Survivor H/V: Week 9

Week 9:
Special for One Day Only: Free Idols!

There isn’t a whole lot to say about Courtney’s departure. She really didn’t do much except ride coattails. Towards the end we did get to see her sarcastic comments come out again, which were entertaining. If I were the Villains tribe, I personally would’ve gotten rid of Sandra, who I think is more of a threat. The other thing that I took out of tribal council was that I’m really ready for the merge. I think it’s weird that there will be two members of the jury who weren’t even on the same tribe as some of the Heroes. This just isn’t fair if one of the Heroes gets to the end. Also, I can’t help but think it was a ploy of the producers to have the tribes merge at a 5-to-5 tie. Not that it won’t be entertaining, but the way this has all gone down is a little odd.

Some thoughts...

* I liked how the producers made this reward challenge from an individual challenge, to a group endurance one. Although the Villains won by a mile (Courtney actually contributed!), this was one where I couldn’t predict who was going to win from the get go.

* Dear Outback, your new sponsor is now Sandra! She talked about Outback the way I talk about Pizza King

* So, Parvati found the other clue to the hidden immunity. She did a great job of concealing it. More on this in a bit, but I’m surprised that at this point, the others didn’t think to even look for a clue. That definitely seemed to be a trend to winning reward challenges this year.

* Right now Parvati is controlling this game. Russell thinks he is running the show, and he did, but now Parvati has taken the reigns without him knowing it. That is what makes her such a good player. She knows when to stay in the background and be quiet and then she finds the right timing to thrust herself into the leadership role. The other great move was to tell Danielle about it but not Russell. Maybe she sensed the tension between the two, but she is cementing the two-person relationship in the three-person alliance. I can’t wait to see how these two use this idol.

* Seeing that the immunity challenge was very physical, it was no surprise that the Heroes won. But was anybody paying any attention? Of course the highlight of the episode was J.T. giving Russell the hidden immunity. I loved how the transaction went down. The heist genre would be proud. The look on Russell’s face was priceless. Would you believe it if it happened to you?’

* Now, to J.T.’s credit, none of the other players got to see Russell last season. On the other hand, in no circumstance is it a good idea to give an idol to an opponent that you don’t even know! J.T. will get the blame for this (which he deservingly should), but his tribemates should’ve prevented him from making this idiotic move. J.T. is falling into the trap of over-thinking in this game, and if anybody is going to be targeted going into the merge, he will (being a past winner and being such a physical threat).

* Speaking of past winners, isn’t it crazy that three of these players will be going into the merge having won it all before?

* This sums up the Russell-Parvati-Danielle alliance perfectly: Russell told them all about his idol. Parvati and Danielle told no one else. This action alone will have a tremendous impact on this game, and in my opinion, means that Russell won’t win this season. It was unlike him not to look for another idol once he played his. And it was near a bridge, just like in his previous season!

* Parvati reading J.T.’s letter was HILARIOUS. The way she read it like the voiceover girl from Gossip Girl (I mean, from what Whitney tells me) was pitch perfect. J.T. single-handily changed from the popular jock to the geeky mathlete.

* The debate of whether or not Courtney or Sandra should go wasn’t all that interesting, but it just was another example of Parvati taking over the game as she slowly was pushing her opinion into the forefront, and Russell wasn’t seeming to mind all that much.

* I wonder if the other Villains have worked up the courage to tell Danielle about her mustache.

* If this was ever a time to voice your opinion about this season, now is the time: What did you think of J.T.’s move? This move will be talked about for a long time. What I like most about it is that we didn’t see the impact of the stupid move right away (like Tyson voting himself out). It’ll be fun to see how this mistake will fester.

Yahoo for the merge!

