So. Much. X Factor.

Now that good ol’ (OK, bad ol’) Simon Cowell has taken his X Factor juggernaut Stateside, and the Australian and UK version keep on trucking, the interweb world is literally swimming in X Factor. Which is not a problem over here in Big Cheese land. Not at all! Especially not now that things are rolling, the live shows have well and truly kicked off, and the lamer acts (and sometimes not so lame ones) are dropping like flies.

In fact, now we’re only a couple of months away from Christmas, when the steam train that is the X Factor thunders towards its crescendo – like the hopped up locomotive at the end of Back to the Future 3, pyrotechnics exploding like the roaring engine, ballads and big notes spewing from contestants mouths like steam from the chimney – I can’t get enough! So who are our favourites? Who have we been sad to see go? What have we enjoyed so far in all three seasons of our favourite guilty pleasure?

Let’s start in Australia, where they’re down to the final 5.

 

REECE MASTIN

 

My favourite (and the contestant I think most deserves to win) is the fabulous Reece. He has had a shaky couple of weeks, but (much to my relief) he has held on. With the right song choices (come on Guy) he has the potential and the talent to win the whole damn thing.

 

JOHNNY RUFFO

 

Controversial, I know, but I just can’t help liking Johnny. Sure, he’s not the best singer, but neither are half the pop stars on the charts. I mean, have you heard Cheryl Cole sing?? But you’ve gotta admit, the guy is gorgeous, and boy can he move! Plus, he actually sang great last weekend. I hope Johnny makes it right to the end!

 

THREE WISHEZ

 

I have been rooting for these guys since the start, because I genuinely can see them having a career. It hasn’t always gelled for me, but there is definitely a lot of potential there, and every week I hope they smash it.

Now, over to the UK, where things have been going all pear shaped! Frankie knocked out for boasting about using cocaine, The Risk eliminated unceremoniously last week (which actually really disappointed me, and if it weren’t for Marcus I really wouldn’t have any interest in the show at all). Kelly “sick”, Louis destroying the credibility of his acts (as usual), Gary hating on fun, Tulisa saying “blew me out of the water” every chance she gets – it’s been a veritable whirlwind. Ok, Misha is good. And I don’t mind Little Mix. But with Janet and Craig vying for most bland act ever, how do we feel about the race to the finals? Who do we want to win?

 

MARCUS COLLINS

 

I love Marcus. Mostly cos he’s lovely. And a total cutie. And he always puts on a good show. And he’s getting better every week. But I do wonder if he’s doing so well because the other acts are mostly LAME! I want him to do a big ballad and prove he can really sing. Make me feel it, Marcus!

 

THE RISK

 

Ok, Ok… I know they’ve gone. But I miss them already. And I LOVED their performance last week. I’ll miss their cute cheeky faces, and little dance moves. I’ll miss Derry trying to chat up every female pop star he could. Now Frankie is out, bring back The Risk! I don’t care how many times their line up changes. As long as Andy, Derry and Charlie are there, I’ll be happy.

And now, over to the States! They are a bit further back in proceedings there, with only two live shows, and one live vote under their belts. And it’s already gone awry! The AMAZING Stereo Hogzz in the bottom 2! Luckily they survived the chop to be awesome another day. I only have three favourites in the US version. Who are yours?

 

STEREO HOGZZ

 

A little bit of Motown, and a little bit of current,edginess. Smooth moves, great voices. What’s not to like? Why were they in the bottom 2 America?! Vote for the Hogzz. The show will be boring without them. You don’t just want to watch Stacey Francis and Melanie Amaro have a ballad-off, do you? BORING!

 

MARCUS CANTY

 

The other Marcus. I totally love him. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he did Bobby Brown last week, and that he danced and sang his little booty off. Go Marcus!  I look forward to seeing what you do next this week.

 

ASTRO

 

Ok, so this is a late edition to this post, because Astro totally smashed it on tonight’s show! He’s always been good, but now I think he totally deserves to be in this list. He’s a real talent.

