Oscar ballot 2013

Update: It’s the end of the 85th Annual Academy Awards and I am proud to say (because I have very little going on in my life) that I got 18/24 right (75%). 

For your amusement and my embarrassment.

Last year, I went 6 for 8 in the big categories and 13/24 overall. My goal is to just improve on that terrible record.

(You can click on the image to see a blown-up version)

Check out all the nominees at IMDb and fill out your own ballot here.

Will update on how well I did tomorrow night.

- C

Birthday post: time capsule 2012

I wasn’t intending on doing time capsules every year, but I had fun doing it last year and even though a lot has changed for me in my 23rd year on Earth, one thing hasn’t: I still like attention.

Here it goes (click here for last year’s entries).

Birthday breakfast: The gluttonous “Guzzler” meal at Allo Mon Coco.

Birthday lunch: Skipped lunch, actually.

Birthday dinner: My parents, sister and brother-in-law took me out for burgers, then had a peanut butter cupcake-cake for dessert. This thing was as big as my head.

Price of gas: 144.9 cents per litre.

Biggest news stories of the day: Agent 728 Stéfanie Trudeau.

Current job(s): I’mma plead the fifth on this one.

My hero(es): My sister, because she (annoyingly) has her shit together and has succeeded at everything she’s tried.

Song that I have on repeat: No one song in particular, but I find myself listening to some more R&B these days, particularly Alicia Keys’s album As I Am. 

Book that I am currently reading: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest

In my Amazon.com cart: Robopocalypse and Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

#1 movie at the North American box office: Taken 2  -_-

#1 song on the Billboard Hot 100: Maroon 5 – “One More Night” -_-  (No. 2 is Psy’s “Gangnam Style.” I’m including this because I think it’ll be important for future generations to know.)

I consider myself an expert in: self-deprecation, knee-driving.

I wish I was less: indecisive (repeat from 2011).

I spent the day:

- hanging out with the people who have known me almost my entire life;

- realizing that Facebook can be really exhausting on your birthday;

- watching the first season of Revenge (three episodes to go).

Goal for year 24: More travelling, more yeses and fewer nos.

# of Twitter followers: 368 (if you’re reading this after 2015, click here to find out what Twitter is/was.)

Emmy Awards predictions: who will win (comedy series)?

Shifting gears now to lighter fare, Radina Papukchieva joins me to discuss who will win in the major comedy categories.

Radina is a contributor at The Cafe Phenomenon, a movie critic for Cult MTL, and Concordia journalism and film studies student.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

As great as it would be to see Kristen Wiig win for the various cooky characters she’s played on SNL over the years, I think one of the Modern Family ladies will take home this award. Wiig’s years on SNL made her a household name and helped her branch out into film (last year’s Bridesmaids was a career-maker for Wiig). Kathryn Joosten, nominated posthumously for her role on Desperate Housewives was a fine actress whose best work was on The West Wing, not the Marc Cherry show that overstayed its welcome.

My pick: Julie Bowen took home the Golden Globe for her portrayal of Claire Dunphy last year, but Sofia Vergara, I think, has made great strides in her career. Gloria also had better storylines and material than Claire, although both women have been stellar throughout Modern Family‘s three seasons. My pick is Vergara. She’s been overlooked too often. Her performance in the first season of the show was incredible and really gave her character a great foundation for the next two.

Radina’s take: Kristen Wiig! It would be an honorary Emmy for her, since she left SNL at the end of last season to pursue her acting and writing career. She made late Saturday nights in front of the TV worthwhile, and was the best thing to happen to SNL in the past years. Sofia Vergara is also a favorite, however, with the saucy version of herself on Modern Family. The ease with which she plays Glorrrrria makes her performance all the more funny.

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live

The entire adult cast of Modern Family is up for an Emmy this year. Among the men, Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s performance has been overlooked over three seasons on ABC. Ty Burrell took home the Golden Globe and the Emmy for his Phil Dunphy last year. Eric Stonestreet won this award two years ago. I think it’s great to see Max Greenfield nominated for New Girl, arguably the only new comedy of last year that has the chance of having any staying power, but his overacting and general over-the-topness exhausts me as a viewer. Bill Hader’s Stefon and his impersonation of James Carville are the greatest things to happen to SNL in the last five years, but they won’t be enough to take the award from the Modern Family guys. 

My pick: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, for being consistently great and for playing Mitchell with realness. It’s sometimes harder to play a subdued character than an over-the-top one. His most fierce competition would be Ty Burrell, who had some really great moments this season.

