vibeology

He was too old. Its one of those things where you can get away with it on stage but it doesn't work on film. He's an amazing actor and I was able to move past it most of the time, but the stuff with Kate Winslet/Ophelia was painful because of the ages. No matter how good an actor, you can't close that age gap. Hamlet is really tough that way to adapt for film because you need an actor with range, power, presence and the ability to handle such a huge role all in Shakespeare's language who is young enough for the plot to make sense. I can't think of any recent actor who could have handled Hamlet when they were in that 16-20 year old range. It's just a tough role to cast and I'd rather someone too old than someone age appropriate floundering in the role but that doesn't mean I can just ignore the age thing completely. I love Much Ado so I was predisposed to love this and I really did. The Branagh version is what sealed my love for Shakespeare but I think this had some improvements. Dogberry, like you mentioned, was so much better here. Obviously Don John was stronger out of Keanu's hands but I also thought Reed Diamond made for a better Don Pedro than Denzel. No one can touch Emma and Kenneth, but Acker and Denisof were very strong. Everything was shot so quickly and I think that added to the energy of the film. Rather than weeks of filming, having only days and doing many of the scenes only once made it more like a play for the actors and brought life to each scene. I think its a great adaptation.

On the planet where that Paso Doble he dances last week with Jaque was awful. So you know, this one. The frustrating thing is that its not their fault. The concept, the music, the direction and the choreography were bad and there was no saving that. Just like Emilio and Bridget with that stupid devil dance and ugly costumes. The bottom four were screwed with producer choices more than anything they did wrong. As long as this show goes out of its way to protect Valerie, Rudy, Jessica and Casey good dancers like Zack will be in danger. I like Ricky more than Zack but Zack is leagues ahead of Casey and Rudy in terms of skill. (And Emilio who I would have put right in the middle of the guys, skillwise.)

Jasmine and Emilio might have danced the performance of the season tonight. When Nigel was going on at the end about how only contemporary makes people feel things I was screaming at my TV because I came alive when Jasmine came out of that basket. That was some of the best dancing I have ever seen on this show. They were both in the pocket, both so connected, so fierce and so strong. I'm glad he got that dance before he went home because Emilio was killing it. And Jasmine was spectacular. Tanisha and Ryan had my next favourite performance. It was sexy, powerful, romantic, connected and all around amazing. She is the strongest woman in this competition by far. She is so able to inhabit a character, she's flexible, sharp yet soft. She can do slinky and she can do strength. That versatility is not matched by anyone else in the top 10. I also really enjoyed Jacque and Chehon, Ricky and LoFro, Zack and Amy and Bridget and Brandon. I had a feeling I'd be losing her and Emilio because last week's routine was so blah but its a shame because I think she's much better than what we've gotten to see. I rewatched that girls routine last week and after Tanisha, she was the one who caught my eye. She has grace and power. I don't have a problem with the eliminations but I'm sad to see her and Emilio go. I don't like Jessica and maybe that's messing with my judgement, but I really feel like her "Hip Hop" had more in common with Ricky's jazz than it did with Emilio's number. They gave her "hip hop lite" and still tWitch left her in his dust. She isn't able to play a part the way he is and so all there is is good but not great dancing next to someone who is bringing it on all levels. Valerie's routine was a mess. She is herself at all times which didn't work at all for this number. Ade was less forklift-y than I was expecting but it wasn't a great number. Rudy, like Valerie, can only be himself but that works in a Cha Cha. Still, I felt no chemistry between him and Jenna. Probably not his fault as Jenna has never met a camera she didn't love but it dragged the routine down. His footwork was alright. You can tell that its not his first time with Latin dance so that's a plus. I'd like to see these two go home next week. I basically forgot about Casey until now. He's bland and has a face like Andrew Rannells so I wouldn't be sad to lose him either. And in what world could Travis ever choreograph for a ballet company, Nigel? Did I miss when Travis became a trained ballet dancer? He's good at choreographing for this show but that doesn't mean he could walk into ABT or whoever Nigel name-dropped and get a job.

