Spartan on Showbiz

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An American Idol finalist has never had as much publicity as Sanjaya, without committing a felony or alleged sleeping with one of the judges, so why are people so interested in this supposedly talented singer?

Sanjaya Makalar is a 17-year-old who is taking America by storm because people who aren’t even American Idol fanatics have heard his name. He is a mediocre singer, who could be considered pretty, especially with his shiny and perfectly coifed hair. But the reason he is making such a fuss is that he seems to have a surprisingly strong fan base. Even though he lacks singing talent that has been evident in past AI winners, the 13-year-old girls are crazy about him. I know you saw the blond girl in the pigtails who cried at the mere mention of his name.

There are mixed opinions of Sanjaya’s talent because there are hunger strikes on MySpace until he is voted off, as well as teams of support on the online hotspot. Even Howard Stern has got himself in on the hysteria by starting a campaign on his radio show that has his listeners vote for him. His ploy is to have the worst singer win the competition, which doesn’t look like it will be that hard to do as Sanjaya survives each week without even being in the bottom two.

He has definitely become an American Joke instead of an American Idol. With his outrageous hairstyles and his horrible singing, it would be a travesty to the show if he won the competition because it will completely throw off the credibility of American crowning the next singing superstar. Although it would be sad to see him win, it would also be absolutely hilarious if everyone actually threw off the power ‘Idol’ has over America.

After stumbling upon the TV show strangely enough on the gaming channel ‘G4,’ I have found absolute enjoyment from the shortly lived series.

‘Arrested Development’ was a critically acclaimed TV series that aired on FOX from 2003 to 2006, a run that was short due to a lack of viewers. Despite six Emmys, a Golden Globe and the award for “Future Classic” from the TV Land Awards, the show still could not boost its ratings. A total shame since the witty, ridiculous and hilarious comedy was everything that it was praised for.

I started watching the show after I found it on ‘G4.’ I would be glad to catch it now and then for a guaranteed laugh, but now I watch religiously everyday at 2:30 p.m. because I just can’t wait for another outrageous plot twist.

The show follows the shallow Bluth family, which includes the main character Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), his father George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), his mother Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter), his older brother GOB Bluth (Will Arnett), his twin sister Lindsay Bluth Funke (Portia de Rossi), his younger brother Buster Bluth (Tony Hale), his brother-in-law Tobias Funke (David Cross), his niece Maeby Funke (Alia Shawkat) and his son George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera).

It’s a crazy cast of characters held together by Michael who seems to be the only the level-headed person in the family. He must takeover the family company after his father goes to prison for fraud. As a way to keep the family together while they go through some troubling times, Michael convinces everyone to move into the Bluth model home, making things only more chaotic.

While his father is in prison, Michael must deal with his drunk and critical mother, his unmotivated older brother, who is also a horrific magician, his selfish twin sister, his immature younger brother, who is controlled by his mother, his flamboyant brother-in-law, who is an aspiring entertainer, his rebel niece, who makes major motion pictures in her spare time and his awkward son, who has an unnatural crush on his cousin.

It is a highly underappreciated comedy that shares the same style of that found in the great show ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ but it has an element of unexpected humor and wit that is all its own. If you are interested in why Buster is afraid of seals with bow-ties, why Liza Minnelli has a crush on him, how The Blue Man Group can play such an integral role in a show, how Fonzie and Chachi were family attorneys, or why there is always money in the banana stand, check out this outlandish, but brilliant show.

Usually I don’t care for the comedy of Sarah Silverman, but I have to give her praise for her new show on Comedy Central because it’s insanely hilarious.

Sarah Silverman is known for delivering very raunchy and offensive jokes in a girly and demure manner. Normally, I find her humor to be annoying, gross and just not funny, but my tune has changed. Until now I thought of her as just Jimmy Kimmel’s girlfriend who was severely overrated as a comedian, but she has definitely proved herself with this witty new show.

Sarah has had minor success by playing bit parts in movies like ‘There’s Something About Mary,’ ‘School of Rock’ and ‘Rent,’ in addition to a brief stint on SNL in the early 90s. Where she is known best though, is from her late night appearances, guest spots on comedy specials and a successful comedy tour. Her comedy has overshadowed her movie career because people find her ability to combine a pretty appearance and the mouth of a truck driver appealing. She continues to increase her popularity, and with this show it will surely skyrocket.

The show is ‘The Sarah Silverman Program’ and it just premiered last Thursday on Comedy Central. I had seen the commercials and I thought that they were funny, but I was still reluctantly to watch. So, a couple of days I decided to give it a chance. The show follows Sarah, her sister, her two “gay” friends and all those who come into contact with them through the day. It’s ridiculous, unbelievable and sometimes gross, while also being clever and unpredictable. The show is exaggerated days in the life of Sarah, and it is quite an adventure. People have compared it to ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ but I can also see some similarities to ‘Strangers with Candy’ and ‘Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.’