Survivor H/V: Week 8

Week 8:
The Dragon Has Been Slayed

I would have never thought in my wildest dreams that Coach would’ve been the target in this next episode. He was truly shocked that he was voted out, but I don’t think he really cared. The Survivor strategy and backstabbing had taken the toil on the Steven Segal look-a-like. He definitely was more effective in challenges this season, but he never made any kind of move strategically. Although I know many are annoyed by him (Whitney and my Dad), but you can’t help but admit how entertaining it was to get annoyed by his quotes, antics and poses. In a way I’m glad he is gone early because that means the game-play will be stepped up even more so with him being gone. Thanks Coach for allowing me to mock you, but if you ever come back to Survivor, I think it will be a little overkill.

Some thoughts...

* As soon as tribal council was over, you could already predict how the rest of the show was going to go without Boston Rob’s leadership being present. I thought if that they didn’t merge, we would see the Villains back at tribal council, and I was more right than I thought I would be.

* How stupid was it that Courtney and Sandra sat out in the bowling challenge? I’m not saying that it would’ve helped them much in the next challenge, but it definitely didn’t help.

* Hey kids, do you know what foreshadowing is? Look no further than the Heroes thinking that their is an all girl alliance at the Villains camp. This misperception just works in Russell’s favor every which way.

* It was so funny that the Villains tore down their camp. In a way, I can’t blame them for thinking the way they were, but I love that the Survivor producers gave them a reality check. They wanted to remind them that they will always control what happens. I wouldn’t doubt if they changed their minds about the merge just because they saw them tearing down their camp.

* You may disagree, but I thought that J.T. did well with pretending that he intended to show everybody else the idol. He didn’t do an amazing job, but really how else could you recover. I thought it was hilarious when Candice and Amanda talked about their relief of stumbling into him. What I don’t understand is why they weren’t looking all together? People get these clues and then sit on it. This is really where you have to admire Russell’s perseverance.

* How smart is Sandra by sowing that “Coach is after you” seed in Russell’s head? Without this move, Courtney would’ve been gone for sure. She definitely knows how to read people.

* Coach, please stop flexing.

* The fights back at the Villains camp were classic. Things always seem to get tense during a Survivor season, but this one seemed omnipresent. Is this all due to Russell’s presence? Quite possibly.

* The Heroes dominated the mud challenge. I’m not a big Rupert fan, but he really did put a lot of effort into that one. Coach is much more physically fit than him, and Rupert almost beat him.

* I’m really interested to see what happens to this Heroes tribe of 5. I’m not buying their alliance at all.

* Could there be a rupture in Russell’s alliance? Danielle and him sure had it out. He just can not handle any slight thinking that is contrary to his. They seemed to make amends eventually, but I can’t see this being a partnership that stays intact. I’m glad they gave Danielle some more face time here. She’s pretty much been missing from this season, but I think this episode showed that she truly is a strong female player.

* I was really confused by the voting at this tribal council. Russell ended up voting for Courtney (to get a vote from Coach?) and Danielle ended up voting against Coach (a possible alliance with Courtney and Sandra?).

* I’m curious to see if Coach will throw his final vote towards a Hero or Villain at the end since he spent no time with the Heroes. He is definitely a vote that could be swayed towards the end. His vote may be a game-changer.

* It looks like a merge will happen this time and apparently, a mistake that goes down as one of the biggest in Survivor folklore!!! I can’t wait.

Until then!

EW's Dalton Ross' summary: CLICK HERE
Jeff Probst's blog: CLICK HERE
Exit interview with Boston Rob: CLICK HERE

#88: Bringing Up Baby (1938)

The best way to describe this movie is, “Loud.” As an audience, we’re used to that element with summer blockbusters, but this is a different kind of loud. Do you know that sound that radiates rooms when you walk into a kid’s birthday party? That’s what this movie reminds me of. All the dialogue is at such a high volume and pitch, it made the jokes hard to follow and most importantly, hard to laugh at.

This highly-acclaimed Howard Hawk’s screwball comedy follows the tightly-would paleontologist, Dr. David Huxley (Cary Grant), who in a quest to raise money for his museum, randomly runs into Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn). To say Susan is eccentric is quite an understatement, as Susan leads David into a journey full of exotic animals, bone-stealing dogs, mistaken identities and prison. Like many screwball comedies, the reason for all these events don’t need an explanation. They are there to serve the growing bond between two very different personalities as David and Susan both grow together and tolerate each other.