So, these are my favourites, and the acts I look forward to seeing every week. What are yours?

Arrested Development – a new season, and a movie??

So, the interweb rumour mill has cranked into overdrive, this time with the news that Arrested Development is back! There has long been speculation that an Arrested Development movie was in the pipeline, but now comes the news that the movie is to be preceded by a short season, with one episode following each of the characters, building up to the release of the film.

The news has emerged from a cast reunion at the New Yorker Festival, where series creator Mitch Huwitz made the announcement, which was followed up by the New Yorker Twitter feed stating: “Arrested Development coming back for one more TV season before movie.”

New York Times reporter Dave Itzkoff was also at the Q&A and he tweeted “Mitch Hurwitz says he plans limited Arrested Development series (9-10 eps, 1 character per ep) that would lead into movie.”

And just this morning Jason Bateman has confirmed all the speculation by tweeting about the news himself: “It’s true. We will do 10 episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early ’13. VERY excited!”

The news is also bound to have the show’s many fans very excited, and counting the days until everything comes together and goes to air.

So, now Arrested Development has been resurrected, there might be hope for Freaks & Geeks yet!

Girl Power – My Top 5 Screen Ladies.

The Big Cheese could, rightly, be accused of focusing too much on the masculine side of film and TV. I do admit to getting distracted by a dark and handsome face, and professing my (sometimes fleeting) love for that face all over this site. But it would be remiss of me to not stop and make mention of some of the females out there who, for one reason or another, I greatly admire. So in the spirit of sisterhood, girl power, and doing it for the ladies, here are my top 5 ladies (at least of the moment!):

TINA FEY (the inspiration)

As a comedy writer myself it would be impossible for me not to list Ms Fey as a great inspiration to me. She is a great writer, a wonderful comedian (or comedienne, if you must) and a fantastic role model for all the women in comedy who are still struggling to make it in one of the last professions which can truly be called sexist. And not only has Tina competed, she has kicked some ass! The writer of the fabulous film Mean Girls (remember when Lindsay Lohan was good?), and creator of the hilarious 30 Rock, she is also a SNL alumni, this year’s winner of the Mark Twain Award (for outstanding contribution to comedy), a wife and a mother. And not only that, she seems like a genuinely awesome person too.

SANDRA BULLOCK (the icon)

This amazing actress is so often overlooked, as she has so often taken on parts in rom-coms, and cheesy dramas. But to be honest, since she played Lucy (my name) in While You Were Sleeping, I have always had a soft spot for Sandra. More recently though, I have seen her interviewed, or giving awards speeches, and even seen her improvising with Ryan Reynolds and Betty White while promoting The Proposal, and she is honestly one of the wittiest, and most intelligent women around in Hollywood. She is dry, self deprecating, and not afraid to make fun of herself. She is definitely someone I would love to have dinner with sometime. And not only that, the woman looks amazing! At 42 (which is still young – but getting on in Hollywood terms) she looks natural, beautiful and damn straight fantastic. Yep, I got some big love for Sandy.

ANNE HATHAWAY (the new queen)

There is something about Anne. Her beauty is not your standard blonde, tanned LA thing. She rocks the pale look. She has eyes and lips that almost look too big for her head, and yet somehow on her, they work. She chooses interesting roles, is funny, warm, genuine and intelligent when interviewed, and always comes across as her own woman. She is going to be co-hosting the Oscars this year (with James Franco), which is testament to her entry into the A-List Hollywood stratosphere, and her easy charm and comedy skills. It will be very interesting to see what the future holds for Ms Hathaway. I suppose first stop will be to play Catwoman in much-anticipated The Dark Knight Rises.

BLAKE LIVELY (the it girl)

Blake, Blake, Blake. She’s on the cover of every magazine, apparently breaking up every relationship in Hollywood, and just embarking on what is sure to be a great movie career. But the thing about her really is that she is just so damned good looking. It’s honestly ridiculous. Her hair is like something from a follicular wet dream, so thick and long and freakin’ beautiful. She has a perfect figure, and the face of an angel. I should hate her, and all her perfection. But I don’t. I like her. I like that she dated Penn Badgely, her Gossip Girl co-star, for years. I like that her first post GG role was as a skanky prostitute in The Town. I like her fashion choices, and style. I just like her. But we’ll see how I feel when she starts dating Jake Gyllenhaal!

