American Idol Reboot

The Dawg is already gone, Ms. Mariah needs more than tight
dresses to stay at the judges table. Ryan - aint goin' nowhere.
Nicki? We all know she's already gone. Keith Urban, the only
one I would want to see again next season.

I've been watching American Idol since the beginning. I have to admit, the past few years have been a challenge - lackluster contestants (with Adam Lambert being an exception and probably Philip Philips) and a parade of 'celebrity' judges who have not earned their large paychecks. With the lowest ratings in the show's history for this past season, Idol producers need to take note. Do something different. Do something completely different.

So what happened?

I get it. A lot of reality shows thrive on tension and drama ... but American Idol isn't one of those shows. The immature conflicts between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey was painful to watch. So guess what? A lot of people opted not to. Take a look at The Voice which has benefitted from the great and positive chemstry between judges (and a note to Voice producers, keep this foursome!).

Out of the four, the only one I could possibly see coming back would be Keith Urban. Randy has already bowed out. Nicki Minaj has ticked so many people off that she won't be back and really, I know she's 'Mariah' but I don't think she needs to be back either. The best judge isn't even a judge, it's Jimmy Iovine. He knows what he's talking about and gives targeted feedback.

Then there are the contestants. It ended well, (love me some Candice) but getting there was at times painful. Zonette? Really? Some of the people that made it to the live shows had me questioning the judges' train of thought.

Suggestions

Go back to basics. When Idol started, no one knew who Simon Cowell or Randy Jackson were. I'm pretty sure they didn't break the bank to get Paula Abdul. Yet, it became the #1 show. AI made Simon and Randy stars and revived Paula's career.

Find several industry-insiders who can provide some Jimmy Iovine-style credibility and personality and put them at the judges table. Add a star that is past their heyday, but who has some knowledge and put them at the table. Yes, this would be a Paula Abdul-like role, but don't look for the next Paula Abdul.

Save the Drama for your Mama. And truth be told, your mama probably doesn't want to hear all that mess either. Have judges that actually get along.

Enough of the Judges Already! American Idol is at its best when it operates as a singing competition. In other words, make it about the contestants again and less about the judges. Find contestants that the audience can root for. We should be tuning in each week to see what the singers are going to sing not which diva is going to act the bigger fool.

Current Theme Weeks: After this season when the contestants relieved their painful ignorance of archaic, little known acts like The Beatles, I propose losing the decade-based themes. Instead go with different kinds of themes: Best Break-Up Songs, Diva Week, Acoustic/A Capella Week, Best High School Song.

If Idol wants to dominate the ratings again, they will have to do more than a little tweaking.

Movie Review: Star Trek: Into Darkness

Weather wise it hasn’t even really started to heat up yet, but the Summer Movie Season is underway. This week’s major release was the second in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek series, Star Trek: Into Darkness. I enjoyed it but I expected it to be pretty good (just not great).

Jim Kirk (Chris Pine) is still a renegade, ignoring orders and doing things his way. The problem, at least in the beginning is that Dr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) is still, well, Spock – logical, pragmatic and unable to tell a lie. So after Kirk goes against order and saves Spock’s life, Spock gets him in trouble for it! Of course, there are bigger problems afoot when John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) shows up with quite an explosive entry. In fact, his actions threaten to start a war between the Federation and the Klingons. Never fear, the faithful Enterprise crew is here: Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Checkov (Anton Yelchin), and Sulu (John Cho).

The performances were good – especially Pine and Quinto who have an easy chemistry with each other – and Cumberbatch who has the intensity necessary of an action movie villian. However, this movie was all about the effects and the action. It starts at the beginning and never lets up. This is a good thing; however, a little more attention to the plot and the story would have made a good thing a whole lot better.

I saw this in 3-D and it was worth it. This is the kind of movie that needs to be in 3-D. It isn’t gimmicky but essential to this kind of movie. I will tell you this upfront, don’t bother staying though the credits. There is no teaser or aster-the-credits extra scene. So when the credits roll, so can you.

