Our second performance night of the quarterfinals was a bit more daring than what we saw last week. Perhaps emboldened by the first round’s acts, several contestants delivered polarizing routines, many of which played directly to Piers’ desire to “be more liberal with his buzzer”…and made our own voting decisions that much easier to narrow down. In the interest of brevity — we’ve got a results show coming up tonight, after all — we’re going to quickly run down the acts in descending order of quality. Or what I felt was the order. As usual, I am probably wrong. READ FULL STORY »
Archive: August 2009 (251-260 of 386)
Aug 12
2009
10:38 AM ET
Aug 12
2009
10:17 AM ET
Facebook Lite not changing regular Facebook...yet
Facebook is on a diet. Well, almost. “Facebook Lite” went into an accidentally-too-public beta last night, and the internets damn near blew up. It’s to compete with Twitter! It’s because they bought FriendFeed! It’s for the tiny robot that lives in your teeth because he doesn’t even use the rest of the features anyway! Wait…other people have the tiny robot nightmare, right?
Anyway, none of the above, apparently: According to Tech Crunch, “[FB Lite] was designed to be used in parts of the world where broadband speeds vary and can be expensive, we’re being told by Facebook. Given that the initial testing of it has taken place in India over the past several days, this makes sense.”
Ugh, what a let down. I really am hoping for a stripped-down Facebook to enter the market. Just yesterday I put out the Internet wish that FB would head in a more simple, clean direction, so even if this isn’t exactly what I’d hope for, I’m counting it as a win. Right now, my home FB page has a lot going on beyond the focus of the News Feed: The photos, the ads, the “suggestions,” the requests, it’s starting to feel like noise to me. I know other people use Facebook as their web home base, but I don’t; a lot less to do on that first page would be good news for me.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Is Facebook kinda cluttered? Or do want more, more, more, which you totally ask for in a “Rebel Yell” voice? (And you’re a fan of EW on Facebook, right?)
Aug 12
2009
09:41 AM ET
I'm going to shell out $12.50 for a Jennifer Lopez movie...thanks to Alex O'Loughlin
Fool me once (The Cell), shame on you, Jennifer Lopez. Fool me twice (The Wedding Planner…sorry but when the lead character agreed to that arranged marriage to Justin Chambers, my inner feminist tried to knock himself unconscious with a blunt object), shame on me. Fool me three times (Enough…which should’ve been Rated J, for Jank!), and you can understand why back in 2002, I made a promise to myself that I would never again waste my hard-earned money seeing a J.Lo movie in the theater. (No, that free press screening of Monster-in-Law does not violate my vow.) Last night, however, a publicist sent me some new photos of Moonlight‘s Alex O’Loughlin, shirtless and driving a tractor*, in a scene from Lopez’s 2010 rom-com vehicle The Back-Up Plan. Suddenly, the reasons for my seven-year boycott are fleeing my brain like the seeds of a late-fall dandelion in a stiff wind.** What do you say, PopWatchers? Should O’Loughlin’s commitment to ab excellence cancel out my long-standing Lopez Avoidance Plan? Or is buying a ticket to The Back-Up Plan going to be the equivalent of shaking my open wallet out the window of a moving taxi?
* Undercover work in a farming community: Another prospect for Mandi Bierly’s growing list of ways to get hot crime-procedural characters to remove their shirts!
** Current front-runner for Slezak’s “Worst Simile of 2009″ competition.
***No, this isn’t Shirtless Hunks Day on EW.com, although our Sexy Geeks gallery may have you thinking otherwise.
**** Follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak!
Photo credit: Peter Iovino
Aug 12
2009
09:00 AM ET
Wanted: Your Musts! For an all readers' choice Must List!
If you picked up our latest issue, then you already know how gaga we are for Neill Blomkamp’s District 9. Part political allegory, part sci-fi epic, and part kick@$$ action flick, this bad boy delivers on all levels; scratching an itch you never knew you had. When it opens wide on Friday, everyone over 17 (or with enough convincing facial hair to pass) needs to see this movie. Deal?
