AI – Week 3 – 3 Nights

Hi Everyone: Boy they surprised me with the third night this week but at least we are finally done with the ‘crazies’ and now can go on to Hollywood next week where half these kids fall to the ground and the crying and screaming of “I can’t do this” starts.

However, before that happens, let’s review this past week.

Night One finds us in Jacksonville, FL where Journey came from which is important to Randy since he played guitar for Journey..back in the days of Steve Perry (luved him!). Let’s see if there’s any talent here.

Josh, 22 he’s compared himself to Justin G. WHY? He’s not bad, actually entertaining. YES

Sharon, 25 the judges gave her a YES but I have questions about her.

Dana, NO

Kanesa(?), 16 – very nasal – NO

Julissa, (?) YES – she sounds like Whitney which may hurt her in the end. We want who YOU are…

Darnin, 28 – NO

Naomi, 26 – NO

9 Yes’s for Day One

Day Two

Jasmine, 16 – a big YES

George, 18 – a big NO

Ann Marie, 22 – oh YES

Michael, 22 (never sang without his guitar and is very nervous but has a decent voice – I lke him) YES

(Have you noticed that Simon’s smiling a lot lately? Just an observation)

19 Went Thru For Day Two

We are now in Salt Lake City – the home of the Osmond family AND David Archelletta – Boy the kids in this city are nice. The judges want to LIVE here!

First up is David OSMOND, 29 He is the son of Alan Osmond, the oldest of the Osmonds. Alan has been battling MS for 20 years and David has had it since 2006. He looks good right now though. – Decent voice – I’m glad they voted him a YES (not that he’d ever starve to death…he’d just go to Branson, MO with the rest of the Osmond clan!) – the only challenge David will have is to sing like a soloist.

Tara, 21 – Oh Boy – this one walked in dressed like a Dominatrix – not a pretty picture (not from SLC either) – She opened her mouth and ALL 4 JUDGES’ hands went up to stop her – NOOO

Kris, 26 (had a friend dressed as a rabbit for fun). Simon liked the rabbit better than Kris – NO

Frankie Jordan, 24 – siingle mom – she’s kinda like a ‘prettier’ Amy Winehouse – the Judges liked her – YES

Megan, 23 – Yes (but I don’t agree even though she is cute and has a ‘different’ voice). We’ll see how long she lasts.

Andres, 21 – Gospel singer – NO

Austin, 17 a big YES

Jarrett, 21 – NO but I don’t know why.

Taylor, 16 (originally from Samoa) this girl is very tall and reminds us of Jordin Sparks. YES – by the way – it looks like she and Austin are ‘BFFs’

Rose, 17 – lost her dad at 13 and her mom a few years later. Lives with her best friend’s family. She’s very cheerful. Almost hippy like. Good Voice – I like this girl. YES

Day 3 finds the Judges in San Juan and New York City – Fuggetaboutit!!!

Adeala, 19 – this girl quit her job to audition. She was awful and Simon said to get her boss on the phone and he would get her job back. She did, he did – and everyone’s happy!

Jorge, 20 – Sang 2 songs before the Judges decided to give him a YES

Jessica, 20 – NO

Melinda, 22 – YES

Jackie Tong, 27 YES – the Judges liked her a lot. She has a ‘throaty’ voice.

“Norman Gentle” 27, this guy was VERY funny and when he stopped the madness, his voice was good. The girls loved him. Randy not so much but Simon decided to bring him to Hollywood.

Then they showed a bunch of people who got YELLOW tickets – I wish I knew who they were.

Monique, 16 – brought her little brother who was very cute but it didn’t help her but did it? I thought she would have gotten a NO but they gave her a Yellow ticket.

OMG – it’s Alexis Cohen, 24 the crazy nutcase from last Season. This season she’s all cleaned up and sweet and thinks she’ll go thru – no problem. Wellll, you should have seen Simon’s face when she walked in. In fact the 3 Judges all knew her (even Kara recognized her!) – She’s just as terrible as she was then – NOOOO! On her way out, she calls Simon a ‘bad’ name and he laughs his head off (haven’t seen that in a very long time!)