Movie Review: The Great Gatsby

 I haven’t seen Les Miserables and, despite the great reviews, I don’t know if I ever will. You see, some 20+ years ago, I was forced to read about Jean Valjean and Cosette and the whole very sad, very miserable crew and I hated every minute of it. I hated it so much that decades later I can’t even bear the thought of a cinematic version. It was the exact opposite with The Great Gatsby. I read it in high school and I loved it. I enjoyed the adaptation with Robert Redford (Gatsby), Mia Farrow (Daisy) and Sam Waterson (Nick). I couldn’t wait to see this one.

For the most part, I wasn’t disappointed. Leonardo DiCaprio did a great job of capturing Jay Gatsby’s determination and hopeless hopefulness. Normally, I’m not a huge Tobey McGuire fan but he did a solid job of capturing the role of the trying-to-be-objective narrator, Nick Carraway. For those who aren’t familiar with the story, five years earlier, a penniless Gatsby met Daisy Buchanan and fell head-over-heels with the beautiful young privileged girl. He went off to war and made Daisy (Carey Mulligan) promise that she’d wait.

Daisy, however, broke that promise and married Tom (Joel Edgerton) a boorish, philandering man who, like her, came from old money. If she would have waited, Gatsby would have come back. It was always his plan. In the years he was away, he earned millions, enough wealth, he thought, to earn Daisy’s heart.

With Tom’s constant cheating, Daisy seemed like she might be ready for what Gatsby had to offer but as Nick warned his friend, "You can’t recreate the past."

As I said, I really enjoyed DiCaprio as Gatsby the hopeful dreamer who, you could tell, wasn’t afraid to be ruthless to get what he wanted. Like his character in Catch Me If You Can, DiCaprio (and the character of Gatsby) have mastered the art of reinvention. Edgerton's Tom also proved to be a formidable challenger for Daisy’s heart.

Now, the movie opens and closes in a snowy asylum where Nick pins The Great Gatsby as part of his therapy. What? Hey, kids, if you want to bypass the book and just use the film instead, know that this little artistic license did not happen in the novel. I didn’t understand why Nick, for one, would end up in an asylum and, two, why the book would have to be written there. Couldn’t it just be a memoir based on an important and pivotal time in his life?

Then there is the matter of Daisy. I thought Carey Mulligan was good but I left wondering if someone else could have been better in that role. Mulligan was good but not great. Director/co-writer Luhrmann gave Daisy a lot more depth than she had in the book. As she was written by Fitzgerald, Daisy just wasn't the kind of woman who would ever be capable of the kind of love that Gatsby demands … and never was. Part of the tragedy is that the past Gatsby so desperately wanted to create was never there.

Yet this is a Baz Luhrmann spectacle and he brings on the dazzling visuals. The infamous parties Gatsby is known for as well as the speakeasies and mansions give him a colorful playground to romp and play in. The soundtrack, has more than a nod to executive producer Sean “Jay-Z” Carter. It is a mash-up of rap and current songs with a 20’s feel. Jay-z, Beyonce, and Will-I-Am are featured. There is even a 20’s version of Amy  Winehouse classic Back to Black.

Gatsby is a kinetic visual spectacle with a few really strong performances. We saw it in 2-D, if I could have done it again, I’d do the 3-D version.

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 appears to be the last in the Iron Man trilogy. If so, the movie went out with a bang, lots of bangs. Out of the three, I have to say I think the first one is the best but 3 makes a very valiant effort to usurp that first one. It says a lot that I saw the movie twice over the weekend.

Iron Man 3 takes place after The Avengers. As a result of going through the wormhole in that film, the Tony Stark in this film is scarred. He can’t sleep and he’s having panic attacks. His solution? Throw himself into his work. He ends up with over 40 Iron Man suits that respond to his beck and call.

He’ll need all of those suits to combat the latest terrorist threat, The Mandarin (played deliciously by Ben Kingsley and not to be confused with the delicious little oranges usually in a light syrup). Working for The Mandarin is Aldrich Killian (played by a slightly bulked up Guy Pearce), a scientist that Stark blew off at a party over a decade before.

The Mandarin is wreaking havoc through a series of televised terrorist events. It is first up to the Iron Patriot (a red, white and blue Iron Man worn by Don Cheadle) to vanquish him. Adding to the mix is the head of Stark Industries and Stark’s significant other, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow – who could use a few sandwiches with cheese and extra mayo) and her new head of security, Iron Man’s best friend and former bodyguard Happy (Jon Favreau).