But enough about me — We need YOUR Must List picks! We’re assembling an all readers’ choice list this week, and as such require your voices, dear readers, to make this happen. So give us those suggestions — anything from current TV/movies/music/books/games/online — backed up by your always thoughtful defense (i.e. WHY Twilight Barbie dolls should make the list). Deadline is Thursday, Aug. 13 at noon ET.
Aug 12
2009
07:09 AM ET
'Hell's Kitchen' recap: Stars and stripes edition (Episode 5)
Like the Subway sandwich I ate for dinner last night (depressing, I know), this week’s venture into Hell’s Kitchen was serviceable but completely forgettable. For one thing, it seemed a whole lot less Hell-ish. Gordon Ramsay waited all the way until the show’s second half to start throwing hissy fits, and even then, his Swearengenesque putdowns seemed artificially escalated. Ramsay never appeared convincingly pissed off in an “I’m ending my life and taking all of you with me” sort of a way. I’m still new to the show, as I explained last week, but I’m quickly learning that each episode’s success hinges on the authenticity of Chef Ramsay’s anger; although, alternatively, I would cherish seeing an episode in which Ramsay pretended to be a charmingly courteous Brit, á la Jim Broadbent, until the credits rolled. Nothing would freak the contestants out more than that. READ FULL STORY »
Aug 12
2009
07:00 AM ET
Open letter to showrunners of procedurals starring actors we'd like to see shirtless
Dear showrunners,
Hi. We know you’re back in production because your Twitter updates tell us so. You’re busy breaking stories, thinking up cases that will play well in syndication and, just maybe, reveal something about your characters. Do not neglect your men’s chests. Look at what the folks at CSI: Miami have already accomplished with new addition Eddie Cibrian (pictured, courtesy of a People First Look). To stop a gunshot victim from bleeding out, he must take off his shirt and use it as a tourniquet. Totally believable. All this required was a little forethought: Presumably, his character, an officer from the Hollywood division who transfers to Miami, does not believe in belts.
We realize this shirt-as-tourniquet routine won’t work for all of you. Fans of Bones, for instance, already know that David Boreanaz‘s FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth loves his “Cocky” belt buckle. Alex O’Loughlin, on his new CBS medical drama Three Rivers, plays a cardiothoracic surgeon who’ll have actual instruments that can be used to apply pressure. Get creative. Both those jobs are stressful — have them work out to relax. Then shower. Or take baths. (We’ve already seen Booth in the tub once, with his beer helmet and comic book — it’s not gratuitous to do it again; it’s continuity!)
We’ll ask our readers to suggest other ways to get your leading men shirtless, so please continue reading the comments. (Maybe Cibrian is really, really clumsy when he eats? Or perhaps he’s prone to getting residue from the crime scene on his clothing, and it has to become evidence each week? If you’re very creative, you can use that to get two men shirtless at once, like they did on NCIS when Sean Murray‘s McGee had to bag and tag his top, and Michael Weatherly‘s Tony DiNozzo gave him the shirt off his back rather than a fresh one from his desk.)
All our best,
PopWatch
Photo credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS
Aug 11
2009
05:53 PM ET
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart will live forever...as Barbies, anyway
It was only a matter of time, really, before Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan would be getting a makeover courtesy of Mattel. Yes, Twilight Barbies will hit shelves in early November (just in time to taunt the other kids in line for New Moon) at $25 a pop. Holiday wish-list recipients and toy store employees, consider this your fair warning. Not being a Twihard myself (I wasn’t a stickler for how much was left out of the book for the movie, nor I am deeply enveloped in casting shakeups), I was still slightly perplexed upon first look at the Edward and Bella dolls. While the makers at least had the good sense to make the Edward doll pale, with a strong jawline, and sporting a Ryan Cabrera ‘do, there are no words for poor Bella. Maybe it’s the fact the Bella Barbie is smiling (the Kristen Stewart comparisons start and end right there) but mostly it’s because if you lost the blue jacket, she becomes interchangeable with every other Barbie. And what about accessories? A dented orange truck? An apple? Will Special Edition Edward sparkle in the sun? And where’s Jacob? (Though I’m fairly certain he’d have to be a Transformer, anyway.)
