Kaoteek

I strongly, strongly disliked A Gift-Wrapped Christmas, which not only had all those usual clichés I've come to expect from those Christmas movies, but also had that nosy, headstrong, over-enthusiastic (& sometimes borderline rude) lead character (also, acting & attitude-wise, the actress kinda felt like a discount Emily Osment, with none of the charm) and her forced Christmas Spirit & perkiness, and a bland cast. In fact, I disliked it so much that it made the similar 12 Gifts of Christmas look better in comparison... (so far, as far as i'm concerned, with the mediocre Turkey Hollow, Lifetime is 0 out of 2, this season) Also, the WWE/USA Network Christmas movie Santa's Little Helper leaked early, and it was pretty much what you'd expect from a WWE co-production : Miz is improving, but still isn't a good actor, Paige was surprisingly solid in her "mean elf" part, and AnnaLynne McCord was fine in a lighter role than usual, but the writing was pretty bad, spending almost an hour placing Miz in silly, Christmas-unrelated, California-filmed challenges... and during the final part of the movie, at the North Pole, pitting him against Paige in a treetop obstacle course recycled from WWE's latest Tough Enough season. Yay.

Enjoyed Crown for Christmas, despite the fact it was clichéd as hell, and very derivative. But overall, it still worked. A Christmas Detour, though, was a chore to get through. 30 minutes in, all I wanted was to strangle Candace Cameron Bure's unsufferable character, and to kill the composer responsible for that dreadful, permanent, grating, mickey-mousing score during every moment of every scene of the movie. Needless to say, it only got worse. I liked Sarah Strange's couple, though, but they easily outshined the lead couple, which really was counter-productive in the end. Also watched Christmas Trade, which was made very awkward by Baldwin acting (once switched) as an hyperactive 6 yo boy for most of the movie, when his kid originally was a calm, smart & somewhat collected 11 yo kid. Kinda killed the whole concept of the body swap, right there.

I don't disagree with those rankings. Even though Reggie n Bollie are clearly more popular than fifth place, and Lauren Murray could be eliminated tomorrow without me caring in the slightest.

Out of the 2015 Hallmark season, so far : - Tis The Season for Love was very average. Nothing particularly horrible, but nothing worth revisiting either. - Ice Sculpture Christmas was about the same. On some points, it was much better (I enjoyed the fact that the male lead's BFF & colleague has no romantic interest in him, and wasn't your typical jealous gf ; I like Rachel Boston & Brenda Strong), on others, not so much (wasn't a huge fan of the male lead, or of the caricatural evil sous-chef girl). - Charming Christmas was too serious, and not particularly charming (on one hand, I liked the fact that the secondary characters were fleshed out, but on the other, they ended up very distractingly slowing things way down, and killing any momentum and rhythm of the main storyline/couple), but it felt more comfortable, budget-wise, and Sutcliffe pretty much saved the movie for me. So far, three movies in, three very average outings. - I'm not Ready For Christmas never really managed to get out of the Liar, Liar shadow cast on it, which made it even more predictable than usual. Nothing awful, though, and the kid was adorable. - Christmas Incorporated left me somewhat cold. I like Shenae & Lund, but the overall storyline just didn't interest me much, and the overal production felt a bit on the rough side, if not half-assed. It needed a bit of polishing, and the script needed maybe another draft. - Northpole 2... eh. The cast was fine, but I couldn't help but feel they just took the Thanksgiving House script, refurbished it, Xmas'd it, and added some expensive sfx, et voilà. The Northpole franchise could be akin to the old-school Disney or ABC family Christmas movies, but in the end, it's just another generic Hallmark script with Clementine the Elf shoehorned in. (I liked the fact that they replaced Robert Wagner as Santa, though) - I couldn't get through all of Merry Matrimony, I just didn't like the overall vibe, or the lead couple. Weakest one of the bunch, so far. - Really happily surprised by how understated & low-key Once Upon A Holiday was, especially since I didn't care at all for Evigan's previous Xmas outing, "A Star for Christmas". But here, everything kinda worked (ending was a tad rushed), and Paul Campbell certainly helped. - 12 Gifts for Christmas. I didn't hate it, the movie was fine, the storyline was fine, the main couple was more than fine, but there was something weird about the whole endeavour, something very artificial & forced - I don't know if it was the directing, the acting, the writing, or the obvious ADR, but something didn't felt right, production-wise. But again, I didn't hate it, it just kinda missed the mark for me. I'm hopeful about Crown for Christmas, even though that Xmas/Royalty crossover isn't really my cup of tea, but I have a soft spot for Danica McKellar, and Love at the Christmas Table is still a favorite of mine (despite being a rushed Asylum production).