Lovers of action will love Iron Man 3 which has some seriously intense and long action sequences. Yet, Robert Downey Jr. has always brought the fun and comedy to the series and he definitely does not disappoint here. Some of his best lines are exchanged with Harley (Ty Simpkins) a young boy he meets along the way to saving the world.

If I had a problem with the movie it was the nature of the villain. The Mandarin’s warriors have the ability to regenerate limbs and survive just about anything. Yet, to me, it was never clear what could actually kill them and what made some of them blow up. Was it intentional? Was it accidental? It was never made clear.
However, the villains did turn into a freaky red-orange color and the fact that they could blow up made for a lot of cool explosions and ratcheted up the action feature a few notches.

The film ‘ended’ the trilogy satisfactorily. It seemed like a fitting conclusion - so much so that a 4th Iron Man would seem a little disingenuous. Of course stay until the very, very end for a funny little after the credits sequence.

Movie Review: A Place Beyond the Pines

At its core, The Place Beyond the Pines is a tale of fathers and sons. It’s about how the actions of the father affect the son and ultimately how he son eventually comes full circle incorporating a lot of who the father was into who he is. With award-worthy performances from Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, this two hour and twenty minute film sometimes meanders but redeems itself in the end. It’s a movie that stays with you.

In the beginning, Luke (Ryan Gosling) is a carnival worker whose act involves motorcycling in a circular cube. As he travels from city to city, he has his share of hook-ups with the local ladies. One such connection comes in the form of Romina (Eva Mendes). When he returns to her town the following year, he’s surprised to find that she’s had a baby, his baby. This is a game-changer for Luke and he vows to be the father he never had. Immediately he quits the circus. Yet he doesn’t make the money to support himself, not to mention a child.

When his friend and landlord, Robin (Ben Mendelsohn) suggests they rob a bank, Luke initially balks. However, he realizes that he isn’t much good at anything else and the pair set off to make some fast cash. All goes well until Luke gets a little too cocky. After a botched robbery and a high speed chase, he ends up trapped in a house. Enter patrolman and father of his own one-year old, Avery (Bradley Cooper). The two have a showdown that ends up making Avery’s career.

Soon, the privileged son of a judge and law school graduate is making a name for himself as an assistant district attorney. Years pass and as his career climbs, both boys get older. The film’s final act show the boys as teens on the cusp of manhood.

Director and co-writer Derek Cianfrance paces his movie slowly and takes time to let it evolve. This is both a good and a bad thing. We have the time to see the characters develop – which is awesome given the caliber of the performances. Gosling especially embodies the intensity and the desperation of a man who wants to be better but doesn’t know how to go about it. For his part, Cooper’s character doesn’t have the same intensity but he has the thoughtfulness and ambition that a man like his character would require. While not as flashy, he gives a very solid performance.

Both Dane DeHaan and Emory Cohen, who play the teenage sons of Luke and Avery also give genuine performances.

However, there are lulls and moments when the pace seems too slow. The film is long, but in retrospect, it isn’t a case where I could see where it was indulgent. It is long because it has to be to tell the story it’s telling fully. The film has a lot to say and none of it can be said quickly.

Movie Review: 42

My grandfather was a huge baseball fan. In fact, I can’t think of baseball without thinking of him. He was a fan, a Cleveland Indians fan, for life. He was an adult in 1947 and rooted for Jackie Robinson as he made history (and later Larry Dobie as the first black man on the Cleveland Indians). As I walked into the theater to see 42, Grandpa weighed heavy on my mind. When I left the theater two hours later, he was still there and he would have been proud.

42 chronicle the decision by Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) to bring the first African-American to professional sports. At the time, Jim Crow and segregation were the law …. But that didn’t mean blacks weren’t playing baseball. It just meant that they were relegated to playing in their own league where players like Satchel Page were making names for themselves. Rickey chooses Jackie Robinson (newcomer Chadwick Boseman). In their first meeting, he asks Robinson, if he is strong enough to fight back by not fighting back. Throughout the film, Robinson proves that turning the other cheek took a lot more strength than giving into the quick and understandable response of fighting back.

