This year's Best Song should sound Enchanted

As some of you folks know,I take the Best Song catagory rather seriously when it comes up in the Oscar race(I'm still not happy about the Snakes On A Plane theme being overlooked) and while I didn't see any of films that recieved noms in this catagory,that doesn't mean that I don't have a dog in this hunt,so to speak.

This time out,I'm rooting for one of the songs from Enchanted to grab the Oscar gold."Aw,come on, Lady T! Not another Disney tune,please! Doesn't that Alan Menken guy have a couple of Oscars already?" Yes,he does but I refuse to hold that against him ,and after listening to all of the songs up for this award,the one I like the best is from Enchanted.



Realistically speaking,Enchanted being a triple nominee here may hurt it's chances for a win,much like Dreamgirls was in last year's show. Alot of people would prefer "Falling Slowly" from the indie film "Once" to win,especially many of the critics who adore this movie to bits. The song is good and nicely romantic but I just can't warm up to it.


August Rush,another music lover's themed film,is clearly up for Most Unlikely to score a win here for "Raise It Up" but never say never when it comes to unexpected Oscar wins. After all,did anyone anticipate Crash to rob Brokeback Mountain of it's rightful place amongst the Best Picture awards?(another thing that still peeves me)



So,what is it about the songs from Enchanted that I like so much? Well,I must confess to being an all day sucker for show stopping tunes. Those big production numbers that have everyone singing along in the audience or just that one song that challenges the diva in question to stretch her pipes to the breaking point. Over the topness is the cherry on the singing sundae for me.

While "So Close" is the typical slow moving love song that Oscar voters usually go for(and has the best chance of winning),my personal pick would be "That's How You Know". "Happy Working Song" is great fun and as much as I'm hoping for an old school musical performance that has Amy Adams dancing onstage with rats and roaches, THYK is more of a grandstanding type of song that can stand on it's own,apart from the film itself:





Songs like that are the backbone of musicals and one of the main reasons that the genre refuses to die out. While Enchanted gives out more than a few winks and nudges to the Disney animated musical pantheon of films which is one of the pillars of the studio's success,it's obvious that this merry mockery is all in fun and out of love for the whole crazy mess.



Another plus in Enchanted's column is that it has enough of a sugar coating to make the parody go down the Academy's throat. While they have nominated songs from the likes of Little Shop of Horrors and South Park:Bigger,Longer and Uncut,the black humor of the tunes seems to get stuck midway,causing them a win.

"That's How You Know" is more in line with the likes of "Under The Sea" or "Be Our Guest", a joyful celebration of a song that makes you feel good just thinking about it. Not considered the most artistic of statements,I know,but it's one that is not as easy to create or manufacture as many would think and should be appreciated when done right in my opinion. Let me share with you a few of my favorite show stoppers from Disney films of the past and present:

OLIVER AND COMPANY

WHY SHOULD I WORRY



PERFECT ISN'T EASY



LION KING

I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO BE KING



AlADDIN

PRINCE ALI



FRIEND LIKE ME



We'll know who the winner is soon enough and while that decision has already been made,I'll still have my fingers crossed on Oscar night when the nominees are announced. Of course,it would've been great if Hairspray had been able to be up for Best Song(couldn't someone try to get a Best Adapted Song catagory put in place? If it can be done for screenplays,I don't see why not song),since it had the ultimate show stopper of the year with "You Can't Stop The Beat",a tune that the Obama campaign might want to consider adopting at some point in the game:

Kim Harrison rides again as The Outlaw Demon Wails

There's a good number of paranormal lit titles around these days,filled with vampires,werewolves and witchcraft practitioners galore,and while you might be quick to assume the notion that"you've read one,you've read them all",think again.

Everyone has a different take on the mix of modern day life and the realm of the supernatural and you would be only cheating yourself out of a great romp into the best that any imagination has to offer by ignoring the works of Kim Harrison.



Harrison is the author of the Rachel Morgan series,aka The Hollows books,and her latest entry is due out next week on Tuesday the 26th. It's entitled The Outlaw Demon Wails(yes,the Clint Eastwood reference is on purpose)and for those of you who are unfamiliar with her series,I'll give you a brief rundown.

The leading lady of this series is Rachel Morgan,a witch living in Cincinnati in a world much like ours,except that supernatural beings and those born to practice magic are now openly part of society,thanks to a virus from a genetically altered tomato that wiped out a large portion of humanity(a tip of the hat to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes).