Not to be outdone, Hallmark is introducing a line of Twilight greeting cards (and e-cards) for birthdays, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day. My personal favorite is one aimed at fans torn between Team Edward and Team Jacob, with both Pattinson and Taylor Lautner on the front of the card with the question, “What’s not to love?” I can’t imagine these being used anywhere except a 4th grade-classroom, because call me crazy, but I don’t many guys will be asking their girlfriends which fictionional dreamboat they desire the most. What do you think of all this new Twilight merchandise, PopWatchers? Are you as equally baffled as me by the Bella dolls? Or are you too busy deciding whether you want an Edward or Jacob greeting card?
Aug 11
2009
05:26 PM ET
Working out with Wii's 'Daisy Fuentes Pilates'
Last year, Nintendo convinced millions of people that a full-fledged fitness program was possible from the comfort of their living rooms with the release of Wii Fit and its packaged Wii Balance Board. Since then, the system has been inundated with exercise games simulating everything from dancing to boxing to snowboarding. But pilates — that favorite exercise of on-the-go modern men and women — has been noticeably unrepresented…until now.
Enter Daisy Fuentes Pilates, which promises to “tone, strengthen and transform your body” with its 10 core-strengthening exercises. Is it worth your time and sweat? PopWatch HQ tasked me, its resident fitness guru, with performing a thorough investigation of the game and determining both its playability and exercise value. Though as a 23-year-old male I am well outside Pilates‘ target demographic (I prefer games that let you, well, kill things), I nevertheless gave the title a full workout. READ FULL STORY »
Aug 11
2009
05:05 PM ET
Warners digs up some cheesy gold on DVD
Back in March, Warner Bros announced the creation of Warner Archives, a mail-order service that offered some of the more obscure titles from the studio’s vaults on DVD for armchair cinephiles. Each month, the studio promised to dust off more films and add them to the list. We’ll be honest, the first batch was loaded with a lot of mothball-scented curios that were never released on DVD for a reason. They were lesser films from big stars like Cary Grant, Clark Gable, and Greta Garbo. Sure, the Robert Osborne crowd would eat them up, but what about the rest of us with — how should we put this — less discerning tastes? Well, this month’s arsenal of Warner Archives titles is for you!
Here are some of the highlights. READ FULL STORY »
Aug 11
2009
04:03 PM ET
I want to be the fourth judge on 'American Idol'
There. I said it. And the craziest part is, I think I mean it. Yes, despite the complete improbability of such a thing ever happening — and some obvious dissention within my own EW ranks — I am officially, nationally, declaring my candidacy to replace Paula Abdul as the next judge on American Idol.
My friend Annie Logue even started me a Facebook group: “Whitney Pastorek for Next American Idol Judge.” As of this morning, it has nearly 200 members, not all of whom know me personally. And what the hell? What harm is there in proclaiming my cockamamie dream to the world? It would be one thing if I declared my intentions to be the next starting left fielder for the Houston Astros. But a judge on Idol? I can do that! I’m a music writer for one of the planet’s last remaining entertainment publications, with extensive knowledge of pop, rock, alternative, country, and the classics; I’ve covered the Idoldome for three years; my parents are symphony musicians; I’ve had formal voice training; I taught theater at NYU; I was even a camp counselor. I work hard, and I work cheap — just ask my editors. Beat those credentials, Katy Perry, and I’ll eat your fruit hat. READ FULL STORY »
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