Radina’s take: It’s pretty safe to say it’s going to someone from Modern Family, they are all nominated! Who, I really can’t decide. It’s a tie between Ty Burrell and Ed O’Neill for me.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Lena Dunham, Girls
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

A category with two veteran TV actresses and former Emmy winners (Edie Falco and Julia Louis-Dreyfus), two comedy superstars (Tina Fey, Amy Poehler), two first-time nominees (Lena Dunham, Zooey Deschanel) and the incumbent. Melissa McCarthy won this category last year for her work in Mike & Molly. I can’t help but think her Oscar-nominated turn in Bridesmaids tipped the award in her favour.

Process of elimination: I don’t think Tina Fey stands a chance, even though she is one of my personal favourites. Zooey Deschanel may lead the only new network comedy that connected with audiences, this isn’t an adorability Emmy, it’s an acting one. Lena Dunham has received a lot of flack for her HBO show: I don’t think Girls‘s strength is its acting. I so desperately want Amy Poehler to win: Parks and Recreation is criminally under-appreciated and Poehler’s Leslie Knope is one of the most loveable characters on TV. Unfortunately, I think Parks and Rec will continue to be ignored.

That leaves a Melissa McCarthy repeat, badass Edie Falco and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

I absolutely loved the first season of Veep, though critics weren’t entirely sold. There are some solid one-liners, and I think it’s the lovechild of a potty-mouthed West Wing and Parks and Rec.

Nurse Jackie has been improving with every season, and that’s in large part due to Edie Falco and her badassness and fearlessness. Melissa McCarthy is a two-time nominee Sunday, also getting some love for her guest appearance on Saturday Night Live. I think that splits her possibility of winning both, with voters more likely to reward her for Mike & Molly.

My pick: Edie Falco for Nurse Jackie. This would be her fifth Emmy, winning three times for The Sopranos and in 2009 for Nurse Jackie.

Radina’s take: Amy Poehler, please.

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louie
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

The fact that The Big Bang Theory is one of the highest-rated shows on television makes me lose faith in humanity a little. I’m aware “the masses” aren’t discerning, but the show for me is the equivalent of someone scratching their fingernails on a chalkboard. Ditto for Two and a Half Men: Jon Cryer is nominated in lead actor category this year after previously being considered a supporting actor (thanks to tiger-blooded Charlie Sheen’s departure).

Alec Baldwin won in 2008 and 2009, Jim Parsons in 2010 and 2011.

Don Cheadle is the best thing about House of Lies, an uneven new show that’s sometimes a mess.

My pick: Louis C.K. in Louie, one of the best comedies on television by one of the most brilliant comedians today. It would also be unwise to underestimate just how much the industry respects Louis C.K. for his work. He writes and directs and edits most of Louie. He is up for six Emmys Sunday night (a writing and directing nod for Louie, and three nominations for Louis C.K.’s Live at the Beacon Theater special).

Radina’s take: Alec Baldwin collects Emmys and Golden Globes for a reason: he’s simply the best. However, with Baldwin and Jim Parsons winning this category for the last four years, it would be nice to see a fresh face get recognized, and Louis C.K. is a deserving nominee.

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Chris McKenna, Community, “Remedial Chaos Theory”
Lena Dunham, Girls, “Pilot”
Louis C.K., Louie, “Pregnant”
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation, “The Debate”
Michael Schur, Parks and Recreation, “Win, Lose, or Draw”

Hopefully, Parks and Recreation can be honoured in this category because it was snubbed in Outstanding Comedy Series. It is up against stiff competition, however, with HBO’s Girls, one of the most controversial new series, and Lena Dunham’s “voice of her generation” b.s. It’s a show that is not accessible or enjoyable. And for a comedy, it’s just not funny. Community‘s only nomination comes in the writing category, but I feel it’s too little, too late for the flailing NBC show.

My pick: Amy Poehler for Parks and Recreation‘s “The Debate,” as a consolation prize for not winning the lead actress category.

Outstanding Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Girls
Modern Family
30 Rock
Veep

Since 2007, the award has gone to 30 Rock (2007, 2008, 2009) and Modern Family (2010, 2011). The Big Bang Theory is a ratings juggernaut (I don’t understand how or why) and Girls and Veep are HBO’s newest. Curb Your Enthusiasm is the oldest show in the bunch. A little peeved that Parks and Recreation, Community and Louie weren’t nominated. Three of the best comedies on TV aren’t nominated for the best comedy on TV…

My pick: I think it’s unlikely that Modern Family doesn’t three-peat, even though this was its weakest season. I’d love to see 30 Rock take it again. It really bounced back after a less-than-stellar season five.

