Project Runway Review: The Nina Challenge

It’s one thing to design for the imaginary woman on the street who’ll sashay her way into some arbitrary office and pretend to be the woman she wants to be until she actually gets there.  It’s another thing entirely to design for the powerful, chic Nina Garcia, the fashion director of Marie Claire magazine.  This week’s Project Runway challenge: dress Nina Garcia in an outfit she can wear to work during the day and to an industry event at night.

Nina’s style is “classic with an edge, stream-lined, clean, tailored, non-voluminous silhouettes in un-pleated, quiet-patterned garments.” The winner, besides having bragging rights that Nina Garcia wore their outfit, will also have his or her garment featured in a Marie Claire ad that will be on the top of New York City cabs and have a featured editorial in Marie Claire magazine.  Before they went shopping for material, each designer had a one-on-one consultation with Nina.  After the consultations, Nina told Tim Gunn she didn’t want a runway full of grays and she didn’t want “boring.”

First, Anthony Ryan and Becky got the same, distinct piece of fabric. When Nina came into the work room and consulted with the designers on their progress, when looking at Danielle’s design and ideas, Nina sounded like a virgin on her first date with the star football player.  Every answer was “no, no, no.”  When talking to Anya, Nina sounded like the virgin trying to compromise with the letterman: do you have a plan B? Nina didn’t like Anya’s print as Nina doesn’t wear prints.  Cecelia was colorblind when she shopped for her fabric. She thought she was getting a purple fabric and ended up getting gray.  And she, too, didn’t have the infamous, quintessential “Plan B!” Kimberly was designing a whole outfit in blue.  Nina challenged that idea, but she left the final decision of the design up to Kimberly, “the designer.”  Joshua suggested to Anya that she dye her gold fabric in black to appeal more to Nina.  Anya’s dying experience is limited.  When Tim Gunn came to announce that the designers had two hours to finish, none of them were near completing their garments and he had to make the announcement in the sewing room, which was a first for PR. With a few minutes to spare before the runway show, Cecelia was totally finished with her garment.  Julie was still sewing.  Cecelia helped Julie.  Laura and Anya have become close friends. Anya doesn’t have as much sewing experience, and Laura noticed that she needed help. Laura helped Anya.  However, this wasn’t a team challenge.  Every designer was expected to work independently; however, technically no one mentioned that they couldn’t help one another.

Joanna Coles, Marie Claire editor-in-chief, and Kerry Washington, actress and arts advocate, joined Michael Kors on the judging panel.  Bert created a “little black dress” deeply V-ed in the front and the back. Anthony Ryan created a favorite look for me although I don’t think it was appropriate for Nina Garcia. It was an olive-colored mini skirt and a sleeveless gray vest.  Anthony admitted he didn’t think it was something Nina would wear.  He obviously forgot the point of the challenge.  This particular one was not a free-for-all design challenge. Using the same fabric as Anthony Ryan, Becky created an asymmetrical gray and olive-colored dress with capped sleeves and yellow piping along the edges of the asymmetry.  Kimberly in the end ditched the blue suit and matched a gold, asymmetrical sleeveless top with a fitted, wide-legged pant. Anya’s dyeing effort paid off.  She dyed the mustard-color material into a green jump suit with an orange belt.  Laura too used a green – albeit Kelly green – fabric for her chic, short dress. Although the bands around the arm looked constricting, the garment worked well. Viktor also designed a simple black ensemble – separates to be exact.  Although it was one color, it had lines that gave it distinction.  Joanna addressed the question that I constantly ask: who would want to wear this and where? Joanna said Viktor’s suit addressed the need that women have when trying to transition from day to evening. When Heidi asked Anya how she learned to sew so quickly after only learning four months ago, Anya giggled coyly and answered, “I don’t know” although her eyes looked like I’ve got secret. I know something you don’t know.  Viktor looked down the line with an “I know!” glare. However, he figured eventually her work would tell on her and he held his tongue. Ironically, Cecilia and her charity case Julie were in the bottom two.  Apparently, Cecilia should have devoted that extra time she had in the work room on her own design and her attitude instead of donating it to Julie.  Unfortunately for Julie, being the worst of the worst gets you sent home.  Nevertheless, for the first time this season, Kimberly won a challenge.

So far this season, Kimberly has been coasting on a safe seam, but this challenge, she had every woman in view of her presentation getting in line behind Nina for that gold top.   Hopefully next week Kimberly won’t rest on her laurels like some of the previous challenge winners have been doing, and she’ll use this win as a stepping stone to raise the creativity level in the design room.

Season 9, Episode 4: “All About Nina” (originally aired August 18, 2011)

Make it work and watch Project Runway, Thursdays at 9/8c on Lifetime.

For more Project Runway coverage, click here.

Images courtesy of Lifetime

Fright Night Review: Hey, Guy

I have shitty neighbors. They pound on the walls when my stereo goes above 4db, they threaten police action when my friend smokes 400 feet away from the building, and they park cars on the lawn. And despite it all, I still don’t have it as bad as Charlie Brewster, who lives next door to a vampire named Jerry. Fright Night is a modern remake of the cult 1985 horror film that is just as engaging, funny, scary, and cool as the original continues to be twenty-six years on.

