I Love You, Man

I am a sucker for the recent comedies that have come out, especially when it involves Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Yes they can be crude, but I think the appeal these Appatow-esque films is their ability to capture snapshot moments of real life and that they really have a heart at the center of them. I Love You, Man has both in a huge way. Rudd really shows his comedic acting chops as a recently engaged man who discovers that his great friendships with women don't translate as well to male friendships as he searches for a best man for his wedding. The beginning of the movie tends to be univentive setting up the plot, but once Rudd's character stumbles into a budding (no pun attended) relationship with Sydney (Segel), the film takes off into sincere and truthful moments of relationships between couples, girl friends, guy friends and even gay friends. Most of the scenarios are not just hilarious, but almost relatible to a pont that it was scary. Both girls and guys will love this movie, whether you are on a date or just with your friends. As entertainment goes, it was just plain fun the whole time. I give I Love You, Man 4 out of 5 Rush tunes.

Survivor: Tocantins - Week 5

This season might officially be deemed as the season of great challenges! They have been so entertaining so far and I know I keep going on and on about this, but over the past couple of seasons I have zoned out as soon as Probst says, "Do you want to know what you are playing for?"

The spin reward challenge was hilarious but competitive, and actually had some strategy behind it. Then the net challenge, which as far as I could remember was new but similar in past styles on the season. But it cemented its legacy in Survivor history by JT's chipped tooth. Of course he had to toss it aside like it was a booger, to just add to the manly man credibility that he already established way back during his first interview when his thick Alabama accent first crawled out of his then pearly white teethed-mouth. I love Jeff Probst's improve nature of making sure they recovered the tooth, just so he could leave the challenge by saying, "All I have for you is J.T.'s tooth." Classic Probst... I honestly thought he got it to auction off on the Survivor website.

I'm interested to see what Tyson does in this game. He seems to be holding back a little back and staying in the middle, but I bet he makes a big move in a big way. The reason I say this is his keeness to notice Brendan's choice of taking Stephen to Exile Island. I wonder if Brendan is truly the next to go if Timbira looses.

The letter reward, of course, is always heartbreaking. It really makes you think about how weird it would be away from any kind of contact from your friends and family. But this one was a little different in two comments... Joe's about how his Dad hardly gives compliments and J.T. saying that his mom said "I love you" for only something like the fourth time. They tried to play it off as much as they could, but wow, it really shows what distance from your loved ones can do, on both sides.

Now I am definitely one to know that Survivor has a formula, but it seems to be getting really apparent this season about who is going to go. There was Spencer's profile piece this episode, Sandy's rant about Sydney last episode, etc. It takes the drama out a bit about who is going to win the immunity challenge and also who will be going home. I wish they were a little bit more clever on how to approach this.

Thankfully the challenge was yet again entertaining and we went back to Jalapao camp where there was a bit of a self destruction moment. They did let one slip by and I wonder how much of Taj's outburst was her personality or that she had the immunity idol. Well... scratch that, Stephen has it in his possesion for some odd reason. Like him, I wouldn't mind at all, but it's funny that Taj trusts him that much to GIVE it to him. She could have easily been voted out this episode and not have known it. Stephen will be in odd predicaments like this the rest of the game, but I bet he may not be entirely true to this secret alliance. Especially if Brendan is the next one to go if Timbira loses.

I was a little surprised by Spencer's exit. Not because he messed up the challenge (where was Sydney, Taj towards the end, etc.) but as a fan who has watched the show since day 1, I was surprised he didn't fight more. I think all it would have took was some sucking up to J.T. and Joe with an apology, but he really showed his age during that really awkard scene in the pond. He just didn't seem to be really close to anybody and although most of his tribe was young, there was still a disconnect there.

Sorry for the loss Kacey. I know how it feels to go out early, but sometimes it helps (at least for me). When I went out early last season, I wasn't quite as nervous when I watched it. I thought Spencer was a good pick because he seemed a lot smarter than Eric from Fans vs. Favorites, but I think he just got a little to self-conscious and too hard on himself after that last challenge.