Radina’s take: First of all, Parks and Recreation is not nominated? Community is not nominated? 30 Rock is nominated for the fifth year in a row, in its ,by far, least funny season? And who even watches The Big Bang Theory? OK, rant over. It would be between Curb Your Enthusiasm or Girls, for me. I haven’t even seen a single episode of Girls, but I’ve been meaning to, and a show that raises so many critics off their seats can only be good. But Modern Family is an audience favorite so it will probably get the Emmy.

Emmy Awards predictions: who will win (drama series)?

The Emmy Awards will air on ABC/CTV on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 8 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel will host. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

As if television shows need awards to make them feel like they’re making a difference. Isn’t knowing that people will spend hours on end watching them, foregoing their social life and other responsibilities, enough to make them know T.V. is great?

Still, the Emmys happen every year, and while I have problems with some nominees in almost every category, I feel like the best of the best will be given their due Sunday night (ABC /CTV, 8 p.m.).

I’m joined today by Radina Papukchieva, who will be giving her two cents on the nominees in the comedy categories (Radina is one of the happiest, cheeriest people I know: she is not wasting her time being sad or anxious, watching dramas — but actually, she just hasn’t had time to catch up on all the shows she has heard great things about.)

Radina is a contributor at The Cafe Phenomenon, a movie critic for Cult MTL, and Concordia journalism and film studies student.

Will you be tuning in tonight? Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@Chris_Hanna and @papukchieva) and weigh in on who your favourite nominees are.

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Christina Hendricks had her best year to date on Mad Men: her performance in one episode in particular (spoiler-free for those who still haven’t caught up) had people Twitter talking for days after it aired.

Maggie Smith won the Emmy for her performance in Downton Abbey last year, but the show was considered a miniseries in 2011.

Archie Panjabi won this category in 2010. The phenomenon that is Breaking Bad can tip the award in Anna Gunn’s favour, but the AMC show is likely to sweep next year, when BB is slated to end.

My pick: Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway Harris on Mad Men, though I would not count out Maggie Smith.

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad
Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Jared Harris, Mad Men

This is one of the strongest categories at this year’s Emmys, with some of the best television characters of the last few years honoured. I’d be interested to see if any supporting character has ever had such a huge impact on a main character’s life than Giancarlo Esposito’s Gus Fring. There was something about his slimy and calm delivery that gave me goosebumps almost every time he was on screen. You knew he had to be all kinds of messed-up to have accomplished what he had, and Esposito, a veteran television actor with more than 100 credits to his name, gave a career-defining turn on Breaking Bad. His co-star, Aaron Paul, gives consistently solid performances and has won an Emmy for Jesse Pinkman in 2010. He won’t win this year, but his Tweets should be honoured somehow.

It’s hard to really say why Jared Harris on Mad Men is such a great choice for a nominee without spoiling the show’s fifth season for those who haven’t caught up yet, but trust me when I say Harris is deserving to be on this list.

My pick: There’s something about an underdog who’s, all at once, funny and scared and self-conscious and crass. Peter Dinklage’s turn as loveable “gimp” Tyrion Lannister will net the actor yet another Emmy. Dinklage took home the award for the same role last year, and also won a Golden Globe for his work on Game of Thrones at the Golden Globes.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Glenn Close, Damages
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Claire Danes, Homeland
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

There are some truly bad-ass women in this category (the actresses and the characters), but this is a two-person race between Claire Danes, nominated for her performance in the inaugural season of the amazing Homeland, and Elisabeth Moss, nominated for her fourth Emmy for her turn as Peggy Olson in Mad Men. Peggy has been an audience favourite since the AMC show’s first season, but Danes delivers a tour-de-force performance as Carrie Mathison. The second season of Homeland, premiering on Sept. 30, a week after the Emmys have aired, is sure to be just as explosive and amazing as the first.

My pick: Even though Claire Danes took home the Golden Globe for this role last January, I think Elisabeth Moss is overdue for some hardware and Peggy Olson’s evolution really resonated with viewers — plus the uncertainty surrounding Peggy could tip votes in her favour. This is Glenn Close’s fourth Emmy nod for her role as Patty Hewes on Damages. She won in 2008 and 2009 — the show’s strongest years. Julianna Margulies took home this award last year.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Damian Lewis, Homeland
Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Another really strong category. Bryan Cranston has won every time he was nominated. It’s undeniable that his Walter White is amazing — and the character has entered pop culture in unprecedented ways. Cranston, Jon Hamm and Michael C. Hall can benefit from being on shows with large following and their characters are some of the most recognizable in television today.

