Best of Entertainment in '07

Everyone else has a year-end list, so why not me? Here are my favorites of the past year.

Best Movie - Juno

Yes, there was a lot of crap at the movies this year. But also a few great ones. We had some hilarious films from the House of Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad), The Simpsons finally hit the big screen, the Bourne trilogy ended with a bang, and an animated rat cooked up something special. And yet the film I saw most recently is my favorite. Juno has all the elements of a great film - an excellent cast, a clever script, smart directing and a groovy soundtrack.

Best DVD Rental, Movie - United 93

A film every American who lived through 9/11 should see. Give yourself the chance to grieve and heal the wounds that run so deep.

Best DVD Rental, TV - Battlestar Galactica

From a single rental, a new obsession was born. Now can ANYONE tell us how to get our hands on a video set for season 3?

Best Album - Back to Black, Amy Winehouse

Yes, her personal life has been one continuous train wreck. So what? She still delivered an amazing album with a sound that intoxicates. And I owe her - the most new visitors to my blog came looking for the lyrics of "Rehab"!

Best Song - "Umbrella", Rihanna

The song of the summer should be grating on my nerves by now. The fact that it's not indicates that it's a groove that is a new classic. Turn on your iPod and hit play (ay-ay-ay)!

Best TV, Reality - America's Next Top Model

Before you cry, "Sacrilege!" I recognize that Top Model is not usually the best reality show out there. But in a year where we only got the beginning of a Project Runway season, and The Amazing Race was dominated by a horrid "All-Stars" season, Top Model delivered the most consistent entertainment for me. Jaslene was the cha-cha diva, Dionne was hilarious and had the most ridiculous made-up name (Wholahay!), Heather taught us about Asperger's, and Tyra continued her descent to being bat-shit crazy. Work it!

Best TV, Comedy - How I Met Your Mother

The Office certainly gets my honorable mention this year, but HIMYM is still tops in our home.

Best TV, Drama - Lost

As if I'd say anything else? Even with a wildly inconsistent 3rd season, it's still been the best thing out there. As long as the Dum-Dum Duo stay dead.

Best Book - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling

I've seen a lot of critics that left this one off their top 10 lists for the year. But I think that it is not only a wildly entertaining read, but how can you not recognize a book that ends a series so perfectly? Every loose end was tied, and Rowling revealed the master plan she had all along. Pure satisfaction.

[In working on this list I realized I've read virtually no non-fiction this year. I guess 2007 was my Year of Escapism.]

Best New Musical - Xanadu

A show is truly funny when everyone is in on the joke, and the cast plays it to the hilt. Laugh until you hurt!

OK, so that's my list - what did I miss, gentle readers?

Blood is Thicker than Water

Sweeney Todd

You have to say this for Tim Burton - the man likes his macabre visuals. What better director to bring the grisly musical by Sondheim to the silver screen? And I do mean silver - the film is painted almost entirely in shades of black and white. Except the red, that is. LOTS of red. Buckets of blood! If you enjoy a gorefest complete with complex harmonies, this is the one for you!

As for performances, Johnny Depp is a natural as Sweeney - cold, menacing, with one shoe out of the asylum. Helena Bonham Carter is admirable as Mrs. Lovett, although her singing style is a bit like an injured bird, and not a larger-than-life personality.

Overall this is an enjoyable movie if you can handle all that blood. It's quite faithful to the original musical, so show tune afficiandos won't be disappointed.


Juno

This movie is quite unusual - it begins as a whip-smart comedy but settles into a moving drama (with humor still ever-present). It's hilarious, it's touching, and I think it's the best film of 2007.

Once you move past the uncomfortable premise (16 year-olds having unprotected sex, resulting in an unwanted pregnancy), you'll quickly fall in love with the razor-sharp wit of Ellen Page as Juno. Her performance is extraordinary, and I look forward to seeing more of her work in the future! She's surrounded by a dream cast.

Juno lives with a father she adores (J.K. Simmons), a stepmother (Allison Janney) with whom she shares a true love-hate relationship, a best friend (Olivia Thirlby) who is a great sounding board, and a kind-of boyfriend (Michael Cera) who epitomizes dork chic (constantly clad in running shorts, headband and wristbands).