I know that plot doesn’t really need to be strong for a screwball comedy to work. It really hinges on the chemistry of the two leads and I just didn’t feel that spark between Grant and Hepburn. I know that they've done countless of movies together, but I just didn’t ever buy that their complete opposite personalities would gel as one. Which leads me back to the randomness of the plot. I felt like the screenwriter was constantly using a Mad Libs template to fill in the holes and gaps.

As mentioned previously, Hepburn’s dialogue is so high-pitched and shrilling that I was just plain annoyed. The jokes and gags are truly funny in their nature, but the way they are delivered are so angst-inducing that I was rarely amused. As always, Grant is the true anchor for the whole movie and he was the sole reason for me to slightly care about what happened to these characters.

This is by no means an awful movie and it really has some cute and funny moments, but I’ve seen much better black and white classic comedies. This was just an old-fashioned film that doesn’t hold up today. If people aren’t familiar to this genre, I can’t see them wanting to come back to it after seeing this film. It’s probably the most disappointing film so far for me on this list. As much as I love these actors and this genre, I was surprised to leave with such a so-so feeling for it.

I give Brining Up Baby 2.5 out of 5 run-away leopards.

Week 7:
That’s No Way To Make Friends

I hate to admit it, but Russell really proved here to be more powerful than Rob. I didn’t think it was going to happen, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shift in leadership at a camp before a merge like this one. How smart was it to target Tyson at the last vote? Because of this move, it really did take the wind out of the Villains tribe. All of a sudden Jerri is flopping all over the place and Russell is now in control of the game. Unbelievable. As he puts it, “Having the immunity idol means power,” and that sure proved true in this case. Now, how much this move is going to hurt the Villains as a tribe in challenges is yet to be seen because the merge is soon coming. I’m sure that Russell and them at this point don’t care if they loose anymore because they have their new alliance now. I was sad to see Rob go. He is the villain you hate to love because he has been such an amazing player in this game. No matter if it was strategy, challenges or providing at camp, he could clearly be labeled as the ultimate Survivor without the Villain label. Wow, I’m gushing like Coach right now... Needless to say, he did all that he could do to stay alive and it’s a shame that he carried his tribemates this far to get cut off so quickly. But that’s Survivor...

Some thoughts...

* I enjoyed both the challenges this time around. It was nice to see the Heroes win, and most importantly, see Colby do so well. How would have James’ knee do in those challenges? He would’ve had to do the puzzle on the second challenge, so chances are they wouldn’t win.

* Apparently the word Jerri means “punching bag” in its original Greek roots. It’s good to know that the Colby/Jerri feud will continue because Colby form tackled her.

* I got to watch this episode with family in Norman and we collectively all cheered out loud when the Heroes won both challenges. Not many shows besides sports can make me do that.

* I’m really interested to see if this new immunity idol can be collectively used for the good of the Heroes. It’s really never been done before, so it will be interesting to see what will happen if they find it.

* I’m shocked at how easily Jerri was swayed. Not a good move on her part. She just became a lower tier on somebody’s alliance. It was a great move by Russell, Parvati and Danielle. Those three have the swagger and confidence to deserve that title of Villain.

* Dear Courtney, you are useless in the game of Survivor. Sincerely, Nathan.

* By far one of the funniest moments ever in Survivor history is the two shot of Rob and Russell talking about who should go and Russell says, “One of those two,” and the camera pans to Sandra and Courtney sitting at their feet. Rob’s reaction was priceless and he didn’t even know what to say, which probably doesn’t happen that often to Rob. “That’s no way to make friends,” he stammered. This interaction alone defined this rivalry.

* Coach really did chicken out on his vote. I don’t think Rob would have been mad at Coach if Coach had written down his name, but the fact that he wrote Courtney’s, which was a throw away vote, infuriated him. In fact, it showed that he was not playing with honor by not picking a side.