Anton Yelchin is the aforementioned Charlie, a seventeen-year-old Las Vegas suburb kid who has managed the rarest of feats and leapfrogged over social pariah “geek” and “dweeb” statuses to plant himself firmly on the middle rung of popularity at his local high school. The cream of the douche crop still clown on him, but he has wooed the shit out of Amy, one of the prettiest, on-the-level girls in school (Imogen Poots). How? “Game,” he tells his rivals. “Pure game.” So yeah, Charlie is pretty cool even if he got there at the expense of abandoning his once-best friend “Evil” Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), King of the Dorks. It’s Ed who comes to Charlie with some peculiar news: his new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. This of course is ridiculous, but Ed has been tracking Jerry for weeks and has damning evidence despite Charlie thinking his old friend has read one too many Paranormal Romance novels.

The plot coagulates when Jerry starts making creepy, none-too-subtle advances on both Amy and Jane, Charlie’s mom, who both find him harmless and utterly irresistible. He stops gaming only to woo a neighborhood girl over to his house and upon closer investigation of a nearby scream, Charlie’s suspicions are confirmed. Jerry is a vampire. This sequence, in which Charlie is trapped in Jerry’s house with the captured girl is one of the suspenseful highlights of the film and the final moments –after such a successful build up- is something that only a Buffy alum like Marti Noxon could have concocted.  With Ed nowhere to be found and feeling completely out of his depth, Charlie attempts to enlist the help of  Vegas douchebag-cum-magician Peter Vincent (David Tennant), who has made his fame and fortune on the back of his obsession with the darker underworld of, well, Underworld. Vincent assumes that Charlie is full of shit and is of no help but learns the hard way that the centerpiece of his Vaudevillian act is much more real and deadly than he can grasp. Charlie’s turn to Peter Vincent sets into motion the final act of Fright Night, which is relentlessly fun and doesn’t let up for a second. No less than three set pieces are stacked on top of each other, releasing one of the most satisfying climaxes in recent horror film memory.

Like Let Me In, Fright Night is an inspired and skillfully constructed remake of a classic. Really, though, it’s much more of a re-imagining than anything else. The filmmakers have taken the premise of the original, the basic structure, and have crafted something familiar, yet altogether unique. It is the Bizzaro-world version of Fright Night and it is fantastic. Certain moments are removed, retooled, or shuffled around, such as the initial fate of Ed, Jerry’s first victim, and the entire arc of the Peter Vincent character, but every change turns out to be a thoughtful, smart adjustment that works within this retelling. Anton Yelchin is a pitch-perfect Charlie, funny yet stone-cold serious when the situation calls for it. David Tennant is nothing short of an absolute scene-stealer, taking the great gift of Marti Noxon’s robust dialogue and knocking it waaaaaay the fuck out of the park. Expect to see a cavalcade of Peter Vincents this year for Halloween. The casting of Colin Farrell as Jerry is a masterstroke as both his presence and his performance help to elevate the material to a higher level, just like Chris Sarandon did with the same role back in ’85. Sarandon himself also has a fantastic cameo in the movie that will have fans chuckling with glee regardless of its there-and-gone swiftness.  Not so there-and-gone is the gore factor which, like the original and coupled with in-camera 3D, is literally as in-your-face as it can get. The original Fright Night was refreshing upon its release in the fact that it reminded the world that you DO NOT FUCK WITH VAMPIRES.  Unfortunately the cycle has repeated itself in recent years, only instead of vampires being the laughing stock of film like they were in 1985, now they are sad, pussy-whipped, emo sad boys of great sadness (who are sad). Also sexually frustrated, but probably because they’ve been emotionally castrated by their betrothed. Colin Farrell’s Jerry would pop the heads of these wussy vampires like over-ripened pimples on the ass of a Twlight slash-fiction writer. Jerry takes great joy in killing and feeding. He is a soulless demon who doesn’t care about love- only death and the sheer power with which he can seduce. He is a supernatural serial killer; a Lovecraftian representation of Charles Manson. Equally visceral are the vampire morphs and slayings, all taken to the next level by legendary effects house KNB. The CGI is minimal and the in-camera bloodbaths are front-and-center. And it makes all the difference in the world.

For all intents and purposes, remakes are Hollywood at its most creatively-bankrupt.  Dipping back into the well for a quick cash grab because a given studio’s development library is in such arrears is normally a hokey, transparent move. But in a few cases, with the right creative team, it ends up working. Fright Night is one of these cases. It reinvents a fantastic genre film for a new generation while keeping in line with the remarkably ahead-of-its-time tone of the original’s horror-yet-funny-yet-suspenseful roller coaster ride. It seems that Fright Night has a real shot at living forever. And it doesn’t even have to lock women up in its attic, unlike one particular nominee for Worst Neighbor Ever.

Images courtesy of Dreamworks Distribution Co., LLC and IMDbPro

Burn Notice Review: The Cost of Doing Business

On this week’s episode of Burn Notice, Michael and Sam head off on a road trip to find an aging bomb maker still at the top of his game, and while they’re busy traveling through the dangerous landmine of questioning a war criminal, Jesse and Fi wage a silent war against their client, a drug tycoon who’s left more than a few bodies in his wake.

