Iron Man Mini Review

I know I know, it’s WhippTV, but I have decided to start expanding this blog to cover other entertainment related areas, such as movies, comics, and video games.

SO, last night I saw Iron Man and was thoroughly impressed. The movie was extremely well done, and is at the same level of quality as the awesome Spider-Man and X-Men films (at least the first 2).

The effects are great, blah blah blah. You’ve seen the trailer. You know. It looks amazing. The movie is propelled to excellence not by visual effects, however, but by the performance of Robert Downey Jr. He is Tony Stark. He was perfect for this role, and he knocks it out of the park.

My only complaint is minor: Once the movie started to really get rolling on all cylinders, it was over. This isn’t completely a negative, as it left me wanting more…which I am sure I will get when they make Iron Man II. Go see this now! It’s an awesome start to the summer movie season, and you will regret missing it.  

p.s. Stay through the credits if you are a fan of Marvel Comics. There is an extra scene you will want to see.

American Idol Recap

Missed last weeks post, but here is a recap anyways.

Carly and Brooke have both been eliminated. It was Brooke’s time to go, but Carly deserved to stay longer. The last two themes, Andrew Loydd Webber and Neil Diamond were lame, and somewhat boring. No one blew me away, David Arch. was boring and mechanical like usual (great voice, but lame) and David Cook stole the show both weeks.

The final two will now most likely be a battle between David Archuleta and David Cook. May the best David win (Cook!).

I see Syesha going home next, and then Jason Castro. Syesha has been singing  better than Jason, but he is more popular.

American Idol Top 7 Elimination

Again this week my favorites were David Cook, Jason Castro, and Brooke. I am thinking that unless Brooke starts to up her game she may be going home soon. She’s starting to appear in the bottom three more and more. The guys are OWNING this season so far.

So, last night’s elimination was not unexpected. I predicted that Kristy Lee, Syesha, and Brooke/Carly would be in the bottom three, and they were. The surprise for me was that Syesha was the one that was safe…leaving Brooke and Kristy Lee waiting for the bad news. Of course, it was no surprise that Kristy Lee got the boot, as she has been on her way out since week 1, and it was nice to finally see her go. At this point everyone is close to being awesome, so one slight slip up can send someone packing (Mikey Johns).

My hope is that next week we will finally see Syesha hit the road, and after that who knows. My guess is that Brooke, Carly, and Jason would be the next to go. At this point, I feel like we’re looking at a final two show down between David Cook and David Archuleta. Personally, I am bored with Archie, and would hope that Cook could pull off the win. We’ll see.

American Idol Top 8 Elmination

HOLY COW! In a shocking turn of events, Michael Johns was the idol sent home last night. The audience, judges, and basically everyone seemed shocked that Michael was the unlucky contestant with the fewest votes. He went out like a champ, stating that he was surprised but that he couldn’t think of a better song to have gone out on (he sang Aerosmith’s Dream On).

This is disapointing, as it means 1) that Mikey is out of the competition, 2) two or three contestants that are no where close to being as good as he is are still in the competition, and 3) apparently America Idol viewers had horrible taste this week.

To the American Idol voters: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! Seriously!? You vote for Syesha and Krsity Lee Cook, who have been in the bottom three nearly every week, and you DON’T vote for Michael Johns, who has never been in the bottom three?? He wasn’t even bad… and now he is gone thanks to you. I have lost faith in your voting abilities, and I am becoming concerned that you may vote the wrong contestants into the finals. *groan*

Obviously, this result did not jive with my predictions for the bottom three.

I think things are going to start getting interesting.

American Idol Final 8 Recap

We’re keeping this brief, as we’re runnig behind here.

This week’s theme was “inspirational songs”, and in this recapper’s opinion, it was a rather lame theme. Here’s what I thought of the performances:

Michael Johns: Mikey did Dream On  – I love this song, and I thought Michael’s version was very good. It wasn’t nearly as good as the original, but it was still pretty awesome.

Syesha – She sang the song Fantasia sang when she won AI way back when. Listen, Syesha is a pretty good singer, but she keeps picking songs that much better singers have done in ways that she will never be able to eclipse. She was just okay. I think she’s in trouble this week.

Jason Castro – DUDE. Okay, IZ’s version of Somwhere Over the Rainbow is so good, and it was perfect for Jason. He did an awesome job, and for me had the performance of the night. He gets a gold star.

David Archuleta – Eh. This kid is the best singer in regards to his voice, but he picks lame songs and seems sort of boring when he performs. The initials OMG factor in regards to his vocal talents have worn off, and now I am just starting to lose interest because he doesn’t do anything to change up what he does each week. I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t be sad if he got voted off.

Carly Smithson – She did a Queen song, and it was good. Not extremely memorable. I hope she stays, because she is capable of so much.

