Movie Review: The Great Gatsby

Movie Review: The Great Gatsby

** stars out of ****

The Great Gatsby.  If you say those three words to a current high school or college student is taking an American literature course you can expect a variety of responses.  There are sure to be groans and even a few exclamations of "I love that book!" or "It's my favorite book!"  I would be one of the groaners.  There was just something about the novel that I couldn't connect with.  It is probably the fact that it is one of the shallowest books I have ever read.  There is no substance to the characters.  They are all style.  It makes it hard for you to care about what happens to them, because they are all basically terrible and if you aren't terrible bad things end up happening to you. 

This could be the reason why the novel has been called "unfilmable."  That certainly didn't stop people from trying.  This is the sixth time the book has been adapted for the big screen.  Most people recall the yawn worthy version from the '70's starring Robert Redford as Gatsby and Mia Farrow as Daisy.  This was widely panned and was about as exciting as watching paint dry.  Given the less than stellar reputation of the previous Gatsby adaptations, it came as a surprise when news broke that Baz Luhrmann was going to be directing another version in 3D no less.  

So... how did he do?  That is a complex question and I had complex feelings about the film after I had finished watching it.  I think Baz was the perfect director to bring Fitzgerald's jaded vision of the Roaring '20's to life.  Luhrmann tackles the visuals in the film with flair.  This should come as no surprise to moviegoers familiar his other films.  The movie excels in these wide angle, three dimensional scenes of excess.  It is also in these scenes where the 3D is used to its greatest effect.  Gatsby and Carraway's breakneck ride through NYC, Gatsby's lavish parties and cars full of people drinking and partying are visually spectacular and the 3D makes you feel like you are a part of it.  Much was made of Luhrmann using a modern soundtrack for the film and that added to the sense of heightened realism.  Some of the people that I saw the movie with thought it was distracting.

The visuals are top notch, but it's in the acting where the film begins to falter.  Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jay Gatsby, a millionaire who is not who he seems.  He begins a friendship with Tobey Maguire's, Nick Carraway, who lives next door.  Carraway quickly finds out that Gatsby wants more than just a new buddy.  Gatsby wants to use Carraway to get close to Carraway's cousin, Daisy Buchanan, a woman who he loved and lost and who now lives across the bay in a mansion, with her polo playing husband, Tom.  The performances are very flat and one dimensional.  They are all very surface-y.  It's almost like the people at the heart of the story are inconsequential.  It's like they are just cardboard cutouts to populate Luhrmann's amazing backgrounds.  

A part of me wonders if this was all part of Luhrmann's direction.  I'm assuming he studied the book very closely and Fitzgerald writes the characters not so much as fully fleshed out people, but just walking, talking ideologues.  I have nothing to really base that on, I just would rather that be the explanation, rather than, they were just acting badly.  I also didn't really understand the framing device of Nick being in a mental institution and writing the story down at the best of his shrink.  It was very odd and seemed wholly unnecessary.

Bottom Line:  Even though it is visually impressive, the flat performances in The Great Gatsby leave you wanting a lot more.  Will there be a seventh adaptation in thirty more years?

American Idol Recap: Where's Your Messiah Now?

American Idol, Episode 36: "Top Three Results"

Well, this proves it.  The Almighty doesn't really care who wins American Idol.  How else to explain the ouster of Angie Miller.  Sorry, guys.  Seriously, though, I had pegged Angie to sail through along with Candice.  Were people swayed by Kree's hometown journey, or did Angie just face plant the other night.

Hit me up in the comments with your theories.

American Idol Recap: My Parents Are Dead!

American Idol, Episode 35: "Top Three Perform"

It's time for the hometown visits, y'all!!  It's that time in the season where the top 3 get to go home for a few days.  It does the contestants a world of good.  It seems to re-energize them and get them ready for the show that determines who will make it in to the top 2.  A particularly affecting hometown visit can also change the trajectory of a contestant.  When Kree Harrison visited her broken down and abandoned childhood home and told the story of losing her parents, you could almost see her downards trajectory reverse.  The top three sang three songs.  The first was chosen for them by Jimmy Iovine, the next was the judges' picks and the last was the Idol producers' choices.  Let's look at how each of the ladies did, starting with:

Jimmy's Picks

Kree Harrison opened the show with Jimmy's pick for her, P!nk's "Fuckin' Perfect."  I liked that Kree attempted to interact with the audience, giving them high fives and such.  It was a nice gesture, even though at times, she came off stiff and the interaction seemed a little forced and cheesy.  I didn't really understand this song choice.  It didn't really seem to fit who Kree was and I couldn't hear this song on a Kree Harrison album.  Kree didn't seem to be enjoying singing the song either.  She wasn't feeling it, so the whole performance fell really, really flat.  The judges seemed to really, really want to like it so, they were searching for good things to say and none of them sounded very genuine.  When all Nicki can do is give fashion advice, it's not good.

Candice Glover was saddled with U2's "One," the version sang by the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige.  Jimmy is picking some whack songs.  This is another song that I couldn't really envision Candice singing of her own accord.  Candice started out the song a little shaky, but I'm not sure if that was her fault.  She seemed to be having some ear monitor issues.  She recovered very well and the rest of the performance was stellar.  It was yet another phenomenal Candice vocal.  That song choice, though.  It brought the whole thing down.

Angie Miller brought "round 1" to a close.  She was handed Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word."  This was the first song choice where I thought, "OK, this could be really good."  Then, I realized that Angie wasn't at the piano.  Huh?  I'm not saying that she has to be always at the piano, but this would have been the perfect song to catapult her into the top 2.  I think this is where she lost it.  I will say this was probably Angie's best performance away from the piano, for me.  This was the most emotion that she has shown while not behind the piano.  Vocally she was on point for most of the song.  She still needs to work on the her middle register.  She sounds great when she is singing soft and amazing when she's belting, but there is no build up to that.  It just goes from soft to belting.  It is a litte jarring when there is no transition.  The judges seem to be just as baffled as I am about why she chose to not be behind the piano for an Elton John cover.

This brings round 1 to a close and we move on to round 2:

The Judges Picks

The judges picked Emeli Sandé's "Next To You" for Candice.  I typically don't follow Nicki's lead and comment on what the contestants are wearing, but I have to say, Ms. Glover was looking hot tonight.  I was loving the neon blue blazer and zebra strip pants.  Get it, Candy Gurl.  The performance was flawless as usual.  I loved the slow, stripped down beginning and especially loved, when the tempo picked up.  Candice hasn't had a lot of uptempo moments on the show, and this showed that there are many facets to Candice.  It was very current and I this is what I imagine a Candice record would sound like.  The judges were gagging over and it and I'm pretty sure they maybe dislocated their shoulders they were patting themselves on the back so hard.  The highlight of the critiques was Keith saying "your man" all sassy like.