DREW BARRYMORE (the sister we never had)

When people ask me the question, “Who would you like to play you in the story of your life?”, my answer has always been Drew. One of the most likeable people in Hollywood, she is charming and cool, and seems like a lot of fun. She has also dated some very interesting men, including the lovely Fabrizio Moretti (from The Strokes), and very funny Justin Long. You get the idea that she dates people she finds funny and interesting, rather than because it will be good for her career. I mean she did marry Tom Green! The fact is, I will always see a Drew Barrymore movie. I always enjoy watching her. I think she’s the one starlet we all think we identify with – despite the fact none of us were child stars or teen drug abusers, nor have we ever dated a Corey, owned a successful film production company, dated a rock star, been an Angel of the Charlie variety, or one of the most successful actresses of our generation. But, you know. Apart from that….

Honorable Mentions: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Brenda Blethyn, Emma Stone, Helen Mirren, Rosamund Pike, Christina Hendricks, Christa Miller….

Farewell FYD (and Nicolo).

Well, I was totally wrong about FYD, wasn’t I? Och well, what you gonna do? I certainly didn’t expect the outpouring of love and support for Wagner either! Classic. It’s like Jedward all over again!

Frankly, despite actually being able to sing and dance at the same time, how could FYD compete with One Direction? Those boys are so freaking cute I just want to put them on a piece of toast. (Which is much better than wanting to do anything else with them, since they’re all about 16 and that would be very illegal!)

Still, I seriously predict they will be in the top three. They are a teenage dream.

But who else will be there? It’s anyone’s guess at this point. Here’s hoping Louis gives John a better song this week! And Matt sings a song for a bloke for a change!

As always, bring on Saturday!

Brand new X Factor – Brand new favourites!

Hooray!!

It’s a whole new season of X Factor, and with the live finals about to commence, there is a good degree of anticipation in the air. And, I will go as far as to say, I’m even more excited about this year, than last year. Last year, I was all about Danyl, as some of you will remember. After the judges houses, he was my only favourite, and remained so throughout the competition. But this year, I have quite a few favourites, and even more acts I really like. Let’s take a look shall we?

Matt Cardle.

Oh sweet Jesus. Hold me back! Who is this dishevelled beardy man with the voice of an angel, and the gorgeous personality? I love him. There I said it. I would quite like to have his cute little beardy, hat wearing babies. And we will paint and decorate the world with our love, while we all sing, like the new Von Trapp family. Too much?

John Adeleye

He’s so cute and cool and likeable! And he has a great voice. I think he’ll be a lot of fun, and I look forward to hearing him do some old school soul choons. I was a bit worried, like Louis, about the level of freak in the eight Over 28’s that went to judges houses. As someone who is over 28 myself, I really struggled with the thought that out of all the 1,000’s of people who auditioned, they were the best?? I mean, you don’t hit 30 and suddenly become a freak! But Wagner, and that freaky guy with the pointy ears who looked like he escaped from G.A.Y nightclub? Jesus! John is awesome though, and I’m really happy he made it through. Looking forward to seeing more of him!

FYD

How cool are they? Not at all JLS mark 2. They’re original and talented, and I think they’re going to pull off some amazing productions. And they’re much much better than Princes & Rogues, so I’m glad these boys got through. If I was Simon, I’d be rubbing my manicured hands together, and seeing all the pound signs rolling across my eyes, like a one-armed bandit display. Cha-ching!

1 Direction

Ok, stupid stupid name. Who the hell thought of that? But look at them. A completely manufactured boy-band, aimed 100% at getting the teenage girl vote. And it’s gonna work! After the road-accident that was Lloyd last year, Simon has learned his lesson. You can’t win X-Factor on cute boy looks alone, you need to really be able to sing… But maybe if you take that cute boy factor, make sure they can all sing a bit, and times it by five – winner!! I have to admit to being very sad when little Liam didn’t get through, because I really thought he deserved it and had real potential. So I’m glad he got another chance. And looking at his little face, along with the other four, it is hard to imagine the girls not falling in love with them a bit more every week.

I also quite like Aiden Grimshaw, and think he can do well. Probably fulfilling the Olly quota for the year, but much cuter and less of a douchebag. And I like Storm Lee too, even though Simon hates him! I kinda want to see those fireworks fly! Belle Amie have potential too. A lot more than Miss Frank did last year!

Biggest gripe so far is Cheryl putting Cher and Katie through even though they totally ballsed-up their auditions. I mean historically, if you don’t bring it at judges houses and you go home! Not really fair to those who did perform perfectly. But I guess Cheryl is learning from the Rachel Adedeje saga of last year. You can be as talented as you like, and sing your heart out, but if you don’t have something different, or special, it’s curtains. And Cher and Katie will at least be interesting to watch, but you can’t help getting annoyed at them for being such drama queens. You can’t imagine Simon being as indulgent!

So that’s my first 2 pence for the year! What do you guys think? Are you excited? Who are you backing?

I’ll tell you one thing. Roll on Saturday!!

Who is that….? James Wolk.

Well, well, well. Here is a show I look forward to watching. And I will be completely honest with you, it’s not for the premise. Or the supporting cast. Or because they use Mumford & Sons in the trailer. It’s because it seems to star the most charming, disarmingly handsome man I have seen on TV in a long time. Who is this beautiful James Wolk creature?

He is like part Zach Galligan (remember him, he was in Gremlins?), part Ron Livingston, with a dash of young Clooney. Oh who cares who he is like, he’s gorgeous. He hasn’t done a whole lot before this, but mark my words, I see a leading man in a rom-com role coming to him very soon. And I will watch that film.

Involuntary crush – Chace Crawford.

Get in line, right? I mean, this is a name I have heard thrown about in tabloid, teen-crush circles for about three years, and I didn’t get it. To be honest, I didn’t get the whole Gossip Girl thing. I kept catching a few minutes of it as I flicked between channels, and it just didn’t seem all that riveting.

Then one day, when I had run out of Entourage, Mad Men and Jersey Shore to watch, I thought maybe I will try this show from the start. I will watch the first episode, and if I don’t like it then I’ll know it’s not for me. About three episodes in I was hooked! I finally got it. It’s the OC, but in New York! Overprivileged kids and their cool but messed up parents, living in amazing houses/apartments. Throw in the fish-out-of-water/class divide, some bitchy girls, and amazing clothes, and you’ve got yourself a show!

I’m now 2/3 of the way through series 2 (so don’t tell me what happens!) and loving it. All the characters are great, and although Serena displays a lot of Marissa-like tendencies, she is waaaaaay less annoying, and Blake Lively is unbelievably beautiful. Penn Badgley as Dan, Matthew Settle as Rufus, Kelly Rutherford as Lily are particular favourites. And of course, the show would be nothing without the ongoing Blair/Chuck storyline.

But the surprise package for me has been brooding little Chace Crawford, as Nate. At first I thought he was a bit yawn worthy. Dull, serious and obviously cute – but not all that. And then, little by little, it dawned on me. Wait, this kid is gorgeous. Less pointy and saccharine than his obvious comparison, Zac Efron. Even his hair and eyebrows stir a little something in my chest – and elsewhere!

And I feel terrible about it! I mean, he’s about 23, and his name is Chace, and 16 year olds have pictures of him on their walls! No no! This can’t be! I like Ron Livingston, and Henry Cavill, and Dylan Moran. Dark, handsome MEN. Not Gossip Girl posterboys! No!

But what can I say? Gossip Girl and Chace Crawford have won me over. I admit it.

Now if only those involuntary dreams about him would stop.

