The Muppets, the seventh film bringing Jim Henson’s The Muppets to the silver screen, is receiving tremendous critical and popular acclaim. It currently holds a 97% rating, “Certified Fresh,” on Rotten Tomatoes, gets 4.5 stars out of 5 from the viewing public, and even claimed a very glowing review here on this very blog.
I’m afraid it falls to me to be a dissenting voice. *Warning Spoilers*
We’ve seen this movie before. It’s essentially The Muppet Movie all over again. Another film it shares tremendous similarity with is The Country Bears. Any commonality with Bears is not a good thing as far as the box office goes. Someone pick up the phone and let Disney Studios know that ‘We’re getting the band back together’ has been done… a lot. I’m tired of this silly old plot and it would have been nice to see something else instead.
Week 9 brings us to the semifinals! I was so stressed about this show that I could barely watch. True story. Each couple had to perform three (yes, three!) dances.
Hope and Maks began the evening with a paso doble to Miley Cyrus’ “Can’t Be Tamed.” Hope battled some serious shoulder pain in rehearsals, but seemed to thrive on the adversity. The judges agreed that she was successful in displaying the right attitude for the dance, but were not as pleased with her technical performance. Triple 7s gave the pair a 21.
Next, it was J.R. and Karina’s turn for the paso doble. We saw J.R. twist his ankle during rehearsals (major ouch), and it definitely affected the dance. Bruno and Carrie Ann noticed that his injury had a negative impact on his posture, and Len called him more “Zero” than “Zorro.” Insert sad face here. Judges’ scores of 8, 7, 8 gave the couple a total of 23.
Rob and Cheryl arrived on the dance floor shaking maracas on a horrifying parade float. Yikes. Thankfully, things improved as they began their samba. Rob did a great job of shaking his hips during the energetic routine. Despite his last name, I like Rob more and more every week. Unanimous praise from the judges translated into scores of 10 (wow), 9, 9 for a 28, which is Rob’s highest of the competition.
Ricki and Derek brightened up the ballroom in canary yellow costumes they donned to samba to “Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)” by Harry Belafonte. It was a fun and rousing dance. Len said Ricki took a giant step towards the finals, and Bruno and Carrie Ann loved it all. Perfect 10s from the judges gave them a 30!
We were treated to a stunning Argentine tango by a group of the professional dancers. The lifts were incredibly daring. I’m pretty sure I watched with one eye closed.
Hope and Maks returned to the dance floor to perform their Argentine tango to “Whatever Lola Wants.” Maks was on his best behavior with the judges, but this time Hope seemed to be the slightly disgruntled one. The three judges agreed that this performance was better than their first, and gave them triple 8s for a 24, and a total of 45 for the night.
J.R. came back with a freshly taped ankle to dance the Argentine tango with Karina. He was obviously frustrated that his injury was hampering his ability, but he pushed aside the pain to deliver a solid routine. The judges awarded them triple 9s for a score of 27, which brought them to a total of 50 for the evening.
Next to tango were Rob and Cheryl. Their sexy dance delighted the crowd and the judges. Rob is certainly finishing strong. Triple 9s gave them a 27 for this dance and a total of 55.
Ricki and Derek didn’t disappoint the judges with their Argentine tango. Len thought it was really good, and Carrie Ann declared that Ricki’s new core strength has given her the “pop.” I thought this was a term reserved for HGTV. Hmm. Scores of 9, 10, 10 totaled 29 and brought the pair an overall 59.
The final event of the evening’s competition was a cha cha relay to “I Like How It Feels,” by Enrique Iglesias. Each couple performed a portion of the song, just like a relay race. The judges awarded Hope and Maks 4 points, for a total of 49. J.R. and Karina scored 6 points, which brought them to a total of 56. Eight points were given to Ricki and Derek, which gave them a total of 67. Rob and Cheryl were the top scorers of the relay, earning 10 points and boosting their total for the night to 65. Kind of surprising, but yay Rob!
Whew, what a night. There was an inordinate amount of math involved in writing this post…what a novel way to use my business degree. I’m hoping the audience’s votes ensure J.R. a much-deserved place in the finals. We’ll find out tonight! Who do you think is going home?
Video highlights from the episode are below the jump:
I wouldn’t say the celebration of Victoria and Conrad’s 25th wedding anniversary was anything to call home about.
Yet again, Revenge was a total trip this week.
Right away, we have a New York Times reporter interviewing Victoria and Conrad about their successful (barf) marriage. (Since when do things like this get on the front page of the NYT?) Victoria is just about ready to burst with the whole manifestation of their fairy tale relationship.