The judges gave Angie P!nk's "Try."  They were certainly happy with it, but I wasn't.  This seemed like the exact opposite of something that Angie would choose to sing or put on her album.  This is a hard charging, rocker style record.  You have to have loads of attitude and be able to be vunerable at the same time.  These are not things that Angie excels at.  She is giving it the old college try, but she seems very uncomfortable.  She is sort of stumbling around the stage.  I know she is going for stomping, but it is not working for her.  Bless her heart.  Epic fail.  I tune the judges out because they are too pleased with themselves to offer anything constructive.

Kree returns to the stage with "Here Comes Goodbye" by Rascal Flats.  Again, I hate to pull a Paula, but Kree looked gorge.  The lighting accentuated it.  It was maybe the best she'd looked on the show up to this point.  This starts out a little sleepy for me, and I definitely started to zone out a little bit.  Then, Kree hit the middle of the performance and she really started to take charge and emote and I was pulled right back in.  Kree's high notes were crystal clear and they are really what saved this from being, overall, just a mediocre performance.

OK.  Two down, one to go.  Round Three, here we come!

Idol Producers Picks

Angie begins round three with another Emeli Sandé song, "Maybe."  Um... did Idol make some sort of Faustian pact with Emeli.  I love her and her songs, but, come on!  This was Angie's weakest peformance of the night, which was unfortunate since it was her last and was the one that America would probably remember the most.  I can appreciate people taking liberties with the melody, but in this case, they didn't really work.  The song was basically unrecognizable.  This could be the point where Angie lost the show.  If only she wasn't a well adjusted girl from the 'burbs.  America loves tragedy.

Kree Harrison stomped all over the stage with The Band Perry's, "Better Dig Two."  I was living for this performance.  Kree was really enjoying herself and you could tell.  She was all over the place, but in the best way.  She was really giving it her all.  Her interactions with the band seemed really genuine and I was loving the hairography with the fiddle player joining in the fun.

When I head that the producers had picked the song "Somewhere" from West Side Story for Candice I groaned audibly.  I had already decided that this was going to be horrible, but as soon as Candice opened her mouth and started singing I was immediately proven wrong.  She sang my doubts away.  Seriously.  There are no adjectives or superlatives to describe how flawless this performance was.  There was no doubt that Candice would be in the final two.

So, what did you guys think?  Were you swayed to Kree's side after that hometown visit?  Did Candice knock you off your sofa with that last performance?  Let me know in the comments.

Revenge Season Finale Recap: Redemption

Revenge, Episodes 21 & 22: "Truth Parts 1 & 2"

"I'm Amanda Clarke."  With those three words to Jack Porter, Emily Thorne sent fans of ABC's sudser reeling.  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about Revenge's sophomore slump.  In the post, I included some ideas about how the show could get back on track.  One of them was Emily revealing her true identity to her one true love, Jack.  I didn't think that the producers would do that, especially so early in the show's run, so imagine my surprise when, in the final seconds, they pulled the trigger, just as Jack was about to pull the trigger on Conrad, literally.

These two hours were jam packed and they flew by.  There was no time to catch your breath.  There was a lot of good in this episode and you got the feeling that the writers and producers were addressing a lot of the criticism that had been levelled at the show this season.  

The first part of the two hour finale was a lot of setup.  It picks up right where the last episode ended with the Carrion created blackout.  Jack is still at the Stowaway with Victoria and proving that he is still a revenge novice, he spills his entire plan to her.  Victoria, of course, runs and tells Conrad all about Jack and Ashley being in cahoots.  The lights come back on pretty quickly, which was kind of a surprise.  I had a feeling that the blackout would be a bigger part of the finale, but it seemed the writers had bigger fish to fry.  Nolan and Emily locate Takeda's body and come to the conclusion that Aiden killed him pretty quickly.  Again, I'm a fan of the writers not dragging these reveals out unnecessarily.  When Emily confronts Aiden about him murdering her twisted, surrogate father, Aiden reveals that Takeda was using her to further his own revegenda.  It turns out Takeda's fiancé was on the doomed Flight 197.

Meanwhile, over in boring plot land, Declan is trapped with Charlotte's lame friend, Regina, in the bank.  While they attempt to verbally spar, Declan shows heretofore unseen intuition and comes to the realization that Regina is in love with Charlotte.  Regina plants money on Declan and beats herself up, to convince Charlotte that he's no good, for her or life.  Charlotte, who sometimes has a brain and sometimes doesn't, believe's Regina at first, until Declan shows Charlotte that Regina has the video of them making out on her phone.  Regina be gone and the lamest version of Romeo and Juliet ever are back together, and Charlotte reveals to Declan that she is in the family way.  You know who else finds out?  Victoria.  She reacts like you'd expect.

Emily and Nolan find out that Conrad has hired an assassin named, Gregor Hoffman, to bomb Grayson Global.  The bombing will serve two purposes.  It will show the people of New York how Conrad will react in a crisis, and it will get rid of Jack.  Conrad has lured Jack to GG via fake text from Ashley with the promise of giving him the laptop that contains all the Grayson secrets, the same laptop that Emily tossed into the ocean.  Emily rushes to save her one true love, but arrives too late, just as the bomb is exploding.  Right before the bomb rocks Manhattan, everyone with a cell phone receives a text that reads "LONG LIVE DAVID CLARKE."

Emily is undeterred by the EXPLOSION, so she rushes in to the building to presumably search for and rescue Jack.  She finds a body buried under the rubble, but is pulled out by firefighters before she can see who it is.  You know who it isn't?  Jack.  He is at NolCorp asking Nolan some very pointed questions about how he knew about the explosion.  So, who was in the building?  It was Declan.  He was there to declare his honorable intentions to Conrad.  Speaking of Conrad, he is outside directing rescue efforts, in full view of the cameras.

Emily convinces Jack to feign death to keep the Graysons away from him, but once he finds out that Declan is in the hospital he steals some scrubs, as you do, and sneaks into see him.  Jack checks up on Declan and Declan puts on an obviously brave face, telling his big brother about Char's pregnancy.  Everyone, except Jack, knows that Declan is lying about his prognosis.  Jack has apparently never watched a soap opera... or TV, before.  After Jack is gone, Dec reveals to Nolan that there is something wrong with his heart.  He has to have surgery, but he isn't confident he'll make it.  He doesn't.  Declan dies during surgery.  Nolan plays Jack a video Declan made before he was wheeled to the operating room.  Declan's death sends Jack on a grief tailspin.  He grabs a gun and plans to use it on the man he blames for all his family's misery: Conrad.

During all this, Aiden is arrested trying to flee the country after Daniel tried to blame him for the blackout.  Aiden gets released though, after pointing the finger at Nolan.  He is charged with treason.  Nolan tries to explain that Carrion, the blackout and the bombing were not his doing and points fingers at the hacker, the Falcon.  Only to find out, the Falcon has denied everything and the FBI believes her, because of Nolan's recorded friendship with David Clarke.  The nail in Nolan's coffin is a video of Padma saying that Nolan is Americon Initiative and his nothing but an anarchist.  As the video plays, Nolan becomes painfully aware of two things: that Padma was forced to say these things by the Initiative and that the Initiative planned to pin everything on Nolan all along.

