Weekend Movies, HGTV Design Star
Madagascar
I thought this was a sort-of okay animated movie. Ben Stiller continues to annoy me. Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett-Smith are all pretty good. The first 15 - 20 minutes are horribly draggy, but things get better once they get to Madagascar. The lemurs are fairly funny and cute. There were several fun pop culture references, but I thought a lot of the humor was inappropriate for young children.
Mainly, though, the penguins steal the show.
Friday Night Lights
There was a lot of kerfuffling here in Texas both when the book was released and when the movie was released. We Texans can be a bit touchy about the way we are presented. I haven’t read the book, however, I thought this movie was quite realistic and much, much better than the vast majority of sports movies. That it is based in reality probably explains why it’s not as cliche and formulaic. I was surprised by how good the acting was. Billy Bob Thornton is perfectly cast as the coach. Tim McGraw was a pleasant surprise as the mentally messed up father of one of the players. And the young men playing the football players are all wonderful. I felt more like these were people I knew than characters. Again, the reality base may have had something to do with that. I also loved most of the characters’ stories, and the way the ending let us know what happened to them. But mostly I loved the way the film was directed and edited. I actually felt like I’d been transported to the past and was watching a high school football game that I was personally invested in. I think I even jumped up and cheered a few times. I won’t spoil the outcome for you, but I will recommend this movie as quite possibly one of the best sports movies ever made.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I generally prefer Jim Carrey in dramatic roles as opposed to comedic roles. I’ve always felt his comedy became stale and overdone the minute he went from In Living Color to the big screen. I count this movie among his dramatic roles rather than his comedies, and I feel he did a good job with it. Since the movie is more about the quirky characters than the plot, that’s a good thing. However, I had trouble getting emotionally invested in most of the other characters. The main problem for me was Kate Winslet. I usually love her, but she’s miscast here, and I felt like she was playing Drew Barrymore as Clementine rather than just playing Clementine. In their supporting roles, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst are all fine, but their characters are as unlikeable as they are quirky. The story itself manages to be both uplifting and depressing, and also a little smug.
I happened to watch this the weekend after rewatching Serendipity for the third time. Both movies have the same basic message - if you’re supposed to be with someone, the universe will draw you to them no matter what you do to avoid it - but Serendipity makes the point with charming, likeable characters and an upbeat ambiance, while Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind makes the point using the bleakest ambiance I’ve seen a long time and those quirky, unlikeable characters. Even if I didn’t have an irrational love for John Cusack, I’d choose the less-acclaimed and more formulaic Serendipity over the too-obviously-indie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to satisfy my yen for that theme.
That said, this isn’t a bad movie, at all. Jim Carrey’s character is a somewhat appealing everyman and there is some humor in all the bleakness. I gave it a nice, medium three stars.
One of my co-workers has been trying to get me to watch this show for several weeks. On Sunday there was a mini-marathon, so I jumped on into it. I hadn’t realized Vern Yip was one of the judges, or I probably would have watched it sooner.
HGTV Design Star
I’m completely caught up, and I’m okay with the final three they ended up with. I’m not exactly thrilled with them, but out of the contestants they have, all of the final three are all right to me, and for the most part I agree with the judge’s decisions regarding elimination. I especially agree with them eliminating Lisa in the first episode, because I can’t even stand to look at her faux-edgy stupid hair and grin in the credits.
The next challenge they did was the one they split into teams and renovated two kitchens and both the team leaders got tossed. I feel bad for them for getting stuck with being team leaders, but I agree with their tossings, especially Najeera. I don’t think the Josh that was tossed in this episode had much personality. He came across as surly to me when he was in the background, and I really didn’t like their kitchen so yeah, I was okay with this. His lack of leadership skills was also a big problem. His production team would probably run right over him if he had a show. And of course, neither of the tossees seemed to understand how to budget time which would doom a TV show.
Then we had first individual challenge - which was basically a chance for them to sell their show concept and design personality. I don’t think any of them, except possibly the three who are left in the competition and maybe Christina, really understood that. Scott sort of did, but “I’m homesick” is more a reason to leave than a decorating style. Plus, he knew what he’d done wrong from a fairly early point but never corrected himself. I wouldn’t want to watch someone who didn’t trust their design instincts. Adreana, well, she sort of had the same problem. But mostly I don’t have much sense of what he style was.
I think the wedding challenge was next. I suppose this is the one place where I disagree with the judges somewhat. I think Christina’s design was fine, even though it ignored the groom’s desires completely. That’s mainly because I think what the groom wanted was stupid and ridiculous, and should have been completely ignored. The tackiness of the final design they ended up with proves the point, in my opinion.
I liked Sparkle Josh, but his design for the wedding seemed to have nothing to do with the couple involved and I felt that he was too invested in his facade (fake show personality, hair, blah blah blah - it was all so ridiculously over the top) to care much about the designs he was presenting. He is of course beloved by the BOH at TWOP, who have a strange aversion to most women and all straight men and weird, sparkly lavender glasses they view everything through. Also, his individual room in the previous challenge and his design for the wedding both seemed to rely mainly on reflective/metallic materials, to the extent I think he is probably completely stuck on sparkle and won’t ever do anything else with his designs. That would get really boring after about two episodes, and start to be alarmingly tacky and Sandra Leeish.
And then there was Robb, who was apparently cast to be the villain and whose designs weren’t awful, but yeah, he was obnoxious and who would want to work with him? I have a feeling he argues with his clients and I know he would be hell to work for as a PA.
As for those who are left, I like Todd’s personality okay, but his designs are a little too movie-set for the general public. On the other hand, if HGTV wanted to come up with their own version of Monster House (perhaps a scaled-down DIY version), he’d be the perfect person for it. Both Kim and Will seem sensible, an attribute sadly lacking in almost everyone else. Perhaps I just prefer their style. I loathe the overly decorated rooms that appear in most design magazines because they are so obviously intended to showcase product and yet by cramming so much into one area they end up minimizing the impact each piece could have. It’s always made me think that most design school programs are set up to strip the intelligence from their students. Kim lacks experience, but I think she could manage one of those fun shopping in strange places/repurposing shows or something like that. Will, on the other hand, knows far too many practical things, such as where outlets should go, and how to measure before ordering. His designs would make sense, look nice, be completed on time and without drama, and within the relevant building codes. It is possible the casual viewer might actually learn something from him. Therefore, he cannot possibly win.
That means Kim or Todd wins. I prefer watching Todd’s crazy designs, therefore Kim will win. I imagine they want to alternate boy-girl seasons, so it’ll be Kim. Kim’s preferred color palette clashes with min, therefore Kim will win.
Another thought: Will and Todd seem to be polar opposites to me. Todd is all about style and forget the practicalities. Will’s emphasis, on the other hand, seems to be on creating a style around practical constraints. So far Kim leans more toward the practical side, but I also feel like we’ve never gotten a clear sense of her style. The next episode should help with that, at least a little, but she’s coming across as very generic to me. Which also indicates to me that she will win.
Alternate scenario: Vern Yip is involved with this show and he has more than a shred of sense and good taste. It is possible that Will might win as a result. However, the public is voting, so I think that is highly unlikely.