Patricia, 20 – YES

9 got the yellow ticket in Puerto Rico

26 moved ahead in NYC

Next week….it’s Hollywood Baby! They’ll start Tuesday night from 8 to 9. I’m sure Wednesday will be the same and, who knows, maybe even Thursday night too. One can only dream!

Have a great weekend everyone. NO SNOWSTORMS PLEASE!

Joanie

Thoughts on Oscar Nominations

Hi Everyone:

Well there were surprises yesterday (as there always is)…some good, some bad.

I’ll just go over the major nominations and my thoughts.

Best Motion Pic of the Year

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (loved it!)
Frost/Nixon – Like Ron Howard (cause he likes working with Russell!) but this was a play before it became a movie so it’s got an ‘edge’ here. Especially when you realize that Langella was in the play….
Milk (Sean Penn is a terrific actor and has a top notch supporting cast for this all too real story)
The Reader – I’m surprised at this movie because it’s very dark. I thought Leo and Kate’s movie Revolutionary Road would be in this slot)
Slumdog Millionaire – Everyone who sees this movie loves it…gonna be hard to beat.
OK, so what happened to The Wrestler and Gran Torino? Both pics got rave reviews and we all know that Clint is getting a little long in the tooth. Maybe he’s got another one in him)

Best Performance by an Actor In a Leading Role

Richard Jenkins for The Visitor – don’t know him, never heard of the movie.
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon (see above)
Sean Penn – Milk (ditto)
Brad Pitt – A very special role and boy did he do a good job.
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler – Ohhhh Mickey, wouldn’t it be nice????

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Anne Hathaway for Rachel getting Married (Anne’s had a tough year with the BFF and all but I think her competition is too much for her this year. See her here again though)
Angelina Jolie for The Changeling (saw this heartbreaking movie and she did a wonderful job. Wouldn’t it be something if she and Brad both won?)
Melissa Leo for Frozen River – well living here in New England, I can feel the frozen river theme! I think this is the same gal who played on HOMICIDE on TV years ago – if so, good for you Melissa.
Meryl Streep for Doubt. Let’s face it, Meryl could read the comics and get nominated. A great actress in ‘almost’ anything she does (Mamma Mia?)
Kate Winslet for The Reader – Now I don’t know why they chose this performance. Although she won Best Supporting Actress’ Golden Globes a couple of weeks ago…as well as Best Actress for Revolutionary Road. I think it’s ‘your’ year Kate!!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Josh Brolin for Milk – Josh has had a couple of good years for movies.
Robert Downey, Jr. for Tropic Thunder – He was very funny in this movie but I as much as I love Robert (and I do cause I have him on my kitchen wall! – I have to admit, that Tom Cruise did an even better job in the same movie.
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt – it seems that the last five years or so since Philip came onto the ’scene) (he plays in a lot of Indie movies) he’s been nominated every year. Great Actor but now this year Philip
Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road – don’t know this actor
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight – AN AMAZING CHARACTER. What a career he would have had….we were blessed to have him for the short time that we did. – Everyone’s choice

Best Performance for an Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams for Doubt. Amy’s a good actress who’s choosing some really good roles. Not this year though Amy.
Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona – Well Penelope, you and Javier had a good time making this movie and it’s gotten some very good reviews but I don’t see you winning.
Viola Davis for Doubt – Viola…YOU beat out Oprah for this role??? There should be an award for that alone!
Taraji P. Henson for Curious – I’m guessing she played Benjamin’s mom in this movie and, if so, great job!
Marisa Tomeu for The Wrestler – My money is on Marisa even though she’s probably the Dark Horse in this race. She needs a matching statuette for her My Cousin Vinny Oscar!!!

Best Achievement in Directing

Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire – Good for Danny. He’s made an extraordinary movie and is a very talented guy.
Stephen Daldry for The Reader – The actresses love to work for Stephen. Tough movie though.
David Fincher for Curious
Brad has worked with David in Seven and Fight Club. They know each other very well and I think David did a commendable job making this movie.
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon – Ron’s is so talented. Almost every movie he makes, he gets nominated. He should have got a couple for Cinderella Man (one of his fave’s).
Gus Van Sant for Milk – Gus has made a few strange movies in his career. Actors love to work with this guy.