I was surprised that it is a great show and I recommend you also give it a chance.

The nominees for the 2007 Academy Awards were announced yesterday, and there are quite some surprises.

I don’t know where to start, so I will start with the most shocking. The most shocking nominee is Ryan Gosling for ‘Half Nelson.’ Although Ryan’s performance and the film have received lots of critical acclaim, it was shocking because he wasn’t even nominated for a Golden Globe, but it good to see that the Academy is showing love for great indie movies. Another shock is the number of nominations for ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ which makes me quite happy because I definitely think it is one of the best movies of the year.

As for snubs, even though ‘Dreamgirls’ leads with the most nominations, it failed to get a nomination for best movie or best actress for Beyonce. In addition, one of the most talked about movies of the year, ‘The Departed,’ only received one nomination for acting despite the fact it had an amazing cast of actors. Then one that I believe is a shock and snub is that Brad Pitt was not nominated for best supporting actor for his role in ‘Babel.’ I don’t know if he should be a winner, but I think a nomination would have been nice. One snub I do agree with though is that Sacha Baron Cohen was not nominated for his role as Borat, I don’t think I need to go any further.

Anyways, here are most of the nominees, so decide for yourself:

Motion Picture of the Year
• Babel
• The Departed
• Letters from Iwo Jima
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Queen

Actor in a Leading Role
• Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
• Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
• Peter O’Toole, Venus
• Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
• Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Actress in a Leading Role
• Penélope Cruz, Volver
• Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
• Helen Mirren, The Queen
• Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
• Kate Winslet, Little Children

Actor in a Supporting Role
• Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
• Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
• Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
• Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
• Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

Actress in a Supporting Role
• Adriana Barraza, Babel
• Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
• Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
• Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
• Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Director
• Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
• Martin Scorsese, The Departed
• Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
• Stephen Frears, The Queen
• Paul Greengrass, United 93

Best Animated Feature
• Cars
• Happy Feet
• Monster House

Adapted Screenplay
• Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer; story by Sacha Baron Cohen, Peter Baynham, Anthony Hines and Todd Phillips
• Children of Men, Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
• The Departed, William Monahan
• Little Children, Todd Field and Tom Perrotta
• Notes on a Scandal, Patrick Marber

Original Screenplay
• Babel, Guillermo Arriaga
• Letters from Iwo Jima, Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis
• Little Miss Sunshine, Michael Arndt
• Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro
• The Queen, Peter Morgan

Cinematography
• The Black Dahlia
• Children of Men
• The Illusionist
• Pan’s Labyrinth
• The Prestige

Costume Design
• Curse of the Golden Flower
• The Devil Wears Prada
• Dreamgirls
• Marie Antoinette
• The Queen

Documentary Feature
• Deliver Us from Evil
• An Inconvenient Truth
• Iraq in Fragments
• Jesus Camp
• My Country, My Country

Foreign-Language Film
• After the Wedding (Denmark)
• Days of Glory (Indigènes) (Algeria)
• The Lives of Others (Germany)
• Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico)
• Water (Canada)

Original Score
• Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel
• Thomas Newman, The Good German
• Philip Glass, Notes on a Scandal
• Javier Navarrete, Pan’s Labyrinth
• Alexandre Desplat, The Queen

Original Song
• “I Need to Wake Up” (An Inconvenient Truth), music and lyrics by Melissa Etheridge
• “Listen” (Dreamgirls), music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler, lyrics by Anne Preven
• “Love You I Do” (Dreamgirls), music by Henry Krieger, lyrics by Siedah Garrett
• “Our Town” (Cars), music and lyrics by Randy Newman
• “Patience” (Dreamgirls), music by Henry Krieger; lyrics by Willie Reale

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America Ferrera has grabbed a Golden Globe and the hearts of everyone across the country.

Last week solidified America’s place in Hollywood as not only an up-and-coming young actress, but a great actress in general. At the Golden Globes she won the award for best actress in a TV comedy, beating out veterans like Felicity Huffman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It was the ultimate underdog ending, but everyone who loves this breakout comedy knows that she deserved it.

A year ago no one knew America because her body of work previous to ‘Ugly Betty’ was full of bit parts and teen movies like ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ and ‘Gotta Kick It Up.’ But what a year makes, especially when your mentor is Salma Hayek. Salma is the executive producer of ‘Ugly Betty,’ and she believed that America could capture this character and bring the Latin culture to the fore-front. Well, some faith with a mixture of great casting and writing has created TV gold, literally.

If you are willing to see a great new comedy, check out this award winning show with its award winning actress. The show airs right before ‘Grey’s’ at 8 on Thursdays on ABC. It’s a quirky, light hearted show that will have you hooked, especially because of its charismatic lead actress America Ferrera.

