Temple Grandin

            Temple Grandin is a film about a young woman's struggle with autism without focusing all that much on autism. It seems rather hard to explain that concept but what I mean by it is that the film is more concerned with Temple as a person rather than a person with autism. Autism in this film is clearly a gift, although at times also a burden when it comes to social interactions. I would have never come across this film and watched it, if it hadn't been a class requirement. I don't normally like films dealing with mental disabilities, case in point I have never seen I Am Sam or My Names is Khan and probably never will, even though I love the actors in the latter film.

            The real gem of this film is Claire Danes as the title character. She looks and sounds completely different from her previous roles. She had completely become this character and has made her believable and vulnerable. The one thing that really sticks with me is the voice she uses which adds so much to her character. Every aspect, her looks, voice and body language all work together to portray this character and bring her alive. Danes did an amazing job and I would argue her best work, although I am judging it against Romeo + Juliet and The Mod Squad. Either way this was an excellent pick for her.

            The soundtrack was also amazing and fit the tone of the film. It allowed the audience a way into how Temple's mental process works. It added to the character in a major way and yet with such subtly. The music envelopes you through the whole film but is seductive in a strange way. Because it is matched so well to the visualizations you don't notice it as much.

            The visualizations are another top notch aspect of this film. Similar to A Beautiful Mind it breaks down the process visually as well as musically. The cuts in between shots as she visualizes are quick and shows us rather than tells us how quick her mind works. Every element of this film tells us something about Temple as a person.

The end I think was spectacular and brought the film to a broader meaning. Really the film, as I've said, is about a woman's struggle and autism is only a factor. The focus is on Temple and not her disability, however, at the end when she is asked to speak at the autism convention the film validates itself. It was extremely clever. It gave Temple the chance to validate her mother's sacrifices which we want to see as an audience. At the beginning, the mother seems rather harsh, cold and distant, but at the film progresses through the narrative and you come to understand what she had gone through the audience gets a better understanding of her and feel sorry for her. The end is a nice payoff for the mother and the audience.

            Seeing the progression of her life and how she learned to manage her autism was awe inspiring but there were still flaws. Being a vegetarian, I did not like the cattle slaughtering scenes and in fact I had to look away. It made a nice connection to when Chestnut the horse and her science teacher played by David Strathairn but was still something I did not want to see. The other thing that really bothered me was the structure of the film. I felt it was a bit hard to follow with the many time jumps. It was clear enough I felt. I understand the non-linear approach but I felt lost at times and felt it would have been better served placing scenes in a different order. The one scene in particular was when the doctor visit happens when Temple is four.

            Overall, the film was a joy to watch, although perhaps a little long. I did find myself checking my watch every now and then. The film packed in a lot in a small amount of time but because of the breadth of information the audience begins to fidget. Even with its length I would recommend it as an inspiring film and Danes' best work.

Zodiac

Zodiac was nothing like what I was expecting and I'm still trying to figure out if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I was reluctant at first to see the film because I'm not a fan of horror films, I get too scared and can't sleep at night and since this was based on true events and was all about murder I had my reservations. Surprisingly, the film wasn't that scary. In fact it wasn't about the murders per se but rather about the detective work and puzzle solving surrounding the murders. The murders themselves were pretty gruesome but compared to what other films have portrayed it's pretty mild. The film reminded me of All the President's Men because it was slow, drawn out and focused on the detective work. I did watch the director's cut so the theatrical version might be shorter and not give that same effect but still there isn't much action in the film. The film does a good job in showing the frustration of bureaucratic red tape and the problems involved when coordinating with other police jurisdictions. Everything seemed to be pointed to one person, Leigh Allen, but yet they couldn't convict him because they only had circumstantial evidence. You felt the frustration from the characters as well as the fear as they were targeted.