* I’m really interested to see what happens when these two tribes merge. With Boston Rob out, I really don’t think of these alliances will truly stick. This will quickly become an individual game in a big way. Which of course means better episodes for an already great season.

Let me know what you think!

Nathan

P.S. Some links that might interest you:

EW's Dalton Ross' summary: CLICK HERE
Jeff Probst's blog: CLICK HERE
Exit interview with Boston Rob: CLICK HERE

Survivor H/V: Week 6

Week 6:
Tribal Council Goes Bananas!

Tsk, tsk, Tyson. You were in a really good spot to win this game and all of a sudden you’re gone! I can’t quite figure out if it was more Tyson’s stupidity to not sticking with the plan or if it was Russell's genius of getting him to vote Parvati that sealed Tyson’s fate. Regardless, Russell’s move will really put the rest of the Villains on guard, which I don’t think is a good thing. Was it a strategic move that came too early? I’d like to think yes, but Russell has proved us wrong in the past. Last season he could really get away with that type of move because he was still controlling the tribe. This time, he isn’t. Tyson was in a perfect alliance and he was strong enough to be a threat in individual immunity, so even his cockiness must’ve been bumped down a few notches.

Honestly, the Heroes ousting James was a complete surprise to me! I don’t know if it was the editing, but it definitely looked like Colby was gone. I think James knew that he was going to be voted out and to the Heroes credit, I don’t think that they revealed too much about their dynamics in front of the Villains. James was way too relaxed and was not at all surprised when they voted him out. Now, if I was Colby and Candace, I would see this opportunity as an amazing gift that doesn’t come too often in Survivor. The five remaining Heroes need to set EVERYTHING aside and go into these next challenges swinging. They need to set their differences aside and form a tight alliance that could possible side with Russell, Parvati and Danielle to flip the game on its heels. They did the right thing in voting out James, too bad that they were dumb and didn’t make this vote last week. Hopefully they can come out of this stronger and somewhat unified.

Some thoughts...

* Colby has checked out! I don’t blame him in a way, but it is disappointing as a viewer who is a fan. Hopefully this second chance will flip a switch.

* The exchanges between Boston Rob and Russell have been classic! You know that the producers have to be loving this interaction. It’s like watching a scene from The Godfather or The Sopranos. The mind game that is going between these two is one for the ages. It’ll be interesting to see which wins.

* I haven’t ever really liked it in the past when they do an immunity challenge and the winner still has to go to tribal council. The way they constructed it this time was perfect and I thought that it provided a good twist, but still gave somebody the chance to save themselves. I actually didn’t mind that both tribes went to tribal council this time. Well done Survivor producers!

* Sandra’s bluntness has been cracking me up.

* Rupert’s blank stares and frank statements still drive me nuts.

* Even with a bum knee, James probably could beat me in a race. Both him and Jeff Probst’s niece.

* I like bananas, they are my favorite fruit.

That’s really about it because the whole episode was pretty much tribal council.

Let me know what you think!

Whose going to win out, Russell or Rob?

Did the Heroes do the right thing in voting out James?

How stupid do you think Tyson’s move was?

Will Baylor make it to the Final Four?


Until next time...

Survivor H/V: Week 5

Week 5:
No Chocalate + Focus = Blown Out Knee

I won’t even hide it... I’m sad to see Tom go. Unlike some people who get voted out early, he really fought hard the whole game. I think his million dollar win was a target that never quite got unstuck. Despite being, what seemed, still pretty strong in challenges, J.T. had to vote against him to earn some kind of trust back from his other tribe-mates. I’m curious to see if James, Rupert and Amanda will still hold that strong loyalty. All three of the aforementioned are followers when it comes to alliances, so J.T. will probably still be able to guide them with a leash. I don’t think it was a good move on their part, especially with James with such a bad injury. They did not have me fooled for an instant. I don’t care how strong James is, that vote was totally based on alliances. The Heroes are in deep trouble, and even if they started to win some challenges, it may not be enough to catch up with the Villains when a merge happens. I think the Heroes know that, so they are starting to prepare now.

Some thoughts...