And fight he must. He fights against teammates, fans, members of the opposing teams and his own desire to fend for himself. In his corner the entire time is his wife Rachel (Nicole Beharie). Hailing from California, the missus hadn’t encountered Jim Crow segregation until she traveled with her husband. She too, had to restrain her urges to fight back (although she does walk into a Whites Only bathroom to prove a point).

42, wisely chooses to focus on the decision to make Robinson a Brooklyn Dodger and his first year on the team. The movie does lag at times, but by focusing on this targeted and critical time period, it moves along without being mired in years of a long life well-lived. I also liked the fact that writer/director Brian Hegleand chose not to go with a basic black and white portrayal (pun intended). Of course, blacks rooted for him. However, not all white people were against him. A lot of them were but not all of them. I also appreciated the fact that many of his teammates eventually came around (but it took time) and others never did (and in several instances were traded).

When I looked up Chadwick Boseman, I found that he had a number of guest roles on a variety of shows (Law & Order, Castle, Justified, Fringe, etc.) and roles in several series, Lincoln Heights and Persons Unknown. However, 42 is his first lead role. I want to see him in more. He was great. He carried his rage with restraint and dignity. Quite a performance! Hats off to Beharie as his wife. I was introduced to her in 2008 with her debut American Violet. She played a single mother facing serious prison time for trumped up drug charges. I’ve wanted to see more of her as well. Hopefully, we all will now. Finally, Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey got to act. He’s getting a little long in the tooth for all of those action roles and it is good to know that he can still act.

My least favorite sport (sorry Grandpa!), 42 even made baseball look interesting.  And that’s saying something. Like any bio-pic, there is more to this story than meets the eye, but 42 is a solid effort chronicling an important moment in American History.

Movie Review: Tyler Perry's Temptation

I know what I am about to write is tantamount to heresy in some circles but I have never been a huge Tyler Perry fans. Sure Madea is funny and he has gotten some solid performances from his actors. However, his tendency to sermonize, his  kitchen sink approach to storytelling (let’s throw about four or five stories into the plot and see what happens) and his tendency to cast himself into a number of his films often leave me wanting more … a lot more. So I was surprised that I liked Temptation as much as I did.

Based on his play, The Marriage Counselor, the story is told by a counselor speaking with a client. She tells the cautionary tale of her sister Judith (Jurness Smollett-Bell) who was married to her childhood sweetheart Brice (Lance Gross). After college, they leave the country and head to the big city, Washington D.C. He is a pharmacist in a small pharmacy and she takes a job as a counselor in a matchmaking firm run by the very French Janice (Vanessa Williams) and her designer label-conscious co-worker Ava (Kim Kardashian). Judith desperately wants to run her own marriage counseling practice while her practical (and absolutely delectable husband) sees her dream as coming to fruition in about 10 years.

Complicating matters is Harley (Robbie Jones), an ambitious young Internet billionaire, who isn’t a client at the matchmaking firm but is considering taking their company and Judith’s compatibility test to the Internet. The two work together very closely and before long he’s giving her the attention her husband has often overlooked. He also stokes the fires of her ambition and before long he’s stokes some other fires as well. Judith’s mother, the Reverend (Ella Joyce) sees exactly what’s going one while poor Brice takes longer to realize what’s really going on.

This is still a Tyler Perry morality play. The people who behave badly (sinfully) will pay the price for their actions and the ones who stay the course will eventually get the pay-off they deserve. However, what I liked were the performances … especially by Smollet-Bell and Gross. I liked the fact that there was a main plot and a sub-plot, involving Brice’s new pharmacist’s assistant (Brandy Norwood). There weren’t a ton of distracting sub-plots. And, Perry didn’t play one of the leads. While he is coming into his own as a director, his acting leaves a lot to be desired, especially if the role requires sexiness. Lance Gross had it in spades, Robbie Jones not so much but he was the rich guy who paid attention to her and I guess that was what mattered most with his character (he did bring some shirtless sexy but Gross outsexied him by a mile).

I do think that this movie is a bit of a risk for Perry. It is sexier that any of his previous films and I think that will alienate a sizable portion of his Christian audience. Yes, there is a strong moral and Joyce plays the Voice of Religious Reason well (a bit too over the top at times) but there are several sex scenes as well. Tame sex scenes but sex scenes none the less.

This was a pleasant surprise.