Eventually Juno decides to give the baby up for adoption to a couple she picked out of a pennysaver. She elects a yuppie duo in nearby St. Cloud - a working woman who longs to be a mother above all else (played remarkably by Jennifer Garner) and a man-child father (Jason Bateman) that Juno befriends.

It's hard to describe how good a movie this is until you see it. Go enjoy this Christmas miracle!

Where Have You Been?

Unfortunately, I've been pretty under the weather with the flu for almost a week. And I picked it up right after ScottE got over his stomach virus! Not the happiest time in our household, to be sure.

But I'm going to try and pull it together and get a post or two done before I head home for the holidays. I hope you and yours have been having a wonderful time.

Short DVD Reviews - Part 6

As always, I promise you reviews of our latest Netflix rentals in 25 words or less!

Something New - Joyous recommended this melodrama. Race relations are the overtone, but a charming romance is what makes it enjoyable. Ideal for my inner black woman.

Frida - Julie Taymor directs this visually interesting but ultimately dull biopic of Frida Kahlo. Go to a museum instead.

Dial M for Murder - My latest foray into the Hitchcock oeuvre. Grace Kelly is stunning, but the plot drags.

Bride and Prejudice - A combination Bollywood musical and Hollywood romance, I found it underwhelming. Sayid from Lost is in it (briefly), though.

Junebug - Remarkably charming film in the "awkward family" genre, it is worth seeing to note why Amy Adams got that Oscar nomination (and Alessandro Nivola's butt).

The Flower of My Secret - Almodovar film that shows promise, but fails to deliver. The best moments come from the funny mother.

Team Derailer

When we last left the fashionistas of Project Runway, Carmen was bid adieu for designing an outfit for Tiki Barber that lacked a shirt. A look that would no doubt win him raves at The White Party, but not so much for The Today Show.

In the present, Sweet P secretly is kind of glad that Carmen is gone. Meanwhile, Rami looks adorable lounging in his sleepwear.

Model choice time. Jack does swap his model for Ricky's (bizarre, as I think she's awkward), but doesn't take Marion or Carmen's, so they are sent away. Heidi says that the challenge will be delivered by a familiar face that has old friends. Sweet P (who is fast overtaking Elisa as the resident crazy) thinks they'll be designing for senior citizens. Well, why not? It's about time someone updated the muumuu.

Tim meets the designers in the workroom with the lovely Nina. I don't know why I think she's just endlessly fabulous, but I do. Anywho, she unveils possibly the coolest challenge in ages (kudos to the producers working on them). Nina mentions that over the years, Elle has covered all the latest fashion trends, many of which we can't imagine were ever popular. Each of the designers will pick one of the trends. Then they divide themselves into groups of 3. Each group will come up with a collection of 3 looks, incorporating and modernizing the fashion don'ts of yesteryear. Tim also says that each group must designate a leader (i.e. scapegoat).

The designers sketch for an hour before heading to Mood. Chris' team is Steven and Sweet P. They will work on shoulder pads, dancewear, and baggy sweaters. Jillian's team (wisely selected, I think) is Rami and Kevin. They will work on overalls (which is totally funny, as Jillian is wearing overalls), poodle skirt and 70's flare (i.e. bell bottoms). Ricky's team of Victorya and Elisa will work on underwear as outerwear, neon and cut-outs. Christian's team of Jack and Kit will work with him on pleather, zoot suit and fringe. Sketching! Shopping! In a foreshadowing moment, Sweet P asks Steven if such-and-such fabric would work. Steven says, "No, Chris says it looks like a grandmother's couch." So the question is - did they buy it anyway?

But I'm getting ahead of myself. In the workroom, the teams set to work. Chris says that he's excited for the chance to show that he's more than a costume designer. Meanwhile, Ricky says that he speaks to Elisa in a language he thinks she'll understand - which he equates to modern dance teachers who look like they're high on pot. OK - I know some teachers are weird, but if I thought my instructor was baked, I'd be out of there. Not safe! Towards the end of the day, Jillian is getting concerned about Kevin's pace. On the one hand, I think she's being a bit of a nervous nellie, but I also think she is trying her best to offer calm direction.