These are just a few things that have stood out in the last couple weeks in the entertainment world that I think you guys should check out.

TV

‘I Love New York’: Yes, VH1 gave the craziest reality TV star in history her very own show, and it’s pure gold. For all those who were shamefully addicted to the two outrageous seasons of ‘Flavor of Love,’ know that you were really tuning just to see the insane antics of New York. Apparently VH1 caught onto that fact and set her up with her own search for romance for all of us to watch. The show just premiered last week, but it’s already great. The first episode was packed with fools, freak-outs and New York’s mom, who is actually crazier than her. It’s a combination that has you cringing and laughing at the same time, so I thoroughly recommend this great guilty pleasure.

*Witness the insanity Monday at 9 p.m. on VH1

MUSIC

Gym Class Heroes—‘Cupid’s Chokehold’: The video has been a staple on MTV U for the last couple weeks because of its funny music video and catchy chorus. This fun song is a blend of easygoing rapping with smooth R&B singing that is supported by great live music. The group that hails from New York is a jam band that could be easily compared to the innovative sounds of The Roots. Although the band has been in the music business for almost ten years, they have only started to receive their deserved recognition. So I suggest you also show them some recognition by downloading the single or picking up their latest album, ‘As Cruel As School Children.’

MOVIES

‘Babel’: This movie follows six seemingly separate storylines, displaying the importance and impact of communication. While the movie shows obvious cross-culture connections, the movie also has underlying political messages that include immigration, gun control, poverty and cultural status. The first half of the movie may seem confusing, but as things come together and the messages are realized the movie is gripping and provocative. I know that the movie may not be in theaters right now, but when it is nominated for the Oscar for best movie, it will be in theaters again, and I thoroughly recommend seeing it.

In 2004, the curtains closed on Jay-Z when he decided to retire from rapping, but I guess forever is only two years long.

On November 21, Jay-Z released his latest album ‘Kingdom Come,’ ending his retirement and continuing his reign as one of the highest selling rappers of all time. Despite mediocre reviews and fan reactions to the first single “Show Me What You Got,” the first week sales of ‘Kingdom Come’ showed nothing of the sort. The album not only debuted at number one, but it sold around 680,000 copies, bringing Jay-Z his highest first week sales ever in his ten year career.

Many have been skeptical about Jay-Z’s return, but his fans have been waiting for this day ever since he “left.” Although many have discussed whether he still had some hits left in him, reviewers from publications such as Rolling Stone have praised Jay-Z’s latest album, giving it 3.5 stars out of 5. RS also said that even though ‘Show Me What You Got’ isn’t the greatest single, the singles ‘Kingdom Come,’ ‘Trouble’ and ‘Lost One’ display his familiar style and talent that has made him so successful in the past.

In addition, for all those Jay-Z fans who thought the retirement meant that they would never have the chance to see him perform, should start getting ready. He will probably be hitting a town near you with a monster tour in the coming months. You know a major comeback, means a major comeback tour.

The retirement may seem like a joke, but if he is the best and he can still dominant the number one spot, why stay away?

I got to see the sneak preview of ‘Alpha Dog’ last night, and it was exactly how I thought it was going to be, underwhelming and mediocre.

The movie is based on the real-life events of “Jesse James Hollywood” and his friends, as they ran a major drug ring in southern California. Specifically, the movie follows the young delinquents through a tumultuous three days of sex, drugs and violence that changed all of their lives forever.

The film takes place in only three days, but it displays the unbelievable lives of these 20 year olds that lived in the moment and on the edge. It shows how drugs and money became priority to all of them, eventually putting their family, friends and own lives in danger. For example, to these kids, there was nothing worse than a drug debt.

The movie did have its light and fun moments since most of those three days were spent heavily partying, but when “Johnny Truelove” decided to kidnap his friend’s brother as collateral that is when he got himself and his friends in too far. A decision that left the real-life guys with prison sentences, some for life.

The movie features actors Emile Hirsch (‘Lords of Dogtown’), Ben Foster (‘X-Men’), Shawn Hatosy (‘The Faculty’), Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, up-and-comer Anton Yelchin and of course Mr. Justin Timberlake.

Justin Timberlake is definitely a major draw for people to see this movie, but if any of you have seen ‘Edison Force,’ I take that back, I am pretty sure, fortunately no one saw ‘Edison Force.’ Bottom line, I am trying to get at the fact that Timberlake does not have a great track record of acting skills, so I went into this movie expecting the worst. Surprisingly, Timberlake achieved a stand-out performance in this film as the comedic, likable and compassionate Frankie.