Agreed that March is a bit of a risk, but its only one week earlier than when Cap2 opened and it did more than alright. I really don't see it as a dump into March because they're worried about the quality of the film. WB ended up with March because 2016 is so packed that there isn't anywhere else to put it. If two months ago, when this whole thing started, they had chosen a different weekend, they could have picked from a few dates, but the year is crowded and they need to be the only new/recent IMAX film out that weekend to maximize their box office. All of the good dates are now taken. By going in March, they will not have to share the screens with anything and most theatres will run BvS on two or more screens. If they picked a weekend where someone else had laid a claim, they'd have to split those screens and it would cut their box office. This is the smartest move they could make considering where they are at this time. WB's mistake was scheduling against Marvel in the first place, not backing into March. The move to March is the first smart thing I've seen them do with this film.

Its the right move. Both movies are going to do better on different dates, but it makes WB look bad to have to move. In 2016 we will have forgotten all this and the movie will make some serious bank. It'll be all by itself in March, on three to five screens in every theatre.

Plus, Cleopatra and the Ptolemys come long after Ramses and the Exodus story in terms of timeline. The cast in question is very, very wrong for the place and time of this story. I think its safe to say that if Moses is to pass for a member of the Egyptian royal family, there's a clear look that everyone should have and it should be less Nordic and more a mix of Black and Middle Eastern. Egypt was always a meeting point between Africa, the East and Europe and that should be reflected in the casting, but Exodus's idea of mixing it up is to have white people play the Egyptian royalty and black people play thieves and servants. It's wrong. Its 2014, how does no one on the set look around and not say "this looks wrong and we should change it."

I was in tears by that point. It was such a incredible movie that hit the emotional beats it needed to earn that moment.

I was a big NappyTabs complainer in past seasons, but looking back I blame the show more than them. They were working every week, with two routines most of those weeks from seasons 4-7 or something. Their first dance had a story and I'd imagine the producers pushed them to include stories in every single dance after that. Its easy to start producing dreck when you're tapped out creatively the way they would be at that point. Now that we see less of them, I like their work more. In fact, of all of the Emmy nominees this year, I'm rooting for them. Run The World (Girls) alone is one of the best pieces of dance I've ever seen and they choreographed the big season opener last year that involved all of the cast and choreographers plus multiple sets. I talk to my mom after the shows and whenever its disco, she can't believe how little it looks like the things she did in the club. She wasn't being hoisted in the air for 90% of the dance and neither were any of her friends. Doriana's dances are mostly lifts so its hard to call it authentic.

From Mandy's comments on Afterbuzz TV this week, it sounds like she wished she could have picked any other song too.

She's really not. She's a horrible dresser who wouldn't know a flattering outfit if walked up to her and draped itself on her, but her figure is very cute and not at all plump. Its amazing how unflattering, frumpy and sloppy her clothing choices are because I can see exactly why you'd think so but its more that she has an athletic build that she covers poorly.

I saw it in 3D (and as a glasses wearer, I hate 3D) and it was so worth it. I'll put up with glasses over my glasses to see it in 3D again. So much of the space stuff just looks so vibrant in the 3D. I loved this movie. Marvel did an amazing thing by pulling this off. Its the sort of thing that shouldn't work and somehow its one of their best movies. I do wish there had been more Ronan/Nebula/Gamora/Thanos buildup because that side of it felt a little hollow but its my only complaint. Had there been more of the sisters relationship, their final fight or even their battle for the orb in the middle of the film could have carried more weight. Ronan was super-creepy but needed a bit of fleshing out and I'm sure Thanos will get his due in upcoming films but all I got from him here is that even his allies want to kill him. That being said, Groot's sacrifice and Rocket's reaction had me in tears, Drax was surprisingly strong on the humour side, I laughed a ton and I want more immediately of this team right now.

I do love Tarantino, though I can see how his work is troubling. I think he’s schtick-y but I love his brand of schtick. He writes more and more to his actors and is more focused on creating a vehicle for character than he is for creating theme, or even plot sometimes. Django was all character. He wrote for Leo and Christoph and gave them both character moments and the rest of the stuff was moving pieces to get to the next moment. I like the moments enough to forgive the sloppiness of the work, but its there and he needs to tighten his work up if he wants to create something really special. I’m with you on this. I really feel like Clueless is the only Austen adaptation that puts the social commentary central to her work ahead of the romance aspects. Amy Heckerling made her Emma/Cher character unlikeable, snobby and socially as awkward as needed. She went right in on issues of class and modernized that commentary while still staying true to the plot and tone of the novel. I know its not fair to compare them to the Avengers crew who have already done a movie together, but the Marvel team is so fun together. They seem to like each other. They’re always touching, hugging, interrupting each other’s interviews and generally play off each other well in a way that feels genuine. The DC three seemed so distant and uninterested in each other. Hopefully that will change once they’re working together but its a noticeable difference.

Last week I could see what the judges were thinking with their winning choice, but this week the only way the win made sense was as a conclusion to Amanda's "dang teams" storyline carrying over from her last season. Honestly, I think it was a producers choice and no matter what Amanda made, she was winning. Which is good for her, because it was the ugliest thing on the runway to my eyes. I agree with others who said that it wasn't muslin underneath, but it was a plastic bag/sheet slip with a fringe thing sewn (or possibly duct taped) around it. Amanda had a whole day! What the hell did she do with all that time. If the losing team had time to make ugly outfits, scrap them and then make a whole other set of ugly outfits, how was that all she did? That looks like something kids throw together when they're playing dress-up. I've worn summer camp play costumes that look more put together. The other two looks were duct tape dresses and not great ones at that. The letter dress was very junior and obvious. Also, the fit on the bust was so off. Why does stuff like that not matter? I didn't hate Korina's but felt at best it was safe. For me, the winning team was clearly Mitchell, Char and Kini. Mitchell's was my favourite of those three and my choice for the overall win, but all three were fab in a Katy Perry crazy music video sort of way. Costume-y in a fun, bright, womanly and high-end manner. Nina always bitches about a lack of colour and this team brought it. Mitchell's dress was strong, feminine, bright, sexy and he clearly made great use of his time. I haven't looked at stills of it yet, but it seems that he laid out every CD piece on the front of that dress and there is a symmetrical pattern there. Char's ticket dress was a little stiff, because its paper but the fit was fairly strong and most importantly those embellishments (the shoulder, the hem, the shiny CD pieces) were all exactly right proportionally and perfectly placed. And Kini's had so much texture and technique. Again with his it would have been easy for the embellishments to be too much, but his restraint was the strength of the garment. As a team, this was the strongest collection and I can't believe it didn't win. Sean was robbed of a place in the top. Angela's was super dull and had she gone home I wouldn't have complained. Like Amanda, I can't figure out what she did with her time, I do think her white shift was muslin so its a muslin shift with some paper snowflakes stitched on it. She had a whole day! What did she do with her time? Fade's was a strong piece and I don't mind the stiffness of the top because he balanced it with the movement on the bottom and it does look like a villain's dress. Sean, though, that straw dress coat was amazing. I get why the team wasn't in the top, but this is why I hate team challenges. I don't mind forcing designers to collaborate but its a shame when one person in an average group loses out on a win or one shitty designer drags down an otherwise strong collection. I just wish the'd be more flexible in terms of winning/losing designers, though I imagine if you weren't tied to your team in results everyone would just do their own thing. I'm baffled by the results and pissed with Nina. If you ask someone a question, you can't get pissed off that they dare to answer it. I really do think the producers saw this as a chance to wrap up Amanda's previous story and she was getting that win even if she'd sent the ticky-tacky down the runway without the white slip underneath.

Guardians was amazingly good. They balanced the humour and the drama fairly well. There are a few areas where I wish the relationships were better defined like all the Thanos/Gamora/Nebula/Ronan stuff could have had more development because it would have made Gamora's big fight more powerful and I would have liked more time with the team but I really feel like those are nits that I am picking and Its hard to walk away from a movie and say I loved all five team members; it feels impossible to choose a favourite. Zoe Saldana who is like cardboard to me in Star Trek is such a fabulous vibrant character here. Amazing what happens when you get her away from Abrams, Kurtzman and Orci. Chris Pratt does a great job balancing the funny and the heroic. I was impressed with his ability to carry the dramatic parts too. Rocket and Groot both looked amazing. Never for a second did I not think of them as real people to the effects were spot on. Bradley Cooper voice work is some of the best I've seen recently and Rocket is so fully realized. Vin Diesel's part is a bit easier but Groot is a total scene stealer. As for Draw and Dave Bautista, my expectations were pretty low but he blew me away. His comedic timing is so good and being funny is so hard. He never oversells the literal quality of his character making the humour perfect. I had to see it in 3D because that was my only option for opening night. I wear glasses and 3D movies are normally a chore more than anything, but this was visually stunning and worth seeing this way. I'll be seeing it again in 3D. Post-credit scene is my only real complaint because just is silly to me.