We start this week with Mike and Sam packing up for a trip to Tallahassee, but no, they’re not taking a much needed vacation. Instead they’re off to find the guy who created the bomb to kill “fake Mike” to cover up for the murder of Max. After Fi’s dip into the past last week, the gang has the name of the bomb maker, a guy named Lucian who apparently lives just up the road from them. Sam wonders if the information in the file is correct about this guy, and hesitates to just drop in on him without doing a proper stakeout first. But Mike vetoes this idea saying that Fi went to a lot of trouble to get this file and they were going to follow through. Mike and Sam drop by on Lucian who proves that he didn’t make it this long in the game by charm alone. This guy’s got a few tricks up his sleeve as he proves by almost electrocuting Sam (Mike saved him).

Mike and Sam take Lucian hostage and hold him prisoner until they get some information about whoever ordered him to build the bomb. Instead of sitting quiet and refusing to name a source, Lucian freely talks, naming every imaginary source to lead the fellows on a wild goose chase. But they’re not buying it. In order to get Lucian to tell them the truth, Mike and Sam have Fi break into his apartment and the guys go through the contents of Lucian’s life right in front of him, taking note of what information draws Lucian’s attention. Mike stops at an article, seeing Lucian flinch, and they get their next lead.

Lucian’s daughter is a newspaper columnist; the article that they found was hers. She’s been living under the radar as an illegal immigrant and learning this, Mike and Sam tell Lucian that if he doesn’t give up the information they are going to have his daughter deported. Lucian gets really upset by this and says that he’ll help them if they promise to leave his daughter alone. They promise and Lucian tells them his employer is a guy named Christian Pavel and the only way he knows how to contact him is through the cook at a nearby restaurant. He tells them to go there and ask for Nicoli.

Sam goes to the restaurant but it turns out that Nicoli quit a week ago, possibly hearing of Lucian’s abduction he’s split town. Lucian tells Mike and Sam that he doesn’t know any other way to contact him but Mike tells Lucian that he better come up with one or his daughter’s going to be deported. They leave him alone to think.

Back in Miami, Fi is helping Jesse out with one of his security cases. Their client is a woman named Sadie Forte who swears that someone has been sneaking into her house. Her husband, James Forte, is a pharmaceutical billionaire who treats his wife with a little less than contempt as he explains that he’s tired of wasting money on alarm systems when nothing’s really wrong. Sadie admits that it may sound stupid that someone’s been breaking into their home and stealing nothing. She seems to doubt herself, but then Fi tells her that she needs to trust her instincts. Fi and Jesse convince James to have them stay the night and watch over the house to see if someone breaks in. Sure enough someone does and Jess and Fi corner him in Forte’s office while James and Sadie are in the guest house waiting for the police to arrive.

Turns out the intruder is not the crazed stalker they assumed him to be. He is, in fact, James’s ex-partner, Dan Tessman, who claims that he was locked up in a South American prison after James planted cocaine on him and then ran off with his billion dollar gene sequence stealing his company and his life. Not to mention Sadie, who apparently was Dan’s wife first. That’s got to hurt.

Jesse seems unmoved by Dan’s story, but Fiona feels for the guy and thinks that if what he’s saying is true they’ve got to help him. This is probably due in no small part to the fact that Fiona can’t stand James Forte because of the condescending way he treats his wife; that and if what he’s saying is true, then Dan is the real victim here. Fi convinces Jesse to at least hear Dan out, although she warns Dan that if his story turns out to be bogus she’ll kill him herself.

But not to worry, Dan is telling the truth and he becomes Jesse and Fi’s new client. Jesse is not thrilled with this switch, as the plan is to help Dan by robbing his old client of his ill gotten gains. The new plan: steal the compound formula from James and out him as the fraud he is. Now James has a ton of security at his lab so in order to do that, they’ll have to infiltrate James’ team. And who best to do that than Jesse.

In order to get in close with James, they first have to make Forte believe that he needs Jesse by proving how incompetent James’ current security team is. So, using the whole stalker thing, they use Mike to play the role of an angry man whose mother died from a flaw in James’ drug. Mike basically terrorizes James and has his security team on edge, and after a few too many close calls, James puts Jesse in charge of his personal security.

“You know why hell is scary? It’s not the pain. It’s not the torture. It’s not burning in a lake of fire. It’s that it lasts forever, just like me. So let me be the first to tell you: Welcome to Hell, Mr. Forte, welcome to Hell.”
-Mike to James Forte in my favorite line this week

Because Mike, the stalker, has so easily slipped past James’ security twice, James decides to move his safe, which contains the billion dollar compound, to a more secure location. Now the gang only has one chance to steal the formula before it is locked out of their reach.

They decide that the best plan is to attack, once again from the inside. Jesse, James, and an army of James’ personal team are transporting the safe to a high security bank. But on the road to where they’re going there has been a chemical ‘accident’ courtesy of Sam and Mike a few minutes ago. Now there are no real chemicals involved just a lot of stage work as the scene is convincing enough that the fireman and police won’t even approach the scene of the now fiery wreck. The police tell James’ convoy that the road is closed and they’ll have to take a detour.

Jesse uses this chance and tells James that there’s no way this was an accident. This is another attempt for the stalker to ambush them. Jesse plants and finds a bug in the car of James’ team and leads James to think that he’s no longer safe under their security. James agrees and hops in the car with Jesse and the safe, now out of harm’s way.

But of course he’s not. On the way to their destination, Jesse pulls over into a warehouse and tells James they have a stop to make. There James is greeted by Michael and his old friend Dan, he doesn’t get that he’s been duped until Jesse pulls a gun on him and tells him to get out of the car. James pleads and tells Dan to name his price, he’ll give him anything to just go away. Dan tells James that he stole the love of his life and James tells him that he should thank him, because Sadie is “no catch.” Here Sadie walks in with Fiona and tells James that she heard the whole thing.