Kyle Chandler took home this award last year for his work on the final season of the great Friday Night Lights. Breaking Bad wasn’t eligible for the Emmys last year because of  the fourth season’s scheduling. With Boardwalk Empire gaining momentum, Steve Buscemi has a chance to win; Homeland is a phenomenal show, but the best performance is given by Claire Danes and Mindy Patinkin, not Damian Lewis, though he is quite good on the show.

My pick: Bryan Cranston. He’s untouchable.

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey, “Episode Seven”
Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff, Homeland, “Pilot”
Andre Jacquemetton, Marie Jacquemetton, Mad Men, “Commissions and Fees”
Semi Chellas, Matthew Weiner, Mad Men, “Far Away Places”
Semi Chellas, Matthew Weiner, Mad Men, “The Other Woman”

That Homeland pilot was something else, but “The Other Woman” was one of the most controversial episodes of Mad Men to date and its repercussions are sure to be long-lasting in the series. Mad Men is the best written drama on television, it’s a matter of picking which episode was the best.

My pick: Semi Chellas, Matthew Weiner, Mad Men, “The Other Woman”

Outstanding Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men

With quality drama being produced by cable networks, this crop of nominees isn’t surprising. What would be surprising if anyone would be able to dethrone Mad Men. The show has won the Emmy in this category since 2008. This is the show’s fifth consecutive nomination and is likely to be its fifth win.

Radina’s take: Mad Men is the show that keeps getting better with every season, and it deserves to win all the categories in which it is nominated.

Where have all the scripted shows gone?

On Wednesday, the only scripted show airing on the Big 4 American networks at 8 p.m. was a repeat of Suburgatory, followed by a repeat of Modern Family on ABC.

NBC won the night with the season premiere of singing competition The Voice and America’s Got Talent, with FOX’s season-two premiere of The X Factor (featuring a much hyped about panel of judges) coming in a far second for the timeslot. 

The fourth season of Modern Family premieres on ABC (CityTV in Canada) on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

It was more of the same Thursday. At 8 p.m., CBS was the only network airing a scripted show (the insufferable Big Bang Theory, an inexplicable ratings juggernaut), with more X Factor on FOX, Wipeout on ABC and the America’s Got Talent finale on NBC.

The Emmy Awards will air on ABC on Sept. 23. Hopefully that’ll be a good reminder wake-up call to viewers (and networks) alike that there is some great, quality, scripted programming out there.

Celebrating one year on WordPress

It was a year ago this weekend that I unleashed a quad-fecta of blog posts that inundated the Internet with even more useless crap. On my inaugural day of blogging, I wrote about starting to blog, reviewed gushed over Tina Fey’s book Bossypants, revealed my obsession with pistachios and previewed Glenn O’Brien’s How To Be A Man.

This was a promising start, and I thought I could definitely keep up with the same pace. But even I, an egomaniac, get sick of writing and reading about myself. The posts became less regular and there were weeks (sometimes months) when chrishanna88.wordpress.com wasn’t updated (or, frankly, even thought of) at all.

Even with school almost out of the way (I’m attending my last class on Wednesday and will have to hand in some papers by the end of month), I know better than to promise to update the blog more regularly. I’ll do it when I think I have something poignant to say, which shows a huge sign of maturity from when I started blogging just a year ago. I am proud of the things I’ve posted on here, but there is so much that I can’t imagine anyone who isn’t even remotely caring about. But I won’t delete them, whatever.

If you are a family member or friend who hasn’t seen me or heard from me in the last year, here is my attempt at summarizing what I’ve been up to:

- I was completing my final year at Concordia University. I will have a highly-sought degree journalism and political science very soon.

- I was the production manager at The Concordian, one of Concordia’s independent student newspapers. I laid out the paper and go to write a bunch of stuff, and I got to do some really neat things with the design.

- I gave back my Lancer last July and got a Sentra in August.

- I co-hosted a Sunday morning talk show on CJLO with Tony Stabile (his movie-reviewing site is thestabilo.com) from July to about the end of the year.

- I wrote some stories for publications that aren’t student-run (“Hailing and coughing,” in the Feb. 23 issue of The Mirror and “Gilmore touts economy in Canada,” in the March 17 edition of The Irish Independent—shout out to Kamila Hinkson for making that happen for me.) I interned at Concordia University Magazine last summer, and will be interning at The Gazette this summer.

- My sister got married!

