Post-Oscar Opinions

by Jack Garcia

The Oscars Ceremony has concluded, and Brian and I would have lost a lot of money had we bet on our predictions.  We are definitely not fortune-tellers (although the "real" fortune-teller they showed during the pre-Oscar stuff got a lot wrong as well) so maybe we should leave the predicting to the experts.  Whatever, it's still fun.

Here are the ones we got wrong:

• Art Direction and Costume Design both went to Alice in Wonderland which we never saw coming.  We did love the costumes in that movie (and nothing else), but we figured the Academy would go with a period piece.  We were wrong. 
• Cinematography went to Inception.  We're not mad about that.  It's a great movie.
• Animated Short went to The Lost Thing which we haven't seen so we didn't pick it!  Would love to check it out.
• Original Song went to Toy Story 3 which we wanted to win, but it's not the one we predicted to win.  We shouldn't have doubted our heart of hearts.
• Directing went to The King's Speech.  We wanted Black Swan and were expecting The Social Network... so we were just way off.

So of the 19 we ventured to guess, we missed 6.   That's a 68% which, judging by our high school grades, would have been totally acceptable for Brian and a death sentence for me.  We did really good on the obvious ones though!  Everybody was expecting The King's Speech to win Best Picture, Natalie Portman to win Best Actress, and Colin Firth to win Best Actor so no surprises there.  I'm sure most people watching at home guessed those ones right.

As far as the ceremony goes, we were a little bit let down by Anne Hathaway and James Franco.  As much as we admire them as actors, they were not the greatest to ever host the Academy Awards.  To be nice, Anne had several funny moments when not overtaken by nervous giggling, but James was just kind of boring.  Some of the funnier bits were thanks to the pre-recorded clips like their opening spoof on the Best Picture nominees and the pretend musical numbers from Harry Potter and such.  Very funny watching Ron sing about the little ball of light in his heart!

Pre-Oscar Predictions

by Jack Garcia

For movie-lovers like Brian and I, the presentation of the Academy Awards is an important event.  It's like a high holy day.  Like Passover.  Except we would never want to pass over the chance to watch the Oscars on television... especially when two of our favorite actors are hosting.  We love Anne Hathaway and James Franco!

So before the Oscars air tomorrow night on ABC, we wanted to make our predictions.  If you go to the official website, you can sign up for what they call "My Oscars" to get your own invitation, watch Oscar-related videos, and pick who you think will win.  Fun stuff, so check it out some time.

We now present to you our official predictions!  Predictions don't necessarily imply that we want them to win, so alongside, in parentheses, we will let you know who we would rather have win.

• Best Picture:  The King's Speech (Black Swan)
• Actor in a Leading Role:  Colin Firth
• Actor in a Supporting Role:  Christian Bale (Geoffrey Rush)
• Actress in a Leading Role:  Natalie Portman
• Actress in a Supporting Role:  Melissa Leo
• Animated Feature Film:  Toy Story 3
• Art Direction:  Inception (Harry Potter)
• Cinematography:  Black Swan
• Costume Design: The King's Speech
• Directing:  The Social Network (Black Swan)
• Film Editing:  The Social Network (Black Swan)
• Music (Original Score):  The Social Network (Inception)
• Music (Original Song):  127 Hours (Toy Story 3)
• Short Film (Animated):  Day & Night
• Sound Editing:  Inception
• Sound Mixing:  Inception
• Visual Effects:  Inception (Harry Potter)
• Writing (Adapted Screenplay):  The Social Network
• Writing (Original Screenplay):  The King's Speech

We didn't make predictions for Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Makeup,or Short Film (Live Action) because we were unfamiliar with the nominees.  We can't really choose for films we haven't seen!

The Gleek Critique: "Blame It on the Alcohol" Episode

Brittany and the glee club sing "Tik Tok" at a school assembly.  Image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

One of the benefits of living in a hotel is the free cable!  I can watch Glee on Tuesday nights again!  Yay!