Another great cast for a film. Robert Downy Jr. has become a favorite of mine in recent years and he was no disappointment here except for the fact that he exited the film early on. However, his rapid deterioration in the film as Paul Avery was hard to watch in terms of feeling sorry for him but it was good. You get to see how the Zodiac wears him down. Two scenes stood out for me with Robert Downing Jr. which were both comedic moments. The first is when he gets a drink with Robert Graysmith played by Jake Gyllenhall. It's such a random scene but yet fits in with the building of their relationship. Robert Downy Jr. plays is so well. The second scene is when he gets the halloween card in the mail from the Zodiac with a piece of the cabbies' shirt. It's creepy because now he is being targeted but yet funny at the same time because how he reacts.
Jake Gyllenhaal was also good in this film although his character was a bit understated. I felt like they could have done a better job at fleshing out his character at the beginning. I guess my main problem with his character is that I was expecting an amazing puzzle solver in the vein of Nicholas Cage in National Treasure or Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones. More of the adventure puzzle solver which I didn't get in Zodiac. Although this was annoying, I applaud the fact that David Fincher didn't go all Hollywood on us and make Robert Graysmith a master puzzle solver.

The structure of these two characters paralleled each other and you knew that once Avery left that Graysmith would take up the mantel and you felt even worse for him because he gave up his family to track down the Zodiac without any real luck. We knew he had already been divorced once and knew it was going to happen again as his obsession with Zodiac grew. The sad thing was having his kids help him. It was frustrating to see a man go so deep into his obsession that he puts himself into dangerous positions.
Mark Ruffalo was the other main actor who was great to see. His voice made the role for him. Both him and Anthony Edwards made a great pair. They had great chemistry and I enjoyed the animal crackers gag that ran the film. Once again, like all the characters in this film you felt sorry for Ruffalo. Not able to catch the Zodiac and then being accused of writing a Zodiac letter. His whole life tumbles in around him but unlike Graysmith, he takes himself out of the situation. Admits defeat. He does help Graysmith in round about ways as he's researching for his book and gets caught up in the case when more evidence is pointing towards Leigh Allen. But, he knows when to stop and somehow you're almost thankful for that.
The film is so circular and the characters just get caught up in this cycle unable to break it by either getting out or by solving the case. As an audience, you feel frustrated. Part of the genius of the film is making the enjoyment come from the detection of how each of the characters sifts through the evidence and comes to their conclusions rather then find out who the Zodiac is. The audience in a way, is an extension of the character's in the narrative and through them we feel frustrated that we can't charge the main suspect which all the evidence points to or know for sure without any doubt that Leigh Allen is the killer because he dies. I think because of this lack of closure for the characters and the audience, the audience is forced to find enjoyment through the detective work. Much like All the President's Men and "Deep Throat" although now Deep Throat his been revealed whereas there will never be a way to concretely say that Leigh Allen is the Zodiac.

The tone of this film is very much on one level. There isn't much color in the film after the lovely green and yellow top Robert Downy Jr, is sporting at the first editorial meeting and the mood of the film fits. However, there are little spurts of comedy. The comedy in this film was well placed but yet you feel as if you shouldn't be laughing. When the Zodiac kills the two people by the lake the male victim says the things that you wish you could say if you were going to be killed. You come to the realization that this guy is going to kill you and you can do nothing about it so you become heavily sarcastic and really just a smart ass. It was a strange scene because you have this balance of comedy and horror but it works.
The one thing that really stood out for me throughout the entire film was the passage of time. Obviously this case spanned a few decades. We begin the movie in 1968 and end in 1991 with an epilogue text in the 2000s. There was the usual time titles for various events but when there was a significant jump in time the film did some unique things like the process of a building being built and the radio noise overlaying a black screen. It is so unusual to be presented with a black screen that it was a good effect. At first you don't quite know what's going on but then the black screen just endures and you put things together realizing that time is passing and you renter the narrative several years down the line.
The film made you think which is always a good sign of a well though out and crafted film. It wasn't overtly scary, I did have some moments last night when I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep because I was thinking about the Zodiac killer, but it had just the right about of suspense.