- I wish there were more personal accomplishments I could brag about, but the free time I had was spent watching Breaking Bad and catching up on Friday Night Lights, Boardwalk Empire and White Collar, and dozens of other shows that I can’t recall right now.

- I’ve been telling people my favourite movie of last year was The Descendants, but actually it was a tie between Muppets and The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (CAESAR!).

- Also a side note that I am *not* pictured in the photograph above. That would mean I was around five other people at once this year, which I can’t really remember happening. If it did, there certainly wasn’t champagne involved. I picked the photo because they look like they’re celebrating. Or maybe they’re at a funeral. Eh.

If you have been following my blog for a year, thank you very much. You can subscribe to it so you get email notifications every time I post something new. You can also follow me on Twitter: @Chris_Hanna. I also *just* started a Tumblr where I’ll be posting videos and photos of the things I’m watching, reading, eating, wearing (?) with short reviews.

I leave you now with some highlights from my first year of blogging.

- My Fruit Ninja trilogy: Fruit Ninja Crack, in which I write about this new game that I discovered called Fruit Ninja, the premise of which you are a ninja who slices fruit as melons, apples, grapes and dragonfruits are hurled across your iPhone/iPad screen; I beat myself!, in which I gloat about my new high score on Fruit Ninja; and Fruit Ninja thousandaire, in which I announce my retirement from the game after passing the 1,000-point mark in the game.

- Verging on diary entries: The speech I delivered at my sister’s wedding; saying goodbye to my car; gloating about my ability to “knee drive,” and how texting and driving is only dangerous if you’re bad at it; and my most recent post about how hard it is in this e-world to be named Chris Hanna.

As of 1:32 p.m. on May 20, 2012, chrishanna88.wordpress.com has been viewed 5,364 times. Including this one, there have been 43 total posts. Surprisingly, only two (1 and 2) were about Beyoncé.

Find me on Twitter and Tumblr.

Joshua Ledet needed to win American Idol

American Idol’s 11th season’s saving grace was contestant Joshua Ledet, who was eliminated after making it to the competition’s final three. Ledet was consistently praised by the judges and his rousing vocals were electrifying and energetic enough to keep me tuning in through the rest of the lame performances. Ledet, 20, is from Louisiana and the son of a preacher: to say that these things played a major role on his singing style would be an understatement. Unfortunately, Ledet is about three decades too late: soul has no place in today’s pop music landscape, which makes his elimination all the more devastating.

Who will sign Joshua Ledet to release a soul/gospel/R&B/blues album? More importantly, who will buy it?***

(***Update: according to Joshua Ledet’s Facebook page, he has “signed a huge deal” and promised his fans that they would be “hearing a lot more from me real soon.”)

The remaining contestants are definitely sellable. Phillip Phillips has that indie/rock thing going that’s all the rage on the FM dial these days. Jessica Sanchez is the 16-year-old with the powerhouse pipes. She’ll be fine.

Joshua Ledet needed to win to secure a record deal. He did introduce a new generation of people to his Percy Sledge/James Brown style, but had he been crowned the American Idol, it would have given soul and R&B a platform to possibly make a comeback.

But let’s stop pretending that the competition isn’t rigged. At the end of the day, the producers need to make sure the winner will sell records to secure their bottom line. And it’s a lot more dramatic to have the judges use their save on the eventual winner—”a first in Idol history”, Ryan Seacrest will surely announce if Jessica Sanchez is crowned the winner.

The American Idol finale will air on FOX/CTV on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for what is sure to be an unnecessarily drawn-out 900- three-hour extravaganza. For the third year in a row (and seventh overall), there remains one male and one female contestant. If Phillip Phillips wins, he will be the fifth year in a row (and sixth overall) that a white male contestant wins the title—Scott McCreery in 2011, Lee DeWyze in 2010, Kris Allen in 2009, David Cook in 2008, and Taylor Hicks in 2006, and yes, I had to look that up!

If Jessica Sanchez wins, she will be the youngest to ever do so. I also have a suspicion that the Idol people didn’t want to have a similar winner to The Voice, a singing competition on NBC: Jermaine Paul, who used to sing backup vocals with Alicia Keys, won the second season of that show.

Of course there’s Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert and Clay Aiken, who didn’t win but made names for themselves. But for every one of those, there are dozens of RJ Heltons, Leah Labelles, Didi Benamis, Julie DeMatos, Lindsey Cardinales, Danny Gokeys, Chikezie Ezes and Charles Grigsbys. Who?

Exactly.

Joshua Ledet singing “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” on May 9:

Ledet singing “When A Man Loves A Woman” on March 14: