Oscar Presenters

February 23, 2011

jmunney Cinema, Oscars Leave a comment

It has been announced that the presentation of the acting categories at this year’s Oscars ceremony will not consist of groups of five presenters, one assigned to each nominee, as had been the case the past two years.  That’s too bad, because I had some ideas for whom they could have called on to present.  I preferred last year’s version, in which the presenters were former co-stars (or some other similar relation) of the nominees, as opposed to two years ago, when the presenters were just past winners in that category.  If the five-for-five format had been stuck with, here’s who I would have recommended:

Lead Actress
-John Cusack, for Annette Bening: In case Bening wins this year, it would be nice to have her co-star from The Grifters, which was the first movie she was nominated for.
-Tom Cruise, for Nicole Kidman: I’m sure they get along these days.  Tom doesn’t make a lot of live appearances on TV these days, so whenever he does, it is always a treat.
-Bill Engvall, for Jennifer Lawrence: I thought that Jennifer had come out of nowhere.  It turns out that she’d been playing one of the kids on The Bill Engvall Show for the past few years.
-Andy Samberg or Chris Parnell, for Natalie Portman: Before Black Swan, Natalie showed some edge in the classic SNL digital short, “Natalie Raps.”
-Joshua Jackson, for Michelle Williams: With Fringe being a great show, Joshua has had as much success lately as his former Dawson’s Creek-mate.

Lead Actor
-Johnny Depp, for Javier Bardem: Javier’s role in Before Night Falls alongside Depp was likely quite the contrast to Biutiful.
-Sam Elliott, for Jeff Bridges: I figured for Jeff, we should go with someone from his last Coen bros. joint, The Big Lebowski.  Julianne Moore, who would be there anyway for The Kids Are All Right, would have made sense, but she was already used for Jeff last year.  Luckily, Sam makes sense as well and fits in with the Western element of True Grit.
-Kristen Stewart, for Jesse Eisenberg: News of Kristen Stewart presenting could have drawn some Twihards to watching the show, but it could have also turned some people off.  But her performance in Adventureland alongside Eisenberg proved that she actually could act.
-Jennifer Ehle, for Colin Firth: They were iconic together in Pride and Prejudice, and they reunited in The King’s Speech.
-Seth Rogen, for James Franco: Seth, Franco’s Pineapple Express costar, could explain how playing a guy with his arm trapped under a rock is similar to playing a pothead.

Supporting Actress
-Will Ferrell, for Amy Adams: Amy Adams’ characters have a thing for athletes, with Ricky Bobby having preceded Micky Ward.
-Daniel Radcliffe, for Helena Bonham Carter: Harry Potter himself could speak for all Brits by discussing the appropriateness of Bellatrix Lestrange portraying the Queen Mum.
-Robert De Niro, for Melissa Leo: Melissa costarred in a couple of movies with De Niro, albeit two of De Niro’s worst (Everybody’s Fine and Righteous Kill).
-Jeff Bridges, for Hailee Steinfeld: Like Gabourey Sidibe and Carey Mulligan last year, Hailee hadn’t been in anything big before this role, so the presenter would have to be a current costar.
-Guy Pearce, for Jacki Weaver: Most of Jacki’s costars over the course of her career would be unfamiliar to American audiences, so it would make sense to go with her most recognizable costar from Animal Kingdom.

Supporting Actor
-John Malkovich, for Christian Bale: Malkovich costarred with Bale in one of his earliest roles in Empire of the Sun.  Bale was already singularly intense at the age of 13.
-Ian McShane or Timothy Olyphant, for John Hawkes, Hawkes’ biggest role before Winter’s Bone was on the HBO series Deadwood, so either McShane or Olyphant would be appropriate.
-Rose Byrne, for Jeremy Renner: In 2007, Byrne and Renner costarred in an unnecessary, mildly entertaining sequel (28 Weeks Later).  Since then, in the past couple of years, Renner has racked up two Oscar noms, and Byrne two Emmy noms (for Damages).
-Kirsten Dunst, for Mark Ruffalo: Mark Ruffalo had a weird relationship with Kirsten Dunst in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  He had a weird relationship with everybody in The Kids Are All Right.
-Kel Mitchell, for Geoffrey Rush: Kel and Geoffrey Rush were both in Mystery Men.  Considering that his old buddy Kenan has found success on SNL, Kel deserves whatever sort of exposure he can get.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 2/19/11

February 20, 2011

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Bruno Mars doesn’t need to be a You Oughta Know Artist anymore.  We already know him.

Original Version
1. P!nk – “F****** Perfect
2. Train – “Marry Me”
3. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
4. The Script – “For the First Time”
5. Taylor Swift – “Back to December”
6. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
7. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
8. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
9. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”
10. Avril Lavigne – “What the Hell”
11. Cee-Lo Green – “F*** You”
12. Kings of Leon – “Pyro”
13. Sick Puppies – “Maybe”
14. Sia – “I’m in Here”
15. Maroon 5 – “Never Gonna Leave This Bed”
16. Crystal Bowersox – “Farmer’s Daughter”
17. Linkin Park – “Waiting for the End”
18. Keri Hilson – “Pretty Girl Rock”
19. James Blunt – “Stay the Night”
20. Two Door Cinema Club – “What You Know”

Jmunney’s Revison
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. Pyro
4. The Cave
5. F*** You
6. I’m in Here
7. What You Know
8. Jar of Hearts
9. Waiting for the End
10. What the Hell
11. Grenade
12. Back to December
13. Maybe
14. Stay the Night
15. Never Gonna Leave This Bed
16. Pretty Girl Rock
17. F****** Perfect
18. For the First Time
19. Farmer’s Daughter
20. Marry Me

Natty Pups

February 17, 2011

jmunney Cinema, Trailers Leave a comment

The trailer for Bridesmaids – the first female-centric Judd Apatow production, directed by Freaks and Geeks alum Paul Feig – has been released.  It stars Kristen Wiig as Maya Rudolph’s maid of honor, but as you watch the trailer, keep an eye out for the real highlight at the 1:51-1:52 mark:

The puppies are awesome not only because they are so cute, but they are also awesome because it is not clear at all what they have to do with the rest of the trailer.

There seems to be a trend in which trailers include random shots, like this one, that cannot be made sense of in the context of the trailer.  A good many trailers these days, Bridesmaids clearly among them, are at their ends just mishmashes of quickly edited shots set to fast-paced music.  Bridesmaids’ puppy shot, though, sets a new standard: not only does it lack context and not only is it completely out of place, it also does not tease out the story in any way and its tone stands it contrast to the rest of the trailer without it lasting anywhere near long enough for that change in tone to make a difference.  Except insofar as it makes you go, “Aww.”

SNL Recap February 12, 2011: Russell Brand/Chris Brown

February 13, 2011

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , Leave a comment

You gotta pay the bills.

Cold Opening – The O’Reilly Factor: The Super Bowl Sunday Obama Interview
Initially, this was all about O’Reilly stubbornly sticking to obviously wrong statements, as when Darrell Hammond did his O’Reilly. That was basically enjoyable. Then a new element was added with the pop culture quiz, which led to Obama’s mild exasperation, which is generally amusing. Ultimately lightweight, but in the best way possible. B

Russell Brand’s Monologue
Russell performed standup on a variety of topics, some of which were funny, some of which went on too long.  The centerpiece joke – that wearing tight trousers indicates fame in England – illustrated both elements, with the bit about having to say that you’re famous being like having to say that you’re sexually attractive eliciting a few laughs.  But Russell did take a while to get his entire point across.  His impression of his wife Ms. Perry was pretty spot-on.  Despite the inconsistency, it is always a huge relief when the host actually performs standup in the monologue.  (Did anyone else hear, “Ejaculate box” when Russell said “Jack-in-the-box”?) B

Gublin & Green
Considering the problems that have plagued this production, this sort of comedic sendup was only inevitable.  The fact that all the settlements were tickets for future performances was quite the zing at first, then got old quickly, and was ultimately so delightfully bizarre.  (For those who didn’t notice, the law firm’s name is a pun.) B+

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VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 2/12/11

February 12, 2011

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No debuts and two re-charts?  How boring!

Original Version
1. The Script – “For the First Time”
2. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
3. Train – “Marry Me”
4. Taylor Swift – “Back to December”
5. Pink – “F****** Perfect”
6. Sick Puppies – “Maybe”
7. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”
8. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
9. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
10. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
11. Sia – “I’m in Here”
12. Linkin Park – “Waiting for the End”
13. Avril Lavigne – “What the Hell”
14. Kings of Leon – “Pyro”
15. Crystal Bowersox – “Farmer’s Daughter”
16. Cee-Lo Green – “F*** You”
17. James Blunt – “Stay the Night”
18. Kylie Minogue – “Get Outta My Way”
19. Goo Goo Dolls – “Notbroken”
20. Keri Hilson – “Pretty Girl Rock”

Jmunney’s Revison
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. Pyro
4. Get Outta My Way
5. The Cave
6. F*** You
7. I’m in Here
8. Jar of Hearts
9. Back to December
10. Grenade
11. Waiting for the End
12. What the Hell
13. Maybe
14. Stay the Night
15. Pretty Girl Rock
16. F****** Perfect
17. For the First Time
18. Farmer’s Daughter
19. Notbroken
20. Marry Me

SNL Recap February 5, 2011: Dana Carvey/Linkin Park

February 7, 2011

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , Leave a comment

Looks like you on the phone with Ice-T.

Cold Opening – Wayne’s World
The great thing about Wayne’s World sketches and the reason why there has never been a bad one is because they always mix up the comedy styles.  This reprise was no different, making use of the ever-popular sniggering pun (“Winter’s Bone”), witty babe-ogling (“I’d make a Mila out of her Kunis”), and Abbott and Costello-style shtick (“Who’s on Firth?”) B+

Dana Carvey’s Monologue
Dana appeared to be going for goofy-sounding singing, so we don’t know if he could pull out a legit singing voice, but he didn’t need to.  Goofy, but rhythmic, singing is generally successfully but, oddly, it is rarely seen these days, at least on SNL.  That being said, the song itself wasn’t overly noteworthy.  It’s always good when something else is going on around the song, so here we had Dana not knowing the cast members’ names.  Calling Bill “Rainn Wilson” was funny in that it almost made sense.  And you can never go wrong with Lovitz yelling, “ACTING!” B

I-Sleep Pro
The black noise sleep aid commercial makes a return appearance, getting upgraded from the the last sketch of the night to the post-monologue slot in the process. B+

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VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 2/5/11

February 7, 2011

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

“Rolling in the Deep” is Number 1 on VH1, and it is currently the most requested song on Radio 104.5.

Original Version
1. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
2. The Script – “For the First Time”
3. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”
4. Train – “Marry Me”
5. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
6. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
7. Taylor Swift – “Back to December”
8. Sia – “I’m in Here”
9. Sick Puppies – “Maybe”
10. P!nk – “F****** Perfect”
11. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
12. Ke$ha – “We R Who We R”
13. Crystal Bowersox – “Farmer’s Daughter”
14. Linkin Park – “Waiting for the End”
15. Avril Lavigne – “What the Hell”
16. Kylie Minogue – “Get Outta My Way”
17. Goo Goo Dolls – “Notbroken”
18. James Blunt – “Stay the Night”
19. Katy Perry – “Firework”
20. Kings of Leon – “Pyro”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. Pyro
4. We R Who We R
5. Get Outta My Way
6. The Cave
7. I’m in Here
8. Jar of Hearts
9. Back to December
10. Grenade
11. Waiting for the End
12. Firework
13. Maybe
14. What the Hell
15. Stay the Night
16. F****** Perfect
17. For the First Time
18. Farmer’s Daughter
19. Notbroken
20. Marry Me