It’s a happy ending for Dan as he gets his company back, and he and Sadie start to work on something like a relationship. James is behind bars, and Jesse got stiffed on that job, but really, what else did you expect? The man robbed him and threw him in jail…

Mike and Sam go back and talk to Lucian, but unexpectedly they get some company. Turns out the trip to the diner was a distress call and now his good buddy Pavel has come to save him. Except really he’s not, as the guy stands outside just shooting up the place, uncaring that his dear friend is inside. Lucian gets shot and Mike tells him not to protect the man who betrayed him. Lucian asks Mike again for the promise that he will leave his daughter alone. Mike promises and Lucian tells him where to find the guy he’s looking for.

As Pavel continues to shoot up the place through the front, Mike and Sam escape out the back right before an explosion (manufactured by Sam) blows up the building. Sam tells Mike that they’ve come to yet another dead end, but Mike tells him that he knows where to find Pavel. The two exit screen promising to pay him a visit.

Season 5, Episode 9: “An Eye for an Eye” (originally aired August 18, 2011).

Burn Notice airs Thursdays at 9/8c on USA Network.

Image courtesy of Virginia Sherwood/USA Network.

America’s Got Talent Review: Wild Card Week, Everybody Deserves a 2nd Chance

After last week’s YouTube round and this week’s Wild Card shows America’s Got Talent seems to be trying the viewers patience by drawing out the season. These acts that performed on Tuesday night have already been voted off. Why does America have to vote them off again? I don’t even remember who has made it to the semi-finale round anymore because that was over three weeks ago.

Even with my grumblings about Wild Card Week, the Tuesday night and Wednesday results show were very enjoyable. The three judges each picked four of their  favorite performers for a second shot at stardom. Some acts came back with new innovative routines and others reminded us why they got booted in the first place.

Landon Swank, did his best Houdini impression by being handcuffed and chained and then immersed in a padlocked tank of water and giving himself one minute to emerge. He emerged and it was a nice, tight, well done trick. Ta-da!

On Wednesday night they announced the winners of Wild Card Week and the four acts that came out on top were West Springfield Dance Team, The Kenetic King, Landon Swank and the Summerwind Skippers.

Some highlights from the results show were: a rousing performance from the touring company of Les Miserables which made me want to see the musical for the first time in my life. They were that good. There was also a lethargic performance by singer Cobie Caillat that felt more like a time filler.

And there was , of course, a bloated long-winded speech at the end of the show by Piers Morgan about how great he is. Sharon had to repeatedly ask him to shut up.

It is time to stop with these themed weeks and bringing in new acts and bringing back old ones…AGT is now getting down to business. In the next few weeks things are going to get exciting because competition is fierce and performers will have to fight hard to stay on the show or be voted off. It’s finally time to see if America really does got talent.

Season 6, Episodes 24 and 25 (original airdates August 17 and 18, 2011)

America’s Got Talent airs Tues/Wed nights at 8/7c on NBC

Images courtesy of Lewis Jacobs and NBC.

Royal Pains Interview with Rupak Ginn: From Harvard to the Hamptons

Yesterday I had a very pleasant chat with the charismatic Rupak Ginn, who plays Raj on Royal Pains. A Harvard alum, Ginn is extremely personable and obviously passionate about his craft. See what he had to say about acting, his role on Royal Pains, shooting in the Hamptons and Raj possibly pulling a “Jason Bourne.”

Rupak’s Acting Career

Rupak Ginn was bitten by the acting bug at an early age and remembers always wanting to be a performer. He was a constant volunteer in English class to read from books for the teacher. I’m sure the teachers loved him! Rupak explained he was “instinctively drawn to performance, loved to perform and say beautiful words.” In high school, he caught his first big break, when he decided not to play baseball and try out for the school play. He landed the lead role and recalls when he stepped onto the stage, he felt electricity—that was when he knew acting was his passion and calling. He attended Harvard University, where he studied English since Harvard does not have an acting major. But he says his focus was always on acting. The first thing he did at Harvard was to join the freshman theater program. After graduating from Harvard in 2005, Rupak spent a year performing in off Broadway plays.

Most recently, Rupak had a role in the film Friends with Benefits also starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. When asked about which medium he prefers—movies, television or theater, the multi-talented Ginn stated, “film has always been the dream.” He added that while he loves his role on Royal Pains, his “true passion is film.”

Rupak’s Must See Shows

What television shows does Rupak tune into? He is a huge The Walking Dead fan and cannot wait for the new season to begin. Another must see for Rupak is HBO’s Game of Thrones. Coincidentally, we share a favorite Game of Thrones character: Jon Snow (Kit Harington). Rupak also named the Lord of the Rings trilogy as some of his favorite movies and said that he is often drawn to the “sword and horse” and zombie types of shows or films. Rupak went on to explain why he enjoys the epic genre—“it is often filled with some intense questioning of morality. What is the right thing to do?” He used Robb Stark from Game of Thrones as an example and questioned, will he be a good leader?

On Royal Pains.

