VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 11/30/13

Leave a comment

Aren’t these hits from the summer?

Original Version
1. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
2. Avicii ft. Aloe Blacc – “Wake Me Up”
3. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
4. Lorde – “Royals”
5. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
6. Passenger – “Let Her Go”
7. Emeli Sandé – “My Kind of Love”
8. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
9. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
10. Travie McCoy ft. Gavin DeGraw – “Rough Water”
11. Jason Derulo – “Marry Me”
12. Justin Timberlake – “TKO”
13. Tegan and Sara – “Closer”
14. Ellie Goulding – “Burn”
15. Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – “Stay the Night”
16. Goo Goo Dolls – “Come to Me”
17. Fall Out Boy – “Alone Together”
18. Haim – “The Wire”
19. Bruno Mars – “Gorilla”
20. Katy Perry – “Unconditionally”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Wake Me Up
2. Royals
3. The Wire
4. Closer
5. Demons
6. TKO
7. Wrecking Ball
8. Sweater Weather
9. Gorilla
10. Burn
11. Applause
12. Stay the Night
13. Let Her Go
14. Alone Together
15. Unconditionally
16. My Kind of Love
17. Come to Me
18. Counting Stars
19. Rough Water
20. Marry Me

SNL Video Recap 11/23/13 Josh Hutcherson/Haim

Leave a comment

What Won TV? – November 17-November 23, 2013

Leave a comment

In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

Sunday – Hello Ladies nails its first season finale.
Monday – I’m going to give it to Almost Human for being weirder than HIMYM.
Tuesday – Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Honorable Mention: the last minute of S.H.I.E.L.D., for implying that Agent Coulson is a doll)
Wednesday – The Middle edges out Key & Peele (and The League finale was pretty good, too).Thursday – Parenthood
Friday – Comedy Bang! Bang!, in every alternate reality
Saturday – High School USA! (though SNL had at least 11 minutes of strong material)

SNL Recap 11/23/13 Josh Hutcherson/Haim

2 Comments

He had a real peaceful look on his face before he exploded.

Piers Morgan Live
It would have been nice if in addition to showcasing whatever they wanted to showcase what was in the news this week, they also put Taran’s Piers Morgan to greater use. C

Josh Hutcherson’s Monologue
Having seen The Hunger Games made all the beats of this monologue super obvious.  The key party business was interesting, though. C

More

Watch And/Or Listen to This: Will Forte’s James Ingram Medley

Leave a comment

Will Forte sang a medley of James Ingram songs on Late Night this week.  I’m not too familiar with Ingram, which I guess makes me crazy.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 11/23/13

Leave a comment

Wasn’t “Wake Me Up” more of a hit a few months ago? I’m glad people are still enjoying it, but it’s time for another Avicii single to break out.

Original Version
1. Avicii ft. Aloe Blacc – “Wake Me Up”
2. Lorde – “Royals”
3. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
4. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
5. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
6. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
7. Passenger – “Let Her Go”
8. Emeli Sandé – “My Kind of Love”
9. Tegan and Sara – “Closer”
10. Jason Derulo – “Marry Me”
11. Travie McCoy ft. Gavin DeGraw – “Rough Water”
12. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
13. Katy Perry – “Roar”
14. Justin Timberlake – “TKO”
15. Bruno Mars – “Gorilla”
16. Ellie Goulding – “Burn”
17. Haim – “The Wire”
18. Goo Goo Dolls – “Come to Me”
19. Fall Out Boy – “Alone Together”
20. Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – “Stay the Night”

Jmunney’s Revisions
1. Wake Me Up
2. Royals
3. Closer
4. The Wire
5. TKO
6. Demons
7. Sweater Weather
8. Wrecking Ball
9. Gorilla
10. Burn
11. Applause
12. Stay the Night
13. Alone Together
14. Roar
15. Let Her Go
16. My Kind of Love
17. Come to Me
18. Counting Stars
19. Rough Water
20. Marry Me

This Is A Movie Review: Nebraska

Leave a comment

WideModern_nebraska_131120620x413If you have any relatives who are hard of their hearing and terse of their speaking, then you will likely recognize a great deal in Nebraska.  There is a scene in the middle in which Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) and his brothers and some of their sons are sitting around and watching football.  A conversation breaks out, punctuated by “Huh?’s” and “What’s that?’s”, about a vaguely remembered, perfectly inconsequential car.  It reminded me a great deal of my great uncle who passed away earlier this year.  I was cracking up the whole time.

Despite its dour color palette and pitiable characters, Nebraska is a breezy hoot.  This is thanks mainly to the performances, because even when these characters are at their lowest, they are effortlessly charming.  (It must also be mentioned that the black and white isn’t really dour – Phedon Papamichael’s cinematography is lovely.)  I will join the chorus that has been praising Bruce Dern.  And I will express confused wonderment about how June Squibb has not had a bigger career (hey, it’s never too late to break out).  But anyone who knows me well knows that the actor I most want to talk about is Orville Willis Forte IV.  I was excited by the prospect of his first dramatic role, and I thought that the odds of success were in his favor.  In his time on SNL and all of his other comedic work, he commits completely to his performances.  That is a skill that does wonders for comedy AND drama, and he did not forget to utilize it as David Grant.  His role was a tricky mix of put-upon and forthright, and he pretty much nailed it.

The one thing that nagged at me was the yokel portrayal of the residents of director Alexander Payne’s native cornhusker state.  I am not sure if Payne wanted to say that most Nebraskans are simple-minded folk, and if he did, if he meant that as a bad thing, and I am not sure how much that characterization can be pinned on him anyway, seeing as he did not write the screenplay.  Ultimately, though, there was a mix of kindness and cruelty, sensibleness and naivete in Nebraska the film, just as I’m sure there is in Nebraska the state.

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 11/19/13

Leave a comment

Let’s all put our talents to good use.

Original Version
1. Lorde – “Royals”
2. Eminem – “Survival”
3. One Direction – “Story of My Life”
4. Katy Perry – “Roar”
5. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
6. Avicii – “Wake Me Up”
7. Passenger – “Let Her Go”
8. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
9. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
10. Drake ft. Majid Jordan – “Hold On, We’re Going Home”
11. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
12. Mike WiLL Made It ft. Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, and Juicy J – “23”
13. Jason Derulo – “Marry Me”
14. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
15. Paramore – “Still Into You”
16. Britney Spears – “Work Bitch”
17. Ellie Goulding – “Burn”
18. Selena Gomez – “Slow Down”
19. Sara Bareilles – “Brave”
20. Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – “Stay the Night”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Wake Me Up
2. Royals
3. Work Bitch
4. Demons
5. Sweater Weather
6. Wrecking Ball
7. Hold On, We’re Going Home
8. Burn
9. Survival
10. Stay the Night
11. Applause
12. Roar
13. Still Into You
14. Let Her Go
15. Slow Down
16. 23
17. Brave
18. Counting Stars
19. Story of My Life
20. Marry Me

SNL Video Recap 11/16/13 Lady GaGa

Leave a comment

What Won TV? – November 10-November 16, 2013

Leave a comment

In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

Sunday – Bob’s Burgers
Monday – How I Met Your Mother
Tuesday – Brookyln Nine-Nine
Wednesday – Key & Peele – is this the best show of 2013?
Thursday – Scandal – was this show always this much like Alias?
Friday – Comedy Bang! Bang! – is this the best show of 2013?
Saturday – Saturday Night Live

Older Entries