So surprise, surprise, high schoolers drink, and Principal Figgins is not having it.  He's asked Mr. Schuester to have the glee club perform an anti-alcohol number at a school assembly.  The problem?  To start with, Mr. Schuester himself is a drinker.  In order to unwind from the stress of being a divorced man in love with a married woman constantly threatened by his nemesis Sue Sylvester, he has to knock back a beer or two.  Or he'd explode.  His pal Coach Bieste takes him out to a local honky tonk bar, Rosalita's Roadhouse, where they both get really crazy.  Drunk off his butt he returns home and drunk-dials Emma.  His message is self-destructive enough, even without accidentally sending it to Sue Sylvester.  Of course, she can't keep something like that to herself.

The other problem?  The glee club kids are underage drinkers!  They are hardly in a place to promote abstinence from alcohol... especially after the crazy party that ensues at Rachel Berry's house while her dads are away.  And, oh, the things one will do when a little more than tipsy!  Brittany's running around half-naked, Santana and Sam are making out in the corner, and a little game of "Spin the Bottle" leads Blaine to make out with Rachel, causing him to question his sexuality.  Maybe he's straight?  Rachel sure wants him to be, and Kurt doesn't believe it.  Luckily in the end Blaine realizes that he doesn't have feelings for Rachel.  He is most definitely gay.  So that kiss?  You can blame it on the alcohol.

Pros:  

• Finn's explanation of the different kinds of drunk girls made me smile.  Very true.  We find out that Santana is a "weepy" drunk, Lauren and Quinn are "mean" drunks, Brittany's a "stripper" drunk, Mercedes and Tina are "laughing" drunks, and Rachel is a "needy" drunk.
• When Rachel kissed Blaine the music playing in the background was The Go-Go's "Johnny Are You Queer?" which is a totally awesome song.
• Lots of fun songs this week.  I loved Blaine and Rachel's duet of Human League's "Don't You Want Me" and I also really liked Brittany's performance of "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha... even if it did end in vomiting.  And we got to hear Coach Bieste sing for the first time in "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" along with Mr. Schue.
• I laughed every time Principal Figgins said Ke$ha's name as "Ke Dollar Sign Ha."
• Other funny lines included Brittany saying "Why is she so racist?" after Quinn referencing the phrase "like the pot calling the kettle black."  Ha ha.  Or when Coach Bieste said, "You ain't lived til you've seen me in a cowboy hat!"  It was the way she said it.  You have to say "cowboy hat" in high pitch.  And hold out the "hat" a little bit... hee hee.
• Gotta' love all the smooching!

Cons:

• What in the hell was Rachel wearing at her party?  She looked like Melissa Gilbert in Little House on the Prairie... if she were a polygamist.
• The first original song to ever be sung on Glee was called "My Headband."  How sad is that...
• I was gonna put "Oh no!  Blaine is confused!"  but in the end everything worked out so it's okay.  I still feel bad for poor Kurt though.  Rachel got to kiss the man of his dreams before he did.
• When Will's drunk voicemail to Emma (mistakenly sent to Sue) was played over the school intercom I felt soooooooo uncomfortable for him.  How embarrassing...  He really needs to get his love life under control.  He's so pathetic.
• No Glee next week.  Sad face.

The Gleek Critique: "Comeback" Episode

Yup.  Glee has caught "Bieber Fever."  Image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

Last night's episode began with a sue-icide note from one Sue Sylvester.  Turns out her defeat at the big cheerleading competition has really gotten her down.  Luckily (or unluckily) she doesn't actually kill herself, but in order to make her a bit happier Mr. Schue decides that Sue needs some music in her life.  Music makes everyone happier, right?  So he makes her join the glee club and even takes her to sing with children at a hospital.  Turns out Sue has a love for music.  Good news?  Nope.  At the end of the episode she becomes the new director for one of New Directions rivals:  Aural Intensity.  Oh no!

Sam, trying to give Quinn more reasons to stay with him, decides to start a one-man band called The Justin Bieber Experience.  Soon all the other boys join (except Finn who's way too cool for all that) and they woo every girl in the club.  But by the end of the episode, Sam realizes that Quinn really did make out with Finn last episode so he dumps her and hooks up with Santana pretty much instantly.  This was all according to Santana's plan, of course, seeing as she's almost as devious as Sue.