Rachel worked for one of the government agencies that keeps an eye on the "Interlander" scene but now has her own P.I. agency with another former runner Ivy Tamwood,a "living" vampire who loves Rachel as more than a friend and Jenks,a foul mouthed but fiercely loyal pixie that provides the best back-up in town.



Rachel's made quite a number of enemies to keep her busy,which include elven politician and drug dealer Trent Kalamack,master vampire Piscary and worst of all,the demon Algaliarept to whom she still owes a favor to and is her main nemesis in The Outlaw Demon Wails.

Algaliarept(called "Al" for short by Rachel)is the outlaw in question,in trouble with his fellow demons for teaching his former familiar Ceri some rather powerful magic(which Rachel is able to do as well)and uses the opportunity given to him by a group of demon worshippers to hunt down Rachel in public.




Since raising demons isn't illegal(but hiring them to kill someone is),Rachel's options are limited to hiding out on holy ground by night and hoping for a good lead during the day while also dealing with Ivy's attempts to figure out a "blood balance" between the two of them which also includes their joint mourning for Kisten, a vamp boyfriend whom they both loved at different times in their lives.

But that's not all that Rachel has to contend with. She's been getting closer to her mother,the feisty but scatterbrained Alice,lately and it turns out that Mom has had quite an interesting past,which comes to the surface during Rachel's current batch of woes and reveals a few facts that threaten to change all of the notions that Rachel held about her own life now and forever.



What I truly love about this series is the strong sense of storytelling that Harrison brews up for her books. Unlike other paranormal sagas that have become overblown excuses for fantasy sexcapades,Kim Harrison doesn't take eye off of the prize which is to create a compelling and sassy heroine who is able to strut towards danger with strength in her stride and yet,still be vulnerable when it comes to all kinds of affairs of the heart.

That's not to say that the books don't have some steamy romantic moments but they are in service of the plotlines and emotional development of the characters,not the other way around. Rachel does begin a bit of a rebound relationship with a man she met during her run-in with a werewolf pack in Fistful of Charms but it's mired in a romcom zone here,for the time being atleast.



Another plus here is the good sense of humor that Harrison gives to her characters,allowing them to have some lighter moments that give both them and the reader a tension break without sacrificing any of the dramatic highpoints. Rachel may want to toss Trent into jail for life but that doesn't stop her from helping him pick out the right charms to use for a Halloween costume during a public confrontation with him. It's a scene like that which gives these books that extra special touch that means so much.

So,if you haven't visited The Hollows just yet,you're in for a true treat,no trick. As for those of us who are already big fans,this book will definitely knock your socks off and then some. It was rumored that The Outlaw Demon Wails would be the last book in the series but it looks like we're getting not only another book or two with Rachel and company,we're going to be getting more than what we bargained for,in the best sense. The legend of Rachel Mariana Morgan will continue and what a ride all of us will share with her!

PBS Pride & Prejudice profile: Fitzwilliam Darcy

Our look at Pride and Prejudice's most beloved characters continues with a gander at one of the most adored male romantic leads of all time,Mr. Darcy. Few fictional men can truly hold a candle to him-a few of his equals include Rhett Butler,Mr. Rochester and Rick Blaine-while many actors do their best to portray him onscreen.

The most popular version of Mr. Darcy was brought to life by Colin Firth(who was enough of a good sport to play a modern day comedic Darcy type in both of the Bridget Jones movies)but let us examine the appeal of the character himself,apart from his thespian representatives but not without the assistance of their best known one.




When we and Elizabeth first met Darcy,he's a pretty cranky customer who seems to be in his best friend Bingley's words"determined to be displeased with the world and everyone in it." He stands about the Meryton ballroom,glowering over the whole room with his cloak of presumed superiority wrapped around him which only serves to make him stand out like a sore thumb. His rude refusal to dance with Lizzy is a harsh blow at first but our Miss Bennet is quick to pull out her best defensive weapon against such snobbery,a hearty good laugh at his foolishness:





As she gets to know him better,Darcy's favorable points,such as a ready wit and appreciation of quality,come to the surface but also his faults are more readily on display like his propensity to withhold his true feelings and then reveal them in a bluntly open way.