So were you impressed with the tooth throw away? Did you think Spencer could have saved himself? Will the secret alliance stay intact?

Survivor: Tocantins - Week 4

Now I was definitely not a big fan of Sandy, at ALL, but I actually felt pretty bad for her last night. Although you pretty much knew the outcome, I think the vote last night will be one of the most crucial turning points of the game. Sandy really had the unfortunate luck of not just being on a tribe that was young, but really a season where everybody seems young. That had to be a tough vote for the group. Sandy really helped a lot in the challenges and Sydney will be one of those contestants that might ride some coattails. During tribal council, she didn't necessarily come off that she was really playing hard or cared. But when somebody annoys you, especially the way Sandy's personality was, it's hard to keep her. And you know, she could've been a REALLY wild card in the future.

It's always nice to see things even out. Even though it is so much easier to like the orange tribe, when things go back and forth, it just makes the whole season more interesting all around. It's so hard to even think of the last season where the challenges have been so close. Having the weight challenge come down to just the girls and then the puzzle challenge basically ending as close as it could had to be a producer's dream. Like I mentioned in the last email, the right people are getting voted out early which will provide for more and more drama as the season goes along.

As soon as I say how great the secret alliance is, the show teases that Tyson catches on to it and that Taj rubs her tribemates the wrong way. So I don't know how valid these next comments will be... but how lucky was it that Sierra picked Taj? And was it that hard for Brendan to find time to talk to Sierra? He almost blew that whole thing. Speaking of Sierra... when Taj basically gave her an invitation to win the game, her reaction was basically as if Taj said, "Sierra, guess what? You breathe air!" Even if this thing falls apart, I think Stephen is in the best place because you can always rely on your fishing buddy to pull you through (I'm referring to JT of course).

I think JT is going to be a dangerous player. I think he's definitely playing that "good ol' boy" card but I bet he can be just as ruthless as Tyson. Well, maybe not as much as Tyson. I love Tyson's sarcasm, although I bet some don't at all. He is a professional cyclist and as Whitney pointed out, you can tell that he wants to win, but I bet he doesn't need the cash. Which makes him a threat because I bet he will play hard just for the heck of it and being a competitor, he won't want to lose just based on principle.

So, now for your thoughts... will the secret alliance hold up? Are you relieved that Sandy is gone or do you like Sydney's coy ways? Have you been more entertained by the challenges this season? And who do you think has the best chance to win: Brendan? Taj? JT? Tyson? I think there are still a lot of possibilities out there, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

Survivor: Tocantins - Week 2 & 3

Well, I'm back! In addition, we have a couple of more people added to the list! My ultimate goal is to get my updates syndicated somewhere, so spread the word... I'm kidding of course :) Unless you really know somebody that is.... Kidding aside, always let me know if you want me to pass this along to anybody else, I would love to add them to the list.

Now to the actual events at hand. We watched these two episodes the night after we got back from my honeymoon, so if I can't quite recall everything that happened from being so tired, my apologies. Overall, I already like this season better than last years. The cast is very likable, save a few, and so far everybody that has been voted out has not been too big of a surprise or somebody you might really miss. Maybe except for Jerry who had a great personality, but you could tell that his heart wasn't into the whole thing. Not saying that he wasn't sick, it's just that he didn't do any strategizing to save himself and if he had done just a little, they would have sure kept him. All that to say, it seems as if the show is setting everything up to have strong players at the end, unlike last season where you had not very good players at the end or so-so players who thought they were the best ever (cough cough... Kenny... cough cough).

The really physical challenges are always pretty entertaining to watch. I'm surprised more people don't come out of those really hurt. The water basketball was great T.V. all around. It starts to rain, people are beating up each other, there were unlikely heros and a comeback, what more can you ask for? From the other challenges that followed, I hope this doesn't become a trend like last year where one tribe continues to win, thus forcing a tribal shakeup. There was a lot of backlash from doing that last year, so maybe they will stay clear of it this time around.

