Welcome to Wife Watch!, the only blog post that ranks the most powerful wives on this week’s episode of Big Love.
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As we cast our minds across “End of Days,” the final episode of Big Love’s fourth season, let’s remember the third season of Six Feet Under and the third season of Lost.
Those were both middling years for otherwise excellent series. Those were the years that Nate suddenly had a wife and a bad haircut, and Jack had an unfortunate run-in with Bai Ling’s magical tattoos. Yet both shows rebounded. Six Feet Under produced the greatest final episode in the history of American television (yeah, I said it), and Lost is going out with a bang.
With that in mind, let’s assume that Big Love is going to emerge from the wreckage of this terrible season with a new sense of purpose.
But as we’re being hopeful, let’s also be frank: Girl, this show gone crazy. Can we get security?
A truly enjoyable Oscar ceremony needs to be both a carefully planned event and a hotbox of spontaneity. We need to simultaneously see the polish of professional artistry and the messiness of raw emotion. That way, we can experience the enjoyment of watching an excellent film and the delight of remembering that the talented people who make excellent films are just doofuses like the rest of us.
I’d say last night’s Oscar ceremony succeeded on both fronts.
Over at TDF STAGES, the online theatre magazine I edit, we just posted a step-by-step guide to designing a Broadway poster. Frank “Fraver” Verlizzo, who has designed the posters for everything from Sweeney Todd to The Lion King, takes us through his process on creating the poster art for Looped, a new Broadway comedy starring Valerie Harper as a drunken Tallulah Bankhead.
Interviewing Fraver taught me a lot about about the artistry behind these iconic theatrical images. I think you’ll enjoy hearing him as much as I did…
Another great week in the blogosphere. Here are some highlights…
(1) StinkyLulu regularly hosts a Supporting Actress Smackdown, in which bloggers debate the merits of a particular year’s supporting actress Oscar nominees. This week, the team takes on the current crop of supporting actresses, and though I disagree with them about Vera Farmiga and Maggie Gyllenhaal, I really enjoy reading what they’ve got to say.
(2) Theatrical producer Ken Davenport makes some interesting parallels between Off Broadway and independent film.
(3) The Film Experience is giving out some awesome awards. Nathaniel R., who runs the site, just coronated the Film Divas of the 2009. (He’s also responsible for that picture up there of Sandra Bullock as a Na’vi.)
Since we’re approaching Oscar eve, my favorite time of year, I figure it’s not only fitting but necessary to write another entry for the Best Picture Expansion Project. In honor of the apparent battle royale between frontrunners Avatar and The Hurt Locker, I’ve decided to write about another year with polarizing Best Picture results: 1980. A full list of that year’s films can be found here; below is the list of the five finalists:
Usually, I know exactly when a song is a disasterpiece, but sometimes, I get confused.
Last year, I couldn’t decide if “Boom Boom Pow” was a hot hit or a hot steaming pile. Since I’ve now purchased The E.N.D. and occasionally phased “BBP” into my workout mix, I’ve obviously put it in the “win” column, though I still like it less than recent Black Eyed Peas hits like “I Gotta Feeling” and “Meet Me Halfway.”
I felt similar uncertainty when my friend Collin tweeted me yesterday, asking if I would declare Young Money’s “BedRock,” currently #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, a disasterpiece. (Sidebar: Are you following me on Twitter? If not, won’t you join me for some bonus musings, links, and sass?)
If you listened to pop music in the early 90s, then I’m guessing you read the line above and immediately started tapping your toe. Maybe you considered adding exclamation points to your name, a la Tony! Toni! Tone! (That would make me Mark! Marc! Marque!)
And maybe, just maybe, you felt sad that the New Jack era is over. Lord knows that I certainly miss it. Those hard drum beats, bouncy piano loops, and harmony vocals are all just so much fun. The early 90s hits of T!T!T!, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, and Bell Biv DeVoe have a full and aggressive sound, yet they’re also charming and accessible. They occasionally remind us that we are a part of a rhythm nation, but they’re mostly about dancing and having fun.
Let me repeat that: Having fun. As much as I enjoy the minimalist sexypantsing of Timbaland and the vocoded preening of Jay Sean, their music has a darker edge than “Do Me!” or “Miss You Much.” It’s partly the grimier beats and partly the explicit lyrics, but whatever the reason, their music occasionally makes me yearn for the sound of my adolescence.
Given that nostalgia—and I freely admit I’m doing the whole “back in my day” thing right now—I’m ecstatic that “Nothin’ On You” is tearing up the radio. The first single from Atlanta rapper B.o.B. (featuring vocalist Bruno Mars), it is the New Jackiest jam I have heard in ages. Take a listen…
Damn, y’all! That beat is straight Jam and Lewis, all hard drum beats and sweet piano undercurrent. And when B.o.B. drops that “nuh-nuh-nuh-nothin’ on you” line, I want to throw on a “Button Your Fly” t-shirt.
I’m glad this song is succeeding, because pop music needs this kind of breezy, sunny jam right now. It’s a nice balance for the robotic funk of Black Eyed Peas, the high-drama fever of Lady Gaga, and whatever the hell Ke$ha is.
Welcome to Wife Watch!, the only blog post that ranks the most powerful wives on this week’s episode of Big Love.
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In the season’s penultimate episode, “Next Ticket Out,” writer Patricia Breen lays Bill’s cards on the table in this conversation with Ana: [Read more →]
It’s coming to theatres on March 19, but is it possible you’ve already seen Repo Men? Multiple times? Or is that not true? Is it an original and exciting sci-fi adventure starring Jude “Still Hot” Law and Forest “Oscar” Whittaker?
Watch the trailer and let me know what you think… [Read more →]
I don’t know where this video comes from, but it’s bringing me closer to Zen. Or a mental collapse. Either way, I can’t look away.
Here’s my advice: Even after you’ve gotten the joke—Look! People in giant My Little Pony costumes are performing popular Broadway songs!—keep watching. It gets more and more surreal the further you go.
I don’t want to tell you more. You need to experience this thing for yourself. But if you’re in a hurry, just watch from 5:20—5:58. The passionate literalism of the choreography is breathtaking.