David Cook: He did an Our Lady Peace song, Innocent, and I am not sure how many people will remember that song. I do, but I have a bionic memory. I hate to say it, but this performance did not continue the upward trend that DC has been on for the past several weeks. This was not a bad performance, but it was not up to the standard of FREAKING AWESOME that he has set up to this point. He’s still my fav, but he didn’t deliver tonight.

Kristy Lee Cook – She stuck with country, and I have to say she did a really great job. She did well enough to finish well enough to earn a vote from me. WOW. She’s been one of my least favs, so that is an accomplishment. Still not as good as some of the others, though.

Brooke - I love Brooke, but I wasn’t into this performance as much as I usually am into her stuff. Still thought it was really good, though, and it was totally a great song for her to do. I’m a little worried for her this week, though.

FINAL THREE PREDICTION: I think we will see Syesha, Kristy Lee Cook, and either Carly or Brooke, with which ever one of those two it is being safe. That’s how I would like to see it go, but I’m worried that it could end up being Syesha, Carly and Brooke in the bottom three. We’ll see.

 

Chikezie Falls, as Dr. Sara Tancredi and Takezo Kensei Rise

It’s been a busy week for me, and I haven’t been able to post as much as I wanted to. To make up for it, I have enough news to fill several posts:

 1. AMERICAN IDOL: Chikezie bit it on American Idol and was voted off on Wednesday night. My favs this week were David Cook, Brooke White, and Michael Johns. Carly was good, too.

2. Prison Break: Doctor Sara Tancredi will be back as a series regular next season on Prison Break. Those of you familiar with the show may be wondering how this is possible, considering the fact that SHE NO LONGER HAS A HEAD. Well, apparently it was not her head in the box, and Michael and Lincoln were fooled (along with the rest of us). She’s popular, so this is a good bit of news.

3. Heroes: Tekezo Kensei/Adam, the villain who has a healing factor that allows him to live forever, will be back on Heroes next season despite being buried alive by Hiro in the season finale. He can’t die, so it is not unexpected that he would escape…especially since next season’s chapter is called Villains. According to SyFy Portal, Kensei will be one of several villains making a huge impact next season. The others are, of course, are Sylar, Angela Petrelli (really?), and 12 others who we have yet to meet. TWELVE? Are we going to see a Legion of Doom sort of organization, or what?  

4. Horton Hears a Who: This is not TV-related, but I saw Horton Hears a Who last weekend, and it exceeded my expectations. I was thoroughly impressed with the animation and the overall film. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you have any interest in animated films.  Two Thumbs Up.

Jericho Cancelled Again

It appears that the cult show Jericho, which was brought back from the dead by a passionate fan-based campaign, has been cancelled for a second time. The ratings just weren’t there, I guess. I liked the show…sort of. I guess that was the problem. You can check out the full story here.

Source: TV Guide

Lost – Episode 4.8 – Meet Kevin Johnson

In Meet Kevin Johnson, we finally get to see what happened to Michael after he and Walt left the island. The entire episode is a giant Michael flashback, with only one scene at the beginning and one at the end that take place in the present.

Basically, we find out that Mikey felt so guilty over shooting Libby and Ana Lucia that he had to tell someone. That someone was Walt. From what I can tell, Walt did not take the news well, as he ended up living with his grandma while Michael gets a ratty apartment somewhere in New York. He spends all of his time feeling sorry for himself, and repeatedly tries killing himself. Enter Mr. Friendly/Tom, who uses his Otherly manipulation techniques to persuade Michael that the only way he can make up for those muders is if he works for Ben as a spy on Mr. Widmore’s boat. You see, according to Ben and the Others, Widmore is the one that planted that fake flight 815 and has plans to kill everyone on the island for his own gain. All Michael has to do is stop the boat from reaching the island. He eventually takes job, and we are caught up to the present. Sayid, obviously not trusting Michael at all, turns him in to the Captain, and the episode ends. Lucky for us, we only have to wait a month for the next episode.

Other noteworthy bits form this episode:

• The island is apparently not letting Michael kill himself. Tom tells him this, and it is true that all of Michael’s attempts have ended in failure, via gun jams, or other odd flukes. Is this something like the effects of the numbers?
• How much time has gone by for Michael in the real world? I mean, as far as the island folks are concerned, he’s been gone for, what? Maybe a month, or a month and a half? Yet, here we see him well established in an apartment in New York City, having tried to kill himself multiple times. THEN we see him crash his car, and end up in the hospital with a neckbrace and who knows what other injuries. Then we jump ahead again, and he’s already healed. I don’t think he could have gone from escaping the island, to losing his son, to living in New York, to repeated suicide attempts, to what would appear to be a lengthy recovery from the car accident, to more suicide attempts, to being recruited to work for Ben, to the boat trip BACK to the island, all in a month and a half. We know time runs differently on the island, so how much time went by for Michael after his escape. I think it was much more than a mere month and a half. Just my opinion
• We get a glimpse into what Tom meant when he scoffed at Kate’s refusal to take a shower in front of him and he responded “You’re not my type.” That’s right, Tom has a hot young boyfriend.
• Ben says that Widmore planted the fake 815, and Widmore claims that Ben planted it. Awesome. They are both liars, and I am anxious to find out which of them is actually responsible.