The last time we saw Ginn’s character Raj on Royal Pains, he was asking Divya (Reshma Shetty) for money to repay his parents for their cancelled wedding. Rupak explained that Raj is heartbroken over the called off wedding. He believes that Raj truly loves Divya but is sticking it to her by asking for the money. When asked if we would see more of Raj, Ginn didn’t give anything away, but teased that there has been “no resolution” and that this storyline is “always in the background.” Rupak added that the Royal Pains “writers are brilliant.” I, for one, can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

When I asked what he thought about the possibility of Raj fighting for Divya? He loved this idea, as he personally believes that one should fight for “love, principle, honor, and integrity.” Rupak also thinks Raj should do something “big, bold and badass” like “Richard Gere climbing the fire escape stairs in Pretty Woman” to try to win over Divya. Wow, how could she say no to that?

Rupak raved about his Royal Pains co-stars. They are “awesome, adorable, incredibly warm, like a small family and he could use every positive adjective or superlative to describe them.” Rupak enjoys shooting Royal Pains on Long Island and, of course, in the Hamptons. He described it as “beautiful” and the “best of both worlds” since it is so close to NYC, where he can spend time with his family. When posed the question of California beaches versus the Hamptons, Rupak sided with California beaches. Specifically, he loves Santa Monica, which he equates to “paradise” with its “perfect weather.”

Finally, if Rupak could pitch a Raj storyline to the writers, what would it be? Since he likes action stories, he would like to add a “mysterious, wild side” to Raj’s character—a Jason Bourne-like alter ego. For the past three seasons, Raj has been a “positive and good guy” and, to shake things up, Rupak thought it’d be interesting and fun to have Raj be a spy, maybe save Divya and win her over. Hmm, I think the writers should consider a possible crossover with Rupak’s newly designed Raj on another USA show like Burn Notice or Covert Affairs.

Rupak Ginn is an all-around great guy and up and coming actor who’s beginning to make his mark. Look for a new project featuring Rupak to be announced in the coming months. Also, make sure to tune in to see his recurring role as Raj on Royal Pains on USA Network.

Royal Pains airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA Network.

Images courtesy of PERSONA PR.

 

 

Jersey Shore Review: Is Firenze Florence?

So it’s only the 3rd episode of the season and already, I’m bored. It’s the same thing every week: clubbing, smushing, and fighting. But I know not to expect anything more at this point.

Last week we ended with Mike calling up his DTF lady friend, Brittany, and I said I hoped she wouldn’t show up. Turns out she has no dignity and spent another night at the Jersey Shore pad. Oh, but it gets better! Brittany has a twin! So Mike is looking forward to getting his threesome, but Deena commits a robbery with the twin, Erica, and becomes bi-curious for the night, much to Mike’s dismay. After a while, Deena kicks Erica out of bed and Erica spends the night with Vinny. I can’t seem to figure out which twin is worse.

In the meantime, major drama erupts when Snooki finds out Mike’s been spreading tales about her. Mike claims they hooked up two months ago while Snooki was still dating Gionni. Snooki freaks and claims Mike’s a liar, and I don’t really care who’s telling the truth. Snooki’s boy toy in Jersey doesn’t seem to be the understanding type however and I can’t see this ending well.

Earlier in the episode, Deena found herself an Italian boy – conveniently enough a waiter from the cafe being pimped out during this hour. He must’ve been paid a nice sum to be Deena’s boy for the night, yet still not paid enough to spend an entire night in the crazy Jersey Shore house. Yes, once Deena passes out, Italian boy scampers away. Shame we didn’t get to see Deena’s reaction when she woke up the next morning and found her Italian lover had run away; I was very much looking forward to that.

Oh, and Ronnie and Sammi are back together. Again. They claim they’re starting fresh and have put all their drama behind them. Yeah. Okay. If you say so. But I can appreciate Snooki’s honesty when she says she believes they’re soul mates and wanted them back together because she enjoys their drama. What a girl.

Pauly D and Vinny are hilarious when they’re together. I enjoy watching a good bromance, especially when they make-up ridiculous yet true songs about Ronnie and Sammi. They make the show enjoyable for me sometimes and I wonder what a Pauly D/Vinny spin-off would be like. But maybe that would ruin too much of a good thing!

Season 4, Episode 3: Twinning (originally aired August 18, 2011)

Jersey Shore airs Thursdays at 10/9c on MTV.

Images courtesy of MTV.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Review: Troubled Times

We kick off the week with Teresa’s photo shoot for her new cookbook. The Guidice clan gathers together to capture family moments on film. That includes Gabriella’s stink-eye, Milania sobbing and pitching a fit, G to the “ia” providing dollops of attitude, and Joe looking as if he’s going to gnaw his arm off to escape the misery. Even the photographer is ready to shut the whole production down. Thankfully, they get the money shot and the production team burns rubber out of Franklin Lakes.

In much calmer water, we sit in on a conversation between Cousin Kathy and Rich pondering whether to have “the talk” with their daughter Victoria. Rich still sees her as a little girl and thinks 16 is too young to talk about the birds and the bees. He’s convinced that everywhere Victoria looks, she sees her Dad’s face, therefore, she’ll never get in trouble. I get that. Everywhere I look, I see Rich Wakile too – his image is iced in my Toaster Strudel each morning, when I close my eyes at night, and every time I watch a Jeff Goldblum movie.