Rachel is trying to be popular by starting a new fashion trend (librarian chic) but of course that doesn't really work out for her.  Her look does become quite popular though, thanks to Brittany who ends up getting all the credit as the trendsetter.  But by the end of the episode she comes up with a new project:  she's going to write an original song for the glee club to perform at Regionals.

The Pros:

• Sue called Mr. Schue "SpongeHair SquareChin."  That's a good'un.
• Lauren sang her very first solo "I Know What Boys Like" by The Waitresses!  And in order to have the nerve to sing in public, she had to picture everyone in their underwear... which provided us with some fun eye candy!  Some of those guys look pretty impressive in their skivvies.
• Rachel and Mercedes sang "Take Me or Leave Me" from the musical Rent and it was awesome.  I think this was the first duet between these two amazing vocalists and it was sheer power!  Those girls have some pipes!

The Cons:

• I don't have "Bieber Fever" so I wasn't exactly thrilled with "Baby" or "Somebody to Love."  The Biebs didn't even win a grammy on Sunday...
• There wasn't any Kurt or Blaine this episode.  None.  At.  All.  I probably wouldn't have minded some Justin Bieber tunes if The Warblers had sung them.  I love everything they sing.  Why didn't they sing this episode?!
• I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this episode.  It was kind of lame.  However, next week's looks like a lot of crazy drunken fun...

Fourteen Flicks for February Fourteenth

by Jack Garcia

Brian and I decided to come up with some movie recommendations for you lovebirds out there.  With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we’re all in the need for some romance this weekend.   Our list contains movies both obvious and unexpected; some with happy endings and some without.  We didn’t bother ranking them or anything, so you’ll find them in chronological order.  We hope you enjoy!

1934       It Happened One Night

“Aw, where you gonna find her?  Somebody that's real.  Somebody that's alive.  They don't come that way anymore…  She'd have to be the sort of a girl who'd... well, who'd jump in the surf with me and love it as much as I did.  You know, nights when you and the moon and the water all become one.  You feel you're part of something big and marvelous.  That's the only place to live... where the stars are so close over your head you feel you could reach up and stir them around.  Certainly, I've been thinking about it.  Boy, if I could ever find a girl who was hungry for those things...”

1939       Gone With the Wind

“There's one thing I do know... and that is that I love you, Scarlett.  In spite of you and me and the whole silly world going to pieces around us, I love you.”

1942       Casablanca

“Kiss me.  Kiss me as if it were the last time.”

1953       Roman Holiday

“I have to leave you now.  I’m going to that corner there and turn.  You must stay in the car and drive away.  Promise not to watch me go beyond the corner.  Just drive away and leave me as I leave you…  I don’t know how to say goodbye.  I can’t think of any words.”

1955       Lady and the Tramp

“Side by side with your loved one/You’ll find enchantment here/The night will weave its magic spell/When the one you love is near/Oh, This is the night/And the heavens are right/On this lovely bella notte!”

1968       Funny Girl

“Lovers are very special people/They’re the luckiest people in the world/With one person, one very special person/A feeling deep in your soul/Says you were half now you’re whole/No more hunger and thirst/But first be a person who needs people.”

1971       Harold and Maude

“Oh, Harold…  That’s wonderful.  Go and love some more.”

1987       Moonstruck

“Loretta, I love you.  Not like they told you love is, and I didn't know this either, but love don't make things nice—it ruins everything.  It breaks your heart.  It makes things a mess.  We aren't here to make things perfect.  The snowflakes are perfect.  The stars are perfect.  Not us.  Not us!  We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and die.”

1989       When Harry Met Sally

“I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes.  And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night.  And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve.  I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

1990       Pretty Woman

“When I was a little girl, my mama used to lock me in the attic when I was bad, which was pretty often.  And I would… I would pretend I was a princess… trapped in a tower by a wicked queen.  And then suddenly this knight… on a white horse with these colors flying would come charging up and draw his sword.  And I would wave.  And he would climb up the tower and rescue me.”