The Illusionist

When it came out, The Illusionist was overshadowed by Christopher Nolan's The Prestige because both were about magicians but the two movies couldn't be further from each other in terms of content. The Illusionist is a romance with a great twist. The story starts with the arrest of Eisenheim (Edward Norton) and goes back in time to tell the story up and through the beginning scene. I loved the story as it played with my expectations. You knew that Eisenheim would be reunited with his lost love but the story seemed to prevent the happy union when Sophia (Jessical Biel) died, only to finally unveil the fact that Sophia and Eisenheim had faked her death in order to be together.
The cast was phenomenal because they all really became their roles and it was hard to see them as themselves. The all took on slight Austrian accents that masked their true voice just enough that you wouldn't be able to recognize them from their voice. Rufus Sewell perhaps looked too much like Jude Law in this film that I often got distracted. He does play a good bad guy though, Rufus Sewell that is. I'm not a huge fan of Jessica Biel but I didn't recognize her in this film which made it fun to watch not that she had a major part anyways. The girl who played the younger version of herself was amazing in the fact that you could see her growing up into Biel, not so much for the young guy they had playing Norton's character. Which brings me to Edward Norton who was amazing. It might be one of my favorite roles of his, although there hasn't been one which I didn't like. I wouldn't think that Norton would be cast as the leading man, he doesn't have that look but for this film it really works. He didn't do much with his body in terms of conveying emotion but it was all done with his facial expression and especially his eyes. When he's bringing Sophia "back from the dead" the emotion in his eyes is just gut wrenching. And to top it off his line of why he did it, "just to be with her." Oh, how my heart flutters, helped along by the fact that you don't think Sophia has survived. Paul Giamatti had the role of a lifetime. It was his best role I've seen and so far removed from what he has done previously. He takes very well to the Austrian-Hungary look and looks completely different. I think he has the most dramatic transformation in look and voice. He still has his eyes which are great to watch and tell you so much but they work with his character instead of standing out apart from his character.
The film was perhaps a bit slow but I enjoyed it and it seemed very European, probably another reason why The Prestige won out. There wasn't much action to the story which could make it seem dry to others but there was plenty of emotion through the characters, well mainly Norton for gut wrenching and Sewell for anger. The most memorable scene for me was when Norton kisses Biel for the first time after they met. This is the first scene with a lot of raw emotion that picks the film up. You can feel Norton's passion through the screen.

Every part of the film works together to brings us this masterpiece. What I took particular note of was the cinematography and the mise-en-scene. The film is shot is almost a quirky way using a lot of irises at the beginning but it works I think because of the tone of the film and the fact that it is set in the past allowing for that time of editing to work. The first half of the film uses the irises and keeps the iris faded at the edge of the screen to make it easier to see it in use of editing. The iris is not abruptly used which is another reason why it works well and doesn't disrupt contentnioity. Eisenheim begin the film with a grandeous set, very over the top with an announcer and butterflies. But by the end of the film the irises have left and Eisenheim is left with a chair on the stage and nothing else. The most beautiful shot in the entire film is when the camera is behind the curtains as they open to see a chair on the stage as Eisenheim walks in. The shot is breathtaking. The film becomes very minimalist but in a subtle way that don't necessarily realize until the very end when the more fantasy element though the use of the irises returns as Giamatti and the audience realizes that they got away.
When we return to where we entered the story everything starts to fall into place but you never think from watching the film up till this point that it would proceed in this manner. The illusion now is that Eisenheim has made himself the illusion. Made himself and Sophia disappear. When it comes to fruition that Eisenheim is not really there, what a great twist, and everything builds on that. In the hunt to find Eisenheim, the chief inspector stumbles upon the clues to lead him to the crowned prince and arrest him for murder. The sad thing about the story which you don't really think about until later is that in order to have their happy ending, the crowned prince kills himself even though he was right all along. Eisenheim did manipulate the inspector and left him clues to lead him to the wrong man. From the beginning the crowned prince was set out as a bad man so the film justifies it in that way.
The one problem I had with the film was the very ending where we find out what really happened, how Sophia's death was faked but I'm not sure there were enough clues or the clues were too subtle to pick up on that this ending seems plausible. The same problems exist for heist films. You want the audience to be surprised but still follow along after having been tricked. Although I though when Sophia had first died that maybe they had just faked her death but my hopes were dashed as I saw no way for that to happen. Esienheim/Norton gave no hint about what had happened. The scene where he finds her body in the lake was another great emotional scene but seemed like real pain making it seem as if she had really died. Plus he was so adamant that the crowned prince had killed her.
This problem area can be overlooked by the love story which is sweet, minus the necessary suicide, by uniting two lovers from different sides of the tracks.