A great example of that is his first marriage proposal to Elizabeth in which he started off well by proclaiming his ardent love and then proceeded to insult Lizzie's whole family by bemoaning a connection with them. To paraphrase a line from Into The Woods,he was raised to be sincere,not charming.

Elizabeth's strong rejection of him truly rocks Darcy to the core,causing him to drop his protective emotional shields and reveal a few family secrets that he would rather not have the world at large talk about. Yet,he must swallow his pride in order to have her know the truth of the matter in regards to his dealings with Wickam,as well as bring Wickam's real nature to light:



His openness starts to regain Lizzie's respect and even she has to agree that however impolite his comments were about her relations,the man does have a point about their behavior in public,which certainly doesn't show the Bennets in the best light. Tho she is still rightfully angry about Darcy's part in convincing Bingley to drop Jane,he does confess to stooping so low as to hide the fact that Jane was in London from his friend(who later forgives him for such presumption),an action that he regrets:





This is only the beginning of Darcy's transformation;after some time apart,the two of them run into each other at Pemberley,Darcy's home turf,which serves as a place of rejuvenation for both Lizzie and Darcy. She is able to introduce him to her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner,proof that not all of her relatives are loud and silly while Darcy's home,property and testimonial of his good nature from his excellent housekeeper,Mrs. Reynolds,give Mr. Darcy a chance to remake a new first impression.

This rapid turn of Darcy's demeanor does him credit and further helps to heal his earlier breech with Elizabeth. It's clear that she is willing to rethink her whole position regarding him and that her being in his world is the best thing that could've happened to him. She makes Darcy want to be a better man:





His most shining moment is when Lizzie's silly sister Lydia nearly ruins her family's reputation(along with the chances of her sisters being able to marry respectable men)by running off and shacking up with Wickam,causing Darcy to spring into action to resolve the sorry situation.

Lizzy blames herself for not taking a more active role in exposing Wickam as a cad earlier and putting Lydia in check but Darcy finds himself more to be at fault and personally devotes himself to making things right. Seeing her in pain like that only motivates him to do all he can,regardless of any other consideration:





In the end,Darcy's more open and temperate nature clicks with Elizabeth's less cynical and snarky side,leading both of them to wedded bliss and hopefully a happy life together. The main reason that Pride and Prejudice is a classic love story is that change in perspective on life is given to Darcy and Lizzie equally,making them a stronger couple with an increased chance at domestic harmony than either of their kin have probably ever had.

And now a word about the lake scene(can't get away from a Darcy discussion without mentioning that!). While it's not in the book,that bit serves more of a purpose than just getting Mr. Darcy in a wet shirt. It's a picture perfect showcase of the character's need to loosen up his tightly wound internal nature and gain some relief from the heat of his thwarted passion for Lizzie(and he looks damn good,too. Hey,I'm not made of stone,folks!):





Next week brings the conclusion of P&P,which will be wrapped up here by taking a look at the Rest of the Best,some of my favorite and not so favorite supporting players in Jane Austen's masterpiece.

I'll do my best to give everyone their share of the conversation,especially Lady Catherine De Burgh. That is one woman who definitely refuses to be gainsayed and is not shy about saying so:

Put a spring in your step as you enter the movie trailer park

Now that winter is nearly over and the writers can get back to work,it's time to see what is ahead of us on the Spring movie horizon. Looks like we have some fun and thrills awaiting to be enjoyed while we munch on popcorn and debate the whole Miley Cyrus seatbelt scandal(it's making a big deal over nothing,if you ask me).

First up is 10,000 B.C.,due out in early March,with the potential to do as well as 300 did around this same time of year. The plot is your basic Robert E. Howard type,primitive tribesman seeks out evil warlord to save his people and rescue his lady love. Talk about old school,this is older than that,plot pre-school!:





Next up is Funny Games,a dark comedy starring Tim Roth and Naomi Watts as a Yuppie couple who go on vacation with their child and wind up as the tormented playthings of two charmingly vicious young men. This is a remake of a German film from 1997 directed by the same man who did the original film,Michael Haneke.

The movie looks truly twisted and this whole "director redoes his own movie for an American audience" deal reminds me of The Vanishing debates a few years ago. Hopefully,Funny Games doesn't suffer in translation like that remake did:





Speaking of remakes,one of Jamie Lee Curtis' classic slasher flicks is being revived just in time for graduation season. Yes,it's Prom Night,with Brittany Snow and a bunch of other actors who look young enough to be carded getting hacked to death on their big night.