Meanwhile, Christopher Manzo has taken up bartending at a Hoboken watering hole to get some extra cash – it’s great he’s not dependent on his parents and has the drive to earn money himself. If only Ashley could learn to do the same. But no. She shows up at the bar wearing her signature knitted dinner plate beret and expounds on how busy her life is designing a T-Shirt for Lauren and figuring out her life plan, which includes a whole lot of nothing. Lauren describes Ashley as “lazy with no ambition.” Truth. It’s finally time for Jacqueline to call in the reinforcements. She brings up Ashley’s Dad, Matt, and stepmom, Jodi, from Texas for an intervention of sorts. Everyone is hoping they can knock the spoiled brat out of Ashley. If anyone can do it, it’s Ashley’s dad – he has a scar running from ear to ear on the back of his head so you know he cuts right through crap.

Next, we cut to Melissa and her sisters discussing a medium that channeled their deceased father, Antonio. Antonio tells the medium that Melissa is going to be a big time singer. I beg to differ, but even my cold heart can’t deny this was a nice scene in which all the girls reminisce about their father. Oh and note to Melissa – it’s “medium” not “median.”

Back to Ashley. She tells Jacqueline that she’s thinking of moving to California where she can just focus on herself (isn’t that what Ashley does now?) and get away from “toxic” people. Someone must’ve recently changed the definition of toxic from “poisonous material capable of causing death or serious debilitation” to “having parents that love you and want to see you succeed.”

Ashley’s “toxic” family decides to sit her down over brunch (in a public place – bad move) and tell her that she needs to get on track. She doesn’t take too kindly to the suggestion and between all the “likes” and “whatevers” says she’s a superstar because she’s twenty and doesn’t’ have a kid, like her mom had. Excuuuuuuuse??? Hey Ashley, that kid was YOU. It’s painful watching how dense this girl is. She has a wonderful family and all she does is poo on them left and right. The brunch ends with Jacqueline storming out and breaking down….again, probably not the best decision to hold an intervention in public…but then again, where else would Bravo want it held?

Next week, we see more of the fallout between Ashley and her family. It’s going to be hard to watch because Ashley is being a selfish jerk and her family is suffering because of it. Here’s to hoping our favorite young adult sees the light.

 

Season 3, Episode 13: Child’s Play No More (original air date August 13, 2011)

Images courtesy of Bravo TV.

Hell’s Kitchen Review: It’s A Love-Hate Thing

Palpable love was in the air this week on Hell’s Kitchen, as well as hate, as Elise and Carrie continued to make abundantly clear from the start of the episode. As usual, guns were drawn and brief words were exchanged, blah, blah, blah, you know the drill. With all the animosity between the two, I’m setting up a front row seat for when the inevitable showdown actually occurs. The feuding wasn’t enough to stop a very romantic series of challenges for the remaining nine chefs who were asked to put their hearts into a sexy dessert of their choice in the first team culinary battle. The chefs ironically were not in love with the dessert idea and many of them stalled in the kitchen, and even came to a complete halt, since the majority of them seemed to be inept at anything that didn’t involve beef wellington.

Once the teams got a handle on the challenge, Chef Ramsay introduced them to their top notch dessert judges for the afternoon, Jordan Kahn and Waylynn Lucas. The pair rated each team member’s dish with a one to three star rating and the team with the most stars would win the daily challenge. To even out the playing field and ruffle some feathers, the red team had to nix one of their teammate’s dishes and Elise was asked unwillingly to sit this one out. Things were off with to a so-so start with each chef amounting around three stars total until contestants like Paul and Jennifer shined with six stars each. Jennifer’s bananas foster was proclaimed the best dish of the day and her six star rating catapulted the Reds to another much needed win. Lucky for them that they ditched Elise’s ill-formed dessert concoction and, honestly, I still have no idea what it was supposed to be. All I know is that it was something involving a large water goblet, what looked like crème fraiche, and then mixed with vinegar. It doesn’t really matter because Ramsay gave it a star rating of his own in the negatives since apparently it really was that horrific. Well, at least the ladies were on their way to a super fancy villa at Caesar’s in Las Vegas for the night, a prize the blue team was literally banging their heads against the walls for letting slip through their clumsy fingers. Truth be told, I was even a little jealous.

While the red team got hammered on the Vegas strip, the battered blue team chipped away at ice sculptures and transformed the Hell’s Kitchen dining room into a restaurant worthy of lovey-dovey couples. The Vegas vacation didn’t seem to calm any nerves for the Reds and Elise and Carrie picked up right where they left off with more bickering and immature moves. What neither one of them seem to realize is that by being vindictive to one another, they’re completely screwing their team, and themselves. Displays like this is how Chef Ramsay weeds out the weak although he’s taking his sweet time with these two.

The blue team couldn’t perform any better, however. Before Ramsay could inhale his first breath to start the berating, scallops were being botched, sea bass was being burnt and human hair was being found in garnishes. Carrie was the first of the night to get sent to her room and Paul and Elise were soon trailing behind her. Miraculously, both teams were able to eventually pick up the pace and got the super un-romantic dinner service finished. With the blue team announced the winners that night, the red team had to send two of their team mates up for elimination. Finally, Carrie and Elise were sent up together and the red team pleaded with Chef Ramsay to stop torturing them and cut one of the troublemakers loose. After much consideration, he set his sights on Jamie and demanded her chef jacket. It was for sure the shocker of the episode and jaws were dropping left and right but if you’ve been watching Hell’s Kitchen and studying Ramsay’s calculated moves then you had to see this “surprise” coming. That and why would they throw a good cat fight out the window so soon? And so we look forward to another week of Elise and Carrie.