Before Aiden gets out of dodge, he stops by Emily's and finds Daniel there.  He triest to warn Daniel away, but Danny Boy isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.  The two men engage in some vaguely homo erotic fisticuffs.  Aiden knocks Daniel into Emily's hutch.  He grabs her gun and the next time we see Daniel he's at Conrad's victory party with bloody hands.  Is Aiden no more?  Fingers crossed.

After Emily's confession to Jack, the second best thing the finale did was finally get rid of the Initiatve.  It turns out that Conrad Grayson is the Initiative.  Conrad has been responsible for all the terrible things that have happened on the show from the downing of Flight 197, the downfall and assassination of David Clarke, the death threats against Daniel from earlier and the bombing of Grayson Global.  Conrad's motive is deceptively simple: money and security for his family.  When bad things happen, business people get rich.  Why wait for bad things to happen, when you can make them happen?  Victoria is understandably disgusted by all this.  She becomes the second Grayson to turn on Conrad in the episode.  The first was Daniel, once he found out that his father orchestrated the bombing.  Victoria decides to skip Connie's victory bash, so she's home when her first born son, Patrick, shows up at her door.

All this leads us to the episode's final moments, where a frantic Emily searches for a revenge fueled Jack.  She finds him in the balcony, steps in front of the gun and utters the finale's final words.  "I am Amanda Clarke."  Whoo-boy.  It's going to be a long wait until September.

Final Verdict: Revenge suffered from a Desperate Housewives-style sophomore slump.  The finale did a fantastic job course correcting and setting things up for what should be a redeeming sophomore slump.  Emily revealing her true identity to Jack, sets him up to become her new Nolan.  It should also lead to some nice scenes between Emily Van Camp and Nick Weschler.  Also, how is Emily going to continue her crusade without Nolan's mad hacking skills?  Making Conrad Grayson the ultimate big bad was a good move.  Will Victoria join Emily in her crusade sometime next season?  The enemy of mine enemy and all that.  Will we see the return Em's mom and who will be cast to play Patrick?  This finale re-energized my love for a show that was coming desperately close to being cast from my must watch list.

So, what did you guys think?  Were you as enamored with this finale as I was?  Do you think the show will be able to continue the upward swing in season three minus creator Mike Kelley?  Hit the comments and let your voices be heard.

Glee Season Finale Recap: WTF?!

Glee, Episode 22: "All or Nothing"

The fourth season of Glee was the very definition of a transition season.  From the moment that series creator/executive producer Ryan Murphy announced that the majority of the shows core characters would be graduating, fans were speculating as to how the show would handle it.  A lot of people assumed that the show would drop a lot of it's sprawling cast, but that is not what happened.  They all remained series regulars.  There was talk of a spin off featuring Rachel and Kurt in NYC.  This was another rumor that was quickly dispelled.  As the season premiere approached, more details were given as to how this season would work.  The gist is that the show would alternate between Lima and the New Directions and Rachel/Kurt in NYC.  

It's hard to split the focus of a show and to accomodate the multitude of characters.  Glee did a great job.  While they were trying to ingratiate the new kids to the audience, they kept the familiar faces front and center.  As the season progressed and viewers warmed up to the new kids, the show could leave NYC for an episode and you barely noticed.  Not every new character was a winner, Marley Rose being case in point.  She was set up to be ND's new Rachel and she just became kind of a giant annoyance with a lunch lady for a mom and a fake eating disorder.  Then there was Kitty, a Cheerio, who started out the show as needlessly cruel and not in the Santana way, but ended the season biting wit in tact and softer around the edges.

This season had "trainwreck" written all over it, but it wasn't one.  There was still Glee logic that you sort of just have to go with, like Kurt getting an internship at vogue.com despitet the fact that he has zero fashion experience.  It still delivered some stand out episodes, like "Britney 2.0" and the devasting "The Break Up."  So, going into this season finale I had high hopes, since the season as a whole was so strong and the news that the show had been picked up for not one, but two more seasons.  Imagine my surprise when Glee delivered one of it's weakest season finales and one of it's worst episodes to date.

The focus of the episode was on the character of Brittany.  After testing at genius levels on her SAT's (remember, this is Glee), Brittany has a meeting with MIT.  She of course bombs the standardized test that she is given, but the people at MIT are intrigued by things that Britt-Britt scribbled on the back of the test in crayon.  Apparently, they hold some sort of scientific value and they compare Brittany to Einstein(!) and make her an offer.  When Brittany heads back to McKinley, she is needlessly cruel to her fellow Glee clubbers, demanding their Regionals performance focus on her.  It's not just New Directions, Brittany quits the Cheerios and burns her uniform in front of Coach Roz.  Will and Sue confront her and she takes them on "Fondue for Two" where she reveals that the celebrity father of Sue's daughter, Robin, is Michael Bolton.  Sam finally calls Santana, who flies back to Lima to find out what is going on with Brittany.  Before their Regionals performance, Brittany tells everyone that she has received early admission to MIT and she has decided to go.  She was trying to lessen the pain of saying goodbye by being a bee-yotch.  She gives a pretty tearjerking speech about how much glee club has meant to her over the years and how the ND'ers are her family.

In other news, Ryder finds out that it is Unique who has been catfishing him, even though Marley tried to take the rap to protect her friend.  Ryder decides to cut Unique out of his life altogether and quit glee club after Regionals.  After they win, Ryder and Unique share a quick hug, that may point to some romance next season.  Blaine is still planning on proposing to Kurt and meets an older lesbian couple, adorably played by Patty Duke and Meredith Baxter.  Blaine didn't propose to Kurt, but at dinner at Breadstix, Patty proposed to Meredith.  It was super sweet.  Well, not just then.  After New Directions win at Regionals, more on that in a minute, Emma shows up in the choir room and she and Will finally tie the knot.  Blaine is clutching the ring box, but the show ends before he pops the question.

Finally, what about Rachel, you may be asking.  Well, she had her Funny Girl call back where she sang a devastatingly amazing version of Celine Dion's "To Love You More."  The producers tell her they'll let her know and... that's it.  Yep.  One Rachel scene in the finale and that is it.

This finale was puzzling in a lot of ways.  I could understand the focus on Brittany.  Heather Morris recently announced that she was pregnant and is due to give birth in September.  So, when Glee begins filming it's fifth season she will be very preggo.  The writers needed to find a way to get rid of her and this is it.  I enjoyed her speech and was a fitting send off, if this is it for her, which I very much doubt.  The rest of the finale was very underwhelming.  Rachel's one scene being the first thing.  I mean, this is good for a cliffhanger, but I was hoping for something more substantial.  There was no mention of Finn.  Cory Monteith entered rehab before filming of the season's last two episodes.  The last we saw him, Will had convinced him to come back and help with the glee club and that was it.  No explanation for where he is.  The catfish plotline fizzled.  Was there ever any doubt that Unique was the one that was doing it, especially after their confrontation about what it means to be transgendered?  