Times may change but some things stay the same,like giving teenagers an excuse to dress up, party and become part of a psycho killer's bodycount:





Let us not forget about Sequelmania,the other rampant disease that filmmakers eagerly succumb to in search of big bucks. Harrison Ford is clearly not immune to it since Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be hitting the theaters this May.

I'm kind of on the fence about this one. As much as I loved the early Indy flicks,I really don't see the need for another one. I'm a fan of trilogies,due to the fact that most film series start to lose their favor faster than a piece of chewing gum after the third or fourth film(too many examples to name but only look at Spiderman 3 or the fourth Godfather film to see my point). Maybe this will be different or atleast entertaining. Keep your fingers crossed,folks:





I have no doubts about the new M. Knight Shyamalan movie,The Happening,which has Marky Mark Wahlberg(sorry folks but I'm always going to think of him as Marky Mark now and forever)as a schoolteacher trying to make sense of the bizarre occurrences cropping up everywhere that threaten the fate of humankind.

This may seem like typical Shyamalan fare,but in my opinion,nobody does it better when it comes to cinematic twists of the odd kind these days:





Now,this movie is not coming out until the fall but since the trailer is already making the preview rounds,I couldn't hold off on it any longer. The Duchess,about the life and loves of Georgiana,the infamous Duchess of Devonshire,is based on Amanda Foreman's renowned biography and stars Keira Knightley in the title role.

Ralph Fiennes co-stars as the Duke,along with Charlotte Rampling as Lady Spencer(yes,an ancestor of Lady Diana,along with the Duchess herself)and while there's no poster just yet,the trailer offers a pretty sumptuous vision of a regal world that was enchanting and imprisoning all at once,something that many famous folk today can certainly relate to:

Project Runway's Museum muse,A.I.'s Hollywood week and the writer's strike is over!

It's getting close to finale time on Project Runway and we were all set for a double elimination with this last challenge,which was to select a work of art from one of three galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The designers were given cameras and allowed to roam about the Greek/Roman statue garden,the European paintings section and the Temple of Dendur(an Egyptian temple that was fully transported to the Met).

Guess what gallery Rami chose? Yep,he went for the Greek/Roman,selecting a statue of Aphrodite as his inspiration. You just had to walk thru that trapdoor,didn't you Rami? Yes,it was a beautiful dress(even if it reminds me a little of how the female love interest in Disney's Hercules was outfitted) but being a One Note Johnny is still boring,despite how well that note is played.




Sweet P ran into a snag when her model was late for her fitting(due to a family emergency)but that was the least of her worries. I like Sweet P but most of her work is either hit or miss and her peacock painting inspired dress was definitely a miss with the judges. She really should've created more of a peacock tail feather look on the oufit,maybe made some sort of eye motif or something a tad more dreamlike. Alas,she was given the "auf" from Heidi,so no Bryant Park for her!

Jillian's look came from a painting called "Master of the Argonauts",which gave her a chance to whip up one of her fail safe jackets with a gold lame number. That jacket was terrific but I was less impressed by the dress. It looked too Goldfinger for my taste.



When I was watching Christian put together this multi-layered number based on a Spanish portrait,I thought it was going to be insanely over the top. It was,but in a good way.


He totally wowed the judges and was declared the winner of this challenge as well as guaranteed a spot in the Final Three. He was pleased as punch about that(Christian would make a lousy poker player,he can't hide his emotions to save his life)and Jillian was told that she would join him in the finale. After Sweet P was dismissed,it was down to two: Rami and Chris March.




Then we were given a surprise announcement;seems that the judges couldn't decide between the two of them so they were both declared in for the finale. However,the catch was that the two of them had to show three of the strongest pieces of their collections and only then would one of them be allowed to be in the Final Three.

I credit guest judge Robert Cavalli with this turn of events,since he was the only judge who gave Chris any credit here and declared his gown to be the most artistic of the group. Yes, Chris's high collar was similar to that of the avant garde dress that he and Christian worked on,but if you look at the actual painting that he based his gown on(a portrait of a French noblewoman),you'll see that his goal of updating that look into a modern day couture dress was achieved.