* Another brutal reward challenge. I’m seeing a trend. Reward challenge: physical. Immunity challenge: some physical and puzzle. If this keeps up, the Heroes will never win.

* Wow, Jerri took a shot to the face. Rupert did try to help her up, but I don’t think Jerri will ever forget that move. As soon as a merge happens, I bet she guns after Rupert. Colby will be thanking Rupert later.

* James’ injury was hard to watch, especially when he got back up to walk. It was clear that the Heroes were going to loose when he went down. I don’t think it was the lack of numbers that caused them to loose, but you could see the momentum just drift away from their “no chocolate” imitation strategy.

* Speaking of, I was ready to see Jeff and Colby throw down! I love how Jeff doesn’t back down from anybody.

* You know Russell was going to find that idol. Now I’m changing my thinking about him now being a “marked man.” That was really stupid for the others not to look for that thing. He really does hold the power, and like I said last week, if they vote for him, Boston Rob may be gone. So what if he’s a marked man?

* I have to admit to something. I actually stood up for Coach. Yes, and I was proven wrong immediately. When Russell started talking about bringing Coach into his alliance with Parvati, I thought, “No way! Coach is way too loyal to everybody else. Plus, Russell clearly didn’t join in the group yoga session.” I should’ve known better because Coach now has a bigger man crush on Russell and even bowed down to him. Like Russell needed another ego boast. Watch out for these three because if a merge happens, they will quickly grab J.T., Candace or Colby.

* As for the immunity challenge, it was just sad to see the Heroes loose like that... AGAIN! If I were at camp, I would constantly be creating puzzles for everybody just so they could be somewhat prepared. And as much as I hate to admit it, James did a great job “calling” out to everybody.

* Finally, I’m glad Tom called James out on his “strategy.” Somebody finally needed to do it. I’ve never quickly changed my opinion on a player like I have James this season. He really does seem to be a completely different person.

As you probably noticed, the NCAA tournament knocked a new episode from being aired this week. Don’t forget that the next one is this coming WEDNESDAY.

Sic’ em!

#89: The Sixth Sense (1999)

Forget everything you know about M. Night Shyamalan films and the twist endings you’ve come to expect from both his films and those who quickly followed, and I think The Sixth Sense still stands out as one of the best films to come out of the 90’s. As big of an impact that the film had on pop culture, I think that the elements that everybody noticed actually take a back seat to the suspense, storytelling, acting and tone.

Bruce Willis plays Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a noted child psychologist, who tries to solve a case with Cole (Haley Joel Osment) that reminds him of a prior patient that he was unable to “cure.” To say Cole is troubled is an understatement as Dr. Crowe tries to figure out what makes Cole so special and troubled, while trying to fix his own problems at home.

I’ve always admired the horror in this film. I’ve never been scared by the gore and torture porn of today’s current movies, but the psychological strings that Shyamalan pulls are fine-tuned and so calculated that your fear causes you to watch more instead of looking the other way. I love that plot and imagery play tricks on you versus fast cuts and brutal violence. The Sixth Sense preys on your nightmares, not on visuals.

I’ve seen this film several times, and what really struck me this time was the acting. Toni Collette’s performance as Cole’s mom should be studied on how to play a perfect supporting role. Furthermore, without the performance of Osment, this movie would’ve been dead in the water. Try to think of another child actor in his spot and I think the film could’ve come across as laughable. They both highly deserve their Oscar nominations for supporting roles and think that Shyamalan hasn’t found the same acting magic in his other films. The last scene between the two characters may be one of my favorite written scenes in film based on its impact and how it ties everything together.

Yes, watching this film multiple times will cause you to see some things that are spelled out to you a little bit too much (a close up of a prescription pills that have the label “anti-depressant” for Dr. Crowe’s wife), but this film is as close as to Hitchcock’s legacy as one can get. It’s entertaining, thought-provoking, suspenseful and most importantly, original. I envy those who get to experience it for the first time, but I think even more so for those who take it in more than once.

I give The Sixth Sense 5 out of 5 broken thermometers.