 

Season 9, Episode 9: 9 Chefs Compete (originally aired August 15, 2011)

For a look at this episode through the eyes of Chef Ramsay himself, read “Ramsay’s Diary-Entry 4” by Keith…ahem, “Gordon Ramsay.”

Images courtesy of FOX.

Pretty Little Liars Review: ‘A’lpha-Bits Messaging

I’ve really tried to withhold some of my intense disbelief in A’s actions as I’ve delved into this second season of Pretty Little Liars as a newbie. He/she has managed to pull off some incredibly complex scares and shenanigans to give our girls the chills and for the most part I’ve just given the complexity the benefit of the doubt. But then this week happened. The episode began with Emily calmly eating her breakfast of Alpha-Bits cereal but lo and behold all of the little bits of grain are in the shape of As! But that’s not all! Emily also finds a “treat” in the box with a note from A taunting her as the weakest link.

This is fun and all but…REALLY? Does A really have the amount of time necessary to sort out a box of only A-shaped cereal, toss in a note, and then somehow re-seal the box so that Emily wouldn’t notice it was tampered with? I’d like to say yes but I can only honestly suspend my disbelief long enough.

The sneaking doesn’t stop there though. With the little bit of news from the cereal, Emily becomes a ball of stress that takes her to a free massage session. She seems to enjoy the experience but then the massage therapist walks in. Wait, what?! Oh yep – you guessed it. It was A. Want to know how we know for sure? Well, he/she was kind enough to leave a perfect initial on the condensation of a jug of ice water. Whoever this is should consider a career move. Perhaps international assassin would be a better fit than teenage girl stalker?

This was also a big week for Aria who’s man problems with Fitz and Jason continue to fester and get more and more uncomfortable. First, Aria confronts Jason about the creepy photos of her that Spencer and Emily found last week in his shed. This initially pisses him off knowing the identity of the trespassers but then he is able to calmly explain that the photos were actually taken by Alison and he just now developed them with plans of framing them for Aria to keep. Awwwww! I always knew he was a softy.

Next up, Aria spots Mr. Fitz’s attractive female coworker and all-around bitch, Jackie (Paloma Guzman), giving him puppy eyes while working at the college fair. Aria confronts him about it (she’s a real go-getter this week) but in the course of the conversation she ends up saying that Jason kissed her. Fitz is understandably shocked but they get separated by circumstances and don’t get a chance to talk it over again before Aria and Jason get together again.

But that’s when Spencer and Toby spot them. Normally this would irk Spencer but this time it sends her into absolute overdrive after she discovers a weird club while looking at Ian’s old high school yearbook that includes Ian, Garrett, and Jason as its only members. The Latin name for the club means ‘We See All’ and Spencer is convinced that it has something to with Alison’s murder. Knowing that Aria won’t listen to her at this point, she boldly goes to Fitz and tells him that not only is she aware of their relationship but also about Jason being potentially dangerous.

Fitz then flies to the rescue and picks Aria up from Jason’s house where he was giving her a small box of Alison’s belongings. Fitz comes right out and says that its time for them to go public with their relationship and she agrees with an epic kiss that Jason unfortunately has to witness. I know I’m probably in the minority on this but I’m really rooting for that guy to come out on top. And I don’t just mean of me.

But just when you think things might be getting smoother for Aria and Fitz, Aria’s mom (Holly Marie Combs) approaches her about the potential of Fitz being in a relationship with Spencer after spotting them in a car together. Aria is able to dismiss the thought but also gauges her mom’s reaction to such a relationship and the reaction ain’t pretty. So I guess that little secret won’t be coming out of the closet any time soon…

This episode was a strange one for Hannah who spends practically no time with the other girls. Instead, she goes with Mona (Janel Parrish) to try on the bridesmaid dress for her father’s wedding and inadvertently runs into Kate, her soon-to-be step sister. She tries to be nice and likable but Mona pushes it too far and gets them invited along for Kate’s bougie horseback riding session. The ride goes poorly and then in a frustrated rant Hannah bitches about Kate and her friends right next to a microphone that blasts her complaints loud and clear for everyone to hear – including Kate.

Kate later calls Hannah for the sole purpose of letting her know that she’s going to get revenge for the smack talk. For some reason I think Hannah has nothing to worry about. She can out-bitch this Kate chick any day!

And in one final slice of crazy, Blind Jenna tells Spencer to stop investigating the murder. She tells Garrett that they need to speak to Jason and at the very end, Garrett approaches Jason and it couldn’t be more passive aggressive. I kinda want Jason to kill Garrett and get these shady characters out of his life. They’re clearly cramping his style.

Also, at the very end we saw A talking to the psychiatrist that the girls go to. So I guess now we know who will likely die next week!

And don’t forget – next week is the summer season finale so be sure to watch and submit your predictions below!

Pretty Little Liars Season 2, Episode 10: “Touched by an ‘A’-ngel” (originally aired August 16, 2011)

Pretty Little Liars airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC Family.

Images courtesy of ABC Family.