The judges really don't seem to like Chris March or think that he would have lasted as long as he has. Even Tim Gunn gave him a scolding(after Christian ratted him out about taking a nap AFTER Chris's work was done)in the workroom,insisting that he needed to do more with his dress. Chris declined to do so,which was a good decision in my humble opinion.

Next week,we get the big PR reunion show,with follow-ups on those who have been sent home,find out what happened with Jack and gossip galore. Should be a blast!



Nip/Tuck ventured back to Matt and Julia this week,with Julia finally buying a clue that Eden's fabulous fruitcakes have mercury as the secret ingredient(why the hell did it take so long for one of those doctors she kept going to,to figure that out?)and foolish enough to confront Missykins on her own.

It would've been smarter and alot cooler for Olivia to have been hiding nearby in another room and then pop out at the right moment to bust Poison Ivy before she went and got the gun but street smarts have never been part of Julia's basic make-up there. Too bad she has to pay for that the hard way:






Matt didn't do better-after being rejected by Rachel(the only person with enough sense to tell him to go before things get bad),he went on the rebound with one of Christian's charity case patients who was not only a virgin but may well be his half sister to boot. If it wasn't for bad luck,this guy would have no luck at all,I swear.

That's not the worst part-Matt actually wants to continue to have a romance with this girl,finding incest websites to help her convince to go along with this(yeah,the internet is the perfect place to find moral justification)and apparently not tell Christian about their potential blood bond. As Buffy would say "Ewwww!" First off,someone needs to take a blood test here and secondly,if the two of them are related,the answer to this love question is a resounding "no,no,no!" Ick to the third power,Matt!

Next week is the season finale,where we'll find out what happened to Colleen,if Julia is still alive and kicking and how all of the Hollywood madness will affect Sean and Christian.



American Idol has completed Hollywood week and selected their Top 24 contenders for this season. As it was for me last time,I'm not very impressed by the fellas who made it this far. I did think that Josiah Leming was going to have a full out freak out,especially since his godawful rendition of "Stand By Me" sans the band flopped miserably. He did take his dismissal better than I expected,but not without some tears.

I was glad to see some of the ladies that I liked from earlier rounds go thru,like Amanda Overmeyer,Brooke White and Carly Smithson. Here are the gals in action:

ROCK N' ROLL NURSES ARE COOL



YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL,BROOKE



CARLY SHOWS SOME HEART



Random Notes: Special Edition




THE WRITER'S STRIKE IS OVER!!!: Finally,a deal has been made and the writers will be back at work. Many TV watchers will rejoice as a number of their favorite shows will be back on the air as soon as late March or early April. Alas,we Heroes fans will have to wait until the fall for Volume three but perhaps that is for the best.

Congratulations to the WGA and all of the writers for sticking to your guns. Glad to see you folks get what you deserve and look forward to enjoying plenty of lively conversations like this one:



And funny bits like this:



And what's a victory without a good victory song, I ask you ?:

Savor the darker side of love with dysfunctional duets

As an interesting Valentine's Day eve treat,I thought that instead of the traditional batch of love songs,it would be fun to feature what I call "dysfunctional duets"-two folks singing about how destructive their relationship actually is.



Sure,it's sweet to remember those musical moments where the two lovers get to declare to the world just much they adore each other,but what about those tunes in which a couple can't stand to be near each other or one person is more in love than the other? Better yet,what about a song about how love has taken a turn for the worse,inspiring the need for restraining orders? Let's take a look:

PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT

Meatloaf may not seem like the ideal Romeo but he does have the pipes to sing rather seductive tunes. Most folks recall the "Will you love me?" section of this song,which is a debate between an about to get amorous couple in the backseat of a car on the nature of their romance. Something tells me that this song could be a reenactment of many hasty marriages:



I'LL NEVER TELL

One of the best bittersweet moments of the renowned Buffy musical episode,"Once More,With Feeling" is this tribute to pre-wedding jitters by Xander(Nicholas Brendan)and his former vengeance demon lover Anya(Emma Caulfield). Too bad those two crazy kids didn't really listen to each other during this song and dance number,it would've spared them alot of future heartbreak:



BY THE SEA

Sweeney Todd is not just about murder and meatpies;it's about the brutal things we sometimes do for love. Mrs. Lovett's longings for a real romance with Mr. Todd are best expressed in this little ditty in which Sweeney doesn't contribute much to her frenzied fantasies but tell me that you haven't heard conversions like this from long time married couples while out at the mall:



AGONY,PART TWO

This is a rather unusual entry,since it's about two brother comparing their current relationships with women other than their wives. Into The Woods delightfully turns many of the conventions of fairy tale characters on their ear and even Prince Charming is not safe from being mocked for his less than faithfulness:



DON'T YOU WANT ME BABY

It's pretty obvious that the answer is "no" but some guys refuse to listen. I've always liked this song,especially since it sounds like the soundtrack to many a celebrity relationship gone sour:



OBSESSION

My sister helped me to remember this funky Animotion tune,with it's upbeat tone and wacky costume choices. I don't which fashion statement is scarier,the historical outfits or the clothes that the band actually chose to wear:



YOU DON'T BRING ME FLOWERS

For the finale,I just had to go old school and who better to do that than Babs herself? This classic salute to the slow death of a relationship by Streisand and Neil Diamond was considered rather romantic in the day but take a careful look at those lyrics,folks. This is a damn sad song:



Happy Valentine's Day,everyone!

Hanging tough with The Whitest Kids U Know

Last Thursday,instead of staying home to watch Smallville(which debuted Black Canary as well as brought back Green Arrow),I accompanied my sister to a taping of a The Whitest Kids U Know episode that will be shown later this spring. WKUK is the newest comedy sketch show sensation that had it's first season on the music channel Fuse and has just started Season Two on IFC,Sundays at 11 P.M..



My sister,being a major fan girl of theirs,was given an invite to the show due to her membership on one of the WKUK fansites. She was allowed to bring a guest,so I was tapped for that honor. While the two of us don't always agree on certain pop culture pleasures(she hates Gilmore Girls,for example, and even drew a very cranky cartoon about them,which I have on display with the first four seasons of the show on DVD that I got for Christmas this year)but we both know a good thing when we see it.



Our sense of humor can differ into opposite areas;she also loves Tim and Eric's Awesome Show,Great Job!,which is just too weirdly random for my taste. Nothing against Tim and Eric,I liked Tom Goes to the Mayor but I'm a gal who needs a little structure for the jokes to be set up on and then you can knock it down to size. Let me put it this way;back in the day,some folks were into Ren and Stimpy and others into Beavis and Butthead. I was a Beavis person. It was crude humor but damn funny and it made sense to me,unlike the surrealistic stylings of R&S.



Okay,back to the present-getting to the show was tricky at first,but not that hard. It did feel like a leg of The Amazing Race,with us missing the early bus and trying to catch up with it in the road and then later arriving at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center and reading over the directions like they were a clue to a Road Block.

We did make good time and had a good time as well. The show was a mix of taped segments for Season Two and the guys reenacting some of their best skits(due to the Writer's Strike,they were only able to have nine episodes filmed,so this concert edition will be the tenth one)on stage. It was so cool to see these skits done live,with little improvs and adlibs tossed in as bonuses. During one bit,where three of the guys had to stand perfectly still,you could catch them trying not to laugh. Truly priceless.

Here are some of the bits that we saw that night(a lot of this is not work or kid safe-you have been warned!):

THIS WOULD BE GREAT IF IT HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE:



BUSINESS AS USUAL IN HOLLYWOOD:



WHO KNEW HOW PROFOUND THE WORK OF GWYNETH PALTROW COULD BE?:



GOING TO THE THEATER WITH LINCOLN WAS NOT A PLEASANT EXPERIENCE:



I DON'T THINK THAT EVEN DR. PHIL COULD HELP THIS COUPLE OUT:



THE JOURNEY TO RECESS IS AN EPIC ONE,INDEED:



THIS SHOULD MAKE A DANDY CAMPAIGN SONG FOR SOME AMBITIOUS POLITICIAN IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY OF OURS:



The finale of the show was a live performance of Dinosaur Rap,the "first rap song about getting high with dinosaurs". Trevor encouraged the audience to sing along(there were subtitles on the video shown in the background)while the rest of the gang came out in dinosaur heads,tossing the appropriate props out to eager fans in the crowd. At the end,folks were invited to join them on stage and I was part of the pleased as punch crowd to shake a tail feather. Before I left,I did manage to join the "hug line" that developed around Trevor and received a brief embrace from him.