Also, New Directions' Regionals performance was underwhelming to say the least, especially after we saw their competition, the Hoosierdaddies, fronted by Frida Romero, played by American Idol runner-up, Jessica Sanchez.  There is no way, in real life, that the New Directions could have beat them, especially with their lackluster, almost dance-free performance.  Well, they always have Nationals to redeem themselves.

Final verdict:  Glee's season finale was a disappointing end to what was up until then a very satisfying "transitory" season.  There is talk about FOX wanting to move the show to NYC for good.  The next season will be split in two blocks.  My guess is that the first half will finish out the school year, and more than likely, when it returns, maybe after a time jump, the series will say goodbye to Ohio.  

So, what did you Gleeks think?  Am I off base with finale?  Enlighten me in the comments.

Hart Of Dixie Season Finale Recap: A Whole Lot of Nothin'

Hart of Dixie, Episode 22: "On the Road Again

If you asked me to describe the show Hart Of Dixie in one word, I would say fun.  I know that is very generic, but really the show just exudes this exuberance and lightheartedness.  It is a show that you don't have to think too much about and it just brings a smile to your face.  It is not for the cynical, jaded television viewer.  If you are living for Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead this may not be the show for you.  I'm not saying that you can't like all three of these shows, because I do, but they are so tonally different.

The second season finale of Hart of Dixie illustrates this.  Zoe wakes up in bed to find Wade laying next to her.  She remembers that they fell back into bed together the previous night.  Zoe prays that it's a dream to no avail.  She decides to spend the summer in New York to get her head straight and to get away from the two men in her life, Wade and George.  Lemon and Wade go on a journey to try to convince the band Gloriana to play at the Rammer Jammer.  Brick keeps up his engagement with Shelby.  George is unable to deal with his strange relationship with Zoe, so he decides to go on tour with Wades nutty ex, Lily Anne.  Lavon continues his inane feud with the mayor of Filmore after he kidnaps Bluebell's resident crock mascot, Burt Reynolds.  In the end, Zoe ended up in NYC and she came face to face with Brick's nephew, Jonah, much to the surprise of no one.

This season of Hart of Dixie can be split into two parts.  The first half of the season chronicled Zoe's relationship with Wade evolve from a friends with benefits situation to a full blown couple.  Once, Wade cheated on Zoe and the relationship dissolved, the season sort of lost its way.  The season finale sort of showed all the ways that the back half or the season failed to live up to the expectations set by the first half.

The episode seemed to go nowhere.  Normally, in a season finale, there is a sense of urgency or a feeling that maybe we are going to witness a "game changer."  There was nothing like that in this episode.  It was just kind of a "meh" episode.  It didn't make you excited for next season, there were no "WTF" moments, it was all just sort of beige.

That's not to say that the whole episode was terrible.  There was some nice moments with Wade.  Wilson Bethel is highly underrated and is definitely one of the show's secret weapons.  The scenes with Wade and Lemon where Wade finally realizes he loves Zoe and their scene together were wonderful and proof that the show can balance it's goofy and sentimental sides.

Final verdict:  An uneven, sort of boring episode, caps off a lackluster second half of the season.  The episode wasn't enough to make me drop the show altogether, but I'm hoping the writers get it together during the hiatus and HoD is back to making quality eps when it begins it's third season in the fall.

Bones Season Finale Recap: The Marriage Dance

Bones, Episode 24: "The Secret in the Siege"

[Ed. Note: I know that Bones is not a show that I regularly recap, but I decided to give a quick take on the season finales of all the shows that I watch.  So, enjoy!]

The Bones season finale was pretty amazing.  It had you shouting at the TV in equal parts joy and rage and frustration.  The episode featured the return of the best long term villian the show has ever had, Pelant.  The last we saw of Pelant he was performing self surgery on his face after being shot by Booth.  The case of the week finds Booth investigating the deaths of FBI agents that were part of a raid on a cult compound that went sour.  

Booth, Brennan, Sweets and the rest of the Jeffersonian crew figure out that Pelant is behind this pretty early on.  They know he isn't doing the actual killing, but he is manipulating the person who is the actual killer.  Sweets realizes that Pelant is using his research to facilitate his plan.  It turns out that Pelant is manipulating the daughter of one of the FBI agents who was killed at the compound by playing fake video messages of him.  The Jeffersonian crew think that Pelant's big plan is to kill Booth, but it turns out he is targeting Sweets.  There is a pretty tense scene in the climax where Booth, Sweets, Brennan and the killer are all stuck in a Pelant created traffic jam.  You get the feeling that someone is going to get it, but Booth ends up shooting the girl, wounding her, before she can take out Sweets.

That is not the thing that had fans salivating and then crying, tears of joy and rage, in the finale though. Brennan was pretty shaken up by the thought of losing Booth, so much so that she came to a realization.  She wanted to marry Booth.  She drops the bomb on a shocked and delighted Booth.  It is one of my favorite Booth/Brennan scenes ever.  It was pretty much perfect in every way.  You knew this happiness wouldn't last, since Brennan's proposal came at about the halfway mark of the episode and it didn't.

After foiling Pelant, Booth received a call from Pelant.  Pelant told Booth that he would decline Brennan's proposal and if he didn't Pelant would start murdering innocent people.  Pelant went at Booth in exactly the right way by preying on Booth's hero complex.  He knew that Booth would never allow innocent people get hurt if he could stop it, even if it cost him his personal happiness.  That night, Booth tells Brennan that he doesn't think they should get married.  That he isn't convinced that Brennan wants to marry him for the right reasons.  

Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz kill it in this scene.  The whole thing is nuanced and underplayed.  The subtle changes in body language convey so much.  You can just see how comfortable they are after 8 years and it really sells the scene.  The episode ends with uncertainity.  Will Booth and Brennan's relationship be over before it's even really begun?

Final Verdict:  The Bones finale was great.  It was equal parts satisfying and frustrating.  The creators gave fans what they have been waiting for only to yank the rug out from them in the same episode.  I can't imagine they would tear the couple apart so soon after putting them together, but you never know.  Also, kudos to the writers for finally crafting a season long villian who is a real threat to the team in Pelant.  I am pretty happy knowing that he will be back to torment the staff of the Jeffersonian next year.

So, what did you guys think?  Happy that Pelant lived?  Angry that the engagement lasted half an episode?  Sound off in the comments.

The Following Recap: Love is a Many Splendored Thing

The Following, Episode 9: "Love Hurts"

The Following has been finding it's footing and has become more sure of itself with each passing episode.  There was a heck of a lot of good in this episode and really only a small not so good.  So, let's dive in.