Now they’re making a Saved By The Bell movie???

Oh dear Lord. No sooner have a dealt with them remaking Teen Wolf, I hear this bombshell! Saved By The Bell – the movie!!

Apparently it’s going to have a whole new cast of characters attending Bayside High, and it’s not known if original cast members Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffany Thiessen, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies, Dustin Diamond and Dennis Haskins are going to appear in the film.

Although, considering the hugely successful careers they all have (ahem!) it might be hard for them to find an opening in their busy schedules. (You could tell that was sarcastic, right?;))

So how do we all feel about this people? Is this exciting for you? Or is it just yet another remake, cashing in our childhoods?

Was Danyl Really Unlikeable? The Voting Results Say No.

The results of the way the public voted during this season of the X Factor have been released, and it’s very interesting. If you were to take overall popularity, Danyl actually gave Joe a run for his money, topping the polls on three separate occasions.

Even that first week, as Louis and Cheryl were claiming he was unlikeable and cocky, the audience were voting for him three times as much as any other act in the competition. Then, when he had that bad week in Rock Week, it actually turned out to be a good week for him because he again trebled the votes of any other finalist.

I supposed after that the bad press began to take its toll, but Danyl was still rating well. And a lot better than the supposedly popular and “likeable” Olly, who seems to have been the luckiest competitor ever. Olly never even got over 15% of the vote until the semi final, and even then Danyl only lost to Stacey by 0.6% and Olly by 0.8%. That is only a handful of votes difference. I wonder if Danyl hadn’t been quite so good on his last week, perhaps his fans would have voted more, in fear that he was going to leave. I think a lot of us thought he was safe that night, and voted a little less than previous weeks.

And also, as has been pointed out on other blogs, if it has gone to deadlock the night Olly and Jedward were in the bottom 2, Olly would have gone home! It would have been a different competition then!

There are several things that I find really interesting about these results though:

1. That, due to the way the voting works, Olly could make it through to the final when Danyl and Stacey were consistently more popular.

2. That the bad press Danyl had to endure really does seem to have blown his chances of winning.

3. But that despite being called unlikeable, Danyl’s voting results resoundingly prove otherwise.

4. However, singing Whitney Houston doesn’t seem to be a good idea if you want votes!

5. And that no matter what, it looks as if Joe wiped the floor with them all fair and square. And his reward? The dubious honour of having his first single be a cover of The Climb…

I will be interested to see what happens in the next year. Who gets a record deal, who gets a TV presenting job, who gets a part in Hollyoaks, and who disappears into obscurity. May fortune be with them.

I, for one, can’t wait to see and hear the album Danyl makes. I hope it’s as good as we all know it could be.

The End of Flight of the Conchords

Word on the street is that the Flight of the Conchords have announced they will not be doing a third season of their hilarious HBO series. *Collective sigh of disappointment*

The boys themselves say that “We’re very proud of the two seasons we made, and we like the way the show ended.” And so I guess if they’re happy, we should be too.

I suppose it’s like many of the great comedy series – short but sweet. After all, there were only 2 seasons of Alan Partridge, and The Office. Only 4 seasons of Blackadder. And while it unusual for a popular US series to be cut so short, it is a tall order for the pair to continually write comedy songs at the standard for which they have become known.

Rumour has it that was tough to write new songs for even the second season. Obviously for the first one they could draw on songs developed over years in comedy clubs, and on the festival circuit. Whereas the songs for the second season were developed over a relatively short period, and didn’t have the benefit of being sounded out against live audiences.

Still, I doubt this is the end of the Flight of the Conchords. Just the TV series. Many comics say that TV uses up their material too quickly, and this is probably true. You can perform the same routine, or song, for years to live audiences. But put it on TV and suddenly it becomes old very quickly.

I hope the boys go back to performing live, because even though I enjoyed the HBO series, I think it lacked the edge of their live stuff. I particularly think Bowie’s in Space lost a little when it was done in the series, but live it just has something extra. What do you think?