Psych

I had heard about Psych when it first came out because of Dule Hill. I had loved him as Charlie in The West Wing and was excited to see him in something else, however I never really got around to watching it. My sister started watching a few episodes on Netflix and when I finally sat down to watch one I knew I had to start from the beginning and I've made it all the way through.
The show itself is pretty formulaic but I do love a good detective show with a twist. The twist for this show is that Shawn Spencer is not really a psychic but only pretends to be because he keeps calling in too many tips which turn out to be right and he falls under suspicion. For the head detective, Lassiter that suspicion never really goes away and for the most part Shawn is able to keep up the charade with the help of his trusty sidekick Gus and the various names Shawn introduces him as. The story is good enough to sustain itself although doing too many marathons takes some of the magic away.
The cast is perfect together, a great ensemble. Shawn and Gus have great chemistry together and are believable. In a strange way, Lassiter somehow grows on you and you find yourself really liking him. I can't explain it but you get use to him as a character and feel sorry for him when his love get put behind bars or Shawn finds a way to make him look like a fool. Juliet is a great companion to Lassiter and finally she and Shawn got together after years of banter. I enjoyed the relationship between Shawn and Rachel Lee Cook but not as much as the relationship between him and Jules. It's the kind of relationship that builds and builds until you think maybe they'll never get together but then they finally do. The only problem is that after all the building it becomes rather anti-climatic and nothing too big comes of it. They have their problems. The weekend away episode was a fun example but there isn't as much tension as there used to be now. It's a fact which I can overlook since they are together. Shawn's father is always good for a laugh and its even better when he gets back at Shawn. Their relationship has been fun to watch grow. At first it was a little awkward trying to figure out they could keep his part going but since they brought him into the force as the consultant liaison it brought a whole new dimension to the show which really worked. It brings Shawn down a bit to act more childish as in the time when Lassiter is telling Shawn that he can't be on a case because he wasn't hired and Shawn whines at his dad who says your hired. Really the show had some great comedy and the writing is a major part of that, the other being the actors.

Overall, the show is a comedy with, for the most part, stand alone episodes but at times it does try to spread its wings and do some dramatic episodes, most notably, the Yin and Yang serial killers. It gave James Roday greater acting potential which he lived up to with no problem but it didn't fit the fun atmosphere of the how. Shawn was really loosing his cool which we had not seen before when both his girlfriend and Jules were taken along with his mother and the death of the profiler. It showed great growth in the characters and the show but nothing that was continued in later episodes which made it seem misplaced.
So far one of my favorite episodes has to be where Shawn, Gus, Lassiter, Henry and Woody all wake up having no idea what they had done the night before. It allows you to see Lassiter in a different light and there is a lot of comedy to the episode.
The last season finale has me worried though as Henry has been shot and may be near death. I mean it is a great cliff hanger episode, something the show hasn't been particularly good at but at the same time I can't see how the show could progress without Henry. It was hard to see him decide to quit the force for a second time as he worked so well on the team but there are other ways to involve him if he survives the shooting. The promising thing is that Shawn realizes right away that the guy Henry is going to see isn't on the side of good. We'll know more once the season comes back.

She's all that

I remember when this film came out mainly because I was never able to watch the entire film. I always got to see just parts of it but I was never a big Freddie Prince Jr. fan so I didn't pursue it ever. Well I finally though it was time to complete the film and it wasn't anything extraordinary, not that I was expecting that, but it was still fun although very very dated. The term "wiggins" was used which I don't remember ever using in the 90s and the only other place I've heard it was on Buffy. Speaking of Buffy it was nice seeing her cameo and really the entire cast was a shock to see how many of them I know now who have really come into their own. The first being Dule Hill who was on The West Wing and now if on Psych. It was hilarious to see him with an afro. And Anna Paquin.

There's not much to be said about the film. It's the classic popular boy falls for nerdy girl once she sheds her geekness and becomes beautiful. It's a fun teen film but the formula is overused. If you can overlook that fact and as long as you don't mind taking a trip back to the 90s you should enjoy it.