Big question: Does anyone else think that Charlotte is not Conrad’s kid? (And perhaps Emily’s half-sister/David’s Clark’s child?) Think about the Hamptons Exposed video where we have Victoria saying that Charlotte should never have been born. In last night’s interview, Victoria forgets to mention Charlotte when she talks about what has kept their marriage strong. Conrad is also ALWAYS spoiling Charlotte. I know being a daddy’s girl isn’t some new-fangled concept but we know that Conrad uses his money almost always for evil. (Keep in mind that everyone seems to have a two-sided story when it comes to this show, and we still have not figured out Charlotte’s.)
To the delight of Beliebers everywhere, the night began with a performance of “Never Say Never” by Justin Bieber. Then, Carson (yay!) returned to talk to some fans and the judges. This week’s encore dance was awarded to Team Paso, who gave us another fabulous… Read More »Dancing With the Stars Week 7 Results Show – No Treats for David
Week 7 of the Dancing With the Stars brought us a Halloween special complete with special effects, themed dances, and elaborate makeup and costumes on the dancers, hosts, judges, and even the band members.
To start the night, David and Kym performed a cha cha (complete with magic tricks) to “Abracadabra” by Steve Miller Band. David is still working hard, but taking plenty of time to let his goofy side out. Len said his dance provided lots of tricks and lots of treats, Bruno shouted some inscrutable praise, and Carrie Ann was impressed with David’s phenomenal improvement. Triple 8s gave the pair a 24.
J.R. and Karina tangoed to the theme from “Ghostbusters.” Karina was undoubtedly the sexiest ghost I’ve ever seen, and J.R. was a crowd-pleaser as usual. Bruno said the performance was solid, even though J.R. lost his timing a little bit. Carrie Ann loved the tone of the dance, but Len thought that it was substandard compared to J.R.’s previous weeks. The pair scored a 25 (9, 8, 8).
Hi there everyone and welcome to this week’s Dancing with the Stars Recap. Last week we saw Carson Kressley get kicked off the dance floor, this week DWTS celebrated the Great White Way and Broadway.
During Rehearsal Week, Rob Kardashian’s mother Kris Jenner dropped by the dance studio to offer Rob some words of encouragement. Jenner said Rob has gone from a boy to a man and she was proud of him. She said Rob used to be a shy boy who could never do something like this. Jenner said Rob has a lot of competition against people who are used to being competitive and added it’s time for Rob to do the job and it’s time to kick some ass and he can’t be nice anymore! Such mother’s love, she kisses her son with that mouth? J Rob said he was ready to “kick some butt”, glad to see his language was cleaner than his mom’s!
Rob and his dance partner Cheryl led the show off with the Cha-cha-cha to Walk like a Man from Jersey Boys (p.s. It doesn’t get any better than Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons!). Rob opened the song with a nice little butt shimmy and then gave the crowd some big hip thrusts. He displayed nice footwork and technique but seemed a little too focused on technique and was a bit stiff throughout the dance.
Judge Len said it was clean and precise and good timing but the Cha-cha-cha has got to show rhythm and to Len there was no rhythm tonight and was a bit “stiff and starchy (Reminder to self: pick up my dry cleaning tomorrow). I must be getting better at this; even I recognized Rob seemed stiff. Judge Bruno said it’s Opening Night on Broadway and he has to take it on full board from the beginning. He added the dance was adequate but didn’t have the impact or power it should have and that Rob has to be in charge and more forceful with his movements. Judge Carrie Ann said it wasn’t as great as Rob’s performance last week but she saw much more charisma coming from him than she ever has. She said Rob is right on the cusp of being a man on the dance floor; he’s not a kid, not a man but an adolescent and getting there.
Get your parachute pants on, you guys! It’s ‘80s week at Dancing With the Stars! The Bangles (who still look great) opened the show with a performance of “Eternal Flame” and “Walk Like an Egyptian.” I’m pretty sure I performed the same two songs on my parents’ coffee table.
Hope and Maks’ tango exemplified their love hate relationship as they rocked to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” (yay New Jersey!). Len noted that Hope lacked body strength, but liked the way she attacked the dance. Carrie Ann agreed her lines were awkward, but still sees potential in Hope. Triple 8s gave the pair a total score of 24.
Carson and Anna jived to “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” by Wham! After rocking leg warmers in rehearsal, they sported cheerleader uniforms, complete with pompom wristbands, on the dance floor. Bruno proclaimed the dance a crowning achievement in madness. Carrie Ann saw little technique, which she doesn’t think is okay in week 5. Len wasn’t sure the dance was good enough for Carson to make it back next week. As usual, Carson’s score of 19 (6, 6, 7) wasn’t great, but he remains a huge crowd-pleaser.
Nothing says episode 2 like a fashion show…am I right!? We begin with Eve and Abby heading down the runway during Miami fashion week while Kate and Bosley look on from the audience. This turns into a crazy chase for a stalker, resulting in Eve… Read More »Charlie’s Angels – Episode 2 of ???
Week 7 of the Dancing With the Stars brought us a Halloween special complete with special effects, themed dances, and elaborate makeup and costumes on the dancers, hosts, judges, and even the band members.