I felt bad for Candace. She was really a huge asset for her tribe in that challenge and that totally got overlooked because of Coach? I could really rail on this guy, but I bet his exit is fast approaching, so I'll save it to then. One thing I do think is that he comes off worse in his interviews because his tribe really do seem to like him, but I bet he'll get old to them quick. Which by the way, the last tribal council was hilarious because you could tell how much he was bothered by the fact that they wanted Brendan as a leader and not him. I was a little confused though because Coach and Tyson seemed surprised when Jerry was voted out, but maybe it was for show so Jerry didn't leave mad at them. It was a good move by their tribe though. At this point, they really have to win challenges and if they voted Erinn out, they would probably be sealing their fate. Besides Sandy, Jalapeño (I know that isn't the actual name, but c'mon, when it is so close you can't help but think of the Mexican treat) is a very strong tribe, so it's hard picturing them losing many more challenges.

I think it's kind of funny that there are two idols on those beaches that haven't been found yet. That hole that Brendan and Sierra dug was huge! Were they planning on killing Coach and burying him there? I think I would have stopped at the 4 foot mark. Thank goodness Sierra came up with a story when Debra discovered the hole because poor Brendan just looked like a deer in headlights. Speaking of Brendan, I think he constantly has a sad puppy dog look on his face. So far everything is falling into place for him and the friendship between him and Taj seems to be working out well. I honestly don't know how you couldn't think of doing a secret alliance like that, so it'll be cool to see how it plays out without the other survivors becoming suspicious.

Taj is quite a character. She seems ultra cool, smart and athletic. I wonder if it'll make her too big of a target. For me personally, I can't root against her because of two things. One, she's bringing my two picks, Stephen and Sierra into her alliance. Two, her husband is Eddie George. He didn't play long or that great for the Cowboys, but he was a Cowboy, so that makes her okay in my book. I would've reacted to that revelation just like J.T. and Joe, and I think it's hilarious that Stephen had no clue.

I still think this could be anyone's game and at this moment it's hard to pinpoint a strong winner, without having to decipher it through the editing of the show. I'll be a little bit more descriptive about the next episode and the events that will happen, so I hope this two-episode recap has been all right. I haven't seen the new one yet, but I'll be caught up soon enough. And I can't ask too many questions to you because you are probably caught up as well, so I'll save those.

Thanks for reading and practice on your dramatic Erinn sneers as taught by Coach!

Survivor: Tocantins - Week 1

Now that all the wedding stuff is done, I'm going to gradually update this blog with Survivor posts and some other fun tid bits.  Enjoy!

Hello everybody! As you know, I'm crazy busy right now. So, I can't give this email the detail I would like to :( I'll try to give some quick thoughts, but overall, I think this is going to be a really good season. I think the cast looks really strong and it looks like there are a lot of good strong players. I like the theme of "first impressions" and it should be interesting to see how that grows over this season. Initially I had Carolina high on my list, so I was a little surprised. So, I'm not really sure how all of this will play out. Also, as you can see, Philip and I went in together on the picks and we will dominate :)

Some quick thoughts and I'll let these be... The emails will hopefully be back in full force two weeks from now. I know you will have some withdrawals, but just remember to stay calm.

I HATE Sandy. Hopefully her craziness will eventually drive her tribe nuts.
Loved how it played out that one looked for the idol and one didn't.
Everybody seems really, really young. I don't know if this will hurt or help the show. Thus, this makes Sandy look even crazier.
I bet the weather will play a huge part in this one.
The immunity idol looks like a Stretch Armstrong Doll.
Tough challenge and it was nice to see it close and that the two tribes seem pretty even.
I can't stand to hear "Coach" talk. He'll wear on people pretty quickly.


Hope this season is a good one! Next time you get a Survivor email from me I'll be a married man!