1995       While You Were Sleeping

“Do you believe in love at first sight?  Nah, I betcha don't, you're probably too sensible for that…  Have you ever fallen in love with someone you haven't even talked to?  Have you ever been so alone you spend the night confusing a man in a coma?”

1997       Titanic

“Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me…   It brought me to you.  And I’m thankful for that, Rose.  I’m thankful.  You must do me this honor, Rose.  Promise me you’ll survive.  That you won’t give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless.  Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.”

2001       Moulin Rouge!

“I don’t need you anymore!  All my life you made me believe I was only worth what someone would pay for me!  But Christian loves me.  He loves me!  He loves me, Harold.  And that is worth everything!  We’re going away from you, away from the Duke, away from the Moulin Rouge!”

2004       Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

“I could die right now, Clem. I'm just... happy. I've never felt that before. I'm just exactly where I want to be.”

The Gleek Critique: "Silly Love Songs" Episode

Tina, Mike, Rachel and Mercedes sit and listen to the Warblers on Valentine's Day.  Image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

It's Valentine's Day at McKinley High School, and Finn is feeling like a stud.  With the recent football win girls seem to be swooning over him, so he decides to take it upon himself to open a kissing booth.  He claims it's to raise money for the glee club, but really he just wants to kiss Quinn again (remember last episode?).  His plan works, and when they kiss:  fireworks.  The two realize that they may have ended things prematurely, and begin a love affair behind Sam's back.  However, Santana soon realizes and comes up with a devious plan to get things out in the open.  She gives Finn mono, who in turn gives it to Quinn.  What a coincidence that they would both have the kissing disease!

Cupid has also set his sights on Puck, who's got it bad for Lauren, the large and in charge hockey player turned glee clubber.  He tries throughout the episode to get her attention, even going so far as to sing Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" in her honor, but to no avail... she stands him up on Valentine's.  Lauren just wants to make sure that he really wants to be with her.  You know, playing hard to get.  And it seems like Puck is more than willing to play the game.

And then meanwhile over at Dalton Academy, Blaine asks Kurt for his advice on telling a friend that he might be in love with him.  Kurt of course thinks he is the "friend" of which Blaine speaks, until he realizes the guy Blaine's got the hots for is a Gap employee.  Poor Kurt!  The Gap guy turns Blaine down though, and Kurt decides it's the opportune time to actually tell Blaine how he feels about him.

The Pros:

• "Fat Bottomed Girls" performed by Puck made me smile from ear to ear.  My mom was a huge Queen fan and I practically grew up on that song since it was one of her favorites.  So hearing Puck sing it was just the cherry on top of a deliciously fun episode.
• Two songs sung by Blaine this episode!  Yay!  He and the Warblers performed "When I Get You Alone" by Robin Thicke and "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney.  Both renditions were amazing.  I really love that kid's voice!
• Surprisingly, I actually like the idea of Puck wanting Lauren.  I know a ton of gleeks out there want Rachel and Puck to get together, and they do have a bit of a past, but I don't think Puck would be good for Rachel in the long run.  But Puck and Lauren?  They are just so bad-ass!
• Blaine finally knows that Kurt likes him.  They still aren't exactly dating, but at least it's out in the open!
• Rachel's cover of the popular "Firework" was terrific.  She's a much better vocalist than Katy Perry.  No offense.
• The entire episode got me in the mood for Valentine's Day!

The Cons:

• Sue Sylvester was absent from the entire episode.  Always breaks my heart a little.  It would have been funny to see her crushing everyone's Valentine's candy or something.  You know, being her regular killjoy self...
• It's really looking like Finn and Quinn are getting together.  I don't know why I'm so opposed to this.  I just am.  Maybe because I liked Finn and Rachel so much... oh well.
• At the very end they hinted that Santana and Sam might have an interest in each other.  I really don't think that's a good idea.  Boo.
• Tina's sobbing performance of "My Funny Valentine" was stupid.  I like her voice.  They should actually give her real songs to sing, not have her start singing and then start crying hysterically in the middle.  It wasn't even funny...
• Kurt never sings anymore!  AAH!  He's just in the choir behind Blaine...  I miss Kurt's solos!