My guess…Danny Boyle even though I’d like to see David Fincher win.

I noticed that there are only 3 songs nominated this year. Too bad they didn’t include Bruce Springsteen’s song from The Wrestler…

I can’t sign off before saying that I truly think that this is the year they should have given more nominations for – comic book movies; namely The Dark Knight and Iron Man. Two highly popular, well made, high grossing, etc. pics.

And…Christopher Nolan, you above all others, have been robbed of a gold statuette!!! It coulda been yours…..

Have a great weekend everyone – if you want more awards the SAG award show is on this weekend.

Joanie

American Idol – Week Two

Hi Everyone:

Just want to say what a wonderful day Tuesday was – swearing in a new President! Let’s all say a prayer every day that President Obama has the strength to bring us thru the hard times we are facing.

OK, that said, let’s tackle Week 2 of AI. Can I start by saying that I am very disappointed in this season so far. It’s been boring to say the least and I am sick and tired of these background stories. You can let us know later down the road, past Hollywood, if they make it – what their problems are…. Let’s get started.

Day One – San Francisco
Boy what a bunch of ‘losers’! I know this is where we found Katharine McPhee but it’s also where David Hung auditioned!

First up is Tatiana – this girl is pretty and ‘weird’ at the same time. When the judges listen to her. Simon kinda likes her. The rest not so much. She DOES manage to get a YES though…We’re gonna need a lot of strength to get thru her LAUGHING though. She’s very annoying.

The ‘coat’ guy, Dean A. NO

Jesus Venazuela, 29 – Now this guy is nice looking enough but has a huge family and they’re ALL hoping he’ll make it thru to Hollywood. When he goes in to see Simon and the judges, they ask that he bring his family in. He brings his two sons in and performs in front of them (they’ve got signs by the way) and the judges haven’t got the heart to tell him NO in front of them so they put him thru! You gotta be kidding me….

Dalton Powell, 18, He’s the Rubik’s Cube guy – NO

Akeila, 26 – I think this was the fast talking girl with the medical journal that couldn’t pronounce the names – Anyway – NO

John Twiford(?), Yes (wish they spent more time with this guy)

Adam Lambert, 26 – this guy is a Stage Actor and is handsome and has a pleasant voice. They voted him thru to Hollywood – smart move! It’s not the voice but the whole package – hey, Zac Efron is no Josh Groban!!!!

Kai Kalahan(?), 26 – he looks like he comes from Hawaii. Another sad story how he takes care of his mom and younger brothers…don’t need the background people – YES

Night 2 finds us in Louisville

Tiffany, 18 – NO

Joanne, 23 – this girl had a record deal with A&M that didn’t work out. Kara knew her a few years ago. They all liked her voice – pretty girl too – YES

Mark Mudd, oh boy – kinda strange – NO

Brent, 24, this guy is ‘hot’ AND has a great voice…I’m predicting semi-finals here YESSS

Ross, NO…

10 Went thru this day and I would have loved to have seen more of them!

Alexis, 21, single mom, YES

Aaron Williamson, 27 – very intense kinda guy (scary!) NO – a real screamer

Rebecca Garcia, 24 NO

Then…they show like 4 people who made it thru and I’m sayin’ “helloooo” why not show more of them!!!!

Last one of the night is a girl named Lenesha, 26 and they all loved her a LOT – YES

Next week will find us in Jacksonville, FLA – hopefully with better results!

I have to throw a ‘few’ Idol Thoughts your way before I sign off this week.

First of all, we were told they’re wouldn’t be as many ‘crazies’ this year as in previous seasons. Maybe so – only 3 weeks of this torture before we head to Hollywood – but I could do with just ONE NIGHT at this point.

There is no Idol Gives Back this year.

The semi finals are going from 24 to 36 this season.

AI is going back to Wild Card entries in which each judge will pick their favorite and then the fans choose the rest.

(Remember..all of this is on tape THRU Hollywood and then it goes ‘live’).