To lighten the mood in the workroom, Steven tries a Tim impression. Not bad, but you are no Santino, my friend. Victorya continually talks about her team and offers direction...in other words, she's totally being the team leader. Conversely, Ricky just takes it. So she's a bulldozer, and he's a puss. The models come in for early fittings, which is a rare bonus. Interestingly, Chris' team is basically done. And Sweet P thinks that Steven's garment is the one that stands out. Kevin's problem is that his model is too big. Y'know - a size 2. Victorya decides on the fly to totally change her design. Ricky just looks askance.

He later tries to "confront" her which involves just making small notes, which Victorya passive-aggressively brushes off. Jillian expresses her concerns with Kevin's time management to Rami. He points out that she's got to be firm with him as the team leader. Later, Tim comes in and is happy with Christian's team. But he's not seeing cohesion in Chris' team, and particularly says that his jacket (which looks like a grandmother's couch as bolero jacket with shoulder pads) should be rethought. And he thinks that team Ricky isn't looking finished enough. Victorya jumps in to say, "If I had time, I would have unified the silhouettes." In other words, she's still bullying and totally being team leader. And Ricky bends over. He FINALLY confronts her. They fight passive-aggressively, which is as annoying as you can imagine.

Runway! Heidi introduces the judges, including guest judge Donna Karan. Wow. Big names comin' out!

Team Jillian's looks are very modern, showing bits of each trend in each look. In one look, they turn the poodle skirt into a flared collar to give a unique look. It's all nice.

Chris' jacket is indeed hideous. She looked better without it. Sweet P's is a nice camel number with a big belt and a black turtleneck. Steven's looks just like a sleeveless robe over tights. Lame!

Christian's team emphasized the stripes of a zoot suit to make their looks stand out. It's all great, but Kit's is by far the best, I think. 3 patterns that could clash, but look great.

Team Ricky is a hot mess. Neon pieces that have nothing to do with each other. They all look like they are missing something.

Heidi announces that one team scored so far above the others, that they are immediately declared winners - Team Jillian! Nice for them. I admit I liked her team's overall cohesion best, although I think Kit and Sweet P had the most interesting looks. Team Christian is also in.

Now, I must complain here. Because we spent so much time with the horribly annoying war of Ricky vs. Victorya, we don't get any time to hear the judges talk about the top teams' outfits, or what those designers have to say. It was very disappointing. All we saw was a quick runway look. Boo! But I include my favorites here for you to enjoy.

Anywho, onto the bottom 2 teams. Chris' team isn't showing cohesion. Donna and Nina don't like Steven's and don't see the dancewear inspiration. Donna and Michael love Sweet P's dress (which just about makes the P break down in joy). The concern is that Chris' jacket didn't modernize the shoulder pad look. They pads still look dated.

Ricky's team is called out for having a good start of a concept, but that things don't look finished. Victorya's dress is fit well, and Elisa's is creative. But Nina is not happy that Ricky is yet again showing something so unpolished. Elisa tries to be supportive, bless her heart. And then the Ricky vs. Victorya fiasco is aired, and I'm so over it, let's move on...

Each person has to pick who should go home. It's all how you'd expect. V and Ricky pick each other. Elisa picks herself. Steven says Chris, and Chris agrees. Sweet P goes crazy and gets lashed at by Heidi. She picks Steven.

The judges deliberate, and obviously are just talking about the bad (again, I'm not happy with this). Nina is still really disappointed in Ricky. But what they really can't deal with is Chris' jacket.

Elisa and Sweet P are in. Then Steven and Victorya. Ricky - you are not showing finished work. Chris, your jacket was old-fashioned and ugly. Ricky...is in. Suck! I was so ready to be rid of his whiny ass. Instead cuddle bear Chris is sent back to create new garments of vegetables. We'll miss you, Chris!

Next week - something is off about the models? Jack shares something that makes people weep, which I assume is related to his HIV-positive status. This can't be good!