witty and clever and why wasn't this more popular? Get the DVD's (there are 3 seasons) and be prepared to laugh your guts out!
I leave you with the several variations of a theme on "the chicken dance"

"Bleak House"

I admit it!... I have never ever finished a Charles Dickens novel. It isn't that I can't appreciate "classics", I just can't seem to wade through a Dickens of a story (wah-wah-wah. I know it was bad). Anyhow, fortunately for all of us BBC does amazing things with Dicken's novels and brings to life the zany but never quite over-the-top characters. One of the best adaptations is "Bleak House" starring Gillian Anderson (of X-Files fame) with a flawless british accent and flawless acting. The only other name I know is Anna Maxwell Martin (Bessy Higgins from "North and South") who you of course feel immediately invested in her character Esther Summerson because she has a way of pulling you in. I take that back, I did recognize Carey Mulligan who plays Ada Clare (from the 2005 "Pride & Prejudice" she played Kitty). This role gave her a lot more to do and she took advantage of it. A lot of the other faces I recognized, but couldn't place from where. But of course all are top-notch actors - British actors are so much more dependably brilliant than american (on the whole).

Charles Dance is brilliantly nefarious as the lawyer Tulkinghorn. Denis Lawson is utterly beleivable as the generous Jon Jarndyce. Burn Gorman as bumbling and ambitious Guppy is delightfully embarrassing to watch. Nathaniel Parker gave me the shudders with his portrayel of Skimpole who claims to be as "innocent as a child" when it comes to matters of money and the world, but manipulates all around him so he can live off their wealth. Oh, I could go on and on!

It's about 7 hours long in 30 minute episodes (except for the first which is a full hour). It makes it easy to split it up over time if desired, but watch it you must. This is the best way to enjoy Dickens. Here's the trailer for it:

The Fringe

This is my new series I'm watching while I work. I'm a little torn as to what to think about it. I find the premise and storylines fascinating, the characters multi-faceted, quirky, loveable yet realistic, overall well executed. My only beef, I think, is that it can be a little over-the-top-in-your-face grotesque. Which is one of the main rasons I don't watch any of the C.S.I. shows anymore.

But, if you don't mind that stuff so much, this show is incredible.

Also on a side note I keep expecting Dr Walter Bishop ------------------>

to don a big fur coat and yell for everyone to "flee! flee for [their] lives!"

(100 points to anyone who gets the obscure reference, I'll even inc a pic) :)

movies and tv shows

BBC almost never goes wrong with period films (maybe with the exception of "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" - see further down). This "Emma" is by far (with the excpetion of maybe "Clueless") the BEST adaptation of the book by Austen. There's a BBC version with Kate Beckinsale, and I think she does wonderfully and the Mr Knightley has the right characterization, but (and I admit this is shallow) he really isn't a looker, so it isn't AS enjoyable as it could be :). Emma in this one is perfectly portrayed by ROMOLA GARAI. She's well-intentioned, but youthful and sometimes a bit oblivious. And not to mention Mr. Knightley!!!! Check this out:

Now, come on, who wouldn't want to watch that! AND he has the character down. As much as I do love Jeremy Northam, his portrayel in the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow is too... I don't know... flirtatious and indulgent - he never truly lectures her, which she's always accusing him of doing.
I rented this one from the library, there's a bit of a wait for those of you who go to the same library system, but SOOOO worth it! But make sure you get this version!

Speaking of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Really interesting story... I've never read the novel, but I watched two versions. A&E's version from 1998 with the incomparable Justine Waddell in the title role (Wives & Daughters, Great Expectations, The Woman in White). I loved it! It was a bit more clear (which I hear the book is not) on her role in the big "occurrence". I just love watching her, I think she's so fascinating to watch.

Tess is basically of poor relations, but her father discovers their family used to be aristocratic and there seems to be cousins still in existence who are well off. Tess goes to work for them and there meets Alec who falls in love with her and seduces/rapes her (the big "occurrence"). She flees home, not to much support from her family. She then starts out on her own for a job. She finds one and meets Angel. What could be a happy ending isn't so simple though. Should Tess tell Angel about what happened with Alec? If she does will he still love her? To watch her strange life and tragic events unfold and how she copes with them is hauntingly beautiful.

Now, as mentioned above, there is another version. BBC also adapted the novel in 2006 I believe. I didn't recognize any of the actors in this one and the big event in this one is more ambiguous, in keeping with the novel. The characterizations were all very interesting. This Tess seemed to be much more naive than Justine Waddell's. Which is in keeping with the character herself. It was different enough from the other one to still be interesting. As noted earlier, I do have one qualm... the very graphic (at least to me) sex scene. If I see naked butts in motion - I'm done. It's one scene toward the end of the movie. I personally found it gratuitous, but if you wouldn't then I would still recommend seeing it.

But, if you only have time for one, I suggest Justine Waddell's. Speaking of which, she is in a Masterpeice Theatre adaptation of "Anna Karennina" which is one of my all time favorite novels, but our library doesn't have it. If by some miracle there is someone out there who does have it or knows someone willing to lend it out, please let me know!

Now on to TV shows... "The Mentalist". It just started its third season, but I watch on DVD, so I don't have to endure the suspense week to week (not to mention I have to watch on a portable DVD player, I don't have a TV by my work computer). Simon Baker plays the lead, and come one it's almost worth it just to watch him for an hour! But on top of rugged good looks, he's also very talented! Basically he plays Patrick Jane, a former tv psychic. Jane was doing an interview on TV and told them how he was helping out the police on the side to catch a serial killer and belittled him on national television. This killer, Red John, decided to teach Jane a lesson and killed his wife and child. Jane then admitted himself a fraud. He wasn't psychic, just incredibly observant, which allowed him to pass as psychic. He now helps the police with investigations, but his main goal is still to catch Red John. It's listed as a drama, and it is, but it isn't as dark as other crime dramas. Jane is good at what he does, but he also likes to create drama and doesn't always have (okay never has) great tact. Do yourself a favor and rent the first season on DVD, if you don't love the first episode, you probably wouldn't like the rest. SOOOOOO worth it though!