I did find it a bit strange that they had Freddie Prince Jr. be the soccer star instead of say the football quarterback. Maybe things have changed and I just don't remember soccer being such a popular sport among the high school population. I did liked the fact that he was smart and had one the highest GPAs, it gave for a fun moment between him and Rachel Leigh Cook when she told him she wasn't smart and he should stop following her. Overall it was a fun film but nothing noteworthy. If anything its more fun to play spot the actor while being barley aware that a story is actually taking place.

Project Runway

10 seasons of Project Runway later and I might be fashioned out! It was interesting to see a different aspect of the fashion industry as I have only seen the industry from a Top Model perspective. In some ways its better but in other ways it's not. Get any group of creatively minded people into a room and there's going to be drama and there sure wasn't a lack of drama in Project Runway but it seemed a little more adult than sticking 14 women together in the same house. I didn't always agree with the judges' decisions. The first season's final runway show was filled with clothes that no one could actually wear which is a major con of the show. It got better as the seasons progressed in wanting clothes that real women could wear.

Speaking of real women, some designers are stuck in their ways and because of that I never want to wear their clothes. First off the designers who don't want to design for real women. Whenever they had challenges where they couldn't use their models a couple of the designers complained. They just want to design clothes that will look good on stick women. I found some designer's comments very offensive and made me want to go back to the model show. Second, and a point brought up by Marie Clare editor Joanna Coles, was that the designers didn't take into account the need for women to wear bras so strapless dresses are not the answer to everything. This is particularly relevant to Michal Costello. 

Another part of the competition which I didn't like was the competition among the models. As I wasn't watching the companion Models of the Runway it just made that part of the programme drawn out and boring because you didn't really know the models all that much so you weren't invested in which one staid and which one went. I found it rather more of a nuisance. I did however, like the concept. It made me want to do a combination of Project Runway and Top Model. If they had done something like that it would make sense because then you could get to know both the designers and the models and each would be eliminated on their own shows thus taking the designers out of the equation of elimination. I'm just not sure Models of the Runway was properly thought out.

The challenges were always fun to watch, especially the unconventional challenges. Although I was always so surprised when the designers would buy fabric substitutes instead of actually trying to be unconventional. Austen Scarlett's corn husk dress was one of my favorites and was actually a good mistake as it shriveled up overnight being left out.

 

I enjoyed the fact that three of the winners were from the Pacific Northwest, Go us! What I really liked about them was the fact that I would see Portland when Tim Gunn went to visit them as they were making their collections. I think Seth Arron was one of my favorite designers of all the seasons. I loved his style the most.

It was interesting to see the range of designers and although I'm still waiting for a reality show where I know nothing about the contestants and only judge them on what they have created, Mondo's story really touched me. I respected the fact that he was reluctant in sharing the story behind his fabric but ended up doing it not so much for gaining a sympathy vote but to help the judges understand. I liked that because I want to like your work because its good not because you have a sob story because everyone does.

The show did get a little old after a while. Nothing really changed so the show was reliant on its designers to make the show interesting and some seasons were better than others. Project Runway All Stars though was a season I'd like to forget. My main problem with it was the change of judges and mentor. Project Runway isn't Project Runway without Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. They really make the show and I missed the 'make it work' attitude of Tim in the All Star season. Tim is just really such a nice person and is really interested in helping each of the designers out. I think throughout the entire show he got really upset once and I was so shocked by his outburst because he's usually so calm and collected albeit he had good reason too after a designer tried to lie his way out of a bad design.

Besides Tim Gunn, the replacement of Heidi Klum with Angela Lindvall was devastating. We didn't have the  Auf Wiedersehen it didn't seem right. Not to mention that Lindvall is super American in a bad way. I couldn't stand her voice and barely made it through the season, as it was I skipped as much as possible in order to get to the end faster.

I liked the idea behind Project Runway and I enjoyed watching the first few seasons, especially when my favorite designers started to win, but the designers were so against designing clothes for real women that I got disheartened and would rather watch a show like Top Model.

Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1

Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 follows what seems to be the new norm of splitting the last book into two different movies. I'm not sure I like this new policy. It means more money I have to pay to go see the films and more time to wait in between each film which I really don't like. It also must be a little hard on the actors if they want to move onto other projects yet still being tied down to the project that has propelled them into fame. I haven't decided yet if splitting up Breaking Dawn was warranted. The film stood by itself but was probably the weakest, story wise of the previous films. Most of the film was preoccupied with the wedding. It just seemed a little dragged out. It will be interesting to see what goes into the final film to see if the two films was in fact necessary. My thoughts at the moment are that everything that happened in part one could have been condensed and if they would have just made the film longer like Lord of the Rings the films could have been finished by now. The slowness and lack of action in part one made for a very European styled filmed which doesn't mark it as a bad film but just different and perhaps unable to really fit within the franchise.

This film used montage sequences really heavily, which it has since the beginning but these montages seemed to tell more of a story than previous. The humor between Jacob and Edward was still there and even better than normal. I just love the sparring between them although I am firmly on Edward's team. What was really evident was Jacob's struggle which was well represented by the story and the performance, it makes me glad that Taylor Lautner fought for his role. Jacob's break from the pack was dramatic but I loved even more the moment he imprinted on Renesmee.

The transformation was the best part of the film and what the entire series has been leading up to so ending on that note made sense to me although I was disappointed that I still had to wait to see Lee Pace as a vampire, something I've been waiting to see since I found out he had been cast. As Bella became weaker and weaker she got really disgusting to look at. By the end she looks like a holocaust victim.The scene with Edward trying to save her was heartfelt and even though you know she's going to survive you're left wondering if she really is going to survive. The film achieved it in a way that the written word never could and the CGI was so amazing. I loved the way they represented the transformation by having the venom fix everything that had broken. Although I admit the part where her chest pops up is cringe worthy to realize that the way it had been had been totally wrong.

I felt overall the film lacked a baddie to propel the story forward. It was all interpersonal confrontations that didn't give the movie enough of a plot which is why Stephenie Meyer didn't write it as a separate book! By separating the last book it does give me more Twilight, so I'm excited about that but at the same time it just wasn't all that good to really justify the separation. That is where the problem lies.

Glee Season 3 - Final Thoughts

This season of Glee for me has had its ups and downs.

I don't think it was fair that Rachel got in while Kurt didn't. If anyone deserve to get into the school than it was Kurt for taking a chance but instead Rachel who pleaded to be given chance after chance got in and for performances that weren't very good. It would have been better had Whoopi  had watched her performance of Cry which I would argue is Rachel's best performance to date.

Before the break the show had dealt with some big issues coming out, hate crimes, teen suicide and texting while driving. The latter was a stupid cliffhanger that I've written about before but I feel I must bring it up as it got resolved once the show came back from its break. Quinn's storyline was just boring and unthoughtful given Artie's condition that the show has touched upon in previous seasons. I felt the last few episodes, seeing the success of dealing with big issues in previous episodes tried to do too much in too little time. It took away from any of the good they were doing.

Compared to last year there was much more music which I appreciated but there was also something missing from this season and far too many 80s songs. Do the writers not listen to music from any other era? Maybe they should take a page from Rachel or Kurt's book and some showtunes. I did really enjoy the One Direction song during the prom. The modern songs are always nice compared to the 80s music which I'm just tired of hearing. 

I think the show's ending was what upset me the most. The last episode was strange because it felt as if the season had already ended. They had one nationals but they decided to continue the show into the finale episode revolving around graduation. It was a very reminiscent episode which made it really sad especially since at the time I was under the impression that Rachel, Kurt and Finn were all leaving the show but it was since been revealed that they are in fact not off the show. Although I found the wedding of Rachel and Finn ridiculous so was Finn deciding to apply to the Actor's Studio and then after not getting in to decide to join the army. His character really had no motivation and it showed the writers didn't either. With all the talk of who was staying and who was going at the beginning and throughout the third season of Glee I enjoyed the new blood of people from The Glee Project. Although I have yet to watch that programme I loved the characters each of the contestants played and had no idea that they had begun on the reality show. Although I did have a problem with Alex Newell's Wade Adams/Unique as I thought they didn't give it enough time to progress and thoroughly deal with the issues at hand. 

The highlight of the episode came at the beginning, which doesn't bode well for a finale, when Kurt's dad performed Single Ladies for Kurt.