The Good

Paul and Jacob.  We finally catch up with Paul and Jacob, after Paul's stabbing and Emma's abandonment of the boys.  Jacob takes him to his families cabin where he is confronted by his mother.  Jacob continues to be a very intriguing character.  From the flashbacks, you see that he really doesn't fit in with the other cultists.  He doesn't want to kill and we see Paul cover for him for the first time.  I'm not sure if Jacob is just really searching for a place to belong and he thinks this is it.  Maybe he is in too deep now.  It could be his love of Emma and then Paul that keeps him in it.  The conversation with his mother is interesting and you get the impression that maybe Jacob and his dad don't have the best relationship.  This is just me spitballing, but it seems like Jacob could have been a victim of abuse by his dad and maybe mom covered it up?  The bottom line is dad's on his way and the boys have to be gone before he gets there.  Paul is for sure going to die.  He and Paul share a nice moment and then Jacob makes his first kill, smothering Paul with a pillow.  The final image of the episode is Jacob showing up at the compound and greeting Emma.  I am really interested to see what is going to happen.  What are Jacob's intentions?  One thing we know for certain, this is not the same Jacob that Emma left behind.

This weeks chapter.  This weeks cultist, Amanda, wanted her chapter to be about the enduring love of Joe and Claire.  This lady knows about love.  She murdered her husband and his mistress when she caught them cheating.  A regular Cupid this one.  She tries to lure Claire out of hiding by murdering women who are also named Claire Matthews.  This was definitely one of the best one off stories so far.  This chick was a real psycopath.  The scene in the diner where she shoots the harpoon through the first Claire?  Chilling.  I did think it was odd that the final showdown happened at a rave/carnival?  That was odd.

Hardy.  Ryan was bringing it again this week.  I'm not sure if Ryan really is a badass or if he just seems like more of a badass because he is the only competent law enforcement person on the show.  It is probably the latter, but who cares.  Ryan was a force as he tracked Amanda and  Louise aka Roderick's eff buddy through the rave/carnival and then shot Louise point blank.  That was awesome.  This also brings us to...

The Not So Good

I thought that the whole Amanda thing was wrapped up a little too neat and tidy.  She has been portrayed this whole episode as a cold blooded killer, yet she hesitates to shoot Ryan.  It just didn't make much sense to me.  It kind of took you out of, what was otherwise, a pretty stellar ep.

So, what did you guys think?  Let me know in the comments.

The Carrie Diaries Recap: Happy Birthday, Carrie!!

The Carrie Diaries, Episode 10: "The Long and Winding Road Not Taken"

It's Carrie Bradshaw's 17th birthday and as per usual, she is torn.  Should she hang out with her friends and finally turn her V card in with Sebastian, or should she go work the door at a fabulous literary party  for Interview.  Carrie's friends each kind of find more important things to do, one by one, so Carrie doesn't feel guilty about going into the city.  I mean, really though, was there really any competition?  A lame teen party or a hot magazine party, filled with publishers and editors and people who could help Carrie in her chosen profession.  Sebastian is going to go with Carrie, but he decides not to, so Carrie decides to invite her best gay -- er, best guy friend, Walt.

When Sebastian ends up at the party, is where things begin to get interesting.  Sebastian quickly starts downing liquor and getting wasted.  Carrie has been having a great time, before the Kidd shows up.  With Larissa's help, she has caught the ear of a book publisher, who is interested in publishing her diaries.  Sebastian puts Carrie in quite the pickle.  She is torn about whether she should continue trying to help an increasingly belligerent Sebastian or work on her ambitions.

Meanwhile, Walt is continuing to take a few tentative steps out of the closet.  I'm happy that the show has taken Walt's coming out so slowly.  I was afraid that Walt would already be out of the closet by now, exclaiming "Fabulous!" every chance he got.  The writers have been handling Walt's storyline with care and it is another way that this series reflects the original.  For the most part, the SATC writers treated their gay characters with a lot of respect.  I mean, as long as we just completely disregard the second movie and I think we are all OK with doing that.  Bennet and Walt are really cute together and I'm fine with them taking this burgeoning relationship slowly.  They are also handling his relationship with Maggie nicely.  She tries to get back together with Walt, but he lets her down gently.  I'm hoping that their relationship doesn't fracture when she finds out the truth.

Dorrit is tasked with buying Carrie a tape for her birthday.  So, she goes to the old record store and meets a cute guy who is working there.  He looks way older than her, but whatever.  She tries to shoplift and is busted.  She leaves the store in a huff.  The Father Bradshaw finds her trying to pawn off a family record on Carrie and sends her back to the store.  She ends up bonding with the records store guy and they make out.  Whew.  I'm glad that's over.

Bact at the par-tay, Carrie opts to tend to a drunken Sebastian.  She drives his car home, terribly.  They have a cute moment at his door and he invites her in.  It seems like Carrie is going to cash in her V-card, but they are interrupted by Sebastian's boozy absentee mother.

Also, Carrie gives Donna a purse that she really wants.

So, what did you guys think?  Was your 17th birthday as eventful as Carrie's?  Let me know in the comments.

American Idol Recap: Homeward Bound

American Idol, Episode 34: "Top Four Results (Redux)"

So, this time, there was no last minute save.  No happy ending for all three ladies.  After the second top four performance night, Amber Holcomb was sent home.  This really is the cruelest cut, since the top 3 get hometown visits.  I think this is worse than being cut before the final two.  Good luck, Amber.  You have what it takes to be a star.  Will you be?  Ask again later.

American Idol Recap: Here We Go Again

American Idol, Episode 33: "Top Four Perform (Redux)

What is happening?  Didn't we already do this?  We did, but we're going to do it again.  Since the judges failed to use the save, no one was elminated and the top four ladies of American Idol, were given a redo.  The ladies performed two songs.  The first song was from 2013.  Hallelujah!!  I'm very happy to hear current songs.  Next, Harry Connick, Jr, teamed up with the ladies to school them on how to sing standards.  He also made a very strong case to become a full time American Idol judge next season.

Angie Miller opened the show, back at the piano, singing her take on Rihanna's "Diamonds."  I was a fan of the song.  I liked her at the piano.  She sounded great.  I liked the experimenation with the melody.  Angie did kind of revert back to her cheesy ways.  She smiled a little too much throughout the performance.  About midway through, some guys on bongos joined in and that lent the performance a little bit of a cabaret type feel.  The judges were not feeling it.  I was not sure what they were talking about.  They acted like "Diamonds" was some classic song that had a melody that couldn't be tampered with.  I did not agree.

Amber Holcomb was next.  She sang the P!nk and Nate Ruess duet, "Just Give Me A Reason."  I was a little nervous for Amber.  During her pre-performance package she admitted that she was having a hard time remembering the words.  Luckily, when she started singing there were no forgotten lyrics.  That is about the only positive thing I can say about Amber's performance.  She sounded OK, but she was more stilted than usual when she was on stage.  I'm not sure why she would pick this song and then just sing it so straightforwardly.  There is no way a song like this would ever make it onto Amber's album.