Anyways, this was a decent episode. It was not what I was expecting when I heard it would be a “What has Michael been up to” flashback episode, but I still liked it. I had expected to see him and Walt on the boat, and getting rescued, etc….It was still satisfying in this form as well.

*SIGH* Now we have to wait a month for new episodes, and I am totally happy about that. We almost had to wait 9 months, so yay!

American Idol Results Recap

Another AI contestant bit the dust this week, and I wasn’t at all surprised at who it was that went down. I was surprised by who landed in the bottom 3.  My predictions from earlier this week: (My predictions for the bottom three: Ramiele, Amanda, and Kristy Lee Cook….with Kristy going home. She’ s cute, but she hasn’t made the best decisions in song choice and arrangement.)

So, Amanda and Kristy Lee were both right on the money, but Ramiele escaped. Instead we had….Carly Smithson?!!!?? WHAT?! I did not see that one coming at all. She has been close to perfect every week and quite possibly the best singer in the competition. Her version of Blackbird was good, but apparently America did not like it. Wow. That was a surprise for me.

Amanda getting eliminated was not a surprise, however. She has been eratic and, if I’m being honest, I am surprised she made it as far as she did. I love her voice, but the songs she has picked and the way she has sung them, well, stunk.

I’m glad she’s gone. I hate it when a contestant that isn’t very good stays around week after week. Yeah, I’m talking to you Sanjaya, Red Head Sinatra Kid, and Carmen Rassmussen. It seems like every season has that one contestant that is annoying, not that great at singing, but cute…and the cute factor keeps them in. With Danny and Amanda out, I’m not sure this season will have that problem.

American Idol Recap – Top 11

So, Beatles Week: Round Two went down last night. I LOVE The Beatles, but to be honest, these contestants are butchering a lot of their songs. Here are my thoughts on each of them:

 Amanda – Back in the U.S.S.R. – Amanda is hit and miss for me. The latter half of this song was pretty decent, but over it it was just okay.

Kristy Lee Cook – You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away – I love this song normally, and her version wasn’t horrible…at least when you are comparing it to her puke-worthy performance last week. Anyways, another middle of the road performance. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.

 David Archuleta -The Long and Winding Road – Archie’s back in top form. He nailed it. Very nice version. I have a love-hate relationship with this guy. I feel like the majority of fans just LOVE him, and no matter what he does he will end up in the finals. That sucks. He’s forcing me to cheer for the underdogs. AWESOME singer, though.  

 Michael Johns – A Day In the Life – MY FAVORITE Beatles song, one of my favorite contestants. It can’t go wrong, right? *sigh* Mikey, what was up with that arrangement? He was awesome in parts, but the way they took the song apart to fit it into the 1:30 window was just garbage. He wasn’t bad, but the song arrangement really hurt him.

 Brooke White – Here Comes the Sun – Probably in my top 2 favorite contestants, but last night she was just sort of awkward. Her singing was pretty good (not her best), but her movement on stage and the dancing…Yikes. NOT GOOD. Just weird. 

Jason Castro – Michelle – Another weird one! I love Jason, but he was just weird/goofy last night. Great song, but the french lyrics seemed to make him giggly. His singing was on, but his movement and composure was just wonky. He and Brooke were on another planet.

David Cook - Day Tripper – Each week this guy makes me more and more of a fan. He is just awesome. His version of Day Tripper was sweet, and he even utalized a voice box thingy, which RULED. Simon was dumb, and didn’t like it. Up yours Simon. I think this guy could give Archie a run for his money.

Carly Smithson – Blackbird – AWESOME. She is so good. She nailed this song. Love her. Simon, on the other hand, loathes this song, and as an extention, this performance. He actually gave her a bad review because he just doesn’t like that song. *rolls eyes*

Syesha Mercado – Yesterday – I had lost interest in this little lady as of late, but her rendition of Yesterday was a homerun. She’s back on my radar, and I think she saved herself a trip to the bottom two.

Chikezie – I’ve Just Seen a Face – I don’t care what the judges say; That was a great performance. They didn’t get it, but I thought it was awesome. I wasn’t a fan of this guy, but after last week and this week, he’s starting to win me over. He played Harmonica, too!

Ramiele Malubay – I Shoulda Known Better – Hmmm…Not so hot. I like this song, but she didn’t fit with it. Didn’t really make an impact.

 My Top 3 This Week: Archie, David Cook, and Carly…all three were dope!

My predictions for the bottom three: Ramiele, Amanda, and Kristy Lee Cook….with Kristy going home. She’ s cute, but she hasn’t made the best decisions in song choice and arrangement.