Blake Griffin: Keeping SportsCenter in Touch with Its Roots

February 4, 2011

jmunney ESPN, Sports, Television Leave a comment

The program description for SportsCenter on the digital cable states that it “provides a thorough presenatation of sports news, highlights, and analysis.”  The description used to be something along the lines of  “a daily collection of dunks, homers, and touchdowns.”  This change in description is apt, as SportsCenter has made the shift from being primarily a highlights show to being primarily a news program.  It was only ten years ago – perhaps even five years ago – that it was basically guaranteed that you could catch at least some highlights from all of last night’s NBA action.  Now, you’ll be lucky if they show clips from three games.  It is true thatwith the Internet, the highlights that SportsCenter does not include are still out there.  But most Internet highlights are not accompanied with commentary as worthy as a “Boo-yah!”  (And Stuart Scott is hardly ever on SportsCenter these days anyway.)  What SportsCenter is instead dominated by these days is game day coverage that begins at least a week in advance and covers such topics as the chance that Ben Roethlisberger may, or may not, have stayed out past curfew.

But all is not lost, thanks to the emergence of Blake Griffin.  The Clippers’ own personal dunking highlight reel seems to end up on the Top 10 Plays every day that the Clips have a game.  He has ensured that SportsCenter will continue to include at least some highlights.  His dunks defy analysis; all we ought to do is watch and marvel, and maybe sprinkle in a “Did you see that?!” and a “Boo-yah!” here and there.  There has not been a one-man highlight reel on this level since the NBA’s glory days of the eighties and nineties, and there probably won’t be any others any time soon.  We’ve got to enjoy it while it lasts, and even ESPN knows that.

SNL Recap January 29, 2011: Jesse Eisenberg/Nicki Minaj

January 30, 2011

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , , Leave a comment

Cold Opening – Congresswoman Michele Bachman’s Response to the President’s State of the Union: The Second Attempt
The concept of technical difficulties galore was good for a few laughs and then it got a little old, but not as old as it could have gotten. Bachman offhandedly confirming that Xena was on the same tape as the Obama clip and the crash in the background at the end were the most amusing bits, because of how goofy and unexplained they were. B

Jesse Eisenberg’s Monologue
When Zuckerberg joined Eisenberg, it felt like they were going for pretend awkward, but instead it was just actually awkward. (Why didn’t all three Zuckerbergs appear together at the same time?) Jesse’s struggle to paint himself as cocky was well-intentioned, but that too was also awkward. C

Estro-maxx
This was one of the weakest premises SNL has ever had for a commercial parody, but thankfully it was part of a trend in which weak premises are saved by great performances. Bill, Fred, Paul, and Bobby especially were completely wholehearted in their roles, particularly while wining. And of course Kenan’s look of joyful surprise was the best moment. B

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VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 1/29/11

January 30, 2011

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

My dad caught some of “All You Need is Now” and thought, Hey, that current band sounds like Duran Duran.

Original Version
1. The Script – “For the First Time”
2. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”
3. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
4. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
5. Ke$ha – “We R Who We R”
6. Train – “Marry Me”
7. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
8. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
9. Crystal Bowersox – “Farmer’s Daughter”
10. Taylor Swift – “Back to December”
11. Sick Puppies – “Maybe”
12. Sia – “I’m in Here”
13. Linkin Park – “Waiting for the End”
14. Josh Groban – “Hidden Away”
15. Goo Goo Dolls – “Notbroken”
16. P!nk – “F****** Perfect”
17. Kylie Minogue – “Get Outta My Way”
18. Kid Rock – “Born Free”
19. Duran Duran – “All You Need is Now”
20. Katy Perry – “Firework”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. We R Who We R
4. All You Need is Now
5. Get Outta My Way
6. The Cave
7. I’m in Here
8. Jar of Hearts
9. Born Free
10. Back to December
11. Grenade
12. Waiting for the End
13. Maybe
14. Firework
15. Hidden Away
16. F****** Perfect
17. For the First Time
18. Farmer’s Daughter
19. Notbroken
20. Marry Me

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