When she started on the show, she was firmly in the 80s so its nice to see her progress, even if she's still like 20 years behind the rest of us.

So true. For whatever reason, most of the dancers this year can't pull off basic characters with Rudy being the worst. He can't be sexy at all and they keep giving him romantic/sexy dances. I just want people who can inhabit a character. I don't need people to be Mark, just be believable in the roles. Oh, found the pairings for next week. Bridget Whitman and All-Star Brandon Emilio Dosal and All-Star Jasmine Jacque LeWarne and All-Star Chehon Ricky Ubeda and All-Star Lauren Tanisha Belnap and All-Star Ryan Rudy Abreu and All-Star Jenna Valerie Rockey and All-Star Ade Zack Everhart and All-Star Amy Jessica Richens (Saved) and All-Star tWitch Casey Askew (Saved) and All-Star Kathryn

I didn't DVR it so off of my memory Ricky has Lauren Froderman, Emilio has Jasmine, Tanisha has Robert, Rudy has Amy (I think), Jessica has Twitch, Valerie has Ade, Casey has Kathryn, Jacque has Brandon. I can't remember who has Chehon and who has Fikshun and I'm missing people. Looking at it, I think something's wrong with my list but I'm sure it'll hit the internet soon.

Jasmine, though? I get the feeling she'll be doing hip-hop with Emilio which would be pretty awesome. I can't imagine it being another contemporary/jazz/broadway number since so many of the all-stars for next week specialize in one of those.

I think probably the right people went home, but I'm not into Jessica or Casey. People talk about Tanisha's face, but Casey's is just so off-putting to me. It's not his fault but it makes it hard to enjoy his dances. Plus, I feel like everything he can do, Ricky does better so it would have been nice to keep Serge or Teddy for the unique skills they bring. As for Jessica, the show is working so hard to make her happen, but she's a black hole of chemistry (as evidenced by three partners in a row being in the bottom. Casey dodged a bullet.) Plus, she tries too hard to be "sexy." That solo was boring as hell. And now I have to put up with her to see Twitch. So upsetting. Overall, I liked the Paso and the hip-hop, though I had some issues with both of them. The rest of the duos were fairly forgettable. Valerie had no sense of character in that hip-hop. She broke out a huge grin several times. If that was supposed to be a creepy or dark piece she kind of killed the atmosphere. Also, the choreography was almost too fast paced. When you want real character (and not just costumes substituting for character) you need less frantic moments so the dancers can take a beat and establish who they are in the routine. The HH lacked that, as did the Paso which bugged me. The group routines were the strength of tonight's show. The girls were surprisingly strong but the boys were remarkable. Mostly I watched Ricky and Zack; they really stood out but no one was a weak link.

Because, as Holly said, we shouldn’t be slut shaming anyone. Jason went along with Violet’s sexy times because as he said later, she scares him. He’s never stood up for himself in that relationship because he knows that Violet is stronger and a little out there. I have a hard time even saying that he and Violet were in a relationship since Violet never gave him a choice in the matter. Bellefleur family drama was my favourite part of the episode. I like these people; Andy, Holly and Arlene are just real people trying to have their family in a very screwed up world. Everyone in that plot has a keen sense of humour so its a nice, real way to bring something funny to what would be a really dark season otherwise. I still don’t like her but god, those stupid kids. It was like two or three nights ago that Jess was outside the Bellefleur home defending Adilyn and somehow Adilyn doesn’t even think that its a bad idea to be outside in the open at night with just one human to protect her? She’s too dumb to live and if not for the fact that Andy and Jessica would be sad, I’d happily see Violet drain her dry. I’m guessing its because it’s Fairy Hep-V that its extra powerful. I didn't mind this episode. I think things happened. Everyone knows that Bill has Hep-V, Violet and Jason broke up and we're seeing the consequences. Laf is on-board with the Tara situation, we know and Eric/Pam know that Sarah is the cure for Hep-V and Adilyn is in danger. Not bad for an hour.