Candice Glover made another surprising song choice for the second week in a row busting out Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man."  I loved that Candice didn't change any of the lyrics.  She was so emotionally connected to the song on every level.  I was transfixed.  Also, Candice steps up her style game every week and this was probably the best she has looked on stage so far.  This was a current performance and I could hear Candice singing this on the radio.  It was so good.  I'm running out of superlatives for Ms. Glover.

Kree Harrison closed out round one with a song that Carrie Underwood performed on Idol a few weeks back, "See You Again."  I really enjoyed t his performance.  I agreed with Harry.  I liked that Kree omitted the "oohs" that Carrie has in her version.  You could tell that Kree was really feeling the performance.  She emoted and I really connected with her.  The judges were not fans.  Who cares what they think?

The ladies moved to the complete opposite ends of the spectrum and sang classic pop standards with some great coaching from Harry Connick Jr.  

Angie's second song was "Someone to Watch Over Me."  Angie tried to interact with the band a little bit, doing some flirting with the guitar player.  Angie is so wholesome, but it made me a little uncomfortable.  The whole thing was a little sleepy, which is what I was afraid of when I heard they were doing standards.  Vocally it was pretty much on point.  Angie did struggle a little bit when she went into her lower register, which is something the judges have pointed out in the past.

I am very divided when it comes to Amber's encore.  She trotted out "My Funny Valentine."  This was the song that really made her a contender.  When she sang this in Vegas, everyone stood up and took notice.  I can understand why she would decide to sing it again, but I am still not a fan of singers singing the same song, unless it is in the finale.  That being said, Harry Connick, Jr. gave Amber some fantastic advice.  When she ran through the song and was smiling and kind of vacant looking, Harry asked her if she had ever read through the words to the song.  Of course she hadn't.  Harry had her read through the lyrics so she could really connect with the words.  This advice did a world of good for Amber.  This was probably her best performance of the season.  She was really feeling it and was more connected to a song than she's ever been.  Well done.

Harry kept giving good advice when it came time to coach Candice.  She chose the song "You've Changed."  His advice to Ms. Glover was to just sing the song.  No unnecessary runs, no showboating, just sing.  And sing the damn song she did!  Candice delivered on all levels.  She was serving vocals, poise and serious face.  Another well deserved standing "O" for Candice.

Kree closed out the show with "Stormy Weather."  This is where things sort of went off the rails all around.  Kree's performance was not the great.  It was stilted and she just seemed really uncomfortable with the whole thing.  I think it all comes back to song choice.  I was pleasantly surprised when Mariah said she would have loved to have heard Kree sing "God Bless the Child."  I was thinking the exact same thing!!  Randy started talking about how Kree should have sang a different version of the song and was kind of smack talking Harry.  I couldn't believe that Randy had the audacity to try to criticize the way someone coached a vocalist.  Talk about irony.  At this point, Harry joined the judges panel to try to defend himself and pitch the idea of the contestants doing their own version of a song, rather than aping someone else's.  Has he seen the show before?  It's only good if the contestants are creative if that is what the producer's want. Duh.  The whole thing was weird and took away from Kree, which was lame.

So, what did you guys think?  Who was your favorite?  Should HC,Jr become a full time judge?  Light up the comments with your thoughts.

RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Dios Mio

RuPaul's Drag Race, Episode 9: "Drama Queens"

So, that's where Wilmer Valderama has been!  I'm sure we've all been wondering whatever happened to the guy who played Fez on That '70's Show.  Now we know.  He has been relegated to showing up on a reality show about drag queens.  He wasn't even a guest judge!  Go back to dating Demi Lovato, Wilmer.

A side note: It's always funny to me when the queens listen to Ru's message before he enters the workroom for the first time.  I mean, if you listen to the clues that he is dropping, it's pretty obvious what the challenge may be about, but the queens seem genuinely puzzled.  I'm not sure if they are downplaying it for the cameras, or if they are instructed to, but it seems kind of crazy.

Anyways, back to the episode.  The mini challenge was for the queens to cry on cue.  This was kind of a big challenge for Detox.  She had a breakthrough.  She thought about her boyfriend who had recently died and cried real tears.  Detox has kept things really close to the vest.  She hasn't really wanted to admit or disclose anything personal about herself.  It was nice to see her be more of a human and less like a character.  It was no surprise when Detox was deemed winner of the mini challenge along with Alyssa Edwards.

The main challenge was for the queens to divide into three person teams and film their very own telenovela's alongside Wilmer Valderama.  Detox and Alyssa were able to pick teams and Detox wasted no time in reforming Rolaskatox, even though Alaska still seems totally over it.  Poor Jinkx was forced to team with the still feuding Coco and Alyssa.  These bitches.  I don't even have the time for them anymore.

I was fully expecting Team Rolaskatox to kill it, and they sort of did.  Alaska completely brought it with her character, and Roxxxy, surprisingly, was very strong.  Roxxxy has been very vocal about how she hates "acting" challenges and how unfair she thinks they are, but she did great.  Detox was the weakest link.  Her maid/villian was very one dimensional and she made a lot of choices that didn't make sense.

Team Alyssa was a hot mess, except for Jinkx.  Jinkx's character was a girl who was under a curse and had to orgasm whenever she heard a certain word.  Jinkx killed it.  Alyssa was playing her mother and she had to orgasm as well, and let me tell ya, if that is how Alyssa orgasms, she probably doesn't have sex very often.  I mean, that and her face.  Ru tried to get Alyssa to meet Jinkx, but it was an epic fail.  Coco was about as animated as cardboard and she seemed more into trying to eyehump Wilmer than participate in the challenge.

The queens hit the main stage dressed in Latina realness.  Jinkx did a whole Day of the Dead thing with full skull face paint.  It was a huge risk and it paid off.  Big time.  Not only did she look the best on the Main Stage, but she won the challenge.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Alyssa was awful.  Santino called it the worst dress in Drag Race herstory.  Coco was praised for her Dorothy Dandridge realness and melon colored jumpsuit, but her performance in the main challenge landed her in the bottom two.   Alongside ALYSSA EDWARDS.  This was probably the lip sync that poeple looked forward to the most.  It was a fierce fight and both queens turned it out.  In the end, Alyssa sashayed away.  

Here's hoping that this was what the dolls needed to put this whole ridiculous, pageant mess behind them.  What did you guys think?  Let me know in the comments.

RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Somethin' Stinks

RuPaul's Drag Race, Episode 8: "Scent of a Drag Queen"

So many things happened in this episode.  First, we learned that Jinkx Monsoon is in love?! with Iiivvvyyy Wiiiinnnnttteerrrssss.  That seemed to come out of nowhere.  I'm not sure if Jinkx had been mentioning it in her interviews for a while and then the producers just waited for this episode to reveal.  It was all very strange.  I love Jinkx, so I don't want to make fun of her, but... are you mistaking friendship for love?  Have you ever been in love before?  I just can't.