So,yes,it was one of the best experiences that I've had in my life and worth missing Smallville for. Thank you to my sister for taking me along with her and a big thanks to Trevor,Zach,Darrin,Sam and Timmy for putting one hell of a great show:

PBS Pride & Prejudice profile: Elizabeth Bennet

Since PBS' Complete Jane Austen series is now showing the modern classic miniseries of Pride & Prejudice for the rest of February,I decided to have character profiles of both the leading lady and gentleman of Jane Austen's most beloved novel(along with a tribute to many of my favorite supporting P&P players)posted here. After all,a review would be redundant and taking a good long look at these literary legends could shed some light on why they have endured thru out time.

Elizabeth Bennet is usually on the top ten list of admirable literary heroines and first choice when it comes to picking favorite Austen female characters. It's a little ironic,since she is not only the second of five daughters but also courted by her annoying cousin Mr. Collins as a runner-up selection upon his discovering that elder sister Jane has already taken another man's eye.



Elizabeth(called "Lizzy" by family and friends)is always first in her father's eyes and with her big sister Jane,who is her best friend and her emotional opposite in many ways. Where Lizzy is sarcastic and cynical about life,Jane hopes for the best and looks for the good in others.

Lizzy's importance in such a large and at times,noisy,family is neatly showcased at the beginning of the miniseries,which introduces the Bennets and sets up the social and financial circumstances that will dominate their roles in the drama yet to come. In other hands,this would be rather overwrought material but with Lizzie's good humor(which she shares with her father),the burden is considerably lightened:





Lizzie's bond with her father,the mocking but good hearted Mr. Bennet,is unlike many of the parent/child relationships depicted in that time period. In many ways,it is clear that Mr. Bennet sees her as the son he never had,crediting her intelligence and at times talking to her as an equal.

While Lizzie does love her mother,Mrs. Bennet and her matchmaking hysterics are hard to deal with,let alone get some heartfelt maternal advice from. One of my favorite moments of both the book and this adaptation is when Mr. Bennet puts in his two cents regarding Elizabeth's refusal to marry the ridiculous Mr. Collins. Many fathers in that time and place would've taken Mrs. Bennet's side but instead,Mr. Bennet takes a most revolutionary stand:





However smart and sensible Lizzy may be,she is rather quick to fall for Wickam's sob story about the so-called cruel treatment he recieved from Mr. Darcy. Granted that Darcy's cold nature made it a tad easy to believe him to be such a villain but even Jane has her doubts about him and she's one of the most trusting souls you'd ever met.

If you think about it,Wickam is extremely chatty about his woes despite proclaiming that he could never "expose" Mr. Darcy due to his respect for Darcy's late father. Fortunately,her Wickam flirtation doesn't get Lizzy into the kind of trouble that Lydia ultimately landed in but it does prove that she's just as vulnerable as her younger sisters when it comes to being sweet talked:





As to her dealings with Darcy,the love/hate vibes are loud and clear. Even tho she is determined not to like him,Mr. Darcy is too intense and intriguing to ignore. Part of her attraction to him is based on his seemingly humorless demeanor,which provokes her to engage him in verbal combat in the most unlikely of circumstances such as their dance at the Netherfield ball.

Their battles become more brutal when Darcy first proposes to her;he does start out well but with his insults towards her family(just after Lizzy discovers that he helped to break up Jane and Bingley),her ire towards him can not be contained. While Wickam's name is brought up,it's really the injury done to Jane and Darcy's open disdain for her relations that really tick her off and you can't help but cheer her on even while you want the two of them to fall in love:



By the time Darcy proposes to her again,both of them know more about the other and have learned to not be so hasty in their earlier judgments. The ending of the story is truly a happy one because Elizabeth has found a man who is worthy of her in the best sense. He respects her mind and has grown to respect her loyalties to her loved ones,as well as appreciating her "fine eyes".

Elizabeth has not only made a good financial match,she has made a great stride forward for women everywhere by insisting on settling down with her soul mate and not having to pay for it with tragic results(and no,I don't see Lydia's bad marriage as a fee-face it,that girl was always going to hook up with a loser). It's not hard to see why Elizabeth Bennet is the ideal Austen girl,and a role model for many other women both fictional and real,to follow.




Next week,I'll be focusing on Mr. Darcy,the ideal Austen male. Colin Firth was not the first actor to bring him to life but he is pretty much the pin-up boy for P&P and Austen fangirls. Yes,that includes me too-not made of stone,people!:

There Will Be Blood mixed with OIL!

I was finally able to catch one of the major contenders for Best Picture in this year's Oscar race,There Will Be Blood,which also has the front runner for Best Actor as it's star,Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis plays the part of Daniel Plainview,a self made oil man during the early days of the big oil boom in America who has unofficially adopted an orphaned child of one of his workers as his son and partner.



The boy,H.W.,goes around with Plainview on his business trips and adds to his image as a "family man" in his hustling and scheming to buy up potentially oil rich land as cheaply as possible.

During their travels,a tip about some very viable property comes from a young man named Paul Sunday,who knows plenty about it since it's his pious but poor family's homestead. The Plainviews check it out and find the Sunday farm worth buying but run into a little interference from Eli Sunday(Paul Dano,who plays both of the Sunday brothers),the wannabe preacher of the clan:





This is only the beginning of the clashes that these two have with each other,as Eli seeks to gain his own fortune thru the influence of his growing ministry and getting what he can from Plainview,who not only blocks him at every turn but becomes more emotionally withdrawn and paranoid over time. Things get even murkier when a tragic event affects H.W. for life,and the helplessness that Plainview feels over that drives a wedge between the two.

Eli finds a way to exploit Plainview's pain about that to his advantage for which Daniel despises him even more than before:





I'm not a big fan of Paul Thomas Anderson but this movie made me a believer. When I saw Boogie Nights,the first big movie of his that generated quite a bit of hype,it felt a little flat to me. While I enjoyed many of the scenes(my favorite has to be the Sister Christian drug deal bit),by the time the film had reached it's conclusion,I felt disconnected to the entire thing. The sum of the parts didn't fully gel together to form a truly cohesive whole. Magnolia sounded like more of the same,so I avoided that film altogether.

With There Will Be Blood,it was the exact opposite. Everything clicked together in perfect harmony,from the slow but steady pulse of the soundtrack(created by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood) to the amazing cinematography and down to the actors themselves who worked well with each other,like cogs in a well oiled machine.



That's not to say that the performances were mechanical,if anything,they were the life's blood of the story. Daniel Day-Lewis has been well praised here for his work and rightly so. He has the rare ability to make an over the top character not just a
platform for him to strut around on,but to bring forth the humanity of that character as well,making him more real and relatable without compromising his true essence or making apologies for him:





Paul Dano is excellent as well,and I really think he deserved a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Eli. Some have said that Day-Lewis overwhelms him here but in my opinion,his tempered meek and mild persona for the character is a fitting contrast to Plainview's bluster and brass tacks approach to life. Dano definitely holds his own and then some:



To sum this up as succinctly as I can,the movie is flat out brilliant and one of the best films I've seen in a long,long time. It has honestly earned each and every one of it's eight Oscar nominations and I hope that we can have an Academy Awards ceremony this year just so that we can hear Daniel Day-Lewis' acceptance speech(and maybe PTA's,too).



I've been reading the Upton Sinclair novel upon which the movie was based,called OIL!,which was written in 1927. PTA loosely based TWBB on the book,changing the names of the characters(Daniel Plainview's original name is J. Arnold Ross,for example)and while most of the early dialogue and situations are from the first 150 pages of OIL!,the rest of the movie's plot sprung solely from the imagination of PTA.

Does that mean that the book was lacking and shouldn't be bothered with? Certainly not! If anything,this is a great opportunity for those like myself who have always heard how wonderful Upton Sinclair's work is but felt too intimidated by his prose to give it a fair try. OIL! is extremely readable and just as interesting of a character study concerning the nature of greed and commerce upon society as the film is.

I can understand how adapting it straight from the text might not work out for the best for a full length feature film(even one with such a long running time as TWBB turned out to have)and instead,we are given a pretty sweet and savvy two for one deal. Enjoy the film and rediscover the book or read the book first and then savor what the film has to offer.

The most common debate over book to film adaptations is which one is better than the other. In this case,the point is moot. Both are compelling tales of the pursuit of wealth and prominence in America and the price a person is asked to pay,both in professional and in emotional life. Talk about an embarrassment of riches,folks. Whatever timetable suits you best,experience both the film and the novel. You won't regret either one.