Very true. Last week or the week before they used St. Mary's Church for a exterior shot (same church they use in Hannibal for the exterior of his office) but beyond that I haven't recognized anything. Its nice to know that someone on the show is looking out for the small details even if its just the location scout. I'm guessing being a vampire means superhuman strength. That's a fairly typical vampire trope. Seriously, they've got every sign they could need to guess vampire so if they don't call it next episode I'll be very disappointed. Sean Astin knows about the dirt coffin, they saw that the dead people on the plane had no blood, the pilot was drinking blood, superhuman strength and the guy was getting pale. Plus Setrakian wanted to cut off their heads and burn their bodies. The only trope these vampires don't seem to follow is that they can handle the daylight just fine.

I probably dislike Loreal even more than I do Sarah so I'm happy with the results but man, I wish both of them had gone a while back. Sarah is dumb, loud and not engaging but I think she's genuinely all of those things. Loreal is phony. Everything about her feels like its put on. The accent, the styling, the "badassery" none of it feels like its real. They're all gimmicks; whether they're gimmicks for the show or gimmicks she uses in her real life I don't know but I know that I don't believe her for a second. Lenny's their choice to win this thing. The decks are being cleared for him. (Loreal was the other big personality/character and now she's gone and most of the actual food authorities were sent home weeks ago.) The edits are positive and even when they show him doing poorly, they turn around and redeem it. I think he makes sense as the winner of this show, but I'm not interested in watching him down the road. This year, there's not one I'd really want to watch. Nicole was amazing in the live challenge and Luca was strong in both. Neither will win because they're not flashy enough but they had real promise.

Setrakian is set on destroying the vampires and the CDC lady comes to him and says tell us what you know, we want to help and he blows her off? That makes no sense. The rockstar is peeing and we hear one thing drop into the toilet and suddenly he has no penis and testicles? Not one guy doing the sound editing thought, nope, that's not right? Corey's wig was practically sideways so no need to reshoot that either. My hair spins 90 degrees in either direction too. The scene with the little french girl was good and creepy as was the Dad drinking blood from the steak. The knock-off Christoph Waltz vampire has the potential for serious menace and I love Fet. This show has some promise but the plot holes, the mistakes, the poor writing are all dragging it down. Even if you ignore the ex-wife and the kid, the actual vampire plot is full of cliches and crappy dialogue. Of course Sean Astin's wife has cancer and he betrayed humanity to try to help her. "You work for two bosses now" or whatever that line was, not necessary. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together had already inferred that from the dialogue before. Of course, no one wants to go to the hospital. The rockstar had a point that he'd end up on TMZ but the wife can see that her husband is unwell but she needs him at home so don't seek out medical assistance. Corey finds a tub of blood in one of the survivors homes so lets forget that happened for the rest of the show. I haven't read the books and I don't know if they are good or bad, but this isn't good. That being said, if next week they're all "Those are vampires!" and "I know my Bran Stoker!" and "Burn this body right away!" I could come around. These heroes need to get smarter otherwise its dull and frustrating.

I think a fair bit of time was supposed to have gone by between last week's episode and this one. We went from hiring a guy to design the case to a fully completed Giant and a week to COMDEX. It also explains Gordon's mellow. It's been a while since his backyard freakout and things have been going his way ever since. The computer is working and they named it the Giant. The only problem with the time jumps (and there have been a few this season) is that they don't do a great job letting us know how much time has passed. Hurricane Alicia from Landfall was in August and COMDEX used to happen each November but I'm struggling to place the last episode by date; probably closer to August since Gordon was still having nightmares about the dead body in the storm. I think through plot and styling they're trying to hint at time jumps but I wish they were more clear about it. I feel like nearly a whole year has probably gone by since the pilot.

The thing I'm trying to figure out is where did the tourists go after they left the morgue? There's no way everyone on that plane was travelling home to NYC, lots of people would have been going on a trip. So where did they go? Are they just wandering around the city with their chest cavities open? How has no one seen them? They they show up at their hotels to keep their reservations? I'm guessing the show is never going to address this, but its bugging me.