Also, we had some Andrew Christian models bringing their packages to the work room.  They helped the ladies in the mini challenge, which was basically Memory, that you used to play as a kid, with schlongs.  It was called "Whatcha Packin'?" and the queens were actually supposed to match the pairs of AC underwear, but all of them were more concerned with what was inside the pouch then what was covering it up.  The doll who made the matches in the shortest amount of time won.  Ivy Winters was the big winner and because I'm a kind recapper who has been neglecting his duties, here ya go:

As for the main challenge, the queens were tasked with creating their very own signature fragrance.  They had to mix the fragrance and then make a commercial to promote it.  At their commercial shoot, the queens received direction from Michelle Visage and a crazy-eyed Aubrey O'Day.  Seriously, that bitches eyes.  They were constantly bugging out of her damn skull.  She is worse at controlling her facial expressions than Britney Spears was on The X-Factor.  Let's be real though, she had lots to roll her eyes at.  It didn't seem like any of the queens knew what they were doing.  Coco with her leopard print outfit and her leopard print backdrop.  Ivy confusing a backdrop of Tokyo for New York.  Roxxxy pulling a Carmen Carrera and just jiggling her fat.  Alaska just spinning around and saying random words.  Jinkx draped across the pit crew.  I thought maybe there would be no winner.

When the commercials were shown on the Main Stage, there were some definite standouts.  Alaska's fragrance was "Red for Filth."  The way that it was cut, it was hilarious and the clear winner.  Also, kudos to 'Lasky's runway look.  It was a clear departure from the same silhouette she'd been trotting out week after week.  Honorable mentions to Detox and Jinkx, who also had me guffawing during their commercials.  

Alyssa and Ivy ended up in the bottom two.  Ivy for her weird ice skater look and for not being able to define her brand during her commercial.  Alyssa also had some branding issues.  Her perfume was "Alyssa's Secret."  No one seemed to want to know what her secret was and no one, not even Alyssa, was sure if the name of the perfume was a joke about Alyssa's "secret" being her penis.  Alyssa won the lip sync, so it was Ivy who was told to sashay away.  Maybe Ivy and Jinkx will find each other again outside the competition and will kai kai happily ever after.

American Idol Recap: Thank Me Later

American Idol, Episode 32: "Top Four Results"

If you can do simple math, you probably weren't surprised by the fact that no one was eliminated.  Since the judges never used the save, there was an extra week and too few contestants.  So, even though Amber and Candice were in the bottom two, there was no elimination.  Instead, this weeks vote tallies will be added to the following weeks and the person with the lowest total votes will get the boot and will get no hometown visit.  Sad face.  

Also, Candice met Drake.  So, there's that.

American Idol Recap: Flip the Script

American Idol, Episode 30: "Top Four Perform"

So, when it comes to most things, I do not believe in conspiracy theories.  I don't think the moon landing was faked.  I don't believe that 9/11 was an inside job.  I don't think the FBI perpetrated the Boston Marathon bombing.  However, I do believe that the judges are following a script, given to them by Uncle Nigel, which tells them which two contestants he wants in the final two.  It was pretty obvious, by the judges sometimes baffling, but always infuriating comments, that prophesied final two is Angie Miller and Amber Holcomb.  Now, the judges are in on the plan, but it doesn't look like the contestants are, because Kree Harrison and Candice Glover worked hard to flip the script.  So, let's see how the ladies focused on the two themes for this week.

The first theme was contestant's choice and Amber Holcomb decided to sing Celine Dion's "The Power of Love."  This is an odd choice for Amber.  It made me wonder, not for the first time, what songs are on the approved songs list.  The beginning of the performance was flawless.  Amber, standing at the top of a lighted staircase, singing a capella.  It was gorgeous.  Once the band kicked in though, we had some problems.  Amber started to lose her way towards the middle of the song.  It sort of petered out at the end.  It just kind of fizzled.  The judges, for some reason, were really excited about it.  I'm not sure why.  This is the first time I thought something was a little fishy.

I knew something was up when Candice Glover came on stage to sing one of her favorite songs, Drake's "Find Your Love."  I loved her rendition.  It sounded very current.  It was an adventurous song choice that definitely worked.  Candice sang the hell out of it.  I knew something was up when the camera showed the judges.  Nicki was sitting there with her lips pursed.  None of the judges really looked like they were feeling it.  Keith wasn't doing that awkward shoulders only, chair dance move he does.  The judges then rambled off some non sensical things that Uncle Nigel probably slipped them before the show.  Nicki just hated it, simply because it was Drake, her labelmate.  She also called it old fashioned.  Huh?  Randy went on to say that every note doesn't need a run.  That was especially puzzling since when Candice does add runs, the placement of said runs is meticulously chosen.  I was gobsmacked.

Kree Harrison peformed a song, I'm not sure I've ever heard before, Susan Tedeschi's, "It Hurts So Bad."  I will say that as far as stage presence goes, Kree has grown in leaps and bounds.  I remember during Vegas when I had to close my eyes and just listen to her voice to enjoy her performances.  Now, I love when Kree sings uptempo songs.  I like the casual, natural interactions with the judges.  Also, she never loses her amazing voice when she is singing a faster song, unlike Janelle.  That bluesy tone is always there.  It's great.  The judges were lukewarm on Kree, too.  Giving her random, you look good and that was fine comments.  Hmm...

Angie Miller made her triumphant return to the piano for her 17th Jessie J cover.  This time it was "Who You Are."  I'm almost positive she sang this song at some point during her time on Idol.  I could go through my past recaps, but, let's face it, I'm too lazy.  You all know, that like the judges, I love Angie on the piano, even though I still think she is trying and failing to live up to that original song.  She sounded great.  It probably was the best first round performance, but the whole time, I couldn't help but wish that she had chosen a different song.

There was  duet between Angie and Kree on Adele's "Rumor Has It."  Then, the ladies tackled the nights second theme, one-hit wonders.  I was pretty excited for this America chosen themes.  I do love me some one-hit wonders.  So color myself surprised when I was hit with song choices.

Amber Holcomb hit the stage singing "MacArthur Park."  It was originally sung by Richard Harris, but was made famous by the Queen of Disco herself, the late, great, Donna Summer.  Donna Summer is no one-hit wonder.  This was not a good song for Amber.  The song didn't really fit her voice very well.  The whole thing was very shaky.  I'm not sure if Amber was suffering from vocal strain, but just like on her first song, when Amber went into her lower register, you could barely understand her.  The crowning glory of that performance was meant to be the last note, which veered wildly off pitch and ended the performance on an awfully sour note.  Then, while pretending they were best friends, Nicki misidentified Amber as Angie.  Sad trombone noise.