Piece of trivia – did you know that Kara is a distant relative of Regis Philbin’s…whatever!

Talk to you next week.

Joanie

AI, WK One, Tue/Wed

Goodaye Everyone:

Boy it doesn’t seem so long ago when we were watching S7 of Idol and were shocked when Michael Johns got booted off but pleasantly surprised when David Cook was declared the winner. Too bad he and Kimberly Caldwell broke up recently.

Soooo, here we are again. This year with a new judge..Kara or – as Simon likes to call her “Kahra” with a long “A”!

We start out in Phoenix this week and it’s like 108 degrees there. (of course this was last summer when they had the auditions but, as much as I hate the heat, I’d take a piece of that right now here in NE!!!)

Hopefully this season we will see more of the talented singers as opposed to “The Crazies!”

Randy looks good by the way. His new season of America’s Best Dance Crew starts soon.

I just listed names, sometimes ages, and Yes or No beside them. There’s so many to keep track of; I’ll do the best I can.

Tuan Win – NO
Emily Hughes – Yes (thought she was a figure skater!!!)
Randy Madden – NO
J. Britey(?) – YES
Mike Gerr – NO
Will Kunick – NO
Andre..NO
DJ Bradley – NO
Arianna – YES
Elyale – 22 NO (this guy has a wicked deep voice since he’s been 14)
Leeh Maneway, 16 – NO
Stevie Wright – Girl (hey, I thought he was a comedian!) Anyway this girl was named after Stevie Nicks and her mom was a singer back in the time – A BIG YES
Mike Sarver – YES
Kristina Darrell – YES
Thomas – “Chocolate”, 17 NO
Brianna – YES
Deanna Brown, 25 YES
Cody Sheldon, 17, YES
Alex, 19 – YES
Scott McIntyre, 23 YES
(This kid is an inspirational story in that he is almost blind but still has such a love for music that he has mastered the piano as well as his voice. I see him going to the semis anyway!)
By the way, we had some 16 year olds that went thru that surprised me. I was hoping for more of a 18 to 30 range instead of 16. Sometimes the parents give us a bit of trouble along the way…D.A.!!!)
We also had ‘bikini’ girl who had a decent enough voice but apparently no confidence in herself because she wore a bikini to the auditions. She was hitting on Ryan before she even auditioned for the judges. Of course Randy and Simon LOVED her. The girls – no so much. Simon pushed her thru anyway. Then…what does she do but go looking for Ryan to pin a big KISS on him and then jumps into the swimming pool..a bit of an exhibitionist here???

DAY 2 – Kansas City, MO where we found David Cook last year. It was so funny to see his audition again. He’s grown up so much in just the last year.

AI – Night 2 of Wk 1

OK, let’s continue on with Week 2. (this is what happens when you get interrupted in the middle of a review and you don’t know how to start from where you left off!!! Once again..PC illiterate here!)

WOW! Look, it’s Jason Castro. (Looking good; he’s engaged you know?) He’s here with his brother to give him moral support cause he wants to audition – Jason says he didn’t even know the guy could sing).

Let’s get started on the list.

Chelsea – NO
Ashley A., 20 – YES (they really liked her)
Casey Carlson, 20 YES (very pretty girl) Reminds you of K. McPhee
Brian Natler, 20 – NO

Ohhhh, here’s David Cook’s stepdad and mom. They wanted to “Hi” and good luck to everyone competing this year.

Vaughn Smith, 22 YES (disagree)
Mike Castro, 20 – he couldn’t be more different than his bro, in his music BUT they are both laid back and look very much alike. The judges liked him and gave him a YES
Matt Britsky, 27 YES
Jasmine Joseph, 17 – NO
Jessica, 19, YES
Rapper Sisters – Asia and India – they were funny. India got a YES; Asia NO
Jermiah Rogers, 26 YES
Danny (J’s BFF), had a very sad story. His wife died a month before he was do to audition. It was very difficult for him but he was very good and the judges voted YES so he and his BFF, J, will both go thru to Hollywood. – They told Danny that he was one of the best.
Annysi – 21, YES
Andrew – this kid had two cheerleaders proceed him before he walked onto the stage. The girls thought it was funny…Simon didn’t.
Anyway, Andrew wasn’t very good and got a NO.
The girls were sad.
Asa Burns, 28 – YES
Michael Nicewonder – now even though this kid is a relative of Hank Williams, Jr. it didn’t do him any good….NO
Lil Rounds (!), 23 and a mom of 3 – is a prettier Fantasia with a terrific voice. A definite YES for her even though her hubby didn’t look too happy (that’s cause he’ll probably have to take care of the 3 kids while she’s in Hollywood)! The judges said she was one of the best singers they’ve seen so far.

That’s all I could get out of these past two nights.
Next week the crew will be Louisville.

Til then…keep singing!
Joanie

GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS

Hi Ya’ll:

I tried to do a ‘who I think is going to win’ on Friday but I must have been half asleep because it didn’t post. Hopefully I will have more luck with today’s info.

I loved the show last night. It had just enough edge and surprises to make it a good one! Besides, it was the 66th Golden Globe Show (and I’m 66 so I guess we ‘bonded’!).

Are we all sick of the word AMAZING???? If I hear it one more time, I think I’ll scream. Almost everyone interviewed last night had to have said it at least 3 times!! Can’t they think of another word to describe their feelings???

The ‘pre’ interviews before the show were fun. E! was good but when I switched to NBC, I found the interviewers were much nicer and the interviewees were more at ease and therefore inclined to ‘give it up’! Nancy O’Dell, Tiki Barber and Brooke Burn (from DWTS) were equally competent.

I thought Peter Gabriel looked disheveled but extremely intelligent. He was talking about a group of people that it has taken him a few yeears to gather together to help us out in this troubled world we live in right now. They are called The Elders and I’d love to hear more about them.

Loved Eva Mendes’s turquoise necklace. It was breathtaking..as was Beyonce’s diamond necklace.

Being from New England, I was pleased to see Denis Leary and his family. His son Jack looks just like him!

Thought Maggie Gyllenhall looked very pretty and loved Drew Barrymore’s new blonde ‘do’! She’s always glowing…

I’ll just give you my thoughts on some of the presenters and then I’ll go to the ‘winners’ circle’!

J. Lopez – WOW! Beautiful in Gold.

Kate Winslett – looked very pretty in black. She’s a lot more attractive than people give her credit.

Sing…with “the long coat’! OK….

Laura Dern – not a very pretty dress.

Robert Downey, Jr. looked completely disheveled last night. What was with the hair? And not shaving? He was so handsome in Iron Man too. Oh well, maybe it’s cause he’s still shooting Sherlock Holmes?

I did notice people like Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks working their way around tables last night; maybe trying to work out deals while there were so many celebrities under one roof?

Ricky Gervais (of The Office – BBC version) always is good for a few laughs.

Unlike Seth Rogan and Sasha Baron Cohen who were both just plain vulgar for my taste.

That being said, let’s get on with who won last night. I’ll list them according to the breakdown I printed out last week.

1. Best Picture – Drama
Believe it or not…it was SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.
The winners were genuinely overwhelmed by the honor.

2. Best Director
Danny Boyle for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. I remember Danny when he did Trainspotting years ago..strange movie!

3. Best Actor – Drama
I was rooting for Brad Pitt because I loved The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but I also was thrilled to see Mickey Rourke be nominated for The Wrestler. – Well Mickey won and I was screaming at my TV set I was so happy for him! The guy is a little strange but he has a good heart and Darron gave him the chance to do this terrific movie and he pulled it off. Loved his speech – thanking his dogs showed who he is!

4. Best Actress – Drama
This went to Kate Winslett for Revolutionary Road. It was nice to see her sitting between her hubby, Sam Mendes, and Leo DiCaprio. She was saying to Leo, “I’ve loved you for 13 years and I still love you!” Of course she told her hubby how wonderful it was to have him direct her in this very hard story about a couple struggling to make it in the 50s. – Good for Kate!
By the way, I have to admit that I was rooting for Angie to win for The Changeling…hey, she looked beautiful and had Brad beside…what more could a girl want???