The Gleek Critique: "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle" Episode

The football team gets zombie-fied!  Image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

Once upon a time I used to post about the newest Glee episode mere moments after it aired.  Unfortunately, now that I no longer have cable, my only way of watching Glee is on Hulu the day after.  So I hope nobody is too upset that my "Gleek Critique" articles are now going to be on a bit of a delay.

Glee was off air for months, but last night it returned in a big way!  Not only was the episode jam-packed with show-stopping musical numbers, but it aired during the coveted post-Super Bowl slot on Fox.  Pretty impressive!  And not only that, it will be back to its regular Tuesday night schedule starting this very Tuesday.  Two episodes in one week!  Of course, I'll be watching it and blogging about it on Wednesdays from now on, instead of Tuesdays like before.

In last night's episode, Sue Sylvester realizes she's bored with her life.  She's achieved so much as an award-winning cheer leading coach, that there's really no way left to top herself.  She's hit her peak.  But good ideas always come to those who seek them, and while watching a cartoon on television she realizes that she's never yet shot a Cheerio out of a canon.  And who will be that lucky Cheerio?  Well Brittany, of course. And there's one more thing Sue has on her mind.  She wants Brittany, Santana, and Quinn to quit New Directions forever.  Luckily Finn is around to talk some sense into them.

Meanwhile, Coach Bieste grows tired of the constant fighting amongst her football players.  The ones in New Directions are always getting crap from the ones who aren't.  She comes to Mr. Schue for a solution, and together they decide to make the football players participate in glee club.  Maybe if they knew what it was about they might respect it.  Naturally this doesn't go over well, and the other football players decide they would rather be off the team than sing and dance, leaving the glee club girls to play in their place.  Finally after both the glee club and the football team "walk in someone else's shoes" so to speak, the two groups unite in a spectacular half time show.  But as the episode ends, it proves to have been only a band-aid fix.  Karofsky seems set on never joining the club and never apologizing to Kurt who he's tormented so much.

And speaking of Kurt, he seems happy as a clam over at Dalton Academy with Blaine.  The two of them even attended the McKinley football game together.  And while we're on the subject of relationships, Quinn kissed Finn... which makes me wonder what will happen with Sam.  Or Rachel.  Looks like the next episode should be full of high school drama!

The Pros:

• I really liked The Warblers' rendition of the Destiny's Child song "Bills, Bills, Bills."  There's something about boys in school uniforms singing a capella that just really makes me happy.  Plus I've become a really big fan of Darren Criss who plays Blaine.
• Everything with Sue and the canon was just hilarious.  When that dummy of Brittany shot out in charred little bits and pieces... oh my goodness, so funny!  Then Brittany saying she didn't want to die "at least not until One Tree Hill ends."  Ha ha!
• Also, Sue's angry fit of rage that caused her to tear up Figgins' office was pretty darn comedic.  Even better when right after it cuts to Mr. Schue telling Coach Bieste, "You should have seen her..." and then Sue barges in and does the same thing all over again.  Awesome!  Even Brian (the Glee-hater) couldn't stop laughing.
• The half-time show was pretty epic I must say.  Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is done to death, I know, but mashing it up with Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads Will Roll" helped it to be a cut above the rest.  A really great song, and who doesn't love high schoolers dancing around in zombie makeup?

The Cons:

• The opening routine with the Cheerios dancing to Katy Perry's "California Girls" was a bit underwhelming in my opinion.  Hard to imagine since it involved BMX bike stunts and lots of pyrotechnics including boobs shooting flames of fire, but it was so hyped up and then not shot in a way to really maximize on the stunts.  Plus it had been circling the web forever already.  Sigh.  It was all an attempt to keep the football fans from changing the channel once the Super Bowl ended.
• I'm not sure I want Finn and Quinn to get back together.  I liked that they were both moving on...
• Not enough Kurt and Karofsky.  Sure Karofsky was in the episode plenty (being a jerk as usual) but I was really hoping that he would run into Kurt somehow in the episode.  I don't care if he apologizes or if they fight or if they kiss or whatever, I just want something to happen to move things along.  And I'm still not sure as to what Kurt's relationship is with Blaine.  Are they dating?  Are they just friends?  I need some clarification here.