Fox TCAs: A Little Something For Everybody This Fall

The Fox TCAs were held at the famous Beverly Hills Hilton and the stars of the new shows promoted how funny/exciting/different their projects all were and gave the press a sneak peak at some of the hyped series’ Fox has in store for you this fall. Here’s what I heard and saw:

New Girl

Zooey Deschanel’s new sitcom has a lot geek-chic cute-chick going for it.  It’s all part of the package when you have Zooey as the lead of a show about a socially awkward girl moving in with three bro-tastic guys. The show comes from the creative mind of Liz Meriwether, who was the one who penned the surprisingly enjoyable No Strings Attached. Liz was worried when they started casting for the show though, “ Didn’t know I would find someone as weird as I am to play the lead role.” She didn’t have to worry too much because when Zooey read the script, “I thought, I obviously need to play this part.” Liz agreed by saying that the show couldn’t be  done without Zooey. It was a full on lovefest in here.

Damon Wayans Jr. was originally cast in New Girl and appears in the first episode, but he is instead staying on the show Happy Endings. But rather than replacing him with another actor (Like on Rosanne or every daytime Soap) they are writing his character off the show (moving him to Santa Monica) and introducing a new roommate “Winston” played by Lamorne Morris.

Musical side notes: Zooey recorded the New Girl theme song and you can expect a She and Him Christmas album soon!

The X Factor

If you thought  The X Factor was just an American Idol reboot Simon Cowell (via satellite) was here to tell us we’re wrong about that. “I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t different.” he added they are looking for a “game changer, star quality. We show the audience everything.” With the singing competition show genre getting even more crowded, Simon is convinced that The X Factor will come out on the top, “You don’t enter something going for the silver medal. Do you?” The phrase “It looks like nothing you’ve seen before.” Was thrown around a few times.

Simon and Paula Abdul are back together and there was some talk about if Simon secretly just wanted an excuse to work with her again. Simon was quick to snuff out those rumors, “If it all had to do with just working with Paula I wouldn’t be doing the show.” Simon did clarify that the winner isn’t just getting a recording contract, they are getting “$5 million guaranteed.” And the age range is lowered,  so a 14-year-old could be the next pop star/millionaire.

Judge, and ex-Pussycat Doll, Nicole Scherzinger says she loves her big dysfunctional happy family that includes Simon, Paula and L.A. Reid, and that they do not mince words when judging contestants. Simon defends their perhaps cruel critiques “We don’t go out and try to be intentionally mean.That’s just in us. But the ones who were really mean are the contestants. Especially the young ones. A lippy 14-year-old left us quite traumatized.” Paula then reassured that “Stars, not just a winner, Stars are going to emerge.”

Mariah Carey was initially reported to be a judge for the show, but Simon said that that “she selfishly got pregnant.”  He is still hoping that she might still be on the show in another capacity.

Allen Gregory

Joining Fox’s Animation Domination is Allen Gregory.  The series will follow Allen Gregory De Longpre, a 7 year-old that acts like an adult, being raised by his father Richard and his father’s life partner Jeremy. Jonah Hill does the voice of Allen Gregory and also co-created it. When working with the animators to create the look of the adorable Allen, Jonah was having a hard time getting him to look cute enough. “We were sending them pictures of our nephews and our friends kids.  I was, like, looking on the internet trying to find photos of cute kids to send to the animators. It feels really wrong when you Google “cute 7 year old.”

The series is about Allen going from his “New Yorker aesthetic” lifestyle to the dull hallways of an elementary school. They say it’s a fish out of water story where his pretentious tastes don’t fit in the public school mold.  You might compare him to the other child prodigy on Fox’s Sunday nights, but don’t make that mistake. Johna stresses Allen Gregory is nothing like Stewie.

I Hate My Teenage Daughter

The most questionable title of the new line up belongs to the show I Hate My Teenage Daughter which is about “two best friends who are single moms struggling to raise their difficult and over-privileged teenage daughters.” Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl) and Katie Finneran, (from the underrated Wonderfalls) are former high school friends who have unorthodox  parenting styles. Pressly’s character  “was raised in an ultra-strict, über-religious household where she had little-to-no freedom” allows her daughter, played by Kristi Lauren, to do whatever she wants. Katie Finneran plays a “once an unpopular, overweight social pariah, has reinvented herself as a pretty Southern belle,” who wants to give her daughter, played by Aisha Dee (who also appears in Terra Nova) with the childhood she never had.

Pressly points out that the sitcom is able to reach every viewer out there because it revolves around family,”The show can relate to the divorcé, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. Because everybody understands what it means to be in a family. ” She was worried about being typecast as “Joy” from My Name Is Earl, but she aknowledges that there is a unifying character trait that connects her past roles with her current one, “It’s fun to play the bitch. Ask me.”

Terra Nova

Terra Nova is described as an “epic family adventure series” and has been in production for a while. Producers for the show admitted that there has been a learning curve with the production, as creating a dinosaur inhabited environment isn’t as easy as it sounds.  From Fox’s press release ” Terra Nova follows an ordinary family on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race.” It’s all just a big excuse to have a TV show about people interacting with dinosaurs, and that’s fine by me.

Star Jason O’Mara who has played a time traveling cop before, will do it again in Terra Nova, “I called my wife and said I got a new show, it’s about a cop that travels back in time. She sarcastically said ‘I think we’ve seen that one before.” One of the executive producer is none other than Stephen Spielberg and according to the show runners he is very hands on during production. He really wants this show to be something “groundbreaking, new, different. ” The show will concentrate on the struggles of a family trying to survive in this new strange world. They promised us what the show won’t have are cavemen.

Dangit.

Images courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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