5. Best Picture – Musical/Comedy went to Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Haven’t seen it but the Foreign Press must have liked it a whole lot cause they gave it a Globe!

6. Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy – went to, drumroll please, one of my favorite ‘bad boys’, Colin Farrell. He had a terrific speech even though he looked very nervous talking in front of a room full of people. He was very gracious thanking everyone in Ireland, and then to his co-nominie, Brendan Gleeson. He said that he would saw off the globe and give it to him!!!!

7. Best Actress: Musical/Comedy was won by Sally Hawkins of Happy Go Lucky. My only comment would be for someone to give Sally a sandwich before she melts away!

8. Best Supporting Actor in a Drama – of course – went to Heath Ledger for his magnificent job of playing one of the most ruthless criminals to hit the screen, The Joker, in The Dark Knight. Chris Nolan, the Director, gave a heartwarming speech honoring Heath. We’ll all miss him so much.
(On a lighter note, if you haven’t seen it yet, PLEASE go rent Tropic Thunder…Tom Cruise is priceless!!!!)

9. Best Supporting Actress in a Drama
Kate Winslett won for The Reader. She was beside herself. (this, of course, happened BEFORE she won Best Actress). She’s a lovely girl and a good actress who should be on the screen more!

10. Best Animated Film
went to Wall-E

11. Best Foreign Film was Waltz with Bashir from Israel.

12. Best Screenplay went to Simon Beaufoy for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE!

13. Best Original Score was captured by SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE!!!

14. Best Original Song was deservedly won by Bruce Springsteen for The Wrestler (song of the same name). He had a terrific acceptance speech. Loved it when he said it would probably be the only time he would be in the same category as Clint Eastwood!!! Thanked Mickey for thinking of him too. This will be a big season for Bruce..he’s headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show this year.

15. Best Television Drama – MAD MEN – still one of the best series on television. Good Job guys!

16. Best Actor – TV Drama
Surprisingly enough went to Gabriel Byrne for In Treatment (another innovative series from HBO).

17. Best Actress – TV Drama was won by Anna Paquin for HBO’s True Blood – the vampire series. I watched a couple of episodes. Just not my thing but with Twilight being so popular, I’m not surprised it won.

18. Best TV Musical/Comedy went to 30 Rock – Now this was one of the funniest acceptance speeches of the night. Tracy Morgan stood in front with the Globe and said, “Tina Fey told me that if Barack won, I could do all the speeches for the show! This is it…the new face of America…get used to it Cate Blanchett!” So funny and another hilarious series.

18. Best Actor – TV Musical/Comedy – Of course, went to Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock. Another great season where he shows just what a good comedic actor he is.

20. Best Actress – TV Musical/Comedy
WOW! It’s a ‘trifecta’ cause Tina Fey won for 30 Rock. She’s had one heckuva year!!!

21. Best Mini-Series for TV was won by JOHN ADAMS (HBO). A truly magnificent achievement. Please check it out if you haven’t see it yet.

22. Best Actor – TV Mini-Series – was won by Paul Giamatti for JOHN ADAMS. (This was another Tom Hanks/Playtone accomplishment, by the way!).

23. Best Actress – TV Mini-Series – Laura Linney for JOHN ADAMS (another trifecta!!!) Good job Laura…well deserved.

Best Supporting Actor – TV
What do you know..it was won by Tom Wilkinson for his amazing (notice that’s the first time I’ve used it?) – portrayal of Ben Franklin in JOHN ADAMS!

24. Best Supporting Actress – TV
Won by Laura Dern for Recount (another HBO special)!

Well there you have it. Hopefully you’ll be able to catch some of the ‘hoopla’ on tonight’s gossip/info shows.

Also, congrats to Steven Spielberg for taking home the C. B. DeMille award given to him by Martin Scorsese..they’ve been friends for 39 years. Nice speech Steven. And, also VERY much deserved!!!

OK, on to the Oscars next month.

Talk to you later. Joanie

GOLDEN GLOBE PICKS

Hi Everyone:

I didn’t think I’d get the chance to go over the

Golden Globe Award noms but here I am.