- Not too fond of Che's Yesterday cover, but it was unique and well-sung. - Anton's was typical Anton, mild autism/hypersensitivity and all, but the judge's tiff at the end probably insured he'll stay until next week. Or at least it was intended to. - Finally, 4th Impact's hyperprofessionalism to a fault & blandness is catching up with them. Won't get them eliminated this week... but it will. - I'm not really familiar with Mariah Carey's repertoire, but Lauren's version kinda felt like a decent, solid karaoke version of whatever song that was. Nothing to write home about, really. - I don't know it it was Mason's singing, or the awful, awful effect applied to his voice, but that performance felt like a bad karaoke cover. - Louisa was typical Louisa. Can't they just cut this competition short, and give her the win, already, since she seems to be the chosen one ? - That said, I would love to have Reggie n Bollie get to the finals, dodgy singing and all. They're just likeable. As for tonight's elimination... eh. Weakest performance of the night, so...

- Mason : mediocre singing, okay-ish rapping & dancing. Sadly, it'll probably be enough to save him this week. - Max : Started out pretty rough, got somewhat better later on, but pretty generic performance of a bland song. Also, his singing face bothers me. - Louisa : she really should tone down the oversinging, and once again, wasn't too fond of that song choice, but it was fine for what it was, and anyway, it's not as if she's in any danger of leaving anytime soon. - Monica : wasn't bad per se (wasn't particularly memorable either, mainly because Monica seemed too tentative & unsure), but the instant they announced the new song as being "What is Love", all I could thing of was, obviously, this. - Reggie & Bollie : as usual, singing isn't their strong suit, but energy & fun are. The farther they go, the least boring the show will be. - Anton : typical Anton as far as the mannerisms went, but I didn't hate it. - 4th Impact : as usual, I don't really care for their act, but they'll stay in the competition till the end (or near), especially with the sympathy vote going for them due to that health issue. - Lauren : hey, she seemed confident, didn't felt out of place... for once, everything kinda worked for her, as far as i'm concerned. - Che : solid, as usual. Wasn't necessarily his best performance, though. I'd have Monica & Max in the bottom two, with Anton not far from there due to his mannerisms, maybe. Or Mason, depending on whether his MIB performance was enough to win him some votes.

Well... I had two of the bottom three right. Which isn't that great since the only one I really wanted gone stayed. I've already said that, but i'm more and more convinced he has dirt on Simon or one of the judges (Rita ?), I can't explain otherwise why that dead-eyed egotistical bum is still there.

4th Impact : Rough start, indeed. And they look like a polished, professional act that wouldn't be out of place on a stage. I just don't care about them. Mason Noise : ZZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZzzzzZzZzzz. Wait, what, there was someone singing ? Seriously, though, he sometimes looks like a lost ten yo boy caught in headlights, his voice is pretty bland, I just don't see the appeal. Anton Stephans : Why. Why oh why. Awful song choice. And yeah, Simon had checked out very early, yesterday, and was gulping down as much of whatever was in his drink as he could,probably to get through the night. Kiera : the female Mason Noise, as far as i'm concerned. Bland, decent-but-not-too-great voice, instantly forgettable. At least, with song choices like this one. Che : nice one. I enjoyed it. Louisa Johnson : I like her, I like her voice, I like the song choice, I disliked the reorchestration & the way she sung it. Not a great outing. Sean Miley Moore : still too drag club & cabaret for me, but still the most memorable out of all the contestants. Grimshaw seemed enthralled. Monica : didn't work for me. Max Stone : I liked this performance. However, it's still in his (very limited) ballpark, and as soon as he'll be asked to step out of his comfort zone, it will be a problem for him. Reggie & Bollie : Just fun and energetic. Not the best act, not the most talented guys, but fun. Lauren : didn't work fo me either. Needs a lot of work. I'd have Kiera & Mason as the bottom two, this week, with Anton hovering near.

Yeah, can't say I'm heartbroken about the bottom three, to be honest. Still not sure how are still in, but unless they suddenly get the perfect song choice next week, they won't stay long in the competition. Same goes for .

Lauren Murray, Max Stone, Alien Uncovered, Kiera Weathers : Boring, boring, boring, boring, whether due to the song choice, the orchestration or the performers. Anton Stephans : Liked it. I like the guy, I like his voice, he probably won't win, but at least he wasn't boring. Che : Nice one. The style suited him, and he felt effortless. Mason Noise : So he must have slept with one of the judges, and got a few compromising pictures out of it, cos otherwise I can't explain why he's here with that degree of blandness & attitude. Reggie & Bollie : One of them barely sings at all, and it wasn't particularly memorable, but at least it was somewhat fun. Louisa Johnson : I like her very much, she's got a great voice... but that song choice wasn't the greatest, imo. Bupsi : She's just there to get eliminated, really. Twas okay, but nothing outstanding. 4th Impact : The overproducing, oversinging & overrehearsing is starting to grate. We get it, they're quasi-pros, but that doesn't mean that repetitive performances week in and week out are the way to go. Monica Michael : for once, I really liked her performance. The song suited her. Sean Miley Moore : I really like Sean, but he must be careful not to veer into way too camp/drag club karaoke territory. This one was right on the edge, with slightly too much theatricality for me. Still a cut above half the contestants, though.