It captured the lost innocence the show had at the beginning and brought the joy back. As did the scene in Props, where everyone swaps bodies. My favorite swap was Puck and Finn for Kurt and Blaine. It made me want to rewatch the show from the beginning a feeling which quickly faded as the rest of the episode unfolded. Beside for this one shining moment the finale was disappointing. I'm interested to see what will happen next season and how they bring in the alumni but without much of Kurt I'm afraid the show is going to be dull.

America's Next Top Model British Invasion

At the start it seemed people were a little miffed by the theme of this cycle's America's Next Top Model. I on the other hand loved it, mainly because I've seen the Britain's Next Top Model and loved most of the Brits. I did think it was rather weird to have former contestants on BNTM and have all newbies for the American team. It would have made more sense had they taken American All stars and matched them with British All stars. Although I was rooting for the Brits the whole time so it wasn't that much of an issue for me as a viewer.

The format did lead to a clear divide between the Brits and the Americans that didn't seem real, especially given the eventual friendship between Laura(American) and Sophie(Brit). The format though was nothing on the craziness that is Tyra Banks. The whole superhero names was super lame and I totally understand the girls who thought it was dumb. Rightly so! The other problem was the 'booty tooch'. Why Tyra insisted on this I don't understand. The Booty Tooch episode saw the demise of AzMarie which many felt was unwarranted. I thought the exercise was ridiculous and seeing the Brits trying to do it was hilarious but it made AzMarie look too full of herself to get involved when the rest of the girls did. My thinking was although the activity was way out there in terms of sanity, you've signed up to do a reality model show run by Tyra Banks who now thinks she knows everything because she has a degree from Harvard, released a single, wrote a book and has her own show. If you're above ridiculousness you shouldn't be on reality television plain and simple. Plus there was no love lost when AzMarie left for me she was getting too many Brits out!

For the Brits it was nice to Catherine again and I thought she would do better having just finished watching her cycle and seeing how high fashion her look was. I don't think her makeover helped her at all. Speaking of makeovers what was going on with Sophie's hair. It was so disconcerting seeing her go from bright pink hair in the interviews to blonde with maybe a hint of pink in the actual show footage. I know its hard to maintain but if it wasn't going to stick maybe they should have just left it alone. The continuity was totally off which really frustrated the viewer. I loved seeing Ashley again as she was one of my favorites on her Cycle and was really sad to see her go. I loved the fact that she was subtitled and commented on that!

This season two contestants, both Brits decided to call it quits early which people can comment on and say they shouldn't have been there in the first place. I didn't really understand Louise's exit it seemed to be on more of the wavelength of AzMarie's but as I didn't see her original cycle I didn't understand her and didn't feel much of a loss. Alisha's exit was a big shock for me. I was really happy when her name was called which meant Ebony was going home. I thought she was really good and had a chance at the final but I understand and respect her choice to quit. She did with poise and grace and had commendable reasons for quitting.

I feel as if an era has passed and that with the next stage that ANTM goes into I won't want to follow. I think it's fair to say that ANTM has jumped the shark.The problem with the show now is that it's no longer about modeling.

 The prizes have moved from just cover girl and vogue to become a corespondent on extra and having a single released. Tyra's trying to make models make a come back where most of their work has been taken over my tv and film stars. I remember walking through the mall and seeing a sigh asking to name three supermodels and then to name three of your child's teachers making the point that you know more supermodels than your children's teacher and should take a more active role in their lives. The problem with the ad is that I don't think many people could name supermodels switch that to actors and you've got a strong argument. I don't want to discount the work that models do but at the same time I don't like the fact that Tyra has made the competition something else entirely. I watch the show for the photo shoots and they're fast becoming obsolete. Having said that I did enjoy the Brit's music video and was so happy that with that they were making a comeback. It was a great song.

When it was announced that Jay Alexander, Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker would not being coming back for the next cycle I wanted to stop watching the show and I'm not sure if I'll continue with ANTM next season as really Mr. J and Nigel are the best part of the show. I'll have to go back and watch Canada's Next Top Model to get more of Mr. J. This kinda matches up to my previous point that Tyra has no idea what she's doing. Yes the show has declined in ratings but its because the show isn't what it used to be anymore. Bring back the modeling, cool photo shoots, catwalk, and go sees and the ratings will bounce back. 