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s see how many I can get right this year.

It’s my favorite Awards Show of the season

because

A FEW IDOL THOUGHTS

Hi Everyone:

I hope you all had a terrific holiday and got some rest and watched some good movies.

Why is it every year, while most of us are home over the holidays that there NEVER seems to be anything worthwhile on TV!!! Just can’t understand it.

Anyway, I just ‘jumped’ on to my many movie channels and watched the following..I’ll give you a brief description and who was in it of each.

1. Hannibal Rising – Unfortunately, I didn’t recognize anyone in this movie but it was very good. It told the story of ‘why’ Hannibal became the monster that he was.

2. In Bruges with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleason and Ralph Fiennes – a very good movie which, I believe has been nominated for a few Golden Globes. Colin was terrific in in. I’d call it a dramedy cause it’s the story of hit men in Bruges, Belgium. One isn’t happy to be there (Colin) and Brendan, on the other hand, thinks it’s a beautiful place. A definite ’see it’!

3. Tropic Thunder – This one stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey, Jr. and (in a great cameo role – none other than Tom Cruise!). A funny movie about a group of actors being helicoptered in to the jungle who ‘think’ they are making a movie about the Vietcong when, in fact, the enemy is actually the ENEMY! The whole movie is worth it just to see Tom Cruise’s role. I believe he was nominated for a Golden Globe and is worthy of your consideration.

4. The Dark Knight – what can I say about this movie that hasn’t already been said. I can’t understand, though, why Heath Ledger has been placed in Supporting Role category when it is obvious that it was his portrayal of The Joker that makes the movie even more worthwhile. Chris Nolan and the rest of the cast are absolutely fantastic. In a way I hope they don’t do a 3rd installment because Nolan said everything that had to be said about the Batman saga…just my opinion.

5. Lonely Hearts – this one starred James Gandolfini and John Travolta as well as Selma Hayek and Jared Leto. It’s a tough movie to watch because it’s about con artists who take poor unsuspecting people and fleece them and even kill them. Gandolfini and Travolta are great as the cops…especially John. – I’d recommend it.

6. We Are Marshall – This one is the true story of a football team, as well as parents, and coaches that die in a plane crash. Matthew McConnaghy(?) stars as the new coach and it is a very inspiring movie. Not like a “Rudy” but still, a good movie to catch.

7. College Road Trip – Martin Lawrence stars as a ‘doting’ father of a daughter who is ready for college. The ‘road trip’ is hysterical and Donny Osmond is fantastic as the ‘annoying’ other dad. – A cute, family movie.

8. Hellboy II – I have to admit that I liked the first one better. Special effects are cool and the kids will like it. Ron Perlman (of Beauty and the Beast) does a good job of Hellboy.

I actually went to the movies while I was out too.

I saw The Day The Earth Stood Still starring(?) Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connolly. Not a good movie for me. Though the original was much better.

This brings me to my favorite movie while I was on vacation which was:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett – This movie was long, almost 3 hours, but it kept your attention and, in the end, told a beautiful love story. Excellent movie and I predict a few Oscar nods…

I didn’t do my Golden Globe noms this year because it just caught up to me too late. I do have a couple of favorites though and some, I haven’t seen, but I’ve got good vibes about them.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. I’ve always loved Mickey and couldn’t be happier that he’s gotten such great reviews for this movie. I certainly hope it jump starts his career and we see more of him.

LOVED Angelina Jolie in The Changeling. Hope she takes home a Globe.

Jon Hamm should win again for MAD MEN. Terrific show.

As should Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock. As well as Tina Fey.

One more thought, before I go….I watched The Bachelor last night and I really feel sorry for Jason. Of the 25 girls who has to choose from, there may be 5 who are worthy of a second date. And what’s with bringing Deanna back??? Anything for high drama I guess.

‘24′ starts next Sunday.
Nip/Tuck starts tonight.
Hope you’re all watching Leverage on TNT.

OK, I guess that’s all of my ‘thoughts’ for now. Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve written. It won’t be long before IDOL starts again and then I’ll get my ‘act’ together for my reviews.

Take care…until next time.
Joanie