I'm pretty meh about that finale. Not meh about Nora's win, mind you - her creations were clearly the best ones - but meh about the Tatopoulos shorts, meh about the overall quality of make-up & prosthetics works, and meh about the overall season. I'm glad Nora won, she was likeable (all of them were), but to be honest, the talent level really seems to be slowly, but surely, going down with every passing season. (also, kinda annoyed by "Evan, your third character needs to be.... a big ugly monster ! ; Nora, your third character needs to be... a giant ugly monster ! ; Ben, your third character needs to be... well... a pretty, tiny princess offered in sacrifice. Good luck !")

Not too impressed by Nora's quasi-Groot, and really disliking her Prey character (which almost looks more predatory than the hunter) ; pretty indifferent to Ben's aliens ; and Evan's creations were... hmm... to be kind, let's say pretty underwhelming. Again, I find myself not particularly captivated by this season's finals (although the concept of said finals is a good one).

Funny how Kilminster went from "rocking farmer chick blowing the jury away", to being totally edited out of the show when she was outed as a musical theater lead & Simon Cowell-employed backup singer... and then tonight, she totally dropped the farmer gimmick ("I've been singing for ten years, and I've done a lot of stuff, but I never had a big break"), she sung the most annoying Disney song in recent memory, she suddenly forgot to perform in sync w/ the music, and she got swiftly eliminated after getting a brief courtesy chair (as everyone could predict before this week's show even started). Nice work, Simon, nice work.

I gotta say, as much as I've got no problem with TN's work on the show in and of itself (aside from that "reading the teleprompter" thingie that will undoubtedly get better with time), I really struggle with his interviews. More often than not, they end up amounting to nothing, he gets sidetracked along the way, and his talking points feel really random... he'll probably improve on that front, too, but so far, at the end of the night, I often end up not remembering anything about the last third of the show.

Yeah, in agreement with most of y'all : I wasn't too impressed by Bully & Black Sheep, and I would have liked to see Walking Dad get in the finals, he deserved it. However, not too surprised about Nora's finalist status, she's always been a favorite of the show/producers/judges, and she delivers solid (albeit unmemorable, as far as i'm concerned) work. I can't say I'm particularly invested in this year's finals, though.

Great trick, indeed, but there were a few flashes here and there, where you could see dices and cards where they shouldn't have been, that kinda bothered me, and killed some parts of the trick.

From an evolutionary standpoint, yeah, the results were a mess. From a creative & sculpting standpoint, I hated the Polar Ice Man. It just felt so plastic & fake, I would have put him in the bottom, and Ben's in the safe category. Cockroach Girl, though, was camera-ready, and I would have put it in the top two, if it weren't for the evolutionary thingie. As for Nora, I'm kind of tired of her quasi-weekly meltdowns & creative block.

Same here. Too many people so far for me to remember any name, so I don't even bother until the chairs are done.

Glad to see I wasn't the only one itching to strangle Velez (and his comedian friend was just as bad) during that awful, awful panel. Man, just as I was praising the show's improvements over at the AvClub, they air this... crap.

It's funny, but I'm just not as wowed by Nora as most of you. I don't really know why, I don't even dislike most of her work, but she doesn't really stand out from the rest of the pack, and I'm often just shrugging at the praise she's receiving on a regular basis. Anyway. This week. Loved the peacock, for a simple reason : it was the only one that I could believe would be in a real freak show : it wasn't a weird unrealistic hybrid, a bloody monster, or the ice queen, it was just a difformed guy who looked like he turned his handicap into a stage character, which is exactly what freakshow people do.

I think the hangman style letters are just for the audience at home, cos I've seen one completed on screen, and yet contestants still didn't have the answer. I'm with you on the changes ; it's clearly a work in progress, so I'll wait until everyone and everything has settled in with those new categories & rules before passing judgement...

You nailed it. I especially like the "Vocalist for (Simon Cowell's) Britain's Got Talent." part. (and I couldn't help to notice that her boot camp work was strangely cut out of the tv show, as if to avoid adding fuel to the flames)

Wasn't bad, the cast is really likeable... but it already seems to be going in the direction of a Elementary/Psych/Monk-like procedural, that should very quickly become one of too many. Hopefully there are some twists & turns added in that would make the formula less... formulaic.

Interesting challenge, but I must say, just as someone mentioned above, I would have liked to see such a challenge during a stronger season. And I would have liked more transparency in the way each round was weighted & graded. That said, no complaints about the bottom three or the top looks, this week.

One thing's sure : good job, HBO, for deliberately manufacturing another round of internet outrage ®©™ through your editing, and thus creating enough mainstream buzz around a show that would have none otherwise. Works like clockwork.