Even with this devastating news I continued with the show wanting to see if Sophie, my favorite would win. Laura was my favorite American but I felt like I knew Sophie more from the previous cycle. She was so much more versatile than Laura, her walk was better and she actually booked jobs which is the most important thing ever!

Laura's panic attack on set was dramatic but having been through a panic attack before I understand how she was feeling. I was a little upset that she got a second chance at doing the lines just because I like things fair but I'm glad during judging that they said in the real world that she would just be replaced. The vogue shoot was less impressive but they had to save a lot of time for the tripped out runway show. Once again the modeling aspect of runway has been lost for a special effects laden show. What ever happened to good old runway? I lament those days. Finally it was time to judge and I was surprised by some of the judges preference for Laura. I especially found it frustrating when they chastised Sophie for the cover girl commercial because her candid footage didn't look natural. I was like she wasn't the one who put it together! You could have easily done the same for Laura but in the end Sophie won out! I was super excited. It was good to end the show on a high note for me and I was really happy that a Brit won! I was wondering if they would even let a Brit win, as it was we knew it had to come down to a Brit and an American in the finale. It's been a strange cycle of ANTM but I enjoyed it and although I rail against the changes to ANTM it has yet to stop me from watching. Mostly likely, if I find myself lacking something to watch I'll probably tune into the next cycle. You never know I might find a another gem like Sophie's single "Aiming for You."

Once Upon a Time

I confess that I didn't give ABC's Once Upon a Time enough of a chance at the beginning of the season. I didn't know how it would continue as a full series from that first episode and I preferred Grimm as the fairy tale inspired television show, due in large part to it taking place in Portland.Thankfully, my aunt finally convinced me to watch Once and I'm glad she did. I would go as far as to say this was the best new show on television for the 2011-2012 season.

Once has so many things going for it. The way the story is told keeps your intrigued. I loved the way they inter-cut flashbacks of the fairy tale world with the real world. They could have kept it that simple going between the memories of the fairy tale land and the real world but they went even further by using flashbacks that were further back in the timeline which then met up with the timeline we as an audience were already aware of. I loved seeing that connection. The stories themselves are a fun little turn on 'known' facts. The twists on each classic fairy tale keeps the story fresh and less of a repeat of various other incantations. One of the best variations was The Mad Hatter, Jefferson. 

My favorite episode was 'Skin Deep" where it is revealed that Rumpelstiltskin is the beast in the the Beauty and the Beast story. I loved the twists on the story, especially the chipped teacup. What makes this episode in particular so amazing and the show in general is Robert Carlyle. The cast in general is great but Carlyle stands out for me. He shows such a range in acting and he does it all so well. His voice as Rumpelstiltskin is perfect and adds so much to the character. Even as Mr. Gold he accomplishes an element of mystery.

Although I love seeing how the relationship between Charming and Snow White develops I find myself wanting to know more about Rumpelstiltskin's story. He's the best character there's been on tv for a long time. Very complex but believable at the same time. Carlyle's performances are so powerful and I love his puffy-sleeved shirts.

Overall the cast makes the show a joy to watch and each episode gives another person a chance to shine. Another favorite episode of mine was Dreamy when we learn about how Grumpy becomes Grumpy which I thought was really clever. Of course the cast is just one part of the show. The special effects may be limited due to the television format but they're not bad and they in no way take away from the show but add to it. The strength of the show though is in the story. Starting at the very end of the second to last episode when Henry eats the apple turnover and moving into the final episode the show did a good job in moving the story forward without dragging it out too long. There were some problems with drag in the storyline of Catherine's faked-murder. I'm not sure that was the best way to bring things about but I rolled with it. What I didn't think was necessary was the death of the Sheriff/The Huntsman. It was good to see him come back for a bit at the end but I felt there was more they could have done with his character. Maybe the story can be considered the strength of the show in conjuncture with the characters who are well thought out and complex.

I kinda wondered throughout the show how this season would end and move onto the next. How long can they drag the story out but I think they were smart in how they handled it in allowing everyone to remember. If things stay the on the same path I think the second season will be just as good if not better.