Candice returned with Samantha Sang's "Emotion."  Again, a song most would credit to the Bee Gees or Destiny's Child.  Smh.  What more can you say about Candice?  That performance was flawless.  No matter what sort of narrative the judges are trying to pawn off on America.  I think they know better.  The less said of Nicki hi jacking Candice's critique so she could attempt to dress down Jimmy for criticizing Ameber the better.

Kree Harrison was next with Procul Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale."  This is one of my all time fave songs.  I have listened to Annie Lennox's version, probably a thousand times.  This was the best performance of the night.  Kree caressed each note and it was so powerful.  Amazing.  I watched it three times and I was enraptured each time.  I completely zoned out what the judges were saying because I didn't want them to ruin it.

Angie closed the show with Julie London's "Cry Me a River."  Yeesh.  Talk about old fashioned.  This was a really weak closing number.  It was definitely not #POW.  It was #whyisntthisoveryet?  Angie looked very uncomfortable and disconnected from the whole song.  It was definitely far weaker than her first performance.

So, what did you guys think?  Any disagreements?  Let me know in the comments.

American Idol Recap: No Country for Two Women

American Idol, "Episode 29: "Top Five Results"

America decided that there is only room for one female country singer on Idol and so they sent bubbly, not at all dumb, blonde Janelle Arthur packing.  Bye Janelle!!  Have fun on the tour.  Look on the bright side, at least you out lasted Lazaro!!

American Idol Recap: Straight Up

American Idol, Episode 28: "Top 5 Perform"

It's no surprise that Idol has been on the downslide ratings-wise this year.  Many have pointed to the judges offputting behavior, specifically the incessant bickering between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, as the reason for the decline.  So, leave it to Nicki to try to do something to boost ratings.  Leave it to Nicki to think that her boobs were the way to do that.  It was a nice try, Roman, but the only way your tits could right this sinking ship is if Mimi and Keith simultaneously motorboated you.  I will say, it's too bad that people are tuning out, because now that Lazaro is gone, Idol has maybe the best top five that it ever has.  Since we are down to five and it's a two hour show, the ladies tackled two themes.  First, was the super depressing "Year of Your Birth" theme, since none of the remaining contestants were born before 1990.  Then, there was the dim, not very original "Divas" theme.  So, let's look at how each of the ladies did.

Candice Glover was up first.  She surprised with a jazzy arrangment of original judge Paula Abdul's hit "Straight Up."  It was another stellar performance from Candice.  I loved that she decided to do this song.  It was a great choice.  The best thing about Candice is that she isn't too showy with her vocal.  She picks the right places for runs and you can tell that everything is very thought out.  The only bad thing about this performance is that it comes a week after Candice's transcendent performance of "Love Song."  So, even though it was one of the best of the night, it is still a bit of a let down.

Janelle Arthur was up next with Vince Gill's "When I Call Your Name."  Janelle could basically be called "the other country one" at this point.  I'm a big fan of Vince and this song, so I was excited when I heard that Janelle was going to tackle it.  It was an OK performance over all.  She was a bit behind on the verses, so she was struggling to get back to where she needed to be when she hit the chorus.  I think where Janelle missed the mark was the emotional connection to the song.  She was smiling for part of it, when the lyrics are kind of gut wrenching.  Keith hit the nail on the head with his critique of this very thing.  It takes you totally out of the performance.

Kree Harrison brought a litt Black Crowes to the Idol stage with "She Talks to Angels."  The judges were not a fan, but who cares what they think?  No one, that's who.  Kree is the exact opposite of Janelle in every way.  Janelle is blonde.  Kree is raven haired.  Janelle can barely muster any emotion besides a mega watt smile, but Kree is all emotion and she brought that emotion to this song.  This wasn't Kree's best performance, but it was amazing and I watched it three times.  So...

Angie Miller sang The Pretenders "I'll Stand By You."  Now, Angie's performance was good.  I have mixed feelings about Angie, though.  I felt like the dedication to Boston was kind of blatant audience manipulation.  I'm not sure that it was totally genuine.  I enjoy Angie at the piano.  That is where she really shines.  She is able to connect more when she is at the piano, I feel like she really is able to let go.    I'm not sure this performance was her very best and I'm not sure it deserved the judges standing "o".

Amber Holcomb performed the Mariah Carey version of Badfinger's song, "Without You."  I'm a big Amber fan, but this performance fell really flat for me.  Amber really struggled when she was in her lower register.  The whole performance was very boring.  It was hard to pay attention to, and Amber showed zero personality.  The most surprising thing was Nicki actually complimented Mariah, calling Mimi one of the world's greatest singers.  She also said that the rendition failed to live up to Mariah's original.  'Nuff said.

Round one is over and now it's on to round two.  Idol showed lots of originality by making the next theme, Divas!!  Man.  Could a theme have been more on the nose.  Ugh.

Candice returned to the stage to perform the song "When You Believe" by Mariah Carey and the late, great, Whitney Houston.  Candice has brass balls.  She is singing a song that was originally sang by two of the greatest female singers of all time, in front of one of them.  Candice killed it.  I enjoyed the melody switch ups that she did.  She tailored the song to fit her voice.  She didn't try to to do a carbon copy of the original and that really worked to her advantage.  I would say that this is maybe the best Mariah/Whitney cover ever on Idol.

Janelle's diva was Dolly Parton.  I think Dolly is a great choice for Janelle, unfortunately the song she chose, "Dumb Blonde" was not great.  It didn't do anything for her voice.  I agree with the judges that Janelle has great stage presence, but every time she does up tempo songs her vocals struggle.  She hasn't found the balance between moving around, breath control, and pitch.

Kree Harrison tackled Celine Dion's "Have You Ever Been In Love" by Celine Dion.  Like Candice, this song choice bugged me a little bit.  It's a little safe.  It's been done to death by other contestants.  It doesn't seem like a song that fits with who Kree is as an artist.  That being said, Kree sounded gorgeous on the song.  Kree's best asset is the way that she is able to interpret songs and really emote and that is what propelled this performance past karaoke and to something more.

Angie Miller's diva of choice was Mrs. Carter herself, Beyoncé.  She sang "Halo", maybe on of my all time favorite Queen Bey jams.  I'm not sure how I feel about this performance.  It was sang well enough, but much like Angie's first performance, there didn't seem to be anything about it that was really authentic.  I think that's the main issue when Angie steps away from the piano.  It just doesn't seem natural, so she overcompensates and I think that's why she gets accused of being pageant-y.

Amber chose a surprisng diva, Barbra Streisand.  In fact, I would have probably swapped Angie and Amber's divas.  Amber sang "What Are You Doing For the Rest of Your Life."  Ms. Holcomb had a lot to prove after her "meh" first performance and she was in the pimp spot, so expectations where high.  She delivered.  This sort of reminded me of "My Funny Valentine", the first song Amber sang that really made me stand up and take notice.  Amber really excels with these older standards and she delivered the best performance of the night.

So, what did you guys think?  Who gave your favorite performance?  Let me know in the comments.