Other stand-out performances included Emile Hirsch as “Johnny Truelove,” the fictional “Jesse James Hollywood,” and Anton Yelchin as the kidnapped kid brother, “Zack Mazursky.”

Overall actually the film wasn’t that bad. It would be most appealing to young males and in addition was drawn out and at some points choppy with its storylines, but it was tolerable. It was an intense movie of a thrilling real-life tale of a group of barely legal guys who took things to the extreme, but the problem was the movie did not quite capture that element of excitement.

Although I did not hate the film, I would have to say that it is a rental, but for all you die-hard JT fans, you will want to see this as soon as possible.

Borat is the “it” movie right now, so I had to see what all the fuss was about, but I think I am now traumatized. I wish I was adequately warned of the insanity featured in this film.

In the movie, Borat Sagdiyev, a journalist from Kazakhstan, decides to travel to America where he will film a documentary as he learns the American ways. It sounds harmless enough, but what ensues throughout his journey is absolutely shocking.

The movie is a mockumentary thought up by veteran character comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Borat is one of the comedian’s many familiar characters which also include Ali G and Bruno. With major success from his HBO show, Cohen has now jumped to the big screen. He was seen earlier this year as the French race car driver/villain in the summer comedy ‘Talladega Nights.’ This is the first film though Cohen has portrayed one of his famous characters, and surprisingly it has become quite a blockbuster despite it controversial content.

Just thinking about how to describe the film leaves me speechless. It was so ridiculous that I am really shocked that it was even released to be honest. It is by far the most offensive and disgusting/disturbing film I have ever seen. Of course the point was to make fun of stereotypes with outrageous humor, but I don’t know if my laughter was equal or more than my shock and anger.

The film follows Borat as he travels throughout America on his way to California to meet his dream girl, Pamela Anderson. On the way, he stops in a variety of places and cities, meeting a wide range of Americans that didn’t exactly make us look like a great, accepting, friendly and intelligent country. The clips featured in the film are actual people who are unaware of Borat’s true identity and intention, which makes things worse. It’s a mess of unfiltered conversations and actions that leaves the rest of us cringing in our seats. It’s unbelievable that not only are there Americans stating these offensive views, but now it’s on display for the world, which explains the limited release and the now many pending lawsuits.

Yeah, so I don’t know if I can say that this film was hilarious or great, but what I can say is that I am positive that I will never see it again because it was so extreme. It was to the point where I think that everyone should be warned before watching it. So, this is my warning: If you are easily offended by racism, sex, stereotypes, bathroom humor, humiliation and the mistreatment of animals, including Pamela Anderson, than think twice about going to this film. And if you are still dead-set on seeing ‘Borat,’ believe me when I say CLOSE YOUR EYES IN ANY SCENE IN A HOTEL ROOM!

by Courtney Bowerman

One would think that a musical solely created using disco songs from the 70s wouldn’t be that good. Fortunately, Mamma Mia proves that you can’t always judge a musical by its soundtrack.

Mamma Mia takes place on a Greek Island, where a girl named Sophie is about to get married, in spite of her feminist mother’s protest. The only thing she wants is for her father to attend her wedding. The problem is that there are three possible men that could be her father, and her mother doesn’t know which one it was! So she invites all three of them to the wedding, sure that she will somehow know her father when she sees him. None of the men know that they could be her father, and Sophie’s mother has no idea that her three ex-boyfriends are on the island…

This show is pure fun. The pleasantly humorous plot is a refreshing change from the darker Broadway musicals. Surprisingly, the ABBA songs work themselves into the plot very well. Even though the show does not take place in the 70s, there are many amusing references to the disco decade. The most obvious one is during Sophie’s bachelorette party, when her mother and her friends dress up in spandex outfits that look suspiciously like ABBA, complete with disco lights.

On the whole, the cast was very strong. Carrie Manolakos is endearing as Sophie, but it is her mother and her two friends—played by Laurie Wells, Marlene Handrahan, and Laura Ware—that stand out as a former girl-power band. Their silly choreography and their strong singing brought ABBA to life. The three possible fathers, that consist of a divorcee (Sean Allan Krill), an Australian (Milo Shandel), and a rocking Englishman (Harry Bright) were also hilarious, especially at the finale, when they donned the same spandex outfits as the women.

Even if you don’t like ABBA, the music is still enjoyable. I actually started singing along during the songs “Mamma Mia” and “Dancing Queen.” However, I heard that other audience members did the same. Even songs that were new to me like “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” and “Voulez Vous” were also pretty catchy. Shortly after the first act ended, I ended up buying the soundtrack.

Although the constant bursting into disco songs makes the show seem like a music video, Mamma Mia is a great show to see. I don’t know if any high school has ever tried to do it for a musical, but it’s a possibility that should definitely be considered in the future.